CHARACTERS, all of them!

Although I am fully immersed in the NCAA Tourney (almost perfect in my picks...or not) and Kentucky's play in the NIT (not to mention the coaching situation), I have been forced to acknowledge the characters that are grabbing headlines in sports this past week or so. Several players in the NCAA Tourney acted like characters themselves. The amount of stare downs and glares in the Duke/Texas game by both teams was enough to make me sick, but I was actually watching Duke and that may be my real issue.

MANNY was being Manny. He had to retire from his first action in the field due to tightness in the leg region, hamstring I believe. This guy is an absolute monster at the plate and a jack-in-the-box in the field. You never know where he's going to jump out and he seems to have no purpose to his movement at times. Does he lay low while he is recovering or take it easy for a bit? Nope. There he is all over Sports Center, working in some cricket...really? I am chuckling a bit, because I would love for him to be on the Reds or the Pirates. He's good when it counts. Well, as long as he's happy.

OVECHKIN was being blasted by Mike Milbury during an intermission on NBC's coverage of the NHL on Sunday for his on ice celebrations. Alex is known for his youthful exuberance during games and especially after goals. This is what the NHL needs, life! The NHL is full of great players and even better people, but there aren't enough people caring to move the needle. People want to see this guy play hockey and they should. He goes all out all the time, like every shift might be his last, and he obviously enjoys it. However, he crossed the line with his celebration of his 50th goal. Ovechkin acted like a certain someone in football and scripted his celebration of treating his stick as if it were just too hot. This is an embarrassment to his team, himself, and more importantly, it was disrespectful of the opposition. He made an error in judgement this time, but I hope he continues to celebrate his goals with unrehearsed celebrations. If it weren't for Malkin, he'd be the best player in the NHL right now. Regardless, he is the most passionate.

SCHILLING made it back into the news cycle, right where he likes it. The borderline Hall of Fame pitcher decided to officially retire. This guy drove me nuts. I'll admit that I never really liked the guy anyway, but he always seemed like such a jackass, especially while claiming to be a christian. When you are a better person than others, you don't tend to point that out. I'm sure he has several fans, especially in Boston. I hope he is tormented with a long wait for the hall, if he makes it at all.

TO...do I really need to list this? This time, he starts off his tenure with his new team on the wrong foot. Yes, the workouts that he skipped are voluntary. You'd think he would want to start helping Trent Edwards with his throws to the proper routes right away. I really don't get this guy.

OCHO CINCO makes my list for two reasons. One, the NFL decided to officially accept his name change for league purposes. The record books must be rewritten. Second, who else did you think I was talking about in the Ovechkin reference?

CUTLER is about to drive me crazy. Jay Cutler was discussed in trade talks, who cares? He is paid an extraordinary amount of money due to his incredible ability as a QB. I believe it was last year that he was talking about this being a business to Brandon Marshall and trying to get him back in camp. He is upset that his new coach was trying to land a QB that already knows his system. Regardless of how he feels about how this was handled, and it was a train wreck conducted by McDaniels, he needs to man up and report to camp.

They are all characters, like them or not. We all seem to be drawn to them or at least enjoy watching their stories...repeatedly in some cases.