## After months of behind-the-scenes negotiating, including some up-front media negotiations, Cole Hamels has signed an extension with the Philadelphia Phillies. It is reported to be $144 million over 6 years. That's $24 million a year and approximately $700,000 per start. In his first interview after signing this deal, the first words out of his mouth were, "It's never been about the money!" Of course not. He was holding out for that extra week of vacation. As if that contract isn't enough, Hamels is married to Heidi Hamels, who has appeared in Playboy Magazine.
I'm still waiting for the day when an athlete will come out and say, "I've finally got the money I was always after. Where did you say I'm playing again?"
## The Olympic games started yesterday, even though the "Opening Ceremonies" won't be held until Friday. The USA Womens soccer team beat France 4-2, with hometown (for me) hero, Abby Wambach scoring a goal with a header, as expected.
The Olympics haven't even officially started yet and 9 athletes have been disqualified for the use of banned substances. Three of them couldn't even get into the country. Maybe there should be a gold medal for the drug testers.
## We love to watch the athletes perform, but the training sessions have to be pretty boring. Even the warm-ups before a race are ridiculous, watching runners shake their legs and windmill their arms. But Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke appears to be changing all that. This kind of warm-up I'd watch all day -- until Annie-O catches me. She can really run, too.
http://vimeo.com/45784191
## The Boston Red Sox lost again last night (Boo-Hoo) and the loss went to former "ace" Josh Beckett. He's now 5-9 for the season. Jon Lester is doing just as badly at 5-8. But never fear, mgr. Bobby Valentine has announced he is going to "have a chat" with the struggling pitcher -- as soon as someone points him out to Bobby.
## Lets see: so far the Yanks have lost an important reliever (Chamberlain), their closer (Rivera), the starting left fielder (Gardner), a starting pitcher (Pettitte) and now their third baseman and #3-4 hitter (A-Rod), and they STILL have the best record in baseball, in spite of a disastrous west coast trip. They went 2-5 on the road trip and have a 5-5 record in their last ten games and have remained 8 games up in the AL East. They picked up an aging superstar, Ichiro Suzuki, to fill the outfield gap, so who knows what Cashman might do now that the Yanks have lost A-Rod. I wonder if George Brett is available?
Cashman's magic was in evidence again yesterday, when a bench player Cashman picked up for a song, clubbed a three-run double in the 8th innin to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead they never relinquished. Boston is next at the stadium, where Ichiro's reception by the Yankee fans may prove more interesting than the 3-game series with the Red Sox.
***THEY SAID IT***
"Alabama coach Nick Saban's daughter is being sued over a fight with a sorority sister. Her dad has a lot of questions. Being familiar with Nick Saban, I'm guessing the first question is, "Did you win?" -- Brad Dickson
"Yes, those Brits will bet on anything. London Mayor Boris Johnson got his shaggy locks trimmed this week, and bookmaker William Hill immediately reduced its odds — of the Olympic torch setting Johnson's hair afire during Friday's opening ceremony — from 66-1 to 100-1." -- Dwight Perry
"Going from the Mariners to the Yankees was apparently Ichiro’s idea. Guess at this point the man wants a ring so bad he’d almost be willing to marry Kobe Bryant." -- Janice Hough
"The Open: With four holes to go and a 4 shot lead, the announcers said that Adam Scott had one hand on “The Claret Jug” trophy. They obviously didn’t notice his other hand was around his throat." -- TC Chong
"Question: What do you call a woman who watched NASCAR races on television with a dead man for 18 months? Answer: Married." -- Cam Hutchinson
CP-
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