'THE EDGE' (COMING SOON!!) |
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TAXBRAIN 'STOLEN' NASCAR STUNT TIPS APPRECIATED!!! |
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WSOP NIGHTMARE - ONE HAND AND DONE  |
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TOP STORIES - AUGUST 18, 2006 Get your NFL football tickets now at TickCo. They have all team Cardinals tickets, Cowboys tickets, Packers tickets, Colts tickets, Patriots tickets, Titans tickets and more. Get your Super Bowl tickets here! KACSPORTS FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS 2006: QUARTERBACKS | RUNNING BACKS | WIDE RECEIVERS MAURICE CLARETT OUTTED FROM ISRAELI MOB??? Just when you think that this saga couldn't get any sadder comes this, ESPN is reporting tonight that Maurice Clarett was bankrolled by an alleged member of an Israeli crime organization, with Clarrett's lawyer claiming that his client may have been in possession of firearms last to protect himself against mob activity. It's said that in 2004, Clarett traveled to Los Angeles and was introduced by a rapper friend to Hai Waknine, a convicted felon who prosecutors believe is a member of a crime organization called The Jerusalem Group. It's then said that Waknine became Clarett's sponsor and adviser, providing Clarett with cash, a BMW, bodyguards, drivers and beachfront lodging in Malibu, with the understanding that he would be reimbursed 60 percent of Clarett's rookie contract. When Clarett was cut by the Denver Broncos last summer, Clarett was cut off by Waknine after which time he moved back to Ohio. The argument from Clarett's attorney was that #13 had his bulletproof vest and supply of weapons to protect against any potential mob hits. Playmakers can't even write an episode this good. (developing...) KOREN ROBINSON NOT SPEEDING UP FANTASY DRAFT BOARDS... Does Joe Thees-man want to take back all that glowing praise from the other night??? The details on the controversial receivers arrest are now out, and as expected it's way too good even for a Playmakers episode. Robinson's career effectively became toast when officers clocked his BMW sedan at 104 MPH as Koren was desperately trying to make it back to camp before 11 PM curfew, the ensuing chase saw speeds in excess of over 120 MPH, which would put Koren in the Ricky Williams/Terry Allen high-rent district. And this wasn't Koren's first trip to this rodeo, he was clocked at 105 MPH when busted in the Seattle area two years ago. Appearing in court in an orange jumpsuit and his ankles chained, Robinson was charged with one count of fleeing a police officer (felony), two misdemeanor charges of driving while impaired, amisdemeanor charges of reckless driving, careless driving, and finally driving with a suspended license. And Thees-man wasn't the only one to believe that Koren had truly turned his life around - last November, his teammates gave him the Ed Block Courage award, traditionally given to players who overcome adversity on or off the field. Robinson was named the winner of the Korey Stringer Good Guy Award for his cooperation with local media. Robinson also got a Pro Bowl berth along with a lucrative new contract, and just last month got married, all of this ws supposed to be a prelude to a breakout season that would have cemented him as a #1 receiver. And now??? Maybe he can join Ricky Williams in the CFL, that would be on speedy duo, at least in their rigs...  SAME OLD VIKINGS... NEW COACH, SAME OL' KNUCKLEHEADSACTOR GOES ON 'JOYRIDE' IN NASCAR PRANK: 16 year-old racer was supposed to get some type of an 'award' by bikini-clad girls when an actor jumps into his parked race car. It was all part of a prank plotted out by one of the drivers sponsors. However the driver, his older brother, and track security were not aware that this was a stunt, and the bro ends up taking down the actor with a tackle better than anything seen out of A.J. Hawk last weekend. It also appears on the video that a second person tries to take over a tow truck, and he also gets cuffed. You can see the entire incident in it's entirity on the top of this page. NBA PLAYER ARRESTED BY SECRET SERVICE... There are bad places to fire a weapon and then there are really bad places to fire a weapon. NBA player Lonny Baxter was arrested by uniformed Secret Service agents early Wednesday after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House. Baxter, who played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service agent and reported shots fired from a white SUV. Officers stopped the vehicle, which Baxter was driving, near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington, and discovered a handgun and shell casings in the vehicle. Both Baxter, 27, and a 35-year-old passenger were charged with carrying a pistol without a license along with other charges. It wasn't immediately clear why they were allegedly firing the gun. DODGERS PARTYING LIKE IT'S 1899... LA extends NL West lead to 3½ games following 4-0 shutout of Florida, making the Dodgers 17-1 over the last three weeks, the franchises best such streak in 107 years. ANOTHER MLS SCORE BREAKS OUT