Kim Kardashian Cries Over Silver Paint Nude Photos in W Magazine (VIDEO)

Filed under: TV Replay

On 'Kourtney and Kim Take New York' (Sun., 10PM ET on E!), Kim Kardashian bursts into tears after previewing photos from a nude shoot that appeared in the November 2010 issue of W Magazine. Kardashian is upset that her naked body isn't more obscured by silver paint as she was promised during the session.

 

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'Ender's Game' Adaptation Nabs 'Star Trek' Duo Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci

Depending on your amount of geek or sci-fi cred, the following news will either be met with elation and excitement or disgruntled dissent: Orson Scott Card's beloved novel "Ender's Game" may finally be headed for the big screen by way of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the dynamic writing/producing duo behind "Star Trek" and "Cowboys [...]

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Last Shot - There's No Place Like Home

Filed under: Photos, Last Shot

Thanks for the great caption, Aura!

• photo via:// H.koppdelaney

Big news, Urlbots! We've officially handed all our Last Shot headline duties off to you. Every afternoon M-F, we'll post the Last Shot on our Facebook page and from there it's up to you guys to come up with the best headlines you can think of. We'll feature our favorite on the homepage every day at 6pm ET.

 

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2011 NBA All-Star Starters Revealed, What About the Reserves?

Filed under: Bulls, Celtics, Clippers, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Jazz, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Eastern, Western, NBA All-Star Game, Thunder

Denver coach George Karl likes to say each All-Star squad should have 15 players, rather than 12.

It's a great idea for the West this season, with there about to be some serious snubs. As for the East, 10 seems a better number this season in a conference that after the top teams has as much depth as the local park's kiddie pool.

Perhaps the East should concede two spots to the West. Throw in that Houston's Yao Ming, named the West starting center, will miss the Feb. 20 Game in Los Angeles, and that would give the West 15 players with All-Star recognition.

The starters were announced Thursday night, and there wasn't anything to complain about other than how ridiculous it was that fans (hello, China) continued to vote for Yao in bunches even after it was announced Dec. 17 he was out for the season with a foot injury. Even before then, he was averaging 10.2 points in a meager five games.

The East starters will be Orlando's Dwight Howard at center, Miami's LeBron James and New York's Amar'e Stoudemire at forward and Miami's Dwyane Wade and Chicago's Derrick Rose at guard. Other than Yao, West starters named were Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Denver's Carmelo Anthony at forward and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and New Orleans' Chris Paul at guard.

Now, on to the reserves. After the coaches cast their ballots, here's who should be announced next Thursday as well as which players might be ticked off:

 

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Former WWE Star Hoping to Spread Word on Dangers of Prescription Drugs

Filed under: Pro Wrestling

Over the years, professional wrestling has had more than its fair share of issues when it comes to the use of prescription drugs. Numerous wrestlers have taken to pills to try and cover the pain that can course through their bodies from the bumps and bruises along with injuries they put themselves through week in and week out. And far too many have become addicted or even lost their life.

Now, it's being learned that this isn't just a wrestling problem as prescription drug abuse is become widespread in every walk of life in the United States.

Sean Morley -- better known as former WWE superstar Val Venis -- has decided to do something about it.

Morley has recently opened the website ScriptDanger.com where he hopes to educate people on the dangers of prescription drugs. He also wants to spread the word at speaking engagements to help warn people -- especially youth -- about this wide spreading abuse.

"It's an epidemic across America," explains Morley. "I couldn't stand by and not try to do anything so we decided to put a team together and we came up with ScriptDanger.com where we're looking into going to the universities, high schools, colleges, into corporations, small businesses, big businesses, sports teams and really push the message that these prescription drugs are not a game and they can not only ultimately destroy your life and your career, it can kill you."

Morley says he has seen what addition to prescription drugs to many of his friends, some of which have had problems for a long time. But what really grabbed him was when he dealt with his own addiction problems following reconstructive shoulder surgery in 2008.

His physician gave his a prescription for the throbbing pain that he dealt with for the next three months. But it didn't take long for his body to become addicted.

"For the first two months, I was taking one in the morning, one at noon and one at night and in the third month, I was taking two in the morning, two in the afternoon and two at night. It wouldn't kill the pain but it would kill it enough to make it bearable," Morley explains.

As bad as that was, he says the worst was yet to come.

"I remember waking up at the end of three months with zero pain. It was like something just flipped a switch. There was no more pain. There's more to the story than just that but generally I just stopped taking the pills all together. And it was a day and a half later, almost two days later, that I was ice cold, covered in sweat and zero energy. I felt like ripping my skin right off my body. It was horrible. My body just started going through these horrendous withdrawals just from three months of clinical use. That surprised me and I was completely taken back that three months of clinical use could have your body addicted that quickly."

Morley went through nearly two weeks of horrible withdrawals symptoms before he finally started to overcome them and not have any more cravings. But he nearly didn't make it without giving in to the pills.

"I want to say about a week into it, maybe a little less, the cravings for me to go back to my doctor and get a refill just so I could feel normal again were overwhelming. If it wasn't for my wife basically keeping me on track and forcing me to power my way through it, I'm sure I would have gone back to the doctor to get another prescription in order to just feel normal again."

He can count himself among the lucky ones, someone who was able to get through the rough times and kick the habit before it lingered any longer. But what scares him are those who decide to take a pill rather than fight through the withdrawal process.

"My body only became addicted with those withdrawals from clinical dosages from what many doctors would consider a short period of time of three months. So I can't imagine guys that have been taking 20, 30, 40 pain pills a day or more for years and years and years and the kind of withdrawals they may go through. It'd be absolutely horrendous. The idea of trying everything to stay away from falling into withdrawals is incredibly powerful for people that are already addicted."

Morley has done research on the subject and says an estimated 20% of Americans have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. Plus, there are more than 350,000 emergency room visits per year for abuse of narcotic painkillers.

More and more people have become addicted to drugs such as Oxycodone and Hydrocodone with the number of people being treated for addiction of these pills and other similar ones grew by more than 300% between 1995 and 2005.

