Sporty Weekend

First, let me preface this by saying I'm posting this on my phone... so if there are a few typos, cut me a little slack.

Cory and I are in the midst of a very sporty weekend. It started with Cory's beloved Mizzou putting up one helluva fight against UConn in the Elite Eight. They got hosed by the refs (or at least that's what Cory says), but it was a really good game.

Then, with acout 50 seconds left in the game (Mizzou down by about six), I look at the clock and say, "oh crap. We're going to the Hockey game!"

I might add that it was 6:50 pm. The game starts at 7:30. And we live half an hour away.

Oops.

See, a month ago, one of my Radio ad reps gave me some free tickets. Cool, right? Except when you forget you have them until half an hour to gametime.

So the game ends, we change into our Hockey-game clothes (Red Wings jersey for me, Charlestown Chiefs jersey for Cory), and haul ass to the game. The Blades win, all is right with the world. Cory even kinda forgets about the Mizzou loss.

We're on our way home now (Don't worry, Cory's driving. I had too many Molsons to drive).

Tomorrow, more fun... we have tickets to see the Cardinals play the Twins in one of the last Spring Training games of the year. We're hoping Colby Rasmus will play for the Redbirds... we'll see.

So that's our weekend. I've been tweeting about it on my twitter page, too... http://www.twitter.com/kbolesen.

Madness!

The NCAA tournament is underway, and there's something refreshing about filling out my brackets with a clear mind. Unlike years past, it's not cluttered with random information I picked up while being your friendly neighborhood sportslady.

My bracket, by the way, is doing all right. Not great, not horrible. Michigan screwed me over a little (though I'm happy they won. Go Blue!), and I missed one of the 8/9 matchups (but really, those are pretty much crapshoots).

The thing that makes me nervous is my final four. In one of my brackets, I have three #1 seeds. As my friend Matt said, "That never happens. Except when it does."

I haven't checked with Cory to see how his brackets are doing... While he's not competitive with me, I constantly feel the need to compete with him on all things sports-y (except for actual physical sports. We all know who would win those matchups).

So, root for me, root for a lot of #1 seeds in the Final Four, and root for Memphis to win the national championship. Go Tigers!

Obligatory Sports-Related Post

A local sports story made its way onto the front page of ESPN.com yesterday-- as one of our area high school football teams beat another local squad 91-0.

Had I not been unceremoniously dumped by my previous employer, there's a very good chance I would have been at that game and would be covering that story.

I know how 91-0 looks. But for what it's worth, the Naples High School coach is an okay guy. He's not some asshat that wants to run up the score on his team's opponents. I've seen him pull his starters after the first half-- or even the first quarter-- numerous times. And while he certainly enjoys winning-- he's not just a coach, but he's also an educator who cares about students. All students, not just the ones on his side of the field.

Farewell, Coach

I just read that Paul Newman died... and now I think I'll have to watch my favorite Paul Newman movie again tonight. No, not The Hustler. Or The Sting. Or even Butch Cassidy & The Sunshine Kid.

Those who know me well know that I believe Paul Newman's greatest accomplishment was as coach Reg Dunlop in Slap Shot.



About 15 years ago, I was watching the Today Show while they were interviewing Newman. Katie Couric asked him to look back on his career and tell her which movie was his favorite. Guess which one it was?

He said he'd never had so much fun shooting a movie as he had shooting Slap Shot.

We'll miss you, coach Dunlop.

Going for the Gold

I've been exhausted for the last week, primarily because I've been staying up until well past 1 a.m. watching the Olympics every night.

No posts here about Michael Phelps. Yeah, what he did was amazing, and I love watching Olympic swimming. But I'm burnt out on the guy. Seriously. So glad it's over, because I can't watch his freaky double-jointed elbows flapping around the pool any more.

Actually, I have one more thought about Michael Phelps... but I'll save it for the end of this post.

