Ladies...

I gave up watching “30 Rock” for this? The 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft

Lady Bee — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:15 +0000

Phil Kessel, last year's whipping boy (Photo: Getty Images)

Last year’s NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft was new and fun to watch! This year’s draft was missing the charm of Ovi and his cell phone, and the embarrassment of watching Phil Kessel get drafted last. Oh, but that doesn’t mean Leafs fans didn’t get a few kicks in the crotch! Here’s a quick rundown of what you may have missed:

Obnoxious homer fans. They don’t screen these hooligans out? Poor Joffrey Lupul, Chara’s alternate captain, couldn’t make a single announcement without getting booed to within an inch of his life. But he wasn’t the only Leaf to face the chorus of asshats. Phil Kessel faced the loudest abuse. Dion Phaneuf got the charming “overrated” chant. And yet, they clapped for Carey Price. Whatever. Keep it classy, Sens fans.

Speaking of Carey Price, he did this kind of cute, disarming shrug-like thing when he had just taken a swig from his water bottle and realized his name was called by Team Chara. I was temporarily charmed.

Tim Thomas not saying anything. Timmy’s White House snub was the talk of TSN’s pre-draft show, and I’m sure they were waiting for Chara to pick him last, or snub him, or something. But it was a non-issue. Thomas was one of the few players interviewed after being drafted and had nothing new to add to this, simply that he said what he said and that was the end of it. And hopefully this story is put to bed and we can move on. I mean, I just found out Tim was a fan of Glenn Beck! Now I have to judge him?! /facepalm

1st overall pick Pavel Datsyuk is dwarfed by his team captain Zdeno Chara, but then Chara dwarfs everyone. (Photo: Getty Images)

OH! OH! CONTROVERSY!!! Chara did not draft a single Canuck, much to the chagrin of Bruins fans everywhere (I’m using sarcasm font). And Alfredsson took all the Sens, including two in the first two rounds. I’m not sure if we should have expected anything different.

Jamie Benn’s hair. Without a doubt the worst hair of the night. After Phil Kessel’s.

Jason Spezza’s running commentary. TSN periodically shot to Jason Spezza of the Sens cracking jokes to his teammate Erik Karlsson. On Steven Stamkos: “He’s got a pretty good shot. He shoots it pretty good, I think.” On the Sedins: “I wonder if he and his brother will have any chemistry in the game.”

Mr. Bee’s running commentary. You can only hear this in my house, but it was entertaining to hear him explain tonight’s festivities to the the Littlest Bee: “We’re watching players get drafted to participate in the most boring hockey game of the year!” Truer words were never spoken.

Bored? Sick? Links!

Games Mistress — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:44:22 +0000

When you're a Cardinals fan *and* the writer of the Amazing Spiderman, you get to express yourself in interesting ways. (H/t Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold) day two of some nasty "flu-like symptoms"

I’m currently homebound with day two of the dreaded “flu-like symptoms.” I’ve reached the point where I physically still feel terrible but mentally I’m bored and over it and would just like some entertainment that is no more challenging than pressing buttons on my laptop. (And also allows for frequent nap breaks.)

To that end, here’s some of what I’ve been looking at today:

Some of my favorite pop culture bloggers take the time to rank the top 16 of the men’s Australian open bracket by hotness.
There are only 16 former Expos remaining in the majors. Who will be the last one standing?
Ed Hochuli’s overtime rules in verse.
If you aren’t reading Wendy Thurm’s work for SBNation, you’re missing some great posts on women and baseball. Last week, she tackled the MLB Fan Cave. Her post on what the new replay rules might mean for women umpires is intriguing as well.
This is a few weeks old, but I’ve reread Rob Neyer’s takedown of the “integrity” argument for keeping steroids users out of the Hall of Fame a few times now and still enjoy it.
Grantland posted their favorite Super Bowl commercials. I don’t really understand why they used the second Google commercial instead of the one from the year before (the second was cute, but being second, didn’t have the “what a cool concept” factor), but other than that I can’t argue with any of these.

Enjoy – and may your Thursday feature less waves of nausea than mine.

