Bobref

Just curious. How many eyes did those fish have, and where were they located?

Sure hope he didn’t eat them!

Watson’s attorney has started the process of attempting to obtain the names of the plaintiffs accusing him. In a normal civil lawsuit, the first thing that happens after the complaint is filed is the defendant’s filing of an answer to the allegations of the complaint. But that hasn’t happened yet here, and won’t for quite some time. Without knowing the plaintiffs’ names, it’s impossible for Watson to accurately answer the complaints, let alone conduct the exhaustive discovery that will, no doubt, follow. I expect the judge will order disclosure of the names, but in restricted fashion, under what’s called a “protective order.” The order will set out conditions for allowing Watson to do the discovery and investigation he needs to defend himself, while attempting to protect the plaintiffs as much as possible. Of course, it won’t work. Unless the cases settle quickly, the names will become known. There are going to be too many people involved to keep the names secret for very long. It’s going to be a real sh*t show if it doesn’t get ended quickly. One other observation: the statement from Watson’s attorney that Watson didn’t “force, coerce or intimidate anyone to do anything against their will,” is potentially a signal that Watson’s defense will be that the acts were consensual. That creates another issue: it may, if believed, allow him to escape criminal and civil legal problems. But it won’t square him with the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and it won’t get him his endorsements back. According to Forbes, Watson made about $8 million off the field last season. If he admits to having some sort of sexual contact with 20+ women to whom he paid money, he’s going to end up with a lengthy suspension. I would guess at least a year. A year’s salary, lost endorsements, civil settlements, legal fees, etc. you might be talking about a total loss of over $50 million! Those better have been pretty good massages. https://sports.yahoo.com/deshaun-watsons-attorney-seeks-identities-of-civil-accusers-says-qb-is-victim-of-trial-by-press-conference-202504773.html Deshaun Watson’s attorney seeks identities of civil accusers, says QB is victim of 'trial by press conference' HOUSTON — In a motion that represents the first legal cannon shot aimed at defending Deshaun Watson, the attorney for the Houston Texans quarterback asked a judge on Thursday to compel one of Watson’s still-anonymous accusers to shed a protective “Jane Doe” pseudonym and refile her civil lawsuit under her legal name. The legal brief filed by Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, was directed at the seventh woman to bring a civil case against the quarterback. It represents what is expected to ultimately be a more sweeping move to force the remaining 20 “Jane Doe” plaintiffs to reveal themselves in court filings. As it stands, two of Watson’s accusers — Ashley Solis and Lauren Baxley — have already revealed their identities, doing so in statements delivered at a Tuesday news conference arranged by their attorney, Tony Buzbee. Each of the 22 women who have filed civil suits have done so with Buzbee acting as their legal representation. In a statement provided to the media on the heels of the motion, Hardin said that Watson didn’t “force, coerce or intimidate anyone to do anything against their will.” Hardin’s media statement: “We have said this before and we want to say it again: Deshaun did not force, coerce or intimidate anyone to do anything against their will. When we asked Mr. Buzbee to identify his clients weeks ago, he refused and told us to file a motion. Today we filed that motion. As discussed in our filing, Mr. Buzbee’s use of anonymous lawsuits violates Texas law and the basic concept of fairness. It is clear that, for Mr. Buzbee, this case has never been about seeking justice in a courtroom, but destroying Deshaun’s reputation to enhance his own public profile and enrich himself. While I understand that anonymity often is used as a shield for victims, Mr. Buzbee is using it as a sword. While shielding his clients from public scrutiny, Mr. Buzbee continues to use their anonymous allegations to destroy Mr. Watson. This is simply not right. And we look forward to resolving these matters in court.” In his legal motion, Hardin criticizes Buzbee for his attacks on Watson, which have included a multitude of allegations in Buzbee’s legal filings. He has alleged that the quarterback committed sexual assault, displayed harassing behavior, deleted social media messages and made attempts to settle some of the complaints against him. Hardin also suggested that the women do not have the legal backing to make civil accusations about Watson while continuing to conceal their identities, stating that only minors can have their names shielded from the public during civil suits alleging sexual assault. “[Buzbee’s] incessant public attacks on Mr. Watson have not stopped,” Hardin’s motion states. “Lacking the desire to present his case in a court of law — where concepts of fundamental fairness apply — Mr. Buzbee is intent on conducting discovery by Facebook and trial by press conference. He is asking the public to act as judge and jury without ever allowing Mr. Watson to responsibly respond. Because [Buzbee] filed the actions anonymously, Mr. Watson’s counsel can only speculate about [the accuser’s] identity.” Hardin goes on to argue that the anonymity would leave Watson guessing at the identity of his accusers and that raises the risk of involuntarily drawing an innocent person into a “media frenzy” if the quarterback guesses incorrectly and publicly names the wrong person while defending himself. Hardin is asking a judge to give Watson a chance to publicly address his accuser — and likely all of his accusers, if this motion is granted — while using their real names and corresponding background information that would provide a defense. “Mr. Buzbee, hiding behind this anonymity, has attempted to try this case in the court of public opinion rather than in a court of law,” the filing reads. “He has held multiple press conferences and selectively released misleading excerpts of alleged evidence to the public regarding the allegations made in this case. Mr. Buzbee has consistently used social media posts to thrust the allegations of this case into public view. He begs people to reserve judgement about his clients, while deliberately and publicly attacking Mr. Watson and seeking to get the public at large to rush to judgment. Only when it seemingly benefits his public display does he selectively release crumbs of information about his clients.” Hardin has asked the court to consider Watson’s motion and compel the refiling of “Jane Doe No. 7” in expedited fashion. If the motion is granted, it’s expected Hardin will seek for all of the anonymous civil suits to be refiled with the legal names of the accusers attached.

