The Weak Ender

Cardinals backup quarterback Matt Leinart is in the news again after he was spotted in Las Vegas with Paris Hilton early in the morning. This, of course, has people outraged thinking that Leinart should be taking this NFL quarterback thing a little bit more seriously. That Leinart is a little too Hollywood.

Those people are idiots.

It's funny that NFL teams always draft a quarterback in the first round, then immediately try to change them. Be it an awkward throwing motion or hanging out with hotel heiresses/burger spokeswomen, the NFL is always tinkering. Why? Leinart won nearly every college football game he ever played following a delicate balance of practice, partying and ballroom dancing. There is no need to mess with what works.

Besides, it's been a long-standing tradition for NFL quarterbacks to rock the nightlife. Defensive tackles were afraid to tackle Bobby Layne in fear of getting drunk through osmosis. Then you have the likes of Joe Namath, Jim McMahon, Ken Stabler, Jim Kelly and Tom Brady who have done pretty well, despite seeing the glass end of more than a few pint glasses. Not every quarterback is going to be like Gomer Manning�locking himself in a classroom, finding new ways to lose in the playoffs.

And look at the 2006 playoffs. Steelers quarterback Ben Rothelisberger was seen partying before his big playoff game with Manning. The Steelers went on to win the title. Maybe Gomer should loosen up and have a few.

If anything, the Cardinals should be funding Leinart's trips to Vegas to make sure he continues his winning ways.

• The Bish continues to have the magic touch. The day the Bish rips Bartolo Colon's work ethic, the 2005 Cy Young award winner went out and hurled a shutout. Somebody might want to let the Bish know that Colon has been injured most of the season. When it comes to reporting or rug choices, it seems like the Bish doesn�t put in much of an effort.

• There are those that believe that the Angels recent power surge will preclude the club from making a deal at the trade deadline. Having Bill Stoneman as a GM will preclude the club from making a deal. Brandon Wood and Joe Saunders seem like prized prospects. But the Angels could get a sure thing in Carl Crawford. The nice part about having prospects is being able to deal a commodity for a proven performer.

• People like to talk about how clutch David Ortiz is. Yeah, nice clutch grand slam against Tampa Bay Thursday night with the Red Sox already winning. A-Rod would get crucified if he hit a grand slam against the D-Rays with the Yankees already winning. Not Ortiz who was 2-for-12 against Tampa Bay before hitting that homerun in the fifth inning. Nobody remembers that (or the fact the Red Sox dropped three of four in Tampa), or is even allowed to talk about it.

• Of course drinking does not work with every quarterback.

AND FINALLY
Lost a lot of respect for the world recently as A.J. Pierzynski was selected to the All-Star game via a fan vote. A fan vote. The White Sox started a "Punch A.J." campaign (lame) to get him selected. Because really, the White Sox were not heavily represented enough with Ozzie Guillen taking virtually his entire team to the All-Star game. Does Guillen strike anybody else as that Little League coach that has nine sons or nephews on his team and he puts them all on the All-Star team?

But the fans selecting Pierzynski? That�s way worse. Unless they are going to add a contest to see who could inflict the most damage to his skull with a baseball bat, how could you do something like this? Of course, that would be a cool idea. Could you imagine Chris Berman announcing as Vladimir Guerrero took a swing at Pierzynski?

"Vladimir winds up and smacks, oh wow, the eyes of A.J. 'Take a long walk off a short' Pier-zynski are rolling back, back, back into his head!"