July 27th update

Wednesday spotlight: Nnamdi Asomugha

• He's got a tough name to spell but the toughest thing about the top free agent in the NFL is completing a pass to someone he's guarding. In fact, he's so good that teams have almost stopped passing to his side of the field.
• Born in Louisiana in 1981 but raised in Los Angeles, Asomugha has been in California ever since, playing college ball for California and until now, has been under contract with Oakland Raiders.
• But the Raiders, who have become a joke of a franchise over the past decade, messed up his 3 year $45.3 million deal in 2009, allowing him to become a free agent a year early and preventing them from using the franchise tag, a tool NFL teams have to keep one free agent per year.
• The Texans, Ravens, Jets and 49ers are considered the favorites to throw a record amount of money at Asomugha. It's doubtful that he'll eclipse the $100 million deal Albert Haynesworth inked in 2009 but only because the trigger-happy Redskins are unlikely to join the bidding for Nnamdi.


The Losses Just Keep Coming

• Less than a month ago the Seattle Mariners were in third place in their division, only 2.5 games behind the division leaders. Since July 5th, the Mariners have lost 17 games in a row (and counting). This streak is reaching historic proportions; since 1903, only 11 times has a losing streak gone past 17 games (the longest being the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies who lost 23 games in a row).
• The Mariners have played poorly, but have also gotten unlucky in the process. They have been scoring less during this streak than throughout the season (scoring 2.6 runs a game, as opposed to the 3.4 they were scoring prior) and also pitching and playing defense poorly (allowing 6 runs a game, as opposed to the 3.4 they had allowed prior).
• The Mariners do not see relief in sight. They continue a long road trip (all but 4 of these losses have been on the road) and last night faced one of the best pitchers in baseball (CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees) and were held largely in check managing only one hit, and one run.

Baseball Bonus!!!
• The Braves defeated the Pirates 4-3 in 19 innings in a game that stretched into Wednesday morning, and it took one of the worst calls in recent memory to even end it there. (I'm not exaggerating and I'm not alone in this opinion.)
• On a ground ball hit to third base with 1 out, the throw came home and beat Julio Lugo by at least 5 feet. Here's another picture.
• So the guy's out, what's the hold up you ask? Well Jerry Meals, the home plate umpire claimed that he thought the catcher "oled him" (believed to be the first bullfighting reference ever made by a baseball umpire) and thus called him safe. And maybe that's what it was going to take to finally end this fantastic game.


Swimming World Championships: 2012 Olympics Preview?

• The Swimming World Championships in Shanghai offered an interesting look into things to come next year in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps finished second to his teammate and friend Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter freestyle.
• Lochte was second to Phelps coming into the final leg of the race but managed to beat his highly decorated teammate by .35 seconds (although if you think that's a small margin, remember that he won a gold medal in 2008 by .o1 seconds). Phelps was quick to say he would be back in time for the Olympics, and given his insane workout plans from last summer we do not have room to doubt him.
• Lochte should provide a good foil for the super-Phelps stories that came out of the ’08 Beijing Olympics, making the build up to the 2012 Olympics all the more interesting.