Well, long time, no see, folks. That's what happens when you graduate college and get shipped out of the country on a European vacation. Never fear though, I am back with a whole plethora of interesting tidbits about the sports world. This time, I'm seeing red... in the good and bad ways.

The red carpet proves interesting for our young correspondent...

Just the very next day after I landed back in L.A., I was headed off to my first big professional invite: the Full Tilt Poker Bad Beat on Cancer Fundraiser, in Hollywood, thrown by my good buddy, Mr. Phil Gordon. To say that I was nervous is an understatement, especially since I was jetlagged from a 12-hour airline flight (at least I got to see "Glory Road" another four times), and had been ditched by, not one, but two friends who were supposed to accompany me. Not to mention that when I got to the White Lotus in Hollywood, I noticed there was an actual red carpet. With plenty of camera guys.

Out of my league? Maybe just a little.

I spent the night mingling among some pretty interesting people, poker pros and celebrities alike. I swapped a few words with poker expert Layne Flack, and caught up again with Phil and Dave Foley. Also in attendance were the likes of Hank Azaria, Richard Kind, Willie Garson, Josh Malina, Ryan Stiles and a whole bevy of people more famous than me. However, as far as I can tell, this time, Hank Azaria did not actually suck at poker. He was actually pretty good, so congratulations, Hank. We all knew you were better than you let on at Celebrity Poker.

While munching on sushi and avoiding the cocktails I'm not yet legal enough to drink, I got the answers to some burning questions and bad news that I'd been looking for. For those of you who haven't yet noticed, Phil has been replaced as co-host of Celebrity Poker Showdown. The new season (which also moved all the way to New Orleans) is now co-hosted by poker brat Phil Hellmuth. I chatted with Dave Foley about life after God -- I mean, Gordon -- and he said that surprisingly, Hellmuth actually behaved himself. Too bad that without the wit that is Phil Gordon, I can't be bothered to tune in. Phil was the best co-host on the planet, and his insights will be sorely missed... I'm just thankful I have a way to find him when I need him.

And much to my embarrassment... yes, he did hear me singing off-key karaoke. I can only hope I wasn't doing an impression of Yoko Ono at the time.

Drew Brees is a New Orleans Saint

Okay, this is old news, but I'm not sure I've had a chance to rant on it yet. And I'm not going to, because I said all I needed to say about the Chargers and Drew in my previous column. All I'm going to say is that Drew is a good guy, a class act and a heck of a quarterback. I've followed him since he played for Purdue, and I've always liked him, and I'll continue to follow him as a New Orleans Saint. It's just a shame that I don't have any of my heroes in San Diego anymore.

Best of luck to you, Drew.

Also, the NFL Draft just gets longer and longer every year, it seems like. But it's still fun to get up and watch. Even if you have no idea who the heck your team just drafted. I can't name any of the new Chargers. I hope that's not an omen.

J.J. Redick gets a DWI in North Carolina

Yes, I am a Duke Blue Devils fan. Yes, I'm a J.J. Redick fan. So I'm fully aware that North Carolina fans (and all other J.J. haters) are having their good time snickering, since my golden boy got himself arrested for a DWI in North Carolina, after testing with a .11 blood alcohol level (.08 is the legal limit) and then making an illegal U-turn to avoid a checkpoint. And I've seen his mug shot. It's not pretty.

I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for J.J. He was an idiot. Plain and simple, it was boneheaded, and I'm frankly shocked that a guy of his apparent character would do that. I hope that his parents and Coach K and everyone he meets reams him for it, and he never does it again.

That said, I'm also not going to act like this is the end of the world. Everybody makes mistakes, and he made one, he'll pay the price for it, and the world will move on. This doesn't invalidate the fact that he played four years of great basketball. In fact, it has nothing to do with his basketball career at Duke. He wasn't playing with a beer in one hand, so as far as I'm concerned, this incident is a separate thing. He's a darn good basketball player and I wish him the best of luck wherever he goes in the NBA draft. I'll be watching.

Besides, somebody else said it best: Christian Laettner was no angel either.

Red and blue baseball weekend

I went to my first baseball game of the season on Father's Day: the Padres vs. the Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. To say it's very weird not being in your own stadium for the first time in your life is an understatement. I felt very much like the little blue dot in the big red sea. Thankfully, I ended up in a section of Padres fans. And in the shade, while California suffered hundred-degree heat.

Despite my yelling constantly at Chan Ho Park and Vinny "The Human Brick" Castilla, the Padres pulled it out handily, 7-3. They actually played a really good game, and I was glad to see it. I was not so glad to see the drunken Angels fan a few rows down and to my right stand up and give Castilla the finger with both hands in the presence of small children. Really, people. It's just a game. Grow the heck up, would you? Or at least respect the other people around you. I was glad when security ejected him. Nobody needs to see that.

Adam Eaton may be back by the end of the month. I can't wait for that. And speaking of the Padres, and the Rangers, and Adam, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but... he's never going to be anywhere near Adam caliber, but I'm actually starting to like Chris Young.

I'll let you all think on that, and I'll see you next time for more news and notes.