Late Night Fantasy Chat: 10 pm EST

21 Oct
2012
by in General

There's no need for a hard sell on this one. The Steelers and Bengals will be throwing haymakers, while the Cardinals and Giants will be throwing benders. Let's get both games on the telly and talk about it.

We can digest Week 7 in the NFL, and take a peak at Week 8. We'll take polls and get silly; discuss music, wine, women, song. The usual nonsense applies. Your presence and participation are requested mandated. Your performance tonight makes up 35 percent of your final grade.

The chat will open when the football game hits the second half. Get your popcorn ready. The chat applet is yours after the jump.

Tags: , , Late Night Fantasy Chat, , need, , Night Fantasy Chat, peak, , , , , wine
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Fisher on song in Portugal, hails inspirational Ryder Cup (Reuters)

11 Oct
2012

Britain's Ross Fisher tees off the first hole during the fourth and last round of the Nordea Masters golf tournament at Bro Hof golf club in Sweden June 9, 2012. REUTERS/Mikael Fritzon/Scanpix

(Reuters) - Briton Ross Fisher fired a six-under 65 in the first round of the Portugal Masters on Thursday and promptly set his sights on qualifying for another Ryder Cup team after missing out on this year's event. The 31-year-old Englishman, who took a joint one-shot lead in Vilamoura with Scotland's Stephen Gallacher on Thursday, helped Europe win at Celtic Manor in 2010 but was reduced to being a spectator for last month's miraculous comeback win at Medinah. ...


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Golf-Fisher on song in Portugal, hails inspirational Ryder Cup (Reuters)

11 Oct
2012
Oct 11 (Reuters) - Briton Ross Fisher fired a six-under 65 in the first round of the Portugal Masters on Thursday and promptly set his sights on qualifying for another Ryder Cup team after missing out on this year's event. The 31-year-old Englishman, who took a joint one-shot lead in Vilamoura with Scotland's Stephen Gallacher on Thursday, helped Europe win at Celtic Manor in 2010 but was reduced to being a spectator for last month's miraculous comeback win at Medinah. ...
Tags: Briton Ross Fisher, Celtic, , , , , Portugal, Portugal Masters, , , Ryder Cup team, , Stephen Gallacher
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Glen Davis wrote a celebration song, ‘Big Baby Gon’ Turn It Up’ (VIDEO)

11 Oct
2012

There are some songs that become staples of basketball arenas for years: "Whoomp! (There It Is)," "Cotton Eye Joe," "Rock and Roll Part 2," etc. They are as much a part of the live NBA experience as sneaker squeaks and overpriced nachos, the soundtrack to the game we all love. It's also very hard to predict how and why any particular song might rise to that level of ubiquity. Sometimes, a songwriter just happens upon a sound that makes every sports-loving crowd go wild.

At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I think we have happened upon the next arena craze. Orlando Magic forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, whom we already know to be a stellar dancer, is now trying his hand at songwriting. You can hear a snippet of the track, titled "Big Baby Gon' Turn It Up," above (via TBJ). Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has more details:

Davis recently recorded a song called "Big Baby Gon' Turn It Up," and it's kind of catchy. It features his voice, with some significant enhancements provided by Auto-Tune.

Davis was asked whether he's going to release an album. A smile crossed his face.

"No," he said, still grinning. "I'm a one-hit wonder."

If that 12-second clip is any indication, Davis will dominate the airwaves of Orlando's Amway Center this season. As Robbins says, it is indeed "kind of catchy," which in music parlance is right above "slightly listenable." Based on the songs that have become jock jams in the past, that means it has just as good a chance as any competitor of becoming a sensation.

Let's just hope the Magic have plenty of reasons to celebrate this year. With no Dwight Howard, that's no sure thing.

Tags: Baby, , Big Baby, Cotton, Glen Davis, Gon, Josh Robbins, , , , ,
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Josh Pastner’s picture used without his consent in political endorsement

09 Oct
2012

Had Josh Pastner's image appeared in any other popular rap video without his consent, the savvy Memphis basketball coach likely would have championed it as an unexpected recruiting boost.

In this case, however, he had to ask to have his picture removed.

A photo of a pink boa-clad Pastner and Republic congressional candidate George Flinn appeared without the coach's permission in a music video Memphis hip hop artist Al Kapone released last Friday. The song, entitled "George Flinn," serves as a four-minute endorsement for the candidate complete with a catchy chorus that implores listeners to vote for Flinn for congressman.

