Bleacher Report - Articles by Jennifer Taglione

Why the NBA Playoffs Can't Compete with March Madness

Jennifer Taglione — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:25:12 -0400

Which came first: March Madness or the NBA Playoffs? Because whoever scheduled one right after the other is an idiot.

I have been trying for the last week to get myself all hyped up for the NBA drama, without much success. I just can’t get excited about the NBA Playoffs coming off of the NCAA Tourney.

Back when I was in high school, before I started watching college basketball, I used to love the NBA postseason. I’ll even admit that I got into the Finals last year. But that was under severe duress from my father, who refused to put anything else on if the Celtics were playing. Including American Idol!

Plus, last year I missed all of March Madness. I was fiending for basketball boys.

I finally sat down to write my “Whooo Hoooo NBA Playoffs!!!!!!!” piece today, figuring I must have missed so much because the first round began a week and a half ago. I was expecting to be completely overwhelmed. I mean, if you miss the first round of the NCAA Tourney and then sit down to report it, forget it, you’ll never catch up.

After a week and half in March Madness, four rounds were finished, 64 teams were whittled down to the Final Four and there was only a week left of the NCAA Tournament.

You want to know what has happened after a week and a half in the NBA Playoffs?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

(Pause for NBA enthusiasts to yell and swear loudly. Feel free to write all negative “you suck” comments below. Are you done? Good.)

So far, the original 16 teams were whittled to…14. The first round isn’t even finished. And there are still two months left of the playoffs.

Yes, LeBron and the Cavs swept the Pistons and the Lakers almost swept the Jazz, but that is hardly shocking news now isn't it?

And yes, the field could be whittled to 12 tonight since two teams are up 3-1 in the best of seven series. Whoo hoo! But, they are only on Game Five in the seven series and the other half of the matchups are tied 2-2. So in theory, the first round could last another week.

Wanna try the “Well, then you haven’t been watching the Bulls-Celtics series” argument?

Yup, I missed all four games, including the double OT one. Apparently, they were all nail-biters. But you know what, it doesn’t even matter. There are still three more games left in the series.

Here’s the thing: In the NCAA Tourney, you have to watch every game because a nail-biter means your team either hits the last second shot and moves on, or they go home. In the NBA Playoffs, there can be six nail-biters, six last-second shots, and it can still mean that your team is coming back tomorrow to try again.

It’s hardly do or die. More like, do, die, come back to life, die again…etc. The NBA Playoffs commercials are right, that is “amazing!”

The only other argument that has been given to try and get me excited about these best-of-seven matchups is, “There is no doubt that the level of play intensifies in the NBA postseason.”

Yes, very true. The players are now actually earning their $20 million contracts. Congrats. NCAA players play just as well in the postseason and most of them don’t have $20 million contracts waiting for them in the NBA.

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Despite all that, I’m going to try really hard to get excited, get involved, and not be too biased against the playoffs. Truth is, I really like the Celtics, I have a major thing developing for LeBron James, and basketball is my favorite sport to watch.

I’m just pointing out that if someone stuck the NBA Playoffs two or three months after March Madness, I bet I would be much more excited and eager to watch the two long months of games.

Dancing with the NCAA: Why It's Called "The Big Dance"

Jennifer Taglione — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:13:16 -0400

March Madness. The Big Dance. The Tourney. The Brackets.

You say any those phrases and immediately people know you are talking about the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Rarely do you ever hear someone say that whole title. Who can blame them, it’s quite a mouthful! But where did those colloquial expressions come from?

“Tourney” is obvious, since it’s just short for tournmant. “Brackets” are the ranking system of the teams in the tournament. And by now, most people know that the term “March Madness” originated from a high school in Illinois. H.V. Porter coined the term in 1939 in his poem “the Basketball Ides of March.”

“The Madness of March is running/The winged feet fly, the ball sails high/And field goal hunters are gunning.

But what about “The Big Dance?” How did this phrase become so intertwined with the Division I basketball tournament that the NCAA registered a trademark for it? Why do we talk about teams “going dancing” when obviously they are off to play basketball, not perform a Viennese Waltz?

According to the Double Tongue Dictionary, “The Big Dance” is

“an important event, [in particular] the culmination of long preparation or a series of smaller events; (hence) in sports, a tournament or championship game.”

Yeah, but why? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it does take hours and hours of preparation to get ready for a Big Dance. First you have to find an amazing dress, fabulous shoes, sparkly accessories and a really hot date. And then the day of the dance you spend hours in front of the mirror primping. And if you are like me, it takes a whole day just to fix up the hair.

But what on earth does that have to do with a basketball tournament?

Go ahead, Google it. You won’t find much info on where the term “The Big Dance” originated. Even those who work for the NCAA commission don’t know the origin of the word they trademarked. I’ve never even given much thought–always just used the term. It wasn’t until I saw that someone came to Stiletto Sports from the Google “why big dance name NCAA tournament” that I thought to look it up.

It actually took me hours to find the backstory. Most sites I came across told me the story of March Madness with a quick “yeah, no one knows about the Big dance”.” But I was determined to find out. While I was looking I developed a few ideas of my very own.

My theories:

No sport has as many “Cinderella teams” as the college basketball tourney. And what did Cinderella do? She went to the Big Dance.
To get into the tourney, teams are given a special invitation by the committee–this has been referred to as “punching their tickets” like a dance card.
Teams move across the court like an effortless Quickstep or a highly syncronized group Waltz.
Players jump, leap, twirl, hop, glide and soar like graceful ballerina’s through the air.
Nigel Lythgoe (producer: American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Superstars of Dance) coined the term so he can buy out CBS’s contract and turn March Madess into Fox’s next great Reality Dancing Show

Personally, I really think it could be #5!

The first two are actually great supporting evidence for The Big Dance theory. But it brings up the point of which came first: Cinderella and the dance cards or the term the Big Dance?

After hours of searching I can finally reveal that the term “the Big Dance” was coined in 1977 by Marquette University Head Coach Al Maguire. Here’s what Kevin Byrne, the former Sports Information Director of Marquette University said.

“The year we won it all [1977], Coach McGuire wore a lucky blue blazer. At the end of the season, a reporter asked him if he’d keep wearing it during the Tournament. Al said, “Absolutely. You gotta wear the blue blazer when you go to the big dance.” ~Answer Guy, ESPN

No, I'm not kidding. This is the Marquette 1977 National Championship team that helped found the term "The Big Dance." Very stylish and sexy!

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And the term Big Dance stuck to March Madness, well, like March Madness stuck to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Over the next 13 years, the phrase became such a part of the NCAA that they began the process of trademarking it for the Division I Championship in 2000.

One quick side note is that there is still mixed feeling about what the Big Dance actually is. Most of the time it refers to the tournament as a whole and encompasses all 64 teams in the bracket. However, as the tournament progesses through the rounds, the term winds up being used to define the Final Four. Some feel the actual Big Dance is the Championship Game, where there are only two teams dancing on the floor.

And there you have it! Shock everyone you know with this trivia because I’ll tell ya, every sports fan I know talks about the Big Dance all the time, but never once questioned why they say it.

And Starring In This Year's Production Of Cinderella...MSU!

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:27:49 -0400

Yeah, yeah, I know. Michigan State can't be the Cinderella of the big dance because traditionally cinderella teams are ranked No.6 or higher. Everyone has told me that. So, why does it seem like they are?

The question of the day seems to be, how can I even consider a No.2 seed to be cast as this year's Cinderella when the whole concept of the Cinderella is that they are the come from behind teams that sneak in to win the games and capture the hearts of all the fans. Typically, a No.2 seed has already done all that going into the tournament.

Michigan State was no exception. Going into March Madness, the Spartans were deserving of their No.2 seeding since they went 26-6 for the season, 15-3 within their conference. They were even ranked No.1 in the Big 10.

The other way to become a Cinderella is yo have a really crappy season the year before and then come out swinging and make it to the championships, i.e. the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Cardinals.

But, the 2007-08 season saw the Spartans go 27-9 and advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the tournament. Actually, they haven't had a bad year since like,1997. They've made the tournament every year since 1998. In that time they have racked in Elite 8 and Final Four appearances and even a National Championship.

So why did people seem genuinely shocked to see them in the Final Four this year?

Even my friend who is "Go State!" all day, everyday, was still a bit stunned to find himself buying plane tickets to go home to Motor City and scouting Stub Hub for Final Four tickets.

It's not like there weren't other upsets in the brackets--uh Cleveland State, anyone get that one right? Even Siena had a good run and almost took down the number one seed of the entire tournament in OT.

But, it was Michigan State that came out and actually did take them down--and only two days after Louisville decimated Arizona by about 40 points. Really, all it was, was another No.2 defeating a No.1, but yet, so many seemed completely stunned by the "upset."

That Elite 8 sent the boys in green back home to Detroit, Michigan for the Final Four, where they first took on UConn. They dominated UConn in the second half and rolled on to win 82-73.

They now head into the National Title Game against UNC, still in Detroit, which is a mere 75 miles away from Michigan State University. During the Final Four, there were about 70,000 MSU fans, and 7,000 other fans packed into the Ford Field.

Hope packed up and left Detroit months ago and the city has become a place where spirits are low. In the last year, they have been rapidly losing their esteemed title of "Motor City." Having the "underdogs" of the tourney coming home to battle it out has now breathed life back into the bleak town--in the same way that Seabiscuit and James Braddock (Cinderella Man) brought towns back during the Great Depression.

If that ain't a Cinderella story, than what is? Shoot, Disney can't write a plot line better than this one. Though if they do get the rights to produce this story, I would like Larenz Tate, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Tyson Beckford and Taye Diggs as Lucas, Morgan, Summers, Allen and Roe. Oh, and Mark Wahlberg as Goran Suton. What? I'm just saying, that would be HOT!

If the Spartans are Cinderella, then let me introduce to you the Fairy Godmother: Head Coach Tom Izzo (fo' shizzo)

Izzo has been the Spartans' head coach since 1995. Going into the tourney, his overall record for the last 14 years is 335-136.

Since 1999, the Spartans have made it to the Final Four five times under Izzo's coaching. In 2000, they not only went to the Final Four, but they also went on to defeat Florida 89-76 to win their second National Championship.

Oh, and since he took over, the Spartans have made the the college basketball postseason--aka, the tournament--every single year.

Izzo has been named Coach of the Year, Coach of the Conference, and I know dub him Fairy Godmother Coach of the Year. I'm sure he will love my pink, sparkly trophy I shall give him.

Caught Between Calipari, My Rock and a Hard Place

Jennifer Taglione — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:35:59 -0400

The whole John Calipari "will he/won't he go" to the University of Kentucky thing put me in a very bad position. I found myself stuck in the middle of John Calipari, a rock and a very hard place.

Now, normally I would not be complaining about being stuck anywhere with Mr. Calipari because I have definitely ranked him in my Top 10 Hottie Coaches (who doesn't love a cocky, powerful, good looking Italian man?) But this situation really called to light everything I hate about sports from the skyrocketing trend of choosing contracts over team loyalty to the hours and hours of insane speculations.

First, I will say congrats to Calipari and to Kentucky since he just accepted their offer that will make him the highest paid NCAA basketball coach. Second, a big "sorry, that sucks" to Memphis.

John Calipari

Here's the thing. I love John Calipari. I have loved this guy, eversince I first discovered my love for college basketball back in like 1993 or 1994. I loved watching him on the sidelines of the UMass games and thought he was the greatest thing since Marcus Camby. I (reluctantly) admit now that Calipari is actually greater than Camby, although it still pains me greatly to say such things.

True, I wasn't jumping up and down and following Calipari when he went to the NBA, but that's just because I tend to be anti-Nets. Nor do I know all of his stats, figures, histories and stories.

I'll even come right out and admit that I haven't been following him much lately. In fact, the last few years I've only been a bandwagon NCAA basketball lover—meaning I hop on during March Madness, get excited about the tourney and my brackets then jump right back off to go into hibernation for 11 months.

Cut me some slack though!

You try moving to Florida with the girliest girls in America and see if sports penetrate your very pink sparkly, bubble world!

