Finally, a headline we’ve been waiting for since 2003: Vanessa Bryant has filed for divorce from Kobe Bryant! Like countless other celebrity/California divorces, she cited “irreconcilable differences.” Also known as “you cheated on me one too many times, so I stayed with you through all your court trials and championships so that I could get my half of it all in 2011.” Yep, the Laker who plays for $25 million per year (and counting) did not have a freakin’ prenup. Maybe that’s not something you really think about when you get engaged six months after meeting on a music video shoot.

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Tired of watching the game with your beau and his boys and worrying more about the nacho verde salsa spilling all over the couch than that insane fourth-quarter fumble?

Let me introduce you to the newest sport for women to participate in while the men watch the big screen.

A quirky, female-inspired show that has become a haven for women during sports season, While the Men Watch is a live sports talk just for women to enjoy while their men scream and sweat through the game.

Ladies, if you’re interested in suiting up this season and playing on the female side of things, you’ll need a pair of stilettos, your best skinny jeans and your boo’s oversized, stinks of wings and Bud Light, mint-condition game day jersey. Don’t have the right game day jersey? No problem, there’s no penalty for wearing a Jeter jersey during the PGA tour.

Since the show boasts such a huge following, with over 2,000 listeners at its launch last year during the Super Bowl, I thought I’d head over to the site and see just what all the hype is all about.

Here’s what I found:

The show is basically the polite version of the Dummies Guide to… and it’s aimed at women who either know nothing about sports or can’t stomach another third quarter drive. It defines everything from penalties to first downs to baulks and is co-hosted by Lena Sutherland and Jules Mancuso, two women with fanatical sports husbands.

When the women aren’t brushing up on sports knowledge, they’re focused and ready to tackle the real issues on every woman’s mind as the game clock ticks: How cute is that quarterback? What kind of ab workouts do the cheerleaders do to stay so fit? Oh, the bowl is getting low, should I make more pigs-in-a-blanket? More nachos, anyone?

The women might be limited in their sports knowledge, but they are not biased when it comes to which sports they discuss on the show. Every week the women feature new commentaries depending on which sport is in season — NBA, NFL, MLB, racing, tennis…you get the idea.

After skimming the articles, I’m definitely going to tune in to the livestream the next time it airs. I’m both a sports fan and a female (a double-whammy, I know!) and after reading some of the content on the site, I’m willing to bet the hosts won’t let me down. It’s a funny, sarcastic twist on what women think. Anybody else wondering if Mel Gibson will make a guest appearance?

Sure, the show is a little bit stigmatized as far as its creation goes because it plays on the idea that women are only concerned with cosmetic and materialistic images, but what woman isn’t curious about the man underneath that oversized helmet? Or the pitcher with that really great butt?

If you’re male or female and you’re curious to get inside the mind of a woman watching sports, you can listen to the talk show live on the site at WhileTheMenWatch.com.

Let’s talk about student athletes.

With March madness at its peak right now this topic probably doesn’t seem like all that much of a stretch to you, but you might be surprised by the direction this topic is going in…

Should student athletes be paid?

Jalen Rose, ESPN/ABC studio analyst, member of University of Michigan’s Fab Five, and  the writer of this piece seems to think so. And while my first response to that question was an undignified snort, I have to say that after reading his points, I might be reconsidering my stance.

My immediate reaction was absolutely not. Sports are an extracurricular activity that students choose to take part in. Just like the school paper or honors societies or student government. They do is because they enjoy it. Or if they don’t have a love of the game, they’re often very good at the game, and they do it because they get a scholarship for playing that game. Full tuition paid? A free education? That was their payment. What more could they possibly need?

But Rose offers some good points.  He argues that being a student athlete is a full time job. (CollegeCandy reader and student athlete, Chelsea, agrees.) Rigorous training schedules, practices, and games take up the majority of these students’ time, far more time than most other extracurricular activities take up.  And the free time they do have is often spent in class or studying for classes. They do have to maintain a respectable GPA, after all. Rose points out something we all know but never seem to truly grasp: student athletes don’t have much free time.  And as the sister of someone who played high school football for four years, I have to agree. If high school football left my brother without much time to do anything but eat, sleep, and breathe football, then I can’t even imagine the demands that come along with being on a college team. Read More »

This has been, by far, the craziest NCAA tournament I can ever remember. Every single game so far has increased my blood pressure, spiked my heart rate and probably shaved a few years off my life. If your bracket has survived the madness, props to you; I’m already down a two Final Four teams (I guess that’s what you get for ever having faith in a team from Pittsburgh or Notre Dame). Woof.

After a much needed break to get our heart rates back to normal, the next round of the tournament, the Sweet 16, kicks off this Thursday. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know before you grab that bucket of wings/anti-anxiety medication and park yourself in front of the TV. Read More »

March Madness has nothing to do with the preparations for spring break, daylong drinking holidays like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, or studying for midterms. It is about the best three weeks of any sport — the NCAA Tournament. The best of college basketball. Even if you’ve never watched a single minute of any game all season, you can still enjoy the Big Dance. It may be the only thing your friends are talking about the next few weeks so it may be a good idea to learn some important terms.

