February 3, 2010
On Sunday, February 6, 2010, the New Orleans Saints will play in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. The team was founded in 1967 and spent their first 20 years as one of the worst teams in the league. In fact, they won only 88 of 284 games for an overall percentage of just .300. All of this poor play prompted local sportscaster Buddy Diliberto to make some outlandish statements. He suggested that fans wear paper bags over their head to disguise their identity. Many of those fans “renamed” the team by writing the “Aints” on those paper bags. Diliberto died in 2005 but some of his faithful following reenacted what he threatened to do if the Saints ever made it to the Super Bowl – Walk down Bourbon Street in a dress!
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January 26, 2010
Storied NFL quarterback, Brett Favre had a chance to end his career on a high note – an appearance in the Super Bowl. However, after a hard-fought game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, January 24th, his final play of the game cost them the season. The Vikings needed ten to fifteen yards to put them in field goal range to win the game. While running to his right he was solely focused on finding an open receiver – so much so that he failed to see that there were 15 open yards in front of him to run. Instead, he forced a pass, throwing across his body, which was intercepted. At age 40, Favre, who has come out of retirement twice, may be done with football for good after this season.
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January 12, 2010
On January 11, 2010 retired baseball slugger Mark McGwire admitted to steroid use while an active player with Major League Baseball. As a rookie with the Oakland Athletics, McGwire was named the American League Rookie of the Year and broke a league record of most home runs by a rookie with 49. He came to fame as one of the “Bash Brothers” in the late 1980’s post season appearances. In 1997 he was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals. It was in 1998 that McGwire and Sammy Sosa found themselves competing to break Roger Maris’ record of most home runs in a season. The nation was captivated as each player tallied dinger after dinger with McGwire emerging as the victor with 70 home runs compared to Sosa’s 66 and Maris’ record of 61. While McGwire’s home run record was broken in later seasons, he holds the distinction of the highest RBI-per-hit tally in all of baseball. Alleged steroid use has been a cloud over McGwire, most notably when he was subpoenaed in 2005 before a Congressional Hearing. When asked specific questions about steroid use, McGwire’s standard response was “I’m not here to talk about the past. . .” These allegations have potentially affected his induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame. McGwire became eligible in 2007, but has not received the needed level of votes for election.
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January 4, 2010
Last week AT&T announced it ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods. In February 2009 the company signed a multi-year agreement with the golfer that included prominent logo placement on his golf bag. AT&T is the second sponsor to terminate a business partnership after the revelation of Tiger Woods’ multiple affairs. Gillette has stopped airing commercials featuring Woods, but still includes him as a sponsor as do Nike, Pepsi and Gatorade.
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December 12, 2009
American’s love their entertainers – from movies, to television, to music, and sports – and every once in a while one comes along that is so outrageous and bent on attention, they just can’t be ignored. The Cincinnati Bengals have such a personality in the player formerly known as Chad Johnson. He is known for odd hairstyles, excessive celebrations on the field, and other envelope pushing actions that bring financial penalties and the ire of the NFL commissioner. In 2006, he took things even further. In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, Johnson, who is black, changed his last name to Ochocinco to reflect the numbers on his jersey, eight five. He meant for the name to be Ocho Cinco but he forgot to put in the space when he filled out the legal paperwork. Now, in 2009, he is at it again. In the upcoming off season, he states he is going to change his name to Chad Hachi Go in honor of his Japanese fan base (again meaning eight five). It will be interesting to see how the NFL handles this since it affects sales of athletic wear and contracts with those manufacturers.
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December 1, 2009
Golfer Tiger Woods was injured in a car accident outside his home around 2:30am on Friday, November 27, 2009. Immediately after leaving his house, his Cadillac SUV hit a fire hydrant and tree and when police arrived, they found Woods in and out of consciousness in the street with his wife Elin. Initial reports were that Elin (who was not in the vehicle with him) used a golf club to smash the rear window and extricate Woods. However, rumors are now circulating that there may be more to the story. One rumor states that Woods was recently seen in Australia with another woman and questions surround why Woods was leaving home at such an odd hour. Woods has refused to meet with Police investigators and simply issued a statement stating that the rumors are false and requests privacy.
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November 30, 2009
On Thanksgiving (Thursday 11/26) the NFL announced that the Super Bowl halftime performance would feature the classic rock band, The Who. The Who is a British band that was formed in 1964 and recorded enduring songs like My Generation, Who Are You, and Tommy. The latter was the first to be recognized as a rock opera and subsequently became a movie in 1975 and a Broadway play in 1993. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend are the only surviving members of the quartet. The Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
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November 20, 2009
On November 5th, Elizabeth Lambert, a soccer player for the University of New Mexico, made headlines when clips of her violent conduct on the field went viral. She was caught on video punching, elbowing, and kicking Brigham Young opponents, and forcefully yanking one player’s hair; all leading to her suspension from the team. Two weeks later, Lambert broke her silence and granted an interview with the New York Times where she says, “I look at it and I’m like, ‘That is not me,’. I have so much regret. I can’t believe I did that.” She continues by saying “[the video] did make me look like a monster. That’s not the type of player I am.” Throughout the article, Lambert is lengthy in excusing her behavior, yet short on apologizing for it. She is speaking with a campus-based clinical psychologist and participating in community service in an attempt to be reinstated with the team.
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November 6, 2009
Last month Frank and Jamie McCourt announced their separation, ending a 30-year marriage. The couple purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 with Frank listed as owner and Chairman with Major League Baseball. Jamie was appointed Chief Executive Officer. Approximately one week after the separation announcement, Jamie McCourt was fired from her position under allegations she was recruiting investors to buy out her husband and gain control of the team as well as having an affair with a subordinate. Jamie filed suit seeking reinstatement of her position, and on November 5th a Supreme Court Commissioner ruled against her claim. Jamie states she is entitled to half of the Dodgers under the State of California’s guidelines to divide community property 50-50 in divorce cases. However, several years ago she signed a legal document dividing the family assets that lists “all assets of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team” as belonging solely to Frank. Jamie claims she was unaware of the clause and seeks its nullification—all this will be decided at a later date.
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October 31, 2009
Alex Burman and his brother Ben are making quite a name for themselves as philanthropists. That is quite a feat considering that they are 11 and 13 years old respectively. With their favorite baseball team, The Philadelphia Phillies, defending their World Series title against the New York Yankees, the boys were poised to see the game from some of the best seats that Citizens Bank Park has to offer. But instead of sitting in the Diamond Club section, the boys sold their 5 tickets on Stub Hub for $11,000 and will donate the funds to Drexel Neumann Academy in Chester, PA. Stephen Burman, uncle to the boys, sits on the board of the Academy which the only Catholic school left in that impoverished city. Philadelphia has long held the moniker, “The City of Brotherly Love”.
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