Mandatory News

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Cam Newton injured in car crash

Updated: December 10, 2014, 1:09 AM ET

ESPN.com news servicesNewton Suffers Back Fractures In Car Accident

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has two fractures in his lower back following a two-car accident Tuesday afternoon near the team's stadium.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Sketches By John Lennon To Go On Display

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.COM) An exhibit of John Lennon sketches will go on display Friday at a Robertson Boulevard gallery, where his widow, Yoko Ono, will offer prints of three drawings for sale.

The exhibit opens Friday at Legacy Fine Art, 101 N. Robertson Blvd., and runs through the weekend. The three prints available are Im One of Your Biggest Fans, The City in My Heart and Happy Xmas.

Introducing the Bag One Arts program through this unique exhibition continues to honor Johns legacy, Ono said. Im especially proud to share Johns The City in My heart print, created during our honeymoon.

The Bag One collections home is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Lennon was killed by a crazed fan 34 years ago Tuesday.

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/12/09/sketches-by-john-lennon-to-go-on-display/

Kansas City Chiefs star Eric Berry diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has been diagnosed with Hodgkin'slymphoma, the team announced Monday.

Berry, 25, who was placed on the non-football injury list last month, ending his season, recently underwent a battery of tests at Emory Universitys Winship Cancer Institute.

"This is a diagnosis that is very treatable and potentially curable with standard chemotherapy approaches, Dr. Christopher R. Flowers, director of the Emory Lymphoma Program said in a written statement. The goal of Mr. Berrys treatment is to cure his lymphoma and we are beginning that treatment now.

The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft and among the NFLs best defensive players, Berry played in a Nov. 23 game at Oakland and complained afterward of chest discomfort. Doctors discovered a mass on the right side of his chest and preliminarily diagnosed it as lymphoma.

Chiefs players and coaches recently have worn T-shirts in support of him that read, Be bold. Be brave. Be Berry. T-shirts with that slogan are now on sale at the teams pro shop at Arrowhead Stadium and online, with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If youre going to have cancer as a young individual, these are among the better cancers to have in terms of curability, said Dr. Jack Jacoub, medical oncologist at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley. Its still tough. The chemotherapy has side effects. You could have numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. That could affect his athleticism. He could have issues. Doctors have to watch his heart because hes getting a drug that can hurt peoples heart. And theres potentially a drug that could also irreparably hurt his lungs.

Jacoub, who is not treating Berry, spoke in general terms about Hodgkins lymphoma, saying: Theres a lot of things he has to get through, but again the expectation is hes going to get through it just fine and hes going to be cured of it.

Berry issued a statement Monday through the team:

My family and I are very grateful for the amount of support we have received over the last couple of weeks. I cant tell you enough how much I appreciate all the words of encouragement, the blessings and well wishes. I want to thank the Emory University School of Medicine, along with Dr. Flowers and his team, for all of their hard work and effort in diagnosing and creating a plan for me to battle this thing. I will embrace this process and attack it the same way I do everything else in life. G*d has more than prepared me for it. For everyone sharing similar struggles, Im praying for you and keep fighting!

Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-eric-berry-chiefs-hodgkins-lymphoma-20141208-story.html

Diddy, Drake Get in Fight Over Music Rights at Miami Nightclub: Details

Drizzy better watch his back these days! First Chris Brown called Drake out on Instagram over the weekend for secretly dating Karrueche Tran while he was behind bars, and now Us Weekly has learned that he got into a fistfight with rapper and producer Diddy at Miamis LIV nightclub on Sunday, Dec. 7.

PHOTOS: Celebrity feuds

A source tells Us that the scuffle took place outside of the club and that it revolved around music rights to a song.

Diddy was the one that was upset with the music rights, the source reveals to Us. It started inside the club, and then the fight ended up happening outside.

PHOTOS: Stars fight back on social media

Another source claims Diddy, 45, threw the first punch, but neither artist went to the hospital and no police were called. There was no report filed from the incident.

PHOTOS: Celebrity scandals and meltdowns

Following the fight, Drake, 28, left LIV while Diddy went back inside. A third source tell Us, Later, Diddy was inside the club with his son, smiling and having a great time.

PHOTOS: Celeb mugshots

Kim Kardashians longtime pal Jonathan Cheban happened to be at the club, and posted an Instagram video of the star-studded performers in attendance, who included Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Fabolous, Ace Hood, Busta Rhymes, and Fat Joe.

This isnt the first time Drake has been involved in a physical fight with another celebrity. In June 2012, the rapper allegedly threw a glass bottle at Brown at a Manhattan nightclub.

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/diddy-punches-drake-miami-nightclub-details-2014812

Monday, December 8, 2014

NFL Playoff Picture Week 15: San Diego Chargers' Scenarios

By Jonathan George on December 8, 2014

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers hopes of making the 2014 AFC playoffs were diminished slightly when they lost to the New England Patriots 23-14 on Sunday. The good news for the Bolts is that some of the other NFL teams they are competing against to make the playoffs lost as well. With losses by the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins this past weekend, the Chargers would theoretically make the playoffs as the No. 6 seed if the season ended today.

Unfortunately for them, however, they most likely have no hope of getting higher than the No. 2 seed now. If they had beaten New England and then gone on to beat the Denver Broncos next week, they would have been in prime position to lock down home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. With New England having a two-game lead on them and a head-to-head advantage, that hope is all but gone. And with Denver winning yesterday, the Bolts are in a must-win situation this weekend if they have any hope of winning the AFC West and getting at least a No. 2 seed.

