The Sports Truth

The mother of four of former NBA star Latrell Sprewell’s children sued him for $200 million Monday, alleging he broke their long-term cohabitation deal and roughed her up last month in their Westchester County home.

Candace Cabbil brought the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, saying Sprewell recently ended the arrangement that developed after they met in 1989 when both attended the University of Alabama.

“I certainly have no comment about that at this point,” said Sprewell’s attorney, Jonathan C. Smith, who probably fears being choked any day now if he talks too much.

The lawsuit says that on September 8, Sprewell broke his promise to share his life with Cabbil when he entered their Purchase, N.Y., home and announced they needed “to end this fake relationship.”

Sprewell started giving Cabbil less money than usual for household expenses and for their children, ages 3, 7, 8 and 11, and made himself scarce when she tried to find him. Cabbil is also the guardian for a 16-year-old Sprewell fathered with another woman. Classy.

It alleges that, in December, Sprewell entered their home, chased Cabbil around and smacked her hand to prevent her from trying to use a cellphone to call the police. Then he allegedly grabbed her and dragged her down a flight of stairs by her feet, causing her physical and emotional injury.

According to the suit, the fight brought a violent end to a relationship that belied earlier promises that she had “nothing to worry about” and she “owned everything he owned” despite Spree’s failure to marry or to put her name on the home he bought for $3 million in 2000.

Cabbil, who gave up a $25,000/year job at a hospital to have their first child in 1995, said there was rarely less than $100,000 in the couple’s joint bank account Sprewell also hired a babysitter and a house cleaner, bought Cabbil new cars and registered her as his wife with the NBA so she could receive health insurance.

When Sprewell was traded from the New York Knicks to the Timberwolves in July 2003, the couple agreed that Cabbil and the children would remain in Purchase. Instead of returning to his family in N.Y., Sprewell chose to live on a yacht he purchased in Wisconsin. Really.

How ironic that the four-time all-star has not played in the NBA since turning down a three-year, $21 million extension offered by Minnesota at the end of the 2004-05 season - a contract he indignantly denounced, stating he had to feed his family. Bet he could use some of that money now that the family wants $200M.

It was late in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks were losing badly. As usual.

The Madison Square Garden crowd was cheering for the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony.

By the time Denver’s J.R. Smith drove in to finish off another fast break, the Knicks had had enough. It was time to thug it up. Hard.

Mardy Collins figured he’d put a stop to the fun with a hard foul. Instead, it was the start of a wild brawl - the last thing the NBA needs two years after the epic Pistons-Pacers melee in Detroit, and the last thing the Knicks need in a season already spiraling downward.

The Saturday night fight went from one end of the court to the other. The Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony dropped Collins with a punch. Both Smith and Nate Robinson went flying into the stands while fighting, and six other players were ejected.

Anthony, the NBA’s leading scorer, could be looking at a suspension of more than five games. The NBA was reviewing the incident and interviewing people involved Sunday. It could announce penalties Monday, since both teams play that night.

Combined with Terrell Owens spitting in the face of an Atlanta defender, it was a banner night for pro sports. What caused the New York-Denver meltdown? To make a long story short, the Knicks felt dissed.

“The score period, and the guys that they had in,” Robinson said.

Anthony, Camby, Smith and fellow starter Andre Miller were all still on the floor with Denver leading by 19 with 1:15 to play when Collins prevented Smith from another easy basket by grabbing him by the neck (pictured) and taking him to the floor.

Smith rose and immediately started jawing with Collins, and Robinson jumped in to pull Smith away. Anthony shoved Robinson away, and Robinson and Smith then tumbled into the front row while fighting.

Then, right as things appeared to be calming down, Anthony threw a hard punch that floored Collins. New York’s Jared Jeffries sprinted from the baseline toward halfcourt in an effort to get at Anthony, but was tackled by a Denver player before he could get there.

By the time security had finally contained Smith, they were nearly at the opposite end of the court from where the altercation started, making it the NBA’s scariest scene since the brawl at Auburn Hills, Mich., between Pacers players and Pistons fans two years ago.

