It’s been a big week for everyone’s favorite female basketball star, Skylar Diggins.

Diggins, who was recently selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, signed on with Jay-Z’s new sports agency, RocNationSports. She was immediately captured throwing up the “dynasty” sign. Diggins joins the Yankees’ Robinson Cano and the Giants’ Victor Cruz on Jay-Z’s client list.

Earlier in the week, Diggins and injured Lakers star Kobe Bryant enjoyed some light-hearted banter on the Twittersphere.

Bryant initiated the conversation while remarking on Diggins’ appearance at a Nike camp, writing, “Heard @SkyDigg4 is visiting my Nike fam campus! It would be great to have her be the 1^st official #ladymamba rep #mambamen …”

To which Diggins re-tweeted and replied, “Lady Mamba lol”

No word yet from Vanessa Bryant …

Feeling a draft

The NFL Draft is mere hours away as we sit here typing. While the experts — and yes, even Metro did a mock draft — break down the best of the best, we want to use this space to introduce you to the first WAG we’ve come across.

Matt Barkley is a quarterback for USC. He may go in the first round, if a team desperately seeking a quarterback wants to reach. More likely, he’ll go in the second or third round, and maybe his suitor will secure the steal of the 2013 draft.

More likely, we’ll all just be cheering for him to go early, so we can get up close and personal with his girlfriend, Brittany Langdon, much like we did a year ago with Ryan Tannehill and his smokeshow disguised as arm candy.

In the meantime, enjoy Brittany, courtesy of BustedCoverage.com.

Happy drafting everyone!

The post Playing the Field: Skylar Diggins signs with Jay-Z, flirts with Kobe Bryant appeared first on Metro.us.

Brittney Griner recently came out as a lesbian. No surprise there.

She talks like a man. She has the stature of a man. And she dunks like a man. None of that is wrong or meant to be insensitive. That’s just how she comes across on appearances — and that’s a good thing for the game of basketball, and sports in general. We sincerely hope that Mark Cuban stays true to his boast and drafts her in the NBA Draft.

We only hope that this could lead to a bigger outing, maybe in the NFL.

Free agent safety Kerry Rhodes is attempting to squash rumors that he is a gay man playing in the NFL. Rhodes’ alleged longtime boyfriend and assistant Russell “Hollywood” Jackson has gone on record saying Rhodes was “like his wife.”

The gossip website MediaTakeOut has published pictures of the two seemingly enjoying a romantic vacation. Instead of embracing the moment, Rhodes has pulled a trick from Richard Nixon’s playbook. Deny, deny, deny.

“Photos have been circulating of my former assistant and I that have caused some rumors regarding my sexuality, and I wanted to address the situation … I am not gay,” Rhodes tells TMZ.com. “The shots were taken during a past vacation in a casual environment with my entire business team … I know a lot of people are recently talking about athletes struggling to come out to their fans right now, and I support them, as well as wish those individuals comfort.”

We don’t know anything about Rhodes’ sexuality. Until he utters the words, “I am gay,” we’ll have to accept his statement as truth. We just hope — if the rumors do turn out to be true — Rhodes will have the courage to stand up and forge a new trail for gay athletes everywhere.

The post Playing the Field: It’s time for a gay NFL star appeared first on Metro.us.

Over the weekend, Nebraska held their spring football game and gave us one of those moments.

All college teams hold spring practices and finish with a scrimmage at the stadium. There’s not much to do in Nebraska, so 80,000 people show up, tailgate and generally treat it like a real game.

But not for one play on Saturday.

But Jack got to play Saturday in the spring game and it couldn’t have been better to see. He ran for a 69-yard touchdown, with a little help getting started from star quarterback Taylor Martinez.

They probably should have pitched it to him on the option if you’re sticking with Nebraska history, but who can quibble with a play that goes the distance?

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. It’s allergies, damnit! I swear.

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“Saturday Night Live” was particularly sports-heavy last night, with a spoof of the Rutgers scandal leading the way.

Host Melissa McCarthy (remembered fondly by most from “Bridesmaids,” but by me from “Gilmore Girls”) played fictional women’s basketball coach Sheila Kelly in an episode of “Outside the Lines.” Of course she was a take off on Rutgers head coach Mike Rice, who was fired for berating players, cursing them and literally kick their asses.

It’s above, just watch it.

“SNL” was really on its game with this one. I’m going with McCarthy throwing a toaster at her player as the highlight.

But the Rutgers and Mike Rice skit wasn’t the only one to feature a sports slant. Weekend Update tackled Charles Barkley’s complete lack of knowledge about the NCAA tournament and his gambling addiction.

The best line was about underdog (and Final Four loser) Wichita State.

“Wichita State? I didn’t even know Wichita was a state?” Barkley said. “Did you know Wichita State didn’t have no witches in it? It cost me 50 grand.”

I’m surprised “SNL” went in that direction since the “Barkley is clueless” slant is very insider sports. It was great stuff for a sports fan.

The “Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of gambling” line was also excellent though it fell a little flat without a sports-oriented audience. Still, great night of sports humor from “Saturday Night Live.”

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Great cameo by Jay Pharaoh as an Eric Murdock clone too.

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And then you have Pistons rookie Andre Drummond shooting free throws.

Drummond is a 6-foot-11 power forward with absurd athleticism. Check out his performance in last year’s UConn Midnight Madness dunk contest. (That’s the best dunk contest, pro or college, since Vince Carter in 2000 by the way.)

But he can’t shoot free throws. At all. Shaquille O’Neal, the baseline for all bad free-throw shooters, shot 52.7 percent from the line over his career. Drummond is shooting 35.2 percent this year. Yeah, you read that correctly. It’s not an aberration either. He shot even worse — 29.5 percent — in college.

We give you Exhibit A (and B?) at the top of the post in the form of last night’s two (TWO!) airball performance. Yes, Drummond actually airballed back-to-back free-throw attempts in one trip. That takes talent.

My favorite part is the benchwarmer on Chicago who jumps out of his chair when Drummond whiffs on the second shot. Nothing like a guy getting five minutes per game celebrating a missed free throw.

Mets add to Harlem Shake annoyance

The Mets dropped a Harlem Shake video over the weekend, continuing the trend that just won’t die. Please, please let it die.

Anyway, public relations guru and “King of the buttdial” Jay Horwitz kicks it off with his epileptic seizures, which he apparently calls dancing. Horwitz is crazy by the way, and in his 34th year as a P.R. man for the Mets, so he’s definitely a must-follow on Twitter.

It’s not as good as the Heat’s Harlem Shake video, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. The best part is actually LaTroy Hawkins and David Wright’s choreographed dance in manager Terry Collins’s office at the end, so be sure to watch the whole thing.

My question, where did they get all those costumes?

