For a day that featured not a single Boston professional sports team in game mode, Tuesday was jam-packed with sports news. And what made things even more ridiculous was the fact that, for a good portion of the day, one faced difficulty figuring out what news was legit and what was a sports scribe's attempt at an exclusive gone wrong (Tom Brady exclusive, anyone? Don't worry, we'll get it to it).

We're going to sort through all the mess for you with a nice, quick explanation of what news was had, what news wasn't had, and where things stand on your Wednesday morning.

Baseball:
-- Curt Schilling is back.
-- Kevin Youkilis landed himself a Gold Glove, proving that voters aren't completely insane when it comes to awarding such hardware (with all due respect, either Torii Hunter or Ichiro Suzuki ought to show up on Coco Crisp's doorway to hand over one of the Gloves and ask for tips on defying gravity). Former Red Sox Orlando Cabrera picked up a Gold Glove for his sharp shortstop play for the Angels (we miss him, can we get him back, please?).
-- David Ortiz underwent arthroscopic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on that ailing right knee Tuesday. Word is that he's doing well and will be starting rehab right away.
-- General managers currently gathered in Florida have recommended the use of instant replay. We could look at this from a romantic perspective, noting that the game has long benefited from the practice of letting calls stand and following the traditional rules of the game (if it's too close to tell, give it to the runner; if you argue balls and strikes with certain phrases, you're asking to get bounced; etc.), but we'll instead focus on the obvious: have you SEEN American League games, GMs? We have. We can't stay up any later than we already have been. The point is to try to shorten game lengths, not stretch them out even more.
-- The Mikes (Lowell and Timlin) have filed for free agency.
-- Keeping track of the Yankees, Andy Pettitte declined his option for a 2008 slot on the Yankees roster. He's still mulling over his options: Yankees or retirement. Retirement or Yankees. We suggest retirement.
-- Alex Beam to Yankees fans: Welcome to the other side of the rivalry, you poor, poor things. HAHAHA.

Football:
-- Tom Brady has not been suspended. Tom Brady has not been suspended because of illegal substance use. Tom Brady is not in trouble with the NFL. Get it?
-- The Patriots linebackers are on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, which means that Boston teams have been making things awfully easy for the magazine's art department. Hey Bruins! Revs! We're waiting...
-- The new nickname: New England HATE-riots. That's hilarious. Don Shula joining the hate brigade? Not as funny. People should wise up: every time "I hate the Patriots" is muttered, the opposing defense line gets the crap kicked out of it and 7 more points magically jump up onto the scoreboard.

Basketball:
-- The Celts try to stretch it to 3-0 when they face Denver tonight at the Garden. And they now know how to score points AND keep the other team from scoring them!

Hockey:
-- The Bruins are ready to bounce back from Sunday's loss to Ottawa - they'll be facing Buffalo tonight. If the team needs goaltender Tuukka Rask, he says he's ready to serve.

Photo of Boston's Gold Glove-winning first baseman by flickr user Eric Kilby