Erin Andrews’ dream fulfilled with berth in “Dancing With the Stars”
While covering the National Spelling Bee last May, ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews was asked about someday appearing on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I want to do it, because I think I’d be good at it,” she told The Sporting News. “I would love it love it love it. I want to be like, ‘Who do I call? Let’s do this.’ I want to do it very badly. I love the show.”
Her dream came true this week with the announcement that she would be a competitor on the spring season of ABC’s hit show.
The Sporting News article also revealed that Andrews has her own stylist, Paige Geran, who has also dressed Britney Spears, Wayne Brady, the Spice Girls, and American Idols on-tour, among many others. Before games, Andrews’ outfits arrive at her hotel, and she trusts that “they’ll be appropriate” to the sporting event in question.
Andrews is “a huge Britney fan,” and “not afraid to admit it.” She listens to Spears’ music while getting ready for broadcasts.
Andrews’ sister, Kendra, is a former Florida State Seminole dancer, who has appeared in a Cheri Dennis video and recently landed a prominent role in the dance movie “Step Up 3-D,” due out later this year. Kendra flew to New York for the audition on one of Erin’s frequent flier freebie flights. Waiting to hear if her sister got the part, Erin said, “was worse than waiting for a guy to call.”
David Feherty talks about Tiger’s public statement
Tiger Woods
What will Tiger Woods talk about when he makes his public statement at 10 a.m. Friday? CBS golf analyst David Feherty talked about it on the “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday. Here are some of his comments:
Feherty on what his first question to Tiger would be tomorrow:
“So, how was your off-season?
Feherty on the curious timing of Tiger’s press conference (the same time as the Accenture Match Play – a sponsor who dropped him quickly):
“I don’t think he has that kind of streak in him. He just lets his golf clubs do his talking. I don’t see that. I think he’s just ready to get back in front of a camera and get it over with.”
Feherty on what Tiger might announce regarding his future in golf:
“I think he’s going to put his family first. It wouldn’t surprise me if he announces you won’t see him for a while.”
Feherty on whether or not Tiger will skip The Masters:
“I think he could quite easily. I think he could skip the year.”
Feherty on how Tiger will perform once he decides to compete again:
“There’s been a lot of talk about will he be the player he was? Hell, yes.”
OU to produce special signing day TV show
The University of Oklahoma will produce its first ever signing day television show to complement its coverage on SoonerSports.com.
Produced by SoonerVision, the 2:30 p.m. show on Cox 7 will include coach Bob Stoops, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
Throughout the day, SoonerSports.com will offer up-to-date news on official signees. Jason Matheson, director of internet services for the athletics department, will post signings on SoonerSports.com after each letter of intent is deemed official.
Each signee will also be posted to the OU athletics department’s Twitter feed and Facebook page, while AT&T customers who have signed up for the service will receive text alerts.
Premium subscribers to SoonerSports.com’s All-Access platform will see a live Web show at 8, 8:30, 9 and 9:30 a.m., featuring members of the OU coaching staff.
Junior Seau castrates a horse for his Versus series “Sports Jobs”
Junior Seau, right, learns how to be a horse trainer in the next episode of "Sports Jobs."
In his Versus series “Sports Jobs” in which he tackles a different job each week, former NFL star linebacker Junior Seau castrates a horse while working as a horse trainer on the next episode, which airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Seau admitted it wasn’t his favorite task, listing “two-a-days, wind sprints and paying taxes” as things he would rather be doing.
He learned the art of training thoroughbreds on the grounds of Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif. Seau learned how to feed, groom, shoe, clean and care for racehorses as well as doing one of his dirtiest jobs yet — castrating a horse.
For a preview, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-t4cxIuCBo
ESPN analysts Jackson, Van Gundy discuss Thunder’s playoff chances
Mark Jackson
ESPN/ABC analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy discussed the Oklahoma City’s Thunder chances of making the playoffs on a recent conference call.
Mark Jackson:
I think they have a very good chance of making the playoffs. The reason why is they’re well-coached and they’re loaded with talent. It’s a team that plays extremely hard every single night. They play with a chip on their shoulders. The thing I love about them is they are young guys that love the game of basketball. That’s what separates them.
