Phoenix Suns looking for someone to fill Gorilla suit

How would you like to scare and delight children, fly through hoops of fire and see every Phoenix Suns' home game to boot.  Sounds too good to be true?  It isn't.  The NBA team is looking for someone to perform as the Phoenix Gorilla — the iconic, hairy mascot for the Suns' fans.

If you want your mom see your actual face on a magazine cover, don't bother trying out.  The identity of the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, aka "Go," is kept more secretive than Mitt's tax return.

The Suns placed an ad looking for a new body to fill the gorilla suit and the requirements of the job:

Mascot - Phoenix Suns (Phoenix, AZ)

Position summary:
Be a world-class performer and ambassador for the Phoenix Suns organization both on the court and at appearances (charities, schools, hospitals, local businesses, etc.). Continue the great Gorilla "Go" tradition of making people smile, leaving them with long-lasting/positive memories, and representing the team with pride and passion. This is a full-time, salaried position reporting to our Vice President, Game Entertainment.

The world-famous Phoenix Suns Gorilla has been around since 1980 and was one of the first mascots inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.  

If you thought the odds of becoming a professional athlete were slim, try becoming a professional sports team mascot.  There are only 30 in the country. 

Besides pumping up fans and riling opponents at games, Go hits dozens of charity events around the world.  The job is not just dragging your knuckles around like an ... ape.

Other job qualifications the team is looking for from candidates include:

• College degree
• 2 years mascot experience
• Acro-dunk experience
• Weekend and extended hours
• Withstand and perform under extreme heat
• Great sense of humor

What happened to the old gorilla?  The Phoenix Gorilla was involved in an altercation at a Tempe, Ariz., restaurant when a Miami Heat fan punched him in the nose. That gorilla was a backup performer named Robert Woolf — and not the regular Go seen at games.

The new Phoenix Gorilla won't be working for bananas either.  Woolf said the Suns' simian makes up to $200,000 a year.

Oscar Pistorius claims another 'blade runner' had unfair advantage, then apologizes

Oscar Pistorius — the so-called "Blade Runner" — has apologized for the poor timing of his comments after his shocking loss in the Paralympic 200m final Sunday.

The double-amputee track star claimed gold medalist Alan Oliveira's artificial legs were too long and criticized the International Paralympic Committee immediately after the stunning upset.

"We are not running a fair race here," said Pistorius.  "I don't know how you can come back, watching the replay, from eight meters behind on the 100 to win.  It's absolutely ridiculous."

Pistorius' remarks were ironic because, when he ran in last month's Olympics, track and field officials said his carbon-fiber "blades" gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes.

In a statement Monday, Pistorius said: "That was Alan's moment and I would like to put on the record the respect I have for him.

"I want to apologize for the timing of of my comments but I do believe there is an issue here."







The world-record holder  — on the verge of winning his third straight 200m gold — was passed by Oliveira (also a double-amputee) in the final 20 meters.  Pistorius finished second with a time of 21.52 seconds while Oliveira broke the tape at 21.45.

Oliveira, a 20-year old Brazilian, was taken aback by the comments from his "idol."

"The length of my blades is all right," he said.  "I went through all the procedures with the referees.  I believe Pistorius also knows that."

Pistorius set a new world record of 21.30 seconds when qualifying for the final on Saturday — breaking the previous mark of 21.88 set by Oliveira two races earlier.

Giants ready to unleash 'NASCAR' defense on Romo

The New York Giants arguably have what could be called the NFL's best defensive line and, from the looks of things, it just got a little better.

The Giants won their second Super Bowl in five seasons — in no small thanks to the defensive front — which carried the team to a season-closing six-game winning streak during which they held opponents to an average of 14 points and recorded 23 sacks.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has a over-abundance of defensive linemen and isn't afraid to mix and match his wealth of talent. And — at least for now — he has his big dogs healthy.

Fewell is the creator of the four defensive end scheme — he calls his "NASCAR package" — that pits three All-Pros Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre Paul, Osi Umenyiora — and Mathias Kiwanuka (the linebacker who becomes a defensive end) against opposing quarterbacks on passing downs.

This is the same group who sacked Dallas Cowboys' signal-caller Tony Romo six times in the Giants New Year's Day division clinching win last season.

If Fewell made a resolution that day, it was to keep his foot to the pedal — and he hasn't stopped since.  It is running on all four cylinders again.

"When you talk about putting the four guys out there it's hard to find out who's the quickest and who's the fastest," Fewell said Sunday.  "Some days I look and I say, 'Boy, JPP looked great today, he looked awesome down there,' and then Osi comes flying off the end and I'll say, 'Oh boy, that's pretty fast.'  And then Tuck , he makes a move and I'm saying , 'Wow man, I'm scratching my head.'  And then Kiwi does something."

Add rookie tackle Markus Kuhn and end Adewale Ojomo to three solid tackles — Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty (currently on the PUP list) — and you have a a D-line that will give opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks a lot of sleepless nights.

Last season, the fearsome four rarely played together because of injuries.  It was even hard to get three of the players to line up together.  Tuck battled neck and shoulder pain throughout 2012 and Kiwanuka missed a lot of the season.

