Hump Day Hotties: You Make the Call

Christien Sage of Oklahoma State. One pick Cosmo got right. He kinda reminds me of Austin Nichols in this picture.

As a lazy lady lately (whoa, alliteration!), I’ve been a total slacker about scouting new hotties to show you dedicated readers. I’ve been very anti-sports watching lately (aside from my favorite teams), so I’m completely unaware of fresh meat. With the NCAA Tournament upon us, there is plenty of fresh meat awaiting our ogling eyes. There is always that hot college boy that makes you feel like a pervy old lady.

With that said, Cosmo has been busy covering the sports world again, compiling a list of NCAA hotties to watch. I’ll let you be the judge, but here’s my 2 cents.

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?

Sports Developments That Don’t Make Me Want To Throw My Laptop Against The Wall

Let’s see, my beloved Sooner women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaker Tuesday, then yesterday there was You-Know-Who to the Jets, oh, and you might remember my boyfriend’s a Saints fan… it’s been a frustrating sports week.

Here are three things making me happy.

1. Brittany Griner and the Baylor Women’s Basketball Team. I suppose I should hate them since they smoked my girls twice this year, but they’ve smoked everyone this year (at 36-0, their margin of victory was in the single digits only 4 times; 3 of those victories were over Tennessee, UConn, and defending champion Texas A&M).  The Bears, and star player Brittany Griner, are so good that you can’t help admiring their skill.  I know accusing ESPN of bias is nothing new, but let’s just say that if this team had “UConn” on their jerseys we’d be hearing a lot of “Best Women’s Team Ever” talk out of Bristol.  Do yourselves a favor and check out one of their tourney games in the next couple of weeks.

Advent Calendar of Hotness: Day 22

I waited to post this next ACoH because I didn’t want to adversely affect his last game (shouldn’t have worried) or his Heisman chances (turned out to be a non-factor), or his school’s BCS championship game chances (ditto) and I think we’re far enough away from the Fiesta Bowl that any jinxing will wear off by then.  Thus, I present for your enjoyment Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

Blood, Brackets, and Tears: An NCAA Basketball Wrap-Up

It is December 2010.  You’re looking over your holiday gifts lists when there’s a loud pop behind you.  You turn around to see… yourself, wearing slightly less clothing, hair mussed and eyes bloodshoot.

“I came from the future to warn you,” the apparition says.  “Beware the brackets.  UConn will win and destroy us all.”

Hanukkah Hunks: Night 6

After checking, double checking, and even just now triple checking, I find myself in a bit of disbelief that we didn’t include the Night 6 Heeb hottie in last year’s group.  Regardless, I give you the Texas Rangers’ second baseman: Ian Kinsler.  Drool over him and a doughnut some more after the jump.

Advent Calendar of Hotness – Day 4*

*late because I was a little too busy celebrating last night.

With apologies to Minda and Auburn fans, there was one particular college football player who earned ACoH honors for Day 4 by helping his team win the Big XII Championship: Oklahoma’s Travis Lewis.

Hit and Run: 100% Vuvuzela Free

I know, we haven’t gotten to group H yet, but I’m a little pressed for time and there’s been lots going on in the sports world this week. (Also, I tend to get really distracted while doing the research for World Cup preview posts.  I can’t imagine why.)  So consider these reaction shots of yesterday’s shocking Swiss upset of Spain a preview of what’s coming soon:

15 Yards for Fugliness: A Photographic Survey of Nike’s New Football Uniforms

Over the last few weekends, Nike has been previewing their latest attempt to “improve” athletic apparel on several premiere NCAA Division I (yeah, that’s what I still call it) football programs.  Now, perhaps these uniforms, designed to be ultra light and form fitting, are functionally a worthy advance, but from a sartorial viewpoint, well, my inner Tim Gunn was making this face. A lot.

A brief survey of some of Nike’s designs after the jump.

Theme Thursday: Holy Crap, It’s College Football Edition

This week's theme is a toy only and should not be used as a livesaving device.

Partly because I’ve been consumed with fantasy football drafts and partly because the university at which I work a)has no football team and b)hasn’t started classes yet, the start of the college football season this week caught me a little off guard.  This round of Theme Thursday pays tribute to the scholar-athletes of the gridiron no matter how seriously they might take the first part of that title*.  No one won last round, so I’ll be taking the credit (or blame) for this trio.

*Note to NCAA: I am not implying anything about the players pictured in this post. It’s called a joke.

