Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for December 22, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
- Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail for a domestic violence case involving two of his children and their mother.
- Kobe Bryant has a torn wrist ligament. The Lakers call it day to day.
- Yale football coach Tom Williams resigned as the university probes whether he lied on his resume about being a candidate for a Rhodes scholarship.
- Giants coach Tom Coughlin scored a bullseye. He was asked about all of Jets coach Rex Ryan's yapping and he responded, "Talk is cheap, play the game."
- I guess Knicks fans didn't buy Kris Humphries wedding to what's-her-name either. They booed him every time he touched the ball last night when the Nets visited the Knicks.
2. Perks
You just can't beat the perks you get with ownership. According to the New York Times, if you become a minority partner of the New York Mets, you get among other things, quality time with the team mascot Mr. Met, a business card that states "owner," and maybe best of all, discount merchandise. What, you expected freebies for your $20 million investment? This isn't charity, buddy boy.
3. 'Tis the Season
So the Red Sox sent out a video Christmas card with the cute song Rudolph the Red Sox Reindeer. Sounds innocent but the Red Sox didn't have the rights to Rudolph and links to the video have now disappeared from the Internet.
In a related story the team in the Bronx is reconsidering their video Easter card, Here Comes Yankee Cottontail. (Hoppin' down the first base line.)
4. Your Turn
I guess I hit a nerve when I wrote, "These athletes are ridiculous. Every tackle, every reception, every first down isn't complete until the players gyrate or otherwise say 'look at me.'" Some of your thoughts in response.
*Tom M. The quickest way to make the post touchdown celebrations come to a screeching halt would be a simple penalty. The team forfeits the right to go for the extra point.
*Stan B. If you spend any time on the sidelines at kids soccer and basketball games you see the same kind of narcissism -- celebrating every play and focusing on the individual.
*Bob B. on Facebook at "Len Berman's Top 5," What if the networks just stopped showing the celebrations? Treat them just the way they do when a fan runs on the field. If no one saw these "look at me" displays they would stop.
*And the final word from Bruce C. You get some knucklehead gyrating after he runs 3 feet behind a massive wall of fat guys, a boring kick they make 99% of the time, 4 commercials, 2 promos, a kick from point A to point B, another 4 commercials, another 2 promos, and damn, after 7 minutes of this I need another beer already. Is there a game in here somewhere?
5. Cause and Effect
University of Oregon economists have determined when the Oregon football team wins, male grades go down. Students are spending more time celebrating. Women's grades weren't affected. So it's one of three things. The guys at Oregon tend to party stag, female students have a higher tolerance for alcohol or most likely the women really just don't give a damn about Oregon football.
Happy Birthday: Phillies great Steve Carlton. 67.
Bonus Birthday: Anchorwoman Diane Sawyer. 66.
Today in Sports: 25 years ago today. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. 1986.
Bonus Event: You can now get there from here. They open up the Lincoln Tunnel between Manhattan and Weehawken, N.J. The original name, "The Midtown Hudson Tunnel." 1937.
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