Link-O-Rama
I was wrong. The Twins didn't make any moves yesterday, so instead of a write-up of that you get a bunch of random links ...
Remember last Friday, when I questioned the choice of The Rolling Stones as this year's Super Bowl halftime performers? Well, now Stevie Wonder has been added to the program as the pregame entertainment. This would be incredible news is this were, say, 1975. Or maybe even a few years before that -- the Detroit News reports that Wonder "opened for The Rolling Stones during their 1972 tour."
I'm certainly not the first person to be extremely attracted to both Jessica Alba and Elisha Cuthbert, but they do make a somewhat unlikely combination as the former and current Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com. I've been writing about them with those titles for quite some time now, only to find out that someone -- and Bill Simmons' intern no less -- appears to be stealing my thunder a bit.
Here's what he wrote in Monday's "Links of the day":
My perfect start to the week would involve Jessica Alba and Elisha Cuthbert, a winning lottery ticket, a 10 day contract with the Hawks, and maybe world peace or something.
Hmm ...
Speaking of the ladies of AG.com, Cuthbert is attracted to hockey players and Alba is repulsed by fanny packs. Oh, and Alba also enjoys wearing gigantic ties. Thus ends the weekly Alba/Cuthbert Report.
I am sad to report that one of my favorite blogs, Oddjack, is no more. One of the dangers that comes along with for-pay blogging is being fired if you don't bring in enough readers. The beauty of no-pay blogging is that, as this blog has shown for years, you can continue rambling about random nonsense regardless of how many people are actually paying attention.
I'm fairly certain that this disqualifies me from offering my opinion about something ever again, but I watched In Good Company last week and thought it was kind of good. Normally I'd say more, but I'm pretty sure revealing that much is plenty.
I'm pleased to see that the "LEN3" nickname I've given to the Official Twins Beat Writer of AG.com, La Velle E. Neal III, has begun to spread.
As someone who wears a jersey out in public about 75% of the time, all I have to say about this article is ... whatever.
It's incredibly rare for someone to say something nice about me over at Will Carroll's blog, so I thought I'd relay a quote from last week. Asked what prompted him to start up Hawkeye Hoops, Ryan Kobliska said:
I've been a Minnesota Twins fan for as long as I can remember. Their resurgence a few years ago had me seeking new information on the team, and I eventually stumbled across Aaron Gleeman's baseball blog. His writing was refreshing and so much more informative than the standard newspaper coverage, and it led me to a lot of other great writers. I initially wanted to start my own baseball blog, but the abundance of outstanding blogs, especially those dedicated to the Twins, discouraged me. I turned my focus to my other favorite sport, college basketball. There were so few people writing about the sport that I figured I had a better chance of at least being read by a few people.
Thanks, Ryan.
First steroids in baseball and now college football's BCS system. At what point will Congress get to work on some stuff that actually matters?
Some day I hope to be able to tell a story that includes the words, "Hey, it's Joe Morgan." Until then, I'll just read about 'Lil Joe going bezerk on airplanes.
Friend of AG.com Alex Belth, who is one of the best and longest-running baseball bloggers around, recently broke through with a gig over at Sports Illustrated's website. If someone put me in charge of a big-time publication and told me to fill out the staff, Alex would be one of the very first people I'd go after. I was very pleased when he agreed to write something for The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006, and even more pleased that mainstream sites are giving talented guys like him an opportunity.
Jon Weisman, who like Belth is one of my favorite bloggers and a contributor to the THT Annual, recently came out with The Best of Dodger Thoughts, a self-published collection from his must-read blog. Jon is selling the book through Lulu.com, which is the publisher we used for last year's THT Annual.
I highly recommend buying the book. It not only supports the work of someone who pumps out excellent writing for free on a daily basis, it will also be well worth the money. I really have no feelings either way about the Dodgers, but I've become a fan over the past couple years simply because of how good Jon's coverage of the team is. Now I head there every day, just like I do with Twins blogs.
Speaking of the THT Annual, I have to agree with what Matt Welch said earlier this week: It is pretty cool having your writing in the same book as Bill James. Plus, Matt calls me "wunderkind editor Aaron Gleeman," which I think has a nice ring to it.
A newish blog that has quickly become a daily stop for me, BaseBlogging, recently did an interview with Twins blogger Seth Stohs. BaseBlogging also has an interesting interview with THT's own Brian Borawski on what bloggers need to know about filing taxes on blog-related income. And yes, there is such a thing as blog-related income.
Occasionally I read something that makes me too frustrated to even write about it. This is one of those times.
After reading this article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, I feel the need to point out that I lived a block away from Boynton Health Service for two years and didn't go there once. Of course, that's probably nearly as bad as going there all the time. It's just different.
I criticize ESPN.com quite a bit here, but their limited poker coverage, which is headed by Steve Rosenbloom, is pretty damn good. Rosenbloom had an interesting piece about Phil Ivey this week, and ESPN.com also ran a must-read interview with Mike Matusow from Bluff Magazine.
Here are this week's links to my "Daily Dose" columns over at FoxSports.com: Monday ... Tuesday ... Wednesday ... Thursday. And here's a link to my "Playing for Keeps" column.
Today at The Hardball Times:
- Take a Walk on the Patient Side (by Dan Fox)
- Something For Joey (by John Brattain)
Pick of the Day (151-126, +$2,425):
Phoenix -10 (-110) over New York
Saturday's Pick:
Texas +2.5 (-110) over Duke
Sunday's Pick:
New England -4 (-110) over Buffalo
