The New York Times reported last night that the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating (without their horses) Dr. Anthony Galea for possible smuggling and selling of unapproved drugs, including human growth hormone and other performance enhancing drugs. Dr. Galea is a Toronto sports physician known as the "Miracle Man" for his innovate rehab treatments and whose client list includes Olympic superwoman Dara Torres, former fastest man alive Donovan Bailey, NFL players Javon Walker and Chris Simms, the Argonauts, billionaire vigilante Bruce Wayne, Mighty Mouse and, of course ... one Eldrick Woods.

Now before you call your local sports talk show, let's step back for a second. Even though the second sentence of the article says that Dr. Galea is "suspected" of giving athletes PEDs—and the rest of article discusses many of his high profile patients—none of the athletes mentioned in the article are accused of receiving PEDs. The investigation started when Galea's assistant was stopped at the border with HGH and Actovegin, which is basically purified calf's blood. HGH is legal in Canada and the doctor insists he has never given either drug to athletes. (He does admit to injecting himself with HGH for the last ten years, which is just bizarre, but we'll move on. The guy on the left is supposedly 50 years old, btw.) The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has heard "intelligence" that athletes are using Actovegin, even though there's no evidence it does anything and the World Anti-Doping Agency hasn't banned it.

What Dr. Galea is known for is being a pioneer in "platelet-rich plasma therapy" (which is what he did for Tiger) as well as "other pioneering procedures, on knees, elbows and Achilles' tendons." He's a legend in pro athlete circles for his ability to help injured players heal quickly from serious injuries. He treated Bailey's ruptured Achilles, Torres' bad knee, and helped Javon Walker get surgery in Israel, because the procedure was not approved in the U.S.

He also makes house calls. He flew to Orlando "four or five times" to do platelet replacement therapy on Tiger's surgically repaired knee.

Two days after the first treatment, Woods texted him, Dr. Galea said: "He said he couldn't believe how good he feels. He'd joke and say, ‘I can jump up on the kitchen table,' and I said, ‘Please don't.' "

Hey, that's sounds ... suspicious? The story makes it sound like Galea is either a crazy genius or a provider of a little something "extra"—although in the world of cutting edge medicine, there's no reason he can't be both. A colleague is quoted as saying, "Ten years from now, they are going to say, wow, this guy was a pioneer."

There could be more to this, but based only on what the Times is saying here, there isn't much meat on this story. Galea may have violated some obscure Canadian customs laws, but there's no direct accusation of illegal or suspicious treatments. He does things that a lot of other doctors won't, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong to do so. His clients love him (of course), other doctors talk about him glowingly, and Tiger Woods can jump on tables. What's the big deal?

Oh, right. Tiger.

Everyday for the past two-and-a-half weeks has brought a new revelation about his shady cougar-hunting ways. Might as well throw this on the horndog pile too. But it does seem a little out of character for the Paper of Record to print this pathetic plea from his agent.

When asked for comment about Mr. Woods's involvement with Dr. Galea, Mark Steinberg, of I.M.G., responded in an e-mail message: "I would really ask that you guys don't write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won't be, let's please give the kid a break."

Yeah, good luck with that.

Doctor Who Treated Top Athletes Is Subject of Doping Inquiry [New York Times]

The biggest misconception about the Tiger cheating scandal is that Rachel Uchitel and Kalika Moquin, two of the first three women named by the tabloids, were his full-time lovers. They may have been at some point (especially Rachel, some say on numerous occasions) but that was not their primary function. No, Uchitel's main job was to provide women for Tiger during his globetrotting excursions to various tournaments, charity functions and fuck-and-run private-jet weekends with his Fortune 500 party pals that he seemed to enjoy so much. Kalika Moquin? Many Las Vegas insiders doubt that she ever slept with Tiger. But she did set him up with some sweet VIP service at The Bank or at Bare like any good hostess would: a roomful of available girls with a certain look that Tiger wanted, flown in just for the occasion. This is the world of high-end nightclub VIP treatment, where velvet ropes guard comfy, cloistered areas with leathery couches and bottles of Grey Goose, everything catered to the wishes of the much sought-after professional athlete clientele. And, yes, sports fans, that means loading their velvet-roped stable with fake-boobied ponies to fuck. "The fact that people don't understand that these affairs are well-orchestrated is pretty naive," says one VIP concierge who has worked with Uchitel (we'll call him "Serge" for the sake of not always having to say "VIP Concierge Number 1" when using his quotes). "Rachel Uchitel works for Tiger the minute he gets off the plane wherever he is: from dinner, to photos, to nightclubs, to drugs, to girls — whatever he wants."

And Tiger's a mighty whale. Serge estimates she's probably on retainer for about 10-15k per month to handle all his dirty business, and the tips for successful Tiger poontang-wrangling (among other things) could net her upwards of 50k in tips. Rachel knows not to mess around with somebody like Tiger; that whole "I didn't bang Tiger!" charade she pulled with anybody who asked after the National Enquirer tailed her to Melbourne may have been somewhat true (meaning: she's not his main chick), but Tiger's probably not concerned with whatever she has to say about their true-or-false copulation activities — he's more concerned that she knows how Tiger's been feeding off a menu of 20-and-30-something bubbleheads for years provided to him by Uchitel via her concierge service. No, it's not exactly prostitution — but these girls are flown in from LA to Vegas for a weekend of all-expenses and free drinks and admission into this world of über-rich sleaziness. If a famous athlete takes an interest, they certainly have the option to do whatever it is they want (no pressure!). So Rachel? She basically got caught in Melbourne on one of her many girl-corralling expeditions for one of her most important clients, which is a crucial part of her job.

"She knows everybody and everybody knows her," Serge says. "The clubs pay her big money for the clients that she brings in. She's not a fucking floozy or nothing. She's a real event planner. She's not just some girl that lifts up the velvet rope and sucks guy's dicks. She's the kind of girl that when you talk to her, you know, she's all business. She's beautiful, she's smart and her agenda is to land big clients — not big boyfriends." And if Uchitel were to start dishing, then plenty of other Sportsmen of the Year — not to mention certain members of the media who cover them — would suffer a similar fate as Tiger. There are many, many, many doors that many, many, many people would prefer stay tightly closed for now.

So think of Rachel not as a spurned mistress but more as a faithful confidante in Woods' elite inner circle. She knows where all the coochie is buried (even more than we know at this time), and if there has been any kind of financial transaction made for her silence, it was done with that in mind. Another equally viable alternative is that Rachel had the good sense to know she'll have quite a career for herself in this "legit" business once all this Tiger mess has passed. She knows how to honor the omerta of all VIP hosts that Tiger paid big money for her to observe.

Same thing Kalika, whom Serge describes as a "goody-two-shoes" of the Vegas nightlife scene, someone who's so meticulous about her work that she'd never entertain the notion of sleeping with Tiger simply because it would be very bad for business. "Fucking Tiger would be really terrible for her reputation as a marketing and event planner for these places. There's big money in that. She's legit, dude!" (Yes, Serge says, "Legit, dude!" just as you'd expect he would.)

