Five football players from a state university in western Pennsylvania were arrested and suspended from the school after police say they beat and stomped a man outside an off-campus restaurant, then fled yelling "Football strong!" The victim was in intensive care Friday with severe brain trauma.
The California University of Pennsylvania players attacked Lewis Campbell, 30, of West Chester, as he was trying to stop an argument between his girlfriend and a player at about 2 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Witnesses heard the players yelling "Football strong!" as they fled to a car and Campbell lay unconscious, police said.
The university declared later Thursday that its Division II football team would forfeit Saturday's against Gannon University, jeopardizing its best season in three years.
"Behavior has consequences," the university's interim president, Geraldine Jones, said in a statement.
Officers said they arrested the players — Jonathan Barlow, D'Andre Dunkley, Corey Ford, Rodney Gillin Jr. and James Williamson — at practice Thursday afternoon. They are charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
Online court records didn't list attorneys for the men, who remained jailed Friday because they were unable to post bail of $500,000 apiece. They face a preliminary hearing Nov. 17.
The California football team has won seven of eight games this season and this week reached No. 19 in D2Football.com, its highest ranking since 2012. The team has two games scheduled after Saturday's forfeit. It is unclear if they will be played.
The team took swift action Thursday to scrub its website of the arrested players, removing their names from the roster and deleting their biography pages.
Ford, a 22-year-old senior from Harrisburg, and Gillin, a 20-year-old junior from Reading, were starters at defensive back, according to a cached version of the team's website.
Barlow, a 21-year-old sophomore defensive lineman from Pittsburgh, and Dunkley, a 19-year-old tight end from Philadelphia, have seen limited action.
Williamson, 20, of Parkville, Maryland, transferred this year after two seasons at West Virginia Wesleyan.
Jones said they would face university sanctions for potential violations of the student code of conduct, in addition to any penalties imposed through the legal system.
At the same time, she said, "it must be clearly understood that the actions of a small group of individuals are not representative of our entire student body, nor of all Cal U student-athletes."
There are a lot of speculations doing the rounds that "Lingaa" teaser will hit the Internet with a bang. A short and crisp video-clip featuring the Tamil superstar will be released midnight. It was recently revealed that the teaser will be released ahead of the audio launch, which will happen in Sathyam Cinemas on 9 November.
The makers of the movie want to create a positive buzz before the film's audio release function. Hence, they are planning to release the teaser early. It was previously reported that the teaser will be out on 2 November.
On the other end, editor Samjith's tweet has further fuelled the rumours on the trailer release of "Lingaa". Earlier in the day, he wrote, "Official announcement about the #lingaa teaser will come in few hours please wait for a while."
The first look motion poster of "Lingaa" was released on 29 August for Ganesh Chathurthi. It had become the talk of the town and created trends on the social networking sites. Now, the teaser is expected to make a bigger noise than the first look.
Meanwhile, Rajinikanth fans are fully charged and curiously looking forward for the release of "Lingaa" teaser. They have already started talking, debating and sharing their expectations on the yet-to-be-released teaser."Lingaa", directed by KS Ravikumar is produced by Rockline Venkatesh. Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty are playing the female lead roles in the film.
Rajinikanth will be seen in dual roles in the multilingual film, which will release on 12 December for the superstar's birthday.
There are a lot of speculations doing the rounds that "Lingaa" teaser will hit the Internet with a bang. A short and crisp video-clip featuring the Tamil superstar will be released midnight. It was recently revealed that the teaser will be released ahead of the audio launch, which will happen in Sathyam Cinemas on 9 November.
The makers of the movie want to create a positive buzz before the film's audio release function. Hence, they are planning to release the teaser early. It was previously reported that the teaser will be out on 2 November.
On the other end, editor Samjith's tweet has further fuelled the rumours on the trailer release of "Lingaa". Earlier in the day, he wrote, "Official announcement about the #lingaa teaser will come in few hours please wait for a while."
The first look motion poster of "Lingaa" was released on 29 August for Ganesh Chathurthi. It had become the talk of the town and created trends on the social networking sites. Now, the teaser is expected to make a bigger noise than the first look.
Meanwhile, Rajinikanth fans are fully charged and curiously looking forward for the release of "Lingaa" teaser. They have already started talking, debating and sharing their expectations on the yet-to-be-released teaser."Lingaa", directed by KS Ravikumar is produced by Rockline Venkatesh. Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty are playing the female lead roles in the film.
Rajinikanth will be seen in dual roles in the multilingual film, which will release on 12 December for the superstar's birthday.
While Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view didn't have any title changes, expect some of the company's champions to lose their beloved belts at next month's Survivor Series event.
The first name that springs to mind is United States championSheamus. The Irish star has had a long, if unremarkable, run with the secondary belt.
At this point Sheamus isn't really being helped by the title, nor is the belt gaining much prestige from being associated with him.
It's surely time to give someone a shot with it. Maybe The Miz could have another title match in St. Louis and actually pull out the win this time. Or possibly a new challenger, like Bo Dallas, could emerge and snatch the title at the pay-per-view. There are a few compelling booking options here.
Credit: WWE.com
Sheamus' anger over his loss could lead to him turning heel at long last, too—a role he is infinitely better suited for.
A.J. Lee—who retained her Divas Championship against Paige in Dallas—might be another wrestler on the roster set for a title loss.
Are you excited for Survivor Series?
Lee has been a decent enough champion, but it's hard to argue that her title reign hasn't been rather dull. Constantly putting her against Paige—boy, did that feud run out of steam fairly quickly—may have been a reason. Nor is she allowed as much mic time as she used to be.
She’s as talented as ever, of course, butWWEdoesn’t seem to be using her to the best of her abilities.
Credit: WWE.com
With Lee (hopefully) moving on from Paige now, Nikki Bella looks to be next obvious challenger for the title. Nikki has performed extremely well since turning heel on her sister two months ago. Her mic skills are great, even if her storyline feud with her twin has been mostly mediocre.
She's gotten better as a wrestler, too. While she probably wouldn't be able to carry the Divas division the way Lee or Paige has, it's easy to see her performing fairly well as champion, particularly if the writers try to hide her weaknesses.
Dolph Ziggler could be set to lose his title in St. Louis as well.
The Intercontinental champion has found himself clashing with The Authority over the past few days, and it looks like he may be on JohnCena’s team at Survivor Series.
Credit: WWE.com
Knowing how petty Triple H and Stephanie McMahon can be, itwouldn’t be surprising if they forced him to defend his belt at the event, too, and then interfered to cost him the match.
Survivor Series looks to be a fairly significant pay-per-view—especially in terms of the company’s titles. WWE may very well use the show to reshuffle and revamp things, and give their programming a whole new and interesting direction.
The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night. So, which teams can improve their fortunes with a win this weekend?
SI.com’s college football experts Andy Staples, Pete Thamel, Thayer Evans, Zac Ellis, Martin Rickman, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton and Ben Glicksman make their picks for this week’s biggest games.
Thousands of people have been duped by a fake news story claiming that Nasa has forecast a total blackout of earth for six days in December.
The story, entitled "Nasa Confirms Earth Will Experience 6 Days of Total Darkness in December 2014!" originated from Huzlers.com, a website well knownfor publishing fake stories with sensational headlines.
The bogus report read: "Nasa has confirmed that the Earth will experience 6 days of almost completedarkness and will happen from the dates Tuesday the 16 – Monday the 22 in December. The world will remain, during these three days, without sunlight due to a solar storm, which will cause dust and space debris to become plentiful and thus, block 90% sunlight.
"The head of Nasa Charles Bolden who made the announcement and asked everyone to remain calm. This will be the product of a solar storm, the largest in the last 250 years for a period of 216 hours total.
"Despite the six days of darkness soon to come, officials say that the earth will not experience any major problems, since six days of darkness is nowhere near enough to cause major damage to anything."
Adding on, the article also carried a made-up quote from Nasa scientist Earl Godoy, saying: "We will solely rely on artificial light for the six days, which is not a problem at all."
Many Twitter users believed the fake news report, and expressed their shock.
இந்த வருடம் டிசம்பர் மாதம் 16ஆம் திகதி முதல் 22ஆம் திகதி வரை உலகம் முழுதும் இருளாக தொடர்ந்து இருக்குமென நாசா நிறுவன தலைவர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். இந்த இருள் சூழ்ந்த நாட்களில் ஓர் பயங்கர சூரிய மண்டல புயல் வீசுமெனவும் அதனால் ஏற்படுகின்ற மாற்றத்தால் தூசி, துகள்கள் நிரம்ப போவதால் சூரிய ஒளி பூமிக்கு வருவது தடைப்படும் என்றும் அவர் கூறுகின்றார்.
நாசாவின் தலைவர் சார்ஸ் போல்டன் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கையில்,
இந்த சூரிய மண்டலப் புயலால் பூமி இருளில் மூழ்கினாலும் எந்தவித பாதிப்பும் பூமிக்கு ஏற்படாது.
