Sports chatter: Seau family robbed days after his death

Need to know:
Less than a week after Junior Seau died, someone broke into his garage and stole a bicycle, KGTV in San Diego reported.

“It’s just pretty sick and disgusting, actually,” neighbor Sean Bailey told the TV station.

The thief broke into the garage through a doggy door.

The theft happened about 2 p.m. on May 7, which is making the case that much more confusing for police.

Seau allegedly shot himself five days earlier, and a steady stream of fans visited his house to pay their respects during that time.

The bicycle didn’t belong to Seau, a Pro Bowl football player with the San Diego Chargers, KGTV said.

Want to know:
Brett Lawrie is appealing his four-game suspension from Major League Baseball, but he’s already being punished in the court of popular opinion.

And from his little league coach, too.

Lawrie, the 22-year-old Toronto Blue Jays third baseman, threw his helmet after the umpire called him out on strikes Tuesday against Tampa. The Jays trailed by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The helmet caromed off the ground, and hit Bill Miller.

Ted Hotzak was watching at home in British Columbia, Canada. He’s president of the BC Premier Baseball League, where Lawrie played his high school baseball with the Langley Blaze.

“Players tend to emulate their Major League brothers, and sometimes that emulation isn’t good,” he told the Vancouver Sun. “Lawrie is a great resource for baseball in Canada, but that display last night was not good.”

Lawrie apologized after the game, saying his emotions took over in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I’ve never, ever done anything to go at an umpire before in my life and I didn’t mean to tonight. I apologize for that,” Lawrie said.

Dull but important:
Roy Hodgson could go few places this past week without facing the same question: Rio Ferdinand, John Terry or (somehow) both?

His answer came today, when Hodgson unveiled his roster for the English men’s soccer team that will compete at the European championships next month.

Ferdinand will stay home, and Terry will play.

It had all eyes because Ferdinand is a stalwart defender with a rich history representing his country. Same with Terry, but he stands accused of using racial remarks against Ferdinand’s brother, Anton.

“I selected John Terry for footballing reasons and I left out Rio Ferdinand for footballing reasons,” Hodgson, the manager, told BBC.

Terry is said to have made the remarks when his Chelsea squad played Anton’s Queen’s Park Rangers earlier this season.

The case returns to court on July 9, midway through England’s Euro 2012 campaign in Ukraine and Poland.

The dilemma took on further intrigue because this isn’t Terry’s first brush with controversy.

He lost the captaincy of the English team two years ago because of allegations he had an affair with a teammate’s girlfriend.

The next captain? Rio Ferdinand, who led the team until an injury forced him out of the lineup.

That’s when Terry earned the honor again – up until February, at least, when the racial abuse allegations surfaced and he again lost the captain's role.

Just because:
Steven Strasburg could really feel the heat on Tuesday night; it had nothing to do with his Washington Nationals’ 6-1 loss to San Diego.

The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher used a "Hot Stuff" penetrating ointment on his sore shoulder, but it somehow travelled south. Very south.

“I don’t know how it got to where it got, but it was uncomfortable, to say the least,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said, The Associated Press reported.

Johnson evidently had trouble hiding his amusement during a press conference after the game. Strasburg didn’t find it as funny.

When asked for details about the burning issue, he said, “I’m going to keep that in the clubhouse.”

Strange but true:
With the London Olympics almost three months away, nerves are settling in for Britons anxious about performing at home. The athletes? They’re worried, too.

England’s Victoria Pendleton won gold in Beijing four years ago and is five-time world cycling champion.

She’s an early favorite to win again on the banked track, which would more than make up for her exclusion from the 2004 Olympic team that went to Athens.

Her mom, Pauline, is sharing that anxiety with her daughter.

“I can’t bear to watch. I have to go and hide,” Pauline told Metro. “I will be there at the stadium, but I’ll probably be in the toilets.”

“I will be so relieved when she finishes after the Olympics.”

Of that, we are sure.