Sometimes Jim Boeheim‘s response to reporters is more curt than it needs to be, but this time the situation is flipped. The media has taken a simple, honest comment by Boeheim out of context suggesting Boeheim meant an ‘unlikely’ championship run for Carmelo Anthony in a malicious way.

Boeheim has never liked the media and taking things out of context is one of the reasons why.

This shouldn’t be shocking to anyone. What Boeheim said is a fact. Despite the acquisitions of Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee combined with Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks aren’t going to beat the likes of NBA Champions Cavaliers or runners up Golden State Warriors.

Boeheim was made to seem like he was trying to take Melo down after his fourth Olympic appearance and third time winning gold, when in fact he was the one who convinced Melo to play for Team USA in Rio. Unless you read the Syracuse newspaper no one else chose to point out that according to Syracuse.com Boeheim said Melo was “the unquestionable leader on this team…I think he did a great job,” referring to Melo’s Olympic presence.

Perhaps some wonder why Boeheim even bothered to mention the fact that Anthony won’t win an NBA title, but the context in which it was said makes sense.

Boeheim went on-air with SportsCenter saying he hopes Melo wins a title, but was trying to make the statement that despite the fact that he hasn’t won one, he has still achieved greatness. Boeheim also wanted to clear the air so his children won’t be mad at him for saying Melo probably won’t win an NBA title.

I don’t think Boeheim has ever smiled so big for an interview.

Anthony was the second highest scorer on Team USA in Rio averaging 12.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.

“He was a really good leader on this year’s team,” Boeheim said. “When we were struggling there, he was a good voice in the locker room. He kept everybody together. We had so many new guys that weren’t used to, some of them hadn’t come off the bench in some time and it was a struggle for them, but everything came together.”

Boeheim felt it was important for Anthony to be on the Olympic team because the last couple years with the Knicks have been challenging and he wanted Melo to have a good experience and fill the leadership role Team USA was missing. A third Olympic gold can be a legacy Anthony leaves.

“He’s never been on a team that even had a remote chance of winning an NBA title. As a player, all you can do is try to make your team better and every team he’s been on he’s made them a lot better. Denver hadn’t done anything prior to him getting there and he took them into the playoffs. They weren’t going to beat the Lakers or the Spurs. In those years, they won the championship most of the time,” he said. “But he’s always made his team better. “It’s obvious. You look back on your total basketball experience and he had a great high school team, he won the NCAA championship and he’s won three gold medals in the Olympics. That’s a pretty good resume.”

This was likely the last time the two will pair up as coach and player. In 2020 for the Tokyo Olympics Anthony will be 36.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 02: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the NCAA Men’s Final Four Semifinal at NRG Stadium on April 2, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

He stands 6-foot-2, tipping the scales at 240 pounds of solid, muscular, athleticism.

But at the moment, Yasiel Puig is probably feeling the weight of the world.

A former catalyst to a surging Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, Puig has been relegated to the minors after performance, behavioral problems and lack of interest, prevented teams from striking a deal with L.A. prior to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline Aug. 1.

OPINION: Yasiel Puig’s Future Far From Certain, Career Far From Over

And with the move came the claims that Puig’s career has reached its end. With no one interested in dealing for him and the Dodgers sick of dealing with him, Puig’s demotion has sparked baseball insiders to declare his legacy in baseball demolished.

“Whatever course he takes, the gates at Dodger Stadium will almost certainly remain locked to him,” Los Angeles Times Columnist Dylan Hernandez wrote Aug. 2. “Every indication is that Puig won’t play again for the Dodgers.”

Sadly, Hernandez is one in a myriad of respected baseball writers whom have written off the mercurial, Cuban outfielder.

Scoopman Ken Rosenthal, of Fox Sports, erroneously reported that Puig “stormed out” on the Dodgers prior to their trip to Colorado, fueling the flames of disappointment, despite the fact that Puig was told not to attend.

“I’m told he never went to the park,” Puig’s agent Adam Katz said Monday. “The club informed me and the player understood clearly that they were making every effort to trade him and that if they were unable to come to terms with another club on a trade — and successful in acquiring another outfielder — that he likely would be demoted. My understanding is that transaction will happen tomorrow.”

To his credit Rosenthal apologized and Puig took it in stride, but that didn’t save him from demotion Tuesday.

As his star has tumbled from the far reaches of the galaxy to depths previously unknown, I’m here to tell you that Puig’s career is far from over.

In fact, he will be an All-Star once again, a few times over.

What this cluster of MLB pundits has failed to recognize is that Puig is only 25 years old. He hasn’t even reached his prime years (between age 28 and 33) and his ascension in the league was too fast to sustain.

In short, he got too big for his britches, became too famous too fast, and all of baseball is guilty of throwing him toward Cooperstown before properly receiving his ability.

Puig lit the world on fire in 2013.

L.A. made a splash with the signing of the Cuban defector on June 28, 2012 to a seven-year $42 million contract. Less than a year later he was making his MLB debut.

These were exciting times in Dodgerland.

Guggenheim Baseball Management, with NBA legend Magic Johnson serving as frontman, had just secured the purchase of the team May 1, and Puig was to be a posterchild for the future of franchise.

It all started off well.

Puig made his Dodger (and MLB) debut June 3, 2013, with already two months of the season gone by.

That made no difference.

The rookie made a seamless transition, clubbing 19 home runs, with 42 RBIs, in 104 games, all while batting .319.

And that was just his performance at the plate.

Puig showcased an uncanny athleticism in the outfield, making diving catches routine and revealing a rocket-launcher for an arm, accounting for eight outfield assists and several highlight reel throws.

YASIEL PUIG’S BEST THROWS

Shane Victorino led all right fielders with nine assists in 2013, in 18 more games played than Puig.

L.A.’s lightning rod right fielder finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to winner, and fellow Cuban, Jose Fernandez, whom, it is important to note, made his debut almost two full months before Puig first took the field.

In 2014, with the book out on him, Puig’s power numbers slipped slightly.

He still managed 16 homers and 69 RBIs, but pitchers adjusted to his meteoric rise, prompting 124 strikeouts in 558 at-bats. Puig managed to hit .296 despite the growing pains.

It was in 2015 that his career truly began to turn in the wrong direction.

Puig was plagued by hamstring issues throughout the year, limiting him to only 79 games in which he batted .255, with 11 homers and 38 RBIs. Not terrible, but not what people had come to expect.

This season was much of the same, but Puig’s ego had continued to swell since he burst into the big leagues, and with his numbers no longer matching his swagger, Dodgers management grew tired of the act.

An incident last December involving his sister at a Miami nightclub, didn’t help matters.

Initial reports suggested the Dodgers outfielder assaulted his sister in the heat of an argument, but MLB Commisioner Rob Manfred found “no evidence” to support any wrongdoing on Puig’s part.

But the damage was done. His image had already been tarnished by his perceived attitude and the specter of the alleged assault, however inaccurate, was a gash too deep for people to separate.

From “King of L.A.” to skid row in three years flat. That’s the story on Yasiel Puig that everyone else is writing.

Not me.

We are talking about a five-tool player, who has belted 53 home runs and driven in 183 in only 412 career games.

YASIEL PUIG CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

That’s an average of about 21 homers and 72 RBIs for a full season, which Puig can only claim to have completed once.

So, he’s cocky. He’s arrogant and he’s misunderstood.

