After 182 days and more than 2,400 games, it's all come down to this: one more unbearably delicious afternoon in one of the wildest finishes in Major League Baseball history.

Right now, the American League postseason matchups are set - it's the Angels at Red Sox on Wednesday, 03 October 2007 and the Yankees at Indians the next day. The National League, meanwhile, is chaos. It is such chaos, in fact, that many normal folks in Denver who ordinarily would tune in for a 4.15 pm. ET¹ Broncos game at Indianapolis are just now realizing they will have to focus instead on a Rockies team that should be in about the fourth inning of a most meaningful game.

Today you expect high drama down to the wire in the Majors, but did anyone really expect this? If the Padres lose at Milwaukee, if the Rockies win at home against Arizona, if the Phillies and Mets each win their respective home games, then a four-way tiebreaker process will be required starting on Monday and lasting through Wednesday.

In that scenario, the Phillies and Mets will tie for the NL East title, and they will have a play-in game on Monday to decide the division champ. The loser would then enter a three-game mini-tournament for which the Rockies, based on head-to-head records during the regular season, would have the option of trying to win at home and then on the road or just once on the road to advance.

If the Rockies choose to stay home, their opponent would be determined by the wishes of the team with the second-best combined head-to-head record; it'd be the Phillies if they're involved, but the Padres if the Mets drop into the three-way. That team could choose to play at the Rockies' on Tuesday 3rd, but it's more likely that it would opt for a single game and travel to play the winner of Tuesday's game on Wednesday 4th. If the Rockies opt for the one road game, Tuesday's game would feature New York at San Diego, or San Diego at Philly, with the winner hosting Colorado on Wednesday.

That survivor will be the eighth and final playoff team. There never has been a three-way tiebreaker in Major League history.

Ah, but that is still merely a scenario. Everything still can be decided today, rendering the hypotheticals moot. All the Padres have to do, is win and they're in as the NL Wild Card. But that's what could have happened on Saturday if not for one of the most unbelievable events in final-weekend memory: Anthony Gwynn Jr., son of "Mr. Padre", golfing a perfect Trevor Hoffman pitch for a game-tying triple with San Diego one pitch away from celebrating a clincher. Milwaukee won it, prolonging the drama until today. If the Rockies and either the Phillies or Mets (but not both) lose, then it doesn't matter what the Padres do; San Diego would be back into the postseason. It can be very easy.

But little has come easy this season, and so naturally it will unfold in a very dramatic fashion today. Both the Mets and the Phillies will pin their postseason hopes on 40-plus left-handers. It starts at 1.10 pm. ET with the Marlins' Dontrelle Willis opposing Tom Glavine of the Mets at Shea Stadium. At 1.35pm. ET, the Nationals' Jason Bergmann goes up against Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer.

Half an hour later, at 2.05 pm. ET, the Padres turn to Brett Tomko at Milwaukee and Jeff Suppan. At 3.05 pm., the Rockies and rookie Ubaldo Jiminez are at home to face Arizona and Doug Davis.

Yes, all four of those games will be happening at the same time for at least some of the action. Typical of this entire recent homestretch and this breathtaking final weekend, it will be a scoreboard-watcher's delight. If your team is involved, then you aren't just watching one other team. You are watching three other games.

Just listen to Drew Goodman, the Rockies' play-by-play broadcaster for KTVD in Denver. After rookie Troy Tulowitzki ripped a grand slam against Arizona, Goodman said:

Stand and cheer! It's 11-1, Colorado!

This is exactly what Bud Selig wanted when he wanted the Wild Card. No question.

No question.

What is happening on this final Sunday is maybe the most dramatic result of the Wild Card being added in 1995. There has been plenty of final-Sunday excitement in recent years - who can forget Steve Finley's walk-off grand slam to give the Dodgers the NL West title in 2004? -but never a situation quite like this.

How did it get to this point? We're here because the Mets demolished the Marlins on Saturday afternoon behind an unforgettable near-no-hitter by John Maine, and because the Phillies weren't able to clinch against Washington. It is the third time in the history of division play (since circa 1969) that a division has been tied entering the final Sunday, previously done in 1993 (Braves and Giants in the NL West) and 1982 (Brewers and Orioles in the AL East).

Sunday will get started with a dazzling pitching matchup. Glavine is the man the Mets want on the mound in this clutch situation. But Willis is 11-3 with a 2.00 ERA in his career against the Mets, and more important, he is 5-0 all-time at Shea Stadium. Moyer is almost a mirror image over in Philly, the ageless lefty going up against a righty (right handed pitcher) who just turned 26 on Wednesday and is 5-0 since the All-Star break.

Can Bergmann do what Matt Chico just did for the Nationals on Saturday? He took the Philly crowd out of the game right at the start. It never was quite the same atmosphere during this game as it had been in the immediate nights before. Expect to see white rally towels waving at Citizens Bank Park; the Phillies haven't won a division title since the scruffy 1993 team that lost to Toronto in the World Series.

There was considerable drama right after the Padres lost that amazing game on Saturday at Milwaukee against a club reduced to spoiler status. "Now Bud Black has to make the biggest decision of his Padre managerial career," a San Diego broadcaster said following the Padres' last game:

Does he make the decision of going to Jake Peavy?

