Well, the Johnny Damon saga has ended here in Boston. He is staying with the Tigers. I, for one, am glad. Not for the fact that he’s staying with Detroit, but for the fact that I don’t need to hear about it anymore. The absolute foolishness of “Red Sox Nation” is absolutely staggering; it sometimes makes me ashamed to be a Red Sox fan. Let’s look at this step by step, shall we?
First, you had the announcement of the possible trade (or waiver claim as the case may be). You had the requisite shock and awe by the fan base. This, of course, it not to be confused with the giddiness of Yankee fans by the whiff of desperation they detected coming from Boston with this announcement. Red Sox fans truly didn’t know what to think. They had spent the last 5 seasons tearing him down for his supposed betrayal and were now close to having him rejoin the team. It’s a sticky situation.
During the 48 hour period in which Damon had been mulling over his options, Red Sox fans we’re trying to reconcile their feelings. I heard a few people say that he would be “just what the Sox are looking for.” So maybe he wasn’t the traitorous scumbag everyone was making him out to be, maybe he was the sparkplug for another pennant run. “Red Sox Nation” was close to lining up to buy their Damon jerseys and planning a Duck Boat parade through downtown that would mess with my commute.
Finally, word came out that Damon would not be coming to Boston. It was like someone took away Keith Olbermann’s meds, with amount of inane vitriol that spewed forth. He was once again the traitor he always was. The fans started thanking God, since he would have been horrible for this team. All was now right with the world.
Seriously? The swing from hatred, to rationalization, back to hatred in this 48 hour period was truly astounding. I never understood the hatred. His move to the Yankees was not done as a middle finger to Red Sox fans. It was done for the money!
I can’t believe how many people took that as a personal affront. It’s not like he came over to your house, punched your mom in the face, took a crap on your bed, and poured sugar in your gas tank on the way out of town. He went to a competitor who was offering more money for his services. If you leave your job for another job at a competing company for more money, are you a villainous traitor who deserves to rot in hell for all eternity? No!
Baseball is a business. Like any right minded employee, Damon wanted to earn the maximum amount of money his skill set would bring. I cannot fault the guy for that. We need to stop treating our favorite teams as members of the family and realize that it is a game played by a group of guys who are only playing there because that is where they could receive the most amount of money. Treating it as anything else just leads to heartbreak. Well, for me, it leads to a headache, since I need to hear a person make stupid, idiotic comments about how Player X is villainous monster who likes to drink the blood of children because he decided to play for other team.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Fringe Finale: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
So last night was the finale of the best show on TV that is returning next year. Seriously, I’m calling it now. Fringe is the worthy successor of Lost. Long live the new king. The Duchess and I double-dipped on the two part finale last night and I’m going to bullet point out the good, the bad, and the ugly (mostly because I’m too lazy to write out a full review).
The Good:
- Broyles’ getting pissed: Over the last two seasons, we’ve always been able to rely on one thing, that Agent Broyles will stay calm, cool, and collected. The only time I actually remember him showing emotion was when he kissed Nina Sharp and when he was drinking with Peter when they thought Olivia was dead. But holy shit, when he thought Massive Dynamic was behind the device that would kill Peter and bring down destruction on the universe, he brought down the thunder. His screaming match with Nina was utter greatness.
- “I have thought of a hundred reasons... why you should come back. To--to fight the shapeshifters, to take care of Walter, to--to save the world. But in the end... you have to come back. Because you belong with me.”: This is the quote from Olivia just before she and Peter kissed. After this whole will they/won’t they bullshit from the Castle finale, it’s good to see a show actually give us characters who actually act like they are in the real world. Plus, this is the moment most Fringe fans have been waiting to happen for 2 years and it was magnificently pulled off.
- Sally Clark’s fuck you moment: I may have had my issues with the other Cortexiphan kids in this episode, but when Sally looked down at her dead lover and then down the barrel of the gun that shot the bullet, she went full on fire-starter and laid waste to the area. Too bad the douchebag lived.
- William Bell doing stuff: As much as I loved last year’s finale, the big reveal of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell was kind of a let down because he was old and feeble and didn’t do anything. However, in this episode, he’s running around, shooting guns, and ultimately sacrificing himself so the trio can get back to there own universe. Well played Nimoy, well played.
- Olivia vs. Olivia: Find me one person who watched this episode and saw the Olivia/Olivia conversation and fight scene and didn’t think it was a complete win. From the spare key moment to the hair coloring, I was thoroughly enthralled. It was good to see them both disarm, and then beat the shit out of each other. I want to see these two go for round 2 sometime in season 3.
