ESPN

Martina McBride knows her way around the national anthem.

She's a go-to performer before big sporting events, including the 2009 AFC Championship Game, and last year's Daytona 500. She said her dream is to eventually sing it at the Super Bowl.

All eyes will be on her again Sunday before the Indianapolis 500, where organizers said they wanted someone who would sing a traditional version.

McBride said that's her calling card.

"For me it's about honoring our country and our servicemen and women. It's not really about making it my own," she said. "It's not my song. It belongs to all of us. I try to sing it in a way that honors that, and that people can sing along with."

Another of her secrets: She keeps the words visible when she's singing, telling CMT "It's just too big of a thing to take a chance."

McBride, who released her 11th album, "Eleven," late last year, has long been a friend of NASCAR, even earning a legendary story on the circuit. After she sang the national anthem before Talladega in 2000, Dale Earnhardt Sr. asked for her autograph, and said he kept it in his car as he won the race.

"That is true," she said. "He said it was his good-luck charm. That was really sweet."

She has even been given a ride around the track, not that she's that excited about doing it again. Ever.

"It's terrifying. I don't know how they do it," she said. "It's amazing to me that they can do that. It's not something I would want to do every day. It's exhilarating. But it's just very terrifying at the same time."

CHICAGO -- Before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday night’s White Sox game, Snoop Dogg said he received something far more valuable than advice as he visited with the team in the clubhouse.

“One of them gave me some of that mmmm, that do-it fluid, that muuuah, you know what I’m talking about,” he told a crowd of reporters. “That thing so I could be right.”

He didn’t specify what exactly was in that “do-it fluid.” Whatever it was, it worked like a charm.

And while most pitchers spend their entire careers trying to perfect something other than a fastball, the rapper-actor claims he’s capable of unleashing a deadly arsenal in a single heave.

“It was a changeup screwball, one of my pitches that I normally don’t really go into but we’re in the Windy City so I had to make sure it got over the plate the right way,” he said. “My right hand is good.”

Snoop's changeup screwball hit the mark, despite the fact that he wasn’t much of a baseball player in his younger days.

“A lot of my homeboys played baseball coming up but I never could really grab a hold of it,” he said. “We chose more football, basketball, but we do know how to (play baseball) if necessary.”

Thursday night’s appearance at U.S. Cellular Field was a last-minute one, a mere pit stop before he’d go on to entertain the masses at the Horseshoe Casino in nearby Hammond, Ind., later in the evening.

His good right hand helped the sports fanatic build a strong youth football league from scratch in Southern California.

So after conquering the entertainment and youth sports industries, does Snoop see professional franchise ownership in his future? He’s not ruling anything out, though it’d have to be a specific kind of franchise.

“I’d own a lingerie football team,” he said laughing. “A lingerie basketball team.”

Talk to the members of the California-based alternative band Radical Something, and they’ll throw out a litany of professional comparisons in describing their craft.

In performances, they’re like basketball players, under the lights on the stage, facing a crowd blanketed by darkness. In the studio, they’re like chefs, striving to cook that final meal with the perfect taste for everyone to enjoy. And in work ethic, the extra writing and practice behind the scenes, they consider themselves akin to football players.

Except they actually are football players.

In the band whose recent EP, “No Sweat,” reached No. 6 on the iTunes Overall Album charts, both Loggy (Alex Lagemann) and DJ Big Red (Michael Costanzo) played on the Cal football team under coach Jeff Tedford. What originated as a mechanism for stress relief under the weighty pressures of collegiate athletics has blossomed into a full-time career that’s taken off in recent months.

“There isn’t a college football player out there who viewed his career as the easiest ride of his life,” said Lagemann, a former wide receiver for the Golden Bears. “You give up a huge chunk of your 18-to-22-year-old life, and it’s stressful. There are times when going back to bed at 5 a.m. would be a lot more awesome than going to practice, but that’s why music was a way to express it. It was a way for us to go into the studio and let our minds run and make some creative stuff.”

Now that football’s ended for the members, they’ve found themselves with more energy, energy that’s been redirected into music. Costanzo used to limp around campus at “half a mile an hour” after practice. Now, he’ll stay up until 6 a.m. producing beats.

