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Once, when we lived in Georgia, we went to an arena football game. I was a little skeptical from the beginning. I mean, after all, football is the most amazing sport on the planet. I love the game, in all its glory, and I found it hard to imagine how the game would look when played indoors with slightly different rules.

I did not leave the game thoroughly impressed. I remember telling my husband, who was then my boyfriend, that I considered it an interesting alternative that could be fun during the off-season. It would never gain the popularity of a regular football team, however.

Well, last year I had a sad awakening when I went to a Cincinnati Bengals game with my son. He was too young to enjoy it. Indeed, we ended up leaving before the game was over because he cried every time the crowd cheered. On his behalf, it was not because he did not like the game that he cried. He could not handle the crowds and the loud noises.

So now I find myself considering going to see our local arena football team. I think that I can use the experience to introduce my son to the world of football in a less frenzied atmosphere. I have discovered, and ultimately conceded, that arena football does have a fair contingent of fans. It is just that I now know that they are different from the fans at your typical NCAA or NFL team.

I noticed when we are there, and have confirmed it since, that many of the fans at arena football games are not your average football fans. Instead they are women who do not like football, and they are children who cannot deal with major games. These people can compromise with their family members, as is the case with many of the women. I think that arena football may be more appealing to many women because it is not as intensely competitive. I have noticed in general that many women do not like how competitive football is, which I do not understand. Still that makes arena football more appealing.

At the other end of the spectrum, arena football is something that the football lover in a relationship can do. While it is not a substitute for the real thing, it can be fun. If you love football and want your girlfriend or wife in on the love, then you can think about trying out an arena football game. The game seems easier to understand, though I could not tell you why. If you have visions of getting your partner to enjoy football, too, then an arena game may be just the place to teach the rules.

Also, and I say this with no disrespect to the arena football players out there, the game does not have the rapid and lifelong fans that other football teams have. That means that your partner, who may not be interested in that crazy aspect of the game, can learn to love the game in a more supportive atmosphere. Because there will be mostly fans for the home team, you will not have to worry about heckling and the other problems that go with football.

For us, I think that my son can learn to appreciate live games better with this more relaxed environment. It is very much about entertainment between quarters and even between plays, which makes it easier to keep children paying attention. I am hoping to teach my son all about the game at these games.

Plus there is something wonderful about supporting a small team in your community. It is kind of like AA baseball. You can learn to enjoy the game and the players without the distractions of the big-money version of the game. That is because the players are not there for the money although the promise of it should they reach the next level is appealing. They are there to hone their talents and to show that they work hard. That makes the game more pure, and it makes the fans a bigger part of the experience.

So the next time you are looking for something to do, consider arena football.

By Julia Mercer

It is draft weekend. I always love the atmosphere of the draft because it allows me to think about what this day means for so many people. I do not mean the fans or teams, though these days certainly are important to them. Fans get to think about what will happen with their team during the next few seasons. Will their picks turn out well? Will they regret not having drafted someone else? Will their picks take them to the Super Bowl in the years to come?

Coaches, of course, have much more riding on the picks than just their devotion to the team. Instead these coaches have their jobs riding on their picks. Being known as a coach who misses the big players is not a reputation that anyone wants to have. Plus coaches are trying to put together winning teams, and their draft picks are an important component in that process. The owners, too, have a stake in the players. The owners will be paying these people and will find that they need the team to be successful for the business venture to be a good one.

The players who are drafted, though, are the ones whose lives change the most with the decisions made this weekend. Many of these players know they will be drafted. They are not sure where in the lineup they will fall, but they know in their minds that the end of this weekend will determine their future, at least for the next few years.

Still I would imagine that few of them really understand until this weekend what those changes will be. They are rushed from place to place and talk to reporters, coaches, and owners. Then they are selected and have to think about moving to a new city. That means a big change in life, but it is not the biggest one.

The money is a big draw for people who want to end up in the NFL. Except for the occasional player who grew up with money, most of the people who will become multimillionaires after this weekend did not grow up with money. In fact, sportscasters have written so many articles about the poor kid who grew up in subsidized housing with no money that they have become a sad but true cliche. These kids will have more money than most of us can imagine in the next few months, and they are just learning this weekend the reality of their new careers.

Many of these players have been thinking about the money for a while, to be sure. Who could blame them? I would be thinking about the money as well. Now, though, they will find people will to sell them anything they want. These players can begin to think about buying houses, getting cars, and giving to their friends and family. And they will. We will shake our heads and mutter about the waste of money, but they earned it. They are in a very public career with very physical demands.

I imagine that this weekend is one that is unexplainable for the people who are being drafted. They go from being college athletes where they live in dorms and cannot accept any money or other goodies from anyone per NCAA rules to being highly paid. The difference must be staggering to them.

I think, too, that the football field is one of the last places where people can succeed solely based on merit. Sure, there is the occasional thought that someone has gotten special treatment because his father was, say, the New Orleans Saints quarterback for years. For the most part, however, football players are drafted where they are because of their abilities on the field. That is part of what makes this sport a truly American phenomenon. For once, no one is thinking about marketing possibilities. They are thinking only of fielding a winning team.

So think weekend when you see the draft results scrolling by, then you should think about the players who are drafted. Imagine how they are feeling. Imagine that this were the biggest weekend of your life. And imagine how you would react to the importance of the NFL draft.

By Julia Mercer

The Chicago Bears are returning all 22 starters from last year's team that won the NFC North division and earned a playoff berth. So General Manager Jerry Angelo went into Saturday's NFL draft with very limited needs. According to conventional wisdom and most mock drafts, the Bears were expected to select a tight end (most people thought it would have been Leonard Pope) with the 26th pick in the first round.

However, the Bears decided to trade their first round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a second and third round pick. That in itself wasn't very surprising. After all, the Bears staff had their own draft plan worked out, and they figured that the players they were really interested in would still be available in the second round. Sure enough, when the Bears finally were on the clock with the 42nd overall pick, Pope was still on the board. It looked like Angelo's decision to trade down wasn't going to hurt the Bears at all.

But then Angelo did pull a surprising move. Instead of drafting a tight end, he selected little-known safety Danieal Manning from Abilene Christian University (in Texas). Apparently, Angelo felt that the Bears needed more depth at that position due to the recent trade that sent Mike Green to the Denver Broncos. So, while there were some raised eyebrows, the pick could definitely be justified.

Pope was still on the board when the Bears went to the podium for their second 2nd round pick (57th overall). But Angelo pulled another surprising move by selecting Devin Hester, a return specialist out of the University of Miami. This selection filled one of the more pressing needs that the Bears have. Even so, it was pretty surprising to see a non-position player selected so early in the draft.

By the time the Bears came back to the podium in the 3rd round with the 73rd overall pick, Leonard Pope was gone. In fact, the Arizona Cardinals drafted Pope just before the Bears with the 72nd pick. So that effectively ended all the speculation about when the Bears would pick a tight end, and instead brought about the question of why they weren't addressing any needs on the offensive side of the ball. The Bears would end up selecting Dusty Dvoracek, a defensive tackle out of Oklahoma; Jamar Williams, a linebacker out of Arizona State; Mark Anderson, a defensive end out of Alabama; J.D. Runnels, a fullback also out of Oklahoma; and Tyler Reed, an offensive lineman from Penn State University with their remaining draft picks. In all, the Bears exited the NFL draft with seven new players, and only two of those players line up on the offensive side of the ball.

Without going into an analysis of the specific players that the Bears picked, I just have to say that the focus on bolstering the defense was a pretty puzzling development overall. When you look at what the 2005 Chicago Bears team accomplished, you will see that the defense was ranked 2nd in the league behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bears allowed just 281.8 yards per game and a very stingy 12.6 points per game (best in the league by almost a field goal). From the outside, it certainly doesn't look as though the Bears need any additional help in that area. Remember, they are returning all 11 starters from last year's unit.

But then when you take a look at what the offense did in 2005, the stats are like night and day. The offense was ranked a dismal 29th in the league out of 32 teams. They managed to put up just 256.3 yards of total offense per game, and scored just 16.3 yards per game. Moreover, the offense was 31st in the league in passing yards per game, managing just 125.1 in that category. Yes, they had a rookie quarterback at the helm for most of the season, but that wasn't the only problem.

So why didn't the Bears draft any offensive players to try to help the team emerge from the cellar? Well, it could be that Jerry Angelo felt the Bears already addressed the most important concern through free agency when they brought quarterback Brian Griese in from Tampa Bay. After all, the Bears did draft running back Cedric Benson in the first round last year to team up with starter Thomas Jones, and they have former Pro Bowler Muhsin Muhammad at wide receiver. So there isn't really another offensive position that the Bears needed to fill. Except for tight end -- which is why Angelo's draft day selections were puzzling.

Some may argue that the Bears' offense doesn't feature the tight end enough to warrant burning up a draft pick on one. That's one way to look at it, I suppose. Another way would be to say that the Bears don't feature a tight end because they don’t have anyone good enough to handle the duties. If you look at the most successful teams in the league, you'll see that they all have dominating tight ends. For the Bears to try to get through another season without one would be inexcusable.

So count me among the Bear fans who are disappointed with the way the draft turned out. I know that there's still plenty of time left to sign a tight end through free agency, but I would have liked to see the Bears take a chance on Pope, Anthony Fasano, or any of the other great tight ends in the draft. Now we'll just have to sit back and hope Angelo has a game plan in mind.

Although I love football, I have never understood the whole mock draft phenomenon. I mean, I get it, but I am not sure why people put so much time and effort into them. Think about it this way. When have you seen a mock draft that matched the picks exactly? Well, never.

When you are wrong about the third pick because you thought Seattle needed a quarterback when they thought they needed a receiver, then you have just ruined your whole mock draft and your hours upon hours of thinking about who will fit in which puzzle. Still as the draft approaches this weekend, we all look at them. I do, too. I will admit it. I look, and I see who from my favorite college team may be making it into the top three rounds. Then I check out the NFL teams I like to see what they need.

This year, I have my eye on the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals this year have the twenty-fourth pick in the draft. Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, believes the Bengals front office will pick Marcedes Lewis, the tight end from UCLA. I cannot say that I agree with Brandt here, but then I was wrong about what they did last year, too.

Actually most people go against what Brandt is suggesting. The Bengals need defense. Their defense is terrible. I hate to have to admit it. They had some bright spots this year. Odell Thurman, in his rookie season out of the University of Georgia, put up amazing numbers and showed that he is a future defensive star. Deltha O'Neal made so many interceptions that I stopped counting. But the defense as a whole was terrible. They cost Cincinnati more than one game.

The problem is that the offense is very strong. Led by quarterback Carson Palmer, the Bengals offense has a number of weapons from Rudi Johnson to Chad Johnson. They would score, and then they would end up right back on the field. Only the other team had scored in the interim.

This problem meant that the offense had to work hard to continue scoring on possession after possession. We had to score or risk a loss. That type of play cannot continue for long. Your offensive players end up exhausted and risk injury because your defense cannot keep them off the field for long. The Bengals ultimately did run into this problem. They lost quarterback Carson Palmer at the end of the season to a knee injury. While the injury was not from being tired, perhaps Palmer could have been a bit sharper had he not played so many down in the previous few games.

The loss of Palmer ultimately led to the Bengals falling apart in their first playoff experience in 15 years, and they went home without a playoff victory and with hopes of next year.

And that brings us to this year and the NFL draft. I hope that the Bengals will bring in good defensive players. To do that would mean adding to the roster of really great players who make up the team. One of the best things about Marvin Lewis as the coach of the Bengals is that he has brought in so many solid players. The Bengals roster was for a decade considered a joke. Now they have players who can compete well in the NFL. Adding some defensive muscle to that roster would be a big boost to making the team a perennial playoff contender.

Still it is tough to know what coaches are thinking. That is in part because coaches know what else lies on the horizon for the team. They can take into account every possible move they may make. They know the intimate details of contracts, negotiations, and trades, and they do not share that information with everyone. That means that mock drafts ultimately come with incomplete information. No one can predict what coaches will do, but the process of guessing is part of the fun of being a football fan. As soon as a team makes a pick, then the analysis will begin. Everyone will be critiquing and talking over the pick so that many people make up their minds immediately about a draft choice.

By Julia Mercer

Reportedly, word has leaked out that Steve Nash will be a repeat winner of the Most Valuable Player Award. Amazingly, that word touched off a number of columns from folks who continue to see Nash as receiving favoritism, often in the form of racial prejudice.

A year ago, cries emerged regarding the point guard's receiving the award over Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat. Those complaints seemed absurd when considering the fact that Nash became the glue as well the catalyst in leading one of the league's youngest teams to earn the league's best record even though the youthful Suns were playing in the NBA's most difficult conference.

The recognition of a point guard as the league's Most Valuable Player was indeed a surprise to many. The NBA's Most Valuable Player seldom goes to a guard unless that player is a dominant scorer. And Nash is a consummate team player who is more willing to dish out the assist and leave the scoring to his teammates.

The claims a year ago seemed particularly absurd when considering that Shaq had actually become the Heat's second best player behind rising superstar Dwayne Wade. Moreover, Nash had joined a team that had a losing record prior to his arrival, a team that was thought to be on the verge of being a playoff contender, but no one thought the Suns capable of taking home the NBA's top spot.

This year the complaints center around Kobe Bryant. The arguments are that Nash is indeed great, but people just don't like Kobe any more, not after his off court problems, so voters have overlooked the NBA's best all around player.

Those folks state that Kobe could not have done anymore for his team than he did this year. That the slick shooting forward put up the best numbers and led a weak Laker team to the playoffs in the difficult Western Conference.

Indeed, Kobe had exceptional seasonal numbers. There was of course the 81 points in a single game and an average of 35.4 per game for the season. He scored 40 or more points in four straight games twice and also went for 62 points against the Mavericks while playing just three quarters. That 35 plus point per game average was eight best in NBA history and the most since 1987 when a man nicknamed Mike went for 37.1 points per game.

Many call Kobe Bryant the best basketball player in the world and under his leadership the Lakers managed 45 wins and the seventh playoff spot in the conference. Without a doubt, the Lakers would be on the outside of the second season looking in if not for Bryant.

Those same critics state the Nash has one of the league's most-underrated players in Shawn Marion and the NBA's most improved in Boris Diaw. That Nash simply knows how to fit in on a more talented team.

The Marion comments seem ludicrous, especially given Kobe has a player by the name of Lamar Odom playing alongside him. In fact, check out the improvement in Marion's numbers once the high octane Nash joined the Suns. Marion's scoring numbers represent two of his best three years in the league and his rebounding the best two years of his career. Nash allows Marion the opportunity to be the player he has become.

And with Diaw making most improved, it should perhaps be noted that maybe Nash indeed made him a better player. That perhaps the athletic youngster learned that if he ran the floor like Amare Stoudamire, he had a talented passer able to get him the ball.

But the best indication of Nash's overall effectiveness is that the Suns played their season without their number one scorer in Stoudamire. In addition, the team lost the up coming and talented Joe Johnson in the off season, so the Suns were a team in full transition, tweaking their line up even as they lost their incredibly talented center. Yet the team won 54 games, a full nine more than LA, also while playing in the toughest conference.

Kobe is no doubt an outstanding player. But watching him, one has to wonder what it is like to play alongside the Lakers' star. What it must be like to make so many trips up and down the floor without touching the ball while Bryant launches yet another shot. The fact that the forward took roughly one out of three Laker shots on the season, while shooting a modest 45% from the floor and 35% from beyond the three point arc, is most notable.

However, what is most telling is the playoff series between the Suns and Lakers, a series the Lakers were up 2-1 going into Sunday. Instead of being the focus, Bryant has been intent on getting his teammates the ball, and the Lakers have risen to the occasion. It leads one to wonder if he had been more of a team player in the regular season if in fact he might have made his team even better.

Because of that question, critics of Nash winning another MVP award should rethink their case for Kobe at least. Now if the talk moves to Lebron James, we have another story.

Back in March we tried to make some predictions regarding the rookies that might make a mark in 2006. We tossed out the names of five pitchers, Francisco Liriano of the Twins, Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya for the Tigers, Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox, and Matt Cain of the Giants, and five position players, Prince Fielder of the Brewers, Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals, Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins, Brian Anderson of the White Sox and Kenji Johjima for the Mariners.

The left-handed Francisco Liriano is the consensus choice of baseball experts as possibly the top rookie pitcher this season. Just 22-years-of-age, the Twins have elected to bring Liriano along slowly, having him work out of the bullpen to start the season. In eight games, the lefty has solid 3.77 ERA and eye-popping 21 strikeouts in just 14 innings of work.

Both Verlander and Zumaya are off to good starts with the surprising Tigers. Verlander, 23, has been give a starting role and the power throwing righthander is 3-2 in five starts with a 3.42 ERA. Verlander is tied for the team lead in wins and is second in innings pitched and strikeouts. As expected, Detroit has Zumaya, 21, coming out of the pen. Clocked at 98 miles per hour in spring training, the righthander has made seven appearances totaling nine innings and has shown to be overpowering at times with his 12 strikeouts.

The pitcher making the biggest early season impact has to be Papelbon of the Red Sox. The youngster has simply been untouchable, going 10 for 10 in save situations and tossing 14 plus scoreless innings on the season. Stepping into the closer role while the Sox allow Keith Foulke to return to form after an injury plagued season, the burly righthander has allowed just 9 base runners and has 14 K's in his 14 innings of work. Talk is that the Sox may consider moving him to the starting rotation if Foulke can once again handle the team's closer duties.

The 21-year-old Cain has not fared quite as well with San Francisco. The 6-3, 235 pounders is a physical presence on the mound, but in four starts the righthander is 1-2 with a 5.42 ERA. Still the youngster has 23 innings pitched in those four outings and has 17 strikeouts for the Giants.

