Been a while since we've had a simple link dump. All burnt out on politics? Or want to see something funny? How about Judge Judy vs. Sarah Palin? How about the 25 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time? How about the New York City Council voting to extend term limits - wait, that's not funny at all, DAMMIT! If you want a list of who's to blame, look here.
And when I looked into Bloomberg's cold eyes I saw N. Y. C.
Well, for more funny, this YouTube comedy video from PicnicFace made me laugh as Evany Rosen tries her hardest to talk about women in comedy...
And now, Big East Media Day links...
* The Daily News talks on how St. John's, Rutgers, and Seton Hall are looking up from the bottom of the Big East in men's basketball:
"I would not want to be starting over in the Big East at 16 (members), to climb up that hill," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun, whose Huskies were anointed the conference favorites ahead of Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. "We have eight teams ranked in the top 30. If you're at 14 (in the league), you still have to pass six to get there ... and if you could pass six teams and get to eighth or ninth, you might still not be in the NCAA Tournament. That's why it's so difficult for the young coaches.
"I feel bad for them, except when we play them I want to beat their brains in. (Louisville's Rick Pitino) will beat them. (Syracuse's Jim) Boeheim will beat them. Pittsburgh will beat them. Those teams aren't going away."
Calhoun underlined that by pointing out how a top program such as Louisville or UConn gets three blue-chip prospects for each one that the lower-tier teams get. And while the Big East's elite teams siphon away many good players who might have chosen one of the three locals, there are signs of progress. Rutgers brings in McDonald's All-American Mike Rosario from St. Anthony High in Jersey City, and St. John's has received a commitment for next season from former St. Raymond's standout Omari Lawrence.
* Some excellent stuff from NYHoops.com, quoting sophomore forward Justin Burrell:
On the off-season: "I’ve had a real good off season. I’ve been working hard on the court working on my skills, and I’ve been working hard in the weight room. Everyone’s been working really hard and we are really going at it in the weight room.
I’ve improved a great, great amount. My mind should be in the game more. All of the talent does not matter if you don’t understand where you should be and things like that. And, overall, I’ve improved a lot."
On who has impressed him the most: "DJ Kennedy and Paris Horne look real well right now. DJ is really attacking the basket and playing on both ends. Paris Horne is becoming a tremendous defender. And tenacious going to the rim."
On reading the big three message boards (Big East Boards, Johnny Jungle, Redmen): "Paris Horne follows the boards all the time. He talks about it all the time. I try my hardest to not read the newspaper articles or anything like that because they really don’t understand what’s going on in the inside and everything."
There is more on Burrell, and quotes from AJ Price, Marquette's Dwight Burke, Seton Hall's Eugene "NuNu" Harvey, and Notre Dame shooter Kyle McAlarney - check out NYHoops.com.
* Line of the day from Dominic James of Marquette:
"It's going to help me because it's going to open things up and I can get to the basket easier." (Yeah, but now a 20-foot shot is only worth two points). "Well, I wasn't any good from that range anyways."
-- Senior guard Dominic James, Marquette, on the new farther out 3-point line.
* Pittsburgh players are feeling snubbed by the lack of all-conference honors. Well, the league is just trying to keep you motivated.
* And outside of media day, Syracuse picks up a recruit from Senegal for 2010 named Baye Moussa Keita; they picked up another recruit a few days ago, CJ Fair. Shows what recruiting can be from the upper half of the Big East Conference... an arms race.
* Also outside of media day, Cincinnati loses a prized freshman point guard, Cashmere Wright, to a knee injury. Good luck to Wright, he would have played a big role on this year's team.
* Ohio State freshman QB Terelle Pryor seriously considered playing basketball at Pitt. He committed to the Panthers sophomore year.