The week that was: July 22-29

1. Everyone from the Sun-Sentinel to Slate have questioned if this was the worst sports week ever. Baseball is tainted by Bonds and his alleged steroid use. The NBA is scarred by a ref's alleged gambling and mob ties. And one of the NFL's biggest stars was indicted for dogfighting.

Sorry, but not the worst week ever. We've known about Vick for months, Bonds for years and poor NBA officiating forever. None of the scandals are going to hurt sports any more than they already have. Few fans are going to doubt that the results we see in the NBA are artificial, just as few fans doubt (or, more accurately, care) whether the MLB's home runs stem from steroids, juiced balls or corked bats. And the NFL Commish's tough stance on his players' run-ins with the law will go a long way in fixing the NFL's image - which, judging by TV ratings and merchandise sales - doesn't need fixing.

A tough week? Sure. Worst week ever? Hardly. Any lockout/strike period is much worse than this.

2. Props to ESPN and the sports media as a whole for their reporting on NFL training camps, which opened this week. In years past, SportsCenter routinely did a piece on some quick, fairly harmless hazing rituals during training camps, like rookies being duct-taped to goalposts. Other than a stray story or two, that was largely missing.

And it's about time. We cringe when college or high school teams haze with alcohol, stage kidnappings or tie each other with athletic tape. But it's funny when rookies have water dumped on their heads when they're in the bathroom. Sorry, but I don't buy it. It's not OK to call one humorous and the other horrendous.

3. As if anyone gave a hoot, the Tour de France ended today, with some 24-year-old Spanish dude taking the title by 23 seconds. Now that Lance and Landis are gone, it's nice to be able to stop pretending to care about a bunch of dopers riding aroundon tricycles. Instead, we can focus our attention on much more important things.

4. Like Barry Bonds.

Oh wait, he STILL hasn't hit No. 755 yet? Damn, dude. What's the hold up?

5. Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are being inducted into the Hall of Fame today. A couple genuine nice guys who played hard, played honest and deserve every ounce of success they got, and are grateful of every ounce of it. Good for them.

6. Word on the street is that the Big Ten - which, mind you, already has 11 teams - could be adding another team making it...the Big 12? Or, um, the Big 12 v. 2.0? Possible suitors include Syracuse and Rutgers.

But let's face it. The Big Ten wants Notre Dame. They have for a decade. But ND's not buying in for two reasons: The Irish wanted into the Big Ten 60 years ago (and more recently than that), but the snobs in the front office didn't want a little Catholic school in South Bend. ND is still bitter.

And, more importantly, Notre Dame football is an instutition like the NY Yankees or Dallas Cowboys. They make a fortune on their own TV deal through NBC, so why would they want to join a conference for the right to wallop Northwestern once a year?

As for Syracuse and Rutgers, they don't fit the bill. Penn State hardly makes sense, but Happy Valley seems close enough to the Midwest that it's not outlandish. But teams from New Jersey or New York joining the Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes? No thanks.

7. Last and least, only one week until the PGA Championship - aka, the week of death. Just thought I'd share.