Video: Jets coach trips Dolphins player during game

We know that the New York Jets are a team that likes to be loud and proud about their exploits. They're a team with a lot of swagger even when things are not going well, which they haven't been of late. Less than a week after losing 45-3 to the New England Patriots on "Monday Night Football," Rex Ryan's bunch lost 10-6 to the Miami Dolphins, and did so in a much more embarrassing fashion.

What, you say? How can a four-point deficit be worse than a 42-point beatdown? Because at least in the Patriots game, nobody on the Jets' sideline did anything rotten like this: Link to video on NFL site

This play happened with 2:58 left in the third quarter, when the Dolphins punted to Jets receiver Santonio Holmes. As Holmes took the ball for a short return, cornerback Nolan Carroll was hurt on the right sideline as he rushed down to cover the play. The replay showed strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi extending his knee just enough to trip Carroll up on the play. Carroll was down for a minute, but returned to play later in the game.

Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald got postgame reaction from three Dolphins players -- Carroll, linebacker Karlos Dansby and Channing Crowder.


"That needs to be on 'C'mon, Man!' on Monday night," Dansby said, speaking of the ESPN "Monday Night Countdown" crew's weekly salute to the game's biggest boneheads. "Freeze-frame it, and that's No. 1 by far."

"They do what they do," Crowder said. "They cheat and they talk junk and do all that stuff, but we beat the hell out of them today, so they can trip all the people they want to. I'll tell 'em to trip me -- I would have broken that old man's leg."

"I'm not angry," Carroll said. "It's not my problem; it's the Jets' problem. We just move on."

Alosi had this to say in a statement:

"I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment. My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for. I spoke to [Miami] Coach [Tony] Sparano and Nolan Carroll to apologize before they took off. I have also apologized to [Jets owner] Woody [Johnson], [Jets general manager] Mike [Tannebaum] and Rex [Ryan]. I accept responsibility for my actions as well as any punishment that follows."

The league is likely to come down hard on Alosi, if for no other reason than to prevent others from getting a goofball notion and doing the same thing. We suspect that even if Alosi doesn't lose his job, he's probably going to be very light in the wallet and he may be spending some time away from the team facility.

Update: Alosi spoke in front of the New York media on Monday and reitirated his apology. "I wasn't thinking," he responded when asked why he tripped Carroll. "If I could go back and do it again, I'd sure as heck take a step back."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Video-Jets-employee-trips-Dolphins-player-durin?urn=nfl-294916

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Jets coach Sal Alosi's devious act was not a coincidence
By MJD

Sal Alosi, the New York Jets coach who tripped Miami player Nolan Carroll(notes) in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 10-6 win last Sunday, didn't "just happen" to be there.

The Jets have discovered that he strategically ordered players to "form a wall" in that specific place, and have now changed Alosi's suspension from "rest of the season" to "indefinite." Here's the play: NFL link

If you'll take his word for it, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said today that neither head coach Rex Ryan or special teams coach Mike Westhoff were involved in the plan.

“As we continued our investigation, we discovered some new information,” Tannenbaum said in a conference call from the NFL owners meetings in Dallas, “and the players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were to force the gunner in the game to run around them.”

To force the gunner to run around them, or to give them an opportunity to trip the gunner? It seems a little unlikely that the gunner would go all the way around them. Tripping him, as we all saw on Sunday, isn't all that far-fetched. That actually happened.

Tight end Jeff Cumberland, who was inactive Sunday, said it was nothing new for the players to line up next to each other as they did against the Dolphins, according to AP.

"Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been instructed to line up behind the (white) line,” he said, adding that it was only Alosi who has told them to do so."

As far as further punishment goes, Tannenbaum says the Jets are still gathering information and that "all options are on the table." A lot of people felt like Alosi should've been fired for acting so recklessly to begin with. Now that there's evidence pointing to this being a premeditated plan, things seem even worse.

