The phenomenal year for pitchers in Major League Baseball continued on Sunday, as Brandon Morrow of the Blue Jays came within one out of a no-hitter, striking out 17 in a 1-0 win against the Rays.

The only hit Morrow allowed was was an infield single by Evan Longoria with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Aaron Hill, the Jays' second baseman, just could not corral the seeing-eye single, which bounced off his glove as he dived in the hole between first and second. Morrow struck out the next batter, Dan Johnson, to end the game.

Morrow is the ninth pitcher this season to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Five of those pitchers have completed no-hitters, and of those, two have thrown perfect games.

In an age that has been dominated by offensive outbursts on the diamond, and scandal related thereto, this year is certainly special. It is wonderful to see dominant pitching making its triumphant return to Major League Baseball.

After all, our national pastime was founded on pitching and defense. As these two dimensions of the game take center stage, so does the relentless strategy that attracts me so strongly to baseball. If the guy on the mound is lights out, and the defense isn't making any blunders, all of a sudden every single base runner becomes crucial. "Small ball" becomes the name of the game, as each team tries to outsmart, rather than physically overpower, its opponent on the way to victory.

Here's hoping this upward pitching trend continues. Baseball needs great pitching to put the steroid scandal in the rearview mirror once and for all.

Tiger Not So Tough

Tiger Woods just finished the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio today with a 77, bringing him to an alarming 18-over par for the tournament. He tied for 78th place out of 80 golfers.

In 11 previous appearances in the tournament, played annually at Firestone Country Club, Woods won seven times and never finished worse than a tie for fifth place.

Clearly, the man is still dealing with issues. I just wonder if we'll ever see the old Tiger again, the Tiger who once looked like he would break Jack Nicklaus' record for career major victories by the time he was 35. Tiger, who will turn 35 on December 30 of this year, is still four majors short of Nicklaus' 18 and is showing no signs of getting any better; in fact, he is regressing so horribly that I would not count on him making the cut in next week's PGA Championship.

Tiger blames his recent decline on the rough year he has had off the course and on his recent swing change. He says it took two years for him to regain his game following his first swing change after his 1997 Masters victory.

It has to be difficult for him to focus out there, and I just have a feeling his tumultuous year off the course is one obstacle Tiger may not be able to overcome.

Irish Ranked No. 34 in Coaches' Poll

The preseason USA Today college football coaches' poll was released yesterday, and the 2010 Fighting Irish actually got some respect.

Notre Dame received 38 votes, which ranks God's Mom's favorite school 34th in the nation.

When asked how she felt about the team's preseason ranking, Our Lady responded positively.

"You know, I feel pretty good about it," she said. "I mean, we are coming off a few rough seasons, so you can't expect people to predict a national championship this year, even with a great new coach like B.K. But then again, no one thought a virgin peasant girl would be the Mother of God, so that just goes to show that with God, anything is possible."

Alabama received 55 of 59 first place votes to gain a firm hold of the No. 1 ranking. The other four first place votes went to Ohio State, who will start the season ranked No. 2.

For the complete poll:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

Favre to Retire...Maybe

According to reports, Brett Favre has decided to retire. Nothing is official yet, but then again, is it ever official with Brett Favre?

In 2007, after his 16th season with the Packers, Favre decided to hang it up in an emotional press conference. He then decided to return to the Packers, but he had not met his former team's timeline for a decision, so the Packers had already moved on to quarterback Aaron Rodgers. That situation, of course, set off the nasty breakup between Brett and Green Bay.

Then, after playing the 2008 season with the Jets, and amid speculation that he would suit up for his long-time archrival, the Minnesota Vikings, Favre said he was done with professional football but changed his mind again and joined the Vikings after they began training camp.

So, needless to say, I am not convinced one bit that Brett Favre is going to retire, even if this goes official. The man breathes football, and the whole reason for his flip-flopping the last few years is that he doesn't know what to do with himself when he is not on the field. One would think he has to retire eventually, and I could be wrong, but I don't think he is ready to hang it up just yet. However, he is a grandpa now, so that could be influencing his decision.