Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Glen Suitor, Don Narcisse and the Riders? 1988 music video

While quite humourous on its own, it's worth pointing out that the Saskatchewan Roughriders' cereal celebrating quarterback Darian Durant is a long way from the wackiest promotion they've ever done. A strong contender for that title is their 1988 music video,�Eleven That's Enough (found via Twitter user @MouradB). Here it is:

Put together by Rob Bryanton and Don Hewitt of CKCK TV in Regina, that video features a legendary cast of vocalists: noted receiver Don Narcisse (whose career is quite applicable to the current Roughriders), defensive back Harry Skipper, defensive back Mike "Scooter" McGruder (who went on to a famed NFL career) and defensive back Glen Suitor, who many today probably know more for his work as a TSN analyst (the role he's pictured in at the top of the post) than his memorable career with Saskatchewan. The combination of rock, rap, electric guitar, drum machines, video highlights, repeated audio clips and 1980s hairstyles simply has to be seen to be believed.

The point of the song's titular reference was the Roughriders' 11-year absence from the playoffs, and it did turn out to be quite enough. In 1976, the team won the West Final but lost in the Grey Cup to the Ottawa Rough Riders, the last recorded act of Roughrider-on-Rough-Rider violence in the Grey Cup. They then went on to miss the playoffs for 11 straight seasons, never finishing better than fourth in the West during that time and only finishing above .500 once (when they put up a record of 9-7 in 1981). That led to this being recorded in 1988, and much like the Chicago Bears' famed Super Bowl Shuffle, it worked; the Riders went 11-7 that year and made the playoffs for the first time since 1976. However, they lost in the West Semi-Final to the B.C. Lions.

Full success would have to wait for another year, when Saskatchewan went 9-9 in the regular season but blazed a path through the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos before taking down the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the iconic 1989 Grey Cup. Skipper, Suitor and Narcisse were all around for that, but McGruder had already left for the NFL. The video he helped record lives on, though, and it sets a promotional legacy that's going to be tough to top for today's Roughriders.

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Isner missed brother?s wedding to play in Newport semifinals

Wedding invitations tend to have two reply options that are something like "accepts with pleasure" or "declines with regret." John Isner could have used a third: "It depends on whether I make the semifinals of the only major grass court tournament in the United States."

The 26-year-old American was planning on going to his older brother's wedding on July 9 until he received a wild card into a tournament in Newport, R.I. Isner debated whether to take it and skip the nuptials. Ultimately, he did accept the entry to the tournament but had a contingency plan that would have allowed him to play in the event and make the wedding.

He said to reporters:

"I told myself I was going to take the offer here and the only way I was going to miss the wedding was if I got to the semifinals. "If I'm in the semis, that's great. It's going to stink that I'm going to miss the wedding, but if I'm not in the semis, I can make the wedding. It definitely turned out to be a great decision.

Isner got to the semifinals and missed the wedding. Any disappointment was erased the next day, when he defeated Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-6 to win the tournament. It was the second championship of his professional career.

If I'm Isner, I'm making sure my other older brother schedules his wedding for the second weekend of the U.S. Open just in case there's something to this. Baptisms can be slated for potential round of 16 matches, Bar Mitzvahs for Davis Cup ties. Any match that isn't a first-rounder at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut should have a family function fall on the same day.

For what it's worth, Isner said Nathan was cool with the whole thing.�"He understands," Isner said. "His fianc�e, his wife now, maybe not."

Her disappointment might be curbed by the fact that Isner has said he'll be paying for the newlywed's honeymoon. Plus, while having John there doubtlessly would have been nice, the bride can take comfort in the fact that her brother-in-law's 6-foot-9 frame would have made for some asymmetrical wedding pictures.

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San Jose keeper scores on West Brom from his own box

Kicking off the preseason as it prepares for a second straight year in the Premier League, West Brom traveled thousands of miles to California to have its goalkeeper shown up by his 21-year-old counterpart with a fluky 90-yard goal.

San Jose Earthquakes rookie goalkeeper David Bingham booted the ball from the edge of his own box in the third minute of play during a friendly against West Brom and the result was something even he didn't expect. West Brom keeper Boaz Myhill, who was facing the setting sun, clearly didn't expect it either as he was left flat-footed while the ball took a big bounce in front of him, went right over his head and into the back of the net.

San Jose eventually won 2-1 and after the match, Bingham admitted that he wasn't trying to score at all (via the AP):

"I didn't even see it go in," Bingham said. "I hit it and I knew I overhit it, so I just turned around and walked back. And then everyone started yelling? . Sometimes it's good to be lucky."

And sometimes it's even better to not know your own leg strength.

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Minnesota Viking Ray Edwards wins his boxing debut

Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski is off to a solid start in the squared circle, so Ray Edwards thought he'd give it go. The Vikings defensive end made his boxing debut last night a successful one by rolling to a unanimous decision victory, 40-34, 39-35 and 40-34, over T.J. Gibson at Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minn.

Edwards knocked Gibson down twice in the fight. Once in the first and again in the fourth.

The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Edwards found out boxing is no easy craft even against a 5-9, 210-pound opponent.

"I definitely stayed behind my jab and just keep working. He got a couple of good shots off and [it was]�a little rougher than I expected but I rush 300-pound guys all day so I'm used to it. Guys trying to be rough," Edwards told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Earlier in the week, the 26-year-old Edwards was challenged by promoter Jared Shaw, who represents former street fighter and MMA practitioner Kimbo Slice.

Slice, 37, last fought for the UFC in May of 2010 and wants to try his hand at boxing. Shaw said Kimbo is open to a fight against Edwards.

"I have no idea [if that will happen]. I don't know if they want to fight MMA�or fight in a back alley. I�have no idea. But whatever they want to do, we're just going to keep training right now and just keep going forward," said Jeff Warner, Edwards' trainer. "[...] If they want to call me, give me a holler, we'll sit down and the bottom line is you put some numbers together we'll do it."

Vikings writer Judd Zulgad said Edwards needs some work:

I am�certainly not a boxing expert,�but�it�should come as no�surprise that Edwards remains very much a work in progress as a boxer.�It will be interesting to see who he�ends up facing on�June 24 in his next fight. That also is scheduled to be at Grand Casino Hinckley and if the opponent is a step up from Gibson (both in size and in quality) Edwards is going to need to be an improved boxer at that point.

Warner was a little more critical.

"Bottom line is he's a great football player and he's a great boxer. He's going to do both. I just want him boxing, I�want him working off his jab and moving. There were times out there he looked incredible tonight and there were times he looked rough. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not happy," Warner said. "We're going to go back and we're going to work hard on Monday, we're going to work on some things. But overall I was happy. He did about 75 percent of his ability."

