Pharmacy student takes shot at NBA

While some of the 80 players who filed for early entry into the June 24 NBA Draft are expected to pull their names out of consideration before Saturday's deadline, one player is committed to the process even though there is almost no chance he will hear his name called on draft night.

John Sloan declared for the draft after his junior year at Division III Huntingdon College in Alabama, a season that saw the 5-foot-11-inch guard average two points in 10 minutes per game.

Sloan had already planned to give up basketball for his senior year and get a part-time job to help pay for pharmacy school.

According to a posting on "The Dagger" blog on Yahoo!, Sloan floated the draft idea while joking around with his friends, who didn't think he would follow through with it.

He doesn't believe he will be chosen but is holding out a sliver of hope.

"I'm pretty much counting on one of these big owners with a late second-round pick having a real big night partying the night before the draft and being, like, let's blow everybody's mind and draft that Sloan kid," he quipped. "I think my best shot is that Russian billionaire with the Nets.

"They've got the first pick in the second round, but maybe they'll trade down. They can get me and a pick next year."

■ REFEREE A STICKLER -- A common criticism of soccer from American fans is the constant flopping onto the field by players hoping to draw penalties.

The referee in a County League match in Croatia spotted 32-year-old Goran Tunjic of Mladost FC take what he perceived to be a dive in the 35th minute of a match against Hrvatski Sokola last weekend.

The observant official approached the downed player with yellow card in hand to penalize Tunjic for the flop.

There was one problem, according to Yahoo! Eurosport. Tunjic had suffered a heart attack and died on the field.

■ PILING ON -- In a week when Sports Illustrated will feature a lengthy cover story detailing the boorish behavior of Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is taking criticism from some unexpected directions.

Tom Rooney, the grandson of Steelers founder Art Rooney, is campaigning for a second term in Congress.

The representative from Florida's 16th Congressional District was speaking to a group of high school students in Fort Pierce when he was asked about his favorite football team.

"The Steelers, I have no choice," Rooney said. "But our quarterback is still an idiot."

You know someone's popularity has hit rock bottom when a campaigning politician is willing to take that strong of a stand.

■ MOM'S THE WORD -- Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, making light of the furor created by the Miami Dolphins' predraft interview with Dez Bryant: "For the record, and for any future employers, my mother was a kindergarten teacher."

COMPILED BY ADAM HILL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL