I think I've made it clear that I believe in sports karma; there's this and this, and the fact that I believe that this blog is cursed. So it makes me very glad that Michigan State defeated UConn yesterday to knock Calhoun out of the tournament. Between the tirade about his salary to the (alleged) NCAA infractions, there's no way he deserved to win this year. And there is absolutely EVERY reason why Michigan State should. I don't think I could bear it if the first two major sports championships of the year went to the Steelers and North Carolina.
-Arnold Palmer Invitational, Sunday: My prediction of Tiger Woods winning 2 majors this year is looking a whole lot better now. Was there any doubt that he'd make that putt? Is there ever any doubt? Everyone knows its going in and yet, there I was, literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see. The Masters is this week; anyone taking the field over Tiger? I'm not.
-Kings, Sunday: Another solid episode. Up until now, the Queen, Rose, had been the weakest character of them all. Everyone else, Silas, David, Jack, Michelle, Reverend Samuels, and even the Queen's brother had some intrigue attached to them, but Rose just seemed ditached and kind of aloof. Not anymore. Here, we found out that she was responsible for shaping the entire structure and image of the royal family; she "designed" the monarchy. As she said after the ballet performance, they, meaning the royal family, was the show, not the dancers. She is keenly aware of the people's opinion and perceptions of her family, and she showed that she's just as capable as Silas in manipulating the people around her to get her desired end. The characters in this show just keep getting more and more interesting. The political aspects of the show are starting to wane on me, but the characters are still going strong.
-Heroes, Monday: I thought this was a halfway decent episode. Claire and Nathan in Mexico? Couldn't care less about it. Peter and Angela in church? Meh. I don't really care too much for Peter at this point, and Angela is hit or miss. Clearly their stories this week were to simply to set the four of them up for coming together next episode. But Bennett, Danko, and Sylar? That was the redeeming part of the episode. I have to admit, I didn't see Danko's fake out with the shape shifter coming. Sylar can now change his physical apperance, as if he needed to be more powerful. And you know that Bennett isn't just going to let "Sylar's" capture sit like that; its just a matter of time. Until then, it should be cool to see Sylar wreak havoc as disguised as other people.
-24, Monday: First off, I was partially right about Olivia becoming the new CoS. Clearly, naming a new CoS a mere minutes after the old one resigned is impractical, so being provisional CoS is as close as its going to get. I'm calling that a win. Interesting fake out with Jack's condition- he's infected but its not contagious. I thought the scene between Jack and Larry, where Larry tells Jack that he can't go on the Starkwood raid because he's infection makes him a liability, was awesome. A tough realization for a man like Jack, but its no surprise that he was able to accept it; as he said, he always knew that there'd be a day where he wasn't the best man for the job. And geting infected with a bio-weapon is that day. Now, clearly, Jack's not going to die, so the question is how will he be saved. As currently, there is no cure for the infection; could this be how Kim is brought back into the story? I sensing yes. Now onto the raid on Starkwood. I really thought that Tony was being played by Seaton when he came to break Tony out of his cell. Then, when they contacted the FBI and they were able to see and hear Seaton, I began to think that maybe this might be for real. Then, given Jonas's reaction, I futher thought that Seaton was being truthful. So of course, Seaton played the FBI and had Larry not been there, Tony would've killed him. I'm guessing that Starkwood takes Tony, Larry, and the FBI team hostage and Jack will go in and break them out. 'Cause that's something Jack would do, infected with a bio-weapon or not.
-Lost, Wednesday: Another great character episode. That's two weeks in a row where we've gotten Season 1 type episodes, complete with flashbacks and the like. This week, we got some answers to what Kate was up to off island. We found out what Sawyer whispered to her before jumping out of the helicopter (to take care of his daughter). We found out what happened to Aaron (she gave him to Claire's mom). And we found out what her motivation was to return to the island (she wants to find Claire). Some great scenes for Kate this episode, especially her saying goodbye to Aaron. Back on the island, Yonng Ben is dying and needs a real surgeon to save him. Cue Jack opting not to help. I love the complete reversal of character for Jack now; this was the first example of him letting go and letting whatever is supposed to happen, happen. He's completely embraced that he has some sort of destiny, and is convinced that when its his time, the island will make it apparant to him what that is. Clearly, this is going to come back and bite him in the ass. But anyway, Kate and Juliet (and eventually Sawyer) come to the conclusion that Young Ben can only be saved if they take him to the Others and Richard Alpert. Richard explains to them that if they take him, Young Ben will never be the same. He won't remember this happening and will lose his innocence; he'd be "one of them" from now on. The question I have is why did Juliet even suggest taking Young Ben to the Others? They're currently living off in the woods somwhere; how did she know that Richard would be able to help Young Ben? Now we know (or, at least we think we know) how Young Ben became the Ben we're accustomed to; I would love to see Young Ben one more time, after he has been saved and changed, to see him act more like Old Ben around the survivors. I like the idea that the survivors, while in the past, were responsible for turning Ben into the very person that would terrorize them in the future. And speaking of moving through time, I could have watched an entire episode of Hurley and Miles discuss time travel. It was awesome that the writers had enough foresight to know the exact questions the fans would be asking at this point and having Hurley ask them to Miles. It gives me faith that we'll be getting the answers when and how they want to give them.
-Dollhouse, Friday: So letting some of the Actives escape and remember parts of their personality was all just a ploy by Ms. DeWitt to give them closure. The actives fell asleep when the reached their desired closure, but it was still a nice fake out. We learned that Sierra was brought to the Dollhouse against her will, and that Millie/November had a daughter that died. But the REAL twist was that Echo managed to call Agent Ballard and leave him a message before she fell asleep and sent back to being an Active. I really hope they start ramping up the Agent Ballard storyline, because I find that part of the show the most interesting.
Big week this week, with Opening Day tomorrow afternoon. Weather in Cincinnati forecasted for tomorrow afternoon? Low 40's with a 60% chance of rain and snow. Note that its been near 70 the past two days. Of coure, this wouldn't be the first for Cincinnati. I may or may not get around to writing my bold predictions for the Reds this season before Opening Day; maybe I'll wait a few days. I do stick by my original prediction, though, of the Reds finishing 82-80. Play ball.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
FAIL.
As expected, my bracket was pretty bad.
Despite that, I still had 7 of 8 teams in the Elite Eight (only missed Memphis).
I now have 0 of 4 teams in the Final Four.
Even with my history of bad picks, I don't think I've ever gone 0 for the Final Four.
The jinx continues, taking down four teams in one fell swoop.
Despite that, I still had 7 of 8 teams in the Elite Eight (only missed Memphis).
I now have 0 of 4 teams in the Final Four.
Even with my history of bad picks, I don't think I've ever gone 0 for the Final Four.
The jinx continues, taking down four teams in one fell swoop.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 03/15 - 03/21
A very busy TV week. A couple of shows took a week off, but a couple more had their season premieres, plus there was a ton of basketball to watch (and a little lacrosse, too).
-Kings, Sunday: One of the shows that premiered last week. All the reviews I read pretty much said the same thing- you'll either love right away or hate right away. After watching the two-hour pilot, I guess you can put me in the "love right away" column. It wasn't perfect, but I appreciate the attempt at such a high-concept show. What's it like? Start with the story of King David (on which the show is loosely modeled), add in the political intrigue of The West Wing, the story complexity of Battlestar Galactica, and the character relationships of Gossip Girl, and mix it with alternate-reality mysticism of Lost or Alias, and you've kind of got what Kings is all about. If they can deftly manuve among all these facets and keep it all in balance, the show could be great. If they can't, it'll fail horribly.
-24, Monday: When in doubt, make your enemy a private security firm that's overstepped its boundaries. It worked on Jericho with Ravenwood. It worked in real life with Blackwater. And now on 24, its Starkwood. But what is Jonas Hodges's end game? He bringing in some sort of bio-weapon to target a bunch of cities in the mid-Atlantic region, but he doesn't want to use it unless he has to. So what could he want from the Presient? Guess we'll just find out later. Now to Jack- why does everyone find it so hard to trust this man? Sure, you may disagree with his methods at times, but when has he ever done anything where the absolute end game wasn't in the best interest of America? I liked the mini series recap that Jack gave when he was talking with Senator Mayer. I wonder if its apparent to anyone in the show that ever time Jack's been tasked to save the world, its taken him 24 hours to do so. Hmm. I was really hoping that the Jack-Senator Mayer partnership would last for a few episodes, so I wasn't expecting Mayer to get gunned down right then and there. I'm starting to like ths showdown between Ethan and Olivia. It puts President Taylor in the middle and should make for some good drama.
-Better Off Ted, Wednesday: The second premiere of the week. Who would've thought that taking The Office and setting it in Fringe's Massive Dynamic corporation would work so well? Its a completely off-the-wall show that is paired perfectly with Scrubs. Both shows include narration from the main character (in this case, Ted breaks the fourth wall and just talks to the audience directly), and both have a cast of supporting characters that may be more entertaining than the show leads. The two lab guys are hysterical, and Portia de Rossi's deadpan delivery is a perfect representation for the souless corporation they work for. And its always funny when the little kid is the smartest person in the room. Its a nutty show that hopefully isn't too nutty for TV.
Lost, Wednesday: Welcome back, Lost. Good to see that the Ajira plane did in fact land on the runway that Kate and Sawyer helped build over on the Hydra island. And its also good to see that Lapidus really is a kick ass pilot. I am dying to know why Sun wasn't teleported back to 1977 with the rest of hte O6 (and Ben, Locke, and Lapidus, for that matter). Based on what Christian told Sun at the end of the episode, it looks like she (and probably a few other people) will be going back in time, instead of the others travelling back to 2007. So back in 1977, I liked the reunion scene, where everyone got to drop some knowledge on each other. Jack tells Sawyer and Jin that Locke's dead, Sawyer tells Jack, Kate, and Hurley that they're in 1977; I think Sawyer wins in the shock value category. I really enjoyed watching Sawyer work the con, trying to keep everyone's cover intact. And its a good thing Sayid was smart enough to pick up on Sawyer's game on the fly. I think Jack is honestly trying to defer to Sawyer's leadership; I think he really wants to be able to let things go and not be a control freak. He's starting to accept the idea of fate and destiny, but its still hard for him. I think he want to see Sawyer about Sayid not because he wanted to take charge, but because he feels responsible for the O6 being back on the island, and just wanted to make sure Sayid was going to be okay. Of course, that lead to Sawyer's awesome smack down of Jack's leadership style and the great quip about Winston Churchill. A couple other things, I hope the fact that Amy's baby was revealed to be Ethan has greater significance than "Hey, her baby's Ethan!" I hope that means somehting more and important for Ethan's character. Also, I wonder when we'll get some answers about Faraday. According to Sawyer, he's not with them anymore, so where did he go? Is he still on the island somewhere, or did he leave altogether? We know he worked (at one point) on the construction of the Orchid station, but when was that? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
-Dollhouse, Friday: Everyone was saying that this episode, Episode 6, was turning point for the series, and I think it was. Now, they've really set up the overall story of Agent Ballard trying to bring down the Dollhouse by establishing that there is someone on the inside that also wants the Dollhouse gone. Yes, it was a little predictable that Millie turned out to be an Active, but it was still a nice twist. The Dollhouse knows that Agent Ballard is after them, but the don't know there's someone inside who'll be helping him. And there's still Alpha out there to worry about. I can't wait to see him brought into the fold.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: So here it is, the series finale. First off, I loved the finale. Some people out there hated it, but they're wrong. Sure, I thought there might be a little more bloodshed and death, but after seeing it, I'm glad there wasn't. The attack on the Cylon colony was awesome, from Anders taking control of the other hybrids, to the Raptors jumping away from the museum wing, to Galactica just ramming into the colony. It was action packed and very satisfying. Boomer got a little redemption by saving Hera, and still got her due when Athena shot her. I glad that they decided that the head characters (Six and Baltar) were actual ouside entities and not just some mental manifestation. I also loved how they paid off the Opera House vision, where it wasn't symbolic of anything, it was actually happening. If that was the plan all along, I salute the writers. If not, I still salute them for making it work. I glad that Tryol got some vengance for Callie's death; he deserved that closure. And in the end, the fleet ends up at the planet WE call Earth, and decide to settle on it. And after 150,000 years, here we are, all children of Hera (aka mitochondrial Eve), meaning we are all decentants of Cylon model 8, which really isn't a bad thing at all. I think this the proper way for the show to go it. The survivors desereved to find a home, deserved to find some peace. The show was about humaniy's fight to survive, and in the end, they got to. And as for Starbuck? Her just disappearing and Lee not being freaked out by it was the perfect way to go out. Her destiny was to lead the people to Earth. She died in the process, so she was allowed to come back and fulfill that destiny. And when she did, she was gone. All in all, the perfect ending for a near perfect show.
