I caught a few of your reactions on Tim Tebow’s touchdown to Demaryius Thomas on Google+ Messenger last night. Now that you’ve had some time to think about it, I’d love to hear more of your thoughts. Initially, I thought it was a Twitter joke. Then I saw the replay. Wow. It was an amazing play, but what’s even more amazing is how much it added to Tebow being the most polarizing athlete in America today.
Sure, it’s only January but I’m certain that this will go down as one of the biggest “Holy sh*t!!!” moments in sports this year. Agree? Disagree? Give it a watch again (embedded below) and let me know (please)!
This video of Kris Humphries — the most disliked player in the NBA — has been circulating. Some people are using it to fuel their hatred, saying that it shows his homophobic behavior. Others are saying that he’s not really being homophobic; at best he’s being ignorant and at worst he’s being idiotic. Check it out and decide (please)!
I honestly don’t think that Humphries is homophobic. Knowing what I know about reality television, I’m going to guess that a lot of this was an angle “urged” by the show’s staff. At worst, his homophobia is passive, but I’m more inclined to think that it was manufactured by the show’s writers and producers. I definitely agree that he’s ignorant and idiotic.
What’s your take? Is Kris Humphries a homophobe, an idiot, or both?
In case you missed any of the “Best of 2011” stories, here are links to your fellow RPadholics’ picks for the best game, videogame graphics, videogame sound, movie, and gadget. While you’re here, feel free to leave any “Best of 2011” choices that weren’t covered last week. From your favorite comic book, Netflix rental, TV show, sports team, coffee, fast food, WWE Superstar, and more, use this post to get 2011 out of your system (please)!
After years of being the biggest dick in the NBA, Kobe Bryant was supplanted by LeBron James as the most hated man in the league during the 2010-2011 season. Part of it was Bryant getting older; it’s tough to hate on veterans (especially those with a desire to win that’s so palpable that it can be felt in Canada) and some fans just got bored hating him. Most of the credit has to go to James, who executed one of the biggest heel turns in the history of professional sports. Surprisingly, a new player tops the list. According to Nielsen, the New Jersey Nets’ Kris Humphries is now the most disliked man in the NBA. Check out the top 10 list.
1. Kris Humphries (Nets)
2. LeBron James (Heat)
3. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
4. Tony Parker (Spurs)
5. Metta World Peace (Lakers)
6. Chris Bosh (Heat)
7. Carmelo Anthony (Knicks)
8. Paul Pierce (Celtics)
9. Dwyane Wade (Heat)
10. Lamar Odom (Mavericks)
I suppose a fake marriage and a horrid reality show will do that to you. Ha!
Personally, I’m thrilled that Tony Parker checked in at the four spot. Dude is French and (allegedly) slept with a teammate’s wife (which is a totally French thing to do). He could easily nab the top spot next year if he fully embraces French stereotypes by wearing a beret at press conference, drinking wine instead of water when he’s on the bench, and taking smoke breaks during timeouts. All of this would be completely awesome.
Anyway, let me know what you think about this list. Who’s the NBA player you hate the most? Mine is Carlos Boozer. The man has no honor.
I had a vision recently. I saw The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania streak end. I saw The Dead Man lose to a Holy Man at WrestleMania XXVIII. Of course I’m talking about Tim Tebow. Never mind that the Denver Broncos’ winning streak came to end yesterday. Tebow has the power of light! He’s the world’s only hope against The Undertaker’s dark dominance of WrestleMania.
If Tebow vs. ‘Taker went down at WrestleMania XXVIII, how do you think it would go down? Kindly vote in today’s poll and describe the match you see in your head in the comments section.
The Manny Pacquiao game for iOS is free today. Head on over and download Manny Pacquiao: Pound for Pound if you’re a fan of the Filipino boxer or if you’re looking for some unintentional comedy. The game looks…meh and the videogame version of Pacquiao looks like he was rejected from the Street FighterandTekken tournaments, but you can’t really complain about a free game. Ha!
After months of grueling negotiations, the NBA lockout is over and the regular season will begin on December 25, 2011. Now that NBA basketball is nearly here, I wanted to see if the lockout has changed your view on the sport. I’m already psyched by all the trade rumors (Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, etc.), but I’m still bitter about the lockout. Hearing millionaires argue about billions of dollars in revenue is…unattractive — especially when you’re not making a lot of money and the economy is crap.
The end of the last NBA season was brilliant, but for me that buzz was mostly killed by the lockout. How about you? Has the lockout made you bitter about the NBA? Or are you excited for the season to start?
