Fans can vote for NBA MVP

Will LeBron James win his second consecutive MVP award or can Dwight Howard or Kevin Durant bring home their first trophy? Basketball fans will now have a voice in who wins the league's MVP award as the NBA announced today that for the first time ever, fans will have the opportunity to vote for the MVP presented by Kia Motors.

From April 1 to April 15 at NBA.com, fans will be able to vote for their top five MVP choices. The combined fan vote will count as one vote, with the remaining 124 votes coming from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

"The impetus was how do we continue to engage our fans, empower our fans and get them involved and reward them for being fans of the NBA," executive vice president of NBA global marketing partnerships Mark Tatum said. "They cheer our players all throughout the year, and it's only right that they have an opportunity to determine who the league MVP should be."

Fans can also enter a chance to win 2011 Kia and a trip to this season's NBA Finals where the winner will watch a game with NBA Hall of Famers and former MVPs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving.

Tight End competition on ice

Washington Redskins tight ends Chris Cooley and Fred Davis make up the best pass catching duo in the league, but there likely won't be enough balls thrown their way next season. The two TE's took their competition to the next level last night when they raced tricycles on the ice during intermission at Senators-Capitols game. This sounds like an injury waiting to happen, but check out who is Washington's top tight end for the moment.

(via Mr. Irrelevant)

Mattingly's Simpsons Check

Yankees legend Don Mattingly and his famous sideburns made an appearance on "The Simpsons" back in 1992 and believe it or not, he still receives residuals from the "Home at Bat" episode.

Although we don't know how much he was initially paid, we do now know that late last year, "Donny Baseball" received a huge check from 20th Century Fox for 61 cents.

This check has Mattingly's authenticated endorsement signature on the back and is now available at Schulte Auctions with a current bid of $252.00.

This is a residual check from Don Mattingly's appearance on The Simpsons 1992 episode, "Homer at Bat." Donnie appeared with other Major League all stars as ringers for Mr. Burns' softball team.

The check is made out to Don Mattingly from Fox Studios and has been endorsed by Don on the back. The signature was witnessed by Schulte Sports and comes with their tamper-proof hologram.

"The Street Stops Here" premieres tonight

Almost a year ago, we posted a trailer for a documentary called "The Street Stops Here," that follows St. Anthony's (New Jersey) high school basketball program and legendary coach Bob Hurley.

Filmed during the 2008 basketball season, the doc focuses on the financial and personal struggles at St. Anthony's and Hurley's commitment to keeping the school open, his basketball program running smoothly and giving his players the chance to go to college. The class includes current NCAA players Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas), Mike Rosario (Rutgers) and Travon Woodall (Pitt) among others.

Two years later, we finally get to see this documentary as "The Street Stops Here" will premiere tonight on PBS at 10:00 pm ET. The doc is presented by WTTW National Productions and produced by Chicago-based TeamWorks Media (TWM). If you don't have PBS, you can buy the DVD here.

Caron's Mavs Musk

Since going cold turkey on his Mountain Dew addiction, quiting to chew straws during games and being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Caron Butler is a new man.

To get fans pumped up for the team's playoff run, the Mavericks have created a video featuring Butler poking fun at The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Old Spice commercial. Butler and his huge head promote "Maverick Musk."

(via Game On!)

Obama to go 1-on-1 with Kellogg

President Barack Obama's NCAA tournament bracket is busted (He picked Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Villanova for his Final Four), but the Commander-in-Chief isn't finished with March Madness.

On Thursday, Obama is scheduled for an interview with CBS "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith at the White House basketball court and after the segment, he will challenge the network's basketball analyst Clark Kellogg to a 1-on-1 game.

Clips from the game and an interview with Smith will air on The Early Show on Friday, April 2 and the rest of the game and an interview with Kellogg will air the following day, during CBS' coverage of the NCAA Final Four.

Earlier this season, Obama attended the Duke vs. Georgetown game and provided some live commentary for CBS alongside Kellogg and play-by-play man Vern Lunquist. The President called Kellogg the "best color man in college basketball," and hinted that a game between the two might be coming.

My money is on Kellogg, who was a star forward at Ohio State and a first round pick of the Pacers, before knee issues prematurely ended his pro career.

Another tourney heartbreak for Xavier

Just a few days ago, the Xavier men's basketball team lost a double overtime thriller to Kansas State in the Sweet 16 and now the school's women's team has followed up with an even great heartbreak loss.

With under 16 seconds left in their game last night vs. top-seeded Stanford, Xavier senior Dee Dee Jernigan missed two wide-open layups that would have broken a 53-53 tie. After a timeout, Stanford's Jeanette Pohlen drove the length of the floor in 4.4 seconds for the game-winning layup to give the Cardinal a 55-53 victory and a trip to their third straight Final Four.

