A – Ageless. Brett Favre just keeps getting it done. I fully expected him to be disappointing this year – last season with the Jets all over again. Instead, you don’t even have to exaggerate to say that he is probably playing the best football of his career.
A – Aroldis Chapman. Let the hype begin. Chapman is a Cuban left-hander with a 100+ mph fastball who just defected and is looking to join the majors. I’ve seen him called the left-handed Stephen Strasburg several times, and he is sure to incite a Matsuzaka-esque bidding war. There are some strange issues around this one, though – he is reported as being 21, yet when he was at the World Baseball Classic in the spring he was reportedly 26. Seems that the Fountain of Youth is in Havana.
A – Albuquerque. Manny Ramirez returned to action in the minors this week in preparation for his return to the pros next week, and as you would expect from him it was a bit of a circus. His first stop was in Albuquerque, where he was hitless in two Triple-A games while generally ignoring the media. A change was in order, so he headed to California to play A-ball. Ever the great teammate, he went 2-for-2 with a home run for the Inland Empire 66ers before leaving the ballpark in the fifth inning.
A – Albuquerque. The circus is coming to New Mexico on Tuesday. That’s when Manny Ramirez is scheduled to report to the Albuquerque Isotopes for a conditioning stint in Triple A before he is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 50 games already since Manny disgraced himself and his sport. I can only imagine what the media coverage will be like surrounding his return.
A – Albertus Maximus. The first big challenge of the year for older horses is the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream, and it attracted a crowd that might not have had superstars in it, but which was very deep and talented. Albertus Maximus parlayed his win in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile into a win here. His next stop will be the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race.
by T.O. Whenham – 09/22/2008
A – Anderson, Derek – A year ago the Cleveland Browns’ QB and his team were one of the best stories in the league.
