All about Sam

If you have been a fan of Stiletto Sports for awhile than you know Sam has already been named my  Hottie of the Week, Hot College QB of the NFL Draft, SportsMan of Style.…and has been mentioned in dozens of articles. If I didn’t adore him so much, I would feel guilty about selecting him yet again, when there are hundreds of other super fine talented athletes just waiting for their chance to be the first SportsMan of Style for Fall 2010.

But after Sunday’s St Louis Rams-Washington Redskins game, I had to pick Sam! Sam just got his first professional win as quarterback for the St Louis Rams. And it was against  veteran Donovan McNabb and the Redskins who had been starting the season out with a bang!

Plus, I adore him, this is my site, and to my knowledge Sam Bradford does not have an official website yet, so I may promote him and love him up as much as possible!

Why We Love Him:

What is not to adore about this boyishly charming man? With his baby-face good looks, he barely seemed old enough to be in college when he was playing for the Sooners! Now he’s a starring NFL quarterback! As I once said, when he was still at Oklahoma University, “He makes me want to be back in college—fake ID and all—just so I could possibly meet him and touch his hair.”

Despite his many awards and accomplishments as being one of the best college quarterbacks, Sam always comes across as this shy, good ‘ole Midwestern boy with great family and life values. He was part of the “I am Second” campaign which is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others (see video below!)

Sam’s Stats:

• Full Name: Samual Jacob Bradford
• Nickname: Sam. (I may also refer to him as Sammy)
• Date of birth: November 8, 1987
• Place of birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Height: 6 ft 4 in
• Weight: between 213-228 lb
• Status: Unknown. Rumors of a girlfriend surface occasionally but everything is very Hush Hush
• Nationality Facts: He is actually 1/16 Cherokee and is registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He is the first Native American to win the Heisman Trophy!
• College: Oklahoma University, majored in Finance
• Current NFL Team: St Louis Rams
• Position: Hottie Quarterback
• Number: Bradford wears #8, which he said is in honor to Troy Aikman who also attended Oklahoma before transferring to UCLA.
• Sam Bradford Day: In 2009, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett declared January 13 as “Sam Bradford Day” in Oklahoma City. Who’s coming with me to the OC in January??
• College Accolades: Heisman Trophy Winner, Fresh of the Year and he currently holds the NCAA record for touchdown passes by a freshman with 36

In high school Sam played basketball, golf and football and loved all three. When he decided to continue his football career in college, scouts were much more interested in players like Tim Tebow and Matt Stafford.

Even in college, despite all his accolades (Heisman Trophy Winner, etc), all the buzz was always on Tebow, Stafford, Colt McCoy, etc. Sam decided to return to Oklahoma for a third season instead of heading into the NFL draft and was injured right at the beginning of the season. He healed, came back, and was reinjured almost immediately with a shoulder injury that would end his college career early. Speculation was that it also killed his NFL draft potential. He had been poised to go No. 1 but who would want a broken quarterback?

The St Louis Rams, that’s who.

(the story continues after the photo break!)

Sam wound up being the No. 1 overall draft pick afterall!  Wikipedia said, “on July 30, 2010, Bradford signed a six-year, $78 million deal, which has $50 million of guarantees and has a maximum value of $86 million making it the largest contract ever for an NFL rookie.”

Sam was not slotted to be the Rams’ starting quarterback but as summer training camps went on, Sam’s confidence and maturity as a leader grew. He even led the team to a preseason victory over the acclaimed New England Patriots.

The Rams’ decided to take a risk and name Sam the starting quarterback thus beginning the Sam Bradford Era. It’s not the first time the Rams’ have bumped up a second string quarterback. In 1999, a player was reluctantly called up to take the lead when their starter was injured.

The Rams won the Super Bowl that year and the team was nicknamed “the Greatest Show on Turf.”  And that second-string quarterback became the league AND Super Bowl MVP. His name? Kurt Warner. (on the off chance that this your first visit to Stiletto Sports, 1. Welcome and 2.  Kurt Warner is my most beloved NFL QB. However he just retired from Monday Night Football and is off spending his Mondays Dancing with the Stars so I have been looking for a new NFL QB to fill my heart. Currently in the running: Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez.)

Will the Rams make it to the Super Bowl this year? Eh….. it could happen! Before the Rams win over Washington, Sam was off to quite a rocky start. He had only completed 32/55 passes for 253 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. But by Week 3, Sam was in charge. In the pounding 30-16 win over the Washington Redskins,  Bradford was 23 for 37 for 235 yards with one touchdown.

It was the Rams first win in forever (it was only their second win in 29 games). And it broke an 14 at-home game losing streak.

It’s a little early to start saying that they are going to make it to the Super Bowl this year. It was, afterall, only one win.

But for fun, let’s take a quick look at fellow hottie quarterback Mark Sanchez’s rookie season with the New York Jets last year. The Jets opened the season with three powerful wins and then went on to lost 6 of their next 7 games. Everyone thought they were done. And then Mark found his mojo and they went on to win 5 of the next 6 regular season games and sailed through the playoffs into the conference championship.  In his rookie year.

So, like I said, the Rams in Super Bowl XLV? It could happen!

Welcome to the Sam Bradford Era!

For more about Sam’s First Win read this!
The Story of Sam

Sam Bradford “I am Second”

Are you Team Bradford too? Then check out the Stiletto Sports Custom Designed Sam Bradford/St Louis Rams Inspired T-Shirt Collection! “Team Bradford” is available in tees, tanks, hoodies, mugs and everything you can possibly imagine on Zazzle.com!

With the Indianapolis Colts taking center stage in Super Bowl XLIV, it seems only appropriate that Peyton Manning be selected as a SportsMan of Style. Don’t worry, Drew Brees will get his turn, as will Reggie Bush and the rest of the Saints, and the Colts too!

It pains me a little to do this piece since I am not the biggest Peyton Manning fan. I have no real reason why I dislike the guy, I just do. But I’m putting all feelings aside for this piece as he is one of the biggest stars of the game, and one of the most influential atheletes of all time.

Who is He?

Peyton is the quarterback and team leader for the Indianapolis Colts!

• Full Name: Peyton Williams Manning
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 230
• Born: 3/24/1976 Age: 33 (he seems so much older since he is such a powerful leader!)
• Born & Raised in New Orleans , LA
• College: Tennessee
• NFL Experience: 12th season
• Brothers: Eli & Cooper
• Wife: Ashley

Did you catch the significant fact in those basics? Peyton was born and raised in New Orleans and is about to play his hometown team the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. Oh, and his dad Archie Manning, actually played for the Saints for 10 years in his pro career! How is that for a fascinating fact?

Peyton comes from a whole family of footballers. Dad played for the Saints. Eli is the QB for the New York Giants. Cooper was a star wide receiver in college before he was diagnosed with spinal stenosus. Peyton is the middle son  and talk about middle child syndrome! He was determined to stand out and shine from the pack!

Why We (or at least, why everyone but me) Love Him:

Yes, Peyton looks amazing with his shirt off, in full NFL gear or all decked out in a custom fitted suit! But there is so much more to love about him than just his looks!

Peyton has become one of the most recognizable faces in sports. But beyond that, he is a Good Old Southern Family Boy. He is a leader on and off the field and determined to give back to the world. In 1999, Manning formed the PeyBack Foundation which helps disadvantaged and at risk youth learn leadership and growth opportunities. In the last 10 years, the PeyBack Foundation distributed more than $3 million through its programs and grants.

Where have I seen this guy before?

Um. Everywhere.

Peyton is in just about every commercial for every product on the market! Seriously, there aren’t many products left out there without Peyton’s endorsement! Gatorade, Wheaties, Sony, Mastercard, Sprint, ESPN, Xbox, NFLShop Don’t believe me? Here are some Peyton manning Commercials and  more Peyton Manning commercials and even more Peyton Manning Commericals!

My personal favorite is the “Anything You Can Do” for NFL kickoff weekend featuring both Eli and Peyton Manning. (and the new Peyton & Justin Timberlake commercial for Sony! Makes me laugh every time!)

Is He Really That Good?

Yes. He is. Peyton is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL. Sure people like to talk about Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, and Aaron Rodgers being so awesome. But Peyton eats guys like those for breakfast on top of his Wheaties. If you aren’t willing to concede he is the best QB, then you have to concede he is the best leader in the NFL.

See, Peyton has total control on the field. All QBs have some control. They get out on the field, see what the defense is doing and then abruptly change the play by calling an “audible.”  But Peyton does it every single time. The Colts are known for their “hurry up offense” meaning, they rarely go into a huddle before the play begins to discuss their options. He knows all the options and he decides what he wants to do. And he shuts down the league’s best defenses, time after time after time. He  is rarely sacked, rarely intercepted and just freaking phenomenal.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Manning is an outstanding quarterback!

Peyton is a throwback in many ways, including the fact that he calls his own games. He receives a different offensive package every week. Every play has several options, both run and pass. When a call comes in from the sideline, Peyton decides on the final incarnation based on his personnel and the defensive alignment presented to him at the line of scrimmage. -JockBio.com

His accolades:

In 2009, he was listed by The Sporting News as the No. 1 player in the NFL today. Also in 2009, Fox Sports named him player of the decade. He has been the NFL’s MVP four times (the most ever by any player!) and been selected to the Pro Bowl (aka NFL’s all star game) 10 times —the only time he wasn’t was in 2001 and his rookie season.

He is the Colts All-Time Leader in: Career Wins, Passing Touchdowns , Pass Attempts, Pass Completions and Passing Yards. Now I don’t know what all that means, but I do know it’s pretty freaking impressive.

He also has more wins than any other quarterback in the past decade.

And he’s only 33!

So what do YOU think of Peyton Manning as a SportsMan of Style? Leave me a comment below or shoot me a tweet on Twitter @stilettosportsj

To be an NFL QB, I think you need to be an amazing leader, have a fantastic rating, and be super hot. I’m sorry but I just don’t want to look at an ugly QB. Mock me, laugh at me, scorn me for being girl who rocks pink jerseys and appreciates the hot men of sports. But let’s face it, guys would be pretty pissed if the cheerleaders were ugly, right? There are even studies out there showing that Sexy QBs make the Best QBs!

Originally this was going to be 17 Hottie NFL Quarterbacks….one for every Sunday in the fall! But it turned into like 22 or 23 Hotties. So think of it as one for every Sunday in the fall….and some extra bonuses to get you through the post-season playoffs and Super Bowl!

Ok so here how this will work. It’s pretty simple. Check out the pics, check out the descripts. Then vote for your top three! That’s right, you can pick up to three hotties because I know it’s hard to pick just one!

Write in votes are welcome, also. Just leave me a comment at the end on who you think should be added and why!

When the polls close Saturday 1/30/2010 at midnight, I’ll tally the results and release the winners right before the 2010 Pro Bowl! Polls are still open! Feel free to keep on voting! Winner will be announced soon!

Also, leave me a comment below about your top 3 picks! or shoot me a tweet @stilettosportsj!

Mark Sanchez New York Jets

Mark Sanchez has been the shining star of the 2009 NFL rookie class. He had some bumps in the road along the season but in the end, he proved he has what it takes to play big in the league. He took his team all the way to the AFC Championship against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.  And this man is beyond S-E-X-Y. Plus, he gives amazing, articulate interviews (a rarity in the sports world)

• Height: 6-2
• Weight: 225
• Born: 11/11/1986 (Age: 23)
• College: USC
• Experience: Rookie Year!

Vote for Mark!

Matt Leinart Arizona Cardinals

Matt Leinart was the superstar at USC in his day but has been playing back-up QB to the next hottie on the list, Kurt Warner. Matt has a rep for being a playboy but with those McDreamy-esque good looks and charming smile, can you really blame him?

• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 232
• Born: 5/11/1983 Age, 26
• College: USC (I prefer to think of it as the University of Super Cuties)
• Experience: 4th year

Vote for Matt!

Kurt Warner Arizona Cardinals

Kurt is…..*sigh*

If you somehow missed the 400 other posts on Stiletto Sports about this, Kurt is my personal favorite NFL Quarterback. He took the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl last year and the longer he has played, the better he has become.  Want to know more? I have a whole SportsMan of Style post all about Kurt Warner!

• Height: 6-2
• Weight: 214
• Born: 6/22/1971 Age: 38
• College: Northern Iowa
• Experience: 12th season

Vote for Kurt!

Drew Brees New Orleans Saints

Drew is one of those “fly under the radar” quarterbacks. He doesn’t have the hype and attention of Romo, Brady, Manning (Peyton or Eli), or Favre–even with his rock star season with the Saints this year. But despite that lack of hype, he is a very talented leader and has been in the league for nine years!

• Height: 6-0
• Weight: 209
• Born: 1/15/1979 Age: 31
• College: Purdue
• Experience: 9th season

Vote for Kurt!

Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings

Ah Favre. He is like, the oldest QB ever, or at least so it seems with all the hype around his age. He was the leader of the Green Bay Packers until he “retired” and then went to play for the Minnesota Vikings. Where he has taken the team through the post season and dominated teams left and right!

Height: 6-2   Weight: 222   Age: 40

Born: 10/10/1969 Gulfport , MS

College: Southern Mississippi

Experience: 19th season

Vote for Brett!

Donovan McNabb Philadelphia Eagles

I like to call him McNabby! There is something about his cocky swagger, on and off the field, that ups his hot factor big time. Especially since the other option on the Eagles would be Michael Vick.

• Height: 6-2
• Weight: 240
• Born: 11/25/1976 Age: 33
• College: Syracuse
• Experience: 11th season

Vote for Donovan!

Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers

I’m sorry there is only one picture for Philip but that’s really the only good one I could find. He is making weird faces in all the others! Philip is another quiet leader. LaDainian Tomlinson is known as the star of the Chargers, who had a great season but couldn’t pull it off in the post season.

Height: 6-5   Weight: 228   Age: 28

Born: 12/8/1981 Decatur , AL

College: North Carolina State

Experience: 6th season

Vote for Philip!

Jake Delhomme Carolina Panthers

Don’t let his baby face fool you! Jake is actually 35 and has been in the NFL for 11 seasons!

Height: 6-2   Weight: 215   Age: 35

Born: 1/10/1975 Lafayette , LA

College: Louisiana-Lafayette

Experience: 11th season

Vote for Jake!

Tom Brady New England Patriots

You can’t have an NFL Hottie QB post without talking about Tom Brady. He is the Robert Pattinson, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt of football. Love him or hate him, he is undeniably a good looking man.

Height: 6-4   Weight: 225   Age: 32

Born: 8/3/1977 San Mateo , CA

College: Michigan

Experience: 10th season

Vote for Tom!

JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders

I happen to catch a Raiders game early in the season and the team wormed it’s way into my heart quickly. I thought it was because of the rough and tough edge and the intenely loyal (and scary) fans. But now I think it may have had something to do with JaMarcus Russell.

Height: 6-6   Weight: 260   Age: 24

Born: 8/9/1985 Mobile , AL

College: Louisiana State

Experience: 3rd season

Vote for JaMarcus!

Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons

Matt was born in Pennsylvania and schooled at Boston College. But this 2009 NFL Rookie of the Year with the sweet, innocent face screams “I am a corn-fed Midwestern good ole boy.” Or maybe, “All-American Ivy League Boy.”

Height: 6-4   Weight: 213   Age: 24

Born: 5/17/1985 Exton , PA

College: Boston College

Experience: 2nd season

Vote for Matt!

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

I was told by @aly_bar and many others on Twitter that I had to add Mr. Cutler to the list. Personally, I don’t see the appeal. But for them, and all the other Jay Fans, here he is!

Height: 6-3   Weight: 233   Age: 26

Born: 4/29/1983 Santa Claus , IN

College: Vanderbilt

Experience: 4th season

Vote for Jay!

Tony Romo Dallas Cowboys

I think Tony needs to give a big Thank You to Jessica Simpson because she did wonders for his hotness level. I mean, she married Nick Lachey, who is arguably the hottest man alive. So even if we question her smarts, we never doubt her taste in hot men! But Tony…..He’s made a lot hotter by the fact that he is a Dallas Cowboy, that’s for sure!

Height: 6-2   Weight: 226   Age: 29

Born: 4/21/1980 San Diego , CA

College: Eastern Illinois

Experience: 7th season

Vote for Tony!

The Manning Brothers…..

