TGIF: Out of the Office Edition

My Friday was technically Wednesday this week – I am somewhere on the Gulf Coast as you read this, so no long post this Friday. However, it’s also the weekend of the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference – which means a bunch of ESPN and other sports world and personalities are out of the office as well. Which panel interests you most?
The discussion about firing coaches (with Stan VanGundy and Brian Burke!) cleverly titled “It’s Not You It’s Me”? The Lance Armstrong discussion (not with the actual Lance)? The surrealism of Mark Cuban and Nate Silver in the same room? Also, how long until ESPN starts streaming this on ESPN3?

So This Happened: MLB Remixes Rihanna’s “Diamonds”

http://www.youtube.com/embed/hYcm9xpnSpM

It appears that fans aren’t the only people missing baseball season. This parody, created by MLB, stars Miguel Cabrera and Adam Jones and features a whole slew of supporting MLB figures, including Jim Palmer, Buck Martinez and Luis Gonzalez.

The only thing that would make this better is if we find out that Miguel Cabrera was the one actually singing. Amazeballs.

What fresh hell is this: NHL realignment

No matter how I feel about the NHL, I can’t stay mad at this guy. (Source: Burnaby Beacon)

I’m sure there’s some sort of valid reason for this based on, I don’t know, a desire to keep the NHL “fresh” and “relevant”? On Tuesday reports surfaced of the proposed realignment for the league: a return to four divisions, seven or eight teams per division, new playoff format, same number of teams getting in (the top three teams in each division along with four wild cards.)

My reaction is mixed (never mind that I still haven’t watched a single NHL game this shortened season. No longer bitter, just uninterested.) I’m personally fine with the altered playoff format and the idea of a few wild card slots. The idea of four divisions, however, falls flat with me. What’s wrong with keeping it at six? I’m old enough to remember when the NHL was a four division league, but it was a much smaller league than it is today. How do you foster an effective division rivalry when your division is eight teams wide? Or does that even matter in the 2013 NHL?

This is still a proposal and subject to approval by the usual suspects. But what do you think? Does this realignment make sense to you?

Danica Patrick and Lauren Silberman: Why Even Small Firsts Are Still Important

Danica Patrick has been around, even in NASCAR driver form, for a while now, and if you are like me you’ve gotten used to rolling your eyes at whatever dumb thing the 13 year old boys who run Go Daddy’s marketing department are making her do now and moving on.  So unless you’re a diehard NASCAR fan, you might have missed that this week Danica became the first female driver to ever capture the Daytona 500 pole.

Unless you are a NFL junkie (and I mean a serious, I-am-dvring-the-scouting-combine-footage-on-NFL-Network junkie), you may have also missed that next weekend Lauren Silberman will become the first woman to attend an NFL regional scouting combine as a prospective draftee.

In the context of the wins-oriented sports world, these are not mind-blowing achievements.  No one has won Daytona from the pole in over a decade, and anyone meeting the NFL’s general eligibility requirements (and ponying up the registration fee) can attend a regional level combine (it’s the Draft Combine, which is invitation only, that gets all the media coverage, usually).

But tell the little girls suddenly swarming Daytona that Danica’s pole doesn’t really matter.  Tell the eleven year old in Philadelphia who still is being forbidden to play football solely because of her gender that the best football league in the world accepting a woman’s application to enter their scouting process as if she was any other player is no big deal.  Just think for one minute about SportsCenter Sunday night ending with the traditional celebratory winner and what that looks like if it’s Danica amid the confetti. Think about watching Fox’s Game of the Week on Sunday, and hearing Joe Buck casually announce “Silberman out to attempt the field goal.”  We may be a long way from that actually happening (particularly the latter), but the path to both of those endings just got a little bit smoother.  And that’s something to celebrate.

MLB Photo Day 2013

Josh Reddick showed off his beard and belt?

