Gone fishin'

So, let's see. In the past 12 months, I predicted the Bucs would go 5-10-1 in 2007. I put my foot in my mouth again about two months ago when I said I would trade Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza back to Minnesota for Delmon Young. And I riled up half of New England and ALL of Red Sox Nation by listing 10 reasons to hate the Red Sox. (I'm still getting nasty e-mails over that one.) What does this all mean? I need a vacation! Give me a couple of weeks and I'll be back with more stupid predictions and maybe 10 reasons to hate the Yankees or something. I'll return here Aug. 18. In the meantime, I'll be seeing if it's possible to snooze in a hammock while eating a cheeseburger at the same time. See ya soon.

CBS continues to feed our nightmares with MMA

Shooting from the lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst programming
The sour taste left in our mouths by CBS showing mixed martial arts in May had finally disappeared when CBS sunk to its lowest depths again Saturday by showing another MMA card. We saw more blood, more over-the-top announcing and more disturbing images of men and women beating each another into submission.

Sen. John McCain has come up with the perfect description for MMA: human cockfighting. Still, it has an audience, and that's all CBS apparently cares about. The network makes money, and who cares if our children see on free TV faces split open or blood soaked into the mat?

Yes, I know. If you don't like it, you can turn the channel, and if you don't want your kids to watch it, then monitor what they watch. I know all that. It still doesn't excuse one of our major networks from taking responsibility for showing this monstrosity.

More from MMA
One more thing about this CBS-MMA mess. Announcers Gus Johnson and Mauro Ranallo don't sound like they're calling these fights. It's more like they're selling them to the public. Is that really their job? Shouldn't they just call the fights instead of telling us how great this alleged sport is and making it sound like a two-hour commercial? Johnson could be heard encouraging the audience to applaud the fighters. Can you imagine Joe Buck doing that at a baseball game? Or Al Michaels at a football game? Even HBO's Max Kellerman and Jim Lampley don't do that at a boxing match.

I don't expect much from Ranallo, who is nothing more than an MMA shill, but Johnson is better than this. He's a good announcer who does great work on college basketball. But when he works MMA, he sounds more like old wrestling announcer Mean Gene Okerlund than one of the more solid broadcasters in the business. He's too good to be doing this.

Most irresponsible story
ESPN's Outside the Lines does such outstanding work that it's all the more noticeable when one of its stories fails to meet the high standards it sets. And when a story fails to meet most journalistic standards, it's disturbing.

Such was the case with Steve Delsohn's sloppy, irresponsible story on Penn State football. The piece tossed out a bunch of numbers to make it appear as if Joe Paterno's program is out of control because of off-the-field incidents. The emphasis was on charges and arrests as opposed to convictions. though all numbers were revealed. Worse, the numbers were given no context as to how Penn State compares with other Division I programs, or even the regular student body. That's Journalism 101.

Only a couple of incidents were mentioned in detail, giving the viewer no clue as to how serious all of the incidents have been. (The highlighted incident appeared to be little more than a late-night party fight.) And the most powerful interviews came from students whose credibility could not be verified.

Paterno, on air, said the piece was a "witch hunt,'' and he's right. It's as if a bunch of producers sat in a room, decided they were going to go after Paterno and his program, and then geared the story, statistics and interviews to fit their agenda. This story fails to pass journalism muster, and it's quite shocking that a quality show such as OTL would air a piece with so many holes in it.

Funniest line
Chip Carey, who calls Sunday baseball games for TBS, is not a favorite, but he did have the best line of the weekend. When asked by partner Harold Reynolds if he had ever been hit by a baseball, Carey said, "No, my family crest was the yellow fleeing chicken.''

Is that your final answer?
During Saturday's Red Sox-Yankees game on Fox, analyst Tim McCarver talked about Francisco Cabrera's hit that drove in Sid Bream to give the Braves the 1992 National League pennant. McCarver said, "Still the biggest hit in Atlanta sports history.''

One could make that argument, but seeing as how the Braves didn't win the World Series that year and went on to play in three more World Series and won one, can you really say it was bigger than Hank Aaron's 715th homer in 1974 to break Babe Ruth's all-time record? One can't help but wonder if it's just another example of Aaron being the most underrated and overlooked star baseball has had.

Most awkward moment
It started with a little playing around. Fox baseball insider Ken Rosenthal was asked during the pregame show if analyst Mark Grace was a Hall of Famer. What made it awkward? Both were on the air at the same time. Rosenthal said, “No.'' Everyone laughed uncomfortably and Rosenthal continued, "I love Gracie, but is he a Hall of Famer? No.'' Grace (.303 average, 173 HRs, 1,146 RBIs) held his poise and didn't say anything. And Rosenthal is right. But, geez, how embarrassing.

Best on-the-money remark
Let's see. Brett Favre remains a great quarterback, yet the Packers don't want him back and only a few teams seem interested in acquiring him. As Mitch Albom said on ESPN's Sports Reporters: "There's something weird going on here that still hasn't been answered.''

Best pregame show
The Rays On Deck pregame show has become entertaining, informative and a splendid way to get you ready for the Rays. Actually, with the way the Rays played Sunday, the pregame show was the most enjoyable part of the broadcast. Sunday's show included well-done features on broken bats, the Rays' bullpen and infield defense, and, in its best moment, a quick tutorial from analyst Joe Magrane on how pitcher Andy Sonnanstine's recent troubles might be attributed to his grip on the ball. Magrane is at his best when he is explaining baseball intricacies in everyday language. Sunday he did it again.