Peyton, Indianapolis Colts; Eli, New York Giants

These guys clearly prove that if you are rich, successful and talented, you are instantly hotter. Because they are not the most attractive brothers I’ve ever seen. They aren’t even the hottest ones to hit the NFL (The Barber Boys, anyone…..) But for some reason these two strange looking men have women flocking to them like they, well, like they look like Mark Sanchez or something.

Peyton Manning

Height: 6-5   Weight: 230   Age: 33

Born: 3/24/1976 New Orleans , LA

College: Tennessee

Experience: 12th season

Eli Manning

Height: 6-4   Weight: 225   Age: 29

Born: 1/3/1981 New Orleans , LA

College: Mississippi

Experience: 6th season

Vote for the Mannings!

Kyle Boller St Louis Rams

So Kyle might not be the league’s best quarterback…. He kinda only threw 3 TDs this season…..and 6 interceptions…. But you have to admit, he’s pretty hot!

Height: 6-3   Weight: 218   Age: 28

Born: 6/17/1981 Burbank , CA

College: California

Experience: 7th season

Vote for Kyle!

Nate Davis San Fransisco 49ers

Shaun Hill is actually the starting QB for the 49ers and Nate is just a rookie. But we featured Nate in the NFL 2009 Draft Quarterback Scouting Report and ladies have been loving him ever since!

Height: 6-1   Weight: 226   Age: 22

Born: 5/5/1987 Bellaire , OH

College: Ball State

Vote for Nate!

Brady Quinn Cleveland Browns

I highly recommend heading over to The Ladies… because they did a Hump Day Hottie post all about Brady. Grab some Kleenex first because you will drool all over yourself. His body is amazing. He also went to Notre Dame! He’s like, a real life Rudy! But hot!

Height: 6-3   Weight: 235   Age: 25

Born: 10/27/1984 Columbus , OH

College: Notre Dame

Experience: 3rd season

Vote for Brady!

Brian Brohm & Trent Edwards Buffalo Bills

This is a two-fer because Trent is like, back-up to the back-up. So he hasn’t even posted any stats. And Brian Brohm, the starting QB, is pretty good looking too! The Ladies… love him!

Brian Brohm

Height: 6-3   Weight: 223   Age: 24

Born: 9/23/1985 Louisville , KY

College: Louisville

Experience: 2nd season

Trent Edwards

Trent is ranked in the Hottest Males on Fan IQ.com and ranked No. 2 right a post on The Bleacher Report entitled The 1o Hottest NFL QBs, (and she picked Kurt Warner as No. 1 so she definitely has some sense of style! )so I had to add him to this list too!

Height: 6-4   Weight: 231   Age: 26

Born: 10/30/1983 Los Gatos , CA

College: Stanford

Experience: 3rd season

Vote for The Buffalo Bills Boys!

Colt Brennan, Washington Redskins

Jason Campbell is the starting QB for the Redskins but Colt is the QB with the amazing story and the super sexy looks to match! Gotta love a bad boy surfer turned NFL Pro! Now he just needs to get in a game and get some stats!

Height: 6-3   Weight: 206   Age: 26

Born: 8/16/1983 Laguna Beach , CA

College: Hawaii

Experience: 2nd season

Vote for Colt!

John David Booty, Minnesota Vikings

With a name like that, he better be hot! Okay, so John David doesn’t have any NFL stats yet, but he is playing backup to Brett Favre on the Vikings so what do you expect? But I love his name and love his look so he is definitely making my list!

Height: 6-3   Weight: 213   Age: 25

Born: 1/3/1985 Shreveport , LA

College: USC

Experience: 2nd season

Vote for Booty!

Did I miss your favorite NFL QB? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

[poll id="38"]

NFL Draft Prospect, QB
USC Trojans

6’2, 227 pounds
22 yrs old
11/11/1986 Scorpio
2009 Rose Bowl MVP

In honor of the NFL Draft coming up this weekend (April 25 & 26 2009), this week’s Hotties will be all about the cutest and sexiest stars of college football! They may not all be the ones heading to the draft this year, but they are definitely No. 1 picks in my fantasy draft in my head!

I’m not going to give too much because I’ll be doing a draft profile on him later this week. Besides, the photos speak for themselves!

Even rocking the A.C. Slater curly- hair plus sweat-band look circa 1990 he is still F.I.N.E.

Mark has only been the Trojan’s starting QB for one season but what a star he became! He lead his team to a 12-1 season!

Much to the dismay of his team and his college co-eds, Mark is heading to the NFL draft a year early. Common practice for most college stars–except at USC. He’s the first to take the early leap in almost 20 years.

Despite his somewhat checkered and sketchy past, Mark has become a huge role model for the population of Mexican-American youths in Southern California.

It’s safe to say they’ve had the toughest road to a national championship of any year.

First, they had to take on the defending champs. And they won.

Then they had to take on the No. 1 seed of the whole tournament, Louisville. And  they won.

They went up against No. 1 seed UConn. And won.

And then, they had to go up against the third No. 1 seed of the tournament, the powerhouse of UNC.

The only team to ever go up against all three No. 1 teams and win was Arizona in 1997.

Kermit the Frog said it:  “It ain’t easy being Green.”

But ya know what, Michigan State makes Green look Real Good!

———————————————————

Tom Izzo, head coach

Kalin Lucas, guard

• 6’0, 180 pounds
• DOB: May 24, 1989; Sterling Heights, MI
• Family: parents Kenneth and Tina
• Major: Business management

Game Day Stats:

• Averages 14.8 points, 2.3 rebounds,  4.4 assists per game

Durrell Summers, guard

• 6’4, 195 pounds
• DOB: April 2, 1989 Detroit, MI. What a sweet birthday present he got this year! A Final Four appearance in his hometown two days after he turned 20.
• Family: Parents–Duryea and La’Andrea Summers
• Major: Computer Science.

