How not to sell your team

It's not uncommon to hear that a pro sports franchise is for sale, so it wasn't shocking when I heard that English League One club Tranmere Rovers was for sale.

I assumed that the sale would take place behind closed doors, going from private owner to private owner.

When I heard that Tranmere Rovers was listed on eBay with a reasonable starting price of $10 million, I had to laugh for the sheer ridiculousness. At least they offered free shipping.

Team owner Peter Johnson hired the services of Dornoch Capital to handle the large transaction. Johnson didn't do his homework, though, as the brilliant minds behind Dornoch turned and listed the item on eBay, a slight step above a seedy Craigslist ad.

"We were appalled. It's totally inappropriate. We immediately e-mailed them and said 'take it off [eBay] right away,'" Johnson told BBC Radio.

Either way, the publicity couldn't hurt for a team that will probably never sniff the English Premier League -- the equivalent of the major leagues in baseball -- and is likely stuck in the minor leagues for the foreseeable future.

Screenshot credit to SportsbyBrooks.com.

Ravens sign Oher

The suspenseful wait is over, as the Baltimore Ravens have agreed in principle to terms with first-round pick Michael Oher.

The contract terms were not disclosed, but the mammoth lineman from Ole Miss is expected to report to camp at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., by tomorrow.

Oher's pending contract would make the Ravens the third team -- behind the Jets and Steelers -- to sign their entire draft class up to this point, and, avoiding any hiccups, will be able to have their first full team practice tomorrow morning.

Oher has one of the most interesting background stories in recent memory. The 23-year old grew up homeless in Memphis, Tenn., where he played football as a freshman in high school.

He didn't play football again until he was a junior at a private school, when he became highly touted and earned scholarship offers from Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, UNC and Ole Miss, among others.

He is the subject of a Michael Lewis book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and is also the inspiration behind "The Blind Side," a film scheduled for release in November, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw.

White House says 'Sorry, Shaq'

Gentle giant Shaquille O'Neal was in Washington D.C. recently acting as the host of professional wrestling's Monday Night Raw this week. The larger-than-life appeared on Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise's radio show, and the following exchange took place:

"Hey Mike, question. Your show is based in D.C., right? All right, check this out, I got on a nice suit, I'm in D.C. paying a visit, I jump out of a cab in front of the White House, I don't use none of my political/law enforcement connections. If I go to the gate and say, 'Hey, I'm in town, I would like to see the President,' do I get in, or do I not get in? Give me your answer," Shaq asked.

"I say yes," Wise guessed.

Shaq wasn't playing around, apparently. He updated his status on Twitter at 2:33 p.m. on Monday before heading out to the White House: "Question, I'm n dc, think if I walk up to the white house, they let me in, I kno the answer, let me kno wht u think, o yea I'm wearin shrts." Translation: Will the White House security let me in because I'm Shaq? By the way, I'm wearing shorts (I think?).

And just four hours later at 6:41 p.m., he tweeted: "The white house wouldn't let me in, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy". Sorry, Shaq. Even hoops fiend President Obama can't bend the rules to let your hardly noticeable 7-foot-2, 350-pound frame through the White House doors.

It did make me curious if any celebrity would be able to get through those doors. ESPN's Mike and Mike debated this morning if anyone could get in. Golic suggested that Oprah could get through the front doors, but Greenberg disagreed.

The rejection didn't appear to phase Shaq Diesel too much, as he performed at the Verizon Center later that night. He even shared a little too much information about one of the wrestlers he met afterward.

"wasn't lookin, but randy orton has da sexiest white man butt ive seen next 2 steve nash." Gross.

T.O. tells Commish to go to jail

Buffalo Bills star wide receiver and prima donna Terrell Owens (pictured, crying, stealing a fan's popcorn, working out in his driveway, and poorly acting on BET) recently had some choice words for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the suspension of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback and recreational dog murderer Michael Vick.

