Pop Culture Hot List

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 16, 2009

Pop Culture Hot List

Serena Williams

Serena told reporters after her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open that she couldn't remember what she said to a line judge that caused her to be penalized on match point for Kim Clijsters. In case Williams needs a reminder, video of her berating and threatening the official has been all over YouTube.

Kanye West

Can we all agree that anything that comes out of Kanye's mouth that isn't synthesized and laid over a beat makes about as much sense as his hairdo?

Michael Jordan

So you want to be like Mike? You want to be a legend who holds petty grudges and won't let old feuds die? In his Hall of Fame induction speech, the greatest player of all time couldn't help but knock guys like Bryon Russell and Jerry Krause, as well as his old high school coach and the player whom the coach picked instead of Jordan for the varsity team. It was like hearing Tom Hanks trash Peter Scolari and the cast of Bosom Buddies after winning the Academy Award.

Tom Brady

Brady's arm may be in midseason form (he led the Patriots to a comeback victory against the Bills on Monday), but he's going to have to work on his legs. If he can't outrun Suzy Kolber as she tries to chase him down for a postgame interview, how can he expect to elude pass rushers this season?

Madden Curse

Why does anyone still agree to be on the cover of this game? Every year a new player gets on the cover, says he's not worried about the `'Madden Curse'' and proceeds to get injured and/or see his career go up in flames. (Troy Polamalu, who shares this year's cover with Larry Fitzgerald, is out 3-6 weeks after injuring his knee in the Steelers' opener.) It's like the opening scene of a horror film; everyone knows how it's going to turn out except the football player in the varsity jacket who says he'll go check on that creepy sound in the wilderness.

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger

You know you're doing pretty well in life when you are in a position to dump the Pussycat Dolls' Scherzinger. A British tabloid quoted a source close to Hamilton as saying that the 24-year-old F1 champion `'wants to play the singles market for a while and enjoy himself.'' Yeah, you know, because you can't really enjoy yourself with the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls.

Bar Refaeli and Chase Crawford

After moving on from Leonardo DiCaprio, the SI Swimsuit model is apparently focusing her attention on the Gossip Girl star. The New York Daily News reported that the couple were all over each other last weekend in New York. With Chace's younger sister, Candice, reportedly dating Tony Romo, that could make for a decent double date sometime down the line.

WAGs

When the English national team plays, more cameras are directed toward the players' picturesque wives and girlfriends (WAGs) than on the field. But that apparently won't be the case at next year's World Cup, because coach Fabio Capello will limit the contact between players and WAGs. Now few will care if England advances. After all, what's the point of watching Wayne Rooney if you can't see Coleen McLoughlin?

Ellen Degeneres

The best part of her joining American Idol as a judge is hearing people complain that DeGeneres isn't a singer and doesn't know anything about music. Have any of these people ever heard Paula Abdul sing?

Rodney King

A submission for this week's sign of the apocalypse: King, famous for being beaten by police officers in 1991, defeated a former cop to win the Celebrity Boxing Federation heavyweight belt.