I'm not quite sure how old this commercial is, but it cracked me up when I saw it this morning. My favorite player in the NBA used to be Brian Scalabrine (for obvious reasons), but I think I'm making the switch after this....

I think it's safe to say that last year's promo featuring Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" can't be topped, but this year's commercial for the Winter Classic has me pretty amped.

Photos of this video shoot came out a few weeks ago, but TNT PR has just released the first videos of Rainn Wilson doing spots for TNT Basketball with the likes of Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas, Derrick Rose and Deron Williams. The premise is that Rainn is a personal cabbie for the NBA stars, and of course....hilarity ensues. Here is the Dwight Howard one....

It's no secret that Peyton Manning owns the television game, and anyone who's in a spot with him is assured that it will be gold. Well in his latest Sony commercial, Peyton has so company with him. Not only is he playing ping-pong with Justin Timberlake, but Erin Andrews even makes an appearance!

I know it's taboo to call Brett Favre annoying these days, and it's probably best to try and ignore him, but the guy makes it virtually impossible. You all know about the Wrangler ads, where the "childlike" Favre plays touch Football in the mud with a bunch of white dudes, right? Well Favre is filming a new commercial for Sears, and get this....he plays a guy who can't make up is mind about a television. Brilliant!

The TV spot, scheduled to air in early September, launches the Sears Blue Electronics Crew campaign, which includes print, events marketing, social media and public relations. The TV commercial features Favre agonizing over selecting a new LED television. The scene unfolds through a discussion between Favre and a member of the Sears Blue Electronics Crew (actor Brad Morris from "The Second City" comedy club in Chicago). The two banter as Favre is undecided on his decision about a Samsung LED TV. In one scene, Morris describes Sears "real time price checks - no regrets"(SM) - as a way to help guys who have a tough time making decisions. "You know the type, right?" Morris says. "Yeah, I hate those guys," Favre quips.

"This commercial uses humor to communicate messages about what differentiates Sears and the Sears Blue Electronics Crew from the competition," said Karen Austin, president of home electronics for Sears. "From our real time price checks to selection of top brands to our expert sales consultants, financing options and installation, there are very compelling reasons to choose Sears for your next TV or electronics purchase. And Brett is a terrific sport in having fun with the topic of choosing a TV. Brett embodies the excitement and passion that our customers feel as they anticipate the start of football season and that comes through in the commercial."

Roger Federer took out Andy Roddick over the weekend, to notch his fifteenth major championship, and Nike put together a pretty cool ad to honor the accomplishment. Here is the spot featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and John McEnroe....

Anytime you rock some mid-90s R&B in an ad, I'm going to pay attention. But when you ruin it with the stupid Kobe puppet....I just turn it off. The idea was clever at first, but hopefully we never have to see these dumb puppets again....

There was one point in time when Joe Buck made me laugh. I think I was 12 at the time, but that's besides the point. In his first commercial for his now show, Joe Buck Live, the Buckster has once again made me chuckle. Here's your first look at the spot for the show which debuts on June 15th at 9pm....

Well they don't exactly "do" Sports Center per se, but rather sing the intro song as annoyingly as possible for 20 seconds. For some reason Nike managed to get the Kobe and Lebron puppets onto the Sports Center set, and this is what they came up with....

If you've been reading blogs for awhile, you almost certainly know about the crazy yet genius Free Darko. Well Adidas has also recognized the site's brilliance, and has decided to use some of Bethlehem Shoals' illustrations that he used in "The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac", and turn them into a commercial. Here's a look at the Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose spots....

Saturday Night Live had their season finale last night, and mixed in among the Will Ferrell favorites was a hilarious sketch involving TNT Basketball. The sketch show mocked the advertisements on Inside The NBA for other TNT shows, with a show called "Mark", and here's the hilarious video....

When I first saw this commercial, I thought I somehow stumbled on an episode of Crank Yankers, but it's actually a new Nike commercial which features puppet versions of Kobe and Lebron. Via First Cuts....

This is the brand new "Angels and Demons" spot that aired last night during the Magic-Celtics game, and I want to share it not for its coolness, but rather for the fact that it creeped the hell out of me. Especially the opening five seconds....

Sure it's for pretzels, and sure it's for frozen ones, but just hearing his voice makes you want to smile. Via Sports by Brooks....

I've long enjoyed the Coors Light coaching commercials. Well, I take that back. I enjoy the coaches part, but the actors who play the dudes in the crowd are terrible. They should really just play the original clip and be done with it. Anyway, ESPN analyst Herm Edwards will be the latest to get a commercial, and naturally it will feature his famous "You play to win the game!" speech, from 2002. Via Sports Business Journal....

Former Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets coach Herm Edwards is the latest coach to sign on for the Coors Light team. Edwards, now an ESPN football analyst, will join the lineup of former NFL coaches whose press conference clips are used in ads touting the NFL’s official beer. Other coaches in the series have included Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh and Brian Billick. Bill Cowher, another Super Bowl-winning former coach, turned down an opportunity to appear in the campaign. The campaign, from Draft FCB, uses actual press conference footage to construct fake exchanges between the former coaches and Coors Light fanatics posing as reporters.

I'm not sure if I'm breaking any news here, because last night's Playoff games were the first I've watched, but the Wolverine promo with Chuck and Kenny is hilarious. Check it out....

I don't know what it is with Sports commercials lately, but they've been popping up all over the place. Gillette's latest effort, which debuted on the big screen at Yankee Stadium today, features it's three pitchmen (Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Derek Jeter) walking through New York City ala John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever". Here's your first look....

"Mini-mercials" are the latest craze to hit television, and ESPN will begin airing them this May. You probably have noticed the little spots during PTI breaks to keep you glued to the ads, but these will be different. Instead of the hosts jumping back on randomly, digital billboards will appear for certain companies before segments. Via the New York Times....

Beginning May 15, Coors will begin a two-month campaign of the new 10-second billboards, called mini-mercials, that will run during evening “SportsCenter” segments on ESPN. Miller Lite will begin its campaign in mid-July.

MillerCoors will be the most extensive user of mini-mercials, but will not be the first. Asics, the manufacturer of sports shoes and sports apparel, began a short flight on last Friday evening’s “SportsCenter” that will run through the end of this month.

TV ad buying for both MillerCoors and Asics is handled by the media agency Initiative, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. MC Media is a dedicated agency for MillerCoors that was created last fall and is a partnership between creative agency Draft FCB and Initiative.

The goal of the mini-mercial on ESPN is to bring more action to the traditional TV billboard that leads into “SportsCenter” segments. Typically, billboards leading into a program simply show the logo of the sponsor of that segment.

Kanye West was recently knocked down a few pegs by South Park, but apparently he's back on his game in this new NBA Playoffs commercial. The song is "Amazing", and after splicing in a few announcers saying the word (namely Marv Albert), this is what you get. Via Alana G....

NBC and Versus are readying themselves for the Playoffs and today you'll start seeing commercials for the NHL postseason on various channels across your cable dial. The Versus one is called "Look Up", and features the tagline "378,000 seconds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Don’t miss a single one.", while the NBC spot is titled "The Cup Changes Everything." Here's they are together back to back in this Youtube clip....