LITTLE ROCK — Ben-Gals mom gets no respect
The life of an NFL cheerleader is apparently an arduous one full of grueling workouts, punishments for not reaching goals and workplace drama.
Laura Vikmanis, a member of the Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders, documents such struggles in a new memoir titled: It’s Not About the Pom-Poms: How a 40-Year-Old Mom Became the NFL’s Oldest Cheerleader - and Found Hope, Joy, and Inspiration Along the Way.
Other than writing a book with likely the longest title of anything pertaining to NFL cheerleaders, Vikmanis, who at 43 is the NFL’s oldest cheerleader, has penned an inside look at those who dance on the sideline in sweltering heat or heavy snow.
In a story published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, reporter Lauren Bishop lists a few of the book’s highlights:
Practices are held two to three times weekly. They include not only cheers, but also various conditioning routines such as yoga, pilates and plyometrics.
Ben-Gals who don’t make a desired weight stay after practice an extra half-hour for conditioning sessions dubbed “fat camp.”
The only acceptable absence from practice is for your wedding.
Ben-Gals are paid $75 per game. Poor excuse
Maybe he’s trying to send a message to his team, or maybe he’s trying to get under the skin of the archrival New York Yankees.
Either way, first-year Boston Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine got upset over a meaningless spring training game.
Manager Joe Girardi’s Yankees and Valentine’s Red Sox played to a 4-4 tie Thursdayin Fort Myers, Fla., and umpires stopped the game before the 10th inning. Valentine wasn’t upset that the game ended in a tie, as much as he was perturbed at Girardi’sexplanation and that Red Sox pitcher Clayton Mortensen had warmed up for the 10th inning.
Mortensen walked to the mound to start the 10th inning when the Yankees walked off the field and the crowd of almost 10,000 began booing, ESPNBoston.com reported.
Girardi told reporters after the game that he didn’t have enoughpitchers to finish Thursday’s games and complete split-squad games Friday against Minnesota and Philadelphia.
Valentine wasn’t buying it.
“I don’t care about not playing,” he said. “Why do I have to warm up my pitcher who is trying to make the team, coming into a tie game against the Yankees and maybe help him make the team? Instead, he has to walk off the mound and take a shower. Not very courteous.”
That’s a bit pricey
The new “Champion Dog” being sold at Rangers Ballpark sure sounds tasty.
Touted on the menu as the “Champion of all hot dogs,” a new option at Rangers games this summer can “feed a few players on your team.” It consists of one pound of hot dog with sautéed onions, shredded cheese and chili.
The catch? It comes at a hefty price of $26.
“We wanted something that somebody would walk up to and go, ‘Wow,’ ” Phillip Wheatley, the park’s food and beverage director told FoxSportsSouthwest.com.
“We envision the waiters coming out with this item and everybody going, ‘Look at that.’ ”Quote of the day
“I want to win. Yes, absolutely.” Tiger Woods, who leads a PGA Tour event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, going into
the weekend for the first time since 2009
Sports, Pages 18 on 03/24/2012