Friday, April 29

These Shoes Are Your Childhood


Converse has done 80s and 90s babies everywhere a service with their Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary shoes. Anyone who has played any Mario, nay, any Nintendo game at all can appreciate these. From the retro NES Mario figures littering the background to the Invincible Star taking the place of the traditional Converse logo, the kicks have style. Right now they’re only available in Japan, but are slated for a July release stateside. Until then, we’ll just have to salivate.

Thursday, April 28

Tony Allen, We Like Your Haircut

Memphis' Tony Allen has a bit of a reputation in the NBA. He's a great lockdown defender, and up until this year he was known less for his offense and more for missing jump shots and tearing his ACL on plays that had been blown dead. Well, he promised a new 'do prior to Game 4 of his team's opening round series against the Spurs. Sadly, that haircut was axed before the game, and it seemed like it was just all talk. Well, the look has finally been tweeted (via Fox Sports Memphis radio host Chris Vernon), and it is pretty amazing.


Yes, there is added glitter and chalk, but that doesn't deter from the fact this man had a grizzly shaved into his head. There's just an unspeakable level of awesome about that. Perhaps if Gary Neal hadn't made a ridiculous three and the Grizz had won the series tonight, the waif would be back. We can only hope if Memphis does move to round 2, a new Tony Allen will emerge.

Wednesday, April 27

When Old Memes Get Revisited...

So, thanks to the great website StumbleUpon, we here at A Hot Cup have, well, stumbled upon a nice little meme that was apparently big a month or two ago. It's a stick figure eating cereal and making snide comments that the celebrity he's looking at in their childhood phase will never have a girlfriend. It's called "He'll Never Have a Girlfriend." Creative, right? In any case, Stick Figure Cereal Dude (SFCD) is eating his cereal and seems to be correct in his assessment. But then he sees the celebrity now and spits out his cereal. Usually. It's the times he doesn't that are funnier, but it's still fantastic regardless. Here are some of the favorites:



Monday, April 25

Easter Weekend Images

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter! Here are some of the most memorable moments and coolest images from the weekend's action in the NBA Playoffs (pictures courtesy of Yahoo! Sports).

Louis Williams nails a 3-pointer with the 76ers staring elimination in the face. Onions, baby onions!


Brandon Roy, who had just two points in the first two games of this series, converted a 4-point play and then nailed this jumper that proved to be the eventual game-winner. Ironically, both of these plays made the score 84-82.


Zach Randolph is not really known as a 3-point shooter. But he proves to never let conventional wisdom get in the way of your dreams as he clinches the Game 3 win for the Grizz.


Jarrett Jack and Lamar Odom fight for a loose ball in the 4th quarter of their Sunday night game. The Hornets, courtesy of a big shot from Jack, won 93-88 to tie the series at two games apiece.

A fan remembers the glory days of the Chicago Bulls dominant championship teams. The Bulls are among the possible championship contenders this year, although they lost 89-84 on Saturday to the Pacers, forcing the series back to Chicago with the Bulls up 3-1.

Chris Andersen, the "Birdman," dunks during Game 3 of the Nuggets-Thunder series. Denver lost 97-94, and the Thunder recorded their first road win in franchise history.

Thursday, April 21

Making Dreams an (Augmented) Reality

The Dallas Mavericks have an early lead on the Portland Trailblazers in their first round NBA playoffs series. Could it be in part because of a cool new Augmented Reality feature? Starting with Game 1 and continuing throughout the playoffs, the Mavs are offering anyone with an Android phone the ability to turn their game ticket into a game itself. Those without Android phones can still go around the arena and play at one of the booths. But then you’d have to miss the action of the real game, right? Check out Jason Terry promoting the idea in a very cheesy way below.

Wednesday, April 20

Sliiiiide to the Left!

Mississippi, while generally considered more of a hotbed for football, does have its share of baseball talent as well. Just check out the heated rivalry between Tupelo High and South Panola High—or more specifically, check out this slide by Tupelo’s Caleb Walker. With his team down by a run in the bottom of the sixth inning (the final inning if we’re playing by Backyard Baseball rules), Walker got a little creative in the way he avoided the catcher.



Now, this is a great way to avoid a tag, but it’s not quite as fun as barreling over a catcher blocking the plate, or flipping over him, as Brian Kownacki of the Fordham Rams demonstrated last year.



And sometimes, a baserunner will completely overrun everything—catcher, plate, even the umpire. But the moral of the below video is to never give up, kids.

Tuesday, April 19

Sofia Vergara Channels David Beckham

Actress Sofia Vergara, of Modern Family fame, stars in a new commercial for Pepsi that also features David Beckham of the LA Galaxy. Well, we think he still plays for them. The man still looks good though, and while we here at A Hot Cup would have more of a reaction to seeing Vergara at the beach than Beckham, well, that’s not the point of the commercial. The point is, Pepsi tastes good, and Vergara’s conniving self will stop at nothing to get some. Check out the commercial below, as well as some bonus footage of Beckham kicking soccer balls into garbage cans—just another entry into the long list of videos that are cool but have no relevance to the sport being showcased.



