Milwaukee Brewers 3B Ryan Braun is an amazing hitter. But to call him a butcher on defense is an insult to knife-wielding swine slicers. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to call Braun the worst defensive player of any starter in the Major Leagues.

The Brewers lost 9-5 to the San Diego Padres on Thursday, blowing a chance to gain a game on the Chicago Cubs, who had lost earlier in the day. One of the main culprits in the loss was Braun, who committed not one, not two, but three errors at third base.

Braun's is fielding is so atrocious, it should be enough for Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to win the National League Rookie of the Year. Will it happen? Probably not. Writers often forget there are two parts to the game and concentrate solely on offensive numbers.

And there is no doubt Braun has had an amazing year at the plate, but Tulowitzki isn't that far off. In 440 at-bats, Braun has hit .325/.370/.639, with 24 doubles, 34 HR and 95 RBI. Meanwhile, in 590 at-bats, Tulowitzki has hit .292/.461/.475 with 31 doubles, 23 HR and 94 RBI.

As you can see, Braun has clearly had a better year at the plate. But on the field, it is not even close.

Tulowitzki may have had the finest defensive year of any shortstop in the Major Leagues. He has made just 11 errors, and has a sparkling .987 fielding percentage, which is tops in all of baseball.

His zone rating is .865, which is third in the majors, behind the Mets' Jose Reyes and the Giants' Omar Vizquel. As for range factor, Tulowitzki blows everyone away, with a 5.43 RF. The next highest in baseball at shortstop is 4.96.

And then we come to Braun. He has committed 26 errors, tied for the most in the Major Leagues with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett. But Bartlett has had 399 more chances than Braun, 640 to 241.

Braun's fielding percentage of .892 is easily the worst in all of baseball, and he is the only regular with a fielding percentage below .900. The next worst is San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff, who sports a .932 fielding percentage - which is still 40 points higher than Braun's.

Braun's range factor is also dead last among third basemen in baseball, as is his zone rating, where he is the only third bagger below .700.

Braun will probably win ROY because the voters will glance at his offensive numbers and see that he has been the best rookie in that department. But if the award is supposed to go the the rookie who had the best all-around year, it belongs to Tulowitzki.

On Wednesday, Barry Bonds took his final at-bat wearing a Giants uniform in San Francisco. The appearance was a prime example of why the Giants were bidding farewell to their longtime left fielder. Bonds hit a long fly ball to center that was just shy of the warning track - a ball that in past years would probably have exited the park.

As it is, Bonds represents the Steroid Era more than any other player. And though he will probably play again next year, many of his contemporaries that made the era what it was have retired or are on their last legs. Here's how some suspected or confirmed juicers fared in the final at-bats of their career, in chronological order. As you will see, 2001 and 2005 were particularly bad years for these broken down players.

Rafael Palmeiro, Baltimore Orioles - August 30, 2005: With runners on first and second in the top of the eighth inning, Rafael Palmeiro was struck out looking by Jason Frasor of the Blue Jays. Toronto won the game 7-2.

Bret Boone, Minnesota Twins - July 30, 2005: Having let go by Seattle, the Twins picked up Boone in hopes he would regain his power. In the top of the 7th against the Red Sox, Boone made the final out of the inning on a fly ball to right field against David Wells. The Twins lost 6-2, and Boone was released after hitting just .170 for the team.

Juan Gonzalez, Cleveland Indians - May 31, 2005: Gonzalez lasted all of one game and one at-bat for the Indians. In the top of the first inning, he grounded out to third against the Twins' Carlos Silva. In the bottom of that inning, he was replaced by Casey Blake. The Indians went on to win, but Gonzalez never saw the field again.

Benito Santiago, Pittsburgh Pirates - April 11, 2005: Santiago played only 6 games and registered just 23 at-bats with the Pirates. In the top of the 8th against Milwaukee, Santiago faced Matt Wise, and struck out looking in a 6-2 loss.

Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals - October 14, 2001: In game 5 of the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, McGwire struck out swinging in the top of the 7th against Curt Schilling. He would be pinch-hit for in the 9th inning of that game by reserve outfielder Kerry Robinson. The Cards would lose to eventual World Champions Arizona in the bottom of the 9th.

Ken Caminiti, Atlanta Braves - October 12, 2001: The last game of his career was his only at-bat of the postseason in game 3 of the NLDS. The Braves swept the Astros, and in the bottom of the 7th, Caminiti pinch-hit for Mike Remlinger. He flied to center off of Octavio Dotel.

Jose Canseco, Chicago White Sox - October 6, 2001: Playing in the final game of a regular season that went long because of 9/11, Canseco and the White Sox were playing in Minnesota. In the top of the 9th, with a runner on first and the Sox down by one, Canseco pinch-hit for Mark L. Johnson. He flew out to center against Eddie Guardado, and the Sox went on to lose. He got a viral infection, went on the DL, and never returned.

Combined Total of These Players: 0-7, 3 K's


(All game info: Baseball-Reference.com)

There have more than a few offensive players in the NFL who have underperformed thus far, much to the chagrin of fans and fantasy football players.

Three weeks into the season, as the first bye week is among us, it seems like an appropriate time to delve into the realm of repugnant play, and devise a team of the underachieving.

QB - Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints: To fully comprehend his awfulness, there is but one stat you need to know. Of the 34 QB's who have started at least two games this year, only two have a worse QB rating than Brees - Rex Grossman and Tavaris Jackson. Brees' stands at 57.1, while Sexy Rexy's is 45.2 and the injured Jackson's is 40.0.

