Pop Culture Hot List

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 10, 2009

Pop Culture Hot List

Charles Barkley

There is preferential treatment and then there's the laughable three-day "jail sentence" Barkley served in Arizona for his DUI bust. Not only did he not have to wear a striped uniform, opting for a Nike track suit and a gold chain instead, but also he got his own tent, separate from the other inmates, and was able to have his lawyers bring him junk food and candy from outside. The highlight was a slapstick press conference he had with the sheriff while inmates looked on, which was almost as funny as seeing Barkley read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Spanish to pass the time as the paparzzi filmed him.

Terrell Owens

So apparently Trent Edwards found out Owens got released while he was at a funeral. I'll spare you the predictable doomsday jokes, but does anyone really see this working out? Will T.O., who spends most of his free time in Hollywood and South Beach, love playing in Buffalo? Will T.O., who has had a bad relationship with every Pro Bowl quarterback he has played with, get along with an unproven signal caller like Edwards? Will T.O., who has dismantled every Super Bowl contender he has been on, thrive on a team that was below .500 and hasn't made the playoffs in a decade?

Alex Rodriguez

It would be one thing if A-Rod was having A-surgery and was gone for A-month, but it looks like he will need another surgery in the offseason. I'm starting to get the feeling we won't be seeing much of Rodriguez, whether he likes it or not.

Sean Avery

Back with the Rangers, the NHL's former bad boy has been surprisingly tame and unusually boring. There goes one of the few intriguing characters left in hockey.

Manny Ramirez

It's beginning to make sense why "Manny Being Manny" fits so well in .LA. In the new book "Becoming Manny," Jean Rhodes and Shawn Boburg write that Manny reads inspirational books such as "The Secret," does Mantra yoga, meditates and chants,to clear his head of negative thoughts. Sounds very Mannywood, er Hollywood. He also skips out on bills apparently, rarely carrying cash and frequently borrowing 15 bucks for lunch from his teammates -- then driving off in a $30,000 car.

Marta and Kobe Bryant

Who needs the most overrated soccer player in the world when you have arguably the best soccer player in the world. Women's Professional Soccer may not be getting a lot of buzz but there is no more exciting player in the sport than Marta, who will be playing for the upstart Los Angeles Sol. Her signing even caused Kobe Bryant to welcome her to town and hopelessly attempt to block some of her shots while in goal.

Tom Brady

Finally we can stop comparing Brady's life to that of Vincent Chase's on Entourage and actually see both of them on screen together. Brady recently filmed a cameo appearance on the HBO show, which will air sometime this fall. Now if they can just get Gisele to make a cameo appearance at some point this season as well.

Pacman Jones and Alonzo Mourning

The only thing more depressing than seeing Pacman Jones and Alonzo Mourning on Pros vs. Joes -- after both were in the NFL and the NBA mere months ago -- is hearing that both got into fist fights with the Joes on the show. I would have expected that from Jones, but c'mon Zo.

Serena Williams and Jimmy Fallon

Fallon might have been uncomfortably tight during his first week of hosting Late Night, but his hilarious mini beer pong game with Serena Williams seems to have been a turning point for Fallon, who has looked far more comfortable since the skit. We'll see if Williams' first beer pong win can do the same for her on the court.

Lawrence Taylor

NFL stars usually do well on Dancing with the Stars, making it to the final round or actually winning it all, as Emmitt Smith did a few years ago. Well, that was before L.T. strutted his stuff on the show this week. It will be a minor miracle if Taylor makes it past the first couple cuts judging by his opening number.