What's for brunch today, you may be asking? Leftovers, or, as I like to call it, a few things that have been cluttering up random corners of my mind and need to be purged before they go stale.

So, before they grow stale and the glow of the NFL becomes all-consuming, a few items worthy of that second cup of coffee on a Sunday morning:

* Chad Ocho Cinco? We're inclined to go along with it, since the NFL and our friends at The Associated Press are as well, but we also wonder, as a colleague has suggested, what would happen if he were traded to the Rams, where Jack Youngblood's ocho cinco has been retired.

* Just from looking at their pictures, I get the feeling former Wasilla, Alaska, basketball standout Sarah (Barracuda) Palin could beat one-time Honolulu Punahou player Barack Obama one-on-one. Easily one of the best nicknames ever for a vice presidential candidate.

* And before anyone else says it, yes, I know defense would be easy in that one because Obama would keep driving to the left and Palin to the right. But that would be too easy, so I'm throwing it back. As my fishing friends tell me, catch and release.

* The staus quo was maintained for the most part when the Central Section office announced division placements for the girls volleyball and cross country postseasons on Friday.

Hanford and Hanford West are Division III in all three sports, while Lemoore is Div. II in volleyball and Div. IIl in cross country. Remember, it's what you've done lately, not enrollment, that determines division placement in Section and state tournament play.

* A 9-year-old boy was banned from playing in a youth baseball league after parents complained he was too good.

Is that what passes for parenting nowadays, wimping out?

Has the obsession with building little success stories from the earliest age (it begins with picking the "right" preschool, lest children are forced to settle for Fresno State instead of Stanford down the road) grown to the point where striking out is considered a sin?

While I may not be a parent, I have faced that pitcher, though, about 40 years ago. Everyone on the bench on my Little League team was talking about how strong he was, and I recall saying I hope I didn't have to face him.

Mr. Brown, our manager, told me to stop thinking like that and instead think that I could get a hit off him. Well, I didn't get a hit, but I did draw a bases-loaded walk and my team went on to win the game. And I learned reputation isn't everything.

And what of the youngster who was banned? Do we really want to push him out of a healthy activity like sports at a time he's vulnerable to gangs and drugs?

Just let the kids play and let the future take care of itself. And it's never too early to learn how to overcome adversity -- or take some extra batting practice.

* If the American domination of Olympic softball (Japan's win over the U.S. in the gold medal game notwithstanding) is one of the reasons for it being dropped from the games, what do we make of table tennis, which appears to be dominated by Asian nations, or team handball, which seems to be a Europeans-only thing?

And now we have BMX and mountain biking, to go along with ratings-grabbers like beach volleyball and synchronized diving? If its sex appeal and ratings you want, why not add competition cheerleading and Texas hold'em?

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. Reach him at 583-2430 or at rdegive@hanfordsentinel.com. Richard also blogs at www.hanfordsentinel.com.

(Sept. 7, 2008)