Yes the Tampa Bay Rays have the second best record in the American League. Yes the Rays won eight more games then the Chicago White Sox and loss nine fewer. However, the Chicago White Sox have been playing must win baseball. They have played must win baseball well to make it this far.

The White Sox have won their last three games one loss in that time and it would be the Minnesota Twins playing the Rays. They beat Cleveland 5-1 on Sunday to force a make up game with Detroit on Monday. On Monday the White Sox beat the Tigers 8-2. The win forced a play in game with the Minnesota Twins. The White Sox won this game 1-0, to avenge a sweep from the week before.

True all three of the games were at home. Detroit and Cleveland had little to play for, however the Twins had much more on the line.  True, the White Sox wouldn't have been in this must win situation if they had not lost five straight before their current win streak.  However, when the possibility of post season play was on the line the Chicago White Sox handled the challenge. The Tampa Bay Rays are the White Sox next challenge.

Major League Baseball considered one site to play the two games between the visiting Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. That one site was Milwaukee, which is a short drive from Chicago. Major League Baseball had no choice but to postpone the games in Houston thanks to hurricane IKE.

Sites such as Round Rock (The AAA home of the Astros), Oklahoma City, Tulsa, San Antonio, El Paso all would have made better sites. The league could have moved the site to Mexico City or another city in Mexico which would have been well received.  Puerto Rico would have made sense. Hawaii, Sacramento, and Portland would have made sense too. Las Vegas would have welcomed the game. The spring training stadiums in Florida or Arizona would have worked. Heck, Tampa Bay already played a regular season this year at Disney.

However, Major League Baseball did not pick a neutral site. They might as well have moved the games to Chicago. Maybe Sunday's game should have been postponed if more time was needed to find a nuetral location. A location that would have been more neutral or more advantages for the home team, or a site that would have been better for Major League Baseball would have been a much better choice. However, the commissioner's office dropped the ball.

The game itself, Carlos Zambrano pitched a wonderful no hitter. He brought his best game and the Cubs won the game. Ten strikeouts, a hit batter and one walk away from a perfect game.  However, the location of the game could have been better.

The Houston Astros and Major League Baseball made the right decision to postpone Friday and Saturday's baseball games between the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. Earlier, there was talk of moving the start time up for Friday's game, but this would be the wrong call. A hurricane, which could have the potential of being a category 3 storm by the time it strikes the Texas coast, is not something to race against.  

Letting people evacuate and prepare for the storm is the right decision. No one wants to be trapped in a car when the storm comes. Sunday's game may be postponed too. This if damage is severe enough is the right call. After the storm the city will be dealing with any damage, flooding, power outages, and the return of those who evacuated.  

A hard decision to make as the first place Cubs and surging Astros do have playoff implications. Moving the games to another location isn't the right decision now. The Astros need any home advantage they can have as they battle for a wild card spot. The Chicago Cubs deserve the right to earn their division title playing the games away and at home.  

However, there is a time and place for sports. In the middle of a hurricane is not the time to be playing baseball. The Astros and Major League baseball should be applauded for their decision. Their priority is on their community. Their community consists of their families, fans, and the people who live in the greater Houston areas.

In my first fantasy football league, I waited patiently for my lowly draft spot to come up. Big name players going off the board left and right but everything was fine. I would build my team around my coveted quarterback Tom Brady. In my second league pretty much the same thing. Tom Brady was going to lead me and my teams to the fantasy football promise land.

Then Tom Brady was hurt, bad news for my teams for the weekend. Then the devastating news that Tom Brady was out for the season. This was a bad blow for my second league which has 16 teams and plays two quarterbacks. Now, I'll be playing one. The first league I might be able to rebound a bit as I was able to pick up another starting quarterback. My road to the fantasy football promise land suddenly had a road block and became a whole lot tougher.

My road wasn't the only road that became a whole lot tougher. The New England Patriots road back to the Super Bowl fits that bill. The New England Patriots regular season win streak is definatly going to be harder to extend the rest of the season. Still, I wouldn't say all is lost for the New England Patriots, The same tools Tom Brady had for success are still around the only difference is Matt Cassel will be tossing the pig skin.

Bill Belicheck will face a lot of challenges. Will he be able to win without Tom Brady?  The answer in my opinion is yes. I don't expect the Patriots to win as they would with Brady. However, the more wins the Patriots achieve the better Belicheck looks. How will Randy Moss react to Cassel? If things start to go wrong how will he react? The Coach will have to handle these situations. Will Cassel be the answer and if so for how long? Will the Patriots start Cassel 3 to 4 games as they get a veteran quarterback to come in? The Patriots suddenly are facing more questions than will they have another perfect season and will they make it back to the Super Bowl.