Excuse me Mr. McCoy, but you seem to have a little something on your face…

I am no expert when it comes to college football. This post has nothing to do with the athletic abilities of the Longhorns or their QB. This is all about the sweet stache Colt McCoy is sporting in the above picture. I think we all know what Colt did during the summer: tried his best to resemble a 70s porn star. All I can say is, Mission Accomplished! Supposedly the mustache was grown as some sort of team bonding. And sadly, by next week it will more than likely be gone.

OK, that stache is all sorts of awesome, and by awesome I mean creepy. Looking at that pic for too long scares me a bit. Here’s a pic of Colt when his face isn’t quite so hairy:

Sure he may look better without it but I think the stache adds character.

So tell us, which Colt do you prefer?

The Trouble Is We’re Neglecting Football For Education!

Several years ago when my ballet career was over I decided to leave New York City and focus on one thing, College Football!  I applied to every college with a major football program on the east side of the Mississippi and, being the superstitious lady that I am, decided to go to whomever I heard from first.  It was a glorious day ordained from heaven when I became a Buckeye, but more importantly I became a part of a larger family, the NCAA College Football family.  Every Saturday we commune in bars, parking lots, homes, you name it, and from sun up till sundown, we cheer and scream, drink and eat, and live and die with every play, because, we are … college football fans!

I made a trip last weekend to my alma mater, The Ohio State University, and was immediately struck by how badly I longed for that most glorious time of year, football season!  The first time I ever set foot in the Horseshoe on gameday was one I will never forget;  a sea of scarlet and grey, palpable excitement, beer flowing like wine, making new friends every stumble along the way, The Best Damn Band In The Land playing “Hang on Sloopy,” and thousands of people there for one purpose: to cheer our team to victory.  There is nothing in the world like it, and there is nothing like college football season!  So here they are ladies and gents, my top ten reasons I am so desperately wishing it was football season, in no particular order…

College Basketball: Hotties in The Shadows

While I was home over Christmas, I finally got to see my Sooner men play a few games (of course I got to see the loss, but whatever) and I kind of fell in love with Willie Warren, our freshman guard.  Willie was a big recruit in his own right, but Blake Griffin mania has a tendency to make his teammates disappear into the background.  So I thought I’d spend this post giving a little love to some of the guys that have to share their court with a budding NBA lottery pick.

Just to make things easier, I used the latest projected NBA draft rankings at NBAdraft.net, which are as follows:

1. Blake Griffin, OU
2. Hasheem Thabeet, UConn
3. James Harden, Arizona State
4. Jordan Hill, Arizona

The teammates playing in the metaphorical shadows, after the jump.

Congrats, Florida. Let the Moping Commence.

Last Sunday, I was in the Tulsa airport preparing to fly back East, when I noticed the airport bookstore (which is locally owned), already had a sign out next to their OU merchandise reading “Congratulations Sooners! 2009 National Championship.”  And that’s pretty much when I knew OU was doomed.  (OK, I’m exaggerating.  Kind of.)

Anyway, congratulations Florida, and also to OU for a thrilling season (with two notable exceptions, obviously).  Now I will proceed to mope for the next 24 hours or so.  I originally thought perhaps I’d get some solace from posting some hot athlete pictures, but the problem with that plan is that hot athletes remind me of sports which reminds me of the game.  So I hope you all don’t mind if I invite my Imaginary TV Boyfriend, Lee Pace, to mope (hotly) along with me.

Our Year End Hump Day Hottie Spectacular!

Chances are you’ll be reading this in 2009. That’s okay. It’s a holiday and you were preparing yourself for the New Year’s Eve celebrations. But if you are reading this in 2008 then let’s go through a review of what happened this year. Specifically what happened every Wednesday of this year. Yes, we’re going to be taking a look back at the Hump Day Hotties that have graced our blog in the ’08. Why? Because how could you not want to take a trip down memory lane and remember Ryan Lochte?

So let’s go back through the year that was and enjoy our hotties one more time before we sing “Auld Lang Syne.” And if you’re reading this in 2009, remember when Lochte was so smoking in 2008 he made the Ladies… HDH? Yeah, that was awesome.

Reasons to Live on the Couch This Weekend (Like You Need One)

I am a terrible procrastinator, especially when the holidays come around.  I have unopened boxes of Christmas cards that have been sitting around my apartment for two years because I put off doing them until it’s late enough in December that I “save” them for “next year.”

So of course, since we’re only going into the second official holiday shopping weekend, I am not planning on doing any shopping (or card addressing).  I am planning on watching college football.  Lots and lots of college football.

I Was There: Bedlam Edition

Even the family dog roots for the other team.

This past Saturday, I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State football game.  This was actually my first chance to see a Bedlam game in person, and while I may have left a happy (and relieved) Sooner, the majority of my Cowboy faithful family were less pleased. Potential BCS and Big XII South titles be damned — this was about a year’s worth of family bragging rights.

