Playboy Golf Videos: Andrew Bynum Hula Hooping and More...

I was in L.A. this past weekend for Playboy's Celebrity Golf Scramble, and Andrew Bynum was indeed there, as reported by my new buddy Arash Markazi in SI's For The Record. Bynum had stayed behind in L.A. to rehab as the Lakers were on a road trip, but his injured knee was obviously good enough to come out and party with the Playmates.

In all fairness to Bynum, on Friday he made sure not to golf (contrary to what Sports Center reported). He was on the golf course, but spent most of the time sitting at the clubhouse. I actually had to drag him away from his table and convince him to come hang out at some of the tees. He was trying not to draw too much media attention to what was just a harmless day of fun and I wasn't originally going to post anything about him. But since SI put him on blast this morning, I figured I would show this video of him doing some light hula-hoop physical therapy with some Playboy Golf ladies. As you can see, his "partying" was pretty harmless...



And even though he didn't want to get on my camera for an interview, he was very gracious in talking to me anyway, unlike some other people at the event who tried to make a big stink about keeping incognito (*cough*JakeLong'sPublicist*cough*).

Stay tuned to Yardbarker's Playboy Golf page for much more video and lots of photos from the weekend. Here's a sneak peek:

Alana G Goes 'Big-Time,' Appears in Elie Seckbach Profile

I caught up with my old friend Elie Seckbach in L.A. this weekend and he insisted on embarrassing me with this video...



First of all, my apologies for the voice, I have a cold right now. Second of all, no, I'm not high in this video, the sun was in my eyes and I was also mad sleepy. Third, ummmm thanks a lot Elie for including the part at the 3:20 mark where those girls at the Playboy party try to strip me down.

But in all seriousness, thanks Elie for the video, I'm honored to appear on the ESNews YouTube channel. And I love the title: "Alana G, the Leading Sports Blogger in the Nation" -- prototypical Elie Seckbach hyperbole!

Is Pops Mensah-Bonsu Single?

Inquiring minds want to know, is Pops Mensah-Bonsu single? Word on the street was that the Notorious PMB had a girlfriend, but this hilarious post-game clip seems to indicate otherwise...

I Miss New York. :(

Fat Joe - New Music - More Music Videos

Run PMB: Pops Mensah-Bonsu's New Nickname!

I'm jumping the gun a bit, but Run PMB is my favorite nickname for Pops Mensah-Bonsu in the Hoops Heads North nickname poll. The initials PMB are just cool to begin with. We could also go with "The Notorious PMB" (biting Golden State of Mind's "Notorious POB" nickname for the old Patrick O'Bryant). Dang I wish I had thought of that in time to submit it for the poll!

Pops Mensah-Bonsu Video: 'You Gotta Love Pops!'

Anyone who knows me knows I done BEEN on the Pops Mensah-Bonsu bandwagon. So it's great to finally see him get his shine in the NBA. He never got PT in Dallas, and the San Antonio stint was over in less than 10 days. So thank you Raptors for finally letting the beast loose.

And it's great to check my Pops Google alerts every morning and see the fans and media in Toronto embracing their new emerging star. Here's a Pops-love video released today by the Raptors.

(It's not embeddable, so I had to fake it.)

Sexy New AVP Ad Campaign Led by Ex-Playboy Model

The AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals, not Aliens Versus Predator) just launched a new ad campaign that's turning a few heads. The ads feature close-ups of butts (and other body parts), playing up the sex appeal of beach volleyball. The campaign has been written up by Darren Rovell and mentioned on Deadspin. But everyone has overlooked the titillating part of this story, which the NY Times buried in the very last paragraph of its write up -- the woman pushing the AVP campaign is vice president for business development and legal affairs, Kristine Lefebvre:

After being noticed as a contestant on season six of “The Apprentice,” [Lefebvre] posed for the June 2007 Playboy magazine.

I will leave it to your Google searches to dig up pictures of Ms. Lefebvre...

With sexy athletes on the sand and sexy brains working behind the scenes, the AVP just might be going somewhere. Now if only we can get some beefier butts playing beach volleyball... paging Venus and Serena!!

Boyz II Men Wasn't as Hot as I Remembered Them

Today's old school jam is Boyz II Men's "End of the Road." Is it my imagination or do the vocals on this video not sound as hot as I remembered them? Maybe Diddy is right and Day 26 really is the most vocally talented music group of our time.

Thanks to my buddy OopsPowSurprise for putting me on to this collection of music videos. Boyz II Men, I still gots love, you guys DOMINOTED the '90s.

New NBA Ad Campaign: Where LeBron Dunking on KG Happens

The NBA will be debuting a new ad campaign this weekend to promote the playoffs. Apparently there will be 20 to 30 new spots in the "Where Amazing Happens" theme featuring OMG moments from the ghost of playoffs past. Here's one of the spots:



That's LeBron dunking on Kevin Garnett's azz in Game 4 of last year's Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. I think the grainy black and white look is on purpose.

The other spots will feature all sorts of playoff moments, both recent and old school. I can only hope they have at least one from that magical Warriors-Mavs series in 2007. Perhaps Baron's offensive foul, er, dunk on Andrei Kirilenko?

