'Did Somebody Say McDonald's?' Links

Last night I was planning on watching the McDonald's All-American game, but a fantasy baseball draft got in the way. I did have it on, but I wasn't really paying attention, as I was more focused on talking trash and evaluating my next picks.

Turns out, I missed a hell of a game (see highlights here. The West defeated the East 107-104 thanks to a last-second three-pointer by two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year Brandon Knight. Ohio State-bound Jared Sullinger and UNC-bound Harrison Barnes were named co-MVPs.









Despite not really paying attention to the game, I did eat a 20-piece nugget from McDonald's in honor of the event. And they were delicious.



Let's link …

-The fearless leader of The Fightins is pretty angry with some comments former Phillies ace Curt Schilling made about the (second) Cliff Lee trade:

“I think trading Cliff Lee was the stupidest thing they’ve ever done, and they didn’t have to,” Schilling said. “They didn’t have to do it. It was a stupid, stupid move. They could’ve had a World Series berth locked up right now with those two guys at the top of their rotation.”

“Those guys would’ve finished legitimately 1-2 [as] Cy Young candidates on the same staff,” Schilling said. “You’ve got Cole Hamels in the three slot, which is a dream come true for both. They would’ve been a 110-win team.”

“There’s no other reason why they made that deal [than to replenish their minor league system], none whatsoever. That’s why they didn’t push trying to re-sign Cliff, because I think they felt like he would’ve been real receptive to it, so then they would’ve looked even worse, because ‘We traded a guy who wants to be here.’ ”

“He’s coming off a phenomenal run when he came over,” Schilling said of Lee. “He showed them [in] October he was going to be better than everybody else. You don’t know what you’re getting there. Doc’s never pitched in October. I think he’ll be great and be awesome and all that stuff, but he could get to October and not be the guy. Cliff proved that he can pitch in October. That’s a big loss.”

Meech goes on to say no one around here likes Schilling anymore. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with our friend. I think Schilling is 100 percent correct in his assessment, even with Lee starting off the season on the DL, and despite his loud-mouth antics, I still like Curt Schilling and probably always will. Is he annoying? Yes. But he was a fucking awesome pitcher. And just like him, every time Mitch Williams took the mound, I wanted to cover my face with a towel so I didn't have to watch too.

I really don't understand the mentality of Phillies fans who now embrace Mitch Fucking Williams — the man who singlehandedly ruined my childhood — but now despise Curt Schilling. Schilling was all sorts of awesome while Mitch all sorts of sucked. No wonder Philadelphia fans are so misunderstood. I don't even understand us sometimes, and I've been one my entire life.

-25 years ago today, Villanova won the national championship, defeating Georgetown in what many people consider one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history.

-Joe Blanton will start the season on the DL. Kyle Kendrick, come on down!

-"Michael Fucking Jordan":



-The high school dunk contest recap:



-Shoals at his best: The NBA's Ten Plagues Nicknames:

3. Marreese "Lice" Speights. This is a tough one, since of all the plagues, it's the one that sounds the most like an insult. Lice aren't awesome, or weird, they just make life unpleasant. However, I think "lice" works really well with "Marreese Speights" from a strictly sonic standpoint. "The Lice" also works. Also, lice are like fleas, and in a flea circus, the bugs run around a lot. That's kind of how I conceive of Speights' impressive motor -- the spirit of a smaller, zippier player in a big body.

Not sure if that's a compliment or not for Speights, but hey, he made the list.

-Theo, meet Jrue:



-What thoughts do you have when you hear Mark Schlereth speak?

-God Shammgod, still alive, and for the record, he can shake his own shadow, via The Baseline:



-Philly boy Flip Murray with a ridiculous more-than-half-court shot that didn't count (came after the buzzer), via MLJ:



-High school ballers making posters:



-The Basketball Jones tackles Hedo, Party Animal:



The best part (besides the ridiculous dancing) is that Tas does actually kind of look like Hedo, no offense to Tas of course.

Tonight, the Flyers take on the Islanders. Every game at this point is vital, with the Flyers sitting in 6th, tied with Boston and Montreal with 82 points, just two points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta. If they can't beat the Islanders, they don't even deserve to make the playoffs.

Also, NIT Final tonight, UNC vs. Dayton.