Jeremy Lin went from waiver wire fodder to international sensation over a period of a few weeks this past NBA season. Those weeks were extremely valauble for the turnover-troubled point guard: he signed a three-year $25 million free agent deal with the Houston Rockets. Among the top storylines that surrounded Lin was that when he first joined the Knicks he spent several weeks sleeping on his brother's couch. Not the standard resting place for an NBA sensation...

Well, fame and fortune haven't seemed to change Lin very much, at least according to this tweet from new Rockets teammate Chandler Parsons:

Glad all that @nba money didn't change him @jlin7. twitter.com/ChandlerParson…

— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) September 16, 2012

While I'm not a huge fan of Lin's play ON the court, off the hardwood he's an absolute blogger's dream.

[Chandler Parsons]
 

The NFL is a multi billion dollar enterprise that has seen fit to quibble with its referees who all make significantly less then the minimum salary an actual player can earn. Thanks to the NFL holding a hard line we have seen replacement referees who are woefully incapable of calling the games. But hey, why should a simple thing like the outcome of games matter?

Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy made one of the most damning statements about the replacement refs on a radio show Monday saying:

"They're like fans, kind of though. I'll be honest, they're like fans. One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, like 'McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy,' ahhh, what?!"

Of course, this is on the heels of the NFL having to suspend one official, an ardent Saints fan, who was scheduled to work the team's game this past Sunday.

Now, I'm not going to pretend that the real refs are perfect (or that they aren't fans too); however, they at least do a good job of disguising it. Think of the US Supreme Court, everyone knows that each of the justices is either for one political party or the other but they at least PRETEND they aren't doing outright campaigning for their preferred party while they are on the bench. 

These replacement refs are a DISGRACE and the NFL should be beyond embarrassed that they are on the field. Then again, we fans are the real idiots here because we're so desperate for football that we allow it to continue. Sigh.

[CBS Philadelphia] 

Sure the Red Sox season has been an absolute embarrassment and debacle but hey, at least I'm not a Mets fan right? Sigh.

Via ESPN Stats and Info comes this disturbing stat: 

Per ELIAS: Most wins at Citi Field since All-Star Break-- Nationals 6, Braves 5, Rockies 4, Mets 4

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 13, 2012

Yikes!

[ESPN Stats Info] 

Manny Machado is going to be an excellent Major League shortstop, right now though the Baltimore Orioles need a third baseman and so he's been rushed to the big leagues to play the hot corner. So far, he's more than held his own. Prior to his team winning in the ninth against the Rays and holding onto their tie for first place with New York, Machado and the O's needed to get out of the ninth without giving up a run. 

With a man on second, Machado fielded a soft grounder that would have been a difficult play to make at first. Instead, he pulled off a bit of trickery, dekeing Rich Thompson into rounding third and then quickly tossing back to nab the runner at the bag. Big props are also due to JJ Hardy for being in a position to make the play.



To top it all off, Machado ended up scoring the winning run in the bottom half of the inning. Not bad rook. Not bad at all.

[MLB]   
 

Amidst their busy schedules of doing nothing and squabbling, the US Congress got down to the important busy of awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to famed beverage innovator and leader of what I assume is a paramilitary vigilante group, "Arnie's Army", Arnold Palmer.

"He didn't set out to change the game. But he did. Arnold Palmer democratized golf. And made us think that we too could go out and play, and made us believe we could do anything really. All we had to do was go out and try," said John Boehner, the Congressial delegate for the Oompa Loompa population. 

Only six other athletes have ever been honored with the award, including Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis, and Byron Nelson. 

[Golf Digest]
 

Good and bad news for the students of Colorado University at Boulder: the University of Colorado Board of Regents have decided to allow people to carry guns nearly anywhere on campus. 

The decision came after a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that permitted gun holders can't be banned from bringing their firearms wherever they please. 

Thankfully, SOME good sense carried the day, the UC Regents ruled that guns remain banned from all ticketed sports events and concerts on campus.

I guess that means we won't be likely to see a reenactment of The Last Boy Scout any time soon... 


That's probably a good thing though.

[9 News] 
 

Oakland A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy is the owner of one of the funnier and more enjoyable Twitter accounts in all of baseball. McCarthy also had the unfortunate luck of getting slammed in the face with a baseball off the bat of Angel Eric Aybar last week. The injury resulted in an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture that was repaired with two hours of surgery. 

Despite the injury, McCarthy retains his sense of humor, as evinced by this tweet as he left the hospital on Tuesday:


How can you NOT root for a guy like that?

McCarthy is out for the rest of the season but should make it back without any ill effects next year.

[Brandon McCarthy] 
 

Despite a 4-game preseason, many NFL players are still rounding out into proper game shape. Two of the league's best tight ends scored on Sunday but when it came to their celebrations, both came up short. 

San Francisco's Vernon Davis is a monster of a human being but after nabbing a touchdown in his team's win over Green Bay he was rejected by the crossbar when he tried to dunk.


Then there was New England's Rob Gronkowski. Coming off the best season by a tight end ever, Gronk had an active offseason but now it is time to get back to business. However, after scoring his first touchdown of the season Gronk goes for his signature power spike only to lose a handle on the ol' pigskin. 


Don't worry fellas, there are 15 more regular season games to work on your craft.
 

Novak Djokovic received a marriage proposal from a teenage boy while the Serbian star was practicing prior to a US Open match and in a refreshing bit of non-homophobia and fan-friendliness, Djokovic was in fact quite excellent about it. 

Djokovic invited the approximately 12-year-old boy onto the court, handed him a racquet and had the lad take some serves while giving some tips and pointers. Afterwards, Djokovic gave the kid a big hug and led him off the court. The fans in attendance were cheering the boy on during his serves and he even received a marriage proposal of his own from an older woman when he returned to the stands. 


Djokovic went on to win his match handily. 

[LA Times] 
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As if the comments from members of the Catholic Church about Jerry Sandusky weren't bad enough, here comes an image from EA Sports' megafranchise, Madden 13, that is both surprising and bizarre. 


Seriously?

Remember how people got all pissed off about Michael Vick fighting dogs? Well, Jerry Sandusky sexually abused CHILDREN for DECADES. Human children. Are you fucking kidding me EA? That's some bullshit right there.

[Black Sports Online]