The Duffster is finally unpregnant

Hilary Duff finally had the baby it seemed like she was carrying for the last year or so. Congrats, by the way. And there was a public sighting of the Duffster the other day, and oh my goodness gracious! Is there a lot more of her to love now:

Yowzers! Talk about chunky goodness! Of course, Hilary's never really been the petite beauty. She's always had some solid hotness to her. And we're liking that:

The way these Hollywood types get back into shape after childbirth, we may get to see if she can be sporting a bikini before summer's over.

Here's to hope.

Late night hotness . . .

Can't decide if it's the faux pearls or the gloves that make this outfit come alive for me . . .

Too tired to blog . . .

Don't know if it's an actual conspiracy, but it feels like the Post Office is trying to kill me prior to my vacation. Sheesh, what a workload this week!

So here's a few pics of Vanessa Hudgens in all her doughy goodness making my workplace and route look so much nicer . . .

And for a bit of reference -- here's one of the party scenes shot at the Coral Reef Hotel. Out of camera range is the old beach bar at the Reef that's been closed for years. Done a ton of partying there:

Tony Stewart wins at Fontana

Tony Stewart won the rain shortened Auto Club 400 at Fontana today.

After Kyle Busch led the first 80 or so laps, Stewart ran him down and blew past to take the lead. Smoke made a couple of hard passes along the way, diving down to the bottom of the track then drifting up to cut off slower drivers such as Kevin Harvick and Busch.

The maneuver, fair but a tad brusk, brought some griping from Harvick and booth announcer Daryl Waltrip, who seems to have forgotten his own ruthless style of driving during his career. Stewart complained over his radio that Harvick was being less than courteous to a faster driver. So make of it what you will, I suppose.

I'm reminded of a comment Stewart made during the early stages of last year's Chase. Tony stated in an interview that he had been overly nice all season, not roughing up other drivers and giving what he felt was more than his share of on track courtesy. Once in the chase, Stewart said he was calling in all the markers owed him and would take what he wanted when he wanted it. That hard driving style won him the season's title. And he seems to be carrying that over into this season as well.

Once in the lead today, Stewart never looked back. As rain approached, the track went under a yellow caution flag. Inexplicably, second place driver Denny Hamlin was brought into the pits by crew chief Darien Grubb. That decision cost Hamlin a finish out of the top ten. Announcers tried to sugar coat the blunder by Grubb, but this is the same sort of miscalculations that cost the affable crew chief his job with Stewart at the end of last season.

Tony is the first multiple race winner this season. This is a hot start for the talented and driven Stewart and could be a harbinger of another serious run at the Sprint Cup title for the three time champion.

Congrats Tony!

Rule 5 Sunday -- Kristy Swanson

Today's Rule 5 posting is Kristy Swanson.

I was watching the NASCAR race today, and the celeb starter was Ms. Swanson. I was struck by how nice she looked since the last time I saw her in anything, it was an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and she was playing this Anna Nicole Smith look-a-like. And sadly, she was so overweight and bloated looking that I did not even recognize her until the credits rolled.

But she looked really good today, even though it was only a short glimpse. Hopefully she's on her way to better, safer health and a return to the beauty that we fell for in the Buffy movie way back when.

A couple of these images are from a Maxim layout a while back and a couple are from Kristy's Playboy appearance and are fully nsfw, so use some discretion.

*click on the thumbnails for full-sized images*

Rule 5 Sunday suggested by this.

Hat tips:
Jake Finnegan
The Daley Gator
The Classic Liberal
Say Anything Blog
Proof Positive
Reaganite Republican

The Bolts are making me :-(

After coming to within one game of the Stanley Cup finals last year, the Lightning are languishing at the bottom of the division this season.

Hockey is unlike any other professional team sport. One player can make or break a team, and that player is the goaltender. Problem with the Bolts -- they don't have a stud in net. Last year's feel good story, Dwayne Roloson hit the age wall this season and the 41 year old is playing like a 41 year old. Career back up goalie Mathieu Garon is showing why he's always been a back up and not a starter. He's had flashes of hot play, but nothing steady or reliable. When Garon went down with an injury, the team called up a kid from the minors, Dustin Tokarski, who literally played his guts out. But with, at one point, eight guys on the ir, the team lost something like six of seven games and any chance of salvaging the season.

I thought at one point, the way GM Yzerman was stockpiling draft picks, Stevie Y was going to package the picks and make a blockbuster trade for a money goalie. He did not, apparently content to slog out the rest of this season with the guys we've got.

