Nacho Average Catch

We may think we have seen it all when it comes to foul territory catches. From Josh Donaldson's tarp catches in Oakland, Derek Jeter's bloody head first dive into the stands, to a casual beer spill every once in a while. But, last night in the Padres 4-1 win over the Giants, Padres third baseman, Yangervis Solarte made an outstanding play that we haven't seen before. Everything seemed pretty normal as he dove into the stands in foul territory to catch a pop-up off the bat of Angel Pagan. As he got out the ball to show the umpire that he had in fact made the catch, he discovered the ball and his glove were covered in a fan's nacho cheese. That's something you just don't see everyday. A literal cheeseball.  

The fan may have lost his nachos, which is a travesty, but the play Solarte made was nacho average catch. Sorry, that was cheesy.

Video:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:17087032



Photos: 
San Diego Union Tribune
CBS Sports

Patrick Marleau's Family Adopts Jo Pawvelski

Ever since the mysterious black cat of SAP Center ran across the ice prior to a Sharks playoff game against the Nashville Predators, fans have been curious as to where she would find a place she could call home. She was given the name "Jo Pawvelski", after Sharks Center, Joe Pavelski; and she provided a decent amount of good luck to the team during their Stanley Cup Finals run.

Now that the NHL season has concluded with the Sharks making it to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, Jo Pawvelski has finally found a home. She has been adopted by Sharks Left Wing, Patrick Marleau, his wife Christina, and their children. Christina took to twitter a couple days ago, to announce that her family had adopted Jo and her sister, Stanley.

I personally am very happy that Jo has been adopted by a Sharks player. I know there was a waiting list of hopefuls trying to adopt the "Rally Cat of the Shark Tank"; and sure it would be cool to adopt her as a lifelong Sharks fan, but this situation is only right. Marleau, having been on the Sharks squad since 1997, can always have Jo and Stanley to remind him of this season and the history he and his teammates made. Plus this means Jo's namesake, Joe can come visit her whenever he wants.
I do think maybe they should consider renaming her Catty Marleau or Patrick Meow-leau though... Just a suggestion.

Photos:
sportingnews.com
Christina Marleau (@c_marleau) on twitter

Adam Wainwright Nearly Pulls a Randy Johnson

Last night, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher, Adam Wainwright struggled in his outing against the Kansas City Royals. Although he was not on his A game, he did channel a bit of his inner Randy Johnson. Most baseball fans can recall the infamous Randy Johnson pitch from 2001 Spring Training that hit a bird on its way to the plate. It was a one in a million instance that is very rare in the MLB. 

One of Wainwright's 102 pitches almost had the same encounter with a bird as Johnson's. Yet, in this instance, the bird flew by just in time to miss the ball coming its way. Luckily for the Kansas City bird, its feathers stayed intact, unlike the bird who was hit by Johnson. 

It only makes sense that Johnson, as a Diamondback actually hit the bird; because if Wainwright, a Red Bird would have? That would have been barbaric. 

Members of the San Jose Sharks Throw Out First Pitch at A's Game

Although the San Jose Sharks did not win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still definitely a lot to celebrate about their historic 2015-2016. Throughout their 46-30 regular season record and their fantastic playoff run, they showed just how good the underdog can be. Although this team was not on the top of many people's Stanley Cup Final predictions at the beginning of the season, this group of guys showed that making it as far as they did was no fluke. Offseason changes, like naming Peter DeBoer as their new head coach, acquiring Joel Ward as well as goalie Martin Jones, and naming Joe Pavelski team captain were huge keys to this year's success. They defeated their rival Los Angeles Kings, the Nashville Predators, and the St. Louis Blues to make it to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. What better way to celebrate "25 Years of Teal" than to make it to the final round of the NHL Playoffs for the very first time. In the end, the Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The Sharks fought hard, but did not get the result they were looking for. Even though a Stanley Cup Championship would have been amazing for us Sharks fans who have waited years for this, there is still a lot to be proud of. Looking at the bright side is so important in this type of situation. The team will learn from this experience and will now know what to look forward to in the future. When you look back on how well the Sharks truly played this postseason, you can't help but be proud.

To celebrate the San Jose Sharks' historic season, the Oakland A's invited five of their players to throw out the first pitch before yesterday's game against the Anaheim Angels. Logan Couture, Martin Jones, Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon, and Barclay Goodrow stood near the Coliseum mound in their white home A's jerseys and A's hats and threw to A's players; Sean Doolittle, John Axford, and Liam Hendriks. It was great to see my favorite Sharks player; Logan Couture in A's gear, not Blue Jays gear for a change. It was also great to be able to show the Sharks players that although they did not win the title, they have made the Bay Area incredibly proud. I was also very pleased that Martin Jones was one of the players asked to throw out the first pitch. His incredible 44 saves in Game 5, to avoid elimination, was one of the most stellar performances by a Shark this season. I love when my teams come together to support each other & I am very thankful that the A's showed their love by giving a few members of the Sharks this opportunity. Here's to next season, Sharks.

