Categories
Soccer

Soccer reporter uses the ol’ fake bomb threat trick to delay his plane

Apparently, this guy never learned
about “It’s OK, I’m a soccer reporter.”

The world of sports reporting is tough and to make it in the industry, you got to be able to think on your feet. Ingenuity goes a long way as well. But having these qualities isn’t enough, it really comes down to how you use them.

A German sports reporter who was late for his plane to cover the European Championships staged a bomb scare at Italy’s Verona airport in order to delay its take-off, police said on Thursday.

The 27-year-old reporter, who has not been identified, called police saying a bomb had been planted on the Air Dolomiti flight to Vienna on Wednesday, police in northern Verona told Reuters by telephone on Thursday.

The airport was closed for about two hours and two incoming flights were forced to land at another airport.

The reporter arrived at check-in just five minutes before the scheduled take off, shortly after the phone call announcing the bomb scare.

When told he was too late to check in he said he had heard the plane was still not ready for take off, even though the airport officials had still not made any announcement of any delay.

“He changed his version several times, first claiming he had arrived at the airport on time and then admitting he only arrived five minutes before take-off,” a police officer said.

The man’s mobile phone was linked to the call.

He was arrested and charged with causing an alarm and interrupting a public service.

We understand the guy’s job was probably on the line, but unless The 50 Sexiest WAGs of World Soccer were going to be modeling a line of swimsuits at the game then there’s always another flight.

Links:

[The Local]: German football reporter makes bomb threat to delay plane
[UK.Reuters.com]: Soccer-Euro-Late reporter stages plane bomb hoax to reach game

Categories
College Football

Stanford isn’t the only major turbulence to rock USC’s world


We used to think that John Madden was a big dope for spending hours driving all across the nation in a bus instead of hopping on a plane and skipping from city to city. We used to think that Tony Kornheiser was a complete wuss because he basically injects himself with horse tranquilizers before boarding. Then we hear another horrifying in-air turbulence story and we realize that those two morons might be onto something.

The USC football team was headed to South Bend for their game against the Fighting Irish when the weather turned nasty and the plane went for a wild and unexpected detour. If USC football thought Vince Young was a bad dream come true, they were about to find out what real nightmares are all about.

There was a moment there when I was thinking, ‘This is it,’ ” Dennis Slutak, USC’s director of football operations, told The Los Angeles Times.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone told The Associated Press on Friday that some passengers were thrown from their seats by turbulence as lightning cracked around the storm-tossed aircraft about 9 p.m. Thursday.

“It was a little bit of a roller coaster drop there for a minute,” he said. “We had some people fly out of some seats. Everybody is fine, but it was a frightening little dip there.”

The pilot aborted the approach and circled around the storm before landing without incident about 20 minutes later to the relief of the shaken team and the spouses of some staff members also on the flight, Tessalone said.

Safety Taylor Mays said he was screaming.

At their hotel, senior defensive end Lawrence Jackson said he was going to see the team trainer because a Popsicle stick had pierced the inside of his mouth during the drop.

“That was terrifying,” fullback Stanley Havili said. “I thought I was going to die.”

Quarterback John David Booty said, “It wasn’t the worst flight I’ve ever been on, but it was definitely the biggest drop.

Lighting cracking, safeties bellowing, Popsicle stick puncture wounds, contemplations of mortality: it’s all real my-life-is-flashing-before-my-eyes type stuff. Granted, the doors didn’t come flying off the hinges, but it is still gripping narrative. But we gotta wonder, was this just a case of `wrong place, wrong time’ for the Trojans or is there really something to this whole “Touchdown Jesus” thing Notre Dame’s got going?

Links:

[MSNBC]: USC rattled by turbulent flight to South Bend

Categories
Jacksonville Jaguars

Fred Taylor almost went sky diving without a parachute



Wonder if these guys were piloting
at the time?

Do you hate flying as much as we do? After experiencing some seriously disturbing in-air disturbances while visiting Africa, we’re guessing that Jaguars running back Fred Taylor does.

Taylor had been touring Zambia and Zimbabwe and all those other Z-countries in South Africa with his wife and his buddies Samari Rolle, Lito Sheppard and their lil’ ladies. Everything had been going swimmingly for group of tourists until the dreaded “Samari safari.” On the way back from checking out the wildlife, the 15-seat, single-propeller plane’s door flew open at about 6,000 feet and caused a panic amongst the normally cool pro ballers.

I thought that was it,” Taylor said Monday following the final day of Jacksonville’s three-day minicamp. “I put my head down and started praying. The runway was about two miles away, but it seemed like it took 10 or 15 minutes to get there.”

Taylor joked that it was the first time he felt like he was near death “since I was playing for (coach Tom) Coughlin.

Maybe Taylor should spring for a little safer accommodation on his next journey to a third world country. After all, it’s not like the guy can’t travel in style; the Jaguars just gave him a three-year extension worth $23 million. But things could have been much worse; what if there had been a bunch of killer snakes on the plane?

Links:

[CBS Sportsline]: Jaguars’ Taylor Gets Scare In Africa
[Gainesville.com]: Ex-Gators get scare during Africa trip