Game Day Stats

• Averages: 8.4 points,  3.1 rebounds,  0.7 assists

Goran Suton, center

• 6’10, 245 pounds
• DOB: August 11, 1985. Originally born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and then moved to Lansing, MI
• Family: Miroslav and Zivana Suton
• Major: Retailing,
• Member of Bosnia’s national team by the age of 14.

Game Day Stats

• Averages: 9.8 points,  7.9 rebounds,  1.5 assists

Raymar Morgan, forward

• 6’8, 225 pounds
• DOB: August 8, 1988; Canton, Ohio
• Family: parents Jeffrey and Carole
• Major: advertising

Game Day Stats

• Averages: 10.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists

Delvon Roe, forward

This freshman has a whole lot of potential and I can’t wait to watch him grow into it! He has been a solid force for the Spartans and in February, Delvon was even named Big 10 Player of the Week. He pulled down 14 points and 10 rebounds, in the game against rivals Michigan with 11 of the points coming in his explosive first half performance.

Game day stats: averages 6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game

Personal Stats:

• 6’7, 215 pounds
• Birthdate: 10/3/1989, Ohio
• Parents: Delvon and Tracey
• Major: Criminal justice, currently a freshman

Travis Walton, guard

• 6’2, 190 pounds
• DOB: August 24, 1987; Lima, Ohio
• Family: parents Nate and Likita
• Major: Family Community Services

Game Day Stats

• Averages: 5.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists

Draymond Green, forward

• 6’6, 235 pounds
• DOB: March 4, 1990; Saginaw, Ohio (1990?!!? I feel so old!)
• Family: Mom Mary Barbers
• Major: Business Management

Game Day Stats

• Averages: 9.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists

Chris Allen, guard

• 6’3, 205 pounds
• DOB: November 13, 1988; Lawrenceville, GA
• Family: parents Janice and Stacy.
• Major: Computer Engineering
• Apparently his aunt and uncle live on same street in Lansing, MI as Magic Johnson’s parents. Fascinating….

Game Day Stats

• Averages 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists

My pick for SportsMan of Style: Larry Fitzgerald

Who is he?

The wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals who just won the MVP of the NFL Pro Bowl.

• Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. is 6’3, 226 pounds of pure athleticism, raw talent and amazing hands.
• Fitzy was born on August 31, 1983 (August babies are the best! But I’m not biased in any way!)
• He learned to love football by age 4–he would actually sleep with one at night
• Before college he was a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings.

• At the U of Pittsburgh he began breaking all sorts of records and in his second year, became the runner up for the Heisman Trophy for most outstanding college football player.
• He entered the NFL early, in 2004 and has been quietly taking over every year.

Larry Jr & Sr and brother Marcus learning that the Arizona Cardinals will be drafting Junior! Photo from larry-fitzgerald.com

Larry Jr & Larry Sr on NFL draft day. photo from larry-fitzgerald.com

• His father, Larry, Sr., is the acclaimed sports editor for the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder
• Larry, Sr. is the first reporter to ever cover his own son in a Super Bowl.
• There was a lot of hoopla about Larry’s baby mama drama back in December but rather than throw all those rumors around, I’m just going to throw around this super cute pic of Larry and his 1 year old son Devin Fitzgerald taken the day before the Super Bowl

Why we love him:

He makes all of this, look so easy!

Or as one blog said Fitzy “makes the amazing look ordinary.”

Larry has been described as having: “Sticky hands,” a vice-like-grip, “the best hands in the NFL,” and my favorite announcer quote–”he is just Fabulous!”

Career Stats and the 2008-2009 magic

It didn’t take long for Larry to stand out in the NFL. In his second year he earned his first Pro Bowl nomination and began breaking NFL records too. Even in 2006, when he was injured, Larry posted good stats. In 2007, he gained his second Pro Bowl nomination–despite the Cardinals being not-so-good.

• In the 2008 regular season, Larry had 96 catches for 1431 yards, average 14.9 yards per catch. Oh, and 12 touchdowns!

And then came the postseason

• Larry exploded into the postseasn with 30 catches,  546  yards (avg 18.2) and a whopping 7 TDs in only four games! He had at least one in every game in the post season!
• In the NFC Championship he had 3 TDs, tying a record for most TDs in a divisional championship.
• And little Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals went to their very first Super Bowl.
• He had two remarkable TDs in the Super Bowl that brought the Cardinals back into the game in the final minutes. If it wasn’t for the miracle catch by Steelers Santonio Holmes with :35 left in the game, the Cards would have won and Larry would have been the reason.
• The following week, Larry took over the Pro Bowl and had 2 more amazing touchdown catches that earned him the MVP trophy of the Pro Bowl.

Why I’m loving his style:

“[Larry is] a receiver who catches everything and brags about nothing, who climbs his own invisible staircase to get to footballs, who dresses and speaks impeccably and travels the world alone in the offseason, taking in museums.” ~Rick Reilly, ESPN.com

Simple. Classy. Very articulate. That’s actually what made me fall for him! I kept hearing an interview with him on SportsCenter every hour on the hour. I would tune out for 58 minutes and then every time the interview came back on, I found myself looking up and taking notice. It’s not often you find an athlete who is so well-spoken. Half the time answers are so non-sensical you wonder why the interviewers even bother! But not with Fitzy!

My two favorite fun facts:

During the Super Bowl he was referred to by one of the game announcers as Fitzy, which just tickled me to no end since I thought I made that up for him as my pet name!

