11:17 AMJoe Paterno to the media on getting his Lions into the BCS Bowl picture: "Pick us. Maybe I could get on the phone and call somebody and say, 'you owe me one,' or 'you might find a horse?s head in your bed.'" #notkidding
11:02 AMAOL's Michael David Smith reports on just how close O.J. Simpson came to booking the lead role in James Cameron's original Terminator - instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
10:35 AM You know those cool, off-the-cuff Tweets you keep reading from celebrity athletes? The New York Times reports they might be ads, netting guys like OchoCinco and Shaq up to $10,000 per entry.
The NEW YORK TIMES fetches news that Uno was named Westminster’s best in show on Tuesday night, becoming the first beagle to claim that title.
Uno, known professionally as Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, was a favorite of the Madison Square Garden crowd, receiving “thunderous applause” during his entrance. USA Network analyst David Frei commented about Uno’s reception, “That was the loudest I’ve heard it in 19 years.” Read more…
Over 8 million pet-lovers tuned in to the 12-hour marathon, watching cute li’l doggies run around a small specially-made field while chewing on toys, referee dolls, and each other. Viewership was up 35% from last year’s telecast, as this season’s Bowl was the first to be shown in HD.
With those kind of numbers, maybe Gary Bettman should re-think his deal with Versus.
The SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE writes up about Raiders player Jarrod Cooper - who could be seen as the anti-Michael Vick.
Cooper has been volunteering at the Oakland Animal Shelter, helping care for abused animals. Since he’s with the Raiders, you’d assume his visits were part of some mandated community service. But Cooper comes on his own accord, as a animal lover who wants to do his part for our four-legged friends.
And it was steroids that brought him to his dogged work.
The NATIONAL POST gets a good idea of what Maria Sharapova is looking for in a potential soulmate.
During an interview with the German edition of VANITY FAIR, the Aussie Open champ admitted: “If I ever love a man as much as my dog, the guy will have a real problem, because I am all over that dog.”
We believe most guys would love to contend with such a problem.
Sadly, it looks like Michael Vick just lost his own shot.
BUSTED COVERAGE alerts us to an ARIZONA REPUBLIC story of a black lab named Buddy, who gnawed on the stubs for next week’s big game.
Buddy’s owner had requested that the courier sending the $900 seats leave the envelope underneath his doormat. Instead, the package was slid under the front door, where Buddy was waiting. He “licked, mauled, chewed and swallowed portions of the coveted tickets.”
• STEROID NATION finds stories about Barry Bonds’ personal doctor very interes-Ting.• BIG TEN TAILGATE scans the globe for signs of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Latest stop: Machu Picchu.
ESPN reports that Jonathan Babineaux is now off the hook for killing his girlfriend’s dog. The Gwinnett County DA dropped the charges following an investigation into the pit bull’s death.Babineaux was arrested in February after police found the dog in “severe physical distress“. The defensive lineman said he was acting in self-defense for himself and his 5-month-old child.
The investigation confirmed that the pit bull had a history of unprovoked attacks, even as the dog had been neutered, put on prozac, sent to a trainer, and kept on a leash.