HS Jocks Kicked Off Teams for Creating Fake MySpace Page for Coach That Was "Mean-Spirited" - Details are still sketchy on this one, but it appears that five athletes from Plano Senior HS in Texas have been removed from their reams after administrators found out they created a fake MySpace profile of the school's baseball coach David Allen. According to some of the boy's parents, the site contained mean-spirited and vindictive comments about the coach. Four of the boys were on the baseball team, and one was on the track team. (Dallas Morning News) Thanks to Phil for the link!

Father, Grandfather and Referee Brawl After Girls HS Basketball Game - Stop me if you've heard this one: a referee, a father and a grandfather walk into a gym . . . Actually, this one's no joke. A rather large HS basketball referee and full time corrections officer ejected a 66-year-old man from a girls game in Florida for profanity and unsportsmanlike behavior. The man, the grandfather of a player from the visiting team from Viera High School, didn't completely leave the building and watched the rest of the game from the lobby, where he waited for the ref until after the game. The two argued there and were soon joined by grandpa's son and the three fell to the floor in one massive man-brawl. Eventually police were called and all were arrested on a variety of assault charges with each claiming the other swung first. (Florida Today) Thanks to Dana M. for the link!

South Carolina HS Cheerleader Scandal Update: Parent Claims "Everybody Knew It for a Long Time" - Like most scandals in small towns, this one was not very well hidden, but wasn't spoken about publicly because of the people involved. In fact, when a news reporter went to Ware Shoals, South Carolina, many people wouldn't go on record and some didn't even want to be seen talking to her because the entire mess was "political." (For earlier details on the story, please read below.) The latest details to emerge are that only two of the cheerleaders from Ware Shoals High School were involved in the alleged incidents with their coach, several National Guard recruiters, booze and a party . . . and neither of them will be charged. Also, some in the town are now saying that the details of the alleged inappropriate behavior by the school's cheerleading coach Jill Marie Moore were a poorly kept secret: "Everybody knew it for a long time." Some say the behavior had been going on for months, but was kept quiet by school officials. (Times and Democrat)

HS Basketball Player Gets Suspended From Team For Fighting: Calls in Bomb Threat to Gym so He Won't Miss Big Game - Now this is real genius at work! Howard Stirgus, 18, is one of those kids from New Orleans who moved to Texas after Hurricane Katrina and he was on the basketball team at Denton High School until earlier this week when he suspended for fighting. So what did Howard do? He called in a fake bomb threat before the game, of course. School officials had to vacate the building and search it for an hour, delaying both the girls and boys games against Guyer High School. Afterwards, police questioned Stirgus who admitted to calling in the threat. Dumbass. (ESPN)

Breaking BadJocks News: Could There Be Tapes Showing Reggie Bush Took Cash From Agent While at USC? - Reggie says he was being extorted. The two guys who had hoped to launch their own sports agency--New Era Sports & Entertainment--on Bush's back say he took their money then signed with someone else. A Yahoo! Sports investigation has revealed from multiple sources that the former USC running back and his family allegedly received nearly $280,000 in cash, rent and gifts. And now comes word that there may be audiotapes to back up the wanna-be agents' claims. The NCAA and PAC-10 are already investigating the allegations, and if proven true, they could have massive ramifications for Bush and the Trojans. Among them: Bush's eligibility could be revoke retroactively, meaning he might have to give back his Heisman Trophy and the Trojans' national championship season could be rescinded. Stay tuned. (Yahoo Sports)

BadJocks Update: National Guard Recruiters Suspended for Role in Naughty Cheerleading Coach Story - This one just keeps getting better and better: earlier this week a cheerleading coach/guidance counselor at Ware Shoals High School (see story below) was arrested for allegedly giving girls on the squad beer and allegedly introducing them to older National Guard recruiters (she was already dating one) at a party and some "sexual" things reportedly happened. Then, the next day the principal at the school was arrested for allegedly trying to cover the whole thing up and now two South Carolina National Guard high school recruiters involved in the case have been suspended. Specifics were not given (hey, it is the US Military) but the SCNG issued a press release that said, "If the investigation determines that there was wrongdoing on the part of any member or members of the South Carolina National Guard, appropriate action will be taken up to and including court martial and separation from the Guard." It has also come out that the father of the coach, Jill Marie Moore, is a local pastor AND sits on the school board. And another board member has a daughter on the cheerleading squad. Might that explain the principal's willingness to try and keep this all under wraps? Stay tuned. (MyFox Philadelphia)

