Notre Dame's Manti Te'o got caught up with a fake girlfriend from the internet while playing there his senior year.
Guess what? Another similar case has surfaced. Chris Anderson of the Miami Heat was finally cleared of all charges after it was discovered that his internet "girlfriend" was also pretending to be a threatening Anderson.
Say what?
This woman, Shelly Lynn Charteir from Manitoba , Canada, actually made threatening e-mails to herself pretending she was Anderson so that she could extort money from him. She also set up fake Facebook and Twitter accounts pretending to be a threatening Anderson. Anderson was then reported to the police by Chartier to be investigated for threatening his fake girl friend because of his unwillingness to pay extortion money to her.
For 15 months, Anderson has been living in fear that he'd lose his NBA job and reputation because of this incredibly complicated blackmail scheme.
The Canadian authorities finally put all of the details together and figured out that Anderson was the victim of terrible hoax. The whole scheme unraveled when it was discovered that his computer's I.P address did not match that of the the person who was supposedly threatening her.
He lost his job with the Denver Nuggets last year because of the incident and is relieved that the whole ordeal is finally over.
The real loser in all of this? Manti Te'o.
Every time fake internet girlfriend stories like this come out, people will now always say the guy got Te'o'd.
I said this once before, and it bears repeating.
IF you have a girlfriend, make sure she's real. It will save you a lot of embarrassment in the long run.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
LIghter Side
There are many, many women out there who have no more interest in sports than I have in getting a pedicure, BUT they still want to be supportive of their boyfriend or husband. Here is their tank-top.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The One
I had a quick thought on a new pro basketball league yesterday. I said it should consist primarily of recent high school graduates who didn't want to attend college, and that it could eventually be an NBA farm system.
I still like that idea, but I cannot come up with a good name for the league. Hot Shots Basketball was my favorite, and others like Young Guns Basketball, or simply Young Guns were kind of appealing. They just didn't make me go "wow." I'd still watch the league with either name, but there is a better name out there just waiting to be invented.
But as I was thinking about that concept, I think I came up with something much, much better. The idea was staring me right in the face the whole time and I didn't see it.
Over the last couple of summers, at a nearby park, friends of mine would frequently get together to play some half-court basketball. Sometime only three or four of us would show up. Three kind of made playing awkward. We'd play some two-on-one games, but that really wasn't very satisfying or much fun. The TWO nearly always beat the ONE. One-on-One meant somebody always had to sit, and "horse" is for little kids.
A new game idea was eventually hatched. I came up with the idea of playing one-on-one-on-one. Now before I go any farther, I have to tell you that this is MY idea, and I'm patenting and trade-marking it right now, so don't go stealing this on me.
The rules are really simple. Every player is in it for himself. On offense, you are always battling two guys on defense.
And the ball is always live. If you make the shot, the first person to get the ball, after it goes through the net, now possesess the ball. In effect, you play it just like a rebound.
Each shot is worth one point. And if you foul, the play continues with the player fouled retaining the ball, BUT the player who had the foul gets a point taken away for each foul. That rule encourages good defense with clean play. If you MAKE the shot when fouled, you play it like any other shot, but the person who fouls always loses a point. There are no free throws.
And there is no out of bounds.
If the ball goes flying somewhere, anywhere after a play, the person who gets to it first gets to have it. We reward hustle in this game.
That's it. Sometimes we play to 10 points. Sometimes we play to 15. But those 15 point games can get pretty long. Remember, since the ball is always in play and there are no timeouts, you are always moving. A quick game might be over in 15 minutes, but a long game could go over half an hour.
I forgot to mention, if a player with the ball travels or double dribbles, he will be required to shoot the ball immediately wherever he is at while being double-teamed on defense. He can no longer move freely with the ball.
Now here's my "Big Idea." Get the best players in the world who are not currently in college or under pro contract, and have them play in this league. Sign the 24 best you can find.
Now put them in a season-long tournament with every possible combination of those 24 players. The person who wins each game gets three points in the standings. The person with the second highest total of points in the game is awarded just ONE point in the standings and the third place player gets NONE. If there is a tie for second in the game, they both get one point in the standings.
At the end of the season, the three players with the highest point standings will play a five game tournament against each other. The winner of that tournament will be declared "The One" which will be the name of the show and the league.
The best part? IF these game were televised, they could be run in a half hour time slot, an hour time slot, or even longer, depending on how many games that they wanted to show at one time.
And the games would be non-stop action. Imagine that. In the NBA, the last TWO MINUTES could go half an hour or longer with all the timeouts and fouls called. In this league, you could play a whole game in that time period.
If it were a "real" league, I'd set up a hoop at center court and put a high plexiglass circle around the area. Spectators could then have seats behind the barrier. It would kind of look like hockey.
