A Few Random Links

Sports:

• This trade mentioned by MLBTradeRumors (from MLB.com's Mychael Urban) seems like a good move for both teams: Matt Holiday, Orlando Cabrera and salary relief going from Oakland to Atlanta for Yunel Escobar and prospects. The Braves would get a big bat and a solid shortstop to contend in a weak division and some money to pay both of them. Oakland would dump the salary in a season they aren't going to contend anyways, and get back a young, controllable (in financial years, maybe not in attitude) shortstop and some prospects to continue to rebuild.  
• I would be a big fan of dynamic ticket pricing in my sports and concert going life, but I think that it would kill any arbitrage opportunities in secondary sales of tickets. The Ticket Economist asks where dynamic ticket pricing is (H/T Baseball Musings)?
• Right after I say that athletes should learn from Steve McNair, there is this Deadspin tidbit of Donovan McNabb hanging out at a pool with porn stars. Not a good idea.
• This, from Buster Olney is pretty crazy: "There was an unusual occurrence near the end of the Cubs' loss to the Cardinals on Sunday night, Vincent Masi of ESPN Stats & Information writes: "'In the top of the ninth inning, Chicago's Sean Marshall came in for relief but walked the first batter he faced. Cubs manager Lou Piniella moved Marshall from pitcher to left field (taking Alfonso Soriano out of the game) and brought Aaron Heilman into the game to pitch. Heilman got a strikeout, and that brought Piniella back out. He brought Marshall back into pitch and moved Reed Johnson into left field. The move worked, as Marshall struck out a batter and got the last out on a fly out to left field, where Johnson made a great catch.'"

Non-sports:

• TIME's James Poniewozik breaks down the first episode of Entourage and brings to light a very interesting point: what bizarro world did they think we live in? I know production takes place months before, but this was not timely and sort of odd. I doubt it is an "elaborate counterhistorical mystery" as Poniewozik ponders. I also doubt this is deliberate. I think it may just be Entourage, in it's attempt to be self-referential and mainstream, may have made themselves outdated. And for a show that I think struggled last season, that's not a good place to be. Overall, a good start to the season. But there needs to be something more.
• Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi writes about The Great American Bubble Machine, Goldman Sachs (H/T Wendy). This is especially interesting in light of Goldman's earnings release today. I always like Matt Taibbi, too, whether in Rolling Stone magazine or on Imus In The Morning.