Top Stories
Posted by Jay Mariotti (RSS feed)
Filed Under: NFL

Any notion of transparency is believed only by the naive.
Whatever glowing perceptions we have of a public figure, particularly in sports, too often are exposed by lurking warts and skeletons. Just because
Steve McNair made a remarkable commitment to community service -- in lockstep with a football career defined by his legendary toughness and tolerance for pain -- doesn't mean he led a perfect life.
In truth, he had a 20-year-old girlfriend on the side, a woman who worked as a waitress at a restaurant visited by McNair, his wife and their four sons. McNair and the girl,
Sahel Kazemi, often hung out at his rented downtown condominium and her apartment. Sometimes, she would arrive home in a limousine, and, not long ago, her personal vehicle of choice curiously shifted from a Kia to a black 2007 Cadillac Escalade.
Posted by Greg Couch (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Wimbledon, ATP

I have never seen such pain in an athlete's eyes. Did you see
Andy Roddick's eyes, wide open, and something deep pleading to come out?
"No," he said to the crowd afterward, "I'm one of the lucky few that gets cheered for."
And he thanked the fans.
Yes,
Roger Federer had
just won Wimbledon. He beat Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 Sunday for his record-breaking 15th major title.
That's right, the last set was 16-14, or 10 games longer than any previous fifth set in a major. Turns out that while this wasn't quite the drama or quality of last year's final,
Rafael Nadal didn't have to be here for a classic Wimbledon. Instead, Pete Sampras, who had won 14 majors, was there. And Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg. History came together to watch history being made.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 10:45PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Athletics, Padres, AL West, NL West, MLB Transactions
Scott Hairston has been one of the Padres' best offensive players this season. Thus, naturally, the Padres have decided to trade him for some prospects. Via twitter,
the Padres announced Sunday night that they traded Hairston to the Oakland Athletics. In return, the Padres received minor league pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano in additon to a player to be named later. Hairston is expected to join the A's Monday in Boston.
Hairston, 29, is in the midst of easily the best offensive season in his career. Through 55 games played, he's hitting .307 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. He has a .911 OPS, and his career mark in that category is .782.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 10:00PM By Matt Steinmetz (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Celtics

Yes, there are still plenty of nice names remaining on the free agent list.
But with all due respect to the guys left, the last difference-maker has been claimed:
Rasheed Wallace. According to various reports, Wallace will sign with the
Celtics.
That makes the Celtics the best team heading into next season.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 6:56PM By R.J. White (RSS feed)
Filed Under: MLB Waiver Wire
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
After yet another poor Stream Team start, this one a no-strikeout, two-HR allowed head-scratcher from
Vin Mazzaro, I was in the dumps. Three straight stinkers left me with a pretty bad success rate. Luckily,
Joe Blanton came out and locked the Mets down by scattering four hits through 7.1 innings, allowing no runs while striking out five batters. He also gave the Stream Team our first win! Who should we stream as we play for our second victory?
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 6:40PM By Ryan Wilson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: PGA
Hunter Mahan started the day at the AT&T National -- the tournament
Tiger Woods has hosted for three years now -- tied for 16th, six shots off the lead. And with just about every hole location qualifying as a sucker pin, nobody gave him much of a chance. Which is why it was something of a surprise when he signed for a 62, good for the top spot on the leaderboard ... right next to Tiger.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 4:47PM By David Whitley (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Sports Media

Sports continued to be overshadowed last week by the shocking death of a beloved superstar whose performances thrilled millions of fans worldwide for almost four decades.
Fred Travalena, we're going to miss you.
According to various news reports, he wasn't the only celebrity who passed away. Rumor has it that Michael Jackson was downloaded. The first clue was when Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson did their evening newscasts wearing one sequined glove.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 3:45PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: AL Central, AL East, AL West, MLB All-Star Game

