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Bills sign veteran S Scott

September 12, 2007
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK (TICKER) -- The Buffalo Bills strengthened their injury-plagued defensive backfield Wednesday, signing veteran safety Bryan Scott at undisclosed terms.

Scott, 26, spent last season with the New Orleans Saints, recording 15 tackles in nine games.

A 2003 second-round draft pick, Scott has played parts of four campaigns with the Saints and Atlanta Falcons, collecting 243 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and four interceptions in 56 games - 35 starts.

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The 6-1 Scott should provide depth for a Buffalo secondary which lost safety Ko Simpson (ankle) and cornerback Jason Webster (forearm) to injuries in last Sunday's 15-14 season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Bills made another roster move Wednesday, signing defensive end Copeland Bryan off the Chicago Bears' practice squad.

Neurosurgeon: Bills' Kevin Everett moved arms and legs, which means he could walk again

By JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer
September 12, 2007

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Kevin Everett voluntarily moved his arms and legs on Tuesday when partially awakened, prompting a neurosurgeon to say the Buffalo Bills' tight end would walk again -- contrary to the grim prognosis given a day before.

"Based on our experience, the fact that he's moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again," said Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine.

"It's totally spectacular, totally unexpected," Green told The Associated Press by telephone from Miami.

Green said he's been consulting with doctors in Buffalo since Everett sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury Sunday after ducking his head while tackling the Denver Broncos' Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff of the Bills' season opener.

Everett dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.

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Everett remains in intensive care at Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital and will be slowly taken off sedation and have his body temperature warmed over the next day, Green said. Doctors will then begin taking the player off life support systems -- including a respirator -- currently controlling his body functions.

"It's feasible, but it's not 100 percent predictable at this time ... he could lead a normal life," Green said.

On Monday, Bills orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, said Everett likely wouldn't walk again.

"A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely," said Cappuccino, who operated on the reserve tight end. "I believe there will be some permanent neurologic deficit."

Cappuccino was not available Tuesday, and hospital spokesman Mike Hughes declined comment.

In a report Tuesday evening, Buffalo's WIVB-TV quoted Cappuccino as saying: "We may be witnessing a minor miracle."

Bills owner Ralph Wilson said the team has been in contact from the beginning with Green and the Miami Project, the university's neurological center that specializes in spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

"I don't know if I would call it a miracle. I would call it a spectacular example of what people can do," Green said. "To me, it's like putting the first man on the moon or splitting the atom. We've shown that if the right treatment is given to people who have a catastrophic injury that they could walk away from it."

The encouraging news might have come as a surprise to many, but not to those who know Everett well.

AP - Sep 10, 6:25 pm EDT
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Al Celaya, who coached Everett at Thomas Jefferson High in Port Arthur, Texas, was confident his former player would battle through.

"When faced with any adversity, Kevin is going to put out the effort, he's going to work hard and he's going to find a way to win," Celaya said. "I think Kevin will be that kind of person, because that's the kind of person he's always been."

Intending to play basketball, Everett was persuaded by Celaya to give football a try. Some nine years later, and after two seasons at the University of Miami, Everett was Buffalo's third-round pick in the 2005 draft.

"He overcame a lot of odds to do that," Celaya said.

Green said the key was the quick action taken by Cappuccino to run an ice-cold saline solution through Everett's system that put the player in a hypothermic state. Doctors at the Miami Project have demonstrated in their laboratories that such action significantly decreases the damage to the spinal cord due to swelling and movement.

"We've been doing a protocol on humans and having similar experiences for many months now," Green said. "But this is the first time I'm aware of that the doctor was with the patient when he was injured and the hypothermia was started within minutes of the injury. We know the earlier it's started, the better."

Cappuccino said Monday that the 25-year-old did have touch sensation throughout his body, showed signs of voluntary movement and was able to breathe on his own before being sedated. But he cautioned that Everett's injury remained life-threatening because he was still susceptible to blood clots, infection and breathing failure.

Green noted that Everett and Wilson have ties to Miami and the Miami Project -- Everett played there and Wilson is one of the project's largest donors.

"It's an amazing group of circumstances. It's a home run. It's a touchdown," Green said.

In the Pits: Earnhardt's faulty motors have conspiracy theorists abuzz

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer

September 10, 2007

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- If not for five blown engines, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be racing for a Nextel Cup championship in this final season driving for his late father's company.

Instead, three failures in the last seven races -- including one with six laps to go Saturday night at Richmond -- knocked NASCAR's most popular driver out of the Chase for the championship.

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``We broke another motor, and they seem to fall apart when they plug 'em into my car,'' Junior said. ``It's just really frustrating.''

It's also more than a little suspicious to his legion of fans, who have wondered for weeks if this was sabotage on the part of his stepmother.

After all, his relationship with Teresa Earnhardt ``ain't a bed of roses,'' and Junior's impending split isn't exactly amicable. They've publicly feuded since December, he claims she's been unreasonable during negotiations and he's bolting for rival Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season.

