It was saddening to learn that former wrestling legend “Macho Man” Randy Savage tragically passed away last week. He and Hulk Hogan were the two primary reasons why the then-WWF exploded into the mainstream in the 80s and early 90s. Growing up with wrestling I always remembered him as the crazy guy with the colorful outfits who always yelled nonsense in his promos. “Freak out, freak out!” “Oh yeahhhh!” “Dig it!”

“The Mach” was one of a kind outside of the ring with his in-your-face style of interviews and extraordinary outfits that only he could make look badass because there is not another man who could pull off wearing that outrageous, over-sized cowboy hat and shades in tandem with hundreds upon hundreds of tassels and still come off as a tough son of a gun in the ring. And let us not forget about the lovely Elizabeth that always accompanied Randy. Inside the ring, Savage was one of the pioneering high flyers of wrestling, where all it took back then was a flying elbow drop off the top turnbuckle to dazzle crowds instead of the countless backwards flips in midair that we see today.

Randy was not all flash, either. He backed up his gimmick as one of the top in ring technicians in his day. Back when the World Wrestling Federation was primarily known as the Hulk Hogan Company, where the Hulkster would be squaring off against stereotypical wrestling villains and resting on his laurels, Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat stole the show at Wrestlemania III in a match that is still regarded as a classic today.

When Hulk decided to take time off wrestling to attempt a movie career, Savage was finally given the ball to run with the company and became the WWF’s heavyweight champion. When Hulk Hogan came back from filming his latest disasterpiece, he teamed up with Macho Man to form the quintessential tag team, The Mega Powers. This new partnership was not meant to be, because Randy was led to believe Hulkamania was running wild on Elizabeth, and thus the Mega Powers exploded into another classic Wrestlemania match with Savage between him and Hogan at Wrestlemania V.

After Savage turned villain, he transformed his persona into the Macho King, and dumped lovely Elizabeth for the not-so-lovely Sensational Sherri. I prefer not to remember the next two years of Macho’s career because I always will remember him as being one of the memorable heroes of wrestling. I will remember, though, him carrying the Ultimate Warrior to the best match of his career at Wrestlemania VII, where Warrior kicked out of three straight flying elbow drops to my dismay, and according to the stipulation, sent Macho Man into early retirement. Retirements are meant to be broken in wrestling and Savage was brought back to the forefront in half a year after suffering enough torment from Jake “The Snake” Roberts. I still remember being terrified as a kid when Jake made his pet snake Damien take a chunk of flesh off of Savage’s arm, and was ecstatic when Savage got revenge on Roberts.

It was around this time in the early 90s when Randy Savage became synonymous for being the on-air mascot for Slim Jim. The outlandish Savage was the perfect match for maniacal Slim Jim commercials. Too young to remember them? Then check out this link, filled with plenty of early 90s “extreme” advertising showcasing the Top 10 Randy Savage Slim Jim Commercials.

Randy Savage stuck around the WWF for a few more years, capturing the WWF title one more time time in another Wrestlemania classic against Ric Flair before being transitioned into an announcer, as the WWF tried to focus on promoting newer stars. Savage was not content on being an announcer however and quickly followed Hulk Hogan into WCW in 1994 and spent the remainder of the 90s feuding and aligning with the likes of Hogan, Ric Flair, Diamond Dallas Page and the nWo. Other than a couple brief cameos in TNA Wrestling in 2004, Randy Savage has remained out of the spotlight from the wrestling scene this past decade. His most memorable pieces of work in the 21st century was his appearance as the wrestler Bone Saw McGraw in the first Spider-Man film, and landing a minor voice role in the CG movie, Bolt. The less said about his rap album, Be a Man, the better.

Considering how many times WWE nowadays brings back legends like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and Rowdy Piper to make special appearances on television, it was surprising the WWE never brought back Macho Man for an official television appearance since he left the company that made him famous in 1994. According to the rumor mill, he did some dastardly deed that made him persona non grata for many years. As a matter of fact, this past year WWE and Macho Man started to patch some of those old wounds and were working together again, with Randy doing some brief promotional appearances to promote a new action figure of him, and Savage filming a commercial for the WWE All-Stars videogame released just a couple months ago.