Sounds like a 25 year-old to me. No?

How about a 25-year old who had to make four defection attempts before actually reaching the Mexican border? Than piecing together one astonishing performance after another in his rookie year?

You think you wouldn’t feel like Superman after such a ride? Guess again.

Let’s just assume that none of that holds water. Let’s call Puig an overpriced crybaby, who can’t handle the bright lights in the big leagues, a flash in the pan, who burned out as fast as his star ignited.

He still has every motivation to make it back.

His contract is far from “big money” when viewed from MLB’s current financial lens. And of the $28 million he has already earned, around $4 million has already been passed to the “buscon”-types that helped him defect.

Throw in a house in the Hollywood Hills, a couple fancy rides and some jewelry and how much does he really have left?

If you won’t believe Puig has the inner drive to reemerge then just look at dollars driving him.

For love, talent, or money, Puig will reclaim his place, on that pedestal, as an elite outfielder in baseball.

Be it for a short-stretch or a career, he will be back.

Because talent like his only comes along every so often. Puig will power through these dark days and rise as an All-Star once again.

Perhaps he is a bust, or maybe, just maybe, he came up at a time when a franchise’s ownership was changing hands, prompting the Dodgers to prop him up higher than his development necessitated. Then, the same folks tore him down just as rapidly.

Someone who risked their life five times just for the opportunity to play isn’t going to just give up after two bad seasons of baseball.

Like Puig posted on Twitter Monday, you haven’t seen the last of him. More likely, Puig will “#seeyousoon.”

New York Mets infielder Wilmer Flores is once again the talk of the town.

Flores has had quite a week, first he tied the Mets record for hits in a game Sunday (held by his hero and fellow Venezuelan Edgardo Alfonzo), going 6-for-6 with two home runs, now he’s 3-for-6, with three homers and five RBI in his last two contests.

OPINION: Wilmer Flores Is Who Mets Thought He Was

With the Mets tied 4-4 with the, first-place, Washington Nationals Thursday, Flores clubbed a three-run homer to put New York ahead for good, moving the Mets within three games of the Nats.

Much like last season, Queens is singing the praises of Flores, the 6-foot-3 infielder, who cried on the field after he learned he was set to be traded. After the trade fell through, Flores hit a walk-off and Mets fans fell in love.

FLORES LETS TEARS FLOW ON-FIELD

And that summer fling has started once again.

Who doesn’t love the story? Scrappy kid, supposed to be traded for a lost son (Carlos Gomez), but instead has stepped in to fill the role of David Wright, or really, whomever’s position he is capable of playing.

You know the type, journeyman utility guy whom can give you a good boost off the bench, but struggles to perform everyday. Now, the journeyman is becoming a hero before our very eyes.

It is a convenient narrative, the problem, it is far from true.

Dennis Green once famously said, “the Bears are who we thought they were.”

DENNIS GREEN AT HIS FINEST

Well, guess what Metropolitan fans, Wilmer Flores is who the Mets thought he was.

Flores is not a scrappy, diminutive kid, who just keeps on persevering despite all the obstacles in front of him. He’s not a 10-year minor leaguer, finally getting his shot. And he’s not a hometown kid like Mike Baxter, who finds ways to help, despite his limited skill set.

The only limit for Flores is his defensive range. The kid was a blue chip prospect, signed out of Venezuela on his 16th birthday.

He is a slender 6-foot-3 infielder, with power, who has one at-bat shy of one thousand in parts of three seasons in the majors and he is only 24 years old.

Don’t believe me, read for yourself.

From acclaimed New York Times sports writer Ben Shpigel, March 14, 2009.

“The organization is still buzzing about how Flores, one of the youngest players in the minors last season, pummeled rookie-level Appalachian League pitching and slammed seven of his eight home runs before his 17th birthday. In all, over three minor league stages, Flores hit .307 with 42 RBI.”

Flores did not come out of no where, just ask former Mets Vice President for Development, Tony Bernazard:

“Think about it,” Bernazard told Shpigel seven years ago. “Realistically now, (Flores) would be a junior in high school. Instead he’s playing in major league exhibition games. It’s unbelieveable.”

Shpigel’s story was written during spring training, about a kid who, at 17, was good enough to make the expanded roster.

Remember Fernando Martinez Mets fans? You know, the slick, smooth outfielder who glided across the grass to track balls and was a future-menace in the batter’s box? The five-tool guy?

Well Fee-Mart may as well be working at K-mart nowadays.

After the Houston Astros cut him loose, the Yankees picked him up, before he was suspended for 50 games for PEDs in 2013.

He now plays in the Mexican League.

But don’t forget that Fernando Martinez was supposed to be the second coming, the next wave after Wright and Jose Reyes.

Flores was mentioned in the same ilk.

“As teenagers, the All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes and the elite outfield prospect Fernando Martinez played in major league exhibition games, ” Shpigel wrote. “And Flores is likely to mimic their accelerated path.”

Flores was supposed to be at second base with Reyes at short and Wright at third. That was the organization’s vision.

So it isn’t so far-fetched to think Flores could come in to replaced the injured Wright.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great story, especially Thursday’s heroics. Collins leaves him out of the lineup and he demands to be put in the game, then provides the go-ahead home run, how great is that?

“We were ready for this,” Flores said after yesterday’s win, alluding to the adversity they face after losing Matt Harvey. “We were not gonna put our head down as players.”

Flores can still be scrappy and lovable. But he wasn’t a 35th rounder, he wasn’t a rule-five guy and he wasn’t a career-minor leaguer.

As it turns out, Wilmer Flores is exactly who the Mets thought he was: a good-looking, young, prospect with a future in the organization.

It’s beginning to get a little ridiculous, don’t you think?

Okay, yes, we know the NBA is going to extend its salary cap in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, allowing for teams to overspend, but it has reached the point of absurdity.

I can understand Al Horford signing with the Boston Celtics for on a four-year $113 million deal. Is he worth it?

No. But how many of them are?

Horford is a pro, with the numbers to back it up. Now, he’s dipped a bit over the last two years as far as his point production (15.2 ppg in consecutive seasons) when compared to his best season in 2012-2013 where he averaged 17.4 points per, but he has always rebounded.

AL HORFORD CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Last season was Horford’s third-lowest rebounding average of his career (7.3 rpg). He has been in the league for nine seasons, made the All-Star team four times and helped the Atlanta Hawks to reach the postseason every year he’s been in the league.

So Horford I can stomach. But Ian Mahinmi, four years, $64 million?

C’mon, you’ve gotta be kidding me, right?

Mahinmi is an eight-year pro, who had, by far, his best campaign in 2015-2016, his walk year. The Frenchman averaged 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest this past season with the Indiana Pacers, his first as a starter.

MARCIN GORTAT POSTERIZES IAN MAHINMI

Let’s assume for a second that Mahinmi will give you the same production over the life of his contract with the Wizards, the numbers still don’t add up.

$16 million per year for 9 and 7?

The issue is that Mahinmi’s best season prior to last year was in Dallas in 2011-2012, when he posted an eye-popping 5.8 ppg to go with a Barkley-like 4.7 rebounds per.

So who’s to say you’ll even get 9 and 7?

But Mahinmi is far from alone.

Forward Harrison Barnes is set to ink a four-year $94 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks once the moratorium has passed. Barnes is head and shoulders above Mahinmi as a player, so there is no reason to compare the two.

