Player Who Allegedly Trashed Hotel Room Drafted In First Round

You can listen to the draft pundits talk about character issues all you want, but at the end of the day, all that matters is how well you play. Which is probably why WR DeAndre Hopkins was drafted 27th overall with the Texans' first pick, despite allegations that he and another player trashed their Indy hotel room during the combine back in February. They didn't go full Diamond Dave on the joint, but the hotel reported garbage strewn about the room, uneaten food left on the beds, toothpaste smeared on the mirror, and - here's the kicker - "urine and feces scattered about."
And what kind of "student-athlete" could be accused of not being able to get his own shit in the bowl? Well, Hopkins was a major in Community Recreation, Sport and Camp Management at Clemson. The other player, WR Mark Harrison (signed undrafted by the Bears), was a major in Labor Studies at Rutgers.
Read the initial report at Deadspin.

Fox News Turned Boston Marathon Videos Into An Action Movie Trailer

Of course, you can't be surprised, this is what the news media does: sensationalize a tragedy into ratings. But editing horrific footage of a terrorist attack and adding, of all tracks, "I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who soundtrack? Can't wait until the Beeb sends a nice ceast-and-desist.
Watch the video at Deadspin.
Image courtesy Crooks & Liars.

Patton Oswalt's Facebook Post

Boston. Fucking horrible.
I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."
But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.
But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

Patton Oswalt on Facebook.

Us At Our Best

Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old Rhode Island State Trooper from Smithfield, had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the first blast. "I started running toward the blast." (Providence Journal)

The Boston Barstool Sports blog reports doctors and nurses who ran in the marathon ran back to volunteer to help the wounded after the bombing.

NBCSN reports marathoners ran to Massachusetts General Hospital to donate blood.

The Massachusetts Red Cross says so much blood was donated, no more will be needed.

Joe Andruzzi, a former player for the New England Patriots, was photographed carrying people out of the blast area. Andruzzi's brother was a FDNY firefighter on 9/11 and managed to escape the towers' collapse.

Local Bostonians opened up their homes to any marathoners displaced by today's events.

Carlos Arredondo, an anti-war protestor supporting a marathoner who was running for Arredondo's son who died in Iraq, was captured several times in photographs and on video. A Red Cross volunteer, Arredondo is seen in the above photograph pinching a femoral artery, and in the Steve Silva video helping clear debris off victims from the first explosion site less than a minute after the blast.

Opinion: BASTARDS!

There comes these days. Days that no matter what faith you have in the human race, you just go "Ugh." Maybe you cry, maybe you're angry, maybe it doesn't sink in at first. But no matter how much you try and keep a positive view of humanity, there's going to be times you really don't know anymore. This is one of those days.
Right now, no one knows who or why someone chose to bomb one of America's longest-running sporting events. We can speculate on such things, but at the end of the day, the answer is simple: someone just couldn't be a goddamn fucking human being.
To think of what that scene was; thousands cheering for the valiant efforts of athletes, most of whom are not world stars. Not only men and women, but the wheelchair athletes who came through first. Then as the hours went, people who had no professional aims came across; people running for charity, people running for a cause, or even someone who just wanted to accomplish the feat. And someone looked at that, and couldn't comprehend the beauty of it. Or they did, and wanted to remove it. Someone saw other people enjoying life, and they wanted to take it away.
And for what end? Because some radical told them their god would reward them for it? Because someone had a political belief they wanted to get across? Because they think no one listens to them, and people would pay attention to them now? In the end, it doesn't matter. They thought robbing people of their humanity would make them feel better. These people found a way to their happiness, and some son of a bitch couldn't stand it. It had to be about him.
And are we any better? If this was for some cause, doesn't that speak to a problem with how we handle our humanity? Everyday, we place everything toward one goal. Whatever we say, whatever we do, how we treat others, how we respond to news; it's all to follow our one goal. Already, the gun debate is up on twitter, as if it's somehow related to this. Fingers are being pointed at Tea Partiers and Muslims alike, and the "truthers" already have their conspiracy theories lined up. Everything we do has to match this act we put on, instead of being real fucking human beings. We have the ability to comprehend and appreciate like no other creature on Earth, and we waste it. Why? Because whatever we believe or follow must mean more than our own fucking humanity? Why can't we step back and appreciate what we have around us? Why can't we look at things like why people choose to run a marathon, with little chance of being rich or famous from it, and appreciate that these people found their humanity without having to affect everyone elses?
And you get days like these, when you can't decide what makes us worse: the thought that human beings have no soul, or the thought that we do but can never appreciate it.
Top Image from Boston Globe Photographer David Ryan.

