Today's Topics: AL East, Strasburg, Roddick

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There’s a reason they play the games, all 162 of them.

Before the season, many baseball fans expected the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays to battle for the AL East title.

Replace the disappointing Bosox with the surprising Orioles, and that’s what you have.

Just a few weeks ago, I expressed amazement that this Yankees team, banged up and full of veteran players, led the division by 10 games.

There’s no such amazement now. New York is clinging to its lead, with younger (and hungrier?) Baltimore and Tampa Bay driving hard.

If George Steinbrenner were alive, he surely would be fighting the Giants and Jets for the back pages of the tabloids. :)

The next four weeks are going to be fun … unless your team fails to reach postseason.

Roddick retires

So what’s the over/under on years before Andy Roddick comes out of retirement – 2?

The Strasburg Plan

Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make two more starts before being shut down for the season. That, despite the Nats being on the verge of an NL East crown.

Earlier this season, the Nationals announced Strasburg’s innings would be limited in 2012, less than two years after the right-hander with the golden arm underwent Tommy John surgery.

Thinking long-term, even with Washington in contention, is difficult to dispute. Talented pitchers such as Strasburg don't appear often.

But if you disagree with Washington's plan, don’t blame general manager Mike Rizzo. He’s in a tough spot thanks to agent Scott Boras.

When Strasburg signed with Washington in 2009, Boras said he wanted an organization that put his client’s health first. If not, Boras insinuated future clients wouldn’t be headed to the nation's capital.

Boras currently represents several Nationals, including young star Bryce Harper.

So, Rizzo's eye on the future is focused on more than just Strasburg.

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

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“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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.