In what must be labelled Retirement 2.0, Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement using social media services Tout and Twitter. It was a very cool and very modern way to make such a big announcement. It used to be that athletes would contact an important journalist or an established news outlet to leak this kind of information. These days a lot of athletes — and their marketing teams — are taking advantage of social media services for a new kind of buzz that connects them with their fans more directly.
As for the player himself, Shaq was the most dominant center I’ve seen live. At his prime, his combination of speed and power were ridiculous. I’d rank him as the fourth-best center of all time behind Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
What do you boys and girls think of Shaq’s use of social media to announce his retirement? How will you remember him as a player? Where do you think he ranks among the all-time greats?
Dallas Mavericks guard JJ Barea is an impressive basketball player. It’s impressive that a man that’s 5’9″ consistently drives to the hoop while getting pounded by players that are taller than him by a foot or more. His speed is impressive. His shot making and crazy passes are impressive. All that aside, the most impressive thing about JJ Barea is that he’s dating Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006. Let us honor JJ’s amazing accomplishment by looking at photos of Zuleyka Rivera.
The 2011 NBA finals are set! It’ll be the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Miami Heat. Who do you think will win? Who are you rooting for?!? As for me…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Klatch’s Costa Rica Helsar de Zarcero, Amazon’s Mac download store, or anticipation for Italian beef sandiches, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
The 2011 NBA finals are set! It’ll be the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Miami Heat. Who do you think will win? Who are you rooting for?!? As for me, I think Miami will take it in six…but I’m hoping that they lose. Yeah, I feel bad for not backing Pinoy coach Erik Spoelstra, but I’d love to see Dirk Nowitzki get a ring. I’m also dying to see David Stern hand Mark Cuban the Larry O’Brien Trophy. In my head Cuban accepts, waits for Stern to turn around, and smashes the trophy over his head. Cuban, Nowitzki, and Kidd put the boots on him for a few minutes and spray paint “NWO” on his back. That would be awesome.
Now it’s your turn! Please let me know what you think will happen and what you want to happen in this year’s NBA finals.
I’ve watched more episodes of SportsCenter than any other show in the history of television. Hell, there was one summer in college when my roommate and I would watch it thrice a day. Earlier this week, my friend and I were chatting about the best SportsCenter announcing duo of all time. Who’s your favorite pair?
There are so many greats to choose from. Old-school fans can pull out Chris Berman and Charley Steiner. Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick are arguably the most famous duo, though some people feel that Patrick had a better vibe with Kenny Mayne. As for me, I’m going with Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott. These guys had a perfect blend of professionalism, approachability, and humor. Watching them on SportsCenter felt like getting sports news from two hilarious guys hanging out in my favorite Irish pub.
Now it’s your turn! Who’s your favorite SportsCenter duo of all time?
The 2011 NBA playoffs have been fascinating. There are just so many great stories happening at the same time. Young players like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose are taking their games to the next level. The old guard…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Donovan McNabb not being black enough for Bernard Hopkins, sexy Spanish mermaids, or the day Pippa Middleton stops getting press, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
The 2011 NBA playoffs have been fascinating. There are just so many great storylines happening at the same time. Young players like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose are taking their games to the next level. The old guard of the Celtics and Lakers appear to be headed to that bastard level — good enough to make the playoffs, but obviously not good enough to win it all. Some mute doppelganger has replaced Mark Cuban. People are fascinated to see how year one of “Miami Thrice” ends. This has been the most intriguing NBA post-season in a long, long time.
How do you think it will play out? Will the Bulls or Heat make it out of the east? Will the Mavericks or Thunder win the west? Who’s going to win the whole enchilada?!? Make your NBA finals predictions in the comments section (please)!
I just bought Manny Pacquiao’s version of “Sometimes When We Touch“. It’s so awesomely bad. Also, I’ve had a few glasses of wine. He’s an amazing boxer, but he can’t sing for sh*t. I love that he released a single. The unintentional comedy value is tremendous.
In his never-ending quest to be the biggest dick in Yankee history, Alex Rodriguez allegedly went ballistic over footage of Cameron Diaz feeding him popcorn during Super Bowl XLV. Some people thought that the footage was cute and made A-Rod seem likable. Others thought it was the latest in a long line of tool moves by Rodriguez. Most of the universe agreed that Derek Jeter — a real, honorable Yankee — would never have put himself in that position. Instead, A-Rod made it worse by (allegedly) having a fit over the free press. According to a Chicago Sun-Times source:
He really went ballistic — thinking the cameraman was out to get them in a paparazzi-like shot. That’s so crazy. Anyone who knows anything about producing a live sports event — especially something as huge as the Super Bowl — would know that those celebrity shots are purely random.
Once again, A-Rod has embarrassed himself and the entire Yankee organization. On the plus side, this article was a fun way to take cheap shots at Rodriguez and an excellent excuse to post photos of Cameron Diaz.
Now that Super Bowl XLV has come and gone, I wanted to discuss the most important aspects of the event: the halftime show and commercials! Most of my friends panned The Black Eyes Peas’ performance, making lots of…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the food at Hooter’s, the hot waitress at Hooter’s that looked like Amy Smart, or your favorite Hooter’s sauce, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Now that Super Bowl XLV has come and gone, I wanted to discuss the most important aspects of the event: the halftime show and commercials! Most of my friends panned The Black Eyes Peas’ performance, making lots of Tron jokes, but I enjoyed it. Of course I’m biased because I want my fellow Filipino-American apl.de.ap to do well, but I genuinely liked the set. It was a nice mix of old and new hits. It was awesome that Slash emerged from hell to play “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” and that Usher descended from heaven to perform “Oh My Gosh”. I was disappointed that Justin Timberlake didn’t come out (from purgatory?) to sing the chorus to “Where is the Love?”, but overall I thought it was a fun halftime show that was visually unique.
As for the commercials, they were okay. For me, there were more misses than hits in 2011. Here are my three favorite spots. Coming in at #3 is this adorable VW Passat ad featuring an adorable baby Darth Vader.
My favorite commercial was this House ad that parodied the classic Coca-Cola commercial starring Mean Joe Greene. I’ve included the original for reference.
Now it’s your turn! Please let me know what you thought of Super Bowl (not Superb Owl) XLV’s halftime show and share your favorite commercials.
Here’s some space to post your Super Bowl XLV predictions and discuss the game on Sunday. It’ll be like watching it together! I also wanted to get your take on the odds, as well as your over/under picks. Last time I checked, the Steelers were slightly favored:
Super Bowl XLV Odds
-125 Pittsburgh Steelers
+105 Green Bay Packers
The over/under was set at 45. Which way would you bet?
For the record, I’m rooting for the Steelers on behalf of RPadholic N8R and my old G4TV coworker Bleahy (I know you guys miss him. I do too.).
Football is definitely coming to Los Angeles. Do you know how I know this? Farmers Insurance has agreed to pay $700-million to have its name attached to a downtown Los Angeles football stadium. I wouldn’t expect an insurance company to dish out that kind of money for something that isn’t a sure thing. Here’s the word from The Examiner:
Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, it was announced that Farmers Insurance has agreed to be the naming sponsor for a football stadium in the downtown area of the city.
The deal is valued at $700 million over 30 years, starting with $20 million for the first year and gradually increasing over time. The proposed name of the stadium is Farmer’s Field.
The rumor is that part of the Los Angeles Convention Center will be destroyed to make room for the new stadium. My secret wish is that this will lead to E3 moving from LA to Las Vegas. The industry has grown up so much in the last five years. It needs to regress a bit…well, at least I want it to. Ha!