U.S. Senator is Asking Fox To Not Broadcast NRA-Sponsored Race

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has written to Rupert Murdock asking that his Fox network not broadcast this Saturday night's NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Murphy argued the race will give national attention "to an organization that has been the face of one side of this heated debate."
Fox has not advertised the NRA sponsorship in their promos (Fox has race sponsors provide "paid consideration" for their names to be mentioned on-air), it's been promoted as "NASCAR Racing from Texas" and will probably be mentioned as such on air. Race sponsorships are made by the tracks themselves, but the NRA flap has NASCAR saying they may have more say in the future (a NASCAR-related company owns 12 of the 23 tracks on the circuit, and Texas is not one of those).
Read more at the AP and Sporting News.
Image courtesy TalkingPoints.

Fox Is Doing The Slapsuit Thing Again

Sci-fi blog io9 has learned Fox has been sending "cease-and-desist" orders to people making items based on the cancelled-a-decade-ago series Firefly. Not really surprising, considering the network used to slapsuit websites that referenced The Simpsons. Also not surprising for those who watch NASCAR on Fox, since everyone remembers when Darrell Waltrip slapsuited "Mr. Boogity."
For those who don't, Randy Nicholson was a race memorabilia shop owner who held the trademark on the name "Mr. Boogity" in Canada years before Waltrip. But Waltrip sued Nicholson, using the threat of his deep pockets against Nicholson's rightful claim. Ultimately, the cost of $150k to fight was too much, and he would up having to spend $6k trying to comply with Waltrip's branding of his inane catchphrase.

Which he apparently has a right to, because no one has ever used "boogity"....oh....

 

 

The Do's And Don'ts of Augusta National

Hello, friends. The Masters tournament is this weekend, and you've probably heard CBS and ESPN are restricted in what they can and cannot say. Organizers claim they do not limit the broadcasters, but with contracts handled on a year-to-year basis, you can probably guess it wouldn't be hard to do. So what are the politically correct terms for Augusta National?

• The most well-known regulation is you may not refer to the "fans" or "gallery" - they are "patrons." In the 60's, CBS' Jack Whitaker referred to a group of patrons following a player as "a mob scene." He was never allowed on the grounds of Augusta again.
• Despite being referred to as "the rough" by everyone else in the world, Augusta insists you refer to this as "the second cut." And be careful commenting on the greens: in the early 90's, popular commenter Gary McCord said the greens were so fast they were "bikini-waxed." He, too, has never graced the grounds of Augusta since.
• You cannot refer to "the front 9" or especially "the back 9" - reportedly from Bobby Jones' fear it would sound like "backside."
• Broadcasters are also barred from promoting any shows during the broadcast, except for 60 Minutes, and that's only if the broadcast runs long into it's regularly scheduled time-slot. Good news is, we don't have to hear about The Big Bang Theory.
• Broadcasts are also only allotted four minutes an hour for advertising. Also, the advertising is limited to a select number of sponsors, and you can probably guess why the Goodyear Blimp is not overhead providing aerial coverage.

Of course, the broadcasters aren't the only ones with rules to follow. If you want to buy a ticket, you must be issued a badge which you apply for shortly after the last Masters, and you can be jailed for selling your ticket. And no electronic devices are allowed: no phones, tablets, or even cameras, and you may not run on the property. The white overalls the caddies wear are required, and were in use before the pros were allowed to use their own caddies in 1982. Previously, they had to use the caddies supplied by Augusta National, who were - Surprise! - all black.
Oh, and you're also not allowed to tip the help. Enjoy the golf, everyone!

Not-So-Shining Moments: The Look At The Other March Madness

So what has happened in college sports since the NCAA Tournament Started?

March 20 - Maryland's governor and comptroller halt construction of a Towson University building amid concerns of how the college handled eliminating it's baseball and men's soccer programs. (Towson Patch)

March 20 - CBS Sports reports Syracuse has received a letter of inquiry for an investigation into the basketball program. (CBS Sports)

March 21 - Geoff Grammer of the Alberquerque Journal tweets a Belmont player was not allowed to sit with teammates and drink from a PowerADE bottle unless he poured the contents into a PowerADE cup with an NCAA logo on it. (Twitter)

March 22 - Alabama fan Harvey Updike pleads guilty to "criminal damage of an agricultural facility" for the 2010 poisoning of the decades-old oaks in Toomer's Corner park, the traditional celebration spot for Auburn students. The trees will not survive and are scheduled to be removed this spring (CBS Sports). Updike announced his actions on "The Paul Finebaum Show."

March 22 - L.A. Times writer Ken Bensinger's profile on Shabazz Mohammad's father, known for guiding his children to pro sports careers, reveals Shabazz is actually a year older than claimed. (L.A. Times)

March 24 - Stone Cold Marshall Henderson.

March 25 - Despite three Final Fours' and a trip to the national final, UCLA fires Ben Howland after 10 years. (ESPN) They follow by hiring Steve Alford, who lost in the opening round to Harvard. (ESPN)

March 27 - John Zeigler, a documentary filmmaker trying to clear Joe Paterno's name, lists the name of Victim #2 (the shower victim) on his website. He takes it down hours later after complaints, and claims his website was hacked. (Deadspin)

March 28 - Less than two months after the NCAA admitted improper techniques in their investigation of Miami, the Miami Herald reports the new director of enforcement tried working with former booster Nevin Shapiro's lawyer using their bankruptcy hearings, exactly what her fired predecessor did. (Miami Herald)

March 29 - The NCAA escorts William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley, a well-known basketball powerbroker and agent with CAA, out of the Sweet 16 games at Indianapolis. No reason is given why. (Deadspin)

March 29 - Former Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine announces he will sue ESPN for defamation for coverage on sexual assault allegations by two former ball boys. (Deadspin)

March 29 - USA Today publishes a story on Oregon's Arsalan Kazemi, the first Iranian offered a D1 scholarship. In the story are allegations of racism towards him, another Arab player, and an Egyptian assistant coach while at Rice. According to Sports Illustrated, Rice AD Rick Greenspan repeatedly made terrorist jokes and even had airport security search their bags. (USA Today/Sports Illustrated)

March 31 - Louisville's Kevin Ware breaks his leg horribly in an Elite 8 game against Duke. Days later, Louisville starts selling a shirt with Ware's number on it (Deadspin). The shirt stays despite criticism, and is finally taken down on Saturday.

April 1 - After taking Florida State Gulf Coast on a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16, Andy Enfield bolts for USC. (SI)

April 1 - CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman reports Pac-12 head of officiating Ed Rush told referees he would give $5,000 or a trip to Cancun to anyone who gave Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller a tech or "ran him" during the conference tournament. Miller received a technical foul, and the free throws were the margin of victory for UCLA. Rush resigned his post on Friday. (CBS Sports)

April 2 - Following months of controversy, protests, and wiki altering, FAU decides it will decline the Geo Group's offer to buy the naming rights to their new stadium. (Miami Herald)

April 3 - Selena Roberts reports on her website allegations that Auburn paid players to return, altered grades to keep them on the field in their 2011 championship run, and targeted black athletes with drug tests. (Roopstigo)

April 3 - USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer writes an article about NCAA President Mike Emmert's previous work at institutions. In 1993, Montana State was found guilty of "Lack of Institutional Control" when Emmert was on the senior management team. In the late 90's, as chancellor at UConn, he allowed a construction project to run as much as $100m overbudget, taking the same job at LSU before a state investigation came down. At LSU, allegations of academic fraud surrounding the football program were quickly dismissed by Emmert despite multiple witnesses. At Washington, he was the highest paid university president, and used taxpayer money to build a new football stadium. (USA Today)

April 3 - Rutgers (ESPN).

