LITTLE ROCK — NCAA puts stop to Treebow
Say goodbye to Tim Treebow.
No, not Florida's star quarterback ... Tim Treebow, the 7 1 /2-foot statue of Tim Tebow in front of the Ballyhoo Grill in Gainesville, Fla. A chainsaw artist carved it from a dead oak tree and it has been featured since January in The Gainesville Sun, Flickr, blogs and even GQ magazine, according to leftcoastnews.com.
Now, the restaurant has been told to cease and desist by Florida's NCAA compliance staff because Treebow threatens Tebow's eligibility since NCAA rules prohibit a players' image or likeness being used to promote a business or its products.
Instead of sacking the wooden quarterback, Ballyhoo gave it a paint job, changing the No. 15 to No. 7, but fans still know who inspired it.
"If you've been to Ballyhoo, you know there's a big statue of Tim Tebow out front. It's really popular," said Samantha Smith, the owner of TeeBows brand underwear who also has received a cease-and-desist letter, as did the owners of a turtle sculpture formerly known as Tebow Turtle.
Smith said she received her letter in April "about three or four days" after she started selling TeeBows, women's underwear shaped like a T with a bow in front. Treebow, which was mentioned during the telecast of the Gators' season opener, didn't draw its letter until last week.
"I think it's really pretty funny that they get away with it," she said. "I sell little underwear for people that don't even see it and it's a big issue right away."
Owens all atwitter
Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens once cried about media criticizing "my quarterback" whenwith the Dallas Cowboys. On Monday, Owens seemed to enjoy having seen that same quarterback, Tony Romo, throw three interceptions in a Sunday night loss to the New York Giants.
"The Cowboys don't have a T.O. problem," Terrell Owens wrote on the social Web network Twitter. "They have a T.R. problem." Off the dribble
From Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind.:
"Did you see the last episode of Shaq Vs., where Shaquille O'Neal took on Olympic record breaking swimmer Michael Phelps?
Shaq came close, albeit with at least a 25-meter head start in every event. Shaq also teamed in a relay with three female swimmers while Phelps covered the entire 200 meters.
"This proves one thing conclusively: People will watch anything on TV."
"Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers was arrested last week after being pulled over for speeding. Police found a handgun in his pocket, another handgun in his pant leg and a shotgun in his guitar case."
"Obviously, he's working on becoming a better shooting guard." No. 4 is No. 1
David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on the No.
4 jersey of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre being the NFL's top seller: "Unlike Favre's retirement decisions, the jersey isn't reversible."Quote of the day "We know we've got to run the ball better. That's obvious." Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett
Sports, Pages 22 on 09/23/2009