General: This n'That on... The week in sports

It's time for the first "This n'That..." of the new year, and there's a lot to cover. Kobe Bryant's scoring streak, Annika Sorenstam's shot at the PGA, Athen's falling behind in preparations for the 2004 Olympics, and more.

(Note: Photo by BBC sports. Check them out at: BBC news and sports web site.)

So, let's get started...

* Can anyone argue against Kobe Bryant being the leading candidate for MVP this season? With his incredible scoring streak of seven-games in a row with 40-points or more, which could be eight after tonight's LA vs. Portland game, he is carrying the Lakers on his shoulders right back into the playoff hunt. A good argument can be made for Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, but, hands-down, Kobe is the top player so far this year.

* In case anyone is wondering, here are other scoring records in the NBA along the lines of what Kobe is doing. In 1961-62, Wilt Chamberlain scored 35 or more points in 33 straight games. That record might not ever fall. In 1986-87, Michael Jordan scored 35 or more points, 10 games in a row.

* Now, here's a question for you -- Who is "the man?" Over the last couple Lakers' games, Shaquille O'Neal sat out because his knee and toe were hurting. Meanwhile, Bryant played with a knee so sore, he was limping throughout each game. So, who's tougher? Should Shaq be playing? Well, there is some argument. Shaq did have toe surgery (though we could argue from now till doomsday if he should have had it earlier in the offseason), and he does carry 330 or more pounds on his 7'3" frame, which is a lot of weight on one knee and one toe... So, he gets the benefit of the doubt -- for now. (I'm a fan of his, so I definitely give him the benefit of the doubt.) But, make no question about it, right now, Kobe is "the man! (And I believe Shaq has said as much himself recently, though I cannot find his quote about that at press time.)

* Idiots of the week. This weekend, the circus comes to the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee, as Mike Tyson goes up against Clifford Etienne in a heavyweight cartoon... er, fight. The fight was on again, off again, then on again, all week long. First, Tyson had the flu, then he had a tattoo, and then Etienne said forget it. Finally, both fighters had a moment of clarity and realized how much money was involved, and voila!... they're ready to fight. Stay tuned to see if they actually do.

* In a related cartoon -- the undercard for the Tyson vs. Etienne bout is Tonya Harding, the ex-figure skater, vs. Samantha Browning, who is legitimately trying to get into boxing. Harding says she's serious about getting into boxing too, ever since she blew the lights out of Paula Jones of Bill Clinton fame, in a Fox night of fighting last year. (Did anyone see that fight on TV? It was hilarious. Jones looked surpassed when she realized that she actually had to fight and she bailed out so fast once she got hit it was a riot.) It should be interesting to see how Harding does against someone who actually wants to fight this time.

* Has anyone watched ESPN's "Around the Horn" recently? It has gotten a lot better since its debut last year. Host Max Kellerman has toned down is talking and now there are some seriously, decent debates between Kellerman and a host of outstanding, guest, sports columnists (four on each show), such as Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, Woody Paige of the Denver Post, Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times, Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning-News, and T.J. Simers and J.A. Adande, both of the L.A. Times. Of course, the scoring system is a sham -- you can tell who's going to win the game from a mile away -- but, still, it is entertaining and a good, daily debate on sports each day. Check it out if you get a chance. (Weekdays, 5:00 p.m.)

* However, PTI with Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser is still the show to beat. (Weekdays, 5:30 p.m.)

* In Friday's news (February 21, 2003), the IOC stated their concerns that Athens, Greece, is falling behind in preparations for the 2004 Summer Olympics. Now, while they might be concerned with the physical buildings going up, personally, I'm more concerned with security. On a good day, Athens is a terrorist playground. If the folks in Greece are still worried about building the facilities, how much are they paying attention to security? If they are not ready, it might be open season on the athletes in the 2004 Games. The question is -- with the state of the world today, will countries start pulling out of the Games because of possible terrorism? Might the USA and President Bush say -- sorry USA athletes, but it is just too dangerous to let you go over there? Hopefully, with the Games still two years away, the world might be more peaceful by then. We can only hope and pray.

