July 13, 1979
Anti-Disco Promotion Forces White Sox To Forfeit

The White Sox and Tigers had a little trouble completing their doubleheader last night, since ... you know ... Comiskey Park was burned to the ground by rioting, disco-hating fans. You've done it again, Bill Veeck!

Last night was something called "Disco Demolition Night" in Chicago. A local radio station cooked up the promotion and fans were encouraged to bring their old disco records to the park so that they could be collected and destroyed on the field. With a bomb. They literally blew up the records in the middle of the outfield between games while fans changed "Disco Sucks." Hard to believe that something like that could go haywire. It's now officially the best idea since 10-Cent Beer Night.

So after the demolition, fans decided to storm the field and start their own fires. And tear up the grass. And steal home plate. And take equipment from the dugouts. And basically turn Comiskey into the streets of Tehran. I think Harry Carey was mugged at one point. The good news is that anyone who brought a disco record with them got into the park for a dollar so it was probably the biggest sellout at the old dump since the Early Wynn days. Perfect weather for rioting! (The fans also figured out that 45s make perfect frisbees, much to the chagrin of players who were pelted with them.)

Eventually, the Chicago police were called in to restore order, 1968 style, and most of the drunks were swept off the field, but what was left of the grass was so trashed that the umpires—with a little prodding from Sparky Anderson—called the second game off. The White Sox lost by forfeit. Fucking hippies.

Why is everyone they so down on disco anyway? I heard that Village People song played at a game the other day—the one about going to the gym?—and everyone was getting up and doing a little dance to it. Even the kids! I think that's a fun little diversion that sports fans will never find annoying or played out.

Disco Demoliton: 30 years after Comiskey Park went up in polyester-fueled flames [Sports Pros(e)]
White Sox' ‘Disco Demolition' Promotion Still Echoes in Baseball Lore [NY Times]

July 4, 2003
Kobe Bryant Arrested For Sexual Assault?

Reports have surfaced today that a woman in Colorado has accused Lakers guard Kobe Bryant of sexual assaulting her. He will fly back there today and turn himself into police. Now I'm not a lawyer, but ... that can't be good.

Supposedly, the woman filed a complaint with the sheriff's office in Eagle, Colorado, on July 1 and police interviewed Bryant about the incident that allegedly took place at resort hotel where he was staying. After further investigation, they decided to issue an arrest warrant and he voluntarily fly back from Los Angeles to answer it. Developing, as they say....

Kobe had surgery on his ailing knee in Vail this week, which explains why he was staying at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera, but doesn't explain why he may or may not be attacking young women there.

Off Wing Opinion: Kobe Bryant Charged In Sexual Assault [Off Wing Option]
Kobe Bryant Is Arrested on a Charge of Felony Sexual Assault [The New York Times]

July 18, 2003
Charges Filed Against Kobe Bryant

It's official. Kobe Bryant has been formally charged with one count of felony sexual assault. Bryant released a statement re-affirming his innocence. I hope your ready for the biggest trial since O.J. Maybe we can Marcia Clark and Judge Ito and the whole gang back together again! (Ugh.)

July 24, 2003
The Trashing Of Kobe's Accuser Is In Full Force

Here we go. Fox News is reporting that the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape was hospitalized as a "danger to herself" and may have tried to commit suicide four months before the incident with Bryant took place. Nope, this isn't going to get ugly at all.

This news comes just a couple of days after reports that the woman may have overdosed on sleeping pills just a month ago. This is, of course, the reason they never release the names of rape victims, because the defense strategy often tries to paint the person as an unstable loon to undermine their credibility. They don't seem to be having as much trouble with it this time.

Speaking of credibility, are people actually serious when they say that Kobe Bryant now has street cred? It has been said before that growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia (and Rome) didn't exactly make Bryant a hero to the urban youth, but I'm not sure that rape is the solution to that particular P.R. problem. Aren't there better ways for a privileged millionaire to join the thug life, like slapping your butler or crashing your Bentley into the side of a McDonalds?

Kobe's Accuser Hospitalized Last Winter as a 'Danger to Herself' [Fox News]
Kobe Bryant's Wholesome Image Takes a Hit [Fox News]

September 2, 2004
All Kobe Bryant Charges Dropped

In a surprising move from Eagle County prosecutors, the felony sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant has been dropped after it was announced that the victim was no longer willing to testify. I guess we won't get that trial of the century after all.

