Recently in Personal Issues Category

Writing a post about something absurd or off-the-wall or inappropriate that Charles Barkley says is almost the blog equivalent of breathing air: It takes almost no effort or thought and happens almost every second of every day.

Case in point: Sir Charles decided to goof on Sammy Sosa's recent skin rejuvenation project that has him looking like something out of the "Thriller" video. So, during the TNT NBA show Thursday night, Barkley, who proclaimed, "I know you want to get in the Hall of Fame, but going white ain't the way to do it!," eventually took to transforming himself into a white man - a process slowed significantly by the continued flapping of his jaw while the makeup person efforted away.

No, on the grand scale, this isn't up there with any Northwestern blackface screwup. But has the Round Mound of Rebound stepped over the line? Nevermind the discussion of whether he'll be able to eat fried chicken and chitluns after he's white. Or is this just another case of Charles being Charles?

Oh, and Chuck, the cops didn't pull you over for driving while black. They pulled you over because you were hammered while looking for some oral pleasure. Just sayin'.

It used to be that Bengals fans would only wear bags on their heads.

And you thought the NFL was the No Fun League? Turns out the school marms at Garfield Middle in Hamilton, Ohio, are decidedly lacking in happy genes, too.

The school, in its infinite wisdom, has penalized eighth-grader Dustin Reader for clipping. Specifically for clipping Bengals stripes and "B" insignia into his hair as a tribute to the team's good season. At this rate, it's a wonder the NFL hasn't sued for copyright violation.

The school says its code of conduct prohibits extreme and distracting hairstyles and they put the kid into in-school suspension "until his hair grows out." Reader's parents, Tina Wanamaker and James Reader, and barber say they don't understand why the haircut is out of bounds. His father says his son just wants to show pride in the 6-2 Bengals, according to the Hamilton Journal News:

"He's had designs on his head before and no one said anything," said Wanamaker. Previously, he'd had a rose, a spiral and the word "LOST" carved into his hair. On the occasion of the "LOST" cut, he was told by the school to fix it, but he didn't get in trouble, they said.

"This is a way for him to express pride in the Bengals' putting up a winning season," said his father. "It's not racist, not drug-related, not gang-related or anything like that. It's about football."

The in-school suspension - Dustin is in attendance and doing his work but remains in an isolated area away from other students - will remain in effect until the hair either grows out or he gets a different cut.

Mike Tyson cannot catch a break. largely from himself, it turns out.

Just after he spent time straightening up http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow-20090912-mike-tyson and playing rock star to crowds in India, the law is once again in his life.

Police say the ear-chomping boxer has been detained on suspicion of battery following an alleged altercation with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport. The photographer has accused Tyson of hitting him, causing him to fall to the ground and cut his forehead. He's being treated at a hospital.

Holcomb says The cops say both Tyson and the photographer want to press charges for misdemeanor battery and that Tyson has been compliant and cooperative with officers and is currently waiting in a holding cell at the airport.

First, a full disclosure: I grew up in Virginia singing "Hail to the Redskins" and worshiping at the alter of Hall-of-Famer John Riggins as the team dominated all before them in the 1980s.

So I now know how fellow Pros(er) Kyle feels watching the Lions. Somewhere between sick to my stomach and just plain heartsick. It's a bumbling team that at one time not long ago was the class of the NFL - OK, similarity with the Lions ends there - that's become a conundrum of underperforming talent and a league laughingstock that winless teams look forward to on the schedule.

But I'm nowhere near as upset as Riggins, who currently is hosting a video series and lighting up Twitter with his ideas on why the Redskins have become one of the worst teams in the league. "Head" coach Jim Zorn ("he could be a good high school coach") and General Manager Vinny Cerrado ("He should go on radio ... be an analyst") receive the brunt of the Diesel's wrath.

And as if that weren't enough, he's also taking his assault on Daniel Snyder's (the worst NFL owner ever?) heaping pile of steaming football team to "Inside the NFL" on Showtime reports Brad Biggs.

