Westplex Today Sports Page:   June 10, 2008

Cardinals right-hander Mitchell Boggs will make the first start of his major league career tonight when the Redbirds open a three-game series in Cincinnati .  Boggs was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday and pitched two innings of relief in Houston , giving up one run on three hits.  He will take the place of Todd Wellemeyer, who will miss a start tonight with inflammation in his pitching arm.   Homer Bailey takes the mound for the Reds.  He's 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA.  The Cards have won two in-a-row and open play tonight two-and-a-half games behind the Cubs in the NL Central.  First pitch tonight is 6:10 , and KWRE begins the broadcast at 5:27 .

While the Cardinals enjoyed the day off, Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. stroked career home run #600 last night against the Marlins in Miami to become just the sixth player in major league history to reach that plateau. 

The Cardinals’ injury problems to the starting rotation continue, as they will officially place pitcher Adam Wainwright on the disabled list today.  The move will be retroactive to June 8th.  The veteran right-hander sprained the middle finger of his pitching hand in his start against Houston over the weekend.  Wainwright will rest the injury and be re-evaluated next week. 

The team did get favorable reports yesterday on three of its other ailing players as pitchers Joel Pineiro and Todd Wellemeyer along with outfielder Rick Ankiel have been cleared to return and will rejoin the team in Cincinnati.  Pineiro is likely to be activated from the 15-day DL at some point this week. Wellemeyer is expected to return to the team's starting rotation this coming weekend when the Cardinals host Philadelphia .  Ankiel has been cleared to resume play after a bout with cellulitis of his right knee.

The Cubs open a series against the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field tonight. Ted Lilly takes the mound for Chicago , while the Braves counter with Tom Glavine.  Chicago heads into the action with the best winning percentage in baseball at .625.  They are 40-24 on the year and the Boston Red Sox are the only other team with 40 wins.  The Braves have the best hitter in baseball, as Chipper Jones has a .420 batting following his National League Player of the Week honor.   The Cubs lead the NL Central by 2 ½ over the Cardinals, with Milwaukee in third place followed by Houston , Pittsburgh and Cincinnati .

In minor league baseball:  The River City Rascals also had yesterday off, and they return to T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon tonight to host the Midwest Sliders.  The Rascals are 11-7 to start the season, and they are currently in 2nd place in the West Division of the Frontier League, one game behind 1st-place Evansville.  The Rascals are also getting more support from Westplex baseball fans, as they have moved from last in the league in attendance to 8th place out of 11 teams.  The first pitch will be tossed at 7:05.

In college sports:   It wasn’t that long ago that Missouri's Mike Alden was on the hot seat as the athletic director, after his clumsy handling of the Ricky Clemons fiasco and the firing of men’s basketball coach Quin Snyder two years ago.   But, Alden has not only survived since then, he has flourished.  

Alden has been named the Athletics Director of the Year for the Football Bowl Subdivision's Central Region, and he will accept the award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics at a luncheon in Dallas today.  The Tigers had 16 out of 20 sports programs qualify for postseason this year with Gary Pinkel's football team achieving the number-one ranking, a Big 12 North title and a win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.  Academically, Missouri was tops in the conference in Academic Progress Rates with seven of the 20 programs cited nationally for excellence in the classroom.

Two dominant athletes in different sports have decided to retire.   New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is hanging up his spikes.  According to the team's official web site, the seven-time Pro Bowl selection informed the Giants of his decision on Monday.  Strahan has played his entire 15-year career for Big Blue, appearing in a 216 regular-season games.  He is the team's all-time leader in games played, and his 141 and-a-half sacks is also a Giants record.   Strahan also set the NFL single-season record with 22 ½ sacks in 2001.

Goaltender Dominik Hasek is again retiring from the NHL.  The 43-year-old native of the Czech Republic announced his decision Monday, days after he helped the Detroit Red Wings win their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 seasons.  Hasek previously retired in 2002, again after helping the Wings win the Cup.  At that time, he became the first European starting goalie to win the title.  His first retirement lasted just one season, and he returned to Detroit for the 2003-04 campaign.  The six-time Vezina Trophy winner has also played for the Senators, Sabres and Blackhawks. "The Dominator" has 389 wins and a 2.20 goals against average.

Meanwhile, Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom and former Blues’ goalie Chris Osgood are taking the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles .  The two will be representing the Red Wings as guests on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."  Lidstrom and Osgood are scheduled to appear on tonight's episode, set to air at 10:35 tonight.

In the NBA Finals, Game 3 will be featured in Los Angeles , as the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead against the Lakers.   Only 3 teams have had 2-0 leads and lost them, in the history of the NBA Finals.   However, the Lakers are 8-0 at home during this post-season, and they have confidence gained from erasing a 24-point deficit down to 2 points late in Game 2 at Boston before losing that game 108-102.

The "Denver Post" is saying the Detroit Pistons are interested in a blockbuster trade for Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.  The package deal might include a homecoming for Chauncey Billups.  Billups played high school ball at George Washington, spent two years with the CU Buffs, and was a Nugget briefly before he helped the Pistons win an NBA title.  At least in public, the Nuggets deny intention of making the swap.

In golf:   Practice rounds continue Tuesday for the 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla .  Practice continues Wednesday with golfers teeing off Thursday through Sunday.  Tiger Woods says his surgically-repaired knee is fine, after his first practice round.   Tiger will play competitive golf Thursday, for the first time since he completed the Masters tournament in early April.