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. He promises not to do a Harlem Shake video.

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If you didn’t own a computer or cell phone until this morning, you might have missed Clippers forward DeAndre Jordan destroying Knight, the Pistons’ point guard, with one of the biggest alley-oop dunks of all time. No overstatement necessary, just look at the video.

I’m not sure this technically counts as being posterized, since Knight got literally knocked out of the picture. The fact that he got crushed and fell to the ground made the dunk epic actually. (And thankfully Knight wasn’t injured, because that would’ve made the whole thing very awkward.) But if you are Knight, why are you trying to go up for the ball over Jordan? Knight is a 6-foot-3 point guard. Jordan is a 6-foot-11 power forward. What are you possibly thinking?

Knight actually handled the situation as best he could. No need to try to lie and make some excuse. He took to Twitter after the game and joked about the situation.

It wasn’t in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol

— Brandon E Knight (@BrandonKnight07) March 11, 2013

As you see, that has been retweeted 19,000 times!

Of course, if we are going to call this one of the greatest alley-oops of all time, we have to provide some competition.

Gerald Green has a couple contenders for best alley-oop actually. This one from Marshon Brooks to Green for the windmill is particularly amazing. You don’t see a windmill off an alley-oop too often. You have to have the hops of Green to pull it off. A few more examples of Green’s athleticism here, here and here. He can jump really high.

Another alley-oop involving the Nets, and Green, but this time it’s Deron Williams to Green, who throws it off the backboard and Kris Humphries finishes it. This one doesn’t get nearly enough play as one of the greatest dunks of all time.

And of course we had this one just a few days ago between Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin. It’s impressive, though I would’ve liked to have seen Crawford go between the legs and off the glass. It looked a little odd throwing it straight up in the air.

OK, so what alley-oops am I missing?

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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The two arch rivals (right? apparently?) were facing off in a Pool D Round Robin game when Mexico took exception to a ninth-inning bunt hit by Canada’s Chris Robinson as our neighbors to the north led 9-3. Many people have blamed the bunt on the WBC’s run-differential tiebreaker. In other words, the tournament favors scoring as many runs as possible, even leading by six runs in the ninth.

Mexico’s pitcher Arnold Leon, with prodding from third baseman Luis Cruz, drilled the next batter after throwing two consecutive inside pitches. Rene Tosoni, that hitter, took exception to Leon and the whole brouhaha began.

The benches cleared, renowned hot head Alfredo Aceves got snap mared to the ground by Nyjer Morgan-clone Tyson Gillies and legit punches were thrown. This was not your typical “stand around and trash talk” baseball fight. It got very ugly.

Canada coach Larry Walker said of Aceves, “I had a hold of him and I thought I saw Satan in his eyes.”

Even as the players started to leave the field the Canadian players started to taunt the heavily pro-Mexico crowd. Some fan responded by chucking a bottle at the players, striking Canadian pitching coach Denis Boucher. Canada shortstop Cale Iorg pulled a Milton Bradley and whipped it back into the crowd.

Oh, and the organizers decided no one should be suspended. No big deal, boys. Carry on.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Good fight, though it’s still no Nolan Ryan vs. Robin Ventura.

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The last we saw Greg Oden he was partying with college kids in Ohio.

Unfortunately, unlike Vince Young, Oden prefers to party with his shirt on, so we’re not quite sure how in shape he is. However, it doesn’t appear to matter.

The former No. 1 overall pick is drawing interest from four different NBA teams, according to his agent. Among them are such powerhouses as the Heat and Spurs. Not bad for a guy who has played in just 82 career games, with a 9.4 points per game average.

Oden is a less successful version of Andrew Bynum — still only 25 with balky knees and a reputation for off-the-court shenanigans. The difference between Oden and Bynum is the price tag. While the Sixers are on the hook for almost $16 million this season, the Heat would only have to shell out around $900,000 for Oden, chump change for the Heat, which could probably squeeze that much out of LeBron’s couch cushions.

Here’s one strong vote for Oden to Miami. In fact, let’s bring Sam Bowie in as an assistant coach to bring everything full circle. Question, if the Heat win a championship with Bowie and Oden on the roster, does that push LeBron ahead of Jordan?

Football was the case that they gave him

Our love affair with hip hop has been well-documented in this space, so imagine our immense glee when we learned that Snoop Dogg’s son is moving up the high school football recruiting ranks faster than a track off “Doggystyle.”

Cordell Broadus, also known as Lil’ Snoop, is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver who just completed his sophomore year at Diamond Bar (California) High. He’s already flirting with the likes of UCLA, Washington and Florida State.

“Being my kid, and walking in my shadows, that’s something you can’t run from, Cordell knows that,” the Doggfather told MaxPreps.

Needless to say, the younger Broadus has a sick highlight reel making the internet rounds. We can’t wait for Snoop and Dre to get in the studio to remix it.

The post Playing the Field: Greg Oden and Lil’ Snoop appeared first on Metro.us.

NFL Network cut into its 5,784th airing of Barry Sanders: A Football Life to bring us this important news item Sunday night: a female had tried out for an NFL team.

“Awesome,” I thought while having flashbacks to Kathy Ireland’s puberty-inducing role in the 1991 don’t-call-it-a-classic, Necessary Roughness.

Yup, Lauren Silberman, an MIT graduate and former soccer star, did make history over the weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, becoming the first of her gender to officially take a swing at landing on an NFL roster. But her performance at the event was so bad that it set a second precedent: the worst tryout for someone attempting to make a team in professional sports history.

Roll the tape:

Silberman says she was injured while kicking that day and that’s what resulted in her weak performance. Enter the conspiracy theorists.

Here’s one former college kicker’s take, telling USA Today:

“It is disappointing. I hoped she would go out and do justice for an NFL tryout, because there are lots of people who have dreamed of going to the NFL. It should be something serious.”

“I also find it curious she didn’t warm up.You never go in kicking cold. There’s a reason why the kickers are the first people out there. It takes us a while to warm up.”

“Her performance does not have to do with her gender, it has to do with her experience and her preparation. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen now is she’s going to be looked at (as inferior) because she was female.

“But she was terrible.”

Ouch.

Adding fuel to the fire, several kickers at the event said that Silberman was asking them how to lineup and approach the ball on a kick, as if no homework was done whatsoever.

So was it simply a publicity stunt by Silberman? Only she knows the true answer. My guess is she simply got geeked up after one good boot at some fan fest, signed up for the combine tryout (praying that it’s just that easy and that she didn’t take a legit kicker’s tryout slot), made media appearance after media appearance after media appearance and then just prayed to Pele that her performance wouldn’t be as laughable as it eventually was on the day of the tryout.

That does not make her a criminal. But she does deserve some heat for not preparing sufficiently for something that is taken very serious by hundreds of athletes.