Buoyed by a work ethic attributed to their time on the gridiron, their musical careers have accelerated quickly. Radical Something’s debut album “We Are Nothing” opened at No. 9 on the iTunes alternative charts. This summer, they plan to release an original song every week, and have overseas shows planned too.

Their Cal roots have transferred into the entertainment world. Radical Something has found an ally in Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz, who attended Cal and has acted as a de facto mentor for the group, advising them on how to make it in the industry.

“The work ethic that you learn playing in sports very much transfers over to the music world,” Costanzo said. “In the end, anyone who’s going to succeed in something like music or all walks of life, you have to have that deep, burning desire to work harder and get better, and that really transferred over from being in football. If we keep working hard and doing our thing and never stop, we’ll see the results that we want.”

Kobe Bryant gets a heartfelt message from a dispirited Lakers fan in the form of a cover of a Gotye hit, singing about "The Kobe That We Used To Know."

You don’t see many Mohawks on the links.

Not until “Fat” Mike Burkett, bassist and lead singer for NOFX, tees up with an awesome swing like this. It’s not as bad as it looks, said Burkett, claiming he typically scores in the mid-80s.

“I started golfing at 27,” he said. “You’re on tour. You play an hour and a half a night, and then there’s nothing to do but get drunk and get in trouble.”

Reason enough to head to the golf course. Fat Mike even has a nine-hole putting green in the backyard of his Las Vegas vacation home.

These days, Burkett’s four-day-a-week golf habit has been cut back thanks to the demands of fatherhood, something many can relate to. But his rock-star connections still have perks.

“Most of my golf schedule is centered on who we have connections with,” he said. “We’ve played some of the best courses in the country on Mondays when the country club is closed.”

But it’s not just golf that’s a passion for the 45-year-old. He’s also a former champion of the Punk Rock Bowling Tournament, an annual event in Las Vegas. Burkett says his squad won after a sleepless night spent under the influence. He’s like the David Wells of bad bowling.

This year, Burkett returns to try to capture an elusive second title at the event, which begins Friday. Also, NOFX headlines the weekend festival with Rancid and Pennywise.

The 14-year-old Punk Rock Bowling has long been a must-attend event for punks and others looking for fun. But this isn’t for Kenny Powers’ mom. The real bowlers are up in Reno at the National Bowling Stadium.

Instead, it’s a three-day party. Dozens of bands play on the street in downtown Las Vegas, the older and arguably hipper section of the city to the north of the famed Strip. This year features more than two dozen bands on the main stage as well as a series of late-night club shows headlined by bands like Youth Brigade and The Templars.

Burkett gives himself a 1-in-1,000 chance of winning. And there are only about 200 teams.

“Punk Rock Bowling is about who has the most fun,” he said.

Now that is something Burkett and NOFX know all about.

Bob Dylan, one of the most influential singer/songwriters in history, was born today in 1941.

Several of the 71-year-old icon's hits, including "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'," became anthems in the civil unrest in the 1960s. The songs incorporated politicial and social influences.

And Dylan, who was born in Duluth, Minn., does have a sports tie.

Dylan and songwriter Jacques Levy wrote the song "Catfish", a tribute to future baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter. The song was originally to appear on Dylan's 1976's album Desire, but instead appeared on the The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991, a box set that was released in March 1991.

Some lyrics of "Catfish":

Lazy stadium night
Catfish on the mound.
"Strike three," the umpire said,
Batter have to go back and sit down.

Catfish, million-dollar-man,
Nobody can throw the ball like Catfish can.

Used to work on Mr. Finley's farm
But the old man wouldn't pay
So he packed his glove and took his arm
An' one day he just ran away.

Catfish, million-dollar-man,
Nobody can throw the ball like Catfish can.

Editor's Note: Los Angeles natives Far East Movement were invited to throw out the first pitch at a recent Dodgers game. Rapper Prohgress sends us this dispatch and photos from their big moment.

Growing up in downtown Los Angeles, we’ve always been hardcore Dodgers fans, from Orel Hershiser’s 59 scoreless innings to the lean few years we couldn’t win a playoff game, up to the exciting team we have now.

