Over the weekend a study was reported by some company in Ohio that says that the baseballs used now are livelier that older ones. Using baseballs dating back to the 1930s and testing almost a thousand balls, they report that the current ball will carry about 70 feet further than balls from the 30s - 60s. they attribute this to a change in the core of the ball from cork to a synthetic "rubber-like material". Major League Baseball has yet to comment. Any bets they will dispute the findings?

The pinheads that run the NCAA have ruled that a Kansas basketball player cannot sell or promote his country and western CD that he recorded. Evidently the kid is a singer and created this "masterpiece". I have no idea if the kid could carry a tune in the cargo bay of a C5-A, but what is the big deal here. A basketball "student-athlete" can be paid to play minor league baseball and still retain eligibility (see Trajan Langdon for example) so why can't this kid sing and retain his eligibility?

The PGA Reno tournament was to be sponsored by Greens.com which was an Internet startup company that reserves tee times over the Internet. However the company was sold and never did come up with the final payment of $500K that was part of the sponsorship deal. Greens.com can now officially be referred to as Greens.gonzo!

More sports/Internet news of vast importance. You can go and check out "www.swsanuderacingseries.com" if you like. It is the official site of the Southwestern Sunbathing Association which sponsors nude running events including the "Bare as You Dare 5K". I know I'll be bookmarking this site and checking it out frequently.

In a slightly more serious vein, the Dolphins have picked Jay Fiedler to be their starting QB even though he has not played in the last two games. My slant on that is that Damon Huard demonstrated conclusively that he is not ready to be a starting NFL QB but Fiedler has not proven that conclusively yet. So Fiedler gets the nod.

In the final pre-season game, the Packers first string defense finally got a "three and out" against an opponent; that is the good news. The bad news is that it was against the Browns, and the Browns scored 33 points against the Pack even though the Pack won the game. Looks like a long season in Green Bay.

The Jets cut Yatil Green who really looked like a super prospect before two knee surgeries and some foot problems. The Jets had to be hoping that his injury problems were behind him and that Yatil could be Keyshawn reincarnated.

The Titans cut DT, Henry Slay who looked like a prospect out of West Virginia a year ago. If some GM is looking for a run stopper, find out who this guy's agent is and put it on your speed-dial.

The Cowboys are challenging the Raiders for the current title of bad-boy-haven. They could put a DL on the field that has Leon Lett, Dmetrius Underwood and Alonzo Spellman. Jerry Jones could probably initiate a new revenue stream here by getting grants from the National Institute of Mental Health to have psychology grad students follow the team around and note the behavioral manifestations of this troika!

The Cowboys got OJ Santiago in a trade from the Falcons for a 2nd round pick and another conditional pick. Unless Santiago is really hurt badly, this is a good trade for the Cowboys because Santiago has been better than LaFleur at TE ever since both graduated in the same year and the Cowboys took LaFleur with their first round selection.

I'll go over the long list of cuts in the NFL and make any other comments tomorrow. There are just too many to deal with at the moment.

One other problem for the financially troubled Arizona Diamondbacks is that they need to win a pennant or a World Series pretty quickly because ten players on their roster are 33 or older. The D-Backs GM - Joe Garigiola Jr. - says that it does not matter because he thinks Steve Finley will win a Gold Glove when he is 40 and that Tony Womack will produce offensively like Rickey Henderson well into his 40s. Either Joe Jr. knows something or that is a textbook example of whistling by the graveyard.

The O's have not yet offered a contract to Cal Ripken for next year. Given a third base competition among Ivanon Coffey and Ryan Minor and Ripken, I would think that Cal is the guy you want to have out on the field even if he is over 40. The other two have not knocked your socks off in an extended chance this season.

In the NCAA Football opener, Florida State handled BYU rather easily. One important stat to notice is that BYU ran the ball 24 times for a net of minus-2 yards. BYU has never been known as a running team under LaVell Edwards, but holding any Division 1-A team to negative rushing yardage is very impressive!

Here is why I root against Kansas State. They opened with Iowa this year and were fortunate to win 27-7; it was a lot closer than that. That is the first regular season opponent from a major conference for K-State since 1994; and face facts folks, Iowa is not the elite of the Big Ten by any measure.

Penn State was stifled by USC over the weekend and it is not a good sign when a PAC-10 defense shuts you down. Given all the grief that Joe Paterno has taken over Rashard Casey, you would think that the kid was some kind of special QB. Well he certainly looked "plain vanilla" against USC.

In NBA news, the Lakers have signed Isiah Rider. Since they were a recent employer of Dennis Rodman, the only conclusion I can draw here is that they are trying to emulate the Oakland Raiders/Dallas Cowboys as bad boys who win.

Maurice Taylor signed a one year contract with the Houston Rockets - stiffing the Sonics - so he can become a free agent once again next year. David Falk is his agent; David Falk is Patrick Ewing's agent; Sonics' GM, Wally Walker, would not make a deal with the Knicks to move Patrick out of town after the monster trade fell through; any connection here?

Finally, Ben Allison is a football "student-athlete" at Utah. He was attending a family wedding last week and was shot in the chest. He was in serious condition but the hospital said that he was stable and doing as well as could be expected. Obviously, I have to believe this was a "shotgun wedding".

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