Suzy Hotrod, You’re my Hero
The Queens of Pain embrace after their big win.
Where can you find women clad in mouth guards, fishnets and war paint – with names like Bitch Cassidy and Puss ‘n Glutes? Hunter College’s sold out roller derby. These tattooed women gave everything they had in this fast-paced, in-your-face sport. And the Queens of Pain dominated the Brooklyn Bombshells.
The Gotham Girls' logo.
The two teams are part of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league, which represent Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The non-profit league formed in 2003 and has been selling out venues at local colleges and universities ever since.
Here’s how it works: there’s a pack of eight skaters (four from each team) and two “Jammers” (one from each team) that start out 30 feet behind. The Jammers, who wear stars on their helmets, try to break through the pack, earning one point for each skater they pass. Other skaters are not technically allowed to push, shove, and trip, but all of the aforementioned and more go on regardless. Oh, and audacious nicknames are required. Names included Megahurtz, Haulin Cass, and OMG WTF.
The women are not paid for their aggressive pastime and lead normal, day-to-day lives when they’re not practicing 10 to 12 hours a week. The league boasts of having designers, a few lawyers, teachers, an astronomer, a private investigator, a pastry cook and more.
Cheerleaders at the half-time show.
On Saturday the eclectic crowd – which included punks with piercings to families with kids, and even an elderly woman or two – lined up all the way around the block to see the skating. “What’s going on around here?” bewildered onlookers asked. Some waited for up to two hours.
Once the bought finally got going, one skater, the Captain of the Queens of Pain, really stood out. Tall, muscular, and tattooed, Suzy Hotrod made everyone’s head spin, often earning over 20 points a jam. The crowd went wild each time she beat the pack.
The Brooklyn Bombshells' mascot whizzing by.
Both teams’ cheerleaders kept the crowd going – the Brooklyn Bombshells’ nautical girls and the Queens’ dominatrix-esque French maids. Both teams also had elaborate mascots – the Bombshells had a man in a large boat to go with the nautical theme and the Queens had a leather-masked dude holding signs like: “Scream for Queens,” “Submit,” and “I Been Bad.”
The final score was 120-something to 80-something, with the Bombshells gaining momentum in the end. Can’t wait til August 7th, when the Queens of Pain take on the Bronx Gridlocks.
Psychic animals predict who will win the World Cup
Growing up, I swam and played basketball for rec teams, but I never played soccer. I wasn’t too bummed, because to be honest, soccer looks like quite a bit of running.
But when this World Cup thing began to get popular, I started to enjoy hanging out with friends and catching a World Cup game every so often, and then more and more frequently. I’m the friend that nods her heads at what looks like good moves, tries to gasp at the appropriate moments and cheers when everyone else starts to, but I have fun watching the games. (Especially since, unlike football which can continue for up to four hours, you can count on a soccer game to be over at almost exactly 90 minutes).
For the final World Cup match though, I want my friends to see how much I’ve learned about soccer these last few weeks, and I really want them to be impressed with my knowledge of the Spain vs. Netherlands final (this Sunday at 2:30 p.m.).
How cool would it be if I could say in casual conversation, “Yeah, Spain is totally going to beat the Netherlands this Sunday, no question” or “I really think the Netherlands might pull it out” and have full confidence in my statements?
I decided to turn to the experts for advice.
Meet Paul the Psychic Octopus
Paul picks Spain to win the World Cup.
Paul the Octopus has predicted that the winner of the World Cup this weekend will be Spain.
Paul the Octopus rose to fame because of the fact that so far he has correctly predicted the results of all of Germany’s games at the World Cup. (Paul has also predicted that Germany will defeat Uruguay in the World Cup’s third-place play-off on Saturday).
Paul chooses a winner by choosing from two glass boxes that each contain a mussel inside and the flag of a different country on the outside.
So far, the chances of Paul correctly predicting Germany’s results are 1 in 64. Sounds legit to me.
Meet Mani the Psychic Parakeet
Mani chooses the Netherlands to win the World Cup.
