Accordingly, the 30-year-old Rodriguez is hoping to return to his boyhood club, Newell's Old Boys, in Argentina.

Maxi has always planned to return at some point, and the time appears to be now, according to Goal.com.

"When I left here, I knew I was coming back," said Rodriguez

"The president [William Lorenzo] called me and I said yes. Now it depends on the contract I have in Liverpool, maybe that can be loosened a little."

"We've had a few very preliminary discussions and enquiries but nothing of any substance," Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston told The Gazette.

"We've had a few discussions this summer but nothing conclusive so really there is nothing to report," Oyston added.

"Are the reports wide of the mark? I'm sure that football clubs have talks with lots of players all summer that they probably shouldn't do. I'm sure that goes on. If January is anything to go by that is certainly the case."

Tottenham and Aston Villa were also linked with moves for Adam back in January, and Spurs were said to have just barely missed out on acquiring the Scottish international on deadline day.

According the the Daily Mirror, Liverpool will complete a deal for Adam by Friday.

Kenny Dalglish's bid of £10 million was rejected in January, but the Mirror quotes the prospective deal this time around at £9 million.

The 17-year-old, hailed by many as England's best young talent, has been most strongly linked to Arsenal, but it appears that Kenny Dalglish has swooped in at the last moment.

Still, reports conflict as to whether or not Liverpool will be able to make their move before Arsene Wenger seals the deal.

Some reports are claiming Arsenal has signed the youngster for £12 million, while Daily Mail has reported that Dalglish is confident he will be able to convince Oxlade-Chamberlain that an Anfield move is in his best interest.

Other reports claim that Arsenal is unwilling to budge from its £10 million valuation of the winger.

After failing to sign Blackpool captain Charlie Adam on the final day of the January transfer window, Liverpool will reportedly again hold talks with the midfielder later this week, according to Sky Sports.

Adam, whose side was relegated this season despite his outstanding play, has long been linked to a move to a larger club.

The 25-year-old Scotland international, though, would be coming into what suddenly looks to be a crowded midfield with Jordan Henderson having already joined the club this June, and with Raul Meireles and Lucas having enjoyed strong 2010-11 seasons — in addition to a returning Steven Gerrard.

To that end, the Birmingham City center-back duo of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann have been linked to Anfield moves, according to Sky Sports. While the Blues were relegated this past season, Johnson and Dann were seen as blameless in that result, with the club actually being relatively stingy in defense — simply lacking any ability to score goals. Dann's midseason injury also was widely viewed as a turning point.

With Blackburn's Phil Jones heading to Old Trafford and Bolton's Gary Cahill most often linked to a move to the Emirates, Dann, 24, is perhaps the best young Premier League center-back prospect available. Johnson, 28, is a little bit older than Dann, but he has proven to be a rock at the back, and has started every Premier League match for the past two seasons. Both are valued at approximately £4 million, though they would likely cost more.

Arsenal, perhaps with an even more pressing need for center backs, have also been rumored to be interested in the 6-foot-5 Dann.

That's the shot Rickie Fowler nailed for a hole-in-one as part of a Red Bull promotion in the buildup to this coming week's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.

See Fowler's ridiculous shot below, per CSN Washington.

To achieve that mark, they'll have to get the best of Jays starting pitcher Kyle Drabek. Kevin Youkilis will be returning to the lineup for the Sox, batting fourth in support of Jon Lester.

Marco Scutaro will again be in the lineup at short, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will return behind the plate after Jason Varitek called pitches on Saturday.

The Red Sox' full lineup — which leads the league in runs scored — is as follows:

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
J.D. Drew, RF
Marco Scutaro, SS

Toronto Blue Jays:

Yunel Escobar, SS
Corey Patterson, LF
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, 1B
JP Arencibia, C
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Aaron Hill, 2B
Rajai Davis, CF
Lance Nix, 3B

Apparently, that relationship never actually involved meeting.

