It is once again new feature time.

I realized this morning that every day there is one blog post I look forward to more than any other: The Big Lead’s morning link roundups…which, coincidentally, has not been posted yet this morning.

WTF?

This unexpected void in my morning gave me the opportunity to participate in an exciting new morning activity: thinking. And what I got to thinking and wondering about is why I’m not putting together a similar post on a daily basis for you, our trusty MSF reader.

So I decided to start doing it. And if the old adage “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery” is true, then consider yourself flattered TBL. We’ll obviously put our own spin on things, but we’re not trying to hide the source of our inspiration.

Look for this new feature every morning, probably around 7-7:15 Central Time. And if you’re a blogger or an interested reader who likes sharing good stuff you read, send me tips.

And now, without further ado, onto this morning’s WYNTR (that stands for What You Need To Read), sponsored by birthday girl Kim Kardashian (who probably has a better chance of completing that pass than Derek Anderson…)

Hot Topics

Nothing is a hotter topic this morning than the breaking news of Steve Phillips’ affair with an ESPN production assistant. (Hat tip to TBL on this one.)

Our buddy MoonDog discusses the new political action committee that is taking on the BCS.

The LA Daily News discusses Manny Ramirez going back to his Manny ways by skipping the end of his team’s last game against the Phillies to shower.

Mark Cuban has opined about steroid use, and let’s just say that his thoughts on the issue are different than, well, 99% of people who have commented publicly on the issue. Could steroids actually be a good thing?

If you haven’t yet seen it, the always hilarious folks at Tirico Suave have produced a nice animated gif breakdown of ARod getting a nice handful of The Captain’s ass a couple days ago. Well done.

Midwest sports news

In Browns news, LB D’Qwell Jackson is out for the season with a shoulder injury while his coach, Eric Mangini, is being compared to the fat kid who floated away in Willy Wonka’s river of chocolate. Being a Browns fan is great, huh?

In Bears news, Jay Cutler got a contract extension at the same time that he and Chad Ochocinco were having a friendly Twitter conversation. As our friends at Tremendous Upside Potential point out, Jay Mariotti, of course, was not amused with Cutler’s willingness to take a few moments to himself away from the football field.

In Vikings news, there is a little bit of confusion regarding whether coach Brad Childress will be getting a contract extension soon or not.

In Buckeye news, despite a loss to Purdue, Jim Tressel is not planning a big changes.

Blogging, social media, and other stuff

Here are five reasons why Google’s new sidewiki feature will fail.

Mashable a few interesting posts:

• summary of a UCLA study that finds surfing the Internet stimulates your brain
• Twitter’s CEO says the world is big enough for Twitter AND Facebook
• Just how big a game-changer with the Motorola Droid be? Is it a serious challenger to the iPhone? One thing is for sure…from the pictures, it just may kill you, me, and everyone.

And a little something for the fellas

All Left Turns delivers a solid breakdown of the 25 hottest women in motorsports. Lewis Hamilton and Jimmie Johnson are fighting for pole position on this one.

Straight Pinkie delivers the good with a photo gallery of Eva Wyrwal.

Asylum.com brings you the 100 most search for hotties on the Internet.

Have a great Wednesday everyone. Remember to look for tomorrow’s WYNTR post a little earlier in the morning. The comment section is yours to discuss any and all topics.

The insider trading charges stem from Mark Cuban’s investment in Mamma.com, and it is alleged that Cuban sold off his entire 6% stake in the company after receiving inside information that the company would be announcing it would raise money through a private offering, known as a PIPE transaction.

A few details regarding the charges, per the WSJ:

The SEC alleges in a civil action that Mr. Cuban sold his entire 6% ownership stake on June 28, 2004, after learning that Mamma.com was raising money through a private investment in a public entity, or PIPE. The next day, on June 29, the company announced the PIPE financing and shares of the company dropped by more than 10%. By selling his stake, the SEC alleges, Mr. Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses.

Obviously, these are only charges and Mark Cuban has not convicted of anything yet. However, this certainly does not look good. According to the Huffington Post, when Mark Cuban initially sold his shares it made news. Apparently he claimed at the time that he did not agree with PIPE transaction because it would dilute his funds. This is not an uncommon reaction by major shareholders upon the announcement of PIPE transactions, but the key to this story, as with any insider trading story, will be the prosecutors’ ability to establish a timeline.

If Cuban did, in fact, know about the proposed PIPE transaction before it was announced publicly, he could very well be up shit’s creek without a paddle as they say. Is it possible that rumors of this insider trading announcement are part of the reason why word leaked last week that Major League Baseball owners would, under no circumstances, allow Mark Cuban to buy the Chicago Cubs?

Wow.

If this turns out to be true, all I can say is that this was ridiculously dumb and short-sighted on the part of Mark Cuban. The guy is worth billions upon billions of dollars. I don’t want to be flippant by saying, “What’s $750,000 to a multi-billionaire?” but…”What’s $750,000 to a multi-billionaire!!!??”

I have always liked Mark Cuban, and I got to meet him when I was at Indiana. I like him as an owner, and though he rubs some people the wrong way, I think his passion and openness are good for sports.

If the insider trading accusations prove to be true, I don’t think Mark Cuban will be involved in sports too much longer. Of course, Martha Stewart seems to be rebounding nicely from her own insider trading scandal; but she’s the devil. Mark Cuban may not have such powers.

Anyway, hopefully it’s not true, but the evidence certainly appears to be pretty damning. I know this, I will definitely be following the case and hoping that Mark is exonerated. He’s great for sports, he’s been a great supporter of Indiana as an alum, and I wish him the best in fighting the charges if he was erroneously charged.

(Update: On Mark Cuban’s blog, Blog Maverick, he has officially denied the charges. He states, “I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so.” I hope he’s right.)

What do you think?

(Editor’s note: Mark Cuban’s fellow contestant on Dancing With the Stars is also in hot water. Helio Castroneves had his motion to delay his trial denied and will stand trial for tax evasion beginning on March 2, 2009.)

[tags]mark cuban, insider trading, sec[/tags]