* YES! YES! YES!
* WOO! WOO! WOO!
* (fist pumps!) (excited fist pumps!)
* No, that wasn't to celebrate Duke reaching Indy (that's next). Or Gus Johnson calling the KSU / Xavier game. Nope, that's all me.
The preseason schedules came out today! The Chiefs open at Atlanta, then visit Tampa, and close against Green Bay.
Its the third game that has me creaming in my pants. The weekend of August 19th-21st. Against the Eagles.
Pick a day, any day, to play that game.
(steve grinning broadly ...) Because the Royals are home every day that week.
Which means ... for the first time since 2003 ... (steve hyperventilating) ... we get ... (steve reaching orgasm ...)
DOUBLE! HEADER! DAY!!!
Royals at noon! Chiefs at 7! A freaking 14 hour party at the Sports Complex! Tailgate for breakfast. Catch a few innings of the Royals vs the White Sox or Indians (depending on when the Chiefs game is scheduled). Tailgate between games. Catch the Chiefs open the all new Arrowhead against Philly. And tailgate until the cops kick us out.
Holy cow. The day I live for is going to happen. The day I drool about just wishing would occur again, is going to occur again. I feel like I'm higher than when I sit on "the couch". Seriously. This is so freaking awesome. So freaking awesome. I gotta haul The Rock voice out for this. "Finally, Double Header Day, has come back to Kansas City!!!"
So freaking sweet. (best guess) Saturday August 21st can't get here soon enough ...
* Congrats to Duke and Jon Scheyer, for navigating what ultimately turned out to be the toughest road to Indy, and reaching their first Final Four since 2004. As I texted after the win, "weakest one seed my ass".
Consider:
1. Duke is the only one seed to reach the Final Four. KU crapped its pants in the second round; Syracuse choked in the Sweet 16, and Kentucky didn't bother to show up for the first 38 1/2 minutes in the Elite 8. By flaming out, they all were weaker than Duke. At least when it mattered most.
2. Duke only faced one double digit seed, Arkansas Pine Bluff in the first round. After that, they had to go through the Pac 10 champion (Cal), the Big 10 (plus one) co-champion (Purdue), and a Baylor team that finished third in the Big XII, and (see point 3) had a huge, huge advantage over them. Pretty much the seeding held to form, as they faced a 16 / 8 / 4 / 3 on the way to Indy. Conversely, Michigan State faced a 12 / 4 / 9 / 6; Butler faced a 12 / 13 / 1 / 2; and West Virginia faced a 15 / 10 / 11 / 1.
3. Duke is the only one seed forced to play at a distinct home court disadvantage. Had KU won, they'd have been in St. Louis. While no doubt the fans of Ohio State, Tennessee, and Michigan State still would have shown up, they would have been far outnumbered by Jayhawk Nation. Syracuse and Kentucky both were playing true neutral site games against neutral site opponents. But Duke? Got to play Baylor ... in Houston. Yeah, that's not giving the three seed a huge built in crowd. And had A&M held on against Purdue, Duke would have had to face a team playing less than an hour from its campus. Yeah, that's treating the one seed like a one seed.
* I am somewhat fired up about this Final Four. Not as fired up as I'd be if KU was in it, but there's some interesting storylines in this thing:
1. Butler, the mid major that could, playing in front of its home crowd.
2. Michigan State, the only Big 10 (plus one) team that's watchable, once again reaching the Final Four. That's six times in 12 years, for those keeping track. And keeping alive the jaw-dropping "Every senior class has reached at least one Final Four under Coach Izzo" streak alive until 2013.
3. West Virginia, with last-second assassin Da'Sean Butler, reaching the Final Four for the first time in 50 years, and reaching it coached by one of its finest alumni, Bob "Huggy Bear" Huggins. You know, the class act who was one-and-done in Manhattan. The guy who was fired for getting two DUI's and crashing a school car while at Cincinnati. The guy with a 0% graduation rate at Cincinnati in the mid and late 1990s. (I'm not a Bob Huggins fan, to put it mildly).
4. and Duke, returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2004. This is anything but Coach K's best team ... and yet, you have to consider them the favorites at this point, don't you?
* For as awful as my first bracket was ... if Duke beats West Virginia but does NOT win the national title, I finish 3rd in our pool (out of 90). Not a bad recovery.
* I really, really, really want to see "Hot Tub Time Machine". It looks fun.
* Speaking of fun, I gotta give props to whoever came up with the new commercials during the NCAA toonumunt. There's easily three, four of them that never fail to make me laugh out loud. The Southwest Airlines "Bags Fly Free" ad with the painted chests is funny. The Bud Light Golden Wheat "They Hooked Up" ads are hysterical. And the new Sony TV ad with George Takei. The way he says "Oh my!", well, anyone who listens to the Howard Stern Show knows how great that line is. (Takei is a co-host, for those of you who don't listen to Stern). But in this ad, its just freaking awesome.
Really, the Bud Light "They Hooked Up" ads might be the best series of ads on TV in a long time. The whole premise is so absurd that you can't help but laugh. And the tagline song, "This is LOOOOOOOVE ... Love at first sight!" I'll put it this way -- I hate Bud Light. If my only beer choice is Bud Light, I'm not drinking. (OK, that's a lie. But I definitely would drink far less than if another beer was available). But these ads actually make me want to buy a six pack of Bud Light Golden Wheat.
"This is LOOOOOOOVE ... Love at first sight!" Freaking awesome.
* "Survivor" is turning in arguably its finest season ever. The sheer hate between Boston Rob and Russell is awesome to watch unfold every week. Plus, watching the Heroes tribe implode has been great to watch. Mainly because I hate half the folks on that tribe. Especially Rupert. You know you strongly dislike someone when a highlight of your trip to the Indy 500 every year is getting to boo Rupert in the prerace festivities. What a tool.
And yes, he gets out there in the friggin ride around truck, all decked out in his tie-dye t-shirts, looking like he hasn't bathed in five years, and lives it up like he's some freaking superstar. Its embarrassing, is what it is. Pathetic and embarrassing. Go away Rupert.
* Speaking of pathetic and embarrassing ... the Kansas Legislature everyone!
You would think that adequately funding public education would be a priority. Or closing the $400 million hole in the budget. Or dealing with unemployment, declining revenues, you know, legitimate issues facing the state.
But oh no. The top legislative priority is ... legislating adult entertainment establishments out of business.
Under a bill currently awaiting reconciliation, all nude entertainment would be outlawed. Patrons would have to maintain at least a six foot distance from the entertainment. And of course, new taxes would be imposed on the industry, and only on the adult entertainment industry, that would effectively destroy strip clubs in Kansas.
(Note: the six foot rule confuses me. Is it six feet from where the chair, or six feet based on your body? Seems to me some folks could move to within 5 feet and an inch or two if its based on body distance).
To say this bill enrages me, is an understatement. I don't frequent strip clubs, because other than military flyovers, they're the biggest waste of money imaginable. You get nothing for what you spend, outside of a need to hurry home and rub one out. And no offense, but I can get that urge quite frequently without having to drop a $20 cover, $20 for a dance, and $1 / hour for the jukebox.
And I certainly agree that adult establishment shouldn't be next to a school, or a house of worship. Hell, even the industry agrees with that, which is why they don't locate there.
So, who in the hell do these legislators think they are, to attempt to cram their outdated, ridiculous conservative views on sex down the throats of every citizen of the state of Kansas? Really? We have NO money in the state coffers. Highway projects are being cancelled right and left. The budget has a $400 million hole that has to be closed in the next 90 days. Our schools are shutting down and even going to four day class schedules because there's no money to keep them open. Yet THIS is the top priority? THIS is what you waste a week debating? Whether a 20 year old reasonably attractive chick with serious daddy and cocaine issues should wear a pasty while performing onstage?
Frank Rich wrote a great book a few years ago called "What's the Matter With Kansas". I highly recommend it to anyone. The transformation of Kansas from a forward-thinking, progressive state, to the laughing stock of the educated world, in literally just 12-15 years, is amazing. The lesson of the book is simple: when you elect religious zealots to run your state, nothing good can happen. They won't focus on the real issues facing the voters, but rather will enact the agenda they want to see pushed instead.
And you see it all over the state. A refusal to raise taxes to fund needed social services. A threat to strip the Supreme Court of its power because the Court dared to force the Legislature to adequately finance the schools. The debate over teaching evolution or creation in schools. (Note: I actually do believe in creation, but evolution must be taught in the schools, if only to prep students for future education outside the state of Kansas). An attempt to stop teaching sex ed in schools, and instead to mandate a religion course. (Of course, they claimed it would teach "all religions", but come on. Examine the source of the promise).
And now this, their latest attempt to cram their view of morality and societal standards down the throats of Kansans. Voters of Kansas, its time to let the gag reflex kick in. We've had it shoved down our throats for the final time. Boot these ass clowns out of power, return power to the moderates of both parties, and let's get Kansas back to what it was in the 1990s: a model state that attracted the nation's finest to its borders, rather than what it is today: a regressive state that is a national joke.
(And the ultimate irony is that these quacks in Topeka will wind up making the budget disaster WORSE as a result of this, because the adult industry will sue the state, and they will win, as they have everywhere else this type of bill has been passed, including in Missouri. Not just wasting their time on non-issues, they're making the real issues worse by doing this. The Kansas Legislature blows. Go back to your pews guys, and leave the governing to people who actually want to govern, and not erect a theocracy, ok? and yes, the use of "erect" was intentional).
* The BuKCs clinched a .500 record last night. Let that sink in. The WORST the BuKCs can do is finish 41-41. The BuKCs can post their first winning season in eight years with one more win. They can reach the playoffs for the first time in four years with a couple more wins, or a couple more Bulls losses.
Really, the job John Hammond did in putting this roster together is astonishing. He trades away arguably the BuKCs best player (RJ). He lets "Chuck E. Cheese" Villanueva and Ramon Sessions walk for nothing. And he rolls the dice in the biggest gamble in the draft, taking Brandon Jennings with the 10th pick. Any sane person would look at the moves made in June and July last year, and think "we're headed for a 15-67 catastrophe".
But Hammond clearly knew more than your average deer. He trusted his draft picks of Ilyasova and Luc "I am NOT your father" Mbah a Moute to fill the RJ slot. He trusted Andrew Bogut to finally develop into a dominating force in the middle. He trusted he was right on BJ. He bet the house on his hand-picked coach somehow getting all this young talent to gel.
I'd say he's won that bet. The BuKCs look set for a decade at the two key positions on the floor (center, point guard). Michael Redd's horrendous contract comes off the books this summer, allowing the BuKCs to be players in the 2011 free agent bonanza (which is every bit as good as the 2010 free-for-all upcoming). Ilyasova looks like a keeper. Mbah a Moute is the defensive stopper 29 other teams would kill to have.
And best of all, its a fun team to watch. You won't close your eyes in boredom watching these guys. As great as this season has been, and granted its not over yet ... the best is yet to come.
* I wasn't as angry, upset, disappointed, insert your adjective here, about the KU defeat as most people. For starters, as I noted in my predictions, I thought the 2nd round opponent would be our toughest out. Both UNLV and Northern Iowa are well coached teams that shoot the ball very well. Those are the teams that KU struggles against. We lost two games this year prior to the toonumunt. Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Both the same type of teams as Northern Iowa -- extremely well coached, solid jump shooters. (Plus Oklahoma State has a solid inside game).
But also, when you look back at it, you could kind of see this coming. Something just didn't feel right about this team. Namely, they really struggled at times to put inferior opponents away. Granted, they always did (all three games KU lost, they trailed big early and had to play the comeback role), but dominant teams tend to put the hammer down. The Big XII Title Game was indicative of this -- as Bob Knight kept noting in the second half, KU couldn't get the lead past 8. Granted, some of that is because KSU is a really, really well coached team, and it has probably the best guard combination in the nation to boot, but KU teams of the past in that spot pull out the tire iron and finish the deal.
I'm not going to rip on Bill Self's coaching, specifically not going to the full court press sooner, because I think he felt the same as I did most of the game -- there isn't a shot in hell they can keep shooting 75% from three land. Also, he had to be thinking, there's no way in hell Sherron Collins can keep playing this poorly. Collins, Taylor, and Morningstar combined to go 0-12 from behind the arc. As the great Jim Mora would say, "you ain't gonna beat anybody I just talked about when you play like that, anybody!"
* One thing I did want to note ... for all my bitching about the Morris twins this year (all of it justly earned), they were the two performances in that game worth remembering. They actually hit free throws (8 of 11). They shot 8 for 12 from the floor. They played under control, didn't commit stupid turnovers, and played solid defense. (Three things Sherron Collins won't be accused of doing in that game).
