Affair is foul for ESPN star  —  Ex-Met GM's dumped mistress has a ‘Fatal Attraction’ freakout  —  She's not going to be ignored, Steve!  —  ESPN analyst Steve Phillips had a fling with a 22-year-old production assistant, who, after being dumped, taunted his wife with “Fatal Attraction” …

Sources: San Diego Padres closer to hiring Jed Hoyer as GM  —  The San Diego Padres are moving closer toward hiring Jed Hoyer, an assistant general manager with the Boston Red Sox, as their next general manager, according to major league sources.  —  Hoyer, 35, has worked in Boston's front office under Theo Epstein.

Coveted Aroldis Chapman to meet with teams in New York  —  Prized Cuban left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman will arrive in New York on Wednesday to begin a series of meetings with several general managers, Chapman's agent, Edwin Mejia, confirmed.  —  The 21-year-old will visit several cities …

Mets Entity May Be Sued for $48 Million Profit From Madoff Firm  —  Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) — An entity tied to the New York Mets baseball team and its owner Sterling Equities Inc. might be sued for withdrawing $47.8 million more from Bernard Madoff's firm than it deposited with the con man, a lawyer said.

AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ANGELS v YANKEES  —  THE MODERATOR: Tim, whatever you want to say.  —  TIM McCLELLAND: As far as the two calls that I had at third base.  The first one with Swisher leaving too soon.  In my heart I thought he left too soon.  —  On the play with Cano and Posada, I thought Cano was on the base.

Shocker!  Tom Verducci slams CC Sabathia, A-Rod, and the Yankees - again  —  Every Sports Illustrated Tom Verducci column ought to have the disclaimer “this author has financial ties with Joe Torre, so take everything the writer says about the Yankees with a grain of salt.”  Make that a salt shaker.

Casey Blake: The Dodger Diplomat  —  As the Los Angeles Dodgers walked out to the field to stretch on a recent drizzly afternoon, they assembled in their usual clusters.  Third-baseman Casey Blake, as always, had a hard time choosing his spot.  —  “There's the little Latin community, the white guys and the black guys.

Rockies give O'Dowd new deal  —  The Rockies' road into the future will continued to be navigated by general manager Dan O'Dowd.  —  Today, the Rockies awarded O'Dowd a new contract.  Terms have not yet been announced.  He has been the GM since Sept. 20, 1999, meaning he's already …

Yankees top list of contenders in race for coveted free agent Holliday … Outfielder Matt Holliday, probably the biggest free agent about to be on the market — John Lackey and Jason Bay are the only other in-their-prime stars — is said by a friend to love the idea of going to the Yankees.

Wakefield surgery ‘successful’  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — While there's not a lot of news on Tim Wakefield's back surgery yet, a Red Sox spokesman said that the procedure was “successful” in an email.  —  The surgery, which was to address a herniated disk, occurred this morning at Massachusetts General Hospital.

MLBPA memo: Donald Fehr to get $11 million package  —  PHILADELPHIA — When Donald Fehr officially steps down as the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, he will leave with an $11 million compensation package, according to a memo sent out to players late last month and seen by ESPN.com.

Inbox: What's in store for Storen?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nats fans' questions  —  Right-hander Drew Storen has been touted as a closer.  If he makes the big league team, how about starting him off as a setup man, and then working him into the closer role by midseason?

America's Hottest Sports Cities  —  These towns have teams that win—and passionate fans supporting them.  —  Boston was once a sports city of lovable losers.  Now?  Maybe calling them non-lovable winners is best.  —  The city's pro sports teams have shed their underdog label …