Royals coaches bow heads during National Anthem - Getty Images
Brock Lesnar - AP
  • Brock Lesnar Says He's 'Improved Dramatically'
  • Read MDS »
Top Stories

Greg Biffle Chats LIVE With FanHouse

Greg Biffle is joining FanHouse for a live chat RIGHT NOW -- just a few hours before climbing behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Biffle, a former NASCAR Camping World Truck series and Nationwide Series champion, earned his first career Sprint Cup victory in this race in 2003. He has 14 career wins and finished runner-up to Tony Stewart in the 2005 Cup championship. He's currently ranked ninth in the season standings with five top-five finishes.

Join Greg on Saturday when he answers all your questions. The chat is below.

Serena Simply Best at Wimbledon, but She Doesn't Show It Often Enough

Serena Williams holds Rosewater DishQuite frankly, to use her own words, Serena Williams really is the best. She said so a few months ago, when the computer dropped her from the No. 1 ranking, and then embarrassed herself a few times, even losing to a journeyman hours after her self-proclaimed greatness.

But on Saturday, she proved it. She's right. Serena beat her sister, Venus Williams, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to win Wimbledon.

Serena is the best.

Padres Set to Extend Bud Black

It's not often you hear of a contract extension to a manager who is 11 games under .500 and 16 1/2 games out of first place on July 3. The San Diego Padres, however, aren't in position to complain about the job done by Bud Black up to this point. Thus, the Padres are planning to extend his contract in the coming weeks, though there is no word for how long.

Heading into the season, expectations were at a probable all-time low in San Diego. Under new ownership, management has been ordered to trim payroll, which led the expectation that ace pitcher Jake Peavy would be traded. The team, notably the back-end of the pitching rotation, seemed to be a patchwork group.

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2009: Joey Chestnut Beats Kobayashi

Joey Chestnut Nathan's Hot Dog Eating ContestWolfing down an incredible 68 hot dogs, Joey Chestnut defeated Japan's Takeru Kobayashi at the 2009 edition of the Fourth of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

It was the third consecutive victory for Chestnut, and Kobayashi, the six-time champion, once again finished in second place. Last year, Chestnut and Kobayashi tied at 59 dogs in the 10-minute regulation time, and then Chestnut won in overtime. This year Kobayashi improved, eating 64 dogs, but he didn't improve as much as Chestnut did.

Formula One Head in Hot Water for Remarks About Hitler

F1 head Bernie Ecclestone shakes driver's handLONDON (AP) -- Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone faced criticism from politicians and Jewish groups Saturday after being quoted as saying that Adolf Hitler "got things done."

In an interview with London's The Times newspaper, Ecclestone expressed a preference for "strong leaders," citing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Max Mosley, outgoing head of Formula One's governing body, as examples.

He was quoted as saying that democracy "hasn't done a lot of good for many countries -- including this one."

Rafael Palmeiro Still Denies Knowingly Taking Steroids

Rafael PalmeiroThere have been plenty of moments in baseball involving steroids that stand out in our memories, but one that's always stuck in the back of my mind was Rafael Palmeiro sitting in front of Congress back in March 2005. There he was wagging his finger at Congress and saying "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that."

Then five months later Palmeiro was being suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball for failing a steroid test. Of course Palmeiro then began backtracking and saying that he'd never "knowingly" taken any steroids in his life, and he wasn't changing his story on Friday as he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

MMA Upset of the Half Year



We've been handing out our half-year MMA awards, so here's my take on the biggest upset of the last six months.

As is often the case in MMA, there were plenty of upsets to choose from. But at the end of the day, I had to go with Joe Warren defeating Kid Yamamoto via split decision at Dream.9 on May 26 (part one of the fight is above; part two is here.)

