If you've read anything about Team USA's training camp in Las Vegas this week, you'd think it's a forgone conclusion the Americans will win gold at the Beijing Olympics (see screenshot from today's ESPN.com).

But as I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of holes in this year's U.S. squad a€" particularly its lack of size ( Dwight Howard is the lone center) and health (not only is Dwyane Wade coming off injury, but LeBron James went down in Tuesday's practice).

For the rest of this entry, head over to http://www.wcbias.com/2008/07/olympic-hype-could-be-fools-gold.html

If you've read anything about Team USA's training camp in Las Vegas this week, you'd think it's a forgone conclusion the Americans will win gold at the Beijing Olympics (see screenshot from today's ESPN.com).

But as I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of holes in this year's U.S. squad a€" particularly its lack of size ( Dwight Howard is the lone center) and health (not only is Dwyane Wade coming off injury, but LeBron James went down in Tuesday's practice).

For the rest of this entry, head over to http://www.wcbias.com/2008/07/olympic-hype-could-be-fools-gold.html

Teenie Boppers rejoice! Boy Band Badass (if that's not an oxymoron, I don't know what is) Justin Timberlake is hosting the ESPYs on Sunday!

OMG! JT ON ESPN!

I guess ESPN has given up on its current demographic, young, affluent, male sports nuts between the ages of 18 and 34, and is trying to boost its ratings in the 8- to 12-year-old Barbie Doll demographic.

MUST B F8!

Not that dudes aren't going to want to watch Alpha Dog Does Sports.

JT A QT!

Nobody's name resonates with sports fans like Justin Timberlake.

IDUNNO?

Where are the Jonas Brothers, Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu when you need 'em? Maybe they'll be in Timberlake's red carpet posse.

RUOK WCB?

Why not go with someone (I'd say actor, but have you seen Alpha Dog?) who's actually been in a sports flick? A Jamie Foxx, Billy Crystal, Will Ferrell, heck even Whoopi Goldberg has been in a sports movie.

Not that Shrek 3 wasn't a hoot.

ZZZZZ

But when Mr. N*Stynk starts making wisecracks about T.O. or Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, is anyone really going to laugh or take Britney's old Boy Toy serious? Or will Pacman Jones just bust a cap on Alpha Doggy Dog and leaving him crying again like he's on an episode of Punk'd.

LOL :-)

Having Timberlake do the ESPYs is what the kids these days call WOMBAT -- a waste of money, brains and time.

Plus everyone who won has already been announced. The ESPYs actually took place on Wednesday and are being tape delayed until this weekend. Thanks for saving me the trouble of watching.

2GD2BTRU!

John Kruk made a bold statement on ESPN's SportsCenter on Sunday:

"No team in the NL West will finish with a .500 record."

OK, maybe that's not such a daring prediction since every team in the NL Worst is below .500 at the All-Star break.

Arizona is flirting with .500 at 47-48, but everyone else in the division is straight up struggling with half the season in the books.

The second-place Dodgers are one-game above .500 at home but are three-games under overall, and the third-place Giants are (gulp) 15-games under on the season.

So when was the last time a team won its division with a losing record?

Read the rest of this post via the link below:

http://www.wcbias.com/2008/07/how-west-could-be-won-by-biggest-loser.html

Watching Jered Weaver in his last three outings for Anaheim reminds of me of his college days, when the SoCal kid mowed down the first 10 hitters he faced in a game – not once, but twice during his junior year at Long Beach State.

The Angels starter has a 1.45 ERA in those three outings, giving up two runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings in Friday's win over the Blue Jays and tossing six no-hit innings a week earlier against the Dodgers in that crazy not-so-fast-that's-not-a-no-hitter game.

The lanky right-hander hasn't seen a dominant stretch like this since his brilliant rookie campaign with the Angels two years ago, which came shortly after his historic season with the 49ers in 2004. A 15-1 collegiate campaign that saw him strike out 10-plus batters 14 times en route to Player of the Year honors.

For the complete article, go to: http://www.wcbias.com/2008/07/is-dream-weaver-back.html

I give up. It seems like every blog I've written this week has backfired.

First, I punch out a take on how Baron Davis "wants to be in the Bay," citing his own blog, and that he'll probably remain in Golden State despite becoming an unrestricted free agent. (Hours later, reports have him flying south to L.A. to play for the Clippers).

Then I cite an ESPN.com/AP story reporting the Hall of Fame isn't going to take up pub hound Marc Ecko on his Barry Bonds asterisk ball loan. (Hours later, ESPN and AP backtrack and report the Hall of Fame has come to an agreement with Ecko and is accepting the ball after all).

I guess that's the 24-hour news cycle for you ... and the beauty of the Internet, which allows you to quickly revise your copy in seconds and prevents you from having to steal every newspaper out of every newsstand in town when you make a gaff. It's just too bad the major mainstream media organizations are more hungry about getting the scoop than they are about getting the story right the first time.

That's also the problem with blogs, especially when their bread and butter is tearing takes from the day's big headlines -- whether they're true or not. The blogosphere is a crazy, convoluted universe that's filled with nebulous reports and editorials that are produced largely by non-journalists on Kool-Aid-stained keyboards in mommy's basement.