While Macho Man may have been second banana to Hulk Hogan throughout a majority of his time in the ring, that will still not deny the impact he left on pro wrestling as one of the top draws and one of the most fascinating personas of all time. Have a favorite memory or moment of Macho Man? Please share and post in the comments below so we can all relive the Macho Madness! Now if you excuse me, I am going to watch my best of Macho Man DVD set and go on a Slim Jim binge.

You know, I think I talked about most of this stuff already, but it’s too damn awesome not to be remembered for this year.  Let’s begin! 

Back Dynamite:  Okay, so technically the movie was released in 2009, but how many of us saw it in the theater? The awesomeness of this film became truly widespread when it was released onto DVD back in February. The internet was abuzz at the uniqueness of this film, and after at least six different viewings this year I can see why. The brilliance of this film isn’t in it’s clever writing, quotable one-liners, or how it never really takes itself seriously; no the magic comes in how every time you watch it you pick up on something new and funny. It has become my “go to” movie whenever I have company over, and I’m always thanked when the film is done. As of last week, this film was one of the few Netflix streaming videos that won’t allow you to have a Netflix party with. The reason? Everybody would be doing it as this movie is even more awesome in a  shared viewing. I don’t believe Netflix has the bandwidth available for the nightly Black Dynamite parties that would no doubt be going on.  Until then, I say you go just go and buy this film.  It will sit nicely next to The Blues Brothers, Animal House, and Caddyshack.

The Walking Dead: You know, the sad thing about a zombie movie is after two hours the feature ends and we are left wondering what happens next. But what if we could watch what happens to our survivors for a long period of time? At least that was the concept behind the popular comic series developed by Robert Kirkman. For a comic, The Walking Dead is unique as it focuses far more on character development and less on the zombie hoard.  The zombies, in fact, act much like a dangerous natural element that the characters have to deal with and less of a plot element. The other cool thing about The Walking Dead is how real it is. People resort doing doing some pretty nasty things to one another in their quest to stay alive just one more day. Main characters come and go and we should expect that in a world where the dead rule the Earth. This past Fall, AMC released a six-part mini-season based on the comic. I was both excited and a bit anxious as to what we might see onscreen as Hollywood has a tendency to mess things up or dumb things down for their audience. But this was AMC, and the first episode stuck true to the comic storyline. And with over five million viewers, it was the highest-rated premier on AMC and became the most watched cable series for its demographic. The storyline would eventually split from the comic, but the overall tone and emphasis of character development over action stayed the same. AMC has picked up this classic for another 13 episodes, and I personally can’t wait to see what happens next. 

No Ordinary Family:  2010 had some great TV shows: Madmen, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, but this little show on ABC has become a guilty pleasure for me. The show is essentially a live-action version of one of my favoriute films, The Incredibles. The Powells are an ordinary, dysfunctional family who gain super powers after their plane crashes in Brazil. The father (Micheal Chiklis) has super strength, can leap several blocks, and is seemingly invulnerable. The mom (Julie Benz aka Rita from Dexter) is super fast, and as a scientist by trade she is more than curious about how they got their powers. Their kids (Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett) have lesser powers as the girl can read minds while the son has become a Reed Richards super genius. There is a bit of Heroes-like mythology going on in the back-story, but the real strength of the show is the characters and how they interact with one another and grow from their new found abilities.  Whomever is writing the reboot of the Fantastic Four should pay attention to this show, as Disney and ABC “get it.” It’s campy and fun, and even the bit characters play their roles to the tee. Even the unlikely pair of Chiklis and Benz seem to pull off a believable couple together. Bottom line, the show is just plain fun, and I hope I get to see more of it in 2011.

Kinect: I’m one of those people Microsoft was targeting when they thought up Kinect. I don’t own a Wii, but I am interested in what it can do. But with all the shovel-ware and stories about it collecting dust, I could never get myself to drop the cash to jump into the experience. Kinect seemed like a more logical transition for me, and upon purchasing one last Fall I can finally understand what motion gaming is really all about. Folks can argue that there really isn’t a lot out there right now, especially for the hardcore gamers. I can admit that may be true, but I am also convinced that Kinect is here to stay and that the future looks bright for the peripheral. I say this for many reasons, but mainly because the tech just seems to work and there is something magical about gaming with no controllers. It has revitalized the gaming experience for my entire family, and for me that is well worth the money I paid for it. Here’s hoping that the new titles that come out for the system are as tantalizing and cool as Dance Central and Kinect Sports.

