The Circus

Shut up Andre
The Circus will sure miss the refreshing honesty of hulking tennis star Marat Safin who is due to retire from the game soon.

His candour on any number of issues from entourage selection to the Middle East peace process is always appreciated and in typical fashion big Marat has sounded off on Andre Agassi.

The Gas-man has been making a lot of noise about his wig use – oh and a bit of crystal meth as well – lately as he tries to drum up interest in his autobiography.

Safin's reply to all the hoo-ha? Just give your titles and all your prize money back if it means that much to you, dude.

Say what?
Imagine a world where you can insult your boss, broadcast gay slurs globally … and get rewarded for it.

That's just the scenario that faces The Circus' favourite malcontent Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.

Johnson, you might recall, was suspended by the Chiefs a week or so back after he took a very public swipe at coach Todd Haley via his Twitter account and then backed it up with an unsavoury outburst at reporters and fans.
 
Well, the big wigs at KC have had enough and kicked him to the curb, but the street will likely be paved with gold.

Johnson will still get $2.275 million from the Chiefs, who are going nowhere this season, while he gets to chase a fat contract elsewhere with a team in a position to make a run at the championship.

Can I get an AMEN!!!
Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs does a great job firing up his teammates ahead of each game, but perhaps he should bring his motivational speeches down just a notch.

Just four plays into the Bears' crunch match against the visiting Arizona Cardinals last weekend, Briggs' teammate, defensive end Tommie Harris, let fly with an unprovoked punch to the head of Cards' offensive lineman Deuce Lutui.

Seems our man Tommie was so het up by the pre-match address the fact that Lutui was wearing a helmet completely escaped him.

The Circus isn't going to make any value judgements on the bravery of the act – Harris had his unsuspecting opponent pinned under him at the time – but we must sternly question his logic.

At least he had the manners to apologise for the king hit that saw him ejected from the game.

Interesting…
It seems contortionist Lilia Stepanova is making quite a name for herself on the American sports scene.

The erstwhile Moldovan is in big demand on the NBA half-time entertainment circuit thanks to her mind-boggling archery skills which have also seen her make an appearance on late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Stepanova apparently gave up a promising gymnastics career to chase the bright lights and fame. The Circus is happy with her choice, but you can make up your own mind:
 

 
The numbers game
156,113 – NBA fans to have watched Lilia Stepanova's half-time act
1248 – number of arrows Stepanova has launched
29 – the number of times she's missed
0 – number of male fans who noticed she missed

Quote of the day
"Me, I don't need money. The question is: Why did he do this? What is done is done. Does he hope to sell more books? It's absolutely stupid."
- Marat Safin on some shocking claims made by Andre Agassi who has a tell-all book out soon.

Headline we'd like to see
Safin plans US Congress run


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