But to this day, when someone asks "who are your favorite coaches?" I automatically say Roy Williams, John Calipari and Phil Jackson. Maybe I've been brainwashed. But when I first started watching basketball, I liked the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics (because my dad made me), the Kansas Jayhawks and the UMass Minutemen. From that point on, I adopted their favorite players, their rivalries and feuds, and most of all, their beloved coaches. At least, I picked teams with good ones.

This year, I finally took an avid interest in college basketball, again and when I found out Calipari was the coach for the Memphis Tigers, I adopted them as my team just because he was the coach.

I looked into the team and really, who doesn't love that kind of story? He took another small school in a mid-major conference and turned into something fantastic. I'm pretty much addicted to that little school in Tennessee that has made a really big name for itself.

And now he's going to Kentucky, a school that may have a long and wonderful basketball program but it's one that I've sworn to not like for the last oh, 15 years or so.

My Rock

Today's sports world, is dominated by money, trading and small-print filled legal contracts, the term "team loyalty" has become practically obsolete. I'm hardly the first person to point out that fascinating fact. Everyone says it, everyone complains about it and I guess it's finally my turn to rant.

I became an NBA fan in the early 90s, when it was still part of the Jordan Era. This was back when it meant something to be a Bull, or a Knick, a Sun, a Laker or a Celtic. Yes, players were still traded, I understand that but the thought of Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley ever joining the Bulls was downright laughable.

And then, all of a sudden, superstars leaving their home teams was the norm. Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley even wound up as teammates on the freaking Houston Rockets!

Take even coach Phil Jackson. Yes, he's been on the Lakers for what seems like forever. But he was the coach of the Bulls. The same Bulls who hated the Lakers. It still bugs me to this day, but hey, I'm one of those people who still isn't over the Brad-Jen split either. The problem is that it forces me to compromise my hatred of the Lakers, for my love of Jackson, but hey, you know what, I just stopped watching the NBA.

Simple as that.

Thankfully, before Michael Jordan decided to play for someone other than the Bulls. I turned all my basketball lovin' to the NCAA. It has become my rock of team loyalty.

These are some stats that I actually do think are relevant and important for a change:

Coach K has been with Duke since 1980. True, it's Duke, one of the most storied programs in the country—where else would you want to go?
Dean Smith coached UNC from 1961-1997—when he retired. Since then, there have been three different coaches in 10 years!
Jim Boeheim 33 years, Syracuse
Jim Calhoun 23 years, UConn (and before that, 14 years at Northeastern)
Tom Izzo 1995- present, Michigan State University

Even Roy Williams, who left his long 15 years at Kansas to the dismay of Jayhawk fans, opted for major loyalty. He is a former Tar Heel. He not only played ball for Dean Smith, but he also went on to be his assistant coach. Taking a job at UNC is like a homecoming for him. And he still respects and reps for his beloved Jayhawks.

Billy Donovan refused the offer by Kentucky because he wanted to stay with his boys in Florida. He's been leading Gator Nation since 1996. Well, okay, minus that whole 5 day stint in the NBA after his back-to-back NCAA championships were he suddenly said "hehe just kidding" and came back to NCAA ball.

I like those stats because they protect my image and perception that college basketball is still fairly protected—although not completely sheltered—from all this contract/money/team jumping/management issues. There is still team loyalty. Yeah, I know, in reality, it's just as bad in the NCAA, but they cover it up so good. Fans truly appreciate this!

The problem with this whole Calipari to Kentucky thing is that it brings all of this ickiness into sharp and clear focus.

Personally, my problem with all of this is that in college, they are not just building a team and a marketable franchise; they are building programs and dreams. Yes, I know I'm an idealist and there is more to it, but ultimately, players choose these schools because of the programs and the coaches. They look for a good fit and a coach that is going to help them up their game.

And it's not just the players that pick a school for the sports programs. Incoming students that don't even play are often diehard fans that want to be a part of the story. So what happens when the beloved coach leaves the program, for another school?

"...subjectively, I am reeling. I'm 17 and Calipari was a major factor in my decision of where to attend college. I got accepted into Memphis, and now, I feel relatively betrayed. I looked up to Calipari. This city rallied around him and his players. He unified this city like no one else could. Seriously. If he wanted to, he could've run for mayor...and won. This program will be taking a substantial step back, especially now that Cal is taking existing players with him. It doesn't seem fair." ~John Martin, Bleacher Report

My hard place:

I'm not an idiot, I know that most of these coaching "changes" are actually the sports world version of a promotion.

In any career path, people strive to be the best. To advance and move up the ranks, even if that means taking a higher paid position in another company.

Maybe, we have a hard time with coaches leaving because of our false perceptions. In the NBA, the perception of promotion is for the coach to win championships, having winning records and ultimately move up to become the GM or owner of our favorite team. In college, the perception of a promotion is becoming an NBA head coach.

To be honest, I don't really know what excelling as an NBA coach means. I'd say keeping your job for more than a season and not having your team relocated to a random city.

As for at the college level, sure, some college coaches do have dreams of the bigger, higher paying NBA, but most of them don't. They don't want to be dealing with the bullshit of the league.

They want to be the teachers. They want to be the ones developing the greatness. In fact, many NCAA coaches get called to the big league but return quickly to the comfort of the college level.

So if reaching the NBA is not the promotion, then what is? What does being the best mean? Multiple winning seasons? Coaching the best player in the nation? Winning the championship? Or maybe the promotion is finally getting the recognition of the Big Men on Campus, when they call to offer a BMOC position in a big name school with a long, storied history in a big name power conference.

And maybe the promotion only comes after taking a small, unknown school and making them great, because that's how your name gets heard by the powers that be. Take Billy Donovan. He was a coach for little known Marshall University. His success there opened the door to the Florida Gators.

So for Calipari, sure there is the lure of a whole lotta money and the power to basically get anything he wants, but it's more than that. It's Kentucky. Calipari took Memphis and made them National Championship contenders. He has recruits all over the country wanting to join his program. He was named Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year.

But Memphis ain't Kentucky. Neither was UMass.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for any coach, especially a coach who is talented and deserving as Calipari—a coach who has been "a big fish in a small pond" for his career.

And I get all of that, I do.

My Rock, Hard Place and John Calipari

On one hand there is team loyalty and on the other is career advancement. Rock. Hard Place. John Calipari.

Running with the idea that coaches are teachers, if my favorite teacher from 6th grade Mrs. Lobel was offered three times her salary to teach at a private school that would give her extra benefits, time to see her kids and a program that would really inspire her to grow and be a better student—even though she would not longer be available to the following classes of my small town—wouldn't I want that for her?

I'm happy for John. He deserves to play with the big boys now, he's earned it. Even if he didn't take the spot, he had finally won the respect of the other BMOC. On the other hand, I think I would have respected him more if he stayed at Memphis.

But how can I fault a guy for trying to be the best and reach a pinnacle goal for his profession, just because I have a soft spot for the Memphis Tigers and a deep rooted animosity towards the Kentucky Wildcats?

I suppose if I can still watch Phil Jackson coach the Lakers from time to time (unless they play the Celtics) then I can support Calipari wherever he may go.

But, what Kentucky fan didn't feel at least a little pang when Rick Pitino came back from his stint in the NBA and headed up Louisville instead of returning to head up the University of Kentucky?

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Story originally published on Stiletto Sports.

Super Sweet 16 All-Hottie Team

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:43:33 -0400

Once a year, usually around the first week of March, this amazing phenomenon occurs. It's actually quite similar to what happens during those late, crazy hours at the bar when you are just so attracted to a member of the opposite sex that you take them home with you only to wake up the next morning with a splitting headache and a very ugly person next to you. People call this crazy phenomenon the case of the "beer goggles" (or if it was really bad, a case of Lasik Eye Surgery). During March Madness I pull out, what I like to call, my trusty "basketball goggles." See, every year during March Madness I look for the hottest guys on the team. Hey, look, if I'm going to watch 65 basketball games you better believe I want some eye candy, okay! I have always had a thing for basketball boys, especially when they are on the court playing. And every March I find dozens of hot men to cheer for, only to wake up in April and go, um, "why on earth was I screaming my head off for Purdue? I don't even like Purdue!" I've had a bunch of requests for a piece on the hottest and sexiest college basketball players but kept putting it off because unlike football players with their rock solid physiques or baseball with, well, Derek Jeter, basketball players are usally really tall, lanky and often, very goofy looking---especially in college ball when these youngin's are not fully developed. See, the funny thing about some of these oh-so-hot-guys on-the-court is....well....I wouldn't look twice at most of them if they were walking down the street by themselves or worked in an office. But throw them on a basketball court where I can watch them play and look out. On the court they just possess this amazing skill and precision. There is power and agility combined with their dedication and leadership. And if they can hit a three-point shot, or run the point and direct the court, well forget it, I'm half in love already. And off the court when they are rolling with the whole team to the bar or strutting around campus (shutup, I know I'm not actually in college anymore. I have a great memory though) it's their attitude, their swagger that just has most women hooked. My very long-winded babbling point is: do not judge a basketball player by his pictures. They often look so much better when they are playing on the court and you have your basketball goggles fully in place. I'll admit, some of the players I picked for my Super Sweet 16 look very odd in pics. But get them on the court and well, HOT DAMN! I am giving you my list by Sweet 16 matchups, not necessarily in order of hotness. Athough by pure luck the first game is Purdue-UConn which puts Purdue as my first hottie and he is by far my favorite!

Begin Slideshow

Mascotology: What Happens When a Memphis Tiger Meets a Missouri Tiger?

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:02:16 -0400

Last week, I gave you a list of some of the most common and popular methods of Bracketology.

From using stats and figures to just picking the team with hottest players, people have dozens of ways of filling out their March Madness brackets. I touched upon Mascotology a little during that post but now I’d like to dig a little bit deeper into the minds of a Mascotologist.

Mascotology refer to the study of teams mascots, nicknames and logos and their effect on a team’s chances in the tournament. Some consider this a very imprecise methodology while others base their entire brackets on this.

In Mascotology, one assumes that a Tiger could clearly beat a Terrapin, aka a turtle. Therefore, one who follows the mascotology method (and incorporating no other method or stats) would automatically advance the Memphis Tigers over the Maryland Terrapins in Round 2. This year, it turns out that their assumption would have paid off.

However, what happens, when a Memphis Tiger meets a Missouri Tiger? Or a Connecticut Husky meets a Washington Husky? How do Mascotoligists determine who the winner will be?

I cannot pretend I’m the Tom Cruise of Mascotology or anything but I do have my own formula!

I’m going to back up a few steps from the Sweet 16 to give you the bigger picture because this year in the tournament, there were 4 eagles, 4 tigers, 3 bulldogs, 2 wildcats, 2 huskies, 2 vikings, and 2 Aggies. I’m going to pit them head to head and see who would come out the winner according to Mascotology.

Eagles: Amercian, Boston College, Marquette, Morehead

Boston College

Marquette

American

Morehead

For the record, Marquette is actually the Golden Eagles.

Here we have four very fierce and proud Eagle mascot logos. Even those in profile show a fierceness that most top models can’t achieve.

This is probably the hardest decision to make out of all of the competing mascots. You have to really look closely and I think it really comes down to personal tastes.

To me, Boston College looks a little perplexed. American, I feel, lacks depth and looks like any other Eagle representing America or the U.S. that I have ever seen. Lacks orginality.

That brings me to the battle of Morehead and Marquette. Both gold and blue, both regal and give the feel that they would totally peck your eyes out.

I love the way Morehead’s Eagle seems to jump off the page at me. The little details like the shine on the nose really make this one pop. But, Marquette’s Eagle manages to look strong and fierce in profile, a very difficult thing to achieve.

You’ll have to decide this one!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Tiger: Memphis, Missouri, LSU, Clemson

Ah, the Tigers. Very interesting category. Personally I’m a Memphis fan in the brackets. But, if I were using just Mascotology, I’m not so sure I’d advance them. Let’s take a look:

Memphis

Missouri

LSU

Clemson

Right off the bat, I’m going to toss out Clemson. I mean, the paw with the little hook cut out of it at the bottom might be a licensed and registered trademarked patent for Clemson only and made from an actual Bengal Tiger, but really, that could be the pawprint of any cat-like animal. I’m sure it’s a furry-ocious catlike animal, but yeah….

As for Memphis, this poor tiger is cartooned up and down and looks like its trying to jump out and hug someone. Not scary at all.

