Links of the Week: Fake Twitter Accounts, American Idol, and FOOTBALL!

Ah yes, football season has come again. I’ve found myself, like many Americans, looking at football as more of the national pastime in the past decade or so than baseball. Why is this? Why, yes, I do have a few theories:

1. Games are on during the day. I don’t think the effect of having day games can be understated when it comes to getting kids as fans. If kids are involved, then parents are involved. World Series games start as late as 8:00pm, and most of the time end after midnight. Who wants their kids to stay up and watch the Phillies and Rays at 11:45pm?
2. The guarantee of action. I have to say, I like baseball because something could happen on any play. In football though, there is something that will happen on every play: a sack, interception, big hit, etc. More action = more fans
3. The games are shorter. Sure TV timeouts take a long time and seem excessive, but the average football game stays in the 2-3 hour range. With the increasing usage of relief pitchers, the average baseball games is going longer and longer. Throw in some additional TV timeouts for baseball, most games won’t last less than 3 hours, some last more than 4.

So, on the exciting note that, yes, football season is here, I give to you The Links of the Week:

A Chimpanzee riding a Segway Scooter?  Yes, please!

Okay, I don't watch American Idol (willingly). But I have seen the show in passing with my mom or sister or lady friend, all whom tune in every week. I sat down in week 1 of last season and saw they had brought in a fourth "judge". (I use quotes on "judge" because, people, THEY HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE COMPETITION!) Once they brought in that fourth judge, I immediately said 'They're firing Paula'. Well, according to TIME, Paula is out, Ellen is in. Maybe they didn't officially 'fire' Paula, but I have to think she wasn't welcomed back. It's not like she has anything better to do. Mom, you owe me $5.

My new favorite person to follow on Twitter has to be... well, I can't really say here on ValpoLife (bad language). But since I can't link to it here, I can link to an article from the Wall Street Journal on the Twitterer, who has gained 315,000+ followers in just over a month. It's a 28 year old who lives at home with his 7 father, who says some hilarious stuff.

Speaking of Twitter, I have no idea how the phenomenon of fake twitter and blog posts got to be so popular, but I love them. Here is my favorite: Very Fake Al Davis. The real Al Davis, by all accounts, is the crazy owner in the NFL, and has owned the Oakland Raiders since the 60's. While they were very successful in the 70's and 80's, lately they have been considered the worst-run franchise in all of sports. That being said, Very Fake Al Davis is a blog/Twitter account ran by a writer at the National Football Post, Ray Gustini. If you like stuff like the Onion, you'd like Very Fake Al Davis.

In the interest of brevity, here are a few links to get you prepped for the 2009-10 NFL Season!

• Yahoo's FanHouse NFL Preview... We're in the golden era for quarterbacks, according to the LA Times... Is Jay Cutler the next King of Chicago?.... WSJ's Allen Barra on the 2009-10 NFL Season... 10 Rookies to Be Impressed By... Jon Clayton breaks down the biggest games of Week 1.

And of course, the lines:

Picks in BOLD