Donte Stallworth returns to NFL

After a year off from football due to a DUI run-over incident in Miami that left one pedestrian dead, Donte Stallworth has been offered a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.  The interesting part about this story is what Donte did at his court appearance for the vehicular manslaughter case...  He pled guilty and offered remuneration to the family to ease the victim's family's suffering and saving them from a long, drawn-out court case.  Though the pedestrian was at fault for running across a busy freeway intersection against the law (jaywalking), Stallworth did register a .12 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), rendering him legally under the influence of an intoxicant (alcohol).  Against his attorneys' advice, he pled guilty and served 24 days in jail before being released on bond.  Though many professional athletes these days refuse to live up to their responsibilities, I'm impressed that this young man actually did, and to this day does not drive, often asking teammates to let him ride carpool with them to practice.  He's also been a major volunteer in post-Katrina New Orleans (his original draft team), and continues to travel to New Orleans to assist with recovery volunteer projects in the community, not to mention he has always volunteered in his teams' communities without prodding or request from management.  Granted, what happened was tragic and regretable, at least one of our athletes has dedicated himself to doing the right thing regardless the cost to himself or his career.  The rest of the professional sports world should take note and fix themselves like Mr. Stallworth did.  Good on ya Donte!

Philadelphia Revolution loses 0-1 heartbreaker to Manchester United

MLS Soccer team Philadelphia Revolution held Man U football club to a scoreless first half before falling 1-0 in this week's exhibition game against the #2 Premier League and legendary English footballers.  Considering this match could have gone either way, and both teams were evenly matched, I'm confident in saying U.S. Soccer has arrived on the world scene, and European clubs beware.  Also in this week's news, U.S. World Cup Team Captain and L.A. Galaxy forward Landon Donovan has been offered $7 million a year for a multi-year contract with Manchester City Football Club (northern England), eclipsing his current $2+ million a year contract with the Galaxy...a recognition of how far American soccer has come, or a publicity stunt?  Chime in at the buzzer and let our readers know what you think.

USA Rugby to play in World Cup 2011

The U.S. "EAGLES" National Rugby Team (#15 World Ranking per www.irb.com/rankings ) have qualified and secured a spot in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) to commence September, 2011 in New Zealand!  Get your tickets at http://www.tickets.rugbyworldcup.com/ !  In Pool C, the Eagles will play Australia(#3), Ireland(#5), Italy(#11) and Russia(#18) to qualify for the quarterfinals.  This is arguably one of the best American squads in recent history, having already beaten Russia 39-22 in a World Cup Qualifier this year, splitting two qualifier matches with Canada, winning both qualifier matches against Uruguay, and crushing Georgia convincingly.  The Eagles also performed respectably in matches with Ireland, France and England during the Churchill Cup in Colorado this summer.  It will certainly be the most interesting RWC in history as Japan has been on a huge win streak, winning the Asian 5 Nations Championship with a 94-5 smashing of Hong Kong.  NBC has struck a deal with the International Rugby Board (IRB) to aire the 2011 RWC in the U.S. for the first time on a national broadcast network...though NBC doesn't yet have any details on their site http://www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/ .