By the way, those brutal quotes above? They’re all from a woman.

Katie Hnida, a former kicker for Colorado and New Mexico and the first woman to score a point in a Div. 1 football, was certainly not impressed by Silberman’s efforts.

Edison-Tesla, anyone?

Matt Burke is sports editor and a columnist at Metro Boston. Follow him on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS

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One of the greatest scenes in “The Godfather”— and one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history, for that matter — comes when Johnny Fontane, a struggling young singer based on Frank Sinatra’s early days, petitions Vito Corleone for help. He wants to be a movie star and he wants to be famous, so he begs Vito for assistance like a spoiled child would do.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Vito Corleone tells him, “You can act like a man!” and slaps Johnny in the face. We can only hope Capitals coach Adam Oates and Alex Ovechkin re-enacted this scene late Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Ovechkin was terrible in Washington’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers, flopping around the ice like he was trying to win an Academy Award, mistiming line shits and turning the puck over.

Well, by the second intermission, NHL analyst Mike Milbury had seen enough. He took to the airwaves with an epic rant, instructing Ovechkin to “act like a man” and calling his play “disgusting” and “unacceptable.” At one point, Milbury compared Ovechkin to a baby.

Ovechkin responded to Milbury’s comments only by saying that he “doesn’t listen to those guys.” Ovechkin signed a 13-year, $124 million contract extension in 2008. He has eight goals and seven assists (15 points) this season, numbers that barely put him in the Top 50 among NHL players. Not a very good return on your investment, Capitals fans.

Get your pom-poms out

Want to hang out with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders this spring? Well, Living Social has you covered. The internet deal-finding website is offering an all-inclusive, once-in-a-lifetime trip to sit in on a swimsuit fashion show featuring the Cowboys cheerleaders.

The package, which includes round-trip airfare, three-night hotel stay and a meet-and-greet with the girls, was originally selling for $16,000, but Living Social has marked it down to $6,999 if you book now.

This is probably the perviest (read: most perverted) yet totally legal thing we’ve ever seen on Living Social. While we won’t condemn any man for shelling out big bucks to hang with gorgeous ladies in a tropical setting, it takes a certain breed to sign up for this adventure, right? Perhaps a basement blogger who has never talked to a real girl, or maybe someone like Steve Buscemi’s character in Billy Madison.

Either way, let the bidding (and background checks) begin. And if anyone out there reading this decides to jump on this deal, please email us immediately and we’ll let you write a blog about it. No, seriously, we will.

The post Playing the Field: Alex Ovechkin needs to ‘act like a man’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Well, the Oscars are here (well, they’ll be here Sunday) and why can’t sports join in on the fun? And if you’re thinking, ‘What about the ESPY Awards?’, then click a banner ad and move along because they don’t count.

So, to borrow an old Bud Selig phrase, this time it counts. With that, we bring you Playing the Field’s version, better known as the Oscar Pistorius Awards.

Best male athlete in a leading role » LeBron James. As much as we’ve hated on the King in this space in the past — and all apologies to Kobe — he’s the best. He’s flat-out unstoppable right now, and he’s living proof that you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Best female athlete in a leading role » Beyonce. Before you even try and say that Bey isn’t an athlete, take a look at her abs in that GQ photo shoot. If that doesn’t sell you, remember that time she turned out the lights at the Super Bowl? Yes, that happened.

Best supporting male athlete » Oscar Pistorius’ prosthetic legs. The Blade Runner scooped up six Paralympic golds (and didn’t embarrass himself in the real Games). Oh right … he also strapped on those bad boys before shooting and killing his girlfriend. Legs!

Best supporting female athlete » Gabby Douglas’ hair. Douglas, the 17-year-old gymnast nicknamed the Flying Squirrel, turned in one of the most impressive performances in Olympic history. Then several detractors took to Twitter to call out her unkempt hair. Umm, looked fine to us. Then again, our grooming habits our very suspect.

Best producer » John Calipari. Kentucky coach earned his first national championship last April — and while his squad is struggling this year — Cal continues to churn out NBA hits (Nerlens Noel, he’ll be fine once Dr. James Andrews gets done with him, is his latest project).

Best costume design » Andrew Bynum. We’re not even factoring in his ridiculous, ever-changing hairstyles. No, no. Bynum gets this award for pretending to be an actual NBA superstar. Sorry, Sixers fans.

Best music » The real academy prefers original scores. We don’t. We’re giving this one to the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad for its awesome rendition of that annoyingly addictive Carly Rae Jepsen song.

The post Playing the Field: The Sports Oscars edition appeared first on Metro.us.

Many, okay – two people, were worried about what Michael Phelps would be doing in his post-swimming career. Let’s face it, Phelps is downright boring outside the pool. Aside from crying when the Ravens won the Super Bowl, Phelps isn’t exactly an emotion factory. Still, models from across the globe seem to be drawn to the Olympic hero (this Olympic fame fades at some point, Michael, ask Kurt Angle … that’s right – WHO?!). According to multiple reports, Phelps is now dating 22-year-old waitress/model Sarah Herndon.

“‘Michael’s a good kisser. He’s very cuddly and kissy, which is cute. He’s charming and a gentleman,” Herndon told the Daily Mail. “’He’s got a great sculpted body. He’s obviously been a swimmer like forever.”

Sounds like they’re in it for the conversation.

In the past year, Phelps has been linked to Jasmine Waltz, Megan Rossee and Nicole Johnson – not a bow-wow in the bunch.

Hip-hop v. the NBA

Yesterday at PTF we touched on the rising hip-hop vs. NBA battle, highlighted by Lil’ Wayne saying that he had relations with Chris Bosh’s wife and having hundreds of people chant “F*** the NBA!” in a public forum.

Just hours later, in the Raptors-Wizards game, rapper Wale was well-prepared to do damage to Toronto announcers Matt Devlin and Sherman Hamilton. Devlin and Hamilton didn’t really know who Wale was (more than forgivable) and apparently Wale took offense after people took to Twitter and ratted out the Raptors broadcasters.

Best part of video 1: “Hey Wal-eh, I’m in Canada now, Eh?”

Best part of video two: The Raptors announcers try to play it off like they’ll be quick friends with the furious Wale. “We’ll ah, we’ll talk to him after the third quarter.”

Follow Metro Boston sports editor Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS

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  View Video

  Wale attacks Raptors announcers (Part 1)

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The fifth grader had already received some attention for playing on Downey Christian (Orlando, Fla.) school’s varsity basketball team. Namely, Yahoo! wrote a story about him a couple months ago. But, hey, this is the New York Times people. This must be legitimate!

