Bill Fox

Straight From The Fox Hole 2/3/11

I GUESS I’LL SKIP that second cup of coffee. According to a new study from Bristol University in England, when women drink coffee, it gives them a temporary boost in brainpower. When men drink coffee, it has the opposite effect. 

In the study, some men and women tried to do tasks like puzzles, negotiations, and memory challenges after drinking regular coffee, and some tried to do them after decaf. 

Men had a lot more trouble with memory and decision-making when they were ratcheted up on caffeine compared to when they drank decaf. Women did better on all of the tasks after drinking regular coffee.

The researchers say they’re not exactly sure why drinking coffee has opposite effects on the genders.

I’M LOVING THE NEW SEASON OF AMERICAN IDOL…and from the looks of the ratings…so isn’t America. After an initial dip, the rating are back up and Idol was actually the top rated TV show last week.

I love the personal stories of tragedy and triumph.  Billboard.com has put together a list of The Top 10 American Idol Sob Stories…which is basically a rundown of the most tear-jerking stories that have come out during the show’s 10 seasons. Here’s the full list, along with videos…

CHRIS MEDINA…from THIS season. He talked about how he’s taking care of his fiancée because she was left brain damaged following a bad accident just two months before they were supposed to get married.

DANNY GOKEY…from Season Eight. His wife, Sophia, died while having heart surgery just four weeks before he tried out for Idol.

ANGELA MARTIN…from Season Nine…although she tried out three times. Her father was murdered. Her mother went missing. Her daughter has seizures. And she was once disqualified for being briefly jailed on a traffic violation.

DAVID COOK…from Season Seven. David’s brother, Adam, was fighting brain cancer during David’s winning run on Idol. At one point, Adam’s doctors cleared him to go to L.A. to see David perform live. Adam died in 2009.

ASIA’H EPPERSON…from Season Seven.  Asia’h's dad died in a car accident just two days before her Idol audition. It actually happened MINUTES after she called him to tell him she was on her way to the audition.

SCOTT MACINTYRE…from Season Eight. Scott was the guy who made it all the way to the Top 10 despite being almost entirely blind.

ANTHONY FEDEROV…from Season Four. After suffering complications of a breathing problem when he was little, doctors said they didn’t think he’d be able to talk again. He did, and he could sing, too. He ended up finishing fourth.

JOSIAH LEMING…from Season Seven. Josiah was an 18-year-old high school dropout, who lived in his car. But he even admitted that he wasn’t homeless out of necessity…he was doing it to follow his dream.

JIM VERRAROS…from Season One. Both of Jim’s parents are deaf, and yet he said they went to every one of his shows to support him…even though they’ve never been able to actually hear him sing.

KATIE STEVENS…from Season Nine. She talked about her grandmother, who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s. She said she wanted her grandmother to see her succeed before she forgets who she is.

It’s amazing how American Idol has changed, visually, over the years.  The format for the auditions is basically the same, but look at the set in that Jim Verraros video.  It looks like this is happening in a middle school auditorium. Just think about the sets they have been using this season…they’re either in some famous space like the Ryman Auditorium, or in some kind of observation deck overlooking the local majestic body of water.

A SHOW THAT I USED TO LOVE is Survivor. Somewhere along the way I just lost interest and stopped watching for a few years. Then a couple of seasons ago I got sucked back into it for a while. I think I’ve finally kicked the habit for good…but the show is still going strong. 

The show is actually back in the news….but not for a good reason. CBS and Survivor recently filed a lawsuit against JIM EARLY…a blogger who posts under the name “missyae” on the forum site SurvivorSucks.com.

Early was leaking all kinds of Survivor results, secrets and other information that wouldn’t be known to anyone who wasn’t involved with the show. 

CBS offered to drop the lawsuit, but only if Early revealed his source. He did…saying that it was Survivor villain RUSSELL HANTZ. That made sense, because Early’s biggest leaks came in the seasons Russell competed in…19 and 20.

The lawsuit was dropped…and now CBS could go after Russell.  Leaking information about the show is not only in breach of a contestant’s contract, it also reportedly comes with a $5 million penalty. 

The problem is Russell is one of their more popular contestants…AND he’s back on the upcoming season…called Survivor:  Redemption Island…which premieres February 16th. 

Russell has never commented on the lawsuit against Early, but last month, he did post this on his Facebook page: ”Please respect me as I respect my fans. I will NOT talk about Season 22 so please don’t ask until it’s over. I respect the show and the people involved in it…and the people who try to spoil the show can suck my ass.”

Well that’s nice. And typical Russell.

THE HUGE SNOWSTORM that swept across the country earlier this week really did a number on Chicago. The Windy City got over 20 inches of snow in two days. Lake Shore Drive…the main road that runs along Lake Michigan…got so packed with traffic, people had to abandon their cars. ABC News did a report on it.

Some guy also posted pretty good footage of it on YouTube.

YET ANOTHER REASON to NOT watch MTV…they’re  bringing back Beavis and Butt-Head.  They made the announcement yesterday.  Actually, they had the cast of Skins
make the announcement for them at a press event…just to make sure they had everyone’s attention.

There’s no premiere date yet, but they said it’ll happen sometime this year. Beavis and Butt-Head originally aired on MTV from 1993 to 1997.

Which is just about the time I gave up and stopped watching MTV.

HERE’S A GREAT LOOK at men, women, the Super Bowl, and priorities. And one thing’s clear…football is important to a lot of men…but it can’t trump sweet, sweet love!

According to a new survey by the dating site Zoosk.com, men are more likely than women to choose having sex over watching the Super Bowl. As a matter fo fact…50% of men would pick sex over the game…versus 27% of women.

Here are some more results from the survey…

Green Bay was ranked a less romantic city than Pittsburgh… although the most common answer was “neither one is romantic.”

Men are more likely to be rooting for Green Bay on Sunday, women are more likely to be rooting for Pittsburgh.

Men said that the football player they’d most like to have a drink with is BRETT FAVRE. Women said the football player they’d most like to have a drink with is TOM BRADY. 

Women also voted RYAN CLARK of the Steelers as the most attractive player in the Super Bowl.  AARON RODGERS of the Packers came in second.

WHAT? NO LADIES want to snuggle up with one of those big beefy offensive linemen like the Steeler’s Willie Colon…seen here enjoying a post game snack? Come on now…those big boys need some love too.

Between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, you’d have your choice of 26 players who weigh over 300 pounds…13 on each team. 

Back in 1970…the NFL had one 300 hundred pounder IN THE ENTIRE NFL. In 1980 it was up to three. By 1990, that jumped to 94. In 2000, it was up to 301 players. And in 2010, it was up to 394. That’s a 3,940% increase over 40 years.

Creatine and other non-banned weight lifting supplements get the most credit. Players are able to pack on muscle now faster than ever. And to stay competitive in the modern game, they have to be as strong as possible.

As for whether that’s healthy in the long term…well, no. But it’s part of what it takes to play in the NFL now…so all of the players seem fine with putting on the weight. 

Erik Williams is a former lineman for the Dallas Cowboys who weighed over 300 pounds during his 11 seasons. He says that even though he’s disabled right now…and needs two hip replacements…he wouldn’t change a thing.

MOST YEARS FOR THE SUPER BOWL…the mayors of the two cities involved make some sort of lame bet. So someone with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy group made a parody video about the mayors of Green Bay and Pittsburgh making a RIDICULOUS bet.

BE SURE TO check out my FACEBOOK page throughout the day for updates and other cool stuff…and look for another STRAIGHT FROM THE FOX HOLE tomorrow morning.