The announcers also called him Fabulous, which is totally my word!

~all photos from ESPN and NFL.com unless otherwise noted.

~Also check out my SportsMan of Style on Fitzy’s buddy and teammate Kurt Warner!

Some people do in-depth team analysis with stats, figures, histories and long-winded speculations of how off that mumbo jumbo can determine who will win the big game. Others have more important things to do.

Kidding! This is my life now. But yeah, I don’t really believe in worshiping the stats, they only confuse things. Consider this my in-depth team analysis of the Arizona Cardinals! A nice, consise breakdown of the hottest guys Offense and Defense to help you survive the Super Bowl.

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Coach: Ken Whisenhunt

• Her’s 45 and became the head coach in 2007.
• He was an assistant coach for 10 years, and also played in the NFL for 9 seasons
• Before becoming Arizona’s coach, he was the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers and helped the team to a victory in Super Bowl XL.

The offense:

Lead by:

QB: Kurt Warner

Because I already did a SportsMan of Style all about Kurt Warner, I will just skip over this part and you can click the links to learn more! I will however mention Matt Leinart, another QB who was starting but who was replaced by Warner. If Kurt stays on for another season, chances are Leinart will move on. But he is GORGEOUS. He is the reason I started watching Arizona to begin with. Oh. Because of his skill of course. Oh wait, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a game..

Wide Receiver: Larry Fitzgerald (Fitzy!)

His Stats:

• He’s 6’3, 220 pounds of muscle and I absolutely adore him!
• He is actually articulate when interviewed
• Football stuff: he has 96 receptions for 1431 yards; he averages 14.9 per carry! He also has 12 touchdowns.
• I”m doing a Man of Style on just him ASAP!

Wide Receiver Anquan Boldin

His Stats:

• 6’1, 217 pounds from Pahokee, Florida. No idea where that is.
• Football stuff: He reached 400 career receptions in his 67th game in the NFL! No one else has ever done that!
• He has 89 receptions and 1028 yards, averaging 11.7 yards per catch & carry!
• He has 11 touchdowns.

Running Back: Edgerrin James

His Stats:

• He’s 6’0, 219 pounds of rock hard abs agility
• He is a 30 year old from Immokalee,Fl! I know where that is!
• He has 133 Cars!!!.
• He has 133 carries on the season with 514 yards, averaging 3.9/carry. He has 3 touchdowns

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The Defense:

The Safeties: The AA-team of Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle

His Stats:

• Adrian is 6’3, 230 and 29 years old!
• Antrel 6’0, 208 and 26 years old
• Adrian has 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions
• Antrel has  89 tackles and 1 interception

Defensive Tackle Darnell Dockett

Read this story about him and got all teary eyed! He would make a great Lifetime Movie for Men! Darnell Dockett

His Stats:

• He’s 6’4, 287 pounds of big and tall man.
• He is 27 years old
• Football stuff: He has49 tackles, 4 sacks and 1 of the those foofs. Oh yeah forgot already, forced fumbles.

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Special Teams:

Kicker: Neil Rackers

yum.

His Stats:

• He’s 6’1, 202 pounds of cuteness! Look at those eyes! I’m not going to even apologize for saying it and drooling!
• He is 32 years old
• Football stuff: He made 25 out of 28 field goal attempts for an almost 90% accuracy rate.
• His longest made FG this year was from 54 yards away.

Also check out the Pittsburgh Steelers SportsMen of Style

For more on the Super Bowl QB matchup, you can also check out my Man of Style Kurt Warner post and my Hottie or Nottie: Ben Roethlisberger post.

Some people do in-depth team analysis with stats, figures, histories and long-winded speculations of how off that mumbo jumbo can determine who will win the big game. Others have more important things to do.

Kidding! This is my life now. But yeah, I don’t really believe in worshiping the stats, they only confuse things. Consider this my in-depth team analysis of the Pittsburgh Steelers! A nice, consise breakdown of the hottest guys Offense and Defense to help you survive the Super Bowl.

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Coach: Mike Tomlin

• Eight years experience. Been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings
• Was hired by Pittsburgh for the 2007 season
• Looks like Omar Epps!
• At 36 years old, he is the youngest coach to ever take his team to the Super Bowl!
• And a whole bunch of other stuff that I really didn’t feel like reading: Football Speak about Mike

The offense:

Lead by:

QB: Ben Roethlisberger:

It is still up for debate on whether this guy is hot or not. Sometimes he looks great. And other times he is a scary looking bastard!  Let’s just say if one was to make a Super Bowl Pick solely on QB looks….pants down, you would be picking the Cardinals. But luckily, there are a lot of other hot players important rules to consider while making picks!

His Stats:

• He’s a  6’5, 245 pounds 26 year-old from Ohio.
• He’s been with the Steelers since 2004
• Football stuff:  281 completions in 469 attempts (that’s like 60%) with 3301 yards and 17 touch downs.
• He has a QB rating of 80.1.  I have no idea what this scale goes up to. Kurt Warner has a 99.7 but there are lots of players over 100…..

Wide Receiver: Hines Ward

His Stats:

• He’s 6’0, 205 pounds of muscle.
• He is almost 33 and was born in South Korea
• He has been in the NFL for 11 years–and been with the Steelers the whole time.
• Football stuff: 82 receptions, 1047 yards (averages 12.8 yards every time he catches the ball)
• Has 7 touchdowns on the season
• And this photo is just so stinkin’ cute of him when they won the Super Bowl:

Wide Receiver: Santonio Holmes

No, he is not saying “call me” in the photo. Although I like to think he is too.

