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.

Advent Calendar of Hotness Day 18

I took a straw poll on Twitter looking for new and exotic hotties to bring to our readers for their viewing pleasure. I’ve been stuck in the soccer rut and the football suggestions we haven’t covered in recent years make me sad.

Thankfully, a friend pointed me in the direction of NASCAR where I found the cutest little button in Kasey Kahne. Who knew such an adorable dude was hiding under all that flame-retardant gear?

I mean, he’s got all the CuteSports prerequisites: eye-crinkles, gorgeous eyes, rosy cheeks and looking yummy in scruff. A girl cannot go wrong.

The worst thing I can say is there is a serious dearth of nekky pictures of NASCAR drivers. You know you’re hurting to see some skin when you save a picture of a guy getting miked up, showing a couple of inches of abs. How are the many lady NASCAR fans not in demand of pictures of these guys shirtless?

Enough with the chatter, bring on the hottie:

No really. Those eyes. Should never been hidden inside a helmet.

Follow the jump to see more where Kasey looks into your soul….

Hit and Run: Crazy Endings Edition

I mean, what else would you expect on Hallowe'en? (AP Photo)

There just something about Hallowe’en that brings out the crazy. Dressing like a zombie. Dressing like Gaga. Drinking booze that is clearly coloured by artificial susbtances and possibly has floating eyeballs. Eating far too many mini Coffee Crisps. These jackets. Whatever bizarre behaviour you engage in is perfectly acceptable on October 31st, or at least the Friday or Saturday closest to it.

The sports world was also full of crazy on the weekend. For instance…

It’s the Sports Gods Valentine to you!

Surely you weren't expecting Schwartzenegger here! Vancouver Canucks legend Trevor Linden with the Torch earlier today (Photo Credit: Arlen Redekop)

This weekend is the sports equivalent of being handed a heart-shaped velvet box of decadent dark chocolates and not knowing whether to start nibbling on the dipped hazelnut or the coconut creme. But let’s face it – we deserve to be spoiled! Yes, there’s this party going on in Vancouver right now, but if you need something to keep you busy until the Pacific timezone catches up to, there’s lots to choose from.

Winsome Weekend Winner: Kasey Kahne

Kasey is celebrating this post!

After a nice dinner with dad on Father’s Day, I came home, flipped through the channels and stumbled upon the end of the NASCAR race.  I was greeted with the beautiful face of Kasey Kahne, today’s big winner!  Kasey is definitely on my “To Do” list, so I was very excited at his big win at Sonoma.  I’m not a huge NASCAR fan, but because of Kasey, I’ve become a casual watcher.  I thought what better way to celebrate his big win than by sharing the beautifulness that is Kasey Kahne in a nice little post!

So enjoy some more hot pictures of Kasey after the jump! Vroom Vroom!

Hit and Run: Now With More Pinstripes

Oh, come on now. This is my first ever Ladies… post! Cut me some slack and let me write about my Yankees! I promise next week, one of us will be showing some Pedroia love. It just won’t be me.

Were Baaaacckkkk!

Today is the second day in March. February, the most dreaded of all months (sportswise) has officially ended. And while Spring is on the horizon, the weather in the Northeast (and even in the South) refuses to cooperate and has mean-spiritedly dumped inches of snow all over the place.  However, we here at the Ladies… have piled on our parkas and snowboots and will trudge through the slush to give you what you have all been missing: US!

Hit and Run: NBA Playoffs and Crush Update

As much as I love basketball, I’m ready for the playoffs to stop being the playoffs and start being the NBA Finals. It’s time for some of these teams to get on with their off-seasons already (ahem Utah, Cleveland, Orlando, SAN ANTONIO). As much as I will loathe this paragraph in the barren basketball-less months to come, let’s get it moving people!

Celtics v. Cavaliers (2-2)

It looks like the Celtics are trying to be the team that wins it all but makes it look way harder than it should. On paper and in reality the Celtics should be beating the Cavaliers handily, or only losing in close games because LeBron goes off for 40 points or something. But they aren’t. The Hawks took them to a game 7, and it looks like the Cavaliers are on the way to doing the same. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Celtics will pull it out in the end, but it will be IN THE END. I feel like their motto has become, why win in 4 what we can in 7? This is in direct conflict with my motto for the series, which is “WHY THE HECK CAN’T YOU JUST FINISH OFF LESSER TEAMS IN AN APPROPRIATELY LOW NUMBER OF GAMES??”

Racing makes me sad. Basketball makes me happy!

I love horses, so stinking pretty.

So I spent yesterday reading my first non-school related book in over a month, and preparing to watch racing of all sorts. First up, Kentucky Derby. A three frickin’ hour telecast for a 2 minute race. Ohhh NBC, way to milk that for every advertising penny. Big Brown, the favorite, won by 5 horse lengths. Coming in second was the only filly in the group, Eight Belles. A filly hadn’t been entered in the Kentucky Derby for something like 9 years. After a strong second place finish, Eight Belles collapsed on the cool-down lap after breaking BOTH her front ankles. Apparently this injury was too much for any horse to come back from (giant body, spindly legs) and she was immediately euthanized on the track. Ugh. This was basically the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. The trainer and jockey were in tears. This poor horse was in so much pain they had to put her down IMMEDIATELY. They couldn’t even take her to a vet hospital. Way to start my sports watching on a sad note.

Why must you insist on breaking my heart?

I’m sure many of you have heard that Andy Roddick recently got engaged to Sports Illustrated swim suit model Brooklyn Decker. I’m not quite sure what he sees in her…

There is also a rumor floating around that Dreamboat and that supermodel he refuses to break-up with are making it official. Now, I doubt the Roddick thing is going to work out (the girl is only 20 after all) and chances are Bunchface is just another womb in which Tom Brady can implant another illegitimately beautiful baby. But I am saddened nonetheless. Hot pieces like that shouldn’t just go off the market! How dare they find beautiful, successful, women to settle down with when they haven’t even met ME yet?? So I decided to compile a list of the top 3 male (pro) athletes that it would break my heart to heart to hear that some wench has made off with them.