here's rafer weigel with that story. rafer, he had somebody spotting him, too, right?he did have somebody spotting him at the time. yet it still happened. we're talking about usc running back stephen johnson. he's in critical but stable condition according to a hospital spokesman after dropping a weight bar on his throat while he was bench pressing. reportedly, it was 275 pounds when it slipped out of his hand. he did have a spotter. he was treated for crushing injuries to his neck and larynx. he was in surgery for more than seven hours. the hospital is now saying that while his season is likely over doctors are expecting him to make a full recovery. that's good news. >>> more athletes getting in trouble for twitter. texas tech coach mike leach banned his entire team from using the social networking site after a player criticized him on it. and then you've got new york jets coach rex ryan, who benched a receiver, david cloe nii against tennessee after he tweeted he wasn't getting enough playing time. that's how you get playing time. not smart on the players' part but d

rafer weigel with more on that. rs later after a bit of a backlash, serena williams finally did apologize. she first apologized on her website. she said she was truly sorry and then she also said it at the postgame press conference. on the court she and her sister won their tenth grand slam doubles title at the u.s. open. but on the court she was asked about the tirade again and you can listen to the crowd's reaction as they actually booed the question. >> did anything happen in the last 24 hours? an junt statement earlier today, something that clicked in your head in the last 24 hours? >> what i think the crowd is saying, patrick, let's move on. >> that being her sister venus saying that. meanwhile, roger federer in a stunning loss to juan martin del potro let some profanity fly after a challenge was allowed later than roger expected. list listen. >> do you have any rules in there? don't tell me to be quiet, okay. when i want to talk, i'll talk, all right? i don't give a [ bleep ] what you say. >> we're taking your

here's rafer weigel with more on that. >>> and if chicago is up watching, everything's going to be fine. oprah is going. the chicago bid committee announced that oprah along with five track and field medalists will be going to meet with the international olympic committee next week. that's when they will decide who gets the 2016 games. it's down to chicago, madrid, rio and tokyo. this is great news for the windy city because the president was saying he wasn't going to go. however, first lady obama will, michelle obama. it's unclear if oprah will actually speak during the 45-minute presentation, or if she'll just go, you get a car, you get a car -- >> rafer. >> kidding. i'm excited. >> a medal. >> the richest man in russia announced he will buy 80% of the new jersey nets. he would become the first non-north american owner, prokhorov. many people seem to think this infusion of cash would allow the team to move to brooklyn. ironically the team used to be called the new jersey americans. now we would call them the new jersey nets. now a paper is reporting the coach of their cricket team has

here's rafer weigel with more. >> good morning.f television is going to help bring the 2016 games to the windy city. that is great news for chicagoans. she along with five other olympic and paraolympic gold medalists will head to copenhagen to meet with the ihc. it's unclear whether oprah will actually speak to the group. but as long as she invites them to an episode of her favorite things we should be fine. she's been very outspoken about chicago. i watch the show sometimes. the president being we're not sure if he's going, but the first lady is. >>> the richest man in russia anouned he'll buy 80% of the new jersey nets. he could become the nba's first non-north american owner. 6'6", a billionaire and amateur basketball player, and a fan of the ladies from what our sources tell us, a lot of people think this would mean that the team would likely move to brooklyn with that cash infusioinfusion. they used to be called the new jersey americans. now they may be called the nyets. >>> an indian newspaper announced the coach of their cri

here's rafer weigel with the latest twist on this story. rafer? >>> good morning, natasha.retty inflammatory accusations. now this allegedly happened at a post wedding party at gisele's home. they say they were shot at by security guards when they refused to give up their cameras and memory cards narrowly shattering one car, alleging physical and emotional damages. it claims brady hired improperly trained guards for the party when they knew the press was likely going to be there. their lawyers, though, have not commented. >>> it was an emotional day in court for plaxico burress who tearfully said good-bye to his young son be and pregnant wife after being sentenced to two years in prison for having a gun in a new york nightclub and accidentally shooting himself in the thigh. burress was the hero of last year's super bowl. he was immediately taken to rikers island. former boston red sox pitcher curt schilling says he will not pursue edward kennedy's seat in the senate. schilling was a hero or is a hero in massachusetts after his infamous bloody sock. even though he got a lot

here is rafer weigel with this story. >> good morning.k was addressing a small crowd at a washington, d.c., church. one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. he said dogfighting is, quote, point sxlst he doesn't know why he ricksed his lucrative career over it. the appearance was sponsored by the humane society as part of an effort to rebuild his image and added that yes, while he is an animal rights advocate he wants another dog for his family. >> hopefully the judge will grant me the opportunity to have a dog in the future and i will take care of him with the best of my ability. that's only if it is in god's plans for me to have one. i know my daughter wants one. >> unfortunately, it may not be in the judge's plan as part of his sentence the judge ruled he could never own a dog again. >>> you have seen him on "dancing with the stars." future hall of famer jerry rice will try his hand at pro-golf. rice who is quite the golfer will host and play in a nationwide tour event in april. he was given a sponsor's exemption to play as a pro the gu

