The Phelps follies, now brought to you by ...

Posted at 10:29 PM on Saturday, Feb. 07, 2009

Enter the Warzone, making friends on a weekly basis.

*There goes the assumption that Alex Rodriguez would rescue baseball's record book from Barry Bonds' clutches.

*Besides Kellogg's, Michael Phelps' sponsors are sticking with him despite that infamous photograph of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist with his face halfway down a bong.

Plus, he picked up new endorsement deals with Doritos and Ben and Jerry's.

*Not only does this damage Phelps' role model image, it also raises questions about his 10,000-calorie a day diet.

*First Phelps gets a DUI. Then he's dating an exotic dancer. Now he's smoking ganja at college parties.

If Phelps keeps it up, even the Cincinnati Bengals will consider him a character risk.

*Pat Hill deserves plenty of credit for luring four-star recruits Travis Brown and Derek Carr into the fold.

Sure, both grew up wanting to play for Fresno State. Just as much, they grew up wanting to play for Hill.

*Look for Brown to start immediately, bolstering a thin group of linebackers. Carr probably needs a year to fill out and digest the offense. But after that, he's the guy.

*Now all Hill needs to do before spring football is find an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

At least someone is hiring in this economy.

*Did you hear about those folks in Tucson, Ariz., who had their TV coverage of Super Bowl XLIII interrupted by 30 seconds of porn?

Wonder how many had the presence of mind to throw a flag for illegal contact.

*Don't know about you, but we're still miffed that Kurt Warner's so-called fumble in the final seconds wasn't reviewed on replay by the referee.

On the other hand, fitting for the NFL season to end on another bad call.

*Ohio State lineman Alex Boone, drunk to the gills, had to be Tasered by police for resisting arrest after witnesses saw him jumping on car hoods, yanking on a tow truck cable and trying to bust a window.

If only Buckeyes players put up that much fight in national championship games.

*Fresno's own DeShawn Stevenson tied for first in a recent Sports Illustrated poll of NBA players asking which of them "thinks he's a lot better than he actually is."

Stevenson averages 6.6 points and 3.1 assists for the Washington Wizards. He must think he's averaging 26 and 13.

*Dwight O'Neil doesn't deserve a lengthy suspension mostly for being irresponsible.

The bigger question is whether the Bulldogs are better without O'Neil. Certainly, they don't need him dominating the ball at the end of games.

*On the other hand, Bryce Cartwright played 30 minutes the other night without recording an assist.

*For no particular reason: Ross Rebagliati.

*If Fresno County bothered to collect park fees most days, maybe it would have more money to maintain them.

Just a thought.

*O'Neil spends almost a week in jail for a suspended license, and two dirty cops are out on bail in one afternoon.

Nice to know we're all equal under the eyes of the law.