Saturday Sporties

-So, Wednesday the judge in the Barry Bonds trial declared a partial mistrial after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked on 3 of the 4 charges against Barry. He was only found guilty of Obstruction of Justice. Now, not that I want to make light of a guilty verdict for Obstruction of Justice, but with that result this entire thing feels like a waste of time. Tens of millions of dollars spent and years of peoples' lives wasted only to have it come out that Bonds most likely won't do any jail time. The prosecution has said they will consider re-trying Bonds on the other 3 crimes, but I'm begging them not to. I know that technically they didn't win, but Bonds has already been convinced in the court of public opinion and he will never, ever make the Hall of Fame. Take that as your win and move on to something more important... like anything else.

-Harvard Head Basketball Coach Tommy Amaker decided to stay at Harvard this week, despite the advances of a much bigger basketball program, the University of Miami. While this has to feel great for Harvard coming off the best year the program has had in decades, you have to wonder what this does for Miami. I mean, if a guy is willing to stay at Harvard versus take your job, you have to wonder where your next coach is coming from. If an Ivy League coach doesn't see your job as a step up, then who will? You're already reaching pretty deeply into the barrel. Pretty soon you might find you've hit the bottom.

-Chris Paul was interviewed before a game against his hometown Charlotte Bobcats earlier in the week where he said that, since he grew up in Charlotte and idolized Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, he would give Charlotte serious consideration as a free agent destination when his contract ends in 2012. Sure he will. Just like Kobe seriously "considered" the Clippers a few years ago until the Lakers sweetened their offer. Pardon my skepticism, but unless Charlotte can offer a lot more money than New Orleans or more exposure than New York (both unlikely to happen) then I fully expect Paul to end up in one of those two cities. I would be shocked if he ended up in Charlotte on his own free will.

-On Thursday, PGA Tour player Kevin Na made a 16 on a par-4. (Actually, he thought he made a 14, was told he made a 15 and then when he checked the tape discovered it was a 16, meaning it somehow managed to get worse as the day went on.) Now, normally when I watch a professional golfer make a bad score I look at the TV and say, "Been there, man." But, I can't even say that in this situation because, bad as I am, I've still never made a 16. Most courses ask you to pick up your ball after 10 or 12 shots to keep the pace of play moving (which is the only reason I've never made a 16), but the PGA makes you finish the hole no matter what you are shooting. Credit to Na, though, because even though he was 12-over on that one hole, he finished only 8-over for the round, meaning he was 4-under on the other 17 holes. That is what separates the professionals from the rest of us, because we would have followed that 16 with a 10.

-Late Friday afternoon news broke that several online poker sites were being investigated for illegal gambling. Apparently they had advertised as practice-only sites where no real money was supposed to change hands, however it turned out that was exactly what happened and the owners of the sites allegedly hid this illegal money in off-shore accounts. So, you're telling me that people so addicted to gambling that they started a poker site wanted to trade real money? And that they were the type of fellows who might know the kind of people who could launder money so that they could illegally hide from the government how much money they actually were making? I am shocked. SHOCKED I tell you. Usually professional poker players seem like such fine, upstanding citizens.