OJ denied bail while he appeals conviction

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Friday that O.J. Simpson and his convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart will have to remain behind bars while they appeal their convictions in a gunpoint hotel room heist.

A thee-judge panel noted that a jury found the two men guilty of "serious, nonprobationable, violent offences" involving firearms. Simpson and Stewart were convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers in September 2007 at a Las Vegas casino-hotel.

| Bob Cronkleton

Coroner: Girlfriend shot Steve McNair, then herself

This has been floating around a few days, but it now appears official. The medical examiner handling the case says evidence indicates Sahel Kazemi, 20, shot the former NFL quarterback, 36, twice in the head and twice in the chest before turning the gun on herself.

McNair was married and a father of four.

For others who were curious, the Tennessean reported that McNair met Kazemi while she was working as a waitress at a place called Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe. They had been dating a few months, and he recently bought her a Cadillac Escalade.

| Sara Shepherd

Figure skater enters plea in meth case

Then: Figure skater Nicole Bobek of Chicago skates in her gold medal performance during the women's free skate in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Feb. 11, 1995.

Now: She's charged in New Jersey with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine ... and looks a lot different.

| Sara Shepherd

File photo

Ex-Jayhawks kicked out of NBA rookie camp

Apparently former Kansas basketball players (this Jayhawk is sorry to report) Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur got kicked out of the NBA's rookie transition program today, after getting caught with marijuana in their hotel room.

Both players left KU early for the NBA. Now, not only did they get sent home from rookie camp, they're getting fined $20,000 apiece and starting the season on the league's suspended list.

| Sara Shepherd

Star file photo of Chalmers on a higher note, celebrating after shooting the game-winning three-pointer in the 2008 national championship.

Another NFL player gets shot.

Several times, while waiting in a car outside a Jacksonville apartment building, according the Associated Press.

Back-up Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was the victim. He was with former teammate Kenneth Pettway at the time. Pettway, who didn't make the Jags' roster in the last round of cuts, was uninjured.

What a bad run of violence against NFL players. A snip:

Collier is the third NFL player to be shot in the past 18 months. Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was fatally shot during what police said was a botched burglary attempt at his Miami-area home in November. Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed when his rented limousine was sprayed with bullets minutes after leaving a New Year's party at a downtown Denver club in 2007.

Entering his third year after making the team as an undrafted rookie free agent, Collier competed for the starting job at left tackle but was beaten out by Khalif Barnes in the preseason.

Still, the Jaguars believe Collier could be a future starter. They even signed him to a contract extension earlier this year — despite his arrest last season.

Then it goes on in great detail about the 26-year-old's DUI arrest from 2007. Frankly, I'm not sure about the relevance of all that. Doesn't seem like an apples-to-apples comparison there.

It sounds like Collier could have been one of those pleasing NFL success stories, considering his time stocking grocery shelves before embarking on his college career. Now everything's up in the air.

Posted by John Shultz.

Oh, and a belated hat tip to The Golfer. He appears to have been posting on this at the same time I was.

Baseball blacklist announced

UPDATE: In case you're wondering about Royals connections, here's The Star's version of the story, by Sam Mellinger. The only current Royal mentioned was new outfielder Jose Guillen. Ten former players were included.

This just in:

Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte were named in the long-awaited Mitchell Report on Thursday, an All-Star roster linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark - if not an asterisk - next to some of baseball's biggest moments.

Brandon Rush court date pushed back

From the Lawrence Journal-World:

A case in Lawrence Municipal Court against Kansas University basketball player Brandon Rush has been continued to April 11 — after the basketball season is over.

In case you forgot why Rush has to go to court, he was arrested last week on two warrants for failure to appear. Little stuff. He had been cited for speeding in October and driving on the left side of a road and not having proof of insurance last December.

Track star stripped of all Olympic medals

In Switzerland...

The IOC formally stripped Marion Jones of her five Olympic medals Wednesday, wiping her name from the record books following her admission that she was a drug cheat.

The International Olympic Committee also banned her from attending next year's games -- in any capacity.

Barry Bonds indicted on perjury, obstruction charges

This just in:

Barry Bonds was indicted today on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, culminating a four-year federal investigation into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes.

--- Sara Shepherd

Metal bats vs. wooden bats

Never thought this debate would qualify for the crime bog, but voila! Up in New York, there's a court battle over it. This is from the AP:

A judge on Tuesday upheld New York's ban on metal bats in high school baseball games, saying it was not his place to overturn a law that was approved by a local government with the public's safety in mind.

Former Mets pitcher John Franco even got in on the action.

Franco testified that when he throws batting practice for some high school teams that use non-wood bats, the ball seems to come back at him as soon as it leaves his hand.

"I don't even see it coming at me. It's dangerous. It's very, very dangerous...," he testified.

| Sara Shepherd

Hat tip to The_Golfer!

