Weekly Sporties

-To start with, I want to go on record as saying I do not think the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged. If it were than the Celtics probably would have won it when they had the best odds to get Tim Duncan all those years ago. But when the very future of NBA franchises worth hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake I can understand why conspiracy theorists might think the league takes on the role of puppetmaster behind the scenes so as to leave nothing to chance. As such, no matter who won Wednesday's lottery for the first pick in what is widely believed to be a 1-player draft there were bound to be paranoid people screaming that the fix was in. However, the NBA does not do itself any favors when teams like the New Orleans Hornets, who the league has controlled for two seasons (and continue to control until their sale to Saints' owner Tom Benson goes through in July) wins the lottery despite having slim odds. It just looks way too convenient, especially when you consider that Benson had been balking at the same deal for over a year and then suddenly decided it was a fair price. Some say it is because he was desperate to get the Saints bounty scandal out of the local news headlines, but the conspiracy lovers think it is because NBA Commissioner David Stern sweetened the pot by guaranteeing the first pick in the draft. I'm still not saying the NBA draft is rigged, but I have to admit that scenario is a lot easier to believe than a guy deserving to shoot more free throws than the entire team he is playing against and yet I just saw that on Wednesday.

-If you saw his rambling statement after deciding to skip the team visit to the White House, it is pretty easy to assume Tim Thomas believes in a few conspiracy theories himself. But, now the quirky Bruins goaltender is creating a curious situation of his own by quietly telling the team a few weeks ago that he might want to take a year off from hockey. It wouldn't be a retirement, so much as a chance to re-charge his batteries. Now, the Bruins already have a replacement in-house in Tuukka Rask and there was a good chance Thomas was going to be released this offseason due to a high cap number so it doesn't totally mess the team up, but that doesn't change the fact that this is just weird. I don't know how often 38 year-old hockey players take a sabbatical - I think most people would just call that a retirement. Reportedly Thomas has said he wants to take the season away from the game for family reasons but some have publicly wondered if this is either a negotiating tactic to get a new deal done, simply Thomas' way of making it harder for the Bruins to trade him or, because the team would have to count his contract against the salary cap even if he doesn't play, he's trying to stick it to the Bruins because he doesn't like the way the team treated him following the White House incident. Either way, I think one thing is as true as it has ever been - hockey goalies are always weird guys.

-One guy who would much rather be playing than retired is former Giants slugger Barry Bonds. But, after being convicted of obstruction of justice Bonds has served his community service and wants to get back into baseball in some capacity, specifically with his former team, the San Francisco Giants. I think the Giants probably owe him that, considering he put enough fans in the stands during his career to build them that beautiful ballpark they currently play in. However, there is one problem - no one actually likes Bonds. During his time as a player Bonds was a jerk to everyone, from the media down to his teammates. As such, the Giants are in no rush to deal with him again. But, according to Bonds there is good news on that front - that guy wasn't actually him. No, that was a character Bonds created to entertain us all. Apparently, Bonds fancies himself an intense method actor who never breaks character, along the lines of Sacha Baron Cohen. First off, I'm not buying it. Even if it was fake you would have heard at least one story during his 20-year career about how Bonds isn't as bad as everyone thought, but you never heard any of that. Secondly, let this be a lesson to everyone out there: if you are going to pretend to be someone you are not, at least pretend to be someone nice. At least that way people might be willing to give you a job later. The Giants may still end up creating a position for Bonds somewhere within the organization, but I wouldn't count on his office being the fun hang-out for everyone.

