Obamamobile! Seriously

The Obamamobile: The first official photograph of Obama's new armoured limo, which he will ride in for part of the swearing-in parade, and which can withstand rocket and chemical attacks

ESPN: The Sports Guy

It's a new year … It's a new start … Let's bring it in with a Sports Guy mailbag! As always, these are actual e-mails from actual readers.

Q: Has any movie ever predicted the future of sports better than BASEketball did, in 1998? Ridiculous end zone celebrations, stadiums named after brands, teams jumping cities for money. I remember watching it thinking it was outlandish to name a stadium after Trojan or Tampax. Now I could see it.
-Aaron, Denver
SG: Who knew Trey Parker and Matt Stone would be the George Orwells of pro sports? I want to see which league will cave first and sell its championship game or series to a sponsor. You know it's coming. Would you ever have guessed we'd be saying the "Allstate Sugar Bowl"? This could be one more thing Gary Bettman screws up. We may be headed for the Levitra Stanley Cup Final.

Q: What is the NBA's equivalent of George Bush's expiring contract?
-Bryan, Flagstaff, Ariz.
SG: Is the joke you're hoping I make more insulting to Stephon Marbury or Dubya?

Q: Which current athlete is most likely to give an impassioned speech that breaks down long-held prejudices (like how Rocky ended the Cold War)?
-Travis S., New Jersey
SG: I vote for Tim Tebow. Fox's Thom Brennaman spent 15 minutes with him before the BCS Championship Game and raved about the experience three different times during the telecast, like his life had been irrevocably altered. Can you think of anyone you've ever met for just 15 minutes—in your life—who would turn you into a blubbering stalker on live TV? I say we send Tebow to the Middle East. He can start with Al Qaeda.

Q: After GM Rod Higgins traded Jason Richardson, his explanation was, "We'll figure it out as we go on." Is hoping my Bobcats become a respectable franchise like hoping the WNBA will make money?
-Jeff K., Annapolis, Md.
SG: Come on, that's not fair! MJ is on the 11th hole right now trying to figure this out! Have some faith. Shhh—hold on, he's putting …

Q: If you could have the best seats in the house for any sporting event of the past century, which would you choose?
-Max A., Cleveland
SG: The only answer can be "USA 4, USSR 3." A tougher question: Which sports-movie event would you choose? I'd pick the game in which Michael J. Fox first turns into Teen Wolf. Name me a more stunning sports-movie moment. Fans in the stands are frozen for, like, 45 seconds. You're not topping the experience of being in a sparsely attended high school hoops game in which one of the players turns into a monster, then dunks on everybody. I'm sorry.

Q: Should Matt Cassel send a $4 million fruit basket to Bernard Pollard and the doctor who performed Brady's surgery?
-Marchy, Malibu, Calif.
SG: [shaking head]

Q: If you were playing dodgeball and had first pick of anyone, who would it be?
-Blake, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
SG: I'd say a QB makes the most sense, because they're used to throwing bigger balls with a quick release. So the answer should be Georgia's Matthew Stafford. That kid has a bazooka. But I'd pick Brett Favre just for the chance to make the Eric Mangini Did-Somebody-Just-Fart-in-the-Car Face after Favre singlehandedly kills my team by getting picked off two minutes in.

Q: You do realize that J.D. Drew will be the highest-paid Boston player in '09. That's a bad omen for the coming season, right?
-Hefe, Manchester, N.H.
SG: Short of chicken blood squirting from the Green Monster, yes, I'd say it's about as bad an omen as you can have.

Q: Being a Sooners fan feels like I met a great girl, and because we had the best sex any couple has ever had, I married her. But then she had a religious awakening and has since refused anything but the most basic, lights-off sex. We pretend to enjoy this joyless ritual, but what I really want is grounds for a divorce she'll never provide. Can I get a "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bob Stoops Era"?
-Travis A., Tulsa, Okla.
SG: What is this, Mailbag Karaoke? Okay, fine: Ladies and gentlemen, the Bob Stoops Era!

Q: If Jerome James swapped numbers with Quentin Richardson, how long would it take for his No. 23 to become the best-selling NBA jersey?
-Ty, Huntsville, Ala.
SG: Two days. And it's amazing the Knicks haven't thought of this yet.

Q: Two things happened yesterday: 1) Danny Granger scored 37, and 2) Yaroslav Korolev delivered my pizza.
-Mark, Washington, D.C.
SG: And the third thing wasn't "I wondered how Mike Dunleavy still has a job coaching and running the Clippers."

