Yesterday, I posted a video of Rampage Jackson humping an unsuspecting MMA reporter during an interview. There was no mention of her outlet, so I had no idea who she was. Well thanks to some excellent sleuthing from SI's Jimmy Traina, we now know that her name is Heather Nichols, and that she works for Cage Potato....

Jimmy Traina: What did you think when Rampage started, um, getting frisky? Did you think it was funny or did you take offense?

Nichols: At first I was just shocked when he grabbed me, and all I could think was, "Oh my gosh, what is he doing?!" Then I tried to play along a little bit because I knew he was trying to be funny, but after about the first 5-10 seconds, it was just plain awkward. I kept thinking, "What should I do? Knee him? Keep going?" So I decided to keep asking questions, assuming he would stop if I did that. So I asked another question, and he kept going. I asked ANOTHER question, and he kept going. At this point I was just freaking out, but still trying to be a professional and ask all the questions I was assigned to ask, and this has been interpreted by some viewers as me liking it and egging him on. This was definitely not the case. I was hired to do a job, which was to interview Rampage, so I decided to put up with his shenanigans and finish the interview.

So there you have it. Ms. Nichols can be seen in a Jimmy Johns or KFC commercial near you, and has some indy films coming out in the coming months. You can now go on with the rest of your lives.

Heather Nichols discusses awkward interview with 'Rampage' Jackson (SI)

It's no secret that I think Rampage Jackson is a gift to Sports Blogs, and today he continues to provide hilarious footage to dissect. Jackson was being interviewed by a currently unknown, yet very attractive reporter, when he randomly decided to grab her and begin thrusting while answer questions about a potential movie career. Via Sports Rubbish....

Too funny, and great job by the reporter to not miss a beat while a very large and dangerous man, grabbed her by the waist and pumped away. Rampage obviously has a screw loose, but I welcome his craziness on a slow news day like today.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Humps Interviewer: Video (Sports Rubbish)

Lindsay Soto is a sideline reporter (or sideice reporter?) for Versus, and during game three of the Sharks-Ducks series, she conducted a very interesting interview with Ducks' D, Rob Niedermayer. Not really because it was that insightful, but rather because leaning over from the bench almost caused her to come out of her shirt....

Very good catch there, Lindsay. I'm pretty sure that was the best interview that Niedermayer has ever done. Good times.

(Thanks to SS for the clip)

I wish I could tell you what it feels like to have a Playboy Bunny scream out the name of your website, but alas....I just can't put it into words. Thanks Yardbarker!

There's something awesome about fan catches that go beyond the normal realm of duty. The most famous one, I can remember, is the Bears fan who jumped down the tunnel to catch a random field goal. While that was certainly impressive, nothing can beat coming to the aid of a female in distress.

During a Spring Training game between the D-Backs and Brewers, Corey Hart smacked a ball deep into the "stands", but unfortunately it was right at an unsuspecting girl sunbathing the hill in centerfield. Lucky for her though, a very athletic Brewers fan was there to rescue her from a ball to the dome. The choppy video comes via Fan IQ....

I love how he shows the ball after the catch. Someone played High School Baseball! He better have at least got a number out of that, but of course he probably didn't. Who ever said chivalry was dead?!?!

Brewers Fan Saves Hot Girl From Certain Death (Fan IQ)

It's extremely awkward that I find out the majority of news through Twitter now, but you can't stop technology, right? Via Jimmy Fallon's Twitter feed, I've learned that not only is his guest tonight, Anna Kournikova, but that Fallon will be challenging her to a game of beer pong....

You may remember Fallon got embarrassed by Serena Williams during his first week on the air, so hopefully he can get some beer pong street cred back. Also, hopefully he'll make it a habit of playing beer pong with attractive females. Seems like as good a recurring sketch as there is.

I don't know how many of you watch MTV, but one of the biggest trainwrecks to ever grace the airwaves is the Snoop Dogg talk show, Dogg After Dark. The guests are all over the place, from Paris Hilton to Pacman Jones, and the topics are just as random as random can be.

With that said, there is some interesting news out of the Snoop Dogg camp. Chicks in the Huddle is reporting, that FOX sideline reporter Nischelle Turner, has been requested by the Dogg Father to be his news anchor. Seriously....

You’ve seen her on the sidelines of NFL games. You’ve read about her rumored (and we do stress rumored) relationship with one Eddie Murphy. And now, she’s experiencing life in the “Dogg House”…as in Snoop D-O-double G.

