New Orleans Saints Jeremy Shockey Sues Former Saints Teammate
Houser The New Madoff
Recently released New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant and current Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against their former teammate, Kevin Houser, alleging Houser duped them and other current and former Saints players and coaches into investing more than a million dollars in a film tax credit scam.
Houser is the former special teams long-snapper who was the longest tenured Saints player when he was cut by the team before the 2009 season as news of the tax credit fiasco emerged. Grant and Shockey say Houser, who was a licensed securities broker, convinced them they were buying state tax credits for Louisiana Film Studios, but later it turned out LFS had never applied for the state tax credits.
In all, nearly two dozen former or current Saints players and coaches, including quarterback Drew Brees, Coach Sean Payton and Saints legend Archie Manning, invested $1.7 million to buy what they thought were tax credits for the film studio project in Elmwood. Grant and Shockey’s lawsuit is labeled a class action on behalf of the rest of the investors.
Grant and Shockey allege that Houser actually kept a portion of their money as a commission or finder’s fee. Also, they say that Houser kept secret the fact that the film studio owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to 47 Construction LLC, a company co-owned by Houser and his wife.
Houser’s attorney, Jimmy Castex, said his client and was a victim of the scam by the film studio’s former CEO, Wayne Read. A federal bankruptcy judge ordered the film studio’s assets liquidated last month.
Houser played for the team from 2000 to 2008, exclusively snapping the ball on punts and placekicks.
Derek Anderson Lashes Out At Cleveland Browns Fans
Stop Tripping Over Your Size 17 Feet
The Cleveland Browns released Derek Anderson on yesterday and as the quarterback was leaving town had some choice words for Browns fans. Anderson was cut one day after the Browns traded an undisclosed 2011 draft choice to the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Seneca Wallace.
“The fans are ruthless and don’t deserve a winner,” he told the News-Herald. “I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured. I know at times I wasn’t great. I hope and pray I’m playing when my team comes to town and (we) roll them.”
Anderson refers to a November 2008 incident during which he suffered a season-ending injury to his knee ligament when former Browns tackle Kevin Shaffer gave up a sack to Indianapolis Colts Robert Mathis. Browns fans, unhappy with Anderson’s performance, cheered as he suffered laid on the ground in obvious pain.
Anderson’s high point with the Browns was his Pro Bowl season in 2007, when he was 10-5 as a starter while completing 298 of 527 passes for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns. He threw 19 interceptions. That success lead him to receive a three-year, $24 million contract. Anderson was due $2 million in a roster bonus a week from Friday and his 2007 contract was for $7.45 million.
Don’t you love when a career backup tries to get tough, oh wait, he’s already apologized. Andersons overall record as the Browns starter was 16-18.
Robert De Niro To Play Vince Lombari
"Lombardi"
Back on July 28th we posted that ESPN’s Films-Movies had joined forces with Andell Entertainment and NFL Films to produce “Lombardi,” a drama about the iconic Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi.
Now we find out that actor and Oscar winning Robert De Niro will star as the head coach. Additionally, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth who has written such films as Forrest Gump and The Good Shepherd has come on board the project.
The film’s former focus will be the week leading up to the 1967 “Ice Bowl” championship game played between the Packers and Dallas Cowboys in 13 below zero weather. It broadened into a long rivalry with Cowboys head coach Tom Landry, whose cool demeanor was the exact opposite of Lombardi’s fire and brimstone.
Early word is that to open the film the Friday of a down weekend between the conference championships and the Super Bowl in 2012, the 40th anniversary that the championship trophy was named after Lombardi.
Today On “The Ochocinco Tweeting Hour”: Beef With Colin Cowherd
Wheres The Beef?
The latest on “The Ochocinco Tweeting Hour” is the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver beef with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd. Early in the day the receiver seemed to take issue with some comments made by the radio host and took it to his Twitter page.
Cowherd apparently said something along the lines of that 70% of NFL and NBA players are broke within 5 years of retirement and used Ochocinco’s name as part of his point.
Colin coward talking shh?
Colin Coward with all the negative going on with athletes how do u find a way to lump me n yo show just say I don’t like this black guy!!
I guess Colin won’t be happy till I get a DUI, arrested, well hell maybe I should get accused of rape, maybe that’ll make him STFU!!!!
@espn_colin you look like an extra from the movie LORD OF THE RINGS, get your lisp fixed before you do your next show !
