Maddux bests Clemens

Maddux outdueled Clemens in the battle of 300 game winners. Maddux went six innings, allowing two runs and seven hits while improving to 306-175. Clemens went seven innings, allowing a season-high three runs and seven hits as he fell to 329-165.

Jeromy Burnitz's solo homer in the 7th off of Clemens gave the Cubs (12-10) a 3-2 advantage that they would not relinquish.

LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the season.

Kerry Wood (1-1) will face Brandon Backe (1-1) tomorrow at 6:05.

Cubs take 2 of 3 from Reds

The Cubs battled back from an early five-run deficit today to defeat the Reds, 8-7. Derrick Lee was 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI. Corey Patterson hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth with the scored tied at 7-7. LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect ninth inning to get the win. The Cubs are now 11-10. They have the day off tomorrow before starting a series with the Astros at Houston on Friday.

I bet he's embarrassed

Anybody else find this ironic?  The guy played for the Miami Hurricanes and was killed when he was blown off his boat.

Prior wins third

The Cubs hung on to beat the Reds last night by a score of 10-6. Neifi Perez continued his hot hitting with a 3-run homer and 4 RBI. Prior pitched 6 innings and struck out 10. Chad Fox injured his arm in the ninth inning while he was trying to close out the game. He had already given up a 3-run homer to Adam Dunn before he was injured. The Cubs fear that it might be a career-ending injury.

Boilers in the draft

Kyle Orton was the only Purdue player selected in the draft this year. Orton was taken by the Bears in the fourth round. Taylor Stubblefield and Jon Goldsberry were on the outside looking in. Stubblefield is the NCAA career receptions record holder with 325. Goldsberry was expected to be drafted as a special teams player and fullback.

UPDATE: Taylor Stubblefield signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent. He received a $15-20,000 signing bonus along with the league minimum salary.

Jon Goldsberry signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. His contract included a $20,000 signing bonus to go along with the league minimum salary.

Bears Draft

Yesterday the Bears selected Cedric Benson (RB) from Texas with the fourth overall pick and OU receiver Mark Bradley with their 2nd round pick. I'm hoping it is not the same Mark Bradley who taught Survey of the Arts. The Bears did not have a 3rd round pick because they sent it to Miami in the Adewale Ogunleye for Marty Booker trade. The Bears also selected Kyle Orton from Purdue in the fourth round.

Cubs get blanked

The Cubs got beat 4-0 today by the Cards. Before the game, the Cubs learned that Nomar will be out 2-to-3 months because of a torn groin. The Cubs are 8-8.

Cubs win but lose Nomar

The Cubs defeated the hated St Louis Cardinals tonight, 3-1. Carlos Zambrano missed the complete game by just one out. He gave a two-out double to Scott Rolen in the bottom of the ninth and was then lifted because of a blister on his index finger. Zambrano was also impressive at the plate, hitting a triple and driving in one run. Nomar had to be carried off the field after he hurt his groin trying to run out of the batters' box. He is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.

The Cubs are now 8-7 and finish the two-game series against the Cards tomorrow at 12:10.

Prior picks up "W"

The Cubs rebounded from last night's heartbreaking defeat to beat the Reds, 7-1. Corey Patterson homered in the first, and the Cubs scored three more in the third. Prior led off with a single, Jerry Hairston doubled and Patterson reached on an infield single, loading the bases. Aramis Ramirez's broken-bat single to center drove in two runs, and Patterson continued home when Griffey's short-hop throw to Randa at third bounced away for an error. Michael Barrett, who broke an 0-for-26 slump earlier in the game, homered in the sixth off right-hander Todd Coffey, who was making his big league debut. Derrek Lee homered in the eighth off Joe Valentine.

The Cubs are now 7-7 and square off against the Cardinals in St. Louis tomorrow.

Job openings at Keystone

Nearly 40 of the 125 workers at Keystone were fired this week after they tested positive for drugs. Keystone forced all employees to take a drug test after they were tipped off by police. "I just think it’s for their safety," said Human Resources Manager Ken Julian. "When you have employees on illegal drugs it creates an unsafe work environment and nobody wants to see that." I had to get a quote from my former soccer coach in. Ken also was the ref when I scored the only goal of my soccer career.

