The Lantern Blog

The Lantern had an error Monday in its calendar of events.

On March 28, 2009, the Columbus Crew will play Toronto-FC at Crew Stadium at 4 p.m. EST.

Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez, two wild card contestants from the top 36 competition, were eliminated on Wednesday night on the hit show American Idol.

Murray, who was coming off a lackluster performance, choked up a bit when she was on stage.  She broke out into tears as she watched the first American Idol look back video.

Jorge Nunez, one of the more interesting characters on the show, was also eliminated.  Originally from Puerto Rico, Nunez spoke spanish and had a difficult time transitioning to the English language before the top 36 round.  He made a poor song choice this week, and the judges criticized him harshly for it.  They also explained that it was not sung very well, either.

Nunez was one of two males who were rumored to be off the show.  Anoop Desai, a student from the University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, was among the bottom four as well.

During the show, Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West both performed.  Kelly Clarkson performed her current top single, “My Life Would Suck Without You.”  Kanye West also performed one of his charttoppers, “Heartless.”

American Idol will bring 11 contestants into next week’s show.  Read up on the rule change—announced at the beginning of the show—here.

A part-time worker for the Philadelphia Eagles was fired after he posted a status update on his Facebook page.

The worker was apparently upset that the Eagles had allowed safety Brian Dawkins to leave the team via free agency.  Dawkins, one of the franchise’s most successful defensive players, signed with the Denver Broncos and joined their secondary.

Dan Leone, the worker who had worked for the Philadelphia Eagles franchise for more than six years, was fired over the phone several days after he had deleted the post/status update from his Facebook.

Did the Eagles act out of line when handling this situation?  Leone had worked for the team for an extended period of time—it is truly amazing to see what a simple Facebook post can cost you these days.

Terrell Owens, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.  Owen’s deal is worth $6.5 million, with a $4 million signing bonus.  The deal also offers guaranteed money to the wideout.

One of the things that Owens wanted in his new team was a solid quarterback to pass him the ball.  His signing with Buffalo comes as a surprise, because Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards is not necessarily an established passer in the National Football League.  He is young and has potential, but he is still in a developmental stage.

That said, Buffalo does not have a very strong receiving core, and Terrell Owens becomes the team’s top wide receiving threat.  He will play directly across from wide receiver Lee Evans, who was drafted out of Wisconsin.

It should be very interesting to see how Owens performs in his season with Buffalo.

From the Lantern Newsroom:

A near East Side man was taken to Grant Medical Center in stable condition after being shot by Columbus Police early Saturday morning.

Police were called to the back of a Franklin Avenue residence at approximately 5:03 a.m. after a witness saw a man with a gun. Officers received a description of the suspect, who was later identified as Bernard L. Wright.

Officers found Wright in front of 1860 Oak St., on the near East Side close to East Broad Street. When police tried to take him into custody, Wright began to fight with the officers. During the fight, Wright pulled out a gun. Officers disengaged from fighting, drew their weapons and fired at Wright, striking him in the torso. A handgun was recovered at the scene.

Wright was transported to Grant Medical Center in stable condition. One officer was treated and released for minor injuries to her hand as a result of the fight. Wright has been charged with assault on a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, using a weapon while intoxicated and aggravated menacing.

This was the second police involved shooting in the last week. Officers from the Columbus Division of Police shot 29-year-old James L. Harris Tuesday night after he fled the scene of a 12th Avenue home invasion, stole a car at the Ohio State Fairgrounds and led officers on a car chase through the Northeast Side. After Harris crashed the car near Oakland Park Avenue and Westerville Road, he made a gesture as if he was reaching for a weapon. Police shot Harris twice, and he died from the injuries Wednesday night. The home invasion is still under investigation.

ESPN is reporting that the Dallas Cowboys have decided to cut their star wide receiver, Terrell Owens.

After three years in Dallas—filled with controversy after controversy—the Cowboys decided that the wideout just wasn’t worth the trouble.

Late last season, team owner Jerry Jones said, “The more they’re talking about the Cowboys, the more we like it,” in response to Owens’ antics. 

I suppose this will get tongues waggling about “America’s Team” too.

Owen’s release comes after just one year on his four-year extension.  Last season, Owens exceeeded 1,000 yards receiving, and caught 10 TDs.

