Mark Buehrle: The Perfect Game

The match: Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox.

The pitcher for the Sox: Mark Buehrle.

The Perfect Game: 27 Batters, 27 Outs, 0 Hits, 0 Walks, 0 Errors.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a moment of pure perfection.  All 27 outs, including extended highlights of the 25th out, the first in the 9th inning, which unquestionably saved the perfect game.

The coverage is from Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.  Your commentators are Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone & Bill Melton.

The final box score looked like this…

FINAL	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extra	Runs	Hits	Errors
Chicago White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	0	0	0
Tampa Bay Rays	0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	X	5	6	0

 

Buehrle struck out 6 batters during his perfect game.  There have only been 18 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball.  The previous one was pitched by Randy Johnson for the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2004.  Congratulations to Mark Buehrle.  You’re in a very exclusive club now.

Viewpoint Extra: What’s the buzz in San Diego?

And the bee keeper has come in and done his job, and we’re now back into the ball game.

What’s the buzz in San Diego?

I’m watching this unfold on ESPN America, with coverage being provided by Fox Sports Houston. 

A swarm of bees has descended on a chair just by the left field line, during the top of the 9th Inning.  Houston Astros were leading the San Diego Padres by 6 to 1 with 2 outs down in the top of the 9th, when the left fielder comes in and alerts the umpires to the situation.  A swarm of bees has taken up temporary residence under a jacket that had been worn by one of the ball girls.

I’m told that swarms have stopped other sporting events, but I have to say, this is the first time I have seen this happen.  It’s fascinating coverage right now, and they’re saying that they expect play to resume in the next 15 to 30 minutes. 

Goodbye Yankee Stadium.

So, for the final time tonight, the Cathedral that is Yankee Stadium will host it's final regular season game, and in all likelyhood, given the fact that the Yankees are 9 games back on the AL East leading Tampa Bay Devil Rays, this could well be the LAST EVER game at Yankee Stadium.

In the UK, Channel 5 will have coverage of this amazing night. The New York Yankees official website has tons of material relating to Yankee Stadium, and the end of 85 years of Yankee history. I for one will be taping tonight's broadcast. It'll be fascinating to watch.

WWE suspends 10 superstars, maybe more!

I've said it before, it's rare for a wrestling story to get any traction in the mainstream news. So with MSNBC reporting on 10 WWE superstars being suspended by the company for violations of it's "Wellness Program", well, I get interested.

The story reveals that no names have been released by WWE but that the suspensions were...

"...based on independent information from the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney’s office, which has been investigating sales of steroids and growth hormones through Internet and phone-order firms."

Wrestlezone.com is amongst many other sources with more information, although I cannot completely verify the accuracy of some of their stories. In this case however, they seem to be relying on information released by the mainstream media. Of the various other mainstream media outlets that are reporting the story, three seem to be more up on it than the rest.

The New York Daily News is on the case, thanks to the fact that the investigation is being carried out through Albany County, NY Distict Attorney's Office. They were the first people to list names connected with the investigation.

ESPN also listed names, though a different set. They too seem to be well on-top of this story.

Sports Illustrated seem to be the most clued up though, with a story that reads very authoritatively, and gives a more complete list of names. It has to be said that all the names in NY Daily News and ESPN lists also appear in this list. This is why I have said thatb I feel both of the other sources are well on top of this story. There are more details here though, including drugs listed and dates of supply. All of them are between September 2004 and February 2007.

Amongst some of the other reports I have seen for this, are reports that one of the pharmacies involved in the investigation is a company called Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, FL, and that a Florida doctor is apparently helping with the DA's enquiry.

There are also reports that say that stars from Major League Baseball and the National Football League could also be involved in this scandal, so this may not be a WWE exclusive problem.

WWE are known to be facing congressional hearings soon, so this information could not have come at a worse time for them.

This is one of those stories that will probably take a long time to go away, and will be followed by many media sources with interest. Wrestling fans too will want to follow this story, even if they don't like the result of it. One thing I know for sure is that TNA, WWE's best known rival in the wrestling world, will be looking at this as a major oppourtunity. I doubt they will be completely silent on this for long.