Mani the Psychic Parakeet from Singapore has predicted that the Netherlands will win in the World Cup final.
Mani became a local celebrity when M Muniyappan, Mani’s owner, said Mani correctly predicted the World Cup’s four quarter-final games and Spain’s semi-final victory over Germany.
Mani chooses winners by picking between two white cards. Each card has the flag from one of the two competing countries on the reverse side.
Mani’s steady job is predicting the future at a table in front of a restaurant in Singapore and this is his first foray into sports competitions. The phrase “a little birdie told me” has just taken on a new meaning.
Since not even the psychic animals can agree on who is going to win, I probably won’t be able to impress my friends with my knowledge of who is going to win the World Cup, but that can’t stop me from pretending I know what’s going on or from enjoying the game with my friends.
And either way it should be a good game. After all, neither Spain nor the Netherlands have ever won a World Cup game before so emotions will be running high this weekend (yeah, I totally just Googled that).
We want LeBron. And everything else!
New Yorkers are a spoiled bunch. If they see something they like, they’ll do anything it takes to get it. The masters of the universe didn’t move to NYC so they could drive a Ford Taurus to dinner at Applebee’s followed by a touring company production of Li’l Abner. They’ll take a chauffered Bentley to Jean Georges and front row seats at the Met, thank you very much.
That impatient, winner-takes-all attitude, coupled with the dismal state of the New York Knicks basketball team over the past several decades, has created a dangerous confluence of circumstances this summer. In case you haven’t heard, LeBron James is a free agent, and Knicks fans have set their sites on seeing him in the blue-and-orange this fall. In what some (okay, yours truly) would call an unseemly move for such a distinguished city, the mayor’s office has even started a online campaign devoted to luring LBJ to the Big Apple. Regular fans, and prominent locals like Matt Lauer and Mario Batali have put on the full court press (for lack of a worse basketball metaphor) to lure King James to our fair city.
I think when you’ve got Central Park, Lincoln Center, Per Se, the Brooklyn Bridge, Yankee Stadium and, let’s face it, Scores, all within a few square miles of each other, you should let the city’s unrivaled amenities speak for themselves. If Lebron wants to live the high life, he knows where to find it. In fact, as a displaced Milwaukee Bucks fan, I don’t even have a horse in this race. But to tell you the truth, I’m pulling for the Brooklyn Nets to land the big fish. What could be better than LeBron, Jay-Z and a ballsy Russian billionaire teaming up to build a new empire across the East River?
Still, this is New York, and we take whatever we want, right? Spoils go to the victor and all that. So while we’re at it, why stop at LeBron? Here are a few other people (and things) we could use to help cement the city at the top of the ranks:
Chef Ferran Adria outside El Bulli restaurant
Ferran Adria is considered by most authorities to be the greatest chef of his generation. He’s already announced plans to close his landmark Spanish restaurant, El Bulli, so it’s time to try his hand in a new locale. We already have Batali, Vongerichten, White, Bouley and Dufresne. We want Adria! I’m sure Jeffrey Chodorow will be closing some ill-advised concept restaurant in the next few months so Ferran can scoop in and grab a good deal on a lease.
The Mighty Mississip
The East River and the Hudson are fine, if you like puny, also-ran bodies of water. Let’s move the Mississippi eastward. A city like New York deserves the majesty of Old Man River. Bonus: we’d definitely dominate the “best ____ east of the Mississippi” honor in every category henceforth.
I don't even exist
Unicorns should run free in Central Park. What’s that you say? They’re mythical creatures? Need I remind you that this is NEW YORK CITY? Donald Trump lives here. We can have whatever we want, damn it!
La Cage!
We want Nic Cage to be here 24/7. No more hanging out on his indoor motorcycle in Beverly Hills or in his Bavarian Castle. I want full time access to Nic Cage in Gotham. Make it happen!
Big Baby and Other Mysteries of the NBA Finals
Annoying Questions I, A Person Who Does Not Watch Sports, Wondered About and/or Asked My Boyfriend Last Night During the NBA Finals
1. Why is that guy okay with being called Big Baby?
This is a Big Baby.
