Snoop's Steelers jam

Although he remixed Wiz Khalifa's Steelers anthem, "Black and Yellow" (along with Packers fans and Tom Hanks' son) to predict a Lakers three-peat, Snoop Dogg has now come out with a song dedicated to the Super Bowl-bound Steelers. Check out “It’s D Only Thang,” produced by David Banner and THX.

(via SportsCracklePop)

Blake does it again & again

You probably didn't spend Saturday night watching the Clippers host the Bobcats, so here are two incredibe Blake Griffin plays that show his versatility as an athlete.

Hopefully Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will name Griffin an All-Star reserve on Thursday and the Clippers rookie will participate in the rare trifecta during All-Star Weekend. The former Oklahoma Sooner will take part in the Rookie/Sophomore game on Friday, be the favorite in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday and come off the bench in the All-Star Game on Sunday.

NUMB#RS by Kevin Love

Timberwolves F Kevin Love has launched an insanely detailed and creative website for his Western Conference All-Star campaign. His 21.7 ppg and 15.7 rpg SHOULD be enough to earn him a spot on the roster, but his off-the-court creativity better push him to the top of Greg Popovich's list for West reserves.

Check out Love's fake fragrance commercial called "NUMB#RS" as part of the site launch.

Wilson debuts MLB 2K11 video on Lopez

Bearded Giants pitcher Brian Wilson is spending his offseason writing and acting in a series of short films for 2K Sports' “MLB 2K11” video game and appeared on TBS' "Lopez Tonight" to debut his first video.

The eccentric and outspoken Wilson showed up dressed like a sailor, including two captain hats, pea coat and a dyed white beard. Enjoy this crazy appearance.

Tracy talks crazy on TNT

"30 Rock" comedian Tracy Morgan stopped by TNT's NBA pregame show last night at Madison Square Garden and host Ernie Johnson asked him if he preferred his NBC co-star Tina Fey or the former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Here is what Morgan had to say about that:

Turner Sports Senior Dir of PR Jeff Pomeroy apologized in a statement today saying, "It's unfortunate Mr. Morgan showed a lack of judgment on our air with his inappropriate comments."

I doubt Morgan will be invited back for any future NBA on TNT broadcasts.

NFL Lockout Commercial

The NFL Players Association has produced a :30 and :60 second commercial showing what an NFL lockout could look like next season. The ads will air later today on the union's website and will premiere on-air during the NFLPA college All-Star Game on CBS College Sports Feb. 5. The commercial will also run on FOX during Super Bowl XLV.

NFLPA President Kevin Mawae makes an appearance in the commercial, along with male and female fans of all ages, saying "Let them play."

The spot ends with the words "Do your part to Let Us Play. Sign the petition at nfllockout.com," accompanied by the NFLPA logo. The NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on March 4.

Men of Steel vs. Superman

With another week until Super Bowl XLV, Sports Illustrated has released a national and regional cover for this week's issue. The national cover features Steelers LB James Harrison with the headline, "Men of Steel," while Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was demoted to the Midwest regional cover with the header, "Super Man."

White to get behind the wheel

With the Winter X Games kicking off today in Aspen, 10-time gold medalist Shaun White announced a multi-year partnership with BFGoodrich Tires, in which the snowboarder/skateboard will jump behind the wheel.

White will be featured in a series of webisodes that show him learning to drive and drift cars from BFGoodrich's team of professional drivers. White will also be star in BFGoodrich ads during ESPN's X Games coverage.

Check out a few of the 15 second TV spots that will begin airing on ESPN today:

Artest to drop mixtape during All-Star Weekend

While some NBA players are releasing special shoe colorways, viral videos or clothing lines during All-Star Weekend, Lakers F Ron Artest is dropping a rap mixtape as a follow-up to his "Champion" single last June.

"There's going to be a bunch of celebrities on it," Artest told the LA Times. "I can't say the names yet, but there's going to be a bunch of people on there that you wouldn't believe that would rap or sing. A lot of athletes, a lot of rappers and a couple comedians."

It is safe to assume that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg will make appearances as Artest got a shout-out in "Purp & Yellow." Ice Cube was at Lakers practice on Monday, so maybe he will be included on the mixtape as well.