HARRISON BARNES SCORES 18 IN GAME 3 OF 2016 NBA FINALS

Barnes is still young, just 24 years old, but his best performance also came in his walk year. The 6-foot-8 stretch-three, poured in a less than powerful 11.7 ppg in Golden State’s record-setting season, coupled with 4.9 rebounds per contest.

Not exactly frightening numbers for opposing defenses, but hey, what the hell, he’s 24, let’s give him over $23 million per season and see how it turns out. What do you think?

How about Tyler Johnson?

Tyler Who?

Don’t be embarrassed, I had to look him up too.

Johnson is a guard from North Dakota who went undrafted in 2014. He played college ball at Fresno State where he averaged a whopping 10.6 points per game.

In his breakout year in Miami last season, he averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

So you can obviously understand why the Brooklyn Nets offered him $50 million over four years.

THE BEST TYLER JOHNSON HIGHLIGHTS WE COULD FIND

Wait What? Tyler Who got what now?

That’s right times are changing.

The Bismack Biyombo’s of the world are signing contracts for $18 millie per season. I hear the Knicks signed a crossing guard to their D-league team because he looked like he could help on defense.

Jimmer Fredette is the next one to cash in.

Get real NBA. The money being spent on mid-level players could be put to better use elsewhere, expanding the league perhaps.

But with the new rules permitting logos directly on jerseys, maybe teams are still trying to figure out how to spend their expanded revenue streams.

Either way, it has been made abundantly clear: NBA contracts are absolutely absurd.

When Jose Reyes strolled to the plate for his first at-bat since returning to the New York Mets Tuesday, that familiar sound was there to greet him.

OPINION: Mets Fans Can’t Expect Jose Reyes Of Old

For 11 years, fans in Queens cheered Reyes loudly at his plate appearances, often chanting his name in triplicate.
It was that same sound he heard ringing through the stands at Citi Field Tuesday, an ovation fit for a conquering hero.

But this is not the same player Mets fans fell in love with 15 years ago.

REYES RETURNS HOME

This version  is 33 years old, desperate to recapture the glory he lost with age, injury and relocation, desperate to redeem himself after being suspended 52 games for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.

New York’s fans are equally desperate to find the player they once knew within this older, higher-mileage and excess baggage edition.

Newsflash Mets fans, you will never find what you’re looking for.

This is not the same guy who hit 17 triples in back-to-back seasons, or 19 in 2008. Nor is it the player who stole 60, 64 and 78 bases in a three-year stretch. And it’s far from the player whom bunted his way to a .337 average and a batting title in 2011.

This Jose Bernabe Reyes is a grizzled veteran looking to fill a role, not a star set to carry a team.

Reyes is striving to become a Carlos Beltran replica: well-beyond his prime, but proves his worth year-in, year-out by producing.

There is no better place for him to start over than where it all began.

JOSE REYES: FIRST TIME AROUND

But this incarnation of the Dominican-born infielder, who the Mets signed two months and five days after his 16th birthday back in 1999, will be watered down to say the least.

Three times he finished with a batting average over .300 while in New York, but he hasn’t reached that benchmark since leaving the team in 2012.

His strikeouts are up and his power is down. His on base percentage, which used to consistently hover around .350, has plummeted toward .300.

Reyes’ best season since departing Queens came in 2013 for Toronto. He batted .296, with a .353 on-base, 10 homers, 37 RBI and 47 strikeouts. That was three years ago, when Reyes was the Blue Jays star shortstop.

Now, he returns to replace the player who helped him rebuild a fledgling franchise.

With David Wright out indefinitely due to back surgery, Reyes returns as a mercenary, hired to plug the hole left vacant by his former running mate.

Which means we won’t see Reyes diving into the hole between short and third to backhand a sharp ground ball, before uncoiling his hose to get the runner at first.

The left side will more closely resemble two Asdrubal Cabrera’s: sure-handed fielders whose range is limited, can hit, but won’t win a batting title and have power but won’t be clubbing 20 and driving in 100.

It’s not the superstar we once knew. The one who could change the outcome of a game in his first at-bat.

MIKE FRANCESA MISSES MARK

It will be bad before it gets good and it will never again be great.

Reyes barely swung a bat during his suspension and his lack of a preseason has shown. He went 0-for-4 in his Mets debut do-over and he was 6-for-34 with Brooklyn and Binghamton before being called up to the Bigs.

The machine won’t be running full-tilt until August most likely, and even then, parts are bound to breakdown.

Reyes had injury issues in his mid-20s, what do you expect from his body in his early-to-mid-30s?

At least two trips to the disabled list for soft-tissue injuries can be anticipated.

Sorry to burst your bubble Mets fans, but this is a different player from the one you once knew. He is not a savior for the franchise, he is no longer a superstar and his image has been forever re-framed.

But here’s the best part, he doesn’t need to be what he once was.

The Mets don’t need a superstar to win the World Series, they need another Asdrubal Cabrera: solid defense and timely hitting with a little pop.

Sure, we will see a few “Reyes runs” hung on the scoreboard, but he doesn’t need to steal 30 bases in the second half to be productive.

If he plays his role, Metropolitans fans will have plenty of reason to say, “Jose, Jose, Jose.”

The time has come to call it quits.

Less than five weeks ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, many are wondering if the event will ever actually take place.

Stories continue to swirl around the negativity surrounding the 2016 host site on social media platforms, print newspapers and digital entities alike.

Whether it is concerns over the possible contraction of the Zika virus, questions about the city’s ability to protect athletes and fans, or the lack of medical attention available to visitors, it is clear that Rio is ill-prepared to host the biggest sporting event on earth.

All these stories lead to one conclusion: attending the Games in Rio is a dangerous endeavor.

The best course of action: cancel the Olympics in Rio, before any other lives are put at risk.

Zika

On Tuesday, golf’s No. 1 player in the world, Australian Jason Day, added his name to a lengthy list of athletes who will not be participating in the Rio Games.

The sport now has eight players, including Day and the world’s fourth-ranked player, Rory McIlroy, whom have chosen to withdraw their names from competition on account of concerns regarding the spread of the Zika virus, a relative of Dengue Fever and the West Nile virus, that has reached pandemic proportions in 2016.

What is most telling about the decisions made by these golfers to exclude themselves from competition is the fact that the Rio Games were supposed to signal a return to prominence for the sport of golf on the world stage.

Golf has not been part of Olympic Competition in 112 years, but the fact remains, Day, Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, Irishman Shane Lowery, Fiji native Vijay Singh and Aussies Adam Scott and Marc Leishman have all pulled out despite their chance to return golf to glory.

But golf is far from the only sport that has been affected by the Zika scare.

A SUCCINCT EXPLANATION OF THE ZIKA VIRUS

U.S. cyclist Tejay van Garderen, considered one of the world’s best in the sport, announced he will not be attending the games due to Zika concerns.

“Although the risks associated with the Zika virus can be minimal and precautions can be taken, my wife Jessica is pregnant, and I don’t want to risk bringing anything back that could potentially have an effect,” van Garderen said in a statement.

Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry offered a veiled Zika excuse when he announced that he would not be playing for Team USA in Rio due to “other factors.”

British long jumper Greg Rutherford has frozen some of his sperm in the event that he is stricken with the mosquito-borne illness and his girlfriend, Susie Verrill, wrote an op-ed for England’s Standard Issue Magazine explaining why she will not be attending the Games to cheer her partner on.

