Links for 2012-03-04

When last we left the NCAA, it was February madness, colleges were jumping conferences, suing each other, coaches were claiming rivals had cheated in recruiting -- the usual nobility of college sports. And then, in the midst of all this, the men's basketball team at Washington College of Chestertown, Md., journeyed to Pennsylvania to play Gettysburg College in a Division III Centennial Conference game. It was senior night, and the loudest cheers went to Cory Weissman, No. 3, 5 feet 11 inches, a team captain -- especially when he walked out onto the court as one of Gettysburg's starting five.

I certainly appreciate the pressure that you face, and the sometimes controversial nature of your job. After all, we work in very similar industries -- I'm a nematode who infests the small intestines of most mammals, and you host your radio program. But I also know that there is a line you don't cross, a code of behavior. There are some things a guy like me just won't do. Don't you understand that? You're making a disgrace of yourself. Really. What you said was disgusting. Sometimes I cause pica, which is a compulsion to eat dirt, so I know what I'm talking about. But this is worse.

Have you ever had the experience of blurting out a secret shame and then discovering that other people shared your secret? None of them were willing to talk about it either, and you all thought you were alone. But it's not true. It turns out you have friends after all. No, I'm not confessing to being a Justin Bieber fan. But I do think that Return of the Jedi is the best of the six Star Wars movies.