Greatest. Headline. Yet. From BrooklynPaper.com (and a huge nod to NYhoosier.com for this too)
Hookers to get BJ’s in a mall
Gina Carano Tells Craig Ferguson MMA Is 'Kind of Like Sex' (FANHOUSE)
Michael Strahan Is Now The New Face Of Vaseline For Men (Awful Announcing)
Did your Congressman vote for or against the bailout? (via The Big Lead)
Story From NPR on Robert Downey, the Senior (via Pop Candy)
Gawker gets the nod for this (yeah, right, cause they need my support) about a brawl that broke out on Sunday during the Brooklyn Kickball League's final night of playoffs - Brooklyn Kickball Brawl: "Brother Fighting Against Brother"
This is the league we played in this year (knocked out in the first round of World Cup-style playoffs, unceremoniously). And I was there for this fiasco!
Ok, I was in the bar. But rumor was a full beer was heaved at someone - which is surprising with this crowd, because that's really more of a meathead move.
Disappointing way for the season to end. This is the same kickball league that made Jimmy Traina's SI.com Hot Clicks for hosting an International Tournament! (their fourth annual, in fact). Cooler heads did end up prevailing and according to BrooklynKickball.com the finals are rescheduled for next week.
A 10-year study at Oregon State University has revealed that Iditarod-competing Huskies are ridiculously well-oiled machines...
"A roughly 55-pound sled dog can burn up to 12,000 kilocalories per day - the equivalent of 24 Big Macs. A human athlete, to sustain Iditarod-level performance for just one day, would have to eat, *and* efficiently process, the equivalent of 72 Big Macs." (DogBlog.com)
"Sled dogs eat a commercial race diet, but it can be supplemented by anything from salmon to congealed lard, all of which they’re able to convert to fuel."
Zo & the Old General
On-court rivals Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing will team up for Obama Rally in Broward County in the all-important state of Florida tomorrow (SunSentinel.com)
Natalie Gulbis Essay Contest
The finalist have been selected in the Natalie Gulbis "Who's Behind Your Success" Essay Contest (sponsored by RSM McGladrey). Lot of worthy candidates for the prize of spending a day in Vegas with Natalie. (WorldGolf.com)
Low Brow Discussion Will Not Be Allowed at Sports Talk Radio Station
FM-Station WMVN (101.1) in St. Louis will soon be converting from dance-music to sports, and station chief John Kijowski says, "We will be absolutely a 100 percent sports-talk station,'' he said. "Talk about bimbos, hookers on our air? No way. There's no need to dumb it down. Just because you're a guy doesn't mean you have to talk about that stuff. We will take a local, regional and national approach to mature sports talk.'' (STLToday.com)
Parent Banned From Youth Football Over Bad Play
Finally, a unique spin on an old fable. A parent in Amherst, OH barked at the coach of his son's 9-and-10 year old football team, and demanded he call a specific play. (A sweep, resulting in loss yardarge. Police then arrested parent Eric Frambach, whose been charged with disorderly conduct and is banned from practices and games moving forward. (SeattleTimes.com)
Wild story I pulled from The Telegrath...
After competing in next month's World Championships, storied women's squash player Vicky Botwright will retire from the game, and become the Head of Squash in Manchester - home of England's Squash Association (WISPA) and the National Squash Centre.
Botwright moves on from a career that is marked by some of the most incendiary PR tomfoolery Pro sports promotion has seen since the turn of the century...
At the 2001 British Open, a 16th-ranked Botwright entered the court wearing only a bikini top and thong for an early round match (see the photos below from SquashPics.com). She claimed the traditional squash attire (and I guess speedos, bike shorts, tank tops by extension) was too constrictive. On account of this being completely ridiculous, she was not allowed to compete until she got dressed.
WISPA quickly admitted this to be a lavish publicity stunt, the brainchild of director Andrew Shelley, who scripted the whole thing. Nevertheless, it set off a media frenzy, as Botwright was dubbed the Lancashire Hot Bot, at one point vaulting into the top-10 in the Google search term rankings. Seven years later, the scandalous photos still show up first when you search for her on Google.
