Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers suffered a catastrophic arm injury.

Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers clutches his elbow after his arm fell off (katchopRodney)

From Yahoo Sports

He surely felt the weight of the chance to push the Tigers past the Twins into first place. These are his Clark Kent moments – the moments when he gets so amped that teammates who visit him at the mound wonder if he can hear a word they say. He’s transformed, maybe transcended. But in the process of delivering a 99 mph heater, the freak of nature endured a freak injury: Zumaya basically snapped his arm in half. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, a broken elbow can take more than a year to heal. And that’s for a normal human – one who doesn’t throw a ball 100 mph for a living. It’s difficult to imagine when or even how Joel Zumaya will throw another major league pitch.

Original Photo Yahoo

Stephen A. Smith says he has learned that LeBron James plans to sign with the Miami Heat.

From chicagonow.com

- Got a couple of calls over the weekend and was told that is in all likelihood james is going to mia with bosh and wade

- james wants to play with riley and they build enough space for 2 maxes and wade

- james is desperate to play with athletes more so wade

- This is a fact if I am wrong I will come back on and eat crow

- isiah could of helped the knicks

- james wants to play for a defensive minded coach and dantoni lacks that

Original Photos letustalk, latimesblogs

Manager Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees did well in facing former mentor Joe Torre.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi relaxes in the dugout (katchop)

From NJ.com

Joe is a guy who I consider one of my mentors,” said Girardi, who got a congratulatory call from Torre shortly after the 2009 World Series. “Playing under him, coaching under him. I think whenever one of your mentors calls you and says ‘good job,’ it has a special meaning.”

Indeed, Girardi and Torre share a first name. They both played in the big leagues as catchers before becoming managers. And now, they both know the highs and lows of sitting in the ever-pressurized chair that belongs to the manager of the New York Yankees.

Yet they have gone about meeting the tremendous expectations that come with that chair in their own ways.

“They’re two completely different people,” said Yankees captain Derek Jeter. “The similarity is that they both want to win.”

Original Photos yahoo, abc.net

The Blackhawks will bring the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Gay Pride Parade today.

The Chicago Blackhawks may introduce a new alternate jersey at this weekend's Chicago Gay Pride Parade (katchop)

From Freep.com

The Chicago Gay Hockey Association invited the Blackhawks to join Sunday’s Gay Pride Parade — and the team said yes. So did the Chicago Cubs, who will have their own float for the first time.

Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel and his wife, Kelly, will accompany the Cup on a float. Sopel, traded to Atlanta this week, is a father of three and said he’s not trying to make a statement.

“But everybody is a person, and we all have feelings,” he said.

Original Photos flickr, easycart

The 2010 NHL Draft kicked things off on Friday night and there were several shocking picks, most notably the New York Rangers selecting Dylan “The Undertaker’ McIlrath with the 10th pick.

The New York Rangers used the 10th pick of the 2010 NHL draft on Dylan "The Undertaker" McIlrath (katchop)

From USA Today

McIlrath, who is 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, was selected Moose Jaw’s most improved player for the second consecutive season after establishing career highs in games played, goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, and a plus-20 rating <emdash /> a plus-42 improvement from the previous season.

He said his game is patterned after the one played by Nashville Predators star defenseman Shea Weber.

“I’m a big, physical ‘D’ man,” McIlrath said in Los Angeles, where the draft was held. “I try to be hard to play against and strike fear in the opposition. Also my game is improving. I think I can be a two-way guy, or develop into a two-way guy in the near future.”

Original Photos Yahoo, suite101

John Wall is now a member of the Washington Wizards.

John Wall was selected first overall by the Washington Wizards (katchop)

From Bloomberg

Wall, 19, could pair up with Gilbert Arenas — who is coming off a 50-game National Basketball Association suspension and a felony gun conviction — in the backcourt of a team that went 26-56 last year.

The 6-foot-4 Wall is the first Kentucky player taken with the top pick in the NBA draft. He averaged 16.6 points and 6.5 assists per game as a freshman this past season.

“It’s a big honor,” Wall said in a televised interview after his selection, referring to being the first No. 1 pick from the Wildcats.

Original Photos SB Nation, originalDC

Landon Donovan scored the game winning goal for the US in extra time.

Former US President Bill Clinton gets ready to try out his vuvuzela during the US vs Algeria 2010 World Cup match (katchop)

From washingtonpost.com

Twelve seconds made it their night, 12 seconds to move the ball from one end of Loftus Versfeld Stadium to the other and provide one of the most extraordinary and dramatic endings in the national team’s 94-year history.

Landon Donovan supplied the final touch, a seven-yard stab in the first minute of added time to lift the Americans to a 1-0 triumph before 35,827 spectators, including former president Bill Clinton.

The astounding finish left the U.S. team (1-0-2) atop its group for the first time in the modern era and set up a round-of-16 match against Ghana, the Group D runner-up with a 1-1-1 record, Saturday (2:30 p.m. EDT) in the northern city of Rustenburg.

