SMITH BREAKS HIS ARM AGAIN, BOWL GAME SPONSORS FALLING OUT & WHO GETS LEFT OFF THE SUPER BOWL RING LIST?
Carolina Panther Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith is in trouble. After recovering from a broken arm he suffered near the end of last season, he's done it again. Smith's problem is the fracture didn't take place during a team practice, it happened while he was playing touch football Saturday evening. Making matters worse, he told Panther management it happened during his youth football camp. It didn't, he fractured his arm playing in a touch league championship game, which is strictly forbidden in all standard NFL contracts. It hasn't been determined by team officials how long he'll be out with this latest injury. If it isn't a compound fracture, he should be healed by August 1st, but he'll still miss some of training camp. This season could very well be John Fox's swan song as the Panther's head coach & it's off to a lousy start.
So who would you vote for in a poll asking for the "most hated person in sports?" The results are in from Forbes, who publishes such polls every year. For the third year in a row, Michael Vick finished atop the dubious list followed by Oakland Raider owner Al Davis, Ben Roethlisberger & Tiger Woods. Other athletes finishing near the top of the list were Alex Rodriguez, Terrell Owens & Allen Iverson. Not the list you want to be on at the end of the day.
The IRS has now begun an investigation into Reggie Bush's gift bonanza while he was a USC Trojan. The gifts, car, cash, airline tickets, hotel comps etc. etc. etc are all taxable with interest & penalty. The IRS launched the probe after the NCAA spelled out exactly what he & his folks received. This could run into a $200,000 to $300,000 tab with the feds. This is one part of the mess he helped create he won't be able to run away from, the IRS won't go away.
Citi Bank is the latest BCS Bowl sponsor to drop their involvement with college football. After 11-years, Citi no longer wants their name on the Rose Bowl. They were preceded by FedEx, who dropped out of their Orange Bowl sponsorship of some 21-years. The Fiesta Bowl & ESPN is currently negotiating with Frito-Lay to keep them on board. Allstate has already committed to another 4-years being the title sponsor for the Sugar Bowl. Citi officials said ESPN was putting too many restrictions on how they were going to have to advertise the Rose Bowl. They were paying $11 million to get their name in front of "Rose Bowl."
JaMarcus Russell created quite a stir Saturday night when he walked into an arena in Oakland during the 7th round of the main event. He was booed lustily. The fans seemed more interested in giving him the raspberries then watching the fight. He was wearing an Alabama cap & shirt, showing great loyalty to his alma matter, LSU. After one round of being booed, he left the arena to a lot of finger-pointing & bird-flipping. Obviously, he still doesn't get it.
As you know, I'm not a big fan of the BCS. yours truly is pretty much on board with anyone who wants this ridiculous organization disbanded in favor of a playoff system like every other sport in the NCAA, regardless of gender or division. But I'd like our elected officials to butt out, especially Texas congressman Joe Barton. He's not the advocate we in the anti-BCS camp want as point man. He distinguished himself last week when he was questioning British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward. He apologized to Hayward for President Obama "shaking him down for $20 billion." This guy is as toxic as the oil BP spilled in the Gulf, he's not the right man to be leading the fight against the big, bad BCS. How about concentrating on cleaning up the Gulf, put a few million Americans back to work & worry about the Middle East before turning to college football.
Last Wednesday the New Orleans Saints handed out their Super Bowl rings. The team gave away 219 of them. One, just like the players received, is being raffled off for $2 a try, for a Gulf Recovery Fund. The club didn't divulge the cost of the each ring, the NFL pays for 150 of them, the team is responsible for anything over that number. So who receives a ring & who makes that decision? Saints' Vice President & GM, Mickey Loomis, created the list of recipients. Anyone who had been on the active roster during the regular season got a ring. A couple of former Saints, Deuce McAllister & John Carney both received rings as "former players & lifetime members of the Saints' family." Current NBA head coach of the New Jersey Nets, Avery Johnson, was awarded a ring for his pre-game locker room speech about "being special." Johnson was born in New Orleans & has always called it home, but I believe he's the first basketball person to receive a Super Bowl ring. The teams' cheerleaders & the Catholic Priest who gives the pre-game prayer every week were denied a ring. My niece is a Laker Girl & she was offered a scaled-down ring last year, but she had to pay for it. I guess she'll be deciding on ring #2 very soon. Some teams take care of the cheerleaders, others require them to pay for all or part of the rings' cost. But I've never heard of them being left out altogether. Way, way back when the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV, their cheerleaders were given pendants that were replicas of the rings. As far as the priest goes, I'm shocked he was denied some bling, doesn't that seem like Loomis is inviting bad karma? The team's charter pilot & co-pilot usually gets a ring, as do the entire medical staff & they scored some diamonds in New Orleans too. The ring, containing 2.2 carat weight in diamonds, was one of the most understated I've seen in maybe 25-years. Usually they're really gaudy & way too big. This ring is a classic & for the 219 people who received one, it's a thrill they will never forget. Maybe you can snag one in the raffle, it's tax-deductible & it goes to helping those in Louisiana who have been most affected by this oil spill. The rings' creator, Tiffany, will even engrave your name on the inside of the band, just like the players get & the Saints will pick up the tab for all the tax liability incurred by the winner. Give it a shot, I will too.