That's also why I was once against blogs. But like many things in my life (i.e. fly-fishing, golf, running), blogging has grown on me and become quite addictive. Plus, what's a 30-year-old journalist to do over the latter half of his career if he's stuck on the inverted pyramid in a dead-tree medium and doesn't know a thing about HTML?

At the same time, we need to have the same accountability and principles when it comes to what we report on the Net, which is why we've tried to keep the content on this site newsy or just plain funny and have done our best to avoid the crude, sophomoric posts and pics you'll find orbiting a majority of the blogosphere.

That being said, it's about time for me to write some glaring inaccuracies again in hopes that the following comments will also backfire and force the exact opposite to come true:

* I will be writing dozens of blog entries instead of taking the next few days off because I'm not going to win the lottery on my way to the beach tomorrow.

* I'm not going to go fishing and catch the biggest bass of my life this weekend.

* That Yoda-looking dude waving the white flag isn't really a leprechaun poised to lead me on an week-long adventure to find his secret pot o' gold.

* My wife will still hate my guts every time I tune her out to post another inaccurate blog on WCBias.com.

* The site won't crash because this post won't receive a record number of hits today.

It appears Barry Bonds may have to boycott the Hall of Fame after all.

After initially refusing the Barry Bonds asterisk-branded 756th home run ball, the Hall of Fame has now accepted the donation from Ecko Unlimited founder and PR stuntman Marc Ecko.

Ecko bought the ball for $750,000 last September, wanting to brand the historic pearl with asterisks in response to the allegations of Bonds' steroids use.

Initially, the HOF was hesitant about accepting the ball.

"The owner's previous commitment to unconditionally donate the baseball has changed to a loan. As a result, the Hall of Fame will not be able to accept the baseball," the Hall told The Associated Press early Tuesday.

That vague statement left us at WCBias.com scratching our heads. So we did some digging and came up with some reasons Cooperstown might not want Bonds', make that Ecko's ball in the Hall:

10. Bonds said he'd boycott the Hall of Fame if it accepted the ball, and the Hall doesn't want a class act like Bonds on the outside looking in.

9. The crusty old men at the HOF think Ecko's clothes are "too hippitty hop."

8. Innocent until proven guilty -- a failed drug test, hundreds of media reports linking him to performance enhancers, Game of Shadows and the Mitchell Report aren't nearly enough proof.

7. Who needs the ball when you have Bonds' size 22 cap?

6. Ecko got flaxseed oil on his hands and dropped the ball in McCovey Cove.

5. The Hall was afraid Ecko might tag their hallowed walls worse than Air Force One.

4. The Hall is holding out for the real Bonds' souvenir -- the syringe.

3. Jane Forbes Clark, Chairperson of the Hall's Board of Directors, is hoping to sign the free agent Bonds to the company's co-ed softball team.

2. There isn't enough room for a ball with that ginormous bronze bust of Bonds' dome on the way.

1. Because of steroid use, the ball has since shriveled up into the size of a raisin and is now useless.

Golden State's motto just became "We Can't Believe."

Warriors point guard Baron Davis shocked coaches, teammates and Bay Area fans when he officially became an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday, forgoing the final year and $17.8 million left on his contract.

To make a long story short, Davis -- who earlier in the year wrote on his blog that he wanted to stay in the Bay -- is free to sign with whomever is interested.

As the Chron's Gwen Knapp writes, the move kindles a "temptation to curse Baron Davis' name and burn his agent in effigy may feel overwhelming."

But for a veteran guard looking to land a long-term deal in this what-have-you-done-lately league (a guard who wasn't too happy Nelly benched him late in the season), it was a necessary business move -- as painful as that is for Warriors fans to realize.

It's the same thing Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and James Posey did this week.

There's even talk Davis could stay on the West Coast and fly south to L.A. (that being the Clippers there disgruntled Lakers fans) and that the Warriors could snag Agent Zero, but those are all rumors at this point.

There's talk Davis wants to stay in Golden State, too, but that might just be wishful thinking on the part of the "We Believe" fan club.

Whatever the talk is, there's sure to be a lot more of it, which should make for a very interesting summer.

And you thought basketball season was over.

* * *

It's not all bad news for West Coast hoops fans. While the Warriors and Clippers could get smacked by free agency, the Lakers have made an offer to fan favs Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, although Andrew Bynum is looking for more dough.

* * *

WCBias.com's Fab Five free agents, keeping in mind all five of these guys could easily stay where they're at:

1. Elton Brand, Clippers

I'm not making a huge deal about this because it sounds like he wants to re-sign, although the 76ers have been mentioned as a possible new employer.

2. Baron Davis, Warriors

If Davis goes, it could throw the things into a frenzy, opening up the door for Agent Zero to head west, etc.

3. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards

Like Brand, Arenas has battled injuries and is likely staying put, but the sharpshooter is definitely a "name" some franchises would be interested in.

4. DeSagana Diop, Nets

After seeing what the Celtics did with a little post defense, the young forward could cash in with someone who needs some "D." How about Cuban's boys in the Big D?

5. James Posey, Celtics

Talk about a "timely" shooter. Posey's Finals performance just helped him break the bank. Posey got his ring in Miami, got a ring in Boston, who's ready for the next one?