Links of the Week: Kobe Bryant, Steve Carell, and Questionable NBA Fouls

About five months ago, I wrote a Links of the Week blog in which I introduced my first case of 'Blogger's Block'. Since that time, I hadn’t had to worry about blocks- the 2010 sports landscape has provided me a solid basis of something to blab about for a few paragraphs each week, and if it didn't sometimes music would, and if worst-came-to-worst, I could always write about something geeky.

Until now.

Today's blogger's block isn’t so much as a “I can’t think of anything to write about” as much as it is a “There’s too much to write about, but noting that could warrant multiple paragraphs”. As I sit here and go through my links reservoir, nothing strikes me as ‘gold’.  It’s tough to think about something to ramble on about that I have'nt before. But, I guess if that's my biggest problem of the day, I'm having a pretty good day.

So, on the note that, after a year of writing a blog, you may have to eventually revisit topics like blogger's block, I give you the Links of the Week:

Dear Kobe Bryant,

BAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nice pictures!

Sincerely,
Non-Lakers Fan

In one of the most unexpected crossovers of the new year, TV critic Tim Goodman has taken the "Power Ranking" formula from sports and applied it to TV. His #1? Of course: Breaking Bad. I mean, have you seen Breaking Bad yet? The first season was good. The second season was great. These past two weeks of the third season, I'd put up there in the conversation with some of the best episodes of The Sopranos and Mad MenIt's great TV.

This reminds me of a bad M. Night Shamalan movie...

Rumor has it that this week, Steve Carell from The Office said next season will be his last on the popular TV show. I can't say I blame him. For about four or five seasons, The Office was the funniest show on TV, and now it's being out-done by shows like Community, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock. We'll always have Dwight, though.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS?!?

Fans of modern-retellings of older thought-provoking parables will enjoy this clip.

I watch 60 Minutes every Sunday (I know, I'm 80 years old). Last Sunday the show featured Conan O'Brien talking about his recent breakup with The Tonight Show and NBC in general. Riveting stuff captured well here in an article from TIME.com.

This week in un-warranted sequel news: Someone is writing a fifth Die Hard movie.

Nice, informational article from the LA Times, entitled 'The hidden costs of home ownership'. Good quick read for those who like that sort of thing.

Roger Ebert has a special guest article in Newsweek this week, making the case against 3-D movies. I have to say, I'm with him on this one. 3-D movies, to me, are a bit distracting and the sort of "ooooohs and aaaaaahs" that come with the 3-D territory are often used to mask faults in the movie itself. Take Avatar, for instance. Minus the special effects, didn't we see that movie come out twenty years ago starring Sean Connery and the therapist from the Sopranos? The CGI and 3-D helped turn a decent movie in to a MUST SEE EVENT, but at its core, its still just a decent movie.

And for your video of the week, I give you The Worst Foul Ever Called in an NBA Game (good production value, I might add):