Chicago's Luvabulls

I have to say that of all the names for cheerleading squads in the NBA or, for that matter, any professional sport, my favorite is the one for the Chicago Bulls. Their group is called the Luvabulls and above is one of their members. If you'd like to see more, click this link for a recent gallery that SI posted on this lovely gaggle of gals.

Jenna Fischer At SAG Awards

OK, so you know we like Jenna Fischer around here. Last night she was on Jay Leno and only her presence would ever get me to tune into that windbag so you know she's gotta be pretty special. Anyway, found out that Jenna is on the cover of Self Magazine this week. She was also on Leno to promote a special one-hour episode of "The Office" which will air after the Super Bowl. Anyway, here are some more shots of Jenna at the recent SAG awards. I've just been too lazy to post them.



I like the look on her face and the way she's standing in this one:


Later, in doing some more "research" I discovered video of Jenna from the 2004 pre-Office movie "Employee of the Month" where she plays a prostitute named Whisper. Very intriguing audio here, but definitely not safe for work so be VERY, VERY careful where you watch.

Colombian Fashion Show

Here is a picture from a fashion show in Colombia. Here's the caption information:

Models wear lingerie by St. Even at the Colombiatex fashion show in Medellin, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009

Here's another photo. The dude in the purple shirt is hilarious. He doesn't even try to pretend:

Springsteen At The Super Bowl

Bruce Springsteen will be performing at halftime of Sunday's Super Bowl but on Thursday he held a press conference for the event. It actually was Bruce's first press conference in more than 20 years, so this is quite a rarity. If you click this link to the Fabulous Forum blog at the Los Angeles Times, there is audio of the event. It's pretty good stuff as Bruce is his usual irreverent self. If I find video, I'll try to post that too. The photo below is of Bruce's previous press conference when he was doing something for Amnesty International. That's Tracy Chapman to his left.

Fab Faux Are Fabulous

Went to see the Fab Faux on Saturday at the classic Orpheum Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Ever since hearing these guys on Howard Stern about three of four years ago, I'd always wanted to see them but being a New York-based band featuring Will Lee of the David Letterman show and Jimmy Vivino of the Conan O'Brien show, they only make it to L.A. about once a year. They certainly didn't disappoint. They aren't your typical Beatles tribute band where the members dress up like the group. Rather, the Fab Faux goes to great painstaking lengths to reproduce the Beatles' music and sound as close to the original as possible. This, of course, makes it very interesting to hear a lot of the later stuff that featured studio-created magic as well as complicated arrangements. One of my favorite songs of the night was "I Am The Walrus," which if you know the song, is not an easy one to capture live. The Fab Faux did it though. I'd love to see them again when they return to the Orpheum on Oct. 3 when they will play "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be" in their entirety. Should be quite a night. In the meantime, here's a video of the Fab Faux performing "I Am The Walrus" on Letterman followed by the original Beatles version so you can compare.

Fab Faux version:


Beatles version:

I urge you to search "Fab Faux" on YouTube to see what other songs they reproduce. If you are a Beatles fans, you won't regret it.

Figure Skating Follow-Up

A few days ago, we told you about a figure skating star in the making in Alissa Czisny, who, by golly, went out and won the free skate at the U.S. Championships in Cleveland over the weekend. One skater who didn't win was Katrina Hacker. So here are some photos of Katrina in action.

These first two shots are from the recent competition:

This is my favorite overall from another event:

Two more from another event:

Miss America Follow-Up

After informing you of the Miss America preliminaries a few days ago, we thought we should follow up to let you know who actually won the pageant. So for those of you who care, it was Katie R. Stam, Miss Indiana. Here are some visual aids.

Coleman BOW On Budinger

We haven't had one of these in a while, but this is one of the most blatant examples of a BOW that I've EVER seen. It's disgusting. In case you missed it, it happened in the Arizona-Houston college basketball game over the weekend. Houston's Aubrey Coleman dribbled up court and Arizona's Chase Budinger stepped in his way to take a charge, which the official called. So what does Coleman do? He sees Budinger on the floor, stumbles his way toward him and actually steps on his face! Yes, STEPS ON HIS FACE!!!

Now, here's the question I ALWAYS ask in a case like this. Would Coleman have done what he did if that had been Nic Wise or Jordan Hill of Arizona who had taken the charge? The answer is an unequivocal NO!!! This is the kind of scumbag move that I've been railing against since I started pointing out BOWs. Amazingly (or maybe not), in an AOL Fanhouse post, Houston coach Tom Penders says he doesn't think that what Coleman did was done on purpose. But what else is Penders going to say? Budinger is CONVINCED it was malicious. An AOL poll says 92% of respondents think it was done on purpose. Today, Coleman apologize for his flagrant foul (which incidentally got him ejected from the game) and got word that he has been suspended for one game by Conference USA. Still, Coleman insisted it was an accident, which raises one very key question: If it was an accident, why was there a need to apologize?

More On Figure Skating

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are going on in Cleveland this week, so we thought we'd present you to the talents of Alissa Czisny. We have no idea how well she did in the competition. Does it matter?

