What we know about saving the bees

From the New York Times' Room For Debate blog.

Thanks to the terrific gene sleuthing of May Berenbaum and others, it looks like the pieces of the colony collapse disorder puzzle are starting to fit together. And we can stop arguing about who was right: The virus camp, the fungus camp, the pesticide camp, the varroa mite camp, or the nutrition camp. It turns out everybody was right. (Well, everybody except the cell-phone and microwave-tower camps.)

Go read what experts have to say about the mysterious collapse of honeybee colonies.

The craziest sports story of the year gets crazier

This story makes the Rick Pitino story look like nothing.

First, some background.

NBA player Dirk Nowitzki was engaged to a woman, Cristal Taylor, who turned out to have a bit of a rap sheet.

The team sources said Nowitzki's own suspicion led him to question Cristal Taylor's past while allowing her to stay in his house. Her arrest on two warrants, stemming from a probation violation and a theft charge, occurred as the Mavericks flew back from Denver.

It turns out this isn't the first professional athlete that Taylor was involved with. She had also "targeted" former NFL quarterback Tony Banks.

When their brief relationship fizzled, Banks said, Taylor began making harassing phone calls to him, his agent and even his St. Louis Rams head coach, Dick Vermeil.

Alarmed that Taylor was "trying to run my name through the mud," Banks notified team security, which learned Taylor had a criminal history and had used multiple identities.

Then Taylor said that she was pregnant with Nowitzki's baby.

And today's news?

Turns out that Taylor isn't pregnant according to medical records from the prison where Taylor is currently being held.

Crazy story.

Declaring sports fan free agency

I heard about this from another crappy (as usual) column from Rick Reilly.

Bloomberg sports columnist Scott Soshnick declared his sports free agency two years ago. What does that mean?

Here's the how-to guide:

Send the same memo to every team in the four major U.S. sports leagues: The NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and NHL. In it, declare your free agency as a fan. Tell them you're theirs for the taking. Offer a lifetime of allegiance. Offer your heart. Your soul.

I did just that.

Only nine teams responded. Read the Soshnick column to see which team went above-and-beyond to win his undying sports loyalty.

The way they did it was pretty damned cool.

Redskins don't know how to treat their fans

Via @jeremyjojola:

The Washington Post shows that the Redskins aren't exactly the masters of public relations.

Last year, Hill's real estate sales were hit hard by the housing market crash, and she told the team that she could no longer afford her $5,300-a-year contract for two loge seats behind the end zone. Hill said she asked the Redskins to waive her contract for a year or two.

The sales office declined.

On Oct. 8, the Redskins sued Hill in Prince George's County Circuit Court for backing out of a 10-year ticket-renewal agreement after the first year. The team sought payment for every season through 2017, plus interest, attorneys' fees and court costs.

Hill couldn't afford a lawyer. She did not fight the lawsuit or even respond to it because, she said, she believes that the Bible says that it is morally wrong not to pay your debts. The team won a default judgment of $66,364.

Bankruptcy by Redskins.