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Mario Gómez is a wanted man
Monaco sign Jeremy Toulalan from Malaga
Minor leaguer hits cupholder hole-in-one
Nationals acquire Scott Hairston from Cubs, per report
Greenbrier Classic purse 2013: Jonas Blixt wins $1.1 million
Mexico vs. Panama: Final score 1-2, Gabriel Torres sinks reeling El Tri
NBA free agency: Cavaliers reportedly have interest in Andrew Bynum
NBA free agency: Chris Kaman, Lakers have mutual interest, according to report

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 12:21 AM PDT

Fiorentina want Mario Gómez, but Bayern Munich refuse to lower the €20m asking price they've set for the forward. The viola might be able to pay more than €18m for their man, but it's likely they'll have to sell Stevan Jovetic before putting in a renewed bid. However, with Juventus landing Carlos Tevez, they're less willing to pay through the nose for the Montenegrin attacker. Napoli, too, are interested in Jovetic, but not as interested as they are in...Gómez.

Ah, a nice little Serie A merry-go-round, isn't it?

Just to add another twist to this plot, Napoli owner Aurelio Di Laurentiis will have plenty of cash to splash around should the anticipated sale of Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint Germain go through. With El Matador's release clause set at €63m, the partenopei could afford Gómez and a couple of decent defenders.

Gómez, for his part, has stated his preference for Fiorentina. But if they're not willing to raise their offer, it doesn't much matter what his preference might be. Unless they move JoJo through quickly, they're likely to lose out on the German international. Which should make Rafa Benitez happy: Gómez is a more like-for-like replacement for Cavani, and would fit better in the new Napoli boss's system.

Monaco sign Jeremy Toulalan from Malaga

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 09:43 PM PDT

Jeremay Toulalan is headed to Monaco after the newly-promoted and very, very rich club bought him from Malaga. He represents the latest signing for Monaco as they look to move quickly to the top of the Ligue 1 table thanks to the club's new chairman, billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Toulalan joined Malaga from Olympique Lyon in 2011 and struggled with injuries in his short time with the club. The Frenchman was supposed to help transform Malaga into a European power and while Malaga fell short of that, especially as their Qatari funding fell off, they did advance to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals last season.

Now Toulalan joins another team with European aspirations. Monaco have already bought Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez, among others, and now Toulalan joins the fold as they try to compete for a Champions League place in their first season after being promoted.

The 29-year-old France international should slot into the midfield alongside Joao Moutinho, where his biggest responsibility will be protecting a back line that will need the help.

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Minor leaguer hits cupholder hole-in-one

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 09:21 PM PDT

Million to one shot, Doc. Million to one.

Nationals acquire Scott Hairston from Cubs, per report

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 08:48 PM PDT

The Washington Nationals acquired Scott Hairston from the Chicago Cubs, according to Ken Rosenthal. The Nationals will send a minor league pitcher to the Cubs in exchange for Hairston.

Hairston is hitting just .163/.225/.398 this season after signing a two-year, $5 million contract with the Cubs in the offseason. He is coming off a 2012 season that saw him hit .263/.299/.504 with 20 homers so the Nationals will hope that he can find his form from a year ago.

Washington will likely use Hairston as a pinch-hitter. They have struggled against left-handed pitchers and Hairston can help in that respect, while also providing a veteran presence and the versatility of an outfielder who can play all three spots.

Hairston is joining the seventh team of his MLB career, but if he wants to make the playoffs for the first time, he and Washington have some work to do. The Nationals are four games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL West and just as far back in the wild card race.

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Greenbrier Classic purse 2013: Jonas Blixt wins $1.1 million

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 08:13 PM PDT

Jonas Blixt is $1,134,000 richer after winning the Greenbrier Classic at the Old White TPC in Sulphur Springs, W.V. It was Blixt's second career PGA Tour win and earned him the biggest share of the $6,300,000 purse at the tournament.

Blixt made almost triple what the quartet that finished tied for second took home. Steven Bowditch, Matt Jones, Johnson Wagner and Jimmy Walker each earned $415,800, the amount of the prize allocated for second, third, fourth and fifth places divided by four.

Ted Potter Jr., Brian Stuard and Pat Perez finished tied for sixth place and banked $211,050 for their efforts. An astonishing eight golfers finished tied for ninth place, as Daniel Summerhays, Davis Love III, David Lingmerth, Tim Petrovic, Tag Ridings, D.H. Lee, Rory Sabbatini and Bill Haas each finished the weekend at 8-under and took home $140,962.

