Archive for year 2011
The United States of Shame
Found this on Pleated Jeans. What’s your state’s claim to shame?
Jan 25th
BRUT Spring Cleaning Gift Pack Giveaway
We’re still a few weeks away from the start of spring, but it’s never too early to start thinking about spring cleaning. Straightening up your place and removing clutter is one thing, but you got to think about cleaning up yourself, too.
That’s why we’re teaming up with BRUT to giveaway a BRUT Spring Cleaning Gift Pack to two lucky winners. Here’s what you’ll get in the gift pack:
- BRUT Cologne
- BRUT Deodorant
- BRUT Splash On
- BRUT Nail Kit
- BRUT Bottle Opener
BRUT’s been around for decades and it’s got a very distinct fragrance that combines lavender, jasmine, vanilla, basil and musk. That’s a classic scent combo right there.
Here’s how to enter:
- Follow us on Twitter @MANjrcom
- Leave a comment telling us why you love BRUT
- Two winners will be chosen at random next Tuesday, February 1
And if you haven’t been on BRUTslap.com yet, check it out. It’s pretty entertaining.
Good luck!
Jan 25th
Brett Favre – What Should I Do Video
Wow, this is classic. It’s a LeBron-style Favre parody that’s just so well done:
Jan 20th
Brooklyn Decker Esquire Photo Shoot
Brooklyn Decker is ridiculously good looking. This you know. She graced the cover of last year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She dominated Esquire’s 2010 Sexiest Woman Alive Reader’s Choice bracket tournament. She finished in the top five in our Top 25 Bikini Babes of All Time post. Now she’s making the jump to the big screen in order to magnify her sexiness to a wider audience. To celebrate her total monopoly on hotness, Decker did a steamy shoot with Esquire for their February issue.
Yea, it’s like that. It’s hard to believe that Brooklyn’s married to the Stifler of tennis, Andy Roddick. Way to go big guy.
Jan 19th
Test Drive Unlimited 2 – Character Customization Trailer
Test Drive Unlimited 2 is coming out in less than a month, and the trailers for this game look awesome. Take a look at the level of character customization available in the game. Pretty sweet:
Jan 18th
NFL Conference Championship Picks
What a sick set of playoff games we got going here, folks. The Seahawks shocked the world in the first round by knocking off the champs. Then they got beaten up in frosty Chicago. Atlanta was 13-3, but they had no answer for the red-hot Packers and their deadly QB. The Ravens stuck it to the Chiefs, but couldn’t stop Pittsburgh from coming back to secure their third straight playoff victory against Baltimore.
Then there’s the Jets. Everyone loved ‘em, then turned on them, and now all the love is back. If the Pats win, Rex Ryan is a pompous fool whose shit-talking ways could not match the evil composure of New England. But the Pats lost, so Ryan’s bluster is a strength once again.
The Jets have every right to be all proud and swaggery. They shut down the Colts at home. They neutered New England in Foxborough. They were motivated by so many factors: beatdown redemption, fetish jokes, hell, they were even fighting for Dennis Byrd, who overcame a gruesome neck injury in 1992 and beat paralysis so he could inspire future Jets players to stick it to the Patriots.
So many story lines. So much drama. And now we’re down to the final four. With three more meaningful football games left, let’s take a look at who we think will make it to the big dance.
Green Bay -3.5 At Chicago
It had to be this way. What a classic NFC matchup. These two teams have such a storied, historic rivalry, but they met in the playoffs only once (back in 1941). Seventy years is long time to wait for a postseason rematch, but these teams know each other well, and they’ve been preparing for this moment for some time.
Road to the NFC Championship
When he was hired back in 2004, Chicago head coach Lovie Smith laid out his strategy for success: 1) Beat the Packers. 2) Win the division. 3) Win the Super Bowl.
The following year in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers was brought in to make everyone forget about Favre. He sat in the shadows, growing his beard for a handful of seasons before Green Bay finally pulled the trigger and sent Favre packing. Rodgers has developed into a top-tier quarterback, something the Bears lacked desperately.
Fast forward to 2009. Chicago brings in sleepy face all-star Jay Cutler to run the offense. Things didn’t work out that well last season (or during the first half of this year), but with the o-line coming together and Mike Martz making his celebrated in-season strategy adjustment after the bye week, the Bears offense is finally working.
Now on paper, Chicago’s had the easiest road to the Super Bowl in the history of the NFL. They got to host the worst playoff team in NFL history, and they follow that up with a visit from the No.6 seed in the NFC. The Packers aren’t your typical six seed, and the Seahawks earned some respect by taking out the Saints. Still, the Bears are just one home win away from their second Super Bowl appearance in five years.
