First, there were the denials: When pictures first surfaced of what appeared to be the Texas Rangers centerfielder at an Arizona bar last January (some with his shirt on, some without) the response from friends and fans was “that couldn’t be him.” He’s been sober since 2005 and wrote a book about his miraculous recovery from alcoholism with God’s help. Surely a high profile athlete wouldn’t be so stupid? Eventually Hamilton admitted the pictures were real and yes, he had a relapse, but heck he’s only human. He may well be, but–from what we see in the pictures–he didn’t just have a drink or two, looks like he had about a dozen and drank a few of them from (shall we say) some “non-traditional” containers, such as a young woman’s navel. Not that there’s anything illegal about that, but I guess if you’re gonna fall off, best to fall all the way, right?
Our favorite quote from Hamilton about this incident: “This guy I knew … he always used to joke, ‘I’m allergic to alcohol. Every time I drink it, I break out in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs.’ Some people it just doesn’t mix with, and I’m one of those people.”
Now Mrs. Hamilton (Katie) has weighed in on the controversy via her blog and had this to say to all the “haters” who are calling the reborn Christian a hypocrite and worse: “We are all flawed and that’s why we need a Savior. I pray that you all know that he is a very sincere individual with a love for the Lord that is REAL. Again, he’s not perfect – this was a night that he’s certainly not proud of, but I am very proud of how he handled it.” So, apparently she has forgiven him and we should as well . . . for for God’s sake stop looking at those pictures of him with all those young, hot women, while I’m at home taking care of his children! (Dallas Morning News)

See all the Josh Hamilton bar pictures at Deadspin.com. The guys at Deadspin, no strangers to controversy, are also getting a lot of hate mail from Hamilton fans for posting these pictures. Read some of their diatribes here. Kinda reminds us of the hate mail another sports website received a few years ago . . .

Uh, oh. The extortion plot involving Louisville men’s basketball coach and the wife of one of the team’s trainer, Karen Cunagin Sypher, is getting ugly. Sounds like, even though Sypher is the one being investigated by the cops for trying to get money out of Pitino, he has allegedly admitted to an affair with the woman (she says rape) and according to some media sources paid for her to have an abortion. What does the University of Louisville think about all of this?

Rick Pitino’s one-night stand with a woman in a Kentucky restaurant could lead to his firing under a “moral depravity” clause in his megabucks Louisville contract. The New York native, in an interview with police, acknowledged the sexual encounter in August 2003 – and admitted paying her $3,000, reportedly for an abortion.

Language in his 2007 contract extension says the 56-year-old basketball coach can be dismissed for “acts of moral depravity” or behavior that would “bring Employee into public disrepute or scandal.” Pitino earns $2.25 million a year under the deal that runs through 2013. At the time he signed, Louisville’s athletic director said Pitino was “worth every penny of it, probably double it.”

Read more at the NY Daily News.

Not sure exactly what is going on in this video (some reports are saying this guy was in the wrong seat, others say he had been drinking and was being disruptive, but you can’t tell from the video because there’s no sound) but about 58 seconds in he makes the classic mistake of giving the three cops trying to arrest him the five finger salute and about 10 seconds later they give him the five thousand volt salute in response. The guy then appears to go limp and fall down several steps as fans in the area start to scatter. Anyone see any official press reports on this? I mean, other than this one.

Man Arrested for Striking Golfer in Head With Sand Wedge – Now, I’m not as familiar with the rules of golf as I should be, but is that a single stroke penalty or do you get a free drop when that happens?