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Sulaimon Brown’s allegations should be taken seriously

THE SERIOUSNESS of Sulaimon Brown’s allegations should not be lost in the circus-like optics of his appearance before a D.C. Council committee probing the hiring practices of Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration. Mr. Brown, for all his bizarre affectations, appeared without an attorney and testified under oath. He has produced documents that support his version of an unseemly — and possibly illegal — quid pro quo. Though it has yet to be determined whether Mr. Brown is telling the truth, his version of events has also not been undermined.
Mr. Brown, a former mayoral candidate, testified for four hours Monday about claims that Mr. Gray and his campaign aides gave him money and a lucrative government job in exchange for attacks on then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in last year’s Democratic primary. Appearing before a council committee probing the personnel practices of Mr. Gray’s administration, Mr. Brown — refusing to shed the dark sunglasses that lent a surreal air to the hearing — was combative, declining to answer some questions and criticizing individual council members. “Mr. Brown, your delusions are limitless,” council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) said. “You’re out of your goddamn mind,” said council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).

Ironically, those observations tend to lend credibility to Mr. Brown’s allegations. He was, after all, given a $110,000-a-year job in a critical D.C. agency by city officials who jumped through hoops to make it happen. If he is so nutty, what other reason could account for his hiring other than a political deal? He was fired soon after news of his hiring was publicized. Mr. Gray has steadfastly denied promising Mr. Brown a job, saying he only offered the pledge of an interview; he has said he had no knowledge of cash payments.
Mr. Brown has produced text messages, cellphone records and, most recently, money orders that provide some support for his claim. Particularly significant was a recent report by The Post’s Nikita Stewart showing a connection between payments to Mr. Brown’s campaign and Gray campaign aide Howard Brooks. Mr. Brooks, alleged by Mr. Brown to be the one charged with giving him the cash payoffs, has refused to cooperate with the council’s investigation, claiming Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination
Mr. Brown may be eccentric, but he’s been specific about dates, times and places. Witness his testimony about meeting with Mr. Gray the night of the Ward 4 forum at a restaurant where others — including Mr. Barry and council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7) — were present; he even claims to remember who picked up the check. Since Mr. Brown’s allegations first surfaced in February, they have been subject to investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office. At least until that probe is completed, Mr. Brown’s claims should be taken seriously.

Nathan Horton Injury: Bruins Forward Taken Off On Stretcher After Hit By Aaron Rome (VIDEO) [UPDATED] 

UPDATE: Boston's Nathan Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals due to a severe concussion. The NHL suspended Vancouver's Aaron Rome four games for his late hit on Horton.
EARLIER:
BOSTON — Bruins forward Nathan Horton was taken off the ice on a stretcher, strapped to a backboard, after a frightening collision with Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome in the first period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.
The team announced that Horton was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and was moving his arms and legs. When the medical update was put on the scoreboard noting that Horton was moving his extremities, the crowd rose for a standing ovation.

Boston coach Claude Julien told the Versus television broadcast that he had no other information on Horton, who is in the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career.
"It's a tough thing to swallow right now," Julien said. "Our spirits are OK. I heard guys saying, 'Let's do it for Horty.' So we're good to go."
Horton had just passed the puck to Milan Lucic and was coming over the blue line when Rome lowered a shoulder into him and knocked him backward. Horton, who appeared to hit his head on the ice, lay motionless, with his right arm in the air, as trainers rushed to attend to him.

Rome was called over to the penalty box, then ushered off the ice with a major for interference and an ejection. The NHL is in its first full season with Rule 48, a ban of blindside hits to the head of unsuspecting opponents.
The crowd gasped when the replay was shown on the scoreboard.
The third overall pick in the 2003 draft, Horton played six years for the Florida Panthers – and never made the postseason – before he was traded to Boston last summer. He had 26 goals and 27 assists for the Bruins in the regular season and eight goals and nine assists in 20 playoff games – including two Game 7 winners.
WARNING: DIFFICULT TO WATCH

New Englanders taken in MLB Draft

The second day Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft has come to a close, and a slew of New Englanders were taken. All are listed below.

Round 31 starts tomorrow at noon, so be sure to check back with this blog throughout the day as we recap the final 20 rounds.

