Monday, March 31, 2008

Deals and Steals

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • No huge surprises in baseball today -- Santana dominated, the O's stunk, the Cubs can't hit.
    • I will throw some props to the Nats. They're pretty fun to watch. And who knew that Nick Johnson was even alive still?
    • Watched three episodes of Deal Or No Deal tonight. The best was one where a woman knew she had the million, got down to her case and one other, her fiancee convinced her to take the deal (which was awful since they wanted her to gamble), and she had the million. She was extraordinarily bitter.
    • Also catching up on Countdown from while I was on vacation. The tone of the media is turning against Clinton more and more.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • Not much interesting -- just getting back to work.
    • I'm not sure who I like in the NL -- either Colorado, the Mets, or the Phillies.
    • I'm fairly sure that super prospect Ashley Hogan actually started in left for the Cardinals today.
  • Daily Rant:
    • There was a caller to the Junkies this morning who got kicked out of the Nats opening game because he fought with someone who wouldn't cheer for the President. I understand that you have to respect the position and you should be excited for the start of the season, but I just don't think I'd be able to cheer for the guy. Even if I didn't boo, cheering is out of the question. When asked if he would cheer for Hillary if she won, the guy responded that he "would never vote for a woman or a colored guy for President." He was dead serious. As serious as he was about cheering for his President. With friends like those...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Erev Yom P'tichah

This is it -- the night where anything is possible, where everyone except Royals and Orioles fans have hope. Tomorrow games will begin, weak #1s will get shelled, someone we'll never hear of again will hit three homers. We'll look at the starting outfield of St. Louis and wonder what happened. We'll get way overly excited about the Reds. We'll fondly remember the Mets' collapse last year (well, some of us will). And then we'll move on to Saturday night and what has to be the best Final Four ever. It's Opening Day, baby.

Here are my picks:
  • Best Team: Boston. I don't see any reason they won't easily repeat. I don't buy the pitching depth in Detroit or Anaheim.
  • Team Most Likely To Win Other Than Boston: Cleveland.
  • Biggest Player Bounceback: Travis "Pronk" Hafner -- see above.
  • Non-Pitcher Of The Year: Alex Rodriguez. Tough choice.
  • Pitcher Of The Year: Johan Santana. Tougher choice. You mean the best pitcher in the AL is going to the weak-hitting NL?
  • Most Valuable Hitter: Matt Holliday -- he's the difference in a very competitive NL West.
  • Most Valuable Pitcher: Santana.
  • Fantasy Player I'm Most Happy I Got: Hunter Pence.
  • Talented Royal: Alex Gordon, Mark Teahen, Billy Butler. Not much there.
  • Player I Least Care About: Albert Pujols.
  • Most Underrated Team: Tampa -- their running game should be great.
  • Most Overrated Team: Do I have to answer? They play in the Bronx, they haven't won a championship since three years before Florida won their last, they screwed over their great manager. Here's hoping the Baseball Gods get some sweet revenge.

Take me out to the Ballgame

Here is my baseball preview from the worst teams to the best teams.

Teams that have no chance of winning the World Series

30) San Francisco – They lost to their own AAA team this week with their ace, Barry Zito, on the mound. As Cartman would say “That is helli-lame”.
29) Florida – Rumor has it that they may be calling up an unknown, five tool talent named Ashley Hogan. He’s not gonna help.
28) Oakland – The A’s are obviously in rebuilding mode after dumping Dan Haren and Nick Swisher. However, as of this posting on Sunday afternoon, they are tied for the lead in the major leagues in victories. Maybe they should be higher on this list.
27) Baltimore – The O’s are going nowhere this year. In theory they are playing for the future. In reality, that future is four, long years away.
26) Kansas City – Speaking of teams rebuilding, this team hasn’t contended in at least a decade. As I write this, I am struggling to name anyone good on this team.
25) Texas – The Rangers made no moves to get significantly better in the offseason. I could say something else about the team but I am still trying to think of someone good on the Royals.
24) Washington – Luckily fans will be coming to see the new stadium cause the team just stinks.
23) St. Louis – Memo to the Cardinals management: Shut down Pujols for the year so he can have his surgery. Your team is not going anywhere.
22) Pittsburgh – Keep on moving…Nothing to see or write about here.
21) Minnesota – The Twinkies gave up Johan Santana for far too little. It’s a young team (and I don’t just mean Delmon).

Teams that could go either be great or totally stink
20) Cincinnati – I have heard a lot this offseason about the Reds rebuilding with youth. However, Ken Griffey Jr. is almost 50 years old. That is not youth.
19) Tampa – These are not your father’s Devil Rays (or Rays or D-Rays).
18) White Sox – Nick Swisher will fit in very well in ChiTown. Time is running out on older players like Paul Konerko and Jim Thome..
17) Toronto – The Blue Jays will always have younger brother complex in the AL East. They’ll never compete with the Yanks and Sox.
16) Houston – Houston, we have a problem. I can’t think of a reason why you will be good.
15) Atlanta – The Braves would have the best pitching staff in baseball (Glavine, Smoltz and Mike Hampton) if this was 1995.
14) San Diego – They are good every year but I don’t know why. Other than Peavy, they don’t have many stud players.
13) California Angels - (I can’t call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ‘cause I am old school) – The Halos have great pitching from top to bottom but injuries have already taken a toll.
12) Colorado – Could this year’s Colorado be this year’s Colorado?
11) Arizona – Great acquisition in Dan Haren but should have found a big bat for the lineup instead. The lineup just might be worse than Kansas City’s. (I still can’t think of a good Royal).

Teams that could legitimately win it all
10) Philadelphia - The Phillies are a bit short on pitching but have a deep lineup in a small ballpark.
9) Milwaukee – Prince Fielder leads a group of young, hungry hitters like Ricky Weeks and Ryan Braun. The addition of one more stud pitcher and the Brew-Crew can make it back to the playoffs for the first time in a long-time.
8) Los Angeles Dodgers – Someone has to win it in the west. In Joe Torre we trust.
7) Boston – Too much Japanese food will cause the Sox to get off to a slow start.
6) Seattle – A good, but not great, lineup should help a GREAT pitching rotation.
5) New York Mets – Many players on this team are getting close to qualifying to be a member of AARP. Instead of the 7th inning stretch, it might be the 7th inning nap at Shea Stadium.
4) New York Yankees – Any team with A-Rod can easily get to October. The end of October is a different story, however.
3) Detroit – This team can just mash the ball. If the pitching can give up 6 runs or less, they should win a lot of games.
2) Cleveland – Should have won it last year if not for a few baserunning blunders. CC Sabathia will once again win the Rich Garces Award for heaviest pitcher in baseball.