Here is Artest after practice on Monday, talking about his own rap career (skip ahead 2 minutes):

Vick's first post-prison endorsement

Eagles Pro Bowl QB Michael Vick has signed his first endorsement contract since his release from prison on dog-fighting charges. The NFL's "Comeback Player of the Year" has inked a two-year contract with Unequal Technologies, the football pad provider that Vick wore most of last season.

''We're real excited about it,'' chief executive officer Rob Vito said Tuesday. ''Michael is good people. He paid his dues. President Obama reached out to him. He deserves an opportunity. This is what makes America so great. He's moved forward. He's a whole other person.''

The deal will be officially announced on Thursday and Vito said Vick is the company's first corporate spokesman. Terms of his deal weren't disclosed but Vito said it's a ''sizable'' contract.

Unequal Technologies makes several shock-blocking sports pads and when Vick returned after missing three games with a rib injury, he wore a vest designed by Unequal. He later wore shoulder pads and thigh pads made by the company.

''The Unequal technology is a part of my game now and I won't play without my Unequal,'' Vick said in a statement. ''Unequal's protective power gives me a whole new level of confidence in my game. It makes me feel invincible.''

We reported last month that Vick appeared in a TV commercial for a local car dealership, however he wasn't paid for the appearance. Vick was compensated by having use of a Nissan sport utility vehicle. His Unequal deal is his first official endorsement deal since being released from prison on dog-fighting charges.

Back to Johnson

Appearing on ESPN's NFL Live yesterday, Bengals WR Chad Ochcocinco revelead that that he's "done enough with this Ocho thing," and plans to change his last name back to Johnson.

He originally brought up the decision Monday afternoon on Twitter:

"I love Cincy,we are gonna be fine, just a few minor adjustments n we'll be fine, I'll start with my name change 2 Johnson," he wrote.

The outspoken Bengal legally changed his name to Chad Ochocinco just prior to the 2008 NFL season, but was required to wear the "Johnson" on his jersey that year. He sported "Ochocinco" the past two seasons but ironically, has struggled since the name change.

Ochocinco's announcement came after he revealed on the latest episode of "The T. Ocho Show" that both he and Terrell Owens would like to play for the Jets.

"They will make it to this point every year," Ochocinco said about the Jets' AFC Championship Game appearances. "I'd do anything to play for someone like Rex Ryan or anyone who has that type of mentality."

However, on NFL Live, Ochocinco/Johsnon sounded like he'll be back in Cincinnati for 2011 season, the last year on his current contract.

"I don't want to go anywhere," he said. "I love Cincinnati, I love the fans. And, Cincinnati is all I know. That's all I know and I just look forward to next year."

GQ's "25 Coolest Athletes of All Time."

GQ Magazine has released its list of the "25 Coolest Athletes of All Time." So what exactly does "cool" mean? Chosen for their "style, grace and athletic success," these 25 athletes come from all different sports. Here's the slideshow of all nine covers, featuring stars such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Julius Erving, Bjorn Borg, Tom Brady, Arnold Palmer and Tim Lincecum.

Here is a complete list of "GQ's 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time:"

* Muhammad Ali

* Mario Andretti

* Jean-Claude Killy

* Evel Knievel

* Arthur Ashe

* George Best

* Peter Maravich

* Bjorn Borg

* Joe Namath

* Arnold Palmer

* Pele

* Jim Brown

* Michael Jordan

* Julius Erving

* Gary Player

* Walt Frazier

* Derek Sanderson

* Bob Gibson

* Kelly Slater

* Kenny Stabler

* Bo Jackson

* Ted Turner

* Tom Brady

* Tim Lincecum

* Allen Iverson

GQ Magazine, along with sponsors Cadillac and LACOSTE will kick off Super Bowl XLV by celebrating the "Coolest Athletes of All Time" at a VIP party Friday, February 4th in Dallas. Hosted by Andy Roddick, Grammy-nominated artist Cee Lo Green will perform and Bengals WR Terrell Owens will guest-DJ the event.

Chicago man fired for wearing Packers tie

Check out WGN-TV in Chicago's story on the local car salesman who was fired because he wore a Packers tie to work.

