Not a bad way to come back into the rotation. It took Big Z 110 pitches (73 of them strikes) to mow down the streaking Astros. Coming into the game today the Astros had won 14 of their last 15. The game was transferred from Houston to Milwaukee due to Hurricane Ike. Apparently the change in venue was a blessing for Zambrano and the Cubs.

In my mind it was only a matter of time until Zambrano threw a no-hitter. He has the arm, the stamina, and the team behind him to throw a no-hitter every time he takes the mound. I foresee more no-hitters in Carlos Zambrano’s career.

With the win Sunday the Cubs extend their lead in the NL Central to 7 1/2 games over the faltering Milwaukee Brewers.

Here is a recap of the action in Week 2.

East

Florida beats Miami 26-3. This is not an ACC post, but props to the Hurricanes, it was closer than the score suggests and they will be a powerhouse again soon. Florida is off this week.

Georgia cruises to a victory over Central Michigan. The team is preparing to start Conference play this week in Columbia against the old ball coach and the Gamecocks. Last year South Carolina came to Athens and beat us, so expect a strong show this week.

Kentucky beats Norfolk State 38-3. Kentucky is playing good defense. A bright spot appeared when freshman quarterback Randall Cobb came in to play. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Could we be seeing the first of the next generation of SEC quarterbacks? This week the Wildcats face Middle Tennessee.

South Carolina is upset by the Commodores 24-17. With an injury to receiver Kenny McKinley and poor play at quarterback the Gamecocks were beat by the wily, physical play of Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks welcome the Bulldogs to Columbia this weekend and will try to upset Georgia as they did last year.

Tennessee had the week off. The Volunteers host UAB this week and look for Coach Fulmer to show that what happened in LA was a fluke by destroying the Blazers.

Vanderbilt beats South Carolina. Chris Nickson had another good game, this time against a legit SEC defense (even if they had an off night). Tough running back Jared Hawkins helps deflect attention from the running quarterback and with good coaching these Commodores will be a tough team to beat this season. They face Rice this week.

West

Alabama did not keep the pace after beating Clemson in Week 1, but still beats Tulane. Tulane played well and The Tide did not, scoring most of their 20 points on special teams. The kicking game was a weak point with a missed PAT and 37 yard FG attempt. Alabama hosts Western Kentucky Saturday night.

Arkansas rallies again to avoid defeat, winning as Louisiana Monroe misses a last second field goal. Coach Petrino is doing well with what has has been left with at Arkansas, but I suspect once Conference play begins they will have a very difficult time keeping this winning streak alive. Their game against Texas has been postponed until September 27th due to Hurricane Ike.

Auburn plays a strong game against Southern Miss. You get the feeling Tuberville has these lads just stretching their legs. This week the Tigers visit Mississippi State to start conference play. Expect Coach Croom to make them earn a W in Starkville.

LSU had their game against Troy postponed. They host North Texas this week after a week of rest… watch out.

Ole Miss loses to Wake Forest on a last second field goal. Jevan Snead played well and the Rebles look like they are taking o this new coach of theirs, the Reverend. This week Samford comes to Oxford.

Mississippi State beats Southeastern Louisiana 34-10. Quarterback Wesley Carroll showed up for the Bulldogs, throwing for two touchdowns. This week will be a big game at Scott Field, looking for a huge upset against Auburn.

In the wake of Tom Brady’s season ending knee surgery, anti-Tom Brady sentiment is at an all time high. George Lampman has created a tshirt for the “Bernard Pollard Fan Club”. Pollard is the Chiefs safety whose hit injured Brady’s knee.

Some people are outraged by the thoughtless attempt to cash in on Brady’s injury, others think it’s brilliant and funny. In a conversation with CBS’s Pete Prisco Lampman concedes that it is crass, but he claims there are people willing to shell out the $19.99 for the tshirt so he’s going to print and sell them.

Even though I’m a Michigan guy, I’m not a Brady fan. It’s too bad that he got hurt. I don’t feel too bad for the Patriots. They’re my least favorite NFL team, and it’s not even close. I would never wish an injury on someone, and I’m sorry that he is in pain, but like Bill Belichick said, Brady is one player on one side of the ball. If the Patriots go down because of one player, the Belichick should be fired immediately.

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ESPN, welcome to the mobile era. I logged into my fantasy football teams today to find a link to get updates on my mobile device (inn my case an iPhone). I have guarded excitement since I complained that there was no such thing (at least that was easily findable) for fantasy baseball.

To get started, they asked me for my phone number and wireless carrier. I put that in and got a text message with a link (http://espn.mobi) that took me to http://m.espn.go.com/. I eventually found my way to the fantasy football section and all I needed to do was login. I’m assuming that they just wanted my phone number so they can spam with text messages as the season wears on. Yey! I imagine that you can just go directly to the fantasy football section, and login and you’ll be all set.

