Stephen C. Robinson

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers University is changing the law firm leading the review of how the school handled to the dismissal of head basketball coach Mike Rice.

University officials announced Wednesday Stephen Robinson and Christopher Gunther of the financial law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom will lead.

Robinson is a former federal judge and U.S. attorney.

The law firm previously assigned to the review resigned May 3. University officials found a firm that represented the old counsel had issued a report to Rutgers about the coach's allegations.

Rice was fired after a video of him shoving and shouting anti-gay slurs in practice became public. Athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned, as did the school's top in-house lawyer, John Wolf.
Settlements with the three were worth about $2.1 million overall.

N

AUBREY BRUCE

When I say, “Tale of Three Cities” I am not rewinding my life back to my Schenley High School “daze” by sharing with you the contents of the final book report of my sophomore year “Tale of Two Cities.”  Most of you should recall the novel based on the French revolution, Tale of Two Cities.  Basically unlike America in general and sports in particular because the “have-nots” basically won over the “haves.”  Ya know those who got it and those who don’t.  Heads were rolling and the heads were not the ones earning minimum wage or less.  The “po-folks” took it to the streets and got really, really busy, you dig.  That being said there is a sort of mini-revolution going on in the National Football League. Lots of “small” market teams are spending dough. During the resurgence of the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club beginning with the team’s appearance in Super Bowl XL against the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.  There were many emotional components that came into play in order for the team to be competitive and ultimately lay claim to the Lombardi Trophy.  First and foremost, Pittsburgh was playing the game less than 3 hours from Heinz Field whereas most of the Seattle faithful had to travel close to 3,000 miles just to sports their teams colors and lead them on. The folks from Seahawks land came and saw and lost. Secondly, in a very highly publicized promise, ‘big” Ben Roethlisberger who the year before had played a less than stellar game in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots simply known as the “cheaters” Bowl when evidence later revealed that the Patriots headmaster Willam “bill the cheatster” Bellichick had videotaped the Steelers offensive and defensive signals thereby giving the team from Foxborough a sorta, kinda competitive advantage.  After that fiasco of a game Roethlisberger promised dejected Steelers running back and future Hall-of-Famer Jerome Bettis that he would bring him back to the championship game the following year and he kept his promise.   The first city was the cold bitterly cold city of Detroit.  At the risk of sounding repetitive; The “po-folks” of Deee….troit took it to the streets of the motor city trying to get some “gravy”  and got really, really busy. Hey the government even got in on the act they even gave the majority of the disenfranchised, (not be confused with former NFL franchise owners) homeless folks temporary “cribs” for a week.  I actually missed the victory parade in Pittsburgh for the Steelers because I was on a flight layover in Denver on my way to Honolulu to cover the Pro-Bowl.  Oh by the way, I took a very tidy gift with me from Hawaii courtesy of the motor city.  When I arrived in America’s 50th state I was informed after I continued to experience a consistent and resistant cough that held on for dear life, (my life) that brother “pneumonia” had hitchhiked to Hawaii with me as a result of almost a week of running around the frigid city of covering the pre-game activities of Super Bowl XL.  Now back to Super Bowl XL.  Retired Steeler Hines Ward caught 5 passes for 123 yards and scored a touchdown. “Hine-sy” also set up Pittsburgh’s initial touchdown when he caught a 37-yard third-down pass, which gave Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first half. After that Ward made caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Antwaan Randle-El that clipped the Seahawks wings for good.  Hey boys’ and girls’ Ben Roethlisberger’s QB rating was the lowest in the history of the Super Bowl (less than 28.00) for a winning QB.   Did Mike Holmgren borrow some footage for Bill Bellichick? And compound that with the fact Willie “warp speed” Parker pulled off a 75 yard scamper from scrimmage for a TD that made things a little more relaxed for the boys from the steel city. Rapunzel had let down her golden hair to the win starved Steelers and the new Pittsburgh Steelers revolution was about to begin.  
Super Bowl XLIII was as exciting as Super Bowl’s are expected to be.  Unlike the writing of Gil Scott-Heron; the continuing revolution of the Steelers was televised from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as the saga continued.  Super Bowl XLIII featured the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers (15-4) defeated the Cardinals (12-7) by a score of 27-23, earning their sixth Super Bowl win, a new NFL record. It broke three-way tie among the Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys each team had five Super Bowl wins. The game was played on February 1, 2009, at Raymond James Stadium. Except for the 100 yards plus pick run back for a TD by ex-Steelers linebacker James Harrison. For most of the game the offense of the Black and Gold seemed to be sleepwalking with the exception of the final drive for the winning touchdown with a miraculous “ballet” type catch by ex-Steelers wideout Santonio Holmes. Also our media bus featured two non English speaking drivers who got lost going to the stadium and coming back. I swear folks; I am not making this stuff up.

