Athletes have been known to endorse the oddest things: blue jeans, panty hose, bug spray, even erectile dysfunction medication. So why not a fragrance, right?
I sat there yesterday, watching my television as a scarved, Kevin Love walked slow-mo through a crowd of screaming fans, selling… cologne? The ad was so convincing, I had to look it up to verify whether it was real.
It was a joke… I think.
In an effort to get Kevin Love on to the NBA All-Star team, the Minnesota Timberwolves sent a bottle of Love’s cologne and aftershave, appropriately called “Numb#rs,” to the coaches responsible for All-Star voting. The video below was also sent.
The campaign is artsy enough to make even Calvin Klein proud. Let’s just hope Love’s eau de rebound doesn’t stink as bad as his team.
Love leads the league in rebounding (15.6) and is scoring 21.6 points per game, but is buried on a small-market team with the second worst record in the league. He finished ninth in voting among Western Conference forwards.
Love might be hard-pressed to make the all-star team over Pau Gasol, Blake Griffin, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki (Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony were voted starters), but kudos to the T-wolves marketing department for showing Love some love in a truly original way.
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Definitely a better all-star promo than the Raptors-Chris Bosh try a while ago. As for the cologne, I mistakenly bought a bottle of Michael Jordan cologne back in the day. It was so bad, that I considered using it to start my bar-b-q.
Went to 612allstar.com, and it’s a pitch for him to make the game. Makes me wonder how much extra cash the T-Wolves have kicking around that might be more well-suited toward, say, trying to win.
Also, why do people feel the urge to replace perfectly good letters with numbers, punctuation marks, symbols, etc.? There was a show on TV called Numb3rs for a while (might be still on, for all I know). Just bugged the crap out of me every time I saw that “3” where an “e” should be. Oh, and the show stunk.
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Safe to say, Snake, that Jordan’s cologne didn’t fly of the shelves like his sneakers did, or still do for that matter.
It’s funny. I thought of that Bosh commercial myself.
Love has a great shot, depending on how the West decides to fill out their roster but passing Duncan, unless he doesn’t want to play, Dirk, Gasol and Griffin might be tough.
What? No trash-talking about how your Celtics destroyed the Lakers on Sunday? Did you hear when Mark Jackson said he thought the Eastern Conference All-Stars should be the Celtics’ four starters and Dwight Howard?
Unc…
And to think Ricky Rubio doesn’t want to play for this team. Their marketing department might turn him into say… the next Brett Favre, minus the southern accent, of course.
The Wolves have been a disaster ever since they underachieved with Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. And all along, we thought it was Kevin McHale who was screwing that team up.
I mean, they currently have Darko Milicic on their roster. ‘Nuff said.
Chris
Love might be the only reason to watch the damn awful T’wolves . As in the same way it was Griffin and the Clippers .
When their rookie contracts are up there’s no way in hell they’d be dumb enough to remain with their respective teams.
tophatal ………
I gotta hand it to Love, Al.
After leaving UCLA as a freshman, I thought he was drafted way too high and that he was way to slow for the professional game.
But the kid can flat out position himself under the basket.
Can’t We All Just Get Along ?
tophatal ……
Chris
Some white boys can jump and score even if they don’t always necessarily have the coordination of Al Gore when it comes to being on a dance floor ! Luke Walton will never be known for his athleticism ! And neither was Shawn Bradley ……. what more can be said about those two ?
tophatal …….
Hey Chris. I just go along with what Jerry West said about the Lakers. They just don’t have defense anymore. I will say this though. Enough talk about those “old teams”. The Celtics, Spurs and Lakers are the oldest in the NBA and they’re still on top. Nothing beats experience. Also, Kevin Love should be on the all-star team. I know that he would have the same numbers on any team. Anyway, the whole all-star team selection process is flawed. It has been ever since the fans started to vote for the starters. Yao Ming? Give me a break. He’s out for the season and he wasn’t that good when he was playing. The worst was back in the ’92 all-star game when Magic Johnson was voted a starter and he had already retired from the league. As I see it, fan voting can hurt the chances of many players from making the team because its just a popularity contest. As a fan, I want to see the very best 12 players from each conference.
Al…
I’m still catching up on my reading. Been a few long days at work in a row. I think I’m almost done though. Take a look. If not, I’ll be right over.
That’s the NFL strike piece, right? I’m not looking forward to a summer having to write about that crap.
I don’t know that Love is doing much jumping, Al. Like I said, he just knows how to position himself for missed jump shots… and there’s plenty of missed jumpers to go around in the not-so-aptly named Target Center.
Not surprisingly, the Wolves are 23rd in the league in field goal percentage at 44.4%, ahead of the Kings, Nets, Wizards, Blazers, Pacers, Bucks and Cavs.
Yikes, those are some bad teams!
I think you’re in the minority though, Snake. Keep in mind, it’s still an exhibition game.
If one billion Chinese people want to see Yao Ming, or a hundred million Japanese want to see Ichiro (who’s infinitely more deserving), then their votes (unfortunately) count more than yours, despite the fact that you’ve watched more basketball than them all collectively.
I like Love. Stout numbers this season. But do you think he’s more worthy than ‘Melo, Dirk, Durant, Griffin, Gasol or Duncan even though he might smell better?
And what’s up with the rift between Buss and West? I was kind of surprised to hear West come out and blast his former team.
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My point exactly. Keep the voting out of the hands of the fans. Most of them don’t know shit about the sport. Hell, want to solve the BCS problem? Let the fans vote for the 2 teams that play for the championship. Let’s see how that works out.
Two totally different ballgames, Snake, although some might argue the BCS title game already depends too much on “fans’ votes.”
I saw Love on NBATV one night and he was talking about the site. He was saying how it was wierd wearing makeup for the photoshoot. I like the site and the campaign, it’s a lot better than what the W’s are doing for Monta, which is nothing really…
Chap…
I’m sure you and the Doin’ Work gang could come up with a marketing campaign just as fancy for Stephen Curry.
Maybe call it “Jump#rs”
I’m here to help.
Well, honestly I don’t think Curry should make the team. Ellis is far more deserving this year, and I think I’d rather market him over Curry as much as I like the Jumpers idea. Maybe next year, we’ll jump on that! That is if there’s a season next year haha!
Because I really want to smell like an NBA player in the 4th quarter.
Chap, sad story.
If there’s no NBA nor NFL, what shall we talk about next year?
Perhaps we should invent our own baseketball?
J-Dub…
I think we always knew that about you, which is why we always sport the green trees when we hit your site.
I have a suggestion. If Love demands to be traded or doesn’t live up to expectations, the Timberwolves can run the footage but replace the music with Love Stinks by the J. Geils Band.
I know it’s not much but it’s all I could come up with.
Chris
So doesn’t it seem somewhat ironic that we’re now talking ’bout players on the rosters of the T’wolves , Warriors and Clippers being deserving of a place on the NBA All Star Roster ?
If there is indeed a lockout ahead then it may well be one a litany of topics we can discuss and blog about. I might try my hand ‘pardon the pun here’ and describe why I don’t fantasize about Sarah Palin the way that Tracy Morgan of SNL is said to do ! Whack job ?
So the Magic and Lakers are becoming extremely pedantic and out of sorts on the court ? Jerry West speaks the truth even if it’s now said to be irking and getting under the Zen Master’s skin .
Can O J Mayo screw up anymore than he already has done ? Kid was a nut-job at USC and he’s becoming an even bigger one now in the NBA . Who the hell really believes that it’s a supplement that’s said to attribute the higher than normal steroid level because of DHEA ? The NBA tells the athletes to check with their team’s respective medical professionals before choosing to take anything not normally prescribed as part of a fitness regimen. He’s got no excuse and the 10 game suspension is deserving .
tophatal ………..