Prince Fielder, the son of former major league slugger Cecil Fielder, has to be the early favorite for the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. The big fella' has been tremendous in the early going, leading the Brewers with a .348 batting average and 32 hits in just 24 games. Fielder has also popped five homers and driven in 16 runs, both numbers second best on Milwaukee. The 21-year-old, 260 pounder has made the most of his times making contact, as he has piled up a ton of strikeouts in the early going, 24 to be exact.

Ryan Zimmerman, the third baseman of the Washington Nationals and the fourth overall pick in last year's draft has been given every opportunity to play by the Nats. In 24 games, the youngster has driven in a solid 16 runs, but at .231 with 25 strikeouts, he has not been quite as strong as his end of the season call up performance last September.

Hermida at 6-4, 200-pounds, is thought to have all the physical tools but the Marlins have used the rightfielder sparingly on the season. Hermida has played in just six games, and has seven strikeouts against just five hits on the year. Instead of Hermida leading the way for the Marlins, former Red Sox top prospect of Hanley Ramirez, a Marlin by virtue of the Josh Beckett trade, has stolen the early season thunder in Florida. Ramirez is hitting .318, has 28 hits in just 21 games, and team-leading 20 runs scored.

A college player out of the University of Arizona, Brian Anderson was considered a top outfield prospect for the defending champion White Sox. But it has been tough sledding for the Chicago rookie, hitting just .161 in 19 games. Like many of the other youngsters, it is Anderson's 22 strikeouts in 61 at bats that has been most noticeable.

Kenji Johjima, lured out of Japan with a three-year, 16.5 million contract offer, has been solid thus far for Seattle. In 23 games, the catcher has hit .267, driving in 12 runs and having 20 hits compared to nine strikeouts.

There still a long way to go in 2006, but the season is shaping up as one to watch regarding some exceptionally talented young players on the diamond.

Who says the college football offseason is boring? There is plenty of news coming out of southern California, but unfortunately, none of it is good. The USC Trojans, who finished second in the country last year after falling to the University of Texas in the National Championship title game, have been suffering one blow after another ever since then. Let's take a look at what's happening with this Pac-10 powerhouse.

First of all, spring practices turned out to be very costly for the team. There were a whole slew of injuries over the last month, and several key Trojans players will be inactive for an unspecified length of time. Chief among those is John David Booty, whom many felt had been pegged the heir apparent for departed star Matt Leinart. Booty made it through exactly one spring practice before complaining of back pain. He opted to have surgery immediately in order to deal with the problem, which has been a recurring one throughout his career. During the 2005 season, Booty saw a significant amount of playing time as he came on in the 4th quarter of numerous games that the Trojans had already put out of reach. That kind of playing time had to boost his confidence, and will certainly help make the transition to starter a lot easier.

Another key injury during spring workout was a blown knee suffered by fifth-year senior Hershel Dennis. The injury occurred on Dennis' first day of camp and was severe enough to require surgery. Since he injured the same knee that kept him out of the lineup last year, he is projected to miss the entire season. Tailback Desmond Reed also sat out most of the spring workouts due to a foot injury, and his recovery timeline is still unknown at this point. Sophomore tailback Michael Coleman missed all of spring practice due to hip surgery, while fullback Jody Adewale didn't work out much because of a groin injury. To top it all off, tailback Desmond Washington was declared academically ineligible to participate in the Trojans' spring sessions.

The USC football program has had significant troubles off the field as well. These problems have embroiled both past and present players, and have served to somewhat tarnish the once golden image of the team. The biggest story concerns that of former USC running back and 2005 Heisman trophy winner Reggie Bush. In the past couple of weeks, a story has surfaced containing allegations that Bush's family lived rent-free in a southern California home that was purchased by a would-be sports agent. The agent, of course, was interested in representing Bush once he turned pro. This same man has now filed a lawsuit against Bush and family, alleging that the family owes him back rent for the entire year. The man is also seeking damages since Bush opted to sign with a different sports agency.

Nevertheless, if the man can prove his case and show that Bush's family did live rent-free and that they accepted cash as he alleges, then that would be a clear violation of NCAA policy. The potential ramifications against USC are significant. The NCAA could declare Bush to have been in violation of league policies, and they could then force the Trojans to forfeit the games that Bush played in. That action seems to be a bit extreme, and not many experts believe that the NCAA will actually do that. A more likely scenario might be that the NCAA would put the USC program on probation. Either way, Bush is free to sign with this new NFL team, the New Orleans Saints. Yes, that's right: New Orleans. It turns out that Bush, who held the number one spot on every mock draft published since December, was actually passed over by the Houston Texans, who instead chose defensive end Mario Williams of North Carolina State. Bush ended up being the number two overall pick, which will cost him millions of dollars in guaranteed contract money. The Texans didn't give a reason as to why they chose Williams over Bush, but most experts are speculating that the Houston organization feels Bush's agent is too contentious to deal with.

Bush wasn't the only former Trojan player to get drafted lower than expected on Saturday. Leinart also experienced something of a freefall. The 2004 Heisman winner was projected to go in the top-5 of this year's draft, but ended up not being selected until the 10th position when the Arizona Cardinals picked him. Although the Cardinals' organization is probably a better overall fit than the Tennessee Titans would have been, it was clear that Leinart did not expect to drop that far. He had visited with the New York Jets earlier in the week, and had even met with one of New York's most famous residents, Donald Trump. Many feel that Leinart would have thrived in the New York market, but now he will be playing in the desert for at least the first part of his career. It remains to be seen how well Leinart, who is used to hanging out with Hollywood A-list celebrities, can handle playing in the relatively small media market that is Arizona.

Another USC alumnus, tailback LenDale White, was projected to be a first-round draft pick as well. But he too experienced a dropoff in interest from NFL teams. White's problems stem from the fact that he failed an NFL-sanctioned drug test during one of the league's workouts. He ended up not being picked until the second round when the Titans, who also chose Vince Young in the number three spot, picked him with the 45th overall selection. Being taken in the second round instead of the first will cost White millions of dollars in signing bonuses.

Back on campus, there is even more off-field drama unfolding around second-string quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez had taken over the starting quarterback duties in spring practice while Booty was out with his back injury. But just last week, the sophomore was arrested for an alleged sexual assault perpetrated against a female USC student. Details of the case are hard to come by, but whichever way this plays out, the Trojans certainly don't need even more media scrutiny.

It's hard to believe that just a few months ago, prior to the Rose Bowl in early January, the Trojans were on top of the college football world. They had the best players in the country and had three potential first-round draft picks moving on to the NFL. Plus, they still have a talented lineup in Los Angeles, and were ready to reload for another shot at the National Championship. But they're now finding out the hard way that when it rains, it pours. It will be interesting to see how the team responds to these hardships.

It is hard to imagine that Lebron James is in just his third professional season of basketball. Or for that matter, that he is still just 21 years of age.

But at 6-8, 240 pounds, King James entered the NBA with the physical attributes to make an immediate impact. Throw in gobs of talent and confidence and the youngster has folks now sure he is about to become the next Michael Jordan.

As a rookie, James averaged 21 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and a shade under 6 assists per outing. it was an incredible performance for a player straight out of high school. The only knock was a relatively low shooting percentage for a 20 plus point per game scorer (42 percent).

The youngster promptly built on those numbers during his sophomore season, pushing his point total to 27 a game, all the while chipping in 7 plus rebounds and 7 plus assists per game. Most importantly he pushed his shooting percentage to 47 percent.

Still, the King's Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs in either James rookie or sophomore seasons. In fact, the team seemed a lock a year ago only to suffer a late season meltdown. So as good as the youngster was, there were those pointing to his failure to produce victories as a knock on the budding super star.

The 2005-2006 season saw the emergence of the player who is now arguably the best all around player in the league, Kobe Bryant included. James moved his scoring past the thirty point per game mark to 31.3 and still managed to dish out 6.6 assists per outing. He also improved his shooting percentage to a career best of 48 percent and led the Cavaliers to their first playoff appearance in years.

Many wondered how he would fare in his first post season, after all the NBA second season is considered another level of difficulty. Well, in his first ever playoff start, James went for a triple double, racking up 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, leading the Cavaliers to their first post season win since 1998. Only two other players in NBA history had a triple double in their first ever playoff game, Johnny McCarthy who did it for the St. Louis Hawks in 1960 and the former LA Laker star, Magic Johnson, who did it in 1980.

Since James has often been compared to Jordan, the inevitable was to compare Lebron's first ever playoff game to that of the incredible Jordan. The former Bull star had a great first game too, but it didn't quite match that of King James. Jordan went for 23 points, four rebounds and 10 assists in his first playoff game for the Chicago Bulls. Perhaps most importantly, it was a game the Bulls lost.

As perhaps only James could do, he topped that in game three as the lanky forward drove around Antonio Daniels and somehow managed to bank in an improbable 4-footer, making the shot while on his way back to the floor. The game winning hoop with 5.7 seconds left pushed the Cavaliers to a 2-1 lead against a game, Washington Wizards team.

But, it wasn't just a night with a game winning shot. The Cavalier's third year player set an NBA playoff record with 41 points in his road debut. His 41 points also happened to be a franchise playoff record for Cleveland.

James would make 16 of 28 shots on the night and contribute five rebounds and three assists to the winning cause. The Cavaliers won in spite of another emerging superstar, Gilbert Arenas, scoring 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. The young Wizards guard made all but one of the Wizards' field goals in the fourth quarter, literally carrying the team on his back.

At 21, King James has young legs. That was huge for the Cavaliers as the youngster played all but 23 seconds of the key contest. In addition, unless one thinks folks overrate his importance, consider that his teammates were a combined 19-for-57 from the field. But perhaps the most important aspect of his performance was James ability to shake off a poor performance in game two, a Cleveland loss where the Cavaliers best player had an ugly 10 turnovers.

The hype surrounding Lebron James is growing with each passing game. A key game four in Washington awaits the Cavaliers who have now reestablished home court advantage with the game three win.

The only questions regarding the budding superstar at this point are simply what can he do for an encore. So far, his first playoff appearance is simply setting yet another standard in this, his incredible third season in the NBA.

The Indiana Pacers 2005-2006 year is continuing to resemble 2004-2005, not only in its regular season frustrations, but with yet another possible first round playoff upset.

A year ago the Pacers basketball goals came unhinged when the much discussed brawl with the Pistons cost the team key players during both the regular season and the playoffs. The volatile Ron Artest was suspended for the duration, including the playoffs, while Jermaine O'Neal and Steven Jackson also received lengthy suspensions.

In addition to losing such key talent to suspensions, Indiana suffered with numerous regular season injuries. The 2004-2005 Pacers struggled at times to even have enough players on the bench to fill out a complete roster.

Indiana limped into the playoffs as a number six seed a year ago and were promptly waxed by twenty points in their first playoff game with the Celtics. The favored Celtics looked like a lock in the series.

But over the course of the next six games, Indiana would win every game on the Celtics home court including the critical game seven that would give the Pacers a first round series victory. The veteran Pacers made the younger Celtics look like immature kids, out executing Boston at every key moment when a game was on the line.

Indiana further made an improbable statement against the vaunted the Pistons. Though the Pacers would lose the series in six games, an Indiana win in Detroit and a win in their first home game of the semifinal series had the upstart Pacers ahead in the series two games to one.

As the 2005-2006 season arrived, the team that had shown so much resiliency was a common pick to re-emerge at the top of the Eastern Conference. With Ron Artest back on the court after his monumental suspension, Sports Illustrated selected the Pacers to be the best team in the East for 05-06.

But the regular season would once again become a debacle for the Pacers. First Artest had yet another emotional blowout and this time he insisted that Pacers trade him. Indiana management, tired of Artest's immense ego and more troubling behaviors, took him off the active roster while the team attempted to find another NBA city willing to make a deal for the troubled forward.

As with 2004-05, the Pacers also promptly were smitten by the injury bug. Point guard Jamal Tinsley had another disrupted season, missing roughly 40 games and center Jermaine O'Neal missed 30 games as well. Though the Pacers did finally unload Artest for sharp shooting Peja Stojakovic, the team still could not get its best starting five together for a string of games until the very end of the regular season.

So for the second straight year the talented team finished the regular season in sixth place. And for the second straight year, as the playoffs started they were big underdogs to the number three seed, this time the New Jersey Nets.

But Indiana has an underrated coach in Rick Carlisle as well as a strong playoff history. And once again the team that limped through the regular season is showing it is one resilient basketball team.

On Thursday night, the player who missed 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal proceeded to drop 37 points and haul in 15 rebounds to propel Indiana to its second victory in three games against the Nets, 107-95. Anthony Johnson, taking over for the oft-injured Tinsley at the point, chipped in 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter for the Pacers.

Ironically, the outstanding performance by O'Neal came after the NBA had fined the center, also on Thursday, for his public criticism of the referees after Indiana's Game 2 loss in New Jersey. O'Neal had insisted that New Jersey players have been "flopping and getting calls," whistles that have kept O'Neal from being a factor, primarily by keeping the star on the bench in foul trouble. After averaging just 13.5 points and five rebounds over the first two games of the series, the big guy went 12-for-15 from the field and 13-for-14 from the line in the Game 3 victory.

However, the Pacers showed that NBA level defense is still the key when it comes to playoff basketball. Indiana held New Jersey to 3-for-18 shooting in the third quarter and 9 for 38 for the second half. In addition to holding the entire Nets team to the 24% shooting, the Pacers held Vince Carter without a field goal over the final two quarters.

Come Saturday afternoon, the Nets and Pacers will play a critical game four in Indiana. A Pacer victory would put the team on the verge of repeating its first round upset of Boston a year ago and again allow the folks in Indiana to forget what has been yet another abysmal regular season.

And this year the winner of this series has the good fortune of facing either Miami or Chicago in round two, instead of the bunch out of Motown. No one on the Indiana squad is thinking that far ahead, least of all Rick Carlisle.

But as this first round series heads to the critical game four, Indiana still has a chance to show everyone why Sports Illustrated had them as one of the Eastern Conference's top teams. And at the same time the team will have a chance to make 2005-2006 more than just a repeat of 2004-2005.
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By Ed Jennett


After a disappointing two-month stay in New York, Steve Francis may be heading to yet another team. When he was first acquired, President/GM Isiah Thomas said that Head Coach Larry Brown suggested trading for Stevie Franchise after it became obvious that he had worn out his welcome in Orlando. There has been a great deal of speculation that the real reason that Francis was acquired was to serve as trade bait this offseason.

Despite the poor performance of Stevie Wander in New York, he is still a three time All-Star and is only 29 years old. Whether the Knicks will be able to trade Francis is not the question. The question is where will Francis end up next.

Right before the Knicks traded for him, there were rumors that Francis was headed to Denver in a three-way deal between the Magic, Nuggets, and Knicks. In that deal the expiring contract of Penny Hardaway would have gone to Orlando, Francis would have gone to Denver, and Kenyon Martin would be sent to New York. The trade fell apart amidst rumors that Francis was threatening not to report to Denver if he was traded there. With the way things ended up with the Knicks, Francis would most likely be thrilled to go to the Nuggets if he is traded there now.

Denver might be the most unlikely franchise for Stevie Franchise to wind up with though. While swapping Francis for Martin would theoretically give the Knicks an elite big man trio with Eddy Curry and Channing Frye still on the roster, the trade only makes sense in theory. Martin is still struggling from the microfracture surgery that he underwent on his left knee last offseason, so he is a major health risk. After their recent experiences with Allan Houston and Antonio McDyess the Knicks are more aware than any other team in the league that players with bad knees can not be counted on. Even if Martin was healthy the Knicks would be better off pursuing other options due to his horrible attitude. He has never liked practice, so he would certainly clash with Brown on that issue. K-Mart has also just been suspended indefinitely by the Nuggets for cursing at Head Coach George Karl during half time of the Nuggets game 2 loss to the Clippers. Karl and Brown are not only both North Carolina alumni and good friends, they both have very abrasive personalities as well. It would not make sense to trade Francis for a player who will most likely be an even bigger headache.

Two other possible destinations for Francis are Minnesota and Indiana. The Knicks would love to acquire Kevin Garnett of Minnesota and view Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana as an excellent backup plan. The two All-Star power forwards may both be available this offseason, and a package of Francis and Frye might be the best offer that either club receives. But the best offer does not always make the most sense.

Minnesota would like to re-sign restricted free agent Marcus Banks to return as the starting point guard next year. Plus the Timberwolves already have two excellent backup point guards on their roster, Troy Hudson and Mark Jaric. An offer of Frye and the expiring contract of Jalen Rose would provide Minnesota with less talent but might suit the needs of the Timberwolves better.

Jamaal Tinsley is supposed to be the Pacers starting point guard but he is constantly injured. Indiana has a more than adequate backup in Anthony Johnson, so trading O’Neal for a point guard is not a necessity. If Francis were dealt to Indiana, the Pacers would prefer to keep Johnson and try to move Tinsley. That would be very difficult to do however because of his injury problems. Just like with Minnesota, Francis and Frye would provide Indiana with more talent, but Frye and the expiring contract of Jalen Rose might make more sense with the current roster of the team.

The most likely next stop for Stevie Wander is the one that is mentioned the least, Atlanta. The Knicks are interested in Hawks free agent Al Harrington and the interest is definitely mutual. Harrington is from New Jersey and grew up a Knicks fan. When Thomas was coaching the Indiana Pacers he was the one who first gave Harrington significant playing time, and the two have remained close. Finally, no team in the league would be willing to pay Harrington more money. There have been rumors that New York would offer him a contract starting at $10 million. That number would work perfectly with the expiring contract of Maurice Taylor ($9.75 million) in a package to Atlanta (with some combination of picks and/or Nate Robinson and/or David Lee) or to another team that wants cap relief in a three-team trade.

However if the Knicks were to offer Harrington a maximum deal starting at $12 million they would be able to trade Francis for him since their salaries would be within the 125% plus $100,000 necessary for a trade between teams over the salary cap to work since Francis will make $15 million next year. Atlanta is desperate for a legitimate starting point guard and this would be their best chance to get one. If Harrington follows the strategy of past free agents and threatens to sign with a team that has cap space (ex. Chicago) Atlanta will either work out a deal with the team he actually wants to play for or risk losing him with no compensation. Trading him for Francis would go from being a great option to the only option at that point.