Benoit's doctor charged with improperly dispensing painkillers, other drugs

UPDATE: If you're following Benoit developments, I think this version of the story is a little more informative.

It's still not clear which, if any of them, longtime WWE wrestler Chris Benoit was taking when he killed his family, then himself, last month.
The seven-count indictment lists drugs like Percocet, Xanax, Lorcet and Vicoprofen. Supposedly an additional criminal complaint involves steroids, too, but that document is sealed.
The doctor, Phil Astin, was supposed to make an initial court appearance Monday afternoon.

Hockey player drops pants, rides stick

A USC hockey goalie dropped his pants, rode his hockey stick like a horse and slapped his bare bottom before a stadium full of fans in Utah, police said.
"I had my fill of these refs," player Mickey Meyer said.

2nd Colts Super Bowl player has trouble

When you win the Super Bowl, the world just doesn't understand you anymore:

• Indiana Colts running back Dominic Rhodes arrested for DUI Tuesday
• Now, tight end Dallas Clark has been ousted from a high school girls basketball game for mouthing off to a referee.

Hat tip to reader blondie2hot7!

Celebrity DUI/searches roundup

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes faces a drunken driving charge after state troopers arrested him Tuesday.
Rhodes, 28, was pulled over about 3 a.m. driving a GMC truck 81 mph in a 55-mph zone on Interstate 65.

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Actor Ray Liotta was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing his car into two parked vehicles in Pacific Palisades, authorities said.

Australian customs officials are searching Sylvester Stallone's hotel room and private jet for banned substances. Australia bans steroids, etc., as well as illicit drugs.

Jared Allen sentenced in Leawood DUI

Kansas City Chief Jared Allen was sentenced today to serve two days in jail after pleading no contest in Leawood Municipal Court to a second charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was stopped at 1:25 a.m. Sept. 26 at 135th Street and U.S. 69. He declined to take a breath-alcohol test, police said.

NFL quarterback's funky water bottle

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick tried to carry a 20-ounce water bottle with a secret compartment onto a flight at the Miami airport, but things went badly.

Odd: An NFL quarterback with a water bottle that smelled like pot. Odder: That he'd try to carry it on board.

Hat tip to reader kmb!

No heat for cake-throwing NBA player

A man walking down the street at bar-closing time in California with a huge birthday cake says Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown (left) grabbed it, threw it at him for no reason, then escaped in a limousine. Brown won't be charged.

(Photo: NBA 50th anniversary birthday cake, 1997)

Football recruit shot outside strip club

A college football recruit shot in the leg outside a strip club in New Mexico needs surgery to repair a severed tendon and may never play football again.

KC man jailed in Indy after bar fight

A Kansas City man was jailed in Indianapolis after a fight at the Have a Nice Day Café there about four hours after the Chiefs-Colts game, police said. The victim was stabbed with a broken beer bottle and underwent surgery.

Indianapolis police tell me there were no indications the fight had anything to do with the game.

Hat tip to reader DB!

Mike Tyson tells troubles to police

A peace-sign-flashing Mike Tyson told police after his Dec. 29 arrest in Arizona for DUI that he smokes cocaine, goes "a little crazy" without his Zoloft and could no longer roll his own joints, according to the interview posted on The Smoking Gun.

Chiefs-Jaguars: no arrests, 7 ejections

There were no arrests, but seven fan ejections and one minor accident at the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Kansas City police said. Sorry, I didn't get any detail on this one.

Mike Tyson arrested on DUI, drug charges

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Mike Tyson was arrested about 1:45 a.m. today on DUI and drug charges shortly after leaving a nightclub and nearly striking a police car, police said.
Tyson, who shot to fame by knocking out Trevor Berbick in 1986 to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20, has had several run-ins with the law over the years, including serving prison time for rape. He most infamous incident was in the ring in 1997 when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.

(Photo: Tyson 2003, with tattoo)

Editorial attacks prosecutor in Duke case

USA Today would like to see the prosecutor in the Duke rape case investigated by the Bar Association. From an editorial:   

Last March, when a young black woman who had been hired to strip at a Duke University lacrosse team party accused three white players of raping her, the case became a national sensation. The instant storyline was one of jocks gone wild, with echoes of North Carolina's sorry racial past.
Today, the case is looking less like a vicious crime perpetrated by privileged athletes and more like an example of prosecutorial misconduct by the local district attorney.

• Rushing to judgment
• Bringing charges based on flimsy evidence
• Sitting on evidence

Duke lacrosse rape charges dropped

But kidnapping and sexual assault charges remain.

DUI charge for Marlins pitching ace

MIAMI (AP) - Florida Marlins pitching ace Dontrelle Willis was released from jail Friday after being charged with drunken driving when a police officer noticed him stumbling and confused outside his car in Miami Beach.