.The event that resulted in Caleb Moore's death at the X Games has been halted. An ESPN spokesman told ESPN's very own newswire that the decision to cut the events was not tied to Moore's death at all. "Moto X Best Trick and Snowmobile Best Trick were not dropped in response to what happened in Aspen," the ESPN spokesman told ESPN. "This decision was under consideration before Aspen, and, in fact, our review of Snowmobile Freestyle continues."
.I'm no mathematical stat geek, but I'm very open minded to advanced metrics in all sports. You can shun and disparage them now, but they'll only become more and more prevalent in the game, as YOUR favorite team's decisions are based more and more on quantifiable data. I like to consider myself a balance of the objective data available and my instinctual subjective side. Got that? That was a very long way of suggesting you check out this interview with D'Backs pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, who's as stat friendly as any player in the game. He's certainly the most outspoken individual when it comes to MLB's burgeoning progressive new ideas.
.In most polls among fans, Best of Both Worlds 1 & 2 is the best Star Trek: TNG has ever offered. It's coming to theaters (Franklin Park) on April 25th as a 90 minute feature.
.As I mentioned in yesterday's 2 Minute Take, Tom Lewand is the Lions offseason MVP so far. No outlandish, head scratching contracts have been handed out - yet. Bush has a cap number of just $2 million this year (just $5 mil guaranteed), and the Lions were wise not to franchise Chris Houston, which would've run them over $10 million for one season, instead he's locked into just over $9 million over the life of the deal. Well done, Mr. Lewand.
.And enough with the Cliff Avril bashing, who turned down 3/30 last year from the Lions, and received 2/15 from Seattle, including the $10.5 million he made last year, from '12-'14, Avril lost about $4.5 million to almost assure himself a postseason appearance by becoming a Seahawk for the next few years. The Lions SHOULD be better than 4 wins in '13, but the Seahawks are a Super Bowl favorite. Sure, NFL players should get what they can, when they can, but if Avril's a Super Bowl champ in 11 months, maybe losing $4.5 million was worth it. He could even crack 15 sacks with that Seattle secondary that's constantly locking down WRs. That'll get him more big money when he's a FA again in two years, before he turns 30.
.Jones, who played his rookie season in Tennessee with Schwartz as his defensive coordinator, should start at one end spot but also can play defensive tackle. From Dave Birkett at the Detroit Free Press. Even if Jones plays all over the line and isn't a DE starter per se, with Jones addition, no need to draft a DE at 5. If Milliner is there, take him. If not, a lineman. Martin Mayhew's BPA strategy should be altered to 'when in doubt, protect the franchise qb.' An end rusher can be selected in the mid rounds, just as Cliff Avril was.
.Your company's IT people are preppingfor you to slow down the network at work - while you're likely streaming games. New research from IT staffing firm Modis revealed that more than one-third of businesses across the country take action to prepare their networks for the increased traffic during March Madness. Overall, more than 40 percent of the companies surveyed have had their networks either slowed or even temporarily shut down by the popular three-week college basketball tournament.
.We've all had the blue screen of death before, but have you ever seen it in an arena, on a big screen?
.The B1G schools depicted by Simpsons characters.
.Welcome to the beginning of Gus Madness.