No, the Padres announced right afterward that it would be Tomko on schedule. Peavy, the possible NL Cy Young Award winner, could come back today on three days' rest, and one could argue that this is a must-win game because you just have to get to the postseason. But even if the Padres lose, they are at least assured of a Wild Card tie. The Diamondbacks already have clinched the NL West title. They know they might need Peavy shortly thereafter for a tiebreaker, or it could all fall into place and he could start an NLDS just as the club would wish. That's why Tomko is starting.

And the Rockies? Unless your name is Brandon Webb, they still seem to be the hottest team in the sport. By lightyears. Throw out that Friday loss and they are just brutalizing everyone who gets in their way. Will it be enough, though? How will it all end?

We've played 161 games and it all comes down to this, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. It's probably fitting.

The RL Super League is a 12 team competition in which the top 6 teams over the regular season qualify for the end-of-season play-offs to determine the Super League champions. The play-offs follow the following format:

1. Game 1 (Elimination play-off) – 3rd Placed team plays 6th Placed team (Winner to Elimination Semi-Final, Loser Eliminated)
2. Game 2 (Elimination Play-off) – 4th Placed team plays 5th Placed team (Winner to Elimination Semi-Final, Loser Eliminated).
3. Game 3 (Qualifying Semi-Final) – 1st Placed team plays 2nd Placed team (Winner to Grand Final, Loser to Final Eliminator)
4. Game 4 (Elimination Semi-Final) – Winner Game 1 plays Winner Game 2 (Winner to Final Eliminator, Loser Eliminated)
5. Game 5 (Final Eliminator) – Loser Game 3 plays Winner Game 4 (Winner to Grand Final, Loser Eliminated)
6. Game 6 (Grand Final) – Winner Game 3 plays Winner Game 5 (Winner crowned Super League Champions)

This season the six teams through are as follows:

• St Helens
• Leeds Rhinos
• Bradford Bulls
• Hull FC
• Huddersfield Giants
• Wigan Warriors

And the results of the games played so far are as follows:

1. Game 1 – Bradford Bulls 30 Wigan Warriors 31 (Wigan to Elimination Semi, Bradford Eliminated)
2. Game 2 – Hull FC 22 Huddersfield Giants 16 (Hull to Elimination Semi, Huddersfield Eliminated)
3. Game 3 – St Helens 10 Leeds Rhinos 8 (St Helens to Grand Final, Leeds to Final Eliminator)
4. Game 4 – Hull FC 18 Wigan Warriors 21 (Wigan to Final Eliminator, Hull Eliminated)

Meaning that the Final Eliminator will be Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors for the right to play St Helens in the Grand Final at Old Trafford. Read my next column in two weeks time for details of the result of the Final Eliminator and a report on the 2007 Grand Final.

Jose Mourinho – as unpredictable and impulsive as he was – was never likely to make a quiet Chelsea exit.

Mourinho, often dramatic, was always destined to produce a final twist when the time came to take his leave of Stamford Bridge.

But few predicted he would depart this early into a Premier League season and with his destiny of bringing the Champions League to Chelsea still unfulfilled.

The exact circumstances of Mourinho’s departure were not known as word leaked out in London late on that Wednesday night.

But it seems likely that it was just one row too many with all-powerful owner Roman Abramovich, whose relationship with Mourinho has been broken and subjected to the most fragile repair in recent months.

Abramovich has grown frustrated by that missing Champions League, despite five trophies during Mourinho’s 3 years in charge.

And he has been in despair at Mourinho's failure to produce the flowing, entertaining football his wielding of a vast chequebook demanded.

The sight of a half-full Stamford Bridge for the Champions League clash with Rosenborg on Tuesday may have been the last straw for Abramovich, who was strangely seen grinning from ear to ear when the Norwegians took the lead.

Peace had been restored after a stand-off in the latter stages of last season, but it was a relationship on the brink and Chelsea's mixed start to the new season clearly re-opened the wounds.

Abramovich may feel one of his life's irritants has been dealt with as Mourinho said his goodbyes, but he is now entering the most hazardous time of his Chelsea tenure.

He has lost more than a manager in Mourinho. He has lost a talisman for Chelsea's fans, as well as players such as John Terry and Frank Lampard.

Mourinho had 'across-the-board' appeal when it came to provoking emotions.

You either liked or loathed the mischief-making Portuguese who cared nothing for the reputations of contemporaries such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez.

Mourinho even attracted more females to football with his swarthy good looks and villainous designer stubble, which only added to his image as enfant terrible of Premiership management.

Chelsea had not won the title for 50 years until Mourinho arrived, but, backed by Roman Abramovich's millions, he won it at the first time of asking in 2005 and followed it up with another championship the next season.

His departure is a move that will provoke widespread despair among Chelsea's fanbase and Abramovich must now be careful if he wants to heal the wounds.

One thing is certain. The Premier League, and in particular Chelsea, is very much a poorer place this morning.

El Mundo Del Deporte
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Alfredo Marquez

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