There had quite a bit of shade cast on the prosecution's case over the last year and after having her identity outed and her honesty attacked, it seems the accuser is not up to a long and very public trial. Frankly, I'm not sure any of us were. Our heads were already starting to hurt and we never even got to the opening arguments.

So that's it? A year later, Kobe's home free and we'll never really know what happened in that hotel room. Ok, we can still guess. But will we ever get a decent "ripped from the headlines" Law & Order episode out of it?

Rape case against Bryant dismissed [NBC Sports]
Kobe Rebounds [Time Magazine]

May 7, 2008
Kobe Bryant Is (Finally) Your MVP

Hey, remember that thing in Colorado? That was something, wasn't it?

7/01/2003 - Bryant rape allegations surface [In Historic]
Kobe Bryant Case Archives
Previous: Deadspin Classic: The O.J. Chase

June 17, 1994, 1:15 ET

O.J. Simpson Charged With Murder

Holy crap. The LAPD has just announced that they have charged O.J. Simpson with two counts of murder with "special circumstances." O.J. Simpson. The football player. The Juice. Unbelievable.

We have all been wondering for the last week if it could really be true. Could O.J.—the legend, the Hall of Famer, the guy who ran through all those airports—could he really have killed his wife? Could he really have murdered two people in cold blood? The Los Angeles police seem to think so. They have issued an arrest warrant, but have made an agreement with Simpson's lawyers and he will turn himself in later this morning.

I guess we'll know more when he shows up, but the whole thing is still so surreal. Murder. It's almost too crazy to imagine.

UPDATE: 5:25 ET

Holy. Crap. The Los Angeles District Attorney just came on TV and said that O.J. Simpson is a wanted "fugitive." He was supposed to turn himself in three hours ago and never showed up. That can't be good.

Gee, it's hard to believe that a man possibly facing the death penalty, with the means and resources to go on the run, wouldn't voluntarily show up to go to prison. Maybe the police could have spared an extra car and given him a lift or something?

So now what do we do? I guess if you see O.J., you should give the LAPD a call or something. Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

UPDATE: 9:20 ET

HOLY SHIT. O.J. Simpson is fleeing from police RIGHT NOW. NBC just interrupted the Rockets-Knicks game to show O.J. being chased down by police on a Los Angeles freeway. The guy is actually making a run for it!

Simpson is in a white Ford Bronco that belongs to his friend Al Cowling, who is behind the wheel. They are trying to go ... somewhere? There's about 10 cop cars and 50 news helicopters following, so I'm not sure where he thinks he's going to go? Reports are saying that he may have a gun and has possibly threatened to kill himself? What the hell is going on here? How did O.J. Simpson's life suddenly turn into a Charlie Sheen movie?

The most amazing part is that this whole thing is happening in slow motion. Everyone on the highway has cleared out, but the cars involved in the chase are going maybe 35 miles an hour. Just a nice leisurely fugitive manhunt. And people are coming out of their homes to cheer him on!

Meanwhile, Bob Costas is trying to explain to NBC viewers why you should continue to care about the NBA Finals. Or anything else at this point. Good luck with that.

UPDATE: 11:00 ET

The chase has ended. Sorta. The Bronco drove back to O.J.'s house, but no one has gotten out and the cops are just sitting there wondering what the hell they're supposed to do next. The world's slowest car chase has now turned into the world's lamest hostage standoff.

UPDATE: 11:25 ET

Check this out. Over on ABC, Peter Jennings just took a live call from a crazy black man who says he sitting across the street from O.J. Simpson's house and can see O.J. in the car and he is "lookin' like he be very nervous." Turns out the guy is just a big Howard Stern fan and he just made one of America's most trusted (and trusting, apparently) newsmen look like an idiot.

Nice save, Al Michaels. Yep. This is officially the craziest day of all of our lives.

