as seen on FanHouse

Billey Joe Johnson was considered one of the top high school football recruits in Mississippi, as well as the country, until his shocking death early Monday morning.

Johnson, hailing from Jackson, Miss., rushed for more than 1,500 yards his last season, totaling over 4,000 for his career, and received scholarship offers from a number of major schools including Alabama, LSU and Mississippi as a top-rated recruit by both Scout and Rivals.

Johnson died of a (possibly self-inflicted) gun wound early Monday after being pulled by a sheriff’s deputy.

It’s not clear why 17-year-old Billey Joe Johnson was stopped in Lucedale, but authorities say the junior tailback shot himself with a shotgun after the deputy walked back to the patrol car to run a license check.

“The deputy was sitting in his patrol vehicle … when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim laying on the ground by the driver’s side door of the vehicle that Johnson was driving. A shotgun was lying on the victim,” according to a statement from the George County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities would not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was a suicide or an accident.

The last portion of that quote is particularly perplexing, because it is hard to believe that Johnson would have attempted to pull a shotgun on police officers …although equally confounding is the notion that Johnson would kill himself at what, according to all current reports, appears to be a basic traffic stop.

Nothing is ever certain, but this story appears to be so odd, at least in the manner of death, that it would be even more shocking if further details didn’t at least emerge as to why the young man apparently panicked and pulled a gun that resulted in the tragic and early end to his life.

Something does not seem right here??

- Miles Cyrus

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Saturday that an incident occurred between Terrell Ownes and Jason Witten Friday that nearly came to blows, what resulted was a heated exchange of words between the two, before they were seperated. The Cowboys were already trying to downplay the notion that there were issues between some of the key players on the team, specifically Owens, Witten and quarterback Tony Romo. Cowboys coach Wade Phillips had a team meeting Friday to de-fuse the situation and had this to say:

“Everything is set straight as far as I’m concerned,” he told The Associated Press.

T.O. is the new J.R. Ewing

- Miles Cyrus

as seen on espn.com

DALLAS — Whenever Sean Avery is ready to return to the NHL, it won’t be with the Dallas Stars.

“We don’t want to ruin Sean or his career. We want him to get better. The team needs to move on and start winning and he needs to take care of himself. … As a hockey player, I think there’s no question he can be an asset. That said, he’s got to fix the demons he has. “

– Stars co-GM Brett Hull

The combative forward was eligible to return from a six-game suspension Sunday, but the Stars instead announced Avery will not rejoin the team — ever.

“You have to do what’s right for both parties, and that’s what we’re really trying to do,” co-general manager Brett Hull said.

(more…)