Edwards was paid a guaranteed $5,000 and got half of the gate. If nothing changes with the NFL lockout, Edwards is contracted to fight again next month.

Unlike Zbikowski, Edwards has zero amateur background as a boxer. Zbikowski, now 3-0 in his latest pro boxing stint, had over 90 amateur fights before concentrating on his football career at Notre Dame and now the Baltimore Ravens.

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Video: The Stanley Cup is an essential prop for any wedding

We can see no reason why passing around the Stanley Cup can't join the dances with parents, removal of the garter and tossing of the bouquet as essential components of the modern wedding.

Hell, make the wedding party create a tin-foil replica so the bride and groom can suck down some kind of champagne/beer/backwash concoction from it like they're Milan Lucic in the Boston Bruins locker room after Game 7.

From Julia & Patrick's Wedding at the Springhill Marriott in Devens, Mass. ... in case you couldn't tell from the Marky Mark song.

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Sharapova is Wimbledon?s new favorite and next upset possibility

Busted Racquet previews the women's quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

We knew the women's field at Wimbledon was wide open, but this is ridiculous. Consider: there are only two repeat quarterfinalists from last year. Eight different European countries are represented, the first time that's ever happened in a Grand Slam. And each of the top three seeds have been eliminated in addition to the two sisters that accounted for nine of the 10 tournament championships held by the field.

Top half

The upsets are good news for Maria Sharapova, a pre-tournament favorite and the only woman left in the draw with a major victory. With Caroline Wozniacki's fourth-round loss, Sharapova's road to her second Wimbledon title is clear. Whether she can get there will depend on three things: her serve, her serve and her serve.

Given the tumult of this year's women's draw, Sharapova's status as presumptive tournament favorite probably makes her its next victim. Dominika Cibulkova is a tough quarterfinal matchup (maybe even tougher than Wozniacki would have been) and a semifinal against either the big-serving Sabine Lisicki or former Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli is ripe with upset chances. Still, this is Sharapova's tournament to lose.

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Bottom half

Take a dart and throw it at any of the names on this side of the draw. As long as you don't hit the name of 80th-ranked Tamira Paszek, your pick is as good as any. Even Tsvetana Pironkova, who entered Wimbledon with a 6-15 record this season and only one career appearance beyond the third round of a Slam, could continue her unlikely run if her serve keeps cracking. More likely though, it will be either Victoria Azarenka or Petra Kvitova emerging from this side and playing for their first Grand Slam title. Though Azarenka is the highest remaining seed, Petra Kvitova has to be considered the favorite. Her booming groundstrokes got her to last year's Wimbledon final and a repeat engagement could be in order.

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The winners and the losers: setting up Friday?s games

Week Two's Friday Night Football doubleheader should be an interesting one, as each game features a pair of teams with identical records. The first one should feature a battle of terrific running backs, as Cory Boyd and the Toronto Argonauts (1-0 after a close 23-21 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in Week One) head to Winnipeg to take on Fred Reid (pictured above taking a handoff from �quarterback Buck Pierce last week) and the Blue Bombers (7:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN), who also picked up a win in their season-opener on the road in Hamilton. The late game features two teams in the opposite situation, with the aforementioned 0-1 Stampeders travelling to B.C. to face the Lions (10:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN), who narrowly fell 30-26 to Montreal in their first game. Regardless of who emerges victorious in these games, unless there are one or more ties, we'll have a 2-0 team, two 1-1 teams and a 0-2 team, or binomial theorem-endorsed results.

Does that really mean all that much, though? From the point of view of the standings, winning games in Weeks One and Two is no more important than winning games in Weeks Eight and Twelve. A win is a win is a win, and a loss is a loss is a loss. What's in a win? That which we call a win in any other week would be as important to determine who makes the playoffs, and every team's still going to have 16 games to play after this week. It's worth noting that the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes went 1-1 in their first two weeks of play last season. They were 2-0 after two weeks en route to winning in 2009, but the eventual champion Stampeders were only 1-1 after two weeks in 2008. Saskatchewan was 2-0 in 2007, but B.C. was only 1-1 in 2006. Thus, sweeping the first two games is hardly a prerequisite to lifting the Grey Cup, although it's probably best not to lose your first two games.

It is possible that the first two games of the CFL season have a larger effect than your average two games, though, as there are potential morale and momentum implications to consider. That's particularly true in Winnipeg, where the Bombers haven't won their first two games since 2003. Winning the first two might help the team's confidence and convince the players to buy into the team's systems and philosophies, which is certainly a possible outcome in Toronto as well. Losing the first two might raise major questions, especially for a team that was highly-touted heading into the season, which could apply to either Calgary or Vancouver. There's a long way to go after this still, but the start to the season certainly doesn't seem to be insignificant.

In Winnipeg, expect a game with plenty of ground-and-pound action, as the CFL's top two backs from a yardage perspective last season (the Bombers' Reid and the Argonauts' Boyd) are both expected to feature heavily. Both teams also have solid defences; Toronto held Calgary's vaunted attack to just 21 points last week, while Winnipeg only conceded 16 against Hamilton. Both of these squads have quarterback issues as well. �Pierce may have survived a massive hit last week, but he only threw for 151 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 46.2 per cent completion rate. Cleo Lemon led the Argonauts to victory, but looked more like the sour old version than the supposedly new-and-improved model, completing 16 of 30 passes for 187 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Thus, we might not see a passing shootout.

Out in B.C., we may see a higher-scoring match. Both teams have dominant aerial attacks, with Travis Lulay (pictured leaping for a touchdown in last year's playoff game against Saskatchewan last year) throwing for 366 yards and a touchdown in the Lions' first game (with a 57.8 per cent completion rate) and Henry Burris throwing for 293 (with a 70.3 per cent completion rate and an interception). Calgary also has a strong rushing game with Joffrey Reynolds, Jon Cornish and Burris' own mobility, while B.C. has more questions there; Jamal Robertson and Andrew Harris are talented, but weren't used much in Week One.

Both defences in the late game have some question marks, especially in the secondary, but the Lions would appear to have the special-teams edge with outstanding veteran kicker Paul McCallum and promising returner Tim Brown (the CFL's special-teams player of the week in Week One). Calgary returner Larry Taylor's certainly accomplished plenty in the CFL to date as well, but wasn't quite as impressive in the first week; he did pick up 121 yards on five kick returns and 95 yards on nine punt returns, but did lose a fumble. The Stampeders have a great punter in Burke Dales, but will be relying on unproven kicker Rene Paredes thanks to an injury to Rob Maver. Each of these squads will do all they can to avoid an 0-2 start, but only one will be likely able to (barring a tie). We'll see who triumphs under the Friday night lights.

