Crystal clear

In case you haven't heard, the New York Yankees are taking spring training so seriously that they signed comedian Billy Crystal to a one-day contract. Seems the team is taking a fantasy camp approach instead of, say, training seriously and getting ready to try to dethrone the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Crystal, who looked surprisingly good during batting practice the day before, actually worked the count to 3 and 1 before going down swinging. And he did make contact, fouling a ball down the first base line. Now, how embarassed would Paul Maholm (an average major league pitcher) be if a 60-year-old comedian had gotten a hit off of him? Would he be sent to the minors immediately? I certainly wouldn't want a guy like that on my squad.

While the big news may have been regarding Billy's hoopla, Mike Mussina pitched a great game. A perfect five innings in fact. Granted, it was against the Pittsburgh Pirates though. Let's take that at face value during our fantasy drafts.

The amazing Rockets

I'll be the first to admit that I wrote off the Rockets when Yao went down. There's no hiding from it; I thought they were doomed. Now the fact that they're on the second longest winning streak in NBA history is truly amazing. Even more so when you realize that nobody has come near a 20-game streak in over 30 years.

Believe it or not, the guy that every Houston fan wanted out in the off-season, Rafer Alston, has been a leader on this team throughout this incredible run. Hell, even management wanted to cut him out by acquire fellow point guards Mike James and Steve Francis.

And you can write it down with permanent marker, they'll hit 21 games. Their next opponent is the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. Then we'll be treated to a battle for the Western Conference's top spot against the Lakers.

Pacman a Cowboy?

So the nefarious Adam "Pacman" Jones — of strip club and making it rain fame — has come out and said that if he's reinstated by the NFL, he'd want to be part of the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe I'm overlooking all of the obvious setbacks to having a personality like Pacman on the team, but he would fill a crucial spot on the Cowboys roster. The other side of the field — the half that Terrence Newman can't shut down — Dallas has been lacking a quality corner for years now. In fact, Jacque Reeves, who played there most of last season, was the most thrown at corner in the NFL. Sure, it's mainly because you want to throw away for Newman, but you don't want a guy who can be picked on like that. Pacman, most people forget, was an all-pro calibre corner before he was involved in strip club-related incidents.

And you know what, if he can swing it, Jerry Jones may just be crazy enough to go for Pacman. He did make a run at Randy Moss this off-season.

D-Wade done

In suitable fashion, Dwyane Wade has been shut down for the season by the Miami Heat. I'm surprised it wasn't sooner. The Heat are doing everything they can to increase their shot at winning the lottery and drafting first overall to get Michael Beasley.

The truth is that Wade should not having been playing the amount of minutes he did. He's probably put more mileage and wear on his body than any player I know with his amount of experience. And now he may suffer more and more injuries throughout the rest of his (probably shortened) career.

He battled back from a separated shoulder that was actually much worse than anybody could have imagined. His knee has already been surgically repaired (and now he can fully rehab it). Are those two qualities you want in your superstar guard whose best ability is being able to get to the basket?

It was the right move to shut him down, but it came too late. Hopefully he can rework his game to stop barreling down the lane and risking injury. Whether or not that will keep his name among the elite is questionable. But his name might be on a flamed-out-too-young list if he keeps playing wreckless.

One step closer

One step closer With the Brett Favre retirement/cry-fest in the rearview mirror, the next big thing on the tips of everyone's tongues should be Spygate, again.

Apparently Matt Walsh, the guy who was the cameraman for the Patriots and was supposedly ordered to help them cheat, has been hammering out a deal with the NFL to talk. The hold up in this process is that he wants immunity of something of the sort and his lawyers should have no problem getting that. But really, immunity from what? He's a semi-por golfer in Hawaii now or something; it's not like he's still around the league in any capacity.

When Walsh does eventually talk — it's not an if any more — we can finally get to the bottom of how much cheating that Belichick has been doing and for how long. I've said it once and I'll say it again: If he has been cheating by taping opponents signals or practices, he should be banned from the NFL. It would be a travesty to the game.

Another, somewhat harsh, response could even be reverse the outcomes of all the games the Patriots had cheated in. Including their Super Bowl wins if the evidence is there. I don't think an asterisk is good enough at this point.