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Ever feel like you’re the only one sitting on the couch, mindlessly staring at the TV with no idea what’s going on? Are phrases like “point conversion”, “fumble” and “fourth down” completely foreign to you? Well have no fear, here are a few simple things to keep in mind so that you can keep your head afloat during College Football Saturdays. Grab the chips and dip, and prep yourself for kickoff!

To start off, here are some fun facts about football. The field is measured in yards, 100 yards long, but 120 including both end-zones. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won more Super Bowls than another other team in the history of the NFL. The ’72 Miami Dolphins are the only team to achieve a “perfect season” (meaning no losses throughout the entire time), though the New England Patriots had a perfect regular season (their only game loss was in the Super Bowl itself) in 2007. It began based on the rules of rugby and soccer combined, but the first real football game (the way we know football now in the USA) was played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869 (Rutgers has since commemorated the game field by making it a big, beautiful… parking lot). I could go on and on with boring stats and scores that are floating in my head, but I promise that I’ll spare you.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any technology to translate exactly what John Madden is muttering about while he comments on the game, but if you’re lucky enough that he lets someone else get a word in edgewise, here are some basic terms that can help you navigate the game like a pro.

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I must admit, I did get swept up in this year’s World Cup. What’s so wrong about cheering for the U.S. as if I actually understand what’s going on? So what if I hesitated each time before saying “score!” because I wasn’t sure if it was the correct terminology in soccer.

One thing’s for sure: even for someone who doesn’t quite understand sports (ahem, myself), it sure is fun watching those sexy men run up and down a field (court? stadium?). So here are my top reasons why athletes are a particular breed of mouth-watering man candy.

They sweat
Something about a guy getting all hot and steamy is just irresistible. Sure wouldn’t mind hitting the showers with them after the game… Okay, I’m getting carried away here, but seriously, it must be some kind of primal attraction that draws us to perspiration.

They show their badass side
When opposing team members get all up in each others’ space, penalties are called, yellow cards tossed out, a whole bunch of other sports jargon I don’t know, it is just plain exciting. Who doesn’t have just a little bit of a weakness for guys opposing authority and getting into trouble? Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like porn! ) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

There’s been big to-do recently over whether or not cheerleading counts as a sport and it all started when Quinnipiac decided to cut women’s volleyball in favor of a competitive cheerleading squad. Some of the volleyball players are suing the school saying that competitive cheerleading is “as much a sport as chess”… which is kinda a non-sequiter of an argument, but whatever. Whether you hated cheerleaders with a fiery vengeance or dedicated your life to being one, it’s time to cast your vote – cheerleading, sport or not?

On the pro-sport side, cheerleading isn’t easy; there’s lot’s of physical training involved, it requires both special skills and a major time commitment just like any other sport. What cheerleaders, at least the ones on competitive squads like the ones we’re talking about, do physically involves years of work with gymnastics plus strength and flexibility training – I mean heck, they lift girls up and throw each other around and do all kinds of impressive flippy things, it’s hard not to take that seriously. And in terms of the dedication it takes to be on a competitive college cheer squad, it’s easily on par with what, say, football or basketball players go through, so why shouldn’t it be a sport? Read More »

Every year, by the time the second week in June rolls around, two things happen to me. 1) I start obsessively checking my calendar to make sure that Father’s Day isn’t this Sunday and 2) I start freaking out about what to get David for his birthday.

I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like the longer our relationship goes on, the greater the pressure there is to give him a seriously kick ass gift. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s “the thought that counts” and yes, David would be equally happy with an iPod or a 3 day cruise (speaking from experience…unless he was just faking his excitement to make me feel better). I just love the process of finding the perfect gift for my perfect boyfriend. (I feel the same way about gift giving in general. It takes me a solid 2 months to Christmas shop.) And after 2 and a half years, I’ve built a pretty impressive record for gift giving.

Of course there are the times when I get it totally wrong (I thought getting him a sex toy for graduation was both hilarious and practical- he did not agree), and those are the gifts that haunt my memory while I try to find his 23^rd birthday present.

It can be hard shopping for your boyfriend. You know him so well, you should be able to spot from a mile away the thing or experience he’d love most. But, unfortunately it’s not always that easy. So whether you’ve got a boyfriend with a summer birthday, your anniversary is coming up, or you just want to surprise him with a little something, I’ve compiled a go-to boyfriend gift guide. Happy shopping! Read More »

Week after week (after week after week…), CollegeCandy and our pal John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Listen in on some weirdos’ conversations and share them in the comments or send ‘em over. You know there’s a lot of funny things to be heard on your campus, so take off those (faux) Burberry ear muffs and tune in.

(Customer and cashier, at a cash register.)

Cashier: That doesn’t even look like your signature.

Customer: I know. It looks like Chinese or something.

Cashier: Yeah, I think it looks like if somebody had a stroke.

Customer: Yeah I was going to say that, but I thought that would be inappropriate.

(Guy and girl in tour group, walking through campus.)

Guy: Flying’s weird. Turbulence feels like you’re … hitting a ton of small animals, or something.

Girl: Ohh-kay. Don’t know you well enough for that kind of humor yet. Read More »