Check out the crazy finish below.

Bradford solidifies #1 spot

Throwing publicly for the first time since shoulder surgery, 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford put together an incredible Pro Day workout at Oklahoma that should lead to the Rams selecting the signal caller with the #1 pick.

Although throwing against air, Bradford still went 13 for 13 during a warmup session, then missed only one of 50 passes in the workout. A slant throw was slightly behind Adron Tennell but still hit the receiver in the hands. So will the 6'4" 235 lb. quarterback end up as the #1 pick?

"Really positive. I thought the whole workout was positive," said St. Louis Rams general manager Billy Devaney, who has the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, which starts April 22. "I think he answered a lot of questions for a lot of people today."

Bradford said he had breakfast with coach Steve Spagnuolo and the Rams' offensive staff before his workout. Devaney also said the Rams plan to have a private workout with Bradford.

"It's another piece," Devaney said of the Rams' evaluation of Bradford. "It's an important piece, but it's a piece."

Bradford said every player dreams of being picked first in the draft, but he hasn't given it much thought. And he said it would be up to the Rams whether he'd sign a deal before draft day, should they decide to take him at No. 1.

The quarterback sat down with ESPN's Todd McShay right after the Pro Day workout. Check out Bradford's thoughts below.

WVU celebrates Final Four with "John Wall dance"

Throughout the NCAA tournament, West Virginia has been making entertaining videos celebrating their victories and making fun of their opponents. After defeating Kentucky on Saturday to advance to the Final Four, Mountaineers DaSean Butler and John Flowers celebrated by doing the "John Wall dance." At the :45 mark, the duo breaks out the famous dance moves. Butler then mocks some moves that Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins used at various times this season. Alley oop to The Big Lead.

Target Practice with Gostkowski

New England Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski is one of the best kickers in the NFL, but to improve his game during the offseason he is hosting some live target practice. Over the weekend, a Boston radio host was dangled 100 feet above ground between the uprights as Gotkowski booted kicks in his direction. Unfortunately, the Patriots didn't video tape the practice session, thus the quality is a little subpar. Check out WAAF-FM’s highlights from the kicking demonstration. Thanks to SportsbyBrooks for the perfect snap and hold.

Tebow helps fan with wedding proposal

Regardless of your opinions on Tim Tebow, his throwing motion and his NFL potential, it is hard to argue that he isn't a great teammate and genuinely a good dude.

The latest proof occurred over the weekend at an autograph session in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Tebow threw the ultimate touchdown pass, when he helped a fan propose to his girlfriend.

From the YouTube description: "This is Tim Tebow helping Ian Lis propose to his new fiance Sarah Springer... Tebow had the ring for 45 minutes waiting for the couple to come up and take a photo with him and his Heisman Trophy. He was more than happy to help make the occasion one they will never forget."

(via BackPorch)

Roddick vs. Wade in Miami

Tennis star Andy Roddick and Miami Heat G Dwyane Wade met up in Miami over the weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open to challenge eachother in their respective sports. The duo hit some tennis balls and played an intense game of H-O-R-S-E. Wade looked pretty lost on the tennis court and his backhand could use some major work, but Roddick actually has a nice jump shot. Check out some highlights of the matchup.

(via Buster Racquet)

Nets owner on "60 Minutes"

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is expected to be approved as the majority owner of the New Jersey Nets next month and he gave his first U.S. TV interview with a profile on CBS’s “60 Minutes” last night.

In an interview with Steve Kroft, Prokhorov said, “I am real excited to take the worst team of the league and turn it to be the best.” The Nets are currently 9-64 and need one victory in their final nine games to escape tying the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in league history.

Prokhorov discusses his planned buy of the Nets, his enormous wealth and the unusual way he made most of his money.

Check out a portion of the interview below and you can watch the very interesting full interview here. Prokhorov is going to quickly become the most entertaining owner in the NBA.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Phil Dunphy writes sports rants

"Modern Family" dad Ty Burrell stars in the latest FunnyOrDie.com video where he plays a sports rants writer responsible for some of the most entertaining quotes in recent memory. Charlie Hoard penned classic athlete rants from Mike Tyson, Allen Iverson, Dennis Green, Joe Namath and Stephon Marbury. Language is definitely NSFW, but throw on your headphones because this clip is a must watch. Check it out here

Swisher won't sing "Sweet Caroline"

ESPN has released a :30 promo for the network's kickoff of "Sunday Night Baseball" on April 4 between arch rivals Boston and New York. In the commercial, Red Sox P Clay Buchholz and actor Adam Scott sing the popular Fenway Park song "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond while watching Sunday Night Baseball. However, Yankees OF/1B Nick Swisher isn't amused by the duet and won't join in on the chorus.

