Yesterday in an off-day, the Gizzards brought in motivational speaker Tony Robbins to address this group of nascent intellects who probably could not get a collective score of 1600 on the SATs. There is no truth to the rumor that Robbins is lobbying for a new sport in the Olympics - teeth flashing. If the IOC does make it a sport however, Robbins and Donny Osmond will be odds-on favorites to bring home medals.

If there is any place in the world where the logical fallacy of post hoc; propter hoc has currency, it is in Washington DC. So imagine what happens if the Gizzards win tonight against the Sixers. Robbins will be hailed as a genius and brought back. And then these goofs will lose three in a row and Robbins will be dropped like a bad habit and they will bring in someone new. And the Gizzards are bad enough that eventually the team will run out of people of Robbins' ilk and may have to bring in Ron Popeil who will tell them about how to set a pick - "Just set it and … forget it!"

Elsewhere in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets as a team boycotted their practice yesterday and there were rumors they might not show up for the game last night. The reason was a protest over coach/GM/team president, Dan Issel, and the locker room tirade he launched at Raef LaFrentz the night before after LaFrentz did not play the way Issel thought he should. Before we get too deep into the emoting about the psyche of players and their passionate desire for respect and their desire to "have input" and all that stuff, let me point out to you that LaFrentz did play last night and his stat line was 24 minutes, zero points, 5 rebounds, 6 personal fouls. Did he tank the game to show the coach up? Did he play poorly because he needs positive reinforcement and not negative reinforcement? Only he knows. But he did stink out the joint last night.

If this kind of behavior proceeds just a tad further, then coaches will become a thing of the past in the NBA - and in other pro sports. Players do not want to be coached and to be pushed to become better; most succumb to fat wallet syndrome and to the fawning presence of entourages - formerly known as "butt-boys". Maybe they will/must have player-coaches around the league until the NBA becomes a millionaires' version of a recreation league where guys show up when the can and play when they want and how they want. And then the millionaires' club will dwindle in numbers very quickly because no one will pay big time money for seats and even fewer will watch that kind of junk on TV. And then the revenue stream will go dry…

Speaking of huge amounts of money, there is a lot of reaction to the Alex Rodriguez contract all over the country. Many people say that it was the huge jump in contract value represented by Kevin Garnett's contract in Minnesota that forced the NBA lockout that forced limits/standards on individual contracts. If that is true, then look at this deal as the one that will be the poster child for contract reform in baseball when the strike/lockout starts next November (the current collective bargaining agreement runs out at midnite on next Halloween; how perfect is that?). Alex Rodriguez will be paid more than the Rangers franchise and the stadium they play in cost the owner. But remember the economic truism, nothing is overpriced as soon as it is sold. There is no argument that Rodriguez is worth $250M because the contract he signed affirms conclusively that he is. But do not forget also that Rodriguez began this contractual saga by making it clear to everyone that he wanted to play in a major media market and for a proven winner. So he winds up in Arlington Texas with a team that won only 71 games last year. Whenever you hear any of the players/agents say, "It is/was not about the money," you need to make the immediate transformation in your head to hear, "It is only about the money and nothing else matters at all."

In deference to my tennis-loving friend in California, let me say that the US Tennis Association has really gone out on a limb in naming Patrick McEnroe to replace his brother, John, as the US Davis Cup captain. That limb is the McEnroe family tree, of course. And I can't wait until Patrick has to deal with John regarding John's newly expressed desire to play doubles for the Davis Cup this year. Whatever remarks Patrick will have to craft for the press regarding that situation will require statesmanship that would certainly go far beyond the capabilities of either of our Presidential Wannabes.

Some people have a knack for being found by trouble. Tony Ayala was once a promising young boxer who went to jail for about 15 years after being convicted of rape. He was paroled a couple of years ago and fought at least one fight that I can recall but he is somewhere in his mid-30s and the skills just are not there anymore. Yesterday, he was arrested in Texas after he broke into the house of a "female acquaintance"; somehow he was shot in events that unfurled there but it is not clear from the description on ESPN if it was the female acquaintance who did the shooting. Ayala is currently only charged with burglary and I say "only" because evidently in Texas he would be subject to 99 years in jail if he is convicted of a "sex crime" since he is formally identified as a known sex offender.

In NFL news, the Chargers now say they will NOT release Mike Riley from his contract and the reason seems to be that Riley has said that he wants to stay with the Chargers and to turn things around there. It seems that his wife really likes San Diego and so he is less interested in listening to offers from USC than he seemed to be about two days ago. But there is also a story that USC Athletic Director, Mike Garrett, never contacted him during the time after the Chargers had said they would not block him from taking an offer from USC so maybe the "search committee" there is looking for other people who can turn them down before making an offer to someone who might actually take the job.

The Washington Post says that Troy Aikman will miss Sunday's game with his 11th concussion. ESPN and The Sporting News say it is his 10th concussion. Obviously, we need a recount here; quick, send the medical file to Florida.

The Denver defense has only allowed 92 yards per game rushing even though they gave up over 400 yards in one game to Cincy back in October. I wish someone had checked the Gatorade on the sideline that day; there had to be something strange in it; even Bill Romanowski could not tackle people that day.

To all the Washington critics who say that Norv Turner abandoned his running game too frequently, Stephen Davis has more carries this season than any other RB in the NFC - and he missed a game completely. In Washington, there is a pervasive atmosphere that if you say something often enough, it becomes truth; unfortunately, the numbers here seem to call this "truth" into question.

Fiery motivator, Terry Robiske, has benched Albert Connell as the starter in next week's game. This is the coach who would get in the players' faces and let them know what's what; remember? Well here is Robiske's tell-it-like-it-is report of what happened:

"A couple of weeks he hasn't had any catches. In the Dallas game he didn't have any catches. Like I told him, it's not (that) he's screwing up or he's making mistakes. That position, which we call the 'X' position, we're not getting enough production out of it."

Poor interim coach Robiske can't even catch a break from Deion Sanders. In a post game interview, Deion twice called him "Coach Rabinsky". One of the local sports radio guys, Andy Pollin, wondered if Terry had had a recent and heretofore unknown conversion to Judaism.

Finally, in the agate type today, I noticed a college basketball game where Carthage beat Kendall 75-62. That was probably a nice win, but I think the big game for Carthage comes later in the season when they play Rome.

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...