NFL Coming to Pornlegends

This Thursday the Pornlegends staff will review the upcoming NFL season as they pick which teams will make the playoffs and eventually win the Super Bowl. Will this be Dallas' year? Can Pittsburgh repeat? Check back Thursday and find out.

Also starting Thursday, the Pornlegends' staff will start posting their picks for the upcoming weekend's NFL games. Last year they posted a 177-79 record.

Porn and football. Life is good!

'No suspicious' angles in Irwin's death

CAIRNS, Australia (UPI) -- Australian police who viewed videotape of the fatal stingray attack on naturalist Steve Irwin said Tuesday he had done nothing to provoke the attack.

Superintendent Mike Keating of the Queensland police said while the coroner in Cairns continues autopsy proceedings, investigators had reviewed the video.

"There is no evidence that Mr. Irwin was intimidating or threatening the stingray,'' he said. "My advice is that he was observing the stingray. There are no suspicious circumstances in relation to the death of Mr. Irwin.''

Irwin and his crew were in shallow waters off northern Australia Monday morning when the large stingray's barb punctured Irwin's heart.

Meanwhile in Parliament, Prime Minister John Howard said the 44-year-old known internationally as "The Crocodile Hunter" died in "bizarre, tragic and in some respects quintessentially Australian circumstances," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

No funeral arrangements have been announced yet, but Queensland State Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be given a state funeral if his family approved, the BBC reported.

'Sad man' escapes prison for panty theft

LONDON (UPI) -- A British judge gave an airport baggage handler who stole 300 pairs of women's panties a probationary sentence, finding him "a sad, but not a bad young man."

Tristan Self, who worked at Stansted Airport near London, got caught after co-workers saw him examining the contents of suitcases, the BBC reported. Police raided his home and found the underpants along with 40 watches.

Self pleaded guilty to theft. His lawyer argued that he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder after being subjected to bullying at school and at work.

Recorder Christopher Forsyth agreed.

"You acted as you did because of your psychological problems," he told Self. "It is clear that custody would not be an appropriate sentence. You are a sad but not a bad young man."

Sex harassment claims down

WASHINGTON DC (UPI) -- A drop in sexual harassment claims in the United States may be a sign that training for managers is working.

The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission reports the number of claims peaked in 1997 at 15,889, dropping to 12,679 by 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

"The increase in sexual harassment training since 1991 has benefited both employees and employers," Wendy Bliss of the Society for Human Resource Management told the newspaper. "Employees have gained awareness of how sexual communications and behaviors on the job, even if intended as harmless fun, can be offensive to co-workers."

While the number of claims filed has gone down, the size of damage awards has gone up, giving companies another reason to prevent sexual harassment. An insurance industry group reports that the average has shot up to $1 million from $141,000 in 1994.

Turns out 'Mr. August' is school superintendent

MANNING IA [AP] -- A superintendent who posed as a nearly naked ''Mr. August'' in a charity calendar is rebuffing critics who say it amounts to soft-core porn.

Roger Schmiedeskamp joined other men in appearing in a calendar that will raise money for the Rotary Club.

Schmiedeskamp's image is superimposed on an old schoolhouse room behind a desk. He is shirtless and his legs are bare under the desk.

''A kid is supposed to be safe in the classroom. This does not portray safe,'' parent Kathy Swanson said.

But the school board backs the superintendent.

Court rejects suit over right to sex

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese court has rejected a woman's claims for compensation for her sex life, which was ruined when her husband was injured in an accident, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.

Wei Suying, 31, whose husband has suffered from erectile dysfunction since a 2003 workplace accident, filed suit in a Shanghai court asking for 220,000 yuan ($27,650) in compensation from the shopping center where the accident occurred, it said.

The compensation included claims for mental anguish and for her purchases of products such as vibrators.

"I was not even 30 years old when my husband had the accident, which deprived me of my right to enjoy sexual life," the newspaper quoted Wei as saying.



But the court ruled that Chinese law does not define an individual's sex life as a protected right. Relatives can only ask for mental anguish compensation when a victim dies, the report said.

Wei's husband, Zhang Chengxiang, stumbled and hit his genitals on the corner of some audio equipment when an iron bar fell from a vent and knocked his head while he was working in a shopping center, it said.

The shopping center had paid Zhang 130,000 yuan ($16,340) in compensation in a previous lawsuit.

In pre-communist China, sex was less a taboo than it became under former leader Mao Zedong, when it became a matter of doing one's reproductive duty for the state.

Since then, the government has embarked upon a stern family planning policy to control a booming population -- the world's largest -- but official attitudes toward sex remain puritan, though they are changing slowly.

Roethlisberger will miss opener after appendectomy

[AP] - Ben Roethlisberger had an emergency appendectomy Sunday and will miss the Steelers' season opener at home Thursday against the Dolphins, the NFL's marquee opening-night game.

Coach Bill Cowher said he was not sure how long his quarterback, who became ill before practice, will be out.

Charlie Batch, the former Lions starter who was 2-0 as a fill-in last season when Roethlisberger hurt his knee, will start against the Dolphins. Batch and Roethlisberger are the only quarterbacks on Pittsburgh's roster.

This is yet another medical setback for Roethlisberger, who nearly died in a June 12 motorcycle accident only to make a remarkably fast recovery. He missed no practice time during training camp and played better in the preseason than he did a year ago before leading the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory in 26 years.

Roethlisberger missed four games last season because of knee injuries, one of which required surgery, and injured his right thumb late in the season but he missed no playing time because of that injury.

`Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin killed

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the ``Crocodile Hunter,'' was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles Reef near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of the state capital of Brisbane.

Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef but refused to say who the victim was until relatives had been notified.

A rescue helicopter was sent from the nearby city of Cairns, and paramedics from it confirmed the diver's death. ``The probable cause of death is stingray strike to the chest,'' Hamil said.

Staff at Australia Zoo, Irwin's zoo in southern Queensland, said they had heard the reports but could not comment. Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry ``Crikey!'' in his television program ``Crocodile Hunter,'' which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel.

He rode his image into a feature film, and developed the Australia Zoo as a tourist attraction.

Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-old son into a crocodile pen during a wildlife show. He tucked the infant under one arm while tossing the 13-foot reptile a piece of meat with the other.

Authorities declined to charge Irwin for violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken.

Irwin was also seen as a vocal critic of wildlife hunts in Australia. The federal government recently dropped plans to allow crocodile safaris for wealthy tourists in the Northern Territory following his vehement objections.

Irwin told the Australian television program ``A Current Affair'' that ``killing one of our beautiful animals in the name of trophy hunting will have a very negative impact on tourism, which scares the living daylights out of me.''

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Oregon, and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

Chargers LB Shot by Off-Duty Officer

SAN DIEGO [AP] -- Chargers linebacker Steve Foley was recovering after being shot near his upscale suburban house by an off-duty police officer following the player's second run-in with law enforcement in 4 1/2 months.

Foley's agent, David Levine, told The Associated Press that Foley was shot three times and had surgery for wounds to his leg, arm and chest.

"He's out of danger at this point," Levine said.

Coach Marty Schottenheimer said the wounds were not life-threatening.

"All we're worried about is that he's OK," Schottenheimer said in a telephone interview with the AP.

Sheriff's officials said the shooting occurred about 3:45 a.m. Sunday after the off-duty Coronado police officer followed a suspected drunken driver weaving in and out of freeway traffic at speeds up to 90 mph. Authorities said the driver nearly collided with several other vehicles.

Foley, 30, stopped three times, sheriff's officials said. During one of the stops, Lisa Maree Gaut, a passenger in the vehicle, yelled at the officer, authorities said.

The shooting occurred after Foley got out of the vehicle near his home in Poway, north of San Diego, and began walking toward the officer, sheriff's officials said. Gaut got behind the wheel and drove next to Foley in the direction of the officer, the officials said.

The officer identified himself, authorities said, and warned Foley he was armed. He fired a warning shot, at which point Gaut steered the car at the officer, sheriff's officials said.

"The officer fired two rounds at the vehicle," sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said. "The male then came at the officer and put his right hand by his waistband and the officer fired at him."

Foley was taken to an area hospital where he was recovering.

Sheriff's officials wouldn't say how many times Foley was shot or what, if any, charges will be filed against him.

He was arrested April 21 on charges of resisting arrest after police said he scuffled with officers. He also was booked on charges of battery on a police officer and public drunkenness.

The district attorney's office said recently it was not pursuing charges against Foley in that incident.

Coronado police also declined to give any information about the off-duty officer. Coronado, a wealthy peninsular enclave, is across the bay from downtown San Diego. Sheriff's officials said the off-duty officer first encountered Foley on a freeway in northern San Diego.

Gaut, 25, was booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility on suspicion of DUI and assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $17,500. She was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Meanwhile, authorities towed a Cutlass Supreme with a purple interior late Sunday afternoon from the neighborhood of spacious ranch homes, large lots and towering eucalyptus trees.

Neighbor Kent Goodman said the car belonged to Foley. According to the Chargers' media guide, Foley and his father restored a 1971 Cutlass Supreme.

Another neighbor, Rick Jennings, said he was awake at 3:40 a.m. when he heard yelling outside. He went outside after hearing two loud pops he thought were firecrackers.

"I heard a female scream, 'Let it go! No, no, no!' And then four more shots. I heard more screaming and then two more shots and in seconds the first marked officer showed up."

Foley had lived at the Poway home for about 1 1/2 years.

Foley, who played at Northeast Louisiana from 1994-97, has played eight seasons in the NFL, for Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego. He signed with the Chargers in March 2004. That year he set career highs with 10 sacks and five forced fumbles.

The Chargers did not practice on Sunday and will open the season at Oakland on Sept. 11.

Illinois appellate court overturns $2 million verdict in HIV case

CHICAGO [AP] -- The Illinois Appellate Court has overturned a $2 million award for a woman who sued her fiance's parents for allegedly hiding he was HIV-positive until a month before he died of AIDS.

The woman, identified in court papers only as "Jane Doe," sued Albert Dilling's parents, alleging Elizabeth and Kirkpatrick Dilling lied when she asked them about their son's deteriorating health.


Doe became infected through unprotected sex with Dilling in 1996 and did not know he had AIDS until just before he died in 1999, said the woman's attorney, Hall Adams III. Elizabeth Dilling has said she learned about her son's HIV status about the same time Doe did.

In March 2004 a Cook County jury awarded Doe, who lives in Chicago and is in her early 50s, $2 million. But the Appellate Court ruled Friday there was no evidence the Dillings knew their son had AIDS, said David Novoselsky, an attorney for Elizabeth Dilling. Kirkpatrick Dilling died in 2003.

The court also ruled Jane Doe shouldn't have relied on Albert Dilling's mother and father for updates on his medical status, Novoselsky said.

Adams said he would appeal the verdict.