Jonathan Chait is an otherwise excellent journalist who will sometimes mount a terrible, sentimental defense of the NCAA, seemingly as a sort of party trick, like a guy opening beer bottles with his teeth. Stop that shit, writes Scott Lemieux. [TAP] Read more

Some rhymes for your fan-pride video, courtesy Spencer Hall: "I rep Vandy, and roll candy/ paint on the drop, Anchor Down like your pops/ on your mom, your sis, and twice on your girl/ My degree gets paper like gheri gets curl." [EDSBS] Read more

Elmore Leonard's rules for writing: "The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in." [The Stacks] Read more

Your morning cry: This story, about the drowning death of former Atlanta Hawks big man Dan Roundfield, is very, very sad. [NYT] Read more

Here's another big, pretty, award-baitingly tasteful New York Times project that everyone will pretend to have read: "The Jockey." Read more

Funbag will run tomorrow, for some bullshit reason. Read more

Posnanski does that great Posnanski thing on Drungo LaRue Hazewood, a minor-league folk hero who went hitless in five at-bats with the Orioles in 1980, his only stint in the majors. Hazewood died on Sunday. [Joe Blogs] Read more

Join us at 2 p.m. for a chat with Nate Silver, the new guy at ESPN. Read more

The MMQB's David Epstein gets into the weeds on HGH testing. This is your monthly reminder that we're talking about a test of dubious efficacy for a substance of uncertain benefits. [MMQB] Read more

You're all right, Rex Ryan: Read more

.@ProFootballTalk if they do it points to motive that Hernandez was playing FMK w/ his gf, her sister,and Lloyd that nite,,what a competitor Read more

"The leadership that pushed 'Patriot Way' looks like it has lost its way." Guess fucking who. Read more