It's A Celebration

Well, my dear readers, it is a week of celebration here around the GameTime, TBD© offices. Today, my Better Half is celebrating her [censored] birthday and tomorrow, we culminate two years of hard work on her part as she graduates from UCLA with a Masters Degree in Public Health.

Unfortunately, all of this celebrating is going to leave us with no time to get out our weekly dose of entertainment, otherwise known as the Link Dump, for you tomorrow. But we did not want to leave you empty handed like we may have done a couple weeks ago. Since this post is in honor of my Better Half and her birthday, I offered her the opportunity to pick a picture to tide people over for the next week; you know, give our lady-readers something to appreciate. I told her to pick one of her "Celebrity 5". So, here is our offering to you, in honor of my Better Half. She would like you all to take a moment and enjoy a look or two at Kristen Bell . . . wait, what? Nice!


Everything is right in the world. The sun rose in the east this morning (I think), USC got what it deserved (and then some) from the NCAA, and my Better Half wants to spend her birthday oogling pictures of Kristen Bell (and send my fantasy radar to record levels). If some one could please figure out what I did to deserve all this awesomeness, and let me know, I would greatly appreciate it.

Seriously people, this week can not get any better. Oh wait . . . it can.

To all of our avid readers, have a great weekend!

To my Better Half, "congratulalations", happy birthday, I love you.

Running on Empty

[Editor's Note: In support of the Chief's half marathon training, we have decided all Link Dump titles will be running related, usually drawing inspiration from movies or song. Also, training seems to be going pretty well for the Big Guy. You track his progress over there to right . . . now down a little . . . to the right . . . there you go.]

So, we ended up taking an unexcused absence last week on account of Memorial Day weekend and some trouble with the "standard" maintenance my car went in for last Thursday. Long story short, it looked for a brief moment like I was going to be taking the dealer's loaner car to Palm Springs for "Sausagefest 2010", but they got it done in time. And, yes, we dropped the ball by not even getting you at least a little eye candy to make, what I am sure was, a short Friday at the office even better (As a token of my goodwill, I present to you a gift: these two droids).

Before we get to the goods (other than the ones we just gave you), the staff here at GameTime, TBD© would like to send out our thoughts and prayers to the Wooden family. As I am sure you all know by now, "The Wizard of Westwood" was recently admitted to the UCLA Medical Center. Most people wonder how I became such a big fan of UCLA since I did not go there and did not have an family go there until much later in life (when my sister married a Bruin and my Better Half went to grad school). Well, as a young basketball fan growing up in Southern California whose only NBA allegiance was to a team playing thousands of miles away (the Pistons), it was pretty easy to learn to love UCLA basketball and the great tradition of the program created by Wooden. I have printed his pyramid of success more than a few times and refer to it often. I can still pick up my (personally-signed) copy of A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, read a chapter or two, and instantly feel motivated to be the best I can be. If you have not seen the documentary on Wooden's time at UCLA, The UCLA Dynasty [Editor's Note: no, we do not own shares of Amazon.com], do yourself a favor and pick up a copy and check it out. The man truly was, is, and always will be the greatest coach in the history of sports. So, Coach, we are pulling for you. Get well soon. After all, Steve Lavin will probably need some advice on how to actually coach a basketball team. Who else will he be able to call?

Well, it certainly is not our intention to bum anyone out on a Friday. So we feel it is only appropriate to find the best, most entertaining stories from the past week or so to help get you through the rest of your Friday. What is that you say? You would not mind some more attractive ladies? Well, I think we can accommodate that:

• We start with a small request: help us get some GameTime, TBD© buzz going. We would like to retire sooner rather than later.
• If England seems a little tense during its opening match against the United States next week, I think we will all know why. In related news, Abigail Clancy--fiancee to English striker Peter Crouch--is hot.
• Surprise, surprise. No one likes the new ball designed specially for the World Cup.
• Even Brazilian sex workers are trying to cash in on the World Cup craze (no, we are not talking about that . . . get your mind out of the gutter).
• Apparently we all need to be paying a little more attention to women's tennis . . .
  
