Blue Jackets Win First-Ever Playoff Game

I’ve been waiting fourteen years to say this, but the Columbus Blue Jackets FINALLY won a playoff game. They have only made the playoffs one other time since they joined the NHL as an expansion franchise in 2000. They were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 2009

After losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game of the series, the Blue Jackets beat the Penguins in double-overtime on Saturday night. Matt Calvert scored the winning goal.

The series now goes to Nationwide Arena in Columbus tied 1-1 for games three and four.

Can the Blue Jackets pull off the upset and win the series?

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Toy Crazy: The Definitive WWF LJN Checklist

I know we all had toys as a kid that either got destroyed or sold by your parents at a yard sale. Well, a lot of those toys now go for big money on eBay. In particular, the WWF LJN line of toys from the 80’s.

The WWF LJN line had figures of recognizable fame (Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Bret Hart, Macho Man, etc). They made standard 8-inch figures, Bendies, 16-inch figures, thumb wrestlers & even Stretch Armstrong-like toys.

Many collectors like collecting LJNs because there are many variants in the line. Many aren’t widely-considered variants, but just slight production errors. Once LJN went out of business in 1989, Canadian toy company Grand Toys took over production for the last series.

I contacted a few hardcore WWF LJN collectors and spoke to them about variants and decided to make a definitive list for those collecting action figures and the posters that accompany the standard figures (yes, there are even poster variants).

Here is the definitive WWF LJN checklist with all the widely accepted known variants for the standard figures, Bendies, Thumb Wrestlers, 16-inch figures, Stretch wrestlers and Posters.

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Ranked: All 95 Weezer Songs Ranked

Rolling Stone recently ranked every Nirvana song as a tribute on the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. This inspired me to do the same with a few of my favorite artists.

I’ve been a fan of Weezer since I heard my brother playing his “Blue Album” cassette tape. I’ve saw them in concert a few times since and they are still one of my favorite bands of all-time.

We’ve ranked all 95 songs Weezer have released on standard albums. If I added all their B-sides and covers, this list would be a lot longer…and their track “Susanne” would be very high.

Here is our ranked list of all 85 Weezer songs in descending order…and we’ve included some videos.

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2014 NBA Championship Betting Odds

Now that the NBA regular season is over, ‘real’ basketball begins. We will no longer hear about tanking or listen to Bill Simmons flip every NBA discussion into something Boston Celtics-related.

The NBA Playoffs should be fun this year. The Miami Heat have looked vulnerable during the regular season. There’s handful of teams that have a realistic shot at winning the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The first round has some nice matchups. Warriors/Clippers, Grizzlies/Thunder and Trail Blazers/Rockets all have my interest peaked.

Can the Pacers rebound from a late-season slump?

Here are the 2014 NBA Championship betting odds.

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The 10 Best Ultimate Warrior Videos

I’m a huge wrestling nerd and when I found out the Ultimate Warrior passed away less than 24 hours after appeared on Monday Night Raw, I was speechless.

The Ultimate Warrior was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up. I didn’t care about his lack of actual wrestling ability, but as a kid, none of that really mattered. He would sprint to the ring, shake the ropes and beat the bad guy. That’s all a kid really wants.

Later in life, I realize he was a flawed person, but aren’t we all.

There are quite a few videos of the Ultimate Warrior that are quite unflattering (mostly when he went ultra-Conservative and said some anti-gay remarks), but I chose to feature only videos of him in character. Enjoy!

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10 MLB Players Who Pronounce Their Name Wrong

Have you ever watched baseball and heard the play-by-play guy say a player’s name and wonder who the hell he is talking about? It even happens to me and I’m a huge baseball fan.

I know the influx of Latino talent has caused some confusion, but this list doesn’t contain anyone from Latin countries. I focused on players that linguistically, it doesn’t make much sense to pronounce their name ‘correct’.

A few of these players have even played on my favorite team and thought their name was pronounced a lot different than what ‘correct.’