Brees' 1 touchdown throw means his TD% (percentage of passes thrown for a TD) is .8%. Only the injured J.P. Losman is worse, with a 0.0 TD%. Even Joey Harrington has a 2.1 TD%. Being compared with Grossman, Jackson, Losman and Harrington is not company Mr. Brees should be keeping.

RB - Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars: Anyone remember how good this midget was last year? Me too. This season he has only 100 yards on 33 carries, for a whopping 3.0 yards per carry (YPC), and has more fumbles (1) than TD's (0). Among the runners with more yards than him: Najeh Davenport and Sammy Morris.

RB - Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints: Bush's yards per carry: 2.8. His yards per reception: 4.4. Total yards: 150. Losing Deuce McAllister: Priceless Painful.

RB - Larry Johnson, K.C. Chiefs: I'm a bit reluctant to put the Roc-A-Fella rapper in this category, as there have been some mitigating circumstances. Those circumstances are pretty simple: his head coach, his offensive line, his quarterbacks. Bad, worse, worser. Still, his longest run is 10 yards, and his yards per carry is 2.8, same as Reggie Bush.

WR - Lee Evans, Buffalo Bills: Even before Losman went down, he was flat-out abhorrent. After an 82 catch, 1,292 yard, 8 TD season in 2006, Evans' stat line for the first 3 games of 2007 reads as such: 5 catches, 29 yards, long of 9, 0 TD's. Projected total at this pace: 27 catches, 155 yards.

WR - Jacksonville's First-Round Picks: The two wideouts who were picked in the first round by Jacksonville, Matt Jones and Reggie Williams have combined for 7 catches and 88 yards. Not in last week's game. For the entire season.

WR - Ashley Lelie, San Francisco 49ers: Apparently, has played in all 3 of the 49ers games this year. The former first-round pick just hasn't caught a pass yet. Nothing. Then again, he does have immortals Aranz Battle, Taylor Jacobs and Darrell Jackson in front of him, so it must be difficult for him to even see the field.

Our weekly look at the happenings on the civilized and controlled world of sports internet message boards.

ESPN.com - Chicago Bears: "This board is nothing more than a few internet tough guys who didn't know what a real football team looked like until THE DALLAS COWBOYS came to "the windy city" last night!! btw, why do they call it the 'windy city' ?? it must be all the blowhards in your rat hole of a town!!!" - symdev

BengalsZone: "They are starting to catch on about the Bungles. They are starting to realize that your team is a fake. There starting to understand that your 11-5 season was a fluke ... They are saying that your team is soft. No heart! So were back to the same thing. The bungles suck! I can't wait to see what felon you draft to help your team next year!!!!

LOL. Enjoy your view from the bottom!" - chopjaw

DawgBones - Cleveland Browns: "Anyone want to join me in a shot of Johnnie Walker Black because this team SUCK so fucking bad. I'm going to do it at 8:15pm Eastern Time. Everyone grab a shot - and we'll drink our sorrows together." - Soup

ChargerTalk: "It wont do much good. Spilled milk is already on the floor BUT you might feel better if you sign this petition. FireNorv.net" - bluehair

DaBearz: "Cut everyone. No passion missed tackles dropped passes fumbles inteceptions. CUT EVERYONE START OVER" - Opie and Anthony

ESPN.com - NFL: "Texans deserve an apology. The texans were laughed at and berated by all the talking heads when they drafted mario williams...

Doesn't look like that was such a bad choice after all now does it.

Reggie bush is easily the most wildly overrated player in the last 5 years. He's Eric metcalf... that's it" - LouOwnsDusty

PurplePride - Minnesota Vikings: "I am at the end of my proverbial rope watching this inept franchise bumble and stumble there way every week, season after miserable season. But despite all this I will continue to be a fan till the day I die, which will be probably 10 years sooner from all the aggravation the purple gang has sent my way.

I am convinced Childress is a douchebag to add onto the pile of crap ... I have resigned myself to accept the fact I am doomed to walk out of the sports bar I go to every Sunday (because I live in Jersey) to watch the hapless Vikes feeling like a idiot with a Adrian Petersen jersey on." - mamaluke

ESPN.com - NCAA Football: "Is Bulluck gay? Did anyone see that post-game on-the-field interview with Keith Bulluck? He sounds really gay...like a butch Pookie with a bandana." - Ihatefairweathers

SaintsReport: "the defense played good....kinda. if you would have told me we would have given up only 24 offensive points with 5 turnovers, less than 300 yds total offense & less than 100 rushing yds... I would have said you were crazy ... Sure we gave up a kind of long touchdown pass & we let them on the next possession after we took the lead run it down our throats to regain the lead....but all in all this defensive performance put us in a position to win." - greenparrot

RealRamsFans: "What this team needs: We need a Priest or a Rabbi or both and throw in a Profit and Exorcist to boot.

Have them bless the whole locker room with a 55 gallon drum of Holy water, each player, the stadium, the players homes, family , clothing.

