Archive for October, 2009
If you’re a fan of stark, you’ll like this:
Former Michigan hero Rumeal Robinson made news last week for scamming his own adopted mother out her house. Not cool, dude. A Miami newspaper decided to dig deeper and find out how he became such a heartless (and penniless) jerk.
Here’s a hint: Strippers. And cars and motorcycles and houses and guns and terribly ill-conceived real estate deals. Basically, any way that you can imagine a middling NBA player squandering his entire fortune, Robinson did it. He also managed to piss away hundreds of thousands of dollars in money that didn’t earn, thanks to a shady bank officer who floated him and his friends over a million dollars in illegal loans. So where did it all go?
In August 2006, Community State Bank filed suit and found Robinson had spent the money on clothing and jewelry at upscale boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Bodega, and the Royal Shop. He had bought steak dinners, plane tickets, and expensive hotel stays at a Jamaican Ritz-Carlton, the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and the Abbey Hotel in Miami Beach. He had blown nearly $800 on smokes at Coco Cigar in Coconut Grove, and even bought a $10,000 M16 machine gun at Miami Police Supply in Little Havana.
He also leased at least three luxury Mercedes and BMW vehicles, and bought new Ducati motorcycles. When he didn’t pay those bills, creditors demanded the vehicles back. Since 2006, Robinson has also been sued in Miami-Dade Court for not paying the leases on two Mercedes and a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte.
He didn’t drive those precious vehicles very carefully. He has racked up 18 moving violations in Miami-Dade County since 2001, including twice driving with a suspended license. Robinson spent $1,500 of the business loan cash at Traffic Ticket Guy, a Deerfield Beach law firm.
Obviously, he’s been sued into oblivion, but it doesn’t matter because he’s completely broke. One friend put his predicament into stark relief.
“He pulled up in a brand-new Mercedes SL500. He asked me if I had $20 for gas. He took me to seven or eight strip clubs, starting with Tootsie’s. He would buy a Coke and nurse it for an hour or two, and I didn’t see him give a dollar to the dancers.”
You know, I don’t want to be the obnoxious MSU fan here and I’m not trying to gloat over the misfortune of an ex-Wolverine … but okay. I am genuinely curious. What if he doesn’t make those two free throws against Seton Hall? Is he still a first-round drat pick? Does he make the same amount of money? Attract the same friends? Even if he does make the NBA, did that moment and all that came with it make him less humble, more entitled, more greedy? Did it change his character at all? Or was he always going to be the guy who blew his paychecks on strip clubs he shouldn’t be at and cars he couldn’t afford?
Every so often an athlete has their life dramatically changed by one specific moment. Before that moment in the NCAA Championship was Robinson’s fate avoidable? Or was there always going to be a day at some point in his life when he would have to explain to a lawyer at a deposition that his only worldly possession was an extra pair of pants?
How Hoops Hero Rumeal Robinson Lost His Guns, Cars, Stripper Girlfriend… and Even His Mama’s House Miami New Times
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What do you think?
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lowe hasn’t really made me a fan. I think everyone would be fine if he were with another team -
Richard Jones slammed a pinch-hit tie-breaking home run over the RF fence with one out in the top of the 9th, and the Cubs held-on to defeat the Angels 2-1 in AZ Instructional League action at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe this morning.
Jones, the Cubs 2009 9th round selection out of The Citadel, was drafted as a catcher, but his #1 attribute is raw power. In fact, after signing with the Cubs in June, Jones hit seven HR in just twelve games for the AZL Cubs (Mesa), before moving up to Boise. (Jones ended up tied for 3rd in the AZL in HR, while playing there only two weeks!). And remember, he did all that while playing in the AZL’s huge minor league complex ball parks with 25-ft high fences, where it’s almost easier to hit a triple than it is to hit a HR.
While Jones was a catcher in college, he appears more comfortable at 1B (or DH) But if he can remain a catcher, his value will be greatly increased, since power-hitting catchers who bat left-handed are always in demand.
