Live From the World Series

This explains why the San Francisco Giants have been dominating the Texas Rangers so far in the World Series:

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Warpaint, 'The Fool' [Tunes]: This all-female group of experimental art rockers have been playing music together in Los Angeles since their formation on Valentine's Day in 2004. Their original EP was recorded by Red Hot Chili Pepper's guitarist John Frusciante, and they have recently opened tours for indie heavyweights Vampire Weekend, the XX, and Yeasayer. The Fool is their first full length record, available now and streaming online.

'85 Bears Redux?: As a diehard Bears fan, my first reaction to this article comparing this year's Jets to the 1985 Bears was vitriol and anger. My second reaction was to look up LaDanian Tomlinson's career numbers against Walter Payton's, so I could further scoff at the analogy. Depending on how the tail end of LT's career goes, the numbers are actually quite similar. Now that the son of the coach of Chicago's famed 4-6 Defense is coaching the Jets, I'm confused as to whether I should be rooting for or against this team.

The Trevor Pryce is Wrong, B***h: NY Times writes a feature extolling the screenwriting prowess of NY Jets defensive lineman Trevor Pryce. Let's see if you can guess from which of the following ideas were dubbed "good" or "bad": 1. a movie about a library employee struck by lightning who becomes a walking encyclopedia; 2. a television show set in Hell, Mich., where what can go wrong does; 3. a movie about a Guatemalan soccer team that enters the world championships only to find itself in an American football tournament; and 4. a cartoon in which Mother Goose has a little brother who is a rapper. According to the article, somehow these ideas are: 1. good, 2. bad, 3. bad, 4. good. I've heard that Hollywood is out of ideas, but a show featuring Brother Goose rapping being a"good" idea means it must be much worse than I imagined.

The Risky History of Video Games in 9 Easy Steps: This article highlights nine risky moves that changed the video gaming industry. It's impressive how accurate Nintendo has been in its market analysis over the past three decades. Also, Daikatana...I totally missed that video game era, but what was that ad all about? Yikes. 

It's a Mad Mad Mad Style World: Part of the fascination with Mad Men lies in the high drama of advertising during the revolutionary 1960's. Another part of the fascination with the show is as a period piece showcasing the fashions and styles of the era. This blog focuses on the latter, completely dominating in its analysis. These "Mad Style" posts are all worth a read; it's amazing how much can be understood about Mad Men's characters simply from the clothes they wear and the style of their surroundings.

Expository Writing on the Hipster: I'm not sure what it says about me that I've lived in two of the five national hipster enclaves mentioned in this article. I suppose relocating either to Berlin or Vientiane would be the only logical step to take this hipster thing international. 

A Fantastic Ventriolquist Act out of the UK:

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Angus & Julia Stone, 'Down the Way' [Tunes]: This brother and sister duo out of Newport, Australia first learned to play music in their father's cover band (he was also their music teacher at school). Now 23 and 25 years old, respectively, their new album debuted at #1 in Australia and is Oz's highest selling album this year. If the myspace link isn't enough, check out a live show recorded earlier this summer and streaming on NPR.

The Duck's Blur Offense: In a previous post, I wondered why no other teams run an offense similar to the Colts. It seems to me that Oregon does, though in a different way than relying on a quarterback to read a defense. The Duck's Blur offense is predicated on a fast tempo no-huddle, getting play calls in from the sideline at a rapid pace and preventing defensive substitutions during a drive while exploiting mismatches. The new football offense is built around the notion that defensive players will tire faster than offensive players over the course of a game. Oregon's 57.7 point per game average showcases this better than anyone.

The Housing Projects of the NFL: There's a housing project in Honolulu, Hawaii that might just produce the most NFL players per capita in the county. Kuhio Park Terrace (known locally as "KPT") is a rough and tumble place, where Jacksonville Jaguars teammates Tyson Alualu and Vince Manuwai both call home. There ought to be a bigger story written on this somewhere.

Thirty-Two Great Calls:  I could probably link to every post Joe Posnanski makes, but this one was particularly good I thought. It takes about an hour to go through every link, and it's well worth it, not just to hear how history will remember these events but also to take you back to how you remember them as well.

Serbian Sports Violence Isn't Over Yet: On the heels of ESPN's documentary on the fallout between Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic, comes the story of more Serbian violence, this time pointed toward players on its soccer team in a Euro 2012 qualifier. It's a shock to us that this type of hooliganism continues around modern day sports.

Didn't You Play Martha Gawker in 'Meet the Parents'? Other than for the fact he commutes on bicycle, this writeup in the New Yorker on Gawker Media founder Nick Denton will probably like you make him less. It will also probably make him richer both socially and monetarily.

In a Galaxy Far More Analog Than You Thought: I went to a museum exhibition on Star Wars a few years back, and the very best exhibits were the ones that showed how analog filming the original movies were. This photo essay on the filming of Empire Strikes Back is phenomenal. Can you believe they actually filmed the opening crawl like that? And how about those mattresses under Luke when he gets his hand cut off by Darth Vader? Oh well, Luke was always kind of a pansy.

Catalog Living: Did you know that a couple named Gary and Elaine live inside those interior home catalogs that are always replete with ludicrous accompaniments? Well it's true, and here is their story.

These Taiwanese re-enactments of worldwide scandals are quickly becoming must see videos. The details really make it (Wrangler poster on the wall, NFL officials wearing French cuff links, etc.). Also, I might as well add that Taiwanese food is the next new thing. That you can count on.

