Saturday 07/21 A.M. (Very) Quickie:Worst. Week. Ever.

The question must be asked: Was last week sports' Worst Week Ever? Consider:

NBA: Ref game-fixing scandal.
NFL: Vick dog-fighting scandal.
MLB: Bonds record-breaker in sight.

Now, I'm obviously using hyperbole, but it's hard to remember in the last decade or so a single week -- across the Big Three of professional sports -- that was this damaging.

(Actually, if I was the editor of Sports Illustrated, that's exactly what I'd put on the cover next week: A picture of Vick, of Donaghy and of Bonds, with the headline: "Worst Week Ever?")

The NBA is reeling from the scandal. "Tim Donaghy" -- previously anonymous -- is marked forever in NBA history. What's amazing is that my gut reaction "hyperbo-nalysis" yesterday morning -- that this may qualify as the biggest scandal in NBA history -- might have been right on.

Bonds is still at 753. For now.

The NFL's Roger Goodell met with ASPCA reps yesterday about Michael Vick. Normally, this would be a fringe group when it comes to pressuring the NFL, but I think the Vick case has stirred outrage among fans, too -- particularly ones who are pet owners -- to the point that they will be more sympathetic to groups like ASPCA and PETA than they would have been just a few weeks ago.

More:
*MLB Stud: Josh Beckett has 10 Ks in earning his 13th win.

*Beckham debut today: Is it really a "debut" if he doesn't play?

*F1: Lewis Hamilton involved in nasty crash. Bad week for European sports leagues, too, I guess.

Feel free to add anything I missed. And I'm sure I missed. By the way, I got my copy of Harry Potter at 2 a.m. last night at a local Duane Reade pharmacy, rather than deal with the mayhem at a traditional bookstore.

(Another book arrived yesterday -- arguably one I'm even more eagerly anticipating than Harry Potter: Clay Travis' "Dixieland Delight," which hits stores in 10 days. Looks like a long weekend of reading ahead.)

-- D.S.

P.M. Update: Potter Fans vs. Sports Fans

P.M. UPDATE: Harry Potter Mania! I nearly forgot to mention Harry Potter coming out tonight at midnight. It's not a sports story -- it's only the dominant pop-culture story of the month, however -- but there is a sports analogy:

It's all one big race to read the thing before you inevitably hear what happens through media, friends, whatever. In this way, it's like TiVo'ing a sports event, then trying to watch it without finding out what happened. If you've ever tried doing it, it's freaking hard. A story:

Once, when I worked at ESPN.com in Seattle in 1996, I worked on a Saturday -- helping to manage the college football desk that day, if I recall -- but I was taping the Northwestern-Wisconsin football game. I didn't want to know the result... and I was working in a sports newsroom! My co-workers tortured me, but didn't spoil it. (Them: "Oh, it's an AMAZING ending!" Me: "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!")

Here's the trick: I wasn't able to watch the game tape until Monday, and I managed to avoid hearing the score -- again, working in the newsroom at ESPN.com -- not just all day and evening on Saturday, but throughout my full-day shift on Sunday. When I finally popped in the tape on Monday, I was delighted to experience a thrilling Northwestern win.

It remains one of my greatest accomplishments as a fan.

Commenters: Any of you ever avoid a score to not have your own postponed viewing ruined? What lengths did you go to?

-- D.S.

Friday 07/20 A.M. Quickie:Bonds 752-3, Tiger, Vick, Beckham, NCAA Racism, More!

NBA Ref Gambling and Game-Fixing Scandal! Wow, even if it's just one ref, this story (broken by the NY Post) could be the worst scandal in the history of the NBA. Huge huge story. Wow: NBA game-fixing, NFL star-indicting, MLB record-tainting. The scandal trifecta!

Bonds hits 752 AND 753: That puts tying Hank Aaron (two more) and breaking Aaron's record (three more) within reach this weekend... in Milwaukee of all oh-my-god-the-irony locations. (Bud Selig doesn't really have much of a choice whether he's going to show up now, does he?)

As soon as he gets to 754, it's time for the stop-what-you're-doing live cut-ins. No matter how you might feel about Bonds, it's still sports history.

Woods hits 90-footer at British Open: You know, if that happened in baseball -- given the major golf headline of the week -- people would be wondering out loud: "Steroids?"

(Oh my god: Consider for a moment if Tiger Woods was exposed to be on steroids or some other form of PED.)

David Beckham makes MLS debut... or NOT?: After all that build-up, it looks like he won't even play this weekend against Chelsea. So, will they not put the game on TV at all or will the "Beckham Cam" simply track him meandering along the sidelines?

Vick Watch: Forget the prospects of going to jail or being suspended for part (or all) of the upcoming NFL season. The real signal that Michael Vick is in trouble is that Nike shelved the upcoming release of Vick's signature shoe. (h/t Rovell on the scoop).

Meanwhile, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is "saddened and distressed," but apparently not so much that he'll cut Vick immediately or personally. It's not an easy position to be in: Vick IS his team's signature player and he IS still, until further notice, popular with fans. (Where is the poll showing that, since the indictment, Vick's popularity has plummeted? Haven't seen it yet, so if you have any info, let me know. UPDATE: From a quick-thinking email tipster, the word is that it's 50/50 among Falcons fans... for now.)

College Football: Called out as a Florida bandwagoneer! There's this phenomenal new blog, Lake the Posts, devoted to Northwestern football (which badly needed a phenomenal new blog), and as part of his ramp-up, the LTP blogger (a close friend of mine) has been counting down the greatest NU football moments of the last two decades.

Today's entry is particularly good, even if you don't care about Northwestern football, because the blogger takes a front-handed swipe at my Gator bandwagoneering (so-called) and provides the definitive parable about my Northwestern-Florida fandom schism. Here's the link to the post (and if you're a Northwestern fan, this blog is a daily must-read).

Daunte Culpepper meets with the Bucs: That could be a good fit. I'd like to see Culpepper and Chris Simms room together in a reality-TV show.

NFL Camping: Rookies are starting to trickle in (the Jets rookies arrived yesterday) and camps really ramp up next week. Your long wait is over.

MLB Dud: Chris Carpenter, whose elbow problems are so severe that he isn't just done for this season, but he's probably screwed for next season, too. If he's even able to ever come back, the Cards should make room for him in the bullpen. Or maybe they can try him out as a minor-league outfielder. That seems to be their m.o. on rehab projects.

MLB Stud: CC Sabathia, who picked up win No. 13. He's the new Chris Carpenter! (OK, maybe not, but how could I resist the "new" comparison?)

College Sports: NCAA Racism/Classism? I'm confused by this story about the NCAA allowing tennis players to accept pro-style prize money before enrolling in college.

How can they possibly create this rules loophole, yet insist that college hoops or football players not take any money before (or during) college?

I'm no fan of paying college athletes – if a tennis player wants to accept prize money as an amateur, that's their decision; they shouldn't be allowed to play college sports, if college sports want to maintain any remaining facade of "amateurism."

You can make money as a teen pro or you can have a college scholarship. Seems pretty simple. To allow a loophole for tennis players smacks of implicit (hell: explicit) racism AND classism. Quite a double-play by the NCAA.

If they allow tennis players to get paid like pros before they enter college yet still retain athletic eligibility, the first thing I would do as a star high school football player is go get a $10,000 "prize" from EA or Nike, then sue the hell out of the NCAA if the NCAA attempts to keep me from entering college and playing football.

-- D.S.

Thursday 07/19 A.M. Quickie:Vick, British Open, Bonds, Big East, More!

Vick Watch, Cont'd: The current plan from the NFL isn't to suspend Vick (according to Schefter via PFT), but you can still hope.

Actually, if anything, the cautious "wait-and-see" approach from the league makes their aggressively established "Get Tough" personal conduct policy look like a sham: If you're not a star, you get the rack; if you're a star, "well, let's not rush to judgment!"

Meanwhile, Vick's first court appearance is a week from today, incidentally the first day of Falcons training camp. It's like Fate has an amazing sense of humor (if not for the – y'know – electrocution, drowning, hanging and beating of dogs to death).

(MDS at Fanhouse has a great little pick-up: The judge assigned to the case is a hard-ass on defendants. Yikes for Vick.)

British Open: The best British Open storyline is that Gary Player claims that there are steroids in golf. It's an amusing concept, until you realize that he's almost certainly right. And I'll bet it's even more widespread than you think. It always is, particularly in the places you least expect.

Meanwhile, here's why golf has become boring. My analysis? Um, yeah: I'll take Tiger to win, like he has the last two B.O.'s. (Any breakdown beyond that is opining for the sake of opining.)

