Larry Brown Sports

Notre Dame fans have long moved on from the Charlie Weis era. Weis was hired to coach the Fighting Irish in 2005, and he was unsuccessful in restoring a tradition of winning in South Bend. His successor, Brian Kelly, led Notre Dame to the BCS National Championship game last season. A glance at the school’s payroll might lead you to believe Weis had something to do with it.

As Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune pointed out, Notre Dame could end up paying Weis nearly $19 million to do absolutely nothing for the team when all is said and done. According to federal tax documents obtained by the Tribune on Thursday, Weis received a buyout payment of $6,638,403 when he was fired in 2009. He has since received two more payments of $2,054,744 and is scheduled to receive similar payments through 2015, which would bring his total compensation after dismissal to just south of $19 million.

Good lord. As far as the “books” are concerned, Kelly earned only $1,088,179 at Notre Dame from July 2011 to July 2012. However, the school noted that its head football coach is authorized to receive compensation from “external sources” such as apparel companies that would not have to be reported on tax forms.

Weis, who is currently the head coach at Kansas, may have his hands full with student reporters like this, but there is no need to feel sorry for him. In addition to earning a nice paycheck from the Jayhawks, Weis is scheduled to receive more than $2 million per year from Notre Dame for the next four years. Coaches may need to win to keep their jobs, but they certainly don’t have to collect hardware to keep the paychecks coming.

H/T National Football Post

There was once a time when New York Rangers center Brad Richards was one of the better offensive players in the league. Just three years ago, he racked up 24 goals and a whopping 67 assists in a single season. On Thursday night, that same Brad Richards was a healthy scratch for Game 4 against the Boston Bruins.

With his team in a 0-3 hole, Rangers coach John Tortorella decided it was best to give the struggling Richards a break. New York ended up winning to extend the series, but Tortorella was defending his decision long before the puck dropped.

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” he told the media before Game 4. “It’s not blaming Brad Richards. I’ve heard enough of that crap already. He’s a hell of a hockey player that’s having a hell of a time. I need to make decisions for what I feel is right for the team to win tonight’s game and that’s why I made that decision.

“This is a guy I’ve grown up with, a guy I love as a person and a player,” Tortorella continued. “But I have to make that decision regarding this. So kiss my ass if you want to write something different. It’s not about blaming that guy and I don’t want anyone to pile on him. This is my decision and I make it for the hockey club.”

Cursing is all part of Tortorella’s image, as we saw when he went at it with an official during Thursday night’s game. Many were wondering why Tortorella would scratch a guy like Richards who is capable of turning it on at any moment, but coaches do unpopular things when they’re coaching to keep their job. If the Rangers lose on Saturday night in Boston, Tortorella may not be keeping his.

Tim Duncan has been dominant in the 2013 postseason thus far and is one of the main reasons the San Antonio Spurs are poised to challenge for another NBA championship. He is averaging 16.2 points and 9.1 rebounds in 12 playoff games against the Lakers, Warriors and Grizzlies. And it appears this may all be happening while dealing with some off-court distractions.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Duncan and his wife Amy may have recently filed for divorce. A divorce case was filed in a San Antonio court two months ago that includes only the initials A.S.D and T.T.D. Duncan’s middle name is Theodore. To make matters even more curious, a request was reportedly filed last week asking that a legal discovery be postponed until after the Spurs last playoff game.

Either the nation’s biggest Spurs fans have filed for divorce, or Duncan and his wife are splitting. The Express-News also pointed out that the paperwork says the couple married around July 21, 2001, which was when Tim and Amy’s wedding took place. It also says they have two children together, whose birthdays coincide with the dates listed on the divorce filing.

T.T.D., who we assume is Duncan, has asked the court to honor a prenuptial agreement and confirm that he owns property that is separate from the marital estate. A.S.D.’s petition states that the two will “enter into a written agreement for the division of their estate.”

Divorce can be a major distraction, which is why it is even more surprising that Duncan has been able to focus and put the Spurs in a position where they are two wins away from punching a ticket to the NBA Finals. Hopefully Timmy can keep his head on straight for a few more weeks.

Phil Jackson has coached two of the greatest basketball players ever, yet he wouldn’t choose either one of them first if he were starting a team.

During an interview with Time, the former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls coach said he would take Bill Russell first if he were starting a team, not Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

“In my estimation, the guy that has to be there would be Bill Russell,” Jackson answered when asked, via SI’s The Point Forward. “He’s won 11 championships as a player. That’s really the idea of what excellence is, when you win championships.”

Time’s Belinda Luscombe followed up that question by asking Jackson whom he would choose between MJ and Kobe. Though excerpts from his new book “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” make it seem like he leans towards Jordan, Jackson mostly avoided answering the question.

“I would flip a coin,” Jackson said. “Whichever one came up heads or tails, I’d take that person. They were that good.”

Jackson caused a stir when the book excerpts made it seem like he was picking MJ over Kobe in the historical debate. Bryant seemed to take issue with Jackson’s commentary and tweeted out a response:

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Goodness gracious, this photo has just about everything that we love here at LBS. We’ve got O.J. Simpson, a tattoo, and a mug shot. That’s like hitting the LBS jackpot.

According to Sports Kings, diehard Buffalo Bills fan Bryan Labarron spent nine hours getting tattooed with this amazing image. In case you’re unfamiliar, this mug shot was the one taken on June 17, 1994, after Simpson was implicated in the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the tattoo and actual mug shot:

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In the realm of broadcasting graphic fails, this one comes out on top.

This graphic was shown during the middle of the Kansas City Royals telecast on Thursday, and it is full of an absurd amount of errors.

The question: “Which young player would you like to start a franchise with?” is posed to viewers. Putting aside that they end their question with a preposition, it’s embarrassing how badly they bungled this image.

Let’s list all the mistakes.

1) Bryce Harper is erroneously called “Bryce Hunter”
2) Harper is shown as a Detroit Tigers player, not a Washington National
3) Matt Harvey is erroneously called “Matt Jones”
4) Harvey pitches for the New York Mets, not the Baltimore Orioles
5) Manny Machado plays for the Baltimore Orioles, not the Chicago White Sox
6) Mike Trout plays for the Angels, not the New York Yankees

If we missed any other errors in the graphic, please let us know. There has to be more.

Image via Mock Session

A fan ran onto the field at Kauffman Stadium during the middle of the eighth inning in a game between the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals, providing some of the best excitement of the night.

Angels reliever Michael Kohn had an 0-2 count on Alcides Escobar in the bottom of the eighth when a fan wearing a Royals jersey ran onto the field. The fan ran right behind the pitching mound, slid onto the dirt, snagged the rosin bag, got up, and scampered away.

The dude had a police officer on his tail and managed to shake the cop with a surprise slide onto the mound. The unsuspecting cop tripped and ate it on the mound, allowing the fan to momentarily break free while waving around his prized souvenir. The guy was just absolutely playing to the crowd, too. He was showboating and everything after flying through the field capture-the-flag-style.

Alas, the fan was eventually tackled and handcuffed by police, but not before taking them on a wild ride.

Let’s relive the fan’s glory.

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