Of course, Botwright was moderately to fully aware (how could she not be?) of what she was voluntarily letting herself get involved in. In yesterday's Telegrath, she's quoted saying:
“It was the governing body's idea and obviously was completely staged. I didn’t go to one of the meetings I was supposed to attend and that was my punishment. Always go to a meeting - that’s the key!”
The Dodger clinched the NL West title on Thursday, and are playoff bound. Rafael Furcal is just psyched he doesn't have to report to jail at the end of this season.
Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (NE Patriots Draft)
Thanks For Choking Again Trojans (MoonDog Sports)
Lil' Wayne Is Not Only a Packers Fan, He Is Also a Blogger; Awesomeness Ensues (FANHOUSE)
THE JENNY CRAIG ALL-STARS (The World of Isaac)
Tale of the Tape: Wall Street Vs. New York Mets (SI Extra Mustard)
Natalie Portman broke up with her boyfriend Debra or whatever he's called, so that her an I can get back together.
Some say this doesn't qualify as getting back together, since technically we were never together. Others simply tell me: give up, it's never gonna happen. Haters. (via Pop Candy)
Olivia Wilde: Thank You For Being So Hot (MoonDog Sports)
VLADE DIVAC'S FACE IS A BIG PROBLEMA FOR THE LADIES (Epic Carnival)
Video: Kimbo Slice's Attempt To Kill David Blaine (Awful Announcing)
Gambling 2.0: Bet On Obama-McCain Debate (Busted Coverage)
McCain (not) on Letterman (The Sound of Young America)
Sunday Night baseball ratings for the Yankees finale weren’t great. (via The Big Lead)
Blood doping is assaulting our sports landscape as brutally as any other rule-bending plague out there.
The latest sport to fall victim - race walking, on the World Class scale of...
MOSCOW -- Five Russian race walkers, including world record-holder Sergei Morozov, have been suspended for two years for doping. Morozov, Viktor Burayev, Vladimir Kanaikin, Igor Yerokhin and Alexei Voevodin were sanctioned by the national federation for testing positive for the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO, the All Sport news agency said Tuesday. (AP)
Enhancement drug scandals in race walking. Is cheating officially everywhere?
Link:
5 Russian race walkers banned for doping (MiamiHerald.com)
The Olympic brass is already hard at work with the logistics of the London 2012 Games.
London - Olympic organizers issued detailed design rules for the 2012 London games Wednesday, including a mandate that at least some toilets in the Olympic park do not face the holy Islamic city of Mecca. (The Seattle Times)
Little did we know that United States' victory last week in the Ryder Cup would not only mark the U.S.'s first victory in competition since 1999, but also a two-for-two in International team golf events in the past month.
I'm not sure what's more impressive, ending that near-decade long drought, or this...
On Aug. 22, Team USA capped off an impressive 14 1/2 to 9 1/2 victory over an International squad, in the annual College Park Cup, which is basically the Ryder Cup for amputee golfers.
The College Park Cup, first held in 1998, was founded by College Park Industries, a company that specializes in the manufacturing prosthetic limbs for athlete amputees. CPI also hosts the Extremity Games, an extreme sports competition for those who've lost limbs that was inaugurated last year.
Check out this amazing clip of a man demonstrating amputee golf...
Links:
Amputee golfers do well at international tourney (St. Petersburg Times)
NAGAgolf.org
Eight Belles, with Trainer Larry Jones"I'm just physically tired, and it seems like I have a hard time keeping everybody happy," Jones said. (Kentucky.com)
Heroic linksmen ran to the aid of two passengers of a single engine Cessna that crashed shortly after a failed landing yesterday afternoon in Carlsbad, CA.
CARLSBAD – Golfers pulled two injured men from their two-seat plane that crashed into a ravine late yesterday afternoon after a touch-and-go takeoff from McClellan-Palomar Airport, authorities said.The single-engine Cessna 152, rented in Long Beach, hit a brushy slope near the 16th hole of The Crossings at Carlsbad golf course, about half a mile northwest of the runway. (via SignOnSanDiego.com)
The golfers heard the plane sputtering overhead, before it went down falling 30-feet into a ravine! The two passengers, 19 and 22, suffered only fractures and cuts, and were said to be "alert but confused" as they were taken from the scene.
