Sports & Celebrity Newswire

Archive for July, 2009

Could The Pirates’ second baseman Delwyn Young’s catch be one of the best catches ever? What are the chances we’ll see another catch like this again?

Two Pittsburgh Pirates combined for an unbelievable catch during their recent game against the San Francisco Giants.

Delwyn Young Makes Incredible Catch.Watch video.

As Bombastic Sports describes it:

“The Giants Randy Winn hit a fly ball that avoided Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen’s glove and instead ricocheted off his foot. Second baseman Delwyn Young dived and snatched the errant ball out of the air with his bare hand before it could hit the turf.”

I just love baseball moments like these!

If you would like to find out how to hire Delwyn Young for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Delwyn Young booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for baseball speakers, entertainers, sports speakers and celebrities. Call 800.966.1380

Tony and Jessica in happier times

The Tony Romo Jessica Simpson breakup has been well publicized and appears that both celebrities have  moved on.

After Tony Romo broke up with Jessica Simpson the night before her 29th birthday, he made arrangements to exclude Simpson from having access to his Dallas home.

The new issue of Us Weekly reports the Dallas Cowboys quarterback instructed security at his gated community to keep Simpson out.

NO LONGER ON THE LIST AND NOT APPROVED FOR ACCESS.

Simpson has no plans to continue having access to Romo’s home except to remove her property. It has been reported by US Magazine that the singer paid $19,000 on July 15 to ship 37 boxes worth of her belongings from Dallas to L.A. overnight.

The famous couple, who began dating in November 2007, called it quits earlier this month.

“I thought they would…tie the knot,” Terrell Owens, who criticized Simpson for being a “jinx,” told Ryan Seacrest.

Simpson is currently working out with a personal trainer in L.A. to get back into shape. She spends most of her social time with her family and friends.

Let’s wish them both well.

Tony will concentrate on his carrer this season and hopefully move the Dallas Cowboys into Superbowl contention.

Jessica Simpson is a beautiful girl and will have no trouble moving on.

PFP is a sports and celebrity booking agency for sports speakers, athlete appearances, football speakers, endorsements and celebrities. For more information call 800.966.1380

Olympic Decathlon 1500M

“Olympic great Bruce Jenner is one of our top motivational speakers”, says sports and celebrity booking agent Jonathan Wexler.

If you were asked to name Olympians who’ve been able to parlay their medals into a successful career, who would come to mind? Mike Eruzione? Jennie Finch? Dara Torres? Apolo Anton Ohno?

My top choice would be Bruce Jenner, who won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics after setting a world record of 8,634 points. At the time, he was called the greatest athlete in the world. He was the 1976 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States and also the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. He was later inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame and Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.

It’s not uncommon for the top athletes from each Olympics to cash-in on their success by becoming sports motivational speakers and product spokespersons. However, for all but a few Olympians, the success is short-lived. Jenner’s popularity has lasted 30+ years and one could argue he’s more popular today than ever.

Following his Olympic success, Jenner appeared on the front of a Wheaties box as a “Wheaties champion”.

In 1980, Jenner made his acting debut in the film Can’t Stop the Music He also appeared in a handful of episodes of the 1980s hit tv show CHiPs as Officer Steve McLeish (he substituted for star Erik Estrada during a contract dispute). He also appeared in an episode of The American Sportsman and, in the early 1990s,  was the host of an infomercial for the Stair Climber Plus.

Since 2002, Jenner has appeared as himself on a variety of game shows and reality tv programs. In January 2002, he participated in an episode of The Weakest Link featuring Olympic athletes. In 2003, he was in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, and made a cameo in 2005 on The Apprentice. He also appeared on Skating with Celebrities, was a guest judge on Pet Star and appeared with his family on NBC’s Celebrity Family Feud.