We’re either at the games (mostly right-field pavilion seats cuz they got the all-you-can-eat hot dogs) or rooting for the Dodgers while watching on TV. So it was a dream come true when they invited us to throw out the first pitch at a game against the Rockies during their homecoming week. We were Kirk Gibson fist-pumping in the "Dirty Bass" limo all the way to Chavez Ravine.

The day was definitely better than we ever could have imagined. Not only did we get to throw out the first pitch, but we also got to spend time on the field, chill in the Dodgers dugout, and even got to meet The Godfather himself, Tommy Lasorda.

(Read full post)

Musician Duff McKagan's column runs every Wednesday on Playbook Sounds.

There seem to be so dang many sports topics over the last week that it is now too difficult for me to choose only one to write about. I will just shoot from the hip here:

• The Oklahoma City Thunder trounced the Lakers in five games. It didn't ever seem close, as far as knowing who really had the energy to win it. Being a lifetime Sonics fan, it was a strange thing trying to take a side in those five games. The Lakers are longtime rivals -- that just goes with being in the Pacific Division (even though the Sonics are gone; old habits die hard, I guess). But it seems I despise the owner of the Thunder even more ... and I found myself rooting for the Lakers on Monday in Game 5. Weird, for sure.

• The Bayern Munich stadium is ridiculous. I went to my pal Steve Jones' house Saturday to watch his Chelsea team upset the favored Munich team, whose home stadium is one of the most grandiose-looking arenas out there. State-of-the-art on steroids.

• The old Dallas Cowboys stadium, Texas Stadium: Yes, I know it had a hole in the roof so "God could watch his favorite team," but GN’R had its worst-ever gig there in 1988. We sucked it up pretty good. Thank god for Iggy Pop that night. He saved it all.

• It may be an obvious point to make now, but the L.A. Kings’ story is kind of ridiculous. They are dominant and completely self-assured. All of this out of an eighth seed?

(Read full post)

Football. Not soccer. That's what they call it over in England, where the alternative/indie rock band Morning Parade formed (near London) and where frontman Steve Sparrow gained his love for the beautiful game. One team in particular, actually. But we'll get to that later.

Because we couldn't help but ask Sparrow about the final match day of the Barclays Premier League season, when Manchester City snatched the title from Manchester United in the final minutes.

And the band ... missed it?! That's what happens when you have to work ...

"We were flying when the games were on," said Sparrow, who did get the scores via text from his manager upon arrival in the States (they're currently traveling around the Northeast, before their big tour in June to support their new self-titled album, out June 19).

"So when we got back [to our hotel], we watched the games on our laptops at night. What an amazing way for the Premiership to end, eh?"

Indeed. Especially because Sparrow's club, Arsenal, crucially clinched a spot in the Champions League that same Sunday.

Sparrow also talked a bit more about The Gunners, the Olympics, American sport and more:

(Read full post)

The genetically inclined songwriting of X Games host Sal Masekela is now available online, with the release last week of "The Sound of Alekesam," the first full-length record written by the action sports personality.

The 10-track album is the result of 10 weeks in a recording studio a year ago, working with producer Sunny Levine. Levine's father, Stewart Levine, produced critically acclaimed albums with Masekela's father, Hugh Masekela, a jazz great exiled from his native South Africa as his music reflected the conflicts of Apartheid during the 1950s and '60s.

Though Masekela's album doesn't carry the freedom fighter headiness of his father's music, it does represent a pivotal introspection in the 40-year-old's life. Masekela told ESPN.com that his long-ignored desire to "create something of record" surfaced with renewed vigor as his soul became an empty place after several years of celebrity reporting for "The Daily Ten," E!'s now-defunct entertainment news show. "[Making this music] was about getting to a place where I had no choice."

Read the full story at ESPN Action Sports.

When Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Josh Harrison marches to the plate at PNC Park, it’s always to his own beat.

No other player in the majors uses the same walk-up music as Harrison.

Since his days at the University of Cincinnati, Harrison -- now in his second season with the Pirates -- has been accompanied to his at-bats by the songs of his older brother, Shaun.