Everything is totally hunky dory. As it stands right now, it only allows you to see results. I haven’t found the ability to change your roster, or make any other sort of roster moves. That would be nice. It’s decent as is, but I’d love to be able to manage my team totally from my phone. So, it’s better than nothing and hopefully we’ll keep seeing improvements.

AFC

Cleveland Browns - The pieces are in place for them to make a run. Their defense will need to step up to make them contenders for the Super Bowl.

NFC

North

Green Bay Packers - They’re the best of the worst. Aaron Rodgers has huge shoes to fill, but he has a solid offense around him and a defense that is poised to win now.

South

New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees has a go to receiver in Jeremy Shockey. They still have Marques Colston, and Reggie Bush. They look good this year.

East

New York Giants - Hard to pick against the reigning Super Bowl Champs. I think this will be the tightest division in football this year. The Redskins are really the only team that doesn’t have a chance at this division.

West

Seattle Seahawks - Another case of the best of the worst. Julius Jones in at running back will help the offense, the big question mark is still the offensive line.

Wildcards

Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears - I think that Dallas is a train wreck waiting to happen but they have a ton of talent. If they can all keep their heads on straight they’ll be a force in the playoffs. The Bears truly are a wildcard. Their defense is still among the best in the league. If Kyle Orton can work some magic (without any real threats at receiver) or Matt Forte can come in and be a dependable back they might climb into the playoffs. A weak NFC North schedule helps.

A lot of people have been talking about Michael Phelps lately, and with good reason. Saturday he became the first athlete to win eight gold medals at an Olympic games. Obviously that is an amazing feat, but the talk of him as the greatest athlete ever should really stop.

Before yesterday, was Mark Spitz thought of as the greatest athlete ever?No. And he wasn’t even in the team photo. So what was it about Phelps at these Olympics that launched him into that realm?

Hype.

That doesn’t do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I think Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer. I’d even say the best swimmer ever, but to for the Beijing Olympics to set him above the likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Jesse Owens, and Jim Thorpe (just to name a few) is ridiculous. Congratulations to Michael Phelps. Amazing accomplishment, but you’re not the greatest athlete ever. And I’m sure he’d agree.

The Bears took a step towards being a real football team Tuesday by signing running back Kevin Jones. Jones is coming off a torn ligament in his knee, but he has NFL experience (something that previously likely starter rookie Matt Forte doesn’t have).

Whether Jones starts, or shares time with Forte it’s a move that at least gives them a bit of depth at one of the most important positions on the field. If they don’t get an offensive line, neither back will have success, but this is a step.

You were my favorite. But you had to go. You were stinking up the joint and pulling down an All Star’s paycheck. I still have a place in my heart for you Richie… but I think it’s better. It’s not me… it’s you.

Fernando Torres knocked home the 1 goal that was needed to win Spain’s first major Championship since 1964, when it won the European Championship on it’s own soil. Since I have been in the Czech Republic this whole tournament, I’ve been able to watch most of the games on a huge screen in a public square. This is something that puts any Super Bowl party to shame.

I haven’t written about the other matches mainly because I don’t know a ton about soccer and didn’t feel like I could adequately comment on the games. What I can tell you is that I’ve definitely become a soccer fan. And I have definitely accumulated some likes and dislikes for national teams. For example, I don’t like Germany. They seem to play dirty. But I do like watching Bastian Schweinsteiger, always seems to be making a play. And while Portugal are very pretty to watch, they do a lot of diving and whining. I genuinely enjoyed watching Spain with Torres, Senna and David Villa.

I could go on and on, but you probably don’t care who my favorite footballers are. Suffice it to say, I had a great time watching Euro 2008. I will definitely continue to watch, and can’t wait for the next World Cup.

So what?

Yeah, it’s a big deal. And obviously no team wants to get swept, but just a week ago, the Cubs swept the Sox at Wrigley. I may be biased (maybe?) but Cubs fans were excited about it, but I didn’t see the across the board outcry of Cubs fans that “Sox suck!” I can’t even believe that I’m defending Cubs fans. As a rule, Cubs fans (save myself of course) are a bunch of dopes. Now I do have to say that Sox fans are typically knowledgeable, but also generally classless (I guess most Cubs fans are too, but I digress).

It’s 3 games. The Cubs are still 16 games over .500 and in first place and the Sox are 11 games over .500 and in first place. They split the season series, and both look like likely playoff teams. If they meet again and either team sweeps, there’s your story. Until then, let’s relax a bit?