February 5, 2012
Our BRI spy in Indianapolis sent this to us last night, and we offer it without (much) comment:
Fallon was taping his show in Indy this week, it appears. And fans out there who saw him in this get-up in a skit last week?
P.S. Does that count as “in drag”? Almost?
February 4, 2012
We told you for a few days ago that we’ve got a BRI spy in Indianapolis, taking photographs around Super Bowl Village in the buildup to the big game tomorrow.
We got the stadium:
A rather East German-looking security tower:
And a flying man:
The flying man was, of course, riding a zipline, one of those contraptions where you strap yourself to a long suspended cable, and try not to do impolite things to your underpants (or the people below!) while you go zipping along it. One has been set up over the Village, which you can see better here:
And it’s not just any zipline:
Hitchcock has been heading the zipline project for over a year and believes it could end up the must-see attraction of the Super Bowl Village. Upon completion, which begins Jan. 19, it will be the single-longest temporary zipline ever constructed…
The Super Bowl version of the zipline runs south on Capitol Avenue and continues toward Lucas Oil Stadium, 800 feet of high-flying, thrill-seeking amusement. Ten-dollar tickets are available for fans weighing between 60 and 250 pounds each day the Super Bowl Village is open, from Jan. 27 through Sunday, Feb. 5, the day of Super Bowl XLVI. To aid expected demand, more tickets will be allotted once the village opens. Additionally, four riders will be able to go at once (only two could ride simultaneously at the Olympics). Udoh says they expect to get up to 120 guests down the zipline each hour.
So with no further ado, BRI fans, our BRI spy rides the zipline over Super Bowl Village.
Is it just me, or was he lying upside down for lots of that? Just nuts.
P.S. The spy’s name is Michael Conover. Thanks a million, Michael!
February 1, 2012
We’re just days away from Super Bowl XLVI, in which the ______________ will just CRUSH the _______________. Resoundingly. (Please fill in the blanks yourself. As for Uncle John, he’s going with the Patriants. He can’t stand the Girots.)
As we reported the other day, we have a BRI spy in Indianapolis, and he sent us this photo of kids playing rugby—they’re having displays of “foreign” sports—in Super Bowl Village. (We added the “Wuh-huhhh?”)
Is this a new tactic by the Patriots? Anyone? …
P.S. Our spy sends this advice:
If you’re going to any of the Super Week festivities, get the Superbowl XLVI app from the NFL. It’s on both markets. 3D gps, info, links to buy tickets, and it’s free.
January 30, 2012
Oh yeah, people, we just found out we have a spy in Indianapolis. He’ll be sending us pics from around the city all week. Who knows what he might come across?
Here’s the Super Bowl XLVI “Monument Circle” in the city’s downtown:
Oh yeah. More to come…
January 17, 2012
It is time to prepare for the Super Bowl again. While we are still not sure which teams will be playing in the big game, we all know that Super Bowl XLVI will be played in Indianapolis and there will lots of parties. To help you prepare for the big day, we are giving away a book gift packet complete with The NFL’s Top 100, a cookbook with mouth-watering recipes, a pictorial history of Indianapolis, and of course, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Sports Spectacular.
To enter, guess the Top 10 greatest NFL players of all time – as listed in the book, The NFL’s Top 100. You must comment in the blog before Sunday, January 22, midnight PST. If we get multiple entries that get all 10 correct, we will pick a random winner. (US Only)
January 14, 2012
This right here is one heck of a story. It doesn’t matter what team you’re rooting for today, what you think about onfield displays of this or that, or about throwing mechanics—this is one heck of a story, and Rick Reilly highlights the best part perfectly:
Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?
Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.
Every week. Every week he does this, right after games, wherever they are, with people he has arranged to be at the games, along with their families. And it’s not even always kids.
It’s a heck of a story. The whole thing is worth the read.
Uncle John says “Go ___________!”
* Bonus.
December 15, 2011
FYI, sports fans: There could be a big story concerning the National Football League breaking pretty soon:
Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was locked up in federal custody Thursday as his stunned teammates learned he had been charged with trying to set up a drug-dealing network following his arrest with more than a pound of cocaine.
A POUND of cocaine. That’s not your “personal-use” amount of cocaine, as the story implies with the “network” comment. And the dude just signed a three-year contract worth $5.15 million! Why on earth…?! Wow.