• . . . and the Women's College World Series.
• So you got robbed by a couple "professional" ladies, what is the big deal? Oh, I see.
• The Florida Marlins cordially invite you to a game that already happened.
• Apparently steroids do not have as great of affect on the player's ability to go deep as we thought. And, yes, cropping that photo was totally uncalled for by Yahoo!. Allow us to correct their mistake.
• As much as I dislike the San Francisco Giants, I do love me a good, funny Tim Lincecum story.
• I actually strongly disagree with this man's suggestion. Believe it or not, they do actually hate each other that much.
• As if the sport of cycling was not enough of a joke already.
• The pussification of youth sports continues.

I actually have a lot to say on that last topic, and it is something we plan on addressing in the upcoming weeks. First, we have to get the Chief [Editor's note: *insert sheepish grin and shoulder shrug here*] to finish up the Kings year-in-review piece he has been writing, re-writing, and re-re-writing for the past few weeks. So, while we go lecture him on the art of closing [Editor's note: which I, myself, did not master until I met my Better Half], here are some videos for you all to enjoy on this fine Friday:

• Today does feel like it is going to be a great day, but probably not for the same reason as his. . . .
  
• . . . I think it has more to do with this.
• I sincerely hope you bit the bullet and proposed to your better half before this video hit "the net". If not, sucks to be you . . . or, do whatever you can to make sure she never learns of its existence . . . but let us be honest, twenty of her girlfriends have already forwarded it to her saying something like, "he's made you wait 5 years, so he better do something like this." Yes, my friend, you. are. screwed.
• "This is why women aren't in charge of sports." Yikes.
• I wonder how many drinks it took to get this guy to go all Dukes of Hazard on his way out of the airport.
• We close with the greatest (cover band) drummer ever. EVER.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I . . . Was . . . Ruh-ning

Announcer Voice: "Hailing from Redondo Beach, California, he measures in at six feet, two inches and weighs a svelte 230 pounds. He runs a popular sports blog out of his mom's basement office. Wearing bib number [censored], please welcome Th-uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-ef!" [*fanfare, fanfare, fanfare . . . trumpets, trumpets, trumpets . . . applause, applause, applause*]

That is right, my friends, in just under ten weeks [Editor's Note: TEN WEEKS?!?!?!?!?!], the Chief will hit the streets in his first official half marathon. I do not know how it happened exactly, but one Monday, a little over a month ago, the Chief walked into the office and declared "I'm running the San Francisco Half Marathon." At first there was laughter; it was just the Chief trying to lighten the mood around the office on a Monday. The look on his face, however, made it clear this was not a joke. The laughter was not because we thought he could not do it. This is a guy who can accomplish anything he actually sets his mind to. It is just . . . well . . . the things he normally sets his mind to do not involve running 13.1 miles. Beat Goldeneye in a single night? Sure. Tackle the "Century Club"? Naturally. Create a moderately successful blog focusing on hot chicks and sports? Consider it done. But, run a half marathon? Get out of here.

Well, as it turns out, he was serious about it, and is now seriously preparing to pound major pavement on July 25th. He has spent the last month working on his overall fitness (something he has been doing most of the year) and this week he started his official ten-week training program. His goal is to finish in under two hours, which translates to just over nine-minute miles. He did run cross country in high school, so that is not a completely unrealistic goal. But high school was ten years ago [Editor's Note: TEN YEARS AGO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!] and about fifty pounds. Regardless, we are behind him one hundred percent and we hope sincerely hope all our dedicated readers will get behind him as well . . . except, of course, for all of our hot female readers. The Chief would like you to stay in front of him . . . you know, as motivation. Especially my Better Half . . . wait, what?

Anyways, we think he can do it. And we will do what ever we can to make sure he keeps pushing through all the ups and downs of training. That means we better get started on finding ways to keep him motivated (A video remix of Forrest Gump running to Flock of Seagulls? Sure, why not?). So while we start our search for motivation (and, please, feel free to email us with anything you think might help), here some news stories you might have missed from the past week:

• We lead off with a hot girl from Massachusetts [Editor's Note: They exist?] with a sports connection. What could be better?
• Finally, someone was willing to write a well thought out piece about performance-enhancing drugs . . . to which the average person will respond: "Oh yeah? Well, Barry Bonds still sucks."
• At this point, it appears Armstrong is the only person in the Tour de France NOT using PEDs. Interesting . . .
• Daniel Nava [Editor's Note: who?] is hopelessly devoted to Erin Andrews. GameTime, TBD©, on the other hand, is just hopelessly devoted to pageviews.
• The sad truth that baseball games take far too long was recently scientifically proven as true as only such things can be scientifically proven: an amazing bet amongst friends.
• It is always nice to see a local sports team support the other local teams of the other sports. And then there is Pittsburgh. First there was the unsolicited offer to buy. Then there was the article by someone who has never heard of the concept "proportional response". And now its the public/other journalists turn to respond. You stay classy, Pittsburgh.
• Huh, a country enforcing its own immigration laws with little-to-no uproar. Weird.
• "They call it importing." As Mike Florio astutely points out, the Government would probably call it something else.
• Golf Cart 1, NFL Lineman 0.
• Anyone who thinks you can capture Gus Johnson's greatness in a non-live situation is sorely mistaken. Yeah, I am talking to you EA Sports.
• Dear Fellow Australian Rules Footballers, It is cool if you are gay, but please keep it to yourself . . . forever. Sincerely, Dude Rocking Bleached Hair With A Dark Beard.
• Shrimp with a fake gun versus giant rugby player with a chair. Who you got? [Editor's Note: with video goodness.]
• Snap into a SlimJim a second wedding.
• Guerdwich Montimer was truly committed to his lie.

You know, all this PED talk has got us thinking: maybe we should consider a little HGH/blood doping regimen for the Chief during his training. What do you think? Do you think they drug test amateur runners for inconsequential half marathons? Okay, we are just kidding . . . but seriously . . . kidding . . . seriously. You know what we think? You will enjoy this regimen of entertaining videos:

• If your coffee was not enough to get you going on this Friday . . .
• "Dude Perfect" (those basketball trick shot "dudes" from Texas A&M) now has corporate sponsorship. Really?
• This Nike commercial for the World Cup has been described as "bloated, overwrought, meta-referential, but sorta awesome". Indeed.
• Preteen? Wipes out on skateboard. Board? Snaps in half, jabbing him in a tender area. Balls? "[F-bomb]ing bleeding!" [Editor's Note: Language is, obviously, NSFW. If you want to see just how (un)supportive this kid's friends are, feel free to check out the full version. Maybe he should have stopped after the second try, no?]
• A week old, but still funny.
  
• WHAT?!?!?! No new "Week In Unnecessary Censorship"? What are we to do? Go with an old one? Good call.
• Wasted guy versus flip flops. Who you got?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ever Heard of a Calendar?

So there we were, at our "office" meeting last weekend. My Better Half had prepared some nice homemade treats and put some beer on ice. The Chief was settled in, ready to watch some sports and lay out GameTime, TBD©'s strategy for surviving the dog days of summer. Believe you me, he has got some great ideas. It will not be long before we are back providing you the kind of hard-hitting, insightful, revolutionary content you all became so accustomed to. And the Chief was ready to lay it all for you, the avid readers, in this week's Link Dump. That is when I had to ask the tough question: have you looked at the calendar Chief?

At first I thought I was going to lose my job. But the Chief . . . he is a gentle soul. Plus, I think he realized it was more his oversight than anyone else's. The oversight I am referring to is this. Tomorrow the cast and crew of GameTime, TBD© are headed to Music City, USA (that's Nashville if you didn't know) for Agman's wedding. We only had to change our hotel reservations twice in light of the recent flooding, but everything else is a go. And we have remembered to pack our floaties just in case the water decides it wants to come out and play some more. And just when he seemed to be coming to terms with a one week delay for the 'big reveal" (Editor's Note: that's what she said!), I had to remind him that next week his actual office retreat. I can not say I have ever officially delivered a cock punch, but this could definitely be the closest I have ever come. That was when the "office" meeting went from battle plans to beer pong, and beer pong turned into a long Sunday morning on the golf course.

Please do not shoot the messenger, but we have to delay our . . . um . . . reboot for a few weeks. The Chief is putting the finishing touches on his season review and promised to finalize it during the plane ride home. So expect at least some fresh prospectives on life sometime next week. Unfortunately, you will have to live without an official Link Dump both this week and next. However, we do not want to leave you completely empty handed. Here are three videos to help you at least pass a little time on your Friday:

• With all the silicone and saline in that room, those girls certainly do not have to worry about drowning in a flood.
• Hoist his sack? Why do you think my Better Half is going to Nashville with me?
• I will certainly never forget the epic "Cheating Wife Game".

