It’s a dog’s life – especially if you happen to be a yellow Labrador retriever named Leo, the companion of ex-NFL great Joe Namath. The problem of being the pet of a sports celebrity is that people are constantly entering Leo’s yard. Leo, doing what comes naturally to dogs, deters them with barking, lunging and, unfortunately, biting.
After four incidents of biting strangers since 2007, a Florida judge has officially declared Leo a danger to society. Leo was spared euthanasia, which is a common sentence given down to dogs in bite cases. But if Leo bites one more person, the Judge says Leo will be destroyed.
Leo will have to spend the rest of his days behind a locked door when people come to Namath’s home. Whenever Leo is outside – even in his own yard – he must wear a muzzle to prevent him from biting. Leo is now denied walks outside of Namath’s property although he is allowed to travel in Namth’s vehicles and to go to a veterinarian.
Namath, loyally defending his canine comrade, said that Leo never would have bitten anyone if there weren’t so many trespassers on his property. Namath has also claimed that strangers have deliberately teased Leo and his other dog, a Weimaraner named Stella.
The head coach of the New Orleans Hornets, Byron Scott, was sacked Thursday, November 13. Co-captain Chris Paul was of the few who were surprised by the announcement and is said to be disappointed in the fact that he was not made aware of the decision until after the fact.
He was quoted as saying, “I felt like, maybe somebody would have at least consulted with me and asked how I felt before it happened,”. Although, Chris Paul, was not consulted, the sacking took place and Byron Scott’s replacement has been named. His replacement will be the teams General Manger, Jeff Bower.
The Hornets started the season at 3-6 and for this reason alone it was thought that there was a good chance for Scott to be on his way out. Hornets fans were not happy and even had a website dedicated to the quest in getting Scott sacked.
The fans and, of course, the owner of the Hornets, George Shin, have spoken and hopefully Jeff Bower will breathe new life into the struggling team.
Good Morning America scored the first interview with former ESPN Production Assistant 22 year old Brooke Hundley to discuss the sex scandal involvoing fromer Mets manager and analyst Steve Philips.
Philips was fired last month because of a 3 week sex scandal that took place between Phillips and the ESPN Production Assistant 22 year old Brooke Hundley which took a turn for the worse when he tried to break ties with the relationship.
“I’ve been called things by the public that no woman should ever be called,” she said. “I couldn’t go a day without getting, you know, 200 messages in my inbox from people that have never met me, just labeling, just calling me names. I’ve been called the ‘C’ word. I’ve been called a whore. I’ve been called a homewrecker.”
“I think people are so quick to make a judgment without ever … I don’t know if they want to know the details,” Hundley said. “It’s almost like, ‘Here’s a great story. Here’s a great chance for me to destroy a person,’ without any sense of really thinking about the fact that there’s a human being behind those words.
Hundley want speople to know she is not a stalker, telling GMA that she didn’t harass or follow anyone around at ESPN.
Both Phillips and Hundley have been fired by ESPN; Phillips checked into sex rehab after he was terminated from ESPN.
Brooke Hundley, the former ESPN production assistant who had an affair with ESPN baseball analyst Steve Philips, wen on Good Morning America today to give her side of the story.
“I had a friend come stay with me because he was concerned … that mentally I would not be able to take much more,” a teary-eyed Hundley told Kate Snow of ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“I’ve been called things by the public that no woman should ever be called,” she said. “I couldn’t go a day without getting, you know, 200 messages in my inbox from people that have never met me, just labeling, just calling me names. I’ve been called the ‘C’ word. I’ve been called a whore. I’ve been called a homewrecker.”
Hundley, 22, said she reached her breaking point when “legitimate” newspapers began running with the story,
“I think people are so quick to make a judgment without ever … I don’t know if they want to know the details,” Hundley said. “It’s almost like, ‘Here’s a great story. Here’s a great chance for me to destroy a person,’ without any sense of really thinking about the fact that there’s a human being behind those words.”
Hundley, who said she was never the one pushing the relationship, hopes Phillips “would grow up and take responsibility for his own actions.”
Marni Phillips, Steve’s wife had filed for divorce back on September 14th and the ESPN network had fired him. “His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparable damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways.” stated Josh Krulewitz, a network spokesman.
Soon after Phillips admitted himself in to a sex rehab clinic, where he was been maintaining a low profile.
Robert Enke, Germany’s top goalkeeper, in express train suicide
What an emotional day in Germany as fans hear of the news of the death and apparent suicide of the 32 year old goalkeeper that has made history in the country of Germany. Enke was said to be the number one pick to play in next years 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
A former teammate of Enke’s said, “He will always be remembered as a little kid with big hopes and dreams. He was ambitious and always outgoing. He will be sadly missed.”