LSU’s tiger is good. I like all the realistic detailing. The only problem is he is showing no fierceness. He is actually using the "smiling with the eyes" approach instead of the "angry but pretty" method to modeling. It makes his roar look like a meow.

Missouri on the other hand nails this one. Even in profile, there is a startling ferocious fierceness. I believe that roar! Makes the other cats look like kittens.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Bulldogs: Mississippi State, Butler, Gonzaga

Mississippi State

Butler

Gonzaga

Poor Miss State, their bulldog looks more like an old man with saggy jowls, wandering around campus in his alumni sweater. Not scary at all.

Butler makes a pretty mean bulldog. It even looks like he could hypnotize with those eyes in the still photo. Creepy.

But I have to give this one to Gonzaga. The studded collar and the lip snarl definitely make this one the meanest and baddest dog in the junkyard.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Wildcats: Arizona, Villanova

Arizona

Villanova

Hands down going to give this one to ‘Nova. ‘Zona’s cat sure is pretty but she looks an awful like my little kitten. Granted she can be a furry monster, but she is scared to death of everything around her.

Unless she is going up against a lizard, forget it. ‘Nova’s cat looks straight up deranged, like it has rabies.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Huskies: UConn, Washington

UConn

Washington

This is where things get really tough. I don’t want to say it but I’m going to have to give this to Washington. Their Husky’s sleek profile gives him a regal look that says at least he is trained. UConn’s looks like a shaggy dog with its tongue hanging out running to meet its master after a day spent all alone.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Aggies: Utah State, Texas A & M

For those of you who haven’t read my Girl’s Guide to Bracketology: West Region, an Aggie is just a slang expression for someone who goes go an Agricultural school.

Utah State

Texas A&M

Personally I think both teams fail to really represent their nickname. Texas A&M’s logo is just a T with an A and M, no creature on it.

Their mascot is a tongue-waving, tail wagging puppy. Utah State has a proud bull that looks like it’s saying “yeah, what” on it’s logo. Neither really tells me what an Aggie is.

However, the bull could totally eat that dog in like one mouthful so we are just going to give this one to Utah State.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Vikings: Portland State, Cleveland State

Portland State

Cleveland State

The Vikings. The noble savages that sweep through, pillaging the towns, and plundering the women. Big, hulky, scary men who can throw you over their shoulder and carry you off into the sunset, where you will live happily ever after…..

Oh sorry, got a bit carried away there. Anyway, Vikings strike fear into the heart of the townsfolk. Strong and dominating, they take whatever they want, without asking and accept no excuses.

Or, they are weird little green cartoon characters that look like a cross between a Smurf that was dyed green and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, who took its shell off and uses it as a blocking shield in front.

In other words, Portland State’s Viking would totally beat the crap out that wussy cartoon from Cleveland State.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Bracketology 101: Common Bracket Methodologies

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:43:32 -0400

Good morning class! Welcome to Stiletto Sports Bracketology 101! Like I said yesterday in our Intro to Bracketology course, there are 9.2 quintillion ways to fill out a bracket. Well, I think there are even more Bracketology 101 lists out there.

Everyone wants to throw in their two cents of things you should and shouldn't do when picking your teams. Some experts feel the methodology behind the bracket should be all about the stats and analyzing the data. Others use a methodology based solely on school colors and mascots.

There really is no right or wrong way to fill out a bracket. Here some of the most common ways to fill out your bracket

1. Stiletto Sports Method for Team Selection aka "Picks"

Personally, this is my favorite method because well, I created it, duh. This is a combination method that incorporates a lot of other methodologies already mentioned on this list. The official rulebook is my compilation of rules that I have developed and tested over the years for pretty high success rate. At first it may seem complicated, but it's actually a very easy method and very easily adaptable for most people.

2. The Statistical Method

The use of stats, figures, team records, histories, and player analysis to determine who will win each game. Widely used among high scholars and experts but also widely criticized and critiqued by peers. It is an "exact" scientific method that does not allow for factors like heart, passion, revenge, and luck, all of which can negate the statistical facts.

3. Mascot Bracketology

The study of each team's nickname and mascot and their relation to the team's chance of winning. For example, let's take this year's matchup in the West Region: No. 7 California v. No. 10 Maryland. California's nickname is the Golden Bears, and its mascot is Oski. Maryland's nickname, on the other hand, is the Terrapins, which is a fancy name for a turtle.

Clearly, a Golden Bear can kick a turtle's ass. However, there was that little story about a turtle that won the race in the end from its determined perseverance. Using the mascot method means carefully weighing all these key facts to determine which animal or figure has more potential.

For a complete list of this year's mascots and nicknames, see my Girl's Guide to NCAA Bracketology, which is broken down by region and matchups within each.

4. School Color-ology

The study of each team's school colors and jerseys and their relation to the team's chance of winning. Some experts feel Color-ology is very important when determining who will win each game. There is intense debate over whether a team with the colors black and red is more confident, powerful, and domineering than a team with the colors orange and white. This year's list of school colors can also be found in my Girl's Guide to Bracketology.

5. The Genealogical Method

The study of each team's notable alumni and famous figures and their bearing on the team's chance of winning. Some would be quick to point out that UNC is Michael Jordan's alma mater—who could possibly top that? Well, did you know that Madonna, Derek Jeter, and Michael Phelps all attended Michigan? Or that famous fashion god Salvatore Ferragamo went to USC?

These are all key components to the study of the school's genealogy. I've tried to name a few of the bigger names in my Girl's Guide to Bracketology.

6. Fan-ology

The study of each team's fan community and their relation to the team's chance of winning. Can any other fanbase top Duke's Cameron Crazies? What about the matchup of Stephen F. Austin's Purple Haze against the Orangemen of Syracuse? You can't fully understand the team without understanding its fans!

7. The Topology and Toponymics Method

This method involves the study of the location and name of each team's school and its relation to the team's chance of winning. Fans of this method pick teams based on the team's location or name and one's affinity for that locale.

For example, I hate Ohio, therefore I will not pick teams like Dayton, Ohio State, Akron, or Xavier to win because that would go against my methodology. I live in Florida and am from New York, so I feel inclined to pick FSU and teams like Syracuse and Siena to win.

8. The Hot Boy Method

Always a popular method, this method includes studying the players of each team. The team with the most hot boys wins!

9. Basketball Numerology

This method involves the study of team ranks and record to determine who will win. Fans of this method like to pick the team with highest rank or team with the most wins during the season to advance to the next round.

10. The Boyfriend/Boss/Family Member/Co-Worker/Best Friend Says So Method

This is a very simple method used in precarious situations when going against a fellow college basketball fan would cause serious distress to the relationship. In this instance it is often better to just go with their picks to preserve the friendships and relationships.

This method also works well when you truly do not know who to pick. It's like the phone-a-friend option on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

11. The Chaos Theory

This theory allows for the bracketeer to fill in the brackets with a certain level of reckless abandon. They believe nothing is for certain and anything can happen during the Madness. They often pick extreme upsets and have unique teams making it to the Final Four, yet still might pick two No. 1 seeds to make it to the championship game. They are crazy like that!

12. The Psychological Method

Psychology is the study of the mind, and in the psychological approach to bracketology, one bases their selection solely on mental and gut instincts. Before attempting this method, one must become in tune with the mind and body and allow themselves to listen to the inner voices. And not think they are crazy.

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Congratulations! You have now passed Bracketology 101! Before filling out your brackets, however, we recommend you take Advanced Bracketology: Bracket Do's and Don'ts!

Getting Ready for the Big Dance: A Girl's Guide to March Madness

Jennifer Taglione — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:47:14 -0400

In girl world, Getting Ready For the Big Dance means finding the perfect dress, a fabulous pair of designer shoes, a matching handbag, blingin' jewels, ensuring you have a really hot date and spending hours primping in front of the mirror.

In sports world, The Big Dance is the NCAA Basketball Tournament and Getting Ready for it means finding out who makes the cut on Selection Sunday, carefully designing a fabulous bracket, a big screen ready with CBS and NCAA Cable Packages with matching NCAA applications for IPhones, blackberries, Internet, etc., spending as much money on office and online pools as you would fine jewelry, ensuring you have enough PTO to cover calling in sick to work until April and preparing to spend hours and days in front of the television or computer screen watching every game possible.

If you've never experienced the Big Dance, also known as March Madness, it's best to be prepared. I've already given you Elite 8 Reasons to Watch March Madness. Now I'm going to explain how to watch it. Going to break it down into:

What is March Madness? Why is Selection Sunday important? Why on earth is everyone talking about Cinderella and their Super Sweet 16?
Bracketology: What the heck is the bracket and how do I fill one out and make money!
NBA vs. NCAA: Isn't it all basketball?
Basketball Basics: Everything you need to know to understand what's going on

First up, what is this Madness?

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What exactly is March Madness?

It refers to the madness that sweeps the nation from March until the beginning of April officially known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament. College Basketball is divided into Divisions I, II and III and there are tournaments for all levels and for both men and women.

However, the Madness really refers to the Division I Men's Championship battle. There are 327 schools in Division I and only 65 make it to the tourney.

The tourney is the battle between those 65 college teams trying to become the national champion. In reality, the March Madness tournament only lasts a total of 11 gamedays and doesn't even kick off until the third week of March. It's Madness because there are so many highly charged and drama-filled games packed into those 11 days that it makes heads spin.

It's really hard to explain the madness, the driving obsession, to someone who has never felt it. Especially since any given Saturday during college basketball season there are dozens of games being played. What makes this so different?

The best analogy I can think of is that to fans, March Madness is like...the ultimate sweeps weeks of series finales where the winners of American Idol, DWTS, ANTM, Top Chef, Project Runway, Biggest Loser, Survivor, are all revealed PLUS it's the finale for One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210, Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy...with the added bonus that it's Derek and Meredith's wedding.

Oh and you also put money down on your fave contestants for each reality TV show and on what the season-ending cliffhangers would be for each show. Can you say drama, passion, raw emotion, excitement, suspense, heartache, and celebration? In other words, Total Madness!

March Madness really is the ultimate reality TV show experience. It's do or die. The teams have one shot, one opportunity to advance to the next round. There is no do-over. There is no best-of-seven series. There is no America votes and the judges may get to save them. They lose, they go home. End of story.

What is Selection Sunday?

It is the "official" start of the Madness! (This is disputed because fans do start foaming at the mouth at the beginning of March when the conference championships begin.)

Selection Sunday is the day when the NCAA Official Selection Committee People reveal the 65 teams that get to go to the tournament. Of those 65 teams, 31 were given automatic spots when they won their Conference Championship Title.

There are 32 Conferences in the NCAA, each with a varied number of teams. I am not going to pretend to understand the logic of the conferences, because I don't.

Just know that starting in January, the teams begin conference play, meaning they play amongst themselves in their own playgrounds (Before January, teams have out-of-conference matchups).

As the season winds down, they battle for their Conference Title, the honor of being the best in their playground and the added bonus of a free ticket to the Big Dance.

Most of the remaining 34 teams are no surprise to loyal college b'ball followers because they are the schools that have been doing the best all season. Yet the committee is sequestered in deliberation all weekend like a jury in a murder trial.

No, I'm not joking. Not every team is a guarantee, there are many "on the bubble." The committee takes this very seriously!

Plus, they are not only picking the teams that get to go, they are also ranking the teams into "The Bracket."

What is "The Bubble?"

The bubble, or bubble teams, refers to the teams that are not guaranteed a spot in the tournament. The committee has to carefully weigh all the boring stats to determine if each team will make a good seed in the tournament.

The teams are "on the bubble" because their dreams of being in the tournament may be popped if they lose a game in the Conference Championship Series or if the committee thinks they just aren't that great.

Those with impressive records and solid conference games advance, and the other teams are out. Auf Wiedersehen.

What is a bracket?

According to wikipedia: "it's the diagrammatic representation of the series of games played during a tournament usually leading to a single winner, are so named for their resemblance to interconnected square or curly punctuation brackets [ ]."

For Example:

In the NCAA Tournament Bracket,

Teams are divided into four regions or categories: East, West, Midwest, South. Why there is no North, I have no idea.
There are 16 teams in each region.
Each team is given a ranking: #1-16 from best to worst, also known as seeds.*
(They are also filed into Pods. But I have absolutely no idea how to begin to explain it because reading about it was worse than trying to decipher Football Speak. Here, knock yourself out).

