Hornets forward David West says he will play in Game 7 Monday against the Spurs despite aggravating a pinched nerve in his back while being nudged by Robert Horry during Game 6.

“I’ll play,” West declared. “It’s a little tight, a little sore. But the good thing is we have a few days before Game 7, and we’ve got the best medical treatment available.”

West hurt his back in Game 5, and re-injured it running into a hard pick by Horry in Game 6. The injury forced him to leave the game.

Horry has been getting beat up in some circles for a dirty play on West, but come on…does anyone think Horry could really hurt big old David West unless West already had a tender spot? I mean, yeah…Horry could hurt him with a club or a mace or something, but just by setting a pick? Get over it, Horry-haters.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with these pictures of Vince Young partying in Texas. Vince is a grown man, so it’s perfectly fine if he wants to hang out with other men, shirt off, chugging spirits.

Lots of other men in those pics…not too many women. But we shouldn’t read anything into that. It’s just like that picture of Matt Leinart pretending to give the guy a hummer…it was just fun. Nothing more.

(pictures: blogxilla)

The odds are out for the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the mythic Triple Crown. Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is the favorite at 1-2.

1. Macho Again (Julien Leparoux, 20-1)

2. Tres Borrachos (Tyler Baze, 30-1)

3. Icabad Crane (Jeremy Rose, 30-1)

4. Yankee Bravo (Alex Solis, 15-1)

5. Behindatthebar (David Flores, 10-1)

6. Racecar Rhapsody (Robby Albarado, 30-1)

7. Big Brown (Kent Desormeaux, 1-2)

8. Kentucky Bear (Jamie Theriot, 15-1)

9. Stevil (John Velazquez, 30-1)

10. Riley Tucker (Edgar Prado, 30-1)

11. Giant Moon (Ramon Dominguez, 30-1)

12. Gayego (Mike Smith, 8-1)

13. Hey Byrn (Charles Lopez, 20-1)

My favorite horse, Gayego, is 8-1 as we see. Hopefully this time there will be no unfortunate on-track euthanizings…what a buzzkill man.

Chad Pennington came this close to becoming a former Jet during the Combine, the quarterback has revealed. But despite this, Pennington still says he’s glad to still be with New York.

“This is the place for me,” Pennington said. “I feel good about my situation and comfortable with how I’m approaching the situation and how I’m preparing so I can be a better quarterback everyday.”

Oh man…talk about putting a happy face on.

Really Chad? You’re glad to be a Jet even though they almost traded you? Even though you’ll have to compete for a starting spot with dogcrap like Kellen Clemens?

I’ll give Chad credit for this…at least he’s not acting like another guy named Chad. One crybaby Caddie is enough.

Chargers running back Ladanian Tomlinson has declared himself recovered from the sprained knee that kept him out of the playoffs.

“I’m running and cutting and everything is good,” Tomlinson said. “I’m ready to go.”

L.T. may be over the physical issues that kept him from participating in San Diego’s run to the AFC Championship Game, but it will be awhile yet before he comes back from the image-hit he took by not gutting it out when teammates Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates were playing through arguably worse injuries.

The public will continue perceiving L.T. as a malingering pansy until he shows heart and wins something.

A mildly uncomfortable moment from a recent edition of the broadcasting abortion known as Around the Horn.

Woody Paige thinks he’s some kind of legitimate sports writer and Tony Reali is just some ESPN pretty boy who lucked into a job. Paige is half-right…Reali is nothing but an empty pretty-boy, who never would’ve gotten anywhere had Max Kellerman not lost his mind and moved to FOX to do that awful Around the Horn rip-off I, Max. Paige is wrong if he thinks he himself is somehow credible however. No one takes that guy seriously. He is a buffoon. Stat-Boy should kick his ass.

