January 2011 Archives

A Chicago car salesman fired for wearing a Green Bay Packers tie is upset that his termination came over a football necktie. John Stone wore the necktie in honor of his late grandmother who passed away, he told the Chicago Tribune.

Alas, Stone worked for a car dealership in Bears country. His grandmother was a big fan of the Green Bay Packers who beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday in the NFC championship game to advance the Super Bowl.

His boss, Jerry Roberts, asked him to remove the tie, which he felt was unnecessary salt in the wounds of Chicago Bears fans. Stone says he at first believed Roberts was kidding. He was later approached on the sales floor where Roberts demanded he remove the tie. Stone declined, leading to his immediate termination, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The most significant aspect of a suit against Texas Tech by former football coach Mike Leach was dismissed by a Texas appeals court on Friday. The court ruled that the breach of contract claim could not move forward, but that Leach could still go after non-monetary claims. Leach was fired in 2009 after a controversy involving a player who was allegedly held captive in a dark storage shed.

Leach was fired on Dec. 30, 2009, after allegedly mistreating Adam James, who had a concussion. James is the son of former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Craig James. Leach contends the actual reason for his firing was to keep him from receiving an $800,000 bonus.

What is the price to pay for being caught in a motel room after having sex with a 16-year-old prostitute? For Lawrence Taylor, it will be only probation.

Taylor, who was known for making big plays on the gridiron for the New York Giants, defied what looked like long odds to avoid jail time. The alleged Lawrence Taylor rape case ended with him pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges, one count of soliciting a prostitute and a second count of sexual misconduct for having sex with a woman without consent. Taylor was not accused of using force on the woman, but because she was 16 she was not legally capable of giving consent. Taylor is expected to receive six years probation. There will also be a hearing to determine his specific sex offender status, ESPN reports.

If you had to play for the Denver Broncos, you'd probably get high and carry a weapon too.

Jokes aside, an alleged drug possession and weapons possession charge has left Denver Broncos Laurence Maroney arrested in St. Louis. The 25-year-old running back was allegedly in possession of marijuana as well as the weapon, TMZ reports. Maroney did have a valid "Conceal and Carry" permit, but even with the permit you cannot carry a weapon while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It seems that a lacrosse team in Boston took the idea of spicing the games up a little too far.

Nearly 9,000 fans were stunned when three women competed to give the team's mascot the most impressive lap dance. According to those who attended the game, the Blazers' mascot, Scorch, received lap dances from scantily clad women during the half-time show, USA Today reports.

Dallas Green, former manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, suffered a more personal loss then he ever did on the baseball diamond in the Arizona shooting. 

Dallas Green's 9-year-old granddaughter, Christina Taylor-Green was among the victims killed in the Arizona shooting, according to ESPN. Devastated by the loss, he flew out to Arizona with his wife to be with his family on Sunday.

The BCS Championship Games lived up to the hype. A tight, back-and-forth battle ended with a last-second, 19-yard field, closer than an extra point. But don't think the drama is over. Now the question turns to whether Auburn will be allowed to keep its National Championship.

Don't think the Cam Newton controversy is over. Cecil Newton, the father of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, attended the game, despite the wishes of the Auburn Tigers. According to announcer Brent Musberger, the involved parties, including Cecil himself, said that it was in "the best interests" of Cam Newton and Auburn if his father did not attend.

The sports world may still be a man's world, but that doesn't mean that it exists outside the corporate world. So calling a female colleague "sweet baby," probably isn't advisable. Calling the same colleague "sweet cakes" and an "asshole" is even less brilliant. In the case of now former ESPN announcer, Ron Franklin, it cost him his job.

According to one of Franklin's co-workers, Ron Franklin and Jeannine Edwards had roughly the following conversation prior to the Chick Fil-A Bowl. ESPN announcers Ed Cunningham, Rod Gilmore and Franklin were discussing Gilmore's wife Marie being elected mayor of Alameda, California. Edwards tried to join in but was shut down by Franklin, according to the report.

Brett Favre is one of those people that just won't go away. He has contemplated retiring every summer since 2002, and has been a PR nightmare for the NFL . Now, despite the fact that he is allegedly retired (again), a Brett Favre scandal is back in the news again.

This time, it's because Favre and the New York Jets are being sued by two former Jets massage therapists who said he sexually harassed them.