“Without being there, I can tell you the power of emotions can be an underrated thing in our game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Something like this should not happen, and when it does, it’s disappointing. But unless you’re there and a part of it and know all the dynamics of it, it’s really hard to comment on it.”

Somewhere, Ron Artest is smiling. Probably Sacramento.

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who took over for Larry Brown after one season, said he even told Anthony that he and Camby shouldn’t have been in the game at that point. Nuggets coach George Karl had just dispatched three players to the scorer’s table to check in while the Knicks brought the ball up the floor. Before play stopped so they could check in, New York turned it over, starting Smith’s fast break.

Two minutes earlier, Smith had thrown down a reverse dunk on the break, as both he and Anthony seemed trying to impress their group of fans.

The Knicks weren’t enjoying the show.

Robinson said the Knicks were “just trying to fight, come back from the deficit and they got their star players still in. It’s a slap in the face to us as a franchise.”

It’s certainly not the first time.

The Knicks have been routinely booed while compiling an awful 4-10 record at MSG. Moreover, they were in the midst of their second straight savage beating (pun intended). Collins committed a flagrant foul at the tail end of a 112-96 loss at Indiana Friday. The final score Saturday was 123-100. Denver.

The NBA has taken numerous steps to clean up its image after the fiasco in Detroit, implementing a dress code and its community relations initiative NBA Cares last season, and trying to eliminate excessive complaints to officials this season. Commissioner David Stern even implored NBA players to leave their guns at home!

One Sports Truth staff member believes that as a result of this incident, the league should institute a height requirement, so people such as Nate Robinson no longer feel a need to prove they are “hard” and get into it with taller players. It’s a theory that hasn’t been explored much, even amid rumors that Sebastian Telfair may have been in on the capping of Fabolous earlier this fall.

Regardless, what does it say about the NBA when Anthony (below, left), its leading scorer and a guy appearing in league marketing campaigns, is involved in an incident sure to trigger more discussions about all that’s wrong with it? We’ll find out as the suspensions are handed out this week and the fallout resonates for weeks to come.

DeAngelo Hall has always considered Terrell Owens to be pal.

They would talk on the phone and playfully taunt each other.

But Owens spitting in Hall’s face Saturday night has probably put an end to that friendship.

“He had a couple of nice catches,” said Hall, the Atlanta Falcons’ Pro Bowl cornerback. “You expect that. He’s a great player. Right before the first punt, though, we kind of got in each other’s face, talking back and forth, and I lost all respect for him when he spit in my face.”

Owens, Dallas’ star receiver, acknowledged losing his temper with Hall in the Cowboys’ 38-28 victory Saturday night.

“I got frustrated and I apologize for that,” Owens told the NFL Network. “It was a situation where he kept bugging me and getting in my face.”

Owens beat Hall for a 7-yard touchdown late in the first quarter and a 51-yard score midway through the second. After the third play from scrimmage, however, Hall used his forearms to shove Owens near the sideline. Neither player was involved in Tony Romo’s 19-yard pass to Jason Witten at the Dallas 31, but Hall stayed on Owens’ case.

Terrell Owens responded by spitting in his face.

“I lost all respect for the guy,” Hall said. “That’s the No. 1 thing in the National Football League. You don’t spit in a grown man’s face. Hopefully, the NFL can see it and go back and watch the film right just before the first punt. On third down, we were kind of walking face to face, walking back to the huddle and he just hauled off and spit in my face.”

Owens, who still maintains an offseason home in the Atlanta neighborhood of Decatur, indicated that Hall kept jawing with him throughout the game.

“He had a lot of words. I didn’t. I just wanted to come out and prove I’m a guy to be schemed with,” Owens said.

Hall and Owens began their rivalry on the field in the season opener for Atlanta and Philadelphia last year. The Falcons prevailed, 14-10. Despite catching seven passes for 112 yards, Owens didn’t score. His controversial behavior eventually led to the Eagles’ releasing him, and he signed with Dallas during the offseason.