Red Dead Redemption:  I might piss off some Grand Theft Auto fans out there, but Red Dead Redemption is a better game.  In fact I do believe that it is RockStar’s BEST game yet and one that I can’t seem to stop playing. Maybe it’s the newness of the Old West that got me hooked. Or perhaps it was the amazing storyline and characters. Or maybe it was the surprise ending that got the internet abuzz with discussions. Whatever the reason, Red Dead Redemption is in my top ten list of favorite games ever played and the new DLC keeps me coming back to the environment for more fun partners.  Not to mention that the DGR night we had in the game, holding the fort from sleazebags on our server was quite frankly one of the best times I have had on Xbox Live ever.  Thanks guys (and Token). 

Inception: Christopher Nolan has proven that he’s the King of the Mountain when it comes to directing movies. Not only did he make us rethink how we view one of the most iconic super heroes of all time, but he can take us to places we never dreamed of before. Such is the case of Inception, a movie that is as close to perfect storytelling as I can remember. We follow Leonardo DiCaprio and his team into the world of the dream and are left wondering if what we experienced was ever real at all. When asked if he could explain what he actually meant by the end of his film he stoically explained, “If I did that it would ruin the entire reason why I filmed Inception. The movie is supposed to leave you questioning. If you feel that way, it did its job. The man is a stud, and I can’t wait for how he ends his Dark Knight trilogy and the upcoming Superman project.

Lost Finale: Never has a show left me feeling so satisfied and with so many unanswered questions at the same time. For six seasons we watched the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 unravel the mysteries of the strange island they were stranded on. The storytelling and acting were top notch, and the show spawned several podcasts as viewers tried to decipher the clues left behind in each episode. Whether you enjoyed the final episode or not, Lost and its canon have secured their place in our society and lore. Just the other day my colleagues warned us not to open the hatch when dealing with a sticky project. It is a show that I will miss, and one that I will also enjoy revisiting on BluRay. 

Mass Effect 2: This is my pick for the Daryl Awards this year. Why, you ask? No, not just because I can bone alien creatures (ohhh yeah) but because the character development in this game is so strong, I actually miss them when I am not playing. Bioware has simply mastered the dialogue tree and you can’t help but feel a connection to the characters in the game. That, and it’s the only game I can remember that built on my decisions from the previous game. Countless references to seemingly unimportant characters and my encounters with them solidify that the world of Mass Effect is uniquely mine; there are no two universes that are exactly alike. They fixed the combat system so things flow much smoother and no more tedious armor and weapon upgrade guessing games, just lock, load, and kick ass. Downloadable content for the title has been nothing less than stellar and the last installment (Lair of the Shadow Broker) dramatically changed the universe I play in. I have to wonder how the addition of that single piece of content will affect Mass Effect 3. That, my friends, is sheer brilliance in game design. 

Good BAD Movies:  As Hollywood searches for some creative ways to express itself without rehashing old ideas (thanks but no thanks Yogi Bear) certain directors have seemingly created their own genre by making really bad movies that are just plain FUN to watch. The story-lines (if any) are paper thin, the acting is laughable, and the effects are ridiculous, but for some strange reason they work. Maybe because these movies know they are bad and never try to be anything other than what they are. This summer, we saw what may be the goriest and most awesome killer fish movie of all time, Pirhana 3D.  A movie that took the 3D realm to new heights with 3D boobage (and mind you there was not one boob onscreen that I didn’t care to see, they were all excellent). It was campy and fun and one of the best times I have had at the movies this year. Later in the fall, I gathered my fellow DGR faithful for a Netflix showing of Bitch Slap, a movie that truly must be experienced in a group setting. The movie was awesomely terrible and one that I plan to enjoy with a group of friends over and and over again. Let’s hope that we see this trend continue as directors take their craft just a bit less serious. It may not make a good movie, but if we are entertained I certainly don’t care.     