Good work
Some highlights from Fox's baseball coverage:
• Pregame analyst Kevin Kennedy delivered the goods when, talking about the Red Sox's problems with Manny Ramirez, he mentioned he once had problems in Texas with Juan Gonzalez. He could've said, "I once had a player …'' Instead, he named a name, and that's what fans want. And deserve.
• Game analyst Tim McCarver showed some reporting chops by relaying a conversation with Sox GM Theo Epstein in which Epstein said the Red Sox would entertain trade offers for Ramirez if Manny ever waived his no-trade clause.
• Announcer Joe Buck delivered the best line in talking about Ramirez: "He is untradeable.''

Looking back on Brett Favre's career

Looking back at the incredible career of quarterback Brett Favre:

10 most memorable moments in Favre's career
1. Jan. 26, 1997
Super Bowl XXXI, of course, tops the list. Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Packers past the Patriots, 35-21, bringing Green Bay its first title since Super Bowl II in 1968.
2. Dec. 22, 2003
Just one day after his father died, Favre delivered an emotional and inspired performance by throwing for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-7 victory over the Raiders on Monday Night Football.
3. Jan. 20, 2008
With his gunslinging ways, you have to take the good with the bad and, unfortunately, his last pass is one of his most memorable. In subzero temperatures in the NFC Championship Game, Favre threw an interception on his first attempt in overtime to set up the Giants' winning field goal.
4. Jan. 4, 1998
Bucs fans remember this one well. Favre didn't tear up the Bucs defense. He was just 15-of-28 for 198 yards and a touchdown. But it was his playful smackdown with Bucs tackle Warren Sapp that is best remembered in the Packers' 21-7 playoff victory.
5. Sept. 20, 1992
This is where the legend began. Favre came off the bench to replace injured QB Don Majkowski and threw the winning TD with 13 seconds left to lead the Packers to a 24-23 victory against the Bengals.
6. Sept. 30, 2007
Playing his next-door rival, Favre threw two touchdowns at the Metrodome, where he had some of his worst games ever, in a 23-16 victory against the Vikings. But more important, the first TD pass gave him 421 for his career, breaking Dan Marino's all-time record.
7. Nov. 6, 2000
You remember this Monday Night Football classic. Favre threw a 43-yard touchdown to Antonio Freeman, who juggled the ball while lying on the ground, got up and ran untouched past stunned Vikings defenders in a 26-20 Packers overtime victory.
8. Nov. 12, 1995
The game that, probably, best showed Favre's guts and determination. A week earlier, Favre suffered a severe ankle sprain and his status for this game was very much in doubt. Favre not only played, but also threw five touchdowns to lead the Packers past the hated Bears 35-28.
9. Jan. 13, 2002
One of Favre's best postseason performances. He completed 22 of 29 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns and a 112.6 passer rating to lead the Packers back from a halftime deficit and beat the 49ers 25-15.
10. Dec. 24, 1995
Another game that showed Favre's guts. Despite coughing up blood in a game the Packers needed to win for the division crown, Favre threw the winning touchdown to lead them past a Steelers team that went on to reach the Super Bowl.

Sweet 16
Here's a look at how the Packers did in the 16 years before Favre arrived, and how they did in the 16 years he played in Green Bay.
Winning percentage
Before Favre: .406
With Favre: .629
Division titles
Before Favre: 0
With Favre: 7
10-win seasons
Before Favre: 1
With Favre: 9
Playoff wins
Before Favre: 1
With Favre: 11
Source: ESPN.com

Favorite targets
A list of his favorite targets for touchdown passes:
Antonio Freeman 57
Sterling Sharpe 41
Donald Driver 36
Robert Brooks 32
Bubba Franks 29
Bill Schroeder 19
Javon Walker 19
Mark Chmura 16
Dorsey Levens 16
Greg Jennings 14
Ahman Green 14

Ranking by the numbers
NFL touchdown passes
Brett Favre 442
Dan Marino 420
Fran Tarkenton 342
Peyton Manning 306
Passing yards
Brett Favre 61,655
Dan Marino 61,361
John Elway 51,475
Warren Moon 49,325
QB wins by starter
Brett Favre 160
John Elway 148
Dan Marino 147
Fran Tarkenton 125
Interceptions
Brett Favre 288
George Blanda 277
John Hadl 268
Vinny Testaverde 267
More numbers
275: Consecutive games played, including playoffs
160-93: Regular-season record
12-10: Playoff record
11: Playoff appearances
2: Super Bowl appearances
1: Super Bowl win

Where does Favre rank?
Times staff writer Tom Jones ranks the top 10 quarterbacks in NFL history.
1. Johnny Unitas: Redefined how the position is played and won three NFL championships.
2. Joe Montana: Perfect 4-0 in the Super Bowl and a three-time Super Bowl MVP.
3. Tom Brady: Already 3-1 in Super Bowls and likely to get to at least a couple of more.
4. John Elway: Arm strength, running ability, poise in the clutch - maybe the most complete package ever.
5. Peyton Manning: Well on his way to setting most statistical records.
6. Terry Bradshaw: Not overwhelming numbers, but he was 4-0 in the Super Bowl, including two Super Bowl MVPs.
7. Dan Marino: Yes, he never won a Super Bowl, but he had incredible numbers in a short span with a weak supporting cast.
8. Brett Favre: By far, the most entertaining and charismatic quarterback to ever play the game so well.
9. Roger Staubach: Reached four Super Bowls, winning twice, including an MVP performance.
10. Otto Graham: His teams won an astounding eight titles, and he compiled a 105-17-4 record with the Browns.

(Photos: AP, Getty Images)

Let's go camping -- Two Cents NFL training camp preview

NFL training camp. It all gets underway this week. So fix yourself a s'more and mull over some of the story lines to follow this preseason around the NFL.

Dallas
This soap opera is better than the one with J.R. and Sue Ellen back in the day. You got T.O., Tony Romo and his squeeze, Jessica Simpson, and now a new villain for the story -- Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman'' Jones. Best part is we can follow along on HBO's behind-closed-doors series Hard Knocks.

