Link roundup

1. Chad Ford on the NBA draft:

The process is now both bigger and more impersonal. The more money teams spend, the more they believe they have a competitive advantage by hiding information from others. In 2001 I could get five GMs in a room to talk in detail about prospects (Jerry Krause excluded). Now … good luck. And the result? Despite all the innovations, teams are getting worse, not better, at making draft picks.

Between 1990 and 1999, 37 percent of all lottery picks turned out to be All-Stars. 31 percent were busts.

This decade, just 21 percent of all lottery picks have turned into All-Stars, while a whopping 42 percent are draft busts.

2. Team Fortress 2 is now free to play.

3. San Diego Padres pitcher Evan Scribner wearing a Yoda backpack. (Bottom of the page.)

Link roundup

1. Grantland's overview of the NBA teams making lottery picks, and guide to the expected lottery picks.

2. Design a new head for Deadmau5 contest.

3. Here's the 25% to 35% off items at Things From Another World for June. Lots of new single issues and collected editions of comics.

But where's the Bash Brothers poster?

Classic 80's athlete posters get their due at Salon 94. I'm strongly considering picking up one of the L.A. Law posters at eBay.

Soccer's Latest Bribery Scandal

I've been following international soccer since the 1974 World Cup, and if there's one thing that has been a constant, it's been the controversy.

Yesterday one of the most powerful soccer officials in the world stepped down amid a bribery scandal in exchange for FIFA sweeping the entire thing under the rug.

The accusations include handing out envelopes with $40,000 in them to officials while they listened to the World Cup pitch from Qatar, a country that inexplicably received an upcoming World Cup.

I still love watching the sport, but let's just say that the officials working in it would be very comfortable working in Chicago and/or Louisiana politics.

Link roundup

1. Top 10 NBA Draft Busts.

2. Creepy animated gif from this creepy Tumblr. Found mostly because I wanted to know what Edith Zimmerman looked like after reading this article she wrote about Chris Evans. (The first link is from her Tumblr.)

3. Penny Arcade on the fear of even mentioning hackers.

Image roundup

Bruins conquer Vancouver.



This should cost extra, right?



Tesla.

Bonus: These two were too disturbing to post.

Bonus #2: And to make up for those, here's a cat animated gif.

The Mavericks

I have to admit I didn't even watch it, but I'm happy that my Landsman Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks won the NBA Title.

It has nothing to do with hating the Heat.

OK, it has a little to do with hating the Heat.

Been waiting to post this forever

Can't believe they gave up with a minute to go.

*Previously: LeBron abandoning Cleveland desktop wallpaper; video of LeBron losing at HORSE.

Link roundup

1. I certainly want to believe this is true:

Baseball was an important part of American life in 1887, though the rules were very different. "Batters" got their names from the wooden sticks they used to fend off rabid dogs while standing in the "batter's box."

2. And this sounds good, too:

One in four U.S. hackers is an FBI informer

3. "Battery made up of 144 potatoes powering 12 LED lights."

Link roundup

1. $20 sketches and the money goes to charity.

2. The Milwaukee Brewers drafted super agent Scott Boras's son in the 30th round. Why yes, Boras does represent the Brewers' best player.

3. TFAW is having a 60% off select graphic novels sale this week.

Tip of the Iceberg

The recent story about Jim Tressel at Ohio State has shocked (Shocked!) the American public, but anyone that ever went to a big-time college and knew athletes at that college, knows that Tressel's story is just the tip of the iceberg.

Colt McCoy's wife may have thrown the University of Texas under the bus yesterday during a radio interview with Colin Cowherd. (Read her comments here.)

I went to the University of Illinois in the 80s and I personally knew basketball players and football players that drove cars they couldn't possibly afford. Granted, Illinois has been busted many times, but your school does it too. They all do.

Link roundup

1. Lifehacker's top 10 privacy tricks. I especially like, the suggestion to use temporary credit cards to avoid repeat billing.

2. Bill Belichick gave a commencement speech saying that no championship team in the last decade in the four major sports had the league M.V.P. from that year on the roster. Not remotely accurate, but it sounded good.

3. Gizmodo's updated list of must have iPhone and Android apps.

Link roundup

1. Wild tales of cheating in Italian soccer. And this ballot is hilarious (if you like gallows humor).

2. 11 minutes of movie insults. (NSFW language.)

3. Gizmodo's tablet advice: "If you're not a nerd, you shouldn't buy an Android tablet."

*Buy iPads at eBay.

Link roundup

1. From an overview of Tyler Cowen's life:

In 2002 he published "Creative Destruction," which argues that globalization created much of the art and music we might consider "native." Reggae in Jamaica, for example, borrowed from commercial rhythm and blues broadcasts that drifted over the water from New Orleans and Miami. The fur trade and the metal knife helped create the totem poles of the Northwestern American Indians.

2. You've seen the flying military drones, now check out the ocean-going versions.

3. Charles Barkley says Nike asked him to stop being critical of LeBron James. Via.

Link roundup

1. Soviet Rocket Giraffe is a blast to play (think snowboarding, not flying).

2. Some fun baseball links: MLB owners ranked from best to worst (go Dodgers); Top 50 prospects of the draft era; "Who is Drew Butera, and is he hitting .122?"

3. i09 raves about The River:

The River is much more exciting, immersive, and cinematic than you'd expect from a "found footage" style show. It has a mythology that feels like it could become something for your coworkers to obsess over around the watercooler, but the mysteries aren't of the "endless hand-waving" variety. The makers of the pilot paid attention to the fundamentals: character development and great storytelling, and it's paid off.

Soccer on the radio?

Yes, it's true. From this morning's Radio Online...

"Fox Sports Radio, in conjunction with Fox Sports TV, will air the UEFA Champions League Final live on Saturday, May 28. The game, which is considered by many to be the single biggest game in the sport, is between two of the most famous soccer clubs in the world: Manchester United and Barcelona. The broadcasting team will include Curt Menefee, Eric Wynalda and Kyle Martino."

That is a huge game. Sean has a soccer tournament that day, so I'm hoping the game falls somewhere in between his games.

We're gettin' this game in, dammit!

Did you watch the entire White Sox game last night? No, you didn't. I bet many of the players on the White Sox and Rangers didn't watch the entire game.

After a three hour rain delay in Texas, it didn't end until 1:27AM.

That's ridiculous.

AJ nearly falls in W's lap

At the White Sox-Rangers game last night, Sox catcher A.J. Pierzinski was going after a foul ball, and almost ended in the lap of former President George W. Bush. And then, A.J being A.J, he made a joke to the President.

Read about it, and watch the video here.

Lance Armstrong

I wouldn't want to be Lance Armstrong today. I don't know if you saw the piece on 60 Minutes last night, but it was devastating. (Scott Pelley called it "a painful interview")

I watched the entire interview of Tyler Hamilton, and I consider myself a pretty good judge of people. He was clearly pained to be saying what he was saying, because he didn't want to throw anybody under the bus. He was given immunity, but it was conditional immunity, meaning that if he tells any lies about this case at all--the deal is off the table. If he was lying, it was an Academy Award performance.

He answered every single defense that Lance Armstrong has been using (including "no positive drug tests") and left Armstrong with no out but to call Hamilton a liar. That may work on people that didn't see the interview. It won't work with me.

German soccer coach receives death threats

See Dusty Baker? While it's true it was uncivilized of a Cubs fan to leave you a steaming pile of something to encourage you to leave Chicago, it could have been worse.

The coach of the German soccer team from Cologne had to resign after receiving death threats.

The Germans always know how to take it up one notch, don't they?