Link roundup

1. How to move a Blogger blog to Wordpress. Via Blogger.

2. "Justin Bieber Takes A Picture Of Traffic, Instagram Usage Explodes."

3. I realize they have a new coach and that Ohio State's implosion has helped, but still, in light of Michigan's recent failures, it seems notable that they have the top-ranked recruiting class.

Red Bull King Of The Rock trophy

This video shows highlights from several of the qualifying rounds of Red Bull's King Of The Rock. Mildly interesting, but mostly I liked the trophy (the finals are on Alcatraz):




*Buy trophies at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Preorder links for The Old Republic ($60-$150) with an expected release date of 12/31/11. (I didn't see what the monthly subscription would cost.)

2. Grantland looks at NFL free agent busts through the years.

3. "Have we got a contest for you! Break out those Photoshop skills and place your favorite writer on our super-duper Paris Review beach towel for a chance to win exactly this towel!" Via.

4. Laughing Squid uncovered more information and video about that bowling pin car I posted a few days ago.

Link roundup

1. If Heart of Darkness had starred Cobra Commander.

2. Bill Simmons relating an anecdote from his favorite sports book:

My favorite: someone fighting with Bobby Hull, then hearing the crowd hush like something awful just happened … and realizing that he accidentally pulled Hull's toupee off. This definitely would have led SportsCenter if it existed in the late 1970's.

3. DC's comic book cover artists have a sick sense of humor.

Link roundup

1. This baseball player is apparently having the worst ever defensive year and already owns the single season strike out record.

2. Piers Morgan's involvement in the voicemail hacking scandal.

3. Analysis of Iran's role in the uprising in Bahrain.

Link roundup

1. It's 60% off posters at Zazzle with the code ZBDAYPOSTERS -- I recommend posters by Steve Thomas, Franco Brambilla, and Adam Koford.

2. Apparently there are 60,000 unsolved murders in Rio de Janeiro, and 24,000 victims haven't even been identified. Via.

3. An assertion that China will lose interest in the NBA with Yao Ming retiring. (It's certainly interesting that there's been no other Chinese players to make an impact in the NBA since him.) Via.

4. Portal to another world. And a similar photo from the same street.

5. Remastered children's books of questionable taste.

Roger Clemens trial

Jury selection begins today for the Roger Clemens trial.

I really want to believe he is innocent because I loved watching him pitch, but I don't.

I would be a very bad juror for the defense.

Link roundup

1. Reggie Bush has apparently decided not to turn over his Heisman trophy after all. (Good, let them explain some more why he shouldn't keep his trophy, but Cam Newton can.)

2. A primer on the NBA contract negotiations (it's pretty optimistic that a deal will get done).

3. Age of Conan is now free to play.

Link roundup

1. Chad Ford on the NBA draft:

The process is now both bigger and more impersonal. The more money teams spend, the more they believe they have a competitive advantage by hiding information from others. In 2001 I could get five GMs in a room to talk in detail about prospects (Jerry Krause excluded). Now … good luck. And the result? Despite all the innovations, teams are getting worse, not better, at making draft picks.

Between 1990 and 1999, 37 percent of all lottery picks turned out to be All-Stars. 31 percent were busts.

This decade, just 21 percent of all lottery picks have turned into All-Stars, while a whopping 42 percent are draft busts.

2. Team Fortress 2 is now free to play.

3. San Diego Padres pitcher Evan Scribner wearing a Yoda backpack. (Bottom of the page.)

Link roundup

1. Grantland's overview of the NBA teams making lottery picks, and guide to the expected lottery picks.

2. Design a new head for Deadmau5 contest.

3. Here's the 25% to 35% off items at Things From Another World for June. Lots of new single issues and collected editions of comics.

But where's the Bash Brothers poster?

Classic 80's athlete posters get their due at Salon 94. I'm strongly considering picking up one of the L.A. Law posters at eBay.

Soccer's Latest Bribery Scandal

I've been following international soccer since the 1974 World Cup, and if there's one thing that has been a constant, it's been the controversy.

Yesterday one of the most powerful soccer officials in the world stepped down amid a bribery scandal in exchange for FIFA sweeping the entire thing under the rug.

The accusations include handing out envelopes with $40,000 in them to officials while they listened to the World Cup pitch from Qatar, a country that inexplicably received an upcoming World Cup.

I still love watching the sport, but let's just say that the officials working in it would be very comfortable working in Chicago and/or Louisiana politics.

Link roundup

1. Top 10 NBA Draft Busts.

2. Creepy animated gif from this creepy Tumblr. Found mostly because I wanted to know what Edith Zimmerman looked like after reading this article she wrote about Chris Evans. (The first link is from her Tumblr.)

3. Penny Arcade on the fear of even mentioning hackers.

Image roundup

Bruins conquer Vancouver.



This should cost extra, right?



Tesla.

Bonus: These two were too disturbing to post.

Bonus #2: And to make up for those, here's a cat animated gif.

The Mavericks

I have to admit I didn't even watch it, but I'm happy that my Landsman Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks won the NBA Title.

It has nothing to do with hating the Heat.

OK, it has a little to do with hating the Heat.

Tip of the Iceberg

The recent story about Jim Tressel at Ohio State has shocked (Shocked!) the American public, but anyone that ever went to a big-time college and knew athletes at that college, knows that Tressel's story is just the tip of the iceberg.

Colt McCoy's wife may have thrown the University of Texas under the bus yesterday during a radio interview with Colin Cowherd. (Read her comments here.)

I went to the University of Illinois in the 80s and I personally knew basketball players and football players that drove cars they couldn't possibly afford. Granted, Illinois has been busted many times, but your school does it too. They all do.

Soccer on the radio?

Yes, it's true. From this morning's Radio Online...

"Fox Sports Radio, in conjunction with Fox Sports TV, will air the UEFA Champions League Final live on Saturday, May 28. The game, which is considered by many to be the single biggest game in the sport, is between two of the most famous soccer clubs in the world: Manchester United and Barcelona. The broadcasting team will include Curt Menefee, Eric Wynalda and Kyle Martino."

That is a huge game. Sean has a soccer tournament that day, so I'm hoping the game falls somewhere in between his games.

We're gettin' this game in, dammit!

Did you watch the entire White Sox game last night? No, you didn't. I bet many of the players on the White Sox and Rangers didn't watch the entire game.

After a three hour rain delay in Texas, it didn't end until 1:27AM.

That's ridiculous.

AJ nearly falls in W's lap

At the White Sox-Rangers game last night, Sox catcher A.J. Pierzinski was going after a foul ball, and almost ended in the lap of former President George W. Bush. And then, A.J being A.J, he made a joke to the President.

Read about it, and watch the video here.

Lance Armstrong

I wouldn't want to be Lance Armstrong today. I don't know if you saw the piece on 60 Minutes last night, but it was devastating. (Scott Pelley called it "a painful interview")

I watched the entire interview of Tyler Hamilton, and I consider myself a pretty good judge of people. He was clearly pained to be saying what he was saying, because he didn't want to throw anybody under the bus. He was given immunity, but it was conditional immunity, meaning that if he tells any lies about this case at all--the deal is off the table. If he was lying, it was an Academy Award performance.

He answered every single defense that Lance Armstrong has been using (including "no positive drug tests") and left Armstrong with no out but to call Hamilton a liar. That may work on people that didn't see the interview. It won't work with me.