I watched a bunch of those guys in Vegas in the offseason just together working out. It’s no accident why those guys are growing and getting so much better. They are a team to reckon with, not just in the future, but right now. And the thing I love about it is when you look at a kid like (James) Harden, people do not mention him when they mention the bunch of good young guards, and he is in the discussion just as much. He is playing on a better team with better backcourt play. That’s a team that I certainly see making the playoffs and being around for the long time. And Kevin Durant has put himself in the elite group.
Jeff Van Gundy:
I think they have a chance. I think the Western Conference is top heavy where there will be a lot of people competing for 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 spots. You have the real bad teams at the bottom, but there are a lot of teams that circumstances will determine whether they descend or ascend, whether it’s injuries or stars playing their best. I think Oklahoma City, with Sam Presti, Scott Brooks and Kevin Durant, they have a great start to being a really fine franchise.
I think their fan base, having played there when New Orleans relocated there, is the most collegiate of all NBA arena atmopsheres. It’s just a great place to play where they have a distinct homecourt advantage.
NBA TV analysts discuss Thunder’s play
Chris Webber
NBA TV analysts Chris Webber and Kevin McHale discussed the Thunder on its telecast of the Thunder-Lakers game Tuesday.
Here are a few excerpts:
Kevin McHale on the Thunder picking up guard Eric Maynor: “Good pick-up. I really like Eric Maynor. I thought he played really well for Jerry Sloan so I was pretty surprised that Utah got rid of him. This is a big pick-up for the Thunder. When Kevin Ollie comes back he will do a good job of mentoring Eric Maynor and James Harden, who has that “old man game.” He will help them a great deal.”
McHale on the Thunder’s defensive play: “I think that is why the coaching staff is so happy there. They are buying in on the defensive end. They have two things going there: 1) their top player buys into the defense end which is huge and 2) they have a stopper so they are feeling really comfortable of how they are playing on the defensive end.”
Webber on the Thunder being contenders for a playoff spot: “They are not contenders. Let’s make them earn it, let them lose a heartbreaker and then come back the next year. I just don’t want to crown them. The NBA is really tough and whether you go into the playoffs under .500 or above .500 it is tough. Not many teams are making the playoffs consistently anyway so I would just say that they are just a contender to be a really good team in the future.”
McHale on the Thunder’s improved defense: “They have improved their defense since last year by over 7 points a game. I think they are going to contend to play meaningful games late in the spring and that’s what young teams need to do. You can’t be out of a playoff race Jan. 20. You get better when you play meaningful games and beat those other teams that are competing for playoff spots.”
Webber: “This game is like a playoff game. This game will give them the confidence they need later on to handle crowds on the road and tough players. They are going to have to prove what they are a contender of.”
Webber on the Thunder’s first-half performance: “These young guys really came to play and I really see the maturity. Let’s see if they can follow it through because it is fun watching them when they come with this kind of focus.”
Adrian Peterson profiled on ESPN’s E:60; his $200,000 shoe collection featured
Adrian Peterson
Former OU running back Adrian Peterson, now in his third season with the Minnesota Vikings, is featured at 6 p.m. Tuesday as the lead story on the ESPN news magazine “E:60.” Peterson already holds NFL’s single-game rushing record and has earned MVP honors in the Pro Bowl, where he has appeared twice. This past off-season, he helped lure Brett Favre out of retirement.
Members of Peterson’s family share stories with “E:60” of the adversity he has faced along the way to the top, including watching as his younger brother was struck and killed by a drunk driver, enduring the imprisonment of his father and learning of his stepbrother’s murder only hours before the NFL Combine. NFL legend Jim Brown, new teammate Favre and Vikings’ coach Brad Childress also discuss Peterson in the feature.
Peterson also gives Rachel Nichols an all-access look at his life off the field, including the dirty secrets he keeps in his kitchen, and even lets E:60 cameras behind closed doors to reveal his beloved $200,000 shoe collection.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit to have hectic Saturday of broadcasting
Kirk Herbstreit
ESPN “College GameDay” analyst Kirk Herbstreit will have a hectic day of college football Saturday. He will start out early Saturday with the “GameDay” broadcast from Chestnut Hill, Mass., site of Florida State-Boston College game. He then will board a chartered plane for a 1,500-mile flight to Land Shark Stadium in Miami, Fla., site of the OU-Miami game at 7 p.m. on ABC. Herbstreit will call the game with Brent Musburger and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.
