Paul George, the Indiana Pacers sensational All-Star forward, has recently experienced the underside of fame. He finds himself accused of fathering the child a Miami model/stripper is expecting. He is further accused of offering the mother-to-be one million bucks to abort the baby. George admits to having an intimate relationship with the beautiful young woman in the summer and fall of 2013. He further admits the possibility of the paternity for the baby, however he vehemently denies offering the soon-to-be mother any sum of money to abort the unborn fetus. He says that if the little girl proves to be his biological daughter, that he will step up and take responsibility for her upbringing and education. Paul George recently signed an $80,000,000 contract extension with the Pacers
George’s regular girlfriend is Callie Rivers, the daughter of former New York Knicks player and the current Head Coach of the L.A. Clippers, Glen “Doc” Rivers. Callie is a star volleyball player at the University of Florida. Callie’s brother, Austin Rivers, is a guard with the New Orleans Pelicans, so it’s a high profile relationship subject to public scrutiny, although really none of the public’s business…unless of course, it affects his performance as a Pacers player. Paul George is 23 years old.
Openly Gay in the NFL
Michael Sam is an All-Conference and Consensus All-American senior defensive end who played football for the University of Missouri Tigers and after an outstanding senior season was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Sam is eligible for the NFL’s 2014 draft of college football players this coming May. Michael Sam is now the first player to candidly announce his sexual orientation before his career has started by publicly acknowledging his homosexuality. Anyone who believes that no gay man has ever before played professional football is so naive that they could be considered non-functional in the adult world. Sam is certainly a fine football player, and after reviewing his playing career at Missouri, most pro scout had him penciled in as a possible fourth or fifth round pick in the upcoming pro football draft. At 6 feet 2 inches and two hundred and fifty pounds he is a bit small to be a defensive lineman in the NFL. Most scouts see him switching to a pass rushing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive alignment rather than as a 4-3 defensive end. His performance at the Indianapolis Combine and other pre-draft evaluations could certainly change his draft status, but his admission concerning his personal life will not. There will most likely be some mention of it when he is drafted and probably when training camp starts, but when the regular season starts it’s his on the field performance that will be judged. Being a defensive player gives him a bit more anonymity than if he was, say, a quarterback or running back and gives him a chance to establish his playing credentials without being as much under the microscope. Hopefully the time is quickly coming when this will no longer be an issue.
Dead Wrong in the Winter Olympics
Many of you probably watched the opening of the Winter Olympic Games at Sochi, Russia last Saturday night. The opening was carried out with all the usual pomp and pageantry that is required for any such event. These particular games have been marred by more than their share of controversies with terrorist threats, accusations of steamrolling and brutalizing local residents who saw access roads to their villages removed, their houses and farm land flattened and their drinking water contaminated. Again there have been accusations of shoddy workmanship in all phases of the construction of the Olympic Village and the areas and stadiums where many of the events are to take place. Much of the Olympic area is simply unfinished. The opening took place as scheduled, however, and the games have begun.
There was a miscue on opening night, however. There was to be a magnificent high tech lighting effect with five snowflakes bursting open to form the five Olympic rings in a breathtaking explosion of light and radiance. The splendor of the moment was slightly marred when the fifth snowflake failed to radiate into the fifth Olympic ring. Russian president Vladimir Putin was apparently more then a bit upset. President Putin has tried to cultivate a “teddy bear “ image with the internationally media recently but apparently his legendary temper was unleashed at the miscue. There was even a rumor running around Monday that the man whom was to blame for malfunction was found stabbed to death in his hotel room that morning. This proved to be a hoax but as one expert claimed “there going to be someone that will put into permanent charge of latrine sanitation in Siberia immediately after the games are over.”
The President didn’t attend the game opening due to security issues, but several gay members were part of the American delegation of dignitaries as sort of an unofficial slap in the face at Russia’s law against expressing public support for homosexuality. Oddly the internationally popular Russian pop vocal duet Tatu was part of the official festivities. Tatu is composed of two lovely young Russian women who happen to be a lesbian couple.
The snowflake malfunction is a bit reminiscent of last year’s Super Bowl lighting blackout. Although the cause of the malfunction was finally found, there are still conspiracy theorists, mostly Baltimore Ravens fans that firmly believe that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell caused the blackout because he wanted the San Francisco 49ers to win the game and hoped the blackout would disrupt the Ravens enough that the 49ers could pull out the victory.
Happy Valentines Day from all of us at the Weekly View!