-College Lacrosse, Virginia vs. Johns Hopkins, Saturday: Finally, I get to watch Virginia lacrosse on TV (the first of 4 consectutive games on either ESPN2 or ESPNU). All this basketball just reminds me of how bad UVA is at hoops, so its nice to watch a sport where we're the best in the country. I'm glad they're finally on TV so I can distract myself from the pain of Virginia basketball.
-NCAA Tournament: As always, the first two rounds of the tournament provide plenty of upsets. The odd thing about this year is that most of them came on Friday night, after a day and a half of mostly chalk. Its pretty rare to see the 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 seeded teams in one region all make it to the second round, but that's exactly what happened in the Midwest region. There's nothing like the first two rounds of the tourney; my bracket's shot to hell and I don't care. I love the upsets and am always rooting for the higher seeds.
-Kings, Sunday: One of the shows that premiered last week. All the reviews I read pretty much said the same thing- you'll either love right away or hate right away. After watching the two-hour pilot, I guess you can put me in the "love right away" column. It wasn't perfect, but I appreciate the attempt at such a high-concept show. What's it like? Start with the story of King David (on which the show is loosely modeled), add in the political intrigue of The West Wing, the story complexity of Battlestar Galactica, and the character relationships of Gossip Girl, and mix it with alternate-reality mysticism of Lost or Alias, and you've kind of got what Kings is all about. If they can deftly manuve among all these facets and keep it all in balance, the show could be great. If they can't, it'll fail horribly.
-24, Monday: When in doubt, make your enemy a private security firm that's overstepped its boundaries. It worked on Jericho with Ravenwood. It worked in real life with Blackwater. And now on 24, its Starkwood. But what is Jonas Hodges's end game? He bringing in some sort of bio-weapon to target a bunch of cities in the mid-Atlantic region, but he doesn't want to use it unless he has to. So what could he want from the Presient? Guess we'll just find out later. Now to Jack- why does everyone find it so hard to trust this man? Sure, you may disagree with his methods at times, but when has he ever done anything where the absolute end game wasn't in the best interest of America? I liked the mini series recap that Jack gave when he was talking with Senator Mayer. I wonder if its apparent to anyone in the show that ever time Jack's been tasked to save the world, its taken him 24 hours to do so. Hmm. I was really hoping that the Jack-Senator Mayer partnership would last for a few episodes, so I wasn't expecting Mayer to get gunned down right then and there. I'm starting to like ths showdown between Ethan and Olivia. It puts President Taylor in the middle and should make for some good drama.
-Better Off Ted, Wednesday: The second premiere of the week. Who would've thought that taking The Office and setting it in Fringe's Massive Dynamic corporation would work so well? Its a completely off-the-wall show that is paired perfectly with Scrubs. Both shows include narration from the main character (in this case, Ted breaks the fourth wall and just talks to the audience directly), and both have a cast of supporting characters that may be more entertaining than the show leads. The two lab guys are hysterical, and Portia de Rossi's deadpan delivery is a perfect representation for the souless corporation they work for. And its always funny when the little kid is the smartest person in the room. Its a nutty show that hopefully isn't too nutty for TV.
Lost, Wednesday: Welcome back, Lost. Good to see that the Ajira plane did in fact land on the runway that Kate and Sawyer helped build over on the Hydra island. And its also good to see that Lapidus really is a kick ass pilot. I am dying to know why Sun wasn't teleported back to 1977 with the rest of hte O6 (and Ben, Locke, and Lapidus, for that matter). Based on what Christian told Sun at the end of the episode, it looks like she (and probably a few other people) will be going back in time, instead of the others travelling back to 2007. So back in 1977, I liked the reunion scene, where everyone got to drop some knowledge on each other. Jack tells Sawyer and Jin that Locke's dead, Sawyer tells Jack, Kate, and Hurley that they're in 1977; I think Sawyer wins in the shock value category. I really enjoyed watching Sawyer work the con, trying to keep everyone's cover intact. And its a good thing Sayid was smart enough to pick up on Sawyer's game on the fly. I think Jack is honestly trying to defer to Sawyer's leadership; I think he really wants to be able to let things go and not be a control freak. He's starting to accept the idea of fate and destiny, but its still hard for him. I think he want to see Sawyer about Sayid not because he wanted to take charge, but because he feels responsible for the O6 being back on the island, and just wanted to make sure Sayid was going to be okay. Of course, that lead to Sawyer's awesome smack down of Jack's leadership style and the great quip about Winston Churchill. A couple other things, I hope the fact that Amy's baby was revealed to be Ethan has greater significance than "Hey, her baby's Ethan!" I hope that means somehting more and important for Ethan's character. Also, I wonder when we'll get some answers about Faraday. According to Sawyer, he's not with them anymore, so where did he go? Is he still on the island somewhere, or did he leave altogether? We know he worked (at one point) on the construction of the Orchid station, but when was that? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
-Dollhouse, Friday: Everyone was saying that this episode, Episode 6, was turning point for the series, and I think it was. Now, they've really set up the overall story of Agent Ballard trying to bring down the Dollhouse by establishing that there is someone on the inside that also wants the Dollhouse gone. Yes, it was a little predictable that Millie turned out to be an Active, but it was still a nice twist. The Dollhouse knows that Agent Ballard is after them, but the don't know there's someone inside who'll be helping him. And there's still Alpha out there to worry about. I can't wait to see him brought into the fold.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: So here it is, the series finale. First off, I loved the finale. Some people out there hated it, but they're wrong. Sure, I thought there might be a little more bloodshed and death, but after seeing it, I'm glad there wasn't. The attack on the Cylon colony was awesome, from Anders taking control of the other hybrids, to the Raptors jumping away from the museum wing, to Galactica just ramming into the colony. It was action packed and very satisfying. Boomer got a little redemption by saving Hera, and still got her due when Athena shot her. I glad that they decided that the head characters (Six and Baltar) were actual ouside entities and not just some mental manifestation. I also loved how they paid off the Opera House vision, where it wasn't symbolic of anything, it was actually happening. If that was the plan all along, I salute the writers. If not, I still salute them for making it work. I glad that Tryol got some vengance for Callie's death; he deserved that closure. And in the end, the fleet ends up at the planet WE call Earth, and decide to settle on it. And after 150,000 years, here we are, all children of Hera (aka mitochondrial Eve), meaning we are all decentants of Cylon model 8, which really isn't a bad thing at all. I think this the proper way for the show to go it. The survivors desereved to find a home, deserved to find some peace. The show was about humaniy's fight to survive, and in the end, they got to. And as for Starbuck? Her just disappearing and Lee not being freaked out by it was the perfect way to go out. Her destiny was to lead the people to Earth. She died in the process, so she was allowed to come back and fulfill that destiny. And when she did, she was gone. All in all, the perfect ending for a near perfect show.
-College Lacrosse, Virginia vs. Johns Hopkins, Saturday: Finally, I get to watch Virginia lacrosse on TV (the first of 4 consectutive games on either ESPN2 or ESPNU). All this basketball just reminds me of how bad UVA is at hoops, so its nice to watch a sport where we're the best in the country. I'm glad they're finally on TV so I can distract myself from the pain of Virginia basketball.
-NCAA Tournament: As always, the first two rounds of the tournament provide plenty of upsets. The odd thing about this year is that most of them came on Friday night, after a day and a half of mostly chalk. Its pretty rare to see the 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 seeded teams in one region all make it to the second round, but that's exactly what happened in the Midwest region. There's nothing like the first two rounds of the tourney; my bracket's shot to hell and I don't care. I love the upsets and am always rooting for the higher seeds.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Bracket, Take Two
Okay, I've had a few days to digest the bracket, and I've come to my final picks, which I've entered in a number of ESPN.com groups (Around The Horn, PTI, and Mike & Mike's Sheets of Integrity) and the one pool I've entered for money. I tend to fill out a number of brackets, but there's always one bracket I consider my "official" bracket, and that's this one. Based on history, this bracket is guaranteed to be no more than 60% correct, and won't be anywhere near the top of any leaderboard. How do I know this? Since I started following college basketball (which was around 1990 or 1991), I've picked exactly ONE decent bracket (1995, I finished second in my pool; if it had been UNC to lose to UCLA instead of Arkansas, I would've won). So I expect these picks to follow the trend I've already set and fail miserably.
Midwest: Round 1 winners- Louisville, Ohio State, Utah, Wake, Dayton, Kansas, USC, Michigan State. I really wanted to pick Cleveland State over Wake and North Dakota State over Kansas, but I couldn't; too much of a wuss. I don't think USC over BC is much of an upset given how hot USC's been lately, and I like Dayton over West Virginia because I don't like West Virginia (and let's face it, they don't like me either). In the Sweet 16 I've got Louisville, Utah, Kansas, and Michigan State. Louisville and Michigan State in the Elite 8, and Louisville in the Final Four.
West: Round 1 winners- UConn, BYU, Purdue, Mississippi State, Utah State, Missouri, Maryland, Memphis. Despite me thinking that Maryland doesn't even belong in the tournament, I think they'll beat Cal. I like Mississippi State to ride their hot streak past Washington (I'm not real big on Pac-10 teams) and all the way to the Sweet 16 (getting past Purdue in the process, which is tough because I really like this Purdue team). Marquette without Dominic James isn't Marquette, so I fully expect Utah State to pull the upset. Joining Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 is UConn, Missouri, and Memphis. I would love to see Mississippi State continue the run, but I think they fall to UConn, and Memphis beats Missouri. Then I've got Memphis advancing to the Final Four over UConn. They'll be able to play the disrespect card all the way through the tournament, and that'll give them the edge of UConn in the regional final.
