Sky Hook.

Here at Garbage Minutes we're always fans of when former or current athletes show the initiative and intelligence to put their thoughts on paper.  Grant Hill did a fantastic job in this New York Times piece after the ESPN documentary The Fab Five aired.  Today Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a little something on ESPN.com regarding the pending NBA lock-out.  Good for him.  Much more articulate than Tweeting something meaningless or just saying cruel and irrational things to a reported during a lock out like the Steelers James Harrison did with Men's Journal last month.

Stupid is as Stupid Does.

Fantastic piece from Norman Chad at The Washington Post about stupid things that still linger in sports.  The only thing he left off was the mid-air celebratory bump between athletes.  We're coming up on nearly a decade of wide receivers jumping in the air to bump into other receivers after a touchdown and power forwards doing the jump-bump with bench-warmers as they approach the sideline during a time-out.  Not that creative to begin with and very overdone this many years in.

Money Ball, Version II

Good read from Grantland about the evolution and transformation of the Cleveland Indians; an interesting study in keeping up with the playoff race despite the fifth lowest payroll in the league.  Best of all, Billy Beane isn't mentioned.

A Study in Continents

Some of the good pics from this week's photos on Sports Illustrated.com.

Exhibit 1) South America

Exhibit 2) Europe



3) North America  The United States of America

My Goodness, My Guinness

You know you're a popular winner in the golfing community, and especially in Ireland, when you're drinking a Guinness during your post-round interview...

Darren Clarke, 2011 British Open Champion

Too Much?

No wonder former Buckeyes QB Kirk Herbstreit moved his family from Columbus to Nashville to avoid the fans of his own alma mater...

Greatest Commercial Ever?

K-Swiss commercial (not for TV) featuring Kenny F. Powers.

Enjoy.

Short game.

Take a peak at Rory McIlroy's backyard.  Think he'll get up and down a couple times at Royal St. George's this week?

Cleveland Steamers

Humorous piece on Grantland by Bill Barnwell on the "25 Least Valuable Players in the NFL".  Guess who has the top two least valuble players?  You guessed it, the Cleveland Browns.

On Browns safety Sabby Piscitelli:

"His unique mix of blown tackles, dreadful instincts, and inflated ego really make him the worst player to see regular time in the NFL over the past several years."

On Browns QB Jake Delhomme:

"The permanently shell-shocked passer threw an interception every 21.2 attempts, converted just 27.5 percent of the third downs he faced, and put up one of the most awe-inspiring terrible lines of the 2010 season by going 12-of-20 for 86 yards and an interception against the Bills in Week 14. His existence as a highly paid quarterback would make more sense only if he was the walking, breathing example of the players’ case against the owners in the lockout."

Grove Park Inn

Yesterday the Garbage Minutes Guys got away from the stresses of running a high powered sports blog and played a quick round at the Grove Park Inn Golf Course in Asheville, NC.  Great little historic spot in the mountains of Western NC.  Pillars of industry, politics and American history such as Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and presidents ranging from Taft to FDR to Eisenhower to Obama have stayed there.  Best of all, they have a fine golf course, originally built in 1899 and restored in 1924 by the legendary Donald Ross.  Fun course to play and worth the visit if you're in driving through on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

Grove Park Inn

Donald Ross

President Obama's clubs from a round at Grove Park

Great Hogan plaque.



Bull City.

Images from last nights Durham Bulls game.  Unforunately no citing of Costner, Robbins or Sarandon.

Smoke coming from the bull after a home run.  Hit the bull...win a steak.

"Crash Davis, an obscure 1940's infielder who emerged as something of a celebrity when Kevin Costner became his namesake playing a shrewd but fading minor leaguer in the movie 'Bull Durham,' The Crash Davis of ''Bull Durham'' was a longtime catcher brought in by the Durham Bulls to take the rough edges off the irrepressible pitching phenom Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). The baseball career of Lawrence (Crash) Davis bore some resemblance to that of the film's Crash Davis. The real Crash Davis indeed played for the Durham Bulls. But he was a second baseman, shortstop and first baseman who had been a genuine if undistinguished major leaguer, with the Philadelphia Athletics."

* Photo of "Crash" Davis taken inside Men's Restroom. 

3,000

From The Wall Street Journal.

Too bad they clearly forgot about the late Bernie Mac...

Hammer Time

The Oakland A's will be giving out these MC Hammer bobble heads to the first 15,000 fans on July 17th as part of their "80's Weekend" celebration. Take note, Lowell Spinners. This is how you put asses in seats. Free MC Hammer bobble heads. Not shooting some geriatric over a wall.

Human Home Run

In a Jackie Moon-esque stunt at a Single A baseball game in Lowell, MA, the Lowell Spinners shot some idiot over the left field wall for the first ever "human home run".

Not impressed. If I am at the game I am pissed they paid this moron instead of giving the first 200 fans Dustin Pedroia bobble heads. "Corndogs, Jackie!! Corndogs for all these people!!!" Anyway, here is the video:

Human Home Run a hit at Lowell Spinners game: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Field Of Dreams 2

Pretty good effort by funnyordie.com making fun of the lockout with a Field of Dreams parody.

Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner from Taylor Lautner