It has been well established that the Adelman kids do two things well—coach basketball and drive drunk. (And they don't really coach basketball that well.) David was the head coach at Lincoln High in Portland, Oregon, back in February when he was nailed for his second career DUI charge. But on the first day of his trial this week, his lawyer claimed that the only reason police pulled him over that night is because the wealthy father of one of Adelman's players had hired a private investigator to tail Adelman to a bar, wait until he got drunk, then call 911 when he left in his car.

Adelman's lawyer says it was all part of a campaign "to discredit, subvert, harass and ultimately cause the firing of David Adelman." The lawyer for the parent says, "Um ... duh." However, he claims that everyone knew Adelman was a drunk, but that the principal, the school board and the police wouldn't listen. In David's defense, Big Daddy Rick showed up to testify that the parent—Portland financier (a.k.a., "obnoxious rich guy") John Lekas—was a menace who threatened to get his son fired. Rick actually met with Lekas to try and reason with him and later wrote, "I have seen many disgruntled parents over the years, but I have never seen anyone as vindictive as you."

Of course, there's nothing illegal about watching someone get drunk and then calling the cops on them and Adelman was clearly hammered, but his lawyer argues that without the phone call, police had no probable cause to pull him over. The cops even admitted that they did not see the moving violation that allegedly led to the traffic stop. So was Lekas looking out for his boy's roster spot or his personal safety?

"They want to paint this as being all about John Lekas' kid not getting playing time. That's not the issue," [Lekas' lawyer] said. "We have a lot of rich, arrogant people in this case," Layne said, "and they're not all on my client list."

The moral of the story? Never get involved in high school sports, ever. This soap opera is to be continued ....

Private eye hired by parent at center of Lincoln High coach's trial [The Oregonian]

Hundley went on TV this morning—you can watch the whole thing here—to defend herself against charges that she's some kind of crazy lunatic, because she's totally not. In a lengthy interview, filled with many softly lit questions, she claims that she was not stalking anyone and that Phillips was the one who threatened her, saying he could get her fired if she spilled the beans about their sexcapades. Hundley says that she never meant to hurt anyone, "I simply wanted somebody to get upset enough to have an impact, to get me out of this horrific situation." A situation she helped create, but still ... not a picnic.

Hundley also says that she and Phillips have "resolved their issues," but still hopes that he "would grow up and take responsibility for his own actions." (That's kind of how most Mets fans feel too.) But in an all-time "where do you get off?" moment, she sorta apologizes to Marni Phillips, but does so by saying that now that she's been humiliated in public, Hundley "understands her pain." You know, the pain caused by knowing another woman slept with your husband.

"I've been called things by the public that no woman should ever be called," she said. "I couldn't go a day without getting, you know, 200 messages in my inbox from people that have never met me, just labeling, just calling me names. I've been called the 'C' word. I've been called a whore. I've been called a homewrecker."

Worse than all of that? She was the punchline to Jay Leno joke. "That was my breaking point," she says, and who can blame her? I mean, it would be one thing if Letterman or Conan made a crack about her looks, because that might have actually been funny. But Leno? Heck, I'd even take a Jimmy Kimmel zinger before subjecting myself to that nightmare.

So in the end, the key takeaway here is that if you made fun of Brooke Hundley's appearance, you're basically Jay Leno. Stings, doesn't it?

Exclusive: Steve Phillips' Mistress, Brooke Hundley, Speaks Out [Video @ ABC News]

Actually, the school says it was a "strategic reprioritization of resources across the university" that led to the loss of human development lecturer Sally Dear's job. Dear thinks it's more likely that the reason she was let go after 11 years is because she played a starring role in an embarrassing New York Times investigation of the program back in February. In that article, she claimed that three players had been a highly disruptive influence in her class and when she docked their grades over absences, basketball officials pressured her to accommodate them. Now she's laid off, but that's probably just a coincidence.

Want to hear another coincidence? Seven Binghamton basketball players majored in human development last year and the chairman of that department—who is Dear's boss, sets her class schedule, and presumably made the decision to terminate her contract—is a huge basketball fan! Dear claims "His attitude to me changed 100 percent as soon as the article came out." Weird, right? Also, he sort of looks like a lemur.