The one girl who didn't surprise anyone in this mess is budding reality star Jaimee Grubbs. According to VIP Concierge # 2 (let's call him, I don't know, "Jorge"), she was wrangled for a weekend, possibly by some folks at The Bank (where Kalika just so happened to work), but she was always such an attention whore that a kajillion-word Us Weekly article buttressed with saved text messages and voicemails fit her profile to a capital extra "E." "Everyone on the scene knew who Jaimee was in Vegas the minute she stepped off the plane," Jorge says. "She dated a guy at The Bank for a long time." She had big plans, big dreams, she was gonna be a star ... but she fell in love with Tiger while watching Angels & Demons. That'll help a career, won't it? Dum-dum.

Jaimee (and the other little yapping Tiger girls) annoyed the crap out one of Tiger's mistresses — a person who actually considered herself a "full-time" of Tiger's thanks to years of faithful service to his virulent sexual appetite. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Veronica Siwik-Daniels aka Joslyn James, a double-D brunette whose specialties include being double-penetrated on camera in many NSFW films.

(Hi!)

But Jorge, proud Facebook friend of Miss Siwik-Daniels, said that this status update she posted on Dec. 2 was meant for all the ladies running their mouth about her man, Eldrick.

"I find it comical when certain individuals have no life of their own and want to be ME...so terribly bad. LMAO!"

The emphasis on "ME," says Jorge, was Veronica's way of respecting her unique relationship with Tiger and not becoming part of the screeching hordes. She did not return a message left on her phone requesting comment. Good for her.

Jorge was less discreet, however, telling me that Joslyn used love to talk about "all the freaky shit Tiger dug in bed," and that every time he'd come to town he'd pay for a visit. You know, with cash.

But here's what we've learned throughout this Tiger mess, which, in many ways, may change how some of these athletes are covered. Athletes have utilized the VIP service to engage in their affairs (and meet possible mistresses) for the sake of (supposed) privacy, philandering without the hassle of having to do any work themselves to land these women. It's a dirty business all around. But what to do now, since Tiger has gone and messed it up for a bunch of people who were pretty safe from prying eyes and camera lenses whenever they stepped out on their wives and girlfriends during Vegas weekends? CHAOS REIGNS ...

Welcome to the new world, mainstream media, where the blanks are about to be filled-in. The truth will set you free.

Now, bring me the client list of Pam Trahan and let's really start some shit.

TMZ (of course) reports that US Weekly has a massive interview with a woman named Jamiee (the extra "e" is for "emotionally damaged") Grubbs, who claims she had a 31-month affair with Tiger, chock-full of texting, sexting and all sorts of other details that will most likely have Elin reaching for the irons again.

Congratulations, Rachel Uchitel. Your Google-trending will be overtaken by this Grubbs woman starting...now.

Now, if you just cried out, "What are you talking about? Of course it's real," please leave. Now.

This is an actual lede in the Daily Telegraph, the largest paper in Sydney:

Wrestler Hulk Hogan has been badly injured after a violent bloody brawl broke out at The Hulkamania promotional press conference at Star City today.

Oh, it gets worse. The paper goes on to breathlessly report that

[t]he press conference veered violently out of control today as Hogan and ring rival Ric Flair let their animosity break into a full-scale bloody brawl.

Sydney Central's photographer Phil Rogers has his flash broken when Flair threw a table off the stage and into the press gathering before diving on photographers. See the photo of the Hulk.

Media were stunned as Hogan's head began bleeding profusely and confusion broke out when the veteran wrestling star was unable to get to his feet.

Journalists narrowly missed being struck with the table and photographers ducked and weaved as Flair took off his trouser belt and began to whip anyone within range.

Not once is there even a wink to the audience that this was anything less than a premeditated assault in broad daylight, and Flair ought to be prosecuted for it. I considered that perhaps Australian sarcasm is so finely tuned as to elude us boorish Americans, but then I read some of the comments on the story.

These guys get seriously worked up about their sport! I hope Terry "The Hulk" Hogan is OK to wrestle. Ric Flair is a goose. HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK HULK

Welcome to Sydney the lawlessness continues.

Ric Flair should be charged.

is this a gee up or is this for real

While Flair may or may not be "a goose," I'm pretty sure this was a "gee up." Ahh, Australia: same language, different planets.

Hulk Hogan Injured In Bloody Sydney Brawl With Ric Flair And Media [Daily Telegraph]

The Washington Times ran a story this week about something called the "Sports Fans Coalition," a newly formed lobbying group that says it will give sports fans "a seat at the table" in Washington D.C. But according to the story, the group is actually a front for satellite companies that want to enrich themselves at the expense of cable companies. The story includes a rather damning quote from a "lobbyist watchdog."

"It seems like a classic front group," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told the Times. "Their whole point is to get away with something and fool people into making them think they care about sports. It's the product of lobbyists."

Yes, it is the product of lobbyists. Unfortunately, so is this story. It was fed, almost word-for-word, to the Washington Times—as well as several other sports blogs and media outlets, including Deadpsin—by a PR firm that works for (surprise!) the cable industry.

* * * * *

Let's back up a bit: Cable companies, satellite companies, and TV networks are often feuding over who gets to air what channels and on what terms. Complicating the matter is that some cable companies also own their own TV networks, and in some instances they even own the sports teams whose games appear on those networks. For example, Versus (which is owned by Comcast, a cable company) was recently dropped from DirectTV (a satellite company) in a dispute over the fee that Versus was charging to carry the network. Direct TV says they are being overcharged by a greedy competitor. Comcast says that DirectTV doesn't care about sports and urged viewers to switch providers. (To Comcast, naturally.)

As you may have heard, Comcast is currently in talks to purchase NBC Universal from General Electric. That would give them control of a lot more TV channels that are a lot more popular than Versus. Obviously, that concerns the competition a great deal. So that leads to this email, which I got last week:

Hey Dashiel,

I have some juicy information I want to leak anonymously to either Gawker or Deadspin about an upcoming battle between satellite and cable companies over sports programming. I was hoping to leak some documents to you. Can you tell me which editor at Gawker/Deadspin would be best to approach about this, and could they guarantee my anonymity?

After I promised him anonymity, he found me on Instant Messenger:

The Mole: cool, just wanted to let you know that i have the email prepared for you, it's just that there is some internal struggle right now because there is some PR flak who is trying to give this to ESPN, but i'm arguing that we should give it to you
Dashspin: can you give me some idea of what it concerns?
The Mole: if i give you the nut graph can you hold off on reporting anything until i get the green light to send you the whole email? this way you can at least get a feel whether it fits for you
Dashspin: yeah. i wouldn't publish anything until i had some evidence
The Mole: we have evidence

Sounds very juicy, right? What followed was a email explanation of the story and a link to a "confidential" PowerPoint presentation that had been accidentally posted on the web. Not really leaked, so much as it was "found." (You can see the whole thing here:)

Below is the main gist of the information we have, though I do have more if you need it. You and Nick Denton are the only two people I've approached about this, so please let me know if you think you're able to use it.

We've gotten wind of a new "sports fan" coalition that we expect to be launched sometime this fall. The short version here is that some former satellite industry execs have put up the backing for a coalition that would essentially be anti-cable on the issue of sports programming access. It's going to pretend to be a grass roots organization but in reality it's corporate astroturf to keep fans from getting their games.

There was more to the email, but we'll get back to that. I looked over the presentation and realized it was basically a business plan for a non-profit group. Since the group didn't even have a website up yet, it seemed a little early to be blasting them. Plus, the stated primary goals of SFC seemed reasonable: Lobby Congress for a) no blackout rules for teams that play in publicly funded stadiums, b) a college football playoff and c) "Sports fans must be able to view their local sporting events via television or the internet, regardless of the their service provide." That's the kicker—a direct shot at cable companies.

