Quick thoughts

* The Indians had a bit of a rough stretch there, but they've won two in a row to regain the best record in the majors. A certain Of Fair Hooker reader who has been constantly beating the drum of negativity about the Indians (who goes by the name of Jeff Brown) emailed me the other day to opine that the Tribe will soon go the way of the Royals, who are now 5-13 since starting the season 20-17. First of all, the Indians' record is a lot better than 20-17, and second of all, they're pretty obviously better than the Royals. The Indians are now on pace to win 101 games. I don't think they'll actually win that many, but it probably won't take 90 to win the Central. I will be surprised if Detroit overtakes us, and shocked if Chicago does. Kansas City and Minnesota are all but eliminated right now.

* Jim Tressel has left the Ohio State football program in disgrace after committing the unpardonable sin of allowing his players to participate in capitalism. ... Don't get me wrong, Tressel should have known better, and signs are starting to point to the fact that this has been going on for years right under his nose, and he has been running a pretty corrupt program (at least in terms of the NCAA rules). But at least he won a national title. That's better than cheating and NOT winning a national title.

* Shaquille O'Neal, who spent the 2009-10 season in Cleveland, has announced his retirement. Shaq was at one time the NBA's most dominant player, and has to go down in history as one of the five best centers ever. And he's one heck of a character. Here's what he said about coming to Cleveland: "I came here with the perfect chemist's perception. The formula they had was perfect and any added ingredient could make it go bad or worse." ... Well, obviously the added ingredient that made it go bad wasn't Shaq, it was LeBron James losing his desire to win in Cleveland. Odd that he seems to have found it again in Miami. But that's a separate issue.

* I really don't want the Heat to win the championship. That's a given. If you're reading this, you probably don't either. But you know what? If Miami sweeps the Mavericks and hoists the trophy the evening of June 7, the sun will still rise on June 8. Not only that, the Cavaliers will still exist, and will still have the first and fourth picks in the upcoming NBA draft. They'll be one of 29 teams trying to knock off the champion. Whether that's the Mavericks or the Heat is not especially material.