His Stats:

• He’s the 5’11, 189 pound lil cutie receiver.
• He’s almost 25 and originally from Florida–where he used to sell drugs on the street. Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t such a good fact.
• Football stuff: 55 receptions, 821 yards, (average: 14.9 yards every time he catches the ball)
• He has 5 touchdowns on the season.
• He was just arrested for marijuana possession and had to miss a game against the NY Giants. Hope he at least got to hit Um, nevermind….

Running Back: Willie Parker aka Fast Willie

His Stats:

• He’s a 5’10, 209 pound little speed demon!
• He’s 28 and in his 5th season with the Steelers and is now their lead RB.
• He broke his leg last year but is back –even better than before!
• Football Stats: 210 carries, 791 yards, average 3.8 yards per carry,
• He has 5 touchdowns on the season
• He already set a Super Bowl record the last time the Steelers were there: he ran in a 75 yard touchdown!

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The Defense:

Safety: Troy Polamalu (aka the Poofy-Haired Guy)

Before you continue, you have to go to: Puhlahmahlu. I PROMISE it is worth it. Guaranteed to make you smile!

Look how adorable he is! It was hard to tell with all that hair covering up his face!

His Stats:

• He’s 5’10, 207 pound ball of floofy hair (see photo below!)!
• He’s 27 and originally from California but is of Samoan descent.
• He is very quiet, religious and prefers spending time at home with the fam than partying with his co-workers. Maybe he should go play for the Cardinals and chill with Kurt Warner? I’d love to see the two of them talk religion!
• He is in serious need of hair gel.
• Football stats: 73 tackles, 6 interceptions.

Humidity + curly hair = poofball.

Right Outside Linebacker: James Harrison

His Stats:

• He’s a 6’0, 242 pound teddy bear powerhouse.
• He’s 30 years old and originally from Ohio.
• He is in his 5th year with the Steelers
• Football stuff: 101 tackles, 16 sacks,  1 interception and 7 foofs.
• Apparently FF does not mean foofs. It means how many times they forced a fumble.

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Well that’s it for stats because, well….to be honest, I’m bored of them! I’ll just show you a few more photos of VIPlayers to know.

Safety: Ryan Clark

Right Inside Linebacker Larry Foote

Left Inside Linebacker James Farrior

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Special Teams:

Kicker: Jeff Reed

ok seriously, what is up the guys on this team and their hair?

I will be doing the Cardinals next!

For more on the Super Bowl QB matchup, you can also check out my Man of Style Kurt Warner post and my Hottie or Nottie: Ben Roethlisberger post.

With billions of people all over the world today celebrating the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United Sates, it’s only fitting that my Man of Style for Tuesday, January 20, 2009 would be:

America’s 44th president, Barack Obama

Rather than give you the typical rundown of accomplishments, a recap of the road to the White House, a long in-depth analysis of the historical significance of today, or even Obama’s love of sports, I thought I’d give you something only I could give you. Well me, and about 15,000 others. But that’s better than the billions that are reporting on the other issues!

Why I love Barack Obama: the “puppy love/I’ve got a crush” stage

Anyone that can motivate me to bundle up (yes bundle, it was actually a weird cold front in Florida that week) and wait outside for over two hours with no bathroom breaks or food to see them in a political rally is pretty damn impressive. I’ll drive four hours up and four hours back in the same day to go see Chris Daughtry in a concert. Twice. But me at a political rally? So not me.

I’ve never really been very political. In 2000, I did take a political communication class where I had to pick a candidate and follow him through the election process. I chose Al Gore and loved learning about the campaigning process but when he lost, I gave up on that whole thing. I admit I did not vote in 2004. Partly because I didn’t like any candidate and  didn’t like the idea of voting for John Kerry just because I refused to vote for George Bush. Plus I had just moved to Florida and didn’t really understand the voter registration stuff.

Even most of this year I was pretty apathetic to the election. I wasn’t a fan of John McCain (although his whole “my friends” thing cracked me up every time I heard it) and once Hilary was out of the running, I tuned out. I was all for the woman in charge thing. At that point I just thought, thank god I know it won’t be Bush.

But election coverage was pretty much unavoidable–kinda like sports. Slowly, I started hearing more and more about “this Obama character,” I believe I called him. And I began to like what I heard. I still didn’t think he really had a chance of winning the election, mind you. There was no way America was ready for a black president. But the more I heard him speak on t.v., the more I found myself really listening to him and thinking he would make an excellent leader for our country.

I am blessed to live in Florida for many reasons but I have to say October was a great month to be a Sun Coast resident. Not only did I get to see the Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs, but also there were so many opportunities to see both presidentiatl candidates speak. I mean, I missed all of the rallied of course, but the opportunity was there!

Until, Wednesday, October 29 when I learned that Obama would be in Sarasota, Florida (where I live) the next day! I couldn’t miss that opportunity.

So we got up and headed on over to the rally. And grossly underestimated the turnout.

It was on Thursday at the end of October in the middle of the day and there were over 15,000 people waiting to go into Ed Smith Stadium. Let’s just say Ed Smith Stadium ain’t Yankee Stadium folks. Hmm, although…it was the spring home of the Cincinatti Reds…. The line wrapped around for blocks and weaved through rows of cars in the parking lot—-I can’t even really describe it. It was crazy. We finally got in and somehow, no idea how, we were on the actual field and not in the bleachers!