“College GameDay,” 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, is hosted by Chris Fowler with Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard. The show will include a feature on Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, last year’s ACC Defensive Player of the Year who is out this season battling Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer, a malignant tumor most often found in bone and soft tissue. Herzlich, who will be honored by Boston College during the game, will appear as a guest on the “College GameDay” set.
CBS analyst Danielson brags about SEC quarterbacks
Gary Danielson
CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson, who has turned into one of the SEC’s most-outspoken cheerleaders, now is bragging about the conference’s quarterbacks. He will be in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday to broadcast the Arkansas-Alabama game at 2:30 p.m.
In a press release from CBS, Danielson said, “When I came to this conference there was a lack of quarterbacks. The Big 12 gets a lot of notoriety for their quarterbacks because of their stats. I am going to make a prediction that the three quarterbacks in the SEC, Tim Tebow, Jevon Snead and now (Ryan) Mallett eventually will be drafted higher than any three quarterbacks now playing in any other conference. Snead may go No. 1 in the draft this year if the team drafting needs a quarterback. He will be the first quarterback taken in the draft and Tebow will go in the first round. Mallet next year, or the year after, will be the first quarterback taken.”
On other topics:
On Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett: Mallett who has transferred from Michigan, has gone from the Bluest of Blue to the Reddest of Red. He is one of the cockiest people I have come around in my 15 years of doing this. And I love him for it. He is really going to be an interesting player for us to watch in the conference.
On Arkansas-Alabama: This game really crystallizes why this conference has exploded and gotten tougher and tougher every year that I have been covering the SEC. Now with the league has another coach, Bobby Petrino, who is a national expert in the passing game. If you talk to anyone in the country about who knows how to throw the ball, if you are going to name two guys, he’s one of the two. He is going to go against the No. 1 guy in defending the pass in Nick Saban. Again, this game crystallizes why this conference has become must see TV. It’s become almost a mini NFL. Arkansas is not as good, but they are so good at what they do.
On Tennessee winning in loss to Florida: I don’t know if I have ever seen a team lose a game and gain more out of it than Tennessee’s program did. Lane Kiffin, in one game, has gained the respect of his players, the fans and the coaches around this conference that he is the guy that will turn Tennessee around. That team was almost down on themselves. They now look at themselves in the mirror and actually see something good. Tennessee was really down on themselves last year and the same goes for Tennessee fans.
On Florida coach Urban Meyer gaining the attention of his players: Urban Meyer got something out of the win that he needed. That team was flying so high, no one was saying anything bad about his team. It was almost as if they were unbeatable. He now has something to sell to his team, that they are not all that everybody has been telling them. So he got a win out of it, but he also got something he can grind his team with. It almost took losing to Mississippi last year before he gained their attention. He gets to gain their attention with a win.
Roy Williams jokes with Joe Torre on HBO show
Bengals safety Roy Williams, a former OU standout
On this week’s episode of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre makes an appearance.
In a hilarious exchange, Bengals defenders Tank Johnson and Roy Williams, who both played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, pay a visit during batting practice as the Reds prepare to host the Dodgers in a recent series at the Great American Ballpark.
Johnson, who is on a quest to meet Torre (“He’s an American icon.”) wants to take a photo with him and ask him to have a beer. Finally, they greet Torre in the visitors dugout and ask the four-time World Series winner for any words of wisdom that he can share.
Johnson: “That might be the coolest thing I’ve done since I’ve been in Cincinnati.”
In the program, Johnson brushed up on his NFL history with a little twist. “I just learned who Donnie Walsh was and why he was so important to the NFL. That dude was a coaching genius. That damn West Coast offense.” When a Bengals assistant corrects Johnson and says it was Bill Walsh, who once coached in Cincinnati, Johnson remarks, “Who’s Donnie Walsh?”