One of the best parts of spring training is team photo day! Lucky for us, many teams had their official photo day yesterday giving us some great shots of our favorite guys. (I suggest thumbing through the Getty Images’ photo gallery.) As I was perusing through the pictures, I came across some real gems, including the insanely crazy picture of Josh Reddick above. I did some Googling and found out there was a story behind the photos.

Jetting Away: Bart Scott

It’s with a somewhat heavy heart that I take a moment to reflect on the release of linebacker Bart Scott of the New York Jets. His last few seasons were marred by injury and discontent, but we’ll always remember him for this epic interview following the Jets’ pounding of the Pats in the 2010 divisional playoffs:

And so another step has been taken as the Jets try to distant themselves from that dumpster fire of a 2012 season. But take heart, Bart Scott fans: there’s a chance he may land with Buffalita’s Bills.

Saturday Snap Poll: Court Rushing Ettiquette

Today’s Bedlam (Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma) basketball game was yet another classic, an overtime win for 17th ranked OSU vs. their unranked cross-state rivals. Half of Games Mistress’s family was in attendance. Then this happened:

Up to the minute phone photo courtesy GM’s mom.

Now, the way I understand the unwritten rules of court rushing, non-upset related court rushing is only permitted if :

• There is a game-winning buzzer beater (OSU clinched this win with 18 seconds remaining)
• It is the end of a long-standing losing streak to the other team (OU did win the previous meeting this season, but OSU has won this game at home four years in a row)
• It clinches a championship. (This game did not.)

To be fair, my mom and brother, both OSU fans, expressed some dismay over the court rushing (though my mom justified it because “it was a rivalry game and it was so close.”)  It should also be noted that this is the first season in quite some time that OSU’s men’s basketball team has been this good.  But, what do you think?

TGIF: Presidents’ Day Weekend Edition

Did you know the Washington Nationals have traditionally held Racing President auditions on Presidents’ Day?  This year, however, auditions are postponed a week so fan favorite Teddy Roosevelt and new racer William Howard Taft can race to Mount Rushmore.  They start today — follow all the action on the Nats Twitter feed! (That’s totally what you wanted to do this weekend, right?)

Good snacks for bad kitchens: Peanut butter chocolate bananas

My kitchen is terrible. The oven is never the temperature it’s supposed to be, and the one big burner on the stove likes to shut off at random times. I can’t make most of the things I find on Pinterest* but here’s one thing I did make: Chocolate- and peanut-butter bananas.

*Did you hear? We’re on Pinterest!

STEP ONE: Take your laptop into the kitchen and fire up an episode of Friday Night Lights.

Totally sports-related.

Hump Day Hottie: Hockey Players with Pets

Troy Brouwer and one of his famous beagle puppies, Ari.

Who doesn’t love a cute picture of a puppy or kitten? Who does’t love a picture of a hot hockey player? OK, how about if you combine the two? That’s a recipe for swoon. (Well, at least it is for me.) Yesterday, I stumbled (or Tumbl’d?) upon an awesome Tumblr account dedicated to this topic: Hockey Players with Pets.

Here are some of the highlights from the blog: 

Hope Springs: Pitchers and Catchers Report!

Aren’t you impressed that I refrained from using a caps locky title with multiple exclamation points? BUT IT WAS SO TEMPTING!!!!

Monday was the big day for pitchers and catchers from several MLB teams to report. Others, like my Yankees, report Tuesday. And then you have those like my second husband Derek Jeter recovering from surgery and other ailments who have been at their respective training facilities for a while. All this to say HOORAY FOR BASEBALL’S WELCOME RETURN! How about a photo essay?

Let’s start with new Jay R.A. Dickey, who is kind of an awesome human being in case you weren’t aware. It’s going to be tough cheering against this new AL East foe.

There’s something about a maple leaf on R.A. Dickey’s hat that makes him even more endearing. (Canadian Press photo)

Foodie Friday…on a Monday!

