Congrats Guys...Yes, Even You Frank Thomas

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

It was a night for milestones last night with the NHL announcing five inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame and Craig Biggio and and Frank Thomas likely securing their trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame last night with.

Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnes and Scott Stevens, all in their first year of eligibility, got the nod from the 18 member selection committee. Jim Gregory, a one time general manager of the Maple Leafs, was inducted in the builders category...though not for his work in Toronto, he has worked for years in the NHL's head office. We can't really disagree with any of the selections - but isn't it time these old farts in the NHL drop their grudge against former Oilers LW Glenn Anderson and let the guy in? They may not like what he did off the ice - but there is no questioning what he did on the ice...especially when it counted, during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Houston Astros 2B Craig Biggio picked up his 3,000th hit last night with an RBI single in the seventh inning - he must have been in a hurry to celebrate the hit because he has his ass thrown out by a mile trying to stretch a solid single into a double. Good for Biggio though, he is a guy that has played the game the way it should be played.

Toronto Blue Jays DH Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run yesterday, a three run shot of Twins starter Carlos Silva. Anyone notice that the Big Hurt hasn't hit a HR against a really good pitcher in months? He's been beating up on number 3 - 5 starters, but struggles against the league's good pitchers. Bet JP is loving that $20M he committed.

Speaking of dollars committed AJ Burnett lost it yesterday after being pulled by John "Boomhauer" Gibbons - Burnett claims he was mad at himself for pitching like Josh Towers (ok, I made up the Towers part) and not at Gibbons for pulling him. I'll say this for Burnett - he's a competitor...but Jays fans must be looking at Burnett and Josh Beckett and saying "What the????"

Speaking of "What the"??? American soccer fans must be asking themselves that question today. Less that a week after winning the Gold Club...errrr Gold Cup (can't stop referring to it as Gold Club) the US lost 4-1 to Argentina last night, in their opening game of the Copa America. While the loss isn't surprising, it is rather sad that US coach Bob Bradley decided to sit most of his regular's in favour of group of players with little to no international experience. Please don't give me the argument about his guys being tired from Sunday's game - he did it to prevent his A team from being exposed for what they are second rate internationals - the FIFA ranking is a joke guys...so is winning a CONCACAF championship.

THURSDAY'S THREE STARS
Minnesota Twins CF Torii Hunter hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Twins back from a 4-0 deficit to an 8-5 win. Good thing about Hunter's day is that we don't have to talk about Frank Thomas.

Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley hit two home runs and drove in four runs to lead the Phils to an 8-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds last night. Maybe we shouldn't have traded Utley to Renee in the Yahoo pool.

Houston Astros LF Carlos Lee had two hits, including a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the eleventh to give the Astros an 8-5 win over the Rockies. Honourable mention goes to Craig Biggio for recording his 3,000th hit.


FRIDAY'S THREE PLAY
We finally got back on track yesterday - though not sure how to handle the Yankees/Baltimore result, which was suspended until July 27th...I guess we'll have to keep track of it and tally up in July, though we'd like to call it a win and add it to the total. We go into today's action an ugly - $1,025 for the week...stinking Angels and Red Sox. We'll minimize the damage for you with a few winners today.

Boston over Texas - did I say "stinking Red Sox"? Never mind...they will get it done tonight against Texas. Lay $100 on the Sox - $210.

Toronto over Seattle - we're going to go with an upset special since McGowan has been pitching well lately. Lay $100 on the Jays + $130.

Pittsburgh over Washington - why we don't know...but we'll go with Pittsburgh and Ian Snell. Lay $100 on the Pirates - $180.

That's it for today gang - thanks for taking the time to check in. Have a great one peeps!

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

I'm Out.