I am not talking about the second round of testing on the popular game show hosted by Alex Trebec, but rather I am talking about the trial of Jayson Williams.   If you have forgotten, Williams had some friends over to his mansion in New Jersey, had too much to drink, then started showing off one of his shotguns and accidentally shot Costas “Gus” Christofi killing him.  The realization that he just killed someone shook him from the stupor of the alcohol and suddenly he started trying to cover up what he had done.  He first tried to say that Gus had committed suicide.  Later on he changed his tune when some of his buddies at the scene admitted that he did shoot Christofi. 

Two years later, Williams is still free on bail while he awaits the appeals process on the reckless manslaughter charge.  Williams was convicted on four charges of trying to “cover up” the crime, which he did do.  The jury deadlocked on the reckless manslaughter charge so now the DA in this case has appealed to a three judge panel to try and allow him to retry Williams on that charge.  The panel has agreed that Jayson can be retried and that it is not double jeopardy.  This is where I have a bit of  a problem and believe our justice system is "out of whack."

Now I like Jayson Williams and always have but that has nothing to do with my take on this particular case.  The facts in this incident are pretty clear to me and I would think to anyone who can read.  Jayson Williams did kill Gus Christofi.  That is not in dispute by anyone.  So why did a jury deadlock on “reckless manslaughter?”  Should he be retried again for the same crime?  Is this double jeopardy?  Should he be sentenced on the four cover up charges and the DA let this one go?

I believe the jury deadlocked on the reckless manslaughter charges, (The actual verdict was 8-4, not guilty, and a mistrial was declared) partially because of the way our prosecutors go after criminals.  The DA in this case went after Jayson Williams with a vengeance.  He did not charge him with only reckless manslaughter, he charged him first with aggravated assault which is much harder to prove.  Had the DA simply gone after Williams on the charge of trying to cover up the crime and for reckless manslaughter, I believe Jayson Williams would be behind bars today.  Because the DA said it was trying to prove it was aggravated assault which carries the connotation that Williams wanted to kill him and then also tries to charge him with reckless assault which means he did it by accident you have a two opposing charges.  I do not believe you can say he did one without discounting the other but that is what the DA tried to prove.  Also the defense tried to prove it was an accidental shooting, which it probably was.  Williams was never known as a violent person and he did not personally dislike Gus Chritofi.  There was no motive to kill him and in that regard the prosecutions case was very weak.    

The question is since he did not follow that course of action should Williams be retried again?  In my opinion, it is double jeopardy and I do not believe he should be retried.  Once again, it will waste tax payer money on a crime that was not intentional and possibly receive the same outcome because of the negligence of this prosecutor.  It is even harder to get a prosecution in a retrial and this is not a crime that is likely to recur.  Also, Williams needs to be sentenced for the cover up charges which can bring up to 5 years in jail.  I say go ahead and sentence the guy and go for the maximum for those four charges and drop the retrial.  Go find some criminals with malicious intent and put them in jail. 

If this were a double jeopardy question, “Who was an NBA player with a great career but ruined his life because of alcohol?”  The answers might vary depending on who the contestants are, (Pictured at left are:  Socalsportsfan as Trebec, and the contestants are Mooresports, Girl on Top, and Hazwasted) but “Who is Jayson Williams” would be correct along with “Who is Vin Baker” but that is for another blog.  Answer this Double Jeopardy question for me, "What good can happen when you mix alcohol, athletes, and guns?"  Contestants, I await your answers.

Last night as I watched ESPN Outside of the Lines, everything I have said about baseball, steroids, and cheating came full circle.  The episode last night was about the rampant use of amphetamines in baseball, otherwise knows as “Greenies.”  Apparently many players including HOF players such as Mike Schmidt used amphetamines just to perform.  So where does that leave us in the world of post steroids?  Will the debate take a new twist and turn down Bud Selig Lane?  I doubt it, especially with his choice for the special investigation.  There is no way that someone so close to baseball will be able to give an impartial report on the use of steroids.  His report will be filled with useless information that I believe will implicate no one and only stir up the murky waters of an already clouded debate.

