Writing on the Wall

About a week ago, I left the house in the morning to discover the wall of a nearby building covered in graffiti. Screaming for attention with its searing yellow hue and the swirly sunshine dotting the "i" the graffiti tells the residents of our little neighbourhood to "smile." Very funny, we think. Smile because they defaced property? Smile because someone will have to spend...

Read More

THURSDAY

1. I went to Taco Bell after work and ran into a friend. Ate two chicken tacos, a bean burrito, and a chicken quesadilla. Then, I had to take a massive shit. I saw God on that one. Then, on the way out of the store, I saw the Taco Bell chick sitting outside on the walk smoking a joint. TRUE SHIT.2. Mark Halperin was suspended from MSNBC for calling Obama a "dick." I don't need to write a joke on this one.3. A woman was tapped to head the IMF. This is because you can't rape someone with a vagi...

Read More

www.antiwar....

Read More

New column: 11 Burning Questions as NBA lockout approaches

Here's my new SI column on the NBA labor crisis. While the weather is beautiful today and many folks might not be glued to their TVs, I'll be an in-studio analyst tonight on NBA TV at 6 pm and 11:30 pm eastern. I'm joining Kenny Smith to talk about NBA lockout. Hope you can wat...

Read More

Happy 4th!

Normal service resumes late next week.  Meantime, enjoy this exciting new blog.  And for my US readers, enjoy the long holiday weeke...

Read More

What Does 'Commuting' Mean to You?

Some of us have conventionally structured jobs, where we ride our bikes to the office, stay there for a given period of time, then ride home. Others might move from site to site throughout the day, or work from home, or go to the office and back several times. I've had lots of conversations with friends in both job categories, and it's clear that there are benefits and...

Read More

WEDNESDAY

1. Transformers 3 sucks so bad it makes Green Lantern look good.2. The invention of the cellphone camera has literally changed the world. Now, you can capture every single bowel movement. How did we ever live without it?3. GOOD NEWS--Coffee retards Alzheimer's. BAD NEWS--Beer speeds it up!4. For Jacq:5. For me:6. My Gamecocks win the CWS again. Say what you will about SC,...

Read More

New video on Dodgers Bankruptcy

Following Nathaniel's excellent work on the Dodgers situation, I have a video for Sports Illustrated channel on what's next with the Dodge...

Read More

Charity Brings Championships

The University of South Carolina won its 2nd National Championship in baseball ... the below comments speak volumes about the need for the virtue of CHARITY on your team.Some think virtue is for those who don't know how to win - tell that to this team.South Carolina (55-14) became the first team to ever go 10-0 in an NCAA tournament and the first since Oregon State in 2007 to go unbeaten in a CWS. The Gamecocks' streaks of 16 NCAA tournament wins and 11 straight in the CWS are both the longest all-time. They became the sixth team to win consecutive...

Read More

Q & A

Q: Why do you not take vacation?A: The short answer is that I am not good at managing free time. Left to myself, I am simply going to goof off and end up with regret over time lost.This question got lobbed at me when I cashed out my vacation time from work. I do this every year. Paid vacation is a form of compensation, but it is really stupid when you think about it. In order to pay for your vacation, the company actually pays you less. It seems like a bonus, but it isn't. They are simply taking a set of bills out of one pocket and putting it back...

Read More

Shorter Cranks, Dainty Pedals, and the Ambiguity of Toe Overlap

Last week I was offered the opportunity to trade the Sugino Alpina crankset on my mixte for the exact same model with shorter cranks, and I went for it. The original cranks were 170mm. The ones on it now are 165mm. A 5mm difference is very small, but can be significant. For instance, some say that shorter cranks make for a smoother pedal stroke. But my reason for the change...

Read More

...

Read More

Sour Grapes

An anonymous commenter left the remark "sour grapes" on my post yesterday. I thought it was ironic because I was thinking about that very subject myself just the other day. I thought it would make a good blog post, so here it is.The term "sour grapes" comes from one of Aesop's fables. Once upon a time, a fox was going through the woods when he saw some grapes hanging overhead....

Read More

More on NBA Age Restriction

Age restrictions, especially in the NBA and NFL, have been a big discussion point on this blog since it began 8 years ago.  Here's the New Republic's Nathan Pippenger's take on the NBA's age limit, which requires that players be 19 plus one year out of high scho...

Read More

...