“The Zika news has caused no end of concern if we’re totally honest,” Verrill wrote in Standard Issue. “We’re not ones to worry unnecessarily, but after more than 100 medical experts stressed the Games should be moved to prevent the disease from spreading, this was a huge factor in us choosing to stay put.”

There is no known vaccine for Zika and what’s maybe most troubling is that the disease is often asymptonmatic.

So, not only would an athlete, or fan, be risking exposure, there’s a high probability they would not know when they had been exposed or contracted the disease and therefore would be vulnerable to spreading it further.

Health and Safety

Zika is not the only health scare athletes and visitors would have to contend with in Rio.

Signs have been strewn along overpasses at Rio de Janeiro International Airport that read, “Welcome, we have no hospitals.”

Images of protest have poured out of Brazil’s capital city in the wake of a gun battle that ensued at a hospital in Rio Sunday, when 20 gunmen stormed Hospital Souza Aguiar in order to free a drug kingpin.

Souza Aguiar is the same hospital that Brazilian officials suggested tourists make use of when visiting Rio to attend the Games.

After one patient and an off-duty officer were wounded in the attack, that ended up freeing the drug trafficker, policemen and other first responders staged a protest at the airport on Monday.

The first responders held a sign that read, “Welcome to Hell. Police and Firefighters don’t get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.”

One officer, identifying himself only as Andre, told Agence France-Presse that the work conditions for first responders are beyond deplorable.

The simple, common items associated with day-to-day operations, or just human hygiene, are not available.

“At the stations we don’t have paper or ink for the printers, there’s no one to come in to clean,” Andre told AFP. “Some stations don’t have a water supply anymore so the toilets are not functioning. Members of the public bring toilet paper for us.”

If the city cannot muster the means to provide toilet paper to those protecting the public good, how can we expect them to keep athletes, fans and tourists safe?

The water is dangerous, the police can’t protect you and a mosquito bite could result in dire medical consequences.

Rio is better suited as the setting for the next Hunger Games than it would be a site for the globe’s oldest and largest sporting event.

The International Olympic Committee has an obligation to protect its athletes and patrons.

Cancel the Olympics in Rio now, before further calamity ensues.

Enough is enough. Art Briles should be fired by Monday. Hell, he should’ve been fired a month ago.

Briles, is still the current head football coach at Baylor University, but his new title reads “suspended, with the intent to terminate.”

That was the moniker stamped atop Briles name by Baylor University officials May 25, in the wake of the sexual assault scandal that boiled over after the announcement that three, female, former students levied a lawsuit against Baylor for violating their Title IX rights.

Twenty four days later, Briles’ new title remains, with whispers that he may return to the old one.

A move to terminate Briles now, as Baylor has stated is its “intention,” would be best for both parties. Briles would be permitted to begin repairing his image and resume and Baylor could look like they finally cleaned house.

Yes, many people will complain that the process took too long, or that Briles doesn’t deserve another job in college football, but at least the band-aid could finally be ripped from the wound after being slowly peeled for more than three weeks.

Briles deserves plenty of blame.

College football coaches who win big, in “big” places, know anything and everything that is going on in their towns. It doesn’t matter if it’s an incident that takes place on campus, off campus or rumors buzzing around campus.

The coaches hear about it first.

It was no different for Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden and you can bet it was the same for the ‘Ol Ball Coach’ Steve Spurrier.

It is their business to know exactly what is going on with their players and if Briles didn’t know what was happening with his team, that is an indictment in itself. But, of course, not nearly as deplorable as if he was privvy to the details of the sexual assaults and did nothing.

He could be a scapegoat. That is a possibility, but again, given the reach of these high-priced and high-powered head coaches, I would venture to guess Briles network spreads as wide as his offense.

The sooner Baylor moves on from Briles, Briles can move on from Baylor.

The University and community, in Waco, Texas, can withdraw from playing the part of the nation’s punching bag and, with a little help, they can begin to rebuild.

Last week rumors were flying that there was a minority, but a strong minority of Briles supporters within Baylor’s Board of Regents, the body voting on the coach’s future with (or without) the University.

Now this week Briles fired and then rehired his attorney in a matter of days. It is just getting more and more chaotic by the moment.

We want off this sick, twisted, roller-coaster ride overseen by Baylor’s Board of Regents.

And if the Bears ever want to run out of the tunnel and out onto the field at that new, state-of-the-art stadium with dignity, they should be reaching for the emergency brake too.

Before Game 6, along with most people who follow basketball, I had a tremendous amount of respect for Stephen Curry.

The Golden State Warrior’s premier attraction has proven he can play at an elite level in the league, winning back-to-back MVPs, and his sportsmanship, from the outset of his career through Game 5, was above reproach.

Curry says the right things when the Warriors win and the right things when they lose.

People want to root for him because he embodies that “every man” type. To look at him on the floor, assessing his slight frame in comparison to the big bodies around him, Steph could be just as well-suited to ride the subway to work in the morning, bound for a non-descript desk job.

People respect that.

They relate to it because everyone wants to feel like “I can do it.” Seeing a man of similar size and stature leads us all to believe “hard work” can really open the doors to our dreams.

Last night played more like a nightmare for Curry.

STEPH CURRY THROWS MOUTHPIECE, TANTRUM IN GAME 6

His tantrum as the game wound down likely reminded us all of that kid on the playground who didn’t like a call so he picked up his ball and went home.

You know the type, bold enough to boast when he hits a shot in your face, but too weak to handle the repercussions of missing a shot badly. The type that is happy to dish it out, but unwilling to absorb the trash talk coming from the opposite direction.

After Game 6, that is now my impression of Steph Curry.

Following a suspect foul call (one of many) at the 4:22 mark of the fourth quarter, with his team trailing 99-87, Curry offered a half-hearted effort at an argument with Referee Jason Phillips and then threw his mouth guard into the first row in frustration.

It was Curry’s sixth foul of the game, which automatically disqualified him from any further action, so I can understand the defending league MVP trying to get his money’s worth since he was already done for the game.

But his reaction was regrettable.

Not because Curry was upset and not because he was arguing the call either, to quote Bill Raftery, it was “small-change” at worst.

Curry did not rush over to the official and voice his opinion. (like teammate Draymond Green had done several times during the course of Game 6)

No.

Instead he stood hollering at Phillips from a distance and then threw his mouthpiece in the direction of the scorer’s table, much like a three year-old throws his binky after being told “It’s nap time.”

The Warriors had been playing from behind all evening and finally they made a run to get it within 12. The foul call was bad, but what was Curry trying to accomplish with the “reach around and poke” move?

Who does that move again? Oh yea, that same kid from the schoolyard. And how often does it work?

Well Curry was called for at least two other fouls, just like it, earlier in the game, so you would think he would learn by the third time.

He didn’t.

Kyrie Irving sank the technical free throw awarded to Cleveland and the Cavs also maintained possession.

On the ensuing possession, J.R. Smith drilled a 3-pointer and a once-12-point lead had swelled to 16 and it was curtains for Curry and company.

Steph wasn’t exactly alone on an island though.

Golden State Head Coach Steve Kerr was also critical of the fouls called on Curry, saying three of the calls were “ridiculous.”

