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Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced in a New Jersey court on Tuesday (Feb. 23) to 5 years in prison for the 2002 shooting death of limo driver Costas “Gus” Christofi.
The sentencing comes 3 months after Williams plead guilty to the crime to avoid a retrial, and 8 years since Christofi was fatally at a party at Williams’ New Jersey home. [...]
Two of the NFL’s most prominent players were among those added to the Hall of Fame on Saturday (Feb. 6).
Wide receiver Jerry Rice and running back Emmitt Smith were elected into the Hall of Fame on their first year of eligibility.
Neither Rice, the league’s all-time leading receiver, or Smith, the league’s all-time leading rusher, were able to their emotions in check when called onto the stage to discuss their Hall of Fame inclusion, with both men breaking down in tears. [...]
Former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrived in court yesterday to be sentenced for the shooting incident inside of a Manhattan club last November, Burress shot himself in the leg after a gun he was carrying in his pocket accidentally went off. [...]
Author Todd Gallagher is demanding justice after he says the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment agency ripped off him television show idea. [...]
Professional wrestler Kurt Angle was arrested in the parking lot of a supermarket in n Robinson, Pennsylvania on Saturday after he violated a restraining order obtained against him by his girlfriend Trenesh Biggers. [...]
| Police have ruled Steve McNair’s death a homicide, pictured here during training camp for the Baltimore Ravens in 2006, but continue to investigate whether his girlfriend Sahel Kazemi (insert) committed suicide. Photo: tperry111 |
“We have learned that a former employee of the Bryants, Maria Jimenez, has filed a complaint against our clients. Ms. Jimenez’s outrageous allegations of improper conduct are totally unfounded and patently false. The Bryants intend to vigorously defend against these untruthful allegations and are confident that the baseless nature of the allegations will be proven.”
That’s what Kobe Bryant’s attorney had to say in response to a lawsuit filed against the L.A. Laker’s star player and his wife Vanessa by their former maid.
Maria Jimenez filed suit in Orange County Superior Court claiming abuse and harassment at the hands of Mrs. Bryant. In her complaint Jimenez contends she was repeatedly verbally abused and berated in front of the couple’s children and other co-workers, stating that Mrs. Bryant calling her, “lazy, slow dumb, a f—ing liar, and f—ing s–t.”
She says she had planned to quit, but was persuaded to stay at the behest of Mr. Bryant.
Jimenez states things finally came to a head when she mistakenly placed an expensive blouse in the washing machine and was ordered by Mrs. Bryant to fetch the blouse’s price tag out of a bag of dog feces, with a directive that she “had to work until payday to pay for the $690 blouse, which she did,” after which she was either let go or quit.
Jiminez is suing for invasion of privacy, unpaid wages, wrongful discharge and emotional distress.
Basketball legend Charles Barkley turned himself in on Saturday (Mar. 7) to begin serving a 3-day jail sentence imposed on him for drunk driving.
Barkley was arrested and booked on Dec. 31 in Scottsdale, AZ after police determined him was inebriated during a traffic stop. Test later showed that Barkley had a blood-alcohol content of .149, much higher than Arizona’s .08 limit.
Barkley held a pre-arranged press conference inside Phoenix’s Tent City Jail on Saturday morning, admitting he had made a mistake and had “learned not to drink and drive,” all as other inmates looked on.
Barkley was originally sentenced to 10-days of confinement, but the judge later reduced it to 3-days.
The former basketball star is not the only celebrity to call Tent City home. Former rapper DMX is also a guest of the facility, serving a 90-day sentence for drug possession and animal cruelty charges.
Three days after Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and Detroit Lions defensive lineman Corey Smith were reported missing in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, the Coast Guard on Tuesday called off the search for he missing NFL players and a third man, former South Florida player William Bleakley.
The men, along with a forth friend 24-year-old Nick Schuyler, who was found by the Coast Guard on Monday clinging to the capsized boat, had gone on a fishing trip on Saturday and were caught off guard when rough waters overturn their 21-foot vessel.
The Coast Guard had searched more than 24,000 miles of ocean looking for survivors. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close told the AP the Guard had exhausted all options in looking for the men, “I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort,” Close said. “Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”
Imprisoned Atlanta Hawks quarterback Michael Vick will get to serve out the rest of his prison sentence under home confinement when he’s released from prison later this Spring.
Vick was to be moved into a halfway house within days, but the home confinement decision was made after prison officials weren’t able to find room for him in a halfway house. Vick will instead be allowed to return home in late May where he’ll wear an electronic monitoring devise and be required to regularly check in with a probation officer.
Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas for bankrolling a dog-fighting ring and participating in the killing of several dogs.
Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that animal rights group P.E.T.A (people For The Ethical Treatment of Animal) has decided against shooting a anti-dog fighting commercial with ex-footballer Michael Vick after his attorney sought assurances that P.E.T.A. would support Vick’s bid to return to the NFL.
The group’s president Ingrid Newkirk was quoted as saying, “Saying sorry and getting his ball back after being caught enjoying killing dogs in hideously cruel ways for many years doesn’t cut it. Commissioner Goodell knows that he has an obligation to the league and to millions of fans, including children who look up to ballplayers as idols, to make sure that Michael Vick is mentally capable of remorse before he can touch, let alone wear, an NFL uniform again.”
