The NFL suspended the Dallas cornerback for at least four games for violating his reinstatement arrangement.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones has been suspended indefinitely without pay by the NFL for an alcohol-related altercation with a personal security guard at a Dallas hotel last week.
Jones will be suspended at least four games for violating his reinstatement arrangement, which expected the 25-year-old to refrain from any behavior that puts him, his team or the league in a negative light.
The Cowboys did not discipline Jones for Sunday's game against Arizona, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell apparently gathered enough information to suspend the oft-troubled cornerback.
In a letter to Jones, Goodell described his findings as "a disturbing pattern of behavior and clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL."
Before the season, Goodell reinstated Jones, formerly known by his nickname "Pacman," after a one-year suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Jones, then with the Tennessee Titans, had numerous run- ins with the law in just two NFL seasons, including an alleged involvement in a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA's All-Star weekend in February 2007. That incident left an employee of the club paralyzed from the waist down.
"We respect and support the decision of the commissioner," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed in a released statement. "I regret that this issue has brought negative attention to the Cowboys and the NFL. We move forward with a very clear knowledge as to what the process will be for a possible re-instatement. Adam is well aware of where he stands and what he has to do."
"I will, as always, take full responsibility for what happened because I have big pucks."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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Def Leppard star Joe Elliott has apologized to hockey fans for placing their beloved Stanley Cup upside down during a season-opening performance last week.
The rocker outraged sports fans when he made the mistake during Def Leppard's show in Detroit, Michigan last Thursday before the hometown Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice.
But, in a statement, Elliott insists organizers of the season launch shouldn't have been so precious with the trophy.
He says, "I will, as always, take full responsibility for what happened because I have big pucks. However, someone at the NHL should have known better and informed me first instead of keeping the Stanley Cup under lock and key until the last minute.
"The practice run the day before with a coffeemaker went swimmingly because it, like every other sporting cup I've ever seen, was wider at the top than the base... Like most of my fellow Brits, I'd never seen it (Stanley Cup) before until it was handed to me sideways, by which time I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Whoops."
"He is now conscious and in stable condition, but may not receive visitors in the coming days until he has recovered from the surgical process."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Five-time major champion Seve Ballesteros is reportedly stable after undergoing brain surgery on Tuesday.
The Spanish news agency, Efe, reported Wednesday that Ballesteros had a 12- hour procedure on Tuesday at La Paz Hospital.
"He is now conscious and in stable condition, but may not receive visitors in the coming days until he has recovered from the surgical process," the hospital said in a statement.
Ballesteros, a three-time winner of the British Open and two-time Masters champion, collapsed at a Madrid airport on Monday. Further tests through the week diagnosed a tumor.
The Spaniard is the all-time wins leader on the European Tour with 50 and has totaled 87 career wins worldwide. He has also accumulated a 20-12-5 record in eight Ryder Cup appearances.
Tampa Bay stunned Boston for the second straight day, winning 13-4 in Game 4 of the American League Championships Series at Fenway Park.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Willy Aybar and Carl Crawford combined for nine hits and drove in seven runs, as the Tampa Bay Rays again battered the Boston Red Sox, 13-4, in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, putting the defending World Series champions on the brink of playoff elimination.
Before this year, the Rays never had a winning record. Now, they're one win away from their first World Series appearance, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS, capturing the last two games by a combined 22-5 count.
The Rays hit four homers in a big win Monday, and one night later Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria and Aybar all went deep off Tim Wakefield, as Tampa Bay knocked out the knuckleball specialist in the third inning. Longoria has homered in three straight games, and Pena on back-to-back nights. In fact, the duo hit consecutive homers in the first inning off Wakefield, and Longoria set a rookie record with his fifth home run of the playoffs.
Crawford tied an ALCS record with five hits, going 5-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. Aybar was 4-for-5 with five RBI for the Rays, who have posted 31 runs and 10 homers in winning the last three games.
Andy Sonnanstine (2-0) threw a strong 7 1/3 innings, yielding six hits and four runs, three of them earned.