Since University of Memphis policy forbids employees from endorsing any political candidates, Pastner's representatives had to call Kapone and have him take the image out of the video. Pastner also couldn't have been happy to appear in the video since Flinn's opponent, Democratic incumbent Steve Cohen, is a University of Memphis booster and a passionate Tigers hoops fan.

Pastner told WREG-TV in Memphis that he had no idea his picture was going to appear in the video for Kapone's song.

"My job is extremely political, so I've got enough on my hands [without] dealing with and getting involved in anything else," he joked.

Pastner's ties to the Memphis hip-hop community have worked in his favor in the past, most recently when he booked Rick Ross to perform at the school's Memphis Madness event last October. He called it a great "recruiting tool" at the time, telling CBSSports.com "it gives you a little street cred."

Had Pastner's brief cameo in Kapone's video not been deleted, the effect probably would have been slightly different. It's hard to have "street cred" with a pink feather boa draped around your neck.

Tags: Al Kapone, , , consent, George Flinn, image, Josh Pastner, Memphis, , political endorsement, , street, University of Memphis
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Playoff anthem! Ernie Harwell’s ‘Tiger, Tiger’

09 Oct
2012

With the Detroit Tigers on the brink of a sweep of Oakland in the ALDS, it's only appropriate we give them the next spot on our playoff playlist. The song: "Tiger, Tiger," penned by the late and legendary Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell during the World Series season of 1984. A Detroit jingle man and singer turned Harwell's words into a song and a local hit was born.

"Tiger, Tiger" is infectious in a "there's no way you're getting that out of your head" sort of way, but — and we apologize to Harwell here — the lyrics are, shall we say, a little lacking?

That's probably by design as the simplicity lets you learn the song quickly, but there's no reason we can't update it with lyrics that are more relevant to this year's team.

So our challenge to you, dear Stewies, is to write your own verse to the song and post it in the comments below. Winner gets a virtual Coney Dog.

Previous anthems: Cardinals and Taylor Swift

Make sure you have all your bases covered this postseason ...
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!

Tags: broadcaster, , Ernie Harwell, Harwell, , , singer, , , ,
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Knicks turn to old guys in rebuilding roster (Yahoo! Sports)

02 Oct
2012

New York Knicks center Marcus Camby smiles as he answers a question during their NBA basketball media day at the team's training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -- Their first practice of the season finishing, the Knicks gathered in a circle for a song.


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Jon Gruden really, really, really, REALLY likes Texas

01 Oct
2012

In his capacity as ESPN's most "interesting" football analyst, former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden loves him some hyperbole. From his endless litany of nicknames for players, to the occasional incomprehensible take when he gets too excited about the game to be understood, Gruden certainly brings a passion to the booth.

Never was this more evident than in the intro to ESPN's "Monday Night Football" telecast. Before the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys kicked off at Cowboys Stadium, Gruden went off in an impressive fashion, even for a network where VOLUME EQUALS ANALYSIS.

Play-by-play man Mike Tirico asked Gruden to compare Jay Cutler and Tony Romo, and then took a step back, because he knew what was coming.

"He's a modern-day John Wayne," Gruden said of Cutler. "Look at the tape -- he's a modern-day Josey Wales! He gets hit a lot! Hard! But he gets up, and he stays after ya. And I've seen ... this ... kid ... get ... mad. He doesn't just get mad, he gets PLUM-DOG MAD. Just like Josey Wales did. Ya got that, Tirico? When he starts feelin' it, this GUNSLINGER ends your night. He creates more plays for the Chicago Bears than Johnny Lujack did. Some of these throws take your breath away! And if Jay Cutler can make enough plays, the Chicago Bears can win tonight, and win any week.

"And Tony Romo ... I've seen him break his collarbone! I've seen him break a rib!  Puncture a lung! This is the TOUGHEST COWBOY THEY HAVE IN TEXAS!!! But at the end of the night, Tony Romo gets more done on his own than any quarterback in pro football. LOOK AT TONY ROMO CREATE PLAYS WITH HIS LEGS AND HIS ARM. He has no fear ... I love this song ["God Blessed Texas" by Little Texas] ... GOD BLESS TONY ROMO ... They need to change the words of this song. Because without Tony Romo, the Cowboys got no chance. But he is the most dazzling playmaking quarterback in football and I LovewatchinghimRomo.

"GOD BLESS TEXAS!!! Make my day, Tirico ... go ahead. Make my day!!!"

