The Funniest Joke In The World

LT out of SD

The Sand Diego Chargers released LaDainian Tomlinson on Wednesday after nine years with the team. Injuries and age (he's 30) have caught up with Tomlinson, though LT seems to think Norv Turner's pass-heavy offense explains some of his recent troubles. Despite that, he's still one of the best who's ever played: 12,490 rushing yds (8th all-time), 138 rushing TDs (2nd), and 153 total TDs (3rd). Tomlinson has rushed for 1,000 or more yards in 8 of his nine seasons, he also rushed for 1,815 yds in 2006 when he had 9 consecutive games of 100 or more yards. Also, I can't find the stats, but I suspect Tomlinson and thrown more TDs than any modern RB.

This makes me feel old. LT is the first superstar I can recall knowing about in college and following in the pros through their decline. For most of the past decade he's been a fantasy force (leading my team to the 1st championship in league history) and arguably the best RB in the NFL. It's strange to think that he won't be a candidate for the #1 fantasy draft pick next year, if he's even in the top 10.

Go for the Gold.

Now that the US Men's Hockey Team is playing for the gold after beating Finland 6-1 (Would you believe I actually know someone who is in Finland right now?), I might actually watch my first Olympic action of the year. The puck drops at 3:15 PM ET time on Sunday.

$1 Million

That's how much a "Very Fine" copy of "Action Comics #1" sold for this week. The comic originally cost ten cents. "Action Comics #1" features the first appearance of Superman and is considered to be the first superhero comic book in history. According to Wikipedia, there's less than ten "Very Good" (readable, not ripped apart) or better copies known to exist, so it is basically the "holy grail" of comic collecting, the single most famous comic book in existence. Or, if you're a baseball card collector, it's the equivalent of a Honus Wagner card, except that the general public might understand the appeal. Well, to the extent that anyone can understand why a person would pay $1 million for and old pamphlet printed on low quality paper. In case you're wondering, the next 885 issues aren't worth quite so much. All of that was mostly an excuse to post a picture of the cover.

Major and Minor

While it does bring a smile to my face that Michigan has been found guilty by the NCAA of exceeding "countable practice-time limits", I don't have much to say about it. But this quote, from athletic director Dave Brandon, did catch my eye:

I'm not sure I understand the difference between major and minor. We need to overlay what the NCAA is telling us with what the internal investigation is telling us. We have to find where the mistakes were made, how were they made and was there any intent.

I know NCAA rules are pretty ridiculous, but isn't the difference between major and minor violations the kind of a thing an AD should know? Maybe there's something in context that makes that sound better, but it sticks out as presented in the story.

?

A few questions to those following baseball more closely than I am in the wake of the Tigers signing Johnny Damon:

1. The Tigers paid plenty, is Damon worth it? Even I know that the Tiger offense was awful last season, will Damon make enough of a difference to be worth the money? Or worth it when you factor in the fact that he's also not with the White Sox?

2. Would it be confusing to have played for both the Red Sox and the White Sox?

3. Is Damon going to grow his beard back?

4. Can Jim Leyland really cut down on the swearing?

Cheese Shop

Darko & Cardinal

There's an interesting article at Yahoo! Sports blong "Ball Don't Lie" about former Pistons Darko Milicic and Brian Cardinal, brought about by the fact that they were traded for each other today. Short version: Larry Brown screwed up Darko, Cardinal is better than stats would suggest.

Banned

Life must be pretty boring for a suburban squirrel. Food is plentiful and there are few natural predators. So what's a thrill-seeking bushy-tailed rodent to do? Maybe start riding rollercoasters? (Via Best of the Web @ WSJ)

Starlight

Now This I Like

Okay, I went on a bit of a rampage when MSU was intending to change the Spartan logo. That wasn't the only change being discussed as the Board of Trustees replace the current green (on the left) with a new shade (on the right).


And you know what? I'm cool with it. I mentioned when writing about the logo that I would be fine with them standardizing the green, making it more like the shade of the football helmets, which is pretty similar to the new green. Practically every piece of Spartan gear that I own is approximately the new shade anyway, so I can't see it being a big deal. See? I can (Guza voice) be reasonable.

Mismatch

Obama today, via the Washington Examiner:

The real problem has to do with the fact that there is just a mismatch between the amount of money coming in and the amount of money going out. And that is going to require some big, tough choices that, so far, the political system has been unable to deal with.

I think everyone can agree on that. The problem is whether to fix the "coming in" or the "going out."

Quote of the Day

"Liberalism is always one more tutorial away from sunshine and lollipops for everyone."

-Jonah Goldberg, Planned Summit Is Just an Infomercial in Disguise

Texas?

According to a story in the Detroit News, there is a report that the Big Ten has had "preliminary exchanges" with Texas concerning expansion.

Really?

No way does Texas join the Big Ten. First, there's the obvious geographical issues. Texas is deep in Big 12 country. Second, there's no way the Big 12 would let the (arguably) highest profile team leave the conference. Third, does the Big Ten really want to add a team that will come in and dominate the conference? Penn State was a good team when they joined the conference, but they've still only won two titles. How long would it take Texas to beat that? Three seasons.

No way does this happen.

Scientist Salarian

More Mass Effect humor:

Victory for MSU

MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis released a statement today with this key passage:

Our identity and branding process is nearing completion and is on schedule for a complete rollout in April. The elements and applications of the brand design will be unveiled collectively at that time. After careful consideration, we will use the current Spartan logo design, first used in the late 1970s, to build our visual brand identity. Using sound branding principles, the university will continue to register some variations of our Spartan logo in order to ensure that this symbol is well protected and firmly associated with Michigan State University. As an athletic department, we are excited about our branding and identity process. We understand, given the tremendous exposure we bring to the university, that our work is an important part of Michigan State's overall university brand. As we go forward, we will ensure that elements of the athletics visual brand identity align with and support the university brand.

That's good news. I've been hard on Hollis through this controversy, but I'll give him credit for making the right decision in the end, and making sure to respond to the fans. I received this statement in an email reply to my original message which said I'd cancel my season tickets if the logo changed. I don't know how much work that ended up being for who, but it made me feel like my opinion mattered. Now if we could get something like an apology from Izzo this whole thing could fade away.

RE: How times have changed....

When Michigan was forced to change the high school sports schedules I figured that girls' basketball would take a big hit and boys' basketball would feel some impact. I'm surprised it's as bad as you describe. I don't recall ever going to a boys game that wasn't mostly full at CC, and certainly not Snowcoming. Even with the economy I would expect the games to be well-attended. I guess it will be equal for everyone if both programs fold due to lack of funds.

I totally agree with you on the band. I really started to appreciate the band after going to State, but even there (or at UM), priority #1 is to support the football and basketball teams. Where else are they going to march? Where else are they going to provide "pep"? If the band isn't there for Snowcoming to play the fight song and pump the crowd up, what good are they?

RE: Super Bowl ad stokes abortion controversy

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, who is pro-choice ("I couldn't disagree with Tebow more."), has written a great article about the controversy. An excerpt:

Here's what we do need a lot more of: Tebows. Collegians who are selfless enough to choose not to spend summers poolside, but travel to impoverished countries to dispense medical care to children, as Tebow has every summer of his career. Athletes who believe in something other than themselves, and are willing to put their backbone where their mouth is. Celebrities who are self-possessed and self-controlled enough to use their wattage to advertise commitment over decadence.