Wakefield (0-1) was lifted after surrendering six hits and five runs through 2 2/3 innings, and reliever Manny Delcarmen struggled while recording just one out in the sixth when he was charged with five runs on two hits and three walks.
The Rays can clinch the series in Game 5 Thursday night, again at Fenway Park. They'll have to face Daisuke Matsuzaka, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before helping Boston to a 2-0 win in Game 1. James Shields, who pitched admirably in the series opener, will take the mound for the Rays.
Although Tampa Bay holds a commanding lead, winning three straight in the ALCS wouldn't be unprecedented for the Red Sox. They overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in 2004, and last year rallied from down 3-1 to top Cleveland, on the way to a second World Series title in four years.
If the Red Sox are to get back in the series, they'll have to hit better with runners in scoring position. Thus far, they're 6-for-34 in those situations. Conversely, Tampa Bay went 8-for-12 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday.
Dallas pulled off a last-minute deal with the Detroit Lions, sending three draft picks for the star receiver, who played at the University of Texas.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Irving, TX (Sports Network) - The Lions and Cowboys struck a deal just before the trade deadline on Tuesday that resulted in wide receiver Roy Williams being shipped to Dallas.
In exchange for Williams' services and its seventh round draft choice in 2009, Detroit will receive Dallas' first, third and sixth picks in next year's draft.
Williams, a fifth-year receiver out of Texas, has recorded 262 catches for 3,884 yards with 29 touchdowns in 60 career games.
"We didn't get this trade done until about two minutes left on the clock, on the NFL trade deadline," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. "That's how tight it was on getting it done."
Shortly after announcing the deal, the Cowboys announced that Williams has come to terms on a five-year contract extension.
The 26-year-old has struggled with the inconsistency of Detroit's quarterbacks this season, grabbing 17 balls for 232 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys now have two players named Roy Williams on the roster. The other is a veteran safety, who was a first-round pick of the team in 2002.
Dallas also signed punter Sam Paulescu on Tuesday, while placing punter Mat McBriar on injured reserve with a fractured right foot. McBriar was hut on the blocked punt that ended the overtime 30-24 loss at Arizona on Sunday.
Former Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit says American soccer organizers have no desire to see the beautiful game succeed in the States because they're afraid soccer will become more popular than homegrown sports.
In a frank interview, given two months after his resignation, the Dutchman said LA Galaxy and England midfielder David Beckham faced a near impossible task to elevate soccer to the heights of mainstream U.S sports.
Gullit, a former World and European Player of the Year, said he strongly felt that American soccer organizers were less interested in promoting soccer than in protecting U.S. sports.
Gullit said he expected a change when Beckham arrived last year in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in America.
The former England skipper, and one of the world's most marketable sports figures, was seen as the man to raise the profile of MLS.
So much so, that LA Galaxy signed the midfielder on a five year deal reportedly worth $250 million dollars.
But 15 months on and the 'Beautiful Game' remains stuck in a lower league, excluded from the holy trinity of American sports that is football, baseball and basketball.
And it's going to stay that way says the Dutch legend Gullit.
"I think they are afraid of football because it's so popular everywhere around the world. I think they will just control it so it doesn't become more popular than their American sports.” Gullit said.
The Beckham factor has undoubtedly helped to pull in crowds and sell shirts - but Gullit insists the English galactico faces mission impossible in taking soccer to the dizzy heights.
"They are never going to allow him to do that, they will never allow him to do that, and that was the conclusion you have after you have been...and for some reason maybe I can understand it also, you know, some sports already have had a bit of a dive so they don't want American football to become less popular,” Gullit said.
Gullit's arrival gave the Los Angeles club the highest-profile coach in Major League Soccer.
Barely nine months later, Gullit was out of the door, with the team struggling to book a place in the end-of-season playoffs.
The Dutchman cited personal reasons while the American sports writers wrote of his struggle to adjust to the football culture of the MLS where coaches has far less power than their European counterparts.