“When I said it was a physical relationship, I meant there was a physical aspect to the relationship,” Lockett explained in an interview on HLN’s Showbiz Tonight.

“Did I mean that I saw her in person? No.”

That makes a lot of sense.

Lockett, though, does claim to have concrete evidence of their “intimate” conversations — including the exchange of photos.

“‘At the end of the day, Kim knows what happened and I know what happened,” he said.

“Kim can deny this all she wants, but if she wants to go the legal route and start recalling text messages and conversations and pictures and all of that, then that’s not a problem.”

Click here to see photos of the Kardashian sisters’ athlete relationships »

So, basically, Lockett asserts that Kim Kardashian is Anthony Weiner — except a reality star, not a congressman.

She, however, won’t be checking into rehab anytime soon. In fact, she doesn’t seem phased at all.

“It’s really embarrassing for him,” she said to TMZ.

Photo of the day

Does sexting constitute a physical relationship? Is Kim Kardashian the new Anthony Weiner? Leave your thoughts below. 

Quote of the day

“They have to make that ballpark livable. It’s a dump, Wrigley Field. They’re going to have to spend $200-and-something million on renovating Wrigley Field, do what the Boston owners did with Fenway Park.”
– Peter Gammons in an interview with WSCR-AM 670 Chicago 

Tweet of the day

We seem to have a consensus.

Video of the day

Tim Tebow‘s like a Star Wars movie. You wait outside for 24 hours just to see him.

In the midst of the NFL lockout, the Manning boys are picking up where their Oreo ads left off, teaming up in some sort of secret goofy cop project for DirecTV.

Details about the project have been few, as a closed set has been used, but TMZ was able to capture a little footage. The project, some sort of ad series or show, will be called Football Cops – which is pretty self-explanatory.

Hopefully, the Mannings will really show their artistic range in this endeavor.

Photo of the day

When do the Mannings look more awkward — wearing 1970s mustaches or after throwing interceptions? Leave your thoughts below.

Photo screencap from TMZ video

Quote of the day

"If u ask @KingJames for a dollar , he'll only give u 75 cents , he never gives you the fourth quarter #Ouch!!!"
–Former Jets lineman Damien Woody, via Twitter

Tweet of the day

We're sorry.

Video of the day

So, then where did that rumor come from Rashard?

According to Sky Sports, Aston Villa has contacted Benitez regarding the position, and he has given the club his proposed transfer budget.

SkyBet currently has Benitez, who was sacked as manager of Inter Milan this past season, listed as a 4:7 favorite to take the helm at Villa Park.

Former Manchester City and Fulham manager Mark Hughes is a distant second favorite at 4:1

The £16 million deal comes just one month after the 19-year-old versatile defender signed a five-year deal to stay at Ewood Park, according to the Guardian.

Jones, who is part of England's Under-21 squad heading to Denmark for the European Championships, made his Premier League debut in 2010.

Jones had one of his most productive games of this past season against Manchester United at Ewood Park. See some of his work from that match below.

"A fee has been agreed with Liverpool for Jordan Henderson and he travels to Anfield today with the club's blessing," said a Sunderland spokesperson.

"Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson. The 20-year-old will today discuss personal terms and undergo a medical on Merseyside after a fee was agreed between the two clubs," a Liverpool statement added.

The 20-year-old Henderson was widely speculated to be a Manchester United target, but Liverpool moved quickly to sign the versatile midfielder before he goes to Denmark to represent England at the Under-21 European Championships.

Ngog, 22, has scored 19 goals in 94 appearances for Liverpool, but he has struggled to win a place on the first team.

Henderson has also played for England's senior squad, earning his first full international cap in 2010. He scored three goals for the Black Cats this past season.

See some of his highlights below.

If you put two and two together, a Florent Malouda to Anfield transfer makes some sense.

According to Setanta Sports, Kenny Dalglish is keen on bringing in the 30-year-old French international.

