Texas A&M to SEC

UPDATE 8/14 4:40 PM CT
SEC has decided not to extend invite to Texas A&M for now, but stated that it could reconsider in the future.
Bye, bye, Aggies.

Texas A&M is the latest school to leave the Big 12 Conference after sources say that the school intends to join the Southeastern Conference as its 13th team, and leave behind the Big 12 (which will now be left with only 9 teams).

The Aggies, which decided to stay in the Big 12 earlier this summer, even as Colorado and Nebraska bolted the conference, reconsidered its decision to stay as details of the new controversial Longhorn Television Network came out. A&M, long the little brother to Texas, has voiced its frustrations over the 20 year TV contract with ESPN which will allow the network to not only broadcast UT Athletic events, but also a number of high school games, which would give them a huge edge in recruiting.

By bolting for the SEC, Texas A&M can tell its football recruits that the Aggies will be the only Texas school in the best football conference in the country.

And although A&M may lack the talent to compete in the powerful SEC in the short run, over time, with its outstanding alumni and fan base, as well as its fairly good academic reputation (compared to the rest of the SEC minus Vanderbilt), I think the Aggies could find success in their new conference.

USA Scores Draw Against Mexico

In the debut for new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the United States national team showed some life in getting a result against Mexico last night at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, second half substitutes Brek Shea and Robbie Rogers combined to equalize for the U.S. in a 1-1 game that was a step in the right direction for the men's national team.
Full highlights of the match are below.

MLB Trade Deadline Central

UPDATED 2:59 PM CT
Astros Trade Pence to Philly
The Philadelphia Phillies' road to a championship got a lot easier, as they add all-star outfielder Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros in exchange for top Phillies' prospects Jeremy Cosart and Jonathan Singleton, as well as double-A pitcher Josh Zeid and a player to be named. The deal further continues the Astros long-term rebuilding while leaving them without a franchise player, while adds a power right-handed bat to the mostly-lefty Phillies' lineup.
Indians Acquire Ubaldo
The Cleveland Indians are definitely going for it this season, as they have acquired ace pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitching prospects Drew Pomeranz, Joe Gardner and Alex White, and first baseman Matt McBride. Jiminez, last year's NL Cy Young runner-up will bolster Cleveland's rotation down the stretch as they try to win the AL Central.
Braves Get Bourn
The Atlanta Braves add speed-demon center fielder Michael Bourn from the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Jordan Schafer, and nominal prospect pitchers: lefthander Brett Oberholtzer, righthander Paul Clemens and righthander Juan Abreu.
Rangers Acquire Adams
The Texas Rangers bolster their bullpen, getting righty Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league pitchers Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland.
Pirates Acquire Ludwick
Pittsburgh gets the right fielder from the San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named later.
Brewers Add Hairston
The Milwaukee Brewers strengthen their bench, acquiring utility player Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor league outfielder Erik Komatsu.
Tigers Acquire Fister
The Detroit Tigers bolstered their rotation Saturday, acquiring starter Doug Fister and righty reliever David Pauley from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Casper Wells, infielder Francisco Martinez, left-hander Charlie Furbush and a player to be named later.
Dbacks Add Ziegler
Arizona acquires sidearm reliever Brad Ziegler in exchange for first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto
Red Sox Acquire Aviles
The Boston Red Sox have acquired infielder Mike Aviles from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielder Yamaico Navarro and minor league pitcher Kendal Volz.
Cardinals Acquire Furcal
St. Louis gets ex-All-Star shortstop from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor leaguer Alex Castellanos.