Will Raiders coach Lane Kiffin get fired?
Don't laugh. Raiders owner Al Davis is a crazy old kook. Kiffin already appears on shaky ground and if second-year QB JaMarcus Russell doesn't look as if he's developing fast enough, Davis will say, "Just get out, baby.''

Who replaces the gap-toothed guy in the Big Apple?
The defending champion Giants -- as well as the sports writers who cover the team -- are looking to replace defensive star Michael Strahan. And Strahan isn't the only loss. The Giants lost several players to free agency.

The other Big Apple team
When you have two quarterbacks who can start that means you don't have one good quarterback. That's the case with the Jets, who are trying to figure out whether to start smart but weak-armed Chad Pennington or inexperienced, strong-armed Kellen Clemens, who went 3-5 as a starter down the stretch last year. Uh, neither is exactly Tom Brady.

How's Peyton?
We probably won't find out until late in the preseason, if not the start of the regular season, whether the Colts quarterback will have his streak of 160 consecutive starts snapped. Coming off knee surgery, Manning could be out for the next six weeks.

Who will be the starting QB in Green Bay?
Brett Favre hopes it's Brett Favre. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are hoping it will be Aaron Rodgers.  For the rest of us, we just hope we have an answer in the next two minutes. Favre coming back was interesting for the first couple of days. Now it's just annoying.

Tuna special in Miami
When new Dolphins boss Bill Parcells gets a load of the roster, he might want to quit to join Dancing With the Stars. And this is another team with a question at quarterback. Will it be Josh McCown or John Beck or Chad Henne? Yikes, that's like asking what would you rather have, food poisoning, a migraine or pneumonia?

Who could be the longest rookie holdout?
Glenn Dorsey, the defensive lineman who went No. 5 overall to Kansas City, wants to be paid. Meantime, the Chiefs have a history of playing hardball with first-round draft picks. The first four picks are signed, but that doesn't matter because Dorsey believes he should've been a No. 1 pick and it was a fluke he had slipped to five.

Beltway issues
There are new coaches in Baltimore (John  Harbaugh) and Washington (Jim Zorn) and neither has a lick of NFL head-coaching experience. Harbaugh's job is tougher because he must decide who his quarterback is -- Kyle Boller, Troy Smith or Joe Flacco. Ugh. Hey, John, Vinny Testaverde is available.

The British Open and, yes, Norman did choke again

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best event
Did anyone else out there find themselves not really rooting for Greg Norman during the British Open?  Sure, it was compelling that a 53-year-old who barely plays anymore was in contention for a major title. And he seems like a nice enough guy, although former close friend Andy Mill, whose ex-wife Chris Evert reportedly had an extramarital affair with Norman and married him this month, might disagree.

But back to golf: Just because Norman is 53 and was not expected to be in contention does not mean he still didn't choke away the tournament. ABC's Mike Tirico said during the broadcast, "It doesn't feel like Greg Norman blew this one.''

Really? Norman had a two-stroke lead going into Sunday and started the final round by going bogey, bogey, bogey,  par, par, bogey. It took him all of three holes to turn the lead over to eventual champ Padraig Harrington. Hey, just because he’s an "old'' guy doesn’t mean he's immune from us pointing out that he wilted under the pressure. Again.

So-so coverage
ABC's coverage of the British Open was mediocre mostly because of the mediocre broadcasters. Host Mike Tirico is a solid golf guy and always does a professional job, but I'm not much of a Paul Azinger fan. Azinger just hasn't seemed to have found his voice as a broadcaster. His monotone delivery makes it impossible for him to sound clever or funny, and, quite frankly, it's hard for him to sound authoritative at majors when he only won one — the 1993 PGA Championship.

Thank goodness Tom Watson didn't make the cut because he was the best thing ABC had going. Hmm, imagine that, the vanilla Watson being the highlight of a broadcast. Still, except for Tirico, ABC's broadcast team is now way behind NBC with Johnny Miller and Dottie Pepper.

Most underused reporter
ABC and ESPN are still trying to figure out a way to best use newly-acquired Rick Reilly, the former Sports Illustrated columnist. Reilly always seems two seconds away from saying something inappropriate, but that actually makes him compelling to watch. And the guy is fall-on-the-ground funny. Golf is Reilly's strongest subject and ABC, which sorely lacked personality at the British Open, should have used him more.

Best moments
Tom Watson had the two best lines of ABC's weekend coverage of the British Open. When KJ Choi hit a bunker shot into the wind Saturday, Watson said, "That's a shampoo shot. After you hit that shot, you have to go shampoo your hair.''
He also broke out something golf viewers might have never heard when he said, "Ben Hogan said, 'I know I'm going to hit seven bad shots, on average, in a round of golf.' You’re going to fail some. It's how you react to your failure and how you recover from your failure that makes you a champion.''
That's good stuff.

Most overblown praise
Reader Gerry Kaszer of St. Petersburg picked up on something Fox's Joe Buck said during last week's All-Star Game. Buck talked about how Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has done so much for baseball and should be in the Hall of Fame. Kaszer wrote, "My take is that Steinbrenner has been good for George and for the Yankees, but not real good for baseball. In general, Buck showed himself to be an aimless prattler who really didn't need a baseball game behind him in order to yammer relentlessly.''

I think Buck is outstanding, but on this particular subject, I have to go with Mr. Kaszer.

Best feature
I made a vow over the weekend to not write about ESPN's Outside the Lines. I write about that show every week, it seems, and I didn't want anyone thinking I was on OTL's payroll.

Then -- dang it -- it produced another outstanding piece. Disturbing, but outstanding and important. Reporter T.J. Quinn looked at children getting involved in mixed martial arts. Not as viewers, but as participants. Watching images of kindergartners punching other kids, flipping them through the air and putting them in submission holds was nauseating. Watching adults, including the parents of crying kids, defend it was even more shocking and sickening.

