Links To Pass On

Pretty busy at work today but couldn't resist sharing the following:

1. If you live in Elmhurst, Illionois, you might want to start walking around with your eyes closed...

http://consumerist.com/2010/07/illinois-town-wants-to-outlaw-eye-rolling.html

2. A baby was born with a penis on his back.  Imagine the different positions he'll be able to experiment with when he gets older...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1273232.ece

3. A black British couple gave birth to a white baby.  You can make your own joke about this one.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3060907/Black-parents-give-birth-to-white-baby.html

4. And finally, on a more serious note, if you haven't tired of this subject yet (and really, you should read these even if you have) here are two articles that pretty much crown LeBron James as the world's biggest asshole.  Enjoy your Wednesday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=5397113

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-heatfreeagency071610

Your Jason Whitlock Sycophantic Post

At approximately 3:40 PM this afternoon, Jason Whitlock of foxsports.com fame tweeted that he had a rant aimed at sportswriter Mitch Albom and he was looking for the right forum to post it on. Desperate for some PR (and hits), I tweeted incessantly to Mr. Whitlock to try to get him to consider Couchwarmers. I was beaten to the punch by the folks at Deadspin and The Big Lead. While many others would suspend their pathetic pursuit of celebrity at this point, I put the Couchwarmers above my own pride and, at the suggestion of my friend Ethan, decided to list a few reasons why Jason Whitlock should use the Couchwarmers as the venue for his diatribe.

Last LeBron Post (Unless He Signs With The Knicks)

Somebody explain this to me. Please. For the first time in my 20+ years as a sports fan (or at least since Mathias Kiwanuka inexplicably let go of Vince Young on 4th down and cost the Giants a playoff berth in 2006), I am completely at a loss.

What happened to LeBron James? And perhaps more importantly, what happened to his handlers who had so brilliantly created a narrative about who LeBron James is? LeBron supposedly had the competitive fire of Michael Jordan mixed with the selflessness of Magic Johnson. He was going to singlehandedly return glory to the NBA. He was a kid from Akron, Ohio who ditched high-profile agents, choosing instead to be represented by his hometown pals. Sure he had aspirations to be the first billionaire athlete, but his reputation and attachment to Ohio stood above all.

And that’s what makes this whole circus so dumbfounding.

July 1: D-Day

The Couchwarmers twitter account is your source for all things NBA free agency on this highly-anticipated Thursday. I will be tweeting news and reaction all day long so for those of you who are unable to check a thousand different sports websites at work (like I am), stay tuned.

LeBron to LeBulls?

As I touched on in my last post, midnight tonight will mark the beginning of the most anticipated free agency period in NBA history. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce and, oh yeah, LeBron James will test the market, looking for their next big paycheck. The Knicks, my team of choice, have had July 1 circled on their calendar for about two years now, hoping that the bright lights of New York could lure LeBron James (and more) to the Big Apple. As we have neared that fateful date, however, the Knicks' chances of signing a marquee free agent like James or Wade have seemed to dwindle. Talks of LeBron and Bosh heading to Chicago to team up with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah have heated up. Here's a story that, if true, would put a nail in the Knicks' coffin and make this Bulls #6 jersey a reality.

Weekend Recap, Now with a World Record 215 Underpants

Welcome back for another work week, loyal readers. For those of you who are upset at having to start another week of work/school, here's something that's sure to put a smile on your face:

USA-Ghana Preview

Dan (not Daniel, but another Dan) was born and raised in California. In today's match, he'll be rooting for Ghana. He has an explanation for this, but it's not a good one. As he is the expert on the Ghanaian soccer team, he's been nice enough to give us a preview of the game:

As the foremost expert on the Ghanaian national soccer team in Sam’s circle of friends, I’ve been asked to write a preview of the upcoming round of 16 match between the US and the Black Stars. I’ve been hooked on Ghanaian soccer ever since the second day I spent studying abroad in Accra, when I got ripped off buying a Ghana jersey and needed to find a way to justify the expense. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I rooted for Ghana when they beat the US 2-1 back in 2006. Despite the cries of “Traitor,” “Terrorist,” “Don’t Tread” and “Give Back Your Passport,” I plan on doing so again on Saturday. I’d go into the reasons why, but either you know me or you probably don’t care that much, so I’ll get on with the preview.