11:30 AM Amid rumors that he bought Lawrence Taylor's Super Bowl XXV ring in an auction, Charlie Sheen tweeted Friday: "As much as I would be honored to own such an important artifact ... I had nothing to do with the acquisition."
The move is a low-blow to the rocket, who continues to fight back ugly fallout from the Mitchell Report into steroids in baseball. While Clemens continues to proclaim his innocence of charges brought against him — with the government concurrently searching for ways to indict the former ace on perjury — the Houston hospital allegedly decided to pull his moniker from the center’s name, “to better reflect its commitment to all sports and athletes” and that “the move reflects the desire to promote the broad range of sports medicine services and programs offered by Memorial Hermann.”
That, friends, is a big, heaping pile of bull$h!+. Anyone who thinks pulling Clemens’ name from one of the best sources of subconscious goodwill he could have received isn’t an obvious public shaming is positively delusional.
It hasn’t been the greatest year for country singer Mindy McCready. Things started out poorly enough when it was revealed that she’d had an affair with Roger Clemens for ten years, and that the relationship started out when she was 15 years old. Even though Clemens has denied the story ever since, Mindy’s mother said there was a relationship but it was strictly platonic. That story was quickly followed by a former roommate of Mindy’s saying that she was 17 years old before sleeping with Roger. It’s at this point that I’d just like to point out that I’ve never had sex with Roger Clemens, at any age.
Of course, all that is just the tip of the iceberg for McCready this year. Glancing over the DUI she was found not guilty of back in 2007, there was also the events of last week that saw Mindy charged with identity theft and other crimes in Arizona. Oh, and there was that apparent suicide attempt on a drug overdose back in the summer that caused her to spend some time in a rehab facility in Texas. Well, you know the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again?” Mindy takes that to heart.
You might remember Cleveland State as a footnote in NCAA basketball history: back in 1986, the Vikings became the darlings of the hoops world when they beat Indiana and St. Joesph’s to become the first No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Both their wins came in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, one of the sites for the early rounds of the East Regionals (remember back when game sites actually had some geographical relevance to their bracket?)
Flash-forward 22 years, as Cleveland State makes their return trip to Syracuse, this time to take on the previously-unbeaten and 11th-ranked Orange. The Vikings - thought to be a contender in the Horizon League before a rash of early losses - put up a good fight and lead late, only to see Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku tie the score at 69-69 with two seconds left on a put-back basket, setting up the inevitable overtime where the better team uses their superior depth and athletic ability to pull away from the game underdogs.
And then this happened:
Cedric Jackson drains the 60-footer - just like they work on it in practice - and Cleveland State stuns Syracuse 72-69. All of which left Orange coach Jim Boeheim pretty irritable at the post-game press conference. Add in a faulty microphone and you’ve got a late contender for coaching meltdown of the year. (Thanks to NESW SPORTS for the heads up
Yowza. I know it looks bad, but Boeheim was obviously in a bad mood and I’m sure he feels really bad about it. (Although that mic totally had it coming.) After all, he doesn’t want to set a bad example for his students, so they can think they can act out in violent and destructive fashion and not be punished.
Oops, never mind. Still, it’s a great win for Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters. Let’s just hope he doesn’t suffer the same downward spiral that the last Vikings coach to win in Syracuse did, but I hope Waters is smart enough to not get caught high as a kite leaving a crack house.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles kept “Operation Don’t Let a Tie with the Bengals Ruin Our Season” going for at least one more week last night, pasting the Cleveland Browns 30-10. (And really, is there any other way to beat a Ken Dorsey-led team?) That’s three straight wins after the debacle against the Ravens that led to Donovan McNabb’s benching and a general consensus that the Andy Reid Era in Philadelphia was over.
Impressive, but will it be enough? Let’s just say that the odds are stacked against them. Not only will they need to beat Washington (who are imploding, but it’s on the road) and Dallas (the perpetual question mark), but they need either Atlanta (games against Minnesota and St. Louis) or Tampa Bay (San Diego and Oakland) to lose once.
With three almost guaranteed wins there, the Eagles have to pin their postseason hopes on the less-than-golden arm of Tarvaris Jackson. Good luck with that.
Other sports news that happened while you and everyone else in America were not out watching “Delgo” at your local movie theater:
Tiger Woods’ caddie/luckiest guy in the world Steve Williams rips Phil Mickelson, calling him a “prick“ and commenting on his…ahem…cup size. Woods responds by telling THE GUARDIAN that he’s “disappointed” in the remarks. Could Williams be joining Fluff Cowan in the Tiger Woods Caddie Graveyard?
In a bit of karma straight out of “My Name is Earl,” the MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE says Vikings DT Pat Williams, after being reinstated via court order following his suspension for water pills, might be out for the season after fracturing his shoulder against the Cardinals.
SI’s Jon Heyman has word that there might be a mystery suitor who is stepping in late to make a run at Andy Pettitte. Honestly, if it’s the Astros and the phrase “linked to the return of Roger Clemens” comes up, I will start punching people in the throat.
It’s become a Christmas tradition for President Bush to recruit lots of celebrities to star in his dog Barney’s holiday video (and you wonder why the country is where it’s at?) The BOSTON GLOBE says that Olympic heroes Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin are co-starring in this year’s final masterpiece.
The BOSTON GLOBE has good news for Celtics fans: they beat the Jazz 100-91 for their 15th straight win. The only catch is that Paul Pierce went down with a knee injury in the final seconds, although he tells the paper that it’s a minor injury. Certainly nothing like getting stabbed in the face.
The MUNSTER TIMES passes along word of 19-year-old Valparaiso freshman basketball player Logan Jones, who was arrested when cops allegedly found him and some friends in a car drinking and smoking pot. He was arrested, despite the officer noting in his police report that he pleaded with him to “please be cool, I don’t want to loss (sic) my scholarship.”
The LONDON DAILY MAIL has dramatic photos of a soccer player in Ireland getting hit by a rocket thrown onto the field during a game this week.
Immediately following the final whistle of a Belfast-area tournament final match between Linfield and Cliftonville, Linfield player Conor Hagan “fell to the ground after being struck in the back by the rocket before it exploded. His team Linfield had just suffered a 2-1 defeat by sectarian rivals Cliftonville.”
Of course, the team’s fans then commenced rioting. Read more…
PAGE SIX reports today that New York City’s “Police Athletic League is still scheduled to honor him at its annual SportsNite dinner Dec. 16 at the Grand Hyatt.”
I’m guessing the NYC cops were looking to sneak Chamberlain in under the radar after the DUI, but PAGE SIX has blown the thing wide open. Making it worse is a previous statement made by the PAL Prez John Osborne about the Yankees pitcher.
If you tuned in to ESPN’s coverage of the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, you saw a lot of tribute videos and interviews with famous New Yorkers who told you all about what the stadium meant to them. Of course, it wasn’t just us regular folk who were watching, as there were even some former Yankees watching at home.
One of those players was Roger Clemens. Clemens was at home in Houston watching on a battery powered television (like a lot of people in Houston, Clemens doesn’t have power), and when he saw one tribute video in particular, it broke his steroid-pumping heart.
Koby Clemens, the 21-year-old catcher for the Salem Avalanche and son of seven time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, was among three members of the Avalanche who were arrested early Sunday morning for what appears to be a good old fashion bar fight.
On Saturday night several members of the Avalanche team, who close their season today, were kicking back and throwing a few back at a popular Salem restaurant, Mac and Bob’s. Then at some point before the night ended, things got out of hand.
