The Powerball lottery jackpot soared to an estimated $290 million after no one claimed the six winning numbers and the grand prize Wednesday night. The winning numbers for the July 31: 8, 24, 39, 49, 59 and the Powerball number 5. No one took it home, so the pot grows. The next drawing is Saturday, August 3. Though there were no Powerball jackpot winners, two players, in Oklahoma and Oregon respectively, won $2 million each for the Match 5 Power Play. The Power Play option, which increases the prize, costs an additional $1 to play. The chances of winning the Powerball grand prize are 1 in 175,223,510. Slim. In May, 84-year-old Gloria Mackenzie of Florida (below) won the largest Powerball jackpot in history – $590 million or modest $370.8 million after taxes: Florida Woman Wins Powerball
While a pamphlet of sex alternatives from an Australian Christian school was amusing, this story of a coach taking an interest in her players’ lives well beyond that of a normal coach is far from it. Beckie Francis was fired from her position of women’s basketball coach at University of Oakland on June 12th. Didn’t hear about it? Well at the time it wasn’t a big story. The school joined Division I in 1997 but hasn’t been what one might call an athletic powerhouse, so the news didn’t make “the news.” Until last night. Everyone who has played sports has a story about a coach who was a jerk. Worked them too hard, expected too much, wasn’t happy with anything. Most of the time it turns out the coach was just trying to get the best out of the players and being ‘hard’ was the way they decided to go about it. Their actions rarely inflict lasting bad feelings, and in the end usually end up being to the players’ benefit. The women who played for Beckie Francis are telling their own “horrible coach” story and it’s not one that has that element of wistful remembrance of a time and person that meant so much to them, a happy moment in their lives. No, those players are telling the tale of a coach who would often question their religious practices, inviting them to her church. A coach whose constant monitoring of their weight led quite of few to the dark world of eating disorders. A coach who even inquired about their sex lives, insisting that they tell all who asked that they were virgins; Christian virgins. Beckie Francis has made news headlines before. Last fall she became a spokesperson of sort against sexual abuse, admitting to her own experiences of being sexually abused by her father. Now she is making headlines for a different kind of abuse, mental and emotional. When talking to the Detroit Free Press , former University of Oakland player, Stacey Farrell said that “mental abuse is definitely the two words that describe my three years there.” According to other former players, many of who have requested to remain nameless in the press, Francis would join in practice with the players, only to touch their stomachs asking to “feel your sixpack”. Francis even went so far to ask one of her assistant coaches to take photographs of her players in their sports bras and spandex, “flexing their muscles” at different times so she had a record of their weight and appearance. So why didn’t these players go tell someone all this was happening? Besides the usual sports mentality of “coach knows best”, Beckie Francis is married to the University president, Gary Russi. The same day that Francis was fired, it was announced that Russi would retire, effective August 1st. Many players that left the Oakland program have gone on to find success at other schools, but there are plenty more who have lost a love of the game and are left with a distrust of those who should be looked to for guidance.
Ryan Braun, the 2011 MVP of the National League, has been suspended without pay for the duration of the 2013 season as a result of failing the sport’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Braun did not contest the suspension and admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs in a statement. “As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect,” Braun said in the statement. “I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization.” He continued: “I am very grateful for the support I have received from players, ownership and the fans in Milwaukee and around the country. “Finally, I wish to apologize to anyone I may have disappointed — all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates. I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game I love.” Braun – along with Alex Rodriguez and about a dozen other players – has been linked to Biogenesis, an anti-aging clinic in Florida with ties to PEDs. He also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels in 2012, but successfully got his suspension overturned at that time due to a “chain of command issue.” “I am deeply gratified to see Ryan taking this bold step,” MLBPA association executive director Michael Weiner said in a statement. “It vindicates the rights of all players under the Joint Drug Program. It is good for the game that Ryan will return soon to continue his great work both on and off the field.”
Move over, Kim Kardashian . Your ex is also about to make a splash on the small screen. Only instead of getting naked and taking it from Ray J, Kris Humphries will be making a guest-starring appearance on an episode of The Mindy Project Season 2. According to TV Guide, the Boston Celtics power forward will play himself. It’s unclear what brings The Hump into Mindy’s world, although the sitcom’s title character does often reference television and pop culture. Last year, fellow NBA players Amar’e Stoudemire and Danny Granger also stopped by the series, showing up at a club Mindy and her colleagues frequented. This gig will mark Humphries’ first acting role, though many believe he was merely reading from a script every time he appeared on camera during his courtship of Kim. Kardashian, meanwhile, has appeared on Drop Dead Diva and How I Met Your Mother and also helps anchor the legendary Ray J sex tape .