The Jets interviewed the players who were standing near Alosi, but will not take any action against them. “This is just about Sal,” Tannenbaum said.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Sal-Alosi-s-devious-act-was-not-a-coincidence?urn=nfl-296526

2 stabbed as rival fans brawl before USC-UCLA game

AP – Southern California running back Allen Bradford, right, is tackled by UCLA players during the first half …

PASADENA, Calif. — A fight among dozens of fans in a parking lot before the Southern California-UCLA football game has left leaving two men with stab wounds and two police officers with minor injuries, authorities said.

Three men were arrested after about 40 fans of both schools fought in a grassy part of Brookside Golf Course that the stadium uses for event parking, Pasadena police Cmdr. Darryl Qualls said.

One person was stabbed in the cheek and the other was stabbed in the back during the melee some three hours before Saturday's crosstown-rivalry game between the Bruins and Trojans was set to start, Qualls said. Both were taken by ambulance to Huntington Memorial Hospital. He described their condition as stable.

One officer was treated for a sprained hand, the other for a sprained ankle, and both were released, Qualls said.

Arturo Cisneros, 44, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. Steven Radu, 27, and Joshua Elder, 23, were arrested for investigation of assault on a police officer. They were being held in Pasadena City Jail.

Police did not know if any of the men had retained attorneys.

USC later beat the Bruins for the 11th time in 12 games, 28-14.

Police said the school rivalry and tailgate party drinking were major factors.

"The fans are pretty passionate about their football teams," Qualls said.

Friends and family of the stabbing victims said the fight broke out when Vimal Patel, 24, and another man who were part of a group of UCLA fans were tossing a football that accidentally hit a black Mercedes-Benz belonging to members of a nearby group.

Three men from that group confronted Patel, which ended with his being stabbed in the back, his friend Martin Keeley told the Los Angeles Times.

Keeley said he tried to defend his friend as his wife called 911, and many more people followed.

They included Joshua Dirling, 27, who was stabbed in the cheek, according to his brother.

"We were in the middle of it and my brother got popped in the face," Matthew Dirling told the Times. "We were having a good time and this broke out."

USC fan Michael Lane of Los Angeles said he was tailgating with friends in the lot when the melee broke out around him.

"People from USC and UCLA were fighting against each other," Lane said. "It was bottles being thrown and different things happened ... I saw a person come out with a bloody face."

Qualls said that the last time the annual rivalry game was held at the Rose Bowl in 2008, there were about 50 arrests, but he didn't think any of them were for assault.

"It doesn't happen at normal college football games," he said.

The brawl occurred before most fans or either team had arrived at the Rose Bowl, but thousands of tailgating fans spent most of the day gathered around RVs or barbecues in quiet Arroyo Seco, waiting for the late kickoff dictated by television coverage.

UCLA's rivalry with USC is among the most intense in college football, pitting two schools separated by just 13 miles between USC's downtown campus and UCLA's Westwood address. The rivalry divides fans from every section of Los Angeles, sometimes even splitting families.

UCLA was overshadowed while the Trojans won seven straight Pac-10 titles during the past decade.

Saturday's USC victory — the Trojans' fourth straight — in the 80th meeting between the teams was for nothing but civic pride, with the Bruins failing to qualify for a bowl game and USC banned from the postseason by NCAA sanctions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101205/ap_on_sp_ot/us_usc_ucla_stabbings

Dog Rapist Joel Mongahan Admits ‘Prank’ – Faces Sack

And people barking at him for the rest of his life, dumb ass.

Monaghan’s agent Jim Banaghan released a statement last night on behalf of the player, who took full responsibility for his disgusting Mad Monday actions.

“Joel can’t blame anyone but himself for an act of stupidity that will haunt him for the rest of his life,” Banaghan said.

“Joel wants to make it clear that he was the one playing a prank on an absent teammate by simulating the act.

“There are no words of explanation that can be offered because none can be appropriate.

“Joel has to now face his family as well as fans and supporters with that shame and has already undergone counselling to help him cope with the consequences of what has happened.

“It was a moment of abject stupidity brought about by too much drink and a complete lack of any thought process.

“The fact that someone has sought to compound the situation further by the use of social media only adds to the trauma, but Joel accepts that it is his actions alone that are at fault.”

The picture is believed to have been taken by a high-profile Raiders first-grade player inside the home unit of one of his teammates.

Read the original story and see the GRAPHIC IMAGE (NSFW) at this link…

Banaghan said Monaghan “apologises unreservedly for the outrage that people feel at the moment and blames nobody but himself”.

“He will meet the club over the issue and accepts that there must be ramifications, but the fact is he is not in a fit emotional state to have those discussions at the moment,” he said.

“Joel is a genuinely good person who is simply shattered by a moment of sheer madness.”

RSPCA representatives spoke with Furner before writing a letter to ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope – which was obtained by The Daily Telegraph – demanding any similar acts in the future be deemed illegal.

NRL boss David Gallop said he was shocked and appalled by the image and would closely monitor the Raiders’ response to the atrocity.

AND THE LATEST…..

CANBERRA representative star Joel Monaghan faces the sack after admitting to a simulated sex act with a teammate’s dog that was photographed and posted on Twitter.

Source: http://www.therealstevegray.com/2010/11/dog-rapist-joel-mongahan-admits-prank-faces-sack/

Ex-NFL QB Jake Plummer is playing a new sport these days

It's an early November day and Jake Plummer has the itch to play again.

No, he's not pulling a Brett Favre(notes). Plummer is on his way to play handball for the first time in weeks in Sandpoint, ID, the resort town of 7,000 people near the Canadian border where Plummer now lives three years after his abrupt retirement.


Still only 35 years old, Plummer sounds totally carefree, shooting from the hip while yapping on his cell phone, cracking jokes and laughing.

"I lost in our doubles match at my tournament in a tiebreaker and came off the court as happy as I've ever been after a loss," Plummer said. "I was smiling and laughing and (thinking), 'Hey, this is life.'"

Wait, is this the same Jake Plummer that was labeled a brat after wearing out his welcome in Denver for flipping off a fan, cussing out a gossip columnist and being surly with the local sports media?

Hearing Plummer talk now, it sounds like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders since he shockingly walked away from the NFL and $5 million in 2007.

In fact, right now he's so excited to get back out on the handball court that he's even breaking one of his cardinal rules - not to be indoors when the weather is nice - to play despite it being a beautiful fall day.

"I hate to say it, I'm driving in today and it's sunny and 57, but I haven't played since my tournament so I'm kind of jonesin' to go play," Plummer said.

That tournament would be the third annual Jake Plummer Halloween Handball Bash, of course. Yes, Plummer takes this handball stuff pretty seriously. After a 12-year absence from the sport due to football, he has reconnected with the game taught to him and his two brothers by his father. Plummer plays three to four times a week when it's not summertime - the most his body can handle.

What's the summer entail?

"Outdoor stuff," Plummer said. "Mountain biking, boating, fishing and hiking - not being indoors in an air conditioned room playing handball."

It's clear that Plummer is just living the dream these days. He's so active that after less than two years away from the gridiron, he has already dropped 20 pounds. And his handball game has progressed to the point that he won the Idaho State Handball Championship doubles title last April.

Heck, people are already asking him about his handball legacy.



"I play more doubles than singles, my body's not able to do the singles thing, it really pounds on my body," Plummer said.

"I've got to count my blessings I'm able to (compete) with my knees and back."

Instead of dreaming about a Super Bowl ring, Plummer's new mission is a doubles title at the U.S. Open of Handball with his older brother Eric, the ace of the family and reigning Idaho singles champion that also lives in Sandpoint.

Don't bet against "The Snake." This is the same guy that landed in Tempe, AZ, as a skinny kid from Boise, ID, and led Arizona State to the 1997 Rose Bowl and within 100 seconds of a possible share of the national title with a heroic drive vs. Ohio State capped by slithering through the Buckeye defense for a go-ahead touchdown - only for OSU to drive back down the field and win.

Plummer played his NFL ball in the exact same stadium as ASU after he was picked in the second round of the '97 draft by the Cardinals and word spread like wildfire that none other than former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh compared him to Joe Montana. In just his second year in the league, Plummer led the moribund Cardinals to their first postseason victory since 1947.

