Excuse me, but what the hell is JJ Redick doing less than a month, 2 weeks actually, from the NBA Draft, drinking and driving!??! I….I mean….What do you……That’s just stupid! I hereby declare that we will be awarding a SU.com Dumbass of the Week award. The problem here is, who gets it this week? Obviously, Redick would be choice #1, but then you remember just yesterday Ben “Kneival” Roethlisberger demonstrating his human torpedo act. Some folks just aren’t very smart. Leave us a comment and tell us who ought to be the winner this week!

• District officials said yesterday they expect Major League Baseball to name a new owner of the Washington Nationals in time for the May 4 groundbreaking for a $611 million stadium project that the city is building for the team.
• Jermaine O’Neal tied a career playoff high with 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Nets 107-95 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
• Arizona freshman Marcus Williams, who sources said earlier would enter the NBA draft, will instead remain at Arizona next season, he announced at a news conference Thursday.
• Bud Selig has let it be known that there is not going to be any ceremony or hoopla when Barry Bonds breaks Babe Ruth’s 714 HR record. He will have to wait and shoot for 756 to get the prize.
• Keith Jackson thinks this is the right time for him to retire.
• The NCAA approved four new bowls Thursday, including a fifth Bowl Championship Series game in Glendale, Ariz., which will host the national championship Jan. 8.
• Dakoda Dowd opened play Thursday with a birdie in the LPGA Ginn Open, doing so while her terminally ill mother looked on, surrounded by friends and family.

With the April 29th deadline fast approaching, the number of early entrants to this years NBA draft is getting larger. There have been several annoucements in the last 24 hours. Below is a set of links to some of the most recent additions.

• Darius Washington
• Daniel Gibson
• PJ Tucker
• Shannon Brown
• Marcus Williams
• Ian Vouyoukas

The question is, as it is every season, how many of these guys that are coming out early are not going to be drafted in the first round, the “guaranteed money” round? It does seem like more and more of the early entrants this year are not signing with agents, or at least that is the plan currently, so if they so decide, they can return to school as long as the withdraw by the deadline.

The Sporting News is reporting:

With no one in charge of the N.C. State program after coach Herb Sendek’s departure for Arizona State, sophomore C Cedric Simmons declared for the NBA draft without debate. Simmons already was being contacted by agents before Sendek left. Don’t expect him to return to the Wolfpack.

IMHO, this would be a mistake. Simmons showed quite a bit of potential this past year, with the highlight being his head to head with Duke’s Sheldon Williams. Simmons is 6′9″, but boasts a wingspan of 7′4″. He is long, lean and athletic, and was just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. With the draft being a little “shallow” this year, it may help his draft status a little, but nowhere near as much as another season with the continued improvement he showed between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Cedric appears to be a good kid, so if he does make the jump, we wish him the best.

FWIW, NBADraft.net has Simmons listed as the 13th pick for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City/Insert City Name Here Hornets