Weekend Potpourri (Sunday Afternoon Edition)

Greg Maddux in standoff with San Diego Police (SportsFilter)

The former-future-hall-of-famer is reportedly intoxicated and has been screaming insults about Padres Manager Bud Black's selection of Jake Peavy as the opening day starter. San Diego County Sheriffs have surrounded Maddux's condo, and happened to find four dead prostitutes in the trunk of his Chrysler 300M. Sidd Finch, former peer prodigy and famous cohort of Maddux, has had no comment on the situation.

Cantu demoted (AP)

Upset at being sent to the minors, [Jorge] Cantu asked the Devil Rays to trade him. His departure leaves the starting second-base job to B.J. Upton, one of 11 Tampa Bay players who are on an opening-day roster for the first time. "What can I say? I'm not a minor league player. I think a change of scenery would be best," said Cantu, who hit .246 with one homer and six RBIs in 61 at-bats this spring. "It's just for the best. I don't have anything to prove down there."

Dick Vitale Wants Basketball to Eliminate Fouling Out (Fan House)

After foul trouble ruined the Greg Oden-Roy Hibbert battle last night and also cut Arron Afflalo's night short, Dick Vitale proposed something interesting on ESPN: Vitale suggested that college basketball should completely eliminate the age-old rule of disqualifying players after they accumulate a certain number of fouls.

WTO Says U.S. Gambling Ban Illegal (Wizard of Odds)

The World Trade Organization, the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations, says the U.S. ban on offshore Internet gambling is illegal. It was a victory for Antigua, the smallest government ever to lodge a WTO complaint. The Caribbean nation of 80,000 people challenged Bush administration efforts to close the estimated $12 billion global business to U.S. residents.

Was the NBA too black for NBC? (Sports Media Watch)

A September 25, 2001 piece by Variety writer John Dempsey on the upcoming NBA television negotiations featured a stunning series of quotes: "The overall ratings decline of the NBA is bad enough, but NBC is particularly concerned about the way the demographic has skewed over the past few years toward blacks.

Top 10 April Fool's Day Hoaxes (TYTKA)

#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees.