The Mariners gambled when they acquired Cliff Lee in the off-season, hoping that he would help lead the team back to the playoffs for the first time  since 2001, but with the team mired dead last in the division, Mariners management decided to trade him away for prospects that they hope will pan out for the future. 

For those hopeful fans who follow the Mariners, this is a stark reminder of all the talent that the team has traded, or allowed to walk  away, in the past: Dave Henderson, Mark Langston (actually, a pretty good deal this one!), Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen, Omar Vizquel, Raoul Ibanez, Mike Cameron, Jamie Moyer, and Ken Griffey Jr., to name only the some of the biggest names to leave.

Read more at:

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=5367615

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/sports/baseball/10kepner.html

Oakland defeated Tampa Bay 4-0 in Oakland.

Data on Dallas Braden:

–Dallas Braden threw the 19th perfect game in MLB history and the second straight perfect game against the Rays

–Braden was the Athletics’ 24th-round pick in 2004 draft

–Braden played for eight minor league teams from 2004-08

–Prior to the perfectg game, Braden’s record was 17-23, wtih a 4.62 ERA in his MLB career before the perfect game

–Ironically, Braden pitched his perfect game on Mother’s Day, but his  mother died of melanoma when he was in high school.  Braden’s grandmother, however, was in the stands to see his accomplishment

Dallas Braden Hugs His Grandmother on Mother's Day After His Perfect Game

 http://www.historyguy.com/sportshistory/dallas_braden_perfect_game_may_9_2010_mothers_day.htm

http://www.historyguy.com/sportshistory/baseball_no-hitters.htm#dallasbradenperfectgame

See the video below:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — When Tanith  
Belbin arrived at the Athletes Village on Friday
morning, after a harrowing journey that included
12 cancelled flights because of the snowstorm in
Philadelphia, fellow Olympian Johnny Weir doted
on her as if she were a princess.

Weir, a three-time U.S. men’s figure skating
champion, had aroma candles in her room and
Audrey Hepburn posters on the wall.

“He put away all my clothes in the closet,” Belbin
said with a laugh.

Belbin, the defending Olympic silver medalist in
ice dance with Ben Agosto, has one of the most
unusual rooming arrangements at the Winter
Games. She requested a single room — which
she received — but learned before departing for
Vancouver that a male figure skater would be her
suitemate: the eccentric and, as he would say,
highly fashionable, Johnny Weir.

As it turns out, Belbin said, the arrangement is
perfect because the two have been friends since
they were 15.

“We’ve kind of had the same time-line
progression,” Belbin said of their figure skating
careers. “We’ve always stayed really close. He
used to come visit me in Detroit.

“He’s been a close part of our family.”

Belbin and Agosto trained in Michigan for 10
years before leaving for Aston, Pa., for new
coaches in the spring of 2008.

Belbin, born in Canada, holds dual citizenship.
She became a U.S. citizen in December 2005,
shortly before competing at the 2006 Torino
Winter Games.

The three U.S. Olympic ice dance teams met with
the media Friday. Two-time American champions
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and U.S. bronze
medalists Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates of the
Ann Arbor FSC practiced on the Olympic ice in
the morning at the Pacific Coliseum.

“We had our first practice — skated on official
ice — but we haven’t got in our official rooms,”
Bates said.

Danica Patrick: Racer

The top ten finishers in the race were:

Sources: http://www.arcaracing.com/

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4893751

1    Rachel Flatt
2    Mirai Nagasu
3    Ashley Wagner
4    Sasha Cohen
5    Christina Gao
6    Beatrisa Liang
7    Amanda Dobbs
8    Alexe Gilles
9    Emily Hughes
10  Alissa Czisny
11  Caroline Zhang

Sasha Cohen

Sasha Cohen on the Ice

 See also: http://www.historyguy.com/sportshistory/cohen_sasha.htm