Wednesday Comes Early

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Tomorrow night is the final 16 of a poker tournament I'm playing in - so Weird & Whacked Wednesday will be split into two this week, with part 1 starting tonight. For those of you who haven't been here before, Wednesday entries take a look back over the last week or so at the "notable newsmakers" from the world of sports. The stories generally fall under the category of weird or whacked, with the select few eclipsing the aforementioned to set the bar as downright silly or just plain dumb. As always, I'll let you decide where you think they fit.

NCAA

THE BOYS OF ANIMAL HOUSE WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD
Those wild, fun-loving girls from Northwestern University's soccer team issued their first public statement since the hazing incident last week. The girls, with heavy hearts no doubt, said they were sorry "for the negative attention, press and controversy" their actions brought to their school. A classic line from the girls:

"We never forsaw that what began as a well-intentioned night of team unity and celebration would have such severe consequences..."

After reading this...all I could think of was that classic scene in Animal House where John Belushi, Tim Matheson and the other misfits are standing in Dean Wermer's office. Think that after the press release they headed to the cafeteria to discuss the day's events? FOOD FIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!


NFL

THE NFL IS NO BUSH LEAGUE
Heismann Trophy winner Reggie Bush, who has spent the off-season in the news for all the wrong reasons, couldn't leave well enough alone. One would think that Reggie, who last week told his agent to get a deal done with the Saints ("no holdout"), would want to come into camp and keep a low profile - nope, not Reggie. Bush asked the NFL to make an exception to their policy that states running backs can only wear numbers between 20 and 49, and allow him to wear the number 5 he wore at USC. The NFL's competition committed turned Bush's request down saying that "Nobody is comfortable that an exception be made to the policy and no one is confident that there will ever be a change." Sort of a long winded, traditional NFL antiseptic, way to just say "No - follow the damn rules Reggie."

I'm going to file this one under downright silly - Reggie for asking the uber conservative NFL to make an exception for him...and the damn NFL for being so damn rigid and silly about what number a player has to wear.


NBA

THEY CAN'T EVEN WIN WHEN THEY WIN LOTTERY
I know I don't do the NBA - but I had to make an exception tonight. The Toronto Raptors capped off yet another disppointing season by winning the NBA Draft lottery tonight. As if things weren't bad enough in Toronto, the Raptors win the draft lottery in a disappointing draft year. While new GM Bryan Colangelo tries to put a positive spin on things by saying "For us to have this kind of luck is a symbol of a reversal of fortune going forward. " I look at it from the other perspective, where Portland Trailblazer's President Steve Patterson said "You may find a player with as big an impact at No. 4 or even No. 6 as you may get at No. 1." In other words, there is no clear number one pick - or, this is a weak draft year. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady have to be laughing.

I'm going to reserve judgement on this one until after the draft - if the Raptors don't trade this pick...then file it under just plain dumb. None of the projected number one picks is going to help this team.

That about wraps things up for tonight...more to come over the next couple days or so. But I leave you with one more thought - for all of you soccer haters. Check out the new feature from Sky Sports - this should change your views on the World Cup. Remember to vote for Portugal! Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - for Reggie Bush and the Toronto Raptors

Number One - Nelly (not one of my favourites...but it works tonight).

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!