While Liverpool is expected to pursue mainly young players, Malouda, who has just one year left on his contract, could potentially be plucked at value, and a bid of £8 million is being prepared. Malouda, though, is valued at upwards of £17 million, according to TransferMarkt.

The Frenchman scored 15 goals for Chelsea last season, though his assist total dropped from nine in 2009-10 to two in 2010-11.

"I spoke to the club (Roma) yesterday and they confirmed they are holding talks with Liverpool to reach an agreement regarding the transfer of Doni,' said the 31-year-old Brazil international's agent Ovidio Colucci.

"Once an agreement is reached betwen the two clubs, we will begin negotiating personal terms with Liverpool.

"Doni would be very happy to join Liverpool and play in the Premier League," he added.

See some of his saves below.

NBC already had the rights to the 2012 London games.

The major upshot to be determined remains whether or not NBC will continue to show the events on tape delay, or switch to a live broadcast model. Both FOX and ABC/ESPN had proposed to move to live broadcasts.

With Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson long rumored to be interested in Henderson, Bruce has been said to have known that his club would be unable to keep Henderson, and that his best course of action would simply be to extract the greatest possible value from his young star.

Liverpool, though, appear to have beaten United to the punch, and the deal could be completed prior to Henderson's participation in the upcoming Under-21 European Championships in Denmark.

Henderson himself is said to be confident that the deal will go through and eager to tie up the switch, according to Goal.com.

See some of his highlights from the 2010-11 season below.

While Alonso is happy at Real Madrid, and invigorated by the challenge of toppling Barcelona as La Liga champions, he has told LFC.tv that he misses Anfield and that a return to Liverpool at some point is a possiblity, according to Daily Mail.

"I think that in football so many things change," said Alonso. "I have my red passion and if circumstances arrived then why not?

"At the moment I don't know what is going to happen, but it could be a possibility. Never say never."

Alonso also praised Kenny Dalglish for the turnaround orchestrated at Anfield, and shared his optimism regarding the coming campaign.

"At the beginning of the season I was feeling for the players because you could see things were not going very well and confidence was low at that moment."

"But things changed, the club settled down with new ownership. With Kenny's arrival the belief and the confidence of the team looks much better. I'm really pleased with what he and Steve Clarke have done."

"I am looking forward to next season. It looks like it can be a good season."

Alonso, who plans on raising his son Jon to be a Liverpool supporter, admitted that he truly does miss Anfield.

"I miss lots of things. I miss the lads, I miss the atmosphere at Melwood – it was a great place to work, and the scenario of Anfield is unbeatable."

"The special nights I have been privileged enough to live, those will be in my memory forever and they are difficult to compare anywhere in the world."

"Stevie (Gerrard) and Carra (Jamie Carragher) are very good friends. They were good team-mates because from the first day I felt I got on with them well."

"The importance they had in the changing room, it was very important for me to have a good relationship with them."

"Being from Liverpool, knowing how things were at that moment and winning the Champions League in the first year made the relationship stronger. That is why they are still very good friends."

Final, Red Sox 6-3: Daniel Bard has come on to close things out for Boston.

Drew has stayed in right field for the Sox, replacing Cameron.

He strikes out Ellis swinging to start the inning. He then gets Kouzmanoff in an 0-2 hole, and he taps out to Lowrie.

Cliff Pennington is the final hope for Oakland, but Bard gets him to ground out to Pedroia to end the game. Wheeler and Bard made very short work of Oakland to close out the sweep.

So, that's that. Boston goes into the Bronx with all sorts of momentum. Crawford and Gonzalez go deep, and the Sox get a sweep.

End 8th, Red Sox 6-3: Brad Ziegler comes on for Oakland, and he gets J.D. Drew, hitting for Cameron, to pop to short.

Saltalamacchia then comes up and lines one to right center. Jackson goes for the diving catch and can't come up with it, and Salty strolls over to third easily — though it looked like a long run for him. He's 3-4 on the day.

