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Wednesday Link-Off: Where’s the Money?

anne-v-gqmexico13-03Sorry about the week starting off a little slow on posts. A lot of time went into last week so we’re a bit behind on this week. There are a couple of good gaming posts to close the week that I’m sure you’ll like. For now, here’s the most featured woman in SI Swimsuit history, Anne V.

The big story of the week is NBA player Jason Collins coming out of the closet to make him the first player in an American team sports league to “come out of the closet” as gay. (Sports Illustrated)

President Obama is having trouble getting his agenda through Congress. Compromising isn’t getting him far. He may just have to use his charisma to get his policy proposals through. (Washington Post)

The Harper Conservatives swept to power promising fiscal responsibility. Good luck running the on that when you’ve just lost $3.1 billion that was supposed to go to an anti-terror program. (CBC News)

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Steve’s Ridiculous 2013 NHL Trade Deadline Predictions

Every year, I like to play the unique role of outside insider / prognosticator / comedian with my annual ridiculous predictions series of posts. This time out, I’m making my ridiculous predictions for the NHL Trade Deadline. After all, when experts and reporters talk about deals at the trade deadline, they always think that teams will make deals that make sense for all involved. In reality, the NHL doesn’t work that way. Players have no-trade clauses in their contracts and some GMs have no sense whatsoever. So let’s take a fun look at this year’s NHL trade deadline.

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Sunday Link-Off: A Leg to Stand On

jasmine-tookes-victoriassecret13-07Good news! I’m finally back at Lowdown HQ after being away for the last month or so. Hopefully I can pick things up a bit instead and drop a few more original posts and opinion columns. But since it’s Sunday, it’s time for the links. First, it’s new Victoria’s Secret model Jasmine Tookes.

So you’ve probably heard quite a bit about the Oscar Pistorius case but aren’t quire sure what happened. Here’s a graphic that illustrates what Pistorius says he did. Drawing it out this way sure raises some questions. (National Post)

But while this it seems as though Pistorius’ case doesn’t have a leg to stand on, the culture of South Africa means that this case is far more complex than we give it credit for. (Toronto Star)

Another famous athlete charged with murder gives his opinion. What does OJ think of this case? (Kinston Free Press)

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Sunday Link-Off: Supe-Har Bowl Sunday

beyonce-gq13-04You know what? Fuck the Harbaughs. As a Lions fan, fuck that disrespectful Jim Harbaugh. Coach Schwartz could kick his ass. And John I don’t mind as much but fuck Ray Lewis. He’s hiding behind god so he doesn’t have to answer about that homicide charge and that deer antler spray. 

Right, as today is the Super Bowl and since she is performing in the halftime show, let’s start this post off with Beyonce.

Did you know that the NRA has an enemies list? Chances are that someone you like is on that list. (Daily Kos)

January wasn’t a good one for Faux Fox News. The right-wing “news” channel had its worst primetime ratings in twelve years last month. (The Week)

Speaking of the right-wing media, the Breitbart network of blogs has added a sports blog. Naturally, its most popular post is about a homophobic football player. (Vice)

After the jump, all of our Super Bowl links, a bunch of NHL links and oppan flipbook style. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Under Control

We’ve reached the end of another week. Shockingly, I didn’t freeze to death here in Canada. The week before last was above zero and most of the snow melted. From Thursday through to last night, I’d say I’ve seen about a foot-and-a-half of snow. Why the hell did anyone establish a permanent settlement somewhere so cold and snowy? Anyway, let’s heat things up with Jennifer Garner.

President Obama signed his executive orders on gun control that Congress will eventually veto because the NRA has intimidated what little common sense remains in the Republican Party. Anyhow, here’s a look at what Obama’s proposal includes. (Think Progress)

Shootings in America aren’t just a mass shooting problem. In the month after Newtown, 919 people were killed by guns. (National Post)

It’s only four years after Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black President in United States history. However, just by looking at him, you couldn’t tell that it’s been only four years. (Washington Post)

After the jump, a look at the inconclusive link between violence and video games, where does Livestrong’s money go and Luongo Unchained. Continue reading →

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Join The 2013 Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey Pool

It’s time once again for the annual Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey Pool. We’ve created our fantasy hockey league over on the TSN/ESPN fantasy website. It’s a public pool so anyone can join. As with last year, if we run out of space in the first pool, we’ll create a second one. It’s a head-to-head league with the winner of each match-up based on winning the most of the nine categories (G, A, +/-, PIM, SOG, STP [Special Teams Points], Wins, GAA, SV%) in play kinda like the old Yahoo pools we all used to play. Each team has 20 roster spots with nine forwards, four defensemen and two goalies starting each night.

