Larry Brown Sports

Donald Driver reached the pinnacle as a football player when he won a Super Bowl with the Packers two seasons ago. On Tuesday night, he won the coveted “Dancing With the Stars” mirrorball trophy, and he compared the experience to capturing the Lombardi Trophy.

“I think it’s the same,” he told PEOPLE backstage. “You have great moments [throughout both experiences].”

“It took me 13 years to win a Super Bowl. But it only took me one season to win a mirror ball. I’ve been watching the show for a long time and now I know what J.R. felt last year. That is truly something special. I feel the same way. Right now I’m on cloud nine.”

Driver spent 13 years building an impressive football resume and it only took one quote to ruin all that. Yup, we might as well revoke Driver’s man card for that statement. Sure we’ve heard how difficult and demanding it is to be a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” and Lawrence Taylor said it’s even more demanding than football, but come on, that’s just an insult to all Driver’s teammates.

Helmet knock to Hot Clicks

The Magic announced this week that they fired GM Otis Smith and head coach Stan Van Gundy. While there has been very little information about the potential replacements, one report says former Magic center Shaquille O’Neal could meet with the team to talk about the GM job. Yes, that Shaq.

According to Marc Stein, Chris Broussard reported on ESPN Wednesday that Shaq could meet with the Magic next week to talk about their GM job.

I don’t watch the ESPN NBA pregame/postgame coverage that includes Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Magic Johnson, and Chris Broussard because it’s straight up the worst broadcasting team in sports, so I’ll have to take Stein’s word for it. I just can’t imagine Shaq’s that serious of a candidate.

Shaq is a clown whose specialty is marketing, publicity, and being funny. His only interactions with management during his playing days were when he yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss “pay me” during training camp. None of that qualifies him as a salary cap or personnel expert, so I’m not sure why he would even be given consideration, unless this is some sort of push by Shaq’s agent.

Chad Ochocinco seemed to be having a bad day on Wednesday. The Patriots receiver tweeted that his rented luxury SUV was broken into and he had his wallet stolen from the car. He shared a picture on Twitter of a car with a shattered window:

Ochocinco followed up by sharing this video about his plight (language NSFW):

Read The Rest of the Story…

Kellen Winslow Jr. recently moved out of his $9,000 per month rental property in Rancho Santa Fe, Cali., and according to the owners of the home he left it in horrendous shape. Ahmad and Nona Zarei have filed suit against Winslow alleging $130,000 in damages to their house which came fully furnished with Persian rugs. Winslow rented the home for six months.

According to the claim obtained by U-T San Diego, “Every corner of the home was damaged” and Winslow left the carpeting “stained with dog urine and also littered with dog feces.” The Zareis say the house was left with a “putrid stench of animal waste.”

In what sounds like a scene from “The Hangover” the way it has been described, the owners also say there are holes in the walls and cigarette and cigar burns on the outdoor furniture. Naturally, Winslow’s attorney Brian Watkins has called the claim “bogus” and says it is merely an attempt by the owners to extort a professional athlete for financial gain.

“They want to portray it as though Kellen Winslow had a fraternity of football friends partying,” Watkins said. “But the house was rented for his wife, who was pregnant. She was living there with her mother and a housekeeper. There was no partying going on. Kellen was rarely even there.”

The suit also claims that Winslow’s real estate agent came to survey the property and described it as “normal behavior for a 25-year-old with millions.” Unless the Zareis went in and trashed their own home in a short amount of time, this seems like it would be an easy case to solve. Either Winslow treated it like a college dorm room or he didn’t. If he did, he should face the consequences.

H/T Black Sports Online
Photo credit: Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

Whether there is any truth behind it or not, professional sports locker rooms are generally stereotyped as homophobic environments. That is particularly true for the NFL, which is not surprising considering the aggressiveness and masculinity that is associated with the game of football. While many believe the NFL is filled with players who would not want to be on the same team as a person who was a homosexual, a number of current and former players recently spoke out in an attempt to counter that line of thinking. Here are the comments they shared with OutSports.com:

Jevon Kearse, former Titans defensive end

“In the game of football, it’s like a war out there. Once you get out on the field, all that stuff is to the side. You’re on my side. I played in the NFL for 11 years, I’m sure there were at least one or two guys along the line that were gay.”

Eddie George, former Titans running back

“I just don’t care about that. If that’s what you do, that’s what you do. I don’t hate you because of it or dislike you because of it. That’s not my personal preference, but I respect your decision. I’m not going to like you less or not be your friend because of that. I don’t see it as a problem. I don’t think it would have been a problem at all.”

Read The Rest of the Story…

It’s a word that has long and deeply-rooted negative connotations in sports and society writ large. To even mention the word during the Middle Ages was grounds for a jousting duel. Flopping in the Old West was commonly seen during the counting off of paces. Meanwhile, horrific acting meant to bring about a desired result is often pointed to as the reason the Treaty of Versailles failed. In the sports world, “flopping” is a piece of terminology with plenty of negative connotations.

