TV

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Wednesday Link-Off: Leap Day

Normally, I’d break down the Oscars during the linkdump after the Oscars but Twitter and the Daytona 500 are much more interesting. The good news is that we can still lead off this linkdump with Natalie Portman on the red carpet.

The Daytona 500 was yesterday. Well, more or less. It ended in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Anyway, the big story of the race (besides exploding jet dryers) was driver Brad Keselowski tweeting during a red flag period. (Jalopnik)

And while NASCAR is very liberal about its social media policies, ESPN is tightening the strings regarding its employees’ Twitter accounts. (Deadspin)

Why do I bring these two stories up back-to-back? Because ESPN NASCAR analyst Brad Daugherty, who got his job because he liked NASCAR, not because he’s in any way qualified, thinks Keselowski should be fined because he must be in capable of tweeting while all cars are parked and nothing is happening for several hours then driving a race car afterwords. (The Daly Planet) After making those comments, Daugherty demanded that everyone get off his lawn.

After the jump, WWE stars do zumba, CBS screws up Sherlock Holmes and Seth Rogen has the best monologue of awards season. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: TV Timeout

Just so you know I haven’t forgotten our trademark set of early set of SI Swimsuit issue cover odds, here’s Chrissy Teigen. She’s definitely one of the 2013 front-runners.

The Simpsons just aired their 500th episode. They’ve been on air since 1989 but didn’t make a ratings splash until the famous 1992 episode called “Homer At The Bat.” Here’s the story behind the episode that gave Fox their first ratings win. (Deadspin)

With the NHL Trade Deadline next week, there’s an easy way to make yourself an NHL insider. Just follow the E.K.L.U.N.D. system. (On The Forecheck)

It’s only been a month since Versus switched to NBC Sports Network but so far the ratings are fairly abysmal. (Sports Business Journal)

After the jump, more sports TV news, why the Oscars will be wrong and selling a university in Australia is a snap. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Media Blitz

It was a big week for us at the blog last week. We had more people drop by this past week than in the whole month of January thanks to the SI Swimsuit Issue. So to celebrate, here’s one of my favourite SI Swimsuit models Cintia Dicker.

Craig James will indirectly feature in the new Friday Night Lights movie Jackie mentioned yesterday as it will parallel the Mike Leach story. But will the movie also feature a player’s father who creates his son’s entire career through his influence as a broadcaster like Craig James did? (Sports By Brooks)

Kate Upton has been doing the media rounds since making the SI Swimsuit cover. However, the media is treating her like she’s a blonde bimbo rather than an actual woman. (Midwest Sports Fans)

George Lucas’ daughter is a professional MMA fighter and is in a title match this weekend. Maybe she can kick everyone’s ass over Jar-Jar Binks. Actually, I’ll settle for kicking Jake Lloyd’s ass because he was worse than Jar-Jar. Yeah, I said it. Anakin was worse than Jar-Jar. (Sports Illustrated)

After the jump, the highest paid players of all-time, could Mass Effect make a great TV series, and Liam Neeson’s voice mail greeting. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: The Cold of Winter

Now that football season is over, we’re stuck in the middle of nothing right now. No good movies are going to come out for the next three months. We’re left with NBA to fill Sundays. And the racing season is still a couple of weeks away. But at least we have Reese Witherspoon to warm things up here.

The legendary William Shatner is bringing his one-man show to Broadway. He talked to Rolling Stone about his new show but sadly didn’t sing… yet. (Rolling Stone)

The FBI released their file on Apple founder Steve Jobs. It turns out that a lot of the man’s supposed friends thought he was a bit of a crook. (Gawker)

George Lucas just doesn’t get it any more. He says that Greedo always shot first but it was confused because of close-ups in the 1977 version. (Badass Digest) Not only does he not grasp dialogue but he doesn’t really understand his own characters. Now Han isn’t a badass but lucky that Greedo is the worst shot in the galaxy.

