Today's Topic: ND's Pinkett -- wrong words, shared sentiment

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

“Bad citizens.” “Criminals.”

Those were the words that got Allen Pinkett in trouble.

Pinkett, a former Notre Dame running back and the school’s current radio analyst, made news during an interview in which he gave his thoughts on recently suspended Irish football players.

“I've always felt like to have a successful team you've got to have a few bad citizens on the team," Pinkett said on WSCR-AM 670. "That's how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals and that just adds to the chemistry of the team.”

The idea that Notre Dame needs to alter its approach to compete annually with the Ohio States, USCs, Alabamas, Floridas, etc. is not new.

Many Fighting Irish fans believe for ND to compete regularly for a national title, it needs to become more liberal in accepting recruits who are struggling students and/or have made past mistakes.

But “bad citizens?” “Criminals?”

There are a lot of Notre Dame fans who root for the team/school because it tries to conduct business adhering to some principles.

If others take that as being arrogant, so be it.

Notre Dame certainly is not perfect. The school and the football program have made mistakes through the years.

And if a young athlete truly wants to attend Notre Dame, even if that player has been a less-than-stellar student or made previous errors in judgment, the school should examine the situation closely.

After all, some people earn second or multiple chances.

But to many Irish fans, Notre Dame has, and should, stand for something more than football. 

After all, there are worse things than not competing for national championships.

Today's Topic: Jeter and steroids

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

It was easy to skip, but an alleged ESPN journalist made news by suggesting Derek Jeter might be a steroid user.

Let’s see, Ted Williams batted .388 at the age of 39.

Dave Winfield had 26 HRs and 108 RBI at 40.

Warren Spahn won 23 games at 42.

Steroid users?

LOL

It’s simple: Great players do great things.

And many TV personalities do silly things. 

Maybe they're on drugs?

Today's Topics: NFL officials, Lance, MLB druggies, Clemens

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

Playing a little catch-up following a trip to Boston, NYC and New Jersey ...

NFL and its locked-out officials

Players and coaches are starting to get louder when expressing displeasure at the use of replacement officials.

But you know what? It doesn't matter.

I miscalculated on this one, and so has the officials’ union.

The NFL is intent on getting its way -- a larger pool of officials, work based on merit, and some full-time zebras.

Sure, there have been some blown calls and a few embarrassing moments during the first three weeks of the preseason. The league's spin is the replacement officials are improving weekly.

If the replacements are working come the regular season, you can be sure off-field officials will be wired to on-field refs to try and prevent obvious gaffes.

Teams will live with missed or erroneous calls just as they did when the locked-out officials were working.

The players and coaches can yell all they want. Right now, the NFL has deaf ears.

Armstrong loses Tour de France titles

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave Lance Armstrong a lifetime ban from professional cycling and vacated his seven Tour de France titles. (Of course, the USADA doesn't really have the authority to do either.)

Armstrong said he no longer would challenge USADA and declined to exercise his last option by entering arbitration. He again denied taking banned substances in his career despite about a dozen USADA witnesses willing to testify to the contrary.

So, we are to believe:

1. A sport full of dopers was dominated by a non-doper.

2. After years of maintaining his innocence in the public arena, Armstrong suddenly got tired of challenging allegations he doped.

It's hard to believe either one.

Colon joins Melky

Bartolo Colon and Melky Cabrera became the latest major leaguers to be suspended for violating MLB’s drug policy.

Since 2005, when MLB began suspending big-leaguers for performance-enhancing drugs, 24 of the 39 suspensions have been handed to players born in Latin America, including eight of the past 10.

Why so many guilty Latinos, who comprise about 25 percent of MLB rosters?

Many Latin players come from modest to extremely poor backgrounds. Those who strike it rich in America seek to maintain their status for themselves and, in many cases, their families.

It’s also easier to acquire banned drugs in much of Central and South America.

So what's the solution?

Unfortunately, increased education of Latino players won't solve the problem.

While a lifetime ban after failing one test would be extreme, perhaps a two-three year suspension with no pay would have a positive effect.

Rocket returns

Just what does Roger Clemens want?

OK, so he threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. 

Does he want to pitch in the Majors again?  

Doing so simply would be a brief show.

Does he seek money? 

Hard to believe.

Does he expect to win over people who believe he used steroids and HGH? 

Not going to happen.