Keep on blasting away, Riggo, like you did back in the day:

As crazy coaching moments go, Gunnar Prokop tries to give his best Woody Hayes effort and ends up slightly less infamous, but no better than the disgraced THE Ohio State University coach.

When Hayes punched Clemson defender Charlie Bauman in the 1978 Gator Bowl after a game-sealing interception, he put himself on a one-way express train to loserville, being fired the next day never to coach again.

For his part, Prokop, coach of Austrian handball team Hypo Niederoesterreich, one-upped Hayes in that he hip-checked an opposing player in the women's Champions League game. But he doesn't rise to the level of incredulity since nobody outside the rabid Austrian women's handball fan base noticed.

Still, it's another coach gone after a crazy moment, though Prokop fell on his own sword without being pushed to make amends. Thankfully, he's already in the city Sigmund Freud made famous for psychoanalysis, so he'll be able to spend his newly acquired free time figuring out why he just had to hit a girl.

"I will go through this with a psychiatrist. ... I still can't understand why I've done this."

The match ended in a 27-27 draw. Handball's European governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against Prokop. A ruling is expected before his team's match against Krim Ljubljana on Sunday.

We will, of course, be waiting to see justice done here.

LeGarrette Blount had plenty to say with his mouth heading into Thursday night's Pac-10, WAC top-20 tilt between the 16th-ranked Ducks and No. 14 Boise St. Broncos.

By the end of the game, a 19-8 win for Boise State, Blount was talking with his fists and being dragged off the field by coaches and cops. And for his troubles, University of Oregon suspended the talented back for the remainder of the season, including any bowl game the Ducks might play in.

Blount will, however get to keep his scholarship.

University president Richard Lariviere called Blount's behavior "reprehensible."

"We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon's loyal fans expect and deserve better," Lariviere said in a statement. "The University of Oregon Athletics Department is reviewing the situation and will take appropriate action, reflecting the seriousness of the player's behavior."

Blount, who's own coaches say he has a lot of maturing to do and was suspended once in pre-season practice already, put the key quote on the bulletin board before Thursday night's rematch of the teams, saying Oregon owed Boise State an "ass-whoopin' " after the Ducks 37-32 upset loss last season at Oregon. Unfortunately for Blount, he forgot to open up his can during the game in the 19-8 loss. The closest he came to the end zone was in scoring four total points - two for Boise State in a safety and two for Oregon in a 2-point conversion. This in a game which saw the high-powered Duck offense manage zero first-half first downs and only 5:50 minutes of possession.

But it was after the game that Blount finally decided to start the whoopin'.

Following what appeared to be a quick taunt, Blount nailed sophomore defensive end Byron Hout with a cheap-shot right hand, caught by ESPN cameras. Apparently not satisfied with the impending suspension that will draw, he then started to go nuts on Boise State fans on the way off the field, forcing Oregon coaches and police to forcibly remove him.

Stumbled upon this footage of the best soccer game ever played, a spirited contest which ends in somebody getting kicked in the face on the way off the field. Not real sure what the deal is, but here's the handy Google translation of the summary, just to further cloud the moment:

Defender Sergio Jauregui, Blooming, we applied a flying kick disqualifying Uruguayan striker Leonardo Medina in the classic to the East Petroleum. The former Hurricane is horpitalizado.

So there you have it. But crazy Central American ninja players aside, seeing footage like this reminds me of maybe the most classic karate kick sporting moment of all video time: the Flying Izzy Alcantara.

Alcantara was a cup-of-coffee slugging outfielder for the Boston Red Sox around the turn of the century - this one, that is - who spent his fair share of time with the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox. (Fun fact: Alcantara hit his first Major League homer against pre-juicing White Sox hurler Jim Parque in Chicago in 2000).

A prototypical quadruple-A player, Alcantara lost his shot at playing in the minor league all-star game in 2001 after this spectacularly nutty moment against Scranton Wilkes-Barre:

So remember, kids, keep the karate in the Cobra Kai dojo and off the diamond and field.