Ah, yes. It never fails. What would an otherwise impressive Dallas victory be without the obligatory Terrell Owens drama? Hopefully these two guys can find some time to chill, listen to some soothing John Mayer tunes and bury the hatchet.

And the editors of the Sports Truth thought we needed to see psychologists for our sports betting addiction after we wagered cash on a pair of U.S. Senate races.

Yes, the headline you read above is true. A man killed his friend with a rifle in a dispute over a $20 bet on the South Carolina-Clemson game, authorities said Sunday. James Walter Quick, 42, has been charged in the shooting of Richard Allen Johnson, 43, who died from a single shot to the chest.

Quick and Johnson watched the game Saturday at Johnson’s home in Lexington, S.C., about 100 miles south of Charlotte. Quick took South Carolina, while Johnson took Clemson, straight up. The Gamecocks came from behind and won, 31-28.

Quick celebrated.

Johnson said the Tigers “shouldn’t have lost” and refused to pay.

Quick left the house and retrieved a high-powered rifle from his Chevrolet Corsica.

“He went back in and told Richard, ‘I want my money or I’m going to shoot you,’” said Lexington County Sheriff James Metts, adding that both (stunningly) had been drinking beer.

Johnson’s wife and several friends told police that Johnson retorted: “You can’t shoot me, I’m invisible.”

Quick replied, “No you’re not.”

Deputies arrived on the scene and charged Quick with murder and possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was leaning against his Corsica, with arms crossed, when police arrived. The men had gone deer hunting together the morning of the shooting and were dressed in camouflage as they watched the game with friends.

Quick and Johnson met a couple of years ago after their wives became good friends. Soon they were inviting each other over for cookouts and to watch games, Quick’s mother and sister told the Charlotte Observer.

Quick didn’t attend USC but always supported the team, said Quick’s mother, who declined to give her name. He usually watched games on TV but sometimes went to the stadium. He also enjoyed playing football with his children, ages 14 and 7.

“You just hear so much commotion about the Gamecocks,” she said. “It’s state loyalty.”

What happened is “totally out of his nature,” his sister, Anne Marie Quick, said.

You mean he didn’t typically murder other humans over football bets? Really?

Let this be a lesson to all you compulsive gamblers to pay up after you lose a bet, regardless of whether your team loses fair and square. But in the event that your friend refuses to cough up $20, it’s probably a tad extreme to take his life. Even if we’re talking about the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.

Wow. And we thought certain NBA teams were essentially a bunch of thugs. Well, some of them are. We certainly don’t mean to diminish the accomplishments of Stephen Jackson or Sebastian Telfair. But the Baltimore Ravens, seen here attending WWE Raw, look far more imposing than the wrestlers themselves. Bet you at least 40 percent of these guys are packing heat, too.

They comfortably sit atop the AFC North at 8-2, but Baltimore Head Coach Brian Billick might want to rethink letting his team attend such events We saw what it did for the Detroit Tigers. Then again, maybe their intimidating presence is part of the reason they’re in the hunt for the top seed in the conference.

And on the plus side, it appears that Ray Lewis, the Ravens’ defensive leader and All-Pro linebacker, is nowhere to be found. Why? No idea. He’s probably out impregnating someone with his seventh child.

Yes, he really did. Check out ESPN if you doubt the Sports Truth.

To be fair, David Stern does understand owning a gun if it’s to protect one’s home. He’s just not convinced carrying one on the street makes you any safer.

For that reason, the NBA commissioner said Wednesday that he would prefer his players leave their firearms behind when they go out.

“It’s a pretty, I think, widely accepted statistic that if you carry a gun, your chances of being shot by one increase dramatically,” said the little man who rules with an iron fist. “We think this is an alarming subject, that although you’ll read players saying how they feel safer with guns, in fact those guns actually make them less safe. And it’s a real issue.”

One that came up recently when Indiana’s Stephen Jackson shot a gun in the air at least five times outside a strip club. He originally told police he fired in self-defense during a fight in which he was hit by a car.

