Some random thoughts from my disorganized mind

Truth: Rush Limbaugh had every right to say what he did about Donovan McNabb . he was, after all, hired to be controversial Truth: the NAACP, along with every Democratic presidential hopeful on the map, had every right to criticize Limbaugh for what he said Observation: that Limbaugh made the comments he did, and that such an uproar resulted, is evidence that we are a long way away from being a color-blind society You can go on TV and be categorically wrong about your weather forecast . you can go on TV and be hopelessly off on your football predictions . you can even go on national television and give out false information in times of national crisis (remember ABC's Frank Reynolds announcing that President Reagan was dead following the 1981 assassination attempt by John Hinkley?) Do those things and it's highly unlikely that anyone will scream for, let alone get, your head on a platter. But say something about race that rubs enough people the wrong way, and you're as good as gone

For all the noises coming out of the warehouse to the contrary, the firing of Mike Hargrove had Angelos written all over it . classic Peter . leave the employee twisting in the wind until the last possible moment and hope he just goes away (see Dave Johnson, Jon Miller, Palmiero, Musina, et al)

Something tells me that Ralph Friedgen was less than thrilled when news leaked out last month that the ACC was trying to bring Notre Dame into the conference . put Maryland in a conference with Miami, Florida State AND The Fighting Irish, and all of a sudden the Terps, even in their best year, start to look real mediocre

Back to the Limbaugh thing for a moment . if Rush had said, "I think Steve McNair is the best quarterback in the NFL, and I don't think the media gives him enough credit because he's black," do you think there would have been anything approaching the backlash that followed his remarks about McNabb? Me neither . so let's all be straight about this, it's ok to say that the media is too hard on a player because he's African-American, but somehow offensive to say that the media is too generous with a player because he's black . anybody got a problem with that?

Strong move by the folks at Vanderbilt, who've decided they no longer need an athletic department . something tells me, though, that this is one of those ideas that's a whole lot better in concept than it is in practice

Is it just me, or is Jim Palmer endorsing every product known to man these days? . must've been one nasty divorce

Even though he's clearly not ready to be the starter, Kyle Boller has the quickest feet of any quarterback I've seen since Joe Montana . next time you watch the Ravens, make note of how quickly he gets set up off a seven-step drop

My nomination for upset of the year: Bears over Raiders . Chicago may be the worst NFL team I've ever seen

Question: does Palmer 'need the money' to the point where he might consider being the O's next manager? Answer: probably not (full-time gigs make it hard to devote enough hours to the important things in life, like golf and tanning)

NBA exhibition season is just around the corner . be still my heart (to quote Tommy Lee Jones in the movie JFK)

If Angelos hires Hall of Famer Ed Murray as his next manager, it will be the biggest disaster since Phil Regan

The best running back I ever saw was Herschel Walker during his freshman year Georgia . Jamal Lewis is looking a lot like Herschel Part II against much stiffer competition than Walker ever faced in the SEC in 1980

Urban legend: Ed Murray was a great 'clubhouse guy' . truth is he was aloof and moody and, my opinion, the only thing he ever taught young players was 'it ain't cool to care'

Usually this time of year I'm looking forward to the Breeder's Cup races, but with Empire Maker, Candy Ride and Funny Cide out and the owners of Mineshaft showing no inclination to run their colt again before sending him to stud, it's starting to look a lot like Congeree against Medaglia dOro, and I'm starting to feel just a little less motivated

If some day the Red Sox should meet the Cubs in the World Series, would the world as we know it cease to exist?

Giants are the best team in baseball

Think Mike Hargrove got hosed, how 'bout Jerry Manuel in Chicago . in his last four seasons as skipper of the White Sox, his teams were .500 or better every year . he was at the helm when the Sox won the American League Central Division title in 2000, and was honored as A.L. Manager of the Year that season . he's the fifth winningest manager in White Sox history and . he's gone (Hargove rumored to be the leading contender to be Manuel's successor)

In the words of former Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, "One day Cy Young, next day sayonara."

John Buren

You can contact John Buren at johnburen13@hotmail.com.