The NFL wanted the Kansas City Chiefs to go much easier than the team did after Johnson used three anti-gay slurs two weeks ago. The Chiefs suspended Johnson for two weeks and one paycheck that totals $330,000. But the NFL suggested the Chiefs not suspend Johnson and fine him only $10,000, reports Nancy Gay of AOL Fanhouse.
The running back used numerous homophobic slurs online in a Twitter page battle with fans, and then made another blatant homophobic reference to the media the following day. Johnson did craft a carefully worded apology afterward, which probably paved the way to the suspension settlement. Continue reading →
Chances are this is the first time you’ve heard of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. But it won’t be the last. The 6-foot-4, 235 pound redshirt freshman has it all: Good arm, great vision, leadership, and handsome good looks. From Houston, Luck was ranked as high as the No. 4 quarterback coming out of high school in 2008 by Scout.com. In leading the Cardinal to a 5-3 start, he’s completed almost 60% of his passes, has 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His 9.3 yards/attempt is second in the country and his QB rating is 17th. And of quarterbacks who have attempted at least 100 passes, only 10 have thrown fewer INTs.
Keep your eyes on Andrew Luck, for more reasons than one. A couple more photos after the jump.
I always find it humbling to see a story like this that puts life into perspective. No matter how bad my day is, no matter what goes wrong, no matter how much back pain I have, my life isn’t nearly the struggle that this kid’s life is. Brenden Adams seems like such a nice kid, it’s great to see him out there on the football field able to play ball with his friends. At 7-foot-4, click here to meet 14-year-old Brenden Adams.
It seems everyone on ESPN has been celebrating Manu Ginobli’s killing of a bat during his game earlier this week. If you haven’t seen it, he swatted a flying bat out of the air (video after the jump).
But every time I see it I can’t help but get angry. I understand humans think they can trample over any living thing whenever they want, but to kill a harmless animal because it’s bothering your fun little game is disturbing to me. Yes, I know countless animals’ habitats are destroyed when a stadium is built. I know. But I can’t help but agree with PETA on this one:
In the week since NBA player Drew Gooden of the Dallas Mavericks was accused of calling two fans at Staples Center “faggots,” the NBA says it’s investigating the charge and two brothers have come forward with a similar account from earlier this year.
One of the brothers, John Mardoyan of Los Angeles, read the Outsports story that detailed the accusation against Gooden from a game on Halloween in which Clippers fan Chris Wylde said Gooden called him and his friend “faggots.” Gooden did not comment on Wylde’s charge, while a team source told local reporters that it was one of Gooden’s friends who used the slur. Mardoyan posted this comment on the article: Continue reading →
I don’t have much to say about the New York Yankees winning the World Series in six games over the Philadelphia Phillies since I watched almost none of it. But I did find an interesting coincidence — the Yankees only win when there is a Democrat in the White House.
Since winning the 1958 World Series when Republican Dwight Eisenhower was president, all nine of the Yankees’ titles have come under Democratic administrations — 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. This bodes well for the Yankees for at least the next three seasons. For those who did watch (ratings were way up this year compared to 2008), how would you rank this Series in terms of excitement and quality of play?
I had no idea what the term “pause” meant, other than when I pressed the little button on my ipod. But thanks to a college student who emailed us this week, I now know it means “No Homo.” It doesn’t get me riled up, but it’s still interesting. The student had written us because he’s noticed various NBA players using the term in their Twitter feeds. One of them is New York Knick forward Wilson Chandler (confirmed to be Chandler via the Knicks’ official Twitter feed). And you get the full meaning of the term in context. From Chandler’s Twitter feed:
Watchin South Central classic ish… My Yankees went down (pause) but we’ll bounce right back!
Miami weather is ridiculous… Better enjoy this while I can (pause) about to go to my bro’s crib and chill up for a while
It was the end of the road for Michael Irvin’s Dancing With The Stars run Tuesday night. He was never the best dancer, but he was one of the fan favorites from the first night. Unfortunately, this was his best week of dancing (video after the jump). To get kicked off the show after his best week is tough.
I was shocked when his name was announced, because it seems pretty impossible that he had the fewest points of the night. So shocked I’m assuming it didn’t actually happen. Michael had 47 points (12.9% of the total) from the judges and Mark Dacascos had 43 (11.8%). For Mark to not be at the bottom, he had to beat Michael’s popular vote by at least 1.1%. DialIdol had Michael beating Mark by a considerable margin. In fact, they said that Michael being the bottom vote-getter wasn’t even possible. Were they that far off? I doubt it.
Think the Washington Redskins are getting hammered for their coaching and playing? Well owner Daniel Snyder is taking it on the chin from fans and the DC media…for allegedly trying to suppress anger at his coaches and players!
Snyder’s heavyhanded attempt at message killing, Douchewellian as it was, worked in the short term: The censorship of fans was treated as a non-story. (Well, OK: Almost a non-story.) And, as we’ve learned over time - Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, etc… - Snyder only cares about the short term.
Yesterday’s USA Today featured a column from hockey columnist Justin Bourne titled, “It’s time to end the use of gay slurs in hockey.” It’s a nice sentiment, but it feels like a blip on the radar the day after an entire state smacked us down.
There hasn’t been progress on this issue for years. When I ran the idea for this column by my uncle, a sportswriter and editor, he mentioned a piece he wrote 20 years ago after the general manager of a major junior hockey team in Canada said something like: “We don’t have any weak-wristed players in this locker room.”
Polish soccer goalie Arek Onyszko gets my vote for Sports Idiot of the Year. He was released by his previous club in Denmark after spending time in jail for assaulting his ex-wife. He got a second chance from FC Midtjylland, another Danish club, which warned him to not continue writing a book he was working on. He ignored that warning and finished the book, called “F-king Polack” In it, he professes his hatred of gays. From Pink News:
“I hate gays, I really do. I think it’s f**king disgusting to hear them talk to each other as if they are girls. I can’t be in the same room as someone who’s gay. Look at them kissing each other - it’s sickening.”
He also likened gays to “vomit” and attacked female sports reporters. Continue reading →
The Winter Olympics are just a couple months away, and we’re already seeing various groups using the up-and-coming faces of the Olympics in commercials. Three speedskaters grabbed my attention this past weekend.
First up was Chad Hedrick (right), who caught our eyes in 2006. Great smile, great hair. In Torino he won a gold, silver and bronze. He’s got an official site, featuring some really great photos. Continue reading →
Deadspin has a gallery up of Halloween costumes sent in by readers. One caught my eye and is very specific as to what part of Tim Tebow this guy hearts (sort of not safe for work): Continue reading →
Former Stade Francais coach Ewen McKenzie isn’t happy about being let go, and he’s taking it to the team management. Specifically, McKenzie says club president Max Guazzini focuses his recruiting efforts not on athleticism but on good looks.
He has a marketing outlook which is not always in the best interests of sport. For example, Max could recruit one player over another just because he has a better look for the calendar. I had players in my squad who I never chose. Others were requested to leave the club because they didn’t want to pose for the calendar any more.
One thing’s for sure: They didn’t hire McKenzie (left, in picture) based on the calendar!!
The NFL wanted the Kansas City Chiefs to go much easier than the team did after Johnson used three anti-gay slurs two weeks ago. The Chiefs suspended Johnson for two weeks and one paycheck that totals $330,000. But the NFL suggested the Chiefs not suspend Johnson and fine him only $10,000, reports Nancy Gay of AOL Fanhouse.