The Bad:
- The alternate reality differences: Don’t get me wrong, I love the alternate reality. I revel in the small differences (like Olivia’s hair color). But won’t I don’t understand is that you have these major differences (like Zeppelin’s and weaponry and Red Lantern and electronic ID cards) but the small stuff is the same. Remember the episode that explained how Peter was taken by Walter in the alternate reality? Well, Peter had the same room, in the same house, had the same parents, was the same age, and had the same disease that the real Peter had. Seriously? We have Richard Nixon on a coin and I’m supposed to believe that little details are the same? In this episode, it was Olivia and Charlie being partners in the government agency with Broyles as their boss, among other things.
- Alter-Olivia crossing over: I like the twist, but I would have liked it better if it wasn’t cliché and plain as day from the moment she and Broyles got the call from the Walternate. This is really on the one thing that ruins the episode for me. I like big, shocking moments, but don’t telegraph it. This isn’t Smallville dammit.
- The technological disparity: My issue here isn’t between the two worlds, but only in the alternate reality. Basically, they have all this tech that is so advanced, yet their only weapon against holes in the universe to amber? Are you serious? And their one solution is to kill Peter buy using some massive machine. Well, were the hell did the machine come from? If they built it so only Peter could use it, but not have them build another power source for someone else?
- Talking about the episode: I started talking to Seamus this morning about the episode and I was having issues properly explaining the alternates vs. the normals. It gets confusing and gives me a headache when I’m referring to Alter-Olivia and real Olivia and the normal universe and the alternate universe. We need names for this stuff. I think the government should work on this rather than other ways to raise my taxes.
The Ugly:
- The Death of James Heath: Let’s just say that good ole James doesn’t make it over to the alternate reality in a recognizable form. Ugh. At least I didn’t have to deal with him being annoying anymore.
So, all in all I really enjoyed it. There were some moments that weren’t great, but they were outweighed by the awesomeness of other moments. Bring on season 3!
The Good:
- Broyles’ getting pissed: Over the last two seasons, we’ve always been able to rely on one thing, that Agent Broyles will stay calm, cool, and collected. The only time I actually remember him showing emotion was when he kissed Nina Sharp and when he was drinking with Peter when they thought Olivia was dead. But holy shit, when he thought Massive Dynamic was behind the device that would kill Peter and bring down destruction on the universe, he brought down the thunder. His screaming match with Nina was utter greatness.
- “I have thought of a hundred reasons... why you should come back. To--to fight the shapeshifters, to take care of Walter, to--to save the world. But in the end... you have to come back. Because you belong with me.”: This is the quote from Olivia just before she and Peter kissed. After this whole will they/won’t they bullshit from the Castle finale, it’s good to see a show actually give us characters who actually act like they are in the real world. Plus, this is the moment most Fringe fans have been waiting to happen for 2 years and it was magnificently pulled off.
- Sally Clark’s fuck you moment: I may have had my issues with the other Cortexiphan kids in this episode, but when Sally looked down at her dead lover and then down the barrel of the gun that shot the bullet, she went full on fire-starter and laid waste to the area. Too bad the douchebag lived.
- William Bell doing stuff: As much as I loved last year’s finale, the big reveal of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell was kind of a let down because he was old and feeble and didn’t do anything. However, in this episode, he’s running around, shooting guns, and ultimately sacrificing himself so the trio can get back to there own universe. Well played Nimoy, well played.
- Olivia vs. Olivia: Find me one person who watched this episode and saw the Olivia/Olivia conversation and fight scene and didn’t think it was a complete win. From the spare key moment to the hair coloring, I was thoroughly enthralled. It was good to see them both disarm, and then beat the shit out of each other. I want to see these two go for round 2 sometime in season 3.
The Bad:
- The alternate reality differences: Don’t get me wrong, I love the alternate reality. I revel in the small differences (like Olivia’s hair color). But won’t I don’t understand is that you have these major differences (like Zeppelin’s and weaponry and Red Lantern and electronic ID cards) but the small stuff is the same. Remember the episode that explained how Peter was taken by Walter in the alternate reality? Well, Peter had the same room, in the same house, had the same parents, was the same age, and had the same disease that the real Peter had. Seriously? We have Richard Nixon on a coin and I’m supposed to believe that little details are the same? In this episode, it was Olivia and Charlie being partners in the government agency with Broyles as their boss, among other things.
- Alter-Olivia crossing over: I like the twist, but I would have liked it better if it wasn’t cliché and plain as day from the moment she and Broyles got the call from the Walternate. This is really on the one thing that ruins the episode for me. I like big, shocking moments, but don’t telegraph it. This isn’t Smallville dammit.
- The technological disparity: My issue here isn’t between the two worlds, but only in the alternate reality. Basically, they have all this tech that is so advanced, yet their only weapon against holes in the universe to amber? Are you serious? And their one solution is to kill Peter buy using some massive machine. Well, were the hell did the machine come from? If they built it so only Peter could use it, but not have them build another power source for someone else?
- Talking about the episode: I started talking to Seamus this morning about the episode and I was having issues properly explaining the alternates vs. the normals. It gets confusing and gives me a headache when I’m referring to Alter-Olivia and real Olivia and the normal universe and the alternate universe. We need names for this stuff. I think the government should work on this rather than other ways to raise my taxes.
