As much as I love the St. Louis Cardinals, it seems as though in the last season they started on a downward spiral. Next season they will have no Jimmy Edmonds, a cardinals legend in my eyes, no best defensive third baseman in the league Scott Rolen, But just Albert. Now don't get me wrong, I love Pujols, but come on, can he carry this team. Next season we will see if Albert has what it takes to lead a team to the playoffs by himself. Lebron did it and now it his turn. If Pujols pulls this off, he will be a hall of famer in every cardinals fan's eyes.

signed,

                   spud

After 3 hours of negotiating the mets and former twins cy young pitcher Johan Santana agreed to a 6 year deal. The mets might finally come full circle. We all know Pedro's time is over, so this will get the mets one of the best pitchers in the league, plus they still have the big 3, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran. Look out for the mets next season, they could end up being the team to beat in N.L.

signed,

                                  Spud

All those people that said the Red Sox would not win the World Series were wrong. I picked them from the beggining and they came through. Whoever said that my pick of the Red Sox was ridiculous. All of those haters of my picks shut up because I now have shown how good I am. Hope that your teams have a good offseason and wait to see where the big names on this years market will go.

Boston Red Sox are World Series champions! They wrapped it up last night with a win to finish their sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies had been extremely hot before the world series, winning 15 of their last 16 regular season games and then sweepng their way through the N.L. in the playoffs. The Red Sox were simply a better team. Their pitching was incredible and the hitting was absolutely amazing. 2 blowouts and 2 close games won the Red Sox the World Series. The Rockies were not bad in the series, they simply were outplayed. By a lot.

By Jim Keller
PA SportsTicker Baseball Editor

Fans, teammates and Major League Baseball celebrated a historic accomplishment by one of the most likeable players in the game. Jim Thome took the opportunity to honor his mother and father.

After crossing home plate after slamming career homer No. 500 - a walk-off blast that gave the Chicago White Sox a 9-7 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday - Thome used the knob of the bat to write something in the dirt behind home plate.

It turned out to be the initials of his mother Joyce, who died of cancer in January 2005.

"That was for my mother, I wanted her to be a part of it," Thome said. "It's very emotional. She's been a part of it, and I know my family is proud as well. I know she was there today, and it is pretty cool."

Also wanting to share the moment with his father Chuck, Thome said earlier this week that he and is father would personally take the ball to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in the offseason. His father was in attendance Sunday.

"I know (my dad) is proud, my brothers and sisters. My wife," Thome said. "What a great weekend. ... What a great feeling, this is something personally I'll cherish the rest of my life."

Thome is the 23rd member of the 500-homer club and third to accomplish the feat this season, joining New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas.

"If somebody deserved to have something like this, it is Jim Thome," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "On the field and off the field he is a great man."

Despite a potential Hall of Fame career and making more than $100 million in his 17-year career, Thome is one of the most approachable athletes of his generation. Whether he's talking to a horde of media or a fan, he comes off as just the neighbor next door.

"One thing about Thome is that he is one guy that is easy to manage, and you can ask any manager he played for and they will same the same stuff," Guillen said. "I like that he grew up the right way. He plays the game right, plays hard, respects baseball, respects the fans. I told a couple kids if you want to look up to somebody, that is the guy you look up to.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comeback kid Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals received a year's supply of human growth hormone in 2004, the Daily News reported Friday.

The pitcher-turned-outfielder is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy at the center of an investigation by the Albany County (N.Y.) district attorney's office into the illegal Internet distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.

    The feel-good story of the baseball season, Ankiel drove in seven runs Thursday and has been a hitting star for the Cardinals since he was called up from the minors last month. He was once a young phenom on the mound with St. Louis before an embarrassing bout of wildness and injuries derailed his pitching career.

Citing records the newspaper obtained, the Daily News said Ankiel got eight shipments of human growth hormone from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including Saizen and Genotropin, two injectable drugs.

Florida physician William Gogan signed Ankiel's prescriptions, providing them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called The Health and Rejuvenation Center, or THARC, the newspaper reported.

The drugs were shipped to Ankiel at the clinic's address, the paper said. The 28-year-old Ankiel lives close by in Jupiter.

When contacted by The Associated Press, Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, said he couldn't comment because of medical privacy laws.

"This is the first I've heard of this," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty told the Daily News. "If it's true, obviously it would be very tragic, along with everything else we've had happen to us this year."