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

News item: San Francisco outfielder Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games for positive testosterone test.

As long as competitors are looking for an edge, as long as big money is involved, as long as careers are at stake, some athletes never will learn.

At least Cabrera showed brawn in accepting his penalty and admitting use of a substance he shouldn't have used.

He didn't, for example, take the approach of blaming someone else for mishandling the test sample or claiming the carrier failed to ship the sample correctly.

That would be a desperate attempt to blame someone else for his mistake.

Today's Topics: Dolphins cut Chad Johnson

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

Chad Johnson's on-field assets couldn't make up for the receiver being an off-field ass.

The Miami Dolphins released Johnson a day after the player formerly known as Ochocinco spent Saturday night in jail following an arrest on a domestic violence charge.

Yes, a person is innocent until proven guilty. And until now, Johnson's career has been colorful and controversial, but not full of mug shots.

Still, it was just a matter of time before such a publicity whore as Johnson would embarrass the organization.

As seen on HBO's Hard Knocks last week, Johnson was reprimanded by new Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin for using bad language during a press conference.

(Johnson also joked -- predicted? -- he would get arrested on his off day during the episode.)

If F-bombs earned admonition from Philbin, it's little surprise an arrest warranted a release.

Kudos to the Dolphins for reversing field quickly.

But make no mistake, if Johnson's talents were as they were during his best years,  Miami would have offered the player another chance.

Perhaps Johnson being released by the New England Patriots should have been the first clue his skills had eroded, no?

It's a clue that likely will be ignored by yet another team Johnson can embarrass.

--

The U.S. men's basketball team wins the Olympic gold meal.

Is that news?

--

Friend and Star-Ledger (N.J.) MLB columnist Jeff Bradley hit the nail on the head with a Facebook post about Tiger Woods.

"Forget about anything off the course. There is no worse role model for young golfers than Tiger Woods, the way he flings clubs, curses and mopes around the course when things don't go his way. No respect for his fellow players."

That comment puts Jeff 2-under after one hole. :)

Today's Topics: Honey Badger, Dwight Howard & the Lakers, USA basketball

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

Just had to break the news to my nephew, a diehard LSU fan, that the Honey Badger no longer lives among the Tigers.

His response: "If he transfers to Alabama, I'm going to drive to Alabama and slap him silly."

Ryan, Tyrann Mathieu probably didn't even feel the doctor's slap upon entering this world, so don't bother.

LSU coach Les Miles announced that CB Mathieu, aka Honey Badger, was kicked off the team and had his scholarship revoked for violating a team policy.

Mathieu can stay and attend classes at LSU if he pays his own tuition.

(Give me a sec, I'm still laughing after typing the previous sentence. ... Ahem. ... OK, let's resume.)

Last season, Mathieu was suspended for a game after reportedly failing a drug test.

Something tells me we haven't heard the last of the Honey Badger. The only question in my mind is: Will the next story about Mathieu involve his transferring from LSU or his being arrested?

--

Just saw a headline about the U.S. men's basketball team being on the verge of winning the Olympic gold medal.

Yawn.

Let me know if they lose. Otherwise, I have little interest.

--

So Dwight Howard goes to the Lakers and joins Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Jack Nicholson.

Before people start guaranteeing a Lakers-Miami Heat NBA Finals in 2013, let's play some games. L.A.'s Fab Four (sorry, Jack) isn't exactly comprised of youngsters. 

If giving the stars some needed rest and/or injuries creep in during the regular season, home-court advantage throughout the playoffs won't be a given. 

That would make winning a playoff series against Oklahoma City or another Western power less than a sure thing for the Lakers.

Today's Topics: U.S. women's soccer, Boomer & Tebow

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

Suggestion to U.S. soccer fans: Be humble, America.

The U.S. women defeated Canada 4-3 Monday to advance to the Olympic gold medal game against Japan. Alex Morgan scored the winning goal with 30 seconds left to avoid having the outcome determined by penalty kicks.

All the headlines and comments South of the Northern Border have emphasized the see-saw game, the thrilling action and has lauded the Americans for their 'never say die' attitude.

Canadian news outlets likely have a slightly different take.

With her team leading 3-2 late, Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod was cited for holding the ball too long. That gave the U.S. an indirect kick, which hit a wall of Canucks ... and apparently a Canadian hand. That resulted in a penalty kick, which Abby Wambach drilled for a tying goal in the 80th minute.

