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Miami Heat Star Dwayne Wade has won sole custody of his two sons Zion and Zaire. Wade went through a bitter divorce with his wife Siovaughn. A judge ruled in Wade’s favor citing the fact that his ex-wife spent two years alienating their children against him. Wade says he is happy for the outcome, but he hopes he and his ex can come together for the sake of their children. Wade is currently in a relationship with Actress Gabrielle Union, and sources say the two may announce wedding plans soon. Speaking of Gabrielle, she will be teaming up with Comedian Kevin Hart for his FOX comedy Little In Common. The show is going to be a part of the fall lineup.
Carl Eller and the Retired Players Association will address the state of the NFL from retired player’s unique perspectives on a vintage rail car as a symbolic gesture. The event will be located at the Union Pacific Railroad, 2112 E. Randol Mill Road, Arlington, Texas. This event will be open to the public and will be telecast worldwide via USteam.
The title of the press conference will be “The Future of the NFL”. Eller will passionately address young NFL players and the public. Eller’s address promises to fully educate non-players and player alike about the ramifications of Collective Bargaining Agreements. “Super Bowl XLV will be the last game played under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement,” explains Eller. “I want to address the public to educate and inform. We chose to host this address on The Union Pacific which is a highly symbolic venue because it reminds us of the significance of the past, and the role it plays in this year’s Super Bowl.”
According to Eller and the RPA, this analogy can be applied directly to the plight of the retired players and their messages of reform the NFL and the NFLPA. Eller, a former Minnesota Viking Defensive End and Pro Football Hall of Famer, is a staunch advocate for players, aspiring, current and retired.
“Current players, including rookies in this years’ draft have no idea of what is at stake in the negotiations. They risk losing billions of dollars at the bargaining table. This of course will affect the current players, who will soon be, retired players,” explains Eller.
The highlight of the presentation will be the announcement of the Retired Players Association’s heath care program SecuriCare, a national network of clinics and hospitals in pending partnerships with the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Scripps Clinics. This network has collective assets that will bring billions of dollars of medical care and technology to the retired players to help with health issues that retired players continue to suffer from.
The Retired Players Association has already helped hundreds of retired players with severe and debilitating medical problems and is now rolling the program out to retired players nationally. SecuriCare will provide the retired NFL players a cohesive, easy-to-use, network of thousands of expertly trained and skilled medical professionals. This will create a prestigious health care network which is quite possibly the world’s best health care plan and is far superior to anything provided thus far by the NFL or the NFLPA.
Green Bay Packer safety Nick Collins confronted a fan who hurled a racial slur at the player and spit on him after a loss on Monday night against the Chicago Bears.
The league is currently investigating the matter.
Milwaukee’s WITI-TV aired video in which Collins is seen yelling at a fan as he left the field. Collins then appears to throw his mouthpiece into the stands. According to the station’s report, Collins said the fan spit on him and used a racial slur.
WITI said Collins apologized for “losing his cool.”
Ken Griffey Jr. chose his words carefully, saying “ . . . nobody in the Mariners’ front office has asked me to retire . . .”
Griffey specifically avoided mention of manager Don Wakamatsu — and not by accident.
Wakamatsu, according to three major-league sources, asked Griffey about retirement at least once in recent weeks.
Wakamatsu, in a telephone interview Wednesday night, would not reveal the specifics of any talk with Griffey, but said he did not pressure him to retire.
“I won’t be quoted talking about any private conversation I had with a player,” Wakamatsu told FOXSports.com.
“In no way would I ever force a player of that magnitude to retire. This was Ken’s decision. I would honor Ken and his career and never even approach that.”
But Griffey, 40, apparently got the impression that Wakamatsu no longer wanted him on the team.
On Wednesday, Griffey ended his career after 21-plus seasons, including the past two with the Mariners under Wakamatsu.
