Monday, December 07, 2009

Toby Gerhart named one of Heisman finalists 2009

The Heisman finalists for 2009 have been named and Stanford's Running Back Toby Gerhart is among them. As The Chronicle's Tom Fitzgerald explains, Gerhart, who led the nation in yards gained with 1,736 and 26 touchdowns, would become the second Stanford player to get the award if he won on Saturday. Quarterback Jim Plunkett was the first Heisman winner for The Cardinal in 1970.




Gerhart is up against stiff competition in Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy, Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow, Nebraska Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh, and Alabama Running Back Mark Ingram.

While Ingram played for the undefeated Crimson Tide, his numbers are far less impressive than Gerhart's. Ingram rushed for 1,542 yards this season with 15 rushing touchdowns, 11 less than Gerhart.



Meanwhile my Tim Tebow Crying Poll is a virtual dead heat with 34.51 percent who voted that crying was OK, versus 34.69 percent who think he should have not cried, out of 2,776 votes since Sunday. 

Gloria Allred to talk about motherhood, not Tiger Woods, on MyWorkButterly.com

A quick note to post an interesting comment by Bradi Nathan placed at Zennie62.com and which points to her cool new social network for working mothers called MyWorkButterly.com:

When I received an email from Gloria (Allred) this past Friday, 12/4, stating that she was suddenly free for our video interview, I was shocked and thrilled. My partner and I knew she was in the midst of the Tiger Woods case and were originally set to visit her Malibu home on Saturday. We later learned that she cancelled her press conference that, according to her daughter Lisa, was most likely due to a settlement from the parties at hand.

Gloria invited us to her office in LA for a 30 minute interview that I wished lasted all-day. She put her trial aside to talk about all things motherhood and empowerment. Gloria's interview will be loaded to our site, MyWorkButterfly.com, to inspire our online community of return to work and working moms.

This is a woman who should be in the forefront of the news, not Tiger Woods (a man who can't keep his club in his pants!).

Bradi, Co-Founder, www.myworkbutterfly.com


I checked out the new social network and it's really a great online concept. It's fascinating to see how the social networking industry is so segmented with portals for working moms like MyWorkButterfly.com and others for parents and kids in sports teams like MakeItPro.com.

I'll look out for the Gloria Allred interview!

Tiger Woods wife moves out; porn star Holly Samson 8th woman



UPDATE: Woman rushed to hospital Tuesday morning released.

Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren has reportedly moved out of their home and in with friends in the Windemere, Florida neighborhood they live in. Meanwhile Porn Star Holly Sampson is listed as the 8th woman to have had an alleged affair with the World's Greatest Golfer. This is a sad series of developments, as it appears Woods life as he and we knew it is crumbling before our collective eyes.




Holly Sampson

Radar Online.com lead with the story "Elin Nordegren moves out" that was confirmed by the Chicago Sun Times. There's no more new information on that report as of this writing or if she took their two children with her. That information needs to be included here.


Separated? 

Meanwhile, Porn Star Holly Sampson has not denied sleeping with Tiger Woods and Fox News claims that while Samspon is the 7th woman allegedly linked to Woods, there's an 8th, a 9th and a 10th woman as well.

Beyond the 8th woman, who's I can explain in a moment, I think it's irresponsible of Fox News to allege there's a 9th and 10th without evidence that is even a child of deductive reasoning. Let's recap how many women have been connected with Woods to date:

1. Rachel Uchitel - The National Enquirer-outed nighclub executive who denied sleeping with Woods but later admitted it after two other women stepped forward.
2. Jaimie Grubbs - The San Diego cocktail waitress who gave US Weekly her recording of Woods alleged voicemail to Grubbs that she remove her name from her phone because his Wife was going to call her.
3. Kalika Moquin - While linked to Woods by a source to Radar Online and other gossip pubs, Moquin has denied any relationship and not given any additional statements. She's the marketing manager at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
4. Jamie Jungers - The 26-year-old Las Vegas entertainer-for-hire model is the fourth woman who came forward on Saturday. She claimed she was going to tell her story to a British publication, but has yet to do so.
5. Mindy Lawton - Of all the women connected to Woods, 34-year-old Mindy Lawton is closest to his home in Orlando, and was said to have worked at a local restaurant called Perkins Diner. They carried on a 14-month affair (starting in 2006 and ending in 2007) which was said to have been documented by the National Enquirer, which never ran the story.

