Author: Steve Murray

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Wednesday Link-Off: Lies, Damned Lies and Isn’t There Anything Else to Talk About?

I know I’ve mentioned how some weeks are easier to find weeks than others. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have links about new stories. As much as I’m sure Brian Williams interests most of you, there has to be other things in the world that are worth writing about. I swear the media finds one bit of clickbait to latch onto and it doesn’t let go.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Since she’s on the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue, here’s Hannah Davis.

Quiz time: Would you rather spend $1 billion on the Iraq War or on infrastructure? Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to push through an infrastructure bill that would almost equal spending on the Iraq War. (The Hill)

Brian Williams is being whipped from pillar to post after it came out that he lied about being shot down in Iraq. The story’s traction might come more from the public spectacle than the principle of the matter. (Bloomberg)

The spectacle doesn’t change the fact that NBC news is in complete disarray at the moment. (The Daily Beast)

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Fails of the Week

Every so often, we take a look at the most epic fails from the week that was in the Fails of the Week. This week, we have five pictures, GIFs and videos that we think are the most epic fails of the week.

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Formula One: 2015 Jerez Test Recap

Usually the Formula One off-season seems to last forever before the stars of F1’s travelling circus return to the track for pre-season testing. However, if the two-month layoff between Abu Dhabi and Jerez seemed short to you, imagine how short it must have seemed for the teams.

After this first test, the off-season probably seemed far too short for McLaren who barely got any running in over the four days. Lotus was also hoping for a longer break as they missed the first day because they only fired their new Mercedes engine for the first time the day before the test began.

Up front, two of the familiar suspects found themselves frequently near the front of the timesheets with a very unexpected pair of faces in the top two all week.

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Sunday Link-Off: Lies, Damned Lies and Brian Williams

emily-ratajkowski-hm15-05I bet nobody was expecting to wake up to a set of links about some unlikely to win the White House Republican nomination hopefuls, some exposes on sports media and the implosion of Brian Williams career. Sometimes, you get a really bad week for links. Sometimes, you get this week.

And it’s a good thing that I didn’t do an SI Swimsuit cover odds post this year because I would have been wrong. Hannah Davis was #5 on my list. Who was #1? Emily Ratajkowski.

Why are people anti-vaccine? Vox asked an anti-vax activist why he thinks vaccines are terrible. (Vox)

The news has become the news. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has admitted to lying about an alleged helicopter attack in Iraq. (The Hill)

It’s not just the Iraq story that’s falling apart from the Williams lie. His whole career is now being gone through with a fine-toothed comb. (TKTK)

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IndyCar Winter News Update: Gearing Up For 2015

It’s been since October that we’ve done a news update on the IndyCar front. Since Simon Pagenaud jumped to Penske and James Hinchcliffe signed with Schmidt Petersen, there hasn’t been a lot of news. However, over the last week, there’s been a flurry of signings and announcements that has made a big impact on the IndyCar scene for 2015.

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Evolve Closed Beta Impressions: Evolution, But Not Revolution

evolve-beta-headerDon’t look now but I’m pretty sure the game demo is dead. In its place are “betas” that accomplish a multitude of things simultaneously. They act as a demo without needing to polish a vertical slice of the game. That’s because they can slice out a portion for QA testing by the general public without paying professional QA testers to find problems with the game. And by limiting access to betas, devs and publishers drum up demand relative to supply to goad people into pre-ordering the game to get into the beta.

Shockingly, this doesn’t bring us to Heroes of the Storm. That’s a column for another day. It does bring us to Evolve. Turtle Rock Studios left E3 with the whole world in its hands after cleaning up most of the major E3 awards. However, 2K seems hell-bent on throwing it all away with their utterly confusing and transparently greedy pre-order, season pass, deluxe edition and DLC scheme.

So when Turtle Rock gave us one last chance to get a taste of Evolve before its February release date, everyone who could jumped at the opportunity. But was this one last taste of Evolve enough to convince me to spend $60+ on the game from the Left 4 Dead developers?

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Wednesday Link-Off: At Least The Game Was Good

alessandra-ambrosio-oceandrive15-05It’s been a long week for me IRL and we’re only two days in. I was hoping to write an IndyCar news update for yesterday but I didn’t have any time to do that. I’m lucky I pulled this post together. Maybe I’ll get the IndyCar update tomorrow or Friday. I do have a game review to cover you off one day this week so that should be fun. Remember when I used to do some topical opining at the start of these posts?

Anyway, since it’s Wednesday, that must mean that it’s links time. You might have missed her but fresh off her Super Bowl ad appearance, here’s Alessandra Ambrosio.

You may not know but Albuquerque has one of the highest rates of fatal police shootings in America. So why has no one noticed? (New Yorker)

DJ Esco went to Abu Dhabi to perform at the season ending F1 Grand Prix. His stay included 56 days in jail. This is his story. (The Fader)

Back in 2002, Germany legalized prostitution. Over a decade later, the fallout is still being felt. (The Telegraph)

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Facebook Fails of the Week

Every so often, we look at the most spectacular fails that the internet has to offer. Well today, we look at the most spectacular fails that Facebook has to offer. This week, we have five of the best fails Facebook has to offer.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Entertainment, Sports

Royal Rumble 2015 Review

wwe-royal-rumble-2015-bannerOkay, I’ll be the first to admit that I probably shouldn’t be writing wrestling reviews on any sort of basis. I don’t watch the WWE regularly apart from watching their NXT developmental territory. I’ve probably watched more New Japan in the last month than WWE since WrestleMania 30. But it’s the Road to WrestleMania and what better time to tune into the WWE for three months.

But even I with my limited WWE viewing knows that what’s best for business is paying customers. With the relative failure of the WWE Network launch, TV ratings that are stagnant at best and fans who are growing increasingly discontent with the product on-screen, the Royal Rumble had to be bigger than just your standard hype machine for WrestleMania.

It’s just too bad that the WWE failed entirely to get anyone interested in their annual showcase.

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Sunday Link-Off: The Big Game

katy-perry-billboard15-03You know, I haven’t really watched the Super Bowl for the last couple of years. If it’s a good game, I’ll watch it but generally I don’t care. Last year, I stopped caring shortly after the safety to open the scoring. And I haven’t watched any football since my Lions were eliminated. Maybe I’m just getting old but I don’t find sports as interesting as I did even just a few years ago.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Let’s kick things off with the halftime star from the Super Bowl. It’s Katy Perry.

With Mitt Romney pulling out of the Republican nomination race for the 2016 election, the new early favourite is Jeb Bush (The New Yorker)

For a more broad look at the various contenders, the Post put together a look at their life histories. (Washington Post)

Things at Fox News aren’t always sunshine and lollipops. Bill O’Reilly tends not to be happy when his position as top dog is threatened. (Mediaite)

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