But the Cards came back to earth and Plummer finally left the Valley of the Sun for Denver in 2003, where then-Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan was supposed to be getting the quarterback he needed to win another Super Bowl after John Elway's retirement.

It didn't work out that way.

The Broncos rolled through the regular season for three straight years with Plummer at the helm only to bomb out in the playoffs each time - twice getting steamrolled by the Colts and in 2006 losing to eventual champion Pittsburgh at home in the AFC Championship Game with Plummer turning the ball over four times.

That was the beginning of the end for Plummer in Denver. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, whom Plummer loved playing for, soon became the head coach for the Houston Texans. Then Shanahan drafted Jay Cutler in the NFL Draft's first round that spring, benching The Snake mid-way through the following season despite a 7-4 record at the time.

The grind of playing for an uber-perfectionist like Shanahan wore on Plummer during his time in the Rockies.

"I had a coach that, regardless of how well I thought I was playing or how well the majority of fans across the country thought I was playing, it was never good enough for him," Plummer said, not bitter but very matter-of-fact. "And that kind of gets frustrating."

"It just seemed like every game I could have completed these four more passes or these five more shots here and it would have been perfect. And that just wasn't my personality... But Shanahan wanted perfection and he wore a lot of us down there."

Plummer didn't sound surprised by the current circus unfolding in Washington, D.C., between Shanahan and Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb.

"I think Shanahan is still searching for John Elway," Plummer said. "Somehow, someway, he thinks there's going to be another guy like John Elway."

"He coached a team to almost perfection (with Elway) so he wanted that again, he wanted that every time we went out there. It's just not realistic."

So after being replaced in Denver, Plummer was traded to the Buccaneers in March 2007 but - beaten down by life in the NFL - rumors began to circulate that he would never show up in Tampa Bay and instead retire at the age of 32, walking away like his best friend Pat Tillman did five years earlier.

It seemed unthinkable that someone would leave the game with so many good years left and due $5.3 million in 2007.

That is, until Plummer held a press conference in Denver days later to say he was done playing. The speech was short because, well, he had a handball tournament to attend.

He hasn't looked back since and Plummer's certainly got his hands full these days. On top of all the physical activities, he's now a family man, spending time with his wife and former Broncos cheerleader, Kollette, and their newborn son, Roland, whom she had in June.

However, there's one final thing he fantasizes about doing on the gridiron.

Said Plummer: "I would like to go in one more game and roll to my left and throw a ball, a sick wobbly lob pass to Larry Fitzgerald and he'd go up against eight (defensive backs) and pull it down and make me look good."

Somewhere, the Cardinals brass frantically just picked up the phone.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Ex-NFL-QB-Jake-Plummer-is-playing-a-new-sport-th?urn=nfl-282499

Rough And Tense, But Spain With The Win: 1-0

World Cup 2010 is done with Spain the victors over the Netherlands: 1-0

The Spanish team made history today, making their first World Cup final, then winning it, and the cherry on top: being the first team to win the World Cup after losing their first game in the tournament.

So that's three history making feats for Spain.

Spanish players resplendent in their navy blue jerseys and the Netherlands’ on fire with their electric orange kits were quite a sight to behold in Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium.

But, the play was ugly and tense in the first half with rough challenges from both sides. English referee, Howard Webb, whipped out his card holder 5 times in the first 45 minutes: three yellows for the Dutch (Van Bommel, Van Persie, and De Jong) and two for Spain (Puyol and Ramos). De Jong’s yellow was for one of the nastier challenges, a high kick to Xabi Alonso’s chest. He could, and probably should, have been sent off.

Spain looked strong, confident, calmly passing in that Spanish style, in the first minutes of the game, but the Dutch played a rough and rugged game that shut the Spanish down. And they looked strong at the very end of the half with a great shot from Arjen Robben almost on half-time.

0-0 at the half.

The second half was not as rough, but choppy, so much whistle blowing, falling, stopping, starting and "free kicking" — it was enough to drive even the most seasoned soccer enthusiast, crazy.