AT COORS FIELD: And people were looking at Jeff Cirillo a couple weeks back like he had just claimed 9-11 to be an inside job after suggesting baseballs at Rockies games were looking like they had been through more than a humidor. It takes 18 innings for Arizona to finally squeak out a 2-1 win over the Rockies. Funny thing was that the game probably was played in less time than a nine-inning contest a few years back. The Cubs and Astros also play 18 on Tuesday, it takes the Elias Sports Bureau about five seconds to proclaim that this is the first time in history that two games went to such a length on the same day.FEELING MINNESOTA??? NOT QUITE... You would think that with a new regime intact that the Minnesota Vikings problems on and off the field would be a thing of the past, well not exactly. First, top draft pick Chad Greenway tears his ACL about the second he stepped on the field Monday night. That's kind of like having the gasket go out on your new rig the second you drive it off the lot. And if you watched the ESPN telecast you may have caught the fluff piece on troubled wide receiver Koren Robinson, that he is a 'changed man', found God, and that he just recently went back to alcohol rehab just to attend 'relapse prevention classes'. Well now comes word that Koren was arrested and booked for DUI on the way back to training camp Tuesday night - and is far enough along in the NFL's disciplinary program to be facing a one-year suspension. After making the Pro Bowl last season as a kickoff return man, Robinson signed a three-year deal worth $12.7 million during the offseason.  FROM THE U TO THE CC... Turns out that Willie Williams little deal to transfer to West Virginia fell through. Tennessee (no stranger to having character issues) was also among the teams in the running for the one-time prized recruit. However there were no takers in the end supposedly for two reasons - first, the U wouldn't allow Willie to transfer to any program that has Miami scheduled anytime in the next four years. Also, Willie doesn't have that great of a credit score from those 11 arrests from his prep days - although the Williams camp pleads that the charges were so three years ago. So now, Williams travels will take him to Pearl River Community College just north of New Orleans. Before you think that Willie is really going to the hinterlands it should be known that P.R.C.C is the Miami of JUCO programs, and was already headed into the season being ranked #1 nationally. Williams will be able to play now in 2006, then either transfer to another program, or even go straight into the NFL Draft. In fact, P.R.C.C had a wide receiver named Larry Brackins who did exactly that following last season, and was drafted in the fifth round by Tampa Bay - although it should be noted that Brackins flunked a drug test literally on the first day of training camp. So you could either see Willie test the NFL waters after recording about 40 TFL's against overmatched competition, or you could see him on the blotter after an all-night bender in NOLA. I just hope the poor guy can handle the two or three days that the temperature actually drops below freezing.SMALL WONDER - TALLADEGA TOPS FOR SECOND WEEKEND: NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights only needed to count to #1 for second straight weekend, besting a field that included Oliver Stone's World Trade Center. TODAY'S VIDEO... Oliver Hudson goes all-in and falls into a bad beat on the very first hand at the 2005 World Series of Poker. But before feeling too sorry for him consider the following - he's an actor, and was once named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people. His mother is Goldie Hawn, his sister is Kate Hudson - and he just married another actress who was once a Miss Massachusetts Teen USA. I think he can handle the embarrasment and bad investment - let's just say better him than me or most other people. If I'm ever in the Main Event just give me a 4-9 offsuit first hand that I can fold, I'd like to stay around at least five minutes... OVER THE HEDGE - RACOON KO'S SAINTS QB: It's said that Florida State product Adrian McPherson has given up gambling. Too bad, for if he put 20 bucks in Vegas on a mascot racoon running him over with a golf cart while trying to warm up to come into an NFL pre-season game, he'd be richer than Jamie Gold right now. Some in the Saints organization weren't too amused by the mishap - says coach Sean Payton, 'We got to play the Titans and you have to worry about the mascots and all the other stuff going on. When you play a game, your competition is the opponent. When we start having mascots driving around at halftime and all that other stuff, then those are things that are bothersome.' Wide receiver Joe Horn was even more pointed saying 'If that had been me, I would still be lying there. I would have owned a percentage of that field.' I'm just waiting for the USA Today diagram on exactly how the incident occurred. JEREMY MAYFIELD OUT OF EVERNHAM RIDE: Release completes stunning freefall for veteran driver. After finishing in the top-ten last two seasons, the #19 car fell out of the top-35 in owners points last weekend, meaning the car is not assured of making the field in upcoming races.  GOLD MINTED AT WSOP... First Chris Moneymaker, now Jamie Gold, perhaps anyone with a last name of Green might want to enter this, or perhaps Norm or Johnny Cash can come over from the other side. Gold was practically unchallenged for the entire night, as all eight of his rivals including pro Allen Cunningham fell by the wayside. Gold's brief heads-up battle with runner-up Paul Wasicka was anti-climatic. The real Degree moment was Gold's three-hand battle with Wasicka and third-place Michael Binger. Gold, holding 3♣/4♠, limps in, Wasicka, holding 7♠/8♠ calls from the small blind. Binger, holding A♥/10♥ raises a nominal $1.5 million. Gold and Wasicka call. Flop is 6♠/10♣/5♠. Binger raised to $3.5 million, then Gold (w/up and down straight draw) moves all of his $64 million chips in. Wasicka, with a flush draw, a higher up-and-down straight draw than Gold, and an up-and-down STRAIGHT FLUSH DRAW deliberates - then folds,. Binger then moves his $10 million to call. Flop comes out a seven, giving Gold his straight and eliminating Binger. However it was the meaningless river card that Wasicka will re-live, that came out a spade. Had Wasicka called and Binger doesn't fold, Not only does Wasicka eliminate Binger, but triples-up and is suddenly level with Gold going heads-up. Needless to say, Wasicka has to be sick for for not calling. Even if he smells a big hand with Gold, Wasicka has a better than 50 percent shot at hitting one of the eight outs for the straight, or one of the nine outs for the flush (not to mention the two straight flush outs). I don't like three-person hands myself, and I can see being tight if this was early on or on the cash bubble - but Wasicka needed to know only how to count to #1 here - gamble and lose the hand, he winds up third - and with a $4.1 million payday. Win (as he would had done), and he could of suddenly found himself a coin-flip to win the $12 million. But then again poker is the biggest second-guessing game in the history of the world. Still, seems like Wasicka was playing for second, and that's what he got. NEGREANU BOLTS ON RADIO BROADCAST??? The normally pleasant Daniel Nagreanu was said to have been working the satellite radio broadcast with Howard David, but suddenly bolted when Allen Cunningham busted out in fourth. It's said that Negreanu and Cunningham are good friends - is it possible they pool their winnings??? And someone tell me Howard was going to be on this thing - six Super Bowls, NBA Championships, and now the WSOP on the radio, that's quite a resume... GOLD SAYS THIS ONE'S FOR DAD... Gold admits to saying that he wasn't even sure he wanted to win the Main Event, considering all the fame and commitments that go along with it. Gold also reveals that the first thing he did was try to contact his dad out east, it turns out that he is currently fighting a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.  NOT SO FAST... Yes Todd Helton, there is something worse in sports than mistakenly being linked with steroids. 17-year NBA veteran and current Phoenix Suns commentator Eddie Arnet Johnson suffers what he terms 'the worst day in his life' when media reports linked him to a sexual assault on an 8-year old girl in Florida. And yes it was a former NBA player named Eddie Johnson charged with the shocking crime, however it was 'Fast' Eddie Johnson (in mug shot wearing pink), who himself played 11 years in the association - who is in trouble with the hideous acquisation. The mistaken Eddie Johnson (in photo from 1997 playoffs), was born in 1959, emerged from the Chicago housing projects and went on to star at Illinois, and later with the Suns, Rockets, and other teams as a sharpshooting guard. Today he gives motivational speeches and has a DVD out on basketball instruction. Fast Eddie Johnson was born in 1955 in Florida and played his college ball at Auburn before starting an 11-year career that saw him play for the Hawks, Sonics, and Cavaliers. Since retiring in 1987, court records show Fast Eddie Johnson has had numerous convictions including burglary, battery, robbery, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest, along with a charge last month of battery on a law enforcement officer.SOPRANOS EPISODE BREAKING OUT AT SHEA STADIUM??? Someone call Norm Chad on this one - If you see a report on Rotoworld in the near future that Paul LoDuca has gone on the DL with two broken kneecaps, we will now know why. New York Daily News reports that at least twice during the past year, bookies have pressured Lo Duca into paying gambling debts. According to the report, first incident occurred last year when a man called the Florida Marlins to tell them Lo Duca, then with the team, owed him money. Then earlier this season, a man from Arizona, is said to have called associates of Lo Duca's and demanded payment for an alleged debt, and threatened to go to Shea Stadium to 'intimidate' Lo Duca into paying. To add to LoDuca's woes, he's also apparently in the middle of some very nasty divorce proceedings, with the soon-to-be ex accusing him of infidelity in a petition filed in June.  