NightLine: Most Dangerous ‘Sport’ of All May Be Cheerleading

Check out this Nightline story about Patty Phommanyvong.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/cheerleading-dangerous-sport-young-girls/story?id=9473938

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A Winning Recipe.

What do cookies and cheerleading have in common? If you were thinking “Bake Sale” like I was, we’d both be wrong. A former New England Patriots’ Cheerleader’s chocolate chip cookie recipe just won her first prize at the Brooklyn Fair’s Baking Contest (Connecticut). When you say CHOCOLATE…I say CHIP…Go COOKIES!

http://ultimatecheerleaders.com/2009/10/former-patriots-cheerleader-wins-baking-contest-with-chocolate-chip-cookies/

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Take the Cheer Quiz!

I just completed the “How Well Do You Know Your Cheerleading Terms” Quiz at cheerleading.about.com and I must say for a non-cheerleader, without children or nieces in a cheer program, I did quite well. I scored 11 out of 12. Not bad for a person who never tested well in school, especially on multiple-choice. Now I must admit, I did just produce a documentary about Cheerleading so I was hoping that I actually learned a thing or two about the sport. Let’s see how well you do…
http://cheerleading.about.com/od/cheerquizzes/l/bl_termsquiz.htm

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Do These Songs Really Rock?

MSNBC just came out with a list of what it calls the top five “cheerleader songs that rock.” Of course there are some obvious ones on it- no list of this kind would be complete without “Hollaback Girl” or the classic “Hey Mickey.” Beyond those two, they make some interesting choices. Although it was never released as a single, they include the opening chant from Bring It On, known as “We are Cheerleaders.” I’m willing to give that one to them. Next on the list is “Be True to Your School” by the Beach Boys. While the song does include some “rah rah rah rah sis boom bahs,” which cover the cheerleading part, I’m not sure I would put it under “songs that rock.” But, everyone loves the Beach Boys, so again I’ll let it slide. But the last one is a real headscratcher. Has anyone ever gotten pumped up to “’65 Love Affair” by Paul Davis? I pride myself on my pop-culture knowledge, but I’ve never heard of this song. They seriously couldn’t find anything better to round out the list?

So the question is, what songs would you put on your list? I’m willing to bet you can do a better job than the folks at MSNBC.

If you interested, you can read the full article here.

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Lifting Spirits

A Pop Warner team in California has taken the chance to lift the spirits of children at San Diego’s Rady’s Children’s Hospital to show their support. Six-year old Aidan Inman, who was hoping to join the Pop Warner flag football team this year, was diagnosed with cancer this July. Upon hearing Aidan’s story, the girls on the Temecula Valley Mighty Grizzlies cheerleading squad wanted to help. Starting with three teddy bears from Build-A-Bear for Aidan and his two sisters, they realized they could spread some cheer to more children at the hospital where Aidan is receiving chemotherapy. Each girl on the team purchased and made a stuffed bear to bring to the hospital so the children would have some extra comfort during their appointments.

Pam Cioffi wrote to The Press-Enterprise of Southern California that the girls, “have hearts of gold” and “are trying to do a little something to alleviate a child-in-need’s pain.”

To learn more about this touching story, visit The Press-Enterprise’s website.

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Bring it On! The Vanessa Born Story

Even professional cheerleaders aspire to Bring It On!

Vanessa Born was a professional cheerleader for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings for three seasons, but felt there was something missing. She packed up her bags and made her way to Hollywood, where she landed a string of roles, including co-starring on Hannah Montana and CSI: NY, before coming full circle in her lead role in the fifth installment of Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. Although she may have had more experience than some of the other cast members, Vanessa recalls having to put in some grueling hours and training for the role as Gloria. In her recent interview with Kiko Martinez at Extra News – Chicago’s Leading Bilingual Newspaper, Vanessa admits, “My butt got kicked on that set a lot.”

If a professional cheerleader is feeling the burn, we’re guessing this sets the stage for the most intense story of the Bring It On saga yet! Catch Vanessa’s full interview click here.

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UConn Loses its Cheerleading Squad

The University of Connecticut has decided to replace its cheerleading squad with what it is calling a “spirit squad.” Rather than showing off tumbling and acrobatic skills, the focus of the squad will be fan interaction, as they will be leading cheers and handing out buttons. The news isn’t just sad for the cheerleaders who did not make the new spirit squad, it’s also disappointing for the fans. As former cheer squad member Alanna Ferguson told the Hartford Courant, “They’re disrespecting cheerleaders in general by doing this. I know people really enjoy watching us when we do our pyramid and stunts, flipping people into air.”

You have to wonder why UConn made this decision. As an increasing number of reports come out about the dangers of cheerleading, did they act because they were worried about being sued because of an injury? Hopefully this isn’t the beginning of a disturbing trend among college athletics.

You can read the full story here.

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Bring It On: Fight to the Finish

In case you lost count, the FIFTH movie in the Bring It On franchise, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish, is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 1st. The series is apparently popular enough that they can just keep cranking them out on DVD. If this does well, will there be a sixth, a seventh, or even an eighth movie? Have they taken the franchise too far? What do you think?

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Support your local cheerleaders this Saturday!

The Big Blue cheerleading team of Swampscott, MA will be holding a carwash from 9am – 1pm on Saturday, August 29, at the Department of Public Works garage on Paradise Rd. For just $5 you can help raise money for the team while your car gets some pampering. In case of rain, the car wash will take place the next day at the same time and location.

Swampscott has already produced one New England Patriots cheerleader. Participating on the dance team at Swampscott high school, Danielle Lannon cheered the Pats on at the Super Bowl against the NY Giants in 2008.

So here’s your chance to help out some other talented cheerleaders from the competitive town of Swampscott, MA. Hope to see you there!

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