Just one month ago, the NFL draft order through the first five picks was pretty much set. Well, that's what the people who take the time to propose mock drafts would have you believe. Nearly every one of those mock draft analysts had Reggie Bush going at number one, followed by former teammate Matt Leinart, then ex-Longhorns quarterback Vince Young at number three, then D'Brickashaw Ferguson in the fourth post, with ex-Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk rounding out the top 5.

But now with less than three days to go until the real thing commences, many mock drafts have a completely different look. Surprisingly, some people feel that Reggie Bush might not even be the first overall pick anymore, and the rest of the top five have been shuffled around as well. Whereas the Texans initially positioned themselves to take Bush by signing quarterback David Carr to a lucrative contract extension. This removed all speculation as to whether or not the Texans would pull a switch and draft Leinart or Young with the top pick.

However, several published reports now claim that the Texans are listening to trade offers from other teams that are interested in taking Bush with the first pick. Some analysts say that the Texans are looking to possibly trade with the New York Jets so that the Jets can take Bush or Leinart while the Texans would take Ferguson. Others believe that the Texans will just hold on to their pick and select Ferguson as the outright number one. If that happens, that would definitely be a shocker since Bush has pretty much been pegged as the number one overall pick since he declared for the draft in December.

The number two pick, currently owned by the New Orleans Saints, isn't as clear-cut as it was a month ago, either. Back then, conventional wisdom dictated that the Saints would choose Leinart to replace the ineffective Aaron Brooks. Many scouts believe that Leinart has the tools to adjust to the pro game quickly, so they were projecting him to come in and start right away, much like Peyton Manning did in his first year with the Colts. But then the Saints went and signed former Chargers quarterback Drew Brees to a long-term deal for big money. Because of the amount of money involved in the Brees deal, it's not likely that the Saints brought him on board simply to help groom Leinart. Brees is getting a starter's salary, not one fit for a backup.

So that means that New Orleans might possibly select Mario Williams, an outstanding defensive end from North Carolina State. Or, they could trade their pick to someone else, drop down in the draft, and still get a highly-rated player. Either way, it's pretty much a certainty that they won't be taking Leinart with the second pick, which means he will fall to at least third.

The Tennesse Titans own the third pick in the draft, and most everyone believes that this is where Leinart will be selected. If the Titans do take Leinart, it would probably be a pretty good fit. The offensive coordinator in Tennessee is Norm Chow, who held that position for a few years at USC when Leinart was also playing there. So those two have a history together, and Chow will already be very familiar with Leinart's strengths and weaknesses. In addition, current Titans quarterback Steve McNair is a solid player that will be able to teach Leinart a lot during his first couple of years in the league. They don't really have similar styles in that McNair has always been more of a rushing QB than Leinart will ever be, but McNair knows what it takes to succeed and win in the NFL, and that's what he will be expected to pass on to Leinart.

If Leinart goes at number three as predicted, then the New York Jets will have some decisions to make with the number four pick. The Jets were a terrible team last year and have so many needs that they could go in several different directions with their pick and still not solidify the team as much as they need to. According to some analysts, the Jets' first priority will be to get a quarterback. This is because starter Chad Pennington has been injury-prone throughout his career, and current backup Patrick Ramsey is not the kind of quarterback that is expected to be able to take the team to the playoffs. But the Jets also need help in many areas on defense, and other positions on offense. You can bet that they will be happy to take Williams, Ferguson, or Leinart with their pick, depending on who is still on the board when they make their selection.

Regardless of which order the first four guys are selected, you can pretty much bet that the Packers will stick with A.J. Hawk as the number five pick. That's because the Packers desperately need to shore up their defense, and Hawk is the kind of guy that they can really build the team around. The quarterback situation seems to be set for at least another year, with the announcement that Brett Favre will return for the 2006 season. Plus, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers on the sidelines waiting for his chance to step in and shine. There are some questions at the wide receiver position since star Javon Walker wants out, but otherwise, most of Green Bay's problems can be attributed to the defense. By making Hawk their first pick, the Packers will be taking big strides towards getting back to winning championships. Hawk will likely come in and make an immediate impact, similar to the way that Brian Urlacher came in for the Chicago Bears.

With Bush, Williams, Leinart, Ferguson, and Hawk expected to be the top 5 pick, where does that leave Vince Young? Before the disastrous Wonderlic news, Young was expected to be neck and neck with Leinart as the second overall pick. Now, however, he will probably fall all the way to number seven and the Oakland Raiders. With Kerry Collins out and Aaron Brooks in, you can bet that Art Shell is not through with the wheeling and dealing. Young may or may not be a good fit in Oakland, but one thing's for sure: the Raiders are going to pick him if he's available.

As for the other top-rated quarterback in the draft, Jay Cutler, some mock drafts have him all the way down at 17th for the Minnesota Vikings. This is a surprise since he was as high as 10th just about a month ago.

To see how the real draft plays out, tune in on April 29!

After a relatively dismal spring training record, the Boston Red Sox have emerged on top of the Eastern Division with a strong 13 and 7 start for the season. That record and the team's first place standing has few Sox fans contemplating what looks to have been a sorry trade team management made just prior to the opening of the season.

At issue is Boston's swap of Bronson Arroyo for the Reds Wily Mo Pena. Somehow, despite the reality that no major league team ever has too much pitching, the Red Sox swapped a proven starting pitcher, a right hander who had been a key contributor for Boston the past two years for an unproven outfielder who quote "is deemed to have enormous potential."

For those seeking to be supportive of the trade, reportedly Pena has great power, reminding some sportscasters of a young Sammy Sosa. In addition, theoretically Pena is entering a park built for right handers, so the youngster has the potential to put up some big offensive numbers.

But anyone watching Pena's first few games with the Sox realized immediately that the man cannot play in the field. The youngster has already misplayed as many balls in the outfield this season as the master of lackluster defense, Manny Ramirez, has mishandled in his Boston career. Pundits had stated that Pena would butcher right field in Fenway and the youngster has been absolutely terrible when asked to play that position in the field. Unfortunately, since David Ortiz, the Sox's current designated hitter, is one of the team's top two hitters, the only way Pena can get into the lineup is by finding outfield playing time.

That said, regardless of Pena's fielding woes, the real issue is that Boston gave up a reliable starter in the deal. And the Sox have missed Arroyo immensely in the early going. First fifth starter David Wells got hammered, a situation that led the team to find a spot on the disabled list for the portly left hander.

Then the team went to youngster Lenny Dinardo with equally poor results. He has also been pounded in his two starts with the team. Quite frankly the Sox could have used Arroyo's arm in the early going and had he been with the team over the first 20 games the Red Sox could have been off to one of those starts that allows a team to cruise into the postseason.

In Cincinnati, Arroyo is, of course, off to a 4-0 start with a 2.34 ERA. His one-hit masterpiece today moved the Reds to 15-7 on the season, and the shutout with 8 additional strikeouts moved the right hander to the top of the National League in all key pitching categories.

Of particular note to the closest Sox fans is that Boston dealt Arroyo after the pitcher had his arbitration years bought out for less than four million dollars for each of the next three years. The move smacks of a classic management trend that fails to repay loyal players. Clearly, Arroyo wanted to stay in Boston and was willing to take a pay level that allowed him to stay there. That commitment was then met with the Red Sox moving him for yet another potential bat.

All that points to a major league screw-up on Boston's part. Perhaps the Sox will luck out and lure Roger Clemens out of retirement. If the team could sign the Rocket that certainly could put the issue to bed in a hurry.

Or perhaps Keith Foulke will return to top flight closer form to allow the current rookie sensation, Jonathan Papelbon, the chance to start. The burly right hander has handled the closer role for the Sox by going 9 for 9 in save opportunities thus far. The rook has also not given up a single earned run on the season making him a strong candidate for the starting rotation should Foulke prove able to handle the closer role.

But if major league baseball teams learned anything from Chicago a year ago, it was that pitching is the key. How the Sox could trade a quality, proven starter, for an unproven bat that cannot field is beyond the understanding of die hard followers. If the Sox had not lured Theo Epstein back into the front office, then likely the new management would be getting skewered for this trade.

In addition, if the Sox suddenly go cold and their fast start gives way to a Yankee push then the boo birds will be out in droves. All in all, the trade of Arroyo makes little sense in an era of baseball where pitching is at the heart of a run at the World Series.

Coming off a World Series championship in 2005, Chicago White Sox manager Kenny Williams primarily had one objective for the offseason: keep the core of the team intact. This included making sure the incredible starting rotation came back in great shape, as well as signing slugger Paul Konerko to a contract extension. It also included keeping World Series MVP Jermaine Dye, young third baseman Joe Crede, Japanese transplant Tadahito Iguchi, speedster Scott Podsednik, and the always vocal A.J. Pierzynski on board. With all of these players coming back, the White Sox had very few needs to fill. But one move that Williams did decide to make was to acquire 35-year-old veteran Jim Thome from the Philadelphia Phillies.

In exchange, the Sox had to give up a great defensive center fielder in Aaron Rowand, who is young and certainly has many years of fantastic baseball ahead of him. But the Sox could afford to let Rowand go because of the development of rookie Brian Anderson, and because the Phillies would also be giving the Sox $22 million in cash as part of the deal.

When I first heard of the Thome trade, I wasn't exactly excited. After all, Thome is 35 and is coming off a year in which he spent almost the whole season on the disabled list. Once players reach a certain age, you expect their production to decline, you expect them to get injured more often, and you expect them to take longer coming back from those injuries. So I thought, "Great, we send one ailing slugger packing (Frank Thomas), only to get another guy who's probably past his prime."

But it seems that I may have been too quick to dismiss the importance of adding Thome to the lineup. Through the first 20 games of the season, Thome has helped the defending world champs jump out to a 14-6 start in the AL Central division. More important than simply being in first place in April, however, is the fact that the White Sox are actually scoring a lot of runs this season. Last year, the team staked its playoff run on pitching. Manager Ozzie Guillen got several complete games from his starters, and the pitching staff really picked up the lackluster offense in a couple of those playoff wins.

This season, it has mostly been the other way around. While the Sox have seen a couple of good games out of the starting rotation, there hasn't really been a spectacular performance to speak of. But because the White Sox have scored 123 runs in their 20 games, a healthy average of six runs per outing, they haven't needed the pitching gems just yet. The 123 runs scored puts the White Sox first overall in the American League in that category, and second overall in the majors, behind the Cincinnati Reds and their 131 runs in 21 games.

Thome has been leading the way in run production for the White Sox. He started the season by scoring at least one run in 17 consecutive games. That was a record for the White Sox club, and fell just one short of tying the Major League record held by Kenny Lofton and Red Rolfe (of the 1939 New York Yankees). In all, Thome has scored 23 runs in his 20 starts. He has also been making an impact with the long ball. He has 9 home runs so far and is among the league leaders in that category. The White Sox desperately needed to add another powerful bat to the lineup to take some of the pressure off Dye and Konerko, and it seems that Thome is doing just that.

In addition, because Thome is batting behind Konerko in the lineup, it gives the Sox first baseman some added protection. Pitchers are not going to simply be able to pitch around Konerko because they'll have to deal with another slugger in Thome right behind him. So just by being in the lineup, Thome should help Konerko add a couple of points to his batting average, plus prop the RBI production up a bit.

After watching Thome and the White Sox through the first month of the season, I am inclined to think that Kenny Williams made a very shrewd move in signing him. It will be interesting to see how long Thome can keep up his run production for the Sox.

Though it may be in large part due to his previous behavior Ron Artest was once again subject to discipline by the NBA for inappropriate physical behavior on the basketball court.

The NBA recently suspended Artest for Game Two of the Kings playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. Artest's elbow to Manu Ginobili's head in the series opener was apparently serious enough to warrant Stu Jackson's issuance of a one game suspension for the troubled guard.

Artest, of course, missed 73 games a year ago, as well as the entire playoffs for his role in one of the most famous brawls in NBA history (if not all of sports history). But the recent one-game suspension reportedly caught both the Kings and the Spurs completely by surprise. Quite frankly, neither club deemed the personal foul all that serious.

In fact, the foul was not even worthy of postgame comment, not by the Spurs and certainly not by the Kings. The foul was committed against Ginobili during the third quarter of the Spurs' first game, blow out win, 122-88. The elbow by Artest caught Ginobili in the jaw as the Spurs slasher cut through the lane. At the time, the foul simply was ruled as a personal against Artest. The referees at the time did not assess a flagrant, the basic category of a foul of abnormally harsh contact, even though Spurs Coach Greg Popovich sought the referees ear to voice his concerns.

Because Ginobili popped right back up on the play, the game continued without further difficulty. That failure to dramatize the foul perhaps initially led to the notion that the contact was not all that significant.

Complicating the matter further was the insistence out of San Antonio that the team had not sought punishment for Artest. Spurs Coach Popovich insisted that San Antonio did not contact NBA officials regarding the play. Popovich further stated that his team was as surprised as the Kings to learn of the league's disciplinary action.

Of course, adding complexity to the issue was the fact that Artest was injured on the game's opening possession by an inadvertent Ginobili elbow. The blow resulted in three stitches for Artest and the thought that his blow on Ginobli in the third quarter may have been in fact retaliation.

That said, it appeared that Artest was penalized for his past indiscretions. Yes he did also commit hard fouls against Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in Game One, all in addition to the blow against Ginobli. But it appeared that the league was being very assertive before Artest contributed yet another black mark for the NBA this season.

Ironically, the ever-confident Artest had also voiced publicly that the Kings would be the equal of the Spurs in the playoffs. A forty point rout in Game One no doubt added to the frustrations of the Kings and their volatile guard, perhaps adding reason for the fouls.

But the NBA should be known for being fair and for judging the current behavior on the court. In the case of Artest, no one could honestly state that the league was looking at the issues from Game One with an open mind.

Homeschooling has become widely popular in the twenty or so short years that it has come back into style. While ten years ago, people would still ask, "is that legal?" most people everywhere have now heard of homeschooling and accept it as the wonderful educational opportunity that it is. While some still question the socialism issue, most have come to understand that homeschooled children usually rival their peers in being socialized; in fact, most homeschoolers are surprisingly better at socializing on a large scale of ages and backgrounds, while children who go to traditional school are more comfortable only with their own age group. The one area where homeschoolers can find frustration, if they are not creative, is in the area of sports.

Children who go to public schools have automatic access to sports and with practices every day and notices coming out months in advance, they know when to try out, they know the coach, and they simply have an easier time. Homeschoolers have to go looking for sports. The notices about upcoming sports, tryouts, or competitions rarely come in the mail. Today, many public school systems across the country allow homeschoolers in their district to join their sports teams and compete as an equal. Usually parents just need to sign a waiver, and like the public school students, homeschooled students must provide evidence of a current physical, to show that they are healthy enough to participate in sports. Once on the team, homeschoolers can simply show up at the high school, middle school, or elementary school after school hours to participate.

For younger children, most towns have recreational sports in which homeschoolers can participate in the same way as public school or private school children. In fact, recreational sports are rarely associated with the schools in any way, but instead are run by the city or county government. Recreational sports can begin as early as age five and often offer many of the sports that children might be interested in for high school, including soccer, basketball, cross-country running, lacrosse, swimming and baseball.

Many homeschooling groups across the country, especially those in areas where the public schools are less friendly about their participation, have taken it upon themselves to start their own sports groups. Nearly every state now has homeschooling sports teams up through the high school levels, with serious competitions, awards, and even possibilities for college scholarships. While homeschoolers often have to be a bit more creative and may find themselves traveling more than their public school counterparts, they find that they enjoy the opportunity to compete with other homeschoolers, and they enjoy avoiding the bureaucracy that can be found in public schools.

Of course, if a homeschooling family lives in a remote area far from the local public school or other homeschooled children, they might have to be even more creative. Lone sports such as cross-country running, cross-country skiing, bicycling, or the like can greatly appeal to those students who do not have access to a team. In fact, homeschooled students who are adverse to team sports in general can find health and fitness in these solitary sports, or they can seek out sports in groups where they only compete against themselves, such as in ballet, martial arts, ice skating, and gymnastics. These individual sports give students the exercise they need, as well as a sense of accomplishment that is not based on what all the other kids are doing. In the case of the homeschooled students who live far from any peers, the parents would be wise to join their children in the individual sports. It can be a family exercise of keeping everyone healthy.

Whatever your choice, make sure your homeschooled student is given the opportunity to at least try several sports. Not every child is cut out for competition and team sports, but every child need aerobic exercise and fresh air. If nothing else, take your child out for a long walk each day and find that you will enjoy it as well. You can use the opportunity to talk about healthy choices, or you can simply enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and sights along the way. Either way, you and your child will feel better as a result!

Two years ago, we noted that the Europeans had absolutely demolished the Americans in the Ryder Cup, winning by an astounding 18.5 to 9.5. It was a loss that represented the worst in US golf history.

We further noted that it was symbolic turning point for golf Internationally. We stated that the win was the Europeans fourth in the last five matches of this historic event.

But we also noted the number of non-Europeans, particularly the strong group of golfers emerging from Australia, as further evidence of the emergence of top flight players from beyond the U.S. borders. At that time, only two Americans ranked in the top six of the World Rankings, only four in the top ten, just seven of the top 18 and a paltry 13 of the top 34 world wide.

As 2006 emerges, that trend continues. A check of the top ranked players has Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, America's top two golfers, ranked one-two world wide. But once again the top rankings yield four International players in positions three through six as well as just four Americans in the top ten. In addition, International players now occupy 12 of the top 18 slots, and 22 of the top 34 slots.

The International flavor of golf is also seen by the tournament winners on the 2006 PGA Tour to date. Without a doubt, the biggest mark has been that strong Australian contingent.

