The Nightcap

Tonight's Nightcap is being dedicated to San Diego fans, because the only way anyone could possibly enjoy watching the Padres right now is with a very heavy buzz...

The Padres did somehow manage to rally in the 9th inning on a Brian Giles home run to beat the Giants and remain a game ahead in the wild card race. I don't know why they are torturing fans like this. I'm pretty sure at this point, not even Padres fans want to see the Pads make the playoffs. With the offense falling apart, injuries everywhere, and Chris Young still feeling the effects of a bad back, there's no way this team is winning more than one game in the playoffs. I hope they do all baseball
fans a favor and bow out of the race so that a team with a fighting chance- the Phillies or Rockies- can get a shot at postseason glory...

Personally, I'm rooting for Colorado if for no other reason than to challenge Tim McCarver to learn the names of the players on the Rockies roster. Troy Tulowitzki might be a career ender...

The Dodgers were officially eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to Colorado, putting manager Grady Little in a reflective mood:

"When we came out of that series over in Colorado, that took every bit of the air out of our balloon that was possibly in there," manager Grady Little said. "It's tough for everyone to swallow. We feel terrible about it. We feel worse than anyone. There's a lot going through my mind. It's been a long year, but I'm proud of the boys for putting together the season they did to get this deep - facing all the adversity we faced this year."

a) Yes, balloons are tough to swallow. You shouldn't try it- it's dangerous. That's why only a select few impoverished women are chosen as mules to bring drugs into this land of opportunity.
b) I hope by "all the adversity," Little meant "all the crappy signings Ned Colletti made in the offseason." Jason Schmidt? Juan Pierre? Luis Gonzalez? Nomar Garciaparra? Those guys would have given the Indians a heckuva run in the 1997 World Series, but unfortunately for the Blue Crew, my calendar reads 2007. But hey, good luck with Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds next year...

Well Bears fans, the good news is that Rex Grossman isn't your quarterback anymore. The bad news is that Brian Griese is. Nice contingency plan. Bears' fans have to be the first in history to wonder to each other, "If only we had signed Jeff Garcia in the offseason..."

Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse for the Saints, Deuce McAllister is out for the year with a torn ACL. But there still is a glimmer of hope for New Orleans. General Manager Mickey Loomis should get on the phone with the Dolphins right now and work out a trade for Ricky Williams. (Just don't give up all of next year's draft to get him.) Williams is eligible for reinstatement October 1, and the Dolphins have shown no interest in putting him on the roster- so why not ship him where he could do some good? It would be a poetic ending to his career if the player who was supposed to be the franchise's savior in 1999 was able to redeem himself in New Orleans. And if it turns out he can't run anymore, at least he could light up a few bowls, fill the Superdome with smoke, and the hometown fans wouldn't really care that their team wasn't any good this year...

There seems to be a pretty even divide in the response to Mike Gundy's tirade. Half think that college athletes on scholarship are fair targets for the mainstream media, while others think they should be left alone. UCLA head football coach Karl Dorrell thinks both groups are correct. He believes his players should only be mentioned by name when discussing losses, but in all other circumstances, the media should give all credit to the coach...

I would, however, like to thank Mike Gundy for letting the world know that it's ok for me to act like a kid since I haven't hit my 40th birthday. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting hungry, and mom says the chicken is almost ready...