McHale is obv a genius.

What's more ridiculous, the shots Kevin Love makes in this video, or the "reporter"??

Tad Kubler's illness cancels European tour.

No, seriously. Chilean vino Palin Syrah suddenly on the ropes in SF wine bar.
North Berkeley importer praises the wine for being "full bodied."

Shaun Livingston is on his way back to the NBA, having signed with Miami.
"It came down to Miami and Minnesota," said Livingston's agent, Henry Thomas, who also represents Wade. "And he was more comfortable there."
There was a guy who had a shot at being great. I hope he can get back to being a [...]

In the words of S. R. Hadden, why build one when you can have two at twice the price?

Indecent proposal? Pfft. A mere $10,000 buys you a night with Maria Sharapova!
I wonder how much to play doubles with her and Anna Kournikova?

I love the French. Cheese, wine, foie gras, truffle-sniffing pigs, chicks with hairy armpits. But you would think that a nation that made an art form out of surrendering would eventually give up on trying to catch Lance Armstrong in a drug test.

I thought it was worth mentioning, now that I've noticed. We are in the midst of the American Library Association's Banned Books Week.
Celebrate by reading something subversive.

Paul Newman, great American actor, dead at 83.

Are you ready for this? Report: workers spend 25% of work time goofing around online.
Naturally, I found this at work.

This is a teensy bit political, sorta kinda. Vermont governor James Douglas was named a fishing 'villain' by Field & Stream recently. His crime:
The Vermont trout opener reportedly found the governor on the river and in front of cameras — flipping his hook back to a Fish & Wildlife official, who dutifully baited it for [...]

I had no idea that Robert Wagner was such a nutjob.

Watch out for Red Lectroids now that the Chinese Say They're Building 'Impossible' Space Drive.

It may come as a shock, but many ex-NFL players suffer from brain damage. Hopefully, this research project will develop the knowledge base about the long-term effects of concussions. Even more hopefully, it will lead the NFL, NCAA and high school/youth football programs to be more proactive about preventing brain injuries.
Have I mentioned lately how [...]

Another hero of my youth is gone. Quiet Vikings stud Wally Hilgenberg dies at 66.
He, Roy Winston and Jeff Siemon were a formidable trio at LB for some great Vikings teams.

JoePos - hatchet man

It's back to school for Blaine senior after suspension over box cutter
In suspending Richard, administrators invoked the school's zero-tolerance weapons policy and recommended to the school board that he be expelled.
However, late Monday the six-member board voted 5-1 that despite the policy, Richard can return to school, but will be on probation until Nov. 10, [...]

but apparently not for the roads we actually drive.
How the hell do these geniuses figure that there wouldn't be a market for this car in the US?

Yet another new piece of Mozart music discovered in France. This guy is practically L. Ron Hubbard the way he seems to pump stuff out long after death.
The work, described as the preliminary draft of a musical composition, was found by a library in Nantes in western France as staff were going through its [...]

Schilling: Manny's behavior disrespected Francona, role players.
I'm not here to defend Manny Ramirez. I'm only here to point out that Schilling basically stole $8 million from the Red Sox this year, signing a contract when he was absolutely hurt.
Schilling acknowledged that it was awkward for him to speak out on Ramirez, given [...]

She's back after some serious cancer. But I guess she'll have to move on to serious drama roles now that her two greatest assets are gone.
Seriously, I appreciated her work as Kelly Bundy. She was a charmingly effective ditz. I hope her recovery continues to be strong.

It should come as no surprise to a Nation of baseball fans commenting on game logs during work that men are immature slackers.

The boss will whack me if this is too political, but I thought this piece on Drawing the V.P. Candidates was fun and informative without being partisan.

Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright Dead at 65. Shine on.

Must be the Season of the Witch. (Probably shouldn't be joking about this, but WTF?!!)

Twins to name new stadium Target Field.

It was either this or YASPS (Yet Another Sarah P. Story).
I figured this was in better taste.

Dad chases nude boy from daughter's room with pipe. Apparently, the boy had been sneaking into the daughter's room for a year without the father's knowledge. It appears the father laid some pipe to the pipe layer.

