Extreme sheepherding…is it a sport? Is this even real!? I love this sort of tomfoolery! Happy Monday, work force!
[Posted by Kathleen]
Tag Archives: sports
youtube clip of today: dr. mcswimmy.
One word: RAWR.
Jimmy Kimmel strikes again! Who knew he was so funny?
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under celebrities, crushes, humor, pop culture, random, sports, TV, YouTube
joseph petcka is a huge jerkface.
Former minor league baseball player and “actor” Joseph Petcka killed his girlfriend’s cat. (His girlfriend, well let me make an assumption and say EX-girlfriend, is Sports Illustrated writer Lisa Altobelli.) Why would anyone do that? Well according to court papers, he yelled “You love that cat more than me!”. Whoa. That is absolutely pathetic on his part. And then he kicked poor Norman the cat to death. The terrible story should end there, but it doesn’t. Today is the start of Petcka’s trial and here is what he says. Killing 7 lb. Norman was–and I am not making this up–self defense. Norman was apparently biting him. Wahhhh wahhhh, Joseph. Grow a pair and then grow up. You aren’t a man, you’re a monster.
Here is Norman–RIP little buddy.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under animals, celebrities, news, random, sports, Uncategorized
an extreme sport in your pocket.
Dear readers, let’s take a break from the insanity that is the Olympics (and a breather from our FURY that Natsia Liukin got second in the uneven bars even though she TIED the Chinese child), and focus on the red-headed stepchild of sports: extreme yo-yo.
You heard me right. The wacky little toy that you loved as a child — despite the fact that your tricks were limited to tossing it up and down really fast (or was that just me?) — is back with a vengeance. The 2008 World Yo-Yo Contest was recently held in Orlando, and perhaps because they aren’t owned by NBC, the New York Times was allowed to cover the event. I should warn you that the article on the contest is at times a little too, er, punny, with gems like these:
But any national rivalries are just loose slipknots untangled by the Internet, where tricks are traded and friendships are tied.
“They have the language of the string,” Gregory Cohen, the event’s organizer, said.
They have the language of the string? SERIOUSLY, GREGORY?!
Still, I have to admit that it’s a kind of cool sport (hobby?). There are seven different divisions, and each one is pretty nuts. Just try to imagine this:
In 4A, the off-string division, some competitors cast the string, like a whip or a fishing rod, and wrapped it around the axle of an airborne yo-yo. The string-on-string friction was enough for the string to virtually tie itself and snare the spinning yo-yo. It was like watching a frog’s tongue zap a fly.
At first, my brain honestly could not process that. (An off-string yo-yo competition? Isn’t that an oxymoron?) But this video proves that it is not:
Kid’s got skillz. Who needs Warped Tour and skate parks when you’ve got a yo-yo and hundreds of hours of inspirational YouTube videos?
P.S. If you’re feeling frisky (and by frisky I mean bored), take a look at this Web page about yo-yo trivia.
[Posted by Mallory]
just six words and a picture.
Here is the Chinese Gymnastics team is totally underage edition. (Note: Olympic gymnasts must be at least 16 in the year of the Olympics. Click here to read how China cheated) Below is all the evidence I needed. Haha :
Glitter? Yup. She is DEFINITELY fourteen.
Filed under news, six word memoirs, sports
and i’m BACK in the game!
Okay, so even though I am an adult and got the cable and Internet arranged, the Comcast guy doesn’t come until tomorrow, so I’ve been practically weeping at every Olympic reference in the news because I still don’t have a working TV, dammit. Today, however, I remembered that I have very little to do, plus a working computer, plus access to the Internet. And MSNBC has video. At least for swimming, I’m feeling a little caught up. The commie Olympic folks won’t let people post videos on YouTube, but if you didn’t see the men’s 400 free relay, find a way to watch it immediately. I may have sobbed while watching the boys celebrate. Here’s Michael Phelps celebrating in a slightly terrifying way:
Nice work, Michael. Equally nice work in the 800 free relay, and everything else you’ve swam and won. I’ve gotten plenty of flack on this blog for making fun of the way certain European monkey athletes look, but I’d just like to see a little less of Michael Phelp’s fucked up teeth (which are on an amazing body, and he is an amazing athlete, calm down, Etienne) and a little more of Mr. Lochte. Just saying:
Mmm, now what was I talking about? Ah, right Olympics. Go America!
And Ryan? I like the hair better shaggy.
[Posted by Mallory]
my complicated relationship with the olympics.
As I’ve said before, I really do love the Olympics. (Kathleen does too.) It’s one of those things that you can’t help but anticipate, even if you’re not a die-hard Olympic fan (which I surely am not). It’s like the Superbowl, or Christmas: whether or not you really care about the event, and even if the event is sort of a letdown because you don’t follow football or your relatives are crazy, it’s still great to look forward to it and then eat lots of appropriately themed foods.
In honor of my excitement for the Opening Ceremonies this Friday, I have proposed a Beer Olympics with my nearest and dearest New Jersey friends. We’ll see if it actually works out. I’ve always wanted to participate in some sort of drinking Olympics, and until now, I’d never gotten the chance. Then again, things like that always sound good in theory, and then are kind of miserable in practice (read: case races). But I digress.
What I wanted to tell you is that things like this MSN slideshow make me even more excited for the Olympics. I mean, who doesn’t get all jazzed about pictures like this:
But then I read articles like Sally Jenkins’ “Partners in Grime” (WashPo), and I get all depressed. In the article, she first talks about the terrible pollution in Beijing, which is so bad that some athletes have even had to drop out of the Games:
Athletes are threatening to skip the Opening Ceremonies because they’re afraid the environment of the host city will sicken them or compromise their medal chances, and distance runner Haile Gebrselassie dropped out of the marathon because the fumes are too heavy for him to run that distance.
