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“Frederick Purvis, 42, is accused of sending e-mails to two local media outlets and to the FBI threatening Paul Brown Stadium, four bridges over the Ohio River, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and an Indiana casino, FBI spokesman Mike Brooks said. Brooks said Purvis was arrested Thursday at a hotel in Erlanger, Ky., near the airport. He was being held on federal charges of making bomb threats and distributing a bomb hoax.” [Link]
“Cuts already have come at some shops, and more could lose jobs in the weeks ahead. While the total number of layoffs is hard to pinpoint, estimates run from 500 to 1,000 or more. As NASCAR gained prominence and was heralded as America’s fastest-growing sport, the Charlotte region proudly touted its strong racing ties. More than 400 motorsports-related companies are based in the area, business recruiters say.” [Link]
“‘I don’t want to enter an unsafe situation but you see this stuff coming out of France,’ said the American rider, who has many critics in France. ‘There’re some aggressive, angry emotions. If you believe what you read, my personal safety could be in jeopardy.” [Link]
“University of Illinois police have served search warrants on the home, computer and e-mail accounts of a former gymnastics coach who’s being investigated after a video camera was discovered in a locker room. Sgt. Tom Geis says investigators are going over the information recovered from Jon Valdez’s home. He says they hope to turn the information over to Champaign County prosecutors this week. Valdez helped train U.S. gymnasts at the Beijing Olympics.” [Link]
“Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, said during a televised interview today that the league might modify its procedures for the use of instant replay to try to prevent a recurrence of the error that cost the Pittsburgh Steelers a touchdown on the final play of their 11-10 triumph Sunday over the San Diego Chargers.” [Link]
“Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been charged by the SEC with insider trading relating to Mamma.com. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Mark Cuban insider trading charges stem from and allegation that he sold shares of Mamma.com prior to a private offering.” [Link]
“Ben Roethlisberger stayed away from the mistakes that cost the Steelers their previous two home games, Willie Parker ran for 115 yards and Jeff Reed’s third field goal won it - a 32-yarder with 11 seconds remaining - as Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Chargers on Sunday.” Link
“USA Today obtained an internal U.S. Olympic Committee e-mail in which a Chinese official expressed concern that members of the U.S. team might stage some sort of demonstration. The list was given to the USOC during a meeting July 8 with Shu Xiao, minister counselor for cultural affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, the e-mail said. The athletes included softball players Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, Natasha Watley, Amanda Freed, and softball assistant coach Karen Johns; soccer player Abby Wambach; cyclist Jonathan Page; paralympic basketball player Jen Howitt; paralympic wheelchair racer Cheri Blauwet; and golfer Laura Goodwin.” [Link]
“Brad Lidge and the Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint Wednesday night to win a suspended Game 5 nearly 50 hours after it started. Left in limbo by a two-day rainstorm, the Phillies seesawed to their first championship since 1980. ” [Link]
Bumetanide picture
“A Denver television station, KDVR-TV, reported six to 10 players tested positive, including tailback Deuce McAllister and defensive end Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints. One to two other Saints players also tested positive, according to the report, which cited an NFL source. Most of the players, including McAllister and Smith, tested positive for bumetanide, described as a drug used to treat fluid retention. The diuretic reportedly also can be used as a steroid-masking agent and is on the NFL’s list of banned substances. According to the report, bumetanide belongs to a group of medicines called loop diuretics, or water pills. ” [Link]
“Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes will be charged with possession of marijuana after three blunts were found inside his vehicle Thursday afternoon in Uptown, Pittsburgh police said. Holmes was stopped about 4 p.m. near the intersection of Centre Avenue and Mario Lemieux Place by officers searching for a vehicle with a similar description.” [Link]
Female Bodybuilder picture
“During the A&E Network’s one-hour documentary, ‘Jose Canseco: The Last Shot,’ Canseco said he ‘regrets mentioning players [as steroid users]. I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people.’ During the program, the 44-year-old Canseco said he ‘wanted revenge’ on Major League Baseball because he believed he had been forced out of the game. The book was his means of getting even, and he named names ‘to show I was telling the truth’ about steroids in baseball, he said.” [Link]
“It’s the ‘home team’ New Orleans Saints vs. the visiting San Diego Chargers at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday, where two struggling teams with identical 3-4 records say they’re goal is to get to .500 and keep their playoff aspirations alive.” [Link]