Djokovic vs. Tennis Machine

A viral video produced by tennis racquet company Head and staring the #2 player ranked in the world Novak Djokovic has been circulating around the Internet this week. In the clip below, Djokovic and his team of scientists create a "powered perpetual motion machine" and challenge the laws of physics.

Head has also created a website where fans can view a live feed of the tennis racquet machine in action. Check out Djokovic's experiment below.

(via Busted Racquet)

NFL extends draft green room invites

The NFL Draft green room is beginning to fill up as NFL.com reports today that eight prospects have confirmed that they will attend next month's draft in New York. The following players will be in the green room a month from today when the 75th NFL draft begins on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET:

Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma

Russell Okung, T, Oklahoma State

Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech

Trent Williams, T, Oklahoma

Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee

Eric Berry, S, Tennessee

Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State

The league has also extended invites to a quartet of quartebacks including Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. Bradford and Clausen will be selected in the first round whereas McCoy and Tebow could be waiting a while for their names to be called. They would most certainly break Aaron Rodgers' record for longest green room stay. The QB out of Cal had to wait until the 24th pick of the 2005 draft to hear his name called by Green Bay.

According to NFL.com the players will arrive in New York City on Tuesday night of draft week and do a host of charity and sponsor events, including clinics for children and a visit to a children's hospital, before Thursday.

Pujols' milk mustache

With MLB's opening day right around the corner, reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols is preparing for the season by drinking milk. The National Dairy Council's Body by Milk campaign announced that the Cardinals first baseman will appear in new Milk Mustache prints ads. Pujols' ad features the copy, "Want muscle? got milk?"

Pujols joins fellow Milk Mustache athletes, NBA All-Star Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz and gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, as part of the Milk Mustache "Dream Team" to inspire teens to "Drink Milk for a Change."

The trio each appear in their own "got milk?" print ads, school banners and posters and join the ranks of more than 290 other athletes, actors, models and musicians who have lent their upper lips in support of milk and its many health benefits.

J-Smoove's game winning dunk

Last night's Magic-Hawks game looked like it was headed to overtime. Magic G Vince Carter hit a long three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left to tie the game at 84 and Hawks G Joe Johnson took a potential game-winning shot as the final seconds were ticking away. The shot bounced off the rim and Hawks F Josh Smith came out of nowhere for a huge dunk follow-up as the buzzer sounded. Smith's dunk not only won the game but clinched a playoff spot for Atlanta. Check out the incredible finish below.

Urban rips reporter

Florida Gators head football coach Urban Meyer is back from his leave of absence and his already making his presence felt again with the local media. Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler wrote an blog post earlier this week that talked about how the Gators will perform in the post Tebow era. Fowler quoted Gators WR Deonte Thompson saying that he was excited to have a real quarterback now with John Brantley in comparison to Tebow.

"You never know with Tim," Thompson said. "You can bolt, you think he's running but he'll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything's with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback."

Meyer was not happy with the blog post and confronted Fowler yesterday at Gators practice. He defended his players and threatened the reporter.

You'll be out of practice -- you understand that? -- if you do that again," he said to Fowler. "I told you five years ago: Don't mess with our players. Don't do it. You did it. You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel's not welcome here ever again. Is that clear? It's yes or no."

Meyer didn't stop there however, further threatening Fowler. "If that was my son, we'd be going at it,'' Meyer said. Check out the video below for the full encounter.

D-League partners with Fanhouse

The NBA D-League has signed a three-year partnership with sports website AOL FanHouse and the site will show a weekly live game online, offer video highlights and editorial content. The content will be featured in a dedicated D-League section at nba.fanhouse.com/nbadleague.

The first live game on FanHouse.com will be tonight at 9:00pm ET between the Utah Flash and Idaho Stampede. According to Sports Business Daily, the pact will seek to complement the D-League's existing digital presence on NBA.com, which includes the free NBA Futurecast package of free live game video, as well as a national TV deal signed in January with Versus.

"This provides a lot of additional visibility for us," said D-League President Dan Reed. "We think it reflects really well in the interest in our league, and is an important addition to our media roster."

"Hard Knocks" to star NY Jets

Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez, LaDainian Tomlinson and the New York Jets will be featured on the 7th season of the HBO reality series “Hard Knocks.”

Owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Ryan will hold a press conference Thursday for a “major media announcement” where they will announce the team's "Hard Knocks" plans.

