There are some great sports stories all over the news today: LeBron James made his un-triumphant return to Cleveland last night, the Jets and Patriots are getting set for a pivotal Monday Night Football game, and Yankees GM Brian Cashman and his frosted tips are rapelling down buildings like a rich man's Spiderman. So what better time to ignore all that, and talk about K-Rod and the Mets! more ›

Mets 7 LA 3: Maybe we will look back at this 9-1 homestand as the moment the Mets signaled they were back as a power in the NL. Maybe we will look back at it as the highpoint of the season. For now, just enjoy it as the Mets are on a streak and headed to Philly after sweeping the Dodgers. John Maine struck out nine over six innings while Ike Davis continued his hot start with two more hits and a RBI. Angel Pagan added two RBI’s on a triple and David Wright added two hits. more ›

Yankees 7 Anaheim 5: The rain held off, the rings were distributed and the Yankees won. That’s about as close to perfect as you can get. Nick Johnson homered and A-Rod and Jeter added two RBI’s each. Andy Pettitte went six shutout innings with the bullpen backing him up until David Robertson faltered in the ninth. But, Mariano Rivera came in and shut the door to preserve the win and send the Yankees to their fifth win of the season. more ›

Penguins 3, Rangers 2: The privilege of opening against the defending Stanley Cup champions did not inspire the Rangers, who fell behind 3-1 before making a comeback attempt that came up short. Chris Drury scored the first goal of the year to tie the game at 1, and Marian Gaborik added one in the third period. The Rangers were outshot, 31-27, and get Ottawa at home on Saturday. more ›

• Yankees 3, Red Sox 0: CC Sabathia became the first 19-game winner in the Majors (okay, the American League—the Cards' Adam Wainwright also won his 19th tonight) with his dominating performance against the Red Sox last night. The Yankees' ace threw seven innings, including retiring the first 11 batters he faced and gave up only one-hit to the Sox while striking out 8. The Bombers didn't get on the scoreboard against Daisuke Matsuzaka until Robinson Cano hit his 24th home run of the season to left. Johnny Damon added two insurance runs in the 8th with a soft hit ball to right off Billy Wagner.

• Giants 33 Cowboys 31: When Giants Stadium opened the Cowboys spoiled things by beating the Giants. New York has returned the favor with a thrilling victory in the opening of Cowboys Stadium which included Mario Manningham showing he could be a #1 receiver. Manningham and Steve Smith had ten catches each and the Giants now have two wins and more importantly two wins in the NFC East.

Start with the offense. The loss of Carlos Delgado was huge and it exposed a mediocre squad. Beltran and Wright are having great years, Gary Sheffield has been a nice addition, but everyone else disappointed this year. Jose Reyes was having a bad year before he got hurt. Daniel Murphy looks like a player who played only one game in AAA before coming to the majors. Luis Castillo is Luis Castillo. There are too many dead spots in the lineup. And don’t blame the ballpark, the Mets actually hit better at Citi Field than on the road. more ›

• At the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes a horse sired by 2004 stakes winner Birdstone won, but it wasn't the horse that most people bet on. Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird wasn't able to give Calvin Borel his "personal triple crown." Instead, it was Kent Desormeaux on Summer Bird that walked away with the blanket of white carnations. The win was Desormeaux's first Belmont Stakes. He previously lost by a nose on Real Quiet in 1998 and was forced to ease Big Brown in 2008. Summer Bird went off at 11-1 odds in the "Test of the Champion," a race in which the favorite has only won 6 of the last 30 times. Summer Bird beat Dunkirk by 2 3/4 lengths with Mine That Bird finishing third. Desormeaux was also a big winner on the day, winning four races at the track for the day.
• Rays 9, Yankees 7: After rallying for two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, the Yankees saw Mariano Rivera wilt and give up four runs in the top of the ninth. This game had six errors -- including three by Rays catcher and former Yankee Dioner Navarro. Both teams forfeited the designated hitter in the ninth inning. David Price didn't last as long as CC Sabathia, but he did leave in line for a win before the Rays' bullpen blew it. Sabathaia, like so many other Yankees pitchers, got burned by the longball. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez had solo shots for the Yankees, who are now 2-9 against Tampa Bay and Boston.
• Nationals 7, Mets 1: Quick but not painless. Long Beach's John Lannan shut down the Mets in a complete-game four-hitter. John Maine didn't have it, allowing seven runs (and three homers) in four-plus innings. Four innings of strong relief by Ken Takahashi and Fernando Nieve were meaningless.

After two straight losses to the Pirates, anything's possible. An SNY associate producer was sent home and put in isolation with what could be a case of swine flu. Carlos Beltran missed his third straight game and stayed at the hotel with what was called a stomach virus but is now being considered something more serious. Associate producer Dan Barr drove back from Pittsburgh after doctors told him not to fly on a commercial flight. "We've been told it's not a type of illness that's transmitted through the air," assistant general manager John Ricco said. "It's something that's more droplets, shaking hands or sneezing. So we're not too worried." He's right, the Mets shake hands or produce "droplets" of spittle. Rizzo went on to say that the symptoms are not consistent with what Beltran and starting pitcher John Maine have shown. Maine, looking on the bright side said, "I'm going to go out with a winning record." more ›

• Mets 3 Florida 2: John Maine did his job, but JJ Putz almost gave the game away. Leading 3-0, thanks to RBI doubles from Pagan, Martinez and Santos, Putz got into big trouble giving up a walk and two singles before being lifted from the game. Bobby Parnell came in and gave up a run, but got the Mets out of the jam with help from a great play by David Wright. Frankie Rodriguez pitched around a walk to record his 14th save.

