FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Good Afternoon FanNation and Welcome to this weeks edition of the Friday Filler. As usuall I will be bringing you coverage of the past week in sports, and what you might have missed. As always feel free to leave comments and share stories that I may have missed. Lets get this kicked off with some stories and news from around baseball.

MLB

The New York Mets had their 10 game winning streak come to an end. C.C. Sabathia continued his dominance since being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as he tossed another complete game. The Brewers sent a few minor leaguers to the Giants in exchange for Ray Durham. J.J. Putz, Bobby Jenks, Alfonso Soriano, and Troy Percival made appearances fresh off the DL. Chris Duncan and Kerry Wood went on the DL. Hall of Fame sportswriter Jerome Holtzman died at the age of 81. He invented the Save. San Diego shipped Randy Wolf off to Houston in exchange for a minor league prospect. Arizona got John Rauch for a minor leaguer. Milwaukee signed former O's player Jay Gibbons to a minor league contract. The Milwaukee Brewers [7-0] and the New York Yankees [6-0] went undefeated this past week. The Division leaders are as follows:

AL East - Tampa Bay Rays [59-42] / Boston Red Sox [60-43]

AL Central - Chicago White Sox [57-43]

AL West - Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim [62-39]

NL East - New York Mets [55-47]

NL Central - Chicago Cubs [60-42]

NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks [50-51]*

*Pathetic for a Division Leader

NFL

The Washington Redskins landed Jason Taylor for 2nd & 6th round draft picks. The Saints added Jeremey Shockey for 2nd & 5th round draft picks. Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears came to terms on their contract issues. Devin Hester did not show up for the Bears first day of practice. Luis Castillo signed an absolutley huge deal with the San Diego Chargers. Marques Colston signed a three-year deal with the Saints. Rod Smith retired. NFL Preseason is almost upon us. The Colts and Redskins will face off in the Hall of Fame game just 9 days from today.

NBA

Deron Williams contract extension is now at three years. The New Jersey Nets bought Kenyon Dooling from the Orlando Magic. Boston re-signed Eddie House and Tony Allen. Minnesota signed Sebastian Telfair to a multi-year deal. The Spurs signed Kurt Thomas. New Jersey sent Marcus Williams to Golden State.  Josh Childress signed with a Greek team.  He got $20 million over three years. Phoenix signed Matt Barnes.  Utah sent Jason Hart to the Clippers for Brevin Knight. The Warriors matched the Clippers offer for Kelenna Azubuike.  They also signed Monta Ellis to a six-year $67 million deal.  Is it just me FanNation or does every offseason move seem to involve the Warriors or Clippers?

NHL

Chicago named Jonathan Toews their Captain for next season.  Pittsburgh gave Coach Michel Therrien a three-year extension.  The Islanders signed C Frans Nielsen to a four-year deal.  Buffalo signed G Ryan Miller to a five-year deal.  Philly inked RW Joffrey Lupul to a four-year deal.  Phoenix re-signed LW Daniel Carcillo.  Anaheim signed Coach Randy Carlyle to a two-year extension.  Boston signed D Dennis Wideman to an extension. 

Wrap Up

Padraig Harrington won the British Open.  Greg Norman tied for 3rd.  R.W. Eaks won the 3M Championship (Champions Tour).  Colt Knost won the Price Cutter Charity Championship (Nationwide Tour).  RIchard Johnson won the U.S. Bank Championship.  Ji Young Oh won the State Farm Classic (LPGA).
 
Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway.
 
Fernando Verdasco beat Igor Andreev in the ATP Studena Croatia Open Umag.  Juan Martin Del Potro beat Jurgen Melzer in the ATP Tour Austrian Open.  Gilles Simon beat Dmitry Tursunov in the ATP Indianapolis Tennis Championship.  Albert Montanes beat Steve Darcis in the ATP Dutch Open.  On the Women's side, Aleksandra Wozniak beat Marion Bartoli in the WTA Tour Bank of the West Classic and Pauline Parmentier beat Lucie Hradecka in the WTA Gastein Ladies.  Roger Federer lost in the first round of the Rogers Cup. Yes, you read that right.

There was a brawl in a WNBA game resulting in 11 suspensions.  David Stern tried to get Ron Artest suspended too, but they didn't go for it.  50 year old Nancy Lieberman will play for Detroit.

That's it for this weeks edition. Please stop in next Friday for the next edition.