Escaping a Turkish Prison and other Random Thoughts

Some of you may have noticed that I've been as prolific in my writing as Hank Moody during the first season of Californication. I've been looking for a second job, a process that can be surpassed in fun only by being interrogated in a Turkish prison. The two aren't that different. The prison offers more fezzes and better music, but the job search has the inherent advantage in both ridiculous Christmas sweaters and fake smiles. Anyhow, I'm back (thanks Cleet for doing such a good job holding down the fort) and I've got lots of thoughts on topics of all sorts. Some probably deserve full posts, but due to the shear number of topics I've missed let's hit them in the always popular H. Smith bullet method.

• We've been banging the drum for months for the twelve team playoff in college football and now Sports Illustrated has jumped on board with the exact format we proposed. They offer analysis of each matchup and allow fans to vote for the winners. Fortunately, there's no write-ins so (sorry Redskins fans) Jason Taylor won't be winning the whole thing. Anyone other than Mr. Obama (who has the power to make it happen) writing or talking about an eight-team playoff probably has also written about the importance of the 3-point line to mid-majors in college basketball or that the earth isn't flat as if they're breaking news in the last year.
  


• Rick Reilly recently took aim at the Tebow of college basketball. There's little debate as to whether or not Psycho T is overexposed or overhyped, however you choose to look at it, but the guy is a phenomenon. We're a society of shortcuts. We pay bills online, we've abandoned grammar, we self-checkout at the grocery store, we take every possible shortcut to make the day easier. With the holidays approaching many are looking forward to coming in to work with the boss already on vacation, because it means more time to gawk at Deadspin. Tyler isn't like that and collectively we have a hard time accepting that. He doesn't take shortcuts and that makes people dislike him, as if he's trying to appear better than the rest of us, when he's just trying to be the best he can be.


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There's only one USC in college football, sorry Columbia, but there's also only one in college basketball. The University of Steph Curry. Some pundits question how effective SC-30 can be in the pros because of his height, but did you realize Babyface has grown two inches in the last year and he's likely not done.

• Jimmy Smits should win an Emmy for his chilling portrayal of Miguel Prado in this past season of Dexter. He was as cold-blooded as Brandon Roy and like Roy in the 4th quarter, his performance was mesmerizing.



• Speaking of the NBA, Upside and Motor developed this incredibly useful tool. You can read about some of the terms here and Free Darko has already outlined some concerns with it, but in classic FD-style, uses it to riff on the NBA age limit. It was nice to see one of the new Bobcats get his own category (albeit not a ringing endorsement), but what one has to wonder is that Diaw with D'Antoni or any other coach. The inclusion of "veteran floor general" at the bottom has to be questioned, solely based on the Chauncey Billups trade (can we all agree this is how it should be referred to from now on). Mr. Big Shot fits into other categories, but it was his awareness as a veteran floor general that allowed Carmello to go off for 33 in a quarter. There's little doubt that if AI and J.R. Smith were bringing the ball up, they would've decided it was their turn to shoot at various points in the quarter.


• Cleveland State beating Syracuse and Eric Devendorf with a last second heave is kharma. Normally, I'd defend Eric's right to due process, but Syracuse is a private institute and the ruling clearly states that he should not be participating.


• It was just over a month ago when I was viciously derided for comparing the Panthers to the Giants. This weekend, the two teams will play for the NFC's top playoff spot. Just sayin'.