“He had every right to be upset,” Kerr said in his postgame press conference. “He’s the MVP of the league. He gets six fouls called on him; three of them were absolutely ridiculous.”

That last line cost Kerr some money, both he and his star point guard were fined $25,000 by the league office Friday for criticizing the officials, a no-no in the NBA.

Kudos to Kerr for sticking up for his player, but Curry’s childlike tantrum will not draw any commendations.

Instead, it served as a reminder of that scrawny kid on the court you used to play with. Always calling touch fouls and complaining, but he’s the first to celebrate when something positive happens for him.

That’s Steph.

And now the world will remember the two-time MVP as the crybaby who threw his pacifier into the first row.

Someone remind him that pouting in public is no longer an accepted practice for a 28 year-old.

Michael Jai White, martial artist, star and director of the new movie Never Back Down: No Surrender, talked exclusively to uSports about his thoughts on the passing of legendary mixed martial arts star Kimbo Slice, who died of heart failure on June 6 at the age of 42.

Michael Jai White Discusses Late MMA Fighter Kimbo Slice’s Legacy

“I think Kimbo Slice resonated with people because deep down, he was a really, really good guy,” White began by saying. “I can’t imagine imagine anybody who met Kimbo that didn’t like him. Of course, he is this foreboding figure, but he was a gentleman and a real sweetheart.”

White, 48, then went on to explain how Slice, who was born Kevin Ferguson, “lifted himself up by his bootstraps,” after coming from another country [the Bahamas] and growing up in a rough area of Miami.”

“He literally fought his way out of the streets,” White stated. “I mean, how could you not feel for that.”

According to a report by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was informed he needed a heart transplant after being diagnosed with heart failure. The Sun Sentinel also reported, citing a medical report made by the Northwest Medical Center in Margate, that Slice was admitted to the hospital on June 3, complaining of “severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath and nausea.”

“I was sad to see him go,” White finally said. “He was a friend of mine, we got to train together. He’ll be missed.”

Slice (5-2) was scheduled to fight James Thompson at Bellator 158 on July 16 in London, but according to Mike Brown, his head coach at American Top Team, Slice had intended to withdraw from the event.

“He had a few things going on,” Brown said. “He had a crazy hiccup problem and he had high blood pressure. He also had a problem that had something to do with his gallbladder. We had talked about him pulling out of the fight.”

Mike Imber, Slice’s longtime manager and childhood friend, confirmed to ESPN.com that the fighter entered the medical facility on June 3. Imber also added that Slice appeared to be doing well until Monday, when the situation turned.

“He went to Germany around March and got really sick while he was there,” Imber said. “I don’t know what he thought it was, but he just felt sick. On Friday (June 3), he had bad chest pains and went to the hospital. I went and visited him on Friday and he seemed OK. I didn’t feel like I was going to lose my friend in two days, by any means. He seemed concerned, but he seemed all right.”

Slice is survived by his six children. His oldest son, Kevin Ferguson Jr., whose nickname is ‘Baby Slice,’ made his professional MMA debut earlier this year.

“Any time I was around Kimbo, he was very humble,” said UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier, Slice’s teammate at American Top Team. “He wasn’t the person who I thought he would be. He’s a family guy. Every time I saw him, he had his kids with him. He was just a really nice guy.”

PHOTO: STUDIO CITY, CA – MAY 19: MMA fighter Kimbo Slice demonstrates MMA fighter techniques at CBS’s ‘Elite XC Saturday Night Fights’ Press Conference at CBS Radford Studios on May 19, 2008 in Studio City, California. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

American culture and sports are now once again intertwined.

Not as a result of Muhammad Ali being laid to rest, or on account of Serena Williams finally getting closer to equal pay, but because our college campuses are plagued by an epidemic that transcends sports, education, entertainment and humanity.

Rape culture is real folks, I have seen it on display first-hand.

And now thanks to an incredibly smart, clever, talented and courageous young woman, you have all been exposed to it too.

The much-publicized rape case of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner has called all non-believers out on the carpet.

Attacks on Turner’s nameless accuser for the amount of alcohol she consumed, claiming “she brought it on herself,” or questions asked of her like, “Why would you lead him on? What were you wearing? What did you say to give him the impression that he had your consent?”

They are all baseless and irrelevant.

Sports have shined a spotlight on this issue recently, but not in the way we all would have hoped.

Darren Sharper‘s rape case revealed for too many how far a champion could fall, as opposed to how deplorable his actions were.

Baylor’s sexual assault scandal is only now coming to light, three years after the first incident took place, but the narrative in the sports world is more focused on how many recruits will decommit or what it will do to the Bears chances of making the College Football Playoff, instead of hammering the institution that kept it all behind closed doors, on the hush, before an outside entity uncovered all the gory details of its depravity.

As Vice President Joe Biden highlighted in his open letter to the survivor, published by BuzzFeed, these are all the wrong questions and each one reflects the rape culture that festers in our society, whether the naysayers are willing to acknowledge its existence or not.

Biden’s letter was loquacious, but stern, conjuring up every emotion on the spectrum from saddness, to anger, to inspiration, pointing out all the ails surrounding the act of rape, from suggesting the survivor’s letter be “required reading,” to explicitly stating that she “changed the world.”

“I do not know your name,” Biden wrote, “but I know a lot of people failed you that January night and in the months that followed. … You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaulted.”

READ BIDEN’S FULL LETTER HERE

If you are hearing that number for the first time it can be jarring.

Brace yourself, it is likely worse than that.

In an interview I recently conducted with two members of Rutgers University’s Office of Violence Prevention and Victim’s Assistance, it was divulged to me that the numbers are likely much higher. The statistics are merely a reflection of the reported incidents and survey responses where students were willing to be honest about their experiences with sexual violence, for many others, the struggle to cope is all too real.

“If (the numbers of reported incidents or rape) kept going up for 10 years that would probably be a good thing as long as we are also seeing the resources to help survivors, the climate starts to change, so that we don’t see as much violence happening in the first place,” said Brady Root, prevention education coordinator for Rutgers’ VPVA.

“I mean that’s the real goal, to stop the violence before it occurs, not just to respond to it afterwards,” Root said.

If the Stanford survivor’s letter becomes required reading at every high school and institution for higher education in this country I guarantee it will have an effect on rape culture.

At Rutgers the policy is not “no means no,” the university instituted a “yes policy” in recent years, requiring a clear “yes” be spoken as means of consenting to sexual activity.

Biden indicated he was disappointed in the statistics, pointing out that the numbers have not gone down in two decades, calling the response “a failure.”

“You were failed by anyone who dared to question this one clear and simple truth: Sex without consent is rape,” Biden wrote. “Period. It is a crime.”

The vice president also called out onlookers for their inaction under these circumstances, shaming those too confused or torn to step in.

“I don’t know your name, ” Biden continued, “but thanks to you, I know heroes ride bicycles. … They did not say ‘It’s none of my business.’ They did not worry about the social or safety implications of intervening, or about what their peers might think. Those two men epitomize what it means to be a responsible bystander.”

Just like Biden said it is on ALL of us.

It doesn’t matter what she was wearing, or how intoxicated she may have been. It doesn’t matter that Turner had a clean record prior to this, or that the survivor may have been interested in him romantically.

This is a cut and dry issue, there is NO gray area. He was having sex with an unconscious woman, on the ground behind a dumpster.

READ SURVIVOR’S FULL LETTER HERE

The survivor put it best when recounting her understanding of the events as told to her by police.