Pictures of my trip into enemy territory, after the jump.

I Should Have Today Off

Before the Big XII, before the corporate sponsor, before even the Cotton Bowl, there was the Texas Game.

It is Red River Rivalry Eve once more, and I am at work.  If I was still in college, I’d have the day off, because TPTB at the University of Oklahoma got tired of holding class on a day when half the student body was driving I-35 South.  I hate being an adult.

Enough grumbling. It’s OU-TX weekend again, y’all! (College football brings out my accent.  Even when I type, apparently.) Even though I’ve never been lucky enough to attend the game in person, nothing will stop me from following the game live from wherever I happen to be.  Even if I am stuck in a hotel room in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan listening to the play by play as it is relayed by my friend’s father over her cell phone.

But that was last year.  This year, I should actually be able to watch the game on TV — no small feat, considering I live in the Northeast and Penn State is a top ten team this year.  But since this is the fifth time in the history of the rivalry that both teams are ranked in the Top 5 — guess who is number one? — not much is going to stop this game from reaching a national audience.

I Was There: Mizzou Wins in Lincoln

Check out the Nebraska cheerleader smiling at the Mizzou touchdown.

This past weekend, I roadtripped to Lincoln, Ne. to see my beloved Missouri Tigers play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We hadn’t won in Lincoln since 1978. Going into the game, we were ranked 4th, so we also had high hopes that the streak would be broken. My Tigers broke the streak and broke it well, winning 52-17. Even better, I ran into my fellow Lady, Miss Minda, a Nebraska gal.

Hump Day Hotties: Hotties of the Big 12

Note: This is La M. Alana, posting on behalf of our lovely Chitown Chick. She’s without internet at the moment, but she’ll be back later to edit in some more hotties. Enjoy!

Reading through much of the pre-season press for college football, the Big 12 did not receive nearly enough. People were high on the Big Ten, SEC and even ACC (ha!). Sure, Missouri (WOOT) and Oklahoma got some ink, but overall, the Big 12 was ignored. I am here to rectify that, and spread love from Ames all the way down to Austin. First stop, Columbia, Mo., home of Shiloh, the columns and a wonderful place known as Tropical Liquers.

Chase Coffman, a tight end with tight arms

College Football Weekend Preview: Appalachian State Redux?

[Note: I had this big multi-category weekend preview post planned, and then I woke up Thursday with the dreaded “Flu-like symptoms.”  Apologies for any fever-induced factual errors.]

Growing up in Oklahoma may not have made me a cowgirl, but it did make me a huge college football fan.  Recent thefts of NBA franchises aside, college football is professional sports in Oklahoma (insert NCAA violations jokes here; it’s okay, I can take it).  As long as it’s not my Sooners, however, nothing delights me more than a big time football program losing to a tiny I-AA (or FCS, as it’s now known) school. You know, like this:

This couldn’t possibly happen again, right?  Surely, all of the Top 25 teams playing FCS (nope, still not used to it) will have spent the last week being warned by their coaches about underestimating their opponent, right?

Hit and Run: Because It’s Wednesday

Since I am not going to talk about baseball, let’s talk about the many wonderful sporting events that will soon be starting. As SA mentioned earlier today, the Olympics are less than three weeks away, so let’s enjoy some Olympic hotness. Michael Phelps is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, and below is Steven Lopez, an Olympian at taekwondo.

He can kick the crap out of you. Literally.

Congratulations, Mizzou Softball

Here at Ladies…, though we are dedicated to ogling the men of the sporting world, we do like to cheer on our sisters as well. In that spirit, I just have this to say:

M-I-Z! Z-O-U! The Missouri Tigers softball team won their first NCAA Regional in Iowa City this past Sunday. They will now face the third seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the super regional in Tuscaloosa this weekend. Read more about these ladies and their fantastic run after the jump.

Horns’ Happy Hottie Holiday

Why, hello, Colt McCoy. Aren’t you looking all fine with that Offensive MVP trophy and those awesome Texas guns? I’m so glad to see you show up in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl without bringing along those friends of yours Mr. Int and Mr. Erception — you know, the ones that have been hanging around you all season. (Although I did notice that you couldn’t get rid of the other member of the Suck Trio, Mr. Fumble – but considering the scoreboard, I’ll forgive you.) You’re like our own Matt Saracen, all grown up – wide-eyed and full of small-town boyish charm. I am required by Texan law to lavish schmoopy praise on our QB- especially when his name is Colt McCoy, as clearly he was destined to lead us to victory with a name like that. (See? There I go again!)