It's a pity goal scoring machine Steven Stamkos is tearing up the league with 52 goals and 87 points on a last place team. Kid should be wowing the world in the playoffs, not going home and hoping for better next year.

The big guys on this team, Martin St. Louis and Vinnie Lecavalier aren't getting any younger. I think there's only a one or two year window to get these guys back into the finals again. I'm hoping Yzerman has something up his sleeve besides the wart on his elbow, otherwise it could be a long wait until I get to see another Cup final in Tampa.

Bummer.

The Red Sox are making me :-\

After last year's historic collapse, Boston released Terry Francona and allowed GM Theo Epstein to depart. Correctly predicted on this very blog *back pat* the Sox hired Bobby Valentine to be the new skipper.

Valentine's been a breath of fresh air since coming on board with his manic intensity. He's also done some good pr and basic managing stuff that's been a little overdue for the team. Outlawing alcohol in the clubhouse was a simple way to scrub away the taint from last year's faux scandal, and forcing the pitching staff to work on basics like fielding their positions -- I think the Sox have the worst pitcher's fielding percentage in baseball, sends a message to the team that no one playing for Boston will be given elitist status.

Ownership also dropped some coin to bring back David Ortiz for one more season. A good move from both a pr and run production standpoint.

But from there it gets a little muddy. The pitching staff is oddly weak. Daniel Bard is attempting to be a starter for the first time since college. Bard was supposedly the heir apparent to Papelbon, but struggled as a closer. He seemed suited to be a set-up guy well enough, but pushing him into the four slot as a starter? Hmmm . . .

And platooning the five slot? Double hmmm . . .

I get the impression the team is biding its time waiting for Dice-K to come back from Tommy John surgery later this year. But with no one solidly there as an insurance plan, what happens if Dice cannot come back?

The team also released solid shortstop Marco Scutaro and appear to be willing to platoon that position as well. This is the Sox we're talking about here, right?! Not some low income team like the Rays?! What's with all the rotating players bit guys?!

They're hoping that under Valentine's hands-on style of coaching, $140 million man Carl Crawford can actually earn his income this season.

I mean all this finger crossing and what if action is a bit amazing for a team with one of the top payrolls in baseball. I don't know. I'm really on the fence about this team. With the expanded playoffs this year, they have a shot at getting in as a wild card. I'm not optimistic about the Sox challenging for the division, but if everything breaks right . . .

What a wierd way to look at the season for this team.

The Bucs are making me :-)

Sometime after the end of last year's disastrous season, the Glazers must have looked up from their fish and chips at Wembley Stadium and realized that their American football team had become a laughingstock once again.

Releasing the horribly incompetent Raheem Morris, the team went out and hired Greg Schiano away from Rutgers. Personally, I would have been happy if the Glazers had backed a dumptruck full of money, with "We're Sorry :-(" hand written on each bill, to Monte Kiffin's door, but this hire appears to have been a good one.

Schiano has assembled a stout collection of coaches, including the qb coach from the Giants, Mike Sullivan, to be the offensive coordinator. After working with Eli Manning in NY, Sullivan's got the pedigree to determine if the Bucs Freeman truly is the next big thing or simply the next Vinnie Testaverde -- a big kid with a big arm, but missing that "it" factor.

Also picking up Bill Sheridan formerly of both the Dolphins and the Giants, Schiano's shown the savvy to pick up coaches who know and are used to being champions. But I believe the best hire was former Browns head coach Butch Davis.

Davis was brought on board to be Schiano's special assistant, along with a defensive coach. With a background in both the pros and college -- Davis was at Miami, and recently UNC, Schiano has someone close to him to give advice on the nuance of pro football from a head coach's viewpoint. Which is quite different from college. And it shows that while Schiano is confident in his own abilities to be a head coach, he realizes he's got some unfamiliar territory ahead of him and is willing to listen to someone who's already been there.

That's a plus in my book.

The Bucs went into the free agency period a whopping $68 million under the salary cap and got their Yankees on as they bought every top free agent on the market. Stud receiver Vincent Jackson, o-line guard Carl Nicks, ball hog cornerback Eric Wright, and experienced back up qb Dan Orlovsky.

With the death penalty punishment levied against the Saints recently, the Bucs just became a serious threat in the NFC south this upcoming season. There's a lot of what ifs of course -- the d-line has to remain healthy, for one, but this is the first time I've looked forward to the start of a Buccaneer season since Jon Gruden left.