Starting Five: More History for Pujols

Albert PujolsStarting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the milestones keep coming for Albert Pujols. He went into the record book in grand fashion Friday night, belting his 31st home run of the season. The drive was his fourth grand slam of the season and 10th of his career, both Cardinals' franchise records. The latter mark nudges him past Stan Musial on the club list.
"He broke Stan Musial's career record?" manager Tony La Russa asked. "I'll go bow to his feet here in a second. That's a serious point to make."
Pujols is on pace to finish 2009 with 61 home runs. And just in case that's not enough for you, it came in the eighth inning with the Cardinals down 3-0 to the Reds. St. Louis went on to beat Cincinnati 7-4.
More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Manny Returns, Apologizes ... Sort Of

SAN DIEGO -- Manny Ramirez took a page out of Jason Giambi's book.

When Giambi came back to the Yankees after it was reported that he testified before a federal grand jury that he had used steroids, Giambi apologized, but he was careful not to say what he did wrong.

When Ramirez addressed reporters en masse for the first time since he was suspended for 50 games for a violation of baseball's drug policy, Ramirez gave vague apologies, but not much else.

"I want to say I'm sorry to the fans, to my teammates," Ramirez said Friday in a packed press conference before the Dodgers played the Padres at Petco Park. "They were always there for me. I want to thank them for their support. I'm here. I'm excited."

Maybe Turkoglu Can Play For 2 Teams

Hedo TurkogluFor awhile Friday, it sounded like Hedo Turkoglu was trying to become an NBA double dipper, playing for two different teams at the same time. Or like one of those traveling salesmen who quietly kept different wives in different cities.

And maybe he thought since the teams -- Portland and Toronto -- are in different countries, he might be able to slip by. You could just imagine that sly smile of his as he nodded yes to both teams.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Either Turkoglu got cold feet or several news organizations got it wrong.

Magic Say Goodbye to Gortat

The Orlando Magic will say goodbye to backup center Marcin Gortat, unwilling to match the offer sheet that he will sign next week with the Dallas Mavericks. The price, they have decided, is too high.

The Mavericks and Gortat agreed Thursday to a multi-year offer that starts at the $5.6 million mid-level exception. He made an estimated $800,000 last season, serving as the backup to All-Star Dwight Howard.

Although the Magic liked Gortat – a restricted free agent – they have only nine players under contract for $67 million. The luxury tax, a dollar for dollar penalty designed to control league spending, is expected to start at $68 million next season. The Magic still have to sign at least four players, which makes bringing back Gortat almost cost prohibitive.

Artest Project Will Keep Lakers On Top


Years ago, this would have constituted franchise suicide. Years ago, when Ron Artest was attacking fans and and facing spousal-abuse charges and firing obscene gestures and qualifying as the NBA's scariest menace to society, you wouldn't wish him upon your most despised team. But even the unhinged grow up eventually, which is why I dare say the Los Angeles Lakers have made a monumental statement in signing the sort-of-reformed problem child.

Rick Nash Gets Contract Extension

Once he was drafted, Rick Nash quickly became the centerpiece of the Columbus Blue Jackets. It didn't take him long to prove himself worthy of such a label. Now the Blue Jackets' captain, Nash has blossomed into one of the best players in the NHL. ...

10 Quarterback Battles Worth Watching

We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always ...

Vernon Wells Looking Up From Hole

NEW YORK – During the top of the fifth inning Friday, a gate in the outfield fence at $1.3 billion Yankee Stadium popped open. When no member of the grounds crew appeared, Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells went over and latched the wall ...

Tiger Woods Surges to Lead at AT&T

Tiger Woods struggled with his putting at Bethpage Black two weeks ago, and he cited that as the primary reason he only managed a T6 at the U.S. Open. After two rounds at the AT&T National, the tournament Tiger is hosting at Congressional Country ...

Report: Portland Lands Hedo

Update: Hedo may not be headed to Portland after all -- reports now suggest he ended negotiations abruptly and will sign with the Raptors. Henry Abbott of TrueHoop is reporting that the Blazers have landed top free agent Hedo Turkoglu for the ...

Featured Writers