July 2009 Archives

     News: Olympic swim stars in an uproar over suit-aided world records.

     Muse: I always thought the arrival of those new swimsuits in the sport were the equivalent of steroids. If it makes you faster and the same suits aren't available to everyone, what's the difference?  So it's a good thing that the governing body of swimming now plans to pull the plug sometime soon.

    If swimming really wants to attract more of an audience, they could eliminate the suits altogether. The original Olympians did compete in the nude, you know ...

     News: Lamar Odom re-ups with the Lakers, signing a four-year worth less than they originally offered.

     Muse: The next breaking story should be Lamar firing his agent, Jeff Schwartz. The original offer was three years and $30 million or four years for $36, depending on whether or not the team exercised its option for the fourth year or paid him a buyout.

     The new terms reportedly are four years for $33 million. Schwartz shopped Odom even though no team could pay him more than the Lakers thanks to the NBA's complicated salary cap rules, making a fifth year a sticking point. As if anybody in a recession, even Jerry Buss, wants to tie up that much money down a very long road. Plus, every dollar the Lakers pay Odom costs them a dollar in a cap penalty.

     It's good that Odom is back. Here's hoping he gets a rebate for the missing money from his agent.

Billy Parks, the first All-American football player in Long Beach State history, passed away Thursday in Hawaii from melanoma. He was 61.

Parks was a legend as a 49er wide receiver at a time when the sport was still an important part of campus life. He played from 1967 to 1969 and holds the school's career records for receiving yards in a career (2,919), yards in a season (1,294 in 1967), yards in a game (298, in 1968), and career touchdowns (22).

He was second in the nation in receptions in 1967 with 79, was named an All-American in 1968, and overcame an injury-plagued 1969 season to be a sixth round draft choice of the San Diego Chargers.