Owens called Goodell's consideration to suspend Vick for the first four games of the season "ridiculous," despite the fact that he is currently a free agent, and also that no NFL teams are currently expressing interest in him.

"The Michael Vick situation, I think, is unfortunate. I think the way the commissioner is handling it is unfair to Michael Vick. I think he's done the time for what he's done. I don't think it's really fair for him to be suspended four more games. It's almost like kicking a dead horse in the ground," Owens told reporters.

I'm not quite sure why Owens is even fielding Vick questions, but his point is somewhat valid. Vick served his punishment and is now being told that if he gets reinstated, he may have to serve another sentence, albeit briefer than the first one.

T.O. was almost making a completely valid argument, until he told the media: "The Commissioner needs to go sit in jail for 23 months."

Oh, OK. That's a reasonable response.

The upstate New York diva went on to say that more NFL players need to stick up for Vick, saying that Goodell has been unfair to the one-time owner of Bad Newz Kennels. Somehow, though, Goodell hasn't earned brownie points for not giving Vick a lifetime ban from the NFL.

While T.O. does have a point, his choice of words -- kicking a dead horse -- were probably not the best given the topic of the conversation. I guess it's better than saying that it's almost like kicking a dead dog in the ground, though.

Stay tuned, as more entertaining quotes are sure to come from Buffalo as the Bills kick off their summer training camp in Rochester, New York at St. John Fisher College.

Tim Tebow not taking advantage of college life

Believe it or not, the (white) guy on the right is a virgin. Yes, Tim Tebow told the media at SEC Media Day last Thursday that he is saving himself for marriage.

"Are you saving yourself for marriage?" one reporter asked.
(Commence hysterical laughter from the media and Tebow)
"Yes, I am," Tebow replied.
(Entire crowd awkwardly laughs)

Of course, the question was sort of out of bounds in the first place, and the reporter who asked was probably a virgin too -- though not by choice.

Either way, Tebow answered that yes, he is saving himself for marriage, or Jesus, or the Jonas Brothers or something.

That got me to wondering if he realizes that spending your college years in Gainesville, Florida, home of never-ending attractive women, is a truly wasted opportunity.

Just being a college football player pretty much entitles Tebow to any girl he could ever want, but as you can see in the picture, his jean shorts and Teva sandals really push him over the top to irresistible.

Whether or not it's true, Tebow continues to be the golden child of the NCAA, having performed plenty of missionary work with his family, never getting in trouble with the law, and now, saying that no girl is getting near his penis. At least, not 'til she puts a ring on his finger. Video confirming that you have gotten more tail than Tim Tebow below:

Mark Buehrle is perfect

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle (pictured, going in for the hug on the left) tossed the 18th perfect game in Major League Baseball history yesterday, blanking the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 in just 2 hours, 3 minutes.

Amazingly, it was the second no-hitter Buehrle has ever thrown. Even more amazingly was that 28,036 people took off work for a 1:05 p.m. game on a Thursday.

I admit that I got a good laugh out of checking out the Yahoo! box score, where B.J. Upton is listed as Tampa Bay's top batter, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. How did Yahoo! even pick Upton as the top batter? Six Rays batters shared the exact same line.

Buehrle improved to 11-3 on the season and got a phone call from President Obama for his efforts.

Of course, Buerhle owes DeWayne Wise a big hug. The outfielder saved the day with an acrobatic catch, robbing Tampa Bay's Gabe Kapler of a home run in the ninth inning after coming in as a defensive substitution.

All pitchers dream of pitching the perfect game. Twenty-seven batters, zero hits, zero walks, zero hit-by-pitch. Only 12 have completed it in major league history, and many have come close.

Nine pitchers have had a perfect game spoiled in the third and final out of the ninth inning, most recently former Yankees ace Mike Mussina in 2001.

Twelve pitchers have allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in the first inning before retiring the next 27 in a row.

And eight times, the pitcher has not allowed a hit or walked a batter but a man has reached base due to a teammate's fielding error. Nice work, Buehrle. Now everyone can spell your name correctly without Googling it first.

