Sports Illustrated Article on Ohio State Football Exposes Jim Tressel, Program

From Larry Brown Sports

Jim Tressel resigned from his job as head football coach at Ohio State Monday morning, knowing fully well neither he nor the university would be able to face the media after the contents of Sports Illustrated’s report were revealed. SI had reporters George Dohrmann and David Epstein collaborate on a special that digs deeper into the existing issues we knew about Ohio State (read the entire report here).

The Buckeyes were already punished for having six players trade memorabilia for tattoos — a violation of NCAA rules. On top of that, the hookups players had with a car dealership had come under scrutiny based on Terrelle Pryor’s driving record. The words of former Ohio State basketball player Mark Titus corroborated the reports that Buckeyes football players were getting hookups at a dealership (also a violation of NCAA rules). Now we’re left with a more in-depth look at the blatant rule-breaking going on at Ohio State.

In short, SI refutes in such indisputable detail the notion that the merchandise-for-tattoo trades were limited to a select few members of the football team. That defeats Ohio State’s first defense argument where they tried to pin the actions on an isolated few members of the team. Additionally, they expose Jim Tressel as a fraud. Tressel built a reputation as a man of integrity over his ten years at Ohio State. He was someone who preached religious values and respect. Yet this is the same coach who lied to the NCAA and lied to school investigators.

Memorial Day – 2011

 

Just a note before I head out to the DFW National Cemetery, then enjoying the rest of the holiday.  Have a good holiday, and take a moment or two to remember the fallen heroes we honor today.

Prepare to barf

Brownell goes to 3-0 as AirHogs roll 5-3

From the AirHogs Press Release

The Grand Prairie AirHogs kept rolling Saturday night, beating the Shreveport-Bossier Captains 5-3 for their fourth straight win and a clinch of their fourth straight series win in front of 2,380 fans at QuikTrip Park. 

The AirHogs (10-5) began the attack in the first, with David Thomas , Cesar Nicolas and Greg Porter singling with one out in the first to load the bases. Captains starter Aaron Cunningham (1-2) then threw eight of the next nine pitches out of the strike zone to John Alonso and Tyler Henley, giving Grand Prairie the lead. The red-hot Jake Taylor then hit a sac fly to make it 3-0 before Cunningham was able to get out of the inning.

MLB 2K11 makes Louisiana man a millionaire

Brian Kingrey isn’t really a fan of baseball video games, nor is he particularly fond of baseball in general.

But money? He’s a big fan of that — and now possesses a hefty chunk of it. The Lousiana man raked in $1 million by being the first player to throw a perfect game in 2K Sports’ baseball sim, MLB 2K11.

“I’m not really into sports games, but I am into competitive games, so when I heard about this competition, I couldn’t leave it alone,” says Kingrey, who is a music teacher in Hammond, LA. “Two weeks before the competition started, my wife forced me to go get the game. She was like ‘I don’t know why you’re not doing this.’”

Who’s hit the longest homeruns so far in MLB?

It’s always interesting to recap who is hitting homeruns in Major League Baseball. The obvious question then, is who has hit the farthest long ball of the year so far?

From MLB:

Today’s game may have few players, if any who haven’t already done it, who can hit as many as Killebrew’s 573 home runs, but there is some killing of baseballs going on still, and some of the culprits are sluggers you’d suspect of delivering the long-distance damage.

“If I had to guess who hit the longest,” said Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, who’s proven to be a perennial long-ball master himself, “I’d say maybe [Mike] Stanton … or Prince. Prince Fielder swings so hard. It’s like the old joke — swing hard in case you hit it. He swings hard, but his eyes are open and he knows what he’s doing. He’s got a lot of power, but he’s a good, smart hitter, not a guy who just swings from his [heels].”

It’s the Brewers’ Fielder who leads the pack with a 486-foot shot hit off Houston’s Brett Myers at Minute Maid Park on April 29, according to Hit Tracker. Upton is second with an April shot at Chase Field estimated to be 478 feet, followed by Howard with a 470-footer at Turner Field, Arizona’s Kelly Johnson with a 466-foot blast at Coors Field earlier this week, and Stanton with a 465-foot blast at Citi Field earlier this month.

Others currently in the top 10 based on the latest technological approach to measuring homers are Upton (464 feet at Arizona), Paul Konerko (462 at Kansas City), and  Alfonso Soriano (461 at Arizona), Nate Schierholtz (461 at Colorado) and, yes, Hunter in a tie for seventh (461 at Kansas City).

UP, UP AND AWAY

The 10 longest home runs of the season, as determined by Hit Tracker.

