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Archive for the ‘Political News’ Category

A NJ state Democratic Party official says that Olympic gold medalist, Carl Lewis, is planning to run for the New Jersey Senate and will announce his candidacy for the 8th Legislative District Monday.

CNN reports that the 49-year old Lewis has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference in Mount Holly New Jersey to announce his political plans. ... Read More

New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, who won last year’s Superbowl in 2010, says he may be ready in the future to pursue a career in politics once he is done playing professional football.

Drew Brees is a popular motivational sports speaker says PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency

Brees told Reuters in an interview that he was intrigued by the challenges of politics and that he would find such a career stimulating. ... Read More

Is Rush Limbaugh too controversial for the NFL? The NFL and many civil right advocates  including Al Sharpton believe he is. Rush is an outspoken talk show host, a provocateur, who speaks his mind which in turn tends to polarize many people.

Rev Al Sharpton wants NFL to Block Rush Limbaugh's ownership bid.

Limbaugh announced last week that he was partnering with St. Louis Blues hockey team owner Dave Checketts with the intent to buy the Rams. Due to a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs, Limbaugh would not share any other details.

Civil rights leader, Rev. Al Sharpton. is trying to block Limbaugh’s bid to buy the St. Louis Rams.

Sharpton sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell requesting a meeting to discuss Limbaugh’s plans to purchase the franchise.

“Rush Limbaugh has been divisive and anti-NFL on several occasions with comments about NFL Players including Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb and his recent statement that the NFL was beginning to look like a fight between the Crips and the Bloods was disturbing,” Sharpton states in his letter.

In the same letter, Sharpton praised DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, for asking that the league’s executive committee “seek to unify not divide.”

There has been no word from Commissioner Goodell regarding Sharpton’s request.

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Curt Schilling

Retired baseball star Curt Schilling announced last week that he’s potentially interested in filling the seat vacated by the death of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Schilling has a keen interest in politics – he campaigned for President Bush, rallied voters for former presidential candidate Jon McCain and told Boston radio station WRKO in 2007 that running for office is “something my wife and I have talked about a couple of times.”

It would interesting to see how Schilling would fare should he decide to run. He’s achieved folk hero status in New England for the way he pitched with an injured ankle in the 2004 World Series. But whether that popularity would carry over in a state that takes politics very seriously remains to be seen.

Athletes turning to politics after their playing careers isn’t anything new. Some have fared better than others. A few examples…

• NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent, a seven-time Pro Bowler who held most major NFL receiving records when he retired in 1989. Largent served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994 until 2002 and unsuccessfully ran for Oklahoma governor in 2002.
• NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley. During his career, Bradley won two NBA titles with the New York Knicks and was also a three-time All-American at Princeton, where he was named the 1965 National Player the Year. Bradley served in the U.S. Senate for 18 years beginning in 1978. In 2000, the New Jersey senator unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
• Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne. The legendary coach, who led Nebraska to three National Championships and retired with a record of 255-49-3, was elected to Congress in 2000 and served six years in the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1996, a defeat which surprised quite a few people given Osborne’s tremendous popularity throughout Nebraska.
• NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann, who was a key member of the three-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970’s. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and was named MVP of Super Bowl X. In 2006, Swann unsuccessfully ran for Pennsylvania governor, losing to incumbent Ed Rendell by a 60-40 margin.
• MLB Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, a 9-time All-Star who threw a perfect game in 1964. Bunning served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987  – 1999. He then moved over to the Senate, where he is currently the sixth oldest U.S. Senator. He recently announced he will not seek re-election.
• Former quarterback Jack Kemp, who led the Buffalo Bills to the two AFL titles in the 1964 and 1965. Kemp was a member of Congress from 1971 – 1989, was Bob Dole’s running mate in the 1996 presidential election and unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Schilling, but I’m really looking forward to 2014, when NBA great Charles Barkley plans to run for governor in Alabama. If nothing else, I’m sure he’ll provide some interesting sound bites.

PFP is a top sports and celebrity booking agent for Curt Schilling, Steve Largent, Tom Osborne, Charles Barkley,  famous sports speakers, athlete appearances , political speakers and endorsements. For more information call 800.966.1380

Ben Stein

Apparently The NY Times did not like their columnist Ben Stein doing commercial work or advertising and fired him..

The New York Times has stated that Ben Stein’s endorsement of FreeScore is a conflict of interest with his job as a Sunday business columnist for the paper. The NY Times saw this as a violation of their ethics guidelines and fired him.

The New York Times issued this statement:

“Ben Stein’s fine work for us as a columnist for Sunday Business had to end, we told him, after we learned that he had become a commercial spokesman for FreeScore, a financial services company. Ben didn’t understand when he signed on with FreeScore that this might pose a potential conflict for him as a contributing columnist for the Times, because he hadn’t written about credit scores or this company. But, we decided that being a commercial spokesman for FreeScore while writing his column wouldn’t be appropriate.

We are sorry to lose him as a columnist, and appreciate his work for the Times over the years.”

Ben Stein FreeScore.com Ad. Watch video

Is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Ben Stein continues to work as a television pundit for Fox News, CBS Sunday Morning and CNBC. He continues his column on Yahoo! Finance and at the American Spectator.

If you would like to find out how to hire Ben Stein for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Ben Stein booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top speakers bureau and celebrity booking agent for motivational speakers, business speakers, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling greeted by families

In an emotional reunion, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee step off a plane in Burbank, Calif., after returning from North Korea Wednesday. Laura Ling is the sister of Lisa Ling.

“Now we stand here home and free,” Ling said.

Clinton walked off the private plane a few minutes after the journalists, shaking hands with the families. He said in a written statement that he shares their “deep sense of relief” that the reporters have returned safely.

President Obama said he was “extraordinarily relieved” at their return.

“The reunion that we’ve all seen on television I think is a source of happiness not only for the families but for the entire country,” Obama said.

Ling said Wednesday that she and Lee were “shocked” when they were first taken to a room Tuesday and saw Clinton standing there. She said that just 30 hours ago, the two women feared that they could be taken to a hard labor camp to serve out their sentence at any moment. She said the sight of Clinton gave them great relief.

“We knew instantly in our heart that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end,” she said, thanking Clinton’s “super cool team.”

“The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives,” she said. “We are so happy to be home.”

Lisa Ling and sister Laura Ling

The sister of Lisa Ling,  Laura Ling and fellow journalist Euna Lee have been pardoned by North Korea due to the unselfish efforts of former President Bill Clinton.

President Clinton’s Mission to free American journalists  Laura Ling ( Lisa Ling’s sister) and Euna Lee has been accomplished. According to  North Korean media Kim Jong Il has pardoned the two American journalists and ordered their release during the visit of former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Read the following report from Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to North Korea and met its reclusive leader on Tuesday to try to win freedom for two jailed American journalists in a move that could re-energize nuclear talks.

Clinton, husband of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had what North Korea’s KCNA news agency described as an “exhaustive conversation” over dinner with the ailing Kim Jong-il and top North Korean officials.

Euna Lee

Arriving in an unmarked jet on a trip to North Korea he had hoped to take before leaving office in January 2001, Clinton was presented with flowers by a girl dressed in traditional costume before he was led to a black limousine and driven away.

Confusion rose quickly about the delicate diplomatic negotiations he was engaged in. The North Korean news agency said Clinton passed on a verbal message from U.S. President Barack Obama.

“Kim Jong-il expressed thanks for this,” KCNA said of the message. “He welcomed Clinton’s visit to the DPRK (North Korea) and had an exhaustive conversation with him. There was a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern.”

But the White House denied Clinton carried a message from Obama. “That’s not true,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters in Washington.

Clinton’s objective was to gain the release of two journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling of U.S. media outlet Current TV co-founded by Clinton’s vice president Al Gore.

They were arrested on the North Korea-China border in March and accused of illegal entry. A North Korean court sentenced both of them last month to 12 years hard labor for what it called grave crimes.