At 62 it was Arjen Robben vs. Spanish goal keeper, Iker Casillas — it was looking bad for Spain as Robben powered toward the goal and, and, and — MISSED. And it was Spain's golden chance at 76 minutes when Xavi took a corner kick headed by Ramos WAAAAAY over the top of the goal. Then, 82 minutes in, Robben with another wonderful one-on-one chance, again saved by Casillas.

More yellow cards: minute 55, Heitenga on the Dutch side and Arjen Robben at nearly 84 minutes after an episode of whining and complaining that made a two year old brat seem logical and diplomatic.

0-0 into extra time.

In extra time there were few opportunities to score and those few were missed. Iniesta with a great run on goal at 99 minutes that he bumbled at the last moment and Fabregas with another miss at 103.

The beginning of the end for the Dutch came shortly into the second period of extra time. Heitenga got a second yellow card for shoving Iniesta to the ground on his run toward goal and was sent off, leaving the Dutch with 10 men. Free kick for Spain at 110, but Xavi with the miss, free kick for Sneijder at 114, but another Dutch miss.

It was Spanish midfielder Andrés Iniesta who made the first and only goal at nearly 117 minutes into the game after a bad cross from Torres and a quick pass from Fabregas dissected the shorthanded Dutch defense. Iniesta took the chance beautifully. And that's all Spain needed for a deserved win, that's all they've needed to win this entire tournament, ONE GOAL.

But, we all know the real winner of this championship is Paul...the octopus.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128448865&sc=fb&cc=fp

Uruguay survives frantic finish to advance to semifinals

Uruguay reached the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1970, beating Ghana 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw Friday.

The Uruguayans advanced to face the Netherlands in the semifinals after Sebastian Abreu casually slotted the last penalty straight down the middle to secure the win.

Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera saved two shots for the South Americans.


URUGUAY VS. GHANA
Despite few expecting to find these two teams at this stage of the World Cup, Uruguay takes on Ghana with the winner going to the semifinals.
Asamoah Gyan had a chance to win the match for Ghana with the final kick of extra time, but he hit the crossbar with a penalty after Luis Suarez was sent off for handling the ball on the line. Gyan, who had converted two penalties in earlier matches, bit his jersey and walked away with his back to the goal.

In regulation, Sulley Muntari gave Ghana the lead with a 35-meter (yard) left-foot strike seconds before halftime at Soccer City, but Diego Forlan equalized from a free kick in the 55th minute

Ghana, bidding to be the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals, picked up the tempo in the dying stages of extra time and had other chances to win the match.

Kevin-Prince Boateng missed with a header in the 118th in the midst of three defenders. He sent in a cross from the left in the next minute which Muslera had to save at the near post.

Suarez was given a direct red card in the last minute of extra time for batting away Dominic Adiyiah's header with his arms after he'd already blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the line.

After Muslera saved the ensuing penalty from Gyan, he kissed his glove and touched it to the bar, and Suarez ran into the tunnel pumping his arms and celebrating the reprieve.

Support for Ghana has continued to grow this week as the only one of six African teams in the tournament to progress past the group stage.

The 84,017-strong partisan crowd booed loudly when Forlan was successful with the first penalty of the shootout, and cheered wildly when Gyan angled his first shot into the top right corner to make it 1-1.

Ghana captain John Mensah was the first to miss, giving Uruguay a 3-2 cushion, but the Africans stayed alive when Maximiliano Pereira missed the next shot and the crowd cheered again wildly.

But when Adiyiah's next kick was saved by Muslera, Africa's exit was almost sealed.

After Abreu secured the win, Gyan was inconsolable as he left the field in tears.

Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/uruguay-survives-frantic-finish-shootout-to-reach-world-cup-semifinals?GT1=39011

Woman dies after being hit by tire from NHRA crash

CHANDLER, ARIZ.(AP) —A woman died Sunday after being hit by a tire from a crashing dragster at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

The woman was watching a first-round Top Fuel run at Firebird International Raceway when Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster went out of control on the strip and its left rear wheel came off.



Alia Maisonet, a spokeswoman for the Gila River Indian Community, said the woman was airlifted to a hospital for treatment and later died. Gila River emergency personnel were among the first to respond to the scene.