The Ugly:
- The Death of James Heath: Let’s just say that good ole James doesn’t make it over to the alternate reality in a recognizable form. Ugh. At least I didn’t have to deal with him being annoying anymore.
So, all in all I really enjoyed it. There were some moments that weren’t great, but they were outweighed by the awesomeness of other moments. Bring on season 3!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Teabag This!
Forgive me while I shed this blog’s non-political stance for one time and make a semi-political statement. If you come here for sports, TV information, and other related entertainment, know that this is a one time thing and I will return with more of my ramblings in the near future.
On this Tax Day, I would feel remiss if I did not mention that yesterday in Boston the Tea Party and Sarah Palin made an appearance. Thousands attended the rally and it spoke to a large cross-section of the community. You would be hard pressed to find any right-thinking American who did not believe we were over-taxed and that the Government is being reckless with our tax dollars. As a good idea spirals into a movement, we are slowly becoming aware of the fact that vitriol and hate will be used to dismiss and diminish any enemy of Big Government.
I’m going to lay off the media and focus on the liberal on the street. The one who reads Daily Kos, sees MSNBC as “middle of the road”, and refers to Pat Leahy as “my personal hero”. I’ve come to expect a certain level of intolerance from this person. I know that all arguments will begin with insults that hit below the belt and just keep going from there. It’s probably the reason I say out of political discussions, the fact that you cannot reason with the unreasonable. The one insult I heard multiple times yesterday is the one I cannot stand – “tea-bagger”.
This insult just irks me. I see two main problems with it. One, if you are a liberal using this term, you are already starting out with an insult. The only people who will listen to you at this point are the people who already agree with you. Conservatives and independents are going to be turned off to your message as you cannot form a cohesive message without descending into vulgarity. You need to swing people to your point of view, not cackle to a bunch of like-minded individuals.
Two, by using the term, you are also degrading one of the seminal moments in our nation’s history. Are the men who boarded those three ships in Boston Harbor in 1773 also “tea-baggers”? How about Mohandas Gandhi who invoked the Boston Tea Party in his fight against salt tax? Is he a “tea-bagger”?
If the Tea Party is so disagreeable to you, why not agree against the main points of the Tea Party movement? Argue against lower taxes, smaller government, and less government spending. The name calling only makes you sound bitter and angry.
On this Tax Day, I would feel remiss if I did not mention that yesterday in Boston the Tea Party and Sarah Palin made an appearance. Thousands attended the rally and it spoke to a large cross-section of the community. You would be hard pressed to find any right-thinking American who did not believe we were over-taxed and that the Government is being reckless with our tax dollars. As a good idea spirals into a movement, we are slowly becoming aware of the fact that vitriol and hate will be used to dismiss and diminish any enemy of Big Government.
I’m going to lay off the media and focus on the liberal on the street. The one who reads Daily Kos, sees MSNBC as “middle of the road”, and refers to Pat Leahy as “my personal hero”. I’ve come to expect a certain level of intolerance from this person. I know that all arguments will begin with insults that hit below the belt and just keep going from there. It’s probably the reason I say out of political discussions, the fact that you cannot reason with the unreasonable. The one insult I heard multiple times yesterday is the one I cannot stand – “tea-bagger”.
This insult just irks me. I see two main problems with it. One, if you are a liberal using this term, you are already starting out with an insult. The only people who will listen to you at this point are the people who already agree with you. Conservatives and independents are going to be turned off to your message as you cannot form a cohesive message without descending into vulgarity. You need to swing people to your point of view, not cackle to a bunch of like-minded individuals.
Two, by using the term, you are also degrading one of the seminal moments in our nation’s history. Are the men who boarded those three ships in Boston Harbor in 1773 also “tea-baggers”? How about Mohandas Gandhi who invoked the Boston Tea Party in his fight against salt tax? Is he a “tea-bagger”?
If the Tea Party is so disagreeable to you, why not agree against the main points of the Tea Party movement? Argue against lower taxes, smaller government, and less government spending. The name calling only makes you sound bitter and angry.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Dane Cook, Fringe, and Other Thoughts
It’s been way too long, I know. Hopefully, some random thoughts will make up for it.
I was rewatching Jim Gaffigan’s Hot Pockets bit on YouTube the other day and wondered if anyone has ever had a heart attack while watching a comedian and laughing hard? Maybe even hyperventilated or pulled a muscle? Imagine the cred a comedian would get if this happened. The government would probably have to put up warning signs or something. Thankfully, Dane Cook would never have to worry about that.
Speaking of Cook, have we all finally come to the consensus that Dane Cook is not funny? How about that fact that he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever? My basic thought is that he wants to be an iconoclast, but really just comes off as a douche bag on speed. I remember everyone saying how funny he was then I watched one of his specials. I just thought he was loud and annoying.