So many coincidences, it's spooky.

Binghamton Lecturer Critical of Athletic Department Is Dismissed [NY Times]

UPDATE: Binghamton Athletic Director Joel Thirer resigned this afternoon. [The Quad Blog/Rush The Court]

Cops were called to Mayfield's property on Saturday night, after neighbors heard someone yelling and banging on the front door. When the arrived they found Lisa Mayfield, drunk as a skunk and threatening everyone in sight.

"According to the officers she was pretty high," Cook said. "The officers took her to jail on public assistance ... to make sure she didn't cause problems to anybody or herself.

The Mayfield Mom also allegedly kicked a couple of the neighbors, one of whom was pregnant, and threatened to come back and kill Jeremy's wife as the cops dragged her way. She was charged with public intoxication, simple assault, and second-degree trespassing. Mayfield still hasn't filed the wrongful death lawsuit that he claims will prove that Lisa killed his father (she has her own countersuit), but this drunken, violent rant won't add a ton of credibility to her claims about her stepson's meth habits.

There's only way to solve this dispute. A reality show. "Methin' With The Mayfields," Tuesday mornings at 4 a.m. on Versus.

Lisa Mayfield, Jeremy Mayfield's stepmother, arrested at his home [ESPN]

You see, just because Lisa Mayfield told NASCAR that her stepson is tweaked out on meth, that doesn't automatically give him the right to say she kills people. (Unless she does kill people! But that's why we have judges, right?) She's seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages, plus other "relief as the court may deem just and proper."

For his part, Mayfield The Younger is standing by his words, but still hasn't filed his wrongful death suit accusing her of killing his father, like he said he would. The "basically a whore" thing is more a judgment call, I guess.

Jeremy Mayfield of NASCAR sued for civil damages by stepmother Lisa Mayfield [ESPN]

To recap: Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamines on May 9 and was suspended from driving on the circuit. He sued in protest and a U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction on July 1, lifting the suspension. On July 6, NASCAR administered another drug test that he also failed (again because of meth), so they went back to court yesterday to get the ban reinstated. In a surprise twist, their legal filing included a signed affidavit from Mayfield's stepmother, claiming that she has personally seen him use the drug at 30 times.

Well, Jeremy did not like that at all. He's filing a wrongful death suit against Lisa Mayfield, claiming she killed his father in 2007. (The death was officially ruled a suicide.)

"She knows what we've got on her," Mayfield said. "For her to come out and do this is pretty ballsy. Everybody that's ever known me knows I never, ever have been around her for more than 10 hours of my life. She's a gold digger. I knew that from Day 1." ....

"She's basically a whore," he told ESPN.com's David Newton. "She shot and killed my dad."

Oh my. This has certainly taken an unexpected turn. There are two possibilities here. Mayfield is right, and his gold digging stepmom killed his father and then ratted him out to his bosses—who are determined to destroy his career over some unexplained grudge. Or two: Mayfield is seriously whacked out on crank.

Or I suppose it could be both? Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

"Brian France out there talking about effective drug policy, it's kind of like Al Capone talking about effective law enforcement. And that's the way I feel about it. The pot shouldn't be calling the kettle black, you know what I'm saying? And I think the world needs to hear that, too."

[...]

"They're playing this high school [expletive], they better be ready," Mayfield said of NASCAR. "I'm coming after them in a big way. I'm prepared to go all the way and have the backing to do it if it takes everything I've got. I'm not going to back down for something I didn't do."

Well, he's definitely excited about something. No sponsor would touch Mayfield before yesterday and no matter what the truth is, this won't help. You may now commence the "redneck soap opera" jokes.

Jeremy Mayfield accuses stepmother Lisa Mayfield, NASCAR of lying [ESPN]
Mayfield vs. NASCAR gets real bizarre, Part II [Birmingham News]

Three months after everyone stopped caring about the WBC, it can finally be revealed that the Puerto Rican backstop tested positive for marijuana, a drug that for some reason they actually test for. This will surely shake the foundation of international baseball tournaments, much as it will shake the faith of Cubs fans everywhere who think the universe is out to get them. Why Geovany Soto? Why?

