The Week that Was

Big week in Sports Land:

1. Michael Vick indicted on dogfighting charges. Which, needless to say, puts him in the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's doghouse (You'd be surprised how many journalists crack that joke and expect it to be funny the 50th time). In any case, Joey Harrington becomes the possible starter for the Falcons next year - which, as any Dolphin or Lion fan will tell you, is not a good sign.

2. Barry Bonds hit a couple more home runs. Or something. Wake me up when he gets to 755.

3. The Dolphins released Culpepper, finally putting him out of Daunte's Purgatorio. Get it? Get it? I love Medieval Italian literature jokes! Culpepper met with the Bucs earlier in the week, but his likely destination, according to everything I've read, remains with the Jaguars. If he does indeed join the Colts' AFC South rival, he would team up with David Garrard and Byron Leftwich, giving the Jags three black quarterbacks who couldn't escape a blitz if their contract depended on it. I note the black part only because I'm not sure if an NFL team has ever had three black QBs on its roster at one time.

Regardless, I'm glad Daunte's finally on his own to find a deal that works for him. In my interactions with him in South Florida, he was a nice guy who still thinks he can play. My prediction: He lands with one of the Florida teams as a back-up QB, takes a few snaps in meaningless games but is never the same as he used to be. Blame it on the Madden Curse.

4. The Pacers continued their mission to be the whitest team in NBA history, agreeing to terms with the esteemed point guard Travis Diener. His career average of 3.8 points and 1 assist a game will come in handy with the Pacers as they try to destroy the house that Reggie built and alienate the biggest basketball fans in the country from an NBA team. One comment on the Indianapolis Star's story put it best: "What kind of pistol does he carry?" Hey, at least the Indiana Fever is doing well....

5. The Oklahoma City - errr, Seattle - Sonics' owner declared that he wants to stay in Seattle. No, really. He means it. Honestly. But the state better get crackin' on a new arena to replace the ancient, 12-year-old KeyArena. In the team's defense, Seattle's pad is the smallest in the league, but if something doesn't happen by Oct. 31, it's bye-bye to Starbucks and hello to, um, OU?

6. Sergio Garcia is tearing up the British Open, while Tiger Woods is falling apart. Blame it on the new kid. A man can't perform at his best if he's got a crying, snot-nosed little brat waking him up at 3 a.m. every night. Hey, it's a better excuse than "I didn't bring my A-Game..."

As an aside, last week was busy for me. Expect more posts this week.