Frank Shamrock, an MMA legend and commentator, handled himself pathetically, choosing to defend it by doing little more than laughing, shaking his head and essentially saying:  "What's the problem?''

This was all bound to happen, by the way. We flood TV with MMA fights, make it seem cool, and soon enough, kids are going to get involved. What's troubling is the parents seem to be the ones pushing kids into it. If the parents and instructors aren't going to protect these kids, lawmakers need to. MMA is barbaric and panders to our lowest instincts. Banning this sport entirely would be perfect, but making it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 seems imperative.

Best Brett Favre take
As we continue to follow the Brett Favre soap opera, ESPN's Sports Reporters boiled it all down Sunday. Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free-Press said if you have veteran Favre or kid Aaron Rogers, who would you want as your quarterback? "With all due respect to Aaron Rogers,'' Albom said perfectly, "he isn't due any respect.''
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News added, "(The Packers) are a 'now' team about to hand the keys over to a 'tomorrow' quarterback.''

Three things I learned via TV
1. The Angels' Casey Kotchman, who grew up in Pinellas County, is the toughest  American Leaguer to strike out -- it happens only once in every 17 at-bats.
2. Speaking of the Angels, closer Francisco Rodriguez likely will hit the free-agent market and might be looking for a five-year deal worth $75-million. Maybe Rays owner Stu Sternberg should start digging in his couches for loose change.
3. Oklahoma City is going to call its new NBA team the Thunder, and here's the word that comes to mind: ugh! And further more, bleh! Don’t we all hate singular noun nicknames? This is the NBA, not the Arena Football League.

Is John Tortorella getting the cold shoulder?

Could former Lightning coach John Tortorella be following in Ted Nolan's footsteps? No, I don't mean as the next coach of the Islanders (although, if I were the Islanders, that would be a great idea). I mean as a good coach who might be getting a cold shoulder from NHL teams.

Nolan was coach of the year with Buffalo in 1996-97, but his contract was not renewed. He did receive an offer from Phil Esposito to coach the Lightning when Terry Crisp was fired in 1997 but turned it down. Other than that, he did not receive another NHL head coaching offer from the time Buffalo let him go for nearly 10 years. Some thought it was because he had the reputation of being a "GM killer,'' while others wondered if it was racism because Nolan is a member Ojibwa Indian tribe. Finally, the Islanders hired him in 2006, but even though he went 74-68-21 over two seasons, he was fired Monday, and now we'll see how long it will take him to get another job, if ever.

So now about Tortorella. Despite a great run with the Lightning that included four playoff appearances, a Stanley Cup and a coach of the year award in six full seasons, Tortorella, as far as I can tell, didn't even come close to landing one of the six jobs (not counting the Islanders) that were open this summer.
Atlanta, Florida and San Jose hired coaches with no NHL head coaching experience. Ottawa dug up Craig Hartsburg, who has never won a playoff series as a head coach. Colorado went with Tony Granato, a guy the Avs once fired as head coach. Toronto brought in retread Ron Wilson, who has coached 14 NHL seasons with three teams and either missed the playoffs or failed to get past the second round in 12 of those seasons.

The last straw is Los Angeles. The Kings hired Terry Murray on Thursday. Terry Murray!? Nice guy, but this will be Murray's fourth NHL job, and his biggest claim to fame was taking a Flyers team to the finals, getting swept and then getting fired immediately.

You're telling me that Tortorella isn't better than any of those guys? That he wasn't even seriously considered? It just sounds fishy. Tortorella is known for his brusque personality, but his reputation might be worse than reality. Most of his players like playing for him, and he never had any public -- or as far as we know, private -- problems with GM Jay Feaster. So what gives?

Calling ALL Hall of Famers

Tuesday night’s All-Star Game had what was billed as the greatest collection of Hall of Famers at one place. Yet, there were several mysterious absences. Where was Carl Yastrzemski? Carlton Fisk? Johnny Bench? Tom Seaver? Nolan Ryan? Heck, where was Joe Morgan? Didn’t he help call the Home Run Derby one night before? And, most of all, where was Stan Musial?

One blog had a thought on what happened to Joe Morgan. Hmm, interesting.

Pass the SpaghettiOs, please

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at weekend of televised sports ...

Some weekends in sports just aren't that good. It's like dinner. You can't eat a juicy steak every night. Some nights, Hamburger Helper or SpaghettiOs is all there is.

This was a Chef Boyardee weekend. (I know Campbell's makes SpaghettiOs ... you get my point.) Anyway, I tried to watch TV this weekend, but every time I did, I just couldn't find anything worth watching, especially with the Rays doing the "turn back the clock'' thing. But instead of actually wearing uniforms from five years ago, they just decided to play like they did five years ago. Golf interest is taking a breather a week before the British Open and Tiger Woods isn't playing. The next best tennis match won't be until Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet in the U.S. Open final in early September. NASCAR is becoming boring with Kyle Busch winning every week in a race with 230 cautions. The Brett Favre story is already maddening. And, finally, the Rays' losing streak just put a damper on everything.

Ah, that's it. The Rays. The Rays' losing streak ruined the weekend. And that's the point. The Rays have made this summer fun in Tampa Bay. They don't have to win the division or even win the wild card to make the rest of the summer worth watching. Just keep it close. Just win enough to play meaningful games in September. Just stay in the race. Or least hang around until football season starts.

Goal of the day
Rays TV pointed out that heading into Sunday's game at Cleveland, the Rays were averaging 4.6 runs a game, which was the exact  number of runs per game the Rays averaged through the All-Star break last season when they were 34-53. And that's not enough, according to Rays TV analyst Joe Magrane.