With the introduction of the 2009 All-Star teams, the next step for fans is to complain about their favorite players not making the squad. Thus, we'll get a head start and go through each position in the American League.
The rosters, which will be complete once the fan vote for the final player in each league concludes, were announced during a selection show on TBS Sunday. Remember, this season baseball added yet another pitcher to the roster, in hopes that the game doesn't end in a tie like the 2002 debacle. The concern once again came to the forefront last season as the game went deep into extra innings and the pitching depth began to run out.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 2:53PM By Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: WNBA

News that reigning WNBA All-Star
Candace Parker, without question the best women's basketball player in the world,
got pregnant last winter surely sent a chill through the bones of WNBA boosters, Los Angeles Sparks management, and Parker's business partners. But Candace promised she'd be back quickly, better than ever.
Parker, who is married to fringe NBA forward
Shelden Williams, gave birth to daughter Lailaa on May 13. Tonight, less than two months later, she will
return to the Sparks line-up.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 2:32PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: UFC

As they prepared to fight in the main event of
UFC 100,
Frank Mir and
Brock Lesnar took a little time this week to heap praise on the first Ultimate Fighting Champion,
Royce Gracie.
Mir said seeing Gracie win UFC 1 opened his eyes to a whole new style of fighting and made him want to become the Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt that he is today. And Lesnar fondly recalled seeing Gracie's battle with Kimo
Leopoldo at UFC 3, which was Gracie's eighth UFC fight and the first time Gracie was ever seriously challenged in the Octagon. Posted: Jul 05, 2009 1:30PM By Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Raptors, Trail Blazers, NBA Transactions

It seems
Hedo Turkoglu really has made up his mind this time. After a stormy Friday that had
Hedo in Portland for five years NO WAIT
make that Toronto, the dust has settled and Turkoglu will apparently be a Raptor. For real. (We think.)
Turkoglu's agent Lon Babby admitted Saturday that Hedo
made a verbal committment to the Blazers Friday before changing course. That might seem like bad pool, but that's one of the dangers of negotiating deals during the free agency moratorium the first week of July. Last-minute reversals have happened before, and they'll happen again. (It's also worth noting no one confirmed a Portland deal on the record during Friday's crazy hours. Everything was anonymously sourced.)
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 1:05PM By Andrew Johnson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: MLB All-Star Game

The votes are in and counted and St. Louis is ready to host the 80th Midsummer Classic on Tuesday July 14, so who will be representing the American and National League in the Gateway City?
There will be 33 players on each league's roster, with the eight position-player starters selected by a fan vote, eight pitchers (five starters and three relievers) and one reserve at each position selected by a vote among the players, coaches and managers and the remainder of the roster filled by the managers of each team --
Joe Maddon in the AL and
Charlie Manuel in the NL. As has been the case the last few years, fans will also select the final player for each league in a vote to be conducted in the next week.
After the jump see the full rosters for the 2009 All-Star Game.
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 10:00AM By Ed Price (RSS feed)

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch. A week ago Sunday night, Mariano Rivera earned his 500th save. Which should make us realize a few things about closers: • The truly great ones are the those who can sustain ...
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 6:00AM By Jeff Fletcher (RSS feed)

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead. You Oughta Know ... That reigning NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is actually better this year, which makes it seem like a long time ago that we ...
Posted: Jul 05, 2009 1:45AM By Holly Cain (RSS feed)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The celebratory Fourth of July pyrotechnics going off along the backstretch following Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway were nothing compared to the last-lap fireworks show minutes earlier on the ...
Posted: Jul 04, 2009 11:26PM By Tim Povtak (RSS feed)

Doc Rivers may get a second chance to coach Grant Hill. The last time it didn't turn out so well. Rivers, now coach of the Boston Celtics, and Hill, an unrestricted free agent who played last season for the Phoenix Suns, will meet Sunday in Orlando ...
Posted: Jul 04, 2009 11:20PM By FanHouse Newswire (RSS feed)

SEATTLE (AP) -- Playing without its top stars, there was some concern that the United States would struggle to generate offense during the heading CONCACAF Gold Cup. That doesn't look like a problem anymore. The Americans, fresh off a stunning ...