• The sad stories surrounding the ill-fated Florida Gulf Coast boat trip of Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper, Nick Schuyler and Will Bleakley.

• Bouncy British babe Chantelle Houghton just can’t trust soccer stud Jermain Defoe & his amorous past.

• Speaking of sports across the Pond, many Englishmen prefer their women to wear their favorite team’s jersey to bed rather than nothing at all.

• Speaking of jerseys, crooks now using uniform numbers as criminal code.

• Digger Phelps cuts a rug with a couple of Cal cheerleaders.

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You probably remember the odd story last year of the minor league baseball player who was traded for 10 maple bats. It was one of those things that we all had a nice chuckle over, and then we forgot about it and moved on with our lives. Well, as spring training is now underway, some people have been asking whatever became of pitcher John Odom, who was sent from Calgary of the Golden Baseball League to Laredo of the independent United League. And the answer isn’t good.

Just a few months after Odom abruptly left his new team, he was dead. The 26-year-old accidentally overdosed on heroin, methamphetamine, and alcohol in November. Odom apparently had been battling personal issues, and some wonder if the publicity and ridicule over the trade pushed him into a depression from which he couldn’t recover.

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We all remember the amusing story of John Odom, the minor league pitcher who was traded to the Laredo Broncos for 10 baseball bats. So, how’s the batty baller doing?

Could be better. Odom made his debut for the Broncos back on May 31, but only lasted two innings, giving up a run on two hits & walking two others without striking out anyone in a 10-5 loss to Edinburg. Six days later, Odom lasted a little longer on the mound, going 4 innings and getting his first decision of the year. Unfortunately, that decision was a loss in a 20-5 rout at the hands of Amarillo.

And things aren’t much better for John on Laredo’s online roster, as his bio is completely blank. Seems like the Broncos aren’t expecting Odom to stick around. Maybe they’re hoping to swap him for a nice set of batting gloves.

As Odom tries to make a living in Laredo, what happened with the bats that he was bargained away for? Read more…

John Odom, who had spent three years at San Francisco’s Class-A affiliate, was traded to an independent minor league team on Tuesday…for new baseball bats.

No, not “bats in the lineup.” Ten actual baseball bats.

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