இதற்கு யாரும் அஞ்ச வேண்டியது இல்லை. இது 250 வருடங்களில் ஏற்படப்போகின்ற மிகப்பெரிய சூரிய மண்டல புயலாகும்.
216 மணித்தியாலங்கள் தொடர்ந்து இருள் நீடிப்பதால் ஆறு நாட்கள் பூமியில் மின் விளக்குகளுடனேயே செயலாற்ற வேண்டி வரும் என்று குறிப்பிட்டார்.
இது சம்பந்தமாக மேலதிக விபரங்களை நாசா இணையத்தளத்தில் பார்வையிட முடியுமென விஞ்ஞானி ஏர்ல் கொடோயில் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be given the night off when Real Madrid begin their defense of the Copa del Rey at third-tier outfit Cornellà on Wednesday. Madrid’s first match in the competition since Gareth Bale’s memorable winner against Barcelona in last season’s final has been brought forward due to the European champions’ participation in the FIFA Club World Cup in December.
The visit to Catalonia for the round-of-32 first leg now presents a golden chance for Madrid to get their 10th straight win in all competitions. The run started after a second defeat in their first three leaguegames and has taken them to the verge of qualification for the Champions League knockout phase and within a point of the top of La Liga. A 3-1 victory over Barcelona on Saturday was undoubtedly the most impressive result yet. And just three days removed, there is little surprise that manager Carlo Ancelotti has decided to hand a rest to Ronaldo as well as Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Iker Casillas. The hero of last season’s final, Bale, remains sidelined with injury, with Ancelotti hopeful he will be fit to take on Liverpool next week. Still the Italian is determined to get a positive result in a competition he values highly.
“Last year [winning the Copa del Rey] gave us a lot of confidence,” he said, reports Spanish sports daily AS. “We won the Champions League because we did well in the final of the Copa del Rey.”It is a competition that has given us a lot of success and we have good memories. We will try to do the same again, starting from today. We need to produce a serious match and to continue our winning streak. Also to give minutes to those who have had less to better their physical condition. We can produce a good match.”
Ancelotti has already named his full starting lineup for the clash, with the man just crowned La Liga’s best goalkeeper of last season, Keylor Navas, lining up behind an unfamiliar defense of Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Nacho and Alvaro Arbeloa. Sami Khedira will get his first start of the season alongside Asier Illarramendi, with Isco, James Rodríguez, Javier Hernández, and Clasico star Karim Benzema rounding out the side.
They will take on a Cornellà team that is currently enjoying its first ever season in the third-tier Segunda Division B after promotion last term. An illustration of the gulf between the sides is that Cornellà will host Real Madrid at Espanyol’s Power8 Stadium as their regular stadium holds just 1,500.But Ancelotti insists his team won’t take their task lightly.
“We have seen [some of their] matches, but we do not know a lot,” he said. “For them it is the game of their life. For that we should respect them and produce a serious match. The Real Madrid shirt demands responsibility.”
Prediction: It will be a massive night for Cornellà, and, although they come into the contest in a good form, it will also be a huge challenge for them to compete with the might of Real Madrid. Ancelotti’s men have scored goals for fun in their winning run and, while the man who has found the net more than anyone, Ronaldo, will be missing, it is difficult to see anything other than a result that will make the second leg a mere formality.
Neymar and Lionel Messi were among the eight Barcelona players who sat down at La Masia to try out EA Sports' latest FIFA game on Tuesday.
Munir, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic, and Marc Bartra also got involved in a four vs four virtual match-up.
And unsurprisingly, the game which took place was Barcelona vs... Barcelona.
+5
Lionel Messi and Neymar are pictured enjoying themselves while playing FIFA 15 at La Masia
+5
Eight Barcelona stars took part in a four vs four game from EA Sports' latest franchise
+5
Messi and Neymar joined forces off the pitch too as they played FIFA 15 against some Barcelona team-mates
+5
Barcelona are recovering from a 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday at the Bernabeu
FIFA FAVOURITES
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta are the Barcelona players on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. However, despite his impressive season with Liverpool, Suarez did not make the cut following his bite on Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
Alves, Messi, Neymar and Munir played with the Catalan giants on FIFA 15 in the traditional home kit, while the remaining players played in the bright yellow away strip.
All the La Liga stars wore their full strips as they took part - along with boots and shinpads - with their Ultimate Team profile picture displayed behind them.
Barca are currently reeling following the 3-1 defeat by rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday at the Bernabeu.
However one bright spot was the belated introduction of Luis Suarez, who made his debut and set up Neymar's goal.