Another 55 gallon drum for the coaches, their families, homes, cars kids, etc." - gunite

The best of the Monday sports blogs, including Bianca Gascoigne

- Apparently, Bills fans still support O.J. (Six Pack Sports Report)

- Utah's governor is a fan of extreme sports. Which seems odd. (Shakedown Sports)

- Recapping the week in college fantasy football. (Pre Pro Sports)

- Bugs & Cranks takes on an epic endeavor - picking the greatest Cubs playoff teams of the century. (Bugs & Cranks)

- Pictures of the Angels' Vlad Guerrero pouring champagne on a male porn star. Or something like that. (Sports Unfiltered)

- Sadly, the Rams were, um, not good yesterday. (Ramblin' Fan)

- I don't follow the English Premier League, but it seems as if Chelsea's new manager has an insane wife who likes to drink pee and be spanked. (100 % Injury Rate)

- RFK Stadium, gone forever. Players like Nook Logan are upset about it: "This place sucks," he said, obviously holding tears back. (Babes Love Baseball)

- The best player performances of the weekend, equated to sexual conquests. (More Credible)

If there's one thing I've learned about St. Louis sports fans while growing up and living here, it's this: winning isn't enough. If you don't do it their way, you'll never be accepted.

Just ask Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, who has never been fully espoused in St. Louis. After leading an 83 win team to a World Series victory last season, you would think that the entire city would, at long last, embrace him. It hasn't happened. Unbelievably, there were/are fans (message board types) who refuse to appreciate the championship, saving their joy for the day LaRussa manages his last Cardinals game.

This season, with every starting position player and their two best pitchers being injured, the Cards were remarkably in the N.L. Central race in September before bowing out. Still, calls for LaRussa's ouster were being hailed in June and July.

On the message board Cards Clubhouse, this is but a very small sample of what was being said at that board about him mere months after leading the team to a World Series title:

"He has wore out his welcome in my mind and I wouldnt mind seeing him being fired tomorrow ... Scott Rolen hates and Now I and Albert Pujols hate you."

"He's been making poor management decisions just like that for the last year and a half."

"In my mind, he never was a great manager, the players made him look great. Now, that he doesn't have the players, his 'coat of armor' is very thin, or never was there. Subject at hand!.. Fire the guy..."

"La Russa only wins on talent, anyone could do better then him, he over manages, and it hurts him."

Would you like to know why St. Louisans don't like Tony LaRussa? It's simple, really. There are two reasons.

1) His use of bench players. LaRussa will often sit a regular and play a bench player if he has superior career numbers against that night's starting pitcher. This drives fans here nuts, for reasons known only to their them. A regular could be hitting .022 against a certain pitcher, and a reserve .734, and if LaRussa started the player hitting .734, it's an outrage.

But that's not the main reason. The main reason fans here don't like LaRussa is this:

2) He's not Whitey Herzog.

The same Whitey Herzog who is the epitome of a gutless quitter. 80 games into the 1990 season, the Cardinals had a record of 33-47 ... and Herzog quit, because he couldn't hack it anymore.

Five seasons previous, Herzog got himself ejected from game 7 of the World Series because he was still angry at a call from Game 6. He went into the game unprepared, unfocused and killed his team by choosing to blame the umpire, Don Denkinger, instead of moving on:

"The Cardinals made their frustrations clear throughout the game. ABC television cameras caught Herzog screaming and belittling Denkinger from the Cardinals' dugout throughout the contest ... Herzog even went so far as to directly tell Denkinger that had he gotten "the call" right in Game 6, the Cardinals wouldn't have been subjected to a seventh game in the first place."

Does anyone believe for one second LaRussa would do this? After Detroit's Kenny Rogers blantantly cheated in game 2 of last year's World Series, LaRussa wouldn't let his team dwell on that after they lost. They just moved on to game 3. Herzog couldn't move on, and this was a game 7.

Twice, the White Rat (an appropriate nickname) took his ball and went home like a child. He should forever be remembered for his cowardice in this city, but he's worshipped above any sports figure save Stan Musial.

Which brings us to the St. Louis Rams and their head coach, Scott Linehan. After yesterday's humiliating defeat, 24-3 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's pretty evident where this season is headed for the team. Straight in the garbage can.

And you can thank Scott Linehan for that. Of course the team is going to suffer after losing Orlando Pace and Tye Hill with injury. But it goes beyond that. The offensive play-calling is beyond drab and confusing, the special teams are horrible and the defense is one of the worst tackling units ever assembled.

Most of this has to fall on Linehan's shoulders. He looks scared and confused. Watch him on the sidelines, and he simply sits there with a blank look on his face, clutching his play sheet like Rain Man when he watches People's Court.

At one point in the game, with the Rams down 14-3 and Tampa Bay getting the ball on offense, the miraculous happened and Linehan started yelling and clapping his hands, doing his best cheerleader routine, trying to light a fire under the team's belly. A few plays later, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown.

But that was a rare moment of Linehan exuberance. Maybe the Bucs scored because Rams players were trying to get their minds around the fact that Scott Linehan is actually a living, breathing soul who has the capability to move his arms, legs and mouth.

And you know what? Rams fans deserve this. They deserve every last bit of the mediocre, excruciatingly boring Scott Linehan era. An era that has explosive offensive players all over the offense who can't score a touchdown. An era that has seen him hire a special teams coach who at this time last year was coaching high school kids.

I make no apologies for the fact that I was, and still am, an enormous Mike Martz supporter. I loved the guy. Because I happen to like guys who say, "Fuck you, I'm doing it my way," no matter what the circumstances are. And that was Martz's greatest, yet most confounding quality. He said, "Fuck you." In fact, he said it so much, he got himself fired.

