Dutch pro soccer team robs playpen for talent

The next time you read about some college basketball coach trying to get an oral commitment from a fifth-grader, don't be so quick to judge. Especially after European soccer club Venlose Voetbal Vereniging's latest signing.

He's a diaper dandy, as basketball announcer Dick Vitale is fond of saying. Literally.

Venlose Voetbal Vereniging, or VVV as the team is known, competes in the Dutch First Division and recently awarded a contract to 18-month-old Baerke van der Meij.

The toddler became a YouTube sensation after he kicked three soccer balls into a trunk at his home in Venlo, Netherlands. VVV brought the tyke in for a "tryout" and then signed him.

But Van der Meij has a long way to go before he can call himself a professional footballer. His "contract" is mostly a ceremonial deal and technically expires by the time he turns 11.

However, VVV might be on to something. Van der Meij's grandfather Jan was a midfielder for VVV in the 1960s, so maybe there's something in the genes.

■ STAMP OF DISAPPROVAL -- Not everyone in New Orleans was enamored with the Saints' selection of Alabama running back Mark Ingram in Thursday's first round of the NFL Draft.

Saints running back Reggie Bush clearly wasn't pleased to see he has competition. After the Saints used the 28th pick to draft Ingram, like Bush a former Heisman Trophy winner, Bush tweeted, "It's been fun New Orleans."

Bush has spent five injury-riddled seasons with the Saints, including last year, when he suffered a broken leg, and is scheduled to make $12 million in 2011. Given Bush's lack of durability, the Saints were probably thinking they need to shore up the running back position and maybe not pay $12 million to someone who played just half of last season.

First Bush loses famous girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Then he gives back his Heisman. Now, it appears he's about to lose his job. Maybe it's payback for all the extra benefits he got at Southern California.

■ ROGER THAT -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must have felt like the most despised man in America on Thursday after being roundly booed virtually every time he stepped to the podium to announce the 32 first-round draft picks at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

On Friday, Goodell limited the booing by letting former NFL stars announce the selections in the second and third rounds. That was planned before he was the target of the fans' frustration.

Still, Goodell understood the fans' wrath.

"They want football, you want football, and I want football," he said after a conference call with New York Jets season-ticket holders Friday. "I think everyone's frustrated by the circumstance, and I think that was a clear indication of it.

"I understand their frustration with me not being able to solve that. That's my job and that's my responsibility, and I accept that."

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL