Month March 2004

MoneyBall Angst

If there has been anything as controversial as the issue of steroids in baseball, it’s been the reception of Michael Lewis’s book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. It seems that many pundits and self-appointed experts continue to…

The Monday Sports Spectacular

INDIGESTION I’ve seen some funny pictures online, but these pictures of 400+ pound competitive eater Eric “Badlands” Booker at the Second Annual Hebrew Institute of Riverdale Hamentashen Eating Contest were hysterical. DREAM JOB Making fun of the contestants from ESPN’s…

Iraq — One Year Later

(Much of what you see here was taken from an excellent article in The Washington Post.) Then: roughly one year ago. Now: the present day — 1 year after the invasion of Iraq. Then: The Iraqis will welcome us with…

First Rate. Third World?

Kudos to President Ruth Simmons. Simmons, who has the top post at my alma mater, Brown University, has cast a skeptical eye on the pre-orientation Third World Transition Program (TWTP). For those of you who aren’t in the know, “Third…

All Out of Love?

I understand that a record label puts a substantial amount of resources — time, money, and whatever else — into recording and promoting an album. Furthermore, I recognize that recording artists generally know the deal. Touring, interviewing — it’s all…

Potty Mouth

Richard Branson is at it again. The Virgin founder, visionary, and my all-time favorite businessman has outfitted the men’s rooms in the Virgin Airways Clubhouse (John F. Kennedy airport, Terminal 4) with urinals that look like they were modeled on…

St. Patrick’s Day Miscellany

He’s So Dot Over It Say it ain’t so. While evidence of the dotcom demise still abounds, the latest news brings with it a finality that hundreds of Chapter 11s couldn’t. DotComGuy is no longer; the onetime Mitch Maddox is…

An Average Night

Don’t Call It a Comeback Last night, I got a double-dose of reality during NBC’s 10:00 time slot. Adam’s back, giving hope to guys everywhere that one day they may find themselves on television with the power to reject the…

This Time I KNOW I’m Right

Okay, it’s a daily and a tabloid at that, but I still don’t understand how Tom Sykes’s error made it into print. (Besides, this is a redemptive moment for me, so I hope that you’ll cut me some slack.) In…

Daily Oddities

WOULD THAT I HAD A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT This isn’t breaking news, but Stuttering John from the Howard Stern show is going to be moving to the left coast to take over as the announcer for the “Tonight Show.” That’s right,…