Nice.

Dark Shadows trailer

Back in the early 70s, there was a soap opera on television called Dark Shadows. It was a lurid, slow paced vampire saga about Barnabas Collins (think I spelled that right), and his return to life and his beloved home -- Collinwood.

With soaps back then being pretty horrible, and something that we kids laughed at the adults for watching, this DS was right up our alley.

Well, with Hollywood running out of original material these days, they've turned to comic books and re-inventing old television shows. So much for all the so-called talent out there today, eh? And now it's DS's turn:

That Tim Burton is helming it, and from the trailer, it looks a bit campy, it's hard to say whether it will be delicious fun or a swing and miss for us old folks who were fans of the original. But it may be worth a look when it comes out.

And because I saw her in the trailer and happened to have a few pics, here's the very yummy Eva Green:

Can't get good help of the day

President Barack Obama's re-election site has a bracket challenge feature for the NCAA Tournament.

My alma mater, University of South Florida, has made the tourney this year.

Yay

Unfortunately, whoever did the webpage work for the prez, did as little research as possible into the teams this year, as when you mouse over "USF" on the bracket, you get University of San Francisco!!

Why am I not surprised at such a display of incompetence by this bunch?

Hey, they're shooting a movie down my way

That movie Spring Breakers is being shot down where I work.

Heh

Got my first brush with a Hollywood production today, as they had the road blocked off next to the Post Office, and I got to see the four girls fly up and down the street on their mopeds while I waited to turn in.

Not exactly a world changing moment, but something different in my banal life.

I'll take it :-)

Stewart wins in Vegas

Tony Stewart won the Kobalt Tools 400 today in Las Vegas.

One of only three tracks that Tony previously did not have a win at, Vegas is where the discontent with former crew chief Darien Grubb began last season.

After dominating the entire race in 2011, Stewart lost on a late race pit bungle and complained openly after the race saying, "Someone needs to explain to me how we lost this race!"

This year, Tony took no chances. Showing the same fierce determination that welled up during the championship run last season, Tony simply refused to lose today's race. Though Jimmie Johnson may have had a better car, Stewart repeated blew the other racers away on restarts and once again, out-gutted Johnson in the final 4 lap finale.

It's a nice bit of redemption for Tony as he's taken some heat from casual race fans for dumping the affable Grubb after last year's championship winning season. This was magnified by Grubb's win last week with Denny Hamlin at Phoenix.

This is the earliest in a season that Tony's won a race and perhaps a harbinger of the season to come. At least at this point, there is no obvious let down or hangover from the 2011 Championship, and Tony looks hungry to win another won right away.

Also kudos to Ryan Newman for his fourth place finish. That gives Stewart-Haas racing two cars in the top five today.

nice

Bush league move of the day

Playing against the Orioles the other day, Rays manager Joe Maddon had the guys get up in the dugout and give Baltimore's Robert Andino a standing ovation.

Who is Andino? He's the guy who drove in the run that ended the Red Sox's season and allowed the Rays to fall into the playoffs last year.

The Rays have been dining out on their lucky pass for the entire off season, with pictures of them celebrating like they actually won something.

"He was startled by it; he had no idea what was going on," Maddon said. "He was looking around. I thought it was pretty good."

Of course he was startled. Andino's a professional ballplayer, and in the pros, you don't do silly little league stuff like that.

This is just another example of the minor-league attitude that surrounds this club. I root for the Rays because they're my hometown team, but its stuff like this and the faux-rivalry with the Sox and all the irrational hatred they send towards Boston that turns me off.

I see Sue Carlton's at it again

Taking a momentary departure from her usual fight to force patients to declare whether or not they own firearms to their doctor ('cause you can't prescribe an asprin without knowing information like that) or publish the names of concealed weapons permit owners on the front page of the newspaper (because these law abiding citizens are such a threat to society) or reduce city speed limits to 5 mph (because any idiot pedestrian should be able to wander out into traffic without being concerned about getting run over), Tampa Bay Times (formerly St. Pete Times) writer Sue Carlton has found a new conservative injustice to rail at.

Jose Godinez-Samperio has graduated FSU law school and passed the Florida Bar exam. Problem is that Jose is not a citizen of the United States of America and as such is not eligible for admission to the Bar.

Jose's parents came here from Mexico on a tourist visa and naturally, and illegally, stayed after their visa expired. Jose went to school, did well, became an Eagle Scout (more on that in a moment) and went to FSU law school.