After the jump, why the Nielsen ratings system is broken, more Phantom Menace stuff and how to really remove ads from YouTube videos. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Super Sunday

It’s not just any Sunday today. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. That means we’re going to waste over ten hours watching pre-game, actual game, halftime and post-game coverage of a football game. It all seems to be a bit of a waste, doesn’t it? Anyway, let’s kick off the links with alleged former NFL WAG Kate Upton. She almost admitted to having that fling with Sanchez. We’ll all have the last laugh because he’ll be out of the league when his contract with the Jets expires.

Since it’s Super Bowl Sunday, why not feature a breakdown of which championship trophies are the best. (GQ)

Daulerio may have left Deadspin but that doesn’t mean his contributing his classic Daulerio-esque stories after the fact. This week, he brought us the tale of one of Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s mistresses. (Deadspin)

The US would like to remind you that they’ve declared themselves supreme rulers of the internet. They’ve spent the last week shutting down sports streaming websites. (Sports Grid)

After the jump, more on the Super Bowl, a look at horrible reality TV and Bill Murray does Letterman while wearing a Giants jersey. Continue reading →

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The Layover: The Complete First Season

Given how similar we are, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m a fan of chef/TV personality Anthony Bourdain. Last November, the Travel Channel debuted a second show starring Bourdain. This new one follows Tony as he spends a day in a city and explores the local culture and food scenes. Appropriately, this one is called The Layover. Fans of No Reservations will recognize the style of show but condensed into a smaller time frame.

Today, we bring you all ten of this season’s episodes including Tony’s layover in Montreal. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Sunday At The Movies

We’re back on our regularly scheduled day after pushing the mid-week links back a day. To make up for that earlier delay is Amber Heard. It’s amazing no one invited her to the Golden Globes just so she could dress like that.

In case you hadn’t heard, George Lucas is retiring. While his last few movies have been shit, you always hoped he had one more legendary flick left in the tank. (New York Times)

If it wasn’t already obvious, David Lynch is obsessed with coffee. (Huffington Post)

Last weekend, the famed ECW Arena held its final wrestling show. After being home to a revolutionary force in professional wrestling, it will be converted to a concert venue. (The Classical)

After the jump, all about Raonic, love triangles in video games and an Aussie prank war gets out of control. Continue reading →

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Thursday Link-Off: Back Online

The world is back online today after yesterday’s blackout protest to combat SOPA. It turns out that we weren’t blacked out but we do have that snazzy anti-SOPA ribbon in the upper-right. Speaking of snazzy, that’s one way of describing Jessica Alba at the Golden Globes.

Joe Paterno gave his post-firing/retirement interview to the Washington Post. It didn’t do much to clarify things. (The Big Lead)

It used to be that the Habs were a perpetual contender for the Stanley Cup. Now, they’re a shell of them former selves. So what exactly happened to the former model NHL franchise. (Sportsnet)

I’m going to pull a With Leather on this link and plug ourselves but here’s a reminder of what SOPA and yesterday’s are all about. (The Lowdown Blog)

After the jump, how sports writers act like fanboys, the best Sherlock Holmes ever and Vlad Putin: Hockey Superstar. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: The People’s Choice

The People’s Choice Awards were last week. Canada swept the awards for favourite TV drama actor and actress. Nathan Fillion took home the favourite actor award. The favourite actress award was taken home by Nina Dobrev.

I mentioned on Wednesday that LA Kings forward Dustin Penner injured his back while eating pancakes this week. Well, Penner has decided to set the record straight by writing an open letter to Kings fans. (Mayor’s Manner)

The next big thing in fantasy sports is coming from Canada. A Canadian company is at the forefront of live fantasy sports. (Toronto Star)

I’m not sure if ESPN is trolling everyone or if they’re just trying to drive us all insane. One episode of SportsCenter this week had 160 mentions of Tim Tebow. (Deadspin)

After the jump, sports TV fails, TV show creator fails and Samuel L. Jackson plays Call of Duty. Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Timeline (Infographic)

This year represents the 50th year of Doctor Who. The show debuted back in 1963 and the Doctor has gone on over 200 adventures with 46 different companions in 11 different incarnations. But have you ever wondered what the Doctor has been up to over the course of the last 49 years? This infographic is the best chronicle I’ve seen of all of the Doctor’s adventures. Continue reading →