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Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd call the plays from the sidelines and aren't afraid of audibles during "SportsNation" TV.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

How would you rate the Yankees-Jays brawl?
Jorge Posada bumped Toronto reliever Jesse Carlson after crossing home plate. They exchanged words, and the benches cleared.

Could you swim faster than Shaq?
Shaq actually beat Michael Phelps in one of three races (although he swam shorter distances than the Olympian). You get to choose the swimwear.

Will the crowd at the new Cowboys Stadium affect the Giants?
Jerry Jones wants to open his new stadium with more than 100,000 fans. Will they bring the noise or be too busy watching the giant TV?

What do you think of fan vandalism?
The front lawn of a home belonging to cornerback Leodis McKelvin was vandalized following Buffalo's season-opening loss to New England.

Which would you rather wear around your house?
Bill Belichick's hoodie has that casual, day-on-the-sideline appeal, but the Snuggie is warm, cozy and screams, "Home!" with those sleeves.

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

• Vote: Are the White Sox a playoff team? | NL contenders or pretenders?

They say you can't get something for nothing, but the White Sox did just that in adding outfielder Alex Rios for the stretch drive. All they had to do was agree to pay a minimum of $61.6 million. Only in baseball, which seems to have roughly the same effect on the laws of economics as black holes have on the laws of physics, could that make some sort of sense.

Taking advantage of the loophole that the trade deadline isn't, in fact, an actual deadline on trades, the White Sox landed the two-time All-Star after claiming him on waivers from the Blue Jays, who were probably looking to trade Rios but willingly handed him over without compensation given the opportunity to escape his contract. Got all that?

The upshot is the White Sox now have another bat, and possibly Jake Peavy's impending return, to chase down the Tigers in the Central or claim the AL wild card.

Of course, with a crowded outfield, Ozzie Guillen just has to find a place to play him. Just what Guillen needs, another mouth to feed and another batter to protect.

• With a healthy Peavy, SN says White Sox would have better pitching than Tigers.
• Rankings: Are the White Sox a top-10 team? Weigh in on MLB Power Rankings.
• Beyond the Nation: ESPN Chicago's Jon Greenberg on Kenny Williams' gamble.
• Groups: Chicago White Sox | White Sux Haters | American League Central

• Do the Phillies need Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee? Vote on trade rumors.

J.P. Ricciardi has another day or two to decide if he wants to keep his ace or be flush with prospects, but for its part, SportsNation isn't sure if the Jays' general manager is Austin Powers or Mike McDermott at the table (come to think of it, among Hollywood card players, John Turturro might be a better fit for the Ricciardi role).

Voters ranked Ricciardi a tepid No. 19 in their GM Power Rankings. That's not Omar Minaya territory or anything quite so disastrous, but it's way down the ladder from the affection SportsNation showed Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. at No. 6. And Amaro is very much in the high-stakes game of dealing for a stud pitcher at the deadline.

Perhaps it's a bluff designed to make Ricciardi nervous, but the Phillies seemed to have turned their attention to Indians ace Cliff Lee after finding the price for Roy Halladay prohibitive. Voters in Pennsylvania remain convinced the Phillies will land either Lee or Halladay, but the rest of the country isn't so sure a deal will get done. Not that many outside Red Sox Nation are convinced the Phillies can't win without a big addition.

Edit: We knew Amaro was a big SportsNation blog fan, but that was an impressive turnaround. We post; he reportedly trades. We feel heady with power).

• 54 percent of voters think Phillies are NL favorites with Halladay.
• 43 percent of voters think Phillies are NL favorites with Lee.
• 21 percent of voters think Phillies are NL favorites without either.
• A Phillies fan, blogger Anthony_Fani hears the talk about keeping the farm system stocked and can't help but think of names like Tyler Green, Brandon Duckworth and Adam Eaton. With a core already in place, he says it's time to stick to winning now.

• Groups: Die Hard Phillies Phans | Displaced Philly Fans | Cleveland Indians Fans

• Rankings: Who are baseball's best general managers?

