Our first repeat winner, but it's hard to argue that he doesn't deserve it since he's finally earning a lifetime of $250 million contracts in one shortlong month. ("The New Mr. October and New Mr. November!") After Games 1 and 2 of the World Series (0-8, 6 Ks) it looked like all his post-season "failures" were coming back to haunt him once again. Then, with the Yankees in trouble in Game 3, he bounces one off a camera to start the rally and then comes up with another huge hit—under pressure even!—to give himself the game-winning RBI in Game 4. Plus, he got hit by a pitch three times in two days, because intentional walks just aren't rough enough for this guy.

You know what? I'm just going to say it. If there's anyone on the planet who can get away with hanging a painting of himself depicted as a mighty centaur over his bed, it's Alex Rodriguez. He's got True Yankee coming out of his ... well, everywhere.

Alex Rodriguez earns "true Yankee' status [Allentown Morning Call]
A-Rod all about quality, not quantity in Series [Daily News]
The 2009 MLB Season Has Belonged To A-Rod [Rumors and Rants]
Cashing in with the best team that money can buy [AP]
Matthews: A-Rod is now a postseason powerhouse [Newsday]

* * * * *

Here are some other big winners, who did not win quite as big:

Johnny Damon: The real hero last night, Damon got a huge hit off Brad Lidge then stole two bases to set up A-Rod's big moment. Didn't he used to play in Rhode Island or something?

Vince Young: By waiting until his team played a very beatable Jacksonville squad (and until the Titans' season was pretty much over) to work his way into the starting lineup, Vince Young looks like a hero again. It was a very sane and mentally balanced performance. [The Tennessean]

Ted Ginn: Two 100-yard kickoff returns and 299 total kick return yards after not being allowed to start the game at WR. Obviously, he's much too valuable to be allowed to play offense. Also, I think the Jets might have some concerns on special teams. [Star-Ledger]

Unidentified Minnesota Quarterback: Yeah, yeah. I know.

Texas Longhorns: UT leapt over Alabama in the polls and the BCS simply because the Tide took the week off. Pussies. [AP]

U.S.A.! U.S.A.!: For the first time in 27 years, the NYC Marathon was won by a goddamn red-blooded American. (Who was born in Eritrea.) We will take that. [New York Times]

And the Weekend Loser?: The Oakland Raiders Receiving Corps. Just the way they drew it up.

Whitner and Ginn (who currently plays for the Dolphins) were teammates at both Glenville High School in Cleveland and at Ohio State, and both were in town for Ginn's birthday bash. At some point, several fights broke in the street in front of the club and that's when things got a little nutty.

Officers denied Whitner access to the area when he attempted to force his way past the officers in an aggressive manner, police said.

"Whitner began swinging his arms in a violent manner and, when restrained by officers, he broke free and took a fighting stance. An officer then deployed his Taser on Whitner, debilitating him enough that officers were able to place him in handcuffs," police stated.

Ahh, yes. Swinging your arms violently at cops always ends well. Whitner is currently enjoying his stay at the Cleveland City Jail on aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges. Yet another reason to never go to the House of Blues, ever.

Donte Whitner jailed after 'near riot' in Cleveland [Buffalo News]
Former Ohio State football star Donte Whitner arrested in Cleveland [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

Sticking with the Brady Quinn theme for a second (I can't help it, he's just so damned handsome), that's a Dolphins fan reacting to the Fish not selecting Brady Quinn yesterday. It's nothing personal, of course, Tedy Ginn.

On the other hand, that guy's wearing a Daunte Culpepper jersey ... his judgment might not be the sharpest in the world.

Miami Dolphin's Draft Day 2007 [YouTube]

New Dolphins coach Cam Cameron is a divergent thinker. The Dolphins wanted a quarterback in round one, and Cameron wanted someone who could make decisions under duress. So he made quarterbacks diagram plays during interviews under a strict time limit. The Quick Draw drill left the Dolphins with two top targets: Brady Quinn and Toulouse Lautrec. Lautrec had too many passes batted down at the line, and Quinn's haricut scared them off, so the Dolphins set their sights on Ginn. Or maybe this is a dimpled chad thing: Cameron got his "Q" and "G" mixed up and really wanted Quinn.

This is a bad, bad pick. Ginn couldn't find the middle of the field if you gave him Mapquest directions and a GPS. Ginn's extremely fast and could impersonate Devin Hester as a rookie, but he doesn't like to stray into that neighborhood between the hashmarks where those big, bad safeties live. That's a big red flag: the NFL is full of guys like Roddy White and Brandon Lloyd who can't contribute to an offense because they get the yips when they're too far from the sidelines.

The Dolphins will probably trade for Trent Green in the next few weeks. Their plan is to keep signing veteran passers coming off scary injuries until one of them pans out. Whoever starts at quarterback can just rip all the dig and drag routes out of his playbook. Randy McMichael is gone, and Ginn sure isn't going to run 'em.