Newman is just 4-foot-5, but is averaging 12 points, 10 assists and four steals per game this season. The kid definitely has dribbling skills, but seriously, why can’t any of these high school keep him from penetrating the lane? He’s 4-foot-5! He’s an 11-year-old! Stand in front of him and get your hands up in the lane.

Check the video:

The kid can play basketball, but I’m embarrassed for those high schoolers.

To be fair, Newman doesn’t play in the official high school athletic system in Florida. Downey Christian is part of a small group of religious schools in central Florida. But that doesn’t excuse his competitors. Someone needs to coach some defense.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Hand down, man down, people! Learn how to play ball.

The post Playing the Field: 11-year-old dominates in high school basketball appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s Valentine’s Day, a day created by Hallmark to make couples spend loads and loads of money on candy, flowers and gourmet dinners. Or the day when singles and cheaters clean up on the internet and in the bars.

Whatever side of the romantic fence you’re standing behind this year, one thing is certain: the made-up holiday is on everybody’s mind. Radio stations are cranking out all the classic love songs, while kids and grown-ups alike are handing out cards to classmates and co-workers. On Thursday, ESPN did a ridiculously stupid sketch where Damien Woody, starring as the Love Doctor, gave NFL fans advice on their favorite teams and players.

Point is, it’s infectious and we here at PFT aren’t above any of it. So away we go as we name the athletes and celebrities we would like to see hook up.

» Dwight Howard and Taylor Swift: We don’t get the whole fascination with Swift — a nice-looking girl with a decent voice — and her whiny, boyfriend-dissing ballads (not to mention her penchant for firing lovers … but she sure sounds like she would be perfect arm candy for Howard, who has made a living off whining, dissing teammates and getting coaches fired. Plus, Swift (5-foot-11) is one of the few girls that might not look completely ridiculous standing next to Howard (6-foot-11).

» Chad Johnson and Rihanna: The receiver formerly known as Ocho Cinco has been bored out of his mind since beating his wife and being kicked out of Dolphins camp. He is constantly on Twitter posting pictures (in Spain, at NBA games, at a Marilyn Manson concert), but Chad is usually alone — and he is dying for attention. Enter Rihanna, a longtime favorite in this space who needs to ditch Chris Brown. Rihanna, like Chad, is addicted to Twitter — and she likes to get wild and crazy, and doesn’t mind being put in her place every once in while.

» Andrew Luck and Jennifer Lawrence: Wow, what a pairing this would be, right? Luck is arguably the best young quarterback in football and Lawrence is the best young actress in Hollywood. Luck’s Colts have 40-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, while Lawrence is one of the front-runners to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Not to mention, they are both extremely young and attractive — with the possibility of spawning a long line of rifle-armed, post-apocalyptic killing machines.

» Jim Boeheim and Andy Katz: Because being an idiot and a disloyal person is no way to go through life. We need to get these two crazy kids back together immediately. College basketball needs them, just like Arm needs Hammer … like Oscar Pistorius needs legs a good attorney. What? Too soon?

The post Playing the Field: Valentine’s Day coupling edition appeared first on Metro.us.

There’s something in the watered-down beer at TD Garden as Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards officially became the biggest sports announcing homer this side of Celtics color analyst Tommy Heinsohn last night.
Here is Jack Edwards after the Bruins made a stunning comeback to tie the game in the third period against the Rangers.

It should be noted that Jack Edwards is a 55-year-old man that has seen approximately 4,576,964 sporting events in his life. Whatever the opposite of jaded is, that’s Jack Edwards.
Honestly, I wish I liked anything as much as Jack Edwards likes Bruins hockey. And yes, you can’t call him just “Jack” or “Edwards” … always “Jack Edwards.”
If you hate Jack Edwards, and there are plenty of people out there who do, here are a few clips that may soothe the homer pain. Here is Jack Edwards starring in a couple “This is SportsCenter” commercials during a time period when ESPN could do no wrong (for those who don’t know, Jack Edwards used to be a SportsCenter anchor in the ’90s).

Goaltender scores on own goal, flips off coaches
I’m sure every athlete in the history of man has thought about doing something like this when they were disrespected by a coach or a teammate, but few have actually had the testicular fortitude to actually go out and do it. I’m not saying this kid is a hero – he’s probably a punk. But it does take a special gene to be this abrasive.
Here is the senior goaltender, from Farmington High School (Minn.), scoring a goal on himself on Senior Night, flipping off his coaches and then leaving, reportedly because he was benched earlier in the season for a sophomore netminder. It should be noted that Farmington had a 2-1 lead before this kid slid one between own legs (ewww).

Follow Metro Boston sports editor and columnist Matt Burke on Twitter: @BurkeMetroBOS

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The Lingerie Football League is undergoing an extreme makeover of sorts.

In January, the league announced plans to switch to less revealing uniforms, beefed up with bigger shoulder pads, and change the “sexy” team logos. The lovely ladies won’t be required to wear bras, panties or garters in the newly-named Legends Football League.

One woman’s loss is another woman’s gain.

As such, re-introducing the Bikini Basketball Association (BBA), a little league we first noticed last summer. The BBA debuts June 1 with six teams: Atlanta Peaches, Miami Spice, Orlando Lady Cats, Minnesota Mist, Illinois Heat, Philadelphia Diamonds. (By the way, the Philadelphia franchise is holding an open tryout Saturday).

The bikini ballers are drawing quite well from the semi-celebrity pool of athletes, too. Deion Sanders daughter, Deiondra, signed up with Atlanta, while former Sixers center Samuel Dalembert’s sister, Melissa, is set to play for Miami.

Personally, if that WNBA career doesn’t work out next year, we would like to see Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins put her G-string in the mix. We’d also settle for Bernie Kosar’s offspring, or perhaps Paulina Gretzky can dribble a basketball. We can hope anyway.

Super Bowl blackout solved

Roger Goodell’s long nightmare is over. The NFL’s investigation on the Super Bowl blackout revealed that a a relay, a device used to protect the stadium’s power supply, actually was the culprit.

Our sources have indicated that said relay is now being suspended for a game and fined $100,000. After all, Goodell has to protect the safety of his players, right?

Call us Jim Garrison, but we’re not buying this explanation.

This sounds like an excuse borrowed from the movie “Ocean’s Eleven.” No, we’re still convinced Beyonce’s sexy stage stomping and soul-shaking vocals shattered the lights. It was all part of some Illuminati plan to rule the world.

Who runs the world? Girls. Girls. Girls …

Yes, that is exactly what happened.

The post Playing the Field: Bikini basketball and Beyonce appeared first on Metro.us.

But the early leader for the 2012 “Worst Injury of the Year” is Dustin Penner, a wing on the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Penner is married to Jessica Welch, a low-level actress you probably have never heard of.

