Vegas, Baby

In Vegas for my brother's birthday weekend. Apparently, not even cracking his head at 1am last night and having to get it stapled shut is going to stop him from going. Will explain upon my return. Have a nice weekend.

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Now playing: Yannick Noah - Dans Et Sur Mes Bras
via FoxyTunes

Yao-Nash Charity Game

We get another treat today. NBA TV is going to air the Yao Ming-Steve Nash charity game that took place in Beijing on September 14th. It will be on at 8pm EST/5pm PST. NBA players who participated in the game include Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis, Leandro Barbosa, and Yi Jianlian.






Photo Source: NBAE

Charles Barkley on MNF

Did anyone else notice the Chuckster in the booth with Mike Tirico, Jaws, and Tony Kornheiser during the Redskins-Eagles game Monday night? I turned on the game to check the score during the second half, but switched to Prison Break before Charles said anything. He better not be abandoning TNT for MNF!

V-NYT Day

So for the past 2 years, I've waged a silent war against The New York Times online because they started charging for access to articles. I've read Maureen Dowd's columns since high school and the prospect of suddenly paying $2 per column was, to me, absolutely ridiculous. It's bad enough they charge $5 for the Sunday Times, there was no way in hell I was going to pay some ridiculous TimesSelect fee. However, I still needed my Maureen Dowd-Paul Krugman fix so I basically bribed people for their Lexis-Nexis passwords and then emailed myself the articles I wanted.

Well, today the New York Times has officially ended TimesSelect. Op-Ed, News, and all the other columns are now available as they should be - free of charge. This is also good for sports fans because Harvey Araton's columns are now available as well. We can finally read the columns Henry links to in full. Incidentally, today's Harvey Araton column is about the role Bill Russell plays as mentor to incoming rookies. Joakim Noah gets the conversation rolling by asking straight up if "[Russell] felt underappreciated while accomplishing all that he did in racially polarized Boston — 11 N.B.A. championships in 13 remarkable years — at the dawn of and during the civil rights era." An interesting read, as most everything involving Bill Russell is.

So yay! Release your inner nerd and enjoy V-NYT Day.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

So what have I been doing since I last posted (rather, what has been totally distracting me from posting)? Watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the funniest show since Arrested Development. My brother told me I absolutely had to watch this show, but considering his last recommendation was Ninja Warrior, I was a bit leery. But after he reminded me (less bitterly this time) that he knows all the lyrics to Rent and Ragtime - the result of being at the mercy of an older sister with a car - I gave it a try and now I'm totally addicted in a crackhead kind of way. The season premiere is tonight at 10, but you can also watch an exclusive pre-season episode on their MySpace.

This clip is from "The Gang Gives Back" (Season 2, Episode 6).

PS. I've noticed I tend to get along best with people who have similar taste in shows as me. I don't know whether that's due to vanity or bitchiness, but either way, here's a list of current shows I like. In no particular order:

• Prison Break!
• I was at a party in France and this guy, who was trying to act all cool, announced that Wentworth Miller was gay. My response was, "Speak for yourself and your little scarf, Frenchie!" Trying to ruin my Wentworth Miller crush is not a way to get on my good side. Nor is wearing a scarf indoors.
  
• Heroes
• I love Nathan, but this stupid Heroes character test told me I was Sylar. Whatever! Just because I would key some douchebag's car who deserved it....I'm really not Sylar.
• 24, minus seasons 2 and 3
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• It's back! Yay! With Vivica Fox. Nay.
• Real Time with Bill Maher
• If you ever go to a taping, sit on the benches along the wall. They get to go in first.
• The Office
• The Wire
• Scrubs
• Family Guy
• The Daily Show and Colbert Report
• Ugly Betty
• Lost

Photo Source: FX

Shaq and Shaunie: Unhappily Ever After

One of the most popular NBA power couples has filed for divorce. More accurately, Shaq filed for divorce from Shaunie on Tuesday. According to the Miami Herald,

''The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken." [Shaq's petition for divorce] further claimed that Shaunie has been ''secretive about her assets . . . particularly with respect to certain properties owned or titled in either [her] name alone or in other entities.'' He wants the court to order Shaunie to give a ''correct accounting of all money, funds, stocks, bonds, and other securities (including bearer securities)'' that she came into during the marriage.

You can read the rest of the article HERE. Shaq and Shaunie have four kids together and one each from a previous relationship. The last appearance they made together was at the ESPYs.

I'm as sad as I can be for a couple I've never met and don't really know. Although, Shaq is one of those people who inspires familiarity even without having personally met him. Shaq and Shaunie were definitely one of my favorite NBA couples. Best of luck to them both.

Photo Source: Social Eyes

On a Brighter Big Yellow Note

My love/unhealthy dependence on post-its is pretty evident. (If you don't believe me, click here, here, here, here, or here.) Well, I came across this cool article in The Post about people who collect post-its, grocery lists, and the like.

Bill Keaggy, the founder of Grocerylists.org, was leaving a grocery store one day when a sort of “silly serendipity” struck: he found a grocery list on a yellow Post-it note. The list itself was nothing special, but much like Raviv, Keaggy found himself fixating on the person it belonged to.