April 3 - Chicagoside Sports interviews McDonald's All-American high schoolers about whether college players should be paid. (Chicagoside Sports)

April 4 - ESPN reports Auburn covered up for positive drug tests for "Spice," a synthetic marijuana. (ESPN)

April 6 - Northern Kentucky AD Scott Eaton is fired for affairs with four staffers (two his subordinates) and a student. Eaton took Northern Kentucky to Division 1 in the Atlantic Sun. (WLWT)

April 8 - Leaving Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti will receive over $1m guaranteed, and will receive health insurance, a $12k car allowance, an iPad, and legal representation provided by Rutgers. (CBS Sports)

April 8 - Dennis Dodd receives a letter telling him he will lose his Heisman vote if he chooses to reveal his vote before ESPN's broadcast. (CBS Sports)

Top image courtesy ESPN.

Thatcher And The 96

On April 15, 1989, Liverpool FC fans lined up outside Sheffield Wednesday's stadium for a neutral-site match against Nottingham Forest. With such a large crowd, Yorkshire police decided to open three exit gates, and the crowd rushed the stands, which at the time had tall fencing between the stand and the pitch. The standing room-only section filled so quickly, spectators were being crushed and suffocating in the crowd. Fans tried to climb over the fencing, and other fans in the stadium tried to help only to be turned away by police. Police response was slow, and even though as many as 44 ambulances arrived, police only allowed one in. The aftermath was 96 fans killed and over 700 injured.
While the Taylor Report placed the blame on the actions and lack of response by police, Margaret Thatcher wrote in a memo, "The broad thrust is devastating criticism of the police. Is that for us to welcome?" Thatcher was already an opponent of the soccer culture in Britain, having supported a ban on European play in the late 80's, bans on visiting fans attending games, and cutting funding to after-school programs. Thatcher believed the police's story that the fans were drunk and unruly, some even speculating as a favor for the Yorkshire police's actions during the 1984-85 miners' strike. It wasn't until September of last year that Prime Minister David Cameron apologized to the Liverpool supporters and family for the cover-up in the initial reports.
So it should be no surprise the English Premiere League did not require it's clubs to hold a moment of silence, and it'll be interesting to see if the next Liverpool match carries chants like this:

Read more at HuffPo.

ESPN Is Pressuring Employees To Work X Games For Free

A memo obtained by Deadspin shows ESPN, a corporate giant owned by Disney, is asking workers to work for free on the upcoming X Games event in Brazil. Operations manager Severn Sandt claims the budget is tight, and not only would working for a few free hours be helpful, but also bringing your own snacks would be great. He's also asking that employees not make fun of the locals, mainly so they don't piss off the help.

Hourly folks - don’t push the OT. If it’s 9:10, take the 9:00 out – don’t push for 9:30. Heck, maybe you’d like to actually contribute an hour or two of your OT to the cause and take a 7:00 out. Trust me – no one’s going to the bank on this one. If this idea appeals to anyone, we can start an honorary wall of contributors in the office.

Don’t stuff 6 bottles of water from the work site into your backpack before you go back to the hotel. Buy your own water. Considering that all of our hotels provide free breakfast and we are providing 3 meals a day on site, you are getting a very generous per diem. Please use part of it to buy the water, the aspirin, the sunscreen, the lip balm, the snacks, etc etc that you need. Yes, domestic remotes often provide these things and we will have an emergency supply of some things in the office but we just can’t take on the full load of this here.

Read the memo at Deadspin.
Image courtesy Speed Hunters.

The Heisman People Would Appreciate You Keeping Your Mouth Shut

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports just revealed he received a letter telling him if he, or any other sportswriter, reveals their Heisman vote, they will lose their voting privileges. Along with this warning was a printed out column of his, with the names he mentioned highlighted "with a yellow marker like I had cheated in class." When contacted by phone, trustee Richard Kalikow said "We don't want any announcements going out before the television announcement," which points the finger at ESPN. Dodd also makes a brilliant point: with 928 voters, a tenured sportswriter could lose his vote, but an incarcerated O.J. Simpson would.
Both Dodd and CBS' Tony Barnhart are voluntarily giving up their Heisman vote in protest. To read Dodd's public letter of refusal, go to CBS Sports.
Image courtesy Bleacher Report.