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement allows players to own licensed guns, but they can’t carry them on any team business. What kind of rule would Stern want if collective bargaining weren’t involved?

“I would favor being able to have a firearm to protect your home. Period,” says the commish who, in the span of one year, has instituted a dress code, changed the NBA ball, and banned players from ripping off their warm-up pants on the court. Where do you even come up with this stuff?

With the upcoming season less than a week off, Stern added that walking the streets carrying guns is dangerous for NBA players, but said there has been no discussion about strengthening the policy. Union spokesman Dan Wasserman said it was bolstered in last year’s agreement, at the request of the league.

“In response to issues raised by the NBA during bargaining last year,” he said, “a provision was added to the collective bargaining agreement that subjects the players to discipline if they bring any kind of firearm, even if it’s licensed, to an NBA arena, practice facility, or even a team or league offsite promotional appearance.”

Wasserman also said that the dangers of firearms are discussed during the rookie transition program, where players are informed of the legalities of it, what you can or can’t do, and the pros of cons of having a weapon. The program apparently doesn’t specify whether or not a player may cap Fabolous.

Rumors are circulating that the robbery of Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair (right) and the shooting of rapper Fabolous may be linked.

Friends of Fabolous were recently caught on camera snatching a $64,000 chain off the neck of Telfair in New York.

Twenty minutes later, the same tape shows an individual who allegedly shot Fabolous fleeing in a gray car.

The video shows one of Fab’s boys approaching Telfair outside Sean (Diddy) Combs’ W. 21st St. restaurant early Tuesday morning. One man can be seen grabbing the chain from Telfair’s neck while another keeps watch. After the robbery, the thieves ducked into Diddy’s restaurant, Justin’s.

Upon tailing the suspects into the restaurant, Sebastian saw them laughing with members of Fabolous’ crew, the Street Family. Telfair then made a call from his cell phone.

Then, 23 minutes later, a camera outside the restaurant captured the gunman who shot Fabolous in a nearby parking lot driving off. The rapper was not believed to be the target, authorities believe. Not that they necessarily know much when a bunch of thugs start capping each other.

Nonetheless, despite the circumstantial evidence and the fact that Celtics coach Doc Rivers suspiciously lied about Telfair’s whereabouts after the point guard left the Celtics-Knicks preseason game at halftime (!?) to try and pick the perpetrator out of a police lineup, his lawyer insists he is innocent and will be absolved of any wrongdoing.

“The [security] tape completely supports everything my client said happened that night,” Ed Hayes, Telfair’s lawyer, said. “He’s a lovely young man. It was outrageous what these punks did, and he will press charges.”

Hayes said the Celtics star merely called a family member and has shared all the cell phone numbers he called with police.

Tuesday, Sebastian went to the precinct and looked at lineups full of suspects that included members of Fab’s crew. He was not being able to pick out his attackers. He will return to the station later this week to look at images pulled off the security tapes.

Over the weekend, Telfair reiterated that he is not involved in the shooting of the rapper otherwise known as Skylar John Jackson (left).

“I wasn’t being investigated for any shooting,” Telfair told reporters on Friday at the Celtics’ practice facility in Waltham, Mass. “My necklace was snatched from my neck.”

“I was in an unfortunate situation, if you want to say I’m a bad person because I was out with my fiancee, then that’s what it is. I know who I am, my teammates and this organization know who I am,” he added.

New York police say Telfair is still being investigated. Rivers said he is getting a bad rap.

“He didn’t do anything. His name is in a bad circle. The same thing could happen to you or me,” Rivers said. “I don’t know how you stay out of this. I mean, he should be able to go to dinner. Sebastian’s character will show he’s a good guy.”

Last February, the Portland Jail Blazers, who traded Telfair this offseason, fined him after a loaded gun was found on the team’s private jet at Boston’s Logan Airport.

Mitch Cozad, a.k.a. the knife-wielding punter at the University of Northern Colorado, officially has competition for weirdest college football story of the year.

The University of Wisconsin put its marching band on probation for hazing and general rowdiness involving alcohol and sexual acts, school officials said.