What I really wanted to talk about is Jamacian sprinter Usain Bolt-- and his performance in the 100-meters yesterday.

Un-freakin-believeable. First of all, the dude is 6'5". He towers over the competition. And he hauls ass.

By the 50 yard mark, he was the leader. By the 70 yard mark, it was obvious he would win. By the 85 yard mark, he'd already started to slow down, look around, and even pound his chest in victory. Oh, and he beat his own world record.

The whole thing pissed Cory off. "Why'd he have to screw around? I want to see how fast he could actually go?!?"

Today, I watched Venus and Serena Williams win the gold in doubles tennis. They dominated. And during their post-match interview, they were giggling like schoolgirls. Like they'd never won a tournament before. Or been on TV before. It's pretty refreshing to see famous "been-there-done-that" athletes act like little kids because they won a gold medal.

Okay-- so back to Michael Phelps. if you want a good giggle, watch this video (the good stuff doesn't come until about 4:15 into the clip. Feel free to fast-forward):


I'm pretty sure the dude isn't joking. And he was on my fantasy football team last year. I'm so ahsamed.

Girl Power!

The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced its induction class for 2008. No surprise, there are some big names on there.
Brett Hull.
Brian Leetch.
Mike Richter.

And Cammi Granato.

Casual hockey fans know Cammi as the sister of former (and current again) Colorado Avalanche head coach Tony Granato, who spent his playing years with the San Jose Sharks (among other teams). Others may know Cammi as the wife of Ray "Chicken Parm" Ferraro, who's an ESPN analyist and a former forward for the Whalers/Islanders/Kings/Thrashers/Blues (and I've probably missed a team or two in there).

But true hockey fans know her as the greatest female hockey player in history, captaining a pair of gold-medal olympic teams. And in October, they'll know her as a "Hall of Famer."

You go, girl!

So many things to write about...

...so little time.

I've been pretty busy at work lately, with the Grand Opening late last month, the trip to Colorado a week ago, and budget time rolling around. It feels like all the time I spend away from the office, I'm either napping or trying to catch up on the TiVo. And yet, I never get enough sleep... and the TiVo is still jam-packed.

I have a few quick thoughts, though.

First, I've taken upon myself to try to avoid Wal-Mart until after the presidential election. It's not going to be easy, I can assure you. I can readily steer clear of the Supercenter (and very happily do so), but avoiding the "neighborhood market" just down the street will be tough. It's open 24 hours. And the prices there are much lower than any of the other nearby grocery stores. But I really don't like the fact that they told their employees how to vote. Three months is a long time.... we'll see how long I last before I cave in to their "falling prices."

Second, my love affair with Brett Favre is officially over. Of course, he never knew it existed. This last month has made me realize that his ego is just as big... if not bigger... than the rest of the players in the NFL. Oh-- he's still adorable. But he's a bit of a weenie. I guess it's time for me to retire the Brett Favre jersey.

Third, since I've had numerous people mention it to me, I have to make an "only in Florida" post. I hesitated to post it because it was all over CNN for the last couple of days, but what the hell. Did you hear about the guy who called 911 about a Subway emergency? No-- not a terrorist atttack on an underground train. A Subway restaurant emergency. Apparently, his sub didn't have enough sauce. Even better... when police didn't arrive after his first call, he called again to complain that they were taking too long.

Somehow, this state still finds ways to surprise me.

The (Almost) Perfect Man

(Almost, because he's not my husband)

Regular readers of my little blog are probably familiar with my nauseating affection for former Rams/Seahawks Defensive End Grant Wistrom.

However, I'm not sure if I've ever waxed poetic about my fondness for Chiefs Tight End Tony Gonzalez.

First of all, the man's good-looking. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't notice. He's also one hell of a football player. Every year, I draft him for my fantasy football team, and every year, I get a lot of crap from people in my league saying that he's "too old" to draft. And yet, he's typically still one of the most productive players I have.

