So at this point the only way that Elizabeth Lambert could be more popular is if her parents sent her hurtling away in a makeshift balloon, which would then sail over the Khloe Kardashian-Lamar Odom wedding. There have been more than 10.2 million online views of her hair-pulling shenanigans in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference soccer tournament, making it one of the most-watched videos of all time.

According to VIDEO MEASURES, a video analysis company, the Lambert video “rose in viral status” at a faster rate than both Balloon Boy and the JK Wedding Dance, the latter I admit I had to look up. There’s a handy chart below.

(Not shown: Number of times I have watched this video, which I believe is 11.5 million) Read more…

Earlier this morning, we showed you video of New Mexico women’s soccer player Elizabeth Lambert going full berzerker on the Lobos’ opponents, BYU. Despite repeated blatant offenses against the Cougars (no, not them) - not the least of which was yanking a competitor to the ground by her ponytail, as seen below, Lambert only got a yellow card for her actions in the 1-0 loss.

(C’mon, ref, let ‘em play.)

Thanks to the highlights hitting the national airwaves, though, school officials had no choice but to address Lambert’s repeated instances dirty play; she has now publicly apologized and has been, of course, indefinitely suspended. Apology is after the break.

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You know it’s a big day when we’re bringing you women’s soccer highlights. Yesterday’s game between BYU and New Mexico wasn’t especially crazy if you only look at the box score. 1-0, Stormin’ Lady Mormons. It’s how we all got there that’s raising an eyebrow or two.

(Hey hey hey hey hey, none of that, girls.)

Yeah, that’s a BYU player getting pulled down to the ground by her ponytail. And that’s New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert getting away with it. And you know how badly she behaved yesterday? That might not be the most flagrantly violent thing she did on the field. Lambert’s tally on the day - at least, everything that made the highlight reel, lord only knows what else went on - was a punch to the small of the back, some Muay Thai knees to the sternum, a tackle that earns a yellow card anywhere else, that aforementioned hair pull … deep breath… a trip, a ball kicked straight into a prone player’s face point blank, and a straight karate chop to the face. Oh, and one yellow card. No gunshot wound, no red, apparently. Video is after the break, and you’re going to want to watch this one.

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Martin Salazar of the ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL has an update on the increasingly outrageous details of the Mike Locksley assault aftermath at the University of New Mexico:

University of New Mexico officials alleged Wednesday that assistant coach J.B. Gerald demanded $500,000 from the university in exchange for remaining silent about the Mike Locksley altercation. Evidence in the case was destroyed, UNM officials told the Journal.

Gerald is the New Mexico assistant football coach who alleged he was choked and punched by Lobos head coach Locksley in a coaches meeting on Sept. 20. More:

A timeline distributed by the university states that on Oct. 1, “university receives letter from J.B. Gerald’s attorney offering continued media silence in exchange for a $500,000 settlement figure.”

That sounds like extortion to me. But there’s no way of knowing, because the school’s athletic dept. “destroyed” all the evidence of the investigation!  (So did HR “shred” the documents or … ?) Read more…

It’s fair to say that even halfway through the regular season, the inaugural year of the Mike Locksley regime at UNM has been an unqualified mess. We’ve documented the litany of off-field scandals already - culminating in the surreal incident where Locksley punched his wide receivers coach, J.B. Gerald, in the face - but let’s go ahead and add “0-6″ to that list, with the Lobos joining only five other I-A teams who still have donuts in the W column this late.

(Good night, sweet prince.)

After considerable public outcry, the University of New Mexico brass reconsidered their earlier decision to simply verbally reprimand Locksley, and a probe from the HR department was re-opened. In fact, according to ESPN.COM, university officials have decided to announce a decision on Locksley’s fate on Tuesday.

Turns out, though, that the university announced a resignation over the incident ahead of time today. Did Locksley have a sudden pang of morality over the whole incident and excuse himself from further employment? No, of course not; the victim, J.B. Gerald, is calling it quits.

