The Sports Column

Summary: It's been a good, bad and ugly kind of week for me.

It's been a good, bad and ugly kind of week for me. I hit the trifecta at Pimlico--that's good. My Little League kids went 0-3 with Coach Reavy in attendance--that's bad. And Wednesday night, upon hearing of the reality demise of my "dawg," Elliot Yamin, I was both sad to hear the news and disappointed in the realization that I had just watched 12 straight episodes of American Idol, spanning two months--that's...well, you get the point. Fortunately for me, however, the sports world is never without its good, bad and ugly moments also. Here are the high (and low)lights of the week that's passed. The Good: Barry Bonds' 714th homerun ball--for Tyler Snyder, the guy who caught it. Surely the eBay--er, Bay Area-- faithful are proud of their slugger, and might even open up their checkbooks to make a bid for the historic blast. But, to me, nothing tells the story more beautifully than these four words uttered by Tyler, the soon-to-be rich Athletics fan (thanks to Bonds), after the game: "I hate that guy." The NBA playoffs. While the highlight of my basketball season is admittedly the NBA draft, I can't help but marvel at the fantastic series that have been played up to this point. It really has made me forget that the NHL is on strike. (Editor's note: Kevin doesn't receive the OLN channel.) After dropping five straight, the Phillies finally won. The Bad: After dropping five straight, the Phillies finally won. Cubs catcher, Michael Barrett, punched AJ Pierzynski after a collision at home plate. This is a bad thing only because I think Barrett may have hurt his hand when delivering the blow. NBC started airing episodes of the "National Heads-Up Poker Championship." This might be a good thing had ESPN not decided to air roughly 300 episodes of World Series of Poker tournaments on a constant loop on ESPN channels 1thru 6. This would be cool if the World Poker Tour and Celebrity Poker Who Gives a Crap weren't already force-feeding its addictive felt-and-clay-chip abundant allure down my throat. Instead, it's overkill. Not because I hate watching poker shows on TV, but because I watch all of them. And I need my life back. The Ugly: Just one thing... Kobe's attire on "Inside the NBA" last Wednesday. Because nothing says street cred like a powder-blue sweater vest. -- That will do it for this week's edition of The Sports Column. If I can avoid the TiVo-limit hold 'em barrage this week, I'll try to keep an eye out for the top stories for next time. Until then, enjoy the news as it happens.