Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for April 13, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not face sexual assault charges in Georgia. But nobody comes off looking good when the district attorney says the alleged crime happened in a "small dingy bathroom."
* Off to a great start. One day after being acquired by the Jets, wide receiver Santonio Holmes is suspended for the first 4 games of the season for drugs.
* The Yankees receive their championship rings today when they host Hideki Matsui and the Angels in the Yankees home opener.
* Is anyone all misty-eyed that the Nets, after 29 seasons, played their last game last night in the Meadowlands? (They lost.) Their plan? Newark then Brooklyn.
2. Bonds Rating
Barry Bonds emerged from hiding and told the media that he is proud of Mark McGwire for admitting his steroid use and returning to baseball as a coach. A nice endorsement from one supposed drug cheat to another. Call it honor among thieves. But the truth is, McGwire is getting good grades for his reimmersion into the game. He got a standing ovation at the Cards home opener yesterday. Makes you wonder if Bonds could make a similar leap? Then again, at age 45, he still hasn't announced his retirement as a player. Wonder if anyone is proud of him?
3. Fuzzy Math
Subscriber Christopher G. has a brain teaser. If you buy 2 Mets tickets on line for $11.00 each, why is your bill $35.00? Easy. A $4.00 fee for each ticket, and then a $5.00 "order fee" on top of that. Christopher asks a good question. Why does he have to pay fees when he's buying from the source and using his own ink to print the tickets? Then he asks a better question. Whatever happened to truth in advertising? If you advertise $11.00 tickets, then charge $11.00, not $17.50.
What? You want the truth is pro sports? What's wrong with you?
4. Legalese
A junior hockey player in Canada was found not guilty of assault. He was drunk, punched a door, which then hit his ex-girlfriend, breaking her nose. He claimed he didn't know the woman was there. The judge agreed, but said, "If he was charged with being a colossal asshole, I would find him guilty." That's a direct quote from the court records. Wow. If we could really pin that charge on pro athletes, would we have enough jail space?
5. Gimme a P
Another heartwarming cheerleading story out of Texas. Some girls on a high school cheerleading squad got in trouble for giving teammates soft drinks that were laced with urine.
Piss boom bah!
Happy Birthday: Chess player (is that an athlete?) Garry Kasparov. 47.
Bonus Birthday: Wally! Actor Tony Dow from Leave it to Beaver. 65.
Today in Sports: Tiger Woods, at age 21, becomes the youngest to win the Masters. 1997.
Bonus Event: Yankee fans receive "Reggie! Bars" at the home opener. They proceed to shower them onto the field after he hits a first inning homer. 1978.