“While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field, and nobody in the Mariners’ front office, has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back, that I will never allow myself to become a distraction,” Griffey said in his statement.
“I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be.”
Griffey, 40, made his last appearance Monday night, hitting into a fielder’s choice as a pinch-hitter in a 5-4 loss to the Twins. He had not started since May 23, when he went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored in an 8-1 loss to the Padres.
His ineffectiveness — Griffey was batting .184 with zero homers and seven RBIs in 98 at-bats — put Wakamatsu in a difficult spot, particularly with the Mariners struggling offensively.
Wakamatsu also was in the uncomfortable position of dealing with a future Hall of Famer at the end of his career. Any attempt by Wakamatsu to probe Griffey’s mindset might have been interpreted by Griffey as pressure from the manager to retire.
Mike Sweeney, 36, usurped Griffey’s playing time at designated hitter in recent weeks, batting .310 with six homers and 14 RBIs in May. Griffey initially seemed comfortable with a reduced role; he did not expect to play every day when he re-signed with the Mariners last November. But by the end, he had virtually no role at all.
Griffey’s departure was not acrimonious, despite his apparent differences with Wakamatsu. Griffey goes back with club president Chuck Armstrong more than 20 years, and the two sides plan a long-term relationship now that Griffey’s playing days are over.
Remember the simple pleasures of life:
Listen to your favorite music every day.
Always have flowers on the table.
On the weekends, take off your watch and forget about the time.
Take a nap.
Each week bake some cookies, bread, or pie. Try even if you’ve never done so before.
Surprise a loved-one or friend with an unexpected gift.
Put an inspirational quote somewhere where you can see it everyday.
Never miss an opportunity to have fun.
Never miss a parade.
Buy a box of crayons and color some pictures with a child.
Read a child a story.
Give people plenty of well-deserved compliments.
Try to save a quarter every day. You’ll be surprised about how much you’ll save within a short time. Spend it on a rainy day.
Keep a journal where you can explore your thoughts and feelings.
Give someone special a kiss and hug.
Call three friends and plan to get together with them.
Get out the camera and take some silly photos of yourself and a friend. Don’t be afraid to dress up.
Go outside and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Buy a gift for a child.
Go to the pet store and play with the kittens and puppies.
Read your favorite love poem and escape to romantic dreams.
Buy a book and some fresh flowers.
Visit a museum or art gallery.
Do something different.
Never forget that miracles happen every day.
Think something positive about yourself every day.
Think something positive about the other people in your life every day.
ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY WEEKEND BLOGGERS!
Torri Hunter: Black Latinos Are Not Black – ‘They’re Imposters’. So, is Torii Hunter hatin’ on our Latino brethren or is he just tellin’ it like it tis? Either way, the Los Angeles Angels center fielder has stirred up controversy with his recent comments about baseball’s use of dark skinned (black) players from the Caribbean and South America. “People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they’re African American,” Hunter tells USA Today. “They’re not us. They’re impostors. “Even people I know come up and say, ‘Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?’ I say, ‘Come on, he’s Dominican. He’s not black.’ “ The fact is baseball’s African-American population is 8%, compared with 28% for foreign players on last year’s opening-day rosters. “As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us,” Hunter reminded. “It’s like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It’s like, ‘Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?’ “I’m telling you, it’s sad.”
Barry Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice Wednesday but a jury failed to reach a verdict on three other counts that the home run king lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly using steroids and human growth hormone.
The verdict, following a 12-day trial and almost four full days of deliberation, was a messy end to a case that put the slugger in the spotlight for more than three years.
Bonds sat stone-faced through the verdict, displaying no emotion, according to the AP. His legal team immediately asked that the guilty verdict be thrown out and U.S. District Judge Susan Illston did not rule on the request. She set May 20 for a hearing in the case.
The case also represented the culmination of the federal investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids ring. Federal prosecutors and the Justice Department will have to decide whether to retry Bonds on the unresolved counts.