East: Round 1 winners- Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Florida State, Xavier, VCU, Villanova, Texas, Duke. I really, REALLY wanted to take Portland State over Xavier because XU has struggled down the stretch, but I couldn't; I think they can win one game before getting crushed by Florida State (really like this Seminole team). VCU is a homer pick- I used to live in Richmond, VA- and again, I don't think very much of the Pac-10. They also have two stud players (in Maynor and Sanders) that can more and hold their own against Collison and Shipp. But as much as I love me some VCU, they don't get past Villanova. 'Nova is the under-the-radar Big East team that not enough people are paying attention to. Pitt, FSU, 'Nova, and Duke in the Sweet 16, with Pitt and 'Nova in the Elite 8. I know Pitt is prone to choking in these situations, but I think this is the year they finally make the Final Four.
South: Round 1 winners- UNC, Butler, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Syacuse, Clemson, Oklahoma. As I said in my initial thoughts on the bracket, Illinois is vulnerable without Chester Frazier running the point. If he can't go in Round 1 (or even if he's out there at less than 100%), I think the Hilltoppers bounce the Illini. I see the rest of this bracket holding to seed, with Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, and Oklahoma in the Sweet 16, and Carolina and Oklahoma in the Elite 8. I went back and forth on this one, Carolina or Oklahoma, and in the end, decided to stay with the Sooners. And I recognize that could be purely out of my hatred for all things Carolina. And I'm okay with that.
Final Four: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma- pretty much what I picked on Sunday. I like Louisville over Memphis and Oklahoma over Pittsburgh (man, how great would it be to see Griffin-Hansbrough one weekend, then Griffin-Blair the next?) with Louisville as your 2009 National Champion.
But what do I know. As soon as the ball goes up tomorrow, I'll be rooting for all the upsets, hoping and praying that my, and everyone else's, bracket gets shot to hell by Friday night. Its why Thursday and Friday are the best two days in sports all year.
And a bonus- check out President Obama making his picks:
I think he picked Carolina simply because he played a pick up game with them during the campaign.
Midwest: Round 1 winners- Louisville, Ohio State, Utah, Wake, Dayton, Kansas, USC, Michigan State. I really wanted to pick Cleveland State over Wake and North Dakota State over Kansas, but I couldn't; too much of a wuss. I don't think USC over BC is much of an upset given how hot USC's been lately, and I like Dayton over West Virginia because I don't like West Virginia (and let's face it, they don't like me either). In the Sweet 16 I've got Louisville, Utah, Kansas, and Michigan State. Louisville and Michigan State in the Elite 8, and Louisville in the Final Four.
West: Round 1 winners- UConn, BYU, Purdue, Mississippi State, Utah State, Missouri, Maryland, Memphis. Despite me thinking that Maryland doesn't even belong in the tournament, I think they'll beat Cal. I like Mississippi State to ride their hot streak past Washington (I'm not real big on Pac-10 teams) and all the way to the Sweet 16 (getting past Purdue in the process, which is tough because I really like this Purdue team). Marquette without Dominic James isn't Marquette, so I fully expect Utah State to pull the upset. Joining Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 is UConn, Missouri, and Memphis. I would love to see Mississippi State continue the run, but I think they fall to UConn, and Memphis beats Missouri. Then I've got Memphis advancing to the Final Four over UConn. They'll be able to play the disrespect card all the way through the tournament, and that'll give them the edge of UConn in the regional final.
East: Round 1 winners- Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Florida State, Xavier, VCU, Villanova, Texas, Duke. I really, REALLY wanted to take Portland State over Xavier because XU has struggled down the stretch, but I couldn't; I think they can win one game before getting crushed by Florida State (really like this Seminole team). VCU is a homer pick- I used to live in Richmond, VA- and again, I don't think very much of the Pac-10. They also have two stud players (in Maynor and Sanders) that can more and hold their own against Collison and Shipp. But as much as I love me some VCU, they don't get past Villanova. 'Nova is the under-the-radar Big East team that not enough people are paying attention to. Pitt, FSU, 'Nova, and Duke in the Sweet 16, with Pitt and 'Nova in the Elite 8. I know Pitt is prone to choking in these situations, but I think this is the year they finally make the Final Four.
South: Round 1 winners- UNC, Butler, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Syacuse, Clemson, Oklahoma. As I said in my initial thoughts on the bracket, Illinois is vulnerable without Chester Frazier running the point. If he can't go in Round 1 (or even if he's out there at less than 100%), I think the Hilltoppers bounce the Illini. I see the rest of this bracket holding to seed, with Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, and Oklahoma in the Sweet 16, and Carolina and Oklahoma in the Elite 8. I went back and forth on this one, Carolina or Oklahoma, and in the end, decided to stay with the Sooners. And I recognize that could be purely out of my hatred for all things Carolina. And I'm okay with that.
Final Four: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma- pretty much what I picked on Sunday. I like Louisville over Memphis and Oklahoma over Pittsburgh (man, how great would it be to see Griffin-Hansbrough one weekend, then Griffin-Blair the next?) with Louisville as your 2009 National Champion.
But what do I know. As soon as the ball goes up tomorrow, I'll be rooting for all the upsets, hoping and praying that my, and everyone else's, bracket gets shot to hell by Friday night. Its why Thursday and Friday are the best two days in sports all year.
And a bonus- check out President Obama making his picks:
I think he picked Carolina simply because he played a pick up game with them during the campaign.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Bracket, Take One
Okay, the NCAA Tournament Bracket is out, time for some knee-jerk reactions (subject to change as the week goes on).
Overall: No complaints about the #1 seeds, and Louisville deserves the overall #1 seed after winning the Big East tournament (and with the other candidates losing). I don't get how Maryland made the field, especially at a #10 seed. I really don't get how Arizona made it at a #12. Where's the love for Creighton or St. Mary's? Thirty-four at-large bids, 30 to major (BCS) conference schools, 4 to mid-majors. I know the tournament committee doesn't take conference affiliation into account, but that ratio is unacceptable in my mind. But those teams were really the only ones I had a beef with. And speaking of conference affiliation, I believe I got another bold 2009 prediction wrong. I said that 10 Big East would make the tournament; they got 7. Well, I didn't count on Notre Dame and Georgetown tanking like they did, and UC had a shot until the folded late in the year. I also said that no Big East team would make the Final Four; that one's most certainly going to be proven wrong (more on this later).
Midwest: I like Louisville in this region. In fact, I think this region will mostly hold to the seeds, with only a few upsets. USC over Boston College could be it. I'd love to see Dayton over West Virginia and Cleveland State over Wake, but those are probably long shots. Normally I would take Siena over Ohio State, but the game's in Dayton, so I think its the Buckeyes. Michigan State v. Kansas in the Sweet 16 would be a great matchup. In the end, again, I'm going with Louisville.
West: Did Memphis deserve the #1 seed here over UConn? Does it really matter? Purdue's playing pretty well right now, now that they're healthy again. I think they could give UConn a good run in the Sweet 16, but they wouldn't have an answer for Thabeet down low. I like Mississippi State, hot off their SEC tournament win, to upset Washington in the first round. I think Marquette's vulnerable because of Dominic James's injur; Utah State could pull the upset there, too. It looks like a pretty clear path for a UConn-Memphis showdown, but I think Missouri could sneak up in there and surprise some people. Not sure who I like out of this region yet.
East: This is a tough region. Florida State's playing well right now, and could knock off Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16 and have a rematch with Duke in the Elite 8. That is, if Duke can get past VCU (who I think will make the Sweet 16). The Rams knocked off Duke 2 years again, then lost to Pittsburgh. If VCU can get to a matchup with Duke and get past them, Pittsburgh could again be on the other side (assuming they get past the Seminoles). Of course, that could all go to hell if Villanova gets hot and makes a run, which is more than possible. Right now, I'm taking Pittsburgh out of the East.
South: How great would a Hansbrough-Griffin matchup be in the Elite 8? I don't see either one getting upset, so I think it happens. And if it does, I like Oklahoma and Blake Griffin to advance to the Final Four. I don't see a lot of upsets in this region, outside of Western Kentucky over Illinois (sorry, bro). You need a 12-5 upset, and with Illinois's starting point guard out with a wrist injury, I think this is the most likely candidate.
Final Four: So I've got Louisville, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and a team to be named later in my Final Four right now. Does UConn make it and give the Big East 3 teams in? Very, very possible (hello, 1985 Final Four). And what about Syracuse in the West? They are more than capable of coming out of there as the #3 seed, which could give the Big East all four teams in the Final Four. Its never happened, four teams from the same conference, but up until last year, all four #1 seeds had never all made the Final Four, either. And if its ever going to happen, its got to be this year with the Big East, since I predicted that zero Big East teams would make the Final Four. If that happens, it would just be rubbing salt in the wound that is the curse of this blog. So I think there's a good chance it does.
As always, these predictions are subject to change throughout the week. I'll revisit the bracket either Tuesday or Wednesday with updated thoughts and predictions that are sure to be wrong.
Overall: No complaints about the #1 seeds, and Louisville deserves the overall #1 seed after winning the Big East tournament (and with the other candidates losing). I don't get how Maryland made the field, especially at a #10 seed. I really don't get how Arizona made it at a #12. Where's the love for Creighton or St. Mary's? Thirty-four at-large bids, 30 to major (BCS) conference schools, 4 to mid-majors. I know the tournament committee doesn't take conference affiliation into account, but that ratio is unacceptable in my mind. But those teams were really the only ones I had a beef with. And speaking of conference affiliation, I believe I got another bold 2009 prediction wrong. I said that 10 Big East would make the tournament; they got 7. Well, I didn't count on Notre Dame and Georgetown tanking like they did, and UC had a shot until the folded late in the year. I also said that no Big East team would make the Final Four; that one's most certainly going to be proven wrong (more on this later).
Midwest: I like Louisville in this region. In fact, I think this region will mostly hold to the seeds, with only a few upsets. USC over Boston College could be it. I'd love to see Dayton over West Virginia and Cleveland State over Wake, but those are probably long shots. Normally I would take Siena over Ohio State, but the game's in Dayton, so I think its the Buckeyes. Michigan State v. Kansas in the Sweet 16 would be a great matchup. In the end, again, I'm going with Louisville.
West: Did Memphis deserve the #1 seed here over UConn? Does it really matter? Purdue's playing pretty well right now, now that they're healthy again. I think they could give UConn a good run in the Sweet 16, but they wouldn't have an answer for Thabeet down low. I like Mississippi State, hot off their SEC tournament win, to upset Washington in the first round. I think Marquette's vulnerable because of Dominic James's injur; Utah State could pull the upset there, too. It looks like a pretty clear path for a UConn-Memphis showdown, but I think Missouri could sneak up in there and surprise some people. Not sure who I like out of this region yet.
East: This is a tough region. Florida State's playing well right now, and could knock off Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16 and have a rematch with Duke in the Elite 8. That is, if Duke can get past VCU (who I think will make the Sweet 16). The Rams knocked off Duke 2 years again, then lost to Pittsburgh. If VCU can get to a matchup with Duke and get past them, Pittsburgh could again be on the other side (assuming they get past the Seminoles). Of course, that could all go to hell if Villanova gets hot and makes a run, which is more than possible. Right now, I'm taking Pittsburgh out of the East.
South: How great would a Hansbrough-Griffin matchup be in the Elite 8? I don't see either one getting upset, so I think it happens. And if it does, I like Oklahoma and Blake Griffin to advance to the Final Four. I don't see a lot of upsets in this region, outside of Western Kentucky over Illinois (sorry, bro). You need a 12-5 upset, and with Illinois's starting point guard out with a wrist injury, I think this is the most likely candidate.
