A beautiful model is dead, her Olympic athlete boyfriend is charged with her murder after a Valentine’s Day shooting in South Africa. Isn’t this a movie starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie directed by Roman Polanski?
Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic athlete nicknamed “Blade Runner” because of the metal prosthetic limbs he used in last summer’s Olympics, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. One thing is clear – a shooting took place inside his upscale home in Pretoria, South Africa, early Thursday, and only the two of them were there at the time, police said. Pistorius will be named officially as the suspect when he appears in court Friday, in keeping with South African law.
Investigators gave no motive for the alleged killing and already two competitive stories are being touted as the truth. Some South African media outlets said the woman was mistaken for an intruder. South Africa has a high crime rate, and many homeowners keep weapons to ward off intruders.
However, a police spokeswoman said there had been “previous incidents” at the home, including “allegations of a domestic nature.” Police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors, and residents had “heard things earlier,” spokeswoman Denise Beukes said.
Was this murder or a tragic case of mistaken identity? Stay tuned; we know the world media will let us know.

As an African-American male, I hate stereotypes and especially hate being stereotyped. Unfortunately however, there is a grain of truth in some stereotypes, and one of the most persistent stereotypes of college football players (that I first remember saying about players from the University of Miami) is that “if they players weren’t playing sports, they’d be in jail for robbing people.”
One would think that players who had just won a college national championship one month ago, you would still be basking in the glow of the accomplishment (or perhaps, going to class???) But the National Championship wasn’t enough for four members of the University of Alabama football team who were arrested after a pair of campus robberies.
The accused are all freshmen players for the Crimson Tide; and three of them played significant time on the field. Defensive lineman Dennis “D.J.” Pettway, linebacker Tyler Hayes and running back Brent Calloway all played in 13 games last season. The fourth, defensive back Eddie Williams, was a redshirt who did not play,
According to police, Pettway, Hayes and Williams punched and kicked a student shortly after midnight Monday until he was unconscious. The pair reportedly took the student’s backpack with an Apple Macbook Pro in it. But this wasn’t the only incident: about an hour later, Williams allegedly beat up another student until he also lost consciousness and took his wallet, while Hayes and Pettway waited in a vehicle nearby.
Another stereotype is that criminals aren’t very smart, and of course, the story proves that as well as later that morning, Williams and Calloway used the second victim’s debit card to buy snacks from a vending machine. Of course, the university and the football program suspended all four players indefinitely.
One thing that can be said is that these guys aren’t exactly enrolled at Alabama for their intellect. First, you’re football players,, which means: 1) you’re very big people who can’t exactly hide in a crowd; 2) your pictures are in the media guide, not to mention local papers; and 3) you have notoriety, which means that anything you do could end up photographed on someone’s smart phone. Then, the brilliant criminals use one of the victim’s debit card?
My friend Tom Watson, a Notre Dame hater like myself said that he was actually rooting for Notre Dame because he was tired of the SEC winning the national championship every year, and the reputation the schools and players have of just being a semi-pro league for the NFL and the players didn’t have to go to class, just cheat to stay eligible. He didn’t have to mention the perception that players were on their way to the NFL or prison. But that perception will continue – with no help from these cretins.

My alma mater, Northwestern University announced a five year deal with the Chicago Cubs to play five home football games at Wrigley Field along with a soccer match and ladies lacrosse also playing there.
You may remember the NU Illinois game played in 2010 at Wrigley Field. I certainly do. No one checked to make sure there was enough room between one end zone and the right field bleacher wall, and once it was determined that there wasn’t the NCAA required 10 feet between the end line and the wall, both teams’ offenses attacked the end zone located by the Cubs’ dugout.
I also remember that my four tickets for that game (the Indignant Family has four season tickets) cost as much as the rest of the season combined. That said, it was nice to see a majority purple-wearing crowd and the university, the Cubs and the city did make it a really nice event. Of course, it was cold that day and the Indignant Daughters didn’t like it.
This time though, the Cubs say that part of the $300 million renovation of the park would allow for taking off the dugout roof and move back rows that were added in the past couple of years for baseball that would give the field enough space to fit.
I’m skeptical that it would work, and I also don’t look forward to paying double my season ticket cost to watch football in a baseball stadium. I also find it amusing that any NU games would have to be played in November in case the Cubs were in the World Series in October, Yeah, right; that’ll happen over the next five years.

