NFL

Plaxico Burress singed with with the New York Jets. He agreed to a one-year, 3 million dollar deal. The teams in the running were the Jets, Steelers, Giants, and 49ers. The Jets felt a bit beter after losing out on Nnamdi Asomugha.

Other News:
NASCAR- Paul Menard wins his first career race at the Brickyard 400. This is the fourth time this season where one driver won his first career race at a major race. Trevor Bayne (Daytona 500), Regan Smith (Darlington, finished 3rd at Brickyard), David Ragan (Coke Zero 400) and now Paul Menard at Indy.


MLB- Ubaldo Jimenez was traded to the Cleveland Indians for three minor league players. Jimenez, who had a breakout season last year, hasn't been able to reproduce that for the Rockies this season, with a 6-9 record and a 4.46 ERA.
Also, the Phillies manage to get Hunter Pence from the Astros. The Phillies needed a right hand hitter after they lost Jayson Werth.
Losing out on Pence, the Braves trade for Michael Bourn. Michael Bourn is some added offence after Brian McCann was injured and Chipper Jones has not produced.

NFL

BREAKING NEWS
Nnamdi Asomugha agrees to a 5-year 60 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Asomugha was not re-signed by the Raiders because he did not meet the stats expected of him on his contract. This is a problem for the Eagles, however, as they acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie recently, and they have Asante Samuel, who has not attended training camp yet.

Other News:
NASCAR- Travis Pastrana's debut in NASCAR will be on hold as be broke his foot during the X-Games 17. Pastrana was scheduled to race this Saturday.

More NASCAR- Some rumors say that Carl Edwards may join Joe Gibbs Racing. It was reported that he will be in the #20 car of Joey Logano, so it may me Joey will be out at Joe Gibbs. If Carl does join Gibbs, that will form an elite group of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Carl.

NBA- The Detroit Pistons are giving Lawrence Frank the chance to lead a team in ruins back to playoff contenders. Frank was the New Jersey Net's head coach from 2004-2009, which he went 225-241.

NFL

Lots of trades are occurring in the NFL after the lockout was lifted, and some teams acted quickly. The New England Patriots traded a 5th round pick for Albert Haynesworth. The Patriots were last on 3rd down stoppage, so Haynesworth, Vince Vilfork, and Ty Warren will make an impact in that situation. The Patriots also acquired Chad Ochocinco after he took a three year deal offer from them.

The Minnesota Vikings traded for Donavan McNabb. This is the third time he was traded in 3 seasons. The Miami Dolphins traded for Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush was one of the biggest disappointment for Saints fans as he never was a Pro-Bowler and never rushed over 600 yards. Since the Saints traded a Running Back, they had to get another to fill the roster. They signed Sam Diego's Running Back Darren Sporles, a really good kick returner/punt returner. The Eagles dealt Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals, who are looking for a decent QB after Kurt Warner retired. In return, they gave the Eagles Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick. The Eagles need some added defense to help against division rivals the Cowboys, Redskins, and the Giants. The Seahawks added some offense as the signed Sidney Rice for 5 years.

Other News:
NFL- Plaxico Burress was reinstated as a player in the NFL by Roger Goodell.

U.S Men's soccer- Coach Bob Bradley was dismissed as coach.

MLB

Robinson Cano wins the Home Run Derby, one home run ahead of Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez won the first round, and Cano took the second, each leading each other by one run. In the last round, Cano and Gonzalez were tied and Cano was up at bat. He hit a homer, and him and his dad celebrated. Here is the order that the batters finished:
Robinson Cano- 32
Adrian Gonzalez-  31
Prince Fielder- 9
David Ortiz- 9
Matt Holliday- 5
Jose Bautista- 4
Rickie Weeks-3
Matt Kemp- 2

MLB

Now that we are at the All-Star break, let's recap the events prior to the All-Star game

Winners:
Boston- Started out losing their first few games. But with Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett,  and Jonathan Papelbon dominating, they now hold the division lead, one game over the Yankees

Pittsburgh- This is the first time they had a winning record since the 1992 season, and they made it to the playoffs that season. Andrew McCtuchen has been the leader, and he is now in the All-Star game. Even with this record, they are still in third behind the Cardinals, and the Brewers.

Losers:
Minnesota- With Joe Mauer out early in the season, they are only 41-48 with the Detroit Tigers and the Indians battling for the divisionlead.

Colorado- Last year, they had a potential Triple Crown winner in Carlos Gonzalez, and Troy Tulowitzki had a hot bat a the end of the season. This season was the complete opposite.Carlos Gonzalez had an injury, and so did Tulowitzki. Hopefully Todd Helton and Huston Street can help turn it all around

Chicago Cubs- 'nuff said

LA Dodgers- They are on a 4 game winning streak, but this is the losers side. Frank McCourt, the owner, is having trouble. He tried to get a TV deal to help the Dodgers club stay afloat, but it was turned down.

Surprises:
Matt Kemp- He has 22 home runs at this point, with 28 last season total. No one expected this power from him, like how no one expected Jose Bautista to hit 50 home runs last season.

Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, and the Milwaukee Brewers-  These are all turnaround teams. Last season, they all had losing records, with Arizona, Washington, and Pittsburgh last in their divisions.

Milestones:
Derek Jeter- Earning his 3000th hit recently. He homered off of David Price, making him only the second person to do so. He is the only Yankee to reach 3000 hits, with legends Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mikey Mantle in his rear view mirror.

Jim Thome- Not quite a milestone yet, but he has 595 career home runs. With 5 more, he will join the 600 home run club.

Mark Teixera- He is halfway to 600 as he hit his 300th.


Hopefully we will see more action in the second half of the season! Watch the All-Star game tomorrow!! If you have any opinions, please leave a comment. Offensive or inappropriate comments will be deleted.

MLB

Congrats to Derek Jeter, reaching 3000 hits in his career. Derek Jeter hit a home run off of David Price to earn his 3000th hit. The lucky fan earned season tickets and autographs. Jeter went 5-5 on the day, and getting the game winning RBI. Jeter is the 28th player to reach 3000 hits, but he is the first Yankee to do it, unlike Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra. Last season, A-Rod hit his 600th homer.

Other news:
NASCAR- Kyle Busch wins the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway. With this win, he is now the points leader, with Carl Edwards in 2nd and Harvick 3rd.

More MLB- Jered Weaver will start the All-Star game. He is the first Angel to do so since Mark Langston in 1993. Justin Verlander would have started, but the Tiger put him in on Sunday

Baseball

In the Texas Rangers game, a fan reaching for a ball thrown by Josh Hamilton, fell over the rail and fell 20 feet onto the ground, landing head-first. The man, Shannon Stone, was trying to reach for the ball to give to his son, but fell over. He did manage to say "please check on my son, make sure he's okay" before EMTs took him in the ambulance. I wish the best of luck to the Stone family.

NBA

With the lockout in effect, Deron Williams will most likely play in Turkey if the lockout doesn't lift before the start of the season. Pau Gasol may play in Spain. Sonny Weems has signed a deal with a Lithuanian team. With some NBA players playing overseas, some players may follow suit. But there aren't many teams overseas that can pay a star player like Williams or Gasol big bucks, so we may see a few more players leave to a different country.

NCAA Football

The Ohio State Buckeyes are vacating their wins from the 2010 season, including the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas. This offseason for the Buckeyes has been disastrous, with the discovery of 5 players selling championship gear to a tattoo artist and receiving improper benefits. Jim Tressel took the blame, and then resigned.

Other News:
NBA- Yao Ming has decided to retire after 9 seasons. Injuries have limited his play, only 5 games in the 2010-2011 season after missing all of the 2009-2010 season

Cycling

Tyler Farrar is the first American to win a Tour de France stage on July Fourth. Farrar had to overcome a lot. He used to sleep 20 hours a day, and one of his closest friends, Wouter Weylant, had passed when he crashed at the Giro d'Italia.

Other News :
MLB- Derek Jeter returns to the Yankees's lineup. He is now on his quest to have 3000 hits in his career.

NASCAR

David Ragan gets his revenge as he wins at Daytona. In the Daytona 500, Ragan shifted lanes too early and was black flagged. Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne wrecked early and finished 41st. Carl Edwards, the points leader, was spun out and finished 37th, and gave up the points lead to Kevin Harvick, who finished 7th.

The Nationwide series was also just as exciting. KHI (Kevin Harvick Inc.) swept the first 4 qualifying spots with Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Elliot Sadler, and Kevin Harvick. Danica Patrick was in the lead on the with 5 to go, but was passed by Salder being pushed by Stewart. On the front straight, there was a last lap crash, and the Sprint Cup also had one. Joey Logano was pushed by Kyle Busch, and won the race.

MLB

The MLB All-Star game is July 12th in Phoenix. Both the AL and NL had some surprise leaders in stats this year. My starters for the All-Star game are
NL:
1B- Joey Votto
2B- Danny Espinosa
3B- Aramis Ramirez
SS- Jose Reyes
LF- Ryan Braun
CF- Matt Kemp
RF- Hunter Pence
C- Brain McCann
P- Jair Jurrjens

AL:
1B- Adrian Gonzalez
2B- Robinson Cano
3B- Kevin Youkilis
SS- Asdrubal Cabrera
LF- Brett Gardner
CF- Jacoby Ellsbury
RF- Jose Bautista
C- Alex Avila
P- Justin Verlander

NHL Update

Jaromir Jagr has surprised many people and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, close to Pittsburgh. The Flyers offered him 3.3 million, while the Penguins only offered 2 million.

Other News:
Tennis- Novak Djokovic has claimed the #1 spot on the world rankings. This is the first time someone else has claimed the top spot besides Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal since February 1st, 2004. Andy Roddick was the #1 before that.

NHL

The Penguins withdraw their offer to Jaromir Jagr of 1-year, 2 million. Jarmoir was drafted by the Penguins, and he helped them get 2 Stanley Cups. He is 39 years old, and if he took the 1 year deal, he would have retired with the team he started with. The Detroit Red Wings had interest in Jagr, but have also withdrawn from their offer.