Henry Mertens

Remember Joe Sakic? So dominant in Sega hockey in the 90s? He made a hole-in-one for $1 million over the weekend, and there’s video. Also, more Bruce Feldman/ESPN, a 7-foot-4 college basketball prospect who is Indian, and a WAG wearing a nice outfit.

Bijou Phillips Marika Dominczyk Dita Von Teese Rachel Nichols Dido

Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo Trista Rehn Moon Bloodgood

On Episode 174 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed combative expert Tony Blauer and gymnast Carl Paoli. Stacie Tovar was also featured on the episode, which was was webcast live at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, June 1, 2011.

4:30 Tony Blauer of Blauer Tactical Systems came on the show to talk about his popular Be Your Own Bodyguard seminars. Tony talked about feedback he gets from students who have attended his seminars and found them helpful. Carl Paoli is one such student. Carl joined the discussion to tell of an experience he had where he used Tony’s techniques to successfully avoid a physical confrontation. Blauer explained why it’s necessary to know what a potential assailant wants and how to watch for cues that let you know an attacker’s intentions. Tony went on to describe some of the things that are taught at his seminars.

32:40 By winning the North Central Regional last weekend, Stacie Tovar qualified for the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games, making this the third year in a row that she will compete at the main event. Stacie came on the show to talk about her experience at the regional and gave her thoughts on the Open that preceded it. She talked about the regional programming and gave insight into what she did to recover between days and events. Stacie described her diet and training, along with her weaknesses, and she talked about what the next two months will look like for her as she prepares for the Reebok CrossFit Games in July.

54min 51sec

Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi Giuliana DePandi

Jim Weber runs LostLettermen.com, a site devoted to keeping tabs on former college athletes and other nostalgia. Recently, he tracked down legendary college football play-by-play man Keith Jackson.

Certain phrases uttered by certain broadcasters become so iconic they’re bound together for eternity. People will always remember that Walter Cronkite finished his nightly newscast with, “And that’s the way it is,” and that Edward R. Murrow always closed with, “Good night, and good luck.”

When people hear the words “Whoa, Nellie!”, they think of one man: Keith Jackson.

But if the retired broadcasting legend had his way, that wouldn’t be the case. In fact, he’s still trying to figure out how the two got so intertwined.

“I never did use it that much, just a couple times when Grease (Bob Griese) and I were (broadcasting) together,” Jackson, now 82, said this week from his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “Bob Griese used it more than I did. I don’t know how that thing got hung on me. The media likes to hang things on you and that was my bad luck, I guess.”

Does he even like the phrase?

“Eh,” Jackson replied. “I haven’t used it ? I never did use it much ? and I haven’t used it in a long time. It’s amazing how it’s hung on.”

It’s done more than hang on. It’s taken on a life of its own. People ask him how and when it started. He doesn’t know, but many claim it was actually coined by a Los Angeles broadcaster named Dick Lane. People have incorrectly speculated that Jackson had a goat in his home state of Georgia named Nellie, and a stranger once approached his wife of nearly 60 years, Turi Ann, and said, “Excuse me, you must be Nellie.”

“Whoa, Nellie!” or not, Jackson and his voice are still deeply missed by college football fans, many of whom haven’t heard it since his final telecast at the 2006 Rose Bowl between Texas and USC.

Speaking from his home now, Jackson doesn’t use the booming baritone voice that he’s known for, but his Southern accent and stoic understatement remain unmistakable. He seems perplexed as to why anyone would be interested in knowing what he’s doing now and agrees to be interviewed only if it doesn’t take too long. Anyone hoping Jackson would reconsider his second retirement after the ‘06 Rose Bowl aren’t about to get their wish. Five years later, Jackson says he has no regrets about leaving.

[Related: College football’s Top 10 most unruly fanbases]

Jackson hasn’t attended a single game in retirement and doesn’t plan on it. When he flipped the coin before the 2010 BCS National Championship Game between Texas and Alabama, Jackson walked out of the Rose Bowl afterward and went home to watch the game on TV.

“I have not ever considered coming back again,” Jackson said definitively.”I watch some (college football) on television, I’m just not glued to it. It’s not a passion that it once was because I did it 54 years.”

Jackson still has one broadcasting gig on the side. From a Los Angeles studio, he will be voicing over the Big Ten Network’s “Icons” series on the most legendary coach from all 12 Big Ten schools. And of course, people have been nagging Jackson for an autobiography on one of the longest and most pathbreaking careers in sports, which also put him in the booth for the first-ever broadcast of Monday Night Football and the first sports broadcast by an American from the Soviet Union.