If players got hurt, subs would take over for them and they would finish the game and it would then be THEIR slot from that game on. Injured players who heal would then be designated subs for future games.
There are some awfully good one-on-one players who play this game who have never played pro or college ball. This league, this game, would give them a chance to excel and get noticed. Stars would be born, and the game of basketball could quickly evolve into something totally different from what we see today.
It's time for "The One."
It's the ultimate reality show.
I should mention that even though I'm short and don't jump all that well, I successfully played this game against much taller players. The best players won't necessarily have to be tall to win.
If you like basketball, call up a couple of your buddies, and play the game. You'll be surprised how much fun it is and how tired you get. It's a great workout even if the T.V. show never gets aired as a real league.
And if YOU win, you can call yourself "The One."
I still like that idea, but I cannot come up with a good name for the league. Hot Shots Basketball was my favorite, and others like Young Guns Basketball, or simply Young Guns were kind of appealing. They just didn't make me go "wow." I'd still watch the league with either name, but there is a better name out there just waiting to be invented.
But as I was thinking about that concept, I think I came up with something much, much better. The idea was staring me right in the face the whole time and I didn't see it.
Over the last couple of summers, at a nearby park, friends of mine would frequently get together to play some half-court basketball. Sometime only three or four of us would show up. Three kind of made playing awkward. We'd play some two-on-one games, but that really wasn't very satisfying or much fun. The TWO nearly always beat the ONE. One-on-One meant somebody always had to sit, and "horse" is for little kids.
A new game idea was eventually hatched. I came up with the idea of playing one-on-one-on-one. Now before I go any farther, I have to tell you that this is MY idea, and I'm patenting and trade-marking it right now, so don't go stealing this on me.
The rules are really simple. Every player is in it for himself. On offense, you are always battling two guys on defense.
And the ball is always live. If you make the shot, the first person to get the ball, after it goes through the net, now possesess the ball. In effect, you play it just like a rebound.
Each shot is worth one point. And if you foul, the play continues with the player fouled retaining the ball, BUT the player who had the foul gets a point taken away for each foul. That rule encourages good defense with clean play. If you MAKE the shot when fouled, you play it like any other shot, but the person who fouls always loses a point. There are no free throws.
And there is no out of bounds.
If the ball goes flying somewhere, anywhere after a play, the person who gets to it first gets to have it. We reward hustle in this game.
That's it. Sometimes we play to 10 points. Sometimes we play to 15. But those 15 point games can get pretty long. Remember, since the ball is always in play and there are no timeouts, you are always moving. A quick game might be over in 15 minutes, but a long game could go over half an hour.
I forgot to mention, if a player with the ball travels or double dribbles, he will be required to shoot the ball immediately wherever he is at while being double-teamed on defense. He can no longer move freely with the ball.
Now here's my "Big Idea." Get the best players in the world who are not currently in college or under pro contract, and have them play in this league. Sign the 24 best you can find.
Now put them in a season-long tournament with every possible combination of those 24 players. The person who wins each game gets three points in the standings. The person with the second highest total of points in the game is awarded just ONE point in the standings and the third place player gets NONE. If there is a tie for second in the game, they both get one point in the standings.
At the end of the season, the three players with the highest point standings will play a five game tournament against each other. The winner of that tournament will be declared "The One" which will be the name of the show and the league.
The best part? IF these game were televised, they could be run in a half hour time slot, an hour time slot, or even longer, depending on how many games that they wanted to show at one time.
And the games would be non-stop action. Imagine that. In the NBA, the last TWO MINUTES could go half an hour or longer with all the timeouts and fouls called. In this league, you could play a whole game in that time period.
If it were a "real" league, I'd set up a hoop at center court and put a high plexiglass circle around the area. Spectators could then have seats behind the barrier. It would kind of look like hockey.
If players got hurt, subs would take over for them and they would finish the game and it would then be THEIR slot from that game on. Injured players who heal would then be designated subs for future games.
There are some awfully good one-on-one players who play this game who have never played pro or college ball. This league, this game, would give them a chance to excel and get noticed. Stars would be born, and the game of basketball could quickly evolve into something totally different from what we see today.
It's time for "The One."
It's the ultimate reality show.
I should mention that even though I'm short and don't jump all that well, I successfully played this game against much taller players. The best players won't necessarily have to be tall to win.
If you like basketball, call up a couple of your buddies, and play the game. You'll be surprised how much fun it is and how tired you get. It's a great workout even if the T.V. show never gets aired as a real league.
And if YOU win, you can call yourself "The One."
No Thought
I'm trying not to pay attention to the Vikings this season. I knew going in that they'd most likely lose the first two games of the season, and predicted exactly that.
I said the primary reason would be the inability of Ponder to play the QB position. I also said that would be compounded by the coaches forcing Ponder to be a pocket passer way more often than he should be.