(Related: Take a sip every time you hear or read someone torture the cliched pun "Car-nasty" in reference to the Open course.)

Bonds Watch: He sits... again. And anyone who put money down on an August 1 over/under on when he breaks Aaron's record has to be a little nervous at this point.

MLB Stud: Julio Franco! MLB's Methuselah given a new lease on his 48-year-old life after being signed by the Braves.

MLB Stud, 2: Carlos Zambrano becomes the NL's first 12-game winner.

MLB Dud: BBWAA (an organization I rip on regularly), for tossing out a Japanese baseball writer who asked for Roger Clemens' autograph, which is a no-no according to BBWAA guidelines. Not that the foreign writer understood that, but that didn't stop the BBWAA from banning him. Hmm: I didn't see that they had a policy about BBWAA members who have personal favorite players they write sympathetically about. That seems to me to be a much greater offense. (Not to mention the ridiculous way that this group gets to determine which players are Hall of Fame-worthy or not. But that's another story.)

College Football Media Daze: Big East. I'm a few days late on talking about Big East Media Day (my annual moment to take a snapshot of the league and what will happen in the upcoming season).

First of all, let's look back: The conference is coming off an amazing year. Rutgers was the national Cinderella story of the season. West Virginia and Louisville were national-title contenders. The league's profile shot up.

In 2007, I'm with the writers who pick West Virginia to win the conference (though Louisville QB Brian Brohm is the league's best shot to win the Heisman, with Rutgers RB Ray Rice the next-best candidate). WVA is led by the electrifying combo of Pat White and Steve Slaton. Then add blink-and-you'll-miss-him Noel Devine to Rich Rodriguez's spread offense, and that's why WVU is in the mix for the national title. (I won't reveal my BCS title-game pick until later this summer.)

Heisman Watch: Why Darren McFadden got my Heisman vote a year ago and why he should be the No. 1 contender in 2007: Best. Car. Ever.

LeBron to host "SNL" in the fall: I actually think LeBron is a pretty gifted actor (for an athlete). He'll do really well... except for the fact that, well, "SNL" sketches are absolutely terrible. (The digital videos are OK sometimes, but what does it say that SNL has to rip off YouTube amateurs in order to be remotely funny or relevant?)

NHL: This might be the smartest move that the NHL has ever made, particularly considering their current situation.

Pimp-My-Blog Goodness: In case you missed yesterday's announcement, I have partnered with the email newsletter Thrillist. Click here to sign up for it or click here to see yesterday's post about it with details.

Navel-Gazing: Believe it or not, I'm not the type of person to obsessively check my Technorati status (maybe once every few months, if that), but on a whim I just checked it out, and I have cracked the Top 10,000 ranking. That's really kind of cool. I'm quite sure that they'll boot me out once they realize the mistake they've made.

Finally, a quasi-welcome to Epic Carnival, a new-ish group sports blog. I say "new-ish" because it's all bloggers you've probably seen linked on Deadspin or read directly yourselves, all in one place. It's sort of like AOL Fanhouse without the financial compensation. Good luck to the E.C. Cool idea!

-- D.S.

Temporary Reprieve From "Vick 24/7":DS.com Partners With Thrillist

Looking for Quickie-style Vick coverage?
Scroll down to the next post or click here.

As you have hopefully noticed, I don't pimp out this blog with ads. When I put links on the site -- whether it's to another blog or to T-shirts -- it's because I like what's behind them. I have dabbled with Google AdSense (and, of course, my T-shirts), but otherwise, I am proud to be ad-free.

I have, however, been actively looking for relationships with companies and products that I like and that I think would be a good fit with you all. With that in mind, I'm excited to announce a new partnership with Thrillist, a daily email newsletter for guys. There's a national edition for everyone, plus editions specifically for New York and L.A., whether you live there or just want to know what's going on there.

(Let me be as transparent as possible: The deal includes compensation to me based on the number of people who sign up and become regular subscribers. That is NOT a reason to sign up; do it because you think Thrillist sounds useful or seems like a cool product that you want to try out... Or, OK, sure: Because I said so.)

If you're interested in giving Thrillist a try-out, use this link to sign up.

Now, back to uplifting stories of electrocuting, drowning, hanging and beating dogs to death...

-- D.S.

Wednesday 07/18 A.M. Quickie:Michael Vick Indictment (What: You Need More?)

Mike Vick Indicted: This is big. This is really big. Given the speculation being thrown around less than 24 hours after it came down (Suspended now! Suspended later! Suspended for the season! Suspended for life! Going to jail! Dropped by Nike!), it's the all-hands-on-deck sports scandal of the summer. (Indictment here, via Smoking Gun)

Let's glaze over Vick's presumptive innocence (or – cough! – guilt) and the truly despicable underlying crimes (even if he was indicted merely for "conspiracy" and not the crimes themselves) and jump right to the upshot:

Will he be suspended? (Let alone the other elephant: "Will he go to jail?"

Given Roger Goodell's new "Get Tough" policy, is there any doubt that Vick will be suspended? The question is: For how long? This has to be bigger than Jared Allen's 4-game suspension (with 2 games off for, uh, good behavior!)

Is it worse than Pac-Man Jones, who got a season-long ban? Consider that Jones had a much longer track record of problems. Also consider that Vick is one of the league's Top 5 most popular players. Does that make things better or worse for Vick? Throw in the fact that he told Goodell he had nothing to do with any of this. (Great scoop by Yahoo Sports' Jason Cole on the implications of this.)

Yikes. (If the Commish charges hard on the gambling angle of Vick's problems, Goodell could ban Vick for life.)

Even if he's not suspended for a full season, but "only" suspended for 4 games or 8 games, that's still either a quarter or half of the season. Not to mention the humiliation to the Falcons franchise. Would they dare cut him outright? Doubt it. (Bet they regret trading Matt Schaub now...)

Some might suggest that Vick deserves the career equivalent of what he and his partners allegedly -- yes, allegedly -- did to those dogs who didn't win: Electrocution, drowning, hanging, shooting.

The upcoming NFL season just got its headlining headline. Tracking...

(PFT is the top place to go for all of the ongoing details, and Fanhouse is posting strong on an angle-by-angle basis, as seen from the links above.)

UPDATE: As I see or hear about good Vick-related content, I'll try to update the post. For starters, Drew at KSK deploys his parodic skills and probably captures the Vick story better than any standard "analyst." Here's the link.

More: MJD with a parable.

More: Cold Hard Football Facts.

WSOP Main Event spoiler at the end of the column. Not that you can avoid it elsewhere. It's not like I'm ruining it for everyone.

Speaking of Pac-Man, he's angling for a new nickname: "Chutzpah Jones." (Greatest. Nickname. Ever.) His agent says that even though he's suspended for the season, he wants to participate in training camp and exhibition games. What part of "season-long" does he not get?

Dolphins release Daunte Culpepper: Who DIDN'T see this coming? I suspect he'll end up in Jacksonville ("my" Jags!), wrecking my man Byron Leftwich's mojo. Or what was left of it.

MLB Stud: Leo Nunez, the Royals reliever called up from AAA who made his first career start and kept the Red Sox at bay long enough to help KC beat Boston.

Bonds Watch: He can't break the record if he isn't in the lineup.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed following yesterday's spirited discussion in the Comments section about the Bonds poll. I agree that Bonds' jerkiness (or suspicions of cheating) trumps his race when lining up reasons to dislike him. But there have been a lot of jerks (and cheaters) who have piled up records; hell, the entire Steroid Era of baseball is tainted – it's just easier to focus your frustration of that era on one guy rather than consider the infinite level of cheating that went on. It would be one thing to root against Bonds breaking the record if he was 50 or 100 homers away; to root against Bonds to break the record when his breaking the record is inevitable smacks of spitefulness more than anything else.

NBA: Yi won't play for the Bucks, period. I have a hard time begrudging Yi (or his handlers) their decision; the Bucks knew he didn't want to play in Milwaukee, yet they still took him. This represents arguably the biggest draft bungle of the decade. What can the Bucks get for Yi in a trade with a team in a market he'd be more willing to play in?

Stephon Marbury calls out Michael Jordan: You can dislike Stephon Marbury professionally (and love Michael Jordan) and still support Marbury's new-found populist streak with his inexpensive shoes – it's hard to beat Jordan at anything, but Marbury has him on this one.

Rovell on the Durant-Nike deal... and on the fate of Vick's new Nike shoe line.

College Football: I guess the NYT's Pete Thamel (best CFB reporter in the country) has been on vacation, but he's back with an analysis of the Big East's rise from patsy to powerhouse. That's today's Must-Read.

WSOP: Congrats to poker rookie Jerry Yang, the new WSOP champ.

