•Not only do SEC replay booths not use HD screens, but they say it's not worth making the switch. Also, that play where Patrick Peterson clearly stayed in bounds? They accidentally DVR'd The Mentalist over it.

•Want to know what makes Sidney Crosby so good? Evgeni Malkin. In the sixth game without the real MVP in the lineup, Sid The Kid extended his point-less streak to five games, and the Pens fell to Boston.

•A four-minute replay review overturned Brad Miller's buzzer-almost-beater, and Denver hung on to top Chicago. Imagine that! The length of the game was extended in order to make the right call, and no one's calling for David Stern's head! You listening, Selig? Of course you're not. You fell asleep halfway through Leno.

•What's Larry Johnson worth? Not moving to the bottom of the waiver wire. No one claimed the, um, expressive RB, and he's free to sign anywhere. Except with the Chiefs. My sources tell me they have no plans of signing him.

•If Mauer, Jeter and Teixeira were hoping their defense would set them apart in the MVP race, well...all three won Gold Gloves. Also, Placido Polanco emerges as a dark horse candidate.

•A judge has blocked North Dakota from changing their nickname from the Fighting Sioux. In these trying times, with two wars being fought, it's just insensitive to name a team the Fighting anythings.

•The Tribune's Rick Morrissey said Joakim Noah would never be a useful player, and promised to eat the column if he was proven wrong. Well...

Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin. To round out the Sunday, here's Jane's Addiction doing the song that all the girls you went to college with seem to love just a little too much.

It's usually because they're just so absurd or really lack even the most tenuous of news angles to give them the go-ahead. Other times it's because they're just absolute horseshit. But every Friday until we get sick of running them, we'll present to you some of these not-so-shiny gems. All items should be treated as [Sic'd]. Enjoy...

Joakim Noah Just Adores Perry Farrell

Hey AJ,

Thought you guys would enjoy this pic of Joakim Noah this past Sunday at Lollapalooza checking out Snoop Dogg. The kid in the picture is my best friend Kevin who grabbed him as they saw the big clown walking along. Noah apparently was a big fan of the John Starks jersey he was rocking. The reason for the middle finger in between the beers is because the girls taking the pics were graduates of Georgia and chanted Go Bulldogs as they took the pic. Keep up the good work and enjoy.

And Here's Another Joakimpalooza Sighting...

Dog Pictures Are Blasphemous Now, Too?

Dude,

Any way you can change the header with Vick and the dog?

It's quite disturbing and blasphemous.

I enjoy your publication, but this just isn't right.

Thank You, Sir, May I Have Another?

Subject: Lowlife

Came across your post while surfing. Only the most wretched lowlife would use such language.

Stu Scott Is No Fab Five Freddy

I was watching the 11 o'clock Sportscenter, and Stu Scott was giving his lead on an Eric Mangini story. He was listing great djs in hip hop history, a list that included "Professor Griff of Public Enemy."

As you probably know, Terminator X was the dj of Public Enemy for years, followed by DJ Lord. Professor Griff was the leader of the S1Ws, a sort of militant dance troupe, and as a result played a lesser role in the group's success.

I find it hilarious that Stewart Scott, who at 44 was certainly around during PE's prime, and who is often credited with bringing "hip hop culture" to Sportscenter and the WWL, has no clue who Public Enemy's dj was/is. Public Enemy is easily one of the top 5 most important/influential rap groups in history, and Terminator X is not only one of the finest hip hop djs in history, he is far from an unknown to anyone who has an even rudimentary knowledge of hip hop music. Kindly murder this phony on your site.

Nick Denton: Tyrannical Sports Fan

Nick: hey hey
me: Hey. How's Budapest?
Nick: it's okay — though [redacted] is driving me crazy with her chit-chat and giggling
me: Ha.
Nick: can't she at least pretend to work?
me: Yes. Her happiness is distracting.
Nick: haha
how did the Josh Alexander story pan out?
I saw the traffic's stayed b
pretty strong
me: Yeah, it was tremendous.
And it's Josh "Hamilton." But why quibble!

The two teams tip off shortly after 8 pm on TNT. There are no other NBA games on the schedule tonight, so the full spotlight is shining where it belongs. The Bulls are knocking at the door to a memorable upset, and they'll need to find a way to slow down Ray Allen to finish the task.

This is your DUAN! post as well as an open thread for the game. If you're watching the fight tonight please comment along right here.

*****

Thanks for joining me here today, I'll be back if anything crazy goes down.

