Sometimes you think the lunatics are running the asylum; sometimes you know it. We know it today. We should be looking forward to one of the great sports weekends of the year but much of Friday's news focuses on craziness.

The Pacers Stephen Jackson, not long removed from his visit to the stands to duke it out with some Pistons fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills and a 30-game suspension, has an altercation at 3 AM at a strip club in which three of his teammates are also involved, pulls a gun and fires a reported five shots in the air, and it turns out two of the teammates are also packing and marijuana is found in the car of one of them. Yes, that is a very long sentence but you have to put all of it together to really appreciate the scope of it all. Breathtaking.

No one's been charged at this point, and the players reportedly have permits for their weapons but still...you couldn't make this one up if you tried.

And let's hear it for the Tennessee Titans who have responded to the reprehensible action of their DT Albert Haynesworth by filing notice that they are looking to recoup five games worth of Haynesworth's signing bonus for the time  he is now suspended. Yes, his contract reportedly states that he could lose the money if he's unable to play for reasons not resulting from on-field injury, but c'mon! He was a ticking bomb waiting to go off, with no apparent evidence that he had been getting help for the temper outbursts and violent acts he had committed in previous games and in previous seasons. Do the Titans not bear some responsibility in this? Here's what would really shock: if the Titans did recover the money (about $500G) and used it for a better purpose than fertilizing their bottom line, like, say establishing a crisis resolution center or a shelter for abused women and families. Now that would set us back.

We have all that along with assorted Chris Henry suspension news and Friday night's scheduled matchup of Kenny Rogers and Randy Johnson. This is not only the first time two 40-plus pitchers are starting a postseason game, but it is a matchup of two of the most unpleasant people in all sports. Mr. Rogers was suspended for his assault on a cameraman; Mr. Unit was only berated in the NY tabloids for his similar action.

But like Dorothy hoping to return to Kansas, for us it will all be over soon and we can concentrate on something light and airy--like TO's Sunday return to Philadelphia.