The team that will win it all
1) Chicago Cubs – This is the year!!! Then again, Cub fans have only been saying this for the past century or so.

By the way, is George Brett still on the Royals? Mike Sweeney? Brett Saberhagen? Help.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Quickie

I got little sleep last night and it was a travel day, so I'm beat. Plus, have to go to work for a little bit tomorrow morning. Some very quick notes:
  • UCLA looked dominant. That was a very good Xavier team (I think better than Louisville).
  • I'm excited to see UNC play on a neutral court. Especially against Kansas, who's as athletic as Louisville, but much more talented.
  • At one point, Danny Green got fouled. On the replay, Dick Enberg said that he was "raped". He seriously said that, I watched four or five times on the DVR. I don't think this is the last you'll hear about that.

Enemy Combatants

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • Last day of vacation, driving back tomorrow. It'll be a Waffle House and Sweet Tomatoes day, pretty awesome.
    • I lost my first Final Four team with Stanford going out. I knew Lopez could dominate, I just didn't know that he'd be the only player on the team to show up.
    • Stephen Curry is playing out of this world at this point. That layup from behind the basket was just absurd. However, they're playing with the big boys now -- Kansas is going to murder them.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • I birdied my first hole ever today. It was on a par 3 course. I hit the tee shot to just behind the green on the fringe. I made my read on a sharp turn right and putted. As I saw it break just as I had read, I started running to follow it, jumping, and screaming. My wife said I leapt like a little girl.
    • If I have a Wii, why do I spend so much time playing the stupid on-line NES emulator on Facebook
  • Daily Rant:
    • We went to a flea market today. They apparently love three things down here in the Palmetto State. One is Jesus, who I have no problem with. The other two things are a little sketchier -- the Confederate flag and making animals fight. If you don't believe me, check out this link -- we saw a bunch of t-shirts to this effect. There were no dog fighting shirts, though were a bunch with similar design to the cock fighting ones that had pitbulls or rottweilers on them. The animal fighting is horrible enough, no doubt. It's very illegal (which is why I'm surprised they advertise it on a shirt) and even more immoral. But I can't get past the Confederate flag. All of these people would proclaim themselves patriots for the U.S. and I have no reason to doubt that. Put aside (because we can't forget) the racial issues with that flag. How can you possibly like the U.S. and fly the Confederate flag? Confederate soldiers killed American soldiers. It's actually that simple. It's hard to believe that people celebrate that.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Delayed Post-Mortem On The Oscars

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • Didn't get a chance to see the results show tonight, but I downloaded it so I'll watch it as soon as I can. Don't totally have a good read on who's going.
    • I finished the latest Stephen King, Duma Key, this morning. It's quite reminiscent of Salem's Lot (which, if you're a King fan, you know is a tremendous compliment) in how it ends and how it's truly horrifying and not just scary. His last two, this one and Lisey's Story, have been really, really, really good.
    • Saw Atonement tonight. Since I've now seen all of last year's nominees, more on that in a bit.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • We're going on a casino cruise tomorrow (it sails into international waters and then you can gamble). They may have a sportsbook, not sure. Probably a good thing we're going during the day so I can't get pissed off from losing on tomorrow night's tourney games.
    • Basically, yesterday we went on this thing where we see a timeshare, get a sales presentation, and then we get a gift. At the end, they trot out the closer, who berates you about why you need to buy at their property. The place was really nice, but I kept saying "no" in various ways because I already have one, I'm trying to be fiscally conservative while looking for a house, and so on. The guy kept hammering me and hammering me as I got angrier and angrier. By the end, my leg was bouncing to use up the energy that I was going to draw upon to scream at the guy to tell him to just stop and let us go. He had earlier said that if we said, "no," we'd get a handshake and a smile. After at least fifteen "nos," I got a handshake and a bunch of sarcastic remarks as he walked away. Good guy. By the way, this was Festiva Resorts -- you have to wonder how valuable their product really is if he reduced it to $5,200 from $30,000 in ten minutes or so. Festiva Resorts, the closer's name was Jack. Dick.
  • Your List Sucks! -- Ranking The Best Picture Nominees:
    • 5. There Will Be Blood -- I really liked all of this year's movies, so no shame in being fifth. Well, I really liked them, but I only really really liked four. Daniel Day Lewis turned in an all-time great performance, but it was just a bit too boring in the middle.
    • 4. Michael Clayton -- Not your typical Best Picture kind of movie. Fast-paced, exciting, great twists; it's very enjoyable and highly recommended.
    • 3. Atonement -- If I had seen this before the Oscars, there's no doubt I would have picked which would win Best Score. Whereas in There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men the scenery is a character, the music is the standout here. The way that the score is integrated (in ways I can't even begin to explain) with the story is phenomenal and something I've never seen before. There's also The Shot -- a 5-1/2 minute tracking shot through a hellish army camp that I thought had to be CGI because of the intricacy, but was, in fact, not. The acting is very good and I thought the controversial ending actually worked pretty well. Most of all, this is definitely not a chick flick.
    • 2. Juno -- It's so earnest and funny and touching. I think I put this barely over Atonement and I'm having second thoughts about it (though of course, I just watched that one). It has the largest re-watch potential, by far, of any of these films.
    • 1. No Country For Old Men -- Like I said, the best movie I've seen in a number of years. It's head and shoulders above the rest. It's out on DVD now, so freaking see it already!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The Next Level

Being on vacation and all, I actually wasn't going to write today. Nothing much happened except that I got in a fight with a timeshare salesperson, but I suppose I'll save that, if I even recount the nastiness. So I was going to skip a day, but then I watched "American Idol" so I figured I'd put out a few notes:
  • I was watching it on my laptop, so maybe I was a little disoriented from normal, because I disagreed with Simon and Randy a bunch and that never happens (not being sarcastic there).
  • For instance, I despised Michael Johns' "We Will Rock You" bit and that made me hate his whole performance. On review, I guess the second part was a lot better.
  • I also really like Carly's performance, maybe for the first time all season. Once I heard she was doing the Bonnie Turner song, I knew she would do well. I bet Mr. Tony raves about her tomorrow morning.
  • What can you say about Kristy Lee Cook's song choice? She won't get voted out because of the whole USA thing. Simon sort of hinted at that. I HATE HATE HATE the song -- it's played before every Ravens game and people treat it like it's the National Anthem, standing up and taking their hats off. To me, it's the musical equivalent of having to wear a flag pin to show you love the country. If the only way I can be "patriotic" is to like that song, count me out.
  • That leaves David Cook, who may be the best contestant in "Idol" history at making a song his own. On this one, I totally agree with Simon -- he took a huge risk and it could have been horrible or brilliant. Brilliant may be even a little weak in describing that performance. He's the one person I look forward to every Tuesday and the one whose performance I most want to watch a second time every week.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Cougars In Hiding