-- D.S.

Tuesday 07/17 A.M. Quickie:Bonds and Race, Kason Gabbard, JC Navarro, Durant, More!

Confirming the obvious: The Bonds Home Run Chase has a racial fault line. According to a new poll, 55 percent of minority baseball fans want to see Bonds set the record, but only 34 percent of white baseball fans want to see him set the record. (According to a much-discussed poll last fall, 34 percent of minorities wanted Bonds to break the record.)

40 percent of fans overall want Bonds to break the record, a slight (but notable) increase from the 33 percent last fall. For the record, I am one of those 40 percent.

If you're part of the 60 percent of fans who don't want Bonds to break the record, you might be in the majority, but you'll ultimately be on the losing side of history. He's going to break the record, and you might not like it, but you need to accept it.

Speaking of all-time home runs: Ken Griffey passes Frank Robinson on all-time home run list. Griffey is now in sole possession of 6th place.

MLB Stud: Kason Gabbard, the Red Sox rookie pitcher, who threw a three-hit complete game, a better individual performance than any by the more experienced (and more expensive) pitcher he replaced in the rotation, Curt Schilling.

MLB Dud: Scott Olsen, suspended two games by the Florida Marlins for what the team is calling insubordination. Sounds like a peach of a guy.

Juan Carlos Navarro Watch: The Wizards will regret trading away the Spanish superstar -- let alone to a division rival. The hot rumor is that the Heat want JCN. A Wade-JCN backcourt in Miami would be unfair.

Speaking of Wade: He reportedly won't be rehabbed from his injury in time for training camp. All he needs to be ready for is next spring's playoffs.

NBA Summer, Follow-Up: Let me be clear. By not putting Kevin Durant on my All-Summer First Team, I am not suggesting he won't be a perfectly fine (even great) NBA player. I just didn't think he was one of the Top 5 most impressive rookies of the summer.

Beckham Watch: Gee, that wasn't very interesting. In his first practice with the Galaxy, Beckham... stretched. Oh, and a few kicking drills! Breathless stuff, indeed.

NFL: Chiefs DE Jared Allen is the latest caught in Roger Goodell's "Get Tough" campaign, getting a two-game suspension for a couple of DUIs -- but it was cut in half from an original four-game suspension. Still, is it that the players are that much more delinquent -- or that Paul Tagliabue was that much of a see-no-evil leader?

Kevin Durant signs with Nike: This has seemed like the obvious choice for months (if not years), but it's finally official. It'll be interesting to see if fans want to wear a Durant signature shoe (if Nike even makes one for him).

-- D.S.

Monday 07/16 A.M. Quickie:Phillies 10K, Ichiro, Kobe Trade, NBA Summer, More!

Phillies reach 10,000 all-time losses: Call it today's Stud AND today's Dud. Ignominious milestone or glorious celebration? I'll take the latter.

For a city of fans seemingly consumed with sports self-loathing, it's a perfect fit. The irony is that no sports fans in the country might want a championship more than Philly fans.

And yet, here is a title that is likely to go unmatched in baseball history. Forget Ripken's Ironman streak or DiMaggio's hit streak or the Yankees' number of titles or even the Home Run Record.

Other teams might yet reach the magical "10,000" mark, but by then, the Phillies will have extended their dominance. Congratulations.

MLB Stud: Dodgers win 11th straight. (YES, YES: IN SAN FRANCISCO. Thank you to all the people who pointed out the lack of clarity on this. As one Dodger fan emailed, "If only...")

MLB Dud: Ichiro pegged in the knee by Verlander (unintentionally). The downside of that bajillion dollar deal he signed last week is the hold-your-breath status for every at-bat that he might get hurt.

MLB Roids: Jason Giambi wasn't asked about other players. Or so they're leaking.

Sheffield vs. Torre, Cont'd: There is a middle way through this thicket of racial tension. Sheffield could have FELT like Torre was treating him differently because he was black without Torre actually being a racist.

Joltin' Joe's Journal: Steiner Sports will put 2,500 pages of DiMaggio's journal writing up for auction. What would you pay for a random, insignificant page? (Probably not enough.)

Kobe Blockbuster? Nah. The hot rumor is that an announcer's slip of the tongue means that Kobe will be traded to the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol and Mike Miller. I think it's bunk, and Kobe would never agree to it. If he goes anywhere, he has got to go to the East. (Now that they've got Vince Carter locked up, why don't the Nets dangle Carter and Krstic for Kobe? Oh, they're too busy turning down other deals.)

More Non-Trades: The Nets reportedly passed on trading Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic and Jason Collins to the Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal. Hmm...

NBA Summer League: Well, the fantasy matchup between Durant's Sonics and Oden's Blazers happened without either guy taking the court. But Jeff Green used the stage to make his own impression: 32 points and 12 rebounds in a Sonics loss. Maybe Durant should be the team's "other" rookie sensation...

More Sunday stars from NBA Summer: Demetris Nichols 23 pts, Dominic McGuire 18 pts (Von Wafer: 42 pts)

As the Vegas Summer League closes up, my top storyline wasn't the pro debuts of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. (If anything, Durant seemed to have trouble scoring at anything close to a reasonable FG percentage.)

The story I always enjoy is about the second-round draft picks who already look like absolute steals. A few stood out: DJ Strawberry, Demetris Nichols and Dominic McGuire.

However, other first-round picks did look great. In this order, my First-Team All-First-Round-Pick Summer All-Stars: Aaron Brooks, Marco Belinelli, Rodney Stuckey, Al Thornton and Javaris Critteton.

(A few younger non-rookies foreshadowed breakout seasons ahead, including Randy Foye, Amir Johnson, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge and Von Wafer, who ended the Vegas summer league with a 42-point explosion.)

NASCAR: Tony Stewart wins, finally.

Copa America: Brazil upends Argentina, 3-0.

Double-amputee track star DQ'ed: Not for using prosthetics against fully able-bodied runners, but for leaving his lane, an ironic ending to a wild story.

WNBA All-Star Game: The WNBA East can now claim to be better than MLB's National League, snapping a six-game losing streak to the West in WNBA All-Star Games.

WNBA signs TV deal with ESPN through 2016: I wonder if part of that includes a clause where ESPN talking- (or writing-) head talent won't dis the league?

-- D.S.

Sunday 07/15 A.M. (Very) Quickie

Phillies: Still stuck on Loss No. 9,999, thanks to today's Stud, Aaron Rowand, who went 4-for-4 with a HR leading the Phils past the Cards.

Artest, Jackson suspended 7 games each: David Stern taking a page from NFL Commish Roger Goodell, banning them for off-court problems.

Yankees won't bid on A-Rod: So, naturally, everyone thinks he'll join the Red Sox, once they dump Schilling and Lowell's contracts.

NBA Summer: Javaris Crittenton was the high-scorer among rookies on Saturday, racking up 28. Corey Brewer went for 18 pts and 11 reb.

But Suns second-rounder DJ Strawberry continues to be a summer revelation, scoring 27 points and adding 8 assists.

NBA Free Agency: Of the two big men signed yesterday among East wannabe contenders, Jamal Magloire helps the Nets far more than Joe Smith helps the Bulls.

Must-Read: One of my favorite newspaper sports columnists, Selena Roberts of the NY Times, has a column today on "iFans" like the ones who busted Oklahoma football. But while Roberts properly tweaks university NCAA compliance officers for poor work, she (unsurprisingly) neglects to add that fans on message boards are also doing a better job covering (and uncovering) scandal at the college level than... mainstream media sports reporters and columnists. Here's the link (but it's subscription-only unfortunately).

-- D.S.

Saturday 07/14 A.M. Quickie:Cuban, Beckham, Freeney, Sheffield, Durant, More!

Cuban and the Cubs, Cont'd: This story continues to send exciting shockwaves around baseball. Who DOESN'T want to see this happen? (Oh, right: Bud Selig and other MLB owners.)

I wonder what Jason Giambi told George Mitchell yesterday...

The Phillies are "stuck" at loss No. 9,999 after beating the Cardinals last night. Will "10K" happen today?

Beckham introduced in L.A.: And it is the craziest MLS p.r. event ever. Steinberg emerged out of his Bog to get the front-page coverage in the Post about it. Great scene-setter.

NBA Summer: Durant finally has his breakout game. "Finally," of course, is relative. Whatever: KD poured in 32 points in a loss to Golden State, where Durant went head-to-head with Warriors summer sensation Marco Belinelli, who had 16 points (and has slowed down considerably since his breakout debut game). As impressive as Durant's 32 was, keep in mind that he was 9-for-23 on FG shooting to make it happen.

