Links of the Week

Hold Steady, 'Heaven is Whenever': Linkage tunes from these Brooklyn based rockers with Minnesota roots. Did you know the Hold Steady recorded a a modified version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to be played during the 7th inning stretch at Minnesota Twins home games? Pretty awesome.

Big Ben defense ≥ Chewbacca defense: I think we have a new front-runner for the lead story in this year's "Worst American Sportswriting of 2010."

MLS attendance numbers will shock and amaze you: Major League Soccer's early 2010 numbers show they have higher average attendance than the NBA and NHL, fueled by the rapid growth in soccer-crazed cities of Toronto, Seattle and Philadelphia, as well as the new Red Bull Arena in New York. This bears watching, especially with this summer's World Cup raising interest and expansion teams opening in Portland and Vancouver the next two seasons.

Introducing your next great sports commissioner: In related news, the NBA would be smart to sign Shane Battier to a front office contract now in order to buy out his free agency years once he's eligible to work for the MLS. A mid-season single elimination tournament to replace the NBA All-Star weekend (think FA Cup in soccer) is a tremendous idea. Dubbing it the "Stern Cup" to placate David Stern's ego shows incredible business savvy.

These sequels could actually be worse than Godfather III: The producer of "Jersey Shore" has had open casting calls for two new shows. "Persian Version" stars outrageous, outspoken and proud hard-partying Persian-Americans in Beverly Hills, while "Wicked Summer" seeks Massachusetts residents who “believe in God, family, the Red Sox and partying!” I think I speak for the rest of the country when I say, "Ugh."

How Bill Walton got his back back: Interesting insight to Bill Walton and how he was on the metaphorical edge of suicide before a new spine surgical technique gave him a new lease on life. Also hidden in the article is the real reason UCLA's 88 game win streak was halted by Notre Dame. I knew there had to be a reason for the win that trumped Digger Phelps' coaching ability.

Most famous people from one show ever?: They could run a "where are they now" feature on the cast from In Living Color every year and it would still seem relevant. Incredible that all these famous people got their start with Keenan Ivory Wayans. Anyone else shocked to learn the show only ran on television for five years?

The Jey-Hey Kid: Give me in-depth articles on Jason Heyward in Sports Illustrated and the New Yorker, or give me deep regret for not drafting him in my keeper fantasy baseball league.

Coachella 2010: The link has some pics of the celebrities attending the festival (including a photo of Kelly Osbourne dressed as an Amy Sedaris character), and the video below of the Jay-Z/ Beyonce duet that was the mainstream highlight of the event. I love how sweet Beyonce looks in her R-rated T-shirt.