The Packers have had their back against the wall since Week 16 of the regular season. To get into the tournament, Green Bay needed victories in two must-win regular season games against the Giants and the Bears. The Packers took care of business. They followed that up by taking out an Eagles team that was favored to win. They were dogs in Atlanta and they dismantled that team. The Packers have been in playoff mode for more than a month. The Falcons and Pats showed this weekend that momentum is a huge factor in the postseason. Like the Steelers in ‘05, the Giants in ‘07 and the Cardinals in ’08, teams that peak at the right time can do serious damage in the playoffs.
The Matchup
Chicago matches up well against the Packers. The Bears won the first regular season meeting in Soldier Field by a field goal, and with nothing for the Bears to play for, the Packers beat the Bears in Lambeau by a score in the final game of the regular season. Field conditions won’t be an issue for either team. These teams compete in the coldest division in football. They’re both used to playing in shit conditions.
So the real question is, which Cutler will we see this weekend? The confident, attacking, even-I-can’t-believe-I-ran-for-two-scores warrior that we saw for most of the Seattle game? Or the guy who too often targets the wrong color jersey (like he did on that one, unthinkable goal line pass this past Sunday).
Cutler’s a question mark, but Rodgers isn’t. The guy’s on a different level right now. In two playoff games, he’s completed 49 passes on 63 attempts for 546 yards, 6 TDs and no picks. Completing 77.8 percent of your playoff passes is pretty ridiculous. He’s obviously getting great protection, but even when the pocket collapses, Rodgers has been able to create opportunities. His QB rating this postseason is 134.5.
Jan 18th
Will Smith vs. Denzel Washington
Sweet impressions of Will Smith and Denzel Washington…
Skinless pickles!
Jan 17th
Interview with Harvey Walden
Harvey Walden doesn’t want to hear your excuses, bro. The former drill instructor, who has appeared on shows like Fat Club and Celebrity Fit Club, is an all-around fitness badass. He believes that proper fitness isn’t a chore. For Walden, living a healthy lifestyle isn’t something that you should convince yourself to do. It’s the obvious play. Why the hell wouldn’t you want to be healthy? It’s an easy choice, and one that you need to make every day.
That’s not to say that you don’t have to work at it. But for Walden, fitness isn’t work. It’s an investment in your longevity. You only have one body in this life. Why not maintain it, right?
I spoke with Walden this week to get his thoughts on fitness, nutrition, dumbbell exercises, P90X and beer belly trouble. His takes were simple and refreshing. The guy knows how to motivate, and it’s hard to argue with his logic and his no-nonsense, quit-your-bitching-you-soft-excuse-for-a-man approach to fitness. Here’s the full interview:
CS: Let me ask you first about your motivational style. I know you were in the Marines for like 20 years and you bring a drill sergeant mentality to your approach to fitness, so how exactly do you go about motivating people and what do you think is the best way to motivate people fitness wise?
HW: Well that’s what works for me, because that’s what I know best. I was brought up in the martial arts as a young kid, so I always had an authoritarian type of mentality. Just kind of making people do what they don’t really want to do, but helping them come out of their comfort zone. Once they see what they’re really capable of, they really enjoy it. They like it. A lot of people get stuck in that rut and don’t want to come out of their comfort zone. But once I bring them out of that, it’s a good thing and they enjoy it, you know. And that’s my gratification, too. Like you said, I was in the Marine Corps. I was in the Marine Corps for over 23 years and there’s nothing better than taking somebody who can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time and then showing them that they can really rock and roll and kick butt and take initials.
CS: So it’s after the New Year and everybody’s got their New Year’s resolutions to either trim down or just live a healthier lifestyle. What do you think are some essential fitness elements that are missing from most people’s routines?
HW: Consistency. Everybody wants to deal with these fad diets. They see these hot new diets out there and that trash don’t work. You have to go right back to the basics, man. You know, eating healthy meals, watching your portions, actually busting your butt and doing the work in a gym or power-walking or running. Get yourself a partner, too. You know you can never go wrong if you get a workout partner; somebody who wants to lose that beer belly right along with you. You’re going to keep each other honest. You should also keep a journal. Write down everything you’ve done. Write down how much you’re eating, write down what you’re eating, put down your moods, if you’re having a bad hair day put that down in there, but still get your butt in there and work out and when you get done working out you’ll see that your mood has changed. You’ll appreciate the fact that you gave it that extra 110 percent and stop making excuses and just get it done. If you’re caught up with the fad diets, it won’t last. But if you do it the right way, it’ll last forever. You’ll put your body in a state that always has what we call “muscle memory.” If you fall off that track, it’ll be easy for you to get right back in the fight and get all the checks and balances in check.
CS: Now if someone doesn’t have a gym membership but they still want to do some sort of daily exercises to kind of start small and get into it – get into that consistency – what are some back-to-basics types of fitness exercises that you recommend people do?
Jan 17th
