More sports

The Dating Game

Gators quarterback Chris Leak appeared Tuesday night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

By TOM JONES
Published January 11, 2007

Gators quarterback Chris Leak appeared Tuesday night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Here was one exchange:

Leno: "Didn't you pledge not to date until you guys won a title? You made that pledge your freshman year. You have now graduated. Whoa! That's some willpower."

Leak: "That was just a sign to show the players that I was focused on getting them a ring and winning the national title for them."

Leno: "It must have been a hell of a date last night."

Your turn

Subject: Mark McGwire Whiffs

Good for the baseball writers who refused to vote for Mark McGwire's election to the prestigious Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Boy, did McGwire whiff big-time! He learned firsthand that he is only hurting himself by not coming clean in the steroid fiasco. McGwire can keep whatever he wants to himself but discovered the voters can do likewise by keeping their votes from going to him. America knows how to forgive the guilty when people admit they have erred and apologize with sincere sorrow. His appearance before Congress was downright shameful and as pathetic as the number of votes he received Tuesday. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken played an honest game; congratulations to them on their well-deserved honor.

Kevin B. Kamen, Palm Harbor

Other voices

Today, the Big Ten should be embarrassed, and hopefully enlightened.

This should lead to honest reflection among the conference's old-school bruisers, while we're left to wonder what that titanic Michigan-Ohio State game Nov. 18 really was all about.

Okay, I'll take a shot at what it was about. It was about two very good teams playing a great game but getting full of themselves because they ransacked their way through an awful conference. To a certain degree, it was about being arrogant and comfortable, and that needs to change if Big Ten powers plan to keep showing up in major bowls.

Bob Wojnowski, Detroit Free-Press

Back in the booth

All signs point to Tony Kornheiser returning to Monday Night Football next season, along with Joe Theismann and Mike Tirico. Kornheiser told Newsday, "If they would like to have me back, my inclination is that I would like to do it again." Though there were rumors ESPN was interested in the recently retired Tiki Barber, the network confirmed to Newsday that it wants Kornheiser back.

Crazy act of the day

Austrian World Cup skier Rainer Schoenfelder, the 29-year-old, two-time Olympic bronze medalist, was photographed skiing down a practice run in Switzerland on Wednesday wearing nothing but skis, boots and helmet. His naked run was done on a dare from his physiotherapist who has been helping the skier with an injury sustained during a training crash last week.

Dropping stock

Word now is Troy Smith's performance in the national championship game against Florida might have dropped him out of the first round of the NFL draft. Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and LSU's JaMarcus Russell likely will be the first two QBs to go, but the Ohio State QB might have slipped from a mid first-round pick to an early to mid second-round choice.

[Last modified January 10, 2007, 23:17:43]