The Rain Maker Sports: Sports Bytes - May 7, 2010

It just doesn't end. It doesn't matter the sport, the color of the player, or even the player's age. With each sunrise it seems there is another professional athlete accused of committing a crime, usually a violent one. The latest accusation is leveled against perhaps the greatest defensive player in NFL history: Lawrence Taylor. The 51-year-old legend is accused of beating and raping a 16-year-old girl in Rockland County, NY. Although Taylor's arrest does not guarantee his guilt, the accusation is sickening nonetheless. I have reached the point where I gently discourage my young son from admiring any athletes. Otherwise, what will I say to the boy when he sees his idol doing the perp walk on the evening news? . . .



Don't miss the Paul Williams-Kermit Cintron jr. middleweight bout Saturday on HBO's "World Championship Boxing" series. It should be worth the time investment. Paul Williams is incapable of being in a bad fight, and on Saturday he'll be challenging a heavy-hitter in Cintron. There should be fireworks aplenty. My prediction for Saturday's fight is Williams by a late stoppage. Cintron is a tough fighter, but I don't believe he'll be able to neutralize Williams' punch output. Plus, Cintron is a natural welterweight. His punches don't appear to have the same effect at this higher weight class. . . An added bonus on Saturday is that HBO will broadcast the Mayweather-Mosley replay . . .



At this moment NY comedians are relishing the discovery that the Times Square bomber was a Mets fan . . .



And you thought Congress was the most contentious place in Washington, D.C. It turns out that the Senate and House floors are love fests compared to the Redskins locker room. Training camp has not even officially begun and already RB Clinton Portis and LB LaVar Arrington are at each other's throats. According to the Washington Post Portis ripped Arrington a few days ago during a radio interview, blasting his teammate for speaking during Sean Taylor's funeral.



* "I lost a lot of respect for LaVar at that moment, speaking at Sean's funeral. To get up, I really thought that was, um, I don't know what you call that. LaVar ain't know Sean like that.... I remember me and Sean was going to jump LaVar, you know, for throwing pie at Sean's face his rookie year, and trying to haze Sean, and be the tough guy. He felt like it was a joke. We didn't like that [stuff]. For all the attention LaVar claim, and that him and Sean was cool -- they wasn't cool. Sean ain't [mess around] with LaVar..."



This Redskins team will implode before midseason . . .



No surprise in Oakland as the Raiders released JaMarcus Russell. Russell's three seasons with the silver and black were a disaster, and once the organization traded for Jason Campbell it became obvious that Russell's days were numbered . . .



Three Yankees finished win, place, and show in an inauspicious poll taken among MLB players during spring training. According to ESPN: The Magazine players voted Joba Chamberlain, Alex Rodriguez, and Nick Swisher as the Most Overrated Players in baseball. The poll also revealed that 67% of the players asked believe that Barry Bonds deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame . . . Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised to discover that somewhere around 67% of the players polled have used PEDs at some point in their careers . . . But maybe that's just me being cynical . . .



I'd say Roy Halladay is handling the transition to the National League just fine. Yesterday he pitched seven innings to lead the Phillies over the Cardinals 7-2. Halladay surrendered only one run in raising his record to 6-1 . . . Oh yeah, and his ERA is a paltry 1.45 . . .