Complex Blog » Derek Jeter

You Got Jocked! When Athletes Get Their Gear Stolen

intern — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:26:36 +0000

As a kid, it’s happened to nearly all of us: You bring a fresh new Spalding to a pick-up game, only to have it jacked the same day. Sidney Crosby knows the feeling. The Canadian Olympic hero had his stick, gloves, and the game-winning puck stolen after he scored the OT winner in the gold-medal game. But he’s not the only pro athlete to get robbed—other greats such as Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Lance Armstrong have fallen victim to sticky-finger bandits. (eBay, anyone?) So, as the investigation for Sid the Kid’s equipment continues, let’s look back on a brief history of athletes who’ve had their gear jacked…

MICHAEL JORDAN (1990)
JACKED GEAR: MJ had his jersey stolen from his locker room on Valentine’s Day 1990, and had to wear #12 for one game.
COMPLEX SAYS: You should already know the history of switching digits.

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EMMITT SMITH (1994)
JACKED GEAR: After winning the Super Bowl, the MVP had his helmet stolen during the post-game celebration.
COMPLEX SAYS: With the help of a local radio station, the helmet was returned weeks later with no questions asked or charges filed. Didn’t Michael Irvin have a coke problem back then? We’re just sayin’…

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DEREK JETER (2002)
JACKED GEAR: Jeter got jacked for his bat and glove…by his own teammate, Rubén Rivera. The items taken from his locker were later sold for $2,500.
COMPLEX SAYS: Rivera, who was under a one-year, $1-million dollar contract, was unsurprisingly released. Losing out on a milli for $2,500? Yeah, that’s an epic fail.

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SIDNEY CROSBY (2005)
JACKED GEAR: After winning the World Junior Hockey championship over Russia, Crosby’s jersey was stolen.
COMPLEX SAYS: Jacked twice in only a few years? C’mon son, you starting to look like Yung Berg right about now.

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JOHN TERRY (2006)
JACKED GEAR: After a Champions League victory over Barcelona, the Chelsea captain returned to his dressing room to find his custom Umbro soccer boots were gone.
COMPLEX SAYS: Had to have been an inside job. Grimy back-stabbing among teammates? Something JT knows all too well about.

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KYLE BUSCH (2008)
JACKED GEAR: Following his victory at the Best Buy 400, Busch’s helmet was stolen and garage area vandalized.
COMPLEX SAYS: The thief was later caught. Talk about a Busch-league move.

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LANCE ARMSTRONG (2009)
JACKED GEAR: The seven-time Tour de France champion got his $10,000 bike stolen from the team truck after a stage in the Tour of California race.
COMPLEX SAYS: The one-of-a-kind bike was recovered, and the thief, Lee Crider, was sentenced to three years on burglary and theft charges. Dude, you might’ve wanted to pick a bike other than the one ridden by Lance fucking Armstrong.

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HOUSTON COUGARS FOOTBALL TEAM (2009)
JACKED GEAR: Last season, during post-game celebrations of Houston’s win over Texas Tech, field-rushing fans stole the helmets of three Cougars.
COMPLEX SAYS: Despite the coach’s plea (via Twitter) for the helmets return, they were never recovered—though the video evidence above did surface. The plot thickens…

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MIRJAM OTT, OLYMPIC SWISS CURLING TEAM (2010)
JACKED GEAR: After arriving in Winnipeg to prepare for this year’s Olympics, thieves broke into the rental car of the Swiss curling team and took the uniform of the team’s skip.
COMPLEX SAYS: The items were never returned. To the culprit, we speak for sports fans around the world when we say: What the fuck is your problem?

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The Ultimate Archive: Minka Kelly’s Hottest Pics

intern — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:02:37 +0000

Save The Date! That’s right, it’s official Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter and Friday Night Lights sizzler Minka Kelly have set a wedding date for November 5, 2010. Sure it’s a sad day for all the model chicks and A-list hotties that Jeter has bedded (he’s been through more than a dozen on our 100 Hottest Girls Of The 2000s list), but it’s really a sad day for all of us who have admired the 29 year-old Kelly ever since we fell in love with Texas cheerleader Lyla Garrity. DJ might have locked her up for good, but thanks to the Internets, and our photo-compilation abilities, you’ll always be able to browse the the best of the best pictures of a single Minka. Yup, it’s an Ultimate Archive Friday on a Monday! Enjoy this batch of pictures of the soon-to-be Mrs. Jeter after the jump…

INSTYLE/WARNER BROS. GOLDEN GLOBES AFTER PARTY, 2009

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Play Ball! Complex’s 2009 MLB Playoff Preview

intern — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:03:24 +0000

Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 World Series Champs.
After 162 games (with a plus 1 last night), the MLB playoffs are finally here. Regular season records and accolades go out the window today when the Rockies, Phillies, Twins, Yankees, Cardinals, and Dodgers begin postseason play (the Red Sox and Angels kick off their series tomorrow night).

