Things get pretty heated between Beehive State rivals. From AP-
Utah freshman Marshall Henderson has been suspended one game for hitting a BYU player in a game last week.
Utes coach Jim Boylen said Monday that Henderson will sit out Wednesday against Colorado State.
Henderson was ejected with 34 seconds left in BYU’s 82-69 win over Utah on Saturday in Provo for a flagrant foul on Jackson Emery.
Emery was following Henderson along the baseline after the initial play and had some words for the Utah player, who hit Emery in the face with a backhand.
Under NCAA regulations, fighting warrants an automatic suspension. Is one game sufficient enough a penalty? I would have gone for two myself.
Here’s the incident on video. Note that the person who posted it to Youtube thinks Emery exaggerated the impact of the punch he received.
Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green has been suspended three games for elbowing Florida Panthers forward Michael Frolik in the head.
The NHL announced the discipline on Saturday.
Green delivered the hit in the first period of Friday night’s 4-1 win over the Panthers. Frolik was not seriously injured and Green was given a minor penalty for elbowing on the play.
The defenseman later had to be helped off the ice after bruising a thigh in a collision with Dmitry Kulikov while going for a loose puck.
The thigh injury may have kept Green off the ice for the same amount of time as the suspension handed down to him.
Here’s a video of his hit on Frolik.
It was without question, a deliberate elbow to the face. Then why was Green penalized only two minutes last night? BTW I was watching the game at the time.
Just one more instance of cockamamie officiating and disciplinary decisions involving the NHL. Florida Panther David Booth may finally come back next week from a concussion that happened as a result of a hit from Philadelphia Flyer Michael Richards. Richards drew a five minute penalty but no suspension and Booth is lost for 3 months. Green draws a two minute penalty, a 3 game suspension and Frolik is able to continue playing. Does anyone else think this is an appalling lack of consistency?
The 2009 2nd round draft pick started 15 games this season. From AP-
Police in northern Kentucky have arrested Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga on charges of drunken and careless driving.
Covington police spokesman Spike Jones says Maualuga hit a parking meter and two parked cars early Friday with his 2003 Pontiac. There was minor damage.
The 23-year-old is being held without bond at Kenton County jail, and no attorney is listed for him.
The Bengals’ 2009 second-round draft choice from Southern Cal started the first 15 games of his rookie season before breaking his left ankle.
What I find interesting in this story is the car, Maualuga was driving. How many recent 2nd round picks drive 7-year-old cars?
He is a winner of 13 Champions Tour events since 2007. From AP-
Professional golfer Jim Thorpe has been sentenced to a year in prison for failing to pay more than $2 million in income taxes.
Thorpe’s attorney, Mark Horwitz, said Friday that Thorpe must turn himself in to authorities by April 1. The golfer also was sentenced to two years of supervised release and 200 hours of community service. He must try to repay the taxes while he’s on supervised release.
In September, Thorpe pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to pay income taxes and had faced up to two years in prison.
Thorpe has accepted his punishment and says he will get on with his life. A good idea. I always liked Thorpe, one of the few black golfers to win on the PGA Tour. Thorpe won three tournaments in the 1980′s and contended in a couple of major championships.
Former Major League Baseball player Jose Offerman is up to his old tricks. From AP-
Former major league All-Star Jose Offerman threw a punch at an umpire during an argument in a Dominican winter league game Saturday night, the second time in 2½ years that he’s attacked someone on a baseball field.
Offerman, manager of the Licey Tigers, appeared to hit first base umpire Daniel Rayburn in the face or neck with his fist during a heated discussion in a game against the Cibao Giants. Rayburn fell to the ground.
Offerman was detained by stadium security and taken to a police station to wait until the end of the game to see if Rayburn would press charges.
The Giants were winning 6-0 in the third inning of the final game of the winter league semifinal playoff series when plate umpire Jason Bradley ejected catcher Ronny Paulino for arguing balls and strikes.
Offerman came onto the field to talk to Bradley, but ended up arguing with Rayburn.
It was the latest violent outburst by Offerman, an All-Star infielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 and Boston Red Sox in 1999.
On Aug. 14, 2007, he was batting for the Long Island Ducks against the Bridgeport Bluefish in an independent minor league game when pitcher Matt Beech hit him with a fastball. Offerman charged the mound with his bat and swung at least twice, striking Beech and Bluefish catcher John Nathans.
