For someone who has not released a major hit is, say, nearly 30 years, Olivia sure does seem to still have some major pull, doesn’t she??

This story from Yahoo! News:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Move aside Madonna and watch out Barry White. The winner of the sexiest song of all time is — Olivia Newton-John with “Physical,” according to music publication Billboard.

Billboard has come up with a list of the 50 most popular songs about sex in time for Valentine’s Day with each song given points according to its performance on the Billboard hot 100 chart from August 1958 until January this year.

“Physical,” released by Newton-John in 1981, topped the list after spending 10 weeks as No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And while it certainly speaks to sex with lyrics such as “There’s nothin’ left to talk about, unless it’s horizontally,” the song became known as well-known as a track for aerobics classes in line with the singer’s exercise-themed video.

Second in the list came Rod Stewart’s 1976 song “Tonight’s the Night,” followed by Boyz II Men’s 1994 ballad “I’ll Make Love To You.”

“Some songs are steamy slow-jams, some are hi-octane arena-rockers, but what they all have in common (and what got them on this list) is that the subject matter of each song is directly related to sex, in some way,” Billboard said in a statement.

Other highlights include Rod Stewart, who made the top 10 twice with “Tonight’s the Night” and “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” and Marvin Gaye hit No. 5 with the classic “Let’s Get It On.”

Following is a list of the top 10 of the top 50 sexiest songs:

1. “Physical” – Olivia Newton-John

2. “Tonight’s The Night” – Rod Stewart

3. “I’ll Make Love To You” – Boyz II Men

4. “Too Close” – Next

5. “Let’s Get It On” – Marvin Gaye

6. “Hot Stuff” – Donna Summer

7. “Do That To Me One More Time” – Captain and Tennille

8. “Like A Virgin” – Madonna

9. “Kiss You All Over” – Exile

10. “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” – Rod Stewart

————————————————————————————————————————

Keep in mind that this was NOT a popular opinion poll, but centered on points based on the songs’ ultimate success on Billboard’s record charts.

Considering that “Physical” stayed on top of the charts for 10 straight weeks from November 1981 to late January 1982 in much part due to its suggestive lyrics and ground breaking fitness-themed video…and to Olivia at that time being just plain HOT, probably not surprising that it topped the list.

Some, such as Lambert Strother over at Corrente, have deemed this to be the equivalent of the ultimate sign of the Apocalypse.

Me…I consider it to be just plain scoreboard. And proof that old school sexy can sometimes still rule.

Oh….and BTW??? Olivia still doesn’t look too bad these days, either.  Even though she has kinda repudiated her most successful song. Props, madam….some of us still remember.

Still…for those of you who need a reminder:

Olivia Newton-John: Video for “Physical” (Physical, 1981, Geffen Records/MCA), via YouTube/Vimo)

[Note by Anthony:

Sorry once again for not posting lately...work plus illness has set my blogging back a bit.  I do plan on returning to regularly scheduled smack running as soon as I can, so be patient.

In the meantime, and in preparation for Super Bowl XLIV later this evening, here's a repost of something I wrote last Friday for the Canal Street Chronicles blog, which serves as a fan support blog for the New Orleans Saints, who will be playing the Indianapolis Colts for all the marbles tonight. The Colts have been established as a 6-point favorite by the oddsmakers, and much of the establishment media and sports hacks have given the Saints about as much a chance of winning this as donkeys flying. We'll see what happens for sure, I suppose.].

Why (In My Only Slightly Biased Opinion) The Media Consensus Is Wrong And The Saints Will Win Super Bowl XLIV

If you were to read all the newspapers outside of New Orleans (or Louisiana) and nearly all of the media outlets for the past 2 weeks concerning Sunday’s upcoming Super Bowl XLIV, you’d probably think that the New Orleans Saints were simply the warmup team for the ultimate second coronation of Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts….the NFL’s equivalent of the Washington Generals, to be merely used as fodder for the wizardry of Air “Meadowlark, Son of Archie” Manning, Reggie “Geese” Wayne, Dallas “Marcus Haynes” Clark, and Dwight “Curly the One-and-a-Half-Legged Wonder” Freeney.