John Stone's story has blown up over the past 24 hours and the former car salesman appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" this morning to tell his side of the story.

"I wore the tie because of my grandmother," Stone said. "We buried her last Friday. I thought it would be awesome to wear it one more time in remembrance."

Stone said his manager confronted him about wearing a Packers tie, but he asked if he could zip up his sweater over it. The owner immediately fired him. Unbenounced to Stone, the dealership had a partnership with the Bears. Thankfully, Stone got a new job this morning with a Chevy dealership in Chicago.

Carlton can still dance

"Fresh Price of Bel-Air" actor Alfonso Ribeiro attended Friday night's Magic vs. Raptors game in Orlando and in the 3rd quarter, he busted out his famous "Carlton" dance. Terry Crews and Anthony Anderson were definitely amused, but unfortunately the broadcasters had no clue as to what Ribeiro was doing.

Pizza fans will root for OT

NFL sponsor Papa John's announced today that it is offering free pizza to everyone in the U.S. if Super Bowl XLV in Dallas goes to overtime.

Cowboys WR Miles Austin will serve as a spokesperson for the promotion. "As a Dallas Cowboy I know everything is bigger in Texas, and this offer certainly fits that criteria. I'll be leading the cheers for Super Bowl XLV to go in overtime, so I can win a free large, three-topping pizza from Papa John's along with everyone in America," Austin said.

To be eligible for a free large, up to three-topping pizza if Super Bowl XLV goes into overtime, all consumers need to do is register for Papa John’s online customer loyalty program, Papa Points, at www.papajohns.com any time now until 11:59 pm ET Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011.

If Super Bowl XLV goes into overtime, the free pizza will be awarded to all Papa Points enrollees Monday, Feb. 7 in the form of 25 Papa Points – the amount of points needed to redeem a large up to three-topping pizza. Consumers can redeem the 25 Papa Points for the free pizza anytime through June 30, 2011.

Although no Super Bowl has ever gone into OT, a total of 27 postseason NFL games have gone into extra time, starting with the 1958 NFL Championship. None of the 10 playoff games this season went into overtime, but two post-season games were decided in overtime in 2010, including the NFC Championship when New Orleans defeated Minnesota 31-28 to advance to Super Bowl XLIV.

Beyond the box score

Here are a few of the best story lines from yesterday's NFC and AFC Championship games that don't appear in the box scores:

Bears fans gave Jay Cutler the LeBron treatment after the QB left the NFC Championship game with a knee injury and the team lost 21-14. There were quite a few #6 jerseys torched in Chicago last night.

Bears 3rd string QB Caleb Hanie was so unprepared to play in the NFC Championship game yesterday that he was sporting an awesome mustache on the sidelines. After leading the Bears in the 2nd half to within 7 points (and finishing 13 of 20 for 153 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions), the 3rd-year signal caller out of Colorado State decided to shave his 'stache before the post game press conference.


Fat guys always have the best touchdown dances. Check out Packers DT B.J. Raji shaking what his mama gave him, after scoring on a 18-yard INT return in the 4th quarter vs. the Bears.

CBS cameras caught Jets QB Mark Sanchez wiping a booger on backup QB Mark Brunell. Enough said.

In the closing seconds of the Steelers' win over the Jets, running back Rashard Mendenhall pulled a "Ben Roethlisberger" on the Pittsburgh QB and assaulted the signal caller on the Heinz Field turf. Guess he couldn't wait to get Ben in the restroom.

Kobe to get cemented in Hollywood

We tweeted news yesterday that Lakers G Kobe Bryant will be the first athlete ever to have his hands/feet cemented into the ground at the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

The ceremony will take place on February 19, during NBA All Star Weekend festivities in Los Angeles. The event will be followed by a "lavish star studded gala" for Bryant, 1,200 VIP guests and select members of the public.

"To be a part of such elite company is a tremendous honor. I’m proud to be the first athlete to be recognized,” stated Bryant.

Jeru Tillman of Southfield Village Entertainment said, “Today’s athletes are among the best known and most talented entertainers in the world. We are pleased Kobe will be honored for the many years of enjoyment he has given us on the basketball court.”

Bryant will join over 200 stars including Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Harrison Ford and John Wayne who have had their hand and footprint ceremonies.