Bears have two of the biggest draft busts ever

According to an article on SI.com the Bears have two of the biggest draft busts in the history of the NFL draft. The two listed are Curtis Enis and Cade McNown. I can think of some they left off.

Cubs blow early lead

The Cubs blew a 5-1 lead tonight, losing to the Reds 7-6. Leicester (as in molester) came in the game in the bottom of the eighth with the game tied 5-5. He then walked the first two batters he saw and then hit the third with a pitch. Rich Aurilia grounded into a double play to keep the score tied at 5-5, but Leicester then allowed Jason LaRue to double and plate two runs. Danny Graves gave up a run-scoring single in the ninth to Neifi Perez, but retired Jeromy Burnitz on a grounder with runners on first-and-third to finish off his fifth save. The Cubs pounded four home-runs off starter Matt Belisle, including back-to-back shots by Corey Patterson and Aramis Ramirez in the first inning. Kerry Wood couldn't keep the Reds down though as he allowed five runs over six innings, including two solo homers by Adam Dunn. The Cubs are now 6-7.

Lee leads Cubs to victory

The Cubs beat the Pirates today by a score of 4-2. Derek Lee singled home two runs in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. He finished the day 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Starter Greg Maddux turned in his strongest outing so far, yielding two runs on five hits in a six-inning performance. He threw only 77 pitches before being removed for a pinch-hitter. The Cubs record now stands at 6-6.

Kerry Wood pitches tomorrow against the Reds at 6:10 in Cincinnati.

Cubs Update

They lost Friday and won last night. Aramis Ramirez hit a 3-run home run in yesterday's game. They finish a 3 game series with the Pirates today at 1:35 EDT.

Shooting of The Sopranos begins soon

Michael Imperioli revealed in an interview recently that production on the sixth season of The Sopranos begins April 29. Imperioli plays Christopher Moltisanti on the show. Michael will appear in four upcoming Law & Order episodes as Nick Falco. He will team up with Dennis Farina's character while Jesse L. Martin's character is in the hospital recovering from the bullet wound he suffered last night on the show.

Cubs split doubleheader

The Cubs lost the first game by a score of 8-3 behind a craptastic pitching performance by Kerry Wood. Wood gave up 3 homers and 6 earned runs in 6-2/3 innings of work.

Mark Prior pitched 6 scoreless innings in the night cap as the Cubs won 8-3. Derek Lee had 5 RBIs. The Cubs are now 4-5 and travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates over the weekend.

Cubs get shut out

The Cubs lost 1-0 today to the Padres. Jeromy Burnitz muffed a fly ball from Brian Giles, who eventually scored the only run of the game. Mark Prior returns to the mound tomorrow to face Jake Peavy, the ace of the Padres staff. The Cubs are now 3-4.

More lawsuits

Cytodyne Technologies, maker of the dietary supplement Xenadrine, faces lawsuits from eight California counties and one city, who accuse the company of false and misleading advertising that does not mention possible health risks associated with ephedra. The counties are seeking restitution for California customers and civil penalities.

On Feb. 28, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a warning label for all ephedra-containing dietary supplements. The proposed label warns about the risks of serious adverse events, including heart attack, seizure, stroke, and death; cautions that the risk can increase with the dose, with strenuous exercise, and with other stimulants such as caffeine.

Cubs win in extra innings

The Cubs beat the Brewers today in 12 innings, 6-5. Jeromy Burnitz hit a triple off the left-center field wall with one out in the 12th. After an intentional walk to Derrek Lee, Todd Hollandsworth delivered a single to plate Burnitz. Glendon Rusch pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win. He allowed three hits and struck out four.

Greg Maddux allowed four runs — three earned — and nine hits, including two homers, in five innings. The Cubs right-hander entered the game 10-2 with a 1.45 ERA against the Brewers, but Milwaukee touched him for single runs in four of the first five innings.

Aramis Ramirez had three doubles and an RBI. Burnitz, Neifi Perez and Corey Patterson also drove in runs for the Cubs.