“Note; if a girl falls down help her get back up. If she is too drunk to even walk and falls down, do not mount her, hump her, take off her underwear, and insert your hand inside her vagina. If a girl falls down help her up. If she is wearing a cardigan over her dress don’t take it off so that you can touch her breasts. Maybe she is cold, maybe that’s why she wore the cardigan.”

Read the signs people, they aren’t as enigmatic as you think.

A battle has begun brewing between two distinct factions of Major League Baseball.

It’s not a debate drawn across racial lines, but more so, one deriving from differences in culture and the way players came to collect an understanding of baseball’s oldest set of on-field norms, though this code cannot be found scrawled on any of the clubhouse or dugout walls.

The Battle To Rewrite Baseball’s Unwritten Rules

These unwritten rules have had dramatic off-field effects in recent weeks, as well as repercussions, levied by the league’s front office, 99 MPH fastballs from the likes of Yordano Ventura and Noah Syndergaard, and furious right-hand haymakers, launched by Manny Machado and Roughned Odor, that land flush on the faces of their victims.

Robin Ventura, no relation, learned these rules the hard way.

The now-fifth-year manager of the Chicago White Sox had a career to clamor about, but every time his playing days are referenced now, a highlight tape of Nolan Ryan‘s notorious headlock is culled from the catacombs of the production department’s archives, dusted off and played on a loop, with Ryan pounding Ventura mercilessly, landing at least five clean shots atop the younger man’s head.

The battle between new and old school interpretations of baseball’s unwritten mores began with a minor spark, started by defending National League MVP, Bryce Harper, when he called the guidelines for policing the game “Tired,” in an offseason interview with ESPN The Magazine for a story dubbed, “Sorry Not Sorry.”

It continued when the New York Mets flame-throwing, long-locked starter, Syndergaard, nicknamed Thor for his striking resemblance to Marvel’s version of the mythological character, threw behind Chase Utley in retaliation for the Dodgers infielder breaking then- Mets’ shortstop Miguel Tejada‘s leg on a late, hard slide into second base in last season’s NLDS.

The war waged on when Jose Bautista was buttoned by Odor May 15, after a slide similar to Utley’s.

Bautista said he “was pretty surprised,” by the punch from Odor.

“I mean, obviously, that’s the only reason he got me, and I have to say he got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. It takes a little bigger man to knock me down,” Bautista said.

What has been frequently mentioned when discussing this topic, but not quite highlighted until now, is that it was Bautista who started the bad blood eight months earlier, when he hit a walk-off home run in the deciding game of the ALDS between the two teams, prompting “the flip heard round the world.”

Odor vs. Bautista I

As baseball struggles with its identity Roughned Odor offered a counter-punch to the new-school way of thinking about the “unwritten” rules of the game.

Baseball writers and reporters have spent a significant amount of time debating the right to flip one’s bat in celebration of a home run, and in Bautista’s case many have taken into consideration that it was a clutch, series-clinching, home run for a team that hadn’t reached the playoffs since Joe Carter “touched them all,” and “never hit a bigger home run.”

Therefore, due to these mitigating factors, many believe Joey Bats’ bat-flip should be viewed through a different lens.

I am not one of those people.

Bautista has a reputation for being brash and difficult in the clubhouse, though no one can discount his remarkable power and impeccable record as a ‘”clean” slugger, no player has hit more home runs since 2011, when so many in the game today are tainted in one way or another.

I admire Bautista for his ability to eat that Odor right like a bag of Doritos sold in a elementary school lunchroom. The Toronto slugger was struck directly on the pressure point and although his knees did buckle a bit, he never went down.

So, I can agree that the bearded wonder of ‘The 6’ can take a punch, but Bautista’s claim that Odor’s answer to the slide was “cowardly,” is not something I can abide.

That is the way baseball is supposed to be played. That is how the honor and respect for America’s Pastime is shown.

Don’t believe me? Ask Enos Slaughter.

Slaughter, a Hall of Famer for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 40s and 50s, has become infamously known as “the guy who spiked Jackie Robinson.”

In 1947, the same season he broke baseball’s color barrier, Robinson was playing first base in late August when Slaughter came barreling down the line on a ground ball to the infield. Nicknamed “Country,” Slaughter slammed his spikes into the back of Robinson’s leg as he crossed the first base bag, causing a seven-inch gash as a result, some historians say, jeopardizing Robinson’s career.

In a future game, after Robinson had moved to what fans remember fondly as his best position, second base, Slaughtered rang a would-be double off the left field wall. Robinson corralled the relay throw and planted a violent tag, smack-dab on Slaughter’s kisser, knocking out four of his teeth.

Enos Slaughter’s spiking as recalled in the recent Robinson bio-pic ’42’

‘Country’ calmly picked up his fallen chicklets, spit out some of the blood that had begun to pool in his mouth and sauntered off the field without saying a word.

THAT is how it is done.

Slaughter knew there could be a repercussion for the spiking, and that was before Twitter, ESPN’sTop Plays or Baseball Tonight or even color T.V.

So don’t try to sell me on the argument that Bautista didn’t expect retribution for his bat-flip.

Syndergaard was ejected by a rookie umpire without warning after throwing behind Utley and after the same ump was coached to issue a “warning first,” before tossing anyone out of that particular game.

What would Bob Gibson say about that, or Ryan, or Randy Johnson? And those are fairly recent guys.

Baseball is unique in that, similarly to hockey, players often police themselves on the playing surface, using officials only to uphold the “written” rules.

Baseball’s Best Brawls

If Harper, Bautista, or any major leaguer for that matter, wants to flip his bat, stare down the opposing pitcher, or “pimp it” around the bases in celebration of a home run, play on playboy.

Just don’t complain when you hear the record stop on the sultry sounds of a little chin-music, be it from a pitcher or position player.

The beauty of these codes are that they lack an expiration date and that is what players like Joey Bats are unable to understand.

In addition to his complaints about the assault launched by Odor, Bautista called the timing of the incident into question, highlighting that it came in the 8th inning of the penultimate game of the regular season for the two clubs.

Response: Robinson knocked out Slaughter’s teeth two full years after he was spiked.

It is the same epidemic of disrespect for the game that has players not running down the line on a “can of corn” fly ball or “routine” ground ball.

Players, you know the rules, whether they are written or not, simply abide by them.

To borrow a line from the great John Sterling, “This is baseball Suzyn (Waldman).”

https://www.funnyordie.com/videos/da32d4e704/pocket-john-sterling?_cc=__d___&_ccid=c881fc89-b365-4c73-8f01-fdd634f29c40

And if you don’t like it, go play lacrosse, or continue to play it “your” way.

Cadillac it around the bases, pull another one into the shift despite the mammoth hole on the opposite side of the infield and the fact that he’s thrown four straight pitches on the outside corner. And please, by all means, flip your bat.

Just don’t say you’re “surprised” when someone  tries to re-educate you on the unwritten rules of baseball.

The most appropriate way to address the news that New York Mets’ third baseman David Wright’s latest injury has landed him an extended stay on the disabled list is to borrow a line from one of the Mets most notable celebrity fans, Chris Rock: “Again?”

Last year it was spinal stenosis in his lower back and now the player many  baseball fans used to view as a future Hall of Famer, is struggling to make it from the hallway outside the clubhouse to the field of play. The latest blow could put Wright’s career in danger.

