"It's Real Nice to Be Me" - HS Football Star Will Play in Championship Game, Despite His Claim That He Received Freebies and Cash - It's good to be a high school jock on your way to the University of Florida. Chris Rainey, the star running back for Lakeland High School, was quoted in the Miami Herald earlier this week claiming he received jewelry and a jersey from a local merchant in exchange for his autograph, and cash from another woman he didn't know. Said Rainey, ''I didn't even count it. When I walk around, people are buying me food, giving me money. I'm like, `Damn, I'm glad I'm Chris Rainey. It's real nice to be me.'' This on the eve of tonight's 5A football championship in Florida. Oops. For some reason, I don't think you can do that . . . at least not until you're a college football star and can get that kind of stuff (along with SUVs and a home for your parents) properly passed to you under-the-table by some sports agent. Kids these days have no appreciation for tradition!  The FHSAA says it won't be able to complete its investigation until the weekend, so they left it up to the local school board to make the call on Rainey's playing status and--surprise!--the Polk County School Board decided he should play. Their conclusion? That " . . . there is no credible evidence that Chris Rainey accepted remuneration, gifts, or donations . . ." and that really, he was just joking with the reporter. Yeah, that sounds credible. It was all a joke. If the FHSAA does find that he took cash or prizes, that would mean that Rainey was ineligible to play so Lakeland, should it win, would have to forfeit the game. (Miami Herald)

HS Coach Sex Scandal Update #1 - We're not sure what number or year this guy was, but he's a former HS basketball coach on trial now in a Chicago suburb for having sex with at least two former female athletes. This week, one of those victims testified about their relationship which, according to her, continued on a weekly basis for at least two years during her junior and senior years and even once when she was attending an Ivy League college. According to the girl, the couple's sex occurred most often in a car parked in area parks, forest preserves and parking lots, but at least one time they had relations in the school equipment room. She also claimed that things really got started between the two of them when she made a special mix tape for the coach, with the letters of each song spelling out "thanks for everything." (Chicago Tribune)
HS Coach Sex Scandal Update #2 - Texas HS wrestling coach pleads guilty to molesting two female wrestlers on bus trip to North Dakota and faces life in prison for this federal crime. (Star Telegram)

Girls HS Basketball Player Arrested for Punching Teammate Before Game, Coach Plans to Keep Her on Team - No one seems to know what caused LaDaisha Holloway, a guard on the Southeast High School's girls basketball team (Florida) to punch a teammate before a game last week, but her coach isn't letting go of her that quickly. Said long time coach John Harder, "Who's ever been thrown off a team for throwing a punch? Did she sell drugs? Did she commit murder? That's all (the incident) was - one blow. It's nothing you or I didn't do when we were that age. I do not see this as anything different than a coaching problem that someone has to be dealing with. . . . What happened is the arrest. That's what makes this bad." Yeah, damn legal system. (Herald Today)

Fans With Flares Part Deux: Basketball Game Turns Into Riot When Rival Fans Brawl Before Game Even Starts - The "Fans With Flares" Trifecta is in play! Earlier this week (see below) we reported on Australian soccer fans who started brawling as the game started and eventually threw road flares at each other. Now comes some great video of a Serbian basketball game between a local teams and a visiting team from Greece. Of course, that didn't keep fans of the local rival team from showing up to support the Greeks and before the tip-off opposing fans were brawling in the stands. This thing makes the Malice in the Palace look like a picnic. In the great video below you can see fans punching each other, throwing chairs and tables, and best of all, throwing lit flares around--indoors! In the end, surprisingly only four fans and two cops were injured and the game was still played. Oh yeah, the visiting Greeks won. (ABC 13)

