Use drugs - end up here. Plain and simple!

Viva Italia

The Italians have contributed so much to our society; we sometimes fail to give them the full credit they deserve. From Pre-Roman and Roman times, through the renaissance and up until today they have made the earth a better place to live in.

Not for the pasta, the pizza or the Moretti beer. Nor for Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Georgio Armani or the incomparable Sophia Loren.

It’s for their overall sensibility when it comes to life – and the way they live it. Look at the way they deal with sports for example. In 2006 they will host the winter Olympics, and this past week they revealed their strategy for dealing with athletes caught using banned substances.

Like many other things, the Italians take their drug testing very seriously - so seriously that some prominent athletes may start to come up mysteriously lame in the next few months.

In the bad old days, all Olympic athletes had to worry about was the standard public humiliation, the crying at the news conference, having their medal taken away and then being suspended if they tested positive to performance-enhancing drugs.

Not any more.

If caught in Turin they could end up in jail.

An Italian jail.

For a long time.

What a concept! Actually punishing the athletes for crimes against their sport! No token hand slap this time. Instead it’s some quality time in a small cell with their new pals Guido and Luca.

Now – you would think this “scared straight” concept would be embraced by the high talking International Olympic Committee, wouldn’t cha?

Fergeddaboudid.

The IOC are the ones who are scared of images potentially being broadcast around the world of their high profile stars taken away in handcuffs.

They are so concerned in fact they lobbied the Italian government allow them to police themselves, something that has worked so wonderfully well in the past.

''You think American professional hockey players, paid in the millions, will risk being put in handcuffs to come play in Turin? Come on, let's be realistic,'' IOC member Mario Pescante was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Two concepts that never go together are “Realistic” and the IOC.

After all, this is the same IOC that is critical of all other sporting organizations on their respective drug policy.

WADA chief Dick “Please don’t Google my name” Pound has openly mocked baseball for its testing programs. He has positioned his organization, and by extension the IOC as the ultimate tough guys on drugs in sports.

Now the first time they come up against a policy that might actually work – and their first reaction is to try to get a “Get out of Jail Free” pass.

''The Olympic rules and the WADA code never contemplated having doped athletes locked up,'' Pound told The Globe and Mail last week.

''Just get them out of sport.''

That policy has never been good enough for we sports fans however. For years we’ve been wondering, where is the true deterrent? Where is the policy that will make athletes so scared of taking the junk, they might actually consider stopping?

Here it is: Athletes caught using banned substances at the Turin Games risk prison sentences ranging from three months to three years.

Health Minister Francesco Storace stated that athletes who might test positive should simply ''stay at home.''

The IOC are lobbying the Italian government hard to lighten up. Thus far they aren’t budging an inch.

Viva Italia.

Cheers – Gavin McDougald – AKA Couch

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - They're still officially the team from New Orleans, but judging by the roaring capacity crowd and the startling success of their Oklahoma City debut Tuesday, the Hornets should happy to wear those ''OKC'' patches for a while.

J.R. Smith scored 19 points and had two electrifying dunks as New Orleans beat the Sacramento Kings 93-67 on the NBA's opening night, which also marked the first of 35 Hornets ''home'' games in Oklahoma City.

The celebration began with a street party outside the Ford Center, then got even more lively inside the sold-out arena as the Hornets, 18-64 last season, beat a Kings team expected to contend.

''We're a young team, so we feed off the crowd easily,'' Smith said. ''It's a great city, full of great fans.''

P.J. Brown scored eight points during a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter that gave the Hornets a 38-27 lead. Smith's two-handed fast-break dunk was the highlight of the run for New Orleans, which wore white jerseys with a hexagonal ''OKC'' patch on the right shoulder.

Brown finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Speedy Claxton added 17 and Chris Paul, the team's No. 1 pick in this year's draft, added 13.

Peja Stojakovic scored 18 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 14 for the Kings, who shot only 31.3 per cent.

''We knew they were going to come out and attack us,'' Kings coach Rick Adelman said. ''It was the first game here. The crowd was into it.''

Adelman said the Kings got out of synch offensively in the second quarter, when they scored only 12 points and the Hornets pulled away.

''We've got to come out and be the aggressor,'' Smith said. ''We got them second-guessing themselves, and that's what you've got to do to win.''

New Orleans, which was the lowest scoring team in the league last season, built its lead to 20 points in the third quarter as Smith again energized the crowd. He had seven points during a 12-0 run that put the Hornets up 58-38.

The Hornets were searching for a place to play this season after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The other six home games will be played in Baton Rouge, La.

''I think everybody's excited about getting the season started, but there's going to be a lot of people that start to think back on where we're supposed to be in New Orleans and what happened in New Orleans,'' Hornets coach Byron Scott said before the game. ''You're going to get some mixed feelings.''

A street party before the game offered fans the chance to take part in interactive games, get their face painted in Hornets colours and listen to live bands. New Orleans then got a standing ovation when players ran onto the court for pre-game warmups to the announcement ''Here come your Hornets!''

Desmond Mason, a former Oklahoma State star, and Paul got the loudest ovations during introductions, and fans didn't sit down until Brown scored inside for the Hornets' first basket.

Another ovation came after Claxton hit a three-pointer and the Hornets led 22-21 after the first quarter. More came when Hornets vice-president Willis Reed and Bill Walton, who signed autographs before the game, were introduced.

The crowd chanted ''de-fence'' and booed when officials called fouls against the team the public address announcer called the ''hometown Hornets.''

''With that loud crowd out there, I think we're going to have one of the loudest crowds in the NBA, if not the loudest,'' New Orleans forward Rasual Butler said.

Before the game, Hornets owner George Shinn admitted he was a bit leery when NBA commissioner David Stern recommended Oklahoma City for a temporary home. He was beaming afterward, predicting that if the level of support continues, ''they're going to see a lot more wins than anyone expected.''

''It was electric. It was absolutely electric. It was as good I've seen it,'' Shinn said.

Shinn said he had to be careful talking about the Hornets' future, but it's still the team's goal to return to New Orleans.

''When we go back to New Orleans, this city will get a franchise, I'm convinced,'' Shinn said. ''Whether the NBA is smart enough to come here or the NHL or the NFL or baseball, somebody will come here. This market is going to be too good for them to pass up.''

Seahawks Safety Ken Hamlin out for the rest of the season due to a bar brawl.