Besides working on his defense behind the plate, Jones is also at Instructs to try and learn to make better contact at bat (56 K in 174 PA at Mesa and Boise combined in 2009).
Today’s game was scoreless through five innings, before the Angels broke-through with a run off RHP Nick Struck (Cubs 2009 39th round pick out of Mt. Hood CC) in the 6th, on a walk, a sac-bunt, and an RBI double. (Struck dropped to the 39th round only because he was considered a virtual “lock” to transfer to the University of Hawaii, but the Cubs came up with some additional money and were able to sign him just before the August deadline).
The Cubs came back to tie the score in the top of the 7th with two outs, when Brandon Guyer (yesterday’s hero) lined a single to left (his second hit of the game), and scored on a near-HR RBI triple smashed high off the RF fence by Ryan Flaherty.
23-year old polished college LHP Chris Rusin (2009 4th round pick out of U. of Kentucky) got the start for the Cubs today, and he hardly broke a sweat, allowing just a lead-off bunt single in the 1st (and then he immediately picked the runner off), throwing just 15 pitches (12 strikes) combined over two innings of work. He was on the field maybe seven minutes.
RHP Chris Archer followed Rusin with three shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk on 43 pitches (26 strikes). while retiring the last five men he faced.
One of three pitchers the Cubs acquired from Cleveland for Mark DeRosa last off- season, Archer throws a 92-94 MPH fastball, a curve, and a change-up, and was 4th among Cubs minor leaguers in strikeouts in 2009 (trailing only Jay Jackson, Mitch Atkins, and Chris Carpenter). But he is at Instructs to work on his command & control (he led the Cubs minor leagues in walks in ‘09), and he has indeed shown some progress with his strike-throwing in his last two outings, allowing just one walk over six innings. Of course he also has only one strikeout in those six innings, but he’s not down here to rack up the punch-outs. The Cubs already know he can do that. He’s down here to improve his control and cut-down the number of pitches he throws per inning.
Today’s game also featured three really nice defensive players by the Cubs, including a sliding catch of a pop up in short CF by 2009 #1 draft pick Brett Jackson in the 4th, a full-speed running shoestring catch by 17-year old Korean LF Kyung-Min Na on a pop up in short left-center in the 8th, and a probable game-saving running catch in RF foul territory (and then a flawless a spin & throw to 3rd to keep the base-runner at 2nd base) by 2009 2nd round pick D. J. LeMahieu with no outs in the bottom of the 9th.
LeMahieu played SS at LSU, but I think it’s fairly obvious that the Cubs think that the athletic LeMahieu’s future is at 2B. He has spent many hours at Instructs working with minor league infield instructor Franklin Font on his DP footwork from the second-baseman’s side of the bag (which requires different footwork and an altered rhythm than is the case when turning the DP from shortstop), and hopefully he will take what he has learned at Instructs into the 2010 season, where he will probably begin the year at Daytona.
Here is today’s abridged box score (Cubs players only):
LINEUP:
1a. Logan Watkins, DH #1: 1-3 (1B, L-9, L-1 DP)
1b. Richard Jones, PH: 1-1 (HR), R, RBI
2. D. J. LeMahieu, 2B: 1-4 (4-6-3 DP, 1B, F-9, L-8)
3. Brett Jackson, CF: 0-4 (F-8, F-8, F-8, F-7)
4. Brandon Guyer, RF: 2-3 (1B, F-8, 1B), R, CS
5. Ryan Flaherty, SS: 1-3 (F-7, 4-3, 3B), RBI
6. Michael Brenly, C-DH: 0-3 (P-3, P-6, P-8)
7. Jovan Rosa, DH-C: 0-3 (K, 6-3, K)
8. Matt Cerda, 3B: 1-3 (P-2, 1B, 4-3)
9. Justin Bour, 1B: 2-3 (1B, 1B, 4-3)
10. Kyung-Min Na, LF: 0-3 (F-9, K, L-6)
PITCHERS:
1. Chris Rusin - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0Â R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 PO, 2/1 GO/FO, 15 pitches (12 strikes)
2. Chris Archer - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 4/5 GO/FO, 43 pitches (26 strikes)
3. Nick Struck - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 BALK, 2/2 GO/FO, 30 pitches (19 strikes)
4. Jose Rosario - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/FO, 15 pitches (7 strikes)
5. Steve Grife - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 2/1 GO/FO, 18 pitches (9 strikes)
ERRORS: NONE
CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Michael Brenly - 0-1 CS
Jovan Rosa - 1 PB
WEATHER: 70’s & overcast first-pitch, then mostly sunny by noon
ATTENDANCE: 21
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Let us know w you think!
