2/28/13 Links...

Dennis Rodman earned a “friend for life” this weekend, as he somehow made a trip to North Korea....

Duke University has a major university-wide announcement -- No, Coach K won’t be running for president.  Instead, the school will be switching to 2-ply toilet paper. What a relief!...

As good as the Duke toilet paper news is, this is equally as bad...Flyovers will soon be ending at sporting events nationwide...


The Miami Heat have probably the coolest locker room in professional sports, featuring a tribute to their 2012 NBA Finals win on the carpet.  And by the way, they made a Harlem Shake video...

Monday's Headlines...

The New England Patriots and Tom Brady have agreed to a new 3-year, $27 million contract that will keep Brady in a Patriot uniform through the 2017 season.

The new Coaches and AP polls have been released in college basketball, with Indiana holding firm in the #1 position.  Gonzaga moved up to the #2 spot after Miami fell to Wake Forest over the weekend.  Duke, Michigan and Miami round out the top 5 of the AP poll, with Kansas taking the #5 spot in the Coaches poll.

The 49ers are reportedly in trade talks regarding former starting quarterback Alex Smith.  There are no deals on the table as of yet, but the 49ers are confident they can trade Smith to a franchise like the Kansas City Chiefs or the Arizona Cardinals.

Manti Te'o completed his workouts at the NFL Combine today, including a rather slow 40-time of 4.82 seconds.  Projections still have Te'o as a first round selection, but it appears to no longer be a guarantee for the former Notre Dame standout linebacker.

Brook Lopez..."You Know"...

You know, Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez has a way with words, you know? You know you should probably watch this video.  Lopez somehow, you know, managed to say "you know" 14 times in a 3 question pre-game interview. Here is the clip:

Fauja Singh, Marathon Man

This story is courtesy of the 4 letter network, and is too good to pass up if you are a sports fan.  Fauja Singh ran his first marathon at the age of 89, and now at 101 years old, he will attempt to run for a final time in Hong Kong on Sunday.  The inspirational story can be found here...

2/21/13 Links...

Two #1 seeds fell on the opening day of the Accenture Match Play Championship: Tiger and Rory...

Want to watch your favorite Super Bowl Commercials again? Here is your chance...

In a world of bankrupt athletes, here is a great story about St. Louis Rams rookie RB Terrance Ganaway and his minimum wage offseason job.  Ganaway hopes to "stay out of trouble," and "save some money" in the offseason (Smart man!)...

And in case you were wondering, yes you can take a lightsaber combat class in San Francisco...

Table Tennis Awesomeness...

Keeping with the awesome video posts as of late, let me introduce you to the table tennis shot of the week...or year...or maybe ever?  The shot took place over the weekend at the Kuwait Open tournament, and was executed by France's own Quentin Robinot.  More importantly though, the victim of the shot, who has a world-class dazed look after the shot, was Kiryl Barabanov of Belarus, who lost to Robinot 4-0.

What Started as a Baseball Game, Ended as a Snowball Fight

Winter is still upon us, as the Dayton and Gardner-Webb baseball teams found out Saturday night in North Carolina.  During the sixth inning a mammoth snow storm descended upon Boiling Springs, NC and quickly halted play.  The snow didn't damper the players competitive spirits however, as a snowball war erupted between the two teams.  Here is the video:

The Coolest Sports/Golf Video of All Time

This is quite possibly one of the greatest sports feats of all time.  No introduction is necessary, just watch:

Dunk Contest Conspiracy Theory

Everyone seems to love a good conspiracy theory, and last night may have provided another for folks to debate in the weeks to come.  After the championship round of the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, the fans were given 60 seconds to text or tweet their vote of who they thought was deserving of the crown.

Where things got weird was when the night's MC Nick Cannon was handed the results envelope :09 seconds before the fan vote was supposed to end.  It seems as if the only possible solution is that the fan vote actually doesn't matter, or the results were given to Cannon through an ear piece or other method besides the envelope.

We'll let the conspiracy theorists sort this all out, but for a league that has been criticized for a lack of parity, and maybe even being rigged, this can't be a good thing.

Usain Bolt Travels...Then Throws Down Sweet Dunk...

Last night marked the beginning of the NBA's All Star Weekend in Houston, Texas.  The festivities were kicked off by the annual Celebrity All Star Game, in which former players and celebrities take the hard court, and battle for bragging rights.  Usain Bolt, the Olympic champion sprinter from Jamaica, created the highlight of the night as he received a cross court pass and finished off the fast break with a slam dunk.