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UFC 133 Fight Card: Evans vs. Ortiz News and Predictions on the Night's Results

UFC 133 is set to take place on August 6 from the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pa. The event will be held at the Wells Fargo Center. 

The fight card will be headlined by a bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and the resurgent Tito Ortiz. It was originally thought that current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones would be meeting Evans on this card, but a hand injury to the champion prevented that fight from being booked.

Evans was then slated to meet the up-and-coming Phil Davis, but a training camp knee injury caused Davis to be scratched from the card.

Ortiz (16-8-1) will enter the Octagon after earning Submission of the Night honors by submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132, which took place on July 2.

Evans (15-1-1) has not fought since May 29, 2010.  Evans' sole loss was at the hands of Lyoto Machida in a fight that saw Machida wrest the UFC title from Evans' grasp.

Ortiz and Evans have fought before, battling to a draw at UFC 73 in July 2007.

UFC 133 recently saw the co-main event of Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira dropped from the event when Nogueira sustained a training camp injury. The new co-main event will now be a middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Yoshihiro Akiyama.

The complete UFC 133 fight card is listed below:

Pay-Per-View
 

Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort

Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara

Mike Pyle vs. Rory MacDonald

Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole


Spike TV Preliminary Bouts

Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya



UFC Facebook Stream Preliminary Bouts

Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce

Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace

Costantinos Phillippou vs. Rafael Natal

Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan  


Bleacher Report will be your source for news, analysis and opinions on the upcoming fight card.

Check back often as the fight card nears for all the UFC 133 information you need.

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Greg Marshall, the Roughriders and ?lipstick on a pig?

The CFL always delivers in terms of memorable quotes (see our The Extra Yard recap for examples), but Saskatchewan Roughriders' rookie head coach Greg Marshall might have given us the analogy of the year so far. Marshall's first game as a sideline boss was the Edmonton Eskimos' surprising 42-28 victory over his Riders Sunday, which has inspired some hope in Alberta and stirred up plenty of questions in Saskatchewan. Thus, Marshall (seen above on the sidelines during a June 22 preseason game) had good reasons to be in a bad mood this week. Apparently, analyzing the game film didn't make him much happier, as Global's Warren Woods tweeted Tuesday: "When asked if Edm game looked better on tape Marshall said you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig."

The lipstick on a pig analogy has been around for at least 35 years, but its largest prominence may have come during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, when Democratic nominee Barack Obama (who was eventually elected)�described the Republican campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin's usage of "change" (a frequent theme of his own campaign) using the term.

"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig."

"You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

"We've had enough of the same old thing."

Oddly enough, many of those sentiments would seem rather applicable to the Roughriders' performance Sunday. The Roughriders were completely outclassed by the lowly Eskimos, one of the consensus picks to miss the playoffs this year. On Sunday, it was Edmonton, not Saskatchewan that looked like the reigning West Division champions. Eskimos' quarterback Ricky Ray completed 77.8 per cent of his passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers against a Riders' defence that seemed to forget to cover several receivers. The Saskatchewan offence was better, as quarterback Darian Durant threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns with a 73.0 per cent completion rate and running back Wes Cates looked solid, but Durant threw three interceptions and lost a fumble.

As I discussed on Corey Graham's show (MP3 download link) in Edmonton Monday night, part of Sunday's result was thanks to the Eskimos' improvement from last year, but another part of it was down to the Riders' failings, particularly on defence. They did do a reasonably good job of stopping the run, which was a major issue last season, but they were carved up in the passing game. Marshall and new defensive coordinator Richie Hall (who was the head coach in Edmonton last year) have a lot of work on their hands if they want this team to get back to the Grey Cup again, and the offence needs some improvement as well; they've got a lot of new faces they're still trying to work in. Keep in mind that this is just one game, so it's not a full-blown crisis in Saskatchewan yet. Still, on Sunday this team had plenty of moments that were bad and ugly. To fix them, they could use some hope and real change, not just attempts to cover up the pig with some lipstick.

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Video: Alarm siren delays play during Wimbledon semifinal

Victoria Azarenka's shrieking was only the second most annoying noise disrupting play in the first Wimbledon women's semifinal. A smoke alarm rang throughout Centre Court early in the three-setter, briefly delaying the match before the players gave up and played two points through the siren.

The alarm was accidentally started by a cleaner who sprayed too much air-freshener by a bathroom smoke alarm.

"I didn't have a problem with the alarm," Petra Kvitova said after winning the match in three sets. "Victoria did, but I don't know why."

Maybe because she thought the alarm was trying to steal her thunder.

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Monday?s Point After: Begun, the West wars have

Welcome to�Monday's Point After, your regular recap of all the weekend's CFL highlights and lowlights. Score links in each section go to video highlights of each game on the league's home page. If you've got suggestions for something you'd like to see here, contact me by�Twitter or�e-mail.

Quick links (to the respective section of this column; you can click "Back to top" at the end of any section to come back here):
? Calgary 34, B.C. 32
? Edmonton 28, Hamilton 10
? Montreal 39, Saskatchewan 25
? Winnipeg 22, Toronto 16

Calgary 34, B.C. 32: As mentioned earlier this weekend, the most important takeaway from this game may be what it says about the West Division as a whole. It suggests that both Calgary and B.C. are excellent teams, but both also have some significant flaws. When you throw in a Saskatchewan team that still has high expectations despite some awful losses and a surprising Edmonton team attempting to return to glory, but still carrying significant question marks, it looks like the West Division struggles for positioning are going to go on until late in the season.

This was a highly-entertaining game in its own right, though, particularly in the second half. Calgary led 7-6 at the half after a late second-quarter touchdown, but both teams came out firing after intermission, with the Stampeders putting up 21 points and the Lions adding 14 more in the third quarter. We saw a great finish down the stretch, including Joffrey Reynolds' final-minute fumble and Paul McCallum's 57-yard field goal attempt at the end. This was the most exciting game of the week, which is why the fans were quite right to vote it into TSN2's replay slot; the game will be shown again on TSN2 at 7 p.m. Eastern Monday.