Die-hard hockey fans may know her as the ex-wife of another NHL player, Richard Zednik. They were married for three years before a contentious divorce in which he gave her $1 million in cash.
At any rate, Welch made Penner a nice pancake breakfast, and his back froze to the point that he couldn’t stand up. He said, “I just leaned over to dip into some delicious pancakes that my wife made.
… It’s just like [the pain] wraps around you and squeezes … so it was disappointing. Hopefully it’s just an isolated incident.”

A-Rod pins one more

What’s Alex Rodriguez better at — choking in the postseason or finding muscular women to date? Rodriguez, who hasn’t hit above .273 in the Yankees’ last three playoff series, recently began dating former wrestler Torrie Wilson.

Yes, his girlfriend used to wrestle.

I should be careful here, because I’ve seen the recent photos of Wilson in a bikini and she’s got bigger biceps than I do. Wilson is ripped. Her abs look as if they were chiseled from granite. Wilson has posed for Playboy twice, but I wouldn’t Google that if you’re reading this at work.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular sports blog, TheBigLead.com.
Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send submissions to letters@metro.us.

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I guess Kobe wasn’t able to procure a gigantic, seven-figure diamond ring this time to get his wife to come back, like he did in 2003 after he admitted to Colorado police he had sex with a hotel employee.
 
To recap: The 19-year-old employee claimed he raped her, Bryant denied it, they went to court and the case was dismissed. The detailed, jaw-dropping documents are on the Smoking Gun, if you’re interested in revisiting that sordid situation.

The set of documents that you’ll never see: Kobe’s divorce settlement. It probably would have fallen somewhere between Michael Jordan’s and Tiger’s, anywhere from $100 million to $200 million. Kobe made a giant mistake and they never got a pre-nup.

Compounding Kobe’s terrible start to 2012: The Lakers’ new coach, Mike Brown, is pretty bad, the team looks old and sluggish and the 33-year-old Bryant is struggling with his shot. Bottom line, the Lakers don’t appear to be an elite team anymore, and you get a sense the end of an era is approaching.

When a guy’s losing legal battles with his wife all day and then with his legs at night on the court, eventually he’s going to take out his frustrations on someone. I’d guess it’ll be his teammates.
Eventually.

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular sports blog, TheBigLead.com.
Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send submissions to letters@metro.us.

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The NBA was briefly in the news after the 139-day lockout ended Saturday morning, but then the public spent the rest of the day raking leaves and consuming college football. Everyone did the same Sunday, except the sport on TV was pro football.

The lockout has been over for days now, and nobody’s frothy about the season. I’m here to change that. Here are four reasons to be giddy about the shortened, 66-game 2011-2012 NBA season:

Jan Vesely’s debut, but more importantly, his girlfriend: The Washington Wizards drafted a rail thin, 21-year-old, 6-foot-11 Czech. When he was announced at the draft, he stood up with his girlfriend and everyone took notice. She quickly became Internet famous. She’s about 6-foot-8 and don’t rule out her appearing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. The Wizards will surely do their best to make sure she’s at most games.

Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Deron Williams: The trio are all among the 15 best players in the NBA and are all likely to be on the move either during the season or at the end of it. Chris Paul seems to want to play in New York. (New Yorkers would be in the same boat.) Dwight Howard just wants to play for a contender (the Magic have faded badly the last two years). Deron Williams could lure Howard to New Jersey, soon-to-be Brooklyn. We do have a given: At least one of these guys ends up playing for the Lakers.

The Dallas Mavericks are the center of the Universe. But not in the way you think. Yes, they won the title last year, and are poised to repeat (good luck without Tyson Chandler). More importantly, two of their players have ties to Miss Universe contestants. Rudy Fernandez is dating
Helen Lindes, aka Miss Spain 2000 (second runner-up in the Miss Universe competition). JJ Barea is engaged to Zuleyka Rivera (Miss Universe, 2006).

Angry Kevin Durant: One of the biggest NBA stories this summer was that clean-cut scoring machine Kevin Durant is heavily tatted-up. He took off his jersey at a game in China and his entire chest was full of ink. The media referred to them as “business tattoos.” This led people to believe Durant has an edge and is not to be trifled with. I’ll take the Thunder to win the title.

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.
Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post Finally time to get excited for the NBA appeared first on Metro.us.

Of course you remember when Johnson’s Broncos stunned Oklahoma in one of the wildest bowl games of the last decade, but this week an NFL player scored a touchdown and ran to give his girlfriend — a cheerleader on the opposing team — the ball.

In the Bills-Cowboys game Sunday, the crowd was stunned by what went down, and the announcers, who apparently don’t read sports blogs, had no clue what was going on.

David Nelson plays for the Bills. He’s from Texas and went to the University of Florida. Kelsi Reich is his girlfriend, and she’s a cheerleader for the Cowboys.

After Nelson scored he jogged down the sideline toward his girlfriend. The camera operator seemed to know what was up, but the announcers were clueless about the whole thing.

Reich hopped on Twitter Sunday and showed everyone the ball, proclaiming she was the “happiest girl in the world.”

Uninformed vs. ‘fans’

I lobbied the editor of this space to get in a word about the lurid Penn State scandal. How can I not at least address what is the biggest scandal in the history of college sports? I’ll try to be succinct in my two points on the subject.

There are two groups of people chiming in on this sordid tale: Those who have read the 23-page grand jury report (they’re informed), and those who haven’t (they’re uninformed).

While the report is detailed, it does not include everyone’s entire testimony. It did contain enough detail to press charges against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky though.

At the same time, there are two other groups of people who feel compelled to talk about the topic: college football “fans” and people who have zero connection to the sport besides maybe having heard of Joe Paterno prior to the scandal.

A large portion of college football “fans,” for whatever reason, find it hard to believe a coverup could take place. Most of these people have not read the grand jury report.

People who live in a world unaware 107,000 people pack Beaver Stadium every game think everyone involved in the scandal knew what was going on and, disgustingly, did nothing.

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.

The post An indecent proposal? appeared first on Metro.us.

You fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. Operating out of the same playbook that made non-entities like Paris Hilton, Heidi Montag and Spencer Whatever-His-Name-Is fleetingly famous, Kim Kardashian concocted a romance with a professional athlete (Some NBA fans might argue the merits of Kris Humphries, but we’ll call him a pro), milked it for magazine covers, a TV show and lots of money and — less than three months later — she’s dumping him, and hoping to profit again.

Are we complicit because we mention her occasionally in this space? Perhaps.

It was one thing when she was dating athletes, but when she noticed her clock ticking last year and started looking to

exclusively profit — since she has no other discernable talents — Kim K. became highly mockable.
This week, Kardashian very publicly dumped her husband after 72 days of wedded bliss. One would imagine prior to filing the divorce papers, she hunkered down with her “team” to prepare for the inevitable media onslaught.