When it comes to his former employer, Morley says the WWE is doing the best it can legally with the Wellness Program it has in place.

"If your family doctor prescribes you pain meds, there's not much legally WWE can do about it. However, with the Wellness Program, they are monitoring the use of pain meds a lot tighter than they ever did before. So, I think it's a much healthier environment but the truth be told, no matter what the WWE does, if someone has a desire to abuse pain meds, they're going to do it regardless of what the Wellness Program states or not. "

He is hoping that speaking with people and showing the website will help let people know just how dangerous prescription pain medications truly are and how serious of a problem this is. While education is necessary in hopes that people will not go down this avenue, Morley says the toughest part is trying to help those already with a problem.

"You have to understand the amount these drugs can put someone into denial that's already addicted. They never think anything bad is going to happen to them. It's the idea that you do not want to face the withdrawals. You can persuade someone and say there is life after addiction. You just have to power your way through it. You have to have people surrounding you who love you and care about you. You need to get into rehab. That's all fine and dandy until the withdrawals kick in."

"When the withdrawals kick in, everything changes. It's a devastating epidemic."

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Bubba Watson Edges Phil Mickelson to Win at Torrey Pines

Filed under: PGA

SAN DIEGO -- With a 5-under final-round 67 Sunday at Torrey Pines, Bubba Watson won the Farmers Insurance Open -- his second PGA Tour title -- by one shot over Phil Mickelson and put the PGA Tour on notice.

He's serious.

"It just shows that I can do it," Watson said. "I did it twice now. I'm only like 50 behind Phil and 80 behind Tiger, so they better watch out."

Watson, no malice intended, is seen by many as something of a golf goof ball. The 32-year-old self-taught player from the little Florida Panhandle town of Bagdad, likes to post Internet videos featuring trick shots and comedy. One of his favorites is a wedge shot from out of a tiny loving cup, over a swimming pool and into a sand pail.

He also has posted a "Happy Birthday" tribute to Ellen DeGeneres, and, last December at the Shark Shootout, dressed as Santa Claus to sign autographs after finishing play.

Rose Byrne Willa Ford Desiree Dymond Teri Polo Summer Altice

Everyone Seems Aware It's Showtime: The Video

Catherine Bell Tessie Santiago Jessica Simpson Mandy Moore Shannon Elizabeth

'Beginners' Trailer: Another Indie Movie Make You Consider Your Relationship with Your Father

Tamala Jones Yamila Diaz Alicia Keys Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens

Despite Plight, Mandi Schwartz Inspires

Filed under: NHL

SEATTLE -- They think of the homemade cookies, the plate of yummy goodness she brought to their locker room not so long ago. Mandi Schwartz was all bundled up then, wearing triple thick layers and a mighty scarf but still shivering quite a bit. Her immune system, weakened by a recent bone marrow transplant and countless rounds of chemotherapy, probably shouldn't have been subjected to a cold and drafty ice rink, but that is Mandi.

She is a hockey player, and true hockey players, the ones weaned on wake-up calls before sunrise and long drives to games and aching, bruised shins, well, those sort of hockey players just can't stay away.

"That day was pretty amazing. We were like, 'Oh, these are amazing cookies,' and she was like, 'Oh, I'll give you the recipe,'" says Maddie Davis, a 13-year-old forward for Western Washington Female Hockey Association Phoenix, an all-girls team that plays predominantly against boys-only teams. "It was so awesome that she came to our bench and helped coach. When we found out her leukemia had returned, we were all bumming."

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'Californication' Season 4, Episode 4 Recap

Filed under: Reality-Free, Recaps

['Californication' - 'Monkey Business']

For all Hank Moody's trials, tribulations and blackout-induced personal abuses, he has known all along that there's one thing that could save him. It's the thing that, from an outside perspective, should come most easily to him, but that outside observer probably never had to sit down and write something for money.

Writing is ultimately what Hank is running -- or at least hiding -- from, and every day that he doesn't write is a day when his idle hands and mind get into more mischeif. When he's writing, manipulating language and finding the way, he's at his most content -- and so is everyone around him. We last saw Hank alone in a dark room, banging away at a typewriter. Good times.

 

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Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls

Will We Ever See the Old Tiger Again?

Filed under: PGA

SAN DIEGO -- So much for the sentiment that old friend Torrey Pines Golf Course would restore Tiger Woods to his Tigerness.

Torrey Pines, which abuts the Pacific Ocean, is sacred ground to the Southern California native. He won here as a boy and likely can walk its two courses blindfolded without clonking any of its pines. He'd collected seven first-place checks here, including five in a row since 2005. And for his U.S. Open victory in 2008, when he prevailed on one knee, a plaque honors him at the South's first tee.

So the Torrey-as-Tiger-tonic talk picked up when Woods, winless since 2009, arrived here to launch his 2011 season.

Seventy-five touches of the ball later on Sunday, Woods was as bloodied as the San Diego residents who pay $50 to gouge this muni track.

The four-day total of 287 -- one-under par -- was his worst to start a PGA season.

Sunday, Tiger Woods signed a scorecard with nine 5s.

Daisy Fuentes Asia Argento Charisma Carpenter Hilarie Burton Kelly Carlson

Garrett Temple Terrific in Bucks Debut

Filed under: Bucks, NBA D-League, Erie BayHawks

It came as a bit of a surprise when Garrett Temple was called up to the Milwaukee Bucks from the NBA Development League's Erie BayHawks earlier this week considering the 6-foot-5 guard was averaging a rather quiet 13.4 points and shooting just 42 percent in the D-League this season.

In his Bucks debut on Wednesday night, however, he showed exactly why he was able to earn a 10-day contract with Milwaukee. In 18 minutes off the bench, Temple scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished three assists while not turning the ball over and making two of his three attempts from beyond the arc. He also led the team with a +11 in the +/- category.

"He started picking up things instantly. We could tell right away, which was his reputation," head coach Scott Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the Bucks' 98-90 victory. "Plus there were some stoppages of play where we could get him organized a little bit and a couple guys were helping him as well. I'm sure he's excited. He had a big game."

