Weekly Roundup: NFL Players Signed, More Penn State Drama
Here are some of the most recent headlines from around the sports world:
Double Trouble: Cowboys WR Dez Bryant and Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch were both arrested on Monday for two separate incidents. Bryant was arrested for domestic violence on his mother, allegedly arguing with her, grabbing her and hitting her in the face with a baseball cap. Lynch, on the other hand, was arrested early Saturday morning for investigation of DUI. Both players have had previous off-field issues.
More Money, More Touchdowns: While two NFL players were being arrested, a couple of other superstars were busy trying to ink their new contracts. On Monday, Bears RB Matt Forte ended speculation of a holdout when he signed a four-year deal worth up to $31.5 million. Although he only scored four touchdowns last season, Forte is a vital part of that offense as he rushed for 997 yards and racked up another 490 yards receiving. Ray Rice, another explosive running back who is very similar to Forte, also signed on Monday, agreeing to a five-year, $40 million extension. Chicago and Baltimore, without a doubt, made the right decisions by signing these two players, respectively.
Stage-Five Clinger: Perhaps leaving Boston for Chicago was a way for Theo Epstein to forget the past and get rid of some of his problems. One problem he had in Boston was Kathleen Kearney, 44, of Canton, Mass., who allegedly contacted Epstein when he was GM of the Red Sox. Massachusetts authorities were called to investigate possible stalking concerns but there were never any charges. However, on Monday evening Kearney was arrested near Epstein’s house in Chicago. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Kearney told police she had been watching the home and she was "inviting Mr. Epstein to go to church."
This blog post is starting to sound like an episode of Cops.
Penn State – End of an Era?: Thursday was just the start of another chapter in Penn State’s disastrous offseason as former FBI director Louis Freeh released a 267-page report about Jerry Sandusky’s child abuse. Sandusky, Penn State’s former assistant coach, was convicted last month of 45 counts of molesting ten boys during a 15-year period. Freeh’s report, an eight month inquiry including more than 400 interviews, affirmed that the late Joe Paterno conducted a cover-up of allegations against Sandusky. Paterno’s family and even a few PSU faculty members are extremely surprised by the report and saying that it includes many inaccuracies. This latest bit of news has caused absolute chaos in the Penn State scandal -- as if there wasn’t already enough -- and NCAA President Mark Emmert said that as a punishment it’s still possible that the NCAA might shut down the whole football program.
NHL Lockout?: Remember the NFL lockout? And the NBA lockout? Well, move over guys because the NHL is at it too! The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association are reportedly set to resume labor talks this week with hopes of a negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires in September. The two sides met this past Friday and seemingly had little-to-no success at all. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said after the session, "We've got a lot of work to do in a relatively short period of time."
From New Jersey to Brooklyn: Kris Humphries has been spoken about a lot recently and it doesn’t really have much to do with basketball. Okay, maybe it has a little to do with basketball, but his name has been brought up mostly because of his 72-day marriage with Kim Kardashian which was scrutinized on a reality TV show. Although, Humphries was mentioned a bit in Brooklyn's effort to acquire Dwight Howard. Since that doesn’t seem to be happening, the Nets decided to keep Humphries as sources indicate he’s agreed to a two-year, $24 million deal.
Truthfully, I could care less about his new contract. What made me laugh was his tweet , a shot at Kanye West (Kim Kardashian’s new lover), after signing the deal. Moments after he signed, he tweeted: “I'm up at Brooklyn! @S_C_ ‘lucky I didn't have Jay drop me from the team’ lol!"
Jay-Z, whose Twitter handle is @S_C_, is partial owner of the Nets - responsible for moving the team to Brooklyn. But most importantly, Jay is Kanye’s mentor, big brother, rap partner, etc.
Humphries tweet was a play of words subliminally directed to Kanye who dissed him in a song earlier this year while confessing his love for Kim.
“I’ll admit I had fell in love with Kim, around the same time she had fell in love with him. Well that’s cool, baby girl, do your thing. Lucky I ain’t had Jay drop him from the team [Nets].”
Humphries averaged 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last season and obviously knew Jay-Z wasn’t going to drop him from the Nets. He may not have Kim anymore but he just guaranteed himself a few nice paychecks. Well played, Kris. Well played!
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