This is just a somewhat large man who looks upset.
2. Are they in Boston or LA right now? (The response to this one being “well, it does say Lakers on the court, so . . . “
3. If the Lakers away uniforms are white, and the Celtics home uniforms are white (facts which I had learned seconds before asking this question), wouldn’t it get confusing if they were playing in Boston?
4. Are the Celtics home uniforms white because the green would clash with the green on the floor of the court?
5. Don’t white uniforms get dirty?
6. What happens if someone’s sweatband falls into their eyes? Couldn’t another guy pull the first guy’s sweatband down to mess with him?
Come on, guy whose name I don’t know. Just reach over and do it!
7. [With a little over a minute left] Is it still possible for the Celtics to win?
8. [With 30 seconds left] Is it still possible for the Celtics to win?
9. [With 14 seconds left] Is it still possible for the Celtics to win?
Kicking Up Dirt: Gear Kit Giveaway
We’re the proud publishers of motocross champion Ashley Fiolek’s new memoir, KICKING UP DIRT, written with Caroline Ryder. To celebrate the publication of Ashley’s exciting and inspiring book, we’ve teamed with some of her fantastic sponsors to offer a chance to win an incredible gear kit package. With over $1400 in prizes from Leatt, Smith Optics, Alpinestars, Dunlop and Rockwell, you’ll be ready to take to the motocross track in style.
To enter for a chance to win, just send an email to YourItList@harpercollins.com with subject line: KICKING UP DIRT before 1:00PM (EST) on June 1, 2010. We will randomly be selecting 1 Grand Prize winner and 4 First Prize Winners from the emails received. No purchase necessary. The last entry will be accepted at 1:00 PM (EST) on June 1, 2010.
- Grand Prize (1): One (1) copy of KICKING UP DIRT signed by Ashley Fiolek, one (1) Leatt Moto-GPX Club Brace, one (1) pair of Smith Optics Intake Sweat X Moto Goggles [Shelter or Fixture Sunglasses depending on winner's gender], one (1) pair of Alpinestars boots [Tech 7 or Tech 3 depending on winner's gender], one (1) Rockwell Timekeeper Red CF watch and one (1) set of Dunlop MX51 tires (for a 450cc bike) (approximate total retail value $1370)
- 1st Prize (4): One (1) copy of KICKING UP DIRT signed by Ashley Fiolek (approximate retail value $21.99/prize)
Good Luck!
Read the official rules here.
Fashion Faceoff: Weir vs. Lysacek
Exhibit A: Evan Lysacek wears feathers
We all know what the real competition is at the Vancouver Olympics this year. No, it’s not anything silly like speed, athleticism, or technical skill. No, these games are about fashion. And the competition is heating up between the two top U.S. male figure skating candidates, Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek.
For years, male figure skating has evaded mainstream success due to its less-than-macho reputation. But Evan Lysacek, dubbed “The Less Flamboyant One” by New York Magazine, is poised to change all that with his heartthrob status and wider social appeal. That’s not to say, though, that he’s anywhere near the likes of average guy Joe the Plummer. He takes his fashion seriously and has signed on good friend and former figure skater Vera Wang to design all his costumes, which have so far included feathers, bejeweled snakes, and faux tuxedo looks.
On the other end of the spectrum is Johnny Weir. Unlike Lysacek, Weir is fully out there and he takes fashion and artistry to the max. Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy even created a custom unitard for the skater, which he was photographed in by the The New York Times–in the rear view. Then there’s the little matter of the death threats he received when he wore a strip of fox fur along the collar of one of his outfits recently. He has since switched to faux fur. Lastly, there’s this video of him dancing to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, which you need to take four minutes to watch right now.
So who is going to win this fashion faceoff? Let’s stop talking and take a look at the pictures:
Johhny Weir gets in trouble for his fox fur-trimmed look
Evan's classy Vera Wang tuxedo
Johnny's rear view in custom Rodarte
From the pictures seen so far, I think we’re going to have to call a tie. Evan has class and a well-respected fashion designer on his side, but Johnny has a unique and daring eye on his. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned to see who wins this fashion faceoff!! Who do you think will win?