Finally, he's a nice guy. I got a chance to interview him once, and he didn't give off any of that "why the hell am I talking to you" air that a lot of pro athletes emit. And last week, he saved a life. When a man started choking near him in a restaurant, Tony jumped out of his chair and performed the Heimlich maneuver.

Interestingly enough, he's saved a life once before-- but more more indirectly. I vividly remember reporting the story during my first year working at KTVO. About eight years ago, during a road game, Tony crashed into a sideline photographer, knocking the photographer silly and sending him to the hospital. Tony (nice guy that he is) stayed by the photographer's side until they got him on the stretcher and off of the field. The photographer had a seizure while he was passed out, and doctors decided to perform a CT scan and MRI. It's a good thing they did... the tests revealed that the photographer had a brain tumor-- one that would never had been discovered if Tony Gonzalez hadn't crashed into him on the sideline. Crazy, huh?

No-No? Yes, Yes!

Two years ago, Jon Lester was a promising young pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. But late in the season, he was diagnosed with a rare form of non-hodgkin's lymphoma.

Just six months later, after several rounds of chemo, I saw him at spring training, working out with the minor leaguers... and he looked great. Only a little more than a year after his diagnosis, he pitched the World Series clincher for the Red Sox.

Tonight, I caught something even cooler-- flipping to ESPN just in time to see him cap off a no-hitter for the BoSox at Fenway Park. Yeah, no-hitters are always pretty special... but this one definitely felt a little more significant.

Grapes!

For the first time since Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann stopped doing "The Big Show" more than a decade ago, there's finally another reason to watch Sportscenter on ESPN: Don Cherry.


I was convinced that ESPN had completely given up on hockey after the lockout. They Dropped "NHL 2Nite," and they showed more Major League Soccer highlights than NHL video during the regular season. This, however, is promising.

By the way... I don't want to name names... but guess who Don Cherry is predicting to win the Stanley Cup?

March Madness

Sunday was a little strange for me-- Cory and I watched the March Madness selection show, and I realized that I didn't really know much about college basketball this year. Other than a couple of conference tournament games this weekend, I really haven't watched anyone play since mid-December. I mean, I can usually make some pretty educated guesses when I fill out my bracket, but this year, I'll be that annoying person in your office who chooses their teams by picking the one with the best mascot (and if that's my primary criterion, the Western Kentucky Hilltopper will at least make it to the final four).

Here's the other weird thing. For the first time in a decade, I won't be able to watch the majority of the first-round games. In the past, I've either been on spring break (fantastic timing), worked at a TV station where watching college hoops all day was my job, had a schedule that gave me Thursdays and Fridays off, or a combination of all of the above. This year, not so much. I won't be able to call Cory and tell him (mid-workday) about the awesome finish to every game.

I'm not sure I'm going to make it. And no, I can't take a personal day. I just need to come to terms with it... I'm a "normal" person. And normal people miss the first round of the tournament all the time.

Sigh.

Random Thoughts

Because I don't have the energy to make a bunch of seperate posts:

1) I had a four-hour interview today for a job that I really, really, really, really want. It's down to me and two other people. And I'm afraid that if I don't get this job, I'm going to really, really, really, really lose my mind.

2) So, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl. Huh. I guess I have to stop thinking that Eli Manning is a marginal talent that's always skated by because his last name was "Manning." It's going to be hard-- I've felt this way for a long time.

3) Why is it that every time I log onto my computer, it sends me to a page detailing the Microsoft Service Pack #2 and #3. It's not asking me to download anything. It's not giving me any new information. And it's definitely not set as my internet homepage. And yet, every time I log on, it automatically sends me to that confounded page again.

4) Taxes are a pain in the ass.

5) Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, and our favorite local hangout had some kind of festivities with a buffet. I didn't go, because I had to be up ultra-early for the aformentioned job interview.

