Road Game!

So, about a month-and-a-half ago, My Better Half casually mentioned she would be going to Las Vegas for work in late-November/early-December.  Naturally, I assumed she meant some mid-week conference at the MGM Grand or something.  Well, here I am, writing this Link Dump from the comfort of my Bellagio room while My Better Half learns the intricacies of health care accreditation twenty-three floors below.  Query: how early is too early to be playing Three Card Poker by yourself?  Road games rule!

Speaking of road games, while I was flying the friendly skies with Mike Tyson (#humblebrag), apparently Greg Popovich caused a little stir in the NBA by opting to rest his four best players at the end of the Spurs' second lengthy road trip of this young season.  Not content with having already ruined one professional sports league, David Stern did what David Stern does best and went off the deep end.  You see, David Stern is absolutely convinced he is the smartest person in all of sports . . . hell, he might believe he is the smartest person in the world . . . so he obviously knows what is best for everybody.  So he gets a little testy when someone does something that is actually smart, but goes against what he believes is smart.  So Stern felt the need to apologize to NBA fans (all five of them) and declared the Spurs organization will face "substantial sanctions" for Pop's actions.  No, admittedly, I am no NBA fan.  And I realize that Stern has built the "success" of the NBA around its individual superstars and the teams.  This, however, is just riDONKulous.

Davie, level with me, would you not rather have the Spurs, one of the more popular franchises in the league, ready to make a deep playoff run when all the games are nationally televised?  I think one regular season game is worth that cost.  Especially when you look at the scheduling you gave the Spurs.  It was to be their fourth game in five nights, and fifth game in seven.  Meanwhile, the Heat had been sitting at home since Saturday.  The Spurs have already played eleven games on the road; the Heat have played twelve games . . . total.  You have to think that type of scheduling is not good for one of the older teams in the league.  So do not act so surprised that one of the league's best coaches did the smart thing for the good of his team, which, last time I checked, is who is signing is paycheck.  And it seems a little disingenuous that you get upset over one regular season game when, for years, you have let franchises tank entire seasons to get a high lottery pick (see, e.g., the Cavaliers trying to get your beloved Bron-Bron). Look, if I go to an NBA game (don't ask me the last time that was), I want to see the best game possible, which implies the teams will play their best players.  But my tickets does not provide me an absolute guarantee that will happen; I get what I get.  I have seen some good teams get blown out by crappy teams with their entire roster, while the Heat needed a last-second three to beat the Spurs last night.  So, Davie, if you are going to run this league for another ten years (really?), I think you best get over yourself and learn to appreciate when a coach like Pop is honest.

Boy, I got a little fired up there.  If you did not notice, I am not exactly a big David Stern fan.  I do partially blame him for the problems of the NHL and, let us be honest, he is kind of a douche.  So, while I do some laps around the room to calm myself down, here are some things you might have missed to help get you through your Friday afternoon:

• I have watched this gif roughly eleventy billion times and it never gets old.  You. Are. Welcome.
• Mike Fisher, just the latest casualty of the NHL lockout.  MAN DOWN!
• You see . . . I . . . uh . . . well . . . 
• Two years for teabagging?  How are Louisiana prisons not grossly overpopulated?
• Survey shows college basketball players are (1) liars, and (b) have terrible taste in women.
• Good thing that suspension is with pay.  Otherwise, how could he take Tulsa Minus-2.5 in the Conference USA title game?
• When we last spoke, we told you about Eric Berry's fear of horses.  Today, we top that.
• Nothing says exciting NBA basketball like Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Keep up the good work Davie.
• I think the real story here is that Michael Jordan is still wearing cargo shorts . . . in 2012.
• It is like always say, if you are going to get busted for a DUI, do it in style.  [Editor's Note: we never say that.]
• This should end well for every other Denver-area female high school swimmer.
• Go time!
• Everybody loves a good tease . . .
• What ever happened to beer pong being the sport of gentlemen?
• Yeah, this is happening!

Speaking of road games (is there an echo in here?), my Bruins shoot for a trip to the Rose Bowl tonight in the Pac-12 title game tonight at Stanford.  Not going to lie, I am more than a little nervous about this game after what went down six short days ago.  I think it is best I get up and try to work off some of this nervous energy (hey, is that a Three Card Poker table?) and maybe see which way the line has moved since last night.  As for you guys, hope these clips selected for your viewing enjoyment help get you through your Friday with a smile on your face:

• Nothing says own goal like IN THE FACE!
• Turns out the laws of physics are alive and well in pee wee football.
• Not gonna lie, the Will Arnett looks pretty yummy . . . and I bet the drink is good too.  [Editor's Note: if you haven't watched the 30-for-30 short on Arnold Schwarzanegger, do yourself a favor and check it out.]
• Who knew a name could be so hypnotizing?
• I will be honest, if this happened to me I would totally soil myself.  Yes, I am a wuss.
• As someone who has taken his fair share of tumbles on ice, I appreciate this video.

