A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
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The 2011 NBA Finals; a series full of headlines, a first for many, and an unaccomplished mission for some.
Included in that ‘some’, is LeBron James, but his experience last year will make him better in the long run.
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Orlando City owner Phil Rawlins has no desire to pay the second division North American Soccer Leagues franchise fees (last check-$750k). He’s content to continue his partnership with United Soccer Leagues, the third division of pro Soccer in the U.S., and not risk losing money. In the NASL, without major backers, he could suffer losses with the franchise fees, travel costs, payroll, stadium costs and marketing promotions.
His strategy is to get to Major League Soccer bypassing NASL.
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Several months ago, Crown Royal gave MSF the opportunity to cover the “Your Name Here” 500 NASCAR race in Richmond, Virginia.
Growing up in Indiana, I learned to love racing, and as such, was sent to cover the event.
As much as I like racing, the actual race was secondary. While I was there, I got to meet Matthew Hansen: national hero. I was also able to meet Rodney Atkins and attend his concert from fewer than five feet away before the race.
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With crisp and often snowy weather across most of America for the next 12 or so weeks, what’s better than cozying up with a good book?
Here are a few I’ve read in recent years that will provide joy, entertainment, and even introspection during the holiday season and beyond.
Numbered, but in no particular order:
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Already known for pitching products such as Nike, Chrysler, and Subway, I see even more lucrative endorsement opportunities for the most controversial player in pro football, Ndamukong Suh.
The ad would go something like this…
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Week 14 is here.
For some of you, that means you have a team (or hopefully teams) on bye this week. If so, major kudos to you.
For others of you, Week 14 means that it’s the first week of the playoffs. If so, good luck, and hopefully the advice in this post will help you move on.
For others, Week 14 is the last week of your regular season. Maybe you’ve clinched a playoff spot or maybe you’re still scratching and clawing for one. Regardless, hopefully we can do you and your lineup some good with our picks in this week’s start em, sit em.
And for some of you this may be your first week without fantasy football – if your playoffs start this week and you did not make it; but if that’s the case, why would you be reading this?
Alas, if you’re here, you are looking for help in Week 14. And you’re in luck, because that is exactly what you’re about to get.
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The San Francisco 49ers have been the unquestioned surprise of the NFL in 2011…unless you consider the Colts tanking with Peyton Manning to be a surprise.
And for those who have been wondering if the 49ers are “for real” you can now stop wondering. Why? Because the 49ers now have their own rap song, thanks to someone named Bailey.
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It’s been a while since I’ve hit the ‘net with an article, but I’m glad to say I’m back for good…
Just as long as there isn’t another lockout anytime soon people.
We can all agree that the NBA lockout was a time of confusion, anger, and uncertainty for the league we all know and love, but thankfully David Stern and Co. have found a way to get this season underway with a 66-game schedule; which is better than nothing, right?
With the season beginning on Christmas Day, there is a short time for training camps, free agency, and for teams to tune up their rosters to their liking; and as always, there are rumors flying around all over the place. I’ve heard some pathetic ones, but I’ve also heard a few legit ones. Care to know what is true and what is not? I’ve got you covered!
Also be sure to follow me on twitter to keep updated!
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When @si_vault tweeted out the picture below of Pat Summitt yesterday in honor of her being named co-Sportsman of the Year, my first reaction was the same stunned silence I would expect most people to experience…followed by what I also assume is a normal series of questions:
Things like that.
Image Credit: @si_vault via Twitter
When that exercise in befuddled questioning concluded about 45 minutes later, I started thinking about the other poor fashion choices made by college coaches over the years, which led me to create the Elite Eight of Fashion Faux Pas.
Yeah, I’m talking to you Mike Brey.
Image Credit: SI.com
To be fair, I’m not a fan of mock turtlenecks in any occupation, but come on; you’re a college coach who makes more than enough money to spring for an actual shirt and tie.
And if you’re going to “rock the mock,” at least have the common decency to stay away from color combinations like Brey is sporting above.
When you type “Gene Keady” into a Google image search, the first two options that come up are “Gene Keady hair” and “Gene Keady combover.” As you can see from this photo, Keady is still pulling this off (or should I say pulling this over) now that he’s at St. John’s.
Image credit: IdiotsOnSports.com
Very few things in college basketball, or sports in general, can claim this kind of longevity.
Look, I get the desire to rep your school’s colors, but is it worth it at the expense of looking like you shopped the Lloyd Christmas line?
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that two of these guys aren’t coaching this season; and with Bruce Weber, the jacket isn’t even in the top five most annoying things about him.
As for Bruce Pearl, who would have guessed that a guy who looks to have borrowed his jacket from a used car salesman would turn out to be morally objectionable? Go figure.
Four words of advice if you want to get into coaching: Do not wear sweaters.
