Robin Roberts says thanks for the messages (ABC News)

Good Morning, America host and former ESPN anchor Robin Roberts writes on the ABC website that she’s doing well after breast cancer surgery and thanks her viewers for the kind notes.

I am incredibly grateful that my surgery went well Friday. Thanks for all the prayers — I owe you big time!

My family read many of your e-mails while I was in surgery. It brought them such comfort. My big sis, Sally-Ann, marked all the survivor stories with a big S.

I woke up in the recovery room with sweet Diane [Sawyer] gently tugging on my big toe. As you can imagine, I am still quite sore from the procedure and need to take some time for my body to heal.

It’s good to hear that one of our broadcasting favorites is in good spirits and fighting the good fight in her recovery.

We wish her all the best.

Wells gets Bonds’ signature on rare ball (San Diego Padres website)

David Wells might have the most sought after sports collectible in the world.

After Saturday’s contest between Wells’ Padres and Barry Bonds’ San Francisco Giants where the latter tied Hank Aaron with home run 755, the burly lefthander had the future all-time home run record holder to sign a baseball for him as a keepsake.  But this wasn’t no ordinary ball: it has signatures from the other two home run kings in Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

Padres left-hander David Wells is a baseball collector of sorts and one of his prize possessions just grew a lot more valuable.

Wells has an old, grainy, yellowing baseball that he purchased for $7,000 with a Babe Ruth signature scrawled across the sweet spot. Since the purchase, he had Hank Aaron sign the ball during a Padres trip to Atlanta, and on Sunday, he added the name of Barry Bonds in the left fielder’s unmistakable script.

That may give Wells the only ball that has the signatures of the top three all-time Major League home run hitters on it.

So should Wells ever put up the ball for auction, how much do you think it’ll go for? And furthermore, what if Alex Rodriguez strolls on past Bonds in the next decade and he signs the same ball?

Quite an impressive collectible.

Tip o’the cap to The Buried Lead contributor “ryan” for the informational link.

Barry Bonds’ home run record tainted by mechanical device (Editor & Publisher)

Michael Witte of Editor & Publisher writes an interesting little thesis Monday: is the armor that Barry Bonds uses providing him an unfair advantage at the plate?

Witte breaks down how Bonds’ use of body armor may help contribute to the fluidity of his swing and assist in helping maintain repetitive motion.

He notes two examples that caught our eyes.
More after the jump »

Umpires balk at MLB’s background checks (SI.com)

In the wake of the NBA scandal that’s centered around former ref Tim Donaghy’s gambling ties, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the MLB umpires union is balking at the suggestion by Major League Baseball that background checks need to be conducted on the men in blue.

“We feel this should be negotiated and discussed,” said McMorris, who coincidentally took over as the MLB umpires’ lead rep only a week ago, injecting himself into what he described as a “perfect storm.”

‘We’re not going to give our cooperation. Let’s get back to the negotiating table,” McMorris said. “Let’s make it a fair and transparent process for all involved.”

Within this piece, the World Umpire’s Association highlights some key points they have questions on how MLB plans to conduct their checks.

More after the jump »

Chiefs sign top pick Bowe (AP/USA Today)

The Kansas City Chiefs have reached agreement with their first-round draft pick Dwayne Bowe on a five-year deal.

He will report to camp on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list and will work himself into shape solo till he gets clearance from team trainers to participate in camp with his teammates.

Bowe’s coming to agreement ends a 10-day holdout.

News and notes while reading Jay Mohr…

Escalator clauses holding up Quinn deal (ESPN.com) Len Pasquarelli writes that Brady Quinn’s contract talks hinge on escalator clauses.

King: MMQB (SI.com) Peter King’s weekly news and notes from around the NFL.  And of course, travel anecdotes and rating coffee (he had coffee with Dick Jauron!).

Broncos top pick injures knee in one-on-one drills (AP/ESPN) Denver Broncos first-round draft pick Jarvis Moss injured his left knee during 1-on-1 pass-rush drills Monday and was taken off the field for medical tests.

Browns’ DT Brown thinks Goodell “doing a helluva job” (The FanHouse)  Via Peter King’s MMQB, The FanHouse passes along that Ted Brown likes what Roger Goodell is doing in his first year on the job.

The Quickie: Bonds, Glavine, Steelers, Shaun White, more! (DanShanoff) Dan Shanoff’s A.M. Quickie.

Rating those Vick dogfighting T-shirts (CNBC.com) Darren Rovell of CNBC rates the current t-shirts mocking Michael Vick.