We list ten didn’t baseball players and spell out their pronunciation phonetically. Do you agree with this list?

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Sports Crush: The Bella Twins

We’ve written a handful of ‘Sports Crush’ posts since we launched AmericasWhiteBoy.com a few years ago. We’ve spotlighted sportscasters, female MMA fighters, Olympians and WWE Divas Summer Rae, A.J. Lee & Paige. The response was so great, we decided to double the pleasure by featuring The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella & Brie Bella).

The Bella Twins have been in the WWE for a few years, with a brief hiatus in 2012. Those who don’t watch WWE, but love reality television, you will recognize them from E!’s “Total Divas” reality show.

You have seen a lot of them lately, because they are beautiful AND it helps that they are dating the two most popular WWE superstars, John Cena & Daniel Bryan.

We are crushing on The Bella Twins and once you look at our photo gallery, you will understand why.

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2014 NFL Mock Draft – Jadeveon Clowney #1?

Now that all the major pro days are over and all the scouts have seen the top prospects in person, the draft board is taking shape.

The recent pro days of Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel ‘wowed’ scouts and have been the talk of sports media. I don’t know how much a pro day really matters in the overall scheme of things, but they can majorly help a player’s draft stock. Both players did just that, there stock is as high as ever.

Many of the teams picking in the top 10 need quarterbacks. Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr and Manziel are all in play to be taken in the first round. A team in the second round could even trade up to take a sleeper, like Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo or Alabama’s A.J. McCarron.

Here is the first round of our 2014 NFL Mock Draft.

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Dead Wrestlers List: When and How They Died

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t watch pro wrestling. My dad and grandfather used to watch it all the time and I was enamored by the wrestlers on the TV screen.

As many people my age, I grew up in the age of Hulkamania. I always wanted him to win, but that character got old. I found myself liking “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Andre the Giant and Junk Yard Dog. I think that is when I legitimately fell in love with wrestling and not just the festival around Hulk Hogan.

The life of a professional wrestler is difficult. The road isn’t kind and bad habits can take over one’s life.

As the years went by, I’ve started seeing all my favorite WWE, WWF, WCW & ECW wrestlers die off at an alarming rate. I often wondered how they died. I made this list for those who are fans of wrestling and are interested in how their favorite wrestler passed away. Continue reading →

Sweetbob’s Hipster Music Playlist: April 2014

I decided to super-size this month’s playlist with 15 songs (again). April is usually a bit light when it comes to new music, but I found some good ones.

I always keep an ear out for new music. I love discovering new bands/songs, it’s a habit from my days as a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture content.

I have been called a hipster on more than one occasion. I like indie music more than any other genre of music. Don’t get me wrong, I can rock out to Richard Marx or Ace of Base (depending on the amount of alcohol in my system).

Here are 15 new indie songs I’m currently listening to. All of the songs are fresh and most have only been released within the last two months.

Your ears will thank you for listening! Continue reading →

2014 MLB Team Preview: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals season ended when Bryce Harper went ‘balls out’ crashing into the outfield wall. He injured his knee and just about everything else. The injuries lingered and was never the same. He gained muscle this offseason and looks like he should go pee in a cup for someone. He’s bound to have a breakout year.

The Nationals missed the playoffs by a few games and they kept every key player. They didn’t go out and break the bank on free agents. The front office knows that they just had a down year and the current roster could compete for a World Series ring this season.

Can Stephen Strasburg’s new slider be the missing piece for a Cy Young award-winning campaign?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Washington Nationals.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays were the popular pick to make a big leap in 2013. Well, we got the right division for the surprise team (Boston), but Toronto found themselves in the basement of the AL East.

The additions of Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson didn’t pay off at all. Reyes broke his ankle and was out until almost the All-Star Break, Johnson looked like a Four-A pitcher and then Jose Bautista suffered an injury that ended his season early. Can Toronto be a playoff team if both stay healthy all season?

Can R.A. Dickey regain control of his knuckleball?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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