1. Anyone who sells private pictures of a former lover/fun buddy  is a jerk.

2. Looks like a march on Washington D.C. is moving along.

3. The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship. There is a disturbance in the force.

4. Will the protesters in Iran survive the brutality of the state?

5. Not much to add about the Department of Justice’s defense of DOMA. The adversary idea looks more tempting, no?

6. Flip-flops on city streets equals nasty.

7. What do you think of the new random thought photo?

8. For some reason I feel like a poser reading The Brothers Karamazov on the subway.

9. If you are looking for a provocative take on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, check out Michael Yon’s site.

10. I love city parks but not so much that I will stand in line for  a wristband to walk through one.

1. RIP Chuck Daly.

2. If I were a Republican, I would ask Dick Cheney to follow the example of his former boss: sit down and shut up.

3. Is it wrong to be attracted to the new Kirk and Spock, even though I haven’t seen the film yet? Don’t worry Beau. You are still my first, but you never call. I’m only human.

4. Short drunk queens never apologize when they step on my feet at the bar.

5. Wanda Sykes’ joke about Lady Gaga bombed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

6. Swine flu, the economy, and Pakistan. I’m not leaving the house!

7. Mirrors are the tools of Satan.

8. Anyone read the new biography of Booker T. Washington?

9. Have no interest in the new film Outrage. The whole premise seems rather 1990’s-ish.

10. Radio ninny Michael Savage is a petulant little man who can’t stand when his “ideas” are critiqued. With that said, free speech is absolute (within reason of course) and applies to clowns like Savage.

Last night I went out for a celebratory drink (to commentator wayne m: I understand that act is the cause for the world’s homophobia). My beloved UNC Tar Heels are headed to the Final Four. If you are a college basketball fan (no one here is because a certain GQ writer says so) you know Duke University is UNC’s hated rival and whenever Duke has a sub par year, the heart of Tar Heel nation beats a little bluer.

Which is why I was intrigued by a March 19 New Republic article. The writer Seyward Darby, a proud, yet calm Duke crazy, looked at a strain of homophobia that seems to be part of  Duke U. hatred. Wiki-pages for players filled with misinformation about sexuality, an opponent telling the press the way three-point shooter J.J. Redick shot the ball was a sign of his supposed man-love, and missives on multiple message boards that sound like they were penned in the basement of the Westboro Baptist Church.

I think Darby stretches the envelope a little bit. Sports fans, and right now I’m talking about the straight ones, always add the gay tag to a player or team they dislike. I’m sure many a folk in Red Sox Nation have, after down-grading the skills of Derek Jeter, also added he sleeps with men. Homophobia is part of sports culture, from fans to players,  and it’s one of the reasons I tend to enjoy my sports from a distance.

What an athlethe does off the court really shouldn’t matter, but it’s hard to imagine a Division 1 major sports player being out. The crowds would be brutal, the opposing team just as so, and  religious teammates would more than likely revolt. And the media?! Lord help the kid because there is nothing more conservative, or annoying, than a sports writer.  And let’s look in the mirror: we would be just as troublesome, wanting the athlete to carry the water for the movement as opposed to kicking butt on the field.

I’m not willing to speak for all of Tar Heel Nation, but as long as you pull 10 rebounds and 12 points a game, your mate for the night matters not. Just take me to the Big Dance so I can mock all my Duke friends.

PS: Did anyone see the Iowa State Cyclones’ comeback on Saturday night? It’s March madness baby!!!

(New Orleans, Louisiana) A man who worked as a driver for Eddy Curry is suing the New York Knicks center, alleging Curry owes him money, sexually harassed him and berated him with racist slurs.

Curry denies the allegations.

“I’m shocked, really,” said Curry, who missed the Knicks’ 101-95 victory at New Orleans on Monday night with right knee soreness. “He approached my friends a while back, trying to get money. I just never, ever thought it would go past what it did, which was just idle threats, money-or-else kind of stuff.”

