The Chris Rainey "Situation"

By now, most college football fans are probably aware that Florida wide receiver Chris Rainey was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking this past Tuesday. It's been reported that he went to the home of a woman that he's dated on and off for three years after she missed a call from him. Then, after leaving, he sent her at least one threatening text message. Currently, Rainey is not with the team.

I've read and heard a number of opinions ranging from he should be booted immediately to he should be suspended indefinitely and assisted with any anger issues he has. There are also people questioning the severity of the incident, and seem to think it's along the lines of a boyfriend-girlfriend spat.

Personally, I can see the validity in just about all of those points of view, and I'm pretty torn on exactly what Coach Meyer should. Obviously, a lot is being made of the number of arrests under Meyer, and being a Florida alum I don't like seeing any school "representatives", be they athletes, coaches, AD's, etc., in trouble with the law. From that side I can see why people think Rainey should be dismissed from the team.

However, I've coached youth sports, and while it's not quite the same as being an FBS head football coach, I do have a little insight into how athletics can be the only release for some kids. Rainey has always seemed to have a pretty good relationship with Meyer, and I'm sure that the decision of whether or not to take football away from him is something that Meyer will agonize over. I would imagine that Meyer really feels like he can help Rainey through this, but because of prior transgressions with UF football players he might not get the chance to.

In the end, there can be a delicate balance between using your athletic abilities to achieve success, and using them to gain preferential treatment that allows you to escape what the public deems as proper punishment.

Where Willie Andrews Pulled His Piece

Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews was busted on Sunday for allegedly pointing a gun to his girlfriend's head. The police showed up at his Connors Avenue apartment in Mansfield, MA, and he was arrested soon after.

Checking out Google Maps(double true!), it looks like there's only one set of apartments on Connors Ave. in Mansfield, MA. It would be The Village at Cedar Heights, and according to ForRent.com they range from $1320 to $1620 per month. Though, with this latest charge Andrews might be getting some new accomodations with bars on the doors.

Cedric Benson Gets Some New Hardware

Ok, so this happened on Monday, but it's the first that I've heard of it. Former Bears running back, and operator of vehicles while under the influence extraordinaire, Cedric Benson picked up some new hardware on Monday. Exactly what was it?

A Super Bowl replica ring from fellow Texas alum Aaron Ross? No.

A neckbrace signed by the entire Bears defense as a parting shot? No, but that would have been fitting considering their dislike of him.

It's something that he probably could have used before the offseason started.

Give up?

How about an ignition-lock breath tester?

Yes, Benson was ordered to install one because of the multiple DWI charges that he's facing.

If you're penciling in "busts" from the '05 NFL Draft make sure to have Benson up near the top. At least for the moment.

Tim Montgomery Could Be Waiting In The Blocks For A Long, Long Time

A couple of years ago, Tim Montgomery was on top of the world as far as running track is concerned. He had won some medals participating in relay events, and had broken Maurice Greene's 100m world record. Thereby earning the title of the "Fastest Man on Earth". Due to that success he was eventually cast in a Nike commercial.



Ah, but if the Ben Jonson's, Marion Joneses, and Katerina Thanou's of the world have taught us anything it's that the life of a track and field star isn't always great. Unfortunately, Montgomery has shown that to be the case more than once.

The first big incident came in December of 2005 when Montgomery was hit with a two year ban for doping, and had all of his records since March 31, 2001 nullified. That included his 100m world record.

Less than a year later, he was arrested for cashing fradulent checks as part of a money laundering scheme. He plead guily to those charges, and is waiting to be sentenced.

Then, this past Monday Montgomery appeared in court to answer the accusations that he sold a confidential informant 111 grams of heroin. Montgomery entered a plea of not guilty, and his trial has been set for July 9. Allegedly, Montgomery made four seperate transactions with the informant while authorities recorded audio and videotaped.

Whether or not Montgomery really did deal heroin remains to be seen, but I imagine that he wishes he could throw on a pair of Nikes and haul ass like he did in his commercial.

Bryant McKinnie Gets Bounced

It seems that Bryant McKinnie got himself into a bit of trouble early Sunday morning. The Vikings offensive tackle got kicked out of Club Space in Miami, and proceeded to get into an argument with a bouncer by the name of Eric Otero. Apparently, McKinnie spit on Otero at some point, but Otero refused to press charges if McKinnie left the premises.

Well, McKinnie did leave, but he returned a short while later and proceeded to engage in some type of "street brawl" with Otero and possibly some other individuals.

My biggest question in all of this is who is Eric Otero? McKinnie is listed as being 6'8", 335 pounds. He's a big guy, though size doesn't really matter if the guy you're battling is a trained fighter and you aren't. Which could be the case since Otero is a bouncer for a South Florida club.