I wasn't much interested in that part, but I thought it was amusing that the SFC document was leaked because they tried to have an internet contest for people to design them a logo. (Some of which were pretty silly looking.) So I figured I'd make fun of that in a Deadspin-y way and move on. I told the "source."

Dashspin: fyi, i'll have a post up about this a little bit later
The Mole: excellent
The Mole: once your post is up we're going to push it out to other bloggers to try to get them to link to it
Dashspin: ok, thanks
Dashspin: i'm not sure if there's anything to it yet, but it's worth pointing out to people
The Mole: definitely, and you're going to burst their PR bubble. they'll certainly be surprised

That's when I got a little more suspicious. The source seemed a little too interested in embarrassing these guys, as opposed to just protecting sports fans. So I dug around and eventually got an email address for David Goodfriend, the man listed as the chairman of the SFC and a former lobbyist for Dish Network. (Hence the villain of this story.)

Eventually, I spoke to Goodfriend on the phone and he was not willing to go on the record, because the group has not actually launched yet. However, he is a former satellite executive, but was also a staffer at the FCC and has worked in telecommunications lobbying circles for years. The gist of what he did tell me—which did end up in the Washington Times story—is that satellite companies listed in the presentation were merely "target companies" for funding. They had not actually agreed to give him anything yet, and they were picked mostly because those are the people he knows and has business contacts with. He explained that he would not give the companies control, but would gladly take their money.

He also stated that I was not the first person to contact him that day, which was unusual, because he had not gone public yet. He suspected that the cable companies were out to get him. He seemed to relish the idea that he was now a target, because that meant they were worried about him. It made him sound like a bit of a conspiracy theory nut ... except he turned out to be right.

* * * * *

After talking with Goodfriend, I realized that something else was going on here, but it was Friday afternoon, the boss was in Vegas and I wasn't much interested in figuring it out just then. I emailed The Mole again:

Change of plans. I won't be doing a story today. Maybe next week. Do you have any more information on this or are you only basing it on the powerpoint presentation?

He immediately IM'd me:

The Mole: i have more information than what was in the powerpoint
The Mole: not sure how much longer it's going to be exclusive though
Dashspin: well, the powerpoint is available to anyone. and on its own is not that damning.
The Mole: we have a document full of background research

He sent me another email, which was basically just a summary of the PowerPoint presentation. No independent research that I could see.

The Mole: sent, this is all info that was compiled before we knew of the powerpoint's existence, which i just found out about yesterday
Dashspin: ok. but i don't see anything in there that's not in the powerpoint.

So now it was time to put the cards on the table:

Dashspin: do you work for one of these companies?
The Mole: i work for a pr firm that works for the cable industry
The Mole: this is all the info i currently have; it's about an issue about a future battle over an issue that's a hot topic: the cost and access to being able to watch sports programming
Dashspin: and these are the guys you'll be battling with
The Mole: pretty much
The Mole: especially with the comcast/nbc deal
Dashspin: well, to be honest, i don't see any reason to think that they're bankrolled by some power broker. and even if they are, i'm not really interested in fighting your pr battle for you.
The Mole: ok, fair enough

I let it go, but the incident did bother me. A industry flack complaining about sports fans being manipulated, by trying to manipulate me into taking down his competitor? Who's really laying down the Astroturf here? Later, The Mole sent me the Times story that he obviously helped orchestrate. (I'm assuming he wanted to point out that I missed my "exclusive.") Then I saw this angry post from the blog Rumors and Rants that basically repeated everything that I (and they) had been fed by the PR person. Here's part of their post:

Obviously the satellite industry is no angel on this issue, having executed a long term exclusive deal with the NFL for its Sunday Ticket package. For years cable customers (like me) have been frustrated with their inability to access that package without having to switch to satellite TV full-time. To be fair, I would probably switch to satellite if they could ever figure out a way for me to be able to actually watch TV when it's freaking raining outside.

This year, when the NFL is blacking out millions of fans for their local game because the stadium isn't selling out due to a massive recession, the only way to get access is through DirecTV. DirecTV is complicit with the NFL in robbing sports fans of their locally televised games, but rather than try to fix the problem or do the right thing, they're going to attempt to drive fans' anger toward their cable competitors.

That's presented as the writer's own words, not a quote from their "source." Now here's part of the original email from The Mole that I left out:

The satellite industry is no angel on this issue, having executed a long term exclusive deal with the NFL for its Sunday Ticket package. For years cable customers have been frustrated by their inability to access this package without having to switch providers. This year, when the NFL is blacking out millions of fans from their local game because the stadium isn't selling out in a recession, the only way to get access is through DirecTV. DirecTV is complicit with the NFL in robbing sports fans of their locally televised games, but now they'll attempt to drive fans' anger toward their cable competitors.

Here's another quote from the Times story, written by Tim Lemke:

But in the early going, the coalition would be funded exclusively with corporate money, leading watchdogs to question whether the group will avoid being influenced.

"The reason a corporation would sign on is because it likes the message," Ms. Sloan said. "They would have to be sold on it."

Except no corporation has agreed to it yet. There's no way to know if a satellite company likes that agenda, because they haven't donated yet. But that's the cable company spin and Lemke gladly repeated it. He didn't take Goodfriend—an on-the-record source—at his word, but repeated cable industry talking points with no evidence to support them. This is how your news gets made.

* * * * *

So is the Sports Fan Coalition legit? Who the hell knows? They haven't done anything. Technically, it doesn't even exist. But to assume that they are shady just because a cable company PR person tells you they are, is the height of gullibility.

Maybe Goodfriend is full of it and I'm the one who got snowed. Maybe the SFC is completely in the pockets of Direct TV. That doesn't suddenly make a Comcast/NBC merger a good idea. Why is it okay to stop satellite companies from hurting cable, but not the other way around? Open access and net neutrality are complicated issues with few right or wrong answers—I asked my source for more explanation, but he has curiously gone silent—but just because one side makes money and the other doesn't, that doesn't automatically make it a bad thing for you, the consumer, or the fan. The point is to ask the right questions and always, always, always consider the source.

It's easy to get seduced by a source offering you an important exclusive. I almost was. The Rumors and Rants post ends with the ominous warning: "don't believe anything coming from the Sports Fan Coalition." I'd say the same thing about anonymous PR people.

EXCLUSIVE: Satellite TV to use sports fans to fight cable [Washington Times]
Satellite TV Companies To Lobby On Their Own Behalf By Using Fans [Rumors and Rants]

* * * * *
UPDATES
We've received some responses from people mentioned in this post. First, Tim Lemke, who wrote the Washington Times piece:

Not sure I agree with your assumptions as to where I got the documents or how I reached my conclusions. Based on your post, I don't think we talked to the same people. I had my eyes open to cable's possible interest in this from the start...that doesn't make it a non-story. The documents speak for themselves, no matter who gave them to me and why.

I've been a reporter in Washington for 10 years and it's par for the course for these groups with seemingly innocuous names to pop up, only no one ever realizes there are industries behind them. The Global Climate Coaltion? Funded largely by the oil and coal industry. Americans for Medical Progress? Pharmaceutical industry.

It's our job as reporters to point out when this kind of thing occurs.

