Plexiglass Plaxico shoots himself…

Plaxico Burress, in my opinion, is one of the most stupid and worst teammates to have on your football team. He doesn’t practice, he misses meetings, he falls asleep in meetings when he does show up, and he always seems like he’s playing half-ass. But I must say, I thought his stupidity stayed within the realm of football…I was wrong.

New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress has told the team that he accidentally shot himself Friday night, a league official told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio.

The incident happened at the Latin Quarter nightclub on Manhattan’s East Side. The club is a sprawling 15,000-square foot, two-story restaurant and club located in the Radisson Lexington Hotel. Katia Laine, a manager at the hotel, told The Associated Press that police officers had been to the club.

Burress went to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, where he stayed overnight. He was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon.

Now that we are all aware that the wound is not life-threatening, this is extremely comical. I have never liked Plexiglass and this gives me even more of a reason to keep that mindset. What the hell was he doing with a gun? And why was he messing with it to the point where it fires into his leg? The details will probably surface a little later on but the more interesting aspect of the whole deal will be to see how this effects Plexi’s roster spot with the Giants.

Only in West Virginia

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va.  —  A West Virginia mother faces charges after being accused of burning the word “wimp” into her 6-year-old daughter’s neck.

Tammy Smith is charged with five counts of child abuse and of malicious assault, all felonies.

Moundsville Police Chief Jim Kudlak said Saturday that the child told police that her mother used a cigarette to burn her. Smith’s daughter told authorities that her mother burned her because she was angered that the girl tripped and fell.

An employee at the child’s school noticed the burns and police were called Wednesday. The girl is in foster care.

The 43-year-old Smith is being held in jail on $50,000 bond. Kudlak says he doesn’t think she has an attorney yet.

Moundsville is in northern West Virginia.

Wow. And West Virginians wonder why the jokes always fall on them.

 “West Virginia, Wild & Wonderful!” I’ll agree with the ‘wild’ part.

Story provided by FoxNews.com

Texas Tech gets SMACKED…

For all those who argued with me about Texas Tech’s win over Texas being a luck come late; how do you like them apples? Texas beat Oklahoma, then Oklahoma plays Texas Tech and smacks them in the face, 65-21. I know the game was in Norman and Oklahoma doesn’t lose at home, but c’mon. Getting slaughtered by 44 points is extremely tough to swallow. Alabama v. Texas in the BCS Championship game….fingers crossed.

Life is full of choices…Oxford or the NFL?

Congratulations to Florida State defensive back, Myron Rolle, for having earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Rolle received the award in Birmingham Alabama on Saturday afternoon, forcing him to snap his 33-game consecutive start streak. However, Rolle received the scholarship, took a plane to BWI in Washington D.C., and made it to Byrd Stadium in Maryland by halftime. Such a great story and certainly inspirational. Now Rolle has to choose, NFL or Oxford? I wish I had those tough decisions to make in life…at the ripe age of 20!

In a New York Minute

Please don’t be alarmed, we all knew this was coming. The New York Knicks are currently performing an executive front office strategy called “dumping”. Dumping is when a team makes some trades in order to get some decent players in return with the ultimate goal of trading away some large contracts. New York has dumped Jamal Crawford’s contract and Zach Randolph’s contract. In return, the Knicks receive some guys that have contracts that are due to expire by 2010. Coincidentally, LeBron James will be a free agent in 2010. You’re getting it now, right? That’s right, the New York Knicks will make an extremely hard move to try and sign King James in 2010. I would guess that the Knicks’ main competitor in the King James’ sweepstakes will be New Jersey, which has also dumped some contracts and has LeBron’s buddy, Jay-Z, as a co-owner. Other possible free agents in 2010 include Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, and Manu Ginobili. The most interesting part about all of this is to watch the New York Knicks and see how they finish; are they going after a solid draft pick or trying to win as much as possible? Are they going to make anymore trade splashes? Keep an eye on Quintin Richardson and Eddy Curry as possible guys that might want to get ready to pack their bags. Some deal between New York and Charlotte that sends Curry to the Bobcats may be an interesting find…stay tuned.

