"The Jock Itch" with Jasmine Sadry: Dez's Adviser-- He's "In a Dark Place"
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) Leading off Today's "Jock Itch:" Poor Dez Bryant! His "adviser," David Wells says that Dez is "in a dark place" right now, in light of the whole "having to owe more than $850,000 bucks (not including damages or legal fees) from jewelry and tickets to sporting events purchased on credit, as well as unpaid loans" thing.
Wells also says that Dez fully wants to settle all of his debts and doesn't want the perception that he's struggling financially because in reality he's quite financially "sound" (that's HIS word, not mine.) Last season, he raked in $2.8 million in base salaries and bonuses and got another $50,000 grand from Under Armour and other income from personal appearances. He's also set to receive a base salary of $1.1 million this year with a $1 million dollar roster bonus. BUT, he can't get the bonus until the NFL lockout ends and he'll receive his base salary over a 17-week spread starting in September.
Dez has been in Louisiana working out and says he "wants to be left alone." He's expected back in the Dallas area soon... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/dez-bryants-dark-place-adviser_n_842799.html
And in OTHER "itch" worthy news...
A super rich member of the Saudi Royal family just happens to also be a FANATIC for the Dallas Cowboys! Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Faisal al-Saud (totally rolls off the tongue) actually had the family airplane painted in the silver and blue, out of his love for the 'Boys! http://benmaller.com/2011/03/saudi-prince-is-big-dallas-cowboys-fan/
Mike O'Hara is a punk rocker and aspiring actor and now he's been hired by Major League Baseball to watch ALL 2,430 regular season games this year. He will be locked into MLB's "fan cave" in Manhattan, along with 15 flat-screen TVs! He's 37 and beat out 10,000 other applicants for the gig (which MLB isn't saying how much they're actually paying the guy.)
Among his job duties? He's got to tweet often about the games and do interviews and online videos about his experience... http://benmaller.com/2011/03/mlb-fan-paid-to-watch-every-game/
The typical, average athletic scholarship is worth just under $28,000 bucks. But, when it comes to college hoops, THOSE players get 329% more than that! USA TODAY says that the average NCAA basketball player got at LEAST $120,000 bucks annually in goods, services and future earnings for their athletic work... http://benmaller.com/2011/03/how-much-is-a-mens-basketball-scholarship-worth/
An anonymous gambler could just turn 10 bucks into a HUGE payday if "the little school that could" (VCU) ends up winning the national championship! The Wall Street Journal is reporting that some random guy threw down 10 bucks on a whopping 5,000-1 longshot that VCU wins the title.
IF they do, he or she will walk away with $50,000 thousand bucks!
The director of the Hilton sports book says that he's never seen anything like it before and it's literally like a lottery ticket http://benmaller.com/2011/03/bettor-could-win-50000-on-vcu/
Speaking of VCU, Coach Shaka Smart and his players can now jam out to their official "VCU Final Four Song!" It's called, "Shaka's Got 'Em Believing" by Nigel Holland and it's set to the tune of "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede. Maybe a nice iTunes download for their pre-game playlist? Check it out here http://www.terezowens.com/vcu-final-four-song/
Here's a bet that boxer Floyd Mayweather is VERY proud of placing. When the Miami Heat took on the Cavs IN Cleveland this week, he tweeted, "I'm the only man in America who bet $50,000 on the Cleveland Cavaliers," even attaching a photo of his bet slip. (Nevermind that he took the Cavs +12.5 when they were already up by 11 at the half.)
Nevertheless, the Cavs ended up winning by 12, 102-90... http://deadspin.com/#!5787050/floyd-mayweather-bet-50k-on-the-cavaliers-tonight
Yowza! Speaking of the above mentioned game, King James was DENIED entry into the Cavs player parking lot that day! The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that when LeBron showed up to shoot around with his posse, he planned to park in the lot he USED to when his talents weren't "taken to South Beach" yet.
