Kentucky basketball strength and conditioning coach charged with assault on his wife

An assistant on the coaching staff of the UK basketball team has been arrested and charged with assault and wanton endangerment after an incident involving his wife.

Brian Shorter, a part-time assistant strength and conditioning coach for the University of Kentucky's basketball team, was arrested early Thursday morning accused of shoving his wife into an unheated garage and throwing water on her.

A source said there was an argument between Shorter and his wife at their home on Russell Springs, early Thursday morning. According to the victim, it came to a head when Shorter pushed her into their garage, which had no heat, and locked her in there. The victim claimed that about 40 minutes later, Shorter returned and threw a bucket of water on her. She, then, apparently made her way to a nearby hotel where she called for help.

Shorter was arrested at his home.

Shorter is in the Fayette County Detention Center, charged with assault and wanton endangerment.

It's hard to envision Shorter having a job after this alleged incident.

Detroit Tigers showing interest in reliever Luis Ayala

Even though Dave Dombrowski said the Detroit Tigers were done spending for the offseason, he's still looking to improve the team and do it in an affordable way.

The Tigers have shown interest in right handed veteran reliever Luis Ayala. Ayala spent most of last year with the Atlanta Braves after pitching in two games with the Baltimore Orioles. He went 1-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 37 games with the Braves.

In three years with the Atlanta Braves Ayala has made about 157 appearances while posting a 2.58 ERA. Ayala, 36, must have himself a top agent if he’s able to get the attention of almost every organization in the league. The Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners are also said to be courting the well traveled veteran.

Overall Ayala has a career record of 38-47 with a 3.34 ERA and 367 strikeouts in 554 1/3 innings for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Orioles and Braves.

Former NBA star, Clifford Robinson, to appear on 'Survivor'

Former NBA forward Cliff Robinson will be on the upcoming season of reality series Survivor.
On Wednesday, CBS announced Robinson would be a cast member of Survivor: Cagayan, which premieres Feb. 26.

“It’s a challenge to come out here and see if I can one, play the game, and maneuver through the game at 6-10,” Robinson said in a bio video for the show.

The 46-year-old Robinson, who played 18 seasons in the NBA and was named an All-Star in 1994, cited his reason for being on “Survivor” on his bio: “The challenge of the show being so tough, and the million dollars.” And why does he think he’ll win? “I think I would do well in challenges. I also have a good ability to make people feel comfortable with me.”

Robinson played 1,380 games in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, and Golden State Warriors, averaging 14.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Andre Iguodala hates national TV games

Professional athletes enjoy playing in a nationally televised game. Most find it as a way to raise their profile for those who don't get a chance to see them play a whole lot.

Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala doesn't look at it that way.

Iguodala isn't a fan of playing nationally televised games while others enjoy being in the limelight.

 “I hate (national) TV games,” the Warriors’ starting small forward said after Monday’s shootaround. “TV games can play tricks on you. You want to play at a high level every night, but you can kind of see how some guys may get up a little bit more for TV games, and that might mess with the flow. Guys want to show the world what they can do, and it should be more than that.

“You should want to play well as a unit on national TV. When you have young guys, guys might shoot a couple of extra shots that they normally don’t shoot, so TV games are dangerous. They can be trick games.” 

First time I've ever heard of a player that doesn't enjoy being on television. The Warriors are 3-6 in their appearances on the tube this season. Like they say different strokes for different folks. With the Warriors being at the bottom of the standings for so many years you would think Iguodala wouldn't mind the attention.

Former NFL player B.J. Askew charged for not paying child support

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Tuesday that his Child Support Division has filed a criminal charge against Bobby Deangelo "B.J." Askew, Jr., 33, of Tampa, Florida, for felony non-support.

Askew was a standout Michigan collegiate athlete and went on to play professional football as one of the league's highest paid fullbacks at the time. According to Schuette, he owes more than $267,000 in back child-support.

"If you fail to pay child support, you must face the consequences," said Schuette. "No matter who you are or where you live, you cannot punt the responsibility to provide for your children – we will hold you accountable."

A star fullback at the University of Michigan, Askew was the first fullback selected in the 2003 National Football League draft. Askew's professional career spanned seven seasons where he played for the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2007, Askew was drafted by Tampa Bay and signed a four-year multi-million dollar contract extension with the Buccaneers in 2008, the largest ever for a fullback at that time.

It is alleged that although Askew enjoyed a lucrative professional football career, he failed to pay child support to his children in Michigan.

A court order was filed in 2005 for Askew to pay child support for his three children in Michigan and payments were to set begin May 2006 at a monthly rate of approximately $2,188.87. The court ordered payment increased to $5,127 monthly due to Askew's extended contract with Tampa Bay. Askew then allegedly made sporadic payments and submitted several arrears payments ranging from $13,058 to $35,310 after failing to pay on time and for the court ordered amount. In 2010, it is alleged that Askew underpaid $107.87 in lieu of a $5,127 monthly payment. Askew allegedly stopped child support payments altogether in November 2012 and has not paid since then.

Despite his alleged non-payments, Askew has received significant income from his NFL career and allegedly possesses multi-million dollar assets. In 2008, Askew signed a $8.3 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Askew is alleged to own a home valued at $2.1 million in Tampa and has owned several expensive automobiles whose brands include Bentley, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, and Corvette.

Askew's career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was cut short by injuries from a car accident in 2009.

Askew was arrested on January 7, 2014 by Florida's Hillsborough County Police. Askew is currently in the process of extradition to Michigan and will face one count of felony non-support in Wayne County's 36th District Court.

"It Girl" of the week: Crystal Dior

The Just Sports & Just Us "It Girl" of the week is Crystal Dior.

Washington Wizards possibly interested in Pistons' Greg Monroe

The Washington Wizards are reportedly interested in acquiring Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe.  Washington plans to pursue the big man in either free agency or before the NBA trade deadline, Alex Kennedy of BasketballInsiders.com reports.

With Detroit sitting with a 17-24 record, the team may look ahead to the future and entertain trade offers for Monroe.

"One player who has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout this season is Greg Monroe, the young power forward who will be a restricted free agent this offseason since he couldn't agree on an extension with the Pistons," Kennedy wrote on Monday.  "...It's possible that Detroit moves the valuable Monroe to upgrade another position and slide (Josh) Smith over to power forward.     

"One team is interested in Monroe is the Washington Wizards, according to multiple league sources.  It's becoming clear that Washington is planning to pursue (Monroe), either through trade or free agency."

Kennedy added, "How the team performs in the coming weeks could determine what the (Pistons') front office does next, similar to what's occurring with the Toronto Raptors right now."

The frontcourt of Monroe, Smith and Drummond hasn't worked out as expected when Detroit made Smith their big free agent signing in the summer.  Trading Monroe would net Detroit assets — picks, young talent or expiring contracts — to use in the future.

Although Washington has only $43.1 million on the books for next season, the team is expected to re-sign Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat when their contracts expire in July.

Nene currently starts at the 4-spot for Washington and is under contract through 2016, but he's struggled staying healthy throughout his career.

Monroe, the 2010 No. 7 overall draft pick, is averaging 14.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

If I'm Joe Dumars I make the deal if I can get another team involved or get the Wizards to give up Otto Porter or Bradley Beal and I don't see the Wizards giving up Beal.

The Pistons are desperate for a bonafide wing scorer and peddling Monroe might be the only way the team can get one, but the problem is that Dumars has a tendency to overvalue his players and I can see him holding on to Monroe.