Did you know that Bill Belichick’s “culinary skills are legendary throughout the NFL”? We didn’t think so. In fact, the only person who seems to be blown away by Belichick’s recipes for BBPBJs is this loser Mike Veneman. What a friggin’ brown-noser.
Geez, a guy who loves to sport hoboesque looking sweatshirts has a fancy for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Go figure.
Links:
[PatsFans.com]: Cooking with Bill Belichick
This was the wildest college football season the world has ever seen, and in a year chock-full of upsets, the only way to avoid being defeated was to simply not play. Worked out pretty well for the Buckeyes who haven’t played since Nov. 17.
After being shocked by Illinois at home in Week 11, Ohio State fell from No. 1 in the BCS Standings to No. 7. But after finishing their season with a rivalry win over then-No. 21 Michigan, they jumped up No. 5. Since then No. 1 LSU lost to Arkansas, No. 2 Kansas lost to No. 4 Missouri, No. 1 Missouri lost to No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 2 West Virginia lost to unranked Pittsburgh. And just like that, the Buckeyes are back atop the BCS and in the title game.
Of course, having 50 full days between games can have disadvantages as well. Look at what happened last year when OSU had an identical 50 idle days before getting thrashed by Florida for the giant crystal football. The Gators were riding just 36 days of rest. The Tigers will be coming into this year’s title game with just 36 days off since playing Tennessee in the SEC title game.
And while we could bitch and moan for weeks about why LSU grabbed the No. 2 slot over Virginia Tech, Georgia and Oklahoma (heck, we’ll even throw in undefeated Hawaii to humor all you WAC nuts), it would just be a waste of breath. The BCS is what it is, which an injustice to competitive athletics and the game in general, but it is the system we’re stuck with, so we might as well accept the fact that this is the match-up going down in the record books and move on already.
The `rest vs. rust’ debate will be something to contemplate in the weeks leading up to this national championship showdown. Ohio State played every week for 12 consecutive weeks, there is no way a sudden seven week vacation can improve their timing, chemistry or in-game, real time decision making ability.
LSU is facing a similar, yet less drastic, situation coming in the weeks ahead, but they have the advantage of playing in a winner-take-all, pressure-packed SEC Championship game and they’ve also had the `benefit’ of fighting for their lives – twice – following loses to Kentucky and they again to Arkansas.
Sitting in the shadows might have been the best plan for making it to the top of the rankings in this wacky season, especially for the Buckeyes, but having actually survived the wild finish of this wacky season on the field might prove more beneficial come game time. But don’t worry; we’ve still got 35 days to think about it.
Links:
[AZCentral.com]: LSU to face Ohio St. for national title
[WBIR.com]: It’s Ohio State vs. LSU for national championship
First off, we thought that seriously competitive ping pong was just something thrown into Forrest Gump as story filler. We were pretty taken back to find out it actually exists in the real world. Who knew? What’s next; are you going to try and tell us that people actually fence in real life too?
Secondly, as if the existence of ping pong outside of someone’s basement or garage wasn’t shocking enough to us, just imagine how surprised we were to find out that somebody out there actually watches enough ping pong to come up with the Top 10 Ping Pong Shots of All Time and then sets `em to an ancient Offspring song. Believe it or not, that really goes on as well.
It appears you’ve forgotten about the best ping pong `shots’ of all.
Enjoy.
1. 45-point blowout!?
Does the NBA need to start investigating players for being involved with fixing games? Sounds stupid, but how else do you explain a 45-point victory? Well, coach? Explain your team’s performance.
I don’t know where this game came from. I thought we played extremely selfish tonight … Definitely didn’t see this type of game coming after the last two games we played. This was just not a good night.
Not a good night? Try the third-worst beating in the storied franchise’s history and the second-lowest offensive production since the shot-clock went into effect! Oh, and if Nate Robinson didn’t get lucky and nail a half court, desperation heave at the end of regulation to make the score 104-59 then it would have been the lowest output EVER. That a getting-caned kinda night, Zeke.
