Time for my homer pick! Apparently Eric Hosmer has only been mentioned on this site one time in history, and it was when he was too young for the Ladies… to officially think he was attractive. Life sucked then. But this is now, so let’s DO THIS.
From his very brief stint in my town, in front of my camera.
So I’m flipping through the ads in my Sunday paper last weekend and this dropped into my lap:
(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.)
The Tour de France knows not of your "off day," silly Americans.
Yesterday was the “Off Day” in the All-Star Break, or as it is sometimes called, The Day So Devoid of Major Sporting Events* that ESPN Invented an Awards Show Just to Have Something To Air. Because this year’s Off Day also fell just after the close of the World Cup, things feel particularly quiet this year. But that didn’t mean there was no athletic competition to enjoy …you just might have to leave the contiguous United States for some of it.
*Except the Tour de France , which ESPN doesn’t count since Versus has the rights and Lance isn’t going to win. That’s current leader Andy Schleck above. He’s from Luxembourg.
Enjoy your government-given day off of work and celebrate one of the many, many reasons it’s great to be an American!
Listen, Pirates fans – I know you get picked on. I’m certain a post from a Brewers fan isn’t going to go over so well with you after we beat you last Thursday 20-0. However, I discovered last week that you girl Pirates fans have little to complain about. Though the scoreboard may sometimes make you want to cover your eyes, the view on the field is enough to keep a Lady coming back for more.
Who care what the record is – these Pittsburgh Pirates are hot! So hot, in fact, that the first time Garrett Jones came to bat, my mother stopped what she was doing to say “who’s that?”
Sadly for us, these hapless Pirates don’t receive too much media coverage and pictures are somewhat difficult to come by. Maybe there are even more pretty Pirates that I missed out on. Let me know if the comments if someone else needs to make it on our radar.
Follow the jump to meet these Pirates Pretty boys
So like many of us, I spent the weekend watching some college teams duke it out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my sh*t together and submit a bracket on time. So in true lady form, I’d like to list my predictions for this coming week’s Sweet 16 winners taking us to the Elite 8, in beloved Lolcat caption form.
(I’d like to add a congrats to my alma mater – Women’s Basketball at University of Rochester made it to the Final Four!!)
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.
I resisted for three whole weeks, but the weather is cold and this hottie totally warms my night. Ladies… it’s Fernando Torres to make your spirits bright:
Follow the jump for as many “new” Nando shots as I could find tonight! Continue reading
You knew it was only a matter of time….
Ok, it’s way past (or way before) 4PM, but that’s the name of the local magazine who’s current fashion issue features Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun. Since I failed to post on Monday, here’s some pre-Thanksgiving, sort-of Hump Day Hottie eye candy – keeps the tummy empty but warms the heart just before the holiday.
Here’s a tease, but follow the jump for some more pictures as well as a video of the cover shoot.
There is a statistically-inclined rant after the jump that I think you all need to hear.
Two weeks ago I brought you some college hockey playing cuties and now it’s time to keep it going. Today, we’ll look at the second half of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association – St. Cloud State, Colorado College, Minnesota State, University of Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan Tech.
Since college hockey is a bit of a niche sports, follow the jump to get a quick primer on how it breaks down.
Ok, I don’t know that for sure, but I do have images of Prince Fielder throwing darts at a board with Albert Pujols’ face on it – let’s be honest, we’d all probably be doing the same thing.
Because at just 25, Fielder is having a career season that almost no fans know about – and that will go unrewarded because Pujols is having a better one.
This is officially the 1,300th post on our fine site and we decided to celebrate with a list of 13 very special hotties. Since we realized it was the 1,300th post pretty late, not every one of the Ladies… was able to join in the fun, but we picked a few individual hotties, plus some “all-time” hotties.
Follow the jump for the pictures!
A hitter plays every day and hits once every nine spots in his team’s lineup.
A pitcher plays every fifth day and faces all nine spots in the other team’s lineup.
For example:
Albert Pujols has had 21 plate appearances in the last five games. For the season, he averages 21.3 PAs per five games.
Tim Lincecum had 29 plate appearances against him in his most recent game. For the season, he averages 28.6 PAs against per game.
Joe Mauer has had 20 plate appearances in the last five days. For the season, he averages 22.1 PAs per five games.
Zack Greinke had 29 plate appearances against him in his most recent game. For the season, he averages 28.2 PAs against per game.
