Branded! That's REALLY Gonna Leave a Mark - We've seen a lot of stupid things HS athletes have done to bring them closer together as a team. But branding each other with a hot paper clip before a game? Please! But, that's exactly what 17 football players at Roswell High School in Georgia are accused of doing and it's caused one of their coaches to resign. Of course, that's probably a good thing, since defensive coordinator Mario "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" Hansbrough was the one who would routinely take take players off campus (behind the school) on Thursday nights and supervise as starting defensive players heated up paper clips until they were red-hot and then applied them to their little chests leaving inch-long scars. How did Hansbrough get involved? Apparently the players had seen a branded fraternity letter on Hansbrough's shoulder, and decided to do something similar as a show of solidarity. In defense of his assistant, head coach Tim McFarlin said it was Hansbrough who talked the kids into using small paper clips instead of something more drastic. We're sure that makes the parents feel much better. (AJC)

The Perfect Evening? HS Hazing Incident Reportedly Included "Drinking, Paddling . . . and Cross-Dressing?" - Yeah, it's all good fun and games until someone's eye gets poked out by a broken bra strap . . . not that we would know anything about that sort of shenanigans. In a recently uncovered memo, written by the Athletic Director at Syosset High School on Long Island, the details of a hazing incident from last fall involving members of the football team are becoming more clear. Pretty much the entire varsity team was suspended for one week (including the last game of the season) for what is being described as a "Rookie Night" where younger players were not only encouraged drink, but also dress up as girls. After some further investigation, it was also discovered that some younger players were also paddled, which led to a few members of the team receiving the dreaded "additional consequences" . . . which were not spelled out in the memo, but we're sure they were serious. (Newsday)

Sports Video of the Week? Ultimate Fighter Screams "I'm Not Gay" After Japanese Opponent Kisses Him on Mouth Before Match - First dates are always uncomfortable: when do you kiss your date? Right off the bat to get the awkwardness out of the way? Or do you wait for just the right moment to cap off the end to a long evening? You'll quickly learn that ultimate fighter Heath Herring (pictured left) is probably more of an "end of the evening" kind of guy after watching his bout with Yoshihiro Nakao (right). As you watch the video, you'll see the referee bring the fighters to the center of the ring for instructions, they lean into each others as fighters do to try and intimidate one another, then for some unknown reason Nakao kisses Herring on the mouth and with one mighty blow the American knocks him to the ground . . . and he doesn't get up. Hint for Heath: flowers are always a nice way of saying you're sorry after a bad fight. Watch the video for yourself here. (The commentary is in Japanese until the very end where you can hear Herring explaining to officials that Nakao "kissed me on the mouth like a homosexual" and then ads "I'm not gay.")

Australian Rugby Star Fined $100,000 for Groping Teen During Drunken Charity Golf Outing - That must have been some party! Craig Gower, who plays rugby for the Penrith team in Australia, was fired as captain and fined $100,000 (about a quarter of his salary) after a league tribunal found him guilty of misconduct following a series of alcohol-fuelled incidents at the Jack Newton Celebrity Golf Classic two weeks ago. The most grievous of the complaints filed was by Tatum Pearce, the 17-year-old daughter of rugby league legend Wayne Pearce, who said that Gower had groped her and touched her on the vagina at a function. But the fun didn't stop there! Gower was also accused of making a threatening gesture towards Pearce's 16-year-old son Mitchell, holding a butter knife to the throat of a Sydney radio personality, damaging a golf cart, and walking around naked at the Twin Waters Resort where the event was held. The fine could be cut by $70,000 if Gower completes an alcohol education program. (The Age)

BadJocks Update: T-Ball Coach Who Allegedly Ordered "Hit" on Disabled Player Rejects Plea Bargain - Mark Downs, 27, the Pennsylvania T-ball coach accused of paying one of his 8-year-old players to attack an autistic teammate for $25, turned down a plea deal on last week that would have allowed a judge to decide the sentence, and will instead go to trial in May. Downs is charged with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and recklessly endangering another person. If we recall the original story correctly, this was one of those leagues where every kid gets to play and the parent of the disabled boy claims her son was intentionally hit in the head AND the groin with a baseball in warm-ups to keep him out of the game. (Pittsburgh Channel)

"Hit Man" Accused of Hitting Son - Southfield, Michigan police were called to the home of former boxing champion Thomas "The Hit Man" Hearns over the weekend and accused him of striking his son during an argument. Hearns now faces misdemeanor assault and battery charges after his wife called the cops and claimed the 47-year-old boxer struck his 13-year-old son. (AZ Central)

#1 & #2: Two For One HS Coach Sex Scandal! - What a way to start off 2006! This is a first for BadJocks: one 17-year-old girl has managed to get not one, but two coaches from the same school in trouble! Rick Lewis, who was the boys varsity basketball coach at Greenville High School in Michigan has resigned, and Mike Packard who was the junior varsity softball coach at the same school was fired after an incident in December at Lewis' home. Details are sketchy, but police say that Lewis and Packard were drinking in the early morning hours of December 18 when a 17-year-old female student was showed up at the door and was allowed in. Parkard was accused of "inappropriate behavior with the student" and Lewis apparently got in trouble because he did nothing to intervene. Although he disputes some of the facts surrounding the incident, Lewis does admit that "mistakes were made." (Lansing State Journal)