:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 9

"I'M A MAN! I'M 40!"

In a hilariously noble act, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy defends – vigorously – one of his young players who he feels has been torn apart in one particular issue of a local newspaper. And don't worry if you're unsure which newspaper it is – Gundy brought it with him. This one of one of my all-time favourites.

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 8

LEE ELIA BASHES CUBS FANS

Well, considering the last two days have featured press conferences most of you have seen a million times, I've decided to throw one in that perhaps is a little less well-known (although it's quite infamous in baseball circles). No video of this one – audio only – but it's still worth it. Former Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia just tears into Cubs fans... it's vicious. I had to work hard to find an unedited, unbeeped version of this beauty.

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 7

"THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!"

Another classic, courtesy of the National Football League. Former Arizona coach, lamenting the loss to the Chicago Bears. Turns out, he knows who they are.

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 6

"PLAYOFFS?"

This one's a classic, and you've all no doubt seen it before – including in beer commercials. But it's too famous, and too damn good, to leave out. That said, I give you Jim Mora, former coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

(Speaking of which, Mora's question is one many around Indy will soon be asking again if and when Peyton Manning leaves town, either through trade or retirement. Man, they suck.)

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 5

"YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!"

Well, Christmas is over, you've survived Boxing Day, and are likely headed back to work after a few days off with your family and friends. What better time to remind you of one simple axiom to live by: "You play to win the game!"

You know, just in case you thought you played it just to play it.

Classic.

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 4

TORTORELLA VS. NEW YORK

As many of you are likely already aware, New York Rangers coach John Tortorella is a freaking snapshow – has been ever since he coached the Tampa Bay Lightning. And he's got an especially adversarial relationship with New York sports writer Larry Brooks.

So, today, on Boxing Day, I give you not one, but two, John Tortorella clips where he appears to want to throw Larry Brooks in front of a moving subway car.

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 3

"WE'RE COMING FOR YOU, N----!"

Merry Christmas! As today is the big day, celebrating the birth of Santa Claus (or something like that), I give you the cheeriest thing I could find: A WWF interview where Booker T calls Hulk Hogan a N---- and then instantly, as you can tell, regrets it.

(By the way, Mean Gene Okerlund was awesome in his day.)

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

DAY 2

SHAQ RETIRES, MULLS KNICKS' GM OFFER

This one isn't an angry freakout yesterday's Avery Johnson flip-out, but it's just funny. Shaq is one of the funniest athletes in, I would guess, the history of sports. This video's a little long, but it's got a lot of funny moments.

Because it's only a few days until Christmas, and because I have some free time, I've decided to give this blog's few remaining readers a Christmas gift over the next 12 days. But rather than the 12 Days of Christmas, I've decided instead to run down a dozen of the best press conferences/meltdowns in the history of sports in a li'l segment I've dubbed....

:: 12 Days of Awesome Press Conferences::

Day 1

AVERY JOHNSON GETS WEIRD

NBA coach Avery Johnson, who I believe was coaching the Dallas Mavericks at the time, gets a little testy, and then downright weird, during an NBA Finals press conference.

Next up, Press Conference #11.

:: Take notes, slackers ::

One of the things I dislike most about my desk at work is the fact that it's turned away from the front of the building, leaving me with my back turned to the rest of the office and thus susceptible to sneak attacks, or worse – the dreaded sneak "look-over-your-shoulder-while-you're-adjusting-your-fantasy-football-lineup-instead-of-working."

But the one thing that nearly makes up for this poor desk placement is the fact that it's near the back of the office. So on days like today, where I exhausted my work responsibilities by about 11 a.m., I can hear the company CEO's voice when he stops by for a visit.

And unlike the people up front, that leaves me plenty of time to open up five or six work-related programs on my Mac. Sometimes, if I've got enough of a heads-up, I can even type the first few lines of a fake email before he gets to my desk to say hello.