STRIKE ONE

First off, in a rarity for the Cup Check column (as I'm usually content to merely make fun of athletes who have recently done dumb things), props are extended to former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, he of the Hall of Fame, gift of gab and multiple off-field transgressions involving drugs and hookers. Love him or hate him - and he's provided reasons for both during his career - Michael Irvin is a character that has made football more interesting.

This week Irvin gave the world a very good reason to - if nothing else - think just a little bit more of him.

Irvin, who currently hosts a radio show in Miami and appears regularly on the NFL Network, is on the cover of the August issue of Out magazine, standing up strongly in an interview in favor of equal rights for all and same-sex marriage. According to an NFL.com account of the article in Out, Irvin also reveals his brother, Vaughn, a bank manager who died in 2006 of stomach cancer, was gay. Irvin remembers his brother as, "the smartest, most charismatic man I'd ever seen in my life."

Also according to the NFL.com account, Irvin says in Out that though it will be difficult, the time has come for a current professional athlete to come out of the closet.

"Until we do that, we're going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things. When a guy steps up and says, ‘This is who I am,' I guarantee you I'll give him 100 percent support," Irvin reportedly tells Out.

All of this said, before we get totally warm and fuzzy about the dawning of a new age of equality and acceptance in the NFL, perhaps the first two sentences of the NFL.com story - and what it was focused on - should be re-considered ...

Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin believes his womanizing might have stemmed from seeing an older brother whom he idolized dressed as a woman and learning that brother was gay.

In the latest issue of Out magazine, in which he appears wearing just a pair of shoulder pads and jeans on the cover, Irvin said he was 12 when he discovered his older brother, Vaughn, walking the streets of his Fort Lauderdale, Fla., neighborhood wearing women's clothing.

STRIKE TWO

Speaking of football players giving interviews, the Steelers' much fined and maligned linebacker James Harrison had his harshest criticism yet of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently published in Men's Journal. I haven't picked up a copy; I've only read the recap published by the Associated Press. I assume in Men's Journal the story ran next to a full-page ad for protein shakes or chest hair removal.

While Harrison may have some justifiable reasons to dislike Goodell - namely the $100,000 he paid in fines for "illegal hits" last year - the 2008 AP Defensive Player of the Year went a little WWE in his latest comments, to the point that it's honestly getting embarrassing.

"If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him," Harrison reportedly tells Men's Journal of his feelings toward Goodell.

He goes on to call Goodell a "puppet," a "dictator" and what the AP story identifies as "an anti-gay slur."

Even more bizarre, the reporter from Men's Journal had simply asked about Harrison's bench press routine.

STRIKE THREE

DeShon Marman can breathe a little easier. According to AP reports, the New Mexico Lobos football player will not face charges after recently being arrested at the airport in San Francisco. Marman's arrest reportedly stemmed from an altercation involving US Airways and the airline's dislike of his baggy pants.

As the AP story tells it, Marman was returning from the funeral of a friend and boarding a plane when US Airways employees asked him to pull up his pants, which they claim were so low a body part was revealed. (I'm no anatomy expert, but my guess is they mean his ass crack.) Marman reportedly refused repeated requests. This angered the US Airways captain so much that he ordered Marman off the plane - which didn't go over well. Marman was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction. According to the AP story, police say he also injured an officer while being taken into custody, though all injuries were extremely minor.

After reviewing the case, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe spoke on behalf of his office and offered some much needed sanity in this situation.

"My belief is if we took this into a courtroom with 12 members of our community on our jury, they would tell me, ‘Come on guys, you have more important things to spend your time on.' And I share that view," Wagstaffe told the AP.

Marman's attorney, Joseph O'Sullivan, tells the AP his client plans to file a lawsuit against US Airways alleging racial profiling.

DUMB JOCK OF THE WEEK

The award this week goes to the MLB All-Star game.

I know, I know - that's not technically a "jock." But c'mon! The Midsummer Classic is a train wreck!

Honestly, at this point the MLB All-Star game is beyond pointless. These are hours of our life we'll never get back. Something simply must be done.

Unless MLB wants us to just stop watching, that is. I'm sure there's an episode of CSI on somewhere.

And don't even get me started on the Home Run Derby. ...