General: Mike Tyson, the New York Post, Pete Rose, and Shaq all in one spiel

A lot has happened in the sports world lately, so much that I am not sure which of the many topics I should write about. So I guess, I'll write about them all.

* Mike Tyson defeated Clifford Etienne, "The Black Rhino" as he is know, in 49 seconds. Etienne was a tomato can and never was able to land a punch on Tyson's tattoo, and use Tyson's possible weak skin on that junction of his face to his advantage. Instead, he just displayed how weak the heavyweight division is to everyone.

Next week, Roy Jones Jr. will take on heavyweight "champion" David Ruiz. If Jones Jr. is able to knock out Ruiz, the heavyweight division will be the most despicable thing in sports today.

This could very well happen too, since Ruiz was knocked out in 19 seconds by David Tua, but some how, for some reason (can you say, Don King), Ruiz is now a heavyweight champ!

Jones Jr. is probably giving up at least 30 pounds to Ruiz and has some of the most amazing punching power in boxing history. He didn't necessarily want to duke it out with "Pazmanian Devil" Vinny Pazienza though. If it weren't for his knock out power, which he can strike you with at any time, he might have lost that fight.

Ruiz likes to brawl it out, much like Pazienza, which might get Jones Jr. to stay away from him the whole fight, his only shot of not being embarrassed. Jones Jr. almost fought Buster Douglas a few years ago.

* Back to Mike Tyson... How did Jeremy Schaap not laugh out loud, like I did, when he interviewed Tyson for ESPN in the lockerroom afterward the fight, when Tyson said, "I went to a strip club and gave a stripper a lap dance." p> Tyson is rumored to have his own reality show in the works. I think we might see him get the rest of the tattoo on his face, give strippers lap dances and who knows what else.

* Michigan St. won the NCAA tournament in 2000, the first championship for the school since Magic Johnson led them to a championship in '79. So far this year, they are 14-11 and might not even make it into the big dance. Almost everyone in the Big Ten has over ten losses or is hovering around ten losses.

The Spartans rank seventh in the conference. They have beaten Kentucky, Virginia, Syracuse, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma St. and the NCAA rewards tough schedules.

The tourney committee let Georgia in the tournament in 2000 with 14 losses, rewarding them for the schedule they played. Plus, MSU's archrival and current Big Ten leader, Michigan, won't be allowed to go to any postseason tournaments, which will push the Spartans one step up the ladder of Big Ten teams allowed in.

* The New York Post is always the newspaper I read when it comes to integrity and fine moral backbone this country represents. (Hopefully, you all got the sarcasm in that last statement.) This is nothing more than a gossip rag and they seem to have outdone themselves in the last year, as they now try to play the game of finding out which athletes, current or former, are homosexual.

Recently, they reported that former LA Dodger great, pitcher Sandy Koufax, was gay. As a result, Koufax cut off ties with the Dodgers because the Dodgers' owner, Rupert Murdoch, owns the New York Post.

The paper also had a great big headline of "I'm not gay," which was made by NY Mets catcher Mike Piazza after the paper went after him. Fox Network and they'll probably be broadcasting "The Mike Tyson Reality show," which I hope shows Tyson beating up "Joe Millionaire." But, knowing that Tyson once spent a press conference calling reporters "queers," and also Murdoch's recent effort of trying to expose who is gay, it might just be Tyson going around trying to find out who is gay for the New York Post.

* Barry Sanders was asked to comeback by the Lions, but declined once again. The Lions should trade his rights to anyone stupid and arrogant enough to think they can convince him to comeback.

If they did, the first two takers might be the St. Louis Rams or the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams and 49ers both thought an overrated, women beating running back named Lawrence Phillips would lead them to a championship. Now, they might think they can convince Sanders to come out of retirement, but I doubt it. Even though neither team needs him, it would cost a lot of money against the cap and both teams are out of cash to pay him.

* Jesus Shuttlesworth, aka Ray Allen, has found a home in Seattle. He was traded from Milwaukee, along with others, for Gary Payton and others. If Allen can help the Sonics make the playoffs, the team, which is owned by Starbucks, might just have a new coffee called Jesus Shuttlesworth blend. You might have to make a NBA salary to have afford it though, just like all Starbucks' other coffee. A cup might cost more than the "He Got game" DVD does.

* Even though Barry Sanders isn't playing in Detroit anymore, Steve Yzerman is once again. Yzerman, who has been the Red Wing captain since he was 21, will try to lead his team to back-to-back championships. He is a shining example of what is right in sports. He had major knee surgery during the offseason (and didn't wait to do it on "company time" like a certain center for the LA Lakers). He worked hard to rehab his knee, and it has paid off. He's back and ready to play, surprising even his doctors with what he has accomplished.

* Speaking of those Lakers, Kobe Byrant didn't do much in that center's first long absence in the season, but has in the second one. He has scored 40 points in nine straight games. At the rate the Lakers are going, they might be in make it to the fourth or fifth spot in the conferences. Byrant's dominance also would give him the MVP, if the season ended today.

* Pete Rose was rejected from inclusion into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. This probably wasn't the same type of rejection he felt when those bookies wouldn't accept his payments in Canadian bills and coins though.

* Have you heard about the women's college basketball player in New York that won't face the flag during the National Anthem? What is great about America is that she has every right to be as stupid and ignorant in her ways as she wants to be, while I have every right to tell her that she is stupid and ignorant. That's what freedom is all about.