944

The Sunshine Kids truly have a reason to smile. Audrina Patridge from MTV’s “The Hills” is stretching her muscles and her charitable heart for the non-profit organization’s second annual Marathon Torch Relay. In conjunction with the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 21, the Relay will benefit the Sunshine Kids - ages 4 to 18 - who battle cancer on a daily basis. The torch will be handed off at each mile marker, and Patridge will join Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor Morgan Heflin to complete the final leg.

944: Is this the first time you're involved with The Sunshine Kids?
Audrina Patridge: This is the first time that I am doing something with the organization outside of Children's Hospital, and I'm excited!

944: What specifically about this non-profit makes you most passionate?
AP: I have a family history of cancer, and I have been looking for an organization that specifically works to brighten the lives of children suffering from the disease. It was important to me that the organization I chose to work with had volunteer opportunities in Los Angeles too, so that I could donate my time on a consistent basis. I love playing with kids, and just being silly with them!

944: How often do you volunteer/work with/visit with The Sunshine Kids?
AP: It depends on my work schedule, but I am trying to volunteer 2 times per month at Children's Hospital in LA.

944: Have you ever participated in a marathon (or part of one) before?
AP: No....I'm a little nervous! I am not much of a distance runner. I can sprint! In high-school I was on the swim team and I danced, so I was athletic in that way.

944: Do you intend on training for this event with Morgan?
AP: I think Morgan & I are going to meet up to do some running! She'll probably kick my butt!

944: When training, where do you prefer to exercise? What is your favorite exercise routine?
AP: I work out with my trainer Jarett Del Bene at a private gym. What I love is that he mixes it up - we never do the same thing twice, which keeps me from getting bored. I also really like to exercise outdoors. It makes a huge difference for me to be outside, getting fresh air!

944: What is your favorite athletic wear brand? For clothing? For shoes?
AP: I sort of mix & match my workout clothing - but I like Under Armour, Reebok, Hard-Tail. I love my Nike Free 5.0 shoes - they're so lightweight.

For more information, check out www.sunshinekids.org.

Reporting by Gerilyn Manago Written by: Kira Coplin

Why? Because a lot of people can make you look terrible -- and then put you on YouTube some day.

Written by: D.B. Mitchell

The Washington Post's Tracee Hamilton has a piece up today about the joke that is ice dancing. The joke, in this case, is the Olympics' theme of "country/folk" dance. Hamilton's column hits on the controversies sparked by several, um, let's call them ignorant, costumes -- specifically those worn by Russian pair Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin (pictured above).


While the column is worth a slight scanning, the best thing to do is look at the picture gallery that accompanies the article. Pure comedy.


Read the column here, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/21/AR2010022104563.html?hpid=artslot


See the gallery here, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/02/19/GA2010021904492.html?sid=ST2010022200139
Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Valentine's Day is this weekend, and you have a choice, Singletons. You can wallow in loneliness, drunk text your ex and have a threesome with Ben & Jerry, or you can grab some friends, put on that party dress and road trip to Dallas for NBA All-Star Weekend. Umm, can we say no-brainer?

This weekend has a plethora of killer parties in DFW, including 944's shindigs at The Boardroom and Ghostbar, featuring Snoop Dogg, Common, Russell Simmons and more. In honor of our weekend-long bashes, here are some Snoop Dogg jokes to have on hand:

WHY DOES SNOOP DOGG CARRY AN UMBRELLA?
Fo' Drizzle.

WHAT DOES SNOOP DOGG USE FOR LAUNDRY?
Blee-otch!

WHAT DID SNOOP TELL 50 CENT WHEN HE SAW HIM PUTTING ON A SWEATER?
Hey G, you knit?

WHAT DOES SNOOP USE TO WASH HIS CAR?
His hoes.

(Oh, snap!) Written by: Madeline Hollern

Cbssports.com football writer Gregg Doyel put up a pretty interesting article today about New Orleans Saints fullback Kyle Eckel, who played college ball at the U.S. Naval Academy.

You're probably thinking, "Wow, that's great. A proud veteran makes it to the big game in the NFL. Dreams do come true." Well, not exactly. The problem is that Eckel graduated in 2005. Since the academy requires all graduates to serve on active duty for at least 5 years, what's he doing playing professional football this season?

Some pretty interesting tidbits here, most notably the fact that no one involved (neither Eckel nor the Naval Academy) would go on record for the piece.

Take a read, and be ready for what will surely be much more coverage down the line.

www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/12874836 Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Suns guard and All-Star starter Steve Nash graces the cover of business magazine Fast Company this month. The feature story provides an in-depth look at the basketball star's off-the-court business interests, including a film production company, endorsements and various non-profits.

