"I'm a celebrity....get me to rehab!"

So, Shaq is now a Phoenix Sun....amazing how he always manages to get himself on teams that are already contenders so we can trick ourselves into thinking he is better than he really is. Okay, fine...he is good. But when you are freakin seven feet tall you should be! I have never seen anyone bail faster in tough times than Shaq. And they said Kobe was the bitch? Anyway, I look forward to watching the aging Shaq, who is slower than ever, keep up with the fast pace of Suns basketball.

Between his rap, crappy movies and disrespectful one-liners is there a celebrity that gets away with being more of an asshole, with no marketing skills to boot, yet people still act like they are cool? He reminds me of that guy in high school who wasn't that good looking, wasn't that nice but was popular and everyone laughed at his jokes because he was good at sports. And you knew if he would have transferred to another school he would have been Joe Loser there. In any case, Shaq was in the house to watch his new teammates lose at home to New Orleans after a last minute buzzer beater by Peja....ha ha!

So, since I only have one of my shows showing new episodes (hooray for LOST even though I still haven't watched the premier yet) I have been sucked into the world of bad reality programming. Case in point: Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky. Has anybody else seen this crap? Oh my God, is this show out of control! The term "celebrity" should be used loosely here...basically every time they introduced a new patient I was kind of like "oh that guy" or "oh, wasn't she on the show, what's it called?" Anyway, Kinicki from Grease is on there and whoa buddy. is that guy a freakin disaster! The guy snorted pain pills from his wheelchair for his introductory video...real nice. One of the Baldwin brothers, Daniel, was on there and made it about a week. He didn't relapse but couldn't understand that the cameras wanted to follow him all the time. Ummm, maybe cause you are on a reality show, getting paid for it and have a reputation for being a spaz! With great programming like Rock of Love and I Love New York, VH1's development department should all get raises!

Speaking of rehab, two more additions. Eva Mendes and Kirsten Dunst???

What in THE hell is going on with these people? Kirsten always looks like shit but I thought she just had bad fashion sense, not alcoholism. Apparently her nickname is Kirsten Drunkst around the party circuit. Not good. Now Eva...she has been in like two movies and she is already wacked out? What is going on in Hollywood? More drug news....the results of Heath Ledger's autopsy are in. To no one's surprise his death has been ruled an accidental overdose of several different meds including sleeping pills, anxiety medication and oxycodone. What else can you do but shake your head?

Our homegirl Brit-Brit checked out of the psych ward is reportedly at home in LA under her father's care since he was recently put in charge of her welfare, including her medical records, finances and controlling all visitors. The Spears family is claiming that one of her papparazi posse members, Sam Lufti, who has been her constant companion in recent months was controlling her by drugging and emotionally abusing her? Where was Adnan during all of this?

Obviously that is just disgusting that he would do that to her but whether it's true or not, I think Brit has bigger problems and I hope with her family back in her good graces she will get her shit together.

And no word from K-Fed or his attorney lately....what gives?

And just because I miss her I thought I would post a picture of my girl, LC heading to her 22nd birthday party last week. She almost celebrated by becoming one of the latest Hollywood nip slips. The Hills is reportedly back on this summer. Wonder if Lohan will get any air time?

With Winehouse tightly ensconced in rehab we will have to settle for a pic of her uh, er, better half? I can see he is doing well with his recovery. I'm surprised Amy stayed in rehab with her man finally out of the big house.

I'm out for now....my apologies for my broken promise of Monday. I'm in the process of upgrading the laptop so hopefully I will have less issues and more posts in the coming days.

Down goes Federer!

Novak Djokovic upset the defending champ in straight sets early this morning calling a halt to Roger Federer's 40-match win streak and handing him his first straight sets loss since '04. Fighting back nerves of which have hindered his game in the past and a pro-Federer crowd, the 20-year-old Serbian had 50 winners to reach the Australian Open final. He will play against unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday. Tsonga upset world #2 Rafael Nadal yesterday.

While you can't deny that Roger is the best in the world and possibly the greatest men's tennis player of all time, I am glad to see some new talent keeping men's tennis interesting. With Roddick and Nadal out I didn't think I would have much motivation to watch the Final but I am excited to watch these two young guys go at it. I can't say that I am rooting for one over the other but I have seen more of Novak and really enjoy his personality on the court. Some interesting points about Novak's win....

