Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on winning their first Stanley Cup since 1972. This year's major sports champions have now come from Boston, the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Wisconsin. All three of those regions could be gunning for their second championship parade of the year come November — the Red Sox, Rangers and Brewers are all in first place in their respective divisions.
Some news and items from around the majors….
- The Orioles have a lot of pieces that can be moved this summer, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. He lists Koji Uehara and Jeremy Guthrie as possible trade candidates, but Schmuck predicts Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee will finish the season in Baltimore since "neither…has done enough to create real value for the club." Schmuck also notes that Andy MacPhail may not pursue a full fire sale since finishing with a .500 record would be a positive step for a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1997.
- Andrew Miller has indeed opted to remain with the Red Sox and he will start for the team against San Diego on Monday, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.
- David Villavicencio of FOX Sports Florida has the story of Marlins first-round pick Jose Fernandez, who escaped to the United States from his native Cuba on his fourth attempt. Florida took the right-hander with the 14th overall pick and though Fernandez has committed to the University of South Florida, the story makes it sound as if he's eager to sign.
- Erik Bedard still carries too much risk for the Yankees to make a play for at the trade deadline, argues Mike Axisa of the River Avenue Blues blog. Also, as Axisa notes, the Mariners aren't likely to deal the Canadian southpaw since they're contending in the AL West.
- "China, as well as India, Taiwan, and South Korea, represents one of the next great market inefficiencies," writes Bradley Woodrum for Fangraphs. A team that establishes a foothold in East Asia will have first dibs on a huge, untapped area for finding future baseball talent.