"While I fully acknowledge my inappropriate behavior, I want to assure my fans and my family that this was an isolated incident," Soto said in a statement released by the Cubs during their game against the Tigers. "I do not say this to minimize or deflect from my conduct and I fully understand the ramifications of my actions. I have and will accept any and all consequences.

"I am fully dedicated to the game of baseball and my teammates, and I apologize for any distraction and embarrassment this may cause them.

Yes, I'm sure he will never do it again since he is the first baseball player in history that drugs have ever happened to. Soto has been banned from international competition for two years (oh no!), but will not be punished by Major League Baseball or the Cubs because even though weed is illegal, it doesn't make your arms bigger.

Geovany Soto tested positive for pot at WBC [Chicago Sun-Times]

The Wall Street Journal ran a story June 10 about an alleged feud between Armstrong and Greg LeMond. Armstrong called the piece "sensational," and not in the good way. He wrote a letter to the editor. The editor made some edits. Armstrong didn't like the edits. He said the editor "removed the pertinent and topical parts. Frustrating." I bet!

So what do you do if you're Lance Armstrong and The Wall Street Journal won't run your letter to the editor? You publish it on your own blog, of course. (And, in the process, negate any chance of The Journal actually printing your rebuttal.) Here's how the rejected "editorial submission response" starts:

I am writing in response to the article written by Reed Albergotti which inaccurately and ineptly described what Mr. Albergotti perceived as an ongoing feud between Greg LeMond and me. In general, the article fell far short of minimum journalistic standards on many levels. The article was egregiously one-sided, omitted essential material facts and contained many facts which Mr. Albergotti knew, or should have known, were either false or highly questionable.

I'm sure The Journal was positively giddy to be lectured about journalistic standards — especially when the preacher triple spaced between sentences — but Armstrong does go on to make pertinent points in the rest of the letter, even if some of the words are poorly used and there seems to be a superscripted "1" instead of an apostrophe. In fact, the letter is a fair response, and as Mike Kord points out, Armstrong is unique in that he responds to his critics instead of ignoring them.

In the end, all Armstrong really needed was a good editor. Hey, wait a minute...

Feud sends cycling world spinning [WSJ]
Lance Armstrong's Editorial Submission Response [LiveStrong]
Armstrong takes on WSJ report [Examiner]

This long-controversial issue is in the news because college baseball teams are inching toward the postseason, when it becomes apparent every year that college baseball and minor league baseball are about as different as T-ball and Little League. College baseball teams have access to the newest, most expensive, most powerful — and thus, most dangerous — bats, the majority of which are now composites of metal and carbon nano-tube technology.

But that's not good enough. Why settle to hit 400 feet when you can slam 450-feet homers? So players have begun to pay outside firms $30 to "roll" their bats (two for $45!), evenly breaking in the aluminum slab and removing centimeters of dead spots. Hit for power today, satisfaction guaranteed! Meanwhile, college baseball games have turned into home-run derbies with No. 9 hitters poking junk pitches for opposite field dingers.

Naturally, though, the debate doesn't concern metal vs. wood. It's been reduced to metal vs. a better kind of metal.

There is the purist argument — aluminum bats change the game — and then there's practicality. The trampoline effect of metal bats, let alone composites and rolled composites, make wood bats make look like stickball poles, as was indirectly demonstrated in this study that proved the performance-enhancing aspect of metal bats:

Metal bat nuts like to tout the cost efficiency of their products. Buying one metal bat, they say, is cheaper than forking over for a season's worth of wooden bats. That argument is flawed for two related reasons. First, metal and composite bats retail for around $400 now, while high-end, sturdy maple bats go for around $120 and serviceable ash bats sell for around $50. Second, high schoolers, for the most part, are not going to break eight ash bats or three maple bats in a 40-game season. In North Dakota, which banned metal from high school games, the budget for bats dropped — shock!