Other sport sites are gonna base their predictions on things like “injuries” and “statistics” and other so-called meaningful metrics. To which we at Complex say (like an ump to Bobby Cox): “F*#% outta here.” Instead, we’ve worked our predictions around the important things in baseball, the essentials like players’ wifeys and ‘roid usage. Read on for our in-depth forecast of this year’s playoff action (check back in a couple weeks for our League Championship Series and World Series breakdowns)…

MATCHUP: Yankees vs. Twins
WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS: Derek Jeter’s rumored to be engaged to Minka Kelly from “Friday Night Lights” while A-Rod and Kate Hudson have been going strong for most of the season. No, Hollywood types for the Twinkies, but closer Joe Nathan’s wife, Lisa Nathan could touch ‘em all for us. Advantage: Yankees
GOT JUICE?: A-Rod got the hook up from his cousin in the Dominican Republic back in ’03; Andy Pettitte used the juice to “heal” when training with Roger Clemens back in ’02. The Twins are reportedly clean as a whistle, with good reason—you can’t even score bootleg Oxycontin in Minneapolis. Advantage: Yankees
ON THE FIELD: The Yankees have the best record in the MLB and home field advantage throughout the playoffs; the Twins won 17 of their last 21 games to come back and take the AL Central with a win over the Detroit Tigers in a one-game playoff last night. New York took the season series over Minnesota 7-0. Advantage: Yankees
PREDICTION: Yanks have the juice, home field, and better wifey game, while the Twins are probably still hung over from last night’s victory. We’re taking the Bronx Bombers in a sweep, 3-0
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MATCHUP: Red Sox vs. Angels
WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS: Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz is reportedly engaged to former “Deal or No Deal” suitcase model and host of HDnet’s “Get Out,” Lindsay Clubine. Angels 2B Howie Kedrick’s wife, Jody Kendrick. Advantage: Red Sox, slightly
GOT JUICE?: David “Big Papi” Ortiz was revealed to be one of the 103 positive tests in MLB’s initial round of steroid screenings in 2003. Boston pitcher Paul Byrd is accused of spending nearly $25k on HGH and syringes from 2002 to 2005. (He later claimed it was for a tumor in his pituitary gland. Right, and we drink to “forget.” Oh wait…) In 2007 Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. was named in the Mitchell Report, garnering him the nickname Gary Matthews Juicer. Advantage: Red Sox
ON THE FIELD: The Sox rank 4th in batting average and slugging percentage but 16th in team ERA. The Angels are ranked 1st in team batting average and have the best record in the league next to the Yankees. Advantage: Angels
PREDICTION: Close but the Angels have better hitting and pitching by far. Pitching wins championships. Angels win in 5.
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MATCHUP: Dodgers vs. Cardinals
WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS: Russell Martin dated Alyssa Milano (but who hasn’t) and French Canadian model and actress Marikym Hervieux in February of 2009. Good Midwest boys that they are, the Cardinals aren’t currently dating any celebrities (their mommas taught them not to cut for Barry Zito’s sloppy seconds. Or Brad Penny’s. Or Carl Pavano’s. Or…you get the picture). Cardinals 3B Mark DeRosa’s wife, Heidi DeRosa does make up for it though. Advantage: Cardinals
GOT JUICE?: Dodger Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in May, and L.A. pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo tested positive before joining the 2006 Asian games in Doha. A 2007 report said Cardinal Rick Ankiel received HGH in ’04. Advantage: Dodgers
ON THE FIELD: Dodgers have the best home field record in the NL and lowest ERA in the league. The Cards only player with 100 RBI and at least 25 home runs is Albert Pujols. Advantage: Dodgers
PREDICTION: Dodgers have home field, more juice, and Alyssa Milano. Dodgers in 4.
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MATCHUP: Phillies vs. Rockies
WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS: Phillies second baseman Chase Utley’s wife, Jennifer Utley could field our slider in the dirt (so could Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s fiancée, Danyll Gammon). But in the end, we have to hand it to Philly pitcher Cole Hamels’ new bride Heidi Hamels who stripped for peanut butter and Oreos on Survivor season 6. Advantage: Phillies
GOT JUICE?: Phillies reliever J.C. Romero was suspended 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs this past offseason. The Rockies’ Juan Rincon was suspended 10 games under the MLB drug policy in 2005, and reserve infielder Jason Giambi admitted to using several steroids in his 2003 grand jury testimony in the BALCO case. Advantage: Rockies
ON THE FIELD: The Phillies are ranked 21st in team batting average in 8th in team ERA. For the Rockies Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki carry the offense with HRs, RBIs and batting average, while three 15 game winners in the rotation help too. Plus, the Rox don’t have Brad Lidge a.k.a. the Human Playoff Flaming Gas Can. Advantage: Rockies
PREDICTION: ‘Roids + altitude – Lidge = the win. Rockies win in 5.