Of course, Cook is your stereotypical Boston tool. It seems like they are all over the place. Seriously, when the Jersey Shore spinoff Wicked Summer hits MTV, you’ll see what I mean. You think it’s just coincidence that the spin-off takes place in Boston? Expect lots of Red Sox hats, horrible accents, and goof-bags thinking they are the best thing since sliced bread.
Speaking of the best thing since sliced bread, I still have yet to figure out if my favorite show on TV is Fringe or FlashForward. I cannot include Lost because Lost is not a TV show, it’s an experience. I mean, that Richard Alpert episode was probably one of the best hours of TV I have ever seen. Back to the Fringe/FlashForward debate, it just makes my brain hurt when I think about it and they are on back-to-back. You put Lost on at 10 PM on Thursday and I guarantee my head would explode.
Speaking of experiences, I recently read this article. Does it make me a bastard to laugh about a fight between a guy and his quadruple amputee girlfriend? This is seriously the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. I was talking to my buddy D.B. about it and we have an amazing idea. We want to stage this fight. This would be the main event, with two undercards. One would be Jose Canceso against a Kangaroo and the second would be Mike Tyson against a swarm of bees. So, if anyone knows how to contact Canceso and Tyson and knows someone who has a well-trained swarm of bees and a kangaroo, get in touch with me. And before you start thinking I’m some kind of monster, can you honesty say that you wouldn’t watch this? Yeah, I thought so.
I was rewatching Jim Gaffigan’s Hot Pockets bit on YouTube the other day and wondered if anyone has ever had a heart attack while watching a comedian and laughing hard? Maybe even hyperventilated or pulled a muscle? Imagine the cred a comedian would get if this happened. The government would probably have to put up warning signs or something. Thankfully, Dane Cook would never have to worry about that.
Speaking of Cook, have we all finally come to the consensus that Dane Cook is not funny? How about that fact that he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever? My basic thought is that he wants to be an iconoclast, but really just comes off as a douche bag on speed. I remember everyone saying how funny he was then I watched one of his specials. I just thought he was loud and annoying.
Of course, Cook is your stereotypical Boston tool. It seems like they are all over the place. Seriously, when the Jersey Shore spinoff Wicked Summer hits MTV, you’ll see what I mean. You think it’s just coincidence that the spin-off takes place in Boston? Expect lots of Red Sox hats, horrible accents, and goof-bags thinking they are the best thing since sliced bread.
Speaking of the best thing since sliced bread, I still have yet to figure out if my favorite show on TV is Fringe or FlashForward. I cannot include Lost because Lost is not a TV show, it’s an experience. I mean, that Richard Alpert episode was probably one of the best hours of TV I have ever seen. Back to the Fringe/FlashForward debate, it just makes my brain hurt when I think about it and they are on back-to-back. You put Lost on at 10 PM on Thursday and I guarantee my head would explode.
Speaking of experiences, I recently read this article. Does it make me a bastard to laugh about a fight between a guy and his quadruple amputee girlfriend? This is seriously the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. I was talking to my buddy D.B. about it and we have an amazing idea. We want to stage this fight. This would be the main event, with two undercards. One would be Jose Canceso against a Kangaroo and the second would be Mike Tyson against a swarm of bees. So, if anyone knows how to contact Canceso and Tyson and knows someone who has a well-trained swarm of bees and a kangaroo, get in touch with me. And before you start thinking I’m some kind of monster, can you honesty say that you wouldn’t watch this? Yeah, I thought so.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Winter Olympics Week 1 Recap
The first week of the Winter Olympics has been pretty fun, as long as you weren’t part of the crew that worked on the Opening Ceremony. It had everything you would want in a first week. You had prime athlete’s elevating their game to win medals, also-rans wilting under the pressure, questionable judging, and lots of lost sleep. So, let’s do a little run-down of the first full week of the Winter Games.
Snowboarding:
I’m getting this out of the way first. Shaun White deserved the gold medal he won. No question in my mind. The tricks, the air, the technical ability were all much better than everyone else. However, I have a problem with the judging.
For every boarder, the judges were knocking off points for the smallest little things, but when it came to White, they became simpering fan-girls who could only see him through rose colored glasses. I think White could have fallen and they still would have scored him in the 40’s.
As for the snowboard cross, only one thing disappointed me about the Lindsey Jacobellis debacle. I didn’t get to see it live. I like to make fun of people’s failures in real-time. It’s more fun that way. Thankfully, since she imploded, I don’t have to see her anymore. Seriously, have you seen that girl? She looks like a guy in a bad platinum blonde wig most of the time.
Luge:
While it was tragic that the luger from Georgia died on a test run, I was getting tired of NBC beating the story into the ground. Every time they would head out to the track, they would tell us once again that a luger had died.
