Rumor Control
Charliy Nash
Wednesday March 6, 2002
True: Sorry guys, but the Siren of the Sidelines, the Goddess of the Gridiron, the Queen of the Arena, the Sportscaster that makes your heart beat faster, Jill Arrington is now a married woman. The good news is that she has her own website, www.JillArrington.com with lots of pictures and interviews and a column by Jill. You can even order personally autographed photographs
False: The proposed rule requiring a fat man to carry the ball at least once per game (also known as the “Matt Pickut rule”) is not in effect this season.
True: There is still a home on the web for Nashville fans to talk about the old team and look forward to the new team. Come join the lively discussions at http://www.seaau.com/nashafl/.
True: One of the more disturbing stories in Nashville this past year was that a video camera was hidden in the Kats Cheerleaders’ dressing room during two home games. Making the situation worse, the management of the city-owned Gaylord Entertainment Center, on the advice of the city attorney, destroyed the tapes before the cheerleaders could review them or use them as evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings. Former employees at the facility claimed they placed the camera in the dressing room to prevent theft from the room. (If that were truly the intent, wouldn’t you point the camera at the door?) The city and the police reportedly have no intention of pressing charges against either the alleged video voyeurs or the facility management who destroyed the videotapes, denying the ladies an opportunity to seek justice in a civil court. Local media made a big splash when the story broke, but quickly lost interest and have not followed up. So far the blatant invasion of the privacy of 14 women and the apparent cover-up that followed have resulted only in two people losing their jobs. The cheerleaders have hired an attorney to explore their options. If they establish a legal fund or hold any fundraising events, I’ll tell you about it here.
[note: Gaylord Entertainment is the naming sponsor of the Nashville Arena, and is not responsible for day-to-day operations. Nashville Kats and Arena League officials had no knowledge of the hidden video camera.]
False: Even though AFL announcer Eli Gold is also well known for his work with NASCAR, the league will not refer to huddles as “pit stops.”
True: There is an all-football cable channel in the works. The Football Network (www.footballnetwork.com) is moving steadily towards a 2003 launch date. TFN may start producing original programming during the 2002 NFL season. (Guess who their Nashville correspondent is?)
True: Former Kats’ Head Coach Pat Sperduto was seen regularly on the sidelines at Tennessee Titans’ games this season. And his house near Priest Lake up is for sale. What does it all mean? I’ll tell y’all next time.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
