While retiring defender Paulo Ferreira spoke to the Stamford Bridge crowd after Chelsea's final match of the season, backup goalkeeper Ross Turnbull's two-year-old son Josh became one of the highlights of the year. Wearing his full kit, Josh dribbled a ball towards goal all by himself. He stumbled on top of the ball at one point, but continued on as the crowd urged him to shoot. When the ball finally passed the goal line, a cheer erupted and after a brief hesitation, Josh turned back toward the players and their families in the center of the pitch and raised his arms in triumph.

The moment was reminiscent of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic's young son Stefan scoring a similar goal at the end of the season two years ago...

(Alan Rogers/Star-Tribune)As a state legislator in Wyoming, Bryan Pedersen helped author the bill to legalize and regulate MMA in his home state. This weekend, he will test that bill by fighting at the Colosseum Fight Series, the first fights in Cheyenne since the bill passed.

Pedersen, who is 38 years old, has trained in MMA for the past four years. Like many fighters, he originally tried out the sport for fitness reasons only. But once MMA was allowed in his state, and Cheyenne was set to host fights, Pedersen couldn't help but say yes to an offer to fight on the CFS card.

"This is not something I normally do," he said to the Wyoming Star-Tribune. "But I really believe in the sport."

He served for six years in the Wyoming state legislature. Now a financial consultant, he plans on making this both his debut and retirement bout. The weigh-ins will take place at a familiar venue for Pedersen -- the steps of the Wyoming State Capitol Building.

Pedersen is taking the fight seriously, as he drives an hour and a half daily to Easton Training Center in Colorado, the training home of UFC veteran Eliot Marshall.

"I have a goal," he said. "Without a goal, you wouldn’t do it. It creates a sense of urgency and panic. Because every day I’m not training, my opponent is probably getting better. And I’m not."

He's the latest government official to set his sights on the cage, though Pedersen appears to be taking his fight more seriously than the two mayors in south Florida who are planning a bout. Perhaps MMA should become part of the legislative process.

The last goalie to make the cover of EA Sports’ NHL series? John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers for NHL 97, of course. Which brings us to the latest update for the NHL 14 fan vote, and the fact that two of the four players remaining in the vote are men with masks:

In one half of the bracket, it’s Marty Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils against Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings; on the other half, it’s New York Islanders star John Tavares against Columbus Blue Jackets Vezina favorite Sergei Bobrovsky.

Datsyuk barely beat Joffrey Lupul in the quarterfinals. Tavares ousted Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers. Brodeur beat out James van Riemsdyk, while Bobrovsky eliminated Taylor Hall.

Were we to wager on the final two: Datsyuk vs. Bobrovsky. Although an all-goalie final would be aces.

Fans can vote an unlimited number of times at NHL.com/CoverVote. The round closes on May 26 at 11:59pm ET. This year fans can double their voting power by using these player specific

Don Mattingly says, With the Los Angeles Dodgers in last place in the NL West with a 17-25 record and a 4-11 record thus far in May, speculation is rising to new levels that manager Don Mattingly might soon be out of a job.

Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports wrote a column Sunday with the ominous headline, "Ax soon to fall for LA's Mattingly," citing a scout and his own baseball instincts.

The Dodgers, however, are denying that. The Los Angeles Times reports the team has "no plans" to fire Mattingly "when the team returns home Thursday or any time before then." That comes from an unnamed club official, spoken with Sunday night after the Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves 5-2, completing a three-game weekend sweep.

It's funny, though, because when was the last time you heard, "Oh, yes, we DO have plans to fire our manager and we're going to do it on Wednesday?" Having "no plans" could mean they just don't have the press conference scheduled yet. Or haven't gotten around to ordering the "goodbye" cake.

(USA Today)

What does it take for Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds to blow a save for a second consecutive appearance?

How about Chapman being bloated from binging on "18," he said, of the yummiest Cuban pastries anyone could stuff in their face Sunday before the Reds faced the Phillies? And it was one of the Phillies announcers, also a Cuban expatriate, who sabotaged Chapman by bringing him the goodies!

