Link-O-Rama
I got 13 out of 14 questions right in this Seinfeld quiz, which for someone who has seen each episode at least three times is pretty much an embarrassment. The worst, Jerry. The worst!
How do I know this week was a good one? Because Jessica Alba's vacation provided us with not one, but two sets of photos featuring her parading around the beach in a bikini. Of course, you'll either have to ignore the guy in all the pictures or simply cover him up with photoshopped pictures of yourself. Not that I did anything like that ...
In honor of his first week at Sirius, here's a link to a Howard Stern soundboard. And for those of you who listened to Stern's first week of shows, here's a link to a George Takei soundboard. Oh my!
One of the few remaining shows on ESPN that I find tolerable is NFL Matchup, so I absolutely loved reading this engrossing story of the trip Aaron Schatz and Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders took to see Ron Jaworski at NFL Films.
The hiring of new Vikings coach Brad Childress has been discussed to death locally over the last couple weeks, but Dead Spin actually found a fresh angle.
Not only did ESPN.com's Jayson Stark write a nice article promoting Bert Blyleven's Hall of Fame candidacy, he gave a plug to The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006 while doing it.
Friend of AG.com and occasional THT contributor Craig Burley has joined the wonderful world of blogging over at TyBlog. Craig is one of my favorite people and one of my favorite writers, so make sure to go check it out.
Here are two links related to one of my least-favorite people in the world.
Reason #2,573,048 why I find it difficult to take ESPN.com's Buster Olney seriously when he attempts to be analyze, rather than simply report:
Maybe there are formulas and charts that tell you that [John] Franco has been as good a closer as [Mariano] Rivera. Maybe there are statistics that demonstrate little difference between a guy like [Bruce] Sutter and someone like Armando Benitez. But you watch the games and you see the hitters react to them and see the pathetic swings the hitters take, and you know there is a difference that will never be quantified.
Really, has it come to this? Olney is apparently so anti-sabermetrics that he's now arguing against numbers that don't even exist. Where are all these metrics showing John Franco being as good as Mariano Rivera? Where are all these statheads clamoring for Armando Benitez's place in the Hall of Fame?
The answer is that they only exist in Olney's mind, where strawmen are pummeled daily and ideas like "there is a difference that will never be quantified" between Mariano Rivera and John Franco is one that seems plausible.
In trying to explain my lack of interest in the WNBA, I've often said that I would rather watch a good boys high school game because the level of athleticism and overall play is higher. You can imagine how a statement like that is met by most WNBA supporters, and you can also imagine the smile on my face when I read the ESPN.com story about "the Warroad High School boys' team squeak[ing] out a 2-1 victory over the U.S. Olympic women's hockey team Wednesday."
Here's a picture of Cindy Crawford in a position you've never seen her in before.
This is a difficult thing to pull off -- you have to have at least five friends willing to do it and one of them has to be a black guy -- but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better Halloween costume. I'm jealous.
Today at The Hardball Times:
- When Will Bud Whip It Out? (by John Brattain)
Pick of the Day (163-147, +$1,315):
Denver +6 (-110) over Minnesota
Saturday's Picks:
Seattle -9.5 (-110) over Washington
New England +3 (-110) over Denver
Sunday's Picks:
Indianapolis -9.5 (-110) over Pittsburgh
Carolina +3 (-110) over Chicago
Monday's Pick:
Miami -2 (-110) over Los Angeles