Ellsbury grounds one to first, and Saltalamacchia is running home on contact. Barton goes home with it immediately, and Suzuki tags out Salty for the second out — Ellsbury safe at first.

Ziegler throws over to first to check on Ellsbury a couple of times. He runs anyway, and is tagged out at second on a good throw by Suzuki. He looks like he may have been safe — and he's not happy about it.

Regardless, inning over.

Mid 8th, Red Sox 6-3: Dan Wheeler comes on for the Sox, and he gets Jackson to ground to short for the first out of the inning and then gets Suzuki to ground to third shortly thereafter.

Barton quickly pops to Youk, and Wheeler is through the eighth on seven pitches.

End 7th, Red Sox 6-3:

De Los Santos comes back out for the A's.

Big Papi comes to the plate on a 3-3 day, and he thrashes one deep into the right-center alley. Crisp, though, gets a great jump and tracks it down on the track by the 420 sign.

De Los Santos then gets Lowrie to strike out swinging and does the same to Crawford to end the inning. Four of De Los Santos' six outs have been Ks.

Mid 7th, Red Sox 6-3: Matt Albers stays on the mound for the top half of the seventh.  He makes short work of Kouzmanoff, getting him to strike out swinging for the first out of the inning.

He gets ahead of Pennington, but the shortstop rallies for a single to left.

Thereafter, Albers recovers to get Crisp to fly out to left.

Francona ends Albers' outing after an inning of work, and Tommy Hottovy comes on.

Hottovy can't find the strike zone. He throws four straight balls to begin his outing, walking Sweeney — two on, two out.

Hottovy finally throws a strike on his seventh pitch. DeJesus grounds the eighth pitch to Pedroia, and he gets out of the inning.

End 6th, Red Sox 6-3: Fautino De Los Santos has come on in relief of Brett Anderson, who racked up a high pitch count in just five innings of work.

Saltalamacchia, who is 2-2, comes up first, but he can't replicate that success and strikes out swinging.

Ellsbury, though, knocks one into center for a base hit, and a De Los Santos wild pitch allows him to walk over to second.

De Los Santos throws another wild pitch, and Ellsbury ends up over at third — he's hurling them hard, but he has no clue where they are going.

On a full count, Pedroia's third of the day, he slaps one to right and drives in Ellsbury.

Pedroia then steals second with Gonzalez at the plate. Eventually, Gonzo strikes out.

De Los Santos gets out of the inning with minimal damage as Youkilis flies to deep center.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 5-3: DeJesus  fouls one off the same foot that was hit earlier in the game and thereafter proceeds to ground to first.

Lackey goes inside on Jackson and hits his third batter of the game. It was clearly unintentional — Lackey has just let a few go — and he isn't thrown out despite hitting a pair after a warning was issued.

He next faces Suzuki, and after an eight-pitch battle, he gets him swinging. Jackson steals second on the play — he was going on the full count.

Lackey has gone over his prescribed pitch count. Francona brings in Matt Albers in relief.

Things don't start out well for Albers. He gives up a double off the monster to Barton, and that brings around Jackson to make it 5-3.

Albers then ends the inning by getting Ellis to ground out with the count full.

End 5th, Red Sox 5-2: Ortiz takes one right back up the middle for a leadoff single in the fifth — he's now 3-3 on the day and his batting average is up to .327.

Lowrie, though, hands the A's a gimme double-play ball to second. Ellis converts it 4-6-3, and Papi's single is erased.

Crawford draws a two-out walk, as the A's bullpen begins to get ready — Anderson has just reached the 100-pitch mark.

Cameron, though, strikes out looking to end the inning.

Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-2: Lackey gets Kouzmanoff to ground out to begin the fifth.

Pennington then grounds to Lowrie for the second out.

Crisp draws a two-out walk, but nothing is made of it as Sweeney grounds to first — nothing out of the infield this inning for Lackey.

He's now through five with just two runs allowed — not too bad.

End 4th, Red Sox 5-2: Jarrod Saltalamacchia leads off with a single to center, his second of the day.