Final Four: So I've got Louisville, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and a team to be named later in my Final Four right now. Does UConn make it and give the Big East 3 teams in? Very, very possible (hello, 1985 Final Four). And what about Syracuse in the West? They are more than capable of coming out of there as the #3 seed, which could give the Big East all four teams in the Final Four. Its never happened, four teams from the same conference, but up until last year, all four #1 seeds had never all made the Final Four, either. And if its ever going to happen, its got to be this year with the Big East, since I predicted that zero Big East teams would make the Final Four. If that happens, it would just be rubbing salt in the wound that is the curse of this blog. So I think there's a good chance it does.
As always, these predictions are subject to change throughout the week. I'll revisit the bracket either Tuesday or Wednesday with updated thoughts and predictions that are sure to be wrong.
Weekly TV Thoughts: 03/08 - 03/14
No Lost this past week, which made for a lighter television week. Thankfully, Championship Week was in full swing. Usually I avoid the major conference championships and just focus on the one-bid leagues, but all the tournaments have been incredible this year. Six overtimes for Syracuse and UConn? Then Syracuse plays another overtime the next night against West Virginia? Amazing. And I love seeing all these top potential top seeds lose early going into the Big Dance (except for Lousiville, who's looking tough to beat). I'll have more thoughts on college basketball later tonight, once the brackets are announced (Selection Sunday, one of the best days of the year). Who knows, it might go down as a live blog.
And on top of all the college basketball that's been on, the World Baseball Classic's been playing as well. I know a lot of people are down on the WBC, but I think for the most part, its alright. The USA-Canada game was phenomenal, and the Dutch coming out of nowhere to upset the Dominican Republic twice? No one saw that coming. And as to how this effects players come the regular season, I'm thinking it'll effect pitchers more than position players. Which is why I'm glad the Dominican team has been eliminated, so Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are done and back at Spring Training.
Okay, now the scripted shows of the week:
-Heroes, Monday: I don't know what the hell is going on with this show. The Sylar's dad storyline was just stupid. He spent part of the episode STUFFING A FUCKING RABBIT. And what did he learn? That he'll he never be fullfilled just collecting powers, so he should direct his murderous nature toward something more meaningful; didn't he already come to this once before? The only redeeming part of that scene was Sylar going back and taking the rabbit when he left his dad's and placed in in Denko's apartment. Sylar vs. Denko so should be good, so I'm at least glad for that. Adding to the ricidulousness is Hiro and Ando, who have been charged with protecting Matt Parkman's son, Matt Parkman. We haven't heard from Parkman's family since Season 1 (I think), and now they just suddenly reappear? Please. This story better last less time than the stupid India trip. So what was good about this episode? Denko finally learning the Nathan can fly. Denko's meeting with Angela. Any time Denko and HRG face off. Now that Sylar's been reintroduced and Nathan's been outed, I really think this storyline gets interesting. Hopefully the Rebel storyline continues to advance this story, and not the other ones. Speaking of Rebel, what was the point of sending Claire to help Doyle when it was Rebel that did all the work of getting him a new ID? Was it just to shoot the scene of her in the comic shop? And if Rebel can penetrate Denko's computer system and take over, why doesn't he just shut the whole thing down? Oh well. According to Greg Grunberg's Twitter feed, the entire cast is together in the same scene later in the season (Episode 20, perhaps, which Grunberg says is awesome). We'll have to see. Heroes if off next week, and when it comes back, it'll the first episode with Bryan Fuller back on staff, so hopefully the series starts getting better.
-24, Monday: I have to admit, I didn't expect Bill to be the one to die (I read a lot spoiler sites, so I knew a death was coming). And I didn't expect it to happen right at the top of the episode, though when I think about it, its passe to end an episode with a tragic death, so mixing it up and doing right away was a nice change of pace. Its kind of amazing how much a dick Larry Moss is. I mean, on one hand, he's fully capable of defying the Vice President and storming to take back the White House, and on the other, he's 100% resitant to everything Jack says. So maybe its just Jack that he hates. He didn't bat an eye at suspending Renee for going over his head and talking to Ethan, so I guess this frees up Renee to join Jack on the rogue agent trail. And speaking of Ethan, I'm glad we got some backstory between him and Olivia. He bit the bullet and asked Olivia to join the administration (at the behest of the President) after being fired from the campaign, and she just bites his head off. I'm starting to think she's not a traitor, but that she will still be a problem because she's going to go digging to find out who in her mother's administration was responsible for all this and that's not going to go well for her. And that brings me to Jon Voight's villian, Jonas Hodges. He seems completely crazy, and that's awesome, and we also got a little insight into this master plan. He's got a cache of weapons on the way toward the States and a list of cities as targets. We don't know what he wants, but he did indicate that he didn't want to go through with the attacks if he didn't have to. I wonder what his end game is.
-Castle,Monday: A new series that debuted on Monday staring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. Its a character-driven procedural cop drama/comedy with a Moonlighting twist. Basically, its Bones with a little more silliness (thanks to Nathan Fillion). I'm bit fan of Bones, and Nathan Fillion, so I'll be watching this show, even if its not very good. Fillion should be a big(ger) star, and the fact that he's not is a crime, so I hope this show does well.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: And the end is closing in fast. Part I of the series finale, and I thought the episode was great. I liked the flashbacks, showing life on the colonies well before the Cylon attack. You have to think that these flashbacks will become more important/will be explained in the second part of the episode airing this Friday. Funny parts- Baltar telling Caprica Six that he'd forgetten her name (nice little nod to the fan there, myself included, who constantly wonder why she doesn't have a name), and finding out that Anders was the Dan Marino of Pyramid players. Highly talented, no championships, constantly rebuilding team. Back on Galactica, I really liked the scene between Lee and Baltar, setting up Baltar to have one last chance at redemption down the line. And it was a foregone conclusion that Adama would be leading one last charge to save Hera and destroy the evil Cylon faction. I like how he literally drew a line that you had to cross AND made everyone declare their intentions in person, leaving no doubt in their minds about the slim possibility of survival. Did we see Athena in that scene? Helo was there, but last we saw Athena, she was a wreak, seemingly unable to leave her bunk. And although we didn't see Baltar cross the line in this episode, I'm positive he'll be with Adama before its all said and done. And it all sets up the final, suicide mission against the baseship this week. So who lives and who dies? I think Lee's going make it. Starbuck, too. Roslin will obviously die. Tigh, I'm a little uncertain. But whatever happens to him, live or die, the same will happen to Ellen. Hera lives, because you can't kill kids, even on Battlestar Galactica. And since Hera lives, I'm saying that Helo lives as well. I think Anders is stuck as the hybrid for Galactica, so I'm not sure if that qualifies and living or dying. Tory and Tyrol are interesting cases; do they survive simply because they're part of the Final Five, or do they die and experience resurrection? Don't know. I think Baltar lives, even after he finally commits a truely selfless act, and I think Boomer dies, but not before she helps Hera escape. There are a number for whom killing Boomer would be a fitting end (Adama, Tyrol, Helo, Athena), and I think it'll be one of them that ultimately does her in. Which leaves Adama. Clearly, this is Galactica's last mission, and Roslin isn't going to make it much longer. So he's on the verge of losing the two things he loves the most; does that set him up to die as well? I think it does. If anyone's in position to make a grand sacrificing jesture to save all of humanity, its Adama. If that happens with Adama, it would be a little cheesey, but I'd be okay with it. Can't wait to see how this all ends.
Thursday and Friday of this week are two of the greatest sports days of the year, which will put a little hitch in the TV viewing schedule. But that's why God created DVR. March Madness it here! Time to go print out some brackets and get ready.
And on top of all the college basketball that's been on, the World Baseball Classic's been playing as well. I know a lot of people are down on the WBC, but I think for the most part, its alright. The USA-Canada game was phenomenal, and the Dutch coming out of nowhere to upset the Dominican Republic twice? No one saw that coming. And as to how this effects players come the regular season, I'm thinking it'll effect pitchers more than position players. Which is why I'm glad the Dominican team has been eliminated, so Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are done and back at Spring Training.
Okay, now the scripted shows of the week:
-Heroes, Monday: I don't know what the hell is going on with this show. The Sylar's dad storyline was just stupid. He spent part of the episode STUFFING A FUCKING RABBIT. And what did he learn? That he'll he never be fullfilled just collecting powers, so he should direct his murderous nature toward something more meaningful; didn't he already come to this once before? The only redeeming part of that scene was Sylar going back and taking the rabbit when he left his dad's and placed in in Denko's apartment. Sylar vs. Denko so should be good, so I'm at least glad for that. Adding to the ricidulousness is Hiro and Ando, who have been charged with protecting Matt Parkman's son, Matt Parkman. We haven't heard from Parkman's family since Season 1 (I think), and now they just suddenly reappear? Please. This story better last less time than the stupid India trip. So what was good about this episode? Denko finally learning the Nathan can fly. Denko's meeting with Angela. Any time Denko and HRG face off. Now that Sylar's been reintroduced and Nathan's been outed, I really think this storyline gets interesting. Hopefully the Rebel storyline continues to advance this story, and not the other ones. Speaking of Rebel, what was the point of sending Claire to help Doyle when it was Rebel that did all the work of getting him a new ID? Was it just to shoot the scene of her in the comic shop? And if Rebel can penetrate Denko's computer system and take over, why doesn't he just shut the whole thing down? Oh well. According to Greg Grunberg's Twitter feed, the entire cast is together in the same scene later in the season (Episode 20, perhaps, which Grunberg says is awesome). We'll have to see. Heroes if off next week, and when it comes back, it'll the first episode with Bryan Fuller back on staff, so hopefully the series starts getting better.
-24, Monday: I have to admit, I didn't expect Bill to be the one to die (I read a lot spoiler sites, so I knew a death was coming). And I didn't expect it to happen right at the top of the episode, though when I think about it, its passe to end an episode with a tragic death, so mixing it up and doing right away was a nice change of pace. Its kind of amazing how much a dick Larry Moss is. I mean, on one hand, he's fully capable of defying the Vice President and storming to take back the White House, and on the other, he's 100% resitant to everything Jack says. So maybe its just Jack that he hates. He didn't bat an eye at suspending Renee for going over his head and talking to Ethan, so I guess this frees up Renee to join Jack on the rogue agent trail. And speaking of Ethan, I'm glad we got some backstory between him and Olivia. He bit the bullet and asked Olivia to join the administration (at the behest of the President) after being fired from the campaign, and she just bites his head off. I'm starting to think she's not a traitor, but that she will still be a problem because she's going to go digging to find out who in her mother's administration was responsible for all this and that's not going to go well for her. And that brings me to Jon Voight's villian, Jonas Hodges. He seems completely crazy, and that's awesome, and we also got a little insight into this master plan. He's got a cache of weapons on the way toward the States and a list of cities as targets. We don't know what he wants, but he did indicate that he didn't want to go through with the attacks if he didn't have to. I wonder what his end game is.