That's the story Phillies' Spanish-language broadcaster Rickie Ricardo told the 94-FM WIP morning show Monday. Friends with Ricardso since he came to the U.S., Chapman had asked him to pick up two boxes (100 total) of flaky Cuban pastries filled with cream cheese and guava from a place down in Union City, N.J. — described by Ricardo as a "Cuban stronghold." Two or three of these things would clog your arteries and send you into a food coma. Only, Chapman didn't stop at two or three, Ricardo said:

“Could you imagine cream cheese and guava on a baked pastry? Well Chapman asked me for a box of 100, two boxes of 50. When I saw him on Sunday morning before the game, he was in the clubhouse, he had just eaten about 18 of them. He couldn’t breathe! I looked at my partner, I said, ‘he’s ripe for the taking today.”

The "Ripe Guava," or the "Flaky Pastry," is now the Philadelphia nickname for Chapman, who had come in with a 2.41 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.

Ronaldinho scored Atletico-MG's only goal in the second leg of the Mineiro Championship from the penalty spot and his celebration was a unique combination of his love for dance and humor. Atletico-MG beat rivals Cruzeiro 3-0 in the first leg of the final and lost 2-1 in the second, claiming the giant trophy on a 4-2 aggregate score.

After Ronaldinho's goal sealed the victory, he led his teammates in a line dance that began with all of them pulling down their shorts. With that out of the way, he then stood along the touchline facing the booing Cruzeiro supporters and tossed an invisible grenade at them. He even mimed the blowback from the explosion.

Only Ronaldinho can make an antagonizing gesture filled with implied violence seem fun.

Golden State, after the season went crooked (Getty Images)

With every season that ends, for the playoff teams at least, we felt it right to take a look ahead. TNT already has the rights to "Gone Fishin'," and because we're sure that someone, somewhere, still likes that Wyclef song, we're going with "Gone Till November." And, yes, we know the season starts in October. Today? The Golden State Warriors.

In spite of the fun – the team turned out to be one of the NBA’s more entertaining watches this season – the Golden State Warriors’ worries ended up right where things started last summer. Yes, the team made the playoffs; hitting the postseason for just the second time since going out in the first round in 1994, but Golden State’s health is still the team’s biggest obstacle. The Warriors will only go as far as Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut’s ankles will take them.

Rangers Ballpark on opening day 2013 (Getty Images)

Have a baseball road trip coming up? Well, in a bid to help you with your upcoming journeys, Big League Stew has solicited the help of the locals. Over the next month or so, we'll be hitting up our usual guest blogger crew to feature 10 tips for enjoying each of the 30 ballparks like the locals do. Have a suggestion in addition to the ones listed here? Make sure to list it in the comments below.

Planning a trip to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington? First things first, we just call it “the Ballpark” around these parts, and we never agreed to call it Ameriquest Field for those few years a while back, but I digress. The home of the two-time American League champion Texas Rangers is a beauty of a stadium, blending Texas tradition with architectural elements reminiscent of bygone eras, most notably a covered porch in right field that echoes Tiger Stadium and old Comiskey Park. The past three offseasons have included extensive technological upgrades and stadium renovations, enhancing the game day experience for fans and players alike. Pack your warm weather clothes and join me for some tips about my home away from home:

1. Location, location…location? While many other entries on this list can boast a vibrant downtown or quirky neighborhood full of unique characteristics surrounding their stadium, the same cannot be said for our fine establishment situated at 1000 Ballpark Way. Take a stroll down Randol Mill Road and you’ll find yourself at either Cowboys Stadium or the Wal-Mart Supercenter, both emitting an equal sense of despair.

Deciding where to stay on your trip basically depends on who you are and what you want to do — are you a family looking for an easy few days of baseball games and amusement parks? Keep it local and stay in Arlington. Rangers Ballpark is in close proximity to both Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, so gather up the kids and the sunscreen and go say hello to Bugs Bunny and his pals.