“Harrison, a 15-year veteran, two-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion, tore the quadriceps muscle without being hit while chasing scrambling quarterback Jay Cutler on the last play of the third quarter of the Patriots’ 41-7 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night. Harrison has had persistent thigh problems as far back as last season’s playoffs.” [Link]
Tampa Bay Rays picture
“Pitcher David Price will introduce Obama, according to his campaign. Outfielder Fernando Perez, and teammates Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd, Jonny Gomes, B.J. Upton, Edwin Jackson, and Jason Bartlett will also appear on stage. Getting the effective endorsement of the same guys who earned Tampa its first-ever trip to the World Series can’t help but give an oomph to Obama’s popularity in central Florida, where the Rays have won a large following during a miraculous season. ” [Link]
“Williams, a 2006 Pro Bowler, has 29 touchdown receptions in 60 career games. In order to get him, the Dallas gave the struggling Lions their first-, third- and sixth-round picks in the 2009 National Football League draft. Dallas also acquired Detroit’s seventh-round selection in 2009 as part of the deal, which was finished just before Tuesday’s trade deadline.” [Link]
“Chiefs coach Herm Edwards says Gonzalez was not traded before Tuesday’s deadline. The 32-year-old Gonzalez had asked Kansas City to explore trade talks because he wants an opportunity to make a Super Bowl run before the end of his career.” [Link]
“Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones has been suspended for at least four games for his most recent violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, the NFL announced Tuesday.” [Link]
“Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has been charged with simple assault for allegedly pushing a woman at a Kansas City nightclub in February, the third time he has faced assault charges against a woman. Johnson, 28, was charged last month for a Feb. 24 incident at the Grand Emporium Saloon. A 26-year-old woman accused Johnson of pushing the side of her head with an open hand, telling her ‘don’t touch me’ as he made his way through the club.” [Link]
Clemson Cheerleader picture
“Bowden and the school split Monday in the middle of his 10th season, which started with the Tigers ranked No. 9 and picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference. But an opening 34-10 rout by Alabama and recent losses to Maryland and Wake Forest raised calls again for Bowden’s ouster despite a recent contract extension.” [Link]
Tony Romo picture
“Romo broke his right pinkie on the first play of overtime in a 30-24 loss at Arizona on Sunday, according to a posting on the team’s official Web site. A team spokesman didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment Monday. The injury leaves the Cowboys (4-2) with 40-year-old Brad Johnson as the starter. Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, hasn’t started a game since 2006 in Minnesota.” [Link]
Big Brown picture
“Trainer Rick Dutrow said the 3-year-old colt, who was preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25, appeared to kick himself while working on the turf course at Aqueduct with stablemate Kip Deville. Big Brown was able to complete the six-furlong work when Dutrow noticed blood coming out of the foot.” [Link]
Tony Gonzalez picture
“KSHB in Kansas City is reporting that Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has requested a trade, and that one of the teams in the running is the New York Giants.” [Link]
Jose Canseco picture
“Canceco was detained at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing Thursday after agents searched his vehicle and said they found human chorionic gonadotropin, which is illegal without a prescription, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson. Emerson declined to say if Canseco — who admitted to using steroids in a 2005 book that also alleged steroid use by other baseball players — had the drug, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for use in males.” [Link]
NFL Cheerleaders
“The FCC says Comcast should carry the league’s NFL Network on its popular digital cable package. The commission ruled that Comcast discriminated against the NFL Network by agreeing to carry the channel only on a more expensive sports cable service.” [Link]
“In a statement on Tuesday the club said Kiffin had been sacked. Oakland are 1-3 this year and tied for last place in the AFC West.” [Link]
“Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will headline the Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show in Tampa, Fla., the NFL and NBC announced Sunday. Springsteen joins a high-profile roster of stars who have played the halftime spectacle — including the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Janet Jackson.” [Link]
Wide receiver Edwin Baptiste stretches out to catch a great pass in this football video
“The Lions have finally removed team president and GM Matt Millen from his post, FOXSports.com has learned, unseating one of the most criticized executives in Detroit sports history. Millen was informed of the move Tuesday night during a late-night high-level meeting.” [Link]
Plaxico Burress picture
“General manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin informed Burress of the suspension Wednesday morning before the team held a bye-week practice. The suspension takes effect immediately, meaning Burress will miss the Giants (3-0) game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 5.” [Link]
