<B><C>Random Thoughts For The Week</B></C><br></br> <p></p>

 - At the risk of seeming nieve, I wish that in the search for answers in the Jovan Belcher tragedy of this past weekend, the focus does not get too bogged down in the Steroids/head injuries. I'm sure this will happen, given the media's penchant for quick, "magic bullet" theories . That being said, something tells me that there was more going on with this young man, other than PED's, and numerous shots to the head. I'm not a doctor, and I could wind up being dead wrong, but if Junior Seau's death serves as an example, it is that depression can be just as big of a factor in these tragedies, as any drug, or concussion side effects. <br></br> <p></p>

 - Here is my solution for the hand wringing and anxiety on the part of the Baseball Writers Of America, who are treating their votes for the 2013 Hall Of Fame, as if they were deciding the fate of a death row inmate: Anyone that in any way that was implicated for steroid use, or anyone who was caught, DOES NOT GET IN. I don't care what their stats are, I don't care what part of the record book they manipulated, by using PED's. Bonds and Clemens can't have it both ways. They did enough damage by cheating or"allegedly" cheating. They can't further tarnish the game and its legacy by going into the Hall, also. Unless someone can show me where it is written that someone has to get inducted every year, if there comes a certain year where noone goes in from a certain ballot, so be it.<br></br>,p></p>

 - It was a great SEC Championship Game, Saturday evening between Alabama and Georgia, some are calling it the best College Football game they have seen in years. The Notre Dame vs. USC game last week was entertaining as well. That being said, it really is ridiculous that we have to wait a month for the Irish and the Crimson Tide to bang heads in the National Title Game, but that is part of what makes college sports the joke that they are. Imagine teams winning the pennant, and having to wait a month for the World Series to begin., <br></br> <p> </p>

 - Speaking of local college football, there has been much debate as to whether what goes on with the B.C. Football program, in regards to the school's search for a new head coach, matters. You can put me in the "it doesn't matter" category. The Eagles have been down this road before, actually many times it seems, since Doug Flutie left The Heights. A new coach will behired, possibly with an NFL pedigree, recruiting will pick up, they'll win some games, maybe make it to an upper echelon Bowl Game, then the fun will begin. From there, said, as yet unnamed coach will inquire with  the Powers That Be at B.C. about stadium expansion, aggressive recruiting, among other things, and will be met with the same resistance that Tom Coughlin, Tom O'Brien, and Jeff Jagodzinski, among others did. That is the culture at Boston College, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.<br></br> <p></p>

 - The NHL owners and the NHLPA should just stop the nonsense, and cancel the season right now. Doing so will buy them about nine months until they have to start thinking about training camps,  etc. as well as the start of next season.. Yes it will mean the loss of revenue,(to say nothing of the money out of the pockets of the arena employees, as well as the financial hits to bars and restaurants surrounding the venues) on top of the league having to live with the fact it would be the only one of the four major North American sports, to have lost two seasons as a result of work stoppages. That being said, if the principles are not willing to throw the lawyers out of the room, and get serious about hammering out a long term deal, so that we don't have to sit through this dog and pony show every four or five years. <br></br><p></p>

 - I didn't think it was possible, but ESPN out-did itself once again, with the latest in the 30 For 30 documentary series, Voices Of Mississippi. The film tells the tale of the 1962 University of Mississippi team, who finished the year undefeated, despite the turmoil that engulfed the campus,  as Mississippi struggled to come to grips with the fact that it was time to integrate. As President Kennedy called in the National Guard to assure the safety of James Meredeth, that school's first black student, riots tear apart the campus as the troops arrive. The Mayor of Jackson further  ignites the situation by at first assuring President Kennedy that he will do all that he can to keep the peace, and then going back on his word on the eve of Meredeth's arrival, while using the football games as a speaking platform, while telling the crowds that Jackson will resist the perceived government intrusion, (in the southern rebel tradition), in an effort to integrate the University. Although the song, in my opinion, the song contains lyrics bordering on racist, the documentary ends with a woman singing a brilliant acoustic version of Dixie, as the closing credits roll. <br></br> <p></p>