January 22, 2009

Link-O-Rama

  • Four words: The Gary Gaetti Cult. Seriously, click that link and then try to avoid spending the rest of your day looking at the photo collection.
  • As a live-chatting veteran, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak has my sympathies.
  • Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com runner-up Marisa Miller basically makes her living with a bikini on, so you'd think that she'd be better at, you know, actually keeping a bikini on. She is, however, quite good at the highly underappreciated skill of boozing it up while in a bikini.
  • As part of radio giant Clear Channel cutting 1,800 jobs earlier this week KFAN laid off longtime host Chad Hartman and his producer Doogie Wolfson. I've enjoyed Hartman's show in the past and he was very nice when we met a few months ago, but I'm particularly saddened by Wolfson being let go. He'd been at KFAN for over a dozen years, starting there as a 16-year-old intern in 1996 and working his way up the ladder to become a producer and on-air staple. Plus, we grew up together in St. Paul.

    Wolfson used to hang out at my house in Highland Park, asking my mom to make him sandwiches in between talking sports all day, so it always made sense to me that he landed at KFAN. In addition to being Hartman's producer Wolfson often hosted shows of his own on weeknights and weekends, and he was kind enough to invite me in for regular in-studio appearances that led to a weekly segment on The Power Trip Morning Show during baseball season.

    I've always been a huge fan of talk radio, so doing frequent in-studio appearances on KFAN has been sort of a dream come true and a great learning experience. And without Wolfson there to get my foot in the door none of it would have happened (and now that he's gone, it may be done happening). Plenty of good people are out of work right now and certainly I'm focusing on Wolfson because he's a friend, but he's a great guy with tons of radio experience and it's sad to see him forced from a job he was born for.

  • Speaking of The Power Trip Morning Show, Mike Morris and Nathan Lane finally have something in common.
  • As my oddly timed pay-per-view reviews show it's been a while since I've seen a film in the theater, but that changed this week with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'm big on the Brad Pitt-David Fincher combo and the premise is fascinating, but it was probably more "well done" and "interesting" than "great." Of course, the Academy Awards apparently disagree. My initial comment after leaving the theater was how much the movie reminded me of Forrest Gump and this video amusingly agrees:


    On the way home I started picking apart plot details, which admittedly sounds absurd for a movie about aging backwards. However, it brought to mind this Aristotle quote: "With respect to the requirements of art, a probable impossibility is preferred to a thing improbable and yet possible." Or, as Sam Seaborn put it on West Wing: "It's okay to have a broomstick sing and dance, but you shouldn't turn on the radio and hear the news report you need to hear." The Curious Case of Benjamin Button felt that way a lot.
  • Kurt Warner reemerging as an MVP candidate and going back to the Super Bowl at the age of 37 is truly a big story, but Brenda Warner's transformation at the age of 40 has been woefully underreported.
  • In writing a note for Rotoworld about Jeff Kent's retirement, part of my take was that "he's deserving of the Hall of Fame, but it remains to be seen if the writers with votes will focus on his play or abrasive personality." Sure enough, here's the third paragraph of the Los Angeles Times' retirement story:

    Known as much for the scolding glances he gave reporters and teammates over his 17-year career as he was for what he achieved on the field, Kent, 40, will leave the game as arguably the greatest power-hitting second baseman of all time.

    Surely most obituaries for Mother Teresa included her inability to hit a curveball.

  • Baggy jeans, a huge silver belt, two tank tops, ridiculously big sunglasses, and a knit hat isn't a look that many moms can pull off, but OFGoAG.com third runner-up Kate Beckinsale somehow manages.
  • Similarly, OFGoAG.com fourth runner-up Mila Kunis makes for a plenty cute blood-thirsty zombie.
  • As we plan ahead for this year's baseball coverage, Rotoworld is one of the few places in the country that's actually hiring. Here's our "Help Wanted: Baseball Writers" note that went up yesterday:

    Rotoworld is looking for writers to join the staff as paid, part-time contributors for the upcoming baseball season. Previous writing experience is an absolute must, as is significant knowledge of and passion for both baseball and fantasy baseball. Qualified applicants would work under baseball editors Aaron Gleeman and Matthew Pouliot, providing coverage for Rotoworld's player news page that requires the ability to report news with instant analysis and recap games in a clear, concise style.

    Rotoworld is also looking for someone to specifically focus on our baseball rankings and projections. This person could also be involved in a writing capacity, but would work specifically on weekly rankings and projections in conjunction with our baseball staff. A great feel for fantasy baseball player values and statistics is a necessity.

    If interested, please send a brief note about yourself and desire to work for Rotoworld along with links to examples of your writing experience and a resume to aarongleeman@gmail.com.

    Within 24 hours of that being posted my e-mailbox was filled with more than 300 applications, so we're definitely not short on candidates. However, an amazingly high percentage of those e-mails came from people with little or no significant writing experience and unfortunately that's just not what we're looking for. In other words, if you're reading this and legitimately meet the qualifications described in the above note please feel free to contact me with your information. Non-writers need not apply.

  • Sadly, none of the 300 applicants explained their qualifications by saying: "My eyes are large, my lips full, my legs long. Many have told me that I should be a fantasy baseball writer."
  • Two of my all-time favorite writers, Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman, talked about a whole slew of random topics during an hour-long ESPN.com podcast. My favorite part was both of them agreeing with me about Michael Phelps versus Usain Bolt, but the whole show was great.
  • Hopefully having a fan in the White House will help the White Sox as much as it helped the Rangers.
  • On a related note, apparently everyone is blogging now.
  • When adding Steve Phillips to an MLB broadcast is the answer, you've asked the wrong question.
  • Finally, this week's AG.com-approved music video is Anthony Hamilton doing a live cover version of Sam Cooke's hit "A Change Is Gonna Come":


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