The other good part of the story is the way in which McKinnie planned to escape.

Police told McKinnie to stop. He refused and boarded a bus. The bus driver was ordered not to drive away.

Haha, a bus? That's awesome! Oh well, at least it wasn't a boat.

You Must Pay For Those Chips My Good Man!

The last thing you want to do when engaging in an argument with a "sandwich engineer" is to throw your freshly completed sandwich at them. They just spent their valuable(well, as valuable as $6.79/hr can be) time contructing that fine piece of sustenance, and having it hurled back towards them is the ultimate insult. Obviously, former Gators linebacker Jon Demps was never taught this lesson.

Sophomore defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and Jon Demps, a former Gator teammate, were arrested Wednesday morning on misdemeanor charges stemming from an incident in and around a West University Avenue deli, according to Alachua County law enforcement documents.

Cunningham and Demps, a linebacker who played for Florida in 2005, were charged with misdemeanor battery after getting into an argument with a clerk at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop. Acording to the report, Cunningham threw empty soda cups and Demps threw a sandwich at the clerk when informed they needed to pay for a bag of chips.

Tossing empty cups and a sandwich? In a fine establishment like Jimmy John's no less! For shame!

However, that might not be the best part of the story. It seems that a third man had accompanied them to the sub shop, and when asked to stop he hauled ass. And he probably did it very fast because the man in question has run the second fastest 200 meters of all time.

Both men were arrested by Gainesville Police on campus at 2:49 a.m., about 30 minutes after the incident. When police approached the men, Xavier Carter, who was walking with them, began running away and continued despite police requests to stop. Police later apprehended Carter, who sprinted and played football at LSU after starring at Palm Bay High School in Brevard County, at 3:10 a.m. and charged him with resisting arrest without violence.

Carter had come to Gainesville last week to start training with UF track and field coach Mike Holloway, according to an entry on Carter's Web site, www.xaviercarter.net. Carter, who has run the second-fastest 200 meters of all time (19.63 seconds), is a 2008 Olympic hopeful.

That's right, you can most likely outrun Gainesville's finest, but you can't outrun their radios. Though, it appears that he was able to elude police for almost an hour. That type of practice will surely come in handy should Carter make the Olympics, and have to flee the Chinese police on foot.

Vernon Maxwell Still Doesn't Grasp That Whole Child Support Thing

Vernon Maxwell has been arrested again in part because of his failure to pay child support. Apparently he turned himself in to authorities in Alachua County, Florida on Sunday because "he violated probation by not paying the state for his supervision, possessing a controlled substance and failing to pay court-ordered child support".

In case you were wondering, no, this isn't the first time he's had problems keeping up with his child support duties.

Maxwell was jailed in Jan. 2005 in Washington state after his arrest as a fugitive on an outstanding arrest warrant from Florida. He was transferred to Alachua County from Georgia in 2004 to face a felony charge of failure to pay more than $160,000 in child support.

Maxwell was later released on bond and told to stay in the county until the case was resolved. A warrant was issued for his arrest in Dec. 2004 on when he failed to appear for a hearing.

From NBA champion to child support delinquent. Though, it could be worse, he could have Michael Vick type legal problems.

It's Hard Out There For A Punter

I don't know what it is about punters, but in recent years it seems like they haven't been able to stay out of trouble.

Todd Sauerbrun had his problems related to steroids. Mitch Cozad, a backup punter on the Northern Colorado football team, stabbed the starting punter, Rafael Mendoza, in his kicking leg last year.

And now, former NFL punter, Rick Tuten, has been arrested and charged with reselling stolen goods. Apparently, he bought various items, including two stolen ATV's and two stolen flat-screen televisions(he was told on the phone with the police listening that they were stolen), with the intent of reselling them in Georgia. Police said that Tuten had received about $30,000 worth of stolen goods.

I was curious to see exactly how much Tuten had made during his 11 years in the NFL. I wanted to know if he was more destitute or lazy. However, it's pretty damn difficult to come up with any solid salary information for a punter in the NFL. Though, in 1996 he did make $300k. I'm guessing that in the years surrounding '96 he was probably paid similar amounts.

I was able to look up his house information thanks to the news including his address in the story. Apparently he owns the house with another man by the name of Will Petenbrink. It's 3 bedrooms/2 baths, close to 2400sqft and was recently appraised at $241k. Nothing too interesting unless it turns out that Tuten is the punter and Petenbrink is the receiver. Though, if asked about that Tuten will probably have the same response as he did when asked about the stolen property, "I don't know anything about anything."