But despite what mediocre broadcasters like Tom Jackson, comically inept websites like Football Outsiders and ill-informed fans like the ones we have in St. Louis believe, at his core, Martz was a hell of a coach. And facts bear that out.

Martz engineered the greatest offense in football history. His 56 wins are the third most in the history of the Rams franchise, behind Chuck Knox's 57 and John Robinson's 79. And among head coaches who were at the helm for at least 50 games, Martz's .609 winning percentage trails only Knox's .737 and George Allen's .708.

And one thing was for sure: Martz was never boring. He was also extremely tough on his team, and quarterbacks in particular. He was excitable, showed intense emotion and had the kind of arrogance that the media hates and many fans embrace. But not in St. Louis.

Why, you ask? Again, it's quite simple. He didn't do it the St. Louis way. He didn't cry like Dick Vermeil. He threw the ball - a lot. He challenged any plays on the field his players asked him to, citing his trust for them. He would often burn all three of the team's timeouts with time left in the first quarter. And he challenged the fat slobs that represent the media, who would roast him when he didn't give them the answers they wanted. And they wanted traditional, grind it out football, like all media does.

Never mind his record setting offenses, his Super Bowl and playoff appearances, and that he is the only coach in the history of the National Football League to take an 8-8 team on the road and win a playoff game. He didn't do it the way St. Louis fans wanted to - he called timeouts and threw challenge flags, and in St. Louis, you don't call timeouts and throw challenge flags.

Here, you run the ball up the middle and fall down after hitting the back of the offensive lineman. Here, you keep the challenge flag in your pocket. And you damn well better have every timeout at the end of the first half.

So instead of having a coach who takes risks, a coach who says "fuck you," a coach who does what he believes is the right thing to do instead of doing what everybody else wants him to do, we have Scott Linehan.

A boring, unprepared, perplexed, drab, possibly autistic Scott Linehan. And Rams fans, you deserve every ounce of this. Even though the team can't score touchdowns, the special teams are an embarrassment and the defense can't tackle, it sure is better to lose with Linehan than win with Martz, right?

Because at least Scott Linehan loses with all his timeouts left. And Lord knows that's the most important thing in this town.

Coming off a World Series title, the St. Louis Cardinals looked poised to make another run at the playoffs, continuing their streak of reaching the postseason every year this decade. Then, the first game happened.

Pitcher Chris Carpenter, their ace and a former Cy Young winner, lasted all of 6 innings before his season ended. Carpenter hurt his elbow, and ended up having reconstructive elbow surgery, sidelining him for at least a year.

That malady started a trend that saw every starter except one from that game spend time on the disabled list. Five of those players ended up having season ending surgery at some point. Only Albert Pujols avoided the D.L., but he played most of the season battling leg and elbow injuries, and it looks as if his season could be over now as well.

It wasn't only the starters that were injured. Valuable bench players, relievers and other starting pitchers were injured at some point during the season.

Here is a look at every starting player, followed by starting pitchers, relievers and bench players who have been injured or spent time on the D.L. this season.

Starting Line-Up

C - Yadier Molina: The Cards catcher fractured his left wrist in May, landing him on the D.L. for nearly the entire month of June.

1B - Albert Pujols: Never missed significant time until recently, but he has played through various leg and elbow injuries, and now he may be done for the rest of this season.

2B - Adam Kennedy: Kennedy was having a horrendous year, and that was compounded by a knee injury in August, ending his season.

3B - Scott Rolen: The perennial Gold Glover was never right in '07, as he continued to struggle with a shoulder that had been operated on twice. The shoulder progressively got worse, leading to his worst season in baseball. He was shut down in early September.

SS - David Eckstein: Eckstein missed nearly a month with a back injury, and he has struggled with it most of the year.

LF - Chris Duncan: The left fielder had a great first half, but was awful after the All-Star break. As it turns out, he had a sports hernia and underwent season-ending surgery.

CF - Jim Edmonds: Jimmy Ballgame started the year at less than 100%, and he was never fully healthy. He suffered from a pinched nerve in his lower back and missed more than a month of action.

RF - Juan Encarnacion: Encarnacion started the year on the D.L. as he recovered from offseason wrist surgery. A freak accident saw him get hit in the eye by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle in August. Not only did that end his season, it may end his career. Cardinals team doctor George Paletta called it, "the worst trauma I've seen."

Pitchers

SP - Chris Carpenter: As mentioned above, Carpenter pitched 6 innings before his season was over. 2008 is in jeopardy as well.

SP - Mark Mulder: Mulder started the year on the D.L. after having rotator cuff surgery last season. He pitched in a few games this year before shutting it down due to soreness. It was recently learned he must undergo another operation on the shoulder, ending his year.

SP - Braden Looper: The surprisingly effective Looper suffered from tendinitis in July, landing him on the D.L.

SP - Mike Maroth: After being blasted in start after start, Maroth went on the disabled list with what was called elbow tendinitis.

RP - Tyler Johnson: Johnson, a valuable lefty out of the pen, missed nearly two months with a shoulder injury.

RP - Josh Kinney: Kinney's season was over before it began. After serving an important role in the bullpen in the '06 postseason, Kinney had Tommy John surgery before spring training.

RP - Todd Wellemeyer: Wellemeyer was a mid-season addition who was used as both a starter and reliever. He missed a chunk of time due to a sprained elbow.

