Jon Marthaler bakes up a batch of delicious links just for you. Other times, you can find him here and here. Jon?

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This stupid state. It was 87 degrees yesterday. Last year on the second Saturday in October, we got a quarter-inch of snow. I went to watch the Gophers play Purdue in football; game-time temperature was 31 degrees. This year, I went to a hockey game, and was glad to get inside the cool of the rink. Last year, the temperature hit 60 three times in the entire month of October. Today it's supposed to be 84 degrees again.

I don't understand anything. And on that note: on with the links!

*Commenter fasolamatt sends along a look at the NHL's reversion to tradition on the jersey front. (Be sure to check out the slide show.) The silly-looking Reebok jerseys are here to stay, but at least most teams are going back to historical, traditional looks. This is a good thing, and should be encouraged. Now please copy out the following statement fifty times in your own handwriting and mail to Zygi Wilf: "The Vikings throwback traditional jerseys look 50 times better than the clown suits you have the team wearing now. Please switch back immediately before I blind myself to avoid seeing those abominable getups even one more time."

*I like this post from Joe Posnanski on baseball statistics, because he's making a point that people who like stats (such as me) would do well to remember: stats are good things to have as part of arguments. They don't necessarily end arguments, however. I'm as guilty as anyone of making them try to stand on their own, but they should be more along the lines of supporting evidence.

*Slate covers an American-based controversy in the world of English soccer: everybody hates American owners. It's not just old Albion jingoism, either; Liverpool and Manchester United fans are angry at the amount of debt their teams have been saddled with. (Things got so bad in Liverpool that most people were actually happier last week when the team announced they'd been conditionally sold to the guy who owns the Red Sox.)

*And finally: unfortunately, it looks like I may need to rethink my plans to dust Rand in next year's Twin Cities Marathon. (My planned strategy relied heavily on the #16 bus.)

That'll do it for me; if you're still looking for something else, watch this video of a guy, a David Bowie tune, and two Kermits The Frog. Amazing. Anyhow, do your best to stay cool today. I can vouch for a hockey arena as a decent solution.