The WorldBeaters

Since I started this blog I've been toying with the idea of keeping a list of all the kooks in sports, you know all the people that make sports funny and more than just about jumping and running.  After a little thought I decided that I was going to do it.  So here you are, the first inductee to the "Our Favorite People" list:  Dan Gilbert or as I like to call him "The Joker".  By now you have either heard or read his letter to the city of Cleveland following LBJ deciding to head to Miami. If you haven't here it is.... The Joker Letter .   In addition to the letter he reduced to the price of LBJ's Cleveland Cavaliers poster to $17.41, to coincide with the birth of Benedict Arnold.  ME LOVES IT!  This guys is off his. Congratulations Mr. Gilbert you made the list.   Interesting Note:  This list starts as of July 1st 2010.  Which is why T.O. isn't on it....yet. 

Interesting enough, I still have a hankering for some soccer.  But honestly the MLS doesn't really cut it for me, I wanna see the best players in the world play.  You know, the Forlans and Villas of the game.  Luckily this year's MLS All-Star game pits the MLS's best against Manchester United, a storied soccer franchise with some of the best players in the world.  The MLS roster has just recently been set and includes Landon Donovan, coming off a superb World Cup performance it will be exciting to see what he can do against Man U.  Here is the rest of the MLS squad  http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/all-star-roster-set-clash-manchester-utd .

According to a Harris International Poll release last night, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods are tied in first place for America's Favorite athlete.  This comes as no surprise as Kobe is a back to back NBA champion and finals MVP and Tiger Wood's body of work is outstanding and will presumably continue to astound fans.  It also shows that all we care about in this country is winning.  Which to me is a good thing, the personal life's of athletes is really none of our business unless they choose to share it with us.  So while the media outlets slam athletes for whatever faults they may have, at the end of the day the American people realize that they athletes are paid to win, and if you win we love you.   The rest of the list is as follows: Derek Jeter (3), Brett Farve (4) Peyton Manning (5), Lebron James (6), Micheal Jordan (7), Tom Brady (8), Drew Brees (9), Dale Ernhardt Jr. (10).

I know its hot as blazes outside, but please be safe and drink lots of water and stay cool.  If you are working out try and do so in the morning and evening.  Its the hottest year on record and it certainly feels that way, but not to worry, soon it will be Fall and those dry tumbleweeds rolling past will be replaced by flurries of falling leaves AND FOOTBALL!!  I know many of you haven't had a chance to keep up with the happenings of your favorite squad, so let NFL.com catch you up.   Each team gets about a 7 minute recap of the moves they've made and the moves they need to make.  Thank you NFL.com.   http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-32-teams-in-32-days

This is a sports blog, but occasionally we'll give a movie review.  Today we'll review "Inception". I saw "Inception" Friday night and thought it was awesome.  Leonardo Dicaprio was good in it, but as with most of the films he's in I feel like his character isn't the most interesting.  For example in "Gangs of New York", Bill the Butcher blows Leo off the screen.  Same thing happens to Leo in the "Departed" with the Mark Walberg and Alec Baldwin characters.  But I can't say he did a bad job in "Inception", I give him a B+.  The movie had a very "Matrix" feel to it and I mean that as a compliment.  The movie is ripe for a sequel (or two), a comic book, a tv show, etc, etc.  It is easily the best movie I've seen this year and should get some Oscar nominations.  WorldBeaters gives Inception an "A".  Strong lead actor, super strong supporting cast, super slick visuals and best of all an inventiv

 According to knoxnews.com, you guys are currently searching for a new mascot.  I hear you still want to be  called the Rebels, but you feel like "Colonel Reb" is too old south and you've narrowed the mascot choices down to either a horse, a lion, a bear, a land shark or a hotty and toddy.   Lets eliminate the land shark and the lion right off the bat.  Lion is way over used in the mascot world and what does a land shark have to do with Ole Miss?  Bear and horse are out.  Both are overused as well.  A hotty and toddy?  Really?  Your mascot is going to be an alcoholic beverage? Nope not really smart for a college to use alcohol as a mascot.  To be perfectly honest I think the school needs a name and mascot change.   An old southern school that calls itself the "Rebels" just screams old south.  Not to worry Ole Miss, Hugo Brie is on it.  Naming teams is something I do, I'm pretty good at it. So here go with this: The University of Mississippi Oxen aka the Ole

Every time I see a promo for one of ESPN's 30 for 30 films I get very emotional.  I have no idea why?  Sports is just one of those things that touches my emotions.  Of all the movies that I watched only 2 have made me tear up.  The first was "The Godfather 3" and the other was sports-related, "Million Dollar Baby."  So if you are like me and have a strong emotional connection to sports you will love the "30 for 30" series on ESPN. The films are  a collection of sports-docs by different directors that touch a wide variety of sports topics, from Reggie Miller and the Knicks to Ali vs. Larry Holmes.  One of my faves has been "Silly Little Game" which chronicled the rise of fantasy sports and "Run Ricky Run"  which covers the career of the one and only Ricky Williams.  If you haven't been watching they replay them all the time and look out for the new films that are gonna be aired in the next few months.   Trailer below.

