because you can be a girl and still kick ass at video games and sports

All month long ESPN has airing stories on women athletes and women in the sports industry due to March being Women’s History Month. In my opinion, its very interesting to see the sports reporter aspect of life due to most of these women were/are the first of their kind in a male dominated industry. On Friday ESPN will air a special on a few of their own reporters as well as women who talk sports across the country. The major news network is also doing other things to honor the women in the industry. Check out what ESPN has to offer to close out the month.

One-Hour Special: ‘HER STORY’ ON ESPN

Her Story ESPN continues its celebration of women in sports with “Her Story,” a one-hour TV special on Friday March 27th at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Hannah Storm will anchor the special, which focuses on fresh stories about young athletes, such as surfer Bethany Hamilton’s extraordinary comeback after being attacked by a shark. Storm will chat Thursday at 12:15 p.m. to talk about the “Her Story” special. Send your questions in now. Meanwhile, check out Hannah’s fan profile and Hannah’s blog, which you can find on the “SportsCenter” page.

In addition, ESPN reporter Shelley Smith takes a close look at why there are lower sports participation rates for Hispanic high school girls, as well as how they are among the fastest-growing demographic in this country. Tune in Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

On ESPNEWS: All-Female “Aircheck” Segment

On Thursday, ESPNEWS will produce an all-female ESPNEWS “Aircheck” segment in honor of Women’s History Month. At 6:30 p.m. ET, we’ll debate the big sport topic of the day and which woman presently is the most influential sports figure.

Reischea Canidate will host the segment. The “Aircheck” guests from ESPN Radio affiliates will be: Kelly Webster, 103.3 FM Dallas, general reporter anchor, Cowboys, Mavs, Stars and Rangers; Meredith Marakovits, 950 ESPN Philadelphia, Phillies reporter; and Anita Marks, 105.7 The Fan Baltimore, midday host.

With March being Woman’s History month its always important to talk about how far women have come in the world. Dove started a campaign a while back on showing women and young girls what true beauty really is.

As part of the campaign for Real Beauty, in 2006, Dove started the Dove Self-Esteem Fund that claims to change the Western concept of beauty from ultra-thin models with perfect features to making every girl (and woman) feel positive about her looks, no matter what they are. In an effort to promote the Fund, Dove ordered a series of highly-successful online-based short films promoting the self-esteem concept.

The videos are truly inspiring. As someone who has grown up with advertisements shoved in my face of flawless bodies, I never realized the effect it has until you see all of the changes and adjustments that go into printing a simple magazine ad. Today’s youth is bombarded with countless music videos, print ads, bill boards, and more to push the idea that no matter what, there is something wrong with you and there is a pill, knife, machine or drink that can fix it.

I, like many girls, like to feel pretty. There are parts on my body that I like some days and hate on other days. It is a constant struggle to remind yourself over and over again of all the glass half-full aspects of my life. But then I remember that I was lucky enough to have parents that told me I was beautiful, smart etc to build that self confidence. Some girls and women were never given that and that’s why Dove’s campaign is so important.

The campaign website is something that needs to be shared with as many women and girls as possible. As mentioned before, it has many helpful videos but the site also features many interactive experiences such as the “Self Esteem Editor” and can learn what really goes into making a magazine. Other helpful tools include how to talk to your daughter about body image, a quiz to see how confident you are and how you impact others self esteem (very important!). Upon finishing any one of the campaigns, the girl who completes it receives a printable certificate that is suitable for framing remind them of their accomplishment. Another great feature of the site includes showing you images and asking if you can tell if the image has been photo shopped or altered in any way. Do you think you could tell?

The results and effects of this campaign are not yet known, but as a consumer, it helps that there are big companies out there that help women support other women, because lets face it, as women we all could do a better job of supporting each other.

For more information on the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and Self Esteem Fund visit the following:

Campaign for Real Beauty Home Page

Self Esteem Fund

Dove’s Controversial Videos

Quick Links on Dove’s Site:

Dove’s Mission Statement
http://www.dove.us/#/CFRB/arti_cfrb.aspx[cp-documentid=7049726]/

True You PDF link to activity guide for mothers and daughters for self esteem
http://msbrandent.vo.llnwd.net/d1/msnbeet_doveus/cfrb/workshops/true_you.pdf

True You PDF Link to guide to help moms/grand mothers etc talk to young girls about self esteem
http://msbrandent.vo.llnwd.net/d1/msnbeet_doveus/cfrb/workshops/true_you_mom.pdf