HS Sports Hazing Update
We have updates on a trio of incidents from 2005 and 2006.
Two Football Players Sentenced for "Cleat Hazing" Incident - Two former Midway High School football players have pleaded guilty to hazing charges resulting from an incident last fall when they hit a younger player with cleats after practice because--we're not making this up--he drank from a water cooler designated for the varsity team. As a result of the plea deal, the pair were sentenced to deferred probation for six months, fined $100 and ordered to pay $600 in medical bills. (Houston Chronicle)
HS Wrestler Sentenced for Role in "Human Piñata" Hazing - Remember the hazing incident from 2005 involving the wrestling team from Flower Mound High School? The team held a pool party at one of the kid's houses and when it was over several of the freshmen had welts all over their torsos? Well, one of the kids involved in that was sentenced to a year of probation when he pleaded no contest to a charge of assault with bodily injury. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of community service and assessed more than $1,100 in fees and fine. A second teen is awaiting trial on similar charges. (The Eagle)
"Semen Tossing" Hazing Takes Strange Turn - One of the stranger hazing cases from 2006: several Fairhaven High School football players were charged with hazing a teammate after witnesses say that they duct-taped a teammate to a bed, physically assaulted him and poured semen from a cup on him. Nice. Afterwards. one witness claimed he was intimidated by one of the players charged and that case was supposed to go ahead this week . . . only the witness never showed up. For some reason, he was never given a subpoena to appear, so the judge dropped the case. And, if you read the story in the Standard-Times, it seems like all of the adults in the legal system have excuses for the "mistake." Maybe just justice in a small town. Any bets on the other charges getting "lost" or "misplaced?" (SouthCoastToday)

Yale Tennis Team Accused of Homophobic Initiation - Tuition to attend prestigious Yale University is something like $35,000 a year, not including books, fees and women's underwear and fishnet stockings to wear during your tennis initiation. Oh, wait. Didn't they tell you about that when you enrolled? Well, apparently it's in the small print because the guys on the men's tennis team are catching a LOT of flak from the Ivy League schools gay and lesbian organizations for a stunt they allegedly pulled back in November. According to reports, team members wore women’s underwear and fishnet stockings, but pretended to be members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity--we're not sure why--and entered several dormitory dining halls, where they sang and danced on tables. Witnesses claim the freshmen had signs on their backs that read, “I’m a faggot. Insert Here.” Needless to say, members of the LGBT Community (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender?) are asking for apologies, and about all the beleaguered athletic department can say right now is that the whole thing was--wait for it--a “terrible joke.” A terrible joke? $35,000 a year in book learnin' and that's the best you can come up with Thurston Howell IV? Meanwhile the coach and players are keeping quiet about the whole matter, hoping it will all just go away . . . like that case of the clap last year. The tennis team's spring schedule just happens to start this week with the Columbia Invitational. Wonder if any of them will play in bikini bottoms? (Yale Daily News)

Soccer Parents Use Cell Phones to Foil Penalty Kicks - In case there was ever any doubt that adults have ruined youth sports, here's yet another example from the world of soccer: Moston Brook and Knuzden field teams in an under-13 league in the UK as part of the Blackburn and Darwen District Junior League. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, so naturally they went to penalty kicks to decide the game. Naturally, parents from both teams crowded behind the goal to watch the action, but the Moston parents had a little something up their sleeves: as the Knuzden players were about to kick, the rival parents used their cell phones (complete with flashes) to distract them. Of course, Moston won, but not before coaches form Knuzden raced onto the field to confront the thoroughly confused referee who had no idea how to rule on the action. The league is still reviewing the incident and trying to decide what, if anything, can be done to prevent something like this from happening again. (Manchester Evening News)

Sports Video Clip of the Day: Storm Causes Large Advertising Signs to Break Free, Pummel Soccer Players During Game - Amazing footage shown over and over again in slow motion, in case you missed the carnage the first time. Tell your friends: YouGottaSeeThisVideo!

College Basketball Coach Appears Topless During Game - Okay, so it was a men's coach who showed up to support the women's team, but still. According to SI.com, Tennessee men's b-ball coach Bruce Pearl--known for his "enthusiasm"--decided to not only sit in the student section during Monday night's game between the fourth-ranked Lady Vols and No. 1 Duke, but he also went shirtless and had his chest painted in orange with a "V" for Volunteers on it. Click here for the rest of the story and a super-size version of the pic . . . if your stomach can handle it. (Thanks to Artie Bigley for the link!)