Q: Are we sure the laminated card Andy Reid holds on the sideline during the game isn't really a Waffle House menu?
-Paul, Durham, N.C.
SG: [giggling]

Q: What would you call an anti-bandwagon? I'm on it for Tony Allen right now.
-Ryan, Boston
SG: I'd go with a hotel shuttle van. Ever ridden in one from the Vegas airport? They're hot; they keep stopping; they make you feel sick. By the time you get dropped off, you just want to lie down. Kinda like how I feel watching Allen. So there you go.

Q: Did you know Gabrielle Carteris turned 48 this month? Forty-eight! Barack Obama doesn't turn 48 until August. An original 90210 cast member is older than our president.
-Nora L., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
SG: Are you trying to get me to kill myself?

Q: Can you guess which two jerseys the Heat have retired? Michael Jordan's and Dan Marino's. Quite a franchise.
-Ian S., New York City
SG: I've confirmed it on the Internet and still can't believe it. Preposterous. Is it too late to retroactively void Miami's 2006 title? We already had plenty of ammo after Games 3 and 6 were rigged and the fans did the whole everyone-wears-white-T-shirts-to-playoff-games gimmick. Isn't this the final piece of the puzzle? I can't take it. Marino and Jordan? Why not put Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas up there?

Q: After Al Pacino's speech in Any Given Sunday, the Sharks allow a TD on the opening kickoff? Are you kidding me! After hearing that speech, I'm ready to assault my postman for that inch! I'm ready to jump in front of traffic for that inch! Because that's what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!
-David M., Vienna, Va.
SG: Yup, these are my readers.

Top 25 Rickey Henderson Quotes

In honor of his recent hall of fame inauguration.


1) Rickey… on referring to himself in the third person:
“Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”

2) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

3) In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

4) This one might be my second favorite. This wasn’t too long ago, I think it was the year he ended up playing with the Red Sox. Anyway, he called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

5) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”

6) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

7) Moments after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd – with Brock mere feet next to him – “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.”

8) Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite – which forced him to miss three games — in mid-August.

9) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

10) Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

11) On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

12) San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.

Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

13) I didn’t believe this one at first. However, I emailed a few contacts within the Sox organization and they claim it actually happened. This is priceless, it really is.

The morning after the Sox finished off the sweep against St. Louis last October, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

14) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived — again it was less than a mile – the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.

Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

15) A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, “Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”

16) OK, I know everyone has been waiting for it. Alas, according to both parties involved, it’s not true. I wish it were. Heck, both Rickey Henderson and John Olerud have said they wish it were true. But it just didn’t happen.

The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.”

Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

17) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

18) During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”

19) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman – then a low-level nobody with the organization – called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, “I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”

20) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

21) This is my all-time favorite. Rickey was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer was approaching Rickey’s car, the window went down a few inches and a folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Rickey and his money head home without a ticket.

22) When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

23) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to Billy Beane’s. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

24) To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.

25) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift. Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.” Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly car is on the field?”

Somebody is ready for the Superbowl

Old Budwiser 9/11 commercial

This is weird

John Smoltz in a Red Sox hat. Wow. When the story first came out I was not very happy with the Braves organization and especially Frank Wren. The braves were supposed to have a lot of extra money this year and were ready to spend it. But not on John Smoltz? But when I heard about the negotiations and that in reality the braves would be paying John more money in total (guaranteed + incentives) I turned my frustration and bewilderment towards John Smoltz. John took the offer that gave him more guaranteed money. The Braves would have given him 1 million dollars just to sign. Then after 30 days on the ACTIVE roster he would get another million dollars then after another 30 days etc... Frank Wren did what he had to do. He took the emotion out of the business and made a smart move. He did not want another Mike Hampton situation. Now the Braves have signed Derek Lowe for a 4 year 60 Million dollar deal (Reported by the ajc not confirmed by Frank Wren). What recession right? Derek Lowe was 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA in his last 10 starts. I am getting ready for Braves Baseball.

I want one!

Calvin & Hobbes comic drawn over 15 years ago

Great Commercial!

Free $10 Gas Card

I was in Kroger yesterday and did a taste testing of sausage. They said if I bought a pack they would give me a $10 gas card. To get the $10 gas card you have to fill out a survey online and anyone can do it. Just click you bought it in Atlanta. The sausage was really good. Give them good remarks.

http://www.aidells.com/TRFStudy

Heart attack grill. WOW

Watch CBS Videos Online

Percy Harvin getting fresh with Urban Meyer

What happens when you put a Gator statue on the campus of Ohio State

Sooner Tears

BCS Championship Game Big Hit

Chipper Jones Q&A about John Smoltz signing with the Red Sox

Third baseman says Smoltz was upset when they spoke on phone Wednesday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Chipper Jones took the news of John Smoltz’s departure extremely hard, both in a conversation with Smoltz on the telephone Wednesday evening and in conversations with AJC reporters on Thursday.