* The KSU / Xavier game was just epic. Man, I wish we'd had Lundquist and Raftery on the call, a game that great deserves the best. On second thought, it was played in Salt Lake City, not exactly night life central. So its probably good Bill didn't get the assignment. I'm sure he and Verne had much more fun in the Landing.
* Some NBA team is going to get a steal with Denis Clemente. He's going to be a solid backup guard in the league. I can easily see him evolving into a JJ Redick / Luke Ridnour / Derek Fisher (pre-2010) type role. And he'd be damned good at it.
* I'm still waiting for one logical explanation for why Mike Anderson didn't leave Dixon on the floor for most of the second half against West Virginia. They could have won that game. They probably should have, had Anderson left his best player that day on the floor, instead of keeping JT "George" Tiller out there to brick everything he threw up.
* As good as the KSU / Xavier game was, the game so far that's entertained me the most was Tennessee / Michigan State. Tremendous game. And yes, you're damned right Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery were up to the call. Here's why I love their pairing so much: the broadcast style, its just two good friends sitting there "discussing" the game as it unfolds. They're not looking for cliche moments (Jim Nantz), or screaming hysterically for no sensible reason (Dick Vitale), or informing us that an interview with "Rick Romo" is coming up in the postgame (Bryant Gumble).
The best announcing teams, its like listening to you and a friend react to the game on your couch. For instance, like watching a KU football game with me and Gregg. Or a KU basketball game with Gregg and Brent. Or a IndyCar or Cup race with me and Brett. The jokes are cracking, the excitement shows, you're passionate for what you're watching, and there's probably a cocktail or three being consumed. Bill and Verne exhibit that quality better than any other announcing team around.
Which brings me to my question: why is it that all the really good commentating teams are calling basketball? If I had to list my seven favorite announcer pairings, five of them are calling hoops:
Verne Lundquist / Bill Raftery, CBS
Sean McDonough / Bill Raftery / Jay Bilas, ESPN
Mike Patrick / Dick Vitale, ESPN
Doc Emrick / Ed Olczyk, NBC
Mike Breen / Mark Jackson / Jeff Van Gundy, ABC / ESPN
Gus Johnson / Clyde Frazier, MSG
Brent Musburger / Kirk Herbstreit, ABC
Only NBC's hockey guys and ABC's top team for college football make my top 7, and I don't pay attention to hockey until the playoffs start. (And yes, Emrick / Olczyk are this damned good. Rewatch the USA / Canada gold medal game. Might be the single best announced sporting event of the decade. Absolute brilliance).
All of these teams though, bring the same qualities to the table. They're passionate about the sport they cover. They're knowledgable as well. They bring the viewer into the game with their excitement. They treat the gig like its a privilege, like they're a fan lucky enough to have scored center court seats. They also seem like they're having fun, that its not a job, its a game! I could listen to those seven teams call anything.
Case in point: my sister in law, not a fan of basketball. At all. We're over at my brother's on Sunday, working on flooring, and had the Tennessee / Michigan State game on. Raftery and Lundquist had the call. And as my sister in law noted, just from standing in the room for 30 seconds, not really even paying attention to the game, "it must be a great game. The announcers sound like they're having fun".
"The announcers sound like they're having fun". What a freaking concept.
Contrast that to seven of my most hated announcing teams:
Pam Ward / Ray Bentley, ESPN (college football)
Jim Nantz / Phil Simms, CBS (pro football)
Joe Buck / Tim McCarver, FOX (baseball)
Jon Miller / Joe Morgan / Orel Hershiser, ESPN (baseball)
Mark Jones / Bob Davie, ABC / ESPN (college football)
Mike Tirico / Ron Jaworski / Jon Gruden, ESPN (pro football)
Brent Musburger / Bob Knight, ESPN (college basketball)
These teams are the exact opposite of the seven above. Pam Ward and Ray Bentley are probably why the Big 10 (plus one) formed its own network, to avoid having them broadcast their games in the 11am slot. Nantz and Tirico have the same problem: they're both extremely good at announcing golf, and very good at calling basketball. They're terrible at broadcasting football. Why? My theory is, its third on their list of enjoyable sports. Its certainly not number one. And it shows.
Buck, Miller, and Musburger have the same problem as well. They're both very good broadcasters and easy to listen to. Their partners, however, are (dusty voice) criminitely bad. Joe Morgan is just a grouchy, grumpy old man that's mad as hell about the stat revolution in the sport. Hershiser is the newbie -- he's extremely good calling college baseball with Sean McDonough, so I hope that translates well, but again, Joe Morgan is that awful. Tim McCarver, oy. Its not that he's unbearable, or even that he's a bad broadcaster. He's just completely uneducated about the game. Which is stunning, given that he's been THE play-by-play guy of the World Series since at least 1985. And Bob Knight, good God. When I agree with Kevin Kietzman on something, you know its bad. You're damned right I signed his "dump Bob Knight from the Big Monday" petition.
But in addition to the obvious problems, there's no flow to their broadcasts. Its not a couple buddies sitting on the couch reacting to what they're watching. Its over-analysis, over-use of statistics, obvious on-air chemistry issues that kill any positive vibe (really applicable in Nantz / Simms and Musburger / Knight). Its like they're just doing their job. A 9 to 5 job that nobody cares about, and that's how their broadcasts come off.
They DON'T sound like they're having fun.
What's the point? I don't know. Just that announcers that have fun on the air make for a better broadcast. And nobody does it better than Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist ...
Showing posts with label steve's thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steve's thoughts. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
saturday shorts
Its been a busy couple weeks, so I apologize for the lack of posting. Between real life stuff blowing up, work eating up my time, and my continuing four month battle against the never ending head cold from hell, I just haven’t been able to post.
So, a quick Saturday morning ramble! That should make up for it …
* The gold medal hockey game was epic. I literally could not get up off the couch while the game was underway. First, let me thank profusely NBC and more specifically its sponsors, for airing the in-game action commercial free. I think that’s what made the game even better than it already was – no delay in the action. No stoppage of play. Just continuous flow.
Secondly, how sweet was Ryan Parise’s game tying goal? You know it’s a unifying moment when I stand up and fist pump … and across the hall, my neighbor is screaming, and next door, I hear the other neighbor pounding his coffee table in joy.
Third, the Sidney Crosby winner. Its not often I’m not upset when the team I’m openly rooting for loses. I’ve detailed in the past how certain defeats, I will never be able to get over (usually those involve a certain blue-and-orange clad squad from denver). But seeing the eruption of emotion at Canada Hockey Place when Crosby won it, I wasn’t even upset. I just felt … I don’t know, grateful? Happy to have just been able to watch this thing unfold?
Finally, the gold medal ceremony. Again, I’m a sucker for folks who live in the moment. That was bone-chilling awesome. 18,000 plus folks singing “O Canada”, as a nation revels in (arguably) its greatest athletic achievement. Chuck Klosterman kind of hit on this in the BS Report this week, but he’s dead on accurate – it sucks that we don’t have a unifying national team like that in this country. I mean, if we’d won that game, we’d feel good as a nation for what, a week? Two weeks? And come 2014 in Suchi, we probably would be asking “wait, who’s Ryan Miller?” Congrats to Canada.
* The closing ceremonies. I won’t say anything other than screw NBC for cutting away for 90 freaking minutes to air a crappy new “reality” show, local news, and TMZ.
* The BuKCs host the LeBrons tonight. I know its one regular season game among 82. I know the BuKCs are basically a lock for the postseason at this point, and are just playing for seeding (ideally, the five, and a first round matchup against the reeling Celtics). But to me, this is a statement game. The BuKCs are on fire lately, winners of 8 of 9, fresh off a sweep of the Wizards. The only loss in the last three weeks was an overtime loss at Atlanta, nothing to be ashamed about. (Dear God, I never thought I’d type those words – there’s no shame in losing to the Hawks. I guess I should start staring at the sky expecting the Second Coming any moment now).
But every once in a while, an opportunity game presents itself. A chance to see just how good you really are. This is one of those deals for the BuKCs. A chance to beat the best, on your home court, in the push for the playoffs. It’s a statement game. Here’s hoping the BuKCs take care of business.
* KU! MU! 1pm today! At Allen Field House East! Sorry, at The Plaige! OK, ok, at Norm Stewart Center! Oh, that’s right, MU didn’t even have the decency to name their not-quite-sold-out-every-night facility after the man who put them on the map, because why do that when you can name it after a word thief in SoCal?
My prediction: MU 86, KU 84. I know all the talk in town this week is “man, I want a third KU / KSU matchup next Saturday”. Well, I don’t. I want a third KU / MU matchup. These two teams can never play enough. There’s “rivalry”, like with our farm-loving friends from Manhattan. Then there’s rivalry. Like with our cousin-loving friends from Columbia. The more KU / MU match up, the better off we all are.
* Jon Scheyer Senior Night! ESPNU has been replaying classic Duke / UNC games all morning. College GameDay live from Cameron in a little bit. Sadly, UNC’s upset win over Wake Forest ensures they will finish at worst 16-16, guaranteeing a NIT bid for them.
What I’d like to see tonight? Easy. Scheyer, early and often, just draining 3s. The Cameron Crazies blowing the roof off the joint with taunts, chants, and cheering, as Duke goes up something like 45-17 at the half, and cruises to a 105-52 victory. (Yes, I want them to double up the score on the Rat Bastard. Run! It! Up! Show no class Coach K! Show no mercy!)
What I expect to see tonight? I have a bad, bad, bad feeling about this game. I think this is going to be a “Steve has no finger nails left” from stress contest. A “Dusty is chucking sh*t at the television in frustration” contest. Duke 82, UNC 81, on a late Scheyer jumper. For some reason, I think UNC shows up and plays like they should have all season tonight. God bless it, I pray I’m wrong.
* “Lost”! If you don’t watch the show … at this point, no sense in trying to convert you. If you do watch and haven’t seen this week’s episode, feel free to skip this section. Only 12 hours and 11 episodes of television’s finest show to go. Sad. Tragic. Here’s my thoughts on this week’s Sayid centric episode:
The last five minutes were the most action packed, jaw dropping, “holy f*cking sh*t” five minutes I think the show has delivered in years. You go from the calm, revealing Sayid / Dogan conversation … to all of a sudden, a double homicide, Sayid standing on the steps to the pool with the blood dripping off the knife, and Ben rushing the room as Smokey is wreaking havoc … and Ben is scared sh*tless by Sayid. Then, the final moments, as Sayid and Crazy Claire walk out to join Fake Locke … and Kate is with them.
One thing though that I caught, or at least I think I caught – everyone has been focused on Dogan’s comment to Sayid that “you have to stab (Fake Locke) BEFORE he says a word. Once he talks, he’s won”. Fake Locke said “Hello, Sayid” right before Sayid stabbed him. Go figure, the stab didn’t work. And everyone now is like “well, Dogan lied, he knew Fake Locke couldn’t be killed and hoped that he’d kill Sayid”.
My response was the exact opposite. I think Dogan was being truthful. So go back and watch that final scene again – Fake Locke does not say ONE word to Kate. Just an expression. So if Dogan is correct, that you can take Fake Locke out before he speaks, is Kate still a candidate to end his reign of good / evil? (I still don’t think Fake Locke is “evil incarnate”, as Dogan put it).
For the first time this season, I cared more (and liked more) the on-Island action more than the flash sideways action. Not that the flash sideways wasn’t interesting – it was. But for the first time this year, I actually cared about what was going on, on the Island. Well, that’s not fair – I was intrigued with the Cave, with the Lighthouse, and with Sawyer’s drunken remembrance of Juliet. But for the first time, the Island stuff drew me in. Finally, we’re getting a point and a purpose to the on-Island stuff.
* I see si.com rated the MLB GM’s, and our guy came in dead last. In a related development, single game tickets just went on sale this morning, and I am not within 4 miles of a Ticketmaster location right now. I have zero, zip, nada, absolutely no interest in this upcoming baseball season. It’s a very strange feeling. Usually I’m counting down the minutes to baseball season. Now? The first game I attend might be my cousin’s birthday bash in Milwaukee in the middle of June.
(OK, I know, I’ll at least go for a tailgate or five in May and early June. I am ALWAYS up for a day spent in 85 degree sunshine, especially when vodka tonics, beer pong, losing yet again to DJ at washers, and/or ladder toss are involved. But actually enter the stadium? That might be mid-June. Sad, but true).
* I just saw a commercial for sugardaddie.com. Normally I’m not one to overreact to our allegedly crumbling society, because I don’t think anything is occurring today that didn’t occur 500 years ago. The only difference is in media coverage of events. But wow. Sugardaddie.com. I hope that’s some kind of a new cultural rock bottom.
* Its gonna be 60 here in KC today. Pushing 60 tomorrow. And yet, I plan to spend both days watching college hoops inside. For the first time in a long time, I really, really, really miss the deck …
So, a quick Saturday morning ramble! That should make up for it …
* The gold medal hockey game was epic. I literally could not get up off the couch while the game was underway. First, let me thank profusely NBC and more specifically its sponsors, for airing the in-game action commercial free. I think that’s what made the game even better than it already was – no delay in the action. No stoppage of play. Just continuous flow.