Nischelle Turner will make a special appearance on MTV’s “Dogg After Dark”, a weekly variety show hosted by Snizzle Dizzle himself. We hear Snoop requested this Sideline Sexy after watching her in action on Good Day L.A.

Ms. Turner will play a role she knows well, that of a news anchor.

Damn....I was hoping he would have gone with Danyelle Sargent because of her penchant to ask questions about the dead, but I guess Turner will do. Hopefully she doesn't party with Snoop too hard though, I hear FOX is rather strict about their drug testing policies.

Fox Sideline Reporter Does It “Doggy Style” (Chicks in the Huddle)

Everyone has been looking far and wide for someone other than Erin Andrews that will draw page view to their website, and the only person that has come close in recent years is Hannah Storm. About three or four times a week, I get a "did you see what Storm was wearing this morning?!" email, and now someone has taken the time to compile an extensive collection of her wardrobe choices on Flickr. Here are a few of my personal favorites....


Snazzy huh? I like to call that last one "The Aniston from Friends" look. Sure there is a following for Fox's Charissa Thompson, but you know you've hit the big time when someone starts keeping a day by day screenshot account of your outfits. I'm sort of over the "hot female reporter" thing, but anything that will bump Erin Andrews news off Sports Blogs, is all right in my book. And yes, I know I'm a huge part of that EA problem, but dammit....I'm trying to change!

Notasportsblog's Photostream (Flickr)
Hannah Storm’s Extensive Wardrobe Collection is Burning Up the Internet (The Big Lead)

I know all of you saw Aubrey O'Day's Playboy spread that just came out recently, but if you didn't you can click on this very NSFW link if you would like to see them. What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well the Danity Kane singer (who knew?) and Puffy confidant, called into the Boomer and Carton Show today, and decided to hang up on the hosts.

According to Sports Radio Interviews, Carton asked O'Day a series of questions that we're obviously too personal, one about dating Puffy, and she got pissed and ended the call. Here's the audio of the hangup, and the aftermath....

Ah good times. You're famous for being on a reality television show, and (allegedly) hooking up with Puffy, but you don't want to talk about it. Too funny.

Playboy Cover Girl Hangs Up On Sports Radio Station (Sports Radio Interviews)
Aubrey O'Day Interview (WFAN: Boomer & Carton)

No, it's not exactly what you think. There will be know cheerleading, or will it be involved in Sports in any way. No, three USC Song Girls will be on the new E! reality show, "Hot Girls in Scary Places". I wish I was kidding about that title. Via The Hollywood Reporter....

E! has ordered a reality project that puts an all-girl spin on the paranormal investigation genre.

The show is titled "Hot Girls in Scary Places" and stars three University of Southern California cheer squad friends challenged to spend the night in a supposedly haunted abandoned hospital and compete for a $10,000 cash prize.

"They're totally scared and totally believe experiences they're going through," executive producer Gary Auerbach said.

"Hot Girls" will premiere as a special/backdoor pilot and is tentatively scheduled to air Friday, March 13. The project is from Go Go Luckey (A&E's "Paranormal State" and Animal Planet's "Jockeys").

Unbelievable. I mean, I can't believe that they think that Americans are such dumb animals, that they would watch this nonsense! (Pssst...E! What time does it start?)

E! looking for 'Hot Girls in Scary Places' (The Hollywood Reporter)
E! Puts Song Girls in Scary Places (Fanhouse)

This is alleged, but according to Sports by Brooks, our awkward interview duo of Billy Gillispie and ESPN's Jeannine Edwards have a bit of a history. Apparently Gillispie once (allegedly) made advances to Edwards and was shot down. Via SbB....

Edwards’ queries in both instances didn’t seem all that ill-informed to me at the time, so it was a little curious to see Gillispie snap back at her in that fashion, especially on national television.

That is, until I heard more about Gillispie’s private dealings with Edwards.

A source recently told me that Gillispie made a past, amorous advance at Edwards which was subsequently denied by the ESPN reporter. I have no more details than that. But again, I have confirmed that Gillispie did make clear to Edwards that he was interested in spending some quality time with her away from the court. And she shut him down.

Seems weird that if there was an issue that ESPN would keep sending her to call Kentucky games, but if you go back and watch the videos, that could very well be true. Oh and guess who's working the sideline for tomorrow's Kentucky-Vandy game? You guessed it (I'll have the announcing schedule up tomorrow).