@Reddy_Dean why talk about somebody who does nothing wrong? Talk shows are merely for negative material I don’t fit that category
@espn__michelle tell your lil fake Ryan Seacrest never made it in life so I am gonna judge everybody who does what I couldn’t do to shutup!
@espn_colin its not my fault your girl is cheating on you, its your fault, try EXTENZE and stop worryin about me! Lmao-have a show bout that
Cowherd might have spoken some truth with the irresponsibility of some athletes but just cause Ochocinco dances in front of the camera doesn’t mean he’s done wrong especially since there are no police reports in either of his names.
And Ochocinco may not be like a majority of his peers but in Cowherds corner he does have numerous athletes that could be accurately used as an example. If guys like New York Jets Antonio Cromartie don’t smarten up the list will just continue to grow.
Can we just have a Twitter fight already.
Detroit Lion Steps In Cage With Lion
Ever wonder why Killer whales kill trainers at Sea World or when swimming to will stingrays for a TV segment and all sudden they strike and kill? Probably because wild animals are meant to be left alone but crazy people like Detroit Lions linebacker Zack Follett obviously didn’t receive that memo.
New York Jets Fron Antonio Cromartie $500,000 For Paternity Payments
Jets Fly In & Save Cromartie
Newly acquired New York Jets Antonio Cromartie, who has 7 seven children by 6 different women in 5 different states, was fronted $500,000 of his 2010 salary to help him clean up his lingering paternity payments.
Cromartie, who’s due to make $1.7 million this season is in the final year of his five-year, $12 million contract, has outstanding paternity payments needing to be made. Players don’t begin collecting on their salary until the first week of the regular season and he needed money now to make the payments.
It’s good to see that his children will be finally taken care with his responsibilities as a father but sad that on the surface it appears to be another athlete that has trouble managing millions. To paraphrase my partner Rudy J, will these NFL players really be willing to endure a lockout once they see their finances dry up?
I believe he’s onto something.
11 Year Old Will Bring Down Texas Stadium In Cheddar Explosion
It's All About The Cheddar
Back on January 3rd we brought the news that Texas Stadium would be exploded in a “Cheddar Explosion” sponsor by Kraft Foods. The promotion was also to have a lucky winner push the button in the cheddar meltdown would be chosen from a national essay contest for children.
The winner has been chosen and its 11-year-old Casey Rogers who will get to bring an end to the iconic stadium is from Terrell, Texas. Rogers a Cowboys fan and former foster child, is currently in the sixth grade. Three years ago he started a charity to help the homeless and can be spotted in a downtown Dallas parking lot offering food and clothes. Rogers will push the trigger on April 11 that sends Texas Stadium into rubles.
Kraft will pay Irving a $75,000 sponsorship fee prior to the demolition for charities selected by the city. The company will also provide $75,000 worth of Kraft products for local charities of its choice.
Donovan McNabb & Terrell Owens Will Be Teammates Again
Brotherly Love
That’s right Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and free agent wide reciever Terrell Owens will once again be teammates however it won’t be back on the football field. No, this time they will be team together on the basketball court to take part in Spike TV’s game show Pros vs Joes new season.
Eagles fans can began to find a wall to punch and Dallas Cowboy fans can breathe easier now. If McNabb and Owens would have been able to smooth the hurricane out after the Super Bowl run they surely would have been back by now in their careers.
On the new season of Pros and Joes, McNabb and Owens will be joined on the basketball court will NFL superstar Antonio Gates and former NBA champions Hakeem Olajuwon, Kenny Smith and Rick Fox.
Julius Peppers Wins Over Chicago With 25 Bottles Of Champagne
Rudy J Is Smiling Too
Julius Peppers signed with the Chicago Bears for $91.5 million which 42 of it is guaranteed. To help acclimate himself with his new home, he went out to local Chicago club, Crescendo and bought 25 bottles of $360 champagne for the entire club.
Earlier in the night Peppers attended the Bulls and bought the fans 10,000 nachos. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when he was introduced during a timeout in the first quarter. Presumably he recieved one as well at club Crescendo.
It could have been a different story had the Carolina Panthers as Peppers insisted he was willing to stay with the team had they agreed last summer in a difference of $6 million difference for a four-year deal, roughly $1.5 million per year.
He emphatically denied that the team made a late effort to keep him and said the only person in the front office or coaching staff who has contacted him since the season ended was defensive line coach Brian Baker.
