U of Michigan Fan Sports Blog Claims ESPN Radio Host Stole Material From Site - Stealing material from websites has been a staple for radio people since the first days of the Internet. The good ones, like those that frequent BadJocks, give credit when it's due and we really appreciate that. Then there's ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd who, according to the blog The M Zone, ripped off their material. Seems the guys at The M Zone created their own NFL Wonderlic Test and posted it on the site a few days ago (Similar to the one we posted for Vince Young here, but funnier). On his show several days later on March 22, Cowherd repeats the entire thing verbatim--they have the audio--and somehow forgets to credit the site. Well, today, The M Zone called him on it and asked readers to email him and ESPN and ask for an apology and proper credit. What does a seasoned professional who represents the largest sports news company in the world do? Pass the buck and refuse to give credit. Here's Cowherd's message: WE WERE SENT IT....WE HAD NO IDEA.. BUT THE INCESSANT WHINING...MEANS I WON'T GIVE YOU CREDIT NOW.. GET OVER IT - CC
Should he get fired over this? Of course not, but how hard is it to give someone else a little credit? Mr. Cowherd, are you trying to tell us that you would have given them credit if they had just kept quiet about it? Not bloody likely. (Read the original post on M Zone here and the response emails here.) Thanks to Fark.com for the link!

Today's Great Sports Video - Yes, it's soccer and in the end it turns out to be a Nike commercial, but you gotta love the stunts and special effects.

Cheerleader Arrested for Assaulting Teachers at Hotel - Another cheerleader gone bad! This time a high school girl from Liberty Technology Magnet High School in Jackson, Tennessee. The girl was staying at a hotel while the school's basketball team competed in the boys state basketball tournament, in which Liberty won the Class AA championship. Around 9 pm Friday the 16-year-old got into it with two teachers at the hotel and the cops had to be called. Sounds like she scratched them both up pretty good. She was charged with two counts of simple assault and was released. (Jackson Sun)

"Game of Shadows" Hits Bookshelves Thursday - The first question people who have seen me reading the new book about Barry Bonds and his alleged used of steroids, Game of Shadows (only $15.60 at Amazon.com!), is "Is it as bad as the excerpt in Sports Illustrated made it out to be?" The answer is: no . . . it's worse. Not only does it paint a convincing picture that the SF Giants slugger used performance enhancing substances like no professional athlete, before or since, but it also gives examples of why everyone seems to hate this guy. The book is, as I expected, a very meticulous block-by-block building of the case against Barry. For example, how could Bonds have gotten away with so much crap in the Giants clubhouse? The simple answer is, the owners let him. In one example, Giants owner Pete Magowan asks equipment manager Mike Murphy to tell Bonds to sign some baseballs. When Murphy asked Bonds, the star player would tell him, "I ain't gonna sign no f*ckin' balls" and then leave it to the Murphy to make up some excuse that wouldn't piss off Magowan. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!
According to the book, Bonds also dolled out heaping piles of abuse on the people who worked for him. "If Bonds told you to do something, you had to drop everything and do it--no matter what else was going on, no matter whether it was a reasonable request or something off the wall. If you were slow to comply, or if you tried to explain why it wasn't such a good idea, Bonds would get right up in your face, snarling, calling you a "punk bitch," repeating what he wanted and saying, 'Did I f*cking stutter?" You had to suck it up and take the abuse and humiliation--everyone did."
Then there's the abuse and near-stalking of mistress Kimberly Bell, who wisely kept phone message tapes from Bonds. Toward the end of their relationship, Barry reportedly called incessantly, wanting to know Bell's exact whereabouts at all hours of the day and night, leaving messages like, "If I don't know where you are, then a niggah's going to kill somebody, good-bye."
Probably the most damaging information in the book isn't about Bonds at all, but how his "trainer" Greg Anderson worried about his main client getting caught using steroids once MLB started testing. Although he was confident that BALCO's products were "undetectable" Anderson didn't want to take any chances and learned all he could about the league's new (in 2003) testing system. He learned so much about it, in fact, that he found "an insider who would tip him when the test (for Bonds) was to be administered." So much for random, unannounced testing, eh Bud?

