Category: Land-o-Links

Land-o-Links – 6/20/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Chicago Cubs, Land-o-Links, Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, Random Thoughts, SportsLeave a comment

Huge sports night is on tap with Game 6 of the NBA Finals and White Sox vs. Cardinals. Until then, here are today's links:

1) Cursing (Blog Maverick) – I vacillate between sincerely respecting Mark Cuban's passion for life on the one hand and wondering how someone who still can't properly use "your" versus "you're" can become one of the richest people in the world on the other hand.

By the way, Chicago quite possibly has the most boring set of sports team owners anywhere. Jerry Reinsdorf is a noted recluse, the Tribune Company is a faceless corporation, the McCaskey family hasn't appeared anywhere since hiring Jerry Angelo to run the Bears, and Bill Wirtz is too busy peddling bottles of booze to realize that he also owns a hockey team. In contrast, take a look at Dallas. If Tom Hicks, who as owner of the Texas Rangers signed A-Rod to a contract worth a quarter of a billion dollars, lived in any other city, he would be considered that nutty, crazy, and wacky guy that is always trying to get his name into the paper. However, he's only a distant third on the insanity scale in Dallas behind Cuban and Jerry Jones. Just a random observation.

(Update: Cuban actually sounds somewhat rational in his latest post regarding whether the NBA is rigged. The lack of proper punctuation, however, is still there.)

(2nd Update: Bill Simmons reiterates his theory on NBA referee assignments.)

2) Let Us Now Read From the Book of Dwyane (Deadspin) – I'm really just linking to this because of the picture. Although I picked the Mavericks to win the NBA Finals and I still believe that they will pull out the last two games in Dallas, I have to admit that I have a man crush on Dwyane Wade. He's real and he's spectacular.

3) Capitalist Rap (Forbes) – 50 Cent is obviously selling a whole lot of that purple stuff. He also performed a Don King-style fleecing of Mike Tyson.

4) No Hugs for Piven at Wrigley (Chicago Tribune) – A nice treat for all of those fathers that spent the day with their kids at the Cubs game on Sunday.

And finally…

5) Business Dreams Turn Sour (Chicagoist) – Forget about the increase in gang activity. There's now been an uptick in illicit lemonade stand trafficking. It looks like the South Side has followed me to Naperville.

Land-o-Links – 6/16/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Chicago Bulls, Land-o-Links, NBA Basketball, Random ThoughtsLeave a comment

My extra time to kill this afternoon means that all of you get an extra Land-o-Links before the weekend. In anticipation of the cornucopia of sports riches with the U.S. Open (although it looks like Tiger Woods won't make cut), NBA Finals (this series has gone from appearing to be dead at 10 pm on Tuesday to becoming something closer to the classic matchup that I had originally predicted), and interleague baseball (I actually have to cheer for the Cubs this weekend since they are playing the Tigers) over the next couple of days, here is some reading material to give your Friday a boost:

1) The FKS Guide to Dating Other Heterosexual Men (F.K.S.) – Brilliantly funny stuff from a highly recommended blog written by a frequent Deadspin commenter.

2) Missy Elliot Bio-Pic Being Produced by Actor Robert De Niro (AllHipHop.com) – Young Don Corleone, Jake LaMotta, Jack Byrnes… and Missy Elliot.

3) Dan Rather Considering Offer From Mark Cuban (New York Times) – Looks like the Mavericks are getting desperate for some more help to contain Dwyane Wade.

4) Fans to Manage Minor League Team for Second Half (ESPN.com) – Somehow, this seems completely appropriate for the land of Woodfield.

And finally but unfortunately…

5) Jordan an NBA Owner – Again (Chicago Tribune) – Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On that note, I'm off to recall better times by watching my Michael Jordan DVD collection, which includes Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals that ended with his last and most famous shot ever. That's right, that was the final shot of his career. MJ did not play another game in anything other than a Bulls uniform after that moment. I'm serious, folks.

Land-o-Links – 6/15/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Land-o-Links, Major League Baseball, Random Thoughts, Sports3 Comments

I almost crashed my car earlier this week when I heard the new Jay-Z/Beyonce song, where Jigga's opening line is, "I used to run the bases like Juan Pierre." Well, judging by how well he has played this season, we can note that Juan Pierre also used to run the bases like Juan Pierre but doesn't do so anymore. As your resident White Sox fan, I'm pleading mea culpa to my misguided remarks before the season that I would rather take Pierre over Scott Podsednik as a leadoff man. Alas, this brings up an important question – is it more impressive that Jay-Z name-drops Pierre in a song or that Scotty Pods is married to a Playboy Playmate? Feel free to leave your comments on this issue as well as today's links:

1) Celebrity Sports Fan Rankings (ESPN.com) – Speaking of Jay-Z, Hova as partial-owner of the Nets comes in at #6 on this list. Our Chicago reps are Bill Murray (the one guy I really wish was a fellow Sox fan is #9 for the Cubs), Eddie Vedder (interesting choice for the Bulls at #11), Jim Belushi (really stretching the definition of celebrity at #29 for the Blackhawks), George Wendt (a shame that he is ranked lower than the less talented Belushi brother at #35 for the Bears) and Da Mayor himself, Richard Daley (appropriate comment by ESPN at #43 for the White Sox). Overall, it's a pretty legit list, although the stunning choice for the Yankees (whom after the Lakers, should have had the pick of the litter in star power) gave me that vomit-in-the-back-of-the-throat taste in my mouth while Jon Bon Jovi and Usher were not given their proper due whatsoever here.

(Update: Also, where is Lil' Jon?)

liljon_041106_7.jpg
2) Jay-Z Shelves Cristal at 40/40 Club, Urges Boycott (AllHipHop.com) – Once again speaking of Jay-Z and following up on a report from last week, our Roc-A-Fella Records founder doesn't care for the French, either.

3) Bush Received Weapons Cache From King of Jordan (The Smoking Gun) – Complete list of gifts from foreign leaders to President Bush during 2004. I didn't realize Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia was such a huge Cowboys fan.

4) At Tribune, a Call for a Split (New York Times) – Maybe the Cubs will be sold after all.

5) Sox Pitcher Dismissed After Miss (Chicago Sun-Times) – After Suge Knight, Ozzie Guillen is the last person in the world that you want to cross.

And finally…

6) How Much is Your Blog Worth? (Business Opportunities Weblog) (submitted by Minneapolis Red Sox) – For all of my fellow bloggers out there, be sure to check out how much your blog is worth based on your Technorati link count and the AOL-Weblogs deal. If you would like to pay the current market value of $5,645.40 for Frank the Tank's Slant, please contact me ASAP. I'm nothing if not a capitalist.

(Photo from Atlanta Thrashers.com)

Land-o-Links – 6/13/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Land-o-Links, NFL Football, Random Thoughts, Soccer, Sports1 Comment

A post on a sport that I never write about is on tap for tomorrow. Hint: it's not about soccer, which Minneapolis Red Sox has already eloquently addressed. By the way, I'm in search of new country to root for in the World Cup as the U.S. and Poland were inept in their opening games and won't make it to the final 16 unless they can pull off upsets against some superpowers. Also, I believe Las Vegas oddsmakers have put the over/under for the number of days after the World Cup ends that it takes for that guy from Paraguay who headed the ball into his own net this past weekend to "disappear" at negative 3. Anyway, here are today's links:

1) Multiple Injuries, Few Injuries for Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) – WTF, Big Ben?! As my buddy B-Diddy mentioned, Ben Roethlisberger wore a helmet everyday to work, so why would he not wear one riding a motorcycle going 60-plus miles per hour? I was in a catatonic state for days after Jay Williams wrapped his motorcycle around a pole on the North Side of Chicago (throwing the Bulls back into a hole that they were just starting to come out of at that time), so I can only imagine how Steeler Nation is feeling right now after seeing this happen to their star quarterback that's coming off winning a Super Bowl in only his second season in the NFL.

It isn't too strange that Pennsylvania doesn't have a helmet law for motorcycle riders. What is wacky to me, though, is that it used to have a helmet law until 2003, when it was then repealed. So, enough Pennsylvania politicians were actually convinced that the law was such a bad idea that they had to get rid of it. The biker lobby must have joined forces with Charlton Heston and the NRA to get that type of result.

Let's just hope Big Ben comes out of this okay.

2) For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Resume (New York Times) – Word to the wise: remove any references as to how you "smoke blunts" off of your MySpace personal profiles. As one fellow Illinois grad found out (thanks for making us look like schmucks, dude), that's probably a bad idea when you're looking for a job.

3) Worst-Case CTA Scenarios (Chicago Tribune) – No mention of what to do if you're trapped on the El with Ronnie Woo Woo, which has happened to me on multiple occasions.

And finally… 

4) How To Brainwash Your Baby Early (Deadspin) – Do I think this is the latest sign of the apocalypse? Yes. However, do I also believe that there should be a statute enacted making it mandatory that every hospital in the State of Illinois provide an Illini version of this, whenever it is released, to go home with every baby? Absolutely.

Land-o-Links – 6/8/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Land-o-Links, Random ThoughtsLeave a comment

I'm off to the White Sox-Tigers game tonight courtesy of TK (I will not mention the 'S' word after two Sox victories). At the same time, the NBA Finals are starting. Just for kicks, I'm predicting a classic series with the Mavs winning over the Heat in 7 games and Dirk Nowitzki cementing his place among the league's elite. Here are some links to tide you over until tonight:

1) In the Body of an Accounting Professor, a Little Bit of the Mongol Hordes (New York Times) – Khaaannn!!!