“According to state police reports, a group of juniors assaulted several younger teammates over two days, holding the victims down while a broomstick was forced into their rectums over their athletic shorts. Police did not find out about it from school officials; instead, a state police officer whose son is on the team learned of the allegations through his wife, a camp volunteer. The alleged ringleader was expelled from school. The others — some of them veteran members of the highly successful team — were suspended through the end of the school year. The six victims returned to the team.” [Link]
“New York City police say they arrested more than a dozen people for stealing pieces of Yankee Stadium during the 85-year-old ballpark’s final game. Police say 18 fans were charged with possessing stolen property.” [Link]
Rachelle Leah picture
“Former UFC Octagon Girl and current UFC TV talking head Rachelle Leah has announced that she is the next lady we’ll be waiting in line to see naked in a edition of Playboy.” [Link]
Idaho Vandals Cheerleaders picture
“After the football team dumped the school logo from the buttocks of their new pants, the university in Moscow got complaints that new two-piece cheerleader uniforms were too skimpy. ‘A number of fans were concerned that the uniforms were inappropriate,’ said Bruce Pitman, dean of students. ‘To be fair, there were a number of fans who liked them.’” [Link]
“According to Nielsen’s preliminary estimates, NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ coverage averaged about 19 million viewers during prime time, almost 7 million more than the 12.2 million viewers who watched the Emmy’s from 8 to 11 p.m.” [Link]
“New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey will have sports hernia surgery this week and will miss three to six weeks.” [Link]
Ryder Cup picture
“The United States won the Ryder Cup for the first time in nine years at Valhalla Golf Club on Sunday. ” [Link]
Ladanian Tomlinson picture
“Coach Norv Turner doesn’t know if Tomlinson will practice on Friday. ‘He’ll come out like he did today, move around a little bit, get treatment, do exercises inside, and I’m sure if he feels like he can go, he will,’ Turner said.” [Link]
“Charlie Haas and his wife, former WWE and TNA performer Jackie Gayda Haas are the new proud parents of a new baby girl. Taylor Suzanne Haas, weighing 7lbs 1oz was born yesterday afternoon. Both mother and child are doing well.” [Link]
“Former Eagles quarterback turned entrepreneur Ron Jaworski is being sued in Superior Court here by the owner of Running Deer Golf Club, under claims his allegedly deceptive business practices forced the club to file for bankruptcy. The civil suit was drawn up on behalf of Edward Carman, who designed, built and has operated the Pittsgrove links alongside his family since its creation in 1998.” [Link]
“Alex Rodriguez became the first player with 35 homers and 100 RBIs in 12 seasons — one more than Babe Ruth — and the New York Yankees slowed the Chicago White Sox’s pursuit of the AL Central crown with a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.” [Link]
“On Wednesday, Childress turned to 15-year veteran Gus Frerotte to run the offense for the rest of the season. ‘I’m just not seeing right now the aggressiveness from Tarvaris that I saw throughout the offseason, training camp, the two preseason games that he played in,’ Childress said. ‘And part of it may be experience. I know Gus will give us that. And I know his approach will also lend itself to that.’” [Link]
“Twin sisters Betsy and Shelly Albetta competed in the NPC Atlantic City show placing 1st and 3rd in Class B.” [Link]
“‘Everything which we do requires so much strength. You train your legs and your muscles. It has nothing to do with eroticism. You have no time to think of that!’ said Jeannine Wikering, the 26-year-old competitor for Germany who came third. ‘I think one day it should be an Olympic sport — but that will take time. You would have to agree which moves on which to judge competitors, at the moment we all have such different routines,’ she added. Galina Troschenko, a 36-year-old representing Spain, won the event judged by a panel of five with a virtuoso performance full of acrobatic feats.” [Link]
Jennifer Lopez picture
“Jennifer Lopez had the support of several important men in her life as she successfully competed in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on Sunday, finishing the race in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds. The singer-actress was cheered on from the sidelines by husband Marc Anthony, who escorted her to a VIP area with his arm securely around her after she crossed the finish line” [Link]
“Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that members of the Steelers have complained about possible shenanigans in Cleveland. Writes Bouchette: ‘Steelers players say privately that whenever they play in Cleveland, they almost always have problems with the communicator in the quarterback’s helmet.’” [Link]
Candice Michelle picture
“Fortunately for Candice Michelle, she returned on a night in which Raw was being taped because according to a fan in attendance, she messed up at least four spots within a 30 second period. Only one of them was fit to be broadcast as the rest were completely edited out.” [Link]