Free speech can be expensive
Pittsburgh-based writer/host Mark Madden was taken off the air permanently this week at Pittsburgh's 1250 ESPN radio, following some off-color comments he made on the air last week.
Madden was playing off of the recent commotion involving Senator Hillary Clinton's comments relating Bobby Kennedy's assasination and her refusal to pull out of the Democratic race before June, which many took as her saying that Barack Obama would be assasinated. Madden related this to Senator Ted Kennedy's recent diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor when he said he hoped Kennedy "would live long enough to be assassinated."
Here are some of the more memorable incidents involving sports and people who like to put their feet in their mouths.
Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder gets fired from CBS
Snyder was a prevalent sports gambler, and a football analyst for CBS' NFL Today pre-game show for 12 years. 
Despite the illegality of gambling in almost every state, Jimmy the Greek had a prevalent role on the show, picking games every week.
Jimmy the Greek got the ax in January of 1988, following "racist comments" he made about black athletes. He said a black athlete was better "because he's been bred to be that way... this goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the owner — the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid."
Jimmy the Greek spent most of his remaining days in anonymity, except for penning a betting column for a Las Vegas newspaper. He died in 1996.
Don Imus gets fired by CBS Radio
Imus broke into the radio business in the 70s, and was never one to shy away from controversy. Starting in 1988, he was heard locally in New York on WFAN, whose programming was otherwise completely based on sports. 
While sports did not play a very big role on Imus' show, one foray into a sports discussion got him into some seriously hot water.
While discussing the Women's NCAA basketball tournament in April of 2007, Imus and his producer Bernard McGuirk were watching highlights of a game between Rutgers and Tennessee. The discussion turned towards the Rutgers women, who had tattoos and a "tough look". McGuirk called the women "tough ho's", which Imus turned into "nappy-headed ho's."
Imus was fired from CBS Radio and MSNBC, who simulcast the show on TV. In December of 2007, Imus returned to the air on WABC 770 in New York, and is currently carried in 17 markets around the country.
Steve Lyons gets fired by FOX
"Psycho" Steve Lyons was a journeyman baseball player who played the majority of his career with the Chicago White Sox. Following his playing career, he got a job with Major League Baseball on FOX in 1996, where he would remain in some capacity for more than ten years.
Lyons made his fair share of controversial statements 
leading up to his firing in October of 2006. One of his most famous comments involved Lyons lashing out at Shawn Green for sitting out a game that took place on Yom Kippur in 2004. Lyons accused Green, who is Jewish, of not being a practicing Jew.
The comments that ultimately led to Lyons losing his job at FOX took place during their coverage of the 2006 American League Championship Series. That night, Lyons shared the booth with Lou Piniella, who made comments about the A's Marco Scutaro and his unlikely contributions to the team, likening it to "finding a wallet". Lyons then made a comment about being unable to find his wallet, and feeling uncomfortable sitting next to Piniella, which ultimately led to his firing.
Lyons is currently the color commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers for away games.
Kelly Tilghman is suspended by the Golf Channel
Kelly Tilghman managed to avoid a figurative hangman's noose, but she almost joked her career into oblivion this past January.
During a broadcast on January 4, 2008, 
Tilghman's co-anchor Nick Faldo joked that the younger players on tour needed to "gang up" on Tiger Woods. Tilghman took this several hundred steps too far, and added that they should "lynch him in a back alley".
Though Woods came out publicly and said that there was no ill will behind the comment and it did not offend him, outrage from the media and from civil rights groups helped lead to Tilghman being suspended. She returned in late January, and is still on the air.
-- Tim Fiorvanti