It’s the dog days of summer and my baseball team is out of contention. Sure, we’re still attending games, but my heart’s just not in it. When certain pitchers are scheduled to start, I find myself not even wanting to turn the game on. I go through the motions and I turn the channel on every night, but my heart’s just not in it.
By this point of the year, we’ve attended the majority of the games in our 20-pack, plus some others, as well as minor league games, and I’m just spent. The baseball season seems to take forever when you’re not gearing up for the end of the season, but winding down.
It’s too early to talk about the postseason stuff that might get me interested again. Roster moves and which free agents will get signed, who will end up in arbitration and what the team will look like next season are all questions that won’t be answered for another few months.
Basically, I’m burned out from 140 games in which my team failed to live up to expectations and I’m stuck somewhere between wanting to cry because my team got swept by the Reds and not being able to muster enough fandom to care.
But it’s not just baseball’s fault…
Would you believe I’ve never seen my Yankees in person? My sad, sad story of deprivation after the jump.
My place of worship
The Brewers signed a four-year contract before this season to make the Wisconsin TimberRattlers their class-A affiliate.
Though you’d never know it, Appleton has been home to a minor-league franchise consistently since at least 1958 and has been a member of the Midwest League since 1962. Before the Brewers contract, the TimberRattlers (nee Foxes) were the Mariners’ single-A affiliate for 15 years and both David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez started their careers there.
Going to a game in Appleton is pure heaven. We’ve been to a few A level games and nowhere else has come close to beating the experience at Appleton. Maybe it’s because they’ve been doing it for awhile, but this is an area that knows their audience and produces some great, affordable, family entertainment.
It’s the dog days of summer and getting moving on Monday morning can be a little rough, so I thought I’d post some pictures to get the heart rate elevated and the blood pumping.
This week, I’m going with some of the lesser known and enjoyed hotties.
Is there a better way to start a week than that?
First it was the locker rooom charging anger of Prince Fielder, now it’s Ozzie Guillen threatening retaliation.
Plunking batters has become all the rage lately and it’s led to a lot of comments dismissing the process as “just baseball.” But is it?
I’ve had this conversation a few times this season, since the Brewers are second in the NL, fourth in MLB in hit batsmen, with 47. (The Dodgers are second to last, having been hit 23 times, so maybe that’s why they’re so angry about each one.)
What do we think about these “unwritten rules?” Do you agree with them? Are they part of the game?
…is to look at this photo.
Yup. Write your own caption, darlings.
In which I am not any more repetitive than I need to be, when I say,
ROY HALLADAY IS THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL
ROY HALLADAY IS THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL
ROY HALLADAY IS THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL.
9 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 0 BB, 105-78 pitches-strikes.
He’s averaging 3.95 batters faced per inning.
Ricciardi, if you trade him, I will seriously consider getting my passport renewed so I can personally come up to Toronto and kick your ass. (Theoretically.) I mean, it’s just like, have you heard your fanbase, at all? And plus, read this. Like, just read it. You don’t need to go and make good people worried about stuff, do you?
Jerk.
Anyway, in the event of any further anger, y’all should go here and type in “JP Ricciardi” (or the name of whichever GM has wronged you recently) and just keep on clicking “Generate another Rumour” until you’re too busy laughing to bother remembering that your fist may have a date with a pillow on which you’ve taped a crude drawing of their face.
Also, look how well they’ve been doing without Vernon Wells! Looks like he doesn’t feel so Wells, eh? Oh damn I am funny. (/defense mechanism’d)
Good morning. This has turned into a rant. I’m going away now.
Congrats to U.S. Women’s National Team member Abby Wambach who scored her 100th international goal yesterday in a friendly against Canada in her hometown of Rochester, NY.
The achievement was made all the more impressive by the fact that Wambach was playing in just her second international game since breaking both her tibia and fibula just days before the national team began play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Wambach tied fellow U.S. International Tiffeny Milbrett for the eighth most goals ever scored in women’s international soccer. She scored the 100th goal in just 129 international appearances, making her the second-fastest to the century mark in US women’s soccer history.
Having turned professional just 16 months ago, 17-year-old Melanie Oudin has advanced to the fourth round of Wimbeldon after defeating world #6 seed Jelena Jankovic in three sets.
Though she was pretty dominant in juniors – at one point she won 27 matches in a row – she has only advanced past the first round of a tournament once since turning pro.