Monday, April 18

Every Celebrity Jeopardy Sketch Ever...Yes!

Thank you, FunnyorDie. The Celebrity Jeopardy sketches are some of the funniest things Saturday Night Live has done this decade (and last decade too), and now all of them are chronicled in one convienent place. While they originally just started out as a way for Norm MacDonald to get his Burt Reynolds character onto SNL, they became a vehicle for hilarity. Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery imitation – complete with abuse of Alex Trebek – is is probably the most notorious thing to come out of the show, but there are plenty of witty moments. Well, maybe witty isn’t the best word, but they are definitely funny. Check out our personal favorite below, as well as the rest right here.

Bob-omb, Bob-omb!

As any fan of A Hot Cup knows, we love parodies. And we also love Mario. Therefore, when the two are combined, it’s only natural that we’d find it and enjoy it. YouTube user Insane Ian has created a spoof of “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, and the result is pretty fantastic. Check out the video, entitled “Bob-omb,” below:

Friday, April 15

"Friday" for Game Boy Color

It turns out Game Boy Color games are still coming out, after all. YouTube user SmalesandPayne has developed a lovely little romp through everyone’s favorite day of the week. It looks to be a challenging game, but we’re sure those who complete it will be rewarded justly. No word yet on price or release date.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Chaplin

The great English actor Charlie Chaplin would be 122 years old today if he were still alive. While that would qualify as a record for longest-tenured life, we doubt Chaplin would still be entertaining the masses if he were still kickin' it, simply because his style of comedy probably doesn’t suit a centenarian very well. Either way, his performances during the silent picture era were fantastic, and his iconic mustache has been borrowed heavily since, sometimes accidentally, a la Michael Jordan in those Hanes commercials. Although most people would suggest Jordan's mustache more closely resembles that of Hitler's, we prefer to think Jordan was paying homage to Chaplin.

To honor the actor, Google’s homepage today has a neat short video in the vaudeville/mime/slapstick style Chaplin helped make famous.

Wednesday, April 13

It's Tumble-tastic!

While we'll refrain from making some sort of Tumblr-related joke, Polish gymnast Jozef Wadecki is making the internet rounds with an incredible display of body control, doing handsprings, twists and whipbacks like they were second nature. And for gymnasts they probably are. Watch the amazing video below.

Tuesday, April 12

Let's Make a Sport!

Today's activity is Kronum--which combines about 12 different sports into one. It seems complicated as all get-up, but it also simultaneously seems awesome. This Wired article does a fantastic job trying to break down the sport, which was created a year ago by some Philadelphia locals. If it can somehow combine the best elements of all the sports it borrows from, this game could easily sweep college campuses, playgrounds, and the like. Below is a brief tutorial on how to play, and a warning to caution your eyes if you're opposed to pure bouts of awesome.

Monday, April 11

8-Bit Boxing

We’re big fans of sounds being put together to create music (think those movie theater scenes, where a guy coughs, a woman fumbles around in her purse, a kid shakes his huge container of popcorn, and those noises coupled with about 15 other activities produce a fairly catchy tune. Well, YouTube user MrSeberi has done video game fanatics a great service with his homage to the Game Boy. It’s a solid minute and a half of a pretty catchy beat, and there are no added effects—it’s simply noises made with the system and accessories. As one commenter called it, “8bitboxing,” which has a nice ring to it. Kind of like this song.

Because We Like Stupid Videos

Yes, sometimes we are gluttons for punishment. In this case, it's watching a fairly dumb video about a day in the life of your average ninja, courtesy of YouTube user nigahiga. Don't say we didn't warn you, although ninjas are generally interesting, so it's worth a look.

Friday, April 8

Playoff Beards!

Post 101 of this blog. Insane. Too bad there was no fanfare for 100 because we don't roll like that!

Speaking of rolls, the Orlando Sentinel has done an amazing thing on their website. That's right--you can now give players their own beards! Members of the Magic have vowed not to shave during the playoffs, and while that seems to be frowned upon in most places of business, in the NBA, it's a sign of team unity. And now you can get in on the fun by playing around on the site. Who knows? Maybe you can get "The Marley" look to work on Hedo Turkoglu too!

Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski Showdown!

Well, it's not so much a showdown as it is a very funny commercial by New Era. The company is planning a season-long campaign on rivalries, and anyone who even remotely follows baseball can guess what the first one is.

But since many of our readers do NOT follow baseball, we'll tell you: the Yankees and the Red Sox. Baldwin, a longtime Yankee fan, squares off against Krasinski and his Red Sock pride via a telephone insult battle. A week into the season, the Yanks are 4-2 and the Red Sox still haven't won a game (0-6), but a weekend series between the rivals could even things up. And if that doesn't do it, there's still 153 games to go. Enjoy the spot below.

Hey, the Tennis Courts Are Full, Let's Use an Airplane Instead!

