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Crises, political banter, social conundrums, shock jocks, so-called political leaders, overzealous district attorneys and some guy named Imus have taken over the sports world.

Normally, I can't live without sports. This last week, however, I would have rather been stuck in the middle of nowhere with no instant text messages from Yahoo Sports, no SportsCenter, no sports section and no Internet access.

Instead of focusing on Jackie Robinson day - one of the top 5 most integral things to happen in the Civil Rights movement - we get Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson reacting to a shock jock and making their annual push for social and economic equality. It's funny how they only come out when something as ridiculous as Don Imus' comments make news. I'm sure the influx of money into their pockets didn't have anything to do with it.

Instead of applauding four Florida juniors who cried at a press conference because they loved playing together before announcing they were entering the NBA Draft, we get Imus going Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder on us. Snyder never recovered. Here's guessing Imus doesn't either.

Instead of celebrating the spring football practices and games around the nation (by the way, early word from Colorado camp, straight from papa Graham, is young Hawk is looking mighty delicious behind center), we get Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong apologizing for ruining three innocent - I repeat innocent - lacrosse players' lives. Whether Nifong's push in the case was to make a name for himself and further his career is yet to be decided. But take a look at these quotes from when Nifong was on "The CBS Early Show." "The guilty will stand trial," and "there's no doubt a sexual assault took place." So much for innocent until proven guilty. If Nifong was looking for name recognition, he definitely got it.

Instead of looking at the NHL playoffs or season where there's a 19-year-old kid in Pittsburgh that may someday challenge Wayne Gretzky's insurmountable records (or just looking at the NHL in general), we're clamming about whether a cornerback who has been arrested 10 times deserves to be suspended for the season. I'd venture to say for most of us one arrest would leave us scanning the classifieds for a new gig.

Maybe it's the changing scene in sports where societal problems and sports problems are ever growing into one.

Either way, here's hoping this week gives us more stories about homeruns, strikeouts, saves, goals, jump shots, layups, knockouts, knock downs, birdies, bogeys and good old fashioned sports in general.