She’s been the surprise of Wimbeldon – to everyone including herself. Turns out she and her coach had already purchased plane tickets home, apparently assuming she wouldn’t make it very far. But she joins Venus and Serena as the only Americans to advance to the fourth round.
From what I’ve read, American tennis fans are looking to her to be the next big American hope. It’s been 12 years since the Williams sisters came on to the scene and everyone has been looking for the next American sensation.
It’s the “big” part of that equation that are leaving people wondering if Oudin can be the new American tennis star. She’s just 5’6″ in a world of Amazonian women – Serena is 5’10” and Venus is 6’1″.
I don’t know enough about tennis to tell you any more than that, but I’m always all about a girl kicking butt.
Good morning. How can you just walk on by without one tear in your eye?
(Incidentally, that song reminds me of this, which I swear only makes me cry because I’m listening to that damn song. Insert “unhealthy obsession” comment here.)
(Yes, I know that you’re getting this post after the afternoon post. It’s still morning in California.)
The current All-MLB RAR leader.
The rest of the All-Star awesomesauce is after the jump, but first: SPOILER ALERT! NO RED SOX OR YANKEES! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!.
Considering there was quite a bit of baseball, golf and various forms of racing happening this weekend, I was super excited every time I sat in front of the TV and there was international soccer on both ESPN and ESPN2.
The Confederations Cup is going on in South Africa. This is a tournament that happens every four years, the year before the World Cup. It pits the previous WC Champion against the winners of the various FIFA Confederations. Wikidpedia gives us this handy chart:
| Team | Confederation | Qualification | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
 South Africa |
CAF | 2010 FIFA World Cup host | 2nd |
 Italy |
UEFA | 2006 FIFA World Cup winners | 1st |
 United States |
CONCACAF | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners | 4th |
 Brazil |
CONMEBOL | Copa América 2007 winners | 6th |
 Iraq |
AFC | 2007 AFC Asian Cup winners | 1st |
 Egypt |
CAF | 2008 African Cup of Nations winners | 2nd |
 Spain |
UEFA | UEFA Euro 2008 winners | 1st |
 New Zealand |
OFC | 2008 OFC Nations Cup winners | 3rd |
So to celebrate , let’s check out some of the beautiful men who played the beautiful game this weekend.
Good morning.
*hides from all Mets fans, some Jays fans, plenty of Yankees fans*
(Incidentally, you don’t need a white horse to steer you back onto course.)
For each one of you that sees the “Read the rest of this entry” link here and doesn’t click on it, a child is taught that Saves are useful statistics and that Derek Jeter is worthy of this year’s All-Star Game start. (So that’s a maybe. But do you really want to risk it?)
I got the idea for this post when I was talking to my friend about the last time the Yankees won the World Series. It’s almost going to be nine years, but nine years isn’t that long. If I ever complained about a nine-year World Series drought to a Cubs fan, I would more than likely get a smack in the face…and it would be completely warranted.
However, when I think back to where I was the 2000, it seems like ages ago. The last time the Yankees won it all I was a freshman in High School. It feels like I graduated from H.S. ages ago; forget about actually being a freshman. The bottom line is we all follow our team with one goal: to see them win it all at the end. Don’t get me wrong, you can still enjoy the season, but you are never fully satisfied unless your team is the last one standing. Unless you root for the Phillies, Red Sox or Cardinals, the last time your team won it all can seem like a lifetime ago.
So let’s take a little trip down memory lane and see what life was like the last time your team were World Champions. Sorry to all Washington, Milwaukee, Houston, San Diego, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Texas, and Seattle fans. You need to have won at least one to qualify.
So every time Sunday night rolls around and I wonder what to post on Monday morning, I go through and discard ideas.
And every week I think about doing a hottie post and I realize – I don’t really have any sports crushes.
Sure, I can appreciate all the boys you all fawn over – I get the Jacoby Ellsbury or Sidney Crosby crush – but none of these guys inspire true fan-girl love. I find an accent sexier than forearms and it’s been awhile since a Wisconsin athlete just made me swoon, so I need your help. Ryan Braun and JJ Hardy do it for some ladies, but they just don’t for me. Maybe I have standards that are too high or maybe I’m just not looking hard enough. I NEED YOUR HELP!
So please, follow me after the jump and help me find a boy to love!
Ladies... 