Wednesday's A.M. Hot Clicks
Brett Smiley of Weekend Hot Clicks here with you this week while Andy’s on Swimsuit Issue duty in Miami. Send online greeting cards and/or tips to basmiley [at] gmail [dot] com or hit me up on Twitter @brettsmiley.
Jurassic Entrance
Uproxx/YouTube
I didn't know anything about Japanese professional wrestling until about 2:00 a.m. this morning, when, thanks to With Leather, I witnessed possibly the greatest—and definitely the most ridiculous—wrestling entrance ever. While the doomed Hirooki Goto waited in the ring, defending heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada emerged wielding a buster sword, but not before his 15-foot-tall animatronic velociraptor cleared the stage.
Not convinced it's the best entrance? Here's the WWE's top 15 superstar entrances, completely devoid of prehistoric flesh eaters.
Monroe Annihilates Cody Zeller
Get a good look at what Pistons forward Greg Monroe did to a Zeller lay-in attempt. Even the sound is fantastic. "Block" simply isn't sufficient to describe it, so let's just say that Monroe finished the game with one humiliation.
Melo Keeps His Head on a Swivel
Hard to blame Anthony for this one, but it definitely won't go over well with La La.
Lovely Lady Of The Day
Wednesday's A.M. Hot Clicks
Today's Lovely Lady is 21-year-old Dutch model Valerie Van Der Graaf, one of this year's 12 SI Swimsuit rookies. She's on Instagram and Twitter, and if she wasn't a model she'd probably be an Olympic speed skater like everyone else from the Netherlands. Get her full gallery here and check out the video below. Also, follow Andy’s non-vault account @AndyGray35 for photos from #SISwim50 events in Miami.
Take a Miss on the Wildside
According to the latest B1G Ten Home Court Challenge standings, Northwestern's "Wildside" student section is tops in the conference, helping to hold opponents to 64.10% on free throw attempts. Hey "Red Zone" and "Hawk's Nest" members, there's still time for a few speedos. Just saying.
The Kevin Grow Show
On the second day of Pennsylvania baller Kevin Grow's two-day contract with the 76ers, the special needs teenager got his own locker and the opportunity to run out of the tunnel and join the Sixers on the floor. I can't say it better than WPVI's anchor did about Grow's choice of #33: "He got more use out of that jersey than Andrew Bynum did."
Wanna Go Fast?
Here's a few nice Olympics infographics beginning with a comparison of the fastest winter sports. Also: An examination of the most dangerous sports, and a primer on how Olympic hockey differs from the NHL. Not mentioned in that primer: Having to face Vladimir Putin after getting upset by Finland on home ice.
Odds & Ends
Mickey Mantle farting ... Sage Kotsenburg got his bacon medal finally ... Crazy John Calipari face(and here it is reversed courtesy @cjzero) ... Someone made a fake Tinder profile for T.J. Oshie ... Texas A&M is getting the nation's largest jumbotron ... High schooler hurler K'd 22 batters in a 7-inning game ... Winnipeg hockey ref is under fire for throwing a young player to the ice ... Fantastic celebration dance by Russian snowboarder ... Instagram highlights from the SI Swimsuit release ... Olli Jokinenwon a faceoff with the knob of his stick.
Happy, Highly Awkward
Pay attention to Kelly Olynyk at 0:37 and 1:38. Sorry for the second-hand embarrassment. [CelticsLife]
Cover Girl Nina Agdal
Plenty more videos where this came from.
Slow Motion Catch
This Yorkie named Kiwi is plain terrible at catch, but he excels at adorableness.
Fallon is Killing It
Here's his barber shop quartet version of "Ignition" from last night on the Tonight Show.
