Here’s the latest edition of Rant and Rise for September 27, 2012:

Baltimore Orioles Crush Toronto Blue Jays

While they’re in a comfortable spot to at least earn a Wild Card spot for the postseason, the Orioles still have a shot at the AL East title if they can overcome the New York Yankees. After losing their first two games of the series, Baltimore was no match for Toronto on Wednesday during their 12-2 win, connecting for seven home runs in the process.

Chris Davis and Manny Machado each belted two home runs in the win to keep the Orioles within 1 1/2 games of the Yankees in the division and hopefully they keep this pace to finish out the regular season.

Detroit Tigers in Sole Possession of First Place in AL Central

Last week, the Chicago White Sox held a three-game in the division over the Tigers, but things are different heading into Thursday now that they trail their division rivals by one game in the standings. While the Tigers pulled through for a late win over the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox fell 6-4 to the Cleveland Indians, which is the last thing they needed with less than a week left in the regular season.

NFL Reaches New Deal With Refs

After three frustrating weeks of missed calls and frustrating penalties, the NFL finally came to an agreement to bring the original refs back for Week 4. With all of the controversy surrounding the outcome of Monday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, it’s no surprise to see both sides reach an agreement, but this is one of those things that should have never happened in the first place.

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