ESPNer Turned Down Gillispie’s Amorous Advance (Sports by Brooks)

I've been trying to decide whether I'm jealous of Jimmy Traina's (Hot Clicks) relationship with Erin Andrews, or just glad I don't have to deal with the fact that we'll always "just be friends" (I'm not speaking for you, Jimmy). Well anyway, JT got his pal Erin Andrews to give you guys some tips on this made-up holiday wonderful holiday of Valentine's Day.

Everyone listen up and eyes forward to Ms. Andrews....

SI.com: Candy or flowers?

Andrews: I'm a candy freak but for Valentine's Day, flowers are the way to go.

SI.com: Flowers are such a waste. You look at them for two or three days and then you throw them in the garbage.

Andrews: NO! I love flowers. It's always special when a guy buys a girl flowers.

SI.com: It a guy doesn't want to do the traditional, cookie-cutter flowers/candy thing, what would you suggest he buy his lady?

Andrews: Well, given the economy right now, I think just fixing up the house, lighting a bunch of candles and getting a few bottles of wine would be perfect. If a guy wants to spend some dough, that's different. But if someone isn't working with a big budget, candles and wine are a good way to go.

SI.com: Good plan. Let's talk about some specific things that are either good or bad. Tattoos. Yes or no?

Andrews: They don't bother me.

SI.com: What if they're covered in them like David Beckham?

Andrews: It's fine on David Beckham.

SI.com: Long hair?

Andrews: How long? Rafael Nadal long is OK. But Bret Michaels long is not. But I love Bret Michaels.

SI.com: What about a guy coming up behind you and dancing?

Andrews: I'd like to skip that question.

So that's helpful, right guys? Just some candles and wine....easy enough. The one thing that Traina forgot to ask her about though, was the Playboy "Sexiest Sportscaster" contest. The winner is announced today, and I'll keep you posted on who gets the crown for 2009!

Update: Annnnnnd EA has taken the Playboy crown once again....

Stiff competition. A harder format. The pressure of being number one. None of it mattered. America’s Sexiest Sportscaster for 2009 is ESPN’s Erin Andrews, the champ in our poll for the second year in a row. Despite a more challenging, two-round format, which narrowed the field to five finalists, Erin came out on top again. To celebrate her victory, we’ve compiled our favorite YouTube clips of this sexy sideline siren at work, at play and, naturally, ice-fishing. Congrats, EA!

2009 Sexiest Sportscaster of the Year: Erin Andrews (Playboy, Sort of SFW)
Erin Andrews On Valentine's Day (Hot Clicks)

Since I'm sick, and presumably going to make chicken soup, lay down, and rent "Nights in Rodanthe" on demand, I've decided to just throw up (no pun intended) some clips from SI's Swimsuit issue to keep you entertained (don't even worry about that run on sentence). SI has always been good to me, so there's no time like the present to pay them back. Enjoy women who are naked, but aren't really naked, in places you'll never get to go to!

Oh and it's all brought to you by Sobe!!!

Well we're down to five candidates for Playboy's "Sexiest Sportscaster" Award for 2008, and I think those of you interested in this sort of thing will be pleased. And your five finalists are! Erin Andrews, Bonnie Bernstein, Charissa Thompson, Lauren Shehadi and Molly Sullivan. From the Bunny (SFW) via Fanhouse....

Talk about tough choices. It’s time to pick America’s Sexiest Sportscaster out of these five skilled and stunning finalists.

There’s the lovely Erin Andrews of ESPN, perhaps best known for her NCAA basketball coverage. Andrews won Playboy’s Sexiest Sportscaster in 2008—can she repeat?

ESPN’s second finalist is the beautiful and talented Bonnie Bernstein, who’s been with the Worldwide Leader since 2006 and recently had stints with the network’s Sunday Night Baseball and SportsCenter shows.

Also making the cut is relative sportscasting newcomer Lauren Shehadi, who joined CBSSports.com just this past summer. Previously, she was a reporter for North Dakota’s KX News, where her skills and girl-next-door charm clearly caught the eye of the network giant. Apparently, Playboy voters agreed.

Fox Network’s rising star Charissa Thompson notched a berth in the last round of voting. When this knockout is not joking around with John Salley on the Best Damn Sports Show Period, she roams college football sidelines reporting for the Big Ten Network.

Rounding out this fab five is Molly Sullivan of the MountainWest Sports Network. This former North Carolina Tar Heel swimmer trained for the Olympics before an injury sent her in pursuit of a reporting career. She currently covers UNLV sports for MTN.