Major League Baseball doesn't test for HGH, and the sport didn't ban human growth hormone until 2005. But a player who possessed it or used it after it was banned can be suspended for 50 games.

Authorities have not accused Ankiel of any wrongdoing, the newspaper said. According to the Signature records the News cited, he stopped receiving HGH just before baseball banned it in 2005.

The Daily News said Major League Baseball officials declined to comment, saying they would "look into" the allegations but weren't sure if any action could be taken.

Ankiel homered twice Thursday and had a career-high seven RBIs, leading the Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-4 in a game shortened to eight innings because of rain.

Brought up Aug. 9 in his first major league appearance since he pitched for St. Louis in 2004, Ankiel is batting .358 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 23 games. He also homered twice against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 11.

He hit 32 home runs in Triple-A this season before the Cardinals summoned him. St. Louis (69-68) is 17-9 since, closing within one game of NL Central co-leaders Chicago and Milwaukee.

According to the Daily News, THARC also shipped steroids and growth hormone to ex-big league pitcher Steve Woodard. He and Ankiel were teammates with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 2004, the paper said.

Woodard didn't return cell phone messages, the News said.

Signature is at the center of an investigation by the Albany district attorney's office. Authorities there have been looking into an Internet ring involving performance-enhancing drugs and allegedly involving athletes from several sports.

The probe recently led to the NFL suspensions of New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison and Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson.

The third NFL person involved in the investigation was Dr. Richard Ryzde, one of the Pittsburgh Steelers' team doctors. He had earlier been fired by the team.