With the trade of Sam Darnold to Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater becomes expendable. They won’t cut him because of the “dead money” that will leave on their cap. But they certainly could trade him. His contract runs through the 2022-23 season, but his guaranteed money runs out after this season, so he’d be an easy cut next year, if it comes to that. His base salary is $17 million and his prorated guaranteed bonus this coming season is $5 million. Are the Bears interested?

Remember it well.

That’ll be a war.

If we’re limiting it to high school fields, I’d say Fawcett Stadium in Canton, OH, home of the Hall of Fame, and Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon, OH, because ... well geez, I was a 16 yr. old kid growing up in Ohio, it was the late 1960s, and it was freakin’ Massillon!

I have always said, the day the bulldozers come for the Brickie Bowl, I’ll be sitting up on those tracks in a lawn chair with a six pack, cheering them on.

That we know of. I mean, that can’t be normal, can it? If you’re a pro athlete, and massage is part of your fitness regimen, aren’t you going to find the best and stick with him/her? He doesn’t go to a dozen different doctors or dentists, I bet. Very weird.

There has always been the “court of public opinion.” It’s just easier to find out what the jurors are thinking these days.

News like this is what made me say earlier that if he could settle all 22 claims for $100K per, he should jump at it right now.

So now, two of the lawsuit plaintiffs have gone public. They are the ones who have filed police complaints, so their identities would be public knowledge anyway. And Watson’s attorney immediately comes out with the fact that there was a settlement demand pre-suit of $100K, and characterizes it as “hush money.” To be honest, the amount is modest. If Watson could settle all 22 suits for $100K each, he should do it right now. And pre-suit settlement demands are commonplace. They only become “hush money” if the claim isn’t settled. If it had been settled it would be “a mutually agreed resolution of a dispute,” with a confidential settlement that includes non disclosure and non disparagement clauses. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/deshaun-watsons-attorney-fires-back-first-accuser-wanted-hush-money Deshaun Watson's attorney fires back at first accuser, claiming she wanted 'hush money' An alleged victim holds a press briefing while NFL star's camp makes an extortion claim By Daniel Canova | Fox News The attorney for embattled NFL star Deshaun Watson’s responded to one of his accusers -- Ashley Solis -- claiming she demanded $100,000 in "hush money" before filing a civil lawsuit against the Houston Texans quarterback. Solis, who previously sued under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym, on Tuesday said during a news conference that Watson acted inappropriately during a massage therapy session in March 2020. She said Watson purposely exposed himself and "purposely" touched her with his penis, which led to her ending the massage and he apologized for his actions. "I'm a survivor of assault and harassment. Deshaun Watson is my assaulter and my harasser," she said. "I replay the incident over and over in my head as if I'm trying to wake up for some horrible nightmare -- only that nightmare is real." The professional massage therapist said she and the other women accusing the quarterback "were all deceived into thinking Deshaun Watson was a good guy. … I will not let Deshaun Watson define who I am. I will not let him win. He needs to be held accountable for his actions." Following the news conference held at the office of Solis' attorney Tony Buzbee, Watson's lawyer countered Solis' statement. Attorney Rusty Hardin issued a statement claiming he has emails to prove that Solis was looking to get money from Watson. According to Hardin, rival attorney Buzbee -- who represents 22 women who have come out against Watson -- reached out to one of Watson’s representatives in February in an effort to "quietly settle the allegations the month before he filed the first lawsuit." In an email exchange obtained by Fox News, Buzbee’s associate Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey said that "my client’s demand is $100,000" adding that "this offer remains open until Friday of this week." Scott Gaffield, the General Counsel at the Athletes First agency of Laguna Beach, responded to Buzbee and Brandfield-Harvey on Feb. 19 saying, "we don’t believe that the alleged facts show that Deshaun did anything wrong…" "We believed then -- and fully believe now -- that Deshaun learned a lesson about putting himself in this type of situation by interacting with people he does not know," Gaffield said in a statement. "As the emails show, we were willing to continue discussions on Deshaun’s behalf to explore ways to prevent a lawsuit and a public spectacle. But Mr. Buzbee informed us that he was unwilling to do so. We expect that this matter will be resolved in court." The email communications occurred between Feb. 3 and Feb. 19. Fox News reached out to Buzbee for comment and is awaiting a response. During Tuesday's press conference one of Buzbee’s colleagues read a separate letter from another accuser. The woman, who was not present at the news conference, was revealed to be Lauren Baxley. The woman gave permission for her letter to be read out loud to the media. "Every boundary, from professional and therapeutic to sexual and degrading, [Watson] crossed or attempted to cross," the letter stated. Two of the 22 women who have filed lawsuits against Watson are now public. Houston police launched an investigation into the allegations after a complaint was filed Friday.

