A lot of people are critical of what George W. Bush has done as President of the United States. But can you think of a major leadership post that he could not have screwed up any more than the man he would have replaced? I can. How about commissioner of baseball? And it very nearly could have happened.

The present commissioner Bud Selig is one whom I don’t think could have done a worse job as head and I’ve written about such in the past. But before Bush went into politics, as many people know, he was the owner of the Texas Rangers.

Well at that time he had aspirations about becoming MLB commissioner. If Bud Selig had have made the post available, Dubya just might have been the new guy. And he’s nowhere near as bumbling as old Bud.

Here’s a scary thought: Mr. Selig as Commander and Chief. With him in charge, maybe the U.S. would not have invaded Iraq. But I shudder to think of what would have happened to the country. He may have invaded Canada....

Speaking of the Bush clan, George Jr.’s brother, whom I have to be a fan of simply because of his first name, Jeb, which are my initials, has been rumoured to be in consideration for the next commissioner of the NFL.

Paul Tagliabue, the anti-thesis of Selig for the fine job he has done in turning the league into the big daddy of sports organizations, is retiring in July. Similarly to his brother, the other Bush would love to consider running a professional sports league such as the NFL. But he has said he’s adamant about finishing out his term as governor of Florida, which runs until January 2007. So you can pretty much count him out.

But that would leave him as a prime candidate for another post for which he is rumoured to be considered, which brings us full circle again. Could you imagine a third Bush in the White House?....

Staying with the NFL, and "Bush" while we’re at it, that was quite an interesting decision not to let Reggie Bush, potentially the next Walter Payton, wear No. 5 for the New Orleans Saints, even though that’s the number he wore in college for the USC Trojans.

Although it would have been more interesting had the decision gone the other way, I knew it wouldn’t. The NFL is not called the No Fun League for nothing.

But seriously, I understand the reasoning for it. The NFL requires running backs to wear numbers in the range 20-49 so that it’s easier for defences to recognize player positions on the field. There’s no reason why he should get an exception, even if he did win the Heisman Trophy (and even with his pledge to donate 25 per cent of jersey sales to relief for Hurricane Katrina victims in the New Orleans area).

But I can’t help but wonder if the decision would have been different had Bush been drafted No. 1 overall. He was highly expected to be the first pick in the draft by the Houston Texans – or another team had Houston chosen to make a trade. But on the day before the draft, the Texans surprised everyone by signing Mario Williams.

It would probably have been harder for the league not to give the first-overall pick the utmost respect. Not getting the No. 1 in the draft may have cost Bush his precious No. 5.

Though I doubt it....

Another thing I doubt the NFL will do, but probably should do, is put pressure on the CFL and the Toronto Argonauts not to let Ricky Williams play for them.

Ricky was suspended by the league for the entire season for partaking in, yet again, what is clearly a higher love to him than football: pot, to be precise. Another drug violation, and the Miami Dolphins running back is out of the NFL for a year.

I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do, but if the NFL is serious about its drug policy, and most indications are that it is, they have to do whatever they can to make sure that players they suspend can’t just go north and play in the other league. That would seriously hamper the strength of the drug policy and what it tries to accomplish. Why would a player worry so much about getting busted if he can just go play in the other league? Sure, it’s not the big dance, and not for as much money. But it’s still football, and only for one year.

Legally, they won’t be able to do anything. They don’t govern the CFL – it’s an entirely separate enterprise. And they can’t inhibit someone’s ability to make a living. But there are certain agreements and connections between the two leagues, especially with regard to the development of players in the CFL for the NFL. And the big brother (yes, I chose that term intentionally) NFL should tell the CFL that if they let Ricky in, their relationship will be seriously harmed.

Again, that’s if they take their drug policy seriously. If they don’t, well then let him go from one joint to another.

And that pretty much sums up all of my topics for today’s blog.

I’ll do another one soon – I hope.