Despite having only one practice with the team -- in which he played point guard -- he came through at the shooting guard position when he was called upon.

 

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SAG Awards Afterparty Gift Bag: What Will Stars Be Stocking Up On?

By Kelly Marino
You know what they say: After the party comes the afterparty. And at this Sunday's SAG Awards, the attendees will not be disappointed.

People magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation are joining forces once again to celebrate the efforts of charitable actors and this year's outstanding performances in film and TV. And to get [...]

Eva Mendes Sarah Polley Aisha Tyler K. D. Aubert Sara Spraker

Fan Upstages Mascot During NBA Halftime Show Dunk Contest

Filed under: Videos, Sports

It's no secret that professional sports teams get sneaky when trying to make their halftime shows go viral, but that doesn't make this latest video of a "random crowd member" named Eddie flip-dunking off of a trampoline and then doing approximately 7 million backflips across the court while on his cellphone any less impressive.

Worst case scenario: the Washington Wizards paid a dude to do some really cool things during halftime (or had their usual mascot step out of costume to pose as an audience member).

Best case scenario: Eddie's totally getting a second date.

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• link:// Reddit -- is it fake?
• via:// The Daily What
• related:// Basketbalancing Stresses Me Out, Man

 

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Box Office Showdown: 'The Rite' Vs. 'No Strings Attached'

A typically sleepy January at the box office ? save for the welcome $33.5 million debut of "Green Hornet" two weeks ago ? continues today with the entry of two new wide-releases: Anthony Hopkins' horror flick set against exorcist-minded priests, "The Rite," and Jason Statham's action-fest about professional assassins, "The Mechanic." When the final dollars [...]

Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez Pink

'Annie' Remaking Really Happening, McG Doing Wonder Woman, and More

Rhona Mitra Kelly Rowland Danica Patrick Josie Maran Leighton Meester

Nick Kroll Plugs His Standup Comedy Special (VIDEO)

Filed under: Features, TV News

Comedy nerds are buzzing about Nick Kroll's Comedy Central special 'Thank You Very Cool,' which premieres Jan. 29 at 9PM ET.

While the 32-year-old isn't a household name yet, Kroll has been quietly establishing himself as the next big comedy star over the last few years. Hailing from the same alternative comedy world that birthed Zach Galifianakis, Aziz Ansari and David Cross, Kroll's become an underground favorite with his hilarious characters, intelligent stand-up and acting range.

You may recognize his face as one of 'The League' cast members, or from his recurring role on 'Children's Hospital,' or from his standup sets on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' 'John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show,' and 'The Benson Interruption.'

 

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Kevin Smith Can't Stop 'Sh*tting' (NSFW)

Filed under: Videos, Movies, Remixes, NSFW

Noah Garfinkel of Best Week Ever streamed a documentary on Netflix called Kevin Smith: Too Fat For 40, featuring a two hour lecture from the writer/director known for his generation-defying movies like Clerks and Mallrats, as well as his diverse wardrobe, each item carefully selected from the closet of an obese tween.

Whether or not you like Smith or his movies or his attention-grabbing headlines (regarding flying and public protests, for example), hearing his use the curse word "sh*t" 200 times in a row, from one lecture, is a must-see, as edited together by Noah.

Video NSFW.

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• link:// Best Week Ever

 

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Minnows Prize Is FA Cup Trip To Old Trafford

Blue Square Premier League big spenders Crawley Town have drawn the plum tie in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a glamour trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United.

Crawley progressed to the fifth round for the first time in their history by defeating Torquay United in an ill tempered tie on the south coast. Crawley have been the big spenders in non league football as they strive to reach their ultimate goal of promotion to the football league.

The tie epitomises all that is great about the FA Cup with all the pressure on the giants of Manchester United. United have struggled in the last few years with lower-league opposition, having been forced into replays against Exeter City and Burton Albion.

The other glamour tie sees Arsenal travel across London to Brisbane Road, where they will be entertained by Russell Slade's Leyton Orient.

Chelsea are the current holders of the FA Cup

 

FA Cup fifth-round draw

West Ham v. Burnley

Notts County/Manchester City v. Aston Villa

Stoke City v. Brighton

Birmingham City v. Sheffield Wednesday

Leyton Orient v. Arsenal

Everton/Chelsea v. Reading

Manchester United v. Crawley Town

Fulham/Tottenham v. Bolton/Wigan

Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller

Awakened Vince Carter Taking His New Role in Stride

Filed under: Suns, FanHouse Exclusive

PHOENIX -- Vince Carter celebrated his 34th birthday on Wednesday by breaking out of a four-game shooting slump, and by moving past Tom Chambers into 36th on the NBA's career-scoring list. His performance was more than solid, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Suns from losing 114-107 to the Bobcats.

After averaging a little more than eight points while shooting a dismal 10 of 40 from the field over the team's last four games, Carter bounced back with 22 points and six rebounds in this one, on eight of 17 from the field, including five of eight from three-point land.

Still, the team lost for the third straight game. So while it was obviously nice for him to get back on track personally, Carter was more focused on the bigger picture, and the fact that personal success doesn't necessarily translate into team victories.

In an interview with FanHouse afterward, Carter talked about how the mental approach to his game has changed, and how he still believes the Suns have time to get things right and make a run at the playoffs.

 

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Kim Clijsters 2.0 Best Unretirement Ever

Filed under: Australian Open, WTA

MELBOURNE, Australia -- This could be the best unretirement in sports history. Michael Jordan came back to win three championships, but he was already the best ever. George Foreman won the title again, fat and old.

But Kim Clijsters didn't just get back to where she had been before. She has surpassed the first Clijsters by far. She has reshaped her spot in history.

Clijsters won the Australian Open Saturday, beating Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. It was her third major title since coming back to the tour following a retirement/maternity leave. She has won three of the five majors she has played in since coming back, including the past two.

