Good Morning: 1.23.12

Serena Williams was hobbled by a back injury and fell to 19-year old American Sloane Stephens in the Australian Open. Stephens is coming up in the tennis world and played the match of her life on the biggest stage of her career.

 

Kevin Durant finished with 32 points, 7 boards, 7 rebounds and one “I'm gonna stay the hell out of his way” dunk as OKC took down the Chris Paul-less Clippers in LA.

 

 

Jerry Rice agrees with Tim Brown's assessment of Bill Callahan and the Raiders' Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. This story is bizarre and feels like we're missing something, because it doesn't make any sense. Don't think this story is going away anytime soon, either. There are a lot of players on that team who'll be tracked down, and one former Raiders assistant who will most definitely be asked questions: Jim Harbaugh.

 

Scientists found a protein in the brain that may alert them to the presence of CTE.

 

Tom Brady apologized to Ed Reed for his kickslide during the AFC Championship.

 

Kobe Bryant watched his 81-point game for the first time yesterday and live tweeted his thoughts. Bizarre has been thrown around a lot in the last week (Lance, Manti, Callahan) but these tweets – and Kobe's general performance on Twitter – come in somewhere between weird and funny. Grantland recently wondered why Kobe chose now to join Twitter. I don't think we're any closer to the answer, but I'm enjoying the ride.

 

Oh, and if you didn't enjoy it the first time around, it appears Dwight Howard trade rumor season is back in full effect

 

Louisville lost their second game in a row, this time losing to Villanova on the road. Kansas held off K State, 59-55, for their sixteenth consecutive win.

 

No, Chuck can't tie his own tie.

 

 

Kyrie Irving drops 40 points and Alonzo Gee destroys Kevin Garnett as the Cavs beat the Celts 95-90.

 

 

FLASHING LIGHTS

 

2 Chainz, meet 2 Broke Girls.

 

A$AP Rocky's new album, Long.Live.A$AP, is set to debut at the top of the charts.

 

Tyga announced his next album, Hotel California, will come out on March 26. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Tech N9ne speaks out on gun control (yes, really) and points a finger at parenting.

 

R. Kelly and Justin Bieber hung out last weekend.

 

Hit-Boy dropped a remix of “Fan” on Power 106 yesterday featuring 2 Chainz.

 

 

50, Jeezy and Snoop.

 

 

DID YOU REALIZE?

 

Three people were wounded during a shooting at Lone Star College in Texas. The shooting appears to be the result of an argument on campus that erupted into gunfire between two people. A 22-year old man was charged with aggravated assault, but remains in the hospital with injuries.

 

Paul Krugman looks at how far America has come in acceptance of civil rights in a relatively short period of time. It has only been eight years since George Bush used an anti-gay marriage stance to win an election.

 

With that said, Georgia authorities are investigating KKK flyers on residents' doors

 

What do the ruling elite think about John Brennan, the likely head of the CIA? Whatever it is, they're either not saying it or lying. Essentially, they are well-trained politicians.

 

Bruce Bartlett remembers a time when tax cuts (yes, cuts) were a tough sell in America, largely because Republicans knew cutting tax revenues would increase the deficit.

 

The latest scare the social security will run out is off-base, largely due to erroneous reporting and/or assumptions.

 

While CEO's rack up millions in bonuses and stock options, the economic recovery moves slowly along. The massive disparity and inequality is not only a major social issue, it's also a poor economic model for the country.

 

EVERYTHING I AM

 

The flu is out getting everyone this year. According to TIMEone of the reasons may be a lack of sick days. One example: 76 percent of workers at fast food restaurants are likely to show up sick to work out of fear they'll be fired or because they don't have enough sick days, and that Happy Meal isn't coming with a flu shot.

 

GOTTA HAVE IT

 

T.I. is asking for $75 mil on his next contract. Safe to say he has no worries. 

 

 

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