Is she a homewrecker after all? Or was he single and fair game? Word on the curb is that Kerry Washington stayed quiet about her romance with new hubby Nnamdi Asomugha because she basically snatched him right up from a baby mama! Via Terez Owens reports : We were the first to bring the story to the net, that recently emmy nominated actress Kerry Washington married Nnamdi Asomugha. Well now we’re being told, when Nnamdi first met Kerry, he was heavily involved with his baby mother. Once Nnamdi got a vibe from Kerry, he pretty much kicked his baby mama to the curb. At least he followed thru with Kerry, and gave her a ring to hold on to.- As irony would have it, Nnamdi was also the victim of a baby mama “Catfishing” attempt this year. Here are the deets also via Terez Owens : So Nnamdi Asomugha of the Eagles has a fake baby Momma. He has NEVER seen this girl before, he never knew she existed. She is claiming to have a 3 year old son name Blaked. She’s hiding behind a girl (her old friend) name Brittany Parker’s pictures. The FAKE BABY MOMMA is going by BENITA. She is reaching out to different NBA players gfs/ bms, and telling them sad stories on how she just found out she had cancer and she needs money for her treatments. She has been doing this with the same group of girls since 2007″ Nowadays you have to be very careful who you trust, especially in these Catfish days we live in. Kerry and Nnamdi seem to have something in common — pretty shaky romantic histories! Is their matrimony-dom built to last or do you think it’s a “Scandal” in the making?
Lea Michele tried. She really did. Aware that Cory Monteith had a history of substance abuse, Michele did all she could to protect her fellow Glee star during the year-plus they dated. According to a TMZ insider, Cory – described as sweet but naive – was surrounded by a ” a zoo of piranhas ” in Hollywood, with danger around every corner. But Michele stood by her man and took the lead in convincing him to attend rehab this spring after his addiction cropped back up. Unfortunately, she could not control Monteith’s behavior in his native Canada, which, as previously reported, contrasted greatly from his actions in Hollywood . He died last Saturday in a Vancouver hotel room after a night out with friends. This same source says Michele was instrumental in arranging Monteith’s cremation and memorial. She took the reins and made it a lot easier on Cory’s mother in the wake of her son’s tragedy. R.I.P.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have just experienced the mother of all “pregnancy shockers” and are – wait for it, and breathe – expecting TWINS! AGAIN**! ** – According to the new cover of OK! While fake weddings and pregnancies are standard celebrity gossip fare, this publication takes the cake as far as bogus Brangelina scoop goes. Not that it’s any surprise at this point. Jolie, the magazine says if you actually read the article, wants to become pregnant again – with twins, hopefully, before her ability to have kids ends. Considering Ange’s recent medical procedures – she underwent a double mastectomy and may have her ovaries removed next – we sort of doubt it. That and she and fiance Brad are devoted parents to six beautiful children already. Six! Unless you’re Michelle Duggar , that’s a lot to handle.
That’s right, Firefly is back! Well, sort of. With this Firefly Online announcement trailer we get a little glimpse of the new game being released next summer. Firefly Online Announcement Trailer Players are ship captains that find a crew and then find a job. Easy as that. This is an MMO so you’ll be playing against millions of other captains and their crews. Whether or not there will be different classes of captains, like characters in other MMO’s, or even other characters beyond just the captain of the ship, remains to be seen. The game is still under development with QMXi and Spark Plug Games but no price or firm release date has been announced. Unfortunately it isn’t all good news with Firefly Online . It will be available for Android and iOS only as opposed to PC and/or consoles. While at first that seems like a huge letdown, it might be best to see what the finished game looks like before offering judgment. Who knows? Firefly Online might herald in a new generation of MMO’s that play really well on a mobile platform. Then again, it could be awful and we’ll be left with another void in our lives where something great could have been, but hey, let’s try and stay positive for the time being. In a somewhat topsy-turvy twist, a mobile gaming mainstay is coming to consoles. Check out this Angry Birds Star Wars teaser !
The public has not seen Kim Kardashian in weeks, as the reality star remains in hiding . But on this Sunday’s new episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians , we get some idea of what Kim has been up to: complaining about her mother’s black-and-white bathroom decor. She specifically takes issue with Kris Jenner’s back toilet paper because “I like to see what I’m sh*tting and what I’m wiping.” We mean, who doesn’t?!? But TMI, Double K. T.. M… I. Kim Kardashian Wants to See Her $hit
In what may be a new low for youth sports, one coach became so enraged with an opposing coach that he physically charged and attacked him. So violently that it led to an arrest for assault. Astonishingly, this really happened, with one coach aggressively knocking another to the ground and pummeling him while his players looked on in tears. The coaches involved were 32-year-old Anthony Borders, the alleged attacker, and 56-year-old Oscar Cantu, who began by verbally sparring. An umpire intervened, but soon enough, tensions boiled over again. According to South Bend, Ind., ABC affiliate WBND, the second time the coaches began jawing at each other, Borders charged directly at Cantu. “All of a sudden we were arguing and I was on the ground- I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know what happened,” Cantu told WBND afterward. “I was on the ground.” “I knew there was a couple of my kids that were crying.” Police showed up on the scene shortly thereafter and discovered Cantu bleeding on the ground, leading to Borders’ arrest on assault charges. WBND reported that Cantu was recovering shortly after the attack, but that he suffered a broken nose and burst blood vessels in his eyes from the attack. All from an argument over T-ball. Truly amazing.
