Narrowing the field of possible fathers for the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith, "Rants & Raves" has confirmed that former NBA journeyman center John Amaechi can be crossed off the list:

OK, we kid.

Amaechi, who played parts of five seasons for three different teams between the mid-1990s and as late as 2003, is the latest "former" professional athlete to announce he's gay.

Really, though, is it that big of a deal anymore to "come out" after the fact -- when a player, and a marginal one at that, no longer has to deal with teammates, coaches and fans?

Or could it possibly be that some of Amaechi's teammates and even some fans already knew and, in a slowly developing culture of "Yeah, sure -- whatever," they simply just didn't care? ...

• Why is it that these suddenly public revelations routinely accompany something financially beneficial to the person coming out -- in this case, the release of Amaechi's memoir, "Man in the Middle," for which he hopes to make money? (Our guess: he won't.)

Remember back to October 2005 when Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets came out as a lesbian?

That was part of her public endorsement of a lesbian cruise line for which she was -- cha-CHING! -- well paid. ...

• Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban became a gazillionaire by thinking outside the box, so his thoughts regarding Amaechi should not come as a shock. Cuban told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that any player who came out while still in the league could make himself wealthy.

"From a marketing perspective, if you're a player who happens to be gay and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective," Cuban told the paper. "You would be an absolute hero to more Americans than you can ever possibly be as an athlete, and that'll put money in your pocket."

That is, if the player averages 20 or more points per game. After all, it's much easier to say "I am gay" if you can follow it up with "I have game." ...

• NBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us, and West coach Mike D'Antoni of Phoenix will go into Sunday's showboating showcase at the Thomas & Mack Center with two "voted-in" starters sitting out with injuries, the latest being Suns guard Steve Nash, who decided Monday to take a pass to heal a sore right shoulder. So, now, the league's annual game is close to turning into East vs. West reserves.

Sure, the game is more about runnin', gunnin' and funnin', but the East squad had better not blow this one, right, um, Gilbert Arenas? ...

• Longtime UNLV basketball fans were crestfallen Monday when Duke fell out of The Associated Press' Top 25 poll for the first time since 1996, after losing its fourth straight game Sunday, at Maryland.

Yeah, right! There hasn't been this much celebrating among Rebels fans since that human turnover, Greedy Daniels, announced he was transferring from UNLV in 1999.

• When Terrell Owens left Philadelphia for the Dallas Cowboys last offseason, Eagles coach Andy Reid had finally gotten rid of his problem child. Now, he's dealing with a pair of problem children: his own.

Reid was forced to take a month's leave of absence Monday to deal with personal issues -- a 23-year-old son with heroin problems and a 21-year-old son who points handguns at drivers.

You have to wonder if Reid is saying to himself right now, "You know, T.O. really wasn't that big of a pain. ...

• We see that NASCAR has mandated fuel tanks for racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 10 and 11 be reduced from 22 to 13 gallons in an effort to force teams to pit more often so that tires can be better monitored on the faster track.

One caller Monday slyly suggested that it's just a ploy by NASCAR to get in more commercials on its TV broadcast.

Nah -- hiccup! -- it's about driver safety. Another Budweiser, barkeep. Really, it's driver safety. ...

• This is the best time of the year, "R&R" proclaims, based on these four simple, sweet words: Pitchers and catchers report.

Joe Hawk's "Rants & Raves" column is published Tuesday. He can be reached at 387-2912 or jhawk@reviewjournal.com.