Pro Bowl: Exciting or Zzz (with poll); plus Bryant McKinnie embarrasses UM, man offers body part for Super Bowl tix, Marlins picked for last, Wade ranked 6th, The Who's halftime playlist & more
COUNTDOWN: 1 DAY: It's Sunday, meaning it's one day 'til our daily SUPER BLOG premieres here Monday, Feb.1
BRYANT McKINNIE: C'MON, MAN!: Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie, the former Miami Hurricane, was kicked off the NFC Pro Bowl squad Saturday after being a no-show for a second straight practice. He didn't call to explain his absence, but Twittered about plans for partying. Sunday, through his publicist, McKinnie claimed he had withdrawn from the team due to "ongoing injuries" of his feet and left ankle. Geez, hope that doesn;t hamper his partying. The whole thing is lame, Bryant. Just goes to remind us again how unimportant the Pro Bowl game is to so many players. For an ex-Cane to do this in a Miami Super Bowl is a plain embarrassment.
THIS MAN SOUNDS LIKE A NUT: A Miami man, in a Craigslist ad (seen at right) offers to "trade left testicle for Super Bowl tickets." That had to be a difficult decision. I mean, left or right...which one goes? I can't blame the guy for making the trade offer. Should be a great game. I'm more worried about the person accepting the trade offer.
YIKES! MARLINS TO FINISH LAST IN NL EAST: Geez, why play the damned season! The first Baseball Prospectus team predictions for 2010 are out, and the Marlins are seen as dead last in their division, set to finish 76-86. Philly wins, followed by Atlanta, Washington (!) and the Mets. Click here for the sadness. Projections are derived from PECOTA: Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithms. I don't know what the hell that is, but it hates the Marlins.
PRO BOWL POLL: You know from recent writings what I think of the Pro Bowl. Your turn. Take a dip in our poll and elaborate.
CBS REJECTS GAY-ORIENTED AD: CBS supposedly has said no-way to a Super Bowl ad that a male dating website called Mancrunch.com tried to buy. Click here. Too bad. They should run it back-to-back with the Tim tebow ad by anti-gay group Focus on the Family. Equal time, you know.
BUMPER STICKERS I'D LIKE TO SEE: "I'm Bigger Than Greg Oden." I particularly liked the NBA'er's response to the nude photos of him that were publicized on the Internet by an ex-girlfriend -- photos that exposed some, ah, um, largeosity south of the beltline. "Those were taken over a year and a half ago," he explained. "I've grown since then." OY!
WADE SIXTH ON 'POWER' LIST: Heater Dwyane Wade is No. 6 on the 2010 Bloomberg/BusinessWeek Power 100 ranking of athletes based mostly on earning potential, and based on what they did (and raked in) in '09. Ahead of him: Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Phil Mickelson, Albert Pujols and Peyton Manning. Other locals who are ranked: Serena Williams (16), ex-UM'er Andre Johnson (38), Venus Williams (42), Miami-raised Alex Rodriguez (61), ex-Cane Ray Lewis (78), and Miami native Chad Ochocinco (98). Conspicuously absent: Marlin Hanley Ramirez. Baseball contemporaries of his made the list (David Wright, Evan Longoria), but not Hanley, because his outside endorsements are lacking. Also, Derek Rose made the list but Michael Beasley did not.
THE WHO'S HALFTIME PLAYLIST: These things are supposed to be big secrets, but a Random Evidence supersource tells us The Who's Super Bowl halftime performance will be a medley with parts of five songs: Baba O'Riley, Pinball Wizard, Tommy, Who Are You and Won't Get Fooled Again. Meantime, a child-abuse group has mailed "pedophile advisory" postcards to homes around the stadium complaining that Who guitarist Pete Townshend spent five years (through 2008) on Britain's sex offenders list related to the Internet and child pornography, a search he claimed as research related to his own childhood. Townshend was never criminally charged, did his time on that list and now deserves a fresh slate. Rock on.
TAIL OF THE TIGER: Tailofthetiger.com is offering novelty golf balls (pictured right) immortalizing Tiger Woods' various mistresses. Fore-teen!
HEADLINES YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D SEE (one in an occasional series): Let's all agree we don't wanna see the guy this fits. Click here.