Secondly, how sweet was Ryan Parise’s game tying goal? You know it’s a unifying moment when I stand up and fist pump … and across the hall, my neighbor is screaming, and next door, I hear the other neighbor pounding his coffee table in joy.
Third, the Sidney Crosby winner. Its not often I’m not upset when the team I’m openly rooting for loses. I’ve detailed in the past how certain defeats, I will never be able to get over (usually those involve a certain blue-and-orange clad squad from denver). But seeing the eruption of emotion at Canada Hockey Place when Crosby won it, I wasn’t even upset. I just felt … I don’t know, grateful? Happy to have just been able to watch this thing unfold?
Finally, the gold medal ceremony. Again, I’m a sucker for folks who live in the moment. That was bone-chilling awesome. 18,000 plus folks singing “O Canada”, as a nation revels in (arguably) its greatest athletic achievement. Chuck Klosterman kind of hit on this in the BS Report this week, but he’s dead on accurate – it sucks that we don’t have a unifying national team like that in this country. I mean, if we’d won that game, we’d feel good as a nation for what, a week? Two weeks? And come 2014 in Suchi, we probably would be asking “wait, who’s Ryan Miller?” Congrats to Canada.
* The closing ceremonies. I won’t say anything other than screw NBC for cutting away for 90 freaking minutes to air a crappy new “reality” show, local news, and TMZ.
* The BuKCs host the LeBrons tonight. I know its one regular season game among 82. I know the BuKCs are basically a lock for the postseason at this point, and are just playing for seeding (ideally, the five, and a first round matchup against the reeling Celtics). But to me, this is a statement game. The BuKCs are on fire lately, winners of 8 of 9, fresh off a sweep of the Wizards. The only loss in the last three weeks was an overtime loss at Atlanta, nothing to be ashamed about. (Dear God, I never thought I’d type those words – there’s no shame in losing to the Hawks. I guess I should start staring at the sky expecting the Second Coming any moment now).
But every once in a while, an opportunity game presents itself. A chance to see just how good you really are. This is one of those deals for the BuKCs. A chance to beat the best, on your home court, in the push for the playoffs. It’s a statement game. Here’s hoping the BuKCs take care of business.
* KU! MU! 1pm today! At Allen Field House East! Sorry, at The Plaige! OK, ok, at Norm Stewart Center! Oh, that’s right, MU didn’t even have the decency to name their not-quite-sold-out-every-night facility after the man who put them on the map, because why do that when you can name it after a word thief in SoCal?
My prediction: MU 86, KU 84. I know all the talk in town this week is “man, I want a third KU / KSU matchup next Saturday”. Well, I don’t. I want a third KU / MU matchup. These two teams can never play enough. There’s “rivalry”, like with our farm-loving friends from Manhattan. Then there’s rivalry. Like with our cousin-loving friends from Columbia. The more KU / MU match up, the better off we all are.
* Jon Scheyer Senior Night! ESPNU has been replaying classic Duke / UNC games all morning. College GameDay live from Cameron in a little bit. Sadly, UNC’s upset win over Wake Forest ensures they will finish at worst 16-16, guaranteeing a NIT bid for them.
What I’d like to see tonight? Easy. Scheyer, early and often, just draining 3s. The Cameron Crazies blowing the roof off the joint with taunts, chants, and cheering, as Duke goes up something like 45-17 at the half, and cruises to a 105-52 victory. (Yes, I want them to double up the score on the Rat Bastard. Run! It! Up! Show no class Coach K! Show no mercy!)
What I expect to see tonight? I have a bad, bad, bad feeling about this game. I think this is going to be a “Steve has no finger nails left” from stress contest. A “Dusty is chucking sh*t at the television in frustration” contest. Duke 82, UNC 81, on a late Scheyer jumper. For some reason, I think UNC shows up and plays like they should have all season tonight. God bless it, I pray I’m wrong.
* “Lost”! If you don’t watch the show … at this point, no sense in trying to convert you. If you do watch and haven’t seen this week’s episode, feel free to skip this section. Only 12 hours and 11 episodes of television’s finest show to go. Sad. Tragic. Here’s my thoughts on this week’s Sayid centric episode:
The last five minutes were the most action packed, jaw dropping, “holy f*cking sh*t” five minutes I think the show has delivered in years. You go from the calm, revealing Sayid / Dogan conversation … to all of a sudden, a double homicide, Sayid standing on the steps to the pool with the blood dripping off the knife, and Ben rushing the room as Smokey is wreaking havoc … and Ben is scared sh*tless by Sayid. Then, the final moments, as Sayid and Crazy Claire walk out to join Fake Locke … and Kate is with them.
One thing though that I caught, or at least I think I caught – everyone has been focused on Dogan’s comment to Sayid that “you have to stab (Fake Locke) BEFORE he says a word. Once he talks, he’s won”. Fake Locke said “Hello, Sayid” right before Sayid stabbed him. Go figure, the stab didn’t work. And everyone now is like “well, Dogan lied, he knew Fake Locke couldn’t be killed and hoped that he’d kill Sayid”.
My response was the exact opposite. I think Dogan was being truthful. So go back and watch that final scene again – Fake Locke does not say ONE word to Kate. Just an expression. So if Dogan is correct, that you can take Fake Locke out before he speaks, is Kate still a candidate to end his reign of good / evil? (I still don’t think Fake Locke is “evil incarnate”, as Dogan put it).
For the first time this season, I cared more (and liked more) the on-Island action more than the flash sideways action. Not that the flash sideways wasn’t interesting – it was. But for the first time this year, I actually cared about what was going on, on the Island. Well, that’s not fair – I was intrigued with the Cave, with the Lighthouse, and with Sawyer’s drunken remembrance of Juliet. But for the first time, the Island stuff drew me in. Finally, we’re getting a point and a purpose to the on-Island stuff.
* I see si.com rated the MLB GM’s, and our guy came in dead last. In a related development, single game tickets just went on sale this morning, and I am not within 4 miles of a Ticketmaster location right now. I have zero, zip, nada, absolutely no interest in this upcoming baseball season. It’s a very strange feeling. Usually I’m counting down the minutes to baseball season. Now? The first game I attend might be my cousin’s birthday bash in Milwaukee in the middle of June.
(OK, I know, I’ll at least go for a tailgate or five in May and early June. I am ALWAYS up for a day spent in 85 degree sunshine, especially when vodka tonics, beer pong, losing yet again to DJ at washers, and/or ladder toss are involved. But actually enter the stadium? That might be mid-June. Sad, but true).
* I just saw a commercial for sugardaddie.com. Normally I’m not one to overreact to our allegedly crumbling society, because I don’t think anything is occurring today that didn’t occur 500 years ago. The only difference is in media coverage of events. But wow. Sugardaddie.com. I hope that’s some kind of a new cultural rock bottom.
* Its gonna be 60 here in KC today. Pushing 60 tomorrow. And yet, I plan to spend both days watching college hoops inside. For the first time in a long time, I really, really, really miss the deck …
Friday, February 19, 2010
friday's ramblings
Brian Boitano would be proud.
Last night, Evan Lysacek became the first non-Russian to win the men's figure skating gold medal since ... Brian Boitano, in Calgary 22 years ago.
Between the Olympics, college hoops, two tremendous NBA showdowns between four championship contenders, and an epic "Survivor" tribal council, its a wonder I'm functioning today. But anyways, here's Friday's Findings:
* the thing I loved the most about Evan's gold medal winning performance? The fist pumps at the end. When he knew he'd nailed the performance, and is there at center ice, doing the double fist pump and shouting "yes! yes! yes!" Like me after a great Chiefs play. I love it.
* men's curling falls to 0-4. On the bright side, the sooner they're eliminated, the sooner they can have some fun with that 14-1 ratio of condoms to athletes.
* the morning after, and the BuKCs deals yesterday look even better than they did at the time. GM John Hammond did a tremendous job yesterday, picking up a solid starting two in Salmons, importing a decent defender in Ivey, and gaining not one, not two, but three! second round picks over the next three years. In addition, the BuKCs can swap firsts with Chicago this year if the Bulls pick is outside the top 10. Solid, solid effort.
And yeah, I know, you don't build in the NBA with second round picks, but at least now the BuKCs have ammunition to trade up in round one over the next three years (or trade back into the bottom of round one) thanks to having six second round selections.
* The 'Cuse holds off Georgetown. Always a good thing to sweep your hated rival.
* Intriguing night on the bubble. Minnesota stopped the bleeding and got a huge blowout win over co-leader Wisconsin. Marquette embarrassed themselves in a humbling loss at home to Pitt. Mississippi choked at home against Vanderbilt. Florida got a win it needed over Auburn. Cal got rolled by Oregon State. The next three weeks are gonna be entertaining. I just hope the Selection Committee sees these power six schools sh*tting all over themselves, and decides "you know what, we're better off taking a top two school from a mid major conference, than we are taking a team that finished 8th in the SEC".
* Huge weekend of college hoops upcoming. Its Bracket Buster weekend on the ESPN Family of Networks. Again, Selection Committee, please: the teams getting their shot at national exposure this weekend are FAR better selections than the 9th place finisher in the Big East. NOBODY outside of Cincinnati wants to see a 18-13 Bearcats team get in over a 25-7 Wichita State team or a 30 win Cornell team that nearly beat KU in Lawrence and is running away with the Ivy League.
* Best games / most intriguing games / games I just want to watch:
Colorado at KU (3pm Saturday, 38 the Spot). Guess its time to dust off the "Picture Quality on 38 the Spot Sucks" Facebook page. KU hasn't looked great at home against two doormats (Nebraska, Iowa State) the last couple weeks. And they needed overtime to win in Boulder last month. With a backloaded difficult closing stretch (at OSU / vs KSU / at MU) awaiting the next two weeks, I'd like to see the Hawks jump out to a 20 point lead at halftime and win something like 90-55.
Tennessee at South Carolina (12:30 Saturday, no local TV). South Carolina needs this win. Badly. Especially coming off the proverbial "crapping the pants" defeat at Arkansas earlier this week.
Baylor at Oklahoma State (12:30 Saturday, 38 the Spot). Oklahoma State needs this win. Badly. They were the last team in on Bracketology this week.
UNC at Boston College (11am Saturday, CBS). Can UNC inch one step closer to arguably the most humiliating, pathetic, sh*t-tacular title defense in history? God I hope so. Go Eagles Go!
Florida at Mississippi (11am Saturday, no local TV). Potential play-in game?
Xavier at Charlotte (1pm Saturday, no local TV). Big A10 game between two solid contenders for the tournament.
Missouri at Nebraska (5pm Saturday, Metro Sports). Tigers House of Horrors. They can't afford to screw up the three "easy" games left, and this is one of them.
Villanova at Pitt (11am Sunday, CBS). Rematch of one of the best Regional Finals in history. Possible Big East championship on the line as well.
* Two tremendous NBA games last night. Boston holds off LA in Staples. I know the Lakers were Kobe-less, but the Celtics needed this game, if only to prove to themselves that they still have the talent to beat anyone on any given night. Could be a win that rights the ship, so to speak. And the Nuggets / Cavs, holy God. That is the NBA at its finest. That game (118-116 Nuggets in OT) is why I freaking love the NBA. LBJ had 43. Carmelo had 40, including a contested game winner from 20 feet as time expired. Give me a game with both teams well over 100 any day of the week over a 59-55 Big 10 (plus one) slugfest.
* The road to the playoffs is officially underway now for the BuKCs. 30 games left. Trailing Chicago by 1 1/2. The playoff odds at espn.com still have the BuKCs stealing the eight seed, but not by much. Games like tonight (at Detroit) are games the BuKCs simply have to win. You can't whiz away layup wins like the Pistons if you expect to be playing come "40 Games in 40 Nights" time.
* The new season of "Survivor" has been awesome so far. Last night's episode was really good. (If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to skip this paragraph). You open with Boston Rob of all people collapsing under the strain of stress and a killer flu epidemic. He was literally foaming at the mouth, he was so out of it. Fortunately, he recovered, and helped rally the Villains to win immunity again ... which led to an epic, absolutely epic, meltdown on the Heroes side with James and Stephenie trading verbal assaults all the way through the torch being snuffed out. If you checked out on "Survivor" a while ago (like I did), you might want to come back this season. Last year drew me back in, and this year's been even better. (You can catch up at cbs.com, or, considering you're only two episodes in, you really haven't missed much up to this point, so join early-stream).
* OK, time to deal with the Event of the Day, I guess. The Eldrick T. Woods presser.
My thought on this whole sordid affair is basically this:
Who cares?