Original Photos Yahoo, teamausstatter

AJ Burnett of the NY Yankees hasn’t been doing too well recently.

AJ Burnett of the New York Yankees has been serving up a lot of meatballs lately (katchop)

From mycentraljersey.com

But then I turned on WFAN today and I heard Sweeny Murti pointing out that Burnett is 0-4 since pitching coach Dave Eiland left the team to deal with a family issue. So it’s not Posada’s fault. It’s poor Mike Harkey’s.

And that’s the thing with Burnett. There’s always an excuse. Here’s my excuse: He was barely an above-average pitcher before he was paid like a superstar, and he’s barely been above average since. He had some well-timed performances against the Yankees and Red Sox in his walk year and earned himself a mega deal during an offseason when the Yankees were desperate for pitching.

Original Photo Yahoo

The 2010 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers are on a Wheaties box.

Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers shows off a Wheaties box commemorating his team's 2010 NBA Championship (katchop)

From NYSportsJournalism

In addition to NBA partners that advertised during the seven-game series, other brands also are benefitting from the Lakers’ victory. General Mills said that for the second consecutive year it would create a commemorative Wheaties box featuring Lakers. Among those on the limited-edition box will be Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and coach Jackson.The 15.6-oz box will be available nationally beginning late July 2010.

Original Photos Yahoo, RandomDailyNews

The New York Yankees won 2 of 3 games against the New York Mets.

Jose Reyes of the New York Mets steps in a present left for him by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees (katchop)

From Yahoo

Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam to support Sabathia and the Yankees beat the Mets 4-0 Sunday. The Yankees won the final two games of the Subway Series between crosstown rivals to even the season matchup at three games.

Sabathia, denied a shot at his first shutout of the season by a 22-minute rain delay in the eighth, didn’t put too much stock in beating former Cy Young Award winners Halladay—and the Phillies on Tuesday—and Santana.

“I’m not facing those guys. I’m facing their lineups,” Sabathia said of his two wins against National League East aces.

The Yankees victory, combined with Tampa Bay’s loss to Florida, moved the Yankees into sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since April 21.

Original Photos Yahoo, fakecrap.com

Happy Father’s Day.

Happy Father's Day (katchop)

Original Photos dailymail.co.uk, halloweencostumes.costumestore.com

The NJ Devils hired John MacLean as their new head coach.

Lou Lamoriello makes his Yoda face in response to a question from the media during the introduction of new Devils Coach John MacLean (katchop)

From The NY Post

“John was the prime candidate from Day 1,” GM Lou Lamoriello said, despite taking nearly seven weeks to make the decision. “There’s no question in my mind that he’s ready to take the full reins.”

MacLean, who scored 347 goals for New Jersey, spent eight seasons prepping for yesterday’s anointing, seven years as a Devils’ assistant coach, before fulfilling Lamoriello’s final prerequisite last season as head coach at Lowell, guiding the Devils’ top farm team to the playoffs for the first time in years.

“It’s a little bit surreal. I’m very excited, almost like [1983] draft day,” MacLean said.

Original Photos Yahoo, JediSanctuary

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2010 NBA Champions.

The Boston Celtics choked in the 2010 NBA Finals, and the Los Angeles Lakers are NBA Champions (katchop)

From Google

Kobe Bryant scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.

Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02.

Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who shot terribly while trailing for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Yet they reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter and hung on with big shots from Pau Gasol and Artest.

“Well, first all I want to thank everybody in my hood,” Artest said in an ABC interview right after the game. “I definitely want to thank my doctors … my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot.”

Original Photos devotoons, atmos.umd.edu

The 2010 US Open gets underway at  Pebble Beach today.

At the 2010 US Open in Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods is doing his best to ignore all the distractions and just focus on golf (katchop)

From ESPN

As at Quail Hollow, he might play poorly and MC once again. Or as he did 10 years ago, he might completely get into the zone and win it all. (But not by 15. That was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.) Anyone who says they know where TW will finish is purely guessing — and it’s not a very educated guess, either.

I’ll make a guess, too: Woods will continue improving, but his game right now isn’t where it needs to be in order to win this tournament. He’ll be playing Sunday and might even find his name on the leaderboard, but it’s tough to imagine Tiger clutching the trophy when it’s all over.

Original Photos Yahoo, hoax-slayer

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

Kevin Garnett and the rest of the Boston Celtics looked like zombies against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers (katchop)

From The NY Times

The Celtics were denied the chance to claim the title. The finals are now tied at three games apiece. Someone will celebrate a championship here Thursday night.

Bryant carried his team’s determined spirit but this time did not have to carry them with his scoring. He led the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds but got plenty of support from Gasol (17 points), Ron Artest (15 points), a resurgent bench and persistent team defense.

Gasol, whose toughness was again called into question during two losses in Boston, rebounded splendidly. He finished just shy of a triple-double, collecting 13 rebounds and 9 assists.