Tiger Sorely Missed by Golf Fans…and Strippers
Professional golf’s first tournament of 2010, the Farmers Insurance Open held at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California this past weekend, was unusual for a number of reasons:
1) Legend Phil Mickelson was accused of “cheating” for using Ping wedges that were made 20 years ago with square grooves that the U.S. Golf Association now outlaws for professional golf.
2) Perceived has-been Ben Crane came from behind to win his first tournament since 2005.
3) Golf phenom Tiger Woods was noticeably absent, and the legions of golf fans weren’t the only one missing him. A small prop plane circled the gorgeous, cliffside Torrey Pines course all day Thursday, tugging a banner that read, “We miss you Tiger! Déjà vu Showgirls.” On Friday, another airplane soared overhead, dragging its own banner: “We miss you too Tiger at Dreamgirls.”
While golf fans might simply be bored watching the game without its star, it seems that local strippers might be missing their mortgage payments without their #1 client making it rain at their clubs.
The question on everyone’s mind: When will the master return?
New Kids on the Block love “Wicked Good Year”
Last night’s Boston Celtics home opener at the TD Garden drew a full house whose fans included New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox team members and owners, local media personalities, and none of other than Celtics fanatic and former New Kids on the block Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood.
Wahlberg (pictured above, right, with Danny Wood) showed off his hot-off-the-presses copy of award-winning Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley’s WICKED GOOD YEAR: How the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics turned the Hub of the Universe into the Capital of Sports. Buckley’s book, which goes on sale on Tuesday. is a behind-the-scenes look at Boston’s mega-successful 2007-2008 sports season, during which the Red Sox swept the World Series, the Patriots went undefeated during the regular season, and the Celtics won the NBA Championship.
“Step by step (ooohh baby), gonna get to our readers…”
Your It List interviews an autograph-collecting legend
If you’re a 21st century sports fan, you’re probably also a jaded individual. It’s no exaggeration that more ink, or pixels, are devoted to covering the latest drug, DUI and weapon’s possession scandals than pitch counts and interceptions. So when I ran across a charming profile of Jack Smalling in the New York Times, it brought me back to my days as an avid sports card collector and autograph seeker who would travel anywhere in the state to track down an elusive John Hancock. Jack has published 15 editions of his Baseball and Autograph Collector’s Handbook, which includes a painstakingly-compiled list of over 8,000 current and former Major League player, coach and umpire home addresses. An impressive feat, especially considering his endeavors pre-dated the internet. Smalling was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his pursuit—Starbucks and dwarf pinch-hitters play a part—exclusively for Your It List.
You’ve published 15 editions of The Baseball Autograph Collector’s Handbook, and recently the New York Times came calling to write a profile on you. How are you handling your newfound fame?
Fame? That and $1.50 get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
It’s ironic that someone who’s been collecting professional baseball
players’ autographs for over 50 years lives in Iowa, a state without a Major League team. Who do you root for?
Dodgers, Indians and Cubs. Dodgers I remember the 1949 World Series; Indians Bob Feller and the 1948 World series; Cubs my father took me to my first major league game at Wrigley Field in 1950. We caught the 6:00 a.m. CB & Q train at Burlington, Iowa and were back that night. Also, the Cubs had a farm club in the Western League in 1948, the Des Moines Bruins.
The advent of the internet must have made your task much easier. How were you able to track down so many player residences before the web?
Phone Books, Street & Smith Guides, Baseball Blue Book, Year & Note Book, Team Press Guides and Yearbooks.
Have you ever procured an autograph in person, or are you exclusively a through-the-mail type of guy?
Primarily through the mail and buying collections. Only a few in person.
Are you purely a baseball man, or do you ever branch out to other sports or authors or actors?
Just baseball.
In your 57 years of autograph collecting, what’s your most cherished “get”?
Eddie Gaedel and Cap Anson autographs.
What makes those two stand out? Were they particularly hard to procure?