www.saintsgulfcoastrenewal.org
So who would you vote for in a poll asking for the "most hated person in sports?" The results are in from Forbes, who publishes such polls every year. For the third year in a row, Michael Vick finished atop the dubious list followed by Oakland Raider owner Al Davis, Ben Roethlisberger & Tiger Woods. Other athletes finishing near the top of the list were Alex Rodriguez, Terrell Owens & Allen Iverson. Not the list you want to be on at the end of the day.
The IRS has now begun an investigation into Reggie Bush's gift bonanza while he was a USC Trojan. The gifts, car, cash, airline tickets, hotel comps etc. etc. etc are all taxable with interest & penalty. The IRS launched the probe after the NCAA spelled out exactly what he & his folks received. This could run into a $200,000 to $300,000 tab with the feds. This is one part of the mess he helped create he won't be able to run away from, the IRS won't go away.
Citi Bank is the latest BCS Bowl sponsor to drop their involvement with college football. After 11-years, Citi no longer wants their name on the Rose Bowl. They were preceded by FedEx, who dropped out of their Orange Bowl sponsorship of some 21-years. The Fiesta Bowl & ESPN is currently negotiating with Frito-Lay to keep them on board. Allstate has already committed to another 4-years being the title sponsor for the Sugar Bowl. Citi officials said ESPN was putting too many restrictions on how they were going to have to advertise the Rose Bowl. They were paying $11 million to get their name in front of "Rose Bowl."
JaMarcus Russell created quite a stir Saturday night when he walked into an arena in Oakland during the 7th round of the main event. He was booed lustily. The fans seemed more interested in giving him the raspberries then watching the fight. He was wearing an Alabama cap & shirt, showing great loyalty to his alma matter, LSU. After one round of being booed, he left the arena to a lot of finger-pointing & bird-flipping. Obviously, he still doesn't get it.
As you know, I'm not a big fan of the BCS. yours truly is pretty much on board with anyone who wants this ridiculous organization disbanded in favor of a playoff system like every other sport in the NCAA, regardless of gender or division. But I'd like our elected officials to butt out, especially Texas congressman Joe Barton. He's not the advocate we in the anti-BCS camp want as point man. He distinguished himself last week when he was questioning British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward. He apologized to Hayward for President Obama "shaking him down for $20 billion." This guy is as toxic as the oil BP spilled in the Gulf, he's not the right man to be leading the fight against the big, bad BCS. How about concentrating on cleaning up the Gulf, put a few million Americans back to work & worry about the Middle East before turning to college football.
Last Wednesday the New Orleans Saints handed out their Super Bowl rings. The team gave away 219 of them. One, just like the players received, is being raffled off for $2 a try, for a Gulf Recovery Fund. The club didn't divulge the cost of the each ring, the NFL pays for 150 of them, the team is responsible for anything over that number. So who receives a ring & who makes that decision? Saints' Vice President & GM, Mickey Loomis, created the list of recipients. Anyone who had been on the active roster during the regular season got a ring. A couple of former Saints, Deuce McAllister & John Carney both received rings as "former players & lifetime members of the Saints' family." Current NBA head coach of the New Jersey Nets, Avery Johnson, was awarded a ring for his pre-game locker room speech about "being special." Johnson was born in New Orleans & has always called it home, but I believe he's the first basketball person to receive a Super Bowl ring. The teams' cheerleaders & the Catholic Priest who gives the pre-game prayer every week were denied a ring. My niece is a Laker Girl & she was offered a scaled-down ring last year, but she had to pay for it. I guess she'll be deciding on ring #2 very soon. Some teams take care of the cheerleaders, others require them to pay for all or part of the rings' cost. But I've never heard of them being left out altogether. Way, way back when the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV, their cheerleaders were given pendants that were replicas of the rings. As far as the priest goes, I'm shocked he was denied some bling, doesn't that seem like Loomis is inviting bad karma? The team's charter pilot & co-pilot usually gets a ring, as do the entire medical staff & they scored some diamonds in New Orleans too. The ring, containing 2.2 carat weight in diamonds, was one of the most understated I've seen in maybe 25-years. Usually they're really gaudy & way too big. This ring is a classic & for the 219 people who received one, it's a thrill they will never forget. Maybe you can snag one in the raffle, it's tax-deductible & it goes to helping those in Louisiana who have been most affected by this oil spill. The rings' creator, Tiffany, will even engrave your name on the inside of the band, just like the players get & the Saints will pick up the tab for all the tax liability incurred by the winner. Give it a shot, I will too.
www.saintsgulfcoastrenewal.org
Comments