Robot Panic:  I remember when I got the email from Hilden, “Hey Ryker thanks for submitting all this cool shit. Here’s access to the blog and keep up the good work.” Those that read my stuff know that I haven’t always been a good writer, in fact we might be able to make a pretty good argument that I’m the opposite. But at least I have the opportunity to contribute to a community that shares my interests and is pretty bad ass. I’ve also been blessed to help the guys do their live shows and that is a real treat.  I am always impressed with their passion in delivering a great show every week, and just how genuine they all are.  Last Summer we all got together at Moe’s for the 5th anniversary show and bonfire (sorry about your neighbor’s house Moe). It was one of the best times I have had all year; hanging with the good friends I have made here and enjoying a night together.  For the real magic in all of this isn’t in the articles I write, or the awesome shows the guys do, but it’s in the community that we all share. So thanks to all my friends here, your are truly amazing.  Here’s hoping for a great 2011!

ESPN 30:30 Box Set - ESPN has been running this incredibly awesome series of thirty sports documentaries this year to celebrate 30 years on the air. ESPN reached out to some of Hollywood’s top directors to create these films that celebrate some of the most talked about and under-appreciated moments in sports. The first box set just went on sale last week, and it collects the first fifteen films of the series. This collection covers such memorable spectacles as the OJ Simpson car chase on June 17, 1994, the rise and fall of the USFL, the Wayne Gretzky trade to LA and the tragic death of Len Bias.

No more Lost - I had a very strong love/hate relationship with Lost. For every good episode that saw a major plot development or great moments, it was usually followed with an episode that killed off one of your favorite characters or added yet another unneeded question to keep the WTF balance in check for the series. With Lost finally ending after six seasons in 2010, I am grateful that I will no longer have to anticipate any more episodes of this bizarre program that sent me on a whirlwind of emotions like no other show before it. I promise to never waste another moment on this show again…unless ABC will somehow manage to re-release the entire series in chronological order.

The Book of Basketball - This was actually released in 2009, but the paperback edition just hit shelves a couple weeks ago and it includes all kinds of bonus content! I finally finished the hardcover edition of this book a few months ago, and even only being a casual hoops fan I found it to be an extremely informative and entertaining read. Bill Simmons knows his hoops, and his humorous writing style features all sorts of imperative footnotes that makes catching up on basketball history fun for everyone!

Season Two of The Tester & WCG Ultimate Gamer - As much as it pains me to lay this out there, I love both of these shows. Say what you will about reality television and the usual hi jinx that it contains, but I was entertained by second seasons of The Tester and WCG Ultimate Gamer this year. Both shows are eight episodes and features video game themed challenges where the goal is to win to become either the next PlayStation game tester (yes, really), or for a one year roster spot on WCG USA. There are a few characters and moments on each show that are pretty groan inducing I will admit, but that is par for the course with almost any reality show. If you can manage to stomach that, than you will be in for a fun ride that brought back memories of old video game contest shows like Video Power and Nick Arcade.

Heavy Rain, Alan Wake & Red Dead Redemption - If you happen to remember my article half a year ago here ranking the top 10 games for the first half of the year, you may recall that it was a particularly strong first half of the year for games. Rest assured, now with 2010 nearly in the bag, I can say without a doubt that 2010 is the first year where the first half year of releases easily outclassed the second half. It outweighed it so much so that my top three from the first half of the year are my top three for my overall game of the year. And I hold all three of these games on a high pedestal with not much ground separating them in my rankings. Pardon the cheap plug, but to hear my final top 10 rankings, please subscribe to my podcast where we will be having our game of the year episode within a few weeks.

Pinball FX2/Marvel Pinball - Hats off to Zen Studios for their consistency at pumping out nonstop awesome video game pinball tables! Almost every time I sit down to play games, I tend to warm up with a couple of runs on a pinball game made by Zen Studios. Whether it was them supporting Pinball FX and Zen Pinball with frequent DLC tables throughout most of 2010, and then proceeding to blow us away with Pinball FX 2 and its amazing evolution of table design and leaderboard upgrades. They did not stop at Pinball FX 2, because just a couple months after that fine release, they pump out Marvel Pinball, with four more addicting tables themed after some of the best superheroes in the Marvel Universe…and Blade. I dare you to download a table or two and not get hooked to the amount of sheer fun each table provides and the addictive nature of score chasing everyone on your friends list.