---

Read: Greg Couch's New Tennis Blog

---

Is she the best player in the world? And no, I'm not talking about rankings. Someone should take the tour's computer out back and shoot it. It will still have, believe it or not, Caroline Wozniacki No. 1, even though she still has never won a major.

Cameron Diaz Sofía Vergara Nicole Richie Norah Jones Nicky Hilton

Sidney Crosby's Concussion Should Make NHL Rule Changes a No-Brainer

"It's brutal," Sidney Crosby said of the headaches that still affect him, according to CBC TV.

I just hope and pray it doesn’t take the sight of the NHL’s No. 1 player in a wheelchair or laid out in a casket to make everyone stand up and take notice.

In the original six-team NHL, players were sometimes left bent and broken by on-ice hits and those blows left them crippled and physically challenged until their final days. Toronto Maple Leafs star Ace Bailey comes to mind. 

After taking a brutal hit in a game, he never played again. The Leafs gave him a job as a goal judge. The NHL created a benefit game for him, which turned into the annual All-Star event.

Crosby had to miss the NHL All-Star Game due to a concussion. Like Eric Lindros and his brother Brett, both driven from the game as a result of numerous concussions, some might suggest Crosby, at only 23, has already begun the slide down the slippery slope toward a forced early retirement.

NHL hockey could easily be made safer if they finally did something serious about hits to the head, whether intentional or accidental, through automatic suspensions and fines.

The NFL started doing that this fall to prevent injuries, and Canada's National Lacrosse League has been doing it for years.

The NHL made high-sticking punishable by two or four-minute penalties. They could easily do the same with headshots.

Not only would a tough rule against headshots help NHLers, it would have a trickle-down effect on junior hockey and every level of minor hockey, saving countless kids from serious injury.

Crosby was hit twice near the start of the New Year. First he was blindsided by a hit to the head from Washington Capitals forward David Steckel during the Jan. 1 Winter Classic outdoor game. And then he was hit head first into the boards by Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman in a Jan. 5 game. 

The resulting symptoms sidelined him for three weeks, and kept him out of nine regular games plus the All-Star Game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain has been out of action since Jan. 6 with a concussion. He was the All-Star Game's top vote-getter but is missing the National Hockey League's All-Star events.

Crosby was recently cleared for light workouts, off ice, and is expected to return to action. He has been battling headaches that restricted him from any sort of physical activity, on or off the ice.

The Penguins are off until Monday for the All-Star break, and their next game is Tuesday against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden.

It’s nine games and counting for Crosby. The NHL scoring leader sits on the sidelines, attempting to recover from two head concussions suffered earlier this month.

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Starry Night at MSG Fields Unlikely Hero

Filed under: Heat

NEW YORK -- For the past decade, Madison Square Garden and more specifically the NBA team that called it home -- the New York Knicks -- was the rotten core of Big Apple sports.

This season, things are different. Thanks to Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks' first All-Star starter since 1997, the apple is polished and shiny and red and juicy. On Thursday, everyone wanted to take a bite.

TNT, back for the first time at the Garden in five years, went all out. They brought "Inside the NBA" up from Atlanta and managed to sneak Marv Albert past the Dolans and into the building. They announced the All-Star starters and three of the five Eastern Conference starters happened to be in the building.

The glitterati such as "The Donald," "The King of All Media," Kanye West, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Alicia Keys and Tracy Morgan and his very dirty mind more than likely would have shown up to see LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat even if the Knicks were playing willing patsies to marauding opponents as they had in the past.

The stars had come to see stars, and for a while, they got what they came for.

 

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Last Shot - The Leaning Tower of Suburbia

Filed under: Photos, Last Shot

Thanks for the caption, Tatiana!

• photo via:// Håkan Dahlström

Big news, Urlbots! We've officially handed all our Last Shot headline duties off to you. Every afternoon M-F, we'll post the Last Shot on our Facebook page and from there it's up to you guys to come up with the best headlines you can think of. We'll feature our favorite on the homepage every day at 6pm ET.

 

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SAG Awards Backstage: Nominees And Presenters Get Pampered In The Green Room

By Kelly Marino
With this year's SAG Awards just around the corner, it's only appropriate that the committee makes sure everyone is comfortable during the ceremony right? Which in most cases would mean making sure everyone is provided with snacks and water and are aware of where the exits are, should they need to escape for [...]

Miranda Kerr Sarah Shahi Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel

Adding ?Sabor Latino? To MLS Marketing

In the last post, I sifted through an interesting interview with MLS EVP Dan Courtemanche (Part One and Part Two) and worked through some of the marketing-oriented commentary.

However, while I called out a mention of the league’s continuing interest in the Hispanic audience, I didn’t delve into the topic.

So here are a few tidbits from the interview and elsewhere, along with a reasonably crazy and unrealistic idea to go with them.

The interview offers hints that the SuperLiga competition’s days may be over, though that decision hasn’t been made public at this point. 

The SuperLiga was (or is?) an odd competition in many ways: a marketing invention between MLS and its Mexican counterpart. 

There are other regional competitions that MLS and Mexican league clubs play each other in, namely CONCACAF Champions League, that had much more tangible international relevance and for SuperLiga, the Mexican clubs were only in their pre-season, so MLS victories were somewhat tainted (and with non-matching calendars, that may always be a challenge with any regional competition).

All that negativity aside, the games were entertaining and typically had a better level of intensity than nearly any regular season MLS game. That aside, for a New England Revolution fan, it offered what MLS could not… a trophy.

If the competition is to disappear, it is one less vehicle available to attract Hispanic (and in particular Mexican) fan appreciation and support.   While it can be argued how much resonance the SuperLiga competition had with your average Mexican soccer fan, it did at least offer some news coverage and attention in that target market.

One positive of a potential demise to SuperLiga is certainly the hope that the fixture congestion that haunts most MLS seasons will be somewhat alleviated. 

However, if that isn’t priority number one, perhaps we will see MLS more seriously consider accepting the open invite from CONMEBOL to participate in the Copa Libertadores.

Presuming MLS clubs can hold their own in South America, which would take some assistance from the schedule and the now slightly larger rosters, the competition would improve our teams and add some credibility to the level of play in MLS. 