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • Watched the movie Death At A Funeral, a British comedy directed by Frank Oz (Bowfinger, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). It's very funny -- good if you're in the mood for a slapstick indie comedy.
    • Anyone catch the cover of Rolling Stone? Pretty awesome.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • Still nobody coming in and out of the Cougar Club today. It's a secretive society.
    • Hyman's is the restaurant at which I eat whenever I'm in Charleston. It's honestly my favorite restaurant in the world.
    • Sonic milkshakes rock. I hope they can get into the D.C. area at some point.
  • Daily Rant:
    • Nothing to rant about -- I'm on vacation!

The Morning After

Okay, so I missed last night because I'm on vacation. Deal with it! For the sake of being picky, I'm counting this for yesterday and there will be another one tonight. Yesterday was pretty much just more basketball -- the big Davidson upset of an overrated Georgetown team (I kept saying they were overrated because they didn't have a Jeff Green-type go-to guy, but I thought their bracket was easy enough that they'd make it to the Elite 8 where they'd get blown out by Kansas), some blowouts, some near chokes. Nothing earth-changing.

Off to Charleston today and have a couple of movies to watch, so tonight's should be a little longer and little to no sports.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Greetings From The Land Of Secession

So there actually is WiFi in South Carolina! Long day of driving, so I'm beat, but here's the quick NCAA thoughts:
  • I picked West Virginia in my bracket and there's no surprise they beat Duke. The Blue Devils were very weak on the inside all year. Once WVU started hitting their shots, it was over.
  • A lot of people had Notre Dame over Wazzou, but I took the Cougars. They're actually better than I thought though. I think Carolina matches up well against them, but it should be an interesting game.
  • I told you all that Pittsburgh was overrated. I just wish I had picked Michigan State in the first round over Temple. Between the Spartans and how good Wisconsin looked today, I slept on the Big Ten a bit this year.
  • No sleeping on the Pac-10 though. Besides Wazzou's dominance so far, Stanford and UCLA are champion-caliber teams. Both had rough stretches and both bore down to win the game. The two game-winners, by Lopez and Collison, were sick shots. Kevin Love showed with the insane fade-away that maybe he has more pro moves than people thought. Brook Lopez played with a mean streak during conference play, but it wasn't until the second half tonight that he showed his aggression. I picked Stanford to go to the Final Four because I thought nobody could match up with Lopez if he got going right (I'm envisioning him sort of like Nick Collison in the year when Kansas lost to Syracuse -- remember his 31 and 11, or something like that, against Duke?).
  • Tomorrow, it's all about Butler-Tennessee. Everything else is just window dressing. I'm also interested in seeing if Arkansas can run with Carolina and if Stephen Curry can shoot Georgetown out of their zone.
  • What a great last couple of days!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Who's The Winner? Tampa's The Winner!

If you were lucky enough to have tickets to the NCAA tournament pod site in Tampa today, you saw:
  • What's likely to be The Game of the Tournament as #12 Western Kentucky beat #5 Drake on a prayer 3 at the overtime buzzer.
  • #13 San Diego beating #4 UConn in OT on a jumper with 1.2 seconds left.
  • #13 Siena soundly thrashing #4 Vanderbilt.
  • #12 Villanova coming from 18 points back to beat #5 Clemson.

That's 4 games with 4 upsets and three close ones. Not bad on what was a much better day than yesterday for basketball fans.

Some other observations:

  • Butler was obviously severely underseeded, but we knew that.
  • Tennessee and Memphis both let their overmatched opponents hang around for quite a while, Tennessee more than Memphis. However, TX-Arlington did not play a great game and they were within 10-15 points of Memphis throughout. Not a great sign for a 1-seed.
  • I think Arkansas may be athletic enough to give UNC a bit of a game.
  • You can have Chris Lofton -- I'll take Davidson's Stephen Curry, who put up 40 in their win over Gonzaga, including 8 of 11 from three.
  • I'm really looking forward to Butler-Tennessee, but first comes West Virginia-Duke tomorrow.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Quick Observations

Overall, a slow day of games. Only two seed upsets and one of them was an 8-9. Obviously, the big story of the day was Duke-Belmont. The bar we were watching the games in was showing the Maryland NIT game as the main event, but we were following Belmont's attempts to hang in with the Blue Devils. Even though some people were inexplicably interested in the Terps, more and more of them started to move their attention as they heard us scream with every Belmont bucket. What can I say: the Bruins had the game in their hands and they blew it.

Fucking Duke...

Here are the "Lost" Comments:
  • I missed Michael so I was happy with his episode.
  • I think it's apparent that when Ben said in the second season finale that the Others were "the good guys," he meant as opposed to Charles Widmore. I guess this battle is going to become a focal point of the series moving forward. Maybe this is how they bring us back around to the question of, hello, what the hell is the island anyway?
  • Like how can it affect whether or not Michael can kill himself? Fate vs. coincedence has been a major theme of this series -- that seemed to come into play tonight.
  • We haven't seen Richard and company for a while, so I'm going to guess that they killed Rousseau and Carl, although that's not a definite. I guess that overall they're bringing it back to the island as a center of attention as opposed to all of the freighter craziness.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Truth From The Right

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • I don't think I'm a huge fan of this season of "Survivor". Too much quitting and stupid voting and letting the Favorites win. It's still my favorite show, but it's down a bit from last season.
    • Man, am I happy about tonight's "Idol" results. Ecstatic, in fact.
    • Don't sleep -- there was a new episode of "The Soup Presents" this past Monday. I'm sure they'll replay it again and again. There's another one coming next week as well.
    • I'll be watching every game tomorrow and Friday, so posting late and probably with just a feel for what went on during the day.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • My biggest upset in the first round is Temple over Michigan St. My Final Four is what I said a couple of weeks ago: Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Stanford.
    • I have very little confidence in any of my picks.
    • I'm going out of town on Saturday for the whole week to a magical land with no internet access, South Carolina. I'm hoping I can set up shop at some pancake house with wireless every so often. I'll attempt to further investigate the Cougar Club when I'm back in Charleston.
  • Daily Rave:
    • Hey, have I ever mentioned that I love Mike Huckabee? This is one of the most insightful quotes I've heard in the wake of Obama's speech yesterday:
    • And one other thing I think we've gotta remember. As easy as it is for those of us who are white, to look back and say "That's a terrible statement!"...I grew up in a very segregated south. And I think that you have to cut some slack -- and I'm gonna be probably the only Conservative in America who's gonna say something like this, but I'm just tellin' you -- we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told "you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus..." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