What was even worse was when Bob Costas told us that they would not show the clip of his death. I mean, we had all seen it by then. I had seen it earlier that day on NBC Nightly News. Doing this was like drinking a 12 pack of beer and then saying you’re not going to drink that night. The cat’s already out of the bag on this one.
On a lighter note, I still giggle every time I see a clip of doubles luge. Yes, I have the mentality of a 3rd grader.
Skiing:
Did you know that Lindsey Vonn has an injury? I guess her leg is injured or something. You would think they would bring this up.
Watching the skiing coverage is like watching an episode of House. They continually brought up the Vonn injury, like her leg is going to fall off at any minute. Based on the coverage, it seems like it would be noteworthy if she was healthy.
Anyway, I’ll be rooting for Julia Mancuso. Her child like enthusiasm warms my heart and I always like the underdog. Plus, I think she’s the only one that hasn’t nearly wiped out on the course.
Figure Skating:
Earlier when I was thinking about it, I was glad that, so far, the figure skating has been without controversy. I mean, the gold medals have been awarded to the best performers. Then Elvis Stojko rained on my parade.
Elvis Stojko, former Olympic skater who was better left on the trash heap of Olympic history, wrote an article today basically saying that Plushenko was robbed and figure skating was dead. Obviously, Elvis was watching something completely different than the rest of us.
Evan Lysacek absolutely killed on Thursday night. He was pretty much flawless in his routine. He didn’t throw a quad jump, but he did pair together his jumps well and did them throughout the routine.
Plushenko, on the other hand, looked like a wounded duck through most of his jumps (somehow landing them cleanly though). He did throw in two quads, to his credit. His footwork, minus what Stojko says, was pretty basic. We had plenty of time to study it, too, since Plushenko didn’t throw a jump at all in the last minute of his routine.
See, I listened to Dick Button and concentrated on Plushenko’s feet and not his crazy arm movements that make it look like he’s doing something. While Stojko was probably distracted by something shiny, he missed the fact that a 10 year old could have pulled off Plushenko’s movements.
Stojko needs to remember that figure skating isn’t just about who can make the biggest jump, but who can consistently hit all the elements. NBC was more than happy to point out (thank you Scott Hamilton) that Lysacek’s jump combos nearly had that same difficulty level, points wise, as Plushenko’s quads.
Anyway, enough picking on a guy who couldn’t quite get it done in the Olympics. At least there was no controversy in the pair’s figure skating this year.
Curling:
I was watching curling the other day and the Duchess walks in and sits down. She looks to grab the remote to change the channel and suddenly becomes enthralled by the action. Before you know it, she’s screaming at the USA Captain because she can’t make a simple hit.
I think she’s searching online for places we can go curling. Once again I’m shown I picked the perfect wife.
Snowboarding:
I’m getting this out of the way first. Shaun White deserved the gold medal he won. No question in my mind. The tricks, the air, the technical ability were all much better than everyone else. However, I have a problem with the judging.
For every boarder, the judges were knocking off points for the smallest little things, but when it came to White, they became simpering fan-girls who could only see him through rose colored glasses. I think White could have fallen and they still would have scored him in the 40’s.
As for the snowboard cross, only one thing disappointed me about the Lindsey Jacobellis debacle. I didn’t get to see it live. I like to make fun of people’s failures in real-time. It’s more fun that way. Thankfully, since she imploded, I don’t have to see her anymore. Seriously, have you seen that girl? She looks like a guy in a bad platinum blonde wig most of the time.
Luge:
While it was tragic that the luger from Georgia died on a test run, I was getting tired of NBC beating the story into the ground. Every time they would head out to the track, they would tell us once again that a luger had died.
What was even worse was when Bob Costas told us that they would not show the clip of his death. I mean, we had all seen it by then. I had seen it earlier that day on NBC Nightly News. Doing this was like drinking a 12 pack of beer and then saying you’re not going to drink that night. The cat’s already out of the bag on this one.
On a lighter note, I still giggle every time I see a clip of doubles luge. Yes, I have the mentality of a 3rd grader.
Skiing:
Did you know that Lindsey Vonn has an injury? I guess her leg is injured or something. You would think they would bring this up.
Watching the skiing coverage is like watching an episode of House. They continually brought up the Vonn injury, like her leg is going to fall off at any minute. Based on the coverage, it seems like it would be noteworthy if she was healthy.
Anyway, I’ll be rooting for Julia Mancuso. Her child like enthusiasm warms my heart and I always like the underdog. Plus, I think she’s the only one that hasn’t nearly wiped out on the course.
Figure Skating:
Earlier when I was thinking about it, I was glad that, so far, the figure skating has been without controversy. I mean, the gold medals have been awarded to the best performers. Then Elvis Stojko rained on my parade.
Elvis Stojko, former Olympic skater who was better left on the trash heap of Olympic history, wrote an article today basically saying that Plushenko was robbed and figure skating was dead. Obviously, Elvis was watching something completely different than the rest of us.
