Morning Link Dump - 09/03/10
Obligatory Sports Babe
If you were reading here back during the World Cup, you'll know how ridiculously biased I am when I say this, but, at £8-million, Rafael van der Vaart is an insane steal of an acquisition for Tottenham and 'Arry Redknapp (just don't call him a "wheeler and dealer"). But as much as that move has done for Spurs, it's done worlds more for Premiership WAGs, as he brings with him his smoking hot wife Sylvie, who we'll go with today. (And if, for some reason, you'd like to watch a mesmerising video of her brushing her teeth, you'll probably want to head over to the Spoiler.)
Quote of the Day
"There's always going to be challenges playing in Montreal, but the only challenges are the ones I put on myself." - A delusional Carey Price, who yesterday took a break from the rodeo (seriously?) to sign on for two more years with the Canadiens, according to Puck Daddy.
To Steal A Headline, The Cliff Lee Trade Has Gone All Kinds of Sideways
"When the Mariners traded Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers on July 10, it appeared Seattle was providing its division rivals with an ace pitcher for their playoff run while obtaining some valuable prospects for the future," says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "That all still may be true, but the waters certainly have muddied since then as to the value of all parties involved.
"Lee figured to be the safest of all bets in that deal, given his tremendous consistency for the Mariners in the first three months of the season. But after going 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 games for Seattle, Lee is just 2-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 11 starts for Texas," they explain, and he's doing great compared to some of the others involved! Like prospect Josh Leuke, who, it turns out, was facing rape and sodomy when the M's acquired him!
Jeter's Exit Strategy
"Numerous people I know in the game wait for Jeter to stand up and say that he will move to somewhere like the outfield for the good of the team. Maybe he will. But, you know what? He might not," writes Joe Posnanski for Sports Illustrated in a fascinating piece on just what the Yankees are going to do about Derek Jeter, who'll be a free agent this winter, but who obviously has to stay in New York. "Jeter is a proud player, and shortstop is as tied up in his identity as being a Yankee. He was, by various statistical measures, a terrible defensive shortstop for much of his career, but he certainly was not about to move somewhere else when A-Rod came to town. Those same defensive numbers suggest he’s playing better shortstop the last couple of years than he did before* — though, I have noticed that quietly his Dewan plus/minus has fallen to minus-15 this year, dangerously close to the old Pasta DivingJeter days — and so I’m not entirely sure that he’s moving from short anytime soon. Anyway, the Yankees don’t really seem to have a viable shortstop replacement … and Jeter’s value as, say, a left fielder is pretty suspect if his offense stays where it is now. This is a real problem."
Wait, We're Supposed to Own Up to Cheating at Golf?
"Zach Nash was shocked when he discovered he had one too many golf clubs in his bag a couple hours after winning a junior Wisconsin PGA tournament," explains an AP report via the Journal Times. "But rules are rules, and the 14-year-old from southern Wisconsin made a decision that might surprise some people: He disqualified himself and surrendered his medal."
"I knew right away I couldn't live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous," Nash said during a phone interview from his home in Waterford on Wednesday, his first day of high school.
Russia Wins
"That’s it! I’m moving to Russia!," says Sportress of Blogitude on a piece from AFP. "Russia’s finance minister Alexei Kudrin has implored his nation’s citizens to drink more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes as a means to help revive the country’s staggered economy. 'If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates. People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state.' Ha. Upholding birth rates by drinking more. Ain’t that the truth."
Quickly
The Smoking Section gives us five reasons that sports will suck for our children. (Well, not our children, but you know what I mean.)
I knew it! According to a study referenced by the New York Times, stretching before you excercise is total bullshit. Or... well... something like that.
Who Ate All The Pies runs down the most popular club soccer jerseys in the world.
Apparently Alex Rodriguez has dropped Scott Boras as his agent, which... I guess that would be news if he was ever going to need a new contract again. USA Today has the details.
Sportress of Blogitude notices that LeBron James took his talents to the Sears portrait studio for a little family picture.
Not Sports Related, But...
According to Devour, the comedy classic Airplane! was largely a parody of a 1957 movie called Zero Hour! Uh... and after watching this side-by-side comparison, surely I see it. And stop calling me Shirley!