Former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith Slams Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder
Get Down On It
The former Dallas Cowboy and the NFL’s all time leading rusher Emmitt Smith had some choice words when talking about Washington Redskins and NFC East rival owner Daniel Snyder. The Redskins owner decided to let Smith now he heard and fired back with a few comments of his own.
In a recent interview he said that he loved defeating the Redskins.
“I loved it, I loved it, I loved it with a passion. And I loved it more when Daniel Snyder got the team, for a number of reasons. I did. Because here is a guy who thought he could build a football team just because he has the money to buy players. There’s more to it than that.
And he’s not a compassionate person, not a compassionate person at all from what I understand. And that makes me just want to pummel somebody. You know, you hate to see pride, wearing itself on his forehead and his chest. And to me, arrogance sticks out like a sore thumb when you talk about him. And the lack of compassion for others is a problem. Because it’s not that hard to be compassionate; you just choose to.”
Snyder responded Saturday in a statement released through the Redskins p.r. department:
“I applaud Emmitt Smith’s induction into the NFL Hall of Fame and, from what I understand, he’s a heck of a dancer. I think we’ve only met once briefly at an NFL function in 2000. I will say, however, that I like to think of myself as being a compassionate person, except toward the Dallas Cowboys.”
So we have Smith saying that Snyder wears his pride on his forehead, that saying is new to me, and Snyder crediting Smith as a heck of a dancer, which is brand new to me.
Ben Roethlisberger Expected Back In Georgia To Face Investigation
Poosie Just Falling Out Your Pocket
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected back in Georgia in a couple of days to be interviewed by state investigators in an alleged sexual assault of a college student at a nightclub in Milledgeville.
Milledgeville police say the NFL superstar and his 20-year-old accuser visited several bars late Thursday night before the alleged attack. The unidentified woman claims she was “sexually assaulted or sexually manipulated” by a man, police said. The woman, treated and released from Oconee Regional Medical Center, approached one of the citys officers in the downtown area saying she’d been sexually assaulted by the suspect described in the police report.
“He’s been identified as being at the scene,” Milledgeville police Deputy Chief Richard Malone said of Roethlisberger.
Investigators are collecting additional evidence, and more than a dozen investigators have been involved in the case. Investigators interviewed between seven and nine people, including the woman, Roethlisberger and everyone in their parties.
A woman who asked not to be named said she saw Roethlisberger and the young woman at two bars, The Velvet Elvis and The Brick.
Roethlisberger has a winter home in Reynolds Plantation, a resort community on Lake Oconee in Greensboro.
Brian Cushing Trains With Chuck Liddell
ALL-SGE-NFL
The NFL’s Rookie Defensive Player of The Year Houston Texans Brian Cushing is breaking up the monogamy of training by spending the off-season with Mixed Martial Arts fighter Chuck Liddell.
Cushing already ALL-SGE-NFL is driven to improve on a season in which he the NFL took notice of his talents has been a regular with Liddell and FOX’s Jay Glazer in the training sessions since the regular season ended. The training last for about 90 minutes and helping him get the most out of his talents like the grappling aspect of the sport.
No word though if Cushing likes to work out naked.
Ben Roethlisberger Accused Of Sexual Assault Again
Poosie Just Falling Out Your Pocket
A Georgia woman has accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault according to TMZ Sports. This is the second accusation in less than 12 months.
TMZ reports that the alleged assault took place early Friday morning at a club in Milledgeville, Georgia, and that the alleged victim has been treated and released. The alleged assault took place in the bathroom at Capital City, a nightclub in Milledgeville.
Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault before: in 2009, a woman named Andrea McNulty accused Big Ben of a 2008 sexual assault that took place in Reno, Nevada. That case was never pursued criminally and the civial case is still pending though.
Is Big Ben just an unlucky guy or does he like to get physical once he hears the word no?
Judge Rebukes NFL Move Of StarCaps Case To Federal Court
Williamses Walk
With a state trial scheduled to start Monday, the NFL’s last attempt to avoid trial was rejected by a federal judge. The case involving Minnesota Vikings Kevin and Pat Williams got a rebuke from a federal judge who said the action “borders on the abuse of process.”
U.S. Judge Paul Magnuson issued a three-page order after the NFL asked the federal court to take the case, scheduled for trial Monday in front of Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson. The ruling means the case will go on as scheduled.
Magnuson said the NFL’s action seemed “calculated only to avoid trial on the merits.” The NFL spent months unsuccessfully arguing the case should be heard in federal court. Magnuson and the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already said no.
At the trial, the Williamses will try to prove the NFL is at least their partial employer so they can recover damages related to positive test results for taking a banned substance.
