Tipsheet wondered if Scott Spiezio was prudent to sign with another team so soon after his offseason meltdown in California. Didn’t he need more time to get an upper hand on his addictions?

As it turned out, he did. The Braves gave him a short leash after signing him to a minor league deal – and Spiezio jerked it. Atlanta sent him home from its Class AAA affiliate.

“We had an agreement with Scott,” Braves general manager Frank Wren told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There were three things we asked him to do: No. 1 is to continue his aftercare, which included testing, No. 2, that he attend AA [meetings] and No. 3 he would show up at the park every day ready to play. And yesterday he was not ready to play.”

Spiezio’s agent, Barry Meister, thanked the Braves for looking out for his guy.

“We appreciate the Braves being so sensitive,” Meister said. “[Scott] is going to go home and spend time with his kids and continue to work on his aftercare.”

On a less encouraging note, Deadspin suggests Spiezio will also have more time to spend with his rock band: “

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios will play forever:

• Who could have possibly guessed that Michael Beasley would leave Kansas State after just one year and enter the NBA Draft?
• Who could have possibly guessed that Senators coach Bryan Murray would get outmaneuvered in another playoff series?
• With 521 homers already on his resume, is Alex Rodriguez a legitimate threat to hit 1,000 in his career?

THIS ONE HITS HOME

On HBO’s “Real Sports,” Bryant Gumbel talked hoops (among other topics) with presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

“Do you believe you can tell a man’s character from watching him on a basketball court?” Gumbel asked.

“No,” Obama said. “But I do think that you can tell something about people from how they play basketball. For example, people who keep on shooting even though they have no jump shot, you can tell that there’s a certain self-delusional aspect to their game, right, that says something about who they are.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “The Stanley Cup playoffs have begun, and NHL players are following a tradition by not shaving. I don’t wanna say hockey’s playoffs seem to go on forever, but the guys who at long last finally raise the Stanley Cup will look like ZZ Top.”

David Whitley, Orlando Sentinel: “The WNBA draft was last week. Mel Kiper Jr. reported the Liberty wanted to trade up for Jake Long.”

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “Barack Obama bowls a score of 37 for seven frames. Even more embarrassing, I hear Obama had a terrible NFL Combine, while Hillary says she ran a 4.3, under sniper fire.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “The Yankees and Red Sox play each other 72 times a season, not counting the playoffs. Contractual restrictions with MLB allow ESPN to carry only 64 of them.”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com, arguing against Dick Vitale’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame: “He’s loud. He’s a salesman. In fact, the very same qualities that served him so well on television have made him the perfect shill for Hooters. Also, he’s relentless. As people in the basketball business know too well, Vitale has been lobbying for entry into the Hall for years. The movement, such as it was, was spearheaded by influential letter writers campaigning on his behalf, most of them famous coaches whose butts he’s kissed for years. Foremost among them was Bobby Knight, the media-basher now cashing ESPN’s checks. Vitale has been on air since 1979; the next tough word he has for Bobby Knight will be his first.”

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoSports.com: “The Tigers have the worst bullpen that doesn’t include Eric Gagne.”

Mike Lupica, New York Daily News: “I wonder if some of those TV guys who were so quick to jump John Calipari the other night would ever be as quick to jump somebody like the sainted Coach K.”

MEGAPHONE

“You’re going to stink, people are going to let you know, and you tell yourself you stink probably before they tell you. That’s what I love about my skip: He’ll tell you, ‘You (stink).’ That’s what I appreciate.”

Gary Sheffield, telling the Detroit Free-Press that Tigers manager Jim Leyland can keep it real.