
For the Record
Suspended
For the 2009 NFL season, Donté Stallworth (above). The Browns' receiver, 28, served 24 days in prison after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in the death of a 59-year-old Miami Beach man in March. Stallworth's blood alcohol content was well above the legal limit, and traces of marijuana were found in his system. In a statement announcing the punishment, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed Stallworth, "The NFL and NFL players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations." Stallworth, who had 17 catches during an injury-plagued 2008 season, will forfeit $745,000 in salary.
Hired
By the New York Rangers as a special assistant to president and general manager Glen Sather, former team captain Mark Messier, 48. The two-time MVP, who scored the Stanley Cup--winning goal for New York in Game 7 of the 1994 finals, retired in 2005. He has expressed an interest in running a team, and there is already speculation that Messier could eventually take over for Sather. In a statement Messier said he was "looking forward to joining the Rangers' organization and learning a new part of the hockey business."
Arrested
And charged with possession of human growth hormone, pro wrestler Kurt Angle. A gold medal winner in the 220-pound freestyle competition at the 1996 Olympics, Angle, 40, was stopped in his car by police in a suburban Pittsburgh strip mall early on Saturday morning. He was allegedly circling a coffee shop where his girlfriend, who had 90 minutes earlier obtained an order of protection against him, was sitting. The officers found HGH in his car; Angle, who told police he had a prescription for the drug, was also charged with violating the restraining order. He posted bail and is due in court next month.
Died
At age 83 of natural causes, Hockey Hall of Famer Ted (Teeder) Kennedy (right). In a 14-year career with the Maple Leafs, Kennedy was the 1955 NHL MVP. (No Toronto player has won the Hart Trophy since.) Neither a graceful nor speedy skater, Kennedy was a grinder who excelled at winning face-offs and had a great passing touch. "Ted Kennedy was not a superbly gifted athlete the way some players were," Leafs owner Conn Smythe once said, "but he accomplished more than most of them by never playing a shift where he did not give everything he had."
Died
Of a heart attack at age 48 after suffering an allergic reaction to a wasp sting, skateboarder Andy Kessler. Raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side when skateboarding was primarily a West Coast pastime, Kessler headed up a group of riders and graffiti artists called Soul Artists of Zoo York, who brought the sport, and its renegade culture, to New York City. They skated wherever they could, in parks, empty pools and the band shell in Central Park. Later in his life Kessler oversaw the construction of several skate parks. "Flowing through traffic, timing lights, shooting reds, dodging pedestrians ... dude just had the streets so wired," said Tony Farmer, a skateboarding friend of Kessler's. "Suffice to say, he was an amazing cat."
Died
At age 29 of a gunshot wound, Lavelle Felton, a former Louisiana Tech basketball player who spent the last six years playing overseas. After helping his German team, Paderborn, to the playoffs, Felton was in his native Milwaukee when he was shot in the head at a gas station early on Aug. 12. A motive was unclear, and no arrest has been made.
Quarantined
By his team in Germany's Bundesliga for fears he has been exposed to swine flu, Steve Cherundolo. The right back played on the U.S. team with Landon Donovan in last week's 2--1 loss to Mexico (page 28), after which Donovan was diagnosed with swine flu. Cherundolo was isolated from his Hannover 96 teammates upon returning to Germany; he missed last Saturday's game and was expected to remain under observation until sometime this week. Donovan's other U.S. teammates were urged to take the antiviral Tamiflu, but no others were quarantined by their clubs.
Signed
By Jeremy Tyler, a one-year contract with an Israeli team that will pay him $140,000 to skip his senior year of high school. The San Diego High center announced earlier this year that he would forgo his last season of eligibility but did not specify where he would play (POINT AFTER, May 4). On Aug. 12 he signed the deal with Maccabi Haifa. Tyler, a 6'11" center who averaged 28.7 points per game as a junior, will be eligible for the NBA draft in 2011.
Cited
For driving without a license, Michael Phelps. The swimmer was involved in a wreck in Baltimore last Thursday night when another car ran a red light. Phelps, who pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in 2004, told police he had one beer 75 minutes before the wreck; he was not given a sobriety test because he showed no signs of being impaired. Phelps, who complained of a sore ankle after the crash, had an expired license from Michigan, where he lived until 2008. The citation does not carry a fine, but Phelps will have to appear in court and explain why he does not have a valid Maryland license.
Go Figure
1,234
Strikeouts the Indians' hitters are on pace for this season; Cleveland has eclipsed 1,000 whiffs every season since 1998.
2
Times the Indians struck out 1,000 times in a season before '98.
8
Stolen bases—in eight attempts—by the Rangers against the Red Sox last Saturday, a team record.
20
Runners Boston has caught stealing in 138 attempts this season.
52
New uniform number for Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner; the forward vowed to cover the cost of a new jersey for fans who owned one of his old number 26 shirts.
4
Times that Quentin Richardson has been traded this summer; he's gone from the Knicks to the Grizzlies to the Clippers to the Timberwolves and, last week, to the Heat.
$15.3 million
Average salary Eli Manning will receive under the six-year extension he signed with the Giants; he surpassed his brother Peyton ($14.17 million) as the highest-paid QB in the NFL.
THEY SAID IT
Bud Foster
Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, on senior tackle Cordarrow Thompson (left), who slimmed down from 340 pounds to 301: "Gravy used to be a beverage for him."
PHOTO
SAM GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES (STALLWORTH)
PHOTO
AP (KENNEDY)
PHOTO
CHRIS KEANE/ICON SMI (THOMPSON)