While Bob Knight’s sweater is iconic in Indiana lore, the times when he would roll it up over his stomach still stick in my mind. Throw in Rick Majerus (who I could have included in the mock turtleneck section as well) and “Cosby sweater” pioneer Lou Carnesecca, and this should be reason enough to shut down the sweater industry as a whole.
Since I am focusing on coaches here, I won’t comment on the Saint John’s uni in that photo, but feel free to try the home version of our game and create your own caption.
Obviously the yellow suit is Huggs’ most egregious wardrobe foul, but it certainly wasn’t his only foray into fashion hell.
Image Credit: Chron.com via WSJ.com
Over the years, he’s also combined the mock turtleneck with a suit and vest while at K-State, and he has more recently gone to the far more casual windsuit look.
In the end, it looks like we’ll have to wait until his autobiography to find out what bet he lost that led to him donning this mustard-colored atrocity.
I can’t heap all the blame on the coaches here, as to some extent the locale for the Maui Invitational lends itself to some touristy fashion transgressions. Even the announcers can succumb to this phenomenon.
Image Credit: ESPN on Google+
Still, this gives me a chance to show another picture of Rick Majerus, who has now managed to pull off three of these looks so far.
Image Credit: Hugging Harold Reynolds
This, along with the Fashion Police section of US Weekly, goes to show that even people widely regarded as competent dressers can fall victim to unfortunate wardrobe selections.
Image Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images via SI.com
Pitino’s foray into the Colonel Sanders collection was widely discussed, particularly when sweating/transparency issues necessitated a suit swap at halftime.
Seeing the Morehead State women’s coach atop this list might seem like a surprise, but after wearing suits from John Daly’s clothing sponsor LoudMouth Golf last season, he’s earned it.
Believe me, I was just as surprised as you probably are to know that Craig Sager isn’t somehow behind this, but let’s just let these fine ensembles speak — or should I say scream — for themselves.
Image Credit: NashvilleCityPaper.com
Image Credit: TheHoopDoctors.com
There are my Elite Eight fashion faux pas by college basketball coaches.
Are there are any I missed? Or any other notable examples of these eight you feel need to be shared?
Comment below.
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Follow me on Twitter (@andybottoms) for my non-fashion thoughts on college hoops, and check out the latest edition of the Bottoms Line podcast.
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I spend time working on MSF every day because I absolutely love it. Even if the site generated no revenue from advertising, I’d still keep it up and keep writing for it because the driving force in launching it was, quite simply, my love for sports and an irrepressible desire to write about and discuss them.
But I do have to admit that as the site has grown, we have had the good fortune to have some pretty outstanding opportunities presented to us.
Today, I’m going to tell you about another one, via the fine folks at Crown Royal, and the best part is that one of you is going to be getting something awesome as a result of it.
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It was an eventful week in the National Football League.
Aaron Rodgers led a last-minute drive to give the Packers a win over the Giants, extending Green Bay’s winning streak to 18. Drew Brees became the first quarterback in league history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in 12 games. Tim Tebow led the Broncos to their fifth straight win and proved that he is more than just a pair of legs, throwing for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Chris Johnson put to rest any doubt that he had emerged from an early-season, hold0ut-induced funk by rushing for 153 yards and 2 scores. Marshawn Lynch had similar numbers in the Seahawks’ Thursday-night thrashing of the Eagles. And the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski caught 3 touchdown passes, tying the record for most touchdown receptions in a season by a tight end with 13.
First-year coach Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West and earned their first Playoff bid in nearly a decade. During the Niners’ shutout of St. Louis running back Frank Gore became the leading rusher in franchise history.
These are the players you’ll see on the highlight shows and read about in the week-in-review columns. These are the players who sell jerseys and star in commercials for insurance companies. But, as is always the case in football, no team is successful apart from the contributions of several players whose exemplary work we often overlook.
Here are but a few of the unsung heroes from Week 13 in the NFL:
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After the great Jerod Morris was kind enough to get Mariah Carey’s famous Christmas song in my head, we had a discussion on how the Packers are AWESOME and how Jerod will kick off his fandom by purchasing Packer shares ASAP.
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Now that the college basketball season is about a month old, it’s time for the first installment of the Bottoms Line College Basketball Power Rankings.
Putting these together is my attempt at balancing how teams are playing as well as who they are playing (and ideally beating) to rank the top teams in the nation. So before you get bent out of shape and call me an idiot for having North Carolina at number four, make an argument that they aren’t among the four best teams in the country based on how they played against Kentucky.
That’s what I thought.
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The NHL approved a completely new and “radical” realignment of its teams Monday night, changing its six-division format to four conferences.
Talks about making changes to the six-division format really heated up when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this offseason. With two options on the table – one dramatic, one simple – the NHL picked the more drastic realignment approach.
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