Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . . The annual Sertoma all-star high school football game every June has definitely seen better days. A fight once again tarnished last week's game and, well, it's time to change the format before it turns into a MMA event in shoulder pads. Using graduated seniors to play the game has always been a silly idea. The best players are heading off to play in college and don't want to get hurt and the guys whose careers are over are just looking for one last chance to smack someone in the mouth without getting arrested. If you want a meaningful football game where everyone plays hard, listens to the coaches and officials and will think twice about getting into a fight, you need to use juniors. The game then could be a showcase for college recruiters.
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The last few weeks have not been great for a pair of former Nevada Wolf Pack point guards in the NBA. Ramon Sessions' Cleveland Cavaliers drafted a point guard (Duke's Kyrie Irving) with the top pick in the draft and Armon Johnson's Portland Trail Blazers traded for point guard Raymond Felton and drafted Duke guard Nolan Smith. Sessions has established himself as a solid backup point guard in the league so his future looks secure for now. But Johnson, a rookie last year, played just nine games after Jan. 1 this past season and, well, could be headed for a future of bouncing around the D-League.
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Former Nevada Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick was impressive at a San Francisco 49ers players-only workout this week at San Jose State. Kaepernick showed good mobility and a strong arm (shocking, huh?) and drew favorable comments from his teammates and the media that were present. The 49ers' lockout practices, though, are still being called "Camp Alex" after quarterback Alex Smith so Kaepernick has his work cut out for him. But it might not be long before the 49ers start calling their workouts "Camp Kap."
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Ron Artest is in the process of legally changing his name to Metta World Peace. The Los Angeles Lakers guard, though, readily admits he's only doing it for publicity (shocking, huh?) and that he's "not trying to be Gandhi." So, hey, you have to admire his honesty. Somewhere, though, World B. Free is laughing. Artest says he will have World Peace stitched across the back of his uniform. (He should have changed his name to Google or Microsoft for, you know, a bigger endorsement deal.) I can't wait to see the photos of Mr. World Peace going into the stands to pummel a fan.
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Every time I see Jimmer Fredette I can't help but think of Red Klotz. Red Klotz, for those of you too young to have experienced a cruel world without the internet, cell phones or even microwave ovens, is the 5-foot-nothing guard who used to drain all those 30-foot jumpers with a two-handed set shot for the Washington Generals against the Harlem Globetrotters. Great shooter. Great entertainment. Klotz, though, had it easier than Fredette will have it next season with the Sacramento Kings. When Klotz was shooting his jumpers, the Globetrotters were usually off in the stands performing their bucket-full-of-confetti trick. So he didn't have to contend with many defenders. Fredette, though, will have it a little more difficult in the NBA. Just watch out for that ball-on-a-string trick, Jimmer, and you'll be fine.
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Actors on steroids is nothing new. Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, The Rock, Arnold Swarzenegger and Bugs Bunny in Space Jam all come quickly to mind. But Charlie Sheen in Major League? Really? Why? This is just a guess, but when the script called for Sheen as Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn to strike out a hitter did it really matter how hard he threw the ball? Sheen on steroids, though, is a little hard to believe. If he wanted some more publicity, after all, he could have just changed his name to Metta World Idiot. It's obvious the guy has gone from a starring role in Two and Half Men to trying to live a life with just two and half working brain cells.