-Rounding out our diva storylines is former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens. Owens was playing for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League in an attempt to prove to NFL teams he had fully recovered from a knee injury. The attempt already wasn't going well as no one appeared to care and this week it took another hit as the Wranglers released Owens. Reportedly it was because not only did he not want to travel to a couple of away games which were crucial to the Wranglers' playoff hopes (in his defense, Owens' contract was only for home games), but also because Owens blew off a team outing to a children's hospital. Ok, the second part may sound good from a PR standpoint (also it makes the case of breach of contract, which means Owens forfeits the stake of team ownership which was part of his deal), but I'm pretty sure the real reason Owens was let go was because he wasn't bringing the expected attention to the team or the league. The only time I have seen Terrell Owens lately is when he is crying on Dr. Phil about not having enough money to make all his child support payments. Not exactly the kind of publicity a struggling league wants. On top of that a team source was quoted as saying, "No one wants to deal with him anymore" which might be the most damning statement of all. You know, previously T.O. had appeared on ESPN to 'punk' people with a fake retirement announcement. Well, the joke may be on him because I think the NFL has retired him without asking if he was serious or not.

-After shooting a 7-over round of 79 during the first round of the Memorial Tournament, Phil Mickelson withdrew from the rest of the event, citing "mental fatigue." I always have to laugh when golfers withdraw from events after one day, because they make up the most flimsy excuses. (It should also be noted that no one ever seems to hurt themselves while shooting a good round.) Phil's excuse of being tired seems even worse after he revealed that he is playing a corporate outing on Monday. Still, the fact that people even have an opinion shows the double-standard golf has when it comes to superstars. No one said anything about Boo Weekley or Sang-Moon Bae after they quit with "injuries" following rounds which were just as bad or worse as the one Phil just shot. What is really killing Mickelson here is his attempt at an explanation. There is no rule which states that a player has to reveal why he is withdrawing from an event as long as he waits until his round has finished before doing so. So, Phil may as well have not given one because I think we all know the real reason - he didn't play well, doesn't really like the course, doesn't think he can come back to make the cut and wants to get a couple extra days off. He is hardly the first golfer to feel this way and he won't be the last, so anything he said in trying to justify his withdrawal was going to sound disingenuous. Not to mention I think he has built up enough good will with the media to just be honest about his reasons. It's never the action which gets you into trouble - it is the attempt to explain it away which does. If Phil ever needs more evidence of that he can just ask Tiger Woods.

-There was another interesting story in golf last weekend. Leading by three with a four-foot putt left for the win, Dustin Johnson marked and then moved his ball out of his playing competitor's line, but after that player putted Johnson forgot about it and never moved the ball back. He made the putt, but then a rules official informed him of his gaff and he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for hitting from the wrong location, turning his easy three-shot victory into a one-shot nail-biter. First off, I don't know how you make that kind of mistake because I've had to move my ball numerous times and never forgotten to move it back. Considering Johnson had to remember to move his ball back for all of 3 minutes it is even stranger, but I'll concede I've never been in a position to win a golf tournament and for all I know there is a lot on your mind in that moment. The second thing I wonder about is whether the rules official should have pointed out Johnson's mistake before he signed his scorecard, which would have gotten him disqualified. After all, in no other sport do officials tell you are doing something wrong and give you a chance to correct it - they just call the penalty. Given that golf is supposed to be the one sport which is self-governed I just wonder where the line is. Either way, it is a good thing Johnson made that putt or we'd be having a totally different discussion right now.

-Justin Combs, the son of music mogul P. Diddy, was recently offered a full scholarship to play cornerback for UCLA. A legitimate prospect, the younger Combs was a good get for a struggling UCLA program. However, with his father's net worth estimated to be around $550 million, many people think the younger Combs should pay his own way and let his scholarship money go to someone who couldn't normally afford school. On the one hand I can see why people would feel that way. However, there are plenty of kids playing college football whose parents could easily afford tuition and none of them are asked to pay their own way. But you could make the case that without offering him the same scholarship that a normal recruit would get than UCLA wouldn't have gotten a commitment from Combs and even if they had it would set a dangerous precedent that he should be treated differently from all the other players. (Also, I do not see this as a black/white thing as so many do. To me this is about fame. Too many people know how rich Diddy is.) Not to mention a famous promoter like P. Diddy could make the school some money. You know plenty of his artists are going to start wearing UCLA jerseys in their videos. Besides, this isn't like when Master P's kid got a spot on USC's basketball team just because he was friends with OJ Mayo. After seeing that I figure as long as the kid can actually play than that is good enough for me.