Ski in peace, Sarah

Lady Bee — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:32:10 +0000

I admit that until last week, when the news broke about her terrible accident, I didn’t know very much about freestyle skier Sarah Burke. I deeply regret this, because if anyone deserved a You Go Girl post from this site, it was this fine Canadian: multiple Winter X Games gold medalist, first woman to land a 1080 in competition, awesomely gutsy athlete. Dig deeper, and you will discover that Sarah had an amazing commitment to the development of her sport, from coaching teenage girls in her home province of British Columbia to successfully lobbying to get the halfpipe included in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Sadly, she’ll never have the chance to ski that course, but she has left behind an incredible legacy. I’m not just talking about the Winter Games – I’m also referring to the fact that as per her wishes, her organs and tissues were donated so that others may have a second chance to live life as fully as Sarah did.

Here’s a glimpse of Sarah’s life work. You’ll never see a nicer tribute!

A Sarah Burke tribute video. from Downtofilm. on Vimeo.

By the way, if you wish to contribute to the fund set up to assist Sarah’s family with her medical bill, you can do so here.

The Ladies… on Losing

Games Mistress — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:51:31 +0000

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images

With the notable exceptions of Maggie and Mr. Buffalita (a Giants fan), last weekend’s football games were not particularly fun for the Ladies. After experiencing a bar full of Saints fans taking a metaphorical knife to the gut, I found myself in a philosophical discussion with my boyfriend about what type of loss was worse, as a fan: a heartbreaking last minute loss like the Saints to the 49ers, or a thorough stomping such as the one the Broncos received from the Patriots? Some thoughts, including suggestions on how to soothe the wounded sports fan soul, after the jump.

My opinion, that the close losses are preferable to total disaster, appears to be in the minority. As awful as the immediate aftermath of close losses are, I find that with time I can gain a certain amount of perspective I never get when my team embarrasses itself. OU losing to Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl still makes me wince, but I can now acknowledge that it was a great game and a gusty call, whereas I’m still trying to pretend the 2004 World Series and 2005 BCS title game didn’t happen.

As I said, the other Ladies (not to mention my boyfriend), feel differently. A sampling of opinions:

Lady Bee:

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

I’m so used to the Leafs not making the postseason that I’ve already started concentrating on baseball by March. I’ve been surprisingly OK with any Yankees postseason defeat – I’m usually OK after a glass of wine, an hour of feeling sorry for myself, responding to sympathetic or mocking Facebook posts, and getting a good night’s sleep (which I usually lack in October). And then I wake up all optimistic about the Leafs again. It’s like full circle!

Football postseason losses are more difficult to deal with – the work of an entire season hangs in the balance of one game, not a Best-of-Seven series. And once it’s over, the Leafs are usually in 9th place by then and I’m in Favourite Awesome Teams Withdrawal until Opening Day. The Packers loss last Sunday saddened me greatly, but I was able to handle it mostly because they weren’t…playing…all that well. It was different in 1998 when the Pack lost to the 49ers on the final drive in the dying 90 seconds on the 4th – the first time sports caused me to literally burst into big baby tears. Stupid Steve Young. It really is more devastating when a win completely slips through your fingers in the final minutes, then watching a train wreck over four quarters. Because at that point you can’t wait for it to be over.

Buffalita:

Honestly I’m finding myself a little torn on that question, and obviously I have plenty of experience being a Bills fan. The 1 point loss in the 1990 Super Bowl against the Giants really wrenches on the heartstrings of any Bills fan, just because we knew how close they were after working so hard and to have it all come down to a wide right field goal feels so much more heartbreaking than a loss of, say, 20-10. However, the 1992 Super Bowl against the Cowboys was so embarrassing (52-17) that it almost felt worse knowing that they never stood a chance and weren’t thisclose to a win like in 1990. So I guess my final answer is I’d prefer a wide margin loss and suffer shame and embarrassment over a close loss. Even though the latter means my team was closer and (hopefully) played better, the feeling of a close defeat hurts much more than a blowout loss. And I have 22 years of resentment and anger to prove that. Same goes for the stupid Music City Miracle. That shit took place on my 14th birthday.

Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Of course, all losses suck in the first 24-48 hours after they happen. So what’s a girl to do to decompress? I tend towards junk food and the silliest thing available on Netflix (I recommend The Detonators if you are in the mood to watch things blow up.) The other Ladies volunteered their own coping strategies, as well:

Bee: Last Sunday night, after fast-forwarding through the Giants taking the first knee (I was on tape delay as I needed to put Youngest Bee to bed) I poured a glass of wine, pouted for half an hour, then remembered the Drunky Oscars were on, snarled about it on Twitter and tried to convince Maggiesox to help me take down Stacy Keibler with a wrestling move. Seeing George Clooney on TV makes everything better.

CuteSports: Counting the days to Spring Training.

Buffalita: My current favorite way to kill time and get super easy laughs is the pophangover network, starting with http://damnyouautocorrect.com/ , followed by the related Wrong Number Texts and Parents Shouldnt Text. Seriously, I’ve killed like 2 hours on those stupid sites in a sitting.

Maggie: I usually just disconnect from the Internet for a while. In fact, that’s how I got in my habit of watching BBC melodramz when I’m sick and miserable: I just want to watch something that only a very specialized few people want to talk about with me and that I won’t accidentally run into sports coverage while researching, and I don’t have to read crowing about how funny it was to watch the Red Sox blow it If I’m watching Mr. Darcy climb out of a pond. 2003? The Red Sox lost? Pride and Prejudice. 2009, the Phillies lose? North and South. 2010, the Sox blow it in spectacular fashion? HELLOOOOOO, Downton Abbey.

Look, it’s ridiculous, but it works. Try it next time. I swear by that.

Photo: Reuters/Joe Giza

What do you think is the worst way to lose? And what gets you through when it does?

Why can’t I just be a girl who likes sports?

cutesports — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:00:13 +0000

So I’m flipping through the ads in my Sunday paper last weekend and this dropped into my lap:

That’s right – for $30, you too can hang dedazzled Packers licensed stilettos on your Christmas tree next year. AND you can sign up to receive “subsequent sets of three fashionable ornaments shipped to you at the same attractive price about every other month.”

Because you can’t just be a girl who’s a fan. You have to be a sparkly, stiletto-wearing, bedazzled fan.

This takes pink jerseys to a whole new level.

Why must women overtly express there female-itude whilst being sports fans? Why can’t they just be fans? Don’t the breasts go a pretty long way in pointing out your sex to those around you?

I’m so stabby I’m not even articulate and I’ve been sitting on this thing for almost a week. It’s so incredibly contrived and ridiculous that a woman would need to hang Packer-themed high heels on her Christmas tree. What’s wrong with regular Packer ornaments? Why must you not-just-feminize, but hyper-feminize your fandom?

Maybe I’ve gone off the deep end, but in talking about this with my boyfriend yesterday, I hypothesized that this is some sort of latent, ingrained, subconscious need by women to point out that they’re not butch lesbians, just because they like sports. It’s like a 180 swing to the polar opposite of the teasing that many of us have endured for being tomboys.

Because even today, apparently, the greater public needs to look for reasons and excuses as to why more and more women are watching the NFL. According to the New York Times, its because the NFL has become like a soap opera. “It’s the soap-opera aspect of the N.F.L. that makes it so broadly appealing.”

See, women watch crappy TV like Real Housewives and Jersey Shore and The Bachelor, and the NFL now has its own reality show “Hard Knocks” and Sunday Night Football has Bob Costas schilling story-lines, so now women can relate and understand and that’s why they’re watching.

Does anyone out there buy this crap? God forbid its just that women actually like football.

I’ll admit, I don’t know what it’s like not to watch football. I live and grew up in Wisconsin – we live and breath Packers football. My dad played Fantasy Football while I was still in diapers, pouring over Monday morning box scores to calculate points. We used to have two TVs in the living room on football Sundays. In 1989. I didn’t come to the game on my own – it was ingrained in me.

I understand not everyone has the game interwoven into their upbringing that way, but I still don’t think any of my fellow ladies plant themselves on the couch for 10 hours on Sunday because of Brett Favre’s indiscretions, as the column contends.

