Joe is in! Thomas that is…

Congratulations Joe Thomas and the rest of the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductees to be. 

Hall of Fame inductions this year take place Aug. 3-6. Get your tickets now

At the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site.

A signed Kobe Bryant jersey, worn during his lone MVP season in 2007-08, has sold for $5,849,700 with Sotheby’s, a record for any Bryant item. It’s the second most expensive basketball jersey ever sold.

A jersey worn in Bryant’s rookie season — signed as well — sold for $3.69 million in May 2021.

A jersey Michael Jordan wore in Game 1 of the 1998 “Last Dance” NBA Finals, sold via Sotheby’s for $10.091 million last September.

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits Thursday in Mississippi, accusing the state auditor and two national sportscasters of defaming him in public discussions about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in one of the poorest states in the nation. Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee are two of the national sports broadcasters that he’s suing for defamation.

Favre is not facing criminal charges in the Mississippi welfare scandal, but he is among more than three dozen people or businesses the state is suing to try to recover misspent money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Ben Affleck’s latest film “Air” is set in 1984 and tells the story of the rise of Nike and Michael Jordan

Matt Damon plays an executive of Nike’s basketball division who takes a chance on Jordan, eventually creating the “Air Jordan”

The film also stars Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, and more

The trailer is out now!

A columnist at “Sports Illustrated” broke down the things that are most annoying about the Super Bowl.  Here are four things from the list . . .

 

1.  People who don’t watch football asking you who you think is going to win the Super Bowl.  It’s supposed to be a conversation starter, but if you don’t even know which teams are playing, maybe don’t bother asking.

 

2.  Having to call it the “Big Game” instead of the “Super Bowl.”  The NFL restricts the use of its “Super Bowl” trademark, so you’ll see things like, “Here’s a chicken wing recipe for your Big Game party.”

 

3.  Commercials being released early.  All the new commercials are released on the internet ahead of time now, which ruins the excitement and anticipation of seeing them during the game.

 

4.  The Madden simulation.  Every year, the EA video game “Madden” simulates the Super Bowl and “predicts” a winner.  And media outlets cover the results like they mean something.   it’s one-and-four in predicting the winner over the past five Super Bowls.

 

For what it’s worth, this year, it’s predicting the Philadelphia Eagles will defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31 to 17.

Here are the newest batch of Super Bowl commercials:

  • e.l.f. Cosmetics- Jennifer Coolidge turns into a dolphin T-Mobile
  • T-Mobile- Zach Braff, Donal Faison, and John Travolta parody of “Grease” with hat tip to Olivia Newton John
  • Squarespace- Adam Driver discovers the singularity, because Squarespace is a website…that makes websites
  • Skechers – Snoop Dogg shows that he can do it all, thanks to his shoes
  • Pepsi Zero Sugar – Steve Martin and Ben Stiller say they like Pepsi Zero sugar…or do they?
  • Planters – Mr. Peanut gets roasted by Jeff Ross & Natasha Leggero

In a new poll, 50% of Americans say they expect to watch the Super Bowl this year.  But 43% say they aren’t rooting for either team or don’t care.

Top 10 NBA Power Rankings were put out before the trade deadline but looked like this

  1. Milwaukee Bucks
  2. Denver Nuggets
  3. Boston Celtics
  4. Philadelphia 76ers
  5. LA Clippers
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers
  7. Brooklyn Nets
  8. Pheonix Suns
  9. Sacremento Kings
  10. New York Knicks

Ohio State lost again last night. This time to Scott Petrak’s Northwestern Wildcats 69-63 AT HOME!

The Buckeye’s are now 11-13 and currently ranked 13th in the Big Ten Conference.

Cavs on the road tonight in the Big Easy to take on CJ and the Pelicans. Tip off is at 10 with Cleveland a 3.5 point road favorite.

Today is Friday February 10, 2023

Today in Sports and Pop Culture History

45 years ago – In 1978, Van Halen’s self-titled debut album was released.  It contains the monster jams”You Really Got Me,”  “Running’ with the Devel,” “Jamie’s Cryin’” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”

31 years ago – In 1992, Mike Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree Washington, a Miss Black America contestant. He served 3 years at the Indiana Youth Center near Plainfield, Indiana.

Celebrity Birthdays 

Robert Wagner is 92 (“It Takes A Thief,” “Hart to Hart,” “Austin Powers” series, “Two and a Half Men”)

Golfer Greg Norman is 67 (FAST FACTS: he spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. He has won over 85 international tournaments in his career, including two majors: The Open Championship in 1986 and 1993. He is nicknamed The Great White Shark or sometimes simply The Shark – a reference to his blond hair, his size, his aggressive golf style, and the native animal of his home country, Australia.)

Olympic champion swimmer Mark Spitz is 72 (FAST FACTS: He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Spitz set new world records in all seven events in which he competed in 1972, a record that still stands. Since the year 1900, no other swimmer has ever gained so great a percentage of all the medals awarded for Olympic events held in a single Games)

From Cleveland and Greek, ABC newsman/commentator George Stephanopoulos is 61 (He was a Senior Advisor to Bill Clinton from 1993 – 1996)