4 Alabama FB Players Arrested In Robbery-Assaults

Four University of Alabama freshman football players- Eddie Williams, Tyler Hayes, Dennis Pettway and Brent Calloway were arrested Monday from a couple of robberies on campus. Williams, Hayes and Pettway are each facing two counts of 2nd degree robbery.

The victim of one robbery was allegedly attacked by Williams, Hayes and Pettway. The victim claimed that his backpack, containing a MacBook Pro, was taken. An hour or so later, another incident occurred where the victim told Tuscaloosa (AL) police that he had been assaulted, knocked unconscious, and his wallet had been taken.

Calloway and Williams (pictured, right, thanks Tuscaloosa Police Department)

, face charges of fraudulent use of a credit card when he allegedly used the second victim's credit/debit cards to buy snacks from a vending machine on campus.

Williams was also charged with having a pistol without a permit on Sunday when police pulled him over after driving erratically and found a gun in his pants pocket on a search.

Here are the statements released from campus:

UA Athletic Director Mal Moore

"This is a very serious matter and we are very disappointed in the actions that have resulted in the charges against these student-athletes. In this type of situation, the Athletics Department works in conjunction with the University. We will have more to say at the appropriate time."

And, the HQ is sure, a very unhappy head coach UA Nick Saban:

"The young men charged are indefinitely suspended as we continue to gather information and talk to the appropriate people. The University and football program have strict guidelines regarding issues of this magnitude. This behavior is unacceptable for any student-athlete at the University of Alabama and not representative of our football program."

Here's Calloway doing a lot of what he did this past season... practice...
((HT: Michael Casagrande))

IOC Votes Wrestling Out Of 2020 Core

((HT: IOC/USOC/ABC))

So, instead of something like modern pentathlon, tae-kwon-do and field hockey being taken out of the 25 core sports considered by the five-ringed circus, the International Olympic Committee decided to jettison wrestling (both the freestyle and greco-roman varieties) out of the 2020 games.

The sport could be voted back in, but it's not likely...

"This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It's not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, it is what's right with the 25 core sports."

The group looked at factors such as TV ratings, ticket sales, doping issues, participation, and popularity- most of those factors are subjective and allow for emotional and political response... something the international committees are "never" known for...

Right...???

There's one opening for a sport in 2020. The winner comes from a group including baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and something called "wushu."

So, we now get to miss moments like this one...


And this one...


The Soviet Union and United States are one and two in the all-time medal list with 132 and 125, respectively...

Names like Blatnick, Sanderson, Gable, and Gardner now go to history books instead of continuing to add to it...

Ray Edwards: From NFL to Air Boxer

((ht: deadspin.com))

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Former NFL Defensive End Ray Edwards was let go mid-season in 2012 by the Atlanta Falcons for basically getting paid to underperform.

That talent seems to have taken hold in his other pastime: Boxing.

Check out the video below of Edwards from this past weekend. He appears to tower over a guy who looks from a distance like George Costanza from the Seinfeld TV show.

The two kind of circle each other before Costanza tries vainly to swing at the large man. He misses. Edwards circles and tries to throw an uppercut.

That uppercut looks straight out of a bad movie, missing the Costanza look-alike.

The problem: The tomato can still goes down.



Edwards is still and probably will be paid by the Falcons for a couple more years, whether he plays or not. And no, we don't know if he's looking to return to the NFL or not.

One thing readily apparent by this video: Don't try to make a living boxing, the career may be shorter than the one Edwards had in the NFL.

Though we suppose, there's always the WWE.

NHL Doesn't Pursue Grabovski Charge

((HT: TSN/youtube))

The HQ knows that when the Habs and Leafs go at it, that there is not enough hate in the world to tell you what it means...

It went to another level over the weekend in this scrum involving Max Pacioretty and Mikhail Grabovsky...


The National Hockey League is now treating it like an instant replay call- since there wasn't enough evidence to overturn a call, the play stands as called... no further suspension for Grabovsky...

But, apparently, Pacioretty got himself a tetanus shot as a precaution...

Ever Want To Sneak Into Something...??? How About The Roman Numeral Classic...??? (UPDATE)

((HT: SavannahNow))

The HQ will make the point that we've snuck down into better seats in ball games and movies that we didn't buy tickets for when the movie we bought tickets for really sucked...

But two Savannah State University students made their way onto the floor of the Superdome for the Roman Numeral Classic

Here's their short version...
Well done, sirs, if this in fact what you did... They plan a full-length documentary in the future on their exploits... And that might be worth seeing... UPDATE: The Shield is less than pleased... and, probably, thinking along the lines of a trespassing charge- SINCE THE WHOLE THING WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO... "NFL security is conducting a review and following up with the appropriate authorities in New Orleans," Greg Aiello said in a release...

Of course, they are...

Paterno Family Trying To Unring The Sandusky Bell

((HT: WHP-TV/ESPN))

It is all carefully staged at this point...

The first salvo was the Sue Paterno open letter trying to explain who her late husband, Joe, really was...


Now, before Sue Paterno gives, what surely will be, an emotional interview with Katie Couric...
ESPN has timed and cooperated with an embargo of a report co-authored and researched by former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh (among others) who addressed the self-thought of "holes and inaccuracies" in the Freeh Report...


To refute, somewhat, coach Paterno could probably have issues spelling the word e-mail- much less understanding what it is and how to use it within the Penn State system. If Freeh anointed himself "judge, jury, and executioner" then the issues are to be with the university for signing off on the conclusions- not Freeh or the NCAA.

The issues should be resolved with the school as the family tries to reclaim what's left of a tattered reputation.

The family's full report, courtesy, of ESPN is hyah...


Part of Freeh's response to the Paternos says:

Mr. Paterno was on notice for at least 13 years that Sandusky, one of his longest serving assistants, and whose office was steps away, was a probable serial pedophile. Mr. Paterno was aware of the criminal 1998 investigation into Sandusky's suspected child sexual abuse. Indeed, the evidence shows that Mr. Paterno closely followed that case. Later, in 2001, another one of his assistants, Mr. McQueary, directly reported to Mr. Paterno that Sandusky was sexually abusing a young boy in Mr. Paterno's Penn State football locker room. The evidence shows that Mr. Paterno purposefully ignored this evidence.

So, to the Paternos, good luck in your Pee-Ahr campaign. It will be interesting to see how many of us outside of State College buy what you're selling...

Especially tomorrow...

OSG High: Catching Up With The Williams Family

((HT: AJC))

Full disclosure...

TBH and I are privileged enough to call the Williams family as friends...

We've covered Jeremy Williams on the field and off as he has been fighting ALS for a long time...

Jeremy Williams was a hitter in high school in the secondary and went on to play at the University of Memphis as the "Georgia Assassin." He went home to coach at Greenville (GA) High and turned around a program that hadn't won in a long time...

Now, he's on a ventilator and has a line of support miles long as he plays in the 4th Quarter of his life- at the age of 41...

FOSG Steve Hummer and Curtis Compton update us all on a family we all can learn from...