When Cito Gaston agreed to stow his golf bag and return to the dugout in June, 2008, he took over a team that boasted Halladay and A.J. Burnett at the top of its rotation, veteran Scott Rolen at third base and B.J. Ryan in the closer’s role. For better or for worse, all are now gone, replaced by prospects. As swan song seasons go, this looks like one heck of an ugly duckling.

Pity and sympathy are powerful emotions that are often felt by entire nations during an Olympic Games, when our heartstrings are tugged by tales of triumph in the face of tragedy. Sometimes, those stories are unifying, bringing a country together behind an athlete like Quebec figure skater Joannie Rochette. Other times, however, with our hearts full of someone else’s hurt, the head doesn’t see straight, and we’re left blind to the truth.

Based on the controversy he generated, you’d think Dale Begg-Smith slaughtered puppies and cut down rainforests in his spare time. In reality, if there’s any reason not to like him, it’s his shadowy business, now a multi-million dollar empire that allegedly sells spyware and data-collection programs to online marketers.

Any sense that sportsmanship and character still count for squat must surely have gone out the window earlier this month when Rio Ferdinand was picked to replace John Terry as captain of the England soccer team.

Admittedly, soccer is far from most North American minds these days. What with the NFL entering the stretch run toward the playoffs, the NCAA Bowl season and the World Junior Hockey Championships upon us, the NHL and NBA in full swing, the 2010 Winter Olympics just around the corner, and the UFC peppering matches in every few weeks, soccer sadly slides to the end of the buffet table.

After Andre Agassi's "bombshell" that he used crystal meth back in the day and lied about it, I had to wonder if his was a cautionary tale or a simple cry for attention. I mean, at the end of the day, who gives a rat's ass? It's ancient history. It's not as if his story had a tangy Dock Ellis element. Remember him?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper triumphantly welcomed the Olympic flame to Parliament Hill this past weekend as the multitudes thronged to gape at the spectacle. Wearing the ubiquitous red Olympic mitts, Harper failed to give the thumbs-up he so desired and jokes were made about the mitt's deficiencies.