thesportsfag | my gay sport's blog

University of Ohio assistant and son of Toronto Maple Leaf’s GM Brian Burke was killed in a two-car accident on a snowy road in Indiana on Friday.

Brendan Burke, who was 21, was featured on ESPN earlier this year for his touching coming out story and his acceptance within the hockey world. To me his story was symbolic of our youth’s acceptance of homosexuality and how quickly the perceptions about being gay can change once it’s in your own backyard.

Rest in peace Brendan Burke and thanks for your courage.

You can read the ESPN story on Brendan Burke here.

The website SportsByBrooks is reporting that the NCAA’s proposal to expand the college basketball tournament is a done deal.

According to an unnamed source at ESPN who was quoted on the website

“It’s a done deal with the expansion of the tournament. Depending on how soon a (TV) deal is done, the added teams could start next year. The NCAA confirmed that bidders would be interested in 96 teams, so they’re going with it.”

I was skeptical at first but then I heard it reported on the Colin Cowherd show on ESPN radio just a few minutes ago.

I’m not one of these guys who thinks it will destroy March Madness, after all didn’t we all love Hoosiers? Yes, it does make the regular season even more meaningless but it’s almost there with 64 tournament teams.

I do find it somewhat laughable that the NCAA continues using the student/athlete argument when explaining why they haven’t embraced a college football playoff, while at the same time expanding the NCAA tournament.

Hopefully the post season NIT will go out of business.

Today a CBS spokesman informed representatives of the gay dating site mancrunch.com that their Super Bowl ad space is sold out and therefore they will not be able to air the gay dating sites’ 30-second $2.5M ad.

CORRECTION/UPDATE: Per CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs

“After reviewing the ad, which is entirely commercial in nature, our standards and practices department decided not to accept this particular spot,” CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs told CNN. “We are always open to working with a client on alternative submissions.”

CBS has every right to broadcast whatever they see as fit for their audience. Is it right? No it’s business.

However, each company also must deal with the consequences of their actions; gay groups and supporters have every right to voice their opinion and vote with their wallet, or in this case their eyeballs. I see this as comparable to when the Dixie Chicks voiced their disapproval of George Bush while on tour overseas; they have the right to express whatever opinion they want to, but don’t act like a victim when the consequences of your actions roll around.

Another thing to consider is that CBS rejects ads based on several arbitrary factors so I wouldn’t be too quick to judge until we get the full story. However, it does strike me as odd that CBS also rejected the United Church of Christ ad promoting a more liberal view of an all accepting god/church while choosing to air the Tim Tebow Fuckus on the Family anti-abortion ad.

We will never know the full story on this one but it does appear that CBS ‘has sum splaining to do’ and the gay and pro-life communities are free to react however they feel is necessary. That’s what makes our country great, this isn’t Iran.

As far as mancrunch.com is concerned I feel somewhat skeptical about letting this little known website — as is ours — be the torch bearer for our rights. IMHO they knew the rejection of this ad would garner lots of press attention and traffic.

To me it would be a totally different story if CBS rejected an ad for say moveon.org, oh wait a minute they already have. CBS you really do have some splaining to do on the arbitrary nature of your selection process.

I understand most straight men are OK with gays as long as we are not all up in their grill about it, so I see this as a glass half-full publicity stunt/’controversy’. Could you imagine any gay business even considering buying ad time just ten years ago? Hells No!

So is this ad for real or is this website in it just for the publicity? Who knows, but I do know this; we have come a long way just to get to this point.

For obvious reasons one of my favorite things to fantasize about is the weigh-in at the NFL’s annual combine in February. Hot, young, muscled, college-football jocks stripping down to their sponsored underwear and stepping on the scale, while bi-curious NFL scouts and coaches snap photos; soon to be hidden in some obscure file on their personal laptop, viewed only when the ‘no-balls-and-chain’ is asleep.

Isn’t America great? As far as spring rituals go, the NFL combine’s weigh-in is right up there with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. Yet with the NFL combine just weeks away those horned up guys at the NFL offices couldn’t wait, so they scheduled a preliminary pageant at the Senior Bowl in Mobile on Monday.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining at all. I just find it somewhat odd that these ’straight’ old dudes need/want to see these guys in their underwear twice within six weeks. Really?!? How much is gonna change in sex, er I mean six week?

No wonder we haven’t had an NFL coach or scout come out of the closet, they have all this free soft porn. And just like in any real-life group sex scene, as soon as the hotties get down to underwear there’s always the creepy, Jeff Foxworthy dude trying to get in on the action.

For more college football jocks you can check out out 2009 Top 25 College Football Hotties Review.

These rumors just in from the ‘duh, no-shit’ department.

Tebow not ready for NFL QB
It appears that former Gator hottie Tim Tebow is sucking big time at the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, AL. NFL scouts are tweeting about bad mechanics and off-target throws from the Fuck-us on the Family spokesman, can anyone say tight end?

Jay Cutler scares off offensive coordinators in Chicago
Another story line making the rounds at the Senior Bowl practices, the Bears are having a hard time finding an OC because of two situations:
1. The unsettled nature of head coach Lovie Smith’s future
2. Having to coach Jay Cutler

(source NBC News)