Simpson Held After Wild Chase | He's Charged With Murder of Ex-Wife, Friend [Los Angeles Times, 1994]
CNN O.J. Simpson Trial News: The Arrest [CNN]
THE SIMPSON CASE: THE PURSUIT; A Spectacle Gripping And Bizarre [New York Times, 1994]

April 21, 1988
North Dakota Alum Really Looks Up To Hitler

Ralph Engelstad, owner of the Imperial Palace casino in Las Vegas, is in a bit of hot water because of a birthday party he threw yesterday evening in a private suite of his hotel. Probably because it was a birthday party for Adolph Hitler.

Englestad is originally from Minnesota, but is a graduate of—and prominent donor to—the University of North Dakota. He moved to Vegas in the 1950s and got in on the (sort of) ground floor of the growing gambling trade and has since become one of the most successful independent hotel owners in the city. Oh, and he also loves him some Nazis. Casino employees say Englestad's primary joy in life is his "War Room, a 3,000-square-foot private suite filled with Nazi memorabilia-heroic murals of Adolph Hitler and staff, swastikas and Nazi daggers, and military cars used by Mussolini and by Hitler and his Third Reich henchmen Himmler and Göring."

Here's the real shocker—he's also a bit of bastard! Employees were afraid to question or blow the whistle on him out of fear of retribution, which may or not have include being shipped out of state in box cars. Lawsuits that have just now become public accuse Englestad of religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and, of course, anti-Semitism. This is actually the second Hitler birthday bash that Englestad has thrown in the hotel. But hey, at least there was cake!

Another guest says that during this year's party Engelstad "forced some Jewish employees to come against their wishes. He wanted one Jew to cut the cake, but the person ducked out. Ralph ran around trying to find him."

This guy isn't a Holocaust denier ... he's a Holocaust enjoyer!

Learning of a Casino Owner's Birthday Parties for Hitler, Even Jaded Vegas Is Outraged [People Magazine]

December 20, 2000
North Dakota Booster Wants Hatred Of Indians To Live Forever

Ralph Englestad, whose name is enshrined on the University of North Dakota's dumpy old hockey arena, has graciously offered to build the school a new one, entirely with his own money, on one condition—they better keep picking on those Indians!

The school is currently in a bit of a tussle with the NCAA over their nickname, the Fighting Sioux. The powers that be have kindly asked that they stop being so racist, but then again ... tradition and stuff. So the university is contemplating wiping out the Sioux once again and going with something more cuddly, like Bears. But Englestad wants none of that. He wrote a letter to school president Charles Kupchella explaining how if they touch one feather on that injun's headdress, he will pull the plug on his half-finished arena that he has already spent $35 million on, turn off the heat, and let it crumble to the ground.

You need to think how changing this logo and slogan will affect not just the few that are urging the name change, but also how it will affect the university as a while, the students, the city of Grand forks, and the state of North Dakota.

If I walk away and abandon the project, please be advised that we will shut off all temporary heat going to this building, and I am sure that nature, through its cold weather, will completely destroy any portion of the building through frost that you might be able to salvage. I surely hoped that it would never come to this, but I guess it has.

It is a good thing that you are an educator because you are a man of indecision, and, and if you were a businessman, you would not succeed, you would be broke immediately.

Please do not consider this letter a threat in any manner, as it is not intended to be. It is only notification to you of exactly what I am going to do if you change this logo and this slogan.

According to those familiar with the project, Englestad plans to incorporate the school's famous Indian head logo on every available space in the arena (including a huge granite carving on the main concourse) so that if the school tries to change the name in the future, it will be nearly impossible to erase the mascot from the arena. Also, the building itself will go into a trust to be controlled by Englestad and his family and then leased to the university for their use, so that the school itself will have no control over its operations.

Man, this guy really knows how to play hard ball. Where did he learn such impressive negotiating tactics?

Dear Chuck [UND]
N. Dakota at center of 'hostile' debate [USA Today]
Chancellor Supports Retiring 'Fighting Sioux' Logo That Threatens Hockey Arena [Fox News]

November 28, 2002
Hitler-Loving North Dakota Fan Will Finally Get To Meet His Hero

Noted asshole Ralph Louis Engelstad is dead.

Ralph L. Engelstad, 72 — Casino Entrepreneur [New York Times Obiturary]
Ralph Engelstad [Kamm.org]
Ralph Engelstad [Wikipedia]
NO MORE FIGHTING SIOUX [Graney and the Pig]
The Fighting Sioux Will Fight No More [Deadspin]