The timing of the “announcement” was perfect. Remember, all the celebrity weeklies go to print Monday night, Tuesday morning, so she’ll probably be on a few of those covers. But which print outlet will bid highest for the first interview? I’m sure they already have taglines like “Kim’s Heartbreak” ready to hit the printing presses.

She’ll sell her first TV interview, too — only with a new hook, because who would want to hear what they just read in a magazine? You’ve got to figure the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” Barbara Walters, or one of those tabloid entertainment shows will win out, right?

It’s disgustingly pathetic, but if the unwashed masses are willing to eat up the garbage these frauds — yes, Kardashian and her ilk are frauds — are peddling, this cycle will continue.
You think Kardashian gets a TV show without a boyfriend who was a pro athlete playing outside the biggest city in the country?

Of course not.

What if the NBA lockout ended next month and the Oklahoma City Thunder signed Humphries? There’s no way she’s moving there. The marriage was a sham, people.

But now she’ll get a second season of her show because it will be all about her single life in New York or Miami or L.A. Her “team” of advisers will probably target an up-and-coming athlete or
once-famous-but-now-desperate actor as a potential suitor.

Welcome to Hollywood!

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field for Metro and runs the popular sports gossip blog, TheBigLead.com.

The post Kim kardashian, she’s fan-tastic! appeared first on Metro.us.

Living right outside New York City, I finally got into Stern. Any fan will tell you that they enjoy the cadre of adult film stars who make frequent appearances on the show and one of them — a 19-year-old who “acts” under the alias Bibi Jones — generated some buzz in the sports world this past weekend when she tweeted out two photos with a member of the New England Patriots.

Rob Gronkowski, a 6-foot-6 tight end, was shirtless while Jones was wearing his oversized NFL jersey. Gronkowski isn’t a star, but he’s a very nice player. Plus, the Patriots had a bye week and the Red Sox aren’t in the World Series, so this story generated major buzz in Boston.
Jones became a hot commodity in the talk-radio world, where she practically boasted about “hanging out” with various athletes, including an NHL player named Paul Bissonnette and Braves slugger Dan Uggla. Uggla is now separated from his wife, so there’s that.

Hulk Hogan not buying into Tebow Mania

I think we’ve got a first in this space: a mention of everyone’s favorite 1980s wrestler, Hulk Hogan.
(Every friend I had from about 1986-1990 was a huge Hogan fan. Some people like Macho Man Randy Savage, others like Koko B. Ware, some liked Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, but everyone loved the Hulkster.)

Hogan is out of the wrestling game these days. Naturally, he’s doing other things, like driving his fleet of cars up and down South Beach, being on a reality show, trying to keep his son out of jail and trying to keep clothes on his daughter.
Also, he ripped everyone’s favorite quarterback, Denver’s Tim Tebow.

The rant was nonsensical — then again, isn’t everything that comes out of his mouth? — and ended with, “What are you gonna do, Tim Tebow, when Hulkamania runs wild on you?” Which was Hogan’s signature call in the ’80s.

Tebow of course, won his first start in incredible fashion, rallying Denver from 15-0 in the fourth quarter to win. An hour later, CBS announcer Greg Gumbel was calling the Pittsburgh-Arizona game when, for absolutely no reason, he said, “I must have been out of the country when people cared what Hulk Hogan thought about anything other than play-acting in a fake sport.”
That’s what the kids these days call a sick burn.

– Jason Raj McIntyre  covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.

The post Hey Tebow, don’t mess with Hulkster appeared first on Metro.us.

I am talking, of course, about the circus that is the 1-4 Denver Broncos. Kyle Orton was the team’s starting quarterback and the Broncos passed up a few opportunities to trade him. Then, Orton was dreadful Sunday and he was yanked for one of the league’s most popular players (who has accomplished zero so far) — Tim Tebow.

A nation cheered.

It’s unclear when Tebow leaped over third-stringer Brady Quinn, because they were just about even in the preseason. Why does Quinn matter? Because his girlfriend is Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone. Her popularity has never been higher — she just got naked for ESPN’s “Body Issue” (her hands were strategically placed, leaving a little to the imagination).

Monday, while NFL talking heads everywhere were getting frothy over Tebow being named the starter — nevermind that the Broncos have a bye this Sunday, so he wouldn’t be starting for another 13 days — Quinn was already by Sacramone’s side in Charlotte. She was due to have surgery, and after the Broncos lost to the Chargers, Quinn jumped on a red eye to fly east and be by her side. She tweeted that Quinn was the “best boyfriend ever.”

This must be a tough time to be Kyle Orton.

What a total hot dog

Have you seen the video of a deranged fan charging the green while Tiger Woods was lining up a putt, shouting “Tiger!” and then hurling a hot dog in his direction? The crazed lunatic — he was taken down almost immediately by security and then cops — had Carl Lewis-like accuracy (the hot dog didn’t come close to Tiger), but the scene was absolutely bizarre.

I’m puzzled by the hot dog selection. Why not a hamburger? Based on shape, I would assume if flung like a Frisbee, you could toss it farther. The man’s toss was a weak one, but as security bum-rushed him, the man dropped to the ground and put his hands up in the air as if he knew the routine.

Was he drunk? (Police say he wasn’t intoxicated or on drugs.) Just having fun? (I love to throw hot dogs at people, too!) Although the man was charged with disturbing the peace, it is only a misdemeanor, so his name wasn’t released.

That’s too bad. I’d love to know his motive.

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.

The post Ride that bucking Bronco appeared first on Metro.us.

Romo, who previously dated country singers Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood (and allegedly actress Sophia Bush), started dating Crawford late in the summer of 2009. We’ve covered her in this space before — her brother is an actor on “Gossip Girl,” and she was Miss Missouri in 2008.

As athletes often do, Romo has sputtered on the field for the Cowboys since the relationship moved into the “serious” stratosphere. (Note: As any New England Patriots fan will tell you, Tom Brady hasn’t won a Super Bowl since he has been with Gisele.) Romo broke his clavicle seven weeks before he proposed, and the Cowboys missed the playoffs. No doubt everyone in Big D is hoping Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t find a dame after he wins his first NBA championship next week.

I especially enjoyed how Romo and Crawford made their wedding registry public. They registered at Macy’s and Crate and Barrel. Their requests ranged from the incredibly mundane (baking dishtowels) to the somewhat pricey (Samsonite luggage). Not surprisingly, every item was fulfilled. Perhaps by Jerry Jones, an invited guest.

