Once a Jail Blazer, always a Jail Blazer

Here's a wild story out of American pro basketball. 

Eighteen former NBA players were charged Thursday with pocketing about $2.5 million illegally by defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan in a scam that authorities said involved claiming fictitious medical and dental expenses.

Among the indicted were several ex-Trail Blazers: Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, and Ruben Patterson, all bad news from the moment they set foot in Portland. Remember Bassy's loaded gun on the team plane? Ruben and the nanny? Darius and Mo Cheeks? All products of that special Paul Allen hoops genius.

And to make matters worse:

Milt Palacio, one of those charged, was placed on administrative leave from his role as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, the team said Thursday. The Blazers declined further comment "pending the outcome of the legal process."

Palacio was just hired a couple of months ago to be part of the coaching staff headed by that other pillar of society, Chauncey Billups. What a bad sitcom the team has become.