In a surprising deal about 3 ½ hours before the first pitch, the Yankees and Mariners completed a momentous trade, acquiring 10-time all star Ichiro Suzuki for a pair of young pitching prospects. Before switching clubhouses Ichiro held in emotional press conference
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After leaving the only major league team he’d ever played for, Suzuki went from last place in the AL West to first in the AL East and he played like it, singling his first at bat as a Yankee and beating his former team 4-1.
Boston took a beating from the Rangers, losing 9-1 and dropping 10 ½ games behind first place Yankees.
Around the American League-
Cleveland 3, Baltimore 1
ChicagoWhite Sox 7, Minnesota 4
L.A.Angels 6, Kansas City 3
In the NL, the Mets held on for 10 innings against the Nationals before a whopping 6-run comeback from Washington, the Mets losing 8-2. The fading Mets have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Though only 3rd in the NL East they’re still 9 ½ games behind Washington who they’ll play again this afternoon.
Elsewhere in the NL
Philadelphia7, Milwaukee 6
Miami2, Atlanta 1
Cincinnati8, Houston 3
L.A.Dodgers 5, St. Louis 3
Arizona6, Colorado 3
San Francisco7, San Diego 1
ChicagoCubs 2, Pittsburgh 0
Penn State didn't get the death penalty, but the NCAA has slammed the school's football program with an unprecedented series of penalties in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The NCAA fined the university $60 million and vacated all of former coach Joe Paterno's victories from 1998-2011.
It also slapped the Nittany Lions with five years of probation and a four-year bowl ban. The NCAA says the $60 million is equivalent to the annual gross revenue of the football program. The Big Ten says Penn State is ineligible for conference bowl revenues while serving the 4-year postseason ban. NCAA president Mark Emmert says Penn State players may transfer immediately without loss of eligibility.
Paterno's family calls NCAA sanctions a "panicked response" that punishes Penn State students.
Copyright 2012 by the Associated Press
Audio Courtesy of ESPN Radio