Fourth NDSU player gets DUI

Fargo, North Dakota. Home of North Dakota State University, an independent baseball team and a lot of barley.

With all that excitement in the Peace Garden State, it's no surprise that a bunch of rowdy football players just want to unwind with a ton of booze.

After getting liquored up, they all probably decide to pile in a car and drive eight-and-a-half hours to Mount Rushmore. At least, that's what I would do, which is why it's no surprise that a fourth NDSU football player just got arrested for driving under the influence after three of his teammates have done the exact same thing -- and got suspended from the team indefinitely -- in the last four months.

Not that I condone drinking and driving. I just laughed when I saw the Fargo dateline and declared that if I was drunk anywhere in or around North Dakota, I would want to get the hell out, too.

It definitely hurts the Bison to lose a fourth player for the season, as Division I-AA (FCS) teams only receive 63 scholarships. To add insult to injury, two NDSU players were booted from the team last year for possession of marijuana, which further proves my point that there is NOTHING TO DO IN FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA.

According to the Associated Press, all NDSU football players are required to attend a drug and alcohol seminar each semester.

One of my friends once told me that the drug and alcohol seminar at the University of Maryland was so painfully boring that it actually drove him to alcohol to figure out what all of the fuss was about.

Zebra 1, football player 0

An odd story came out of Pittsburg, Kansas this morning. Pittsburg State linebacker Joe Windscheffel is going to miss the upcoming season due to a compound fracture on his forearm.

The culprit? A zebra. Seriously. Why was Windscheffel around zebras in Kansas in the first place? According to the Associated Press, he "recently had to move three female and a male zebra to paint a fence along a pasture line."

Windscheffel, who burned his redshirt last season after an Achilles injury, will now miss this season as he nurses his latest battle wound. The bite "required a plate and six pins," which I imagine is more metal than the Achilles injury took.

Not surprisingly, there's not much more to the story. And as it's a slow day in sports but a busy day in the office, that's all I've got for you guys today.

It must be great to be Big Ben

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is allegedly as douchey on the field as he is off the field, according to a recent lawsuit filed against him.

Roethlisberger (pictured, drunk, wearing an obnoxious graphic t-shirt), has already established himself as a mediocre motorcyclist, but has allegedly added sexual assault to his list of extracurriculars.

According to the crime report, Roethlisberger sexually assaulted a Harrah's hotel employee in a Nevada hotel, asking her to fix the television in his hotel room before forcing her to have sex.

I don't know what kind of TV repairmen there are in Reno, but the mental image I have is an old, hairy man wearing a wife beater with his buttcrack hanging out of his carpenter jeans. Certainly not a candidate for me to even consider sexually assaulting (not that anyone is, obviously).

The strange thing about the report, which ProFootballTalk.com writer Mike Florio said "reads like the rape allegations made several years ago against NBA star Kobe Bryant," is that it is not a criminal lawsuit -- it's a civil lawsuit.

Roethlisberger is being charged with civil counts of assault, sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, false pretenses, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Yet, strangely, none of these counts are criminal. And I have no idea why that is.

Roethlisberger's attorney, David Cornwell, issued the following statement last night: "Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone; especially Andrea McNulty." Gee, it's too bad Cornwell isn't the judge and jury in this case.

Soccer coach saves the day

With its first- and third-string goalies out due to playing for the Canadian national team and injury, respectively, the Washington Freedom was down to its last man -- er, woman.

In the second half, when second-string goalie Kati Jo Spisak went down with a pulled quadriceps injury after a routine goal kick on Sunday at RFK Stadium, the Freedom had to get creative.

Knowing it was going to be shorthanded, the Freedom had signed 36-year old goalkeeper coach Nicci Wright to a two-day contract as an emergency plan in case Spisak got injured. Without any other options, Wright grabbed a jersey and ran out to play goalie for her first pro game in six years.