Miz as WWE Champ - This just would not be a “stuff of the year” list from me without a couple wrestling mentions. Mike “The Miz” Mizannin had quite an interesting journey to becoming the current WWE champion. From debuting in the entertainment world ten years ago on The Real World, to riding the MTV reality circuit for a few years until finally debuting in WWE in 2004 on its Tough Enough competition. Being one of the few Miz fans from his early beginnings in WWE when no one thought he would last a year in the company, I nearly lost it when he finally proved all the doubters wrong and  won the WWE championship.

The Nexus John Cena Beatdown - Just one more wrestling moment to add to this list. If you used to be a wrestling fan, odds are you watched during the WCW/WWF Monday Night Wars when each company was raising the bar each and every Monday to get you to flip the channel. With no real competition, WWE has become complacent with its storytelling and features less and less must see moments each year. In 2010 they managed to capture some of that old fire with the debut of the Nexus stable. Here they made an impact with an 8-on-1 beatdown on John Cena and literally tore apart the ring and beat up the entire ringside staff in a moment completely unprecedented. The Nexus has since become one of the most interesting stables of wrestlers in quite a few years.

On a recent episode of Drunken Gamers Radio, John stated they could not get enough of my wrestling articles. So I figured it was about time to write a new one. Today, I will review one on the newly-released DVDs chronicling the career of one of my all time favorite wrestlers, Chris Jericho, with WWE Home Video’s Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho. This three-disc DVD features a near two hour documentary on the career of Chris Jericho on disc one, and nineteen of his best matches, handpicked by Jericho himself, on the final two discs.

The documentary starts off like most previous WWE produced efforts, highlighting Jericho’s childhood years where he aspired to be a wrestler and rock star. The feature does a modest job at describing his early years in wrestling, from breaking into the business with Lance Storm at the Hart Family Dungeon to his days of being an international superstar in Mexico and Germany and getting his first break in the USA in ECW. I was hoping for a little more expansive look at this stage in his career since his autobiography, A Lion’s Tale, put a lot more emphasis on it, but the DVD does a decent job at covering a couple of his standout moments that he learned from. It is worth noting here that Jericho’s book is also the place to find his interactions and memories of Chris Benoit, who served as a big influence on Jericho’s career, but is understandably erased from WWE history (and is nowhere to be found on this DVD) after the double murder-suicide tragedy from 2007.

His exposure in ECW eventually landed him a job in WCW. During the infamous “Monday Night Wars” between WWE’s RAW and WCW’s Nitro from 1995-2001, one of the reasons I would usually tune into WCW was because of the high-flying action its Cruiserweight division delivered. I was more of a RAW fan, but Nitro usually started an hour before RAW, and that happened to be the hour most of its Cruiserweight matches took place so I got into the habit of seeing tons of incredibly athletic matches from classic Cruiserweights like Rey Mysterio Jr., Psycosis, Ultimo Dragon, Juventud Guerrera, Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko, to name a few. The DVD gives an accurate account on how WCW’s powers that be viewed the Cruiserweight division as nothing more than a preliminary attraction. If a wrestler was a Cruiserweight, than they may as well kiss any chance to climb their way up the ladder into the main event scene goodbye.

One of the few stars that escaped that stigma was Chris Jericho. After a couple years as just another faceless Cruiserweight, he took his opportunity to emerge out of the pool of high-flyers. Jericho talks about how he took every chance he got to cut a promo and develop his new bad-guy personality. The DVD goes into depth on two of his breakout feuds in WCW with Dean Malenko and Bill Goldberg. WWE used its archive interview footage with Goldberg and former WCW President Eric Bishoff to help flesh out a lot of his WCW years, and give their side of the story on why they held back Jericho from reaching true superstardom in WCW, which resulted in Jericho leaving the sinking WCW ship for higher ground into WWE in 1999.
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Since the dawn of time, man (especially Drunk Man) has dreamed of flight.  And before Wilbur and Orvil got it right in Kitty Hawk, several people tried and failed gloriously to achieve even moments of gravity-defying greatness.  Nowadays, flying is something most of have done and we tend to take for granted.  But there are those who choose to chase the elusive dream of flight in spite of its prevalence in today’s world.  Where can you find these creative and somewhat insane individuals?  At a Red Bull Flugtag, of course; an event so wildly creative and addicting fun that it is in my must-experience-before-you-die activities in life. 