World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman was quoted as saying, “I was practically embarrassed,” in regards to Manny Pacquiao’s performance against Juan Manuel Marquez last Saturday. Although the official records list Pacquiao as the victor, many boxing journalists, current fighters, and retired boxers saw the fight as a Marquez victory or a draw. In a Twitter exchange with me, Sulaiman cleared up his comments and blamed Pacquiao’s performance on politics:
I believe this was a fight in which I didn’t see the real Pacquiao (That does not demerit Marquez who fought like a champion). I did say that this was probably the worst version of Pacquiao since I know him, I believe you can’t blame it on boxing. He is a federal senator and I believe he’s focused and has other priorities over boxing now that are somehow taking what he has been as a fighter. That you can quote.
It’s an interesting explanation and there’s probably some truth to Pacquiao being less focused on boxing than he was even five years ago. That said, I believe that Juan Manuel Marquez was simply the better boxer on Saturday. It’s actually embarrassing to see other Filipinos blindly sticking up for Pacquiao without reason or logic (and in some cases, without even knowing how fights are scored).
Even though I believe Marquez won, a draw would have been an acceptable score too. I thought Pacquiao lost face by saying that he “clearly” won. That’s just complete garbage. At best, it was a very close fight. At worst, Pacquiao was out-boxed by Marquez, who displayed cleaner punching, showed superior defense, controlled the pace and spacing of the fight, and neutralized Pacquiao’s formidable left hand for the majority of the bout.
At least Sulaiman didn’t use the word “embarrassed” in our exchange. With all the garbage the WBC has pulled over the years, I don’t think he should be embarrassed about any fighter’s performance.
Today is the 20th anniversary of Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s first retirement due to contracting the HIV virus. I remember the announcement vividly. I was in high school and it was report card day. The news floored everyone — students, teachers, custodians, etc. At the time, information on HIV and AIDS was relatively scarce. While it’s wrong to lionize Magic for the lifestyle that led to him to getting HIV, he should be lauded for helping educate the world about this deadly virus.
Before Magic’s announcement, I was woefully uneducated and uninformed about HIV and AIDS. Prior to Magic, the biggest celebrity that I can recall getting AIDS was Rock Hudson, who was way before my time and didn’t resonate with me. When I was a bit younger, my favorite uncle died of AIDS, but I was too young to really process any of it. Magic made HIV real for me. This was someone I looked up to — I marveled at Magic’s ability on the court and was charmed by his persona off the court. Like many other ignorant people, I didn’t realize that HIV could infect people that weren’t homosexuals or drug addicts.
After his announcement, a lot more information on HIV and AIDS became available. People started to learn about and understand the disease. People became informed about the ways you can and can’t get it (with the exception of that idiotic statutory rapist Karl Malone). People learned how to protect themselves from HIV infection. For a lot of people, the reason why they learned facts about HIV and AIDS was Magic Johnson.
Of course I have to mention an arguably off-color joke my friend Justin Killian made several years after Magic stopped playing. I distinctly remember spitting out soda when he said, “What the hell kind of HIV is that?!? I want Magic’s HIV that changes you from a point guard to a power forward!” I suppose the point being that prior to Magic, I thought that HIV was an automatic death sentence to AIDS. Again, I was ignorant and Magic helped me learn.
As you can tell, Earvin’s announcement had a big impact on my life. How about yours? How did you react when Magic Johnson announced that he had the HIV virus? Did you learn more about AIDS and HIV because of him?
Microsoft has announced that UFC content will be coming to the Xbox 360 starting December 1, 2011. Live pay-per-view events, on-demand content, press conferences, weigh-ins, and more will be available. The first live PPV broadcast will be UFC 140 on December 10. Here are the bullet points from the press release:
Live and On-Demand Video — Event previews, UFC Countdown, press conferences, weigh-ins, interviews, workouts, highlights, and more, together for the first time on your big screen.
Streaming HD Quality in 720p –UFC fans demand stunning HD viewing, and Xbox LIVE brings the most premium streaming HD to the big screen.
Pay-Per-View with Ease — The biggest pay-per-view fights available to all Xbox LIVE members in HD and SD pricing options. Purchase directly with your credit card, Microsoft Points not required.
Interactive Fight Card with Predictions — Size up the fighters with the tale of the tape and view their past fight results. Predict upcoming fights, compare results with friends for points and bragging rights, and see where you stand against them on the leaderboard, all accessible while watching the fight so you’ll never have to leave the excitement of the Octagon.
Control the action with Kinect — Focus on the fight instead of looking for the remote. Navigate through the video content, bring up the Interactive Fight Card, or play, pause, and rewind that big punch, kick or submission…all with the magic of Kinect.
I know that most of you are incredibly excited to control UFC events via Kinect. I kid, I kid. In all seriousness, this is a tremendous partnership. UFC is incredibly popular and Microsoft is being very aggressive with its television initiatives on Xbox 360. I have no doubt that this will be a great success for everyone involved.
Any of you psyched for you UFC on your Xbox 360? What features are you looking forward to the most?