Bolt later said in an interview that he only took 2 steps, but nevertheless it was an impressive play by a non-basketball player.

2/15/13 Links....

Having trouble keeping track of conference realignment? Here is a great article telling who will be playing where in 2013...

Another edition of Jerry Palm's "Bracketology." Is your team in or out?...

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday the 12 finalists for induction in 2013...

And, one of the worst free throw attempts in professional basketball history...

Memorable Valentine's Days in Sports

Once again St. Valentine's Day has arrived to the chagrin of men worldwide. But not to worry, while your significant other fumes over your Valentine's Day fail, enjoy these top moments in Valentine's Day sports history:

1960- Jim Kelly- On this day in 1960 Jim Kelly was born, and eventually led the Buffalo Bills to 4 consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and was later inducted into the Hall of Fame.

1966- Wilt Chamberlain- On this day in 1966 Wilt Chamberlain made history as he passed Bob Pettit for most all-time points scored.  "The Stilt" reached the mark of 20,884 points that day, although in recent years his record has fallen to other NBA stars, such as Michael Jordan and Karl Malone.

1971- Gheorghe Muresan- On this day in 1971 in the Romanian countryside, one of the tallest basketball players ever at 7'7" was born.  He began his 8 year career with the Washington Bullets in 1993, and later played for the New Jersey Nets.  Muresan averaged 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks for his career.

1988- Bobby Allison- On this day in 1988 50 year old Bobby Allison became the oldest driver to win the Daytona 500.

2010- NBA All Star Game- On this day in 2010 the NBA held the largest indoor sporting event in history as 108,713 fans attended the All Star Game.  The East held off the West 141-139, and Dwayne Wade was named MVP in this historic game.

Will Ferrell-Part Time Movie Star, Part Time Security Guard

Will Ferrell never seems to tire of thinking up ridiculous schemes to create a buzz or just to garner a few laughs, like his superhero character that saved the day at a USC practice.  Last night was no different as the Suns took on the Lakers at Staples Center, with a new security guard on staff to keep rowdy fans like Shaquille O'Neal at bay.  Here is footage of Ferrell at his best:

And here is Ferrell escorting Shaq out of the building:

Golfer Gets Bitten by a Black Widow, Continues Round to Shoot 74

Normally golfers only experiences with black widows are buying spikes at the pro shop, or dusting off the bag after a long winter in the garage.

That changed Tuesday for Ladies European Tour rookie Daniela Holmqvist, while playing in a pre-qualifier for the Women's Australian Open. The Swede felt a sharp pain in her leg on the 4th hole and as she looked down she noticed a spider crawling off, and immediately began to feel severe pain.  The rest is now legend, and has cemented Holmqvist as quite possibly the toughest golfer in the world.  Here is what happened in her own words:

Her caddies told her that the venom from a Black Widow can sometimes kill a child in half an hour, so Holmqvist knew she had to act fast. With her leg swelling, Holmqvist reached into her pocket and pulled out a tee. She quickly cut open her skin and squeezed the venom out.

"A clear fluid came out," Holmqvist said. "It wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever done, but I had to get as much of it out of me as possible."

After operating on herself, Holmqvist continued her round to shoot a 74, unfortunately just falling short of a qualifying position.

Here is her Tweet of the incident:

So there is "the shark" "pink panther" etc am I "the spider woman" now? Better than "the kangaroo lady" though..
— Daniela Holmqvist (@DHolmqvist) February 12, 2013

Videos Worth Watching

Here are some great sports video clips from around the web that are definitely worth your time.

An amazing, incredible, what-just-happened shot from high school basketball:

I don't know why the Guinness Book of World Records exists sometimes, but Thailand now owns a record:

And finally, skydiving gone wild at the Rugby 7's Championship:

Bakersfield Condors Bring Live Condor to Game...

The Bakersfield Condors, a minor league hockey team of the ECHL, decided that bringing a live condor to their game on Friday would be a great idea.  The condor, named Queen Victoria, was supposed to stand on a hockey stick perch during the playing of the National Anthem.  Although, "Vicky," the birds nickname, had other plans and decided to escape the arena through the team tunnel.  Here is footage from this odd, yet hilarious night in Bakersfield.

