SEPTA Makes Me Angry Links

Oh, how I loathe you SEPTA. So very much. Last week you force me to cram on a train so filled with people that no one could move. Sure, I could have waited for another train, that surely would have been just as crowded, but I had already waited 15 minutes and couldn't afford to wait another 15 and still hope to get to work at a reasonable time.



Then, today, you decide to pull out your worst. At first, you were doing so well. When I got on the el at the Girard stop, the trains were running on time and not remotely close to overcrowded. It seemed like I was destined for a smooth ride to work. Oh how you fooled me again, SEPTA. Because between 8th and 11th street, you stopped, mid-tunnel, for no good reason. Then finally, the train inched toward 11th, finally getting there … and sitting. A solid 5 minutes, with the conductor announcing anyone looking to get to 30th street should get off at 11th or 13th and get on the trolleys. Then another 2 minutes wait before getting to 13th, where the el stopped again. Waiting a minute, the conductor then said anyone looking to get to City Hall should get off here, at 13th street. Fuck. I transfer at City Hall to pick up the Broad Street Line, a free interchange. It's not free coming from 13th. So I had to walk, haggle with the guy in the booth to let me on without costing me another token because, fuck that noise, tokens cost money. It's not my fault SEPTA sucks and dicked me over from getting to City Hall.

Thankfully he agreed, but it took some convincing. Good thing about a dozen or so other angry Philadelphians were directly behind me to corroborate my story. My reward for this entirely too long and inconvenient journey? A full day of work. I hate SEPTA.

Links …

-We Run L.A.



-Who was dumber last night: Mike Scioscia or Joe Girardi?

-What each NFL quarterback leads the league in.

-No matter what you feel about these guys, this video is awesome:



-I hate the Lakers, but this is funny:



-Lil Penny would be proud:



-Some love for Marreese Speights, via TrueHoop:

1. Marreese Speights, Philadelphia - 13.5 Diamond (15.9 mpg, .537 Win%)
Of our 10 top prospects, Speights' Diamond Rating is just eighth. That's partially because he did see regular action off the bench for the 76ers last season, playing more than 15 minutes per game between both frontcourt positions. However, what lifts Speights atop this list is his combination of productivity, youth (he was 21 as a rookie) and physical talent. These are reflected in the impressive comparisons SCHOENE offers for Speights--LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson and Shawn Marion top the list. Speights' campaign is off to a solid start. So far during the preseason, he's averaging 24.5 points and 14.8 rebounds per 40 minutes.

Then again, Louis Amundson is on this list, so take that for what it's worth.

-Hilarious:



-Cool list of college football players related to past college football players, via The Wiz. Stunning to me: Paul Posluszny's brother plays at Notre Dame. Needless to say, he's nowhere near as good as Poz.

-Penn State plays Michigan in the Big House this weekend. The Matador says Penn State will win. I hope he's right.



The Big House hasn't treated Penn State too well, but there's no doubt in my mind the Nittany Lions are the better team. Evan Royster, Stephfon Green, Derek Moye, Andrew Quarless, Graham Zug and Chaz Powell provide formidable weapons for Daryll Clark and the offensive line has been steadily improving every game since the loss to Iowa. Defensively, Michigan hasn't face anyone as deep or talented as Penn State. I expect Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu to clog up the middle, and for Bowman, Lee and company to keep the running game in check. That will put all the pressure on Tate Forcier, a freshman prone to mistakes going against a terrifying front 7. I think Penn State should win. And win rather easily. Yet I am terrified of this game. Because it's Michigan. And it's in the Big House. And things just don't normally go our way out there. Let's change that this season.

-Apparently, Mike Richards and the Philadelphia media do not get along.

-The race of the Calder Trophy is going to be "bizonkers", and yes, James van Rimesdyk gets a mention.

-I cannot get enough Mottrams in my life, even if they are dirty Redskins fans and hate Philadelphia. This is why.