Bryant was serenaded with chants of “MVP” chants all night and left to a standing ovation with 3 minutes 21 seconds left.

Original Photos Yahoo, frightcatalog

The Boston Celtics need one more win to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts as Celtics fan Connor MacManus objects to a hard foul (katchop)

From bostonherald.com

An equally confident Dan Edmonds walked down Causeway Street and, amid fans chanting “Beat L.A., Beat L.A.,” guaranteed victory.

“We’ll kill ’em in Game 6,” said Edmonds, 45, of Mansfield.

The Celtics stumbled at home in Game 3, but their fans had no doubts about the outcome last night.

“I knew we was going to win,” said Jason Hollis, 34, of Mattapan, who watched the game at nearby Hurricane O’Reilly’s. “We’re taking it all the way.”

His wife, Stephany, 36, knew her team would come up big. “When it’s time to show up, we show up,” she said. “Beat L.A. That’s it.”

Original Photos Yahoo, mswiley2508

Diego Maradona might be the most interesting person at the World Cup.

Argentina's manager uses a whistle shaped like a crack pipe to get the attention of his players (katchop)

From guardian.co.uk

I am hoping Argentina go all the way, because I believe Diego has so much more to give. This is a man who, while recovering from addictions and weighing in at around 20 stones, allowed a TV crew to film him being hosed down in Cuba as part of his “treatment”, a man who chose to host a chaotic, off-the-wall TV chat show as part of his recovery. In many ways he is the bastard love child of Bobby Charlton and Russell Harty (kids, ask your dad). Gabby Logan and Gabriel Clarke, you must leave the England camp now. Nobody in there has anything interesting to say. On behalf of the audience back home, we need you both on 24-hour Diego-watch.

Original Photos yahoo, foldemcards

The US Soccer team was able to pull out a draw against England in World Cup play.

England's goalkeeper Robert Green developed a case of butter fingers just before he allowed a bad goal that enabled the US to escape with a 1-1 tie (katchop)

From mercurynews.com

Robert Green wrote his name onto the lengthening list of blundering England goalkeepers. Green let a routine shot from Clint Dempsey slip through his grasp for the Americans’ only goal in their high-profile World Cup opener, a 1-1 draw in Group C.

From David Seaman at the 2002 World Cup and Scott Carson in a Euro 2008 qualifier to several gaffes by David “Calamity” James, England has a growing reputation for producing poor goalkeepers.

Former star keepers such as Gordon Banks, Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton would likely have dealt easily with Dempsey’s low, left-footed drive in the 40th minute at Rustenburg on Saturday.

Green was well-positioned as he went down to stop the ball, but it slipped off his gloves and rolled into the net to make it 1-1. He was visibly deflated after his horrendous mistake, which silenced the thousands of England fans.

.

Original Photos Yahoo, thehungrymouse

The Cleveland Indians are selling lots of tickets for their Sunday game against Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals.

The Washington Nationals have suddenly become a team to watch, at least whenever Stephen Strasburg and his golden arm are on the mound (katchop)

From Yahoo

Robert Jensen of Columbia, Md., was at the ticket booth an hour before the Indians played the Boston Red Sox. Jensen, his wife Janet along with their two next door neighbors drove to Cleveland and bought tickets to the next four games at Progressive Field.

“Strasburg is phenomenal,” Jensen said. “We saw his first game and can’t wait for Sunday.

“Tonight, we’ll cheer for the Indians, then we’ll go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow and cheer for our Nationals. I bet a lot of Cleveland fans are going to be cheering for Strasburg, too.”

Strasburg struck out 14 over seven innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday—most in a debut since J.R. Richard fanned 15 for Houston in 1971.

The game Sunday afternoon will be nationally televised on TBS. The cable network has added two super slow-motion cameras for the telecast.

Original Photo Yahoo

The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

Phil Jackson wasn't happy after the Lakers were defeated by the Boston Celtics, so he took it out on a leprechaun (katchop)

From chron.com

The Celtics don’t care how hideous Thursday’s game appeared to basketball purists. They know it knotted the series at two games apiece and assured them they won’t face elimination on their home floor in Sunday’s Game 5.

Boston’s backup big man, Glen Davis, wrote a new chapter in the book of Celtics playoff lore with a fourth quarter outburst that turned the game. Scoring seven points in an 11-2 run in the first 3:38 of the period, Davis’ energy and interior aggression gave Boston the impetus it needed to change the game and knot the series.

Davis had 18 points and five rebounds in a remarkably efficient 21 minutes.

The Celtics also got a fourth-quarter boost from backup point guard Nate Robinson. The smallest player on either roster, the 5-9 Robinson scored six in the period, playing so well that Celtics coach Doc Rivers left Rajon Rondo, perhaps his best player through the entire playoff run, on the bench most of the final quarter.

Original Photos Daylife, Photobucket