Tuesday 07/08 A.M. Quickie:Beasley, HR Derby, Torres, Big Show, More

I totally reject the claims that Dara Torres is cheating. You know I'm pretty comfortable with skepticism, but the knee-jerk contrarianism on display is just cynicism.

I'm not going to load down this post with that argument. You can read it here at today's Sporting News column. But there were plenty of other contenders for the lead item:

(1) Michael Beasley's sick NBA debut. Doubters were so very very wrong.

As a guru of Instant History, I cannot stand the "well, it was only one game" talk. My freaking CAREER is dedicated to the idea that what happened today is the most important thing in sports. So, naturally, I would go crazy over Beasley's 28-point rampage.

Of course, I am not willing to write off Derrick Rose, even though his debut was far less intriguing or exciting. But, affirmatively, Beasley had the kind of debut that says: Um, yeah -- he's going to be a sick pro.

Given that there were obvious questions about Beasley's worthiness as the top talent in the draft, I think it's not too early to question that assumption: The doubters were wrong. The Bulls may have had a position need, but Beasley is the best talent in the draft class.

(2) Olbermann and Patrick reuniting on Football Night in America. I have a bonus post coming a little later this morning on that. (No empty promises: I wrote it last night, and it's already teed up and ready to go!)

There's a lot more in the column: On A-Rod's divorce situation, on Hiroki Kuroda (whom I gave up on in my fantasy league a month ago...d'oh!), on the amazingness of Mario Chalmers, and on why Josh Hamilton is the obvious pick to win the Home Run Derby.

Here is a link to the full Sporting News column.

Meanwhile, continuing last week's momentum for Stefan Fatsis' must-read new book, "A Few Seconds of Panic," KSK's Drew Magary weighs in with his review.

-- D.S.