What have I missed?

So I went on a meaningless stay-at-home vacation for a week and what did I miss?

#1 The Astros are who I thought they were. Two months into the season the Astros are 9 games back of the lead in the NL Central. They are 5 games back of 4th place in the division. Considering the fact that the owner of the team has already had to state publicly that it's not time to fire the manager, and the "ace" of the staff is already saying where he will and will not wave his no-trade clause, it's fair to say this team is not in the business of competing in 2009.

The Astros have some very tough decisions to make. I think if they are honest with themselves, they know it's not realistic to think they are a playoff team as presently constituted. Carlos Lee's contract is immovable. The two players who could plausibly jump-start the rebuilding process are assumed Drayton Mcclane untouchables, Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. Both players have a no-trade clause, but I think under the right circumstances each guy would welcome a move to a contending ball club. Boston Red Sox Nation is all a twitter with the prospect of acquiring Berkman to replace David Ortiz as a 1B/DH option. The Sox have an abundance of young arms of both the starting and relief variety. It might be more difficult to find a home for Oswalt, but the team needs exhaust all possibilities before deciding to stand pat. If the Astros move Berkman, Oswalt, and Tejada (whose contract expires after the season) they will be shedding nearly $50 million in payroll for the 2010 campaign. That would give Ed Wade ample opportunity to remake the team as he sees fit.

#2 Nike needs a Dwight Howard puppet.
Lebron James might be the best player in basketball, but he's no Superman. Playing by himself for damn near the entire 6 game series, Lebron managed to take two games from Orlando, but it was not enough. Meanwhile, the Lakers played well in the final 5 minutes of their games against Denver before blowing them away from the opening tip in game 6. I don't have a stron opinion either way on the outcome of a Magic/Lakers final. I just hope that the NBA finals are as competitive as the Conference Finals were.

#3 Augie Garrido is a task master.
I don't normally pay attention to college baseball, but it is tough to ignore any 25 inning baseball game. Texas defeated Boston College saturday night in the longest game in NCAA history. That in and of itself would have been quite a story. I'm more focused on the Longhorn's skipper destroying the arm of senior pitcher Austin Wood. Wood pitched 13 innings, including 12 1/3 of no-hit ball. His 169 marathon was even more astonishing considering he had pitched the night before in a 3-1 win over Army. So for those of you scoring at home, Augie Garrido channeled his inner Wayne Graham forcing Wood to throw 199 pitches in a 30 hour period. Way to look out for your players' best interest Augie!