Ramblings

• I am hoping to put out a mailbag within the next week. Send questions to mjfriedman1@gmail.com.

• Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend -- thanks to a Facebook group pleading SNL execs to ask her to host -- and she absolutely killed it. It was one of the best episodes of the last several years. All of the best female SNL alums of the past decade (except Cheri Oteri) joined White on the Mother's Day episode. At 88 years old, White must be the oldest host in SNL history by at least 20 years. I recommend watching the entire episode on Hulu, but here's a preview:

• I usually don't pay much attention to the NBA until the playoffs. If you're like me, you probably didn't realize until the last few weeks that Rajon Rondo is currently the best player on the Boston Celtics. The Celtics won the NBA title in 2008, when Rondo played a supporting role to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. This Celtics team is completely different -- Rondo controls the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, scores when he needs to, and has become one of the best playmakers in the league. Rondo broke into the league as a defensive specialist with good size for a point guard, but I doubt too many scouts expected him to be a franchise player. I am starting to believe Rondo might be one of the top 10 players in the league. If the Celtics upset the Cavs (series currently tied 2-2), it will be due in large part to Rondo's complete domination.

• "Breaking Bad" is the best show on TV right now. If you haven't seen it, I recommend going to your local public library (or Netflix) and renting seasons 1 and 2-- season 1 is only 7 episodes because of the writer's strike from 2008. Season 3 is currently airing on AMC on Sunday nights. It is a close call between "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" (another AMC original series) for my vote as best show since "The Wire." I should note that Modern Family, It's Always Sunny is Philadelphia, and Friday Night Lights are my favorite shows -- but "Breaking Bad" is the best show on TV.

• The murder of Yeardley Love at UVa last week was shocking, bizarre, and senseless. An innocent girl died, allegedly at the hands of a male lacrosse player (George Huguely) with anger management issues. The accused murderer appears to be a pampered, privileged, cocky asshole from a preppy private school in Maryland. He was allegedly arrested at Washington & Lee for public drunkenness in 2008. UVa President John Casteen is upset that no one at UVa knew about Huguely’s arrest at W&L, and he has spoken with Virginia’s governor about passing legislation that would require police departments to notify universities when a student is arrested. I would pose the following question to President Casteen: what difference would it have made if you knew about Huguely’s prior arrest for drunk in public? Thousands of college students get arrested for public drunkenness every year – about 0.0000001% turn out to be murderers. If UVA had been notified of the arrest, UVa administration or the lacrosse coaches could have suspended Huguely for a game or two – in 2008 – but that prior arrest is totally irrelevant to this murder. The media is also talking about how the culture of lacrosse players led to this tragic event. Bullshit. I agree that a majority of lacrosse players are white, entitled, cocky, and maybe even mean-spirited towards people that don’t fit the above-listed criteria. I went to Hampden-Sydney – I know this type and it is by no means limited to lacrosse players. However, these attributes rarely lead to violence against women or murder. There is a monumental difference between being a cocky jerk and murdering an innocent ex-girlfriend. No one knows what Huguely was thinking in the days, hours, and minutes before the crime took place. We might never know. The only thing I know for sure is that UVa administrators and the lacrosse culture are not to blame for Love’s death. Check out this blog post that takes a different perspective than me: http://www.sbnation.com/2010/5/6/1459030/george-huguely-yeardley-love-uva-lacrosse-murder

• I don't know how I never saw this commercial before now. Steve Nash is the man.