A few thoughts while watching Sergio Garcia pull out a playoff win at the Players Championship over Paul Goydos, a journeyman who would have made a better story had he won.

• There are apparently thousands of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans out there who take umbrage whenever Little E gets cut off by Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch or anyone else who isn't related to The Intimidator. Maybe they can shed some light on this guy's popularity. He doesn't have his dad's personality or, for that matter, his ability. So why is this guy so popular?

• I don't like Julio Lugo anymore than you do, but the Red Sox can afford to wait a little on their enigmatic shortstop. Yes, it would be impossible to move him in a trade, given his contract and current fielding problems, but why panic? It's still early and the Sox are winning.

If he's still scuffling after the All-Star Break, then they can take another look at Jed Lowrie with Alex Cora as a backup. That doesn't make it any easier to watch the guy. He's the last player you want to see in the spotlight with the game on the line.

• The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals raised a couple of good points following the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. They include a cap on the number of races a horse can run in a year, a look at changing the Derby surface from dirt to a synthetic surface and a ban on racing horses younger than 3.

As usual, the organization went over the top, though, calling for a suspension of the jockey and blaming him for wrongdoing without any evidence. They also charged him with excessive whipping although this is a violation of Derby rules.

Horse racing is in trouble. The death of Barbaro didn't help the sport's cause nor did this one, although Eight Belles was the first Derby horse to be put down in 41 years. But why all the grandstanding? It only obscures valid points.

• Are pitch counts ruining baseball? Some think so. Everyone is on a pitch count these days from high school to the majors. It's good to protect young arms, but every young arm is different. Starters struggle to go six innings in the majors now, even with a five-man rotation.

It doesn't seem so long ago that pitchers went seven, eight or nine innings with a four-man rotation. The game, in the majors anyway, is all about middle relief. Pitch counts may help save some tender arms but they also limit the building of arm strength. An arbitrary number of pitches doesn't always make sense.

• Hyde School girls and boys basketball coach Tom Bragg is apparently moving. After 17 years of coaching at the Bath school, he's taken a job at a sister school in Connecticut. He'll be missed.

He was always a classy presence on the sidelines and during post-game interviews, win or lose.

• Different rims, a hostile crowd, sleeping in a hotel. I guess you could say there are several reasons why a team loses on the road. But the Celtics went 31-10 on the road during the regular season so why can't they win a road game in the playoffs?

Wish I knew. It would be nice if Rajon Rondo played a little more consistently, but he's just a kid. What about the Big 3 stepping up. Home court advantage is great, but you can't expect the Celts to win the title by going winless on the road.

• As many Patriots fans do, I wish Spygate would go away. But it's back this week with former employee Matt Walsh appearing before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Both parties could have done something to speed this process up, Goodell back in September when he had much of the evidence destroyed.

And Walsh by denying he was a source for the filming of the Rams walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. He wasn't, but didn't admit it until last week. This is not behind the Pats yet.

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com