There’s always been something a little off about Gary Sheffield. Seems like he’s run into trouble at all of his stops.

Major League Baseball suspended Sheffield for his part in a brawl in last Friday’s Detroit-Cleveland game. Sheffield took his four-game suspension in stride, but promised to get back at any Indians who punked him during the brawl.

"I’ve been in a lot of brawls … where I have been the peacemaker,"
Sheffield told the Detroit Free Press. "When you get into brawls — when somebody’s back is
toward you — you pull each other apart. That is what you’re supposed
to do. But when guys take cheap shots, I take that personal.

"When I find out who they are, they are going to have to deal with me."

Sheffield added that if anyone messes with him, "It’s on. It will never end
until I get you. I told you from Day One. I don’t mess with (anybody).
I don’t bother anybody. But when you bother me, it’s on. Trust me."

Can you imagine Sheffield lurking in parking lots ready to jump on Asdrubal Cabrera or Faustio Carmona?

Sheffield needs just three home runs to join the 500-homer club. He’ll likely be more remembered as a knucklehead from the steroid era than as one of the best power hitters of his era.

Can it be a good thing when one of the top five items on your own Web site is an apology?

An apology from April no less.

Welcome to the world of Josh Howard. Dallas Mavericks swingman. Admitted pot smoker. National Anthem hater.

A YouTube video surfaced this week from a charity flag football game that Allen Iverson put on in July. Howard was there as part of Team Melo — captained by Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony.

As the Star-Spangled Banner is being played, Howard says, "The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don’t celebrate that (stuff). I’m black."

Howard better brush up on that apology. He’s going to need it.

It appears the news coming out of Champaign-Urbana this week could have a direct effect on the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s West Division race this winter.

Former Illini Jamar Smith said Wednesday that he was going to leave the Champaign-Urbana area in order to rehabilitate himself in Evansville, Ind. He plans to work at a grocery store before enrolling at the University of Southern Indiana (and presumably joining the men’s basketball team) for the spring semester. According to one report in the Evansville media, USI coach Rick Herdes has confirmed that he’s recruiting Smith. That’s all NCAA rules will allow Herdes to say about the situation.

It won’t be until Smith enrolls that anyone at the school can say anything about him. He redshirted last year at Illinois after his first run-in with the law. He violated his probation by drinking over the summer and was quickly booted off the team by Bruce Weber.

Smith likely would have 1 1/2 seasons of eligibility at USI should he play there. Quincy University would get to see him twice this season at the Hawks and Screaming Eagles will meet twice in a nine-day span in February. The Hawks will play at USI on Feb. 5 before playing host to the Screaming Eagles on Feb. 14.

A Peoria Richwoods product, Smith was a valuable perimeter player for the Illini in his two seasons there. He was a member of the Big Ten’s all-freshman team during the 2005-06 season. He averaged 8.0 points per game and led the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage at 48.2 percent. As a sophomore, Smith averaged 8.1 points per game, making 38 3-pointers in 21 games.

Here is the latest batch of grades. (By popular request, this week’s grades will have no references to Eastern Illinois University or how great Tony Romo was in leading the Cowboys to victory on Monday Night Football this week. I won’t even mention how excited I am that EIU has brought back Billy Panther as the school mascot and killed that dopey Prowler.) As always, you can tune into WGEM SportsCenter presented by Hardee’s around 8:15 or so on Wednesday and hear me break down the grades. You can listen to the ESPN 1440 feed live on the internet by clicking the link.

A —Carlos Zambrano. Anyone who has listened to the program for the past four years knows I’ve been saying Zambrano had no-hit potential. Through the team’s love affairs with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, I’ve always said that Zambrano was the most consistent performer in the bunch. Yes, he’s nuts, but he’s a heck of a pitcher. He’s got nasty stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets another no-hitter or two before his career’s finished.