First, Aussie Stuart Appleby has matched Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson with two wins on the year, winning the Mercedes in January and the Shell Open last week. Fellow Aussie Geoff Ogilvy took home the title at the most difficult WGC Accenture Match Play Championship and fellow countryman Rod Pampling won the prestigious Bay Hill Invitational. Even young Australian Aaron Baddeley has emerged victorious this season, taking home honors at the Verizon Heritage.

In addition to the Aussie domination, both the Honda Classic and the Tournament Players Championship winners were foreigners. Luke Donald, a native of England took the Honda title, a win that propelled him into the top ten rankings. Stephen Ames, a native of Trinidad and resident of Canada, took home the much sought after TPC title.

The only early season area of American prominence is the fact that 10 of the 17 PGA Tour winners are from the United States. Then again, after winning seven of the first eight tournaments, Americans have managed just three wins in the last nine events. All three victories are from the top two players world wide, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

There is still much golf to be played in the weeks ahead including three major titles yet to be claimed. Though Americans could still make a strong statement, it should be noted that the top foreign players, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington are still winless on the season.

A continuation of that development is highly unlikely. Putting together the early season results with the notion that best International players are still winless on the season and we have a clear picture that the PGA Tour is further becoming an International affair with the foreign contingent giving the home folks everything they can handle.

If you've ever wondered why some college football coaches can command lucrative multi-million dollar contracts, just take a look at the impact Charlie Weis has had in a single year at the helm of the Notre Dame program. First of all, Weis came in and helped three underachieving players vault to All-American status. Safety Tom Zbikowski and wide receiver Jeff Samardzija had seen little playing time in their first two years with the team, and hadn't accomplished much at all. But after getting opportunities to play for Weis, both had incredible seasons and were selected as All-Americans by AP sportswriters.

Quarterback Brady Quinn had been a two-year starter under previous head coach Tyrone Willingham, but hadn't lived up to the potential he showed as a highly-touted high school recruit. Many were willing to write him off as a bust, but his numbers from the 2005 season under Coach Weis were enough to make even professionals turn green with envy. He threw for 3,919 yards and 32 touchdowns and will return for a senior season in which he is projected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He will also begin the season as one of the heavy favorites for the Heisman trophy.

In grooming these young players into NFL prospects, Weis has also turned around the entire Notre Dame football program. The team went 9-3 in 2005, with two regular-season losses to Michigan State and USC by a total of six points. The Fighting Irish earned a BCS bowl berth for the first time in five years, but came up short against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Nevertheless, the school earned millions from the appearance, and the football team will likely open the 2006 season ranked nationally in the top-five.

As if that wasn't enough, Weis' success on the field has had a positive impact on Notre Dame's recruiting activities as well. Success breeds success, as they say, and that has certainly been the case with Weis and the Irish. They've already received verbal commitments from several top prep prospects, including linebacker Aaron Nagel and defensive end Kerry Neal. But perhaps the biggest recruiting coup of Weis' short career at Notre Dame came just last Saturday when Jimmy Clausen, the number-one rated prep quarterback prospect in the entire country, announced his intention to attend Notre Dame in 2007.

According to almost every analyst out there, Clausen has the tools to be one of the best college quarterbacks ever. He comes from a football family that has produced two other scholarship players (brothers Casey and Rick, who both went to Tennessee), so you can bet that Jimmy already knows what to expect from the college game and the scrutiny that goes with playing in front of a national audience. Brother Casey was a four-year starter for the Vols from 2000-2003, and he threw for 9,707 yards and 75 touchdowns in that span. Rick had significantly less success in college, throwing for only 984 yards and 8 touchdowns in his career. Everyone that has been watching Jimmy's development agrees that he is much more advanced than either of his brothers were at his age. This means he can do big things at Notre Dame.

The youngest Clausen is going to get a lot of attention during his senior year of high school. According to at least one published report, a national network will broadcast one of his games as a member of Oaks Christian School in California. Clausen has been a starter for the last two seasons, and in that time has thrown for 7,234 yards and an amazing 88 touchdowns. What's even more incredible is the fact that Clausen has only thrown 11 interceptions in that span, which is highly unusual for mistake-prone, inexperienced prep athletes. Clausen is 27-0 as a starter for his high school team, and has helped the team put a very healthy average of 53 points on the board each game.

With Brady Quinn set to graduate at the end of the 2006 season, the timing for Clausen is perfect. He will have a chance to come in and be a four-year starter, just like Quinn, and just like eldest brother Casey. The starting job won't be handed to him, of course. But he has more skills than current backups Evan Sharpley and David Wolke, and is likely to surpass 2006 recruits Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer.

Clausen was heavily recruited by other schools, too, including USC. The fact that Weis was able to lure Clausen away from his "hometown" school speaks volumes about the way the coach is perceived by high school prospects. Clausen came right out at his press conference and said that the overriding factor in his decision to attend Notre Dame was the chance to work with Weis in a pro-style offense. Clausen has seen what Weis did for Quinn, turning him from a disappointment into a legitimate first-round draft pick in the NFL, and Clausen of course wants the same opportunities. Making it in the NFL is something that neither of the elder Clausen brothers has done, which is even more motivation for Jimmy.

Another thing that Clausen liked about Coach Weis was his honesty. Weis let Clausen know a year ago that he was going to be a priority as far as recruiting goes. Weis stayed true to his word by not attempting to sign last year's highest-rated prep prospect Mitch Mustain. By staying out of the Mustain sweepstakes, Weis reinforced his point about Clausen being the Notre Dame quarterback of the future.

In addition to giving the Irish a talented replacement for Brady Quinn, Clausen can help bring in other prized recruits. College football programs serve as a national stage for players who are essentially participating in an extended audition for the NFL. Everyone would like to be able to say that they were part of a National Championship team, and that could very well be the case with the future Notre Dame teams led by Clausen at quarterback. As a result, several top wide receiver prospects will now give the Irish a long, hard look prior to making their commitments. Wide receivers, after all, cannot adequately showcase their talents if they don't have a quarterback on the team that can consistently throw the ball to them. The chance to play with Clausen at Notre Dame could be too hard to pass up.

Irish fans had to be a bit worried when looking ahead to 2007, not only because of losing Quinn but also because the current sophomores and juniors on the roster don't inspire much confidence. But now with Clausen coming in, things just got a whole lot brighter.

The last two weeks of the NBA season generated very little excitement for the heavy duty basketball fan. Not only was there very little in the way of suspense as the season came to a close, NBA coaches decided to rest key players rather than seek to win games.

The issue was particularly glaring in the East where the Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets chose to treat to the end of the regular season as nothing more than an end of the year exhibition schedule. Miami in particular gave Shaq and Dwayne Wade a great deal of time off over the final weeks to rest the two stars for the playoffs. Likewise New Jersey gave Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson fewer minutes to protect those stars.

Even the Cavaliers, approaching their first playoff appearance in years, gave Lebron James time to rest a gimpy ankle. That collective approach led to the East, already a rather lack-luster conference, having a decidedly dismal look over the final few games of the season.

Much was made of the Dallas Maverick situation - the team with the second best record in the West getting only the fourth seed and perhaps having to play San Antonio in round two. That setup meant that the two best teams in the West would not be playing for the Western Conference Championship, no matter what happens on the court.

Ironically, the NBA playoff seeding format where the three Division winners receive the top three seeds was an attempt to bring more competition to the final weeks of the NBA season. But instead, that format has not only proven to be a disaster with the Dallas situation, it has actually worked against the notion of making the final weeks more meaningful.

Not only does that format mean that Dallas and San Antonio may have to play one round too early, it meant that New Jersey, Miami and Cleveland had little to gain over the final weeks. Cleveland, trailing Detroit by a bushel, had no chance of being seeded any higher than fourth. The fact that the Cavaliers ended up passing New Jersey at the end of the year with their record as New Jersey rested should not have been treated as so uneventful.

Opening the playoff format up would seemingly add much more to the end of the regular season. It would mean that a second, third and fourth seed were truly up for grabs, putting a greater emphasis on winning, something professional sports must rely upon. No fan wants to head to a late season NBA game between Miami and New Jersey and find that Shaq, Dwayne Wade, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are simply not going to go full out. Worse yet, how about buying a $100 ticket and then having to sit there and watch while the star players do not even play?

The end of the NBA season was a dud - David Stern needs look at this issue pronto.

I grew up loving the Denver Broncos. One might say I cut my teeth on them. My first memory of the Denver Broncos was of Craig Morton in the late 1970s. My dad, being a Dallas Cowboy fan (and Texan forever) liked Craig Morton, too, but could never really get over the fact that he was no longer with the Cowboys. My dad and I, when I was only about ten-years-old, got into very serious discussions (as serious as discussions can get between a dad and his ten-year-old daughter, about which team was better. I wore my orange sweatshirt proudly, and my dad always donned his Dallas Cowboys ball cap with the big, blue star in front. It became a friendly rivalry between us until the 1977 Super bowl, when our two teams faced each other in the biggest game of the year. Sadly for me, and for the rest of Colorado that year, our beloved Broncos lost to the Cowboys, 27-10. I still remember my dad's compassionate look as I tried to take the loss gracefully. I also remember a very rude, obnoxious girl at my school who showed up the next day with a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt on. I wanted to slug her.

As I headed through high school, I was treated to my first Denver Broncos home game at Mile High stadium in 1982, the year before John Elway arrived on the scene. The game was a thrill (because they beat the Seattle Seahawks during a raging snowstorm) and I was able to see my team up close and personal. The next year when large-toothed, fresh and innocent looking Elway showed up, many of us were skeptical. He had a good record; no, he had a great record. It was something about the way he looked that rubbed me the wrong way. While looks have nothing to do with football (nothing really to do with anything for that matter) I couldn't get over the fact that John Elway looked incompetent to me. He looked like he was always surprised; something about his facial expression seemed cheerfully surprised about everything. In the huddle, when we were treated to a close up shot on the television, Elway looked panicked, his big blue eyes darting around nervously, his toothy smile evident even when he wasn't smiling.

Well, we know the history. John Elway went on to be a star, and he earned every bit of that stardom. The smiling, blue eyed, innocent looking Stanford boy went on to give the Denver Broncos more heart than they could have imagined. Colorado came to love Elway and thought of him as our golden boy. He loved his team, loved his state, and we looked to him to be our mascot, not just in football, but in life. John Elway was a hard worker, he never gave up, he always wore a smile, and he had heart - all the things the rest of us need to have for every day life. As we all know, Elway took the Broncos to five Super bowls in his fifteen years with the team, losing the first three terribly, but bringing the team back from rags to riches to back-to-back victories in 1997 and 1998. It was then that John Elway became a household name across the country, among peers such as Don Meredith, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw. John Elway and the Denver Broncos became the football stars that their fans always knew they could be.

Since Elway retired in 1998, at the height of his football career, the Broncos have done surprisingly well. Coach Mike Shanahan, who worked closely with Elway and with him, achieved the two Superbowl wins, has been a great leader and has held the team together well. In fact, the Broncos have only had one losing season since Elway left. Yet, in my heart, every quarterback the Broncos have will always suffer from comparison to Elway. The big toothy smile and cheerful face will be missed over the years, but also the tough, never-give-up attitude. Some are seeing that now in young Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Brady has the Elway spirit; you can see it in his eyes. He wants to win more than anything. Perhaps the Patriots will consider sending Brady to Denver? Probably not. Besides, I'm afraid even Brady would suffer from comparison to Elway.

By Ed Jennett


Detroit and San Antonio must have really missed one another over the summer. The two teams have been dominant all season and seem determined to meet again in the NBA Finals this year. Whether both teams can make it that far remains to be seen, but the clubs that led their respective conferences in the regular season also have the lead positions in their respective conference playoff previews:


Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Milwaukee
The finest example of how bad the Eastern Conference is versus the finest team in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks snuck into the playoffs despite finishing two games under .500 with 40 wins and are awarded the privilege of being the first victims of the Detroit Pistons, who led the NBA with 64 wins. The most interesting aspect of this series is that it will result in Detroit Head Coach Flip Saunders advancing out of the first round of the playoffs for just the second time in his career. Saunders led the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals that season, and anything less than an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals would have to be considered an embarrassment for the Pistons. The only problem that the Bucks can cause Detroit is rust due to too much time off between playoff series.

Prediction: Pistons over Bucks in 4 games

(1) Miami vs. (7) Chicago
The Chicago Bulls are the other team that managed to sneak into the playoffs because the Eastern Conference is a joke. The last laugh will be on them however as they have zero chance of upsetting the Miami Heat. If the Heat wants to make the games competitive C Shaquille O’Neal and SG Dwyane Wade should flip a coin in the locker room to decide who gets to take the night off. The end result of the series would still be the same.

Prediction: Heat over Bulls in 4 games

(2) New Jersey vs. (6) Indiana
Like the Bulls, the Pacers finished at .500 with 41 wins. Unlike the lucky and overachieving Bulls however, the Pacers have had to deal with another Artest situation, bad luck with injuries, needing time to gel with a new All-Star teammate, and underachieving. Indiana is finally getting its act together, but PF Jermaine O’Neal and SF Peja Stojakovic will not be enough to get by the Nets. The All-Star perimeter trio of PG Jason Kidd, SG Vince Carter, and SF Richard Jefferson are finally supplemented with a big man in emerging C Nenad Krstic, which will give New Jersey enough to get by Indiana.

Prediction: Nets over Pacers in 6 games

(3) Cleveland vs. (5) Washington
The coronation of SF LeBron James will have to wait, but the reign is coming. King James has led the Cavaliers into the post season and is looking to make the Wizards his first of many subjects. Washington has been an unstable club all season, alternating from being impressive to embarrassing. The best case scenario for the Wizards is that their rising star PG Gilbert Arenas averages 40 points against the Cavaliers overmatched point guards Eric Snow and Damon Jones. The end result of the series would not change, but the games would be much more entertaining.

Prediction: Cavaliers over Wizards in 5 games

Western Conference

(1) San Antonio vs. (8) Sacramento
The Spurs are the defending NBA Champions and are expected to represent the West in the Finals again this year. Their road to a probable rematch with Detroit is a difficult one that begins with a tough eight seed in The Kings. Sacramento is much better than the usual last team to make the playoffs and would have been a higher seed if former Defensive Player of the Year SF Ron Artest had been a King the entire season. Sacramento PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim has finally made it to the playoffs but will now have the unenviable task of having to guard the Spurs All-Star PF Tim Duncan. The Kings have the talent and toughness to make this a close series, but they do not have the depth or experience together to get past the champs.

Prediction: Spurs over Kings in 6 games

(2) Phoenix vs. (7) LA Lakers
Suns All-Star PG Steve Nash has been impressive in another MVP caliber season, but he will have to duel with the man who had the second most impressive game in NBA history, Lakers All-Star SG Kobe Bryant. Nash will also have to do so without his best teammate, PF/C Amare Stoudemire, who is out for the rest of the season after his attempt to come back too soon from microfracture surgery resulted in needing surgery on his other knee due to overcompensating. Although it is unlikely that he scores 81 points again, Phoenix will not be able to stop Bryant in this series. SF Lamar Odom and the rest of the Lakers will stop watching Bryant just long enough to help him get into the second round.

Prediction: LA Lakers over Suns in 7 games

(3) Denver vs. (6) LA Clippers
Denver will have to suffer the embarrassment of being a higher seed starting on the road thanks to the Clippers having a better record (47 wins to 44 wins) than the Northwest Division Champions. If that indignity was not enough, Nuggets Head Coach George Karl could have a mutiny on his hands if he decides to start PF Reggie Evans ahead of All-Star PF Kenyon Martin, who is still struggling from the microfracture surgery that he underwent last offseason. Whichever controversial option Karl chooses will be abused by the Clippers best player, All-Star PF Elton Brand. The Clippers have been the surprise team of the year and they have one more surprise left for Denver. PG Sam Cassell is at his best in playoffs and will lead his teammates past the Nuggets.

Prediction: LA Clippers over the Nuggets in 7 games

(4) Dallas vs. (5) Memphis
Thanks to being in the same division as the 63-win Spurs, the 60-win Mavericks enter the playoffs as the fourth seed. The Grizzlies have to be even more upset about the situation as the franchise has now made the playoffs three straight years and will now exit the playoffs in the first round three straight years. Memphis has no chance in this series as their best player, All-Star PF Pau Gasol, is outclassed by the best player on the Mavericks, All-Star PF Dirk Nowitzki. The only good thing for the Grizzlies is that they will not get swept as they did the last two seasons by the Suns and Spurs, respectively.

Prediction: Mavericks over Grizzlies in 5 games

The recent incident involving the Duke collegiate lacrosse team and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding the episode make it clear that today it may well be impossible for anyone involved in such a matter to get a truly fair shake when it comes to the legal process. In saying that, we recognize that it is equally unlikely for either the Duke players or the young lady who may have been raped to see a fair resolution to this ugly ordeal.

As noted earlier, there is no question that the Duke lacrosse players conducted themselves in a reprehensible manner. We say reprehensible because we agree that renting an off campus house for the purposes of throwing a party involving underage drinking as well as the hiring of a young black girl to provide entertainment in the form of a strip tease is conduct unbefitting a college level athletic team. Heck, most would categorize the same scenario as totally unacceptable for a professional athletes.

Even before criminal charges were filed in regards to the possibility that team members raped and assaulted the girl hired to perform, athletic director Joe Alleva canceled the next two regularly scheduled games of the season. Later, the university took the step of canceling the entire season while the Duke coach resigned in embarrassment.

Said Duke administration, when a resignation was offered by the head coach the university felt it appropriate to accept. Once again, give Duke leadership enormous credit, head coach Mike Pressler had spent 16 years at the school, leading the team to three Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and his team had appeared in the national championship game just last year. Accepting that recognition had to be met with enormous frustration from lacrosse supporters.