NFL Off-Season Frenzy

Eagles Sign Asomugha
In a complete shocker, top free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for five years, $60 million. This gives the Eagles now three Pro Bowl corners in Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (who they acquired yesterday in the Kolb trade), and Asante Samuel.
Eagles Sign Jenkins
Philly also signs DE Cullen Jenkins away from the Super Bowl champion Packers for five years, $25 million.
Patriots Acquire Haynesworth, Ochocinco

In separate trades, the New England Patriots acquired two controversial, yet talented players in DT Albert Hayneworth and WR Chad Ochocinco in exchange for draft picks. Washington will get a 2013 fifth round selection. Cincinnati will get two draft picks, one this year and one more next year.
McNabb to Minnesota
The Vikings acquire QB Donovan McNabb from the Washington Redskins in exchange for a pair of sixth round picks.
Cardinals Acquire Kolb
Arizona finally has its QB (it hopes) for the future, as it gets Kevin Kolb from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick. They also sign Kolb to a five year, $63 million dollar extension. To me, this seems like giving up a whole lot from Arizona's point of view for a guy, who although was a great college QB at the University of Houston, is unproven at the NFL level.
Texans Sign Joseph, Manning
In separate signings to boost the worst pass defense in NFL history, the Houston Texans have signed free agent cornerback Johnathan Joseph for five years, $49 million and safety Daniele Manning to a four year, $20 million contract. Although Houston fans were looking forward to potentially signing top corner Nnamdi Asomugha, I think these two signings are great for the depth of that mediocre secondary.

Reggie Bush to Miami

The #2 pick in the '06 draft is heading to South Beach, as the Saints trade Bush to the Dolphins in exchange for backup safety Jonathon Amaya. Bush also gets a 2 year, $10 million extension to join rookie Daniel Thomas in Miami's backfield.

Titans Sign Hasselbeck

Longtime Seahawk Matt Hasselbeck lands in Nashville as the veteran mentor and starter for Titans before rookie first-round pick Jake Locker is ready to take the reigns.

Seahawks Sign Tarvaris Jackson

Ex-Viking Jackson signs with the Seahawks for two years, $8 million. He will compete with Charlie Whitehurst for starting QB job in Seattle.

Chiefs Sign Breaston

The Kansas City Chiefs sign former-1000 yard WR Steve Breaston for five years. Breaston, who was with KC coach Todd Haley in Arizona during their Super Bowl season, will pair with Dwayne Bowe as deep threats for Matt Cassel.

Manchester United Pummels MLS All-Stars, Again

Well, so much for revenge. Behind goals by Anderson, Ji-Sung Park, Dimitar Berbatov, and Danny Welbeck, Manchester United won the 2011 MLS All-Star Game in convincing fashion, beating the MLS All-Stars 4-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ.

Hoping to avenge a 5-2 loss to the Red Devils last year in Houston, the MLS lineup included former Premier League stars David Beckham and Thierry Henry. But with limited practice time, the All-Stars simply couldn't effectively play in the 4-3-3 formation, and were dominated in the midfield by the class of ManU. Full highlights of the match are below.

Five Years

Today my blog, The Sports Scene, turns five years old. Hard to imagine that what began in 2006 as a way of relieving boredom during the summertime has lasted this long and been so successful. From the great success this blog had on AOL (350 posts, 51000 visitors, #4 ranked blog), to the amount of viewers (nearly 6000) it has had since I moved to Blogger in March of 2009, I would like to thank my readers for coming back.

Just in the past year, successes have included my Super Bowl preview garnering 45 page views in just a day, while I have had consistent page views from Canada, the Netherlands, and South Korea. In addition, I once again joined Peter Berger on his online radio show and broke down a theoretical college football playoff.

Anyway, once again, thank you to everyone and continue to visit, comment, and email, and look for another great year in superb sports coverage.

NFL Lockout Over

Hallelujah! We will have a complete regular season of NFL football this fall after the owners and players finally settled on a new collective bargaining agreement today in Washington, D.C.

The terms of the deal are a new 10 year contract (which the players have an option of opting out of after 7), where the owners will get approximately 53% of the $9 billion annual revenue, up from about 50% in the last deal. The new salary cap is $120 million, with the owners having a guarantee spend clause that will benefit the players. In addition, the veteran minimum salary increased and there will be fewer OTAs and contact practices during the preseason for the players. The owners did, however, get a rookie-wage scale passed, so rookies fresh out of college won't be getting paid like superstars before even taking a snap on the field (i.e. Sam Bradford $50 million guaranteed last year)

As far as the schedule is concerned, only one preseason game will be missed, the semi-useless Hall of Fame Game on August 7. Free agency will begin Friday night at 6 PM ET, while training camps will open this weekend for all teams.