+ The above game looks pretty fun. {Ball Don’t Lie.}

+ R.I.P., former Cubs pitcher Kevin Foster. {Chicago Tribune.}

+ Brandon Stokely, concussion master. {The Sporting Blog.}

Quotable:

“During the baseball playoffs, the best place to see comprehensive highlights of all the games is ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. Just make sure to watch with the sound off, lest lead analyst John Kruk pulverize the parts of your brain responsible for logical reasoning. Kruk is a champion of the indefensible, the nonsensical, and the utterly pointless who once called Placido Polanco the toughest out in the American League (he isn’t) and said that Brett Myers’ arrest for hitting his wife in the face would “propel him to stand up and be the ace of [the Phillies'] staff” (it didn’t, which is probably a good thing). Last week, Kruk’s SportsCenter segment on the Tampa Bay Rays concluded with the meaningful observation that they are ‘a special team that can do special things.’” – Ben Mathis-Lilley for Slate

+ Matt Ryan is doing alright for a rookie, eh? { Larry Brown Sports. }

+ So, why do so many people hate the WNBA? { TrueHoop. }

+ Lou Holtz, getting a little hot and bothered. { College Football Talk. }

Quotable:

“I don’t think it’s any secret to any of you that I love Wrigley Field. I love the intimacy, the sightlines (well, at least from most of the seats; I’m well aware that there are some obstructed-view seats), the fact that it’s in a city neighborhood, unlike any other major league park except Fenway; I love the ivy and the old scoreboard and the friends I’ve made there.

That said, Wrigley Field is a 94-year-old building, and it needs work to update it if it is going to survive and flourish for, say, the next 50 to 75 years, which would be the lifespan of a new stadium if it were to be built (although, history tells us that 45-50 years is about the lifespan of most ballparks; the cookie-cutter stadia of the 1960’s were built to replace parks that were constructed in the 1910’s, and those recently built were, for the most part, replacements for the cookie-cutters).” – Al of Bleed Cubbie Blue

+ Brady Quinn, McCain supporter. {FanHouse.}

+ Stephen A. Smith On “Dancing With The Stars”? Maybe. {Awful Announcing.}

+ David West has Obama’s back. {Rumor and Rants.}

“We were never fully on board with the Griffey acquisition, and saw Junior in a White Sox uniform as nothing more than a novelty. With any luck, Griffey might have been invigorated by his first playoff race since he left the AL. But the Sox were not so lucky. They got 35 games worth of singles-turned-triples in center field and 145 at-bats of Tony Graffanino at the plate. Not exactly the boost they were looking for. Though in the Sox defense, the only thing separating them from the Griffey of old was a time machine. So, they were close.

Who will ever forget those two singles in his first game wearing black? Or that time when he provided all of the Sox runs in that shellacking at the hands of the Twins? Or when he provided all the runs in that closer game against the Twins the next day? The memories will last a lifetime.

So, thank you, Junior. Your time in Chicago will never be forgotten.

Oh, and Brian Anderson would have caught that.” – The Cheat of South Side Sox on Ken Griffey Jr.

+ The Yankees have fallen. So what’s next for the Bronx Bombers?  {Bugs and Cranks.}

+ Rockets haze rookies with a dance-off. Nice. {The Sporting Blog.}

+ Samuel Dalembert, straight chilling with Ronald McDonald. {Ball Don’t Lie.}

Quotable:

“Well it’s nice that you want to come back, Ken, but I can’t say I want you back. Seeing Junior play just about everyday for two months helped me see just how far he has fallen from greatness. I knew he wasn’t the same player anymore, but I had no idea how bad things had gotten.”

“The truth is, Griffey is exactly the kind of player on the White Sox roster they need to replace. They have enough concrete footed sluggers in their lineup, and really, Griffey isn’t much of a slugger anymore anyway.” — Tom Fornelli of FanHouse on Ken Griffey Jr. saying he’s not retiring

+ One man’s search for keepsakes outside Wrigley Field. {Can’t Stop the Bleeding.}

+ O.J. Simpson had an acquittal party planned. Seriously. {FanHouse.}

+ Larry thinks Lou Piniella mismanaged his rotation in the NLDS. {Larry Brown Sports.}

+ Dan Snyder is pumped. Again. {Mister Irrelevant.}

Quotable:

“That doesn’t mean that he can’t turn it around, or that 82 percent of basketball junkies out there wouldn’t give 82 percent of their kidneys to see this kid working at full strength, but it’s going to be another season of underwater work and treadmill time. That’s just how things are going to flow, so we’d like to ask that we wait a while before presuming that the “finished” label works with Mr. Livingston. Apologies for repeating myself, but partially because it would depress the hell out of your humble narrator, and mainly because it wouldn’t be true, even next June.” — Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie on Shaun Livingston

+ Al  Davis scares the crap out of me. {The Sporting Blog.}

+ Larry Brown doesn’t understand why Jerry Manuel is getting a free pass. This is also a guy that said Jim Thome was going to lead to AL in homers, so take his opinion for what it’s worth. (Love you Larry!) {Larry Brown Sports.}

+ Mayne Street is coming. Yes. {Awful Announcing.}

“The last three days the Sox have essentially been playing playoff baseball. It was lose-and-go-home, pack your bags, season’s over. They’ve been playing playoff baseball for three straight games, against three different teams; all with their starters going on just 3-days rest.

The point is, for all their flaws, the White Sox have just shown you firsthand how they can win in the playoffs. It’s almost entirely about pitching, but the Sox have enough. They can compete. They can do more than compete. They can win.” – The Cheat, South Side Sox

+ Greatest football catch ever? I think not. (With Leather.)

+ An amazing LEGO creation of Yankee Stadium. (SeanKenney.com.)

+ What Cubs World Series tickets look like.  (Home Run Derby.)

Quotable:

“With yet another loss in the rollerdome, the Sox fell to 4-15 this season on the carpet. The reason is surprisingly uncomplicated.

The Sox are a woeful 24-for-132 with men in scoring position in domes this season, and a comically bad 5-for-55 with 2 outs/RISP. Even worse, the Sox last two 2 out/RISP hits, the Sox only hits with RISP this series, have failed to plate a runner.” – Christopher Michaels of South Side Sox