One of the great things about living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and there are a bunch of them, is being a stone’s throw away from both a National League and an American League team. One is right across the Bay from the other, and fans get to see all the teams from both leagues up close over the course of the season.

This past weekend, the Oakland A’s hosted the Detroit Tigers and fans got to see the likes of Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Mark Verlander take the field. Take a short trip across the Bay and a day later the San Francisco Giants were hosting the Colorado Rockies who bring Todd Helton (okay, his skills are fading, but he’s still dangerous at the plate), Troy Tulowitzki, and Carlos Gonzalez to town. Forgetting for the moment that A’s fans got to watch the MVP-caliber play of Gonzalez on a near-daily basis until he was inexplicably traded to the Rockies, it is a particular pleasure to see this young man play the game.

Calling Gonzalez one of the premier players in the game is not a flash of brilliant analysis. His skills are roundly admired and he has the stats to back up his well-deserved reputation. His Silver Slugger and Golden Glove awards from 2010 tell you most of what you need to know. But even Bill James admits there are qualities some players have that transcend statistics, qualities that make them stand out in a way that is difficult if not impossible to quantify. The best in the game have those qualities, whatever they are.

Scott Engel and Mike Damergis come to you from Citi Field with in-depth analysis and player interviews. Find out why David Wright is playing so well and hear from Ike Davis, Jon Rauch and more. Scott also adds bonus Fantasy spins on many key Mets.

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The College Hall of Fame induction class of 2012 was announced Tuesday morning by the National Football Foundation and includes 14 players and three coaches. News that three of the inductees, Ty Detmer (QB, BYU 1988-91), Jimmy Johnson (Head coach, Oklahoma State 1979-83, and Miami FL 1984-88), and Phil Fulmer (Head coach, Tennessee, 1992-08), were leaked early.

All 17 men will be inducted at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner in December at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana during a summer ceremony in 2013.

Join us for Roto-Rx twice each week throughout the MLB season as Dr. Roto and co-host Pat Mayo take an in depth look at the world of Fantasy Baseball. Injuries, position rankings, trades, sit’ em or start’ em, buy sell or hold, it’s all here on the industry’s number one Fantasy Baseball podcast.

On today’s podcast Dr. Roto and Pat Mayo discuss:

• Why Fantasy owners should never take injury advice from a player.
• Which rising prospects are ready to emerge this season?
• Which top players are good trade bait right now?
• Can the Dodgers survive without Matt Kemp?
• What is the state of the Blue Jays?

All this and more on RotoRx!

Recorded Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Each week of the NBA season, Tamer Chamma will look back on the week that was in the Association with insightful thoughts, opinions and observations

I’ve had a lot of fun over the last year and a half at the expense of Chris Bosh by referring to the Heat’s “Big Three” as the Big Two and a Half. This attempt at humor (which has been used by others I might add) had more to do with the fact that Bosh is being placed in the same class as LeBron James and Dwayne Wade when this trio is referred to as the Big Three. While this assertion is ridiculous Bosh is still a very good player and the strained abdominal injury he suffered in Game One of the Heat’s Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Pacers on Sunday is a significant blow to Miami’s title chances. Bosh makes the Heat’s underwhelming half court offense effective at times because he is so adept at knocking down 15-18 footers when the offense breaks down. He is also great at using the space James and Wade create on drives to the basket to get into the paint himself when the ball is kicked out to him.

Scott Engel takes an insider’s look at the Tampa Bay Rays

When the second week of May concluded in Major League Baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays were no longer in first place in the American League East. The surprising Baltimore Orioles took two of three from the Rays to take over possession of the top spot as the schedule moved to the mid-May point.

Inconsistency has plagued the Rays in the first month-plus of the season, as they dropped six of eight after winning 12 of 13. But no one doubts that this team will be near the top when it counts later this year. The Rays have tons of talent oozing from every corner of the roster. They also have a very tight-knit clubhouse, with excellent camaraderie. One veteran who came to Tampa Bay in the offseason told me that he definitely enjoys the clubhouse atmosphere a lot more than on his last team. Players refer to each other as “family”, and even seemingly menacing closer Fernando Rodney turns soft-spoken and speaks glowingly of his high comfort level in Tampa Bay.

College Baseball doesn’t often receive the national attention that College Football and College Basketball do, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some exciting and remarkable things happening in the sport.

Case in Point…. Missouri State’s Red Shirt Sophomore Nick Petree, who sat out the 2010 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, tossed another gem this past Friday night. Throwing eight more shutout innings against the Evansville Purple Aces, Petree ran his streak to 72.1 scoreless innings. Nick allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked three batters in the 2-0 win.

On September 3, 2011 I can remember watching the Georgia Bulldogs versus the Boise State Broncos. In the first half the game was tight but the Broncos ended up pulling away with a 35-21 victory. The thing that stood out to me the most was Georgia’s Outside Linebacker Jarvis Jones. Whenever I evaluate a player I like to break down coach’s film to see every step and get an up close view. If you don’t do it that way, you are doing what NFL Scouts call as “Couch Scouting.” I must admit on that day I had no problem “Couch Scouting” Jarvis Jones. The thing that caught my eye about Jones was his explosion. That is the one consistent thing I always look for in a pass rusher.  A former USC Trojan who transferred to Georgia after his freshman year, I look forward to seeing how Jones grows in the upcoming season.

Join us for College Football Classified each week as we gear up for the 2012 College Football Season. This is the program where NCAA Football and NFL Writer Dory LeBlanc and NFL Draft Analyst and NCAA Football Writer Trey Randall take an in depth look at the world of college football – from hot topics to specific schools and everything in between.

This week Dory and Trey begin the show discussing the event held Tuesday at NYU where Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger and Foxsports’ Jason Whitlock went head-to-head in a debate over banning college football. (DOH!)

They are then joined by CrystalBallRun.com‘s managing editor Aaron Torres who gave his opinion why the NYU debate was preposterous. After some talk about the hot topic of the month – head injuries, the three discuss the proposed playoff scenario including Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delaney’s comments regarding Alabama and Nick Saban’s response. Dory, Trey, and Aaron speak for a few minutes about how the rematch between the Crimson Tide and LSU in the BCS National Championship Game was not only warranted, but why Alabama was the best team in the nation in 2011.

Location – A bar in Boston 30 years down the road. A couple of old timers are nursing schooners of beer. It’s pouring outside. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been rained out so, as is often the case with these guys, they start bitching about the Sox.

“Our starters are gettin’ killed.”

“There’s a kid in Pawtucket that’s ready to come up. He’s got a wicked slider.”

“What the hell is Pedroia waiting for?”

“The kid’s name is Beckett.”

“Oh. Been down that road. Skip it.”