Rios off to the playoffs - not much of a penalty for sucking

…and Michael Schumacher and Roger Federer and other goodies.

- Yesterday Alexis Rios became a member of the Chicago White Sox, at no cost to them save for his inflated (we believe) salary. It’s really too bad it didn’t work out in Toronto and I feel that he should have been given a crack in centre field over Vernon Wells. But don’t feel too bad for him. He becomes the starting centre fielder on a team in the thick of a pennant race. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finally finds his moxy after this move. Blair seems to think this is yet another sign that Rogers has pretty much given up on competing. I’m not willing to concede that…yet.

- Thanks to my hiatus, I haven’t really had the opportunity to chime in on the Michael Vick issue. Those of you that know me might be surprised to hear this, but I agree with the decision to let him back into the league. As far as I’m concerned he’s paid his dues to society according to the laws in place. I don’t want him on my team (the Dolphins), and what he did still disgusts me, but if some GM out there want to risk alienating his fan base, I say go for it. My feeling is that he’ll land somewhere before the season starts so he can immediately start serving his six-game suspension (which I agree with, since he had lied to club and league officials about his off-the-field issues). In my view the best fits would be Minnesota, San Francisco, Buffalo or Cleveland (ironically, the Dawg Pound).

- Innocent until proven guilty, but come on now. The accusations Patrick Kane faces regarding the beating of a cab driver for refusing to provide 20 cents in change have a certain authenticity that only someone who grew up in a small town with a AAA midget hockey team can relate to. Most star players have been raised to believe that the world is their oyster and should a plebeian step out of line in denying them something, consequences must follow. Society has a way of protecting these patricians until the day it doesn’t. For a long time the media protected players from all kinds of unsavory reporting, but those days are long gone and star athletes need to realize that off the ice/field/track/court, they must play by the same rules as everyone else.

- Turning to F1, which I’ve stopped writing about because most of the action happens off the track, had me excited about its next race if only to see what Michael Schumacher could bring to the track in a comeback necessitated by Felipe Massa’s frightening and possibly career-ending injury. Not too fast, though, as the word is that he is pulling out due to injuries incurred in a biking accident earlier in the year. Oh well, maybe reports that Jacques Villeneuve will come back to the circuit with USF1 will bear fruit and turn my attention back to this rotting sport.

- I’m almost embarrassed that both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing at the Rogers Cup in Montreal and I’m not going to check them out. Bad tennis fan! Bad!

- Oh and yeah, I am in interest to see if Tiger Woods can win the PGA Championship. Might even watch a bit of it if he’s in contention on Sunday.

- Is there an issue I’ve overlooked in the past month that you’d like to see me cover? Let me know in the comments section.