Unlike the other Michael Lewis sports book, Moneyball, The Blind Side movie was actually made and is set for the big screen. In fact, I was pretty stunned to see trailers of the movie while watching Monday Night Football — I really didn’t hear as much buzz about the movie as I did about Moneyball which was supposed to star Brad Pitt. Anyway, you watch this trailer and it becomes pretty clear they’re trying to market Sandra Bullock as much as possible (their attempt to attract a female audience to a football movie?). Judging by the trailer, the movie does a good job telling the story as it came across in the book. And in case you haven’t read it, The Blind Side is a fun book and its impact (much like Moneyball’s) was strong; the book was released late in ‘06 and then in the NFL draft for ‘08, 7 left tackles were taken in the first round. Michael Lewis did a good job convincing everyone about the value of having a top left tackle to protect the quarterback’s blind side. Anyway, enough of my rambling, check out the trailer of the movie below:

The more I read and see news about Brad Penny the more I’m convinced he cares more about maintaining his off-field profile than his on-field production. Case in point: after breaking up with actress Eliza Dushku, Penny was seen by TMZ necking with Dancing with the Stars’ dancer Karina Smirnoff last night. They apparently were at the Key Club on Sunset in Los Angeles for a Steel Panther show.

Smirnoff actually has a history here at LBS, having done an interview talking about her experience working with then dance partner Floyd Mayweather Jr. Smirnoff is also well known to be friends with Mario Lopez though we have no idea if anything’s ever materialized between her and A.C. Slater. Back to Penny, he’s been a steady mainstay on the Vegas and L.A. party scene, having been captured on film by TMZ several times recently. His worst move may have been being spotted in Las Vegas while the Dodgers were playing in the playoffs last year (he wasn’t on the postseason roster). We all knew he would be opting out of his contract but that still shows what kind of guy he is. I guess this proves once and for all what most women are after — money.

Maybe Jay Leno has a new feature as part of his new show in the 10pm timeslot. With Jennifer Garner on as a guest to promote her upcoming movie, Leno debuted a bit called “Earn Your Plug” where he made Garner go through a challenge in order to promote her movie. Knowing that her husband Ben Affleck is a Red Sox fan, Leno decided to test Garner’s knowledge of the BoSox. Leno had her put on a Yankees hat and hold a picture of Derek Jeter while naming the Red Sox starting lineup. Garner played along quite well and showed off her knowledge.

First, Garner earned some points with the Boston crowd by turning the Yankees hat backwards and holding the Jeter picture perpendicular to the camera. She also tried to really impress Leno by asking if he wanted their lineup from the series against Baltimore this past weekend or the one they have now with the Royals. Either way, Garner ran through the Red Sox lineup but made a screwup at the three-hole, naming “Alex Gonzalez” the catcher, saying she was more of a Varitek girl. Clearly she meant to say Victor Martinez because she correctly named Gonzalez the 9 hitter when she finished. Jennifer also gave MIke Lowell a nice compliment saying he looked like George Clooney. Now if you’ll ask me it sure seemed like she was prepped for the gag but credit her for acting well and at least throwing in a few comments that indicated she knew more than just names. Ben was done proud.

Here’s the video:

When this story first came down Sunday morning, we gave Shawne Merriman the edge when it came down to whose side to believe between him and Tila Tequila. Sure Shawne’s a roider but Tila’s a grade-A attention whore who also happened to be drunk. That’s a nightmarish combo. Well surprise surprise, it sounds like a drunk-ass Tila caused most of the issues here. From KGTV-San Diego via Pro Football Talk:

Witnesses at Merriman’s home said the three-time Pro Bowl linebacker went to his bedroom with two women.
…
Sources said Tequila walked into the room and Merriman asked her to join them. However, the sources said Tequila reacted angrily and threatened to have sex with a member of Merriman’s entourage. According to sources, Tequila was intoxicated, and she got naked and attempted to leave the house. Sources told [News 10 reporter] Vara that Merriman, 25, tried to stop the 27-year-old Tequila, and that is when she called 911.

Yeah, that sounds about right to me. Well Merriman certainly gets what he asked for; you don’t mess around with Tila Tequila if you’re not looking to get into some sort of a mess. And who’s to blame him for suggesting some menage action? Wasn’t Tila’s show a bisexual dating show? Exactly. Drunk ass *****s.

My man HG over at You Been Blinded posted a video of Michael Jackson teaching Michael Jordan how to dance some time last year. Who knew that would become such a time treasure a matter of mere months later? Typically I don’t mix non-sports stuff in here on the site, but even LBS was a fan of the King of Pop (I feel so much more vindicated for having MJ in the iPod all these years now). So when I came across this video on YouTube again I felt I had to post it. Kind of cool to watch two of the best in the world at their specific trades interact:

Is it amazing or what that Jordan could be that stiff dancing and that Jackson could be so uncoordinated at basketball? I always thought athletics and dance moves went hand-in-hand. Guess I was wrong. Man, it’s almost hard to decide who was better at what he did. I’d say they were pretty much equals and bless them for working so hard at what they did for our enjoyment.

Dude, you want to talk about people who have aged, Mr. T looked more like Kimbo Slice’s grandfather than the dude who played Clubber Lang. Anyway, Mr. T actually was at Wrigley Field on Memorial Day to run the traditional gauntlet of throwing out the first pitch and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame for the 7th inning stretch. Check out the old man in action:

As you heard Scott Van Pelt clowning in the video, the outfit just needs to go. If he can’t afford all the gold jewelry anymore, then he should get with 2009 and just throw on a pair of jeans or something instead of those ridiculous pants. The Best of the Best headband was so 1989 too. And if the wardrobe wasn’t enough, I think barking the lyrics to Take Me Out to the Ballgame is a little much. Dude, you’re leading the song, not ordering us to sing. Take it easy!

(video via Total Pro Sports)