6) Cory's most recent job responsibility at work is to answer the "contest phone." Every night, his station is giving away $500 to a viewer, and the contest happens right before he gets off work. He's been in a great mood every night when he gets home from work because he just ended his workday by making someone's day. Hell, $500 would make my week.

7) Has anyone else seen the show "Dirt" with Courteney Cox? I've been trying to discover new shows (mostly on cable) since the writers' strike started, and I caught an episode the other night. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. I also watched the premiere of "Welcome to the Captain" last night. As far as I'm concerned, anything with Jeffrey Tambor's seal of approval is worth watching. This review, however, begs to differ. The way I see it, a pilot isn't supposed to be a show's best episode. I'll keep watching.

8) Speaking of Jeffrey Tambor, I heard that an "Arrested Development" movie could be in the works.

9) Oh, I'm reading a lot, too. Mostly non-fiction type stuff about public relations, marketing, and how-to books about job interviews. I'm also about a third of the way through "Water for Elephants."

10) I'm finally started to get interested in the presidential race. Once again, I don't really have any strong feelings in favor of one particular candidate-- but I think it's great that for the first time in my life, a convention might actually mean something!

11) Today was National Signing Day. And for the first time in seven years, I didn't have to spend the entire day driving from high school to high school, trying to beat the traffic and make it to six or seven schools, interview dozens of high school football players, and together a feature story at the last second. I don't miss it at all.

So there it is... a little mini update. Nothing earth-shattering.... at least not yet.

Larger Than Life

I can't believe I've resisted posting this photo for so long.

As you may already know, the University of Kansas is playing in the Orange Bowl tonight. The University of Kansas also has a very large coach, Mark Mangino. Larger than life, some might say. I know the Orange Bowl mascot probably thinks so.

You know you're a fattie when you're actually larger than a mascot.

My mother has, on occasion, referred to me as a "chubby chaser," because the men I've dated have typically fallen into the "teddy bear" category. The way I see it, I'm a big girl. 5'9" on a short day. I need to date big guys. Just not Mangino-size.

Ok, really quickly, I need to tell my favorite Mark Mangino story.

My friend Molly went to Kansas. And every year, she makes it back for at least one football game. In fact, right now, she's at the Orange Bowl, freezing her ass off. So, last year, Molly and some of her old college friends go to the homecoming game. And they're joking around about how fat their coach is. One of their friends, who doesn't follow football, asks who they're talking about. Molly points down at the field and says, "That's him. Between the 40 yard line and the 42 yard line."

And her friend squeals, "Oh my God, our coach is two yards wide!"

Just at that moment, Mangino turns to the side. And Molly's friend squeals, "He's two yards the other way, too!"

That's a true story.

Here's another: One time, Mark Mangino was driving through Kansas City on a recruiting trip. He traveled down I-435, got off at the wrong exit, and got lost. After driving around for close to an hour, he finally stopped at a gas station to ask for directions.

"Hey," Mangino queries, "How do I get back to 435?"

The gas station attendant replies, "You might try eating a salad."

Ok, so that one probably isn't a true story. But it's damn funny.

Devine Design

Did anyone happen to catch West Virginia's thorough trouncing of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? Let me clarify-- first of all, I love to see the Sooners lose. There's something so cathartic about it.

But more than that, I love to watch Mountaineers Freshman Noel Devine play football. He hasn't played a lot, but Steve Slayton got injured tonight, and Noel filled in pretty admirably. If you saw the second half, you probably saw his two touchdowns, and some of his amazing moves. He's pretty impressive. And yeah, he's had his troubles. The kid's had a rough life, so to see him perform so well on the national stage was fantastic.

I was lucky enough to get to see him play at North Fort Myers High School-- during my former career as a professional sportslady, I saw nearly all of Noel's games during his senior year. And the things you saw in the game were really no comparison to some of the things I saw him do in high school. Want a little sampling? Okay, here goes:

Pursuit of Perfection

About two months ago, when the undefeated New England Patriots were playing the also-undefeated Indianapolis Colts, I got kind of a cool opportunity. I got a chance to interview Earl Morrall and Charlie Babb of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and ask them how they felt about the possibility that one of those teams would equal their perfect season.