More of Friday's Summer (Rookie) Notables: Al Horford (18 pts, 6 reb in summer debut)... Aaron Brooks (23 points)... Oleksey Pecherov (26 pts, 14 reb)... Javaris Crittenton (16 pts, 6 ast), though the Lakers gave up 120(!) points to the Nuggets... Big Baby Davis (16 pts, 9 reb)... Al Thornton (19 pts, 10 reb)... Mike Conley (9 pts, 8 ast)... DJ Strawberry (13 pts, 9 ast), who is looking like one of the steals of the draft, for the Suns... Thaddeus Young, like Horford playing in the Rocky Mtn Revue, had 19...

Nets re-sign Vince Carter: Again, if you're a Nets fan, this isn't thrilling news.

Wizards re-sign Deshawn Stevenson: Which absolutely sucks if you're a Wizards fan, because now they're going to have to trade the rights to Euro sensation Juan Carlos Navarro. So essentially the Wizards have traded Stevenson for Navarro, which will go down as one of the worst trades in team history (and for the Wiz, that's saying a lot). Let's hope Ernie Grunfeld can pull something out of his hat to re-sign JCN.

If you want an underrated NBA signing, it's Steve Blake going to the Blazers. This seems like a no-brainer to me. How could a pass-first PG NOT want to have a dominant center to get the ball to? And how could a team building around a dominant center NOT want a pass-first PG?

The Darko Milicic Image Rehabilitation Project began yesterday, when the Grizzlies not only gave him a sizeable salary ($7M per for 3 years), but virtually swiped him from the Magic. If everyone is agreeing that signing Darko was a GOOD thing – a SMART thing – instead of a "WTF?!" thing, then the rehab has begun.

Colts re-sign Dwight Freeney: He'll be one of the NFL's highest-paid players, as he should be. His $30 million signing bonus is the highest-ever for a defensive player.

Speaking of rich deals: Ichiro, 5Y/$90M. And worth it.

Bud won't sponsor Dale Jr. on his new team: Wow, what an opportunity for one of A-B's rivals. I think Miller pays whatever it takes.

Rickey being Rickey: Henderson becomes the Mets' new first base coach. He's come a long way as a Met since ducking out of a playoff game to play cards in the clubhouse.

Looking ahead to next week, people will be talking about Gary Sheffield's fiery interview with HBO "Real Sports" airing Tuesday night, where he accuses Joe Torre of treating black players differently than white players. He also admitted to using the "cream" and the "clear," but denied taking steroids. Sheffield re-affirmed the interview details yesterday.

-- D.S.

Friday 07/13 A.M. Quickie:Cubs, Beckham, Wells, Redick, Fujikawa, More (Slow Day!)

Wow, I thought Wednesday was supposed to be sports' slowest day of the year. Turns out it was yesterday, given the dearth of good stories to talk about today...

MARK CUB-FAN: Mark Cuban submits application to buy the Cubs. MLB would be crazy to turn him away. It's hard to imagine a sports owner -- a baseball owner, no less -- saving a sport (if MLB even needs saving), but Cuban is the guy to do it.

His combination of marketing savvy, fan-friendliness, commitment to quantitative measurement and competitive drive to field a winner would electrify baseball... and, I predict, lead the Cubs to that long-awaited World Series title.

I have to imagine that Bud and the existing MLB owners will find a way to screw this up.

UPDATE: I'm late on this, but I just watched Miss Gossip's video interview with Greg Oden, and it's fantastic. Oden really does have a likable personality, and Miss Gossip is a better interviewer than, like, 99 percent of mainstream media TV reporters out there. Worth your 7 minutes, if you haven't seen it yet. Here's the link. That's as good a way to start the day as any.

LA Galaxy to introduce David Beckham today: This will be yet another high-water mark of just how little most American sports fans care about this development.

MLB Dud: David Wells, suspended 7 games for arguing with an umpire last weekend. Can't disagree with a suspension, but seven games? Wow. That seems like a lot. They suspend guys for less for doing more. (Of course, for starting pitchers, suspensions are always a joke, given that, at most, he'll miss 2 starts.)

Who else is bummed that Julio Franco, MLB's Methuselah, was designated for assignment? What other team might want a 49-year-old pinch-hitter, even if he is freakishly still productive (given his age)? I'm hoping that someone like Billy Beane scoops him up. (h/t MLB Fanhouse).

MLB Stud: A-Rod hits HR No. 31. Jeter and Abreu hit homers, too, in a Yankees win over the D-Rays. Among the more notable second-half storylines, whether the Yankees can get off to a hot start and insert themselves into the AL Wild Card race is one of them. Because if they don't, it could be bye-bye for Joe Torre and Brian Cashman and the coup de grace that the Yankees' decade-long era of relevance is over.

File it away: David Ortiz revealed he has knee problems. They haven't required surgery (all together now: "Yet"), but that has "ominous foreshadowing" written all over it.

NBA Summer, Orlando: I have been so focused on Las Vegas that I have neglected to cover the Orlando league. Here's the headline: JJ Redick is destroying people. No, that is not some kind of sick joke. He is lighting it up.

With Dwight Howard (who just signed an $80M contract extension) demanding double-teams down low and Rashard Lewis demanding double-teams on the wing, that frees up JJ for a lot of open jumpshots (and, perhaps, NBA redemption after a weak rookie year).

NBA Summer Rookies, Vegas: Aaron Brooks goes for 28 for the Rockets... Stuckey and Afflalo combine for 38 points for the Pistons... Mike Conley had 13 points and 7 assists in 22 efficient minutes for the Grizzlies... Spencer Hawes had 22 for the Kings... Yikes: Julian Wright had a goose-egg on 0/9 FG shooting for the Hornets... And Corey Brewer was 2/12 FG, finishing with 8 points (plus 6 rebounds) in a T'wolves loss.

Finally: You've got to give Isiah Thomas credit where it's due as a guy with a pretty freaking good track record as a drafter for the Knicks. Second-round pick Demetris Nichols (17 points last night) looks like one of the second-round steals of the draft (along with Suns' second-rounder DJ Strawberry).

The Nets will officially announce their re-signing of Vince Carter today. That rush of air you feel is the excitement leaving the bodies of Nets fans.

Tadd Fujikawa turns pro: He's only 16 (and only 5-foot-1) but that only means his marketing potential is that much greater. By the way, note the lack of outrage from the folks who bemoaned preps going straight into the NBA.

Ronny Thompson quits as Ball State basketball coach after only one season, after some violations of NCAA guidelines about offseason team workouts. Remember when he was the hot Thompson-progeny coach?

BALCO leak lawyer gets 2.5 years in prison: If the prosecutors can't actually get anyone who – y'know – actually used steroids (or perjured themselves in talking about it), they can always get the guy who leaked details about the investigation to reporters. Hardly a moral victory. (Not that I'm condoning the leak.)

So: Given how slow things are today, what does everyone have going on this weekend? Anything sports-related?

-- D.S.

Thursday 07/12 A.M. Quickie:MLB 2nd Half, Oklahoma, Pronk vs. Rashard, More!

Heading into baseball's second half, what are your predictions for how things will go? I think the big story will be the continued surge of the Brewers as the NL's breakout (and best) team of 2007. Put your own predictions in the comments.

Oklahoma's 8 wins in 2005 stricken from the record: I like the humiliation aspect of the punishment, but it isn't nearly punitive enough to simply erase the record books and strip away two scholarships over the next two years.

Tulsa, Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oregon get a win back in the column. Gee: Thanks. I've always been torn about this punishment, because it really does nothing to remedy the original sin delivered against the teams that lost the game.

I'm not going to crunch the numbers myself, but I have to believe that the winning teams that were affected each lost potential bowl revenue by being sent to a lower-revenue bowl because they had that one extra loss. At the very least. It's impossible to truly calculate damages.

At minimum, I think given the bowl-payout implications for the teams it beat, if Oklahoma is going to have its 2005 season obliterated, it should also be banned from all bowl participation for one year and banned from all BCS or other New Year's Day bowls for two more. Only then can you begin to inflict a measurement of payback for the actual harm done to the teams that OU beat in 2005.

(Update: Now Oklahoma says it's going to appeal? That's Sooner-sized chutzpah.)

Tony LaRussa vs. Albert Pujols: Why can't LaRussa just admit that he screwed this up?

Travis Hafner signs extension: 4Y/$57M, which seems appropriate for one of the Top 3 most productive offensive players in the AL. (As a throw-in, can the guy please have permanent fantasy eligibility at 1B to go with his usual "Utility" spot?)

Magic officially get Rashard Lewis for, like, $100 gajillion dollars. OK, so it's more like $110 million. But that's a lot of money for a "Robin"-style player. Orlando makes the big – no, HUGE – bet that Howard-Lewis will be enough to be a contender in the East for the next half-decade.

