A Cinderella Story of the Hip Hop Variety (via A Kaleidoscoped Life)

Posted on December 20, 2012 by bdoyk

It all started on Monday night: “Congratulations, You’re a Winner!” the email read. It was so nondescript that I assumed it was junkmail, but read it anyways. Turned out my hasty decision to submit a sweepstakes entry for a Macklemore & Ryan Lewis YouTube Presents taping had worked out in my favor and I was one of 200 people picked to attend. Great news, right? Well…you see, despite living in Music City, this was going to go down in New York City…in about 48 hours. Cue Clay Davis. My PhD budget barely has enough in it for drinks at 3Crow, definitely not for last minute flights to NYC. I forwarded the email to my main girl, Lauren, and suddenly things happened…fast. … Read More

(via A Kaleidoscoped Life)

The next Floyd Mayweather?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by AD

Yes, Floyd’s still doing his thing, although his thing seems to be less and less about boxing these days. Mayweather is thirty-five years old and still undefeated, the pound-for-pound champion of the sport, the self-proclaimed face of boxing. His mix of wealth and outspokenness keeps him relevant even as, for a variety of reasons, he fights less frequently. Juan Manuel Marquez’s knockout of Manny Pacquiao earlier this month only serves to complicate the question of whether Pacquiao and Mayweather ever will fight.

Meanwhile, Grantland has the story of Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, a young fighter who, like Mayweather, has Grand Rapids roots, preaches a gospel of hard work and dedication, and doesn’t lose:

(Here‘s the original post.)

[This space for rent]

Posted on December 18, 2012 by AD

News last week was that, by 2017, the Atlanta Falcons will have a new home and the Georgia Dome, losing its chief tenant, is set to be demolished. The future location of other events to which the Georgia Dome plays host, including the Georgia high school football championships, the SEC football championship, and, this year, the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four, is unknown. While I’ve always thought it looked a little dark in the dome when I saw it on tv, it isn’t like it’s raining in there like it was during the Silverdome’s end days.

While many of the details remain yet to be decided or announced, one thing seems certain: the Falcons’ new home will bear the name of a corporate sponsor. Currently, ten of the league’s thirty-one stadiums do not have a named corporate sponsor. If nothing else, these names are cumbersome to say, and while local residents likely would prefer putting up with these sterile tongue-twisters in exchange for having to commit public funds to the venues’ construction and maintenance, most fans probably bristle at the concept from some old, undefined corner of the fan gut. Sometimes a stomachable compromise is available; in this case, the “Coca Cola Coliseum ” the “Delta Dome,” or the “Georgia Pacific Arena” each might keep things feeling local, but a move to a title corporate sponsor will always feel like something has been lost.

Google Image Search indicates that this is a rendering of Atlanta’s new NFL stadium. A fan can only hope that the discount the owners secured by purchasing the structure used from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Committee will obviate the need to secure a naming sponsor.

ALDLAND Podcast

Posted on December 14, 2012 by bpbrady

Early December is a dead time for sports, but that doesn’t mean that ALDLAND can’t find things to talk about. Join Brendan and Marcus as they discuss the demise of the Big East and the crazy contracts that are being handed out like candy in Los Angeles.

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Download the ALDLAND podcast at our Podcasts Page or stream it right here:

Jam Jam Jam Jam

Posted on December 14, 2012 by AD

The world lost a musical giant this week. I have long been a fan of this performance of his, but since his passing, I was tipped off to the below performance, and if it was good enough for Jimi, it’s good enough for me:

You’re lucky, though: you don’t have to choose. You can enjoy both selections, and why not? Listen in to a few extended moments from this one, who’s just stepped off this mortal coil, if just for a moment.

Sitar Master Ravi Shankar Dies at Age 92 (via WSJ)

Posted on December 13, 2012 by AD

Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar master who built a global following and pioneered the charity concert, has died.

His official website carried this statement: “With profound grief and sorrow, we mourn the passing of Pandit Ravi Shankar on December 11, 2012. He died in San Diego at 4:30 pm Pacific time. He was 92.” … Read More

(via WSJ)

Cast your vote in ALDLAND’s Heisman poll

Posted on December 8, 2012 by AD

Tonight, at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York, one player will be named the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner. While public sentiment seems to be waffling a bit over the last week or so as to who will be the winner, it does seem clear that the recipient will either be a freshman or a defensive player. What we want to know is, who do you think will win?

If you think someone other than Manziel, Te’o, or Klein will win, explain in the comments below. Similarly, if you want someone to win, but don’t think he will, explain that too.

Join ALDLAND’s College Football Bowl Pick’em Contest

Posted on December 5, 2012 by bpbrady

Think you’re a pro when it comes to college football? Then prove it by competing against ALDLAND contributors and readers in our college football bowl pick’em contest. It’s free to join. All you need to do is read AD’s bowl preview, then click here to enter your picks. One entry per person, so make it count.

Bret Bielema is a mirror on the true state of college football

Posted on December 5, 2012 by AD

As reported everywhere yesterday, Bret Bielema is leaving his head coaching position at Wisconsin to become the head coach at Arkansas.

Bielema’s in his seventh year at Wisconsin, and he took the Badgers to a bowl game every year. When Wisconsin appears in the Rose Bowl this January, it will be the school’s third consecutive trip to Pasadena. Ten or fifteen years ago, a record and trajectory like this would cement the forty-two year-old Bielema’s (68-24 career record) destiny to become a legendary coach at Wisconsin and a top-echelon coach in college football’s historic conference. Today, it makes him plan B for a 4-8 team that went 2-6 in conference and itself lacks a consistent historical conference and regional identity.

To be fair, Arkansas was a top-five team last year, and had Bobby Petrino and his mistress not crashed his motorcycle, the Razorbacks probably would’ve contended for a national championship this year. Instead, another former Big Ten head coach rode the Hogs hard into the ground. (Then again, he’s got an acknowledged history of that.)

As much as Bielema’s decampment to Fayettville reflects the diminished stature of the Big Ten and affirms the completed rise of the SEC (and it’s hard to imagine the former’s recent expansion to fourteen teams didn’t play a role here), one has to wonder whether the Big Ten’s realization that the SEC is college football’s premiere conference actually indicates that we’re at some point on the downside of Peak SEC.

Whatever Bielema’s decision indicates about the state of college football, one thing seems clear: any complaints from the new Hog coach about recruiting tactics are going to fall on deaf ears in SEC land.