Maisonet said she didn’t know the victim’s name or hometown.

“The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by today’s incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the woman’s family and friends,” the National Hot Rod Association said in an e-mailed statement.

Franki Buckman, the track’s executive vice president, said Firebird International Raceway also is deeply saddened by the incident.

Brown was released by the track medical staff, but went to Chandler Regional Hospital for further observation, according to a statement from Don Schumacher Racing. The NHRA said Brown wasn’t injured.

The Associated Press sent an e-mail to Brown’s Brownsburg, Ind.-based racing team seeking comment after the woman died.

The racing continued after the accident, and John Force advanced to his second straight Funny Car final before the session was postponed because of rain. Force, the 60-year-old star who ended a 40-race winless streak last week with his record 127th victory, will meet Jack Beckman on Monday.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=txnhrafankilled&prov=st&type=lgns

Sources: USSA forced Lago to leave Olympics

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The fuddy-duddy suits who run the Vancouver Games got their scapegoat. Scotty Lago was kicked out of the Winter Olympics. Yes, kicked out.

Do not believe the party line served by the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, nor the words of United States Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky, who said: “Scotty left on his own accord. He wasn’t forced to leave.” Lago, the bronze medalist in halfpipe, was forced to leave, two sources close to him told Yahoo! Sports, and did so only to prevent an even greater escalation of a situation that already had been blown far out of proportion.

Lago is the smiling 23-year-old in the now-infamous pictures of an Olympic medalist celebrating. The photos are kids’ play, and yet because somebody caught Michael Phelps taking a bong hit, anything – anything – gets the USOC’s tighty-whities in a bunch.

American Scotty Lago reacts after his run in the halfpipe final on Wednesday.

Once the photos of Lago surfaced on TMZ.com, the USSA, in an effort to avoid USOC intervention, came to him with two options, according to sources: go home quietly and play the necessary political game, or go through a trial process and risk getting formally ejected. Lago, not wanting to torpedo any future Olympic opportunities, chose to return to New Hampshire instead of staying until the Closing Ceremony as planned, sources said.

Lago had tried to preemptively strike against repercussions. He issued an apology to the USSA on Friday morning when informed the pictures existed, sources said, in which he apologized for the lapse in judgment and said he was thankful for the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. It was not enough.

“He did something pretty foolish, but it’s nothing illegal,” Lago’s father, Michael, said from his New Hampshire home. “No one’s hurt. That’s really all that matters to me.”

Olympic athletes across all sports have been on high alert against behaving poorly in public after the embarrassment caused by Phelps. Athletes were warned repeatedly heading into the Vancouver Games to conduct themselves well, particularly with cell phone cameras ever present. Oh, how rich that it was a snowboarder, a participant in the one sport that brings verve to an Olympic movement that grows more constipated by the year.

Whether Lago broke any formal code of conduct is unclear. Rule 4 of the USSA’s code says: “USSA members shall maintain high standards of moral and ethical conduct, which includes self-control and responsible behavior, consideration for the physical and emotional well-being of others, and courtesy and good manners.”

“It’s important for athletes to not just follow a code of conduct,” said Sandusky, the USOC spokesman. “It’s more than just about an individual. They’re here representing Team USA.”

And Lago was representing his country in the best fashion possible: showing off the spoils of his hard work, allowing strangers to bask in the glory of an Olympic medal, enjoying life when it’s at its finest. While the photograph may have been in poor taste – a woman kissed the medal while Lago held it below his belt – by no means did it merit the sort of treatment he received.

Lago planned on spending the rest of his time in Vancouver watching hockey and hanging out with halfpipe teammates Louie Vito and Greg Bretz and soaking in an Olympic experience with exponentially more meaning thanks to his bronze.

Instead, the IOC used him. It hung Lago out, his pelt there for the rest of the athletes to see, and said: If anyone thinks about acting up – or, heaven forbid, celebrating – this is what happens.

Scott Lago (left) and Shaun White (right) of the United States snowboard team pose with hockey great Wayne Gretzky and their Olympic medals.