The autopick draft takes place at 5:00 AM Thursday, January 17, so sign up now and set your picks.

Click here to go to The Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey League.

The first league has filled up. We’ve added a second pool which is a points pool. It’s draft is at 5:00 AM on Friday.

Click here to go to the second Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey Pool.

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Sunday Link-Off: That’s No Moon…

michea-crawford-paindusucre13-03Another week, another… Well, I can’t say dollar any more since WP’s in-house ad service doesn’t seem to be showing ads. Anyhow, I’ve been a little torn between here and et geekera which probably means posts are or will get a little thin between the two blogs. If you want to write for either site to make my life a little easier get your name out there and have a little fun at the same time, you can email me at thelowdown [at] live.ca.

As for today’s links, let’s start with Canadian model Michea Crawford.

For a while, it looked touch and go as to who would win the US Presidential election but Barack Obama pulled it out. What really helped him stretch his lead early in the campaign was that Reddit AMA. It was a big risk but it paid off with a big reward. (BuzzFeed)

The petition to have America build a Death Star got enough signatures to require a response from the White House. They responded in absolutely epic fashion. (The White House)

Alabama won their 15th national title in college football last Monday. The game was the highest-rated program in cable TV history and the BCS TV deal is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. So where does all that money go? (The Fiscal Times)

After the jump, a big change at Gawker, the science of Serenity and changes coming soon to YouTube. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Deal or No Deal

eva-longoria-gqmexico12-01After a few rather slim linkdumps, the internet is back up and running which means we have a regular sized set of links today. Since I have some photos queued up that I keep meaning to run at the start of the links, here’s Eva Longoria.

America’s fiscal cliff was solved just in time by the US Congress. It’s just a temporary thing because there is a debt ceiling crisis looming in which the Republicans will play chicken with the world economy again by threatening to default on their debt. Anyway, the bad blood between Democrats and Republicans almost meant that this deal didn’t get done. (Politico)

The folks at Bloomberg did an in-depth recap of this summer’s infamous maple syrup heist. Yes, it was that big a story. (Businessweek)

The hacking group Anonymous scares a lot of people but they’re often a force for good. For example, they uncovered evidence in the case of a rape allegedly committed (innocent until guilty) by high school football players in Stubenville, Ohio. (The Atlantic Wire)

After the jump, Normstradamus has a golf column, Guy Fieri has more crappy food for you and a massive NYE TV fail. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Powerslam

This is definitely an eclectic collection of links we have today. There’s a bit of news, technology, pop culture, video games and even some hockey links that aren’t about lockout negotiations. Ha! “Negotiations.” There’s no hope to save the season the way they’re going. Anyway, here’s Maria Menounos.

David Simon, former journalist and the man behind many TV shows you might love like The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Streets and Treme, says the media’s handling of the Petraeus scandal shows it’s lost its way. (The Audacity of Dispair)

Papa John and other restaurant big wigs are going to pass the costs of Obamacare on to you because they say the cost of providing basic health insurance to their workers is going to break them financially. It’s just too bad they’re full of shit. (Slate)

The US Senate is looking at a bill to remove almost all of your internet privacy. A bill being introduced will allow a whole host of federal agencies warrantless access to your electronic correspondence. (CNET News) Hopefully this gets the attention from the internet that SOPA and PIPA did because this bill is a big deal.

After the jump, don’t troll Anderson Cooper, how people are coping without the NHL and Psy is 2 legit 2 quit. Continue reading →

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There Is No Right Side In The 2012 NHL Lockout

In 2004, it was clear to the fans that the NHL wasn’t going to survive as it was without a decrease in spending on player salaries. After locking out the year for a league, the NHL got a salary cap that gave players a maximum of 57% of hockey-related revenues which resulted in a salary rollback of 24%.

Seven years after the first lockout ended, we’re basically back where we started. The owners say they are losing money and need to cut spending. The players aren’t willing to rollback their salaries again given that the NHL is going through a period of record revenues.

With both sides claiming that the other side is plenty rich enough, we’ve reached another impasse and another lockout. Unlike the last lockout, no one side is right and no one side is wrong. Everyone has played a part in arriving at the latest NHL lockout. Continue reading →