It would seem tough to top last season's "Hard Knocks" which featured the Bengals and their entertaining lineup of Chad Ochocinco, Tank Johnson, Rey Maualuga and coach Marvin Lewis, but the Jets are a perfect fit for the popular reality show, which gives fan an inside look at a NFL team during training camp.

According to the Star-Ledger, the team features a colorful cast of characters that includes linebacker Bart Scott, widely recognized as part of the league’s trash talking royalty. Nose tackle Kris Jenkins’ gift of gab is sure to be a hit too. Sprinkle in GQ cover boy Mark Sanchez and the ratings should go through the roof.

Season 7 with the Jets is poised to be great television as there are a ton of great offseason stories and player personalities on the club.

Want to be the new AD at Oregon?

Think you have what it takes to run the University of Oregon athletic department? The Oregonian is hosting a mock application process for the vacant AD gig.

Can you manage a $66 million budget, field nationally competitive programs and explain what a “stunts and gymnastics” team is? Then step up to the plate (the Ducks have baseball now) and apply.

Here’s a sample from The Oregonian:

Name: WebsBetweenToes

E-mail: sports@news.oregonian.com

Hometown: Troutdale

As Oregon athletic director I would: Tax the sale of orange on campus, including oranges, and use the money to offset the cost of tickets at Knight Arena.

One way to improve football gameday would be: to have port-a-potties in the parking lot for Oregon alumni only.

Phil Knight would like me because: I’ve never stolen a laptop computer or sheep.

Kurt Warner "Walks it Out"

Although 38-year-old Kurt Warner has retired from the NFL, he is still staying making moves on the gridiron. At a recent charity flag football game, the two-time NFL MVP broke out in dance to the Unk song, "Walk it Out."

Thank gosh someone had their video camera rolling, however this performance shouldn't come as a surprise since Warner walked it out on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" back in February of 2009. Maybe he should have been cast on this season of "Dancing with the Stars."

(via First Cuts)

Smithy coaches Beckham & Murray

Earlier this month, we posted a video of English actor/comedian James Corden and his "Smithy" character from BBC's "Sport Relief" show coaching Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and his teammates. Smithy used special technique in teaching Rooney proper aerobic exercises and rocked out to Joe Esposito's pump-up jam, “You’re the best around.”

Now that Sport Relief has aired the whole video series has been released. Not only does Smithy coach Rooney, but also spends some quality guy time with David Beckham. Who knew Becks was such a good actor. In addition, Smithy dominates tennis star Andy Murray with Esposito's track in the background. Check out the entertaining clips below via SportsCracklePop.

Johnson's new ride

Although he might sit out the Titans' offseason workouts in hopes of getting a new contract, NFL Offensive Player of the Year Chris Johnson made a big purchase recently. The 2,000 yard rusher purchased a two-toned Chevy Impala with a yellow body and green top and 30-inch yellow rims.

CJ described it on Twitter as, "My donk on 30inch sliders done talking whoever want it." Pretty incredible ride for Johnson and it definitely rivals Darren McFadden's car when he was at Arkansas.

Johnson is signed through 2012 and Titans coach Jeff Fisher has already called a new contract "premature." According to ESPN's Len Pasquarelli, Johnson is set to earn a base salary of just $560,000 in 2010 after setting the record for most yards from scrimmage (2,509) in 2009. He won't be happy, but he could very well have to wait until next offseason to get his raise. At least he will be driving in style this offseason.

eBay Item of the Day: NIU signed poster

With the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 going down later this week, the biggest surprise so far is the run of Northern Iowa University. The Panthers upset #1 overall ranked Kansas, point guard Ali Farokhmanesh is now a household name and the team appears on this week's cover of Sports Illustrated.

However, the Panthers run might not end in the Sweet 16 as they play a banged up Michigan State squad without star Kalin Lucas. NIU should make it past the Spartans to advance to the Elite Eight.

Check out this team poster autographed by many of the UNI players, including Farokhmanesh, Johnny Moran, Lucas O'Rear, and Jordan Eglseder. The starting bid on eBay is $500.00! Alley oop to First Cuts.

"DWTS" features three sports personalities

The 10th season of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" premiered last night and the competition features sports personalities Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco, Gold medal U.S. figure skater Evan Lysacek and ESPN's Erin Andrews.

Lysacek received a 23 for his Viennese Waltz, placing him in second place. Andrews received a 21 for her Cha ChaCha, putting her in a two-way tie for fourth and Ochocinco received an 18 for his Cha ChaCha, putting him in a three-way tie for eighth place.

Is it really fair for "DWTS" to cast athletes with similar sports as dancing? Lysacek should be the obvious favorite this season as speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi and gymnast Shawn Johnson all won in previous years.

