It’s holiday time in the Nation. It’s also time for another installment of NSRT, a collection of things that have amused or interested me lately. This is also an open thread, so feel free to discuss whatever you’d like.
* A perfect example of why Joe Posnanski’s work is such a joy to read.
* These iPhone autocorrect fails are hilarious. And when I say hilarious, I mean that I literally laughed out loud, and a few (more of them here) had me laughing so hard that tears came.
* I’m glad college basketball has started. I just can’t get into football, although I concede that is probably due to the general lousiness of my college team. College hoops, however, are going to help get me through the winter until baseball returns.
There have been a number of good games thus far, and more are scheduled over the next few weeks. Some things I’ve noticed:
–Duke is probably better/more talented than last year, and they won the championship last year. Kyrie Irving is the real deal. And it pains me to type that.
–UConn’s Kemba Walker may be the best player in college basketball.
–Georgetown has the best backcourt in the country. Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark are all great shooters, smart, and experienced…and Wright and Clark play elite defense. By the end of the season, the Hoyas are going to be tough to beat.
–Xavier is going to be good by the end of the season, as well…despite the loss to Old Dominion (who has a pretty good team, for what it’s worth). Plus, coach Chris Mack has a very good recruiting class coming in next year. The future is bright.
–I’m less optimistic about Cincinnati. I’m just not sure how they will compete in the Big East.
–Kentucky beat Washington, but bet the ranch on this: UW will be playing deeper into the NCAA tourney than UK. I know we have a bunch of Kentucky fans here, but that program — starting with John Calipari — makes me feel like I need a shower every time I watch them.
* As you probably know, I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan. The Royal Tenenbaums is my favorite film, but Rushmore and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou are in the top ten, as well. Anyway, if you are an Anderson fan, you’ll enjoy this: it’s a story written by Anderson when he was an undergraduate at Texas.
* Girl fight at a soccer game. You know you wanna click on it. Go ahead.
* Have you seen The Sarah Silverman Program? I started watching it recently online, via Netflix…what a demented — and hilarious — show. It’s just bizarre, although I know we can all relate to Sarah’s obsession with doodie.
* This is pretty cool. ESPN has updated NFL logos to reflect the state of the team. The Bengals redesign is particularly appropriate.
* While we’re on the NFL kick, you may have heard that Nike is going to take over NFL uniforms in two years (after completely wrecking every college’s uniform). Mo Egger points us to this monstrosity, which are purported to be the preliminary designs of those uniforms. It’s abominable…and none moreso than the Bengals. I was going to post a pic, but I couldn’t bear to have anything that ugly on this site. Check them out here, if you dare.
Turns out that they are probably fakes, but if you’ve seen the ridiculous uniforms Nike has been designing for college teams, you won’t be surprised if these end up being close to the mark.
* Some rare and never-before-seen photos of the 1955 World Series.
* Wow, it’s the fiftieth anniversary of the greatest program in television history.
* Did you know that I went to Durham, NC, a couple of weeks ago to watch Duke and Virginia play football? My eyes started bleeding during the third quarter.
* Are you like me? Are you addicted to Angry Birds? Did you know the birds and pigs have been negotiating a peace treaty? Brilliant.
* Yes, since you asked, I am excited to watch Tottenham’s match today in the UEFA Champions League. Come on you Spurs!