Eddie Gaedel is the midget who went to bat for Bill Veck in 1951. Cap Anson is a Hall of Famer from Marshalltown, Iowa who first played in 1871.
Even though autograph collecting would seem to belong to a simpler time, there’s still a strong pull to have your hero’s signature. Why do you think that yearning has endured?
Baseball has a longer history than any of the major sports. Fan worshipping continues to this day.
With that in mind, do you think that the commercialization of baseball, the steroid scandals, and other factors that have changed the game will ever diminish the fan/player relationship? Or will fans continue to see the best in players under any circumstance?
Fans will still pick their favorites. Players who break the rules will find their popularity fading.
‘Cause it’s one, two, three bites you’re out…
I attended a game at the new Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago but was feeling wary about my first trip to Citi Field for a number of reasons, among them the horrible name of the Mets’ new stadium and its fancy-pants food court, which boasts vendors from a number of famous restauranteurs and chefs. This is exactly the sort of over-indulgence that landed us in this recession, I thought to myself.
But when I bit into my Blue Smoke pulled pork sandwich last night (unconcerned about whether I would wake up at 2am with food poisoning the way I did on more than one occasion after a ballpark hot dog) and looked on as the Arizona Diamondbacks took the field, I thought to myself, hhhmmmm, maybe this corporatization isn’t so bad afterall. And when I enjoyed a bite of one friend’s pork carnitas and another friend’s shrimp po’ boy and washed it all down with a Shake Shack frozen custard an hour later, I was sold.
Citi Field certainly isn’t the good old-fashioned ballpark that Shea Stadium was, but I figure that particularly when the Mets play as badly as they did last night (pitcher Nelson Figueroa gave up 6 runs in the first 1-2/3 innings), there’s no need for us fans to suffer the indignities of stale beer and dog-induced indigestion.
The public passion of Justin Timberlake
I’ve always been oddly interested in celebrities’s hobbies that have nothing to do with what they are well known for doing. Case in point: Justin Timberlake and golf.
(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images North America)
Timberlake once said the greatest achievement of his life was appearing on the cover of Golf Digest. Really. That, to me, is remarkable. The guy has achieved a lot. A LOT. So for him to be so passionate about something so far from what he is known for, you gotta respect that commitment.
And golf is hard. I’ve never been able to get the ball through the blades of the windmill, let alone have the dedication to achieve a 6 handicap in between recording sessions, multi-platnum albums, movie roles and the occassional Saturday Night Live appearances.
This past weekend a dream of JT’s was finally realized when he opened Mirimichi, an eco-friendly golf course outside Memphis. And this is not a case where a celebrity puts his name on something and has little to do with it.
JT has rumoredly spent millions of dollars himself to bring the course to fruition. And this is not the upper-class, private, members-only club. Its a public course whose fees are far below what they could be considering the beauty and quality of the course.
In addition to the course, Mirimich is “designed to be a community gathering spot, a beacon for environmental stewardship, an incubator for new golfers and even the headquarters for the singer’s enterprises,” according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
Mirimichi is getting great reviews and attention – and not just from JT’s fans who have his name entered into Google alert and will post comments anywhere he’s mentioned, but from the old guard golf world. A tough world to break into. But the design of the greens, the signifigance of its launch at a time when more people are playing golf on a Wii than on a course and the detailed involvement of the man who dreamed the idea originally.
Hear from JT himself in this exclusive interview posted on his website.
Hollywood Gridiron
Jeff Reed and Tila Tequila at the club.
The worlds of NFL football and the Hollywood C-list diverged just a little bit further today. Apparently buxom celeb reality star Kim Kardashian and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush have ended their affair. Without more concrete info (lab tests?) we won’t speculate on the cause of this tragic breakup (we’ll leave that to Deadspin). But we did find this hilarious post on one of our favorite sports blogs, Kissing Suzy Kolber, that offers an amusing look at some potential new NFL player/starlet couples to help fill the void. Bill Belichick and Kate Gosselin anyone?
The only new couple I’d like to see is Brett Favre and a roll of duct tape. As in, over his mouth. Wait, I think I lost the metaphor here. Never mind.