Read More

LC & Snatch

LC 2x20kg: 5LC 2x28kg:4x 10reps (4rpm)Snatch 12kg, fleece gloves & talcum: 10min (5m/5m)Push ups on kb handles: 3x 10repsThe long cycle with 28s - happy that I could do 4x10. Long rests in between. Two things made this hard, on the one hand, the weight, on the other hand, the tempo. I am a very lazy lifter tempo-wise and have to struggle to fight that.The snatches, I pretended that I was lifting a 32kg bell and thus get a more distinct yank in the lower swing (so it "flies" up, and I don''t lift it over head :-).Hot weather today, but I have...

Read More

The Clipless Ambush: a Tale of Failure

Well, my first encounter with clipless pedals occurred sooner than I anticipated. Last week the Co-Habitant decided to update his pedals, and the new set arrived in the mail today... which meant that he could gift me his old ones. I thought that surely this gifting would take place some time in the future - a distant, abstract future. But no. Cheerfully he attached them to...

Read More

Coming up on tonight's show - 28th June 2011

We’re here from 7pm on 98.7FM in Cardiff and online at www.radiocardiff.org with award winning sporting discussion and debate.- We begin tonight with our preview of the David Haye vs. Vladimir Klitschko world heavyweight fight this weekend. Our boxing man Matthew Eves is here to cast his eye over this much anticipated bout.- In cricket we have the latest as England take n...

Read More

England v Sri Lanka ODI Series Preview

By Zaheer HaqueEngland begins the ODI series against Sri Lanka at the Oval on Tuesday 28th June at 1pm. England will go into this ODI series low in confidence after their pathetic performance in the T20 on Saturday and the humiliation suffered against Sri Lanka in the recent World Cup Quarter Final.Sri Lanka the World Cup Runners up will go into this series very high in confidence...

Read More

Evan is a Wimbledon winner

South Wales teenager Evan Hoyt has won his first round match at Junior Wimbledon.The 16-year-old from Llanelli beat Axel Alvarez Llamas from Spain 6-3, 6-4 to progress to the second round.“Evan is one of the most promising players in Britain and has been representing GB at 16-and-under level,” said Peter Drew, chief executive of Tennis Wales. “It’s wonderful to see him progressing...

Read More

Tyson rights a wrong with Nick Charles

There are few things worse thank knowing you’ve wronged another person and then realize that it’s too late to make things right.In the case of Mike Tyson, who marks his 45th birthday on Thursday, and sportscaster Nick Charles, who died at 64 from bladder cancer over the weekend, a past wrong was amended for while the former CNN Sports anchor and boxing lover was still breathing.Not...

Read More

WIN TICKETS TO GLAMORGAN V SURREY THIS FRIDAY!

On this week's Tuesday Night Sports Show we have TWO pairs of tickets to give away for Glamorgan's must-win showdown with Surrey at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff.If you've never been to watch floodlit cricket before or are regular fans, this is a great opportunity for a family night out in the capital.  As part of Glamorgan's season-long promotion ALL children aged 16...

Read More

Can the NFL sanction players for misbehavior when the NFL has locked out those players?

John Glennon of The Tennessean asks Gary Roberts and me that question, and we seem to disagr...

Read More

Building bridges

'Build a bridge and then get over it.' I like this saying because I just don't see the point in bearing grudges and dragging up old things that should be long dead and buried - it's kinda like living with scabby old sores that you keep picking off only to make them bleed again when they have nearly healed - all you end up doing is creating an ugly scar. Surely it would be better to put a plaster on your sore and then, once it has healed, just remove it?If people do wrong by me or my friends, I just distance myself from them as I find that...

Read More

WELSH RUGBY UNION STATEMENT - RE MIKE PHILLIPS

The scrum half, Mike Phillips, met with the senior Wales squad management today (Monday 27th June) following his suspension on Friday 17th June.The player was informed that his conduct in Cardiff City Centre, earlier that week, had not adhered to the standards expected of a member of the Wales senior squad.Phillips accepted the view of the senior management team in full...

Read More

Bikes and Swedish Cinema: Choose Your Favourite Contest Submissions!

The deadline for the Pilen give-away contest was last night, and the entries are in! To recap, readers who fit the height criteria (this is a large bike) were invited to submit an image that depicts a person and a bicycle, and evokes some aspect of Swedish film. The winner will receive the beautiful Pilen Lyx that I am test riding for the distributor, BoxCycles....

Read More