COMEBACKS

In one of the craziest games of the season, the New York Yankees came back and defeated the league leading LA Angels 14 to 9 this afternoon. Down quickly 5 to 0, the Yanks got off the mat and eventually took an 8 to 5 lead after seven innings. New Angel, Mark Teixeira, smashed a grand slam in the eighth inning but the Bombers relying on a host of Angel fielding miscues eventually pulled out the win and completed the comeback.

As this game took place on the second of August, we thought it might be good to look at some other possible comebacks during the so called "Dog days of August".

Big Brown: The heralded three year old horse also pulled off a double comeback this afternoon. After what looked like a career threatening performance in the Belmont Stakes, Brown showed up in New Jersey to run the Haskell Invitational. Not only did he finish the race but he came from a well off the pace second place to claim victory. Perhaps the stud farm will have to wait just a bit longer.

John McCain: His comeback is being orchestrated by a media hungry for a horse race of a different stripe. Facing the possibility of a steady but boring Obama lead, all news outlets are trumpeting up every scenario possible to make the election close and boost ratings. One that really caught our attention was a CNN report that Obama had a seven point lead before going to Europe and still had a seven point lead once he returned. This was interpreted to mean that he had not received a boost and was thus vulnerable. Really? A seven point lead seems like a nice place to be at this point in the race but CNN made it like McCain had earned a victory. Another case in point - How much free TV time did the GOP gain by putting Britney and Paris on that anti-Obama ad? With all the terrible things going on in the real world, here was a back door way for mainstream media to hook on to the Britney-Paris express.

Britney Spears: Recent LA Times reports that Brittney has somewhat sobered up, that Dad has taken the reins of her life, and that even the paparazzi have gotten a bit tired of her, gives some hope that a new, more intelligent Brittney might emerge in the near future. Being paired with Obama might not be good for his image but it might do wonders for hers.

Dara Torres: A fantastic looking forty-one year old Olympic swimmer who most of us barely remember from her past victories, has become the poster girl for the upcoming Beijing games. However, the illness of her coach and suspicions of doping among the swimming community could derail this incredible attention gathering story.

U.S.A. Mens' Basketball Team: Talk about an overhyped comeback story! Here you have a team of zillionaires (Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, etc.) in a tournament against the likes of Greece, Russia, and Spain. Yeah, past teams have struggled recently in international competition but this third incarnation of the "dream team" just can't lose. Only in America (and in the minds of NBC and the NBA) could such a talented team be seen as "the comeback kids".

Hillary: Well this story could go many ways. Let's leave it at that.