Tasty Dish (Brooklyn Boy Special Edition)

Everyone's favorite editor (well, except Elliot Wilson, ha) is back like a spinal cord, carrying more cats than a bag lady's pushcart. Somebody call A-Rod and tell him to take lessons.

Last night, I was out getting free drinks at the Pub (tip your bartender! ... or know them ahead of time) and trying to make sense of SportsNet NY with no captions, nearly panicking when a graphic reading, "NEXT: Jose Reyes' reaction," popped up during Willie Randolph's press conference. With no context, that kind of thing SCREAMS injury or ejection. The bartender informed me about the Mets' back-to-back leadoff homers, and with my worries assuaged, I returned to my beer, steadying the residual shakes of thinking-their-season-was-ending nervousness.

I looked up from a long swallow, and immediately exclaimed, "She's hot!" A buddy next to me asked who, and I pointed to the screen. "Her." "Wow. I'd give her another pearl necklace. Who is she?" *Cue convenient identifying graphic*

Julie Donaldson

Donaldson, a former model who was Miss Florida 2001, is a reporter for SNY's "Geico SportsNite." Her bio notes that she graduated from the University of Florida and that prior to SNY, she worked for the Miami Heat's Heat TV and some abortion of a show called "Sports Rap" on her regional FOX Sports Net. Since the only blog references I've found are a throwaway April post at now-defunct Beltran's Mole, a brief February note at The Metropolitans and a pBase photo gallery from 2005, I'm claiming Visionary status. She fine.


Definitely in the mix for your AMS slot. Sleep on it a lil' bit come draft day, because she's on the low for now.

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Hollywood Hates You - No, Really. Fuck off, I've Got Stuff to Do

I (and The Minority Reporter) will be attending a wedding this week, so you'll get no new posts from me. In my absence, I recommend you do the following:

1. Masturbate. A lot. Because it doesn't hurt anyone and it feels just dynamite. (And there's some pretty good material 'round these parts.--ed.)
   
2. Don't see Transformers. Trust me on this one. (He put that there so I could lead with the obligatory Megan Fox photo.)
   
3. Masturbate again. Like I said, it's just dynamite.
4. Pray for me and TMR; we'll be attending a fairly crazy fraternity wedding as well as a lesbian bachelorette party that happens to take place during the festivities. (Wait, what? This better result in stories.)
   
5. Check out Kissing Suzy Kolber if you like football and dick jokes (but mostly dick jokes).
6. Masturbate some more. Because what the world needs now, is love sweet love.
   

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Visionary Thinking - Instant Star

Three major guilty pleasures of mine are redheads, female pop rock and Canadian shows on The N I know I shouldn't be watching. This came to a perfect head with Instant Star, a high school (melo)drama from the producers of Degrassi about a girl who wins an American Idol-type songwriting competition. With Intell in Italy, I figured I'd slake the ole TV thirst and hook up a TV Dinner for you crazy kids.

So main character Jude Harrison would be the obvious choice. She's the redheaded (now-blonde) pop rocker that the show revolves around, and she's definitely cute, with some knockout potential:

Alexz Johnson

But if I said she was the pinnacle of the show's *ahem* ... talent, I'd be lying. (Well, save for the actual talent part - the music's good for what it is.) It's older sister Sadie who's the show's real "Instant Star":

Laura Vandervoort

One word, two syllables: Bomb-shell.

This not-yet-23-year-old (Keeper alert!) blows away everyone else on the show - and likely in life. Celebrities like Vandervoort are how America's High Five should be Curing Yellow Fever. She'll sneak stateside sometime soon - keep an eye on new love interests on your favorite TV shows, and I'm sure she'll turn up before too long.

To throw a bone to The Minority Reporter after stunning him with Nordicness, there are two darker-hued hotties in supporting roles:

Miku Graham and Cory Lee

Whoops. Couldn't find any decent pics. Google Images, she has failed me. As has IMDB, which has less than minimal information on either. So you'll have to go on faith. (Lee at least has a page on the N's show site, though the main photo blows ass.)

Enjoy the sacrifices I make watching TV so you don't have to, all in the name of "research." It's a tough life, this one.

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Visionary Thinking Hall of Fame - Adam Abramson

Some of you might remember this post, in which I named sports blog The Big Lead as a Visionary Thinking Hall of Fame candidate, based on their promotion of Film Actress and Socialite Kate Mara. As supplemental evidence, I wrote the following paragraph:

They've since followed with their Wild Wednesday love last week for Athlete Taryne Mowatt (right), a pitcher for Arizona softball. After a quick lead mention early, they followed with a full post three hours later. (Upon further research, it seems Newsday blogger Adam Abramson beat them to this by a few days, though Abramson's follow story appeared after TBL's first post. While Mowatt provides good supplementary evidence for TBL's VTHOF candidacy, she would have to become the next Jennie Finch to boost Abramson into the Hall, which doesn't seem so likely.--ed.)

Well, I was catching up on TBL posts Monday, and came across their Roundup, which included the following bullet:

We raved about her once, and now softball hottie Taryne Mowatt is up for a million ESPYs. She’s the new Jennie Finch. (Mac G’s World)

The emphasis is mine. But the point should be obvious. Due to TBL's statement - as blog of record - I have no option but to announce that Adam Abramson of Newsday's Campus Confidential becomes the sixth member of the Laminated List Fantasy Draft's Visionary Thinking Hall of Fame, joining Matt Ufford (Marisa Miller, also: Lifetime Achievement Award Winner), The Superficial (Alessandra Ambrosio), Barstool Sports (Allison Stokke), Intellectvist (Hayden Panettiere) and The Loveseat (Hilary Duff).

Welcome to the club, Adam.

The Big Lead remains eligible based on Kate.

UPDATE: From Adam, via e-mail - I gladly accept my place amongst the greats and thank you for such consideration and honor.

UPDATE No. 2: Adam officially accepts, over at Campus Confidential.

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Tasting the Wet Bar

So ... I've been kind of slacking recently (see: not posting; also: ignoring celebrity blogs), and it's filtered down to the rest of the fellas here at the Laminated List Fantasy Draft. This is me breaking the (bad) habit.

This morning, we got idea scooped BIG TIME. Hank Worrell of sports blog Winning the Turnover Battle (with whom I engaged yesterday in a debate re: the Home Run Derby) threw up a great post checking in on all the actresses who played tomboy characters in sports movies. He leads with Intell's favorite subject of Visionary Thinking, Hayden Paniettiere, and profiles several others, including personal favorites Marguerite Moreau (Connie Moreua in The Mighty Ducks series) and Shawna Waldron (The Icebox(!) from Little Giants). Props to Worrell and WTTB. The Minority Reporter is hereby banned from posting Slay-by-Slay this week.

(From Ask Men)

Also, I returned home Sunday (from a crazy-ass weekend in the City) to find the new issue of Playboy in my mailbox. My jaw hit the effing floor after I removed the plastic to reveal GARCELLE BEAUVAIS was the covergirl. And not in that Mariah Carey, we're-teasing-you-she's-actually-only-in-lingerie kinda way. Beauvais is single-handedly responsible for me losing brain cells by watching waaay more episodes of the Jamie Foxx Show than anyone should have. And I don't regret that. I think. Or something. Yeah.

Any case, the pictorial is grrreat. She is hot. And 41! MILF-draft megapick, this one. Not knowing about this ahead of time because I hadn't been reading celebrity blogs made for the perfect capstone to a great weekend.

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