TGIF everyone, here's my Top 5 for August 14, 2009 from LenBermanSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
Quarterback Michael Vick signs on with the Philadelphia Eagles. It solves one problem for him. If he had signed with someone else Philly fans, known to be tough, might have set the standard for rough treatment when he came to play.
They have higher standards. The NFL has suspended Cleveland wide receiver Dante Stallworth for one full year without pay as a result of his DUI manslaughter. He had spent an entire 24 days in jail.
Tiger Woods (of course) leads the PGA championship by one stroke after the first round.
Michael Phelps can't stay out of the headlines, out of the pool. He's involved in a Baltimore car accident but is unhurt.
2. Page 6
I don't know which A-Rod tabloid item is juicier. That his girlfriend, Kate Hudson, reportedly wants to have a child with him. Or the New York Post item which says A-Rod and Derek Jeter's girlfriends have a rather frosty relationship at the ballpark. You mean Kate Hudson and Minka Kelly are about as friendly to each other as A-Rod and Jeter? I'm devastated.
3. Let the Games Begin
Lets get ready to rumble. Women's boxing will make its debut in the 2012 London Olympics. As for 2016 there is no joy in Mudville. Both baseball and softball have struck out. The IOC has recommended that golf and rugby be added in 2016. It didn't take long for a Top 5 subscriber to get upset. Randy V. writes: "Seriously? Golf in the Olympics? Because that is what has been missing in our lives, one more professional golf tournament with the same players. Could we at least get more into the Olympic spirit, maybe synchronized rhythmic golf?
Actually, since golf is the only major sport without a defensive player on the field/court, I've always been a big proponent of "tackle golf." But that's just me.
4. Friday Mailbag
M.T. tweeted me @lenbermansports to ask: " So does Rick Pitino's current mess make him eligible to come back to the Knicks?"
Editor's Note: He'd fit right in.
M.M. was interested in buying Islanders tickets. The team told him they're going to begin implementing "Bronze, Silver and Gold" level games. The better the game, the more the ticket. M.M. was temped to ask: "If any of those Silver or Gold games involved the Islanders?"
Editor's Note: My readers are funny.
When a reader wrote of Thurman Munson's ornate grave site in Canton Ohio, J.B. wrote: "In Rosedale Cemetery, Linden, N.J. there is a full size Mercedes Benz, carved out of granite. A man promised his son a Mercedes. But he died before he could give it to him, so he had his headstone made into a full size car."
Editor's note: Touching.
R.B. had this thought: "After A-Rod's walk-off homer he was later seen sailing the Hudson."
Editor's Note: Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to come up with the wiseguy A-Rod lines.
5. Genius of the Week
A 500 pound Houston man got arrested for selling bootleg CD's. He was searched repeatedly as he was transferred from the city to the county jail. But they couldn't find the heat he was packing. The gun was hidden in the flabby folds of his flesh. What an image. What gave him away? He bragged about it to a guard during a shower break. Oy.