First Round (Monday)
11. Houston Astros, George Springer, OF, Connecticut (Avon Old Farms), New Britain, Conn.
19. Boston Red Sox, Matt Barnes, RHP, Connecticut (Bethel H.S.), Bethel, Conn.
21. Toronto Blue Jays, Tyler Beede, RHP, Lawrence Academy, Auburn, Mass.

Second Round (Tuesday)
63. Arizona Diamondbacks, Anthony Meo, RHP, Coastal Carolina (Cranston West H.S.), Cranston, R.I.
64. Baltimore Orioles, Jason Esposito, 3B, Vanderbilt (Amity H.S.), Bethany, Conn.
85. Atlanta Braves, Nick Ahmed, SS, Connecticut (East Longmeadow H.S.), East Longmeadow, Mass.

Third Round (Tuesday)
118. New York Yankees, Jordan Cote, RHP, Winnisquam Regional, Sanbornton, N.H.

Fifth Round (Tuesday)
162. New York Mets, Jack Leathersich, LHP, UMass-Lowell (Beverly H.S.), Beverly, Mass.
169. Toronto Blue Jays, Andrew Chin, LHP, BB&N, Newton, Mass.

Sixth Round (Tuesday)
182. Pittsburgh Pirates, Dan Gamache, 3B, Auburn (Bishop Hendricken H.S.), Exeter, R.I.

Tenth Round (Tuesday)
302. Pittsburgh Pirates, Taylor Lewis, CF, Maine (Montville H.S.), Montville, Conn.
303. Seattle Mariners, Dan Paolini, 2B, Siena (Bunnell H.S.) Stratford, Conn.
317. Detroit Tigers, Curt Casali, C, Vanderbilt (New Canaan H.S.) New Canaan, Conn.

Twelfth Round (Tuesday)
363. Seattle Mariners, Mike Dowd, C, Franklin Pierce (Cardinal Spellman H.S.), East Bridgewater, Mass.

Thirteenth Round (Tuesday)
394. Arizona Diamondbacks, John Pedrotty, LHP, Holy Cross (Portsmouth H.S.), Portsmouth, R.I.

Fifteenth Round (Tuesday)
463. Florida Marlins, Jhimoar Veras, RF, Western Oklahoma State Coll. (Methuen H.S.), Methuen, Mass.

Seventeenth Round (Tuesday)
519. Chicago Cubs, John Andreoli Jr., RF, Connecticut (St. John's of Shrewsbury), Shrewsbury, Mass.

Eighteenth Round (Tuesday)
553. Florida Marlins, Greg Nappo, LHP, Connecticut (Daniel Hand H.S.), Madison, Conn.
563. San Diego Padres, Mike Gallic, LF, Marist (Tolland H.S.), Tolland, Conn.

Twentieth Round (Tuesday)
610. Houston Astros, Matt Duffy, 3B, Tennessee (St. Sebastian's), Milton, Mass.
630. Tampa Bay Rays, Garrett Smith, SS, Boston College (St. John's of Shrewsbury), Sterling, Mass.

23rd Round (Tuesday)
700. Houston Astros, Ruben Sosa, 2B, Oklahoma City University (Lawrence H.S.), Lawrence, Mass.
702. New York Mets, Jeff Diehl, C, Cranston West H.S., Cranston, R.I.
715. Cincinnati Reds, Sal Romano, RHP, Southington H.S., Southington, Conn.

24th Round (Tuesday)
747. San Francisco Giants, Keith Bilodeau, RHP, Maine (Bourne H.S.), Bourne, Mass.

25th Round (Tuesday)
763. Florida Marlins, Sean Donatello, RHP, UConn-Avery Point (East Lyme H.S.), Salem, Conn.
780. Tampa Bay Rays, Brooks Belter, RHP, Occidental (The Gunnery Prep), Lakeville, Conn.

28th Round (Tuesday)
862. Boston Red Sox, Brenden Shepherd, RHP, Stonehill (Masconomet Regional) Boxford, Mass.
867. San Francisco Giants, Tyler Mizenko, RHP, Winthrop (Hamden Hall H.S.), Wallingford, Conn.