Ellsbury again bunts, this time for a sacrifice, and Salty moves over to second easily.

Pedroia takes another count deep, but Anderson jams him, and his flare to left is tracked down by Pennington.

Gonzalez smashes one the opposite way — it's over the monster. Red Sox lead 5-2! He now has 50 RBIs already this season.

Youk chops one to third, and Kouzmanoff has to use all his hops to prevent it from going into left. He throws to first for the out — nice play, inning over.

Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-2:  Lackey starts the inning by striking out Dejesus, his first K of the game.

He jammed Jackson in the next at-bat, and the right fielder hit it right to Youkilis at third.

Suzuki was hit weakly in the back in the next at-bat. Despite the warning, Lackey was not thrown out. He took off for second on the next pitch and successfully stole the base.

Barton lines one into right for a base knock, and Suzuki comes around to score without a throw — it was a pretty bad pitch from Lackey, right down the middle without much movement.

Lackey nearly hits Ellis to draw the count full, but he finally gets him to fly to right to end the frame.

End 3rd, Red Sox 3-1:  Anderson, who has already thrown 53 pitches, starts off the third against Youkilis, who struck out in his first AB.

Youk eventually grounds one back off Anderson, but he recovers for the putout.

Ortiz rips a double to deep center — he's off to a 2-2 start already.

Lowrie then makes good contact on one, but it is tracked down in deep right-center. Still, Papi is able to tag and trot over to third.

Anderson loses control of one — or throws at Crawford on purpose — and gets Crawford on the shoulder. He's not too pleased about it, but he heads over to first to put runners on the corners with two down.

Larry Vanover hands out warnings to each dugout about the HBPs.

Cameron chops one to Kouzmanoff to end the inning, stranding two.

Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-1: Kevin Kouzmanoff skies one to center that keeps on carrying. It sneaks over the wall for a home run to dead center. The A's have one back.

Note: Tim Wakefield is going to be taking Buchholz's start against the Yankees, and Clay will instead go on Friday against Toronto — giving him a few extra days rest.

Pennington grounds out for the first out of the inning, and Crisp is back up for the second time. He grounds to first, and Gonzalez gets the putout unassisted.

Sweeney then pops to second to end the inning.

End 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Big Papi takes the first pitch of the inning — a breaking ball — the opposite way, and the ball bounces just in front of Sweeney's glove for a single.

Lowrie then gets ahead of Anderson 2-1. He sits on a fastball and rips it right back up the middle for a base hit — two on, nobody out.

Crawford swings at the first pitch, and he hits a line drive just over the right-field wall — three run home run.

Cameron sends a flyball to center, and Mark Ellis runs out from second way into the outfield and makes the play.

Saltalamacchia goes inside-out on a changeup, roping a single into right. Anderson, clearly, isn't fooling anybody at the moment.

After again trying to lay down a bunt, Ellsbury works Anderson deep into the count before being jammed and flying out to right.

After getting ahead 3-0, Pedroia lines one down the third-base line. It gets past Kouzmanoff for a double, but Salty is held at third on the double.

Gonzalez grounds to short thereafter to end the inning — two stranded, but damage done.

Mid 2nd, 0-0: Lackey gets a popout to Pedroia out of Suzuki to start the second.

Daric Barton then draws a walk from Lackey — the decisive pitch just missed off the outside edge.

Ellis grounds one sharply up the middle, nabbed by Pedroia. He, Lowrie and Gonzalez combine for a nice 4-6-3 double play, and this inning ends for Lackey just as the first did.

End 1st, 0-0: Ellsbury tries to drop a bunt down to lead off for the Red Sox, but Anderson makes a nice spinning play to just get him at first.

Pedroia battles with Anderson in a lengthy at-bat, and he finally takes ball 3 and ball 4 on some close pitches.

Anderson keeps an eye on Pedroia at first with a few throws to the bag.

Gonzalez ropes one down the left-field line, but Sweeney gets there with a very nice sliding catch — he probably saved a run.