B —Canton’s Tori Niemann and Palmyra’s Taylor Baxter. Over the last week, we had to break out the Missouri State High School Activities Association record book to see where these two stacked up. Before the rains fell last Thursday, Niemann put her name in the record books with a six-steal performance in a 9-0 victory at Brashear. Her steal total tied her second in the state’s record book. Oh, by the way, she also threw a perfect game. On Monday night, it was Baxter’s turn. She fanned 36 batters over 16 innings as Palmyra beat visiting Winfield 1-0 at Flower City Park. It was the third-highest strikeout total in Show-Me State history.

C — Milwaukee Brewers. Is Dale Sveum the new Steve Fisher? The Brewers certainly hope so. With the team in the midst of its second straight September swoon, the Brewers ownership fired Ned Yost and replaced him with Sveum, who was the team’s third-base coach. Whether he can do for the Brewers what Fisher did for the University of Michigan basketball team in 1989 — win it all — remains to be seen.

D — Walter Zembriski. The Champions Tour golfer may just become the patron saint of the PPGA. For those of you who missed the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn last weekend (and shame on you), Zembriski carded a 90 during his final round on Sunday to finish a mere 54 shots behind winner R.W. Eaks. Zembriski’s card looked like something I’d shoot at Westview — three pars, 15 bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey. He collected $850 for his troubles.

F — St. Louis Rams. They are the worst team in the National Football League (with their cross-state rivals from Kansas City a close second) and the new owner knows it. The team has been picked apart by Philadelphia and the New York Giants in the first two weeks of the season. Some are calling for Scott Linehan’s head. Others say the players should feel the heat. I feel for the Rams’ season ticket holders. What a waste of money. At this point, the ownership should just fire everybody and start over from scratch.

For the second straight game, the Hawks failed to score a point as they fell to 0-2 with a non-conference loss to the fourth-ranked team in NAIA. The game was played in a steady rain, which led to a lot of sloppy play.

Here are the three stars from today’s game:

1. St. Francis tailback Daniel Carter
The diminutive Carter broke off one of the best runs I’ve ever seen during the second quarter. The 5-foot-6, 165-pound jitterbug looked like he was going to be stopped at the line of scrimmage by QU defensive lineman Matt Gurka. Carter slipped away from Gurka and weaved his way down the left sideline en route to a 66-yard touchdown run.  The scamper came just five plays after it looked like QU was going to get the ball on the St. Francis’ 4-yard line after a fumble. However, a QU defender was called offsides on the play and the Cougars maintained possession. Carter finished with 143 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries

2. Quincy University wide receiver James Bailey
The Indiana transfer showed why he was a three-year starter in the Big Ten with several plays. He opened up Cory Williams for a big gain with a downfield block in the third quarter. As a gunner on special teams, he lit up St. Francis return man Mickey Cassidy, which led to Cassidy fumbling the ball on his next return when he heard Bailey’s footsteps. QU head coach Bill Terlisner even turned to Bailey to play quarterback during the third and fourth quarter when he was looking for a spark. Bailey finished with two receptions for 30 yards and rushed the ball four times for 12 yards.

3. Quincy University linebacker Jacob Zsuppon
May as well just make his spot on the football season edition of DOBservations a permanent one. The senior had 16 tackles, including 1 1/2 tackles for loss. He has 27 tackles through two games. At this pace, he’ll have more than enough tackles to pass Cliff Frugge as the school’s all-time tackles leader.

DOBservations
The Terlisner post-game line of the week: "The reason I’m not going to be on (Steve) Czaben’s show this week is because of my defense." A national talk show host for Fox Sports Radio, Czaben highlights the Small School Whipping of the Week. Thanks to its 63-0 loss to Western Illinois University last week, QU received a plug on the show. … True freshman Tyler Truttman saw his first playing time as a Hawk in the fourth quarter. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 21 yards. Terlisner said Truttman is the team’s No. 2 quarterback behind Sam Donatucci. Trevor Durham, another true freshman, is No. 3 on the depth chart. Senior Craig Moore, who split starting duties last season and played in Week 1 at WIU, is now No. 4 on the depth chart. … QU is now 0-5 all-time against St. Francis. …  The last time QU was shut out in back-to-back games was at the start of the 2000 season, Terlisner’s first year. The Hawks lost to Southwest Baptist (37-0) and Central Missouri (75-0). The school has never been shut out for three straight games. … The Hawks will play at NCAA Division I-AA member Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. next Saturday. The Bears are ranked 19th in the latest I-AA poll and were 2-0 going into Saturday’s game with Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

As the No. 1 Tony Romo fan around these parts, I think I speak for all Eastern Illinois University alums and Dallas Cowboys fans everywhere when I kindly ask Jessica Simpson to ..