PLAYER	DATE	DIST (ft.)
Prince Fielder, Brewers	April 29 at HOU	486
Justin Upton, D-backs	April 12 vs. STL	478
Ryan Howard, Phillies	May 13 at ATL	470
Kelly Johnson, D-backs	May 24 at COL	466
Mike Stanton, Marlins	May 16 at NYM	465
Juston Upton, D-backs	April 17 at SF	464
Paul Konerko, White Sox	April 5 at KC	462
Torii Hunter, Angels	March 31 at KC	461
Nate Schierholtz, Giants	April 18 at COL	461
Alfonso Soriano, Cubs	April 30 at ARI	461

Tennis shot of the year

How lucky can a player be?

Despite having two match points in the second set, Kim Clijsters lost to 114th-ranked Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands yesterday in the French Open.  It was a disappointing outcome for Clijsters who is trying to come back from an ankle injury she suffered at a cousin’s wedding in April.  The loss also ended her winning streak of 15 straight Grand Slam matches dating back to last year’s U.S. Open.

Aside from that though, Clijsters did hit arguably the luckiest shot of her career in the match.  It’s not often you see a bank shot off the net, and off the net post, drop in for a winner.

A small consolation for an early exit at the French Open.

VIDEO:  Kim Clijsters hits a winner off the net post (Guyism)

Goodbye to an old friend

This is the speech given at Ft Rucker when they retired the last Huey: CW4
Lawrence Castagneto, 17 may 2011

As a Vietnam Veteran Army Aviator, I would like to thank everyone for coming
to this special occasion, on this to be honest…very sad day, the end of a
era. An era that has spanned over 50 years. The retirement of this grand old
lady “OUR MOTHER” … the Huey.

I would like to thank, MG Crutchfield for allowing me to speak at this event
and try to convey in my own inadequate, meager way.. what this aircraft
means to me and so many other Vietnam veterans.

NFL, Dallas Cowboys Owner Seek Dismissal of Super Bowl Suit

Something tells me we haven’t heard the last of this.

The National Football League and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones asked a judge  to dismiss a lawsuit over Super Bowl XLV tickets, saying reimbursement offers to  displaced ticket holders were legally adequate.

“These offers were made to be accommodating to the NFL’s valued fans, but in  fact, they exceed the amount to which any of the ticket holders is entitled,”  lawyers for the NFL and Jones said in a court filing today.

I guess I don’t understand the defense that the NFL and Jerry Jones are using. It sounds like they are saying that they replaced the ticket holders expense for the original seats that they purchased.

The fans, seeking to represent other ticket holders in a class-action, or group  suit, accuse the league and Jones of breach of contract, breach of faith and  fair dealing, fraud, deceit and concealment and negligent misrepresentation.
Lawyers for the league and Jones said in an earlier filing that they offered to  pay 3,296 fans a total of $4.5 million to $9.3 million.

“The motion filed by the NFL is nothing more than a Hail Mary pass,” Michael  Avenatti, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview. “Unfortunately  for them, it is going to land on the ground.”

About 475 fans weren’t  seated and watched the game on video screens. Another 2,821 fans were relocated  to new seats, or were delayed outside the stadium, according to court  papers.

The case is Simms v  Jones, 3:11-cv–00248 U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas  (Dallas).

It sounds like some fans weren’t even given seats inside of the stadium. What sort of reimbursement is that?

NFL, Dallas Cowboys Owner Seek Dismissal of Super Bowl Suit (SFGate)

Wake Up Call: Dirk is better with age

From Business Insider:

Dirk Nowitzki is having the best postseason of his career, averaging 28.4  points per game, while leading the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals. Nowitzki’s  newfound dominance can be traced back to a plan hatched by his coach before the  regular season even started.

This year, Nowitzki averaged just 34.3 minutes per game. That was down over  three minutes from 2008-09 (37.7 min/g) and 2009-10 (37.5 min/g), and was his  lowest amount of playing time since his rookie year (20.4 min/g).

The fewer minutes led to Nowitzki’s lowest scoring output (23.0 ppg) in seven  years. But the benefit appears to be a Dirk with fresher legs in the NBA’s  second-season. So far, Nowitzki’s playing time in the playoffs is up to 38.9  minutes per game, which is in line with previous postseasons. Last year he  averaged 38.8 minutes and in 2008-09 he average 39.4 minutes. And despite nearly  identical playing time, his scoring is up 2.0 points per game over the last  three years, when he averaged 26.7-26.8 points.

In his older age, the fresher legs have made Nowitzki a better shooter. His  effective field goal percentage (eFG%; which weighs shots based on their point  value, a 3-pt shot is worth more than 2-pt shot) was at a career-high this  season (.545) and has continued at nearly the same rate into the postseason.

All data via Basketball-Reference.com

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ABOUT LAST NIGHT:

What you missed while wondering how to make a memorable marriage proposal.

Excuse me, but aren’t we brothers?

When butter is the new weapon of choice.

Which part of this story is the weirdest?

It’s just impossible.

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TODAY IN REX MORGAN

You can’t buy friends

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Have a great weekend, thanks for reading the blog. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!