Clippers get hot late, beat Knicks in OT despite huge game by Nate Robinson; Loss marks sixth straight for Knicks in which they scored 100 points or more, team really starting to wonder if this whole “no defense whatsoever” idea is really the way to go.

With Favre’s “retirement” now “official,” Jets try to figure out where to go from here; Favre extremely interested to see which QB Jets will commit to that will make his signing with Minnesota in 6 weeks look less like a betrayal.

Joba Chamberlain thinks A-Rod will be just fine in spite of scandal; Upon ending the interview in defense of his teammate and friend, Joba screamed with unbridled intensity, threw singles at a female reporter, shotgunned a beer, and drove off into the sunset.

Darryl Strawberry reveals Mets’ lewd, deliquent escapades in new book; Former slugger just glad that coke, speed, groupies, alcohol, orgies, gambling, fighting and mid-game sex breaks don’t earn you an asterisk that will forever taint your records.

Brett Favre tells his agent he plans to retire; Evidently, the veteran QB was so sick of his Sportscenter coverage being inundated by A-Rod interviews and completely lacking the necessary uber-Favreyness, that he did what he felt had to be done.

Knicks put up 127 points on Warriors, somehow manage to lose by 17;  D’Antoni’s defensive mantra apparently  “If you haven’t gotten the ball back by letting the other team score in 7 seconds or less, you haven’t done your job.”

Johan Santana tests knee for first time, throws off mound; Ace pitcher says he feels well on his way to having the majority of his efforts negated by late game/season implosions.

Jeter waiting to address A-Rod questions until Spring Training is in full swing; Yankee captain trying to find the right way to say “I don’t even like this guy… just ask Joe Torre.”

Matt Bonner has second straight 20+ point game, helps Spurs dispose of Nets; Here’s to hoping the white, irish, ginger with a fallic last name keeps up the good work so I have a plethora of joke options running deep into the playoffs.

Alex Rodriguez admits, regrets use of banned substances; Performance enhancers included testosterone, Primobolan, and George Hamilton’s Sunless Tan in a Can.

Rangers owner Tom Hicks feels betrayed by the admissions of Alex Rodgriguez; “I mean I knew his teammate Juan Gonzalez was taking steroids.  And Pudge Rodriguez.  And obviously Rafael Palmeiro,” Hicks pointed out, “But Alex?… For shame.”

Jets bring in Matt Cavanaugh as QB coach; New Head coach Rex Ryan hoping Cavanaugh might actually come prepared with a quarterback, but to no avail.

Giants bring backup QB David Carr back for 2009; Carr, a former starter for the Texans, elects not to search for a starting job as he equates such with being completely pummeled every 1.3 minutes of the game.

Devils shut down Rangers 3-0 at the Rock; In fairness though, the Rangers were quite distracted by A-Rod’s overt betrayal of their sister team.

This was a sad weekend for the sport of baseball.

Revelations that Alex Rodriguez, a three-time MVP winner and respectable family man, may have abused steroids have shaken everything that I hold sacred. You go through life thinking that people are good, and when push comes to shove, generally do the right thing. But if professional baseball players can’t be depended on to be positive role models for children and can’t resist the temptation to just say “no,” I don’t know where we as a society can turn.

Now, I’m not naïve. I understand that A-Rod is an adult and that baseball players can sometimes run in fast circles. If he and the fellows want to go out and have a couple of cold ones to wind down after a hard night’s work on the diamond, I empathize. However, when a man’s substance abuse issues begin to interfere with his work, measures must be taken, especially when that man’s work is witnessed and admired by millions of American children.

Baseball was one of this great nation’s last sanctuaries from the horrors of the War on Drugs; every day, newspapers, magazines and weblogs deliver stories and images of actors, musicians and politicians who are seemingly unable to resist the temptation to destroy their lives through vice. Until now, I felt comfortable leaving my children in front of the ballgame at night without concern that their supple young minds would be corrupted by the harsh realities that have torn apart families and ruined communities.

I guess I grew up a little bit this weekend. Thank you, Alex Rodriguez, for helping me understand that nothing is sacred and we truly are a nation corrupted.

Fallout continues from A-Rod steroid bombshell; Jose Canseco now considered second most reliable source behind Elias Sports Bureau.

Knicks lose to Blazers on Roy’s buzzer beater; Rather than going the conventional route and using their foul to give, Knicks decide to take their chances on All-Star missing a layup with a clear path to the hoop.

Nets fall in Orlando 101-84; New Jersey unable to stop Dwight Howard with double teams or coach Lawrence Frank hanging onto his leg.