The school’s chancellor, John Wiley, said a band member was pressured into shaving his head in a hazing incident, while other members danced semi-nude during the band’s trip to the University of Michigan on September 23.

“It has become increasingly clear that certain types of sexualized and hazing behavior are an ingrained part of the band’s culture,” Wiley said. “We will not provide an ongoing venue for this inappropriate and demeaning behavior.”

The band’s antics have gotten so notorious that the UW athletic department reportedly set aside money so cheerleaders and the dance squad can travel in separate buses to avoid harassment.

In an October 3 letter, Wiley told band’s director, Michael Leckrone, to clean up the program, which he has led for 38 years.

Two days later, Wiley warned the band’s 300 members that they risked losing travel and performance privileges. Most reports of misconduct during the Michigan trip involved one of seven buses returning home.

“We had multiple reports of highly sexualized banter taking place that made several women in particular feel quite uncomfortable. We had dancing and disrobing taking place that made some people feel not only uncomfortable but unsafe,” said an eyewitness.

The head-shaving incident was reported by a faculty member who believed “the individual would have preferred to keep his hair.” Separately, the school said it is investigating a sexual harassment complaint against a band staff member. No other details have been released at this time.

Hopefully, the scandal involving these crazy marching band hooligans won’t disrupt Wisconsin’s fine season. The Badgers, who throttled Minnesota yesterday, 48-12, to retain Paul Bunyan’s axe (how many absurd traditions can one conference have?) are quietly 6-1 to date and nipping at the heels of Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten.

These guys need to concentrate on football, not the drinking and odd sexual exploits of its spirited pep band. Come on, guys. Every group of college kids knows that if you’re going to haze people and act like jackasses, at least keep it on the down-low.

This is a sad story — not because of what happened to the “victims,” but because the band was dumb enough to get caught. Based on its own personal experiences with hazing, The Sports Truth advises the parties who filed complaints in the Wisconsin band case to man up.

Really now. Who among us hasn’t had our head shaved or been forced to run around naked in sub-zero temperatures? Or been drenched in hot sauce? Grow a pair.

Trouble really seems to find NBA players in the off-season.

Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson has been charged with criminal recklessness, following last week’s confrontation outside a strip club in which he fought with a group of men, was hit by a car, and fired his gun in the air. Teammates Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter were also at the club, getting their drink on and acting hard, but were not charged in the skirmish.

Jackson was hit by a car upon leaving the club, after which police say he fired a gun in the air at least five times. He originally told police he was punched, but later said he was not.

On Tuesday, the Pacer swingman / gun-toting maniac apologized for the fight, saying he was “happy to be alive.”

His comments came hours after police arrested another man on several charges in connection with the fight. Jackson was expected to turn himself in Wednesday or Thursday, prosecutors said.

The felony count faced by the guard/forward carries a prison term of six months to three years. Stunningly, the Pacers did not immediately return phone calls.

Deon Willford, 23, faces felony counts of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, and a misdemeanor count of driving without a license.

Willford drove a car that hit Jackson, sending him tumbling over the hood. Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air around 3 a.m.

(more…)

Apparently, the backup punter at the University of Northern Colorado (or UNC, as my college roommate, a Rocky Mountain State native, refers to it) wanted the starting job. Really bad.

We all want things in life we can’t or don’t have, and occasionally covet our neighbors. But most of us aren’t as driven as Mitch Cozad, who was arrested yesterday for stabbing the starting punter. In his kicking leg.

Let me get this straight. Not only is Mitch demented enough to go Tonya Harding style on his competition, but he wasn’t the least bit shrewd about it. Come on man. You couldn’t have poisoned him or at least chosen a different limb? They’re obviously going to think it’s you!

The really sad part (aside, of course, from the fact that a human being was stabbed) is that the starter was averaging only 37.6 yards per kick. For a I-AA team. That just lost to Portland State. 45-3. Not exactly Ohio State here!

Mitch, don’t take this the wrong way and come after us, please, but if you can’t beat that without pulling a knife, maybe you should get a different hobby or something. Just a thought.