2) Pitcher Spills Steroid, Speed Secrets (The Smoking Gun) – This has the potential to be a bigger bombshell than the leaked BALCO grand jury testimony. Look at all of the blacked out names starting on page 12 of this affidavit. That's a lot of players that are going to be outed by Jason Grimsley. By the way, remember "Batgate" from a few years ago involving an Indians player climbing through the viaducts in Comiskey Park to steal a confiscated Albert "Corky" Belle bat? Grimsley should have his own episode of America's Most Wanted.

3) 'Hell Awaits' Drivers at the Airport No More (Chicagoist) – Airport officials have finally figured out that driving around in circles was starting to annoy people.

4) Showcase Metra Station Suffering (Chicago Tribune) – Ugh, as a former frequent Illinois Central rider, I know exactly what everyone is talking about here. The Roosevelt Road station is essentially an outhouse coupled with a subpar toothpick bridge project from a high school physics class.

5) Nothing Beats 1st Title; Just Ask '91 Bulls (Chicago Tribune) – All in all, the '91 Bulls run was the best championship season that I ever have or will personally experience as a fan. I was a little too young to fully appreciate the magnitude of what the '85 Bears accomplished, while the all-encompassing-sports-are-everything attitude has dissipated as I've gotten older when experiencing the more recent White Sox and Illini successes. However, the '91 Bulls hit the personal sweet spot: at the point in my life when sports meant the most to me, my favorite team in my favorite sport led by my favorite athlete won its first championship. That's something that can never be replicated. This also happened 15 years ago, which makes me feel freakin' old.

And finally…

6) Managing Director of Cristal Not Impressed With Rap Patronage (AllHipHop.com) – Funny, I never heard the French complain about American rappers when our boys stormed the beaches at Normandy. Ungrateful bastards.

(Update: A nice picture of the U.S. Cellular Field scoreboard from last night – Oak Park Night, no less – is on TK's site. Other than the fact that the Sox sucked it up against The Gambler after the first inning, it was a fantastic evening.)

Land-o-Links – 6/1/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Land-o-Links, NBA Basketball, Random Thoughts, Sports1 Comment

Damn Pistons.  After Ben Wallace packed Shaq in last night's game, I now have a really awful feeling that we're going to be denied a Dwyane Wade and Shaq NBA Finals for the second year in a row even though the Heat only need one more win.  Anyway, here are today's links:

1) Who Will Win?  We Handicap the Spellers – Samir Patel is going to finally bring it home tonight.  He's on the cusp of cementing his greatness like MJ in 1991.

2) Suburban School Board Rejects Book Ban – Freakonomics, Slaughterhouse-Five, Beloved… all books that a District 214 board member attempted to ban. Of course, she never actually read any of these books in their entirety (a common theme among book burners). Thankfully, northwest suburban Chicago isn't located in Kansas and cooler heads prevailed.

3) Not Heard 'Round The World – Instant karma's gonna get you.

4) Pimp My Grill – My eyes are popping out of my head like a Looney Tunes character right now.

And finally…

5) He Believed He Could Build – R. Kelly to Olympia Fields: I want to piss on you. 

Land-o-Links – 5/24/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Land-o-Links, Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, Random Thoughts, SportsLeave a comment

Soul Patrol! Taylor Hicks is taking it home tonight. Until then, here are the links for the day:

1) Report Says High Gas Prices Not Caused by Gouging – Really? Gas prices fluctuate according to the normal rules of supply and demand as opposed to being controlled by the Pentaverate consisting of the oil companies, Karl Rove, the Queen, the Vatican, and Col. Sanders? I still don't believe it.

2) Three 6 Mafia to Peform During WWE's 'Smackdown' – Let's take a look at that Oscar scoreboard again: Three 6 Mafia 1, Martin Scorsese 0.

3) Thomas, Aldridge – or Maybe a Trade? – Isiah Thomas is the gift that keeps on giving. With the Bulls securing the #2 pick in this year's NBA Draft, we're guaranteed either Tyrus Thomas or LaMarcus Aldridge to fill our need for size or there's still the possibility of parlaying this pick into a trade for Kevin Garnett. Now, if we can only get Isiah to taking over the coaching reigns in New York, we can send Greg Oden a non-refundable plane ticket from Columbus to Chicago for June 2007.

And finally…

4) Another Win Bites the Dust – How many more blown saves will it take for Ryan Dempster to achieve LaTroy Hawkins status? I say another 2 and he's there.