On Saturday, another Serbian in Ana Ivanovic will take on Maria Sharapova in the women's final. Not a fan at all of Sharapova and it has nothing to do with her looks guys (which are overrated IMHO)....I cannot stand the screaming and the cheesy fist pump after EVERY SINGLE POINT! Plain and simple, she annoys me.

"HOOOOAAHHHHAHAHHHHAHHAHAHAHAHHA"

The Penguins lost to the hated Philadelphia Flyers last night by a score of 4-3. Yes folks, the Pens have lost all four meetings with Philly this year who just a season ago was one of the worst teams in the league. The loss drops the Pens to third place in the Atlantic Division. Geno, Sykora and Ryan Whitney scored and Georges Laraque did what he does best....get in fights and pick up penalties. He picked up two majors before capping off his night with 10-minute game misconduct after hitting Steve Downie from behind into the boards. I have yet to see the hit but I suppose if the Flyers (some of the dirtiest players in the league) are calling the hit worthy of a suspension it must be cringe-worthy. Considering Laraque's reputation I'm sure it gets a look by league officials.

The NHL All-Star game will be coming at ya from Atlanta this weekend. Sidney Crosby, Dan Heatley, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur all big names that are out of the game with injuries. Pens are back in action next Tuesday at New Jersey. The Devils and Flyers now sit atop the division so this will be a big game for the Pens.

Friday News Links:

LeBron continues to give a big eff you to the fine fans in Cleve-Land. So he wore the Yankees hat to Jacobs Field last year....alright. Now this....talk about a bitch slap! I don't know that I would buy a pair of shoes that has the word "suckers" stitched on them....but that's just me.

I know that we all are biased towards our own fan bases but to call the Eagles' fan base "the best"? If best means you are the loudest, most petulant, arrogant, beer throwing a-holes then no arguments here.

Amy figured out that smoking crack is wack. Or at least her record label did. So it's off to rehab for Miss Winehouse. Who wants to start the pool on how long she makes it??? P.S. Apparently blondes don't have for fun as Ames is "back in black". As you can see she looks nicer heading to detox than she does on stage.

More details continue to surface regarding Heath Ledger's death. First it was reported the apartment he was renting was owned by Mary-Kate Olsen which was denied by her camp. Now the police are saying that the masseuse thought MK should be called before the paramedics...in any case MK finally gave a short statement.

The Florida Primary elections are this Tuesday. Get your asses out and vote Floridians. Still not sure...here's some help. VOTE!!!!

Upset Saturday

Picking up where the '06 college football season left off, it's tough to be a top 10 team in men's college basketball right now. The #1 ranked UNC Tarheels lost at home to unranked Maryland 82-80 in ACC play this afternoon. I have seen highlights of two female fans in tears about five times already.

Other upsets today included Kansas State blowing out #9 Texas A & M, unranked USC taking care of the 4th ranked USC Trojans and Cinci had a crucial tip in to upset #16 Pitt. After pulling a great upset win of G-Town last week the Panthers suffered yet another injury today of forward Keith Benjamin. He cut his hand but returned and had trouble shooting but already down two starters this season sitting out wasn't an option. They will hope to rebound next week on the road at St. Johns.

In SEC action the Gators are taking on Kentucky in the O-Dome as I type. Florida, for the most part, has outplayed the Wildcats even with the turnovers approaching double digits. Lots of folk on hand for the game including former Gator Al Horford, Urban Meyer and of course Timmy T, the Mayor of Gainesville. Since Both Florida and Kentucky are not ranked at this point I don't know that you could put an upset alert on this game. But if the Gators don't take care of business tonight it will certainly upset me! Update: Game's in OT, Walter Hodge just hit a big three pointer to put the Gators ahead.

Following the continuing pattern of devastating injuries in the 'burgh, Sid the Kid is out indefinteily after suffering a serious ankle injury after hitting the boards hard in a loss at Tampa Bay last night. Sucks for the Pens and all hockey fans as Sid will have to sit out of the NHL All Star game next week after being the top vote getter. However, it doesn't appear to be time to hit the panic button just yet as the Pens topped the Canadiens 2-0 in Montreal today.

The upsets have not been limited to basketball as Andy Roddick bit the dust in the Australian Open yesterday after a four hour plus match against some German guy named Kohlschreiber.