I hate being right all the time when it comes to predicting doom for the Vikings. But what caught my attention the last couple of days was the same thing that caught my attention LAST season. Where coaches on average to bad teams constantly struggle with WHO should be their be their starting QB, Leslie Frazier was quoted again this week as saying he is giving NO THOUGHT to benching Christian Ponder. He assured everyone who asked him, that Ponder is his guy. That's not something he frets about. He admits that there are lots of things that he and his coaching staff are going to tweak and look at, but Ponder as starting QB is not one of them.
Even when he was having an absolutely awful first half against the Bears, Frazier said he gave NO THOUGHT to benching Christian Ponder.
NO THOUGHT.
I've got some advice for Mr. Frazier.
Start thinking about it.
There is going to come a point in the very near future where your job will depend upon it.
I said the primary reason would be the inability of Ponder to play the QB position. I also said that would be compounded by the coaches forcing Ponder to be a pocket passer way more often than he should be.
I hate being right all the time when it comes to predicting doom for the Vikings. But what caught my attention the last couple of days was the same thing that caught my attention LAST season. Where coaches on average to bad teams constantly struggle with WHO should be their be their starting QB, Leslie Frazier was quoted again this week as saying he is giving NO THOUGHT to benching Christian Ponder. He assured everyone who asked him, that Ponder is his guy. That's not something he frets about. He admits that there are lots of things that he and his coaching staff are going to tweak and look at, but Ponder as starting QB is not one of them.
Even when he was having an absolutely awful first half against the Bears, Frazier said he gave NO THOUGHT to benching Christian Ponder.
NO THOUGHT.
I've got some advice for Mr. Frazier.
Start thinking about it.
There is going to come a point in the very near future where your job will depend upon it.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Notes and a Long Editorial
Let's be honest, how many Twins fans made it through the entire first inning last night? I turned it off when Hendriks left trailing 5-0 with runners still on base. The 12-1 final was not a shock to anyone who watched that first inning.
I also tried watching some Monday night football last night. Neither the Bengals nor Steelers were worth watching. I don't see either of them as playoff teams.
The NCAA repeated yesterday that they do not plan on paying college athletes. They want them to remain amateurs. I still think the time for new pro leagues featuring kids right out of high school can't be that far off. Both basketball and football leagues featuring kids who no longer want or need that amateur status, and who wish to earn a living from their skills, will flock to leagues that will pay them way more than minimum wage.
The better players will join the NFL and NBA some day, while others will go on to lead normal lives after a few seasons. IF those leagues required players to take and pass college classes as part of their terms of employment, most would be happy with the arrangement.
The basketball league would be the easiest to start. Just put a team in every current NBA town and play in the NBA's off season. Eventually, they could even become part of the NBA as a type of farm system. I'm guessing they would get way more fans than the current WNBA who currently occupy that time slot of the NBA offseason. A 40 game season with $15- $20 tickets would appeal to an awful lot of basketball fans. AND the teams could play in larger high school gyms or arenas in the state to get more local fan support.
The league would need less than 400 players. Each player would make about $50,000 a year. That's only about half a million dollar roster cost per team. IF they could sell T.V. rights (and if you signed top high school stars that really wouldn't be a problem) they could be quite successful. The better teams would be as good as some of the NCAA tournament teams.
And the players would get paid. Top high school stars would sign two-year contracts and then wait for the NBA draft, getting great playing experience.
And the NCAA might discover they have to compete with that league to get top players. It's win-win for the players. And college sports would be changed forever.
I'd love to see some of these games in person with a quick drive to Mankato.
I'm thinking the league needs JUST the right name. Any suggestions?
I'll share some tomorrow if I can think of any.
I also tried watching some Monday night football last night. Neither the Bengals nor Steelers were worth watching. I don't see either of them as playoff teams.
The NCAA repeated yesterday that they do not plan on paying college athletes. They want them to remain amateurs. I still think the time for new pro leagues featuring kids right out of high school can't be that far off. Both basketball and football leagues featuring kids who no longer want or need that amateur status, and who wish to earn a living from their skills, will flock to leagues that will pay them way more than minimum wage.
The better players will join the NFL and NBA some day, while others will go on to lead normal lives after a few seasons. IF those leagues required players to take and pass college classes as part of their terms of employment, most would be happy with the arrangement.
The basketball league would be the easiest to start. Just put a team in every current NBA town and play in the NBA's off season. Eventually, they could even become part of the NBA as a type of farm system. I'm guessing they would get way more fans than the current WNBA who currently occupy that time slot of the NBA offseason. A 40 game season with $15- $20 tickets would appeal to an awful lot of basketball fans. AND the teams could play in larger high school gyms or arenas in the state to get more local fan support.