*Remember how I said that there are 31 automatic bids because those teams proved to be the best in their conference? Well there isn't room for 31 #1 teams in the bracket! So the committee has to reevaluate and determine their tournament rankings.

No one really knows their ranking logic. Apparently they do have a list of Decision Criteria to help them along but they aren't very good at getting it right. Since 1985, the only time all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four was last year in 2008! Maybe I should offer them a copy of the Stiletto Sports Official Rulebook for Team Selection aka "Picks"?

They actually have some sort of crazy mathematical calculation that the use to help them called RPI or Ratings Percentage Index. It's very sad that they can turn something as exciting as March Madness into a boring equation of stats, figures and rankings.

Wiki also said that "there are 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (9.2 quintillion) possibilities for a 64-team NCAA bracket."

In water-cooler or bar speak, "the bracket" refers to an individual's prediction of what is going to happen in the tournament. I will not tell you the odds of actually guessing all the 64 winners in an office pool. It's very depressing! I will cover Bracketology after the teams are revealed on Selection Sunday.

Okay, so the teams are selected and ranked, now what?

The Dances of the Big Dance aka The Road to The Final Four

Then the Madness starts!

The opening round kicks off a few days before the big event with the wild card game between the 64th and 65th teams that were selected to determine which one gets to go on to the real tournament.

Basically, back in the day in 2001, the committee couldn't decide which team should be in the tourney so they made the teams fight it out. Then, they all thought, "hmm, great way to extend this March Madness thingy" and the Wild Card remained. Or something like that.

The Tournament usually begins on the third Thursday of March.

Round 1 boasts 32 games in 36 hours! It's insane. The winners don't get much of a break because:
Round 2 begins Saturday! There are 16 games in 32 hours! *Just a quick recap, that's 48 key basketball games in four days! It is one of the most highly anticipated sports weekends of the entire year!
Round 3 starts the following week and is known as the "Sweet 16" because well, there are only 16 teams left.
Round 4 is the Elite 8. The winners of this round are the Regional Champions.
Round 5 is the Final Four, the battle of the Regional Champions. The Final Four also covers the Championship game.

I have no idea why the first two rounds don't have fun names. I have decided to name them "Sassy 64" and "The Trendy and Tenacious 32."

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And there you have the structure of March Madness! There are a few other key things that you need to know before the Monday after Selection Sunday!

Why do boys keep talking about Cinderella?

Because in March, she definitely becomes the star of the Big Dance! In sports, a Cinderella team is the underdog team that no one ever thought would turn out to be a Princess yet against all odds, there she is, dancing away!

I think I took the metaphor too far. I tend to get carried away with Disney Princess magic!

In any case, the Cinderellas in the tournament are the teams that, despite being ranked Nos. 9-16, make a really impressive run.

Instead of letting the bigger, better teams totally dominate, they fight back hard. Sometimes they still go down, but they go down swinging!

And other times, they advance their way through the rounds and become the unexpected princess of the dance.

Who is Dick Vitale and how do I decipher him?

Ah, good ole Dicky V! You can't imagine March Madness without him. Dick Vitale is THE announcer of college basketball. And he is insane!

He has his own special language and an enthusiasm that rivals Barney on crack.

Elite Eight Reasons for Your Girlfriend To Watch March Madness

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:01:55 -0400

Dipsy Doo Dunkaroo, it is March Madness baby! (I really hope you have read my other college basketball posts or you know about Dick Vitale. If not, you are thinking I am insane.)

The 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament is only days away, and I am beyond dipsy about it! I do not get excited about the NBA playoffs. And until this year, I only cared about the Super Bowl for the party.

But when it comes to March Madness, look out, I get obsessed! I love filling out my brackets and watching as many games as I possibly can!

I had such a hard time coming up with an Elite Eight list of why girls should watch March Madness because I love it so much. I cannot imagine needing actual convincing reasons.

Even girlfriends of mine, who are anti-sports get into the madness. I have also already done a post with Reasons to Love College Basketball. But the tourney is totally different ballgame!

Well, okay, that was a poor choice of words. That was confusing. It is still the same ballgame—basketball—just kicked up a notch!

But, I do know that not everyone is like me! More relationships break up during March than any other time of year because of Madness! The obsession takes over one partner, and the other partner just does not get it or refuses to watch.

After much deliberation with the Stiletto Sports girls, we have created some Elite Eight reasons to make even the girliest, anti-sports girlfriend want to watch March Madness:

8. If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

You know how many times you babbled on and on about America's Next Top Model or Project Runway to the annoyance of all the males around you? Well, payback is a bitch, and it's name is NCAA March Madness.

March Madness is almost inescapable. It dominates workplace water-cooler conversations more than American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and The Bachelor drama combined. Some places even allow office pools and online/television access to the games!

And if your company passed a memo prohibiting the tourney, then for the last month, your fellow co-workers—men, women, CEOs, mail room clerks, teachers, doctors—have been trying to figure out a way to get the games while at work.

I do not recommend scheduling a surgery until April.

People will do anything to partake in the madness from adding services to their Blackberries and iPhones that allow all-game access to breaking down any company firewalls to get online. Also, you could smuggle in a radio or television or just call in sick until April.

Oh, and by the way, be forewarned: The opening round kicks off on St Paddy's Day with the wild-card game. So, if you are planning on going out to paint the town green, you better believe you will be surrounded by the tourney!

7. Even with 65 Games in the Tourney, You Don't Have To Invest Much Time

That's right, there are 65 games to watch. But unlike the NBA playoffs (potentially 105 games stretching over like three months), the NCAA tourney lasts less than a month. It's actually compressed into only 11 game days.

The first rounds of the tourney can be super-intense as games run almost round-the-clock! In Round One, there are 32 games in two days; in Round Two, there are 16 games in two days. But, no one actually watches all of the games.

CBS will show you the most local and relevant games and then, when something exciting happens somewhere else, they show you!

Besides, you really only have to tune in for the last 30 seconds of most of the games. Anything can happen in that final-minute stretch. That's what adds to the madness.

Teams are known to come from behind to win the game with a beautiful buzzer-beater. Granted, 30 seconds in college basketball can last longer than some baseball innings.

Some people (including myself) will disagree with me and say that watching just the ends of the game is not getting the full tournament experience.

I definitely feel that March Madness is so much better as an all-you-can-eat stuff-yourself-silly buffet than as a tapas restaurant where you are basically sampling little bits of appetizers. (Can you tell that I'm hungry?)

However, I am giving you a big heads-up warning. The final game is on Monday, April 6, at night. That means major conflict with Dancing with the Stars and Gossip Girl/One Tree Hill. Prepare now.

6. Hot Boys

I have said it before and I'll say it again: College basketball = big crop of young, muscular, virile hotties! I'm just saying, if you are going to sit down and watch 65 basketball games in 11 days, a little eye candy wouldn't hurt! And whatever, there are hundreds of college cheerleaders. You don't think that is an added perk the male viewers are looking forward to?

5. Any Sporting Event That is Secure Enough in Its Manhood To Call Its Championship Game The Big Dance Is Good by Me

Plus, you will never again see this many grown heterosexual men running around excited about a Disney Princess. Male players all over the country are desperate to be Cinderella, and male fans are excitedly talking about her. It's great!

4. "You Have No Idea How Hot It Is When A Girl Can Speak March Madness"

To protect the (not-so) innocent, I won't say who said that to me. Just know it is true.

Like I said, March Madness is almost inescapable. It is so much fun to be all dolled up all girly-girly rocking the stilettos and then casually interrupt the group of guys talking about the tourney by telling them who you picked to win on your own brackets.

Watch "draws" drop. And if you are at the bar, well, watch the free drinks and phone numbers come flying your way.

3. More Plot Twists Than a Reality TV Show Staring Jason Mesnick

You swooned. You fell in love and were swept away by the fairytale. You gasped. You recoiled in shock. You cried. You threw things at the TV. The Bachelor, who? Come April 7, you'll be saying you did all of that during March Madness.

The drama on The Bachelor this season totally pales in comparison to the plot twists and excitement of a march madness game.

Like I said, teams that were losing the entire game are known to rally back in the final minute. The unknown underdogs defeat top-rated big-name teams. Some dreams are shattered—and other dreams come true. Millions of dollars are won and lost!

It's reality TV at its absolute finest! Watch hundreds of grown men cry as their entire brackets go to hell in the final 30 seconds of a really close game.

2. If You Have a Fave Idol, Star, Model, Chef, Loser, or Apprentice, You Will Love Having a Fave Team!

You may not be able to call in and vote for them after the show, but you will be able to scream and cry and celebrate along with the team—and millions around the country. It doesn't matter if you had never even heard them before the Tournament started. You didn't know of David Cook before last February either; did you? Like I said, this is reality TV at its finest!

1. You Don't Have To Know a Damn Thing about College Basketball To Fill Out a Bracket and Win Lots of Money.

Come March Madness, everyone is an expert—or at least acts like it. And trust me; half the time they don't have any more expertise than you do. Okay, well you do have to understand the bracket structure just a little.

I'll get into it in more depth in another post, but here it is real short:

There are 64 teams selected on the bracket.
The teams are divided into East, West, South, and Midwest with 16 teams in each "region."
The teams are ranked in order from No. 1 to No. 16.
That means at the start of any tourney there are four No. 1 ranked teams.

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"But, Stiletto Sports Jen, if they are ranked No. 1 doesn't that mean they are the best? Shouldn't I pick them to go to the Final Four?"

Ah little Stiletto, that is a very wise question. Yes, since 1985 (when the tourney expanded to 64 teams like it is now) the championship has been won by a No. 1-or-No. 2-ranked team 18 out of 24 times.

However, there are four No. 1 teams and four No. 2 teams. It's pretty much a crap shoot on which one of those eight is going to be the best that year.

And the only time all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four was in 2008!

But guessing which No. 1 is really the best is only a very tiny bit of what makes brackets so fun.

I'll get into more bracketology later, but really, there are so many factors that go into these games besides just a random ranking and team record.

These teams are driving hard to win, and they are fueled with skill, passion, and a whole lot of luck. You can analyze the hell out of it and know all the stats and figures of every player on every team and not win a penny.

Or you could pick Gonzaga because it, for some reason, it reminds you of Gonzo from Muppet Babies; Arizona because you are still upset that Kurt Warner and company did not win the Super Bowl; and Siena because you thought you were the only person who knew of that little school in upstate Albany, New York.

(Warning: If you do pick your team based on this and you do win; people will hate you. But who cares? You have their money and look better than them anyway!)

Just one little tip: In the first round: A No. 16 ranked team always plays the No. 1. Sadly, No. 16 has never beaten a No. 1. So you might really hate North Carolina (UNC), but if they are ranked No. 1. Um, don't pick them to lose in the first round!

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Still not convinced? I'm going to give you a link to one of the best "why we love march madness" articles I have ever read. Forgive the long paragraphs and the references you may not understand.

It's well thought out, well-written, and really captures the excitement and love that we feel for this time of year! Why We Love March by Doug Enzler

Stay tuned. Want to learn how to fill out a bracket? Or what's the difference between the NBA and the NCAA? Stiletto Sports will be getting ready for the Big Dance all week! More Girl's Guides to March Madness coming soon!

The First Annual Academy Awards of Sports Nominees

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:10:27 -0500

Award season is in full effect and coming this Sunday is the biggest show of them all: The Academy Awards. I am not a big fan of award shows. Full of long winded speeches and lame tele-prompted jokes that try too hard to be funny but fall so flat when being read by a celebrity that clearly doesn’t get the funny…..

When it comes to the Academy, I especially tune out. I love the red carpet part but usually I have only heard of one or two of the movies that are selected. And chances are, I didn’t shell out the $10 to see those I heard of (unless He’s just not that into you or Confessions of a Shopaholic happen to get nominated next year, in which case, I will amend that sentence).

So instead of hyping up the movie awards that I know nothing about, I thought I would make up my own Academy Awards of Sports Stuff (that I also don’t know anything about but that’s besides the point!)