And a nice quote from the Bakersfield Californian newspaper:

"By Monday, the video had been shown on the Today show, Good Morning America, a slew of ESPN shows and on dozens of local news outlets across the country."

"Vicky, who originally came from a government condor study program, cannot be reintroduced to the wild, Krathwohl said. But he has high hopes that a breeding program at his facility will ultimately yield condor chicks that can add to the dwindling numbers of the South American species."

“Vicky was not hurt. She was not stressed,” he said. “The only one that got hurt was the idiot who brought the condor.”

NFL Considering Radical Change

The NFL is reportedly looking into widening the playing field to Canadian Football League (CFL) dimensions.  The National Football Post reported that the league has had talks about increasing the width of the field from 160 feet to 195 feet, and may look at the idea again this offseason.

“I’m not so sure we shouldn’t think about widening the field,” former competition committee member Bill Polian told the National Football Post. “It’s a radical idea, but I think it’s worth thinking about. You would have more space and perhaps a safer game. I say that based on my CFL experience. There are less collisions of that type in the Canadian game.”


Concerns over the prevalence of injuries and hard collisions have led to the discussion, as the NFL looks to make the game as safe as possible, while not decreasing the toughness essential to football.  Although the National Football Post argues that a larger field would allow players to gain more speed, thus leading to even more violent collisions.  Additionally, players like quarterbacks who duck out of bounds to escape large hits, would have an even more difficult time reaching the sidelines.
Widening the field could potentially also lead to more of a spread offense type-game, as quarterbacks could throw the ball much more easily to speedy targets across the field.

Logistical issues must be taken into account however before any change is made, as most new NFL stadiums have been built to house a 160-foot wide field.  A larger field may not fit in certain stadiums, or sidelines would be precariously close to walls and infrastructure. Changing the size of the field would be a drastic change to the NFL game, and most likely would not occur anytime soon.  The NFL has made known over the years though, that they are taking player safety very seriously, and will make the necessary policies to achieve a safer game.

NFL field dimensions

CFL field dimensions

2/11/13 Links....

ESPN college football writer Mark Schlabach has released his early rankings for the 2013 season.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum does a hilarious Hunter Pence impression.

Miami has climbed to the pinnacle of college basketball and is predicted as a #1 seed in Jerry Palm's Bracketology.

And, a high school hockey player scored an incredible goal over the weekend.

Boise State Students/Basketball Team Making Noise This Year

For a school that really boasts no success on the basketball court, including only 5 NCAA Tournament appearances and no wins in those games, put on quite a display and showed what college sports are all about.  During last nights win over conference rival Wyoming, "The Corral," as the student section is known, performed flash mob 2.0, a second edition of their famous dance last year.  Last year's version was a YouTube hit in the days following the game, and even made an appearance on SportsCenter. The major takeaway from the show, other than those hideous Wyoming uniforms, is that Idahoans can't dance...Take a look:

Here is last year's version:

A Sad Day for Miami Baseball Fans

After an off season fire sale sending Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and more from the Miami Marlins to the Toronto Blue Jays, Miami fans are getting their revenge on owner Jeffrey Loria. The ramifications of the move, which dismantled a promising roster only a season after construction of a brand new stadium, have already become apparent a week before Spring Training is set to begin. Less than 30 minutes before single game tickets were set to go on sale, this picture was taken outside of Marlins Park:

And at the Marlins yearly fanfest, the concession stands remained hauntingly empty for most of the event.

Phil "Slick"-elson Slips at Pebble Beach

Phil Mickelson created a blooper reel for the ages today at the AT&T Pro Am at Pebble Beach Golf Course. While searching for his wayward golf ball, which happened to be swimming in the Pacific Ocean, Mickelson slipped and fell on his butt.  Here is footage of today's event:

Wisconsin Shocks #3 Michigan

Fans storm the floor after the Badgers upset win over #3 Michigan.

		1	2	OT
#3	MICH	29	31	2	62
	WIS	28	32	5	65

Mayhem continues to ensue this weekend in college basketball as the first big game featured a miraculous shot and OT finish.  With only 2.4 seconds on the clock and down 3 points, Wisconsin inbounded the ball to guard Ben Brust, who dribbled across mid-court and heaved a desperation 3-pointer, that found nothing but the bottom of the net.  The shot was a deadly blow to Michigan, as it forced overtime, where the Wolverines ultimately lost, 65-62.  Brust led the Badgers with 14 points, followed by Jared Berggren who added 13 points and 8 boards.  The loss for Michigan means the top-3 teams have all fallen this week, potentially opening the door for Duke to move back into the top spot.

