The Kardashian Kurse?

In light of Lamar Odom's recent argument and benching from the Dallas Mavericks, I have to wonder if there really is a curse surrounding the Kadashian men.

To review, Kim and Khole have been fans of pro sports stars, but unlike the rest of us (or just me) they actually date and marry them.  Khole's record has been better than Kim's in terms of marriage and dating, but outside of TV ratings, how have the husbands really fared?

Khloe and Lamar

Don't get me wrong, Khloe is by far my favorite Kardashian. She's the type of chick who can out drink Dick Cheney, give him hell for his bad aim, then go outshoot him off GW's back porch.  But, despite how awesome she is, Lamar is having a slump.  His recent benching has really been the icing on the cake...the trade from the Lakers to the Mavs, the troubles off the court...lets look at his income over the past 10 years or so. (all figures are from www.celebritynetworth.com, so blame them if this isn't accurate!)

He starts off making a modest 2.5 million contract with the Lakers in 1999, and receives raises each year until 2009, where he tapped out at a little over 14 million a year.  2010 he gets traded to the Mavericks, and his contract is for only 7.5 million.

What else happened in 2009? Oh, he got married to Khloe. Coincidence?

Kim and Reggie

Kim and Reggie started dating in 2007. (FYI Reggie Bush is a New Orlenas Saints NFL player who won the Heisman trophy out of college). In 2007 he signed a contract with the Saint's totaling a touch over 7 million. Not so shabby. However..by the end of the 2007 season he was missing games due to a torn ligament in his leg. His health problems followed him throughout 2008, and by 2009 he was having historic lows in all categories.  

His luck did turn around by the end of the 2009 season in the playoffs against the Cardinals and was a major help in the Super bowl game that year.  They broke up apparently in 2009, and then got back together again for that Super Bowl win where he did not propose to her as the media reported. They finally split for good in 2010. 

Reggie Bush was under investigation for receiving perks and benefits while in college that were against NCAA rules for years before this, but the allegations came to a head and Bush was stripped of the trophy only a few months after he and Kim split. 

Okay, maybe she can't be to blame for his injuries or the stuff he took in college, but another Kardashian man down the tubes.

Kim and Kris

Do I even need to recap his career, or their "whirlwind" romance? 

So, what do you think? Do you think there is a Kardashain kurse? 

Things my husband hates...

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but my husband has very strong,very random opinions about things.  Today's source of anger?

Sophie's French Bakery. The guy who will gladly eat shitty wings at smoke filled bars has immense consternation at sitting a nice cafe with good coffee and baked goods. 

Sigh. 

It's been a while!

Wow, a lot has been going on since last time I posted. Tim Tebow is in NYC , Peyton Manning is in Denver, and Mr Khloe Kardashian is benched after a big fight with Mark Cuban (shark tank!)

But what I really wanted to talk about today is the new throw back uniforms that he Steelers debuted.

Have you SEEN these things? It looks like something the hamburgler would wear after he got caught stealing some fries.

I wonder if there was any thought to the irony of the steelers legal dramas and the new uniforms. Let's look at their line up (ha ha)

Obviously there is Big Ben, who blessed us with the awesome line "take my shots, bitches"'. Who can turn down a guy like that, especially after his second allegation of sexual harassment. I wonder if that was how he got his wife?

Haines Ward, who I love so much, found himself with a DUI charge last year. (I have a long rant about NFL players and DUIs coming, be warned).

Santonio Holmes. Although he isn't a Steeler anymore, he was their MVP and their first round draft pick, so he still counts. So does his marijuana possessions, several assault cases and an Alex Baldwin-esque refusal to turnoff his iPhone. Props to you, my friend!

What is your take on the uniforms? Does any other team have horrible ones that should be highlighted?

Tiger's back?

Its been a sad time since football has ended, at least for me. Daytona 500? Meh. Basketball...let me know when the play offs start. Too many games to really get interested. But, as I have recently found out, there is at least one blog worthy battle happening, in golf of all places. 

As I type this, there is a show down happening between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. McIlroy, for those (like me) who aren't into golf, is a young kid from England who has been blowing up the PGA for a few years. I was busy watching Tiger implode and marveling at the hot pink outfits of Paula Creamer, and missed this kid who apparently graduated from hogwarts. 

