The U.S. isn’t the only place where basketball is a big deal. The sport is incredibly popular in China, where both local stars as well as NBA icons are household names. Well, sort of, because they’re perhaps more widely known by their colorful nicknames. LeBron James In the U.S., the most dominant player of the […]
Sometimes a film director or other entertainment creative is so unhappy with the way a movie turned out that they don’t even want their names publicly associated with it. For decades, the solution was to attribute the movie to a fictional, pseudonymous director named “Alan Smithee.” Here are some entries from “his” filmography. City in […]
Will you be one of the one billion or so people who will sit down and watch a 2018 World Cup match? Maybe you’ll witness yet another bizarre at this, the most popular sporting event in the world. Stay hydrated Many players of all different sports have certain in-game rituals to which they must adhere. […]
There are certain tunes out there you’ve heard a million times but you never know the name of…because they don’t have any lyrics. But they’re just as familiar as “Hey Jude” or “White Christmas.” At long last, here’s what those songs are called. Black tie string quartet When a rough-around-the-edges character in a movie finds […]
What are “the yips”? It’s sports slang for when an athlete chokes under pressure…or makes a rapid, and spectacular collapse. Hey, they’re only human—and here are some the worst instances of the yips in sports history. Ernie Els The yips can even affect the all-time greats, like Els, at one time the top-ranked golfer in […]
Let’s take a look at all some guys in history who have been called the “father of” some notable innovation. The Yellow School Bus In the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, educator and writer Frank W. Cyr was one of the nation’s foremost experts on rural education, and how to properly school all those kids who […]
Two of baseball’s most famous curses have been “lifted”—the Curse of the Bambino, which supposed that Babe Ruth leaving Boston for the Yankees meant the Red Sox would never win a World Series was broken in 2004, while the man with a goat kicked out of Wrigley Field proclaimed the Cubs would never go all […]
In 1892, Canada’s Governor General Lord Stanley donated the trophy that now bears his name to be awarded to the country’s top ice hockey team. Today, it’s the coveted prize for NHL champions…who tend to misplace the thing, even though it’s gigantic and famous. Into the canal The Ottawa Hockey Club or “Silver Seven” won […]
The beloved chef, food writer, and TV host who brought the world—and its flavors—into our homes has passed away at the age of 61. Here’s a look back on the life of a man who lived with No Reservations. Don’t Eat Before You Read This After working for years in some of New York’s best […]
Summer is almost upon us, which means one thing: the excuse to eat ice cream every day. Can you find somewhere in your strict schedule of chocolate, vanilla, and mint chip to try one of these oddball ice cream flavors? Lobster ice cream Maine’s most famous export is lobster, but the people who live there […]
Every professional athlete wants to win a championship for their team. It’s the culmination of a season, or career, and the ultimate in glory on the field, court, or diamond. Beyond beating all comers, there are other advantages to winning a title—as in a substantial cash bonus. KENTUCKY DERBY On the first Saturday in May, […]
Solo, a Star Wars prequel about the early days of Han Solo—played in the original films by Harrison Ford—is currently filling up multiplexes. Here are some things you might not have known about the galaxy’s most charismatic space smuggler. The space pirate ship In early drafts of the movie that became Star Wars: A New […]
On behalf of dads and fathers everywhere—don’t get your pop another tie or some kind of golf-related item or barbecue accessory this Father’s Day. He hates wearing ties, and he has all the golf balls and novelty aprons he’s ever going to need. Let Uncle John help you pick out the perfect gift for Dad—a […]
The 2018 Stanley Cup Finals will pit the Washington Capitals against the Vegas Golden Knights. If you don’t follow hockey closely, did you even know that there was a team in Las Vegas? There is, and they’re making history. First* The 2017-18 season is the Vegas Golden Knights’ inaugural season. Expansion teams are traditionally terrible—it […]
Another exciting baseball season has begun, so here’s a look at some of the zaniest and wonderful contributions to Major League Baseball by one the game’s most innovative and entertaining owner, Bill Veeck (1914–1986), who once held stakes in the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. Park-wide singing of “Take Me Out […]
With the NBA Playoffs underway, basketball is all about drama and excitement at the moment. Sometimes, however, pro basketball is just downright strange. How foul Bubba Wells played just one year in the NBA, as a reserve for the Dallas Mavericks. In a tight, December 1997 game against the Chicago Bulls, Mavericks coach Don Nelson […]
Selling a lifestyle and a brand and customer loyalty…but it only seems to work with the beer itself. Budweiser Black Crown Tired and alarmed at how “microbrews” or “craft brews”—strongly flavored, potent, regionally-produced beers—were cutting into their sales, Budweiser introduced its own craft brew-like product in early 2013. Like those upstarts Budweiser Black Crown was […]
…and other big, brazen thefts of huge amounts of very specific foods. The Nutella heist Nutella—a mixture of ground hazelnuts, chocolate, and a lot of sugar—is peanut butter’s sassy European cousin. People on both sides of the Atlantic are wild about it, particularly in Western Europe, and they’ll apparently do anything to get more of […]