Have a great weekend everyone!

Where to Next, Chief?

I will be honest with you (as we here at GameTime, TBD© always are), the Chief took his Kings' defeat last Sunday night and, thus, the end of the Kings' season pretty well. Sure, on Monday there were a few "I can't believe the season's over" and "Man, they had them", but other than that, we were quite surprised there were no random outbursts or wasted time where he just stared out the window into nothingness. The Chief is a trooper.

That being said, we do not have much of an introduction for this week's Link Dump. The end of the hockey season means we are now stuck with NBA playoffs (which don't become interesting until June) and the second (of seven) month of Major League Baseball's regular season. The Chief did admit that it was too soon to be writing his end of season review, after all, a man has to grieve. But he did promise he already has a theme and an outline and his epic season in review will be forthcoming, just not yet. But once that is done, the dog days of summer really set in and we have to get creative to keep you all entertained (you are entertained, right?) and coming back for more. So the Chief has called a "team meeting" this weekend at his place so that we can lay out a battle plan for the upcoming months until the actual sports of the sports world getting interesting again. My Better Half has even promised to be there, as she hopes contributing more to this wonderful site might be the much needed stress relief she been looking for during the weekdays.

So, while we all start brainstorming some ideas that we can discuss this weekend [read: take a "lawyer lunch" and go home early], here are some things you might have missed to help you pass the time until your Friday comes to an end:

• With the Nightmare on Elm Street remake (which happens to feature Friday Night Lights hottie Tami Taylor) hitting theaters today, Bleacher Report put together a list of the "25 Worst Nightmare Moments in Sports".
• This is good stuff all around. Enjoy.
• Looking for a new pair of shoes?
• If you want to boycott Arizona, boycott Arizona. But the 2011 All Star Game? That is getting a little ridiculous. [Editor's Note: also, it's important to check your facts before calling for a boycott of certain products.]
  
• "Said Tracy: 'When I went out there to check on him, I asked if (the foul tip) knocked anything else loose that I need to know about.'”
• It looks like there is a budding bromance between two hoodie-loving coaches.
• Zack Follett is rapidly rising my list of "Favorite Lions Players". The reason? See for yourself. [Editor's Note: with video goodness.]
• Nothing like a little home-city gamesmanship during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• "They're striking, yes! But in a regular kind of way." My, you truly know how to flatter the ladies.
• Speaking of the Capitals, it is nice to see their devastating Game 7 loss did not stop at least one player from doing the right thing.
• Horse fans, here is a simple yet thorough guide to the most important parts of this weekend's Kentucky Derby.
• He might not be repeating as "Coach of the Year", but he should get a few votes for team MVP.
• What were they driving, a clown car?
• This story comes as a surprise to no one.

I do not know about you, but I would not mind seeing a little more of Tami Taylor around these parts over the next few months. I wish my fictional principal looked that good in aviators at my fictional high school. Certainly would make all the fictional trouble I would have gotten into more worthwhile. Speaking of good looking, here are some good looking clips we picked out to help make your afternoon go by a little faster:

• These chicks are hot in a nonfiction sort of way. [Editor's Note: The Chief and a couple of his friends pass this video along every Friday morning to help them make it through the final push. A rough estimate indicates they account for 1 million of the 6.1 million views. I can't say I blame them. And that's why you've gotten it three weeks in a row now.]
• While people go nuts over Bango the Buck's recent dunk, Seattle Super Sonics fans (or people who used to be anyways) wonder: "Haven't we seen this before?" I just wonder who thought this would be a good idea during a basketball game.
• David Stern is getting upset with all this criticism of officiating during the NBA Playoffs. Dave, if things like this did not happen, we would not be talking about it.
• I hope Duncan Keith has as good of aim on the ice as he does off of it.
• While we generally try to avoid political discussion around here, GameTime, TBD© fully supports this call to action by a Purdue University student.
• Since you all seemed to like it last week, here is this week's "Week in Unnecessary Censorship" from Jimmy Kimmel.
• "To protect against chemical weapons." Brilliant.
• [Editor's Note: UPDATE! We had one glaring omission from this week's video section, and we feel terrible. Do not forget to support the men and women of the armed forces who proudly serve our country . . . and make videos like this. ]
  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh Boy, . . .