• Mets 10, Pirates 1: A week ago, Mets fans couldn't stop fretting after a disastrous loss to the Phillies. Now their team is in first place and has won six straight games. John Maine pitched six innings of one-run ball and Jose Reyes had three hits and three RBIs. Sandy Alomar Sr. managed the team in lieu of Jerry Manuel, who was suspended for making contact with an umpire on Thursday. The Pirates stink, yes, but the Mets are rolling. The days of worrying about David Wright's clutch hitting -- foolish days to begin with -- are over. Now the Mets can worry about getting quality outings from their starters, their most legitimate concern.

• Mets 6 Atlanta 4: Baseball gives you 162 different days to shine and while Carlos Beltran had a tough Saturday, he had a great Monday. Beltran smacked two homers to lead the Mets out of a 3-0 hole to victory. David Wright hit a homer as well and added a hit. John Maine was shaky, walking six, but thanks to the New York offense he earned the win.

• Mets 7, Marlins 1: Should Brian Schneider, on the disabled list, be worried about his catching job? Omir Santos hit a grand slam as part of a six-run first as the Mets cruised in this opener of a three-game series. Seven of the game's eight runs came in the first frame, which also saw Hanley Ramirez leave the game after being a hit in the wrist by a John Maine pitch. Maine allowed only one hit -- the Mets as a team allowed only two -- in six innings of one-run ball. He walked three and struck out four in an outing that qualified as a quantum leap over his previous efforts. Livan Hernandez pitches Tuesday night.
• Tigers 4, Yankees 2: CC Sabathia wasn't good enough again, and the Yankees found themselves shut down by Justin Verlander. They couldn't scratch across a run until they got two in the ninth against Fernando Rodney. Verlander was masterful, striking out nine and walking none in seven-plus innings. Sabathia turned in his second-best start -- it is a complete game -- but a three-run sixth really haunted him. Phil Hughes returns to the big leagues on Tuesday to face Edwin Jackson.
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• Marlins 5, Mets 4: The Mets rallied from 3-1 and 4-1 deficits but still dropped this one in Miami Gardens. Jeremy Reed had a two-out single in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Then Darren O'Day gave up a game-winning single to Jorge Cantu in the bottom of the inning. John Maine started and went five innings of two-run ball, walking only one and striking out five. That's the good news. The bad news is the team went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base. Of course, that's probably bad luck. At least they were getting runners on base in the first place.
• Yankees 4, Royals 1: Andy Pettitte dominated the Royals, striking out six and walking one in seven innings. Nick Swisher had an RBI double and Mark Teixeira reached base three times in four plate appearances. The Yankees are now 2-2 and have CC Sabathia set to pitch Saturday.
• Knicks 105, Magic 95: Yeah, now they win! The Knicks hurt their draft lottery chances and dealt a blow to Orlando's chances of securing the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Al Harrington had 27 points and Wilson Chandler had 22.
• Pistons 100, Nets 93: Lawrence Frank gave his youngsters a chance, and they didn't take advantage. Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts each got extended time. Devin Harris, however, had only one point in 20 minutes.
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The news wasn't all good, however. John Maine went back on the disabled list with a bone spur in his shoulder, and Luis Castillo came back. His return consisted of an 0-for-3 performance with a walk. Who's going to replace Maine's ability to go five or so capable innings? That could determine the Mets' chances of winning the division. more ›

• Yankees 7 Oakland 1: If you believe in omens, New York started the second half on a great note. After struggling all season long to get clutch hits, the Yankees got a bunch of them Friday as they easily beat the A’s. It was the newest Yankee, Richie Sexson, who got the Yankees on the board with a RBI-single in the first. New York then blew open the game with a huge home run from Robinson Cano (another good omen?) to take a 4-1 lead. In the fourth Bobby Abreu had a big hit and A-Rod added another one to put New York up 6-1. Mike Mussina made it stand with another solid performance, going six innings and allowing only one run. Mussina improved to 12-6 on the year.
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New York pitching finally allowed the Giants to score, but the bats made up for it. Fernando Tatis put on a hitting show, providing two big hits in the game. With the Mets leading 1-0, Tatis hit a two-run double in the third. In the seventh, with the game tied at 3, Tatis hit a two-run homer to left that put the Mets back in front. more ›

• Texas 2 Yankees 1: For the second game in a row, the Yankees’ offense took the day off. Apart from an Alex Rodriguez home run and a Jason Giambi triple (yes really) the Yankees only managed two other hits and only drew three walks. more ›

• Mets 8 Seattle 2: New York came out angry and scored early as they romped to a sweep-avoiding victory. Maybe it was Jerry Manuel’s decision to change the team's warmup routine, maybe it was the thought of being swept by the worst team in the American League. Whatever the reason, the Mets showed some fire Wednesday night. more ›

Volquez earned his 10th win of the season, allowing only 2 runs and the Reds took advantage of a big error by Johnny Damon in fifth to score three runs. Mike Mussina pitched well, but not well enough. Will these two pitchers start the All_star Game in a month at the Stadium? more ›

But, the blame shouldn’t go on the pitching staff, they only allowed two runs over eleven innings, it was the hitting that was awful. The Yankees managed to only get six hits and draw three walks and would have lost 1-0 if not for Hideki Matsui’s solo homer in the ninth. A-Rod isn’t due back until next Tuesday, but will he be enough to wake up the Yankees’ offense? more ›