One would think that if you got caught once doing something wrong and got off on a technicality, you would either clean up your act, or at least be more careful cheating in the future. I guess that seemingly common sense concept is lost on Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun.
In the investigation being conducted as a result of the Miami New Times article that linked Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, Melky Cabrera, Francisco Cervelli, Cesar Carrilo, and Baltimore Orioles infielder Danny Valencia, Yahoo! Sports reported that Braun’s name also showed up three times in records of the Biogenesis of America LLC clinic. The report said no specific performance-enhancing drugs were listed next to his name.
For those of you who don’t remember, Braun failed a confidential urine test conducted in October 2011. ESPN reported that Braun had tested positive for an elevated level of testosterone caused by a performance-enhancing drug. A newspaper source said that the test results were “insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken.” However, a second test conducted by an independent laboratory showed normal testosterone levels.
Major League Baseball suspended Braun for 50-games, but he successfully appealed the drug test in January 2012,[ the first time that a MLB player had successfully challenged a drug test result. In a 2-to-1 vote, the arbitration panel decided that valid questions had been raised about the manner in which the test sample had been handled because it hadn’t been FedEx’d to the laboratory on Friday – it stayed in a refrigerator and then was sent on the next Monday. MLB argued that there was no evidence of tampering of the sample, and the United States Anti-Doping Agency said the testosterone levels in the samples would not grow in a refrigerator over a weekend.
In the current instance, Braun released a statement saying that the person who ran the Florida clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball only was used as a consultant on his drug suspension appeal. “I have nothing to hide,” Braun said in his statement, and went on to say that his name was in the Biogenesis records because of an issue over payment to Anthony Bosch, who ran the clinic near Miami.
Now, one has to wonder why someone under scrutiny for using PEDs would consult someone who isn’t a doctor, not licensed to practice medicine in Florida, had no expertise on chain of evidence issues, and, according to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, Anthony Bocsh’s father Dr. Pedro Bosch, was wrote the prescription for a banned substance to Manny Ramirez?
The answer may be a University of Miami connection. Miami’s baseball stadium, named for Alex Rodriguez, sits across from Biogenesis. Braun, Valencia and Carrillo all played together at Miami. Hurricanes trainer Jimmy Goins also was named by the New Times, as was Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, a former Hurricane. Rodriguez, whose sizeable donation to the program led to his name on the stadium, has been known to train at Miami.
As usual, Major League Baseball is investigating, but once again, I have the feeling that baseball will come down on the lesser known players like a ton of bricks, but Rodriguez and Braun will play on (actually Rodriguez may be out for the year with an injury, but you know what I mean).
Despite what Bud Selig would like you to believe, PED use is still going on in the game, as it is in all of the major sports. Testing only goes so far, and as long as the leagues are playing catch-up to the cheating laboratories, this seems like a never ending escalation of hostilities.

One of my friends is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan, and so, he is very happy this week after their Super Bowl victory, but we have disagreed as to whether Joe Flacco is an “elite” quarterback, meaning one of the best in the league. Yes, Flacco had an incredible run, and is very deserving as Super Bowl MVP, but before we start getting the forgers working on his cast for Canton, let’s take a REAL look.
Before we start however, I had to ask myself, why am I so hard on Joe Flacco? According to my friend and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander, he is a very good guy – self effacing, quiet. Certainly, there are no character issues, and he has quarterbacked at least one playoff victory per season in each of his four seasons in the league. Am I put off by the lack of swagger that comes along with being “The Man?” Maybe it’s because in one of his few quotes, he made the argument that he was not just an elite QB, but the best in the league. Whoa there Hoss; let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
Let’s be honest – Flacco is a good quarterback who got hot in the playoffs, a 124.2 passer rating in the playoffs, and maybe he’s ready to step up to being one of the best (certainly his timing is perfect – he is a free agent who will make millions in Baltimore or elsewhere).
So, what is elite Tony, you ask? To me, being an elite quarterback is when the announcers get overblown in their hyperbole – “you don’t want to give the ball to (team name here) late in the game and (QUARTERBACK’S NAME HERE in ALL CAPS). Announcers almost fell over themselves in a close game with Denver and John Elway. I hated Elway, but he was elite – he put the team on his shoulder and willed wins. Joe Flacco doesn’t do that; he does NOT send fear into the hearts of opposing coaches or defensive coordinators,
Now, I know that quarterback rating is not the best judge, and I looked for Troy Aikman’s ratings online but couldn’t find them, but it is the easiest to find and compare. In the 2012 season, Flacco had a rating of 87.7, 12th best in the NFL. He was behind who I consider the real elite quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers (108.0 – first), Peyton Manning (105.8 – second), Tom Brady (98.7 – sixth), and Drew Brees (96.3 – eighth). He was also behind two rookies: RGIII (102.4 – third), and Russell Wilson (100.0 – fourth). He also ranked behind Matt Ryan (99.1 – fifth), Ben Roethlisberger (97.0 – seventh), and Matt Schaub (90.7 – ninth) – three quarterbacks on god teams with great defenses and good running attacks (sound familiar?). Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings and is a very good quarterback, but he is closer to elite status than Flacco.
Flacco also ranks behind two other quarterbacks who share his proclivity for being inconsistent: Tony Romo (90.5 – tenth) and Phillip Rivers (88.6 – eleventh). Flacco is better at home averaging 8.3 yards per attempt compared with 5.9 yards per attempt on the road. The Ravens were 10-6 – a good record, but not a powerhouse (same record as the Bears, who didn’t make the playoffs).
So, I think the elite quarterbacks are Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tome Brady and Drew Brees (yes, only one Super Bowl win, but all time single season record for passing yards in a season, an inconsistent running game, and all of “bounty-gate” distractions and he still put up big numbers), because of their danger at any time, home or road, and had teams who weren’t as balanced as the Ravens and won. Using QB rating, Eli Manning wouldn’t rank, but he had a bad season but still has two Super Bowl rings. He is nearly elite, as is Roethlisberger. The jury is out on RGIII, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, but they are all rookies. The jury is out on Ryan and Schaub too.
And the jury remains out on Joe Flacco too. An 86.3 career passer rating isn’t the stuff of legends. So, enjoy the Super Bowl victory – Flacco was very good in the playoffs, but next year, there won’t be a Ray Lewis, and there is a much different mindset for a quiet guy to be “The Man” (ask Scottie Pippen about the 2 years without Michael Jordan).
I’m not saying that Joe Flacco CAN”T be an elite quarterback (far from it – he’s big and can make all the throws), but Super Bowl hyperbole aside, he’s not there yet.

