Fedor flees to Strikeforce

• Has anyone heard a word from Roy Halladay since the trade deadline? Seems quite the cone of silence has descended upon the ace pitcher wanting out of Toronto. Former teammate and now New York Yankee AJ Burnett was regularly exchanging messages with Halladay leading up to the trade deadline, partly to urge Halladay to move to New York, and word from Michael Kay at ESPN Radio New York is that the messages stopped on Wednesday and Burnett told Kay that something wasn't right. Is Halladay super bent over how JP Ricciardi handled the situation? It'd be hard to believe otherwise, really.
• there could well be some hope yet for Jim Balsillie's bid to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, as the Phoenix judge presiding over the case has ruled that the auction of the team will now be September 10th and that he may allow outside bids. Gary Bettman did not have a good day yesterday as a result, but really, it isn't personal.
• Fedor Emelianenko has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce where he'll no doubt feed on a steady diet of lesser competition. Eventually, you'd think he'd want to go to UFC, no? UFC President Dana White had some pointed comments, as you might expect, at the bottom of that same link.
  
• Count Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic among those who aren't a fan of Brock Lesnar. Cro Cop best be careful or he'll end up on the wrong end of a beating from Lesnar sometime down the road, assuming he can even work his way into the title picture.
• it may be a bit too much crystal ball, but RM reader Big Daddy sends this piece from the Bleacher Report that looks at the future of the NFL and CFL in upstate New York (read: Buffalo) and how the latter may replace the former.
• one Steven Thompson of Burnley in the English Premier League tumbled into the beer garden in Portland during an exhibition match on Sunday. Thompson took it upon himself to get up, grab a pint off a table, take a giant swig and jump back into play. Awesome. Wonder what NFL Commish Roger Goodell would do if one of his players ever did that?
  

Check out the Alessandro Del Piero's penalty kick in the finals of the 2009 Peace Cup. Not sure what is funnier, Del Piero's effort, or the call of the commentator, which could also double as the best call since "Boom goes the dynamite", if not ever. Enjoy.