I can see that there are celebrity-obsessed, gossip-driven women that have become MORE interested in the NFL because of these stories – but those women are not watching three straight games on Sunday. Their attention span is lost sometime before that first half-time, is my guess. Because while the gossipy story-lines exist, they aren’t being furthered between the endzones on Sunday. Jon Gruden would have to be dropping juicy tidbits every first down to get a women with no interest in the game to stay tuned all day long, right?

Part of me can’t believe the NYT even ran that crap. You’ll notice there wasn’t really any factual evidence to back up the claims. There were no quotes from women saying that they were more interested in the NFL now because of its soap-opera-esque appeal. The writer is clearly a woman sports fan, so shame on her for once again making excuses and dumbing down sports so that we can “understand” why women would be interested.

But wait – that column is just the tip of the iceberg. Around this time last year, The Atlantic ran a series of “She Said, He Said” articles/columns from two of their writers that they say was meant to look at the challenges facing women sports fans. The initial piece, by the woman, Alyssa Rosenberg, really only scratches the surface and we can only hope she goes deeper

Because she has a really great line: “But it seems to me there’s something ugly in mainstream American sports and in mainstream American sports fandom, when one class of fans isn’t taken particularly seriously, and in the wrong situation can be seriously at risk.” The problem is, that’s the final line of that particular piece. Alyssa – you have a huge platform here. Please use it to the fullest.

Rosenberg mentions sexism, which is important when you get into the rebuttal piece.

Her co-worker, Hampton Stevens, gives his response from the male point of view and spends his first column telling women the things they shouldn’t do to upset men or to “fit in.” They include not telling men that the players are hot. See, this interjects sex in the conversation and that’s just a bad idea.

The large-breasted women dancing on the sidelines, or selling beer in commercials, or on the ads of every major sports blog – they don’t interject sex into sports.

Its women admiring Wes Welkers biceps that do it.

AND when we do that, we’re inviting the men in the room to think about us sexually. So by admiring a guy’s muscles, I’m apparently giving everyone permission to think of me naked. I’m not sure how Welker’s bicep somehow gave you permission to be a perv, but that’s one hell of a non-sequiter justification he’s got going there.

But the bigger problem here is Stevens giving women “rules” of how to behave. Because clearly the men aren’t doing anything wrong. It’s the women who need to change and conform. If we women sports fans do the things he lists, then we can gain acceptance. As though that should be my ultimate goal. You know, instead of men aspiring not to be sexist pigs.

But it’s probably too much to hope that Stevens gives us any insight or intelligent discourse, since he’s clearly not taking any of it seriously.

“Tease a woman about her new shoes, and no one knows what happens. That’s because no one has ever teased a woman about her shoes and lived to tell about it.”

How can we expect anything more from a guy who’s resorting to petty stereotypes and “jokes” in his initial piece? Stevens – you’re the problem. You’re the guy we all don’t want to deal with or talk to. You’re the guy who will get mean and pout when you try to force us to prove how much we know about sports and it turns out we know more than you.

Rosenberg points out the practice of men at Jets games harassing women in hopes the ladies will take their top off. Stevens’ reply to this is to say that football isn’t to blame, crowds and alcohol are. Of course Rosenberg wasn’t blaming football, she was blaming men. Stevens just decided to ignore that part.

Look, I know we’ve been ranty about this before and I know none of this is new information, but damn is it just so frustrating that we continue to fight this fight and when it finally does get talked about, it’s by guys like Stevens who not only don’t get it, but are part of the problem.

Five for Friday: My favourite move is SUNSET ARMS!

Lady Bee — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:15:42 +0000

My brother lives in Calgary and attends a bunch of Flames games. I'm a little jealous right now.

Yeah, I think I just started another new feature. Here’s five favourite things that got me through the week, and a thing or two that I’m looking forward to this weekend:

1) Mike Cammalleri is back in Calgary! Of course, this is on account of possibly one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. It’s a big hot mess in Montreal right now, between Cammalleri speaking his mind, a new coach triggering a language controversy (sigh…) and the general suckage of the Habs. It’s not fun to be a Canadiens fan right now.

With apologies to Buffalita (AP Photo)

2) FOOTBALL! FOOTBALL! FOOTBALL! I am obviously all over the Giants/Packers matchup on Sunday, even though the talk of the town has been Broncos/Pats. But why haven’t we talked much about Saints-49ers? Because seeing San Francisco return to the postseason for the first time since 2002 should be kind of a big deal, no?

