Hopefully by now, you've seen our little April Fool's Joke with Michael Strahan and Tom Arnold.  The staff here at Best Damn thought we had something good going, but Michael & Tom punked even us.   Some of you loved it, some of you (mostly Giants fans) were horrified at least at first.  Our friend in the FOX Funhouse Peter Schrager even devoted the top of his column to it.  Meanwhile, Florida won the National Title and somebody threw a syringe at Barry Bonds in San Diego.  That got our producer Charlie thinking..

Barry Bonds, I'm sorry. Yeah, I'll say it. I'm a sucker for weepers. I'm sorry I have been doubting you. If you're acting, then you got me good. But I don't think you are.

This all stems from what I saw tonight. A competing network (may or may not rhyme with "SMEE-ESS-PEE-ENN") showed a clip of Bonds from his new reality show bawling his eyes out, frustrated with his perception by the media and by those outside of the media. I'll tell you right now - it was one of the best soundbytes I HAVE EVER HEARD.

Sure, he doesn't know me, I don't know him. And like Robert DeNiro's character in "A Bronx Tale" says to his son (to paraphrase liberally), "Barry Bonds doesn't pay your bills, Calogero, he doesn't care about you." So why should I care about him?

Because I'm human. And apparently, so is Barry.

Seeing a grown man cry, a STRONG grown man cry, is slightly uncomfortable. It's like when I saw my father cry for the first time when my grandmother died. That's not supposed to happen. Strong men don't cry. But maybe we should re-program our thinking.

I've never had a syringe thrown at me at the workplace. Barry Bonds has. I'm not on steroids (although I'm quite buff these days due to a new workout program). And as far as we know, Barry Bonds isn't ... Bonds isn't ... he's ... well, believe him or not, he doesn't deserve to be treated like this.

I have no idea what it's like to get crucified by the media everyday. I have no idea what it's like to get hate mail. I have no idea what it's like to have my life or my family's life threatened. Barry Bonds does.

In the minds of many, especially in this country, you are guilty until you are proven innocent. We live in the United States of Doubt, bound by the convictions of the masses, pledging our allegiance to whatever the majority is thinking or saying.

Look, with two books coming out on him, the allegations from the past, BALCO, etc., it's hard to believe that he DIDN'T juice.

But maybe, just maybe, he's telling the truth.

And maybe, just maybe, we should cut him a break.

Because we're human. And so is Barry Bonds.

Peace, and I'm out.

Good point Charlie.  It seems some people won't stop until Barry is crucified.  Remember, Barry has never tested positive for steroids.  There's plenty of evidence to suggest he did, but he's still innocent until proven guilty.  So if you think throwing a syringe at Barry makes you cool, you're the idiot. 

Thanks to all our loyal viewers who've been voting in our Best Damn Hotties tournament.  Very interesting Round 1 with #1 seed Pamela Anderson going down to #4 seed Ali Landry.  The other #1 seeds all advanced but face tough hurdles in Round 2 if they want to make the Final Four.  Make sure to vote to make your voice heard America!!!! 

This tournament has gotten so heated that its got us taking some chances.  WIth the big announcement, we turn it over to our producer and resident blog expert Charlie. Take it away, Chuck...

America, watch out. I have just been informed by my Executive Producer that he wants to put me on-air. So I'm going to ask my legion of fans what I should do.

Do you want me to be:

- The 5th host of the show?

- The roving reporter?

- The man behind the scenes, like Biff Henderson on Letterman?

- The Playboy Mansion correspondent?

- The comic relief?

E-mail your suggestions to bestdamn@foxsports.net ... subject line should read "What Charlie Should Do"

If it helps, here are a few of my favorite things, just so you get to know me better:

- Long walks on the beach

- Battling high cholesterol

- "The Sopranos"

- Watching my nose hair grow faster than the hair on top of my head

- "Entourage"

- Driving my Lexus

- Playing my Barry Manilow records backwards so I can hear the secret Satanic messages he put on them ... long live the Dark Prince!

- Going to Vegas

- Coming back from Vegas

- The Chicago Bears

- The Chicago Cubs

- Peace

- Beautiful women

- Beautiful women who like guys with high cholesterol who watch "The Sopranos" and "Entourage"

Peace, and I'm out.

Thanks Charlie.  The question is, are YOU ready? 

We've gone and done it.  Perhaps the best idea we've had here at Best Damn.  In coordination with this year's NCAA Tournament, we've decided to unveil the Best Damn Hotties tournament beginning with the Sweet 16 aka the hottest 16 women to grace our show. 

Now before the hate mail starts flowing, we immediately had to disqualify Leeann Tweeden, Lisa Dergan Podsednik, Lauren Sanchez, and Holly Robinson-Peete due to their closeness to the show as either contributors or being married to one of our hosts.  We wanted to keep this just to our guests.  As to the mad science that went down in determing the final 16, we turn it over to everyone's favorite producer, Charlie, to break down the selection committee's process...

NOW I know what the selection committee has to go through. 65 schools? Try picking from 16 of the hottest women that have ever been on our show. Then ranking them 1 through 16. Then deciding what bracket to put them in. Then figuring out what to NAME these brackets. It's not as easy as it sounds. This all took place on a chilly Los Angeles day, back on Thursday, March 9th.

Besides myself, there was our Executive Producer, our Sr. Coordinating Producer, our Coordinating Producer, two of our Graphics Producers, one of our Segment Producers and our Dot Com Guy. In my 5+ years here, I have NEVER seen a more passionate debate. Steroids and Bonds? Terrell Owens? Race in sports? Whatever. Try getting a word in edgewise when a bunch of dudes are talking about hot chicks. At this point, you should know that of the eight guys in the room, four are married, one is engaged to be married, one guy we're not sure about, one guy is dating and the other guy is me.