Heck, now that I think of it, just about every member of the Longhorns team that stepped on the field last night looked pretty darned hot– winning will do that for you. Why don’t you all take a step forward so we can appreciate your hotness. NOT SO FAST, CHRIS JESSIE.

I’m pretty sure that you should never, ever, EVER step foot on the field of play again, unless you are specifically instructed to do so by a member of the coaching staff who is not your stepfather. I’m also pretty sure we need to outfit you with one of those child leash things, so that the coaches can yank you backwards like Phillip the Hyper Hypo if you try to run up and grab a live ball again.

Now that we’ve covered that unpleasantness, we can move on to all the pictures of hotties, after the jump…

Pink Locker Room

The tables have turned for the Ladies, some for the better and some….not so much. Metschick seems to be cruising along swimmingly and we all completely hate her and the Scarlet Knight she rode in on. (Just kidding, Metsy! Haha, don’t hurt me!) Follow me after the jump for contemplations, crying and cleavage….

The Pink Locker Room

COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS HERE! Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Ladies: thoughts on our homer teams from the previous weekend. We’ve got 8 Ladies and 8 colleges, though that is because G-shum wants two and TSW just putters around the Ladies Batcave muttering about Yinzers and some Lawrence Fishburn-lookalike. Lots of great college football this past weekend, so let’s check in with all the Ladies after their teams’ first fall outings…..

Hump Day Hottie: Huston Street

Huston Street is smoking hot. Let’s get that out of the way right off the bat. Outrageously hot (and don’t forget the award-winning ass). He’s also a lights-out closer for the Oakland A’s, and the proud owner of the 2005 AL Rookie of the Year trophy. He’s charming and hilarious (see: exhibit A or his in-the-booth commentary during the July 5th A’s game). He is a budding wine connoisseur. He plays the guitar. He wrote an interesting blog for ESPN (I know! Interesting content on ESPN? Check out his thoughts on MLB clubhouses). He’s madly in love with his fiance and proposed with 1,500 roses (that is not a typo). His intro music is “Hate Me Now” by Nas. He pitches with his tongue stuck out DWright-like in concentration.

Oh, yeah- and he won my beloved University of Texas the 2002 National Championship in baseball — following in his dad’s footsteps, who won us the 1969 National Championship in football (and was a hottie to boot- Huston looks almost identical to his dad back in the day). Huston’s twin younger brothers (Jordon and Juston) play baseball for Texas as well- and, yes, they’re hot, too. The whole Street clan (including older half-brother Ryan, an architect, and baby brother Hanson, a college student) are huge Longhorn fans, and get as geeked about Texas college football games as any other fan. So… Huston is pretty much perfect.

And on the occasion of his return from the DL, it’s high time he gets the full Hump Day Hottie treatment. Welcome back, Huston.

A whole heckuva lot of Street goodness- including pics of the whole hottie Street clan- after the jump.

Father’s Day Aftershave – Texas Gal

All I know about sports, and my undying love for them, comes from my Dad.

As the daughter of a coach, I pretty much had to learn sports or perish- and I definitely chose to learn (and love) them. Some of my earliest memories are of me and my mother sitting in the stands on Friday nights and watching my dad coach in football games and waving my black and gold pompom for Lubbock High.

Daddy also made sure I grew up indoctrinated in the Church of the Texas Longhorns. The lullaby he sang to me as a baby wasn’t the standard “Rock A Bye Baby” tune, it was “The Eyes of Texas”. I’m pretty sure I learned to do the Hook ‘Em Horns handsign before I learned to walk.

Curse: Reversed

RIP Madden Curse, 1998-2007. You’ve left a slew of former greats in your wake: Marshall Faulk, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander. Well, no more- because much like Matt Leinart and the ’05 Trojans, you’re about to get shredded by Longhorn hottie Vince Young. He’s defeated much stronger opposition than you, including (but not limited to): Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, the NFL Draft, the Texans, the Colts, Merrill Hoge, communism, and evil everywhere… not to mention the SI Cover Jinx (six times). Farewell, Madden Curse! It’s been real, and it’s been fun- but it hasn’t been real fun.

Don’t Judge Me

… in which the post author confesses that she has a crush on an unusual athlete, and attempts to justify the unjustifiable.

ROGER CLEMENS EDITION

Rocket at Yanks game yesterday. Yes, he’s talking to Joe Torre.

So here’s the thing: I have a huge crush on Roger Clemens. Like, I would have his babies Giselle/Bridget-style, and I don’t even really like kids. Although I would not classify him as “hot”, he is incredibly sexy – and I would pick him over almost all the baseball players actually in my own age bracket. I think I can point to four reasons why.