Hey foodie fans – I know it’s a little strange to see a Foodie Friday post on a Monday, but hear me out: Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese Frosting. Yup, you heard me. And since Mondays aren’t anyone’s favorite and cupcakes make everything better, and also in honor of Fat Tuesday being tomorrow, I thought I would share my new favorite recipe with you all that was a TOTAL SUCCESS for Super Bowl Sunday :)

TGIF: Feeling Artsy?

Did you miss Katie Baker’s roundup of NHL goalie mask designs? No?  How about NFL matchups as sketched by a Pixar animator? (Games Mistress is partial to the 49ers-Cardinals sketch, and is pretending the Jets sketches don’t exist.)

Sports ‘N Crafts: Mardi Gras Beads Makeover

There are a number of reasons to start our new (and hopefully, semi-regular) feature on sports themed crafts with today’s project.  For one, it is nearly Mardi Gras (and our own CuteSports is in New Orleans as you read this!). For another, the beads in this project belong to my oft-mentioned Saints fan boyfriend, and today is his birthday.  (Don’t worry, babe, I got you real presents, not just a blog post.)

As you can see, my boyfriend’s lucky Saints beads, which he wears for every game, are a little worse for wear after several seasons of nervous fingering.

Winning it All: The Baltimore Ravens are World Champs

It’s been awhile since one of my favorite teams won it all, and I’ve missed the feeling. I’ve been on a high since the Ravens beat Denver last month thanks to Jacoby Jones’ “Mile High Miracle,” and I’m not about to come down. The momentum from that game carried the Ravens into Foxborough, 9 point underdogs for the second week in a row. The Patriots did not stand a chance.

Super Bowl Ad Roundup!

So in case you didn’t hear, the Baltimore Ravens took the Super Bowl XLVII title, besting the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. Ray Lewis was emotional, Beyonce diva-ed it up, and there was a delightfully surprising break in play when the Super Dome lost power and everyone who cares about seeing the ads AND the game could take a nice breather and have a bathroom run. Since I didn’t have any emotional investment in the game either way (minus my being at a very close friend’s all Niners house), I’ll leave bragging rights to our own Raven.  I, however, have been very invested and particular about my Super Bowl advertisements over the years, especially after working at a job that entailed pitching songs to be considered for use in these hilarities.  This fine Monday morning, I bring you a round up of what I thought deserved notice in a slew of what was otherwise overwhelmingly dull.

Ladies… Guide to Super Bowl Prop Bets

As Games Mistress mentioned yesterday, people love to bet on the Super Bowl. It’s always fun to play in a box pool or bet on the winner or even the coin toss (as I’m typing this, the Papa John’s commercial about winning the coin toss and getting free pizza is on). I already know who I’m rooting for, so a “who’s going to win” bet is out of the cards for me. For years, my friends, family and I made fun bets with nothing actually being wagered, but this year I thought it’d be fun to introduce some prop bets to our party. Here’s a list of fun prop bets for your party, especially if you don’t have any rooting interests.

The Best Super Bowl Party (Memories) Ever

There apparently is no such thing as a Super Bowl party image that looks natural and does not feature food.

You’ve probably heard before that the Super Bowl is the biggest gambling day of the year.  I started the week thinking all us Ladies would talk about our best/worst Super Bowl bets, but as it turns out, I am the only one who has any. (One. I have one.  And it’s only because I have friends who are professional poker players who LOVE betting games.)

However, the Super Bowl is also one of the biggest party days of the year.  Even churches have Super Bowl parties, so you do not have to have any particular vices to have a good Super Bowl party story (though it helps). Join us, as we discuss some of our favorite memories of Super Bowl past. And some minor betting.

Raven: I’ve been betting on the Super Bowl since I was a small child. My parents’ friends have parties every year and they always do box pools. Of course, I’ve never won, but when my sister was born, she won three straight years. And she was a baby. She has all the luck.

