Dear...

Bob Huggins, have you no soul?

After only one year at Kansas State, Bob Huggins has opted to resign and take the job at West Virginia. It makes sense; West Virginia is a more prestigious basketball school and is Huggins' alma mater. One problem: the best incoming class in the entire nation has already committed to Kansas State to play for Bob Huggins. These poor kids agreed to come to Manhattan, Kansas and wear purple uniforms for a school that lacks prestige in the basketball world, all so the could play for Bob Huggins! Now, its too late for the incoming freshman to change their mind. For example, Michael Beasley, arguably the best high school senior in the nation, would have to sit out a season to go somewhere else. By the end of the year he had sat out, Beasley could just go pro, so what's the point. To reel in the top recruits in the country with the understanding that they would be playing for you, and then bail out as soon as a "better" job becomes available, simply disgusts me. Have you know sense of responsibility Bob Huggins? You are ruining kids lives for a chance to slightly better your own situation! On top of that, the fallout for K-State could be fatal. It is possible that we will see the same kind of mass-transfer that happened at Baylor for the 2004 season after their disgusting scandal. Baylor lost stars Lawrence Roberts and John Lucas III in this exodus and the team still has not fully recovered. Kansas State had a legitimate opportunity to burst onto the basketball scene in a big way; I hope Bob Huggins selfish move doesn't close that door.

Dice-K, you make my heart sing!

Red Sox nation hasn't been this excited since the Sox won the World Series in 2004. Daisuke Matsuzaka is so good that it leaves you wondering what went wrong every time somebody manages to get a hit off him. He throws approximately seven pitches consistently, each of which is extremely effective. Yes, SEVEN. And that's not even counting the much-fabled and highly elusive "gyroball" that is said to spin in crazy ways. (I like to imagine it as a pitch from the computer game "Backyard Baseball" in which certain pitches can corkscrew or freeze in mid-air before home plate.) Matsuzaka went 7 innings in his major league debut with 10 strikeouts. hitters generally seemed confused as they swung hopelessly throughout the course of the game (though David Dejesus did seem to have his number...) After throwing 108 pitches, Dice-K hardly looked tired. I'm convinced the Sox should just pitch him every third day. Kidding aside, it seems as though Matsuzaka should notch somewhere between 18 and 22 wins, which would be a phenomenal season for anybody. Much like Lebron's rookie year, Dice-K has epic amounts of hype, millions of fans who will watch his every move, and there's a good chance he could live up to all the expectations.

Gilbert Arenas, are you clinically insane?

After an impressive regular season for the Wizards, one which Gilbert Arenas referred to as "the takeover", their hopes for success have crumbled along with the knee of Arenas and the hand of Caron Butler. Just days after Butler broke his hand on the backboard while trying to block a fast break layup from behind, Arenas went down within his first minute of the game and was later diagnosed with a torn meniscus. A lot of people seem to love or hate Gilbert Arenas--and I can't get enough of him. I immediately checked his blog after finding out about the severity of the injury, something I check consistently to put myself in a good (it's utterly hilarious), to see what Arenas's reaction would be. The title of the post was "Still Smiling" and I thought it was great that he was coping well with the situation. Then I read on. He goes on to say:
I think the worst part about it was that my Internet connection wasn’t acting right last night so my video game session wasn’t working. It kept kicking me offline so I didn’t actually get to fully play.
So, when you’re injured and video games is your life and you can’t play it, it just makes the injury that much worse.
...
I told them to cut the leg off a couple times. You know, cut it off and then bring it back to me when it was all healed. Because, you know, Heather Mills on Dancing with the Stars, she had that leg. I was saying I could borrow one of those and finish out the season. But they wasn’t going for that.

Arenas is a first-class whacko, but you know what, its nice to see a professional athlete with a sense of humor. Arenas loves the game, and as he has said himself, he behaves not only as a top-notch player, but as a fan as well. (Hence jumping off the trampoline at the All-Star Game.) Keep being yourself Gilbert, even if you are a little bit crazy.

Joe Nathan, get a hold of your life!

A story emerged recently that Joe Nathan's wife was having a baby on the night of a Twins game. Nathan, who had already saved the first two games of the season, said he would be at the hospital with his wife, but would be on call in case the Twins needed him. The man was genuinely planning to leave the hospital and go to the Metrodome in a save situation. Luckily for the future of Joe Nathan's marriage, the Twins won 7-2 and did not need Nathan's services. Can you imagine a better eternal comeback than "How about the time you left me while I was having a baby to go to the Twins game!?" I'm all for athletes who care about their team above almost all else, but come on, some things are more important. Nathan will probably pitch in upwards of 500 more games in his career. You just don't leave your wife when she's having a baby to play baseball. If it was the World Series, I could at least understand the decision. But it's the first week of April!

Billy Packer, how much can you get away with before they finally fire you?

Billy Packer got himself in trouble once again for using the term "fag out" on the Charlie Rose show this week. While it's true that the term is an old-fashioned way of calling somebody lazy, in the age of political correctness, it was a poor choice of words. Of course Packer refused to budge on the issue, defending his comment whole-heartedly, despite the perfect opportunity to apologize. The comment would be easier to overlook had he not made multiple controversial comments in the past. He has made sexist comments, rudely disregarded mid-majors as worthy basketball teams, and even referred to Allen Iverson as a "tough monkey". While I don't think Packer is necessarily racist, sexist, or homophobic, he is also a terrible announcer. Him and Jim Nantz make the least interesting team possible, and Packer continues to steal the spotlight, especially around tournament time, for controversial comments. I just don't understand how the benefits of having a mediocre analyst who is constantly angering people with his loose tongue. Time to say bye bye to Billy.

MLB owners, say yes to Mark Cuban!

Much like the aforementioned Gilbert Arenas, Mark Cuban is a refreshing personality to have in the basketball world. Also, he seems to be slightly more sane than Arenas, but it's a close call. Regardless, Cuban has done tremendous things for the NBA. Occasionally Cuban oversteps the line, but he respects this, pays his fines, and moves on. People love Mark Cuban; he's truly hilarious and everyone can relate to him. Cuban is the classic basketball fan, only he owns the Dallas Mavericks. As an owner, Cuban will do whatever it takes to win. He has built the Mavericks up from the laughingstock of the league, to a historically phenomenal team. If Cuban was to take over the Chicago Cubs, as the rumors have suggested as a real possibility, you can almost guarantee that the Cubs would quickly make the acquisitions they need to strengthen their chances at breaking that long-standing curse. Furthermore, the only easily recognized owner that comes to mind in the league is the evil George Steinbrenner. The MLB could use a friendly face at the top.