Ken Griffey Jr. Traded To The White Sox : Ken Griffey Jr. has the right to veto a trade to the first-place White Sox, the White Sox would be adding the slugger to a team that leads the AL in homers. If the White Sox get Griffey, Paul Konerko might be the odd man out.

Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay Three Team Blockbuster Brewing : The Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates are working on the blockbuster of the century–Florida would acquire Manny Ramirez, whose salary nearly matches their payroll and Boston may end up with Jason Bay and John Grabow or perhaps even Jack Wilson.

Sharapova To Pull Out Of Olympics? : Third-seeded Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Open after her second-round victory Wednesday because of a shoulder injury, possibly jeopardizing her participation at the Beijing Olympics.

Mike Loree Retires 62 of 63 Batters : Loree has been absolutely untouchable this season. To prove the point, he has retired 62 of the last 63 hitters faced in his last four starts.

The Cowboys Are Screwed : It didn’t take Jessica Simpson long to insinuate herself into the Dallas Cowboys’ mix this season as she visited Tony Romo at camp yesterday.

Michael Jordan at 45 : Even in his mid-40s, Michael Jordan is still talking trash.

Female Athletes To Undergo Gender Tests in Beijing : Organizers of the Beijing Olympics have set up a sex-determination laboratory to evaluate “suspect” female athletes. The lab will evaluate an athlete’s external appearance, hormones and genes. India’s Santhi Soundarajan failed a sex-verification test after the 2006 Asian Games.

Brett Favre has ended the speculation. Sports Illustrated is reporting that Favre has decided to retire after having what could be considered a “career year,” in which he broke several NFL records.

FOX Sports first reported Tuesday that the Green Bay Packers quarterback informed the team in the last few days. ESPN.com said that according to Favre’s agent the quarterback told coach Mike McCarthy of his decision.

Don’t be surprised in you go to the bars tonight and see several men drowning their overwhelming sadness over pints of Old Milwaukee.