The most valuable asset that any sport has and must protect at all costs is the integrity of the games. This is why performance enhancing drugs, gambling, and point shaving scandals strike at the heart of a game. If the fans believe that a game is rigged, there’s really no reason to pay attention to it. Not to mention the legal and illegal gambling that is driven by those games.
We’ve all know that cycling is dirty due to the amount of performance enhancing drugs in almost every cyclist’s system. But, as popular as cycling is, it is nothing compared to soccer. It is the most popular sport in the world – it puts the NFL, the NBA, MLB and the NHL to shame. This week however, Europol, Europe’s law enforcement agency announced that hundreds of games are under investigation for match-fixing.
Recent scandals have centered on South Korea and South Africa, but Europol believes the highest levels of the game are now no longer safe with alleged corruption in two Champions League matches discovered, including one played in England, with 680 games in all being probed across the globe. “This is the work of a suspected organized crime syndicate based in Asia and operated with criminal networks around Europe,” Rob Wainwright, Europol director said as a result of an 18-month probe (quoted on SI.com). “It is clear to us this is the biggest-ever investigation into suspected match-fixing in Europe. It has yielded major results which we think have uncovered a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe. We have uncovered an extensive criminal network.”
A total of 380 games in Europe including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers have been deemed suspicious, with 425 match and club officials and criminals involved from 15 different countries. The Champions League match in England, which took place in the “last three or four years”, is now subject to “ongoing judicial proceedings.” It is estimated that €16 million ($21.7m) had been bet on matches by criminals, yielding an €8 million ($10.8m) profit, with the highest single bribe of €140,000 paid in Austria.
Another 300 matches outside of Europe, including in South America and Africa, are also under suspicion. Most of the international level football matches involved were between national teams from Africa, Asia, Central and South America including two World Cup qualifiers in Africa and one in South America.
This investigation could have immense implications for the sport. Games forfeited; players and others suspended or thrown out of the sport. Short of the Penn State scandal, this could be the biggest scandal in sport and would be the biggest in international sports.

In talking about Ray Lewis yesterday, I did not mention the other controversy – reports that Lewis “aided” his nearly miraculous recovery from a torn arm muscle through the use of deer antler stray. The spray, which is supposed to be applied under the tongue is full of IGF-1, or -insulin-like growth factor. However, the substance has been banned by the NCAA and by every major pro league for years, but, like Human Growth Hormone, there is currently no effective test for it. Sports Illustrated reported on S.W.A.T.S., “Sports with Alternatives to Steroids,” a two-man company run out of the back of a gym near Birmingham, Alabama that provides alternatives to the “usual” banned substances.
Lewis has been quoted as saying that he is “too blessed to be stressed” by the allegation and the questions about the murder in his past (which has also infuriated many people because Lewis is claiming to be religious, which is not in line with his history). Already, golfer Vijay Singh has admitted to using the spray and of course, the investigations will be forthcoming. Win or lose however, Ray Lewis’ deserved Hall of Fame legacy will be a very thorny one for voters, for NFL historians, and for those who visit the Hall of Fame once he has been enshrined.
My question is more basic: what’s next? Yak scrotum? Rattlesnake venom? Fish sperm? Why does this S.W.A.T.S. seem like those ads you see buried in newspapers or filling the spam folder on your e-mail for “generic” Viagra and Cialis? In any event, I wouldn’t ingest or inject any of these weird substances into my body, but then again, no one is paying me millions of dollars per year to perform great athletic feats either.