Todd Walker left the game in the 11th with a sprained knee and will have an MRI. Milwaukee's Carlos Lee took him out at second with a slide in the 10th.

The Cubs (3-3) play San Diego tomorrow at 1:20.

Class action suits against credit card companies

I read that lawyers are starting to go after credit card companies because they are increasingly using Bait and Switch tactics, offering special introductory rates and then dramatically increasing the rates without notice, based on a monthly analysis of your credit report. New unfair tactics are driving interest rates and a variety of fees and charges through the roof. If you feel that your credit card company has done this to you lawyers are standing by to sue the credit card companies and get you a large cash settlement.

Cubs win first game at Wrigley

The Cubs beat the Brewers today, 4-0. Carlos Zambrano pitched 7-1/3 innings giving up only 1 hit. Zambrano added two hits and an RBI. Jeromy Burnitz hit his fist home run of the season in the sixth inning. LaTroy Hawkins rebounded from yesterday's poor performance by pitching a perfect ninth inning in a non-save situation. The Cubs are now 2-3 and play the final game of the series tomorrow against the Brewers.

Cubs lose third in a row

The Cubs lost today, 6-3 in 12 innings. LaTroy Hawkins was one out away from his first save of the season when he gave up a single to Junior Spivey and then a double to Lyle Overbay, which tied the game at 3-3. Spivey hit a 2-run single in the top of the 12th with the bases-loaded off Jon Leicester (as in molester), who threw a career high 53 pitches with only 24 being strikes. I'm trying to understand why Dusty did not take out Leicester in the 12th after he loaded the bases considering that he walked 4 guys in only 2-1/3 innings. I'm starting to lose trusty in Dusty and it's only the fourth game of the season. Let's hope Zambrano can pitch the Cubs to a win tomorrow against Ben Sheets and the Brewers.

Cubs lose again

The Cubs were defeated again by the D'Backs last night, 8-3. Ryan Dempster looked just as bad as he did in Spring Training giving up seven runs in just under four innings. Michael Barrett hit a 3-run homer in the 6th inning. The Cubs are now 1-2 and host the Brewers tomorrow.

Cubs absorb first loss of the season

The Cubs were defeated by the D'Backs last night in Arizona, 5-4. The lone bright spot for the Cubs was a 3-run homer by Todd Hollandsworth in the 2nd inning. Greg Maddux got the loss. The Cubs are now 1-1 and finish the series with the D'Backs tonight. The Cubs will send Ryan Dempster to the mound and the D-Back will throw Brandon Webb.

Dr. House turns down role

According to CNN, Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays Dr. House on Fox's new hit TV show "House" turned down the role of Perry White in the upcoming "Superman Returns" movie.

Dirty Sanchez?

Alex Sanchez of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays is the first MLB player publicly identified for violating the sport's stricter drug rules Sunday but insisted he has never used steroids. The suspension covers eight games and will cost him $32,787 of his $600,000 salary. The outfielder tested positive for an unspecified substance, and blamed the result on something he bought over the counter.

In addition to Sanchez, 38 minor leaguers were suspended for violating baseball's minor league steroids policy. Seven of the players were from the Cubs organization.

Cubs win season opener

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Chicago Cubs' offense looked just fine without Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou.

Aramis Ramirez celebrated a new contract by going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBI, and the Cubs amassed 23 hits Monday in a 16-6 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Derrek Lee had four hits and five RBI, including a three-run homer and two doubles. Todd Walker, Jeromy Burnitz and Corey Patterson also had three hits apiece for the Cubs.

Zambrano fell one out shy of earning the victory, then made a less-than-graceful exit. After walking Cruz with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, Zambrano was lifted and then ejected by plate umpire Dale Scott following an exchange of words. "I just said he needed glasses," Zambrano said. He gave up three runs and seven hits, throwing 106 pitches in 4 2/3 innings.

North Dakota standing up for Maris

I just read that the North Dakota Senate unanimously approved a resolution Thursday asking baseball commissioner Bud Selig to reinstate Roger Maris' 61 home runs in 1961 as the major league record. Maris is from Fargo. I think they should wipe out McGwire's homers and Bonds' homers and make Sosa the single season home run record holder because we all know Sammy never took steriods