It wouldn't be much of a story if Wright allowed six goals and the Freedom got spanked, but Wright actually held her own as the Freedom shut out the St. Louis Athletica for a 1-0 win in front of 4,606 fans.

Even funnier is the fact that it is the Freedom's first win in nearly a month, and it kept Washington (5-6-5) alive for postseason contention for the time being. They couldn't win with the three goalies on their own roster, but putting in the 36-year old coach who hasn't played pro ball in six years and they're golden.

Wright's success could be argued as a collective step backwards for professional women's soccer, at least in the U.S. I mean, if a 36-year old who hasn't played in six years can shut out another team for 26 minutes, the overall talent on the field probably isn't overwhelming.

After the game, Wright joked that the short-term contract probably only paid $75 for the one-game stint.

"I think I should get more than $75, don't you? I think they should just double my pay for what I had to go through," she joked.

JJ Redick's man purse

This one goes out to all my Terp faithful, many of whom (incorrectly) love to see Duke fail as much as they like to see Maryland succeed. Either way, we can all have a big stomach laugh at former Dookie JJ Redick, a notorious sissy, who appears on some sports radio show, defending his man purse.

It's almost unfair. From his booger-picking episode to his DUI to his oft-forgotten comments about playing beer pong, Redick never got an ounce of slack from Terps fans.

But this man purse bit deserves a little friendly ribbing. The hosts of the show bring up some footage of Redick walking around sporting a man bag. After making fun of him several times, Redick admits that his teammates make fun of him as he carries his purse through the Magic's locker room.

Enjoy this video as a kickoff to your weekend, folks.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:71bcba5c-9f39-4050-b3d9-877cfb8e3a57&showPlaylist=true&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&fg=everyzing" target="_new" title="Reddick defends his 'man purse'">Video: Reddick defends his 'man purse'</a>

Frederick area softball coach fired

It's a notoriously slow week for college and pro sports across the country. So much so, in fact, that news of the dismissal of a Frederick-area high school softball coach appeared in the L.A. Times today.

Walkersville High softball coach Brad Young hosted a team cookout at his house in June with players and parents. Parents at the party brought a few six-packs of beer, but no minors consumed, nobody got drunk and therefore, nobody got a DUI.

Yet, because the cookout was classified as "an official team function," alcohol was prohibited, despite the fact that the cookout was miles away from the Walkersville campus.

Young, who had just finished his fifth season as coach of the Lady Lions, leading Walkersville to a Regional Title, was shocked by the news of his firing. So were the team's parents.

"None of the students had access to alcohol or were drinking. The girls simply had a lot of fun. And Brad did not drink. In no way shape or form did any parents or school employee put any of the students in jeopardy or do anything illegal or immoral," Bob McNally, father of two softball players, told the Frederick News-Post.

The Frederick County Board of Education created the rule to thwart parents from providing alcohol to minors and taking away their keys.

"Parents were having keg parties and providing alcohol, thinking it was OK because they took the kids' car keys. This policy was created to stop that," said Jean Smith, the Board of Education President.

Obviously, Young's cookout was not an avenue in which any minors had access to the booze. Nobody, not even those of age, was drinking in excess.

In an interview with the News-Post, Young cited a team trip to a bowling alley in Walkersville where alcohol is served.

"We took a group in there one day and used seven lanes. The people at the eighth lane were drinking beer. Did we violate the policy then?" Young said.

Admittedly, Walkersville holds a soft spot in my heart, as News-Post sports editor Stan Goldberg often sent me to cover Lions games from February to May. Though I never met Young, I do feel for the guy, who was unaware he was violating school policy in the tamest way possible.

Obama throws out first pitch

Sporting a fresh White Sox jacket, Obama stepped to the mound for the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game as sports bettors waited with bated breath. Online sports books had offered the following opening pitch prop:

Obama's ceremonial 1st pitch. Pitch to be caught in air or hit the ground.

