Edwin Rodriguez Resigns

By Justin Worsley,

Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez has resign amidst the team's current nine-game losing streak.

The 32-39 Marlins are in last place in the NL East. Bench coach Brandon Hyde will replace Rodriguez for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay while the club looks for an interim manager.

The Manlins have gone 1-17 in June and have not won consecutive games since sweeping the San Francisco Giants on May 24-26.

Rodriguez's resignation comes almost a year to the day he was promoted to replace current Atlanta Braves coach Fredi Gonzalez. The Marlins and Rodriguez agrees to a one-year contract to keep him on as the manager for this season.

Florida traded star second baseman Dan Uggla to Atlanta during the offseason and their two other star players, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Josh Johnson have struggles thus far this season.

Ramirez is batting a pedestrian .204, much lower than his career .306 average, and recently came off of the disabled list.

Johnson is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA, however, he has not played in over a month due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Along with Hyde, former Marlins skipper Jack McKeon and Washington third base coach Bo Porter are considered the favorites to take over the open position.

HEAT FALL TO MAVS IN GAME 6

By Matthew Klein,

When the Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade had their big celebration last summer, they expected to win an NBA championship. Maybe they will one day, but it did not happen in year one as they fell to the Mavericks 105-95 in game six. This was the Mavericks first championship in franchise history.

Lebron, who had become the most hated player in the NBA last offseason might have decided to take his talents to South Beach but he must have forgotten to take them to the fourth quarter. For the first three quarters in the six games you were watching the best player in the game but once that fourth quarter came he was a total different player. He had only a total of 21 points in the fourth quarter in the six games in the series.

On the other side this is a great story for Dallas. Many people had them getting eliminated in the first round. It is especially special for players like Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. Kidd, who has been in the league for 17 years has been waiting for this moment. He got there with the New Jersey Nets back in 2002 and 2003 but fell to the Lakers and the Spurs.

Dirk Nowitzki was named the MVP of the series. Another veteran who has been waiting his whole life for this. "I still really can't believe it" Nowitzki said to reporters after the game. Even on an off night where he only scored 21 points, 10 of those came in crunch time to close the deal. Jason Terry coming off the bench scored 27 points.

With the uncertainty of there being a season next year, the Miami Heat will have a while to think about this loss. One thing's for sure this is just the first of many postseasons they will go through with each other.

MLB May Realign Leagues

By Justin Worsley,

Four sources have told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the MLB and the player's union are discussing a possible realignment between the National and American Leagues. If the realignment does occur, both leagues would foster 15 teams. Currently, the National League has 16 teams while the American League only has 14.

The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December. One major change is already set in the new CBA, which is the addition of one more playoff team in each league.

The league could also eliminate the six divisions, making a 15-team race for the five playoff spots based on a club's record. In 2008, the New York Mets failed to maked the playoffs despite winning 89 games because the Los Angeles Dodgers won their division with a 84-78 record.

One part of the negotiation that is stalling the realignment from happening is the schedule. Since both leagues will feature an odd number of teams, at least one team will have an interleague foe at all times, which could make a difference for a team struggling to make the playoffs late in the season.

The one team that has been named as the possible suitor for the American League is the Houston Astros since they would be able to create an inter-state rivalry with the Texas Rangers.

Chamberlain Possibly Out for Season

By Justin Worsley,

New York Yankees relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, but the team fears he may be out for the season.

Chamberlain, 25, has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow which may require Tommy John Surgery. a dye contrast MRI that was taken Thursday on Chamberlain's arm will be sent to the office of Dr. James Andrews to determine if the surgery is necessary. Typical expected recovery time from Tommy John Surgery for a pitcher is between 10-14 months.

The Yankees entered the season with one of the strongest bullpens in the MLB, but injuries have taken their toll and the Yankees now find themselves shorthanded.

Last month, set-up man Rafael Soriano was placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation. Chamberlain took over the role as the eighth-inning man when Soriano went down.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that David Robertson will replace Chamberlain for now. Chamberlain was 2-0 this season with a 2.83 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

A's Fire Bob Geren

By Justin Worsley,

The Oakland Athletics have fired manager Bob Geren with the team in the middle of a nine-game losing streak.

