WHAT THEY TELL YOU...AND WHAT THEY DON'T

** "Smith has already had three walk-off hits this year!"
     (Of course, he's failed 87 times)
**  "He can do it all."
     (He's just not doing it often enough.)
**  "He didn't give in. He threw him a breaking ball in a fastball count!"
     (Everybody's throwing a breaking ball in a fast ball count.)
**  "He's one of the most respected (hitting/pitching) coaches in the league."
     (They're all the most respected coaches in the league. And they all get fired.)
**  "He brings more to the game than just a batting average."
     (I wish I knew what it was.)
**  "He great in the clubhouse."
     (...but he sucks on the field)

***AROUND THE LEAGUE***
## A-rod has sued MLB. A-Rod has sued Bud Selig. A-Rod has sued the Yankee's team doctor. A-Rod has sued a hospital. He's sued everybody but Lance Armstrong. He has so many famous lawyers working for him, even OJ is saying, "Dude. Lighten up."
## Justin Verlander and Sonny Gray went head-to-head and gave up nothing in a game the Athletics won 1-0 in the 9th inning. Why do they say a 1-0 game is "...one of the best games...", but 10-9 slug fest is just "exciting?" Why can't that be the best, too?
## This is interesting. Buster Olney wrote as a part of his blog, "How Verlander could have won." He followed this with a long analysis of his pitching performance, listing all kinds of statistics. This was unnecessary. The real answer was: Have the Tigers score a run.
## Reggie Jackson has come out with a tell-all book. He loves George Steinbrenner, hates everyone else. Which is the basic concept adhered to by all baseball stars: FOLLOW THE MONEY.
## ESPN polled it's 35 experts on who they predicted would win the World Series. The results: Red Sox - 10, Detroit -8. No one else was close. If neither of these two teams are your favorites, don't be disheartened. Two of those "experts" picked the Cincinnati Reds. Those two have already looked dumb for 6 days.
## David Ortiz reportedly bragged that he would hit two home runs BEFORE Saturday's game. As they say, if you can do it, it ain't bragging! Big Papi is also well-known for enjoying his homers. He stands and watches them until they hit the stands and is also known to have the slowest home run trot in baseball. This could lead to something interesting in Tampa in the next few days.
## Tom Brady was asked by Vanity Fair, what his favorite article of clothing was. He said, "My wife's lingerie." Oh, yeah.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Oakland’s Oaksterdam University, founded in 2007 by medical-marijuana activist Richard Lee, bills itself as America’s “first and premier cannabis college.” In a related story, Ricky Williams no longer lists Texas as his alma mater."  -- Dwight Perry
"Why did his first season in Cleveland go better than his final one in Boston: “We stayed away from chicken and beer. That helped.”  -- Terry Francona
"USA Today defines having five drinks or more in a row as binge drinking, while 10 or more is extreme binge drinking. Downing 15 drinks or more is called Lindsay Lohan."  -- RJ Currie

"The NFC East is so weak, I think one more Giants’ loss and they clinch a first round bye."  -- Mark Ragovin
"During all these college football games, universities like to run commercials touting their academics complete with lots of pictures. A shame players probably don’t see the ads, many of them would enjoy seeing what the classrooms look like."  -- Janice Hough
"Reportedly, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden fired Lane Kiffin on the tarmac at LAX and then refused to give Kiffin a ride back to campus. That's when you know a team's road trip didn't go well —- the coach is spotted waiting at a bus stop with luggage."  -- Brad Dickson
"Detroit Lion receiver Nate Burleson broke his arm in a car accident after running into a median while reaching over to grab a pizza falling off a seat. A lot of fans from Chicago have been calling — to check on the pizza."  -- Brad Dickson
"You can now purchase fantasy football insurance for $1,000 in case one of your star players gets injured. If you have fantasy football coverage and no auto insurance, you may want to re-examine your priorities."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-