Evan Lysacek absolutely killed on Thursday night. He was pretty much flawless in his routine. He didn’t throw a quad jump, but he did pair together his jumps well and did them throughout the routine.
Plushenko, on the other hand, looked like a wounded duck through most of his jumps (somehow landing them cleanly though). He did throw in two quads, to his credit. His footwork, minus what Stojko says, was pretty basic. We had plenty of time to study it, too, since Plushenko didn’t throw a jump at all in the last minute of his routine.
See, I listened to Dick Button and concentrated on Plushenko’s feet and not his crazy arm movements that make it look like he’s doing something. While Stojko was probably distracted by something shiny, he missed the fact that a 10 year old could have pulled off Plushenko’s movements.
Stojko needs to remember that figure skating isn’t just about who can make the biggest jump, but who can consistently hit all the elements. NBC was more than happy to point out (thank you Scott Hamilton) that Lysacek’s jump combos nearly had that same difficulty level, points wise, as Plushenko’s quads.
Anyway, enough picking on a guy who couldn’t quite get it done in the Olympics. At least there was no controversy in the pair’s figure skating this year.
Curling:
I was watching curling the other day and the Duchess walks in and sits down. She looks to grab the remote to change the channel and suddenly becomes enthralled by the action. Before you know it, she’s screaming at the USA Captain because she can’t make a simple hit.
I think she’s searching online for places we can go curling. Once again I’m shown I picked the perfect wife.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Why I Love The Olympics
There are a few things I look forward to in this world. New Doctor Who episodes, the release of the Sam Adams Oktoberfest, the start of the college football season, and the Olympics. The Olympics are two weeks of pure enjoyment for the sports fan inside me. There are so many reasons it grabs my enjoyment.
First and foremost is the patriotism that flows forth during the Olympics. I can forget things I'm not thrilled with, like the horrible economy and our idiot President. For two weeks, it's all USA, USA, USA! I may not know who these people are but I'm pulling for them to beat up on opponents from places like Finland. I may have to bust out a mini American flag and wave it around from my couch.
Then, we get to the part that it's two straight weeks of great sports. Normally, if it's not football, baseball, or soccer, it can pretty much be The Jay Leno Show, because I'm not watching it. Maybe it’s the drama, but all of a sudden, I think the Nordic Combined is the best sport known to man.
I can honestly say that outside of the Olympics, I don't watch curling. Hell, I go out of my way to actively avoid it. However, just today requested a day off of work to watch the US/Russia women's curling match (2/19, 12 noon, USA Network). Plus, I need to know how heavy the curling stone is and how big this sport is in Canada.
I think one of my favorite parts is NBC. I mean, besides Chuck, I don't even think about watching NBC. I even cringe when I want to watch a Notre Dame game or a Sunday Night NFL Game, because the sports on the network must be directed by a drunken monkey. However, they know how to put on the Olympics.
The one thing that makes NBC great is Bob Costas. Yes, Bob is past his prime and can't quiet catch up to the fastball anymore but his interviews are top notch. He blows the door off the creepiness factor when he interviews attractive female athletes. When the three USA fencers swept the medals in Beijing, I think I saw one of the top TV moments of all time. I felt the need to take a shower after watching it. I can't wait for Lindsey Vonn to win a medal. It's going to be great.
Last, but not least, is the drama. NBC always amps up the sap to make you root for some Bulgarian alpine skier who's sister lost her foot in a thrasher accident but still works 60 hours a week to support his dream. It makes you want to root for the guy, even if he has no chance of bring home the gold.
To balance this out, there is always some punk who thinks they are entitled to a medal when the Olympic Gods smack them down (to my utter pleasure). In 2006, during the final run of the Women's Snowboard Cross, American Lindsey Jacobellis was coasting her way to a gold medal when on the second to last jump, she decided to showboat and pull a method grab, only to completely douche the landing and wipe out. This allowed the woman behind her to easily coast past her as Jacobellis was floundering like a fish out of water trying to get up. Jacobellis finally got and finished in second.
We all learned an important lesson, after we finished laughing. Don't screw with the God's of fate. Play the sport with pride and integrity and you can be remembered for all time as an Olympic champion. If you become egotistical and showboat, you can end up like Jacobellis and be a laughing stock. That is why the Olympics are great; they are mostly played with pride and integrity. Well, unless you're a client of BALCO, but that's a different story.
First and foremost is the patriotism that flows forth during the Olympics. I can forget things I'm not thrilled with, like the horrible economy and our idiot President. For two weeks, it's all USA, USA, USA! I may not know who these people are but I'm pulling for them to beat up on opponents from places like Finland. I may have to bust out a mini American flag and wave it around from my couch.
Then, we get to the part that it's two straight weeks of great sports. Normally, if it's not football, baseball, or soccer, it can pretty much be The Jay Leno Show, because I'm not watching it. Maybe it’s the drama, but all of a sudden, I think the Nordic Combined is the best sport known to man.
