Spud Webb will heading back to the hard-court, however, it won’t be with the NBA.  Instead, the 5-foot-7 former dunk champion has been hired to coach the Rick’s Cabaret/New York Stripper Basketball Team for the upcoming inaugural season of the Rick’s Basketball Association.

In the wake of the potential loss of the NBA season, the people at Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc., decided to create a league of their own, pitting women from their gentlemen’s clubs around the United States against one another in an attempt to fill the void left by the NBA lockout.  The NBA players and owners have since come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, and their 2011-12 season is expected to begin on Christmas Day.  However, that news hasn’t stopped the girls at Rick’s from continuing to train for their league’s debut.

The ladies probably aren’t the only ones looking forward to the start of Rick’s Basketball Association.  After all, if it is anywhere close to as entertaining as the Lingerie Football League, it’ll have my attention.  I’m sure Spud feels the same way.  And I’m sure the opportunity to be in the change room with the ladies didn’t hurt his chances of coaching them either.

Hat Tip – [Rick's]

Many of you men may recognize Rick’s Cabaret as the popular upscale gentleman’s club that houses hundreds of gorgeous women at each of their locations around the United States.  However, with the NBA still in the midst of a lockout, it may not be long before we all know Rick’s Cabaret as the sole provider of entertaining basketball action.

Rick’s held a press conference at their New York City location to announce the formation of Rick’s Basketball Association (the RBA), which will feature ten teams consisting of topless dances from Rick’s Cabarets and XTC Cabarets in New York, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis and Indianapolis, Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami, and Club Onyx in Charlotte, Houston, Dallas and Philadelphia.

Rick’s NYC dancer Gianna is confident that she and the rest of Rick’s ladies will make us forget about the NBA lockout in no time, while Skylar informed us all that “the girls at Rick’s Cabaret are in shape and know how to use their bodies,” adding that she’s “excited to play the hot girls from our other clubs!”

I think I speak for most men when I say that we are all equally excited Skylar.  Here is a look at the ladies from Rick’s NYC location showing off the RBA’s sexy uniforms.

The people in New York City saw quite a bit of Derek Jeter over the course of the last two weeks, and it had little to do with the media’s coverage of the Yankees’ spring training and exhibition schedule. Instead, it was the result of a Gillette billboard displayed on the side of a building in the SoHo neighborhood, which depicts a giant portrait of Jeter going through a three-day shaving cycle.

With the help of BBDO, Gillette unveiled what they referred to as “The World’s Biggest Shave.”  Beginning with an image of Derek Jeter sporting a five o’clock shadow (Day 1), the image was painted daily, applying shaving cream to the all-star shortstop’s face (Day 2), before unveiling a freshly shaved man (Day 3).  This three-day cycle continued until March 6th.

It is a good thing for Gillette that the Yankees resigned the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer during the off-season.  I’m not so sure this idea would have worked out quite as well using a baby-faced Alex Rodriguez.

Here is a time-lapse video of the advertisement, along with images of the three-day process above.

Hat Tip – [Partnership Activation]

And despite all the fans, camera flashes, and chants of “Dwight”, Superman was still able to focus on the task at hand: Defeat each and every pedestrian that steps onto his virtual court.

In attendance this year from the soccer world was Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Javier Zanetti, Salomon Kalou, Ryan Babel, Giovanni van Bronckhurst, Mathieu Flamini, Ivan Cordoba, Adrian Mutu, and Edgar Davids.  The basketball players who took part this year were Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Chris Bosh, and Raja Bell.

The teams are mixed with players form both sports and it always draws a large crowd as it is not everyday that a North American soccer fan is given the opportunity to watch the likes of Henry or Kalou play live.  If watching such soccer stars in action was not enough of a reason to attend, then seeing Chris Bosh play soccer was.

CB4 was not all that impressive on the soccer court, but his character and attitude made up for what he lacked in skill.  His effort, sportsmanship, and sense of humor was one of the big topics during and after the game among players and fans alike.  Maybe a contract with Toronto FC will help keep him interested in returning to the Raptors after next season.

In the mean time, here is a clip of the event.  For more videos, visit The Offside.

Hat Tip Video – [The Score Blog]