As for the NFL Sunday Ticket question, which is a valid one, I asked Goodfriend specifically about that, wondering how he could possibly be against exclusivity when DirecTV has that arrangement with the NFL. He said it's not the same issue, because the Sunday Ticket deal was open to all bidders and DirecTV simply won out.

Maybe Goodfriend hasn't gotten any money from anyone yet. Maybe it will turn out to be totally grassroots funded, in which case I don't see why anyone should object to it. But f he's soliciting money from a specific group of companies that would benefit from his platform, that's a story.

Best,
-Tim

P.S. I know you're just trying to keep everyone honest here. As a Philly native, any blog run by AJ Daulerio will always be a favorite of mine.

Philly? Told you he was biased! Anyway, thanks to Tim for his polite response. (More than I deserved, probably.) It is about keeping people honest.

Finally, SFC Chairman David Goodfriend tried to leave this in comments, but I'm including here, because of Nibbles:

Yes, folks, I'm a Washington lawyer/lobbyist. And, yes, I was an executive with DISH Network for many years. I also worked in the Clinton White House, Congress, and the FCC.

A while ago, a congressional staffer called me and asked, "Dave, who is someone we can invite as a witness to testify on behalf of sports fans at our hearing?" I couldn't think of anyone. There certainly are enough public policy issues for fans to get involved with— ticket prices at publicly funded stadiums, game blackouts, etc, and there already are federal laws on the books governing the sports industry (or protecting it, depending on your view).

I did some digging around and realized that there really is no single advocacy/lobbying group in DC representing the interests of sports fans. Certainly nothing well funded and methodical.

But I knew from my time in the satellite industry that there are tons of lobbyists for professional sports leagues, the NCAA, sports programmers, and big distribution companies.

I also knew from working for DISH Network that a lot of times, the gripes of sports fans are shared by some pretty big companies who get shut out of programming deals.

So I asked a simple question: why not start a new non-profit advocacy group for sports fans? But instead of making it some feeble shoe-string whimper, why not get some bucks from companies that feel just as shafted as the fans do? The key, I thought, was to make sure that any corporate donations did not result in any kind of real control by the donors. Take the money, but either they believe in the agenda or not—they don't get control.

That's when I put together the power point that the PR hacks found. It just laid out the idea. Here's the funny part about that article in the Washington Times: almost all the companies the reporter listed and that I approached with my pitch said, no! That includes my former employer, DISH Network. That includes DIRECTV, AT&T, and others. So far, I have ONE company that committed to help fund SFC. And one non-profit that will join. Maybe we'll get more, maybe not. (I have a great Board of Directors assembled, too.)

Yes, I'm going after corporate donations. So do most of the high-profile non-profits in DC. If I'm going up against some of the most powerful interests in the US, I want some big dogs in my corner. And when the website launches, you'll be able to see right there exactly who everyone is— total transparency. I'll even post the legal documents setting up the organization so you can see for yourself how it's set up. That's not astroturf. That's honesty.

Truth is, I always figured I'd get shot at by the Big Leagues and Big Cable, but I didn't realize they'd use a Howitzer on a seedling. Thanks to Dash, we all now know that it was cable PR hacks who planted that story with the Washington Times, trying to kill this thing before it even gets off the ground. I got e-mails and phone calls from big-time lawyers for the Leagues and Big Cable trying to talk me out of this. All of which has just made me want to launch the Sports Fans Coalition even more.

So stay tuned, sports fans. Hopefully we'll be able to launch the website within a few weeks. Hopefully tons of fans will join the coaltion. If they do, we'll mount a real advocacy campaign for fans in DC. And if they don't, well... I get to watch a lot more sports this winter.

According to the New York Post's rather lengthy deconstruction of events, Phillips had a brief fling with a fellow ESPN employee named Brooke Hundley this summer. He ended it rather quickly, which did not go over very well. She allegedly began harassing Phillips, his wife and even his teenage son—who she friended on Facebook by pretending to be a classmate, and then grilled him for personal information about the family.

The final straw came when Phillips' wife arrived at her home to see a strange woman coming down her driveway and getting into a car (which she promptly smashed into a pole while trying to make a quick getaway.) The woman had left a very creepy letter in the front door, addressed to Phillips wife. The full original letter is available on the Post website [PDF], but here are some of the bullet points laid out by Hundley:

• She and Steve first slept together in a St. Louis hotel room, but he assured her that she wouldn't get pregnant because of his vasectomy.
• How and she Steve love to text back and forth with detailed plans on how they would like to sex each other
• An uncomfortable amount of detail about the activities of her children
• How the Catholic Church will totally understand if the Phillips got a divorce, so that she and Steve can be together
• She's 22 ... but not stupid!
• A graphic description of Steve's birthmarks (on his crotch and inner thigh), just to know she's legit.

In a written statement, Phillips confessed that he had three sexual encounters with Hundley and then broke it off in July. Almost immediately after that, the woman began making phone calls to his wife, leaving voicemails, sending inappropriate texts, and making even more inappropriate Facebook overtures to his son. He says he believes her to "obsessive and delusional" and police have become involved. Nevertheless, Phillips is suspended for at least one week and his wife has filed for divorce.

This is not the first time Phillips has run into this sort of trouble, nor is it the first incident involving the Baseball Tonight team. When he was GM of the Mets in the 1990s, Phillips had to take a leave of absence after an affair with a team employee. See also: Reynolds, Harold. There's a chance we won't see him on any ESPN network before this baseball season ends and then after that, who knows what will become of his tenure at the firm.

Expect a lot more on this before the day is over, obviously

Affair is foul for ESPN star [NY Post]
Photos of Brooke Hundley [WEEI]

Update: Get your questions in now for Phillips' 1:00 p.m. ESPN Chat! Suggested inquiry: "What were you thinking? Melvin Mora for Mike Bordick?!"

Update 2: The New York Daily News apparently got a hold of Hundley's resume. (Update 2.5: Because it's online.) Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Update 3: Headline: "Steve Phillips Furthers His Idiocy." Sorry, that's actually not about the affair.

Update 4: ESPN, perhaps learning their lesson from the Ben Roethlsiberger incident, has released an official statement and linked to it from the front page of ESPN.com: "We were aware of this and took appropriate disciplinary action at the time. We have granted Steve's request for an extended leave of absence to allow him to address it. We have no further comment."

Update 5: TMZ has the 911 call from Phillips' wife after Hundley showed up at their house. Good times.

Yes, people. Our long national nightmare of unnecessary, overwrought patriotic melisma is over. Tynan has lost his gig with the Yankees after making a "joke" about Jews regarding a Jewish doctor looking at an apartment in his Upper East Side building. We go to the blockquotes:

The real estate agent said to the tenor "Don't worry they are not Red Sox fans," according to the apartment-hunter, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson.

To which Tynan replied, "I don't care about that, as long as they are not Jewish," Gabrielle Gold-von Simson told NBC New York.

"Why is that?" asked a flabbergasted Gold-von Simson of the singer. Tynan replied that Jewish ladies had been looking at the apartment before and they were "scary," according to Gold-von Simson.

Oh my God, that is SO funny! Best Jewish joke I've heard in ages. Nazi Shark gives it four Dead Jews out of four. For his part, Tynan claims the whole episode is a big misunderstanding. Of course he does.