The winner will be announced on February 12th, and while I'm almost positive that Internet darling, Erin Andrews, will win the thing, I urge you to try and mix things up this year. Let's try and get someone else some press this year, how about Charissa Thompson?

Sexiest Sportscasters of 2009 Narrowed to 5, Erin Andrews Still Around (Fanhouse)
The Field's Down To Five, Who's The Hottest? (Playboy)

There are a lot of gimmicks on blogs that just never pan out, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this one will. The website Mr.SEC has matched the fact that Erin Andrews drives page views, with the fact that there's no photo collections on the Internet, to give you every EA picture that you can think of in one place. To the tune of 750 images!

Over the past few months, we here at MrSEC.com noticed something: whenever we made any kind of mention of ESPN sideline hottie Erin Andrews, our pageviews went through the roof.

Being red-blooded American males, we started scanning the web for a full-blown Erin Andrews site. There wasn’t one… not of major size anyway.

Our conclusions:

1. Erin Andrews draws readers.
2. There was no massive Erin Andrews site on the web.

That may seem to lead to a simple decision, but there was a lot of internal debate.

“We can’t make an Erin Andrews shrine. This is a sports site.”

“Oh, yeah, well ESPN uses her and they’re all sports.”

“But this is about SEC sports.”

“Oh, yeah, well she went to Florida.”

Pretty genius if you ask me. They really don't have to do anything more, and over time they'll probably be bumped to the front of the line on Google. I'm personally EA'ed out these days, but if you have the time, check out the photos through the link below.

What's New? Hmmm. How 'Bout 750 Erin Andrews Photos? (Mr. SEC)
Erin Andrews (Mr. SEC)

I'm fairly sure we've been through this discussion before, but the Globe and Mail's William Houston has clacked out a piece about the conflict between the skills and attractiveness metrics for women in sports journalism. It's somewhat Canuck-specific, but does go into Erin Andrews, Hazel Mae, and gets quotes from both Linda Cohn and Andrea Kremer.

Yes, we crack about sideline reporters being attractive all the time, but it's obvious when someone, male or female, has been hired for looks and lack of skill -- it shows up in their announcing, analysis, or interviews, and is plain for all to see.

Speaking as someone who works in TV, the attractiveness metric is not going to change a whole lot. Every single person considered on-air "talent" for many news and sports organizations, particularly the women, has to be attractive in some way to convey warmth to the audience. Looks are one way to do it, and obviously we have plenty of examples of dudes on TV who wouldn't pass that basic attractiveness test. The double standard just doesn't exist in the same way, which is why it's a double standard. Dudes can get away with appearing knowledgeable and/or being boisterous.

It's kind of a sad truth, but if you're going to get into a visual medium, these are the lines you have to walk very carefully. I wouldn't advise that any woman at any level of journalism do this:

[Rogers SportsNet's Jody] Vance, former Sportsnet colleague Hazel Mae and Kathryn Humphreys of CITY-TV in Toronto once posed for a magazine photo spread in which Humphreys wore leather, appearing as a sort of dominatrix; Mae showed some of her underwear; and Vance was portrayed reclining, glasses off and holding her hair.

I've not seen the spread. However, it's in the best interest of any journalism professional to control their image to a hyper-sensitive extent to maintain credibility. It also helps to avoid pulling a Hazel Mae or Carolyn Hughes as far as dating the people you cover.

Secondary issue: are we as the consumers and target demographic for sports coverage responsible for the prevailing attitude of "hire a hottie and watch the ratings pour in"? Houston cites both leads to blog posts and comments attached to posts on Deadspin, and there's definitely a line to cross in my mind -- everyone's going to opine about whether someone on TV is attractive or not, but I can understand why someone like Kremer would say much of the commentary is frightening in terms of its tone.

The moral of this if you're in the business: ignore the bluster of drooling morons like us if you can, keep serious control over what you can, and veer on the side of caution, always.

Looks first, knowledge second [Globe and Mail]

I really think contests and lists like this are annoying, but I posted on it last year, so I almost feel obligated to do so again. Playboy's Sexiest Sportscaster list for 2008 came out on Friday, and you have almost thirty different ladies of Sports Media to choose from. Here's this year's list....

