Archive for January 16th, 2008
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
So, now the Randy Moss restraining order story has gone “mainstream” — which is different than it going “legit” — what’s the deal with it? What’s the story? And does it have legs? And by “have legs,” we mean, “will it sufficiently disgust Joe Buck?” Here are the papers.
Here are the details. Apparently, Moss committed “a battery upon (Washington) causing serious injury. (Moss) refused to allow (Washington) to seek medical treatment.” Though the real “bombshell,” if there is one, is when (Washington) — her given name does not have parentheses — says that she has been in a relationship with Moss since 1997 and that he has “a drug or alcohol problem.” You call that a problem?
Moss was sort of ambushed with the question at a morning locker room news conference, which is why his reaction was so strange.
At Gillette Stadium this morning, Moss addressed the allegation, saying he’s “never laid a hand on a woman in 30 years.”
You know, NFL groupies just aren’t as proficient as they used to be.
That said, he’s out front of the story. Smart.
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
Patriots fans were shocked and indignant when Anna Grant, 14, was booed for wearing a Patriots jersey at the AFC playoff game in Indianapolis on Sunday. Folks at the RCA Dome let her have it during the introduction of the Punt, Pass and Kick winners, where, it appears, even the Colts’ mascot got into the act. Well, don’t worry, New England Faithful. Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft has given Anna and her family free tickets to this weekend’s slaughter of the Chargers AFC Championship Game, where she will be honored in some sort of ceremony. But even that isn’t enough to placate Patriots’ fans.
From Patriots’ Pulpit:
Only utter dolts could be so dumb not to separate a high school freshman from a team they don’t like simply because that team is far better than theirs. Grant told reporters that people at the stadium told her, “It’s not you. It’s your jersey.” Wow, that’s some justification. They were booing the jersey. It’s hard to believe any so-called adult could be that irrational. The display was far worse than Eagles fans booing Santa Claus. Worse than Jets fans cheering the injury of their own quarterback. The act is beyond comprehension, beyond words. It was by far the most classless act by the most classless fans imaginable.
Please … get over it. Razzing the other team’s laundry has been in fashion since Napoleon invaded Russia. Think that being a kid makes you exempt? Just travel to Europe for a dose of reality. Over there they boo the Paraplegic Games.
Ironically, Grant seems to be the only one in the greater Boston area who understands this.
Anna Grant Booed At Chargers-Colts Game [YouTube]
‘Class’ Is In Session [Patriots Pulpit]
Once Loveable, Patriots And Their Fans Now Booed [MSNBC]
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
The email hit our inbox with the equivalent of a Drudge Siren: LEBRON JAMES SPEEDING ARREST … DASH CAM VIDEO! SEE VIDEO HERE! So we watched it.
Ah, TMZ: Obtaining hypnotically banal, incomprehensible videos since early 2006. Is that LeBron’s car? Sure! Of course! Totally! Or something!
The Only Thing That Can Stop LeBron [TMZ]
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
Donte Stallworth can comfortably be considered the “other” wide receiver on the Patriots. He doesn’t have the blow-up-a-game talent of Randy Moss, and he doesn’t have the electric, sensuous charisma of the sex bomb that is Wes Welker. It takes a bit for the man to stand out. It takes something dramatic. It takes an alien that lives inside his brain.
Well, inside his brain when he’s on the field, anyway. The rest of the time he’s on Mars.
Immediately after Mathis made the tackle, Stallworth pounded the ground and then started punching his legs as if they were defective. Stallworth said that was punishment from his alter ego, Nicco, whom Stallworth has described as an extra terrestrial being that resides on Mars when the receiver is off the field.
“Yeah, that was him,” Stallworth said. “That wasn’t me.”
Somewhere, likely Mars, right now Nicco and the great Farney are sitting and giggling, all a-twitter about their ongoing influence in the world of professional athletics. We wish them well and hope they will spare us when the inevitable invasion occurs.
Donte’ Stallworth Has An Alien Alter Ego, Is Also Insane [FanIQ]
Ryan Freel’s Little Friend [Deadspin]
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
One of the fun parts of the Internets is that once you have introduced something to the series of tubes, called “posting,” it never really goes away even if you try to delete it. (Which is why this still exists.) So WDBO Radio in Florida’s “scoop” this morning, which they then deleted from their site, is of course still out there. So, the question is begged: Did Randy Moss get hit with a restraining order or not?
The fact that the radio station pulled their big scoop off the Web would seem to imply that it’s not real, or that they have the wrong Randy Moss. But the reporter was just on WEEI Radio in Boston reading the affidavit and assuring listeners that it is the real Randy Moss.
So then, just for the sake of discussion … what’s the alleged story? Here’s a highlight from the cached page:
New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss has been hit with a temporary injunction for protection against dating violence. According to the victim, he committed a battery upon her causing serious injury and then refused to allow her to seek medical attention.
The affidavit reveals Moss cannot come within 500 hundred feet of the victim and cannot use or possess firearms.
It’s worth noting that we corrected several spelling errors in that “story.” But yeah: WDBO either made a huge mistake in identification, got a nasty cease-and-desist, or both. But the reporter, found right here, is still out there touting her story. So something’s going on, anyway.
Moss Hit With Temporary Restraining Order (Cached) [WDBO]
(UPDATE: And look here: The story’s back on the site, live. So here we go.)
(SECOND UPDATE: The Boston Herald has the story, and Moss has acknowledged it. So this’ll be fun to talk about all week.)
Continue Reading January 16th, 2008
The NBA Closer is written by our Canadian weekend maestro J.E. Skeets. When he’s not busy scouring the box scores or eating cereal, he can be heard on The Basketball Jones daily podcast.
• Zoom-Zoom. Last night, LeBron James abused Mike Miller like an open stretch of Ohioan highway. *Short snare drum roll with a cymbal crash* The King scored a season-high 51 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to lead the Cavaliers over the Grizzle 132-124. James made 18 of 28 shots and had nine assists and eight rebounds. (Take note, Kobe.) The 51 points matched the best scoring performance of the season.
• Hang The Banner. Washington beats Boston. New York beats Washington. Therefore, New York is better than Boston. It’s simple math really. Jamal Crawford scored 29 points as the Knicks beat the Wizards 105-93 to give Zeke and his boys consecutive victories for only the third time this season. Zach Randolph added 14 points for the Knicks, who’ll shoot for that super rare three-game winning streak tonight in New Jersey.
• Thief In The Night. If you’re missing a crisp twenty dollar bill from your man-purse this morning, chances are Baron Davis has it. The Bodyguard had 22 points, nine assists and a season-high five steals to lead the Warriors past the Wolves 105-98. Antoine Walker led Minnesota with a decade-high 26 points off the bench. No, seriously, he did.
• Sam He Is. Phoenix not like losing here or there. Phoenix not like losing anywhere. Phoenix not like losing with a Bell. Phoenix not like Sam, Sam-J-Cassell. Sam Cassell scored 32 points and had seven assists as the Clippers beat the Suns 97-90 to snap a four-game losing streak. Corey Maggette added 21 in the win.