The back of the line in the parking lot. This weaved through about 6 or 7 rows before we reached the street

Then there was still a line once you hit the street that wrapped around another corner at the end of the block. That weaved into more lines. It was like Disney World

But it was worth it. The rally was just unbelievable. So inspiring and powerful. It’s one of those life-changing events that I know I will never forget.
Why I love Barack Obama: the “making the committment” stage

As soon as Obama came to the field, the crowd went into a frenzy. Pushing, shoving, screaming, jumping. And that was just me! Picture that with 15,000 others! It was like an American Idol concert gone wild. Plus, the stadium was filled with young voters and high school kids even though it was the middle of a school day. It was remarkable to see the younger generations so motivated for once.

The more he talked the more I believed that change is possible. And even more, that I would be a huge part of that change. Sarasota and Manatee Counties are largely Republican counties but it looked like 2008 they could be changed. Every vote mattered.

He was inpirational, motivational and actually funny! And not laugh-at-me funny like I felt McCain was, but laugh-with-me. All while being a class act. The video above shows a lot of that.

I leave you with this compilation that I found that really captures the whole day, and the whole process for me. Today, history is being made and I am just so happy and blessed to be a part of it.

*all photos of the rally are by me. The videos, sadly, are not. My computer ate the video files I took and turned them into pictures.

Who is he?

The veteran quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals that just led his team to their first Super Bowl!

Why we love him

“Many have said that if my life was a script in Hollywood, it would never be believed. But I am where I am because I believed and never gave up.” ~Kurt Warner

Really, what is not to love. He is a Disney sports movie in the making. The story of the washed-up, old guy who comes back to life to lead his team to victory. Twice. (See: For the Love of the Game, The Natural, half of the sports movies in existence….)

Oh, and, Kurtis Eugene Warner is a tall, dark and gorgeous man. Patrick Dempsey would be PERFECT to play him in the movie!

• He’s 6’2, 220 pounds with a thick head of dark hair that just begs to be touched!
• He’s 37–which is practically ancient in the football QB world. He just became the third oldest QB to play in the Super Bowl!
• He is the ultimate family man and a total DILF. Sorry to say it, but it’s so true.
• He and his wife Brenda have seven kids! Zachary, Kade, Elijach, Jessie, Jada and twins Sienna Rae and Sierra Rose
• They are born again Christians who believe Faith and Family first. (Now I feel bad for the DILF comment….)
• He was not an overly religious person until he was 25 when his teammates in the Arena Football League introduced him to new ideas. He really had been down on his luck and thought it might be time to put his life and faith in the hands of God. And from that moment, his life changed. His story is so inspiration it made me want to revisit my own faith.
• In 2001, Kurt and Brenda started the First things First Foundation to help promote Christian values and to help others that are less fortunate.

Why I’m loving his style:

The programs in the Foundation are truly remarkable, awe-inspiring, and Kleenex worthy. I cried just reading about them. They include:

• “We’re going to Disney World!” which is partnered with groups like the Make a Wish Foundation to give children with life-threatening illnesses a chance to fulfill their biggest dream: going to meet Mickey.
• FTF Ticket Program: designed to encourage community service and help social outreach programs. Participants in the program get to go to games to cheer on the Cardinals, and then have the opportunity to meet Kurt and Brenda after the game to pray with them
• Children’s Hospital Outreach
  
• Home for the Holidays The program helps to reward and recognize the families that have struggled and sacrificed and finally fulfilled their dreams of owning their own homes by helping them furnish it
• Special Olympics PPK: where Kurt teaches 50 special olympic athletes the basics of football in a day-long clinic. Other teammates like hottie Larry Fitzgerald help out in thethree clinics across the country.

And, his work with the foundation is wonderful, but his own personal rise-to-fame story is just as awe-inspiring.

In college, it took him until his senior year before he made it as the starting quarterback. After graduating in 1994 as the Gateway Conference’s offensive player of the year, Kurt failed to make the NFL draft. He did head to the Green Bay Packers summer camp but was cut before the season began.

He spent the next year working as a stocker/bagger in the local grocery store. In 1995, he turned to the Arena Football League where he made a name for himself as one of the top 20 best AFL players of all time. In 1998, the St. Louis Rams finally took notice and signed him. He was their backup QB and only played one game with them that season.

But then came 1999. And boy did he party.

In the 1999 season, Kurt:

• Started the season with 14 touchdown passes in four games. He had FIVE touchdowns in the game against San Fransisco to the shock of, well, everyone.
• Made the cover of Sports Illustrated in October with the headline “Who IS this guy?”
• Completed his breakout season by leading the Rams to the Super Bowl title.
• Set two huge records in the Super Bowl. He had 45 pass attempts with no interceptions and he also passed for 414 yards.
• He was named NFL’s MVP and the Super Bowl MVP. The only other players to accomplish the double MVP are Joe Montanta, Emmitt Smith, Terry Bradshaw, Steve Young and Bart Starr. Pretty elite crowd!

In my research I came across a great article on Bleacher Report that broke down Warner’s stats for the last 10 years, against legendary Joe Namath. I started to put them here and then remembered I so don’t do stats! But go check it out, very interesting break down!

Kurt was an NFL star for years but had slowly started to lose his shine in recent years. Until 2008. Once again, he made an improbable comeback.

• Was supposed to be backup to hottie Matt Leinart but was ultimately named starter.
• He had 4,583 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and a completion percentage of almost 70%. I’m assuming all of that is good. Sounds good to me!
• Led the Cardinals calmly through the playoffs with wins against the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and now, the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Is about to appear in this third Super Bowl.
• And if that isn’t enough, in a few weeks he will lead the NFC as starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl.
• 

After all that, how can you not want the Arizona Cardinals to win the Super Bowl? It would be the perfect ending to this perfect made-for-Disney, inspirational story.

For more on the Cardinal’s trip to the Super Bowl, start with my NFC Championship Recap