the rafer weigel curse. >>> indiana goes into michigan, almost got their first win there in decades.ft, hooziers are driving. donovan warren and belcher. bill throw a temper tantrums and and hurls his gum. can't have it. >> brett favre pulls off a miracle finish. the lions got their first win and many fans probably never saw it. >> two different stories there. >> if you're worried about the future gas prices and think fuel efficient cars are too expensive, clark howard tells you how it pays to go green. >> have you considered buying a hybrid? >> well, you know, there's been this talk over the years about how high brids are a rich man's game. you pay so much more for one, you can never make up in a cost you save in fuel. that was true last year when gas peaked at over $4 a gallon because they were marking the hybrids up so much you couldn't make the price difference back. now you can, intelichoice which did extensive research found that most of them have a decent payback and some have an extraordinary payback if you pay that additional money up front. savings over the first five years

here's rafer weigel with the story. what's the connection in. >> the connection is through ownership, natasha. the "new york times" is reporting federal agents raided a warehouse for bodybuilding.com for allegedly selling dietary supplements that contain steroids and designer steroids. the raid was part of an investigation by the fda. the site sold controlled substances that are illegal but here is the site owned by the sane company that owns the atlanta braves. liberty media also own a stake in directv and ticketmaster, we have not heard from liberty media about the story. >>> it was a picture perfect day of golf in atlanta. a sight for sore eyes for so many reasons. the first round of the pga fedex cup, tiger finished second behind sean o'hair probably because of advice tiger gave him. evander holyfield going from the real deal to the lean, green fighting machine. he's getting back in the ring for a bout in south korea in november and building a 40-acre suburban farm on his atlanta estate and neighborhood garden used

rafer weigel has been telling us this story this morning.strings every time you hear it. >> you know, richard, we've had a lot of bad news. why not have a feel-good story? and what makes this story such a feel-good story is both of the teams worked together to make this happen. a great display of sportsmanship. we're talking about 15-year-old matt zizel who has down syndrome. he plays for bethel high in st. joseph's missouri. his team was down. his coach put him in and went to the opposing team and asked them a favor. let them score but make it look real. matt ran it, you can see here, 60 yards on the final play. his teammates running alongside with him. his coach was running down the sidelines going come on, matt, they're going to catch you. one eyewitness said people started crying in the stands when they saw this. and richard, the video was recently posted on youtube. already over 200,000 people have watched it. and he's become, as you can see, a bit of a celebrity in the kansas city area. >> yeah, man, it is hard to keep the tears back o

here is rafer weigel. >> you are the only one we know that has done this -- >> okay. pick up his feet. you're supposed to pick up your feet. >> shannon sharp. this guy will probably be in the hall of fame one day. being inducted into the broncos ring of horn. what are you saying he's not doing? >> he's supposed to pick up his feet. >> and that's a big guy right there. >> and now there's his name up in infamy. at the half, he was honored. this is a tough guy, and he just broke down and cried in front of all his fans. his team, denver, went on to beat the browns. good day for him and the broncos. >>> in other football news, two quarterbacks in the marquee match-up. brady was hassled by the jets d, knocked down. look out. tom sanchez may start dating giselle. >> that's rough. >> they're married. they're married. heartbreaker to chicago. two big hits in this one. tight end olson collides and both of these guys laid on the field up and were fine. and cutler blindsided by the ref. after that, they would win on a last-second field goal. cowboys hosting the giants. mattive sc

here's rafer weigel with video. >> good morning. a little rumble in the bronx.here at yankee stadium. yankees hosting toronto. you got to see this video. tensions were building the entire game. carlson retaliating because two players were hit throws behind. he's not happy. he gives elbow to carlson and carlson won't let that go the two start jawing. they're both ejected. karl penha carlson gets the brunt of it. front office employees will take a pay cut up to 20% so they can keep their jobs and that includes even top executives like team president pat riley and their head coach. now, the team laid off 20 workers in may because of the economy. players will not be affected. >>> do you like yoga? a and andre eithier does. he says yoga helps him stay relaxed and in july he led a yoga session at dodger stadium. >>> phillies/nationals game. he'll give it to a little girl.t what are you doing? you're so cute. fillies shocked the nationals. if that was sidney that threw the foul ball back, what would you do? >> i would do the same. i have enough. i have them from back i

