Khan, 61, came to America when he was 16, earned an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and fell in love with American football and a blonde named Ann Carlson. Over the years, Khan and his wife have given zillions to their alma mater.

Most recently, the couple made a $10 million donation for the Khan Annex to Huff Hall, home to the university’s college of Applied Health Sciences. “One of the great joys of my life is making money,” Khan said at the September dedication ceremony. “ … What makes it even better is to use it to make a difference.” [Florida Times-Union]

The big question hanging in the air in Jacksonville is whether Khan will keep the team in the city or try to move it to L.A. So far, Khan is saying all the right things, but will he be able to resist the hundreds of millions he could make by moving to a much larger market?

It will also be interesting to see whether Khan keeps a low profile or seeks the limelight. Will he be the type of owner who’s on the sidelines, chatting with players, and always ready to make comments to the media? Or will he stay in the background and let his coach and general manager run the show? If he enjoys being in the news, then you can bet that L.A. will be very tempting.

The whole story speaks to the South Asian–American community: its pursuit of success and money at any cost; the differences between immigrants and the first generation; and the immigrants’ incomplete understanding of the rigor of the law in the U.S. [Daily Beast]

Just in case you have an incomplete understanding of what he means, here it is again later in the article.

The Rajaratnam case can be seen as a metaphor of the difference between immigrants from South Asia, who have a more elastic view of rules and a more keenly developed art of networking, and their children, the first generation, schooled to play by American rules. [Daily Beast]

Elastic view of rules? For a moment there, I thought he was referring to the rules of journalism.

Yes, American football in India. No, this isn’t a story from The Onion.

According to Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal, the eight-team league, which will begin play in Nov. 2012, is being backed by investors such as Mike Ditka, Ron Jaworski, Michael Irvin and Brandon Chillar (the Indian-American linebacker formerly of the Green Bay Packers).

The founding teams are the Hyderabad Skykings, Bhubaneswar Warhawks, Goa Swarm, Mumbai Gladiators, Dehi Royal Fleet, Punjab Warriors, Pune Blacktigers and Kolkata Vipers. Sorry, no Bengals or Browns.

“India has no history of american football, but backers sure cuz country is crazy about american entertainment, this will fly,” Kaplan tweeted, adding in another tweet: “They are training rugby players right now. Top rugby coaches involved. Seriously unlikely any US players would got there.”

Rugby players? Seriously? Rugby may be the closest sport to football, but that’s like preparing for the PGA tour by playing croquet. 

As for Kaplan’s contention that US players wouldn’t go to India, I have to disagree. As long as team owners can pay decent money, players who can’t crack the NFL, CFL, AFL or UFL would be willing to go to India. Who knows, maybe even Chillar might suit up for the Warriors and Brett Favre might come out of retirement to throw a few INTs for the Skykings.

Kaplan says the league “seems like a stretch” and I have to agree. But you have to start somewhere. Maybe by 2032, India will have a competitive football league, and you and I will be glued to the TV, watching Marshall Williams Manning lead the Bhubaneswar Warhawks over Arjun Tendulkar and the Pune Blacktigers.

You may enjoy the comments on ProFootballTalk. Or not.

A small plane crashed into a cornfield and caught fire early Sunday, killing the parents of a former Harvard University student who lost a $500,000 book contract because parts of her first novel were copied from other works. [Link]

It’s been five years since Kaavya’s scandal and it seems unseemly to bring it up in the very first paragraph of an article that should have focused on the death of a brilliant and beloved neurosurgeon. In fact, I wonder if it’s necessary to mention it at all. Perhaps it is, but you can argue that the death of two doctors in a plane crash is newsworthy enough, without bringing up their daughter’s much-publicized but well-in-the-past literary sin. In any case, the Indo-Asian News Service seems to have handled the article better than the AP, even if they didn’t do much original reporting themselves.

Here are just a couple of comments about Dr. Rajaraman from a NewjerseyNewsroom.com article.

Dr. Raj was an awesome man… Very nice, friendly, smartest DR. I have ever had the pleasure to work with & for. I still dont want to believe this horrible news. Dr. Raj used to always come to my desk and ask me for Chocolate, and we used to laugh.. I will never, ever forget you… May you and your beautiful wife REST IN PEACE….. GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN…. (Paola S)

The surgery Dr. Rajaraman performed on me changed my life. Such a kind man. I feel blessed to have met him. Such a loss to the world. My deepest condolences to the entire family. (D. Mariniello)

Pancholy also talks about Hollywood’s portrayal of diversity. “There’s a lot more people of color in the industry now,” he says. “There’s certainly a lot more South Asians. I see that at every audition I’m at. I’m like, ‘Go home! Stop stealing my parts!’”

