Meet the new Pirates GM, same as the old Pirates GM.  Won't get fooled again.  Instead of changing management a new approach is needed.  Run the Pirates like PBS.  Do a fund drive.  Raise $5 million toward a new starting pitcher.  Get matching pledges from employers.  If you had a choice between keeping Garrison Keillor on the air or getting a clutch #5 hitter for your team where would your donation go?

Who would have figured that while O.J. Simpson was out looking for the real killers he would run into a guy with a bunch of his old football stuff?  What were the odds?

In 1919 the Chicago WhiteSox shook the foundations of baseball by undermining the integrity of the game.  Fans didn't know whether competition was on the level or not.  In 2007 Bill Belichick uses technology to provide an unfair advantage.  Fans don't know if the games they have watched were on the level or influenced by cheating.  The "Black Sox" got thrown out of baseball and Belichick lost some tip money and the lesser of two first round Patriot draft choices in 2008.  Just saying.

What stops USC?  If Pete Carroll stays, who is to say they won't win at least 3 more national championships over the next 10 years?  Like UNC in basketball, USC has become the destination program for high school football players. 

Not a Mets fan, but how about a hand for Pedro Martinez.  He's battled back from an injury when he didn't need to financially.  He spends time with young Mets pitchers teaching them the art of pitching with nothing in it for him.  He's good with the fans and seems to genuinely enjoy the game.  He gives back from his wealth and has a reputation for treating even the lowest paid Mets employees with respect and consideration.  Not much to work with from a blogger's standpoint, but baseball could use alot more like him.

I'm a hard core fan, but I can't get excited about baseball's division races.  Means nothing but admittance to a tournament.  That's not a pennant race and that's not baseball.  Do away with the AL and NL, split the teams into three leagues geographically and have one wild card time.  Now that would be something to watch.

Excited about the NBA.  Part of the reason is HDTV.  Don't know what it is, but the game is so much better in HD.  Now if they just had a way to speed up the offenses.  Sometimes waiting until the clock runs down for a good shot results in only a bad shot.  Why coaches don't see that is beyond me.

The Isiah Thomas trial won't hurt the NBA's image, which has bottomed out already, but a quick read of the testimony (particularly that of Stephon Marbury) looks like a recounting of Rome under Nero.   The gap between Thomas' public personna and what appears to be his private actions is becoming a yawning chasm.  If the Knicks lose the case Thomas has to go.  And win or lose, getting Marbury out of New York should be a priority.

Lost in the background of last week's USC-Nebraska game was the Alabama-Arkansas shootout.  The 41-38 Alabama win was made all the more impressive by the fact that Bama' was physically whipped and still managed to come back at the end. 

And finally, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.