Weekend Reader

Some fresh and not so fresh links to keep you entertained before the Final Four and after, during that long, lazy Sunday before Monday's title game...

--Yesterday I expressed excitement, and confusion, over the fact that Chuck Klosterman was blogging from the Final Four in Atlanta. Gawker.com (Deadspin's daddy) has a significantly more vitriolic take on Chuck's blog-bash in his initial post. While their post is interesting enough on it's own, the comments might be even better.

I wondered how bad the Chuck-lash currently was, but it seems as if he, to borrow from Malcolm Gladwell, reached his tipping point a few years ago. There were people in the comments claiming to hate him from the moment he started at SPIN, and others who cited Killing Yourself to Live as the last straw.

Now, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs still sells remarkably well, so if I had to estimate said tipping point, it seems like somewhere between Cocoa Puffs and Killing Yourself so circa-2005. That seems fitting. This was also the year Maria Carey was "Emancipated" to the delight of 10 million music fans.

--So Oprah has officially endorsed Cormac McCarthy's The Road as her latest book club pick and, despite protestations to the contrary in today's Boston Globe, it still seems like a dark, edgy pick to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would guess that the majority of Oprah's disciples hadn't read McCarthy's post-apocalyptic opus. Stories about cannibalism and a father-son struggle to survive in a world gone dark aren't exactly mom approved, so I'm sticking to my guns.

I have yet to read the book, but it's on my queue now. (Does this make me a disciple?) In the meantime, Oprah's omnipresent reach has resulted in a media blitz for all things McCarthy which is good news for us. The New York Times has made available one of the few interviews with the reclusive author and you can find it here.

Now that that's out of the way, I should probably provide some sportswriting since that's sort of what I typically do around here.

--The Tim Tebow Bill? In Alabama? After you get done reading that (and stop ogling the accompanying photo), the college big-rig race that I mentioned a few days ago is still getting submissions. Browse around on The Wizard of Odds to see the latest entries. (Congrats to the site for starting a legitimate Internet phenomenon with that initial post.)

--The great thing about baseball previews is that there are so many of them. Don't like the placement of your favorite team, no worries, just find another one. After seeing far too many realistic evaluations that had the Cubs as low as fourth in the NL Central, I was delighted to find that One More Dying Quail has the Cubbies in the World Series against the Sawx.

I'm not so certain that could happen, but I like to dream. It feels like 2003 all over again. (Side note: How hard is the NL Central to handicap this year? A number of previews I've seen have the Brewers taking the pennant. Now, I like the Brewers team and honestly I'd be delighted if they did, but I'm not sold yet.)

--Don't forget that we have the first major Derby prep race of the year on Saturday, the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Problem is, you might have trouble finding it. No national coverage. Luckily, Left at the Gate has you covered.

Morning Walk-thru - Who Sewed the Sole?

Shoe Feud!...LeBron James doesn't like Stephon Marbury's cheap kicks. Before Tuesday night's game against the Knicks, which Marbury won with a three-pointer with 8 seconds left, King James said he couldn't imagine endorsing a sneaker that retails for $15--like Marbury does--because Nike "hold(s) their standard high."

For a guy who wants to become the first billionaire baller, I'd expect a slightly sharper business acumen out of LeBron. How much do you think your shoes cost to manufacture? I'm positive that there isn't a difference of more than two dollars between the Starbury's and LeBron's shoe. Retail, however, James' shoes cost 10-times as much.

How can you dog a guy for trying to do something good and offering a shoe that anyone can afford? (Especially when you consider it's Marbury who's not normally known for his magnanimosity.) Hakeem Olajuwon did this with the preeminent K-Mart brand, Spalding, back during the dream shake days, but Marbury went out and actively tried to promote it, so give the guy credit.

Sorry, LeBron, you're wrong here. Regardless, Ralph Nader doesn't like either option.

The Good Ole Running Back Committee...Last year Nebraska used a four-person running back by committee to surprising success and nobody thought they'd be able to keep all four happy again in 2007. Now, I'm just hoping the Cornhuskers have somebody who can line up behind the quarterback.

First, Brandon Jackson left for the NFL. Then Marlon Lucky overdosed on something. Physically, he's fine now but mentally I'm concerned. Cody Glenn is still recovering from a foot injury and out for spring practice, and Kenny Wilson was also missing practice due to a staph infection in his knee.

But now he's out for THE YEAR, after snapping his femur moving a television. Two questions: 1) What kind of TV was that?! Had to be a 6-year-old Sony Wega bigger than 50-inches. I moved one once and it was a bitch. 2) Don't we pay our players enough that they can afford slimmer, better picture, less femur-snapping flat screens? Can we start?

Nebraska has pie in the sky BCS hopes coming in to 07, but the off season has been pretty awful. This is not setting up well for Mr. Keller.

Thank you, ESPN...Let's be honest, unless your team is playing, the Final Four isn't that interesting. If you had a choice between watching the first two rounds of the Tournament or the last two, which would you choose? Anyone who tells you the latter is lying.

The N.C.A.A Tournament has become all about the first four days. Upsets and live look-ins, that's what we want! Days full of basketball not three paltry games.

But just when I had consigned myself to watching the Final Four passively, ESPN went and did something great: they sent Chuck Klosterman to Atlanta.

Due to his increasing popularity and the inherent vanity of his writing, it's probably not cool to like Chuck but I do. I've read everything he's ever written and even attended a reading of his. He's doing a blog for Page 2 which is interesting because, based on everything I'd ever read or heard from Klosterman, I always assumed he hated blogs. Not like Dan Shaughnessy hates blogs, but Chuck sort of represented the generation break in terms of blogging: a guy who'd cut his teeth doing "real" journalism who might have a reason to despise instant journalism. And, in his first entryy, he took a backhanded swipe at the format, writing:

I will reciprocate by writing sporadic e-mail posts throughout the entire weekend. This is a very popular art form among affluent American young people, especially those who are fans of James Walcott and/or profoundly interested in unauthorized photographs of Nicole Richie's rib cage. I believe there is even a name for this journalistic practice, but I can't remember what it is; normally, I use the Internet only to discuss math principles via CompuServe.

Nevertheless, blogging he is and I urge you to check it out. It will be as randomly referenced and philosophically sound as anything you'll read this weekend.