The Canucks led in the circle in the regular season, at 54.9 per cent. They’re at 49.9 in the playoffs and a lot of the drop-off is because Malhotra and his 61.7 per cent win rate were on the sidelines until Game 2.

“Over the last couple of weeks as I’ve started to work toward this goal, being able to take draws against guys like Kes and Hank and Lappy really pushes you to get to that next level,” said Malhotra. “The competitive level we have at centre really gets your timing back.”

Malhotra did remarkably well overall in 7: 26 of ice time. He played 13 shifts, including killing penalties and taking a leftwing shift on the third line in relief of Raffi Torres.

He purposely kept his game simple and saw the 7: 26 as a good transition back into playing. In the regular season, as one of the best third line centres in the league and in the conversation for the Selke Trophy for top defensive forward, Malhotra averaged 16: 09. [Vancouver Province]

The Bruins walloped the Canucks 8-1 in Game 3, but Malhotra’s team still leads the series 2-1 and has home ice advantage.

Malhotra, whose full name is Emmanuel Noveen Malhotra, began playing organized hockey at age 7, when his parents apparently made the wrong turn on the way to the cricket field. His father, Shadi, is from Lahore, Punjab, in pre-partition India (present day Pakistan) and mother, Lise, is French-Canadian. (Both his parents hold doctorate degrees from the Université Laval in Québec City — his father a doctorate in polymer chemistry and his mother in biochemistry.)

Drafted in the first round by the New York Rangers in 1998, Malhotra has played on five NHL teams and is the second NHL player of South Asian origin. (The first was Robin Bawa of British Columbia, who spent parts of four seasons in the NHL in the early 1990s but was never a regular starter.)

Malhotra is married to Joann Nash, sister of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and retired soccer pro Martin Nash. He has scored 101 NHL goals, one of which can be seen in the 2009 NHL Network feature “A day in the life: Manny Malhotra“, when he played in Columbus.

AMT: “So you’re living in the States now … Can you feel free to speak the same way you speak other places?”

RP: “No, in the States, you’ve really got to watch what you say. In Canada too, but not as much. But in the States, you really do. You’ve got to think about what you say before you say it. I don’t know where they get off saying that America has this freedom of speech thing. That’s the one freedom they don’t have … is freedom of speech. Nobody says what they want to say. And when people do, they get labeled as crazy or out of their mind or whatever or renegades … They don’t respect you if you actually say what’s on your mind.”

AMT: “So do you feel that way about Canada too, like do you see a difference in North America versus other parts of the world in terms of feeling free to say what you think?”

RP: “North America is very sheltered. This whole weird political correctness thing that they’ve started is the worst thing that’s ever been invented in my lifetime. It’s ruined everything. … I love talking to old people because they say exactly what they see. There’s nothing wrong or racist or undertoned about it. It is what it is. My dad used to call my black friends Negroes. He didn’t mean anything by it. He was old. He grew up at a time when black people were Negroes. ‘Who’s here, Dad?’ ‘Oh, one of your Negro friends is here.’ He wasn’t saying it for shock value, he wasn’t trying to be political incorrect, it was just what they saw. People get offended with what they see nowadays.”

AMT: “And do you find that that isn’t the case, say, in Europe or the Middle East …”

RP: “Yeah, the rest of the world says what they see and says how they feel. And America takes offense to the rest of the world now, if you noticed. They’re trying to police the world, which is the wrong way about going. It’s not how you be a country, trying to be the world police.”

AMT: “Is that something you talk about on stage?”

RP: “No, can’t do that there. It’s anti-American.”

(Listen to the entire interview here, along with some of his hilarious comedy bits.)

A movie trailer trumpeting his name — “FROM THE MIND OF M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN” — would keep you from running to the bathroom during a Monday Night Football timeout, never mind that you’d just downed five Budweisers. You’d sit there and try to imagine what suspense and intrigue the mastermind had conjured this time — and how soon Spielberg would make his concession speech.

Shyamalan was the biggest South Asian name in America, with apologies to Deepak Chopra and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. Malayalis were quick to pronounce him a fellow Malayali. Tamils were quick to say, “No, he’s a Tamil.” And Philly Grrl was quick to say, “No, he’s a Philly Gy.”

