FanHouse WillFerrell

When FanHouse spoke to Will Ferrell at the 2009 USTA Arthur Ashe Kids Day on Saturday in Flushing, N.Y., we decided to ask him about some hot-button issues making sports headlines these days. I mean, who wouldn't want to know what Ferrell thinks about Brett Favre or Michael Vick returning to the NFL? Of course, we also discussed the decision to name freshman Matt Barkley the starting quarterback at his alma mater, USC.

Other topics discussed were whether Anchorman 2 will become a reality, his favorite sports broadcaster of all-time, and whatever happened to Pearl. Check out the full video interview below.

Ever the USC fan, Will Ferrell shows up at practice Thursday to lighten things up. No words really necessary here. Just watch and enjoy.

Hat Tip: The Wiz

Earlier this week, Will Ferrell showed up for promotional appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and MTV's Total Request Live sporting this old school Chelsea jersey. This pretty much ensures that no self-respecting Gooner will ever spend a dime on his movies again.

Ferrell is the newest addition to Chelsea's offcial Celebrity Fans list. He's up there with Michael Caine, Owen Wilson, Tara Reid, Busta Rhymes and Guy Ritchie. Sounds like a really crappy film waiting to happen, doesn't it?

(H/T: Unprofessional Foul)

As you know, your friendly neighborhood ("Ahem, neighbourhood" - Jes and Mirtle) FanHouse bloggers are proud disciples of "Slap Shot," the 1977 Paul Newman classic that gave the world Reggie Dunlop, the Hanson Brothers and roughly 10,000 other references that have become currency of cool amongst puckheads in the know. Comparing another hockey film to "Slap Shot" is futile. But sometimes a comedy that skewers the conventions of another sport hits theaters, and critics compare its virtues or tone to "Slap Shot"-- much in the same way people used to compare Alexandre Daigle to Wayne Gretzky.

Following in the tradition of "Blades of Glory" and "Talladega Nights" (well, hopefully more of the latter than the former), Will Ferrell's basketball comedy "Semi-Pro" opens on Friday. Variety reviewer Joe Leydon opens his critique thusly:

Very much in the tradition of "Slap Shot," George Roy Hill's raucously funny and foul-mouthed 1977 laffer about the misadventures of a minor-league hockey team, "Semi-Pro" scores big laughs with the rowdy play-by-play of hard-luck hoopsters struggling for professional survival. For some auds, Will Ferrell doing a full-court press in a white-guy afro alone will be worth the price of admission.

I haven't seen the film -- although I plan to -- but the production photo above certainly evokes memories of that classic scene in "Slap Shot" when Denis Lemieux broke the game down. ("Icing happen when the puck come down, bang, you know, before the other guy.") Where I think most critics get it wrong is when they reduce "Slap Shot" to a "raucously funny and foul-mouthed" film, forgetting its keen observations about sex, aging and self-identity. All due respect to the screenwriter on "Semi-Pro," but somehow I doubt the man who also gave the world "Old School" and "Road Trip" will be able to match Nancy Dowd's nuance. The real question, however, when it comes to "Semi-Pro" and "Slap Shot": Which extra in the new Will Ferrell movie will end up coaching the Wizards in 30 years?

Update: The reviews are in. Twenty-seven percent on the Rotten Tomatometer as of Friday morning. This is "Bewitched" bad.

Hey, at least the Knicks won something, right? (If that joke seems pilfered, it's only because it's a freaking layup.) Nate Robinson made Isiah Thomas proud this morning on the Today show, as he and Meredith Vieira beat Semi-Pro stars Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in a game of two-on-two.

The action starts around the 3:45 mark.



No word on whether the 'Bockers are offering Vieira a 10 day or not.

I don't care what the media experts say. I believe that the Bud Light Jackie Moon commercial (YouTube above) starring Will Ferrell was by far the best Super Bowl commercial.

A great commercial is memorable, not corny or sappy, actually funny when it is trying to be funny, appeals to a broad audience, product focused and has people talking about it afterwards, and not in a bad way like the Sales Genie ads. I think out of all this year's crop of commercials, the Jackie Moon commercial does this the best.

And, on the YouTubes to give Bud Light even more attention for this ad, they have included a longer version of the Jackie Moon commercial which is worth seeing if you are a fan of Ferrell:

Today's the day, folks. That's right, the NFL Draft is here. And for the University of Southern California, it could be a really good day. That's because strength coach Chuck Berry's innovative workout regimen has the draft-eligible Trojans in the best shape of their lives. Or something like that.

Actually, this is an NFL Network commercial set to air during today's draft coverage and, well, it's magnificent.

Sack ... and delicious. Thanks to Sports by Brooks for the link.

Dan Marino's not going anywhere, and I apologize if that headline made you think for a second that Dan Marino was dead. He's not. I hope.

But I found this video while searching for the Marino clip that I used in the previous post, and it's just too brilliant not to share. I have no idea where it came from or when it originally happened, but if you have any interest whatsoever in Will Ferrell, Elton John, or Dan Marino (coincidentally, that's my answer to the "if you could have dinner with any three people" question), then I can't recommend this highly enough.