“It was so ordinary - and that’s exactly why it was so great,” he says. “I like the little things in life that people don’t pay attention to. But it’s details like these that make up the minutes of our lives.”

He was particularly struck by the honesty of grocery lists. They aren’t meant to be seen by anyone else, even though the contents of the grocery carts end up on a conveyor belt in plain view of everyone.

“One of my favorites was one that had obviously been written by a wife to her husband,” he says. “She wrote, ‘Coke, bread, milk, If you buy more rice I’ll punch you.’ And I just thought that was so great. There’s a life behind each list.”

Among all the Webcams and reality TV and MySpace pages and Match.com, whose slogan is “It’s OK to look,” there is something quaint and endearing about this voyeuristic fascination with the written word. It’s old-school nosiness of the small-town, front-porch variety.

You can read the rest of the article HERE. Hope you enjoy my quaint post-its along with my scrapes and bruises.

Disturbing...

After reading about the upcoming charity game in China organized by Yao Ming and Steve Nash (which sounds totally amazing and wonderful, by the way), I tried to find a picture of a logo or something pertaining to the event.

Instead, I came across the picture on the left. For some reason, I find it totally unsettling and disturbing. (And I like Steven Klein!) It looks like it was taken by a pedophile, one that likes really big boys. Eeek!

Sorry for sharing. I'm also someone who finds the need to show people my scrapes and bruises after I fall.





Source

Photo Source: NBAE/Getty Images

FIBA Americas Team Photos

Now that the FIBA Americas tournament is over, I thought I'd do a proper send off with some team photos. I love team photos. They remind me of class pictures from elementary school when someone inevitably ends up being caught mid-sneeze or picking his nose. For the most part, the teams photographed quite nicely. Here are some of the ones that stood out.

(Click to enlarge)

Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I feel Team USA photographed the best. It has nothing to do with looks, but more with the ability to get a group of 16 people to look straight and not blink at the same time. That's how you know whether a group of individuals can truly work as a team.

Additionally, I think the US and Canada had the best uniforms. They were simple and streamlined with the team name and number prominently displayed. Nothing fancy or difficult to read.


Argentina. They had the funniest picture by far. Chester the Molester in the front row looks like he's about to attack a ball boy as Luis Scola looks on in shock. Carlos Delfino looks like he wants to share more than his leg with his neighbor.

My one point of contention with Argentina is their flopping uniforms. The colors are great, the font is great, but where is the team name on that uniform? When Shaq left for Miami, I was talking to my cousin (a diehard Laker fan) and she started attacking him. I was like, "What the hell? You LOVE Shaq! You call him Shaq Daddy!!" And she responded simply with, "It's not the name on the back but the name on the front that matters." I think Team Visa should consider that before Beijing next year. Their fans came out in full force though. Face paint, flags, and bullhorns - they were a sight to behold.


Honorable mentions to Mexico and the Virgin Islands, two of my favorite teams to watch in the tournament.

Photo Source: FIBA Americas

Hey Big Spender

According to TMZ, Kobe dropped $21,000 at Blush, a new club at the Wynn, on Friday night. This wasn't a display of magnanimity, but rather a good old-fashioned pissing contest between Kobe and poker player Antonio Esfandiari. It all started when Esfandiari paid for two bottles of Cristal. What nerve! TMZ reports,

"Kobe wasn't about to be shown up by some puny little card player -- and kicked in for five bottles. Antonio, who's used to upping the ante, then switched his order to ten! Kobe ended the competition when he purchased an astounding 15 bottles -- and then left the club!"

No wonder Esfandiari is called The Magician. He magically made $35,000 disappear. It's moments like these that make me really appreciate Micky Arison. Despite his net worth being worth more than the salaries of all the players in the League combined, his flashiest adornment is his tan...and maybe the 2006 NBA Championship ring. Just goes to show that you can't buy taste.

Photo Source: TMZ

All Roads Lead to China

Your last chance to see this version of Team USA together. On the Argentinian side, watch for Luis Scola, #4. He looks like an ugly woman. I miss Manu.

Photo Source: Beijing 2008

Yao Ming: The Face of Love

Yao standing in front of the Chinese character for love.

This is what we call the honeymoon phase. Too cute.

Photo Source: Getty Images

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

But sometimes, all you need is one word said in repetition.

Larry Craig (Republican, Idaho) resigned from the Senate today after news of his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting was made public. Craig allegedly solicited sex from an undercover police officer in the men's bathroom. Good luck in Idaho, Larry. But rest assured, Boise is only 640 miles from San Francisco. I even got you directions.

View Larger Map

Craig also hired Billy Martin, Michael Vick's lawyer, to pursue his legal options. Well isn't Billy Martin versatile. From dogfighting to cockfighting. His parents must be so proud.

Photo Source: Metropolitan Airports Commission Police Department/Handout/Reuters

Team USA vs Puerto Rico

Rematch!

Win or go to another qualifying tournament next year. I'm thinking win.

Photo Source: FIBA Americas