We read darn near the entire internets so you don’t have to, presenting you with some of the best baseball-related material darn near every weekday in Peanuts & CrackerLINKS….

• Is there a better post title than “Mark McGwire, Drug Fiend?” (Includes VIDEO.) [the GLOBAL sports FRATERNITY]
• Speaking of great titles, Harold Reynolds ain’t afraid to poke fun at a dude for being legally blind, even if said dude pardoned Slick Rick. [hugging HAROLD reynolds]
• Bill Pecota predicts the Devil Rays will have the best record in baseball in 2010, and the Yankees will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years. [sports UNTAPPED]
• Pro poker player donates $200K to Division III baseball team. [babes LOVE baseball]
• AUDIO: Mevs takes a break from sitting on Pete Rose, and talks baseball on the aptly named THE BASEBALL SHOW. [diamond HOGGERS]
• Dreaming about Gary Sheffield and Dr. Drew. [bugs&cranks]

Got a post you think is worthy of link dumpage? Please send links @ NESWblogs-at-gmail.com. Or just follow Chalk on twitter and send him a DM.

The lead SportsCenter story teased during Monday Night Football was the Colts not trying for perfection and taking their first loss of the season by letting their second-stringers get pummeled by the Jets on Sunday.  I’m annoyed by this for several reasons, which I will address here to continue 7IS’s proud tradition of pointing out that Indianapolis would be a minor league city even in Canada.

First, did anyone really think the Colts were going to go 19-0?  Wouldn’t they probably need to be a good team to do that?  If the Patriots couldn’t do it, why would a team with barely any playoff success be able to do it?  Yes, the Colts won that one Super Bowl, beating Ditka’s Walter Payton/Mike Singletary Bears.  But they’ve basically had a regular season bye for the last decade by way of the piss-poor expansion-filled AFC South, so they were bound to get lucky once.  And they’d already been beaten by the Patriots this year, except for Belichick’s chicanery.

Maybe game number 15 is a little early to start resting starters, even with nothing to play for but a chance at history.  There’s not really a baseball equivalent for a perfect season — the closest analogy to this Colts thing I can think of would be a team that’s already clinched a playoff spot pulling a pitcher who had a no-hitter going.  But the reason I think the Colts were dumb here to sit their starters has nothing to do with the perfect record.  The reason they’re dumb is they might’ve helped a half-decent team into the playoffs and given them an extra push of momentum, a team they might have to play in three weeks.  The Arizona Diamondbacks had nothing to play for on the last day of 2007, but losing their last game kept the Fluketober Rockies alive.  Those same fluketober Rockies swept the Diamondbacks in the Worst NLCS Ever.  So if the Jets go back to Indianapolis in a couple weeks, remember I called the upset. (Well, just as long as they don’t invite Joe Girardi back to practice.)

Tuesday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was at New York Jets practice for one reason: to teach franchise quarterback Mark Sanchez to slide feet first.  Jets Coach Rex Ryan, son of the legendary Buddy Ryan, asked for anyone from the Yankees not Girardi specifically.  I thought Girardi showing up was kind of funny, since you may recall Girardi had a fit during 2008 spring training over a collision at the plate during an exhibition game with the Devil Rays.

The results of Girardi’s teaching? Sanchez injured himself sliding in Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills in deepest darkest Canada.

I just hope Rex Ryan has enough of his father in him to seek retribution.  Maybe he can finally teach Alex Rodriguez how not to shy away from contact if there’s a play at the plate.  Or get the ghost of Andre Waters to make like Freddy Krueger and enter Tiger Woods’ dreams and attack Derek Jeter.

***

In other embarrassing Yankees news, the Yankees band of evil lawyers sent a cease and desist to blog The Yankees Universe.  Even Yankees fans are crying foul.

We read darn near the entire internets so you don’t have to, presenting you with some of the best baseball-related material darn near every weekday in Peanuts and CrackerLINKS….

In front of giant sausage banner, Yankees GM Brian Cashman calls Joe Torre’s book “garbage.” [river AVE. blues]

Grady Sizemore’s got lawyers sending out cease-and-desist letters to blogs.  Dude should just man up and admit he made a mistake — like Josh Hamilton did when he relapsed. [diamond HOGGERS]

The 8 most dysfunctional athlete relationships list is 38% baseball: Halle Berry and David Justice, Kris and Anna Benson, and Chuck Finley. [guyism]

PODCAST: SI.com’s Jimmy Traina, Richard Deitsch and sports man crushes. (I’m sure Jeter’s lurking in there somewhere.) [joe SPORTS fan]

Jets get Yankee manager Joe Girardi to teach Mark Sanchez how to slide. [sports UNTAPPED]

Adam Dunn and the greatest gift in the history of Christmas [bugs&cranks]

That Philadelphia fans continue to impress with their ability to respond to any perceived insult. [that BALLS outta HERE]

Got a post you think is worthy of link dumpage? Please send links @ NESWblogs-at-gmail.com. Or just follow Chalk on twitter and send him a DM.