Most baseball managers are essentially household names in SportsNation (perhaps only in the greater Pittsburgh area and among Russell family members in the case of Pirates skipper John Russell). Most general managers, like this guy to the right, could show up at your fantasy draft without attracting much attention. Maybe if the latter group just wore uniforms like the former during games …

Whatever the remedy, general managers are mostly a faceless bunch beyond money guys like Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein (or "Moneyball" guy Billy Beane). But even if voters can't tell Jack Zduriencik from Andrew Friedman, they think that those who work phones that dial beyond the bullpen are more important than managers.

That's particularly true this week, as Friday's trade deadline puts general managers like Toronto's J.P. Ricciardi (he's the guy in the polo) and Philadelphia's Ruben Amaro Jr. front and center for a fleeting moment. Ricciardi is trying to work off the negative stigma of signing guys like B.J. Ryan (looking for work), Alex Rios (.747 OPS) and Vernon Wells (.714 OPS) to massive contracts, while Amaro is trying to get out from Pat Gillick's shadow in his first season running the Phillies.

• More rankings: Are the Cardinals and Red Sox slipping in Power Rankings?
• 58 percent: Matt Holliday will be the biggest name dealt before the deadline.
• 64 percent: Even in second place, Cardinals are the Nation's pick in NL Central.

• Rankings: Which teams made the best buys on pitching aces?

SportsNation isn't buying Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi's July 28 trade deadline (apparently, neither is he), but voters are still basically split 50-50 when it comes to the probability of any deal at all involving Roy Halladay. And if neither Halladay nor Indians ace Cliff Lee files a change-of-address form before August, there likely won't be any additions this year to Jerry Crasnick's list of the most noteworthy trades involving aces since 2000.

It's difficult to establish a firm grading process for these deals. The Diamondbacks didn't benefit in the short term when they traded for Curt Schilling in the middle of the 2000 season, but they won the World Series the next season with him. And it's not like they ever really missed Travis Lee, Vicente Padilla or Omar Daal. The Brewers didn't win it all with CC Sabathia last season, but they got a summer's worth of pennant race, and quite possibly a playoff berth, because of the big guy. That's a good deal, right?

In the end, it's probably safe to say that if you make a trade and no longer have a franchise in a few years (hello, Montreal!), you probably weren't the winner in the deal. Beyond that, it's a matter of debate. And that's what we live for.

• Most fans say they'd rather keep their prospects than add a pitcher.
• But if Victor Martinez was really offered, Sox should have traded Clay Buchholz.
• Massachusetts dissents, but Adam LaRoche doesn't qualify as a big trade.
• Rangers wouldn't be favorites with Halladay, but they'd be in the mix.
• On the other hand, Phillies would be heavy favorite with Halladay.

So is born the legend of Sergio Mitre. A simple man born in a distant land (all right, Los Angeles), Mitre arrived in the biggest city in the kingdom accompanied by whispers of miracles performed in the hinterlands (or more accurately, a 2.40 ERA at Triple-A Scranton). And with him came sunshine and bountiful harvests. Or at least first place in the American League East.

The Yankees' new fifth starter, and a veteran of a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and 53 unremarkable starts in the majors, Mitre actually didn't have nearly as much to do with the Yankees claiming sole possession of first place as Robinson Cano or Alex Rodriguez, right, who drove in two and walked twice. And considering this is the latest in the season the Yankees have been alone in first since 2006, it's kind of a big deal.

As recently as two weeks ago, SportsNation voters were still sold on the Red Sox winning the division, but that support appears to be disappearing, albeit not as quickly as balls hit off John Smoltz.

• Will the Yankees hold their newfound lead? Vote on the AL East.
• Chat: Frustrated Jays fan? Ask Baseball America's Jim Callis about prospects at 2 ET
• Groups: New York Yankees Fan Club | Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays | BOSTON RED SOX

Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd have been cleared to play and are in the starting lineup today on "SportsNation" TV.

Discuss the hot topics, vote on the biggest stories of the day and chat during the show on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. ET. And if you miss that, there's a second helping of "SportsNation" at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Should the Patriots pursue Michael Vick?
New England has a system and has a good track record of taking in troubled players who have made surprisingly few waves once in the fold.

Do the Phillies need to upgrade by adding Roy Halladay?
The rest of the National League East is fading fast, but Peter Gammons argues Philly could write in several years of championships by adding the pitcher.