"I think to consistently be successful in the second half,'' Magrane said, "they're going to have to average about five-and-a-half runs scored … to really have any chance to go into the postseason.''

The Rays seem to have the "half'' part down. Now about the other five runs per game …

Best player
Not to beat the Rays while they're down, but geez, you just have to keep bringing up the amazing season being turned in by former Ray Josh Hamilton. He has 95 RBIs at the All-Star break. You can't help but wonder how he would look batting fourth and playing rightfield for the Rays.

Hope of the weekend
Oh, don't give up on the Rays just yet. ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips gave his second-half predictions and still picked the Rays to win the American League wild card.

Biggest rumor
I guess we have to talk about Brett Favre. Word on the street -- actually, the words coming out of the mouth of ESPN football insider John Clayton -- is the Bucs are one of three teams in the running for not-quite-yet-former NFL quarterback. Well, that's if the Favre does play another season and the Packers decide to trade him. Clayton said the leading contenders to acquire Favre in a trade are the Bucs, Ravens and Dolphins. Clayton said two other teams -- the Jets and Panthers -- have been crossed off the list. Meantime, radio announcer Bill Michaels, from WTMJ in Milwaukee, said not all of Wisconsin is as fired up as you might think about a possible Favre return. Michaels told ESPN, "Brett has used up a lot of good will in this state.''

Two things I'm tired of
1. Guys getting hit in the face with shaving cream during a post-game television interview after a "walk-off'' homer or "walk-off''’ single or whatever.
2. The term "walk-off.''’ Seemed like baseball did okay for about 100 years without that phrase.

Badly timed show
This Week in Baseball  caught a bad break. It was one week too late on the Rays bandwagon. Saturday's show was dedicated to the Rays, who were in the midst of a seven-game-and-counting losing streak.

Best feature
ESPN's Outside the Lines had a strong feature on how some NBA referees might be getting a little too chummy with players and coaches. Though a little weak on identifying sources and exact people involved, the show claimed a referee once asked Michael Jordan for a pair of game-worn shoes, that another referee would bring cookies to a particular coach, that asking for autographs is routine and that many coaches have cellphone numbers for officials. Several former respected referees -- Jake O’Donnell, Mike Mathis and Hue Hollins -- were outspoken in their disgust of the behavior of current referees. The NBA recently hired Ronald L. Johnson, a two-star general who recently retired from active duty, to investigate and oversee the NBA's officiating program.

Biggest missed story
Paula Creamer, below, shoots a 60, and we didn't see it? ESPN2 covered three days of the LPGA's four-day Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic . And yet the one day they don't show was the best day to see it.

Most misplaced point
Bill Rhoden of the New York Times is one of the finest sports columnists in the country and often brings solid points to ESPN's Sports Reporters. But his "parting shot'' on Sunday's show, while well meant, was a bit misplaced. He criticized the Rooney Family, owners of the Steelers, for owning dog tracks. Rhoden's stance on dog and horse racing is well known. He thinks it should be abolished, and I agree with that. However, Rhoden compared the Rooney's involvement in dog racing to Michael Vick's involvement in dog fighting and then criticized the NFL for "two-faced justice at its worst'' because the Rooneys have not been reprimanded. While dog racing might ultimately be cruel to many dogs, there's a big difference between dog racing and dog fighting. For example, one is legal and the other isn't.

Best quote
"The greatest athlete I've ever seen.''
-- Wayne Gretzky, who wasn't a bad little athlete himself, talking about Tiger Woods during Saturday's coverage of the American Century (celebrity golf) championship on NBC.

Funniest line
Bob Ryan, Boston Globe columnist, on ESPN's Sports Reporters: "I'm shocked — shocked! A doping scandal at the Tour de France? Next thing you’re going to tell me is Brett Favre is coming back.''

Who will win the AL East?

The AL East is normally a two-team race between the Red Sox and Yankees. This year, add the Rays. You could make a case for all three teams winning  (or losing) the division. Here's a look:

Tampa Bay Rays (55-36)
Why they will win
They're bound to hit. With the exception of Dioner Navarro, most of the Rays are hitting below normal, especially Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton. Eventually, they will hit, won't they?
Pitching. Of the three teams, the Rays have the best pitching with a 3.59 ERA, compared to the Red Sox (3.83) and the Yankees (4.10). The Rays' starting rotation seems too good to let them fall into extended slumps.
Young and athletic. They can catch and run, and those things don't go into slumps. And you have to think these lads won't get tired even in September.
Why they won't
Never been here before. Each day, the Rays go into uncharted territory. What's worse is, starting with tonight, they will play 40 road games and only 31 home games. The Rays are 36-14 at home, but under .500 on the road.
No closer. Troy Percival is almost 39 with a bad hamstring, and it's foolish to rely on him. Unless the Rays acquire a closer, they'll either have to cross their fingers with Percival, give the job to an unproven or have the dicey "bullpen-by-committee.''
Maybe no one will get hot. The Rays keep waiting on Pena, but you know, if you look at his career, the season he is having is more typical of Pena than last year's incredible season.

Boston Red Sox (55-39)
Why they will win
Best lineup. The Red Sox still put out the best everyday lineup in the majors. They're first in the AL in batting average, second in slugging and OPS, and second in runs. And they've done most of that without David Ortiz.
Been there, done that. They're the defending champs. That counts for something.
Best starting rotation. The Rays staff has been good, but the Red Sox top four of Josh Beckett, Dice-K Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester are 30-15 and appear the most reliable of the three teams.
Why they won't
Shaky bullpen. The Red Sox are second in AL with 16 blown saves and the pen's 3.95 ERA is 10th in the AL.
J.D. Drew's health. Drew is having a monster season, but only once in his nine-year career has his body allowed him to get 500 at-bats. And, oh, did you hear? His back acted up and he missed Wednesday night's game.
David Ortiz's injury. He's due back soon, but wrist injuries typically cut into a player's power numbers long after he returns. And with Ortiz limited and/or out, Manny Ramirez has not had a typical Manny season. He's on pace for 30 homers and 105 RBIs, well below his career average of 40 and 132.