Dave Kuchinsky alleges in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York that Curry owes him $98,000 in back pay and expenses, according to a story in the New York Post. Newsday reported Tuesday that Kuchinsky is also seeking $5 million in compensatory damages.

Kuchinsky also accuses Curry of exposing himself and harassing the former driver and said Curry referred to his Jewish heritage in a derogatory way, calling him a “cracker,” “white slave,” “white devil” and “grandmaster of the KKK.”

Curry said he never made such comments.

“Everyone who knows me knows I’m not a racist. I’ve never made a comment like that, playing, or nothing,” Curry said. “Aside from the fact I wouldn’t do it because I’m not racist, I wouldn’t do it because I wouldn’t want someone to play with me like that. That’s incredible, man.”

Curry, 26, is married with four children. He is in his eighth NBA season and fourth with the Knicks. He has played in only one game this season because of knee injuries.

The lawsuit comes a little more than a year after former Knicks team president and coach Isiah Thomas was found by a jury to have sexually harassed former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders. MSG, the company that owns the Knicks, was ordered to pay $11.6 million in damages.

Curry portrayed the lawsuit against him as a desperate ploy for money by Kuchinsky, who was his employee for three years ending last October.

“It’s like a prime example of you got to watch who’s around you,” Curry said. “This is a guy who I really thought he was my friend up until the last four, five months. I can’t even believe this happened. … I can’t believe it went this far. I can’t believe someone would represent something like that.”

Chris Baker and Langdon Perry of KTLK in Minneapolis made the remarks during Baker’s conservative radio show last week. After Johnson condemned the statements, the station said it regretted “some offhand remarks” by the pair.

“We can’t have people out here making false statements and putting out bad information, because this battle is too big when it comes to HIV and AIDS,” Johnson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“I poured my life into it and a lot of other people have poured their life into it, into getting out the right information so people can protect themselves and know what HIV and AIDS is all about.”

Johnson called the remarks “so stupid,” and said he hadn’t heard from the station. He also wants the hosts to keep their jobs.

“I would rather they educate their audience,” he said.

According to a partial transcript and audio clip posted on a media watchdog site, mediamatters.org, the remarks came after a caller asserted that health care isn’t a basic right. Perry responded by asking about treatable diseases that a person can live with for a long time “if you just get some basic drugs.”

Baker responded, “Like Magic Johnson?”

Perry replied, “Like Magic with his faked AIDS. Magic faked AIDS.”

Baker said, “You think Magic faked AIDS for sympathy?”

Perry replied, “I’m convinced that Magic faked AIDS.”

“Me too,” Baker said.

Johnson was diagnosed with HIV in 1991 and then retired from the NBA at 32.

KTLK’s statement said it recognized the seriousness of AIDS and the “great work” Johnson has done to call attention to the disease.

“We regret that some offhand remarks by commentators on KTLK did not reflect that,” the statement said. “To better inform our listeners and employees, KTLK will be airing HIV/AIDS awareness public service announcements, and will be reaching out to Mr. Johnson to get his thoughts on education efforts.”

Program director Steve Versnick said the station wouldn’t comment beyond the statement.

Johnson, 49, said his health is “wonderful.” He also noted that he has HIV, not AIDS.

“You have incredible drugs now,” he said. “I’m working out every day.”

“The billionaire’s a bonehead, the billionaire’s a bonehead,” the protesters chanted, referring to Magic owner Rich De Vos, who has given supporters of the amendment $100,000.

“He’s the biggest contributor to the amendment from Orlando,” protest organizer Jennifer Foster told the Orlando Sentinel. “And he’s getting $1 billion in taxpayers’ money to build the arena. That sends a bad message.”

Almost half the 30 protesters were straight. They say the proposed amendment also would affect non-married opposite-sex couples if it is adopted.

The proposed amendment says, “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

Florida already has a law restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples but supporters of the amendment say the law could be overturned in court.

