by Matt Chernoff
Report: Pro Bowl moving to Orlando
Plagued by poor play and poor attendance, the Pro Bowl has been the subject of a great deal of criticism from those who think the game should be scrapped.
Instead, the game is being moved, according to a report.
The NFL is moving the Pro Bowl to Orlando, according to Bloomberg News, which cites three unnamed sources.
However, the league office tells PFT that no official decision has been made, and there are still other cities in the running. Those cities include longtime host Honolulu and next year’s Super Bowl host, Houston, as well as Sydney, Australia. Honolulu has hosted every Pro Bowl since 1979 with the exception of 2010, when it was in Miami, and 2015, when it was in Arizona. In both of those years the game was played in the same stadium as the Super Bowl.
Orlando’s Citrus Bowl stadium has undergone extensive renovations and is angling to host NFL games, which could include both the Pro Bowl and potentially an occasional home game for either the Jacksonville Jaguars or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The biggest question facing the NFL is how many players would be willing to play in the Pro Bowl if it’s in Orlando. One of the perks of the Pro Bowl in the past has been the free trip to Hawaii. If that perk goes away, even more star players may decide to stay home.
Paralyzed Southern WR DA-von Gales moves legs on his own
Dan Matthews – Gridironnow.com
Southern wide receiver Devon Gales suffered a broken neck in a game at Georgia in September, but he has vowed that he will walk again.
A video posted Wednesday by his stepmother, Tanisha Gales, appears to show that Devon is one step closer to his goal. The video shows him moving his legs on his own while at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center for treatment.
In February, the the Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation announced it would build a handicapped-accessible home for the Gales family.
Cowboys to sell Ezekiel Elliott crop-top T-shirt
If you want to show off your abs (or if you want to show off your lack of them), the Cowboys have a great new way for you to do it.
According to Newy Scruggs of NBCDFW.com, the Cowboys soon will be selling Ezekiel Elliot-inspired crop tops.
Elliott sported the six-pack-revealing look in 2014 with Ohio State. Forced to wear a full jersey in 2015, Elliott showed up for the draft with a cut-off dress shirt, prompting some to ask where his six-pack had gone.
The No Fun League surely won’t allow Elliott to wear a half shirt during games. His full-size jersey quickly became the fastest-selling of all rookies following the draft three weeks ago.
Mets will consider skipping Matt Harvey’s next start
Things are going so poorly for Matt Harvey right now that the New York Mets will consider skipping the ace’s next scheduled start.
Harvey’s season went from poor to 1962 Mets-level bad after he was bombed in a career-worst outing Thursday night. Harvey was tagged for a career-high nine runs over a career-low 2.2 innings in the Mets’ 9-1 loss to the Nationals. He was booed by the home crowd, and now he may not even have a chance to make up for the bad outing against the Nats next week.
“We’re going to take a look — is that best for him, is that best for us?” Terry Collins said of Harvey after the game. “We’re not going to commit to anything at this time. But I will tell you, as I sit here today, I’d certainly trust him. I certainly believe in him.”
If the Mets keep the rotation the same, Harvey would be scheduled to start on Tuesday against Washington again.
After giving up five runs on 11 hits over 5.2 innings last Friday and the nine runs on Thursday, Harvey’s ERA spiked from 4.50 to 5.77. Not everything has been terrible for him this season, though. He still has allowed three-or-fewer runs in six of his nine starts, which is not on-par with his typical spectacular self, but still allows for winnable games.
Collins, the team’s manager, thinks Harvey has not been the same since his urinary tract infection, which led to several headlines during spring training. He thinks the team will examine the pitcher medically to see if anything is wrong. Collins also believes that Harvey may be suffering the effects of throwing 216 innings last season, a record amount for a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery.
Odor gets free BBQ for life thanks to Bautista punch
Rougned Odor will never go hungry again — as long as he does not mind Texas barbecue.
The Fort Worth restaurant Heim Barbecue is promising the Rangers second baseman free food for life in recognition of his nasty right hook to Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista’s face.
The restaurant’s owner, Travis Heim, told the local NBC affiliate his restaurant is embracing Odor. They even printed t-shirts in his honor.
“We just thought it would be a funny thing if we Rougie free food because he wasn’t the only one who wanted to punch Bautista after last year, so you know, it’s kind of a justice, a little bit,” said owner Travis Heim.
Heim also is selling t-shirts promoting the free-food offer with the words “Rougned eats free” on the front.
He said response has been overwhelming.
“We originally were going to print 40,” Heim said. “I think now we’re up to close to 200.”
Rangers fans are wasting no time in backing up their young star. Odor recently had a drink named after him and his punch, and he might not have to pay for anything when he goes out in Texas ever again. It’s not all good news for Odor. The MLB was not as pleased with his actions as the Rangers’ fan base, and he still faces an eight-game suspension with a $5,000 fine. Odor is currently in the appeals process, but even if his appeal is successful he is still likely to miss a few games. Odor still has not said if he will visit Heim Barbecue, but Heim said he will be ready if he does — he just hopes Odor does not eat him out of business.
It’s not clear if Odor plans to eat the free barbecue, but Heim said, “It would be an honor if he did.” “Hopefully he doesn’t like barbecue too much because then we might be in the red,” he said. “It’s just a fun deal, you know.”
Johnny Manziel Tatted and Skinny … at Vegas Pool Party
TMZ EXCLUSIVE
While RG3 is taking over the reins in Cleveland, ex-Browns QB Johnny Manziel was raging in Vegas this weekend — looking skinnier and more tatted than ever.
Check out these pics of Manziel at a Wet Republic pool party at the MGM Grand — where witnesses say he partied and boozed for hours … but that’s not really surprising at this point.
You can see how much Manziel’s appearance has changed since he was drafted — back in 2014, his body was essentially inkless and more jacked.
Clearly, things have changed.
Rich, married women love their Hamptons ‘p—y whisperers’
NEW YORK POST
New York socialites are putting a whole new spin on being bi-curious.
As “Primates of Park Avenue” author Wednesday Martin recounted to the Observer, a social trend has emerged in the Hamptons: Married, heterosexual women are engaging in steamy affairs with their female fitness instructors, dubbed “p—y whisperers” by the inner circle.
“‘Opportunity’ looks a little different in the Hamptons, among a group of largely non-working women who are out East for the summer, often attending sex-segregated luncheons and fundraisers and trunk shows, socializing in weekday evenings with mostly other women,” Martin wrote in the Observer, “and working assiduously on their bodies in the presence and with the guidance of female trainers, some of them gay, while their husbands work in the city. These women have autonomy of a different sort, and opportunity aplenty.”
Martin found that these trainers often provide a sexual outlet for their flirty clients, with a former instructor noting that a sensual “connection” was sometimes used to boost their progress.
“They’d say, ‘I think about you all the time,” the trainer recalled to Martin in the Observer. “If being attracted to us helps [motivate], O.K.”
But it’s not all fantasy. That same unnamed trainer also told Martin that she’s had sex with her married, female clients before.
Recent sex research has been examining this idea of “female flexuality.” As Martin cites, after surveying 1,015 women between the ages of 18 and 44, Glamour found that 47 percent had been attracted to another female, while 31 percent have had a sexual encounter with a woman.
And the freedom that the secluded Hamptons offers would seem to unleash those desires in straight housewives who are eager to broaden their sexual horizons.
“Contextual variables make it more or less likely for a woman to act on their female flexuality,” biological anthropologist Natalia Reagan tells Martin, “the Hamptons is just one place worldwide where a perfect storm of factors can aid its expression.”