As far as best party, I’m hoping this year turns out to be the best. The Ravens aren’t in the Super Bowl every year, so it’s kinda special when they are. The last time they were in the Super Bowl was probably the worst Super Bowl party I ever attended. I was away at school, living in an all girls dorm and there was only one other girl in my building who cared about the Ravens and/or football. We took over the lounge, bought snacks and food and had our own lonely party. Eventually some other girls joined us when they realized that we weren’t going to let them watch whatever show they wanted to watch in the lounge. It was sad.

Buffalita: Okay, for betting stories, I unfortunately don’t have anything good that I can think of besides betting myself in my head for four years as a little kid that the Bills could and would actually pull off a win. Obviously I lost those bets.

Bee: My Super Bowl parties are quiet affairs – not enough good friends who like NFL football. That or they’re Patriots fans. My most memorable gathering would have been Super Bowl 32 (Favre’s Packers vs. Elway’s Broncos), in my old one-bedroom apartment. One friend/co-worker came over with a slice of processed cheese on his ball cap. Literally and figuratively cheesy. Meanwhile my bestie, deciding she would cheer for the Denver Broncos, made her own GO BRONCOS flag by defacing an old tabletop provincial flag with GO BRONCOS in black Sharpie, which I realize is at the very least bad protocol if not illegal. But she’s awesome so don’t you dare hold anything against her! 16 years later I think she still has it. Otherwise, not much else to report. I forgot the halftime show was that tribute to Motown with Boyz II Men (was it good? I think I’ve mentally blocked all pre-Wardrobe Malfunction halftime shows.)

The Packers lost and Elway got his stupid Championship (oh, let’s be honest – he deserved it!) and the chili was good. Fun times!

Games Mistress: My one and only Super Bowl betting story happened four years ago, featuring the Cardinals vs. the Steelers.  Now I should preface this by saying, I only gamble at my friend’s Super Bowl parties.  He always has one of those score grids with a buy-in of $5 a box, and I would bring $20 with me every year on the assumption that I’d never see that money again.

I remember that Super Bowl as being kind of dull — possibly because other than one half-hearted Pittsburgh native (who wasn’t otherwise really a sports fan), no one at the party had much of an interest in either team.  So I got REALLY into tracking my boxes.  Unfortunately, I had a bunch of strange numbers (I think at least one involved a 5), and my only decent set (Steelers 7, Cardinals 3) seemed increasingly unlikely the way the score was progressing.  In fact, all three of the mini-prizes awarded after each quarter went to the host’s brother, who had bought something like ten boxes and wasn’t even there.  So I resigned myself to it not being my year, right about as the Cardinals started showing signs of life, scoring 16 unanswered points, including an odd, rare safety on a Pittsburgh holding penalty in the end zone.  Making an otherwise pedestrian 27-21 final score 27-23.

It wasn’t a lot of money, but I do still have the IKEA dresser and desk chair the winnings bought me.

What are your favorite Super Bowl party/betting stories?  Any big plans for Sunday?

The Literally Epic Super Bowl Preview

I couldn’t fail to finish out the football playoff prediction poem links could I? Heroic couplets!

Later today, the Ladies discuss a different kind of Super Bowl Epicness….

Hump Day Hottie: Torrey Smith

I know what you’re all thinking, “Enough with the Ravens, Raven!” But it’s not every day your favorite NFL team is in the Super Bowl. I feel kinda skeevy selecting Torrey Smith as a Hump Day Hottie, considering I’ve been a fan of his since he was 17. Torrey is a former Terp and you know I love my Terps. Also, I want to share the best smile in the NFL with the rest of the world. Enjoy!

Why I love being a curling mom

Curling cuteness from my favourite Olympics

My seven-year-old daughter played in her very first out-of-town tournament this past weekend. It was a big moment for me: a small part of me felt like I finally “arrived” as one of the millions of North American parents who every year pile their kids and their big stinky bags of hockey gear into a minivan and hit the highway to cheer them on in a chilly rink and remind them not to press all the buttons in the hotel elevator.

