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The Gayest (And Straightest) Super Bowl Halftime Shows
How shocking would it be if Madonna brought gay themes to the Super Bowl halftime show? Not very. Throughout its history, the halftime entertainment has meandered from straight to gay and back again. (Click here for my homemade infographic rating the halftime shows from straightest to gayest.)...

Homemade Infographic: What Were The Gayest (And Straightest) Super Bowl Halftime Shows?
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

Messi's Being Messi Again, And Dani Alves Has A Nuke-Powered Boot
Barcelona holds a 4-3 aggregate edge in the second half of their return trip to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, thanks to the illusionist Lionel Messi setting up Pedro for the initial score and then a blistering strike by Dani Alves off a free kick rebound. The goals set up a 4-1 aggregate edge ...

Madonna's Halftime Act Will Reportedly Be "Bringing Gay To The Super Bowl"
At least that's what the New York Daily News' gossip moles overheard one of her dancers say at a party the other night. But before James Dobson can shift uncomfortably in his chair to craft a press release, somebody really ought to tell him Madonna's 20 years behind the times....

Homemade Infographic: Google Images Isn't Excited About The Los Angeles Clippers Yet
Have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin led Los Angeles's No. 2 NBA team into a new era of respect and recognition yet? Here's an analysis of results from a Google Images search for "Clippers": ...

"Ice The Motherfucker," The Guy From <em>Good Times</em> Screamed At Muhammad Ali: A Weird Life, In 4 Boxing Matches
Earlier this week, an e-mail from John Kaye showed up in my inbox. I didn't know Kaye but soon learned that he'd written the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam, the ancestor to the Hunter S. Thompson movies of recent years. Kaye had just published a lengthy piece in the Los Angeles Review of Books ent...

As A Golfer Considers His Shot, A Sound Guy Behind Him Absolutely Eats It
The Humana Challenge used to be the Bob Hope Classic, but what's Bob Hope going to do about it? He's dead. But while Bob was never particularly big on physical humor, even he would have gotten a kick out of this sound guy's entrance, stage left....

Messi Had A Hand In Barça's 2-1 Win Over Real Madrid—A Hand That Pepe Stepped On
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal, Barcelona claimed the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Madrid on a Eric Abidal goal set up by Lionel Messi—a goal that came ten minutes after Real's Pepe stomped on Messi's hand in an act that sent commentator Ray Hudson into apop...

Mike Tyson First Met Muhammad Ali In Juvie
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Tyson won't forget that first encounter....

Cristiano Ronaldo Went Five-Hole And Drew First Blood In <em>El Clásico</em>
It's a Copa del Rey quarterfinal matchup between Real Madrid and Barcelona, one on which Cristiano Ronaldo made an early mark with this nifty goal between the legs of Barça's José Manuel Pinto. [GOLTV]...

In Honor Of His 70th Birthday, Here's Muhammad Ali Riding A Horse
Photographer and filmmaker Anton Perich snapped this photo in Deer Lake, Pa., in 1974. He likened it to an image of St. George slaying dragons he had seen as a youth in his native Croatia: "It was a majestic moment, when reality meets mythology." The above image is one of 70 photos and tributes Tim...

Expect To See A Lot More Of Jim Rome, As CBS Plans To Use Him For Nearly All The Sports They Broadcast
Details of Jim Rome's future with CBS emerged today when new boss Sean McManus showed up on Rome's radio show to discuss all the ways the Tiffany Network plans to exploit their acquisition....

City Of New York Cancels Mutton-Bustin', Rodeo's Greatest Event
The scores of finance bros and curious onlookers who crowded into Madison Square Garden for the arena's annual dabble in rodeo over the weekend did not get an authentic picture of the tradition. They had overpriced pints of light beer and Cracker Jacks; some, I'm sure, had worn plaid and cowboy hats...

Liverpool: Still A Bit Racist
Did Anfield learn nothing from Luis Suarez's ban? Two Liverpool supporters (both wearing Suarez jerseys) yelled racial taunts at Oldham's Tom Adeyemi during today's FA Cup match. The game was interrupted as the fans were removed, and at least one of them has been arrested. [Mirror Football, Guardian...

Wizards Big Man Hamady Ndiaye Stuffed Himself Into A Mini Car Last Night
Yes, he fit. All seven feet of him. No word on whether he let his knees do the driving. [Twitter, via DC Sports Bog]...

Homemade Infographic: When's Your Bowl Season?
Congratulations! Your football conference got invited to some bowl games. But "bowl game" covers nearly four weeks' worth of possibilities—from the MAC-WAC showdown in last week's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to the SEC-on-SEC Alabama-LSU rematch in the national title game on Jan. 9....

It Took Real Madrid 25 Seconds To Score In <em>El Clásico</em>
A major blunder by Barça's Victor Valdes let Real Madrid's Karim Benzema sneak one into the goal as scoring in one of the most-anticipated matches in recent memory got underway less than a minute into the contest. [ESPN Deportes]...

You've Always Wanted To See Mike Tyson Sing "Girl From Ipanema" On Brazilian TV, Right?
When exactly did Mike Tyson become this cultural palimpsest? His layers are manifold, his depths eternal. He is all things at once. I half expect him to show up in Kente cloth, having been elected mayor of some downtrodden mid-Atlantic burg. Or to spot him racing along the Bonneville Salt Flats in...

An Interview With The Radio Host Who Dropped That Jerry Sandusky Kiddie-Sex-Ring Rumor On Everybody
Mark Madden wanted to make one thing perfectly clear, right from the start....

Three Reasons To Be Skeptical Of The Sandusky Kiddie-Sex-Ring Rumor, And One Reason Not To Be
Earlier today, Pittsburgh radio show host Mark Madden went on WEEI in Boston and passed along something that's been dancing around the internet and flying into our inbox ever since. You can listen to the audio above, but the comment in question is right here:...