GLAMOUR GETS YOU A NOMINATION: As usual, the Golden Globe nominations are a mixture of the obvious--The Fighter, Black Swan, and Social Network racking up big nods on the movie side, Glee, Mad Men, and Temple Grandin on the TV side--and the surprising, some pleasant (Walking Dead for Best TV Drama, Elisabeth Moss for lead (not supporting!) actress in a TV Drama, Emma Stone for Best Actress (Comedy)), and others completely inexplicable (Burlesque and Red for Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), The Tourist with 3 major nods, Piper Perabo for Best Actress (TV Drama), Jennifer Love Hewitt for Best Actress (TV Movie), Scott Caan for Best Supporting Actor (TV)). Doesn't look like it changes the picture that much from an Oscar perspective--no surprises on the drama side, though Blue Valentine may have picked up a little heat from this--and the bizarre comedy/musical nominations aren't likely to give us any change (Kids Are All Right has cinched a nod for Best Picture, and the others are non-factors).

STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE:  Multiple sources are reporting that Cliff Lee will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies -- I'm hearing 5y/$100M.

Yes: a rotation of Halladay-Lee-Oswalt-Hamels-Blanton.  Wow.

STILL AIN'T GOT NO BAND: Guest Sing-Off analysis from our good friend and frequent commenter Marsha:

* * *

First off, thanks to the ALOTT5MA crew for letting me do this. Given that we have a professional a cappella staffer (and lots of educated acappellaheads) among our commenters, I’m nervous to do this, but happy nonetheless.

Getting a few important bits out of the way:

1. Thank goodness for improved sound quality this year. It really shows in the big group numbers, where everyone is mic’d correctly and you can hear the soloists AND the blend.

2. Thank goodness for the end of brackets. Though it didn’t really change the outcomes I would have chosen this year, it has the potential to do so, and I find that annoying.

3. Shut up, Nicole.

NAH, THEY WASN'T SETUPS. THEY WAS GOOD FIGHTERS, BUT THEY WASN'T KILLERS LIKE THIS GUY: Much-beloved Philly Quizzo host Johnny Goodtimes argues that given all the early career losses and the the superiority of his contemporaries, Rocky Balboa doesn't deserve induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

HE MADE A BOO BOO:   The Yogi Bear ending they didn't want you to see.   The WSJ has the story of the 25-year-old RISD grad who spent months putting it together.

Me? I'm pulling for the Se7en ending -- or, as Fienberg put it, What's in the pic-a-nic basket? What's in the baaaaaaasket? What's in the basket?  Of course, if Yogi knew the secret of The Prestige it would explain his resilience...

MY DAUGHTERS DO NOT LIKE FOOTBALL:  Indeed, to ask them to surrender two minutes on a Sunday afternoon so that Dad can catch an update via NFL Red Zone constitutes one of the bigger asks I can make of them.  "Do we have to?  This is boring," is Lucy's typical response.  But offer them a glimpse of football in the snow, and you'd have thought I had unearthed some special Yo Gabba Gabba! with Luke Skywalker as the Dancey Dance guest.  (Lucy's not old enough yet to realize Han > Luke.)

But kids get the Playing In The Snow Is Awesome.  Look: it sucks for the fans at the stadium -- winning or losing.  On tv, however?  I am a bit more geeked out for Super Bowl: Meadowlands after yesterday's Patriots-Bears game.

P.S.  So why are the Patriots so good in the snow, year after year?
P.P.S.  DeSean didn't deserve that penalty.  He hadn't scored yet.
P.P.P.S.  No, I can't stop watching the Metrodome roof collapse video.

TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: So maybe I'm overrating the value of a classical education, but was the puzzle clue on tonight's finale of The Amazing Race that hard?