• Obama pitch caught in air -400 (bet $100 to win $25)
  
• Obama pitch bounces or not caught +350 (bet $100 to win $350)

Have faith in your athletic president, sports betting junkies. Obama's pitch, while lacking a Hideo Nomo wind-up, sailed right into the glove of Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, netting the "pitch caught in the air" bettors with a winning wager.

Obama admitted to the media that he didn't exactly walk out there with a cold arm: "Well, I think it's fair to say that I wanted to loosen up my arm a little bit. ... Now, there was no clock on it, I don't know how fast it went -- but if it exceeded 30 miles per hour, I'd be surprised. But it did clear the plate."

Fairly impressive work from a president who never played organized baseball growing up in the Windy City. As for the wardrobe choice?

"My wife thinks that I look cute in this jacket," he said.

Can you tell it's a slow time for sports? Here's some trivia: the only two days of the year where there are no major sports (i.e. basketball, football, baseball or hockey) -- the day before the MLB All-Star Game, and the day after the MLB All-Star Game. Yawn.

Home Run Derby afterthoughts

Despite his best efforts, slugger Albert Pujols wasn't able to deliver a Home Run Derby crown to the St. Louis crowd. Instead, the title went to Milwaukee vegetarian Prince Fielder (pictured), who bested Texas' Nelson Cruz 23-21 in the final round.

The real story within the Home Run Derby, of course, was Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge's stellar performance. Inge, by far the smallest of the Derby participants, hit as many home runs as I did last night: zero.

Inge stands just 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, compared to Pujols' 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame, and Fielder's 5-foot-11, 268-pound frame. Seriously, Fielder is a vegetarian. I guess you can be a vegetarian and still eat all the Boardwalk fries you want.

In any case, Inge's 0-for-10 first round performance was the first time a player went without a home run in the Derby since 2005, when Jason Bay hit a donut.

Inge nearly hit one out on the 10th out, but the ball sailed just foul. Even Inge's 6-year old son Tyler was getting squeamish.

After the sixth out, Tigers teammate Curtis Granderson said that Tyler turned to him and said, "Daddy's not hitting any home runs!" according to MLB.com.

Despite the embarrassing output, Inge maintained a positive outlook on the event: "This is about as big screen a TV as you can get. I was excited. I was sitting there, my kids with me. It was a really good moment. I mean, obviously, it would've been a little better if I'd hit home runs," Inge joked.

UFC star Lesnar goes all WWE on opponent

Former professional wrestler, professional football player and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar took 1 minute, 48 seconds to turn Frank Mir from contender to a bowl of mush on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Millions tuned in to watch the main event of UFC 100, where Lesnar (4-1) squared off against Mir in what was expected to be a good fight. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Lesnar summoned his inner Godzilla, though, ending the fight just before the end of the second round.

That's when things got interesting. Lesnar reverted back to his days of WWE wrestling, going over to Mir's corner and getting in his face as he was being attended to and showed the crowd the middle finger before giving commentator Joe Rogan an outrageous interview.

Lesnar said he was "going to drink a Coors Light, because Bud Light won't pay me," referring to Bud Light, one of UFC's top sponsors. He also said that he surgically extracted a horseshoe from Mir's rear end and beat him over his head with it, in more colorful language. He then told the entire crowd of his post-fight celebratory plans to consummate the championship with his wife.

Somewhere after the interview at the ring, UFC president Dana White got a hold of Lesnar and slapped him into shape before sending him out for the scheduled press conference, where Lesnar appeared like a dog who had just been hit with a newspaper.

"I was so jacked up ... I'm used to selling Pay-Per-View tickets ... I come from a business that is purely entertainment. I screwed up, and I apologize," Lesnar said, while holding on to a Bud Light. Of course, without the so-called King of Beers ponying up $3 million in sponsorship money, Lesnar wouldn't be cashing a $400,000 check for beating Mir senseless.

2011: The Year of the Younger Brother

It seems strange and almost perverse for basketball gurus to be scouting kids who haven't even taken geometry yet, but the growing trend is to evaluate prospects as early as possible.

