7:30 PM Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Cortez Kennedy said how during his Miami Hurricanes days, teammate Randy Shannon would stay in his apartment & watch the refrigerator to keep Kennedy from eating late at night.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard F. Toohey made a statement today in the severity of his sentencing of the murderer of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, student Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson.
(And?)
24-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo’s earliest possible parole date will be in 2050 following a 51 years-to-life sentence handed down to him by Judge Toohey.
Harsh? No.
Three months ago I noted testimony from Gallo’s stepbrother Raymond Rivera, who detailed the aftermath of a crash that left three innocents dead and another internally decapitated:
Rivera testified that he woke up in the passenger seat after the impact and turned to see his stepbrother unbuckling his seat belt.
Then there’s the strange statement Gallo made to Judge Toohey and the families of the victims today, in what apparently was an attempt for sentencing leniency.
Larry Welborn of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER reports that secret Orange County (CA) Grand Jury testimony that led to Andrew Thomas Gallo being charged with three counts of second-degree murder and several other serious felonies for his role in the April 8, 2009, death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two young adult passengers has been released.
The testimony comes from Gallo’s stepbrother Raymond Rivera, who claimed to the Grand Jury that he was the one responsible for Gallo driving drunk the night Adenhart was killed by the Gallo-driven vehicle in an intersection collision. (Gallo ran a red light.) Gallo, who was driving with a suspended license after a recent DUI conviction was later found to have an alcohol level over three times the legal limit on the night in question.
Rivera told the Grand Jury that he was to be Gallo’s designated driver the night of April 8, 2009, but, “when I ordered the shot, it kind of changed the way the night would unfold.”
Welborn reports that the night of drinking and driving began as Rivera and Gallo were “celebrating the arrival of a government relief check.”
More details from the previously unreleased Grand Jury documents:
• Rivera testified that the duo started drinking at about 4 p.m. on April 8, 2009 at Johnny Carino’s Italian restaurant and bar in West Covina, and continued to drink for about seven hours, consuming Newcastle, Amber Bock, Sam Adams and Arrogant Bastard beers, and at least one shot of 1800 Tequila.Read more…
One of the most jarring aspects of the Stanley Cup finals, other than the ease with which the Red Wings dispatched the Penguins on Sunday night to push the series to 3-2, has been NBC’s hardball with fans in Detroit and Pittsburgh. For the duration of the playoffs, both teams have been able to hold massive viewing parties in and outside their arenas. It was such a wonderful, organic expression of the communal nature of fandom that it was basically destined to be ruined by business in short order.
(Thousands of fans watching the game with each other? Nope, can’t have this!)
A near-sellout of Joe Louis could shave a ratings point off the local television ratings measurement, and such ratings are used to establish advertising rates.
So to that, if the all-important ratings model can’t deal with 8-10 thousand people watching a show in one place on one screen, you know what? The ratings model is completely worthless. Seriously. How can NBC or Nielsen not figure out what to do with a giant honking party of some of the most hardcore fans all watching one screen? Is that really a deal-breaker?
And if so, if they’re really curious as to what the ratings would look like if everyone stays home, away from the shared community aspect from which most of the value of a ticket to a game is derived, there’s a really easy answer to all of this. You ready? Dick Ebersol, you taking notes?
All NBC has to do is announce that in exchange for showing the game outside both arenas, attending fans have to fill out a simple, anonymous survey about where they would otherwise watch a game (their place or someone else’s), with how many people, and whatever other information the network needs to most closely approximate what ratings would look like. Use that and Nielsen data to extrapolate what the final ratings would be with that many eyes on a TV, and adjust. That’s it. Easy.
This is a rare, rare opportunity for the NHL and NBC. At no other point are they ever going to be able to get this kind of a free pool of television watchers from whom they can mine valuable demographic information. Forcing them back into their homes and away from a group of thousands of like-minded, passionate fans for the sake of moving a needle one or two points does the city, fanbase, and team a disservice. It’s so easy to work around. Figure it out.
Speaking of soccer [I thought we were talking about hockey. No, I’m dead certain of it.–ed.] [Shut up.–AJ] [You have problems.–ed.], UEFA just got a seismic news flash as Real Madrid, evidently furious at having seen FC Barca take the title, has bought the contract of Kaka from AC Milan. Too bad UEFA contract holder SETANTA SPORTS probably won’t survive to see him in the new kit.
Kaka, a sensational striker from the one-word-name factory that is Brazil, will reportedly command a 6-year, $94 million contract. That’s enough to make it the most expensive in soccer’s history, barely beating out Zinedine Zidane’s 6-year, $65 million deal with Juventus from eight years ago. Meanwhile, David Beckham is running around for a crappy MLS team in Los Angeles for 30 cents on the dollar and going home to a bag of antlers with oversized sunglasses and the “I’m married, but still vain” haircut straight from Jon & Kate + 8. Sic transit gloria mundi: Glory is fleeting.
But as we (rightfully) focus on the three people killed far before their time, we should point out that one passenger in Adenhart’s car, 24-year-old Jon Wilhite,has, in fact, survived the crash that left him in critical condition (via the RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE). Wait, that doesn’t appropriately convey the gravity of what happened. He survived internal decapitation.
As MANOLITH explains, internal decapitation, which is exactly as horrifying and life-threatening as it sounds, happens when the skull detaches from the spinal column. It’s usually fatal. Wilhite somehow survived without total paralysis, which is unbelievably rare, and he’s now in rehab with the help of several major leaguers. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s on the right track.
Thanks to the sports media’s ludicrous east coast bias, GASLAMP BALL is the only site to notice THE ONION’s satirical piece on NL home run leader Adrian Gonzalez’s anonymity doesn’t even have the right picture of him in an article about said east coast bias. Intentional? Maybe. It’s fitting either way.
This is Dahntay Jones, Chris “Birdman” Andersen, Grant Hill, and Amar’e Stoudemire playing “The Team Mating Game” on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE. Big ups to BALL DON’T LIE for finding the video, and yes, you are watching this with rapt attention. Don’t lie and say you’re not; yes, you are.
David Ortiz’s stupid excuse to blame his eyes on his slump didn’t work; they’re fine. Is Rafael Nadalgoing down the same road with his knees?
And finally, the Oakland Raiders have spent a metric buttload of high-level draft picks on skill players, but is their best move in the return to relevance the signing of 16-year free agent fullback Lorenzo Neal? FANTASYPROS911.COM thinks so.
That’s because Andrew Thomas Gallo, the accused drunk driver, has pled not guilty to the three counts of murder, the one count of drunk driving, and the one count of fleeing an accident that he faces. So unless there’s a plea deal for something like three counts of manslaughter and DUI following closely behind, get ready for this case to be on the news. A lot.
Gallo fled the scene on foot but was quickly captured by Anaheim police.
He has since been charged with, you guessed it, driving under the influence of alcohol. And this isn’t the first time he’s been popped for DUI. Among other things. Read more…