Except that I drive a Civic, her gear fits into a small backpack, and she’s a curler.

Highs and lows on talking about women’s fandom

You may have already heard about the piece the Rangers posted on their fan site this morning called “A Girl’s Guide to Watching the Rangers.” The piece was so awful and ill-received, they pulled it within about an hour. You can still read the full text here.

We’ve seen this sort of mysogynistic crap on the internet before, but never before has it been Tweeted out by a professional team. My guess is that the fan site did this and the parent company knew nothing about it, but that’s not really an excuse. Clearly they’re going to have some content review policies put in place.

This BuzzFeed reaction piece is pretty great, if only for the tweets they include that show some pretty darn smart (and snarky) Rangers fans reacting to this drivel.

I was all set to spend my lunch hour penning my own reaction when MaggieSox sent me the link to this piece over at Stanley Cup of Chowder that ties together all kinds of lady fandom issues into one really well-written package. Forget whatever crap I’d have given you – read this instead.

Really, I was going to past a few of the better parts here for you, but I ended up copying most of the text, which ain’t right, so just do yourself a favor and go read it.

I commented over there and I’ll re-post it here:

I’d like to say that there’s no reason you couldn’t substitute any sport’s fandom into this piece and not still get the point across. Female baseball, football, soccer … fans go through the same “prove yourself” mentality.

Texy has it right in saying that we have to stop hating on each other – how can we ask guys not to judge us when we’re judging the hell out of each other?

And I’ll admit this was a hard thing for me to come to terms with, especially when it comes to the pink hat crowd – I always felt like I was justified in my anger because they were making it harder for me, a “real fan.” But we all started out somewhere – I know I’m hardcore, but I certainly didn’t come out of the womb spouting about crappy PP or WAR. So now I try to be open-armed to all the ladies who want to watch and I’ll do my best to make them feel welcome and help explain anything I can.

 

Maggiesox is the one that’s always telling me I can’t judge on the pink hatters and I’ve spent a long time defending my right to find them problematic, but really she’s right and I need to learn to be accepting of all female fans. They’re not giving me a bad name and there’s nothing wrong with the way the find their way to fandom.

I’m still annoyed at all the folks that won’t just wear their team’s colors (I’m looking at you, orange Yankee hat-wearing dude), but ultimately if they want to spend $40 on that hat, that’s their prerogative, right?

But Seriously…Did Anyone Watch The Pro Bowl?

Not to be such a negative Nancy on my first post back in quite some time, but really when you’re surrounded by the media treating this game like the joke that it is, I can’t really help it.  Just from my initial evaluation from my own Facebook news feed (which I assure you is filled with plenty of sports fans), there were more people watching the SAG awards last night and  mocking the Pro Bowl than actually watching it.  Are we surprised?  Has it always been such a joke?  I decided to investigate…

How the NBA Seduced Me Over My Morning Coffee (and What MLB Could Learn From It)

Not *that( kind of seduction, Tyson. I’m not going to complain about the tux, though.

A funny thing happened on my slog through the baseball offseason: I fell back in love with the NBA.  Well, maybe “in love” is too strong — let’s say we’re having a “friends with benefits” relationship while my one true love is studying abroad in the Carribbean. In any event I can list the teams in playoff contention in both conferences off the top of my head, or note that the Hornets have gone on a bit of a run since Eric Gordon came back, or chortle through the latest episode of Lakers’ schadenfreude with an enthusiasm I haven’t felt since the Jordan era.  How did this happen?

My Team is Going to the Super Bowl: Holy Crap!