Here's a link to a slideshow with the highlights:
http://www.fastcompany.com/pics/steve-nash-nbas-top-entrepreneur

We here at GAME are a fan of Nash's social media videos, including the classic video featuring the Suns on their bus singing "All Night Long."

http://www.944.com/blog/game/the-phoenix-suns-do-it-all-night-long/

Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Jake Rosen of Sherdog.com is reporting that action star Jean-Claude Van Damme (well, he's kind of still a star, right? Maybe? Um ...) has told media that he has signed on to fight a Thai boxer. The catalyst for a man nearly 50 to take to the ring for the first time? A reality show, of course. According to Van Damme, a 36-episode show will be filmed while he trains leading up to the fight.

Read more about the rumor here: http://www.sherdog.com/search.php?SearchTxt=van+damme&SearchCat=all


Or, you can watch this and hope that Van Damme's show would as amazing as Steven Seagal's (you know, in that "Wow, that guy is a cheeseball but he can still kick the living snot out of me.").

Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Nancy Kerrigan, the figure skater who was thrust into the spotlight in the early 1990s as a victim of an assault that involved fellow skater Tonya Harding, now has to deal with the death of her father -- which was allegedly caused by a physical confrontation with his son and Kerrigan's brother, Mark.

Read more here, http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/nancy-kerrigans-father-found-dead-brother-arrested-012510

Expect to hear this story to begin to gain momentum given the tabloid history of Kerrigan and the upcoming Winter Olympics. Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Holy crap, we still live in a country that does this:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/21/white-american-baske.html Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Quote of the day, week and possibly of 2010 (yes, already):

"Try having your knees operated on and catching for 30 years," Fisk added. "Do you think you feel good when you go out there? [McGwire] had to stand around and play first base. So excuuuuuse me."

-Carlton Fisk in an interview with the Chicago Tribune

It's nice to see that Fisk has fulfilled his lifelong potential to be the crankiest old man in history. Can't wait for "Grumpy Old Men 3" starring Fisk and Deion Sanders. Written by: D.B. Mitchell

While working in my Gmail account a few minutes ago, this wonderful headline appeared at the top:

"ESPN.com - Closer Jose Valverde finalizes two-year contract with Jose Valverde - 1 hour ago"

Man, that's big news. Really, what are the chances that the Jose Valverdes were able to snag a guy with the same name? Just blows your mind, right?

Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Apparently former ASU quarterback and NFL burnout Andrew Walter has some political aspirations. Republican John Shadegg announced today that he will not seek reelection for the Phoenix-based 3rd district. Coverage by political insider media outlets (Politico.com, The Hill and Congressional Quarterly) so far expects the district to remain in Republican hands, and the initial list that includes Walter has numerous names.

None of the initial articles included qualifications or where the information regarding Walter was obtained, or any of the potential candidates for that matter. Walter would follow in the steps of other former professional athletes attempting to transition to politics, including Heath Shuler, Lynn Swan and Jesse Ventura.

Click on any of these links for more information:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0110/Shadegg_retiring.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/01/source-shadegg-retiring.html

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/75957-dem-for-shadegg-seat-is-well-funded Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Spiketv.com writer (and 944 and GAME contributor) David Breitman posted a blog today that pretty much sums up exactly what's going on with the whole Lane Kiffin/USC/Tennessee debacle. We quote:

"Have you ever left a mildly attractive girl because a much hotter one is suddenly willing to sleep with you? Then, after about a year of dating the sexy playmate she gets back together with her ex-boyfriend, so you have no choice but to call your ex-girlfriend and pretend like nothing happened… Well that’s pretty, much what the Tennessee Volunteers are doing."

Read the whole post here: http://www.spike.com/blog/tennessee-considers/91470 Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Came across this wonderful and rough footage from an ABC Wide World of Sports episode back in 1976. It features legendary skateboarder Tony Alva in a slalom event (not exactly the X Games, is it?). A few highlights:

-Check out the sweet red Nikes in the opening sequence
-Those boards are scary small
-Alva takes a page out of the Evel Knievel book of fashion
-And the best part? This quote by the narrator at the beginning: "Skateboarding, remember how popular it was in '65? And then in '66, like the hula hoop, it folded and many thought never to be seen again."

Awesome.


Written by: D.B. Mitchell

Yes, this video is ridiculous. The Chargers' LaDanian Tomlinson dancing and acting a fool is, indeed, a wonderful thing. But the real stars? The completely random assortment of backup dancers.



I'm pretty sure this is a Nike viral video, so I'll work on confirmation. Written by: D.B. Mitchell