Where do you stand on instant replay in baseball?
Michael Cuddyer sure looked safe in the replay, but instead of tying the game, he was called out at home last night in Oakland.

Who is the better player?
Manny Ramirez and Mickey Mantle both put up incredible offensive stats on some of the best teams in baseball in their given eras.

Is Chris Henry on the verge of a Randy Moss-type career?
Carson Palmer believes in second acts, and he says his wayward Bengals teammate is poised to provide some noncontroversial offense in Cleveland.

What is "SportsNation" TV and how do you make your voice heard on the broadcast? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

Brett Favre missed his calling. Day by day, it becomes more and more evident that the best way to make sure your name never leaves the headlines is to be a talented veteran pitcher at the forefront of a weak trade market.

From the All-Star festivities in St. Louis through the resumption of regular-season play, the most frequent question in SportsNation this week was which uniform Roy Halladay will be wearing after the deadline.

So as the 'Nation heads off into the weekend, we close with a few Halladay-related queries that Jerry Crasnick fielded Friday.

We should be careful what we wish for. Running through National League reviews and predictions, we lamented the lack of sports on the day after the All-Star Game. But how could we be so foolish as to think Brett Favre wouldn't sniff out the opportunity and announce that he is definitely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt ... going to tell the Vikings whether or not he's coming back ... at some point between now and the start of the team's training camp. Whew, glad we've got that on the record.

Games not involving Favre's mind resume on baseball diamonds Thursday, but we're taking a look back at the American League before we get there. And compared to the projected runaways in the NL, the division races on this side of the ledger look like they could keep us entertained well into the fall.

American League Team MVP
Red Sox: Jason Bay
Yankees: Mark Teixeira
Angels: Torii Hunter
Tigers: Miguel Cabrera
Rangers: Ian Kinsler
Rays: Evan Longoria
Mariners: Ichiro
White Sox: Jermaine Dye
Twins: Joe Mauer
Blue Jays: Roy Halladay
Orioles: Adam Jones
Athletics: Matt Holliday
Royals: Mark Teahan (Offensive MVP)
Indians: Grady Sizemore (Least Valuable Player)

• Who will lead the AL in home runs, batting average, wins, steals and RBIs?
• 56 percent: Red Sox will win the AL East.
• 39 percent: Tigers will win the AL Central.
• 54 percent: Angels will win the AL West.
• Midseason reviews: AL West | AL Central | AL East | Cy Young | MVP

• Who's changing teams in the world of baseball?

All-Stars are relaxing in St. Louis. Non-All-Stars are relaxing with their families/friends/agents. The only people in baseball who aren't on break are those who work in the front offices. We don't know if you've been paying attention or not, but the Theo Epsteins and Kenny Williamses of the world have been a bit ... busy.

The main prize is Toronto Blue Jays hurler Roy Halladay, whose Cy Young candidacy and trade potential we discussed less than a week ago. Halladay is on the record as wanting to go to either the National League or a contending team. For all his excellence, Halladay has never pitched in the postseason. Staying in Toronto gives him little chance to change that, as the AL East changes from a two-team duel to a three-team melee. He could definitely help a contending team -- 80 percent of SportsNation expects him to win 20 or more games, and he came in second place in our midseason Cy Young ranker.

Doc Halladay's not the only gunslinger on the market, however. The long-dormant Pedro Martinez could be a factor if the Phillies decide to sign him. Martinez was the author of one of the greatest pitching seasons ever, but that was nine years and many injuries ago. SportsNation thinks he'll help the Phillies a little bit, but is he just a fifth starter, or something more? With Pedro, you really do never know.

• A Red Sox fan, SportsNation blogger pd49ers examines the overall trade market and concludes that Halladay will probably stay put, at least for now.
• To include a viewpoint from the other side of the rivalry, we go to Yankee fan iloveny28. Surprisingly for a fan of a team used to acquiring whatever it sets its eyes on, he says that Halladay in pinstripes is a "longshot."
• Rumors: Check out the latest trade proposals from around MLB
• Groups: The Blue Jay Bandwagon | Die Hard Phillies Fans | BOSTON RED SOX