Photos: Oakland Athletics on Facebook

             San Jose Sharks on Facebook

GIF:     MLB.com

Niall Horan & Louis Tomlinson Participate in Soccer Aid 2016

Last Sunday, One Direction bandmates, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson took part in Soccer Aid 2016. Soccer Aid is a charity soccer game held at Old Trafford in England every two years to benefit UNICEF.  Louis was a part of "Team England", while Niall (being Irish) was a part of "Team Rest of the World." Other notable celebrities/athletes that took part in this special day were: Olly Murs, Matthew Morrison, Robbie Williams, Marvin Humes, Michael Sheen, Jack Whitehall, Cafu, and Ronaldinho. Jose Mourinho and Big Sam managed "Team England", while Claudio Ranieri and Niall managed "Team Rest of the World." Even soccer legend, Pele showed up for the festivities as the guest of honor.

The teams spent the whole week prior to the event practicing for the big match. They were given the full professional footballer experience through trainings with professional soccer managers, team bonding sessions, trash talking with their opponents, suit fittings for the bus ride and pregame, and to top it all off; a kit with their last name and number waiting for them at their locker at Old Trafford.

Niall was subbed into the game with about 20 minutes left of play time; Louis was shortly put in after that. Even though they were trash talking to each other due to being on opposite teams, they stayed close to each other on the pitch, one second being competitive and the next laughing and hugging like they usually do. This was a breath of fresh air for us One Direction fans who are missing interaction between the boys on their current break.

In the end, Team England won the match by a score of 3-2. Competitive Louis was all smiles drinking his bottle of champagne and holding his team's trophy. We all know he won't be letting Niall live this loss down for a long time, though the real winner of this event was UNICEF. Soccer Aid this year, raised an amazing €5.4 million.

I am so proud of both Niall and Louis for being such amazing people, using what they have been given to benefit others. They could have spent that week and night out partying like most celebrities their age, yet they choose to dedicate it to raising money for UNICEF. Not only did they get to live out their boyhood dreams of being football players, they also saved lives while doing so. 

Photos: Soccer Aid

             Just Jared

             Daily Mail

            @louist91 on instagram

            @niallhoran on instagram

Horan & Rose 2016

This past weekend, One Direction singer, Niall Horan, teamed up
with golfer, Justin Rose, for the "Horan & Rose" charity gala. The event was held at The Grove in England; with the intent to raise awareness and funds for the Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens. The gala included dinner by Jamie Oliver, a bar with specialty drinks like the "Horan Shamrock Spritz" and the "Justin Rose-ini", a display of some of Niall's many awards from throughout the years, several raffles, and performances by Olly Murs. Niall and Justin even joined Olly on stage and sang the One Direction hit, "Perfect". The following morning, a charity Pro-Am was held to wrap up the Horan & Rose event. When it was all said and done, the Horan & Rose charity gala dinner and Pro-Am raised €800,000 which is $909,280 in American dollars.

On top of that amazing amount of money raised, Niall did a Represent tee shirt/hoodie campaign to raise money for Irish Autism Action and the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation. The shirts and hoodies included a design with a silhouette of Niall doing his signature "Horan Jump" with his guitar, as well as a shamrock and rose to represent the "Horan & Rose"campaign. You could choose either black or white- $25 for a shirt, $39.99 for a hoodie. Niall also announced on his instagram page that 50 of the shirts would be signed by him personally. The Represent campaign ended last night and the final total was mind blowing as well: $538,934. He raised over half a million dollars by selling t-shirts.... T-SHIRTS. Crazy.

I am personally so proud of both Niall and Justin for using their positions in the music and sports worlds to help those who are less fortunate. I also truly hope that the Horan & Rose gala becomes an annual event, because it seems to have been a Hole in One.

Photos: Just Jared

          @niallhoran on Instagram 

Bobbletolo Colon

May 7, 2016. A day that will forever go down in history. The day New York Mets pitcher, Bartolo Colon hit his first MLB home run. The baseball world was afire and so were his hamstrings as he ran the bases (most likely). With Bartolo's shot off of James Shields, he became the oldest player (at 42 years old) in MLB history to hit his first career home run. Us baseball fans finally got to experience the moment we were all waiting for.

To commemorate this momentous occasion, Forever Collectibles has created a Bartolo Colon Home Run Bobblehead. The best part? Not only does his head bobble, SO DOES HIS STOMACH. Genius. Bobble Bartolo is sporting his Mets uniform and his home run swing, standing on a newspaper containing the headline: "Oldest Pitcher in MLB History Hits a Home Run." Behind him is Citi Field's signature center field big apple, even though Bartolo hit his home run at the Padres' Petco Park. Although the bobblehead is just a mock up pre order, I am sure it will create enough buzz to get them into production.

I personally can't wait to get my hands on Big Sexy.... Well, Big Sexy's bobblehead that is.