He doesn't sound all in, but a recent blog post by Doyle Brunson, poker's most legendary maverick , on Doyle's Room makes him seem to be leaning towards McCain:
"It's hard to believe, but McCain has taken the lead in the Presidential race. They rolled the dice when they chose Governor Palin to run for Vice-President and they threw a seven, because she really turned things around for the Republicans."
Brunson then continued: "It's hard not to be in McCain's camp after listening to his life story. He really is an American hero. I'm not sure either Presidential candidate is the right person to lead our country over the next few years." (via 911gambling.com)
Kings of Leon celebrate today's release of their new album Only By The Night with a show at Webster Hall in NYC tonight. I'll be there, it should be pretty rockin'.
British Media Happily Teeing Off on Nick Faldo (FANHOUSE)
Four Major Labels Make Deal To Release Memory Card Albums (Rolling Stone ROCK N' ROLL DAILY)
Warren Sapp Sets Miami Football Back 25 Years (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
Even Ronnie Lott Knows The SEC Is Awesome (MoonDog Sports)
Magnetic Fields' Merritt Inspires Line of Footwear (Pitchfork Media)
Welcome to part six of my seemingly infinite discourse on the wacky (sometimes wackness) from the wide world of kickball.
Though we're not exactly sure what this edition's transgressor is up to, some guy who calls himself Kickball Jesus is pumping some kind of kickball meets desolation art exhibit in the Mojave Desert on his blog P.I.M.P.S (People Making Psychogeography Sexy)
Coming November 7th, 2008...
...Only at High Desert Test Sites (HDTS) The Worlds of Kickball and "Sub Fine" Art Collide in The Mojave Desert like Never Before!!
Stay Tuned for more info!!!
~Kickball Jesus (KJ)
Travis Barker and DJ AM are expected to make a full recovery after sustaining second and third degree burns when their plane exploded during take-off over the weekend. My thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends. (via Pop Candy)
David Eggers Interviews Chris Elliot (The Sound of Young America)
Who do you want on your couch today? Obama or McCain? (The Shutdown Corner)
10 wild card players in the NBA this season (Cuzoogle)
Joey Porter, Anthony Smith: Tale of the Tape (NE Patriots Draft)
Jim Zorn To Steve Largent, Top Pass Combo, Video (NESW Sports)
Just because the track is no longer slanted, does not mean the semantics of competition can't be. For example, instead of conventional cheerleaders hell on wheels has....jeerleaders!
OR, even better, fearleaders!
These diabolical pep mavens are sort of a cross between the Knicks City Dancers (if they were all tatted up) and the creatures that comprise the Raiders fan base.
No better way to get acquainted with them than watching a dance off! Here are LA Derby Dolls Fearleaders facing off against the Gotham City Jeerleaders at last year's RollerCon...
Baroness has been described as the musical equivalent of bodyblow-bodyblow-uppercut. You ever get in the mood to just listen to metal? I do, frequently.
Blogger Interview: Hugging Harold Reynolds (The Big Picture)
Wee Man Picks Shaq Up Off the Ground, Video (NESW Sports)
David Stern renames NBA teams due to boredom (Cuzoogle)
Jets Flight Crew got new unis; Sterger still employed (on205th)
10 Hottest Actresses in Sports Movies (InGameNow blog)
These Go To Eleven: Hottest Cartoon Characters (Brahsome)
...that's a masterful post by Brahsome, by the way. Speaking of which, Baroness was a pretty hot G.I. Joe character herself.
The polls close for THE IRON REF in a matter of hours, and I need your help. I'm facing off against some dude who goes by The Russianator. I'm sure he's a good guy...and probably commie. So, get moving! Voting ceases to be at 5 p.m. EST.
