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I don't normally comment on the Major League Cubs figuring it's Al's job, but since he's traveling, I thought I'd start out with a short comment that I'm pretty confident Al would agree with. The Cubs have not been a good team so far this season. Most of the year, they've simply been treading water. They've had moments where they've looked like the world-beaters of the past two seasons, but mostly they've been pedestrian. Not bad, mind you. Cub fans know a bad team when they see it. They just don't look like a playoff team. But here we are past the All-Star Break, and the Cubs are only a game out of first and a game up on the first-place Cardinals in the loss column. Speaking of the Cardinals, for the first half of this decade, they were a pretty dominating team, making the playoffs every season from 2000 to 2005 except for a minor blip in 2003 which we all remember. But during that time, they never won the World Series, despite some pretty amazing teams led by either Mark

Todd Helton received a lengthy standing ovation from fans and his teammates after smacking his 500th career double. That was simply a warmup act. Helton followed up the milestone double by hitting the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, propelling the Colorado Rockies to a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. 'It was a good day,' he said. A good day, indeed. Yet the ever-modest Helton downplayed the landmark hit. The homer was a different story.

First came Csonka and Kiick, followed by Clayton and Duper. Now the Miami Dolphins' lineup features Gloria and J.Lo. It has been nine years since the Dolphins won a playoff game, 25 years since they reached the Super Bowl and 36 years since their most recent NFL title. Those streaks probably won't end in 2009, but the tailgate parties and halftime shows should be fun.

Robin Soderling and Jeremy Chardy, who both won tournaments last week, continued their good form to advance to the third round of the International German Open in Hamburg.

If the Rockies fall short of the playoffs this year, these are the games that will haunt them.

Team Defiance had become a stranger to the grimace.

There has been a good reason for the waning credibility of Michelle Wie and it has rested in the condition of her left wrist.

The pictures of David Beckham confronting an L.A. Galaxy fan last weekend may end up being the signature images of his convoluted career in the United States. Given the Galaxy's goals heading into the deal with Beckham, that may not be a bad thing. The team...

More photos » by H. RUMPH JR - AP Z needs a haircut. Dome's sunglasses are cool, though. Browse more photos » PITTSBURGH -- Just arrived at my hotel outside Pittsburgh... it took a good 45 minutes to get out of Philadelphia rush hour traffic. I'm tired. It's late. We have an off day tomorrow to rehash today's big win and the fact that with Houston beating St. Louis, the Cubs stand one game out of first place. I'll post a recap in the morning. I'm not opening comments on this post; it will disappear when I post the recap. Josh's minor league recap will be up overnight. Goodnight.

Pittsburgh - The incident between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates that emptied both benches and bullpens Monday night didn't die after a good night's sleep.