Beauty Pressures on Young Girls/Women
http://www.dove.us/#/CFRB/arti_CFRB.aspx[cp-documentid=7051094]/

Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem
Commissioned: June 2008
http://content.dove.us/makeadiff/ser_report.html

Quizes, Games and Beauty Hangups
http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/girlsonly/

Picture of Certificate when a girl completes one of the quizes on Dove’s site
http://msbrandent.vo.llnwd.net/d1/msnbeet_doveus/cfrb/self_esteem/certificate.jpg

A friend of mine recently told me that she heard that NASCAR came out with a line of shoes. My first reaction to this was (bluntly) WTF? My next step was to go to the leading sites in shoes…..Zappos did not have any in stock, which Im not sure what to attribute it to. Either they were sold out (which would be shocking) or they just do not keep them in stock. It would make more sense to me that the shoes would be on special order because of the culture of NASCAR women fans tend to be the “tennis shoe/flip flop” breed. None the less, when you can’t find what you need on smaller sites, the usually reliable Amazon showed me alot of what NASCAR has to offer. The industry has their own opinion of their fans….

“40 million women are NASCAR fans, which makes it easy to believe that 77% of women feel that their sprit and attitude can make them beautiful. NASCAR footwear celebrates your spirit, your attitude and your beauty in a fun and sexy way.” So you be the judge….do you love, like or hate NASCAR’s brand of shoes?

NASCAR Edie Womens Wedge Platform Heels Shoes Leather Sandals

NASCAR Mable Womens Dress Shoes Heels Pumps

NASCAR Echo Womens Wedge Platform Heels Shoes Leather Sandals Cognac

NASCAR Judy Womens Western Cowboy Boots

Its that time of the year again. When words like bracketology and March Madness are thrown around on a daily basis. This time may be very annoying to you as your normal TV programs are interrupted by college kids running up and down a basketball court. But you don’t have to sit on the sidelines this year, with our help you learn all about March Madness and participate in what makes March not just another boring month without football.

March Madness is very simply term that was coined to explain the frenzy that overtakes America as one huge tournament that consists of 65 division one college basketball teams that compete in a one-and-done competition to see who is the best college basketball team in the country. Win and you move on to the next round, lose and you go home crying in agony. Teams for both the men’s and women’s tournament are chosen by a selection committee, which is comprised of select university athletic directors and conference commissioners. Each tournament has its own committee. The selection committee meets between the Thursday andSunday prior to the date selected for the tournament’s first game. Its job is to filter out the teams deserving of an invitation. The decisions are announced live on TV March 15th. The majority of the teams receive an automatic bid into the tournament by winning their respective conference. The selection committee determines the other tournament entries by many different qualifications such as wins on the road, wins vs ranked opponents and how well a team finishes the regular season. Teams that do not get selected have the possibility to be invited to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) which most Americans refer to as “Not in Tournament”. The NIT tournament is obviously less prestigious than March Madness.

After the selection process enters the term “bracketology”. Where the teams are put into different “pods” and “seeds” to determine who they will play and what general area of the country they have to travel. The selection committee will try to keep the teams as close to home aspossible so more fans can attend thus making more money. There will be 6 total rounds that winners of each game plays in that cuts down the number of teams by half each time (from 65 to 32-16-8-4-2-1) until a champion is crowned. Believe it or not, there are actually professional “Bracketologists” out there that get paid to predict the committee’s selections. There is also a book that explains how you can apply bracketology into your everyday life.

Now after selection Sunday you only have a couple days to fill in your bracket sheet of who you think will win. Some people get very scientific about how they fill in your bracket but it is nothing to stress about. With a little intuition and good luck, you will do just fine and have a great time competing against friends, family and coworkers.

Seedy Facts

• A No. 16 seed has never won a tournament game.
• A No. 8 seed is the highest seed to win a national championship (Villanova, 1985).
• A No. 11 seed is the highest seed to advance to the Final Four (LSU, 1986).
• No. 1 seeds represent 13 of the 26 national champions between 1979 and 2004.
• The only year that at least one No. 1 seed didn’t advance to the Final Four was 1980.

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CBS Sports has compiled some tips to help you master your brackets. Here are a few:

• Don’t think that a low-seeded team is going to win because it’s never won, and it’s the team’s turn.
• Be on the lookout for injuries. The loss of key players could mean the difference between winning and losing.
• Remain objective. Don’t pick your favorite team to win the whole tournament when it starts out as a No. 16 seed.
• Look back into the past. If two teams played against each other earlier in the season, review the previous games. That could give you a good idea of what could happen again.
• Make sure you have fun.­