Richard Verlander Sr. told Celebuzz, “I  heard he has been on dates with a Sports Illustrated girl. I saw a photo — she’s beautiful. They make a good looking pair because he’s a good looking man too. I do know he’s on the dating scene. Justin is a fine boy and whoever he ends up with is lucky. He’s not only a great baseball player, he’s a great guy.”

The couple have been linked together since July and were photographed together in late September when the Tigers played the Chicago White Sox. Verlander’s grandpa isn’t the first family member to hint at their relationship. Upton’s uncle and Michigan Congressman (R) Fred Upton said he was rooting for the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander for family reasons. The fact that his niece is on the cover of SI and is dating the Tiger’s ace should help Congressman’s Upton reelection in November.

“This is a slightly twisted ankle. You know, swollen, but it doesn’t appear to be serious,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “But it’s obviously serious enough that he won’t pitch tomorrow. I wanted to tell you exactly how it happened so there wouldn’t be any speculation about his arm or anything,”

Scherzer is recovering from a sore right shoulder and was scheduled to pitch in the last regular season game to warm up his arm after sitting out his previous start due to the injury. The quality left hander averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the most among Tigers franchise pitchers.

A teammate accidentally stepped on Scherzer’s ankle as the Tigers stormed the mound during the team’s 6-3 victory against the Kansas City Royals to earn a playoff spot.

The team said Dempster did not play because of “personal reasons,” but the Dallas Morning News is reporting the 35-year old did not have his passport, prohibiting him to get through customs.

Dempster has spent the last 8-years with the Chicago Cubs pitching against the National League and has not played in Canada since 2004. The two-time All-Star is a free agent this summer and told Cubs GM Theo Epstein he wanted to be traded to a contender. Dempster exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed a trade to the Atlanta Braves allowing the Rangers to steal him at the trade deadline. Despite Dempster’s rocky summer, he is not blaming Canada.

Gronkowski is one of four brothers, all who play football. Two brothers also play in the NFL on the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos, while the youngest brother plays for Kansas State.

A reality series would just be one of the many accomplishment in what sports fans are calling “The Summer of Gronk.” In June, Gronkowski signed a 6-year extension with the Patriots worth $54 million and appeared on the cover of ESPN Magazine “The Body Issue.”

Known to stay out of the spotlight, the Patriots have asked Gronkowski to diminish the publicity, though it is unclear where a reality show fits in.

“I was obsessed in the early 2000s when we had [Bobby] Valentine,” Snooki told MLB.com. “I loved [John] Franco, Robin Ventura, all of them. I was obsessed.”

The MTV reality star, who is pregnant, revealed she became a Mets fan because of her grandfather. Before she found fame on Jersey Shore, Snooki was featured on the Sports Illustrated blog Hot Clicks in a YouTube video featuring her singing the Mets Fight Song. The name of the video was posted under “Hottest Mets Fan Ever.”

Unfortunately, the Mets lost 2-8 to the Nationals, and Snooki was booed.

Over the weekend, Guillen accused Harper of using too much pine tar on his bat. The Nationals won 4-0 and Guillen called Harper of unprofessional after he retaliated and pointed to his bat in his second-plate appearance.

Despite Harper offering no comment, Nationals Adam LaRoche further instigated the fued. LaRoche asked Harper to autograph a bat and later addressed it to Guillen with pine tar smeared all over it.

Guillen found humor in the gag gift telling reporters, “It was funny. I’ve got a few friends on their side. All those guys were making fun of me. I found out later they made the kid sign the bat.’”

TLC has signed on for the series, Pete Rose and Kiana Kim Family Project. Cameras will follow 71-year-old Rose and his thirtysomething Playboy model fiancée Kiana Kim. “She’s got younger kids and I’ve got [four adult] kids, and we go through the same things everybody else does: taking the braces off, making sure they get their education and they go to basketball practice or acting class,” Rose told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s not going to be classless like it seems like a lot of reality shows aren’t really reality.”

Hopefully MLB commissioner Bud Seilg is a TLC fan because Rose said, “If the commissioner [Bud Selig] ever finds it in its heart to give me a second chance, I’m sure that we’ll address the. But if I ever make the Hall of Fame, I’ll be the happiest guy in the world because I understand what it means.”

On Saturday, Upton and Verlander further fueled romance rumors when Upton was seen at Comerica Park sporting a Tigers hat at the Detroit-Kansas City game. Though from Michigan, Upton is a noted Yankees fan. Upton and Verlander co-starred in a commercial together for the MLB 2012 video game earlier this year posted below!