Photos of the Week

Here are a couple of the best images from the week in sports:

Broncos RB Laurence Maroney was arrested Monday night in St. Louis for weapons and drugs charges and posed for one the best mugshots in recent memory.


For some reason, former President Bill Clinton attended Chad Ochocinco's surprise birthday party in Miami last night.


Check out the interesting shadow behind Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony on the front page of SI.com yesterday.


Is that a tennis ball in her pocket or is Caroline Wozniacki just happy to see us?


Raiders owner Al Davis looked as scary as ever during the team's press conference to introduce new head coach Hue Jackson.

Barkley & Kerr to join March Madness Broadcasts

In an effort to inject more excitement into March Madness telecasts, TNT NBA analysts Charles Barkley and Steve Kerr will join CBS' broadcast teams for the 2011 NCAA Tournament and will make appearances across CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV.

The main anchors for CBS' in-studio broadcasts will be Greg Gumbel and TNT host Ernie Johnson while "Inside the NBA" analysts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will provide commentary throughout the tournament from the CBS Broadcast studios in New York.

Kerr will join CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg for both the call of the Final Four on April 2 from Houston and the national championship on April 4. Prior to the Final Four, Kerr will be partnered with Marv Albert on regional action.

Barkley and Kerr's additions to the CBS telecast was part of a joint announcement from CBS and Turner Sports this week that showed off a comprehensive look at the talent roster for the upcoming NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

DeRozan to dunk again

We tweeted this news last night, but wanted to give it full coverage on the blog today.

The NBA will formally announce today that Raptors G DeMar DeRozan will take Bucks G Brandon Jennings' place in the slam dunk contest during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles next month.

Jennings suffered a fractured left foot on Dec. 15 and likely won't be 100% by All-Star Weekend.

DeRozan finished second to Nate Robinson in last year’s competition and the LA-native will compete against favorite Blake Griffin of the Clippers, JaVale McGee of the Wizards and Serge Ibaka of the Thunder on Feb. 19 in the dunk contest.

Here are a few of DeRozan's best dunks to get you excited about the competition next month. The addition of DeRozan will surely give Griffin more competition, in what seems to be his contest to lose.

More spell check issues

Newspapers around the country seem to be having trouble as of late with spell checking in regards to coverage of the NFL playoffs. On Tuesday, we posted a headline from the New Orleans Times-Picayune's coverage of Jets-Patriots game that read more like gibberish than an NFL article.

One day after the Green Bay Press-Gazette ran the headline "On to Chicaco" the paper issued the following statement:

“There is no excuse for the spelling error on the front page of Monday’s Press-Gazette. We know the great city of Chicago is spelled with two 'C's and a 'G,' and not three 'C's. We were equally embarrassed we got it wrong in the first place and then failed to catch it in the proofreading process. We apologize for the error: In the event the Packers win Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl, we’ll spell the host city of Dallas correctly.”

Must Read

I highly recommend checking out GQ's profile of Deadspin.com editor A.J. Daulerio.

The article, appearing in the February issue, showcases how Daulerio and his staff have changed sports media over the last year.

Gabriel Sherman's piece “The Worldwide Leader In Dong Shots” highlight's Deadspin's coverage of Brett Favre's sexting scandal, Rex Ryan's foot fetish and the website's constant battles with ESPN.

Here is a portion of the article, focusing on Daulerio paying for photos of Favre's inappropriate text messages/photos and breaking one of the biggest sports stories of the year:

“I did like nine television shows in two days,” Daulerio recalls. “The Today show called me on a Sunday at two thirty. It was brunch time with my girlfriend and a friend, and I was half in the bag. A couple of hours and two bong hits later, I’m doing an interview on the porch. Everyone is jamming Adderall to clean the place as quickly as possible. I was trying to find pants.”

The story has generated 5 million page views to date—and plenty of debate about the TMZ-ization of sports journalism. “It isn’t a question of whether or not he should have done the story. It’s a story,” says Frank Deford, who’s been writing for Sports Illustrated since 1962. “But aren’t there better stories to do? Do we really want to know about Brett Favre trying to get laid? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time delving into the evils of college athletics, or drugs and sports?”