3) 30 Rock is back! Liz Lemon as a Timeless Torch? That’s hardly a dealbreaker.

4) Today marked 37 days until pitchers and catchers report. Sadly, Jesus Montero will not be reporting to Steinbrenner Field…but Michael Pineda will!

5) And again with the NBC clips. But this could not be helped:

Cute wool hats, floating heads and stupid Tebow: Your NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

Lady Bee — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:00:11 +0000

I'm just relieved this isn't an animated gif in which the outer floating heads rotate around Boomer. (Image source: ESPN)

It’s NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND! And I know this because ESPN sent me the most frightening email yesterday to remind me. I’m normally all for floating heads, but I live in fear of falling asleep and having the floating head of Keyshawn Johnson bellow “C’MON MANNNN!” in my dreams. Also, what the hell is with the green glow? The Countdown Crew are aliens, I tell you.

Meet me after the jump for a quick look at Wild Card Weekend. I have to go find my tinfoil hat first…

Arian Foster, bringing the awesome to Houston this season.

Saturday, 4:30 ET: Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans (NBC, CTV)

A shout-out to Friend of the Blog thistlewarrior whose Bengals are looking to advance for the first time in more than two decades (sadness!) but I have a feeling the Texans will take this one despite the fact that they’ve suffered losses down the stretch. Reliant is going to be absolutely insane as Houston takes the field for its first ever postseason appearance, and as you know, we kind of have a thing for Arian Foster.

But the hat hides your pretty eyes! (Source: nola.com)

Saturday, 8 pm ET: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints (NBC, CTV)

This is the Wild Card game I’m most interested in this weekend because of the obvious implications for my/CuteSports’ Packers. I think it also promises to be a ton of fun. Brees has had an amazing season: besides leading me to Ladies… Fantasy Football respectability, he broke Dan Marino’s passing yards record over the holidays. The Lions are no longer the laughing stock of the NFL, going 10-6 this season. But they are visiting the Superdome, and let’s face it: the home teams are winning Saturday.

Sunday, 1pm ET: Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants (FOX, CTV)

Atlanta's rushing leader Michael Turner, taking his time with this stare. (Photo AP)

As you can ascertain, we’re disappointed that the other New York team is not playing this weekend, as they were too busy imploding. Have fun with that mess, Rex. Anywhoo, both teams are meeting for the first time in the postseason, and we’re already being treated to the tiresome “It feels like 2007!” refrain. I hope the Falcons run over Eli and these guys.

Sunday, 4:30 ET: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (CBS, CTV)

To be truthful, Tim, it's not you - I just hate the Denver Broncos. (Photo: Getty Images)

I was already tired of Tebow before he entered the NFL. And now? Holy snappin’ arseholes! I’ve never heard more hype about such a statistically underwhelming QB! And yet…I would love nothing more than to see him have a decent game against that rat Rottentosser. Actually, I’d prefer that a meteor hit Mile High, but that’s mean and wouldn’t be fair to the fans.

What game are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments and enjoy the football this weekend!

Cool Sports Stuff You Probably Didn’t Get for Christmas

Games Mistress — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:42:54 +0000

There were a lot of sports-themed gifts given in my family this year. I received a set of Cardinals pens and my first official Jets shirt (right at the time when I was most mortified to be a Jets fan, but that’s another story), my boyfriend received a few Saints items, and a lot of orange changed hands among the 3/5 of my immediate family who attended Oklahoma State.

But, as often happens, it was only this week that I discovered a few awesome sports related items that I really wish I’d known about in early December.

After seeing the Deadspin post about the Royal Mint’s football themed coin (featuring a diagram of the offsides rule), I did a little investigating into the rest of the series (see the full collection here). Though most of the other designs weren’t as informative as the football coin (each design was commissioned from a different UK artist), there is a wide variety of sports represented, from well known events like football, basketball, and gymnastics, to less celebrated events like handball and badminton. In a neat touch, there are also coins for sports unique to the Paralympics, such as wheelchair rugby and goalball, represented above, which is a handball-like sport created especially for blind athletes. Much like the US State Quarters I want them, but I don’t want to purchase them directly from the Royal Mint (though that’s possible) — I want authentic, circulated coins. Luckily I currently have family in England that can keep an eye out for me.