I'm turning over a new leaf. Happy stories! Following on the recent news about green polar bears -- it's green puppies!

Dirty, sexy money.

More of the same from the "liberal media"? You make the call.

So, a moose-hunting hockey mom for veep and a drifter for First Lady? Too Hip to Quit.

Questions for Sarah Palin that the Anchorage Daily News would like her to answer.

Apparently, the Governator hasn't really made common cause with his fellow republicans in the CA legislature, since he has yet to learn their names.
[note: not part of the cited article, but this is a quote from an email alert I received from the SacBee about the story] After the vote, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met separately [...]

Well, yea, Monta Ellis is an idiot. But this does not compare to "falling while washing your truck".

I don't know about this. Kobe is going to play the season with damaged ligaments in his pinkie finger, an injury he suffered last season. I think I'd have gone straight from Beijing to the scalpel.

Hrrm. Sarah Palin may have supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she opposed it, but she seems not to have had a problem with milking the state government for per diem expenses.

KFCs secret recipe, under guard, moved from headquarters temporarily for security upgrade.

Trail-blazing college basketball coach became the first to start five African-American players. In doing so, he led Texas Western to the NCAA Championship over all-white Kentucky in 1966. He also changed the game forever.

He hates bloggers, but he's got a real point here on Bonds. One of my old colleagues told me relative to the Bonds indictment that the Feds usually win. I've thought that the case is iffy at best and it's possible Bonds walks. Regardless, it seems like a waste of taxpayer money [...]

Apparently, Mario Chalmers is an idiot. And David Stern is pissed at him. That's not a good place to be, Mario.

Apparently, the postal service takes its independence seriously, as they are branching out a bit with their marketing efforts.

You gotta respect Tatum Bell. He's not taking unemployment lying down.

Does Clean Coal Technology matter? Maybe. buuuuUUUuuuut:
I have yet to see a serious challenge to the math on this done by Vaclav Smil of the University of Manitoba, who has noted that handling just 10 percent of today’s carbon dioxide emissions would require more pipelines and other equipment than is now used worldwide to extract [...]

Another day, another Robert Mugabe is a nutjob story. Or mebbe he's enlisted Kirsty Coventry to launder his wealth out of the country.

From Fanhouse:
Per my [Will Brinson] conversation with the Broward County Clerk of Superior Court this morning, the name change for "Chad Johnson" that was filed on August 8, 2008 became official on August 28, 2008
The part of me that enjoys sticking it to The Man is elated.

Who would have ever thought that McCain would toss away conventional options who stood by the Republican party for years for the excitement of a younger, hotter woman?

O.J. Simpson's daughter pushes the former running back around.
Cops rushed to Simpson's Florida home after daughter Arnelle knocked him to the ground.
"Arnelle had a fight with [Simpon's girlfriend Christie Prody] over Christie's behavior. That's what started the whole thing," a source told the newspaper. "Christie has some problems with drinking, and Arnelle got mad. O.J. [...]

No, I'm not counseling Statfreak to take a Xanax before the next game -- although that might be good for his heart I'm talking light beers that I would actually drink. Session beers for everyone!!!!

The answer may be blowing in the wind, but the Power Grid ain't up to it.
The U.S. electrical grid is Not In Good Shape. And it's gonna take billions to fix it.
The grid’s limitations are putting a damper on such projects already. Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer of Horizon Wind Energy, the company [...]

Link. If you've listened to Sid Hartmann in the past he's always moaned about how the U has such stringent academic standards that they can't get kids to come here and play football. That was laughable, of course, but Timmy B. has really got something to be proud of. Last in the [...]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Apparently threatened by the influx of Asian players, the LPGA Tour will reportedly suspend memberships if players don't learn English. That's just assinine. Women's leagues provided opportunities for women athletes and now this stupid-assed group wants to limit access to people who don't speak English? Only one [...]

You might have remembered hearing about this story when it happened. Turns out the father had been drinking, smoking marijuana, trespassing, and hunting without a license. What an ass.

The Freddy Adu of baseball has arrived but they won't let him play anymore.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)—Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player— too good, it turns out.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach [...]