Many took these university actions to mean the players were guilty and the media rush to judgment began. Clearly there was much awry with this particular college athletic program as demonstrated by the fact that the many team members had been involved in prior behavior incidents. That fact had folks thinking of the episodes of a few years back with the Colorado football team.

But the reality was there was a great deal of conflicting evidence as to what really happened the evening of the alleged rape. Even if the team conducted itself in an embarrassing manner as it went about setting up an entire evening filled with inappropriate behaviors, there is a huge difference between hiring a stripper to perform for the team and the allegations that team members raped the young lady.

Sure enough, complicating the situation further, after team members submitted DNA samples, the press learned that not one match was found between any of the players and that of samples taken in regards to the potential crime. The lack of a match led to the next rush, that the boys were innocent and the young lady had to be falsifying her allegations.

Once again, the much-maligned university should receive enormous credit for having 46 of the 47 team members submit to DNA testing. The only player not tested was a young African American - the victim had alleged her attackers were white. The testing of such a large sample, not just potential suspects, did not set well with civil liberties groups. However, Duke clearly wanted to do everything it could to ensure compliance with the legal procedures as well as show the public it was truly wanted to resolve the matter.

Next came the first two Duke University lacrosse team members to be charged in the rape of the woman hired to dance at the team party. The arrests came with the statement by the DA that a third suspect was under consideration.

The arrests led family members of the victim to state that vindication had arrived. However, attorneys for the two charged, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, both sophomores, howled in anger that their clients were being falsely accused. The attorneys stated the two young men, charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping, were being vilified by the media when in fact their innocence could be proven. Suggestions were even made that the DA, running for re-election, was making the charges to gather further political support for his campaign.

The sorry ordeal, played out in full before the nation, gives a strong indication that today's legal events are anything but a sense of innocence until proven guilty. And at the same time the victim receives the same level of attack from the attorneys defending the alleged perpetrators as happens in the case of those potentially involved in the crime. Amidst this ugly backdrop, give Duke University credit for acting firmly, strongly, yet always indicating that the only thing the school was interested in was the truth.

And for doing so, no matter how disgusting that might be for everyone involved.

By Ed Jennett


After two long years the reason the players play has finally returned, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite the long layoff due to the lockout, a salary cap, rule changes, and player movement, many of the perennial favorites are favorites again this year. Here is a preview of the first round:


Eastern Conference


(1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay

Technically eight seeded Tampa Bay is the defending Stanley Cup Champions. But the Lightning is not the same team that hoisted the Cup two years ago. Starting G Nikolai Khabibulin and team captain LW Dave Andreychuk are no longer with the club. The first seeded Ottawa Senators have won 18 of their last 21 games and is 13-1 in the last 14 games they have played in Ottawa. Although they have lost starting G Dominik Hasek to injury, the Senators still have their formidable number one line of LW Dany Heatley, C Jason Spezza, and RW Daniel Alfredson. Ottawa swept the regular season series between the teams 4-0. The same result will happen again in the playoffs.

Prediction: Ottawa over Tampa Bay in 4 games


(2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal

The surprise team of the regular season squares off with the surprise team of a couple of recent postseasons when second seeded Caroline meets seventh seeded Montreal. No one expected the Hurricanes to even be competitive, but Carolina was constructed to take advantage of the new rule changes and did exactly that. C Eric Staal led the team with 45 goals, 55 assists, and 100 points. As a team, the Hurricanes finished third in the league with 294 goals. Behind the phenomenal play of G Jose Theodore, the lower seeded Canadiens twice managed to eliminate the higher seeded Boston Bruins. But the Hurricanes are better than those Bruins clubs and Theodore was traded to Colorado this season. Any change of an upset left with him.

Prediction: Carolina over Montreal in 4 games


(3) New Jersey vs. (6) New York

Miles apart figuratively and literally is the best way to describe the third seeded New Jersey Devils and the sixth seeded New York Rangers. The Devils come into the post season as the Atlantic Division champions partially due to winning their last six games. Their division championship is also due in part to the Rangers losing their last five games. The Devils set an NHL record by winning the division championship after trailing by 19 points in the standings. New Jersey is also 31-14-4 since GM Lou Lamoriello took over as coach. Although it appears to be a lopsided series on paper, expect a long battle between these clubs. Not just due to the teams hating each other, but also because the Rangers have a huge psychological edge. The New Jersey Devils have never won a playoff series against the New York Rangers. History will not repeat itself this year, however.

Prediction: New Jersey over New York in 7 games

(4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia

The fourth seeded Buffalo Sabres and the fifth seeded Philadelphia Flyers could not be more different. Buffalo was expected to be one of the lower echelon teams of the league while Philadelphia was expected to be one of the upper echelon teams. The Sabres excel when on special teams, the Flyers on the other hand, are mediocre on the power play and awful at killing penalties. Speed is the Sabres game, while size and strength is the strength of the Flyers. The diverse styles resulted in close contests that saw Buffalo win the regular season series 3-1, despite only outscoring Philadelphia 12-10. C Peter Forsberg, the Flyers main offseason acquisition only managed to play in 59 games, but if he stays healthy he is capable of leading Philadelphia into the second round.

Prediction: Philadelphia in 6 games


Western Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton

Despite having the largest point discrepancy of any series, the Red Wings finished with 124 points compared to the 95 points of the Oilers, first seed Detroit versus eighth seed Edmonton will be one of the closest series of the first round. Not only did the teams split their series in the regular season (2-2), but their respective divisions have a great deal to do with their records. Detroit plays in the weak Central Division (where only they and Nashville finished above .500), while Edmonton plays in the tough Northwest Division (where all five teams finished above .500). As is often the case in playoff hockey, the key factor in this series could be goaltending. Dwayne Roloson of Edmonton is a legit starter who finally has a chance to prove it now that he does not have to share the job like he had in the past with Manny Fernandez in Minnesota. Manny Legace of Detroit has been one of the best backups in the league over the last few years, but still hasn’t proven to be a legit playoff caliber goalie. Legace will take advantage of this chance to prove that he can win in the playoffs.

Prediction: Detroit over Edmonton in 7 games

(2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado

Despite winning the regular season series 3-1, second seed Dallas with have a tough time with seventh seed Colorado in the playoffs. Both are veteran clubs that usually make it to the postseason and have success. The Avalanche actually defeated the Stars in the first round of the 2004 playoffs. This version of the Avalanche is without former mainstays C Peter Forsberg and D Adam Foote, however. Dallas on the other hand is still led by its talented core of C Mike Modano, LW Jere Lehtinen, D Sergei Zubov, and G Marty Turco.

Prediction: Dallas over Colorado in 6 games

(3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim

The last two teams to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals will face off in the first round of the playoffs. Both Calgary and Anaheim played defensive styles in those seasons and are still very stingy defensively now. The third seeded Flames allowed only 200 goals, the lowest amount in the league, while the sixth seeded Anaheim allowed only 229 goals. The fast attack of the Mighty Ducks is lead by RW Teemu Selanne, but the offense of the Ducks will be overpowered by the physical Flames, lead by RW Jarome Iginla. Although they have not received a lot of recognition this year, Iginla is still one of the best players in the game, and Calgary is one of the best teams in the league. This will be a mighty quick playoff stay for the Ducks.

Prediction: Calgary over Anaheim in 5 games

(4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose

Nashville accumulated a franchise record 106 points and fell one win shy of 50 victories. Unfortunately for the fourth seeded Predators, those accomplishments will not be followed by playoff success this year. The Predators will face the fifth seeded Sharks, who are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, having won eight straight games. San Jose also has arguably the best one-two punch in the NHL with Art Ross Trophy winner C Joe Thornton and Maurice Richard Trophy winner RW Jonathan Cheechoo. LW Paul Kariya led Nashville with 85 points and led Anaheim to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. But the best free agent in Nashville history will not be as successful this postseason.

Prediction: San Jose over Nashville in 5 games

This kind of season is exactly what the NHL needed in order to win back fans. After losing an entire year due to a labor dispute, professional hockey came back with a vengeance for 2005-06. There are new rules that have allowed players' offensive skills to shine and that has led to some very exciting games all year long. In addition, there are several teams still vying for a playoff spot with just a couple games left in the season.

But even better than these positive points is the fact that the NHL has given rise to a couple of brand new stars in sensational rookies Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The question that's on everyone's mind right now is which of these guys will take home the coveted Rookie of the Year award?

Prior to the season, it appeared that Crosby, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was getting most of the press. His arrival in the NHL had been long anticipated, and he was even designated by some magazines as hockey's newest "savior." The media and fans had a lot of expectations for Crosby -- expectations that seem unfair to place upon the shoulders of an 18-year-old.

With all the focus on Crosby, Ovechkin's debut kind of took a backseat in markets outside of the Washington, D.C. metro area. But Ovechkin's play made it impossible for the media to ignore him for very long.

Ovechkin came to the NHL with a lot of hype in his own right. Ovechkin was selected first overall in the 2004 entry draft by the Washington Capitals. This means that Ovechkin's debut was delayed for an entire year by the lockout and set up this head-to-head showdown with Crosby for Rookie of the Year honors.

Through 79 out of 81 games this season, Ovechkin is third in the league in scoring with an incredible 103 points. He has 51 goals and 52 assists for the Capitals so far, and could possibly add another couple of points in the final two games of the year. In reaching the 50 goals and 100 points plateaus, Ovechkin became only the second rookie in NHL history to do so. The first was Teemu Selanne, who scored an incredible 76 goals and 56 assists for a total of 132 points for the Winnipeg Jets. Obviously, with just 2 games to go, Selanne's record will stand for at least one more season.

As far as the Rookie of the Year race goes, Ovechkin and Crosby are pretty much neck-and-neck. Crosby has 38 goals and 59 assists for 97 points so far. His team also has two games remaining, which means that Crosby has a chance to reach the coveted 100-point plateau. If he can do so, Crosby would become the second-youngest player to reach 100 points in a season, behind former great Dale Hawerchuk (who also accomplished the feat as a member of the Winnipeg Jets).

In addition to having similar point totals, both Ovechkin and Crosby are playing for terrible teams. Ovechkin's Capitals have a record of 27-41-12, while Crosby's Penguins have an NHL-worst record of 21-45-14. That means neither of these superstars will see action in the postseason this year. If one player or the other was headed to the playoffs, it would certainly make a difference in how Rookie of the Year voting would go.

Most hockey analysts feel that Ovechkin has an edge and should take home the title this year. After watching a highlight reel of his goals and hits, it's hard to present a case for Crosby. Ovechkin is lightning fast on skates and has some of the most dazzling moves I've ever seen in more than 20 years as an NHL fan. One of his best goals of the season had to be when he was dragged down in front of the net, but kept going after the puck. He took a one-handed swipe at it while he was on his back, and the puck went in the net despite Ovechkin being at a bad angle. That play just exemplifies the way this yound man never gives up when he's on the ice. Plus, at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Ovechkin can bring the hits and is not going to back down from anyone.

If there's a knock on Ovechkin, it could be that he takes too many shots. He has taken 415 shots on goal so far, which comes out to a shooting percentage of 12.3. That's a bit on the low side when compared to other snipers such as Jaromir Jagr (14.9), Ilya Kovalchuk (16.6), Daniel Alfredsson (17.1), Dany Heatley (16.4), and even Crosby (14.0). But I'm sure the Capitals would rather see Ovechkin shoot too much rather than not enough, and he'll learn to take higher-percentage shots after he gets some more experience in the league.

Despite the amount of shots Ovechkin takes, word around the media is that he is much more respected than fellow rookie Crosby. That's because Crosby has developed a reputation as being something of a whiner and crybaby. When watching film of Crosby's games, you can see him turning to officials and asking for penalty calls quite frequently after being taken down by opposing players. Sometimes, Crosby has a legitimate beef, but many times, it does appear that he is being overly sensitive to what's going on. It almost seems that he feels his status as a rising star should mean that other players ought to back off from him so that he may have clear ice to work with.

Unfortunately for Crosby, when guys see that he reacts so badly to getting hit, they are just going to make that much more of an effort to knock him off his skates -- and, in turn, off his game. At 5-foot11 and 190 pounds, Crosby doesn't have quite the size advantage that Ovechkin does, but he's not a small guy by any means. He should be able to take hits and bounce back up, rather than complaining about non-calls. Hopefully, Crosby will learn how to deal with that aspect of the game in due time. Once he does, he will become even more of a force to be reckoned with.

As things stand now, I have to side with the majority of hockey analysts and go with Ovechkin as the NHL's top rookie for the 2005-06 season. Although it is a tight race, I think Ovechkin brings more to the table than Crosby does right now, and has more of a balanced game. No matter who wins the award, it's clear that the NHL fans have won something even more important: the ability to see two great hockey players go at it for many years to come.

By Ed Jennett


Seattle SuperSonics PF/C Chris Wilcox and Seattle native PG/SG Jamal Crawford of the New York Knicks were named the Western Conference and Eastern Conference Players of the Week of the NBA respectively, for games played Monday April 3 through Sunday, April 9.

Wilcox began his week with a 26 point, and career-high 24 rebound performance in a 104-87 home victory over the Rockets on April 4. He followed that impressive double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high six assists in an April 7 121-108 win at Portland. Wilcox finished the week with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds in a 116-104 Sonics win over Phoenix.

While playing for the LA Clippers Wilcox averaged 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds. Wilcox has averaged 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds as a member of the Sonics.

Crawford started out slowly with 14 points, four rebounds, and three steals in a 105-90 loss at Washington. He lead the Knicks to a 96-94 home win over Cleveland with a season-high 37 points, five rebounds, four assists, and the game-winning jumper. Crawford followed that up with 23 points, four rebounds three assists, two steals, and the game
winning jumper in a 98-96 victory over Indiana. He finished the week with 31 points, a career-high tying 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals in a 101-86 victory at Boston.

The timing of his breakout performances could not be better as Wilcox will become a restricted free agent this offseason. Often players turn up their level of play during their walk year so they can collect a big pay day. They then slack off and go back to their previous mediocre or poor performances. That does not appear to be the case with Wilcox however.

This is the fist time in his career that Wilcox has received significant playing time for a sustained period of time. In the brief stretches when he was a member of the Clippers that he received a significant amount of playing time for a brief amount of time (due to injuries to his teammates) Wilcox was extremely impressive. However when his teammates returned to action Wilcox would return to the bench.

Wilcox is quickly proving that those brief flashes were not flukes and were instead a sign of what he is capable of doing on a regular basis if given playing time. His success will definitely lead to a large pay day this offseason. The question is if that pay day will take place in Seattle or elsewhere.

Since Wilcox is a restricted free agent the Sonics simply have to tender him a one-year offer of $3.5 million to retain the right to match any contract offer that Wilcox receives. Despite the turmoil in Seattle about not having a new building or a renovated building, the team can make the tender offer. Unfortunately for the Sonics Wilcox will eventually end up receiving a contract much larger than that.

It might be in the best interests of Seattle to offer Wilcox a large contract and hope he signs it without testing the free agent market to seeing what he can get from other teams. While most teams can only offer Wilcox a contract by using their mid-level exception, there are several clubs that are under the cap and can present him with a much larger contract that the Sonics may not be willing to match.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Toronto, and Utah will all have the necessary cap space to try to add Wilcox to their roster. Obviously the Clippers will have no interest in bringing Wilcox back, and he will have no interest in returning to Los Angeles to play for them. But that still leaves six franchises capable of luring the big man away from Seattle.

While Wilcox has a great deal of control over his future, Crawford does not have any control over his. Despite his large contract, Crawford is one of the few Knick players with a great deal of trade value.

Crawford has always shown flashes of his vast potential before, both with the Knicks and his previous team the Chicago Bulls. But he has never been as impressive as he has been this past week. Knicks Head Coach Larry Brown has apparently gotten Crawford to become the well-rounded player that many experts thought he could be.

Crawford has been one of the few members of the team to shine in this disastrous season in New York. Ironically his professionalism and improved play could be the cause of him to be dealt elsewhere as the team will be desperate to make trades this offseason and he will now be one of the players that other clubs covet.

I have been an ice skater all my life. My parents began putting me on the winter ponds in the mountains of Colorado with tiny strap-on skates, shortly after I learned to walk. By the time I was about five-years-old, I had regular figure skates and could make my way around the rink or the pond with the best of them. I took a few lessons and learned a few tricks, but I was tall and would never be a competitive ice skater. I simply loved to skate. I loved it for the exercise, the fresh air, and it was always a social occasion.

Consequently, when my children were old enough to skate, I put them in ice skates on the local ponds and flooded fields so they, too, could learn the fun of ice skating. As they grew, I decided to enroll them in some lessons at a local college hockey rink. This was when I began learning about all the different types of ice skaters in the world. The winter Olympics had just ended and our family had enjoyed watching the amazing young figure skaters take to the ice and jump, spin, leap, and do things that no one should ever really be able to do on slippery ice. My daughters imagined themselves doing those death-defying tricks as they did small spins and leaps of their own. But the best part about taking my children to the ice skating lessons was watching the other people there.

There were many children taking ice skating lessons; in fact, they were the bulk of the students at the rink. There were a few middle-aged adults who were skating around very carefully and gingerly, aware of how far they had to fall, and even more aware of just how hard the ice would feel to their bottoms. But what surprised me the most was a group of about a dozen women in the middle of the rink who were obviously practicing some type of a routine to the music that was playing in the background.

This group of women was flamboyant and they all had a spring in their steps. They did things like linking their arms and skating in a circle, and then kicking a leg forward and spinning around. Much like the hokey-pokey, now that I think of it. But the biggest surprise came when the group of women stretched out their arms and skated in a single-file line around the entire rink. When they skated to the end of the rink where I was sitting, I was able to get a better look at them and I saw that they were all well over sixty-years-old. I was stunned. Some of these women were older than my mother. One of them had to be close to eighty, and I even saw her fall once. I had terrible visions of osteoporosis and broken hips, but she was helped back up and sent on her way.

