SportsCenter

My favorite story from yesterday was this one reported by ABC News’ Matt Jaffe:

The minor-league hockey team has announced Gov. Rod Blagojevich Prison Uniform Night in honor of the embattled Illinois governor.

… The Wranglers’ special unis will have thick, horizontal black and white stripes, complete with a prison issue number starting with “ILLGOV”.

… After the game, the players’ jerseys will be signed and auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the team’s charitable efforts.

There is no one more deserving of the Heisman Trophy than Sam Bradford. Heartfelt kudos to you for representing the state and the University of Oklahoma with excellence and integrity. You’ve made us all proud!

This is really cool!

In broadcasting the world’s first live 3-D football game to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston on Thursday evening, the NFL promises an “up close, personal, visceral” experience that could open a new revenue stream for the league.

One more thing wrong with the way this bailout is being executed…

AIG, Citibank and a number of other federally bailed-out financial institutions have no plans to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in sports team sponsorships, even as they take billions in taxpayer support, ABC News has found.

In boom times, the sponsorships were seen as a way to advertise the firms’ “brands” and appeal to potential customers. Even today, at least one bank told ABC News that a naming deal was increasing its revenue. But critics, including a member of Congress, say the decision to continue them now is hard to defend.

Struggling Citibank just sealed a multi-billion-dollar emergency “backstop” deal with the U.S. government. The financial behemoth, suffering with billions in bad mortgage-related assets on its books, recently shed 53,000 workers and saw its stock price lose over half its value. Yet it’s in a 20-year contract to pay the New York Mets $400 million to name the team’s new stadium “Citi Field.”

“This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup’s new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in a statement Monday.

Citi isn’t alone: Imploding insurance giant AIG is paying the British soccer team Manchester United $125 million for the privilege of having its logo appear on Man U’s uniforms. That, despite the fact the firm is standing largely thanks to a $150 billion lifeline from the U.S. Treasury.

“A friend of mine joked they should put ‘US Treasury’ on the front of their uniforms,” said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan watchdog group which is outraged by the expenditures.

From NBCSports.com:

A pole dancing studio in Salt Lake City has become part of a worldwide movement to get pole dancing considered as an Olympic sport for the 2012 Games in London, KUTV reported Friday.

“It’s automatically assumed it has something to do with stripping,” said Lizz Schofield, owner of Studio Soiree in Sugar House, which is filled with floor-to-ceiling poles. “But it’s not stripping at all.”

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Proponents of “pole fitness,” as it is referred to by some, has caught on in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, Schofield told KUTV.

“This takes grace, fluidity and strength. It’s on par with ice skating and everything else in the Olympics,” said Lorinda Coombs, co-owner of Studio Soiree.
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If it were to become an Olympic sport, I can’t help but think that it could help increase viewership — at least amongst the male demographic.

From The Onion:

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Men will find any excuse to take the magic blue pill:

Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.

It gives a whole new meaning to “getting up” for a race, match, game, etc., and will have people wondering if athletes’ use of Viagra will make the competition “stiffer.”

Originally intended to treat pulmonary hypertension, the unexpected side effects gave this little blue pill a whole new mission in life — helping men “get it up.” The drug helps blood vessels expand and theoretically “allow blood cells to travel to the lungs more efficiently and to also receive more oxygen.

Experts are unclear if taking Viagra really gives any advantage.

Athletes taking Viagra might hope that the drug will expand their already normal-sized vessels to give them extra lung capacity. But some experts say that’s unlikely.

One scientist hypothesized that any improvements in performance by athletes taking Viagra could be due to improved performance in their sex lives.

“It could be that athletes are taking Viagra and then having vigorous sexual activity,” said Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Varlotta doubted that Viagra itself could improve an athletes’ performance.

“If athletes are euphoric after sex after taking Viagra, they may be euphoric about their athletic endeavors,” Varlotta said. “That may make them a better athlete.”

There you have it. Scientific proof that everything still boils down to sex… and more of it. Hmmm, maybe I could improve my performance at work with…

“If athletes are euphoric after sex after taking Viagra, they may be euphoric about their athletic endeavors,” Varlotta said. “That may make them a better athlete.”

In last night’s exuberant post about the Giants’ win in the Super Bowl, I quoted one of the greatest sportscaster moments in sporting history. While I realize that particular moment was actually a baseball moment, it couldn’t have been more appropriate for our reaction last night. It was also an homage to one of my favorite television shows of all time, M*A*S*H, which included that famous sports call from the 1951 pennant race in one of its latter episodes. While I could not find a clip from that episode, I did find a clip of that historical moment…

And after I posted last night, I thought of one other famous sports call that seemed as appropriate as the one I originally quoted, one that still sends chills throughout my body when I hear it (and I remember that moment)…

… and he’s a Giants fan!

“The Giants win the pennant!
The Giants win the pennant!
The Giants win the pennant!
The Giants win the pennant!”

I’ve never been a Giants fan as much as I was today. And to see them conquer the “perfect” Patriots was as sweet a Super Bowl victory as I’ve seen in a long time… and that includes my excitement at Peyton Manning’s win last year, John Elway’s wins a few years back and the Cowboys’ three wins in the 90s. Rarely have I rooted against a team as much as I have these Patriots and their arrogant leader Bill Belichick.

Ahhh… my hectic weekend has come to a super end! I missed the Super Bowl in high-def because my HDTV decided to go out a week ago Thursday and the repair guy won’t get here until tomorrow. So, I worked on stuff while watching the game on my low-def TV. But nothing can really diminish my happiness in the result.

I am now a Giants fan, a Coughlin fan and an Eli Manning fan. I still like my Cowboys, but the Giants were better than them this year and I tip my hat to them. Even better, they beat the team I like the least, those no-longer-perfect Patriots!

Woo hoo!!!