You’d think that according to the media consensus, Peyton Manning is simply the most perfect adaptation of “RoboQB” (since the original supposed prototype, Philly’s Randall Cunningham, turned out to be not quite the fit) who will simply slice, dice, and light up the “28th ranked” Saints D like Wyatt Earp mowing down villains at Tombstone; and that New Orleans is simply the luckiest team to even make the finals (their 13-3 record be damned), having been given the right to rep the NFC through the forgiveness of Minnesota, some divine (or, to some conspiracy theorists, very human) help from the officials, and the sheer luck of not facing “America’s Team” (aka Dallas) in the playoffs at all. Only by playing dirty and knocking Peyton Manning out of the game do the Saints have any chance of winning, so the meme goes….and not even the injury to defensive end Dwight Feeney or the lack of a noticeable running game or even taking advantage of having defeated weaker offensives than the Saints will offer (no one would dare to compare Mark Sanchez or Joe Flacco to Drew Brees…but knocking out Kurt Warner and Brett Farve means nothing?

Well…let the media do what they do.  It will make the ultimate New Orleans victory that much sweeter.

I’m not saying that Peyton Manning isn’t an outstanding QB with real weapons in the passing game (Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Dallas Clark), or that the Colt D isn’t a better than average D that did do a decent job in shutting down teams that attempted to beat them through power football.

What I am saying, though, is that as good as the Colts are, the Saints can match them…and in some cases, even out do them.

Here’s my reasoning why I do think that the Saints will shock people:

1) Offensive Balance.

If there is one team with one QB that can beat you strictly with passing, it is Indy with Peyton Manning. Problem is, though…there is another team that can beat you with passing too…Drew Brees isn’t exactly a dead arm himself…and he may have even more depth of weapons than even Manning has. Four wideouts (Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, and Lance Moore) who can not only beat you on the short and medium pass, but can threaten you deep. Flexibility at the tight end position (Jeremy Shockey eating up the intermediate zones up the middle; David Thomas as an all-around utilitarian player playing every position from traditional TE to H-back to even fullback.) And don’t get me started about Reggie Bush as a threat out of the backfield.

But what the Saints do have that the Colts have not seen from anyone this side of New England is a genuine running attack that balances Brees and the passing game out. The trio of Pierre Thomas/Mike Bell/Lynell Hamilton allow the Saints to play keep away and grind out yards and spin clock when they need to…and while they might not have the power of Shon Greene/Thomas Jones, they certainly can, when they are at their best, keep the other team’s offenses of the field…and set up real opportunities for play action deep passing. (Oh..and did I mention that Reggie Bush fellow, who seems to have found his groove and is actually running out of the backfield with some authority these days??)

Considering that the Colts D is more of a speed based, fly-to-the-football oriented scheme, they could be very much prone to over-pursuit, which plays right into the strength of the Saints offensive line, which happens to include THREE Pro Bowlers, and a battle-tested fourth lineman in Jerome Bushrod. Even WITH a healthy Feeney, Indy would have real issues getting through this line, which has protected Brees outstandingly all year long….save for the Cowboys game, where Demarcus Ware simply ate Bushrod for lunch. If Feeney playes hurt or doesn’t play at all, it becomes nigh impossible without going to blitzing or mind games.

2) A Defense greater than the sum of its parts.

Much has been said about the New Orleans D and their lowly ranking (26th statistically in yardage given up; 26th in passing yardage given up this year) and the huge chunks of points and yardage they gave up to average passers like Jason Campbell, Josh Freeman, and Chris Redman….and the fact that they were basically torched by the combination of Brett Farve and Adrian Peterson in the NFC Championship game.  (Minnesota gained nearly 400 yards of total offense, had a nearly 2-1 advantage in time of possession, and got both 300+ yard passing AND 100+ yard rushing performances.) The basic fact that the Saints were only able as late as the Minnesota game to gain their starting rotation in the secondary back from injuries that handcuffed them in the mid-to-late part of the season (plus the fact that even with all the injuries, breakdowns and collapses, the Saints still managed to go 5-3 whereas last year they probably would have lost all those games….and I probably shouldn’t count the Carolina loss in Week 17 since they rested everybody..or even the Tampa Bay loss because even with Cadillac Williams running free through the Saints D, it still took a Garrett Hartley shank of a chip-shot field goal at the end of regulation to allow the Bucs even the chance of the upset ).

What the haters…..errrrrrrrrr….the skeptics….are missing, however, is that an old John Madden rule of football applies here: if you stop the other team from scoring, and/or take away the ball from them and score yourself, then you can afford to give up huge chunks of real estate in the internim.  Gregg Williams’ defensive scheme is built on the premise of high risk bringing high rewards….that since our O is good enough to score points by the bunches, we can take risks and chances that might give up the bigger plays to go for the rip, strip, scoop, and score…or the Pick 6 that changes the game or gives the O more opportunities to score themselves.  Of course, it does help to be physical and knock the opposing QB’s literally into near retirement…and even gain a reputatiion for being “intimidating”.

Of course, one man’s “intimidating” is another man’s “dirty”, and the rep of the Saints D for allegedly headhunting opposing QBs may backfire on them big time this time, be either alerting the officials to drop the flag quicker or by motivating the Colts offensive line to better defend their franchise. The point of it all is, however, that even RoboQB has to think a bit about the joys of pain from so many hurries and hits after releasing the ball…and you can’t draw a flag if you time your “remember me” taps perfectly. Manning is professional enough and tough enough to endure this, of course, and no one is even implying that he will completely wilter…but all the Saints need to do is to pressure him enough to draw the occasional bad floater or simply wear him down so that his velocity weakens in the 4th quarter. And all it takes for Darren Sharper or Jonathan Vilma or Tracy Porter is one or two mistakes to make Manning pay dearly.

3) Special Teams.

Has anyone managed to notice that Saints punter/kickoff specialist Thomas Moorstead has been booming them of late?? As in, kickoffs deep in the end zone that usually end up as touchbacks, and nice, long, high punts that  usually end up in either fair catches or weak returns?? (OK, I’ll give you the return by Micheal Spurlock that tied the Tampa Bay game, but other than that, especially during the playoffs, he has been spectacular.) It’s much harder to go 80 yards than it is to go 40 for touchdowns in the NFL, even for QB’s as “perfect” as Peyton Manning…and here’s where the Saints running game and their ability to sustain long drives really pays dividends.

And then, there is the deadly combination of Courtney Roby and Pierre Thomas returning kickoffs, and Reggie Bush returning punts. Of course, Reggie can just as likely in the wrong situation blow up in your face, too, as the muff in the Vikings game proved; but he is just as likely to bust at least one or two highlight reel returns.

4) Team chemistry.

Yes, the Colts have been here before.  Yes, they have even won in this very same venue two years ago, and thusly do have an apparent advantage over the Saints, who of course have never been to football’s Promised Land before this year.

On the other hand, though, this team has shown time and time again that they have a real chip on their shoulder that really, really does not like being taken for granted…and all this talk of inevitability of crowning Peyton and the Colts with the crown will more than likely fuel the motivation far beyond the usual hype of a Super Bowl.  Besides, it’s not as if the Saints haven’t tasted victory in Miami, either….they defeated the Dolphins on this very field in Week 3 46-34, where they overcame a 14 point deficit in the 4th quarter and the best efforts of Reggie Brown and former Saint Ricky Williams and the then-vaunted “Wildcat” offense to secure the victory.

5) The Who Dat Nation.

No one doubts the loyalty and dedication of Colts fans. No one should doubt the loyalty and dedication of Saints fans, either.  The difference, however, is that the Who Dats are, shall we say, slightly more jacked up than the usual spicy Creole or Cajun cuisine….and more than likely, more of the latter will be able to make the trip to Miami than will Colts Fan….especially given the weather situation brewing this weekend. Plus….imagine New Orleans Mardi Gras with a world championship. Yeah….forget “off the chain”; they will have to postpone Ash Wednesday for a week. Plus, given all the media undercounting of their team and Roger Goddell’s ill-fated attempt to grind down local merchants with the “Who Dat-gate” copyright infringement fracus, they will have almost as much a chip on their shoulder as the team.

Toi be fair, it is entirely possible that every bit of what I say will be disproven, and Peyton Manning will indeed drive through the Saints D like Sherman through Georgia, and Indy wins in a walkaway.  If so, then props and hail to the champions, and see you next year in Dallas. But remember…they said the same thing about Tom Brady and the seemingly perfect New England Patriots two years ago….and we all know how Tom “Stalag” Coughlin and the New York Football Giants resolved that story. Ask David Tyree the day before the game when his team was considered in very much the same way the Saints are today.