The conservative group Florida4Marriage attempted to have the proposed amendment placed on the 2006 ballot, but fell short of the required number of signatures. Under Florida law, the organization was allowed to continue to add names to the petition in a bid to get it on the 2008 ballot. It was certified in February to go on the November ballot.

Last year ,it was discovered that the state GOP was bankrolling the amendment effort.

An investigation by the St. Petersburg Times into funding for the Florida4Marriage found that, of the $193,000 that had been raised by the group, $150,000 came from a single donor – the Florida Republican Party.

Opponents of the proposed amendment say in addition to barring gay marriage, it would bar civil unions and would be used to deny partner benefits both to same-sex couples and to unmarried couples who live together.

That has spurred Florida Red and Blue, a non-partisan organization, to enter the fray on behalf of unmarried, opposite-sex couples.

Last year, in just 60 days, the group amassed more than $1 million to battle the proposed amendment.

A Mason-Dixon poll, released last month, shows that the amendment could be in trouble.

The survey of likely voters found the 57-percent support the amendment, while 36-percent said they intend to vote against it.  Florida’s constitution requires a 60-percent majority to amend the document.

Jennifer Colli was awarded a scholarship to SMU in 2005. It was renewed for the 2006-2007 academic year. But according to her lawsuit, it was terminated after she complained about coach Rhonda Rompola.

The lawsuit alleges that at the first official SMU team meeting she attended in November 2005, Rompola spoke out against relationships between women on the team.

“The topic of this meeting was not about basketball at all, but about the gay relationships on the team and how Rompola did not approve of them,” papers filed with the court by Colli’s attorney said.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News Colli said that she was in a relationship with another player.

“Yes, I was with another team player,” she told the paper.

In a statement to the News SMU said Colli’s allegations of inappropriate behavior were investigated by two separate university offices.

“The results of the investigations did not support the student’s claims,” the statement said. “SMU stands by its findings and will address these issues in court,” the university statement said.

The lawsuit names both the university and Rompola.

It also alleges that attempts by Colli to secure a scholarship at other schools failed after coaches contacted SMU. Colli now lives in California and is hoping to become a model.

SMU is a private university of 11,000 students near the heart of Dallas.

The investigation concluded that there were “substantial and unjustified” Title IX violations in Mesa’s athletic program.

The violations OCR identified were initially the subject of a complaint by former head basketball coach Lorri Sulpizio shortly before she and her domestic partner, the former director of basketball operations, Cathy Bass, were terminated from their employment with Mesa.

Sulpizio and Bass in July filed a discrimination suit against Messa.  The suit alleges that despite Sulpizio’s and Bass’s dedication and demonstrated track record of success leading the women’s basketball program at the community college, Mesa officials unlawfully fired both coaches at the end of the 2007 academic year after they spoke out publicly about the unequal treatment of female athletes and coaches in a local paper. The article identified them as domestic partners.

Both women are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The complaint alleges that Mesa officials retaliated against Sulpizio and Bass for repeatedly raising concerns about unequal treatment of female athletes and faculty, as well as discriminating against them and ultimately firing them based on their gender and sexual orientation.

The complaint names Mesa athletic director Dave Evans, San Diego Mesa College, and the San Diego Community College District as defendants.

It alleges they violated numerous federal and state laws, as well as the California constitution.

The OCR investigation focused on gender disparities in the treatment of student-athletes and did not include Sulpizio’s and Bass’s employment discrimination claims.

OCR investigated whether Mesa operates an intercollegiate athletic program that provides benefits, opportunities and services to female athletes that are equivalent to those provided to male athletes.

Based on its investigation of Mesa’s treatment of male and female student athletes, OCR “identified disparities with respect to the scheduling of games, the provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities, and the provision of medical and training facilities.”  OCR concluded that: “These disparities were more than negligible and collectively established a violation of Title IX.”

Specifically, OCR found that:

- Mesa had scheduled football games at the same time as a women’s basketball tournament, and “the result of this was that the female basketball players were not allowed to use the women’s locker room.”

