Good morning, and welcome to the working week. To get us started, a look at some stories coming out of the weekend to meet us this delugional Monday morning.
The Phillies and Washington Nationals were rained out yesterday, and they have a scheduled off day today, giving them a much-needed extended rest period after a long stretch of playing every day. Despite the rainout, the Phils picked up a half-game in the NL East lead, with the Atlanta Braves slipping to nine games back after losing to the Chicago Cubs. Even better than the division implications were that the Braves blew a 4-0 lead and Dan Uggla's freak hitting streak ended at 33. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]
After signing struggling slugger Jack Cust to a minor league deal heading into the weekend, the Phillies yesterday inked local product Dave Bush. Bush, who played most recently with the Texas Rangers after five seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and two with the Toronto Blue Jays, will be assigned to triple-A Lehigh Valley along with Cust. [The Zo Zone]
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As the MLS's international player transfer window came to a close at midnight, there was much speculation that the Union might be adding another player, Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel. Angel's current team, the LA Galaxy, have reportedly agreed to terms to transfer and sign Robbie Keane, after which they are expected to move Angel, who is said to want to come to Philadelphia. Whether he does or not, it's a great sign that Philly has become a top MLS destination. JPA's friend and countryman, Union captain Faryd Mondragon, was lobbying heavily for him on twitter yesterday. Soccer By Ives's Ives Galarcep tweeted that JPA only wants to come to Philly, but the Union only want him if he's borderline free to bring in. As of the supposed deadline last night, there was no announced movement on Angel. However, Mondragon indicated, whether accurately or not, that we might find out definitively on Tuesday or Wednesday. [The Brotherly Game]
We talked a bit about the frenzied environment at PPL Park on Saturday night, welcoming Freddy Adu into the fold. The fans also caught the attention of FC Dallas' dangerous scorer and US National Team member Brek Shea, who tweeted about the PPL faithful after the game: "@philaunion fans are great.... Good environment to play in #ontothenext" [Brek Shea on twitter]
Need a hockey fix this morning? Check out Flyers Goal Scored By's need-to-know look at current Flyers prospects who may not be on your radar just yet. [Flyers Goal Scored By]
It's getting to be bubble time in the Eagles' buildup to the regular season, with position battles heating up and tough decisions on the way for a front office that has built a deep and talented team, yet won't have as much time as usual to evaluate its talent. Reuben Frank takes a look at 10 Eagles who are on the bubble. [CSNPhilly.com]
News
With the postponement of yesterday's Phillies game, the planned unveiling and dedication of the Harry Kalas statue has been rescheduled for tomorrow, before the series with the Arizona Diamondbacks begins. That is, if it stops raining between now and then. [Philly.com]
Speaking of the Diamondbacks... They just swept the Mets on their way down to Philly and will be looking to build on their lead in the NL West. We should be in for a pretty good series.