At this PGA tour in Florida today, Rory is dominating, but Tiger is coming back. This is his best round in a long, long time, at least since he got bashed by a nine iron in his front yard. 

It has to make you wonder what has changed though. The Internet blew up last year when he started dating again, but his golf game was still suffering. Makes me think that maybe his magic was in his philandering.  And if i'm right (it's my blog so obviously I am) then maybe he is back to his old ways. And if so, does anyone have the right to say anything now that he is a single, unattached guy? 

Makes you wonder if the scandal would have gone down differently had he admitted to the source of his power right off the bat? 

Well its over..

That's right folks, football season is DONE!

You know what that means? Free Sundays! (And Monday nights, and Thursdays...) Ladies, this is our time to reclaim Sundays. For the next few weekends, with football still fresh in their mind, we can monopolize Sundays and try to even out the score.

My plans for this Sunday? Brunch and then the state fair, plus a nice dinner tonight. Only a few more weeks though, then we have National signing day, the draft, and endless predictions of where Peyton Manning will end up. (Sickly, I'm kind of excited to see)

How long until you start missing the Sunday sports, even just a *tiny* bit? I give myself 6 weeks...

Are you smarter than a NFL Quarterback?

Have you all heard of the Wonderlic exam? This thing is pretty interesting. Essentially, its the SAT's for college quarterbacks. It has 50 questions and last 12 minutes and is supposed to test a qb's ability to make quick decisions, pattern formation, etc.

Because you know, algebra is SO essential in football, right?

But, with the draft coming up, I was wondering who had the highs and lows and how it actually reflected on their playing ability. The average score is 21, and the highest reported contemporary player got a 48 in NINE minutes. That would be Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills quarterback and Harvard graduate. With a 3.7 GPA. In economics. Hopefully this means he will invest his millions of dollars well, and not end up on a VH1 show after his NFL career.

So if he is the current highest, who is the lowest? Good ol' Wikipedia (confirmed by Walters Football Site...not sure how reputable it is, but accuracy isn't REALLY what this site is about) states that Vince Young supposedly scored a 6 on his first try. Which means he got his name right? Maybe? He apparently retook the test, and got a 16. I'm pretty sure all that "jump" indicates is that he is a bad guesser. 

However, maybe the big test is of emotional intelligence. Vince Young ended up having a huge blow out and Terrell Owens style melt downs, and got traded to be the back up QB to Michael Vick of the Eagles. Yep, backup to the guy who organized dog fighting. Bet he never anticipated his career ending THAT way...

This is the guy who scored a 48?

After reading about the test, of course I wanted to know how I would do. I have a college degree (2!) and a Masters...I must do okay on the test, right? (Good god I hope I do) 

On ESPN's fake Wonderlic indicator (i'm sure its as accurate as that mood ring I had in middle school) I got 11 out of the 15 fake questions in the 5 minutes. Maybe I should give Ryan Fitzpatrick a call?

Try is! How did you do? 

Vegan athletes

I have recently gone vegan - survived four months of no cheese, which is a minor miracle!I have received all kinds of flak from my (male) co workers regarding my new diet, generally as they wolf down their 2nd helping of Popeyes.  I read a lot of vegan food blogs for recipe ideas and inspiration, and recently was on bodybuilding.com for some protein powder. I got to thinking - if they make this stuff, there has to be an audience outside of people like me.

Sure enough, there are quite a few. Not exactly what I would picture as vegans though. The first article I found was called "The 247lb vegan". That's one big dude, and none other than Tony Gonzalez, the hall of famer tight end.

Not exactly a small guy!

Another guy who I have never heard of, Mac Tanzig, is an MMA fighter who is vegan. He is a terrifying guy (MMA is kind of scary all together. But that's a whole other blog post). He apparently has gone vegan for ethical reasons. Ironic that a guy who professionally beats up people for a living feels bad about eating meat..

gross

The very, very best though is that there is a whole web site dedicated to vegan body builders. Its like this secret network of huge guys who share tofu recipes as they get oiled up in their mankini. Gross, but kind of fascinating. Their daily diets resemble elephants. 

And just the other day I read that the Williams sister's are not only going vegan, but raw too. That is intense - I wonder if they will look any differently now?

Any other athletes that you know that are vegan? And more importantly, will the Williams sisters start to look different on this raw diet?