Playing the Field: When high-fives go wrong, plus world’s longest burp

The high-five has been performed since the beginning of time. Some claim Jesus Christ invented it. Magic Johnson also may have a case for coming up with the flesh pound. We find it hard to believe that the caveman didn’t think of it first. We have no real proof, but if you can create fire and the wheel, then certainly the high-five is within your limits.

After all, how else would Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble celebrate after throwing a strike or a tough spare? There is some research, which we present here, but it’s not scientific.

Anyway, the reason we bring it up today is because of the epic fail performed by Chris Bosh and Ronny Turiaf in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Bosh was coming off the court during a timeout, Turiaf came out off the bench to greet him and one of the worst high-fives in history occurred right in front of the highest-rated Finals TV audience since 2004.

You be the judge …

Burping with the pros

Who among us hasn’t competed in a burping competition? They usually broke out unexpectedly in the backyard with our buddies, when we were young and hopped up on root beer. The likely challenge: Burp the alphabet.

Well, turns out we all may have been wasting our talents. The first World Burping Championships were held recently in New York City. Yes, this happened. In fact, the event was sanctioned by the World Burping Federation. Out first question: Why wasn’t his on ESPN? Seriously, if you are going to televise spelling bees and poker tournaments, then give us gross bodily functions.

The winner is Tim Janus, who delivered an 18.1-second burp soliloquy. He warmed up for the epic belch by chugging a 2-liter of soda. Well played, Tim. Well played.

Sideline princess gets her Vanilla Ice on

Erin Andrews is up for a new contract, but reports are that ESPN has no intention to re-sign her. The popular sports gossip site Deadspin called a rival sports exec and they said they would “never hire her.”

It seems to us that once she did “Dancing with the Stars,” she sealed her fate. The TV sports reporter can’t be the star of the show — that job is already taken, the athlete serves as entertainment, the reporter just asks the questions. Besides, look at the recent cast on DWTS and you’ll see the most successful ones are former athletes, not current ones.

In the meantime, Andrews has been spotted partying with supermodel friends Brooklyn Decker and Chrissy Teigan. TMZ has bikini shots and seem to suggest that the sideline princess might have had some upper-body work done. Oh yeah, and she’s getting her Vanilla Ice on …