Run, Chief Run

It is one of those days. When we arrived in the office, we had a decision to make: was today's Link Dump going to be (1) heavy on intro, short on links; or (b) short on intro, heavy on links? We decided on the latter. Do not get me wrong, I have no shortage of love for my own writing; I love me some me. But GameTime, TBD©, is not about me. This site is for you, my avid readers, which is why we always encourage you to contact us with anything and everything you would like see done around here.

We have to be short on the intro because, as can happen from time-to-time, actual work in getting the way. While we would have loved to dive into the LeBron love fest that went down last night on the Evil Empire, time is not on our side today. But we do have time to squeeze in a few quick comments. First, I love that ESPN got out-scoped on LeBron's choice by both Stephen A. Smith (on June 28th), and former-hockey writer/current-Knicks writer Marc Berman of the New York Post (early morning of July 8th). Say what you will about Screamin' A., but that man did not hedge against his sources and was willing to go down with the ship. Second, LeBron, if "loyalty" and "unfinished business" were two of the main factors you considered in making this decision, you should have clarified that you were being loyal to yourself, and that you personally had unfinished business, otherwise you would still be a Cleveland Cavalier. As this whole process has shown, LeBron is a lot more self-centered than we all once thought. But he made that perfectly clear when he talked about not having to share the spotlight with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, but rather each player having their own spotlight. And here I always thought basketball was a team game.

One last note, if you happen to be in the Chief's presence anytime soon, I strongly recommend not mentioning the words "Ilya Kolvachuk". Kolvachuk and Kings' GM Dean Lombardi are still dancing the free agency dance. The Kings have been in and out of the negotiations more times than the guy that took the head cheerleader to prom (HEY-OH!). I think the Chief has aged about five years in the past week. But if you have about three hours to spare, want to see some post-4th of July fireworks, and are in the presence of the Chief, go ahead and mention it. We double dog dare you.

Well, that was a little more of an intro than we anticipated. But like I said, I love me some me. I am the LeBron James of GameTime, TBD©. So while I go plan my own hour-long television special, here are some things you might have missed from this past week:

• FHM readers voted Marisa Miller the "Sexiest Woman in the World". No. Argument. Here.
• Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler finally got what they have long deserved.
• This headline says it all about the Matt Millen era. From this, Deadspin decided to put together a fun little game.
• Now that LeBron has officially screwed over Cleveland, I think it is time the real story come out. Who is with me?
• If you have not read Dan Gilbert's open letter to Cleveland Cavaliers fans, here is your chance.
• Death threats against Paul the Octopus? Man, the World Cup just got real.
• How seriously do the Dutch take soccer? Apparently their loss in the 1974 final "has often been compared to the assassination of JFK on America".
• This sounds like a scene out of Road House . . . only, Patrick Swayze would have come out ahead in his 1-on-10 Tennessee football players brawl.
• Dick Vitale has taken up residence in Cameron Indoor Arena until at least 2022. Congrats to you, Duke.
• Rick Reilly's bromance with Lance Armstrong continues.
• "Even sniffing glue calls Purple Drank stupid."
• Is it too early to call this the "Headline of the Century"?

Okay, since I took too long with the intro, we are skipping any witty banter (Ilya Kolvachuk), and moving right into (Ilya Kolvachuk) a set of clips sure to make your Friday afternoon (Ilya Kolvachuk . . . man, if you could only see the Chief's face right now) that much more enjoyable.

• I guarantee one of these girls could have sealed the deal with Ilya Kolvachuk by now . . . or was the head cheerleader on prom night (HEY-OH!).
• With Jimmy Kimmel in re-runs this week, I decided to go with one of my all-time favorite "This Week in Unnecessary Censorship" clips: the Sesame Street edition.
• This video has been declared "the best own goal" in soccer history. I can not say I disagree.
• Yes, this video may make you feel uncomfortable. Yes, it is totally worth it.
• Jason Werth, expanding the vocabularies of young kids everywhere since July 2010.
• I call fake. You be the judge.

Have a great weekend everyone!