What else did this game show us? Well, for one thing, both Calgary quarterback Henry Burris and B.C. pivot Travis Lulay are capable of putting on an aerial show, but they could probably both stand to be a little more efficient. Burris completed 19 of 36 passes (52.8 per cent) for 298 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. Lulay only completed 17 of 39 throws (43.6 per cent), but did put up 279 yards and two touchdowns; he was also picked off twice. That's not all on the quarterbacks; they didn't always get the best pass protection from their lines, and their receivers (including Shawn Gore, pictured fumbling above after a hit from Calgary's Brandon Smith and Greg Fassitt) and contributed some crucial drops. However, both of these guys are going to have to step their games up if they want their teams to go far this year.

It's also notable that neither team really established the run. B.C. continues to avoid the ground, giving the duo of Andrew Harris and Jamal Robertson just five carries all game; the Lions' leading rusher was Lulay, with four scrambles for 28 yards and a touchdown. You have to wonder if they regret ditching Jerome Messam in the offseason, as he picked up 104 yards and two touchdowns for Edmonton Saturday. Still, the Lions have talented backs; they're just not giving them the ball. Calgary was better, but the powerful ground tandem of Reynolds and Jon Cornish was held to just 63 yards on 12 carries. Part of the reason for avoiding the run might be the high-scoring nature of the second half, but both of these teams could probably stand to put a little more emphasis on the ground game in coming weeks, even if only to open up holes in the passing game.

The key word to describe Calgary and B.C. at the moment appears to be inconsistency. After this game, the Stampeders are 1-1, while the Lions are 0-2. Both have looked like teams near the top of the league's pecking order at times, both have looked like deserved basement-dwellers at times. There's a lot of talent on these two squads, and they're likely to keep going back and forth in what should be a close West Division race. Whoever eventually rises to the top is probably going to be the team that can figure out not only how to produce a good effort at times, but how to replicate and sustain that effort across entire games.

Back to top.

Edmonton 28, Hamilton 10: Sustaining that effort across a whole game hasn't really been an issue for the Eskimos thus far, as they've delivered decisive victories over first the Riders and now the Tiger-Cats. However, it's still up in the air if their 2-0 start is an accurate reflection of where this team's at or just a collection of good bounces and lousy opposition performances.

By the numbers, though, the Eskimos have a lot to be happy about. Their ground-and-pound game got huge results with Messam (pictured at right battling Jason Shivers near the goal line) Saturday (Calvin McCarty was less successful, picking up 39 yards on 11 carries), and Ricky Ray absolutely shredded the Hamilton secondary, completing 21 of 31 passes (67.7 per cent) for 388 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Their defence may have been even more impressive, holding vaunted Hamilton running back Avon Cobourne to just 35 yards on nine carries and keeping Kevin Glenn and the aerial offence in check; Glenn was 21 of 33 for 219 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. This was a very good showing from Edmonton, and there isn't much to quibble with. If they can consistently play like this, they might be able to contend for top spot in the West instead of just playing spoiler. The question is if they can keep this up for a whole season, though.

The Tiger-Cats have far more questions to worry about after dropping their first two games. Nothing worked for them Saturday; the ground game was ineffective, the aerial attack got nowhere, and the defence was taken apart both on the ground and through the air. Considering the sky-high expectations for this squad, there's a lot of pressure on head coach Marcel Bellefeuille and his team to turn things around quickly. They haven't showed much to date that would suggest better things are to come, though.

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Montreal 39, Saskatchewan 25: Hamilton's next opponents are in a similar situation. The Saskatchewan Roughriders have also lost their first two games, and unlike B.C., they weren't particularly close in either. This one was notable for Anthony Calvillo tying Damon Allen's CFL career touchdown pass record, but it was also incredible to watch the way Calvillo dissected the Saskatchewan secondary. Calvillo completed 29 of 43 of his pass attempts (67.4 per cent) on the day for 419 yards and five touchdowns with an interception off a tipped pass that wasn't his fault. The Alouettes didn't get too far on the ground, especially after Brandon Whitaker got hurt, but apart from that, they dominated all aspects of this game and still look like the team to beat.

For Saskatchewan, the questions start with the defence, but they go beyond that. Darian Durant's totals (273 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions) weren't bad, but he only completed 22 of his 40 passes (55 per cent). The Riders found some success on the ground, with Wes Cates (pictured at right being tackled by Shea Emry) picking up 54 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, but they had to abandon the ground game after Montreal started to pull away. There were some great moments from receivers, including Chris Getzlaf's highlight-reel grab, but the passing offence just couldn't click consistently. The return game had some bright moments, including two long kick returns from Tristan Jackson, but that might have been the team's best area Saturday. There's a lot of work to be done in Riderville.

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Winnipeg 22, Toronto 16: This game won't go on display anywhere as an example of good CFL football, as it was largely composed of incomplete passes, turnovers and other miscues. Still, you won't find the Blue Bombers complaining. They've gone from being the league basement dwellers to a 2-0 record and sitting in a tie atop the East Division. Despite their success in the standings, though, this still isn't an entirely positive game for them.

One element that has to be of concern for Winnipeg is their quarterback play. Yes, Buck Pierce has managed to stay healthy so far despite some huge hits, but he hasn't been terribly effective. His 316 passing yards over two complete games are the lowest of any starting quarterback, and he's only completed 55 per cent of his passes (better only than Lulay). He's also thrown two interceptions. Pierce completed 21 of 34 passes (61.8 per cent) for 165 yards with an interception Friday, and that kind of quarterbacking performance won't win you many games. Fortunately for the Bombers, they got a solid rushing performance from Fred Reid (65 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries), a great showing from their defence and a somewhat offensively-inept opponent in Toronto. They'll need to find a way to be better in the passing game if they want to keep the winning streak going though.

For Toronto, for once, it wasn't the quarterbacking that was a huge issue. Cleo Lemon (pictured under pressure, right) completed 23 of 33 passes (69.7 per cent) for 248 yards. Yes, he threw an interception, and yes, the vast majority of his passes were shorter ones (Toronto didn't try a deep ball until the fourth quarter), but at least he was completing them at a good clip; that hasn't always been the case. The Argonauts' offence needs to at least threaten deep shots, though; Lemon has the arm to make them, if not always the accuracy, and telling your opponent that you're only going to run or throw short allows them to stack the box and shut down your offence.

The bigger problem for Toronto was that one crucial part of their formula of running the ball, playing tough defence and making special-teams plays happen fell through. It wasn't the special teams, which had some great moments, including punter Noel Prefontaine's fake punt pass. It wasn't the defence, which restricted Reid's gains, was excellent against the pass and held the Bombers to just 22 points. It was the running game; star back Cory Boyd only got 14 yards on seven carries with a fumble before getting hurt, and the Argos didn't even try to run much after he left (although fullback Jeff Johnson was effective, getting 17 yards on two carries). With Boyd out for a few weeks, the Argonauts' running game looks to be in trouble. They'll have to either find some solutions or alter their offensive game plan.

