Of the many ways it's surprising to learn that Brian Grazer is replacing Brett Ratner as Oscar producer after Ratner uttered a gay slur, there’s this:  Grazer himself was involved in a controversy involving a gay slur just a year ago.

Grazer and his Imagine Entertainment produced “The Dilemma,” the Vince Vaughn-Kevin James dramedy that came outin January. As astute filmgoers will remember, the movie kicked up controversy in October 2010 when a trailer was released that featured Vaughn’s character using the word “gay” as a pejorative.

“Electric cars are gay. I mean, not homosexual, but my-parents-are-chaperoning-the-dance gay,” said Vaughn’s character, a fast-talking salesman named Ronny Valentine. The spot prompted protests from gay rights groups, including GLAAD, the organization that registered objection to Ratner’s “rehearsal is for fags."

Universal decided to pull the trailer from theaters. But the film’s director, Grazer’s longtime producing partner Ron Howard, opted to keep the joke in the film. “I believe in sensitivity but not censorship,” Howard told my colleague Patrick Goldstein. In many ways, the controversies are similar: Both instances featured the use of a term with unsavory connotations about gays that was not aimed specifically at the gay community.

The distinction, of course, is that in one case the word came from a character in a film and in another it was from a producer directly. It remains to be seen how sharply that distinction will be drawn  by gay-rights groups as the Grazer-produced Oscars move forward.

If gay politics weren’t already hovering over these Oscars, there’s yet another turn. Grazer is behind “J. Edgar,” Clint Eastwood’s new movie that deals with the personal and public life of J. Edgar Hoover.

The movie, which was written by the openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, opens nationally this weekend. According to reviews, it avoids extensive treatment of the FBI chief's sex life; in fact, Leonardo DiCaprio told an audience last week in response to a question about Hoover’s widely rumored homosexuality that "it's not our business to care about what happened behind closed doors."

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It has been almost eight years since Georges Laraque and Andrei Nazarov fought each other for the last time, but the two former NHL heavyweights have found the spotlight for separate controversies. In Laraque’s case, it’s with his words. For Nazarov, it’s all about was his actions.

In Laraque’s soon-to-be released biography, The Story of the NHL’s Unlikeliest Tough Guy, Laraque says that both tough guys and star players used steroids during his 11-year NHL career. “Most of us knew who they were, but not a single player, not even me, would ever think of raising his hand to break the silence and accuse a fellow player,” Laraque wrote. “I don’t like snitches and will never be one.”

While Laraque doesn’t name names — in contrast to the storm Jose Canseco set off with his kiss-and-tell book about major-league baseball players using illegal substances — he issues a challenge for professional leagues to clean up their dressing rooms.

“Hockey, as well as any other sport in the world, has to take action against the human growth hormone that players have been using for a couple of years now,” he wrote. Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, said it would be inappropriate to respond. “No comment in a vacuum,” Daly said in an email response. “I would want to read the entirety of what Georges had to say before I commented.”

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association did institute testing for performance-enhancing substances in July 2005 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, but critics have questioned the effectiveness of the testing.

Nazarov, meanwhile, is in hot water in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. Nazarov, coach of Vityaz Chekhov, attacked fans with a hockey stick following a game last weekend. Believed to be upset because a fan spit on him,

Nazarov grabbed a stick on the bench and swung it at fans over the glass separating the players’ bench from the crowd. After the stick snapped, Nazarov grabbed another one and repeated the trick. Nazarov was suspended for two games and fined 500,000 rubles — about $16,500 Cdn — for the incident. As ugly as the exchange was, it’s hard to say it was out of character for his team.

Vityaz Chekhov ranks last in the KHL’s Western Conference and is 22nd of 23 teams overall with a record of four regulation wins, four shootout wins, 13 regulation losses and one overtime loss.

The squad has developed a reputation for being a Russian version of Slap Shot. The league’s top three penalty-minute leaders play for Vityaz Chekhov: Christopher Brennan has 113 penalty minutes in 10 games, Jeremy Yablonski has 82 penalty minutes in five games and Nick (Nasty) Tarnasky, who has been in 245 NHL games, ranks third with 76 penalty minutes in 18 games.

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The Top 11 is upon us now, and with the exit of the gargantuan kids ensemble that is inTENsity, is a much tighter contest with some clear frontrunners. One is already known only by his first name (Astro) while the others (Stacy, Drew, Melanie) aren’t far behind.