By the way…where the hell is Kellerman? Did he go into the Witness Protection program? ATH was actually kind of entertaining when he was on there. Clearly, he was upset by the columnists, especially Paige and Jay Mariotti, getting as much attention as him, hence his early departure from the show. ESPN should’ve long-since found someone decent to replace Stat-Douche, but obviously they don’t care much about that particular show and figure Reali is good enough (he’s not).

Ricky Williams has revealed that he was almost on the boat with Cedric Benson when the Texas cops nailed Ricky’s fellow former texas Longhorn for operating while intoxicated a couple of weeks ago.

Ricky says he was invited to hang with Cedric and the ladies at Party Cove, but obviously saw where that was headed and declined. But now Ricky wishes he had been there after all, because he believes his presence would’ve kept the situation from getting so out-of-hand.

“I think if I had come down, things might have worked out a little bit differently,” Ricky said. “I find I have a calming influence on people I’m around.

“As a high-level athlete, it’s just something that’s ingrained in me. I always think that if I’m there, things would be different. I can’t say how.”

I’d ask what Ricky was smoking, but I know he wasn’t smoking anything because that part of his life is behind him now.

Actually, the thought that Ricky made those remarks without being high is a little scary. That’s how the guy thinks when he’s lucid? He isn’t in his backyard every night looking for the UFOs is he?

Ricky Williams…you are one weird dude.

Was there ever any doubt that the Spurs would win Game 6 at home, forcing Game 7?

If only the stock market were as predictable as this year’s playoffs…I’d be rich, I tell you! Rich!

Not sure what’s more impressive:

- Manny Ramirez making a catch
- Manny high-fiving the crowd
- Manny remembering to throw back to 1st base
- Manny turning a sensational double play

The best part is the red sox watching the monitor to see what exactly happened in the outfield. And then laughing hysterically.

Mesa State College has a very impressive new athletic center, the $41m Saunders Fieldhouse. It’s a terrific new athletic facility and swimming coach Brian Pearson is excited about the improved facilities, what it will do for his program and his recruiting. We are excited to share the news with beRecruited athletes!

Here is the article from the Grand Junction Press:

Brian Pearson says his program at Mesa State is moving toward the “haves” of NCAA Division II swimming.

Or “have-mores,” as President George W. Bush coined it.

With the expansion and renovation of the college’s four-decades-old Saunders Field House, Mesa State’s third-year swimming coach said new facilities will attract a different type of swimmer to Grand Junction.

Better ones.

“We’re going to be able to recruit (NCAA) Division I talent,” a brimming Pearson said Wednesday, among dozens of college staff and officials on hand at a groundbreaking ceremony for Mesa State’s $41 million overhaul of its athletic facilities.

Pearson’s swimmers currently get by with what he called “some of the worst facilities I’ve worked in.” Next year, they’ll be swimming at the Orchard Mesa Community Pool.

Things are about to change: The work which kicked off Wednesday will eventually raise western Colorado’s only 50-meter indoor swimming pool.

“We’ll be able to host regional and national swimming events,” he said with a smile. “This will be one of the top three Division II swimming facilities in the country.”

Saunders Field House over the coming years will see the renovation of approximately 125,000 existing square feet, plus the addition of another 200,000 square feet.

Mesa State spokeswoman Dana Nunn said the firm handling the work, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, is targeting completion for December 2009.

Aside from the pool, Saunders’ expansion will include locker rooms along with practice and competition venues for all of Mesa State’s 14 intercollegiate sports. The new building will also house Mesa State’s Department of Health Sciences, which includes an EMT program, nursing, kinesiology, radiological sciences and athletic training.

Nunn said the community will essentially have the same level of access to the new facilities: The college will sell passes for use of the new swimming pool.

Pearson and men’s basketball coach Jim Heaps are already using the new construction to lure recruits. Heaps’ days of sharing locker space with the football and baseball programs will soon be a thing of the past.

“Every recruit we’ve had on campus has been thoroughly impressed with the growth,” Heaps said. “Going around the state, there’s a lot of campuses stagnant and not growing.

“It’s an exciting time.”