90 Seconds: Tuesday, April 12, 2011

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

+ Jenn Sterger, you are not an entertainer. You are little more than a hot young girl. Personality and fake boobs are not things to bullet-point on a resume; what is actually on yours? You told GMA today it was never your intention to play the role of the victim, but that's precisely how you came off in the interview you chose to grant. You claim that once this storm hit, folks called you a gold-digger and a home-wrecker. OGS buys that you're not those things, and also believes the pain you feel is very real. But if you're not either of those derogatory things, can you admit to being a slight attention-whore? From your outfits at Florida State games and Playboy shoots to being an ill-qualified television sports personality, welcome again to the world to which you so desperately sought entree.

+ Don't expect the point-shaving scandal at the University of San Diego to amount to much, unfortunately. This should be a huge story, but because it doesn't involve big-name stars or programs like Cam Newton or Ohio State, it won't get the coverage. But to me, the scumbags who step to players to ask them to fix games are dirtier than any street pimps, AAU thugs or dads named Cecil. Hundred-dollar postgame handshakes are one thing, but asking a broke-ass college athlete to influence the outcome of a game is far worse.

+ A full analysis on the Miami Heat's postseason chances is coming to the pages of OGS soon, but I have to make a quick point here. Too often we hear athletes talk about how they as individuals or their teams have overcome adversity. It's such a terrible cliche. But from the minute the Heat organized that embarrassing look-at-me circus last summer, they've grown and improved and developed some necessary chemistry. I won't be rooting for LeBron and Co., but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Heat come out of the East.

90 Seconds: Monday, April 11, 2011

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

+ Lost in the shuffle of one of the best Masters weekends in recent memory was the huge upset in Saturday's $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. That's horse racing, y'all. Uncle Mo is the Kentucky Derby favorite no mo, as the Wood's 1-9 first choice finished third behind winner Toby's Corner and Arthur's Tale. Uncle Mo's trainer, Todd Pletcher, who finally won his first Kentucky Derby with Super Saver last year, said that while he's discouraged, the loss doesn't mean he won't start Uncle Mo in the run for the roses on May 7 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

+ It's funny that when Urban Meyer announced his retirement in December, many foolishly speculated the Ohio native would take a year off from coaching, then succeed Jim Tressel, who would perhaps retire to an athletic department executive's office after Terrelle Pryor's senior season in Columbus next year. But the Senator might step down for other reasons, and perhaps sooner than the end of the 2011 season. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Meyer patrolling the sidelines at Ohio Stadium in the very near future.

+ Not sure how he kept it a secret, but OGS friend Steve Lavin was diagnosed with prostate cancer last fall. Because it was detected early, doctors told the St. John's basketball coach he could put off treatment until now. The school made the announcement on Friday, and in a statement Lavin said he didn't want to be a distraction. Well, he was a distraction. He and his Red Storm were disturbing the college basketball landscape by winning big games and making Queens a destination once more. He turned the program around in fewer than 12 months and although he's losing 10 seniors, he's got a huge recruiting class coming in for the 2011-12 season. OGS wishes Lavin a speedy recovery.

90 Seconds: Friday, April 8, 2011

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Welcome to "90 Seconds," where we here at OGS will riff on three quick points in the sports world each morning. We encourage feedback, debate, or even spam in the Comments section. OK, not spam.

1) If LeBron James is 26, then his mother, Gloria, must be at least, 42, right? So she's still young enough that I can't fault her for being out at 5 a.m. at a South Beach hotel nightclub, but it's funny how money changes people. Do you think she ever had a beef with the valet service in Akron 10 years ago?

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