Hall Of Fame Football Player, Actor Merlin Olsen Dies

Filed under: R.I.P., Sports News, TV News

The Fearsome Foursome has lost one of its members. Merlin Olsen, a Pro Bowler in 14 of his 15 seasons as a defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams, has died at the age of 69.

Olsen was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2009 and had undergone chemotherapy. The turf at the football stadium at Utah State, where he was an Outland Trophy winner, recently was named Merlin Olsen Field.

Olsen missed only two games in his career, and shared the Fearsome Foursome billing with Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy. In 1999 Sports Illustrated ranked him No. 25 on its list of 100 greatest NFL players.

He also had a successful career in television, as Michael Landon’s sidekick on Little House on the Prairie, and as a masquerading priest in Father Murphy.

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Michelle Trachtenberg SUCKS!

Filed under: Sports News

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Star Michelle Trachtenberg sucks a lollipop as she sits front row at the Detroit Pistons vs New York Knicks basketball game on March 3 at Madison Square Garden.

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Figure Skater Wins Bronze Medal Days After Mother Dies At Olympic Games

Filed under: Sports News

Holding the Olympic medal she and her mom always wanted, Joannie Rochette finally smiled and talked about when she was a young skater and desperately wanted make her mother proud.

“She was my biggest fan, my best friend. She was with me every step of the way,” she said.

When things weren’t going so well in the first week, Rochette was here for Olympics training, she called her mom, seeking her advice on what to do about her triple Lutz. Her mom assured her it would be alright, that she just needed to visualize doing it well in her head, that this was something she had done for years.

But doing what she did this week was something no person can ever be prepared for. To compete in the spotlight of the Olympics’ marquee event, in front of an expectant and hopeful home crowd, with the heartache of her mother’s death so present would take strength most of us cannot imagine. But the people closest to her knew she had that strength.

Her coach, Manon Perron, said there was never any doubt that Rochette would skate and never a doubt that she wouldn’t be standing on the medals podium.

“I don’t know how I ever got through this whole program. I’m sure my mom was there with me,” she said.

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Landlord Sues Reinhardt & MTV Over Trashed House

Filed under: Paris Hilton, Sports News

Paris Hilton’s boyfriend Doug Reinhardt is facing a lawsuit from his former landlord, over allegations he trashed the Los Angeles home which was rented for his stint in The Hills.

Last September, Reinhardt sued landlord Mark Rooke after the real estate developer refused to repay a $24,000 security deposit over to damage to the property caused by filming the hit show.

Reinhardt demanded the full amount back, minus the $2,332 he agreed to pay in repairs.

But Rooke is holding on to the deposit – and is counter suing the baseball player, accusing the sports star of causing “substantial physical and other damage” to the house.

The landlord also targets MTV bosses in the suit, claiming they trespassed on the property, therefore breaking his initial contract with Reinhardt.

Rooke is seeking unspecified damages, as well as legal costs.

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Olympics score for NBC

Filed under: Sports News, TV News

Ratings for the Vancouver Olympics Winter Games on NBC remained strong on Saturday, and the opening two nights from Canada — as expected — are well ahead of the early pace set four years ago for the Torino Games.

According to preliminary Nielsen estimates, NBC’s primetime Olympics coverage on Saturday averaged 26.2 million viewers — 13% more than the 23.3 million on the comparable night in 2006 and a larger audience than any night from Torino. While Saturday’s coverage focused heavily on popular U.S. speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, it did not feature figure skating, as the Torino Games did four years ago.

The big Saturday showing came one night after the Opening Ceremonies averaged an impressive 32.6 million viewers — well ahead of the 22.2 million who watched the first night from Torino. Over the last 20 years, the best starts for the Winter Games came in 2002 (45.6 million from Salt Lake City) and 1994 (33.8 million from Lillehammer).

The two-night average of 30 million is 33% higher than Torino (22.6 million) and is the best for a Winter Games outside the United States since Lillehammer (39.9 million).