After Thursday’s elimination show, judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger offered a progress report of sorts (no surprise here, Cowell did most of the talking), addressing the contestant controversies that have popped up in recent days, the results and what the future holds for the show, themselves and, of course, the finalists. Here, the highlights…

On why groups are predisposed to early dismissal… unless you’re Lakoda Rayne:
Cowell: “It's what Paula said -- it's very difficult to connect with 10 people, compared to one person. But don't rule out Lakoda Rayne. In my opinion, these girls have got something special. Like LA said, if they walked into my record label, four girls with that talent and said, we want to be Taylor Swift, I'd sign them on the spot. Amazing.”

On what the judges told inTENsity following the group’s tearful elimination:
Abdul:“What I try to make them realize is that they may not understand now, but it's only the beginning and that really magical things happen with shows like these. Their lives will never be the same and they'll continue to do music because they love it…. They want it really bad and they take great direction and were really gelling as a group.”

Cowell:“I think there is a market for this band. I said to them that even at their age, you've gotta stay strong. Tenacity is what it's all about.”

On the Stereo Hogzz's near future:
Abdul: "Now the real work begins. They have to really prove that they're worthy of being in this competition and I think they're well on their way. They did a great opening number, we worked very hard, they gave it their all and now it's time to pick the right song and really showcase the lead singers voice."  

On whether the right act was sent home: Cowell: “Gotta trust the public.”

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Gambling controversies have cast a shadow over cricket for many years. The problem seemed to have halted after the International Cricket Council set up an Anti Corruption and Security Unit in 2000.

However former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif were found guilty yesterday of a match-fixing plot during last year's tour of England. Here Press Association Sport looks at some previous high-profile examples:

Mark Waugh/Shane Warne

Waugh and Warne were questioned after being given money by 'John the bookmaker' for information on pitch and weather conditions. The players received fines from the Australian Cricket Board after an independent inquiry by Rob O'Regan QC concluded the duo were not fully informed of the dangers of interacting with bookmakers. They were warned that future misdemeanours could result in bans.

Saleem Malik

Match-fixing accusations surrounded Malik for much of his career. After captaining Pakistan on their tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe, he was suspended pending an inquiry into bribery. Initially he was cleared but, after playing his last Test in January 1999, he, along with medium-pacer Ata-ur-Rehman, became the first players to be banned for match fixing. Their punishments were eventually overturned.

Hansie Cronje

In what is undoubtedly the most famous case of its kind, South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was given a lifetime ban from playing or coaching cricket after admitting he had received a sum of money from a London bookmaker to 'forecast results'. It emerged that he offered players, such as Herschelle Gibbs, money to perform poorly. After unsuccessfully challenging his penalty in September 2001, Cronje

died in a plane crash the following year.

Mohammad Azharuddin

Azharuddin's match-fixing exploits came to light when Cronje indicated the former India captain was the person who introduced him to the bookmakers. The Central Bureau of Investigation's report into the Cronje affair then claimed Azharuddin had "contributed substantially towards the expanding bookie/player nexus in Indian cricket", before the batsman admitted fixing three ODIs. He was banned for life, thus finishing his career on 99 Tests.

Marlon Samuels

West Indies batsman Samuels received a two-year ban in 2008 after being found guilty of "receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute". Indian police alleged that he passed on team information to a known bookmaker.

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His world ranking has slipped to a mind-boggling 55th and golfing greats Nick Faldo and Greg Norman have both said that Woods is incapable of adding further major titles to his career haul of 14.

Woods himself bristles at such notions and, as the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, he can point to previous achievements as a guide to the likely way forward.

"I've heard that before," a steely-eyed Woods said earlier this month of the comments made by Faldo and Norman. "It's not the first time I've heard that. And I've kept on winning them, too."

However, time is beginning to run out for the former world number one who will celebrate his 36th birthday in December and has already undergone four surgeries on his left knee.

Ever since Woods's world was seismically shifted by lurid details of his marital infidelities at the end of 2009, he has struggled on and off the course.

His marriage disintegrated, he battled injuries to his left knee ligaments and Achilles tendon earlier this year and has been working through the fourth swing change of his career.

A combination of injuries and poor form severely curtailed his 2011 PGA Tour campaign and he ended up a lowly 128th in the money list with earnings of $660,238 from just nine starts.

After failing to qualify for the lucrative FedExCup playoffs, Woods was urged by U.S. Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples to try and play himself into form ahead of the November 17-20 tournament in Melbourne.

