Stephen Strasburg is a no-doubt star, so far, but it has been one place that has driven all the coverage, MLB Network, the people most responsible for Strasburg's national emergence and their first network-made star.
Diego Forlán is a 31-year-old striker on the Uruguayan National Team who scored two goals in his team's match against the host South Africans. Sig Hansen is a tough-as-nails no-nonsense Norwegian crab fisherman on the Deadliest Catch. They share more than just a passing resemblance.
In baseball, every day is a new opportunity to see something that has never happened before. Throwing the 20th perfect game in MLB history, Roy Halladay's perfection was also 20 days after Dallas Braden's, making this the first season in baseball HISTORY to feature two perfect games. Awesome.
The Vancouver Olympics may be over but that doesn't mean we should forget the hot athletes who participated in them. And just think, London is only 2 years away!
After Miguel Batista said that his coming in to spot-start in place of Stephen Strasburg was akin to Miss Universe being replaced by Miss Iowa he insisted that he didn't mean it in a derogatory manner.
The current Miss Iowa, Katherine Connors, took some umbrage at Batista's comment saying in a statement “I know I can throw a pitch or two! The question is, can Miguel Batista walk the runway in a swimsuit?”
First off, let's all hope we NEVER have to see Batista in a swimsuit. Secondly, on Wednesday Batista clarified his comments. When asked if he'd seen a photo of Miss Iowa he replied "You mean Katherine Connors? Yeah, she's gorgeous. Gorgeous."
"People started booing me, and they hadn't seen me throw a pitch yet," Batista said. "It's like you hear Miss Iowa, and you say, 'Iowa?' And then you see her up close and you say, 'Wow, she's gorgeous.'"
Concerned she might have misconstrued his comments, Batista arranged for some flowers to be sent to Connors and she is planning on stopping by on Friday to meet the team and probably fire in a few fastballs too. Her visit was organized by the Miss USA pageant organizers who also announced that they've invited Batista to be a judge at next year's Miss Iowa competition.
Manchester United has been taking on some MLS teams in exhibition games in an effort to help raise the American soccer league's profile nationally. So far it hasn't worked. For the league's All Star game the team of the "best" from MLS took on one of the best teams in Europe ('s scrub bench players.)
The All Stars ended up falling 2-5 to the British squad with the prettiest goal of the afternoon going to Manchester's Tom Cleverley who juggled through the defense before banging it home.
Every no-hitter features at least one standout defensive play that helps keep runners off the base path. Matt Garza's no-no for the Tampa Bay Rays had one of those type plays when right fielder Ben Zobrist made a leaping catch to preserve Garza's goose-egg game.
Usually the pitcher gives his teammates something for being a part of an historic moment, especially the guys who make the game-saving plays. Zobrist though is very humble and not at all materialistic, so when asked by reporters what he might get from Garza he responded that he didn't need anything big or showy, "Maybe a smoothie," Zobrist said. "Tropical Smoothie Café, strawberry kiwi."
My first game at Yankee Stadium was game 1 of the 2004 ALCS, decked out in Red Sox gear I ended up getting into 3 fights -- none of which I started -- it was quite the introduction to the Stadium. What it wasn't was unexpected. I knew what I was getting into and I was OK with it; representing the Red Sox was far more important than my safety.
All the ire I received that night pales in comparison to that which one fan received at a Cleveland Indians game when he showed up in a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey. It seems the bleacher denizens of Cleveland were less than enthused with that gentleman, hurling expletives, drinks and other items at him until police were needed to escort him out of the danger zone. Clearly he must have known what he was getting into, and it seems he's relatively non-plussed, although his girlfriend has much more of a fighting spirit throwing down as he casually looks on.
Washington Nationals fans were sorely disappointed on Tuesday when rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg was a late scratch due to shoulder inflammation and instead the fans were forced to watch Miguel Batista pitch. Ugh! That's not fun for ANYONE. If I were at the game I probably would have just bailed rather than watch that kind of baseball atrocity.
When he was introduced Batista was roundly booed by the fans but he took it in stride and understood their dissatisfaction saying "Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos."
The incredibly smart Bob from Bob's Blitz decided to put that comment to the test, so, here for you to decide, Miss Venezuela Stefanía Fernández, the 2009 Miss Universe and 2nd Runner up in the Miss America pageant, Olivia Myers, Miss Iowa. Who do you prefer?
