We’re going literal this week: it’s Friday, and there are some fellows in the basketball world who are feeling (and looking) pretty good. Feel free to click the above for a soundtrack appropriate to the coming joy…
This lovely picture of London Bridge’s Olympic rings was taken by my sister-in-law. Thanks, sis!
It’s hard to believe, but the Olympics are finally only days away, not weeks away, and so it must be time for Olympic Bingo! (Actually, if our search stats are to be believed, a bunch of you think it’s past time for Olympic Bingo. Hopefully two days is enough prep time for your Opening Ceremonies parties.)
Trey Hardee, Shotput (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
With just over a month to go before the Olympics, countries around the world have begun selecting their teams. This week happens to be both the US Track and Field and the US Diving Trials (probably on NBC, albeit severely edited, this weekend), which are two of my favorite pre-Olympic events: Track and Field because I was raised by a track geek, and diving because it’s just really cool to watch, and you always know when someone REALLY screws up.
Pictures of striving Olympic hopefuls, and a lecture to the wire service caption writers, after the jump.
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.
I had planned to spend this week’s post reviewing an awesome book on baseball I received for Christmas (I will post it next week right before pitches & catchers report – yay!). However, I live in New York City, and there is one sports story everyone is talking about this week. No, not the Giants. The Knicks. More specifically, Jeremy Lin.
You don’t have to live here very long to learn that, although New Yorkers like football (especially if one of the teams is winning), this city truly lives for baseball in the spring and summer and basketball in the winter. And while the Yankees have to split the city with the Mets, the Knicks (for one more season, at least) are in many ways the only sports team the entire city can get behind. Unfortunately, as long as I’ve been here, they’ve also been mediocre at best, or flat out terrible at worst.
My tree is up, the big tree down in Rockefeller Center has been lit, it is Christmastime here in the city (and everywhere else), and thus, it is also once again time for the Ladies… Advent Calendar of Hotness!
Today’s ACoH is Houston Texans running back Arian Foster.
Guys! He needs to wear that tonight!
Somewhere in the middle of the ninth inning last night, I realized I was clutching a sofa cushion to my chest and rocking back and forth. Then Freese tripled with two outs and two strikes and I threw back my head and cackled.
It was about then that I realized baseball had succeeded in driving me mad.
(Will that work for a You Tube title, or do I need more exclamation points?)
As I type this Wednesday evening, the ALCS is just getting under way after a two hour delayed start; it remains to be seen how an impending storm will effect the NLCS. Meanwhile, an unexpected 24 hour “suspension” of my evening plans has forced me to scramble for a post idea a day early. Remembering an old baseball video we had growing up that featured (I think) Robin Yount and Paul Molitor goofing around during a rain delay, I hit YouTube hoping to find a clip. Either no one shares my appreciation for Robin Yount, belly padded with towels, pretending to hit a Molitor “air pitch” for a home run on top of a rain soaked tarp (complete with face first slide into home), or MLB’s license police have been really earning their pay, for I came up with nothing. Fortunately, though, I found other rain delay antics to enjoy. But first, we have to get that tarp on the field!
Let’s just put aside the fact that I had an actual rooting interest last night — everything that happened in baseball over the last 24 hours makes my brain scream this song:
As someone who has spent the last two weeks watching the Cardinals wait until the last inning to win or lose what seemed like 95% of their games, one of the most surreal things about last night was that St. Louis was the only team that got their game settled right out of the gate, batting around in the first inning and scoring five runs before recording a single out. Which left me free to enjoy the one day MLB.tv subscription I paid 3.99 for Tuesday night as a mostly impartial fan (possibly the best 4 bucks I’ve ever spent, even if I couldn’t get the Rays-Yankees because of blackout restrictions, and had to switch to the Phillies-Braves radio feeds for the latter innings because of too much traffic on the video feed (and my crappy bandwidth). At one point, I had three GTalk conversations going and was on the phone to my parents; 99.5 % of the discussion revolved around baseball (I did manage to discuss Christmas arrangements with my folks. I’m not totally obsessed.)
As excited as the Ladies get for baseball’s All-Star festivities, we tend to ignore the Celebrity Softball game. I may have to at least DVR it, however, now that Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec, Everwood) has been announced as one of the celebrities. Chris is in the Moneyball movie as one of the A’s prospects, so he’s presumably had at least some movie prep coaching. If he brings MouseRat to sing the national anthem, I’ll even watch it live.