Also, South American clubs, like Argentina’s storied Boca Juniors, are at least feigning interest in MLS, so building on that interest might provide some significant value for the league.  

Long and expensive flights, calendar issues and myriad other logistical and cost concerns might prevent this from becoming a reality.    While still an unlikely possibility at best right now, it sure is a fun prospect to think about as the league matures.

Closer to home, there are some positive steps in MLS to add logical connections to Mexican brands, demonstrated by the addition of Corona Extra as a new major sponsor of Chivas USA and Bimbo Bakeries USA (a subsidiary of the huge Grupo Bimbo) as sponsor of the Philadelphia Union. 

Admittedly, Corona is the more well-known brand for most Americans, and while having “Bimbo” emblazoned on the chest of a soccer player might drive more confused smirks than anything else, the Union join four major regional clubs that are already sponsored by Grupo Bimbo: Mexico’s America, Chivas de Guadalajara and Monterrey and Costa Rica’s Deportiva Saprissa.  

That’s not bad company, and the logo will look rather familiar to those teams’ US based fans, perhaps lending a sense of credibility in their eyes.

Still, there may be no better way to attract a certain demographic fan base than to have players on the field that they relate to. 

If this is considered a marketing “must have” (the “Product P” in the “Four Ps” of Marketing) perhaps the new CMO needs to convince the MLS brass that players from certain countries that offer a “needed marketing demographic pull” could have a reduced hit on a team’s salary cap.

If research shows that, across the board, Mexican fans are the greatest untapped potential Hispanic audience in every MLS city, the league could suggest that moving forward any Mexican player (however they choose to define this, National Team capped?) salary only hits the salary cap at 80% of its total.

The league could also pick any geographic region to suit the local population.  This discussion started about the Hispanic population, so perhaps it is Salvadoran in D.C., Colombian in NYC and Brazilian in New England.  (Of course, I have done no research whatsoever on this, so that’s just fodder for discussion.)  

There would likely have to be changes in the salary reduction that somehow reflects the varying ability to find players that would fit in MLS from a skill and expense perspective and could vary by team.

Of course, outside of the goal to attract Hispanic fans, this could be taken further… say Polish players in Chicago?  And if the league can play with the percentage discount based on what it decides is a likely return in terms of marketing.

Clubs deciding that they don’t want their choices limited can continue business as usual, but I’m sure there are a few hidden gems in every country that MLS could conceivably see marketing, and presumptively on-field, value in.

Maybe this is too centrally managed for even a single entity MLS, but it sure would be interesting...even if a short-lived strategy to ensure we are not overlooking the vast talent pool that could attract Hispanic fans to MLS. 

I would just like to think of it as a coupon program to go shopping south of the border, and add some “sabor latino” to our soup.   Speaking of which, maybe Goya should be our next target sponsor.

Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls Abbie Cornish Krista Allen

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg: Preview Roger Gracie vs Trevor Prangley

Don't let Roger Gracie's MMA record of 3-0 fool you, he is the real deal in the world of mixed martial arts and not just based on his last name. Gracie has won the Mundials (The World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championships) a record 10 times. In 2005 Gracie won eight bouts at the ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship, defeating the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Fabricio Werdum, and Shinya Aoki. To say he is one the best, if not the best, modern practitioner of BJJ would not be an understatement. 

Gracie has eased into his MMA career as this will only be his fourth bout inside the cage, since debuting in 2006. He has submitted all three of his previous opponents.

Trevor Prangley comes into the bout with a career record of 23-6-1. Prangley, a veteran of the UFC and a former NCAA All-American wrestler will be put to the test by Gracie. Prangley knows what Gracie brings into the cage, but does he have the experience to stop the skilled BJJ of Gracie?  

Lauren German Cindy Crawford Mariah OBrien Uma Thurman Alice Dodd

What's On Tonight: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars,' 'Fringe,' 'Smallville,' 'Supernatural,' 'Merlin'

Filed under: TV Previews

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale
# = New Day/Time

Note: your local TV listings may say that both 'Smallville' and 'Supernatural' are new tonight. That's not the case. They have been delayed one week so the network could air repeats of 'Vampire Diaries' and 'Nikita' instead.

7:00 to 8:00
Cartoon Network: 'Young Justice'

8:00 to 9:00
FOX: 'Kitchen Nightmares'
PBS: 'Washington Week With Gwen Ifill' and 'Need to Know'
Cartoon Network: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' (8:30 start; Liam Neeson reprises his role from 'Star Wars Episode 1')
CMT: 'Working Class'* (new comedy starring Ed Asner)
Cooking Channel: 'At the Table With'
DIY: 'Man Caves' (8:30 start)
ID: 'Main Street Mysteries'
NatGeo: 'Dog Whisperer'
Nick: 'SpongeBob SquarePants'
OWN: 'Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes'
Military Channel: 'World War II in Color'
SyFy: 'WWE Friday Night SmackDown' (120 minutes)

The rest of the schedule and the late night talk shows after the jump.

 

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X Years After, Memories of the XFL

Filed under: Sports Business, Pro Wrestling, Sports Business and Media

If you haven't already done so, get a calendar and circle Feb. 3. It's the 10th anniversary of a sports breakthrough that should not pass unnoticed.

The XFL sprang to life Feb. 3, 2001, with its first game. I know, most of you think that's like commemorating the birth of New Coke or "Rosemary's Baby" -- assuming Rosemary had a girl and dressed her in a G-string.

Sure, the brainchild of rasslin' king Vince McMahon had its flaws. But history shows it deserves some due. For one not-so-glorious spring, the XFL gave us a partial glimpse where football was heading.

It was eavesdropping on locker rooms long before "Hard Knocks." He Hate Me would have been a Twitter god. The league was heavy on sex, violence and personality. You know, all the things NFL fans love.

If only the football and its image hadn't stunk, the XFL might have had a chance.

"The quality of play wasn't the best by any stretch of the imagination, but that shouldn't have been a surprise to any football people out there or any writers," Jim Ross said. "It was like every team was an expansion team."