The league suspended the defensive tackles for four games each in late 2008 for taking bumetanide, a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent for steroids. The players went to court and won the right to continue playing while their legal case played out. The NFL has a strict liability policy that holds players responsible for what goes into their bodies. But the Williamses argued that Minnesota law gives employees an opportunity to explain the innocent use of an otherwise banned product and that the NFL didn’t allow them to explain their use of StarCaps.
If Johnny Cochran is reading this I could still use further understanding of all that is transpiring. You help would be appreciated Johnny.
Chad Ochocinco’s Nude Workout Video
Reebok is back with another installment of their nude workout viral campaign. First it was the Chuck Liddell and Heidi Northcott video and now the future Dancing With The Stars participant.
Hey Reebok can I be next? Reebok tell your A&R’s, those same people who recycle marketing schemes and imagery, that there is a market for a 4′6″ 335 pound man walking naked with your shoes on.
There is a market for everything man. There is a market for pet psychologists, a market for twisted
fetish video’s, for nipple-rings, for riverdancing, for chocolate cupboard roaches.
So you can’t tell me there isn’t a market for a 4′6″ 335 pound man walking naked with Reebok shoes on.
NFL Logos & Trophies Gets A Makeover
During this years Super Bowl weekend in Miami, the NFL released pictures of the Lombardi trophy makeover that’s going to be used for the Super Bowl to be hosted at Jerry’s World. So why stop there?
The NFL was thinking the same thing and decided to go all Project Runway on the The Lamar Hunt and George Halas trophies in addition to every other logo they trot out.
Is it Shear Genius or does the NFL get the Heidi Klum auf Wiedersehen kiss?
Rich Eisen Is Back Running The 40 Yard Dash
It is that time of year again when NFL Network host Rich Eisen rocks a Prada suit and takes his turn at the 40 yard dash.
Just like last year the NFL Network does the simul-camera of actual pro prospects against Eisen. This year they used Tim Tebow, Jacoby Ford, and Terrence Cody.
Watch last years run here.
“Tecmo Bowl” To Be Re-Released
Who Wanna Battle?
With NBA Jam getting a makeover and returning to shelves near you, news comes that another classic video games is coming out of retirement.
Tecmo confirmed that a new Tecmo Bowl football game is coming our way. Entitled Tecmo Bowl Throwback is on target to be released in the Spring of 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. No mention however of it coming to Nintendo, the company that first introduced the classic on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Some of the features that Tecmo Bowl Throwback will present are:
- Online Multiplayer: Find your old buddies online and challenge them to matches just like back in the day.
- 2D + 3D Graphics: Experience all new 3D graphics with the ability to switch to the classic 2D style!
- Customizable Teams and Rosters: Play as any of the 32 teams with customizable team names and rosters in full seasons.
- Online Leaderboards: Compare your stats in a wide array of online leaderboards.
- Classic Game Modes: Battle it out with your friends and kick off a game in Preseason, Season or Pro Bowl modes.
There’s no word yet on the price.
The NFL Pro Bowl To Played Before Super Bowl Again
Est. 1920
The 2011 Pro Bowl will be played a week before Super Bowl XLV and return to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, the NFL announced. The game will be televised live on Sunday, January 30 on FOX at 6 p.m. CST.
FOX will televise Super Bowl XLV a week later on Sunday, Febuary 6 from Cowboys Stadium in North Texas.
The decision to play the NFL’s All-Star Game the week before the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year follows an increase in viewership for the 2010 Pro Bowl which was watched by an average of 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, the most for a Pro Bowl since 2000.
The game at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida also attracted the largest Pro Bowl attendance (70,697) in 50 years but still decided to move it back to Hawaii. It will be played in Hawaii for the next two years.
Former Seattle Seahawks Courtney Taylor Won’t Let Multiple Sclerosis Stop His NFL Dreams
Best Of Luck
Former Seattle Seahawks wide reciever Courtney Taylor is not your typical player waiting to hear from an NFL team this off season. Taylor is battling multiple sclerosis. but still trains and hopes to get a call.
He’s has heard some good news lately as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns might work him out. Mike Holmgren is now the Cleveland president drafted Taylor at Seattle in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Auburn. He’s the Tiger’s all-time leading receiver and was one of the last players cut by the Seahawks on the eve of the 2009 season.
Taylor still lives in Seattle and travels to the University of Washington Medical Center for an intravenous infusion of a powerful medication called Tysabri in his use to fight his multiple sclerosis.