RP - Josh Hancock: As most people know, Hancock passed away due to a drunk driving accident in April.

Bench Players

OF - Preston Wilson: Wilson played in just a handful of games before going down for the season with a knee injury. The injury may end his career.

UTIL - Scott Spiezio: Not only did Spiezio miss time due to injury, he also missed five weeks while undergoing treatment for substance abuse.

In total, that makes 18 players who have had to miss time this year, including every member of their starting line-up and their two best pitchers.

Is there anyone else who just realized that the National Hockey League has officially begun? Amidst playoff races in baseball and the start of the National Football League, hockey is here anew.

In case you do not remember, the Stanley Cup was won last season by Anaheim ... I'm pretty sure.

Practices and training camps have begun across North America. In fact, there have even been exhibition games! Not to mention cuts are being made and rosters are filling out.

The regular season begins in two weeks, so here is my NHL preview:

- MVP: Paul Kariya
- Rookie of the Year: Erik Johnson
- Vezina Trophy: Manny Legace
- Stanley Cup: St. Louis Blues

Even though hockey isn't exactly my forte, I do follow the Blues and watch some games here and there. It would help tremendously if all the games were in hi-def, but I'd be satisfied just to be able to watch the Blues without having to go past channel 600 on DirecTV.

Either way, gear up - another hockey season is just around the corner for most Americans to ignore.

Those of us who caught HBO's Real Sports program were lucky enough to catch a story about a man who managed to succeed against the odds. And that man certainly wasn't Donovan McNabb.

HBO's piece on McNabb, done by James Brown (who also hosts CBS' NFL Today program) was largely an apologetic piece of fluff. Brown chronicled McNabb's upbringing in the suburbs of Chicago, and how he was one of the few African-Americans in the area. McNabb even detailed the fact he got into a fight or two when he was young. Welcome to childhood, Donovan. Is there anybody who didn't get into fights as a kid? Getting your nose bloodied is part of growing up. McNabb acts like it is a novel concept.

McNabb then went on to spit his drivel about how black quarterbacks have it so much tougher than white quarterbacks, though when asked, he offered no empirical evidence. Maybe Donovan hasn't been paying attention to the treatment of Rex Grossman, or Jets fans cheering when Chad Pennington got injured, or the criticism leveled at Eli Manning on a weekly basis.

That wasn't the only way McNabb came off poorly. In one instance, Brown was narrating over game film about the lack of talent around McNabb. While Brown was doing this, there was a shot of McNabb missing a wide open Kevin Curtis in the end zone by a good seven or eight yards.

McNabb, the man who is one of the highest profile athletes in the country, who does soup commercials and penned a $100 million contract, even admitted that sometimes he wonders, "why me?"

The story that followed made McNabb seem like the quintessential whiny, spoiled, American athlete.

It was about a young man named Lopez Lomong, who was from the African nation of Sudan. When he was six years old, he and the rest of the children from his village were kidnapped by Sudanese rebels, who were going to turn them into child soldiers.

Lomong wound up in one of their camps, and the surroundings were not pleasant. He explained that 100 boys stayed in a single room, with no plumbing, electricity or windows. Boys had little to eat or drink, so they were slowly dying from dysentery.

He and three other boys managed to escape through a tiny hole, and they ran for three days, straight into Kenya, where he spent the next ten years in a refugee camp.

Eventually, after what amounted to winning an essay contest, he was selected to go to America and live in Syracuse, New York, with two white people he had never met before. In essence, he was getting a new family and a chance to start a new life, even though he was afraid of basic things like electricity, which he had never seen before.

Soon, he started to run track in high school, and he wound up at Northern Arizona University, where he recently won national tile in the 1,500 meter race.

Shortly after, Real Sports took him back to his home in Africa. There, he met two brothers for the first time, and saw his mom and dad for the first time in 17 years. They were living in poor conditions, in tiny rooms they called apartments, and if you wanted to use the water, you had to boil it. Nobody had shoes and the road was made of dirt.

Lopez Lomong recently became an American citizen, and he hopes to compete in the Olympics, though his main goal is to bring his brothers to America so they can run.

And if they're lucky, Donovan McNabb can share his sob story. Maybe they'll learn what it's like to really have it tough.

The best of the Tuesday sports blogs, including Rachel Bilson.

- The Lions are 2-0, so Rupert is ecstatic, and celebrates with a Prince/Detroit Lions montage. (Ghosts of Wayne Fontes)

- Who was this week's College Negro QB of the week? (Nation of Islam Sports Blog)

- Some of college football's best players are out with injury. (Pre Pro Sports)

- Shaun Alexander explains what happened between he and Matt Hasselbeck that led to the Seahawks loss against Arizona. (Shakedown Sports)

- You'll have a hard time believing this girl is a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. (Epic Carnival)

- In case you were wondering what the top sports stories in Japan were, just click the link. (With Malice)

- Greg Oden potentially danced himself to injury. (100% Injury Rate)

- MBSR lists some of their more tender moments, including pet names, Disney and man hugs. (My Brain Says Rage)

- Taco Bell to Charlie Weis: it is Nacho Day. Get it? Like, "not your day" ... but with nachos. (We Are The Postmen)

Tuesday means it's time to peruse the sports message boards to see what kind of douchebaggery is sprouting up.