-Castle,Monday: A new series that debuted on Monday staring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. Its a character-driven procedural cop drama/comedy with a Moonlighting twist. Basically, its Bones with a little more silliness (thanks to Nathan Fillion). I'm bit fan of Bones, and Nathan Fillion, so I'll be watching this show, even if its not very good. Fillion should be a big(ger) star, and the fact that he's not is a crime, so I hope this show does well.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: And the end is closing in fast. Part I of the series finale, and I thought the episode was great. I liked the flashbacks, showing life on the colonies well before the Cylon attack. You have to think that these flashbacks will become more important/will be explained in the second part of the episode airing this Friday. Funny parts- Baltar telling Caprica Six that he'd forgetten her name (nice little nod to the fan there, myself included, who constantly wonder why she doesn't have a name), and finding out that Anders was the Dan Marino of Pyramid players. Highly talented, no championships, constantly rebuilding team. Back on Galactica, I really liked the scene between Lee and Baltar, setting up Baltar to have one last chance at redemption down the line. And it was a foregone conclusion that Adama would be leading one last charge to save Hera and destroy the evil Cylon faction. I like how he literally drew a line that you had to cross AND made everyone declare their intentions in person, leaving no doubt in their minds about the slim possibility of survival. Did we see Athena in that scene? Helo was there, but last we saw Athena, she was a wreak, seemingly unable to leave her bunk. And although we didn't see Baltar cross the line in this episode, I'm positive he'll be with Adama before its all said and done. And it all sets up the final, suicide mission against the baseship this week. So who lives and who dies? I think Lee's going make it. Starbuck, too. Roslin will obviously die. Tigh, I'm a little uncertain. But whatever happens to him, live or die, the same will happen to Ellen. Hera lives, because you can't kill kids, even on Battlestar Galactica. And since Hera lives, I'm saying that Helo lives as well. I think Anders is stuck as the hybrid for Galactica, so I'm not sure if that qualifies and living or dying. Tory and Tyrol are interesting cases; do they survive simply because they're part of the Final Five, or do they die and experience resurrection? Don't know. I think Baltar lives, even after he finally commits a truely selfless act, and I think Boomer dies, but not before she helps Hera escape. There are a number for whom killing Boomer would be a fitting end (Adama, Tyrol, Helo, Athena), and I think it'll be one of them that ultimately does her in. Which leaves Adama. Clearly, this is Galactica's last mission, and Roslin isn't going to make it much longer. So he's on the verge of losing the two things he loves the most; does that set him up to die as well? I think it does. If anyone's in position to make a grand sacrificing jesture to save all of humanity, its Adama. If that happens with Adama, it would be a little cheesey, but I'd be okay with it. Can't wait to see how this all ends.
Thursday and Friday of this week are two of the greatest sports days of the year, which will put a little hitch in the TV viewing schedule. But that's why God created DVR. March Madness it here! Time to go print out some brackets and get ready.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
In Preparation For March Madness
There's a new commercial for Vitamin Water starring Christian Laettner and Rick Pitino. I think its hysterical, especially Pitino's bit at the end. He's still probably wondering why both they guys he put on Laettner were standing behind him.
And THAT got me remembering this outstanding ESPN college basketball commercial from back in the day:
R.I.P. Chris Farley.
And THAT got me remembering this outstanding ESPN college basketball commercial from back in the day:
R.I.P. Chris Farley.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 03/01 - 03/07
I saw 2 movies in the theater this week; can't recall the last time I did that. First was Fanboys, which I recommend for big-time Star Wars fans (or big time Kristen Bell fans). The second was Watchmen, which I discussed (briefly) here.
-Heroes, Monday: The Rebel storyline only works if it actually unites all the characters together. If its just a mechanism to loosely tie all the stories to one common point (like it is now), the show's not going to get any better. But if they can tighten up the story and get everyone working together, the show's got some hope. I'm glad they finally had Parkman use his mind-control powers deliberately to achieve an end and not while he was under stress to save his life. He's ridiculously powerful; why don't they use him more? And how does strapping a bomb to Parkman help The Hunter reach his goal? People would have to know that a)people with abilities exist and that b)Parkman is one of them for it to be an effective stunt. Peter exposed the operation of rounding up US citizens to the public, but not the specifics as to why; people with powers are still unknown. The Claire-Alex storyline was only good because it gave Claire's mom, Sandra, something constructive to do. And Sylar's storyline? Just stupid. So his dad has TK and he sliced open his mom's head. Whatever. That toy car sparked his memory; did he call it Rosebud? That story needs to be finished.
-24, Monday: Who knew that it was that easy to take control of the White House? Just dive underwater, drill up beneath the subsurface, and with the help of a single man in the inside, you too can take the President of the United State hostage. It had a real James Bond-ish plan feel to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm glad to finally see Jon Voight on the show; I think he's going to be an awesome villian. I'm also getting the traitor vibe from the President's daughter, Olivia. I didn't think that before, but now, it seems like it makes sense. Its the kind of left-field twist 24 is always good for. I'm also really enjoying Agent Walker's transformation from a by-the-book FBI agent to a do-what-is-necessary Jack Bauer clone. The ongoing struggle betwen her and Agent Moss is good to. Moss and Bauer and polar opposites and Renee is moving in between then. This episode also had my favorite 24 scene device- when a character has vital information that needs to be heard, so they tell a random person to call someone in charge so they know what's going on, but before that person can make the call, they're shoot and killed and the information remains unrelayed. Happens all the time in 24.
-Lost, Wednesday: I've read some review from people that didn't like this episode; I loved it. I loved the "Three years eariler/Three years later" construciton, filling in the gaps on the island between when Locke reset the wheel and when the O6 got back to the island. So we learn how Sawyer and company become a part of the Dharma Initiative. Sawyer, Jin, and Miles all work security; makes sense. Juliet works in the motorpool; not so much. But where is Faraday? We saw him a the beginning of the season working on the Orchid station; is he still in contact with everyone else, or is he off doing his own thing? Charlotte's death seem to send him off the deep end (if that was even possible), so its possible he his disassociated himself from everyone. My favorite scene was the conversation between Sawyer and Richard Alpert; what must be going through Richard's head at this point? He doesn't age, which one would assume he's aware of, so he had to know that the island has some special time properties associated with it. But what about all the time-travel? He seemed not to understand it when Locke talked with him in the 50's, and he seemed non-reactive when talking to Sawyer, like he didn't want to let on that he knew more than he was letting on. I'm starting to think that the reason Richard doesn't age is because he died and the island brought him back to life. There a lot of talk about an Egyptian connection to the island (the hieroglyphics, the ankh necklace, the statue); I think it would be awesome if Richard was part of the first settlement on the island, thousands of years ago, and he's been the same age ever since (because he's dead and doesn't age). And finally, new girl Amy's baby boy; he's going to be important. Why? Because the actress playing Amy said in an interview that she knows who her baby is and isn't allowed to say. That just screams important. The the child was born in 1977, putting him in his late-20's at the time of the Oceanic plane crash, and about 30 when the Ajira plane landed. So who could it be? Still pondering that one.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Starbuck confesses her death to Baltar and Baltar rewards her by outing her secret to everyone. Well done, Gaius. I like the open, shared knowledge about how Starbuck, Hera, and the Final Five all experienced "All Along The Watchtower." One of my favorite parts about using this song has been how they've worked in lyrics into the dialogue. And in this episode, the dying Eight that requested seeing Tigh quoted a line herself ("Too much confusion"). First time a non-Final Five quoted a line. Important? Dont' know, but was a nice touch. I think its interesting that Sam is now plugged into Galactica hybrid-style; I hope they keep playing this angle before they abandon Galactica (which appears inevitable). While Boomer appears to be evil, it doesn't like she's completely evil. She obivously bonded with Hera and it looks likes she's going to save Hera from Cavil's experiments and return her to the fleet, at the cost of her own life. And we still need some answers to Starbuck. The longer they delay those answers, the more it looks like her answers are the answers to everyone and everything.
And finally, this weekend was the real start of March Madness. Or, the Mayhem Before the Madness, as the ESPN promos would tell us. Championship Week is just as good as the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (which, let's face it, is the best part of the tournament). Little mid-major schools playing for a chance to be Cinderella, where you're only way in is to win because there is no bubble. The elation when a team wins and earns a ticket to the Big Dance, the agony of coming so close and losing. That emotion is why college basketball is lightyears ahead of the NBA.
-Heroes, Monday: The Rebel storyline only works if it actually unites all the characters together. If its just a mechanism to loosely tie all the stories to one common point (like it is now), the show's not going to get any better. But if they can tighten up the story and get everyone working together, the show's got some hope. I'm glad they finally had Parkman use his mind-control powers deliberately to achieve an end and not while he was under stress to save his life. He's ridiculously powerful; why don't they use him more? And how does strapping a bomb to Parkman help The Hunter reach his goal? People would have to know that a)people with abilities exist and that b)Parkman is one of them for it to be an effective stunt. Peter exposed the operation of rounding up US citizens to the public, but not the specifics as to why; people with powers are still unknown. The Claire-Alex storyline was only good because it gave Claire's mom, Sandra, something constructive to do. And Sylar's storyline? Just stupid. So his dad has TK and he sliced open his mom's head. Whatever. That toy car sparked his memory; did he call it Rosebud? That story needs to be finished.
-24, Monday: Who knew that it was that easy to take control of the White House? Just dive underwater, drill up beneath the subsurface, and with the help of a single man in the inside, you too can take the President of the United State hostage. It had a real James Bond-ish plan feel to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm glad to finally see Jon Voight on the show; I think he's going to be an awesome villian. I'm also getting the traitor vibe from the President's daughter, Olivia. I didn't think that before, but now, it seems like it makes sense. Its the kind of left-field twist 24 is always good for. I'm also really enjoying Agent Walker's transformation from a by-the-book FBI agent to a do-what-is-necessary Jack Bauer clone. The ongoing struggle betwen her and Agent Moss is good to. Moss and Bauer and polar opposites and Renee is moving in between then. This episode also had my favorite 24 scene device- when a character has vital information that needs to be heard, so they tell a random person to call someone in charge so they know what's going on, but before that person can make the call, they're shoot and killed and the information remains unrelayed. Happens all the time in 24.
-Lost, Wednesday: I've read some review from people that didn't like this episode; I loved it. I loved the "Three years eariler/Three years later" construciton, filling in the gaps on the island between when Locke reset the wheel and when the O6 got back to the island. So we learn how Sawyer and company become a part of the Dharma Initiative. Sawyer, Jin, and Miles all work security; makes sense. Juliet works in the motorpool; not so much. But where is Faraday? We saw him a the beginning of the season working on the Orchid station; is he still in contact with everyone else, or is he off doing his own thing? Charlotte's death seem to send him off the deep end (if that was even possible), so its possible he his disassociated himself from everyone. My favorite scene was the conversation between Sawyer and Richard Alpert; what must be going through Richard's head at this point? He doesn't age, which one would assume he's aware of, so he had to know that the island has some special time properties associated with it. But what about all the time-travel? He seemed not to understand it when Locke talked with him in the 50's, and he seemed non-reactive when talking to Sawyer, like he didn't want to let on that he knew more than he was letting on. I'm starting to think that the reason Richard doesn't age is because he died and the island brought him back to life. There a lot of talk about an Egyptian connection to the island (the hieroglyphics, the ankh necklace, the statue); I think it would be awesome if Richard was part of the first settlement on the island, thousands of years ago, and he's been the same age ever since (because he's dead and doesn't age). And finally, new girl Amy's baby boy; he's going to be important. Why? Because the actress playing Amy said in an interview that she knows who her baby is and isn't allowed to say. That just screams important. The the child was born in 1977, putting him in his late-20's at the time of the Oceanic plane crash, and about 30 when the Ajira plane landed. So who could it be? Still pondering that one.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Starbuck confesses her death to Baltar and Baltar rewards her by outing her secret to everyone. Well done, Gaius. I like the open, shared knowledge about how Starbuck, Hera, and the Final Five all experienced "All Along The Watchtower." One of my favorite parts about using this song has been how they've worked in lyrics into the dialogue. And in this episode, the dying Eight that requested seeing Tigh quoted a line herself ("Too much confusion"). First time a non-Final Five quoted a line. Important? Dont' know, but was a nice touch. I think its interesting that Sam is now plugged into Galactica hybrid-style; I hope they keep playing this angle before they abandon Galactica (which appears inevitable). While Boomer appears to be evil, it doesn't like she's completely evil. She obivously bonded with Hera and it looks likes she's going to save Hera from Cavil's experiments and return her to the fleet, at the cost of her own life. And we still need some answers to Starbuck. The longer they delay those answers, the more it looks like her answers are the answers to everyone and everything.