New York Yankees (49-43)
Why they will win
Experience. Just consider this: Since 2001, the Yankees record after August 1 is 250-148. Simply put, they win big when the games count the most. Last time they had a losing record in the second half? 1992!
Defense. Yep, believe it or not, for all the talk about the Rays and Red Sox defense, the Yankees have a better field percentage than both teams and have committed fewer errors.
The bullpen. New York's bullpen has a 3.23 ERA, third best in the AL. And they still have Mariano Rivera, the most dominant closer in the history of baseball.
Why they won't
Starting pitching. With ace Chien-Ming Wang out until maybe September, they'll have to rely on 39-year-old Mike Mussina, 36-year-old Andy Pettitte and journeyman Sidney Ponson.
The schedule. The Yanks have not one, but two 10-game road trips in the second half and finish with six consecutive road games, including the final three at Fenway Park.
They're old. Not only is the staff aging, but so are key players Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon. Even Alex Rodriguez is about to turn 33. Old means injuries or, at least, wearing down over a long season.

Bad sports guarantees

Please tell me that new Lightning co-owner Len Barrie did not guarantee the Bolts would win the Southeast Division.

"I'll predict right now, Tampa Bay will win the division,'' he said.

Oh, no. He did. For every Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali, there have been dozens of guys like Jon Kitna and Patrick Ewing. Let's hope that come next April we’re not adding Barrie's name to this list of hollow guarantees.

Jon Kitna
The quarterback predicted the Lions, just 3-13 in 2006, would win 10 games -- actually, "more than 10 games'' — in 2007. Oh, the Lions came up just short. And by "just short,'' we mean "7-9.''

Matt Hasselbeck
After winning the overtime coin toss in a 2004 playoff game at Green Bay, the Seahawks QB said, "We want the ball, and we're going to score.'' He threw a pass that resulted in a touchdown, all right. Problem was, it was a pass intercepted by Green Bay's Al Harris.

Patrick Ewing
The Knicks' big man guaranteed a victory in Game 6 over the Pacers in the 2000 Eastern Conference playoffs. The prediction might have come true if Ewing hadn't turned into a bricklayer. He was 4-for-13 from the field, 2-for-8 from the line and missed his final six shots as the Pacers won 93-80.

Joe Glenn
You've probably never heard of him, but this is the ultimate guarantee gone south. This Wyoming football coach guaranteed his boys would beat Utah in 2007. His lads not only lost. They lost 50-0. (Side note: Utah coach Kyle Whittingham gets the Big Jerk Award for using an onside kick while up 40-0 in the third quarter, which led to Glenn giving Utah the one-finger salute.)

Roy Williams
Boy, the Lions have big mouths, don't they? The wide receiver guaranteed Detroit would knock off the Bears in the second game of the 2006 season. Final score: Bears 34, Lions 7. After the game, Williams told reporters, "You can all run with this: We will win the (next) game.'' Uh, they lost that one, too. And the next game. And the game after that, too.

Chad Johnson
Despite his team being 0-7 in 2002, Bengals chatty wideout Chad Johnson said, "Next week, I assure you a win. I guarantee you we will win.'' Yes, it’s true that the Bengals did win, and win handily:
38-3. But the victory came against the expansion Texans. After the victory, the Bengals went on a six-game losing streak and finished 2-14.

Don Waddell
Midway through the 2005-06 season. Here's the quote from the Atlanta Thrashers general manager: "We'll be in the playoffs. If you want to write: 'Guarantee,' I have no problem with that.'' Apparently his team had a "problem'' with that because when the season ended, the Thrashers were not in the playoffs.

Anthony Smith
Some people get caught up in the moment and say something dumb. The Steelers defensive back, however, lost all intelligence. He guaranteed a victory over the undefeated Patriots last season. Smith was part of a secondary burned for 399 yards and four TDs by QB Tom Brady and the Pats routed the Steelers 34-13.

Best and worst places to be a sports fan

Being a Tampa Bay sports fan these days is a pretty good gig. Not as good as Boston, but not as bad as across Alligator Alley. A little food for thought as the Rays head to the Big Apple, another fine place to be a sports fan. The five best and worst cities to be a sports fan these days.

Five best places to be a fan
1. Boston
They have the defending champs in baseball and basketball. And they should have had the defending champs in football. Even still, that football team has won three Super Bowls this decade and looks poised to win one or two more.
2. Tampa Bay
We have the story in baseball with the miracle Rays. The Bucs are a playoff team. And, for a last-place hockey team, the Lightning sure keeps things interesting. Throw in the Bulls, Gators, the Super Bowl, the ACC football championship, a new bowl game and last season’s college hoops tournaments and we have it pretty good.
3. Los Angeles-Anaheim
No pro football, but the college team (USC) more than makes up for that as perennial national contenders. The Lakers went to the NBA Finals, the Ducks won a Stanley Cup just two seasons ago, and there's an outside chance of a SoCal World Series with the mighty Angels and a Dodgers team that is in a weak division.
4. Detroit
Watch out, here come the Tigers. Sure, you have to sit through Matt Millen's awful Lions, but at least you have a really good basketball team (the Pistons) and hockey's best team during the past 15 years (the Cup-winning Red Wings) to get you through the winter.
5. New York
You have nine teams in the metro area and two of the legendary venues -- Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. The Giants won the Super Bowl, the Rangers are Cup contenders, and the Yankees, Mets and Devils are always in the hunt. The baseball All-Star Game will be there next week, new stadiums are being built for the Yanks and Mets, and the Nets are moving to Brooklyn soon.