“The medication wore on my body at first, but once I got used to it, I felt like a brand-new man,” he said. “The medication has it under control.”
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society describes MS as “a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.”
Taylor was diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2008. The first sign was an eye twitch, which made it hard to track the ball, which made it hard to catch the ball.
He wants to show people that you don’t have to be sidelined by an illness and get back to the game he knows he can play at a top level.
Sean Payton Steals Jerry Jones Bottle Of Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
I'm Thirsty
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton had some fun with his former employer Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Both are in Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine and both attended Nap towns luxurious St. Elmo Steakhouse but on different nights.
Payton who was in attendance on Friday night gathered their in a private room with his staff and heard from a loose-lipped employee that Jones would be there the next night and had already called ahead to reserve a bottle of a pricey Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, of which the restaurant had only one remaining.
Payton made the request to have that one remaining bottle served to him that night but was told of the situation and it had Jerry’s name on it. Payton then demanded the bottle and insisted on having it, leaving the staff in an awkward position. Serve one of the most powerful owners in the NFL, or the coach who’s the toast of the NFL right now having just won the Super Bowl?
Here came the bottle of Caymus Special Selection, and the Saints party drained it.
Drinking Jones wine wasn’t enough and Payton gave the waiter some instructions, took out his pen. The next night as Jones and his party sat in the private room they found an empty bottle of Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon on there middle of the table with these words hand-written on the label:
- WHO DAT!
World Champions XLIV
Sean Payton
Chad Ochocinco To Be On ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Did She Have Dumps Like A Truck Or Thighs Like What?
Chad Ochocinco does it again and suprises no one with the annoucnement that he will be part of the new cast of “Dancing With The Stars” according to TMZ.
The Cincinnati Bengal joins a list of NFL stars who have done the show including Warren Sapp, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice.
A rep for ABC would not comment on potential cast members but did a great job of announcing that the cast will announced tonight during the season finale of “The Bachelor.”
If the Riverdance is a chosen dance this season, he will definitely have a leg up on the competition.
Pacman Schedules Workout For NFL Scouts
It Will Not Being Raining March 19
Adam “Pacman” Jones will work out for NFL scouts March 19 and wants to assess the market.
The cornerback, whose troubled past has left him out of the NFL since the 2008 season, will hold a pro day-style workout in New Orleans following Tulane’s pro day.
Jones, a 2005 first-round draft pick by the Titans, recently worked out for the Bengals and generated little interest from a team that has resurfaced a number of trouble players. However, he wants to assess the market and show scouts what he can do.
Jones was involved in several incidents with police and was suspended for the 2007 season, but he has stayed out of trouble for several months and is trying to get back in the league.
Final Eight Plan Will Restrict Top NFL Teams From Pursuing Free Agents
Est. 1920
This year free agency for the top eight NFL teams will be a whole lot different from years past and may hinder those clubs in the pursuit of signings that would help them get over the hump. This is due to a deadline that passed in which no agreement was reached between the players and owners reps concerning labor negotiations thus making the upcoming season an uncapped season.
This year fans cannot assume that New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens or the San Diego Chargers can just sign whatever player they want in this years off-season. Because of the riff in the labor negotiations this has caused league-imposed financial restrictions on how those teams will be able to accomplish their off-season goals by limiting them in their pursuit of free agents. This more than likely will leave those executive vice presidents and general managers to be more stand offish come the opening of free agency March 5.
Here is the NFL’s explanation of the limitations the “Final Eight Plan” has on those teams that reached the divisional round of the playoffs and their restrictions in free agency.
During the Final League Year, the eight clubs that make the Divisional Playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign unrestricted free agents from other clubs. In general, the four clubs participating in the championship games are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign; the limit is determined by the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs. They cannot sign any UFAs unless one of theirs is signed by another team.
For the four clubs that lost in the Divisional Playoffs, in addition to having the ability to sign free agents based on the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs, they may also sign players based on specific financial parameters. Those four only will be permitted to sign one unrestricted free agent for $5.5 million (estimated) or more in year one of the contract, plus the number of their UFAs who sign with another team. They also can sign any unrestricted free agents for less than $3.7 (estimated) million in year one of the contract with limitations on the per year increases.
In the case of all final eight teams, the first year salary of UFAs they sign to replace those lost cannot exceed the first year salary of the player lost with limitations on the per year increases.
A lockout may or may not happen but it’s effects will be felt in a playing season.