ESPN.com - NFL Board: "Can any black players speak well? Watching Emmitt Smith and Keyshawn on ESPN is brutal. Can anyone except Tiki Barber speak well? That is why I like that guy - he is a refreshing image of a black NFL player that isnt seen nearly enough."
- 33Tony33Dorsett33

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "Why Does OJ Keep Getting Set Up? First the racist LAPD sets him up for the murder of his x-wife, and now he's being set up for stealing his own stuff? What gives?" - orngandblu

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "why is everyone downgrading michigan? just becuse michigan losees 2 games you guys start to jump them if this was a different school no one would even care but listen up im promise a win next week and then a big ten title at the end of the season. go blue" - judebham

GangGreen.com - NY Jets: "It starting to look like that EM was only a good coach because of the the schedule last year. I'm not a big Eric fan and never was when they 1st got him. I'm not saying fire him but what happens when we play good teams? That what you measure a coach by." - #1 Jets Fan

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "USC is overrated ... if you watched the game between your trojans and NU then please be honest when you post things! i have the game recorded and can send you a copy of the game! i watch all top 10 games every week and i record them." - mrkmaye23

Igglephans.com - Philadelphia Eagles Board: "fucc the BORING ASSED west coast offense,fucc the eagles front office, fucc kevin curtis, and fucc the guy who said I was fuccin crazy to think we lose the game.."they're giving 7 pts, vegas doesn't mess around with pointspreads" HAHHAHHHAAAHAHAHAH" - Philaphornia Machete Mouf

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "IF MICH beats PSU I say they re-enter the top 25." - Fredm333

ESPN.com - NFL Board: "I just think it's weird how all these black QB's always seem to be the ones with 'no recievers' or talent around them.

It's all them all the time.

McNabb, Young, Vick, etc.

Why is it that only black QB's have no help on offense?" - Unbiased Poster

HomeRunDerby.com: "F*ck moises alou, his brain must have turned to cream of wheat, that mushy-buttocked lube farter. He just wanted an excuse if/when he (inevitably) failed. You have a built-in excuse now f*cktard. And you have essentially destroyed a man. F*cking **** bastard.
Oh, and Mark Prior takes it up the dirty turkey highway." - patrick

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "why is everyone downgrading michigan? just becuse michigan losees 2 games you guys start to jump them if this was a different school no one would even care but listen up im promise a win next week and then a big ten title at the end of the season. go blue" - judebham

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "THANK YOU NICK SABEN.

THANK YOU MAJUR APPELWITE

THANK YOU REST OF BAMA STAFF.

NO DIFINSE CAN STOP US.

ROLLLLLLLL TIDE ROLLLLLLLL" - SKSsDad

For many St. Louisians, this was to be glorious sports weekend. The rival Chicago Cubs were coming to town to play the Cardinals, the Rams were taking on the San Francisco 49ers at home, the St. Louis Blues (FYI: they're a hockey team - look it up) started their exhibition schedule on home ice, and tens of people were excited about something called the Tour of Missouri, which is exactly like the Tour De France - without the mountains.

No matter what, this had to be better than last weekend, didn't it? Apparently not. If last Friday thru Sunday was a punch in the gut, this weekend was a direct kick in the nuts - with steel toed boots.

The Cardinals were playing the Cubs on a four-game homestand, representing their final shot at making a playoff run. They had lost seven straight going into the series, and realistically needed a sweep to get back into contention. They proceeded to lose three out of four.

Making it especially painful, ex-Cardinal hurler Jason Marquis beat them on Sunday. Although Marquis knows everything there is to know about pitching (just ask him), it seems he is actually listening to Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild, much to the shock of Cardinal Nation.

The Blues (again - hockey team) opened their exhibition on Sunday night, and they proceeded to lose 3-1 to the Atlanta Thrashers. First exhibition games in any sport don't generally mean much, but coach Andy Murray wasn't buying it. His post-game comments to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch included him saying most of the team was average and that they were careless. His highest praise went to the former number one overall draft pick, defenseman Erik Johnson: "(He) was one of our more positive defensemen ... he would have graded out at average and the other guys were below average."

Finally, the biggest debacle of the weekend belonged to the St. Louis Rams. They didn't play terribly, but they were coached terribly by Scott Linehan and company in a 17-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The team is now 0-2 and dead last in the NFC West.

Overall, the team played decently but for a few key mistakes - Torry Holt fumbled the ball and it went out of bounds at the goal line - giving the 49ers the ball at the 20 - and Dante Hall muffed a punt deep in Rams territory to set up the game winning field goal by San Francisco.

The coaching errors were beyond comprehension. They failed to get Steven Jackson the ball enough, particularly in the fourth quarter, and after one particular series he stormed off the field, screaming at the coaching staff.

In the fourth quarter, on what would have been the winning drive, Linehan had Bulger spike the ball at midfield, though the Rams had over a minute left to work with. One sack later, it was third and seventeen. A fourteen yard pass set up a Jeff Wilkins 56 yard field goal attempt, and he came up about six inches short.

Furthermore, Bulger nearly got decapitated, as he was sacked six times, and took at least ten more crushing hits. He winced in pain through the entire second half, but still performed admirably, throwing for 368 yards. Apparently, they weren't prepared for what the 49ers did, as guard Mark Setterstrom offered this opinion: ""We had a little bit of trouble identifying things. I'm sure part of their package was confusion. ... Going into the game, we had a couple of people we were supposed to be looking at, and they kind of changed their scheme up a little bit." Way to make adjustments, coaches.