. . . this is definitely not what we needed on the day GameTime, TBD© makes its triumphant return to the blog-o-sphere. We finally had the Chief back to one hundred percent, and now this. I mean, do not get us wrong, he is still technically at one hundred percent, but now his mind has gone off the reservation. And, it you have ever seen A Beautiful Mind, you know, like the rest of us, when a mind that powerful goes off the reservation, bad things can happen.

For the past week we have been working to get all our little ducks in a row. Clearly, we had failed you all, and we could not stand for it any longer. We had strategy sessions, bounced various topics back-and-forth, made sure we were all on the same page, and got things ready. We all felt it best to go with the Link Dump as our return to glory: entertaining, short, simple. It is like coming off the disabled list, you just want to get that first game under your belt before you really get back to full speed. We were (and still are, the links are below, we promise) all systems go. And then Wednesday happened.

As avid readers, you are all intimately aware of the Chief's love for his Los Angeles Kings. And after eight long years, they were finally back in the playoffs. The Chief did his best to stay level headed; yes they had made, but was it realistic to think they could actually beat Vancouver? After all, Vancouver was the highest scoring team in the Western Conference during the regular season, they have the Art Ross Trophy winner in Henrik Sedin, and they have a Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie in Roberto Luongo. Do not get us wrong, the Chief has an abundance of faith in his Kings, but could he really ask for anything more than a competitive series? Well, for the first three games, it was a competitive series and then some. The Kings were only inches away from have a 3-0 series lead heading into Wednesday night's Game 4, but the Kings faithful (the Chief included) were thrilled with the 2-1 series lead. While the Chief certainly had not bought into the hype that the series was all but over, he certainly was really starting to believe the Kings could advance. But then Game 4 happened. Yes, he understands the Kings had the lead heading into the third period and that not once during the regular season had they lost a game in regulation when leading after two. But if you watched the game, it was slipping away from the Kings at the start of the second. By the third period, it was practically a foregone conclusion; the Kings did not stand a chance. Henrik Sedin was the puppet master and the Kings his marionettes. Yes, it was that ugly.

We have reassured the Chief on several occasions the series is far from over, but there are no words to describe how nervous he is heading into tonight's Game 5. In general, the Chief is a pretty laid back guy, even keel if you will. We are willing to wager, however, that his blood pressure is running more than a little elevated today and will continue to rise as the game approaches (of course, the two Starbucks certainly aren't helping either). We do not know if they make a carpet thick enough to withstand his pacing, but if they do, we need to order some for the office before Game 6 gets here on Sunday.

So, while we spend the afternoon running a Google search on carpet manufacturers, here are some things you might have missed to help pass the time until Game 5 the weekend gets here:

• Sometimes the post speaks for itself. This is one of those times.
• Yes, Tebow went in the first round to Denver last night, and, yes, several people took the . . . um . . . err . . . "classy" approach when tweeting their feelings about the pick. [Editor's Note: the Lions crushed it . . . CRUSHED IT . . . last night. Way to go Mayhew.]
• A tough break for those of you with Drew Brees in your keeper leagues.
• Boy, I would really like to know what some random psychologist thinks about this whole Ben Roethlisberger situation . . . oh . . . thanks Denver Post.
• This press release from BYU omits the following pertinent fact: the two were dating. That, in-and-of-itself, is not a violation of the honor code . . . but, if the rumors around campus are true, him "violating" her "honor code" certainly is. [Editor's Note: Hey-OH!]
• This is the type of NCAA Tournament expansion we can get behind. When a sixteen finally beats a one, then we can talk about ninety-six teams.
• And the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry has officially gone too far.
• Speaking of the Yankees, you stay classy (Jeter Sucks) A-Rod.
• And a souvenir for a(n) (un)lucky fan.
• When are you not gay enough for a gay softball league?
• There is nothing quite like watching two wealthy incompetents battle over $6.75 million . . . especially when one of those incompetents is Donald Sterling.
• Yes, I realize he is receiving $3 million, but I still think this is an abuse of eminent domain. The judicial system should be ashamed.
  