Watching those older women skate, dance, perform a routine, and laugh together, was inspiring. Yes, they could have fallen and gotten hurt. In fact, if the truth were known, I imagine the aforementioned woman who looked to be the oldest of the crowd, had quite a bruise on her behind and was probably very sore the next day. But she was back the next week, having just as much fun. My first thoughts were ones of concern when I saw the potential dangers these women faced, but as I watched them over the weeks and saw how they progressed and improved, not to mention how much fun they had, I knew that I want to be like them one day. Whether I choose to ice skate or take part in some other active, competitive sport, I realized that is what keeps us young.

In the end, even if one of those spunky women were to fall and break an arm or a hip, I imagine they would take it in stride. They would see it as a badge of honor, something to show for their fun and hard work. What mattered was that they were being active, having fun, and being together, which is why I skate and why I put my children in skating lessons. In the end, what does age matter, anyway?

These days, baseball fans are used to seeing home run records fall. Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 was broken by not one, but two men in the summer of 1998 after it had stood for all of 37 years. In addition, one of the men who surpassed the 61-homer milestone that year, then-Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, proceeded to do so twice more over the next four seasons. Then, in 2001, yet another player, this time Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, racked up 73 home runs in the course of a single season, which is the record that stands today.

So when Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 537th career home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning in a game against the Cubs last week, it was acknowledged with relatively little fanfare. With that home run, Griffey Jr. moved past the great Mickey Mantle on the all-time list and now sits in 12th place all by himself.

Griffey Jr. finished last season tied with Mantle at 536 home runs, so there really wasn't any doubt that he would pass the mark early in the 2006 campaign. Nevertheless, there is one important reason that I am more impressed by Griffey Jr.'s feat than by all the other modern ones that I mentioned above, and that's the fact that his name has never been associated with the type of steroid use allegations that have tainted the performances of other big league stars. In other words, Griffey Jr's. home runs have all come from his natural strength and hitting abilities, rather than from chemical enhancement.

This is an important point for many fans of the game who consider themselves "purists." In the last couple of years in particular, there has been a lot of conjecture about whether or not modern home run records will be allowed to stand or whether or not they should contain an asterisk by them in the record books. The news of baseball commissioner Bud Selig's intentions to launch a probe into the alleged use of steroids by major league players in the last few years has brought all of these "tainted record" conversations back to the forefront of baseball news. So the fact that Griffey Jr. has never been mentioned in the same breath as any of these investigations is certainly refreshing news for baseball fans everywhere.

It took Griffey Jr. just a shade over 17 seasons in the major leagues to hit 537 home runs, which means that his career average is just over 31 dings per season. If Griffey Jr. stays healthy and puts 30 more homers on the board this season, then he would have 567 for his career, moving him into 10th place overall, just ahead of Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt, and just two home runs behind Rafael Palmeiro in 9th place. Depending on how much longer Griffey Jr.'s career lasts and how effectively he can continue swinging the bat, there is an outside chance that he could move past Palmeiro, Harmon Killebrew, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa on the all-time list and take over sole possession of 5th place with more than 588 home runs. But he won't get any higher than that, since the 4th place mark, currently held by Willie Mays, is a whopping 660 homers.

Griffey Jr. broke into the league way back in 1989 as a 20-year-old playing for the Seattle Mariners. He appeared in 127 games in his rookie season, and showed flashes of the brilliant power and hitting style that would characterize most of his career. He hit only 16 homers and batted just .264 as a rookie, but the Mariners -- and the rest of the league -- knew that this was going to be a special player.

Griffey Jr. spent a total of 11 years in the Seattle organization, where he would go on to become one of the most popular players in team history. He hit at least 20 home runs in five of his first six seasons in the major leagues, including 45 in 1993 and 40 in 1994 (which was tops in the American League that year). An injury-shortened 1995 season limited Griffey Jr. to just 17 home runs in 260 at-bats, but he came back strong after that and really established himself as a consistent home run threat. Over the next five seasons, from 1996 to 2000, he hit 49, 56,56, 48, and 40 home runs, respectively. He led the American League in home runs three times in those five years: in 1997, 1998, and 1999.

Griffey Jr. was traded to the Cincinnati Reds prior to the start of the 2000 season. The 40 home runs that he hit in his first year with his new team was the last time that Griffey Jr. reached that plateau in a season. His years in Cincinnati have largely been marred by injuries, which has of course really cut into his home run production. After averaging 139 games per season in Seattle, Griffey Jr. managed to appear in just 98 games per season in the last five years for the Reds. This included seasons of just 70, 53, and 83 games in a three-year span from 2002-2004. In those seasons, the slugger hit just 8, 13, and 20 home runs, respectively, which was obviously well off the pace of his career average of 31 per season.

There's no telling where Griffey Jr. would be on the all-time home run list if he had been able to stay healthy while in Cincinnati, but I think it's safe to say that he would have at least had 30 home runs in each of those seasons. That means he could possibly have had at least 49 more home runs in that 2002-2004 period, which would have made his career total at this point 586, putting him in a dead heat with Frank Robinson in 6th place, and just 2 shy of Sosa in 5th. Of course, it's no use to speculate like this, but nevertheless, it's interesting to examine what might have been possible for Griffey Jr.

I obviously wasn't around when Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, or Willie Mays set their home run records. I'm a product of the modern era, so the sluggers I grew up watching include Sosa of my hometown Cubs, McGwire, Palmeiro, Bonds, and Griffey Jr. I've seen literally hundreds of homers from these five players, both in person and on highlight shows. None of those other players will ever rank as high in my personal estimation than Ken Griffey, Jr. He is a great representative of the sport, and will never have an asterisk by his name.

Part of sports is bragging rights so we are allowed to step in and trumpet our horns. Now that the Masters is complete for yet another year we have to say that we got our picks right.

First off, we said if there was someone to lay some betting cash on, there were four guys we suggested putting some dough on. If you listened and the betting involved more than just the winner, then you did OK. Better than OK

We stated that any choice had to begin with Tiger Woods but that for many the choice also ended there. Many thought that his ailing father would prove the impetus for yet another Masters title but we suggested looking further.

There were two fella's we said we liked better. First off, we suggested none other Phil Mickelson, coming off a run away victory a week ago and the propensity to put golf runs together. We said that Lefty had finished in the Top Ten at the Masters in each of the last seven years, that he was third in 2001, 2002 and 2003, tenth last year, and of course champion in 2004. We said he should be one of the top two choices.

We said yet another player of note to keep your eyes on was Retief Goosen. We indicated that the South African had finished no worse than 13th at Augusta over the last four years including a second place finish in 2002 and a tie for third last year.

Finally, we suggested a sleeper pick, going with Jose Maria Olazabal, even if he did not make the cut a year ago at Augusta. Olazabal had proven he could play Augusta as two of the Spaniard's six PGA victories were majors, at the Masters, in 1994 and in 1999.

With the completion of the 2006 Masters, we are proud to say that we hit the proverbial nail on the head. First off, Mickelson would put together a superb final round and cruise to his second straight tour victory, winning by a three full shots. We missed Tim Clark, who snuck in to take second at five under. But then, in a group of players at four under, tying for third, were our other three picks, Goosen, Olazabal, and of course, everyone's pick, Woods.

Hope you listened to us when you made your bets. Unfortunately, we wished we had been a little more aggressive when we made our own wagers. We could have cleaned up!#@#!

At mid-season, when the Celtics and T-Wolves made a major trade, Charles Barkley opined that both teams would actually be worse because of the deal. But after a tough period of integration, the young Celtics have actually righted the ship, giving the Boston faithful hope for the future.

When the Celtics made the deal with Minnesota, the boys in green were 17 and 25 on the season. They promptly lost six of seven after the deal while trying to adjust to the mid-season line up changes. But since that time, the Celtics have played at a pace that would have them solidly in the Eastern Conference playoffs if they could have maintained it for the entire season.

A loss to the suddenly resurgent Knicks today (NY has now won three in a row) dropped the Celtics to 32 and 45 on the season. However, Boston is at . 500 over the last 28 games, going 14 and 14. Only four second-half meltdowns, two against the Bulls, one against Miami, and today in the game with the Knicks, separate the C's from going 18 and 10 over the same 28 game stretch.

In the recent off-season, a young and athletic Boston Celtics team got younger and less experienced when management elected to forgo pursuit of Gary Payton and Antoine Walker, two veterans that had helped the team to the Atlantic Division title in 2005. The failure to sign those veterans led to the slow start by the youthful Celtics this season.

But Boston, with numerous players in their first, second or third years now has Boston fans thinking positively. Second-year player Delonte West has now proven definitively to be the point guard of the future for Boston. An excellent shooter, West has developed into the role of floor leader for the team. On the season, West is averaging a shade under 12 points per game, 4 rebounds and nearly 5 assists, all while shooting 49 percent from the floor. He is a potential leader for years and years to come.

The Celtics have also seen the further developments of Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins. A knee injury impacted Allen early but he has been rounding into form in recent weeks, producing numerous double digit outings as the team gives him minutes, some at back up at the point guard position, others while stepping in for shooting guard Wally Szczerbiak.

Perkins, drafted out of high school three years ago is clearly the C's center of the future. Already a shot blocking and rebounding presence for Boston, Perkins is developing a decent offensive game that has folks believing he is the center of the future beginning with the 2006-2007 season.

The Celtics also have seen the strong growth of forward Ryan Gomes. A rookie, the 6-7 forward saw little action early in the season until injuries forced him into the starting line up. Gomes responded with some exceptional play when finally give the opportunity. NBA web sites have him as one of the top ten producing rookies in recent weeks and on the season he is averaging nearly 7 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the floor.

Finally, yet another former high schooler, Gerald Green is starting to get some minutes now that Wally Szczerbiak is done for the season. The 6-8 leaper is showing that Boston's first round pick from a year ago is a player with hops and talent, one who has everyone in the Boston area looking forward to the future.

Throw in Al Jefferson, the high schooler Boston thought would make Antoine Walker a distant memory and Boston has young talent galore. Through in the fact that with five games remaining, Boston is destined for a lottery pick and a chance to further improve the stock pile of young players come summer, and sports fans are very optimistic.

Those five final games are all with playoff teams, two with Jersey, one each with Indiana, Cleveland and Miami. Those five games should tell Boston management a lot in regards to what the team has for expectations for next year.

Irrespective of those five final games, the view in recent weeks is that the young Celtics may be finally getting it leading the Boston faithful to be hopeful for 2006-07 and the years beyond.

Deep down, supercross and motocross fans had to know that Travis Pastrana was not meant to stay in the sport for long. Pastrana first made a name for himself as a teenaged freestyle prodigy who had a knack for pulling off innovative tricks and exciting runs that left the crowd totally energized. So it was no surprise that when he made his professional supercross debut in Indianapolis in the year 2000, he couldn't resist trying to execute a superman seat-grab on the parade lap prior to the main event. He didn't land it cleanly, but the fact that he even tried it revved up the crowd and showed those of us who were lucky enough to have been there in person that he was going to be something special.

Pastrana was just 16 years old on that day in Indianapolis, but he had been riding and racing motorcycles for more than 10 years at that point and big injuries were already starting to take a toll on his body. His worst crash came at a freestyle competition in Lake Havasu, AZ when he was all of 15 years old. Pastrana attempted to jump a gap of over 100 feet directly in the face of a blustering wind, and he came up short. He landed hard, bounced off the bike, and separated his spine from his pelvis. This was such a severe injury that he had to stay in a wheelchair for three months in order to recuperate.

But Pastrana was right back on the bike in a few months, and racing supercross a little more than a year later. He had had a successful amateur racing career, so there were immediately a lot of expectations surrounding his performance in the pro ranks. And Pastrana didn't disappoint. He won two races in the East Coast series, one at Daytona and the second at St. Louis, and finished on the podium in three other races. That was good enough to allow Pastrana to end up third overall in points. When the series moved to the outdoors, Pastrana won five races, including the finale at Steel City in Pennsylvania, which put him ahead of runner-up Stephane Roncada for the championship. This accomplishment helped Pastrana win the AMA's Rookie of the Year award, and had fans ready for even better things in 2001.

The next season started out great for Pastrana as he took a win in the opening round at Indianapolis. He would go on to win four additional races during the season as Nathan Ramsey became the only guy to beat him that year. Pastrana won the championship, but no one could have predicted that it would be his last one -- especially since it seemed like he was getting things together on the bike and riding with more maturity.

Things started to unravel for Pastrana during the motocross series. He took two wins, but spent a lot of time on the ground due to crashes. Little did fans know that would be the last season that Pastrana would race full time.

In 2002, Pastrana made the switch to the big bikes (250cc class), where people thought he could excel even more. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 185 pounds, many felt that he was too heavy for 125cc bikes, giving his competitors an advantage. Again, Pastrana didn't disappoint. He ran out front in the 250cc class many times, and showed that he definitely had the speed to win once in a while. He made the podium a few times during his rookie season in the class, but injuries and surgeries prevented him from making a true championship run. The same thing happened for the outdoor series, and before fans knew what was going on, Pastrana was slowly but surely absenting himself from the entire series. Pastrana would continue to make appearances at various supercross races and continued to be a member of the factory Suzuki team for a time, he spent more time sitting out and recovering from injuries than actually racing in front of fans. He never did launch an all-out racing effort for a factory team again.

If you thought that would be the end of Pastrana's career, you were wrong. He just filled his time with all the other things that he couldn't fit into his schedule when he was racing. He started entering more freestyle contests because he felt that freestyle didn't wreck his body in the same way that racing did. He started filming stunts for his own personal videos and movies, which were of course devoured by his ravenous fans. And Pastrana also started driving rally cars for Suzuki, which was the same company that sponsored him in motocross and supercross.

Now, it seems that Pastrana is really able to enjoy himself. When he was a full-time racer, he had to abide by team rules and spend a lot of time training and testing. But now that he isn't racing anymore, he can put together his own schedule. He can enter any freestyle event that he wants to without having to secure permission from anyone else, he can pull off crazy stunts like parachuting with his motorcycle into the Grand Canyon, and he can still race supercross whenever he feels like it -- all without any pressure to succeed. A recent article published in the Washington Post claims that Pastrana earns well over $1 million per year even without racing, so it's not as though he walked away from his livelihood when he decided to move on.

As a big fan of motocross and supercross, I certainly was saddened to learn that Pastrana wouldn't be racing full-time anymore. Even so, I could see the value in him wanting to preserve his body from all the injuries he was sustaining on the professional racing circuit, as well as the value in him just enjoying his life by doing what he wants to do. Not surprisingly, Pastrana still draws a huge crowd whenever he appears at a supercross race. The fans just can't get enough of him, and that's why his sponsors pay him big money to attend the miscellaneous events of his own choosing.

The supercross circuit is definitely not the same without the 199 bike of Travis Pastrana out on the track. There hasn't been a star as charismatic or fan friendly since he left, and there probably won't be another one for a very long time. At least he made his mark on the sport and was able to move on. I for one will continue to watch him no matter what he decides to do next.

Typically, when you think of professional baseball pitchers and longevity, guys like Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and even Greg Maddux come to mind. The first three pitchers all were (and are) able to enjoy long careers because they simply overpowered hitters and could still bring the heat after they turned 40 years old. Maddux, on the other hand, is more of a study in control and accuracy. He never has had much velocity on his pitches, but is able to hit his locations with pinpoint precision. Maddux is also a very intelligent pitcher who knows a hitter's weaknesses and can exploit those weaknesses to his own advantage.

These are the two styles normally associated with pitchers who are able to hang around for more than a decade in the big leagues. However, it's safe to say that Jamie Moyer fits neither of these descriptions, which is why it's a bit surprising that he is now entering his 20th major league season. And he's not just hanging around by a thread, either. Moyer is an integral part of the Seattle Mariners' starting rotation, a fact which was acknowledged by the organization when Moyer got the Opening Day nod earlier this week.

Moyer does not overpower hitters, and is not the kind of precision pitcher that Maddux is. But he has been able to last this long in the league because he is consistent and he limits his mistakes when out on the mound. This has allowed Moyer to remain a relatively valuable player to the Mariners despite his lack of truly impressive statistics.

Moyer broke into the Majors way back in 1986 as a member of the Chicago Cubs. He actually came up that year with Greg Maddux, and the two were the most promising pitching prospects that the Cubs had had in a long time. Moyer actually outshone Maddux that year, making 16 starts and finishing with a 7-4 record. He pitched one complete game and had one shutout during that season, while recording 45 strikeouts and issuing 42 walks. His earned run average was a pretty high 5.05, but he definitely showed the Cubs that he had a lot of promise.

In contrast, Maddux appeared in just six games for the Cubs, five of them as a starter. He had a record of 2-4, an ERA of 5.52, struck out 20, and walked 11. That would pretty much be the last time that Moyer posted better statistics than Maddux, however, as the latter pitcher went on to win multiple Cy Young and Gold Glove awards during his career.

Moyer's best statistical season came in 2003, when he posted a 21-7 record for the Mariners, which was the most wins he ever had in a single season. He pitched 215 innings that year, rung up 129 batters, and walked 66. His ERA was 3.27, the lowest ever in his career. He was also voted to the All-Star game for the first (and so far only) time in his 20 seasons.

The low point in Moyer's career had to be the 1991 and 1992 seasons. He spent the early part of 1991 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, but after being completely ineffective in seven starts (and having a dismal 0-5 record to show for those starts), Moyer was sent down to the minor leagues. His trouble was just beginning. He went to spring training prior to the 1992 season in the hopes of making his way back to the big leagues, but didn't land a roster spot. He spent the entire season toiling in the Detroit Tigers' farm system. This was after he had already been in the major leagues for the better part of five seasons, so it would have been easy for him to decide to hang up his spikes for good and get on with his life.

But he obviously stuck with it, and his hard work and dedication eventually paid off. He made it back into the majors with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, and three seasons with them before being picked up by the Boston Red Sox in 1996. At the end of July in that same year, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners, where he has been a fixture in the starting rotation ever since.