Consequently, Woods added the Frys.com Open in California to his schedule, his first appearance in one of the PGA Tour's Fall Series events which generally attract only the journeymen on the circuit and players striving to retain their cards.

Woods finished in a tie for 30th at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin but he was greatly encouraged after shooting three-under-par 68s in his last three rounds.

GETTING BETTER

"I got better every day," the 71-times PGA Tour winner told reporters after competing in his first PGA Tour event in almost two months. "Unfortunately, there were a couple of times where I kind of didn't get the momentum going when I had a couple of chances to make putts or I hit a bad shot.

"I felt very comfortable, and I just need to keep staying the course. The game's coming."Woods played with his good friend Arjun Atwal in the final round at CordeValle and the Indian marveled at the American's form, especially with the driver, as he birdied four of the first six holes.

"He is very close, very close to his best," Atwal told Reuters. "It's just a matter of Tiger playing a few more competitive rounds and everything else will be sorted out. "His driving was so much better than it was when he was winning all those tournaments with Hank," Atwal added, referring to Woods's former swing coach Hank Haney.

"Even his (fairway) misses were only just off line. Tiger's still flying the ball 310 (yards) off the tee but his shots aren't off the map any more. And that old sound on impact is back."

Atwal and Woods are neighbors in Windermere, Florida, where they regularly play practice rounds together. Injuries are no longer a problem for Woods, who says he has regained strength and the "explosiveness" back in his left leg since being sidelined for three months earlier this year.

His other main problem, lack of competition, is slowly being corrected and his next event will be the November 10-13 Australian Open before he represents his country the following week at the Presidents Cup. Woods has not triumphed anywhere since November 15 2009 when he clinched the Australian Masters.

If he continues the encouraging progress he made at CordeValle, he could complete a tortuous journey somewhat fittingly on Australian soil by ending a two-year wait to get back into the winner's circle.

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. cited a playing field that’s “way too level” as the catalyst for numerous incidents last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway that spilled over into a racing ethics discussion at Martinsville Speedway on Friday.

On a day that saw a chilly rain wash out practice for Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the top 12 drivers in the championship Chase voiced their opinions on topics ranging from drafting partners to crew chief instructions to the lengths they would go to win a championship.

Throughout stock car racing’s history there have been two dominant philosophies: If it’s not in the rule book, it’s not illegal and you’re not cheating unless you get caught. “As long as humans are involved in things, there will be a certain level of corruption and people trying to bend the rules and do things differently or better or smarter,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Everybody’s got their own ideas on what works and what doesn’t work. We’re working with race cars with thousands of variables and we’ll always try to make those variables better than the next guy, even if it doesn’t clearly state in the rule book that this is the way you need to do it. We’ll try to do it however we want to interpret that.

“Creativity brings on technology, better technology, smarter technology, safer cars, and you need to  have some parameters free to allow engineers and ingenuity and creative people in this sport. You know, there’s a lot of rules that sort of shut out guys that made this sport. Things are pretty damn level with all the rules and restrictions as we get further and further down the road. It’s way too level. When everybody’s got everything the same, you’ve got to find those one or two or three little things that add up that sets you apart; that puts you in the top 1 percent. Everybody is getting desperate because you know you want to run good.”

Brad Keselowski noted that everyone in the sport has his or her own code of honor. “It’s certainly something I place very, very high; that’s why I’m driving for Roger Penske,” Keselowski said. “I think you can look at things like that and you see who a driver picks to drive for and you can kind of get a mindset. Roger, I think, is at the top of the list in my opinion. There have been times where I’ve had conversations with Roger and asked him why certain things are not done on the car and he’s told me point blank, ‘Hey, this is something that is a little gray and I don’t live in the gray area. It’s not how I run my race tams. It’s not how I’m going to run my race teams. And if I lose races because I’m not in the gray area, I’ll accept that so that I don’t have to answer for the races that I’ve won and been yelled at, or discredited, or had the asterisk put next to me for some sort of violation.’ I have a tremendous amount of respect for that.”

Crew chief Chad Knaus vaulted into the spotlight this week for his pre-race instructions to Jimmie Johnson to make sure there was damage to his car’s rear if he won the Talladega race. Knaus’ remarks to Johnson were caught on the No. 48’s in-car camera which was live on NASCAR.com’s RaceBuddy application. NASCAR officials met with Knaus and Johnson Friday morning at Martinsville regarding the conversation. NASCAR then released a statement in which it was noted the No. 48 car would be a regular at NASCAR’s R&D center for the season’s remainder.

