Funny Video

(h/t Dave from Brown County)

This is pretty funny.

Remember the NFL player who was paralyzed a couple of weeks ago? Some TV station was talking about him the other day and they used the wrong video.

Loaded Gundy

I was hoping to stay out of the Mike Gundy analysis this week, but now that it's Saturday and talk of his meltdown has returned to the forefront, here are a few points to consider.

1) There's definitely some gray area when writing about college athletes because they're only 18-22 years old.

2) When I first started covering preps many years ago, one of the tips I was given was something like, "Instead of saying, 'Johnny fumbled at his own 2-yard line,' say, 'The Wildcats recovered a fumble at the Tigers' 2-yard line.' Focus on the hero, not the goat.

3) But the minute an 18-year-old kid signs his name on a piece of paper that asks him to be a quarterback in the Big 12 Conference for the next few years, I think most, maybe all, of those rules of sensitivity can get thrown out the window. When you're that good, you're known as "The Man," so start acting like one. Aren't you probably the same coddled athlete who's had lots handed to him, who slept with all the pretty girls in your high school, the kid who probably got out of trouble a time or two with the local cops because you were Mr. Big Time on Friday nights? And now that you're on campus, aren't you getting lots of free beer and adulation and offers from more beautiful women? And, oh yeah, a free college education with plenty of other perks? You can be a man then, so why not when it comes to a few sticks and stones thrown by a mediocre columnist?

4) If you're currently being recruited by Gundy, you probably liked what you've watched on YouTube eight or 10 times by now, right? You know that he's got your back, so maybe you're now more than likely to sign with Oklahoma State in February. Was this a PR stunt?

5) Athletes and coaches need to mean it when they say they don't read the papers.

6) Writers don't like becoming the story after they've written one. There's a reason why no one knows what most sportswriters look like. We like it that way because we're not an attractive lot. Has anyone seen Tony Kornheiser? Jenni Carlson did not overstep the line, but her sarcasm or her punch line just fell flat and now we're making this bigger than it needs to be.

So here's the verdict:

Columnist: I have no problems with her basically questioning the player's manhood, regardless of his youth.

Coach: I admire his passion, but he was way out of line by dressing her down in front of the rest of the postgame media. He turned this into a circus, not her.

Celebrity Sighting

Walked right past this dude on 26th Street in Chelsea yesterday.

As far as supporting actors go, he really is outstanding. He's had a lot of smaller-to-medium roles in a fair amount of good movies.

And he's just as crazy looking from four feet away as he is in the movies.

This Week's College Football Road Map

New road map out Wednesday.

Celebrity Thursday

Because I was busy doing absolutely nothing over the weekend -- except watching Ohio State put on an offensive clinic Saturday afternoon -- I'm already able to recap an interesting Thursday here now on Sunday night. Talk about efficiency.

I left work Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. and walked a few blocks uptown toward home when I saw a zillion production trucks. That's when I remembered some co-workers saying that day that crews were in the neighborhood to shoot a scene from the upcoming "Sex And The City" movie.

Now I'm normally not star-struck ... if we're just talking. But in person? Yeah, I'm a tourist just like anyone else. So I whipped out the compact camera whose zoom function isn't great and tried to grab a shot of Chris Noth (above) or Kristin Davis as they sat at a cafe on the corner of 70th and Lexington.

But it seemed for every curious onlooker there was a crew member to match, and none was too shy to say shit like, "Please don't stand there. You can't walk that way. Don't cross the street now. Please no pictures."

So I had to quickly take one of Noth that you can see didn't turn out too well. A good photographer shouldn't blame his cameras. But if he can, he'll blame an unforgiving movie crew.

Later that night, I had an invite for what I thought would be a classy to-do to launch last week's latest online video starring the now-famous "Obama Girl," who's pictured above. Instead, the Canal Room in Tribeca served host to what was more of a fund-raising event for the U.S. military, which is the topic of "I Like A Boy," another production by BarelyPolitical.com, sung once again by Leah Kauffman.

Kauffman and the band did unveil a new song that wasn't as funny in person as it probably seemed when it was first conjured up. Remember when Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake did this?

Well, what Kauffman and co. did was replace the slang reference to male genitalia with a slang reference to female genitalia. Below is the four-minute clip:



We did meet Obama Girl, previously known as Amber Lee Ettinger, and she certainly is pretty, but the introduction was brief and the boyfriend was skilled at hovering.

After that, we rolled over to Bread, which turned out to be a very cool place. Five minutes after being seated outside, Laura Dern sat down at the table next to us with two friends.

All in all, a pretty interesting evening, tho I was glad to get home and get my usual four hours of sleep.

Don't Tase Me, Bro!

We've all seen the video, now here's the T-shirt.

What would you put on a T-shirt?

This Week's College Football Road Map

New road map out Thursday. Feel free to take note of my Miami upset of Texas A&M.

The Juice Is Squeezed

My biggest fear with this whole O.J. thing now is that since it appears he's going to be spending some real time in jail, who will take over in the search for the real killer?

Places Visited This Weekend

+ 'Ino -- Entree and wine were fine, as was dessert, but I seriously think I had the best salad ever. Dried prosciutto chunks made the romaine salad with pancetta and cucumber outstanding. Small, dark joint with candles, good crowd and cool music was great for a date.

