News item: : The Orioles have rebounded from a deep offensive slump but remain mired at the bottom of the American League East standings with little hope of finishing this season with a .500 record.
My take: : Don't care. For once in this decade, this team is backloaded with young talent instead of frontloaded with declining older players. To quote the Beatles, you've got to admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time.
News item: : The Ravens have been linked in trade speculation to another top-flight receiver, but it seems unlikely they will make a deal to acquire troubled Denver Broncos wide-out Brandon Marshall.
My take: : I realize the receiver situation could be their Achilles' heel in 2009, but I still think this is one situation where they can afford to be too choosy.
News item: : The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized President Barack Obama for swatting a fly during an interview on CNBC.
My take: : If only we had known he had so little respect for insects before the election ...
Bonus take: : This item may not seem sports-related, but tell that to the National Competitive Fly Swatting Association.
News item: : The New York Times has reported that Sammy Sosa was one of the 104 players who tested positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs during Major League Baseball's anonymous survey testing in 2003.
My take: : I refuse to believe it. Lots of guys hit 60-plus home runs in a season three times in four years.
Related news item: : There's talk that Congress is going to look into whether Sosa lied when he testified - through an interpreter - before a House committee that he never took steroids.
My take: : Sosa's famous Chico Escuela imitation at the 2005 hearing probably won't insulate him from a possible charge of lying to Congress. The language barrier didn't help Miguel Tejada.
News item: : Jose Canseco says he is going to file a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the players' union seeking lost income because he was blackballed for opening the curtain on baseball's steroid scandal.
My take: : I hate to say this, but if he bases his case on state and federal whistleblower statutes, he might just have a case.
News item: : Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has told the team's season-ticket holders that it is entirely up to Brett Favre to decide whether he'll become the Vikes' quarterback this year.