Part of that is due to more and more money pouring into sponsoring AAU teams and events all across the country. Kids from lower income families are able to travel all over the country touring with their AAU teams, earning exposure and perhaps a scholarship offer or two on the way.

Every year, the cream of the crop for the upcoming class is impressive. That's no different for 2010, the rising high school seniors, and 2011, the rising juniors. However, the top of the talent list for 2011 has some recognizable last names, mostly younger brothers of current or former NCAA stars.

Two of the top 10 players in the extremely early and subject to change rankings for 2011 include Marquis Teague (pictured above), the younger brother of former Wake Forest point guard Jeff Teague, and Florida-bound Austin Rivers (pictured below), the son of NBA coach Doc Rivers and younger brother of Indiana guard Jeremiah Rivers.

At the early stages of evaluation, Teague has been called better than his older brother Jeff, the 19th selection in the 2009 NBA Draft. Here's what ESPN has to say about younger Teague: "Teague was a terror in the open court ... He attacked the rim with crossover and hesitation dribbles ... and he has a sweet floater that he lofts over outstretched hands with excellent touch. Teague is a very explosive scoring point guard ... Extremely athletic for his size."

Rivers, who just finished up his sophomore year in high school, has already committed to play for Billy Donovan at the University of Florida. Not surprisingly, he is being billed as having a high basketball IQ, thanks to his father, who point guarded the Atlanta Hawks throughout the 1980s. Here's what ESPN says about Rivers: "Rivers can get to the rim, draw contact and finish ... He is a very good slasher that can go left or right ... The bloodlines (Doc Rivers' son) show with his solid athleticism and basketball IQ."

Other younger sibs include Marshall Plumlee, who Duke is hoping will become the third -- and final -- Plumlee to play for the Blue Devils. Plumlee's older brothers, Miles ('08) and Mason ('09), are big bodies and are expected to get meaningful playing time this year for Coach K. Marshall lives four hours west of Durham but admitted that Duke has not been actively recruiting him yet.

Cody Zeller, the youngest brother of UNC's Tyler Zeller and Notre Dame's Luke Zeller, is another prospect with a familiar last name. Zeller has an offer from Indiana and is hearing from Notre Dame, among other high-major schools.

Rounding out the family tree is Raheem Christmas, a Philadelphia prospect whose older brother starred down the street at Temple. Though Raheem may end up a more heralded recruit than Dionte, Temple coach Fran Dunphy will likely try to play the pipeline game in corralling the younger brother.

LeBron gets dunked on, pouts

(Photo via here.) We already knew that LeBron's sportsmanship skills needed a little work, but the latest story really takes the cake. While hosting his annual LeBron James Skills Academy camp, King James got beaten on a play and threw a true hissy fit.

James' camp splits the attendees into different teams for a camp-wide scrimmage, with LeBron playing for one of the teams. Xavier sophomore Jordan Crawford out-hustled LeBron and threw down a two-handed dunk to some 'oohs' and 'aahs'.

"Everyone saw that. You couldn’t miss it. Jordan just came through the lane and spooked it. Nobody expected it. He just snuck in and threw it in, said Marquis Teague, younger brother of former Wake Forest guard Jeff Teague and a top recruit in 2011.

"It happened, and it was bad," said Michael Gilchrist, another top recruit in 2011.

Embarrassed, LeBron reacted by calling over the Nike officials and getting them to confiscate all video evidence of the dunk.

Everyone understands that LeBron needs to protect his ultra cool image, and a video of the dunk could have easily been the top video on YouTube for yesterday and today. It would have fizzled out and been forgotten about beyond that, though. Instead, everybody is talking about the dunk that could have been seen around the world.

Plus, we all know now that, despite his appearance on Saturday Night Live, King James really can't laugh at himself. If we're laughing and he's not, that means we're laughing at him, not with him. That's something I can live with.