We basically started making a master list, throwing out names, then voting on the non-obvious ones to see who would make the cut. After finally agreeing on the 16 hotties, we decided to name each "region" after our guys. Makes sense, right? Then we created a blank bracket and started to fill in the names. (Is this how the REAL tournament committee does it?)

We came up with this:

#1 seeds:   Jessica Alba, Pam Anderson, Stacy Keibler and Carmen Electra

Our fab four, total no-brainers. I actually produced Jessica's segment, and she's a sweetheart. Very genuine. Pam rhymes with "bam" for a reason. What a knockout. Stacy is gorgeous, those legs go on forever. And, honestly, who has prettier eyes than Carmen Electra?

#2 seeds:   Jenny McCarthy, Eva Longoria, Gabrielle Union and Brooke Burke

You really can't go wrong here, either. Jenny is one of the best guests we've ever had, and according to Dibs, quite the kisser. Some people had a problem with Ms. Longoria being on our list, since she's the only one of the 16 that hasn't been on our set. But technically, she HAS been on our show. And let's face it ... she's ridiculous. Gabby Union once caused a traffic accident on the FOX lot. I'm not kidding. I mean, how hot are you if your LOOKS literally cause accidents? Brooke Burke takes her vitamins and definitely works out. Mama mia.

#3 seeds:  Marisa Miller, Denise Richards, Elisha Cuthbert and Brooke Burns

There were two guys whose names I can't mention that didn't even WANT Marisa Miller in this tournament. I am not one of those guys. She is the strongest #3 seed since Michigan won the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Denise Richards, Chicago girl. Respect. It would take an entire 24 hours to describe just how stunning Elisha Cuthbert is. And Brooke Burns can put her leg over her head.

#4 seeds:  Vivica A. Fox, Anna Benson, Ali Landry and Heather Mitts

These are are the four seeds? Wow, we've had some beautiful women on our show. Vivica is a goddess. Anna Benson has that southern sex appeal. Ali Landry may be the prettiest person I've ever seen in person. Heather Mitts was crowned hottest athlete in 2004 by a rival website, and she's just as cool.

Last four out:   Kelly Hu, Jamie Bergman, Jenna Elfman and Shannon Elizabeth

If only we had a Terrific Twenty tournament ...

Vote early. Vote often. The Elite 8 will be announced on our show on Wednesday, March 22nd. I'll have something on Thursday night, breaking down the matchups.

Peace, and I'm out.

Thanks Charlie.   Hopefully Billy Packer & Jim Nantz will treat you nicer than they did Craig Littlepage after the NCAA Brackets came out.  Get out there and vote people!!!

Tuesday March 14th

We're all happy to be back in the mix this week with all new shows (and we hope you're enjoying what we've got). 

Monday was great with highlights from our boy "Dibs" getting married in Connecticut over the weekend.  Plus we had Memphis head coach John Calipari getting our tourney juices flowing and one of our favorites, Michael Rapaport, bringing the laughs. 

Tuesday's show had some serious hoops talk with CBS college hoops guru Billy Packer & Hall of Famer James Worthy (in his Best Damn debut).   The adrenaline of the new shows apparently has our producer, Charlie, all fired up.  Check out his latest rant....

Charlie, obviously on fire.  Thanks buddy.  If you've got a comment for Charlie or anyone else on the show, you can comment here on the blog or send us an e-mail to bestdamn@foxsports.net.

Thursday's show brings WWE Champ John Cena back in the house.  He's always a great guest and you won't want to miss it.  Got us thinking about the great wrestling superstars we've had on the show..  Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Rock, Macho Man Savage, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, and of course Stacy Keibler. 

We're not taping this week due to the PAC-10 Conference being on the network all-week so we've supplied you with some of our better shows & segments from the past few months.  If you didn't see them the 1st time, you should do yourself a favor and check them out.  Meanwhile, we're watching college hoops (Syracuse & Arizona with good wins today) and preparing for next week.  Our producer, Charlie, checks in with his latest thoughts...

The madness is creeping in, and I'm not talking about the NCAA Tournament. I'm about to go crazy ... we haven't taped a new show in what seems like an eternity. Monday, March 13th can't come soon enough (our 1st day back).

When you're in charge of a multi-million dollar show like I am, you need to be challenged EVERY DAY with NEW guests, segments, etc.

Here is a list of the thrilling things I did today:

*Came to work, prepared for a meeting

*Went to a meeting

*Went to another meeting

*Had a meeting about a future meeting

*Fell asleep in a meeting

*Wrote this blog

One more thing ... Brooke Burns was on the FOX lot today. She came by to say "hi." She used to be a correspondent for us. Alas, I wasn't around when she visited, but I was told by more than one person that she was looking for me. I swear. Brooke Burns. Last week Lisa Dergan. This week Brooke Burns. Tomorrow, the world (and the Playboy Mansion).

Peace, and I'm out.      

Thanks Charlie...  He speaks for us all, at least as far as ready to get back to doing new shows.  With the NCAA Tourney ready to crank up, baseball & the WBC just getting underway plus the NFL Free Agency & the NFL Draft just around the corner, we should have plenty to talk about both on the show and here in the blog.  Personally, my favorite time of the year as a sports fan.   

Anyways, be sure to check us out next week with a great guest list including Memphis Head Coach John Calipari, CBS college hoops analyst Billy Packer, Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, WWE Champ John Cena plus hollywood hotshots like Michael Chiklis from "The Shield" and Michael Rapaport from "The War at Home"..   Don't miss it!!