Also on the celeb roster:
Since it’s been all of five months since we did a post on Kevin Durant, we thought it was time for another montage of the Thunder’s forward. Never mind, of course, that he led Oklahoma City to a Game 7 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday with a stellar postseason offensive performance (39 points!) The team will return to the West final for the first time in 15 years when they were the celebrated Seattle (Super)Sonics. It won’t be an easy task, mind you: they’re facing the Mavs. But aren’t you glad to see a West final that doesn’t include Kobe for a change?
More Durant deliciousness and your Monday music fix after the jump.
*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.
(Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Just to summarize:
8 innings pitched
122 pitches
2 hits
0 runs
1 walk
13 K
Bee’s line
1.3 glasses of merlot (contemplated drinking straight from the bottle at 7-0)
1/3 bag of Lays’ reduced salt chips
28 swears
8 middle fingers (mostly for Josh Hamilton)
Damn you, Cliff Lee. Damn you to hell.
(I hate that you’re so awesome.)
…Roy Halladay. Do I even need to say anything else?
HI EVERYONE ROY HALLADAY THREW A NO HITTER IN HIS FIRST POSTSEASON APPEARANCE AND I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO USE PUNCTUATION
PS IT WAS ONLY THE SECOND ONE IN A LITTLE THING WE LIKE TO CALL HISTORY
PS NUMBAH TWO: OH AND HE THREW A PERFECT GAME THIS YEAR ALREADY.
For real, I kind of think my husband would be okay if I left him for Roy. Actually, I kind of think he might leave me for Roy. I’m not sure I blame him.
Apparently Mr. Ronaldo was the first futbol player to sport the orange cleats that littered the World Cup this summer. He debuted them back in October of 2009, if my sources are correct.
Shoes seem to be such a hot topic these days. First, we had the whole orange shoe craze at the World Cup, now the flashy shoes have infiltrated the MLB All-Star Game. Everyone’s favorite announcers, Chris Berman and Joe Morgan, were all abuzz about David Ortiz’s shoes that they forgot to talk about all the home runs he was hitting.
So join me after the jump, where we take a look at some All-Star Game foot fashion. Forget the long ball, chicks dig the shoes.
As in, Group E. Oh, yes. It’s time for another installment of ‘Seriously, there’s a reason folks the world over love the World Cup, and it ain’t all about the footwork.’
But before we start with the glorious, glorious eye candy, we just have to ask, since this is going live before the (unholy early) 7 AM EST Korea Republic v. Greece match: Does anyone feel like, you know, winning a World Cup match? Just saying. Ties are like kissing your sister. Or, well, brother, in our case.
Anyway, the hotness.
The Netherlands own Robin Van Persie.
I’m sorry – the National’s game is SOLD OUT??? Did Ted Williams come back from the freezer to don a Nat’s jersey?
Seriously, if you’ve ever been to a Nat’s game, it’s a veritable ghost town – which is fine by me, I hate waiting in line for a beer!
Continue reading
The rosters have been set. The teams have played their friendlies before making the trek to South Africa. Heck, we’ve even made it through Eurovision. (Congratulations, Germany.)
A week from now? It’s finally time. The group stage of the World Cup kicks off, and even America cares about soccer for at least five minutes. Me? I’ll be eating, sleeping and breathing international soccer until the very last second runs down.
Yes, I love soccer, but there’s just something about International play (and the World Cup in particular) that elevates the game. It turns the already rabid soccer fanbase into a bunch of flag-and-bunting-bedecked lunatics. I challenge anyone who doesn’t like or understand soccer to start watching the World Cup from the beginning. Trust me, you’ll come out at the other end swearing at the Abruzzi for being a bunch of diving whiners or being amazed at just how fast Portugal can move (Damn you, Ronaldo. Damn you to hell.) or harboring a secret love for the Orange.
And you know what else is great about the World Cup? International Eye candy. Above? Spain’s Fernando Torres.
More hotness after the jump.