UPDATE: Darko to the Grizzlies, reportedly at a rate of 3Y/$21M, which isn't too shabby for a guy continually labeled a bust as a 22-year-old 7-footer who got a lot better last year. He'll benefit from playing next to Pau Gasol, but more from playing in Marc Iavaroni's system, especially with end-to-end talents like Mike Conley and Rudy Gay.

Bobcats keep Gerald Wallace: For those of you who have been waiting all century for Michael Jordan the Executive to make a personnel move that didn't fall within his usual range from "laughable" to "sucks," here you go.

NBA Summer: Corey Brewer made his debut, and it was a freakish one. He scored 8 points on 1-of-10 FG shooting, but also pulled down 13 rebounds. (Meanwhile, Foye and McCants showed flashes of a Backcourt of the Future, combining for 39 points.) More: Nick Young settles down after a terrible first game to rebound with 20 points on 8/16 FG shooting for the Wiz in a loss... Thaddeus Young had his breakout game, going for 20 and 10 for the Sixers... OK, so Alando Tucker might just fit into the Suns' scheme: He made his Summer debut with 29 points and 6 assists. And fellow PHX rookie DJ Strawberry had 19 points and 7 assists... Kevin Durant had a DNP. What: He's tired already? Or maybe just freaked after his first few games showed that scoring on those oh-so-tough NBA Summerleague defenses is tougher than college.

Dan Artest Mania: Meanwhile, Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's DC Sports Bog has once again become the market-maker for trend-spotting. His latest find is Daniel Artest (yes, Ron's brother), and Dan Artest Mania is spreading throughout the sports blogosphere. How can you NOT root for the 300-pound brother of Ron Artest who fancies himself a jumpshooter?

Uniform Watch: Michigan... and adidas? Some of us have associated Michigan with Nike for as long as we can remember. Frankly, for both football and hoops, Michigan is one of those foundation Nike schools. So how weird is it going to be to see Michigan playing in adidas uniforms? (Related: Dale Jr. signed a deal with Adidas, too. Let's review: David Beckham. Reggie Bush. Gilbert Arenas. Dale Jr. Michigan football. Kansas basketball. Not a bad collection.)

Beckham Invasion, Cont'd: So the Galaxy are changing their uniforms for Beckham's debut. (Duh: It's all about the jersey sales.) But the boldest thing would have been to splash "BECKHAM" across the front like the usual soccer jersey sponsorship. I mean, isn't that how blatant MLS and everyone involved with MLS is being about Beckham's arrival?

ESPYs (Um... Spoiler alert, I guess...): LaDainian Tomlinson was the big winner, grabbing four awards. The Colts won "Best Team," but it's hard for me to see how FINALLY meeting long-missed expectations tops Florida repeating as college hoops national champs. And I'm glad to see Boise State pick up two awards (as anticipated) for Best Game and Best Play. What a great capper to a dream season for the Broncos.

Now THIS will be interesting: Vanderbilt honcho Gordon Gee is taking over as president at Ohio State. You might remember Gee as the guy who wanted to de-emphasize the power of athletics at Vandy. So: He's either going to trigger revolt at tOSU or become academia's biggest hypocrite. Doesn't look like a winning situation for him either way.

My Bad: Obviously, I meant to say "1992" not "1996" about the Dream Team in yesterday's item about greatest teams of all time. I'm sure you all knew what I meant. I wrote that particular item bleary-eyed at 2 a.m. (not that that's an excuse) and neglected to go back and fix it. Then I was stuck on an airplane all day and didn't see that it needed changing until it was way WAY too late. Sorry 'bout that.

-- D.S.

Wednesday 07/11 A.M. Quickie:Ichiro, Bonds, All-Stars, All-Timers, ESPYs, More

MLB All-Star Game: Ichiro! It’s hard to be first to ever do something in an All-Star Game with a history as long as MLB’s, but MVP Ichiro did it, hitting the game’s first-ever inside-the-park home run (which is so cool, btw).

He also went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. He also clinched home-field advantage for the AL in the 2007 World Series. He also made reports of his decision to sign a contract extension with the Mariners that much more of a relief for Seattle fans. Big day overall for Ichiro.

Meanwhile, did you catch the end of the game? I didn’t, but I heard the ending was plenty dramatic, with Soriano’s 2-out, 2-run HR closing the AL’s lead to 1 run before the next three NL batters were walked to load the bases. Aaron Rowand hit a flyout to right to end the game and the late thrills.

(Let the second-guessing begin: Tony LaRussa left Albert Pujols – arguably the NL’s best hitter AND HIS OWN PLAYER – on the bench, rather than let him be the hero. When your team has no hope of taking advantage of World Series home-field advantage, I guess you can make moves like that. Yeah, LaRussa SURE is some managerial genius. I could make the easy “Anyone give him a Breathalyzer?” joke, but I won’t.)

Looking to re-live the game via live-blog?
Here’s AOL Fanhouse (PostmanR)
Here’s Deadspin (Babes Love Baseball)

Bonds greeted like... a hero: What else would you expect? The game was in front of his fans in San Francisco. In any other park, he would have been booed. It was actually kind of nice to see him get that kind of reception on a national stage – most likely for the last time in his career.

Selig to watch Bonds break Aaron’s record? The story is slippery. First, reports were that he would. Then, he said he still hadn’t made up his mind. The right thing to do – in the best interests of baseball, you might say – would be to be there, whether he (or the legion of Bonds-haters… until he plays for their team, of course) likes it or not.

Penguins sign Sidney Crosby to 5Y/$43M extension. What does it say when the most dynamic player in hockey only commands less than $9 million a year? Imagine that compared to the NFL, NBA or MLB. (By comparison, Ichiro will get $20 million per.)

More contract-related news: The NBA set its salary cap at $55.63 million, a $2.5 million increase over last season. Some individual players with inflated contracts are going to be the main beneficiaries.

Greg Oden to have tonsils removed: Either that explains his slow start to the summer-league season or that’s the most complicated cover-up I’ve ever heard of to keep a player off the court.

Speaking of the Blazers, they waived and bought out Steve Francis, who can now afford ($34 million? I’d say he can!) to take a low-ball offer to join a contender, like the Mavs or the Heat. Or the Clippers, who employ his best buddy, Cuttino Mobley.

New Media: Smart move by MLB to give fans a chance to create historical playoff highlight video mash-ups. But the site name – actober.com – is ACK.

More Dan Patrick: Who will replace Patrick in his radio slot? For starters, let’s eliminate Schrutebag. Simmons? He’s got a voice for online writing (and that’s coming from one of the biggest high-talkers to ever grace ESPN’s airwaves). The name being thrown around is Mike Tirico. (h/t Larry Brown Sports) Why can’t they bring Tony Kornheiser back into the fold? He hates his gig with Washington Post Radio.

NBA Summer: Marco Belinelli Watch! Comes back to Earth with 15 points on 5/13 FG shooting against what I can only assume is a tough defensive-minded Spurs team... Meanwhile: Al Thornton: 17 and 7… Coby Karl: 23 points on 8/13 FG shooting… Nick Young had a weak debut: 11 points on 3/14 FG shooting. And the Yi Update: 3 points and 5 turnovers on 0/6 FG shooting… wow, yikes. Today: The T’wolves make their first Summer appearance, and the rookie to watch is Corey Brewer.

College Football: Rivals is running a “Greatest of All-Time” poll. Here are the leaders (and, frankly, I think the fans have it pretty right here):

QB: Vince Young; RB: Barry Sanders; RB: Bo Jackson; WR: Calvin Johnson; WR: Randy Moss; TE: Keith Jackson; OL: Orlando Pace; OL: Tony Boselli; OL: Jonathan Ogden; OL: Dan Dierdorf; OL: John Hannah; DL: Warren Sapp; DL: Reggie White; DL: Julius Peppers; DL: Jevon Kearse; LB: Dick Butkus; LB: Ray Lewis; LB: Lawrence Taylor; DB: Champ Bailey; DB: Deion Sanders; DB: Ronnie Lot; DB: Charles Woodson; K: Sabastian Janikowski; P: Ray Guy; Returner: Raghib Ismail; Coach: Paul "Bear" Bryant.

A few reactions: How wild is it that Calvin Johnson makes the list? (And people say that I have the Instant History fetish!)… It would be tough to bounce either Barry or Bo, but what about Herschel Walker?... I wasn’t a Gators fan in the Kearse Era, but wasn’t he a LB?... The most controversial position will be QB. I have no problems with Vince Young. (How can you begrudge VY when the No. 2 vote-getter is Peyton?)

