Wednesday Link-Off: More Equal Than Others

miranda-kerr-wonderbra15-14Orwell once wrote, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” The frightening thing is how prophetic Orwell’s writing is today. I was actually just saying that Orwell’s 1984 is more relevant today than it was when it was published. The man was good and his books are just getting better with age.

And I realized something while putting this post together. I was supposed to do a Valentine’s themed picture to start the links. Let’s ignore that I forgot and just pretend I was on time with this photo of Miranda Kerr.

The fall and rise of American inequality. (NPR)

And your leading House Republicans aren’t rushing to change things. Paul Ryan thinks that the poor need to comply with the tax code more strongly. Of course. They’re the ones who can afford tax loophole finding accountants. (Washington Post)

Meanwhile, in Canada, the Quebec Education Minister says that strip searches of high schoolers is allowed if they’re “respectful.” If that isn’t among the most ridiculous things you ever heard, I don’t know what is. (Montreal Gazette)

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Join The Lowdown Blog Fantasy Basketball Pool

With the NHL’s players and owners locked in a bitter labour dispute with no end in sight, we’re turned to a different league to give us our fantasy sports fix for the winter. That’s why we’ve launched our first fantasy basketball league. There are 16 spots in the league and it’s a public pool so anyone can join which means spaces will go quickly. It’s a head-to-head league with the winner of each match-up based on winning the most of the nine categories (Points, Blocks, Steals, Assists, Rebounds, FG%, FT%, 3P%, Double-Doubles). The autopick is on October 25th so sign up now so you’re not left in the cold.

Click here to join The LowdownBlog.com Fantasy Basketball League.

Wednesday Link-Off: Sporting Madness

Well, we’ve hit the ground running today. First, we opened up the voting on the final four of our 2012 Hottest Canadian contest. Now we have the mid-week links. And let’s kick off today’s WLO with Behati Prinsloo who you might recognize from Victoria’s Secret TV commercials.

Fifteen years ago Monday was the infamous line brawl between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. As a Wings fan, I’m obliged to lead off with this link. I’m also obliged to point out that we kicked their asses! (SportsGrid)

While this story is about the NBA, I’m sure the same principals can apply to the NHL. Is there a way to prevent teams from tanking to get the first overall draft pick? To put it another way, is there a way to disincentivize incompetent management? (True Hoop)

With Tiger Woods winning his first PGA Tour event since 2009, the only story heading into The Masters is Tiger Woods vs. Rory McIlroy. (Golf.com)

After the jump, Mike Tyson’s one man show, all about Assassin’s Creed III and they sure get excited over winning money in Australia. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Halloween Hangover

Halloween’s over for another year and it was a bit more interesting than usual. Anyway, let’s kick off the first linkdump written on the new layout with new Guess model Julia Lescova.

The 1% might say that they’ve earned their wealth but they sure aren’t doing anything to earn themselves any sympathy. For example, a law firm’s Halloween party featured all employees dressed as the recently foreclosed. (New York Times)

One of the best Halloween traditions is the annual Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors special. Here is a ranking of all segments over the last 22 years. (SplitSider) Really, any from Treehouse V could’ve been #1 so this is one of the seldom seen good choices for #1.

Shaq has a new book coming out soon. Some of the released excerpts explain why he and Kobe hate each other. (Deadspin)

After the jump, Kim and Kris are no more, more leftover Halloween links and the FNL Emmy trailer. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: All Hallows’ Eve Eve

It’s Sunday and we have a new look on the blog. It’s also the day before Halloween. So, naturally, we’ve got someone dressed up in a costume as we’re wont to do on the link-off before Halloween. Today, it’s Candice Swanepoel dressed as the devil. Cliché yet amazing.

