Lynch gets probation for guilty plea (WHAT!?!?!?!)

This article is from ESPN news.  Here is it, with my thoughts in CAPS:

Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch pled guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm in his vehicle.

FUNNY HOW HE PLED GUILTY AND HE WASN'T EVEN THERE.  HIS ATTORNEY PROBABLY TOLD HIM NOT TO BE THERE, BECAUSE USUALLY WHEN THESE CRAP-BAGS OF SOCIETY SHOW UP IN COURT THEY WEAR XXXXL WHITE T-SHIRTS, BLUE JEANS, AND THE TIMBERLAND BOOTS (WHICH IS CONSIDERED COURT ATTIRE FOR GANGBANGERS).  GOOD MOVE BY THE DEFENSE.

Lynch was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and three years of probation.

AWESOME.  THE 80 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE HE WILL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS YEAR, BUT THE THREE YEARS OF PROBATION ... NOT A CHANCE.

Attorney Gerald Schwartzbach entered the plea for Lynch in a Los Angeles court Thursday.  Two other gun charges were dismissed as part of a pre-arranged plea agreement.  The 22-year-old Lynch was not present.

Lynch was arrested Feb. 11 after surburban Culver City Police smelled marijuana coming from a parked car and found a loaded gun and four marijuana cigarettes inside.  No drug charges were filed.

FUNNY HOW THE SCUMBAG DEFENSE ATTORNEY STRIKES A DEAL WITH STATE PROSECUTORS TO DROP TWO GUN CHARGES AND POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA CHARGES IN EXCHANGE FOR A GUILTY PLEA FOR ONE GUN CHANGE.  MAKES ME SICK.  THE GUY BEATS TWO GUN CHARGES AND A DRUG CHARGE IN EXCHANGE FOR PLEADING GUILTY TO ONE GUN CHARGE AND GETS COMMUNITY SERVICE AND PROBATION AS A RESULT.  SERIOUSLY!  IF THAT WERE YOU, ME OR THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, WE'D FACE ALL FOUR CHARGES - NO QUESTION.

"Today I pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of having a firearm in a vehicle," Lynch said in a statement.  "I am embarrassed by my recent arrest and conviction.  I deeply regret that I placed myself in this situation."

SURE YOU ARE.  THIS STATEMENT WAS PREPARED BY HIS ATTORNEY AND ALL LYNCH DID WAS SIGN OFF ON IT.  I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF THIS TACTIC.  WHY NOT HOLD A LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE AND DELIVER THE STATEMENT FROM YOUR HEART?  LOOK AT HOW HE IS SURE TO STATE THAT IT IS A MISDEMEANOR VIOLATION AND NOT A FELONY ... AND FOR "HAVING A FIREARM IN A VEHICLE." REALLY IT WAS FOR CARRYING A CONCEALED WEAPON.  THIS CRIMINAL PROBABLY HAD THE GUN IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE HE WENT OUT WITH HIS "HOMIES" TO PURCHASE THE DRUGS FROM A DEALER.  SO THE GUN WAS FOR PROTECTION BECAUSE HE WAS GOING TO MEET UP WITH PEOPLE WHO SLANG DOPE AND ROB PEOPLE FOR A LIVING.

AND IS HE REALLY "EMBARRASSED," OR IS HE HAVING HIS ATTORNEY PACKAGE TOGETHER ALL THESE WORDS ("REGRET") IN AN EFFORT TO LESSEN THE PENALTY HANDED DOWN BY THE NFL?

"I have made mistakes in the past.  Although I have learned many lessons over recent years, I obviously had not learned enough.  I apologize to my family, the Buffalo Bills organization, my teammates, the Buffalo community, and Commissioner [Roger] Goodell.  I have already learned from this recent mistake and am sincerely committed to being a more responsible citizen and better representative of the NFL."

I'M SORRY, BUT WORDS LIKE "LEARNED," "APOLOGIZE," "COMMUNITY," "MISTAKE," "SINCERELY," "RESPONSIBLE," "CITIZEN," AND "REPRESENTATIVE," ARE NOT IN MARSHAWN LYNCH'S VOCABULARY.

Schwartzbach said Lynch could have pleased no contest but chose to plead guilty.

WOW, REALLY?!  HE ALSO COULD HAVE ELECTED TO PLEAD INNOCENT.  BUT IF HE HAD PLED INNOCENT OR NO CONTEST, HE WOULD HAVE FACED FOUR CHARGES INSTEAD OF ONE.  

ALL THE STATE ATTORNEYS WANT IS A CONVICTION.  AND IF THEY CAN GET ANYONE TO PLEAD GUILTY TO A CHARGE, THEY WILL DO ALL THEY CAN TO STRIKE SOME KIND OF DEAL.  SO SCHWARTZBACH'S STATEMENT OF HOW LYNCH COULD HAVE PLEADED NO CONTEST IS JUST ANOTHER LOW-BALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIS CLIENT LOOK BETTER THAN HE ACTUALLY IS IN THE FACE OF THE PUBLIC.

THE FIRST THING LYNCH NEEDS TO DO IS UPDATE HIS NFL PROFILE PIC.  BECAUSE THAT THING MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE THE DYSFUNCTIONAL MEMBER OF SOCIETY THAT HE IS.