The top local market scores for the first two nights from Vancouver came from Milwaukee (22.2 household rating/38 share), followed by Salt Lake City (21.4/38) and Minneapolis (21.3/39). NBC also notes that the Mountain time zone has produced the highest overnight average (19.9/35), compared to a 17.8/34 for the Pacific, a 17.3/29 for Central and a 17.2/28 for Eastern.

NBC’s broadcast rivals largely rolled over the first two nights of these Games, but stepped it up considerably on Sunday when CBS aired a reality block of “The Amazing Race” and “Undercover Boss” and ABC went with two hours of reality favorites “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” And this coming week, the Olympics will face tough competition that includes “American Idol,” “Lost,” “Survivor” and “The Bachelor.”

NBC is expecting to lose north of $200 million for its coverage of the Vancouver Games, even though ratings were projected to be strong due to Vancouver’s proximity to the States and predictions of a strong medal performance for the United States.

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Nancy Kerrigan Lands TV News Gig

Filed under: Sports News

Former Olympic figure skater-turned-reality TV star Nancy Kerrigan is to bounce back from her recent family tragedy to report on the Vancouver Winter Games in Canada.

Kerrigan was grief-stricken following the recent death of her father Daniel, who died during a family row, but just two weeks after laying him to rest, the one-time Olympian has been handed the chance to cover the 2010 Winter Olympics for U.S. news show Entertainment Tonight.

It’s not the first time she’s taken on the role of reporter for the show – she covered the 2006 Games in Italy for the program.

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Kerrigan’s Father’s Death Ruled A Homicide

Filed under: Sports News

The death of Nancy Kerrigan’s father has been ruled a homicide by Massachusetts officials – two weeks after the athlete’s brother was arrested for allegedly assaulting the 70 year old moments before he died.

Mark Kerrigan was taken into custody after his dad Daniel Kerrigan was found unconscious in the kitchen of the family’s home in Stoneham, Massachusetts on January 24.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on an elderly person and causing serious bodily injury.

According to the Middlesex Chief Medical Examiner, the patriarch died from cardiac dysrhythmia after suffering a neck injury during a physical altercation at his home.

Reports also indicate Daniel Kerrigan suffered a cartilage fracture to the larynx area – exacerbated by heart disease.

Daniel Kerrigan was laid to rest on January 28 at a funeral service attended by the beloved former Olympic figure skater-turned-reality TV star and her family.

The investigation continues.

Sad sad story. I surely don’t believe the brother intended to kill his father but his actions did.

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Brooklyn Decker: The Next Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Model!

Filed under: Eye Candy, Fashion, Sports News

Brooklyn Decker is the new cover girl on the prestigious Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, which hits stands this week.

Brooklyn, who’s been married to tennis star Andy Roddick since April, is smiling on the cover, wearing yellow bikini bottoms with her arm covering her chest. Her bikini top hangs over her shoulder, and the cover line reads, “A Perfect 10.”

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Super Bowl Most Watched Show EVER

Filed under: Sports News, TV News

Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts is now the most watched program in television history.

Neilsen estimates the big game was watched by 106.5 million people, surpassing the 1983 series finale of “M*A*S*H,” which had 105.97 million viewers — at a time when far fewer homes had television sets.

The game also stomped on last year’s record viewership of the match-up between Arizona and Pittsburgh. Only 98.7 million tuned in to that game.

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Warren Sapp Arrested After Hotel Incident

Filed under: Arrested!, Dancing With The Stars, Sports News

Sports-ace-turned-reality TV star Warren Sapp was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery following an alleged fight with his girlfriend on Saturday.

American football star Sapp, a runner-up on Dancing With The Stars in 2008, is accused of attacking his lover in the early hours of Saturday at the Shore Club Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

An arrest report filed by the Miami Beach Police Department indicated the victim had “a swollen right knee and bruises on the back of her neck”.

Sapp’s partner told authorities he had pulled her out of bed and choked her, before throwing her out of the room, reports TMZ.com.

Sapp, a TV sports commentator, was released from jail on Sunday, but NFL Network executives refused to allow him to appear on air during the Super Bowl pending an investigation into the altercation.

Shame on you Warren, aren’t you a little big to be beating on a woman? I say if true throw the book at em, I hate women beaters!

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