If you're professional tennis player Novak Djokovic, then you may have uttered the above statement. Debuting the Head Youtek IG Speed MP 18x20 tennis racket, Djokovic takes to the skies in a commercial that has a ton of buildup (probably too much so), but is still really cool. Especially if you consider that the Serbian was actually on the plane, 1,000 feet in the air. The description of the video is also pretty amusing too:

Novak Djokovic is on an undefeated run, plowing through everyone and everything in his path on the ATP in 2011... running out of challenges, he decides to take on gravity and other laws of physics like drag and air resistance with his Head Youtek Speed MP 18x20. He still wins.

Video Courtesy of Head/Penn Racquet Sports.

Wednesday, April 6

A Pair of Vids

Here we have two videos, both from groups that were wildly popular and then quieted down a bit. Well, they're both back with new stuff, and they both have some fairly entertaining videos.

Let's start with what's sure to please the masses--a new Lonely Island video. After the massive success of their first album, Incredibad, the trio returned with the ever-catchy "I Just Had Sex" featuring Akon. Their newest effort is called "We're Back," and it's the intro on their second CD, Turtleneck & Chain, which is due out May 10. While definitely not as good as the first single (or even the first song off of Incredibad), it's still worth a few chuckles.



The second video is by a band that was big during the high school years ...or later if you're older...or earlier if you're younger...in any case, the group is Good Charlotte, and they released their fifth studio album, Cardiology, in 2010. While they haven't completely gotten back to their roots of their first two-albums (i.e. the vibe is still sort of dance-y), they prove with their latest single "Last Night" that they still know how to have fun, Nickelodeon style!

Tuesday, April 5

And Now, For Something Completely Similar

Many apologies for the delays in between postings, but hey, it happens sometimes. To make up for it, here is an extravaganza of thoughts. Well, mostly videos, but some thoughts.

First off, the college basketball season ended yesterday. A sad day already, but even more so if you're a Butler fan, as they shot an abysmal 18.8% from the field. That's making history the wrong way, fellas. Back-to-back appearances in the title game is nothing to scoff at, though, and while it's unlikely they'll make it a trio of trips next year, these Bulldogs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If you'll recall, way back at the beginning of March we posted the Hot Cup's picks for selecting the winners of each conference tournament. While those winners have been known since Selection Sunday three-plus weeks ago, it's still fun to revisit and see how we fared.

Highlights
Nailed a couple of gimmes with Duke and Belmont, then correctly predicted Kansas would both win their tournament and be done by the Elite 8. Too bad many brackets had Kansas as the champions. Oh well. We'll also take credit for Akron winning the wide-open MAC. Total all the correct picks and we finished 10 for 32, and if not for a Princeton buzzer beater it would have been 11 correct. Not bad if we're using baseball metrics.

Lowlights
I suppose Florida Atlantic losing in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament capped off an anemic season for that conference in general, but it didn't make our pick look any better. Also choosing Nicholls State to win the Southland looked pretty silly when they immediately got knocked out, too. The Missouri Valley title was also not a toss-up between Missouri State and Wichita State. We picked the Shockers, who didn't even make the title game, and Mizzou State lost to the Indiana State Sycamores. Should have seen THAT one coming, right?

Kurt Cobain committed suicide seventeen years ago today, and there's a full-feature film of the relationship between him and Courtney Love. Definitely emotional and longer than the average video we link to or put up here, but it's worth a viewing.

More Digital Shorts
The blokes at SNL have done it again--another random video that is sure to get a ton of views on YouTube. We'll help contribute to that view total. And Tom Hanks is in this one, so it must be a winner (spoiler: it's not a winner).



If you watched carefully, you spotted a Carmelo Anthony appearance in the above video. As many prolific New York athletes do, Anthony was on the show. Below is a clip of him portratying a woman shotput thrower on an ESPN Classic spoof.



Hey, we didn't say these were good, they're just...interesting...

Saturday, April 2

It Had to Happen...a Rebecca Black Parody

Everyone and their mother has been spoofing Rebecca Black's "Friday" music video, so we decided to take our own stab at it. Yes, it's probably about two to three weeks too late, but hopefully it's still entertaining. It's more a parody of pop music in general rather than a direct shot at Black, so enjoy the product below!

Friday, April 1

April Fool's Online Pranks

Apparently since April 1 is the only day to lie to each other, here are a couple cool April Fool's jokes to check out.

In the Hot Cup's personal favorite, Google proves they still know how to really celebrate a day by going all out with Gmail Motion. Who knows--maybe someday this will be real, but for now it's just a hilarious concept, complete with a really intense actor. The "Google Docs" part is fantastic as well. Check it out here.

A very close second on our favorites list is the new FunnyorDie homepage
which is all Rebecca Black all the time. The "singer" pokes fun at a number of gaffes in her video, and the result is hilarious--and not even hilariously bad like the original song.

Nintendo recently released their 3DS system, the first gaming device that provides 3-D without the need for glasses. Now they're releasing an accessory for it--contact lenses.

Finally, does anyone really own April Fool's Day? Well, prior to today, no, but the popular site Groupon has purchased the rights to the national pranking day.