Needless to say, Rams fans are pissed.

The scribes also had a field day with Linehan, rightfully skewering his decisions. Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell offered these thoughts:

"How do you expect to win games with an offense that seems hellbent on getting its quarterback dismembered and its featured running back stark raving mad over his inexplicable lack of use in the crunch? ... Welcome to the Nightmare on Broadway, a recurring horror story filled with rotten pass-blocking, incomprehensible play-calling decisions and Sunday afternoon bouts of amnesia in the coach's booth ... Lots of odd play calls. Lots of needless hits on Bulger. Lots of misuse of Jackson, who touched the ball only three times the entire fourth quarter."

His colleague at the P-D, Bernie Miklasz, had a similar reaction:

" Linehan seemed lost (again) on the sideline. I don't even want to get into it; to list all of the things that went wrong, I'd need the Library of Congress to catalogue it. But in terms of game management and handling the clock, Linehan made Mike Martz look like Vince Lombardi ... The offense is down to one touchdown a game, and confusion still reigns, but at least Linehan is a nice guy who plays well with others ... Playoffs? At this point, I'd be grateful if the Rams just made it to the end zone ... Two games into the season, the storyline is set: Shaw and Zygmunt's young coach is under fire, and with six of the next eight games on the road, he must avoid becoming the next Rich Brooks. The Internet domain name, firescottlinehan.com, is available for $100."

So it was that kind of weekend for sports fans in St. Louis, and unless things get better, quickly, it could be an awfully long winter on the banks of the Mississippi.

DOTD is taking a well-deserved break. See you Monday.

The best of the Thursday sports blogs, including Victoria Silvstedt.

- Sooze (unfortunately) didn't win a date with Alyssa Milano, but she did win a baseball with Alyssa's autograph on it. (Babes Love Baseball)

- Rae and Steg may hate Epic Carnival, but at least they like me! (My Brain Says Rage)

- Chargers vs. Pats is GOWF's game of the week. (Ghosts of Wayne Fontes)

- Stephon Marbury is an odd cat. (Sons of Sam Malone)

- Bill Belichick is not the only one in sports who sucks at espionage. (Epic Carnival)

- Who to start and who to sit for your college fantasy football team. (Pre Pro Sports)

- The best hits at the Rugby World Cup. (With Malice)

- The Falcons owe it to the community of Atlanta to sign Byron Leftwich. (Nation of Islam Sports Blog)

- Brazil soccer fans? Yeah, they love their team. (More Credible)

The New England Patriots and their head coach were caught cheating, which makes them seem like they lack a basic fundamental human trait: integrity. That's not surprising, considering their head coach, Bill Belichick, is a man who would sell his children to the highest bidder if it guaranteed him another Super Bowl win.

And yes, Patriots fans (some of you, at least), we know it's just the evil media and jealous fan bases making this a much bigger story than it is. Because Billy Belichick can do no wrong. Look, you and Bill Simmons can make your excuses, but just know you're exactly the same as the folks in San Francisco (some of them) who will cling to the notion that Barry Bonds has never done steroids.

The Patriots have long been suspected of cheating, but like many other sports, football is a fraternity, and unless you knew something for a fact, you didn't reveal you suspicions. Since the Patriots were caught in the act of videotaping other teams signals, nobody had to snitch on them. And now, players across the league are opening up.

Still, the question remains: how long, and for which games were the Patriots cheating the National Football League and the rest of America?

There's one entity that can bring the truth to the masses: ESPN. No other enterprise in sports has as much power as the four-letter. They can elevate or destroy an athlete or coach's reputation with one story. When ESPN talks, people do listen, even if they don't always agree with what they say.

In the world of blogging, ESPN is the single most popular target. It is a tired subject, but this situation is one that bears watching. Will the network use it's vast resources to delve into this story? Will they do everything in their power to find out how deep this cheating went? Or will they sit on their laurels, as partners of the NFL, afraid to dig up the past in fear of angering the almighty National Football League?

Since players have now started to talk, ESPN needs to hit this hard, and go full bore. Local newspaper reporters have started doing this, and now ESPN should follow suit.

Among the players already talking:

Packers QB Brett Favre: "I think we say that near about every game they play in," Favre said of playing a perfect game. "One game in particular - I watched the Minnesota game because we were playing them the following week or two weeks later - they were just flawless."

Steelers WR Hines Ward: "When we played them in the championship game, it seemed like they were a step ahead of us all the time. You never know how long they've been doing this stuff ... You hate to see it come to putting an asterisk by their championships, but I haven't heard of any other team doing something like this. I wouldn't put it past them."

Jaguars DE Paul Spicer: "I've heard something like that a long time ago. Surprised it just now comes out in the open."

Giants DE Michael Strahan: "When I heard about that, I said, ‘Whoa, how long have they been doing that?’ Stealing signals? That’s pretty heavy, man. I don’t know if that’s much different than the cheating ref in basketball. It just makes you wonder how long they’ve been doing this and has it really helped them win some games? And if they’ve been doing it in those games that they won Super Bowls in or won playoffs in. It does make you wonder. Because that team has won some big games."

ESPN has the resources to do what no newspaper, website or local television station can do. Expose the truth. Let America know if the Patriots are a legitimate dynasty or a tainted one. Will they do what a news organization should in a story this big, or will they cower in fear of the NFL? We'll find out soon enough.