Heard a good one today. Justin Fields, once the consensus #2 pick, has fallen recently amid some whispering that he can’t make a 2nd read, doesn’t like film study, etc. Guy on the radio is of the opinion that those whispers were started by the puppetmaster himself, Belicek, so that New England can take him by moving up to #4. They can do that now because Atlanta is sticking with Matt Ryan for now, so they don’t need to pick #4 to get who they want. So, they can trade Atlanta for that pick, and by moving down, Atlanta can still get the non-QB they want.

I think there is little danger of that happening unless they find another Bob Knight-like figure, whose personality overshadows the fact that he was a 1 in a million coach.

I loved that team ... but the best NCAA team ever was Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) and any 4 other guys you could find on the street.

My memory isn’t what it used to be.

I am not much of a basketball fan. I haven’t watched a college or pro game this season. But I confess to feeling glad that Baylor beat Gonzaga last night, just because it keeps the IU 1975-76 squad as the last team to go unbeaten. I was in law school in Bloomington during that team’s run. Saw every one of their home games. That was a magical time in Bloomington. What a lot of people don’t know is that the 1974-75 team was better than the squad that went undefeated the next season. They swept through their Big 10 schedule with an average 23 pt. margin of victory. But Scott May, IU’s leading scorer, rebounder, and the eventual 1976 Player of the Year, broke his arm in the last game against Purdue, and was limited to playing 7 minutes in a 92-90 loss to a powerhouse Kentucky team in the Regional. The Hoosiers landed 4 of the 5 spots on the All Big Ten first team that year: May, Quinn Buckner, Steve Green, and Kent Benson. Although Steve Green graduated, John Laskowski, the outstanding sixth man on the 74-75 team, moved right into Green’s spot the next season, and they ran the table. Just a great, great team. They were such a joy to watch.

Well, generally speaking, poorly performing programs don’t travel well when the game is across town, let alone when it’s in another county. The expanding availability of outlets by which you can watch the game at home hurts these teams disproportionately, IMO. And yes, I have seen the teams you identified on the road many times over the years. They don’t travel well. But honestly, a well-filled visitors’ stands is becoming a real rarity these days. There are very few programs that command significant fan following on the road. And the farther away the game, the less likely the visitors are to make the trip. That is a generalization that applies everywhere, not just to the identified programs.

I’m certainly no expert in Texas Civil Procedure, and I have no idea what the state court civil docket is like in Houston. But the defendant has not even filed an answer in any of the cases yet, and I don’t expect that for a while, as there will likely be procedural jockeying for position at the start. Once the complaint is answered, the parties engage in discovery, including depositions. In this situation, I would expect that to be very extensive. Somewhere in there, the court will hold a conference, out of which comes the schedule for disposition of the case, including trial. 3 yrs. from filing to trial would not surprise me in the least. And the number is now 21.

Ummm ... no.

That merely tells us why the feds can do it. It says nothing about whether they should.

Why should the federal government decide that’s the best policy everywhere?

