Do you remember back in late July when a minor league baseball brawl became major news on ESPN and tons of other media outlets not only because it lasted nearly 10 minutes long, but also because it displayed one of the craziest things ever witnessed in the history of brawls.

Check out the link below to refresh your memory because it's been a few months and you've likely forgotten this ugly scene.
http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=3505522

OK, so you've seen the footage again and you undoubtedly saw Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo enter the frame for a second before firing a baseball toward the opponent's dugout. Well, much like his efforts on the mound that day and throughout his four-year minor league career, Castillio's pitch was off the mark and sailed into the stands where it hit an unsuspecting fan in the forehead.

On Wednesday, Castillo was indicted on two counts of felonious assault and could face up to 16 years in prison. Castillo's lawyers argued that penalties for bench-clearing brawls in baseball are usually sanctioned by the league itself and that his client would accept any penalty his Class-A league would hand out but that taking this case to the courts was a unprecedented and unfair. "In my research, I have found this to be an unprecedented indictment in American baseball," Defense Attorney Dennis Lieberman said. "These are very serious charges that could destroy this kid's chance of ever playing baseball in the United States again."

While Lieberman's contentions could end up being accurate, there was a fairly good chance that kid wasn't going to be playing baseball in the United States again anyway. With a 3-7 career mark that included 76 walks and 75 strikeouts and an ERA near 5.00, Castillo was on the fast track to nowhere and his actions only sped up the inevitable.

I understand that we've all done things in the heat of the moment that we regret and would like to take back but there is simple no excuse for beaning a fan (intended or not) with a baseball hurling at more than 85 mph either. In this case, justice was served and hopefully it will help to keep athletes being held more accountable for their actions in the future. Just because someone commits a crime and it happens to take place on the field of play doesn't mean that a crime hasn't occurred. Case closed.  

Here are this week's Beat The Blogger NFL pick'em matchups for this week. To enter, simply post your picks factoring in the point spreads listed below up until 1/2 hour before the start of the week's first game. If you can correctly pick more games than the Blogger, you could some great sports memorabilia. This week's winner will receive (1) authentic signed 8-by-10 photo of an NFL star. If more than one person, beats the blogger, one name will be drawn randomly to determine the winner. I will post my picks on Friday so you know what you're up against. Spread the word and good luck.

Houston +4.5 at Minnesota
Jacksonville -7.5 at Cincinnati
Tampa Bay -8.5 at Kansas City
Baltimore +1.5 at Cleveland
NY Jets +5.5 at Buffalo
Arizona -3 at St. Louis
Detroit +13 at Chicago
Green Bay +5.5 at Tennessee
Miami +3 at Denver
Atlanta -3 at Oakland
Dallas +8.5 at NY Giants
Philly -6.5 at Seattle
New England -6 at Indy
Pittsburgh +2 at Washington

It took three weeks and more than 100 entries, but we finally found a winner in the Beat The Blogger NFL pick'em contest. After picking 10 of 14 games correctly, Mark McDowell rolled to an easy win with the Blogger managing just seven correct picks.

For his efforts, McDowell will be receiving authentic signed 8-by-10 photos of LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees and Marshall Faulk.

The prize for anybody who can Beat The Blogger this week will be one signed 8-by-10 photo to the person who can pick the most NFL games (with posted point spreads) correctly and of course, Beat The Blogger in the process.
This week's point spreads will be posted here on Wednesday and the Blogger's picks will be posted on Friday. You can post your picks any time after this week's schedule is up and can get your picks in right up until a 1/2-hour before the start of the first game of the week.

Spread the word and good luck.

Here's the official "Beat The Blogger" picks for this week. Anybody who can correctly pick more winners than the Blogger (factoring in the point spreads) will be eligible to win (3) authentic, signed 8-by-10 photos featuring NFL stars. If more than one person outpicks the blogger, one winner will be drawn at random.