Five worst places to be a fan
1. Atlanta
Michael Vick turned the Falcons into a joke. The Braves' run is over with only one world title to show for it. The hockey team stinks. Put it this way, when the highlight of your sports year is the basketball team losing a seven-game series in the first round, then you spend a lot of nights watching cable.
2. Cleveland
Great city. Lots of famous players in history. Exciting NBA player in LeBron James. An up-and-coming football team. A cool baseball stadium. So what's the problem? They haven't needed a victory parade route in 44 years. The last time Cleveland won a pro title in a major sport was when the Browns won in 1964. The Indians haven't won the World Series since 1948.
3. Miami
The Marlins are a nice little story, but you have to sit in a football stadium to watch them. After that, not only are the Miami teams bad -- they're baaaad. The NHL Panthers haven't made the playoffs in eight years and haven't won a playoff game since 1997. Meantime, the Dolphins and Heat combined to go 16-82 in their most recent seasons.
4. Seattle
The football team is just good enough to lose in the playoffs. The baseball team was supposed to be a contender but instead already has fired its manager and GM and owns the worst record in the AL. The best hope was a young basketball team that looks to have a good future. Oh yeah, that future won't be in Seattle. It moved to Oklahoma City last week.
5. Philadelphia
The Philly teams always seem to be sniffing around the playoffs, but they almost never win the big one. The Phillies have won one World Series in more than 100 years and that was 28 years ago. The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl and haven't won an NFL title since JFK was in the White House. The Flyers have won't a Cup since 1975, and the Sixers won the city's most recent championship -- 25 years ago!

The greatest tennis match ever

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best event and coverage
If you didn’t watch Sunday's Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal then you missed the greatest tennis match ever. That's right. Better than the old Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe epics at Wimbledon. Better than Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi showdowns. Better than anything Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl or Rod Laver was involved in. Better than last year's Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal.

"This was the greatest match I've ever seen,'' NBC analyst John McEnroe said. Sunday's match had two rain delays. Breakfast at Wimbledon? "Dinner at Wimbledon,'' McEnroe said.

The rain delays only added to the drama. What put the match over the top was that these are, by far, the two best players in the world. Nadal was trying to unseat Federer not only as the king of Wimbledon but as the top player on the planet. Throw in an improbable comeback by Federer, two tiebreaks and a 9-7 finish in the fifth and you have the best match ever. At moments like these, networks and announcers tend to ruin it by wringing as much drama out of the event as they can. The best tactic is to get out of the way and let the play speak for itself. And that's what NBC did.

Except for a lone postmatch misstep by McEnroe (more on that in a moment), NBC didn't get in the way with bells, whistles, unnecessary tricks or foot-in-mouth comments. Announcer Ted Robinson was understated, had a near-perfect day and established himself as the best tennis play-by-play announcer with lines like this: "They don’t just bring out the best in each other, they bring out Superman in each other.'' McEnroe didn't go overboard until after the match. NBC's weekend at Wimbledon, including Mary Carillo with Robinson in the women’s final on Saturday? An A-minus.

Biggest missed story
The biggest jaw-dropping story of the weekend was former tennis player Andrea Jaeger's claim that she lost the 1983 Wimbledon final on purpose to Martina Navratilova. Now, my money would've been on nine-time champ Martina anyway. But Jaeger is an Anglican Dominican nun and I don't doubt her story, which, if true, means Navratilova was one cold cucumber who cared more about winning than anything .
NBC needed to do more with this story, and it certainly had time Sunday with two rain delays.

Worst analyst
Josh Hamilton is one of the most amazing stories in sports. From No. 1 pick by the Rays to crack addict to, as of Sunday, a major-league All-Star. Even Hamilton said Sunday, "I should be dead or in jail right now.''

So out of this  incredible story, what was it Cal Ripken wanted to know during TBS's erratic All-Star Selection Show on Sunday? He wanted to know why Hamilton didn't have a good daytime batting average! Even Ripken's broadcast partners seemed dumbfounded by such an asinine question. As if Ripken hadn't done enough to sabotage an already lame show, he later used a PG-13 word that begins with  "P'' and means the same as "angry.'' He did realize, didn’t he, that this was a Sunday afternoon celebration of America's pastime and that kids were watching, right?

Best analogy
Going into Sunday’s game, the Rays were an astounding 31-6 at home since April 22. (And now, they’re 32-6.) That prompted this good line from  Rays TV announcer Joe Magrane: "That's absolutely unheard of. That's almost like a college basketball homecourt advantage.''

Most awkward moment
Someone please tell me NBC tennis analyst John McEnroe did not ask Roger Federer for "a hug'' after Sunday's Wimbledon final. McEnroe is a solid analyst. In fact, he's one of the best around. But every now and then he does something like that and makes you cringe.

Just mentioning
During the Williams sisters' Wimbledon final, there were no commercials featuring either Venus or Serena . (They were in one ad with about a dozen other  players promoting tennis, but no "real'' ads.) There were a couple of Roger Federer commercials. And a Maria Sharapova commercial was shown twice. But none with Venus or Serena. Isn't that odd?

Best debut
Former best-closer-in-baseball Dennis Eckersley had a solid debut on TBS’s All-Star Selection Show and would be a welcome addition to the network’s postseason coverage.

The devil made him do it
The Rays were featured on Sunday morning's Outside the Lines on ESPN. The piece included interviews with Times baseball writer Marc Topkin and TV analyst Joe Magrane. The feature didn't add anything Rays fans don't already know, but it was a good piece for the rest of the country to catch up to Tampa Bay baseball. One nit: Fill-in host George Smith called the team the "DEVIL Rays.'' Not a big deal, but, geez, there has been a ton of publicity about the name change and it was changed like eight months ago.