Lawton's proximity to Woods gave the World its closest look at the golfer's "off-course" lifestyle, consisting of meetups with friends and party girls in VIP areas of places like The Blue Martini in Orlando.   Lawton reportedly took their affair seriously, so it is no wonder that she's allowing her story to be told far and wide - she's pissed.



Mindy Lawton

6. Cori Rist - A source told the New York Post that the 31-year-old Upper East-Side dwelling Rist met Woods at a New York Nightclub called "Butter" then flew her to places where he had golfing engagements.
7. Holly Sampson - The first, and hopefully for Woods the last porn star to make this list, Holly Sampson was introduced to the British Daily Mail via another unnamed source. Sampson has made 85 movies from Lingerie or Bust to Diary of a Horny Housewife. Holly Sampson has not confirmed or denied that she slept with Woods as of this writing.
8. Name by Michael O'Quinn - Michael O'Quinn has said he also represents a woman who allegedly had an affair with Woods, but since O'Quinn has not come forward, that woman has to be "Number 8" because he has said he does not represent any one else.

Fox News claims there's a 9th woman and a 10th woman but has no media partner to confirm that assertion as of this writing. Unlike "Number 8" which can be linked to Michael O'Quinn, there's nothing, not even mention of an unnamed source to justify the introduction of a 9th or 10th woman.

I think Fox News is trying to advance and move the search pattern of this story to favor its own website, which is a terrible process to use in this or any news story.

Now, with all of these reports coming fast and furious, our attention should turn to Woods and his mental state. I have no idea, and the media does not seem concerned to know, how he's doing.

I've got to believe all of these affairs, some real and many questionable, may in some way be connected to the passing of his father Earl Woods, who was so central to Woods development as a man and a level-headed celebrity.

Finally, I wonder why Woods selected nightclub executives and waitresses as opposed to sports executives and lawyers or Stanford coeds?  Woods was at Stanford for just two academic years before his golf life took over and he turned pro in 1999.  Maybe he didn't get the full experience of a Cardinal education, complete with all of the amazingly talented female leaders that come from The Farm.  

I don't know.  I just don't know. 

Stay tuned.

Blind Side Number 1 Movie, Michael Oher video interview



The Blind Side, the amazing true story of how Baltimore Ravens Offensive Tackle Michael Oher emerged from homelessness to become an NFL star with the help of Ole Miss Alum Leslie Ann Toughy, now reached the level of the number one highest grossing movie in America last weekend.

According to Nikke Finke at Deadline Hollywood Blog, the feel-good pict gained a total of $129.2 million to date and scored $20.4 million last weekend with $6.8 million on Friday and $8.5 million on Saturday.




What's interesting about the Sandra Bullock movie is its' real star, Oher refuses to see it. According to Sports Illustrated, he's focused on being a better player in the NFL.

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Oher at the 2009 NFL Draft and recording what turned out to be the only readily available online video interview.

In the video, Oher talks about his past life saying that "I still can't believe it" regarding his new stardom, but really lights up when the conversation turns to the playing field. Oher mentioned that he liked going against Florida Linebacker Brandon Spikes, who talked to him during the game, calling him by Oher's middle name, Jerome. Oher: "He would say "Martin? Jerome in the house? He's a funny guy."

For more NFL and college football news and views, listen to Football Reporters online at this link, where you can  listen to a nationally-represented panel of coaches, draftniks, and bloggers like me on last Thursday's BlogTalkRadio show, or tune in to the next program.

Window at home in Georgia

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