rafer weigel gets a tease of that earlier. what is this about?e always had the athletes in the story, now every week we seem to have the athletes and the twitter story. this guy, washington redskins linebacker robert henson canceled his twitter account on tuesday after he attacked fans on his page for booing the team on sunday. now, henson's not even active on the team. this is what he tweeted. and i quote. do we got that? there it is. "don't come to fedex to boo dim know what's best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at mcdonald's. you're lucky to play in the nfl. do not ridicule people how they make their living. he told reporters he understands how he offended fans. it's a half hearted apology. supreme court justice sonia sotomayor going from the bench to the mound to throw out the first pitch at yankee stadium on saturday. a yankees fan from the bronx helped end the strike. the yankees became the first team to earn a spot in the playoffs with a win over the angels last night. >>> and first jack, now jim is out at nascar. the maker of jim beam s

here's rafer weigel with that. , rafer. >> yeah, natasha, sorry for the sucker punch, which is basically what he said after he punched boise state's brian haupt after he taunted him. there's the punch right there. blount called haupt and apologized for the hit. dutch coach chip kelly made a conciliatory call. blount was suspended from the team for the entire year. hout was not suspended and blount is not happy about that at all. >>> the game won the cup between the new westminster salmon be y bellies and the canada team. watch these guys haul off on each other. 173 penalty minutes. one player was later suspended saturday and each team was fined only $1,000. >>> a nice moment before nascar's race in atlanta. 13-year-old cancer survivor jodi lawrence designed the paint job on carl edwards' car. september is cancer awareness month. for the first time they raised under the lights of the atlanta motor speedway. 111,000 people showed up to watch kasey kahne take the lead. danica patrick has said she can pretty much guaran

here's rafer weigel to explain what's going on here. rafer? >> the ioc has officially told them to go into time out, natasha. they're telling the four bidding cities, stop criticizing each other. this is after rio de janeiro's leaders made comments after daly said he liked chicago's chances because rio is hosting the sock kerr. it wasn't a big deal, but in chicago, they don't want the games coming to chicago. they lined the streets saying the city is far too in debt and they'll end up footing the bill. the first lady in chicago, the president will fly there tomorrow. >>> remember the story of staffon johnson dropped a 235-pound weight on his neck while bench pressing. he is awake after having surgery to repair his larynx. they say he can't talk, though, but he is expected to make a full recovery. it's unclear when he will play football again. >>> if you're unsure of a refer ree's call, they say they'll take the court tomorrow. you thought people were complaining about the refs before. >>> a couple cute kids, this is what you do with the pointe

here's rafer weigel with more on that. hmm. was it a christian school? >> no. it was a public school. >> wow. >> it was a public school and a baptist church and good morning to you, robin. >> morning. >>> the high school coach said he was taking his players to hear a motivational speaker at that baptist church and some of the players ended up getting baptized. now the coach and pastor say the baptisms were, quote, spontaneous and it was the boys' choice. no permission slips were handed out and some parents are upset because they feel the boys may have been pressured. a constitution lawyer said it may have been illegal because public schools can't promote or endorse religion. the superintendent is backing the coach. she is a member of the same church. tennis sensation melanie oudin's run at the u.s. open even viced her family. she and her mom were kicked out of the manhattan hotel where they were staying because they didn't reserve the room long enough. >> that is telltale, isn't it. >> it's funny because she was able to get a different hotel. she plays at 7:00

here's rafer weigel with more. >> yeah, robin, shawne merriman says it's all false, what's been said., he was trying to keep a friend from driving home drunk. now, merriman, who practiced monday, said "when it all surfaces, it will be a different situation." he also referred to tequila as an acquaintance, not his girlfriend, as many outlets reported. remember, he was arrested on sunday morning after tequila signed a citizen's arrest warrant, saying merriman choked her and pushed her down. she is known for her mtv show "a shot at love with tila tequila." >>> and sports news, tiger woods tore it up on the final day of the pga championship, the second tournament in the playoffs, but look at this amazing shot he did on the 6th hole. so tiger-like. wait for it. but he still finished tied for 11th. the winner was steve stricker. that's a big deal, because it's the first time stricker has won a tournament in which tiger played and he's now first in the points standings, ahead of tiger, now second. >>> and this guy just cracks me up. serbian tennis player novak djokovic imitating john mcenroe

rafer weigel has more. good morning, rafer. >> they're reporteding that federal agents raided a warehouse for allegedly selling dietary supplements that contained steroids and designer steroids. this site sold controlled substances that are illegal but you can get them at the click of a mouse. the site is owned by the same company that owns the atlanta braves, liberty media. they also own a stake in ticketmaster. we have not heard from liberty media about this. >>> it was a picture perfect day of golf in eastlake in atlanta. with $10 million on the line, phil mickelson, tiger woods and a bunch of folks teeing off. tiger finished second after this guy, probably because of advice tiger gave him. >>>ie va-- evander holy field going back to the green, mean machine. he is building an energy farm on his suburban estate, an organic garden that can be used by area kids. >>> kristin armstrong, the 36-year-old won the time trials at the world championship wednesday to go with her gold medal from beijing. the late bloo