Anderson gets Youkilis to chase a high, hard one — he strikes out and ends the inning.

Mid 1st, 0-0: A bearded John Lackey begins his start pretty brightly, getting ahead of Coco Crisp 0-2. Eventually, he gets Coco to golf one to shallow right — easy play for Cameron.

Sweeney comes up next and flips a changeup into shallow left for a single.

Lackey then lets one get out of control. He hits David DeJesus on the foot with a pitch — the second ball DeJesus has been nailed with this series.

Lackey gets some good luck. A ball is chopped right to Youkilis, who steps on the bag and first to first for the rare 5-3 double play — inning over.

1:30 p.m.: One roster move to report: Josh Reddick has been optioned to Pawtucket in order to make space for Lackey on the roster.

12:30 p.m.: The vast majority of the Sox regulars will be in the field behind John Lackey for Sunday's series finale.

The A's, on the other hand, are shuffling things up to a significant extent after Saturday's marathon.

Here are the full lineup cards:

Boston Red Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Mike Cameron, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
 
John Lackey, SP

Oakland Athletics

Coco Crisp, CF
Ryan Sweeney, LF
David DeJesus, DH
Conor Jackson, RF
Kurt Suzuki, C
Daric Barton, 1B
Mark Ellis, 2B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Cliff Pennington, SS
 
Brett Anderson, SP

7 a.m.: John Lackey hit the lowest of lows the last time he stood atop a major league mound. The right-hander was knocked around the park on May 11, a start in which he gave up nine runs in 6 2/3 innings before sounding like a beaten man when meeting with reporters afterward.

Not long after that, Lackey was placed on the disabled list to help heal some elbow tightness, but perhaps more importantly, heal his ego.

He gets his first crack back at it on Sunday afternoon when the Red Sox go for a sweep of the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park. And if there were one team, Lackey would love to see in his return, it would probably be the A's. In 32 career starts against Oakland, Lackey is 17-6 with a 2.86 ERA.

He took a loss in Oakland on April 19, but it was one of his finer outings of the season, going six innings and allowing just two runs.

Oakland, losers of its last five, will send hard-throwing lefty Brett Anderson to the mound to try and stop the skid.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.

John Lackey

Lackey is winless since April 24, when he threw eight shutout innings against the Mariners.

Behind him, he'll have nearly all of the Red Sox regulars in support. J.D. Drew, though, will rest against Oakland starter Brett Anderson, with Mike Cameron instead getting the start in right field.

For the A's, Kurt Suzuki will return to the lineup, batting fifth while calling pitches for Anderson.

Full lineups are as follows:

Boston Red Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Mike Cameron, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
 
John Lackey, SP

Oakland Athletics

Coco Crisp, CF
Ryan Sweeney, LF
David DeJesus, DH
Conor Jackson, RF
Kurt Suzuki, C
Daric Barton, 1B
Mark Ellis, 2B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Cliff Pennington, SS
 
Brett Anderson, SP

According to the New York Daily News, Alex Rodriguez and Cameron Diaz have split up — and just a month after Diaz actually admitted that they were together.

The couple began dating last year and gained major publicity after Diaz was shown feeding Rodriguez popcorn at the Super Bowl.

Now, though, there will be no more such moments for the nation to enjoy.

“[Cameron is] hurt and betrayed, because she tried so hard to please him. … She went overboard,” the report states.

Prior to Diaz, A-Rod had been linked to the likes of Madonna and Kate Hudson, so who knows what’s next for the 35-year-old Yankee? Is Jennifer Aniston single?

Photo of the day

Will you miss A-Rod and Cameron Diaz? Who is more “over the hill”? Leave your thoughts below. Photo via Flickr/Diario Presencia

Quote of the day

“I was going bald at 25 why not. I’m delighted with the result.”
–Wayne Rooney, on his supposed hair transplant

Tweet of the day

Is “nackered” a swear word?

Video of the day

Ouch.