Please, shut your mouth.

Now a country singer — at least that’s what she’ll put on next year’s IRS forms — Simpson made an appearance on ABC’s "Good Morning America" earlier this week and said the Cowboys were "going kick your butts, too," in reference to this coming Monday’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, I don’t subscribe to the silly notion that Romo’s off-week jaunt to Mexico with Simpson affected how he played in the following week’s playoff loss to the New York Giants. Nor do I believe that she is some sort of kryptonite for Romo when she shows up at the stadium.

But when she does silly stuff like talk smack, it just opens up a whole can of worms from which Romo — and the sports world in general — can’t hide.

What he’s doing with Simpson, I’ll never figure out. After all, he had Carrie Underwood in his arms and let her go.

Here’s another look at the good and the bad in the sports world right now. To listen in, join Josh Houchins and me around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on WGEM SportsCenter presented by Hardee’s on ESPN 1440. The program is on from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday. Click on the ESPN 1440 link during those times to listen live online.

A — Chicago Bears. Wonder how much money the folks in Vegas lost over this one? The smart money was to take the points (somewhere around 10) and pray the Indianapolis Colts didn’t run away and hide. Not only did da Bears win straight up, they crushed the Colts. Peyton Manning looked bad, thanks partly to a balky knee and also a great effort by the Bears’ defense. The Bears can win a mediocre NFC North Division. Believe it, Bears fans (as soon as you get done rooting for the Cubs or Sox).

B — Hoppy Hoffman. Who? This guy owns a store that owns Arkansas State apparel in Jonesboro, Ark. His deal for fans this year: One percent off Arkansas State merchandise on Mondays for every point the Red Hawks win their weekend game by. Last weekend, the Red Wolves (formerly Indians) rolled to an 83-10 victory over Texas Southern. As a result, everything was 73 percent off on Monday. Hoffman loved it. "I think I’m going to go to practice one day and have a chat with my team," he said. "Beat ’em, but don’t run it up on me that bad any more."

C — Michelle Wie. In case you haven’t heard, the teen golfer everyone loves to hate has signed up to go through the LPGA Tour’s qualifying school. Her detractors have killed her for taking too many handouts. She’s going to try to earn her LPGA Tour card now, so that will hopefully silence some of those critics. But if she falls on her face during qualifying, she’ll be an easy target for those haters.

D — Mother Nature. It’s nearly the middle of September and there are still teams playing summer softball. The Herald-Whig Demons in Thursday night Division V is one of several teams still waiting to play their last game of the season, a season that was supposed to be over on July 24. There are still Friday night teams in the Quincy Park District waiting to finish their seasons, too, I’ve been told. Boo, Mother Nature.

F — KHQA. Where exactly was the U.S. Open men’s final on Monday afternoon? Instead of watching Roger Federer continue his quest toward tennis history and Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles, Tri-State viewers were stuck with Oprah Winfrey and an infomercial on the new digital TV conversion among other programs. Federer won his 13th Grand Slam title with a three-set victory over Andy Murray. Considering that tennis was coming off such a high with the Federer-Rafael Nadal final at Wimbledon, which some were saying was the best tennis match ever, not carrying the final of the U.S. Open defies logic.

Here’s a DOBservations look at the Quincy University football team’s season-opening 63-0 loss at Western Illinois on Saturday night.

Three stars
1. WIU tailbacks Herb Donaldson and Dre Gibbs
Donaldson, the Payton Award candidate, killed the Hawks early, while Gibbs slayed them late. The two combined for 301 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Donaldson rushed for 128 yards and three TDs in just 17 minutes of playing time. He scored all three of his TDs in the first quarter as WIU opened up a 28-0 lead. He also did something no one has seen before — he ran over QU linebacker Jacob Zsuppon.

