June 3, 2011
Link-O-Rama
• Reminder: I'm taking questions via Twitter for a mailbag column next week.
• Not everyone on Facebook knows The Onion is parody and the results are fantastic. Literally!
• My only question after reading this story? Who ended up with the five dollars?
• Speaking of an "aspiring rapper" ... as always I'm a sucker for rap lyrics in graphical form.
• Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Rod Carew announcing his retirement.
• As a big Friday Night Lights fan I'm certainly not complaining, but Coach Taylor isn't going to be very happy about this.
• Speaking of which, seeing Friday Night Lights rank 124 out of 133 shows on the season-long list of television ratings makes me sad, especially considering some of the dreck near the top.
• Peter Moylan's fiancee looks just slightly better in a little black dress than he does, although the ability to simultaneously be sleeveless and fully sleeved is quite a skill.
• Next year the World Series of Poker is planning a $1 million buy-in tournament, so hopefully Phil Ivey will be finished protesting the event by then.
• It's currently a moot point, but now that they're business partners baseball has banned Jim Joyce from umpiring games involving Armando Galarraga's team whether he's pitching or not.
• Blake Lively seems fun, but at this point has any famous person ever taken nude pictures of themselves that didn't end up on the internet?
• This week I learned that angry Avril Lavigne fans are hilarious.
• I'm starting the AG.com "Sponsor of the Week" program Monday and the first few weeks are already booked, but there are still some future weeks available if you're looking to promote a product, service, website, or local business while also supporting the free content on this blog.
• I actually think this is an improved look for Snooki.
• Donald Trump offends me, not as an American, but as a fat guy who loves pizza:
And his explanation makes it even worse.
• While watching The Next Great Restaurant my favorite was always the grilled cheese concept. It ended up finishing seventh on the show, but a similar idea just got $10 million in funding.
• Ricky Rubio finally looks headed to the NBA, so Timberwolves fans can stop worrying about whether he'll come to America and start worrying about whether he'll actually be any good.
• Darin Erstad is the new head baseball coach at the University of Nebraska, ensuring they'll lead the conference in scrappiness and yards per punt.
• Can you imagine what this columnist would write if the Mariners ever signed Nick Punto?
• Twitter bought Tweetdeck for $40 million and now they're pushing out photo-sharing sites by creating their own platform. This might be good for Twitter, but probably not for Twitter users.
• I'm biased, but the idea of the UFC on an NBC-owned channel sounds intriguing even though their partnership with Spike has been great for everyone involved.
• Health problems forced Rocco Baldelli into retirement at age 28, so now he's a scout.
• When it comes to a former Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com, some things can't been unseen.
• Being an MLB beat reporter has lots of perks. This isn't one of them.
• When is 431 years not long enough?
• My fellow Community fans will enjoy listening to the show's creator, Dan Harmon, talk about his creative process and a whole bunch of other interesting stuff on Marc Maron's podcast.
• Tom Scharpling and his great radio show got some love from New York magazine.
• Last week's Link-O-Rama included me asking a question about shorts and praising podcaster Jesse Thorn, but it turns out I should have simply gotten the answer from Thorn.
• He was going to face the Twins until the company ruled that would only be worth $50.
• Congratulations to Josh Gallop, Sam Niedorf, and the rest of the Hopkins team for winning last weekend's Wayzata Classic Tournament, which I enjoyed watching more than most Twins games this season (and not just because I saw an umpire throw out an opposing player and a parent at the same time Sunday, although that was the highlight).
• Finally, this week's AG.com-approved music video is "Sunday Kind Of Love" by Etta James:
This is long overdue but thanks to pointing me to Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. It has provided me with many, many hours of laughs.
Comment by Jeff Bailey — June 3, 2011 @ 12:36 am
It happened to me once. A friend of mine that posts a ton of political stuff on FB posted an Onion article, and w/o looking at the source I just replied to the headline. That was embarrassing.
Comment by mike wants WINS — June 3, 2011 @ 8:28 am
That Onion link just answers the question: “Who’s gullible enough to respond to those spam e-mails anyway?”
Comment by Jason w — June 3, 2011 @ 8:57 am
As someone who wears shorts whenever he can… Year ’round around the house and any time the temp goes above 30… the fifty or so steps to get the mail at any temp… Comfort is key. Lightweight fabric and loose fitting. The loose fitting part requires length to just above the knee in order to not be overexposed. All other considerations assume you want things like a job or to get laid.
Comment by curt — June 3, 2011 @ 9:20 am
Best Link-O-Rama yet! I just killed an hour and 44 minutes.
Comment by Glanzer — June 3, 2011 @ 9:45 am
Is there any truth to the rumor that Sal Butera was best man in Gardy’s wedding? I have also heard that Drew Butera is Gardy’s godson? Various people I communicate with have indicated they heard these stories during radio broadcasts in the 90s when Gardy was a coach, and maybe a few times in the last decade when he was manager. Other people have told me that they read a Joe C column that noted the relationship between Gardy and Sal. And the St. Cloud times has also been a reference point my sources have claimed. However, internet searches come up blank. The Strib and St. Cloud Times searches only go back so far. Seems like mum is the word on this. But I so want it to be true, because it explains so much.
Comment by Matt #3 — June 3, 2011 @ 11:32 am
interesting bit o’trivia…minnesota fats is etta james’ father
Comment by stevethumb — June 3, 2011 @ 5:52 pm
oh oh i can hear the “huhs ?!?’ from here…
minnesota fats nee rudolph walderone was a famous pool shark in the 40s, 50s, 60s rivalling willie moscone…jackie gleason’s character in “the Hustler” was based on him
Comment by stevethumb — June 3, 2011 @ 5:55 pm
love the commenter on the Zambrano story doing Hunter S Thompson as a Cubs beat reporter. That would be way more interesting to read after another loss than LEN3.
Comment by justme — June 3, 2011 @ 9:28 pm
Looks like the second comment to the Prince William Onion bit (“..little Camilla..”) was posted by Ricky Rubio (scrambled photo can’t hide that hairdo, or nose).
So we already know he can dish.
Comment by itch — June 4, 2011 @ 11:45 am