Ross was the TV voice of the XFL. He came over from the WWE Empire to lend some wrestling zest.

McMahon and NBC figured football and pro wrestling would make a nice mix. It turned too cheesy for football fans. There wasn't enough schmaltz for the Jesse Ventura crowd. If it had been a loser-leave-town match, the XFL would have been banished to Pluto.

"I think people expected somebody to jump out of the stands, get out on the field, grab the football and score a touchdown," LA Extreme punter Noel Prefontaine said this week. "They expected something pretty crazy."

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Soap Round-Up: Amber's Baby Lie on 'B&B' ... and More

Filed under: Reality-Free, Recaps

Welcome to the Soap Round-Up, our weekly recap of all the soap action this past week. Each week, we sum up all the best stories from each and every soap, from 'All My Children' to 'The Young and the Restless.'

If you don't want to know what aired already, consider this a SPOILER ALERT. ... Oh, one last thing, please comment and join the conversation.

For instance, on 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' Amber's trying to pass off her unborn baby as Liam's so she can tap into the Spencer fortune. Do you think she'll get away with it or have we seen enough of these DNA switch stories that someone will figure it out? Share your thoughts.

'The Bold and the Beautiful'
Nick struggled with his addiction to cigars. Stephanie told Jackie about Nick's health issues. Brooke remained wary of Thomas after the kiss on the plane. Tawny and Carl convinced Amber to alter a paternity test so Liam would think he was baby's father. Donna told her family about her engagement, and Stephen announced he was marrying Pam. Brooke asked Stephanie to help her end the Logan-Forrester feud. Marcus shared his family history with Dayzee.

 

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Fernando Torres: Why the Spaniard Should Stay at Liverpool

Things finally seemed to be going right for Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish had had an extremely positive effect on the club with the Reds playing some attractive football. Fernando Torres seemed to be coming back to his best and Luis Suarez was just signed for 27 million. This might have been the start of the comeback and Liverpool fans hoped that all the misery was finally behind them.

But it was not to be. Torres handed in a transfer request as Chelsea came calling. Liverpool were quick to reject the transfer request. Liverpool might have rejected the request but one can’t help but feel that his departure is imminent.

This move, if it transpires, could be bad for both the club as well as for the career of Fernando Torres. Torres has endured a fairly tough 2010-2011 season as he has struggled to score goals consistently and seems to be lacking any sort of confidence in front of goal.

But under Dalglish he seemed to be enjoying a resurgence in form as he scored three goals in four matches. More than the goals scored he seemed to be playing with the confidence of a man with faith in his abilities. Even if he didn’t score he was looking sharp, his movement was good, he was creating chances and had confidence in front of goal.

Torres is in a crucial phase of his career. He moved to Liverpool to win trophies, something which he has failed to do. His stay at Liverpool has been extremely successful in terms of individual performances as he has scored goals regularly and is the fastest Liverpool player to score 50 goals for the Merseyside club.

This season he seems to have put his struggles behind him and seems to be going from strength to strength. One of the main reasons for his struggles was the lack of a proper strike partner. The likes of David N’Gog and Ryan Babel were just not good enough to support the Spaniard. Now that problem seems to have been erased with the signing of Suarez.

In Suarez, Torres has a strike partner who is skilled and talented. Suarez scored 49 goals for Ajax in just 48 matches last season. Torres now has a strike partner who can take the goal scoring burden off his back.

Torres has shown that he can perform wonders with a good striker partner when he played with David Villa for the Spanish National side.

Dalglish has a history of forming deadly strike partnerships when in charge of a club. The likes of Peter Beardsley/John Aldridge and Ian Rush/Aldridge immediately come to mind. Liverpool fans would have felt that he could do the same with Torres and Suarez.

Just when Liverpool fans could see light at the end of the tunnel, Torres drops this bombshell.

According to me, Torres should stay with Liverpool at least until the summer. His form is improving and with the signing of Suarez, and with Dalglish at the helm, it is bound to become better.

Suppose his deal with Chelsea were to go through, he is not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup. Chelsea have the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, both of whom are world-class strikers themselves. So Torres would not be able to walk into the team like he can at Liverpool. That would mean less playing time.

Also the Liverpool fans adore Torres. Despite his initial indifferent form, they stuck by his side and supported him.

Although his form has been improving, he is not back to his best. Chelsea are aiming to retain the Premier League this year and the fans would accept nothing but the best from Torres. He will not get the same adoration at Chelsea and will have to earn a place in the starting lineup.

Liverpool are going through a tough time now, and if Torres were to leave that would tarnish his image. Many people are of the feeling that the fact that he has handed in a transfer request means that he cannot play up to his optimum levels and now there is no option but to sell him.

Let us not forget players like Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. These players, despite handing in transfer requests, stayed at the club and continued to play with heart and passion for their clubs.

With the signing of Suarez and the fact that Dalglish is the manager, it is best for Torres to stay at Liverpool.

Torres’ form is improving and a transfer to Chelsea can only affect his performances.

This article is also featured on Sportsbuzz, my blog.

Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel Kate Moss

Andy Gray Fired Over Sexist Comments

Filed under: English Premier League, Sports Business and Media

LONDON (AP) -- One of British soccer's leading television commentators was fired Tuesday, a day after being taken off the air and temporarily suspended for making sexist remarks about a female match official.

Andy Gray, the face of Sky Sports' soccer coverage for the past two decades, was dismissed by the broadcaster after "new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behavior" that took place off-air last month.

The former Scotland striker and broadcast colleague Richard Keys had been reprimanded and removed from duty Monday for making derogatory comments about lineswoman Sian Massey, former referee Wendy Toms and West Ham executive Karren Brady.

"Andy Gray's contract has been terminated for unacceptable behavior," Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said Tuesday. "We have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today."

 

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US Coach Bob Bradley Begins Building National Team Foundation Against Chile

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, US Soccer, U.S. Men's National Team

CARSON, Calif. -- For the casual fan of the U.S. national team, Saturday's match against Chile probably seemed a bit unusual. Where was Landon Donovan? Why wasn't the game on English-language TV? Who the heck is Mikkel Diskerud, and why is everyone calling him "Mixx?"

