September 28th update

Both wild cards tied going into final day of MLB season
• Hollywood recently tried their hand at a baseball movie inspired by a true story but even the best screenwriters couldn't come up with a script better than this. The Atlanta Braves lost to the Phillies 7-1 on Tuesday night completing a collapse that saw them drop 8 1/2 games in 3 weeks. They had held the Wild Card lead since June 20th.

• Atlanta's collapse was eerily mirrored by the Red Sox in the American League who dropped into a tie the night before and had to scrap and claw to avoid facing a deficit on the final day of play. Rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit his first 2 Home Runs. Lavarnway didn't even have much power in the minors but picked a great night to surpass expectations as Boston stopped a late rally just short, winning 8-7.

• The Tampa Bay Rays actually held a half game lead in the wild card for a few minutes before Boston finished their win after the Rays beat the Yankees 5-3. Tampa looked to be in dire straits, giving up an early lead when the Yankees loaded the bases with 0 outs in the 6th, already up 3-2. But Russell Martin grounded into a triple play (only the third in Rays team history) and Matt Joyce hit a 3-run home run in the next half-inning which accounted for the final scoring margin. Two batters before Martin's triple play, Mark Teixeira failed to score from on a double that hit the wall in center field.


• And last but not least, the only team facing a standings deficit on the day, the St. Louis Cardinals, came back from a surprising 5-0 hole early on against the worst team in baseball, the woeful Houston Astros, to win 13-6 and finally allow them to control their own destiny.


All 4 teams are basically in the playoffs already; as long as they win the know they will continue playing. Looks like MLB can start broadcasting those "Only in October" playoff commercials a bit early in 2011. To read more on the Rays-Sox drama read here or just go here for more wild card coverage





Wednesday Spotlight: Jesse Holley

In the past we have used this spot to discuss household names, well established stars, or uber-hyped prospects. This week we will do none of the above.

• Jesse Holley was a college athlete at the University of North Carolina. A starting Wide Receiver on the football team and an important bench player on the basketball team that won a National Championship in 2005. Holley was not drafted but signed as a free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals. He failed to make their team instead making the practice squad, but was cut less than a month later.

• Holley was working as a security guard and cell phone salesman in North Carolina when he heard about a reality show being hosted by NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. The former Dallas Cowboy superstar convinced the team to allow him to award the winner of his show a shot at making the team. Holley beat out 11 other contestants (and a number of others who didn’t make the show) to make the preseason roster of the Cowboys.

• Holley was relegated to the Cowboys practice squad for much of the past two years. This season though, a number of injuries at wide receiver forced the Cowboys to have Holley on their team for a game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 18th. Holley, who had never had a catch in the NFL prior to this game, caught 3 balls for 96 yards. The biggest of these was a 77-yard reception in overtime that gave the Cowboys the ball on the 1 yard-line and allowed them to win the game on the subsequent play with a field goal. Holley is a true rags to riches story proving that hard work and perseverance still pays off.