The Links

Is this really Heidi Montag?...... Stay classy Mississippi State fans....... A detailed look into the NBA's labor/salary structure...... UConn continues their streak of inconsistency...... Darrell Green is still faster than you...... The men's Winter Olympic hockey schedule...... Maryland rebounds from their loss to Duke, with a dominating victory over Virginia...... A pornstar claims Tiger got her pregnant twice, but her stepmother calls her a liar...... Today is Fat Tuesday, tomorrow Ash Wednesday kicking off Lent Season

Why is there a lack of Europeans playing in the NHL? (Fanhouse)

The Sports Guy may get his wish. NBA looking to revamp their Hall of Fame (True Hoop)

NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics is a case study of incompetence (Fools & Sages)

Nolan Richardson's exile from college hoops is shocking (CBS Sports)

The Monday Night Wars are back! (Camel Clutch Blog)

Top 10 signs your MLB team won't contend (Five Tool Tool)

NFL back in Los Angeles by 2011? (National Football Post)

Hell of a week for Big East basketball (The Legend of Cecilio Guante)

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro to remake Taxi Driver? (Soup)

22 MPH kick to the balls sets World record (Bob's Blitz)

Awful Announcing Makes an Appearance in Bill Simmons New Book

Okay I must admit, I bough Bill Simmons new book, 'The Book of Basketball'. I'm a sucker for Bill Simmons columns, history, and the wildness of the NBA. This book provides all three. This book so far is laced with Simmons usual sarcasm, charm, wit, and more profanity since it not on ESPN's website. It also provides the history of the NBA and how we got here. And it delves into the wild stories of the NBA, like the coke stores of the 70's and 80's, the Kermit Washington punch, and the NBA-ABA merger. It's been the perfect book so far, and I look forward to continue reading it.

The book also contains footnotes. Now I haven't seen a footnote since I read Shakespeare's 'Othello' in high school. And the only reason why there is footnotes in 'Othello' is because no one today understands Shakespeare(I did of course. I got a 100% on my 'Othello' test as a high school senior.) Simmons book features footnotes because Simmons likes to be a sarcastic. The footnotes also allow Simmons to reminisce about his favorite 80's TV shows. Again you might not like Simmons and his pop culture references, but I do.

So last night after the Sharks shootout win against the Kings, I decided to do some reading before I went to bed. I picked up Simmons book and continued to read about how the NBA go to this point. At this point of the book Simmons starts talking about how former NBA legends became broadcasters and how horrible they were.

Simmons was talking about Oscar Robertson in particular. At the end of the paragraph about Robertson's broadcasting career, there is a number to one of Simmons' footnotes. So I look down to read the footnote and it said this.......

57"It's really a shame that dude who runs "Awful Announcing" blog wasn't around back then."

This footnote appears on page 117, chapter 3 of Simmons book.

Yep, Brian and his blog Awful Announcing makes an appearance in Simmons new book. Have to love how Simmons called Brian that dude, like he's a character from The Big Lebowski.

Also you have to love how Simmons gives Awful Announcing full credit and wishes that site was around when Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, Moses Malone, and Dr. J were all broadcasters. I guess it goes to show, no matter what decade we live in, there will always be Awful Announcing.

The Links

Hello, Christina Hendricks.... Billy Bob Thornton's daughter was denied bail.... Craig Sager's suit interviews Ricky Rubio.... Indianapolis Cols players on Twitter-Peyton Manning isn't on Twitter.... In defense of the Kings drafting Jon Brockman.... The final days of Michael Jackson

Bill Simmon's annual draft diary (ESPN)

Rickey Rubio isn't feeling Minnesota (Deadspin)

Tyreke Evans will be better than Rickey Rubio (Sac Bee)

Let's just say Jordan Hill wasn't the most popular person at last night's draft (Daily News)

Are the Magic better with Vince Carter instead of Turkoglu (Pro Basketball News)

Are the Houston Rockets cursed? (Houston Chron)

Face tattoo's taken to an extreme (Ugliest Tattoo's)

Tyler Hansbrough fits in with the Pacers (Larry Brown Sports)

Tiger vs. Jimmy Fallon (Online Sports Guy)

Joe Dumars drafted for good character. What Sheed and Iverson aren't good character guys? (Detroit News)

