Some People Have All the Luck

As this edition of the weekly GameTime, TBD© Link Dump goes to print, O.J. Simpson sits in a Nevada courthouse awaiting sentencing for his recent conviction on robbery charges. Regardless of whether "The Juice" is actually guilty of the charges he faced in Nevada, we all knew he was going to be convicted before a jury was even impaneled. Having gotten away with what he did all those years ago (has it really been 13 years . . . man, I was a freshman in high school and my Better Half was in 6th grade . . . ewww), everyone knew his next screw up was going to be his last. He is just unlucky like that (destined to screw up that is). [Update: O.J. to serve no less than 15 years, which, of course, means he'll be out in 6.]

But let us talk about someone who is lucky: my Dad. When Dad's number shows up on my caller ID at work, the conversation is usually going to involve one of three things: (1) whether I will be attending whatever sporting event it is he has tickets for, (b) I probably owe him some money for something, or (iii) I will never guess who he just met. Well, his name showed up on my cell's caller ID on Wednesday afternoon, and it was a category (iii) conversation. Now, you have to realize that my dad has flown well over five million miles in his career . . . and he is not a pilot. So most of his chance encounters with the rich and famous occur on airplanes. And Dad is the type of person who will recognize someone famous, but can not tell you who they are or why they are famous. Most famously, he sat across the aisle from Cindy Crawford on a flight, and it was my mom, of all people, who had to point this out to him. So when Dad said "BAP, you'll never guess who sat next to me on my flight to Austin (Austin . . . Austin, Massachusetts?)", it meant that he recognized the person and, therefore, the famous person must be sports-related.

Dad spent the 4-hour flight from Los Angeles to Austin breaking down game film and having a general discussion about life with Ben Howland. That is right, THE Ben Howland; the same Ben Howland that has coached UCLA to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours; the guy that has brought the magic back to Westwood (wait a sec, maybe I should be blaming Dad for UCLA's loss last night . . . maybe he was giving bad advice, or he distracted Howland from doing his job . . . nah, that's just silly). While poor Alfred Aboya was cramming his legs into his coach seat, Ben and Dad were talking about commutes, property values, and why Ben was concerned with the tough match-up Texas posed at almost every position in first class; I mean, he got to share a meal with this man! I mean, sure, I once flew on the same airplane as Andy Murray, and when I was in sixth grade, Tupac sat in front of me on a flight to Florida (and one of his bodyguards sat next to me . . . that was a treat). But it was not like I could spend the whole trip talking hockey with Murray (we were about 15 rows apart and he had, of course, just been fired by the Kings) and at the age of twelve, I was not a big rap fan, so I did not even know it was Tupac until I heard the stewardess (they're called flight attendants now) say his name. Dad, on the other hand, now gets to say that he has studied game film with one of the greatest game planners in the game.

Some people, like Dad, have all the luck. So, while I figure out a way to get Dad to Vegas (gotta strike while the irons hot), here are some things you might have missed to help you get through the rest of your week:

• I forgot to record the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday night, but I was not too concerned because I knew some perv would provide us with a Power Rankings of the models by Thursday morning. I was, of course, 100% correct in this assumption (though, I don't know if I can trust a guy who finds 11 VS models hotter than Miranda Kerr . . . at least his Top 5 is spot on).
• Speaking of Victoria's Secret models, the people at Rumors and Rants would like to remind us that Marko Jaric has clearly out kicked his coverage.
• And since we are talking about attractive women, a Hamburg soccer star intentionally disqualified himself from an upcoming match to attend his wife's 30th birthday. I would say he had two pretty large . . . . er, I mean . . . good reasons why.
• Usually an attractive female athlete is all it takes to get me interested in an article (hey, you too? Weird). But when you add talk of free cows . . .
• GameTime, TBD© fun fact of the day: the first event hosted at the Scociabank Place (home of the Ottawa Senators) in 1996 (when it was called The Palladium) was not a hockey game; it was a Bryan Adams concert. This article has nothing to do with that.
• I have not figured out how, but I am sure the inadvertent whistle can somehow be blamed on Ed Hochuli.
• Parents sue school after their daughters are kicked off of cheerleading squad for being awesome . . . no, actually, they are suing the school because they suck as parents. These articles frustrate me to no end.
• In 2004, Michael Vick signed a $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. So, how than is he bankrupt?
• Rod Marinelli guarantees at least one win this season for my Detroit Lions. His motivating tool? The 2008-2009 team photo.
• The most amazingly-awesome (awesomely-amazing?) hunting story you may ever read. It is about time the animals start fighting back.
• For some stories, the witty tag lines write themselves. For others, like this one, a witty tag line could not be further from my mind.

It was quite a week for ridiculously entertaining videos. I have a reserve of unused clips that appreciate weeks like this because they remain unused, waiting for the right moment to be unveiled. I was even able to add a few clips to the bank, saved for a rainy day, because I was able to put together this cornucopia of entertaining (and perhaps slightly disturbing) clips for your viewing pleasure:

• Kenny Mayne, perhaps one of two enjoyable hosts remaining at the Evil Empire, has his own webisode series called Mayne Street. If you have not seen any, this one is sure to get you hooked.
• The scene: SUNY Geneseo (that's State University New York, at Geneseo) hosting SUNY Oswego (that's State University . . . eh, you get the point) in a powerhouse Division III matchup. Geneseo (in white) trails by two with 10 seconds left. Take it away boys . . .
• Apparently, this is the perfect holiday gift for all your co-workers. [Bonus: for an extra laugh, clicked on the related video of Ellen.]
• Some of my best workout secrets have been caught on tape.
• Prop 8 - The Musical (yes, you read that right).

Have a great weekend everyone!