Have a great weekend everyone!

How Does This Work Again?

[*dusts off keyboard*]

How does one go about apologizing to his thousands hundreds dozens handful of loyal readers after inexcusably disappearing for over a year?

Well, for starters, I think I would say that if you are actually here reading this, I truly appreciate you sticking around all this time.  Then, I would let you know about how painful this past year was, both in terms of not being able to bring you the Pulitzer-worthy writings you had grown to love and expect from my little corner of the world wide web, and the actual reason I became so suddenly unavailable.  Finally, I would tell you how sorry I am, hope you can forgive me, and promise I am a changed man and that things will be better than they were before my indiscretion (cause, you know, apparently this is now also Lifetime's next drama about a lover scorned . . . don't worry, I didn't spend the last year trying to make up for sins committed against My Better Half; a wise man knows when he has massively out-kicked his coverage and does everything in his power not to screw that up.)

Long story short, people left our firm, which resulted in a little game I like to call "Shuffle the Associates."  Now, I work by a motto my father taught me: "Work Hard; Have Fun; Make Money."  The theory is, if you work hard, and have a little fun while doing it, you are going to be successful (make money).  Well, when the game came to an end, I end up being assigned to partner of firm whose motto, if he had one, would be: "Work Hard, Work Harder, You're Not Working Hard Enough, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WITH WORK?"  This might come as a surprise to you, but it turns out that is (1) not a fun environment to work in, (b) may cause some employees to resent you; and (iii) does not create a very productive work experience (shocking, right?).  While I never let it break me, it certainly did restrict my ability to enjoy the creative outlet that is GameTime, TBD©.  I kept fighting the good fight, grinding it out, and eventually I was able to find my way onto a team with a partner whose operating philosophy is more in line with mine.  In the words of William Wallace . . . FREEDOM!!!!!!!

Now, I can not guarantee it will be business as usual around these parts.  I have got to find my mojo again; and there will certainly be times when work gets in the way; but I love sharing my wisdom with you all too much to not make this happen.  So much has happened in the past year, I have plenty of ideas on how to make GameTime, TBD© better than ever, both in terms of user experience and content.  In just writing these first few paragraphs, I can already feel the excitement returning.  So stick around, it is bound to be a great show.

Well I finish getting things back up and running, reaching out to my contacts, and crafting my battle plan for continuing world domination, here are some things you might have missed from the past week to get you through your Friday afternoon.  That is right, my dear readers, it is Link Dump time:

• It is rivalry week here in Los Angeles, so naturally this and this happened.  GO BRUINS!
• Dear NCAA, Just a friendly reminder that your mission is to protect student athletes and their future.  Kthxbye.
• Somewhere Herm Edwards is reminding people "You PLAY. TO WIN. THE GAME."
• When do the owners cancel Gary Bettman's life?
• Surprising absolutely no one, this happened at a Cleveland Browns game.  Oh, Cleveland.
• Last time I checked a map, Cincinnati and Louisville were west of Philadelphia.  Did someone re-align the country again without telling me?   
• Hey bro, probably should have thought this one through a little more before going to print.
• Not very often you can say a team scored 104 points in a high school football game and did not run up the score.
• With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the end of the year is nearly upon.  And that means all those "Best of the Year" lists the Chief hates so much.  Like this one, that proves sports and innuendos go hand-in-hand.
• Speaking of Thanksgiving, that means it is time for Black Friday sales.  If you are headed to Williams Sonoma, here is some advice.
• In non-sports related news, do yourself a favor and check out the image.

I guess it is true what they say, some things in life truly are just like riding a bike.  You get back on and get going. [Editor's Note: that's what she said!]  It feels really good to be back in the driver's seat, so let us keep this party train moving forward.  First we tickled your brain, now we tickle your eyes . . . and may a few other places:

• When we last spoke, "model" Melanie Iglesias was flipbooking her way into your heart with some Halloween costumes.  As luck would have, she released a new flipbook today in an effort to untz-untz her way back into your heart.
• What, was Rebecca Black not available?
• I am sorry, what?
• Nice tats boss . . . oh, and that goal was pretty solid too.  [Editor's Note: speaking of tats, wow . . . just wow . . .]
• You see . . . I . . . uh . . . well . . .
• Exactly how does one break a rib and three vertebrae?  Oh, that does not look like fun.
• Current favorite word of the week: equinophobia.
• What do you get when cross the Galapagos Islands with the Miss Reef calendar girls?  One ass-tastic piece of art.

Man, it feels good to be back.  Have a great weekend everyone!