INSIDE PITCH Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' managing general partner, told reporters before Monday's game that the jobs of Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman were not riding on the outcome of this playoff race, but said that everyone would be evaluated after the season.
Mexico limped its way to a fourth-place finish in the CONCACAF Hexagonal, losing on the final matchday but getting a helping hand from its biggest rival, the United States, to hold on to a spot in this playoff tie against the winner of Oceania's World Cup qualifying group.
Still, the decision to make the trip sent an odd message to his teammates: I'm at least as focused, if not more focused, on celebrity than winning this playoff game.
The team has crafted this playoff run on grit and creating its own luck, writes Pierre LeBrun on ESPN.com, which is why no one was complaining about the weird, mostly ugly Game 5, writes Adrian Dater on SI.com.
OUTLOOK -- Under Millen's leadership, Detroit is on its way to becoming a perennial playoff team, but in a division crowded with talent, the Lions won't be knocking on the playoff door this season.
"On the playoff holes, I was very calm.
So Frank must keep an eye on the playoff picture.
The downpour meant another day of uncertainty for players on the playoff bubble.
Brian Kelly, the Notre Dame coach, weighed in on the playoff system earlier this week.
On the playoff scenario I'm not concerned about it really.