He had career high 42 aces but when your opponent hits about 100 winners there's not much you can do. The majors have not been kind to Andy since his '03 win at the US Open, his only major career win. Since the Open airs in the early morning hours I only caught the final set but that was enough to catch Roddick asking the chair ump if he had made it past 2nd grade. Good stuff...Tennis Jesus , Roger Federer also had quite the scare needing five sets to take out Janko Terpasevic. Just once can we have a tournament without him....sure his record is impressive but it has turned men's tennis into a real bore for me.

Big fight in NYC tonight. At least in terms of big names since both fighters are on the downward spiral in their careers. Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Roy Jones, Jr will be throwing down in the Garden later tonight.

Kieran Mulvaney is live blogging the event over at ESPN.com. Looks like the crowd will be pulling for Tito even though Jones is a heavy favorite. But upsets are in the air tonight...

Winehouse check...yep...still batshit crazy.

Sad news for Steeler Nation. Ernie Holmes was tragically killed in a car accident yesterday in Texas. Ernie was a part of two Super Bowl winning teams and a member of the Steel Curtain. He was 59.

Can the Chargers and Giants pull some upsets of their own tomorrow? We shall see...

Black Monday: Part Deux

STEELERS - 29

JAGOFFS - 31

Well, that just sucked. I'm glad the Steelers came back from an 18-point deficit to make a game of it, particularly after a very poor first half of football. Ben took the blame, but honestly two of the int's were just great plays by Jagoff DB Rashean Mathis. Now I'm not saying Ben wasn't a factor in the loss but I would still take him over any of the other QB's that came out of the 2004 Draft. And most certainly over David Garrard who, despite being a winning quarterback out of Wild Card weekend, is still more of a game manager than an elite QB. It's important to win something first unless, of course, you live in Peter King's world. Although that guy flip flops more than a presidential candidate.

I would dissect the game for you but too much beer and a refusal to read or watch anything sports related since Saturday has left me rather uneducated on the stats. However, I saw enough on Saturday and all season long to call our play calling a bit suspect at times. 3rd and 6 and run a QB keeper....for reals???

While the season is over there is much to be determined. Faneca's status as a free agent, how all these injuries are going to heal in the off season and what the hell they plan to to with the o-line issues.

Also, I was called out by an anonymous poster for my lecture given to Steelers fans about their lack of enthusiasm. Being that I don't live in the 'burgh these days I have to rely on the local Pittsburgh news outlets and those I know that still live there. I stand by the fact that I felt there was not the same level of excitement entering the playoffs as we have had in years past. But Steelers Nation showed up at Heinz Field on Saturday night and the place was electric from what I saw and from what I heard from those that were there. My apologies for doubting you all....

P.S. A little foreshadowing on my part by calling Saturday's post: "Saturday Night's alright for fighting" although I wasn't the one throwing punches. I won't get into it but let's say this....Jags fans are the worst winners in the league. To the guy who told me that Ben probably holds the record for INT's in the playoffs....I'm not sure that he does....but this I KNOW; I can guarantee the Jagoffs are the first playoff team to have THREE blackouts in a season. Now there's something to be noted for in the record books. A%#holes.

To cap off a perfectly shitty weekend in Pittsburgh the Panthers dropped their first Big East game to Villanova yesterday. Another 'burgh team to feel the wrath of the injury bug. However, on a lighter note, there is a congratulations is order for the other Panthers. The Pitt women's basketball team upset 15th-ranked DePaul yesterday. The Lady Panthers scored first and never relinquished the lead winning 97-68.

More good news, the Pens shut out the Florida Panthers yesterday capping off what was terrific week for them and certainly a bright spot for Pittsburgh sports fans. Wins against Toronto, Buffalo and Florida puts their win streak at six games. Malkin also had his first career hat trick against Toronto on Thursday in a game where the Pens scored three goals in 48 seconds. Sid's excellence continues and Conklin's goal tending has been above average. It appears after a slow start this season the Pens are finally playing to their potential.

Let's see what else is going on in the world:

And the hits just keep on coming for Brit-Brit. Now Dr. Phil is involved. Apparently he was going to air a show on Britney tomorrow but the plug has been pulled after some of her family members pulled out.

"Britney, you need to get reeeeaalllll!"

Ummm, Reggie Bush is hooking it up with Kim Kardashian? Why didn't I know this? If they get married she can be Kim Bush.....ha ha ha. I can just see that is neon lights, can't you?