Understatement of the Year? Porn DVD Watching Eddie Griffin Pleads Guilty to "Inattentive Driving" - The legal terms they come up for some things are priceless. As many of you recall Eddie Griffin, who plays forward for the Timberwolves, was involved in an accident in Minneapolis back in March where he reportedly ran into a parked car with his SUV outside a convenience store, then ran inside and asked them not to call police because he had been drinking. Later, the owner of the vehicle Griffin hit filed a lawsuit against him claiming the NBA star was actually watching pornography on a DVD player mounted to the dashboard of his Cadillac Escalade when he struck the parked Suburban and that a witness says he admitted to masturbating at the time of the wreck. (Story and video clip here.)  "Inattentive Driving?" I'll say! Heck the convenience store even had a security video that clearly shows the accident, then Griffin coming in to try and talk his way out of things with the owners AND the cops, who never gave him a breath test and ultimately gave him a ride home for his troubles . . . or maybe because his wrists were too sore to drive. Either way, the result of all that is that Griffin only had to pay a fine and court fees totaling $375 for this petty misdemeanor. (Washington Post)

Mascot Madness: U of Rhode Island Ram Attacked Coming Out of Bathroom at Basketball Game - It's been a while since we've had a good mascot story here on BadJocks, so this one ends a long drought. As most of you are well aware, there's an intense rivalry between Providence College and the University of Rhode Island. And that rivalry boiled over this past weekend when the RI Rams visited PC at the Dunkin' Donuts Center (Is it perfectly round with a hole in the roof in the center? Just asking.) for a basketball game. URI President Robert "Don't Call Me Scat Man" Carothers continues the horrible story: "He was coming out of the bathroom, and he was speared. A guy ran and put his head right up under his ribs, running, and so he knocked the wind out of him and his ribs were bruised. He wasn't hurt badly. But it was the general tone of what was happening there." Carothers then when on to whine--we mean complain-- about the overall "hostile atmosphere" at the arena and pointed to a flier called "Welcome of Friartown" that was passed out prior to the game that called the URI Rams "suckers" and ridiculed individual players. And then, sadly, the mascot was attacked. Unfortunately, no arrests have been made, but the police are on the lookout for some lonely shepherds. (Turn to 10)

Seventh Bengal Arrested This Season: Wasn't the Over/Under 8? - The Cincinnati Bengals may not win the Super Bowl this year, but they are already setting records in one category: Most Players Arrested for Being Drunk AND Stupid in Public. For those of you keeping score at him, this makes #7 on the season! According to Houston police rookie wide receiver Reggie McNeal was arrested outside The Red Door around 2 a.m. local time Sunday. Cops say that McNeal approached two officers near the entrance of the bar and became upset when the officers told him the club was closing. McNeal reportedly initially walked away, but then came back again and elbowed one of officers in the chest. It was at that time that officers detected "a strong odor of alcohol" coming from McNeal and they charged him with resisting arrest. What's really interesting is that with only a few days off, McNeal managed to make it down to Houston in time to party enough to get busted. We expect Bengals owner Mike Brown to issue a statement any moment condemning the media for focusing on only the negatives of his team, and not the positive things, like a lack of convictions compared to arrests this season. Interested Cincinnati fans should check out MikeBrownSucks.com for more fun. (USA Today)

Must See Video: USC Cheerleader Does It Again? Remember the picture from last year's National Championship game showing a USC Song Girl cheering as Texas scored a touchdown. Never thought something that stupid would happen to the Trojans again, did you? Check out this clip from the UCLA game.

Australian Soccer Fans Good at Using Their Hands, Throw Coins, Bottles and Lit Flares Onto Field During Game - You read that right: lit flares made their way onto the field before the Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory game and things went quickly downhill from there as others threw coins (I think they have those big dollar ones down under like they do in Canada) and water bottles at each other and opposing players. Even after the game was over (3-1 in favor or Melbourne, in case you missed it) fans from both sides continued to taunt each other outside the stadium. The real question is: how do you sneak flares into a sporting event? Strapped to your groin? That could prove dangerous. Maybe hidden in your cooler? That would take up space normally reserved for beer. Maybe you can just buy them at the concession stand. (Adelaide Now)