Me? I'll disagree with Bob and opt for the lovely Ms. Fernández (left); I'm a sucker for a smoking hot Latina.
The shortest crossing of the English Channel is 21 miles long, that's smaller than Manhattan, but Jackie Cobell, 56, broke an 87-year-old record by taking 28 hours and 44 minutes to swim across. The mother of two was dragged over 40 miles off course by the tides, making her crossing far more difficult than she ever intended.
When Cobell finally crawled ashore after her 65-mile sojourn she collapsed on the beach as a group of well-wishers with champagne and balloons boisterously greeted her. In swimming across Cobell raised over £2,000 for Huntingdon's disease but as news of her trip spread the number has grown somewhat. After setting out at 6:40 am from Dover, England, she finally touched shore in Calais, France at 11:24am the following day.
Growing up an avid swimmer, Cobell ended up gaining a large amount of weight in middle age, at one point tipping the scales at over 280 pounds. Eager to shake the weight she started swimming again with an eye towards swimming the Channel but when she became fitter but no lighter she had a gastric bypass operation in November, losing over 100 pounds in 8 months.
As her trip became far longer than she expected Cobell kept going, never giving in despite the tides pushing her every which way. Thanks to energy powder drinks handed to her by her follow boat she managed to keep up her determination, even when she came close to colliding with an oil tanker and another time when she cramped up and lost the use of one of her arms for some time.
Ever the good sport, when the exhausted Cobell was asked if she might try the crossing again, she replied "I think I might need a rest first. My arms ache like mad and my ribs are black and blue from crashing against the waves all that time. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker."
Considering she now has the record for slowest crossing yet, I'd imagine anything would be faster. Still, what a fucking trooper!
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was on hand at the Edgewater Mall in Biloxi, Mississippi signing autographs -- at a cool $150 a pop -- when one autograph seeker got more than just a signature.
High school art teacher David Magee brought a 41" painting of the iconic photo with Brees holding his son after winning the Super Bowl hoping to get it signed. Instead of signing it, Brees PURCHASED it for an undisclosed price, along with some signed paraphernalia and some tickets.
"He actually bought it," Magee said. "I'm still in shock! My painting, my work is going to be a family heirloom for the Brees family."
Brees was so taken by the painting that he told Magee that he intended to give it to his son, "You dream that it will go that way, but you never really expect it to happen," Magee said. "Wow! For him to want it for his son was by far more important than getting any money for it."
The painting isn't my style -- too representational -- but seems to be pretty well executed and really, all that matters is that Brees like it, which he clearly did. Or he didn't but decided to use his millions of dollars to make one guy incredibly happy and make some good PR, either way, well done Mr. Brees.
I get that there aren't any professional sports teams in Kentucky -- not counting all the paid college players -- but even still, if you're this obsessed with a college sports program you have serious issues. Why would you spend your whole life rooting for a place where the kids ONLY go so that they can leave, preferably as early as possible? No top basketball player goes to college with the intention of playing 4 years anymore. Hell, they don't even want to go, they're FORCED to by the NBA's age restrictions.
Rooting for a college franchise to me is the sign of sad existence, especially when you go to an extreme like this. I'd even look better on this if the guy were supporting a WNBA franchise more than a college, there's pathetic and then there's this house.
If you have found that Ed Hardy t-shirts don't accurately portray entirely how much of douche you are there's good news coming your way from England. Manchester-based tattoo artist Lou Molloy is making a series of limited edition t-shirts featuring some of his body work designs. Two of the shirts will feature the "guardian angel" that Molloy inked on his most famous client, David Beckham.
Found on Beckham's back, now you can wear the same image around town -- in t-shirt form! -- and let everyone know exactly how much of a tool you are. Good news!
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The Slanch Report has started an online petition asking the MLB Network to air the Dock Ellis no-hitter he threw on June 12, 1970 against the San Diego Padres. The moment was a seminal piece of baseball history and is certainly worthy of being rerun.
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Every no-hitter features at least one standout defensive play that helps keep runners off the base path. Matt Garza's no-no for the Tampa Bay Rays had one of those type plays when right fielder Ben Zobrist made a leaping catch to preserve Garza's goose-egg game.
The shortest crossing of the English Channel is 21 miles long, that's smaller than Manhattan, but Jackie Cobell, 56, broke an 87-year-old record by taking 28 hours and 44 minutes to swim across. The mother of two was dragged over 40 miles off course by the tides, making her crossing far more difficult than she ever intended.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 