Baltimore -7 over Oakland
San Diego -3 over New Orleans
NY Jets -13 over Kansas City
Buffalo -1.5 over Miami
Dallas -3.5 over Tampa Bay
Philadelphia -9 over Atlanta
New England -7 over St. Louis
Arizona +4.5 over Carolina
Washington -7.5 over Detroit
Cleveland +7 over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh -3 over NY Giants
Seattle +5 over San Francisco
Cincinnati +9.5 over Houston
Indianapolis +4 over Tennessee

GOOD LUCK

Not sure what to make of the latest Brett Favre "episode." I call it that because it seems like everything the aging QB does these days is something that should be airing on the new "90210" series.

On the latest episode, Favre was caught giving away information about his former team, the Packers, to the Lions, the team Green Bay just happened to be playing that week. As Fox's Jay Glazer reported, Favre and friend Matt Millen, the Lions GM at the time, were talking on the phone in the days leading up to the Packers-Lions Week 2 matchup. After some back-n-forth regarding hunting, the discussion turned to what Favre might know about the Packers gameplan that might be able to help out Millen's Lions. It's not clear whether it was Favre giving up the information without any prodding or if Millen had to push him a little to give it up, but either way, the tarnished spot on the Favre legacy continues to grow.

A few days after the story broke, Favre realized his media-darling image was in question again so he realized it was time to start putting his own unique spin on the story. He admitted talking to Millen but said the two never talked about any gamplan-related information. Then in his best good ole boy southern drawl, he switched gears and stated that he didn't call Tony Romo a couple weeks ago either (Favre had reportedly called the Cowboys QB in an effort to get him to play through the pain of a broken finger) which got a laugh from the media contingent on hand at the press conference. The Packers won the game against the Lions and won rather decisively, so it's not clear if the QB-turned-informant didn't provide enough secret information or if the Lions are simply that bad that they can't win despite knowing what's coming next.

While I'm a huge Packers fan and still remain a Favre fan despite all the drama, it's hard to believe the future Hall of Famer when he continually places himself square in the middle of one controversy after another. As far as who to believe in this one, I can't get passed the now-famous e-mail Favre sent out to the media when talk of him wanting to come out of retirement first surfaced this summer. It stated "It's all rumors." About a week later, Favre was sitting in front of the cameras stating that he wanted to come back and play. Who do you believe? You do the math.     

I don't care if Mike Ditka picked them to win it all and I don't care that they're the only undefeated team in the NFL, the Tennessee Titans are not the best team in the league. Sure, they spanked the Chiefs around in Arrowhead, but these ain't your father's Chiefs we're talking about and Arrowhead is about as unpleasant as a trip to Hawaii for opponents these days so let's hold back on the kudos for now.

Let's check back in five weeks and see how the passing-challenged Titans are doing after facing Indy, Green Bay, Chicago, Jacksonville and the Jets in consecutive weeks. As of now, the Titans are 6-0 but have beaten six teams with a combined record of 12-26. While the running game made the passing game unnecessary for most of the game against the Chiefs, when you manage just 123 total yards in the air and guys named Bo, Ahmard and Lavelle are catching passes from a guy named Kerry, it's only a matter of time before your one-dimensional offense catches up with you.

While I'd like to show some compassion for my fellow man when they fall on hard times, it's kind of hard to find the pity when they continually do things that question their intelligence. Reading today how Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain was picked up for drunk driving, speeding and possessing an open container of alcohol in his vehichle while in Nebraska this weekend. He said his actions were "an error in judgement" and I agree with him on that. I can't fault any guy for getting his drunk on in Nebraska because well, I've been there, and Nebraska without a buzz is about as close to hell on earth as it gets.

But what I don't understand is how these high-priced athletes can't simply shell out a few bucks to hire a person to drive them around when they're drinking and need to get from place to place. Chamberlain made more than $500k this past season and will become an instant millionaire when he signs his next contract. You can't tell me he can't afford to hire a driver to be at the ready at all times for $50k a year. In fact, I'd like to apply for the position right now. Joba just give me a call and we can work something out asap. I'm sure his legal fees will add up to close to that amount and driving around an star athlete likely has its bonus perks anyway, right? It's a win-win for everybody.