"I'm not anti-Semitic and I have never been in my life," Tynan told NBC New York. "There are three members of my band that are Jewish. And I love them like brothers. I call them my brothers from another mother."

Also, he calls them dirty heebs. Because it's hilarious, you see. Anyway, so long to you, Ronan. The Yankees may still kick us out of their precious stadium for blinking during that fucking song, but at least you won't be the asshole stretching it out to seven minutes. Never again will we be subjected to your unbearable tenor and goofy ears. Have fun working the Shriner's Club circuit and picking up Giuliani's dry cleaning. Dick.

HT: Rovell's Twitter feed.

Players and coaches are still allowed to use social media networks, but will not be allowed to post updates from 90 minutes before kickoff until after the traditional postgame press conferences. (Please let the media print your banalities first.) So, no "@ the coin toss. should i take tails?" or "@carsonp: I WAS OPEN!" and mercifully, no one pulling a BlackBerry out of their sock in the endzone. Of course, if the penalty is just a fine that may not stop some.

One other tidbit from the article that I was not aware of—referees are forbidden from using social media at all times. I guess it's because no one would want to have to explain to Jeff Triplette that those 5,000 Facebook "friends" only became fans so they could tell him he sucks.

Tweet delete: NFL bans social media in games [ESPN]

Karen Sypher goes into greater detail about her restaurant rendezvous with Slick Rick, and continues to accuse Pitino of not just paying for her abortion, but threatening her if she didn't go through with it.

"I'll never forget. I wanted to have the baby, but Rick said my children would all be in concrete. I lived in fear for five years," she said.

"I prayed to God, 'Please, I don't want this.' When they called my name [at the clinic], I stood up."

The only problem with that theory is that an alleged voicemail from Pitino, that she provided to the media, seems to contradict that. He specifically says that the decision is up to her, although he does seem to be encouraging her to "put it behind her."

She also has a theory for one of the other unanswered questions: Why would Tim Sypher woo and marry a woman that his boss knocked up less than year earlier? Her conclusion—he was paid by Pitino, which I guess makes as much sense as anything. I don't have a better answer for that.

Sypher's story has not changed at all from the story she told police during their investigation of the extortion claims. Whether any of this is true or not (and a quite a bit of it is), she seems to believe it. She believes she's been wronged by Rick Pitino and it can't be helping her sanity to see that he will probably not face any consequences for any of this, while guys like Pat Forde go on TV to remind everyone that she's the criminal. Sure, he's embarrassed, but he'll move on and Louisville basketball will continue to run this town.

'I WANTED THE BABY BUT RICK SAID NO ... I LIVED IN FEAR' [New York Post]
Forde speaks [Kentucky Sports Radio]
And Now the Juicy Parts of Sypher/Pitino [Page One Kentucky]

Maybe Miller's learning some things from TNT coworker Charles Barkley about landing a side piece, but targeting someone who's engaged is never wise. Especially if said woman's fiancé is pseudo-famous and rich enough to take their revenge in a very public fashion.

Alex von Furstenberg is a Malibu surf shop owner, but more importantly the son of fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg and stepson of media mogul Barry Diller. He's also engaged to designer Ali Kay.

According to the restraining order, which was never filed, Miller is neighbors with von Furstenberg and Kay, and met her at a Fourth of July party last year. In early March, he ran into her at a grocery store, then waited outside for an hour until she left, before following her up the Pacific Coast Highway.

He also allegedly harassed her by phone, including sending her 53 text messages over the course of less than four hours.

When confronted by von Furstenberg, according to the complaint, Miller turned threatening:

He said he had friends with guns. He implied I would get hurt if I didn't stop questioning him on his inappropriate pursuit of my fiancee and his attempts to subvert his efforts."

The matter seemed to have ended when each party's lawyers got involved, and von Fursternberg gave this statement:

I was very upset about Reggie's behavior towards my fiancée. I think people in Malibu share my views that being a famous basketball player should not provide some sort of shield against inappropriate behavior. Reggie sincerely apologized to me on a phone call with Ronald Richards, his attorney, and myself. I cannot comment further on the matter as I believe it has been resolved."

So, no legal action, but someone doesn't want to let Reggie forget about this so quickly. Hence Friday's message in the skies over the AVP beach volleyball tournament in Hermosa Beach. For your reading pleasure, the restraining order, courtesy of Diary Of A Hollywood Street King:

Reggie Miller Getting Boo'ed In Malibu, No Slam Dunk Here… [Diary Of A Hollywood Street King]

Here's Miller's side of the story: TMZ

This is the layman's version, tweaked with more specifics for all employees, and oddly not Tweeted by Ric Bucher, only because he's currently being water-boarded across George Bodenheimer's desk. (Status on his punishment — "the memo spells it out." More vacation for Bucher! )

But for those ESPN employees who are still confused about whether they can optimize their personal brand for a life after ESPN by writing blogs that touch on sports topics not authorized by ESPN, here's the answer: the swift billy club of Bristol justice will rain down upon them. So run to the hills, Cohn Heads.

DJ Poon-to drop that shit:

SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES FOR ESPN EMPLOYEES

These guidelines apply to all ESPN employees who participate in any form of personal social networking. If you are an ESPN talent, or reporter engaged with social media, please also refer to those additional guidelines.

ESPN understands that employees may maintain or contribute to personal blogs, message boards, conversation pages and other forms of social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) outside of their job function and may periodically post information about their job or ESPN's activities on these outlets. If an employee posts ESPN or job-related information, they are required to exercise good judgment, abide by ESPN policy, and take the following into consideration.

ESPN employees are obligated to be aware of and comply with any applicable provisions set forth in ESPN's Employee Handbook and The Walt Disney Company's Standards of Business Conduct. Employees may not disclose confidential or proprietary company information or similar information of third parties who have shared such information with ESPN. ESPN's intellectual property, logos, trademarks, and copyrights may not be used in any manner.

If an employee is engaging on external social media platforms personally, they should not use the company's name in their identity (e.g. username, "handle" or screen name), nor should they speak as a representative of the company. If a media inquiry is generated, please direct it to the Communications Department.

If you are an ESPN talent, reporter, writer, producer, editor or other editorial decision maker or a public-facing ESPN employee, you are reminded that when you participate in public blogs or discussion activities, you are representing ESPN just as you would in any other public forum or medium, and you should exercise discretion, thoughtfulness and respect for your colleagues, business associates and our fans. All posted content is subject to review in accordance with, ESPN's employee policies and editorial guidelines.

ESPN's Values expressly state that care and respect for employees and each other will always be at the heart of our operations and that we are passionately committed to teamwork. Employees are responsible for acting in a manner that is consistent with our company Values. To that end, employees are expected to be courteous, respectful, and thoughtful about how other employees may be affected by postings. Incomplete, inaccurate, inappropriate, threatening, harassing or poorly worded postings may be harmful to other employees, damage employee relationships, undermine ESPN's effort to encourage teamwork, violate ESPN policy or harm the Company, which may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Employees bear full responsibility for the material they post on personal blogs or other social media.

For purposes of this policy, a "personal blog" or "social media" includes personal websites and all forms of on-line community activities such as on-line social networks, message boards, conversation pages, and chat rooms. If you have any questions regarding this policy and its application, please contact either your manager or the Human Resources Department

If only the rest of the Twitterverse would rise up and fight against the trolling censors of ESPN the same way the did for the Iranian protesters back in June. Everyone in the Twitterverse should change their time to EST and their location to Bristol.

