The Sports Mac: Daily Fives: August 26th, 2010

Top Five Stories Yesterday

1.    NFL owners are moving closer to expanding the regular season to 18 games and they are targeting 2012 as the start.

2.    Colorado stuns Atlanta rallying from nine runs down after three innings to beat the Braves 12-10 and sweep them right out of the Rocky Mountains.

3.    In another wild game, Cincinnati gave up a nine run lead and actually fell behind the Giants before rallying to tie the game and then win it in the 12th, 12-11.

4.    The Rays lose big to the Angels, but the Yankees cannot take advantage losing themselves in Toronto.

5.    The U.S. Men’s Basketball team looked primed and ready to go after a 87-59 dismantling of Greece in their final game before the World Championships this weekend.

Top Five Games Yesterday

1.    Rockies 12, Braves 10: Atlanta blows a nine-run lead for just the third time in franchise history as they end up being swept by Colorado.

2.    Reds 12, Giants 11 in 12 innings: San Francisco’s loss yesterday was just the third since 1958 when they had scored 11 or more runs at home.

3.    Rangers 4, Twins 3: Vladimir Guerrero hits the game winning home run in the sixth as Texas beats Minnesota for the third straight time.

4.    Astros 3, Phillies 2: After playing very well over the last month, Philadelphia has fallen on their face losing three in a row to the under .500 Astros.

5.    Pirates 5, Cardinals 2: St. Louis loses its second straight to the Bucs and lose their fourth series in a row against a losing team.

Top Five Performances Yesterday

1.    Ryan Dempster, Cubs SP: No runs on two hits with eight Ks over seven IP and the victory in CHC’s 4-0 win over WSH.

2.    Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks SS: 4-for-4 with two HRs and two RBIs in ARI’s 9-3 loss to SD.

3.    Joey Votto, Reds 1B: 4-for-7 with two HRs and four RBIs in CIN’s 12-11 12-inning win over SF.

4.    Vernon Wells, Blue Jays CF: 3-for-4 with a HR and four RBIs in TOR’s 6-3 win over NYY.

5.    Mike Napoli, Angels C: 2-for-4 with a HR and six RBIs in LAA’s 12-3 win over TB.

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good Yesterday

1.    Esmil Rogers, Rockies SP: Seven runs on eight hits in 1.2 IP in COL’s wild 12-10 win over ATL.

2.    Madison Bumgarner, Giants SP: Seven ER on seven hits in 2.2 IP in SF’s 12-11 12-inning loss to CIN.

3.    Jeff Niemann, Rays SP: 10 runs on hits over 3.1 IP in TB’s 12-3 loss to LAA.

4.    Adam Dunn, Nationals 1B: 0-for-4 with three Ks in WAS’s 4-0 loss to CHC.

5.    Phil Hughes, Yankees SP: Five runs on six hits in 3.2 IP in NYY’s 6-3 loss to TOR.

Top Five Events To Follow Today

1.    MLB: Dodgers (65-62) at Brewers (59-67), 2:00 PM: (Good matchup: Monasterios (LAD) vs. Gallardo (MIL))

2.    MLB: Tigers (63-64) at Blue Jays, 7:00 PM: (Good matchup: Scherzer (DET) vs. Romero (TOR))

3.    MLB: Marlins (63-62) at Mets (63-63), 7:00 PM: (Good matchup: Sanchez (FLA) vs. Niese (NYM))

4.    MLB: Twins (72-55) at Rangers (72-54), 8:00 PM, MLB Network: Texas looks for the sweep; (Great matchup: Liriano (MIN) vs. Lee (TEX))

5.     NFL Preseason: Colts at Packers, 8:00 PM, ESPN: The best quarterback in the league and one of the new young guns continue to get ready for the new season.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TheSportsMac for observations throughout the day, and visit www.thesportsmac.com for all of my previous posts.