Hairless chihuahua to sign with Pistons

Milwaukee Bucks big man Charlie Villanueva's Twitter account is becoming a legitimate news source, according to ESPN. The free agent tweeted on July 2nd that he was planning to sign with the Detroit Pistons.

Villanueva suffers from alopecia universalis, a disease that makes one lose all of the hair on his body. It makes him look like a hairless chihuahua. A hairless chihuahua that will be making around $7 million a year for the next five years.

The 6-foot-11, 232-pound Villanueva averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for Milwaukee this past season, career highs in both categories. The Pistons have already signed former Bulls guard Ben Gordon, who played at UConn with Villanueva for one year.

Of course, the only reason we know that Villanueva even has a Twitter account was because of a stunt he pulled at halftime during a Bucks game last year. He posted: "In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up." Coach Scott Skiles gave Villanueva a stern talking to after the game. That'll set him straight.

The times, they are a-changin'.

Is Marbury headed to Washington?

Celtics point guard and frequent front office headache Stephon Marbury is likely on the move again, and the word on the street is that Washington "looks like the favorite for Stephon Marbury's next gig after Boston came up with an initial offer of $1.2 million, the veteran's minimum."

Can't say that I would be thrilled about the Wizards making a move to acquire another member to their already-crowded guard-heavy roster, especially with Marbury's checkered track record.

Here's a recap of his speedbumps for those who don't follow "Starbury" particularly closely:

• 1999 - Marbury's agent demands a trade from Minnesota after a disagreement over his role with the T-Wolves.
  
• 2005 - On his fourth NBA team, Marbury feuds with Knicks head coach Larry Brown. Marbury, the focal point of the team's offense, stays with the Knicks. Brown later gets fired.
• 2005 - New York Daily News calls Marbury "the most reviled athlete in New York."
  
• 2007 - Marbury, still with the Knicks, feuds again with new head coach Isiah Thomas. Thomas later gets fired (though he deserved it), and later details come out that the two got into a fistfight on a team plane. Marbury also threatened to blackmail Thomas in front of a bunch of teammates. Swift move.
  
• 2007 - Marbury publicly defends the actions of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who came under scrutiny for hosting dog fights, animal cruelty and killing some of his own dogs for poor performance.

Marbury clearly has an iffy past, and, despite being relatively healthy, has only appeared in 47 games in the last two seasons (with the Knicks and Celtics). He would join Gilbert Arenas, Javaris Crittenton, Mike James, Nick Young, Randy Foye and DeShawn Stephenson in Washington's surplus of guards. On the bright side, the media would have a field day if Marbury and Arenas teamed up for the biggest prima donna starting backcourt in the NBA.

Naturally, the Wizards' most pressing need, a legitimate big man, is tossed on the backburner in an effort to run a five-guard offense. Wonderful.

Happy birthday, America

It's almost July 4th, and you know what that means. No, not Independence Day. No, not fireworks. It's time to stuff as many hot dogs into your mouth as you can, and hope not to vomit! It's the 94th annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest!

The reigning champion, Joey Chestnut (pictured not-so-dry heaving) is the slight favorite over Kobayashi (also pictured, stuffing several hot dogs in his mouth at the same time).

Last year's contest forced a thrilling overtime period between the two heavyweight eaters as Chestnut captured the win, gaining 10 pounds in the process.

In 2007, the two juggernauts clashed again as Chestnut, a relative unknown, captured his first victory, consuming a world record 66 hot dogs to Kobayashi's also world record 63 in just 10 minutes. That moment was arguably the greatest athletic achievement in all of American sports history. It was not unlike 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both broke Roger Maris' longstanding single season home run record.

The over-under is set at 60.5 hot dogs, or roughly a four-person family's entire hot dog intake for a year. While Vegas is expecting a Chestnut or Kobayashi victory, it simply laughs in the face of any contender, putting the odds at 12-1. I dare you to bet against the Michael Jordan(s) of hot dog eating. In fact, I footlong hot-dog dare you.