+ Little Branch -- Kept it in the West Village for a post-dinner drink, and this place was pretty cool. Too bad I ruined the vibe by telling Frenchie a bad story that she had no interest in hearing. Nonetheless, this is a cool spot that serves specialty cocktails over large ice blocks to keep from diluting the beverage. But take a fat wallet; it's a cash only joint.

+ The Coffee Shop -- It's hard not to like a place that is conveniently located, serves great brunch for cheap prices, employs and attracts quite pretty people and plays great music. The first few times I visited were for weekend drinks, but today was the second straight Sunday I'd had brunch there, and I think I'll be heading back next week.

+ Haru -- My first trip to Haru Sushi won't be my last. It's within walking distance, the food and atmosphere are excellent and our bill was smaller than the one at The Coffee Shop. Go there now!

Word From The Wise ... Kind Of

The wait is over. Both of you can exhale now.

The column formerly known as "Word From The Wise" is now "This Week's College Football Road Map."

Rather than posting a brand new, text-based column each week, I'm updating one map-based piece throughout the season. It will still have my weekly picks of the weekend's top five games (I'm 9-1 so far this season, btw!), and I'll certainly include a weekly list and highlight some top players/performances, but I'll try to add more of the lighter, off-the-wall kind of content that might be available.

Either way, you need to click here now.

Legal Killing

If you were allowed to kill one person, would it be O.J. Simpson?

Who would you kill?

Seth Green Finally Does Something Funny

I'm sure by now you've seen the Chris Crocker video? You know, that freak who put his several-minute crying game on YouTube in support of Britney after she embarrassed herself on Sunday's MTV VMA show?

Well, Seth Green, who was unfunny in the unfunny "Austin Powers" movies and hasn't been entertaining since, actually offered up something pretty solid Thursday, a little parody for Crocker to enjoy:

Best. Prank. Ever.

(h/t Marcus)

The Stretch Run

Today could be the most important day of the 2007 baseball season for my Cleveland Indians, and they don't even have a game.

It's their first day off in more than three weeks. The Tribe went an incredible 17-6 in 23 games, played in 23 straight days. They get the day off today, then return from a 7-3 road trip with a three-game series beginning tomorrow night at the Jake against the hapless Kansas City Royals.

And in their three games this weekend, they'll be throwing Cy Young candidates C.C. Sabathia (17 wins) and Fausto Carmona (16) on Friday and Saturday, then wrapping things up with Paul Byrd (15) on Sunday. Not a bad way to return from an off-day.

Cleveland, at 85-61 and firmly atop the AL Central, 5.5 games ahead of fading Detroit, plays its next nine games at home, with another off day after the sixth game.

There is one potentially troublesome doubleheader at Seattle on Sept. 26, but a season-ending three-gamer at weak sister Kansas City might lend some rest to an overworked arm or two on the rotation. Then it's onto the playoffs.

I try not to go sports-heavy on PAE, but it's hard not to get excited about another October in which the Indians are playing postseason baseball.

Postseason Predictions?

Recent NetFlix Rentals

"Easy Rider" -- Good stuff. Mostly the reason I joined NetFlix was to get caught up on all the classics I'd never seen. This was a great movie, but I had no idea it was going to end the way it did.

"Gone With The Wind" -- Good story that could have been told in less than four hours. I know many experts regard this as the best movie ever, but I don't.

"The Secret" -- I'm a little on the impressionable side, so of course it made me think about some things. But I can see how it's gotten the buzz it's gotten in the last year or so. Certainly worth watching. We'll see how many lives it changes. When you find out, I'll still be on the couch, so keep me posted.

Bob Saget Is Cool

I never really got into "Full House" or "America's Funniest Home Videos," but I'm aware that as a result of starring in and hosting those shows, Bob Saget was typecast as a family-ish, wholesome kind of guy with a lame sense of humor.

Then I watched his one-hour HBO special Monday night called "That Ain't Right." It is neither wholesome nor family-ish, and is available on DVD. I suggest you purchase it immediately. It is dark, raunchy and overall outstanding.

Fashion Week 2007

So I shot my first serious New York City event Friday. Fashion Week 2007. Under the tent in Bryant Park, surrounded by beautiful women wearing only the smallest of garments. I almost felt like a real photographer! Needless to say, I made no new friends today, but I did take quite a few pictures. I hope you enjoy them:

Backstage Preps | The Runway | Miscellaneous

And btw, large thanks to Steve Susi, who made my presence there possible.

The Last Word?

It appears I may have written my last "Word From The Wise" column.

Not because I'm done being an expert on college sports, because we all know that's not true.

Rather, we're changing the format of my NCAA football column this fall, and I actually need your help.

I've been asked to do away with the prose portion and instead begin to use Google maps in the column. In fact, the entire piece will be done in map format. I'll highlight big games on the upcoming weekend schedule, as well as other things to watch for. The map will live throughout the season, instead of a new column -- and therefore new URL -- being generated each week.

And don't worry; I'll still be able to incorporate my weak sarcasm, so content won't be a problem. But what I need from you is a new name for the project. Word From The Wise is no longer accurate.

Enter your nomination here.