Naughty Cheerleading Coach Update: HS Principal Now Arrested for Obstruction of Justice - The case of Jill Marie Moore, a cheer coach and guidance counselor at Ware Shoals High School in South Carolina, takes another strange twist. As we reported yesterday (see below with mug shot), Moore was arrested on multiple charges stemming from allegations that she gave beer to girls on the squad, took them off campus without permission and put them in "incredibly inappropriate situations" relative to a sexual relationship she was having. What exactly does that mean? Well, according to Fox Carolina Moore was dating a National Guard recruiter and was recruiting cheerleaders to attend a party. At the party a 16-year-old girl allegedly had sex and drank alcohol with another National Guardsman. Oops. Now comes word that the local sheriff has also arrested the principal of Ware Shoals, Jane Blackwell, handcuffing her and making her do the perp walk in front of students during school. According to cops, once the story about the incident came to light, Blackwell told cheerleaders not to talk to anyone about it and tried to keep other evidence from getting out. She denies the charges and she and her attorney believe that when the facts come out she will be cleared. Oh, and police believe Blackwell first started hearing about Moore's indiscretions last summer. (Fox21)

Tattoo Artist Puts Picture of Wiener on Teen's Back Instead of Rival Team Logo - Imagine going into a tattoo parlor and asking the guy to put an Indianapolis Colts logo on your back, and he turns out to be a huge Patriots fan. So instead of the famous horseshoe, he sketches a male member on your back instead . . . and you're stupid enough to walk proudly home with it and show it to your shocked parents. Well something like that happened in Argentina over two soccer teams no one here has ever heard of. Oh, and the kid with the picture of a penis on his back? He's suing the tattoo guy. (Daily India)

HS Coach Sex Scandal Update: Hot Blonde Cheerleading Coach From Colorado Offered Plea Deal - It probably won't take long for CNN's Nancy Grace to start shrieking about this one: former HS teacher and cheerleading coach Carrie McCandless (also the wife of the school principal) has been offered a plea deal by prosecutors. You may remember Carrie, she's the Colorado teach accused of doing "everything but sex" with a 17-year-old male student during a YMCA weekend field trip last fall. McCandless and her attorney asked for time to review the deal. (Denver Post) Thanks to Steve F. for the update!
Read our report from last fall here.

Former Hockey Player Responds to "Locker Boxing" Story/Video - Not exactly "hate mail" but some thinks we shouldn't be lumping the "locker boxing" young hockey players in with other real bad jocks. (See earlier story below) What do you think?

To the Editors:
As an avid Bad Jocks reader, I was mildly shocked that this made your headlines. I've played hockey for over 15 years and am now playing collegiate hockey and I have seen this ever since peewees when most major on-ice contact begins. This practice has typically been called "helmets and gloves" in my circles. I've seen it over on ice issues in house leagues, to settle bets among teammates, and to have a little fun. These fights have ranged from pitting teammates to rivals to top campers at competitive camps to best friends to twin brothers against each other. I have engaged in this activity personally and I think the light you have placed on it is misguided. Yes, people have got seriously hurt in a few isolated cases, but this is not common place at all. Of course, locker room code is "what happens here stays here," so you only hear of the bad, harmful fights. I would guess that the odds of such serious injury lie in the 1/1000 area. Just look at the example you showed, it's clearly a case of two kids having fun. I've never seen any major injury and don't expect to see one. In fact, I've never heard a personal account of anyone seeing a locker room fight gone awry. This really is a case of boys will be boys. I would probably opine that on ice fights are significantly more dangerous because less effort is taken (partially due to 3rd man in rules) by fellow players to break it up on ice, whereas locker room fights are stopped if they begin to go to far. Also, the presence of skates can make on ice fights fairly dangerous. I don't think this fits in with your typical commentary. I'm not saying these are great things (though they often are entertaining), but I don't think they are of Bad Jocks caliber.
Cheers,
Andrew 

Hey Kids! Are You "Locker Boxing" Yet? If Not, Looks Like You Soon Will Be! - Hockey veterans tell us that fighting OFF THE ICE amongst teammates goes back decades. Here's how it works: after a game, two player strip off most of their pads with nothing but their helmets and gloves to protect themselves. Then it's pound on the other guy until someone submits, is injured, or is knocked out. No, really, sounds like great fun. And to keep those pesky adults out while the fun is going on, it's common to prop a hockey stick against the door. All of this would have stayed a fun, little known secret in the youth hockey world if not for cell phone cameras and--you guessed it!--YouTube. Now, a clip tagged "Martone vs. Tric" (no longer available) of two Toronto youth hockey players beating the crap out of each other has surfaced and their league has finally had to take notice. Coach Dave "They're Doin' What, Eh?" Gwyn was amazed to learn what his players (the Triple A Wexford Raiders midgets, aged 16 and 17) had been doing behind closed doors, adding "I had no idea. Obviously, this is not something we condone." Really? Now, lest you think this is harmless male bonding (how often do we hear that term?) a Canadian doctor has been studying this sports ritual for the past year and reports that, not surprisingly, players think their helmets and gloves will protect them from injuries, such as concussions. They don't. Dr. Kevin Gordon, a pediatric neurologist and Dalhousie University professor, says players have suffered serious injuries that included head trauma, facial lacerations and fractured hands. The proliferation of these videos also seems to be escalating the violence as players try to "up the ante."A quick search on YouTube turns up no fewer than 286 results for the term "locker boxing." An example of one of the worst clips is below. (Globe and Mail) Thanks to Fark.com for the link!

