- Publish date:
FOR THE RECORD
| WON |
By Lexi Thompson, a homeschooled 16-year-old who lives with her parents in Coral Springs, Fla., last week's Dubai Ladies Masters, making her the youngest professional golfer to capture a Ladies European Tour event. (In September she won the Navistar LPGA Classic, becoming the youngest player to win an LPGA event.) The product of a golfcentric family, Thompson (above) employed her father, Scott, as her caddie in Dubai. In 2012, Thompson will be a card-carrying LPGA member, having received a special exemption in September from commissioner Mike Whan, who dispensed with the tour's minimum-age requirement of 18.
| WAIVED |
By former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, a preliminary hearing in the case in which he is accused of molesting at least 10 boys over a span of 15 years. The surprise decision moved Sandusky closer to a trial and forfeited his opportunity to publicly confront his accusers. Sandusky's lawyer, Joseph Amendola, said he felt the hearing would have been one-sided. Some legal experts, however, contend that a preliminary hearing would have been Amendola's best chance to challenge Sandusky's accusers. Meanwhile, Penn State assistant Mike McQueary testified, reiterating what he had told a grand jury, that he saw Sandusky abusing a boy in the Penn State showers in 2002 and that he reported the incident to coach Joe Paterno in graphic detail, a claim that has fallen under some dispute.
| CUT |
By the Bears following his arrest on Dec. 14 on federal drug-dealing charges, receiver Sam Hurd (below). According to a criminal complaint, Hurd and another associate were distributing roughly four kilos of cocaine per week in the Chicago area. When their supplier struggled to meet demand, Hurd is alleged to have sought five to 10 kilos of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week from an informant and undercover officer posing as drug suppliers. Hurd was arrested after agreeing to buy an initial kilo of cocaine for $25,000. He was released on a $100,000 cash bond and next will face a grand jury. Following the arrest, reports surfaced that police possess a list of at least 10 NFL players who allegedly bought drugs from Hurd. The league said it is not aware of such a list.
| CHARGED |
With assault and battery of a child, threats to commit a crime and disorderly conduct at a youth hockey game, former Bruins player and coach Mike Milbury. On Dec. 9, Milbury, who is an assistant coach for his 12-year-old son's Boston-area peewee-league team, was on hand for an outdoor exhibition game during which an opponent is said to have argued with Milbury's son. Police say that video footage from after the game shows that Milbury grabbed, shook and threatened the boy. Milbury, who is employed as an NHL commentator (and who has denied any wrongdoing) has since been removed from NBC's broadcast team for the Jan. 2 Winter Classic.
| LOANED |
To the English Premier League club Everton in a two-month deal that will return him to the U.S. two weeks before the MLS season, Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, who scored the only goal in L.A.'s MLS Cup win over the Dynamo in November. The highest-scoring American in World Cup history, Donovan has had four previous sessions in Europe: two unsuccessful stints, starting at age 16, with Germany's Bayer Leverkusen; another poor run with Bayern Munich in 2009; and a fourth tour, with Everton two years ago, during which he scored twice in 13 games and won a team player of the month honor.
| DIED |
Of a heart attack at age 69, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (left), whose sports prowess, as documented by official state media, often stretched the bounds of the imagination. According to the North Korean Ministry of Information, Kim shot 38 under par, including 11 holes in one, in his first golf outing. (As he aged, he was said to have only shot three or four aces per round.) His first attempt at bowling also reportedly yielded a 300. When not participating in sports, Kim was active with his country's national teams. During the 2010 World Cup, North Korean manager Kim Jong-hun said that he received "tactical advice during matches" from the supreme leader using an invisible cellphone that Kim Jong-il himself had invented.
GO FIGURE
$4,000
Fine, along with two years probation, 30 days of monitoring and 250 hours of community service, issued to Barry Bonds after an eight-year investigation into alleged steroid use. Bonds was found guilty only of misleading grand jurors.
7
Consecutive years in which Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union have played for the D-III national football championship. Whitewater pulled to a 4--3 series lead with a 13--10 victory last Friday.
4
Wins by the Lions in 2011 in which they have overcome a deficit of at least 12 points (as they did on Sunday, erasing a 13-point Raiders lead), the most such comebacks in one NFL season.
4
Football head coaching positions held since 2006 by Todd Graham, whose Pitt players last week learned through a forwarded text message that he was taking a new gig at Arizona State.
3
Schools from the same northern Louisiana parish, Ouachita, that won state football championships in December: West Monroe (Class 5A), Neville (4A) and Ouachita Christian (1A).
| SPREADING |
Like the plague, Tebowmania. On TV presidential hopeful Rick Perry declared that he was "ready to be the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses"; meanwhile, SNL (left) skewered Tebow's piousness. A Colorado brewery unveiled a barleywine ale called Tebrew. Two Long Island high schoolers were suspended for obstructing halls by Tebowing—a term that was adopted by The Global Language Monitor into its dictionary. And in celebrity gossip, tabloids imagined number 15 coupling with skier Lindsey Vonn after she visited his luxury box. A rep for Vonn denied the claim.
NHL PLAYERS POLL
Which player is most in need of a haircut?
28% Scott HartnellFlyers LW
16% Ryan JonesOilers RW
7% Brent BurnsSharks D
5% Kris LetangPenguins D
3% Erik KarlssonSenators D
FAST FACTS
The Sabres' Ryan Miller (1.5%) was the only goalie to receive more than two votes.... Veterans seem to have a handle on their hair too. Only one player over age 31, the Oilers' Ryan Smyth (35), was in the top 12. The five players listed above average 26 years old.... In a similar poll on Facebook, SI readers gave Jones an overwhelming 85% of the vote.
Based on 196 NHL players who responded to SI's survey
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ALI HAIDER/EPA (THOMPSON)
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NUCCIO DINUZZO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT/ZUMAPRESS.COM (HURD)
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YOUTUBE.COM (SNL)
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FRANCIS BOMPARD/AGENCE ZOOM/GETTY IMAGES (VONN)
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ERIC GAY/AP (PERRY)
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FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (KARLSSON)
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GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (LETANG)
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DON SMITH/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (BURNS)
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ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (JONES)
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LEN REDKOLES/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (HARTNELL)
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JONAS EKSTROMER/SCANPIX/REUTERS (KIM)
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JACK DEMPSEY/AP (PEARCE)