Then came a string of movies that caused critics to groan and audiences to moan. His last offering, “The Last Airbender,” was the last straw for many fans. It virtually swept the Golden Raspberry Awards, winning five Razzies, including “Worst Director” and “Worst Picture.” Roger Ebert gave the movie half a star and called it “an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented.” Malayalis conceded that he’s a Tamil. Tamils insisted that he’s a Malayali. And Philly Grrl said, “You’re both right.”

But fans of his early movies didn’t give up. They came up with a brilliant idea: sending Shyamalan back to film school. 

According to PopEater, author/copywriter Chris Baker and his two pals are trying to raise $150,000 to help Shyamalan become a better filmmaker. Baker got the idea when he saw a trailer for “Devil” last year and the audience laughed at the phrase “From the mind of M. Night Shyamalan.”

After learning that Shyamalan was planning to make the futuristic thriller “1000 A.E.” with Will and Jaden Smith, Baker and his buddies launched M. Night School, a website where fellow concerned fans can donate funds to help the writer/director finesse his craft. “If we all donate just one dollar, we can send M. Night back to NYU so he gets the help we all so desperately need,” reads the site, which has raised approximately $540 thus far. [Link]

It sounds like a good plan, but will it really work? Can Shymalan reclaim his genius tag through some remedial study? Or does he need to do something more drastic, like shaving his head and wearing an earring? Or perhaps giving up scriptwriting and focusing on directing? Or giving up both and going to medical school?

Whatever happens, I’m rooting for him. I want to see him shift his career out of reverse and cruise up the mountain again. I want to see him nominated for an Oscar again. And most of all, I want to turn to my Malayali friends and say, “HE’S TAMIL, DAMMIT!”

As it turns out, that sentence and nine others originally appeared in Slate writer Grady Hendrix’s article on Rajinikanth. Purie sent apologies to Hendrix and Slate editor David Plotz, which Hendrix included in a piece called “Great Writers Steal.”

It’s my normal practice in my letter from the editor to enumerate why we carry a particular cover story. In the regional edition of our weekly newsmagazine India Today issue dated Oct 18th 2010 we carried a cover story on the film star Rajinikant.

I normally ask for inputs on subjects that are specialized , as for instance a superhit filmstar from the south, from those in charge of editing the copy. Some of the inputs which were sent to me on Rajinikant were unfortunately taken from an article authored by Mr. G Hendrix in your magazine. This was not known to me. I believed it to be original copy and a portion of it got included as inputs in my longer letter from the editor which got published. I greatly regret this error.

Rajinikanth is indeed a very specialized subject, one that’s studied diligently at many Tamil Nadu theaters. So it’s no surprise that Purie asked for inputs, and believed them to be “original copy.”

Purie: “Original copy?”

Assistant: “Yes, sir, we are the first ones to copy it.”

Purie included an apology in the Oct. 25 regional edition of India Today:

Jet lag is clearly injurious to the health of journalism. I was in America,
and still a bit bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived when we took an
unusual decision: to split the cover. This is jargon for changing the
cover for some editions; so while the content of the magazine remained
the same worldwide, the cover that went to our readers in south India
displayed the phenomenal Rajinikanth, while our other readers saw
Omar Abdullah on the cover. This meant writing two versions of ‘Letter
from the Editor’. Not being an acknowledged expert on the delightful
southern superstar, I asked Delhi for some inputs. Unfortunately, a couple
of sentences lifted from another article were sent to me. An excuse is not
an explanation. So, without any reservations, mea culpa. Apologies.

There are some important lessons here for anyone caught using another writer’s work:

1. Blame jet lag. If you’re sleep-deprived and can barely keep your eyes open, how can anyone expect you to read, let alone write, your own column?

2. Blame your inputs. It’s one of the basic rules of journalism: Good inputs result in good no writing.

3. Minimize the damage. Don’t say that “10 sentences” or “about 250 words” were lifted when “a couple of sentences” will do. Most readers can’t count anyway. And if they do, you can always say something like, “I asked for inputs on the number of sentences that were lifted.”

4. Placate your readers. If you’re apologizing to readers in the South, it always helps to include words such as “delightful southern superstar.”

5. Avoid lifting material from well-known media outlets like Slate. Instead, focus your lifting efforts on lesser-known bloggers. You won’t even have to apologize.

6. Get a nice display in your home for all your journalism awards. And make sure it has a lock, so no one lifts them.