One For The Good Guys

Ha, I'm 1-0 so far in my tournament picks. I'll get to my final ones tomorrow night, or at least highlights. I'm also leaving The Speech alone. I think my feelings are fairly obvious -- it was one of the most important speeches in recent memory. I'll still put his 2004 convention one above this, but it's closer than I would have expected.

There aren't many days where this blog got more hits than yesterday. People searching for anything from "Tale Spin" to Jennifer Love Hewitt (sorry to dissapoint you, whoever that was) found us. Here's another great educational one. And of course, "Kick it Rockapella!" Maybe my crying over "Muppet Babies" and Steve going ga-ga over Hannah Montana has struck some kind of nerve. I'm going to ride it out and put out just a Your List Sucks! tonight -- the Top 5 "Good Guys" on Reality TV:
  • 5. Jonathan Penner ("Survivor") -- Say what you will about how he plays the game; nobody on "Survivor" is really all that angelic. Jonathan just seems like a truly good guy though, and this is of course biased by his unfortunate circumstances last week.
  • 4. Bob ("The Biggest Loser") -- Yeah, the show is pretty cheesy and they have product placement like no other. Jillian may be more kick-ass, but Bob is just a really nice guy who provides emotional support to the unbelievably emotionally-weak contestants they have on the show.
  • 3. Colby ("Survivor") -- Come on, who's a better guy than Colby in show history? He gave up the million to Tina and you could see that he's one of the few contestants that Probst genuinely likes.
  • 2. Morgan ("Kid Nation") -- Morgan was the mom in Bonanza City who seemed to settle every dispute and build morale among the various factions. There was no more deserving winner of the $50,000 star at the end.
  • 1. Dr. Drew ("Celebrity Rehab") -- What can you say? He's genuine, caring, serious about his line of work (but doesn't take himself too seriously), and very good at what he does. Did I mention he's genuine? He ruled over the best (so far) new show of 2008 with his discipline and honesty and he truly made many of his patients better. He told them that only one of them would stay clean and, sure enough, that's what happened. He even went to court for Jessica after she was arrested. You really can't say a bad thing about him after watching the show.

The first sign of a serious illness

I realized earlier this week that there is something really wrong with me. (Stop laughing everyone). It sort of hit me out of nowhere. There I am, at work, enjoying my Monday. I am listening to the radio quietly in the background. Usually, in the afternoons, I flip around to whatever station is playing a song that I like. Around 2PM I land on Hot 99.5 so I can hear the same six songs every hour. But, alas, a song that I never heard before comes on. I like it...I really like it...but I don't know who it is. It could be Avril Levigne or it could be Pink or any of the many copycats in the genre. It's got a funky beat and lyrics that I will be singing as I drive up and down the Beltway. I google the lyrics to find out who this magical artist is. Google gives me an answer. My eyes bulge out in shock. This hot new artist? Miley Cyrus. Yes, I actually love a Hannah Montana song. Just shoot me now.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Just A Bit Of A Break From The Norm

We've had the politics and we have the tournament. I watched the "Celebrity Rehab" Reunion Show tonight and I'm dying to talk about that and how awesome Dr. Drew is. The thing is, my night got a bit derailed and I'd like to take a break from all of that serious junk.

You've probably seen this video at some point today from the Muppet Show; it's been making the rounds. While we were watching it, I decided I wanted to click on this link to watch a Muppet Show song from 1969 that we all know and love. And then all hell broke loose.

I decided to search for the "Muppet Babies" theme song on YouTube and as we watched it I began to laugh so hard, I started crying (seriously, my eyes are still a little sore). Come on -- how freaking awesome was that show!!! My wife then made fun of me and we began to watch cartoon after cartoon. Here's some of our journey:

Sunday, March 16, 2008

First-Glance Tourney Preview

As we all work to fill out our brackets over the next couple of days, we're all wondering: who is going to win the play-in game on Tuesday? The answer is Mount St. Mary's by a lot. Other than that though, here are my first quick thoughts on the regions:
EAST:

  • Which double-digit seed has the best chance to win a game? #11 St. Joseph's -- They beat high-ranked Xavier twice recently and #6 Oklahoma has some injury problems.
  • Which #5 or higher has the best chance to make the Sweet 16? #7 Butler -- They're a top-10 team that got a ridiculously low seed and they're veteran and tournament-tested. They have more than just a minor chance to knock off #2 Tennessee in the second round.
  • Who besides the #1 has the best chance to go to the Final Four? #2 Tennessee -- They're a little shaky (especially defensively), but they're very talented and were highly-ranked all season.
  • Who's coming out of the region? There's no reason to believe that it won't be #1 North Carolina.

MIDWEST:

  • Which double-digit seed has the best chance to win a game? #10 Davidson -- This is another mid-major team with tourney experience. #7 Gonzaga doesn't have a go-to scorer and can be vulnerable in a close game.
  • Which #5 or higher has the best chance to make the Sweet 16? #5 Clemson -- they played tough in the ACC tournament and have played very well as of late.
  • Who besides the #1 has the best chance to go to the Final Four? #2 Georgetown -- Their size will give them an advantage against Wisconsin and their style of offense creates problems for anyone.
  • Who's coming out of the region? #1 Kansas is the most athletic team in the country. They're well-coached, veteran, and hungry after coming close the last couple of years. This one is a no-brainer.


SOUTH:

  • Which double-digit seed has the best chance to win a game? #10 St. Mary's -- They are legit with good guards and a tough mid-major conference.
  • Which #5 or higher has the best chance to make the Sweet 16? #5 Michigan State -- Mark my words on this: #4 Pittsburgh is extremely overrated.
  • Who besides the #1 has the best chance to go to the Final Four? #3 Stanford -- This is a very tough regional and a number of teams have the chance, but the Pac-10 has been great this year and the Cardinal has two twin seven-footers that will dominate the paint.
  • Who's coming out of the region? I'm going to have to study this some more, but on first glance, I'll go with Stanford. I think the Lopez twins create matchup problems that no other team in this bracket can overcome.