Tim Lincecum's New Hair

Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum officially unveiled his new haircut in front of the Giants media today.  The cut, which is a combination between actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and MSNBC news  host Rachel Maddow, has earned rave reviews from Giants players and can be seen in this video clip:

Pre-Spring Training Power Rankings

Nothing like a meaningless ranking system for sports right? Well our friends at Sports Illustrated decided that a week before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training would be a great time to announce who the best and the worst teams in baseball are.  The only real surprises are that the Nationals, yes I said the Nationals, are ranked as the top team, and the perennial greatest-team-in-the-history-of-sports-ever Yankees are only ranked in the 13th spot. And by the way, the National League is stacked!  Here is the complete SI pre-Spring ranking:

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Toronto Blue Jays
6. Tampa Bay Rays
7. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Detroit Tigers
9. L.A. Dodgers
10. Texas Rangers

Tiger Makes a Comeback

After losing sponsors and becoming almost a shamed figure in the world of sports, Tiger Woods is making a comeback with Nike endorsements.  Recently Tiger was featured in a commercial with world #1 Rory McIlroy seen here:

Now, a new Tiger ad for Nike's "Covert" driver is sweeping the internet and will soon be airing on television:

Signing Day...The Best and the Worst

If there's one thing we all love in life its definitely lists.  They order our thinking, and well are a hell of a lot easier to read than some meaningless article.  Here are the top-10 recruiting classes from yesterday's "dramatic" (yawn) signing day:

1. Alabama- 26 signed, 6 "5-star" players. One thing I've learned watching college sports is that recruiting can be as much of a science as teaching mice to play soccer (I think that made sense...its impossible) But hey, Alabama is really good and they have a lot of pretty stars next to their player's names, so lets say they have the best class of 2013.

2. Ole Miss- 27 signed, 4 "5-star" players. Ole Miss? Wait this must be a typo...Nope! Ole Miss pulled off one of the best signing days in recent history as the Rebels signed the #1 recruit of 2013, DE Robert Nkemdiche.  Additionally signing to play in Oxford in 2013 was the #1 WR Laqoun Treadwell and the #1 OL Laremy Tunsil.

3. Notre Dame- 24 signed, 3 "5-star" players. Why wouldn't a high school senior want to travel to South Bend? A rich history, beautiful facilities, a passionate coach in Brian Kelly, and invisible girlfriends.  Anyways, despite the recent bizarre Notre Dame headlines, the Irish managed to sign another top-10 class, including the #1 DT Eddie Vanderdoes of Auburn, CA and the #1 OLB Jaylon Smith.

4. Florida- 28 signed, 2 "5-star" players. Who would have guessed...18 year old kids want to play their college ball in Florida? The Florida Gators once again landed a great class that should help third year coach Will Muschamp challenge the SEC elite in 2013.  The Gators class included the likes of #1 CB Vernon Hargreaves and #2 RB Kelvin Taylor.

5. Ohio State- 24 signed, 1 "5-star" player. Rounding out the top-5 is the Buckeyes of Ohio State who landed 2 top-3 players at their position in S Vonn Bell and WR Corey Smith.  Urban Meyer has repeatedly criticized the lack of big-time recruiting in the Big-10, and maybe this class will show his peers how to get the job done.

6. Florida State
7. Auburn
8. Michigan
9. LSU
10. Texas A&M

Where there is success in sports, there is always failure, and these BCS schools failed miserably in their recruiting efforts on Wednesday:

Georgia Tech (#79 overall)
California (#40 overall)
Arizona State (#41 overall- One of the best schools to both play football and have a good time...only landed 1 "4-star" recruit)
Tennessee (#25 overall- managed to land only 4 "4-star" recruits for a program with a rich history and one that competes in the SEC...this guy will not be happy...)

The First Post! 2/7/13 Links...

Today marks the first edition of our "Links..." series which will feature links from around the web to interesting, unique, crazy, and more sports stories.  Today's edition includes:

Ever wonder how much NFL teams travel, or who travels the most? Here is your answer...

49ers star QB Colin Kaepernick has spent his early off-season "enhancing" his image...

And finally, a truly inspiring story as a one-handed high school football player signs a national letter of intent...

Sideline Sports

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Enjoy!