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A preliminary hearing for former Rams kicker Tony Zendejas is underway today in Pomona. Sources tell me the woman who accuses Zendejas of raping her in a motel room earlier this year has testified.

I'll have an update when there's more information to post.

*Zendejas will face trial in the rape case.

City News Service reports:

Former Los Angeles Rams placekicker Antonio "Tony" Zendejas was ordered today to stand trial on four charges alleging that he drugged a woman at his San Dimas sports bar and sexually assaulted her.

Zendejas, 48, is accused of giving a woman at his restaurant/bar a drink that made her groggy either late Jan. 25 or early Jan. 26. She told authorities that she woke up in a nearby motel room and had been raped.

Pomona Superior Court Judge Charles Horan found sufficient evidence to require the former National Football League player to proceed to trial on one felony count each of rape by use of drugs, rape of an unconscious person, sodomy by anesthesia or controlled substance and sodomy of an unconscious person, according to Deputy District Attorney Rouman
Ebrahim.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial reached a verdict Friday after working into the night, deliberating the fate of the former football star and a co-defendant accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.
"We have a verdict," said Michael Sommermeyer, spokesman for the Clark County District Court. He said it would be read after all the defendants, lawyers and prosecutors arrived at the court.
The jury reached a decision after deliberating for more than 13 hours.
Simpson, 61, and a golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, each face five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery. They've pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including conspiracy, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.
Deliberations began 13 years to the day after Simpson was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.

Lawrence Phillips, an outstanding tailback at Baldwin Park High and in the pros for the Rams and 49ers, got 10 years state prison time for an assault at a pick up football game. AP, NFL Blog

The latest from reporter Bethania Palma:

Speaking through an attorney Thursday, former Rams placekicker Tony Zendejas maintained his innocence.

"The charges are utterly false," attorney Tim Younger said.

Lunch time traffic at Zendejas' plush sports bar was light Thursday.

A manager identifying himself as "Marty" said he could not comment and referred all questions to Younger.

Zendejas is charged in an ugly rape case and was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Yorba Linda. A woman claims he drugged her and raped her in a motel room on Jan. 26. The criminal complaint alleges the the woman suffered great bodily harm as a result of the rape.

The photo comes from Zendejas' MySpace

Former Rams place kicker Tony Zendejas was charged with a felony count of rape by use of drugs, rape of an unconscious person, sodomy by anesthesia and sodomy of an unconscious victim, according to the Los Angeles County DA in a press release issued this morning.

Zendejas, 48,  owns Zendejas restaurant in San Dimas. The press release indicates the victim was drugged and raped in Pomona.  

*Zendejas retired in 1995 after playing 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, the Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers. He was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Yorba Linda.

*The complaint also alleges Zendejas caused great bodily injury.

*If convicted he faces up to 15 years in state prison. Arraignment is scheduled for Friday in Pomona Superior Court.

** Here's some data on Zendejas:

** Wikipedia entry on the kicker

** Zendejas Mexican Restaurant

** NFL statistics

**Zendejas MySpace page

*** Zendejas criminal record includes a couple of minor traffic violations in Orange County, according to public records.

****Officials said their investigation into the rape allegations lasted seven months; thus the delay between the event and Zendejas' arrest Thursday morning.

TMZ posted a brief on this story based on the original press release. They haven't updated but here's a link. 

*** Complaint on Jump 

It looks like Zendejas had a rude wake-up call.

According to booking information, the onetime NFL star is a puny guy.

Just 5-8 and 165 pounds.

Very similar to his playing weight.

Seems like he'd be crushhed in today's NFL.

 Info from the booking sheet:

ANTONIO ZENDEJAS

Booking Num: 1542051

Charge(s): 261(A)(3) / PC / F / RAPE OF DRUGGED VICTIM

Arrest Date: 07-10-2008

Birth Date: 05-15-1960

Sex: M

Race: H

Height: 5' 8"

Weight 165

From the Associated Press:

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Shaquille O'Neal will lose his special deputy's badge in Maricopa County, Arizona. Because of language he used in a rap video that mocks former teammate Kobe Bryant.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Phoenix Suns center's use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language left him no choice. Arpaio made Shaq a special deputy in January and promoted him to colonel of his largely ceremonial posse earlier this month.

This comes from the Associated Press:

Thomas Riccio, the memorabilia dealer who arranged O.J. Simpson’s ill-fated meeting in a Las Vegas hotel room, says in a book released Monday that the former football star’s entourage carried at least one gun, even though Simpson tried afterward to tell him otherwise.

“He was trying to convince me a gun wasn’t involved, but that was ridiculous,” Riccio says in the book “Busted,” which he and his publisher, Phoenix Books, tout as an inside account of events leading to Simpson’s arrest in the botched Sept. 13 heist.

“I was standing right next to the guy with the gun,” Riccio says. “Some reports claim there may have been a second gunman in the room, but I only witnessed one.”

Riccio acknowledged the 212-page book breaks little new ground.

“Maybe there’s nothing really surprising in it,” Riccio told The Associated Press by telephone from New York, where he planned a news conference and television appearances.

“But as far as the O.J. thing, it’s amazing how many people don’t know quite what
happened,” he said.

Some pointy-headed poindexter in Great Britain came up with this one, it's called Nomophobia. Simply put it's the fear of being without your mobile telephone for any length of time.

I apparently suffer from this disease. Although I'll confess that when I first saw the term I assumed it applied to fantasy baseball managers thinking about drafting a certain (non) starting pitcher who's attempting a comeback with the Kansas City Royals.

It actually had nothing to do with Hideo Nomo, so there's still no word in the language to cover those fantasy sports sickos who will do anything to get a post draft bargain.

Nomo's apparently hurt anyway with a pulled groin muscle that will keep him on the bench for a few weeks.

But I digress.

Here's a snippet from the AFP about true nomophobia:

Some 58 percent of men and 48 percent of women panic when they hit a problem with their cellphone, while nine percent of people feel stressed when they turn their mobiles off, it said.

Pollsters YouGov, commissioned by the Post Office, questioned 2,163 people online earlier this month.

Stewart Fox-Mills, head of telephony at the Post Office, said "nomo-phobia" -- which he used to mean a fear of being without a mobile phone -- was "very real for many people in the UK".

Sounds like O.J. Simpson was caught on tape at the Palace Station Casino the other night.
I've updated this link as of 3:24 PDT 9/17/07

Pro quarterback Michael Vick has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to federal dog fighting charges, according to CNN and the Roanoke Times.
Vick is going to enter a guilty plea to the felony conspiracy charge next Monday at 10:30 a.m., said Lawrence Woodward, one of Vick's defense attorneys.

"

Mike's accepting full responsibility," Woodward said. "He's going to do everything he can personally and professionally to make this situation right."
Meanwhile the Atlanta Humane society ...

Vick's decision came after his last two co-defendants pleaded guilty Friday and agreed in deals with prosecutors to testify against Vick if they were called to do so at trial. A third co-defendant pleaded guilty in July under similar conditions.

From the SJ Merc:

NEW YORK - Tim Donaghy left the basketball court as a disgraced former NBA referee in July and left a federal court room Wednesday as an admitted criminal, a conspirator and a gambling addict.

Two more defendants in the federal dog fighting case against Falcons' QB Michael Vick have pleaded guilty. Now the government has given Sick Vick until Friday to take a deal or go to trial.