Jenner’s popularity received a big boost in 2007 when he, wife Kris Jenner, stepdaughters Kim, Kourtney, Khloe stepson Robert and daughters Kylie and Kendall, starred in the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, one of the top rated reality shows. The show was renewed for a third season.

In addition to his tv appearances, Jenner is a popular spokesperson and has endorsed such companies as Coca-Cola, Ford and Minolta. He’s also a much sought-after motivational speaker. He travels around the country delivering his message, “Finding the Champion Within”, to organizations and corporations. He wrote a book by the same title that was published in 1999.

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

Paula Abdul

The latest news is that Paula Abdul is still in contract negotiations with the producers of American Idol.  I believe that Paula is an important element to the show and in my opinion American Idol will not be the same without her. I certainly understand her viewpoint that she is worth more when comparing her current salary to those of  Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell.  She should at least be given more value in comparison.

By the way I haven’t heard any talk about Randy’s salary. Anyone know what he currently gets?

According to The LA Times “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul, is making $4 million a year and is seeking $12 million, sources say. Host Ryan Seacrest has made a three-year deal, while judge Simon Cowell, who some see as essential for the show to remain a success, is in talks. He could use his leverage to try to get “X Factor,” which he hosts overseas, on Fox.

Negotiations on a new contract for Simon Cowell, the show’s linchpin, chief prosecutor and animating force, are progressing quickly and could be concluded as early as this week. Cowell, who currently makes about $36 million annually and still has another year on his pact, is looking at a new multiyear deal that would boost his pay to the $45-million range, people close to the talks said.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Booking Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for American Idols, sports speakers, athlete appearances and celebrities. If you are looking to hire Paula Abdul or want to contact Paula Abdul’s booking agent call 800.966.1380.

Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger,  Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback recently accused of sexual assault by Andrea McNulty, issued a 20-second long statement to the media, denying the sexual assault allegations against him.

Roethlisberger said, “I did not sexually assault Andrea McNulty.”

He went on to say that “Saturday was the first that I learned of her accusations. Her false and vicious accusations are an attack on my family and on me”

“I would never, ever force myself on a woman.”

“I will fight to protect my family and my reputation.”

“I’m not going to discuss my private life or this civil case in the media.”

“I’ll respond to her outrageous allegations in the appropriate forum.”

“I have an obligation to our fans, my teammates to my coaches and everyone in the organization to remain focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers and I will do that.”

“The allegations against me are reckless and false.”

“As much as I would like to answer everyone’s questions, I will respect the legal process and I am confident that the truth will prevail”

Ben Roethlisberger Press Conference Sexual Assault Charges. Watch video

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports stars, athlete appearances, football speakers, endorsements and celebrities. For more information on how to contact Ben Roethlisberger booking agent, call 800.966.1380

Erin Andrews

Although the Erin Andrew’s peephole video has been removed from well known sites such as YouTube, users are still searching the Internet for the illegal video taken by a peeping Tom of Erin Andrews nude in her hotel room.

“There are lots more sites out there pretending to host the Erin Andrews peephole video, but really hosting malicious software,” said Graham Cluley of anti-virus software maker Sophos on a company blog.

“Hackers have created Web pages claiming to contain the notorious … video in their attempt to infect Mac and Windows computers,” he wrote.

“And — surprise, surprise — if you visit those Web pages you could be putting the security of your computer at real risk.”

Users, he said, may see a message that says something like, “Your popup blocker has blocked access to the Video Player. To view your video, please launch the Live Video Player below.”

Nate Solberg, of Nordic PC, said it’s when users click on such links that a virus can be unleashed.

“A Trojan horse is the method of delivery. You think you’re downloading something useful, but it turns out to have a surprise,” he said. “The payload can be pretty much anything. Most popular these days are botnets, which can take control of your machine and use it for denial-of-service attacks against other Web sites, or to house pornography or distribute files illegally.”

If users are asked to click on a link to download or update a video player in order to see photos or a video, Solberg suggests they instead go to the site of the video player company to get the link from the company itself “to make sure you’re getting the real thing.