Tim Pernetti Is Getting Some Nice Parting Gifts

In another reminder of how messed up college sports is, Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti is not going home empty-handed after "resigning" Friday. He'll receive over $450k per year through June 2014 guaranteed, and a lump sum payoff of over $600k, meaning he'll walk away with a million dollars even if he gets another job elsewhere. Also, through 2015, he'll get a $12k car allowance, health insurance, and get to keep the university-issued iPad and laptop. Also, Rutgers will represent him in any legal case brought against him, which must be nice.
Read more at CBS Sports.
Image courtesy NY Daily News.

C.W. Stoneking Keeps Dixieland Blues Alive

Perhaps most amazing is this cat is Australian.

The Ventures With Max Weinberg Playing Wipeout

Possibly the most well-known surfer song with one of America's best-known drummers.

Future Fox Sports 1 Tape Delayed A Live Sporting Event

Fox Sports has been pounding their chest about their upcoming all-sports network becoming the challenger to ESPN. Well, if it does, hope your favorite sport doesn't conflict with an auction, which is what happened to NASCAR-owned Grand-Am. According to the Grand-Am website, the Rolex Sports Car Series race from Barber Motorsports Park went green at 1:45pm ET Saturday. But the race wasn't scheduled to air until 5:30pm Sunday, and even then it was pushed back half-an-hour due to NASCAR post-race coverage, which meant it actually ended after Sunday's IndyCar race at the same track.
So why delay a live sports event over 24 hours? The Barrett Jackson car auction, which was pre-empted for the Truck series race and AMA Supercross.
Can't wait until the first MLB game gets pre-empted for a car parade.
Image courtesy Sports Illustrated.

Head of the NCAA Has A Nice Rap Sheet For Himself

USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer looked into the previous positions NCAA President Mark Emmert has held before he took the big job in 2010. And boy, was he busy:

• In 1993, Montana State was found guilty of "Lack of Institutional Control." Emmert was a part of senior management at the time.
• A 2005 investigation of Emmert's 1995-99 tenure as University of Connecticut chancellor showed he was aware of "six key issues" regarding on-campus construction projects. Besides numerous fire and safety codes, the project was as much as $100m over-budget. Emmert had left to become chancellor of LSU in 2000.
• During his 2000-2004 tenure at LSU, there was an academic fraud scandal when an instructor and a grad assistant alleged plagiarism for athletes and un-enrolled students taking notes for sleeping football players. The Emmert-led investigation found only small violations, and the NCAA agreed with LSU's self-imposed two-scholarship punishment. But a third staffer came forward (after the other two claimed they lost their jobs for whistle-blowing) and said violations were worse, including changed grades and papers being written for the football players. Emmert also made sure coach Nick Saban became the highest-paid coach nationally, and Emmert himself was the highest-paid chancellor with some of his salary coming from the Tigers Athletic Foundation.
• Emmert left for his alma mater Washington before the third LSU accuser came forward, and there he became the highest-paid college president. He also used taxpayer funds to build a football stadium there.

Accoring to tax records, Emmert is currently paid $1.6m as NCAA president. Read Schrotenboer's article at USA Today.
Image courtesy Onward State.

Former "Miss Sprint Cup" Gets Second Chance

Paige Duke used to work as a "Miss Sprint Cup", NASCAR's modern take on the beauty queens that used to stand by the drivers in Victory Lane. That was until two years ago, when an asshole ex-boyfriend decided the best way to get back at her was to publish nude pictures she sent to him years ago. And nude pictures interfere with one's ability to stand in Victory Lane and look pretty.
But Darlington Raceway is giving Duke a second chance: she will become the speedway's "Lady In Black," a role similar to the one she had as "Miss Sprint Cup." So she's getting a second chance, because no one in America deserves their first.
Read more at Sporting News.
Image courtesy Beach Carolina Magazine.

Brian France Admits It Was His Brilliant Idea To Fine Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Chairman Brian France admitted in an ESPN interview it was he who felt Denny Hamlin's comments at Phoenix crossed a line.

France acknowledged it was primarily his decision to penalize Hamlin, and he stood by that decision.
"There's always going to be, when we make decisions that are not black and white per se, we're always going to have people all over the organization that may not have made that call," France said. "But I did. I'm crystal clear with everybody about where the line is, what we can accept, and about how the sport is going today.

So there you go. Yay nepotism!