Ochocino will no doubt be the fan favorite this season. Check out all three performances below and pay close attention to the front row fan during Ochocinco's dance.

Odom stars in another national TV spot

Samsung launched a new ad campaign over the weekend for its Omnia II mobile smartphone featuring Lakers F Lamar Odom. The :30 TV spot below debuted during the NCAA Tournament and marks the third national commercial for Odom in the last two months. Odom has appeared in a spot for PowerBar and a Taco Bell ad that aired during the Super Bowl. Odom's recent commercial success is surely a result of his marriage with reality TV "star" Khloe Kardashian. Major props to Odom's reps at Excel Sports for taking advantage of these new opportunities.

Cornell inspired by "Friday Night Lights"

Although Cornell's 7-foot center Jeff Foote predicted at the start of the season that his team would make the Sweet 16, the Big Red's true tournament inspiration has been the movie, "Friday Night Lights."

The players have been incredibly loose during the tournament so far and were joking around all weekend. The team is making its third straight trip to March Madness so their confidence is warranted.

On the eve of their 2nd round matchup with Wisconsin, Cornell watched "Friday Night Lights" and decided that after they beat the Badgers, point guard Louis Dale had to work a quote from the movie into his postgame press conference.

After Sunday's 87-69 win over Wisconsin, the team gathered around a TV in the lockeroom to see if Dale would come through with a quote from the movie.

“We’ve got eight seniors on this team, and we want to take this ride as long as we can because after this it’s just nothing but babies and memories, so we’ll just keep going,” Dale said.

After the “babies and memories” line drop, teammates Ryan Wittman and Chris Wroblewski, sitting next to Dale on the podium, covered their faces in laughter. Meanwhile, the rest of the team in the locker room erupted. “He said it! He said it!” center Jeff Foote yelled.

As Cornell prepares for their Sweet 16 matchup with the East region's #1 seed, Kentucky, Big Red might want to view a few more inspiring sports movies. The Wildcats' athleticism might be a problem for the Big Red, but after seeing Nothern Iowa defeat the overall #1 seed and tournament favorite, Kansas and viewing the Permian Panthers coming within an inch of beating the Carter Cowboys in "Friday Night Lights," anything is possible.

West Virginia's Sweet 16 Prep

Although the NCAA tournament is incredibly exciting for universities and fans around the country, the time off the court is actually a little boring for the players. There is a ton of down time for the teams and a few coaches have even banned cell phones to keep players focused on the tournament.

While most teams just stay in their hotels and are expected to entertain themselves, Sweet 16 bound West Virginia prepared for their 2nd round game vs. Missouri yesterday by filming a series of videos and posting them on Twitter. Mountaineers Joe Mazzulla, Da'Sean Butler and Jonnie West (the son of "The Logo," NBA legend Jerry West) spent Saturday night in their Buffalo hotel room making these silly clips.

The trio dances to "A Night at the Roxbury" theme song Haddaway's "What is Love," engage in a silly pillow fight and lip sync to Brian McKnight's classic "Back at One." I wonder if Lorezo Romar and the Washington Huskies will use these clips as inspiration prior to their Sweet 16 matchup with West Virginia later this week. A special alley oop to The Dagger.

Carroll Inspires Marathon Runners

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was back in Los Angeles over the weekend, but it wasn't to spend time with his former players at USC. On the eve of the LA Marathon, Carroll gave an inspiration speech to runners before their 26.2-mile journey from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier. Check out his speech below and fellow Trojan fans, please try not to miss Carroll too much after watching.

Tiger Speaks

Yesterday was a huge day for Tiger Woods, as the troubled golfer gave two five-minute yesterday afternoon, first with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi and then with Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman. The two interviews aired simultaneously at 7:30pm ET after the final round of the PGA Tour Transitions Championship. These were the first TV interviews Woods has granted since the November car crash outside his house. Check out the ESPN interview below and you can view Golf Channel's segment here.

Heineken's soccer match stunt

Heineken ran a stunt event around the AC Milan vs. Real Madrid Champions League match trying to highlight that "the most sacred moment" guys have left is watching soccer with friends. The beer company and Champions League sponsor wanted to to remind fans of this by creating a fake classical music event at the same time as the match.

200 accomplices (including girlfriends, bosses and professors) were recruited by Heineken to persuade over 1000 AC Milan fans to attend the event rather than watch the important soccer match. The Heineken classical music concert starts and check out what happens in the video below.

Amazing PR stunt by Heineken as more than 1.5 million viewers watched the stunt live on SkySport and over 10 million viewers learned about the stunt on the news the following day.