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That?s a 10! Twins? Ben Revere somersaults his way to triple

Minnesota Twins outfielder Ben Revere has already made a name for himself with his defensive acrobatics. During Friday's 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, he tried his hand at baserunning gymnastics.

It went surprisingly well.

With one out in the sixth inning, Revere turned on a Luke Hochevar offering and lined it past right fielder Jeff Francoeur all the way to the wall. Hustling out of the box, Revere could smell a triple after rounding first base. After safely navigating his way around second, Revere lost his balance halfway to third.

Amazingly, as he tumbled forward, Revere was able to get his hands down and roll into a near perfect somersault. He quickly regained his footing, never losing stride, and still beat the relay throw into third for his second career triple.

"How in the world did he do that?" asked Twins announcers Dick Bremer.

"I thought I was going to be on 'Not Top 10' for a second, but then I looked at the third baseman, and he was still kind of waving to get the ball in," Revere said. "Luckily it went pretty good at that. It's not the first time I've done that [stumbled] either, so I need to quit doing that."

Though Revere was left stranded after his dramatic triple, his speed did lead to Minnesota's only tally in the game. After singling to lead off the fourth, he stole second, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. That lone run held up until the ninth when Eric Hosmer hit a game-winning two-run homer off closer Matt Capps.

That's the bad news for the Twins. Unfortunately for us, our time watching Revere make these exciting plays may be nearing its end. Despite being named co-Rookie of the Month with Oakland A's second baseman Jemile Weeks in June, he may be the end man out in Minnesota's outfield with both Denard Span and Jason Kubel nearing their returns.

Carla Campbell Penélope Cruz Kristen Bell The Pussycat Dolls Isla Fisher

DTotD: Kid gets knocked down and a ball to the face

This comes from a camp that appears to just throw kids of all ages on the same pitch and tells them to go at it. When Carles Puyol with the long hair makes a run with the ball, Andre the Giant knocks him over. Just as Carles is about to protest the lack of a call, he takes an attempted clearance right to the side of the head.

This is how you teach kids to not complain about calls.

Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo Trista Rehn Moon Bloodgood

Slower courts have helped Nadal become a grass court champion


Usually not prone to start controversy, Rafael Nadal made an exception during this Wimbledon about playing on grass through the decades.

"I've started playing Wimbledon in 2002 and the courts are exactly the same since this date. I can't comment on how it was before but saying it has been slowed since 2002 is not true. As far as I'm concerned, it's not really thrilling to watch a match between Sampras and Ivanisevic or this kind of player. It's not really tennis, but only some racquet shots."

Some points should be reminded here: Nadal is from a Spanish culture that regards tennis like this: serve, return on the diagonal and then the point is on. That's not a criticism, it's just how they are taught to play. Then it should be no surprise he doesn't like matches between big serving guys. But when he says the surface isn't slower than before, he's in bad faith. Because it's a fact: this surface has little to do with the one of the past.

This has helped Nadal's career. I don't think he could have had the same career 20 years ago when the courts were much faster. I'm not taking credit away from what Rafa has achieved and from his outstanding abilities because he would have entered the history of this sport by one way or an other because of his amazing mental strength.

Beside grass, there's a trend of slowering the surfaces set up by the ITF, the ATP and the WTA and it's taking place in another trend of molding players with similar type of games. The top players of today aren't determined by the same criteria as before. A player like Ivo �Karlovic would have had an other career in the '90s and could have had a chance of winning Wimbledon. Result is that styles oppositions are over. Only Federer is trying to resist when he's in shape against the hard hitters from the baseline. I think that this slower and slower game has done more wrong than good for tennis.

It's the same with the rules of conduct for the players on court. What makes a sport famous isn't only variety of styles, it's also battle of personalities. When Borg and McEnroe were playing against each other, it was like fire fighting ice. It's important to let players express themselves on the court because people need to be able to relate to one player and to take his or her side. Now it's getting tougher.

Thora Birch Jennifer Garner Poppy Montgomery Evangeline Lilly Lisa Marie

Who looks out of place? Arreola hits Home Depot Center

Chris Arreola's ample physique stood out during this photo opp with the fellas at the Red Bulls-Galaxy soccer game at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.

Thierry Henry is a surprisingly big dude, but the rest of the crew is dwarfed by the American heavyweight boxer.

Give Arreola credit, as you can see below, he's a smart guy. There's nothing more slimming than hitting your local broadcast booth.

Whitney Port Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin

Empire State Building to honor WWC champs (even if it?s not U.S.)

On Friday Saturday and Sunday nights, the Empire State Building will become the latest welcomed addition to the Women's World Cup bandwagon by shining its tower lights in the colors of both finalists. The north/south sides will be red, white and blue for the U.S. and the east/west sides will be red and white for Japan. Then, after a champion is decided on Sunday, the winners will be honored on Monday night by having the tower lit exclusively in their colors.

After Spain won the men's World Cup last summer, a last-minute decision was made to light the building in red and yellow as a tribute to their achievement. Take a look...

It seems this is becoming a new tradition. And even more evidence that the game is growing in the U.S.

Photo: AP

Susan Ward Emmy Rossum Kim Yoon jin Melania Trump Summer Glau

Five notable odds for Week Two of the CFL season

Unlike certain pilots, we don't complain around these parts when someone tells us the odds. Bodog has supplied us with an interesting collection of CFL odds for this week's games, and they've got relevance beyond gambling; the odds have some notable things to say about how different players and teams are seen, and how that perception has changed. Here are five of the most intriguing ones:

? The oddsmakers still like Kevin Glenn: Glenn (seen above taking a hit from Winnipeg's Doug Brown last Friday) got pulled for backup Quinton Porter last week after throwing three interceptions in a 24-16 loss to Winnipeg, but will remain under centre this week against the Edmonton Eskimos (Saturday, 7 p.m. Eastern, TSN and NFL Network). The Edmonton pass defence was pretty aggressive last week against Saskatchewan, too, picking off Darian Durant three times. Despite that, the over-under for Glenn's interceptions in Week Two is set at just 0.5. It's not inconceivable that he could have a game with no interceptions, but last week's trends certainly wouldn't suggest that.

? They're fans of Darian Durant, too: Durant had four total turnovers in last week's loss to Edmonton (three interceptions and a fumble), but his over-under for turnovers against the dangerous Montreal Alouettes' defence (Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern, TSN and NFL Network) is set at just 1.5. It's easier to see him being under here than Glenn, but last week's showing and the defence he's facing would suggest it won't be easy for him to keep control of the ball.