A Seminal Day for Sportshui

It's been a fun exercise to check in with Google Analytics to view traffic sources on the sportshui blog, including what countries people are accessing the blog from and different keywords used to find the blog on search engines. Usually the search terms involve generic sporting terms, "baseball slogans" or "NFL Hangover," something mundane I've written about.

My favorite keyword search to find the blog occurred today, and I penned a haiku to memorialize the event:

Sports Hui Keywords,
Today Is the Best One Yet:
"Drawings of Methheads".

I've never been prouder of anything, ever. As a bonus, this post guarantees that sportshui will be a reward for anyone searching for "drawings of methheads" in the future.

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Darkstar, 'North' [Tunes]: With its roots tracing back to UK in the late 80's, Dubstep is a relatively new form of electronic music. Heavy on drum and bass and experimental beats, dubstep has best been described as music that is "anti-color," mimicking the greyness of its origins. The genre has risen to prominence largely through the London based Hyperdub label, where the British duo Darkstar have previously released a number of underground hits. 'North' is their first full length record, streaming now on NPR.

Prepare to be Mildly Unsurprised: The surprising thing in this article isn't that an agent describes how he used to pay money to college athletes in order to induce them to sign with his agency when they turned pro, but that he is willing to name names along the way. Talk about burning bridges on your way out.

Wait, There's Sports Gambling in Delaware?: A Delaware bettor bets $5 on a 15-team parlay card and gets the first 14 picks correct. If he gets the 15th pick correct (the Eagles to beat the 49ers by more than 3 points), he wins $100,000. Guess what happens next? The Eagles win by exactly three, and under rules of the game a tie is a loss and he wins nothing. Even worse, the bettor failed to appropriately hedge his bet, as described here (basically, he should have taken the other side of the bet to ensure he'd win one or the other). The lesson, as always, is that the house never loses.

So That's What Commonwealth Means in the Commonwealth Games: I had a friend go to the Sydney Olympics and the very first story he told us of the experience was the amount of rampant sexual escapades that repressed athletes were having in the Olympic Village. This blew my mind back in 2000. Fast forward to 2010, where 100,000 condoms were provided for the Vancouver Winter Olympics....an event that had just 5,500 athletes and officials. I'm no mathematician, but I'm pretty sure 100,000 divided by 5,500 equals impressive.

I Wonder How Bill Clinton Feels About There Being A Second Cigar Guy?: A Ryder Cup fan dressed up in a wig, mustache and cigar in homage to European golfer Miguel Angel Jiminez becomes a somewhat reluctant internet meme. That Maradona Hand of God photo is great.

Are You McKidding Me?: The Internet has brought together many foodies with many unique tastes. Apparently the McRib is one of them. One devoted fan has even put together a McRib locater to indicate all locations where the elusive McRib has been spotted. With a McRib comeback tour slated for the end of the year, it's no surprise McDonald's is pushing for articles like these. Meanwhile, who knew that the sandwich has been available at German locations all this time?

Banksy Does The Simpsons: British street artist Banksy takes a crack at the opening couch gag sequence for the Simpsons. The results are pretty great, particularly the dolphin tongue packing tape:


Générique de Simpsons par Banksy
Uploaded by FilmGeek-TV. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

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No Age, 'Everything in Between' [Tunes]: This two person noise-punk group rose to prominence playing The Smell, a local all-ages, alcohol and drug free community center in Los Angeles. Their third album (streaming on the Guardian) has been met with rave reviews, as their sound has gone from thrashing and dissonant to hazy and reflective. You simply have to root for a band where the lead singer once dislocated his shoulder in an after-show dance battle with Deerhunter while listening to Dan Deacon.

Where Everyone Doesn't Know His Name: There's a quarterback in Division I that has quietly put together one of the best careers in college history - he's the first QB to pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, is challenging Eric Crouch's record for the most career rushing TDs by a QB, and already has more career rushing yards than Tim Tebow. This season, he has more rushing touchdowns than Denard Robinson, is completing nearly 70% of his passes, and has led his team to a national ranking in both polls, the first in his school's history. The QB is Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, a three sport star out of high school who received just one scholarship offer to play quarterback...based on his performance in a basketball game. Naturally, Kaepernick spent his summer selling sports apparel at a mall in Reno. Nevada hosts Boise St. in a nationally televised matchup the day after Thanksgiving. It'll be interesting to see how much his professional scouting grade (currently at 35/100) improves if he performs well in that contest.

Twins a Man Down Heading Into Playoffs:  After 40 years of being the Minnesota Twins' most famous beer guy, 76 year old Wally McNeil gets suspended for the playoffs for serving a minor during a police sting. To no one's surprise, Wally was snatched up quickly to serve drinks at a bar across from Target Field during the playoffs.

The Online Gambling Dominoes Begin to Fall: The old guard Las Vegas casinos are starting to get behind proposals to legalize online gambling in the US. The reason? Pokerstars.com estimated $1 billion in annual profits. That's a big enough number to get anyone interested in some action.

Your Eyes Are About to Bleed Colts Offense: This amazing write up breaks down the Indianapolis Colts offense in a very readable way. Curious that in a league of copycats, no other NFL team has tried to emulate the Colts approach.

X-Japan Invade America: It's not the Beatles performing at Shea, but Japan's biggest glam rock superstars (think Motley Crue or Poison in the 80's) launch their first tour in the US. Why do Japanese re-interpretations of American culture always seem so fascinating decades later?

The Lunch Counter Network: A historical perspective on the difference between social activism and social networking. This quote is a keeper: "Social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires."

The History of Rap Part One (it's worth sitting through the opening commercial if you haven't seen it yet):