Stanford Mascot Busted, Again - Back in February, the person inside the Stanford tree mascot was ejected from a basketball game for public drunkenness, eventually blowing an impressive .157% BAC. That person was fired from the job and replaced by Tommy Leep who apparently upset officials during a recent NCAA women's tournament game, was ejected and has now been suspended by the school for the remainder of the season. What is it about that tree costume that makes college students act like jerks? (ESPN)

Minnesota Vikings Love Boat Scandal Update: Culpepper Says "I Wasn't With Naked Women, I Was Gambling Illegally" - The hearing for former Viking QB Daunte Culpepper and running back Moe Williams seeking dismissal of misdemeanor charges of lewd conduct seemed to be going their way on Wednesday, as the judge in the case expressed concern about the fact that two white men--one boat captain and another man--hadn't been charged, even though they saw a little action with the ladies. Judge Kevin Burke told prosecutor Steve Tallen that, "It looks bad" referring to the lack of charges against the other men. Tallen responded defensively, saying that "I'm allowed to make that decision, and it has nothing to do with the race of these defendants." For his part, Williams claimed that while he did get a lap dance--which is legal in Minnesota--he had a drink in one hand and personal belongings in the other so he couldn't possibly have touched the strippers breasts as alleged. For his part, Culpepper, now with the Dolphins, testified that he spent his entire time shooting dice for $20 a throw during the now infamous team boat party and bravely rejected offers from the lingerie-clad dancers. The hearing continues on Thursday, but at the rate things are going, expect both of these guys to walk by the weekend. (Sports Illustrated) BONUS: Click here for BadJocks complete history of the Love Boat scandal.

Is Brotherly Love Worth Five More Years in Jail? Tank Carter, the brother of Steelers safety Tyrone Carter, was supposed to start a six month jail sentence in January for driving with a revoked license. Instead, he opted to stay on the outside and watch his brother win a Super Bowl. What did the judge think of that? Carter will now get to serve 5 years instead, although he reported said it was worth it. (Tampa Bay's 10)

Dwight Gooden Update - Former baseball star Dwight Gooden admitted in court today that he violated his probation by using cocaine and likely faces prison time when he is sentenced next month. (Tampa Bay's 10)

Commonwealth Games Want to Ban Kiwi's From Performing Shirtless "Haka" Cheer - This special report comes to us from our friend Andy Towle at Towleroad.com:  "Officials at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne think the amount of times the New Zealand teams have performed their "haka" at events is distracting. I'll say (but in a good way). Popularized by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team as an energetic team rouser/cheer/ritual. Particularly effective when shirts are doffed. I have to say I've never experienced the haka before but it looks a tad more butch than lip-synching to 'Total Eclipse of the Heart.'" Link includes a number of pictures and video clip of the Kiwi's in action. (Towleroad.com - Note on the link: this site is a gay-oriented news blog, with plenty of (male) flesh. Nothing x-rated, but some readers may not care for the ads they run.)

Bad Steelers Fan? We're putting out a BadJocks APB today for the greater Pittsburgh area and parts of Eastern Ohio after Pennsylvania state police say a special "Steelers Edition" golf cart was stolen. According to cops the cart, owned by a now distraught Ronald Zorn, was taken between 12:30 and 10:30 a.m. this past Sunday. According to the owner, the cart is black and yellow and will probably be hard to sell on eBay because it has the owner's name on each side. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-832-3288. If you find it and get a reward, we'll split it with you. (Tribune Review)
Speaking of Golf Carts . . .  We've been looking for a reason to post this video clip of two guys in golf carts on the course during some special event, ramming their vehicles into each other. To say "alcohol may have been involved" is an understatement. The title is "Golf Cart War".

Want to see a great clip of some video gamers getting what was coming to them? Check out today's edition of the DumbassDaily!