“If I could get someone like John Grisham or someone like that to sit down and write a book with me, I’d love that,” Jackson said of the best-selling author. “And John might even consider it if I could catch up to him and ask him.”

Just don’t expect it to be titled, “Whoa, Nellie!”

More popular stories on LostLettermen.com:
 ? College football’s 20 best helmets
 ? Ohio State Buckeye fan takes O-H-I-O to grave
 ? College football’s most lavish tattoos
 ? Oregon State player shatters backboard, face
 ? Gus Johnson ‘calls’ Abby Wambach’s goal

Brittny Gastineau Ashley Tisdale Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey

“I’ve always kind of pushed the boundaries, you know, with adventure, with travel, with working out—whatever it may be,” says Eric Bach, a CrossFitter and competitor on the upcoming television show Expedition Impossible. His team, The Gypsies, was one of 13 three-person teams in an “Indiana Jones-style race across Morocco.” He says it was demanding, both physically and mentally.

“It’s just like everything we’ve been training for our entire lives,” he says.

According to Bach, the competition was fierce. Ex-NFL players and Everest climbers were amongst his rivals.

“We weren’t really sure how we were going to do,” he says.

Bach explains that CrossFit helped prepare his team for the challenges. CrossFitting out of CrossFit Invictus, Bach says they focused more on endurance and even worked with Navy SEALs they met through CrossFit to learn survival skills.

“This was a huge opportunity with my best friends, not to just prove to myself but to prove to the world that we could win this competition, and CrossFit was just a major part of that,” Bach says.

Expedition Impossible premiers on June 23 at 9 EST on ABC. You can find out more about Bach’s team at Moderngypsies.com.

13min 28sec

Additional reading: On Top of the Western World by Dusty Wunderlich, published April 6, 2010.

Thalía Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair Aaliyah

On Episode 175 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed two regional champions, Leah Polaski, who won the Southeast Regional, and 2008 Games champ Jason Khalipa, who won the Northern California Regional. This episode was webcast live at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

4:45 Leah Polaski just missed qualifying for the Games last year. She vowed not to let that happen again and attacked her training over the past year with her goal as fuel. On the show, she explained what winning the regional and qualifying for the Reebok CrossFit Games mean to her. She also talked about the programming during the Open and the regional competition, as well as rest, recovery and training as the Games approach.

32:20 2008 CrossFit Games champion Jason Khalipa bested some very stiff competition at the Northern California Regional, and he came on the show to give his thoughts on the event. Khalipa is an athlete known more for his strength than his skill with body-weight movements, so he explained how he’s been working on his weaknesses and what type of things have helped him prepare for the Games this year. He talked about peaking at the right time and how he plans to do that at the Home Depot Center. Jason explained how beneficial it has been for him to train with fellow competitor Neal Maddox, and he detailed what he’ll be up to between now and the main event.

54min 10sec

Katherine Heigl Lorri Bagley Leslie Bega Maria Sharapova Lindsay Price

Grace Park Jill Wagner Susie Castillo Fergie Ivanka Trump

Catherine Bell Tessie Santiago Jessica Simpson Mandy Moore Shannon Elizabeth

Learn tips and tricks from CrossFitter and chef Nick Massie as he hunts for groceries at his local Whole Foods. On today’s list are ingredients Massie needs for the Paleo Diet-inspired dishes he is preparing in this cooking series.

As he wanders the produce section, Massie explains how he finds the freshest fruits and vegetables. For instance, he suggests buying loose mushrooms instead of packaged ones so they last longer. Look for firmness in carrots and peppers but a little give in avocados and limes, he says. Through careful observation, touch and smell, Massie can find the best his store has to offer.

“Ideally, with any fruit or vegetable, you want it to be where you’re not afraid to like take a bite out of it right now,” he says.

But washing is also important—even when buying organic.

“Always rinse your veggies before you eat them, especially if you’re not cooking them,” he says.

After he piles up the produce, Massie targets some mid-aisle items like nuts, coconut milk, sauces and spices. Then he heads to the fish and meat sections to round out a shopping trip that will provide him with two weeks’ worth of meals.

11min 0sec

Additional reading: CFJ Issue 21: Zone Meal Plans by Greg Glassman, published May 1, 2004.

Jennifer Sky Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton Grace Park Jill Wagner

Halle Berry Catherine Bell Tessie Santiago Jessica Simpson Mandy Moore