Memo to those vacationing in New York: leave your piece at home. Former New York Giant wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm. He’ll likely serve at least 20 of those 24 months. The penalty may seem excessive when compared to Michael Vick, who served two years for running an illegal dog ring, and Donte Stallworth, who was imprisoned 24 days for killing someone while drunken driving, but New York’s gun laws are the strictest in the union. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was adamant that the state not make an exception for Burress simply because he won them a Super Bowl. With the Vick, Burress and Stallworth cases finally reaching resolution, Commissioner Roger Goodell likely can’t wait for the season to start so we can discuss final scores instead of final verdicts. Commissioner, neither can we.
The aptly named Usain Bolt has done it again. He’s breaking records at a Phelpsian pace and doing so without the bong photos. In Berlin this week, on the same track where Jesse Owens represented the US in the 1936 Olympic Games, Jamaican-born sprinter shattered the 200 meter world record, finishing in 19.19 seconds and breaking his own world record by .11 seconds. Days earlier, he set the world record in the 100m, finishing in 9.58 seconds. To put things in perspective, Owens ran the 100 meter dash in 10.3 seconds. Somewhere, Jesse would be proud.
In Memphis, basketball coach John Calipari has left the building. Unfortunately for University of Memphis fans, so have the school’s 38 victories in 2007-2008. The NCAA has charged Memphis with suiting up an ineligible player. Allegedly, their former freshman phenom, Derrick Rose, had a family member take his SAT exams to ensure academic eligibility. Athletic Director R.C. Johnson pledged there were no deliberate violations and has appealed the charges. This marks the second time a John Calipari coached team has been stripped of its Final Four appearance. His 1995-96 UMass Minutemen were penalized when Marcus Camby admitted taking money from an agent. Both Rose and Camby were top NBA draft picks, Rose going first in 2008 and Camby drafted second in 1997. Memphis will be forced to return all revenue from their Final Four run that season. Several hundred miles away, Calipari, who makes over $4 million at the University of Kentucky, and Rose, who makes over $5 million dollars with the Chicago Bulls, go unpunished. All’s fair in love and recruiting violations. Calipari won the Naismith National Coach of the Year those same seasons. In the future, the Naismith board of selectors may want to choose their winners more wisely or at least place a Bonds-like asterisk next to those two.
They don’t call it the wild card for nothing. With only forty games remaining in baseball’s regular season, wild card races are heating up in both American and National Leagues. Many teams have distanced themselves from the pack. The Cardinals, Phillies, Angels and Yankees all hold healthy leads in their respective divisions. In the NL, the Rockies, Giants, Braves, Marlins and Cubs are all fighting for the lone wild card spot. In the AL, the Red Sox, Rangers, Ray, Mariners and White Sox compete for the other. Meanwhile, the New York Mets and the second highest payroll in baseball are under .500 and might not be relevant again until Plaxico Burress is a free man.
Come on shake your body, baby, do that conga. Venus and Serena Williams are now partial owners of the Miami Dolphins. The Williams sisters, who could not find an NFL team to invest in in their hometown of Los Angeles, join Jimmy Buffett, Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan as the most recent celebrities to own a piece of the South Florida franchise. No word on whether the sisters will soon tour with Miami Sound Machine.
Question Chris —
If Kentucky wins the NCAA Basketball Tournament, should the fans wait about three years to celebrate just to make sure the title is legit?
Bringing in a weasel like Calipari is just perfect for Kentucky.
Go Billy D! Go Gators!
Ya know what, Frank? That is an EXCELLENT point.
My buddy, Brotha E, mentioned in an email that a zebra doesn’t change his stripes. I think he meant to say that a leopard doesn’t change his spots but his point is well taken.
The real question is… does the UK brass care if Calipari cheats to land the best talent? And how close will the NCAA be watching him and his new program in the future?
I was in Memphis last year for most of the season and the Tiger’s title run. My bro-in-law is an alum there. All those Tiger fans loved Coach Cal. They knew he wasn’t above board but they put winning above integrity.