Cheerleading Coach/HS Guidance Counselor Arrested for Giving Booze to Squad, Putting Them In "Incredibly Inappropriate Situations" - Jill Marie Moore, 28, was in charge of providing advice and counsel to students at Ware Shoals High School in South Carolina. She was also a role model as the coach of the cheerleading squad. Unfortunately, it also appears that she got more than a little friendly with some of the girls on the squad and now the cops are involved. After a parent's complaint, police investigated and found out that Ms. Moore (pictured right) not only bought beer for the girls on several occasions, but also inappropriately took members of the squad from school premises, and placed the young cheerleaders in "incredibly inappropriate situations" relative to a sexual relationship that Moore, herself, was involved in. I know, that leaves a lot to the imagination, but we'll keep a close eye on this one for you. (WIS-TV)

CNN's Nancy Grace Finally Catches Up - It's always nice when members of the mainstream media finally pick up on a story BadJocks has been covering for, oh, almost two years now. On Saturday night, January 20, The Shrieker devoted an entire hour to the "latest" high school teacher/coach to be sent to jail for sex with an underage student. Latest, as in the fact that our Pamela was sentenced more than a week ago (January 10) to two addition years in jail for sending sexy videos and nudie pictures to her 14-year-old victim AFTER she was out on probation the first time. Why this story finally surfaced to the top of Grace's pot is anyone's guess, but it certainly follows her recent tirades about hot female teachers getting lighter sentences than their male counterparts for these types of offenses. Go get 'em Nancy, and thanks for the extra traffic! (Anyone else creeped out by the picture at right? Thought so.)
Read the complete Pamela Rogers file including her arrests, mug shots, MySpace page, and sexy cell phone videos.

That's a New One: Soccer Star Blames Positive Test for Steroids on Sex With Model Girlfriend - We can imagine Barry Bonds is watching this one closely. Here's the story as we understand it: UK soccer star Marco Borriello tested positive for steroids recently and blamed it on some cortisone he had to rub on his wiener after a game. Why wiener cream? Well, according to his girlfriend, Argentine model Belen Rodriguez, 22, she had passed an "infection" on to him while they were making love. Said Belen, “I advised him to use the ointment but forgot it contained cortisone. Our sex session proved fatal.” Well, not "fatal" honey, but my guess is that he won't be walking right with that kind of "infection" for some time, much less playing soccer. (The Sun) Thanks to Fark.com for the tip on the story.

HS Basketball Fan Claims He Was Assaulted During Post-Game Celebration by . . . Rival School's Principal? Local Police "Investigate" Say Nothing Happened, Move Along - Yes, we all know that storming the court or the field after a big win can be dangerous but has warming fans ahead of time NOT to do it ever worked? Case in point: a HS basketball game between Mt. Lebanon High School and Upper St. Clair High School near Pittsburgh. According to reports, Mt. Lebanon fans were asked repeatedly not to storm the court after the game and when they did, several adults tried to retain control. One student who made it onto the court, Joseph Rodella, claims that an adult knocked him to the ground and kneed him in the chest and head several times. Rodella tried to ask the adult his name, but the man refused. Only later did the boy find out his alleged attacker was none other than Upper St. Clair principal Michael Ghilani. Of course, the USC cops looked into the matter and found nothing, so no charges were filed and the school district has taken no action against him. Did we mention that Rodella's father is on the school board over at M. Lebanon? Well, they've decided to hire an attorney to pursue charges against Mr. Ghilani and are asking the public if anyone has home video of the incident to come forward. (Pittsburgh Channel)

More Adult/Student Violence: Parents Want Charges Filed Against Coach for Hitting Their Son After Wrestling Match - Some times, it might just be best to walk away. Once again, we have an incident during the post-game handshake, a tradition from a bygone era that may be actually causing more problems than it solves. Coaches spend days, if not weeks, hyping their players up for a big game or match, charging them to defeat the "enemy" and conquer them, putting everyone in a fever pitch. And then suddenly its over and even though you just got your ass kicked you're supposed to let the winners taunt you one last time before you leave. Thanks coach! The latest incident happened at a duel wrestling meet between East HS and West HS (seriously, those are the best names they could come up with) in Sioux City, Iowa. Mary and Evan Hulit's son wrestled for West and they say that taunting between between the wrestlers escalated into a meleee during the handshake and that an opposing coach, Vince Pederson pushed their son in the face twice when things started to get out of hand. By the time it was all over, police reports say that more than 90 wrestlers, coaches and fans were involved in an all-out brawl. Not surprisingly, the Hulit's are not satisfied with the way the school district has handled the situation and are pressing charges against Pederson. (KTIV) Thanks to Red Head for the link!