“I get a lot of requests asking me what I come out to and everything, and who makes it,” Harrison says. “I always tell them my brother. But it’s one of those things where I like my brother’s music and I don’t have to worry about anybody else having my walk-up song.

“That’s a big thing with walk-up songs. Guys are like, 'I’m gonna come out to this,' and another guy’s like, 'I’m gonna come out to that.'”

Through most of his minor league career, from 2008 until he was called up to the big leagues last May, Harrison’s primary walk-up song was “I’m the Man.” But since coming to Pittsburgh, he’s alternated between three other songs written and performed by his brother: “Shock Da Globe,” “Gotta See Me” and “Focused on the Grind” (on which a cousin also helped).

(Read full post)

Golfer Ben Crane says people used to think he was boring. But now, “I think we’re slowly breaking through that one.” He has his music career to thank.

Last June, Crane teamed up with Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan to form the PGA boy band Golf Boys and produce their first single, “Oh Oh Oh,” in the run-up to the U.S. Open.

In the two-minute video, Crane donned a helmet and unitard, Watson sported overalls and the beginning of a mullet, Mahan moonlighted as a European sugar daddy and Fowler feigned a punk juvenile delinquent. But it was all for a good cause, as Farmers Insurance sponsored the project and donated $1,000 to charity for every 100,000 YouTube hits. To date, the video is nearing 5 million views.

It would seem their shamelessness is paying off, as all four have excelled so far this season. Most notably, Watson is the reigning Masters champion, but Mahan also raked in two wins at the WGC Match Play and Houston Open, Crane finished second in the Phoenix Open and Fowler is on a hot streak with a win at the Wells Fargo Championship and a second place finish at The Players.

The follow-up single to “Oh Oh Oh” isn’t yet in the works, but Crane says they are welcoming tryouts and would like to get back together. Auditions, perhaps? “Call me Simon Cowell,” he says.

Snoop Dogg gives us a sneak peak of playoff fever in Los Angeles.

O.A.R. is always working. Even the band's unfinished songs take on a life of their own.

The band recently debuted "Champions," a collaboration with rapper B.o.B., as part of a Duracell promotion for the 2012 London Olympics.

"It's a tune that was floating around in the O.A.R. camp," said Jerry DePizzo, saxophonist and guitarist for the band. "It was written and created by Marc [Roberge], our singer, with some guys he works with sometimes called Diji Parq. I think maybe its intentions really weren't known. The beat and the electronic element is a departure from O.A.R.'s sound and style."

But when the opportunity arose to come up with a song for the campaign, it found its life. The band just wanted to find someone else to work on the song with it.

"We had a short list of guys to do it with and B.o.B. was one of them. To get one of the top guys on our wish list to do it was great."

DePizzo minces no words when he says he hopes the song leads to an opportunity to head to London for the Olympics.

"We're politicking for it. I'd love to go to London. I've heard talk about it," he said. "What better way to do it than to go play for our athletes? I hope we have the opportunity to do it."

(Read full post)

Musician Duff McKagan's column runs every Wednesday on Playbook Sounds.

In August 1987, I was headed out to play my first-ever arena tour. The Cult gave GN’R the opening slot for a tour that would cross Canada, come down the West Coast, and then shoot across to the Southwest and finally end in New Orleans.

I met Cult guitarist especial Billy Duffy on that first night in Halifax, Nova Scotia -- that was nearly 25 years ago now -- and even way back then, his soccer team Manchester City was on an epic losing streak of 20 or so years.

I could empathize. I am, after all, from Seattle.

You can’t mess around when talking or writing about English football. If you are an American, and don’t know much about that whole scene over there, be careful about saying such throwaway things as “I think I’ll pull for Liverpool this year.” I did that once in an interview with some UK magazine. I mean, why not? The Beatles are from Liverpool, and I thought it was a fairly innocuous and tame thing to state. No. I caught a whole rash of crap from each city I went to in England after that.

Manchester, England, is a city about the same size as Seattle or, say, Cleveland. Imagine if Cleveland had the Browns and the Steelers both hailing from the same city? Or if Seattle had the Seahawks and the Raiders? And both teams had originated from different sides of town, and had somehow split the fandom somewhere right down the middle of town.

(Read full post)