More College Football: The great Brian Cook over at MGoBlog is in a bit of a feud with a local newspaper sports columnist over the future of coaching at Michigan. The slack-jawed newspaper guy floats Les Miles, which Brian smacks down effectively. (I simply call it ludicrous.) Brian floats Jeff Tedford, which is nice if you want to produce QBs who look good at combine workouts but suck in the NFL. I still say Rich Rodriguez will be the guy… if Michigan wants to be relevant into the next decade. Otherwise, they can pick a typical “Michigan Man” and continue to exist as the perennial second-tier team in the perennial second-tier conference. (OK, I’ll accept Greg Schiano, too, except I think he thinks that Rutgers is a better gig than Michigan. Cue Nelson Muntz: HA-ha!)

More “All-Time” superlatives: World Soccer magazine has called the 1970 Brazil World Cup champ the greatest soccer team of all time. Now, an interesting – if apples to oranges – debate would be what is the greatest sports team of all time, period: 1970 Brazil, 1996 1992* Dream Team, 1996 Bulls, 1985 Bears, 1927 Yankees? I just picked the obvious choice in NBA, NFL and MLB – that’s not necessarily the greatest team in each sport’s history. But would it even matter? Wouldn’t the final inevitably be '96 '92* Dream Team vs. ’70 Brazil, which was basically soccer’s Dream Team?

* - UPDATE: Obviously, I meant to say "1992" not "1996" here. I'm sure you all knew what I meant. I wrote that particular item bleary-eyed at 2 a.m. (not that that's an excuse) and neglected to go back and fix it. Then I was stuck on an airplane all day and didn't see that it needed changing until it was way WAY too late. Sorry 'bout that.

High school football: Could be a lost season for national power Miami Northwestern, embroiled in a sex scandal with the superintendend threatening to cancel the team’s season. It’s tough to punish all the kids for the leadership failures of the team’s star and administrators, but that has all the signals of a program that has totally lost its way. (As I suspect most top-tier high school football programs have.)

More youth sports: That kids’ baseball coach who paid one of his players in 2005 to intentionally bean the 9-year-old with autism lost an appeal and will be going to prison. This was arguably the most despicable story of the decade, and I hope the coach finds prison horrifying… and painful. (h/t AOL Fanhouse via Lion In Oil)

Nickname Watch: For some reason, the AP picked up a story about Arkansas Tech thinking of changing its nickname. I didn’t know what the school’s nickname was before, but upon hearing that it’s “Wonder Boys” for the guys and “Golden Suns” for the women’s teams, I have to ask: How can you eliminate “Wonder Boys?” That’s an amazing nickname.

From my “Tips” Box: Reader/commenter Scott D. and his buddies put together an NFL preview mash-up involving Dave Matthews.

And: Of all the NHL gimmicks, my favorite is the outdoor game, next season on New Year’s Day. Reader Charlie R. wrote an impassioned case why Buffalo deserves it more than Detroit. And, given Sabres fans’ last few months, I’m with him. They need it more.

Attention, Simpsons fans: So it turns out Springfield is in… Vermont? And the town won the online poll with 15,000 votes? Hell, we could have swung that election ourselves!

Finally, the ESPYs are tonight. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but…

My ESPY Award Picks, including who should win (and who will win, more often than not the same) based on each category’s nominee list:

Best Male Athlete
Should win/will win: LaDainian Tomlinson
Best Female Athlete
Should win/will win: Candace Parker
Best Team
Should win: Florida Gators Basketball
Will win: Indianapolis Colts
Best Coach/Manager
Should win: Billy Donovan
Will win: Jim Leyland
Best Game
Should win/will win: Boise St over Oklahoma
Best Championship Performance
(What a weak nominee list!)
Should win/will win: Peyton Manning
Best Moment
Should win/will win: Saints return to New Orleans
Best Play
Should win/will win: Boise St 2-pt conversion
Best Finish
HOW IS FIESTA BOWL NOT IN THIS CATEGORY?
Should win/will win: Dodgers Back2Back2Back2Back
Best Upset
Should win: Florida over Ohio State, BCS title game
Will win: Warriors over Mavericks, NBA Playoffs
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Should win/will win: Kevin Durant
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Should win/will win: LaDainian Tomlinson

As always, look forward to your picks in the Comments section. Here’s a link with the nominees.

-- D.S.

Tuesday 07/10 A.M. Quickie:Bonds, MLB All-Stars, Vlad, Durant, More!

MLB All-Star Game: It’s all about Barry Bonds. How appropriate that in this season that will be defined by Barry Bonds breaking the all-time home run record (while simultaneously causing all-time levels of agita among many fans), the All-Star Game will be a virtual celebration of Bonds.

The game is in San Francisco. The fans are on his side. He’s batting second, which will maximize his at-bats in an abbreviated appearance. Pitchers are under pressure (if not direct orders) not to avoid him – and strikes are pitches he can hit.

Yesterday, he was the star of the show during his one big media melee/appearance. He seemed and sounded so at peace with the craziness around him. Sure, he’s a bit of a d-bag, but he carries himself like he IS the Home Run King, above the media trying to trip him into saying something jerk-ish.

I’d say the biggest news is that he re-committed to playing again in 2008. It might not be with the Giants – in fact, I’d bet that it WON’T be with the Giants; he should head for the AL, where he can sit back as a DH and pile on his HR record.

But here’s what I guarantee: While the fans of San Francisco cheer him tonight, declaring their loyalty as publicly as it gets, the moment he leaves, they’ll boo him like he was never theirs. Who's the REAL jerk in that scenario?

More ASG: This Time It Counts, Again. The AL’s 9-0-1 record over the last 10 All-Star Games is impressive, but keep in mind the very real (and continually controversial) stakes: Home-field advantage in the World Series. (Maybe today is the day to revisit Scott Boras’ inspired idea for a best-of-9 World Series with the first two games at a neutral site and wrapping in post-season awards and the Hall of Fame announcement.)

MLB Home Run Derby: Vlad Guerrero wins the title over Alex Rios. (I’m sorry: That thing was ENDLESS. I only tuned in for a few minutes, but I couldn’t believe how much it dragged on and on. The demise of the Derby and the Dunk Contest are two of the more regrettable erosions of the sports landscape over the last 20 years.)

More MLB All-Star Game: Dan Haren and Jake Peavy will start for their leagues. Nice to see Bay Area star Haren get the start over Leyland’s boy Bonderman WTFWIT?!?!?* Verlander. (And even though I didn’t give Haren the first-half AL Cy in yesterday’s first-half awards rundown. Guess what: I change my mind -- Haren is my first-half AL Cy. Not because Haren is necessarily better than Johan Santana, but because I discounted two things I usually weight heavily: Novelty and a player’s devotion to Seinfeld. I only found out this morning via a USA Today profile that Haren is a Seinfeld nut. That’s enough for me.)

(* - I know I said "Bonderman" instead of "Verlander." That's because I'm equal parts lazy and crack-addled, which is quite a combo -- but also explains the mental hiccup. All apologies to everyone for the confusion and for further reminding everyone how truly and sincerely ignorant I can be.)

NBA Summer: Kevin Durant overrated? I'm not ready to declare that yet, but Durant is having a lot of trouble. He scored 18 points against the Knicks, but it was on 4-of-19 FG shooting, his second straight atrocious performance. Again: Given how paltry the defense is in Summer games, what does that portend about Kevin Durant’s ability to score against REAL defenders? (It's only been two games, but admit it: You expected him to dominate from the get-go.)

More: OK, at this point, I am entirely about the point output by the rookies. That’s why I was so blown away by Marco Belinelli over the weekend (and last night: 23 points! He’s terrific.) And why Rodney Stuckey’s 27 points for the Pistons last night made me think: OK, he might match the hype. (Mike Conley: Only 8 points? Welcome to the realization that the kid can’t score.) Knicks rookies Wilson Chandler and Demitris Nichols combined for 25 points in the Knicks’ win over the Sonics, with each shooting 50 percent from the field.

And, yet, the big news was that vet Marcus Banks set a Summer League record (yes, they keep records for those things) with 42 points last night. Yes, it’s “only” Summer League, but that’s still impressive. (Again: If it’s “only” Summer League, why can’t Kevin Durant do that?)

Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN, but either doesn’t know what he wants to do next – or simply won’t announce it: He saw how much fun this Dan was having as an out-of-work blogger and said, “Yes! Get me some of THAT!”

Regardless, it’s the end of an era at ESPN that began with the epic “Big Show” era with Keith Olbermann that combined with the “This Is SportsCenter” ads to put ESPN on the fan-cultural map. In the last 6-7 years, Patrick felt more and more like a relic from an earlier time. (Not using "relic" in a bad way... he was subsumed by a sea of wannabes around him.)