Awards will be given out for: Best Costume Design, Best Music (Soundtrack or Score/ National Anthem/ Original Song), Animated Film, Visual or Special Effects, Cinematography, Makeup, Film Editing, Documentary Feature & Short, Foreign Language Film, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay / Original Screenplay), Best Actor (Lead/Supporting) Best Actress (Lead/Supporting) Best Movie Mini-Series, and of course Best Picture.

I’ll be announcing the winners at 12:01 a.m., Monday, February 23. To vote for your fave, head to Stiletto Sports where the ballots are up and running.

*side note: I've added links so you can view the videos, pictures or hear the music that goes along with the nominees. Almost all link to the coordinating article on my own site. The Music is my personal player on MySpace.

To be Qualified for a Nomination: The event, photo, moment, commercial, highlight, clip etc. must have occurred sometime between January 1, 2008 and February 17, 2009 (because that’s when I thought of the idea) unless I feel otherwise, i.e.–not all songs/soundtracks were produced in 2008 but it did not matter, I picked them anyway.

Nominees for Best Visual Effects and Best National Anthem by a former American Idol Contestant are available only on Stiletto Sports.

Best Costume Design

North Carolina State's Women's Basketball Team: Think Pink, Tribute to Kay Yow
NBA Dunk Contest: Superman and KryptoNate
The U.S. Olympians: Ralph Lauren Preppy Chic
The Chinese Olympians: McDonald's Chic

See these Costumes

Best Music -- Soundtrack or Score

Hear these Songs! Brought to you by Stiletto Sports MySpace Music Player Enhanced Reading Experience

NASCAR: "Pedal to the Medal" Kazzer
NBA: "Swagger Like Us" T Pain, Jay-z, Kayne West, etc
MLB: "Wake me up When September Ends" Green Day
WWE: "There and Back Again" Daughtry
NFL: "Indestructible" Disturbed
The NY Yankees: "Hate it or Love it" The Game

Best Music -- "Original" Song

Here these songs! Brought to you by Stiletto Sports MySpace Music Player Enhanced Reading Experience (”They’re the Phillies” is on YouTube)

"Steeler Ladies Put a Ring On it"
"It's Puhlahmalu"
"The Celtics Are Back"
"Check Yes Tampa Bay"
"They're the Phillies"

Best Animated Film or Sequence

TelePrompted Speech: I’m sure when most people here the word “Animated” they automatically think of cartoons. But actually, animated is an adjective meaning “to be filled with activity, vigor, or spirit. Lively.” The verb, “to animate” is to put something—or someone—into motion.

Watch the Videos for an enhanced experience!

The Jabba Wockee: Shaquille O'Neal and the Jabba Wockeez, 2009 NBA All Star Game
The SoBe Lizard Lake: NFL Players Matt Light, Justin Tuck, Ray Lewis and the SoBe lizards
The Rumba-Waltz-Foxtrot: Kristy Yamaguchi, DWTS Season 6
The Hustle: Warren Sapp, DWTS Season 7
The Proud Mary Rollin': Warren Sapp, DWTS Season 7 Finale
The NFL Paso Doble: Jason Taylor, DWTS Season 6
The Welcome to Miami Jiggy: Jason Taylor, DWTS Season 6 Final

Still to come on the Stiletto Sports First Annual Academy Awards, the nominees for Best Achievement in Make-up, Best Made for TV Movie Mini-Series, Best Short Film Series and of course, Best Picture.

Best Achievement or attempt at a Make-up or a Really Bad Break-Up

Tele-prompted speech: Let’s face it, since Dennis Rodman retired there has been a severe shortage of Fabulous! make-up in the land of sports. But there has been a whole lot of make-up attempts…..and break-ups! Here are the nominees.

Watch the videos to see and hear the make-up attempts.

For Shaq/Kobe: Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant
For Hellboy II: The Fall of Golden Boy: Michael Phelps
For The Curious Loosey Goosey Case of Alex Rodriguez: Alex Rodriguez and the Blue Sweater of Sincerity
For How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Then Get New Friends: Brett Favre
For I Think I Love My Wife...Oh Wait, No I Don't Alex Rodriguez

Best Made for TV Movie Mini-Series

Tele-Prompted Speech: Who doesn’t love rainy days and a great Lifetime or made-for- TV movie mini-series? Those inspiring true life tales filled with drama, rivalry, passion, intrigue, scandal, addiction, sex and drugs. The stories of individuals stopping at nothing to overcome all adversity to become winners. Well okay, a lot of times they lose it all and die but anyway, here are the nominees

Watch the videos! for enhanced experience

The NBA Finals-- Rivalry Renewed: Facing the Enemy
MLB World Series --How I Beat Up Cinderella: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.
The PGA -- The Masters: The Secret Society, Traditions unlike any other
NCAA -- 30 Days of Madness: The Road to Recovery
Michael Phelps -- The Secret Confessions of a Golden Boy

Best Short Film or Short Series

Tele-Prompted Speech: Every summer, movie goers wait eagerly for the launch of the Summer Blockbuster Series. But it’s every February when the true fans huddle together in eager anticipation as they wait for the biggest Short Movie Blockbusters Premiere in the world: The Super Bowl. Those multi-million dollar blockbusters always delight, but there are plenty of other independent and lower budget Short Films this year in the running to be the best.

Watch the short films to help pick your favorite

Super Bowl XLIII Ads: 21
T-Mobile Fave Five: You Don’t Mess With the Charles
MLB Postseason: The Hunt for the One & Only October
The NBA Playoffs for– Made of Honor: Pride & Glory
ESPN “This is SportsCenter” for: What Happens in SportsCenter…
Verizon Hockey Fans: There's Nothing Like the Hockey Fans

Still to come, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentaries and Best Picture!

Best Foreign Language Film

Tele-Prompted Speech: Oh. Well. This is embarrassing. The teleprompter is telling me that due to the overwhelming cast, direction, cinematography, scope, significance, historical impact and overall impressiveness of one of the nominees….
all other nominees have respectfully declined their nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. They would however….like to have their names mentioned…..and their highlight videos shown…..so they are still “recognized as great Foreign Films that would have won had it been 2009 or 2007.”

So. Ok. I guess, instead of nominees, I give you the Winner of Best Foreign Language Film:

The Olympics: Beijing 2008!

Other Nominees were:

Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal: Wimbeldon
Rugby League World Cup: Australia
UEFA Euro 2008: Footloose

Watch the videos!

Best Documentary Long

Tele-Prompted Speech: Immediately after I hear the word “documentary” my brain adds the words “history lesson movie.” That doesn’t mean I don’t like them because I do think they are fab. The stories are usually remarkable true-life tales worthy of a Lifetime movie award! Hoop Dreams was a fantastic sports docu-drama. And everyone tells me that really long Baseball documentary mini-series was really ~~long~~ great. And you learn a lot! That doesn’t mean I don’t kinda cringe a little when I hear the word “documentary.”
The last year was filled with sports moments that just beg movie producers to make documentary features about them*. Here are your nominees

Yankee Stadium: The End of an Era
Kay Yow: A Profile in Courage
Rivalry Renewed: The 48 Year War of the Lakers and the Celtics
I Am Cinderella: The Story of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Arizona Cardinals and the effect of a Disney Princess on the World of Sports

Best Documentary Shorts

Watch the Video Shorts to see the best highlights of 2008!

NFL: Storming the Gridiron
MLB: Angels in the Outfield, Infield and at Home Plate
NBA: Playing Above the Rim, the Air Up There
WSOBP: The Table of Champions

Stay Tuned. There's much more to come on the Stiletto Sports First Annual Academy Awards. After the break, we will return with the nominees for Best Actor, Actress, and Best Direction!

(Can't wait? You can preview those nominees first on Stiletto Sports on Saturday)

The NBA All-Star, All-Shoe Team

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:40:03 -0500

NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off today. Big weekend o'fun. So B/R asked for some analysis about the Top NBA All-Star Starting Line-ups of all time and I considered doing it. Then I realized the only All-Star game I have ever cared about was in 1994 when B.J. Armstrong from the Chicago Bulls was selected and my love for him was finally validated! Then, my Canadian Shoe Expert Etienne stepped in and started talking bout the crazy shoes that come out for All-Star Weekend. He showed me some pics and I found out that this is Ultimate Sneaker Fashion Week with players modeling their hot new shoes that are about to launch! The games are like Runways! Perfect! I love fashion shows! And shoes! And I'd get to write about them!? It'll be much easier and funner than looking up b'ball history. Right. You have no idea how obnoxious it was to compile research about this. I never want to hear another man bitch or mock my shoe collection or hear a guy tell his wife "what do you need another pair of shoes for?" Because seriously, do you even know how many shoes Kobe Bryant puts out in a year? How many different colors the Air Force 1s come in? How many divisions of Air Jordans there are? I will never be mocked again for my love of shoes. These are not in any order, I do not believe in ranking shoes. It is mean to the other shoes. Don't worry, this is very Sneaker-Hater friendly. Never been a fan myself till now. But these are so fab I want some! And shhh....there may even be a pair of heels in there too!

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Portraits in Courage: Kay Yow

Jennifer Taglione — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:13:55 -0500

I know Phil Jackson. I know John Calipari. I know Coach K. I know Jimmy Valvano. Actually, I know the names of a lot of college and NBA coaches--past and present. But I am very sad to say I had never heard of Kay Yow until she passed away on Saturday, January 24, 2009 and everyone was talking about her. And sadly, unless you were a follower of women's college basketball or live in North Carolina you probably had no idea who she was either. Not to say she didn't have a huge group of supporters and followers, because she did. But many that had heard her name were hard pressed to know who she was or where she coached. Kay Yow was the head coach of the North Carolina State's women's basketball team for over 34 years. Even more importantly, she had been battling against breast cancer--and winning-- for over 20 years Her amazing story has been an inspiration for us all.

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Fabulous "Feel Good" Sports Moments Part IV

Jennifer Taglione — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:54:14 -0500

The hardest part about this whole series has been trying to define each moment into only one category. Sure, it's hard to IMAGINE the world without Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods but can you deny that they are also two of the most INSPIRING athletes of all time? Even trying to find quotes for each word was hard because most of the time, the words are linked together: "believe in the power of your dreams." Two categories that were especially tricky were hope and believe. Very fine line with a whole lotta overlap. Jim Braddock and Seasbiscuit were a huge source of hope during the great depression... because they gave people something to believe in when they had nothing. I picked the moments for "believe" because of these two quotes: "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many." -- Buddha "Man can believe the impossible, but can never believe the improbable" ~Oscar Wilde The moments in this category were so improbable, they were believed impossible. Yet, somehow--against all the odds, all the speculations and rumors--somehow, they happened. And they became some of the top miracle moments in sports history. But even more than that, these moments keep us believing! Believing in the underdogs and Cinderellas. In last second shots and catches. In the unexpected. In miracles. These moments keep us believing that one day, we will win.

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Fabulous "Feel Good" Sports Moments, Pt. 3

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:32:33 -0500

Part III of my “Yes, You Can” Inspirational Sports Moments Series. These posts are also available as an amazing slideshow on The Bleacher Report. I think they may look even better over there! If you look up “to inspire” in the dictionary you get answers like “to affect or touch; elicit or arouse; guide or motivate; bring about.” But it is so much more than that! The feeling behind inspiration is so complex, multi-faceted and subjective, I don’t feel it can be summed up by half a line in a dictionary. Instead, I think it requires quite a few lines and some pictures to really nail down what it means “to inspire.” To me, there is nothing more inspiring and motivating then hearing the words, “never” or ‘”No. You can’t.” Maybe it’s the petulant child inside of me that always got her way when she was little and dislikes the word no. Because those words make me want to stand up, fight back and say, “Oh yes, I CAN.” ~Jennifer Taglione (me!)