WEST:

  • Which double-digit seed has the best chance to win a game? #11 Baylor -- They're coached by one of Homer Drew's sons (not Bryce), what more do you need to know?
  • Which #5 or higher has the best chance to make the Sweet 16? #5 Drake -- They've been great all year, they play stifling defense, and they play a motion offense that most teams (especially athletic ones like UConn) can't defend well.
  • Who besides the #1 has the best chance to go to the Final Four? It won't matter, really... But I guess that UConn could theoretically catch fire and play above their heads for a couple of weeks.
  • Who's coming out of the region? It'll be #1 UCLA. This is the easiest regional and they're the best team in the country. I picked them to win it all pre-season and I'm not changing it now.

Retriever Fever And Other March Sicknesses

Kudos to UMBC and Coppin St. for repping Baltimore today and getting into the tourney. Some very good games today otherwise, with Hansbrough sending UNC into the ACC finals and Darren Collison willing UCLA to a win in the Pac-10. One more day -- I have UNC, Memphis, UCLA, and the winner of Texas-Kansas as the 1-seeds.

Other than basketball, cashed again in the monthly poker tournament. It was harder fought than usual with some better players than we've had in the past. It's a lot more fun when the gamesmanship starts before the final table and you have to be focused from hand one.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Madness Builds

A few quick notes on Championship Week, the best sports week of the year:
  • Kudos to AU. They got their first ever NCAA bid today by winning the Patriot League. We'll get at least one more local team in tomorrow, as Morgan St. and Coppin St. battle for the MEAC championship, while UMBC plays for the America East one and Georgetown faces Pitt once again for the Big East.
  • Speaking of Pitt, they've gone on quite a run during the Big East Tournament. I bet they're going to be that team that everyone says, "Wow, they went on quite a run in the conference tournament and they had the talent all along -- they're going to make some noise in the big one!" And then they get taken out by a 12-seed (See: Syracuse, 2006).
  • The Pac-10 has been a treat all year and the tournament has not disappointed. Brook Lopez of Stanford has shattered the scale -- he's an 8-diamond player at this point.
  • What's up with O.J. Mayo holding the ball until the clock ran out and then chucking up the potential game-tying three at the buzzer? He may be good, but that says a lot about his team play.
  • I don't know where Wazzou is going to find the offense to go deep into the tourney.
  • Holding to form in the ACC. We may get that Duke-NC final. Between that one and the potential Texas-Kansas Big 12 final, the committee may be holding off on some #1 seeds until Sunday afternoon.
  • Game Not To Watch on Saturday? Memphis plays in the Memphis Invitational, er, C-USA title game.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

A Weird Survivor Season And A Weirder Lost One

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • What is going on with this season of "Survivor"? We'll miss Jonathan, but I can't believe that Chet went out like that. The worst player in show history somehow made it even worse on the way out.
    • I don't know if I loved tonight's "Lost". More later.
    • And so go the Terps. They didn't really deserve to go anyways. Plus, I can openly root for the teams I want to win, like UCLA or Kansas.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • I don't think "Client-9" is going to catch on. I do think we can get "7-diamond" into the popular lexicon though.
    • Still awfully behind on fantasy baseball. It does look like my man James Shields is mowing through guys in spring training.
    • I also should probably be starting to follow the NBA a little. The Rockets have won 20 in a row and they're led by Tracy McGrady, who I once stood across a table from at a party and thought about going to say hi while his HUGE bodyguards glared at me.
  • "Lost" Comments/Questions of the Week:
    • Not a whole lot happened here, other than knowing who the last of the Oceanic Six is.
    • The whole forward/backward thing was weird, but not too weird.
    • We know that there was a bit of time after they got back before Hurley ended up in the asylum.
    • Was Jin one of the two people who Kate told the court survived the crash but died on the island?
    • This was the guess I kept talking about -- has there ever been a more obvious surprise than Michael's re-appearance?
    • The book that the woman, Regina (and what the heck was her death all about?), was reading was The Survivors of the Chancellor, a book about a shipwreck. Just thought it was a cool little easter egg thing.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

This Way Madness Lies

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • No big shock that David Hernandez went. Much-deserved. I still don't understand though why they love Amanda Overmyer so much -- she's constantly off-key.
    • Oh yeah, worst... Ford commerical... ever... Seriously.
    • Watched the great North by Northwest tonight. Cary Grant is so freaking funny in the movie. I think I have it as Hitchcock's third best behind Vertigo and Psycho.
    • No good mid-major teams tonight, although I'm psyched for The Mount getting in. Rumor has it that Morgan St. is actually a potential sleeper. I'll check it out and report back.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • Terps need two wins in the tournament with the first game coming tomorrow night.
    • Also, don't sleep on Comcast SportsNet showing the whole Pac-10 tournament. It's easily been the best conference this year.
    • I can't decide if "Client-9" is going to be a major pop culture reference moving forward. I may try it out in conversation to see what kind of laughs I get. "I tried to sneak the cookie from the lunchroom, but she Client-9-ed me." Hmm.
  • Daily Rant
    • I can never really say anything much better than Keith Olbermann, so I'll just post his Special Comment from tonight. It's how I feel -- the obvious angst and sadness.

I really am sorry that it's come to this...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Breakup Letter to the Clintons

I used to love the Clintons. I have for the past fifteen years.

I've been pretty negative about Senator Clinton at times over the last couple of months. I'm pretty sure I've said that I get sick when I watch her or that she's doing everything that the Republicans accused the Clintons of doing in the '90s. I've gone back and forth on this, knowing that if she somehow won the nomination (which isn't going to happen), I would still realistically support her over McCain.


I'm done. I'm finished with her. Unless she drastically changes her tune by firing and denouncing Geraldine Ferraro, I can't vote for her or support her; this year or ever again.


Ferraro on Feb. 28 to the Daily Breeze:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she continued.
"And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He
happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the
concept." Ferraro does not buy the notion of Obama as the great reconciler.



Clinton regretted the statement, but had her campaign manager, Maggie Williams, attack Obama for (imagine this!) being upset over the comment.


Ferraro today on Fox News:

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and
says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're
accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in
two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.
How's that?"


