Never saw him with a cape, but No. 23 is Superman to me!

Today is one of the days I look forward to every year. And I might get called a nerd or a dork for it, but I know when Michael Jordan's birthday is. The man is 47 today and while some would just "Ho-hum" over that, this man holds s special place in my heart and mind.



Sure, he's a great basketball player, and we're going to celebrate that a bit later, but to me he showed me the way of believing in myself and getting motivated to achieve the goals and dreams I have in my life. And if you didn't notice, Check Monday's blog and you'll see I'm on my way to achieving some of them.
I mean, check the message that MJ put out throughout his career, it was always hard work will get you what you want. Like this commercial...

 
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. The man revelled in being told he couldn't do something. Just look back at his history. The guy was cut from his high school team as a freshman and it only pushed him to get that much better. Another cliff hanger... I'm going to tell you to keep reading and watching because that same guy makes an appearance in a minute...
But more on being motivated by "Calling McFly Chicken..."



I'm sure we all need some sort of positive enforcement and MJ delivered that for me. Let's just say the childhood isn't one that I'd want my kid to grow up in, so I buried myself in the Bulls and everything MJ. He showed me the way. Showed me to work hard to get what I wanted. Now, living where I did it just so happened basketball was a way of life, so that helped and got me engulfed in sports and playing basketball.
By the time I was old enough to start thinking about playing high school ball at my glorious high school, I was tall and nerdy. So that never panned out, but I still use that same work ethic and pushing myself to get tot the next level.
And when all the hard work pays off, it makes it that much sweeter. Michael had that in Chicago. Yes I remember where I was on June 12, 1998. Watched this moment with one of my best friends...


And at the end of the playing career, where do the greatest of all time go? You guessed it the hall of fame. That's where he was last July. And he showed with his words just how much failure can be used as motivation. Take what you learn from losing and pick yourself up and don't let it happen again.
Here's Part 1 of his speech.... Note who the first person he mentions is... Batman aka Scottie Pippen.

Here's Part 2 and Part 3. Believe me, you want to watch. Promises to play when he's 50. Never say Never!

Alright people, that's all on an MJ Tribute. Wait, the Nussie Hunter is on this too? Oh my! Yep, remember back in 2003 when Mariah did her tribute to MJ at the NBA All-Star Game? Well if you don't, take a look...


Yeah, she looked good  back then. Even donning my main man money's jersey...


Hope I did my man justice! MJ ALL DAY!

So this is what all the fuss was about?!

Who is that player above? For those of you that don't know that is Jordan Crawford and he is involved in one of the biggest sports scandals in recent memory (Brett Favre please stay away).
He is the basketball player that dunked on LeBron James back at his basketball camp a couple weeks back and all the tapes of the incident had since been confiscated by Nike and LeBron.
Well TMZ.com bought the tape and debuted it today. It's kind of grainy and reminds me of the Zapruder tape shot on the grassy knoll that fateful day in Dallas the day President Kennedy was killed.
Either way, it is good to finally see some tape. Here it is for you to judge for yourself. I want to hear what you guys think. Be sure to leave a comment or E-mail me.


OK, now that we've moved on from that incident, it's time to move on with something more in-season like baseball. Conducting my daily reading today and SI.com unveiled it's list of 100 best players in MLB today. One look at it and two Brewers are in the top 13 as both Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun check in at No. 11 and No. 13.



Also worth a mention for the Brewers is Yovanni Gallardo who makes the list at No. 97. Good recognition for the Crew as they press to make the playoffs for the second straight season.
On the list as a whole, I'd say it is pretty right on. I'd like to say I know everything about every baseball player, but I have my own sports coverage to study and aside from my guys in fantasy baseball, I can't study everyone. So, if you take a peak at the list, let me know who you think should make it. I don't really have a problem with no additional Brewers on the list. I'd imagine Trevor Hoffman is somewhere in the next 20 or 25 players.
The No. 1 player on the list is Albert Pujols and I don't think many would have a problem with him hold that spot. Heck, he's been the driving force to my fantasy team this year that is is first place.

In some other sports stories I'm following, the Erin Andrews story continues to draw headlines. The New York Post posted stills from the video in Tuesday's paper and on their site. Well, I still won't get anywhere near the video because it's just damn wrong. ESPN (while I ripped them yesterday) followed with a ban from any of their employees on their outlets.

Now these last two items aren't sports, they are something I'm high on which is the "Pussification of America." It was discussed on the Covino and Rich Show yesterday (During Pussification Tuesday) that Miley Cyrus is being sued in a class action lawsuit by some Asian woman for (get ready) $4 Billion. Whoa! Here's the picture. Not how almost everyone in the pic is squinting their eyes. This is the lamest thing I've ever heard in my life. Does anyone get a damn joke anymore? Damn people! Here's a link to U.S. News and World Report that basically laughs at this lady.



OK boys, it's Nussie Hunter time. Today is a Hometown Hotties edition. I got the new Maxim yesterday and this month they have all 100 of the semifinalists in the competition. Two of the 100 are from Wisconsin and I say we get behind them. There were 14 that made the competion on some level, but these two made it through to the final 100.
First up is Tanya from Sussex. And Megan from Verona. Be sure to check out both pages and watch their videos. Both seem like great girls. Not going to say which one I like more to poison the sample here, but take a look for yourself with a double dose today. And don't forget to vote both of them into the finals on Maxim.com.

First up is Tanya from Sussex



Megan from Verona