Winners & Losers of the Draft

The Links

Meet the new Miss California, I see why she was the runner-up.... Were this close to seeing tobacco products going away forever in this county- what do you think about that Obama?.... We are finally transitioning to Digital TV.... Stan Van Jeremy doesn't like the "one and done rule" either..... 10 people and things who have the most pressure on them in Game 7 in Detroit

Bill Simmons talks NBA Finals and his book (New Yorker)

Also Simmons had Erin Andrews on his Podcast (The Arena)

Bob Barker cussing on Dan Le Betard's radio show (City of Champions)

Brad Childress is lead clown in Favre circus (NBC Sports)

Red Wings-Penguins the next big rivalry? (Free Press)

Vijah Singh is who you thought he is (Commercial Appeal)

Now Tim Sylvia is not boxing this weekend (Blood, Booze, and Bruises)

There is another Final Destination movie coming out. Do we need to watch another one of these movies.

The Links

Somali Pirates now have 20 American hostages.... 'Kumar' takes an White House office job.... Hugh Jackman is mad over 'Wolverine' leak... Jay Cutler is recruiting Plaxico Burress, just what the Bears need.... Top Memphis recruit is following Calipari to Kentucky.... And Elsa Pataky

- Simmons/Reily podcast (Awful Announcing)

- The sleepers at the Masters (Fanhouse)

- LA is getting closer to building a new stadium for an NFL team (PFT)

- Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns is a cock fighter, but he doesn't have any chickens (Deadspin)

- The Washington Redskins have a great way to choose cheerleaders (Busted Coverage)

- The man who coined the name 'Amen Corner' at the Masters (Stiles Points)

- Aaron Rowand needed to break out of his slump badly (SF Chronicle)

- Welcome to New York, C.C. and Mark (NY Post)

- The Phillies are once again off to a slow start (Philly.com)

What Does This Say About Your Team?

There is always different categories of loses. One of Bill Simmons best columns ever was his '13 Levels of Losing' column. Well last night, I just added another category of losing. After the Phoenix Suns let the Sacramento Kings beat them 126-118, this loss added another level of losing. It's the 'What Does This Say About Your Team' level.

Not only did the Suns lose to the Kings, they made them look like the old Sacramento Kings that used to run up-and-down on the court and would run a team out of the gym. Phoenix is a bad defensive team, but they allowed the Kings to score 26 points over their average.

So the question has to be ask. What does this say about your team? Phoenix is currently half a game out of the playoffs right now, and Dallas did them a favor by choking to Cleveland yesterday. But still, they gave up 126 points to the worse team in the NBA. They don't even deserve a playoff spot after that loss?

Whatever the answer is, their loss to the Kings last night does not say a whole lot about the Phoenix Suns. They might or might not stumble into the playoffs. And if they do get in the playoffs, they most likely will get blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers. Good luck the rest of the season, guys.

The Links

How do you like the new template?.... Here's a look at the mourning headlines... The Coen Brothers will re-make the John Wayne classic 'True Grit'... NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is confident the owners will vote to lengthen the NFL season... The Florida Marlins will finally build a new stadium in the old Orange Bowl grounds... Not even Obama can get the Olympics to come to Chicago... The NFL did us all an favor and scheduled a game between the Cowboys and Raiders on Thanksgiving... And Geri Halliwell

- Stephen Curry had the better night, but Patty Mills and St. Mary's won (SF Chronicle)

- Bill Simmons and Rick Reilly together? (Awful Announcing)

- Lance Armstrong's crash (Fanhouse)

- Missouri coach Mike Anderson's career is heading in opposite direction of UAB coach Mike Davis' career (AL.com)

- Gerald Henderson of Duke is going to Boston where his dad became famous (NY Times)

- Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips has spoke his first words since the season ended (Mourning-News)

- The WBC wasn't exactly popular in the States (Orlando Sentinel)

- The Midwest bracket is the best bracket in the tournament (Courier-Journal)

This video is great! A Vancouver Canucks player scores a goal on himself:

Bill Simmons, has his new column up on ESPN. The sports guy delves into the economic meltdown the NBA is facing right now. He talks about how 12 teams are going to except a loan from the league. He talks about how teams are dumping players to save money. There are less and less people showing up at NBA events. Then he looks at four other problems the league is facing, the 2011 lockout that hasn't happened yet, the fear of trading is hurting the quality of the league, louse officiating, and multiple teams could file for relocation. It's a depressing article to read, but I suggest everyone read it for your own good. (ESPN)