I can honestly say that outside of the Olympics, I don't watch curling. Hell, I go out of my way to actively avoid it. However, just today requested a day off of work to watch the US/Russia women's curling match (2/19, 12 noon, USA Network). Plus, I need to know how heavy the curling stone is and how big this sport is in Canada.
I think one of my favorite parts is NBC. I mean, besides Chuck, I don't even think about watching NBC. I even cringe when I want to watch a Notre Dame game or a Sunday Night NFL Game, because the sports on the network must be directed by a drunken monkey. However, they know how to put on the Olympics.
The one thing that makes NBC great is Bob Costas. Yes, Bob is past his prime and can't quiet catch up to the fastball anymore but his interviews are top notch. He blows the door off the creepiness factor when he interviews attractive female athletes. When the three USA fencers swept the medals in Beijing, I think I saw one of the top TV moments of all time. I felt the need to take a shower after watching it. I can't wait for Lindsey Vonn to win a medal. It's going to be great.
Last, but not least, is the drama. NBC always amps up the sap to make you root for some Bulgarian alpine skier who's sister lost her foot in a thrasher accident but still works 60 hours a week to support his dream. It makes you want to root for the guy, even if he has no chance of bring home the gold.
To balance this out, there is always some punk who thinks they are entitled to a medal when the Olympic Gods smack them down (to my utter pleasure). In 2006, during the final run of the Women's Snowboard Cross, American Lindsey Jacobellis was coasting her way to a gold medal when on the second to last jump, she decided to showboat and pull a method grab, only to completely douche the landing and wipe out. This allowed the woman behind her to easily coast past her as Jacobellis was floundering like a fish out of water trying to get up. Jacobellis finally got and finished in second.
We all learned an important lesson, after we finished laughing. Don't screw with the God's of fate. Play the sport with pride and integrity and you can be remembered for all time as an Olympic champion. If you become egotistical and showboat, you can end up like Jacobellis and be a laughing stock. That is why the Olympics are great; they are mostly played with pride and integrity. Well, unless you're a client of BALCO, but that's a different story.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New and Premiering in 2010
Well, the first non-college football entry in ages is a yearly tradition. That's right, the annual New and Premiering entry. As a side note, Lost will not be on this list, mostly because this final season will not be TV show, but an event. With no BSG or Lost to choose from, the number one will be tough to pick. Anyway, enough about my inability to create a simple list and let's get to the countdown.
5) Southland - 1/12 on TNT at 10PM
This is more of a F You to NBC than my wanting to actually watch this show. I normally stay away from your average cop drama, if only to stave off becoming my parents for another year. However, I've heard nothing but good things about this show.
Critical acclaim is something that NBC seems to shy away from, considering they canned it even before it got to premiere and gave the 10PM time slot EVERY NIGHT to Jay Leno. If I had time, effort, and an actual following, I would have lead a campaign to ensure that Southland actually beat Leno in the ratings. It would be a noble goal.
4) Leverage - 1/13 on TNT at 10PM
This American version of Hustle probably would have been higher except for the fact that they replaced Gina Bellman's Sophie with Jeri Ryan's Tara. That's like replacing Sam Adams with Budweiser, sure, it's still beer, but which would you prefer? Thankfully, it's only a temporary switch while Bellman spits out a kid.
This pretty much going to follow the same formula as all the proceeding shows. Someone gets hosed by a company, businessman, politician, or local crime lord. Said victim gets in contact with Nate and his band of do-gooders and they take care of it, getting the victim back his money and turning a tidy profit. It's a winner of a formula and they should keep riding it. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to bog us down with plot or overall story arcs, that's not your bread and butter.
3) Human Target - 1/17 on FOX at 8PM
You know what? Screw all the "comic book background" on this. I have two reasons to watch this. One, it has the trifecta of guns, ass-kicking, and humor. Two, ever since Keen Eddie, I will support anything with Mark Valley in it (plus, high marks for his marriage to Anna Torv).
After seeing the first commercial for this show, I knew I wanted to watch it. Not only was he throwing himself in front of bullets meant for Tricia Helfer, but he looked like he was possessed with some sort of death wish. Just your classic "I don't give a shit" attitude. I can't wait.
2) Caprica - 1/22 on Syfy at 9PM
How can anything be bad that has Eric Stoltz in it? If they made a "Pulp Fiction" sequel that featured his drug dealer character, I would be first in line to watch. Anyway, this is the much anticipated Battlestar Galactica prequel that shows us the beginnings of the Cylons (which makes no sense, since they have been around for thousands of years, but I'm sure they'll explain that).
When I went to visit Seamus last year for SBSA 2009 (I'll explain later), he popped in the pilot for Caprica, since Syfy was nice enough to release the pilot on DVD back in June. I enjoyed it, it was good. A little cerebral, but overall a good watch. It definitely needed some time to mature, but it has a lot of potential.
