Revenge of the nerds.

Lastly, this item: Slaughter at the magic funeral. Marv told us about this at dinner last week, but this, true believers, is must see IT.

Yes, I know it is sad that someone died. That's indisputable. But everything else about this is flat-out, gut-wrenching high comedy. From the sheer audacity of the guild that did this, to the self-righteous outrage over the virtual (aka, not real) massacre by a community of gamers clearly out of touch with the outside world, to the clever-yet-goofy guild names (Gnomeland Security?), I found so many things to laugh at that I think this is one of the all-time funniest things I've seen on the internet. The video is funny, but the gold is in the message board posts: incensed condemnations, the unapologetic attackers, and juvenile name-calling are all highly entertaining in a very, very stupid way.

My favorite excerpts from the article:
"The raid has led to much hand-wringing about player ethics, with many people apparently shocked that a game about wizards killing each other would be used for exactly that purpose."

"Even those who found the raid distasteful say it was idiotic for the 'funeral' to be held in an open combat zone."

(I also find it deliciously ironic that the people responsible for all this indignation and vitriol call themselves "Serenity Now". Good stuff.)

Proving my point

The headline in your Houston Chronicle tomorrow morning:

Let's be clear: Bypassing Bush smacks of stupidity

"There's a word for this kind of logic in professional sports. It's called stupidity."

Bush league.

(Peter Read Miller/SI)

Reggie Bush had a bad day today. Mario Williams and Domanick David had a good one. But the people who had the worst day were Houston Texans fans.

I thought the 49ers were foolish for winning out last season, scoffing at the number one pick (and reuniting Reggie Bush with Alex Smith) for a couple of meaningless wins in a lost season. But the Texans are even more stupid for passing on the one sure thing in the draft for a guy who got hot at the end of last season against weaker opponents. They didn't even take the guy who single-handedly won the national championship and beat the most hyped "dynasty" in recent college football history, Vince Young.

Next season, when Davis runs for 3.5 yards a carry and David Carr takes more hits than Ricky Williams on an Amsterdam holiday, they'll wish they had #5 in the backfield.

It may turn out that before Vince Young sold his soul for superhuman abilities, Cal won't be the last team to beat U$C. If the NCAA and Pac-10 find out Bush's family had a deal to live rent-free in a house owned by an agent during the 2004 season, Cal and everyone else USC played that year won by forfeit. Probably cheering up Aaron Rodgers a little, since Brett Favre is coming back to hurl passes into double-coverage for one more season. I know the DBs around the league had a good day that day.

They might even take Reggie's Heisman. Won't matter. If they're smart, the Saints will sprint to the podium to bring St. Reggie to the Big Easy. Bush will rebuild New Orleans faster than Katrina and FEMA could conspire to bring it down.

And if the Saints and the other three teams ahead of San Francisco want to pass, I think we can find a spot for him in the city by the bay.

Staying alive

He may look like a fifteen-year-old or like a member of a New Jack Swing singing group, but Kevin Martin kept the Kings' season alive with a last-second lay-up following a Mike Bibby steal. (AP Photo/Greg Rihl, Davis Enterprise)

In other Kings news, The Onion had a good story about Ron Artest.

What took so long?

Seriously, at what point did you numbskulls think maybe this was a good idea?

Key Commute Route Near Tracy To Be Widened

"An 11-mile stretch of Interstate 205 near Tracy will have two lanes added, resulting in three lanes in each direction...Officials said the freeway currently sees about 120,000 vehicles a day, about twice what the road was designed to handle."