Barcelona will hope he, Messi and Neymar can produce some Fantasy Football against Celta Vigo on Saturday.
People that have purchased the Season Pass for WWE 2K15 are entitled to get Paige as a playable character. It looks like she’s not available in the game just yet.
North Americans have WWE 2K15 already on PS3 and Xbox 360. A number of them have also went out to pay for the game’s Season Pass. Not only do you save money on the three other 2K Showcase storylines, but it’s your only way to get Paige in the game. Unfortunately, 2K Games didn’t alert everyone that she wouldn’t be available on day-one. A lot of gamers have been confused as to why she doesn’t appear on the selection screen just yet.
Newly appointed WWE 2K15 Community Manager (Marcus Stephenson) addressed these issues on theofficial 2K forums. All he said was that Paige will be available “shortly after launch”.
The official WWE 2K15 twitter page had more information saying that the team is trying to get her out ASAP. They apologize that she wasn’t available on the game’s launch day. They will announce at a later date when she will be available for Season Pass owners.
WWE 2K15 releases November 18th on PS4 and Xbox One. Hopefully Paige becomes playable before those versions come out.
Retired wrestler Billy Jack Haynes is reportedly suing World Wrestling Entertainment for allegedly failing to protect its wrestlers from head trauma while promoting steroid use and the violence that led the 61-year-old suffering multiple concussions.
In a class action federal lawsuit filed in Haynes’ hometown of Portland, Ore. on Oct. 23, the former wrestler also claims he acquired Hepatitis C during his frequent blood-soaked matches.
“WWE also attempted to cover up the connection between the death of Chris Benoit and the brain damage he suffered in the ring,” the suit alleges, according to a document obtained by The Oregonian.
“WWE actively worked to erase Benoit from WWE’s history, editing his matches out of DVDs and redacting his name and numerous ‘championships’ from the record books.”
Haynes also claims he suffers from depression as a result of head trauma that has also sparked a bout with dementia.
World Wrestling Entertainment has since responded to the suit, claiming it would have been impossible for the organization to conceal medical records for conditions – specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy – that didn’t exist while Haynes was with the company from 1986 to 1988.
“WWE was well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged,” the organization said in a statement, according to the Portland Tribune.
“Additionally, WWE has committed significant funding for concussion research.”
Haynes is seeking more than $5 million, according to the lawsuit.
During his two years working for WWE majority owner Vince McMahon, Haynes is known for feuding with Randy Savage for a championship belt.
Additionally, Haynes and his opponent, Hercules, famously received dual count-outs during WrestleMania III in 1987.
The annual homecoming game was scheduled to end the football season at Minnesota’s Cherry High School earlier this month. By then, however, the game had been forfeited and the season canceled because of injuries. Instead, the Cherry High boys healthy enough to play lined up against a team of alumni in a game of flag football.
“I told everybody that we’re not quitting on anybody,” Coach Justin Bakkethun said. “We’re just looking out for their safety.”
His is a growing sentiment. Similar examples are scattered across the American landscape this fall, as high school football games and seasons have been canceled over concerns over the dwindling number of healthy players. Rosters, already thinned by declining interest in football at some schools, have been further reduced by injuries to the point that coaches and administrators have opted to pull the team off the field entirely.
“I never thought in a million years that I’d have trouble finding kids to play,” Bakkethun said.
Similar circumstances have ended games or seasons in places like West Seattle, Wash.; Bay City, Mich.; and Plattsburgh, N.Y., in the past few years. But the steady reports of forfeitures makes this season stand out.
Photo
One of the Arlington team buses after the team's first loss of the season. The Lions are 0-8 after making the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.CreditStuart Palley for The New York Times
At Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs last week, the initial football roster was pared from 45 boys to 12 through a mix of dismissals, eligibility issues and injuries. Athletic Director Kris Roberts told The Gazette of Colorado Springs that three boys were out from concussions and five others from serious injuries.
Cheyenne Mountain has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 and made the state playoffs in football three years ago. But it canceled the remainder of the season because it did not have enough healthy boys.
The same thing happened in Portland, Ore., where Madison High School last week forfeited its final game of the season because of injuries.
“After looking over the injury reports from the varsity team, with the student safety in mind, we feel it is best to discontinue play at the varsity level,” Principal Petra Callin wrote on the school’s website.
It has been at least 30 years, officials said, that football games have been canceled at Portland Public Schools because of injuries or a lack of players. Christine Miles, a district spokeswoman, said that 10 or 12 of the 29 players on the team had sustained concussions.
