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Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special “Hey” goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

Four major sports making headlines for the wrong reasons today.

NHL
Mark Bell, acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the San Jose Sharks was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading no contest to charges of drunk driving and hit and run (after fleeing the scene of the accident). Bell will serve his sentence after the upcoming hockey season – which has us wondering where his head will be at this year, knowing he is facing six months in jail at season’s end.

Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. knew of Bell’s trial when he acquired him in June – so we find it particularly humourous that JFJ emailed media outlets last night to tell them that he would not have any comment until he had fully reviewed the situation. You’d think since he had known about Bell’s troubles in June, he would have had a contingency plan in place – but that’s the beauty of JFJ, he never does…just ask any member of Leaf Nation.


NFL
Ron Mexico must be feeling like he had dropped back to pass behind Atlanta’s OL – he looks like he’s in one of those positions where he has to choose between run or pass…only this time, Vick can’t run. Vick’s two remaining co-defendants have decided to plead guilty, leaving Vick on his own facing federal charges. Vick is said to be entertaining a plea agreement – though it hasn’t been confirmed.

“Happy-feet” Harrington must be smiling from ear to ear today.


NBA
Tim Donaghy, the “rogue, isolated criminal” (David Stern’s words – not ours), pleaded guilty to two felony charges related to the NBA betting scandal. To say Donaghy’s life is in ruins is an understatement – facing 25 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, and a paltry $30,000 in “restitution”. He deserves all of it and more.

Look, we have fun with the daily Three Play (we have said over and over that it is for entertainment purposes) – but for some, the entertainment constitutes a good portion of their day. The NBA and the courts have distanced themselves from the “degenerate gambler” – instead referring to charges of wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. What hasn’t been mentioned or even touched on is the “degenerate gambler” who may be your parent, sibling, friend or co-worker who could have lost everything based on Donaghy’s decisions that night. The gambler doesn’t get a lot of attention in all this, and we can understand why – but doesn’t a person have a right to expect a fair contest if they are willing to wager their money? Think about it before you rip us a new one…


MLB
The Asterisk has served notice that he is contemplating legal action against Red Sox big-mouth Curt Schilling for comments made about him. Bonds has hired a team of lawyers to look at his case against Schilling.

We aren’t really interested in whether or not Bonds case will hold up in court if he intends to proceed – what strikes us as amusing is that we haven’t seen Schilling called out for the weasel that he really has proven to be. We won’t remind anyone of Schilling’s appearance before a Congressional Committee where he backtracked faster than Ron Mexico on comments he made about substance abuse, we won’t even remind anyone of Schilling’s apology on his blog entry; what we will say ask is simply this

“Does anyone believe for one second that the out-spoken, wear his heart on his sleeve, heart and soul kind of guy Schilling didn’t check with his lawyers before speaking to Bob Costas when almost dared Bonds to sue him?”

For a guy who in the past has been quick to apologize after an outburst – it strikes us as a little funny that Schilling was so strong in his convictions with Costas and not even a thought given to retraction. For the record, we hope Bonds wins this one – Schilling needs to learn to shut his pie-hole.

Another former Red Sox (Red Sox West too) player Jose Offerman is in trouble after hitting an opposing pitcher and catcher with his bat in response to being hit by a pitch. If a picture is worth a thousands words – look at the first two pics of the incident on boston.com. Unbelievable.


TUESDAY’S THREE STARS
Benfica midfielder, and former Portuguese international, (Manuel) Rui Costa scored twice yesterday to lead the Eagles to a 2-1 over Copenhagen at the Estadio da Luz in the opening leg of Third Round Qualifying for UEFA’s Champions League competition.

Boston Red Sox P Jon Lester didn’t get the win last night at Fenway – but he must have temporarily silenced critics in Red Sox Nation who had been speculating that he would lose his spot in the starting rotation to the jewel of Boston’s farm system Clay Buchholz. In his first start at Fenway since returning to the majors, Lester pitched seven innings, limiting the DRays to one run on two hits and a walk while striking out four. Good show for the kid.

Toronto Blue Jays P Roy Halladay pitched a complete game in a 4-1 win over the Angels, giving up five hits and a walk while striking out two. The guy missed a month with appendicitis and still has a chance to win 20 this year.


WEDNESDAY THREE PLAY
The good thing about checking in late today is that we couldn’t suggest the Sox today. The total for the week, after going 2-1 on Monday is + $90. Tonight’s suggesetions

Red Sox West over Houston – Brad Penny puts an end to the Dodgers latest losing streak – oh yeah, and the won’t get swept; two good reasons to back LA tonight. Lay $100 on the Dodgers - $185.

Cleveland over Detroit – Fausto Carmona goes up against Jair Jurrjens – who? Expect the Indians to avenge last night’s loss. Lay $100 on the Tribe - $185.

Chicago over Cincinnati – Cubs will respond to last night’s loss. Ted Lilly goes up against Phil Dumatrait…no contest. Lay $100 on the Cubs - $185.

That’s it for today gang – thanks for taking the time to check in. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, we hope things are groovy in your world.

We’re Out.