Another reason to ♥ NY



The first-ever football player to be featured as our Monday Man is Mark Sanchez, a third-generation Mexican-American from California. 

This 23-year old is doing well in his second season in the NFL.  He is the quarterback for the New York Jets, and they've won 2 of their 3 games so far, including a victory yesterday over the Miami Dolphins. Before being drafted by the Jets, Mark played football for the University of Southern California where he earned a degree in Communications.

Off the field Mark does charity work with inner-city kids, and has become quite the hero to the Hispanic community.  In order to better communicate with his many Spanish-speaking fans, Sanchez - who is not a native-speaker - studied the language at university.



Mark at the Tonys



He's also a big musical theatre fan (yes, you read that right).  He was even a presenter at the 2010 Tony awards, where he introduced a number from the show Memphis.  It was at the awards that he confirmed that he and Jamie-Lynn Sigler of Sopranos and Entourage fame are an item.  Apparently the two like to go the baseball games and Broadway shows - the best of both worlds in my opinion!

Enjoy the photos below.... I told you there were some things to love about football!



Blue Steel?



Having a Baywatch moment



Love and lust in the NFL

Miles Austin & Kim Kardashian

Even if you’ve never watched a football game, chances are you know a couple of players. That’s because they often grace the pages of gossip magazines on the arm of some starlet or celebutante. Kim Kardashian is one such lady who loves her some NFL meat. Unfortunately for Miss Kardashian, her latest football love, Miles Austin, reportedly ended their fling last week. The two dated over the summer but apparently now that the season has started, Austin, a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, has no more time for the high-maintenance Kardashian.

Kim with former flame Reggie Bush

Austin is not Kardashian’s first NFL conquest. You probably remember seeing her former flame, Reggie Bush, on the cover of every celebrity news magazine last March. These two loved attention, but apparently Bush, 25, was not ready to cave to Kardashain’s demands for a ring, so he called it off. Bush’s luck seems to have taken a turn for the worse since the breakup, however. Last February, while still with Kardashian, his team the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl. But last Monday just a week into the season, Bush broke his leg on the field.

Cutler & Cavallari

Leinart & Cavallari

The two were introduced by Matt Leinart in 2007. Leinart is the back-up quarterback for the Houston Texans, and has dated/drunkenly groped Paris Hilton as well as Kristin Cavallari. Cavallari has now moved on to Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. They’ve been dating since August, and according to a recent interview with Cutler “It’s working out so far.” Not exactly a gushing response, but I guess she has to take what she can.

Boller & Reid



Boller & Prejean



As you can see, these people seem to date within groups – like high school. Another group has a couple that actually made it to the altar this summer. Former beauty queen Carrie ““that’s just the way I was raised” Prejean tied the knot in July with Oakland raiders quarterback Kyle Boller. Before Prejean, Boller had the misfortune of being linked to Tara Reid.

Reid, meanwhile, once dated Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots and three time Super Bowl champ. He’s moved up in the world since then, and nowadays is known as Mr. Gisele Bundchen. The two married in February 2009 and had son Benjamin last December.



Tom & Gisele - these pretty pretty people get an extra big picture



Tom and baby mama #1 Bridget Moynahan



In between Tara and Gisele, Tom had time to date and impregnate Bridget Moynahan, best known as Carrie Bradshaw’s romantic rival and Mr. Big’s wife on Sex and the City. The two broke up about the same time she got pregnant with their son, Edward, who was born in August 2007 (by which time Gisele was already in the picture). Gisele has said some pretty annoying things about Edward being her child too, which I’m sure doesn’t sit too well with Ms. Moynahan.

Romo & Underwood

Another player you may remember from his association with celebrity women is Tony Romo, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. In 2006 and 2007 Romo had an on-again off-again relationship with Carrie Underwood (whose summer wedding to NHL star Mike Fisher we talked about here).



Simpson & Romo



Simpson & Johnson



Romo then moved on to Jessica Simpson. They started dating in Novemebr 2007, and shortly thereafter she showed up to a game wearing a pink version of his jersey. Romo had a terrible game that day, and Jessica earned the ire of Dallas fans. After a rocky few years Romo dumped Jessica on the eve of her 29th birthday. Apparently Papa Joe Simpson was trying to become his agent, so I can’t say I blame him. Still, the timing was a little rough. You may have recently read that Simpson is now dating former football player Eric Johnson. Any bets on how long that will last?



Kendra & Hank



Our last couple of the day has also been in the news lately. Former playmate and girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, Kendra Wilkinson, married football player Hank Baskett in June 2007 at the Playboy mansion. Their life together and the birth of their son in December 2009 have been featured on their reality show Kendra. But last May a sex tape starring Kendra and an unidentified man was leaked, and apparently Hank was not too happy about it. Then last week, he was released from his team the Philadelphia Eagles. He has just been picked up by the Minnesota Vikings though, and they won today, so maybe things are looking up for him.

Tomorrow our Monday Man will feature another NFL/celebrity couple, and this is one relationship that I personally am rooting for to last. Stay tuned!

Back in the game

After a longer than anticipated hiatus, In the game is back! As the summer and all its distractions wind down, I will now be posting fairly regularly, so check back often.

Football season is now underway and I recently had a request for some posts to help make sense of this sport. I will warn you now: football can be very confusing. It is not your basic “put ball in net” game, and there are a ridiculous amount of rules and positions and plays etcetera, etcetera. The good news is, I will not bore you to death trying to explain the nuances of the game. Rather, I’ll give you some general explanations, keep you updated on any big events, and introduce you to some fine looking athletes along the way. Deal?

