-U.S. Open draws relaesed: The U.S. Open doesn't start until Aug. 28, but Andre Agassi got some bad news with the release of the draw today. As an unseeded player, Agassi is unprotected, and if he and Marcos Baghdatis in their first round matches, they'll meet in the second round. With Agassi limping through the summer season and an arduous draw, his good-bye party might not last long at the Open, and the tournament will suffer. more ›

Could a "World" Baseball Classic really be called that without one of the world's best baseball nations? Probably not, which is why it's great to hear that Cuba will be playing in the inaugural WBC. President Bush, former owner of the Texas Rangers, stepped in to help solve the issue. Each team that plays in the tournament is guaranteed 1% of the net profit with escalating amounts as they advance and any winnings Cuba would receive would be in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. Any proceeds that Cuba would get is going to be donated to Katrina victims directly by Major League Baseball. Gothamist wonders what the over/under is on Cuban defections during the tournament. The Times notes that the Cubans travel with extra security (more security than players!) to international games to prevent defections. Is there a Vegas line on this? We're going to go with ± 3.5. more ›

Saturday’s loss must have stung more than Sunday’s. Neither Pedro Martinez nor Mark Mulder was dominant, and the Mets rallied to take a one-run lead into the 8th. Even struggling Kazuo Matsui pitched in with a three-run triple. But Roberto Hernandez, perhaps the most consistent Mets’ reliever this season, gave up two runs in the eighth, and the Mets lost 7-6. On Sunday, the Mets’ line-up ran into Matt Morris, managing just two runs on 6 hits in a 4-2 loss. more ›

The offense for the Mets was supplied by Cliff Floyd and his bat. After starting the season with a 23-game hitting streak, Floyd was in a 2-22 slump entering the game. One might say that changed with his two home runs last night off of Staten Island's Jason Marquis, who only allowed three hits in seven innings. more ›

Getting four runs off Mulder is like getting a date with Carmen Electra, it just doesn't happen that often. The Yankees pitching continues to be a problem. The offense has been consistent all year, but the pitching is another story. The Yankees are not worried about losing a few games in the regular season to the Oakland A's, but the signs are there for a mediocre off-season, due to the poor pitching. In the playoffs you win games 3-2 or 2-1, not 10-9. That is what concerns the Yankee fan, what is going to happen in October when we match up aagainst three top notch pitchers. more ›

It was a good and busy weekend at the Stadium for the Yankees. the Yankees managed to take three out of four games from Baltimore and increase their lead over the Red Sox to 9.5 games. The big trade that everyone wanted to see (Randy Johnson coming to the big Apple) did not happen, but Cashman was able to unload the inconsistent Jose Contreras for the steady Esteban Loaiza. more ›

After the game, Kidd said, "With all the talk throughout the year that they were going to catch us, that they were a better team, they wanted to play us in the playoffs; like I said, sometimes it's fools gold. Sometimes you wish for something that you wanted but in reality you don't want it. They got what they needed." The Nets will play the winner of the Milwaukee-Detroit as the Knicks go home to watch the rest of the playoffs on TV. Perhaps they will go home and talk about how they were robbed and how they were actually the better team and will wage-war against the Nets next year. more ›