When there's not a SICKO in need of shaming, Peyser skulks around courthouses watching the trials of minor celebrities.

Today she is OUTRAGED that Antonio Pierce TWEETED after testifying before a grand jury. He didn't Tweet about the Plaxico Burress incident, but, you know. He TWEETED! Instead of confessing to all the various crimes that Andrew Peyser knows he is guilty of! The nerve of this guy!

MINUTES after he told a grand jury he did nothing in the Plaxico Burress mess, Giants linebacker and fellow twit Antonio Pierce couldn't wait to post this cocky tweet on Twitter:

"Which way to ALBANY? someone just told me."

Yes, right. Very cocky. And "arrogant." And "wacky" and "ornery." And: "This idiot athlete clearly thinks a lot of himself." Because he is Tweeting, about how he is excited to play football, and how he hopes to play it very well, this fall.

We hope Andrea Peyser stays on the sports beat, because we would love to read her thoughts on Mutton Bustin'.

As you know, ESPN put a blanket network ban on all Post employees after their less than respectful treatment of the Erin Andrews video. The story didn't make the front page (or the sports pages) today, but a mini-item did mysteriously find its way into the gossip section this morning, just to subtly remind the network that everything that's happened so far is entirely their fault.

No one would have known that a sick voyeur had secretly videotaped ESPN reporter Erin Andrews nude in her hotel room, if the Mickey Mouse sports network hadn't sent a letter to an obscure Web site demanding that it take down its link to a fuzzy video of an unidentified blonde. The video had gone largely unnoticed since it first went up in February, according to a girlie-posting site, DonChavez.com. Last Thursday, NSFWPOA.com, which had linked to the Andrews shots, got a letter from ESPN counsel David Pahl demanding the "pictures of a young, blonde woman" be removed. It didn't take long for Web sites to identify the blonde as Andrews — and her lawyer soon confirmed it.

See? The girlie-posting Post was just doing what ESPN told them to. Maybe the network should ban themselves from their own radio shows, did you ever think of that?

ESPN OUTED ERIN VIDEO [NY Post]

Why is that again? Just to be clear, here's a more official statement that ESPN gave to Pro Football Talk:

"At this point, we are not reporting the allegations against Ben Roethlisberger because no criminal complaint has been filed. As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly."

The implication is that if there's no criminal action and the athlete himself (or herself) has not publicly commented on it, then ESPN considers it a private matter and not "news." Several readers have already called them on this point, mentioning the Shannon Brown case, the Tony Zendejas case (filed Monday), or the O.J. case, among others. However, in all those instances, ESPN could claim that there was a criminal complaint at least tangentially related to the story. But in all those instances, the story itself was about the civil case. They have also covered many, many purely civil cases like the NFL's current anti-trust fracas, the mess regarding the Dallas Cowboys practice bubble, and—the most glaring of all—the Roberto Alomar "AIDS rumors." It seems pretty clear that they're being selective with their enforcement.

It's also extremely disingenuous to say that Roethlisberger has yet to address the case publicly when an official statement from his lawyer—who is presumably authorized to speak on his behalf—was the very first thing we read about the case. ESPN routinely considers lawyers, agents, and even family members to be valid spokespeople and this is no different.

Athletes, like other celebrities or wealthy individuals, face frivolous lawsuits all the time. So at first glance, a prohibition on covering every complaint that comes down the road would seem reasonable. It doesn't take much, however, for a lawsuit like this to rise above a personal squabble into the realm of real news. Ben Roethlisberger is a national celebrity and a civil lawsuit is a matter of public record. No news organization anywhere would ignore a legitimate story based on the standard ESPN has set for themselves.

Dan Le Batard defended ESPN by saying that it's not being reported by "credible" outlets, which is clearly nonsense. Both of Pittsburgh's major newspapers have covered it. The Associated Press, the wire service that ESPN makes frequent use of, is covering it. Even ABC News, ESPN's parent company, has mentioned it. Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the damn NFL, has addressed it. If it wasn't a news story before, it is now. There is no journalistic or ethical excuse for ESPN to remain quiet.

So why aren't they covering it? Some have suggested that ESPN is deliberately protecting Roethlisberger to preserve their access—access that could benefit both parties financially. Even if they aren't doing it intentionally, their statement sends a clear signal that as long he personally keeps his mouth shut, this case will never reach the airwaves of the biggest sports network in the world.

Perhaps they know what unleashing the ESPN newshounds would mean—Rachel Nichols doing standups in Lake Tahoe, Ed Werder prowling the streets of Pittsburgh, Chris Mortensen on the phones, Roger Cossack's floating head, Outside The Lines, Sports Reporters, thousands of radio jockeys flooding airwaves—and they aren't prepared to do that yet. It's too bad that not covering a circus just because it's a circus is not an option.

Sooner or later, of course, they won't have any choice. Training camps open soon. What if a reporter asks Ben about it and he says, "No comment." Is that addressing the situation? What if there's a settlement? What if there's no settlement? Would they refuse to cover a civil trial?

ESPN's stance is ultimately untenable and they know it. Caution may have been in order when the story first broke, but we are way past the point when this became newsworthy. They are the only major media outlet not covering it and every minute that goes by where they don't address the issue makes them look increasingly foolish and petty. When they do start reporting on this case, perhaps they can begin by explaining their own silence.

Last word on ESPN's civil lawsuit policy [ProFootballTalk]
Full Complaint against Ben Roethlisberger (Opens in PDF)

The final toxicology reports, released this week, say that McNair's blood alcohol level was over the legal limit when he died. Of course, he wasn't driving—-he was asleep on his couch, so that fact is mostly irrelevant. (Though I guess it explains why he was sound asleep.) But just to make sure the Fox News audience got the picture, The Shepard, in his best serious voice and sans teleprompter, broke it down thusly:

It is not illegal to be drunk, it is illegal to drink and drive ... and it's certainly not illegal to sit there and do nothing while you wait for your girlfriend to come and shoot you to death.

So true. By the way, Florio was so professional and dignified that there's nothing funny or embarrassing to show you from his segment. Alas....

A blogger in a suit? Now I've seen everything!

Shepard Smith FOX News Report [Fox News]

This will likely lead to 1% actual useful information and 99% wild unfounded guesses. After all, how do you find someone on the internet who doesn't want to be found? Actually, finding them on the net is easy, but turning that online persona into an actual real world person that police can club with a baton is much more difficult. Don Chavez, purveyor of some of your favorite dirty cheerleader photos, is hot on the trail of the anonymous user who uploaded the videos to French tube farm Dailymotion—about four months ago. (They're gone now, as is the user who uploaded them, so don't bother.) Yes, they were there, virtually undetected, for weeks.

So Chavez combined some digging, direct messaging, and dart throwing to narrow the culprits down to someone who lives within driving distance of an SEC football stadium. That should help the dragnet. Of course, this assumes that the Dailymotion uploader was also the person who filmed the video, which is itself a giant leap of faith. That person could have found the videos almost anywhere. Underground message board and file sharing sites can traffic in this stuff years while remaining completely under the radar, and just because the guy is a fan of shady invasion of privacy videos, that doesn't automatically mean he's the one who films them. Or that we'll ever know who "he" is.