At present Nathans is suing Offerman in Federal court claiming he suffered permanent injuries. Offerman’s displays of temper have probably kept him from a earning a Minor league coaching or managing job in the United States. If I were in baseball, I’d question his suitability for any job related to the sport. Right now he isn’t mature enough to hold any job given to him.
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty Friday to carrying a pistol without a license in the District of Columbia, a felony conviction that could jeopardize his future in the NBA.
Arenas pleaded guilty to a single count of violating the city’s strict gun laws as part of a plea bargain in D.C. Superior Court. He will remain free at least until his sentencing March 26.
The charge stems from a Dec. 21 incident in which Arenas admitted he stored guns in his locker at the Verizon Center and took them out to play a joke on a teammate.
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The NBA has suspended him indefinitely. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to ask for more than six months in jail for Arenas. He will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin. Morin could sentence Arenas to anything from probation to a maximum of five years in jail.
Arenas has taken full responsibility for his actions. This will probably help him at sentencing. If Arenas serves more than 60 days, I will be surprised.
He was also released by the New Jersey Nets today. From AP-
Former NBA and Memphis player Shawne Williams has been indicted on felony drug charges.
Prosecutors said Friday that Williams was indicted Tuesday by a county grand jury on eight counts for possession and conspiracy to sell a codeine-based syrup.
Williams was jailed with bond set at $16,000. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer.
Earlier Friday, the New Jersey Nets said they had waived Williams, a 23-year-old forward, after acquiring him earlier this week from Dallas along with Kris Humphries for veteran forward Eduardo Najera.
Man, it sure isn’t Shawne Williams week. He got arrested for a felony and released by the worst team in the NBA this year.
Williams, a former first round pick of the Indiana Pacers, hasn’t played in a NBA game this season. Lets hope he pulls his life together.
Sixteen years ago(1994) the Florida Panthers made him the first overall pick of the NHL Draft. From AP-
Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski has been suspended two games by the NHL for an elbow hit to the head of New York Islanders rookie John Tavares.
The suspension, announced Monday, is Jovanovski’s second of the season. He was also penalized two games on Dec. 9.
Jovanovski hit Tavares with 17 seconds left in the first period of the Coyotes’ 5-4 shootout loss on Saturday night, and was assessed a major for elbowing and a game misconduct.
Here’s the video.
No question in my mind about the hit being intentional. Hits to the head can be dangerous, and that’s why players like Jovanovski are suspended for them. He deserves the penalty handed down to him for his hit on John Tavares.
He has played his entire NFL career, 2002-09, with the Bucs. From AP-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jermaine Phillips has been arrested and charged with trying to choke his wife during an argument.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that Phillips was charged with domestic battery by strangulation. Jail records indicated he is scheduled to be released on his own recognizance Monday.
Authorities say Phillips’ wife called 911 early Sunday morning and told dispatchers that her husband had grabbed her around the neck.
She said she had confronted Phillips about a number she found in his cell phone. Sheriff’s officials say the couple argued, and Phillips then grabbed his wife’s neck.
Violence by a man towards a woman, with the exception of self defense, is just despicable. The Bucs seem to have a violent incident with their one of their players. Last year a player was stabbed by a girlfriend, in 2007 another Buccaneer was arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman. Is it too much to expect 50 or so professional athletes to stay out of trouble for 7 months?
Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter is upset security couldn’t locate a laser pointer being used to distract goalie Miikka Kiprusoff during Saturday s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
“It’s ridiculous,” Sutter said. “We could see it shining on his mask the whole night. It was brought to the attention of the refs and security, and it’s hard to believe that can go on for 60 minutes in a hockey game and it’s not located.”
Kiprusoff made 19 saves and stopped one of three shots in the shootout. He received medical treatment after the game, and wasn’t immediately available to the media.
Sutter said it was a distraction. I would call that an understatement in light of the fact that Kiprusoff sought medical treatment after the game.
Then is Sutter or the Flames over reacting? Could it been some kind of crazy reflection? I don’t have much experience with being on ice, but light does reflect off snow.
Curiously, the print news media in Vancouver and Calgary make no mention of a laser being used on Kiprusoff. They aren’t taking the supposed incident very seriously either.