Unlike crazy Mercury Morris, who you've probably seen on TV ranting and raving about the Pats' record, Morrall and Babb were very courteous, very respectful. They said they wouldn't be bitter or angry if someone duplicated their record-- but that they wouldn't be cheering for someone to do it, either. Babb added (and I'm paraphrasing here), "We're old men now. That 16-0 season is all we have left to hang our hats on."

Of course, that possibility has become a reality. The Patriots escaped the New York Giants on Saturday night to go 16-0-- a perfect season for just the second time in history.

Or is it? What if I told you that another team had a perfect season-- before either the Dolphins or the Patriots?

The Cleveland Browns did it in 1948. That's right-- a team you've heard of. A team that's in the NFL, though at the time the Browns were a member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

The AAFC was only around a few years, but it was a pretty formidable opponent to the NFL. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills started out as members of the AAFC. The AAFC even drew more fans to their games than the NFL.

Just a year after the Browns' perfect season, the NFL absorbed the AAFC, and the Browns became one of the top teams in the league.

Now here's the rub. In 1970, the NFL had another merger with the AFL-- and the NFL recognizes all of the AFL's records (pre-1970) as NFL records. The same isn't true for the AAFC records. So the NFL doesn't recognize the 1948 Browns-- or their perfect season. Sure, they only won 15 games (as opposed to the Patriots 16 so far), but perfect is perfect, right?

It's kind of sad, really. Most of the players on that team were born in the 1920's. And while the bigger names, like Otto Graham and Lou Groza, have passed away, I'm sure there are still members of the perfect 1948 Browns that are still alive and kicking.

I wonder what they think about the 2007 Patriots?

But now you know. So when that guy in your office starts babbling about how awesome the Patriots are, dazzle him with your knowledge of the first NFL team to play a perfect season. You'll blow his mind.

Only In Florida- Hall of Fame Edition

This isn't a new story-- but it's one of my all-time favorites. It's also a running joke in our office at work.

Back in 2002, then-Green Bay Packers running back Najeh Davenport was accused of breaking into a woman's dorm room at Barry University in Miami, hiding in the closet, and leaving her a very unpleasant piece of sports memorabilia. Specifically, he defecated in her laundry basket.

As a tribute, one of my friends named his Fantasy Football team "Davenport's Dooky" (or is it spelled "dookie?")

For what it's worth, Davenport denied it, asking "Where's the evidence? Where's the manure?" at his court appearance. He agreed to do community service to settle the felony burglary charge and criminal mischief count.

Faith (Somewhat) Restored

I was pretty surly when I went to bed last night. The day started fine... I got up early to cover a story, and I felt pretty secure in the knowledge that either Missouri or West Virginia would play in the college football national championship game. And even better, both of them might play in it.

Hell, that's why most of us watch sports, right? For the surprise of an under-the-radar program like Missouri to make it to the big game. College Basketball fans loved watching George Mason's run-- and Gonzaga is a perennial fan favorite among hoops fans-- simply because of their no-name factor. As for West Virginia, they've been getting a little bit better every year... I hoped that this year they'd get the big payoff.

But then Missouri fell behind to Oklahoma... and blew it. And then West Virginia just couldn't score against Pitt (really? Pitt? Have they even won a game since Dan Marino graduated?), and the Mountaineers lost, too.

I was prepared for the inevitability that Missouri could lose to the Sooners. They lost to them earlier in the year. I was not prepared for the remote possibility that the 'Eers could lose.

Does anyone want to play for the damn national title?

So, now it looks like (ugh) Ohio State will play in the BCS Championship. Blech. I don't like OSU as it is... and I work with some really obnoxious Buckeye fans who have made me hate their school even more.