The league would need less than 400 players. Each player would make about $50,000 a year. That's only about half a million dollar roster cost per team. IF they could sell T.V. rights (and if you signed top high school stars that really wouldn't be a problem) they could be quite successful. The better teams would be as good as some of the NCAA tournament teams.
And the players would get paid. Top high school stars would sign two-year contracts and then wait for the NBA draft, getting great playing experience.
And the NCAA might discover they have to compete with that league to get top players. It's win-win for the players. And college sports would be changed forever.
I'd love to see some of these games in person with a quick drive to Mankato.
I'm thinking the league needs JUST the right name. Any suggestions?
I'll share some tomorrow if I can think of any.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sports Notes
The Vikings did not play well enough to win yesterday. The Vikings LOOKED good at times by making huge play after huge play. From a big fumble recovery for a touchdown, to three interceptions, to that big 105 yard kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson, it LOOKED like the Vikes could actually win the game.
But looks can be deceiving. Ponder was at best just average yesterday. He's was barely .500 passing. And the rushing game only averaged just 3.7 yards a a carry. The nuts and bolts of the game, not just the BIG plays determine the winners. And the Vikings play such average football that even that many big plays were not enough to offset the mediocre overall play.
And when the defense HAD to make a stop on that last drive, they didn't. The Vikes played better than I expected, but they still lost to another average (to bad) football team. The 0-2 start is going to be awfully hard to come back from.
The Twins, on the other hand, pulled a rabbit out of a hat yesterday. They got two homers and 4 RBI yesterday in the eighth inning to avoid a sweep by the Rays. Considering they had lost the last 11 straight to Tampa Bay, this was a very good thing. Pinto, the Twins new catcher, had one of those homers. He's still batting over .400 since being called up.
The Seahawks looked as good as experts thought last night. My Niners got stomped. As good as I thought the Niners were going into the game last night, that is how how good I think Seattle looked coming out. They really should be the Super Bowl favorites. I can't believe how easily they shut down Kaepernick last night. And their QB, Russell Wilson, is as good as advertised. I'm going to start enjoying pro games like college games. I'm rooting for Seattle now and I'll see if anyone can knock them off.
By planning on missing more Vikings games, I can start enjoying GOOD teams. Seattle and Green Bay are now on my list. I'll probably add the Niners back if they play well again next week. I don't want to rely on my football fix coming from the inept Vikings any more. With yet another painful, pathetic season coming our way, I NEED to try something different.
Favorite game of the day? Denver beating the Giants. The right Manning won.
Second favorite game? My Packers made RGIII look entirely awful yesterday. They took a huge lead and coasted the rest of the way. (If you can call Aaron Rodgers and his 4 TD passes and 480 yards of passing "coasting.")
It's so much more fun watching a good team and a great QB. I feel so sorry for young kids who are Vikings fans who may never know the joy of a good football team.
But looks can be deceiving. Ponder was at best just average yesterday. He's was barely .500 passing. And the rushing game only averaged just 3.7 yards a a carry. The nuts and bolts of the game, not just the BIG plays determine the winners. And the Vikings play such average football that even that many big plays were not enough to offset the mediocre overall play.
And when the defense HAD to make a stop on that last drive, they didn't. The Vikes played better than I expected, but they still lost to another average (to bad) football team. The 0-2 start is going to be awfully hard to come back from.
The Twins, on the other hand, pulled a rabbit out of a hat yesterday. They got two homers and 4 RBI yesterday in the eighth inning to avoid a sweep by the Rays. Considering they had lost the last 11 straight to Tampa Bay, this was a very good thing. Pinto, the Twins new catcher, had one of those homers. He's still batting over .400 since being called up.
The Seahawks looked as good as experts thought last night. My Niners got stomped. As good as I thought the Niners were going into the game last night, that is how how good I think Seattle looked coming out. They really should be the Super Bowl favorites. I can't believe how easily they shut down Kaepernick last night. And their QB, Russell Wilson, is as good as advertised. I'm going to start enjoying pro games like college games. I'm rooting for Seattle now and I'll see if anyone can knock them off.
By planning on missing more Vikings games, I can start enjoying GOOD teams. Seattle and Green Bay are now on my list. I'll probably add the Niners back if they play well again next week. I don't want to rely on my football fix coming from the inept Vikings any more. With yet another painful, pathetic season coming our way, I NEED to try something different.
Favorite game of the day? Denver beating the Giants. The right Manning won.
Second favorite game? My Packers made RGIII look entirely awful yesterday. They took a huge lead and coasted the rest of the way. (If you can call Aaron Rodgers and his 4 TD passes and 480 yards of passing "coasting.")
It's so much more fun watching a good team and a great QB. I feel so sorry for young kids who are Vikings fans who may never know the joy of a good football team.
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