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Fabulous "Feel Good" Sports Moments, Pt. 2

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:02:20 -0500

This is Part II of my series of inspirational sports moments. Imagine. "What is now proved was once imagined." ~William Blake Today, I ask that you look at things that are proved-that are our truths and realities today-and ask how they were imagined. Imagine if...there was no more slavery. Imagine if....women had the right to vote. Imagine if....we were no longer "separate but equal," but just "equal" and our schools and cities were no longer segregated. Imagine if...there was an African American president of the United States. It used to be unimaginable that such things would ever happen! Impossible! Never! We were told "No, you can't." But someone did imagine the unimaginable. Someone believed all these things were possible. Someone said "Yes, you can!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination." ~Cynthia Oznick

Begin Slideshow

Fabulous "Feel Good" Sports Moments, Pt. 1

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:51:16 -0500

Because I was so inspired by my One Word Wednesday: Hope post this morning that honored President Obama, I decided to do a sports version with my 20 favorite sports photos that symbolize the word Hope. Like everything else I try to take on, this took on a life of its own and grew far bigger than I wanted it to be. Over the next five days I will be bringing you my newest “countdown.” It’s similar to my Top Sports Moments / Top Commercials of 2008 series’ that I did a few weeks ago except this time I’m not going to rank them. I don’t feel like these moments can be judged or ranked because they are all so iconic. So symbolic. So powerful, inspirational and meaningful that they can not be put in an order. Instead, the photos have been placed in a one word category: Hope. Believe. Inspire. Imagine. Dream. Each day I will post a new category with pictures or moments I believe truly define those words. Feel free to email me if you have a photo you think needs to be in one of those lists! HOPE This is a tricky one. How do you define Hope? How do you put a finger on how it feels? Yesterday marked a day of Hope for Americans, and for the world. Hope that a change is coming. Hope that anything can happen. Hope that if we work hard, one day our dreams will come true. I picked today’s moments because they too, had the same effect. They gave hope to millions of people all over the world in times when they needed it the most.

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SportsMan of Style: Kurt Warner

Jennifer Taglione — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:31:23 -0500

Very glad the Arizona Cardinals won the NFC Championship because if not, this post wouldn’t be as relevant!

My Pick for SportsMan of Style is: Kurt Warner

Who is he?

The veteran quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals; he just led his team to its first Super Bowl!

Why we love him

“Many have said that if my life was a script in Hollywood, it would never be believed. But I am where I am because I believed and never gave up.” ~ Kurt Warner

Really, what is not to love. He is a Disney sports movie in the making. The story of the washed-up, old guy who comes back to life to lead his team to victory. Twice. (See: For the Love of the Game, The Natural, half of the sports movies in existence….)

Oh, and, Kurtis Eugene Warner is a tall, dark, and gorgeous man. Patrick Dempsey would be PERFECT to play him in the movie!

He’s 6′2, 220 pounds with a thick head of dark hair that just begs to be touched!
He’s 37–which is practically ancient in the football QB world. He just became the third oldest QB to play in the Super Bowl!
He is the ultimate family man and a total DILF. Sorry to say it, but it’s so true.
He and his wife Brenda have seven kids! Zachary, Kade, Elijach, Jessie, Jada and twins Sienna Rae and Sierra Rose
They are born-again Christians who believe in Faith and Family first. (Now I feel bad for the DILF comment…)
He was not an overly religious person until he was 25, when his teammates in the Arena Football League introduced him to new ideas. He really had been down on his luck and thought it might be time to put his life and faith in the hands of God. And from that moment, his life changed. His story is so inspirational, it made me want to revisit my own faith.
In 2001, Kurt and Brenda started the First Things First Foundation to help promote Christian values and to help others who are less fortunate.

Why I’m loving his style:

The programs in the Foundation are truly remarkable, awe-inspiring, and Kleenex worthy. I cried just reading about them. They include:

“We’re going to Disney World!” which is partnered with groups like the Make a Wish Foundation to give children with life-threatening illnesses a chance to fulfill their biggest dream: going to meet Mickey Mouse
FTF Ticket Program: designed to encourage community service and help social outreach programs. Participants in the program get to go to games to cheer on the Cardinals, and then have the opportunity to meet Kurt and Brenda after the game to pray with them
Children’s Hospital Outreach
Home for the Holidays: The program helps to reward and recognize the families that have struggled and sacrificed and finally fulfilled their dreams of owning their own homes by helping them furnish it
Special Olympics PPK: where Kurt teaches 50 special olympic athletes the basics of football in a day-long clinic. Other teammates like hottie Larry Fitzgerald help out in three clinics across the country.

And, his work with the foundation is wonderful, but his own personal rise-to-fame story is just as awe-inspiring.

In college, it took him until his senior year before he made it as the starting quarterback. After graduating in 1994 as the Gateway Conference’s offensive player of the year, Kurt failed to make the NFL draft. He did head to the Green Bay Packers summer camp but was cut before the season began.

He spent the next year working as a stocker/bagger in the local grocery store. In 1995, he turned to the Arena Football League, where he made a name for himself as one of the top 20 best AFL players of all time.

In 1998, the St. Louis Rams finally took notice and signed him. He was their backup QB and only played one game with them that season.

But then came 1999. And boy, did he party.

In the 1999 season, Kurt:

Started the season with 14 touchdown passes in four games. He had FIVE touchdowns in the game against San Fransisco to the shock of, well, everyone.
Made the cover of Sports Illustrated in October with the headline “Who IS this guy?”
Completed his breakout season by leading the Rams to the Super Bowl title.
Set two huge records in the Super Bowl. He had 45 pass attempts with no interceptions and he also passed for 414 yards.
He was named NFL’s MVP and the Super Bowl MVP. The only other players to accomplish the double MVP are Joe Montanta, Emmitt Smith, Terry Bradshaw, Steve Young, and Bart Starr. Pretty elite crowd!

In my research, I came across a great article on Bleacher Report that broke down Warner’s stats for the last 10 years, against legendary Joe Namath. I started to put them here and then remembered I so don’t do stats! But go check it out, very interesting breakdown!

Kurt was an NFL star for years, but had slowly started to lose his shine in recent years. Until 2008. Once again, he made an improbable comeback.

Was supposed to be backup to hottie Matt Leinart but was ultimately named starter.
He had 4,583 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and a completion percentage of almost 70 percent. I’m assuming all of that is good. Sounds good to me!
Led the Cardinals calmly through the playoffs with wins against the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and now, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Is about to appear in this third Super Bowl.
And if that isn’t enough, in a few weeks he will lead the NFC as starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl.

After all that, how can you not want the Arizona Cardinals to win the Super Bowl? It would be the perfect ending to this perfect made-for-Disney, inspirational story.

For more on the Cardinals trip to the Super Bowl, start with my NFC Championship Recap.

NCAA March Madness in January: My Picks for Blockbuster Saturday

Jennifer Taglione — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:30:11 -0500

Today is a Blockbuster of a day in NCAA basketball. The match-ups are so intense that it’s almost like a sneak peek in to what’s to come in March Madness.

Key games all day long!

I have some super fun things in store for today and I’m hoping to give you some live updates later!

I’m even going to give you the sneak peek at my newest article which I published to Bleacher Report this morning! It’s in a fun slide-show format there! Or you can wait an hour and I’ll be jazzing it up a bit with my unique flair for here! Two of the players featured are actually in the key match-ups today!

The Top 9 College Basketball Players You Need To Know But Probably Don’t

Noon: No. 13 Notre Dame at No. 8 Syracuse

Tough call for me because I just wrote about Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku but I think that ND’s Kyle McAlarney is super-hot. And Syracuse is in N.Y. and their colors are orange and blue like my college. I’m going with Syracuse.

*Update: Syracuse won 93-74 but the game was closer than that throughout.

2:03 p.m. No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners at Texas A&M Aggies

I don’t care, I’m going Sooners because I still feel bad that Sam Bradford and the Sooners lost in the BCS football title game. And they have Blake Griffin who is in the elite of elite in the country right now. And he’s HOT. Holy crap. He has a brother Taylor! Shut up! So going Sooners! I take back what I said earlier about What Happened to the all the Hot College Players?

3:30 p.m.: No. 3 Wake Forest at No. 9 Clemson

I may regret this but I think I am finally going to put aside my 10 year grudge with Wake Forest. I’ve been anti-Demon Deacons ever since they had Tim Duncan and they would go head-to-head with UMass and Marcus Camby. Wake Forest has Jeff Teague, one of the best guards in the country. And the only reason I didn’t mention him in my Unknown Players that You Gotta Know article is that he seemed to already be known! I’m going with you guys. You better not piss me off or I will seriously never, ever, ever pick you in a March Madness bracket ever again!

3:45 p.m.: No. 15 ASU at No. 7 UCLA

Best all-around player in ASU’s James Harden. Best point guard in the country with UCLA’s Darren Collison. For shits and giggles I’m going with the Arizona State Sun Devils. I learned all about their silent star James Harden last night and I really liked what I learned. He’s been having a rough patch the last few games but I think he has what it takes to beat the Bruins

4:00 p.m.: Illinios at No. 10 Michigan State

I’m going MSU. And you will love my reason why! I was reading about their guard Kalin Lucas who is pretty much bad-ass and went to look-up a pic of him to see if he was as hot as his stats and this is the pic I found:

It is a true BFF moment if I ever saw one!

6:00 p.m.: No. 1 Pittsburgh at No. 20 Louisville

I usually love when the No. 1 falls but I truly don’t know enough about this yet. I have a few hours to think it over but for now I’ll go Pitts.

Other games that I don’t know times for…sorry!

8:00 p.m. Miami at No. 6 North Carolina.

I am so going with Miami. I don’t even care if they lose spectacularly. I’m not going with UNC because I can’t tell you how many times I heard the name Tyler Hansborough last night and it’s really starting to irritate the crap out of me.

Georgetown at Duke

I am just going with Duke because otherwise my friend Mark will never help me with another college basketball article ever!

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And now I’m just going to direct you over to ESPN.com for the complete breakdown and I do apologize. It’s been a hell of a week first with the flu and now with a major plumbing thing. Let’s just say my upstairs shower is somehow leaking into the downstairs bathroom. At least it’s landing right into the toilet! But the plumber is here and I’m running up and downstairs with him.

Stay tuned for more Blockbuster Saturday fun!

The Top Nine College Basketball Players You Need to Know but Probably Don't

Jennifer Taglione — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 11:29:47 -0500

When Bleacher Report gave me the idea to write about the unknown superstars of NCAA basketball--the players that fly under the radar--I was so excited! Figured I'd put my own spin on it and it would be so much fun! So sick of hearing Tyler Hansborough every two minutes on ESPN. I mean of course he is good, he's on UNC. That's what they do there, breed big-names. But what about the quiet teams? The ones that suddenly show up on the March Madness brackets and make people* say "Where the f&R%^ is Austin Paey. Or MSM/Coppin State." (*by people I mean those of us who only tune in to college ball in March because we have lives. But you can't fool me, I know my 50 states and there is no Coppin!). Then, I realized I know absolutely nothing about college basketball or the players this year except for the super-big names because I only tune in during March Madness because I have a life. Yes, I know, duh, that is the point of the article to find the others. But most sports writers or college b'ball fans would have an inkling of where to start. I, on the other hand, can name 5 players off the top of my head: Hansborough, Michael Beasley, Stephen Curry. Okay maybe three. So let's say I come across a great sounding player from Oklahoma that I had never heard of. I'd put him in the article right? WRONG. Turns out Blake Griffin was exactly who I was not supposed to write about. You see my dilemma? So I did what any smart Stiletto Chick would do. I asked my guy friends to do the legwork while I did fun stuff! So if you don't like my picks, talk to Shelton and Mark. (If you do approve, however, don't I totally rock at this? :) )

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Stiletto Sports Saturday Rant: What happened to NCAA Basketball?

Jennifer Taglione — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:25:52 -0500

I was given an “assignment” from the Bleacher Report to write about college basketball players. They were looking for an article about the college players that fly under the radar. The players that would be stars if only someone would notice them. Unfortunately, the only players I do know at the moment are the big names!

So, instead I decided to put my own unique spin on it and make it my All-Hottie team, which I was going to do come March anyway. Fun thought but it was easier said than done.

I spent a lot of time chillin’ on Google this evening trying to find “sexy, hot, cute, attractive, top, best, handsome college/NCAA basketball players.” Nada. No results matching what I was looking for.

I did however find the 10 sexiest poker players (seriously?) and the 50 sexiest college basketball coaches. No joke. Not going to touch that one now but don’t worry, I’ll definitely go back to it in the very near future.

Finally I gave up and figured, fine, I’ll just look up the pictures of the top 20 players on the Top 100 list and narrow it down after that. Hours (yes, hours) later, after looking at the top 60+ I had a paltry list of about five players that I thought were attractive.