But then... it got worse. After work, Cory, Andrew, and I went out for a bite to eat at my new favorite hangout, Bar Louie. And we watched Hawaii play Washington. Yes, Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors have become my favorite football team to watch over the last four or five years. If he was so inclined, June Jones could turn me into the greatest quarterback in college football. He's that good.

Now, Hawaii will never play for a national title. They can't get teams to spend the money to travel to Hawaii to play them, and their isolated location means they can't recruit a team full of blue chips the way that most schools in middle America can. But guess what? Only one school in Division 1-A College Football is undefeated. And it ain't Ohio State.

So, Hawaii's playing for a shot at one of the BCS games. If they're undefeated, the BCS committee really can't deny them a trip to, say, the Sugar Bowl. Well, I guess, they could... but they probably wouldn't.

But stupid Hawaii kept turning the ball over in the first quarter. Colt Brennan, who's been my sleeper pick for the Heisman Trophy all year, fumbled the ball away on their first posession, and before I'd even realized what had happened, Washington was up 21-0.

My little heart was breaking for the Warriors. When I got home and went to bed, Washington was up 28-21, and I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

So, imagine my surprise this morning, when I woke up and turned on ESPN, and found out that Hawaii won the game!

Sure, they won't get to play for the national title, but I don't care. The national championship game wasn't half as fun as last year's Fiesta Bowl, when Boise State stuck it to Oklahoma. At least I can watch Hawaii play in a meaningful bowl game this year. Oh, and when the title game rolls around, I can root for whoever ends up playing against the Buckeyes

Only In Florida

Despite the fact that the "Devil Ray" is an aquatic creature commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have decided that their former nickname was far too offensive. They've removed the "Devil" from their name. That's right, in an apparent move to make the team more likeable, they're now just the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yeah, that's what they needed. The fact that they're the only team that's never made the MLB playoffs-- that's not the reason why people don't go to their games. But now that they've given the devil the boot, I'm sure people will be lining up at the gates, right?

I bet you're curious why they didn't change it to "Manta Rays." Well, apparently someone thinks that when people hear the word "ray," they think about "rays" of sunshine. And the Sunshine State.

Personally, I think of Ray Liotta. Maybe he should be their new mascot.

Homesick?

Regular visitors to the ol' sportslady blog will no doubt recall that I wasn't particularly fond of my time spent in Georgia. Sure, there were good times (like Music Midtown, which, sadly, is now defunt), but there were also bad times, like the crazy hours I worked at two evil stations which shall remain nameless.

But every now and then, something happens which makes me miss my time in C-Town. Like a month ago, when I had my first encounter with USF's head football coach. The encounter lasted a whole ten seconds, and I learned quickly that he's a self-important ass with the social skills of one of Michael Vick's pitbulls. I think back to how lucky I was to cover Auburn University. Tommy Tuberville is a class act, and Auburn will always be one of my favorite teams because of him.

And then, there's this: A little video I stumbled across on YouTube.


I miss obscenely-dancing mascots. This one, actually, is pretty tame, compared to some of the dancing mascots I saw back in the Peach State. If you can't watch someone in a fuzzy costume perform dance moves that would get them arrested anywhere else, then what's the fun of high school football?

An Athlete in His Prime...

We see it all the time-- an athlete in his (or her) prime suffers an injury so debilitating that he (or she) can't play any more. Think Bo Jackson. Or Jiri Fischer.

Now, devastating news from the world of competitive eating: Kobayashi has an arthtic jaw. On his blog, he calls it a "Fatal Wound."

For those of you who haven't yet seen the wonder of a small japanese man eating 50+ hot dogs in a matter of twelve minutes, it's pretty damned impressive. And a little disgusting. Ok, make that a lot disgusting. And "The Tsunami" Kobayashi has done it six straight years at Coney Island.

Looks like this may be the year for Joey "Jaws" Chestnut. By the way, the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is broadcast live every year on ESPN. You can catch it while you're eating your own hot dogs at noon.