The difference this year is this: the New Orleans Saints have plenty of David Tyrees that can make the clutch play.

My Prediction: New Orleans 38, Indianapolis 27.

Updated…scroll to bottom.

No, I usually don’t venture this blog beyond the usual issues of sex and politics…but, being a fan of the National Football League, I figure that I might as well add my predictions for this weekend’s conference championships. Especially since they now affect me pretty directly.

First, the AFC early game:

New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts – 3 PM EST kickoff, broadcast by CBS (Indy as 6-1/2 point faves)

Ahhh, the mouth and self-confidence of Rex “Son of Buddy” Ryan…and thus far his defense has more than backed up his smack with two straight road wins (Cincinnati and San Diego). The fact that he was helped by key critical mistakes by those teams (as in 3 missed field goals by the Chargers and a subpar performance by Carson Palmer and the loss of Cincy’s deep threat with Chris Henry’s tragic passing) does not change the fact that the J-E-T-S are in the Pentultimate Big Show….and that their rock-solid D and smash-mouth power running game (and the steady hand of rookie QB Mark Sanchez) gives them both a rally cry for the old school style of play and the oppurtunity to beat the house.

Problem is, for the Jets, Peyton Manning ain’t Carson Palmer or even David Rivers…he’s seen it all and responds all too well to pressure. And, even if Darrelle Revis, who is the ultimate Shutdown Corner right about now, can eliminate Colt WR Reggie Wayne, who will stop the rest of the Indy receivers?? Pierre Garcon??  Aaron Colie?? David Clark?? Oh, and while Indy’s running game has been a bit nonexistent, it is during the big games where backs like Joesph Addai flash their greatness.

If Rex’s boys can keep the game tight going into the 4th quarter, then they have a real chance for the upset. I just don’t see it getting that close, though…too much Peyton and dome field advantage.

Prediction: Colts 28, Jets 17.

Now, the late game:

Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints – 5:40 New Orleans time kickoff, broadcast by FOX (NO favored by 4-1/2)

The Vikings didn’t pay Brett Farve that much money, and head coach Brad Childress didn’t spend all that time coaxing him out of his “retirement”, just for fun. Just his experience and his wiles and his thowing out of his backside and finding the right guy at the right time has elevated the Vikes into a genuiinely feared Super Bowl threat. And although Adrian Peterson hasn’t had the big numbers of early seasons and hasn’t broken off the really big runs, he’s still durable and physical enough of a back to be taken seriously. That, and the modern day Purple People Eaters in the defensive front 4 (led by Jarred Allen), who basically decimated the vaunted Dallas Cowboys offense last week.

That was last week, though. And that was in Minneapolis.

New Orleans, though, is a fundamentally different team.

This is NOT the same team that gave up huge numbers to the likes of Washington, Atlanta, and Carolina, and who rested on their laurels and basically gave up the Tampa Bay game (though it still took a shanked Garrett Hartley game-winning field goal attempt at the end of regulation to keep the Bucs alive to win it in OT). Nor is it the same team that in the last four regular season games could not defend the run or run it themselves.

Drew Brees is….well, the surgeon that Drew Brees has always been, and with three All-Pro linemen defending his backside and some nifty playcalling by head coach Sean Payton, they should basically control that Minnesota pass rush. (Allen being the caveat, of course, if G Jerome Bushrod doesn’t get help in his blocking schemes.) It would help a great deal if TE Jeremy Shockey can play, he’s struggling with a knee injury, but is expected to contribute.

Oh…and did I mention this kid named Reggie Bush who has been hidden all this time during the regular season??  He adds the sizzle to the already steady and consistent trio of Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Darnell Hamilton….and if the Viking front line is as dinged up as reported (DT Pat Williams is doubtful due to a knee injury), that could take tremendous pressure off of Brees and allow the Saints to do some ball control of their own and keep Farve off the field.

And when Farve is on the field, he won’t have one of key weapons, WR/KR Percy Harvin, who is suffering from chronic migranes and may not even make the trip down to New Orleans. One less headache for Saints D Coordinator Gregg Williams, who will attempt to both contain Peterson from breaking the big play and pressure Farve into making throws out of his ass…which could mean a big INT payday for all time interception leader S Darren Sharper.

