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Archives for July 2011
Kerry Collins Announces Retirement
Finally, I can write about something other than Casey Anthony!
Former Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins, most recently QB of the NFL Tennessee Titans, announced his retirement today. He threw for 40,441 yards and 206 touchdowns in his distinguished career of 16 NFL seasons in which he played for Carolina, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, and Tennessee.
The ex-Nittany Lion was a journeyman quarterback, as his longevity in an unforgiving league suggests, especially in the wake of the personal issues he had to deal with: alcoholism and accusations of racism by teammates.
At Penn State, he was named All-America in 1994 and was the recipient of the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Trophy. He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year. Collins made a serious run at the NCAA season passing efficiency record, falling just four points short (172.8), the fourth-highest figure in NCAA annals. He broke Penn State season records for total offense (2,660), completions (176), passing yardage (2,679), completion percentage (66.7), yards per attempt (10.15) and passing efficiency (172.86). He had 14 consecutive completions at Minnesota, another Penn State record. Collins was the linchpin of an explosive offense that shattered 14 school records and led the nation in scoring (47.8 ppg.) and total offense (520.2 ypg.). With 5,304 career passing yards, Collins ranks third in Penn State annals and is one of only three quarterbacks to top 5,000 yards through the air. With Collins at quarterback, the 1994 Nittany Lions completed an undefeated season, the fifth under coach Joe Paterno, capped by a Rose Bowl win over Pac-10 Champion Oregon. His team was voted #1 by the New York Times, although they were voted #2 behind undefeated Nebraska in the traditional polls (AP Poll and Coaches’ Poll) used to determine Division 1-A champions prior to the BCS era.
Collins was also selected for the NFL Pro Bowl after the 1996 season with the Carolina Panthers and the 2008 season with the Tennessee Titans. In the 2000 season, Collins led the New York Giants to Super Bowl XXXV, which they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
Casey Will Walk July 17 (updated)
Casey Anthony wore her favorite color, purple, to this morning’s sentencing hearing before Judge Perry. The only counts to be sentenced were four first degree misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a police officer on which she had been found guilty by a jury on Tuesday, the same jury that exonerated her of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse. Later this morning, it was determined that she would remain in jail until next Wednesday, July 13, and then she would be a free woman. A further recalculation by the Department of Corrections later in the day moved the release date to July 17.
I believe that Casey thought she would walk today. She wore a lightweight purple sweater whose sleeves extended to her knuckles and had her hair brushed out, flowing over her shoulders. She was smiling and all perky and such.
The judge heard a motion from Cheney Mason requesting that the four counts be combined into one count, arguing that the four sessions with the cops in which Casey lied were actually all part of the same session. Judge Perry ruled against it, because different things were discussed at each of the sessions and the County incurred expense at each of them, including the one in which Ms. Anthony led them on a wild goose chase to University Studios to show them where she “worked” — and then told them she didn’t work there. All of the lies were designed to delude the police about the status and location of Caylee Anthony.
Perry proceeded to impose sentence. He sentenced Ms. Anthony to four consecutive sentences of one year, one for each count, plus a $1,000 fine for each count. Court costs and prosecution costs will be added to the fine when calculated. Ms. Anthony would receive credit for time served, minus the time for theft and check charges, plus good behavior credit. Judge Perry said a rough calculation suggested that she would be out in July or August. She has the right of appeal. When asked by Perry if she would appeal, her mouthpiece, Cheney Mason, spoke up, saying that whether she did would be determined later. Perry advised them that the time limit to file an appeal is 30 days. That’s all she wrote.
Casey’s look soured when the sentence was imposed. She actually thought she was going to get out today! Artificially Sweetened said that the judge didn’t want her to get out today because all the protesters were out there ready to rock and roll. Perhaps that’s true, as they ambushed Judge Perry when he left for lunch later, claiming that he let a murderer go free and that he could have given her a longer sentence. (No, he couldn’t. The sentence he meted out was the maximum provided by law for a first degree misdemeanor. [FS 775.082 and FS 775.083 ]. Those idiots who were protesting need to do their damn homework.) In any event, Ms. Anthony wouldn’t have gone out the front door — she would have had to go back down to the jail for processing, a detail of which few of the protesting idiots were probably aware. That point is moot, anyway, as she will have to serve more time.
Newborn media celebrity defense counsel José Baez felt that whenever Casey gets out, she will need protection, as there are lots of people who feel that she got away with murder.
When the sentence was finally calculated, Ms. Anthony was informed that she would be processed out on July 13. She’ll be at the 33rd Street Jail until then. When she is given her walking papers, she will walk out the front gate with no special security preparations on the part of Orange County. What she and José arrange is private business.
George and Cindy Anthony walked into the sentencing hearing hand-in-hand. At least for public consumption, they seem to have resolved the dichotomy that was apparent on verdict day.
The Anthonys are anxious to get their daughter back. Whether she will go to their house is another story. The crazies would know where she is, which is not good for her health. She needs to find a hideout for a while. Maybe she should dye her hair and put on a Groucho nose, mustache, glasses, and eyebrow disguise.
Ms. Anthony has been subpoenaed to appear at a deposition in a civil defamation suit filed against her by Zenaida Gonzalez, the inspiration for Zanny the Nanny, at the law offices of Morgan & Morgan. I’m wishing John Morgan and Keith Mitnik great success in going after her future earnings from this tragedy. Already, the IRS is after her for taxes on $200,000 ABC/Disney paid for video rights a couple of years ago while Casey was incarcerated. I could just see an ABC Family TV production about this or something on the Disney Channel. Yeah, right. The State would also like to recover some or all of its over $500,000 investigation and prosecution costs from Ms. Anthony. Judge Perry has set a date of August 28 for a meeting with counsel for both sides about that issue. As well, Texas Equisearch is seeking to recover $112,000.
Steve Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment, one of the premier porno producers, had made an offer to Ms. Anthony to appear in XXX videos for Vivid, but he later withdrew the offer. Even porn sleazeballs know that Casey is poison.
As this case gravitates toward the back of the newspapers and the 11:35 “oh, by the way” section of the 11:00 news, we’ll try to keep you abreast of developments here.
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