The word “Flugtag” is German and literally means “Flying Day.”  It is the brainchild of Red Bull’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and since 1991 this unique flying competition has been held every year in over 35 countries.  The contest in simple: design a human powered flying machine, drag it up a 30 foot ramp, and then launch yourself over a large body of water in hopes of flight, or at least a wicked crash.  Your flying machine cannot weigh more than 450 pounds (including the pilot), be constructed of natural materials, and it needs to float so the clean up crew can dispose of it properly. 

Teams aren’t just judged on how far they fly (or fall), but on creativity and sportsmanship.  It’s these later categories that add a real dimension of fun to this sport.  The flying contraptions that I witnessed at the St. Paul Flugtag included a giant mosquito, a Family Truckster (from National Lampoon’s Vacation) and a giant Acme Rocket driven by a Wile E. Coyote himself.  While none of these crafts flew very far at all, they were a ton of fun to watch plummet into the cold Mississippi river. 
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Believe it or not, FIFA isn’t just a video game series put out by EA. No, you ignorant sluts, FIFA actually stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and every four years, FIFA puts on the most important sporting event in the world: the World Cup.

“Most important?”, you ask? I know, it’s hard to believe that despite a complete lack of Budweiser and pickup truck commercials, football (soccer to us), is the most beloved, most watched, and most played sport in the world and not just a pastime reserved for suburban kids and their overbearing, minivan-driving moms.

But it’s not just the sport that makes World Cup great. It’s got that Olympic vibe of the world coming together, but distilled down into one sport and the passion surrounding it. So let’s take a moment from our inward-looking culture and see how the rest of the world plays. Moe and I have put together this list of resources for you to keep up with scores, news, and other World Cup info. If you have more, feel free to post them in the comments below.

On the Web

Official World Cup Site: This is the most obvious, isn’t it? FIFA.com has transformed into an “all World Cup, all the time” site, giving you match times, stats, video, history, and pretty much everything else you can ask for. In addition, they have a handy little PDF schedule for you to print out. Granted, you’ll have to do some time zone math, but if you want to know local times, just hit the Match page and click the icon to convert it to your local time. Nifty, eh?

ESPN: Most of the games will be shown on ESPN, though the games more relevant to the United States will be shown on ABC. Check this site for more news as well as airing times and stations. You’ll also find replays, news, and a lot of other cool information.

ESPN3.com: Not near a television? Stream the World Cup live over at ESPN3. It’s a bit laggy at times, but otherwise it works really, really well.

On the Go:

Twitter: Follow the World Cup on Twitter via @worldcup. Viewing this on your computer pulls up a fancy page allowing you to view Tweets by topic. It’s a very well done site and I highly recommend it.

ESPN 2010 World Cup iPhone App: Featuring live scoring, tournament stats, brackets, this handy – and FREE – app gives you nearly all the World Cup info you could ask for on your phone.

Many apps (like Sports Tap) have this feature, but if you’re not near a television or a radio, this app displays a field graphic showing positions, timelines, and more. It’s not quite as up-to-the-second as the football graphic in Sports Tap, but it’s a very nice feature if you’re out of the loop and want to keep track of a game.

For $8 you can get more customized information, but based on user reviews, you may just want to skip that.

For Fun

EA Sports FIFA World Cup 2010: In between games, why not sit down and create a World Cup of your own? EA’s FIFA has always been a decent series, and while there are video game football/soccer alternatives, this one is “official”. So if you’re looking to get an authentic experience, it’s your only way to go.

Adidas Jabulani Official Match Ball: Speaking of an “authentic experience”, why not get off your ass and play a bit of footy with the official ball of the World Cup. Of course, this will set you back about $150, but fuck it, right? Why puss out with some Target-bought ball when this is the biggest sporting event in the world!

