Eric Kay

It's shaping up to be quite a year for women in sports.

Danica Patrick became the first female winner in Indycar history Sunday, winning the Indy Japan 300.

(Actually this is a landmark victory because she and I are both 26 and up until late Saturday night I could always say something like "well, what's she ever done? We're the same age and neither of us have won an Indy race. I don't see the big deal in her." So I'm kinda upset I've lost that chauvenistic ammunition.)

Lorena Ochoa became the first LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks. It's also her fifth victory in six starts this year.

(Actually, this is a landmark victory because she and I are both 26 and up until Sunday morning I could always say something like, "well, what's Lorena Ochoa ever done? we're both the same age and neither of us have ever won four straight LPGA tournaments.")

Ana Ivanovic

Just a few weeks back (Not on April 1 mind you) our very own Mike Freeman penned a landmark column about how the women's college basketball game is better than the men's.

Pat Summitt won her eighth national title, is approaching 1K wins and is featured in her own ESPN commercial with Kenny Mayne.

Speaking of ESPN, Dana Jacobson is probably a better drinker than Chris Berman.

Hillary Clinton is probably a better bowler than Barack Obama.

Let's ask now touring Chris Rock what he thinks of Hillary as president:

"I think America's ready for a woman president . . . just not that woman. Being married to somebody doesn't make you good at their job. I've been with my wife 10 years now. If she got up here right now, y'all wouldn't laugh. At all. You get on a plane tomorrow, you want the pilot's wife flying you?"

Thanks, Chris.

Reading the Washington Post on the plane this morning, I noticed a section devoted to the NBA. I looked closer and found a W in front of the word, "NBA." Yep, women have their own league.

And co-ed sports are all the rage.

How about 'dem cranberries?

I didn't the read the whole thing (it's really, really long), but The Bong Zone begins a tremendous read/debate on the idea of quarterbacks. I'll be printing it out and taking it to my, uh, office later. Speaking of Dave Krieg, here's a Facebook group devoted to him.

The Blog to End All Blogs watched some basketball this past weekend and came to this conclusion: The Lakers are the only team that plays "team ball."

It may sound weird, but the Cubs are getting some good starting pitching this season. It's Gonna Happen in 2008 breaks down week 3 in Cubs Nation.

If you really like Week 3 analysis, don't stop reading with the Cubs. Check in on the Yankees after three weeks courtesy of It's up to you....

Found this great clip of karate expert Bob Jackson (In Living Color) while surfing on YouTube. Jim Carrey used to be real, real funny.

Tip of the hat to the San Diego Chargers linebacker group. You all are the most notorious unit in the league thanks to Stephen Cooper.

Cooper, the team's leading tackler (179) last season tested positive for a banned stimulant that was recently added to the NFL's list of prohibited substances.

(Two quick thoughts on that: Whoever is recording tackles for the Chargers must be awfully generous and how do people still get caught with banned substances? They have dieticians, team doctors and nutritionists who are employed strictly to know what's kosher and what's not.)

So Cooper must sit four games, which makes him the least of the bad-ass 'backers. There's also Shawne Merriman, the steroids user. Shaun Phillips, the one who likes to fight police. Matt Wilhelm was arrested for driving under the influence his rookie season and of course, former 'backer Steve Foley, who drives classic Oldsmobiles (a good thing), but makes cops feel scared to the point he ends up with bullet holes in his legs.

Two suspended, a brawler, a DUI and if we add Foley into the mix, a botched drunk driving experience nobody should ever experience.

Now I know what you're thinking. Eric, James Harrison is enough to boost the Steelers' corps to the top of the worst-group conversation.

I say, I like you're thinking and I'm open to hearing any other arguments for worst corps is football.

While picking out top games for '08 is a futile excercise (who had any late-season Browns games this time last year?), In Love with the Game, Mom's View (despite her Steelers bias) at least goes outside the box with a little Cards-Panthers in Week 8.

Speaking of the Steelers and futility, check out Prisco's Points on Pittsburgh's "brutal" schedule. Again, how the heck do we know if playing the Giants this season will be quite the daunting task is sounds to be? Sigh.

It's the question everybody has an opinion on: Kobe or Chris for MVP. Dantheman4250's Sports Blog breaks it down and sides with Kobe. I have to say Paul's numbers -- and influence -- are on par with Steve Nash's when the Phoenix point guard took home the hardware, while Kobe's have stayed relatively consistent, while his complimentary parts haven't. So there's precedent to give this to the point guard since Kobe's clearly more in the conversation this year than in year's past because of the new help he has.

Oh those Red Sox. They took a two-game sweep vs. the Indians and Red Sox Rewind is here to break down the lovable empire game-by-game.

J.C. Penny sure used to sell some weird stuff back in 1975.

If there's one thing the porn industry has taught me, it's not how you start, but how you finish.

Now, that's not a stab at coming out guns blazing. But endurance is key in this game.

What the heck are we talking about?

I forget. But it has to do with baseball -- oh yeah, teams with good records, unexpectedly speaking.

I'm looking at Oakland, Baltimore, Kansas City, Florida and St. Louis. Which one of these teams are A. the biggest surprise and B. likely to sustain success?

Uh, probably none of them. But St. Louis has the best chance, followed by Kansas City and Oakland.

Speaking of Oakland, is there any team better at turning chicken s*** into chicken salad?

Future Yankee Dana Eveland is lights out. Future Red Sock Greg Smith just shut down the potent White Sox and future body donated to the study of science Rich Harden will probably be the best under-15-start pitcher in baseball. The team hits like the Lovely Ladies, but should keep Billy Beane's in-game destructive tendencies at bay.

As for Kansas City, as long as this team is wearing the powder blues, who can't like them? Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke and Gil Meche are a jab, hook, uppercut trifecta, pending Gil "freakin'" Meche's healthy and when Luke Hochevar gets called up, yowzer. Plus, Billy "Rube" Butler is a professional hitter and Alex Gordon may soon wipe that smug look off David Wright's face when the conversation switches to best third baseman in the league.

And St. Louis can't be counted out as long as Dave Duncan keeps papier-mâchéing pitching arms together like's he's been doing since the Paleolithic Era.

So I'll go with K.C., Oakland and St. Louis as my three maybe-they-could-be sustainable sexy picks. But like good porn, it's not about my thoughts, it's about your feelings. Who ya like to be hanging around the set come late August?

On to the best four blogs ... around!

Highlight shows reward offense, Outside the Paint rewards defense (of defence). And that means big props to two Celtics, a Laker, a Rocket and a Piston. 

Sticking with the NBA, The Blog to End All Blogs gives a little respect to what I consider the Ledell Eackleses (underappreciated) of the league.

While MLB teams in Trouble Early has a good About section (Got 'stache) and features a solid take on the Eastern Conference Playoffs, I'm not sure about Big Z hitting those clutch treys for the Cavs against the Bullets.

Sexy avatars have Collected and Conveyed. a bit upset. The blogger reaches out and hopes to touch his fellow community members with a plea to put them away.

This week in our newsroom Fantasy baseball league, I'm playing Al Harrington. Not the Warriors forward, but this guy.