Friday, the Mets announced Wright would miss 6-8 weeks with a herniated disk in his neck, with manager Terry Collins intimating that surgery was “not discussed” as far as he was aware.

On Monday, Collins voiced concern about Wright having significant discomfort in his neck, forcing the team doctors to administer an oral inflammatory as well as an injection into Wright’s neck in the hope of staving off a trip to the DL.

“The condition he’s been playing in and the condition he’s in right now, yeah I’m concerned about it,” Collins told reporters Monday morning. “I know this guy plays with a lot of discomfort. He always has. When he can’t play, he’s hurt. So yeah, I’m concerned about it.”

Collins fears were confirmed Friday, as reports began to leak out that Wright would likely miss a large chunk of action and be placed on the disabled list.

The news could not have come a worse time for Wright, 33, who had homered in three consecutive games before being scratched for last weekend’s series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A herniated disk in Wright’s neck will keep him out for “significant time,”  dashing General Manager Sandy Alderson’s hopes of “Captain America” playing 130 games in 2016.

Is this the End for No. 5?

In order to answer this question we must first look back to where the rapid deterioration of Wright’s body began.

Since he came up to the big club in 2005, Wright has endured a multitude of injuries. The difference in recent years is that he has grown a little longer in the tooth, therefore, the injuries themselves have taken more of a toll.

Sure, he had hamstring and elbow issues in his younger days, but his first trip to the disabled list may have been a precursor to what has become a harsh reality in the second half of Wright’s career: he struggles to stay on the field.

August 15, 2009, a day that will live in infamy in the minds of metropolitan fans. Their beloved No. 5, a thick, third baseman, with bulbous forearms and a smile every mother would love, was in the middle of his prime. His power numbers were down significantly from the year prior when Wright finished eighth in the NL MVP voting with 33 home runs, 124 runs batted in and a .302 batting average, but he had his average around .300 and was in the lineup almost everyday.

That was until San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain drilled Wright in the helmet with a 93 MPH fastball. Wright fell to the ground, slowly scrambling for his senses. He was helped off the field and treated at Manhattan’s Hospital for Special Surgery where his CT Scan came back negative.

I am positive, that day began the downward spiral in Wright’s career, just look at the numbers.

In the four full seasons Wright played, including 2009, he hit 30-plus homers, never finished with less than 102 RBI and hit a minimum of .302. In 2010, he managed 29 homers, drove in 103 runs and batted .283.

The Norfolk, Virginia, native hasn’t approached even a glimmer of those numbers since, with 21 HRs and 93 RBI standing as his next closest totals for a season. The fewest number of games Wright played in through 2009 was 144, that same season where he was sent to the DL with a concussion as a result of Cain’s loose cannon. Absent 2012, where he played in 154 games, his next closest total is 134 games played in 2014. The other seasons lost to hamstring pulls, and back issues, with totals like 102 (2011), 112 (2013) and 38 (2015) games played.

It didn’t help that the Mets beloved Captain was hit in the head again in September of 2013 by Milwaukee Brewers starter Johnny Hellweg. Since, fans have held their collective breath, waiting for the next shoe, or helmet, to drop.

That moment came today. But the end began nearly seven years ago.

Heading into its fifth game of the season tonight, the New York Lizards have fattened up the roster.

After a hot start to the season, New York (3-1) will play host to the Denver Outlaws (2-3) this evening in Hempstead, with some fresh faces joining the fold.

Attacker Cody Jamieson, former 2014 National Lacrosse League MVP, joins the Lizards roster after spending the last year recovering from a torn achilles tendon suffered in NLL East Final in 2015. Jamieson, 27, was a stalwart in the league that serves as the MLL’s indoor competitor, scoring a career-high 36 goals and leading the Rochester Nighthawks with 92 points in 2015.

Jamieson will be joined by midfielder Jake Tripuka, who returns from a stretch on injured reserve to contribute to a Lizards attack that already includes defending MLL MVP and Week 5 Offensive Player of the Week, Rob Pannell.

The additions of Jamieson and Tripuka will boost a potent Lizards offense that boasts three players in the top 10 in the league in goals scored, with Pannell posting 14 tallies and Tommy Palasek and Matt Gibson tied for ninth with 12 goals apiece.

Tripuka, a standout in his collegiate career at Duke and son of former NBA veteran Kelly Tripuka, was acquired by New York in a trade with the Charlotte Hounds Nov. 23 in exchange for a first-rounder in the 2016 MLL Supplemental Draft.

The former Blue Devil has been sidelined since May 7, when he scored a goal and added an assist on the road in the Lizards 20-14 win over the Florida Launch.

Goals will likely come in bunches for New York, considering Outlaws goaltender Ryan LaPlante is allowing an MLL worst, 17.12 goals per game.

But the Lizards aren’t the only team with offensive firepower.

The Outlaws bring attacker Drew Snider east to the Hofstra Campus, fresh off  a heroic performance in his last time out on the field against the Boston Cannons where he registered five points, including three goals and two assists. Snider is currently ranked fourth in the league in goals scored, just ahead of Pannell with 15 total tallies.

Between Pannell’s hot stick and the additions of Jamieson and Tripuka, expect New York to score a minimum of 20 goals. The only question is: how many will Snider sneak past the Lizards defense?

If New York can hold Denver’s top target to under three points, it should be a walkover, especially considering LaPlante’s ineptitude in the cage through five games in 2016.

Prediction: Lizards slide by Outlaws,  New York 22 Denver 16

PHOTO: KENNESAW, GA – AUGUST 08: Drew Adams #14 of the New York Lizards against the Rochester Rattlers during the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Championship Game at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on August 8, 2015 in Kennesaw, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The star point guard of the Sacramento Kings, along with many other athletes in the last two years, cannot seem to get the point.

STOP PUTTING YOUR HANDS ON FEMALES. It is really that simple.

Darren Collison was booked on charges of “inflicting corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant and two misdemeanor bench warrants” for driving with a suspended license, CBS Sacramento reported Tuesday.

The incident has the former UCLA Bruin staring dead in the eyes of legitimate time behind bars, as the charge is listed as a felony, according to the California penal code, meaning the Kings’ point-man is facing two to four years in prison if convicted.

The 28-year-old Collison had a strong season in Sac-town in his second year with the team, averaging 14 points and 4.3 assists per game, but he may never set foot on the floor again if the charges are even remotely plausible.

Look, I understand people get heated. And some cohabitants, spouses, companions, happen to enjoy getting under their other half’s skin. Giving in to the anger and getting physical is easy. It is the coward’s move. What makes a man is the ability to keep your cool, not your ability to put your hands on someone who would be no match for you.

Sometimes I still like to dunk on my niece’s and nephew’s Little Tikes’ hoop. You know, the one that has the blue base, orange rim and white backboard. And in order for it to stay upright you need to fill it with water or sand.

Now picture a grown man well into his twenties cocking back and hammering one home on top of the head of a six-year-old girl. You really need to be a depraved individual to get pleasure out of something like that.

What would we call that guy?

A loser. An animal, a jerk.

Putting your hands on a woman or child is much worse that Tony throwing alley-oops off the bedroom wall to reign terror down on little Timmy, but our society has allowed too many communities to permit such behavior.

So for all the tough guys out there who like to use their hands on women and children, LEARN THE LESSON ALREADY. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up like that loser who ruined Christmas when he broke Timmy’s backboard.