Best point
Detroit Free-Press columnist Mitch Albom sounds like a Rays believer. On ESPN's Sports Reporters Sunday, Albom said, "Right now, where they sit, if they play .500 ball the rest of the year … they (get) 92 wins. You figure that's probably going to get you in as a wild-card team. And they don't look like a team that's just going to play .500 baseball.''

The only point one might argue is whether 92 victories is good enough for a wild card. Since the wild card came into play in 1995, three teams have won 93 (the 2005 Indians, '03 Mariners and '02 Red Sox) and did not win the wild card. But on the other 10 occasions, 92 victories were enough.

Best interview
So what does a network do when it televises golf and has no Tiger Woods? It shows Tiger anyway. CBS scored a nice coup Sunday by showing an exclusive interview with Woods as he recuperates from knee surgery. Verne Lundquist and Nick Faldo handled the interview well, asking all the pertinent questions. An excellent question by Faldo revealed that Woods doesn't really know when he will return.
Faldo: "Tiger, you're planning on taking six months off, I believe. At the moment I've heard you say you are having great difficulty walking; how are you planning on getting the golf game back into sync ready for next season''
Woods: "As of right now, I don't know. Right now I just hope I can get up out of bed and go to the bathroom. Little things like that are a challenge. For me to actually think about playing golf, that is so far away, I'm just looking forward to actually walking again and putting weight on this leg for the first time. That is still a ways off.''

Red Sox Nation is not happy

Yeesh, can't anybody take a joke?

I decided to have a little fun the other day as we all got ready for the big series between the Rays and Red Sox and wrote an apparent suicide note about the 10 Reasons to Hate the Red Sox. I thought it might stir a little playful banter with a few bored Red Sox fans out there. I didn't realize I was sticking my hand into a wasp's nest ...or a bear's den .. or whatever is a really, really bad thing to do.

A blogger at the Boston Globe decided to pick apart my list one by one. Jerry Remy, the legendary Red Sox announcer and the leader of Red Sox Nation, held up the page on Tuesday night's NESN broadcast of the Rays-Sox game. Word is that my name is being soiled all over New England talk radio.

And now I'm hearing the phrase "You've Got Mail'' in my sleep. The e-mails have poured in -- from New England, from Sox fans here in Tampa Bay, from California, from Texas, from pretty much everywhere. They range from long impassioned opuses of how great it is to be a Sox fan to why I'm an idiot to my favorite e-mail which was a mere one word and, unfortunately, cannot be written here.

I've written more than 200 e-mails back to folks who have written me and almost all of them, in the end, seem to get to the point of the article. And what was the point? If you stuck around until the end of the piece -- and I get the feeling that most of those people angry with me were the ones who only saw the headline and couldn't see the end because of all the steam coming out of their ears -- is that people hate the Red Sox BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GOOD. Think about it. Who hates the Royals? Or the Pirates? Or the Rays, for that matter? We save our hatred for winners: the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Cowboys, Duke basketball and, until recently, Notre Dame football.

Yet, come on, the other reasons did have some vailidity, did they? I mean, Curt Schilling does talk too much, doesn't he? The Red Sox are one of the richest teams in baseball, are they not? Manny Ramirez pushing a team employee is NOT cool, is it? Coco Crisp shouldn't charge the mound after being hit in the leg, should he? Some in Boston did run Bill Buckner out of town, didn't they? And, in the end, if one city wins a bunch of championships, all the other cities get tired of it, do they not?

But in the end, the biggest point made -- the gist of the entire article -- was this: People hate the Red sox because THEY ... ARE ... GOOD. I raved about their lineup. I called their manager the best in baseball. I praised their GM. I called their ballpark the best in sports. But that didn't stop the e-mails from pouring in inviting me to do what his physically impossible for a person to do by himself. I get the feeling that I won't get Red Sox Nation off my back for the rest of my life. Or until I write 10 Reasons to Hate the Yankees.

Until then, excuse me, I have to go make sure my car tires haven't been flattened.

Lightning going crazy

New Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie do realize this is not a fantasy league, right? That they bought a real team and they have to pay real money for real players who really will wear a Lightning uniform? Seems as if someone is available then the owners are interested. I halfway expect them to sign Gordie Howe, Gump Worsley and at least three Sutter brothers today. Not to throw cold water on this whole thing, but you just hope for two things:

1.  They have a long-term plan, knowing that all the money they're committing now won't be available to sign possibly even better players next summer when the free-agent pool could be deeper.

2. They aren't overpaying for anybody.

That brings us to Ryan Malone, the biggest splash the Lightning has made, signing the former Penguins forward to a seven-year, $31.5-million contract. Don't get me wrong. What's not to like about Malone? He is a hard worker with a nose for the net, a gritty player who, by all accounts, puts the team ahead of himself and is a standup guy on and off the ice. A guy like that should always be welcome on any team.

No, what makes me a tad anxious is he has put up decent -- not great mind you, but decent -- scoring totals while playing most of his career with, perhaps, the best player in the game in Sidney Crosby and, at times, Evgeni Malkin, probably one of the top five players in the game.

You can't help but wonder how much those two superstars had to do with Malone's numbers. Take last season, Malone scored 27 goals. Crosby and/or Malkin assisted on 15 of them.  Malone scored only seven goals that didn't include an assist from Crosby, Malkin or star defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Meantime, Malone had 24 assists and 14 of those scoring plays included goals and/or assists from Crosby and/or Malkin. A lot of those were second assists. Add it all up and 29 of Malone's 51 points were either set up or scored by Crosby or Malkin.

This isn't to dump on Malone. If he plays with, say, Vinny Lecavalier or Steve Stamkos and sees plenty of time on the power play, he could put up his usual 25 or so goals. You just hope that, in the end, the Lightning didn't overspend. And that Malone isn't a product of having played with the right players at the right time.