Ronnie Belliard Is Free, Free at Last

George Edwards, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry to one year and one day in prison. It was less than the recommended range of 21 to 27 months, based on Edwards' past criminal convictions. Perry said she considered the case's unusual circumstances.

Prosecutors argued that Edwards sought $150,000 from the athlete in exchange for keeping quiet about the athlete supposedly getting Edwards' daughter pregnant after the pair met last fall at a local nightclub.

"This public figure, this celebrity had, for lack of a better term, a one-night stand with Mr. Edwards' daughter," Edwards' lawyer, public defender Kevin Curran, said, adding that the player never spoke to the young woman again.

OK, so maybe Rollie and Ronnie aren't so similar after all. One evaded federal and state tax enforcement for years and finally had himself removed from the list; the other (allegedly) knocked some random guy's daughter up and nearly spent $150,000 trying to cover it up. There are complicated legal and ethical differences between their two situations, differences that, as my head still hurts from last night's festivities, I'd rather not try to parse.

But still: freedom baby! Let it ring!