Sports this 'n' that

As this year's Olympics are winding down, it seems that the trope of filing a false police report has found its way into this year's events in Rio.

It wasn't so long ago a young woman claimed she'd been kidnapped, only to find that she fabricated the whole thing. Seems gold medal winning swimmer Ryan Lochte was paying too much attention.

Over the weekend, Lochte and three teammates---Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger, & Gunnar Bentz---claimed they were robbed at gunpoint. Oh, the horror. Ah, but not so fast, my friends. It seems that Lochte, who also scored a reality TV deal after the London Olympics 4 years ago, left his three pals, ahem, high and dry, jetting home before a local judge could call for his passport.

It turns out the four acted like a quartet of drunken sailors and got into a fight with someone, but didn't want to own up to anything, so they concocted the story of a taxicab robbery. Or, it would appear, Lochte made that up in a vain effort to save face. Now, I wasn't aware until now Lochte had a reality show. As if anyone really cares. Lochte, 32, is likely at the end of his Olympic career, as is his more famous teammate, Michael Phelps, who already has said he's had his last Olympic race. Only in Lochte's case, the same media that lionized him 4 years ago are now wagging their collective fingers and telling him, shame on you.

That said, Lochte picks up a pair of waterproof Weasel ears for not only shirking the responsibility of owning up to the fight, but fabricating something else entirely, then leaving his teammates to hold the bag.
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While the Chicago Cubs fired an in-house DJ at Wrigley Field for a poor choice of exit music for reliever Aroldis Chapman the other day, the DJ's at AT &T Park and Citi Field may want to avoid playing Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" any time soon, because the Mets and San Francisco Giants, who play each other this weekend, are in that very precarious position.

The Mets were expected to lay waste to the bottom feeders in the NL West---Arizona & San Diego---, but instead went a paltry 3-6 over the last 9 games, including a pathetic 1-5 vs. the Diamondbacks. Jon Niese, in two games vs. Arizona, reminded fans of why the Mets dumped him in the offseason in the first place. A week after he was lit up for six runs in relief, Niese started last night's game, and only surrendered 4 runs--2 earned--in 4 2/3 innings. The bullpen imploded, and the D-Backs romped, 13-5. New York is now 10 1/2 games in arrears of Washington in the NL East. The Giants have fallen to 2nd in the West behind Los Angeles, and have not come out of the blocks very well coming out of the All-Star break last month. Even with slugging ace Madison Bumgarner on the hill, it's no guarantee the Giants would win, any more than the Mets can with their A-list starters.

If you're a Mets fan like me or a Giants fan, you might need some Tums handy between tonight and Sunday.