Heat it Up!

The Reds and Cardinals have split the first 2 games of a late-spring series as important to the Reds as any series in quite a while. What scares me is the pitching against good teams still seems to fold and give up way too many runs. Mercifully, the Reds placed reliever Mike Lincoln on the DL today. I still think he'll figure out a way to give up a run or two.

Jeff Howard, a 6'8" forward from Westfield will be walking onto Indiana's basketball team this fall. Good get for the Hoosiers. I'm not a huge fan of walk-on's because they tend to play the backup quarterback's role of favorite player on every team even though they can't reasonably lift a team consistently. But as long as Tom Crean allows walk on's, he might as well get them from small schools in Indiana. Westfield's not so small anymore, but you get the point.

The right guy won the Indy 500. Dario Franchitti whipped the field like a tied-up goat all day Sunday, and had this race been won on fuel strategy, it would have been a shame. I still think Chip Ganassi is a whiney jackass; but there's no questioning his teams' execution. Franchitti was flawless.

For those who think Indy should always finish under green flag conditions, I say you're like that little kid who cries when he doesn't get what he wants. Sometimes, there's an accident on the last lap and open wheel cars have no business duking it out in contrived "green/white/checker" finishes like NASCAR. The last 5 laps of the Daytona 500 took almost an hour and 3 tries to complete. How very.....WWE of them. No reason for the Indianapolis 500 to cater to "lowest common denominator." When you hand out $13 million in prize money and draw 300,000 fans to your event; you're relevant enough to avoid that. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains.

I think the NBA Finals will start sometime soon. Celtics in 6.

The Pacers worked out Chris Kramer today. Maybe THAT's the secret #10 pick. Nothing the Pacers need more than a 6'2" kid who can't shoot. I'm starting to think they trade out of the pick, and there's a rumor that Tony Parker's a potential target. Latest reports have the Pacers dealing their #10, Brandon Rush, and Troy Murphy for Parker and the Spurs #20 pick. If it gives the Pacers some cap flexibility, I might just do it and hope Gordon Heyward falls. Or maybe I'd take Oklahoma State's James Anderson. He's a prolific scorer and terrific shooter. If the Pacers can come away with Parker and Anderson, I do the deal. They can find another "4" later.

Does the name "Natasha McKenzie" sound familiar? Well, it will. She's the target of a police investigation concerning credit card fraud with a card registered to the Colts' Reggie Wayne. She purchased over $100,000 in goods and services - including her kids' daycare charges and her own college expenses - on the card Wayne says he didn't approve. She says Wayne knew everything, and that he gave McKenzie the card as a way to help cover his love affair with her. Wayne is married.

If you haven't read ESPN.com's Rick Reilly's column "It Feels Like a Sauna in Here," do yourself a favor. Who knew guys train to sit in 250* sauna's and battle it out for the world sauna championships. 250* for 10 minutes will sufficienly cook a hot dog. Definitely worth a read.

RT Brightman