Meanwhile, Gibbs torched the Hawks for 173 yards and a touchdown. WIU finished with 594 yards of total offense — 422 on the ground.

2. WIU QB Matt Barr
Barr was solid, completing 6 of 8 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He had all day to pass behind the Leathernecks’ offensive line. He made dynamite plays on both of his TD passes, avoiding a sack on the first one and directing tight end Matt Warner to an open space as he was scrambling for a 40-yard TD pass.

3. QU linebacker Jacob Zsuppon
He may have been run over by Donaldson, something he said surprised him, but Zsuppon still showed why he is one of the best defenders in the NAIA ranks and is a Division I talent. He finished with a team-high 11 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss. He must stay healthy this season if the Hawks are going to have a chance to hold teams down.

DOBservations
Always the quipster, QU coach Bill Terlisner opened his postgame press conference with this line, “The last time I sat here it was a little more exciting,” he said, referencing the team’s near-miss in a 38-31 loss in 2004. … Senior wide receiver James Bailey made his QU debut in the second half, catching one pass for 1 yard and returning a kickoff 14 yards to start the second half. The transfer from Indiana, a three-year starter for the Hoosiers, had to sit out the first half after violating team rules. … He was beating himself up after the game, but Sam Donatucci showed some poise behind center. If he can get some blocking up front, he’ll be a weapon for QU. … Quincy Notre Dame product Sam Dancer saw some action in the fourth quarter at tight end for WIU. Dancer is in his junior season. … He is one of three Quincy products on the Leathernecks’ roster, joining his younger brother, Max, and Quincy High School product Lamor Hickman. Max Dancer and Hickman are expected to redshirt this season.

Final, WIU 63-0
The Leathernecks dominated from start to finish. QU had just one good scoring chance as it opens the season with a loss.

Be back in a bit with a DOBservations rundown of the night at Hanson.

6:36, 4th quarter, WIU, 63-0
Dre Gibbs with a 7-yard TD run. Gibbs, the backup for Donaldson, looks more than capable of filling in. He’s bulled his way through the Hawks defense for most of the night and is now the team’s leading rusher.

Certainly, there’s at least one WIU fan in the stands saying, “I want to see 70! I want to see 70!”

End 3rd quarter, WIU 56-0
Again, only thing to look out for QU is to make sure everyone gets out healthy. Most of first-team defense is on the bench as is most of the first-team offense except for Donatucci, who needs the reps in QU’s offense.

5:43, 3rd quarter, WIU 56-0
Chris Porter 46-yard TD run. WIU’s second unit really starting to look comfortable playing together. QU’s defense clearly out of gas at this point.

9:59, 3rd quarter, WIU 49-0
WIU backup QB Zach Wells hits Todd Speight with a 5-yard TD pass to wrap up a long drive after Donatucci threw his second interception of the game. WIU kicker Taylor Rowan sets a Division I-AA record with 127th straight consecutive PAT.

Halftime, WIU, 42-0
This time around, the Leathernecks are getting what they paid for … an easy win.

WIU was impressive in the first 17 minutes it had its starters on the field. Herb Donaldson is a load. He did something I hadn’t seen in four years — run over QU senior linebacker Jacob Zsuppon. While they’re whipping up on the Hawks, it will be interesting to track the Leathernecks as they try to navigate their way through the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is NCAA Division I-AA’s best.

QU has reached one of Bill Terlisner’s goals — to survive. The Hawks haven’t had any serious injuries yet. He’s hopeful, that stays the same in the second half.

WIU with 347 yards of offense to just 84 for QU.

Donaldson with 128 yards on 15 carries. Matt Barr with 151 yards on 6 of 8 passing.

QU’s Sam Donatucci is 10 of 19 for 56 yards and an interception. Corey Williams has 51 yards rushing on nine attempts.

More in the third quarter.

5:32, 2nd quarter, WIU, 42-0
QU stopped on fourth and goal from the 3 as a Donatucci pass intended for Kyle Volstad goes out of the back of the end zone. Close, but no cigar.

6:09, 2nd quarter, WIU 42-0
Western has its second team offense and defense in. QU made its first stop of the game and is close to pushing home a score.