These teddy bear fielding postcards featuring various members of the 1907 Chicago Cubs are unfortunately no longer available on eBay (and ended up selling for much more than I’d want anyone to spend on a gift). But they are adorable, and this may be the only time I’ve ever been jealous of a person who wound up with Cubs memorabilia.

Mere days after I found Left Field Cards’ Bizzare Injury Series through a Hardball Times link and spent several minutes trying to decide if I had anyone good to buy them for, a friend posted them on my Facebook wall and suggested I needed them for myself. The series, which includes such classics as the John Smoltz ironing his shirt while he was wearing it injury and Clint Barmes throwing his back out carrying a deer he’d killed, is intriguing enough (I actually don’t recall the Nolan Ryan vs. coyote story), and the website suggests new theme series are on the way. Maybe I’ll wait until I have my pick.

Then again, I do have a birthday in two months.

Did you get (or give) any cool sports stuff this year? Or are you, too, already compiling next year’s wish list?

Our fave sports moments of 2011

Lady Bee — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:06:24 +0000

Your TV, radio and internets are being bombarded with Year In Review posts and specials as I type this. Well, guess what? It’s no different here at Ladies… We took a few moments this week to reflect on our favourite memories of this past year. Some will be hilariously obvious, others may surprise you. All of them will make you warm and fuzzy, like a delicious flute of champagne.

Raven

(Photo: Getty Images)

Personally, my favorite moment goes back an entire year to January 1, 2011 when the Caps beat the penguins in the Winter Classic. As a Caps season ticket holder, I was able to purchase seats. The rain did not bother us one bit, in fact it was appreciated. The forecast of rain caused officials to push back the start time and let us recover from New Year’s Eve. Watching hockey outdoors, in a football stadium, under the lights was an experience I would never trade. The Caps beating the Pens 3-1 was icing on the cake!

Other than that, there weren’t many highlights for this Maryland/DC/Baltimore sports fan. I suppose watching the Ravens cream the Steelers twice this season was pretty awesome (are you sensing a theme?) and the Orioles beating the Red Sox the last game of the year to keep them from the postseason was also pretty cool. That O’s win was pretty spectacular for us fans, and the team seemed pretty pleased. It was a nice respite from another losing season.

CuteSports

Here’s the thing: It’s been a really good time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. We’ve had a good run. It started with the Badgers being in the Rose Bowl. It sucked that they lost, but it was awesome that I got to be there.

Obviously the Packers winning the Super Bowl was big. The Packers’ run this season is also pretty good.

The Brewers winning the NL Central and then winning the NLDS in extra innings in game 5 (and being there to witness it in person) was probably the biggest moment for me. The whole playoff run was awesome and I was totally privileged to have a full set of postseason tickets (thanks boyfriend!)

Prince hitting what became the game-winning home run in the All-Star Game was pretty cool. I know it’s in “possibly tainted,” but pending further information, it’s big that Ryan Braun won the NL MVP.

I was at the Wisconsin/Penn State football game where the Badgers clinched the Leaders Division and a berth into the first ever Big Ten Championship game. Now the Badgers are back in the Rose Bowl.

I’m not joking – it’s been a good run for Wisconsin sports fans.

Miss Minda

My favorite sports moment of the year was probably when my hometown Omaha Storm Chasers (the AAA team of the Royals) won the Pacific Coast League championship. The game was on the road, so the team hosted a watch party at an Omaha bar, and it was packed even though it was a weeknight. The game was broadcast over the Internet, and the bar put it on almost every screen in the place. The whole front office staff was there, and provided a stadium atmosphere, complete with our usual emcee, everyone singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ at stretch time, and chants and cheers as the Chasers got closer to victory.

When the final out was made, champagne bottles were popped and sprayed everywhere, and since I was taking pics with a team-owned camera, I had to be kind of careful to not get soaked…to no avail. I was still finding champagne spots on my black boots a month later! It was an unusual experience but the staff and hardcore fans made it one I will never forget!