BadJocks Update: Remember the story from last week about ESPNews sports anchor Danyelle Sargent, who dropped an F-bomb on the air? According to this column in the Kansas City Star by Jeffrey Flanagan, Sargent may have been suspended for as many as four days by the sports network for her slip of the tongue. (Kansas City Star)

Marcus Vick Scores an 11 on Wonderlic Test? - For as much crap as everyone (including us) gave Vince Young for scoring a moronic 6 on the Wonderlic problem solving test a few weeks ago (read it here), it seems strange that the low score of another name quarterback would slip by without much fanfare. According to the website NFLDraftAlmanac, the troubled brother of Falcons star Michael Vick scored only 11 on his Wonderlic test at the NFL scouting combine held in Indianapolis in February. (An unreliable source claims Vick proudly came out of the testing room after receiving his score and said, "I'm five times smarter than Vince!")  What does this mean for Marcus' draft chances? According to Matt Bitonti, publisher of DraftDaddy.com, "Vick probably isn't being considered on most team's boards due to the off the field stuff, plus the fact that he isn't as fast or as tall as his brother. This test score is just another reason not to draft him." Just how bad is an 11? Bitonti claims that the low scores of both Young and Vick indicate that either they're functionally illiterate, mentally handicapped, or simply didn't care enough to take the test seriously; none are prized qualities for highly paid NFL quarterbacks. How bad is Young's fall in the draft likely to be as a result of his low scores? Bitonti rightly points out that on Young's retest he still only got a 16 (the average among QB's taking the test in Indy was 24.6, a third higher than Young's and more than twice as high as Vick's) and that was on a test he HAD ALREADY TAKEN ONCE. Seems like anyone could score better just by circling "C" for every answer, doesn't it?  Unfortunately, former Virginia Tech QB wasn't even smart enough to ask for a retest. (Although either he or his lawyer were smart enough to convince a judge that those teens in the McDonald's parking lot mistook a cell phone for a handgun.) "It's an unacceptable score for a future NFL QB," said Bitonti, "It's ok to be only as bright as a potted plant for other positions (RB, DT, etc) but in this modern era of check offs, hot routes, audibles, reading defenses and with the playbooks thicker than the local yellow pages, having a dunce for a QB and paying him a top 3 contract simply isn't an option." DraftDaddy.com predicts Young will drop to the #10 pick and Vick much, much lower. Can you say Arena League? (wonderlich, wonderlick)

Pro Soccer Coach Suspended, Arrested for Choking Ref After Game - Tim Wittman, head coach of the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) apparently wasn't happy with the officiating during the teams 8-6 loss to the California Cougars over the weekend. Several times during the game he challenged their calls and at one point was awarded a unsportsmanlike conduct call toward the end of the game. To express his displeasure, Wittman alleged choked an official, Yader Reyes, until one of his own players was able to pull the angry coach off the ref off Reyes because his ". . . face was turning purple and his tongue sticking out." Not surprisingly, Wittman, 42, was arrested and cited with battery and has been suspended by MISL for the rest of the regular season. (RecordNet)

Freshman Threatened With Sodomy? Hartwick Men's Lacrosse Hazing Update - In February we had the story of the Hartwick College men's lacrosse team which had its season suspended because of some hazing allegations. Within a week the school had sorted things out sanctioning 15 players, suspending some upperclassmen from the team, throwing others out of the school, but restoring the team's season. Now comes word that one former player has been charged with something called "first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child." Not exactly sure what that means, but it might have to do with the accusation by several of the freshmen members of the team who claim that they were stripped naked and thrown into a room with a keg they were supposed to finish by themselves. Yeah, we knew that part of the story a few weeks ago: now comes news that the naked players also had their hands duct taped and according to at least one witness, older players threaten to sodomize the frosh if they didn't drink. (Daily Star)

Disturbing Sports Video of the Week - What's it like to be a University of Iowa fan and call in sick from work to go to a bar to watch your favorite team . . . LOSE? This video probably can't capture the full pain, but it comes really close. Dedicated to every fan who's team bit the dust early in the NCAA Tournament.