12:57, 2nd quarter, WIU 42-0
WIU’s Victor Visoky jumps on a bad snap well over Sam Donatucci’s head for another score.

It’s getting ugly up in here.

13:13, 2nd quarter, WIU 35-0
Barr scrambles to hit tight end Matt Warner with a 40-yard touchdown pass. WIU now 5 for 5 — five possessions, five TDs.

End 1st quarter, WIU 28-0
After a promising first drive by the QU offense, the Hawks didn’t do much. QU picked up two first downs on its opening drive and just one after that.

QU defense is overmatched by the more powerful WIU offense. QU with 41 yards of total offense. Donatucci was 7 for 12 for 43 yards and an interception.

Highlight of the first quarter for QU fans was watching about a dozen hot air balloons take off near the stadium at the beginning of the game.

(2:27, 1st quarter, WIU 28-0)
Donaldson scores his third TD of the game on a 2-yard run. WIU took possession after a Sam Donatucci pass intended for true freshman receiver John Casselberry was tipped and intercepted by Patrick Stoudamire.

The folks in Macomb are downright giddy right now.

(2:45, 1st quarter, WIU 21-0)
Donaldson adds a 4-yard TD run, WIU 21-0. There will be no deja vu from 2004.

(7:02, 1st quarter, WIU, 14-0)
Big plays by WIU helps it push its lead to 14-0. Matt Barr hooks up with Anderson on a 49-yard pass play and Herb Donaldson had a 36-yard run. Donaldson pushes it home from the 2 for a 14-0.

(11:24, 1st quarter, WIU, 7-0)
WIU drives right down the field on QU. Chris Spears had a shot to sack WIU’s Matt Barr, but Barr hits Paul Anderson with a 23-yard TD pass on a third-and-9 for a 7-0 WIU lead.

5:55 p.m. (pregame)
It’s a beautiful night for football, an overcast sky and the temperature in the high 60s. There is a threat of rain, but it should, hopefully, hold off for the next three hours.

As is the case with most times the Hawks go play at Division I-AA schools, there is more action in the tailgating lots than there is in the stands. It will be a late-arriving student crowd.

Ten minutes to kickoff.

5:30 p.m. (pregame)
Greetings from Macomb, where Quincy University will kick off its 2008 season against Western Illinois tonight.

The Hawks will be trying to duplicate their magic from 2004 when they took WIU to the wire before losing 38-31. It will be tough for the Hawks to duplicate that feat tonight. WIU comes in to tonight’s game after nearly upsetting Arkansas last weekend before falling 28-24.

I’ll check in every so often with notes from tonight’s game.

If you want to listen in, turn your radio dial to AM 1440 in Quincy. If you’re out of the area, hook into the feed at www.wgemradio.com.

I understand Ned Yost was upset his guy, CC Sabathia didn’t quite get a no-hitter Sunday against the Pirates.

All the Pirates were able to manage off the Brewers’ big lefty was an infield single by Andy LaRoche. Had Sabathia fielded the ball cleanly, he may have been able to throw LaRoche out. Still, it would have been a close call.

Can’t find the clip on the Internet anywhere, but this tyke claims to have all the video evidence you’d need to see that Sabathia was robbed by official scorer Bob Webb. (Hey, kid. The play wasn’t a bunt and the game was in Pittsburgh, not Milwaukee. Couldn’t even tell if the batter was LaRoche or not.)

Yost, who as you can see from the photo likes to complain about stuff, said the following about the situation:

“He accomplished a no-hitter and wasn’t given what he deserved. That should
have been a no-hitter,” Yost said. “That’s a stinking no-hitter we all got
cheated from. I feel horrible for CC.

“That’s a joke. That wasn’t even close. Whoever the scorekeeper was
absolutely denied major league baseball a nice no-hitter right there. They threw hit up on the board even before LaRoche hit the bag. That’s a
play CC makes easily, throws him out by 10 feet—to me it’s a no-brainer.

“That’s sad. It really is sad.”

Way to take the high road.

And we wonder why people sometimes act like maniacs over sporting events.