Thanks much to the folks at the NBA for sharing this sneak peek. And kudos to Goodby Silverstein for the ads. You can catch them on TNT, ESPN, and ABC starting this weekend!

Sarah Spain Talks Boobs With Alana G

I finally posted my interview with Sarah Spain on Yardbarker. We have so much footage from Tampa that we're still editing videos! (You can see more on our Super Bowl page.)



Sarah was real cool, and it turns out we have a lot in common. Except that I don't have a huge rack, an overnight internet celebrity legend, or an impressive collection of Google images.

But hey, maybe she can help me with that last one. If Maxim or FHM or one of those magazines ever wants to do a photo shoot of really tall Ivy League ladies trying to make it at start-up athlete-focused sports websites... I'm down if you're down Sarah!

Actually, while we're at it, Alana G really needs a date, and the whole Twitter pick-up scene hasn't really been working for me. Maybe you can help me craft an ebay post? Thanks, girl!!

Big News Day at FanHouse aka AOL Sports

Hundreds of people were laid off from AOL yesterday, NOT including AOL Sports General Manager Derrick Heggans who left on his own accord and was "not forced out." Also, March Madness coverage begins and will melt your face off!! FanHouse DOMINOTES the interwebs!!!!

Alana G Introduces the Word 'DOMINOTE'

I would like to go on record as the creator of the word "DOMINOTE." If anyone knows of its use prior to mine please let me know.

To "DOMINOTE" means to dominate with a slightly ironic connotation: "Jeah!! Did the Thunder just DOMINOTE the Kings??" or "My chihuahua will DOMINOTE this dog show, son!!" A second, less common meaning is a non-ironic domination in the game of dominoes: "I will DOMINOTE David tomorrow."

Contrary to what Standard-English snobs will say, "DOMINOTE" is not merely a bastardization of the word "dominate." It has its own subtly different meaning separate from "dominate," much like the word "conversate" is an evolved version of "converse."

I expect "DOMINOTE" to be especially well-received among users of the interwebs who will appreciate the allusion to "pwned."

"DOMINOTE" must always be written (and spoken) in all caps. Conjugation follows the regular pattern of "dominate": DOMINOTE, DOMINOTES, DOMINOTING, DOMINOTED.

Acie Law's Contest: Who Should the Cowboys Draft?

Acie Law of the Atlanta Hawks is a big Cowboys fan and wants to know who his team should draft. If you leave the best comment on his blog he will send you the AMAZING prize described in this video:

Pops Mensah-Bonsu Dunk Video: 'In Your Living Room!'

I don't even know the outcome of the Raptors-Heat game, and I don't really care, because all I need is this Pops Mensah-Bonsu highlight.

Mainstream Media Caught with Bacteria on Its Balls Again

This spoof piece about beer pong giving you herpes managed to infect the mainstream media last week. As with all these gaffes, the original spoof is actually quite funny, clever, and clearly satirical... I'll let Stephen Colbert do the rest of the cheerful hating for those who haven't seen it. Thank you Jason Gurney for the tip -- I've been slacking on my internet policing of fringe sport reporting this week.

Derrick Ward Talks His Way Through Tampa

Yardbarker shot this video with Derrick Ward during Super Bowl week in Tampa. True story, as soon as we walked into the room, the producer from ESPN Tampa jumped on us wanting an interview. I think Derrick impressed the people of Tampa. Congrats to DWard on signing with the Buccs, and enjoy this video. Stay tuned towards the 2:00 mark for a cameo from Darren Sproles' AMAZING arm-candy.

It's a Rap!! Pops Mensah-Bonsu Is Signing With Toronto

Welcome back to the L for good, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu!!

Bill Dwyre vs. Elie Seckbach: Another Jealous Jab from Old Media

My old friend and internet colleague Brett Pollakoff tipped me to this story, noting that I love "media wars." Jeah!!

It seems that columnist (and former sports editor) Bill Dwyre from the L.A. Times took a couple of cheap shots at our dear friend Elie Seckbach, whose one-man-show you may have seen on YouTube. As Brett points out, Elie's entertaining and informative videos have been viewed millions of times in the short time he's been posting them, which is traffic that a newspaper columnist can only dream of.

Dwyre describes Elie's interview of Coach Popovich in a condescending manner, closing with, "You can catch the interview on MyHighSchoolFilmClassAssignment.com." Oooooh burrrnnn!!! The thirty-something-year-old man who is helping to forge the way for new media and kill your own antiquated notions of sports reporting is nothing but a high school film student! Good one, Billy!

Keep up the good work, Elie. Nothing motivates me more than haters, so I hope you feel the same.

P.S. I would be doing a disservice to the interwebs if this post didn't include a shout out to the sports blogosphere's favorite bumbling newspaper "reporter" Niki D'Andrea of the Phoenix New Times. When you get a minute, check out her new blog 'Anal Hipster' (that's not a joke) in which she takes her own nameless pot shot at me. Apparently she's salty that Alana G appears all over the first page of search results for Niki D'Andrea. Google page rank is a b*tch, ain't it! UPDATE: the Anal Hipster post has been removed, but here is the cached version. DANG Google, you really are slaying it!