“The thing to remember is that car passed inspection multiple times throughout the course of the weekend,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, while Chad was trying to protect himself post-race, he made a foolish statement. You can tell from my reaction it was something I had never heard in the car from him before, and it is what it is.”

Johnson said once he learned the pre-race conversation would become public he never worried about his reputation or what people would think. “Everybody in this garage area knows what this team has done to win these five championships,” Johnson said. “Our car, with the success we’ve had over the years, has been through the (NASCAR) R&D center far more than any other race car. When we’ve been out of line, we’ve been put in place. We’ve overcome a lot over the years. The success of this race team is due to a lot of hard work and this has no bearing on it.”

Still, Kevin Harvick said he was “all for doing whatever you have to do to win the championship.”“Sometimes you have to do what you have to do and what you think is right as a team, so some people may not agree,” Harvick said, “but at this point it is really all about trying to win the race and trying to win a championship. However you think you need to go about that differs between teams, but you have to do what you have to do.”

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Martinsville Speedway is the last short track of the Sprint Cup season, and its tight confines might offer the final sliver of hope for Jimmie Johnson. The five-time defending champion's bid for a sixth consecutive title is flagging, but he has six wins on the 0.526-mile oval where Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, ranked 1-2 in the points, have struggled.

Key questions entering Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500, the seventh of NASCAR's 10 Chase for the Cup races:

Q: Why will last week's race at Talladega Superspeedway remain the hot topic until the green flag drops at Martinsville?
A: Even with the Trevor Bayne-Jeff Gordon flap fading, controversy keeps getting stoked by allegations of double-dealing and rule-bending. There's enough political intrigue and caustic rhetoric to compete with a GOP presidential debate.

STORY: Bayne: Ford loyalty trumped Gordon promise

STANDINGS: Sprint Cup leaders (4 races left) The latest chapter began when the website SB Nation obtained and posted prerace audio of crew chief Chad Knaus telling Johnson to damage the rear of his Chevrolet if he won at Talladega. The car had passed prerace inspections, and Knaus and Johnson said there was no wrongdoing beyond trying to account for if the car were knocked out of NASCAR's rigid specifications by bump-drafting during the race. There's no sign that punishment is imminent, but NASCAR has been gathering information to draw its own conclusion about the incident.

Q: Is that all for Talladega fallout?
A: Not quite. Two-time champion Tony Stewart slammed Paul Menard and Richard Childress Racing for unseemly team orders, saying Menard was told to abandon him rather than push his Chevrolet in competition with RCR drivers Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton— contradicting what team owner Childress said after the race ("I went on Paul's radio and told him go up there and push Tony and try to win the race. I wanted him to win the race but I also wanted him to push Tony.").
Toss in NASCAR's suspension Tuesday of three crew chiefs and three car chiefs for unapproved windshields at Talladega, and there's enough scandal to keep a small town in southwest Virginia gossiping for days.

Q: Can team orders come into play at Martinsville?
A: Though Kenseth (the newfound social media maven) joked on Twitter this week about needing to line up a drafting partner, there will be none of the tandem racing inherently fraught with the potential for dirty pool. But passing at Martinsville can be tricky, making it easier for drivers to put up rolling roadblocks that could aid a teammate by holding up a title rival.

Q: Coming off a 34th at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 26th at Talladega, what does Johnson need Sunday to climb back into the title race?
A: A top-two finish and major trouble from other contenders. Statistics show that's not improbable. Johnson, 50 points behind Edwards, has six wins and an average finish of 5.6 at Martinsville while Edwards (16.9) and Kenseth (15.8) have struggled there (and none of the six drivers ahead of Johnson in points have averaged better than 13th). And the last time Johnson finished outside the top 20 in consecutive Chase races (in 2004), he won the next three.
But recent history also offers some troublesome facts for Johnson, starting with a streak of six consecutive seasons with at least one-short track win on the line Sunday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver hasn't won at Martinsville since March 2009, and he took 11th there earlier this season — his only finish outside the top 10 at the track since a 35th in his 2002 debut.

Q: Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. (125-race winless streak) seal the deal?
A: NASCAR's most popular driver returns to Martinsville with the same No. 88 chassis that he drove to second in April. Earnhardt led a season-high 17 laps before yielding the lead (and win) to Kevin Harvick on lap 497. If he's leading late in Sunday's race, expect Earnhardt to be more protective of the bottom lane.