"It was just tough to get us all three on the field together," said Tuck.  "I think those last games you saw us playing at the height of what it could have been the entire year.  Hopefully we get there for 16-plus games this year and not have guys in and out, especially like I was last year."

The Cowboys and Giants open the 2012 season Wednesday night at MetLife Stadium.  Big Blue has dominated the Cowboys in recent seasons, winning seven of the last nine games over Dallas, and it remains to be seen if Romo can come back from his beatdown by the high-flying front four.

"They definitely want to come here and ruin our opening night, celebrating the Super Bowl, blah blah blah," said Tuck.  The All-Pro DE just wants to set the tone for the season in front of a national audience.

"Everyone knows that when we [defensive ends] play well, this team, this defense plays well," he said.  "A lot of pressure is on us, but we like it that way."

When Romo sees the Giants' NASCAR defense lining up, he might want to start looking for the yellow caution flag.

Monster truck crashes into crowd during Oregon race

A truck racing at the "Monster Air 2012" in Harrisburg, Oregon lost control of its hydraulic steering system, hit a mud patch and plowed into a group of spectators Saturday.

Three people were injured at the Harrisburg MotorSports Complex and taken to a hospital in nearby Eugene.  Sheriff's officials said their injuries were not serious.

The 1975 Ford pickup, fitted with large tractor tires had slowed to 10 mph when it swerved over a barrier and into the onlookers.  Witnesses said the truck didn't run over any of the injured and only "pushed them back."



Dan Mills, who built and runs the complex, said he had been in touch with the injured men and will continue the three-day show on Sunday with added precautions that include not allowing spectators into the area where the accident occurred.

The driver was identified as Kyle Atchley.

Mark Sanchez gets cozy with Eva Longoria

Who says the the New York Jets can't score?  Well, maybe not on the field.  But off of the gridiron, quarterback Mark Sanchez is beginning to look like Joe Namath.

The beefed-up Jets signal-caller was spotted having a casual supper with actress Eva Longoria outside a Bedminster, N.J. restaurant where the couple shared bites from each other's plates.

Friday night's sighting of the lovebirds is the latest in or around Sanchez's New Jersey home this summer.  It's quite a change from when Longoria, 37, the ex-wife of NBA star Tony Parker, wore a blond wig as a disguise at a Manhattan restaurant the last time they dined out in public.

Earlier this summer, Sanchez and Longoria were spotted grocery shopping together and, according to InTouch magazine, were rumored to have jetted off to the Caribbean for a romantic weekend.

Now only if Sanchez could make that kind of connection with one of his wideouts.

It's nice to see Sanchez and Longoria taking their relationship out in the open.  Better yet for Sanchez, he must be happy to see his name in the papers without Tim Tebow next to it.  Oops, couldn't help it.

Man falls to death celebrating Tennessee touchdown at Georgia Dome

A man died after falling during a college football game between North Carolina State and the University of Tennessee at the Georgia Dome Friday night.

Police said Isaac Grubb, a 20-year old Tennessee man, was reportedly celebrating a Volunteers touchdown when he fell 35-feet from the upper level onto another person sitting in the student section below.

Sadly, it was the second fall to death inside a stadium in as many nights.  On Thursday, a man was killed after falling five stories from an escalator at a Texans-Vikings NFL game in Houston's Reliant Stadium.

Fans who were near Grubb when he fell said he was sitting in section 311 of the Georgia Dome, behind the endzone.  Witnesses said Tennessee scored a touchdown right before he did a fist pump and went over the rail.

The person Grubb landed on was injured and taken to Atlanta Medical Center.  So far, authorities said there is no word if alcohol played a factor in the incident.

Theismann: Sanchez is too nice to Tebow

Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann made it clear he is tired of Mark Sanchez being a nice guy when it comes to Tim Tebow's presence on the New York Jets.

Theismann told WFAN yesterday that it's time for Sanchez to take a stand for himself and stop singing Kumbaya with his backup quarterback.

"This strikes at the heart of Mark Sanchez's pride," Theismann said.  "He's going to get booed.  He's going to get thrown under the bus.  And I want to see what kind of cojones he's got.  That's what I'm looking for ... I'm sick and tired of hearing this nice-guy stuff: 'Oh, Timmy's a nice guy.  Oh, Mark's a nice [guy].'"

Sanchez — the Jets incumbent starting quarterback — has tiptoed around the quarterback controversy. Even with most of the media attention focused on the the two players this summer, Sanchez has never been caught saying a bad thing about Tebow since the Jets made the trade for the "backup" quarterback in March.

Theismann said he's tired of it all and wants Sanchez to lay claim to the starting job by letting his rival know who's boss.

"Hey, if I'm Mark Sanchez, 'I'm the starting quarterback and it's great to have Tim here to help us win football games.'  That's the statement," said the Super Bowl-winning quarterback.  "That's the statement.  It's time for somebody to stand up believe in themselves if you're a Jet.

"Enough of this nicey two-shoe garbage.  Stand up for what you believe in.  You're the starting quarterback.  This guy's not.  That's the way it is.  Deal with it."

Chris Christie, another Jersey Guy, couldn't have put it better or more bluntly.