Sure, as someone that despises Eldrick T. Woods, I'm kind of getting a high out of watching his world implode. But what exactly did Eldrick T. Woods do to deserve the public scorn, the backlash against him?
So he cheated on his wife with numerous women. OK. What concern is that of ours? I don't mean to belittle infidelity, which is certainly a serious thing. But isn't it a PRIVATE serious thing? Or at least it should be? Eldrick T. Woods didn't do one thing that millions of people aren't doing, and that any one of us wouldn't at least seriously contemplate doing if we were in his position.
Seriously, what did Eldrick T. Woods do that justifies apologizing to the paying public? He didn't kill someone while driving drunk and/or high (Donte Stallworth, Leonard Little). He didn't use illegal, banned substances and then lie before a Congressional grand jury (Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, to name a few). He didn't kill a teammate because of driving recklessly (Dany Heatley). He didn't beat his wife (Jim Brown). He didn't get arrested with over 340 lbs of weed in a truck he was driving (Nate Newton). He didn't get arrested for soliciting "self employed models", doing lines of coke, dropping the "Do You Know Who I Am" blast at cops, and most recently, face a multi-million dollar lawsuit for raping a chick (Michael Irvin). He didn't run an illegal gambling ring that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of pit bulls (Michael Vick). He didn't plow into a cop writing him a ticket (Randy Moss). All those athletes continue to earn a living in the sport that made them famous, and for the most part, the American public couldn't give a rat's ass. And yet EVERY SINGLE ONE of the incidents above is FAR worse in my book than getting going down on a cocktail waitress in a church parking lot.
Break the law, even on multiple occasions, and we the sports public forgive you. Cheat on your wife, and sorry pal, you don't deserve a second chance? Huh? What f*cked up sense of logic is that?
Again, I'm not attempting to paste over what Eldrick T. did. I personally think cheating is the most pathetic thing a person can do. It indicates a complete lack of self-control, and a complete disregard for your significant other. Its the most self-centered act a person can commit. But if the worst thing a guy does is cheat, I can live with that. Eldrick T. doesn't need to apologize to me. Or to anyone else not in his immediate family and circle of friends. That's why today's presser was so pointless. He's apologizing to people he doesn't need to apologize to.
The worst thing out of today though, is that he continues to come off as the self-centered egotistical arrogant prick I've always believed him to be. This presser wasn't about seeking forgiveness or getting back into the public's good graces. It was all about Eldrick T. Woods, his (still) completely out of control ego, and his belief that the world should (still) cater to his every wish and demand. "Leave my family out of this". Too late, Eldrick. You drug them into it with your "irresponsible and reckless behavior", to borrow your own words.
I hope for his wife and kid's sake, that whatever rehabilitation he is going through works. As a golf fan, I hope he comes back to the sport as good as he ever was, and the sooner the better.
(And I still want to know how someone can not be addicted to sex. The lingering question in the room, and nobody has an answer ...)
Last night, Evan Lysacek became the first non-Russian to win the men's figure skating gold medal since ... Brian Boitano, in Calgary 22 years ago.
Between the Olympics, college hoops, two tremendous NBA showdowns between four championship contenders, and an epic "Survivor" tribal council, its a wonder I'm functioning today. But anyways, here's Friday's Findings:
* the thing I loved the most about Evan's gold medal winning performance? The fist pumps at the end. When he knew he'd nailed the performance, and is there at center ice, doing the double fist pump and shouting "yes! yes! yes!" Like me after a great Chiefs play. I love it.
* men's curling falls to 0-4. On the bright side, the sooner they're eliminated, the sooner they can have some fun with that 14-1 ratio of condoms to athletes.
* the morning after, and the BuKCs deals yesterday look even better than they did at the time. GM John Hammond did a tremendous job yesterday, picking up a solid starting two in Salmons, importing a decent defender in Ivey, and gaining not one, not two, but three! second round picks over the next three years. In addition, the BuKCs can swap firsts with Chicago this year if the Bulls pick is outside the top 10. Solid, solid effort.
And yeah, I know, you don't build in the NBA with second round picks, but at least now the BuKCs have ammunition to trade up in round one over the next three years (or trade back into the bottom of round one) thanks to having six second round selections.
* The 'Cuse holds off Georgetown. Always a good thing to sweep your hated rival.
* Intriguing night on the bubble. Minnesota stopped the bleeding and got a huge blowout win over co-leader Wisconsin. Marquette embarrassed themselves in a humbling loss at home to Pitt. Mississippi choked at home against Vanderbilt. Florida got a win it needed over Auburn. Cal got rolled by Oregon State. The next three weeks are gonna be entertaining. I just hope the Selection Committee sees these power six schools sh*tting all over themselves, and decides "you know what, we're better off taking a top two school from a mid major conference, than we are taking a team that finished 8th in the SEC".
* Huge weekend of college hoops upcoming. Its Bracket Buster weekend on the ESPN Family of Networks. Again, Selection Committee, please: the teams getting their shot at national exposure this weekend are FAR better selections than the 9th place finisher in the Big East. NOBODY outside of Cincinnati wants to see a 18-13 Bearcats team get in over a 25-7 Wichita State team or a 30 win Cornell team that nearly beat KU in Lawrence and is running away with the Ivy League.
* Best games / most intriguing games / games I just want to watch:
Colorado at KU (3pm Saturday, 38 the Spot). Guess its time to dust off the "Picture Quality on 38 the Spot Sucks" Facebook page. KU hasn't looked great at home against two doormats (Nebraska, Iowa State) the last couple weeks. And they needed overtime to win in Boulder last month. With a backloaded difficult closing stretch (at OSU / vs KSU / at MU) awaiting the next two weeks, I'd like to see the Hawks jump out to a 20 point lead at halftime and win something like 90-55.
Tennessee at South Carolina (12:30 Saturday, no local TV). South Carolina needs this win. Badly. Especially coming off the proverbial "crapping the pants" defeat at Arkansas earlier this week.
Baylor at Oklahoma State (12:30 Saturday, 38 the Spot). Oklahoma State needs this win. Badly. They were the last team in on Bracketology this week.
UNC at Boston College (11am Saturday, CBS). Can UNC inch one step closer to arguably the most humiliating, pathetic, sh*t-tacular title defense in history? God I hope so. Go Eagles Go!
Florida at Mississippi (11am Saturday, no local TV). Potential play-in game?
Xavier at Charlotte (1pm Saturday, no local TV). Big A10 game between two solid contenders for the tournament.
Missouri at Nebraska (5pm Saturday, Metro Sports). Tigers House of Horrors. They can't afford to screw up the three "easy" games left, and this is one of them.
Villanova at Pitt (11am Sunday, CBS). Rematch of one of the best Regional Finals in history. Possible Big East championship on the line as well.
* Two tremendous NBA games last night. Boston holds off LA in Staples. I know the Lakers were Kobe-less, but the Celtics needed this game, if only to prove to themselves that they still have the talent to beat anyone on any given night. Could be a win that rights the ship, so to speak. And the Nuggets / Cavs, holy God. That is the NBA at its finest. That game (118-116 Nuggets in OT) is why I freaking love the NBA. LBJ had 43. Carmelo had 40, including a contested game winner from 20 feet as time expired. Give me a game with both teams well over 100 any day of the week over a 59-55 Big 10 (plus one) slugfest.
* The road to the playoffs is officially underway now for the BuKCs. 30 games left. Trailing Chicago by 1 1/2. The playoff odds at espn.com still have the BuKCs stealing the eight seed, but not by much. Games like tonight (at Detroit) are games the BuKCs simply have to win. You can't whiz away layup wins like the Pistons if you expect to be playing come "40 Games in 40 Nights" time.
* The new season of "Survivor" has been awesome so far. Last night's episode was really good. (If you haven't seen it yet, feel free to skip this paragraph). You open with Boston Rob of all people collapsing under the strain of stress and a killer flu epidemic. He was literally foaming at the mouth, he was so out of it. Fortunately, he recovered, and helped rally the Villains to win immunity again ... which led to an epic, absolutely epic, meltdown on the Heroes side with James and Stephenie trading verbal assaults all the way through the torch being snuffed out. If you checked out on "Survivor" a while ago (like I did), you might want to come back this season. Last year drew me back in, and this year's been even better. (You can catch up at cbs.com, or, considering you're only two episodes in, you really haven't missed much up to this point, so join early-stream).
* OK, time to deal with the Event of the Day, I guess. The Eldrick T. Woods presser.
My thought on this whole sordid affair is basically this:
Who cares?
Sure, as someone that despises Eldrick T. Woods, I'm kind of getting a high out of watching his world implode. But what exactly did Eldrick T. Woods do to deserve the public scorn, the backlash against him?
So he cheated on his wife with numerous women. OK. What concern is that of ours? I don't mean to belittle infidelity, which is certainly a serious thing. But isn't it a PRIVATE serious thing? Or at least it should be? Eldrick T. Woods didn't do one thing that millions of people aren't doing, and that any one of us wouldn't at least seriously contemplate doing if we were in his position.
Seriously, what did Eldrick T. Woods do that justifies apologizing to the paying public? He didn't kill someone while driving drunk and/or high (Donte Stallworth, Leonard Little). He didn't use illegal, banned substances and then lie before a Congressional grand jury (Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, to name a few). He didn't kill a teammate because of driving recklessly (Dany Heatley). He didn't beat his wife (Jim Brown). He didn't get arrested with over 340 lbs of weed in a truck he was driving (Nate Newton). He didn't get arrested for soliciting "self employed models", doing lines of coke, dropping the "Do You Know Who I Am" blast at cops, and most recently, face a multi-million dollar lawsuit for raping a chick (Michael Irvin). He didn't run an illegal gambling ring that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of pit bulls (Michael Vick). He didn't plow into a cop writing him a ticket (Randy Moss). All those athletes continue to earn a living in the sport that made them famous, and for the most part, the American public couldn't give a rat's ass. And yet EVERY SINGLE ONE of the incidents above is FAR worse in my book than getting going down on a cocktail waitress in a church parking lot.
Break the law, even on multiple occasions, and we the sports public forgive you. Cheat on your wife, and sorry pal, you don't deserve a second chance? Huh? What f*cked up sense of logic is that?
Again, I'm not attempting to paste over what Eldrick T. did. I personally think cheating is the most pathetic thing a person can do. It indicates a complete lack of self-control, and a complete disregard for your significant other. Its the most self-centered act a person can commit. But if the worst thing a guy does is cheat, I can live with that. Eldrick T. doesn't need to apologize to me. Or to anyone else not in his immediate family and circle of friends. That's why today's presser was so pointless. He's apologizing to people he doesn't need to apologize to.
The worst thing out of today though, is that he continues to come off as the self-centered egotistical arrogant prick I've always believed him to be. This presser wasn't about seeking forgiveness or getting back into the public's good graces. It was all about Eldrick T. Woods, his (still) completely out of control ego, and his belief that the world should (still) cater to his every wish and demand. "Leave my family out of this". Too late, Eldrick. You drug them into it with your "irresponsible and reckless behavior", to borrow your own words.
I hope for his wife and kid's sake, that whatever rehabilitation he is going through works. As a golf fan, I hope he comes back to the sport as good as he ever was, and the sooner the better.
(And I still want to know how someone can not be addicted to sex. The lingering question in the room, and nobody has an answer ...)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
thursday's thoughts
Welcome to Lent! Ugh. This year, I'm giving up soda. No Diet Coke for me for the next 45 days. Yeah, I should be extremely pleasant to be around the next few weeks. With that in mind, let's hit Thursday's Thinkings ...
* everyone's favorite cheater, Eldrick T. Woods, is scheduled to address the media tomorrow. Of course, being Eldrick T., the single most self-centered person not named "Ben" to ever walk the planet, he will (a) only allow a select few media in, (b) will take no questions, and (c) will lie through his teeth about how "sorry he is" and how he "had an addiciton". (As a side note, and this bugs the living hell out of me, my side note is this: how can you possibly NOT be addicted to sex? How is that possible? Its not like taking an ecstacy pill and deciding "you know what, as fun as this is, I'm not sure this is for me". Seriously, how do you recover from a "sex addiction"? Do you no longer have sex? Do you limit yourself to a couple marathon sessions a month? Ban yourself from "reputable singles site" by using something like the 1-888-BETSOFF number bans problem gamblers from area casinos? Someone needs to explain this better. I admit I confuse easily, but seriously, how can someone NOT be addicted to sex? How is this possible?)
Honestly though, I'm glad Eldrick T. is (almost) back. Sports isn't as much fun unless you're rooting AGAINST someone, as well as for someone. I freaking hate Eldrick T. Woods with a passion. In case you didn't know.
