University Of Detroit To Name Court After Dick Vitale

Dick Vitale is known so much for his candor during college basketball games on ESPN it's hard to remember that he was actually a coach before going into broadcasting. 
The University of Detroit remembered and are now naming their court at Calihan Hall after him.

Vitale coached at Detroit from 1973-1977 and also served as the athletic director before taking the coaching reins of the Detroit Pistons. Those were the Titans' glory years as Vitale has the highest winning percentage (78-30,.722) at Uof D. He led them to the NCAA tournament back when it was much harder to get in. Back then he had the likes of NBA standouts John Long, Terry Duerod, Terry Tyler, and Earl Cureton.

The court will be dedicated during Detroit's home game against St. John's on ESPN2 on December 5, 2011, which also will be his 32nd year calling college games for ESPN and the date of his first broacast (Wisconsin vs. DePaul).

The ever enthusiastic Vitale was grateful for the honor.

"When (athletic director) Keri (Gaither) called me and told me they were going to name the court after me at Calihan Hall, I was absolutely taken," Vitale said. "I can't tell you how much this means to me. It should be a special, special moment. It will probably move me to tears. To all the people that made this happen, you're awesome, baby!"




Congratulations Dick! Hopefully you won't be at a loss for words during the ceremony.




  

NFL Players Deny Involvement With XXX Event

When it comes to events of the "extracurricular" variety, sports figures always seem to get involved. No matter if it's at a strip club or a rapper's ball, they'll be there. The players always talk about it and take scores of pictures. Remember that's what got Marvin Austin and company suspended from North Carolina.   

All that leads to this. A handful of NFL players have denied involvement with an event after their names and images were used to advertise it. The event they claim to have no involvement with: Exxxotica Expo.

Now I don't know if this violates any rule in the NFL code of conduct but I'm sure team officials from the repective teams the players will be playing for aren't too happy about it. One of the players, Chicago Bears safety Major Wright   is the most identifiable player in the ad and was very upset with what went down.

"I authorized my name and likeness to be used in conjunction with other NFL players at a party which (was) to be hosted by other NFL players," he said in a statement. "I had no knowledge and never would have given authority for my name or likeness to be associated with Erotica Expo 2011. I am deeply disappointed that my name and likeness was manipulated by the promoters of this event. The use of my picture in a Chicago Bear uniform was never discussed or approved.


"It is unfortunate that this incident has occurred and I would like to let the Bears organization, our fans, my teammates, family and friends know that I am truly sorry. I have learned a valuable lesson and will use more prudent judgment with people I associate myself with in the future."


The next Exxxotica Expo opens in Rosemont, Ill., July 8, and Wright said on Twitter he is not promoting that event.


"FYI... I have NOTHING to do with the Exotic Expo @ the Rosemont!" Wright tweeted.

Wright, along with Corey Liuget (San Diego Chargers), Brandon Flowers and Eric Berry (Kansas City Chiefs), Jacoby Ford (Oakland Raiders), Kareem Jackson (Houston Texans) and Daniel Thomas (Miami Dolphins) were also shown on the ad in their team uniforms. Liuget and Thomas are both rookies.

Every player said they didn't know what that their names and likenesses would be invloved with advertising the Exxxotica Expo.

Jackson released a statement apologizing for not being aware for what he was signing up for.

“I wanted to clarify an event that took place on May 20th at Club Play in Florida. I authorized my name to be used at that club with the understanding that it was going to be a party hosted by NFL Players. It was never explained to me or did I ever authorize my name or likeness to be associated with Exxxotica Expo 2011. I am appalled that my name and likeness were used in that capacity. In addition, I never authorized the use of my likeness or picture in my NFL uniform. I apologize to the Houston Texans, their fans and family if I caused any embarrassment. I am sincerely sorry.”

If you check a Brandon Flowers tweet  (click here) it tells a different story.



I think the aforementioned planned to attend but when their images were used in an ad they wanted to sever any ties with the event whatsoever.

Reviving A Rivalry

Penn State and Pittsburgh are finally going to revive a series that was last played in 2000.

It's about time. New Pittsburgh head coach Todd Graham had said that he wanted to get the series rolling again about a month ago. Both schools announced on Tuesday that the Pitt-Penn State rivalry will be restarted with a two-game series in 2016 and 2017. The series will be a home-and-home, with the 2016 game played at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and the 2017 game at Beaver Stadium in State College.

