In minor league sports, you hear all the time about post-season games being moved around because of a previously scheduled event.  Sometimes it's a speaker, sometimes the circus is coming to town, and (as was the case with the Cincinnati Marshals a couple years ago) sometimes the players just can't get off work.

This, however, might be the craziest one I've ever seen.

English Premier League soccer club the Manchester City Blues found out this past week that they had earned a spot in the prestigious UEFA Cup tournament (basically European soccer's version of the NIT, except it lasts the whole season and is way more important), and would host their home leg of a first round series on July 17th.  Sounds great, right?  Well, not so fast.

You see, Bon Jovi is scheduled to play at Man City's home field, the City of Manchester Stadium, on June 22nd.  Since soccer stadiums in Europe have almost exclusively grass fields, and concert staging tears up the grass pretty badly.  Man City's management didn't see this as a big problem, since they weren't expecting to qualify for the UEFA Cup, and could repair the field in time for the start of the EPL regular season in mid-August.

However, with just 25 days between the events, the groundscrew is going to have to do some serious scrambling to get it ready in time for the game.  Already the team is looking at alternative venues.  The most likely location, according to The Guardian, is Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium.  Sadly for Man City, that stadium's capacity of 24,500 is barely half of that of the Blues' home pitch.  In soccer, European cup games are incredibly valuable, since they bring in a tremendous amount of revenue that can be used to purchase more talented players.

So, the lesson here is, never underestimate your team's ability to perform at the highest level.  You never know when it might come back to bite you if you do.

Fantasy owners always have to worry about injuries, but there is nothing worse than seeing the ace of your staff get dinged up and ultimately shelfed. Let's take a look and a few fantasy aces that owners are going to have to live without, at least for now:

JAKE PEAVY (SD)
Peavy will go on the 15-day disabled list with swelling and a strained muscle in his pitching elbow. An MRI exam showed no ligament damage. While disappointed in being shut down for at least two weeks, the Padres ace said he was relieved there's no structural damage. "When you do get discomfort in your elbow and it's near the Tommy John ligament, you know what Tommy John means, and yeah there's cause for concern," Peavy said. He was referring to Tommy John surgery, or reconstructive surgery when a pitcher damages his ulnar collateral ligament...MORE

JOHN SMOLTZ (ATL)
Orginally expected to return by the end of May, John Smoltz could now be out for much longer after experiencing disomfort in his shoulder after a throwing seesion. "It could be anywhere between the [late May] timetable I discussed and a lot longer," said Smoltz, 41, who reported discomfort following his Thursday and Saturday bullpen sessions. He said he doesn't know yet whether he can pitch in games until the situation improves — or when it will improve...MORE

ROY OSWALT (HOU)
Roy Oswalt threw 25-30 pitches on flat ground Monday and said later he felt confident he would make his scheduled start Thursday against the Phillies.  After he was examined by team medical director Dr. David Lintner later that evening, the club confirmed the right-hander would indeed remain in the rotation...MORE

PEDRO MARTINEZ (NYM)
Pedro Martinez may be on the fast track back into the Mets' starting rotation, but he is traveling that road with a heavy heart. After facing minor leaguers in game competition Monday at Tradition Field, Martinez was equal parts enthusiasm and concern in an extended interview. He was zealous about a proposed start for the club that could come before the end of the month. He was distressed about his ailing father and said a desire to be there for his family might bring him to an early retirement - possibly even after this season...MORE

FELIX HERNANDEZ (SEA)
He left his start Sunday after six innings because he felt tightness in his calf. Hernandez said after the game he didn't expect the tightness would cost him a start. Manager John McLaren agreed. "I don't think so," McLaren said when asked if Hernandez might miss a start. "You know him, he wanted to stay out there. I knew he was going to fight me on it, but I was going to have to win this battle. Like I said, he means too much for us. We don't think it's serious, but it's something that if he altered his pitching delivery or something, he might do something to himself. We'll monitor this day by day, and hopefully with a little treatment, a little rest, he's going to be fine. We'll know something more Tuesday." ...MORE

Last October, Jon Lester won the deciding game of the World Series, just 14 months removed from his diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Last night, with the assist of a remarkable diving catch by Jacoby Ellsbury, he threw the first no-hitter of the 2008 season, the 18th in club history, and first by a Sox pitcher since rookie Clay Buchholz last Sept. 1, and the first by a Sox lefthander since Mel Parnell more than a half-century ago.

It has been an amazing comeback story in a book that has only had a few chapters written. Lester has even inspired his teammates.

"His story is a good story as it is," Sox third baseman Mike Lowell told the Boston Globe, who was among the gleeful throng of teammates that engulfed Lester after he struck out Alberto Callaspo for the final out of a 7-0 win over the Royals witnessed by a sellout crowd of 37,746 likely to grow exponentially in the years to come. "But to add a no-hitter to it, it adds something great to the story.

The Red Sox shopped Lester in the off-season in their quest for Johan Santana, but Santana ironically went to the Mets, a team that has never a no-hitter.