This comes just hours after several other high profile free agents were retained by their teams.  The Ravens re-signed MLB Ray Lewis.  The Arizona Cardinals re-signed QB Kurt Warner.

In Ohio football news, the Cincinnati Bengals signed WR Laveranues Coles to replace Houshmandzadeh.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made two moves at the trade deadline to bolster their roster for a potential playoff run.  Here is a rundown of both of their moves.

Deal 1:
Columbus Blue Jackets trade: G Pascal Leclaire, 2009 second round draft pick

Ottawa Senators trade: C Antoine Vermette

A great trade for both the Blue Jackets and the Senators.

The Ottawa Senators are in need of goaltending help, and they get a solid one in Pascal Leclaire. If Leclaire can stay healthy, he should play well for the Senators.

Ottawa, in a rebuilding year, receive another draft pick.  The Sens will be solid for years, if they can utilize Pascal Leclaire and the draft pick well.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, in the midst of a playoff race, add a solid second-line center with standout speed and skating ability. He should instantly become a top-six forward on the Blue Jackets, and will undoubtedly improve their offensive output.

Deal 2:

In another minor deal, the Blue Jackets added a prospect goaltender, Kevin Lalande, from the Calgary Flames.  They exchanged a fourth-round draft pick to get him.

Imagine yourself sitting on top of this mountain of cash. Imagine the mountain is (before taxes) $212 million. The recipient will probably have a wallet some $137 million thicker.

Talk about a good day! I can’t even imagine what to do with that kind of cheddar.

That rather—cough, cough—tough decision is now on the shoulders of one lucky New Jersey resident. The winning ticket in Tuesday’s drawing was sold in Ocean County, New Jersey.

After quite a drought, both the Powerball and the Mega Millions payed out in the last few days. The Powerball had two winning tickets last week—the owners of which will share the $174 million bucket-o-fun.

What would I do if I had won? First of all, tune out of school. I’d do enough to get me to graduation in 101 days. I haven’t put all this time in to just pull out of the race on the final straight away.

Then, of course, I’d pay for all that fun and newly irrelevant education, buy a house, take care of the family, and buy a boatload of stocks while they’re super cheap! I really can’t imagine what I for sure would do, but this article from MSN Money is a clear outline of what I wouldn’t do.

So, Lambo’s, Carribean islands, a 10-year round-the-world cruise…what would you do? Leave comments, and let’s see what sort of creative and crazy ideas are out there.

Someone once described politics as show business for ugly people.  I think Meghan McCain would agree.

CBS News is reporting that “nobody ever told her how complicated the election would make her dates,” especially since John lost the election.

“I know that no one can really explain sexual attraction and why you are drawn to someone or not—but at this point in time, nothing kills my libido quite like discussing politics,” McCain wrote.

Apparently some people want to date the Senator’s daughter for the opportunity to meet her parents.  AOL tells a somewhat creepy story of a  guy who asked if she had ever wore pearls, because of how good Cindy McCain she looked in them.

McCain says that people go way overboard in political issues.  

Imagine dating someone who spent a huge portion of the time telling you why he voted for President. It wouldn’t be very pleasant, and she doesn’t like it either, wrote the Huffington Post.

Former Cincinnati Bengal TJ Houshmandzadeh agreed to terms with the Seattle Seahawks today, ending his tenure in the orange and black.  He was offered a contract from the Bengals, as well as the Minnesota Vikings.

The deal was apparently worth $40 million over five years—a deal that should allow Houshmandzadeh to gather in about $15 million in guaranteed money.

Houshmandzadeh is undoubtedly one of the league’s most productive wide receivers.  Perhaps better known for the famous NFL.com Fantasy Football commercial, Houshmandzadeh was one of the most-liked players from the Cincinnati Bengals roster.  Not as outspoken as his teammate, Chad Johnson, Houshmandzadeh kept steady high levels of production.

From 2001 to 2008, Houshmandzadeh posted 507 receptions, 5,782 yards, and 37 touchdowns.

The Seahawks signed a rock solid top wide receiver to lead their wide receiving core.  Last year, they were decimated by injuries, many times going with two or three active wide receivers.  Houshmandzadeh should be able to help Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck post some solid numbers in the 2009 season.