The Tiger’s latest frosh phenom from Pennsylvania, that was one and done last year will come back to bite their program on the ass too. Cal hired one of that kid’s brothers as an ‘assistant’, etc.
How bad do you want to win, Kentucky?
Han, as always, thanks for the feedback.
I’m not sure how I’d feel if Billy D had been accused of any sort of violations. His run of back to back national championships was nothing short of magical for any Gator basketball fan.
I remember when Eddie Fogler accused Donovan of wrongdoing, only to fall into total obscurity.
Memphis has a proud basketball program. It’ll be interesting to see what happens there in years to come.
As will Kentucky’s.
Chris
The Caribbean ancestry and heritage at this moment is great. With Bolt doing the sprint double. And then in the women’s 100m we had a 1-2 there. I’d say it was a good day to be proud of the Jamaican heritage.
Two years for Plax. Now that’ll mean , he’ll have to serve a minimum of 21 months to be considered for early release. WTF wasn’t Miami Dade DA Katherine Fernandez-Rundle on her game when it came to Stallworth down in Miami ? The civil suit settlement shouldn’t have at all had a bearing on the criminal case to begin with. As it was a completely separate matter.
There’s nothing proud about Memphis’ program ! Calipari is a friggin’ a_s and his demeanor bears that out ! Who’s to say the same thing won’t happen with the Wildcats’ program ? Or are you being really that naive ?
I’m not counting out your <a href=”http://redsox.mlb.com/”Red Sox yet ! But the fat lady is waiting in the wings getting ready to do her aria . So what gives ? The standings as they are , make the next forty games of vital importance for all of the teams with a whiff of making the playoffs. The Rays need consistency , pitching and series’ wins more than anything else. The same can be said of my beloved Florida Marlins .
How comes Ricky Martin isn’t part of that cadre of celebrity minority owners ? Inquiring minds need to know. Or is that Stephen Ross (principal owner) is scared of alienating some of the fan base ? LOL,LOL,LOL !!! Let me know when Shakira wants in ? Her hips don’t lie at all do they ?
Here’s the link to her latest She Wolf . Make sure you’ve got enough Kleenex in close proximity to wipe all of that extra bodily fluids that you may well secrete. You can’t blame a brutha’ for tryin’ LOL, LOL ,LOL !!!!
Alan Parkins
Al…
I would imagine the island has to extremely excited about their boy. As they should be.
Not sure on Plax v Stallworth but Stallworth caught a break he didn’t have Bloomberg against him.
Re: UK, read my response to Frank’s post.
The Yanks are ridiculous right now. Aside from the Saturday game, they made a mockery of the Bosox.
Michael Beasley checks himself into psych rehab?
Doesn’t sound good.
Chris
I for one wouldn’t trust anyone within the Wildcats’ athletics department at present. If Calipari can assert himself and continue to corral players and use his own personal friends to mislead others . Then there’s no reason to believe why he won’t continue to operate under the same modus operandi . Afterall who’s going to stop him ? The NCAA ? Those as_holes couldn’t find their own sphincters if they were given a map and a compass to guide them to begin with !
When pressed as to why Rose or whomever took the SAT up in Detroit when the player was allegedly residing in Illinois at the time. He refused to comment. Now we come to find out that an agent who’s a close personal friend of his lives in the ares where all of this is said to have taken place. So what do you think ? Coincidence ?
Collegiate athletics is rife with all of this and absolutely no one now is above reproach ! . And yes ,that includes Coach K !
Alan Parkins
If I’m a UK fan, I’m certainly skeptical right now. Although they ran Tubby out of town so they generally have no sense anyway.
Uh oh… here’s comes the horde from CatsPaws.
I’d like to know all the stuff that goes on in the NCAA that we DON’T know about.
Chris
The NCAA makes the likes of Opus Dei and The Klu Klux Klan seem like relics of the past when it comes to secrecy. Never-mind the fact that there’s an apparent bias there, when it comes to dealing with certain programs and how they mete out punishment. There’s never been any transparency there whatsoever ! It’s a complete joke !
Alan Parkins
You’re not suggesting that a program like Kentucky gets preferential treatment, are you, Al?