Say what you want about Wayne Gretzky’s tenure as coach, turns out he was #1 as a coach as well, sort of:
Not bad at all. Read more.
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NFL quarterback’s murder by his mistress was depicted by a skeleton wearing a blown off Titans helmet and a jersey sporting a number nine as Halloween decorations at King’s Island Amusement Park in Ohio. This display was an obvious reference to the night McNair was found after being murdered by his mistress Sahel Kazemi.
In the display, the McNair figure sits on a couch, assuming the same position in which he was murdered, and the Kazemi figure rests on its lap. At the skeletons’ feet, a gun lies on the ground. The couple are just two of the familiar faces included in the Haunt: A skeleton depicting Heath Ledger is shown surrounded by bottles of pills (Ledger overdosed in January 2008), and a skeleton is dressed like Michael Jackson in pajamas. But it’s McNair’s image alongside his mistress that has the city of Nashville horrified.
The King Island’s website warns that their Halloween Haunt is for mature audiences and includes graphic scenes, suggestive themes, and intense imagery. “No one and nothing is off limits!”
Including an NFL quarterback and his murdering mistress
I still don’t understand why Wayne wanted to jump headfirst into the pressure cooker that is a head coaching job in the NHL. Especially with a team as underachieving as the Coyotes? Why not take some other head office job, even starting as a GM would have been a smarter move? Anyways, it should be interesting to see where he ends up now that he’s done the Team Canada thing and done the head coaching thing. Read more on his exit below from TheSportingNews.com:
Wayne Gretzky has stepped down as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, he announced Thursday.
“This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” Gretzky said in a statement. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected. Since both remaining bidders have made it clear that I don’t fit into their future plans, I approached General Manger Don Maloney and suggested he begin looking for someone to replace me as coach. Don has worked hard and explored many options. I think he has made an excellent choice, and so now it’s time for me to step aside.”
The team’s ownership situation continues to be unresolved.
Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie said Wednesday that he won’t move the team to Canada this season even if he wins the U.S. Bankruptcy Court fight and is given the green light to buy the team.Balsillie’s attorneys said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix on Wednesday that they have ditched plans to move the team to Hamilton, Ont., this season, should Judge Redfield T. Baum rule in Balsillie’s favor.
The rest of Gretzky’s statement reads:
“The Coyotes scouting staff has put together a great group of young and talented players who are going to improve tremendously over the next few years,” continued Gretzky. “I’m proud of the team we’ve assembled, the organization with which I’ve been associated and the thousands of dedicated fans who have never wavered in their support of this young team. I’m confident that the best is yet to come for hockey in Phoenix.
“I want to thank every staff member of the Phoenix Coyotes, past and present. It was a real pleasure to work with each and every one of you. I’ve always said that Phoenix is a great sports city and deserves nothing but the best. I still believe that. As a young boy, I learned to play hockey in Southern Ontario, and I know what great fans they have there. It’s my hope they too will have an NHL franchise in the not too distant future.
“I often said it was the greatest honor and privilege I could imagine to be able to play in the National Hockey League. I feel the same way about being an NHL coach. I’ve loved the four years I spent coaching the Coyotes. Not a day went by when I took it for granted, and I will miss the competition of the NHL dearly. It was an honor to hold the position, and I will always consider myself especially fortunate to have had this opportunity.”
Gretzky, who is due to make $8.5 million this season, coached the Coyotes from 555-5555, finishing with a 143-161-24 record, and the team missed the playoffs in all four seasons.
Gretzky, 48, also owns a small piece of the franchise.
The Coyotes had no immediate word on a replacement. Associate coach Ulf Samuelsson had been serving as interim head coach during the preseason, and the team this week hired former NHL head coach Dave King as an assistant.
Despite numerous attempts by responsible people everywhere it seems that rookie hazing will never go out of style! It’s to see the tradition is still respected by the time players get to the pros! Here are some classics from the NFL as told by Amog.com:
5. Can I Have Your Autograph?
Some of us will never get to know what it feels like to be asked for an autograph. I bet it’s a thrill for a rookie in the NFL. However, it turns out that this was just a prank for QB Kyle Orton in 2005.
Bear’s center Olin Kreutz asked Orton to sign a helmet for his family. The autographed helmet was not for Kreutz’s family. Instead the helmet in question actually belonged to one Kyle Orton, who if you haven’t guessed, had to practice in it.
4. The Bicycle Tree
Even some of the best NFL players need a laugh here and there. Joe Montana was known to put rookie’s bikes in different trees.
It seems a little tacky and harmless, but considering that the practice field was only about a quarter-mile from the housing facility, bikes were the main source of transportation. After a tough day on the field a player would have to fetch his bike from a tree, only to discover that he just got someone else’s bike down.
3. Payback is a Bitch
There’s a rule that even non-NFL players know – do what the Vets tell you. I guess OT Chris Colmer didn’t get that message.
In 2005, FB Mike Alstott asked the rookie to get him a Gatorade. Colmer decided to be a wise guy and drew a map to the fridge for Alstott instead. As redemption, Alstott took the wheels off of Colmer’s car and left a map on the windshield to where the tires were.
2. Hey Mom! I Made The Pro-Bowl!
Maurice Jones-Drew retold this prank, as what he perceived as a funny joke, about rookie DE Quentin Groves in 2008.
One of the Jags defensive linemen told Groves that he had made the Pro Bowl. A dream come true, right? Groves did the natural thing and called his family, friends, etc. in his excitement. After practice his teammates broke the news that it was just a joke. I would hate to have made that return call.
1. When The Saints Go Hazing
When Ditka coached the Saints back in 1998 he may have let some pranks go a little too far. Not one, but two players, were injured during a hazing incident. On the final night of camp the Vets forced the rookies to run the gauntlet. They were kicked, elbowed and hit with bags filled of coins as they made their way through.
Rookie Tight End Cam Cleeland got smacked in the left eye and had to go to get a CAT scan. He even had to go to an eye specialist to make sure everything was alright. During the same night, rookie DT Jeff Danish put his hand through a window after the gauntlet. Danish went on to sue the Saints, six players and an assistant coach for assault, which was settled out of court.
I love watching Ochocinco in interviews and on the field- you can never guess what he’s going to do or say.
The three Bengal fans that caught Ochocinco after his touchdown in the third quarter had apparently been ready and praying for that moment all game long.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “Ochocinco wrote on his Twitter account last week that he wanted to jump into the crowd at Lambeau Field if he scored a touchdown. Mike Bergs, a 31-year-old Bengals fan in Illinois, told the newspaper he responded to the post by saying he’d be willing to make the trip to Green Bay to catch the receiver.”
Ochocinco then sent 4, front-row tickets to the loyal fan who caught him safely during his celebratory leap into the crowd.
“That was one of the most pure, fun moments for us as Bengals fans,” Bergs said.
