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!

Is This Thing On?

Testing . . . testing . . . one, two, three.  Are we on?  Okay, good.

With the holiday season upon us, things start to get crazy.  Office is closed; people work shorter days; people take longer weekends; in general, work productivity begins to decline.  The GameTime, TBD© office is no exception.  As such, things have been dark around here for the past few weeks. [Editor's Note: as evidenced by our November 19th post (from which, I might add, we learned a large proportion of our male readers find Blake Lively and her . . . um . . . "large proportions" quite satisfying) and the subsequent Thanksgiving weekend break.]  But we are up and running at full steam this week.

However, you will fins this Link Dump is dominated by entertaining videos.  Unfortunately, sports-related news have been dominated this past week by LeBron's return to Cleveland and the Cam Newton pay-for-play scandal.  And you know that we pride ourselves on finding you the non-mainstream articles; the stuff you will not find on the front page of ESPN.  So when not one, but two stories are dominating the news cycle, those obscure stories we love so much become harder to find.  That being said, The Chief would like to take a brief moment to comment on the Cam Newton pay-to-play scandal.

When the Chief was in law school, he was a staff writer for, and then Editor-in-Chief of, the Entertainment Law Review at his school.  The Review focused on legal issues related to . . . shockingly . . . the field of entertainment, which included sports.  As a staff writer, the Chief devoted many hours and even more pages crafting a defense of the NCAA for its rulings on the eligibility of former-USC receiver Mike Williams and former-Colorado kick-returner/Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom (both had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for various reasons).  As such, the NCAA's recent ruling with regard to Cam Newton left him a little disappointed.  For those of you not completely familiar with the scandal, allegedly Cam Newton's father, with the help of another individual (known in the recruiting world as "a runner"), sought money (allegedly upwards of $180k) from Mississippi St. to secure a commitment from his son.  Mississippi St. was Cam's number one choice because his former quarterback coach was now coaching there.  As the allegations go, Mississippi St. said "No thanks." and Cam's father told him he was not going there and that is how Cam ended up at Auburn.  Yes, we find it very suspect that all of these allegations have arisen as Auburn approaches a national championship and Cam a Heisman trophy, but now that they are out there, would we not expect the NCAA to do the right thing? [Editor's Note: don't answer that . . .]

Without boring you with too many specifics, various NCAA bylaws declare a student-athlete ineligible if he or she, or his or her relatives and friends, accepts money, travel, or other benefits from someone marketing his or her athletic talents (see, e.g., the Reggie Bush scandal).  Auburn found Cam Newton violated these rules, declared him ineligible, and then immediately sought reinstatement from the NCAA.  The NCAA reviewed the facts and found Cam's father (a pastor nonetheless) and this runner had inappropriately sought money for Cam's services in violation of the bylaws.  HOWEVER, it also found that there was no evidence that Cam had knowledge of this, applied a safety-net provision of the bylaws, and declared Cam eligible to play.  And that, my dear readers, is where the NCAA loses all credibility in this ruling.  He had no knowledge?  Common sense would tell you he knew what was up.  Do not believe me?  Imagine you have your heart set on going to one school and one school only (let's call it . . . oh, I don't know . . . Mississippi St.).  You tell your dad it is your dream to go to this school and he says that sounds good.  Then, a few months later, completely out of the blue, your dad says you can not go to the school you dreamed of, but instead you have to go to another specific school (let's call School B . . . um . . . Auburn . . . that sounds like a fun word).  So, Mr. NCAA, am I supposed to believe that, when presented with this exact situation, Cam did not question his father or get the least bit suspicious?  This is a boy who dreamed of being reunited with his quarterback coach.  And I am expected to believe that when his father said that was not going to happen Cam did not want to know why?  Give me a break.  Logic, common sense, basic reasoning skills; these are the only things everyone needed to use to know that Newton should be declared ineligible.  Unfortunately, logic, common sense, and basic reasoning are three things the NCAA lacks . . . especially when it could result in a non-BCS team wining the national championship.

Deep breaths.  Deep breaths.  Sorry, we got a little fired up there.  So, while we go for a short walk, maybe grab some lunch, and take a few deep breaths, here are some none-LeBron and non-Cam Newton stories you might have missed from this past week:

• It is good to see that Marisa Miller is already in the holiday gift-giving mood.  First, she went on Conan in this dress.  Then, she went on The DP Show and said that, if she was in an experimenting mood, she would not mind spending some quality time with Jessica Biel.  Yeah, good luck getting that image out of your head anytime soon.
• Deadspin's Drew Magary hits the nail on the head with his "Hater's Guide to Taylor Swift".  I think he should start writing songs . . .
• In case you were confused with your United States geography, Dallas-Fort Worth is located in the east-to-northeast portion of the country.  So much for those funny southern jokes we like to make.
• Soon, all college girls will be able to justify the "Freshman 15".
• As if we needed another reason to prove the BCS system sucks, Nevada cost itself only about $1 million by beating Boise St. last week.
• Deplorable does not even begin to describe this crime.
• Mediocre hockey players serve as proof to what we already new: hot chicks love money.
• Okay, we lied, one link related to LeBron's return to Cleveland.
• Only with the Los Angeles Clippers does this sort of thing happen.
• Man sues former NBA player for coming onto his court and taking it to the hole.
• If you can get past all the grammatical errors [Editor's Note: did I mention I'm an editor?], here is a look a MJ's new crib.
• Just go ahead and add "pools w/ observation windows" to the list of places I am afraid to swim.
• If you are not too busy on this fine Friday afternoon, here is a look at some of the funnier things associated with the WWE.

I am not going to beat around the bush, we have some pretty fantastic videos lined up for you this week.  It helps that we have been out of commission for a while so that we a couple extra weeks worth of videos for you.  So, with that:

• What is the most adventurous thing you have done lately? Quadruple flip from a ninety-nine foot rope swing?  You win.
• Every once in a while, Saturday Night Live actually pulls something out of the funny bag.  We like to save you the trouble of having to watch the other eighty-eight minutes of the show.
• Only in the South is a beer bong interrupted by this kind of unidentified flying object.
• Around Christmas time, Oprah surprises one lucky audience by being part of her "Favorite Things" episode, during which she gives everyone in attendance a crap load of her . . . well . . . favorite things of the year.  And the audience goes nuts . . . literally.
• I am sure you all have seen this interception a thousand times by now, but it still remains the most impressive interception I have ever seen.
• I am going to go out on a limb and say that is not her first time doing that . . .
• I do not know how Jimmy Kimmel does it week-in and week-out, but his "This Week in Unnecessary Censorship" always gets me.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Coffee with Kurt

I am, admittedly, not the biggest fan of the NBA. When it comes to basketball, I prefer the college ranks to the pros. Having followed the ramblings here at GameTime, TBD©, I know that is not hard for most of you to believe. But living in the greater Los Angeles area, and with the NBA Finals set to tip off tonight with the Lakers at the Boston Celtics, it is hard not to get swept up in all the hoopla surrounding the team.

While I wish it was the Los Angeles Kings that had hoisted the Stanley Cup last night, it is exciting anytime your city gets the opportunity to win a championship of any sport. I enjoy the way such an event seems to really bring an entire area together, if only for a few weeks. Will I watch the Finals? Yes. Will I buy one of those Lakers window flags? Hell no! (seriously, those are the most annoying things ever. Do you really need one? for your rear windows? for all four windows? Ugh, I get annoyed just thinking about them . . . but I digress.) But here is the funny thing, I have actually been rooting for the Lakers over the last three to four months more than I ever have, and it is not just because they are winning (as evidenced by my undying support of the Kings, I clearly don't often root for the front runners).

You see, on most week days for the past three to four months I have had the opportunity to share coffee with former-Laker "great" and current-assistant-coach Kurt Rambis. Well, share might be a bit of an overstatement; we go to the same Starbucks at the same time. The first few times I noticed him (a 6' 8" white guy kinda sticks out in a crowd), I was kind of star struck. When I was younger, and a bigger fan of The League than I am today, Rambis was one of my favorites. He was not the most talented player, but he worked hard night-in and night-out, epitomized team play, and I respected that. Plus, I loved the 80's porn mustache [editor's note to Jeff Kent: grow it back buddy, it's about the only thing you had going for you] and the black thick-rimmed glasses; what a combo.

So one morning, after a Lakers' victory the previous night, I finally got the courage to talk to Kurt (yeah, we're on a first name basis). I simply introduced myself and said that I wanted to congratulate him on a nice victory. Here was the great thing, he did not just say thanks or shrug me off. Instead, he responded with something to the effect of "Well, it was nice to get the win, but there are certainly some things we have to work on." Then, he proceeded to talk with me for about five minutes about the Lakers' inability to close out on the outside shooter on defense and their problems with slashing point guards. He talked about how their offense was good enough to overcome these deficiencies on most nights, but that it was something they definitely needed to address to be successful come playoff time. Needless to say, it was one of the best sports experiences I have had recently.

Since that time, I have had several other conversations with Kurt while he waits for his lattes. He is always willing to share some insights into the game and the team which has allowed me to enjoy the NBA more than I used to. He also always gets two lattes. I keep meaning to ask him: is that for the Mrs. or does Phil make you get him a coffee every morning? I think it is best that I just let that one go for now (until we're actually on a first name basis). Instead, I will just sit here and wonder what will happen once the season is over. Will he still need coffee at 8:15 a.m.? I hope so.

Albom may have had his Tuesdays with Morrie, but I get my coffee with Kurt. Now, when do I get my dinner and drinks with Dan (Patrick that is)?