The simple answers to these questions are that Landon Donovan is in Los Angeles preparing for the upcoming MLS season.

The game wasn't on television because ESPN is contracted to show a certain number of matches annually and this one wasn't selected.

And Mikkel Diskerud is a promising 20-year-old midfielder from Oslo whose American mother (hence his U.S. passport) nicknamed him "Mixx" when he was a child.

The reason for all of this confusion? The game against Chile was basically a scrimmage -- the international soccer equivalent of a JV game. Which is why Landon Donovan was given the night off. And why ESPN chose not to air the game. And why Diskerud got the start instead of Michael Bradley or Clint Dempsey or Stuart Holden.

 

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Janet Jackson Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta

LaRue Martin Feels Greg Oden's Pain

Filed under: Trail Blazers, Thunder

CHICAGO -- A center is taken No. 1 in the NBA Draft by Portland and is eventually labeled a bust while the No. 2 pick becomes a scoring champion.

Sounds like the story of Greg Oden, drafted in 2007. But it's also the tale of LaRue Martin, the first Trail Blazers' No. 1 pick in 1972.

There's one major difference between the two situations. Oden, 23, has been unable to fulfill his potential due to a rash of knee injuries while Martin simply couldn't make it in the NBA, being waived out of the league after four seasons.

But there are enough similarities that Martin, now based in Chicago as community services manager for the UPS Illinois district, would love to offer advice to Oden.

Martin's career crashed while 1972 No. 2 pick Bob McAdoo went on to win three scoring titles with Buffalo. The 2007 No. 2 pick, Kevin Durant, won the scoring crown last season with Oklahoma City.

"I'd like to sit down and talk to him and see what's on his mind,'' Martin said about Oden. "I'd reach out to him if (the Trail Blazers) wanted me to.''

 

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Garrett Temple Terrific in Bucks Debut

Filed under: Bucks, NBA D-League, Erie BayHawks

It came as a bit of a surprise when Garrett Temple was called up to the Milwaukee Bucks from the NBA Development League's Erie BayHawks earlier this week considering the 6-foot-5 guard was averaging a rather quiet 13.4 points and shooting just 42 percent in the D-League this season.

In his Bucks debut on Wednesday night, however, he showed exactly why he was able to earn a 10-day contract with Milwaukee. In 18 minutes off the bench, Temple scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished three assists while not turning the ball over and making two of his three attempts from beyond the arc. He also led the team with a +11 in the +/- category.

"He started picking up things instantly. We could tell right away, which was his reputation," head coach Scott Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the Bucks' 98-90 victory. "Plus there were some stoppages of play where we could get him organized a little bit and a couple guys were helping him as well. I'm sure he's excited. He had a big game."

Despite having only one practice with the team -- in which he played point guard -- he came through at the shooting guard position when he was called upon.

 

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NBA confirms London dates for regular season fixtures

? Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets meet in March
? Move part of plan to develop basketball for London 2012

The NBA will play two regular season games in London next March, part of a push to bring professional basketball to the city before it hosts the 2012 Olympics, the NBA commissioner David Stern confirmed today.

The matches, to be held on 4 and 5 March, will feature the Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets and will represent one home date and one away fixture for both teams.

"The staging of our first regular-season games in Europe is a milestone for the NBA and the ongoing development of basketball in the region," said Stern. "By bringing these two young and exciting teams to London, we are fulfilling our commitment to schedule a regular-season game in the UK prior to the 2012 Olympics - a natural progression given the overwhelming response to the many friendlies we have played to sold-out crowds over the years."

The league has played a handful of regular season games outside North America since holding its first in Japan in 1990.It follows the example of the NFL, which has staged annual gridiron fixtures at Wembley Stadium since 2007.

• NBA
• US sport

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These Movies Are in Theaters Now

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MLS To Back Off Schedule Shift Following World Cup Snub

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

BALTIMORE -- If FIFA doesn't want to play ball with the United States, than Major League Soccer isn't going to play ball with FIFA.

MLS commissioner Don Garber on Thursday told FanHouse that the league is going to pocket its promise to look into shifting its season to the European fall-to-spring calendar -- it was a promise made to curry favor with FIFA days before the governing body awarded the World Cup to Qatar.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter had pressed the U.S. Soccer Federation, and even President Barack Obama, about MLS's summer schedule.

"It really is going to be a lot of work, but we're making the commitment," Garber said prior to the MLS Cup Final in Toronto. "I think that's going to be big news throughout the world, particularly as we go out to Zurich and try to bring the World Cup back to the United States."

On Thursday, however, a little more than a month after FIFA awarded the world's biggest sporting event to the tiny desert nation of 1.5 million people, prompting some to call for a January 2022 World Cup, Garber had changed his tune.

 

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2011 MLB Story Lines: Do Ichiro, Pujols, and Dunn Have Ten More Years?

In professional baseball, unlike the other major professional sports, twenty years is a benchmark of sorts for a career. 

Sure, a player can go to the Hall of Fame having played 18, 15, or even 10 seasons, but 20 seasons is generally held out as the symbol of full career as a major league baseball player.

To that end, then, the 2011 season represents the beginning of the second half of the careers of three of the most unique players of all time: Ichiro Suzuki, Adam Dunn, and Albert Pujols.

It is hard to believe that it has already been ten years since the 2001 baseball season. 

With President George W. Bush only recently inaugurated, and before Barry Bonds set the world on fire and then turned it on its head, Suzuki, Dunn, and Pujols all reported to camp in the spring of that year hopeful for things to come.

For Adam Dunn, spring training 2001 was just the next step in the progression towards inevitable super-stardom. 

Drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1998 draft, Dunn had ripped apart Single-A in 2000, hitting 16 home runs and scoring 101 runs in 122 games.  He also had 100 walks and 24 stolen bases.  His batting average of .281 was fine, but his .428 on-base percentage jumped off the page. 

