LOTS OF STUFF INCLUDING NEW FEATURE ON NON-SPORTS ITEM OF WEEK

 Of all things:

Check it out. The Washington Capitals’ TOM WILSON

 hit FILIP CHYTIL of Vancouver last Sunday with one 

of those checks that could have been a lot worse except 

Wilson did it in almost excuse-me fashion (for him, 

anyway). No penalty was called (rightfully so) after the 

player Caps-on-TV’s JOE BENINATI calls 

“unquestionably the NHL’s best power forward” ran into 

Chytil, hitting him in the chest … and down he went near 

the end of the first period.

The former New York Ranger, who has been hurt a lot 

including gosh-knows how many concussions, went to 

the dressing room and did not return. Meanwhile, his 

teammates saw what happened, which helped to explain 

why no one went after Wilson. It was almost like Chytil 

ran into Wilson as much as Wilson ran over Chytil.

That didn’t keep an unidentified writer from demanding, 

according to the headline … NHL Must Throw the Book 

at Capitals’ Goon Tom Wilson. Among other things the 

story that appeared on-line reported: “Wilson lined up an 

easy target [and] delivered a heavy, blind side hit … to 

take out his frustration on an unsuspecting and helpless 

Chytil … “

The last paragraph began, “Tom Wilson is the most 

dangerous player in the NHL. Him running at Chytil like 

this, unprompted, is a joke.” Well, something or, more to 

the point, someone is. For sure.

STARTING THIS week, college athletes and 

departmental staff will be permitted to bet on professional 

sports by the NCAA … which said not to worry, that it 

could assure the integrity of sports would be maintained. 

Yeah, right!

The timing, of course, could not have been worse … 

considering the FBI announced a 2 1/2-year investigation 

that led to the arrest of 31 people (to date) including 

several NBA names among them CHAUNCEY 

BILLUPS, coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. For?

The long list of grievances included a bunch of illegal 

stuff like running poker games in which the high rollers 

were cheated out of large sums of money. Also alleged 

was game fixing. Billups reportedly gave bettors heads up 

when his team planned to tank a game. And so on.

“What really gets me is that these guys make $25 million 

a year,” said TYRUS on Friday’s GREG GUTFELD

 Show. “And you did it for $200,000? Who the hell was 

your math teacher? Your education system has failed.”

The former wrestler turned comedian wasn’t through. 

“One of the things that drives me crazy is the 

accountability for minorities … that somehow it’s not 

their fault, it’s the white man’s fault. This is one thousand 

per cent the brothers who perpetrated this, and disgraced 

their sport,” he added.

Wait! There’s more. One of the organizers of the illegal 

activity, mobster JOSEPH LANNI, described as an 

“alleged Gambino capo,” already was facing charges of 

attempting to take over New York City’s garbage industry 

via violence and intimidation.

Sound familiar? Fans of the short-lived Richmond 

Riverdogs (2003-06) might recall the owner of the United 

Hockey League’s Danbury franchise, the Trashers, was in 

the garbage disposal business and wound up going to jail 

on similar charges.

TOMMY BOWDEN thinks he knows why MIKE 

NORVELL, who gets $50 million if he’s fired, is still 

football coach at Florida State (1-5). “They don’t have the 

money,” said Bowden, son of late, great FSU coach

 BOBBY BOWDEN, adding, “I think my father has one 

foot out of heaven, ready to return to Tallahassee, if they 

don’t turn it around.”

NON-SPORTS item of week: Oh, well, the Freedom of 

Information Act was a good idea whose time never came, 

thanks to continuous meddling by the politicians. I know, 

I know it’s difficult to believe it passed the House of 

Representatives unanimously in 1966 … only to be 

shredded practically beyond recognition to the present 

day when interpretation has been left to the whim of those 

being asked to provide transparency and, instead, do 

anything but.

The Richmonder last week held a zoom call in which 

FOIA was the only subject … and almost immediately 

you sensed the panelists, while trying to be objective, 

would have preferred to say something like:

WHO ARE WE KIDDING? EVERY ONCE IN A 

WHILE WE GET SOMETHING WORTHWHILE THAT 

SHEDS A BRIGHT LIGHT ON AN OTHERWISE 

SHADY OUTCOME … BUT NOT OFTEN ENOUGH 

FOR THE TIME AND ENERGY SPENT.

I MEAN, HOW MANY TIMES ARE THINGS 

REDACTED SO COMPLETELY THAT IT’S 

BORDERLINE IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE EVEN SOME 

SENSE OUT OF ANY OF IT.

LET’S FACE IT. FOIA IS A JOKE … BUT NO 

LAUGHING MATTER.

JOHN E. MOSS, a Representative from California, is 

credited (if that’s the proper word, doubtful at best) with 

championing FOIA first and foremost and turning it into a 

bi-partisan effort that President LYNDON JOHNSONL 

signed – if reluctantly -- July 4, 1966 after the Senate Oct. 

13, 1965 followed by the House (306-0) June 20.

Since then, there have been a myriad of amendments and 

executive actions, turning it into what Supreme Court 

justice ANTONIN SCALIA once called “The Taj Mahal 

of the doctrine of unanticipated consequences.”

Imagine not being able to find out why a local high school 

baseball team was forced to cancel the rest of its games 

and the coach fired. FOIA failed and, thereby, allowed the 

case to fester and create all kinds of false narratives.

Until next time …