* huge, huge, hu-yuge win in Columbia last night. Huge. If MU takes care of business in the games it should win (vs Colorado, at Nebraska, at Iowa State), they're in as at least a 6. Congrats to Mike Anderson and his squad for exceeding any reasonable expectation level. Dammit, I hate seeing rivals competently coached. I freaking hate it. Come back Quin! You're missed!
* Speaking of being missed, I'm already missing Ron Franklin, and its still four weeks until he retires. Rethink it Ron! Big XII hoops and football will never be the same without you!
* Horrid night for the bubble. Northwestern seriously screwed the pooch last night, losing to Big 10 (plus one) doormat Penn State. South Carolina got clocked in Fayetteville by a bad Arkansas team. Rhode Island lost to suddenly surging and intriguing St. Louis. Louisville barely followed up its huge win in the Dome on Sunday, doing its damndest to give the game to a undermanned Notre Dame squad before finally holding on in double overtime.
(The unsung note in this whole "will the A10 get six in" ... is "will the A10 get seven in"? Look at where St. Louis is (17-8 overall, 8-3, tied 3rd A10 standings). Look at their last 10 (7-3, W5, including W's over Rhode Island and Dayton), and they still host Xavier and Temple, in addition to a potential play-in finale at Dayton. Intriguing team to keep an eye on, especially if the power six conference bubble teams keep crapping all over themselves. And yes, I'm fully aware a mid-major conference ain't getting seven teams in. But certainly five is realistic, and six if, again, the power conference bubble teams keep tripping over themselves. Like with the Valley back in 2006, they got five in and it should have been six, Missouri State got raped by the committee. And of course, two Valley teams reached the Sweet 16 that year, proving once again that a solid mid-major team is almost always a better selection pick than an average power six team.)
* Big Bubble games tonight: Marquette hosting Pitt, a chance for a huge statement win for the Warriors. Minnesota hosting Wisconsin in a virtual must-win game. Florida hosting Auburn in the same situation, win or prepare to try to win four times in four days in the conference tourney. And not even God can figure out what games matter in the horrid Pac 10, but if Cal doesn't win the conference tourney, you have to figure they're the Pac 10's only shot for an at-large, so it might behoove the Bears to win tonight at Oregon State.
* No, I haven't forgotten everyone's favorite ongoing storyline. (OK, my favorite ongoing storyline) Will North Carolina qualify for the NIT!!! The Heels now sit at 14-12, 3-8 ACC following Tuesday's demolition in Atlanta to Georgia Tech. The Heels have to go 2-4 in their last six to reach the .500 qualification. They close at BC / vs FSU / at Wake / vs Miami / at Duke / ACC first round game. Realistically, you can write off roadies at Wake and Duke, they ain't winning those, especially at Duke on Senior Night for my boy Jon Scheyer. Florida State is in a dogfight for an at-large berth (19-7 overall, 7-5 conf), they'll give UNC all they can handle. And yes, BC is down, but they've knocked off Clemson at home, nearly beat Duke last weekend, and scared Wake and Virginia Tech on the road. Even the worst of teams should be able to handle Miami. I'll say they finish 2-3 at best, putting them at 16-15 entering the ACC tourney. They're looking at opening in the 8/9 or 7/10 game, likely against Virginia (currently 8th) or Georgia Tech (currently 7th). Carolina is 0-3 against those two teams this year. Dare we dream? That UNC isn't even good enough to qualify for the NIT?
* Speaking of everyone's favorite items ... Steve's Mancrush on Jon Scheyer everyone!!! Yeah, he whizzed on the court for 35 minutes last night, shooting only 3-15 overall, scoring 15 points. But -- but! -- he hit a huge, (bill raftery voice) ONIONS! three pointer with the score at 58-57 with a little under 6 to go, then drained another three right after that to push the lead to five. He then followed that up with a steal, and went 4 for 4 at the line down the stretch, to help close out Duke's escape in Miami. Its the "Sherron Collins" theory -- the good ones don't necessarily have a huge game every night, but they usually come through when it matters. Collins looked like dog crap for 37 minutes Monday night, and yet he took over down the stretch. (Side note: Bob Knight, sweet Jesus, what an idiot broadcaster. Openly questioning why KU was milking the clock, up three, with a minute left. Gee Bob, I can't imagine why you'd bleed the shot clock there. And poor Brent Musburger. He deserves much better than the General as his broadcasting partner.)
* I don't care what it cost. The Knicks HAD to make the McGrady deal. When every move you've made for 18 months has been with one stated goal in mind (have a sh*tload of cap room for free agency 2010), and the Rockets not only are willing to give you a $23 million expiring deal, but you can ALSO move the anvil-like contract of Jared Jeffries, you HAVE to do it. You HAVE to. You can't commit to a process and then wimp out four months early.
And yeah, I am fully aware that if LBJ doesn't come to New York, the entire plan is a failure, and there is no future in the immediate horizon. To which I say, so? The Knicks haven't had a future, or hope, or any reasonable playoff hopes, let alone championship hopes, since Jeff Van Gundy and Dave Checketts were calling the shots pre 9/11. The Knicks HAD to make this deal, even if it costs them essentially two first rounders, and three lottery picks. They HAD to do it.
* Best of luck to George Karl, the Nuggets coach now battling throat cancer. I've always liked Karl, dating back to his fun-as-hell Sonics teams in the mid 1990s. Here's hoping for the best George.
* Apparently pitchers and catchers reported in Surprise yesterday. Dusty tried to engage me in a Royals conversation at lunch, and I have to be honest: I couldn't identify four starters on this team. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I have NEVER been less excited for a baseball season, than I am for this one.
* One correction from Tuesday: Seth Davis writes for si.com. He works for CBS, which owns sportsline.com. Got my .com's mixed up. Sorry about that.
* Team USA wins their opener against the Swiss. Norway today. Canada awaits Sunday in a big-time gut-check game. More appointment television.
* Curling is the most addictive sport on television. Put it this way -- you know its addicting when a certain former roommate and I are counting down the minutes to lunch, so we can duck out for an hour, head back to his place, and fire up the TV to watch curling.
* The men's figure skating Tuesday night was pretty damned impressive. The evil Russian Plushenko has a .55 point lead on the good American Even Lysacek entering tonight's finale, with plenty of drama on tap. (USA's Johnny Weir is in striking distance in 6th). Hopefully Evan takes the words of everyone's favorite Colorado residents to heart tonight:
"What would Brian Boitano do
If he was here right now?
He'd make a plan and he'd follow through!
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!
When Brian Boitano was in the Olympics
Skating for the gold,
He did two saucow's and a triple lutz
While wearing a blindfold!
When Brian Boitano was in the Alps
Fighting Grizzley Bears
He used his magical firebreath
And saved the maidens fair ...
So what would Brian Boitano do
If he was here today?
I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two!!!
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!!!"
Kick an ass or two tonight guys. (And gals. Except for that Lindsey Jacobellis, she pisses me off for some reason. Showboating nobody. How about you actually win something before making a spectacle of yourself, ok?)
* Yes, I am way too into the Winter Olympics. But, I did manage to carve out a couple hours Tuesday night for ...
* Lost! My thoughts on the Locke-centric episode "The Substitute":
The Island story got better. Unlike last week's episode, there seemed to be a purpose to it this week. Plus we didn't waste 20 minutes debating the ethics of torture. Good God, they cannot wrap up the Sayid story soon enough. Just put a f*cking bullet in his brain and be done with it. We get it. He was supposed to die in the pool and he didn't. So finish the job already. Good grief, there (was? is?) a friggin nuclear bomb on the Island, you mean someone doesn't have a .45 available that can get the job done?
Frank Lapidus is just about the funniest character this show's ever developed. His jokes at the burial of Locke's corpse was hysterical. Ditto Ben's eulogy for Locke body. "Sorry I killed you". Classic.
We sure are seeing a lot of Rose this year. Considering she was a back story character for most of the first five seasons, I wonder if that means something ...
I don't think Smokey is the cave's owner. I think he's its co-owner. Notice all the games of chess and backgammon, the fact that there's a table with two chairs, and of course, the white and black rock on the scales of justice. You gotta figure he shared that place with Jacob. Having said that ...
I think the huge reveal, that the numbers do have a purpose, I believe Smokey / Fake Locke when he says that part of the cave was all Jacob. I also think Sawyer is running the con jobs of all con jobs on Fake Locke, when choosing the third option Fake Locke laid out. Sawyer doesn't want to go home. What is he going home to? A life of crime, on the run from the law? Its one reason why he was so willing to jump out of the Oceanus 6 helicopter and stay behind when the thing was tanking at the end of season 4. There's nothing in that life for him. The Island is his life.
Speaking of the numbers, I also liked how its still ambiguous. Notice Smokey / Fake Locke crossed out Locke (because he's dead). I also thought I saw him cross out Sayid (indicating he's gonzo soon, hopefully). But we don't know if 42 is Jin or Sun (or the most interesting theory I've heard, that its their kid), and 23 could be Jack ... but it could be Aaron or Claire, both of whom are from the Shephard line. Plus, Shephard = 23. Even the most non-religious among us know that Psalm 23 is "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want".
I also like how they're showing Sawyer's grief for Juliet. If I just lost the love of my life, I'd probably go on a whiskey bender and forget to put on my pants too. Wait, that's not true -- I'd go on a vodka bender, not whiskey. But I'd definitely forget my pants.
I still love the flash-sideways a helluva lot more than the on-Island stuff though. Everything about Locke's new reality won me over last night, right down to him picking up the phone, calling Jack on that one-in-a-million chance that maybe he could be healed ... and then deciding the 999,999 out of 1,000,000 odds were his reality. His destiny if you will, was to be in that chair. He knew it. Something in him told him not to change what didn't need to be changed.
Only fourteen hours of appointment television to go. And I gotta hand it to Team Darlton -- we wanted answers? We got 'em, at a shockingly fast pace. MIB = Fake Locke = smoke monster. Smokey is the one who's been appearing as the dead previous characters, to manipulates the Losties to do what he wants (i.e. as Alex to get Ben to kill Jacob, as Christian to get Locke to turn the wheel and stop the time travel). We find out what the numbers mean, or at least why they're important, what they stand for. We're getting both a (so far, completely unsatisfying) conclusion to Island life, and we're getting a (so far, completely captivating) look at what could have been. Season six so far gets the Steve Seal of Approval.
* Late breaking news -- the BuKCs have made a deal! John Salmons coming from Chicago to Milwaukee. BuKCs give up Hakim Warrick (thank God, I'm sick of cheering for that bastard) and Joe Alexander (a spectacular bust as the number eight pick two years ago). So we weaken the team we're chasing for the last playoff berth, strengthen ourselves, AND carve out some more room under the cap to ensure we don't enter luxury tax territory come July when the cap and tax go down again? Steve Seal of Approval.
* And another deal -- BuKCs send Jodie Meeks and filler to the 76ers for filler and a 2nd round pick. Basically, the BuKCs get a do-over, since Meeks was a 2nd rounder last year. So looking ahead, you have two key pieces in place for the next decade (C - Bogut, PG - Jennings). You have Redd's expiring contract that you can deal next spring. And now, you've got three picks in a pretty decent draft, two of them inside the top 40. I like the direction this is headed. (Especially if one of those picks turns into a certain 6'5" guard who happens to wear number 30 for the Blue Devils).
* A few other things I forgot to mention Tuesday, that either I remember now, or were pointed out to me:
Dick Button's priceless interview with Al Michaels. They haul footage out from the vault of Michaels and Button at Michaels' first Olympics, in 1972. Button sits patiently through the clip, and then drops the "even back then, your rug looked bad" blast at Al. Al was seething. I was rolling on the floor, trying to avoid whatever that thing on Al's head is. Seriously, Al. Give Joe Biden a call. He can put you in touch with a decent plug-ologist.
The new "We Are the World" is ... uuh ... trying to be respectful here ... its a gigantic pile of guano. Only Ace Ventura isn't out to save it. Look it, I appreciate the effort and the reasoning behind the remake, but why in the hell does Hollywood (or any industry for that matter) keep screwing with the classics? Why? I don't want a "We Are the World" without Lionel Richie opening, without Bruce and Ray Charles rocking out near the end, and without Dan Aykroyd somehow scoring a starring role!
And don't even get me started on this A-Team movie. Another original that can never, ever, EVER be topped. Although speaking of the A-Team, I was driving home from bowling last night, and landed on America Right (conservative talk show station) on the XM Radio. The dude's show that was on was Rusty Humphries, who I have never listened to a day in my life. But Rusty wasn't on. Oh no. In his place last night was the one, the only ... Howling Mad Murdock! Yup, THE Dwight Schultz was guest hosting. And I gotta admit, he was pretty damned entertaining. I think we can put Dwight in the rare 8.5% of conservatives who actually believe what they vote, as opposed to the 91.5% that vote and talk and act conservative because some shyster behind a pulpit told them to do it.
