Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated film, The Dark Knight, premiered this weekend and all eyes were transfixed on the late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the dynamic villain, The Joker. In tribute to Ledger’s devilishly mesmerizing character, I have decided to nominate the 5 most villainous sports figures of the past ten years.

1) Barry Bonds- Bonds, 43, a 7-time MVP and 8-time Gold Glove winner who is baseball’s all-time home run king with 762 dingers, is one of the greatest players to ever grace the diamond. Unfortunately, Willie Mays’ godson is also one of the most despicable and surly human beings to ever be thrust upon the world of professional sports. In November of 2007, Bonds was indicted on 4 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for lying about his use of performance enhancing drugs (including the allegation that he utilized a steroid called trenbolone, which is intended to improve the muscle quality in cattle). Currently, Bonds is an outcast who has been essentially banished from the sport of baseball.

2) Bill Belichick- Belichick, 56, helped lead the New England Patriots to 3 Super Bowl championships and he is widely heralded as one of the greatest coaches in the annals of the NFL. But, Belichick is also a cheater both on the field and off of it. In September of 2007, the philandering fashion plate, who has a career record of 41-57 as a “HC” without Tom Brady at the helm, admitted that he had been illegally videotaping his oppositions defensive signals since the 2000 season.

3) Roger Clemens- Clemens, 45, won 354 games in his career and was awarded the Cy Young Award a record seven-times. But, the fat Texan also cheated on his wife, Debbie, at least 354 times and he likely took a minimum of 7 different forms of illegal performance enhancing drugs throughout his sham of a career. Any time now, “the Rocket” could be launched to prison for lying to congress.

4) Alex Rodriguez- Rodriguez, 32, is a 3-time MVP and 12-time All Star who many believe will one day be revered as the greatest baseball player ever. Early last year, A-Rod was asked why he was such a magnet for criticism and he responded, “When people write bad things about me, I don’t know if it’s because I am good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team.” The reasons that many dislike the purple-lipped pariah are actually because he is a pompous, robotic and fake man who is incapable of succeeding in pressurized situations.

5) Ray Lewis- Lewis, 33, a 2-time AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, is one of the most dominant linebackers to ever step on the gridiron. He is also a menacing man who was charged (and later acquitted) with murder and aggravated assault after a fight in 2000 left two dead from stab wounds. Lewis was the first MVP of the Super Bowl to not be asked to say the famous phrase, “I’m going to Disney World” after the game. One can only presume that Lewis wasn’t the image that Disney craved to be associated with their brand.

* Honorable mention: Kobe Bryant

Everybody has different vantages and varying likes and dislikes. I would be interested in hearing the opinions of others on this subject. In this case, nobody can be pronounced wrong.

I thank you for your time and I hope that I am able to entertain you with my vantages on the week that was in sports.

CHIEN-MING WANG
New York Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang (5-0) recorded his 50th career victory last Tuesday night to become the fastest pitcher to reach that plateau since Dwight Gooden accomplished the same feat in only 85 starts in 1986. Because Wang, 28, is not an electric strikeout pitcher, he is taken for granted and he is not universally renowned as one of the games best hurlers. In essence, Wang, who finished second in the Cy Young award voting in 2006 and third in its voting last year, is the Rodney Dangerfield of Major League Baseball starters. If fans and observers don’t begin to recognize his vast talent and production, Wang may “get no respect” all the way to Monument Park or, gasp, the Hall of Fame.

PHIL HUGHES
Yankees rookie right-hander Phil Hughes (0-3, 8.82) was removed from his start Thursday night in Chicago against the White Sox after only 2 innings because of a 45-minute rain delay. The pampering that the precocious Hughes is receiving from New York’s hierarchy is frustrating and downright wrong. It shouldn’t matter if Hughes, 21, is the Golden Boy of the Bombers farm system. It is time to put Hughes’ ear against the proverbial stove and force him to show his critics what he has. As the wily and sage Bill Parcells once said, “the easiest way to get a player hurt is to try and keep him healthy.” The Bomber’s brass should heed the words of the “Big Tuna.” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi needs to take the kid gloves off of Hughes and let him throw without the rigid pitch-counts that have been imposed upon the youngster. If they don’t, Hughes’ disastrous start will continue and pundits will look back at this season and consider him the “Big Goat.”