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It’s safe to say the Mike Locksley Era at New Mexico hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. Well, that is, unless athletic director Paul Krebs planned on an age-discrimination lawsuit, press conferences with none-too-subtle references to the ejaculations, and a locker room fight between coaches. We really hope the Lobos expected more.

(Yes, this is serious. Face-punchingly serious.)

But as Krebs only handed down a letter of reprimand to Locksley and let him continue his job, the UNM students have apparently decided that it’s up to them to sheriff the Lobos.  Feckless human resources department, meet the Associated Students of New Mexico (ASUNM). They’re here to punch this problem in the face.

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After KKOB-AM in Albuquerque, SbB was the first to bring you the saga of New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley, who has now admitted to being the aggressor in an altercation with now-exiled assistant coach J.B. Gerald. An altercation in which Gerald claims Locksley punched him. (Police later confirmed a cut on Gerald’s lip.)

(If he didn’t seriously assault assistant, why did Locksley apologize? )

After SbB posted the Locksley story, ESPN college football writer Bruce Feldman called the university to inquire about what was being done in regards to a week-old police report filed by Gerald about Locksley’s alleged assault.

Hours later, we had a suddenly had a statement from Locksley apologizing - but not telling us why he was sorry. That was followed up by a laughable “verbal reprimand” of Locksley from New Mexico AD Paul Krebs, who declared the entire incident closed.

So on the face of everything, it appears there’s a very good chance Locksley slugged an assistant coach and got away with it scot-free.

But the ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL reports that thanks to an avalanche of complaints from university employees and alumni over how the matter was handled - and Locksley’s behavior - the university has re-opened Krebs’ “closed” investigation. Read more…

New Mexico Athletic Director Paul Krebs met with the assembled Albuquerque media today to discuss an altercation between New Mexico assistant football coach J.B. Gerald and Lobos Head Coach Mike Locksley.

(Univ. New Mexico: Where you can punch an employee and it’s no biggie!)

Gerald recently filed a police report claiming that Locksley punched him during a coaches meeting on Sept. 20.

Locksley released a statement acknowledging the alteraction:

“I apologized to Coach Gerald, the coaching staff and our team for my poor judgement. I would also like to apologize to Lobo fans. Like I remind our players, when mistakes are made, you acknowledge them and deal with the consequences.”

Well since Locksley didn’t say what his “mistake” was, how do we know he even needs to apologize? (Don’t answer that.)

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UPDATE: ESPN’s Bruce Feldman reports “New Mexico says it will have a presser with the school AD at 5:30 ET about the Locksley “altercation.”

Last week I reported that New Mexico Football Coach Mike Locksley told the media he was trying to be a calming influence to his players, in preventing them from “blowing their load” before Saturday’s game.

Turns out Locksley (allegedly) needs to heed his own advice - with his assistant coaches.

Peter St. Cyr of KKOB-AM in Albuquerque reports today that the University of New Mexico has confirmed that Locksley has been accused of punching Lobos Wide Receivers Coach Jonathan “J.B.” Gerald in the mouth.

The alleged attack took place Sept. 20 during a UNM coaches meeting. Gerald has since filed a police report and taken leave from the team.

Police report details of the altercation after the jump. Read more…

Some Web sites offer you “insider” information on which teams to put money on during the week’s big football games. But only Sports by Brooks has the ultimate insider: Jesus Christ. That’s right, each week Our Lord and Savior will descend from Heaven to offer His insight into the week’s top games. And with over 60 percent of all college and NFL players attributing their success to Him, no one is more qualified to pick winners.

I know a lot of people wrote into me (bigbettinjc@godmail.com) to give me grief for going 2-3 last weekend. To the people who doubt my wisdom, I can just say that this is a journey and not a short trip. Or as Proverbs 19:11 says, “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” So instead of asking how your picks did, we’ll just use our knowledge gleaned from last week’s games to make better picks.

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