The only thing Plaxico Burress will be receiving for a while is three squares a day and a state-sponsored exercise program in the prison yard.

First, recently reinstated quarterback Mike Vick gets 19 months for dog fighting.

Then former Cleveland Brown Donte Stallworth gets 29 days in slam for DUI-fueled vehicular manslaughter.

Now former New York Giants star receiver Plaxico Burress gets 2 years for shooting himself in a nightclubs?

Jane, stop this crazy wheel of sentencing, I want to get off.

Burress pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and agreed to a two-year prison term for accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nightclub Thursday morning, ending a saga that's gone on nearly as long as he'll be in prison.

He pleaded guilty Thursday morning to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a lesser charge than he initially faced. Under a plea agreement, he agreed to a two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised release.

Celebrity gossip site TMZ.com has some rough footage - see the video here - of disgraced quarterback and former dog fighting enthusiast Michael Vick strolling around O'Hare Airport last night.

While Vick is still one of millions on the unemployment rolls, he's madly searching for an NFL job and there have been rumors of Bears interest in the electrifying signal caller. But

TMZ quoted Jim Christman, media services manager for the Bears, as saying Vick is not in town to meet with the Bears and he is definitely not joining the team.

And Bears beat guy Brad Biggs has sources telling him there was charity work on the agenda, not a Bears date for Vick.

So file that under the "never say never" list of potential moves.

After being suspended indefinitely by the NFL after serving nearly two years in a dog-fighting scheme, Vick was conditionally reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell last month and cleared to sign with a team, but thus far there have been no takers.

On Tuesday, Vick's agent, Joel Segal, visited Washington Redskins camp, but said: "No. No chance," when asked about the possibility of Vick signing with Washington.

The Redskins are among 26 of the NFL's 32 teams that have said they have no interest in signing Vick, although Vick's NFL-appointed mentor, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, said several coached have contacted him to talk about the player.

Segal, in an interview with ESPN 980, said he is "very optimistic" that Vick would sign with an NFL team soon. There are a lot of teams interested. ... It's not a matter of if, but when."

Tim Tebow addresses the media at a news conference at the Southeastern Conference football Media Days in Hoover, Ala. July 23. (AP Photo)

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is a virgin.

We know this because a Fanhouse reporter decided the sex life of a college quarterback is appropriate football fodder, despite his colleague's impassioned chiding of exactly that type of 'sports' journalism.

With a laugh, a quip and the words, "Yes, I am," Tebow became perhaps the only college kid in the country who will be asked in a public forum to discuss such a private matter.

To Tebow's credit, he didn't shy away from it or Rosenhaus it. He's a proud Christian, determined to be a role model for fans and fellow players. He's never avoided talking about his faith, and by all accounts he's someone who talks the talk and walks the walk. He calls reporters, "sir" and "ma'am." He says "please" and "thank you." And it's all Southern gentlemanly genuine.

Big 10 Media Day is July 27 here in Chciago, and I can guarantee you that  no one will ask Terrelle Pryor, Evan Royster, Juice Williams, Brandon Minor or any player in attendance whether they've had sex -- especially if this precedent hadn't been set.

Was the Fanhouse question inappropriate? That's for Tebow to decide -- and it seems that he decided it wasn't or he wouldn't have answered it.

But the 'have you had sex?' question is something you ask your buddy -- maybe. And Tim Tebow is not buddies with any Fanhouse reporter.

What if Tebow's answer was 'no'? People would go insane. Questions of how often and with whom would sprout up -- not to mention that he'd be called a hypocrite by folks who have no business calling anyone a hypocrite.

Tim Tebow doesn't need to be held to the standards of his religious beliefs by the national media. The national media has only the right to hold him to the standard set forth by the NCAA and University of Florida.  

Singling out a player in a press conference based on his religious beliefs is a dangerous and awkward practice -- especially at the college level when these guys are facing enough stress and pressure on and off the field.

And it's simply none of our business.