Public Knowledge:
1. Pat Riley began an indefinite leave of absence due to hip and knee problems, choosing assistant Ron Rothstein to fill his spot on an interim basis. I hope they know what they’re doing. Rothstein coached Miami during the expansion club’s first three seasons in the league. In that time, the Heat were the worst team in the league(57-189 .232). Yichhhh. Now I like Steven A. Smith. That probably puts me in the minority. I think that cat knows the NBA as well as anybody not named Bob Ryan. But what he said on Sports Center makes absolutely no sense. He said without Shaq Daddy and D-Wade, the Heat aren’t that good. No kidding. Without Bird and McHale the Celtics weren’t that good. Without Magic and Kareem the Lakers weren’t winning any Championships. Without His Airness and Pippen, well you get the idea. The top NBA teams have two stars and then their complimentary role players. As go the stars, so goes the team.
2. When I talk to Loretta she makes me feel like number one. Nervous Eaters style. Mark Loretta to sign with the Houston Astros. He’s a guy you just can’t help but like. He’s a 12-year veteran. Hit .285 in 155 games last year for the Sox. He has previously played for the Brewers, Astros and Padres and has a career .299 average and .987 career fielding percentage. What’s not to like? 
3. What could have been. The Dynamite Kid. When this guy beat the living stuffings out of Trevor Berbick to become Champeen of the World, the youngest Champeen of the World ever, he was the most exciting athlete in all of sports. He was the Baddest Man on the Planet. Now he’s just the saddest. Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson was charged with drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs, and the Maricopa County prosecutor says he wants to send him to prison. “He has run out of second chances, at least in my book.” I think he’s run out of chances in everybody’s book.
4. Agent O. The Black President. The Hibachi. Stealth. The East Coast Assassin. Call him what you want. I’ll just call him good. Gilbert Arenas got the rock with it all tied up and only six seconds to go. The crowd was going wild. This is the moment I played out a thousand times on my driveway. The Hibachi did it for real. He dribbled down court, fiddled and diddled, stopped and popped and stroked the perfect jumper. Then, like Larry Legend at a Three Point Contest, he just turned away without even looking. Nothing but net. Wizards win! Wizards win! A second round pick? What were folks thinking? Not for nothing: It was the 15th straight game in which Washington scored at least 100 points, the longest such streak for any Eastern Conference team in any of the last 14 seasons.
5. Here he comes, here comes Phil Kessel, he’s a demon on skates. Less than a month after under undergoing testicular cancer surgery, Boston Bruins rookie forward Phil Kessel is back on the ice. That’s good news. Good news for the Kessel family. Good news for Bruins fans.
6. Mike Miller with that stupid tiara. Mike Miller with that stupid tiara goes for 33 as the Grizz go for 144 in regulation. Yowza! What scoring shortage in the NBA? Miller made 9 of 12 three-pointers for Memphis, his third straight game with at least seven three-point field goals, matching the longest such streak in NBA history. The only other player to do that was Florida State’s own George McCloud, for the 1995-96 Mavericks.
7. Geez, steroids weren’t enough? A company that uses computer imaging claims baseballs had a larger rubberized core and a synthetic rubber ring in 1998, including the ball Mark McGwire hit for his 70th homer. It just never ends. Did Bud know about this?
8. It’s all but finalized. The Big Eunuch to Arizona. You can take that to the bank.
9. Talking about just never ending. Police seized about 550 rounds of ammunition from the home of Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson. Police also found a semiautomatic rifle with 19 live rounds, two more rifles, two handguns, a loaded .45-caliber pistol, marijuana and unlabeled pills believed to be the prescription painkiller hydrocodone. I think that trumps Maurice Clarett’s hatchet, AK-47, Hi-Point Pistol, two other loaded handguns and bottle of Grey Goose. This was the third arrest in 18 months for Johnson, who must stay at home except to go to work and needs permission to leave Illinois until a court decides whether he violated his probation on a 2005 gun charge. Johnson publicly apologized and received a one-game suspension. That’s showing him.
10. Hats off to Danny Heatley. Last night, he got his league-high third hat trick of the season. Ilya Kovalchuk, who has two, get the papers, get the papers, is the only other player with more than one. Heatley tied the Ottawa franchise record for most hat tricks by a player in one season. Marian Hossa had three in 2002-03.
Peace out homies. Six Two and Even!
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