Now the true story can be told.

Twins send Hamburger to Texas for Everyday Eddie.
The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have acquired lefthanded pitcher Eddie Guardado from the Texas Rangers in exchange for righthanded pitcher Mark Hamburger.
Guardado, 37, was 3-3, 3.65 ERA (49.1 ip, 20 er) and converted all four of his save opportunities in 55 appearances for the Rangers this [...]

Wheelie-popping motorcyclist tops 150 mph, pauses to use cell phone.

I have never watched this show and I never will, unless I am under extreme duress. Express your apathy here regarding FOX's decision to add a fourth "judge" to American Idol.

Nicky Punto (2007), David McCarty (1993) and Jim Deshaies (1994) are first-ballot electees to the inaugural class of Page 2's list of the worst seasons ever by franchise.
Punto's and McCarty's seasons were true Hacking Mass legends, but Deshaies's year was nothing to sneeze at: a 7.39 ERA and 30 HRs allowed in 130 innings. [...]

A Delta Airlines flight approaching an airport soaked by Tropical Storm Fay was delayed by four catfish that walked onto the runway..
They were impressive, but you shoulda seen the one that ran away.

The kids in the Silicon and Wafer Price Index are forecasting a big drop in solar silicon prices next year. Looks like the future is so bright we'll have to wear shades.

Hey! Can we stop playing that pedophilia anthem at sporting events now that Gary Glitter is out of the Vietnamese pokey?

Hall of Fame football player and longtime NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw has died.
Upshaw, 63, had been fighting pancreatic cancer.

From dunking basketballs to dunking heads: 7'2" former UCLA and NBA center Ralph Drollinger now ministers to legislators. I wonder how often he gets told to "stuff it"??

Usain Bolt has won both the 100 meters and the 200 meters, both in World Record time. Man, he took down Michael Johnson's insane 19.32, going 19.30. He beat the silver medalist by over a half second. Unbelievable!

Joe Posnanski has an announcement to make:
Starting next week, Sportsllustrated.com — si.com, for short — will be reprinting this blog. Don’t even ask how that happened. And, even more thrilling, starting next week I will write one column a week for the Sports Illustrated dot-com — I believe it will appear on Wednesdays.
Like of one [...]

Steven Levitt freakonoms about DNA evidence today. Phun with statistics.

The Spanish synchronized swimming team has been panned [err, banned] from wearing their suits equipped with flashing lights in competition. Way to stand up for athletic integrity, IOC dudes. I mean sure, sequins, glitter and makeup practically shout "competitive athlete," whereas flashing lights might make people think of a striptease act or summat.

Is it just me or does Borzi paint a pretty unflattering picture of neophyte GM Bill Smith? Overwhelmed? Not words I like to hear. I don't recall if any of our esteemed beat writers painted a picture of a clubhouse disappointed over the lack of a move. Then again, maybe I missed that.
Link

Carl Lewis is. You heard it here first.

Minnesotan excels in bad writing contest.
Globally acclaimed bad writer Russ Winter of southern Minnesota says he keeps up on current events and just goes "in a strange direction ... jotting down and taking a look at it. Then, the more you look at it, the worse it gets."
With that recipe, Winter won for himself [...]

In what can only be described as a surprise to me, Twins owner Carl Pohlad
has been backing presumptive Democratic candidate for president Barack Obama.
Pohlad, the banker, investor and Twins owner, and his family have contributed or bundled as much as $217,000 for Obama, Politico reported.
Overall, guys like Pohlad tend to back Republicans. I wonder [...]

Facing foreclosure, McMahon is bailed out by Mr. Trump.
McMahon, 85, was facing foreclosure within two weeks on his Beverly Hills home of 18 years. The aging television icon, who was Johnny Carson's sidekick for three decades, defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with Countrywide Financial Corp. He said in interviews that he was unable [...]

At the end of his interview with The Onion's Scott Tobias, the Wood-man weighs in on the post-Zeke era of his favorite NBA team.
A workmanlike team that wins games is not necessarily a team that is fun to watch. What I'd like the Knicks to develop into is a team that's fun and that's [...]