And finally, this weekend was the real start of March Madness. Or, the Mayhem Before the Madness, as the ESPN promos would tell us. Championship Week is just as good as the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (which, let's face it, is the best part of the tournament). Little mid-major schools playing for a chance to be Cinderella, where you're only way in is to win because there is no bubble. The elation when a team wins and earns a ticket to the Big Dance, the agony of coming so close and losing. That emotion is why college basketball is lightyears ahead of the NBA.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Just An Excuse To Post This Video
So last night against the Magic, Shaquille O'Neal did something that he's been complaining about on other players ever since he entered the league. He flopped.
That was a flop that would have made Vlade Divac proud. Shaq's seen enough guys flop on him in his career, so it no wonder that when he finally decided to do it, he did it like a champ. But as the title of this post suggests, I only bring up Shaq's flop so I show this video, the most egregious flop in the history of basketball (sorry for the laugh track):
How bad is that flop? European soccer players find it offensive, that's how bad. It's why so many people hate Duke (and why they specifically hate Greg Paulus).
That was a flop that would have made Vlade Divac proud. Shaq's seen enough guys flop on him in his career, so it no wonder that when he finally decided to do it, he did it like a champ. But as the title of this post suggests, I only bring up Shaq's flop so I show this video, the most egregious flop in the history of basketball (sorry for the laugh track):
How bad is that flop? European soccer players find it offensive, that's how bad. It's why so many people hate Duke (and why they specifically hate Greg Paulus).
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 02/15 - 02/21
Another week with a lot of things to watch, especially at the end of the week, some of which won't be chronicled here (Conan O'Brien's final show on Friday, UFC 95 on Saturday). And I'll start this week off with the Academy Awards tonight (where Heath Ledger will win for Best Supporting Actor, despite my earlier prediction).
-Heroes, Monday: Man, this episode sucked. Seriously, everything they did wrong in the past few seasons they did wrong in this episode. Hiro and Ando go to India to stop a wedding. WHY? So they could get a fax from Rebel telling them that they have to back to L.A. to save Parkman. They went to India so they could get a fax. Terrible. Sylar and Luke on a buddy roadtrip? Whatever. Claire saving Alex and Aquaboy? Okay, actually not that bad. I like the set up of Claire going on the run and actually having a reason to go on the run. But the episode was quasi-saved by the final moments, where Peter, Mohinder, and Parkman drug HRG and take him away to interrogate him via mind reading in the next episode, which has to be better than this episode was.
-24, Monday: Okay, so I was wrong on the FBI mole. Turns out, it was Hillinger, a.k.a. Billy Walsh from Entourage. He was an early suspect for mole when he was caught logging onto the system to check his wife's flight status; nothing beats a cover story that also happens to be true to throw off the scent of treason. Still though, I insist that the blonde FBI chick will be important by the end of the day. Maybe she'll be the one to blow the whistle on Hillinger. The Chloe-Janis showdown was a little underwhelming; hopefully that gets better as Janis continues to distrust Chloe in the coming episodes. Perhaps in a situation where they're forced to work together.
-Lost, Wednesday: And just like that, the Oceanic 6 is back on the island. It was only a matter of time, and I really glad they didn't drag it out over the length of the season; that would've been stupid. Instead, everyone got on board Ajira Flight 316 from L.A. to Guam and passed over the most likely location of the island, as determined by the Lamppost Station (nice Narnia reference). Loved all the call backs in this episode, from Jack waking up in the jungle to the O6 having to to recreate as best they can the circumstances of the original crash. Hurley with the guitar? Charlie. Sayid in handcuffs escorted by a fed? Kate. Sun with her husband's wedding ring, worrying about her husband? Rose. Ben running onto the plane at the last moment? Hurley. All with Lapidus as the pilot, where he should have been the first time (line of the night went to Frank after he saw all of the O6 sitting in Business Class, "We're not going to Guam, are we?"). I think the seccond best line, and probably the most telling one, came from Kate, when she said to Jack, "We're here, but we're not together" (or something to that effect). That speaks to all the questions that still remain about the O6- why were they they all there on the flight? You knew Jack and Ben would be there, and Sun was pretty much a lock since she's desperate to find Jin. But Kate? What changed her mind? Where's Aaron and why doesn't she want to talk about it? My guess is that Aaron was taken from her and that forced Kate back to the island. Why/how was Hurley there? He seemed pretty content in not going back and not doing anything Ben wanted him to do (he seemed shocked to see Ben on the plane), so what changed his mind? It was clear that Sayid had no intention of going back, so him being under arrest seemed to make sense. But why? And why was he being transported back to Guam? Does it stem from when he was killing people for Ben? Did he even know that they others would be on the flight? And what about the two other people with them in Business Class- the fed with Sayid and the guy from Three Kings (seriously, do you know the actor from anywhere else)? I think they get sent to the island with the O6; is it a case of wrong place wrong time, or are they part of the plan as well? And what about Lapidus? Does he go back too? I hope so, because he's a cool character. As for Jack, Hurley, and Kate seeing Jin pull up in a Dharma bus wearing a Dharma jumpsuit, I think its clear when the O6 have landed. This should be awesome, with plenty of headache inducing time travel goodness.
-Dollhouse, Friday: A much better episode than last week's. In fact, I think it would have been best for the show if they had gone with a 2-hour premiere, showing these two episodes back-to-back on one night. The story would've had made more sense from the start and I think more viewers would be into the show. As it is now, I don't know if enough stuck around after the pilot to see this week's show. By giving a mini history of the Dollhouse and Alpha, and by tying Alpha to Agent Ballard, the series is building a nice serial base from which to work. And as Echo starts to remember things she shouldn't, the series should really start to pick up. I have to say, I'm still excited for this show.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Cylon melodrama! Clearly, this episode was about forcing the idea onto everyone that their society cannot be humans and Cylons but instead simply society. Tigh had the best line when he said that human-human is too weak and Cylon-Cylon is too weak; that division is how all of this started in the first place. I guess the Cylon compound being used to fix Galactica is just a thinly-veiled methaphor for the integration of the whole fleet. I think killing Caprica Six's baby was also done just to further illustrate the point; the only future is the human-Cylon hybrid (a.k.a. Hera), nothing else will work. Adama has come around to the idea of integrating the Cylons, and it appears that Lee and Roslin are coming around as well. But I htink Baltar is right, the fleet as a whole isn't ready. Not yet. Which brings us back to Baltar and his now assult rifle-weilding harem- that can't end well. We'll see, but next week it looks like we'll get some Starbuck answers, which is good seeing as there are only 4 episodes left. Can't hold anything back now.
-Bracket Buster games, Saturday: Praise be to the guy that thought this would be a good idea. Take a bunch of good, mid-major conference teams, pair them up, and give them a chance to show what they can do on a big stage. Paying attention on this day can help you when trying to pick those first round upset come March Madness. This is one of my favorite days of the college basketball year.
-Taking Chance, HBO, Saturday: And now, something a little serious. I saw ads for this a while back, and I didn’t know when it would actually be airing. I'm glad I caught it. If you have a chance to watch it at some point, I suggest you do. When I first heard about the movie, I went and read the original story written by Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (which you can find here- I recommend reading it). I know a Marine that was killed in Afghanistan and its good to know the level of care that was given to him when he returned home. Semper fi.
-Heroes, Monday: Man, this episode sucked. Seriously, everything they did wrong in the past few seasons they did wrong in this episode. Hiro and Ando go to India to stop a wedding. WHY? So they could get a fax from Rebel telling them that they have to back to L.A. to save Parkman. They went to India so they could get a fax. Terrible. Sylar and Luke on a buddy roadtrip? Whatever. Claire saving Alex and Aquaboy? Okay, actually not that bad. I like the set up of Claire going on the run and actually having a reason to go on the run. But the episode was quasi-saved by the final moments, where Peter, Mohinder, and Parkman drug HRG and take him away to interrogate him via mind reading in the next episode, which has to be better than this episode was.
-24, Monday: Okay, so I was wrong on the FBI mole. Turns out, it was Hillinger, a.k.a. Billy Walsh from Entourage. He was an early suspect for mole when he was caught logging onto the system to check his wife's flight status; nothing beats a cover story that also happens to be true to throw off the scent of treason. Still though, I insist that the blonde FBI chick will be important by the end of the day. Maybe she'll be the one to blow the whistle on Hillinger. The Chloe-Janis showdown was a little underwhelming; hopefully that gets better as Janis continues to distrust Chloe in the coming episodes. Perhaps in a situation where they're forced to work together.
-Lost, Wednesday: And just like that, the Oceanic 6 is back on the island. It was only a matter of time, and I really glad they didn't drag it out over the length of the season; that would've been stupid. Instead, everyone got on board Ajira Flight 316 from L.A. to Guam and passed over the most likely location of the island, as determined by the Lamppost Station (nice Narnia reference). Loved all the call backs in this episode, from Jack waking up in the jungle to the O6 having to to recreate as best they can the circumstances of the original crash. Hurley with the guitar? Charlie. Sayid in handcuffs escorted by a fed? Kate. Sun with her husband's wedding ring, worrying about her husband? Rose. Ben running onto the plane at the last moment? Hurley. All with Lapidus as the pilot, where he should have been the first time (line of the night went to Frank after he saw all of the O6 sitting in Business Class, "We're not going to Guam, are we?"). I think the seccond best line, and probably the most telling one, came from Kate, when she said to Jack, "We're here, but we're not together" (or something to that effect). That speaks to all the questions that still remain about the O6- why were they they all there on the flight? You knew Jack and Ben would be there, and Sun was pretty much a lock since she's desperate to find Jin. But Kate? What changed her mind? Where's Aaron and why doesn't she want to talk about it? My guess is that Aaron was taken from her and that forced Kate back to the island. Why/how was Hurley there? He seemed pretty content in not going back and not doing anything Ben wanted him to do (he seemed shocked to see Ben on the plane), so what changed his mind? It was clear that Sayid had no intention of going back, so him being under arrest seemed to make sense. But why? And why was he being transported back to Guam? Does it stem from when he was killing people for Ben? Did he even know that they others would be on the flight? And what about the two other people with them in Business Class- the fed with Sayid and the guy from Three Kings (seriously, do you know the actor from anywhere else)? I think they get sent to the island with the O6; is it a case of wrong place wrong time, or are they part of the plan as well? And what about Lapidus? Does he go back too? I hope so, because he's a cool character. As for Jack, Hurley, and Kate seeing Jin pull up in a Dharma bus wearing a Dharma jumpsuit, I think its clear when the O6 have landed. This should be awesome, with plenty of headache inducing time travel goodness.