? Quarterbacks as a whole, not so much: The over/under on the number of quarterbacks recording 300-yard-plus passing games is set at 3.5. That's not very high in the pass-oriented CFL. Yes, only three actually hit 300 last week (Travis Lulay and Anthony Calvillo both did so in the Montreal-B.C. shootout, and Durant did the same against Edmonton), but Ricky Ray was just six yards short and Henry Burris was only seven short. The Winnipeg-Toronto game (Friday, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN) may be low-scoring, but every other game looks like it could turn into a shootout this week, so the over here might be the smarter move.

? Calgary's offence still carries question marks: The Stampeders blew away the CFL field last year with a league-high 626 points, 105 better than second-place Montreal. No one else even passed 500. Yet, the Stamps were held to 21 points last week in a 23-21 loss to Toronto. However, the Stampeders went one-for-four on field goals thanks to an injury to kicker Rob Maver, and the Argonauts' defence is quite good. In a game against B.C. (Friday, 10:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN) that might get quite high-scoring with both teams airing it out, Calgary seems likely to return to form.

? The oddsmakers aren't buying Winnipeg stock: Despite winning their first game last week (in ugly fashion), the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Grey Cup odds actually went down from 10/1 (preseason) to 11/1. Granted, I still wouldn't take those odds, as this does appear to be a rebuilding year for Winnipeg, and they weren't overly convincing despite the win. Still, it's not every day you see a team considered less likely to triumph thanks to a victory.

Karen Carreno Bijou Phillips Marika Dominczyk Dita Von Teese Rachel Nichols

Saturday, July 16, 2011

NBC airs Murray-Nadal live in East; West Coast out of luck

NBC did right by some tennis fans on Friday by showing the Andy Murray vs. Rafael Nadal semifinal live to viewers on the East Coast and Central time zones. The previous day, the network said it would only show the match live if it started after its coverage window began at noon ET. Nadal-Murray started a few minutes before noon, but NBC made the decision to join the match live in progress rather than airing it on a few minutes tape delay.

Viewers in the west did not receive similar treatment. They will see the full match beginning at noon in their respective time zones. Live streaming of the match is available across the country on NBCSports.com.

Now, let's not give too much credit to the Peacock Network for making the last-minute decision. If not for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga coming back to steal the third set from Novak Djokovic and pushing that match to the three-hour mark, this gracious act of television etiquette never would have come to fruition. The network was able to show Nadal-Murray live because it had just started when its coverage window began at noon ET and there was little difference in joining in during the third game of the match. If they had been in a second set, it's almost certain NBC would have shown the match on tape delay coast-to-coast.

That the live televised coverage of a sporting event is treated as a gift from the tennis gods continues to be insane. It's 2011. People in Los Angeles can read real-time updates of Twitter followers watching this match on Henman Hill or follow an illegal Internet stream of the BBC broadcast, yet can't flip on their own TV to watch the match? Pathetic.

Fret not, West Coast friends. While us lucky folks on the East Coast get to watch live tennis involving the defending Wimbledon champion and Great Britain's greatest title hope, you can be watching live in-depth tennis analysis like this:

Christina Ricci Missi Pyle Jessica Alba Kylie Bax Diora Baird

Hargreaves? training videos worked on Sven-Goran Eriksson

So it turns out that while everyone was laughing at Owen Hargreaves for putting all those videos of his workouts on YouTube, they actually served their purpose in getting at least one manager to see that he can move his body without snapping all of his ligaments. Granted, that manager is the one and only Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is currently beating the transfer market into submission for Championship side Leicester City, but still. It worked.

Says Sven (via the Telegraph), who gave Hargreaves his England debut in 2001:

"I saw his videos and if he wants to come here I will open the door and stand and wait for him in the door. He's been very unlucky in recent years but if he's close to what he was he is a fantastic player. I haven't spoken to him for a while, maybe I should. It's difficult to know what he wants to do."

A "Maybe I should speak to him" from a guy who is currently throwing money at players like water on human fireballs isn't exactly a fresh contract to keep the wages rolling in during Owen's next stint in rehab, but it shows he might be onto something.

Maybe if he steps his YouTube game up just a little bit higher and starts lip-syncing to Adele songs, he'll catch the eye of a manager who is actually in the Premier League instead of one who is just spending like he is.

Avril Lavigne Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf Nicollette Sheridan Amber Heard

DTotD: Uruguay?s Gonzalez takes a free kick to the crotch

I don't know what Uruguay's Alvaro Gonzalez did to Chile's Jorge Valdivia during Friday's 1-1 draw to deserved a free kick directly to the crotch, but it must have been something terrible. It does, however, look as if Gonzalez steps right into it for maximum impact, so maybe this is just how he gets his jollies.

On the bright side, Gonzalez has already become Uruguay's most successful Just Bieber impersonator since this happened.

Emma Watson Amy Smart Sarah Wynter Jaime Pressly Ashanti

Shaw wants Perez-Darchinyan winner to step in front of Agbeko

Poor Joseph Agbeko. The guy trains for weeks to prep for one of the bigger fights of his career then collapses at the airport days before the match. He's out this weekend against Abner Mares.

Both Gary Shaw and Richard Schaefer haven't shed many tears. In fact, the promoters said Agbeko better get in there with� Mares sooner than later, or his fight against the Mexican should go bye-bye according to the L.A. Times:

Mares' promoter Richard Schaefer said he is willing to postpone the bout 45 days, and promoter Gary Shaw said he would petition for Agbeko to be stripped of his International Boxing Federation title if he is not able to fight in 60 days.

"I'm speaking as a promoter here: If Agbeko cannot fight in a timely fashion and defend his title, I will personally petition the IBF to let the winner of this fight for the title against Mares," Shaw said. "Abner should have the right to get that title and nobody should have to wait an inordinate amount of time."

There's nothing mysterious behind Shaw's motivation to expedite a Mares' tilt for the winner. He promotes both Vic Darchinyan and Yohnny Perez.

After a delayed flight from New York, Agbeko collapsed on Wednesday at LAX.� The airport incident followed a sciatic nerve attack on Monday.

Showtime (10 p.m. ET/PT) will still feature Darchinyan and Perez in the main event tomorrow night. Yahoo!'s Kevin Iole says the event was salvaged by good matchmaking.

Lindsay Lohan Heidi Klum Vogue Charlize Theron Eva Mendes

MLB Bold Predictions: 25 Youngsters Who'll Be Household Names by Season's End

Major League Baseball is filled with young talent.