MATT WALSH
Former New England Patriots video employee Matt Walsh reached an agreement with the NFL last week that will provide him with legal protection and he will meet with league Comissioner Roger Goodell on May the 13th to discuss the Patriots illicit spying practices.

“Today, Mr. Walsh and the National Football League reached an agreement under which the NFL will provide legal indemnification and a release of claims against Mr. Walsh relating to his employment by the Patriots and the Patriots’ videotaping operations,” said Walsh’s lawyer, Michael Levy of McKee Nelson LLP. “I am pleased that we now have an agreement that provides Mr. Walsh with appropriate legal protections. Mr. Walsh is looking forward to providing the NFL with the materials he has and telling the NFL what he knows.”

Fans of New England act like Chanel 5 comes out of Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick’s ass and they are confident that Walsh’s meeting with Goodell will finally and mercifully conclude the scandalous fiasco known as “Spygate.” I can’t fathom that will be the case. Walsh would have to be a publicity-craving lunatic to bring nary a new piece of evidence to the table when he meets the NFL’s head honcho next month. If and when Walsh supplies Goodell with fresh documentation regarding the Patsies nefarious sideline activities, expect the commisioner to levy a season-long suspension of the hooded fashion-plate and anticipate Dom Capers to be the man running the show in Foxboro come September.

ROGER CLEMENS
The New York Daily News reported yesterday that notorious juice-head Roger Clemens had a decade-long affair with country singer Mindy McCready that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer and Clemens was a 28-year-old father of two. So, circumstantial proof now indicates that Clemens cheated on both the game of baseball and his wife of 24-years. It genuinely would be nice to see the Rocket launched all the way to Guantanamo Bay.

I thank you again for giving me some of your time. Without your readership, I’d have absolutely zero reason to write.

PAT SUMMIT
Head Coach Pat Summit and her Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team defeated Stanford University last Tuesday night 64-48 to win the women’s NCAA Championship game for the second consecutive season. Summit, 55, a 7-time NCAA Coach of the Year, won her 8th championship as the Lady Vols leader and she closed to within 2 crowns of tying legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden for the most all-time among college coaches. Nevertheless, despite her accolades, lack of visible tattoos and race, I bet Don Imus would still consider her a “nappy-headed ho.”

JOHN CALIPARI
Memphis Head Coach John Calipari will rue his decision to not utilize his final timeout in last week’s NCAA Men’s Championship game until the day that he meets his maker. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

LEBRON JAMES
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets were all tremendous this season and the entire trio deserves credit for the enormous impact that they had on their respective teams in the 2007/2008 campaign. Nevertheless, as Bill Parcells is known to say, “the numbers don’t lie.” Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Lebron James, 23, recorded statistics this year that were otherworldly (30.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists) and if he doesn’t win the award it’s an injustice to both himself and to the league. Without King James, the Cavaliers would have been hard-pressed to win more than 10 games this season and I for one believe that they could have lost to Michael J Fox’s squad in Teen Wolf.

KOBE BRYANT
Still, when sentimentality and politics play their roles. look for Bryant to win his first lifetime achievement award (MVP) when the votes are collected.

KYLE FARNSWORTH
When having their name called on the public address system at Yankee Stadium, every Bomber is introduced with their chosen music blaring in the background. For example, legendary closer Mariano Rivera exits the bullpen with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” clamoring and Big Apple favorite Paul O’Neill greeted the Bronx faithful with the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” resounding throughout the stadium. With that in mind, I think reliever Kyle Farnsworth’s ideal anthem would be Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Cruel World.” Unfortunately, I do not believe that Farnsworth needs to be kept astray from sharp objects. But, if Manager Joe Girardi continues to allow him to cripple the Yankees with his unseemly debacles late in games, I may put myself at personal risk.

CHIEN-MING WANG
Yankees ACE Chien-Ming Wang was desecrated last year by critics for his putrid performances against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS (0-2, 19.06 ERA). Those same critics who bashed Wang, 28, conveniently dismiss the fact that he has won more games (49-18, 3.64 ERA) since the middle of the 2005 season than any other starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Wang absolutely was subpar at a very inopportune time for himself and the Yankees. But, Wang’s futility was not an ongoing A-Rod-like post-season demise. Wang simply had two bad outings. The Taiwanese import is one the best pitchers in the sport and, with the possible exception of Mets lefty Johan Santana, there is nobody I’d trust more to take the mound in October.