Clinton has had nothing to say about this last statement as of 11PM. I don't know what else to say. It's race-baiting, it's despicable, it's inexcusable. I can never vote for someone who condones, even implicitly, these kinds of statements. Will she denounce Ferraro? Check out Howard Fineman's statements on this video from "Countdown" tonight.



I loved the Clintons in the '90s. Heck, I loved them through 2007. Thanks for making me feel like I've been naive for the last fifteen years. No more; we're through.


Monday, March 10, 2008

Championship Week Is On

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • Really long work day, so it's mostly what basketball I watched when I got home. I am reading my fantasy baseball magazine diligently. Looks like I'm going into the year (at least according to this specific one) with the #1 catcher, #1 2B, #1 3B, and #1 and #2 OF. Not bad.
    • Gonzaga lost to San Diego tonight (d'oh for us Terps fans). People say the Bulldogs have what it takes, but I don't see it. Pargo is plain old sick, but they don't have that Frahm/Morrison/Dickau-type presence like they've had in the past.
    • Davidson looks pretty awesome, but they'll get an 8-seed and get stomped by UCLA or Kansas in the 2nd round.
    • Mason's in (and you can't count out their style easily). Have fun playing one and out, Siena. Well, maybe two if you get into the play-in.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • I enjoyed this piece by Kos on why, no matter how much my pro-Clinton co-worker says it is and wants it to be, the race is definitely not tied.
    • I totally earned my paycheck today. It's good to use your brain at work.
    • Still bummed about "The Wire" ending.
  • Daily Rant
    • We're into month three of our long national nightmare of Montrose Rd. being closed. I still don't get it, but whatever. The E. Jefferson stretch between Montrose and the originally-named Montrose Parkway is just delightful.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Well, Let's Go Home

"The Wire" is finally over and I'm bummed. David Simon was true to his world to the very end and everything was wrapped up fairly cleanly. Plus, I knew the homeless killer in college. Kudos to Simon, and I look forward to seeing his next project, apparently on the Iraq War. Some other things I watched this weekend:
  • Look out for Drake (no matter what) and Belmont (depending on their matchup) in the tourney. Both play a Princeton-style offense that is so hard for most teams to prepare for. Drake also adds stifling defense.
  • Saw two good Westerns this weekend on DVD:
    • #1 was the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Very fun and cartoonish with the expected good acting. Strong recommendation for anyone looking for an action flick.
    • #2 was quite different from the first -- The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. The movie, at two hours and forty minutes, is even longer than the title and it is extraordinarily slow. I compared it to Capote, where the acting is fantastic and the pace can be excruciating, but it's the art form the director chose. It's also kind of made in a Ken Burns style with the narration. All of the actors do very well, and of course Casey Affleck was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (and deservedly so, I thought he was better in this than even in Gone, Baby, Gone). I don't get how the studios submit performances for rewards though; Affleck is in it as much as anyone else. It's kind of hard to believe that the kid we thought got his role in Good Will Hunting is a far, far better actor than his big brother and, dare I say it, maybe even than Matt Damon.

the good ol' hockey game, the best game you can name

Me and Mrs. Steve went to see the Capitals play the Penguins today at the Phone Booth. Three of hockey's biggest young stars, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Yvgeni Malkin, were involved in this game. The game was broadcast by NBC as the Game of the Week, a compliment to the Caps considering they are struggling to make the playoffs. I could spend a few paragraphs talking about how great the game of hockey is when you see it in person. However, instead I want to give a big thumbs-up to the fans in Section 413 who attended the game for adding to the overall sporting experience. Being that Washington is a transient town, the Capitals do not have a strong fan base. As a partial season ticket holder myself, I have been subjected to fans from other teams coming to DC and being obnoxious from the drop of the first puck straight to the very end. Oftentimes, the overall experience is ruined by these individuals who arrive drunk and leave even more drunk (Yes, I am talking to you, fans of the New York Rangers). Today's crowd was probably about 65% Capitals fans and 35% Penguin fans. I found that Penguin fans could appreciate good play on both sides and supported their team positively instead of denegrating the home Washington Capitals. At no point did any fan shout "Caps suck" or "overrated" or other insults that are unsubstantiated. (Again, I am talking to you Ranger fans). The back and forth action provided in this game along with the 99% sold out arena provided an electric atmosphere. I wish I could see this type of fan experience at other arenas. However, with player salaries continuing to increase and the likelihood of a player spending his entire career in one city continuing to diminish, the fans feel they have the right to take out their angst on the opposition. Sporting events would be better off accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative.

That being said, the Yankees still suck.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Special Report: The Devil Down In The Hole

I may have been late to the party, but I've come to the same conclusion as many others. "The Wire" is the greatest series in the history of television. The series finale is tomorrow and while I was happy that "The Sopranos" (the second-best series ever) went out on top, I'm very unhappy over this one. To pay tribute, I'm doing a group of Your List Sucks! specials. Should go without saying that spoilers are included, so if you haven't watched the show, close this page and go onto Netflix instead.