-Daulerio kinda, sorta emerges from his silence, but not really. I don't know, but even if, as he stated, "shit went kaplooey" yesterday and he is out today, he should have found a way to show up on Deadspin the past two days, especially after all the ruckus that was going on. Just my opinion. But hey, good to see you're still alive.

-This made me laugh:



God damn, I hate Russell Martin.

-I pretty much love any any commercial with Jeff Van Gundy:



-The NBA season is coming. Here's an interesting, thought-provoking look at the maturation of an NBA fan and his anticipation of growing older with another NBA season and the changed perspective of his appreciation of the game. Or something like that.

-Joe Posnanski's article on Joe Paterno is awesome.

-Chan Ho Park is happy to finally be going to the World Series:



-Five reasons the Dodgers lost to the Phils again in the NLCS:

5. The better team won again: No matter what Kemp's pride tells him, there's no shame in losing to this Phillies team. They're nowhere near a flash-in-the-pan and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would be well served to see how Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro turned a great homegrown core into a team with a shot at winning back-to-back titles.
But if there's anything for Dodgers fans to be bitter about, it's over the fact that the Phillies dominated the between-NLCS improvement battle. Give me Lee, Raul Ibanez(notes) and Pedro Martinez(notes) over Hudson, Padilla, Randy Wolf(notes) and Jim Thome(notes) any day.

You're true, 'Duk. You're true.

-Nova players got dunks:



-I enjoyed this article by Bob Ford, especially this part:

Just as they did in 2008, the Dodgers took the five-game dismissal with a cool aplomb, which partly explains why they keep getting dismissed. Back home, where the fans are already more interested in how Kobe will blend with Andrew Bynum, there's no retribution from the town that put the LA in la-di-dah.
What would fans in Philadelphia call a good team that kept getting close but never reached the final goal? Oh, that's right. The Eagles.

Oh, snap!

-Man, talk about a rough week for Dionte Christmas. First, he gets waived by the Sixers (should have kept him and gotten rid of Willie Green). Then, he gets arrested:

Christmas was stopped by Highway Patrol Officers Dave Marcellino and Ivan Rosado on Nedro Avenue near Broad Street about 7:30 p.m. for driving erratically in a car with heavily tinted windows, said Highway Patrol Capt. Michael Cochrane.
Christmas was driving without a license, and the officers found a Hi-Point 9mm semiautomatic handgun under the driver's seat, Cochrane said. The weapon was loaded with seven rounds.
Christmas was taken to the 35th District's headquarters, at Broad Street and Champlost Avenue in Ogontz, where he was expected to be charged with a felony weapons offense, police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said.
Police later learned that the car Christmas had been driving belonged to Sixer forward/center Marreese Speights, Cochrane said. The 9mm apparently also was registered to Speights, he said.

North Philly is rough, don't get me wrong, but does Marreese Speights really need to be carrying those guns? He can't possibly live up there, can he? And why was he letting Dionte drive his car, especially without a license? Talk about a shitty week.

That really sucks for Dionte. I'm a big fan, and I always like to see good things happen for the Temple guys. Unfortunately, that's not the case right now for Dionte. Best of luck, and I really hope everything works out for the guy.

As far as the weekend goes, well, there's not a whole lot. The World Series doesn't start until Wednesday, and let's be honest, that's the only thing that really matters at this point. Thankfully, we are spared from watching the Eagles until Monday night, so we can all relax a little on Sunday. There are two Flyers games, both home. On Saturday night, they take on Florida and follow up with San Jose Sunday.

But the most important matchup of the weekend is Penn State at Michigan. Arkansas Fred is making the trip out to Ann Arbor to take in the game. Hopefully he will report back to me on it, if not actually post something. But I doubt it. He's a busy man now that he's no longer free.

The Nittany Lions are the superior team talent-wise. It all comes down to execution. It'd be nice to finally get back-to-back wins against the Wolverines, something Penn State hasn't done in forever. Hopefully they'll make it happen.

And as always, LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!!!