Brad Adamonis won the smallest prize this weekend, having all made the Friday cut, but finishing as the worst player among those who were cut after the third round. He earned just $11,340.

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Mexico vs. Panama: Final score 1-2, Gabriel Torres sinks reeling El Tri

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 07:29 PM PDT

Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre's seat is hotter than ever after Mexico opened up their 2013 Gold Cup campaign with a 2-1 loss to Panama. Gabriel Torres scored twice to sink El Tri and send them to the bottom of Group A with Canada, while Panama and Martinique top the group with three points after the first matchday.

Chepo came into the match under fire after a dreadful start to World Cup qualifying and a poor Confederations Cup. Despite the wishes of the Mexican masses that he be fired for those struggles, Mexico retained Chepo and stated they had no intention to fire him, but after another loss -- even if it is an off-year Gold Cup with minimal importance -- the federation will find it ever tougher to keep the man that has the team plummeting in every competition it enters this year.

For more on El Tri visit: FMF State of Mind

Mexico struggled in the opening minutes of the match, but it took until the seventh minute before Panama put a real scare in them. When the Canaleros finally did, they made it count as Raul Jimenez plowed over Alberto Quintero to give Panama a penalty and Torres buried the spot kick.

The goal didn't wake Mexico up either. In fact, they were at their worst in the minutes after Panama went in front. The Canaleros pressured them into bad passes and challenged Jonathan Orozco on several occasions. Panama even hit the post once and, frankly, should have been at least 2-0 up if not 3-0.

But Panama wasted their chances and Mexico made them pay right before the break. Raul Enriquez hit a gorgeous chip over the top for Marco Fabian, who calmly slotted the ball home with his first touch from eight yards to pull Mexico undeservedly level.

The second half would ensure the scoreboard reflected the balance of play thanks to who else, but Torres. He added his second of the match when he sprinted into the box unharmed and got onto a cross from in close to goal for a simple finish to restore Panama's lead.

Mexico did their best to answer in the late stages, but they never turned possession into chances. Jaime Penedo wasn't called on to make any outstanding saves and was also comfortable in goal and Panama turned Mexico away with ease.

Eventually, the final whistle went and Mexico found themselves at the bottom of the table with their fans hurling debris onto the field and chanting "Fuera Chepo." If the rest of the tournament goes like Sunday's match did, those fans just might get their wish.

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NBA free agency: Cavaliers reportedly have interest in Andrew Bynum

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 07:23 PM PDT

The Cleveland Cavaliers have interest in free-agent center Andrew Bynum, and they could potentially offer a lucrative one-year deal, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

Bynum didn't play a single game for the Philadelphia 76ers last season due to recurring knee problems. Bynum doesn't plan on working out for any prospective free-agent suitors, and teams are proceeding with caution with the big man due to the health issues.

More: Cavs blog Fear The Sword on Bynum report

The Cavs currently have Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller in place at center, but Varejao is on the last year of his deal and coming off a health scare while Zeller is still developing. Cleveland has a lot of cap space to offer Bynum a rather hefty contract, although it would preferably be a one-year deal to help protect cap space for the summer of 2014.

The Dallas Mavericks have also shown interest in Bynum, and Stein reports that if the Mavs or any other team offers the center a multi-year deal, the Cavs would likely be out of the running. The Atlanta Hawks have also expressed interest in Bynum.

There's certainly the potential for high reward by taking a chance on Bynum, as when healthy, he's one of the best big men in the NBA. The 25-year-old averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011-12. There could also be language in a new contract that minimizes risk if Bynum's knees fail him again.

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NBA free agency: Chris Kaman, Lakers have mutual interest, according to report

Posted: 07 Jul 2013 06:52 PM PDT

The Los Angeles Lakers and free-agent center Chris Kaman have shown mutual interest in each other, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

More: Silver Screen and Roll on Kaman report

With the departure of Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets, the Lakers now have a huge void in their frontcourt. The Lakers have had preliminary discussions with Kaman, and the veteran big man would like to play again in Los Angeles. Kaman spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Clippers.

Kaman averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last season with the Dallas Mavericks. Kaman did have a few issues with how he was used in Dallas, but in general, he's a reliable big man that would fill a need for the Lakers.

Kaman made $8 million in Dallas last season, so he would be taking a rather sizable pay cut if he joined Los Angeles. The Lakers can offer Kaman the taxpayer mid-level exception starting at $3.18 million.

The Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks have also reportedly shown interest in Kaman.