This shocked me to no end. I know I’ve been out of the college b’ball season for a bit since I missed March Madness last year but I’ve always thought of the NCAA as a big open crop of hot, young men. Back when I was an avid fan like 10 years ago, I couldn’t watch a game without falling for some guy on the team (exceptions include some of the scary mid-western states where each player is large, pale, blonde and really distubing looking. That hasn’t changed, trust me). Even in recent year’s I’ve picked my March Madness brackets based on hot guys.

So I ask: Where did all the hotties go?

I’ve decided it must be one of four things:

A: I am getting too old for college sports
B: College basketball players are getting uglier
C: They have always been ugly, I just had really bad taste in guys when I was younger (No Charlie, not you)
D. Watching college football has ruined me.

I’ve ruled out A because like D. implies, I really got into college football this season and am totally in love with Sam Bradford. And he’s a babe-ay (my term for a young hottie). Also, because despite the big 3-0 looming in the near future, I AM NOT OLD.

I don’t really think it’s C. either because Marcus Camby and Paul Pierce still look good to me. Not to mention those from my own college’s team. As for D., I’ve always found basketball players to be sexier than football players.

Hi hunny! Marcus, how I've missed you!

So that leaves B: College basketball players are getting uglier.

I’m not going to go on about this and post lots of bad pictures because frankly, it frightened me. I would love your feedback though. Who is hot in the college b’ball world today?

In the middle of the night I did find a friendly blog amongst the sea of boring stats: Ladies… Could be my new fave place to go!

Man of Style: Tim Tebow

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:38:49 -0500

I believe I owe you a Man of Style! Sorry about the delay—stupid flu! I actually picked this hottie fine young athlete for MoS last Thursday, but I wasn’t able to write about it until now.

My Pick for Man of Style this week:

Tim Tebow

Who is he?

The Florida Gators star quarterback who just led his team to the BCS Championship.

Why we love him

He’s a 6′2, 238 pound man of muscles! (Just ask my search results. Had a few people actually Google Tim Tebow’s muscles!)
He’s a 21-year-old Leo, born August 14.
He was born in the Phillipines to Christian missionaries!
He almost wasn’t born! His mom was really sick and the doctor’s recommended an abortion because they didn’t think the fetus would survive the trauma. This is why you always get a second opinion!
All the Tebow children (Tim is the fifth) were home schooled!
Before college, Tim spent his summers in the Phillipines with his father helping with the missionary work!

Why we love his style:

Now, let me just say that prior to this I was not a Tebow fan, even though I live in Florida where he is likened to God. I was all about Sam Bradford (don’t worry, I still think Sam is hotter). But this video totally changed my mind about Tim and I think next year I really will be Go Gator Nation!

I was going to show you a hot pic of him without his shirt and say “enough said” but I found this video instead. It’s long but it’s really powerful.

Enough said.

But just in case it’s not…In high school Tim:

Won Florida’s Player of the Year two years in a row.
Was named Florida’s Mr. Football.
Led his team to the state title.
Was All-State, All-American and All-Century (an honor given in 2007 to commemorate 100 years of high school football in Florida).
Actually played a game on a broken leg.

“Career” (in this case career = college!)

Before I start, can I just mention how freaking cool it was the the first video I found was set to David Cook’s Light On? Seriously? What are the chances! I don’t even know what’s in the video! I’m just excited about the song.

Tim is the first sophomore to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy, given to the Most Outstanding College Football Player of the Year.

In his first year with the Florida Gators, the team won the BCS Championship Title. In that game, he threw for one touchdown and rushed for another.

The next year he won the Heisman and:

The Davey O’Brien award given to the top quarterback in the nation
The SEC Male Athlete of the Year
The Maxwell Award, which is given to the best player in the nation (as judged by sportwriters, sportscasters, and NCAA head coaches)

In 2008

Tim won the Maxwell again. He is only the second player to win the award twice.
Became the SEC’s Offensive and Athlete-Scholar of the Year
He came in third for the Heisman but met up with the winner Sam Bradford (and the Oklahoma Sooners) in the BCS Championship Game
And in case you didn’t know, Tim totally kicked ass and won the title.
He was also given the ESPY for Male College Athlete of the year.

Just days ago, Tim announced that instead of skipping out on his senior year to join the NFL, he would be cool and stay in school!

*info compiled from Wikipedia and Tim’s fan site: TimTebowFans

NFC Playoff Recap No. 1: Cardinals Peck Out Panthers

Jennifer Taglione — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:57:19 -0500

That’s right, the Arizona Cardinals move on to the next round of the NFL playoffs after their total stomping of the Carolina Panthers. This is the first time in their history that they have won two games in the playoffs.

And who predicted this, just moments before the game without basing the pick on any real sports analysis or stats? And without having to change the pick during halftime?

That’s right, me!

I’m telling you, if you follow the Stiletto Sports Official Rulebook to Team Selection, you will be just as accurate as the so called Senior Sports Analysts*. Not many people picked the Cardinals to win, and even fewer thought they would totally kick ass. But I did. Because of the rules!

* I do not recommend picking solely based on my methods. If you do and you lose, don’t blame me. If you do and you win, well, gimme half!

The story of the game

Carolina didn’t seem to think it was important to catch or hold on to the football. They apparently have not read my Girl’s Guide to Football, because I clearly discuss that those things are very key to actually winning football games!

The Panthers ended with six turnovers! Arizona only had one.

The stars of the game

Larry Fitzgerald, who had 8 receptions. 166 yards, 1 TD and one stopped the Carolina’s final two-point conversion attempt (that has a fancy name for what it’s called but I don’t remember what it is). The announcers called Fitzgerald the Michael Jordan of football. Maybe they said Arizona Cardinals football. Hmmm. Oops, there’s a big difference there! Sorry about that.

But anyway, I was told that Fitzgerald is “the most amazing target for a quarterback in the entire NFL. It’s like he’s made of superglue and velcro!

(Thanks Etienne! By the way, Etienne is a friend of mine that now lives in Arizona. I have to give him some credit for my picks because when making the initial decision to pick Arizona over Atlanta, I thought ‘well Etienne and Ashley live in Arizona.’

I would also like to thank Jerry Maguire because Rod Tiswell played for the Cardinals, also something I considered when making my picks. I’d love to say just kidding, but I’m so not. Go ahead, laugh. Did you pick the winner? Ha!)

Kurt Warner. Arizona’s QB totally dominated over Carolina’s Jake Delhomme. Warner said, “No one touched the offensive line in first half. There were big plays everywhere. But it was a team effort.”

Oh wait, gotta run, Kurt is on TV, being interviewed and he looks all hot and chiseled in his suit. Earlier he was interviewed and it was raining so he was all dripping wet and hot looking!

What happened

First Quarter

Carolina scored first and only minutes into the game.
But Arizona scored better. They closed the quarter with two touchdowns in under three minutes of play.
14-7

Second Quarter

Arizona showed total domination! Two field goals, a key interceptions and a touchdown.
27-7 at the half.

But still, no one believed. Halftime reports were skeptical and said that many teams start off strong and fall in the second half.

Third Quarter

The quarter was pretty quiet but the Cardinals kept pecking away at the Panthers offense and defense.

And finally with five minutes left, the Cardinals showed those haters with another key interception that lead to another field goal.
30-7

Fourth Quarter

One final peck into the eyes: Cardinals had another field goal with three minutes remaining
Oh and the Panthers finally scored again. But they failed at the 2-point conversion which was almost painful to watch.
33-13 Final.

all photos from ESPN.com. Click on any to go to their site for more shots from the game.

My Fun and Fascinating Fact of the BCS Championship Game

Jennifer Taglione — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:20:34 -0500

Every

The fun, fascinating and downright weird fact of the game:

I knew this whole BCS system would come back and bite someone in the tushy sooner or later. The teams for the BCS Championship Game are handpicked according to stats and rankings that are interpreted by a panel.

What have I said about stats? They just muddle things up!

Even in college basketball the rankings can be highly disputed but at least the teams all fight it out for the playoff game. In college football, the panel says “hmmm, we think Florida and Oklahoma are the two best teams this year.” And then Florida and Oklahoma get to be in the big game.

And I’m sure Florida and Oklahoma were thrilled. Utah, USC and Texas, however, were not.

All three of them believe they were the No. 1 team this season and should have had their chance to prove it in the championship game. Personally I think they are all a bunch of whinners (whinners not winners). Except maybe Utah. They were undefeated during the season unlike the teams that were in the championship game.

I think I heard on the radio tonight that Utah is considering suing over this. First, who on earth would you even sue? The entire BCS selection committee? Or all of the Gator Nation that totally disagrees and thinks they are justifiably No. 1.

And second, are you serious? Get over it you freaking crybabies.

Next you are going to see Phil Jackson, Kobe, and the Lakers suing the Celtics because they had six games to beat them and didn’t.

Ooh actually, I’d like the Rays to sue the Phillies. Blame them for the whole rain delay thing and say they really should be the World Series Champs!

A Girl's Guide to The Bowls: Super, Rose, Orange...Cereal

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:31:03 -0500

First of all, what the heck is a bowl? Could football players not say “football playoffs” so it got grunted out “bowl?” I’ve often wondered but never really thought to question it, it is what it is. The Super Bowl. And my favorite: the Rose Bowl. That one just sounds pretty.

I came across so much information that I decided I needed A Girl's Guide to the Bowls.

Turns out “bowl” came about because the first post-season college football games took place in the Rose Bowl Stadium. (Aha! Finally we know which came first the chicken or the egg! I mean the stadium or the playoff name. The Rose Bowl Stadium was named for its bowl-shape design NOT because it is the host of the Rose Bowl. The tourney is named for the stadium.)

Great. So why did it catch on?

The Rose Bowl drew in so much revenue and tourism traffic that other towns began seeing the potential in having their own festivities, regardless if their stadiums looked like bowls. The number of bowls grew from one in 1930, five in the '40s, to 11 in the '70s and now, there is a total of 34 across the country.

NFL Copycats

Yeah the NFL totally jumped on that bandwagon! They saw the revenue the bowls were driving in and began calling their all-star game the Pro Bowl in 1951. Apparently “all-star game” isn’t elite enough (though it works well for the MLB and NBA).

And you are going to totally love where the name Super Bowl came from! I know you are thinking it’s just because it’s the superest bowl of them all, but nope, it’s even better than that!

So from Wikipedia, one of my favorite sports reference places, I give you the origin of the term Super Bowl:

“According to NFL Films President Steve Sabol, the NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle wanted to call the [NFL-AFL Wold Championship Game] “The Big One.” During the discussions to iron out the details, AFL founder Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the “Super Bowl.” Hunt thought of the name after seeing his children playing with a toy called a Super Ball; the small, round ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.”

Oddly enough, I think I knew that once before and totally blocked it out of my memory bank.

For more about Bowls and their 2008-09 girl-friendly recaps, head over to Stiletto Sports.

A Girl's Guide to the BCS: The Quarterback Matchup—Tim Tebow vs. Sam Bradford

Jennifer Taglione — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:18:49 -0500

I thought this was going to be an easy pick for me. Hands down, thought I would just pick Florida without even having to review any facts, figures or muddle things up with all those silly sports stats. I mean I live in Florida and I’ve already mentioned that Gator fans are truly insane. They redefine fanatical. I’d be scared to live in this state and admit that I’m not rooting for them (unless I was cheering for Florida State University because other Seminole fans would totally have my back). Plus they are playing the Oklahoma Sooners and that name just irks the crap out of me. Sooner than what? But then someone pointed a small little fact out that made me have to stop and consult the Stiletto Sports Official Rulebook for Team Selection (aka “picks”). Florida is playing the Oklahoma Sooners. And who is their QB? None other than my December pick for Man of Style, 2008’s Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. So not good. How do I choose now?

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Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU: Fascinating Fact Of the Day

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:59:45 -0500

I’ve been a fan of Kansas basketball for as long as I can remember (well, okay since high school anyway). And I’ve heard the chant for years. I used to think it was “Rock, Jock, Jayhawk” because, what the hell is “Rock Chalk” supposed to mean? Well today I found out.

It’s actually a really fascinating story.