2. 45-point swing
The Lakers fell down by 17 points early to the Denver Nuggets, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, Kobe Bryant was chillin’ on the bench and the Lakers had a 28-point victory, 127-99. Bryant had 24 points and Andrew Bynum had a nice double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Even Sasha Vujacic got into the act and scored 22 off the bench. But the real news out of Los Angeles has to do with the Zen Master signing on for another two years of drama, which begs the question: Does this move effect whether Kobe is in or out of L.A.? $24 million says Phil Jackson really doesn’t care.
3. Back to their old Mavericks-beating form
After starting the season off by dropping their first six games, the Warriors coasted to an 8-7 record by beating the Rockets 113-94. Since Stephen Jackson returned from his suspension, Golden State is 7-1. And while some of those wins are coming against creampuffs, they have quality Ws over Toronto, Phoenix and now Houston. Al Harrington deserves an expensive steak dinner from his coach after manning up big time against Yao Ming on Thursday. Harrington (6-9, 245) limited Ming (7-6, 310) to 4-of-12 shooting for 10 points and seven rebounds while scoring 18 points on the offensive end.
Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. Houston 40 min, 27 pts (FG: 9-14, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 8-11), 5 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl
Friday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (14-3) @ Phoenix (11-4)
Remember the good old days when you anticipated big-man match-ups like Charles Barkley vs. Karl Malone or Hakeem Olajuwon vs. David Robinson? Well, in 10 or 20 years, you might be reminiscing in the same way about Amare Stoudemire vs. Dwight Howard. These are two of the most blinding young stars working the post today and both of their teams are continually improving. Unfortunately, since these two studs are running in different conferences, this individual battle doesn’t come along all that often. In fact, the only way this becomes a truly intense 1-on-1 rivalry is for the Suns and Magic to square off in the Finals. Fortunately, that’s not an impossibility.
Buzzer Beater: Nicknames are some of the coolest things in the world. The great ones just naturally fit with the person and no explanation is needed, like “Magic.” Then you’ve got nicknames that just seem uncreative and forced, like “Youngrich.”
What? Was “Denvernugget” taken by a teammate already?
Leonardo DiCaprio could have any girl he wants, but it seems that he wants the one that got away. Apparently Leo is regretting having ever let the stunning Gisele Bundchen out of his grasp and, frankly, we can’t blame him. Problem is, as everyone knows, Gisele is currently dating the soon-to-be NFL MVP Tom Brady. Well, Brady is a man, in fact, he’s the Stetson man, and apparently he doesn’t take kindly to old flames sending text messages or calling his lady.
Now that Leo’s romance with Israeli model Bar Refaeli is kaput, he’s rekindled his friendship with Gisele, 27, and has been texting her a lot., the story claims.
“Leo now realizes what a mistake he made by not marrying Gisele,” his pal dishes to the magazine. “He knows she’s with Tom, so if he can’t have her as a girlfriend, he wants her as a friend.” According to the insider, Tom, 30, is miffed that Leo, 33, is suddenly back in Gisele’s life, even though she’s assured him that it’s just platonic. “Tom is not happy at all that Gisele and Leo are friends again,” the insider says.
Of course he’s upset! He knows there’s no such thing as friends between guys and girls, especially between an ex-boyfriend and a supermodel. He’d have to be dumber than Helio’s old ladyto let Leo back in the picture.
Links:
[NationalLedger.com]: Leonardo DiCaprio Texting Gisele Bundchen: Tom Brady Fumes!
We’re sure you’ve seen the clips of Bob Knight going Bob Knight on his neighbor, but have you seen the entire drawn out video? These guys are arguing like a couple of school boys and they go on for nearly nine stinkin’ minutes.
But don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty of entertainment value in the uncut edition. Pay special attention around the 5:15 mark.
We love how this guy is so worked up that he’s still ranting and raving at Knight even after he’s back inside his house. Thank goodness the audio was working on his camcorder because if it wasn’t for the undeniable voice of Knight, nobody would know who the heck that was. Dude, you better have asked Santa for a new camera.
