Athletes Want To Rock Too!

Ah, to be a famous athlete. In peak physical condition, making millions of dollars, and becoming so famous people on the other side of the world wear jerseys with your name on it.

But like any celebrity, having seemingly everthing is never enough. Thanks to this sentiment, many athletes have tried their luck in the music industry with mixed results.

Did any of them make the wrong career choice? I'll let you be the judge.

1) Baseball player Bronson Arroyo covers "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls:

Hmm I guess they should've worked on those chords a little more in practice. No one wants to go to a concert and hear a song restart.

2) Boxer Manny Pacquiao featuring some comedian covering John Lennon's "Imagine":

 

Unlike the Arroyo video, I actually sat through the whole thing. If you want to see a better Pacquiao performance, check his rendition of, "Sometimes When We Touch." Or just watch him knock people out.

3) An original song by Shaq. This one is brilliantly titled, "Shoot Pass Slam."

He really went out of his element with this one. A basketball player rapping about basketball? Unheard of.

4) Los Angeles Laker's Forward Ron Artest's, "Champions."

 No one can doubt that Mr. Artest has passion.  Anyone who saw his antics which had him suspended for the rest of the 2004 season, can attest to that. This video has over 1 million views and is featured on the most recent installment of the NBA 2k series.

But in case you forgot what made him a household name, prepare to be amazed:

He knew what he was doing. Every rapper needs to get some street cred from somewhere. Ron achieved his by going into a bull-like rage and attacking anyone who looked at him the wrong way.



Backyard Baseball's Stereotypes

If you grew up in the 90's and had access to a computer, you probably played some version of the Backyard sports series. Personally, I started with Backyard Baseball 2001.

Humongous Entertainment, the game's developer was very aware of social stereotypes. Understandably, this may have gone over your head.

Allow me to educate you on the fine arts of being politically incorrect.

1) Pablo Sanchez  

The first pick for my team no matter which version of Backyard sports games, Pablo Sanchez was exceptional in every game. He could pitch, catch, and hit a home run everytime. After every home run, his latin-styled music would play as he rounded the bases.

Because of his hispanic name, the developers decided to make sure he could speak no english. They did include a cheat however. If you hold the shift key while viewing his profile, he speaks in english.

Oh, and he's the shortest player in the game.

   2) Pete Wheeler

   Simple Pete. Basically Forest Gump in a video game.

   He's really fast, really dumb, and not much else.

   The game's developers must have thought, "We have some great characters, but we need a redneck!"

3) Kenny Kawaguchi

Let me start this one out by saying I feel bad for Kenny. At least his name is an alliteration. Moving away from the race card, Kenny's stereotype is of a different flavor.

Kenny is the only handicapped player in the game. Instead of making him really good, maybe giving some hope to some handicapped children who play the game, Humongous decided to make his attributes realistic. His speed is lacking, has virtually no power, and is a lackluster fielder.

At this point, they must have felt (slightly) bad for him because they made him a good pitcher.

Those are only the most obvious.  Humongous did a great job including every race. Kids need to be educated as early as possible about what they should expect when encountering every type of person.