Q: What does UPS' move from David Ragan to Edwards in 2012 mean for Roush Fenway Racing?
A: With UPS downsizing to associate-sponsor status while going to the No. 99 Ford (which will have UPS as a single-race primary sponsor at Kentucky Speedway), the future of Ragan's No. 6 appears grim. Team owner Jack Roush has committed to running Greg Biffle, Edwards and Kenseth next season, and Ragan likely will be waiting last in line as Roush firms up its sponsor lineup in a very difficult economic climate.

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Historians insist that it's not dates and events that matter from the past. Instead, people and themes over time are the aspects of history that have an impact on our lives. This doesn't only apply to the causes of the Civil War or the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, however. Real human stories fraught with vitriol, and unique events are why we care about NFL controversies and continue to argue for our chosen side long after the rest of the world has moved on. So, what are the top controversies that have rent the NFL asunder over the years? Let's start on a holy note (or unholy if you're a Raiders fan) with the Immaculate Reception.

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Mohammad Asif attributed his infamous no-ball in last year’s Lord’s Test to the abuse he received in the over from his captain Salman Butt, a court heard in London on Thursday.

Butt’s lawyer Ali Bajwa QC hit back at those claims, though, by counter-accusing Asif of fabricating his story to justify the no-ball. In fact the 90-minute exchange between Asif and Bajwa sometimes brought laughter from the court as Asif stuck to his story against Bajwa’s grilling. Asif, speaking in broken English, often required the services of his Urdu interpreter.

Asif was appearing in the witness stand for the first time on the 12th day of the alleged spot-fixing trial, and his lawyer Alexander Milne QC followed an introduction of his career with the nitty-gritty moment about the no-balls in question.

Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments following the Lord’s Test last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenager Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges. When discussing the tenth over at Lord’s in which Asif’s one questionable no-ball was delivered, on the sixth ball of the over, Milne asked his client if anything was said to him during this over. He responded by revealing how captain Butt had abused him when moving into a “suspicious” short, straight mid-off position.

Milne replied to that answer by asking Asif whether Butt’s comment was said in a funny way, pointing out that swear words can sometimes be used in a humorous, friendly way. “No, it wasn’t friendly,” Asif said. “It was unfriendly for a captain to speak like that to me, especially with my position in the rankings.” Asif went on: “I thought to myself that I had slept well last night so why is he saying these things. He was desperate for wickets but so was I.”

Bajwa quizzed Asif on why he did not give this explanation in his initial police interview last year, when he told police officers that he had not been put under any pressure to bowl the no-ball.

“I’m going to suggest to you that Mr Butt never referred to you as a f***** at that time or any other time,” Bajwa said. “Why didn’t you say at this point (in your police interview) that ‘my captain was putting me under pressure and that’s why I bowled the no-ball’.”Bajwa, who also accused Asif of “untruthfully downplaying” his relationship with the Majeed brothers, further said of Asif’s no-ball excuse: “That, Mr Asif, is a desperate invention by you because you fear that the jury won’t accept your story for bowling a no-ball.”

Asif pointed out, referring back to his police interview, that he meant he was not pressured into bowling an intentional no-ball as opposed to the circumstances leading up to what he regards as an accidental no-ball. Bajwa, using a replay of the over, pointed out that Asif checked his spikes and had sawdust scattered on the crease afterwards and if he was blaming his captain he would have reacted differently by “glaring” at Butt and telling him how he felt. The case continues.

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Sagar Ballary, whose last film Hum Tum Shabana faced some controversies with its star cast, failed to make its mark at the box office. Blaming the impact of controversy for the failure of his film, Ballary said: "Controversy is like a missile. You never know how much impact it will have and which way it is going.

"Sometimes it helps to get the attention of the audience and sometimes it damages the movie. Personally I would prefer not to have any controversies. I believe in content and good work." Ballary made a name for himself with the critically acclaimed Bheja Fry and Bheja Fry 2. "I am very critical about my work. According to me, every filmmaker knows before the release of the movie whether it will be a hit or not. If you are confident with your content, you need not worry. During Bheja Fry and Bheja Fry 2 I knew they were good so they became hits," he added.

"Honestly I liked Hum Tum Shabana also. It did not do well at the box office but personally when I see it I like it. "The only problem with Hum Tum Shabana was that everything came at the same moment. The script was pre decided so that stunted the film a bit," Ballary said.

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