As most of you can tell by my screen name, I’m a huge Ravens fan. I remember the day that Baltimore finally got an NFL team, and I was a devoted fan ever since. In our short existence (est. 1996) we’ve already been blessed with a trip to the Super Bowl that ended in a huge win. But I was a freshman in college who watched the game with one other lonely Ravens fan in a student lounge. I didn’t get to celebrate. I didn’t get to go to a parade, but, hopefully, this time it will be different.

Name That Booty: Super Bowl Preview Edition

Not a booty, I know. This just makes me giggle (Photo: J.A. Roberts)

Your Super Bowl contenders are set: it’s the 49ers and Ravens – aka HARBAUGH BOWL, or HAR-BOWL, or BOWL OF BROTHERS (seriously, I just made that one up) – next Sunday in New Orleans. You’re likely aware of the main storylines behind the upcoming game, but here at Ladies… we cover the angle no news organization dares to examine.

A Bunch of Strong Men in Silly Hats

In the last few months of the NFL season, I have developed an obsession with the striped pom-pom hats which have popped up on the sidelines. There is just something incredibly amusing about a player trying to maintain his game intensity on the sidelines while wearing something that looks like a present from their grandmother. Since the Super Bowl is in both a warm climate and the dome, this Sunday will likely be the last hurrah for their fuzzy majesty.  Let’s bask in the goofiness with a slideshow!

Link

I’ll be back this evening with a full post, but for now, remember how I asked for Championship Sunday villanelles last week?  Here they are!

Sometimes being a pushy broad pays off

The other Ladies… and I had a Google+ hangout the other night and I realized I’d never told this story for you folks. Forgive me for being lazy, but I wrote it up for Uni-Watch a few years ago, so I’m going to just post that test. I was using the Uni angle there, so I included quite a few pictures of the gear I received.

This content was originally posted on uni-watch.com in 2008. Link here.

I went to college in New Orleans, which was the site of Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. A few months prior to the game, I learned that they were hiring security personnel to work during the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, with a chance to work at events on gameday and possibly even at the game itself. I don’t exactly project the kind of imposing presence that security people usually have (I’m 5’4″ on a good day), but it sounded cool, so I applied and ended up getting hired.

Follow the jump for the rest of the story

On objectification and hypocrisy

This image is apparently on the front of a Lululemon store – a store where many women go to find workout clothes – in response to the end of the NHL lockout.

Lululemon is a purveyor of women’s workout clothes. They sell men’s clothes, too, but they’ve enjoyed tremendous growth recently and seem to be the go-to spot for women runners and those who practice yoga and need $98 yoga pants.

A quick Google search will bring you all kinds of questions about the company and its former CEO (who’s now chairman), which I didn’t even know when I thought to write this post.

I did want to ruminate about whether the above window display was appropriate. Apparently “hockey butt” is a thing (researching this post was all kinds of educational) and athletic women will use it themselves to describe their physique, which can be hard to clothe and fit.

Regardless, I was just thinking that if a store known for dressing men had said this about women athletes, we’d all be pretty upset.

And I’m aware that this blog spends plenty of time ogling male athletes, so I don’t really have a leg to stand on. And as a whole, I’d say we Ladies… try hard not to force controversy, stir the pot or otherwise look for problems where their aren’t any. But I still thought it was an interesting discussion point to have.

On the completely superficial/semantics side, while hockey player’s behind might like nice in their jeans  - on the ice, in their breezers, I’m pretty sure we’re not getting a good view of that. So whether or not the NHL has games is really irrelevant to my ability to check out pretty glutes, right? If fact, when they were locked out, they likely spent more time in street clothes…. you see where I’m going.

I just think that if I take a hypothetical that has female tennis players locking out and then returning to the job and Athlete’s Foot had a window display celebrating the return of tennis that mentions the short, tight skirts or tight, tennis hiney, a large to-go would ensue.

In the interest of not being hypocritical, I feel like we need to at least talk about whether or not this is a problematic display, right?

So what do you think? Am I stirring up issues that don’t exist? Or should be we be at least a little upset with this public display of objectification?