RIGHT NOW, IN MY EYES AND PROBABLY IN MANY OTHERS', LYNCH IS NO DIFFERNET THAN ALL THE POOR THUGS WHO SPEND THEIR MONEY ON MATERIAL THINGS LIKE (AS I SAID IN THE EARLIER POST ON THIS MATTER) CARS SITTING ON A SET OF $20,000 RIMS, DRUGS AND GUNS, AND IF THEY ARE LUCKY, MAYBE A MANSION OR TWO ... OH YEAH, AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CHILD SUPPORT.

TO QUOTE MY PREVIOUS POST:

"SO MAYBE IF THEIR PRIORITIES WERE STRAIGHT THEY WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT IN THE SITUATIONS THEY ARE SO FREQUENTLY BEING CAUGHT IN.  I MEAN, IS IT REALLY NECESSARY FOR A MILLIONAIRE TO HANG OUT AT A DINGY STRIP CLUB AT 3 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING?"

OR DRIVE AROUND THE TOWN WITH GUNS AND DRUGS IN YOUR CAR, TOKING IT UP?

"WHY NOT THROW A POLE OR TWO IN YOUR MANSION AND HAVE THE GUYS OVER, HIRE SOME DANCERS, THEN DRINK YOUR LIQUOR," SMOKE YOUR POT, "AND HAVE YOUR LAP DANCES IN-HOUSE?

"THAT'D BE MUCH SMARTER THAN BEE-BOPPIN' UP AND DOWN THE STREETS LIKE THE 'BANGERS WEARING BLACK HOODIES WITH THEIR PANTS SAGGIN HALFWAY DOWN THEIR ASSES SLANGING ROCKS AND BREAKING INTO CARS."

I'M DISGUSTED.

Man Traded for Bats ends in Tragedy

Ask the most hard-core baseball fan about John C. Odom and most likely you'll get a blank stare. Yet millions of people have heard of the slender right-hander.

He was "Bat Man" or "Bat Guy" or "Bat Boy," the minor-league baseball player traded for 10 maple bats.

It became a big joke last May when word of the unusual swap jumped off the sports pages, and the former San Francisco Giants prospect went from pitcher to punch line.

"People are like, 'I'd kill myself' and stuff," Odom said at the time, dismissing any such notion.

Three weeks after the trade, he abruptly left the team.

Six months after the trade, he was dead.

Full Story.

Salty's Thoughts: Bummer.

"I think they were not to be found."

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- After three days of combing 24,000 miles of ocean, the Coast Guard on Tuesday stopped searching for two NFL players and a third man lost in rough, chilly Gulf of Mexico waters off the Florida coast.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley, had been missing since Saturday when their boat capsized during a fishing trip.

Bleakley's father said he thought the Coast Guard did everything it could and that his expectations lowered after only one survivor was found Monday, nearly two days after the four friends were knocked out of their 21-foot boat.

"I think they were not to be found," Robert Bleakley said.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said officials were sure that if there were any more survivors, they would have been found.

Link.

Salty's Thoughts: Terrible. Just terrible. Keep them and their families in your thoughts.

Mo-Blogs

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett writes that he's blogging from prison so others will learn from his wrong decisions. The tailback who led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship is in the Toledo Correctional Institution on his 2006 conviction for aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. In his first blog entry, Clarett said in October that defects in his character put him behind bars. This week, he wrote he's interested in public speaking once he's out. He's serving at least 3 1/2 years for a holdup outside a Columbus bar and a highway chase months later that ended with police finding loaded guns in his SUV. Clarett doesn't have computer access in prison. His mother tells The Columbus Dispatch he phones the blog entries to relatives, who post them.

Salty's Thoughts: People always jockin' my style. I blog, so he blogs. Whatever. By the way, that picture is from Clarett's car when he was arrested.

Rifle: check.
Pistol: check.
Lint brush: check.
Mmm Bop Single CD: check.
Grey Goose: check.

Oddest mix of shit ever. Talk about ridin' dirty.

Bye Bye Brady?

On Monday, a league source advised us that the new regime in Cleveland -- known lovingly in league circles as "ManKok" -- would likely be interested in Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler as an alternative to Derek Anderson and/or Brady Quinn.

profootballtalk.com

Salty's Thoughts: KNR in Cleveland is reporting the same thing. Rumor there is Brady Quinn, Shaun Rogers for Jay Cutler and a third round draft choice.

Interesting.

NFL Players Missing at Sea

The Coast Guard is searching for up to four missing boaters, including two active NFL players near St. Petersburg, Fla.

Among the missing is Detroit defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland linebacker Marquis Cooper. Also on board is Nick Skyler. A press release sent out by the Coast Guard also said there is a possible fourth person on board. Agents for both Smith and Cooper confirmed that their clients are among the missing.

"We are in contact with the Coast guard and Corey's family has been informed," Smith's agent Ron Del Duca said. "Corey is one of the good guys out there. We're just waiting for more information and hoping for the best."

Troy Asmus, one of Cooper's agents, said he has been in contact with the NFL and that the league is aware of the situation.

Full Article.

Salty's Thought: Let's hope they are found ASAP.

Couple NFL (Browns) Questions

1. Jon Kitna was traded for Anthony Henry. If you're the Browns, would you of sent DA for Anthony Henry? If you're the Cowboys, would you of rather had DA over Kitna? Were the Browns in this mix, or was it better they stayed out?

2. Rumors keep circling that the Browns may move DA. New England sent Matt Cassel (and Mike Vrable) to KC for a 2nd round pick. That being said, what could we even expect for DA? Is a 4th round pick worth moving him?

3. Is Steve Heiden the TE next year or do we sign a FA? Do we draft someone and hope they can contribute in year one? I still believe the Browns offense moved smoother when K2 was not on the field.