Of course, because it's the internet, there is always a contingent of folks assuming that it's all a stunt anyway. Because there's something "fishy" about the whole situation, that means Erin Andrews would pretend to be violated for ... what? More fame? A potentially ruined journalism career? Yes, the idea that someone could film such a video, undetected, through a peephole from a hotel hallway seems unlikely, but who ever said that's exactly how it happened? No one has claimed responsibility for it, so everything else is just guess work.

The only truth is that nobody knows anything and we are unlikely to ever know anything about the true original source of the videos. ESPN will continue to play whack-a-mole with bloggers who "discover" the video and try to post it, but it's hard to imagine it ever getting much beyond that. I would love to be wrong about that, but I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, and if you still haven't seen the video and are desperately searching for it, you're probably going to end up infecting your computer with spyware and viruses so you should probably just let it go.

What You Don't Know Yet About The Naked Erin Andrews Hotel Videos [screengrab via Don Chavez]
Erin Andrews Peephole Video Update: Who Was The Source [Don Chavez]
Erin Andrews peephole video spreads malware [Sophos]

We arrived at the corner of Surf and Stillwell around 10am, a little more than two hours before the contest kicked off. This giant countdown clock thingie let all of us in attendance know exactly how long we had to bake in the hot sun before the start of the main event.

Since we had some time to kill, we went over to Nathan's for a breakfast of cheese fries and chili dog. I mean, how could we not?

Of the estimated 50,000 people in attendance yesterday, this guy, wearing blue jean cutoffs and a giant wiener on his head with his nipples painted red, white and blue, stood out to me more than any other. I wasn't sure whether I should admire his unbridled enthusiasm for the event or if I should mock him mercilessly for being a Herculean tool. I'm still going back and forth on this.

This will be my girlfriend in 15 years or so. Isn't she just so damn precious? I can just see us holding hands while walking at night along the River Seine in Paris, diamonds reflecting in her eyes all the while. It will be so fantastically fine.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen as much red, white and blue as I saw yesterday.

One of the more interesting and surprising takeaways from attending the event yesterday was seeing the passion of the competitive eating circuit's fans. At various points in the time leading up to the start of the contest, the Joey Chestnut fans and the Takeru Kobayashi fans, many of them traveling great distances to attend, took turns taunting each other from opposite sides of the crowd.

About an hour before the start of the contest, a black bus carrying all of the competitors arrived. Pictured here is Tim "Eater X" Janus, exiting the bus with his game-face on.

Before the start of the main event Erin, a longtime vegetarian, fought her way through the crowd to get some pics of the competitors up close. After it was over one of the first things out of her mouth was, "That was one of the grossest things I've ever witnessed."

This is Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, currently ranked 6th in the world by Major League Eating. At 5'5'', 105 lbs, she holds the world record for most oysters eaten in 10 minutes (46 dozen), and is the reigning champion in the cheesecake, buffalo wing, Vienna sausage, baked beans, fried okra and lobster categories. She came in 6th overall yesterday after eating 41 hot dogs.

For most of the competition, Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi were neck and neck, with Chestnut maintaining a lead of one or two hot dogs throughout. Here, about 2/3 of the way through, is where Chestnut usually slows down, but yesterday he powered through and kicked it into overdrive. Look at the intensity on that man's face!

If ever a photograph perfectly captured the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, it is this one. Joey Chestnut ate 68 hot dogs to Kobayashi's 64 1/2.

Major League Eating Chairman and event emcee George Shea announces Joey Chestnut as the winner. Throughout the day I thought that Shea was some sort of hired gun, some showman brought in to play host. Turns out he's the brains of the whole operation, a modern day P.T. Barnum if you will. He held court on stage all morning in the hours leading up to the hot dog eating contest, which was actually a small part of a larger circus, albeit the culmination everyone came to see.

After it was all over, leftover Nathan's hot dogs were distributed to the hungry masses.

These guys were some of the happy recipients of the free leftover hot dogs passed out after the competition had ended.

Naturally, Megadeath fans love free leftover hot dogs.

If you've ever wondered what the floor of the platform on which the hot dog eating contest is held looks like after the event is over, now you know.

New York City sanitation workers assigned to work Coney Island on July 5th are not to be envied.

After it was all over we met up Tim Janus and some of the other competitors at Ruby's on the boardwalk for drinks. All of them were hoping to have bowel movements soon so that they could get on with their day in comfort. This is what Tim's belly looked like after eating 53 hot dogs, an effort that landed him in 4th place overall.

This young lady was going around collecting autographs on her event pass for her boss, who she said was a "huge fan" of competitive eating. She plans to ask for a raise later in the week.

Everyone loved Steven Zallian's version (he's an Oscar-winner, you know!), because it had jokes and snappy dialogue and actually made sabermetrics non-mind numbing. But Soderbergh wanted realism so much, he was determined to only film events that took place in real life. He also scrapped the conceit of having Bill James as the "Greek chorus", bookending the film with his anecdotes with and wise old man stories. The verdict:

That might make for an intriguing art film, but it clearly was no longer a film that any studio would spend $58 million to make, especially with baseball films having virtually no appeal outside of the U.S.

We got our hands on the Soderbergh draft, and it's about as bad as others have said. Gone, thankfully, is the Beane-as-dork-Messiah stuff. Soderbergh's Beane is more of a proxy for the audience this time — Bud Fox meets Crash Davis, as they say in Hollywood — and in his script, Moneyball is more of a Beane-Paul DePodesta buddy movie, which maybe makes some sense when you imagine Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin in those roles. Maybe.

The script was probably doomed from its second page, from which the above image was taken. Here's Soderbergh's disclaimer:

Billy Beane's minor and major league career will be shown via filmed interviews with scouts, coaches, managers, players, and family members who were with him at the time. These interviews will comprise approximately ten percent of the film.

Another ten percent of the film will consist of re-enactments of real events as remembered by the people playing themselves. The purpose of these scenes will be to provide set-up and perspective for subjects, situations, or relationships which currently appear in the screenplay without the requisite/normal amount of context.

All that is to say an important portion of this film will be written in the editing room. This isn't a cop-out; it's just a fact, and entirely by design.

That sounds an awful lot like, "Yes, this script sucks. But trust me. I made The Limey." It was probably at this point that Amy Pascal, the Sony executive, optioned the script to the bottom of her coffee mug. Even though it was five days from shooting and Sony had already sunk $10 million dollars into the film, Pascal pulled the plug. The movie is now in limbo. The studio would presumably still make the Zaillian version if they could find a director, but would likely lose Brad Pitt if Soderbergh walks. And the current talent is free to take the project somewhere else, but no one is biting, because that brings us all back to the original argument, "Why anyone make a movie about this?" Maybe Scott Hatteberg is really big overseas?

(Additional Soderbergh script reveals, information by Tommy Craggs.)

Sony's Amy Pascal speaks out about 'Moneyball' [Los Angeles Times, via Gawker]
What happened to...Moneyball? [ScriptShadow]
Billy Beane Is A Golden God: Excerpts From The Scrapped Moneyball Script

In his forthcoming My Remarkable Journey, ol' Larry writes of a day spent at Calder back in 1971, when he was a spry 156 years old. Down at the heels and with $42 to his name, Larry bet his last dollar on a 70-1 filly, Lady Forli, wheeling her at the top of a trifecta that, miraculously, came through.