Rating Rider Cup Wives (Cuzoogle)
Seven Things Gilbert Arenas Now Has Time For (The World of Isaac)
Week Three NFL Power Rankings (NE Patriots Draft)
Meet Matt Ass-Hell (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
Touchdown Monkey, Colts Commercial (NESW Sports)
More Dirty Angels Photos in Anaheim (The Sports Culture)
Gators LB Spikes Call Volunteers "Quitters" (Moondog Sports)
I'm competing this week in Hugging Harold Reynold's IRON REF. When I agreed to do this, HHR told me I could hand select my opponents. So when I sent in that photo of me admiring fine arts in Paris with my bio, I indicated I'd like to face-off against the creator of Soveryposh.com and my buddy J Dot Domingo, who once had a blog about his fake ex-girlfriend. Since The Chief doesn't appear to be interested in me rigging the contest, why not go for broke I thought?
Go vote for my post about Michael Phelps, Lil' Wayne, and divine intervention - sounds like a campaign you could stand behind, right?
Even if you morally object to what I have to say, there's more Weezy over there where this came from to...
My respect has always gone out to surfers and their brand of aquatic athleticism. Hence, I watch Point Break every time it's on Spike TV (if you’re like me, there is no surprise that Swayze has yet to succumb to cancer)
Um, Swayze played a bank robbing surf ninja in that film, and you’re going to give him weeks to live? Secondary to that, the royalties off starring in a film that’s played 1400 times a year on cable (a 50/50 split, approx. 700 airings each on Spike and TBS) must be pretty lucrative – good enough to pay for high-end cancer treatment, I’d imagine.
Swayze rules (given); but as much as I love Point Break for its intricate plot lines and its determination to portray Gary Busey's character as the sane one, I’d rather watch Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez hit the surf in Blue Crush any day (it would be my second favorite surf movie, and Surf Ninjas is a distantly distant third). With that said, we turn our attention to the ASP World Tour and women’s pro surfing. The ladies are competing in Rio De Janeiro this week, and are already in to the quarterfinals of the Billabong Girls Pro Rio. The tournament runs until Sep. 18, with the winner taking home $85,000.
Go to ASPWorldTour.com to learn more, and check out photos from flickr of the Roxy Team:
They're calling it a cross between recess and boot camp.
If you're looking for a workout routine that combines jump rope, tug-o-war, relay races, and punk rock tunes, then Punk Rope might be for you.
Punk Rope is available on DVD online at PunkRope.com. This drill is called shark tag, I believe...
Links:
Punk Rope on Flickr
Check out Metro's interview with GZA, who is on tour performing seminal album 'Liquid Swords' in its entirety.
'Dark Knight' plans rerelease (via Pop Candy)
More fall movies coming to the NBA (Cuzoogle)
What If FanHouse Had Its Very Own Large Hadron Collider? (FANHOUSE)
Armored cars for NFL players? (The Shutdown Corner)
Do Not Call Kevin Garnett 7 Foot Tall, Craig Sager (NESW Sports)
At yesterday's 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, a huge pileup occurred in the final seconds of the women's 5000 meters, with six of eleven racers getting taken out in the last 500 m of the race.
Canada's Diane Roy, who set a Paralympic record with a time of 11:45:03, was awarded the gold. But after three of the nations competing protested, officials decided the race would be re-run.
In other Paralympics news, the Brits are raking in the medal count.
Anthony Lappe made it a perfect 11 out of 11 for Britain in cycling events, with a gold in the men's sprint for the visually impaired! Here he is pictured with pilot Barney Storey, whose wife Sarah Storey won gold for Britain in cycling as well.
Check out highlights of yesterday's events from Paralympic.tv's YouTube channel - including Lappe's gold medal (world record setting to boot) run, and that wild crash...
Links:
After crash, women's wheelchair 5,000 will try again (Universal Sports)
Paralympics: Swimmers and cyclists add five golds to British haul (The Guardian
With the first position on the waiver wire - as a result of having the most abysmal week in the league - I've locked up Matt Cassel on my Fantasy Team.
The New York Times reports:
The New England Patriots, sifting through their quarterback options in the wake of Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury, sent free agents Chris Simms and Tim Rattay home Monday afternoon without even working them out, Coach Bill Belichick acknowledged in a conference call Tuesday.
Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were ousted today as MSNBC's anchors for election coverage, with claims being made that they were too overtly liberal on-air.