JIMMY LEYLAND
Despite their anemic 2-11 start, I still predict that Detroit Tigers Manager Jimmy Leyland will enjoy many a victory smoke when it’s all said and complete.

ERIC CARTMAN AND BELICHICK
Last week on an episode of South Park, the portly, foul-mouthed caricature Eric Cartman revealed the true reason that the heavily-favored New England Patriots faltered against the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.

“Just before the last Super Bowl, Bill Belichick gathered his football players and said let’s win this one for real… Just this one time.. Let’s not cheat. You know what happened? They lost. Even if you feel all eyes are on you, you can’t give up on cheating!” — 4.9.08, Cartman, South Park.

Any way you portray it, South Park’s resident fat-boy provided some of the great investigative journalism our nation has seen since Woodward and Bernstein uncovered Watergate with the help of the enigmatic “Deep-Throat.” Now, nearly 3-months-later, the outcome of the game makes entire sense.

Agree or disagree with my vantages, I hope I was able to entertain. Thanks for your readership.

• I thank you all for giving me some of your time. I hope I am able to entertain everyone with my rapid thoughts on the past few days in the world of sports.

• Kelvin Sampson, a mental-gimp who is a notorious and talentless repeat-cheater, resigned as Head Coach of the Indiana University men’s basketball team Friday night after agreeing to a $750,000 buyout of his contract. In the interim, Dan Dakich will assume coaching responsibilities and attempt to lead the Hoosiers (22-4) to their first championship since 1987. Despite the Hoosiers great success on the hardwood to date, this has been the darkest season in the storied and pristine history of the program and jettisoning the worthless Sampson should be considered as steps to a renaissance for the Assembly Hall faithful. Indiana doesn’t necessarily need Coach Norman Dale. But, they do need someone and I’d rather have Delilah than Sampson.

• IBO and IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3), 31, defeated an underwhelming Sultan Ibragimov (22-1-1), 32, via unanimous decision to gain Ibragimov’s WBO crown in a boring and lackluster fight at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Despite the hideous display of pugilism, Klitschko got closer to becoming the first unified heavyweight champion in nearly two-decades and anything he does henceforth I will handle with kid gloves (pun intended). Klitschko may not be akin to the menacing Russian Ivan Drago. But, there are no Rocky Balboa’s in this once glamorous division and, at this point, “Dr. Steelhammer” is acceptable and simply as good as it gets.

• William Gary, an undrafted rookie who played for the 2001 St. Louis Rams in their 20-17 upset-loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, has filed a $100 million lawsuit with others against the team from Foxboro in retaliation to reports that the Patriots illegally filmed the Rams walk-through prior to the game. Gary’s mindless lawsuit is the most asinine attempt to extort money since Cosmo Kramer and his lawyer, Jackie Chiles, sued Java World for brewing “hot” coffee that eventually burned the eccentric Seinfeld character. If Gary’s case is not immediately dismissed as baseless, our legal system is in utter disarray.

• I am virtually positive that I know what candidate I am going to vote for in the 2008 Presidential Election. But, if Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) unexpectedly and belatedly threw his name into the mix, I’d have to revise my choice.

• The New England Patriots (18-1*) were a collection of unlikable players in the 2007 season. Within a span of one year, they were caught cheating. Their “Golden-Boy” quarterback, Tom Brady, had a child out-of-wedlock while he was fornicating with a Brazilian supermodel. One of their stars on defense and the dirtiest player in the entire league, safety Rodney Harrison, 34, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Their polarizing jackass of a wide receiver, Randy Moss, was accused by a woman of battery. Finally, to put a neat-bow on the crew of miscreants, their sunny and classless Head Coach, Bill Belichick, decided to vacate the field before time expired in their 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York football Giants.

Nevertheless, all is not evil and bad. Sometimes one just needs to look more closely to find the good in something or someone. Thanks to the Patsies timely demise, thousands upon thousands of unsold hats and shirts with the slogans “19-0″ and “Patriots Super Bowl Champions” were donated to a charity that shipped the comedic merchandise to an impoverished Central American country this past week. See, there is light everywhere in a world that sometimes seems dark and unforgiving. Just ask the poor Nicaraguan children who are now unwittingly the newest members of Patriot Nation.

• PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU ARE YET TO WATCH EPISODE 58 OF HBO’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DRAMA THE WIRE.

One of the greatest characters in the annals of modern television was murdered last Sunday night by a psychotic, cat-torturing 13-year-old. Omar Devon Little, 34, a homosexual stick-up artist beloved by alpha-males everywhere, died instantly after receiving a single gunshot wound to the head in a Korean convenience store. “Oh, indeed,” Little’s unique and disciplined “code” and his engaging screen presence will forever be missed. As the facially-scarred gunmen once said, “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Omar never missed and he will always be a king to fans of the Wire. Rest-in-peace, Mr. Little.

• Thanks again for reading my material. Without your readership, I’d have absolutely zero reason to write.

• I thank you all for giving me some of your time. I hope I am able to entertain you with my thoughts on the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

• Ding Dong the witch is dead. The team that many proclaimed was the greatest in the history of the NFL was not even the best one on the gridiron in 2007. In an upset of Davey and Goliath proportions, the New York football Giants (14-6) defeated the “unbeatable” New England Patriots (18-1*) 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona in Super Bowl XLII.
Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning (19-for-34, 255 yards, 2 touchdowns), an individual I once compared to Corky Thatcher, threw the game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass to embattled wide receiver Plaxico Burress with 35-seconds remaining in regulation to lead the Big Blue to their third championship in franchise history.

Despite their shocking demise, the record-setting 2007 New England Patriots were a legendary squad whose accomplishments should never be forgotten or diminished. Unfortunately, in lieu of Sunday’s gut-wrenching loss, one can anticipate that history will not be kind or complimentary to the Patsies.

At this moment, it is impractical to suggest that this years version of the Patriots are anything more than the 43rd best team in the history of the National Football League and it would be an utter crime to mention them in the same breath as the 2007 championship-winning football team from Gotham.

• Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced last week that he wants to speak with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and possibly hold hearings to determine the leagues reasoning for destroying all evidence from “Spygate.” In response to Specter’s request, Goodell stated that he would gladly meet with the Senator to discuss the Patriots cheating tactics and the two have tentatively agreed to rendezvous sometime early next week.

Two days after Specter’s and Goodell’s political jockeying, the Boston Herald published a report Saturday asserting that Bill Belichick and his nefarious Patriot staff illegally taped the St. Louis Rams’ private walk-through before their 20-17 triumph in Super Bowl XXXVI. If such an unsportsmanlike taping actually transpired, the Patriots would have had an enormous competitive edge in the red zone and there is little to no question that it would have played a vital role in New England’s measly 3-point “upset” victory over the heavily-favored Rams.

Whatever motives Specter may have for revitalizing the notorious “Spygate” scandal, if this allegation is proved to be true, Goodell needs to administer a swift and powerful punishment to Belichick and New England as a whole. I’d broach the idea of publicly stoning the philandering fashion-plate. But, in a civilized society, that isn’t realistic. So, suspending Belichick for an entire season and forfeiting the Patriots 2001 championship campaign would seem perfectly justified. Draconian sanctions of the like are not unprecedented in the world of sports. Just ask the University of Michigan and the much-ballyhooed “Fab Five.” In case you forgot, their 1992 Final Four run never happened.
As Sophocles once said, “I’d rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.”

• The New York Giants, who entered Sunday as 11-point underdogs in the Super Bowl, cost Nevada sports books a record $2.6 million with their epic 17-14 victory. As Detective Jimmy McNulty said on HBO’s the Wire, “You play in dirt, you get dirty.”

• Eli Manning, 27, deserves a wealth of credit and respect for producing under Manhattan’s unrelenting and downright harsh glare. Nevertheless, regardless of his performance in the playoffs, Manning is an unrefined product who desperately needs to improve his horrid mechanics in the off-season. I am not trying to urinate on Eli while he sips on his champagne.
The facts are that this past season Manning, the 1st overall selection in the 2004 draft, had a sub-par quarterback rating (73.9), he completed only 56.1% of his passes and he was tied for the league lead with 20 interceptions. Those numbers are virtually Leaf-ian and it is imperative that Manning develops into the performer that his skills indicate he can become on a consistent basis. If he doesn’t locate consistency with his game, the New York area will turn on him quicker than a pit bull on a poodle and Arizona will feel further away than Melmac.

Mitchell Blatt