I can understand why he’d want to do something else, although I sincerely wonder what he CAN do, besides sports. He doesn’t strike me as versatile as Olbermann to carry his own news-focused show. And although Patrick has the smarminess to pull off hosting “Price is Right,” he’s a little bit too smug to fill the role. I guess he’ll try to become a syndicated sports-radio guy. (What’s the difference between that and what he’s doing now, except that he won’t have the audience he has now?)

College Football: One more reason that EDSBS and Orson Swindle is the best thing going in college football blogging, even at the height of the sport’s offseason twilight zone.

Varsity Dad...no, Varsity Mom: Congrats to Kim Clijsters, whose pregnancy was announced (by her dad) today. Expect this to be a big sensation in Europe.

Mea Culpa from Monday: I didn't mean to diminish the epic-ness of Federer's Wimby finals win over Nadal by reminding everyone that his fifth straight title was hardly unexpected. And the year-over-year TV ratings increase bears it out: Federer-vs-Nadal drives viewers. (So does a Williams in the women's final... women's final ratings were up even bigger.)

Warning: Just one day away from the slowest sports day of the year! (Am I really going to have to make our big topic of discussion ESPY Awards predictions? Apparently so.)

-- D.S.

Monday 07/09 A.M. Quickie:MLB Awards, HR Derby, NBA Summer, SI Scandal, More!

MLB All-Star Break: Here we go: Midseason Awards! It's the unofficial official unofficial midpoint of the season, so here's your chance to weigh in with your award winners. Here are your categories (along with my picks):

AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez
Why: Because I'm an OPS snob.
AL Cy: Johan Santana
Why: Because he's STILL the AL's best.
AL Rookie: Delmon Young
Why: Because who could pick Elijah Dukes?
AL Manager: Mike Hargrove
Why: Because it's so damn ironic.

NL MVP: Prince Fielder
Why: Because he's the new Ryan Howard.
NL Cy: Jake Peavy
Why: Because he was so due for this.
NL Rookie: Ryan Braun
Why: Because he's Jewish only 160 AB into it.
NL Manager: Ned Yost
Why: Because the Brewers are in 1st.

Use the comments section to weigh in with your selections. Extra credit for inspired unconventional picks (but don't forget to back 'em up).

Finally, a special category worthy of our daily routine: Biggest AL Dud and Biggest NL Dud. (We'll presume that "MVP" is a proxy for "Stud.") I leave that one up to you -- fans' choice.

MLB All-Star Home Run Derby: The group is one of the more compelling in years: Defending champ Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols (which is totally exciting), Prince Fielder, Alex Rios, and a trio of AL MVPs: Vlad Guerrero (2004), Justin Morneau (2006), Magglio Ordonez (2007?!). My pick: Prince Fielder, the new Ryan Howard.

MLB All-Star Blogger Award: To USS Mariner, long the gold standard among MLB team blogs. The Mariners' pitching coach actually used one of their blog posts to change strategy for Felix Hernandez... and it worked. This is up there with TrueHoop's acquisition by ESPN as one of the guaranteed Top 3 sports-blog moments of 2007... if not ever. (h/t: DS.com reader Scott H.)

The hottest team in baseball: The Tigers, who have won 5 straight (including a weekend sweep of the Red Sox) and 14 of 19, to move into first place in the brutally tough AL Central. The defending AL champs were no one-season wonder.

Mark Buehrle is staying with the White Sox: 4 years, $56 million. Quite the opposite of "imminent trade," isn't it?

NBA Summer: What you missed this weekend... In two games, Greg Oden has picked up the same number of fouls (19) as points... Kevin Durant is off to only a slightly better start (5-of-17 FG shooting against Summer League D)... Yi Watch: In last night's win for Team China, he got 20 points the hard way – 3/11 FG, 14/17 FT... Marco Belinelli is the early break-out star of the summer, with his 37-point debut... Javaris Crittenton is legit, too (18 points on 8/13 FG shooting last night)... Al Thornton joins the headliner list of rookie sensations, scoring 24 in his Summer League debut for the Clippers.

Tiger's Golf Tournament: KJ Choi wins it. But it was more significant for what it meant to Tiger in his ability to create his own PGA-type event. Or will that be... events?

Wimbledon: Federer wins 5th straight Wimby title. The problem is: This was such a done-deal from the get-go that you didn't need to watch the entire tournament, let alone the final. He's simply the best ever. (Chris gets "First Comment!" privileges and weighs in with a good point. I didn't mean to suggest the final itself was a "done deal" -- just that Federer winning yet another Wimbledon title was.)

Tour de France: Sprint specialist Robbie McEwen finished first in the first stage. McEwen is one of those rider names you always heard about during the Lance Era as "If only Lance wasn't competing." Which means the positive drug test should be happening any minute now.

TV: "The Bronx is Burning," Part 1 tonight on ESPN after the HR Derby. Haven't seen the show, but I'm a fan of both John Turturro (playing Billy Martin) and Daniel Sunjata (playing Reggie Jackson). Here's what I know: Jonathan Mahler's book that the miniseries is based on is phenomenal and a terrific summer read. (Disclosure: Mahler graciously participated in my reading series last summer.)

Navel-Gazing: If you are as fascinated as I am by the relationship between mainstream sports media and sports blogs, Matt Ufford's Fanhouse post explaining said sports blogs to said mainstream media is a must-read. (TrueHoop picked up the SI gaffe, too.)

-- D.S.

Sunday 07/08 A.M. (Very) Quickie:Buehrle, Belinelli, Venus, Bill Maas, Eva, More!

A-Rod to play in All-Star Game: Or so he's saying now. With the game in San Francisco, I wonder if he'll be the player to get the most jeers from the crowd. (Because it won't be Bonds.)

MLB Stud, Pitcher: Mark Buehrle, who pitched 8 scoreless in what might have been his final start in front of White Sox fans before the team trades him.

MLB Stud, Batter: Prince Fielder, who heads into the All-Star break (and his first ASG appearance -- a start, no less) with a 2HR game in a Brewers loss to the Nats.

NBA Summer: It's Belinelli's World. Marco Belinelli: 37 points. First impressions are important. Compare that to Oden or even Durant and you begin to realize that in Nellie's Golden State system, Belinelli could end up being the steal of the draft.

Here's a pretty detailed breakdown of his debut, via HoopsWorld. (I disagree with their opening contention that it's "only" Summer League. If scoring in Summer League was so easy, why couldn't Durant do it more effectively?)

More: Yi: 9 points on 2/14 FG shooting... Spencer Hawes: 19 (9/14 FG) and 7 reb in SL debut... Pistons' rookie trio (Stuckey, Afflalo, Mejia) combine for 40.

Venus wins Wimbledon: The Williams Era returns?

NASCAR changes name to "Sprint Cup," which is just about the coolest name for an auto-racing product as there can be.

Bad weekend for Bill Maas: The Fox NFL on-air guy was charged with drug possession and weapons charges. Yikes. From the AP report: "The search turned up a .22-caliber revolver, five grams of suspected marijuana, six grams of suspected cocaine and 28 pills of Ecstasy, according to police." That ain't just playing grab-ass with the make-up lady.

Congrats to Tony and Eva. They are the most media-whorish of the celebrity-sports couples, but I wouldn't say most beloved. Maybe in France. Maybe.

-- D.S.

Saturday 07/07 A.M. (Very) Quickie:Summer League Debuts, Morneau, Wimby, More!

Kevin Durant's Summer League debut: The good? 16 points. The bad? On 5-of-17 FG shooting. And that's against SUMMER LEAGUE DEFENSE.

Greg Oden also made his debut, even less auspicious: 6 points (on only 4 shots) and only 2 rebounds in 20 minutes, with – if I read the NBA box score right – 10 personal fouls. That makes him four points shy of a double-double. (Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge? 26 and 11. Damn.)

Meanwhile, Yi had 23 points (7/15 FG) in an 86-77 loss to the Grizzlies. (Mike Conley: 12 pts on 4/6 FG.)

Why doesn't the NBA sell Summerleague jerseys? You'd think that would be a terrific ancillary revenue stream of merchandise.

Vick Watch: The Feds say Vick's property was the site of housing and training pit-fighting dogs, at the very least. Things don't look good.

MLB Stud: Justin Morneau, who hit 3 HR in a Twins thrashing of the White Sox last night. Wasn't it just a week or so ago when we were wondering about the state of Morneau's health? Not anymore.

MLB Dud: Neifi Perez becomes the first MLB player hit with the suspension related to the ban on stimulants. Now, where is my 5th cup of coffee this morning...