How awful is that? Can you imagine waiting FOUR YEARS for your Olympic shot and then not getting to compete because of the polluted air? I would not be happy.
On top of the International Olympic Committee’s disregard for the health of its athletes, it appears the Olympics are just one big money-making scheme, just like everything else in this world. And I guess if I thought about it, I knew that, but it’s so much more fun to pretend that it’s still all about the love of the game (which, hopefully it still is for most of the athletes). Here’s Jenkins’ take:
So what is this Olympics really about? It’s about 12 major corporations and their panting ambitions to tap into China’s 1.3 billion consumers, the world’s third-largest economy. Understand this: The International Olympic Committee is nothing more than a puppet for its corporate “partners,” without whom there would be no Games. These major sponsors pay the IOC’s bills for staging the Olympics to the tune of $7 billion per cycle. Without them, and their designs on the China market, Beijing probably would not have won the right to host the Summer Games.
Plus, there are all sorts of human rights violations going on, with people being jailed unnecessarily and generally treated like crap so that Beijing can “look good” for the Olympics. (And this NY Times article unearths a pretty sad truth: that literal walls are being put up to block homes and shops that aren’t deemed appropriate for Olympic visitors to see.) Depressing, right? It’s upsetting that an event which was supposed to be about a pretty pure thing has become more about politics and business, and has often led to a good amount of protests and violence.
Sigh. Enough Debbie Downer-ing for one day, eh?
[Posted by Mallory]
now that’s a fine looking mustache.
Before I say anything at all let me get this out of the way: it’s been awhile since we’ve posted–we know, and now we’re back. Hooray! Alright. Down to business. Because this is important.
One thing that has always puzzled me about men is how they handle the issue of facial hair. To them, it’s a serious matter. I remember after high school graduation (I went to Catholic school, and the boys had to be clean shaven) every boy tried to grow a goatee. Some succeeded, most failed. But they all talked about it, whether it was peach fuzz or a freaking forest.
The goatee seems to be the baby step and primer to the ultimate manly facial hair goal-a nice full beard. Rawr. But what about the mustache? Is that the in between? It is so mysterious. It can be very serious or anything but. There are so many different types- from the handle bar to the Super Mario to the “molestache” to the Tom Selleck. All are intriguing.
So I found this slideshow absolutely delightful! It is a collection of the best sports mustaches. The virile combination of sports and facial hair. It doesn’t get any better than this. Good morning! Oh, and if you can bring any clarity to the facial hair thing, please let me know.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under pop culture, random, sports
confession: i’ve never been to fenway.
Mallory and I are usually on the same side with everything, but alas, I have found a difference between us: she supports the New York Yankees. Being that this blog is 50% mine, I will keep things balanced (but not “fair and balanced” because Fox News and their deceptive slogan makes me sick to my journalistic integrity-loving stomach) and talk about the Boston Red Sox. (Haha I love you, Mal!)
Those who know me know that I’m far more likely to know political scores than baseball scores, but come on, I do live in New England. And my journey to being a Red Sox fan is not a long one, but before you judge me and call me a fair-weather fan, hear me out. I grew up with Cal Ripken, the Orioles and Camden Yards. But upon moving to New Hampshire from Maryland my sophomore year of high school (I had one girl say to me, “New Hampshire? Isn’t that, like, up north somewhere?” Yes hun, it is.), I quickly realized that loving the Red Sox was not just a passion some people have; it is a way of life.
It didn’t come easily, but after awhile, I began to slowly develop affection for the Sox much like Belle for Beast in the Disney classic, “Beauty and the Beast”. Sorry, I had to throw that in. I spent hours watching the games with friends, a pastime I would never have done as an O’s fan. So I started off slow, just watching the games and learning the personalities of the players. Now, I have lived in NH for six years-and because of this I consider myself to be on the same level as a six-year-old child when it comes to my love for the Red Sox. My dad bought me my first Red Sox hat last year! Hooray!
But Mal and I have one thing in common despite our different sides in one of the deepest and longest of rivalries: I have never been to a game at Fenway Park, just as she’s never been to a game at Yankee Stadium. It’s humiliating, but true. I yearn for the day when I can join pretty much every other New Englander and say that I went to Fenway and saw the World Series champions.
So, if anyone wants to help me on my journey, give me a call. Take me out to the ball game. I love hot dogs. And beers.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under definitely not politics, random, sports
tribute: to uncle kevin, yankee stadium.
Though I generally just support all Denver sports, I would consider myself to be a Yankee fan. It’s in my genes. My dad has always been a big Yankee fan (I’m actually not sure why, considering he was born and raised in Denver), and my mom’s whole side of the family is from New York. In fact, my mom and her four brothers grew up in the Bronx, not too far from Yankee Stadium. My mom’s youngest brother, my Uncle Kevin, is a die hard Yankee fan, and he truly appreciates the rare times he actually gets to go to a game in person.
My sister and I went to visit my Uncle Kevin about ten years ago, and he was determined that we experience a game at Yankee Stadium. I remember getting there, buying some souvenirs, and being introduced to what my uncle said was a quintessential New York baseball food: a soft pretzel with mustard on the side. (I still love pretzels dipped in mustard.) Then, to our disappointment — but much more so to my uncle’s — the game was rained out, and we didn’t get to see a single pitch.
Now that this is the last year the Yanks will play at their beloved old stadium, I’ll probably never get to see a game there. Still, I’m glad that I got pretty darn close, with someone whose passion for the game did the experience justice.
[Posted by Mallory]
six words to change the world. 
