Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • T42

Edited by Peter Couture pcouturetampabay.com SPORTSTALK ATHLETES FEET IN THIS SPORT, IT PAYS TO PLAY FOOTSY NUMBER OF THE DAY 17 pounds, 6 ounces Weight of the northern snakehead caught by Caleb Newton in Aquia Creek, Va. Newton is filing paperwork with the International Game Fish Association to have the fish registered as a possible world record, the AP reports. The invasive predator can survive out of water for several days and wiggle across short distances on its fins. The fish has a cousin, the bullseye snakehead, in South Florida. A huge mutation of the fish was even the star of the 2004 sci-fi movie Frankenfish.

AP Caleb Newton and his snakehead. We hope Florida's version is smaller. BBC A competitor gets toehold at the World Toe Wrestling Championship. KM: DID YOU KNOW? You've heard of the playoff beard? How about the playoff yard? Black-hawks fan Frank Miller put up a sign at his suburban Park Ridge, home reading "Playoff lawn. Won't cut until Hawks win Cup!" But when it became overgrown, neighbors complained and the city sent someone to mow it, according to NBC Chicago.

Remember Amanda, the pitcher portrayed by Tatum O'Neal in The Bad News Bears? Well, she and five other members of How did this sport miss being a demonstration event at the 2012 London Games? A pub in England, the Bentley Brook Inn, recently hosted the 35th World Toe Wrestling Championship. The aim: Competitors lock big toes and try to force their opponent's digit to the floor over three rounds. You have to love the nicknames of the competitors: the men's winner was 10-time champion Alan "Nasty" Nash the Sultan of Soles, no doubt who has appeared on The Tonight Show. Other competitors have included masked wrestlers such as "Predatoe." The women's winner was Becca Birch, who defeated Lisa "Twinkletoes" Shenton. According to the BBC, toe wrestling was "revived" by one George Burgess in 1976 in an attempt to find a sport for British people to dominate.

Official rules, according to the BBC, include a ban on stimulants "except alcohol" and each round begins with the referee shouting "toes away." And yes, there is a prematch foot-hygiene check. if chicago.cbslocal.com Playoff lawn? Now that's an excuse. the fictional Little League team are getting their own baseball cards 37 years after the movie came out. They will be part of Panini America's Golden Age set, which mixes pop-culture and baseball cards. Now here's where romance meets marketing: Soccer player Gareth Bale, of Tottenham in England's Premier League, has filed an application to trademark his goal celebration, a heart-shaped hand gesture he dedicates to his girlfriend.

The Intellectual Property Office says it has received Bale's application for his "Eleven of Hearts" logo, which Bale (No. 11) intends to use on clothing, footwear, headgear and jewelry. IM guardian. co.uh Gareth's goal gesture could pay off. LOLO LOWDOWN Jones' next hurdle, the director's chair? Okay, Lolo Jones haters, we know you've criticized the hurdler for being a self-promoter and Olympic bust, but she may yet get her revenge now that she's become a U.S.

bobsledder. And when it comes to social media, Jones already may be a medalist. Writing at Business Insider, Tony Manfred says that Jones has mastered Vine the six-second video version of Instagram and not just to tout her CHARLIE HUSTLE Rose's post-baseball life is a financial hit Vine We give Lolo a thumbs-up for her Vine videos. That's just our opinion. Pete Rose may have been banned from baseball for life, but the game's all-time hits leader reportedly makes more than $1 million a year signing autographs, which is his full-time job.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the 72-year-old Rose spends 15 to 25 days per month signing his name for money in where else? Las Vegas. "Pete's job is to be Pete Rose," Joie Casey, president of Hit King which manages Rose's autograph ventures, tells the Journal. "And he's the best Pete Rose there's ever been." brand. "Lolo's Vines are legitimately good," he writes. "They have plot lines and involve multiple cuts.

They're clever, and stuff a lot into six seconds." Indeed, we like the recent one where she shows her paycheck from the U.S. Bobsled Skeleton Federation for $741.84. "Seven months with bobsled season. The whole season. That's it," she says before adding, "I'm going to be a little late on my rent this month." After being criticized for the video, Jones who isn't strapped for cash told News that she did it to illustrate the sacrifices made by bobsled athletes.

And what about your filmmaking skills, Lolo? She tweeted: did an internship Spielberg. According to the newspaper, Rose has a condo just off the Strip, where he has all but taken up residence at the Fountains of Bellagio. Ever the master schmoozer, the Journal writes that Rose signs and poses for those who buy items such as baseballs and photos that range $75 to $800. But Vegas, Pete? Gambling was your downfall. "People come here and they have money and they shop and they spend money," Rose says.

Now that's a man who knows averages. OVERHEARD Why did Tim Tebow sign with New England? So he could watch God play quarterback." Charles P. Pierce, writing at Esquire.com. 42 tbt www.tampabay.com Tuesday, June 18, 2013.