(via NickBurcher.com)

Tyler leaves Israeli team

Back in April, we posted on San Diego high school basketball star Jeremy Tyler making history as the first player to skip his senior year to play professionally abroad. In November, we reported on his much publicized struggles as a first year player for Israeli team, Maccabi Haifa and now Tyler has decided to quit the squad and return home to San Diego.

Tyler's decision to leave the team comes two months before the end of the season. "Due to personal matters, Jeremy chose to leave the team on his own will on March 18 and return home to San Diego," Maccabi Haifa owner Jeffery Rosen said in a statement. "We wish Jeremy all the best."

In the 10 games Tyler played for Haifa, the 6'11" power forward averaged only 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.6 minutes. According to AP, Tyler, who reportedly earned a $140,000 salary, found it hard to adapt to the pro game and couldn't find a place in Maccabi Haifa's starting lineup.

The end was obviously near for Tyler. Last month, he walked out on the team at halftime to protest not getting more minutes. For the last three games, he sat on the bench not wearing a uniform after being left off the Haifa squad.

Tyler won't be eligible for the NBA for another year, but can play in the NBDL if a team decides to take a chance on the raw and immature player.

John Daly Pizza Program

Professional golfer John Daly has partnered with Perky's Foodservice Concepts, Inc. to launch the new "John Daly Pizza Program" which will bring compact pizzerias to golf courses, convenience stores, bowling centers, truck stops, casinos, bars and other venues.

"This is a great combination of things Americans love, pizza and John Daly," said Jim Howell, President Perky's Foodservice Concepts. "JD has a keen eye for quality and simplicity, so we were a natural avenue to develop a worldwide brand for him. He is very active promoting his pizza business, and depending on your John Daly Pizza program, you will have the chance to hang out with John, and win tickets to a PGA golf tournament."

The John Daly Pizza Program has opened locations at the Lion’s Den Golf Club in Dardanelle, Ark., and John Daly's Restaurant & Bar in Olive Branch, Miss., both owned by Daly. About 50 additional establishments around the country have committed to the program, said Perky’s President and Owner Jim Howell.

Daly says in the announcement press release that: "My pizza is a 350 yard drive down the middle! The quality and taste of my pizza will exceed your expectations, and it all starts with the finest ingredients available. Grip It and Eat It!"

Tiger & Big Ben on "South Park"

The season premiere of Comedy Central's "South Park" last night focused on Tiger Woods and specifically the dangers of sex addiction. However, Woods wasn't the only athlete featured in the "Sexual Healing" episode. Check out two clips below and you can watch the full episode at South Park Studios.

Vitaminwater NCAA Tourney "Mad Tips"

Vitaminwater has released a video campaign for the NCAA Tournament that gives fans "Mad Tips" to survive the tourney. Comedian Nick Swardson stars in the clips and provides insight on how to keep track of your bracket, how to ditch work for tourney games and how to execute the proper road trip. Katrina Bowden of "30 Rock" and comics Kevin and John Farley (Brothers of Chris) co-star in the clips.

DeAngelo shouldn't quit day job

With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, the Carolina Panthers feature one of the best running back duos in the league. Thankfully for the team, the pair not only shares carries but also the microphone during karaoke sessions. This week, Williams and Stewart took to the stage for a inspiring version of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." Check out the video below via the Twitter page of Bill Voth, sports anchor at Charlotte's WSOC-TV.

(via FanHouse)

Globetrotters Play First Ever Glow in the Dark Game

The Globetrotters took on their rivals, the Washington Generals this week in the first-ever glow in the dark basketball game. Players relied on glowing balls, nets and clothing to light their way around the court. The game was in conjunction with Crayola unveiling a new line of glow in the dark markers. Check out highlights below.

NCAA Tournament Gift Guide

With the NCAA tournament kicking off in just a few hours, we wanted to showcase a few of the top gifts for college basketball fans. ESPN.com posted a list of 10 must-have items for this year's tourney and below are a few of our favorites.

Collegiate Snuggie

Support your favorite team and stay warm and comfortable while watching games on the couch.
Price: $19.99

Available at hancockfabrics.com.

Rec Room Products

Make some popcorn in style while watching tournament games this year and keep beverages ice cold in a replica 1940's chest cooler.

Popcorn popper and cart: $999

Nostalgic chest cooler: $1,295

Available at recroom-products.com.

Tourney Fathead

Keep track of the tourney results with a dry-erase NCAA tournament bracket poster from Fathead. Available in two sizes.
$39.99 and $69.99

Available at fathead.com.
Bracket iPhone App

Stay on top of your ESPN Tournament Challenge bracket, even if you are nowhere near your computer. You'll be able to create and keep tabs on up to 10 brackets as well as get game updates, check the leaderboard and track your performance.

