It's no secret we have a problem with certain members of the local media. Now it's time we take it national:
I hate Mitch Albom
I hate him. I hate his schmaltzy columns. I hate his schmaltzy books. I hate his topics, which make that NBC Sports Kentucky Derby pregame fluff look like "60 Minutes." I hate his weirdo ears, and I hate his weirdo haircut that covers said weirdo ears even more. I hate his smarmy, uninformed appearances on The Sports Reporters (anyone else remember when that show was great?) I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
Apparently I'm not the only one. Deadspin finally got around to Albom in its long-running Media Approval Ratings series. Albom received a whopping 13% approval. Thirteen percent of the populous, likely made up of the elderly, the illiterate, and my mother, approve of this schmuck. I still think it's too high.
You say you want journalism? Real, honest-to-God sports reporting? You're in the wrong place, mi amigo. Get thee to Lake the Posts, where LTP is posting the first in a series of interviews it did with former NU coach, Iowa hater, and strip club benefactor Gary Barnett.
"Hope we didn't hurt your boys too bad, Johnny Cash"
It's a fascinating clip, where Barnett discusses his first interview with the school and confirms every stereotype surrounding Northwestern athletics: Not one person asked him a question about football; Ryan Field was a dump; LTP is actually a centaur. You know, the usual.
We've spent quite some time here discussing the upcoming NCAA tournament, but we have yet to tackle the gambling implications. It's due in part to our self-referential obsession with our own characters, commenters, and selves. But it's also because we could never do justice to the subject, at least not after reading Vegas Watch. Just as an example:
It was discussed in the East preview that the Sportsbook lines are unusually good because of UNC being so overvalued. Sadly, this does not hold true in the West, as UCLA's odds are more reasonable. There is still one that sticks out, however- the Aggies' Sportsbook odds are twice their true odds. As with Indiana, this is even after knocking down the Pomeroy odds, as I question whether Texas A&M is the 16th best team in the nation (although, looking at the teams below them, they're probably pretty close). Even with this conservative assumption, 60-1 looks great.
They're also running a baseball total wins over/under contest, and it has real prizes and everything. So, fellow degenerates, put that in your RSS reader, learn more, and get that place in the Caymans more quickly.
The Realests, who don't have a history of making empty threats, pick San Diego as the Super Sleeper in this year's tournament. Call your bookie; they're +550 against UConn.
Finally, a quick programming note: With Orson losing his house getting shitcanned visiting the Sapphire stalking Bill Raftery reporting on the tournament in Vegas, our very own Oops Pow Surprise is getting the nod.
And Swindle makes the slow walk to the mound...
He'll be at Every Day Should Be Saturday all weekend, surely writing about nothing but college football during the biggest college basketball weekend of the year. Nobody ever said ole' condom head was the brighest bulb. Jebus and I (and probably OPS) will be intermittently liveblogging here through the opening weekend (and occasionally stopping in at The House That EDSBS Built to steal Orson's food).
Oh, and Terrell Pryor is going to Ohio State.
