Well, it appears I'm not the only one around this blog who has to answer for the ridiculous actions of current athletes at my alma mater. And while Plaxico Burress' indiscretions may be a bit more serious, they aren't near as creepy as the fake relationship conjured up by Missouri point guard Miguel Paul.

Paul, a freshman from Lakeland, Fla., lists Chris Paul as his first cousin on the Missouri Tigers' Web site (page 44).  Seems like a compelling angle for an intrepid young journalist at Mizzou to pursue.

Michael Kelly, a senior, decided to do just that. He showed up at the New Orleans Hornets' practice facility Tuesday to talk to the astounding Chris Paul about his cousin Miguel.

Things hit a bit of a snag, however, when Paul said he'd never heard of this Miguel guy.

"As he was walking out of the Alario Center after practice, Chris said he had never heard or met Miguel.

Adding to the weirdness is this Nov. 16 article from the Columbia Missourian -- a publication that Kevin Allen probably read every morning before class -- that talks about how Miguel draws inspiration from his "cousin" Chris.

"Miguel Paul was a junior in high school when he met his cousin for the first time.

Paul's high school basketball team from Florida had just won a national tournament in Raleigh, N.C., despite being one of the smallest schools competing. Paul scored 36 in the championship game.

OK, but if we believe Chris Paul, none of this ever happened. That would make Miguel's claims that he wanted to go to Mizzou because he didn't want to follow in Chris' footsteps at Wake Forest pretty worthless.

My gut feeling is to believe the NBA superstar. The one who knows that the media will find out the truth eventually.

That leads to some head-scratching. Why would Miguel make something like this up? Did he honestly believe that no one would mention it to Chris? And what really to gain from all of this?

If it turns out that this is all a bunch of baloney, how does the young Missouri guard ever recover from this? I can't imagine opposing crowds not having the best night ever when Paul and the Tigers roll into their gyms.

University of Missouri basketball player claims to be Chris Paul's cousin   (Hornets Beat)
MU guard shares some things with all-star cousin   (Missourian)