• "He said there were 'like, 14 boys' tackling one another and horsing around, 'like boys do - nothing else happened'" . . . if by "nothing else" you mean that whole tea-bagging part his son might have "forgot" to mention.
• I might not be a rocket scientist, but is that really a performance enhancer for track and field athletes? I mean, what about aerodynamics?

So, we are now t-minus six hours and thirty-five . . . nay . . . thirty-four minutes from the scheduled face off of Game 5 and the Chief is on cup three of Starbucks. Someone needs to call the Chief's Better Half STAT and make sure she pads all the walls to their family room before he gets home. Maybe you can convince her to set up a hidden video camera to record (most of) the events of the evening for us to use as next week's viewing entertainment portion of the Link Dump. In the meantime, here are some clips for you to enjoy this week:

• A tradition unlike any other: your Friday motivation.
• Man, I can not wait for this movie to come out.
• Sharply hit foul ball headed for your young son while you sit enjoying a helmet-bowl sundae, do you: (1) drop the sundae and protect your son, or (b) go for the amazing one-handed-foul-ball grab? Let us go to the video.
• It is always nice to see people get what they deserve.
• Jimmy Kimmel's "This Week in Unnecessary Censorship" never disappoints.
• Axis of Awesome [Editor's Note: great band name gents!] proves that all it takes is four chords.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sorry

Howdy strangers. Did you miss us? We sincerely apologize for the extended absence. The Chief has been on the road a lot lately, and that has caused things to grind to screeching halt around. His busy travel schedule culminated with a bachelor party in New Orleans last weekend. Needless to say, he is still not playing at 100% (by Tuesday we were strongly considering a trip to the 15-day disabled list to open up a roster spot). The Chief has made several assurances he will be back to full strength by next Monday, but . . . well . . . it is the weekend and we have some concerns about his ability to call it an early night. Especially because Game Two of the Los Angeles Kings' opening round playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks goes down on Saturday night.

Although we do not have the time or resources available for a full post today, we promise to be back up and running at full capacity next week. That being said, the Chief requested three things for this post:

(1) A picture of Marisa Miller, because that usually makes everyone feel better.
Check.

(b) A link to a music video that is guaranteed to get you fired up for a great Friday.

Check.

(iii) That we some how find a way to reiterate just how much the Chief hates Randy Jones right now. For those of you who did not watch Game One last night, Randy Jones is the Kings' useless defenseman whose attempt at a blind backhanded pass across the center of the ice directly led to the Canucks' game winner. So here we go:

DAMN YOU RANDY JONES! HOPE YOU ENJOY RIDING THE BENCH. HAVE FUN IN THE MINORS FOR THE REST OF YOUR CAREER.

Check.

Have a great weekend everyone.

What Are You Doing Today?

It has arrived. Let the games begin. I hope you all got your fifteen brackets filled out and ready to go. For those of you stuck at work, we are here to help:



Gus Johnson not your cup of tea? You work for some Communists who might have blocked streaming video? Well, how about a gallery of Marisa Miller squeezing her rack into some bikinis? You. Are. Welcome.

Sorry my Better Half is not available for a running diary of all the days action. She is somewhere in the air between Los Angeles and Chicago on her way to visit BFF.

Enjoy the first day of games everyone; especially those men who got snipped this week just so they could stay at home for these two days. God bless your commitment.

Oh the Madness!!!

[Editor's Note: we've been having some technical difficulties with the site over the past couple of days and few things are still not back to normal. If anything appears out of the ordinary or is not working properly, we apologize. Hopefully we'll be back up a running properly soon . . . and hopefully this Link Dump works properly.]

So, Selection Sunday is right around the corner and all the major sports media outlets have there Cinder-Bracket-Bouble-Ology-Watch-Ella stories running at full speed. As always, I am uber-excited for the tournament, especially after (knock on wood) the Bruins complete their magical run to the tournament this weekend (nothing says dominant conference like your conference tournament champion getting a 14 seed). As usual, I will be spending some of the opening weekend in Las Vegas with my friends going to some shows placing bets on random five-twelve match-ups.

