MLB talks switching NL team to AL, sources say

A simple form of realignment being seriously considered has been raised in the labor talks between Major League Baseball and the players' association, according to four sources: two leagues of 15 teams, rather than the current structure of 16 teams in the National League and 14 in the American League.

ESPN.com's Jim Bowden has a radical plan to make baseball make sense geographically and expand the postseason pool. Blog

As the realignment discussion goes forward, it's the union that is viewed as the driving force behind the idea of two 15-team leagues, writes ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. Blog

According to a highly ranked executive, one consideration that has been raised in ownership committee meetings is eliminating the divisions altogether, so that 15 AL and 15 NL teams would vie for five playoff spots within each league. Currently, Major League Baseball has six divisions.

A source who has been briefed on the specifics of the labor discussions says that the players' union has indicated that it is open to the idea of two 15-team leagues, but that the whole plan still hasn't been talked through or presented to the owners.

Sources say the talks are serious, and while one executive believes the odds of change are less than 50-50, another says this is the type of discussion that can gather momentum and become a reality.

A sticking point involves interleague play. Because of the odd number of teams in each league, it is possible that a team in contention late in the season will have to be playing its final games in interleague play.

One of the biggest issues that would have to be resolved in any realignment resulting in two 15-team leagues is which of the National League teams would switch to the American League.

Two highly ranked executives believe the Houston Astros would be a possibility, because a switch to the AL for Houston would foster a rivalry between the Astros and the Texas Rangers.

The Marlins could be another candidate, a source suggested.

"There are still a lot of details that would have to be discussed," one source said.

Buster Olney is a senior MLB writer for ESPN The Magazine.

 

Validated: Nowitzki named MVP of NBA Finals

Updated: June 13, 2011, 3:25 AM

Dirk Nowitzki was named the most valuable player of the NBA Finals for his huge role in leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first championship on Sunday. He also joins a short list of players born outside the U.S. to win Finals MVP.

  -- ESPN Stats & Information

MIAMI -- Dirk Nowitzki was named MVP of the NBA Finals for his huge role in leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first championship.

"I really still can't believe it," Nowitzki said after the Mavs wrapped up the crown with a 105-95 win in Sunday's Game 6.

Although Nowitzki struggled in the Game 6 clincher, he certainly put them in position to win it all, overcoming injury and illness to power fourth-quarter comebacks from deficits of 12, nine and four points in Dallas' previous wins.

The 2007 league MVP won Game 2 with a left-handed layup despite having torn a tendon in the tip of his left middle finger in Game 1.

He scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period of Game 4 despite playing with a 101-degree fever because of a sinus infection.

In Game 5, his driving dunk in the final minutes put Dallas ahead for good.

"We worked so hard and so long for it," Nowitzki said. "The team has had an unbelievable ride."

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said: "I'm so happy for him. I'm so happy for Dirk."

Nowitzki and Jason Terry, who led the Mavs with 27 points on Sunday, are the two remaining players from the Dallas team that lost to Miami in the 2006 Finals.

"This feeling, to be on the best team in the world, it's just undescribable," Nowitzki said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

Buckeyes' Gee: Football troubles are temporary

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee told the institution's largest graduating class that a scandal in its celebrated football program is "but a temporary condition."

As Gee opened commencement festivities Sunday for a record 9,700 graduates and about 40,000 family and friends inside Ohio Stadium, he made a veiled reference to the controversy.

"Let me acknowledge on this day of celebration, in this cathedral of triumph and hope, that many Buckeye hearts are heavy," Gee said. "On rare occasion, this great grand building has been home to disappointment and tumult. That is but a temporary condition."

Commencement speaker John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House, did not mention the issue.

The university is grappling with the departure of football coach Jim Tressel and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor amid an NCAA investigation into players' trading of signed equipment, championship rings and other memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner for cash and discounted tattoos.

Gee assured tens of thousands of alumni and supporters of the university, as well as its new graduates, that things will improve. Evoking the memories of great Ohio State athletes of the past, including football's Archie Griffin and track Olympian Jesse Owens, he said: "Let no one harbor any doubt that the history of this place is enduring and sustaining. Ohio Stadium stands today as it will ever more."

The crowd roared and tooted horns.

Tressel's 10-year Ohio State coaching career ended in disgrace in May when he stepped down for breaking NCAA rules.

He knew players received cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment and did not tell anyone at Ohio State or the NCAA for more than nine months. NCAA rules -- and Tressel's contract -- specify that he must disclose any and all information about possible violations.

Pryor announced Tuesday he would give up his senior season with the Buckeyes in the midst of the probe, which had already led to a five-game suspension for him.

Fans and alumni have criticized Gee's handling of the scandal since the memorabilia sales first came to light in December. His office received emails questioning the decision to suspend five players, including Pryor, for five games but allow them to play in the Sugar Bowl.

At a March 8 news conference, Gee was asked whether he'd considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me."

Gee was joined on the stage Sunday by the university's board of trustees, which has ultimate hiring and firing power over him and athletics director Gene Smith.

He appeared chipper as the university celebrated its biggest academic moment of the year, posing for photographs and shaking students' hands.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Hanson strikes out career-high 14 in Braves win

Braves starter Tommy Hanson is the first Braves starter to strike out at least 14 in a game since John Smoltz in 2005.

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A's send LHP Anderson for closer look at injury

CHICAGO -- Oakland A's starter Brett Anderson will meet with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday.

Anderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and an MRI exam performed by team orthopedist Dr. Jon Dickinson couldn't identify the injury, so the team wanted a second opinion.

The 23-year-old southpaw had allowed 14 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings over his last two starts, both losses. He is 3-6 with a 4.00 ERA on the season.

Anderson missed all but three starts in May, June and July of last year because of elbow inflammation.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Gordon rockets to fifth career victory at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. -- Jeff Gordon is pushing 40, far removed from the cocky kid who shot to superstardom and helped put NASCAR on the mainstream map.

At any age, Gordon still knows how to win.

Don't put the rocking chair on the front porch quite yet. Not when Gordon still burns out near the finish line, stamps his name alongside the sport's greats in the record book, and believes a fifth Cup championship is a realistic goal.

There was a Wonder Boy sighting at Pocono on Sunday. Jeff Gordon raced like the Jeff Gordon of old -- you know, like a four-time Cup champ -- to remind us all that he can still wheel a race car, writes David Newton. Story

Gordon moved into a tie for third on NASCAR's Sprint Cup career victories list, winning for the 84th time when he took the checkered flag Sunday at Pocono Raceway. His 84 wins tie him with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for most in Cup history, and he tied Bill Elliott with five wins on the 2?-mile triangle track.

"There's no doubt, I'm blown away with what I've accomplished," Gordon said.

It's a career for the ages -- and the aged.

Gordon won in February at Phoenix International Raceway and has multiple victories in a season for the first time since 2007. Gordon's victory at Phoenix ended his drought at 66 races without a win. This 11-race winless stretch was just a blip compared to that miserable skid.

Gordon used to not drive more than a month without a win. He reached double-digit victories in three straight seasons (1996-98) and seemed a lock to hit 100 victories by 35 and put himself behind only Richard Petty on the all-time list.

Petty leads with 200 wins and David Pearson is second with 105.

Gordon's won races with a mustache and a mullet, and his hair tinged with a touch of gray. He won them as the most feared driver on the planet in the '90s, then sporadically in recent years. He celebrated as a "Rainbow Warrior" and a family man.

[+] Enlarge John Harrelson/Getty ImagesJeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway. It was Gordon's fifth career victory at the Pennsylvania track.

This victory was a bit more special for Gordon, who turns 40 in August. His first order of business once he hopped out of the car was a kiss from his daughter, Ella.

Gordon's wife and two children are his greatest gift.

But the pairing he needed most was with Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Alan Gustafson. Team owner Rick Hendrick's offseason decision to shake up his organization has proved an overall success for the organization -- he also placed Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the top-six at Pocono. Gordon and Gustafson have the No. 24 Chevrolet in fantastic shape for a spot in the Chase for the championship.

Gordon is known in the sport as "Four-Time" because of the Cup titles he won in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001. Wins have been harder to get for Gordon as his career stretches into its 20th season. He posted winless seasons in 2008 and 2010 and, even in the years he qualified for the Chase, was never a true threat to bring home the title.

"We were living at the peak of the mountain there for a number of years," Gordon said. "It was awesome. When you're there, you know you're going to get knocked off eventually. You can't always stay on top."

Johnson, once his protege and late-night running buddy, surpassed Gordon and has won the last five championships.

The race on the mountaintop belonged to Gordon.

Gordon entered the race having led a record 918 laps at Pocono Raceway. He added 39 to the total Sunday.

"When you see what he's done in his career, not just this decade, not just in the 2000's, but all the way back to the '90s, he's a true legend in this sport," Kurt Busch said.

Busch, the polesitter, was second and Kyle Busch third.

Kyle's Busch fun was short-lived. NASCAR announced his No. 18 Toytota failed postrace inspection because the left-front end was too low. His car will be taken to NASCAR's research and development center.

Jeff Gordon led most of the final 40 laps to win his fifth career race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Complete results

Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. Earnhardt continued his rebirth with a sixth-place finish. It capped a great day for Hendrick Motorsports -- first, fourth and sixth.

Gordon first won at Pocono in 1996. He won again in 1997 and 1998, then a rain-shortened race in 2007.

He was helped Sunday once some of the early contenders fell off. Denny Hamlin, who led early and has four wins here, ran into tire woes and dropped back to 19th. Carl Edwards lost his grip on the points lead -- his 40-point lead was sliced to six -- when a bad engine knocked him out early. He finished 37th.

Once those two were out of contention, the 500-mile race belonged to Gordon. The Busch brothers tried to catch him, but just didn't have enough in the end.

"I'm giving it all I've got and I just can't close the gap," Kurt Busch said.

Gordon hit a rough patch after his Phoenix victory -- including a 36th at Las Vegas and a 39th at Richmond -- but a change in the Chase format this year put an added emphasis on wins. That stamps Gordon as a contender for that fifth title.

He's in great shape thanks to regular workouts after a creaky back a few years ago made him consider retirement. Gordon still has the fire to compete and poked fun at all the questions that made it seem like the end was near.

When all the pieces are in place, Gordon feels, "I'm as good as I've ever been."

"The things that we've talked about and believe in are starting to come true," Gordon said.

Gordon was behind the wheel this week for the 2-hour drive from his New York City apartment to the Poconos.

He said he loves it any time he can get himself to the track.

No doubt, he loves it even more when he can park in Victory Lane.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Liriano flirts with perfection as Twins stay hot

Francisco Liriano got off to a rough start, but since throwing a no-hitter on May 3, he's turned his season around and been lights out.

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