The Most Trust Worthy Sports Figures in America

Tony Dungy is the most trusted sports figure in the country.

Reader’s Digest just released its list of the top 100 Most Trusted People in America, and several notable sports figures were part of the list.

The most trusted sports figure is Tony Dungy, former football coach and current analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football.  Dungy comes in at number 21 on the list and I completely agree.  He has transcended the world of sports by offering his steadfast advice on life, keeping good habits and overcoming tragedy and obstacles.  I guarantee if Dungy said he wanted back in the coaching realm someone would find room quickly.

The next figure on the list is directly connected to Dungy is Denver Bronco’s QB Peyton Manning.  When you look up quarterback in the dictionary his picture has to be attached.  The reason why he is so trust worthy is that when he is on the field he figures out ways to win.  He is consistently good, and you never hear of bad behavior.  Look at the way he handled being released by the Colts- class, nothing but praise for the organization.  Brett Farve should have taken notes.

This next one shows that while the establishment doesn’t trust you the overall American public does. Tim Tebow (no 40) is the third most trusted sports figure on this list. I get it, you want your daughter dating him, he is all-american clean cut, but I wouldn’t trust my team’s performance on him being a pocket passer or effective leader.  Look at the chaos in the Jets organization- or course the Jets are the definition of chaos.  But in real life Tebow is a golden virgin with his bible verses and humongous following on social media.  While I don’t think he’s going to wind up being on an NFL this season I would trust him if we met in a dark alley.

Right after Tebow is Muhammed Ali (no 41), the most recognized face in professional boxing and perhaps the only practicing Muslim on the list.  Ali transcends sports: political and peace activist, showman- he is so many things.  I can’t believe he is behind Tebow- of course I wouldn’t have thought of Tebow for this list.  I need to stop acting like ESPN and drop my Tebow coverage.

The only golfer on the list, (No 55) Phil Mickelson has one four championships and swings left handed- even though he is a righty! Not sure how trusty that is but America said so.

Eli Manning (No 58)- I’m thinking that people thought the little brother of Peyton was in fact Peyton.  But again it’s like a combination of Peyton and Tebow- all American, can actually pass the ball in the NFL, and was probably a virgin before marriage

Finishing off the list is (No 91) Michael Straham- Wow a giant black man made the list! Straham is now more famous for being Kelly Ripa’s sidekick than for his footballing- but I do enjoy his gap tooth.

Now notice what is missing- no NBA, no MLB, and if Lance Armstrong hadn’t admitted doping he probably would have made the list.  Watch for the next few days for my own list of the personalities that I trust most in sports… it is an interesting topic.

Related articles

• Forbes: Tebow Most Influential Athlete (breitbart.com)
• Tim Tebow’s popularity works against him (espn.go.com)

Jason Collins announces that he is gay, altering the landscape of sports | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports

Jason Collins announces that he is gay, altering the landscape of sports | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports.

It’s a big deal in the world of sports- especially male sports for an ACTIVE player to come out of the closet.  Jason Collins is the first openly-gay man to play for the NBA. Using the May 6th issue of Sports Illustrated as his sounding board, Collins   says he didn’t set out to be the first.  He says that the 2011 NBA lockout gave him time to do self-reflection.

Collins attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000-2001 season.  He has been a league veteran for over 12 seasons and was the 18th pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said “Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue.”

There have been several male athletes that have come out after they retired, but this is the first active player to do so.

Water Cooler Talk: The Least You Need to Know

Well Gals and Pals with the addition of basketball, plus NFL and College Football makes a remote hand tired. Here is the least you need to know:

Chargers rally and keeps Turner in coach position- for a little while

Talk about two horrible teams meeting up for a primetime matchup- and both with serious issues that need to be addressed.

The often the bridesmaid never the bride of the AFC the San Diego Chargers faced a Kansas City Chiefs team last evening and pulled out an impressive win. But both teams remind me that there will be quite a few coaching and General Manager changes for this division. Romeo Crennel of the Chiefs who are 1-7 for the year and Norv Turner who in my opinion should never be the head coach of anything. He took an impressive Chargers team and turned them into a joke.

So if you run into any Chargers fans remind them that my four year-old could cover Matt Cassel in the pocket. This is not an impressive win Chargers fans- and it is still going to be a long season with Peyton Manning and the Broncos looking to win the division.

Hokies get hit by Hurricanes

Okay probably not the best head line after what Sandy has done to the East Coast- but for Hokie fans its true.

Now again I’m a blogger so I don’t have to be impartial- and I will not pretend to be. After last night’s win the Hurricanes are in control of the ACC Coastal Division- not impressive really but still doing better than a ton of teams. Could we finally get a Miami vs FSU championship game! That would be amazing- and the ACC folks are probably pleading please dear God let it happen. Because who wants to watch Duke play FSU for the ACC championship? Yeah from the crickets chirping I think y’all agree.