A few years ago the MLB decided to spice up its All-Star game by making it worth something.  The winning league gets home field advantage in the World Series.  I have always thought that this was a great decision, its great to see players actually get excited when they win an All-star game.  So I started to think, how could the NFL improve the Pro Bowl?

Good job to Spain for winning a tough, gritty championship game.  It wasn't the most beautiful game, but a win is a win and thats all that counts.  Andres Iniesta's goal in extra time sent the streets of Madrid into a frenzy and put the Red Fury into the record books.

It's been a tough decade for the New York Knickerbockers.  Just how tough?  Check this out. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/67151/

Lets get right to it.  I wanted him to stay in Cleveland for his whole career, title or no titles, it would have been nice. But things didn't work out that way.  He wanted to get some rings and avoid becoming the next Charles Barkley.  I'm sure Chuck feels nice and warm inside every time Kenny Smith reminds him that he is ringless.  But as Micheal Wilbon pointed out a few years back, to be considered one of the greatest players in history you have to win rings.  Not one, but more than one.  Ask anyone who they think the greatest player of all time is, I bet you get a lot of MJ (6 rings), Magic (5 rings), Bird (3 rings), Kareem (6 rings), Russell (11 rings) and those are just the retired players.  Look at the guys who are still playing, Duncan is considered by many to be the best power forward ever, he has four rings and counting.  Kobe, another all time great has 5 and counting.  So you see folks this is what Lebron is up against.  We appointed him the next MJ, Magic or whoever

Let me start off by saying that the way Spain played against Germany in the semi-final game was wonderful.  Yep wonderful.  It was the best ball handling I've seen by any team thus far.  I don't even remember Germany ever having the ball.  Germany could not set up their vaunted counter-attacked because Spain just passed the ball around and attacked the German goalie from distance and from up close.  Spain finally broke through the German defense with a header in the 73rd minute.  Germany could never really recover or build any momentum and lost 1-0.  On to the preview!

Well it looks like free agent power forward Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade will sign with the Miami Heat and form a nice one-two punch. We all know who Dwayne Wade is, but who is this Chris Bosh guy? Heres a quick rundown: 1. He played a year at Georgia Tech 2. Was picked fourth by the Toronto Raptors in the 2003 NBA draft behind Lebron, Darko,and Carmelo. 3. Over his 7 seasons he's averaging a double-double (20 ppg) and (10 rpg) 4. He's the Raptors all time leader in virtually EVERY category. (I'm not kidding) 5. He's also a five time all-star His game: Good rebounder, on both ends of the court. He has a real nice first step that gets him close to the basket for dunks and layups. His mid range jumper is good at 44%; which means other big men can't play off him. Best of all he can make free throws! Shooting 80% lifetime from the stripe. There you have it, player profile: Chris Bosh. And if you don't know, now you know.

Hakim Warrick signed a 4 year, $18 million deal with the Phoenix Suns. I like the move, Warrick is young, has long arms and is athletic, he has great upside and I think his best years are still ahead of him. This move pretty much confirms that the Suns and Amare are a thing of the past. The Suns also signed forward Channing Frye , the 3 point specialist had some tough games against the Lakers in the playoffs, but when he gets it going the Suns are hard to stop. I would to see him post up just a little bit more.

Lesnar v. Carwin To say this is going be a big match is a massive understatement; its one of the most anticipated matches in UFC history. Carwin: Record:12-0, 12 KOs Shane Carwin is the man who Joe Rogan described as having "sledgehammers for fist." He's big, aggressive and knows how to strike. If he can keep this fight up right I think he has a huge advantage. The way he has been able to dismantle all of his opponents has been nothing short of amazing. I actually thought that he would lose his last fight to Frank Mir, but he really impressed and shocked when he won by KO. Lesnar: Record:4-1, 2 KOs Big Brock Lesnar on the other hand has spent the last year recovering from an intestinal disorder. So I think he will be a little rusty, that rust will make the difference. Lesnar's strength is his bulk and his ground and pound. If this fight hits the mat Lesnar is in his zone. I just don't see anybody getting up once he puts all of his bulk and weight on top of

This commercial is a call to arms. It makes me wanna build something, knock something down and build it back up, bigger and better. It makes me wanna buy a tool belt, some overalls and look for stuff to do around the house. It make me want to...well, buy American. It's called the "Jeep Grand Cherokee Manifesto Commercial." Enjoy.