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Has it come to this? Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassels discovered that after a restaurant meal with his wife, a blogging waiter posted both the food they ate and the topics of their conversation…the Cincinnati Bengals have already suffered a sickening loss with Reggie Kelley’s season ending Achilles heel injury. The hard hitting tight end was a vital cog in the Bengals offense and also a team leader. Bengals were hoping for a revitalized season with the return of a healthy Carson Palmer…an arbitrator has awarded New York Ranger Nikolai Zherdev a 3.9 million dollar contract, a compromise between the 4.5 million he asked for and the 3.25 million the Rangers offered. Newsday reports the Blueshirts, in a snit, will now look to sign and deal the winger. Yes, yes times a hundred, Zherdev would look gorgeous patrolling the edge of the net for the Buds. The rumour of a deal involving Ian White and Lee Stempniak is, to put it mildly, tantalizing…let me get this straight; the San Jose Sharks rumoured acquistion of Dany Heatley is the long promised overhaul to the character of the perennial play-off choke artists? Think about it, and try not to laugh. The extra kicker with Heatley revolves around his stipend, an egregious 7.5 million a year. Are the Ottawa Senators in need of a trade partner or a sucker?… the Clippers, Heat and Grizzlies are the three latest teams to kick the tires of the infamous Allen Iverson express. Zero interest. Is the tolerance for prima donnas really at an all time low in the NBA? Has it not been proven conclusively that spoiled, me-first brats deter from the development of the team, particularly impacting the growth of young players? Iverson is apparently investigating opportunities in Europe…Vitali Klitschko will return to the site of his most famous battle when he fights Christobal Arreola on Sept 26^th at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Folks, while no Lennox Lewis - Vitali rumble, this is as good as it gets in heavyweight boxing today. A largely Hispanic crowd should be bellowing for the pudgy Arreola. Vitali could be pushed for the first couple of rounds before the bloated challenger topples…if the proposed Humberto Soto - Edwin Valero match-up is made for the undercard of Pacquiao-Cotto on Nov 14^th, then the card graduates to legendary status. I’m excited enough about the cataclysmic headliner, but Soto-Valero promises a sizzling slugfest with major implications. Valero, currently holding a lightweight title belt, is 25-0 with 25 knockouts, 19 of those occurring in the first round. Soto is 48-7 but currently in the best form of his career, suffering only one legitimate loss in the past seven years. Both fighters have almost a “cult” like following and bring passion and machismo to their bouts. Disgraceful Bob Arum is notorious for staging the cheapest, most pitiful undercards in boxing history. Could the ancient promoter be on the verge of delivering a fight card for the ages?…I watched Quentin Tarantino on the Jonathan Ross show last week. The flamboyant promoter relayed a story concerning his courting of Brad Pitt for the lead role in his new, highly anticipated, “Inglorious Basterds”. Tarantino sat with Pitt over a bottle of wine, then another, then another. He told of Pitt counting a pile of eight bottles as the sun rose over his vineyard in the south of France. I loved the story. I mention it after my own experience of an all night session with the incomparable Beat Poet this past Saturday night, or should we say, Sunday morning? When Baby Beat Poet was safely tucked in bed, Mrs Beat Poet joined us on the patio for conversation. The ever wise Mrs Beat Poet went to bed and, the following morning, was greeted by the site of the same pair still ensconced on the patio. My apologies to the Mrs, but what a great night, what a thrill to have friends that can still provide the joy of an engrossing all night session, what a hoot to have a local to run down to for a few Jaegers and some banter, what a kick to be able to pull your head together and hit the ground running by Monday. We are older, but also wiser. I thrive after a night with the Beat Poet, inspired by dialogue so engaging that only the sun bleeding through the surrounding dark indicates its time to head home…