Honor Seems Out of Their System

Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin may be the latest athletes accused of using performance-enhancing substances. But they are now (and in Gatlin’s case, again) part of a sporting culture that has wearied and disillusioned writers like MSNBC.com contributor Michael Ventre.

“Because the cheaters are far more sophisticated and advanced than the testing techniques set up to catch them, the sports themselves have almost no power to stop the cavalcade of miscreants from running roughshod. Therefore, the athletes themselves operate in what is, in effect, an honor system,” Ventre said.

“The problem, of course, is this: Just as there is no honor among thieves, there doesn’t seem to be any among athletes anymore either.”

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Trivia time: What do O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams have in common?

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Chew on this: Miami Dolphins Coach Nick Saban could not tear himself away from training camp this week to have dinner with President Bush. Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon believes Saban should have made time.

“It wasn’t a tough decision as much as it was a dumb decision, certainly an arrogant decision,” Wilbon wrote. “But this is what football coaches do in their ever-present bunker mentality where what you do couldn’t be particularly important, because it isn’t coach or play football.”

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A labored comeback: Defending WNBA champion Sacramento, 12-4 since July 1, seems ready for a deep playoff run. But Coach John Whisenant says the team’s chances to repeat could depend on forward DeMya Walker, who is still rounding into shape after giving birth to a daughter in April.

“I’ve never been pregnant myself, obviously, and I’ve never coached a player that had to get back healthy after pregnancy,” Whisenant told NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad. “I don’t know how far DeMya can go ... she’s pretty amazing, but we’ll see if she can get back to 60%, 70%, 80%.”

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Watch those deep patterns: According to the Associated Press, the San Diego Chargers plan to hold a walkthrough Friday, the day before they play host to the Green Bay Packers in their exhibition opener at Qualcomm Stadium. But the walkthrough will be on an unusual surface -- the deck of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan.

The team believes it will be the first practice by an NFL team aboard a ship.

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A safe haven: Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who is among a number of NFL players who appeared in Friday night’s pay-per-view preview of “Madden NFL 07,” said trash talking while playing the video game is safer than trash talking in a real game.

“You can talk trash and not have to pay for it,” Faulk says. “On the field, you know you’re going to get it.”

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Trivia answer: They are the only NFL backs to rush for 200 or more yards in consecutive games.

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And finally: Michelle Wie, 16, when asked if she would read the Rules of Golf after getting a two-shot penalty Friday at the Women’s British Open: “Well, they’re not actually great reading material.”