We're about halfway through the summer classic and there are some major surprises and disappointments as the All-Star break nears. Who would have guessed that Tampa Bay only needed to change their name to the Rays in order to compete in the AL East (Someone should tell the Orioles and Jays that birds are no longer hip.) The Cubbies had a tough week with their crosstown rivals but are still in control of the NL Central. Let's also not forget about the quiet Twinkies who have been stringing together a couple of decent weeks here and in turn have put together a solid first half performance. At the bottom of the barrel we have major disappointments from the Rockies, the Tigers (who are creeping back), Indians, Padres, and Mariners. One can either hold their breath in anticipation to see what these teams will do as the trade deadline quickly approaches or watch the WNBA on Tuesday nights... Yeah like the latter will happen.

I'm not going to rehash too many of my pre-draft thoughts. Here's the running notes I kept during the draft:

"With the first pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select ..."
1. Derrick Rose, CHIM
No surprise here, although ESPN was anxious to report this was definitely going to happen a few minutes before the draft, like they were brilliant for "reporting" the worst kept secret in the past couple weeks. And I still believe they should have taken Beasley.

2. Michael Beasley, MIA

Get Paid to Cheer at Games?I cheer all the time and I've never been given a damn dime for my efforts.

Wimbledon is the sacred hallowed stomping ground of the worlds elite tennis players, like Martina Hingis.
It’s also the world’s most deadliest place……....to be a pigeon.

I want to get a few of my thoughts down about the upcoming NBA draft (which is pretty much the most meaningless draft of my life as a Celtics fan - the first draft I can remember was 1986, which was very meaningful - and very painful). You heard it hear first, so when I'm right about something, remember, it was a pre-draft thought from yours truly.

Don Imus said on Tuesday that he was attempting to be sarcastic during an on-air conversation Monday about the arrests of Dallas Cowboys' cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, Imus asked, "What color is he?"

Announcer Warner Wolf said that Jones, who used to be nicknamed Pacman, is "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know."

Carmelo Anthony pleaded guilty today to drinking and driving on a reduced DUI charge and was sentenced to probation and community service.

He also pleaded guilty to failure to stay in a single lane (Does this look like the mug of some guy who knows how to stay in just one lane?). He was ordered to serve one year on probation, perform 24 hours of community service and pay $1,000 in fees and court costs.

Well the Big Me couldn’t shrink away into irrelativity this off season. The spotlight is once again on Kobe whether he wanted it or not. He was literally the butt of a Shaquille O’Neal freestyle rap gone bad.

Interleague rivalries are awesome.

The MLB schedule-makers blessed us with more interleague play this week (with more to come!) which has mostly just reaffirmed that the American League teams are just much, much better than their National League brethren. The AL teams combined to go 49-35 this week, stretching their season advantage to 96-72. Basically, an AL team beats an NL team at the efficiency of a playoff-caliber team over the course of the season. And if you remove the performances of Toronto & Seattle (who both had managerial changes this past week), the rest of the AL went 46-26 this week – that sort of winning percentage would equal a 104-win pace if one team was to play at that clip. If anyone brings up reasoning on how the NL is better, we’d love to hear it, because the NL is clearly inferior. Yet the Cubbies have retained the top spot. You figure it out.

1.
Chicago Cubs 48-28 (1)
-(3-3) Derrek Lee during an interview earlier this week on ESPN’s PTI said he was happy for the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005. If any Cubs fans took that the wrong way all their qualms should have been quashed this past weekend as the Cubbies swept their inter-city rivals. Ryan Dempster improved to 8-0 at home, and increased their lead to 4.5 games in the NL Central, which is ever more important now that they have to weather injuries to both Soriano and Zambrano.

What a game, what a season.
I've had the pleasure of attending several Celtics games with my dad, a Celtics season-ticket holder since 1979 (he got them the day after the Celtics drafted a fellow by the name of Larry Bird, you may have heard of him). Game 6 was the most enjoyable experience of my life as a sports fan. There is NOTHING that compares to seeing your favorite team win the championship. It is the ultimate fan reward. Being there with my dad was extra special as well; he's raised me as a Boston sports fan, to the point where I don't even know when my love of the Celtics, Red Sox & Patriots began - it was just always the way.