Updated on Friday, Sep 7, 2007 3:52 am, EDT

American League
East	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Boston	80	51	.611	-	-	7-3	W4	30-17	20-11	18-17	12-6	40-23	40-28	58-31	22-20	2-5	18-19	698	515	83-48	8/26 @ CWS, W 11-1	8/28 @ NYY, 7:05P
New York	72	58	.554	7.5	25	5-5	L1	22-25	27-10	13-15	10-8	41-24	31-34	58-39	14-19	3-6	11-17	775	618	78-52	8/26 @ DET, L 4-5	8/27 @ DET, 7:05P
Toronto	65	65	.500	14.5	18	4-6	L1	23-24	19-17	13-16	10-8	39-27	26-38	44-51	21-14	6-6	23-20	586	549	69-61	8/26 @ LAA, L 1-3	8/27 @ OAK, 10:05P
Baltimore	58	71	.450	21.0	12	2-8	L6	27-20	15-19	10-20	6-12	30-34	28-37	40-51	18-20	7-6	10-24	591	630	61-68	8/26 v MIN, L 3-11	8/28 v TB, 7:05P
Tampa Bay	51	79	.392	28.5	4	5-5	W3	16-32	14-23	14-13	7-11	31-38	20-41	35-55	16-24	6-3	16-14	601	774	50-80	8/26 v OAK, W 7-4	8/27 @ CWS, 2:05P
Central	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Cleveland	72	57	.558	-	-	7-3	W2	18-18	31-20	14-10	9-9	38-26	34-31	49-39	23-18	8-6	22-20	643	584	70-59	8/26 @ KC, W 5-3	8/27 v MIN, 7:05P
Detroit	70	60	.538	2.5	31	4-6	W1	18-15	25-26	13-15	14-4	33-31	37-29	46-47	24-13	7-7	22-15	719	669	69-61	8/26 v NYY, W 5-4	8/27 v NYY, 7:05P
Minnesota	67	63	.515	5.5	28	7-3	W5	17-17	21-26	18-13	11-7	35-30	32-33	46-44	21-19	5-5	19-17	593	565	68-62	8/26 @ BAL, W 11-3	8/27 @ CLE, 7:05P
Kansas City	57	72	.442	15.0	19	5-5	L2	11-22	18-28	18-14	10-8	29-36	28-36	42-50	15-22	5-8	18-16	584	624	61-68	8/26 v CLE, L 3-5	8/28 v DET, 8:10P
Chicago	56	74	.431	16.5	17	2-8	L5	16-23	26-21	10-16	4-14	28-37	28-37	43-50	13-24	5-5	12-20	549	699	51-79	8/26 v BOS, L 1-11	8/27 v TB, 2:05P
West	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Los Angeles	76	54	.585	-	-	6-4	W1	21-17	19-17	22-16	14-4	44-20	32-34	61-39	15-15	5-3	18-14	658	583	72-58	8/26 v TOR, W 3-1	8/27 @ SEA, 10:05P
Seattle	73	54	.575	1.5	33	7-3	L1	22-12	20-15	22-18	9-9	41-24	32-30	49-46	24-8	4-1	21-17	640	614	66-61	8/25 @ TEX, L 3-5	8/26 @ TEX, LIVE
Oakland	65	67	.492	12.0	20	5-5	L3	20-16	18-22	17-21	10-8	33-32	32-35	46-46	19-21	8-4	20-18	593	587	67-65	8/26 @ TB, L 4-7	8/27 v TOR, 10:05P
Texas	57	72	.442	18.5	15	4-6	W1	18-23	11-19	17-23	11-7	33-31	24-41	40-49	17-23	4-7	18-15	636	675	61-68	8/25 v SEA, W 5-3	8/26 v SEA, LIVE
National League
East	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
New York	73	55	.570	-	-	7-3	W2	25-21	23-10	17-17	8-7	35-29	38-26	50-38	23-17	6-5	18-9	622	557	70-58	8/25 v LAD, W 4-3	8/26 v LAD, LIVE
Philadelphia	67	62	.519	6.5	28	4-6	W1	24-22	23-15	12-18	8-7	35-29	32-33	47-40	20-22	6-7	9-20	700	663	68-61	8/26 v SD, W 14-2	8/27 v NYM, 7:05P
Atlanta	67	64	.511	7.5	26	3-7	L2	26-22	18-17	19-14	4-11	34-31	33-33	44-34	23-30	4-8	15-20	654	613	69-62	8/26 @ STL, L 1-4	8/27 @ FLA, 7:05P
Washington	58	73	.443	16.5	17	3-7	L3	19-28	21-18	9-18	9-9	31-34	27-39	39-54	19-19	5-5	22-18	517	619	55-76	8/26 @ COL, L 5-10	8/27 @ LAD, 10:10P
Florida	57	74	.435	17.5	16	1-9	L3	23-24	15-20	10-21	9-9	27-38	30-36	41-51	16-23	4-5	17-20	634	695	60-71	8/26 @ CIN, L 3-9	8/27 v ATL, 7:05P
Central	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Chicago	66	63	.512	-	-	6-4	L2	15-18	27-26	16-15	8-4	33-31	33-32	54-43	12-20	2-7	16-20	596	546	70-59	8/26 @ ARI, L 4-5	8/28 v MIL, 8:05P
Milwaukee	65	65	.500	1.5	32	3-7	L4	15-14	28-27	14-17	8-7	40-25	25-40	40-46	25-19	7-4	19-17	618	637	63-67	8/26 @ SF, L 4-5	8/28 @ CHC, 8:05P
St. Louis	63	64	.496	2.0	33	6-4	W2	12-19	30-22	15-14	6-9	34-29	29-35	39-42	24-22	6-3	11-15	568	636	57-70	8/26 v ATL, W 4-1	8/28 @ HOU, 8:05P
Cincinnati	60	70	.462	6.5	27	8-2	W6	14-17	27-27	12-15	7-11	33-33	27-37	40-42	20-28	9-8	22-16	637	695	60-70	8/26 v FLA, W 9-3	8/28 @ PIT, 5:05P
Houston	58	73	.443	9.0	24	4-6	W1	11-14	22-32	16-18	9-9	34-32	24-41	38-54	20-19	7-10	19-21	581	666	57-74	8/26 v PIT, W 5-4	8/28 v STL, 8:05P
Pittsburgh	57	72	.442	9.0	25	7-3	L1	13-18	27-27	12-17	5-10	29-36	28-36	37-50	20-22	8-7	13-19	587	651	58-71	8/26 @ HOU, L 4-5	8/28 v CIN, 5:05P
West	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	vs E	vs C	vs W	INT	HOME	ROAD	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X W-L	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Arizona	74	57	.565	-	-	6-4	W2	24-9	18-18	24-23	8-7	40-26	34-31	51-41	23-16	8-5	29-16	556	588	62-69	8/26 v CHC, W 5-4	8/27 @ SD, 10:05P
San Diego	70	59	.543	3.0	30	6-4	L1	17-16	20-14	27-20	6-9	35-29	35-30	47-44	23-15	10-7	22-22	576	515	71-58	8/26 @ PHI, L 2-14	8/27 v ARI, 10:05P
Colorado	67	63	.515	6.5	26	5-5	W3	14-11	20-20	23-24	10-8	39-26	28-37	50-42	17-21	8-9	12-17	662	621	69-61	8/26 v WSH, W 10-5	8/27 @ SF, 10:15P
Los Angeles	66	63	.512	7.0	26	6-4	L2	16-16	20-15	25-22	5-10	34-32	32-31	44-47	22-16	7-4	24-17	576	557	66-63	8/25 @ NYM, L 3-4	8/26 @ NYM, LIVE
San Francisco	59	72	.450	15.0	17	8-2	W4	17-15	18-18	19-29	5-10	31-34	28-38	39-53	20-19	6-12	20-23	568	573	65-66	8/26 v MIL, W 5-4	8/27 v COL, 10:15P