CLARETT BOND SET AT $5 MILLION... Wearing the same type of tan, jail-issue jumpsuit he'd sported here once before, the former Ohio State legend reacted with quiet disbelief when the judge announced his bond at a whopping $5 mill, an amount that will almost certainly keep Clarett in the hole through the weekend. Even the prosecutor had only asked for a $1 million bond, but the judge fears Clarett as a 'threat to the community'. Clarett's attorney called the $5 million bond excessive, adding that his client would not likely be able to post it. The attorney would not speculate on why four loaded guns, ncluding an AK-47-style assault rifle, were in the SUV Clarett was driving early Wednesday.TERROR FLASHBACK: Scotland Yard arrests what they say are 21 would-be terrorists, who planned to board U.S. bound planes - which the bombs supposedly detonating in mid-flight. But if you are a long-time reader of KACSPORTS, you would know this is not Scotland Yard's first time at the rodeo. In April 2004, British police were reported to have foiled a terrorist plot which would had seen bombs unleashed at a Liverpool v. Manchester United soccer match at Old Trafford stadium. At the time, the Sun tabloid claimed that 10 people were arrested in anti-terror raids involving a plot to target the iconic venue which seats 67,000.  CDM WINS ONE IN COURT: In a long drawn-out case which was said to have long-ranging ramifications, a federal judge has ruled that Major League Baseball and its players' union can't force the operator of a St. Louis-based fantasy sports league to pay licensing fees for baseball statistics used in its business. The judge ruled in a 49-page decision that CDM Inc. didn't need a license to operate its fantasy baseball business, ruling MLB players are public figures and statistics from big-league games are in the public domain. The judge's blunt opinion, almost siding exclusively with Carol Matthews 14-year old operation, 'pretty much nailed it on every substantive issue', according to a university law professor who has written law review articles about similar debates in the baseball card industry. Fantasy league users have for years created dream teams whose performance is driven by real-world statistics. But online technology has helped to broaden the appeal of fantasy leagues. Now, an estimated 15 million fans spend more than $1 billion annually to play fantasy sports games online — money that the athletes and leagues had hoped to control. A spokesman for the MLBPA said players 'most certainly disagree with the decision, but beyond that, have to defer any further comments.' The spokesman declined to comment on whether this decision will be appealed. (CDM SPORTS SITE)YOUTH BASEBALL PHILOSPHICAL DEBATE: In a highly controversial ending to an under-10 championship game in Utah, the team's best hitter came up to the plate with the tying run on third base in the final inning. The batter had already tripled and hit a three-run homer in the game. The opposing coach ordered his pitcher to intentionally walk the batter - a practice apparently not utilized at that level. The following batter struck out to end the game. But the big story was that the nine year-old who the opposition walked the previous batter to get to also happens to be a brain cancer survivor. The 'winning' coach claims he had no idea the final batter once had cancer, an austounding assumption because the youngster happened to play for that coach in a basketball league two years earlier. RELIGIOUS CONFLICT ELIMINATES LITTLE LEAGUE WS CONTENDER: And another controversy that saw Little Leaguers stuck in the middle in Utah. Predominately Mormon Little League team had advanced to Regional Finals, but their game was scheduled on Sunday - playing sports on that day is an LDS-no-no. Tournament officials did not budge, and the team was forced to forfeit the game, and was ultimately eliminated. Says a tournament director 'We weren't going to change the schedule for their sake. If we did that, than we'd have to do it for the Seventh-Day Adventists, for the Jewish - pretty soon, we wouldn't be able to put on a tournament.' Sports and religion have collided before - British runner Eric Liddell refused to run on Sunday during the 1924 Olympics, a tale eventually told in the Oscar-winning movie 'Chariots of Fire'. Sandy Koufax and Shawn Green have refused to play in crucial games for the Dodgers which fell on Yom Kippur. Also, former BYU lineman Eli Herring sent a letter to all NFL teams telling them not to bother drafting him, for he would not play on Sunday. The Oakland Raiders drafted Herring anyways, and offered Herring a lucrative bonus, Herring did not sign. There was also a controversy a few years back when BYU's mens basketball team was accidently assigned to a regional that would had seen them play on Sunday had they advanced to the regional final. The NCAA was forced to set up a contingency plan that would had seen BYU transferred to another regional had they advanced that far. |
2003 NFL DRAFT PROFILES