Chris
Love jumps like Al Gore is said to dance …… he’s got some rhythm but not that much !
So the front office of the Packers would like to welcome Favre back into the family and have him be part of the team’s celebrations at the Superbowl ? Now that mightn’t bode well for the Packers as Favre has simply contributed nothing but mayhem this season wherever he’s been and that includes the two masseuses and Sterger who may well end up suing his dumb _ss !
Courtesy of USA Today written by Sean Leahy
Are the Packers’ front office executives out of their damn minds ? Reaching out to a player who in his last year with them treated them like crap ! They’d be better of reaching and catching the ebola virus or dengue fever for all of that good that’d do ! Morons !
I get the impression that this could end up badly for the Packers should Favre be part of their pre-game festivities . I just hope that it’s not the case but who knows ?
tophatal ………
It will be a travesty if Love doesn’t make the team (despite the Wolves wretched record). Same with Griffin. Both deserve it…I guess we’ll find out tomorrow though.
21 & 15 along with 1+ three pointers a night. Those are sick numbers.
I’d like to see the return of Slamball if there’s a lockout!
Aero…
That’s actually pretty good, man.
Except now I’m gonna have that damn song running through my head all day.
Thanks.
See, Al?
If this were Major League Baseball, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, since both rosters, by the law of the land, HAVE to have one player from each team.
Bla bla bla.
There have always been all-star snubs and always will be. Will it be a shame if the league leader in rebounds doesn’t make the team? Yes, of course it will. Wouldn’t you rather see what Blake Griffin can do in that game? Yes, of course you would.
With all this talk from Jerry West and Magic about trades, don’t you think it’s time the Zen master say something witty, along the lines of telling them both to shut the eff up?
And OJ Mayo, Al. Coming into the league with all that Tim Floyd baggage, nothing will surprise me any more. Isn’t being a nut a requirement from anyone kid coming out of USC these days?
Al…
I also heard recently that there’s a contingency of Brett Favre-Packers fans that are openly hoping Aaron Rodgers will lose the Super Bowl.
You’re kidding me, right?
Besides, wouldn’t inviting Brett Favre to the festivities preclude him from playing for yet another team next year?
Drew…
Like I said, it all depends on how the coaches fill out the rest of the spots. If they take a lot of forwards over guards, then Love stands a great shot. I wouldn’t mind seeing them take Griffin and Love over Gasol and Duncan but do you think that will honestly happen?
Chris
Of the thirty plus teams in the NFL at least 5 or 6 will show interest in Favre during the offseason . The problem is picking which team and dumb a_s GM will actually make the approach .
When the NBA decides to into the supplement business the way that baseball and the NFL has then I know for sure how f_cked up things are in the world of sports in general .
What’s A Sure Fire Thing In The NFL Nowadays ?
===
There’s Only So Many Ways You Can Throw Sh%t Up Against A Wall …….
tophatal ………
Wow, Al. Teams interested in Favre.
It’s just getting comical at this point, isn’t it?
Chris
It won’t be out of the realms of possibility for teams to show an interest in Favre . It’s not unlike the paparazzi’s interests in the train wrecks that are Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen ! I heard one porn star on a local radio station giving an interview saying how jealous she was that Sheen didn’t pay her as much for services rendered as he’d paid some other skank ! Wow ! Since when did skanks become so worried about being paid adequately for services rendered ?
Thanks for chiming in on that piece on Egypt ! I know with you being a pol sci grad it might’ve been of some interest. From my side I view it concerning the geo-political and economic ramifications that it will have if things get much worse .
Is it me but the upcoming game between the Cavs and Wizards might so bad that not even the NBA , TNT or ABC/ESPN will want to broadcast it. The two worse teams in the league meeting up and it won’t be all that pleasant to watch much less play in. Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert may well be on the way to selling the remainder of his stake in the team to the Chinese investor who bought 20% of the organization.
tophatal ………
I would think any team that shows an interest in Favre (and isn’t it amazing that all talks always point back to Brett) would be pulling more of a publicity stunt than the Rays hiring ManRam and Damon. I mean, talk about not having anything left in the tank. It’d be a ploy to sell tickets no more.