Q. How did you take all this?

A. I am disappointed. Very disappointed. Deflated. Frustrated. It’s been a very long offseason, not a lot of stuff to really get excited about and then to have this it just is the icing on the cake for me.

Q. You understand why Smoltz decided to sign with Boston?

A. I get it. Ultimately, it’s Smoltzy’s decision to go. But I don’t think anybody is blaming him. The money is significantly different. He doesn’t feel like the Braves are giving him the same respect that the Red Sox are … I’m under the impression they basically told him be ready for June. My whole thing is John Smoltz has earned the right and earned the respect of everybody here to if he wants to come back and pitch and says he is healthy enough, he deserves that opportunity. And you do whatever it takes to get it done. We’ve made so many gambles on players that haven’t panned out over the past few years and if there was one guy in that clubhouse that I’m going to gamble a couple of million dollars on, it’s going to be that guy. If he says he can do it, I believe him.”

Q. Fans are questioning why the Braves didn’t offer Smoltz more money when this is an offseason when the Braves have said they had money to spend. Do you agree?

A. For Smoltzy! That’s what I don’t understand. That’s what’s frustrating. I’m trying to be as diplomatic and as upbeat as I can possibly be and it is being made very hard on me to be that way. John Smoltz has been one of the faces of this franchise for 20 years. There’s no reason for him at 41 years old to be playing anywhere but here.

Q. How was he when you talked to him last night?

A. He was upset, as well he should be. You can liken it to a breakup. This organization is all we have ever known. We all have these dreams of playing our last game in this uniform and it goes back to what I’ve said all along. Every dog has his day. And everybody’s got that day that’s coming when a shot of reality sets in. The business of baseball goes on, and no matter how loyal you are as a player, no matter how much you sacrificed as a player for a particular organization, there comes a time when that organization wants to go a different direction. And that time is now for Smoltzy, and I would imagine that my time is not too far off in the distant future.

Q. How was the conversation?

A.He went through the whole scenario with me. The underlying tone was extreme disappointment — and from my end it was shock. I could see anyone one else going somewhere before John Smoltz. … After everything that’s happened to this organization this winter, the players and the fans need something good to happen. I’ve been keeping up with the news. I’ve been reading the blogs. The one silver lining we had was John Smoltz being back in the lineup this year. We could have had that dominant guy back in the lineup. But we won’t — and for what, a couple of million dollars?

Q. You worried now about how things might end with you?

A. I don’t know how it’s going to end with me. This is my last year under contract with Atlanta. And this last 24 hours certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by me. I haven’t been offered an extension. If we’re 15 games out in July or August, I doubt they’re just going to let me become a free agent and get nothing in return.”

Q. So you’re preparing yourself to be traded?

A. It’s not beyond the realm of possibilities.

Q. Were you expecting the Braves to make you an offer for an extension this winter?

A. I was told that it was going to happen by the Braves.

Q. Do you think it still might?

A. We’ve got over a month until spring training. Yeah, it could certainly happen. I’ve just been chalking it up to the Braves have bigger fish to fry. But it seems like somebody keeps coming along and eating all our fish.

Q. For those who say Smoltz’s taken less money to stay with the Braves before, how do you explain why this time is different?

A. It’s easy. If the Braves would have handled this right from the beginning and gone ahead and bitten the bullet and offered him a contract, knowing that when John Smoltz sets his mind to it and says he’s coming back and is going to be back at full strength, that the second another team came into this, the Braves should have taken him aside and said ‘What do we have to do to make this work.’ John Smoltz has earned that respect. We’ve all taken less money to stay here, but the fact of the matter is that John Smoltz has nothing else to prove individually. He wants to win. Who has the best chance to win right now? Boston.

Q. Hard to take in, isn’t it?

A. Never, even in a million years did I think this day would come for John Smoltz. I never did. He was the one guy, I honestly thought that everybody would go somewhere else before John would, just for the simple fact that his family here in Atlanta, the school, all the extracurricular stuff that he does off the field, never thought this would happen. So that ought to tell you how disrespected he feels.

Q. Did you have a chance to tell him you’ll miss him, what he’s meant to this organization?

A. We were so upset and so shocked that this is happening. We didn’t even really think about what could happen, that we’d be facing each other, that he could be pitching at the Ted for Boston, that we could be facing him in Fenway Park. We didn’t even allow ourselves to think about that kind of stuff. We’re so shocked that this is actually taking place and that he’s moving on and playing for a different team. I wished him good luck. It’s like losing a brother. We’ve been to war with each other for the last 17 years. Now that’s not going to happen anymore. It’s very upsetting.

Q. Does this send the wrong message to players and fans?

A. This can only hurt.

Gas prices

Find out which Gas station has the cheapest gas near your zip code.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

BOWL PICKS 2008/2009

This year I decided to be a part of a couple bowl picks because it makes the bowl games more interesting when you have money on the line.