Some of these men have been highly touted, while some of them are still flying under the radar. As they continue to fill up the sheets, fans will recognize their talents by late September. 

There are a couple stipulations to this list: 

1. They made "The Show" no earlier than the 2010 season.

 2. They have played a game for their respective club already.  

 

These next 25 guys are the new generation and future of baseball.

Begin Slideshow

Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes Adrianne Curry Jennifer Gimenez Katie Cassidy

England women?s team forced to fight bug infestation with Febreze

We know female footballers don't get the money, organizational support or fame that their male counterparts do, but now you can add World Cup hotel rooms that aren't infested with swarms of insects to the list, as well.

England midfielder Jill Scott has been keeping a video diary for FA TV during the tournament and in her latest installment, she shares the less than four-star living conditions in their German hotel. After returning from their 2-0 win over Japan, they apparently discovered a disturbingly large swarm of bugs that had overtaken teammate Fara Williams' room. The footballers naturally wanted to combat this infestation, but when they went to the front desk for help in their extermination efforts, they were given a canister of Febreze. The air freshener.

Undeterred by this, the ladies tried to kill the bugs with it anyway. But, as expected, that didn't work and Fara Williams still had a room full of flies that at least now smelled like lavender vanilla.

Rachael Leigh Cook Elisha Cuthbert Ciara Rachel Hunter Heidi Montag

The winners and the losers: setting up Friday?s games

Week Two's Friday Night Football doubleheader should be an interesting one, as each game features a pair of teams with identical records. The first one should feature a battle of terrific running backs, as Cory Boyd and the Toronto Argonauts (1-0 after a close 23-21 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in Week One) head to Winnipeg to take on Fred Reid (pictured above taking a handoff from �quarterback Buck Pierce last week) and the Blue Bombers (7:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN), who also picked up a win in their season-opener on the road in Hamilton. The late game features two teams in the opposite situation, with the aforementioned 0-1 Stampeders travelling to B.C. to face the Lions (10:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN), who narrowly fell 30-26 to Montreal in their first game. Regardless of who emerges victorious in these games, unless there are one or more ties, we'll have a 2-0 team, two 1-1 teams and a 0-2 team, or binomial theorem-endorsed results.

Does that really mean all that much, though? From the point of view of the standings, winning games in Weeks One and Two is no more important than winning games in Weeks Eight and Twelve. A win is a win is a win, and a loss is a loss is a loss. What's in a win? That which we call a win in any other week would be as important to determine who makes the playoffs, and every team's still going to have 16 games to play after this week. It's worth noting that the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes went 1-1 in their first two weeks of play last season. They were 2-0 after two weeks en route to winning in 2009, but the eventual champion Stampeders were only 1-1 after two weeks in 2008. Saskatchewan was 2-0 in 2007, but B.C. was only 1-1 in 2006. Thus, sweeping the first two games is hardly a prerequisite to lifting the Grey Cup, although it's probably best not to lose your first two games.

It is possible that the first two games of the CFL season have a larger effect than your average two games, though, as there are potential morale and momentum implications to consider. That's particularly true in Winnipeg, where the Bombers haven't won their first two games since 2003. Winning the first two might help the team's confidence and convince the players to buy into the team's systems and philosophies, which is certainly a possible outcome in Toronto as well. Losing the first two might raise major questions, especially for a team that was highly-touted heading into the season, which could apply to either Calgary or Vancouver. There's a long way to go after this still, but the start to the season certainly doesn't seem to be insignificant.

In Winnipeg, expect a game with plenty of ground-and-pound action, as the CFL's top two backs from a yardage perspective last season (the Bombers' Reid and the Argonauts' Boyd) are both expected to feature heavily. Both teams also have solid defences; Toronto held Calgary's vaunted attack to just 21 points last week, while Winnipeg only conceded 16 against Hamilton. Both of these squads have quarterback issues as well. �Pierce may have survived a massive hit last week, but he only threw for 151 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 46.2 per cent completion rate. Cleo Lemon led the Argonauts to victory, but looked more like the sour old version than the supposedly new-and-improved model, completing 16 of 30 passes for 187 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Thus, we might not see a passing shootout.

Out in B.C., we may see a higher-scoring match. Both teams have dominant aerial attacks, with Travis Lulay (pictured leaping for a touchdown in last year's playoff game against Saskatchewan last year) throwing for 366 yards and a touchdown in the Lions' first game (with a 57.8 per cent completion rate) and Henry Burris throwing for 293 (with a 70.3 per cent completion rate and an interception). Calgary also has a strong rushing game with Joffrey Reynolds, Jon Cornish and Burris' own mobility, while B.C. has more questions there; Jamal Robertson and Andrew Harris are talented, but weren't used much in Week One.

Both defences in the late game have some question marks, especially in the secondary, but the Lions would appear to have the special-teams edge with outstanding veteran kicker Paul McCallum and promising returner Tim Brown (the CFL's special-teams player of the week in Week One). Calgary returner Larry Taylor's certainly accomplished plenty in the CFL to date as well, but wasn't quite as impressive in the first week; he did pick up 121 yards on five kick returns and 95 yards on nine punt returns, but did lose a fumble. The Stampeders have a great punter in Burke Dales, but will be relying on unproven kicker Rene Paredes thanks to an injury to Rob Maver. Each of these squads will do all they can to avoid an 0-2 start, but only one will be likely able to (barring a tie). We'll see who triumphs under the Friday night lights.

Robin Tunney Kate Groombridge Dania Ramirez Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes

Vitali Klitschko wins bizarre fight as Odlanier Solis suffers leg injury in the first round

All the build up and the hype for that? Boxing's heavyweight division can't get out of its way sometimes. The latest mess unfolded in Cologne, Germany where it took less than three minutes for Vitali Klitschko to walk out of the ring with his WBC heavyweight title.

With five seconds left in the first round, Cuban Odlanier Solis suffered a leg injury and couldn't continue at 3:00 of the first.

Moving forward, Solis (17-1, 12 KOs) was popped with a decent right hook from Klitschko. As he went to set his left leg, it slid forward and he right knee turned inward. When Solis went to re-plant the right, he went down in a heap. That was it. Fight over.

Klitschko (42-2, 39 KOs) retains his title with his seventh straight successful defense in his second go around as the WBC champ.

Former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis questioned the validity of the injury, but it appeared Solis was legitimately injured. Lewis joined Tony Paige and Sam Rosen on the free view of the fight on EpixHD.com.