. >>> now we'll swoop over to rafer weigel. olympic officials are days away from deciding who will host the 2016 games. things are getting tense among the bidding cities. we've got the obamas going. >> michelle obama just arrived in copenhagen not too long ago. president heading over there for tomorrow. the stakes are high. the ioc basically told the bidding cities, stop criticizing each other. go into time-out is what he told them. this is after rio de janeiro complained about comments chicago mayor daly made when he said he liked chicago's chances because rio is hosting the 2014 of soccer. it's not that bad. chicago protestors line the city streets saying the city is too in debt. >> and the chicago mayor, come on. >> i'm partial. i like mayor daly. >>> we've got an update on running back steven johnson who underwent seven hours of emergency surgery after he dropped a 270-pound weight on his throat. doctors expect him to make a full recovery. he gave a thumbs-up and is communicating through writing, however, he cannot speak an

rafer weigel has the details for us. >> arguably? oprah winfrey's not one of the city's biggest stars? president obama? >> exactly. that's what i'm saying. arguably they are the best just in case someone wants to argue with me. >> i'm just kidding. good morning to you, virginia. you're absolutely right. the city of chicago sending in its big guns trying to convince the ioc to make the second city its first choice. their delegation got an olympic size send-off at o'hare. united planes provide aid plane with chicago 2016 on it. that took off last night. but beforehand it was time to party chicago style in the terminal. they had a blues brothers cover band. and nadia comanecii and bart conner will join the president for the big presentation. it's down to chicago via tokyo. they'll make the decision on friday. >>> and the cowboys got their first win in their new home. they did it with defense, which is very uncharacteristic for them lately. the cowboys actually trailed at halftime and were booed by their fans. there's a lot of pressure t

rafer weigel is here with one a story of an nfl player who maybe wasn't thinking too much. >> this is window. it's not the new lexus. 's not the new bmw. it'sbot the new audi. what it is... is impossible to resist. the new twenty-ten lacrosse from buick. it's the new class of world class. your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed./ ♪ >>> a new york senator says that new york can't spend nearly 97 million in federal stimulus doles set aside for day care centers. a federal agency hasn't issued adequate guidelines on spending it. she's asking the health and human services department to do something about that. some states have already started spending their money. >>> police are looking for thieves who used explosives and a stolen helicopter during a robbery this morning. it happened at a cash depot near stockholm, sweden. witnesses say the chopper

rafer weigel is doing all of that star watching for us. >> yeah. you expect. >> no, right. >> watching the nfl. this tells me the entertainment world and nfl have merged even closer. the case with the miami dolphins, we literally have seen them merge closer. they were hosting indianapolis. they're some of the part owners, gloria stefan, jennifer lopez, mark anthony, venus and serena williams walking the sidelines. everybody came in on an orange carpet as opposed a red carpet. meanwhile, in the game, the colts had the ball for one-fourth of the entire game but still won. peyton manning through this td pass on the first play to dallas clark, leading him to a come-from-behind win and high-fived buddy tiger woods. michael vick's first game for being released from dogfighting but do not expect to see him on the field -- at least not much, anyway. andy reid said even though starter mcnabb is hurt vick will still take a back seat to current backup kevin cobb. vick hasn't played in two years but they say he will probably play a few plays sunday. >>> if you

rafer weigel has more on that. good morning. >> good morning, robin.erences for melanie oudin. the 17-year-old of georgia unable to get past the 19-year-old in the quarterfinals. oudin lost the first 14 of 18 points but unlike in every match, the comebam kid didn't orchestrate another comeback. she said she is looking forward to having her life go back to normal. so what is that? >> normal is just going home and spending time with my family and going to the mall with my friends and movies and just being a normal 17-year-old kid. >> omg lol. this is just the end of the beginning as it were. >> yeah. i think she really showed some maturity there. lost with grace. didn't blame it on anything else but herself. >>> a soldier back home from iraq has reunited with his best friend. he was deployed a year ago and gave up the 4-year-old german shepherd. there was a foster parent. the soldier said the reunion is like getting a child back. >> he's like christmas because you open up the presents and when he came to me and said hello, it was amazing. >> i think we w