Nick Foles is not comfortable with the Los Angeles Rams selection in this year’s NFL Draft, and when the young buck showed up for Organized Team Activities, Foles gave head coach Jeff Fisher and the rest of the Rams the horns.

After exuding the leadership skills necessary to hold the reins of the Rams budding offense by becoming intimately involved when training began April 18, Foles has cried fowl since L.A. drafted California quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick April 28.

The incumbent quarterback appears to be munching on some sour grapes, refusing to show up since the Rams selected the 6-foot-4, 215-pound rookie, in a move that was expected for nearly a month ahead of the draft, one that became know more for a mask, than for the men realizing their lifelong dreams.

Foles may still be a little butt-hurt over the mid-season benching he received after starting the first nine games of 2015. Fisher called backup, Case Keenum‘s number instead after Foles stumbled to a 4-5 start, throwing a pedestrian seven touchdowns. The former Philadelphia Eagle also fumbled five times, turning the ball over 11 times in nine starts when adding in six interceptions.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 15: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles scrambles with the ball as Frank Alexander #90 of the Carolina Panthers defends on August 15, 2013 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Being that OTAs are voluntary, Foles will not be fined for his absence, but it won’t do him any favors with Fisher either, after the signal-caller worked his way out of the head coach’s doghouse this off-season.

Few will likely feel sorrow for Foles, whom collected a $6 million roster bonus in March and is scheduled to make a guaranteed $1.75 million in the 2016 campaign.

The uneasiness highlights a sharp contrast between Foles’ current team from his former stomping grounds in Philly, where Sam Bradford and No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz are getting along swimmingly, according to reports.

Though there where loud whispers that Bradford was looking for a trade after feeling slighted by General Manager Howie Roseman’s pick, skipping two weeks of voluntary workouts in protest, the former Oklahoma Sooner circled the wagons and returned to the team.

Since, the waters of the Schuykill have calmed. It appears that Bradford is spreading the brotherly love in the Eagles’ quarterback room, an odd occurrence when considering Foles and Bradford were traded for each other last off-season and neither quarterback seemed excited about it at the time.

Despite Foles’ on-field protest, he can always fall back on the 175 million pennies he’ll be keeping in his pocket in 2016, no matter if he plays a single snap.

So don’t expect any chirping from Foles, maybe in two weeks he’ll be giving the rookie pointers. Or maybe not.

But seriously, who doesn’t love the drama of a quarterback controversy?

They are in Hollywood now, after all.

If you are a basketball fan you have definitely heard of LSU’s 6-foot-11 superstar Ben Simmons or Duke’s newest blue chipper, Brandon Ingraham. Even casual fans are familiar with the likes of Buddy Hield and Domantas Sabonis, son of former Portland Trailblazer and European basketball icon, Arvitis Sabonis.

And if you participated in an office pool last March  you’ve probably cursed the name Denzel Valentine, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, better known for his role in Michigan State’s early exit in the 2016 edition of March Madness. These five players will be picked in the top 15 of the upcoming NBA Draft.

But what about names like Breanna Stewart, Rachel Banham and Aerial Powers?

The faces appear a little fuzzier than that of their male counterparts, but these women were picked first, fourth and fifth respectively in the 2016 WNBA Draft. They are the fresh faces responsible for ushering in a new era for the NBA’s sister-league.

Unfortunately, for most of the sports world the “W” stands for “Who cares?”

The bottomline is, regardless of their physical gifts, WNBA players and female professional athletes in general, are still treated as second-class citizens, banished to the dark corners of the sports landscape.

Banham’s name may ring a bell, but only because Kobe Bryant shined the brightest light he could find upon the former Minnesota Golden Gopher. And even that took a 60-point performance from Banham before the Black Mamba decided it was time to strike a few keys on the Twittersphere.

As women creep closer to equality in the business world, the gap between male and female athletes continues to widen.

Look no further than the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

The players remain in a contentious dispute with the U.S. Soccer Federation over fair wages, despite capturing the highest honor in the sport, the FIFA World Cup crown last summer. The U.S. men’s team on the other hand, is coming off consecutive runs to the knockout round in their previous two World Cup appearances. (Please pop your bottles with care.)

But do soccer fans see the men’s team as a threat to take it all? No. Even the most hardened hooligans will tell you the men are miles off target. No one really believes-that-they-will-win, it all.

But the women have raised the cup three times in their history and twice since 1999.

The last time the men held it, Old Trafford was just called Trafford … in a mythical land called honalee. That is to say that the men’s team, in their 86-year history, has yet to hoist the World Cup overhead.

The women have three world titles in 24 years, but you wouldn’t know it looking at their pay stubs.

USWNT defender Carli Lloyd won the Golden Ball in 2015, awarded to the most valuable player in the World Cup, but she takes a back seat to another individual from her home-state of New Jersey, men’s goaltender Tim Howard. Back in February, Lloyd and her teammates decided they had enough, filing a wage-discrimination complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the hope of moving the needle.

The social scales had already been shifted.

Forward Abby Wambach‘s same-sex celebration kiss was heralded throughout the country with #LoveWins going viral on social media. Reflecting on the USWNT’s miraculous run through the 2015 World Cup, President Barack Obama made public comments suggesting that equality was not a dream for the future, but a reality in the present.

“This team taught all of America’s children that playing like a girl means you’re a badass,” Obama said, before altering his word choice. “Playing like a girl means you’re the best,” he said.

But the status quo remains in tact, even when it comes to the “little things.”

The top five men’s soccer players are paid $334,000 more on average than that of the top five females. The men even get $15 more per day for expenses, including meal money.

“Maybe they figure women are smaller and thus eat less,” Lloyd quipped in a essay for the New York Times.

The time has come for change. Women have had the right to vote for 96 years, it’s about time they are afforded equal rights in the workplace, on the pitch and in the arena.

Lloyd said it best: “Simply put, we’re sick of being treated as second-class citizens. It wears on you after awhile. And we’re done with it.”

And so am I.

Steroids and performance enhancing drugs have been a major issue for the sport of baseball for many years. However, even though much has come out in the past decade, there’s some concern that the use of PEDs stretches far beyond the home run chase days of the 1990s and early 2000s. In an exclusive interview with uSports, Mookie Wilson, one of the members of the legendary 1986 New York Mets, gave us his thoughts on the topic.

“When I was growing up and coming through the minors and my early years in pro ball,” Wilson told uSports, “you just didn’t hear things about the steroids and HGH. It just wasn’t there.”

“Now I think you would be naive to say no one used them,” he continued, “but I don’t think it was publicized enough for people to really pay attention to it. Amphetamines maybe was being used at the time, but there again with today’s media and social media and everything… everything’s brought to more light.” With every baseball game televised in this day and age, Wilson feels that the sport has its good and bad moments more easily publicized than it was in the past.

Wilson does feel that Major League Baseball has done a good job as of late to try and curb the use of performance enhancing drugs. “I don’t think they’ll ever clean it up 100%,” Wilson concedes, “but the effort is there and I think that you can see a more positive reaction from the fans and from management and from the players who want a clean game.”

There’s still work to be done in Wilson’s mind, but he says the current rules and regulations are getting the sport to a much cleaner point than it has been for decades. “It’s not where we want to be,” he said, “but we’re on the right track.”