As it sits now, the Chargers would be facing the Indianapolis Colts on the road, a matchup most fans of the Chargers would not relish. They would much rather be the No. 5 seed and playing the Cincinnati Bengals, a team they beat last year in Cincinnati in the playoffs and have a lot of confidence against. If the Chargers cant get higher than a Wild Card, this is the matchup they need to hope plays out.

A win this weekend against the Broncos and the Chargers shrink the deficit to one game with two to play. San Diego would still need some help to get that No. 2 seed, but at least they would have eliminated the head-to-head advantage Denver has over them. A loss would officially end any hope of winning the division as Denver would have a three-game lead over them with two to play. If the Chargers want to even make the playoffs, however, they need a win in general as the group of teams just behind them and in the hunt are growing. A win by the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Dolphins or Chiefs combined with a Chargers loss would knock San Diego out of their No. 6 seed position for the week.

There is still three weeks to go, but San Diego needs to focus solely on Denver if they want to bolster their hopes of getting into the NFL playoffs. They have a lot to lose if they dont win this Sunday.

Jonathan George is an NFL writer forRantSports.com. Follow him onTwitter@jonageorge. Like him onFacebookor add him to your network onGoogle.

Source: http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2014/12/08/nfl-playoff-picture-week-15-san-diego-chargers-scenarios/

Detroit Lions hit Bucs QB Josh McCown so hard, they felt sorry for him

DETROIT -- How badly did the Detroit Lions beat up Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown?

They were actually feeling sorry for the guy after a 34-17 win at Ford Field.

"I felt sorry for him," defensive end George Johnson said. "We beat him up pretty good."

Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah did the most damage, hitting McCown four times and sacking him once. Star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh certainly did his part too, with three hits and one sack.

"Those are the guys you have to be concerned with," coach Jim Caldwell said, "and you'd better find different ways to block them because you get one, and the other guy's loose."

Johnson and Andre Fluellen added one sack apiece. Even linebacker DeAndre Levy, who entered the game with 1.5 career sacks, dropped McCown twice.

Add it all up, and Detroit sacked McCown six times, plus hit him 14 times.

The Lions' defensive line has been among the league's best, but this was their most dominant effort since sacking Minnesota's Teddy Bridgewater eight times in October.

Bridgewater will be at Ford Field next week, as it happens, and might feel a little queasy watching film of McCown get battered more times than he could count.

"I don't know,' McCown said, when asked if this was the most he'd ever been hit. "I have to look at the tape and see, but I don't know."

Even McCown's receiver felt bad for him.

"I'm going to take him out for a nice dinner when we're all (done) here this year," Vincent Jackson said. "Maybe help him get some ice bags and have them sent to his house."

Detroit's defense was so successful against the pass in part because they knew it was coming. Tampa Bay, just like every other team the Lions face, simply could not run the ball.

The Bucs attempted just 14 runs for 26 yards. That's one week after the Bears attempted just eight runs for 13 yards.

Detroit is the first team since 2006 to allowed fewer than 40 yards rushing in back-to-back games, and could become the first team since 2006 to allow fewer than 1,000 yards in a season.

The Lions are on pace to allow 1,004 rushing yards this year.

"It seemed like we got off schedule so much that we were pulled out of the run game," McCown said. "That's what happens when we get behind the sticks. You can't get your runs up."

-- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android -- Follow Kyle Meinke on Twitter-- Like MLive's Detroit Lions Facebook page

Source: http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2014/12/detroit_lions_hit_bucs_qb_josh.html

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Years after Pearl Harbor, Annapolis holds reminder of USS Maryland

The bell on the south lawn of the State House in Annapolis recalls the men who served aboard "Fighting Mary" also known as "Big Mary" and "Mighty Mary." Its crew called the ship by those names; civilians knew the 32,600-ton battleship as the USS Maryland.

Seventy-three years ago Sunday, the bell and the Maryland were a considerable distance from Annapolis 4,855 miles, to be exact, moored on Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, the day of the Japanese attack that pushed the United States into World War II.

The Maryland was protected that day by its position in the harbor. The ship was next to the USS Oklahoma, which took heavy torpedo damage and sank, with a loss of 429 lives. The USS California, to the forward of the Maryland, and the USS West Virginia, to the stern, also sustained serious damage.

"The other battleships around her shielded the Maryland from a direct torpedo hit. ... Two [USS Maryland] crewmen and two officers died in the attack, killed by the explosions from two Japanese bombs," according to a 1991 Sun article recounting events 50 years before. In the article, Navy veteran Clyde Oney, who had served aboard the Maryland, recalled smoke and fire, and the shouted warning of the master at arms as the Japanese planes attacked.

A week later, the Maryland, damaged hull repaired, was the first battleship to leave Pearl Harbor. Commissioned in 1921, the ship survived other attacks during the war and suffered a reported 53 crew casualties before being decommissioned in 1947.

"The battle-scarred veteran has been under as heavy ... bombardment as any warship of the fleet. Her 16-inch guns, the first ever mounted on a United States battleship, plastered the enemy at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Peleliu, Leyte and Okinawa," reported The Evening Sun.

The Maryland was sold for scrap in 1959.

The bell, however, found a new home in 1961, when it was formally installed as the centerpiece of a memorial on the State House grounds.

"This simple shrine for the bell is the design of architect Ian MacCallum," The Sun wrote in 1961. MacCallum was quoted as saying the bell "symbolizes the indomitable spirit of the USS Maryland. For this reason, the design shows the bell statically suspended in space for all time, over earth and sea."

Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/annapolis/bs-md-ar-pearl-harbor-bell-20141207-story.html