That was a different Eastwood character at the end there, but at that point, it was like John Blutarsky in "Animal House." When you're on a roll, you're on a roll.

We're glad that Red Bull is working out for you, coach. Now, on to the ... game?

Tags: , , GOD, , , REALLY,
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Ricky Rubio does not miss Michael Beasley’s singing

01 Oct
2012

When Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio went down with an ACL tear last March, several nations of basketball fans became very, very sad. The good news for us is that Rubio is on his way back and should return to NBA games some time in December. That's a while, but, as he told Dave Campbell of the Associated Press, he's not going to rush things when this comeback is so important to the rest of what will hopefully be a long career.

Rubio does miss being with his teammates, though, and that can be tough. In the short term, that means he wants to experience the camaraderie of the locker room again. Long-term, he seems to be looking forward to not listening to the dulcet tones of a former teammate. From the same AP story:

''During the rehab back in Spain I was missing that feeling, being a team. I love when you are in a team and you get to the locker room and just hear voices laughing,'' Rubio said. ''We don't have Beasley anymore so we don't have to hear him singing songs. But it's going to be fun.''

Over his career, Beasley — now a member of the Phoenix Suns — has cultivated a reputation as a fairly unserious guy who has a hard time focusing on tasks at hand (unless said task is taking ill-advised shots). It's therefore not a terribly huge surprise that he likes to sing songs in the locker room often enough that a likable, seemingly very friendly teammate can be happy about the fact that he no longer has to listen to him.

The major question here, of course, is what Beasley likes to sing. I'm hopeful that an intrepid reporter in Phoenix can find out, but for now I'm just going to assume that he sings to one song and one song only: K-Ci and JoJo's timeless "All My Life."

Tags: , , Dave Campbell, locker, minnesota timberwolves, , , phoenix suns, Ricky Rubio, Rubio, ,
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Michael Jordan gave Scottie Pippen a dance-off for Pip’s 47th birthday

27 Sep
2012

As you all know, the 47th birthday is the Fun Dance-Off Birthday, a celebration of how much fun it is to just get out on the floor with a handful of likeminded individuals and compete for the title of Best Dancer At This Party, but really just gently, because hey, we're all here to have fun, guys. (Popular participants in the Fun Dance-Off Birthday include Everybody's Moms and Aunts.)

And yet, as the end of the night neared at the surprise 47th birthday bash held for Scottie Pippen at Chicago celebrity hangout Sunda on Monday night, nary a famous reveler had attempted to jovially serve the 2010 enshrinee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Not Ahmad Rashad, not Antoine Walker, not Nazr Mohammed, not Worldwide Wes — nobody.

Luckily, one of Pippen's longtime allies — fellow Chicago Bulls legend, Hall of Famer and perennially sharp-dressed man Michael Jordan — doubles as one of the greatest late-game performers in the history of anything, a category that by necessity includes birthday-perfectin'. Take it away, Page Six of the New York Post:

Sources told us the fun night ended with a dance-off between Jordan and Pippen to the Trey Songz and Fabolous song, "Say Ahh." [sic]

Maybe a better evening-ender than Game 6. Hard to say, really, because we don't have video confirmation of just how the dance-off to "Say Aah" went down, which is one of the saddest sentences I've ever had to type.

Wondering why "Say Aah," specifically, was the song of choice? We'll let Monsieur Songz's lyrics answer that (emphasis mine):

Shawty, dance like a video vixen
Said her man be on that bulls*** pimpin'
Well, I retired from the bull like Pippen
Tryin' to get you home or would you be Marge Simpson

BRB, just going to bliss out for a few minutes envisioning MJ and Scottie doing the Bartman until the break of dawn.

Now, obviously, this is just a really cute and lovely thing, but while imagining these two NBA legends and noted competitors cutting a rug and vying for dance-floor dominance, we can't help but wonder: Who won?

Then again, considering this archival footage of the two of them dancing during their playing days:

... and how off MJ looked when the other MJ tried to teach him how to dance ...

... and this shot of Pippen with both feet planted firmly on the ground while dancing with his wife, Larsa:

... it seems like a decent bet that this was the kind of dance-off in which there were no winners. Only survivors.

(Of course, if you do come across the video, give us a shout on Twitter or Facebook, because we clearly need to see that.)

College football video from Yahoo! Sports:

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Tags: Birthday, DANCE, dancing, , , ,
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