The squabbling has been so intense on so many issues -- most recently Teresa's refusal to let Earnhardt take his beloved No. 8 with him to Hendrick -- that the idea that she would intentionally derail his season wouldn't surprise anyone. And because the DEI motors never even seem to sputter under the hoods of his teammates, it's actually believable.

But DEI officials call the entire idea preposterous.

``I can assure you that's not the case,'' general manager John Story said Monday. ``We understand that there might be a natural assumption that because he is leaving, the team would say 'Who cares? We are not going to try for him.'

``But if anything, it's the other way around. We tried hard to get him in the Chase. We wanted him to win a championship. We always said that would have been the most appropriate way for him to leave DEI.''

Of course, DEI is going to say that. And conspiracy theorists will forever be convinced Earnhardt was the victim of an intricate and evil plot to punish him for his betrayal.

It sounds awfully good. But it's probably not true.

Sure, seeing Junior fail might bring a slight smile to Teresa Earnhardt's face, but it would be one of the most foolish business decisions she could possibly make.

Since the Chase was launched in 2004, making it has been the standard for success. Those good enough to compete in the 10-race title hunt had a great year. Those not involved immediately go to work figuring out what went wrong.

Keeping Earnhardt out wouldn't have hurt him. He's leaving anyway, and he's repeatedly said that although winning a Cup title for DEI would have been nice, he's comfortable with the effort he's put forth and will walk out the door with his integrity intact.

And if anything, missing the Chase can be viewed as a luxury to Earnhardt. He's now free from the stress and pressure that the Chase provides, and he can relax and race for wins over the final 10 weeks of the season.

But the fact is, DEI needed Earnhardt in the Chase for the health of the company and to support Martin Truex Jr. in his first run at a title. Truex is in, has been for weeks, and he's one of only two drivers who won't have a teammate in the field.

Hendrick and Richard Childress both have three drivers in the chase, while Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush have two each. To think that Teresa would be so spiteful that she'd jeopardize Truex's chances makes little sense for a company she fought to keep control of.

But Story knows the allegations are out there -- the same thing happened in May after Earnhardt said he was leaving and Truex promptly took off on the track.

``We didn't go in there overnight and put all the cars from Dale's shop and put them in Martin's shop,'' Story said. ``That's not the way it happens. And, what people don't consider is that (Earnhardt) has run as well or better than (Truex) over the last six to eight weeks. He just doesn't have the finishes to show for it.''

No, he doesn't, and that's partly because of the motor problems that Truex, Paul Menard and Mark Martin have been immune to.

Although DEI has partnered with RCR on an engine program, Story said the teams are not yet using true common engines. They are combining parts and pieces, and he said his engineers are baffled as to why Earnhardt's keep breaking.

Each failure, Story said, is something different. In Watkins Glen, the team knew the motor was ailing during Friday and Saturday practices, but thought it could last through Sunday's race.

It's possible Earnhardt himself is damaging the motors. He's been driving the wheels off his cars the past few weeks, and perhaps he's been too hard on the engines.

But on Saturday night in Richmond, when Earnhardt was headed to a gutsy top-five finish, that motor failure with six laps to go was devastating. He wound up 30th in his sixth DNF of the season, and the brief hug he shared with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. showed their heartbreak over another wasted run.

``We deserve to be in the Chase,'' he said. ``We race hard. We don't quit. We love racing. That's what we do. It's just disappointing, man. These dang motors.''

There's no doubt DEI's top officials were thinking the same thing, and they determined Monday that a broken oil pump belt -- possibly from debris on the track -- caused the failure.

Either way, there was no joy in Earnhardt's failure. After all, whatever is going on with his motors can very well spread to Truex's, and then DEI would have no shot at all at its first Nextel Cup title.

When you first hear the words "Gridiron Heroes" a picture of football's greatest players is most likely the very first image that appears in your mind. What if you were told that there is a group of young men who will never have the opportunity of playing football again? In fact, these young men are struggling to merely survive the day to day challenges they face in having to live with a Spinal Cord Injury. For these young men and their families most days begin with grueling regimens that require assistance in having to do the most basic functions of life. Paralysis, difficulty in breathing, and many more serious health concerns are but a few of the challenges our "Gridiron Heroes" face every day.

gridironheroes.org

Kid Rock, Tommy Lee Rock 'n' Brawl at VMAs
by Gina Serpe
Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:15:49 AM PDT
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Luckily for her, Britney Spears' lip-synching disaster is quickly being usurped as the VMAs primo water-cooler fodder.

Tommy Lee and Kid Rock battled it out at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, though neither of them was up for a Moon Man. The duo wound up coming to blows during the Las Vegas ceremony, a fight that ended with Lee getting kicked out of the show and Rock getting cited for misdemeanor battery.

And we thought Spears had a rough night.

The tussle kicked off during Alicia Keys' performance, while MTV's usually controversy-honed cameras were unfortunately otherwise engaged. It remains unclear what provoked the fisticuffs, though the punches flew shortly after both men's ex-wife, Pamela Anderson, appeared as a presenter on the show.

