Hits, misses and Bud Lite

Some NFL fans are shocked that Browns tight end O.J. Santiago, who played collegiately at Kent State, faces an arrest warrant in Pittsburgh for marijuana possession.
They shouldn't be. When Santiago is arrested, look for his agent, Dew I. Fleecum, to argue Santiago's habit is medicinal -- he's trying to chase away the haunting memories of watching Kent football for four years.
U Money talks.
The Cleveland Indians are living proof.
Anderson arrives: Take the signing of free-agent outfielder Brady Anderson. If ever the phrase diminished skills should be applied to a Cleveland athlete, Anderson fits the bill.
Think of the corner outfielders the Indians have employed since 1995 -- Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, David Justice, Juan Gonzalez, Marty Cordova.
Now comes Brady Anderson, who hit 50 homers in 1996 but was so unproductive for the Baltimore Orioles last year (.202 batting average, eight homers, 45 RBIs) that the O's (rhymes with woes) released the 38-year-old even though he's due to be paid $3.8 million this year.
For the Indians, it's a steal -- they are only obligated to pay him $200,000. The O's pay the rest.
If Anderson has anything left, Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro will be hailed as a genius. If he can't hit his weight, nothing was lost on this gamble.
Still, the Indians now have Anderson and Wil Cordero. Ugh.
If baseball had a salary cap, over-the-hill and unproductive players would sail into the sunset a lot sooner.
U There aren't many area high school basketball fans who appreciate girls games no matter who is playing. For those who do, Thursday's lineup is fabulous: Warren Harding at undefeated Boardman, unbeaten Howland at unbeaten Canfield and Cardinal Mooney at Ursuline.
U Maybe baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is smarter than we realize.
Taking a beating: Bud Lite was willing to be slapped around rather impressively by a House Judiciary Committee this week.
Mr. Selig went to Washington to present his lame arguments that baseball needs to contract because just about every team lost money last year.
You don't need to be an economic whiz kid to know that cutting two small-market teams won't stop the rich clubs from overpaying for free agents.
The only way to stop the runaway debt is to copy the formula the NFL (which has zero teams losing money) has established -- salary cap and shared broadcast revenues.
Perhaps Bud was willing to take the House hits so he can play hardball with Donald Fehr and the players' union when Congress threatens to yank baseball's anti-trust exemption.
Or maybe Bud and the owners don't have a clue.
U Today's Steelers-Jets game was supposed to be a duel between the AFC's two best backs -- Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin.
Then there was one: But with "The Bus" idled with a hip injury, the game comes down to how well Martin (1,082 yards on 232 carries) can fare against the NFL's best rushing defense (72.1 yards per game).
Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde has never played well in Pittsburgh. He's overdue against the Steelers.
Today, Pittsburgh fans will see just how much the Steelers can depend on resurgent quarterback Kordell Stewart to carry his team.
Black-and-Gold fans probably would have slept better last night if Stewart hadn't been on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com.