  • Top 15 Characters -- A top 5 or 10 list is impossible because there are so many great ones. Even a top 15 leaves out tons and tons of them like Carver, Sydnor, Herk, Levy, D'Angelo, etc. One of the main strengths of the show is the intricacy of its world.
    • 15. Walon -- I bumped Marlo for Bubs' sponsor, but I just love this guy. He's so, just, real.
    • 14. Ervin Burrell -- He stands for everything wrong with police bureaucracy, doing what he can to get himself the extra bit of glory.
    • 13. Randy Wagstaff -- The boy trying to be good, but stuck in the realities of his life as a foster child. No scene in the history of the show has been more depressing than when Bunk visited Randy this season and we saw the punk he's been forced to become.
    • 12. Chris Partlow -- The philosophical muscle, with some hidden dark past that ended up catching up with him.
    • 11. Michael Lee -- Chris' protege who started out determined to stay clean until he found out he was good at hurting people.
    • 10. Russell "Stringer" Bell -- We first see him in the opening scenes of the first episode, intimidating a witness in his business-like style. He tried to break away from the hood through his money, but his best friend wouldn't let him leave.
    • 9. Bodie Broadus -- The young up-and-coming dealer who acts bigger than he is, but ultimately goes with the flow. He starts to realize he has no future in front of him and his cry for help brings Jimmy back into the game.
    • 8. Jimmy McNulty -- The alcoholic, so passionate-he's-insane, stop-at-nothing main character. I'm probably disrespecting him by putting him this low.
    • 7. Dennis "Cutty" Wise -- The moral role model for Michael and the other kids in the neighborhood. Cutty is one of the few characters that makes you smile every time he's on the screen.
    • 6. Norman Wilson -- The cynical, wise-ass Mayoral aide who clues us in on what's really going on in City Hall.
    • 5. Bunk Moreland -- The hands-down funniest character on the show, he's the yin to Jimmy's yang.
    • 4. Clay Davis -- Sheeeeeeeeeeeit, he made that word an art form unto itself. He really came into his own even more during the last season.
    • 3. Lester Freamon -- "Smooth Lester Cool", as Kima once called him, is the man, period. He's the calculating mind that works so well with Jimmy's mania.
    • 2. Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins -- Bubs is used as the archetype of the street junkie and seems to be (I hope) the one shining light of hope at the end.
    • 1. Omar Little -- The gay, shotgun-toting ghetto Robin Hood stands miles above everyone else.
  • Top 5 Moments
    • 5. The "F***" Scene -- In Season 1, Bunk and McNulty go to investigate a shooting death away from downtown that could be related to the Barksdale crew. They move around the scene, trying to determine all of the angles, and all they say for a minute or two are different forms of the F-word.
    • 4. Night in Hamsterdam -- David Simon and the other writers do an amazing job in Season 3 of using one area where drugs are "legalized" to show all of the horrors of the inner-city drug trade. Hell can't be any worse.
    • 3. Stringer's Death -- After he finds out that Stringer is going legit and arranged for D'Angelo to be killed in jail, Avon sets it up for Brother Mouzone and Omar to meet Stringer in an abandoned building. Bell's money and power mean nothing in the face of two hate-filled killing machines.
    • 2. Wallace's Death -- The young Wallace talks to the police and is killed by his friends Poot and Bodie on Stringer's orders. This was one of those moments that showed us that, indeed, the show is willing to go where nothing else ever has.
    • 1. Omar -- The scene two episodes ago that left every "Wire" fan crushed for a week. Fitting though, that the superman would be taken out in a random (and graphic) manner by some angry little kid.
  • The Seasons Ranked -- Keep in mind that the worst season of "The Wire" is better than any other season of any other show besides maybe the best seasons of "The Sopranos".
    • 5. Season 2 -- The port of Baltimore is examined. We learn how the drugs (and other things) get into the city and we have our first, and maybe only, unsympathetic villains in the Greeks. This season was such a weird left turn after the first.
    • 4. Season 5 -- The media is examined and everything is wrapped up. McNulty goes crazy and cracks finally show in the Stanfield organization as Marlo gets power-hungry. Plus David Simon settles some scores with The Baltimore Sun and its owners, the Tribune Co.
    • 3. Season 1 -- The drug trade and police bureaucracy are examined. We meet the characters and see the frustrations of using a wire to fight a problem that is obviously as much a part of the city as the government.
    • 4. Season 4 -- Education is examined. Most people prefer this season, but I have it as a close second. It is definitely the most gut-wrenching as we follow four kids and realize that there really is no hope.
    • 5. Season 3 -- The political system is examined. We watch Carcetti's rise, the strained relationship between Stringer and Avon, and Bunny Colvin's Hamsterdam experiment. The best actual crime drama is in this season.

Random Junk

Some quick links on a Friday where I was out most of the night:
  • Here is David Cook's great version of "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie.
  • Could this backlash mean the end of the Neocons on a national stage like the backlash against Carter was the end of the far left?
  • The headline on this article just sounds bad, even if the whole thing was an accident.
  • T-minus-nine days and counting; it's about that time.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

My Ears Are Now Mostly Safe. Mostly...

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • I was right -- Mikey should have taken Joel out at their first tribal council, and today Joel's bad decision last week came back to haunt him. It all goes to show that Tracey is a real player in this game. She's doing a fantastic job of making the decisions and letting others take the credit.
    • I still say that Chet is the worst contestant in "Survivor" history.
    • But at least he always has a bright and glowing attitude.
    • I loved "Celebrity Rehab" throughout the season and this blog by Dr. Drew talks about his thoughts on the final decisions. It also says that there will be a Reunion Show next week. I was bummed tonight that they didn't show what's happened, so I'm psyched for that show.
    • No huge complaints about the Final 12; I'm just overjoyed that I don't have to watch Daniel Noriega butcher every song he sings anymore.
    • I'll watch the end of the Stanford-UCLA game as I go to sleep (Stanford is up 9 right now early in the 2nd), but the defense from both sides is just oppressive. Kevin Love is just such a beast; not counting King James, I haven't seen a big man with this kind of passing skill since Andrew Bogut. Imagine Love in the high post of a Princeton offense.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • I was remiss in checking earlier this week, but we crossed the 1,000-visit threshold a few days ago (after around 150 posts). Many thanks. The average daily page views has consistently crept up over time.
    • This Ken Starr BS makes me feel less sorry for whatever may have happened in the '90s. I'm sorry that the Clinton campaign has lowered my opinion of them that much.
    • Not so good for St. Louis or for fantasy baseball players.
    • This article, while long, is awesome. I think women Democrats who are bummed that they don't have a female candidate in the General Election will fall in love with Michelle Obama and what she stands for.
  • "Lost" Comments/Questions of the Week:
    • I thought this was kind of an anti-climactic episode after last week's craziness. I did like the new perspective on the Others during the crash and why Ben sent Goodwin after the Tailies.
    • We know how Ben got to the island and we know that Richard has been there for a long time, but how did the other Others get there? Were Tom, Ethan, and co. like Richard or like Ben or like Juliette?
    • Does Widmore searching for the island have less to do with its qualities and more to do with Desmond? Or is it just coincidence? Yeah, right.
    • Why was Ben getting the chemicals ready again? Was he looking to ditch the island and kill off the 815 survivors?
    • I haven't read any spoilers and it won't be revealed until next week, but I know I'm right about who Ben's guy on the freighter is. I think it's been sort of obvious all along (especially if you read the credits).

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Daniel Noriega or Chimp Attack: Which Is More Horrific? Inquiring Minds Want To Know!

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • Do away with the Daniel Noriega/David Hernandez segment of Tuesday's "Idol" and I really liked the episode. Noriega scares the crap out of me; he reminds me of the time I went to a drag show by accident.
    • I thought David Cook's rendition of "Hello" was the best song this week from both groups, but Archuleta was, of course, his usual superstar self. Can you foresee a final two that isn't Carly and David A.? Maybe Syesha is the only other possibility.
    • Syesha gave the only "wow" performance tonight. Overall, the girls are well worse than the guys this year. I'm hoping the four leaving us are Kady Malloy (who is hot, but horrendous), Kristy Lee Cook, Luke Menard, and David Hernandez (mostly because I know Noriega is here to stay for a bit and Chikezie probably won't go).
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • Hard to believe, but I let March 3 pass without marking the two-year anniversary of Buddy, Ollie, and Moe. Here's the gruesome story as we all wonder, "Where's the cake?"
    • This was the toy I played with today. You too can figure out what unrealistic victories the Clinton campaign needs to win to get the nomination!
  • Daily Rant:
    • We all love Brett Favre, no doubt. The Monday Night game after his father died is always going to be one of those games that I'll remember where I was when I watched it. But let's throw some love to Warren Sapp, who also hung it up yesterday. He has as many rings as Favre and he, in his own way, is just as lovable. Sure, Sapp effectively retired when he went to Oakland, but he's been a defensive force and an interview treat for his entire career. I'm really happy that these two rivals and friends went out on the same day. Poetic.

It's Over, Johnny

After all of the spin, the cold, hard math remains -- Obama's pledged delegate lead is too wide for Clinton to overcome. I wouldn't have said it was over weeks ago if I didn't really think that. Especially when it comes to this; I'm too superstitious to want to jinx it.

On a non-election note (hard to believe, I know), I had a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich for dinner tonight. The special thing about it was that I used some delicious cinnamon-raisin peanut butter that I picked up at Peanut Butter & Co. in Greenwich Village a week or so ago. The place freaking rocks, especially for a peanut butter lover like me. I had The Elvis when we ate there and it was silly-- grilled peanut butter and banana with honey. I've seriously wanted to go there for years and years and it did not disappoint.

Monday, March 3, 2008

D-Day Minus One

A pretty quiet day today. Not much going on as I look forward to tomorrow's primaries. Here are some quick questions to that effect:
  • Can someone tell me what exactly is Hillary Clinton's foreign policy experience? Maybe the media has been really hard on her, but there are some things they've let slide as well.
  • Is it okay that John McCain is accepting the endorsement of a guy who thinks that Katrina was a punishment of New Orleans for having homosexuals or that we need to nuke Iran to hasten the Apocalypse?
  • Should Obama be singing, "Blame Canada!"?
  • Why does the phone ring six times on Clinton's "3 A.M." ad? Shouldn't the President maybe get that?
  • Why isn't Mike Huckabee on TV anymore??

Sunday, March 2, 2008

A Couch Potato Day

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • I think I'm going to save a lot for Saturday and do a huge thing on "The Wire" with the finale on Sunday. Just gut-wrenching... I am way more bummed about this ending than I was for "The Sopranos".
    • I can't believe that I've never heard the song referred to this way, but Bill Maher called the National Anthem "America's Theme Song."
    • Watched two very, very good (in different ways) movies today. One was City of God (from Netflix), a Brazilian movie that garnered a number of Oscar nominations in 2004. It's based on the true story of a kid growing up in the ultra-violent slums of Rio de Janeiro and the gang wars therein. It's very comparable, in themes and quality, to Boyz in the Hood or Menace II Society.
    • The other was Beyond The Mat (on Encore On Demand), a 1999 documentary about pro-wrestling. It follows the business behind the (then) WWF and people who are trying to break their way in, hitting their prime, and making their way out. It's fascinating and touching. You have to see it for two things -- a look at Jake "The Snake" Roberts (now a crackhead with an amazing history of family violence) and a scene where The Rock is hitting Mick Foley over the head with a real folding chair again and again while Foley's wife and small kids scream and cry in real horror from the audience.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • I caught a good chunk of the #1-for-one-more-day Vols' squeaker over Kentucky. With Selection Sunday in two weeks, my prediction for the Final Four right now is Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, and... maybe Stanford? I don't believe in Tennessee, Duke, or Memphis as legit title contenders.
    • Two weeks from today is also my fantasy baseball draft. I finally bought my magazine today. I'd be more worried that I'm starting late if I didn't have a keeper group with names like Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins, Matt Holliday, and Chase Utley, among others.
    • Since, I've been making fun of Hillary and Huckabee videos, I have to give equal time with this, the latest will.i.am Obama video. It's not as cheesy but I'm not a fan; the whole chanting thing is pretty creepy. Pretty, pretty creepy.
  • Daily Rant:
    • Anyone who's on Facebook probably knows about the Scrabulous application. This is a third-party-made on-line Scrabble-type game. There's now a Facebook group called "Save Scrabulous" because, shocker, Hasbro doesn't like someone infringing on their copyright. Look, I love the application, but I can't support this group and I'm wondering if there's a "Don't Save Scrabulous" group that I can join. Copyrights are obtained for a reason. Infringing upon one is stealing. Period. I hope they can work it out and Hasbro can get their rightful taste. Otherwise, kill it as soon as possible to send a message that not everything is open source.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Because I Have To

Pretty quiet day -- just a few notes on some things I watched:
  • Watched First Blood for the first time in a long time. It's hard to believe now that Stallone used to be a good actor, but movies like this or Victory (and Rocky, of course) tell a different tale. I didn't realize that this is where the "It's over, Johnny" tape that the Junkies play all the time came from.
  • Finished Season 1 of "The Amazing Race". Good ending and the show is very emotional. I still think I like the scheming part of "Survivor" a lot better.
  • Kansas is for real. They are so athletic and better inside than they were last year. They'll go very deep in the tourney. As for Kansas State, Michael Beasley is going to be the #1 pick, but I question if (assuming they get in) they can win a couple games. They remind me a lot of Texas last year, where Durant just couldn't do everything by himself.

Catching Up

Didn't get home until like 3:30 last night, when I basically just watched "The Soup" and went to bed. So I'm catching up this morning and I'll do one later tonight. I played in a poker tournament where I didn't cash, though I'm not too unhappy -- I was in 8th place and was getting no cards and basically just scratched and clawed with nothing, stealing tons of blinds, to somehow make it to 4th place (3 places paid). It ended at 3 and I was wondering who would answer the phone in the White House to save me from a home invasion (at least, I think that's what this ad was getting at, and here's the response ad).

So now, it's 11AM and I'm sitting here, waiting for McCain to reject and denounce John Hagee for this and watching Disorderlies on HBO (yes, Disorderlies). This movie really is as bad as I remember it. Love it.