It's on the Internet; it has to be true

Sporting News, The, May 26, 2003

After doing a fadeaway on his oral commitment to Illinois, high schooler Charlie Villanueva decided to pursue his dream by entering the NBA draft. How does Fly know it's his dream? Because it says so on www.CharlieVillanueva.org, the official website of, well, you can figure it out from there. Even though Charlie's prep rep is checkered--he doesn't always play hard, he's wildly inconsistent, he can be a me-first player--and he obviously needs more development, just follow the link from Fly's inbox to find out how greatness is only a click--and a pick--away. The Fly-nal analysis: The whole system has crashed.

A call to the bullpen, a call for help

Without Izzy, St. Loo fans are dizzy. If the team had a closer (no, Kiko Calero doesn't count), the N.L Central would be in the 'Birds' hands. Instead, they have blown many more leads than they have saved and have been getting handled by the likes of the Mediocre American Ball Club. Jason Isringhausen's return has morphed into an "if" instead of a "when" and things are so desperate that Jimmy Journell, the only golden arm in a depleted farm system, is being trained to finish games, not start them.

The Top 5 ... keeping the huddle warm

Looking for an NFL dark horse for 2003? Here's a tip: Don't bet on the ones with lame ducks perched in the saddle: 1. Mark Brunell; 2. Kordell Stewart; 3. Chris Redman; 4. Jon Kitna; 5. Jay Fiedler.

Last call

One of the favorite stops on the July basketball recruiting tour has been Adidas' Big Time tourney because of the side shows (working title for this Vegas version of CSI: Coaches, Strippers Inside!). But the only thing worse than losing out on the Next Big Thing to your hated rival is pulling a Mike Price. So the buzz has many coaches mulling a self-imposed ban in Sin City, which would limit the vices to the casino--and the "talent evaluation" to the hardwood.

Hey, didn't you used to be the unhittable K-Rod?

Celtics forward Antoine Walker got into a confrontation with a spectator last week at FleetCenter. Walker said the guy had been riding him for years. No, the heckler did not work for the Boston Globe.