He showed up in a two-car procession and had a driver for his car. His management group and a handful of others were behind him in the other car. When they pulled up to the lot, the Cavs basically told him, "Why don't ya try the players' parking lot again with ONE car and no chauffeur?"
Ouch... http://benmaller.com/2011/03/lebron-james-car-not-allowed-in-cavs-players-lot/
Former Fab Fiver Jalen Rose was busted back on March 11th and cited on suspicion of drunken driving! According to the cops, Jalen was arrested just after 2am after an onlooker reported seeing his Cadillac Escalade appearing to run off the side of the road. Jalen wasn't hurt, but he did refuse to take a breathalyzer at the scene, so he was taken to the hospital for a blood test.
The test results haven't been announced yet, but an ESPN spokesman says that the network is "looking into it," as Jalen IS a pretty big contributor for their network.
Maybe he was anticipating his "Fab Five" documentary's airing (just two days later) and did a little bit TOO much drinking… http://www.terezowens.com/jalen-rose-mugshot-photo/
Mavs' backup point guard J.J. Barea is dating Miss Universe! (Now THAT'S some serious juice for a backup!)
When he and his lady, Zuleyka Rivera walked in fashionably late to Jason Kidd's Charity Casino Night last week, head just turned, as the two of them came in, arm-in-arm!
J.J. said that he contacted her initially through text message, after doing his own reconnaissance work in trying to snag her phone number. So, he texted her, "Hi, hope you're doing good" and the rest, as they say, is history! They've been inseparable ever since and J.J. says that she's ordered the NBA League Pass now so she can watch ALL of the Mavs games from Miami, where she lives and stars in telenovelas… http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6272724
Michael Jordan recently sold the inspiration behind his legendary Nike sneakers! He unloaded his 2005 Bentley Continental GT Coupe to an auto museum near Chicago. The car's design was actually the concept for a version of his Air Jordan shoes, as the front is said to resemble the Bentley grill. http://benmaller.com/2011/03/michael-jordan-sells-inspiration-for-famous-sneakers/
Poor Minnesota Timberwolves. They're REALLY trying to get fans in the seats for their games because local grocery stores are offering quite a deal! If you buy four Butter Kernel cans of your choosing for just THREE bucks (string beans, collard greens, you name it), you can score two tickets to see the 17-53 Timberwolves in action!
At least the tickets are affordable… http://deadspin.com/#!5787292/four-cans-of-corn-will-get-you-two-tickets-to-a-timberwolves-game
Uh oh…just when you thought all of the college football corruption was only limited to the players, now it looks like the officials are getting in on it too!
An internal investigation revealed that Fiesta Bowl executives funneled campaign contributions to local politicians, flew other Arizona elected officials around the country at the bowl's expense, racked up a $1,000 dollar bill at a strip joint and even spent $30,000 grand on a birthday party for the chief executive!
Here's the kicker on why a strip club was added to the mix: That CEO (who had the birthday party expensed) said that the reason he even entertained a consultant at the strip club (to the tune of $1,200 dollars in drinks and lap dances) was because he said he needed to know about the place in order to keep college players away from there!
His quote: "We are in the business where big strong athletes are known to attend these types of establishments. It was important for us to visit and we certainly conducted business."
Brilliant. http://deadspin.com/#!5786934/the-fiesta-bowl-paid-for-strip-club-visits
And finally…
Tiger Woods is selling his privacy…well, sort of.
The Palm Beach Post reports that his massive yacht, called Privacy, is up for sale! Initially, he wanted to give it to his ex-wife Elin, during divorce talks, but she wasn't interested in it because of the upkeep cost. With a permanent crew of 13, Privacy costs more than $2 million bucks a year JUST to maintain!
If you've got $25 million dollars to spare, you can buy the 155 foot yacht off of Tiger. Would it be a nicely added sales pitch to throw in the fact that Tiger originally offered Privacy to Elin as his wedding present back in 2004? http://benmaller.com/2011/03/tiger-woods-selling-his-privacy/
And THAT'S my "Jock Itch!"
J