-Dollhouse, Friday: A much better episode than last week's. In fact, I think it would have been best for the show if they had gone with a 2-hour premiere, showing these two episodes back-to-back on one night. The story would've had made more sense from the start and I think more viewers would be into the show. As it is now, I don't know if enough stuck around after the pilot to see this week's show. By giving a mini history of the Dollhouse and Alpha, and by tying Alpha to Agent Ballard, the series is building a nice serial base from which to work. And as Echo starts to remember things she shouldn't, the series should really start to pick up. I have to say, I'm still excited for this show.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Cylon melodrama! Clearly, this episode was about forcing the idea onto everyone that their society cannot be humans and Cylons but instead simply society. Tigh had the best line when he said that human-human is too weak and Cylon-Cylon is too weak; that division is how all of this started in the first place. I guess the Cylon compound being used to fix Galactica is just a thinly-veiled methaphor for the integration of the whole fleet. I think killing Caprica Six's baby was also done just to further illustrate the point; the only future is the human-Cylon hybrid (a.k.a. Hera), nothing else will work. Adama has come around to the idea of integrating the Cylons, and it appears that Lee and Roslin are coming around as well. But I htink Baltar is right, the fleet as a whole isn't ready. Not yet. Which brings us back to Baltar and his now assult rifle-weilding harem- that can't end well. We'll see, but next week it looks like we'll get some Starbuck answers, which is good seeing as there are only 4 episodes left. Can't hold anything back now.
-Bracket Buster games, Saturday: Praise be to the guy that thought this would be a good idea. Take a bunch of good, mid-major conference teams, pair them up, and give them a chance to show what they can do on a big stage. Paying attention on this day can help you when trying to pick those first round upset come March Madness. This is one of my favorite days of the college basketball year.
-Taking Chance, HBO, Saturday: And now, something a little serious. I saw ads for this a while back, and I didn’t know when it would actually be airing. I'm glad I caught it. If you have a chance to watch it at some point, I suggest you do. When I first heard about the movie, I went and read the original story written by Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (which you can find here- I recommend reading it). I know a Marine that was killed in Afghanistan and its good to know the level of care that was given to him when he returned home. Semper fi.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 01/11 - 01/17
I watch a lot of television. From scripted series and various live events, I willing to bet I watch more TV then you (the 5-6 readers of this blog) do. Some of these shows don't merit further discussion; others, I think, benefit from it. Those shows will be discussed here. And yes, spoilers will abound, so reader beware. This post will most likely go up Saturday or Sunday night, so you've got some time to hit the DVR and protect yourself from anything I might reveal here. So let's get started:
-Golden Globe Awards, Sunday: Yes, I watch award shows. I don't really know why, but I do. I don't even watch them all the way through; I just watch to see who wins, then I switch away during the acceptance speech, then switch back to see the winner of the next category (I'm pretty sure there was a college basketball game on ESPN I was going back to). But on occasion, if the right person wins, I will watch the acceptance speech. Such a person is Tina Fey, who told her Internet haters to suck it during her speech. Another was Mickey Rourke's speech after winner for The Wrestler. And speaking of The Wrestler, that's a movie I feel I need to go see. Along with Slumdog Millionaire. People I know who've seen these movies just rave about them, but since I don't get out to the theater too often, I'll probably have to wait until I can rent them. You can probably add Gran Torino to that list as well.
-24, Monday: I didn't watch the premiere of 24 on Sunday because I had gotten the 24 train in the middle of last season (which, due to the writer's strike, was in 2007). I followed 24 when it first aired, jumped off the wagon in the middle when it started to get ridiculous, gave it another go in Season 6, only to give up halfway through. So I didn't watch 24: Redemption when it aired last fall and I didn't have any interest in the new season, especially since they were bringing Tony Almeida back from the dead. But I read of a lot of favorable reviews of the first 2 hours of the season, so I decided to check them out (thank you, Hulu). And I have to say, I was mighty impressed. Resurrecting Tony wasn't as ridiculous as it could have been, and you could actually see some character development in Jack Bauer. I like the new characters they've introduced, in particular Janeane Garofalo and Rhys Coiro (aka Entourage's Billy Walsh), both playing against type. As for what's going on in the story, I think the biggest twists to be revealed (as is always the case on 24) will be who's a mole. So far, we know there's one in the FBI and another in the President's inner circle. Of who we've seen thus far, the leading candidate for to be a mole is the President's Chief of Staff (of course, that could be because its the same actor that played the Warden in The Shawshank Redemption). As for the FBI, my money's on the head agent, Agent Moss. Agent Walker (the cute red head) trusts him too much, which means he's ripe for betrayal. But we'll see. I also look forward to seeing more of Jon Voight's character (as one of the bad guys) and seeing how they re-introduce Kim Bauer (because she's back for some episodes, if you didn't know).
-College Basketball, UVA vs. UNC, Thursday: Virginia got blown out, which isn't all the surprising given how young and inexperienced the 'Hoos are. Our top players are either freshmen, redshirt freshmen, or sophomores, so I don't expect much out of this year, but definitely more out of the years to come (which is pretty much the same thing I've been saying even since I started at UVA). I think our main problem is that we have no low post presence. I mean, I like Mike Scott, but he make his living on offensive boards; he's not a threat posting up on the block, and neither is anyone else we've got playing the 4 or the 5. We're guard heavy, I get that, but when they go cold (aka every time I watch them), we've not no other reliable scoring options. I hope we've got a decent center lined up for next year.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Holy shit, this was crazy. Who had Ellen Tigh as the final Cylon? Anyone? What about Starbuck finding her own corpse in the wreakage of her own Viper? No? And how about Earth being a (former) Cylon settlement? I think that trifecta paid out at 7,295 to 1. Needless to say, I don't think any BSG fans saw this coming. I mean, the answers just created more questions. So Ellen Tigh is the final Cylon; how? She's dead, so what does that mean? Clearly the Final Five Cylons have the ability to resurrect, but not in the same way as the other 7 models; how does their resurrection work? Why did these 5 "survive" the nuclear attack on Earth and no one else did? Why did they resurrect? Then again, maybe they aren't the only ones to have resurrected from Earth. If so, where are those models? And I have no idea what to think about Starbuck. She crashed her Viper on Earth, only to come back to the fleet in a brand new Viper that was able to detect a beacon no one else could, which directed them to Earth, where they found the beacon and discovered it was from Starbuck's original crashed Viper. Oh, and she found her own dead body in the cockpit of her blown up ship. Yeah, I got nothing for that. I love that Battlestar came back with so many answers; I just wish those answers didn't ask even more questions.
Next week- the return on Lost!
-Golden Globe Awards, Sunday: Yes, I watch award shows. I don't really know why, but I do. I don't even watch them all the way through; I just watch to see who wins, then I switch away during the acceptance speech, then switch back to see the winner of the next category (I'm pretty sure there was a college basketball game on ESPN I was going back to). But on occasion, if the right person wins, I will watch the acceptance speech. Such a person is Tina Fey, who told her Internet haters to suck it during her speech. Another was Mickey Rourke's speech after winner for The Wrestler. And speaking of The Wrestler, that's a movie I feel I need to go see. Along with Slumdog Millionaire. People I know who've seen these movies just rave about them, but since I don't get out to the theater too often, I'll probably have to wait until I can rent them. You can probably add Gran Torino to that list as well.
-24, Monday: I didn't watch the premiere of 24 on Sunday because I had gotten the 24 train in the middle of last season (which, due to the writer's strike, was in 2007). I followed 24 when it first aired, jumped off the wagon in the middle when it started to get ridiculous, gave it another go in Season 6, only to give up halfway through. So I didn't watch 24: Redemption when it aired last fall and I didn't have any interest in the new season, especially since they were bringing Tony Almeida back from the dead. But I read of a lot of favorable reviews of the first 2 hours of the season, so I decided to check them out (thank you, Hulu). And I have to say, I was mighty impressed. Resurrecting Tony wasn't as ridiculous as it could have been, and you could actually see some character development in Jack Bauer. I like the new characters they've introduced, in particular Janeane Garofalo and Rhys Coiro (aka Entourage's Billy Walsh), both playing against type. As for what's going on in the story, I think the biggest twists to be revealed (as is always the case on 24) will be who's a mole. So far, we know there's one in the FBI and another in the President's inner circle. Of who we've seen thus far, the leading candidate for to be a mole is the President's Chief of Staff (of course, that could be because its the same actor that played the Warden in The Shawshank Redemption). As for the FBI, my money's on the head agent, Agent Moss. Agent Walker (the cute red head) trusts him too much, which means he's ripe for betrayal. But we'll see. I also look forward to seeing more of Jon Voight's character (as one of the bad guys) and seeing how they re-introduce Kim Bauer (because she's back for some episodes, if you didn't know).
-College Basketball, UVA vs. UNC, Thursday: Virginia got blown out, which isn't all the surprising given how young and inexperienced the 'Hoos are. Our top players are either freshmen, redshirt freshmen, or sophomores, so I don't expect much out of this year, but definitely more out of the years to come (which is pretty much the same thing I've been saying even since I started at UVA). I think our main problem is that we have no low post presence. I mean, I like Mike Scott, but he make his living on offensive boards; he's not a threat posting up on the block, and neither is anyone else we've got playing the 4 or the 5. We're guard heavy, I get that, but when they go cold (aka every time I watch them), we've not no other reliable scoring options. I hope we've got a decent center lined up for next year.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Holy shit, this was crazy. Who had Ellen Tigh as the final Cylon? Anyone? What about Starbuck finding her own corpse in the wreakage of her own Viper? No? And how about Earth being a (former) Cylon settlement? I think that trifecta paid out at 7,295 to 1. Needless to say, I don't think any BSG fans saw this coming. I mean, the answers just created more questions. So Ellen Tigh is the final Cylon; how? She's dead, so what does that mean? Clearly the Final Five Cylons have the ability to resurrect, but not in the same way as the other 7 models; how does their resurrection work? Why did these 5 "survive" the nuclear attack on Earth and no one else did? Why did they resurrect? Then again, maybe they aren't the only ones to have resurrected from Earth. If so, where are those models? And I have no idea what to think about Starbuck. She crashed her Viper on Earth, only to come back to the fleet in a brand new Viper that was able to detect a beacon no one else could, which directed them to Earth, where they found the beacon and discovered it was from Starbuck's original crashed Viper. Oh, and she found her own dead body in the cockpit of her blown up ship. Yeah, I got nothing for that. I love that Battlestar came back with so many answers; I just wish those answers didn't ask even more questions.
Next week- the return on Lost!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Great Sports Moments, Real and Fake
From Bill Simmons's column in the most recent issue of ESPN The Magazine:
Q: If you could have the best seats in the house for any sporting event of the past century, which would you choose?
-Max A., Cleveland
SG: The only answer can be "USA 4, USSR 3." A tougher question: Which sports-movie event would you choose? I'd pick the game in which Michael J. Fox first turns into Teen Wolf. Name me a more stunning sports-movie moment. Fans in the stands are frozen for, like, 45 seconds. You're not topping the experience of being in a sparsely attended high school hoops game in which one of the players turns into a monster, then dunks on everybody. I'm sorry.