From an earlier competition:

Miss America Preliminaries

The Miss America pageant is being held this weekend at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and we will be keeping a keen eye on the proceedings. Above is Miss Michigan Ashlee Baracy during the preliminary talent portion. Below is Christine Kozlowski, Miss Mississippi (say that fast three times)

Ana Ivanovic Ousted At Aussie

So 2009 has started much the same way that 2008 ended for our favorite tennis player Ana Ivanovic. The 2008 Australian Open finalist was tossed out of the tournament after a third-round loss to Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Sigh.

Loose Cannons Are No More

Sports talk radio in Los Angeles has never had the same type of edge of say a New York or Philly or even a Chicago. But still, local sports talk here had its charm. And I use the word HAD on purpose.

That's because earlier this week, local radio station KLAC (AM 570), owned by Clear Channel, decided to put an end to local sports talk radio in this city. Sure there's still the stiffs on 710 ESPN, but it's just not the same. The "Loose Cannons" are no more and if something doesn't change, the L.A. airwaves will be more boring than normal.

Steve Hartman, Mychal Thompson and Vic "The Brick" Jacobs, though all extremely grating at times, still had a tremendous amount of chemistry that is now possibly forever gone. All three of these guys got on my nerves in one way or another, but they made their show entertaining every weekday from noon to 4 p.m. (the last hour of which was spent interacting with the next duo, "The Petros and Money Show," in a popular segment called "The Fusion.")

But when Clear Channel cowardly decided to announce 1,800 job cuts on the day President Obama was inaugurated (hoping its story would be lost amid all the fanfare, we suppose), KLAC went from being the best sports station in town to one without a single hour of local programming on its schedule. Amazing.

Hartman is now paired with the monotone Chris Myers on a homogenized national show with Jacobs serving as a paltry update guy, taking away his unique ability to be the ultimate homer, which would spur many of the "debates" with Hartman and Thompson when the show was local. In the new lineup, Thompson has been designated a "Laker correspondent" though I have yet to hear him in two days (maybe I've just missed him).

Yeah, all these guys were buffons in their own way, but they were OUR buffons and to see them be shuffled off the air as they were is just wrong. The Los Angeles Times had a good post on one of its blogs describing the demise of the Cannons and many of the comments urged Arte Moreno to pony up the dough and bring the show to AM 830, a station he owns that is struggling to find an audience. What better way than this.

Ana Ivanovic At The Aussie

Our favorite tennis player, Ann Ivanovic, has made to the third round of the Australian Open and here are the latest photos.

Those piercing eyes:


Caught at the right moment?


She's even a soccer player. Nice height on the leg up:


Vulnerable after a backhand:

Bush's 8 Years In 8 Minutes

Seems rather apropos with the transfer of power and all. Keith Olbermann. My hero. I must thank my mother-in-law for turning me on to this video. Thanks Mom!

Happy Inauguration Day

I'm sure we've all been inundated with coverage of Barack Obama's historic inauguration today and it sure was a moment to be cherished, don't get me wrong. Nothing like this has happened in our lifetime, but now the real work begins and we'll see how it goes. At least there's hope and optimism and a feeling of togetherness for the first time in a long time. Here are some more images from the day (hopefully some that you didn't already see on TV).

I think I see my sophomore history teacher:

Quite a metaphor for the day, huh?:

Could chief of staff Rahm Emanuel have been looking in Bush and Cheney's direction?:

Magic Johnson: the man who never met a camera he didn't like:

This little Sasha is going to be quite the pill for the next eight years. But she's a crack up already:

Even the Las Vegas sports books stood still. Then again, there's not much to bet on at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday:

Only in America:

As much as I agree with this sign, it probably wasn't the most appropriate thing to do on such a historic day. This is the kind of divisiveness we need to get rid of from both sides:

Hudson River Crash Video

Earlier this week a U.S. Airways jet made a crash landing in the middle of the Hudson River and amazingly none of the 150-some-odd people died. The pilot has been hailed as a hero and after watching the video below, captured by security cameras, you'll see why. The plane's landing into the water looked as smooth as one on a runway. Amazing.

Porrista Pics O' The Day

The start of Mexico's new soccer season brought with it new photos of our favorite porristas. Apparently Sol, a popular beer/cerveza in Mexico, does not have loyalties to a particular team. I guess it's no different than Budweiser purchasing signage at every godforsaken stadium:

She's from Jaguares:


This one's from Morelia:


And finally, a porrista for Chivas de Guadalajara:

Ana Ivanovic Gearing Up

The calendar has turned to January and that means the Australian Open will soon begin and we'll a chance to see how our favorite player, Ana Ivanovic, will do. Here are a bevy of photos of Ana practicing for the tournament, which begins Sunday, West Coast of the United States time.

I posted this last photo, so all you losers (me included) could kinda see what it might look like to walk next to Ana:

Paddock/Grid Girls

You all are familiar with our cheerleader/dancer/porrista features here on EM, but let us introduce you to a new one this year. They're called Paddock Girls or Grid Girls, depending on what part of the world you're in, and can be found at F1 and other motor sports races all over the world. The photo above is a recent one, but the ones below are from events last year. We will keep abreast of any developments with paddock girls as the year wears on.

Now, I can't promise this kind of quality every post, but we'll certain give it the old college try. Check back often.