...For The Ride Home: Mike Brown's players liked him, cougar trend is on its way out and goodbye "24" and "Law & Order"

Got really, really drunk this weekend. It's odd, kids. When you hit a certain age, you don't really get to do that as much. Then when you do, you are reminded of why you don't anymore the next morning. So weird. Used to be able to hang, but I couldn't even move for the first four hours of yesterday. Need to get my game up with all that's going on this summer, though. Goodness, that was rough. Anyways, we kick off week nine with a bang, or, well, Jimmie's Chicken Shack. Why? Well, during my run this morning, this song came through on the shuffle, and it reminded me of the last time I saw the band perform this song, and how pleasantly surprised I was to hear it live. It's just so much more reggae-y with the electric guitars. We plan to unveil a new feature Friday, so be sure to check it out. It promises to be even better than the "Lost" finale. Wait, "Lost" people, is was indeed good, right? Had to have been. If they would have shown a blank screen for three hours, you would have loved it. Be honest, now. We love you, but come on. I digress. We can speak of this new feature more as it grows nearer. Today is Monday, so we begin the week right with some neat links. Oh. And once you are done with those, you can check out how fabulous the pretty people looked at Cannes this year. You have to dig at least one of those things, right?

Let the shaking begin in Cleveland: Mike Brown was fired today as head coach. Surprisingly (and we mean that) most of his former players have gone to bat for him. One conspicuous absence? That’s right. Mr. James himself is “on vacation.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

This is weird. Brittany Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack, died over the weekend. The entire thing feels icky. (People)

Last night, “Lost.” Tonight, “24” and “Law & Order.” (Entertainment Weekly, The Daily Record)

Was going to post a Champions league final piece today instead of the Cannes fashion write-up, but knew none of you would care. In honor of that, though, an all-star team for the year that was international football. (The Big Lead)

Taking a good, in depth look at the work the National Enquirer puts in to some of its pieces. Scoff all you want, but the effort put into the John Edwards stuff was pretty damn good. (GQ)

NPR ombudsman sounds off on NPR, like all good ombudsmen should. (NPR)

Wait, the cougar trend is over?! No way. Not on the same week “Sex And The City 2” is set to hit theaters. (Popeater)

A little late, but we weren’t here yesterday: Chicago is going to the Stanley Cup finals. (Yahoo)