Yea, Al, my are of ‘expertise’ is more politics south of the border. Any time I got near understanding Middle Eastern politics… well, let’s just say I never got near it. Just didn’t make any sense to me.
I would think there’s a few NBDL teams out there that could handle both Washington and Cleveland, Al. No road wins yet for Washington and what is it now, 28 for Cleveland?
Think Byron’s regretting taking that gig?
Chris
For me being primarily after my stint in the military it was working in the Square Mile of the city ( London -banking and finance capital of Europe ) that had me gravitating towards finance and economics. The investment bank I worked for paid for my education at LSE and UCL .
And when geo politics being part and parcel of many international decisions it always touches economics as well as the politics of the global landscape. I just hope this situation doesn’t impact the Suez Canal as it’ll make the problems here of the 70’s —— queuing for gas seem like a walk in the park ! If gas hits $4-$5 a gallon we’ll be pushing our cars around town , if not relying on public transport.
As for the NBDL I doubt that they’d want the likes of the Wizards , Cavaliers or the T’wolves playing there. There’s only so much crap that can shoveled around the NBA for the fans’ consumption ! I mean ‘toine (Walker) is now playing there as he wants back in amongst the big boys .
Brett Favre would be welcomed at my house party if he partied like Charlie Sheen and paid for the entertainment like Charlie Sheen does !
How bad do you have to be to lose 22 straight ? Damn ! Not even the Clippers in their really bad days were as bad this current Cavs’ team !
It’s so bad that Antawn Jamison wanted to commit seppuku (Japanese ritual suicide of disembowelment) but he couldn’t find a blade sharp enough .
Byron Scott actually wanted to share the same blade as Jamison but he got so pi_sed when Antawn failed to find an instrument sharp enough . LBJ when told of this was rumored to have said ……….’ well you that’s a plantation I’m glad I escaped from ‘ !
Dan Gilbert dare not now open his mouth and make any idiotic promises much less any public statement concerning the Cavs. The only thing in Ohio were watching now may well be the Buckeyes’ football and basketball teams. Of course there’s also Miami of Ohio when they’re on their game which isn’t all that often I might add .
tophatal …..
You’re Only As Good As Your Last Game ……. Unfortunately If Your Last Game Was Good As The Ones That’ve Been Played By The Cavaliers and Wizards Then Than That’s Not Saying A Great Deal ………….. !
My piece ’bout the plight of the Cavs and Wizards .
tophatal ……….
That being said, Al, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Wolves, Cavs or Wizards signed ‘Toine to a ten-day contract. I mean, things couldn’t get much worse, could they?
I don’t think I’ve ever lost 22 straight anything, unless it’s attempts at a Rubik’s Cub.
Yeah, I’d agree. Dan Gilbert’s been pretty quiet these days, huh? I don’t think he’s buying Heat season tickets any time soon.
Dare anyone read your Cavs/Wizards piece, Al? I’m not in the mood for a sad story.
Things we should all agree on:
1) Tim Duncan deserves to be an all-star
2) Kevin Love is a fantastic player whose [inflated] statistics are partially the product of playing with the likes of Darko and nickname-describes-the-player “Be Easy”.
3) Kevin Love deserves to be an all-star
4) But now that he is… is just another all-star, as opposed to The Biggest Snub Of All-Time.
5) David Stern screwed Kevin Love (see: point 4)
More things we should agree on, Fro-B…
The Eastern starters are better than the Western starters.
The Western bench is deeper than the Eastern bench.
The final minutes of the All-Star game should very much resemble crunch time of a Miami Heat game, with either Dwyane Wade or LeBron James going iso to make a jump shot.
David Stern must like Kevin Love’s cologne.
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