Current Dancing With the Stars champion and race car driver extraordinaire Helio Castroneves is splitting up with his long-time girlfriend/fiancée. According to TMZ, the break up is due to Castroneves’ new found celebrity. Apparently his ex old lady, Aliette Vazquez, couldn’t take Helio’s inflated ego anymore and decided to bolt, but we’ve got our suspicions.
We’re not huge fans of this dancing sensation that is sweeping the nation, but we’ve seen enough to know that the babes on the show are smokin’ hot. Needless to say, Helio’s `partner’, Julianne Hough is no exception. The two shared a kiss on a recent episode, but that was just part of the dance, right?
Actually, the kiss is probably the last thing the newly single Ms. Vazquez was worried about. After all, her man was spending countless hours with an incredibly sexy woman, dancing chest to chest, hip to hip and even lip to lip. Sexual chemistry is virtually unavoidable at that point. We don’t know a woman alive who would approve of her husband doing something like that in any other context.
Regardless, the relationship is over and the DWTS curse lives on. Oh, you haven’t heard about the curse? Just look at what it did to Emmitt Smith; from dancing machine to barely being able to put together a sentence.
Links:
[TMZ]: Ex-Fiancée to Helio: Lights, Camera, Split!
[ABC News]: Helio Splits From Fiancee After `DWS’ Win
Now it is starting to become clear why Michael Vick simply strangled, beat, shot or electrocuted pit bulls that were no longer of service…those mutts have some serious upkeep!
Vick was basically ordered to fork over almost $1 million for the care of the 54 dogs that were seized from his Virginia home several months back. The exact amount Vick set aside for the pooches was a cool $928,073. In case you’re wondering, that’s $17,186.54 per pit bull!
We know that vet bills can be expensive, but damn! Throw in some Kibbles-n-Bits, a few chew toys and we’re talking a couple hundred bucks a year, right? Oh, of course, poker money.
Links:
[NBC11.com]: Vick Will Pay $1M For Care Of Seized Dogs
Sean Taylor’s body didn’t even have time to get cold before people started speculating about the circumstances surrounding the home intrusion and eventual murder of the rising NFL star. And a lot of the assumptions the mainstream media outlets were distributing tended to be rather harsh, basing their claims on his Hurricanes heritage and previous run-ins with the law. Well, the presumptions aren’t limited to the media. Despite the police accounts of a botched burglary; one of Taylor’s best friends thinks it was a deliberate hit.
Rolle and Taylor, whose fathers were policemen in Homestead, Fla., started playing football together when they were six years old. They went on to become University of Miami teammates and NFL first-round draft picks. Both wore No. 21, Rolle for the Cardinals, Taylor for the Washington Redskins.
“There was so much surrounding him,” Rolle said. “Everyone was talking about him bad, so he just had to distance himself from everyone and live a life of his own. … Within the last year, I’ve never seen anyone make such a dramatic change.”
Withdrawing from a bad crowd isn’t easy, though, Rolle said.
“They say it was a burglary. It absolutely was not a burglary,” he said. “Down South, where we’re from, there were many people talking to Sean, a lot of jealousy, a lot of angry people.
“Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from.
Rolle also said that “They’ve been targeting him for three years now,” and that “At least, he has peace now.”
We kind of thought Taylor was getting a bum rap because he was from the U and got slapped with the “hoodlum” label, but if his own long-time friend is calling it a deliberate murder then the media’s hype might be sincere. But Antrel can say what he wants; he’s not supposed to be unbiased. It just seems a bit callous to us that despite the authorities’ contradictory account, news outlets were determined to create a sensational story.
Links:
[The Canadian Press]: Cardinals’ Rolle vows to honour childhood friend, says death was no burglary
[Rocky Mountain News]: Rolle: Taylor was targeted
We propose that every major sports association makes it mandatory for coaches and players to wear microphones during every game. Call us crazy, but we’d almost rather hear the chit chat on the field than some of these loser broadcast crews. Think about it; would you rather hear Mike Tirico blabber for three hours on Monday Night Football or listen to coach Gruden ask his staff where his team is currently sitting on the field. Yeah, it happens.
Of course, if you wanna know why we don’t always mic up players and coaches, just imagine the kinds of things you’d hear come out of guys like Bobby Knight if he forgot he was wired.