Cheating has been a part of baseball since its inception.  First players used improper equipment such as Babe Ruth’s infamous laminated bat to
####lordper139700.html">####lord Perry and the use of spit balls.  Spit balls were outlawed in 1919, coincidentally the very last year of Babe Ruth’s full year as a pitcher.  They were outlawed to give the batter an advantage at the plate.  Today we have steroids, but long before steroids were a hot button topic, Greenies were prevalent in the world of major league baseball. 

Players have admitted to taking them to get up for a day game after a night game.  Players would take them to give them a mental advantage as well as the energy to perform.  They believed they had strength beyond what they had and it enabled them to go out and perform at unbelievable levels of play when they were dead tired.  On this episode of OTL, many players admitted and were accused of using amphetamines.  This is nothing new in sports, it just appears the MLB is finally doing something about it.

You can be one of those people who try to dismiss their use because they are not anabolic in nature, building of muscle, but the fact is they are performance enhancing and they are on MLB’s banned substance list now.   For those who say that steroids were not banned prior to 2002-03 but were illegal by the laws of the United States, I would make the argument that amphetamines have been illegal much longer than many steroids have been.  The fact is that if you go down that slippery slope of calling the players who used steroids cheaters, then you have to say the same thing about a HOF liker Mike Schmidt.

The world of chemical supplements is one that has always been prevalent in sports as players are always looking for an edge.  Those who used greenies were doing so to gain an advantage and it had nothing to do with personal addictions such as Doc Gooden and his cocaine abuse.  Although the use of amphetamines can turn into a horrible addiction, these men were not using them towards that end but rather to physically be able to go to the ballpark and perform when their bodies did not want to do otherwise.  That is really what many steroids do when they allow players to heal faster and then go back to the weight room sooner than normal. 

Like it or not, the steroid controversy is not over and it will only intensify now that ex-senator George Mitchell is investigating this whole issue.   New allegations will surface with each HR Bonds swats out of the ballpark and as he advances beyond Babe Ruth his critics will deride his many accomplishments.  Game of Shadows will raise more questions than it will answer especially since Victor Conte has gone on the record saying Barry was never given steroids from his company.  One thing is for sure.  Players are always looking for the advantage and it will never stop.  Today’s players may not use steroids but tomorrow’s athletes will continue to try to compete with enhanced vision equipment such as the MaxSight by Nike or better supplements. 

It seems with the results of Young’s Wonderlic test becoming national headlines that a plethora of blogs have come out condemning Vince and attacking his intelligence as well as his education at the University of Texas.  Some of the criticism seems a bit over the top and I can not say that I agree with every post on Vince, but I do have an opinion of my own, as usual, and I would be remiss not to share it with the blogging community.

First, let me say that no matter what his score was on the Wonderlic, I do think he has hurt his draft status by not attending the NFL combines.  I do not know the true reasons he decided to skip and that in and of itself may hurt him, but in my mind there is no reason not to attend.  It has been said that he missed because he had nothing left to prove or that his college numbers should be enough for anyone.  While this should be true, the fact is that those who do attend get to be seen that much closer to the draft and make a case to move in front of you.  Jay Cutler is a case in point.  He has moved up considerably in the draft and if someone moves up, someone moves down.  It might be Vince that is moving down and for every spot that a player moves down, he loses money in signing bonuses and in salary.  Also if you are not going to go to the NFL combines, why go to those silly skills challenges where again you may hurt your chances if you have a poor showing. Be consistent at least in not showing anybody anything unless it is in private work out sessions like the NBA players do.  

As to the Wonderlic, I took a portion of the mock test today on AOL and scored a 4 out of 4 and then went on to look at the mock exam and I could answer every question correctly.  Now I know I am a Science/Math teacher by trade, but come on, if anyone looks at those questions and can not get at least 75% of them right then I do wonder about the degree they are receiving from any institution.  As Rush Limbaugh says, "With half my brain tied behind my back," I could score a near perfect score.   The latest headlines say that Vince’s score was not a 6, but they do not tell us what it is which leaves people to speculate.  Could it be lower than a 6?   At least his people should come out and let us know how high it is if he wants to rebuild his reputation.  The official scores are supposed to come out on all players after the NFL combines are over. 