(And yes, I listen to conservative talk radio. For three reasons. One, its entertaining as hell. Two, you can't have your own beliefs reinforced unless they're challenged. And three, I'm not completely off the reservation, there are some issues I lean to the right on.)
Well hell, now that I'm off into politics, its been a week since I offended anyone, so ...
* Joe Biden vs Dick Cheney! Poor Dick. The world has passed him by, he has zero credibility to anyone with a functioning brain, yet he still thinks he's relevant and has a point to make. Dick, pal, take it from me. You don't. Sure, Biden is the class clown, but that makes Cheney the class's arrogant prick that raises his hand for every question whether he knows the answer or not. Everyone loves the clown, even if he's a little off. Nobody loves that guy who always butts in.
* I had to laugh at the Politico article that noted "for the most part, Democrats seem content to tie Republicans to (Dick) Cheney ..." Really? Its about time someone at the DNC uses the brains God gave them.
* KCMO should absolutely close half of its schools, as proposed by whoever the hell is the latest in the rotating door of superintendents. The Star is dead on accurate (for once) on this issue. Forget the fact that the KCMO school district is a national joke, that other than "I can't afford to live anywhere else", there is no valid reason to send your kids to a KCMO school, and even ignore the ridiculous program schools the district offers that ultimately do nothing to prepare a kid for the real world. The bottom line is that district enrollment is down nearly 50% in the last 15 years. Those kids ain't coming back until you completely overhaul your failed system. Getting rid of the worst performing teachers, and shutting down the poorest performing schools, is a damned good place to start.
(And yes, I am strongly pro-NEA ... but at some point, enough is enough. We've all had teachers that had zero, zip, nada business being in the teaching profession. I recall one my junior year of high school, our English teacher, who admitted on day one that he was "dyslexic", that he "wasn't a disciplinarian", and that he "wanted to be friends" with his students. Oh, and from the "not even Steve can make this sh*t up" department -- he somehow got a stick rammed into his eye ... and didn't seek medical attention for it, because he believed that Jesus would heal him. Needless to say, that guy didn't last the year. Nor should he have. I mean seriously, a dyslexic person teaching junior English? How the hell does that happen? To say nothing of letting your eye rot from a stick poke. And yes, you're damned right we pranked the guy pretending to be from the American Dyslexic Society. How Jasson kept a straight face on that phone call I will never know. Oh, and we also always said his name backwards in honor of his disability. Mot Kcived. Oh my, am I spending a sh*t ton of time in pergatory someday ...)
* School decisions closer to home for me, the Hickman Mills district (which I live in) is closing one of the two high schools. In this case though, its a tough, tough call. On the one hand, Hickman Mills High is new, modern, has better facilities, yada yada yada. On the other hand, Ruskin has the history, and the sports complex. Flip a coin, I'm not sure there's a right or wrong decision to be made there.
* So a plane crashes into the IRS building in Austin, and authorities think it was intentional? No ...
* Bowling update: the irritating, annoying, grumpy old dude who wakes up pissed off at the world and goes downhill from there? He quit the league! So the fun quotient just went up by 3.44%! team tito split its games last night, taking game 2 and overall pin count. We're solidly in 8th place, solidly buried 13 games under .500. On the bright side, nobody has tossed a bowling ball in anger at a fellow teammate in two months, so we've got that going for us.
* dingy!
* finally, I'm a sucker for a good mind-boggling story, and msnbc.com had one this morning. There are approximately 7,000 athletes in the Olympic villages. Canadian authorities pre-ordered 100,000 condoms for the athletes, an astonishing nearly 14-1 ratio. That's insane enough. What more nuts ... is that there's an additional 20,000 condoms ready to be shipped in "in case they're needed". Holy Lord. I so missed my calling in life. I can be a curler! Pick me! Pick me! I swear, I can totally aim the rock and take it to the house ...
* everyone's favorite cheater, Eldrick T. Woods, is scheduled to address the media tomorrow. Of course, being Eldrick T., the single most self-centered person not named "Ben" to ever walk the planet, he will (a) only allow a select few media in, (b) will take no questions, and (c) will lie through his teeth about how "sorry he is" and how he "had an addiciton". (As a side note, and this bugs the living hell out of me, my side note is this: how can you possibly NOT be addicted to sex? How is that possible? Its not like taking an ecstacy pill and deciding "you know what, as fun as this is, I'm not sure this is for me". Seriously, how do you recover from a "sex addiction"? Do you no longer have sex? Do you limit yourself to a couple marathon sessions a month? Ban yourself from "reputable singles site" by using something like the 1-888-BETSOFF number bans problem gamblers from area casinos? Someone needs to explain this better. I admit I confuse easily, but seriously, how can someone NOT be addicted to sex? How is this possible?)
Honestly though, I'm glad Eldrick T. is (almost) back. Sports isn't as much fun unless you're rooting AGAINST someone, as well as for someone. I freaking hate Eldrick T. Woods with a passion. In case you didn't know.
* huge, huge, hu-yuge win in Columbia last night. Huge. If MU takes care of business in the games it should win (vs Colorado, at Nebraska, at Iowa State), they're in as at least a 6. Congrats to Mike Anderson and his squad for exceeding any reasonable expectation level. Dammit, I hate seeing rivals competently coached. I freaking hate it. Come back Quin! You're missed!
* Speaking of being missed, I'm already missing Ron Franklin, and its still four weeks until he retires. Rethink it Ron! Big XII hoops and football will never be the same without you!
* Horrid night for the bubble. Northwestern seriously screwed the pooch last night, losing to Big 10 (plus one) doormat Penn State. South Carolina got clocked in Fayetteville by a bad Arkansas team. Rhode Island lost to suddenly surging and intriguing St. Louis. Louisville barely followed up its huge win in the Dome on Sunday, doing its damndest to give the game to a undermanned Notre Dame squad before finally holding on in double overtime.
(The unsung note in this whole "will the A10 get six in" ... is "will the A10 get seven in"? Look at where St. Louis is (17-8 overall, 8-3, tied 3rd A10 standings). Look at their last 10 (7-3, W5, including W's over Rhode Island and Dayton), and they still host Xavier and Temple, in addition to a potential play-in finale at Dayton. Intriguing team to keep an eye on, especially if the power six conference bubble teams keep crapping all over themselves. And yes, I'm fully aware a mid-major conference ain't getting seven teams in. But certainly five is realistic, and six if, again, the power conference bubble teams keep tripping over themselves. Like with the Valley back in 2006, they got five in and it should have been six, Missouri State got raped by the committee. And of course, two Valley teams reached the Sweet 16 that year, proving once again that a solid mid-major team is almost always a better selection pick than an average power six team.)
* Big Bubble games tonight: Marquette hosting Pitt, a chance for a huge statement win for the Warriors. Minnesota hosting Wisconsin in a virtual must-win game. Florida hosting Auburn in the same situation, win or prepare to try to win four times in four days in the conference tourney. And not even God can figure out what games matter in the horrid Pac 10, but if Cal doesn't win the conference tourney, you have to figure they're the Pac 10's only shot for an at-large, so it might behoove the Bears to win tonight at Oregon State.
* No, I haven't forgotten everyone's favorite ongoing storyline. (OK, my favorite ongoing storyline) Will North Carolina qualify for the NIT!!! The Heels now sit at 14-12, 3-8 ACC following Tuesday's demolition in Atlanta to Georgia Tech. The Heels have to go 2-4 in their last six to reach the .500 qualification. They close at BC / vs FSU / at Wake / vs Miami / at Duke / ACC first round game. Realistically, you can write off roadies at Wake and Duke, they ain't winning those, especially at Duke on Senior Night for my boy Jon Scheyer. Florida State is in a dogfight for an at-large berth (19-7 overall, 7-5 conf), they'll give UNC all they can handle. And yes, BC is down, but they've knocked off Clemson at home, nearly beat Duke last weekend, and scared Wake and Virginia Tech on the road. Even the worst of teams should be able to handle Miami. I'll say they finish 2-3 at best, putting them at 16-15 entering the ACC tourney. They're looking at opening in the 8/9 or 7/10 game, likely against Virginia (currently 8th) or Georgia Tech (currently 7th). Carolina is 0-3 against those two teams this year. Dare we dream? That UNC isn't even good enough to qualify for the NIT?
* Speaking of everyone's favorite items ... Steve's Mancrush on Jon Scheyer everyone!!! Yeah, he whizzed on the court for 35 minutes last night, shooting only 3-15 overall, scoring 15 points. But -- but! -- he hit a huge, (bill raftery voice) ONIONS! three pointer with the score at 58-57 with a little under 6 to go, then drained another three right after that to push the lead to five. He then followed that up with a steal, and went 4 for 4 at the line down the stretch, to help close out Duke's escape in Miami. Its the "Sherron Collins" theory -- the good ones don't necessarily have a huge game every night, but they usually come through when it matters. Collins looked like dog crap for 37 minutes Monday night, and yet he took over down the stretch. (Side note: Bob Knight, sweet Jesus, what an idiot broadcaster. Openly questioning why KU was milking the clock, up three, with a minute left. Gee Bob, I can't imagine why you'd bleed the shot clock there. And poor Brent Musburger. He deserves much better than the General as his broadcasting partner.)
* I don't care what it cost. The Knicks HAD to make the McGrady deal. When every move you've made for 18 months has been with one stated goal in mind (have a sh*tload of cap room for free agency 2010), and the Rockets not only are willing to give you a $23 million expiring deal, but you can ALSO move the anvil-like contract of Jared Jeffries, you HAVE to do it. You HAVE to. You can't commit to a process and then wimp out four months early.
And yeah, I am fully aware that if LBJ doesn't come to New York, the entire plan is a failure, and there is no future in the immediate horizon. To which I say, so? The Knicks haven't had a future, or hope, or any reasonable playoff hopes, let alone championship hopes, since Jeff Van Gundy and Dave Checketts were calling the shots pre 9/11. The Knicks HAD to make this deal, even if it costs them essentially two first rounders, and three lottery picks. They HAD to do it.
* Best of luck to George Karl, the Nuggets coach now battling throat cancer. I've always liked Karl, dating back to his fun-as-hell Sonics teams in the mid 1990s. Here's hoping for the best George.
* Apparently pitchers and catchers reported in Surprise yesterday. Dusty tried to engage me in a Royals conversation at lunch, and I have to be honest: I couldn't identify four starters on this team. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I have NEVER been less excited for a baseball season, than I am for this one.
* One correction from Tuesday: Seth Davis writes for si.com. He works for CBS, which owns sportsline.com. Got my .com's mixed up. Sorry about that.
* Team USA wins their opener against the Swiss. Norway today. Canada awaits Sunday in a big-time gut-check game. More appointment television.
* Curling is the most addictive sport on television. Put it this way -- you know its addicting when a certain former roommate and I are counting down the minutes to lunch, so we can duck out for an hour, head back to his place, and fire up the TV to watch curling.
* The men's figure skating Tuesday night was pretty damned impressive. The evil Russian Plushenko has a .55 point lead on the good American Even Lysacek entering tonight's finale, with plenty of drama on tap. (USA's Johnny Weir is in striking distance in 6th). Hopefully Evan takes the words of everyone's favorite Colorado residents to heart tonight:
"What would Brian Boitano do
If he was here right now?
He'd make a plan and he'd follow through!
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!
When Brian Boitano was in the Olympics
Skating for the gold,
He did two saucow's and a triple lutz
While wearing a blindfold!
When Brian Boitano was in the Alps
Fighting Grizzley Bears
He used his magical firebreath
And saved the maidens fair ...
So what would Brian Boitano do
If he was here today?
I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two!!!
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!!!"
Kick an ass or two tonight guys. (And gals. Except for that Lindsey Jacobellis, she pisses me off for some reason. Showboating nobody. How about you actually win something before making a spectacle of yourself, ok?)
* Yes, I am way too into the Winter Olympics. But, I did manage to carve out a couple hours Tuesday night for ...
* Lost! My thoughts on the Locke-centric episode "The Substitute":
The Island story got better. Unlike last week's episode, there seemed to be a purpose to it this week. Plus we didn't waste 20 minutes debating the ethics of torture. Good God, they cannot wrap up the Sayid story soon enough. Just put a f*cking bullet in his brain and be done with it. We get it. He was supposed to die in the pool and he didn't. So finish the job already. Good grief, there (was? is?) a friggin nuclear bomb on the Island, you mean someone doesn't have a .45 available that can get the job done?
Frank Lapidus is just about the funniest character this show's ever developed. His jokes at the burial of Locke's corpse was hysterical. Ditto Ben's eulogy for Locke body. "Sorry I killed you". Classic.
We sure are seeing a lot of Rose this year. Considering she was a back story character for most of the first five seasons, I wonder if that means something ...
