Opinion

Ron Harper announced earlier this week that his prodigious son, Bryce, will forgo his final two years of high school eligibility to pursue a professional baseball career.

Bryce, 16, who was the first high school sophomore to be named a first team All-American by Baseball America and has been called “the LeBron James of baseball” by Sports Illustrated, will take classes at the College of Southern Nevada over the summer and receive his GED in the fall.

There is a noticeable mood difference in the Denver area as the Rockies showed they are still actually playing baseball and not hosting summer social gatherings at Coors Field. After tying a franchise record 11 game win streak the town is buzzing a bit!

This piece was originally published on June 4, 2009 when Sammy Sosa announced he would retire.

In a move that was typical of the strange ending of his baseball career, Sammy Sosa announced Wednesday that he'll announce his retirement sometime soon.

That's right, an announcement that he's going to make an announcement.

Sosa has seen an incredibly awkward fall from grace on Chicago's North Side, where he became one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the game.

This weekend will see a renewal of a rivalry in Anaheim, as the first place Dodgers (by eight-and-a-half games as of this writing) take on the surging Angels.

It's been a bit one-sided this year, as the Angels took two-of-three at Dodger Stadium in May.

In fact, the Angels have always played their Chavez Ravine neighbors tough. I remember going to a Dodger-Angel game two years ago today where the Angels walloped the Dodgers 10-4, and it wasn't even that close.

Francisco Liriano has served many roles in the eyes of Twins fans.

In 2006, he was the second-coming of Johan Santana and part of a vicious one-two punch that would lead the Twins to the Promised Land.

In 2007, he was the missing piece on a team that failed to meet expectations.

For the latest edition of the San Francisco Giants Roundtable, we decided to revisit Randy Johnson’s historic accomplishment from a couple weeks ago.

Now that the furor over the Big Unit’s feat has died down and baseball fans have had some calm to digest the latest entrant in the 300 Wins Club, we took a look at whether RJ will be the last pitcher so blessed, what it meant to the Gents, how the big lefty’s signing has worked out for the franchise, and basically all things Randy Johnson.

Enjoy.

It is June 17, and we're almost at the halfway point of the season known as the All-Star break. The Mets have played 62 out of 162 games, and currently sit three games out of first place in back of the rival Phillies with a record of 33-29. Much like the life of Britney Spears, the Mets' season has been filled with peaks and valleys.

In one championship weekend, Phil Jackson won his tenth title (as an NBA coach), Kobe his fourth, and Sidney Crosby his first.  

When Alex Rodriguez's name was linked to a 2003 list of players who had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs during the survey testing that season, it sparked a media frenzy that even the Mitchell Report couldn't touch.

There is a reason Selena Roberts didn't write a book about Jason Grimsley, Chuck Knoblauch or any of the others who were named in the report, even though many had hard evidence linking them to steroid or HGH use: The Public doesn't care about non-stars.

The Steelers squeaked out a win to bring home the NFL's top piece of hardware.  The Pens battled the Red Wings to get the same from the NHL.

Big Ben and company are always a huge hit in the 'Burgh. Sidney and Gino are rising superstars.

All is well in "The City of Champions."

Or is it?

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are trying to keep from setting the Major League record for consecutive losing seasons, it's not.