Geren, 49, will be replaced by interim manager Bob Melvin.

Oakland (27-36) won a season-high four consecutive games before entering their current skid.

Despite having the fourth-best ERA in the majors, the team has been out of contention in a wide-open AL West because of their lack of a strong offense. Their best hitter, Coco Crisp, is only batting .261 and the team ranks in the bottom five of nearly every major offensive category in baseball, including home runs, which Oakland ranks 30th with just 34.

Melvin has also managed the Seattle Mariners and most recently the Arizona Diamondbacks. This past offseason, Melvin was interviewed the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets for their coaching vacancies.

Oakland begins a three-game series tonight against the Chicago White Sox with Trevor Cahill (6-3) taking the mound.

Shaquille O'Neal Retires

By Justin Worsley,

Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement on Wednesday on social media network Tout, putting an end to the career of a man who's was not only one of the biggest men in the league, but was also one of the biggest personalities.

O'Neal, 39, was the oldest active player in the NBA this past season and signed a two-year deal with Boston last summer. Injuries slowed down O'Neal and he was only able to play in 37 games this season. O'Neal was told that his Achilles tendon, which was injured on Christmas Day, would require surgery if he wanted to play which needed a nine-month recovery time. Instead of putting the Celtics in a state of limbo as they awaited his return, he instead decided to retire.

O'Neal was the first major superstar to play for the Orlando Magic, who drafted him first overall in 1992 out of LSU. Along with Penny Hardaway, O'Neal led Orlando to their first NBA Finals appearance in 1995 where they were swept by the Houston Rockets.

In 1996, O'Neal left Orlando and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three NBA Championships between 2000-02. All three seasons he was named the Finals MVP and he also won the league MVP in 2000.

In 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat where he promised the fans that he would bring them their first ever league championship. He made good on his promise, teaming up with Dwyane Wade to win the league title in 2006.

After O'Neal and the Heat struggled in 2008, Miami traded O'Neal to Phoenix. O'Neal spent a season there before playing a year in Cleveland and Boston.

O'Neal ends his career fifth in the most points scored in NBA history with 28,596, 12th in NBA history with 13,099 rebounds and seventh in blocks with 2,732. He trails only Artis Gilmore in career field goal percentage with a 56.3% accuracy.

Along with his three NBA Finals MVP awards and his league MVP, O'Neal has also been named to 15 All-Star games and won the Rookie of the Year award in 1993.

O'Neal will most likely be a first ballot Hall of Famer, however, it is unclear as to which team O'Neal will be enshrined with.

NHL to Return to Winnipeg

By Justin Worsley,

Fifteen years after the Winnipeg Jets bolted south to become the Phoenix Coyotes, the heart of Canada will have a hockey franchise return to them.

Atlanta Thrashers majority owner Michael Gearon has sold the franchise to True North Sports and Entertainment for $170 million. True North will relocate the franchise to Winnipeg and the league will split a $60 million relocation fee.

Atlanta becomes the first city in NHL history to be lose two franchises due to relocation. The Flames relocated to Calgary in 1980.

The 11-year-old franchise only made one postseason appearance, which was in 2007 after winning the Southeast Division title. The were swept by the sixth-seeded New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The deal is still pending league approval. The vote will take place on June 21 at the NHL Board of Governors meeting. In order for the sale to be accepted, it needs three-quarters of a majority vote while the vote for relocation simply requires a majority vote.

The team name will most likely change. Former owner Ted Turner named the Thrashers after Georgia's state bird. No name has been decided upon yet, but the Jets could be used.

The NHL will not re-align the divisions after the relocation, meaning that Winnipeg will still be forced to played in the Southeast division, traveling as much as 2,300 miles for an away game within their division.

The Thrashers finished their final season in Atlanta with a fourth-place finish in the division, going 34-36-12. Only the New York Islanders and the Coyotes had lower home game attendance than Atlanta this season.