Sunday Links, Serious and Comedic, Sears Tower He Gone

Hard-Hitting, Makes You Think
Over at the Sporting Blog, Ziller makes a socially relevant point about Team USA Baseball perception contrasted with Team USA Hoops.

Funny.
I don't know if everyone knew about this besides me, but apparently, a few years ago, Eminem had a beef with Everlast (of House of Pain fame) which ended with Eminem writing a diss song called "Quitter" ... He basically makes fun of Everlast for being white (what?!), losing his DJ to Limp Bizkit, and, most importantly, having a heart attack. Highly recommended, especially for the part where the song just randomly stops in the middle and Eminem raps over the beat to "Hit 'Em Up" by 2Pac (NSFW).

Funnier?
Brian Anderson hit a walk-off grand slam to win a pre-season game against the Rangers yesterday.

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Also... Nice 1-1 by the Bulls this weekend. Who knew they'd own New Orleans yesterday? Much more important, though, is the next three games:

Home vs. Celtics / at Thunder / Home vs. Lakers

Anyone have any idea how that's going to play out?

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Oh man, I realized we haven't even touched on the Willis Tower stuff yet. Obviously, it's great, and people who are getting upset about it are stupid. From the New York Times:

"The Sears Tower has some really big shoulders, it works hard and it can stand the Chicago winter -- kind of like me," said Mr. Spears, 52, a native Chicagoan who is among the many unhappy with the imminent renaming of the 110-story skyscraper, the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, to Willis Tower.

You know what that sounds like? A Cubs fan.

But no!

As a loyal White Sox fan, Mr. Spears said he still had not recovered from the renaming of the venerable Comiskey Park when it was rebuilt as U.S. Cellular Field. Nor has he forgiven Macy's for replacing the green bags of his favorite Chicago retailer, Marshall Field & Co., with its own red stars.

"Recovered"?! I'm sorry, did someone die? It's all corporations, man. All I know is this: based on many accounts, a lot of people thought Comiskey, the old Sox owner, was a dick. The Sox changed the name to the Cell. The Sox won the World Series. I'm not saying A + B = C, but still, I want people to remember this when Wrigley Field gives away the naming rights some day and the Cubs get great.

This also seemed important (emphasis mine):

A spokesman for Willis Group Holdings said this week that officials understood the sentimental value of the Sears Tower to Chicago, but that the building itself was iconic, not the name. And Sears has not had a presence in the building since 2004.

As for our old buddy, the Sears Tower, it's been a great run. But remember, the name "Willis Tower" is funny, and for those of you who are hurting, I wish you the best of luck with your "recovery."

The article ends with a Chicago architect named Eric Davis who seems to embrace holding on to meaningless corporate traditions just because they're comfortable.

"Then again," Mr. Davis said, "I'm still calling the Macy's store on State Street Marshall Field."

That's so cute of him. And I'm still calling BP "Amoco," Frosted Flakes "Sugar Frosted Flakes," and Best Buy "Montgomery Ward."

Please.