QUINCY: LOWERING ENERGY AND RIVER STAGE HERE IN THE BASIN

Kind of a dull day here in the Basin. After the high energy pitch this weekend, how could it be otherwise? A tobacco analyst won the U.S. Open. Nifong got disbarred. 130 deadbeat dads got arrested for back child support in this State on Fathers day and Paris Hilton accepted Jesus as her personal savior and cellmate. That level of excitement could simply not be maintained.

Nothing unusual about a smoker winning a major championship at Oakmont. Parks, Nicklaus and Hogan were all smokers on the course. Nelson and Miller were not but they had good excuses. Nelson had been exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and Miller is a Mormon. It's not like Cabrera winning is some fluke. He's a seasoned professional who plays in Europe where he sees more Oakmont-like weird lies than US touring pros see.

I have written extensively about Nifong before so I won't belabor the point. Still, I have heard so much disinformation in the national media, I feel compelled to say this much: Mike Nifong was not disbarred because he charged athletes (or white people) on thin evidence and he wasn't disbarred because he behaved in an arrogant manner (which he most certainly did). He was disbarred because he failed to disclose evidence to the defense which could have been favorable to the defense, made impermissible pretrial statements and, worst of all, made false or misleading statements to the court with jurisdiction and to the disbarment tribunal. In other words, he wasn't disbarred because he misused his power as a chief prosecutor. In the end, he was disbarred because he failed to follow the rules after he made his questionable decision. When we accept the privilege to practice law, we accept the rules which accompany that privilege. It's an express contract. Nifong breached that contract. The rules are in print so we can look them up. All the race and class warfare stuff was just wallpaper.

My favorite weekend action is the mass arrest of useless sperm donors who can't share whatever bounty life has brought them with the children they created. I have heard every conceivable argument from Mr. Non-Support. None of them wash. Make a baby, support it. Be a man. You're out of the seventh grade now. Even if you want nothing to do with Mom or vice versa and even though you have nothing personally to add to the baby's life, pay the baby before the dice game or strip club cover charge or the night out with your new girlfriend. To Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, great job! Father's day pickup of these bottom feeders helped a lot of struggling single mothers not feel so bad on the day that reminds them there's no father there.

Most importantly, for all those guys who had divorces or "oops" moments and have stepped up and supported, maybe even interacted with, the little on, Great Job.

Anyhow, after all that excitement, nothing much happening here, give or take a Josh Rabe surgery.