I’ll start us off today with some basic information. American football is the second most popular sport in the United States (behind baseball) and has millions of fans around the world. College football is huge, but we’ll mostly be talking about professional football here – the NFL, or National Football League.

Each team plays once a week, almost always on Sunday or Monday. This is just one of the unique things about football – unlike other sports like baseball (162) or hockey (82), each football team plays only 16 games a year. So while the NFL season may seem interminable to those of you who have a football-addicted spouse, it actually only runs from September to February.

So how does football work? Though I previously said this was not a “put ball in net” kind of game, in a way it is. Imagine that the net is a big section at the end of the field (called the end zone). To score points, a team has to get the football into that area. The difference is that someone on that team has to be holding the ball while it’s in the end zone; you can’t just shoot it or kick it in.

Another difference? In football the teams take turns trying to score. First one side tries to get to the end zone while the other team tries to stop them. After a certain number of tries, they switch.

At the end of 60 minutes (though with stoppages in play and timeouts games usually take 2 ½ hours to play), the team with the most points wins. Simple, right?

I think that’s enough football for today. I promise you that the next football post will be a little less informational and a little more colourful. And I should also let you know that American football stars seem to like to get naked even more than their counterparts in European football, so look forward to Monday!

Surprise, surprise

Tiger Woods has just announced that he and his wife Elin are getting a divorce.  Everyone, sports fan or not, is well-versed in the Tiger saga that began with a bang last November, so I won't rehash it here. 

Just a few of Tiger's alleged mistresses

A joint statement on Wood's website states that "We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future."  According to the Associated Press the couple will share custody of their two children and "reports" are floating around that Elin will walk away with between $100-$500 million.

The couple in happier times

Hopefully this story will now go away.  Some of the things I have read about Tiger are now seared into my mind like scenes from a horror movie.  I would be very, very happy if Tiger's sex life (shudder) was kept well-hidden from now on.

A surprise summer wedding

Another one of my favourite celebrity/athlete mash-ups is Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie.




Mike Comrie is an Edmonton native who currently plays for his hometown team the Edmonton Oilers. His nickname is "The Brick," after the furniture chain founded by his father and uncles.

Hilary at one of her hubby-to-be's games

The two met in July 2007 and became engaged in February 2010. Comrie and Duff, who are 29 and 22 respectively, have recently purchased a $3.85 million Hollywood home and were set to marry in October of this year. Reports coming out today, however, say that the wedding has been moved to August 14, one week from today.

Hilary's $1 million engagement ring

I thought it was a bit strange for them to plan a wedding for October, right as hockey season is getting started. Was the announced October date a red herring to keep the press away, or are other factors at work in the hurried nuptials? Only time will tell....




[On another note, I will be lounging by a lake far far away from an internet connection for the next little while, so postings will be sporadic at best.]

Huston Street is right up my alley

Our holiday Monday Man is Huston Street, a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. This hottie is from Austin, Texas and is celebrating his 27th birthday today.

So why do we like this guy (besides the obvious, see above)? For one, he's good - he was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2005 (there are 2 leagues in baseball, the American and the National).

He's also a romantic: when he proposed to his girlfriend 4 years ago, he did so in a room filled with 1,500 red roses. He was just 23 at the time, but said "If I've found the right person, why wait? To find someone I like more? No. That's not going to happen."

Finally, he's used the expression "the cat's meow" in an interview, which I think is pretty adorable.

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Street gave fans a bit of a scare last week when he was taken to the hospital after being hit with a ball in practice. He passed out several times en route and suffered abdominal bruising. Once, at work, I burnt my fingers taking a bagel out of the toaster oven, so I know a thing or two about workplace injuries and can sympathize. Luckily for us all he is okay and is expected back in the lineup very soon.

Street's hazing outfit - not quite my thing, but he does have nice legs under that skirt

Oh, and a little tip for any Vancouver readers - his little brother Juston currently plays ball for the Vancouver Canadians, so you might want to check out a game and see if good looks run in the family. Feel free to report back.

My new favourite player

One of the best things about sports is having a favourite player. You may have a favourite actor, or a favourite author, or a favourite artist, but you don't get to follow that person or cheer him or her on the same way you do with an athlete.

I have many favourite players in various categories. My favourite player from my childhood is Kirk McLean, the Canucks goalie in the 90s; my favourite current Canuck is Alex Burrows, and so on and so on.

Since I became interested in baseball more recently than hockey, my collection of favorites isn't quite as developed. But I have recently added to my little list: I have gone crazy for Jose Bautista, who plays right field for the Toronto Blue Jays. And as my new favourite player, Jose (I am always on a first-name basis with my faves) deserves a little attention here.

Jose Bautista, 29, was born in the Dominican Republic, and had a rough start in the majors. He played for quite a few teams and was even placed on waivers by the Baltimore Orioles at one point (meaning any team is free to pick him up). He was traded to the Jays in 2008 and has since really picked up his game. He is now playing really really well, and I bet all those other teams that gave up on him are kicking themselves now.

Jose is leading the league in home runs (he has 30, the next best guy has 25) and can throw a ball farther than I can run. He can also grow a full beard in about 4 hours. What more could I possibly want?

Your favourite player could be the best guy on the team, the one who seems to have the most character or heart or personality, the one opposing fans love to hate, or just the guy who looks the best in a suit. It doesn't really matter who you love or why you love him, as long as he helps you get into the game.