There was a farewell letter wrote that was found but no details of this letter have been released as of yet. A friend of Robert Enke is wondering if this has anything to do with the death of his 2 year old little girl just three short years ago. Enke leaves behind a wife and a 2 month old baby girl that they adopted just two short months ago.
In the evening of November 10, 2009, Robert Enke, German’s beloved international football goalkeeper, had left a farewell letter before being struck by an express train in Neustadt am Rubenberge. Ending his life at the age of 32, Robert Enke suffered from severe depression since 2003 and due to the death of his baby daughter, Lara, in 2006 from a birth defect called hypo plastic left heart syndrome, treatment continued.
During the past several weeks before his death, after many years of medical treatment for depression, a 2008 injury to his left hand and a recent recovery in January 2009 from an infection with campylobacter, Enke had been rested from training.
He is survived by his wife Teresa and their adopted baby daughter Lelia. The family lived on a farm with many animals and both he and his wife were extensively involved in animal rights campaigns, including the fur industry. In January 2009 he became the number one keeper for the national team.
Robert Enke’s last international appearance was in August 2009. In his career he had won eight international caps and played in many World Cup 2010 qualifiers.
Beginning his career with his first professional appearance in 1995 and ended with his death as one of the leading prospects for the 2010 World Cup. Robert Enke’s wife, Teresa, and his psychologist attended a conference at the AWD-arena in Hannover, explaining Enke’s condition prior to his death.
On Monday the Kansas City Chiefs decided to part ways with malcontent running back Larry Johnson. Johnson has been with the Chiefs since they drafted him in the first round in 2003. He spent his first seasons on the bench behind Pro Bowler Priest Holmes, and despite earning the starting role after Holmes’ retirement Johnson never seemed content on the field or capable of behaving off the field.
Johnson’s career with the Chief’s peaked during the 2005 and 2006 NFL seasons. He rushed for 1,700 yards both seasons and in 2006 rushed for a franchise record 1,789 yards on an NFL record 416 carries. Johnson signed a lucrative contract extension after the 2006 season, but has never been the same. A foot injury in 2007 limited him to 559 yards and three touchdowns, and in 2008 he managed only 874 yards. So far this season, Johnson managed a paltry 2.7 yards a carry behind a poor offensive line.
While Johnson appears to no longer be the power runner he once was his performance on the field is not the main reason behind Kansas City’s choice to release him. In 2008 Johnson was suspended for three games by then Chiefs’ coach Herm Edwards for violating team rules, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for one more game for violating the leagues’ player conduct policy after several altercations in Kansas City nightclubs. This season Johnson posted several gay slurs on his Twitter page, followed by insulting remarks towards Chiefs’ fans and questioning the competency of head coach Todd Haley.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys met for a first place showdown in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Each team was 5-2 and feeling good about themselves after recent wins. The Cowboys had recently won three in a row, but against sub-par teams. The Eagles had just come off a shellacking of the Giants, 44-7. Plus, the Eagles usually beat the Cowboys. As a matter of fact, they have been the reason the Cowboys haven’t made the playoffs for many seasons.
Even with all that stacked against the Cowboys, the defense put pressure on Donnovan McNabb all night, Marion Barber plowed his way through the defensive line, and Tony Romo picked apart the defense. Romo made precision throws to Roy Williams and Jason Witten on a consistent basis, and hit Austin Miles for a deep touchdown pass in the second half. This play was set up all night. Austin would run short patterns and Romo wouldn’t throw to him. It got to the point where the corners would try to jump the route. Austin put the double move on.
Tony Romo might be happy about this win, but he has a lot more work to do to complete his ultimate goal.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been battling cancer for nearly a year.
The current Lakers coach was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in December 2008 after having hot flashes and sweats. His blood work revealed that his white blood cell count was “sky high,” he said. Now taking medication for the blood disease, he is expected to have a regular life span.
“When the doctor told me I had cancer, I was scared,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “My grandfather and my uncle both died from colorectal cancer, my dad almost died from it and I have the gene for it. It’s in my family, so I thought this was something else along those lines, but it’s not.”
“Having lost one of my closest friends to a different, highly aggressive form of leukemia, I knew how serious my diagnosis was,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “My own life expectancy became a question mark.”
The NBA Hall-Of-Famer is now coming forward with his ilness because he knows many people skip treatments and medication.
“I’m telling my story to encourage fellow patients to take charge of their health,” said Kareem. “Work closely with your doctor, monitor your disease and, above all, take your medicine.”
Abdul-Jabbar retired as a player in 1989 and now serves as the Lakers’ special assistant coach.