Cards' beat writer Derrick Goold snapped this picture of his scorecard after the game. (Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
I’m sort of new to Twitter (I don’t actually have an account, I just follow people through Feedly), and the handful of people I follow right now are a)Cardinals fans or b)Ladies. Which made a glance at my selected Twitter feeds during Saturday’s Mets-Cardinals marathon most entertaining. And now, without further interruption, Ladies…Twitter Theater presents: The Twenty Inning Game
When I read that Natalie Randolph was named, in early March, the new head coach for Washington’s Coolidge High Colts, a MALE varsity football team, I was a tad worried. You see, while I am obviously all for the advancement of woman in sports and typically held male jobs, I don’t think it should happen, just because.
I’m kinda old school I guess. No matter what the job, I believe the person with the most to offer the position, should land the gig. This may be an unpopular sentiment because of the fact that minorities and woman haven’t been given the same opportunities along the way to become the most qualified… And before you prepare to pelt me with whatever food you have laying around, hear me out.
So if you’re following me on Twitter, you’ve discovered that I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with figure skating. (Okay, okay, that’s like saying John Mayer has an obsession with saying spectacularly stupid things in public.)
Given that I hate most girly aspects of sports (pink anything and everything, Ladies Nights, and the existence of Alyssa Milano’s Touch line, to start) like burning, some of the other Ladies…were mildly confused when I started shrieking about toe loops and salchows. I mean, it’s figure skating, right? I should like manly things, like the biathlon and moguls. I should frown on feathers and sequins and Dick Button.
But here’s the thing. I love figure skating. I loooooooove figure skating.
We could post picture upon picture from last night’s game and celebration, but let’s be honest, we’re all smitten with Drew Brees after the images of him holding and talking to his child while tears streamed down this face.
The proud papa brought the whole huge party back to a human level and there were plenty of folks who were crying right with him.
Congratulations, Drew, Sean Payton, and the rest of the New Orleans Saints. Well played, guys. Well played.
You can see tons of photos from the celebration and the game in this gallery at nola.com
So by now, you may have seen this profile of Saints linebacker Scott Fujita.
If you’re me, you’ve now spent the last twenty minutes drawing hearts around his name while daydreaming about skipping through New Orleans hand-in hand and dispensing bon mots about social justice and equality.
Then again, if you’re a normal person, you thought ‘Huh, cool.’ and went on with your daily life.
Let’s just jot down the reasons why Scott Fujita is my new boyfriend who just doesn’t know it yet, shall we? Continue reading
It’s shocking that it took me more than 5 seconds to make this pick. How could I overlook one of the most delectable men in the NFL. Thank God I was discussing the Dolphins this chilly December morn, jogged my memory right quick!
Here in all his beautiful glory… Jason Taylor!
Me? Hilariously predictable? Well, I never.
He’s one of exactly one people who can be hot while wearing those extra sleeve-under-the-sleeve things.
Games Mistress is thankful both of these men wear Cardinal red.
Happy (American) Thanksgiving from the Ladies!
While we’re thankful for family, friends, and the chance to stuff ourselves with food while in the company of said family and friends, we here at Ladies… are also thankful for what the sports world has given us over the past year.
There is a statistically-inclined rant after the jump that I think you all need to hear.
One of the great things about the ladies assembled here is love and fandom spanning all spectrums of the sporting world. The majority of these ladies however, know something that I did not, hockey rocks!
In 1997, Brian Sims helped lead his high school (and, in the interest of full disclosure, mine) to the Pennsylvania State AAAA football Championship. In 2000, he was named an All-American defensive lineman and helped lead Bloomsburg University to its first ever national championship game.
Somewhere along the way, he became the first openly gay college football team captain.
Brian’s since graduated from law school and has become a practicing lawyer in Philadelphia who serves on the Board of Directors for Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia. Since first telling the story of playing football as an openly gay man to OutSports.com, Brian’s received thousands of emails from both out and closeted athletes, all wanting to talk about the terrifying concept of not only coming out, but doing so in arguably the most macho setting possible.
And really, it’s hard to downplay how intimidating and downright discouraging it must be for a gay athlete to even contemplate coming out to their teammates. For every Brendan Ayanbadejo (a vocal supporter of gay marriage equality) there’s Larry Johnson. For every survey that finds that nearly 3/4 of professional baseball players would have no problem with a gay teammate, there’s bigoted assclowns like Todd Jones. (Seriously. Ugh.)
So how did Brian Sims’ teammates handle it? By not giving a damn.
Ladies... 