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5 Bombshells Not Published in Joe Torre’s Memoir

jerwin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:25:53 +0000

Joe Torre’s third person memoir (plausible deniability, ya dig?) The Yankee Years drops next Tuesday, but it’s already causing controversy in the sports world. In excerpts released this week, the former Yankee manager throws a bunch of his ex-colleagues under the bus, and we’re sure there will be more buzz when the book hits stands next week.

What won’t be in the book, however, are the following excerpts'obtained exclusively for Complex.com*'deemed too juicy to print. You’ll never look at the man Derek Jeter calls Mr. Torre the same again…

THE REAL SOURCE OF THE RIFT WITH YANKEE BRASS

• “Things first went sour between Torre and the Yankee front office during spring training in 2005. Torre's personal grooming had long been a bone of contention for George Steinbrenner, with the Boss asking the manager whether he used HGH on his prodigious nose hairs and constantly telling him he'd missed a spot shaving. That spring, after Steinbrenner pointed out that Torre “once again” had some dandruff on his jersey, Joe snapped, telling Steinbrenner, “Hey big guy, you got a big ol' booger hanging from your nose.” It was actually scar tissue from a cancerous mole the Boss had had removed that morning; their relationship would never be the same again.”

DEREK JETER'S EARLY GIRLFRIENDS

• “Torre had picked up photography whiling away summer afternoons as a minor leaguer in Topeka, and in the mid-'90s the hobby helped him bond with his star shortstop. Before he began dating pop divas like Mariah Carey, Jeter would spend his off-seasons trolling for girls on Florida's west coast by telling them he was Tom Petty's cousin. Torre tagged along, keeping a photographic record of Jeter's conquests. A dedicated family man, Torre never participated in the Cuervo-fuelled romps himself, although he occasionally enjoyed having one of Jeter's paramours braid his nose hairs.”

HIS SECRET ALLIANCE WITH PEDRO MARTINEZ

• “By the 2003 American League Championship Series Torre's frustration with Don Zimmer had reached a boiling point. For much of the season the longtime Yankee bench coach had been yelling “Hey batta, batta, saa-WING!” at his own players and had successfully convinced half the bullpen that pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre was a cyborg sent by the Texas Rangers to ruin their screwballs. When he ran into Pedro at a Back Bay Stop & Shop before Game 3, Torre hatched a plan to get his revenge, showing the pitcher his secret 72-year-old bald geezer takedown move. The next day Torre nearly choked on his nose hairs in glee as he watched Zimmer writhing on the ground.”

HIS UNRELEASED RAP ALBUM WITH RUDY GIULIANI

• “In 2006, after the Yanks were bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the second consecutive year, Torre teamed with golfing buddy and longtime Yankee stan Rudy Giuliani to “fire back at all the haters” with a hardcore rap album. Rhyming over beats provided by Gary Sheffield, the pair recorded some 15 tracks, including ‘Everyone Nose (Hairs),’ ‘Quinton McCracken’s On the Way,’ and ‘Machine Gun Bunt.’ The project was ulimately shelved two weeks prior to its intended release, due to Torre’s insistence on including the controversial track ‘A-Rod Money’ (leading Sheffield to imply that Torre was a racist).”

THE NIGHT HE CUCKOLDED HALF THE PITCHERS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES (AND CARL PAVANO, TOO)

• “Wrecked on Big League Chew and Fuzzy Navels, Torre stumbled into a White Plains Ruby Tuesday's after announcing his departure from the Yankees, looking for some jalapeno poppers to take the edge off. After lodging a few in his tangled nose hairs, he was approached by a young woman in a matching MLBï£©-licensed halter top/hot pants set who offered to help clean him up. The next thing he knew, he was drifting off to sleep next to the woman as she sat up in bed and began to fill out the 'manager' line on a well-worn lineup card.”

*Yes, we made all of these up. But as far as we know, they could be true.