But for the REALLY big ingredient in this story we have to go to another site:
Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd, who was arrested Wednesday on federal drug charges, was a top drug dealer in Chicago and police have a list of NFL players who were supplied drugs by the receiver, a law enforcement source told 670 The Score.
Oh. Dear. This is really, really ungood for the NFL.
We’ll update as we learn more.
Update: Holy cow. The indictment apparently indicates that federal investigators interviewed Hurd in July—regarding $88,000 in cash found in his car when it was being driven by someone else—but , according to the charges, he kept on dealing drugs! Holy cow! If that’s true this story may enter the Really UnSmart Hall of Fame!
Update 2: Just so you know: “Bears players are paid on Thursdays.” Now you know.
Update 3: Obligatory Sam Hurd Twitter feed right here. Example:
I knew the
#bears were lacking a possession receiver. But I don’t think that’s what they had in mind.
Update 4 (December 16 morning): That’s what we said last night!
Update 5: Hurd lawyer says Hurd never sold drugs to NFL players.
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The UJBR HOLIDAY SALE! - 30% off all books - goes through December.
And oh yeah: Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader eBooks and new and improved mobile app just became available yesterday….
December 11, 2011
And in what is without question a candidate for the most amazing story of the year, last year, next year, and possibly every other year ever – she’s now in training to go to the regular old Olympics in 2016. Because just coming un-paralyzed? Boring!
Paralympic silver medallist Monique van der Vorst has miraculously become an able-bodied Olympic hopeful after a crash reversed her paralysis.
Paralysed from the hip down since she was 13, the 27-year-old handcyclist was hit by a bicycle last year while training in her wheelchair for the 2012 London Paralympics.
While recovering from the trauma, van der Vorst’s feet started to tingle and miraculously she began to move them again.
She said she would never forget the moment she took her first steps again after months of rehabilitation. [...]
Doctors have no explanation for her amazing recovery.
Wow. We have heard more than the usual amount of amazing stories in our time here at the BRI – but this one is way, way up there. We really hope she makes it to the Olympics in 2016 to cap all this off. We’ll be rooting for you, Monique!
Here’s a nice take on the story from The Manitoban. And here’s Monique’s website.
P.S. Whether or not Tim Tebow had anything to do with this remains to be determined…
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You need Christmas presents? You need the UJBR HOLIDAY SALE! - 30% off all books - Goes all the way through December!
November 10, 2011
Unbelievable! An albatross just doesn’t happen at a world class event! Wow! 200 yards out! Mark that 5 a 2! Gah!
And Scott’s an Aussie, so it was just huge for the crowd. So much so—that they’re already talking about putttng a dang plaque on the spot on the course where Scott took the shot.
Congratulations, Adam Scott, for the shot of a lifetime.
P.S. That YouTube video only has 2,300 or so views—bet it’s going to soar throughout the day.
P.S.S. Let’s talk to Scott’s caddie to see if has any thoughts on how Tiger Woods would feel about Scott’s shot. (Oh Dear Lord, No…)
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Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader’s HOLIDAY SALE – 30% of all books (here’s a relevant one) – goes through December.
November 8, 2011
Here’s one you may not have heard before:
But in January of 1989, Billy Ripken [brother of Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken], scheduled to be a five cent common in the 1989 Fleer set, ignited the hobby already entering its prime with the debut of the very first Upper Deck set. Packs of Fleer hit hobby stores right after New Year’s and, within two weeks, everyone had to have their hands on card No. 616, Billy Ripken.
Why?
It was the bat that he designated to use only in batting practice. It was the bat that had “F–K FACE” written on the knob, the obscenity in its full four-letter glory.
Oh dear:
Bet he didn’t send that card home to Mom!
When Fleer heard about the problem, they rereleased the card with the naughty words obscured.
When confronted about the issue, Ripken said one of his teammates had written the words on the bat it to prank him. But - 20 years later - he admitted that he had done it himself—but only so he could quickly recognize the bat amongst a bunch of others. He had no idea he’d have his picture snapped! He explains what happened at the link.
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Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader’s HOLIDAY SALE – 30% of all books – goes through December.
King James I cited the health hazards of smoking in his “Counterblaste to Tobacco” in 1604.