Our "commissioner" stated he must have the money in hand before the start of the first game or your picks do not count. I was able to put my money in as well as 10 others.

Unfortunately, Brent Johnson did not turn in his money in on time. Therefore cannot not be a part of the winnings.

The national championship game is tonight and if Florida wins I will take 3rd place overall in the league because "Hudson Boom" picked OU.

Brent would have won it all. Oh the smile that is on my face.

New R&B

Just Like Me - Jamie Foxx featuring T.I.

Rockin That Sh** - The-Dream

Stafford and Moreno leave to persue dreams in the NFL

http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=3640753

ESPN Sources: Stafford, Moreno to leave Georgia for draft

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, who led the SEC in passing and rushing this season, respectively, are expected to announce Wednesday that they will enter April's NFL draft.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the players' decisions said Moreno was definitely leaning toward entering the NFL draft, but said Stafford had wrestled with his decision for several days.

Stafford, a junior from Highland Park, Texas, might be the first player selected in the draft, according to Todd McShay, director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc. who also does NFL draft analysis for ESPN.

The strong-armed passer set a Georgia single-season record with 25 touchdown passes this year. He threw for 3,459 yards this season, the second-best total in school history, and ranked 15th nationally in pass efficiency.

Moreno, a sophomore from Bedford, N.J., ran for 1,338 yards and 16 touchdowns before the Bulldogs' 24-12 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. He became the first Georgia player since 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to run for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

Moreno was redshirted at Georgia in 2006, so he is eligible to enter the draft after playing only two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Moreno is expected to be one of the top two running backs selected in the NFL draft, along with Ohio State junior Chris "Beanie" Wells, should he decide to enter. Wells hasn't yet announced whether he'll return to school for his senior season.

Moreno leaves Georgia with 2,769 career yards rushing with 32 touchdowns (30 rushing, two receiving), not including the Capital One Bowl performance.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft09/news/story?id=3815504

6-year-old misses bus, takes family car, crashes

WICOMICO CHURCH, Va. (AP) - A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to drive to school in his family's sedan—and crashed.
State police say the boy suffered only minor injuries and authorities drove him to school after he was evaluated at a local hospital. Sgt. Tom Cunningham says the boy arrived shortly after lunch.

It happened around 7:40 a.m. Monday on Route 360, about 61 miles east of Richmond.

Police say the boy, who wasn't identified, missed the bus, took the keys to his family's 2005 Ford Taurus and drove 10 miles toward school while his mother was asleep.

He ran off the road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about a mile and a half from school.

Police say he wasn't wearing a safety belt.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95HQJ8G0&show_article=1

Financial Planning. Women are the best.

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million." Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

Do your best Hammer dance for a chance to meet MC Hammer

http://dancejam.com/contests/hammerdance

Outside The Line: Recruiting Hoax

If the video doesnt work

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3809393&categoryid=2378529

Funny stand up

Courtesy of my Aunt Martha.

What to do with your old christmas tree

FW: Wow, this guy got lucky

Look at the picture above and you can see where this driver
broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert,
where the people are standing on the road, pointing.

The pick-up was traveling about 75 mph from right to left
when it crashed through the guardrail.

It flipped end-over-end bounced off and across the culvert outlet,
and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert,
facing the opposite direction from which the driver was traveling.

The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger
were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.

Just outside Flagstaff , AZ on U.S. Hwy 100.


Now look at the second picture below...







http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/culvert.asp

I do not understand ABC

Why would you show this on national television? And they ALWAYS do this. They need to show the gorgeous sorority girls not old men who wish they went to UGA.

UGA sticks it to Michigan State

Congrats to the Georgia Bulldogs on a great season and victory over MSU. We are spoiled when we see a 10 win season as a loss. Georgia football is over till the fall. Now we get to watch the NFL draft and follow recruiting a little more. Here are some pictures courtesy of the Red and Black.

New Year, No Limits: Maddison Motorcyle Jump

New Rap Songs

(Explicit Lyrics)

Cookie Jar (f. The Dream) - Gym Class Heros

Coconut Juice - Tyga ft Travis McCoy

Drop That (produced by New Hotness) - Nifty

In Da Club (Prod. By J.R. Rotem) - Clyde Carson, Sean Kingston and The Game

Sydney brings in the new years

http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=44937

Year End Review

Bad timing with the playoffs around the corner

Playoff-bound Atlanta Falcons to close Falcons 365 stores

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/12/29/daily23.html?ana=e_du_pap

Tech players to commemorate win over Georgia with ring

Wow. I hate Georgia Tech.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/gatech/stories/2008/12/29/tech_uga_ring.html?imw=Y