Sports have seen its share of flopping in recent memory. The issue itself gets magnified when the playoffs come around and a win-at-all costs mentality is adopted. Lakers fans still mumble about Paul Pierce’s Benny Hinn-like ability to rise from a wheelchair and help the Celtics to a title during the 2008 NBA Finals. In the same vein, Memphis Grizzlies fans were heard decrying the Clippers’ attempts to sway referees during their first round series this year. The city was heard derisively playing off the team’s sobriquet Lob City, calling them Flop City, especially saving their disdain for Blake Griffin. As a side note, if you have been unable to locate Lob City on a map, it is located well before Title Town. Perhaps Clippers Nation needs a new capital. Sorry, I just had to.

The apparent problem of flopping has become such an issue in the NBA that David Stern, the league’s capo di tutti capi, has openly declared that the rules may be changed to penalize these basketball thespians. LeBron James was seen doing a pirouette during this year’s playoffs after getting brushed aside on a Tyson Chandler screen. Pau Gasol — or Disavow Gasol as he is known to Kobe Bryant — has been mildly annoying fans of all shapes and sizes for years with his rendition of Swan Lake on a basketball court. Throw Anderson Varejao and Manu Ginobili’s names in there, too. They should each have a star on the mythical Hollywood Flop of Fame.

Read The Rest of the Story…

On the heels of Kevin Garnett blasting 76ers fans for being “fair-weather” and not nearly as supportive as the fans in Boston, Philadelphia has reportedly invited one of the best players in team history back to the City of Brotherly Love for a critical Game 6. According to Steve Lindsay of CBS 3 in Philadelphia, the Sixers have asked Allen Iverson to attend Wednesday night’s game and help motivate the team to triumph over the Celtics in a must-win situation. SLAM Magazine has confirmed that Iverson accepted the invitation and will be in attendance.

The team is also reportedly going to pay tribute to Iverson at some point during the game, so it’s obvious they are trying to infuse some added electricity into the arena for the biggest game of the year. Iverson had his ups and downs with Philly and didn’t leave on the best terms, but no one ever questioned his ability to ignite a crowd as a player. Whether or not he can do that as a spectator remains to be seen.

As far as the game is concerned, the Sixers have no reason to believe they can’t win. They have shown a tremendous amount of poise late in games throughout the series, especially on their home court. The Celtics are probably a better team and should have finished the series in five or six games, but they have been far too inconsistent. If Philly plays with energy Wednesday night and can find ways to score, they should be able to force a Game 7 in Boston.

H/T Crossing Broad
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

If you are unaware of LBS’ highly-publicized man crush on Rory McIlroy, welcome aboard. This is likely either your first time visiting the site or one of only a handful. Although we were much bigger fans when he was still dating ex-girlfriend Holly Sweeney, we’re still very much on board with Rory. That’s why we fully approve of the Giants and their McIlroy bobblehead giveaway, despite the fact that it may be a bit of a stretch.

On June 12 when they host the Astros, the Giants will be holding “Irish Heritage Night.” With McIlroy already in the area that week to defend his U.S. Open championship, the Giants have decided to honor him by giving away the nifty bobbleheads you see in the photo above. It’s rare that you’d see bobbleheads of a golfer given away at a baseball game, but it certainly beats this lame giveaway the Dodgers have planned or this creepy bobblehead the Rays gave out last season. Giants fans should be grateful to be a part of it.

H/T Devil Ball Golf

Since the Eagles drafted him with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, defensive end Brandon Graham has been hampered by injuries. If you consider 16 tackles and three sacks in two seasons contributing, I guess you could argue that he has been an asset for the Eagles. Otherwise, he has been a major disappointment. Fortunately for Eagles fans, Graham seems to embrace being labeled as a draft bust.

“I haven’t (done) nothing, really,” Graham said according to the Philadelphia Enquirer. “Right now, I’m a bust, so I’m going to deal with that. I’m a bust, and I’m going to keep being a bust. Even when I make plays, I’m going to still act like I’m a bust. You know what I’m saying?

“It hasn’t done nothing but make me grow and help me get stronger. Going through that whole thing last year, not playing, I just grew as a person, that was number one. I’ve moved on from it. Now it’s time for me to defend myself.”

Draft busts are all too common across the NFL, but very rarely do we find players who are willing to own it. Entering only his third NFL season, the former Michigan Wolverine has lost 20 pounds and taken up boxing in an attempt to be in a better position to fight for playing time. As we know, sports fans are not patient. By now, Eagles nation has given up on Graham. Injuries or not, he is considered a draft miscue. Only he has the ability to alter that perception.

H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

You know how we know James Harden has officially made it? Is it because he was given the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2011-2012 season and has helped lead the Thunder to the Western Conference finals? That helps, but there’s more to it than that. As GiANT Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek showed us on Twitter Tuesday night, Harden has been made into a cake.

As far as honorary cakes are concerned, this is one of the most detailed we’ve ever seen. Athletes have been made into cakes before, but they usually consist of a two-dimensional picture or portrait of the athlete on top. As you can see, this is Harden’s entire head (beard included) in cake form. This is more in line with the Robert Griffin III sandwich than anything else we’ve witnessed. Perhaps food artists are just that much more talented these days.

Thanks to Darren Rovell via Ball Don’t Lie for sharing the picture with us