The one-time pro athlete turned '60's cowboy actor, Chuck Connors, starred in a show called "Branded" that was most notable for its intro, which showed Connors as a disgraced U.S. Calvary captain being defrocked and cast from the fort and into the wilderness all alone.
Who knew a real cowboy, Terrible Terrell Owens, would play Connors' character in real life two generations later? Over and over and over again.
Alex Rodriguez was bound to have a difficult 2009 season, even if his on-field performance met the typical MVP standards the slugger has established throughout his career. His steroid admission ensured that.
But now that Rodriguez' brother, Joe, has alerted the media that A-Rod will miss the first 10 weeks of the 2009 season due to scheduled surgery to remove a cyst from his hip, he's bound to endure even more scrutiny.
Remember that nonsense about Shaquille O'Neal referring to Chris Bosh as the "RuPaul of big men?" Sure you do. Well, as active as Bosh is with using various social media platforms to connect with his fans, you knew a response was coming, and here it is. But be warned: it's a lot more classy and a lot less inflammatory than what we've been hearing from Shaq lately.
Nice to see someone taking the high road for a change. And Bosh is 100 percent correct: as I discussed on the podcast, when Shaq spouted off, it was because someone told him that Bosh said he "cheated," which simply wasn't the case.
The Dallas Cowboys have granted safety Roy Williams his wish, and sent him the way of Terrell Owens.
Williams was released Thursday after the team tried and failed to trade him, Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News is reporting. The Cowboys will save about $2 million on their 2009 salary cap by getting rid of the safety who was once known for being one of the league's hardest hitters but is now known more for being a liability in coverage -- and for having the horse-collar tackle rule named after him.
You can't blame the Mountain West Conference for wanting a college football playoff. In two of the last five seasons, Mountain West champion Utah went undefeated but wasn't allowed to compete for the national championship. That's just not the way sports should work.
But the Mountain West's idea for an eight-team playoff is a badly written, badly conceived proposal that will be dead on arrival in the college football world.
March started days ago. The Madness started Wednesday night.
On an evening where bubble teams could've punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament and boosters could've started humming bars of "One Shining Moment," teams turned down invitations turned down like they were to a wedding without an open bar or the People's Choice Awards.
A memo, fellows. This isn't an invitation to a candlelight dinner with Randy Johnson. "Big Dance" doesn't mean you're cutting a rug with Mark Madsen or waltzing cheek-to-cheek with Mike Tyson.
That's Mike Conley, and if you look closely, something seems to be missing ... like half of his tooth. Conley caught the business end of a Baron Davis elbow early in the first quarter of Wednesday's win against the Clippers. Oddly enough, Conley was the one called for a foul.
Davis sank the layup and the free throw; Conley, meanwhile, bloodied a towel and left the game for good. My favorite part of the picture is O.J. Mayo's look of concern -- I can't tell if he's more worried about Conley's grill or the fact that Marko Jaric is about to enter the game.
With no better evidence than dreadlocks, a skullcap, a chubby belly, a No. 99 jersey and a uniquely goofy grin, Manny Ramirez is a lovable lunkhead, a cartoon character, a klutz and a moody cuss. He's also maybe the best right-handed hitter of his generation, which might explain why I can't stay mad at the dude very long, hard as I try. Some places are more conducive than others to hosting a daily extravaganza such as Manny Being Manny.
Boston was uptight, filled with too many die-hards who clutch rosaries, live and die on every pitch, obsess over the Yankees and prefer keeping score to drinking beer. Philly and New York wouldn't work, either, not when the fans are crazier than Ramirez himself. And don't suggest Wrigley Field, where he'd lose himself in the ivy and never return.
Terrell Owens' future has been a source of much contentious discussion in Dallas for some time, and now, suddenly, he has been released by the Cowboys, according to Michael Smith of ESPN, as reported on SportsCenter.
Owens, of course, for all his talents, is one of the most controversial wide receivers in NFL history, and just as was the case with San Francisco and Philadelphia, the man known as T.O. will leave Dallas under a cloud of heavy scrutiny.
It's incredible to still be saying this on March 4, but before Wednesday night's game against Missouri the Oklahoma Sooners hadn't been faced with a real road test while at full strength all season. They didn't play any potential NCAA Tournament teams on the road in non-conference play, and Blake Griffin was injured in the first half of their game in Austin.
That finally changed when they went into Columbia, and while they didn't embarrass themseleves, the Sooners sure didn't have the look of a national title contender in their 73-64 loss to Mizzou.
As far as gimme games go for a bubble team, this was the absolute definition of one for Kentucky. They were playing Georgia in Rupp Arena -- a Georgia team that had already fired their coach and only had two conference wins. The Bulldogs were absolutely the best team to get at this point, as their season is circling the drain.
Kentucky absolutely needed the game. It was at home. It was the final home game (and possibly the last night at Rupp for junior Jodie Meeks). It was a must-win, can not lose. Yet, somehow the Wildcats managed to do just that.
This week, we'll be taking a look at each pool in the World Baseball Classic. We'll break down each team's chances to advance, major league players involved, and any under the radar players that you might want to keep an eye on. Wednesday, we move down the alphabet to Pool C.
Let's face it, the United States is in Pool C and if you're watching any of the first round of the WBC, it's probably going to be this pool. Canada almost kept the U.S. from advancing in 2006 and the American squad says they're taking things more seriously this time around. Are they really? Can Canada give the U.S. and Venezuela a run for a second-round spot? What is Italy doing in this tournament? I'll take a crack at those questions after the jump.
The one-time pro athlete turned '60's cowboy actor, Chuck Connors, starred in a show called "Branded" that was most notable for its intro, which showed Connors as a disgraced U.S. Calvary captain being defrocked and cast from the fort and into the wilderness all alone.
Alex Rodriguez was bound to have a difficult 2009 season, even if his on-field performance met the typical MVP standards the slugger has established throughout his career. His steroid admission ensured that.
The Dallas Cowboys have granted safety Roy Williams his wish, and sent him the way of Terrell Owens.
You can't blame the Mountain West Conference for wanting a college football playoff. In two of the last five seasons, Mountain West champion Utah went undefeated but wasn't allowed to compete for the national championship. That's just not the way sports should work.
March started days ago. The Madness started Wednesday night. 
With no better evidence than dreadlocks, a skullcap, a chubby belly, a No. 99 jersey and a uniquely goofy grin, Manny Ramirez is a lovable lunkhead, a cartoon character, a klutz and a moody cuss. He's also maybe the best right-handed hitter of his generation, which might explain why I can't stay mad at the dude very long, hard as I try. Some places are more conducive than others to hosting a daily extravaganza such as Manny Being Manny.
Terrell Owens' future has been a source of much contentious discussion in Dallas for some time, and now, suddenly, he has been released by the Cowboys, according to Michael Smith of ESPN, as reported on SportsCenter.
It's incredible to still be saying this on March 4, but before Wednesday night's game against Missouri the Oklahoma Sooners hadn't been faced with a real road test while at full strength all season. They didn't play any potential NCAA Tournament teams on the road in non-conference play, and Blake Griffin was injured in the first half of their game in Austin. 
As far as gimme games go for a bubble team, this was the absolute definition of one for Kentucky. They were playing Georgia in Rupp Arena -- a Georgia team that had already fired their coach and only had two conference wins. The Bulldogs were absolutely the best team to get at this point, as their season is circling the drain.
This week, we'll be taking a look at each pool in the World Baseball Classic. We'll break down each team's chances to advance, major league players involved, and any under the radar players that you might want to keep an eye on. Wednesday, we move down the alphabet to Pool C. 
