Suddenly, Calipari looks good

Seven months and two weeks ago, Rick Pitino stormed off the Freedom Hall floor without shaking UNLV coach Lon Kruger's hand after the Rebels' upset of Louisville. Kruger said the snub was no big deal, and he was right about that.

The controversy the Cardinals' basketball coach is mired in the middle of now -- a tale of adultery and extortion -- is the definition of a big deal. Pitino has admitted he had sex with Karen Sypher and gave her money for an abortion (or medical insurance -- wink, wink).

In Louisville, people are shocked and saddened by the story. Down the road in Lexington, many people are surely laughing. Kentucky basketball fans have something in common with Pitino's wife, as they all consider him a traitor.

John Clay, a columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, speculated on some of the problems facing slick Rick: "Pitino shouldn't lose his job. But here's the real question: Can he still do his job?

"Can the Louisville coach sit in a prospect's home and convince Mom, Dad and Grandma that he is the best person to mold their young player's life? ... The guess here is that the negative effect of the Pitino/Sypher soap opera will cause many star recruits to look for a more drama-free environment."

Suddenly, John Calipari looks like the good guy in the state.

* FANTASY ISLAND -- It's almost time for nerds across the nation to gather for NFL fantasy league drafts. Who's bringing the Coors Light and Pringles? This is going to be a wild time.

One scalding hot topic is sure to be which quarterback deserves to be drafted first. It's not Tarvaris Jackson or whichever clown the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trot out there, we know that.

Fortunately, Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN.com has the answer:

"Drew Brees, Tom Brady. Tom Brady, Drew Brees. They are two of the best quarterbacks in football. Ordinarily I'd be of the mind that you can't lose regardless of which one you picked. But there's one thing that differentiates these two: Brees is the safer, more consistent option of the two.

"Brees is the only quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 4,400 yards and 26 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. ... Brady, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which he appeared in only one game before succumbing to a season-ending knee injury. Brees has far fewer questions than Brady, so I'd call it a no-brainer."

Indeed, if this is the dilemma you're desperately trying to solve, you're probably no candidate for a Mensa membership.

Seriously, though, in which round is it OK to draft a kicker?

* AGE-OLD PROBLEMS -- Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden overcame a severe case of shingles this summer, and he recently revealed to the media that prostate issues force him to take numerous bathroom breaks.

''If not for the prostate, I could sleep all night," Bowden joked. "I can't blame that on the shingles. That's old age."

Sign him up for a Viagra commercial.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL