Say What?
Huffington Post reporter caught cheating in a running marathon
Jane Seo, who writes about food and lifestyle for the Huffington Post, was disqualified from her apparent second-place finish in a Fort Lauderdale half-marathon when she was caught cheating. She cut 1.5 miles off the course and then covered her tracks on a bike to throw off the GPS tracker. Suspicion arose when a race timer reported her gaining speed during the second half of the race. Seo posted an apology on Instagram. She said she was not feeling well when she made a “HORRIBLE choice.”
Dear Jane: Thanks a lot. You’re giving bloggers a bad name.
Vikes GM not sure Bridgewater will ever play again
The dislocated knee suffered by Teddy Bridgewater in training camp last September may have been a career-ender. When asked last week if the quarterback would play again, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said, “Everybody’s hoping, but I’m not a soothsayer.”
Between the Lines: Bridgewater is a dual quarterback, but it looks like his days of scrambling for first downs are over. The Vikings are counting on the fragile Sam Bradford to be their QB.
Chad Kelly, disinvited to Combine, may show up anyway
Chad Kelly, quarterback from Mississippi, was disinvited to this week’s Scouting Combine when the NFL office became concerned by off-field conduct. After his football season ended with a torn ACL, Kelly made headlines for friendliness with adult film star Mia Khalifa and for being photographed in a scene where marijuana was present. Kelly also has troubling history: arrested outside a Buffalo night club in December 2014, dismissed by the Clemson Tigers for temper tantrums that included screaming at his coaches. Even if the NFL doesn’t want Kelly at the Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium, it can’t prevent him from staying in a hotel room nearby and even holding a workout somewhere. Kelly’s agent, Dure Oubre, has e-mailed media sources to inform them that his client may travel to Indianapolis and make himself available.
Dear Chad: Good for you, bad boy. The NFL should have wanted you to show up and defend yourself for your dubious behavior. The teams need to know.
Bears have a corporate policy of shunning media, Mike Florio says
The New England Patriots under Bill Belichick are notorious for not cooperating with media. But Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk sees the Chicago Bears as rivaling the Pats in media opposition, but without the Lombardi trophies that make it sufferable. He blames general manager Ryan Pace for reducing what limited interest there may be in the Bears. “Nobody cares about the Bears right now,” Florio said, adding that in terms of national interest, “the Bears are down at Browns’ and Bills’ status. . . . At some point the Bears should take a step back and say, ‘Maybe we should be a little more open, a little more inviting.’ . . . The only time you’ll see an interview with John Fox, if it’s an exclusive, is on ChicagoBears.com. . . . When Fox was with the Broncos we had him on all the time. It’s not a Fox thing.”
Vince Young files trademark: ‘Make Vince Great Again’
Vince Young, the former first-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans who announced his retirement in 2014, after being cut by the Cleveland Browns, is attempting a comeback. He filed to trademark the phrase ‘Make Vince Great Again.’ He hasn’t been great since brief stretches of his rookie season, in 2006. Young, 33, has signed a big-name agent, Leigh Steinberg, who has been negotiating with the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Rough Riders.
Kim Mulkey, Baylor women’s coach, says ‘move on’ from sexual abuse talk
Following a victory over Texas Tech, Lady Bears basketball coach Kim Mulkey grabbed a microphone to address the crowd. She proceeded to advocate a violent response to those who criticize Baylor for being lax on sexual assault. Football coach Art Briles was fired after 31 of his players were accused of rape. Mulkey insisted it’s time to close the book on that. “If somebody’s around you and they ever say, ‘I will never send my daughter to Baylor,’ you knock them right in the face,” she said. “My daughter went to school here. And it’s the best damn school in America. . . . The problems we have at Baylor are no different than problems at any other school in America. Period.”
Dear Coach: To suggest that all colleges have dozens of rapists in their athletic programs is more absurd — and far more harmful – than saying Baylor is the country’s best school. Don’t you mean “best damn Baptist school”?
LaVar Ball says his son Lonzo ‘is better than Steph Curry’
LaVar Ball, father of UCLA freshman basketball sensation Lonzo Ball, intends for his son to play next season for the Los Angeles Lakers. He went so far as to say he will discourage other teams from drafting Lonzo. Papa Ball also created a stir by saying his son “is better than Steph Curry right now.”
Dear LaVar: You are making it difficult for your son to be accepted in the NBA, no matter where he plays.
Shaq’s mom tells him to ‘back off’ on attacking JaVale McGee
In his analyst’s role for TNT, Shaquille O’Neal has often made fun of the Golden State Warriors’ JaVale McGee, who recently responded with a vulgar tweet directed at Shaq. To which O’Neal tweeted back, with at least equal vulgarity: “I’ll smack the s**t out yo bum.” O’Neal’s mom, Lucille, asked her son to “back off.” But McGee’s mother, Pam, was not ready for an armistice. She complained that Shaq “cyberbullied my son,” and that his biased analysis warranted his being fired by the network.