“If you do that, then go back to download a video and it still says you don’t have the latest version, you know there’s something fishy going on,” he said.

Erin’s attorney said, “Although the perpetrator or perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material.”

Erin Andrews

ESPN reporter, Erin Andrews, is going after a Peeping Tom who videotaped her walking around her hotel room nude.

Someone made a videotape of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, without her knowledge, walking around her hotel room naked, and now the criminal(s) are trying to sell the tape to the highest bidder. The problem is Erin has no idea where or when the video was shot.

Erin has hired one of the most powerful attorneys in L.A., Marshall B. Grossman, and now her team is trying to figure out some details behind the footage so they can put together a plan of attack.

Erin Andrew’s attorney Marshall B. Grossman, has been quoted:

“While alone in the privacy of her hotel room, Erin Andrews was surreptitiously videotaped without her knowledge or consent. She was the victim of a crime and is taking action to protect herself and help ensure that others are not similary violated in the future. Although the perpetrator or perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material. We request respect of Erin’s privacy at this time, while she and her representatives are working with the authorities.”

ESPN also issued this statement: “Erin has been grievously wronged. Our people and resources are in full support of her as she deals with this abhorrent act.”

DO NOT search for the video online. Hackers have set up bogus web pages claiming to have the video, but the links actually contained viruses.

Hopefully you won’t find the video online anymore.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports stars, athlete appearances, endorsements and celebrities. If you would like to find out how to hire Erin Andrews for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Erin Andrews booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency or call 800.966.1380.

Tom Watson

TURNBERRY, Scotland – Tom Watson fought hard in the 138th British Open Championship, holding a one-stroke lead with a hole to play and needing just a par to make history, but it wasn’t meant to be. When Watson hit the 72nd green, he needed two putts to win but unfortunately his ball kept rolling. His playing partner, Australian Matthew Goggin, said later he thought Watson had hit “a perfect shot.” Instead his ball landed in a clump of grass. If it was just a few inches closer, he could’ve comfortably two putted, Goggin guessed. Tom Watson loses to Stewart Cink in a 4-hole playoff. Watch video.

“The playoff was just one bad shot after another,” Watson said, “I didn’t give (Cink) much competition.” “In retrospect, I probably would have hit a 9 iron rather than an 8 iron (into the last hole),” he said during an emotional news conference, “I was thinking 9, but I said, ‘I’ll hit 8′, and I caught it just the way I wanted to, and sure enough, it went too far.” “I chose to putt it from the short rough there. I just felt like I had a better chance to get it close, and I looked at that upslope, looked like there was some grain in there, so I decided I was going to make sure I wasn’t going to leave it short and sure, I gunned it on by and made a lousy putt.”

During his emotional news conference — which ended with a standing ovation to the man they once dubbed the King of Scotland — Watson struggled to maintain his composure. “It would’ve been a hell of a story, wouldn’t it? It wasn’t to be and, yes, it’s a great disappointment. It tears at your gut, as it always has torn at my gut. It’s not easy to take.” “When all is said and done,” he said, “One of the things I hope that will come out of my life is that my peers will say, you know, that Watson, he was a hell of a golfer.” Stewart Cink and Tom Watson British Open Interview.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Booking Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports stars, golf speakers, athlete appearances and celebrities. If you are looking to hire a sports speaker contact us or call 800.966.1380.

Jeff Locker Motivational Speaker

 Jeffrey Locker, a motivational speaker from Long Island, New York, was found strangled and stabbed in his car, in East Harlem on July 16, 2009. Locker was found with his hands tied behind his back and a cord wrapped around his neck and tied to the headrest of his car and stabbed in the chest when police found his body. Locker phoned his wife at their suburban home Wednesday night, telling her he had a flat tire and he’d be a little late. When he didn’t return, she called police.

Locker was found hours later, bound and stabbed to death in his car near a city housing project in what appears to have been an attempted robbery. He was found with his hands bound behind his back with an electrical cord. He died from multiple stab wounds to the chest, with injuries to his heart, lung, liver and aorta, the medical examiner’s office said. Police wouldn’t say why they believed it was an attempted robbery.

Locker had told his wife that two people helped him with the flat on his midsize station wagon and that he was going to drop them off before returning home, possibly from New Jersey, police said. But it didn’t appear the car, a 2007 Dodge Magnum, had a flat tire when it was discovered in East Harlem near the Wagner Houses, a 22-building complex with about 5,000 residents.

Investigators also were looking to talk to witnesses who told reporters that they saw Locker at a nearby deli buying condoms and bottled water around 3 a.m. Thursday and that they had seen the car there before.

Jeff Locker was an inspirational keynote speaker known as the business spiritualist: he was committed to bringing more peace, joy and fulfillment to sales people, managers, executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals

Locker helped business people and professionals as a Life Fulfillment Counselor to get out of their own way and move to their next level of success in all areas of their lives.

Locker’s wife, Lois Locker, left their Long Island home early Friday without speaking to reporters. She previously referred reporters to her husband’s Web site, which describes him as dedicated to “bringing spirituality into the business world.”

Jeff Locker, who had three children, offered workshops on dealing with stress, frustration and anxiety in the workplace.

Major companies around the country hired him to speak, the site says. He also co-authored a spiritual self-help novel called “Teachings for a New World” and was a radio talk show host, it says.

“Jeff finds balance in his life by being an avid golfer and a devoted, participating father to his two sons and his little princess,” the site says.

We are saddened by this news and wish to express our condolences to Jeff Locker’s wife, family and friends. This is a horrible tragedy.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for motivational speakers, inspirational speakers, sports stars and celebrities. For more information call 800.966.1380

Kurt Warner

People often ask me who my favorite athletes are to deal with. I always give them the same answer…there are a lot of great guys, far too many to mention. But definitely high on the list is Kurt Warner, the quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.

A lot of athletes change over the years due to their success and wealth. Not Warner. He’s the same guy today as he was 10 years ago. He’s a devout Christian, a big family guy and very philanthropic. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, he traveled to his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to assist Habitat For Humanity in rebuilding more than 20 homes for families that had been affected by the devastating floods of 2008. He wasn’t there for just a photo-op – he got his hands dirty and worked hard like everyone else.

Warner has enjoyed a rags-to-riches career that couldn’t have been scripted any better by a Hollywood director.

After finishing his college career at Northern Iowa, Warner attended the Green Bay Packers training camp in 1994 but was released before the regular season began. It was at this point that he famously stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa for $5.50 an hour. With no NFL teams calling, Warner played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League beginning in 1995. He was named to the AFL’s All-Arena first team in both 1996 and 1997 as he led the Barnstormers to Arena Bowl appearances in both seasons.

In 1998, Kurt Warner was signed by the St. Louis Rams and was allocated to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where he led the league in touchdowns and passing yards. Going into the 1999 season, Warner was the Rams backup quarterback but took over the starting job when Trent Green was sidelined with an injury. The rest, as they say, is history. Warner put together one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, throwing for 4,353 yards with 41 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 65.1%. He went onto lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans and was named both the Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP. He became the sixth player to win both awards in the same year, joining Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young.

In 2001, Kurt Warner enjoyed another career year when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl and won his second NFL MVP award. For the next several years, his career was up and down. However, last year, he returned to old form when he led the Cardinals to their first division title since 1975 and first-ever Super Bowl appearance. He recently re-signed with the Cardinals for two more years and will likely be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after he retires.

Away from the gridiron, he’s a much sought-after Christian speaker and sports motivational speaker.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Booking Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports stars, football speakers, celebrity speakers, athlete appearances, endorsements and corporate entertainment. For more information call 800.966.1380