Tampa and Philly Aim to Clash In... Wait, Tampa and Philly?!?

• What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
• I have beef with NBC, but more on that below.
• You may have seen that Eminem was named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe readers and rightfully so, in my opinion. Psyched for King Mathers (or The Empact, whichever) to drop late this year with Dr. Dre's Detox coming in the spring. So the best rapper is white and the best Presidential candidate is black. And why exactly do all of the Palin voters think the End of Days is coming soon?
• Just began to delve into Mad Men. Besides the fact that it has some of the best theme music on TV and Jon Hamm is ridiculously good as main character Don Draper, the show really is reminiscent of The Sopranos in its style. Looking forwards to catching up on it.
• Random Thoughts (MLB Edition):
• I've been following the playoffs and watching when I could, but I took the time today to focus on the two games (and the epic ass-whooping that Cleveland put on the Giants).
• First, the AL. I may have been seriously wrong about Boston's chances. Tampa is made up of the type of scrappers that can throw together a rally at will, exactly the type of guys that the 2004 Red Sox had with Damon and Millar and Varitek. Just about everyone in the Rays' lineup can put pressure on the pitcher with their hustle or with their pop. Jason Bartlett has gotten the credit for turning the team around defensively, but he can get on base when he needs to, just like Iwamura and Upton and Crawford and Baldelli and Navarro. Plus, Upton, Crawford, and Baldelli can take the ball out and they can cover a whole lot of ground in the outfield. As for the mashers -- Pena and Floyd do a great job of protecting the superstar Longoria in the middle of the lineup. The Rays get an all-around team effort, but it's Longoria that makes this team go with his bat and his glove. Now Beckett is hurt which doesn't bode well for deeper in the series and the Sox, needing a win tomorrow, will send Tim Wakefield to the mound. Wakefield (who shares a birthday with such luminaries as Peter O'Toole, Mary Louise Parker, and yours truly) has been clutch in his career, but if he puts guys on base, the Rays will run at will on him. The biggest question that this series will turn on: What the heck is going on with David Ortiz?
• In the NL, I was surprised tonight, having apparently not followed the Phillies as closely as I thought I had. While the Dodgers famously have Nomar and Kent coming off the bench, I had no idea that Matt Stairs was in Philadelphia until he hit the game-winner tonight. There are plenty of likeable guys in the majors, but Matt Stairs is right near the top of the list. How can you hate him? The guy either walks, homers, or strikes out -- exactly the way Babe Ruth meant the game to be played. More than anything, he fits right in with the Phillies of Kruk and Daulton and that's a fun addition to a team with so much young talent. It's not just Utley, Howard, Rollins, and Burrell, but soon-to-be NLCS MVP Shane Victorino and a great pen anchored by perfect closer Brad Lidge. And now they send Cole Hamels (2-0, 1.2o ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 3BB, 17K in the postseason) to the mound for Game 5. The big question in this series: Will the Phillies be rusty when the World Series starts next Wednesday, the 22nd?
• Heroes Questions/Comments of the Week:
• Bubbles! Two Wire actors on Entourage last night and now two on Heroes.
• Anything to the fact that, when it comes to the genetic testing, Tracy was one of three siblings, as were Peter, Nathan, and Sylar? We know that Hiro has a sister, but was there another Nakamura kid that we don't know about?
• Adam's power is obviously cool, but at what point does immortality not accomplish anything other than just living through things? See: Claire vs. any of the villains.
• Was Hiro "killing" Ando the least shocking thing they've ever done? Nobody can believe for a second that Hiro won't bring him back somehow.
• Didn't Parkman drive his dad insane? He looked okay tonight, but that could be due to someone else's power.
• Which brings me to the beef: thanks NBC, for screwing up the surprise! Season one was full of last-second shockers like future Hiro or Nathan being Claire's dad, but when the commercials say that Peter's dad is going to show up, it's not so shocking when you find out in the last line of the episode that Peter's dad has shown up. At least they got a good actor to play him.