At best, both the call on McLeod and the hand-ball whistle were dubious. At worst, they were terrible calls.

Be sure that if the roles had been reversed, U.S. fans would be screaming about the team getting screwed.

Be proud of the victory ... but be humble, America.

Boomer on Tebow

Boomer Esiason, who co-hosts a radio show on NYC's WFAN, said Monday the Jets should cut Tim Tebow and throw their full support behind starting QB Mark Sanchez.

As a former starting QB, Esiason can relate to Sanchez's situation. He undoubtedly believes what he says.

But saying Tebow should be cut is calling for something that won't happen, at least not in the near future.

The expressed opinion did earn Boomer some free publicity, however. Such is the power of Tebow.

Today's Topics: Sports heckler, Sabathia, Dong

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

Relaxing at home Friday night enabled me to catch some interesting sports sights on TV.

1. He's baaack!

When I flipped on the Marlins-Nationals game, the camera was focused on Miami batter Donovan Solano. 

But wait a sec, that looks like Robin Ficker sitting a few rows behind the Marlins dugout?

Don't know who Robin Ficker is? Well, he became a nationally known heckler when he attended Washington Bullets games. His verbal assaults were directed at the opponents. He was loud, could be clever and didn't limit himself to NBA events.

To me, Ficker fell under the category G.A.L (Get A Life). I was shocked to learn that Ficker apparently was an attorney -- so he should have had half a brain.

A quick web search resulted in news Ficker has been attending Nationals games. In fact, he even got an autograph baseball recently from Rays manager Joe Maddon.

I guess Ficker continues to search for a life ... or attention ... or both.

2. C.C. not yanked

Switching to the Yankees-Mariners game, I found it a little strange seeing Ichiro Suzuki wearing the Pinstripes against his former team.

But then I saw something more unusual than that.

Despite giving up a two-run homer in the ninth inning, C.C. Sabathia was allowed to finsih what he started in New York's 6-3 victory. He earned his ninth complete game as a Yankee and 35th overall.

These days, it seems complete games are less common than no-hitters.

3.  China's Dong

Turned to NBC just in time to see a Russian bouncing up and down and quickly surmised Trampoline was an Olympic sport. 

Then again, if Synchronized Diving has a place at the Games, why not Trampoline?

Apparently, the Russian bounced and contorted his body sufficiently enough to earn a medal with one competitor to go. That competitor? China's Dong Dong.

Dong exploded onto the trampoline and proceeded to, as they say in golf, knock it stiff. He took the gold.  

Dong Dong. Sounds like a helluva Synchronized Swimming team.

Today's Topic: NFL using replacement officials

ESPN | CBSSports.com | Yahoo Sports | Fox Sports | Bleacher Report | Official USA Olympic Site

How important are NFL on-field officials to the league and its product? 

It appears we'll find out beginning Sunday, when Arizona plays New Orleans in the Hall of Fame game.

That's because the NFL and the NFL Referees Association have been in a labor dispute since June with no end in sight.

Ask Commissioner Roger Goodell about the impasse, he'll say he's comfortable using replacement officials in preseason games. 

Regular-season games? One thing at a time.

If what Goodell says is true, the league has offered a 5- to 11-percent pay increase to the officials. 

What the league apparently wants is to increase the number of people in the officiating pool and employ those who earn work based on performance.

That approach is poisonous to a union, which prefers to protect its dues-paying members. 

Hopefully, a few weeks of action will lead to a compromise.

The league should want to get a deal done because it understands replacement officials will have an image problem in today's "perception is reality" culture. That especially will be true knowing the whistle blowers won't be comprised of high-level experienced officials -- there's little upside for college refs to cross the line for a brief time.

Look, we all know fans don't pay to watch referees or umpires. It's best when a game is held and you hardly know the officials are present.

That's nearly impossible in today's Big Brother in HD world where mistakes and blown calls are noticed and publicized. No official is immune to that, whether it be a replacement or the best of the best.

You can be sure this month's preseason games officiated by replacements will generate errant flags and blown calls/non-calls that get replayed incessantly on SportsCenter and elsewhere. 

Throw in coaches and players who'll be complaining about not having the normal zebras, and the league will feel some pressure to get a deal done in time for the season opener.

If not, then the NFL should be flagged for delay of game.