MTV veejay Sway did his best to give viewers a post-fight play-by-play at the VMA Post Show.

"Tommy Lee was sitting by Diddy," he said. "[Kid Rock] just walked up and decked him!"

Rap producer Rich Nice, who had a front-row seat to the melee, told the Associated Press that the Mötley Crüe drummer was the instigator of the fight, though it was the "Bawitdaba" singer who landed the only connecting punch.

"It looked like Tommy Lee initiated it because Kid Rock was ignoring him," he said. "And Tommy Lee kind of antagonized him. And then when Tommy Lee stood up, it looked a little weird, like, 'Yo, what?'

"When Tommy stands up is when Kid hit him the first time with a backhand," Nice told the wire service. "And then Tommy Lee looked like he was trying to get at him to aggressively retaliate and then Kid Rock hits Tommy Lee again—bong. And then security grabs Tommy Lee in a headlock and pulls him off."

After the fight, security allowed Kid Rock to remain in his seat for the remainder of the show, though Lee was thrown out of the ceremony and deposited in the hotel's main casino amid a throng of fans.

Prior to the fight, Rock helped Superbad's Seth Rogen and Bill Hader introduce the Best Viewer's Choice artists, appearing as one of the category's losers from years past. Lee's participation in the show, meanwhile, seemed to begin and end with seatfilling duties.

Rock was cited by Sin City's finest just after 10 p.m., when LVPD reported to the Palms Hotel and Casino.

"A little after 8 p.m. last night we received a call that a disturbance had occurred at the MTV Video Music Awards," the police said in a statement. "We had a lot of officers working in and around the awards so they got there fairly quickly. We determined that the altercation was between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee. After our investigation, Kid Rock did receive a citation for misdemeanor battery. Everyone involved was interviewed."

While the brawl was unfortunately not televised, plenty of mention was made of the battle throughout the remainder of the show, with the ceremony's hip-hop contingent seeming to take particular pleasure at their change in beef-holding position.

"We need to stop the violence in rock 'n' roll," Diddy said while announcing the evening's final performers, Justin Timberlake with Timbaland and Nelly Furtado—an announcement the rapper claimed he was supposed to be making with one of the tusslers. "I was supposed to be doing this with Kid Rock, but you know, we got to stop the violence. It's not just hip-hop artists that fight."

Jamie Foxx, who took to the stage with Jennifer Garner, also referenced the fight, imploring the audience to "stop all this white-on-white crime."

"Tommy Lee and Kid Rock fighting like black folks—it's hilarious," he said. "Who won? I was in the bathroom...Pamela Anderson has got a hard choice to make."

As does the Las Vegas police. Kid Rock could face up to six months in jail for his misdemeanor battery charge, though it's unlikely he'll do the time.

While the publicity stemming from his battle royale may not do him any personal favors, professionally, it can't hurt. His first new album in three years, Rock and Roll Jesus, is due out Oct. 9.

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Bills TE Everett has surgery after being knocked cold - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

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HSM's Vanessa Apologizes for Baring All
by Natalie Finn
Fri, 7 Sep 2007 04:44:20 PM PDT

It's one thing to be watched by 250 million people around the globe. It's quite another thing to be the latest X-rated Internet star.

Vanessa Hudgens apologized Friday for posing in various states of undress, including completely naked, for pictures that found their way online this week, a day after confirming the shots in question were indeed of her, and not doctored in any way.

"I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust mean the world to me," the 18-year-old High School Musical star said in a statement to E! News. "I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends."

In light of the naughty nature of these pics and the fact that Hudgens' fan base is largely comprised of kids between the ages of two and tween, it was questionable whether the Walt Disney Co., which has had the biggest basic-cable movie of all time with High School Musical and HSM2, would be able to offer the same support.

But according to Hudgens' rep, Jill Fritzo, all rumors that the singer-actress has been given the boot from future HSM productions are untrue. And the Disney Channel appears to be sticking by its leading lady.

"Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment," said network spokeswoman Patti McTeague. "We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."

Meanwhile, the blogosphere is ablaze with supporters and naysayers, some of whom don't think there's anything really wrong with a little exhibitionism, while still others are warning Hudgens, "Don’t turn into a Britney!"

"Well, there goes another one of my daughters [sic] favorite celebrities," wrote a user by the name of savage on starpulse.com. The concerned parent was joined by kimberlyishere, who wrote, "From now on my sisters will not be watching HSM."

"This is sad really, a few weeks ago she was on all the talk shows and interviewing with many magazines talking about how she was nothing like paris, britt, lindsey," opined stevg, "but i guess that the pressure and spotlight of hollywood caught up to her."

But according to bigd1808, "It's not like she's going around making sextapes and doing drugs, drinking, or misbehaving and such, she's just doing what any average teenage girl wants to do for their boyfriend."

The context in which Hudgens took the pictures is unknown, but the National Enquirer, which first reported their existence, quotes a source who says the photos were shot by Hudgens herself, using a camera phone facing a mirror.

She is currently dating HSM costar Zac Efron.

He He He!
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