Sometimes you go to bed at night wondering what is going on in this silly world of ours. Last night before I decided to call it a day I stopped by the Fox Sports site to see what was happening out there in the sports world. And wouldn't you know it, I found plenty of material for another ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME post. Who would have thunk it? Pete Sampras is going to play Roger Federer in a 3 match exhibition tour in Asia this summer. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? Pete retired like, what, 3 or 4 years ago. Hung up the ol' rackets after an illustrious career. He practiced with Roger this past March andsaid he didn't embarrass himself. Federer just suffered a rare loss. Is this a wise move...on either players part? Why can't these guys just stay retired and let the current touring pro's play? Didn't he struggle with Federer when he was at the end of his great career and Federer was coming on? I didn't read on to see if this is some kind of benefit tour although one can only hope it is. If it isn't I prefer to remember Sampras as I watched him for years. If it is then so be it but that begs the question that I always wonder about in these scenarios. What is the attraction in watching a retired professional athlete play a competitive professional athlete especially when the retired one has been away for so long? I don't get it and wouldn't pay tose it. George Foreman has a new book coming out and, no, it isn't about how difficult it was to name most of his offspring George. In it he claims he was drugged when he fought Muhammed Ali in Zaire in 1974. A lot of George's behaviors have always begged the question as to what he was taking when he did them but this sounds different. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? George, it is 33 years after the fact. Is this a ploy to sell your book? Or is it fodder for all the boxing world to contemplate and expound upon? You know, maybe that is it. The De La Hoya-Mayweatherfight didn't deliver what it ws supposed to deliver so throw up something that could be considered "scandalous" (like boxing needs any more of that) and get people talking...about somethig that happened 33 years ago. He says he drank a glass of water before the fight that tasted "funny" and he still had the taste in his mouth in the ring. OK, I'm not a Health Department Official for Zaire but, maybe, just maybe and stick with me here, I'm just spitballing this, but maybe...he shouldn't have drank a glass of water in Zaire, in 1974, without knowing it's origin. C'mon George! I think the only thing that tasted funny to you on that night...33 years ago was the leather from Ali's gloves. Goodnight George! Out of the ashes comes word from the one man that all of MLB can trust an dtruly depend upon. Is it Jason Giambi. Bud Selig, George Mitchell, Curt Schilling...? We know it isn't Barry Bonds. No, we have now been blessed with comments from...are you ready for this...Faye Vincent. Yes, he has reared his ugly head just in time to impart his strong words of advice on Bud Selig. Faye's advice to Bud...stay away from Barry Bonds. Don't be anywhere near the ball park when Bonds breaks the all-time HR record. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? " He has every right to say: "I'm willing to congratulate him but Idon't honor him by my presence," Vincent said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press during spring training. During spring training? And this needs to be brought up now...why? Oh, yea, Bonds is 10 HR's away. So the Associated Press is throwing fuel on the Bonds issue as he approaches the record. And Faye Vincent is the current sounding board. Perfect, absolutely, perfect! "I think if nothing changes...I would say to Bonds: Because you haven't told us what you did, because we assume and because we believe you cheated and because you haven't helped clean baseball up, we will recognize your record but we will not honor you", Vincent said. "It's sort of anasterisk in the public eye" Hey, Faye (I had to get that in) ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? "Becuse we assume" and "because we believe" are not convictable evidence to guilt. But thanks for your input anyway. If I were standing next to Bonds when you had the nads to say that to him, if he didn't hit you with a bat I might. He says if Bonds would hire a good lawyer and admit to wrondoing, "Look, Idid what I did, I'm sorry" then the American public would immediately become supportive. And you have been where lately Faye? That would never happen. Why don't you slither back into a quiet retirement and keep your avice to yourself. Bud has helped screw things up enough without your input to this point. Faye Vincent makes reference to "helping clean baseball up" in one of the quotes I referenced above. Why would any of these guys want to speak up and say anything with the actions that have surrounded Jason Giambi for his comments last week. Since he made his "we all knew" statements last week did MLB say they concurred or that perhaps they might have someone who could shed a brighter light on this subject...like a guy who admitted it and may be willing to expound on it now. No, they begn investigating Giambi...AGAIN!!! If he had kept his mouth shut I bet we wouldn't even know that he failed a test for amphetamines. The Yankees wouldn't be scrambling around in denial and bickering about his contract. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? Nice move Bud! Use your resouces wisely. Not Bud! Throw your resources to the wolves! Teams on the West Coast are clamoring for Giambi now! The Angels said they would take him. With the leadership that Bud Selig provides I don't think I would even want to play anymore. This is the kind of crap that makes me want to turn away from this game, the game that is not played out on the field but the game they play off of it. The MLB Player's Association has left cooperation with former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's investigation into steroid use in baseball up to the players. To this point in time no active players have been interviewed and only a few players have submitte their medical records. The union made a decision and left the action in the hands of its members. There was a day when we would have applauded that action. Today many ridicule it. Whatever. Giambi's actions and his words have been met by ridicule as well. Ridicule by the public and by the leadership of MLB. Why? If they let him speak he may shed light on the subject unlike any light before. But no, the accusatory fingers are now wrapping their hands around Giambi's throat...AGAIN! The more things change the more they stay the same. "I think the union is making a big mistake. I think stonewalling Mitchell as a strategy is an enormous mistake. It pushes Bud and George Mitchell to consider going to Congress. I think that it's important for Mitchell to be able to write the rel story an tell us what happened and what didn't happen, and how many playerswere involved. I don't think the issue is, should there be punishment?" "The Mitchell report is a very important document. Among other things, he's got to dispell all these people who believe that baseball knew what was going on, that they didn't do anything about it because they wanted to encurage Soas and McGwire. It's a very widely held view. I don't think they knew. I don't think there is a smoking gun" The two quotes above are from the telephone inteview with Faye Vincent. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? How naive does Vincent, or MLB, think their public is? Apparently very, very naive. I wouldn't trust this document because I believe it WILL be about punishment and not about "how many players were involved. It has already turned into that and that is why it is so important for everyone to know names. Why did the press just mention the 2 Mets minor league pitchers who were busted for steroid use BY NAME if it isn't about punishment. I wouldn't trust this document because it was ordered by an owner and placed in the hands of an owners friend. Don't be fooled for a second... Bud Selig is an owner! I wouldn't trust this document because, as Vincent says, it has to dispel all of those who think MLB and all involved with it knew what was going on and did nothing. So it has to be a document that removes any responsibilty from MLB's leadership. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME. Again, go back into your retirement Faye and refuse comment when a sports reporter cals you o the phone. And that's the bottom line...