Avril off pitch

Avril Lavigne, the punk rocker who you probably secretly love, recently threw out a pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game, followed by a concert. Technical problems emerged, and the crowd (totaling more than 24,000, much higher than the usual 18,000 that turn out for games) booed the 26-year-old emo queen. She responded with a flurry of expletives. “Sound problems f—ing happen on a baseball field.”
I’m not sure why anyone was surprised a rock star dropped a curse word. The rest of Tampa’s “summer concert series” should be more fan-friendly: REO Speedwagon, Goo Goo Dolls and something called The Wiggles.

Even though I don’t own any Lavigne albums, I don’t mind her as a singer or an emo crush. I’m not ashamed to admit I have a few Lavigne songs on my iPod (more than Bonnie Raitt, less than Beyonce).

Old man Elway

You would think John Elway to be a carefree person after marrying a former Oakland Raiders cheerleader in 2009.

The Hall of Fame QB, though, is requesting the band Elway change its name. The Colorado punk band, formerly known as 10-4 Eleanor, plans to keep the name and keep rocking for the usual basement crowds.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

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The sequel, “The Hangover Part II,” hits theaters nationwide this weekend, and I’m not as stoked as everyone else. Doesn’t it look like all the same jokes? Or are they trying to be ironic? I’d rather see a “Wedding Crashers” sequel. In the spirit of the “ultimate guy movie” we present to you …  the worst athlete regrets and hangovers:

» Kris Humphries — When the Nets’ hulking forward is presented with a lucrative free-agent offer from the Indiana Pacers this summer and Kim Kardashian decides he doesn’t quite fit into her plans — we don’t see her turning into a Hoosier State fanatic like Leslie Knope — I wonder if he’ll miss the paparazzi shots on the beach and the red carpet premieres?

» Anna Kournikova — Remember when she retired from tennis in 2003? Injuries were cited as part of the reason, but it seemed like a curious move at best since she wasn’t even 25 and had no other discernable talent besides looking nice in magazines. She went through a bout a few years back where she appeared alarmingly skinny. Eight years after her retirement, she seems to have found a new job: She’s going to be a trainer on “The Biggest Loser.” I don’t see this ending well. Her stuffy personality makes Kristin Cavallari seem charming. There’s a reason her movie/TV career hasn’t taken off yet.

» Dennis Rodman — The Worm was once a wide-eyed youngster with the Detroit Pistons who just collected rebounds. It’s been 20 years of unforgettable memories since: He’s dressed in drag, married and divorced Carmen Electra and has put more strippers through college than Charlie Sheen.

» Bernard Hopkins — The Philly boxer and former convict recently popped off about former Eagles’ QB Donovan McNabb, essentially saying that he wasn’t black enough. Hopkins was trashed in the media from coast to coast. When McNabb signs with the San Francisco 49ers this summer and magically leads them to a Super Bowl, I hope he mocks the Executioner (and Rush Limbaugh, for that matter) from the podium.

» Tiki Barber — Everyone thought he was making a brilliant decision to walk away from football with fuel still left in the tank. A future in broadcast television beckoned! Well, he bombed at NBC, and then couldn’t get a job anywhere else after he made the foolish decision to cheat on his pregnant wife. The divorce will cost him millions. His only move left? Go back to football. Good luck with that, Tiki.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 400-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post ‘The Hangover’: Athlete Edition appeared first on Metro.us.

I use the word bizarre because he’s 6-foot-5 and she’s maybe 5-foot-2. He’s 35 and she’s 21. He’s Frankenstein and she’s something out of a fairy tale. Frankly, they looked strange together.

Conspiracy theorists (read: bloggers) have been pointing to a series of mentions in the gossip columns over the last few months of Panettiere bumping into Mark Sanchez at various parties. We’d hate to tick off Klitschko, even with Rex Ryan in our corner.

Nevertheless, the beauty and the beast got us thinking about other unusual pairings. Of course, Mike Tyson and Robin Givens are the gold standard, but here are some more:

» Deion Sanders and Gabrielle Reece — The two were linked while attending Florida State in the late ’80s. The volleyball star eventually moved on to actors and Deion eventually named his kids Deion Jr. and Deiondra.

» Chuck Finley and Tawny Kitaen — The five-time All-Star pitcher married the girl from all those ’80s Whitesnake videos. Even more unusual than their relationship was the aftermath. They divorced in 2002 after five years of marriage and Kitaen was forced to enter a spousal battery counseling program. Her life has been a wreck since, even appearing on “Celebrity Rehab.”

» Lance Armstrong and Ashley Olsen — Chris Hansen was monitoring this match in 2007. He was 36 and she was 21.

» Tom Golisano and Monica Seles — In 2009, at the ripe age of 67, the then-owner of the Buffalo Sabres picked up the 35-year-old former tennis star.

» J.J. Barea and Zuleyka Rivera — We admired the Mavs’ sparkplug already, then he pulled a former Miss Universe earlier this year.

Amar’e makes it official

Amar’e Stoudemire became an official New York superstar in the past 10 months. He had the high-profile welcome ceremonies when he signed with the Knicks, then he turned up at all the fashion week parties, on “Regis & Kelly” and frequented the trendy nightclub circuit.
One thing had eluded him: the celebrity girlfriend. And now, that’s official, too. Stoudemire is dating singer Ciara and all her goodies. The two can hang out with Carmelo Anthony and his celebrity-craving wife, reality fixture La La. We wonder how Chris Paul will fit into this social scene next summer. The NBA’s most coveted point guard is engaged to a non-celeb.

Mac attack

For those competitive eating fans/freaks:

A man in Wisconsin this week will eat his 25,000th Big Mac. Since Nov. 23, 2000, Don Gorske of Wisconsin has had a Big Mac (or two) every day. His obsession with the burger dates back to 1972 when he had his first one, and he has charted every single one since. A self-described “Big Mac enthusiast,” Gorske’s been on “Oprah,” “Super Size Me” and in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Give me a Whopper, instead.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

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The gossip and chatter surrounding what was partially to blame for L.A.’s collapse was flat-out astonishing.

And we’re not even talking about scurrilous hearsay you read on a message board. Respected, award-winning columnist Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times actually wrote the following paragraph about soon-to-be ex-teammates Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant:

“He was referring to the report that he stopped talking to Bryant during the postseason because Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, had contributed to the breakup of Gasol and his longtime girlfriend. Lakers fans will remember that Karl Malone once publicly accused Vanessa of interfering with his personal life in a similar fashion.”

What prompted that paragraph was a horrible postseason from Gasol, who saw his field goal percentage dip by 13 percent. After an embarrassing 36-point loss in Game 4 at Dallas, the Los Angeles big man said, “I have to learn that when something happens off the court, you have to keep it off the court.”

The floppy-haired Gasol was dating stunning cheerleader Silvia Lopez Castro for more than a year. The Spanish media treated the couple as if he were a soccer star and she a WAG.

