Friday Links

- The Best of the Burghosphere Ceremonies take place tonight and Sunday at Most Wanted Fine Arts. Although I'm not able to attend, you can go as I receive the "Best Darn Pittsburgh Blog of Pop Culture and Sarcasm Awesomeness" Award and accept this on my behalf. [Most Wanted Fine Arts]

- I had never heard of Cespedes Family Barbecue until Thursday, and I feel like I've missed out on some great baseball discussions. In the latest podcast, you can hear interviews with Arthur Lenk, a Mets fan and the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Mauritius, and newly acquired Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Trevor Williams. Really good stuff. [Cespedes Family Barbecue]

- Heidi is going to be an extra in a UPMC commercial. I have a feeling this is going to be her big break! [The Steel Trap]

- You can tryout to play for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. I'm saying you since my soccer career peaked when my team won the U-10 championship. Sure, I had some other big moments like playing at the Civic Arena, scoring a goal in my last high school game, and winning a college intramural championship, but I don't think this resume is enough to play professional soccer. I'm also not a fan of paying $125 to participate in an "open tryout." [Pittsburgh Riverhounds]

- On a much lower level of soccer, it appears that the US Soccer Federation is prohibiting and limiting headers for youth players. I have a feeling this is going to be a major topic at my next referee recertification class. [New York Times]

- I need to step up my Twitter game since I haven't made Alex's week in tweets in a long, long time. [Everybody Loves You]

- Happy 13th anniversary to ALOTT5MA. [a list of things thrown five minutes ago]

- The Washington Post shares the Best Books of 2015. Although Amazon now owns The Post, it is a little curious that links for all of the books direct you to Amazon.com so that you can buy the books there. [Washington Post]

Have a great weekend!

Best of the Burghosphere

Many years ago, I was somewhat of a political junkie. I majored in politics, organized a successful voter registration drive in college and had internships with my Congressman and a State Senator. Like many people, though, I got tired of all of the partisan fighting. There is little cooperation between both parties on the national level, and as a result nothing seems to get done. Sure, I still follow elections and the Presidential campaign. And yes, I'm going to vote on Election Day. However, I don't have the passion for politics that I once did and like Pat of Community Matters does. So for the Best of the Burghosphere, I'm proud to award Pat with the Most Likely To Know Your Member of Congress Based on Your Zip Code Award.

Pat is a consultant specializing in external, program-oriented projects for progressive nonprofits dedicated to social welfare and justice issues. (Yes, I took that sentence from her website.) She also writes passionately about political issues with resources for lobbying on both the national and local levels. While many of Pat's recent entries focus on national politics, she wants people to get involved. Government is of the people, by the people and for the people, but as citizens, we don't always do enough (look at the voting percentages, particularly in non Presidential elections) or even know enough about how government works. Pat tries to change this by keeping people informed and explaining civics. So due to all of her efforts, Pat has earned the Most Likely To Know Your Member of Congress Based on Your Zip Code Award.


The Best of The Burghosphere is an awards ceremony to honor the creative bloggers in the Pittsburgh region with proceeds benefitting the Most Wanted Fine Art Resident Artists project.

The official Awards presentations will be on Friday, November 20, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Most Wanted Fine Art at 5015 Penn Avenue. You can RSVP on this Facebook page. This is a 21+ event.

The family friendly party is Sunday, November 20th at 1:00 PM. And yes, there is another Facebook page to RSVP.