Odom is bothered by fans' booing

This has been a trying season for Lamar Odom. There was the trade to the Dallas Mavericks and numerous off court issues, including his public marriage to Khloe Kardashian. There were reports that Odom approached Mark Cuban about a buyout.

Odom seems to be the most sensitive player in the NBA if you ask me. He's sulked his way through most of this season and some of it I understand. But I believe when he was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers hurt him the most. Personally he should get over it. I do have a little sympathy for him, but it's hard to sympathize with someone that gets paid millions to play basketball.

Odom has said that the fans' booing has bothered him and he finds it confusing.

"I've never been booed in my life," he said. "So if it's to the point where I'm playing a basketball game at home and I'm getting booed, I would say _ no disrespect _but maybe I think people took things the wrong way.


"I admitted that I was out of shape for different reasons when I came into camp. I admitted what I've been through. I was honest about how my summer went, how I almost left the game and everything I went through. And I think people just took it the wrong way, like if I had a reason not to be here _ or I didn't want to be here.


"I think people took that the wrong way. Next thing I know, I'm trying to come out of a slump and I check into the game and I'm getting booed. I'm not really used to that."


"It's part of the game," he said. "I understand, but it usually happens on the road. I've always had a lot of pride to play for the name on the back of my jersey. I've always been more prideful to play for the name that's on the front of my jersey _ whether it be USA or whether it be the Mavericks or the other team I came from. I always had a lot of pride.


"So it was a little confusing and a little hurtful, but it's the sport world. I understand. We're in a business that it's all about what have you done lately, or the last game or the next game?"


"I would say confused. I wouldn't say angry, because there are a lot of sides to Lamar Odom, know what I mean? Sportsman is one of them. I'm a father, a husband, someone's son, someone's cousin. So there's a lot of roles that I have to play in life. Basketball is just one of them. So I can't let it get me angry because I have a lot of other roles to fulfill."  


Odom needs to just man up and play ball. He has the ability but it always seems like his head has never been in the right place. Maybe a move back to Miami or Los Angeles might be in store for Odom in order to get his groove back.

Bar ordered to stop selling 'Leyland smoking' t-shirts

Jim Leyland's style and personality seems to fit the city of Detroit quite well. Some people love Leyland for bringing the Detroit Tigers from the abyss into one of the top teams in the American League.

The Dirty Trick bar in Detroit also thinks so highly of Leyland that they've started selling a t-shirt of Leyland's mug with a cigarette dangling out the side of his mouth. A creative idea for sure, except that the Tigers don't think so.

The shirts were being sold for $22 at the bar Sunday night, but owner Louis Colombo said Monday he might halt sales because of a legal dilemma with the team. Colombo, 42, said a member of the Tigers legal counsel called him Monday afternoon and said the bar is expected to receive a cease-and-desist order this week.


Tigers officials appear to have a problem with the Old English D logo being used because it resembles their trademarked team logo, as well as the image the shirt portrays, Colombo said.


Colombo, however, claims the shirt is intended to honor Leyland's colorful personality and his success as manager of this gritty, sports-crazed town.


"There's nothing negative about it," said Colombo, a married father of seven children from Grosse Pointe Park. "I think Jim Leyland is amazing, that's why I did it. Besides Sparky Anderson, he's my favorite Tigers manager. I just thought that if I were to do a Tigers shirt, I would have to put Jim Leyland's face on it." 


Colombo has offered to tweak the Old English D so that he can continue selling the shirt. I would hope that the Tigers would let this pass and let Colombo continue selling the shirts at the bar. Or at least they could come together and give all profits to charity.

That would be a good idea.

Jason Richardson gets a new ring

Jason Richardson was a member Michigan State's 2000 national championship winning team. So even in college you still get a championship ring.

However, Richardson realized his ring was missing and found it being sold by a memorabilia dealer for $7,500. But there is a silver lining in this story as the Michigan State athletics office had the ring remade.

"I see the ring, and I thought, 'Oh, wow, they have a complete picture and replica of my ring,'" Richardson recently told ESPN.com. "Then I see one side of the ring says, 'Richardson, 23.' I thought, 'Oh, wow, they even have my name on it.' And then I scrolled down further and it says you can have this ring for $7,500! I was like, 'How the hell they get my ring?'"

According to ESPN, Richardson hadn't seen his ring much since winning the title more than a decade ago. Because he's now in the NBA and on the road, he had his uncle watching the ring.

But when he recently installed a new trophy case at his home, he called his uncle for the ring back.

The uncle, though, didn't know where it was. According to ESPN, he hadn't seen it since sending it back to Michigan State for repairs years ago. The Michigan State athletics office hadn't seen it, either.

"I call the guy up and say I'm checking in on the Jason Richardson championship ring, and he said they've received a few calls on that," Richardson told ESPN. "So I say, 'Uh, yeah, this is Jason Richardson. And that's my ring. That ring was stolen.'"


The sports memorabilia dealer reportedly wouldn't tell Richardson how he got his hands on the ring. This is quite certain: Having made more than $85 million in the pros, Richardson had no reason to sell it himself. He said no matter what, he'd never sell it.

Now if you ask me, it sounds like someone making his trophy case lifted the ring from his home. I know Richardson did some investigating but he should be calling the company that installed his trophy case. And it sounds like the memorabilia dealer was in cahoots with the thief of the ring.

All of it is moot now, because the ring has zero value since Michigan State remade the ring for Richardson. I bet J-Rich keeps a closer eye on it more than ever now.