No wonder the backlash among youth is so acute. The generation gap is evident. It’s not just that the IOC and NBC think it’s a wonderful idea to tape delay events completed for hours. It’s the general attitude toward snowboarders, the hypocrisy in pimping them for ratings and selling them out because they’re the easiest targets.

Lago got caught in the moment – and a compromising position. He hadn’t slept for 36 hours, TV appearances and media hits and all of the other Olympic duties calling. He fulfilled them, and with grace, honoring his friends Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis, both medal contenders before injuries left them unable to compete.

Lack of sleep is no excuse, of course. It happened. Lago owned up to it. And the USSA could have accepted the apology, broadcast it and let Lago move on. Only it didn’t, the power of the Olympic overlords forcing a rash decision.

“This was about one incident,” USSA spokesman Tom Kelly said, and it was an incident that, in the end, earned Scotty Lago millions of new fans. He was an American kid celebrating the way an American kid should – out on the streets, with the people, happy to give the world a look at his shiny new toy.

The suits turned him into a loser, a derelict, someone told to leave Vancouver and not come back. It’s a shame. The Olympics were better for having Scotty Lago. The same can’t be said for the people running them.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/snowboard/news?slug=jp-lago022010&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Martin apologizes for popping player on chest

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kansas State's Frank Martin is a fiery old-school screamer who expects his players to play with the same kind of passion he coaches with.

That passion got the better of Martin on Saturday -- and he feels bad about it.

Caught up in the heat of a tight road game, Martin hit senior Chris Merriewether on the arm with the back of his hand late in the No. 11 Wildcats' 74-68 loss to Missouri. Martin wasted little time in apologizing, telling reporters he was wrong before taking questions during his postgame news conference.

"That's a mistake on my part," Martin said. "I'm an old-school guy, but I understand the times are real sensitive now. I love him. I don't know what to tell you. It's wrong on my part and is completely out of line and has no part in the game. I need to apologize for that."

Martin's swipe came during a timeout with 1:17 left after a turnover by Merriewether led to a foul at the other end.

Before Marcus Denmon hit one of two free throws to put Missouri up 66-63, Martin called timeout and gathered his team in front of the bench. He immediately started screaming at Merriewether and flicked the back of his hand at the senior, striking him on the arm with his fingers.

The crowd at Kansas State's end of the floor reacted and Martin, realizing he had made a mistake, flipped his hand again, appearing as if he were trying to high-five Merriewether.

Martin sought out Merriewether in the locker room after the game and apologized for popping him.

"It was just in the heat of the moment; big game, lot of heated plays going on," Merriewether said. "I mean, he hit me in the arm, it was nothing serious. (Teammate) Jacob Pullen came back right after and he hit me in the arm, too. It really wasn't too much. I trust Frank and Frank trusts me and it was just a heat of the moment-type deal. It's not a big deal at all."

It may not be a big deal to Merriewether, but Martin's swipe is sure to get some attention at a time when coaches are being punished for abusing players.

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino resigned last month amid allegations that he mistreated his players. Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach was fired in December after he was accused of forcing an injured player to stand in a dark shed. South Florida fired football coach Jim Leavitt on Friday, saying he grabbed a player by the throat, slapped him in the face and lied about it.

Pullen didn't believe Martin's moment was in the same category.

"I think people really looked at that wrong," Pullen said. "I don't think Frank really hit him like you would hit somebody if you wanted to fight them. He hit him as like 'Let's go.' Frank is an enthused person, he's emotional on the sidelines and that's why I think everybody came here to play for him, because we knew we had an emotional coach who would get out there just like we do."

Martin has never been accused of inappropriate behavior with his players and Kansas State athletic director John Currie didn't seem overly concerned after meeting with him and Merriewether following the team's return to Manhattan on Saturday night.

"Coach Martin clearly understands his contact with Chris at the end of the game was unacceptable, regardless of the emotion of the moment," Currie said in a statement. "I am proud of coach Martin for immediately apologizing and I expect that there will be no further such incidents."

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncb&id=4811782