From the site:

“JABULANI, meaning “to celebrate” is the 11th adidas World Cup ball featuring 11 different colors representing the 11 players in every team, the 11 official languages of South Africa, and the 11 South African communities. The colorful design brings together the tremendous diversity of the country in harmonious unity.”

And Just Because…

Major League Soccer: Hey, guess what? There’s probably a Major League Soccer club in your area and you don’t even know it. But you’d probably be even more surprised to find out that MLS fan attendance exceeds NHL and NBA combined. Okay, as Timberwolves fans that stat doesn’t really surprise us, but still. So if you wind up digging the World Cup action, hit the MLS club page and look for a team in your area. Who knows? Maybe someday the States will figure out what the rest of the world is up to.

Longtime listeners of the show may remember that the noble sport of curling was once something of an ongoing joke with us. It got to the point that Carlson from Mad-Gear sent us each a copy of the DS Curling game just so we could further mock what we called “shuffleboard on ice”. Well my friends, I feel ashamed of our former behavior, for I have finally had a chance to experience this godly game. And it has changed my life.

No, seriously.

A couple weeks ago, I entered the St. Paul Curling Club for an afternoon lesson and game of curling. The largest and longest-running curling club in the country, this place was amazing, giving off the vibe of a cross between luxury bowling alley and an exclusive country club. The lobby was filled with leather couches, flat-screen televisions and a giant fireplace, all facing the glass wall looking out to the play area. It was quite impressive. I was instructed to pick out a broom and head out to the ice.

Once I had my broom, I put on my clean pair of shoes (very important) and made my way to the ice. The room was a comfortable forty degrees with six playing areas in total. The moment I walked through the door and looked to my left, I knew I was in a happy place.

Finally, the first documented example of real progress in green technology.  Powered by grapes and gravity, this is the greenest car you’ll find this side of the sun.  Just don’t buy a house on a hill.  You can learn more about this remarkable visionary’s love of the road and the fermented arts here.

Celebrate it’s smooth lines, aggressive stance, and big, fat barrels.  May he be blessed this holiday season.

Science.

NOTE: I found this in our submissions today. Too funny not to post. -John

You tiwins ar e jackasses!! What the hell ROdneay!?? You pitcht ethem a double?! Youy close games fuckera1 ! close theme! closing!! not 12 eniings! and on ona on oan on! seriously? the twins?! you tiregers wer up by what., sev87 games?? You comae all this way to fuck this up? ? Tha is an asshat movea! teriirible terribel performeance!! Hey maybe if MNiguel Cabrera could get driunk wiht the white sox more and beat iss wfife or whatever he could bat more than tt2 r;uns! unlesazhe Th efURY!!

Look, mennnisota, you owe me a $60 dolalr berr e tab. you owe me sixtya dollars for making me watching this nail bigtters of losing and losing ansd losing. GOodl luck in tghe playoffs. I and amiching MiI MIchigan Detrioti friends will hate your stante in forever times. you are bad freinds.

SIIIGH

With lovee,
DJINcompeatente fron meENnisotata ASuckS!!!2

Last year, I compiled a list of perfectly reasonable excuses to hate NFL football. Personally, I love the game. I love watching it, I love the atmosphere, I love sitting around the television with my family, snacking, drinking, and enjoying Sunday afternoons. But sweet mother of god, there are so many reasons to hate this shit. It’s gotten to the point where I hit the mute button during commercial breaks, and sometimes even during game play. Because, let’s face it, it’s an obnoxious spectacle. So at the risk of beginning a tradition, here is the 2009 Season Edition of “Good Reasons to Hate NFL Football”.

The Fox Football Robot

More of a threat to humanity than The Terminator.

Seriously Fox: what the fuck? Listen, we like robots, okay? We named our site for the damn things. But this idiotic dancing abomination has to be the worst and most pointless mascot of all time. When the Fox Robot’s not doing warmups and pumping himself up into some sort of ‘roid-rage tizzy, he likes to do karate moves and even play air guitar.

How the hell did he even come into existence? I can just imagine some douche walking into a meeting at Fox Sports…

“Say guys? I’ve got this nephew who sits around all day smoking pot. But he’s really good at computer animation. Can we give him a job?”
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