Free

Download from iTunes.

Zidane launches American Idol of Soccer

International soccer legend Zinedine Zidane is launching a new reality show called "Football Cracks" that will be the "American Idol" of soccer. The series will follow the progress of 17 promising young players from around the world who are selected to attend a six-week training camp near Madrid.

The participants will work with top trainers, sports nutritionists and psychologists, and the winner will receive the opportunity to compete for a roster spot with a Spanish first division club for the 2010-11 season.

"I hope everyone will enjoy it, that there will be a lot of talent and that we are going to discover many young people for the future," Zidane told a news conference at Las Rozas just outside of Madrid where the camp will be held.

Castings for the show will take place in 20 cities in various countries, including Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain and the United States. The 50 best candidates will travel to Madrid on April 23 where the top 17 will be selected to take part in the training camp.

The show will be produced by Spain's MonoFilms and it will be broadcast on its web page crackstv.com. Producers are also in talks with television stations in several nations, including China, Spain and the United States, to sell the rights to air the show.

NFL Draft Contest

Ever wish you could announce a draft pick of your favorite NFL team? For the 2nd year in a row, the league is hosting an enter-to-win contest where one lucky fan will become NFL Network's "Draft Day Insider." The winner and a guest will be flown out to New York City for VIP draft access, the winner will announce a draft pick and their guest will be a designated team's card runner. Fans can enter the contest here. Check out last year's winner below.

Angels to attempt Snuggie World Record

A week ago, we reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers set a Guinness World Record for most Snuggies in one place when 20,562 fans wore the fleece blankets during a five-minute span in the first quarter of their game vs. Detroit. With baseball season right around the corner, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to make their own World Record attempt.

On Tuesday April 6, the Angels will attempt to break the Cavs' record for the "largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets." All fans in attendance at the Angels vs. Minnesota Twins game will receive a complimentary Hideki Matsui Blankie courtesy of Konica Minolta.

According to the Angels' press release: During the game, an anticipated sellout crowd of over 40,000 will be prompted to wear their red "blankies", featuring Matsui's name and number, for five consecutive minutes. After completion of the five minutes, a Guinness World Records Adjudicator will officially certify the new record. Later in the game, Guinness World Records will hold a short ceremony to recognize the record breaking attempt.

Nash promotes "Earth Hour"

Last week, we posted a PSA of Patriots QB Tom Brady and his funny haircut encouraging the public to shut off lights for an hour at 8:30 p.m. on March 27 to take part in Earth Hour. The NBA's video king, Steve Nash has also gotten on board with the World Wildlife Fund to promote the largest call to action on climate change of all time. Check out Nash and his awesome LA Aztecs t-shirt below. (The Aztecs were a soccer club in the North American Soccer League during the 1970's.)

(via Game On!)

Want to coach DePaul?

Interested in coaching Division I men's basketball? Well, DePaul University has recently posted the head coach vacancy on its website and is encouraging folks to apply. Although the school has only two Big East wins over the last two years and fired coach Jerry Wainwright on January 11th, this might be a nice opportunity for all you wannabe coaches out there.

A general summary of the job is: In accordance with the mission of the Department of Athletics, administer the progress and success of the intercollegiate men’s basketball program within the guidelines of the NCAA, the BIG EAST Conference and DePaul University. This will include all pre-season, in-season and post-season activities necessary to the development of a nationally-competitive team.

1) Go to DePaul.edu
2) Click on Employment
3) Click on Staff Positions
4) Click on Applicants: Career Opportunities
5) Type in "coach" in the keyword box and hit search.

Men's basketball coach is the fourth job down and it was posted on March 3rd. Alley oop to Hot Clicks.

Obama fills out NCAA bracket again

After correctly selecting North Carolina as the NCAA tournament champs last year, President Obama has again filled out an NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN. This year, Obama has picked Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Villanova for his Final Four.

The President's full bracket will be revealed in a special segment on ESPN's noon ET edition of "Sportscenter" today. Obama’s brackets will be posted online shortly after "Sportscenter" airs his interview with basketball reporter Andy Katz and according to ESPN, the bracket will appear in ESPN.com’s Men’s and Women's Tournament Challenges.

For the first time, Obama has also filled out a women’s bracket. His women’s Final Four looks like Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee. That bracket will be revealed at 9 a.m. ET Friday on “Sportscenter.”

SI's Madness Regional Covers

Sports Illustrated is releasing six regional covers this week for the magazine's March Madness preview issue. Sharing the honor this year are Ohio State's Evan Turner, Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, Gonzaga's Matt Bouldin, Kansas' Sherron Collins, Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins and Villanova's Scottie Reynolds.