Moyer's stats certainly don't jump out at you as the kind of numbers that would keep a pitcher around in the league for such a long time. He has only won 20 games twice in his career, in 2001 and again in 2003. He has a career wining percentage of .574, which hardly qualifies as dominating. He averages just under 100 strikeouts per year, which also is on the low side, and averages more than one hit per inning.

Nevertheless, Moyer is still going strong in the Pacific northwest. He has been embraced by the Seattle organization and its fans, and that has paid off for everyone involved. I have been following Moyer's career ever since he was with my hometown Cubs. He was never one of my favorite players until just a few years ago when I realized how much he has gone through in his career.

I think the Mariners have a couple of great young pitchers on their staff now, and hopefully Moyer will spend the better part of this season helping with their development. That would be a wonderful legacy to leave behind when he finally does decide to retire.

Signing Japanese-born players to Major League Baseball contracts has become something of a regular trend these days, which has both positive and negative aspects as far as teams are concerned. On the plus side, teams have another country full of professional baseball stars that are willing -- and oftentimes able -- to make significant contributions in the United States. Getting an established professional player sometimes makes more sense than taking chances on a minor league prospect, especially if the team in question needs help right away.

However, one negative aspect that teams have to consider is the fact that not all of the players are destined to make it in the big leagues. Several years ago, only truly outstanding players like Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideki Matsui could come to the States and be relatively assured of becoming an important part of their American team. Nomo enjoyed a very long 11-year career in the majors, while Suzuki and Matsui have been everyday starters for the Mariners and the Yankees, respectively, since they arrived in the States. But since then, there have been failed experiments as well. Players like Tsuyoshi Shinjo never lived up to the hype for the New York Mets, and Kaz Matsui has also been a bit of a disappointment for the same team. So now, bringing players over from Japan is more of a crapshoot than it was just a while ago.

That's why no one really knew what to expect from Seattle's newest acquisition, catcher Kenji Johjima. Johjima has been a big star on the Japanese baseball scene since he was in high school, and was a first-round draft pick as an 18-year-old. JohJima spent a couple of years in the Japanese minor league system as the property of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks before breaking into the Japanese major leagues in 1997. He had an excellent rookie campaign, batting .308 through 120 games -- which was good enough for him to be voted as a starter in the All-Star game.

Johjima then went through a bit of a sophomore slump with the Hawks in 1998, but came back strong the next year and helped his team win the Japanese league championship. He batted over .300 again, and added a Gold Glove to his list of awards. Over the course of the next six years in Japan, Johjima got progressively better in every aspect of his game. He hasn't hit below the .300 level at any time during those years, and he won six more Gold Gloves, bringing his career total in Japan to seven in a row. So obviously the Mariners knew that he had excellent skills, both behind the plate and in the batter's box, before they brought him over here.

Nevertheless, there's no guarantee as to how a player will perform in the United States professional baseball system. This is true whether you're talking about a player from another country or a homegrown prospect. Think of how many high school and college baseball stars spend entire careers toiling away in the minors because they failed to perform consistently when playing in the majors.

But Johjima seems intent on erasing any doubts that anyone may still have about him. He came to training camp ready to work out, and made extra efforts to get to know his pitchers and the rest of his teammates. According to reports in Seattle newspapers, Johjima has also been eager to establish himself as a friendly, outgoing guy, and has socialized with teammates outside of the ballpark on many occasions. This seems to be in stark contrast to other Japanese players who have often held back from their teammates due to language and cultural barriers. But Johjima is not allowing his lack of English speaking abilities get in the way of his becoming a true part of the Mariners team.

If the first three games of the season are any indication of things to come, then the Mariners seem to have struck gold with Johjima. He hit a home run in his second Major League at-bat against the Anaheim Angels, going 1-for-3 on the day. In his next game, Johjima came back with another home run and added a single and two RBI as the Mariners won their first game of the season 10-8. Johjima was then 1-for-3 with a run scored in the Mariners third game, bringing his average to a hefty .364 in the early going.

But the home runs and offensive contributions aren't what impresses me most about Johjima. In these three games, I have seen him go down to block balls in the dirt, throw runners out on the bases, and generally call good ball games for his pitchers. Plus, Johjima is out there doing it all with a huge smile on his face. His genuine love and passion for the game is evident to those who watch him play, and it's a refreshing experience for a fan to see a veteran ballplayer derive so much joy from the game even after 10-plus years as a professional.

The Mariners were one of the worst teams in baseball last season, and it showed on the faces of all the players. They weren't having fun, and the fans weren't having any fun watching them. This season is shaping up to be quite different than the last, and there's no doubt in my mind that Kenji Johjima will help turn the team around in 2006.

With the frustrations regarding the caliber of overall play at the NCAA Tournament front and center, the talk after Florida routed UCLA in the finals for the title was of the pro-potential of some of the players in the NCAA Tourney. As per usual, some of the bigger names put together some so-so performances while some lesser knowns raised their draft stock immensely.

Two guys off the Florida Gator roster had tournaments that left scouts with a different impression of their pro-tential, namely Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer. Both appear to have the athleticism and the length to be legitimate NBA prospects.

The tournament was a coming out party for Noah with Monday night's performance in the finals the icing on the cake. Listed as a power-forward/center, Noah is not only 6-11 and a shot blocking presence in the paint, his willingness to run the floor and his overall speed made spectators think of another Amare Stoudamire type.

Most importantly, the kid's infectious enthusiasm seemed to carry the Gators to the title. Look for the little-known (that is little known before the tournament) sophomore to go high in this year's draft should he declare his interest in going pro.

Guard/forward Corey Brewer did not seem to get as much press as sharp shooter and back court mate Lee Humphrey did after tossing in three pointers at will, but the 6-8, 185 pound Brewer from Portland, Tennessee also demonstrated exceptional athleticism and an ability to defend even on the perimeter. Like Noah, Brewer is just a sophomore and also like his teammate, now that each has an NCAA Tournament Title under their belt, he could join his partner and opt to come out of college this year also.

Brewer made the SEC All Tournament team for 2006 and was the conference's co-defensive player of the year. He also topped 20 points in one NCAA tourney game and during the season became the first Gator ever to have a triple-double. Amazingly though, he still was flying under the radar as the tourney came to a close.

Two guys that couldn't win for losing were J.J. Redick, Duke's outstanding shooting guard and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, a small forward. Redick looked like the NCAA player of the year when he went for 20 plus in the first two rounds, but his clunker of a game against LSU has the critics uttering overrated. Going 3-for-18 from the floor in your final college game leaves everyone scratching their heads. The consensus on Redick is his draft stock slipped immensely, maybe dropping him to a late first round pick, but passing up a shooter is always risky. The NBA may needs shooters more than it does athleticism.

Everyone compares Morrison to Larry Bird, especially since Morrison is a player without exceptional athleticism (like Bird) yet with enough skills to score 30-plus a night throughout the year (again like Bird). Many chastise Morrison because his team was upset by UCLA but the 6-8 shooter went for 35 points against Xavier in round one and for 24 against a dominant UCLA Bruins defense. The consensus is Morrison, the runner up to Redick as player of the year, will still be a top five pick come draft day, because the NBA may needs shooters more than it .........

The Washington Huskies Brandon Roy, considered a small forward/shooting guard, had a great tourney, capping off a great year. The thinking was that had not the senior been in foul trouble for a large portion of the second half of the UConn game, Washington could have made it an all Pac Ten final against UCLA. The 6-6 senior averaged 20 plus a game this year while shooting more than 50% from the floor and more than 80% from the line. A relative unknown East of the Rocky Mountains, Roy was nonetheless an Associated Press First Team All American who simply furthered his already solid draft stock in the tournament, perhaps sliding into the top ten despite his less than superior size.

Another youngster that had a coming of age season was freshman power-forward Tyrus Thomas, of LSU. The Tigers great NCAA Tournament run helped Thomas gain some greater recognition nationally, not that he needed from the pro scouts. Thomas is considered a potential number one pick by many after a rookie season in which he was SEC Freshman of the Year, Second Team All Conference and the league's Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Florida's Corey Brewer. All Thomas did was outplay the likes of Shelden Williams and LaMarcus Aldridge in thtournamentnt, going for 21 points and 13 rebounds against the highly-thought-of Aldridge. Scouts describe him as a shot-blocker and rebounder with sky-walking potential.

Another lesser-known player who showed real NBA ability was UConn's point guard Marcus Williams. How UConn failed to get to the Final Four is beyond anyone's comprehension, especially when folks saw just how good Williams was. The point guard appears to be that rare talent that can seemingly get all of his teammates involved within the flow of the game but playerer who also has the ability to take and make the big shot at crunch time. Suspended for a good portion of the year, Williams was relatively unknown prior to the big dance but was unequivocally the tea's best player in the tournament. Initially considered a late first round pick by most draft experts, some have moved the point guard in the Top Ten if he elects to come out this year.

And finally there is the much hyped Glen Davis of LSU, AKA the Big Baby. Davis is built like a SUV yet still appears to have exceptionally quick feet. He also demonstrated some ability to step to the perimeter and shoot the ball as well. But the youngster has had major difficulty staying under the 300 pound threshold and eating while on the road in the NBA could be a real challenge for this guy. But he had a great tournament and even drew the nickname of Baby Shaq. He too put up big numbers against the vaunted Aldridge of Texas, ringing up 26-points and hauling in nine-rebounds.

Most true sports fans try to do everything they can to be in a position to catch the big game when it comes on. This could either mean buying tickets and showing up to the stadium in person, or making sure that they get to a television (at home or in a sports bar) before the start of the contest. And if all else fails, listening to the game on AM radio is still an option. But sometimes work, school, or other responsibilities prevent fans from following the action in one of these traditional ways. At those times, online sports tickers really come in handy.

Online sports tickers go by many different names. Some websites call them "real time scoreboards" while others call them "live game trackers" or something similar. Regardless of the name, the function and intent of these tickers is the same. They give fans access to information about what's going on in games, and are a great alternative when televisions and radios are out of the question.

Most sports tickers are free for fans to use (although registration might be required before actually accessing the data) and can be found on major sports websites such as ESPN or CBS Sportsline. When you sign into the website's sports ticker, you'll be able to scroll through all games that are currently in progress in the particular sport that you chose. For example, now that the baseball season is under way, logging into a baseball sports ticker is likely to yield 10 or more options during peak playing hours. Switching between games is as simple as clicking on a tab with team names on it. The data transfers between games are smooth, seamless, and nearly instantaneous, meaning fans can easily track the scores of all of their favorite teams.

You might think that a free service such as online sports tickers would present fans with minimal information, but that's not the case at all. Most of the sports tickers I've used are extremely detailed and are also visually appealing. At a glance, I can tell the score, the game situation (what inning or quarter it is), who's on offense and who's on defense, as well as who the key players are at the time (quarterback, pitcher, batter, etc.). To get a better idea of what you can expect, I'll run through a couple of examples for you.

Since it's baseball season right now, most fans are probably interested in tracking Major League games online. When you log into a sports ticker such as the one on the ESPN website, a small window will pop up on your screen. You'll be able to see the team names and current score clearly identified in big bold letters in the left side of the ticker box. Just under the current score will be the box score, which allows you to see when the teams scored their runs, as well as how many hits and errors they have.

On the right side of the box are color pictures of the current pitcher and batter, along with current and season-long statistics. For example, next to the pitcher's picture, you'll see how many innings he has pitched in this game, as well as how many earned runs, walks, strikeouts, and hits he has given up in the game thus far. You'll also be able to see his W-L record and ERA for the season. Next to the batters picture, is a stat showing how many hits and at-bats they've had so far in the current game. Underneath that are more graphics showing his batting average for the season, the number of home runs he has, and the number of RBI. There is also a line showing who the on-deck batter is.

By clicking on the picture of either the pitcher or the batter, you'll be taken to another page containing a detailed profile and career stats for that particular player.

The actual "gamecast" part of the box is in the center, just to the right of the box score. This is the part that gets automatically updated with every pitch; you don't have to keep hitting a "refresh" button or anything like that. It shows the current inning, and has a section for balls, strikes, and outs. It also shows graphics of first, second, and third base, and has another line of text that tells you what happened on the last play.

With each pitch, something happens in this part of the ticker. If the pitch is a ball, the line of text will say so, and a circle will light up in the "balls" section to indicate that the batter has a count of one ball and no strikes. If the pitch is a strike, the ticker will indicate if the batter was looking or swinging on the pitch, and a circle will light up in the "strikes" section, so you can now see that there's a count of 1-1 on the batter. If the player hits the ball, the ticker will show who fielded it or will say that it was a single, double, triple, home run, sacrifice, foul ball, etc. If the batter reaches base safely, one of the base graphics will darken to show that there is a runner on that particular base. If you position your mouse over the base, you can see who the runner is.

I've found that once you become familiar with all the data contained in an online sports ticker, it can become an invaluable tool for you. There's no audio to contend with, which can actually be a good thing. If you're at work, this really benefits you because you can have the ticker running in the background while you work with another application on your computer. You'll be able to get things done and still glance at the ticker every few seconds to keep track of what's going on in the game, and no one will even know that you have the ticker on.

I have never compared the ticker to a television or radio broadcast, so I can't say for sure how quickly the data gets updated. However, I expect that there's a bit of a lag since someone presumably has to type the events in after each pitch. Nevertheless, I think the difference is probably negligible and won't interfere with your enjoyment of the game.

So the next time you are stuck at work and unable to get to a TV or radio in time for the big game, I recommend checking out an online sports ticker instead. As long as you have access to the Internet, you'll still be able to get detailed coverage from this cool feature!

Equal pay sounds like a subject better left for the human resources departments of large corporations rather than to sports, but thanks to officials of the French Open tennis tournament, the prize money debate is back in the headlines. That's because the French Tennis Federation, the sanctioning body of this tournament, announced that starting this year the men's and women's champions will both receive the same prize money.

According to several published reports, both winners will earn a paycheck of $1.13 million dollars. For the women, this marks an overall increase of $42,088 from last year's championship check. That may not sound like a huge improvement, but the fact that there was even a slight disparity to begin with had many folks scratching their heads. For the entire tournament, however, the male participants will be able to earn about $600,000 more than the women (including prize money throughout the bracket and for the doubles events).

With this recent decision by the French Open officials, three out of the four Grand Slam tournaments now offer the same amount of prize money for both champions. The Australian Open and the U.S. Open adopted an equal pay policy many years ago, which means that only the Wimbledon tournament is lagging behind. In 2005, the men's winner at Wimbledon was awarded 630,000 British pounds (approximately $1,105, 397), while the ladies' champion netted just 600,000 British pounds (approximately $1,052,807). Again, this is not a huge difference, but the problem lies in the fact that there is a difference at all.

While I applaud the French Tennis Federation's decision to offer equal prize money, I have to wonder at the reasoning offered by the official who manages the prize money. He basically said that the move to increase the women's payout was based largely on the fact that there is a lot of talent in the field these days. Gone are the days when just a few women had a realistic shot of winning the French Open. Instead, "there are 10 to 15" women who can take home the title in any given year.

I personally think that reasoning is flawed because it is wholly subjective. There's no real way to quantify the amount of talent in a particular field, so there's no way to compare this year's competitors to those from any other year, and there's definitely no way to make comparisons between the men and the women in the tournament. In the last 15 years, 12 different men have been crowned champions at the French Open, while 9 different women have won the honored title. Three additional winners over the course of 15 years doesn't seem like a big enough difference to indicate that there has always been greater depth of field on the men's side.

I'm certainly not one to get up on a soapbox and lobby for equality, but it is an important topic these days and one that doesn't come up often enough in the sports world. And usually, when equality does get mentioned, it's in terms of equal access, which usually means allowing women to participate in events that have traditionally been only for males. Danica Patrick, Michelle Wie, and Annika Sorenstam are a few athletes who come to mind in this equal access respect.
At any rate, regardless of the reasons provided by the spokesman for the French Tennis Federation, I think it's admirable that they have come to realize that both champions must work equally hard to win the tournament and should therefore be compensated equally. Now that the French Open offers equal prize money, I will show my support for the event by tuning in to watch it and by taking note of the event sponsors and supporting them in turn if the opportunity arises.

Hopefully, Wimbledon officials will take this cue and make what I feel is the right decision later this month and announce that they too will offer equal payouts to both the men's and women's champions. After all, Wimbledon is arguably the most well-known out of all the major tennis tournaments, so they should be interested in showing that they are keeping up with the times just like the other Grand Slam events. And who knows: maybe professional golf will soon follow suit!

If it is April, it must be time for the premiere golfing tournament, the Masters. To be blunt, for most golf fans, the Masters is essentially the beginning of the PGA season.

A year ago sloppy weather was the dominant tour story heading into this event. This year, the story is that Augusta officials have once again made major course changes in the off season. The general consensus is that the folks are trying to Tiger-proof the course but the game's greatest player Jack Nicklaus has gone on the record to state that the changes continue to eliminate the shorter hitters from a chance at a coveted green jacket.

If you are looking for someone to lay some betting cash on, four guys seem primary candidates at this point in the season. One is not one of those longer hitters but he nonetheless has proven he can perform on the unique Augusta stage.

Any choice has to begin with Tiger Woods - for many the choice also ends there. After all this guy has won four of those green blazers already, is back on top of the golf world by a wide margin. And oh yea, he has three wins already on the season.

But Woods has been anything but stellar his last two times out on Tour, at Bay Hill and the TPC. Perhaps it is his swing that is at issue but more than likely it was some disinterest. Not so this week - especially with his father ailing one has to think Woods will be giving this one every bit of energy and focus possible. He has to be on your leaderboard somewhere in making picks.

But there are two fellows I like better. First, there is Lefty who is coming off a runaway weekend last week. When Phil Mickleson gets hot, look out. His past record is to put streaks together where he is almost invincible and he could just be on one of those runs right now.

