Red Sox, O's broadcaster at odds over bloody sock  —  BALTIMORE — The story of Curt Schilling's famous bloody sock from the 2004 playoffs is turning into a bloody mess after a prominent broadcaster claimed one of Schilling's teammates acknowledged the blood wasn't real.

Sosa has two HRs, Rangers fall to Tribe (AP)  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Sammy Sosa hit two homers to reach 594 for his career, but Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 9-4 Thursday for their fifth straight win.  —  Sosa's 439-foot drive into the left-field seats leading off …

As the A-Rod Turns  —  I wrote a two-part piece on Alex Rodriguez last year when he was supposedly washed up, struggling, could not hit a thing.  What a difference a year makes.  Now A-Rod is rewriting the American League record book and is apparently a different person.

Think A-Rod won't opt out?  Think again … This week's bulletin from the Alex Rodriguez Opt-Out Watch was this save-for-future-reference quotation:  —  "I want to stay in New York, no matter what."  —  OK, let's hold that laugh track for a minute.  No matter what.  That's what he said.

Ace dealt another injury  —  Strain might derail Sheets' next turn  —  Chicago - It was an upper-Midwest excuse for a spring day - raw, rainy and hardly ideal for baseball - and Ben Sheets had this uneasy feeling that somebody would get hurt.  —  Sheets just never imagined it would be him.

What everybody ought to know about Phil Hughes  —  Mark O'Brien is gettin' the shaft.  The Santa Clara University baseball coach doesn't have a dominant, front-line ace to trot out there this weekend when his team takes on conference foe Loyola Marymount in one of the most important series of the season.

Bobby Valentine's Super Terrific Happy Hour  —  With his progressive and creative baseball mind and his Veeckian flair for showmanship, the controversial former Mets manager is a national hero — alas, halfway around the globe  —  The Most Hated Man in Baseball is now adored.

Under The Knife: Prior Mayhem Makes a Long Wait Longer by Will Carroll  —  I spent most of Wednesday waiting and wondering, like most baseball fans.  It was the day we'd all finally have some closure on Mark Prior.  Was he pitching through a damaged shoulder?

Thoughts on Bonds  —  Barry Bonds hit his seventh home run of the season last night.  He's now getting on base at a .470 clip and slugging .808.  I'm totally amazed by this.  Watching him play last April, I thought he was through.  But as the season wore on he adjusted to his knees and elbow …

Mets Fans Need Not Worry About Wright  —  David Wright has now played in 20 games this year, in which he's driven in four runs and hasn't hit a single home run.  Dating back to last year's All Star break, a period covering 87 games, he's hit six home runs and driven in 46 …

Frenchy on a new level  —  Jeff Francoeur played 20 games through April 24 last season, and he played 20 through April 24 this season.  But that's about where the similarities end.  —  The Golden Boy is on fire, surely making Lilburn and all of Braves Nation proud.  The boy's done growed up (OK, I'll stop).

Old Mike, new Christine  —  During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles.  Tennis writer.  Angels beat reporter.  Olympics writer.  Essayist.  Sports media critic.  NFL columnist.  Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.

Hamels and Hill on the hill  —  Greetings.  Couple of house-keeping items.  Anyone notice what Jake Peavy did in San Diego last night?  (For those who didn't, he struck out nine straight Arizona Diamondbacks, one short of Tom Seaver's major league record.)  And who would the Nationals be facing on Monday in San Diego?