Time to check in old Winehouse....passed out on a couch in the airport and dressed to kill. Yep, that's our special girl!

Well, I am going to try and make it through the rest of the day unscathed by all my co-workers who were Jaguars fans for the weekend. One already said she wasn't sure if she was going to root for the Jags or one of her other teams. Seriously, these are the kind of people I deal with. Welcome to my frustration.

Good Friday

The top three most followed teams in Pittsburgh went three for three last night. Steelers defeated the Rams in St Louis, Pitt beat Duke in OT at Madison Square Garden and the Pens still beat the Boston Bruins in a shootout after blowing a 4-0 lead in regulation. Let's get started...

STEELERS - 41 RAMS- 24

THE GOOD

• Ben - He played a great game despite, as usual, running for his life. Only the third QB this season to have a perfect passer rating. As I have stated before, I have no idea where we would be without him.




• Najeh - The Dumptruck filled in quite well for Willie last night and really pounded out some yardage which is something that I don't think is Willie's forte. Obviously his role will change and he can disassociate himself with our very special, special teams.




• We are now a half of a game ahead of the Browns in the division.

THE BAD

• Willie's done for the season. Despite my lack of Willie love I acknowledge the tremendous loss of the league's leading rusher from the roster. Our RB depth is pretty sketchy so I will be curious to see who they pick up in the next week. I'm sure Verron will get a look. That guy is in line to become the new Brian St. Pierre of the Steelers. What a shame that Willie will miss out on playing in his first Pro Bowl. Now Freddy T is replacing him...that should appease Jags fans that are riding the "no respect" train.
  
  
• O-line - Keeping Ben healthy is critical right now which means it would be really nice if these guys got off the block faster than senior citizens. Ben is the second most sacked QB in the league...there something Tomlin should throw into his "news" come next Wednesday.


• Special Teams continuing to be anything but. Can we sign Ron Zook on a game by game basis?

THE UGLY

• Deion, Marshall and Gumbel in the booth. Do you feel dumber today or is it just me?



• IF we make the playoffs, our two likely opponents? Jags or the Browns....not happy about this...

Moving on...big ups to Pitt basketball for winning probably one of the biggest non-conference games they have played in a very long time. I have always rode the line between wondering if they have been overrated in the past or just the epitome of underachievers. They came back from a 16-point deficit at half time to force OT. Unfortunately, Mike Cook suffered what appeared to be, a significant knee injury but it certainly lit a fire under Fields rear end who scored the game winning 3-pointer with seconds left to secure the win.


It always feels good to beat a great time but seriously...is there a more hated team in college basketball than Duke? (Shout out to Natalie....might be time to put JJ back on the myspace layout!)


Congrats to Coach Dixon, Blair, Fields, Sam Young and the rest of the Pitt Panthers. Pretty good time to be a Pitt fan, eh?

The Penguins capped off the night with a shoot out victory in Boston. I didn't see any of the game but from what I understand Conklin wasn't too bad. He did after all, stop two penalty shots to secure the win. The Pens are now 17-15 and three points out of first place in Atlantic Division. But more importantly Sid the Kid got in his first fight last night! Woo hoo! It was against Andrew Ference who I read used to be a Penguin. But the way they move around in the NHL it can be easy to forget players. Outside of the marquis guys, the average number of teams played for is probably at least 6.

Anyhoo, if you want to watch video of Sid's first throw down click here: http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/39333 (Thanks to Mondesi's House for leading me to a website that archives hockey fights....how great is that!)



All in all, it was a good night for Pittsburgh and congrats all around. The Steelers finish up the regular season in Baltimore on the 30th so my blood pressure should stay at healthy levels through Christmas.


Here's some other fun links to send you into the weekend!

• Not sure who it would be worse to be right now...Tony Romo or Jessica Simpson? http://www.ruinromo.com/ (Thanks Bob!)



• Ike Turner died recently. Apparently enough people care that TMZ.com felt it it necessitated a live stream on their website. I'm sure Tina is all over that.

• Time to check in on Winehouse....let's see...just leaving jail, riding with a sketchy looking bloke and doing her best to look wacked out. Nothing new to report then....

That's it for now. I wish you all a very happy Friday and a great weekend ahead. Please try and not kill anyone while last minute shopping....okay, I was talking to myself there. Have a good one!

Hump Day Highlights...or should I say lowlights?