Summer Altice Rose McGowan Bar Refaeli Jessica White Anna Friel

If Golden Boy steps out of the way, Pacquiao-Marquez III is on for Nov. 12

Apparently The Eagles are big boxing fans, now let's hope Golden Boy Promotions is too. Juan Manuel Marquez has agreed to face Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, but the fight can be blocked by Golden Boy holding the first right of refusal on any JMM fight.

Pacman's promoter Bob Arum confirmed on Thursday that Marquez accepted the fight. To make the Pacquiao fight possible, the Mexican legend parted ways with Golden Boy. Pacquiao, who is suing GBP for demation, will not fight anyone officially promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company.

If the fight goes down, the date is interesting because initially the MGM Grand Garden Arena was booked for an Eagles concert.

According to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Eagles willingly moved to Nov. 5 to open things up for the big fight.

Golden Boy has until Monday at 3 p.m. PT to make a decision. Marquez will receive $9 million for the fight and there is a rematch clause in the contract if he beats Pacquiao.

Gwen Stefani Sunny Mabrey Karolína Kurková Laura Harring Naomi Watts

Brian Wilson's Latest Antic: A Spandex Tuxedo at the ESPYs

Honestly, did you expect Brian Wilson to show up quietly at the ESPYs?

The San Francisco Giants closer showed up to the 2011 ESPYs in style as he donned a tuxedo that turned heads. Why? Because this wasn't just any tuxedo, this was a spandex tuxedo.

Sadly, I can't even say I was surprised. I knew he would try and pull some stunt to call for everyone's attention. Personally, I was expecting maybe some cornrows in the now legendary beard of his, but to me, this stunt topped anything he has ever done, including growing out a beard.

Wilson walked the red carpet in his skin-tight tuxedo, complete with an orange bow tie, and a cougar cane. Yes, a cougar cane. Don't ask why, it's Brian Wilson. He can bring whatever accessories he pleases without question.

Wilson said that the most interesting comment he received on the outfit was when he was asked how he planned on going to the bathroom because it made him realize he hadn't quite thought that one through.

This stunt came less than 24 hours after Wilson pitched the final two outs of the 2011 All-Star Game. After the game, Wilson was asked what was in his beard. He replied that there were garden gnomes cutting down trees, and an Irish lady doing a jig in a certain section of his beard, although Wilson hadn't met this woman yet. 

Part of me wants to say this stunt went up and beyond having fun, and that Wilson was just dying for more attention. Because as Seth Meyers put it in the opening monologue of the ESPYs, its obvious that he hates attention.

But then I did some more thinking. The legend of Brian Wilson didn't really pick up until late last baseball season with the "Fear the Beard" campaign.

I personally did not know what this was because I was busy studying for midterms until I walked by a campus bar on my way home from a library, looked at the television outside to see the score of the Giants game, and then saw Brian Wilson's beard staring deep into my soul.

This was his first real chance to shine. It was his first ESPYs since growing out the beard that has become legendary. Something like this was going to happen, and I honestly don't think many people were surprised it did.

It's not Wilson looking for attention. It's Wilson doing what he does best; having fun. He has fun in all his interviews. I'm pretty sure he's never taken one seriously.

So why should an ESPYs outfit be any different? A fancy expensive tuxedo or three-piece suit? No way, not for Brian Wilson. That wouldn't be any fun.

The orange bow tie, gloves, and cougar cane would have probably been enough even with a normal tuxedo. But make that tuxedo a spandex one, and you have an outfit that only Brian Wilson could pull off.

So while you fans who have a thing for fashion are handing out your own awards for best outfits, make sure that Brian Wilson is the only nominee in that category.

Thandie Newton Liz Phair Aaliyah Katherine Heigl Lorri Bagley

Rothwell interview: ?It?s not a comeback. It?s an unveiling?

Walking into Roufus Sport Academy in Milwaukee, I crossed paths with a man who resembled UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell, but this one looked slimmed down from the man who beat Gilbert Yvel in a decision at UFC 115. Rothwell sustained a knee injury in that fight, and has been rehabbing his knee since.

This same Rothwell-lookalike made his way through a killer sparring practice, followed by a conditioning session where coach Duke Roufus bounced up and down on this fighter's abs as he did crunches.

Turns out that this was Rothwell, and he's looking at his UFC 135 bout to show how he's improved during the layoff.

"I've really worked hard on myself. It's not a comeback. It's an unveiling," Rothwell told Cagewriter. "I have been off for more than a year, and instead of using it as a layoff I've used it as a huge building block. I posted a few pictures, and people said, 'Whoa, this guy ain't the same.' When I came back to Duke, he said, 'People who are off because of an injury usually gain 20 lbs. You look like you've lost 20 lbs.'

Rothwell has 37 fights under that belt, and he sees that experience as an asset in preparing to end the layoff in a bout with fellow veteran Mark Hunt.

"I've been fighting for so long, and I've had layoffs, I've been out. I think I'm one of the few guys who can come back from such a long layoff and not look like I've missed a beat. I'm really banking on that fact. As far as Americans go, I'm one of the most experienced guys in the sport. I've been fighting the longest. I'm 31-7, and I've gone through a lot, inside and outside the Octagon."

He hurt his knee in the first round of the bout with Yvel, but is proud that he was able to complete the fight with a victory.

"It was a big challenge for me because I knew my knee was hurt, right at the beginning of the fight. I was in a must-win situation. I'm known for having exciting fights, and it wasn't one of my more exciting fights. Unfortunately for the crowd, they didn't like it, but for me, it was a tremendous mental victory because I knew what I was up against. I was on the brink of defeat, and I fought through and I won. I went through a three-round bout on one leg and won."

Back for a title run

Now, Rothwell wants to make a run for the title, in part because he isn't happy with the way other fighters have acted towards fans.

"A lot of these guys, especially champions, I see how they act, and it enrages me. It's not right. It's not fair," he said. "I fight for the fans because without them, I wouldn't be able to do this. A lot of guys talk the talk, but people know when they meet me, I smile in my pictures. I love giving autographs because I am very thankful for everyone that's made the sport possible. That motivating factor has made me who I am now, and it's time to go out and take what's mine."

He wants to be the kind of champ that fans deserve because MMA, and all the people involved in the sport, made such a marked difference on his life.

"When I was 17, 18 years old, I was on a path of destruction. I had no guidance. I had a gorilla on my shoulder. It wasn't even a chip. I was very lost. The sport has completely changed me. It's made me a far more humble person. It showed me the truth about a lot of people, and it showed me the truth about myself. The sport has given me a reason to be a good person. I have a lot that I fight to protect, and this sport gave me all that. I am forever indebted to it."

Karolína Kurková Laura Harring Naomi Watts Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez