In one of the wildest finishes in Michigan football history, the Wolverines’ Denard Robinson and his team shocked Notre Dame with a final-seconds touchdown to come back and win the first game ever played under the lights at “The Big House”.

The entire 4^th quarter was a nail-biter as both teams see-sawed back and forth exchanging the lead in the final minutes until Michigan’s star QB connected on a 16-yard TD pass to Roy Roundtree with two ticks left on the clock for the stunning 35-31 win.

The win puts new “Michigan man” Brad Hoke at 2-0 and has the faithful in Ann Arbor believing again.

Photo/Andrew Horne

The stadium was rocking with a new NCAA record crowd of 114,804 on their feet much of final quarter when the Wolverines scored 28 points to overcome a 24-7 deficit. Although neither one of these teams were ranked in the Top 25 going into this game, it ended up being the game of the day in college football.

The scrambling Robinson finished 11-of-24 for 338 yards four TDs and three INTs and rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries.

Last play victories are becoming commonplace for Michigan when they play N.D. This is the third season in a row the Irish walked off the field losers from a final play. Last season Robinson scampered to the end zone 27 seconds left for a win and the year prior to that QB Tate Forcier connected on a touchdown pass with 11 seconds left in regulation time.

This ongoing scenario is becoming college football’s version of shock and awe.

It may be time to change the slogan, “Luck of the Irish” to “Luck of the Maize and Blue”.

MORE NCAAF: Top 25 Scores: “What We Learned”

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

It’s another sad day for the KHL, the professional Russian hockey league. According to reports from Moscow, a Russian jet carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team took off on a runway and crashed; killing most of the 45 people on board.

The plane was said to be headed to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where the Lokomotiv team was scheduled to play its opening game Thursday against Dinamo Minsk.

Of the 45 passengers, it was reported that 43 were confirmed dead with two others were left critically injured.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane was a Yak-42, pictured here, and crashed soon after leaving the runway and that the weather conditions were not a factor; it was clear and sunny at takeoff. The ministry also confirmed that the plane was carrying the team.

The KHL is an international club league in Russia that features teams from several countries including Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Slovakia and Kazakhstan. The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team finished third in the league last season and was coached by a former NHL player, Brad McCrimmon.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretyak who is considered one of the greatest goalies to ever play the game, made this statement:

“We will do our best to ensure that hockey in Yaroslavl does not die, and that it continues to live for the people that were on that plane.”

This isn’t the first heartbreaking story to come out of the KHL. Last season, a young teenaged prospect for the New York Rangers died in the middle of a game and after questionable efforts from the Russian medical staff to revive him, he died and was later laid to rest.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. 

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

AP Top 25 NCAA football list is out after an opening weekend that featured a few surprises.

Falling out of the Top 25 was USC and that came after a 19-17 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers; a win that wasn’t impressive enough to convince voters to keep them on the list.

LSU jumped to No. 2 after running over No. 3 Oregon 40-27. That loss dropped Oregon all the way down to No. 13.

Off the list prior to the past weekend, Baylor, South Florida, Texas and Penn State all were added after their wins.

Here’s the AP Top 25 list.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Life without “The Vest” got off to a great start for No. 18 Ohio State over the weekend as they blasted the heavy underdog Akron Zips 42-0.

But what does this mean regarding the Buckeyes?

It’s too early to tell.

The Zips were not even a good sparring partner for new Coach Luke Fickell; that team was 1-11 last season. Regardless of the lack of a challenging opponent, OSU players did respond well considering how they have been saturated in one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history. They held the Zips to just 90 total yards in the romp.

The Buckeyes were playing about as short-handed as a team can get with a total of eight players on suspension for breaking a laundry list of NCAA rules and star QB Terrell Pryor packed up and long gone to the Oakland Raiders in the NFL.

Joe Bauserman, a no-name quarterback who has spent the last two seasons holding a clipboard on the sidelines spectating, finished 12-of-16 for 163 passing yards and three touchdowns without throwing a pick all day. To throw a little icing on the cake, the jubilant “fill-in” also ran for a 15-yard score.

In addition to Bauserman lighting up the stat sheet, we may want to keep an eye on tight end, Stoneburner who made his way into the record books, becoming the first Ohio State tight end to catch three touchdown tosses in one game.

Yeah, nice showing but was against the Zips who played with anything but. The better test will be down the road when they begin their Big Ten conference games. In the meantime, Toledo is up next (yeah they have a team) and that game is followed by a trip to Miami.

During the post-game presser, the vest-less Fickell said:

“We’re going to focus on the guys we have here…If it changes week to week, we’re going to continue to have guys step up.”

“If it changes week to week?” Does Fickell know something we don’t? Is this Jim Tressel led scandal not over yet?

Have to wonder if the NCAA gumshoes are still sniffing around the Buckeyes locker room and front office. They may be since this is one of the disgraceful incidents that just seems to never go away. After Tressel was forced out and Pryor and four other players were disciplined for “ink gate”, three others joined them on the sidelines from yet another discovered wrongdoing.

If nothing else, it’s a great way to sell programs with so many players shuffling around.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Wade Belak, an NHL enforcer who retired in March after clearing waivers, died this past week. Several media sources are reporting that the death was a suicide.

The 35-year-old journeyman jumped around the league playing for five different teams; his last team being the Nashville Predators. Besides dressing in Nashville, the 6-ft 5, 233-pound forward also skated with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche.

His NHL career numbers include 549 career games, 1,263 penalty minutes and eight goals with 25 assists for 33 total points.

Photo/Resolute Wikimedia Commons

Belak is the third NHL enforcer who has died since May and that has raised concerns over the health and mental state of these types of players.

The Winnipeg Jets’ Rick Rypien was found dead weeks ago at the age of 27 in what was suspected to be a suicide and he joined New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard who died in May from what investigators called an accidental deadly mixture of oxycodone (a painkiller drug) and alcohol.

Many enforcers who leave the NHL have a difficult time finding work but some do.

Joey Kocur landed a decent gig with his former team, the Detroit Red Wings, as a video replay coach, Matthew Barnaby had a great gig on ESPN and Belak was also headed to a life after the NHL. He was scheduled to work as a sideline reporter on the Preds TV broadcast team this upcoming season.

Here’s the Predators team statement that was released:

“Wade was a beloved member of the organization, a terrific teammate and wonderful father and husband who will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Jennifer, and children, Andie and Alex. We offer our full support to them at this very difficult time.”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman talked about having the league review the substance abuse and behavioral health program after Rypien’s death. Now that Belak joins this group, it seems obvious that it’s time to do that. Normally the off season coverage of the NHL consists of trades, drafts and signings but this season has taken a turn with these bizarre deaths making the headlines.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton made the news again but this headline also includes a murder charge.

Trouble continues to follow the controversial player who was suspended from the NBA for an incident that involved possessing guns in the Washington Wizards’ locker room. Teammate Gilbert Arenas was also involved in that past fiasco but Arenas seemed to take the brunt of the discipline.

This time Crittenton is on his own.

He was arrested at a Los Angeles area airport by the FBI and authorities from Atlanta after he checked in for a Delta Air Lines flight that was headed to Atlanta.

The murder warrant for Crittenton was originally put in place by Atlanta police after they investigated the August 19 shooting of a 22-year-old woman named Jullian Jones. According to police, the woman was walking in her neighborhood with two men and was shot, possibly mistakenly, by Crittenton.

Police have stated they believe one of the other men were the actual target; and one of those men may have been suspected of stealing jewelry from Crittenton.

Back to that incident while with the Wizards in 2009. Arenas and Crittenton and Arenas had an argument on a team flight that carried over into the locker room several days later. Arenas brought four guns to the team’s practice and communicated for Crittenton to choose one. Crittenton responded by exposing a gun of his own.

The results of that incident favored Crittenton who was let off with a slap on the wrist after pleading guilty to a B.S. misdemeanor charge and he received a one-year term of unsupervised probation. Arenas served time after also pleading guilty then both were soon traded or cut from the team.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Bethany College golfers took a nude photo recently and although the incident got them into trouble, the coach has lightened up on his discipline. Originally Coach Jon Daniels suspended the players for three matches but after further review, told the Salina Journal the penalty will be reduced to only one.

The coach should be more grateful to the 14 players involved than upset, really, since this incident put college golf on the front page of websites around the country.

Prior to this few mainstream sports fans even knew that Bethany College even had a golf team.

The school was alerted to the photo after the players posed naked with a variety of items covering their genitals for an unofficial team picture. One of the participants then put the pic on Facebook, leading to the discovery.

Oh, and more thing, the 14 players must do a presentation about “the perils of social media”. Is someone actually blaming Facebook for the gaffe?

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Is this play considered fan interference? Yep,  but although it wasn’t called, it did not end up affecting the outcome of the game. During a recent Diamondbacks 3-1 win over the Padres, Arizona’s right fielder Justin Upton gets robbed by this Padres fan.

Here’s a look at the video on MLB.com where you’ll see Padres right fielder Aaron Cunningham hit the J.J. Putz pitch down the right-field line. Cunningham finished the at-bat with a fly out to left field.

Funny how the fan stared down Upton after the robbery and pointed at his Padres logo on his hat.

Photo/Wikimedia Commons

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC

Lenny Dykstra has been charged with indecent exposure for allegedly exposing himself to women he met through a Craigslist ad he posted. The incidents allegedly occurred after the women responded to the opportunity to interview for a housekeeper position.

Here’s Dykstra’s mugshot from a previous arrest, yeah he’s been popped other times as well.

In this case, Lenny is charged with two counts of indecent exposure and could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, according to a statement given by the L.A. City Attorney’s office.

The police report mentioned that Dykstra placed the Craigslist ads for housekeepers then exposed himself to the women when they arrived for the interview and explained the job included massages.

This may have occurred on numerous occasions over a three year span. One incident was reported in 2009, three in 2010 and multiple from February and April of 2011.

Dykstra, who is already being held in custody for multiple felonies including, grand theft auto, drug possession and identity theft, is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Sept. 7 and from the sounds of it, may not have the cash to obtain a great attorney.

Don’t forget to check out our Mugshot Gallery here at Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax,  LLC

Mascot funny videos are always entertaining for the viewers but not always for the mascots themselves.

Kids sometimes have their moments with these characters including the occasional assaulting of the underpaid actors who don the suits at Disney World and Magic Kingdom.

The video below shows a mascot who was hired to stand at an exit and scare the daylights out of unsuspecting patrons at a show. It was all going well until one young girl responded in the worst way imaginable, sending the dude in the suit home to ice himself where the sun don’t shine.

Enjoy other mascot features on Sports Climax complete with photos including the one on Scrotie, the giant penis mascot for the Rhode Island School of Design and the Amarillo Sox mascot who looked more like a walking boner than anything related to baseball.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2011 Sports Climax, LLC