I don't think Smokey is the cave's owner. I think he's its co-owner. Notice all the games of chess and backgammon, the fact that there's a table with two chairs, and of course, the white and black rock on the scales of justice. You gotta figure he shared that place with Jacob. Having said that ...
I think the huge reveal, that the numbers do have a purpose, I believe Smokey / Fake Locke when he says that part of the cave was all Jacob. I also think Sawyer is running the con jobs of all con jobs on Fake Locke, when choosing the third option Fake Locke laid out. Sawyer doesn't want to go home. What is he going home to? A life of crime, on the run from the law? Its one reason why he was so willing to jump out of the Oceanus 6 helicopter and stay behind when the thing was tanking at the end of season 4. There's nothing in that life for him. The Island is his life.
Speaking of the numbers, I also liked how its still ambiguous. Notice Smokey / Fake Locke crossed out Locke (because he's dead). I also thought I saw him cross out Sayid (indicating he's gonzo soon, hopefully). But we don't know if 42 is Jin or Sun (or the most interesting theory I've heard, that its their kid), and 23 could be Jack ... but it could be Aaron or Claire, both of whom are from the Shephard line. Plus, Shephard = 23. Even the most non-religious among us know that Psalm 23 is "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want".
I also like how they're showing Sawyer's grief for Juliet. If I just lost the love of my life, I'd probably go on a whiskey bender and forget to put on my pants too. Wait, that's not true -- I'd go on a vodka bender, not whiskey. But I'd definitely forget my pants.
I still love the flash-sideways a helluva lot more than the on-Island stuff though. Everything about Locke's new reality won me over last night, right down to him picking up the phone, calling Jack on that one-in-a-million chance that maybe he could be healed ... and then deciding the 999,999 out of 1,000,000 odds were his reality. His destiny if you will, was to be in that chair. He knew it. Something in him told him not to change what didn't need to be changed.
Only fourteen hours of appointment television to go. And I gotta hand it to Team Darlton -- we wanted answers? We got 'em, at a shockingly fast pace. MIB = Fake Locke = smoke monster. Smokey is the one who's been appearing as the dead previous characters, to manipulates the Losties to do what he wants (i.e. as Alex to get Ben to kill Jacob, as Christian to get Locke to turn the wheel and stop the time travel). We find out what the numbers mean, or at least why they're important, what they stand for. We're getting both a (so far, completely unsatisfying) conclusion to Island life, and we're getting a (so far, completely captivating) look at what could have been. Season six so far gets the Steve Seal of Approval.
* Late breaking news -- the BuKCs have made a deal! John Salmons coming from Chicago to Milwaukee. BuKCs give up Hakim Warrick (thank God, I'm sick of cheering for that bastard) and Joe Alexander (a spectacular bust as the number eight pick two years ago). So we weaken the team we're chasing for the last playoff berth, strengthen ourselves, AND carve out some more room under the cap to ensure we don't enter luxury tax territory come July when the cap and tax go down again? Steve Seal of Approval.
* And another deal -- BuKCs send Jodie Meeks and filler to the 76ers for filler and a 2nd round pick. Basically, the BuKCs get a do-over, since Meeks was a 2nd rounder last year. So looking ahead, you have two key pieces in place for the next decade (C - Bogut, PG - Jennings). You have Redd's expiring contract that you can deal next spring. And now, you've got three picks in a pretty decent draft, two of them inside the top 40. I like the direction this is headed. (Especially if one of those picks turns into a certain 6'5" guard who happens to wear number 30 for the Blue Devils).
* A few other things I forgot to mention Tuesday, that either I remember now, or were pointed out to me:
Dick Button's priceless interview with Al Michaels. They haul footage out from the vault of Michaels and Button at Michaels' first Olympics, in 1972. Button sits patiently through the clip, and then drops the "even back then, your rug looked bad" blast at Al. Al was seething. I was rolling on the floor, trying to avoid whatever that thing on Al's head is. Seriously, Al. Give Joe Biden a call. He can put you in touch with a decent plug-ologist.
The new "We Are the World" is ... uuh ... trying to be respectful here ... its a gigantic pile of guano. Only Ace Ventura isn't out to save it. Look it, I appreciate the effort and the reasoning behind the remake, but why in the hell does Hollywood (or any industry for that matter) keep screwing with the classics? Why? I don't want a "We Are the World" without Lionel Richie opening, without Bruce and Ray Charles rocking out near the end, and without Dan Aykroyd somehow scoring a starring role!
And don't even get me started on this A-Team movie. Another original that can never, ever, EVER be topped. Although speaking of the A-Team, I was driving home from bowling last night, and landed on America Right (conservative talk show station) on the XM Radio. The dude's show that was on was Rusty Humphries, who I have never listened to a day in my life. But Rusty wasn't on. Oh no. In his place last night was the one, the only ... Howling Mad Murdock! Yup, THE Dwight Schultz was guest hosting. And I gotta admit, he was pretty damned entertaining. I think we can put Dwight in the rare 8.5% of conservatives who actually believe what they vote, as opposed to the 91.5% that vote and talk and act conservative because some shyster behind a pulpit told them to do it.
(And yes, I listen to conservative talk radio. For three reasons. One, its entertaining as hell. Two, you can't have your own beliefs reinforced unless they're challenged. And three, I'm not completely off the reservation, there are some issues I lean to the right on.)
Well hell, now that I'm off into politics, its been a week since I offended anyone, so ...
* Joe Biden vs Dick Cheney! Poor Dick. The world has passed him by, he has zero credibility to anyone with a functioning brain, yet he still thinks he's relevant and has a point to make. Dick, pal, take it from me. You don't. Sure, Biden is the class clown, but that makes Cheney the class's arrogant prick that raises his hand for every question whether he knows the answer or not. Everyone loves the clown, even if he's a little off. Nobody loves that guy who always butts in.
* I had to laugh at the Politico article that noted "for the most part, Democrats seem content to tie Republicans to (Dick) Cheney ..." Really? Its about time someone at the DNC uses the brains God gave them.
* KCMO should absolutely close half of its schools, as proposed by whoever the hell is the latest in the rotating door of superintendents. The Star is dead on accurate (for once) on this issue. Forget the fact that the KCMO school district is a national joke, that other than "I can't afford to live anywhere else", there is no valid reason to send your kids to a KCMO school, and even ignore the ridiculous program schools the district offers that ultimately do nothing to prepare a kid for the real world. The bottom line is that district enrollment is down nearly 50% in the last 15 years. Those kids ain't coming back until you completely overhaul your failed system. Getting rid of the worst performing teachers, and shutting down the poorest performing schools, is a damned good place to start.
(And yes, I am strongly pro-NEA ... but at some point, enough is enough. We've all had teachers that had zero, zip, nada business being in the teaching profession. I recall one my junior year of high school, our English teacher, who admitted on day one that he was "dyslexic", that he "wasn't a disciplinarian", and that he "wanted to be friends" with his students. Oh, and from the "not even Steve can make this sh*t up" department -- he somehow got a stick rammed into his eye ... and didn't seek medical attention for it, because he believed that Jesus would heal him. Needless to say, that guy didn't last the year. Nor should he have. I mean seriously, a dyslexic person teaching junior English? How the hell does that happen? To say nothing of letting your eye rot from a stick poke. And yes, you're damned right we pranked the guy pretending to be from the American Dyslexic Society. How Jasson kept a straight face on that phone call I will never know. Oh, and we also always said his name backwards in honor of his disability. Mot Kcived. Oh my, am I spending a sh*t ton of time in pergatory someday ...)
* School decisions closer to home for me, the Hickman Mills district (which I live in) is closing one of the two high schools. In this case though, its a tough, tough call. On the one hand, Hickman Mills High is new, modern, has better facilities, yada yada yada. On the other hand, Ruskin has the history, and the sports complex. Flip a coin, I'm not sure there's a right or wrong decision to be made there.
* So a plane crashes into the IRS building in Austin, and authorities think it was intentional? No ...
* Bowling update: the irritating, annoying, grumpy old dude who wakes up pissed off at the world and goes downhill from there? He quit the league! So the fun quotient just went up by 3.44%! team tito split its games last night, taking game 2 and overall pin count. We're solidly in 8th place, solidly buried 13 games under .500. On the bright side, nobody has tossed a bowling ball in anger at a fellow teammate in two months, so we've got that going for us.
* dingy!
* finally, I'm a sucker for a good mind-boggling story, and msnbc.com had one this morning. There are approximately 7,000 athletes in the Olympic villages. Canadian authorities pre-ordered 100,000 condoms for the athletes, an astonishing nearly 14-1 ratio. That's insane enough. What more nuts ... is that there's an additional 20,000 condoms ready to be shipped in "in case they're needed". Holy Lord. I so missed my calling in life. I can be a curler! Pick me! Pick me! I swear, I can totally aim the rock and take it to the house ...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
scheyer, olympics, and "o canada ..."
What a weekend! Between (arguably) the worst Daytona 500 I've ever watched, KU nearly crapping their pants in College Station last night, and my brother's neighbor plowing into my car during the blizzard like conditions on Sunday afternoon, I can honestly say, (peter griffin after suffering his stroke voice) I've had better days Lois. I've had better days.
Still, there's a lot to ramble about, beginning with:
* Jon Scheyer! Holy God, if my mancrush on this kid gets any bigger, I might fit right in on the Duke campus. (ka boom boom ching!) Its probably not healthy to have an obsession with a 6'5" white guy who plays for Duke, but oh well, it is what it is. He had a monster game Saturday against Maryland, launching Duke two clear of the ACC field with 5 to go. I like their chances at this point. The drive-to-the-bucket, then reverse-underneath-backhanded-layup while getting mugged, to all but end any Maryland hopes of a comeback, was one of the sickest, sweetest plays of the season so far.
I'm already drooling over the hopes Mr. Scheyer will be wearing number 30 for our Milwaukee BuKCs next year. He'd fill the Michael Redd role perfectly, at about 1/10th the cost. Let's make this happen, John Hammond.
* Tough, tough, uuh ... tough, loss for MU on Saturday. To trail all day, rally from down 5 with 1:06 to go and grab the lead with :43 to go (and it was an intentional foul on the Baylor kid. That's about as textbook a definition of intentional foul as you'll ever see. Not really going for the ball? check. Mugged player into stands? check. Head coach soils himself in frustration over legitimate call? check), to trail, then rally, only to see a friggin tip-in with 1.3 seconds to go derail the comeback. Tough. Still, if MU wins two of its big three (vs Texas, at KSU, vs KU), they're in.
* KSU number six? Number six? I feel like that old chick in "Gone With the Wind" as Sherman's troops start raining cannonballs on Atlanta -- "Yankees in Georgia! How did they ever get here!?!?" KSU a top six program? Top four right now thanks to Villanova and Syracuse somehow losing at home to Big East also rans? Dear God. KSU hoops a legitimate, Final Four threat? Its been 22 years since that was reality, and nobody on this KSU team is even half as talented as Mitch Richmond was. (And while Frank Martin's done a great job this year, he ain't Lon Kruger).
* In the media mock bracket, I see Seth Davis of sportsline.com calls Tennessee "the scariest six seed in history". Uuh, Seth? I believe a six seed has won this damned thing before. 1988. Might want to check that out.
* Didn't catch a second of Saturday night's KU game. Sorry. You put Chuck Barkley on uncensored for an All Star competition, I'm tuning in. Speaking of which ...
* That was the sorriest NBA All Star Saturday Night I have ever watched. And I think the last one of those I missed was in 1982. Nate Robinson should be embarrassed to be the "Slam Dunk Champ". The entire contest was horrendous. The skills (excuse me, skillz), the Skillz Competition nearly bored me to sleep. The three point contest was ok, but if Paul Pierce is your champ, "sh*tty contestants" has to be the reason why.
* Also didn't catch much of KU on Monday night. I'll get into the reason why in a special segment below, entitled "The Single Coolest Thing I've Seen This Year by Someone Not Named Jon Scheyer".
* Sunday, spent the day at the brother's watching the Olympics, NASCAR, and a snowstorm that caused not one, not two, not even three ... wait, let me do this right.
(old school snl commercial voice)
(announcer) how many bowls of your old cereal do you think it would take to match the fiber content in Colon Blow?
(phil hartman) one?
(announcer) try again.
(phil hartman) two?
(announcer) I'll give you one more guess.
(phil hartman) three.
(announcer) not even close.
Yup, four friggin multi-car wrecks, and not just your three and four car pile-up variety. Actual scene at 3pm in my brother's family room:
(steve) (watching olympics)
(channel 41) (interrupts for special breaking news coverage)
(steve) dammit! Its just snow guys! This isn't channel 5! You don't go away from the Olympics for a f*cking snow flake!
(channel 41 reporter) we want to take you live to I-70 ...
(steve) holy crap! There's like, 50 cars in that wreck! Sweet!