Oh. Whoops. You may have no idea what I’m talking about. “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk KU” is actually the world famous chant heard at college games at Kansas University. It is deafening

Here it is clear and defined: Rock Chalk Jayhawk

And here is what I discovered about it:

It was invented in 1886 by a chemistry teacher named E.H.S. Bailey for the science club.
It was originally “Rah, Rah Jayhawk, KU”
It was replaced with “Rock Chalk” because….drumroll….chalk rock is the name of the limestone all around the KU campus! (Yeah, I know, it’s weird. Rock Jock makes much more sense. But remember this was for a science club at the time)
Teddy Roosevelt said it was the best college chant he had ever heard (Question is did he think it was Rock Jock or Rock Chalk? And was he a science club geek that actually knew what that meant?)
In the 1920 Olympics, the King of Belgium asked for a typical American college yell and KU’s Rock Chalk was selected.
Rumor has it that the chant was actually used during fighting in Philippines in 1899, in the Boxer Rebellion in China, and in World War II. Wonder if the Jayhawk mascot flew oversees for that….

I still think Rock Jock makes more sense!

*all information discovered on the KU: Traditions of the University website.

The Mystery of the Old Baseball Photo

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:10:49 -0500

Calling all baseball historians and Pittsburgh Pirates fans!

A few months ago, I was given quite a few boxes of old family photos. And while going through some of my grandparents I came across this photo.

Been trying to find out information about it for a few months now and no one seems to know. And unfortunately, there is no one in the family now that might be able to help me. Based on the logo on the uniform, we determined that the photo must have been taken from 1937-1946 (see Sportslogos.net for reference). And based on family history and info, my guess is that it was in the '40s and after WWII.

My grandfather had great photos from Japan during the war and tons of really old family photos going all the way back into the 1800s. Would be really interesting to find out who these players are!

If you have any ideas, or know someone that might be able to help, I would appreciate it. I know the picture quality isn’t that great but any leads would help and I can try to rescan it!

Football's Bend-and-Snap and Other Key Terms

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:33:38 -0500

"In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line." —George Carlin in Baseball vs. Football

Funny yes, but what does it all mean?

By looking at a football game, it seems so easy. The technical objective is to score more points than your opponent but really, it's just to beat the crap out of all the other players on the field, sometimes including those on your own team (hard to tell who is who when everyone jumps in a big pile and your helmet is in the way)!

The other day, for research purposes, I decided to watch a game and ignore any football knowledge I have accumulated over the last decade or two. And, wow, it's actually a pretty complex sport with lots of terms and rules and stuff that gave me a headache!

And most of my research was very dry and drawn out: aka BORING! So I'm breaking it down in a very stiletto-girl-friendly way.

This will be Part One: Very basic terms to know before attempting to read on, let alone watch a game! I know that there are a lot technicalities within each term but I don't want to confuse anyone. Namely, myself.

There is a lot even in Part I, but I'll keep it as short as possible

First, the Pigskin: Yeah, that's the football.

The Playing Field:

The Gridiron: the football field. My fascinating fact: comes from the word Griddle, like the frying pans! If you look at a griddle they have parallel lines to cook on and that's what the gridiron means: a surface with parallel lines. Mmm..pancakes sound so good right now. Oh right, football. Blah.

Yard: Equivalent to three feet or 36 inches. It is the unit of measurement of the field. Why? I have no idea. The field itself is 100 yards (120 with both end zones).

End Zone: This is the spot the teams are trying to get the ball to. There is one on each end of the field and it's where the big goal posts live! Get the ball into the end zone and you score points! Yay!

Line of Scrimmage: I knew this one till I read the definition. It was so wordy it confused me. In football there are two lines, offensive and defensive. This refers to the spot where both lines, well, line up with the ball in the middle to get ready to start the next action-packed sequence.

Objectives:

There are two ways to score: Touchdowns and Field Goals

Touchdown: When a team scores by "touching down" the ball in the end zone, meaning carried in or caught. It is worth six points and then the scoring team gets to try and kick the ball for an extra point. Not really sure why it's worth six whole points. Most sports you get one. Basketball has a 3-point shot. Maybe thats why. Because they had to bring the ball so far down the field, it's worth more? Hmm.... But in that case if someone runs the ball all the way from the other end zone, shouldn't it be worth six points?

Field Goal: You know those big goal posts at the end of the field? When a team kicks the football into the middle of them they score three points!

Field Kick: The kick that gets them those three points. Duh.

Extra points: After a touchdown, the scoring team gets to kick the ball into the goal posts to attempt to gain an extra point, bringing their score from six to seven points. Or they can try to run it in again for two points.

Quarterback: The QB! He tends to be the team's leading star. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but it doesn't seem like a team can be successful without a great quarterback. He pretty much puts the football in play from throwing passes or handing off the ball.

The second objective of football, besides scoring points, is to achieve the first Down. :

Downs: Yeah...really, really don't want to explain this because it's just one of those weird football things that are so essential to the game, yet so WEIRD! I'm sure you have heard it: First down, Second down, Third down, Fourth down.....

The offensive team gets four chances to move the ball ten yards down the field. Each chance is a "down." If they don't advance 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes back to the other team. Kinda like baseball: you have three outs per side before you give the ball back to the other team.

Downs & Yards, i.e, First & Ten, Third and inches,.

This means it's the First Down, or chance, and the offense still needs to move the ball 10 yards.

Third and inches means its the third chance and they only have a few inches to go to hit the 10-yard mark!

**There are markers on the side of the field to help determine if the down was made. Sometimes it really does come within inches. Watching a televised game? They have a digital line to show viewers at home where the first down is! Great technology!

About Passing:

Passing play: I read that this is "a play in which a forward pass is made." Gee that's helpful. That makes it sound like any time a guy hits on me in a bar.

Receiver: Player catching or receiving the pass.

Incomplete pass: A pass that goes awry. No one is able to catch the ball.

Interception: A pass that is successfully caught by the other team, aka intercepted.

Fumble: An, "oops, my bad." When a player messes up with the ball and it fumbles around. Usually funny to watch.

Pass Interference: This is different than an interception because it's an action that inhibits the pass receiver from catching the ball and it's not allowed.

Some other stuff:

Football's version of "the bend and snap" Oh that's right, I just compared football to Legally Blonde! Yay! Elle teaches us that Guaranteed Guy Getter is the "bend and snap" (aka bend forward to show your booty and then snap back up with your chest thrust forward) and football has the same move! The players bend over with their tushies in the air until the ball is "snapped" and then they too, all snap back and run, chest forward into the person in front of them! :)

The Snap: When the Center (the player in the middle of the bending lineup) passes the ball between his legs to the QB or player behind him to start off each play with a snap!

The Play: The action-packed sequence that occurs after the snap until it is stopped (out of bounds, interception, tackle, fumble, score...till the next sequence begins)

False Start: Never really understood this one even though every game I've ever watched seems to have this happen. The best answer I could come up with was from wikipedia saying it's "a sudden movement of the offense in an attempt to draw the defense offsides." Freaking great. Still no idea what that means or why it's bad. And no one seems to be able to explain it in logical words. Before the ball is snapped, some players on the offense try to fake out the defense to trick them into moving before the offense puts the ball into play. I think.

Kickoff: Used at the start of the game, halftime or after a score. One teams kicks the football off of a tee at their own 30-yard line as hard as they can. The other team catches it and tries to run it back as far as they can!

Punt: Aka a drop-kick. Not kicked from a tee like the kick-off. Here, the kicker drops the ball to his own foot and kicks it as hard as he can down the field to make the players chase after it. (Next time you are "threatening" someone, instead of saying "I'm going to drop-kick your a$$," try "I'm going to punt you." See if it intimidates!)

Flag or yellow flag: A lot of times you see the officials throwing something yellow on the field and hear the announcers say "a flag on the play." Uh huh, sure. It's just a fancy way of calling it a foul or saying one of the players did something wrong. Then the officials usually give an explanation like holding or false start or something else no one understands :)

Maneuvers

Blitz: When the defense rushes against the snap. Yeah, see what I mean: the definitions are often as ambiguous as the term itself. As soon as the ball is snapped and not even in the QB's hands, the defense rushes forward hoping to take down the QB. What the difference is between this and a regular play....no idea

Sack: When the QB is tackled before he passes the ball off to someone else, behind the line of scrimmage. Wherever he was taken down, that's where the offense has to start their next play. What this means: the offensive team now has farther to go for their first down.

Tackle: When a defensive player hurls his body against the player from the other team carrying the ball and knocks him to the ground to end the play.

Blocking: Unlike tackling, this is used against the defensive players to try to stop them from getting to the guy carrying the football

Holding: Is the bad way of blocking and tackling. Apparently, you are not allowed to hold other players even though they are trying to kill the guy carrying the football. Go figure. There is offensive and defensive holding which we will get into later. In short, it's holding onto the opponents jersey or hooking around a body part...I don't know. Just plain weird.

And there's part I. Feel free to correct me or give me better definitions! I would really really appreciate it! And stay tuned for Part II!

Five Observations about Sports-Themed Movies

Jennifer Taglione — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:26:52 -0500

I admit I do have a slight guilty pleasure when it comes to movies—besides my love of Lifetime movies on a rainy Saturday afternoon (because really, who doesn't love those?). I have a thing for sports movies and the sad part is, the actor doesn't even have to be hot to get me to watch it (although it does help). I think I've been addicted ever since I saw Rudy when I was younger.

After extensive research for my Movie Archive and Bookshelf blogs, I came across a lot of...reoccurring themes, if you will. Some are obvious. Some are just the strange way my mind works.

My Observations of Sports Themed Movies

1. Disney & Sports Flicks go together like arm, gooey chocolate brownies, and ice cream. (Oh who am I kidding, brownies go well with everything. Then again, now that I think about it, so does Disney. Hmm, good analogy).

The evidence: Tons of Disney production films—some of them blockbuster successes and critically acclaimed. And all of them are heartwarming, or at least inspiring, and loved by pretty much everyone that saw them.

Angels in the Outfield
Invincible
Miracle
Remember the Titans
The Rookie
Glory Road
Mighty Ducks (and all their sequels)
The Greatest Game Ever Played

And those are only the ones I used for reference on my Best Sports Movies lists. There are actually a few dozen more. Check out more Disney Movies for a complete list.

2. Baseball movies are to A-List actors as Lifetime Movies are to has-been C-Listers.

Really, big name actors seem to flock to do a baseball theme movie the way that all our old favorite '90s stars head to Lifetime or Hallmark. My top baseball movie lists for both guys and gals are chock full of stars, more so than any of the other sports genred films. Why is that?

The Evidence:

- Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Madonna, Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Basinger, Susan Sarandon, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Brittney Murphy, Jessica Biel, Kelly Preston, Dennis Leary, Tim Robbins, and Matthew McConaughey.

Just to name a few!

3. If No. 2 is true, than Kevin Costner is Tracy Gold. Or Tori Spelling.

It is still undecided who the Lifetime Movie champion actress of all time is but those two always seem to get top bids. And sometimes it feels like there isn't a baseball movie that Kev isn't in! And then I found him in a golf movie and totally freaked out. I think they should switch the game from Six Degrees/Kevin Bacon to Six Degrees of Sports Movies and Kevin Costner. This man can't get enough!

The Evidence:

Bull Durham
Field of Dreams
For the Love of the Game
Tin Cup—aka the Bull Durham of golf movies

4. If you aren't an inspiring true story about an underdog, don't bother.

Okay fine, you don't have to be true. You can be a tale about a washed up old guy trying to make it. But that just represents the dream of every guy in the world who is not an athlete and they really, really, really wished it was a true story.

The Evidence: Um... Pretty much every sports movie in existence.

5. Basketball Sucks.

I don't mean really. I mean in the movie world. There is a severe shortage of basketball-themed movies. And of those that are out there, only a few are actually really good. Since this is my favorite sport (and the one that really showcases hot men!) I am very disappointed.

When I did the baseball movie list I had so many great movies to choose from that I was able to make two separate lists! I could barely make one for basketball. Why is that?

The Evidence:

I almost had to put Basketball Diaries on the list until I found The Pistol. And while I will never talk bad about a movie with Leo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg in it, I will point out that BD has very little to do with basketball. More about the dark side and drugs.

You go try to find more than the ones that are on my basketball movie list that are actually good!