In addition, Newkirk fired off a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell requesting that Vick not be reinstated into the league before he undergoes a psychological evaluation.
Michael Vick was convicted in December 2007 and sentenced 23 months in Leavenworth prison for bankrolling a dogfight ring. He also pled guilty in November ’08 to animal cruelty charges for the killings of dogs involved in the fights. He is scheduled to be released from prison on July 20.
The down turn in the real estate market is affecting everyone in one way or another. According to the New York Miami Heat basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is having a tough time unloading multi-million dollar Star Island mansion.
O’Neal has dropped the asking price for the Miami estate from $35 million to $25 million. He paid 18.8 million for the mansion in 2004 after being traded to the Miami Heat. The property has been on the market for nearly two years.
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On the more dire side of the spectrum (though this may have more to do with his personal problems rather than the economy and real estate market), the Arizona home of former rap superstar DMX is in foreclosure.
Currently jailed pending sentencing on multipule charges including drug possession and theft, things got worst for X when news surfaced that his home had slipped into foreclosure.
The property, which had been left vacant since a May (08) police raid and has been the target of looters who’ve emptied the house of all valuables, was purchased in 2003 for $600,000. The bank is looking to recoup $429,000 in mortgage debt.
Troubled NY Giants Wide Receiver Plaxico Burress is once again in the news. 27-year-old Alise Smith has filed suite against the problematic Burress for a May 2008 accident in Tamarac, Florida where Burress’ Mercedes-Benz, valued at $140,000, rear-ended her vehicle.
Making matters worst for Burress is the fact that he did not have any insurance on his Benz at the time of the accident. According to Allstate Burress policy had lapsed due to non-payment.
Neither Burress nor his attorney would comment on the suite.
Burress made headlines in November when he accidentally shot himself in the leg while at a NY nightclub. He turned himself into police and was booked on gun possession. He faces 3 ½ years in prison if he’s found guilty at trial.
NY Giants wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, surrendered to authorities yesterday (Dec. 1) in connection with the self inflicted gun shot wound he suffered on Friday at the Latin Quarter nightclub in New York.
The Super Bowl XLII hero, who does not have a permit to carry a firearm in New York, was arraigned on two counts of criminal possession of a handgun in the second degree, which carries a mandatory sentence of 3 1⁄2 to 15 years in state prison for each count. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Felicia Mennin granted bail at $100,000, which Burress promptly paid. His next court appearance will be on March 31, 2009.
Detectives recovered the .40-caliber Glock pistol at the center of the accidental shooting at Burress’ Totowa, N.J. home and are now looking into whether fellow Giant Antonio Pierce, who was at the club with Burress, might have tried to hinder a police investigation by leaving the nightclub with the gun before cops arrived.
Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg slammed New York Presbyterian Hospital for not reporting the incident to police. In fact, police weren’t made aware of the situation until news reports of the shooting surfaced. The mayor has called on hospital officials to fire staffers who kept quiet. By state law all hospitals must notify the police when a gunshot victim is admitted.
Troubled NY Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress will be charged with weapons possession when he surrenders to New York City police tomorrow (Dec. 1) after accidentally shooting himself in the leg on Friday night at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan with an unlicensed handgun.
According to various news accounts, Burress was at the Manhattan club with other members of the Giants including linebacker Antonio Pierce. Burress, who had been drinking, was attempting to unload his handgun in a secure area of the club, after being confronted by security personnel about the weapon, when it accidentally went off.
Burress reportedly insisted that an ambulance not be called, opting instead for a friend to drive him to Cornell Medical Center where doctors removed a .40 caliber bullet for his right thigh. Police arriving at the club but did not find the handgun and are investigating whether it may have been removed from the scene by Antonio Pierce.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Sunday his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, wrote that his client would turn himself in to police on Monday and will plea not guilty to the gun possession charge. In the email Brafman writes, “I would hope that fans of the New York Giants will give Plaxico the benefit of the doubt and the presumption of innocence – something we’re all supposed to be given in this country.”
Burress does not have a license to carry a firearm in New York. If convicted on the illegal possession charge he faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 3.5 years.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather is claiming he lost seven-and-a-half million dollars worth of jewelry when his Las Vegas home was burglarized last month.
A spokesman for Las Vegas Metro Police Department confirms an intruder gained access to the boxer’s master bedroom by breaking a window sometime between 8 p.m. Aug. 17 and 4 a.m. Aug. 18, when the home was empty. Police released a press statement last week that in part read, “Four people forcefully entered a home in a gated community in the northwest part of the Las Vegas Valley, taking unique items,” but at the time did not mention Mr. Mayweather was the victim of the break-in.
Yesterday (Sept. 2) reps for Mr. Mayweather announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the jewelry.
Mr. Mayweather, who’s often described as flamboyant, is know for bragging about his excesses as much as for his boxing career. During a HBO show last year he showed off what he says was a million dollars that he keeps in a duffel bag in his closet. The thieves however only took the jewels.
The burglary was caught on security camera, but the grainy footage has not yielded any clues to the identity of the suspects.