Swanson reported that metal bat budgets from 2004 to 2006 averaged $1,793. With wood bats in 2007, the average bat budget was $1,120.

Fielding and pitching statistics were also affected. Fielding percentage, for example, increased from .907 to .935.

Pitchers were also found to be throwing less. In 2007, pitchers threw 13.39 less pitches per game than in 2004-06. Another interesting comparison is with strikeouts, which went unchanged from 4.82 between 2004-06 to 4.82 in 2007.

No wonder metal bat companies are impervious to change — they're the ones who stand to lose money. But don't fret, baseball purists. The NCAA is planning to investigate rolled composite bats, the real issue at hand.

The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee will seriously examine the issue in July, said Dave Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association.

"I think most of us believe it's unethical," Keilitz said. "If a coach knows that a bat has been tampered with and he allows that bat to be used and there's a serious injury, that coach should forget about coaching. Because he's going to be sued considerably."

In the meantime, let's find another fickle debate and put off the change that could render this irrelevant.

Fair or foul? Are players tampering with composite bats? [Birmingham News]
College baseball must get the aluminum out [The Tennessean]
Will North Dakota stick with wood bats? [Grand Forks Herald]

In light of today's allegations that Rodriguez tested positive for two banned substances in 2003, this blunt denial by Rodriguez seems somewhat humorous. But then again, isn't everything A-Rod does kind of humorous? Oh, and Katie - I know you're trying hard to be taken seriously as a journalist, but the soft focus on the interview sure doesn't help the image. Here's your money quotes:

"For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?" Couric asked.

"No," Rodriguez replied.

Asked if he had ever been tempted to use any of those things, Rodriguez told Couric, "No."

"You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball,'" Couric asked.

"I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no," he replied.

I have a feeling this is going to be a fun story.

[CBS News]

In a story published today on SI.com that will probably not surprise the readership of this site but that will provide Around The Horn with weeks of material, Selena Roberts and David Epstein write that Rodriguez tested positive for both the anabolic steroid Primobolan and, in a surprising twist, testosterone:

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

Surprised? You shouldn't be if you've been listening to the one man who's, oddly enough, been right more often than not throughout this whole steroids issue, Jose Canseco. Last March, Will Leitch wrote about Canseco's book, Vindicated, in which Rodriguez is tied to steroids.

As for Alex Rodriguez, Canseco says he didn't inject Rodriguez, but that he "introduced Alex to a known supplier of steroids." Canseco didn't mention Rodriguez in the first book because he "hated the bastard." He was worried that people would have "questioned [his] motives" had he included Rodriguez.

Why all the hatred, you ask. Well, Canseco claims that A-Rod was trying to sleep with Canseco's wife. Apparently, even after Canseco had been nice enough to help A-Rod find a friendly steroids supplier, A-Rod kept calling Canseco's wife.

And, in case there's any further confusion about Canseco's true feelings, he ends the chapter by saying:

So A-Rod, if you're reading this book, and if I'm not getting through to you, let's get clear on one thing: I hate your fucking guts.

It's hard to admit it, but it looks like Jose Canseco was right again.

Ah, TMZ: Obtaining hypnotically banal, incomprehensible videos since early 2006. Is that LeBron's car? Sure! Of course! Totally! Or something!

The Only Thing That Can Stop LeBron [TMZ]

Apparently, Mrs. Rod wore a T-shirt to the Yankees game yesterday that said, "Fuck You" in fancy calligraphy on the back. Clearly, the delicate eyes and ears of Yankee Stadium denizens have never been exposed to such ribaldry before.

"[One] father, was so embarrassed, he got up and left and took his son," who appeared to be about 10 years old, a fan said. "I mean this kid was right in back of Cynthia - his nose must have been about 4 inches away from the words 'F- - - you.'"

We hope the sensitive souls of The Bronx will be able to overcome this affront to their sense of decency. If your children aren't safe at Yankee Stadium, Christ, folks, where are they safe?

Mrs. A-Rod Is A Bronx F-Bomber [New York Post]