Wild Card

American League

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Seattle	73	54	.575	-	-	7-3	L1	8/25 @ TEX, L 3-5	8/26 @ TEX, LIVE
New York	72	58	.554	2.5	32	5-5	L1	8/26 @ DET, L 4-5	8/27 @ DET, 7:05P
Detroit	70	60	.538	4.5	30	4-6	W1	8/26 v NYY, W 5-4	8/27 v NYY, 7:05P
Minnesota	67	63	.515	7.5	27	7-3	W5	8/26 @ BAL, W 11-3	8/27 @ CLE, 7:05P
Toronto	65	65	.500	9.5	25	4-6	L1	8/26 @ LAA, L 1-3	8/27 @ OAK, 10:05P
Oakland	65	67	.492	10.5	23	5-5	L3	8/26 @ TB, L 4-7	8/27 v TOR, 10:05P
Baltimore	58	71	.450	16.0	19	2-8	L6	8/26 v MIN, L 3-11	8/28 v TB, 7:05P
Kansas City	57	72	.442	17.0	18	5-5	L2	8/26 v CLE, L 3-5	8/28 v DET, 8:10P
Texas	57	72	.442	17.0	18	4-6	W1	8/25 v SEA, W 5-3	8/26 v SEA, LIVE
Chicago	56	74	.431	18.5	16	2-8	L5	8/26 v BOS, L 1-11	8/27 v TB, 2:05P
Tampa Bay	51	79	.392	23.5	11	5-5	W3	8/26 v OAK, W 7-4	8/27 @ CWS, 2:05P

National League

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
San Diego	70	59	.543	-	-	6-4	L1	8/26 @ PHI, L 2-14	8/27 v ARI, 10:05P
Philadelphia	67	62	.519	3.0	31	4-6	W1	8/26 v SD, W 14-2	8/27 v NYM, 7:05P
Colorado	67	63	.515	3.5	30	5-5	W3	8/26 v WSH, W 10-5	8/27 @ SF, 10:15P
Los Angeles	66	63	.512	4.0	30	6-4	L2	8/25 @ NYM, L 3-4	8/26 @ NYM, LIVE
Atlanta	67	64	.511	4.0	29	3-7	L2	8/26 @ STL, L 1-4	8/27 @ FLA, 7:05P
Milwaukee	65	65	.500	5.5	28	3-7	L4	8/26 @ SF, L 4-5	8/28 @ CHC, 8:05P
St. Louis	63	64	.496	6.0	29	6-4	W2	8/26 v ATL, W 4-1	8/28 @ HOU, 8:05P
Cincinnati	60	70	.462	10.5	23	8-2	W6	8/26 v FLA, W 9-3	8/28 @ PIT, 5:05P
San Francisco	59	72	.450	12.0	21	8-2	W4	8/26 v MIL, W 5-4	8/27 v COL, 10:15P
Houston	58	73	.443	13.0	20	4-6	W1	8/26 v PIT, W 5-4	8/28 v STL, 8:05P
Washington	58	73	.443	13.0	20	3-7	L3	8/26 @ COL, L 5-10	8/27 @ LAD, 10:10P
Pittsburgh	57	72	.442	13.0	21	7-3	L1	8/26 @ HOU, L 4-5	8/28 v CIN, 5:05P
Florida	57	74	.435	14.0	19	1-9	L3	8/26 @ CIN, L 3-9	8/27 v ATL, 7:05P