MR. OLYMPIA PHIL ‘THE GIFT’ HEATH (Photo by Rossano P. Stewart)

Two-time Mr. Olympia champion Phil “The Gift” Heath and eight of the top ten IFBB Professional bodybuilders in the world was in attendance at the Muscle Tech 2013 NPC Pittsburgh Championships Saturday night at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.
Some were expecting thrown chairs, verbal abuse—a nasty stage brawl of Jerry Springer-like proportions. Instead, Heath, Kai Green, Shawn Rhoden, Dexter Jackson, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Jay Cutler and James Flex Lewis signed autographs, took pictures with the fans and showed respect for one another.
This is the only show in the world where the top-six from Mr. Olympia all come together to guest pose,” said Heath, the number one ranked bodybuilder in the world. “We come here every year because of Jim Manion,” Heath said.
Yes, we can put a man on the moon, map the human genome and weave a toupee for William Shatner, but nobody can figure out a way to beat “The Gift”.
Heath is huge, he’s hungry and his greatest gift of all is remaining the King of the Hill. That’s the only thing on his mind.
Heath said that his outstanding conditioning and small waist is the reason he spanked the big boys, some of whom has far more experience.
“Winning the Mr. Olympia, the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding and doing it back-to-back years, is like no other experience,” said Heath. “I’m only 33 years old. The best is yet to come.”
In recent years, we’ve been amazed when a bodybuilder manages to turn pro in his mid-20s, because for a while it definitely seemed as if guys were getting their pro cards’ later and later – sometimes at nearly 40 years old. But “The Gift” earned IFBB Pro status well before he hit 30.
Heath grew up in Seattle, and he tried several sports, but by junior high school it was clear that basketball was where he shined.
“I always loved basketball but I didn’t have any brothers or sisters to play with and one day I came home from school and my step dad put up a basketball hoop over the garage,” said Heath. “Basketball is a sport that you don’t need anyone else. All you need is a hoop and a ball. I developed a great 3-point jump shot.”
He attended Rainer Beach High School and led them to a state basketball title. One of his former teammates, Jamal Crawford, currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Heath attended the University of Denver on a full athletic scholarship.
“My senior year in high school we were ranked No. 21 in the country by USA Today,” said Heath. “I was the first basketball player in my high school to receive a division I scholarship and Jamal Crawford was the second. Nate Robinson and Terrence Williams were after us.”
It was not until 2002 that Heath pursued bodybuilding and turned Pro in 2005.
“I played college basketball for four years at the University of Denver and began to lift weights with some bodybuilders,” said Heath. “I won every amateur contest that I entered and earned my Pro card after competing for only two years.”
Bodybuilding has a strange relationship with the mainstream. Everybody in America know—or thinks they know—what bodybuilding is, but only true fans really understand the sport and know who the top bodybuilders are. As professional athletes, bodybuilders receive very little exposure outside of contests, personal appearances and the magazines that support their sport.
“I wasn’t an amateur for very long, but part of the reason for my early success was my balancing act. I have things outside of bodybuilding that make me miss it to various degrees. I will never tire of bodybuilding, because I will never let it consume me. I’m exceptionally cultured in terms of music, stimulating friends and family ties, and I read to get a full assessment of what’s going on in the world. My wife also helps keep me balanced, because she’s in a field outside of bodybuilding.
At the same time, I’m a bodybuilding historian. I know who my predecessors were, where they came from, some of what their motivations were. It’s good to see the past, so you can study journey, know where it’s leading and have a firmer hand in directing it destination.
Don’t be a one-dimensional bodybuilder. Look beyond the protein bars and the weights, as well as beyond the competition. Make sure you have a life in concert with the physical aspect. Stimulate your mind, so your body can grow. We see so many guys limit themselves. As a result, they wind up bitter about the sport, broke because of the sport, and alone because of relationships they cannot maintain. Bodybuilding is fun, but at the end of the day, it’s a responsibility for leading a journey of exploration that can take you to the lowest lows or the highest highs.
  “My basketball coach use to tell us to “cut their head off” and that’s what I plan to do to my opponents everytime I step on the stage. I think I can do this for ten more years. So my gift to all of you will be all of my competitor heads. One-by-one.”

ON A TEAR--Pittsburgh Pirates' Starling Marte (6) is greeted by teammate Andrew McCutchen after hitting a leadoff solo home run off Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez in the first inning May 5. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Moore knew what Clint Hurdle was thinking.

With one out and first base open in the eighth inning of a one-run game, Moore fully expected the Pittsburgh Pirates' manager to intentionally walk the batter in front of him. Moore was hitting .158 and had struck out six times in the three-game series.