So kick back and relax, my friends. Crack open a beer and eat a normal amount of hot dogs. Enjoy the fireworks, and I'll see you back here on Monday.

Bracketology update, hooray!

There's still more than four months to go until basketball season tips off, but ESPN resident nerd Joe Lunardi's bracketology schtick is alive and well. Apparently it is never too early to start looking at the NCAA Tournament. I know, I know, I wrote a three-part series on sports betting not long ago, including my early favorites to win it all in 2010. But that was different -- Lunardi is actually predicting seeds before some freshmen are even on campus and enrolled in classes.

College basketball fans around the world could finally breathe a sigh of relief with June 17th's update, getting their March Madness fix, not unlike the junkies who hang outside of 7-Eleven all day.

My favorite part of the most recent update -- which, to be fair, is only once a month or so, not every few days like later in the season -- is that Lunardi actually has teams rising and falling in his rankings. It's clearly a knee-jerk reaction from reading who is transferring in and out (Kentucky's Eric Pilgrim), who is academically eligible or ineligible (Oklahoma State's Karron Johnson) and who is making a late commitment (Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson).

Hey, Duke fell to a No. 2 seed. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that guard Elliot Williams is transferring to Memphis, leaving the Blue Devils with just two scholarship guards on the roster? Meanwhile, Maryland rose to a No. 8 seed. Hmm, maybe that's because star Greivis Vasquez announced that he would be returning to the Terps for his senior season.

In any case, perhaps it's a bit premature to consider Cincinnati a bubble team largely because they got a commitment from Stephenson (pictured), a possible lottery pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. That, of course, relies heavily on Stephenson's July 15th trial for groping a girl last fall. If Stephenson is found guilty, he may not ever be able to play basketball for the Bearcats. Luckily, that decision should fall just before Lunardi's next edition of Bracketology.

Brandon Jennings just can't help himself

Those of you who read my stuff regularly know that Lane Kiffin is one of my favorite blogging subjects. Give a guy some power and access to the media and stupid things start falling out of his mouth, eventually making its way onto my blog.

Add Brandon Jennings to the list of guys who will be appearing on Benched Press with some regularity, especially if he keeps up his torrid pace of enemy-making.

The 19-year old Jennings made waves when he became the first player from the United States to leap to Europe for a year, spurning the NCAA (not that he had much of a choice) and earning an impressive paycheck for a season. As expected, he entered his name in the draft and Milwaukee took him at No. 10 overall.

After a pre-draft workout with Sacramento, Jennings told the media that fellow top point guard prospect Ricky Rubio was "all hype."

"Well, put it like this: If he was in a workout with me and [fellow point guards] Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Tywon Lawson and Stephen Curry, he wouldn't probably be at the top. ... I think I'm a better player than he is. ... I think the dude is all hype. I can't even front. I'm just going to be real with you guys," Jennings said.

Three days later, Jennings must have realized he made a bad move, posting on his Twitter page: "I went overboard about the Rubio thing, I was wrong for saying he's all hype that's not fair. I was wrong," Jennings said.

Jennings' Twitter page has been taken down, probably at Milwaukee's request. At the NBA Draft, Jennings opted to stay in a nearby hotel to avoid embarrassment if he wasn't taken in the first 14 selections. After he heard his name called at No. 10, he raced over to Madison Square Garden and took his picture with commish David Stern a few picks later. Hmm, so Jennings has the guts to call out another top draft pick, but doesn't have the guts to risk looking silly and not getting his name called in the lottery? Weak.

Since the draft on June 25th, Jennings is already ruffling feathers in Milwaukee, unbeknownst to him. Jennings is apparently buddy-buddy with rapper Joe Budden, who recorded a phone call on speakerphone with the rookie shortly after the draft and posted it on YouTube (warning: extremely unsafe for work).

Jennings says "F*** the Knicks*," predicts that he will beat out Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour for the starting job, and says that the Bucks won't re-sign point guard Ramon Sessions.

Oh, to be 19 again.