Games Mistress

(Photo: Getty Images)

I think it’s pretty obvious what my general favorite sports moment was. The Cardinals’ entire postseason was pretty incredible, really, and Carpenter’s complete game shutout in Game 5 of the NLDS (outdueling Halladay of all people) was almost my favorite — and might have remained so had Game 6 of the World Series not happened. If there was one game that was a microcosm of the Cardinals series and their propensity for ruining the cardiac health of their fanbase, it was that game. But the best part was that, late in the 11th inning, when the Cardinals had already rallied from their last strike twice, my boyfriend sent me the video of “I Need a Hero” from Footloose as a joke. As I pressed play, David Freese came up to bat and promptly sent the ball over the fence. That one’s going to be hard to top for a while.

Lady Bee

I didn’t get out to see any live professional sports this year – too busy graduating from university (finally!), settling into a new job and spending my hard-earned bucks seeing U2 not just once but twice (related: 2011 was the year I fell in love with Arcade Fire). That’s not to say I didn’t have a few favourite moments:

1) Green Bay’s Super Bowl win

Obviously.

2) Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit

Sadly, I missed seeing this live on MLB.TV because I was in Montreal for U2 Concert #1. But I can’t complain. I witnessed the hit in which he passes Gehrig in person, for heaven’s sake (I won’t link it here. You’ve heard me go on about it on the blog enough.) Regardless, the milestone is simply amazeballs. I just hope he got a great gift basket for the accomplishment.

3) Boston winning in 1st Stanley Cup in 39 years.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

I couldn’t help but get behind the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final – I was surrounded by Canucks fans by the bandwagon full and I knew so many diehard Bruins fans who had waited decades for this. And Tim Thomas. We’ve talked about this.

The Bruins’ triumph was sadly overshadowed by an extremely ugly riot in Vancouver that essentially sent the nation into a shame spiral. But something special emerged from that awful event that still makes me proud. I was especially stoked when days later, I saw TV footage of friends of mine handing out Timbits and hugs to strangers on a Vancouver street corner in an effort to demonstrate the city’s true nature.

4) The Leafs were kind of alright!

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

5) Bartolo Colon, you guys.

(Photo: Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger)

I remember this past winter, when one of my dearest friends – a Red Sox fan – drove me bananas with jeers about how the Yankees had completely lost their minds signing Colon (and for that matter, Andruw Jones). I wasn’t worried about the move – he had to earn a spot on the roster first. It was a low cost, low risk move that turned into a nice surprise. When my pitcher boyfriend Phil Hughes struggled, it was Colon who stepped up. And he was terrific! Sadly, he wasn’t the same after his hammy injury but still managed a 4.00 ERA over 29 games, including 26 starts, and 135 strikeouts. It’s doubtful the Yankees will call him back, which is unfortunate. I like proving Red Sox fans wrong. I like a comeback story even more.

On behalf of the Ladies…, thank YOU for reading this modest little blog, for your comments and for your continued devotion. You make it worth the late nights we’re at the keyboard, and we wish you health, happiness and peace in 2012.

NBA Rookie Watch!

Games Mistress — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:01:07 +0000

Guess who finally made it to the NBA?

(AP Photo/Andy King)

After much anticipation on our part (seriously, we first posted about him in 2008), protracted negotiations with the Timberwolves, and a lockout that delayed the start of the season, Ricky Rubio has finally made his NBA debut. Sporting a beard, unfortunately (I’m assuming he’s trying to look older), but there are certain things even a mass of facial hair can’t cover up:

(AP Photo/Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)

Pretty, pretty eyes.

The other NBA rookie on my radar in this first week of the season has never been on Ladies before, but I suspect that’s about to change.

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Pleased to meet you, Norris Cole!

Norris comes to the NBA from Cleveland State, and put in a fine performance in Miami’s win over the Celtics Tuesday. OK, yes, that’s the drawback — he plays for the most hated team in the NBA. Still, all you Heat haters at least have something nice to look forward to when ABC or TNT features yet another Miami game.

Also, he looks good in a suit:

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Even better, both these young men are eligible for next year’s ACoH!

Enjoy what remains of 2011!