Why Bill Simmons is the best sports writer around

In his new article about the upcoming NBA season, he lists the people he thinks will be most intriguing during the year. This was his entry for #5 -- David Stern.

If the commish could send an e-mail to Billy Hunter that would self-destruct within 20 seconds of Hunter reading it, I think this is what it would be like:

"Hey, Billy Hunter? Did you see how I just broke the referees? You're next. I am old, I am cranky, my league is going broke and I am not going to be in the mood to mess around with this next CBA. We sent you our revenue reports. We did not doctor them. Our system is broken and needs to change. Your players make more in salaries than we generate in revenue. Don't tell the press that you and I are going to figure this out together, because I have already figured this out. Our owners are perfectly happy to take a break from losing money for a few months. We already know that your players cannot handle that same break.

"So basically, I am calling the shots again and I won't even need to grow a beard. I broke you in 1999, and believe me when I tell you this … I will break you again. Only with more glee this time around. Because, again, I am older and crankier. I'm tired of having these owners bitch at me. I've had it. Ask anyone who works for me. Ask any of the networks who deal with me. The DS Crank Rating hasn't been this high since the Artest Melee. Tread carefully, my friend. You don't want this. I promise you. You. Don't. Want. This."

You can read the whole thing here.

Panic Attack....

Wow. That is quite the intro on Expert Bass. I mean, I'm not terrible at the game; I hacked my way through Battery and Peace Sells on Expert Bass on my first time through, but that intro just absolutely destroyed me. I wish I had time to practice...that is all that is keeping me from finishing the Impossible Bass Challenge in Rock Band 2.

This may take me a while:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Jq41yYN4M

Hellboy Fail

I like superhero movies.

A lot.

I'll watch just about anything that is a superhero movie. And I usually watch them with my son (with a few exceptions -- he just is not old enough to handle The Dark Knight yet). We've watched X-Men movies, Spider-man movies, Superman movies, Fantastic 4 movies, Justice League on DVD, The Batman on TV -- just about everything. Good, bad, indifferent -- we'll try anything.

So the other night we sit down to watch Hellboy. It has Nazis, inter-dimensional demons, guys with giant guns, mind-readers and just about everything else you could want in it.

After 45m, my son turns to me and says "I'm bored. Can we watch Wall-E instead?" And I couldn't really argue with him.

We could probably have an extended conversation about how a movie with no dialogue for the first 30m is more entertaining to an 8-year old than a superhero action movie, but I think it probably speaks for itself.

Bailout passes Senate

Not a lot to read yet. People seem to be cautious about it passing the House, but at this point I bet it will.

It is interesting that a situation like this brings out the PANIC extremists on both sides. I am always nervous about any decision driven by fear and lack of information. Even if action is required, an action driven by fear is likely to be worse than the actual problem. (And yes, I'm familiar with the concept of "a good action now is better than a perfect action later"; I am just not convinced this is even a good action).

The universe did not implode

So, Congress did not spend $700 Billion of our money. In fact, they went on vacation today. And the universe did not implode.
I think they should stay on vacation a little longer and really really think about what they are going to do with the economic situation.
But I like what they have done so far.

San Diego vs. Denver...worst announcing ever?

So, after the referees blow the fumble call and Denver scores the touchdown to pull to 38-37, the Broncos decide to go for 2 and the win instead of 1 and overtime. The announcers then go off about how this is not as safe a taking the point and going to overtime, even though there is a 60% or better chance of gaining 2 yards and the win, while overtime gives you a 50/50 shot at even getting the ball.

Even better, when Denver does get the 2 point conversion, one of the announcers starts yelling "Denver wins!"...with 24 seconds still left on the clock. At least the other announcers had the decency to just ignore that.

I don't even like either of these teams; I just would like the paid professionals whose job it is to inform us about the game to have a better clue of what is going on than I do watching at home.

Rock Band Wii

April, Payton and I are having a ball playing through the game together. I play drums (on Easy, still), and we are moving along very nicely and having a lot of fun. We are planning to pick up the first Track Pack when it comes out and hope there are plenty more. Worth every penny.