Nash's "Ballsy Chitter Chatter"

Suns PG Steve Nash continues to release viral videos featuring his Phoenix teammates and his latest clip, "Balls Talk" features an awkward conversation with Robin Lopez. Nash makes his goofy looking teammate a little uncomfortable by getting too close with a certain body part.

CP3 spoofs "Paranormal Activity"

Hornets G Morris Peterson recently launched his personal website and a viral video contest with injured teammate Chris Paul. Mo-Pete's video isn't worth watching, but CP3's entry spoofs the movie "Paranormal Activity," and is good for a few chuckles.

Thankfully for viewers and Hornets fans, Paul who has been out the past five weeks due to left knee surgery, was medically cleared to begin running at half speed yesterday. Maybe he and Peterson can leave the comedic videos to all-stars Steve Nash, Baron Davis and Chris Bosh.

(via FanHouse)

South Park Premiere to Feature Tiger Woods

When the 14th season of South Park kicks off tomorrow night on Comedy Central, the Tiger Woods scandal will be front and center. The troubled golfer will encounter Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman and educate the boys on the seriousness of sex addiction.

"It's such an important issue in America right now — the sex addiction outbreak," Matt Stone, who makes the series with partner Trey Parker, said on Friday. "We're all really concerned about him and hope he gets better."

South Park's 14th season premieres on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and check out a preview of tomorrow night's episode, "Sexual Healing."

Warren chooses school over bonus

You don't hear this very often. A professional athlete choosing school over football and homework over a paycheck. However, Patriots DE Ty Warren is forgoing a $250,000 workout bonus so he can work on his college degree this offseason.

Warren believes that no amount of money is worth having his kids see their father without a college degree. A possible NFL lockout in 2011 also has Warren thinking about life after football.

As the Pats opened their voluntary offseason program yesterday, Warren was home in Texas with his wife and three kids, preparing for school. ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss reports that Warren plans to take five classes this offseason at Texas A&M and said that he is working out each morning before dropping his kids off at school and then heading to school himself.

According to Reiss, when Warren was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft, he said he always had it in the back of his mind to return to A&M for his degree. If he wasn't on back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams in his first two seasons, he believes he would have earned his degree sooner.

"If I'm fortunate enough to play 12, 13 years, but then find myself getting cut in training camp, I'm not going to put myself in a situation where I don't have my degree," Warren said. "I'm not going to give myself up like that. I need to have options, so I feel like right now is a time where I need to dictate what I'm doing in the offseason.

"I could have done something up there, but I think so much of players' time is consumed on a year-round basis that at some point when a player establishes himself and gains trust of the organization and coaches, if they have a plan after the game, it's in the players' best interest to finish what they started."

Warren is on pace to walk in graduation next spring with a degree in agriculture leadership and development and hopes to help those at A&M get more involved in the local community.

Tyson to star in pigeon racing show

Animal Planet has announced a new reality show starring Mike Tyson, that will explore the former heaveyweight champion of the world's passion for pigeon racing. "Taking on Tyson" is slated to film this spring in New York City and will debut in early 2011. Audiences will be treated to an inside look at the "intensely competitive and bizarrely fascinating world" of pigeon racing.

According to the AP, Tyson has raised pigeons all his life but will take to the rooftops as a racing rookie. The network says he'll be assisted by a colorful team of pigeon experts as he rears, trains and races them.

Animal Planet's press release claims that in fact Tyson's first-ever fight as a child was in defense of his birds. This show will follow his first foray into racing them competitively.

"Tyson's passion for his pigeons takes my breath away," marvels Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media. "For years, he has been inspired by these birds that he feels have the 'biggest heart' in the animal kingdom. TAKING ON TYSON peels back new layers of the remarkable persona and deep humanity of Mike Tyson while also showing us a whole world we never knew existed right on the rooftops of New York City."

One Year Anniversary!

A year ago today, I launched EhrlThePearl.com in hopes of creating a platform to showcase entertaining sports content, but I had no idea it would be this much fun! I am sure my friends are so thankful that I stopped sending out numerous emails everyday featuring interesting articles, photos and videos and instead posted them here.

When I started the blog last March, I couldn't imagine being linked to by such sites as ESPN.com, SI.com, USAToday.com or Yahoo! Sports. Thank you so much to my dedicated readers and Twitter followers for the continued support.

Special thanks also go out to Icarus Kids who designed the site and to my look-a-like consultant for the guidance.

Here's to another year of EhrlThePearl.com!

-Ehrl
ehrlthepearl@gmail.com
www.Twitter.com/EhrlThePearl