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Donald Sterling’s Black History Month ad raises eyebrows

This ad ran recently in the L.A. Times. Take a good look.

On the surface, Clippers owner Donald Sterling was trying to do something nice. He wanted to admit 1,000 “underprivileged children” free to the Clippers/Rockets game on March 2 in honor of Black History Month.

Only Black History Month is in February. Why is he celebrating it in March? And why is he associating “underprivileged kids” with Black History Month in the first place? Is he implying that all “underprivileged kids” are black? And how did the Staples Center employees know if a kid was “underprivileged” or not when he/she showed up for the game? By the color of his skin?

If this were any other owner, people would have a chuckle and write it off as poor planning by the team’s public relations department, but Sterling has a long history of racial missteps, from discrimination lawsuits in his real estate ventures to comments he allegedly made in the Clipper locker room.

The guy just can’t get out of his own way.

Oregon’s De’anthony Thomas questioned by NCAA

Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly greets the Ducks fans before the Ducks game against the Auburn Tigers at the BCS Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, January 10,2011. UPI/Art Foxall

De’anthony Thomas of Crenshaw High was one of the most decorated prep players to ever come out of the city of Los Angeles. He was ranked No. 16 in the ESPNU 150 and in early February, he signed his letter of intent to play for the University of Oregon.

It’s not surprising that a top recruit would want to play for a program that just appeared in the national title game, nor is it shocking that a prep running back would want to be a part of Chip Kelly’s explosive spread offense. But what was surprising was that Thomas had already committed to USC and then flipped to Eugene later on.

Granted, even though he committed to the Trojans at first, the young man has the right to change his mind. He did say that he felt comfortable at Oregon and always had his eye on the Ducks despite committing to SC. But just one day after a report was released that Oregon may be outed for major recruitment violations, Thomas left this on his Twitter page (hat tip to SPORTSbyBROOKS for the link):

JUST GOT. OUT OF A MEETING WIT THE NCAA PEOPLE MAN IT FELT LIKE I WAS TALKING TO THE POLICE

There’s a good chance that the NCAA just wanted to talk to Thomas about his decision to flip from USC to Oregon and wanted to make sure everything was on the up-and-up. It’s their job to ensure that gifts aren’t given to recruits in order to sway them into choosing a certain school. (It’s also their job to ruin college football by using the BCS format instead of a thrilling playoff system that would make most fans happy, but that topic is best left for another post.)

Thus, the fact that the NCAA spoke with Thomas doesn’t mean that Oregon is the subject of major recruiting violations. In fact, it might not mean anything. The story that came out earlier this week may have nothing to do with Thomas being subjected to the heat lamps of the NCAA.

But it does make you wonder…

Update: Thomas apparently has been caught in a lie about the NCAA tweets. Rut-roh.

BYU’s Brandon Davies suspended for the season for having sex with girlfriend

The Salt Lake Tribune has the details of Brandon Davies suspension.

BYU center Brandon Davies was suspended from the Cougars’ nationally ranked team for the remainder of the season because he violated the school’s honor code provision that prohibits premarital sex, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.

Davies was averaging 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 24.9 minutes of playing time, so the loss is certainly a big blow to BYU’s NCAA tournament hopes. The Cougars are currently ranked #3 in both the AP and ESPN/USAToday Coaches Poll.

I give credit to the school for sticking by its (obviously old fashioned) honor code. Most programs would have swept this under the rug, but not BYU. In addition to premarital sex, the honor code doesn’t allow students to consume alcohol or caffeine. (Yes, even caffeine is forbidden.)

What I want to know is… how did they find out about what Davies and his girlfriend were doing? Did someone rat them out? Or did Davies feel so guilty about breaking the honor code that he confessed?

I feel bad for the kid — but he knew what he was getting into when he committed to play for BYU.

Elijah Dukes is a real piece of work

It’s been about four months since Elijah Dukes got into any trouble, so apparently he was due.

From ESPN.com:

Former major league outfielder Elijah Dukes was being held in a Florida jail on Thursday after his pregnant ex-girlfriend accused him of slapping her in the face during an argument, authorities said.

Hillsborough County Jail records show Dukes, 26, was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman and driving with a revoked or suspended license. He also had been wanted on a contempt of court warrant. He was being held without bond.

A sheriff’s office report said Mountrail Mounshay Mack told deputies she and Dukes had been staying in motels for days. She said the two were arguing Wednesday when Dukes slapped her several times in the face, according to the report.

Dukes then went to his mother’s house, where he was arrested without incident, the report said.

How is this guy not behind bars? He’s been arrested at least three times for battery and at least once for assault. He’s also fathered five children (that the courts know about) with four women and something tells me that if he’s willing to hit a woman, he’s not paying child support every month. (Oh lookie here, he isn’t.)

I should probably have the decency to wait until more details emerge before slamming him, but it’s hard to give Dukes the benefit of the doubt when he continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. He has a million dollar swing and a 10-cent head to go with it.

UFC on Versus 3 Preview

HeavyMMA.com did a complete preview of Thursday night’s UFC on Versus 3 event. Will Diego Sanchez or Martin Kampmann take another step towards the welterweight title?

Just five days after UFC 127 ends in Australia, the company is back in business with their third event on the Versus network, and the first of three cards slated for March.

Taking place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, this event has been marred by injuries since the original line-up was announced. Alexandre Ferreira pulled out due to the flooding in Brazil, both Matt Brown and Matt Riddle withdrew from fighting Mark Scanlon, who ended up getting pulled entirely, Francisco Rivera was replaced by newcomer Reuben Duran opposite Takeya Mizugaki and a bout between Johny Hendricks and Paulo Thiago was taken off the card entirely when the Brazilian was forced from the fight.

Maiquel Falcao was also forced from his fight with Alessio Sakara due to an unspecified injury, at which point the UFC inked talented Matt Serra pupil Chris Weidman. The New Yorker will not only make his debut in Louisville, but he’ll also be featured on the broadcast portion of the card.

Aside from the ridiculous number of injuries that reshuffled the lineup, and the ridiculous name of the venue itself, UFC on Versus 3 actually looks like an event that has the potential to deliver an exciting night of fights.


Read the full preview.

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