Before there was Keith the bleeding lefty, there was Keith, SportsCenter mainstay. From 1992 to 1997, Olbermann was one of the go-tos for ESPN, before he was sacked there unceremoniously.
Here's a few of Keith's best clips from that era, including the report on Bret Favre entering rehab (where he's talking so fast he almost seizes) and a Boston Market commercial where he invokes the term ooie-gooey (sp.)
If you haven't started watching Lucy, Daughter of the Devil on Adult Swim yet, get to it....
Top 5 Best Fake Sports Movies (Deuce of Davenport)
Former UFC Champ Evan Tanner Dead at 37 After Going Missing in Desert (Fanhouse)
Mars Blackmon’s One Wish, Michael Jordan, Nike, Commercial (NESW Sports)
Note to Steven Jackson: Training Camp helps prepare you for hits like this (Sports Fiends)
Kitanoumi, the head of Japan's embattled sumo association, resigned on Monday after two pro sumo wrestlers tested positive for smoking pot, Reuters reports.
I caused trouble to the sumo association and to fans, so I have resigned," Kitanoumi, chairman of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA), told a news conference after a meeting of the sport's top officials.I could see if one of these behemoths unleashes the banzai drop on someone in a Tokyo karaoke bar on his watch, but over a marijuana charge?
Two Russian wrestlers tested positive for marijuana last week, setting off a media frenzy about abuses in the sport, which historians say dates back 2,000 years and which makes much of its respect for tradition. Hakurozan, who trains at Kitanoumi's gym or "stable", and his brother Roho, both denied smoking the drug.
The positive test results came shortly after another Russian wrestler was arrested and fired for suspected marijuana possession.
Junichi Yamamoto, a master of a stable that trains [sumo] wrestlers, was arrested in April 2008 on assault charges for reputedly beating a 17-year-old trainee. There have also been accusations that sumo matches have been fixed, and the rise of foreign athletes has rankled many fans.and then we learned...
According to The Washington Post, After the beating became public, the JSA sent a survey to the 53 stables in Japan, asking about their training practices. More than 90 percent have used baseball bats or similar implements in training, the survey found. About a third of the stables said bullying and other forms of abuse occurred during training.Fact is, nobody thought Kitanoumi's house was in order.
This guy had an awesome time taking in a match in Rio de Janeiro.
These stadium stands look more like downtown Hanoi than a sporting event...
The diagnosis of Tom Brady's injury is right in line with how it looks in this gruesome photo.
When this incident occurred, we were at the local bar. It is literally the closest drinking establishment in proximity to my apartment, and they popped for the football package this year. Additionally, they have a free buffet, which when that ran out they ordered pizzas for the whole bar. I bought one round, my roommate bought one round, and then we had beers being bought for us throughout the game. I spent exactly $9 bucks, and was able to ignore the idea that Pats Player Personnel honcho Scott Pioli might be trying to get Testaverde on the phone.
This was a better way to see Brady get knocked out for the season than say the Pats fan who watched it at home on a new flat screen that was purchased to go with the Sunday Ticket package they just dolled out $300 smackers for. Now they're left with the realization of being locked in a two-year contract with DirectTV, and satellite TV reception that teeters in the balance each time the wind picks up.
No matter how you saw it go down, the news is settling in for everyone this morning. I had the displeasure learning the final prognosis from the backpage of the horrendous NY Post. The eloquently worded headline: Yahoo! Brady Out For Year. (Of course, it comes on the day The Post announces that they endorse McCain for President)
After that, I changed my fantasy football team's name to Bernard Pollard, I'm planning to fly to Kansas City, break into your house, and rip your wife in half.
WWE's Mickie James on PsychI have a newfound respect for [derby girls] because, like I said before, the Vancouver roller-derby team was there with us showing us different stuff...I didn’t realize that they were as tough and that; they get out there and they pretty much beat each other up a little bit. I respect that being an athlete myself and getting beat up and beating people up all of the time.
All I cared to know about Psych before this was that Dorn is on it. But I can't pass up roller derby's first return to the small screen since Charlie's Angels! I'll tivo. Look for my reaction on twitter around 10 a.m. tomorrow, while I'm enjoying this with a bloody mary and a breakfast of bacon.