Still…you dont want Brett Farve to have the ball last with time on the clock and a chance to win it all…he is that dangerous.

Fortunately, I don’t think that the Saints will allow him to get to that…because they start quick, score early and often, and get the breaks of a Peterson fumble and a Sharper INT (and perhaps even a Bush punt return TD or three)…and then slam the door on Farve late with constant pressure D.

Not to mention….they have the fiercest Dome-field advantage EVER….80,000 Whodats united blowing the roof off the Superdome can do wonders.

Prediction: Saints 38, Vikings 24.

We will see, of course, tomorrow. Should be fun times.

Update (1-23-10): Minnesota WR Percy Harvin did make the trip to New Orleans, but he’s still doubtful due to his chronic migranes. I do expect him to make a go at it. Saints TE Jerome Shockey is expected to play with a dinged up knee.

Some very interesting comments from TheCoach overat Lion’s Den University regarding his personal opinions on both games, First, on Saints/Vikings:

Last week, the Cowboys didn’t actually play as bad as the 34-3 thrashing intended. Dallas moved the chains early on in the game and had positioned themselves for a touchdown and a field goal before committing stupid penalties and turnovers but as soon as Flozell Adams went down, Jared Allen took over the game getting to Romo on almost every play. TheCoach doesn’t see Allen having the same type of impact this week unless the Saints suffer a huge blow during the game to their offensive line. No team has been able to pressure Brees this year because he is protected by one of the best offensive lines in football. After the Cardinals mauled Aaron Rodgers the week before, they couldn’t even bring down Brees once last week. If you watched the Cardinals-Saints game, you saw how good New Orleans can be when they play Saints football. It is not only because of their vast amount of talent, but because of how their head coach utilizes the talent. Sean Payton is a great head coach and at times in the game last week had linebackers covering wide-outs and had the entire Arizona defence bite on the flee-flicker that scored a touchdown. E.J. Henderson’s absence at middle linebacker didn’t hurt the Vikings last week because Romo had no time to do anything anyways, but Sean Payton and Drew Brees have WAY to many weapons to not take full advantage of a team who hasn’t looked the same since Henderson went down. Last but certainly not least, the fact Reggie Bush is starting to look like the player we expected him to be, could mean big things come Sunday for the Saints.

TheCoach still calls it a closer game than I do (New Orleans 30-20), due mainly to the Dome field advantage.

Then, he has this on the AFC matchup (Indy-NY Jets):

Peyton Manning played good last week, but this week he is going to have to play great! His offence has the worst running game in the league (ranked 32nd), and the Colts are facing the best pass-defence and if Peyton can’t do it all himself (the guy has done it his whole career), the Jets will be able to upset the Colts. Indianapolis needs to jump out to an early 10 or 14 point lead in order to make the Jets abandon their running game and put the game in Mark Sanchez’s hands. That’s how the Colts blow out the Jets. There is no way Sanchez can keep up with Manning’s prolific offence but if the Jets can keep Peyton off the field early, and run the ball and put up some points themselves… this will turn out to be another great game as the Jets are the Cinderella of the NFL right now. I expect Revis will blanket Reggie Wayne but it won’t matter because when Peyton wants to score, Peyton scores, and will find Garcon or Clark and utilize them all day reminding everyone of why Manning is the best quarterback in the league. No other quarterback has been able to get past what Revis and the Jets do and havn’t had a great game in the process. Before Peyton exited in week 16, he was 14-of-21 for 192 yards, practically on pace for 400 yards and 30 completions… the Colts were up 15-10 and rarely when Manning has a lead does he lose.

I’m not nearly as sold on the Jets because even with their #1 ranked D, they still needed huge help to even make the playoffs, and they also relied as much on the mistakes of the other teams as they did their own talent. I just can’t see Peyton Manning allowing Indy to make those kind of mistakes in a pivotal game…and nothing says that Indy’s running game might just emerge as a surprise.  Nevertheless, if they are close or even leading come the 4th quarter, they can definitely pull the upset. I just don’t think that they will bet there.

And for the record, he calls it Indy 23-20.