* It's time for the NHL to cut its losses and contract. Four teams, six teams, they need to get smaller to get better. They expanded way to fast. So far this year, Ottawa and Buffalo declared bankruptcy. Recently, Mario Lemieux, owner and player of the Pittsburgh Penguins had to, basically, sell his leading scorer, Alexei Kovalev, to keep the Penguins afloat financially. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman better open his eyes and do something fast, or this exciting sport might just be history.

* I recently saw an article, or maybe I heard it on TV... either way, there were some great ideas for what the NHL should do. Contract six teams. Shorten the regular season. Allow fewer teams into the playoffs. Make NHL playing surfaces the size of Olympic rinks. Get rid of the red line. And, stop the damn fighting!!! That's how the Olympic tourney is run and the ratings are high. Maybe if they do it in the NHL, they'll find those same high ratings.

* Ok, there are plenty of excellent men's college basketball rivalries, but let's just focus on two right now. What's the better one -- Duke vs. North Carolina OR Duke vs. Maryland? Right now, Duke vs. Maryland is exciting. Last year they had some great battles. So far this year, the two teams split -- Maryland winning on January 18th at home 87-72, while Duke won at home this week 75-50. But, historically, and especially with the great rebuilding job going on in Chapel Hill right now, Duke vs. North Carolina is still the premier rivalry in the college game.

* Golf -- I have to start by saying I really like Annika Sorenstam. She is the best women's golfer at this time, and possibly of all time. She was also my 2003 Female Athlete of the Year (see Sports Awards 2002 -- The Fifth Annual Cappys). When it was announced recently that she would get an exemption to play in the Bank of America Colonial Open in Ft. Worth, Texas, a PGA event, later this year, I thought it was a great idea. I've been involved in women's sports for about 10 years now and I thought this would be an interesting thing to see how well she would compete. But now, with a male golfer (see next item) trying to one-up her and try and qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, I'm afraid what was once going to be an interesting sporting event, might turn into a side show. And that is a shame. It's a shame that people just can't accept things at face value -- a great, female athlete just wanted to see how she would measure up against some great competition. She wasn't trying to join the PGA. She doesn't want to play it on a full-time basis. This was something that should have been celebrated, now I'm afraid it will turn into a side show. Too bad.

* Now, as for the idiot that is trying to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. His name is Brian Kontak. He supposedly is a decent golfer. He says he isn't doing it for publicity. I say he's a phony. I'm positive he's doing it for publicity. I'm also positive he's doing it because he's anti-women sports and he's probably a male chauvinist pig as well. He's a wimp who can't make it in the men's game, so he's going to try and play against the women in the name of "equality." That's a crock and he knows it. Sorenstam accepted the invitation to play the PGA event because she is a serious golfer and wants to see how she measures up against better players. Kontak is not serious, he's a wimp, and, you know what, I hope he gets to play against the women and doesn't make the cut. Wouldn't that be a laugh-riot.

* So, maybe a solution is for the LPGA and PGA to hold one tournament a year with men and women playing together, against each other. I'm betting it would be interesting to watch.

* Final item -- Why can't Sports Illustrated figure out how to cover women's sports, or do a feature on a female athlete, right? This week they did a great article on Sorenstam. She's a great athlete and she deserves it. But, they opened the article with photos of her in a two-piece bathing suit. Why? What does that have to do with Sorenstam the golfer? When SI does an article on Kurt Warner or Allen Iverson, do they show those guys in Speedos? (God, I hope they never do either.) SI, I, and many other women's sport's fans, appreciate your efforts to continue to cover women's sports and its great athletes. Please do not ever stop, However, please, treat them with respect, and treat them as equals to their male's counterparts. And, I'm not saying, that women are equal athletes to men. They are not and they say so themselves. But, they should be treated on equal footing "as" the men -- with respect to their own accomplishments and to each other. It's as simple as that.

Well, that's about it for now. Until next time, we'll keep rambling along...