Here’s a vid of lowe at his finest:
Trevor Lowe 07/08 Baseball Highlight Film
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Check out who is in this news again: white! Thome hoping to return to Sox after postseason run with Dodgers. In the interest of saving time, we have a summary:
ST. LOUIS — Jim Thome was one of the first players to emerge from the clubhouse and into the visiting dugout at Busch Stadium on Saturday. Thome was decked out in Dodger blue. It all looked so wrong. And it seemed all so right.
If anyone deserved a rags-to-riches story on the South Side this season, it’s the future Hall of Famer named James Howard Thome from Peoria.
White Sox general manager Ken Williams presented Thome with a Get Out of Jail Free card on Aug. 31, springing the veteran slugger from a season-killing trip to Boston, New York and Minneapolis to accept a trade to the first-place Dodgers. It was Thome’s chance to finally win a World Series ring after 19 seasons and 564 home runs in the majors.
Thome admits it wasn’t an easy trade to approve. His teammates and coaches helped nudge him to Los Angeles, and Thome’s now thankful for the move. But he can’t get the Sox off his mind.
”I’ll be honest, I would still love to come back,” Thome said, tightening the blue batting gloves on each hand. ”I still care about the city. I mean, we’re going to live there. Chicago’s very fond in my heart. The time that I spent there, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf treated me great. I guess we’ll deal with that when this is all over with.”
Thome, 39, will be a free agent this offseason. He hopes to have that elusive World Series ring on order once he files for free agency. But either way, he knows his days with the Dodgers are numbered.
He wants to return to the White Sox, even if they are toying with the idea of using Scott Podsednik as part of a revolving door built to accommodate speed at designated hitter.
It’s likely they will at least entertain the idea now that Thome will be free from the $13 million salary he earned in the final
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This might be shocking news for white fans, but there are those of you who will say that you saw it coming from a long way away. I’m pretty surprised. white is sweet, I really hope this doesn’t affect the season.
Here’s a video of white:
LATIMER Baseball Manipulation for Chicago White Sox
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For all you fans out there, here’s some news about JOHNSON -
Actually, doctors updated his condition yesterday and while it doesn’t sound pretty, he is doing better. He’s still eating through a feeding tube and will need more surgeries in the future, but should be released from the hospital soon. Pretty good news for someone when “the majority of the lining of his larynx (voice box) was degloved (stripped off).” *Shudder.* That is one thing you don’t want degloved. Stafon Johnson on the mend, embracing depictions of dangerously overloaded barbells Dr. Saturday * * * * * That’s really all I’ve got for today and this post so let’s call this thing. I hope we learned something today, although I can’t imagine what that would be. Tonight, you’ve got Florida-LSU, of course, plus Michigan-Iowa for my peoples in the Midwest. And it looks the Cardinals are going to go quietly into the night. No messy screams or embarrassing displays of bravado from this team. They know when they’re not wanted. Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin Weekend. Barry P. is on NFL duty, tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your night. 
USC running back Stafon Johnson seems to be doing pretty well, considering he was nearly decapitated by a barbell just days ago. Well enough to pose for pictures with his matching tracheostomy tube and weightlifting t-shirt, anyway.
USC football: Surgeons update Stafon Johnson’s condition LA Times