Charles Hubbard claims to be a spiritual man, called upon by the great Creator to use his “Spiritual gifts for His glory” but he’s smart enough to know that in this age of the Internet and social media, you need to hitch your wagon to something that really pulls. So of course Hubbard has created a website that openly criticizes New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow and St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford for their endorsements of Nike.

Why is this such a big deal to Hubbard? Because Nike is the Greek goddess of Victory and these heathens are promoting this Pagan worship to all corners of the globe.

There is a demonic presence with Nike and a temptation that many Christians and non-Christians find hard to resist… some even plead their case to wear Nike… even though it honors the goddess Nike of Paganism… a false religion clearly opposing the One True God and the truth of Christianity.

Because it is demonic… it encourages evil like hero-worship, arrogance, obsession, detestable idolatry and even sex.

These evil messages can be seen repeatedly in Nike advertising.

He’s got a point, because right before I tee off with my Nike driver, I pray to any god that will listen for my ball to not fly through a window. Hubbard claims that he has been carrying this torch – specifically against Bradford, as he might be a Rams fan – for quite some time, and that God has been guiding him in this quest to promote and achieve universal goodness.

Oh, it should probably also be noted that Hubbard owns his own sportswear business and this is just his own way of using his religion and Tebow’s faith to boost web traffic and sales.

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This falls under the category of News To Me, but it’s still interesting as we’ve almost now completely forgotten about the NCAA tournament. I can still hear the clang of the rim from Butler’s end of the floor, but I digress. Gus Johnson, who has voiced everything from college basketball to Madden to a Buffalo Wild Wings ad, actually trademarked one of his signature phrases. Why? So he could sell stuff, dummy.

Last fall, he trademarked his famous line “Rise And Fire” for use on athletic apparel and plans to launch a Web site some time before the NCAA men’s basketball tournament ends so that fans can buy can by hats, licensed by New Era, and T-shirts.

“The reason to trademark the phrase was to create a brand and a movement out of his signature call that can be instantly recognizable by his fans to inspire passion,” said Johnson’s marketing agent Christian Gesue. “Rise and Fire celebrates the moments of excitement and raw emotion that embodies athletic merit and achievement, in all forms, from all over the world.”

CNBC, via MMA Mania.

Gus Johnson is like the Santa Claus of good sports vibes, except that he doesn’t crawl down your chimney in the middle of the night. I’m pretty sure that Santa only gets away with that because he’s white.

The Atlanta Falcons marketing department is hoping that they speak English in Atlanta, because that’s the language Samuel L. Jackson used while recording the team’s newest commercial. The ad calls for Falcons fans to “rise up,” because that’s what Falcons do. They flap their wings to generate lift, which rises them up into the sky. Clever, I know.

The gist of the ad is Sam Jackson and his ridiculous glasses are breaking the fourth wall to pump up Falcons fans for the coming season. While he speaks, a church choir is hanging out in the back, repeating “rise up” as Jackson loses track of his inside voice. And why wouldn’t you rise up after watching this commercial? If you said “because watching football in a dome is stupid,” then I’m inclined to agree with you. Video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

From the Desk Of The Obvious: Derek Jeter has been lauded as baseball’s most marketable athlete. That’s like saying that white snow is the best tasting of all snow. There aren’t really a lot of options available.

Top 10 most marketable MLB players according to our friends at the SportsBusiness Daily:

1. Yankees SS Derek Jeter
2. Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols
3. Twins C Joe Mauer
4. Nationals P Stephen Strasburg
5. Phillies 1B Ryan Howard
6. Rays 3B Evan Longoria
7. Giants P Tim Lincecum
8. Mets 3B David Wright
9. Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez
t10. Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia
t10. Angels CF Torii Hunter

–via Ben Maller.

But seriously, who on that list would you even think of putting in front of Jeter? He’s an ad man’s wet dream. He’s a tall shortstop on baseball’s most publicized team. He’s not quite white and not quite black…it’s like HE’S BOTH OR SOMETHIN’, MAN. Oh, and he bangs lots of hot girls. That’s really the only part that impresses me. He could hit .334 every year, but it’s still not as impressive as hitting Minka Kelly.

On April 22, then-unknown Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden made a name for himself when he lashed out at New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez for breaking one of baseball’s unwritten laws – you never walk over a man’s mound. Braden screamed, “Get off my mound!” at the admitted steroid user, sparking a rivalry in the media that culminated with Braden’s grandmother telling A-Rod to “stick it” after Dallas threw the 19th perfect game in MLB history on Mother’s Day.

The two have since made amends for their misunderstanding, and had hoped to move past the earlier squabble and just concentrate on baseball. That is, until Braden took umbrage with a marketing move by the A’s that used his likeness on t-shirts with the phrase: “Get off my mound.” Braden didn’t think the idea was too cute, calling the shirts a “gross lack of tact.” He then stomped his feet and locked himself in his bedroom for the rest of the evening.

But how does he know it’s actually his image on the shirts, Fanhouse?

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