Leftovers: According to NBA, not all gay slurs created equal
When Chicago returned to Miami's American Airlines Arena to play the Heat on Tuesday night, Bulls center Joakim Noah should have been a little quicker.
Noah was lighter in his sneakers because his wallet was less of a burden.
The Bulls center had $50,000 less after paying a fine levied by the NBA for leveling an anti-gay slur at a fan midway through the first quarter of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday in Miami.
The fine was half the toll levied at Kobe Bryant when the Los Angeles Lakers star used the same slur during a game in April.
The NBA reasoned the heftier punishment for Bryant was because his verbal slap was directed toward a referee; Noah's was directed at a fan.
So, in the eyes of the NBA, it is not the use of a homophobic slur that determines the size of a fine but to whom it is directed.
It's more likely Noah received a 50 percent discount because wearing his long hair in a bun is such a stunning look.
■ FREE 'BERNIE BREWER' -- The Milwaukee Brewers got an enthusiastic response to their "Where's Bernie?" promotional program but not the one they desired.
About 1,400 lawn ornament statues depicting Milwaukee's "Bernie Brewer" mascot were hidden in parks across Wisconsin early Tuesday. Some had game tickets, prizes and player autographs attached.
Stakeouts by fans led to isolated reports of lawn-ornament hoarding, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (jsonline.com).
Fans followed team workers and snapped up the statues as soon as they were hidden, according to reports. One Twitter user posted a photo of at least 10 statues in the trunk of a car.
The promotion would have been more successful had the ornaments looked like Bud Selig, baseball commissioner and former Brewers owner.
Who would want a "Buddie" regardless of attached prize?
■ LOSER LOSER -- The website x17online.com reports next season's "The Biggest Loser USA" on NBC will have a new trainer.
The gossip site, which Leftovers never had heard of, claims former tennis sensation Anna Kournikova will replace the show's veteran trainer, Jillian Michaels.
Whether there is any basis to the claim, this item is worthy only to share the take by Fark.com:
"Anna Kournikova to be trainer on 'The Biggest Loser.' I'm not sure if the title refers to weight loss or Anna's performance on the courts."
■ STARBUCKS MOMENT -- Former Argentina teammates of Diego Maradona confirm his claims that there was no doping control before a World Cup soccer playoff with Australia in 1993 but say they have no knowledge of receiving performance-enhancing drugs.
Maradona said Monday the players were given a "speedy coffee" to give them more energy before the playoff to decide whether the team would qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Nothing like a triple-shot latte to kick things up.
You could have expected this performance-enhancing brew from Colombia with Juan Valdez serving as the barista.
COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
