Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- 15 common expressions the younger generation will not understand

- Roger Goodell is a lying liar who lies. I still think Delfategate was made such a big deal in part to change the subject from Ray Rice.

- Really interesting story on the reporter who brought down FIFA

- 12 facts you might not have known about Einstein's Theory of Relativity (missing Einstein did not win the Nobel Prize for E=MC2 mostly because the voting members were anti-Semitic)

Contagious Abortions

Sometimes bad players can be called "clubhouse cancers" but I feel that is really unfair to cancer. Look at Leah Still in Cincinnati. Or the effect Chuck Pagano's cancer had in Indianapolis. All Red Sox fans are aware of Jon Lester's battle over cancer and that has been nothing but positive in Boston. So let's ditch the phrase "clubhouse cancer".

But what do you use instead to describe players like A-Rod and Ray Rice?

I suggest the phrase "contagious abortions". What do you think? A-Rod is sure to be nothing short of a contagious abortion this spring for the Yankees. Ray Rice returning to the Ravens is going to be nothing but a series of contagious abortions. I think it works.

It would also work as a fantasy football name.

Top 5 - Thoughts on the NFL

I try to avoid these discussions on sports talk radio and elsewhere but they have become unavoidable and I feel I need to put my thoughts down in order to get them out of my head. So here's 5 things I think about the current state of the NFL.

1. Ray Rice - in my book a man who hits a woman is a cowardly piece of shit. That's not to minimize female on male or same sex domestic violence but a guy hitting a woman is a special sort of despicable in my world. Rice should be gone from the NFL permanently and I hope NFL owners realize just how heinous his acts were and how radioactive he is as a player. The people who seem to be avoiding proper scrutiny though are the judge and prosecutor who enabled a slap on the wrist even though they saw the video from inside the elevator. Those are the people who should have lost their jobs by now.

2. Adrian Peterson - this one is a little more hazy. I don't believe that corporal punishment is an effective parenting tool but the debate on spanking is complex and involves one group of people telling another how best to raise their kids (in many cases people without kids end up lecturing on parenting). I give Peterson the benefit - he was a man trying to discipline his child who is not aware of his own tremendous strength. What he did to that child is abuse though and went beyond spanking or getting the belt or getting beat with a switch. Peterson is a man with 7 kids from 5 different women - so personally I have to question if he really understands the responsibility of fatherhood. Having said that you know in his world there are women lining up to be the 6th baby momma so at a certain level this becomes more of a societal issue than an NFL one. Peterson will be employed again in the NFL though I'm not sure if it will be with the Vikings.

3. Roger Goodell - he will weather the storm over Rice and Peterson. What may cost him his job is if the recent controversies compel Congress to strip the NFL of its tax exempt status. The NFL being tax exempt is a perversion of the tax code. Goodell could lose his job as a preemptive sacrificial lamb if the owners think it will satisfy Congress enough to quell the issue or Goodell could be fired as punishment from the owners if the NFL loses tax exempt status. This is the issue people should be pushing.

4. Fantasy football - I didn't feel bad avoiding Ray Rice at my fantasy football drafts. I was just being prudent. But fantasy football made me feel dirty when it came to Adrian Peterson because, if I'm honest. my first thought on hearing the news was "Crap - I gotta get him out of my lineup." Mea culpa.

5. NFL pre-game shows - one of the side benefits of the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson allegations is I haven't watched a single minute of any NFL pre-game shows. I need sportcasters and ex-jocks discussing societal issues in my life just as much as I need Hollywood movie stars telling me how I should think politically. I haven't watched any of the shows and I haven't missed them.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Excellent oral history on Cheers. Couple of years old but still a great (re)read.

- Heh heh - Hue Grant

- This is awful - NJ prosecutor and judge who let Ray Rice walk trying to jail mother of two

- Casting Bill Murray

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I don't think it will come to this because I think Newt Gingrich will either self-destruct or people will see him for the ego-maniacal fraud that he is but if it did come down to Gingrich vs. Obama in 2012 - I might just skip voting altogether to catch a movie... Very cool - the scale of the Universe... Vinny Testaverde was also only mentioned once in Reagan's diary. I would much rather vote for Vinnie than Newt Gingrich... Pretty amazing - Tom Brady has played in 10 full seasons (he did not play in a game in 2000 and only 1 game in 2008) and today will be his 6th AFC Championship game. If that's not Jordanesque I don't know what is... If Gingrich was President - would a "Wag the Dog" scenario involving Newt starting a war to cover up a mistake surprise anyone?... On this day in 1973 LBJ passed away taking with him to the grave the secret of how he had JFK killed...  Who knew? According to Mental Floss: "Cheerios and Circus Peanuts Candy" may not sound like a winning formula but that's the combo that inspired Lucky Charms... Today is Baltimore Ravens' Ray Rice's 25th birthday. I'd like to wish him a Happy Birthday but instead I really hope his playoff hopes are dashed by an onslaught of Patriots offense. Besides - his first name isn't Ray - it's Raymell. What kind of name is Raymell?