Women's Basketball Coach at Maine Gives Cops False Name When Assistant is Pulled Over for DUI - You just know that all hell would be breaking loose if a player did something like this. But so far, about all coach Ann McInerney has had to do is apologize. According to reports, associate coach, Kathy Karlsson, was behind the wheel when cops pulled the pair over on November 5. Once word of the arrest got out, Karlsson was suspended for three games missed a Thanksgiving holiday tournament in Minneapolis. McInerney wasn't punished at the time because, well, she gave the cops the name of another assistant coach, so no one knew she was even involved. Of course now that the truth has come out and McInerney says she's "learned a valuable lesson from this situation." (Providence Journal) Thanks to Andrew D. for the link!

Say What? MLB Steroid Probe Lacks Power - Oh really? As you may recall, we were among a chorus of sports fans who doubted how serious baseball was about cleaning its own house when they started investigating the abuse of performance enhancing substance in the league. Sure, they named former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to lead the charge, but they kicked all his teeth before he could take his first bite: the panel has no power to order anyone to testify. The result, Mitchell says it will just take a little longer to get to the truth. If you say so, George. (MSNBC)

Seeing Double: College Football Playing Twin Brothers Arrested for Burglary After Attempting to Steal Xbox Video Game - Jack Ikegwuonu is a cornerback at the University of Wisconsin. His twin brother, Bill, is a reserve strong safety at Northern Illinois University. Together, they were a potent duo when they played together at Madison Memorial High School. Over the weekend, the brothers apparently decided they needed a Xbox video game and probably not finding in any local stores (a lot of stuff IS sold out, you know) they decided to ask for one. And by ask, we mean the police allege that the pair broke into a stranger's apartment about 2 am, just as the guy came home. They had his video game in hand and fled when they saw him, but he gave chase and followed one of them to a nearby apartment building and called police, who found Jack Ikegwuonu, on foot outside. The victime identified Jack, who later talked his brother into turning himself in. (Daily Chronicle)

Bad Jock of the Year Finalist? Parents Demand Girls HS Basketball Team Be Selected by Panel: Panel Makes Picks and Guess Whose Kids Don't Make the Team? - As Nelson Muntz from "The Simpsons" would say, "Ha, ha!" This one's from our "There Must Be a God" Files: Nancy Nibarger is the beleaguered girls varsity basketball coach at Castro Valley High School near San Francisco. Over the past year she has put up with numerous complaints from parents about her coaching style to the point that they demanded--DEMANDED!--that tryouts for this year's team be taken out of her hands and conducted by an "impartial" panel. So, the school caved, named the panel and held tryouts. And guess what? The children of the complaining parents STILL didn't make the team! You might think the story ended there . . . that is, if you've lived in a cave the past 10 years and never come across one of today's modern "helicopter parents" who hover over and control every move their kids make. Nope, the parents are still angry and are using Internet message boards (damned Internet!) to make claims that the panel was stocked with Nibarger sympathizers and that she really controlled the selection process . . . for her own team. Nope this isn't over folks. No lawsuits are currently planned, but don't be surprised if we report one in the near future. At right, a picture of coach Nancy Nibarger. (SF Gate)

Professional Darts Player Fails Drug Test 
Wait. They Drug Test Professional Darts Players? 
Wait Again. They Have Professional Darts Players? - In a move that seems to have surprised everyone, Robbie (Kong) Green has failed a drug test. Not familiar with Kong? According to this article, he's the world's greatest darts player and part of his pre-game routine apparently involves smoking a little weed. Green, who also has the nickname Kong tattooed onto the back of his shaved head, apparently tested positive back in June was a was a quarterfinalist at the UK Open. (Globe Sports) Tournament officials were tipped off when Green reportedly light up a dart and scored a bulls eye with a tightly rolled joint. Dude! (Thanks to Fark.com for the tip on the story!)