A Slimmer JaMarcus Russell?

Here's to big ol' fatty!

Maybe it’s a new diet. Or maybe black is finally working its magic as a slimming color.

Whatever the case be, JaMarcus Russell has apparently gotten himself into shape.

“You’ll be surprised when you see him,” director of squad development Willie Brown said Monday on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. “I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost, but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared to last year.”

My take? First, I’ll believe it when I see it. But more importantly, it should be known that his excess girth was a large symptom – not the root cause -  of his epic shittiness (journalistic integrity, be damned).

Remember, his refusal to get in shape was just one example of his lackluster attitude towards the game – starting with his ill-fated holdout, culminating in a 2009 season that saw him finish last in NFL efficiency rating, completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

But don’t get me wrong, it’s a start.  Plus, dropping an extra chin on your own is better than losing it by having Tom Cable punch it in.

And this is why the Royals are the Royals…

Their most accurate arm belongs to their hotdog vendor:

[...]a Kansas man says it was a flying hot dog, not a baseball, that almost put his eye out last year.

Coomer said the wayward wiener caused a detached retina and the development of cataracts in his left eye.

John Coomer has filed a lawsuit against the Royals seeking more than $25,000 for injuries he sustained Sept. 8 when he was smacked in the eye with a hot dog chucked by the team’s mascot, Sluggerrr.

Two Messages For the Republican Party

And they’re good ones from George Will:

Conservatives, who rightly respect markets as generally reliable gauges of consumer preferences, should notice that the political market is speaking clearly: The more attention Palin receives, the fewer Americans consider her presidential timber

….

Populism has had as many incarnations as it has had provocations, but its constant ingredient has been resentment, and hence whininess. Populism does not wax in tranquil times; it is a cathartic response to serious problems. But it always wanes because it never seems serious as a solution.

Awesome Dunk, But the Commentary Needs Some Work

The woman who lost her house in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina sees her son flying like a big storm right down the lane

Really, Mike Patrick? This isn’t Family Guy here.

Illustration for Haiti Donations

Made for an op-ed for the Daily Californian. It’s a little late, but click on it to read the piece and find out how to help.

Globalization and Starbucks Theory, reconsidered

Here you see the successful transmission of American cultural vanguards – Die Hard action films, the movie theater experience, cleavage, and  trashy pop music – to Ukraine and Russia.

As much as the citizens may enjoy saying “Yipeekayay, Motherfucker”, I’d have thought they’d prefer importing civil liberties and respect for human rights instead. Guess not.

Just a thought while watching Kansas State-Texas

Has Bob Knight ever been happy in the broadcast booth?

For the better part of an hour and a half, the only thing he has contributed to ESPN’s telecast of the game is for the players to “move around more”. Sure, the style of play hasn’t been all that pretty, but couldn’t the General have anything positive to say (or, at very the least, some emotion to accompany his discontent)?

The contempt I hold against him for his seemingly endless grudge against Cal (his respect for Pete Newell aside, re-watch the Kansas game, or time travel backwards to ESPN College Gameday coming to Berkeley and you’ll see what I mean) is secondary; the man seriously doesn’t seem like he should (or wants to be) in the booth. He doesn’t appear to exact any pleasure from calling games – and it’s not an age thing, as the examples of Dick Vitale and Bill Raftery would attest to.

Some people may enjoy his commentary as “straight shooting” or “telling it like it is”, but I just see it as ranting and nothing more than background noise.

I think it may be, after over 40 years of coaching, his desire to jump into the game and correct the errors made by players – a great feature for  a coach, not so much for a commentator; and at the same time, he is unable to make these correction, not being on the side lines – a handicap that only seems to contribute to his senility. In the end, he seems completely removed from the game (despite Musberger’s best efforts to integrate him), and yet at the same time gets in the way of watching it.

To be sure, striking the right balance between actual knowledge and experience from athletes and coaches one hand, and competence by trained announcers on the other, is difficult.  Knight just doesn’t have it.

In the mean time: Onions, double order.

Especially for the San Diego Chargers:

Presenting, a kicker who can make field goals against the Jets:

Why Pac-10 Fans Should Be Excited About Lane Kiffin To USC

And it has nothing to do with football

College Football as a Political Talking Point

Here’s the latest internet ad as part of incumbent Rick Perry’s Texas gubernatorial campaign. (H/T: The Atlantic) 

And here’s an ad by his opponent, Kay Bailey Hutchinson:

Maybe if Texas lost to Nebraska, one candidate would have accused the other of supporting the BCS…