Gilbert Arenas is an idiot

For those who haven’t heard, Gilbert Arenas feels like it’s a good idea to just tank this season and ‘be like the Spurs’ and win the lottery to land a Duncan-like player. Whether or not he meant a Duncan-style player or just a player with Duncan’s sudden impact is irrelevant. My question remains the same; why the hell did we pay this guy $111 million? Not only were his knees completely shot, but he obviously has no idea about what winning is all about. Could that be the reason why this team gets clobbered in the first round every year? Could it be why there are arguments as to why Gilbert Arenas is NOT a great player? Sure, he can score, but so can 75% of the other guys in the league.

Wake up Gilbert, you’re a moron. I went from calling you a savior for the sport of basketball in Washington to questioning your honest motivation. I used to think that you played to win a championship and become the best player you can be. Now I feel like your selfish (threatening to leave D.C. for L.A. unless he got his $111 million) and brainless for saying that we should tank the rest of the season.

With such a lack of intelligence, Gilbert, may I inform you that the NBA season is 82 games. The Washington Wizards are 1-8 through 9 games…NINE GAMES! You have 73 more frickin’ games to go, and you suggest tanking? Through nine games, if you really feel like you cannot win another 41 games, then you obviously have no idea about team cohesion, motivation, hard work, dedication, etc. Now that Gilbert has taken all of our money to make any runs at big names in the near future (Bosh), he comes out with awful ideas like this one? And one more thing; who the hell does Gilbert think we can draft? Is there another Tim Duncan in the upcoming draft? Not from what I can see, certainly not through just nine games.

Do Your Homework

I understand that reporters and broadcasters are people just like you and I, which is why it is so funny when they make mistakes after trying to be so ‘perfect’. However, I have always thought that reporters do some homework on the information that they are going to be covering before they actually cover it. Apparently I was wrong:

Lucky Seven: NFL Power Rankings Wk. 12

All of the teams I put in my Lucky Seven last week won except for the DeadSkins. Here’s how I see it going into week 12, hard to believe we’ve come this far:

1.) Tennessee Titans (1) – They are still without a loss and Kerry Collins is doing it without alcohol, I like it. It may not be attractive, it may not get any style points, but the Titans are the real deal. No explanation necessary.

2.) New York Giants (2) – They are so close to moving up to number one on the chart after crushing such a good Baltimore defense. However, they lost to the Browns and the Titans have beaten everyone they’re suppose to. We’ll see when the head-to-head match-up arrives.

3.) Pittsburgh (3) – They won an ugly one in some really tough weather. They were also apart of a game that cost bettors an estimated $66 million, which is why I stopped betting on the NFL. I still don’t think they lost their intensity but Big Ben scares me at times (along with his $27M this year).

4.) Arizona Cardinals (6) – They may not have beaten a great opponent, but they beat the Seahawks that was reasonably staffed. And their offense is just so dominant. The other teams that may have been in this spot had dismal games or just are not yet deserving. Warner is still up for the Heisman and Boldin is the best receiver in the league.

5.) Carolina Panthers (5) – They won a ugly game against Detroit. They did have an absolutely unbeleivable game on the ground, racking up over 200 yards. However, my not-so-favorite Delhomme cannot pass right now to save his life. He had just 98 yards passing and it makes the overall outlook of the Panthers’ offense unknown. I still like the Cards’ over this Panthers team right now.

6.) Washington Redskins (4) – Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just a few weeks ago this team looked like it could really make some noise. Then people realized that their offense is the most hilarious thing to watch in all of football besides Al Davis’ reactions to reporters. If defenses lock down Santana Moss (which isn’t all that tough) then this offense is completely flat. Campbell has no protection and the 5-yard passes on 3rd and 12 isn’t going to get it done. The defense is getting turnovers but they have no pressure from their line. Serious issues need to be addressed on both the lines if this team has any hopes of doing anything.

7.) Tampa Bay Bucs (7) – They sit here behind the Skins’ because the Skins’ should still be able to beat these guys. Tampa Bay has been on a pretty solid roll and Jeff Garcia continues to impress the people that thought AARP couldn’t play football. Their receiver situation is a little shakey but I really like their defense and it could take them to the playoffs as a division-winner.

Atlanta may have dropped their game last week but they are destined to win the division, according to the crazy NFC South stat that says the team that finishes last in the division one year is the division winner the next. Ravens are still kind of on my radar but I am looking more at the other purple team, the Vikings. They dropped one but the NFC North is wide open.

Chazz Woodson

Chazz Woodson is easily the most exciting man to watch on a lacrosse field. Check out this short video and tell me that his athleticism isn’t amazing. The game of lacrosse may not spread too far from the East Coast right now, but with players like Chazz we can all expect lacrosse to be the next big thing.

Chazz Woodson Quick Bio:

5’9, 165 lbs. From Hampton Roads Virginia. Attended Brown University where he was a four-letterman in lacrosse. He was a two-time All-Ivy League selection and a two-time All-New England selection. Currently a member of the MLL’s Los Angeles Riptide.

The truth behind ‘Question 2’

Other than voting for the next President of the United States, Question 2 was the hot topic on this year’s Maryland election ballot. Question 2 was to authorize the state to issue up to five video lottery licenses and no more than 15,000 slot machine units. The people of Maryland voiced their opinion and the establishment of slot machines within the state has been passed. Many people opposed Question 2 and continue to be angry with the final outcome. However, many of those people do not understand what the state of Maryland is missing out on.  Below is a breakdown of the top four categories that account for 94 percent of the revenue:

 

1.)    48.5% – Education. Legislation created an Education Trust Fund that provides funding to public schools through “Bridge to Excellence” formulas. Some of that 48.5% would be used to improve public schools, help to start and finish capital projects at community colleges (how about AACC?), and help with projects at other higher education institutions.

2.)  33.0% – Slot Operations. Don’t gawk at that number! In fact, 33% is one of the lowest allocations to slot operations in the entire country (that includes Vegas and Atlantic City). The guys trying to get the slot licenses bid competitively and pay a fee of at least $3 million for every 500 machines. And those fees they cough up go directly to the Education Trust Fund. Not so bad after all, right? License holders will then be required to pay $425 per machine per year in order to fund hotlines and assistance programs for those who have gambling troubles.

3.)  7.0% – Purse Dedication. You have to feed the horses! 80% would go to beef up the thoroughbred purses and 20% would go to the standard-bred purses. Juicing the purses could increase competition and bring the state more money through horse racing.

4.)  5.5% – Jurisdictions. 5.5 percent would go directly to the jurisdictions in which the slots are located. Of that 5.5%, 18% would go to revitalizing Baltimore City (including Park Heights and Northwest)

5.)  2.5% – Race Track Renewal. Bettering the race tracks and making them more attractive for larger events will increase attendance and coverage and lead to higher revenue.  

6.)  2.0% – Lottery Commission. Goes to Lottery Commission in order to cover the costs of governing slot operations.

7.)  1.5% – Special Account. Goes to an account that provides investment capital and loans to small, minority- and women-owned businesses.

 

To me, all of the above seems to be a pretty legit all-around allocation. With these kinds of numbers, we’re all looking at educational improvements for our children, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. How much can the lonely 15,000 slot machines really make, you may ask? State legislative analysts estimate total gross slot revenue of more than $1 billion in 2012 and more than $1.4 billion in 2013. So the next time you hear someone bashing ‘Question 2’, fill them in on the truth behind the proposal, or send them here to check it out.

 

Special thanks to Donald C. Fry for providing us with the great statistics listed above. Donald C. Fry is the president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee.