Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA ó The 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was Friday. No truth to the tale that Jamie Moyer was the first to sing it.
In a World Series full of juicy subplots, perhaps the most intriguing of all is about to play out: Can a 45-year-old man with a heater that rarely cracks 85 mph stop a lineup stacked with brash boppers?
Game 3 is tonight, weather permitting, when the ol’ left-hander and the Phillies face the Tampa Bay Rays with the teams tied at a game apiece. Steve Carlton will throw out the first ball ó Moyer won his major league debut in 1986 by outpitching the future Hall of Famer.
Moyer gets his chance to finally pitch in a World Series, and fans of a certain generation get an opportunity to root for one of their own.
Moyer will become the second-oldest player to appear in a Series. Jack Quinn was 47 when he pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1930.
NASCAR
HAMPTON, Ga.ó Another week, another rainout.
And, oh, by the way: another pole for Jimmie Johnson.
Rain washed out Sprint Cup qualifying for the third consecutive week Friday, forcing NASCAR to set the field on points at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It gave Johnson the top starting spot and put the 11 drivers chasing him for the title right on his bumper.
Greg Biffle, who trails Johnson by 149 points with four races to go, will start second.
“It makes it sort of boring, takes the excitement out of it because the 12 guys are starting right there,” Biffle said.
NFL
NEW ORLEANS ó New Orleans Saints veterans Deuce McAllister and Will Smith reportedly are among several players who have violated the NFL steroids policy.
Fox 31 television in Denver, citing an unnamed source, reported Friday there are between six and 10 positive tests in the NFL for a weight-loss diuretic. The only names the station mentioned were the two Saints, who are in London for Sunday’s game with San Diego.
NBA
NEW YORK ó Authorities were called to the home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills early Friday morning.
Police would not identify the man, except to give his age. But reached on his cell phone the 47-year-old Thomas told the New York Post he had not been treated for a sleeping pill overdose, and that it was his 17-year-old daughter Lauren who had a medical issue.
– CHICAGO ó Derrick Rose, the former Memphis star selected first overall in the NBA draft, left the Chicago Bulls’ exhibition finale against Milwaukee because of a hip injury Friday night.