Mike Price

In these troubled economic times, it's not hard to understand why people might want to protect their life savings by purchasing a hard asset like gold or silver. At least, that's the pitch of Monex, the big Newport Beach investment firm, which bills itself as "America's trusted name in precious metals investments" and assures clients that it's "committed to customer service. " So let's take a look at the experiences of some customers who say their trust in Monex was misplaced.

A collision involving Irwindale Speedway super late model division leader Van Knill and Kevin Thompson helped give Mike Price the victory in the feature race Saturday night. Knill was judged to be at fault for the collision on the first lap of the heat race and was ordered to start 24th in the 26-car field for the scheduled 50-lap feature race on the half-mile track.

Mike Price overtook Valencia's Dana Moore on the 21st lap of the NASCAR Street Stock main event and won by half a car length in preseason racing Saturday night at Saugus Speedway. Moore, who started in the sixth position, led most of the 25-lap event, but lost his lead when Price passed him on the third turn. Several crashes marred the main event, including one involving Dustin Shepphird and Richard Russo of Newhall. On the eighth lap, Shepphird's car spun out in the third turn.

Mike Price looked out from his stadium-top office at the Sun Bowl and pointed down to the city of Juarez, Mexico. "You could throw a rock and hit it," he said. There was a time, in a dark-but-not-so-distant past, when Price might have considered a midnight swim across the Rio Grande in search of asylum. He could have changed his name, found a place where no one was telling Mike Price jokes. On second thought, in this age of digital satellites, could there be such a place?

Mike Price, coach of the Washington State Cougars, is a different breed of cat. Looking at him, all gray hair and eyeglasses at 51, you don't see the jokester, the innovator, the coach who shrugs off a lot of college football's no-nos--the guy who thinks a little bit differently than the rest of us. He's a media charmer who isn't used to having much media to charm, the son of a coach from the same town, Everett, Wash.

Mike Price, Washington State football coach, once staged a mock shooting during practice before a game against USC, pulling a starter's pistol from his pocket and "blasting" a Trojan off his horse. Before a game against Oregon, he dressed as a duck hunter, with shotgun, waders and a sackful of decoys. During preseason camp every year, he stops practice to have a Popsicle truck backed onto the field, where its cargo is distributed among the players.

Washington State athletic officials have reached agreement with football Coach Mike Price on a four-year contract.

Two Washington State linemen have been suspended by Coach Mike Price for unspecified violations of team rules. Defensive tackle Rien Long and offensive tackle Billy Knotts were suspended Sunday, one day after Washington State lost, 25-7, to Ohio State. Price refused to disclose details of the violations. "Nobody got hurt but it was a selfish, disrespectful breaking of the team rule," Price said.

Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who will lead the unbeaten Cougars against USC on Saturday at the Coliseum, completed only nine of 25 passes for 108 yards and had two passes intercepted during a 30-17 victory over UCLA last Saturday. But Cougar Coach Mike Price is not concerned. "I have complete, 100% confidence that he'll come back and have a tremendous game," Price said of Bledsoe, a junior who has been projected as a possible No. 1 pick in the NFL draft next spring.

Former Washington State coach Mike Price couldn't have been sure about getting another football job after his firing seven months ago by Alabama because of a highly publicized visit to a Florida strip joint and allegations -- a majority of which he has vehemently denied -- about a night spent with strippers. But not only does Price have a new coaching job, at Texas El Paso, he's in a town apparently willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

All Mike Price wanted was a second chance. Sunday, he got it. Five days before Christmas and seven months after his embarrassing dismissal at Alabama, Price was named football coach at the University of Texas El Paso. Financial terms were not disclosed, but you can bet Price will earn a pittance compared with the seven-year, $10-million contract at Alabama. "A guy can have only so many color TVs and I've got one," Price said at his introductory news conference.

Sports Illustrated and one of its writers must reveal confidential sources for an article that led to Alabama's firing of Mike Price, a judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith said the Alabama law protecting newspaper, television and radio reporters from being forced to disclose sources doesn't extend to magazine reporters. Price sued Time Inc.

Bill Doba didn't think anything was amiss when Mike Price called him into his office last December. Not even with rumors that had Price bolting Rose Bowl-bound Washington State for Alabama picking up speed like a snowball rolling downhill. But Doba's professional life as the trusty sidekick assistant was about to change very quickly. "In about a minute and a half," Doba recalled earlier this week. "I went in there and he told me that he was leaving.

Former Alabama football coach Mike Price sued Time Inc. for $20 million Friday, contending he was defamed by a Sports Illustrated article about the strip club visit that led to his firing. The suit seeks $10 million in compensation, the value of the seven-year deal Price had with Alabama, which fired him before he coached a game for the Crimson Tide. The suit, filed in state court, seeks another $10 million in punitive damages from Time, which publishes Sports Illustrated.

Mike Price was fired by Alabama without coaching a game because of behavior including a night at a topless bar -- another embarrassment for a once-proud football program. University President Robert Witt said Saturday that Price failed to live his "personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies." Price, hired away from Washington State in December, lost his job because of his conduct on a trip to Florida last month for a pro-am golf tournament.

A collision involving Irwindale Speedway super late model division leader Van Knill and Kevin Thompson helped give Mike Price the victory in the feature race Saturday night. Knill was judged to be at fault for the collision on the first lap of the heat race and was ordered to start 24th in the 26-car field for the scheduled 50-lap feature race on the half-mile track.

In his fourth game as USC's quarterback last season, redshirt freshman Todd Marinovich led a 91-yard, 18-play touchdown drive in the last 3 1/2 minutes, lifting the Trojans to an improbable 18-17 victory over Washington State at Pullman, Wash.

Mike Price, is coaching Washington State today in the Rose Bowl. He's also the coach at Alabama. Whether he's being paid by both schools is unclear. Price is good at deflecting questions. "Newspapermen would know about double-dipping," Price said. "Good question though." Bad answer. But typical of too many college coaches these days. Besides double-dipping, Price knows a little about doublespeak. "The decision to go to Alabama was easy," Price said.

When UCLA went shopping for a football coach this month, administrators at the university found themselves in a predicament. They could offer a high-profile job, a team steeped in tradition and a scenic campus. But the $600,000 salary wasn't sufficient to lure an established coach from another school. May we show you something in a coordinator? Perhaps an up-and-coming assistant?