Griffey hits HR No. 586, which ties him with Frank Robinson for 6th on the all-time list. Damn he's in rare air.

Wimbledon: Venus is into the final, and with Justine Henin upset in the other semi, the path is clear for a(nother) Williams Wimby title.

Nice to see Tiger show up at his own tournament.

Ooh: Have you heard? It's 07/07/07! Most Overrated. Numerological Gimmick. Ever.

-- D.S.

Friday 07/06 A.M. Quickie:Tour de France, Final Vote, Verlander, Tiger, More!

Tour de Farce 2007: No Lance. No Landis. I'd say the intrigue is about the TdF being "wide open," but we thought it would be that way LAST year too, didn't we?

After the fact, it turned out that – yet again – cheating was at the heart of the race. It seems like a million years ago that this event was a quirky-cool must-see for the casual American fan.

(It has to be asked: If stardom -- Lance -- or scandal -- Landis -- is the only reason a casual fan would pay attention to this event, is the Tour de France better off with something scandalous happening? As far as capturing wide attention in America, I think it might be.)

MLB All-Star Final Vote: The fans have spoken! As predicted here, Hideki Okajima won the AL's extra All-Star spot. As not predicted here, Chris Young won the NL's spot. (Travis Liles has a really interesting post: Should a player suspension that runs across the ASG impact a player's ASG availability? Hmm...)

But it's a nice consolation prize for Pat Neshek that he emerged as the bloggers' choice as one of the most cult-ish MLB players.

(There's a fascinating point to be made about Neshek's ability to go from quasi-anonymous middle reliever to blogger sensation with tons of "cred." It's a lesson for any/all athletes and follows the Paul Shirley model: You don't have to be a superstar like Gilbert Arenas to increase your visibility and popularity among fans through emerging media.)

MLB Stud, Team: Tigers. A sweep of the Indians put Detroit just a game back in the Central. What a race this will be.

12-game winner CC Sabathia was beaten by 10-game winner Justin Verlander, in a matchup between possible AL All-Star starters. (My money's on Verlander; just look who is doing the picking for the AL.)

Unsurprisingly, Barry Bonds will not participate in the Home Run Derby. Oh, but if he did! (In front of Bonds-friendly fans in San Francisco, it's not even that much of a p.r. risk for him. Injury-wise, though...)

Kobe apologizes to Kupchak: So much for Bryant's impossibly hard-line stance. And, yet, the Lakers are no closer to fulfilling Kobe's mandate to create a contender than before.

Tiger's Tournament: It would be so NOT cool if Tiger missed the cut at his own party. (And stop the easy blame of the new parenthood!)

NBA Summer League Mania! Tips off today, with your first chance to see Kevin Durant, Mike Conley and Greg Oden. Oh, and Yi, but playing for Team China, not Team Milwaukee.

Grant Hill signs with the Suns: That might mean that Hill could finally get out of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Juan Carlos Navarro Watch: Signs are pointing toward the Wizards trading Navarro, using him to unload a dead-weight contract like Brendan Haywood's or Etan Thomas'. I am kind of upset by this. The Wizards' bench production was anemic, and JCN is one of the most dynamic Euro guards ever produced. Yes: By all means, give him away.

Youth Olympics in 2010: Not sure how they'll find the athletes aged 14-18 (aren't a bunch of them REAL Olympians already?), but it's just a matter of time before we have our first PED scandal.

Reggie Bush to be in TV booth for Beckham's MLS debut: I can't knock this marketing ploy. MLS needs all the help it can get (yes, even with Beckham's star power). Is it a little skeevy that they are marketing partners for adidas? Slightly. But Bush adds a little spice to the mix. Now, no NFL fan who isn't an MLS fan will tune in just because of Bush's appearance -- and avid MLS fans might resent the play for casual eyeballs -- so it nets out as a bit of a no-man's-land move.

The mysterious death of former Florida DB Avery Atkins is the tragic end of a really sad story involving a very promising player whose future was derailed early on and spiraled down from there.

NFL Offseason: Belichick moving to NFC? Ah, ProFootballTalk... what would we fans do without you? Spicing up the slowest stretch of the year in NFL news, they float the idea that Belichick might be done with the Pats after 2007 and moving on to the NFC in '08. Make this happen!

Random, but kind of fascinating: An interview with the Snorg T-shirt girl. (h/t: Winning the Turnover Battle)

Chestnut beats Kobayashi, Cont'd: What does it say that even as the NBA ratings plummet, the ratings for events like this one skyrocket?

It says that the most sustainable model for niche-sport success (which now includes the NBA, like it or not) is to create a once-a-year event model.

That's why the NBA Draft or the NBA All-Star Weekend -- or even the traditional Xmas Day game (usually the biggest and most compelling game of the regular season) -- are, proportionally, way more viscerally enjoyable than the NBA Finals.

-- D.S.

Thursday 07/05 A.M. Quickie:Chesnut, Rockies, Darko, Tiger, Roenick, More!

Chesnut beats Kobayashi for Hot Dog Eating title: I was trying to think about a "real"-sport analogue for yesterday's greatest moment in competitive eating history.

Consider the who: The sport's greatest legend, a quasi-mysterious foreigner, against his biggest rival, an American upstart. The when and where: Coney Island on the Fourth of July, live on national TV. And the performance: BOTH competitors shattered the previous world record, then the challenger pulled away from the champ to take the title.

If comp-eating wasn't such a farce (by design, mind you), this result would be cinematic in scope. It's like a mash-up of the first four "Rocky" movies.

Think about the greatest game or performance or moment in any "real" sport -- then consider them all happening at the same time. That's what happened yesterday at Coney Island.

And that's why, as laughable as it sounds, I have trouble coming up with an analogue from traditional sports history that compares to what happened yesterday with Chesnut and Kobayashi.

The idea that it was unprecedented in sports history gets choked down like that 66th hot dog at the 12-minute mark.

UPDATE: But what about the puke?! I totally neglected to mention the part where Kobayashi vomited -- on-camera, no less. That particular part of this "greatest" moment is apparently not allowed to air on ESPN, even though "reversals of fortune" -- particularly one of this magnitude -- is (a) part of the charm ("charm") of competitive eating and (b) only adds to the drama of yesterday's results. Is it because the clip is gross? Or because, technically, Kobayashi should have been disqualified for the R.O.F.? Show the clip! (Watch it here. This will be the most YouTube-able moment of the event.)

Will A-Rod skip the All-Star Game? If the best thing for his team is for him to spend the three days resting, he should. The fans who made gave him the mega-vote totals will understand. The worst thing he could do is force it, play in the ASG, then end up pushing back his full recovery. Just show up to SF to enjoy the spectacle.

In case you missed it from Tuesday night: Bonds 751.

MLB Stud, Team: The Rockies. Between sweeping the Yankees last month and now the Mets this week, who would have guessed that the best baseball team in New York would be based in Colorado?

MLB Stud, Player: Fred Lewis, the rookie filled in for Barry Bonds and hit a grand slam, his second of the season (a first for a Giants rookie).

OK, OK: Hunter Pence. There, I said it.

Durant Era begins for Sonics: Seattle signs their franchise cornerstone, along with running-mate Jeff Green. Now, with both Durant and Oden signed, we can look forward to their summer-league matchup next week, which will arguably be the most hotly anticipated NBA summer-league game in league history.

Will the Mavs get KG? Cuban wants him, but I still think that KG ends up in Golden State -- if anywhere.

NBA Free Agency: In case you missed it yesterday, I declared Darko Milicic the most intriguing remaining free agent of the season. Despite an early career that didn't live up to the pre-draft hype, he still has the tantalizing potential of a 22-year-old 7-footer with 3-ish years of NBA experience (including a ring!) (a) Who will sign him, and (b) how much will they (over-)pay?

Juan Carlos Navarro Watch: As a Wizards fan, I would be really ticked if they traded his rights, now that he's finally available to come over from Europe to play in the NBA.

Wimbledon: Venus crushes Maria, but Serena is ousted on that bad wheel.

Hockey: Jeremy Roenick retired. So I guess the question is how quickly he gets himself that TV gig he has so obviously wanted all these years. He rivals Curt Schilling (surprisingly quiet during his stint on the DL) for media whoredom. Not that that's a bad thing.

Olympics: Sochi, Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics. Hell, by then, the climate problems will have made it better for the Summer Games than the Winter ones.

Tiger Watch: Let the speculation run wild over whether new fatherhood will hurt Tiger's focus, particularly merely three weeks into the experience. Hell, I went back to writing the Quickie within a week of the kid being born. (Wait... that isn't the same thing?)

-- D.S.