Summer's time for scandal

There really is not much going on in sports in the summer, between the time the NBA and NHL playoffs wrap up and NFL preseason camps start. Sure there is a full slate of baseball games everyday, but beyond that, it's pretty sparse.

Major League Soccer? The WNBA? Hot Dog eating contests? None of these tend to get American sports fans blood pumping. Not to mention the fact that high school and college sports are on hiatus until the fall semester. Sure, the Tour de France is heating up right now, but I bet you can't name who is in the lead. Hint: It's an Dane.

And since there isn't much happening on the field in July, off the field incidents tend to get increased play in the sports media. This summer there seems to be two big scandals on the sporting landscape: Mike Vick's dogfighting indictment and the NBA referee gambling probe.

The Mike Vick dogfighting allegations are without a doubt serious. I read through the 18 pages of federal indictment and some of the counts are sickening. The worst and most publicized of them name Vick in counts of killing eight dogs by hanging, drowning and at least one case of slamming a dog into the ground. Whether Vick will play this season remains to be seen.

The other big sports story of the summer centers around NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who is under investigation for betting on games, possibly some of which he was officiating. NBA Commissioner David Stern held a press conference today to talk about the allegations; he said it was the "worst situation I've every experienced either as fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or commissioner of the NBA." Donaghy's story even has a local connection here in Chester County, when the ref's gambling was brought up during a lawsuit with his West Chester neighbor. Read about the ref's boorish behavior here.

Obviously both these stories are a big deal in the world of sports. Dogfighting is illegal and cruel. Gambling in sports is always huge issue, just look at Pete Rose.

But do you think these scandals would be making national headlines day after day if there was a full slate of pro and college football games this weekend? I doubt it.

Images from the Associated Press

Looking back at the Draft

Well, after returning from New York and talking to many Philly fans, I don't think I found one person who was pleased with the Sixers' draft. And, on first glance, it's hard to blame them. The Sixers didn't draft a player who will likely make a significant impact -- at least immediately. They drafted an athletic swingman for the third straight year. They weren't able to trade up, despite many concerted efforts. Their second overall pick was a relative no-name from a small conference. And they drafted four players when there likely isn't roster space to acommodate all of them.

But, on closer inspection, I really don't think it's as bad as the average fan might think. In fact, I think it can be good. Sixers fans have no reason to be ecstatic. But they shouldn't be ready to jump off a bridge, either. Here's why:

Thaddeus Young is the man. Only time will tell if he'll be a star in this league, but I was more than impressed with his makeup after getting a chance to talk with him at the Sixers' introductory press conference. Yeah, I know: Makeup can't cross over LeBron or dunk on Shaq. But combined with the talent all the scouting reports say he has, I think Billy King made the right pick at that spot. Who knows? Maybe a few years from now, we'll even be saying it was a steal.

As for the later picks, many people predicted the Sixers would deal one or more of them, or go with an international player and store him overseas for a year. Instead, the team turned those picks into two established college players. And from a talent standpoint, it's hard to argue with the value. I mean, Herbert Hill was the leading scorer in the Big East and Derrick Byars was the SEC Player of the Year. These were serious players -- even if they didn't have the recognizable names. Hill, especially, is intriguing. The guy barely did anything for Providence through this first three years before becoming one of the best players in the Big East his senior season. Who comes out of nowhere like that? I think that really says something about his determination. And if he can help with the Sixers' rebounding woes, well, that's definitely a plus, too.

Which lastly brings us to the Sixers' second pick: Jason Smith. I'd be lying if I told you I watched him play at all in college. I'd also be lying if I told you I'm confident he'll become a good NBA player. I understand that you can't teach height (thanks to all the commentators who alerted me about this on Draft Night) and that 7-footers are hard to come by. But a player from Colorado State at No. 21? The team had an RPI of 106 last year. The toughest team they played was Air Force, which didn't have a player taller than 6-8 on its roster. I know the scouting reports on him are all very good, but without much big-game experience in college, I still say the pick is a risk. But, as we know, risks often work out. We'll just have to wait and see.

So, while the Sixers likely didn't completely change the fortunes of their franchise like Portland, or get their hands on more than one future star like Seattle (with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green) and Atlanta (with Al Horford and Acie Law IV), Billy King did a nice job with the picks he had. It's too bad they couldn't trade up and it's too bad they didn't do more with the Iverson trade to get some better picks to begin with. But I, for one, have high hopes for Thaddeus Young. And if any of the other three can become serviceable NBA players, well, that'll just be gravy. And even if I'm wrong -- who knows? -- maybe they'll get the No. 1 pick in next year's Draft. O.J. Mayo, anyone?

--Dave Zeitlin