STEELERS-22

JAGOFFS- 29

Well, here I am, back from the 'burgh. Obviously a disappointing game on many levels. Mostly because I live in Jacksonville and all the Jags "fans" love to crawl out of the woodwork about now. Honestly, I wish I could give a great game summary but here's what I remember....it was freakin cold. I mean COLD! As soon as Chris Kirkpatrick (I heart *N'Sync!) belted out the first line of the National Anthem the skies opened up and the snow and wind was swirling around like crazy. Seriously though...huge drops by just about everyone, bad run defense and Ben running for his life. You know, what feels to be a typical game the last few weeks.

Now we need to beat St. Louis in yet another trap game for us. And do it on a short week of preparation. I hate these Thursday Night games but that's for another post. Everyone hates the term "must win" but no doubt this game qaulifies as such for the Steelers. The last thing we need is to have to walk into Baltimore in order to clinch the division.

Another thought on the game....what's up with the Steelers' fans on Sunday? I know that the games have been sold out since 1970 and all that but what happened to actually going to the games? I mean...in YOUR SEAT! That means that just because you got shitfaced and ate a pound of pierogies at your tailgate doesn't mean you were actually at the game, you know supporting your team and helping with that thing called home field advantage. I have lived in Florida for 10 years and I sat my ass there for the entire game. Stop taking it for granted 'burghers! Besides, it makes it kind of hard for me to make fun of other team's fans. Insert a cringing emoticon here.

On a much happier note I was so glad to see Ben make the Pro Bowl. He certainly doesn't have the flashy stats as Wonder Boy or Peyton year in and year out but let's get real here...without him I'm not sure what our record is right now. Also congrats in order for Willie, Silverback, Faneca and Troy. I read that Ben plans to take his o-line with him to Hawaii...he never stops trying to motivate them to you know....DO THEIR JOB!

Other than the game, I had a blast as I always do when I go home. Only one thing I missed....didn't get my roast beef and cheese from Primanti's. Fortunately I leave for home again next week so I won't have to wait long!

More stuff:

Here's some super fun news! Jamie Lynn Spears is preggers! Yes, Brit's little sister apparently also wants to be a young mom just like her big sis did. Hey ya'll...they're country!

Amy Winehouse Update: Arrested and released on bail for obstructing justice. She has already canceled her European Tour, snorted enough coke to kill a horse and has had her mother publicly plead through a long ass letter to encourage her to get her act together. 2007 has not been her year. Looky here...I found a picture of her without her trademark beehive. If she kepts her mouth closed she might actually not look that bad.

Dadgummit! Those boys in Tallahassee just can't get their learn on! Look on the bright side, Bobby, they only caught half your team! http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3159534

I'm still getting back into the swing of things so I apologize for the short post today. I will strive to get my priorities straight this week....no beer, just blogging! I appreciate coming home to my inbox full of e-mails asking where I've been! Thanks to all my peeps for continuing to read!

...Super Sophomore!

Congratulations to Tim Tebow on his historic Heisman Trophy win last night. Well deserved. If you didn't catch it last night, he loves being a Gator!

Floyd Mayweather continues his undefeated record after his 10th round knock out of Ricky Hatton. To be honest I was very surpirsed when I heard this after watching two pretty non-impressive showings from Floyd in his last two fights. Not to mention he was very busy training for Dancing with the Stars during his fight training. Best fight highlight: Mayweather's entrance with his DWTS compadres...Mark Cuban, Helio Castroneves and Wayne Newton. Hilarious....but what's Las Vegas without some Wayne in the house!

Just when I thought we couldn't see anything worse out of Amy Winehouse. 'Nuff said. It's time to say yes, yes, yes to rehab lady before you lose it all.

Who looks in the mirror looking like this and says, "Damn...I look suhweeet today!" And those little bazillionaire Olsen twins have the audacity to complain about being recognized? Honey, it's hard to miss a train wreck!

Almost game time. No one is picking the Steelers although, the last I heard the spread was down to 10.5 points. Dick LeBeau is going to have his hands full this afternoon as the league's #1 defense squares off against the #1 offense.

The Steelers have had some slow starts this season and we absolutely have no chance if the Pats get up early. Hopefully, the special teams will get their ass in gear today after some horrific performances this season. Or else we will be the folks eating humble pie.

I'm out...a happy Sunday Funday to all!