Sunday tidbits at The Confluence

• 10 players were thrown out of last night's Denver/Knicks game after, you guessed it, a brawl erupted. Why should it not be surprising to anyone when these brawls continuously happen in a league in which 40% of the players have criminal records ??
• One of those players ejected was NBA golden boy Carmelo Anthony, who connected squarely with a punch during the fight. Let's just see how many games he'll be suspended.
• Will someone please take Allen Iverson ??
• Another ho-hum showing for Kobe the other night, lighting up Houston for 53 points. For my money, Kobe Bryant is STILL the best player in the NBA.
• Phil Kessel, impressive rookie for the Boston Bruins, confirmed this week that he had successful surgery for testicular cancer, which much like breast cancer for women, is one of those unspoken things that is so important for men to regularly check for.
• For all of the hype given to the Crosby/Ovechkin matchup this past Monday, the TV rating for the broadcast on Versus was .2, or about 200,000 homes. As Larry Brooks states in his column today, "The NHL tired to promote the Crosby-Ovechkin showdown in its own way, but without access to ESPN, what exactly were the promotional platforms?". Hmmm, I wonder who just got on his soapbox recently and said basically the same thing ?? Oh, that's it, I remember now.
• Sidney Crosby is without question the best player in the NHL right now, and he can't even buy an Iron City Beer in Pittsburgh at age 19. Maybe he can sneak in a glass of wine at Mario's house, since he has over 5,000 bottles in his collection.
• Sidney may be the best overall player right now, but I gotta say, I just love to watch Alex Ovechkin play as well. Talk about explosive.
• I've gotta take a hockey road trip to Montreal one of these days. What a wonderful atmosphere, or so it looks like it is anyway.
• Why is it when I hear the French language, I immediately think back to Steve Martin's standup days, when he screws up ordering in French at a restaurant, orders a shoe with cheese on it, and tells them to force it down his throat.
• Joey Porter blamed the media this past week after repeatedly calling Kellen Winslow Jr. a fag in his post-game comments. Funny, I didn't see anyone holding a 9MM to Joey's head forcing him to make those remarks.
• Speaking of blaming the media, Jim Mora Jr. stuck his foot squarely in his mouth when he "seriously" said that he'd immediately leave the Falcons for the Univ. of Washington if that job were to open up. Then, curiously but not surprisingly, he gave the 'ol "just kidding" the next day. There should be some people that should not have the ability to speak to the media, ever.
• Tank Johnson had what would be called a bad week. Cops raided his home and found 6 guns. Then after he apologized to the Bears and the public for his 3rd arrest in 18 months, he goes to a club Saturday night, gets involved in a fight, and his bodyguard is shot and killed.
• Those in Steelerland who still have illusions of the playoffs may get plummeted back to Earth after this week's games. If Jacksonville and/or Cincinnatti wins today, it's all over.