1) 24 - 1/17 on FOX at 9PM
Jack Bauer is back again to save us from terrorist who want to do us harm. God knows our President won't do it. This time, Jack and the newly minted CTU are taking up in New York, if only because it makes more since than Los Angeles.
The last time we saw Jack, he was dying from a deadly pathogen that was to be released by an evil Jon Voight (being almost as evil as Coach Bud Kilmer from "Varsity Blues"). Obviously, the experimental treatment worked and Jack is right as rain. I give a thumbs up to the return of Agent Renee Walker, Jack's potential love interest and lump of clay which he can mold into a female version of himself. I give a big old thumbs down to Jack's new partner, the excruciating Freddie Prinze Jr. The only role he was ever good in was his role as the idiot brother in "House of Yes" and that's because he got to play to this strengths, as an idiot.
Even Freddie can't dull my enthusiasm for the new season. However, my enthusiasm will dull quickly if they keep recycling the "mole in CTU" storyline. It was classic with Nina Myers (because we all thought Tony was the bad guy). After seven seasons, it just gets old. I would forgive the rehash of this if you gave me a half hour in some episode where we see the terrorist doing there thing and we get the split screen of Jack on the crapper with the New York Times. Seriously, everybody poops.
5) Southland - 1/12 on TNT at 10PM
This is more of a F You to NBC than my wanting to actually watch this show. I normally stay away from your average cop drama, if only to stave off becoming my parents for another year. However, I've heard nothing but good things about this show.
Critical acclaim is something that NBC seems to shy away from, considering they canned it even before it got to premiere and gave the 10PM time slot EVERY NIGHT to Jay Leno. If I had time, effort, and an actual following, I would have lead a campaign to ensure that Southland actually beat Leno in the ratings. It would be a noble goal.
4) Leverage - 1/13 on TNT at 10PM
This American version of Hustle probably would have been higher except for the fact that they replaced Gina Bellman's Sophie with Jeri Ryan's Tara. That's like replacing Sam Adams with Budweiser, sure, it's still beer, but which would you prefer? Thankfully, it's only a temporary switch while Bellman spits out a kid.
This pretty much going to follow the same formula as all the proceeding shows. Someone gets hosed by a company, businessman, politician, or local crime lord. Said victim gets in contact with Nate and his band of do-gooders and they take care of it, getting the victim back his money and turning a tidy profit. It's a winner of a formula and they should keep riding it. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to bog us down with plot or overall story arcs, that's not your bread and butter.
3) Human Target - 1/17 on FOX at 8PM
You know what? Screw all the "comic book background" on this. I have two reasons to watch this. One, it has the trifecta of guns, ass-kicking, and humor. Two, ever since Keen Eddie, I will support anything with Mark Valley in it (plus, high marks for his marriage to Anna Torv).
After seeing the first commercial for this show, I knew I wanted to watch it. Not only was he throwing himself in front of bullets meant for Tricia Helfer, but he looked like he was possessed with some sort of death wish. Just your classic "I don't give a shit" attitude. I can't wait.
2) Caprica - 1/22 on Syfy at 9PM
How can anything be bad that has Eric Stoltz in it? If they made a "Pulp Fiction" sequel that featured his drug dealer character, I would be first in line to watch. Anyway, this is the much anticipated Battlestar Galactica prequel that shows us the beginnings of the Cylons (which makes no sense, since they have been around for thousands of years, but I'm sure they'll explain that).
When I went to visit Seamus last year for SBSA 2009 (I'll explain later), he popped in the pilot for Caprica, since Syfy was nice enough to release the pilot on DVD back in June. I enjoyed it, it was good. A little cerebral, but overall a good watch. It definitely needed some time to mature, but it has a lot of potential.
1) 24 - 1/17 on FOX at 9PM
Jack Bauer is back again to save us from terrorist who want to do us harm. God knows our President won't do it. This time, Jack and the newly minted CTU are taking up in New York, if only because it makes more since than Los Angeles.
The last time we saw Jack, he was dying from a deadly pathogen that was to be released by an evil Jon Voight (being almost as evil as Coach Bud Kilmer from "Varsity Blues"). Obviously, the experimental treatment worked and Jack is right as rain. I give a thumbs up to the return of Agent Renee Walker, Jack's potential love interest and lump of clay which he can mold into a female version of himself. I give a big old thumbs down to Jack's new partner, the excruciating Freddie Prinze Jr. The only role he was ever good in was his role as the idiot brother in "House of Yes" and that's because he got to play to this strengths, as an idiot.
Even Freddie can't dull my enthusiasm for the new season. However, my enthusiasm will dull quickly if they keep recycling the "mole in CTU" storyline. It was classic with Nina Myers (because we all thought Tony was the bad guy). After seven seasons, it just gets old. I would forgive the rehash of this if you gave me a half hour in some episode where we see the terrorist doing there thing and we get the split screen of Jack on the crapper with the New York Times. Seriously, everybody poops.
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