Here is the amazing thing about last night’s game- VT should have won. Yes, you read that correctly- they out gained the Hurricanes 421-347 and held the Hurricanes to only one third down conversion- and only 3 yards of offense on 12 plays in the third quarter. So the VT defense was doing it job- especially with Exum not getting called for pass interference penalties.

So how did Miami win the game? Thank you Logan Thomas and a terrible offensive effort from the Hokies. They fumbled in the end zone and Miami recovered. Interception. And a missed field goal.

This game is just a reminder that your team can have the best stats but unless they put up points it doesn’t matter. The Hokies now lose their 10 game win streak and their fans are starting to voice concerns that perhaps the offensive leadership is not doing its job- of course its been easy to hide behind a schedule and the ACC strength in football which is none. Hokies y’all got some boot strapping to do to figure out how to correct this course because you may not even being going to a bowl game to year.

Buzzer Beaters Put Spurs on Top

Finally the best game of the night was actually the NBA matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.

The Thunder have been in the news the past few days with the amazing trade of James Harden to Houston- hello 80 mil!

There were actually two cool buzzer beaters- at the end of the third quarter Thunder player Eric Maynor hit a game-tying buzzer beater from half court. And Tony Parker won the game with his last second 21-footer.

Spurs won 86-84

Welcome Hoops to Sports Gal Pal

Time for hoops! (Photo credit: Tulane Publications)

The NBA season began today! College Hoops are coming! Hooray more sports to talk about- and basketball is a great sport to follow because unlike football it isn’t as complicated for a beginning but there is a ton of strategy for a seasoned follower.

Plus basketball is so much fun period. Here are some of the reasons why it has a special place in my sports life.

I grew up in ACC country

Growing up within the boundaries of the ACC you have to at least acknowledge basketball- and for good reason. Historically the ACC is the conference for both men and women’s basketball. And boy do they take bball seriously. The ACC is the only Division I college basketball conference that doesn’t recognize a regular season title- it only recognizes the winner of the ACC tournament as the league championship. This means that while a team may have been amazing all season if they lose one game in the tournament they won’t be champions.

That’s serious gals and pals.

Plus ACC has had 12 NCAA men’s basketball championships-= UNC has five; Duke has four; NC ST two; and Maryland has one. Eight of the 12 members have made it to the Final Four at least once.

In Women’s basketball the ACC has won two championships- UNC and Maryland. And this is the only conference to have three teams from the same conference advance to the Final Four which resulted in Maryland’s winning the championship.

As a Virginia grad and fan I love basketball- especially because we are better at it than our rival which is great after a very long and frustrating football season.

The pace is quicker

Another great reason to catch a basketball game is the pace is quick. It is almost none stop action which a ton of fans appreciate. While football is hard hitting- there are lulls because of penalties, injuries, and setting up for the play. And baseball can creep along- really creep. Basketball keeps going- and even with lining up for a foul it’s still quick.

The College Tournament is the best in the NCAA

March Madness is my favorite sporting event all year. The brackets, the polls, and the upsets. Unlike college football which has a computer telling us who belongs in the championship game, the NCAA men’s and women’s tourneys are a you win the game or go home situation. Every single game matters and sometimes the little guys win. It’s a rare chance to see a ODU play a Kansas and could win. It makes for incredible drama and some amazing story lines.

I am going to admit right now- I am way more comfortable talking about college hoops than the NBA- so I’m going to be learning along with all of you. That should be fun. So welcome basketball to the Gal Pal universe. I’m excited to see tip off.

Related articles

• Duke picked to win ACC women’s basketball title (journalnow.com)
• Duke, UNC athletes exceed national graduation rates (newsobserver.com)
• Transfers in college hoops hit U.Va. hard (timesdispatch.com)
• So the Fighting Irish Heading to ACC: What does it mean? (sportsgalpal.wordpress.com)

Enes Kanter pics- hot hot hot!

Enes Kanter details his former, astonishingly massive, eating habits | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports.

OMG Pilates does a body good- basketball is starting up ladies and Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter doesn’t disappoint.

 

Brooklyn Nets reveal their dancers’ uniforms, which are very different | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets reveal their dancers’ uniforms, which are very different | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports.

Take a good look at the new uniforms the Brooklyn Nets Dancers will be wearing on the court this season.

Jason Johnson of fashion blog StylePoints said the look is “roller derby team from a prison film.”

The very different uniforms should come to no surprise as one of the owners of the Nets, Jay-Z has been instrumental in bringing RocaWear style to all aspects of the logo, court, and now the hype girls.
What do y’all think of the new look?

Related articles

• The Brooklyn Nets Cheerleaders’ Uniforms Are Revealed, And They Are Something [Brooklyn Nets] (deadspin.com)