Throw in the fact that Lefty tossed the monkey from his back with a spectacular putt on 18 in 2004 to snatch the Masters from Ernie Els by a single stroke and you know the guy can get it done on this course. But if you needed any more reason, Mick has finished in the Top Ten here in each of the last seven years. He was also third in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and tenth last year.

A third potential player of note has to be another member of the World's top five, none other than Retief Goosen. The South African has the game necessary to be a factor in every grand slam event as evidenced by two prior US Open titles. Only a dismal final round a year ago separated him from a third such title.

At Augusta, Goosen has played very well without winning. Over the last four years has finished no worse than 13th and has a second place finish in 2002 and a tie for third a year ago. Throw in a strong performance last week and a game that is rounding into shape and he is another man to consider if your into the picking mode.

Finally, if you want to take a chance on a long shot, the proverbial sleeper, perhaps Jose Maria Olazabal is your man, even if he is considered a short hitter. In saying that, please know that he did not make the cut a year ago at Augusta. That said, Olazabal has proven he can play Augusta as two of the Spaniard's six PGA victories have come at the Masters, in 1994 and in 1999.

In addition, prior to last year, Olazabal had placed in the top twenty-five at Augusta the previous four years running. He is also coming off a solid performance last week and an improving game that has returned one of golf's formermarqueee names back to the top of the golf world. Prior to finishing second last week, Olazabal was on the cusp of returning to the Top Twenty in the World, ranking 22nd prior to his strong finish at the BellSouth.

The real golf season begins this weekend at the tournament unlike that of any other, that of the Masters. Perhaps another golfer of note will stake a claim to the most coveted sports jacket in the world, the green jacket that symbolizes Augusta and golfing greatness.

But I like my chances with any one of the four players above.

The NCAA tournament is a marathon, not a sprint. Six wins takes some serious talent and that proved true on Saturday when the tourney's two upstarts, George Mason and LSU both succumbed to superior athleticism.

But as the annual right known as March Madness has continued, many have discussed what appears to be a lack of overall basketball ability in the college game. Even second-seeded UCLA has raised a number of eyebrows during their run to the finals for its inability to score points.

The criticism began in earnest after the Bruins defeated Memphis, 50-45, in one of the Regional Semifinals. When the number one and two seeds go at it for all the marbles the basketball fans salivate greatly. But those that felt such excitement going into the game were left with a sense of emptiness as the two teams collectively played miserably.

Many called the game painful to watch, that it was a contest neither team deserved to win. For the game, UCLA shot 35.0 percent from the floor and went an anemic 20 of 39 at the charity stripe. But somehow the Bruins emerged victorious as Memphis was even more brutal in their execution offensively. Memphis at 31.5% from the floor, was three and a half percentage points worse than UCLA. The number one Tigers also committed 29 fouls, 18 turnovers, and went 2 for 17 from beyond the three point arc.

That's the almost wiffle ball like college three point arc.

With little in the way of pure offensive talent and even less in the way of shooting form, defense has been the key throughout the tournament. Even the player considered the best in the land at shooting the rock, JJ Redick of Duke, could not get it done in the face of good defense. The guard's 3 for 18 performance against LSU has many concerned that in the face of NBA athleticism the Duke star will perform as he did in his final collegiate game.

Perhaps most dramatically, the contrasts with previous collegiate greats was the greatest focus for sports writers. The quick exits of Duke and Adam Morrison's Gonzaga team had many realizing that the two stars of college basketball today pale compared to the thoughts of yesteryear when the talents of a Larry Bird and Magic Johnson carried their teams to the college finals.

At any rate, Monday night will bring another NCAA tourney to a conclusion and with it some pretty good story lines. No matter who takes home the title, when either Florida or UCLA raises the trophy aloft there will be plenty to write about.

Perhaps it will be about how Ben Howland, in just his third year at UCLA, has restored the Bruin legacy. That the coach has his team playing some of the best defense the college basketball world has ever seen. That point guard Jordan Farmar reminds many of some of the other great Bruin backcourt stars.

Or it could be how Billy Donovan has taken the Rick Pitino pressing system and used it to take Florida to the top of the collegiate basketball world. Another key component would be the rise of the incredibly athletic Joakim Noah, the son of a former tennis star who has gone a different sports route that his well-known Dad.

For those who want to see a great game, the hope is that both teams attempt to run as much they can because in the half-court, the defenses will take over and they will likely dominate the lesser talented offensive skills of the players on the two rosters. Since the first of March, Florida has won nine games and in seven of those contests the team scored 70 or more. In that same time period, UCLA has won 10 games and scored 70 or more six times. Both can score in the open floor.

But they need the open floor.

Farmar seems able to handle the ball well enough that UCLA could neutralize the Gator's pressure. Ironically, though Florida prefers to play half-court man-to-man defense, the consensus is UCLA's lack of shooters makes it highly vulnerable to a team with a strong half-court zone. Those thoughts have Florida the favorite.

But without any consensus first team All Americans on either team there are great fears about the game itself. That this could be yet another 50-45 debacle that one team wins in a war of survival.

Yes, the tournament is a marathon, not a sprint. But even in a marathon, the runners generally have some form of finishing kick. Sports writers hope that Florida and UCLA both can the necessary kick to make the finals a game worth watching.

Coming up through the amateur motocross ranks is tough enough on any youngster because of the amount of attention that they garner from a very early age. But it's even tougher for a rider to do so while constantly being in the shadow of one of his rivals. That's exactly what Factory Honda rider Davi Millsaps faced early in his career thanks to the likes of Mike and Jeff Alessi, as well as Broc Hepler, Ryan Villopoto and a few others who always seemed to get a lot more media attention than Millsaps.

But Millsaps is the one who struck first in the professional series by becoming the first win a major championship when he clinched the East Coast SX Lites title with a convincing win at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX.

Coming into the final round of the series, there wasn't too much pressure on Millsaps, who just turned 18 years of age a month ago. That's because he has been so consistent this year while his competitors have faltered that he only needed to get four points (in other words, a 17th-place finish) out of the event in order to lock up the title. The only other rider who could have spoiled the night was Josh Grant of the Sobe Samsung Honda team, but Grant ended up being a non-factor in the main event. Here's how the evening unfolded.

Millsaps came out swinging in his heat race and crossed the finish line just ahead of Grant's teammate Tommy Hahn. Millsaps and Hahn were well ahead of third-place finisher Martin Davalos, who came across 10.9 seconds later. Grant also won his heat race, which meant that both he and Millsaps would get the top two gate picks in the main. The stage was set for the final showdown of the season.

When the main event got under way, it was Chad Ward, a relatively unknown rider out of Alabama with the holeshot. Millsaps got a decent start in seventh place, and wasted no time in moving up to second by the time the pack came around for the green flag.

Meanwhile, Josh Grant got a bad start and was trailing right from the beginning. Knowing that he needed a win in order to capitalize on any mistakes Millsaps might make, Grant started making the aggressive moves that he has become known for. While some of his hard passes have paid off in the past, this night would be different. He went down while trying to get around Robert Kiniry of the MDK Motosport team, and sustained engine damage as a result. So his night was over before he even got one official lap into the books.

Once Grant was out of the race, Millsaps had the championship in the bag. But instead of packing it in and riding conservatively, Millsaps went for the win. He was able to pass Ward without much trouble, and closed out the third lap in the lead. He would hold onto the lead for the remaining 12 laps to take the checkered flag in front of Hahn and Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Chris Gosselaar. It was Millsaps' fourth victory in seven races, and gave him 166 points on the season. He finished well ahead of Gosselaar, who took second place in the series with 134 points. Grant finished third overall with 119 points. Hahn (102 points) and Yamah of Troy's Branden Jesseman (96 points) rounded out the top five.

Millsaps' season was the epitome of consistency. When he wasn't winning races, he was finishing in second. He didn't let Grant pressure him into making any mistakes, and it all paid off in the end. The championship has to be satisfying for Millsaps on many levels. First of all, as mentioned above, he beat out all of his amateur rivals for that all-important first professional title. Second, he showed Team Suzuki that they made the wrong choice in sticking with Hepler over Millsaps. And finally, he has silenced all the critics who said he wasn't a Supercross rider and wouldn't be able to succeed on the small bikes. Millsaps was able to put all of those demons behind him in one night.

Next up will be the Las Vegas Shootout, and then Millsaps will contest the 12-race outdoor Nationals series.

With the Major League Baseball season set to open on Sunday, Chicago White Sox fans will be treated to something they haven't seen since 1917: the hoisting of the World Series championship pennant. While that is sure to be a very emotionally satisfying experience for everyone who ventures out to the Cell, the euphoria won't last long. That's because the Cleveland Indians will be in town to try to rain on the White Sox parade and prevent them from getting off to a good start in 2006. Once the first pitch is thrown on Sunday, fans will cease to think about the brand new pennant waving in the outfield and will focus on the brand new season. They have to be wondering: can the White Sox pull off a repeat?

Fortunately for Sox fans around the world, the answer seems to be "yes." Unlike a couple of past World Series champions (the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and the Florida Marlins in '97 immediately come to mind), the White Sox didn't go out and totally dismantle their team in the offseason by unloading all of their key players. The most important component of the team during the playoff run was the starting pitching, and the Sox rotation remains as strong as ever. Mark Buerhle, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, and Jose Contreras will all be back, with Buerhle getting the call to open the season on the mound against C.C. Sabathia. All of these guys are healthy going into the season, and should be just as dominant as ever. If manager Ozzie Guillen can limit their innings during the season to keep them fresh for the playoffs, then the chances of a White Sox repeat are excellent.

In addition, the Sox signed another powerful starter in Javier Vasquez during the offseason. Vasquez underachieved in 2005 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he went 11-15 on the season with a 4.42 ERA. He struck out 192 batters last year while walking only 46. Despite his losing record, Guillen believes that Vasquez still has what it takes to be a consistent contributor in the starting rotation. Vasquez' best year was in 2001 when he posted a 16-11 record for the Montreal Expos. He struck out 208 batters that season, walked just 44 and had a 3.42 ERA. His strikeouts to walks ratio has been outstanding throughout his career and is an indication that Vasquez has an incredible amount of control when he's on the mound. If he can get back into that 2001 form, the Sox will have five dominant starters in a rotation that has to be considered one of the best in the league.

The Sox made upgrades at a couple of other positions as well. Out in center field, rookie Brian Anderson has been turning heads all throughout spring training, both with his glove and with his bat. He is a strong fielder with excellent speed, which allows him to get to a lot of balls in the gap. He batted .309 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 10 RBI. Anderson should be an improvement over last year's starter Aaron Rowand, and will give the White Sox a pretty solid outfield, considering the fact that he will have speedster Scott Podsednik and experienced veteran Jermain Dye playing on either side of him.

The White Sox infield will look exactly the same as it did during the World Series run. The Sox did well to re-sign first baseman and slugger Paul Konerko to a long-term contract. Chicago is not known as a team that shells out big money to retain their stars, so the move came as a pretty big surprise to most people. Now that Konerko is here to stay, the Sox can expect to get at least 40 home runs and 100 RBI out of him again this season. Tadahito Iguchi has proven to be one of the best Japanese position players in the league and has been tabbed as the starter ahead of backup Pablo Ozuna. Iguchi's timely hitting in the second spot in the lineup often allowed leadoff man Podsednik to get around the bases into scoring position. Although considered somewhat of a power hitter back in his native Japan, Iguchi has accepted the role of table-setter for the hitters behind him. Juan Uribe will be back at shortstop, and postseason hero Joe Crede will once again man the hot corner.

Another upgrade the White Sox made during the offseason was the addition of Jim Thome as the designated hitter and backup first baseman. Thome's 2005 season with the Philadelphia Phillies was cut short due to injuries, and while he was out, eventual NL Rookie of the year winner Ryan Howard stepped up and took over the starting job. Howard's youth, health, and talent essentially forced Thome out the door, but the White Sox were more than happy to sign him on as insurance behind Konerko and as a replacement to the oft-injured Frank Thomas, who has since parted ways with the organization in an acrimonious split. Thome has shown no ill-effects of his injuries and has hit .404 in the spring with 7 homers and 14 RBI to lead the team.

And don't forget about catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who was involved in more controversial plays in last year's playoff run than anyone else on the team. Pierzynski seems to have settled into life with the White Sox, and has been able to put his past troubles behind him. Over the years, Pierzynski has developed a reputation of being somewhat less than a team player, and has been blamed for many clubhouse squabbles. But he gets along with his teammates on the White Sox, and he has emerged as one of the key ingredients to the team's overall chemistry.

If there's a question mark at all on this White Sox team, it's with the bullpen. The first area of concern is with setup man Dustin Hermanson, who is currently on the 15-day disabled list due to back problems. Hermanson was one of the more consistent guys out of the bullpen last year as he appeared in 57 games and had a stellar 2.04 ERA. The Sox will need him back as soon as possible to give manager Ozzie Guillen more options if the starters get in trouble. Neal Cotts is another dependable setup man who will be back this season, as will Cliff Politte.

The team is also concerned with closer Bobby Jenks. Jenks came up big in the World Series last year, but his spring training outings have left a bit to be desired. Though he has been known to get pitches up in the 100mph range, there seems to be a general consensus that his velocity has been way down this year. The Sox are going to need to be able to depend on Jenks all season long, so they're hoping that he gets things worked out before long. Brandon McCarthy and newcomer Matt Thornton round out the bullpen for the Sox.

There can't be an article about the Chicago White Sox repeating as World Series champions without mentioning manager Ozzie Guillen. Guillen is back despite hinting that he would quit if he won the title, and that's a great thing for everyone who has an interest in the Sox, from management to players to fans. Guillen's on-field antics as well as his managerial savvy makes every game an entertaining experience. He has the complete trust of his players and they'll give him 100 percent every time out.

In 2006 the Chicago White Sox are returning every major player from their World Series run of a year ago. Now that the guys are all familiar with each other and have confidence in each other's abilities, they are a good bet to repeat as division, league, and yes, World Series champions.

As hard as it may be to believe, there are some people out there who refuse to watch professional sports. Although their specific reasons vary, one of the most common ones to crop up is the belief that almost all pro athletes are overpaid. Wide receiver Nate Burleson's latest deal with the Seattle Seahawks might just add some fuel to that particular fire.

Burleson was a restricted free agent this year, which meant that the Minnesota Vikings would have a chance to match any offers that he received. That's what they did when the Seahawks first offered Burleson a deal worth a reported $14.5 million. That meant Burleson would have no choice but to sign with the Vikings. But then the Seahawks came back with a seven-year $49 million offer with about $5.25 million of that in guaranteed money. The Vikings decided to pass on that one, so now Burleson is the newest member of the defending NFC champions.

This is obviously a great deal for Burleson, who is a native of the Seattle area and will literally feel right at home playing for the Seahawks. But it makes me wonder what the Seahawks are thinking about. In my estimation, although Burleson is a good receiver, he's not among the elite in the NFL -- at least not yet. So let's take a look at closer look at the deal to try to find out why Burleson was able to command such an offer.

First, let's consider Burleson's upside. There are several factors that I can think of, but I'll start with his age. Burleson is just 24 years old right now (he will turn 25 before the 2006 regular season opens), so the Seahawks are definitely getting a promising young receiver. In addition, Burleson has proven that he belongs in the NFL. In his first three seasons in the league (all with the Vikings), Burleson appeared in 44 games. In that time, he caught 127 passes for 1,789 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Those are good numbers, but they're not great numbers -- especially when you take consider that the bulk of those statistics was produced in the 2004 season alone. In that year, Burleson made 68 catches for 1,006 yards and 9 touchdowns, which was good enough for 23rd overall in the league. For the sake of comparison, those same stats in 2005 would have been good for 20th overall in the league. Again, that's an indication that the Seahawks are getting a good receiver, but I don't think they're getting a receiver worth $49 million.

Now let's look at what I perceive to be the downside to signing Burleson. First, the Seahawks have an excellent stable of receivers as it is. They have Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Joe Jurevicius, D.J. Hackett, Peter Warrick, and tight end Jerramy Stevens on the roster. Those are some very talented guys who have put up big numbers in the past. Yes, the Seahawks had some issues with injuries last season and at one point during the year had both Engram and Jackson on the sidelines at the same time. However, Jurevicius was able to pick up the slack very nicely, and with a dynamic back like Shaun Alexander on the field, the Seahawks were able to make it through that period relatively unscathed.

So even if Burleson doesn't crack the starting lineup (he would have to displace Jackson, Engram, or Jurevicius to do so), he would make a solid backup or extra receiver on passing downs. But if teams are willing to make $49 million contract offers to backup receivers these days, then maybe the people who refuse to tune into professional sports are on to something!

I also have to say that I feel Burleson's stats from the 2004 season are a bit inflated. That was the year that Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss were tearing up the league on a weekly basis. Culpepper passed for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns, which was easily the best season of his career. Moss, on the other hand, was coming off a monster season in 2003 where he racked up 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. So in 2004, most opposing teams had the mindset of "don't let Randy Moss beat you." As a result, they double- and triple-teamed him on nearly every single play. Moss only had 767 receiving yards that season, but still managed to put 13 touchdowns on the board. Guess who benefited from all the coverage Moss was drawing on every play? The other Minnesota receivers, led by Nate Burleson.

So to me, it's no coincidence that Burelson's stats took a dive when Moss left the Vikings prior to the 2005 season. Sure, you can make the argument that Culpepper wasn't on his game early in the year and that Burleson was playing hurt a lot of the time. Those points are valid to a certain extent, but to me it's pretty clear that Burleson doesn't have what it takes to be the featured receiver on a team. And that brings me back to my original point of: What are the Seahawks thinking?

I have nothing against Burleson, and in fact hopes that he goes out there in 2006 and proves all the doubters like me wrong. But I have a feeling that he won't be seeing much of that $49 million contract (it's not all guaranteed) and that we'll be seeing Burleson on the free agent block again in a few years.