- “Only female athletes have been scheduled to play at a time when they were not able to use their own locker rooms.”

- “The women’s basketball team has been displaced from the women’s locker room by a visiting football team,” forcing the women’s team to use inferior facilities and preventing the visiting team from using any restroom facilities.

- “Softball is the only college team that shares its competition field with another team of a different sport. The baseball field is used exclusively by baseball, while the softball field is shared with the men’s and women’s soccer teams.”

- Mesa’s policy with respect to student-athletes’ access to athletic service trainers “has a disparate, negative impact on female athletes.”

- The OCR determined that these gender inequities have “a negative impact on female athletes,” are “of a substantial and unjustified nature” and “established a violation of Title IX.”

As a result of OCR’s investigation, Mesa entered into a resolution agreement with OCR that addresses the issues that OCR identified.  Mesa’s compliance with the agreement will be monitored by OCR.

“Mesa should comply with the law and ensure that women student-athletes and coaches have the same resources and opportunities as their male counterparts. We are pleased that the Office of Civil Rights is addressing these inequities at Mesa,” said Helen Carroll, sport project director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, in a statement to the media.

Sulpizio served as Head Coach of the Mesa women’s basketball team for five years, from 2002-2007, after spending three years as an assistant coach and then a year as interim head coach. She regularly led the team to championship play at tournaments, and secured high-level finishes in Pacific Coast Conference Championship tournaments in several seasons.

The Mesa women’s basketball team won first place in the 2001-2002 season and third place in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

Bass began working at Mesa as assistant coach to the women’s basketball team in 1999, and was appointed as an adjunct faculty member and made director of basketball operations for the team in 2006.

Sulpizio and Bass are registered domestic partners in the State of California, and together they have three children.

The complaint alleges that San Diego Mesa College fired Lorri Sulpizio, the former Head Coach of the women’s basketball team, and Cathy Bass, the former Director of Basketball Operations, despite their demonstrated track record of success.

Mesa officials fired both coaches at the end of the 2007 academic year after they spoke out publicly against  unequal treatment in a local paper which identified them as domestic partners.

“While at Mesa, we put the welfare of student-athletes first. We coached outstanding student-athletes to success on the courts and in the classrooms,” said Sulpizio.

“We should have been able to advocate for equal treatment of women athletes and faculty without retaliation. Instead, Mesa fired us both for raising issues of unequal treatment,” she said.

The complaint alleges that Mesa officials retaliated against Sulpizio and Bass for repeatedly raising concerns about unequal treatment of female athletes and faculty, as well as discriminating against them and ultimately firing them based on their gender and sexual orientation. The NCLR says that the school violated numerous federal and state laws, as well as the California constitution.

Sulpizio and Bass are seeking mandatory training for all athletic department faculty on the prevention of gender and sexual orientation discrimination. They also want Mesa’s Athletic Department to comply with Title IX, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

“Coach Sulpizio and Coach Bass should have been able to continue coaching and running an excellent college basketball program at Mesa,” said NCLR sports project Director Helen Carroll.

“By firing these two coaches, Mesa is depriving their student-athletes of dedicated coaches who serve as outstanding role models in a sports world with fewer and fewer female coaches,” she said.

Sulpizio served as head coach of the Mesa women’s basketball team from 2002-2007, after spending four years in other coaching positions. She regularly led the team to championship play at tournaments, and secured high-level finishes in Pacific Coast Conference Championship tournaments in several seasons.

The Mesa women’s basketball team won first place in the 2001-2002 season and third place in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

Bass began working at Mesa as assistant coach to the women’s basketball team in 1999, and was appointed as an adjunct faculty member and made Director of Basketball Operations for the team in 2006.

Sulpizio and Bass are registered domestic partners in the State of California, and together they have three children.

Also, it’s the battle of Candace vs. Candice, and the girls challenge you to create your own starting 5 for your dream WNBA team.