Alexander has struggled through two injury-plagued seasons, rushing for only 1,612 yards and 11 touchdowns combined in 2006 and 2007.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Washington, DC (Sports Network) - The Washington Redskins added former MVP running back Shaun Alexander to serve as a backup to Clinton Portis on Tuesday.
Alexander, 31, was on the free agent market after being waived by the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason. He is expected to practice with Washington on Wednesday and his status for Sunday's game against Cleveland is unknown.
The signing came at a crucial time for Washington, as backup running back Ladell Betts is expected to miss two-to-four weeks with a sprained knee suffered in Sunday's 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Alexander earned the NFL's MVP award after the 2005 season in which he rushed for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns. After leading Seattle to Super Bowl XL, Alexander struggled through two injury-plagued seasons, rushing for only 1,612 yards and 11 touchdowns combined in 2006 and 2007.
In eight NFL seasons, the Alabama product has 100 rushing touchdowns, a 4.3 yards-per-carry average and 9,429 rushing yards, good for 25th all-time. He has also logged 214 catches for 1,511 yards and 12 TDs.
Washington also added another former Seahawk in punter Ryan Plackemeier, who will take over the punting duties from Durant Brooks.
Plackemeier spent three seasons in Seattle and was released from the club after Week 1 this season. The Wake Forest product has a 42.3-yard average with a long of 72 yards in 181 career punts.
Brooks struggled in his first NFL season, compiling the league's worst yard (39.6) and net (32.1) averages before being waived with an injury settlement due to a quadriceps injury.
In even more Redskins news, defensive back Mike Green was added to the roster after safety Reed Doughty (back) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and the team released safety Justin Hamilton.
Olympic gynmast Nastia Liukin received the award from the Women's Sports Foundation.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Gymnast Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Olympic all- around champion, was honored as the 2008 Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation on Tuesday.
The award was presented to Liukin at a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Liukin, who won five medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, is the second gymnast to win the award and the first since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
"Winning this award is a great honor for Nastia and we are extremely proud of her," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "Nastia is the epitome of a true sportswoman. Her results reflect her hard work, dedication and love of gymnastics, and her style reflects great dignity and grace."
A native of Parker, Texas, Liukin won a total of five medals in Beijing, equaling the U.S. gymnastics record for most medals at one Summer Games.
A total of 10 women were nominated for the individual award, which was based on athletic achievements from Aug. 1, 2007, through Aug. 24, 2008. The other nine finalists were: Mao Asada, figure skating; Veronica Campbell-Brown, track; Natalie Coughlin, swimming; Ashley Fiolek, motocross; Allison Fisher, billiards; Yelena Isinbayeva, pole vault; Lorena Ochoa, golf; Lindsey Vonn, downhill skiing; and Rebecca Ward, fencing.
The team award went to softball player Jessica Mendoza.
The football commentator will not call Sunday night's contest between Seattle and Tampa Bay in Florida due to the length in travel from San Diego, where he announced a game this past Sunday.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Sunday Night Football commentator and former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden will not call Sunday's matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Madden, who has called a game in 476 consecutive weeks, will take Sunday off to spend more time with his family. The 72-year-old, who travels by bus because of a fear of flying, would have had to travel to Tampa from San Diego, where the Chargers defeated the Patriots Sunday night.
Madden will actually be taking two weeks off, as NBC did not schedule a Sunday night game the following week because it conflicts with Game 4 of the World Series. He will return to team up with Al Michaels in Week 9, as the Patriots visit the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
His replacement will be Cris Collinsworth, who is normally teamed up with Bob Costas in NBC's studio show.
The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard was suspended for pleading guilty to a weapons possession charge.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair has been suspended without pay for three games for pleading guilty to a weapons possession charge in the state of New York, the NBA announced Tuesday.
Telfair, Portland's first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2004 draft, was acquired from Boston in the Kevin Garnett trade before last season.
He became the starting guard with Minnesota last year when Randy Foye injured his knee in the preseason, and over 60 games he averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 assists per game. He ranked 10th in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio, but missed 22 games with various injuries.
In 274 games over four seasons, the first two with Portland and one with Boston, he has averaged 7.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.
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