September 17, 2010
Link-O-Rama
• R.I.P., White Sox (April 5, 2010 - September 16, 2010)
• Her control and velocity weren't quite as good as the last time she threw out a first pitch, but Marisa Miller still looked great on the mound at AT&T Park.
• I'm willing to undersell any and all pay-to-follow Twitter offerings. I'll even toss in a Facebook friendship.
• David Brown of Yahoo! Sports is one of my favorite interviewers and Vin Scully is the best announcer of all time, so when they get together for a chat I link to it.
• Believe it or not this is what an Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com candidate looks like after hours of makeup.
• Baseball has proven really difficult for the Royals, so they're giving another sport a try.
• I let my nerd flag fly and brought my laptop to the 1500-ESPN studio for the past two nights. Thanks to Darren Wolfson and Joe Schmit for having me on "Twins Wrap." It was lots of fun.
• My never-ending quest for new podcasts to devour recently led me to discover Jesse Thorn and his pair of great shows. One is a relatively formal, NPR-style interview series called "The Sound of Young America" and the other is a more laid back comedy show with co-host Jordan Morris called "Jordan, Jesse, Go!" Both are excellent podcasts, in large part because of Thorn's incredibly dry yet goofy sense of humor and easy going yet intelligent conversational style.
Plus, he's a big baseball fan and even interviewed Bill James on an episode of "The Sound of Young America." If you're into smart, lengthy interviews listen to Thorn's chats with Louis C.K., Nick Hornby, Adam Carolla, Martin Starr, and Paul Rust. And if you're into funny stuff, check out basically anything in the "Jordan, Jesse, Go!" archives. Thorn is great, Thorn and Morris are a great duo, and both podcasts have quickly become part of my daily listening routine.
• Friend of AG.com Jay Jaffe wrote a nice tribute on the 40th anniversary of my favorite book.
• If you see Kevin Mitchell on a golf course don't ask the former MVP if you can play through.
• Torii Hunter is $5,000 poorer because Hideki Matsui hit a triple.
• My fellow Friday Night Lights fans will really enjoy Diablo Cody interviewing Kyle Chandler:
Coach Taylor couldn't possibly have been more charming.
• There are two extraordinarily promising 20-year-old rookie hitters in the National League this season. One is showing historic power and the other is showing historic on-base skills.
• I could definitely see paying a la cart prices for long-form writing online, but unfortunately I suspect I'm in the minority.
• Speaking of good long-form writing, Nicholas Dawidoff's profile of Rex Ryan in the New York Times is a must-read for anyone who enjoyed Hard Knocks on HBO.
• And speaking of the Jets, a female sports reporter told a story about why Orel Hershiser's good-guy reputation is deserved.
• Apparently sometimes "saddest" can be just a synonym for "greatest." After all, she's "up 22 percent in popularity this week."
• I blame Brooklyn Decker for this.
• My favorite television writer, Alan Sepinwall of HitFix.com, gave one-sentence reviews for all the new network shows this season and sadly not one of them struck me as particularly worth checking out. Thank god for the other 500 channels.
• I'm moving further and further down the list of the best writers in my family.
• NBCSports.com unveiled a re-design this week and it looks pretty sweet.
• I'm really hoping this becomes the new Rick-rolled.
• As if I needed any help getting fatter, a restaurant called Yo Yo Donuts just opened up about a block from my house. So far I've been too scared to even check it out, because obviously no good can come of this.
• I'm addicted to WhatIfSports.com's Hardball Dynasty game and my league has one franchise open with a new season set to begin next week. Hardball Dynasty is not fantasy baseball, but rather an incredibly detailed simulation of running a fictional MLB organization from rookie-ball to the majors, so due to the steep learning curve and time commitment required we're looking for an owner with previous Hardball Dynasty experience. If you're interested, let me know.
• Here are some highlights from my NBCSports.com blogging this week:
- Clayton Kershaw is 22 years old and really, really good
- Joe Morgan's opinion about the Cy Young debate is exactly what you'd expect
- Carlos Marmol has the highest strikeout rate in MLB history
- Mariners to fire professional scouting director over Josh Lueke controversy
- Manny Ramirez comes up empty as White Sox's playoff hopes slip away
- Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma said to be eyeing MLB
- Fredi Gonzalez turns down interview for Cubs' manager job
- After 10 seasons and 1,500 games Michael Young is finally playoff bound
- Livan Hernandez was a one-man gang in Atlanta
• Finally, in honor of the White Sox this week's AG.com-approved music video is "All Over Now" by Eric Hutchinson:
