Assault charge dropped againt idiot, err, Henry

by | Jul 14, 2008 | NFL News

Since Zoneblitz has mocked Chris Henry for the ease with which he gets himself arrested, it’s only fair to also do a post when he gets off. Prosecutors dropped an assault charged against former Bengal wideout, which paves the way for him to apply for reinstatement to the league.

Greg Aiello, spokesman for the NFL, told the Associated Press Henry’s appeal would be considered “at the appropriate time.”

Henry had been accused of basically beating the tar out of an 18-year-old Cincinnati student and damaging his car with a beer bottle.

A previous trial on these charges ended in mistrial. A Hamilton County Municipal Court judge ruled against the prosecutors on Monday in several motions, weakening the case, according to the Associated Press. According to his attorney, Henry was thankful and humble when the case was thrown out, according to the story.

The shame of all of these arrests is that Henry is incredibly talented. If he could stay out of jail, he probably wouldn’t be on the verge of bankruptcy – he reportedly had a car repossessed and had a $360,000 house auctioned in May. He missed the first half of the season last year after the league suspended him for other bad behavior. He returned the second half of the season to catch 21 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns.

Let the bidding for his services this upcoming season begin. The Bears? The Cowboys? The Eagles? The Raiders? Anyone?

Sikahema kicks Canseco’s a$$

by | Jul 13, 2008 | NFL ... something

Jose Canseco might be the most self-serving douchebag in sports. But apparently he can’t box for squat.

The 6-foot-4 former steroid pumping major league power hitter took to the ring last night against Vai Sikahema, the 5-9 former punt returner for Philadelphia and Arizona in Atlantic City. And the former football player buried Canseco, knocking him down twice in the first round before the referee mercifully stopped the fight.

“He’s a very impressive-looking figure,” Sikahema told … some news outlet after the fight (can’t tell if the Post Chronicle writer of the attached clip did the interview or if he was crediting the quote to the Press of Atlantic City, so I’ll mention both to make sure proper credit is given somewhere). “But the guy is a walking corpse because he’s rotted inside out. He’s a pathetic figure.”

I always admired Sikahema, now a sports director and anchor for NBC 10 in greater Philadelphia, for making a solid career in the NFL despite a small stature. I think I like him even more now, not only because he knocked the crap out of one of my least favorite athletes ever but because he was classy enough to give a portion of his $25,000 payday to the family of a fallen police sergeant, Stephen Liczbinski.

Hartman to Vikings: Get Favre in purple

by | Jul 13, 2008 | NFL News

As if the ridiculous media barrage of Brett Favre stories wasn’t already playing to the aging quarterback’s ego now a Minneapolis “columnist” has pinned the Minnesota Vikings’ hopes for getting a new stadium squarely on the shoulders of team ownership somehow acquiring Favre.

“Memo to owner Zygi Wilf,” Sid Hartman writes: “You want a new stadium, put Favre in a Vikings uniform.”

Not only does this ignore the Vikings lack of a community partner or the project hundreds of millions if not a billion dollar shortfall the state is projected to face next year – it ignores the fact that the Packers have already said they won’t release Favre so he can go wherever he wants.

But whatever. It’s interesting, if not amusing reading. And Sid is 87 or 88 years old, so apparently whatever he chooses to write these days gets into the paper.

What a great gig.

Odell Thurman in trouble again

by | Jul 11, 2008 | NFL News

While Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, Travis Henry and perhaps Darrion Scott have all made their cases for long-term or life-long suspensions from the NFL this offseason, few players have provided better fodder for such a punishment than former Cincinnati Bengal linebacker Odell Thurman.

After a fantastically promising rookie season in 2005 Thurman sat out the last two seasons for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He was reinstated during the offseason, but before even making it to the pre-season he was suspended for another year – yes, another substance abuse policy mishap. It’s going to cost him at least one more season. The Bengals released their 2005 second round draft pick on May 27.

Now the douchbag – or is it douchebag – was indicted by an Erie County grand jury on a felonious assault charge stemming from a May 27 incident where he allegedly punched another man in the face, breaking his jaw at the Kalahari Waterpark Resort.

Det. Bob Lippert of the Erie County Sheriff’s Department told the Sandusky Register Online “we are trying to locate him.” Commissioner Roger Goodell and most football fans probably just want this Cro-Magnon man to go away.

ESPN’s Coleman: “Forget it” Minnesota, Favre’s not coming

by | Jul 11, 2008 | NFL Rumors

ESPN Radio’s Freddie Coleman says Vikings fans can stop trying to decide whether they’d like to see future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre wearing his trademarked number four in purple and gold this fall.

“Forget it, boys and girls,” he says. “It’s not going to happen.” During his Friday night GameNight broadcast Coleman says there are three teams Favre could end up with – and the Vikings aren’t one of them. It’d be too painful for the organization to deal with Favre coming out of the Lambeau Field tunnel with Minnesota, he claims.

Actually, Coleman insists that because of salary cap issues and the roster turnover that would be required by most teams to fit him under the cap it is most likely that Favre remains a Packer. But if a trade does happen – and his release is highly unlikely, Coleman says – three teams make the most sense.

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