He's already causing a stir on Bulls boards, and some Bulls fans seem resigned to figuring out how to root for him. We still prefer what Shoals said last night in the live blog: ""Noah... YOU LOOK LIKE EVERY SINGLE BATMAN VILLAIN ROLLED UP INTO ONE."

Your Newest Chicago Bull [Blog A Bull]
How Can You Hate This Man? [Tremendous Upside Potential]

Thanks to Every Day Should Be Saturday, we have the bizarre interview with Joakim Noah after the Gators' win last night which confirms, if you had any doubt, that nobody has the foggiest idea of what Joakim Noah's talking about.

You Have No Idea What He's Talking About [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

Another reason we need to lean on hypotheticals the day after the national championship game? The title game was like the rest of the tournament; uninspired and never much in doubt. Watching the "One Shining Moment" video, we realized that the most memorable moments of the tournament were Greg Oden's monster non-slam in the Final Four against Georgetown ... and Joakim Noah's weird Officer And A Gentleman deal with his mom after the victory. (Seriously, man ... we're all for loving your mom, but, well, we dunno ... seemed like a bit much.) The biggest upset was VCU over a weak Duke team, and we never had that true epic game.

So we talk about history, and context, and then we look forward to next year, thinking that maybe having a George Mason around isn't so bad after all.

Florida: Best. Team. Ever. (But I'll Settle for "Best of '07") [DanShanoff.com]

I'm afraid I won't be with you for tonight's basketball festivities — I decided to try actually watching a game without a keyboard in front of me. I don't know what that's going to be like, but I've heard it's wild.

I wouldn't even know where to start with a preview... there are so many personalities and angles and storylines that this can't help but be a memorable night. Joakim Noah's constant battle against the haters, the stifling defense of UCLA against the immeasurable talent of the Gators, and Hibbert vs. Oden, which I think should be subtitled "The H is O." Also, The Rookie is on ABC.

I'll leave you with two YouTube videos... one Joakim Noah video that's a little mean, but very chuckle-worthy, and then this Billy Packer admission that won't surprise you at all.

Because Saturday's Final Four matchup between Florida and UCLA is a rematch of last year's national championship game, some bad blood is still stewing, or boiling, or whatever bad blood does, and UCLA fans are wanting revenge. And how does today fan fire himself for revenge? Funny PhotoShops!

This Joakim Noah-as-geisha-girl creation is one of many at this Bruins fan site. They got tons of 'em, including Joakim as Michael Jackson, an Osmond and as the Lord of the Dance. PhotoShop is fun.

Florida Fans, Do NOT Read This Thread [BruinReportOnline]

Anyway, Vitale was doing a radio interview yesterday and was talking to someone in the room and forgot he was on the air. He ends up trashing Joakim Noah a bit and telling some off-record Billy Donovan info that we doubt the intense Florida coach would particularly enjoy.

The best thing is that this happens twice; we imagine Vitale just trying to figure out where the "SEND TELEGRAM" button on his phone is. For some big fun, you can hear the audio here and here.

Dickie Vitale Reveals Billy Dononvan Comments.....Oops and Oh Shit [Loser With Socks]

Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings isn't like most coaches. A lot of guys will tell their team to protect the ball, but won't practice what they preach. Kevin Stallings not only will protect the ball, but he'll put a body on Joakim Noah, too.

If you missed it over the weekend, Florida won again at Kentucky. Early in the game, the Gators' Joakim Noah drove toward the basket and ended up in the face of a Wildcats cheerleader, who tossed her pom poms — not a euphemism — at Noah. His response? Swipe, baby, swipe! Rowwwrrrr ... get those pom poms out of Joakim Noah's face!

A thorough rundown of the incident can be found right here, and it includes the rather telling phrase, "Take a look at this girl on girl catfight. Is this over some boyfriend poaching incident?"

Geightor Versus The Kentucky Cheerleader [Loser With Socks]
Pom Pom Gate [The Fanhouse]

That kinda seems like a long shot. It's nothing against the Gators, of course. I'd have them preseason #1, and there's no reason that they shouldn't be the best team in the country, however... none of that seems to have a whole lot to do with who actually wins the national title. The way the tournament is now, it's seems highly unlikely that any team gets through the minefield two years in a row.

Not that this isn't good news. It will give Dick Vitale someone other than UNC and Duke to talk about between now and next season. So I applaud their decision, all three of them could use another year of seasoning in terms of NBA readiness, and it'll make next year's college basketball season a little bit more fun for all of us. So hooray, Gators. High fives all around. Unless, of course, you're a fan of another team in the SEC, or Steve Irwin.

Noah: 'Let it be done' [GoUpstate.com]
"I'll Have Him Secured Any Minute Now." [Deadspin]