Erin Andrews (ESPN), Erin Bates (Speed/OLN), Michelle Beisner (NFL Network), Bonnie Bernstein (CBS ESPN), Tina Cervasio (MSG), Melanie Collins (Big Ten Network), Stacey Dales (ESPN), Colleen Dominguez (ESPN), Alex Flanagan (NBC), Lisa Guerrero (LA Times column), Jamie Little (ESPN/NBC), Hazel Mae (NESN), Adriana Monsalve (ESPN Deportes), Rachel Nichols (ESPN), Pam Oliver (Fox), Ashley Russell (Rivals.com), Lisa Salters (ESPN), Lauren Shehadi (CBS), Tiffany Simons (NBC), Lindsay Soto (NFL Network), Melissa Stark (ABC), Sage Steele (ESPN), Hannah Storm (ESPN), Mary Strong (NFL Network), Molly Sullivan (MTN), Charissa Thompson, (Big Ten Network/Fox) Krista Voda (Fox), Amber Wilson (OpenSports.com), Tracy Wolfson (CBS)

They're obviously all gorgeous, and some talented, so pick your favorite and cast a vote or two over at Playboy. I say we all write in Chris Berman as a rouse, and if someone wants to get that movement started, I would appreciate it.

(FYI- The link below is safe for work, but I wouldn't stray too far from that page.)

America's Sexiest Sportscaster (Playboy)

We've come to another one of those pesky AA travel days when I'm unfortunately out of the loop for an entire day. Lucky for you, I've come up with the perfect post. Well scratch that, The Sports Hernia has. I give you Erin Andrews and a fourth grader....



Just look at the confidence the young buck exudes! If that was me in fourth grade, I would have peed myself around an attractive female like that. Good on ya, young man.

First grader manages to get Erin Andrews more excited than you ever will (The Sports Hernia)

I can't imagine it's fun to be Bill Simmons right now. I mean sure he's successful, has a nice family and is more than likely a millionaire, but his employer is seemingly shooting down his every idea. First, we had the odd summer where he started blogging over at his personal blog (which has a total of 10 entries), so he could write what he wanted to. Then it was ESPN saying that he couldn't interview Barack Obama on his podcast, and the network eventually putting him on every single outlet. Well now it seems that ESPN isn't letting Simmons join a Fantasy Basketball league.

Does anyone remember that random website, Christian Sings The Blues (Extremely NSFW!), that broke the Wilbon-Kendra Wilkinson photos? Sure you do. That site's owner was invited by both Simmons and ESPN Fantasy Guru, Matthew Berry, into an NBA fantasy league and the thought of a porn star in one of their leagues did not sit well with ESPN. From CSTB (Again...extremely NSFW!) via The Brockett Blog....

Oh and finally, Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, sent me an email tonight. He basically apologized for the fact that due to the graphic and adult content on this blogsite, that ESPN wouldn't let him and Matthew Berry let me into the league. He also said that ESPN chopped off the part where he stated this fact on his podcast yesterday.

Man, what a downer. I guess I understand, but it still sucks...."I coulda been a contender!"

I guess it's ESPN ultimately just covering their collective ass, but it doesn't really seem like a big deal. The network just doesn't appear to trust Simmons these days, and I wonder how the Sports Guy feels about that recent four-year deal right about now. Good times.

The F'ing Dungeon And Lisa Sparxxx? (Christian Sings The Blues)
ESPN and porn evidently don't mix (Brockett Blog)

Erin Andrews spoke with Sports Business Daily today, and the sideline reporter talked about blogs, the relevance of sideline reporters and even her favorite websites. It's mostly the same standard responses you've heard from the Internet's most popular and boring interview subject, but she did have one reply that was different.

When asked about ESPN's a potential move to the entertainment side of things, she had this to say....

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Andrews: I’m enjoying right now where I am on the sidelines. I like being part of the action. A lot of people bring up to me maybe entertainment, maybe studio and I’m never going to turn up my nose at any of that stuff but I think the one thing for me is I love being a part of the drama. Whether it’s on the field, court, if it’s a big injury that we have to follow and I’m at Ohio State’s hotel at 5am the day of the USC game, I love that stuff. I like the rush of it all. I love following stories and getting to know the players and them telling you the inside scoop. It’s really a good time for me. I love being a snoop, seeing what the coaches are saying or watching the trainers try to hide stuff from me that they’re bringing out for an injured player. It’s just really fun.

I can't say that I'm surprised. I mean when your two favorite sites are People.com and TMZ.com, AND you're an attractive female, your path is basically laid out in front of you. I could honestly see EA with Kevin Frazier on Entertainment Tonight within the next two years.

Catching Up With ESPN Sideline Reporter Erin Andrews (Sports Business Daily - $)
Will Erin Andrews Bolt ESPN To Cover Hollywood? (SbB)