I'm not the first to say this. But you heard it here early, Brandon Jacobs - if he stays healthy - is going to have a monster year.
Peyton Manning, Meatloaf Mercedes, SNL Commercial (NESW Sports)
ESPN Columnist Opening for Magnetic Fields (Pitchfork)
Our Interview With Chuck Klosterman (Mouthpiece Sports)
NCAA, Newspapers Draw Blogging Battle Lines (via The Big Lead)
Wired.com Readers' Best Geek Tattoos (via Pop Candy)
The player formerly known as Chad Johnson...get used to that.
Today the Bengals announced this afternoon that they will now refer to the player formerly known as Chad Johnson as Chad Ocho Cinco, per his legal name change in Florida.
The decision was approved by the NFL office and the Bengals.
He will be listed as “Chad Ocho Cinco for all club business,” the club announced in a press release.
AMNY gets a hat tip for putting Bristol Palin's yokel babydaddy on the cover this morning the day after the big coming out speech.
Levi Johnston's Demon Hockey Seed Complicates Matters For GOP (DEADSPIN)
RATM at the RNC (NYHoosier)
Charles Barkley Rap, Nike Commercial (NESW Sports)
New Contest - ‘Create-a-Nick for Monta’ and Win Better Basketball DVD! (The Hoops Doctor)
Unassuming, Bald, Crafty 26-year-old Kid From Ohio Destroys LeBron in H-O-R-S-E (*VIDEO) (The Big Lead)
Go watch that Rage video, please.
Gotta tip my hat, and twittersource J.E. Skeets (Balls Don't Lie), a man who shares my affinity for the Obama throwback.
The Scarebear, clever in concept...
...Awesome in t-shirt.
Link:
Snorgtees.com
I pledged. I vowed. Things were going to be different this year...
One league.
I failed. I just finished my third fantasy draft of the year. Also, I signed up for the KSK Survival Pool this morning. Will Power? Never heard of him. Was that the Silver Surfer's alter-ego?
I hi-jacked a Chinese Food delivery vespa tonight to make it home in time for the final draft (money league, keeper league - Mr. Number One Luck Sang would understand).
Last year, this exact scenario blew up in my face - three leagues, and after week one I didn't even look at two of them. And I was out of the Survival Pool, before things even got started (damn, that Thursday Football Opening Night America Horse Caca!)*
And yet, here I am. Spread too thin . What is it that I can't say no to here?
I can't be alone on this. I want to know how indulgent your fantasy docket is? Post in the comments how many fantasy football leagues, NFL survival pools, bookies on speed dial, etc. etc. you've gotten yourself into this year.
And if a few people want to disclose that they also waste their time on Fantasy NASCAR, or better yet - an Oscar Pool, that would probably help too.
*Like every dedicated Football fan, I'm actually pumped that the NFL opens on Thursday. Make sure you have your picks and players set by kickoff!
Tristan Wilds returns to the small screen tonight in the premiere of (errr) 90210. Regardless of what happens, I think we can all agree he was brutally awesome in The Wire.
Palin's Sojourn as a Sportscaster (The Washington Post)
Dr. Julius Erving, Dr. Chapstick, Commercial (NESW Sports)
Monta Ellis: 'Ain't no way [to guard me]' (Odenized)
More Usainity (Rumors & Rants)
In 2008, Jo Garcia was named Playboy's Cyber Girl of the Year - an honor and distinction I (rightfully) would not have assumed had much to do with her video game prowess. She first captured our attention with her reprise of that anonymous girl's Wii Fit hula hooping in her underwear. And now, they got Jo to test out Sega's less-than-sensuous Beijing 2008 game.
And it has exposed her, as a huge nerd.
Did they have to cut some takes of her talking about using the pink glove to jerk the analog stick that sounded more awkward? How much of her snorting at her own jokes was edited out?
By the way, Jo, geeky is adorable. Don't ever change.
Link:
Cyber girl Jo Garcia plays video game Beijing 2008 (Uncommon Sportsman)
