ONE HOT PITCHER

***YANKS GET SHUT OUT***

Every now and then, a young pitcher will show you why he got to the majors in the first place. Last night, Phil Humber exhibited the talent that got him drafted in the first round by the Mets. Actually, the Yanks drafted him three years earlier, but never signed him. The Mets traded him to the Twins, the Twins released him and Kansas City signed him. A year later, KC waived him and the Oakland A's signed him and then they waived him a year later. Now the White Sox have him and five teams are sitting around wondering why all that talent never surfaced before.

So he pitched a no-hitter into the 7th and shut the Yanks down completely. The Bombers are still in first, and leading the majors in runs per game with 5.74. It's an amazing stat considering only half the lineup is really hitting. According to talent evaluators at the start of the season, the Yanks hitting was going to keep them in contention, so I guess this is according to form.


***A SHARP SLAP ON THE WRIST***

...probably followed by an apology. Ohio State football coach, Jim Tressel, has been informed by the NCAA that he is being investigated for "...failure to deport himself...(with) honesty and integrity." It would not surprise me if Tressel had to look up those two words. Sure Tressel and the University have self-imposed a five game suspension, but what real punishment is that? It probably means he will be forced to watch the games from the press box instead of the sidelines. He'll still run the practices and determine the game plan. That's as transparent a punishment as when Annie-O tells people that Chad actually has a voice in household policy. Yeah, right.

Now the NCAA could force OSU to forfeit some of it's wins from last year (which they may), or extend the suspensions for the coach and the five players (which they won't) or declare the players ineligible (you can laugh now). But, if things get too bad for coach Tressel, well, Janice Hough has foreseen that possibility: "I see a “leaving the university I love for an NFL job to help my family” speech in Tressel’s future."

This is the coach who preaches responsibility and integrity in his book, "The Winners Manual For The Game of Life." Apparently, it's a work of fiction.

CP-