STARTING FIVE
The T–Wolves will go from smoke last night to Heat this weekend.
1. En Fuego
The Minnesota Timberwolves versus the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City. Love–Duncan. Rubio-Parker. Not-Happening.
The game was called on account of smoke after a fire broke out in the elevator at Mexico City Arena.
This contest, staged abroad, would have featured players from seven different sovereign lands — France, Italy, Brazil, U.S.A., Virgin Islands, Spain and Yugoslavia.
The T-Wolves now have two days off before facing the Heat in Miami on Saturday night, so assuming that they don’t return home (to Minneapolis in December?!? Are you cray-cray??), they’re just about the happiest team in the league. Couple days in Cancun? South Beach? St. Bart’s? It’s all good.
2. Brad Edwards and Willie Meggs Have An Announcement to Make
If Winston is charged, the number on that jersey will change to “5 to 7”
Considering its impact on both the BCS National Championship as well as the Heisman Trophy, today’s 2 p.m. press conference in Tallahasssee concerning whether or not Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will be charged with sexual assault ought to be sponsored by the Home Depot. It’s Florida, where anything can happen (George Zimmerman, Casey Anthony, offensive players blocking one another), but it would seem odd to call a press conference to announce that you’re pressing charges. Wouldn’t you simply arrest the alleged offender first and then hold the presser?
The announcement will be at 2 p.m.
By the way, yesterday afternoon on ESPN Todd McShay and Trevor Matich (love Trevor Matich!) were discussing the pros and cons of Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas leaving Eugene early. Both agreed that because no position is more cerebral that it can’t really hurt Mariota to acquire one more year of seasoning in the Pac-12 (Matt Leinart might disagree), but then Matich, assessing the position that Thomas plays, said that it requires “the intelligence of a geranium.” Hilarious.
Let’s face it: the Raiders have made worse draft picks than this.
Some producer must have screamed into Matich’s ear because the next time big Trev had an opportunity to talk, he informed us that he did not mean to imply that De’Anthony had the intelligence of a geranium, though simply by feeling the need to assure us of that, wasn’t that even more insulting?
3. Meet The Beatles
Fate will not treat the four Canadians in this photo well.
So, the dude on the far left, the one who thinks he’s an Ohio State offensive lineman departing Michigan Stadium, was murdered earlier this year. The two dudes on the far right whose faces are computer-imaged out are both in jail. And the portly white dude in the middle remains the mayor of Toronto.
4. “This Sounds Like A Good Ex-Governor…To Poop On!”
Now Palin and Bashir have something in common: they’ve both resigned from high-profile jobs.
Actually, to be more precise, to “poop in.” Or so MSNBC host Martin Bashir indirectly suggested someone do to Sarah Palin so that she might better appreciate the horrors of slavery the next time she compared something to slavery. Bashir? Bash-her is more like it! Right? Right???
Yesterday Bashir, who made these remarks on November 15 and then apologized for them on-air, announced his resignation. Not that you were watching MSNBC at 4 p.m. weekdays, anyway, so your life will probably go on relatively undisturbed. I mean, it’s not as if Trey Wingo or Suzy Kolber suggested this.
Another takeaway from this hoo-ha: “Two Girls, One Cup” pre-dates the viral video age by nearly two centuries.
5. Portlandialdridge
Hey, Bill Walton, we promise to start paying attention to Portland again.
In the span of three nights the Portland Trail Blazers took down two of the NBA’s four best teams at the Rose Garden. On Tuesday night they outlasted the Indiana Pacers 106-102 and last night they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-104. Portland now has the league’s second-best record (16-3) behind Indiana and its second-best home record (8-1) behind the two teams that it defeated this week, who are both 9-0 at their homes. As soon as the networks can figure out whom to market (LaMarcus Aldridge) and where the Pacific Northwest is, the TBs may actually play nationally televised games. If only OKC had never left Seattle…
By the way, two of Portland’s three losses have come to the Suns (10-9), and the third time they met Portland won by one, in the Rose City, when Phoenix missed a bunny at the buzzer. No wonder these two franchises appear to be getting along so well lately.
Reserves
How does Champ Kind not land a gig on ESPN News?
Stay Classy, Bristol
In the wake of actual news –the announcement about Jameis Winston — Ron Burgundy’s appearance on the 6 p.m. “SportsCenter” was canceled last night. Somewhere Vince Vaughn is cackling.
She’s no Lynda Carter, but who is?
Meet Israeli model Bar Rafaeli Gal Godot, who will play “Wonder Woman“ in the eponymous upcoming film. Yes, she’s a Gal who’s a woman. At this stage of the game the only thing left to prattle about is who will be the last superhero to have his own full-length feature film and whether Adrian Grenier will actually land the role of Aquaman (not a chance; too skinny). My bet for the final superhero to have a film would be Elongated Man.
There’s method acting, and then there’s this role.
****
Before they go six feet under, the Rolling Stones are headed Down Under next March for what presumably will be their final tour of Australia. Ticket prices are enough to make a grown man cry.
Remote Patrol
MACtion!
ESPN 8 p.m.
Travis Greene of Bowling Green (nudge) has seven games of 120-plus rushing yards this season.
Bowling Green versus undefeated NIU and Jordan Lynch for the MAC Championship inside Not-Rob-Ford Field. In the unlikely event that Winston is charged with sexual assault, you might be looking at your Heisman front-runner. The Huskies are one final win away from a BCS bowl, but the Falcons have won four straight by an average of 40 points per game. Keep an eye out for Falcon RB Travis Greene, who averages 118 yards per game rushing.
Yep, the Trailblazers are smokin’ & they haven’t even played in Mexico.
Three questions about the Winston case – If no charges are filed, how long before the woman files a civil suit? Or will she wait unitl AFTER he’s drafted next year to ensure a bigger payday? And whatever the DA decides, which media outlet will be the 1st to call it a, wait for it, “HATCHET job”? Tip of the ole warbonnet…
Stock update. Four years ago this week I bought a little (alas, emphasis very little) of a refiner – Frontier Oil. In 2011, it merged with Holly Corporation & it became Holly Frontier (HFC). Since the merger, they’ve been throwing cash back at we shareholders 8 times a year with regular & “special” dividends. By the end of this year, my div-adjusted cost basis will be $3.67/share. If they continue the dividends again next year at same rates, my cost basis will be $.49/share. FORTY-NINE CENTS! If I don’t buy anymore (I’ve been waiting for that elusive market downturn for 2 freakin years now), my cost basis will be BELOW ZERO. Wish I could say I knew this would happen! If I had, I’d have bought a heck of a lot more. Anyway, this stock will soon pass ANN as my best performer. By the end of next year, it could be a “100 bagger”. Whoooeeeee! This is why I can ALMOST laugh at BBRY. (And then there’s that investment in a little gold exploration company which has made BBRY look positively stellar this year. Sigh).
I also own a little of 2 other refiners, VLO & PSX (spinoff of my COP) & while they have done well, they pale in comparison to little HFC.
My fave part is that when I bought both HFC & VLO, everything I read said to “stay away from the refiners!”. Of course, I read the same thing when I bought AMZN. Sometimes I wonder HOW these “experts” actually make money.
Anyway, if you ever feel like it, would love to read your best & worst stock investments.