Back Porch Current Events

Neither the Daily Show nor the Colbert Report delve into the sports realm all that often. However, the current Philadelphia-New York rivalry has apparently stoked enough passion in Jersey-born Jon Stewart (he's right in the middle, yo!) for him to send correspondents Jason Jones and John Oliver out on the street to measure the rivalry.

But, per usual, they're not just looking at the fans -- they're deciding which fans are more awful (or "bigger douches" as the clip actually says like 150 times; should you be afraid that such a phrase will not be popular on your office speakers, consider yourself forewarned). And they have real, live clips, which are hysterical, of course. "Clash of the Cretins" video, courtesy of the CC Insider, after the jump.

Is it all the rage to make silly comments in the announcing booth these days? Because, between Bob Griese's taco pop and what Gus Johnson dropped on Sunday, well, it sure seems like announcers are becoming less aware of what they say these days.

Oh, you didn't hear what Gus dropped as Tennessee's Chris Johnson was ripping off a long touchdown run? How about: "First down and 10. Johnson ... gets his shoulders square! Watch out! He's got gettin' away from the cops speed! Touchdown!" Emphasis there was mine (as much as it can be with Mr. Johnson, anyway) and sure, he's got a pretty good reason to think that CJ might be running from the cops -- after all, the Titans running back did attend ECU (I kid, I kid). But my pro-Wolfpack biases aside, if Gus happens to be -- as Brian Powell pointed out -- say, Jim Nantz, this probably doesn't go over quite as well.

Vid after the jump, natch.

Last week the New York Times reported that President Barack Obama was criticized by women's advocates and liberal bloggers for hosting male-only pick-up basketball games.

The Times continues:

This Sunday, Brett Favre returns to Lambeau Field for the first time as a member of the Vikings. For many (read: all) Packers fans, this will be a bit of a tough pill to swallow. However, 105.7 WAPL (The Rockin' Apple, y'all!) in Green Bay would just as soon not deal with "emotions" or "reality."

Instead, they're just going to "kill" Favre.

William and Mary, Virginia's first university (and the second-oldest university in the country), achieved another milestone Saturday: the college crowned its first transgender homecoming queen. Jessee Vasold made history at halftime of the James Madison-W&M game.

According to the student paper the Flat Hat, "Vasold identifies as gender-queer and prefers to be referred to with gender neutral pronouns: 'ze' in place of he or she and 'zir' rather than him or her."

Vasold admitted to being surprised by the news. Via the Daily Press' Melinda Waldrop:

Kate Lacey (or Katie Lacey, according to the post), a Senior VP at ESPN, was one of the names that Deadspin dropped earlier this week when they examined, using reader-submitted rumors, the "sexual depravity" within Bristol. ESPN responded yesterday with a statement calling that examination both "despicable" and "rumor mongering."

Turns out, AJ Daulerio's editorial commentary in this instance was actually spot on: the New York Post confirmed Friday morning in a story titled "2 ESPN Execs Playing Around" that Lacey is indeed in a relationship with co-worker David Berson.

Never thought I'd say this but Heath Shuler might be a better quarterback than politician.

In February, the former Redskins QB-turned-Democratic Congressman told the Associated Press that "In order for us to get the confidence of America, [the stimulus bill] has to be done in a bipartisan way ... I truly feel that's where maybe House leadership and Senate leadership have really failed."

Which prompted Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to offer this: "Let me get this straight -- this is coming from a guy who threw more than twice as many interceptions than touchdowns?"

Well, guess who's back under center? That's right, for one day only, those fans who spent good money on Heath Shuler jerseys after the 'Skins selected him with third-overall pick in the 1994 draft will have the opportunity to wear them again.

Michael Vick is headed to the Bay Area this weekend as the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to embarrass play the Oakland Raiders in a little game we like to call football. But, contrary to what you might expect (since he's doing a worldwide goodwill tour paying visits to animal shelters), Vick will not be visiting dogs that were rescued from his fighting ring.

Vick was given the opportunity by BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls, the group that took in 10 of his dogs) to stop by and he has declined the offer, which upset BAD RAP co-founder Tim Racer.

"Inside Edition" hasn't been quite the same since Bill O'Reilly was bringing his homespun folksiness to the show back in the '90s. But even if it's not as tabloid-y as it once was, "Inside Edition" is still doing the hard-hitting, investigative journalism that made Carl Monday an Internet sensation.

In the wake of the Erin Andrews peephole video, and the revelation that the hotel had fulfilled alleged perp Michael David Barrett's request for a room next to Andrews, "Inside Edition" went deep undercover to see if hotels had since taken precautions to avoid such celebrity-stalker situations from happening again.

The short answer: nope.

Rush Limbaugh, radio personality, has made a handsome living out of spreading his brand of conservatism. Bart Scott is an NFL linebacker, outspoken about most things, including politics.

During the 2006 mid-term elections Scott, then with the Ravens, spoke about his political philosophy with USA Today's Skip Wood.

"We get a break by that, but then our family members are overtaxed. You know, tax cuts for the rich. Well, it's a Catch-22. Do you want to save more of your money, when you can afford to pay the taxes, or do you want your families to save more of their money, when sometimes maybe they're really being burdened? A lot of guys say, 'Now that I've got money, I'm going to have to vote Republican, but I'll go back to being a Democrat when I retire.' To me, that's just selfish."