Photo: Fox Sports

Niall Horan & Justin Timberlake Surprise Drive, Chip, and Putt Participants

Tomorrow, the Masters tradition of the Drive, Chip, and Putt Contest for youngsters will take place. Today was a practice day for the kids to polish up before the big day. These 80 kids were looked upon by their parents, professional golfers (like Justin Rose), and two very well known singers. My favorite boyband member of my childhood, Justin Timberlake, and my current favorite boyband member, Niall Horan surprised the kids with a visit. Both Niall and Justin are huge golf fans and were more than happy to visit the boys and girls to help alleviate the pressure of the competition. Niall and Justin talked with the kids, took selfies, and helped them with some last minute touches on their golf game.


Not only was this a big day for these kids, it was also a very big day for me. When I was in Kindergarten, Nsync was my life. I had their dolls, chapstick with their faces on it, a tin lunchbox, and went to two of their concerts (one of them being at the Oakland Coliseum). Now, present day, I'm obsessed with Niall and One Direction. I've been to three of their concerts, own tons of 1D memorabilia, and carry a lunchbox with their faces on it to college. It's the Circle of Boyband Fandom Life. 

The Drive, Chip, and Putt Contest is a great way to keep young kids interested in the game of golf. When asked about the importance of this event, Niall said; “These are kids who are still 7, 8 and 9 years old and up who are still very impressionable and will learn a lot in these years. It was great to come and visit with them and surprise them.” 
With such exciting visitors this year, can you imagine what the sign up list will look like for 2017?
Oh how I wish I was a kid again...

Here's to hoping this day has blossomed a beautiful new friendship... or maybe even a new songwriting duo? Fingers crossed. #Jiall #Nustin #TimberHoran

Photos: The Masters

             Justin Rose Instagram 

Video of Niall, Justin, & Justin's ride to surprise the kids: https://www.facebook.com/TheMasters/videos/10153517091178161/

Video of Niall being interviewed about the DCP:

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/horan-drive-chip-and-putt-kids-are-inspirational/?cid=facebook-gc-v-horan-drive-chip-and-putt-kids-are-inspirational-040316 

Chicago Cubs Get Visit From Real Bear Cubs at Spring Training

Chicago Cubs manager, Joe Maddon has always been known for bringing many different people and activities into his team's clubhouse to help keep things loose. In the past, he has arranged visits from penguins, hired a DJ to play in the clubhouse, mimes, motivational speakers and even had a magician perform for his players. His latest antic this morning was bringing real life bear cubs from Bearizona Wildlife Park to Cubs Spring Training workouts. Cubs players and coaches got to interact with the 3-5 month old cubs and have been given the opportunity to name them. This is just the kind of thing you would expect from Maddon. With the Cubs being a young team with a manager who likes to keep things light and fun, I personally can't wait to see how they contend this year.

    

Photos:
Jesse Rogers- twitter
Carrie Muskat- twitter
Jon Greenberg- twitter

Waxdell Stephen Curry

Yesterday, Madame Tussauds of San Francisco unveiled a new wax figure of Golden State Warriors MVP, Steph Curry that will be displayed at their Fisherman's Wharf museum in a weeks time. The unveiling took place in Oakland with the whole Curry clan in attendance. The wax figure looks so much like the real Steph, I don't think Riley Curry could tell the difference. She proudly held on to Wax Steph's arm and looked at it with admiration. His figure is wearing the Warriors home white uniform, complete with Curry Ones with his signature "I Can Do All Things..." quote in his own handwriting. Steph also decided to use snapchat filters with his wax figure. The snapchat face swap filter between he and his figure was especially unsettling, yet awesome. Steph has made such an impact on the people of the Bay Area and around the world, whether it be on the court or off of it; it is only fitting that he be eternalized by Madame Tussauds.

At least Steph's figure actually looks like him, because One Direction's wax figures at Fisherman's Wharf? Not so much....

Photos:

SF Gate

Julie Phayer- twitter

Cork Gaines- twitter

SB Nation

Orlando Tourist Blog

Nick McSwisher - The Breakfast Giver

What's better than McDonalds breakfast in the morning? Apparently this is a mantra Nick Swisher likes to live by. Yesterday morning, before Spring Training workouts, the Braves veteran decided to spoil the fans who had come to watch. He had bought several McMuffins at McDonalds and proceeded to throw them to fans. Considering his charisma and kind heart, this did not come as a surprise to fans; but was a reminder to us all that such a small gesture really can brighten someone's day. In addition to gifting the fans McDonalds, he also signed their McMuffin wrappers. In my opinion, an autograph is way better than any Happy Meal toy McDonalds has ever offered. Fans who received a sandwich from Swisher, expressed their gratitude over twitter and Swish responded, "My pleasure! @McDonalds for everyone." Looks like Ronald McDonald has some competition. Spring Training... We're lovin it.

Photo: Twitter- @NickSwisher 

Video of Swish delivering the McDonalds to fans:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nflvideos/swisher-gives-out-mcdonalds/vp-BBq8mkb