I have to say, I think these are two really good questions. Its tough (hell, nearly impossible) to pick any event other than the Miracle on Ice in 1980; I'd be my choice as well. But I think there are some other worthy games that at least merit consideration:
-Duke v. Kentucky, 1992 East Regional Final: I'm pretty sure this would be my #2 choice. It was a phenomenal game (I remember watching it live) on top of Laettner's game-winning shot. One of the greatest college basketball games in history would definitely be worth seeing live.
-Boston College v. Miami, 1984: From one of the greatest college basketball games ever to one of the greatest college football games ever. This might be have jumped the '92 East Regional Final if it weren't for the weather at this game. And like the '92 East Regional Final, this game was so much more than just one play. In the rain, Kosar and Flutie put on a show, and it was clear early on that the last team with the ball would win the game. Knowing the outcome, knowing how it all plays out, I think it'd be worth braving the weather to see this one.
-Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay, 2008 Olympics: Too soon? I don't think so. This was the #1 moment from the 2008 Olympics and absolutely the one thing I would have wanted to see live. From Michael Phelps's quest for 8 golds to the smack talk from the choking dog French team, this race had it all.
That just about covers actual sporting events for me. So what about the second question, the fictional sports events? Again, its tough to argue against Teen Wolf; I mean, how many times would you be able to see a player literally turn into a monster on the court? It wasn't necessarily a great game, but it would surely be memorable. Others I'd throw in there:
-18th Hole, Tin Cup: There's something about watching a train wreak. Jean Van de Velde ain't got shit on Roy McAvoy. Van de Velde's collapse was just pathetic. McAvoy descended to that same level, but, because its the movies, he was able to rise back to the realm of the heroic. Would have been incredible to watch.
-Championship game, Hoosiers: I know, I know, the 1954 Milan team doesn't make the "real" sports list, but the dramatized Hoosiers version does. What can I say, I think the movie does it better. In the actual game, there's about 4 minutes of stall ball at the end that wouldn't have been fun to watch. But back to the movie- how are there not 3 guys covering Jimmy Chitwood on that last possession? He hadn't missed a shot all game (in fact, I think he only missed one shot in the entire movie- during the scene where Gene Hackman tries to convince him to join the team). You have to deny him the ball and force someone else to take that shot. Clearly, the two guys that stood behind Christian Laettner on the pass from Grant Hill never saw or didn't learn anything from Hoosiers.
-Slap Shot: When do you ever see a fight before the game starts? Never. And seeing the Hanson Brothers play has to be worth the price of admission anyway.
(Honorable mention goes to the final game in The Natural. I thought about being in the stand for this game, and I came to realize that as cool as it would be to see the sparks rain down on the field after Hobbs's game-winning home run, the moment is considerably lessened by the absence of the slow-motion effects and the background music. So without those post-production effects, the moment, while still great, wouldn't be as good live).
So those are my picks. Did I miss any worthwhile games, real or fictional?
Q: If you could have the best seats in the house for any sporting event of the past century, which would you choose?
-Max A., Cleveland
SG: The only answer can be "USA 4, USSR 3." A tougher question: Which sports-movie event would you choose? I'd pick the game in which Michael J. Fox first turns into Teen Wolf. Name me a more stunning sports-movie moment. Fans in the stands are frozen for, like, 45 seconds. You're not topping the experience of being in a sparsely attended high school hoops game in which one of the players turns into a monster, then dunks on everybody. I'm sorry.
I have to say, I think these are two really good questions. Its tough (hell, nearly impossible) to pick any event other than the Miracle on Ice in 1980; I'd be my choice as well. But I think there are some other worthy games that at least merit consideration:
-Duke v. Kentucky, 1992 East Regional Final: I'm pretty sure this would be my #2 choice. It was a phenomenal game (I remember watching it live) on top of Laettner's game-winning shot. One of the greatest college basketball games in history would definitely be worth seeing live.
-Boston College v. Miami, 1984: From one of the greatest college basketball games ever to one of the greatest college football games ever. This might be have jumped the '92 East Regional Final if it weren't for the weather at this game. And like the '92 East Regional Final, this game was so much more than just one play. In the rain, Kosar and Flutie put on a show, and it was clear early on that the last team with the ball would win the game. Knowing the outcome, knowing how it all plays out, I think it'd be worth braving the weather to see this one.
-Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay, 2008 Olympics: Too soon? I don't think so. This was the #1 moment from the 2008 Olympics and absolutely the one thing I would have wanted to see live. From Michael Phelps's quest for 8 golds to the smack talk from the choking dog French team, this race had it all.
That just about covers actual sporting events for me. So what about the second question, the fictional sports events? Again, its tough to argue against Teen Wolf; I mean, how many times would you be able to see a player literally turn into a monster on the court? It wasn't necessarily a great game, but it would surely be memorable. Others I'd throw in there:
-18th Hole, Tin Cup: There's something about watching a train wreak. Jean Van de Velde ain't got shit on Roy McAvoy. Van de Velde's collapse was just pathetic. McAvoy descended to that same level, but, because its the movies, he was able to rise back to the realm of the heroic. Would have been incredible to watch.
-Championship game, Hoosiers: I know, I know, the 1954 Milan team doesn't make the "real" sports list, but the dramatized Hoosiers version does. What can I say, I think the movie does it better. In the actual game, there's about 4 minutes of stall ball at the end that wouldn't have been fun to watch. But back to the movie- how are there not 3 guys covering Jimmy Chitwood on that last possession? He hadn't missed a shot all game (in fact, I think he only missed one shot in the entire movie- during the scene where Gene Hackman tries to convince him to join the team). You have to deny him the ball and force someone else to take that shot. Clearly, the two guys that stood behind Christian Laettner on the pass from Grant Hill never saw or didn't learn anything from Hoosiers.
-Slap Shot: When do you ever see a fight before the game starts? Never. And seeing the Hanson Brothers play has to be worth the price of admission anyway.
(Honorable mention goes to the final game in The Natural. I thought about being in the stand for this game, and I came to realize that as cool as it would be to see the sparks rain down on the field after Hobbs's game-winning home run, the moment is considerably lessened by the absence of the slow-motion effects and the background music. So without those post-production effects, the moment, while still great, wouldn't be as good live).
So those are my picks. Did I miss any worthwhile games, real or fictional?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Larry Bird Is Not Walking Through That Door
It's official. I'm sick of watching the 2008 NBA Finals.
And they start on Thursday.
Listen, I get it- it's Celtics vs. Lakers. There's something about seeing those two teams duke it our for the title that stirs up nostalgia in people, even today. And part of me really likes that it does; I'm all for knowing and remembering the history of your team. But seriously, the reflective montages have gone too far. I can understand showing one during the start of the series, that makes sense. Not three times a day for a week before the first game tips off. You want to preview the series? Great, just do so talking about the people who are actually going to play the games.
I bring this up because I'm starting to get worried about the upcoming Reds vs. Red Sox series next week. I'm pretty sure this is the first time Boston's come to Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series (considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest World Series ever), and I'm certain the city will be bombarded with highlights and stories from that series. In fact, it'll probably all anyone talks about that weekend (well, that, and the cure for cancer that I'm sure Jay Bruce will have discovered by then), and I think that's going to suck (the reminiscing, not the cure for cancer). The Saturday game will no doubt be the regional game on FOX, so you know they'll be milking 1975 for all its worth. The national coverage from FOX (and I'm sure ESPN will get in a few mentions) plus the local coverage sure to inundate the city; boy, I can't wait.
Now, I'm not saying that no one here cares about the 1975 World Series. That's the Big Red Machine, one of the few "sacred cows" in Cincinnati sports history (along with Joe Nuxhull, Oscar Robertson, the Ickey Shuffle..... okay, not the Icky Shuffle). But I would be willing to bet that the average Reds fan (of which I am included) would care less about hearing how great the '75 Series was and more about the fact that the Red Sox are coming to town with Dice-K and Big Papi on the DL. The schedule in June is brutal, and catching the defending World Champs without two major players would be a huge plus for the Reds (for my fantasy team, however, not so much).
Sports nostalgia is great. You can talk about the '75 World Series when Tony Perez, Carlton Fisk, and Sparky Anderson all go into the Hall of Fame together (in 2000, along with Marty Brenneman) because they were all there in 1975. Let's talk about the players that are here now. I'd rather hear another "Junior's career vs. Man-Ram's career" debate over another rehashing of whether Ed Armbrister interfered with Carlton Fisk in Game 3 (he totally didn't). As for the NBA finals, forget Bird, Parrish, and McHale, Magic, Kareem, and Worthy. Focus on KG and Kobe, Paul and Pau. Show highlights of what they've done this past year, not what the franchises did twenty years ago.
Oh well, I'm probably not going to watch the Finals anyway. It's Reds vs. Red Sox next week.
And they start on Thursday.
Listen, I get it- it's Celtics vs. Lakers. There's something about seeing those two teams duke it our for the title that stirs up nostalgia in people, even today. And part of me really likes that it does; I'm all for knowing and remembering the history of your team. But seriously, the reflective montages have gone too far. I can understand showing one during the start of the series, that makes sense. Not three times a day for a week before the first game tips off. You want to preview the series? Great, just do so talking about the people who are actually going to play the games.
I bring this up because I'm starting to get worried about the upcoming Reds vs. Red Sox series next week. I'm pretty sure this is the first time Boston's come to Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series (considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest World Series ever), and I'm certain the city will be bombarded with highlights and stories from that series. In fact, it'll probably all anyone talks about that weekend (well, that, and the cure for cancer that I'm sure Jay Bruce will have discovered by then), and I think that's going to suck (the reminiscing, not the cure for cancer). The Saturday game will no doubt be the regional game on FOX, so you know they'll be milking 1975 for all its worth. The national coverage from FOX (and I'm sure ESPN will get in a few mentions) plus the local coverage sure to inundate the city; boy, I can't wait.
Now, I'm not saying that no one here cares about the 1975 World Series. That's the Big Red Machine, one of the few "sacred cows" in Cincinnati sports history (along with Joe Nuxhull, Oscar Robertson, the Ickey Shuffle..... okay, not the Icky Shuffle). But I would be willing to bet that the average Reds fan (of which I am included) would care less about hearing how great the '75 Series was and more about the fact that the Red Sox are coming to town with Dice-K and Big Papi on the DL. The schedule in June is brutal, and catching the defending World Champs without two major players would be a huge plus for the Reds (for my fantasy team, however, not so much).
Sports nostalgia is great. You can talk about the '75 World Series when Tony Perez, Carlton Fisk, and Sparky Anderson all go into the Hall of Fame together (in 2000, along with Marty Brenneman) because they were all there in 1975. Let's talk about the players that are here now. I'd rather hear another "Junior's career vs. Man-Ram's career" debate over another rehashing of whether Ed Armbrister interfered with Carlton Fisk in Game 3 (he totally didn't). As for the NBA finals, forget Bird, Parrish, and McHale, Magic, Kareem, and Worthy. Focus on KG and Kobe, Paul and Pau. Show highlights of what they've done this past year, not what the franchises did twenty years ago.
Oh well, I'm probably not going to watch the Finals anyway. It's Reds vs. Red Sox next week.
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