On the ropes

His answer is no

Former Bethel High School and Georgetown University standout Allen Iverson complaining about playing time? It was only a matter of when, not if.

Despite missing the entire preseason and the Memphis Grizzlies' first three regular-season games because of a hamstring injury, Iverson complained in his first game back.

"I've never been a reserve all my life and I'm not going to start looking at myself as a reserve," said Iverson, who apparently has forgotten that he came off the bench with Detroit last spring.

"To answer the question, no, I'm not a bench player. I'm not a sixth man. Go look at my résumé and that will show you I'm not a sixth man."

Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports looked at Iverson's accomplishments, including his hasty departures from Philadelphia, Denver and Detroit, and remains unimpressed.

"I've seen your résumé," Dwyer wrote. "It's pathetic. An MVP that Shaq should have won. Lots of scoring, and precious little growth since people learned they could make money off you."

His kick was money, but he won't get any

A University of Montana student who kicked a field goal to win a $10,000 prize likely won't get the money because he hadn't been away from the sport long enough.

Matthew Brenner, a sophomore, kicked a 45-yard field goal during UM's "Kick for Cash" contest last week.

But he didn't meet the qualifications to be a contestant because he hadn't been away from football for five years. Brenner kicked a 27-yard field goal to lift his high school team, the Sidney Eagles, to a 2007 homecoming victory.

Brenner says he wasn't asked about his athletic background and didn't really read the contest contract before he signed it.

Dan Ingram, account executive for contest organizer Grizzly Sports Properties, says the group is trying to come up with a consolation prize.

Their reaction was sweet

Reggie Jackson remembers hitting the home run, rounding the bases, looking up and seeing a shower of candy bars.

It was April 1978, and the New York Yankees had welcomed fans to their home opener by handing out Reggie! bars, a chocolate, caramel and peanut confection named after the Yankees' slugger. How good was the Reggie! bar? Jackson's teammate, Catfish Hunter, famously remarked that when you take a bite out of one, it tells you how good it is.

But when Jackson looked up and saw that torrent of chocolate rain, he wasn't sure that commendation was enough. Fans were throwing back the candy to celebrate the home run, but Jackson, reminiscing on his weekly show on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Radio, said he was worried about consumer dissatisfaction.

"I was concerned that people didn't like [the candy bar]," Jackson said. "Standard Brands and Curtiss Candy out of Chicago, they thought it was the greatest PR thing they ever could've dreamed of because they got like 2½ minutes of airtime on national television. They really thought that it was wonderful." - From Wire Reports