When the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts played in the Super Bowl last February, there was a lot on the line - championship rings, pride ... and tickets to see Neil Sedaka.

There is a lame wacky tradition in American sports where championship games and series are bet on by the two mayors representing those cities. And in the last Super Bowl, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley made a bet with Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who accepted the wager.

Mayor Daley went the usual route, betting food items from around Chicago, along with clothing and even Bears colored furniture. But Indianapolis' Mayor Peterson upped the ante, offering local cuisine, but also an exclusive package of tickets to three events: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Big Ten Basketball Championship, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra ... featuring Neil Sedaka!

Now, it seems, this tradition has reached all the way across the ocean to our friends in the Utopian paradise of North Korea.

Seven or eight of you may know that the Women's World Cup is going on right now in China. Apparently, the games are on sometime in the middle of the night. Or so we're told.

One of the first matches of the tournament featured the United States playing North Korea. That game ended in a 2-2 tie, and let's just say North Korean coach Kim Kwang-min was less than impressed with the American squad:

"The U.S. is the best in the world, but today they didn't perform to their maximum. This gave us a chance to see our level, and if we meet the Americans a next time we will have the tactics to beat the Americans."

What most people probably didn't know is that North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il wrote a letter to President George Bush, offering to make a friendly wager on the game. Unfortunately, Bush declined, saying he had other things on his mind at the moment - wars, terrorism and the like.

However, DOTD has obtained the only known copy of this document from our contacts in North Korea - in exchange for a single potato. The following are the contents and terms of the wager Kim Jong-il proposed.

If the United States won, this is what Jong-il was going to give President Bush:

- Half of his $700,000 yearly supply of Hennessy.

- Exclusive access to one of North Korea's many "joy brigades" - which meant the use of each of the three teams employed there - the "satisfaction team," "happiness team," and "singing and dancing team."

- The use of one of his 7,000 Mercedes Benz S500 cars.

- Private one-on-one golf lessons with the Jong-il, to teach Bush how he consistently shoots three or four holes-in-one per round.

- Improving the quality of life for prisoners at the "education camp" known as Camp 22. Instead of stomping on the heads of babies born to the prisoners there, the infants will be allowed to survive on a work release program.

- Teaching Bush how to write six operas in two years, including choreography lessons.

Those are seemingly reasonable terms, and all Bush had to do was agree that if North Korea won the game, Kim Jong-il was to have received these amenities:

- The use of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan for one year in a joy brigade.

- His own movie studio, so he can add to his collection of 20,000 films.

- Since his personal film director escaped, Steven Spielberg must be deported to North Korea. Along with Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone also must be deported, so he can re-enact scenes from Rambo, one of Jong-il's favorite films, every day for the rest of his life.

- Bush must also give Jong-il complete control of the NBA, so the "Dear Leader" can watch his favorite sport at any time he pleases. He will also change the rules to more closely follow that of the rules Jong-il enacted - a dunk is worth three points, a three-pointer that is all net is worth four points, and any basket in the last three seconds of the game? That's worth eight points. Along with being penalized for missing a free throw - that's minus one point.

- He also wrote in a P.S. that if Bush wanted to go ahead and throw in some uranium, that would be okay too.

So, all America would have had to give up was Linday Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg and the NBA. However, since the game ended in a 2-2 tie, even if the two men made the bet, it would have been nullified. But, that's soccer for ya'.

Time for the weekly look around the world of sports internet message boards in our regular edition of Message Board Marauder.

ESPN.com - MLB Board: "ROIDROD: When will people start calling him out? I mean come on meng! This dude is obviously on the JUICE! Media needs to start taking it's job seriously and calling him out." - Koban717

ESPN.com - College Football Board: "Statistics prove it. The Big East is superior to the SEC." - jth1970

ESPN.com - NFL Board: "Raiders sign the Black Jared Lorenzen. Huge waste of money on a huge tub of lard." - JaMarcus_will_Bust

NotreDameFans.com: "DON'T PANIC!! There is much to be optimistic about. When you think about it, the only problem, though admittedly a huge one, is the offensive line. When you think about it, that's the only real serious problem on this team right now." - Bernie P. ND '74

WingedHelmet.com - Michigan Football: "Is Pete Carroll available? I'll take Pete even without his Southern California recruiting advantage. He clearly can outcoach our coaches and out recruit them most of the time." - kurtbri

BigHuskerFan.com - Nebraska Football: "USC is going to come in over confident and won't give this game much respect. If we play mistake free and Keller finds his rhythm I think we can win."
- Hawkeyehusker

ESPN.com - MLB Board: "SOX OWN BASEBALL ... BOW DOWN TO THE ALMIGHTY SOX!" - JERMAINEDYE4MVP

TideSports.com - Alabama Board: "As a student, I attended every home game from 1975 to 1979. Two hours before kickoff, I would watch Coach Bryant walk the team around the field and tip his hat as he passed the student section. This would bring near tears to my eyes, every week, it never subsided. I loved Coach Bryant, what he stood for and what he did for the University of Alabama. It definitely was a special feeling." - CrimsonFJR

DodgerBlues.com: "Dear Ned: Grow a fucking pair and fire Little, in fact, throw him off the plane without a parachute. He's the only reason why this team will not make the playoffs, in fact probably the reason why they don't have the best record in the NL." - Atlas

The best of the Monday sports blogs, including Carmen Electra rocking a bikini perfectly. At one point in my life I would have been happy to show you Britney Spears in