Did you know there’s such a thing as professional mini-golf? There are professional tours, major championships and even The Masters. (The Daily)

Speaking of odd ways to make money, marketers are trying underhanded ways of paying bloggers for money. They’re paying bloggers to drop links subtly into their articles. (Gawker)

The NBA lockout isn’t quite as over as the media was hoping it would be at this point. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t basketball stories coming out. A new study has shown that there is such a thing as the hot hand in basketball. (Mind Hacks)

After the jump, Kim Kardashian’s marriage may be a complete sham, Sherlock Holmes is making a comeback and a Halloween light show. Continue reading

Lowdown BlogCast: July 19, 2011

After almost seven months off the air, Steve and Jackie are back for Season 4 of The Lowdown BlogCast. The show is off to a typically random start with talk about Google Plus, web browsers and Urban Dictionary definitions (among other things). Things settle down after only 20 minutes into a discussion of the NHL’s free agent frenzy and the big trades that were made in the run up to and after July 1st. The guys talk about the outlook for Philadelphia and Toronto heading into the 2011-12 season. They also examine the effect the ever-increasing salary floor has on contracts with mid-level players. They also talk about the return of the Winnipeg Jets and all the potential marketing missteps that TNSE can make. The talk then shifts to entertainment with reviews of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Super Eight. The boys also talk about the epic series that was Friday Night Lights. TV talk also covers The Killing, Twin Peaks, Firefly and Castle. The show wraps with a discussion of the eventual failure of Two and a Half Men.

In all, our fourth season premiere is a shade over two hours of the classic Lowdown fun and insanity that you’ve come to expect from us.

Click here to download The Lowdown BlogCast.
Click here to download the podcast quality version.

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Sunday Link-Off: Summer Daze

Almost conveniently since I mentioned her in yesterday’s ELO, here’s Sarah Carter. I think she needs to find a new hair stylist and Esquire needs to find someone better to run their photoshoots.

Mark Cuban’s lawyer wins life. Mavs minority owner Ross Perot Jr. filed a suit against Cuban saying he ruined the team. Cuban’s lawyer fired back with pictures of the Mavs with the NBA Championship. The defense rests. (Dallas Observer)

In other basketball news, who would have figured that Ron Artest would have dropped his therapist? He must have. Why else would he be changing his name to Metta World Peace. (Deadspin)

Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman resigned after bringing the team back up to 0.500 because he didn’t get a contract extension. Don’t worry though. He didn’t take losing his job too hard. (Washington Post)

After the jump, if you smell what The Rock is cooking, the games of summer and Peyton and Eli’s lockout job. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Safety Dance

Here’s the new Miss USA Alyssa Campanella. Hopefully we see more of her than last year’s Miss USA.

The Onion wants a Pulitzer Prize. It’s just too bad that the Pulitzer Board doesn’t have a sense of humour. (New York Times)

Ever wonder what would happen if NBA stars played against each other in their primes? Well SI and Strat-o-Matic try to figure out with this ultimate NBA fantasy draft. (Sports Illustrated)

The WSJ analyzed athlete tweets. Not surprisingly is their favourite topic is themselves. (Wall Street Journal)

After the jump, more from the Vancouver riots, craptacular video game brands and everybody look at your hands. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Championship Edition

It’s time for another round of your favourite set of Wednesday links on The Lowdown Blog… Actually, it’s the only set of links we do on Wednesdays. Anyway, here’s Jarah Mariano.

The New York Times examines Twitter hashtags as only the NYT can. The hashtag they’re looking for to describe hashtags is #Winning. (New York Times)

Not one, right LeBron? Despite losing the NBA Finals and not showing up for them, LeBron James is still a cocksucker. Not my words but I agree with the sentiment. (Deadspin)

By the way, it’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight. As a salute to sports’ greatest gladiators, here’s a comparison of hockey injuries to other sports injuries to show how tough they are. (Sports TV Jobs)

After the jump, the Dallas Mavs take South Beach, Bill Maher does Anthony Weiner and Chris is still like a Bosh. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: Go Big

I know we’re still some weeks away from the premiere of Fast Five but here’s Jordana Brewster who is the only reason to watch it near as I can figure.

The gang at MLB Trade Rumors had one of the biggest finds of the year when they published a Major League Baseball contract. Here’s a look at the more fascinating points found on a standard contract. (Business Insider)

It looks like the Big Four North American sports leagues are going to go global sooner or later. But just how will they look when they go worldwide? (Unathletic)

Sex and politics haven’t really gone together since the political administration. That isn’t stopping one ex-staffer from telling all in an upcoming book. (Washington Post)

After the jump, all about cricket, Rick Rolling Oregon and NBA lockout attack ads. Continue reading