And now the cops are finally involved. It’s unclear whether the person who filed the criminal complaint is one of the plaintiffs, although it’s probably not. The complaint was filed after the plaintiffs’ attorney said he changed his mind about turning over evidence to the Houston police. If so, that would bring the number of women coming forward to 23. I have a hard time seeing how this is going to end well for Watson. Makes having an imaginary girlfriend seem sort of benign by comparison, don’t you think? https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/texans/2021/04/02/deshaun-watson-houston-texans-police-investigation/7070050002/ Houston Police Department investigating complaint against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson The Houston Police Department announced Friday that a police report has been filed against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. "As with any allegation, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment further during the investigative process," the department wrote in a statement on social media. Asked Friday if the department could provide details of the nature of the complaint, a sergeant with Houston police said not at this time. The nascent criminal investigation comes after 21 unnamed women filed civil lawsuits against Watson in recent weeks, each accusing him of sexual misconduct or assault during separate massage sessions dating back to March 2020. A 22nd woman came forward with similar allegations to Sports Illustrated but said she had not filed a lawsuit. Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement Friday evening that his client welcomed the investigation, calling it a "long overdue development." "Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser," Hardin said. "We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department." With the filing of a police report, Watson is now facing the prospect of a criminal charge in addition to possible compensatory damages in the 21 civil cases. Experts have said some of the acts outlined in the various lawsuits could meet the criteria for indecent assault, a misdemeanor under Texas law. One of the allegations – that Watson forced a woman to perform oral sex – could possibly be classified as a felony, according to Meredith Duncan, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. It is unclear which allegation or allegations were reported to police Friday. The attorney representing all 21 plaintiffs, former Houston mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee, said in a statement that he "was not personally involved" in the filing of the police report Friday. But he indicated that other criminal complaints will soon be filed "in Houston and in other jurisdictions and with other agencies." "I will let the authorities do their jobs, and will continue to do mine, on behalf of these courageous women," Buzbee said. Watson, 25, broadly denied wrongdoing in his lone public statement on the matter March 16, when the first lawsuit was filed. He wrote in a social media post that he has always treated women with “utmost respect." Hardin, meanwhile, has previously said that he believes "any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false." Most of the lawsuits filed against Watson allege that he exposed himself or touched the women with his genitals during massage sessions at various locations over the span of a little more than a year. Two of the complaints include claims of sexual assault. The women filed the lawsuits anonymously, using the pseudonym "Jane Doe," but many are described as licensed massage therapists, estheticians or business owners. Buzbee said two weeks ago that his clients had not reported the incidents to police, but planned to do so. He reversed course this week, writing on social media that he was wary of taking his clients' accusations to Houston police because he had previously called for the resignation of a former police chief, and because Hardin's son, Thomas, works in the department. "My clients will go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities," Buzbee wrote, without providing any additional information. The allegations – and, now, police investigation – come just months after Watson asked the Texans to trade him to another team. One of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL, he led the league in passing yards last year and has been named to three consecutive Pro Bowls. In addition to civil and criminal penalties, there is also still the chance that Watson might face discipline from the NFL, which has been investigating the matter independently. In response to a request for comment, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy wrote in an email that the league is "continuing to monitor all developments in the matter which remains under review of the Personal Conduct Policy."

And @Coach Nowlin’s head goes in 3 - 2 - 1 - ... 🤯 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10000627-bears-matt-nagy-to-call-plays-in-2021-oc-bill-lazor-handled-duties-last-season Bears' Matt Nagy to Call Plays in 2021; OC Bill Lazor Handled Duties Last Season Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is going to take over play-calling duties for the offense next season. Nagy addressed the decision to run the offense in 2021 on Friday. “I’m gonna be the one calling the plays this year," he told reporters. "The fun part right now is building what we wanna do better...getting that right.” Bill Lazor, who was hired as offensive coordinator in January 2020, took over play-calling duties midway through last season. Nagy had been calling plays for the Bears offense since being hired as head coach in January 2018. He spent the previous two years as Andy Reid's offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs. Chicago ranked 20th and 25th in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA in Nagy's first two years. After the Bears lost four of six games following a 3-0 start last season, Nagy ceded play-calling duties to Lazor. The offense was averaging 19.8 points through the first nine games when the change was made. Coming out of their bye in Week 11, the Bears did play better on offense down the stretch to make the playoffs. They scored at least 25 points in five straight games from Week 12-16, including a season-high 41 points against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 27. Chicago was held to nine points and 239 total yards in the NFC Wild Card Round loss to the New Or Saints. The Bears are preparing to open this season with Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback. He signed a one-year contract worth $10 million plus incentives with the team in March.

The last time UNC hired a head coach who didn’t already have close ties to the program was 1946. Just sayin’.