All parties involved seem to be express their excitement about the revival except for Penn State coach Joe Paterno. He had no statement on it as of press time, but Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson believes Joe Pa signed off on the series. Keep in mind that Paterno has been thought of as the force that kept the rivalry dead since 2000.

“I know that, like Coach Graham, Coach Paterno was supportive of this, so it was good on all fronts,” Pederson said. “The first person I talked to about this was Coach Graham, and he was raring to go. And obviously they did the same thing on their end.



“This is big institutionally. You have these two great universities in this state, such an important part of the fabric of the state institutionally, and then you have the athletic component of this, and I think it’s probably a feel-good for everybody in the state of Pennsylvania.”

We'll never know, but it's good to see this rivalry get some new life.

The FBI Wants To Review The Tape

Former cycling teammates Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton have a strained relationship to say the least. We're no talking about Barry Bonds and Greg Anderson here.

I'll make the summary short but brief. Armstrong and Hamilton were teammates when Armstrong was winning multiple Tour de France events. Armstrong has been under suspicion for taking performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong has denied the claims through and through.

Recently Hamilton went on 60 Minutes to tell the world that his former teammate Armstrong had been doping it up. Of course Armstrong didn't take to kindly to that and when the two had a "chance" encounter at a Colorado bistro things got interesting.

Hamilton and Armstrong had a run in and now the FBI wants to review the tape of the incident.

Hamilton attorney Chris Manderson said his client was rattled by some of Armstrong’s comments. “It was aggressive and intimidating and we thought it should be reported to federal investigators,” Manderson told The Associated Press.

"Lance Armstrong is a possible defendant in an investigation that's been widely reported, and Tyler is a probable witness," Manderson said. "When there's any contact, especially aggressive contact, we as lawyers have a duty to inform the authorities. ... What they will do with it, I don't know."

Armstrong and one of his attorneys said the encounter was uneventful. I guess it depends on who you ask. Right now the FBI is in the review booth with one of the agents under the hood.

Oregon's Cliff Harris In The Fast And The Furious

Here's another story involving an Oregon Ducks football player.

Star cornerback Cliff Harris was clocked going 118 mph in a 65 mph zone with a suspended license by Oregon State Police. Harris, who was driving a rented 2011 Nissan Altima, was cited for driving while suspended and exceeding the speed limit in excess of 100 mph. Two other teammates were in the car with Harris but weren't cited for anything.

Harris, who will be a junior next season, was spotted at 4:32 a.m. by an off-duty officer, who contacted a trooper patrolling the area, according to a statement from the OSP.


Harris wasn't drunk and no one was hurt. That was the best news that came out of this story.

Oregon needs to be careful before the NCAA starts sniffing around wondering where players are getting rentals cars from. Of course coach Chip Kelly is disappointed.

"We are obviously very disappointed in the lack of judgment exercised by Cliff and feel it's unacceptable," Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. "I've said from the beginning that it should be a privilege to play football at the University of Oregon. With that said, individuals must bear the responsibilities for their own behavior. Once we have finished collecting all the information in this situation, we will determine the appropriate action."

If the Ducks aren't careful Kelly will have more disappointment than speeding tickets.






 


 

Dallas Mavericks Are Honorary Ohioans

It seems everyone is jumping on the Dallas Mavericks bandwagon. I know the supposed superteam Miami Heat were the villains and all but the bandwagon is usually reserved for fans and not government officials.

Ohio Governor, John Kasich, has declared the Dallas Mavericks honorary Ohioans after their NBA Finals win over the Heat. It's complete with a document with a state seal.

You can read the full large size version here.

I guees this soothes the natives in Ohio since they do seem to be a snakebitten state when it comes to sports.

 

A Wild Ejection

Norfolk Tides manager Gary Allenson doesn't go ballistic, but an umps call does drive him up a wall, literally.



It was over a controversial ground rule double call where the ball has to clear the fence and not the wall. If the ball clears the wall and lands short of the fence it's a ground rule double and not a home run.

No one could really tell and the ump gave a lame excuse that the ball was dry so that it's not a home run. That made Allenson go Spiderman and go over the fence that led to his ejection.