There was no question about it. The 11 won by five lengths. The 1 was three lengths ahead of the 9. I had every winning ticket. I had it to win. I had the exacta. I had the trifecta. I collected nearly eight thousand dollars. Eight thousand dollars!

Alas, it seems Larry has embroidered his history just a touch. According to Equibase, a Lady Forli was foaled in 1972, a chestnut. She ran three times in 1975 and never finished in the money. Larry might've won $8,000 off a horse in 1971, but it certainly wasn't off Lady Forli.

Now, the man has obviously lived a long, fascinating life, full of adventure and Teri Garr interviews, so maybe we should all give him the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe he just misremembers. Or maybe he really is fucking insane.

Excerpt: Betting my last dollar on a horse [CNN]

Back in January I received a strange email from Mrs. Navoy, who was trying to get in touch with Pat Jordan, the author who penned many, many books and the incredible "Chasing Jose" piece for Deadspin. The [Sic'd] email went as follows:

Dear customer service:

I was reading the article Chasing Jose, by Pat Jordan and would like to know if you have recent contact information for him? My husband is concluding his experience with the federal government for a federal case, steroid related, and he wanted me to find an author experienced writing about such things. I've checked out Jose's book, and to be honest, the guy is a moron and his book is a joke compared to the true shocking story my husband would like to have published. Can you get me in contact with Pat Jordan or another such experienced author? I was lead to believe by using a best seller author gets the book sold more,,and I really dont know what is true and what is not. I do know my husband is setting a landmark case, and he has incredible accurate knowledge of steroid and steroid like things. Also, we have many famous customers, one of which is a multi million dollar player renegotiating this year after leaving boston, going to the west coast. This baseball legend is moody enough as it is, he would be more so if we ratted him to the feds like they wanted us to after knowing he was a long time customer of ours. We've got a great story. All we need is a great writer. and the guidance to make the right moves. Please help. Jennifer

Usually I'd take this email and plop it into Deleted Scenes and move on. However, on this occasion, I Googled Jennifer Navoy just to do some background research on her. It turns out, she and her husband, Christian Navoy, were currently being prosecuted by the Feds for illegally selling bodybuilding drugs online out of their home. Jennifer obviously wanted an author to tell their story and was using Manny's name as bait. I bit. For months and months I emailed with Jennifer, spoke on the phone with her and her husband, text messaged with her, all with the hope of getting some verifiable proof that, while playing for the Boston Red Sox, Manny Ramirez, had purchased some sort of PEDs from them. Eventually, she told me what he was allegedly buying: tamoxifen citrate.

Jennifer clarified in an email:

"not bulk but repeatedly. It was the only product ordered. Chris says his phone is charging. Maybe you can call him later on. jen"

Now, tamoxifen citrate isn't a steroid — it's actually one of those drugs that body builders (and ballplayers) take to prevent gynocomastia, the dreaded "bitch tits." Mostly it's used for breast cancer patients to alter their testosterone levels. So at the very least, I thought, Manny may not be on steroids, but he could have breast cancer. But either way, it was a total red flag and would link Ramirez to steroids.

After months of conversations, Jennifer had finally realized that, no, I was not interested in helping her husband write a book about his encyclopedic knowledge of steroids and bodybuilding or anything like that. But, I told her, if you do want to drum up some publicity for any sort of book, doing a revealing q-and-a with Deadspin would be a great way to start. She hesitated. Her husband didn't want to do that. He didn't want to rat people out just to make some quick book money. He had a much bigger and better story to tell, she said.

So the story stalled. I was frustrated. During the ensuing months, I braced for the inevitable Manny Ramirez steroid news to make the papers. I shared my story with some high-profile news people in the hopes of finding another lead to break this. "This is huge!" they'd all say. "Why aren't you hopping on this? This is a total game-changer." It would be. It was. But I also knew that using the word of a soon-to-be-incarcerated man and his financially desperate wife to break this story would not be enough. I needed physical proof — which they said they had. When the local police raided their house, she said, there was a package ready for shipment to Manny that day. It had his name on it. It had his address. Could Manny be that stupid to actually be mailing this shit to himself in Boston? Given some of the bone-headed decisions the guy has made in his career, it was entirely possible.

"Can you send me that piece of paper, Jen?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "I think I have it."

More weeks passed. I kept gently prodding her, trying not to aggravate her too much and risk her cutting off contact with me altogether.

"Let me see what the lawyer says," she said one day. Ugh. That can't be good.

Then in early April, Jose Canseco made his statement about being "90% certain" that Manny Ramirez was on steroids. From there, I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone started investigating Manny — reporters with more access than Deadspin could ever have — and I thought I'd lost it. I have to move on this. It's time to call in reinforcements. So I did. I reached out to some other reporters and told them about the whole story and asked them if there was another way to get this alleged piece of paper with Manny's name on it. They were intrigued and they wanted part of the story too. We were going to tag-team this thing because they knew how to backdoor the Navoys and get the evidence needed. "Fly down to Miami, knock on their door, and get your hands on it," they said. "This is too fucking big."

We were off. The other two reporters began doing their background work. Soon many of the documents that Jen had resisted sending to me were showing up: testimony, search and discovery lists, all the case background. It was coming together. And then... the incriminating piece of paper was found:

HOLY SHIT.

"We got it!" I yelled. I began daydreaming about Pulitzers and the plaudits from the sports media elite. Once we get this, I thought, nobody could ever dismiss Deadspin again.

"Not so fast" the one reporter said. "We still don't have an address on him. We still can't prove it's him."

"It's fucking him. It has to be fucking him...," I said.

"I still need to go down there and check it out. Let me see if I can set up a meeting with them," the reporter said. Always by the book. There's still more?

Miraculously, a couple weeks ago, the reporter got through to Jen and Chris. They invited him down to their home in Miami to meet and "talk about their case." This was it. This was the last piece. This was going to happen. He flew down to see them. Then, that fateful Wednesday night hanging with the Sports Fella, I lost my phone. The next morning, I went into the Gawker offices and received a frantic IM from one of the reporters asking me to call him immediately.

"We have some news...can you call?" he said.

Awesome. I grabbed my notebook and paper and marched over to the private booth in the Gawker office to make the life-changing phone call. It was a stride, actually, and I couldn't wait to tell everyone that Deadspin was about to break one of the biggest sports stories of the year. I sat down in the chair, I dialed, the reporter answered.

"So [Redacted] went down to Miami and met with Jen and Chris..." he started.

Here it comes. I can feel it...

"And he was there for hours talking to them..."

So close... So close...

"Really nice people, actually...very nice..."

Come on...

"But it turns out that their client is a different Manny Ramirez."

Silence. Heartbreak.

"Hello?"

Yeah. I was still there. Half of me, at least.

"Yeah, this guy lives in Medford, Mass. We ran all the background on him. It's not the same guy."

"Are you sure? Are you positive? Are you fucking positive?," I said.

"Yeah. Sorry, man. Sometimes it just happens this way. At least we know for sure."

I hung up. I slumped back to my desk. I thought I was going to puke. All of those people I'd told about the story, all of that certainty, all that excitement and confidence was now replaced by one big ache of crushing defeat. It's been there for a few days, but I was ready to move on from it.

Then, today, the news broke. My screen lit up with IMs and Gchats from everyone: "Did you hear about Manny?"

Yeah, motherfucker. I did. Months ago.

The American schoolyard had beat me again.