Breaking News: Chris Russo has left WFAN  —  Two weeks shy of its 19th anniversary, the “Mike and the Mad Dog” show is no more.  —  WFAN announced early Thursday evening that Chris Russo is leaving the company, making Mike Francesa the sole host of the popular afternoon drive time show.

First-Round Pick Gerrit Cole Opts for College Over Yankees  —  When the Yankees drafted pitcher Gerrit Cole in the first round of the June draft, they believed that Cole would sign with them and forego a college scholarship.  It turns out that Cole has changed his mind and will go to U.C.L.A. instead.

Yanks set to place Giese on DL  —  Righty first injured in sixth inning vs. Twins on Wednesday  —  NEW YORK — Yankees right-hander Dan Giese has been diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, the club announced on Thursday.

Ibanez, Washburn to remain with M's … Time expired on Thursday afternoon on waiver claims made on Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn, and both players will be remaining with the Mariners.  SI.com has learned that the Tigers won the claim on Ibanez and the Twins won the claim on Washburn.

Huff clears waivers  —  Move enables possible deal; Sherrill to stay  —  CLEVELAND - Orioles designated hitter Aubrey Huff could still be traded to a contender this month, but All-Star closer George Sherrill can't be.  —  According to two baseball sources, Huff, who is having a resurgent season …

Draft update: Sixth-rounder Grossman signs for $1 million  —  The Pirates will sign another prominent draft pick later this afternoon, but the only word on the identity of that pick right now is that it is someone other than Pedro Alvarez.  —  More as I get it.

White Sox belt four straight homers, ruffle Royals in sweep  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe hit consecutive homers in the sixth inning Thursday to tie a major league record and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

2009 Yankees May Look A Lot Like 2008 Yankees  —  According to legend, at least, after being poisoned, shot, and savagely beaten, Grigori Rasputin refused to die.  His killers had to bind him and throw him in a river.  You can imagine the terror they felt as they watched him drown, wondering what they'd do if this didn't work.

Paying Manny $100M would set a dangerous precedent … Life sure is beautiful these days on Planet Manny.  Uhhh, a little too beautiful.  —  Hey, we couldn't be happier for those Los Angeles Dodgers, who are selling about 30,000 tickets a day now that they've moved their home games to Planet Manny.

Here they go again  —  The Red Sox' inexorable scoring spree against the pitch-poor Rangers is under way.  With two outs, David Ortiz punctuates a 9-0 second inning (so far), punching out a three-run homer, his 17th HR of the season.  Kevin Youkilis follows with a double to center field, and comes home on Jason Bay's single to left.

An Interview with SI's Jon Heyman  —  Here's a treat for baseball fans and aspiring journalists: an interview with Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jon Heyman.  He talks about landing last month's Manny Ramirez-to-the-Dodgers scoop, what it's like going against ESPN's team of reporters …

A few frantic hours of MLB trade rumors  —  Working out of his Roselle home, 26-year-old Tim Dierkes has turned what used to be his hobby into a career.  Dierkes runs mlbtraderumors.com, a Web site where he gathers the latest baseball whispers from journalists covering all 30 major-league teams.

Ziegler's 39-inning scoreless run ends  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Set a record, catch a ride to the ballpark in an IndyCar.  Such is life in the fast lane for Oakland Athletics rookie Brad Ziegler these days.  —  The 28-year-old righty tied the major league mark for relievers by pitching …

Varitek files for divorce  —  Sox catcher Jason Varitek (above) is splitting with his wife, Karen.  The team captain filed for divorce July 28 in Gwinnett County, Ga., where the couple live in the offseason.  They were married in 1997 and have three daughters, ages 8, 6, and 3.