Rat infestation at Angels Stadium (Orange County Register)

Gwendolyn Driscoll of The Orange County Register reports that the stadium where the the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play has a bit of a rodent problem. Actually, it’s more than a problem, it’s a “stage three klinger” problem.

Reports Ms. Driscoll:

In the 412 routine inspections of Angel Stadium food venues conducted by the Health Care Agency since 2005, vermin violations were found 25 percent of the time. Major vermin violations were 33 percent of all major food safety violations found at the stadium. Sanchez said that health inspectors generally see pest-related problems at Orange County restaurants “less than 5 percent of the time.”

The organization claims that a 2005 season of heavy rains are resulting in the current rodent problem.  But there’s also the matter of food storage and removal of debris in a timely manner, too, that’s causing this problem.

More after the jump »

O’Neal wants trade to Lakers (SI.com)

Arash Markazi of SI.com reports that current Indiana Pacer Jermaine O’Neal would like to be dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. The five-time All-Star tells Markazi that he doesn’t want to be a part of a youth movement in Indiana.

“I would welcome a trade to the Lakers,” said O’Neal, who averaged 19.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots last season. “Indiana has given me the opportunity to establish myself as a really good player in this league, but they’re into rebuilding and going really young, and I’m just not in a position physically to go through another five to six years with a lot of losses and a lot of down time.”

Markazi reports that the Lakers and Pacers have had discussions on the trade that would send O’Neal to Los Angeles, but nothing concrete has evolved from those talks.  With the player’s demand to get traded, we suspect that something might get rolling in the near future.

He also noted that should a trade fall through with Los Angeles, he’d welcome a deal to the New Jersey Nets.

Denial of admission to pair of recruits irks Spurrier (AP/ESPN)

“The ol’ ballcoach” Steve Spurrier is none too happy with South Carolina’s admission officials after two of his recruits were denied admission for academic reasons this summer.

Spurrier was angered that receiver Michael Bowman of Wadesboro, N.C., and Arkee Smith of Jacksonville, Fla., were cleared by the NCAA to enroll, yet were turned down by the university. The rest of the Gamecocks football team officially reported Friday for preseason camp.

“Hopefully, I truly believe this is the last year this is going to happen, because I can’t operate like that,” Spurrier said. “I can’t operate misleading young men.”

Spurrier just recently signed a contract extension with the school but hinted that if things won’t change, he’ll have to “have to go somewhere else.”

If it smells like leverage, tastes like leverage and even if just signed a new contract, is it still leverage?

Jones set to debut for Total Non-stop Action (TNA) Wrestling (USA Today)

Pacman Jones is all set to take up his new day job: some undefined role with Total Non-stop Action Wrestling on Thursday.

The debut is set to air on Spike TV 9 p.m. ET/PT.

He seems to be at peace with himself after getting the boot for the 2007 NFL season.

More after the jump »

Fans already in rare form (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Philadelphia football fan can best be defined as a passionate group, fully supporting their team through thick and thin, living and dying by every play on the football field.  They revel in the fact they’re blue-collar people who love players that give it their all on the field, no matter what the sport.

So imagine the surprise of newcomer Kevin Curtis at the Philadelphia Eagles practice facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania over the weekend when 20,895 screaming fans were in mid-season form:  singing out their favorite players’ surnames and carrying-on like it was a late Sunday afternoon against their hated rival, the Dallas Cowboys.

More after the jump »

Sheehan: Fans 1, Selig -412 (Baseball Prospectus)

Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus wrote a brief blog entry related to Bud Selig’s reaction — or lack thereof — during Saturday’s Giants-Padres contest where Barry Bonds tied “Hammerin’” Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record at 755.

The sheepish grin? Check.
The look of indifference? As plain as day.
Being told that he should stand by Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who was seated just in front him? Priceless.

Writes Sheehan:

“Would that I could say the same about the game’s commissioner. Bud Selig, given yet another opportunity to change the narrative, to rise to the occasion and promote the game, embarrassed himself and his office with his reaction to the historic blast. As the crowd around him cheered, Selig rose slowly from his seat and made a grand show of putting his hands in his pockets, refusing to acknowledge the player, the achievement or even the excitement around him. With that one gesture, Selig made it clear what he is: an old man determined to protect the interests of other old men, even if it means degrading the game of baseball.

