Welcome Back

It's been about a year of inactivity between posts. Sorry about that. In the meantime, we've all matriculated to new places - I got my masters and moved from Nashville to Indianapolis. Gumbercules got his masters and moved from Pittsburgh to Wisconsin. And Ernie is probably still doing something gay like medical school or some other form of letting his family down.

But, more importantly, having a real job has not only helped dig me out of poverty slightly, but also given me the boredom and lack of focus to get back to posting. The constant distractions of the women in our office talking about Twilight and their muffin tops now give me ample time to reflect on the sports world...and ultimately make fun of it. Hopefully, I plan on posting 2-3 times a day, focusing on basketball, football, MMA, and Alex (fucking) Gordon. Even more hopefully, Gumbercules and Ernie will return as well to make this place a little more comprehensive.

Look for a new feature coming soon. And enjoy this picture of the Turkish league's finest player in the interim:

#2 Best Seller: The only website written in English that still talks about Alex Gordon.

I hate life.

110 pages and 2 thesises later, Schmitt is back on the books. Don't expect anything until the hangover passes.

p.s. Al Horford is a bitch.

Poop is higher paid than Beckham.

Ha ha, poop joke!

In a recently published list compiled by "knowledgeable insiders," David Beckham was listed as only the 44th highest paid player in the world, earning just $142,000 per week (a meager $7.2 million). Coming in first was Brazilian striker Kaka, who has one of the most unfortunate one-word names in soccer history. Between 1st and 44th were guys who love hookers (Cristiano Ronaldo, notably) and several names I have never heard before and don't care to ever hear again (Sol Campbell? Harry Kewell?).

The figure is misleading though, as Beckham earns a percentage of ticket and marketing profits directly from the Galaxy, and with endorsement deals earns approximately $50 million from the Los Angeles Galaxy alone. Meanwhile, Taylor Twellman, the league's 2005 MVP and one of its top players, mades a staggering $181,666 in 2006 before getting a raise to approximately $350,000 in 2007. While new rules have led to higher salaries for star players in the MLS, their top 10 best paid players combined will make less this year ($15,885,000) than Stephon Marbury is getting paid to sit at home and lure interns into his SUV ($20,109,375).

Your parents led you down the wrong path athletically, son.

So what is the lesson learned here? Don't play soccer in America. Hell, I wouldn't even have watched the World Cup if I didn't have a belligerent Mexican roommate. While it must be nice to be earning a 6-digit salary for playing a game, wouldn't you much rather be earning a seven figure salary for being mediocre at a game where all you have to do is swing a bat (I'm looking at you Adam LaRoche, Kevin Millar, Aubrey Huff, Sean Casey, Richie Sexson, etc).

Keegan Bell to leave Vanderbilt; AJ Ogilvy's Awful Smell to Blame?

Alex Gordon takes this shot without hesitation. God, I'm going to miss him.

Freshman point guard Keegan Bell, a rotation player for the Commodores this year, will leave Vanderbilt at the end of the semester to finish out his college career elsewhere. Vanderbilt failed to disclose where Bell would go, or why he was leaving, but experts speculate it was related to the fact that he had to live with a 6-10 Australian who looks like he smells awful.

All the great centers smell horrible. Olajuwon, Ilgauskas, Laimbeer...

Bell had been a three-star recruit out of high school and would likely have taken on an increased role in 2008-09 with the departure of guards Shan Foster and Alex (Fucking) Gordon. Suddenly, a team that did nothing but shoot 3-pointers has no three point shooters. This puts much more pressure on Stallings as he attempts to lock up Oregon guard Brad Tinsley to replace Bell as token white guard on the court.

This also makes Vandy's rotation dangerously thin, as Ogilvy, starting PG Jermaine Beal, and backup PF Darshawn McClennan are the only returning players to have seen more than 11 minutes per game this year. While the team is adding at least 2 more 4-star recruits (Lance Goulbourne and Steve Tchiengang), and a top-150 redshirt center (Festus Ezeli), it looks as though 2009 will be a rebuilding year for the Commodores. My projected record? 18-0 at home, 0-13 on the road/neutral.

Let the Festus era begin.

In happier news, guard/savior Shan Foster was named a 2nd team All-American by the AP, and will face off against AJ Graves, Drew Neitzel, Chris Lofton, and others in the NCAA 3-point competition on Thursday. It will mark the last Thursday that I actually watch something other than Lost or The Office until summer starts.

If you got all four Final Four teams correct you need to grow a pair.