Dunn pretty much knew he wouldn’t be joining the Reds out of camp, but he knew his days as a minor leaguer were numbered.

Ichiro Suzuki entered spring training of 2001 as a Japanese superstar and a burgeoning international celebrity.  Already a veteran of nine seasons of Japanese ball by the age of 26, Ichiro came to the U.S. with nothing left to prove in Japan but everything to prove to an excited but slightly skeptical American public.

All eyes were on Ichiro as a curious Mariners fanbase wondered what to expect.

All eyes were not, however, on Albert Pujols in the spring of 2001.

Drafted in the 13th round of the 1999 draft, Pujols an excellent season split between Single-A and A-plus ball, with a cup of coffee at Triple-A.  But at 21 years of age, Pujols came into the spring just hoping to find a spot on a team that was coming off of a division title and trip to the NLCS the previous year. 

Indeed, that spring all eyes would have been on the aging and injured Mark McGwire, who’d hit 32 home runs in just 89 games, and was hoping to be able to stay healthy for one more great season.

The rest, as they say, is history.

In his first game as a major leaguer, Ichiro went 2-for-5 with two singles, a strikeout, and a run scored.  He would end up living up to every top billing, leading in the American League in plate appearances, at-bats, hits, and stolen bases and winning the batting title with a ridiculous .350 batting average while leading the Seattle Mariners to an absurd 116 wins. 

He also became only the tenth player since 1901 to win a batting title while leading the league in plate appearances.

For his 2001 performance, Ichiro won the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Awards, the second player in history to accomplish that feat.

Dunn did, in fact, start the season in the minors, with the Reds’ Double-A affiliate.  But he wasn’t there long; in 39 games Dunn hit 12 home runs, scored 30 runs, and batted .343 with a 1.113 OPS. 

Progressing to Triple-A, he then hit 20 more home runs in 55 games with 53 RBI and 44 runs scored, while batting .329 with a 1.117 OPS.  By late July, he was in Cincinnati, where he hit 19 more home runs with 54 runs scored in only 66 games. 

Dunn had arrived.

As for Pujols, he did break camp with the big club, and in his major league debut he went 1-for-3 with one caught stealing while playing left field in an 8-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. 

The next day he went 0-for-5 while playing right field. 

Two days later, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored, and two days after that he was moved to third base full time. 

By the end of April, the rookie was batting .370 with a 1.171 OPS and eight home runs. 

By the end of May, he was still hitting .351 and had 16 home runs. 

The 21 year old kid no one had ever heard of stay hot all summer and into the fall, and by the end of the season he had 47 doubles, 37 home runs, 130 RBI, 112 runs scored, a .329 batting average, a 1.013 OPS, and a Rookie of the Year Award.

A new era of major league baseball had begun, just in time for the 21st Century.

Incredibly, what began as an amazing and delightful 2001 season for Ichiro, Pujols, and Dunn has essentially continued for ten years. 

Ichiro has continued to rack up hits, score runs, and hit .300 or higher at a record breaking pace. 

Dunn has become one of the purest expressions of all-or-nothing power in baseball history, hitting 38 or more homeruns for each of the last seven seasons while drawing 100 walks and striking out nearly 200 times, seemingly, every season. 

Meanwhile, Pujols has emerged as nothing less than one of the greatest overall hitters of all time, already having hit 408 homeruns in only 10 seasons, while batting .331 with a 1.050 OPS, and nearly 300 fewer strikeouts than walks for his career.

The Baseball Hall of Fame's requires a player to have ten years of playing time at the major league level to be eligible for entry into the Hall, which means that Ichiro, Pujols, and Dunn all became eligible when they played their first game last season.

Incredibly, Ichiro and Pujols are almost certainly already slam-dunk Hall of Famers.

And so on this, their collective 11th season, it would be tempting to ask the question “Where are they going?” and to attempt to answer that question by simply multiplying their stats by two.

Incredibly tempting, in fact.  Afterall, if Ichiro, Pujols, and Dunn can do for the next ten years what they have done for the last ten years, they will put up the following staggering statistics:

Ichiro : 4,488 hits; 2094 runs scored; 788 stolen bases.

Dunn : 1,730 runs scored; 1,660 RBI; 708 homeruns; 1,980 walks; 3,264 strikeouts.

Pujols : 2,372 runs scored; 3,800 hits; 852 doubles; 816 homeruns; 2,460 RBI; 1,828 walks; 7,060 total bases.

It simply boggles the mind.

But “simply” is an appropriate word, because this kind of analysis is far too simple.

After all, we’ve all been here before.

What was it that we thought Ken Griffey, Jr., was on his way to accomplishing as he entered his thirties. 

Every statistic Sandy Koufax ever compiled came by the age of 30; he retired before he turned 31 because of a chronically injured elbow. 

Addie Joss died at the age of 30.  Dale Murphy simply stopped hitting at the age of 32.  Shawn Green stopped hitting at 31. 

Dwight Gooden went over 200 innings for the last time at the age of 28. 

Darryl Strawberry played over 63 games only once after the age of 29.

And there are, of course, other factors. 

Ichiro, for example, is already 37 years old. While we wouldn’t put it past him to play ten more years, it would certainly be surprising. 

Dunn, meanwhile, has a style of play that seems tailored to the previous power-centric era in a league that appears to be moving into a pitchers’ era.

As for Pujols, well, it would appear as though only injuries can stop this guy. 

Albert Pujols is the 21st Century’s answer to Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Rogers Hornsby—guys who never stopped being able to hit, and just got too old, tired, or sick to keep going to the ballpark every day. 

Pujols is Musial’s only challenger for greatest Cardinal of all time, Gehrig’s only challenger for the greatest first baseman of all time, Hornsby’s only challenger for greatest right-handed hitter of all time, and Williams’ only challenge for greatest hitter of all time.

And after that, there is only one thing left to challenge, and only one player left to challenge for it.

Might Albert Pujols one day surpass Babe Ruth as the Greatest Player of All Time?

I dunno.

Ask me again in ten years.

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