Selig was a ringleader of the process that gave the game first its invasive testing program, then increased penalties for positive tests, all as part of a plan to increase management’s leverage over the players. Bonds has been subject to that program and never tested positive for steroids (he did test positive for amphetamines, a result that was to remain confidential, like grand-jury testimony) and yet Selig refused to cheer Bonds last night. By doing so, he put the lie to the arguments of 2003 and 2005–that testing and harsh penalties were the key to a clean game–and made it clear that he has joined those who have convicted Bonds based on innuendo and observation and innumeracy.”

Pretty powerful stuff from the Baseball Prospectus scribe.  After the jump, Sheehan made mention of MLB’s press release that is essentially a back-handed slap at the accomplishment.

More after the jump »

Evernham set to surrender control of team to Gillett (USA Today)

Seth Livingstone of USA Today writes that Ray Evernham, owner of Evernham Motorsports (duh!), is set to sell a majority interest in the racing company to businessman — and the owner of NHL’s Montreal Canadiens — George Gillett.

Gillett’s main role with Evernham will be focusing on running the business operations of the organization while Evernham can focus on the competition side of things.

Evernham, who currently fields cars for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, said he expected to make multiple major announcements this week, fueling speculation that Budweiser could be coming aboard as a sponsor in 2008.

You may remember the last name “Evernham” when it was revealed last week that the owner acknowledged a relationship with driver Erin Crocker, who currently races for Evernham Motor Sports, but was urged to look for work elsewhere.

The morning after ___________

Brandon Webb hurled a gem for the white-hot Diamondbacks; the New York Yankees continue to put up football scores; the Brewers continue to struggle, going 4-6 in their last ten and Erik Bedard added to his ML-leading strikeout total with 11 punchouts.

White Sox 3, Detroit 1 — Gavin Floyd made his pitch to stay in the White Sox rotation, throwing six strong innings, allowing just seven singles and matching a career high with six strikeouts as the White Sox swept the Tigers 3-1.

Cleveland 0, Minnesota 1 — Alexi Castilla provided the Twins’ only offense, with his ground-rule double in the fourth scoring Jason Kubel and won 1-0.

Royals 5, Yankees 8 — The Yankees continued their surge since the All-Star break, sweeping the Royals to move 11 games above .500 for the first time this year in their 6-5 win.

O’s 11, D’Rays 3 — Erik Bedard, who is 8-0 in his last 10 starts, scattered nine hits and three runs in his 6 2/3 innings, and extended his major league-leading strikeout total to 192 with 11 more Sunday in the O’s 11-3 rout of the Tampa Bay D’Rays.

Rangers 1, BlueJays 4 — Matt Stairs hit three doubles and drove in two runs to help complete the Blue Jays’ three-game sweep of the Rangers 4-1. Dustin McGowan allowed one run and eight hits over eight-plus innings, walking one and striking out six to record his third straight win.

Angels 4, A’s 3 — Garret Anderson drove in three runs, including the game-tying run in the seventh inning, as the Los Angeles Angels rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3.

Red Sox 9, M’s 2 — Manny Ramirez homered and drove in two and Josh Beckett struck out nine to help the Red Sox pound the Mariners 9-2.

More after the jump »

News and notes while Barry Bonds takes a deep breath…

Tejada, Piazza placed on August waivers (ESPN.com) Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine reports that Baltimore’s Miguel Tejada and Oakland’s Mike Piazza were placed on waivers last week.  One was claimed (Tejada by the White Sox) and the other wasn’t (Piazza).  Chicago couldn’t work out a deal with Baltimore and Tejada was removed from waivers and will stay in Baltimore.

Cubs lose Soriano for 2-4 weeks (AP/Y! Sports) The star left-fielder strained his right quadriceps in the third inning while trying to go from first to third on a Ryan Theriot single to right.

Strahan: Money’s not an issue, but future undecided (ESPN.com) John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that New York Giants holdout Michael Strahan issued a statement that he isn’t holding out for the money, its just that he’s really, really, really unsure about putting himself through the rigors of another season.

Sharapova wins first title in 07 (AP/SI.com) Maria Sharapova earned her first title in 10 months with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 victory Sunday over Patty Schnyder in the final Acura Classic tournament.

Tiger wins third straight at Firestone (AP/FOX Sports)  In the final event before the final major of the year, Tiger Woods buried Rory Sabbatini and the rest of the field Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational for an eight-shot victory, his third straight Firestone win.

Behind the scenes at exclusive Hall of Fame luncheon (USA Today) Jarrett Bell of USA Today writes on the happenings at the the ultra-private Ray Nitschke  Luncheon that’s named for the late Green Bay Packers inspirational linebacker (Class of ‘78)