But as excited as I am for Selection Sunday and the start of the Tournament, there is one thing about this time of year that gets me annoyed: all the other bracket-type features websites and blogs run this time of year. I can not tell you how many emails we get around this time of year or how many links pop up on our favorite sites directing us to some bracket trying to determine "The Greatest Sports Movie of All Time" (Caddieshack), or "The College with the Hottest Chicks" (decent), or "The Best Celebrity Couple", or, of course "The Hottest Woman" (ok, I can get behind that one . . . that's what she said . . . ba-ZING). Even How I Met Your Mother had an episode based on a bracket (but that one was totally awesome, no complaints here). I mean, look, if Sports Illustrated wants to decide the "Hottest Swimsuit Photo of All Time", you are not going to see me complaining (though, let's agree to disagree on the result . . . a fair choice, but I think a little swayed by Ms. Decker's current popularity . . . plus, the bracket lost all credibility once the editors decided to leave out this picture). But why does it have to be in bracket form and why does it have to in March? Is March "Bracket Appreciation March"? Did Congress declare March "National Bracket Month"? I mean, it is only a matter of time before someone starts up "The Best Non-NCAA Tournament Bracket" bracket (hmm . . . I could be onto something, maybe I should copyright that or something . . . anyone know a good attorney?). And then, it is only a matter of time until the whole world comes to an end, which is kind of a bummer.

I do not normally say something like this, but it should let you know just how tired of this I am: please do not send me any links to brackets. I spend a decent amount of times on sports websites and blogs, so there is a good chance (read: I guarantee) I have seen it already. I know, I know, I am not one to chastise my readers, but a man can only take so much. I hope you understand where I am coming from on this one though, and can find it in your heart to stick around as a GameTime, TBD© fan. Maybe these will help:

• If you had the Hartford Courant in the "First Paper to Run Article About How NCAA Office Pool Will Turn You Into a Degenerate" pool, please collect your winnings to the right.
• I was under the impression Tiger did not have much of an image left to manage.
  
• Jim Schwartz goes all ex-boyfriend-stalker crazy to land himself a top free agent; no complaints here.
• Yes Dan, you are just an idiot.
• Lethargy rehab? Is nothing safe from rehab theses days?
• When you are used to playing in hockey hotbeds like Raleigh and Nashville, things in D.C. can be scary.
• The Canada Post puts out amber alert on hockey cards.
  
• So, about that time you had sex with your sister . . .
• I do not know what is sodder, the fact Florida State has a "Sod Cemetery" or that someone bothered to asterisk each of the vacated wins.
• The Pinstripe Bowl? Is that really something we need?
• This year's MLB pre-season "race remarks taken out of context" are brought to you by [*spins wheel*]: Torii Hunter.
• Looks like Nails has gotten himself caught in yet another [legal] pickle.
• It must be a contract year.
• Some quick math tells me that is 1,050 per prostitute for the entire event, or thirty-five per prostitute per day. Gross.

I know what you are thinking right about now: "It's the week before the NCAA tournament. Here comes the 'UCLA comeback versus Gonzaga' video clip". Do not be silly. That clip is worthy of its own post each and every year and you can rest assured that post will come next Wednesday. In the meantime, here are some crazy-entertaining non-NCAA Tournament clips for your viewing pleasure:

• Nothing says "It's baseball season" like a bench-clearing brawl with not one, but two felony assaults.
• While Jimmy Fallon might have fallen short on his Saved by the Bell reunion efforts, he certainly knocked this one out of the park.
• And then he topped off the week with this reunion.
• My Better Half and I are visiting my Bro and SIL at the end March and we plan on seeing a Boston Bruins hockey game. We better also see this.
• Real bears playing hockey. Enough said.+
• This was an inexcusable omission from last week's Link Dump. Rest assured, we have addressed the issue and "taken care of it".
• Look at that, Heidi Montag (at least I think that's Heidi Montag) did something almost funny.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Time To Let It Out

The Chief can not decide whether he should be happy or insulted that nothing came into the GameTime, TBD© inbox inquiring about our weekly gift to the World Wide Web last week. While we are sorry we were not able to get you a Link Dump last week, Kristen Bell seemed to ease your pain nicely. But for the record, the Chief does actually agonize over the things that go on around these parts of the Internet, which is why you get the following Link Dump introduction this week:

As the deposition I [Editor's note: The Chief] was stuck on last Friday pushed on to its tenth (of 12.5 . . . happy Friday to you to) hour, I decided to zone out for a bit and take a look at some of the more recent GameTime, TBD© posts. That is when it hit me: I have really done a solid job of avoiding posting original material on here lately.

My Better Half is always trying to get me to open up more about how I am feeling, and probably for good reason. I have always played it pretty close to the chest when it comes what is going on with the big guy. I have been working on that and, while progress may be slow, it is progressing. But now I realize this same pattern of behavior has spilled over to the pages of GameTime, TBD©. You see, I started this blog for two reasons: (1) as a creative outlet from my otherwise not-so-creative-outlety job (a little mental stimulation is good for the soul), and (b) to provide the world with a little west coast regarding sports and chicks . . . but mostly sports and mostly my Los Angeles Kings. In previous years (3.5 and counting!), I was pretty successful at doing so. But that changed this year and I think I have figured out why. In previous years, the Kings were bad. And let us be honest, we are talking Whitney-Houston-Recent-Australia-Performance bad. So it was easy to make light of the situation, crack a few jokes, and tell everybody that next year is going to be different. Well, the problem is, the ever illusive "next year" has finally arrived. I have waited eight years for the "next year" to actually get here, and now that it has I have held everything in. As sad as it sounds, I have been living and dying with every game, waiting for the shoe to drop. And I have been afraid that if I start talking about it, the dream might end. But now I realize that is not fair to you, the avid reader, me, the man aging twenty years in one hockey season, or my Better Half, who nobly sits next me during every game. I also realize that I should not be afraid of what is going on, but rather, I should embrace it. So I vow to stop holding it in and finally let it out . . . as only I can (which means some pop culture references, a lot of crazy talk . . . oh, and a bunch of hot chicks). And I promise it will start with something new being produced this weekend. You. Are. Welcome.

Well, clearly I have got a lot of work to do, so I best be getting to it. So, while I go saddle up my horse (that's what she said), here are some things you might have missed from the past week or two:

• Olympians have been shown to be much more satisfied with a bronze than a silver, even though it is clearly the Jan Brady of medals.
• Note to self: Steve Williams, not a good wingman (ladies, I'm just joking . . . but seriously . . . joking . . . seriously).
• "I haven't seen Tiger since the late '90s", but that check he sent me last week to write this sure was nice.
• Bill Simmons compared Tiger's eventual comeback to that of Muhammad Ali. Want to see how it turned out?
• Here is a golf story about a girl named Kandi (yes, with a "K") and it somehow does not involve Tiger. Go figure.
• "As I stood there looking like a Roy Orbison impersonator in my specially polarized glasses, I made a mental note to call my wife and apologize for the money we'll be dropping on 3-D televisions in the next few years."
• Highlights of this story include: "DUI", "Chevrolet Equinox", "bike patrol officer", "cited and released", and "Oregon Cheerleader" . . . who can be seen here on the left.
• Kansas to Kentucky: We see your Ashley Judd, and raise you one "adult" film star.
• Perhaps the Oregon cheerleading team should steal a play out of the Texas A&M-Commerce (Casino?) football playbook.
• I do not buy it. I am fairly confident Erin Andrews is plenty used to spinning and turning in heels. [Editor's Note: Hey-OH!]
• Can someone please tell me what exactly "digital insertion with their fingers" means?
• When sports stars talk about money, it is usually just as funny as you would expect.

I always hear that "admitting you have a problem" is the first step to recovery, and I have got to tell you, I think they are right. I am super geeked right now. Just thinking about all the things I have to talk about has really got the blood flowing. Just in case those stories were not enough to get your blood flowing, these videos should help do the trick:

• My favorite part of the NFL offseason went down on Monday. Have a look.
• Wind 1, Team 0.
• Our boy from Tweet Boxx is back, but now he is laying down the law in his office. [Editor's Note: strong language.]
• I am sure by now you all know ESPN got pranked by Howard Stern's Captain Janks at Scott Van Pelt's expense. On the off chance you have not actually seen it yet, here you go.
• I think, for once, I am actually going to side with the coach.
• Douchy McDoucherson has come out of retirement . . . and he is douchier than ever.
• As my friend Barnicle put it: "It's like the best Mouse Trap game ever."

Have a great weekend everyone!