Scene from a train

Man with paper bag, drinking, reading Fox News Channel front page on his laptop, looking very unhappy about, well, everything.

He's starting early, I'm thinking.

D-U-I. D-U-H.

And as Boston was continuing to add to their lineage as the New Overlords, far away from the maddening crowds, Joba Chamberlain was doing what morons do at 1am.

Namely, drinking and driving and speeding.

Now, I'm not going to completely kill the guy for this. He's 23 and a pampered athlete who almost lost his father last summer. We don't know if he was truly hammered or just over the limit, if the open container was a light beer or a 40 ounce bottle bag, and if the speeding was 5 over the limit with an expensive car in a cash-strapped area, or something a lot more than that. Hell, we don't even know if any of this is true. It's not as if a trooper has never seen a famous name on a driver's license and decided to up the ante.

But there's one thing I do know. Bad franchises get to be bad franchises by needing overly young and/or questionable character guys to do, and be, everything. And right now, Chamberlain is the only guy on the Yankee roster with the stuff to be a #1 starter... and he's screwing it up.

It will also lead to Treatment and Tabloids and Condemnation, because hell, New York would like to talk about anything other than how Boston's still playing games.

And when the Yankees finish third in the AL East and out of the playoffs again next year -- and it's hard to see how they get better than either Boston or Tampa right now -- the failure of Chamberlain to become a 15 to 20 win guy is going to be one of the biggest reasons why.

Oh, and he also gets to endure a lifetime of drinking heckles. When, oh when, will athletes learn to just have a designated driver at all times?

Cubs Playoff Shirts

Cubs fans - get your 2007 Cubs playoff T Shirts! The shirt says it all for your upcoming ride in the postseason with the team that gives new meaning to "finding creative ways to lose." With this shirt you'll be prepared for anything.

I haven't been this excited for the playoffs since 2003. And start prepping now for who you will make into a scapegoat when the Cubs collapse. Steve Bartman will not be making an appearance at this years playoff games. And by the way, Bartman wasn't to blame in 2003 - a)Alou wouldn't have made the catch anyway, b)Gonzalez botched a perfectly made double play ball that same inning, c)Prior wet himself and led to an 8 run inning for the Marlins, and d)most importantly - that was game 6. You had a 7th game to end things and couldn't.

So drink up Cubs fans. You'll need it.