Do I think the Wonderlic is a good indication of how well a QB will do in the NFL?  Absolutely not!  In today's game, if his physical skills are sufficient a player can rise above a poor IQ test. The plays are called in by headphone from the sideline and Vince’s talent  in running when he sees an opening should carry him on to fame and stardom.    If he can see down the field and deliver the pass to an open receiver or run when it is clear he will be a great quarterback.  He is big, strong, and I think he has a good arm.  He should do just fine in the NFL for any team except New Orleans and Detroit.  Those franchises are cursed and no one should start their NFL career there.  There has never been a successful QB start for either team.  Joey Harrington is finding that out as did Archie Manning. 

The biggest thing that worries me about Vince Young is how his reputation is already being tarnished.  He needs to take a page from LeBron James and company and sign with an agent or image company that can help him market his incredible talents.  IMG would be my pick for any young talent, but it appears right now that no one has his best interest at heart because if they did they would start trying to keep his image where it belongs, at the top of the NFL draft board.

Early this week I wrote a post on Chad Johnson and why the Bengals wouldn't win.  Chad has become so absorbed with himself that he and his end zone celebrations have become more important than the team and the win.  I watched for ESPN to show us a deer being kissed or some other nonsense, why, because Chad guaranteed it, but alas it didn't happen.  He did score a touchdown and then passed out presents to fans in the endzone seats.   A nice gesture to be sure, but how about giving your team a present.  Focus on winning the game more and stop worrying about what celebratory dance you will come up with next to upstage who???? Yourself.  Talk about an ego.  Earth to Chad, Earth to Chad!  The Bengals are in the playoffs and could have locked up home field advantage against the Broncos if they face them.   Come back down off your high horse and the pedastol that you have yourself before you end up like T.O.  How meaningless are his celebrations now?

Give Riley a break.  The man brought Shaq and Wade to Miami.  Did anyone really think he wouldn't come back to coaching?  The NBA is full of recycled coaches and whenever a team fires one, they just go to the pool of retired or former coaches.  Do the names Flip Saunders, Larry Brown, Doc Rivers, Nate McMillan, Byron Scott, Jim O'Brien, and others I could mention all have in common.  These are coaches that don't change jobs, just locations where they practice their craft.  Doc Rivers and Byron Scott are both good coaches in my opinion, but they beginning to become a part of that group like Don Nelson and Mike Dunleavy or the George Karls who move year after year to a new team.  Kudoos to the Mavs for giving some new blood a chance in Avery Johnson.  At least Riley stayed in Miami, but then again, he was in LA and NY.  It seems he likes the big cities.  That leaves Chicago to make a move for him sometime.  Who knows, i am willing to wager that Scott Skiles will be hopping on or off of the coaching  merry-go-round before the end of the year.  That will leave room for Stu unless he takes the Wizards job or some other team.  Once you are in, you are in for life.  The fraternity of NBA coaches is small, but you can always take your turn with Atlanta.  That is what I love about the NBA, they care about recycling!

I lived in Florida for 17 years and I know for a fact that the Seminole tribe did not have a problem with FSU using their image and name for a mascot.  I also remember when the Braves started hearing pressure from some politically correct group that wanted them to change their name.  Do you remember when the Washington Wizards were the Bullets? 

My personal opinion is that the whole thing boils down to exposure.  Those people that want to change the name of a particular mascot just want TV coverage.  I have never met a real sports fan who has had a problem with a particular mascot.  Mark my words, PETA will be next.  I feel sorry for Maryland because that crazy looking turtle might have his reputation tarnished.  Or maybe that Florida Gator looks a bit vicious.  It's only a matter of time, and then our animal names are in trouble too.  Hooray for the Braves and other teams that fight this silliness.