Tightened protocols in the past couple of seasons, as awareness of concussions has grown considerably, makes returning to the lineup more difficult.
Roughly half the roster at Madison, a school of 800 students, consisted of undersized and inexperienced freshmen.
“When it came down to that they were playing both sides of the ball, against seasoned varsity teams, it became a safety issue,” Miles said. “Are we doing the morally correct thing?”
Photo
A year after defensive back Tyler Lewellen died after sustaining a brain injury in a scrimmage, the Arlington Lions prayed before their 2014 season opener.CreditStuart Palley for The New York Times
Frederick Rivara, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, and vice chairman of an Institute of Medicine committee that studied concussions in children, noted that all states now have concussion protocols for youth sports. The increased public awareness of concussion risk is likely taking a toll on participation numbers in football.
“I think that’s true,” he said. “More people are aware of the risks. And coaches are doing a better job of understanding what concussions are, recognizing them when they occur, and teaching the sport in ways to lower the risk of getting injured.”
A shift in how a community views football is particularly vivid at Arlington High School in Riverside, Calif. Tyler Lewellen, a 16-year-old defensive back, died after sustaining a brain injury in a scrimmage at the start of last season, and the tremors of that incident are still shaking the football program.
The Lions haltingly played on last season, through their grief and fears. Ultimately, they gained a measure of satisfaction by persevering, honoring Lewellen’s memory and reaching the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
This season was supposed to be a return toward normalcy. But participation plummeted so sharply that the junior varsity team was dropped, while the aversion to contact in a sport that demands it has remained, as has a heightened awareness of injuries. The Lions are 0-8, and none of their games have been close.
Four players have been held out of games after suffering concussions, and Friday snapped a streak of three consecutive weeks that a player ended up in the emergency room for an injury. Earlier in the season, another player was transported from practice to a hospital by ambulance when he complained of a tingling pain in his neck and shoulder area after a collision. The injury was diagnosed as a stinger.
“The cloud has affected us way more than any of us thought it would,” said Eric Seckinger, in his 21st season as an assistant coach. “You need to block and tackle to play football, and I think we’re afraid to hurt somebody. Even though what happened with Tyler was an anomaly, I think we’re all a little gun-shy.”
Measured by participation, football remains the most popular high school sport in the United States, by a large margin. Last fall, more than 1.1 million boys played high school football, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Photo
Arlington players attached stickers honoring Lewellen to their football helmets at the start of the 2014 season.CreditStuart Palley for The New York Times
But the number has dropped slightly in recent years, while participation in other high school sports has grown. From 2008 to 2013, the number of boys playing football fell about 17,000, while the number of boys participating in other school-sanctioned sports rose by about 122,000, according to the national federation.
Participation has long been a concern at small schools, where the vagaries of class size and other interests can leave a varsity team depleted, even without injuries. Tiny Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Mont., plays the six-man version of the game, rather than the usual 11-man, but forfeited the season because it had only five players. A year ago, it had 18.
In the center of Illinois, in the heart of the country, three rural schools combine to field an 11-man football team called River Valley. In a game early in the season, the 17 players were reduced to 12 by injuries. With a few minutes left in the third quarter, after meeting with administrators and officials, the game was called.
River Valley did not cancel its season, but has forfeited five other games because it could not field a team. Rolf Sivertsen, the Midland Schools superintendent, believes that parents are keeping their boys away from football because of growing concerns over concussions. And with small rosters, anyway, a few injuries can end a season.
“I worry about the future of football in all rural schools, not only in Illinois but across the country,” Sivertsen said. “Every time you turn on the television, all you hear is bad things about youth football.”
In Cherry, Minn., the high school participates in nine-man football. Bakkethun began the season with 18 players. One moved away. The starting quarterback was lost to a broken collarbone. The top running back was one of several boys sitting out with concussions. Others sustained a ruptured ear drum, another hurt a foot and a third broke his hand.
When the team arrived to a recent game with 11 players, the school decided to forfeit. Now Bakkethun worries about the long-range future of football, at his school and beyond.
A meeting is scheduled for the community to discuss the future of the football program. Bakkethun is optimistic that there will be football in Cherry next fall, and for many falls after that.
But he admitted that high school football might be in for a long fight with the growing threat of concussions.
“With so many concussion cases, people are more concerned,” he said. “I’ve talked to other coaches who have lost some kids from the concussions scares. You ask the kids, ‘What’s the reason?’ and they say, ‘Oh, I’ve lost interest’ or something. But I think it’s in the back of kids’ minds that so-and-so got hurt. Will I get hurt, too?”
