The Sports Mac: Daily Fives: Aug. 23, 2010

Jay McAnanyAug 23, 2010

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.    The return of Brett Favre is underwhelming as he plays for just four snaps as the Vikings can manage just 10 points against the 49ers in 15-10 preseason loss.

2.    Lou Pinella retires as Cubs manager before the end of the season to be with his ailing mother as the Cubs send him off by getting blown out by the Braves.

3.    San Francisco falls six games behind San Diego in the NL West after the Giants lose in St. Louis and the Padres win in Milwaukee.

4.    Fulham scores a stoppage time equalizer to earn a point in a fascinating 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Craven Cottage.

5.    Roger Federer wins his first tournament title since the Australian Open defeating Mardy Fish to win the Cincinnati Masters.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.    Rays 3, Athletics 2: Tampa Bay holds off a late Oakland rally to split the series and remain one game behind the Yankees in the AL East.

2.    Fulham 2-2 Manchester United: Two goals in the last 10 minutes; Brede Hangeland of Fulham scores OG for MAN U and then heads home in stoppage time to salvage a point for the Cottagers.

3.    Pirates 2, Mets 1: Zach Duke outduels Johan Santana as the Pirates avoid getting swept by the Mets as Santana suffers his second straight and third complete game loss this season.

4.    Royals 3, White Sox 2: Jason Kendall hits a walk-off RBI single for Kansas City as the White Sox fall five games behind the Twins in the AL Central.

5.    United States 86, Spain 85: The Americans got 25 points from Kevin Durant as they held on to beat the Spaniards in a world championship tune-up.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.    Jaime Garcia, Cardinals SP: 0 runs on three hits with six K’s and the CG shutout in STL’s 9-0 win over SF

2.    Jason Heyward, Braves RF: Four-for-four with two HRs and four RBIs in ATL’s 16-5 win over CHC

3.    Jhoulys Chacin, Rockies SP: 0 runs on three hits with nine K’s over 7.2 IP and the victory in COL’s 1-0 win over ARI

4.    Omar Infante, Braves 2B: Four-for-six with two HRs and four RBIs in ATL’s 16-5 win over CHC

5.    Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks SP: 0 runs on four hits with nine K’s over seven IP in ARI’s 1-0 loss to COL

Worst 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.    Justin Berg, Cubs RP: Fve runs on five hits over 1.1 IP in CHC’s 16-5 loss to ATL

2.    Jeanmar Gomez, Indians SP: Seven earned runs on 11 hits over three IP is CLE’s 8-1 loss to DET

3.    Dan Uggla, Marlins 2B: 0-4 with three K’s in FLA’s 2-1 loss to HOU

4.    Kevin Millwood, Orioles SP: Six runs on six hits over six IP in BAL’s 6-4 loss to TEX

5.    Manny Parra, Brewers SP: Seven runs on eight hits over six IP in MIL’s 7-3 loss to SD

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.    EPL: Liverpool vs. Manchester City, 3:00 p.m., ESPN2: Both teams need these important three points to keep within striking distance of red-hot Chelsea

2.    NFL Preseason: Cardinals at Titans, 8:00 p.m., ESPN: The two QBs in the 2005 BCS Championship Game face off to finish the second week of the preseason

3.    MLB: Twins (72-52) at Rangers (69-54), 8:00 p.m.: Two division leaders square off in a possible playoff preview (Blackburn (MIN) vs. Harden (TEX))

4.    MLB: Reds (72-52) at Giants (69-56), 10:00 p.m., ESPN2: Cincinnati looks to continue a good 5-1 road trip while the Giants limp home after a 2-4 road trip (Volquez (CIN) vs. Cain (SF))

5.    MLB: Rays (76-48) at Angels (62-63), 10:00 p.m.: Tampa Bay continues their West Coast swing and try to keep in touch with New York while Los Angeles is running out of time for their playoff push (Shields (TB) vs. Kazmir (LAA))