Sure, the breakup shocked him. But we wouldn’t put it past Kobe to find a way to sabotage Gasol, who will likely be part of a much bigger breakup in L.A. this summer, when the Lakers unload everyone but Bryant.

Bryant’s sketchy background

Bryant’s relationship with his wife has been bizarre since the start. They met when she was 17 and he was 21 playing for the Lakers; six months later they were engaged (she was still in high school).

Kobe’s parents were so upset that they, along with his two sisters and agent all skipped the wedding (none of his teammates attended, either). Kobe and his parents didn’t speak for two years, even when his wife gave birth.

Then came the high-profile sexual assault complaint filed by a staffer at a resort in Eagle, Colo. Kobe gave his wife a $4 million, 8-carat ring and she stuck with him.

This isn’t Kobe’s first time

The Bryants have had their fair share of run-ins with teammates.  The one between Kobe’s wife Vanessa and Malone, who played just one season in L.A. from 2003-04, is particularly memorable. The Mailman showed up at a November 2004 game dressed like a Cowboy. Vanessa asked, “Hey, cowboy, what are you hunting?” Malone shot back, “I’m hunting for little Mexican girls,” but denied he made a pass at her.

Perhaps more infamously is the Kobe-Shaq saga. During Kobe’s arrest in Colorado, police claim Bryant said he “should have done what Shaq does … that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything,” and added Shaq had paid $1 million “for situations like this.”

So yes, we totally believe Kobe and/or his wife broke up Gasol’s relationship. But let’s be honest, Pau doesn’t deserve Silvia. After all, he’s not even the best Gasol in the NBA.

–Jason Raj McIntyre  covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post The real housewife of the LA Lakers appeared first on Metro.us.

In case you’ve been living in a mansion hideout in Pakistan, here’s what the Steelers running back had to say: “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side.”

And then …

“We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”

After much was made of his controversial tweets, he deleted the second one. The first one remains. I have no beef with his death comment, but the “we’ve only heard one side” line is abhorrent. Did Mendenhall, who spent three years at the University of Illinois, miss all the times Bin Laden had bragged about 9/11?

Nobody expects Mendenhall to get traded or cut — heck, Ben Roethlisberger’s been in bigger trouble and the fans still cheer for him — but if Mendenhall doesn’t want to be booed by the hometown crowd or watch overzealous fans burning his jersey on YouTube, the guy should probably apologize and keep his ridiculous conspiracy theories to himself.

Hot or not? Maxim list boggles the mind

The “Maxim Hot 100” list is out and — for reasons that still remain a mystery — the selections get more perplexing every year. There’s no rhyme or reason to the magazine’s list except that “Hot” is defined as current movies, music, TV shows or, most importantly, who will show up when Maxim has the party.

Top honors went to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. She’s the new Megan Fox in the upcoming “Transformers” movie. Olivia Munn is No. 2, and she’s got a new TV show called “Perfect Couples,” along with a few movies due out. It goes on and on like that.

New English princess Kate Middleton checks in at No. 26 (you can see why people have tuned it out.) The highest-ranked person I had to Google was Cobie Smulders, at No. 9. She is on a show (“How I Met Your Mother”) that I’ve tried to watch twice, but never took a liking to, much like “Two and a Half Men.”

Since this space is about athletes, here are the sports-related people on the list:
Anna Kournikova (19; this is totally random since she hasn’t been relevant in years); Brooklyn Decker (36; married to Andy Roddick); Minka Kelly (52; she dates Derek Jeter); Arianny Celeste (70; wildly popular thanks to MMA) and Erin Andrews (91; way overrated sideline reporter).

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post Athletes say the dumbest things … appeared first on Metro.us.

Fast forward five months: Cutler is probably crying again, this time happy tears after getting engaged to starlet Kristin Cavallari in Cabo San Lucas. We imagine the exchange went a little smoother than another time the reality TV star was in Cabo. You may remember Stephen Colletti’s infamous tirade: “You look real good! Keep dancing on the bar, slut!” aimed at his ex-girlfriend during their “Laguna Beach” days.

Cutler and Cavallari have been dating eight months, and they’re just one of several couples who we could see tie the knot this summer:

Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian: The power forward was a non-entity prior to this season, but he’s had the best year of his career (averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds in only 27 minutes per game) and may actually be a coveted free agent this offseason because of his affinity for garbage work inside. If the Nets don’t keep him, will Kardashian?

Gerard Pique and Shakira: The Spanish soccer player met the singer at the World Cup in 2010, and it took her nearly a year before confirming that they were dating.

Maria Sharapova and Sasha Vujacic: Two Nets on any list is absurd, considering how terrible they are, but their sharpshooter got engaged to the (former?) tennis star in October. Based on the tennis season and the NBA season, I’d take a guess at an early October wedding.

Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly: His on-field career is dipping, but he’s always been consistently great off it. So few athletes go out on top, but Jeter could do that – if he retires after this season with Kelly on his arm.

Elisha Cuthbert and Dion Phaneuf: His Maple Leafs missed the NHL playoffs, and her new TV show (“Happy Endings,” it’s OK, at best) is probably going to get cancelled soon. They’ll have all summer to ponder the next step.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, TheBigLead.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

The post Wedding season for athletes appeared first on Metro.us.

Howard, 31, got engaged to Eagles cheerleader Krystle Campbell sometime before the season began. While there isn’t yet a comprehensive list of every athlete-cheerleader couple, enough of them have gone public with their romances that we’ve been able to compile a handful of prominent ones:

» David Nelson, an undrafted rookie receiver for Buffalo, has been dating Cowboys cheerleader Kelsi Reich. They’re both from Dallas and extremely religious.

» Lions QB Matt Stafford dated cheerleader Kelly Hall when the two attended the University of Georgia. She’s extremely popular on the Internet.

» Redskins TE Chris Cooley made national headlines when he admitted that his wife had been a Redskins cheerleader — and was kicked off the team for dating him.

» Former Laker AC Green, the poster boy for virgins, eventually married Rockets dancer Veronique Green.

» Astros slugger Hunter Pence recently admitted that he’s dating a Houston Texans cheerleader, Lindsay Slott.

» Jimmer Fredette (if you need us to tell you who this is, then you really need to get out more) is so famous that BYU asked him to not attend class because he’s a distraction. Obviously, he’s dating a cheerleader there.

» Who could forget Boise State’s Ian Johnson, the hero of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, who proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on the sideline? Surely you remember reporter Chris Myers ruining it, right?

» Hunter Mahan, a pro golfer who has never won a major, got married to Cowboys cheerleader Kandi Harris.

» Lakers center Pau Gasol has been dating dancer Silvia Lopez Castro for about two years. She dances on “Spain’s Dream Cheers,” a cheerleading group that dances in Europe.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome.

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