If the Cardinals want to earn that wild-card playoff berth, they cannot lose home games to the Pirates and Braves.

Atlanta comes to town after getting swept in New York by the Mets. This once-proud franchise is in start-over mode, largely due to advancing age and injuries.

Apparently the Braves haven’t been as proficient as the Cardinals at finding internal solutions.

At least Atlanta can cheer Chipper Jones‘ bid for a batting title. Atlanta Journal-Constitution scribe David O’Brien addressed this in his blog:

One other reason to watch the series in St. Louis is the head-to-head confrontation of Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols, currently 1-2 in the NL batting race.

Hoss’ lead is down to 14 points, from 22 points a couple weeks ago. He’s hitting .362 and the much-hotter Pujols is at .348, followed by Colorado’s Matt Holliday (.344) before a big dropoff to Lance Berkman (.329).

Since July 7, Chipper has hit just .269 (21-for-78) with three extra-base hits (one homer) and 12 RBI in 23 games, with a .379 OBP and .333 slugging percentage.

In that same period, Pujols has hit .345 (51-for-148) with 21 extra-base hits (eight homers) and 31 RBI in 39 games, with a .430 OBP and .595 slugging.

And Colorado’s Holliday, since July 7, has hit .347 (50-for-144) with 22 extra-base hits (11 homers) and 24 RBI in 39 games, with a .450 OBP and .653 slugging.

This thing ain’t over yet, folks.

BOLTING TO HISTORY

Usain Bolt is quite the showman – so much so that he should remain in the sports spotlight well after the Olympics end, unlike most track stars.

Here is how ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde sees him: “He’s silliness at rest. In a sport rife with preening prima donnas, Bolt has taken posturing to a new level before, during and after a race. It seems relatively harmless — goofy kid’s stuff from a guy who just turned 22 on Thursday and was serenaded with a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ by the Chinese fans at the Bird’s Nest.”

ChicagoSports,com’s Steve Rosenbloom chipped in with this observation: “International Olympic Committee Head Wonk Jacques Rogge criticized Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt for his actions in the 100-meter dash for disrespecting other competitors. Criticism of Bolt is deserved, but not from Rogge. Not from this fraud. I mean, Rogge was doing this in a country that disrespects the human rights of its citizens. Hel-lo. And Chicago wants this Rogge character to bring his international brand of hypocrisy and greed here in 2016?”

Michael Johnson weighs in:

BEARD BACKTRACKS ON PHELPS

Tipsheet visitors will recall that swimmer/nudist Amanda Beard dismissed Michael Phelps as “nasty”and expressed horror at the very concept of dating him. Those off-the-bare-arm comments on a Phoenix radio show caused a fuss.

Beard offered this apology to People: “Everyone who knows me knows that I can be a jokester, but I guess I took it too far. I never meant to say anything rude about Michael. I am 100 percent sorry for what I said.”

A CNN panel weighs in.

FISHERMAN OF THE YEAR

Tip your fishing cap to David Hayes, who reeled in a state-record catfish with a Barbie rod and reel.

The Winston-Salem Journal picks up the story:

ELKIN — David Hayes doesn’t usually fish with a pink Barbie rod and reel, but when his 3-year-old granddaughter Alyssa handed him her fishing pole, he used it to haul in a state record channel catfish.

“She said, ‘Papa, I gotta go potty. Hold my fishing rod,’” Hayes said. “She wasn’t in the house a few seconds when the catfish took off with the bait.”

The catfish weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce, which has been certified as a state record by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The Barbie fishing expedition started Aug. 5 in eastern Wilkes County. Hayes, 56, and Alyssa have been fishing together in the farm pond behind his house since she was big enough to hold a pole. Her father bought her the Barbie fishing rod for Christmas.

She had caught a few bluegill before her potty break. As he held the pink fishing rod, Hayes said, the water started to look like it was boiling. The catfish ran out twice with the line by the time Alyssa came back out.

“Papa, you’re going to break my fishing rod,” she told him.

“Wait until you see what I’ve got on the other end of this rod,” he said.

At 32 inches long and 22½ inches around, the fish was 2 inches longer than the fishing rod. Hayes was trying to land the 21-pound fish on a 6-pound test line.

“I was pretty sure I was going to lose it,” he said. “I was hoping I would hang on to it long enough for Alyssa to see it. When she did, she squealed so much it took off on its last run.”

Finally, after 25 minutes, the catfish gave up. Hayes stood on the dock and used a net to scoop the fish out.