The mystery of who Blake Griffin sounds like has been solved

This year, unlike many other years, I have decided to watch some of the NBA playoffs on television.  Because of this, I have gotten to see over and over again the same Kia Optima ads featuring Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers (pictured above). It struck me that Blake Griffin sounds remarkably like someone I'd heard before, and, after a little research, I was able to figure it out.

First, here is one of the commercials. Listen to grown-up version of Blake.

Second, here is the opening scene of the 1998 movie Rushmore. Listen to the math teacher (starting around 0:38).



Clearly, the two men sound almost exactly alike. The only question is-- why?

FA Cup semifinal update

And in other fighting news, yesterday's FA Cup semifinal match between Wigan and Millwall featured a battle between Millwall supporters and police, with predictable reactions from the press. I'm not sure who will end up being the poster child for this particular outbreak of fan violence-- the frightened girl or the grinning man fleeing with the police officer's hat.

When baseball players fight, they call it a "brawl"

This week's fight/brawl between San Diego Padre Carlos Quentin and Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Zack Greinke (which left Greinke with an injured shoulder), reminded many baseball fans of other fights/brawls from the past. One of the most famous has to be the fight/brawl that took place on August 12, 1984 between the Padres and the Atlanta Braves.



This next one's not so famous-- in fact, I don't remember it at all. But it has the Cardinals in it and, more importantly, a rare instance of Ozzie Smith losing his cool.