Land-o-Links – 5/18/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Land-o-Links, Random ThoughtsLeave a comment

I haven't written about baseball in quite awhile, so I hope to put together something tomorrow in anticipation of this weekend's White Sox – Cubs crosstown series. Until then, here are today's links:

1) Yo! I'll Tell You What I Want… What I Really, Really Want – This is particularly funny to me because I was seriously going to write about Earworms myself pretty soon, mostly because that goddamned (yet catchy) Shakira/Wyclef Jean song has been stuck in my head for about 64 consecutive days as of this post. By the way, this Disconnected in Suburbia blog (by Chronically Insane, one of Minneapolis Red Sox's friends) is fantastic reading and highly recommended.

2) 'American Idol' Resurrects Clive Davis Once More – It might be just me, but if I had to choose three "legitimate" business executives that I'm convinced have ordered hits Corleone-style, they would be: (1) David Stern, (2) Michael Eisner, and (3) Clive Davis. I've never had much of a problem personally with Stern or Eisner, but Clive has flat-out creeped me out for years. I thought he was on "American Idol" the last couple of nights to whack Elliot Yamin and then take the cannoli. However, Clive does have the distinction of being the first producer of a reality series about putting together a boy band where the leader of said boy band went so far off the deep end that it became the subject of an entirely separate reality series. Shit, that makes putting together platinum records look like child's play.

And finally…

3) Snoop Dogg Permanently Banned From the UK – In other news, Holiday Inn outlets and Tanqueray proprietors across the United Kingdom have filed for bankruptcy protection today.

Land-o-Links – 5/16/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Big Ten, College Football, Illinois Fighting Illini, Land-o-Links, Random Thoughts, SportsLeave a comment

I hope all of you got your helpings of "Grey's Anatomy" and "24" last night without any delays caused by Dubya. Anyway, on to today's links:

1) What Happened to Michael Jackson's Fortune? – This ought to be the first installment of a new E! or VH1 series about how celebrities have blown their fortunes, such as "What Happened to Hammer's Fortune?" or "What Happened to Gary Coleman's Fortune?" That's got to be better than another installment of some stupid list show that invariably concludes with a story about a Brad-Angelina-Tom-Katie cyborg baby.

2) Lost on Thursdays? – ABC might have finally figured it out regarding non-stop seasons. (Update: ABC has made it official that it will run "Lost" continuously and without repeats next season, but it's staying on Wednesday nights.  Instead, "Grey's Anatomy" is moving to Thursday.)

3) NU Probes Alleged Hazing – I'm proud to say that the representatives of my alma mater's athletic department actually have some class and dignity, unlike those Dookies and Wildcats.

And finally…

4) Ron Zook Rocks It, Dude, Totally (submitted by Minneapolis Red Sox) – Um, let's scratch what I just stated above.

Land-o-Links – 5/10/2006

On By Frank the TankIn Big Ten, Illinois Fighting Illini, Land-o-Links, Random Thoughts, SportsLeave a comment

The links are University of Illinois-centric today – there just happen to be a number of news items out there (nothing about Chief Illiniwek here, although I'll tackle that at some point):

1) U. of I. Admission About to Get Harder for Residents – It's really interesting to see how efforts to make the University of Illinois into a more selective and elite institution seems to be thought of as a bad thing. At least that's the impression that I got from today's front page Chicago Tribune article. Of course, they just interviewed complaining high school students, parents, and counselors while not bothering to talk to a single U of I alum or current student. I understand the dilemma here, where the academic goals of a public university might run counter to the notion that it's supposed to provide a taxpayer-supported service to in-state residents.

However, as an alum, I want Illinois to be perceived nationally to be at the same level as Michigan and Berkeley. In order to achieve that, Chancellor Herman's initiative to bring in more out-of-state and international students is necessary. Wisconsin is an example of a public school that has been beating us in that regard and it's reflected in our Big Ten rival to the north consistently being rated higher than us in the U.S. News rankings. The quality of our faculty and the GPA and test score numbers of our students are right in line with both Michigan and Wisconsin, yet the biggest difference is that those other two schools draw a large percentage of high quality out-of-state students, particularly from the East Coast, while our student body has consisted of over 90% Illinois residents for quite awhile. If we only draw people from a single region, we're going to be perceived as a regional school.

2) Eighth Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Matchups – Is it too early to start thinking about college basketball again? I don't think so. We get a home date with Maryland on Tuesday, November 28th, which should be a pretty good matchup. The Ohio State-UNC game on November 29th, though, will probably be the top non-conference meeting of the year.

3) Illini Ponder Chicago Tournament – More basketball: Illinois might set up their own basketball tournament to take place over Thanksgiving weekend at the new arena being built in Hoffman Estates.

And finally…

4) The World's Best University – A little pep-talk from a guy graduating this year that points out one of the things I loved about attending Illinois: balance.