Phillies re-sign Howard for 3 years at $54 million; Young star’s contract now officially large enough for Philly fans to turn on him and begin calling for his head.

NFC takes the Pro Bowl 30-21; All-Star game passes without many fans noticing thanks to the simultaneous broadcast of the Sunday afternoon movie, featuring Short Circuit 2.

Andruw Jones rejects Yanks’ offer for non-roster invite to Spring Training; According to sources, Bombers’ early year buffet options not nearly up to Jones‘ standards.

Phelps suspended for three months by USA swimming for marijuana incident; When asked for a response, young Olympic hero offers only: “I have no idea what’s goin’ on.”

Pro Bowl prank goes wrong, Jay Cutler’s blood sugar monitor winds up in pool; Wilford Brimley catches red-eye to Hawaii and kicks Peyton Manning’s ass.

Jeter to play against Yankee teammates in USA exhibition game; A-Rod sidelined with feelings of confusion and self-loathing.

The storied “Is this your homework” series continues with its newest entry, this one dedicated to the great Larry Bigbie. Once upon a time, we cited Larry Bigbie as the example of the type of run-of-the-mill Major League steroid user who got lost in the shuffle when everyone was pointing fingers at the Clemenses and Bondses and Tejadas. Our point was that there are way more guilty Bigbies than there are guilty Hall of Famers. And that’s still true.

But it turns out Larry Bigbie is so much more.

According to today’s Daily News, Larry Bigbie was actually the catalyst for the entire Mitchell Report, putting Kirk Radomski in touch with the snitch who made the whole operation fall.

Larry Bigbie. Larry 31 career home runs in 1227 career at-bats Bigbie. That’s all we’ve got today, we just wanted to point that out.

LeBron torches the Knicks for 52 and a triple-double in Cavs win; D’Antoni defense has officially become the vehicle for offensive all-stars “can you top this?” performances.

Nets smoke undermanned Wizards 115-88 for their 3rd win in a row; Injured Wizards Butler, Arenas, Stevenson, Blatch and Haywood forced to take the floor in the fourth quarter in their suit jackets and wingtips in desperate attempt to salvage dignity.

After chants of Kobe for MVP at the Garden, Reggie Miller thinks Knicks fans have gone soft; Former rival signs on to run around the court aimlessly with his hands on his neck in the “choke” position as the halftime entertainment for the February 23rd game against Indiana.

Dossier of Bonds’ supposed drug documents released Wednesday; Assortment includes an alleged “drug calendar,” which marked when he had to take certain substances, when he had to spend time stretching his hats and shirt necks, and when he needed to polish his dangly earrings (not steroid related, but still incriminating in regards to sense of style).

GM’s from Yankees, Mets and Nationals announce they are not pursuing Manny Ramirez; Manny, whose offseason days have consisted of sleeping till noon, followed by video games and cartoon network, still unaware that he hasn’t been signed.

Among the coolest things about being a Major League ballplayer, save for the spoils of wealth, fame, status and fulfillment, is being able to rock the one-earflap helmet for the first time in a lifetime of playing baseball. From Little League all the way through college, batting helmets are obtrusive, cranial-consuming behemoths that alert the world to the fact that you are a human being whose skull is as vulnerable to injury as any other mortal.

Then, once you’ve risen above 20-something years of competition and arrive in the big leagues, it is determined that only one ear requires protection and the helmet is transformed into a sleek, kabuto-esque head cover of the utmost style and sophistication. For some reason, every season there is a small but reliable set of players determined to spit in the face of progress and sport the old-school double-flap helmets of their youth.

There is a profile for the Little League helmet player – they are generally diminutive infielders with a little bit of pop in the mold of Brian Roberts or Dustin Pedroia, neither of whom actually wear double-flap helmets. Prominent recent double-flappers include Mark Bellhorn and Orlando Hudson, who have hit 69 and 68 home runs in their respective careers.

While Bellhorn and Hudson combined for 455 major league plate appearances in 2008 (all coming from Hudson), the tides turned in the world of helmet-atrophied ballplayers, with a new player rising from the mysterious fog of the Far East, via the less- interesting fog of Lake Erie.

What happened that so thoroughly rocked the world of double-earflapped professional baseball players? Two-ish words: Shin- Soo Choo. That’s right, the Indians’ own little Korean guy on the corner happened, in a big way, posting a .940 OPS in 370 plate appearances, including a .992 mark against right-handers, good for fourth in the American League.

I don’t have a ton of data to compare it to, but it is my hypothesis that Choo’s 2008 campaign may well be the best season ever in terms of maintaining an even ratio of offensive prowess and aural protection. Prove me wrong; I challenge you.