Sue naturally frames her complaint around the immigration debate and the hand-wringing entreaty that we not punish the children of illegals for their parents acts.

Problem here is that Jose, clearly an intelligent young man, knew he was here illegally. He is currently 25 years old which means he's had ample time to apply for and become a legal citizen of this country.

As mentioned above, Jose is an Eagle Scout with BSA. As a boy scout, I'm sure Jose is familiar with the various requirements of scouting, to wit:

The foremost responsibility of an Eagle Scout is to live with honor. or

Eagle Rank testifies that a Scout has an understanding of his community and his nation or

I, [ Scout's name ], believe in the Boy Scouts of America as a movement that has as its aim and purpose, character building and citizenship training.

Did Jose simply not pay attention when he was taking these oaths? When he achieved his citizenship badge with the scouts, what did he think being a citizen meant? What part of lying about his citizenship did Jose find to be honorable?

When he was taking law classes at FSU, he surely knew he would not be allowed to enter the bar as a non-citizen. So what was he hoping? That some bleeding heart liberal like Sue Carlton would jump to his rescue and gin up some outrageous outrage over his plight to get him a free pass into the millionaires club that is the law profession?

As an Eagle Scout, Jose is supposed to be setting an example for others to follow. What example is he setting here? Flout the law when its convenient? Deliberately lie to those around you to achieve your goals? Cry foul to the media when you can't get what you want?

Sounds like the perfect lawyer for the Obama administration.

Oddly enough, Milla doesn't have to hide her hips

In a recent issue of Maxim [Australia] actress Milla Jovovich, 37 year old mother of one, showed off her abs, which looked hard enough to shell walnuts on:

In a recent issue of Maxim [US] actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, 33 years old - no children, continued to use every photographer's trick in the book to hide her size 2 *cough, cough* hips:

PHOTOG: Okay Jen, turn sideways . . . a little more . . . a little more . . .

JLove: But they can't see my boobs!

PHOTOG: Oh yeah, right. Okay, put your arms at your sides. Yeah. Now out wider . . . wider . . . wider . . . *groans* This isn't working! Get me a big fuzzy coat! *groans again* Oy! This is barely working. What about a blanket? Didn't we use a lawnchair that one time? Where's that? *whispers off to the side* We've got Photoshop, right? Sexy smile now . . . aw yeah honey, that's a keeper!

Seriously, you know it went like that.

Man, did I pick the wrong line of work

I mentioned in an earlier post that my fridge went on the fritz. Well, the repair guy came out today.

I should mention that my refrigerator is 15 years old, and other than replacing the water filter, I've never had a problem with it. For the record, it is a Frigidaire Gallery Professional Series. Hey, no shame in plugging something where consumer's are getting their money's worth. Right?

Anyway, the repair guy comes out, diagnoses the problem -- relay for the auto-defrost isn't working, so the coils freeze over and viola - quits cooling.

But here's my thing -- a $24 part plus $200 labor! Seriously! The guy was there for maybe an hour!

Like I said . . . I'm in the wrong line of work!

---

And just to find something that puts a smile on my face, here's busty beauty Jordan Carver adding some value to the government's cash for clunkers program:

Okay, which one of these gals is 18 again?

Dueling mascara-eyed rockers Avril Lavigne and Taylor Momsen both released videos recently. Both girls are getting their emo on in these songs and accompanying vids:

You may want to skip ahead to the 1:45 mark in Avril's to avoid her awkward introduction, which is what prompted the title of this post.

I've said before that I think Taylor's actually got some pretty good vocal chops, though they are not really evidenced in this song. And I still think her band's name - The Pretty Reckless, is very cool. And I'd love to hear her get some serious songwriting and studio backing to see what she could do with some grown up budget behind her.

Rule 5 Sunday -- Ashley Brookes

This week's Rule 5 submission is Ashley Brookes. As I'm in a bit of a situation this weekend -- looks like my fridge decided to give up the ghost (why these things happen after I'm on vacation and not while I'm on vacation when I could actually get them taken care of, I'll never know!), so I had to do a little quicky here.

Once again, when I decided to see who this gal was, turns out she may be some adult actress that also goes by the name Nikki Nevada.

*sigh*

Sometimes I just feel so out of the loop with things. Ya know?

But she is cute, so there is that at least . . .

*click on the thumbnails for full-sized images*

Rule 5 Sunday suggested by this.

Hat tips:
Jake Finnegan
The Daley Gator
The Classic Liberal
Say Anything Blog
Proof Positive
Reaganite Republican