Holy Sh*t! UK Soccer Team Apologizes for Fans Throwing Human Excrement at Opposing Team, Spokesman Says Their Behavior May Have "Fallen Short" of Expected Standards - Ya think? Fans--especially European soccer fans--do a lot of stupid things over the course of a season: drinking, shouting obscenities, brawling, and throwing things. Usually batteries, sometimes other drunken fans. But when the fans of the Liverpool soccer team started throwing human excrement at opposing Manchester United fans well, a new low may have been set. Ged Poynton, stadium and operations manager for Liverpool, apologized last week for the incident, admitting standards of behavior for its fans had "fallen short" of that expected. Said Poynton, "I am ashamed to admit in one case excrement was thrown. How low can you get? We did what we could, we tried to brush people down and compensate those involved." Just how do you compensate someone who's had sh*t thrown at them? ESPN (Thanks to Fark.com for the link!)

BadJocks First? Hockey Referee Arrested for Starting Fight During Game - You know, usually during hockey brawls it's the referees who get attacked and the players who get arrested . . . but not this time. Police in New York say that things got out of hand during a men's recreation hockey game at the Brewster Ice Arena. According to witnesses the referee, George Johnston, 36, got into a shouting match with one of the players during an adult men's recreation league game. The shouting lead to shoving and Johnston reported knocked a 31-year-old player to the ice breaking the player's wrist! Johnston was charged with third-degree assault and could face up to a year in prison if convicted. (Journal News)

Gym Teacher Holds Knife to Girls, Tells Them "I'm Going to Cut You If You Don't Do It!" - A harmless joke or a physical education instructor who seriously needs some time off? It all happened late last week in a Queens, NY high school, according to police. Cops say Mark Omeltchenko, 45, the gym teacher at Aviation High, apparently became frustrated when two girls, ages 14 and 15, who refused to a "crab walk" workout being conducted by a visiting military instructor. (Visiting instructor? The closest we ever got to that in high school was a film on hygiene with a talking roll of toilet paper . . . but I digress.) According to the girls, Omeltchenko came out of his office with a serrated knife and allegedly said, "I'm going to cut you if you don't do it." In his defense, the gym teacher--allegedly--approached one of the girls placing the dull side against her arm, but threatened to flip it over to the sharp side. Said the teen, "He's someone who joked around a lot. At first, I thought he was joking - then I saw he was serious." Joke or not, Omeltchenko was arrested and later reassigned by the school. (NY Post)

#39! A former assistant football coach at Nitro High School in West Virginia is being sued by a former student who claims both he and the school are responsible for sexual abuse that happened nearly a year ago. The girls says the coach kissed her stomach, pulled down her bra and fondled and kissed her chest. (West Virginia Record)

Hockey Gambling Update: Gretzky's Wife to be Subpoenaed - According to the AP, Wayne Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, will be subpoenaed to testify when a grand jury looks at charges in the case involving a betting ring allegedly run an NHL assistant coach. (AP) Looking for the Janet Jones Gretzky Gambling Story and/or the Picture of Her on the Cover of Playboy? Click here for our Feb 5, 2006 archive.

Nasty Sports Video of the Week: Allan Ray Eye Poke Video - We weren't planning on posting this, but several readers requested it, and it was a slow news weekend, so what the hell? If BadJocks can't bring you an occasional poke in the eye, who can? Notice how Villanova guard Allan Ray's eyeball turns a distinct white after the finger of Pittsburgh's Carl Krauser pokes him. Good news is that his vision appears to be fine and Ray has been cleared to practice this week. Who said basketball wasn't a contact sport? (Allen Ray, Alan Ray)

New HS Coach Sex Scandal Spurt? Not sure what's causing this, but we've had eight new reports in the last two days. Could it be that Spring is in the air and an old coach's fancy turns to lust?
#38! Coach who headed HS girls basketball team for 18 years accused of sexually assaulting one of his players. (WBAY)
#37! HS football coach accused of relationship with 18-year-old female student. (GazetteOnline)
#36! Will they ever learn? Another coach caught in an Internet sting where he thought he was talking to a 14-year-old girl. Dumbass. (WTKR)