Of course, once my car got a hole the size of a fist punched in its front bumper, I wasn't as "sweet!" as when it was someone else's car. But still. Its not every day you see four wrecks on the same day involving almost 130 cars between the four of them.
* The opening ceremony was pretty neat. Not nearly as jaw-droppingly impressive as Beijing, but there were two moments I loved. First, the chick who did "O Canada". I can't imagine the pressure on that girl. To nail it, I mean nail it, at 16 years of age? With the world watching? (bill raftery voice) Grapefruits!
The other musical choices, in a word: inspired. Sarah McLaughlin was en fuego. kd lang nailed "Hallelujah" out of the friggin stadium.
The other thing I liked was the torch malfunctioning. Uuh, three legs when there should be four = goof up. I felt bad for the parapalegic who didn't have a leg to light. (thank you, thank you. I'm here all week).
* That bi-athlon event was just crazy. I mean, to ski 5 kilometers overland, then have to load a rifle, hit 5 targets in a bullseye (or ski a penalty lap for each miss), then ski 5 more kilometers, then repeat the "hit the bullseye" deal, then ski 5 more kilometers to the finish? Even Al Trautwig sounded exhausted by the midpoint. I was tired just watching it. Like skiing in a freaking blizzard for 15 kilometers isn't enough of a workout, you gotta carry an air rifle on your back, and somehow compose yourself enough to hit the bullseye 10 different times! That's my kind of competition!
* Another event I loved yesterday, the downhill snowboard deal. Its like Mario Kart on a ski slope. Just awesome to watch, four snowboarders trying to avoid clipping each other, flying down a hill at 90mph. Yeah, that's safe. (And entertaining as hell!)
* The pairs skating. Again, if the mancrush on Scheyer didn't knock me into the (brian griffin voice) gay! category, my love of the figure skating probably will. Watching the Russians last night completely implode was beyond awesome. Seriously, if that chick had fallen down one more time, she might have cracked the ice. Didn't agree with the winners though. The first Chinese couple was flawless. The second pair, he damned near dropped her on the next to final lift. (Technically, he did drop her, but she at least landed on her feet). First Chinese couple should have won. The German pair was funny to watch too, their short program they came out in makeup and skated to clown music. The stuff you can't make up.
* Best choice of music though, to the pair from (I forget which) some former Soviet republic (I think it was Belarus) who came out and skated to the theme from "Love Story". Turns out, they're divorced. Nice. Love really does mean never having to say you're sorry, I guess.
* Speaking of saying you're sorry ... Al Michaels. Dear God, what is that thing on his head? In HD, you can almost hear it purring. You'd think someone as well connected as Al could find a decent plug-ologist for the hair. Hell, even Biden's head looked spectacular compared to Al's. (And Jill Biden, holy lord. If she's not the hottest Second Lady ever. 60 and she could pass for 35. Beautiful).
* Nice to see the Olympics are beneath Barry. Wouldn't want to show up to support the troops, would we Mr. President? Of course, considering the Olympic committee basically de-pantsed His Excellency in Copenhagen last year, I guess I understand why he didn't show.
Finally ...
* "The Single Coolest Thing I've Seen This Year by Someone Not Named Jon Scheyer":
Alex Bilodeux. The Canadian mogul skier who (finally) brought Canada gold on its home turf.
The actual victory run was awesome to watch on Sunday night. Its not often I root for a foreigner. I was completely behind this guy from the moment he made his first run. The last run, to vault him from also ran to the lead, just awesome, absolutely awesome, to watch. (To say nothing of Jonny Moseley having an orgasm on air during the run and the review. In Jonny's defense, I was digging the performance every bit as much as he was).
What was really, really cool though ... was the backstory of this guy presented on Monday, and then the medal ceremony. You know going in this ceremony is going to blow the roof off the building. NBC did a PHENOMENAL job setting this thing up. The backstory had me in tears (Alex's brother suffers from cerebral palsey, and after he fell in Torino four years ago, blowing a medal, the person most inspiring him to get up and keep trying, to go back to work, was said brother. Neat. Also, Sunday night after the gold medal run, the first person Alex charged the stands for was his brother. I got chills just watching it.)
So finally, the medal ceremony. Once you get past Bob Costas nearly blowing the moment by speaking way too much, once Bob finally shuts up and lets the ceremony take over, just watch Alex's face. Sure, listening to the crowd in the background, drowning out the music with "O Canada"'s lyrics, is pretty inspirational. But I'm a sucker for folks who live in the moment, people who aren't afraid to show emotion.
Watch Alex's face as the Canadian anthem sings along. The look on his face is everything that the Olympics are about. Just watch from his arrival (respectful, subdued), to receiving the medal (its beginning to sink in ...), to the start and first half of the Canadian anthem (the "holy sh*t I did it!" face creeps in), and then the finish (singing along with everyone else in pure joy).
The best moments are at the 4:52 mark (where the weight of the moment first shows up, the smile, then he starts to sing along, only he can't because he's fighting back the tears), the 5:07 mark (the self-knowing smile of accomplishing something greater than you ever could have dreamed possible, the single most underrated moment in sports in my rarely-humble opinion), and the 5:46 mark (where he stops singing, breaks into this huge, goofy ass grin, and just soaks the moment in.) And then of course, the collective orgasm of the crowd as the Anthem dies down. "O Canada! We stand on GUARD! (da da da da da) FOR! (da da da da da) THEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm telling you, I can't stop rewatching this thing. Its beyond captivating. It perfectly captures why I love sports so much.
I've always thought the single coolest medal ceremony ever was 1980 at Lake Placid, the US Men's hockey team. When Eruzione called up the entire team to stand on the podium with him, and somehow the entire damned team fit up there as 18,000 strong roared The Star Spangled Banner.
After last night, we've at least got a tie at the top of the Medal-o-Meter rankings. Job well done Alex.
(fist pump!) Job friggin well done!
Still, there's a lot to ramble about, beginning with:
* Jon Scheyer! Holy God, if my mancrush on this kid gets any bigger, I might fit right in on the Duke campus. (ka boom boom ching!) Its probably not healthy to have an obsession with a 6'5" white guy who plays for Duke, but oh well, it is what it is. He had a monster game Saturday against Maryland, launching Duke two clear of the ACC field with 5 to go. I like their chances at this point. The drive-to-the-bucket, then reverse-underneath-backhanded-layup while getting mugged, to all but end any Maryland hopes of a comeback, was one of the sickest, sweetest plays of the season so far.
I'm already drooling over the hopes Mr. Scheyer will be wearing number 30 for our Milwaukee BuKCs next year. He'd fill the Michael Redd role perfectly, at about 1/10th the cost. Let's make this happen, John Hammond.
* Tough, tough, uuh ... tough, loss for MU on Saturday. To trail all day, rally from down 5 with 1:06 to go and grab the lead with :43 to go (and it was an intentional foul on the Baylor kid. That's about as textbook a definition of intentional foul as you'll ever see. Not really going for the ball? check. Mugged player into stands? check. Head coach soils himself in frustration over legitimate call? check), to trail, then rally, only to see a friggin tip-in with 1.3 seconds to go derail the comeback. Tough. Still, if MU wins two of its big three (vs Texas, at KSU, vs KU), they're in.
* KSU number six? Number six? I feel like that old chick in "Gone With the Wind" as Sherman's troops start raining cannonballs on Atlanta -- "Yankees in Georgia! How did they ever get here!?!?" KSU a top six program? Top four right now thanks to Villanova and Syracuse somehow losing at home to Big East also rans? Dear God. KSU hoops a legitimate, Final Four threat? Its been 22 years since that was reality, and nobody on this KSU team is even half as talented as Mitch Richmond was. (And while Frank Martin's done a great job this year, he ain't Lon Kruger).
* In the media mock bracket, I see Seth Davis of sportsline.com calls Tennessee "the scariest six seed in history". Uuh, Seth? I believe a six seed has won this damned thing before. 1988. Might want to check that out.
* Didn't catch a second of Saturday night's KU game. Sorry. You put Chuck Barkley on uncensored for an All Star competition, I'm tuning in. Speaking of which ...
* That was the sorriest NBA All Star Saturday Night I have ever watched. And I think the last one of those I missed was in 1982. Nate Robinson should be embarrassed to be the "Slam Dunk Champ". The entire contest was horrendous. The skills (excuse me, skillz), the Skillz Competition nearly bored me to sleep. The three point contest was ok, but if Paul Pierce is your champ, "sh*tty contestants" has to be the reason why.
* Also didn't catch much of KU on Monday night. I'll get into the reason why in a special segment below, entitled "The Single Coolest Thing I've Seen This Year by Someone Not Named Jon Scheyer".
* Sunday, spent the day at the brother's watching the Olympics, NASCAR, and a snowstorm that caused not one, not two, not even three ... wait, let me do this right.
(old school snl commercial voice)
(announcer) how many bowls of your old cereal do you think it would take to match the fiber content in Colon Blow?
(phil hartman) one?
(announcer) try again.
(phil hartman) two?
(announcer) I'll give you one more guess.
(phil hartman) three.
(announcer) not even close.
Yup, four friggin multi-car wrecks, and not just your three and four car pile-up variety. Actual scene at 3pm in my brother's family room:
(steve) (watching olympics)
(channel 41) (interrupts for special breaking news coverage)
(steve) dammit! Its just snow guys! This isn't channel 5! You don't go away from the Olympics for a f*cking snow flake!
(channel 41 reporter) we want to take you live to I-70 ...
(steve) holy crap! There's like, 50 cars in that wreck! Sweet!
Of course, once my car got a hole the size of a fist punched in its front bumper, I wasn't as "sweet!" as when it was someone else's car. But still. Its not every day you see four wrecks on the same day involving almost 130 cars between the four of them.
* The opening ceremony was pretty neat. Not nearly as jaw-droppingly impressive as Beijing, but there were two moments I loved. First, the chick who did "O Canada". I can't imagine the pressure on that girl. To nail it, I mean nail it, at 16 years of age? With the world watching? (bill raftery voice) Grapefruits!
The other musical choices, in a word: inspired. Sarah McLaughlin was en fuego. kd lang nailed "Hallelujah" out of the friggin stadium.
The other thing I liked was the torch malfunctioning. Uuh, three legs when there should be four = goof up. I felt bad for the parapalegic who didn't have a leg to light. (thank you, thank you. I'm here all week).
* That bi-athlon event was just crazy. I mean, to ski 5 kilometers overland, then have to load a rifle, hit 5 targets in a bullseye (or ski a penalty lap for each miss), then ski 5 more kilometers, then repeat the "hit the bullseye" deal, then ski 5 more kilometers to the finish? Even Al Trautwig sounded exhausted by the midpoint. I was tired just watching it. Like skiing in a freaking blizzard for 15 kilometers isn't enough of a workout, you gotta carry an air rifle on your back, and somehow compose yourself enough to hit the bullseye 10 different times! That's my kind of competition!
* Another event I loved yesterday, the downhill snowboard deal. Its like Mario Kart on a ski slope. Just awesome to watch, four snowboarders trying to avoid clipping each other, flying down a hill at 90mph. Yeah, that's safe. (And entertaining as hell!)
* The pairs skating. Again, if the mancrush on Scheyer didn't knock me into the (brian griffin voice) gay! category, my love of the figure skating probably will. Watching the Russians last night completely implode was beyond awesome. Seriously, if that chick had fallen down one more time, she might have cracked the ice. Didn't agree with the winners though. The first Chinese couple was flawless. The second pair, he damned near dropped her on the next to final lift. (Technically, he did drop her, but she at least landed on her feet). First Chinese couple should have won. The German pair was funny to watch too, their short program they came out in makeup and skated to clown music. The stuff you can't make up.
* Best choice of music though, to the pair from (I forget which) some former Soviet republic (I think it was Belarus) who came out and skated to the theme from "Love Story". Turns out, they're divorced. Nice. Love really does mean never having to say you're sorry, I guess.
* Speaking of saying you're sorry ... Al Michaels. Dear God, what is that thing on his head? In HD, you can almost hear it purring. You'd think someone as well connected as Al could find a decent plug-ologist for the hair. Hell, even Biden's head looked spectacular compared to Al's. (And Jill Biden, holy lord. If she's not the hottest Second Lady ever. 60 and she could pass for 35. Beautiful).
* Nice to see the Olympics are beneath Barry. Wouldn't want to show up to support the troops, would we Mr. President? Of course, considering the Olympic committee basically de-pantsed His Excellency in Copenhagen last year, I guess I understand why he didn't show.
Finally ...
* "The Single Coolest Thing I've Seen This Year by Someone Not Named Jon Scheyer":
Alex Bilodeux. The Canadian mogul skier who (finally) brought Canada gold on its home turf.
The actual victory run was awesome to watch on Sunday night. Its not often I root for a foreigner. I was completely behind this guy from the moment he made his first run. The last run, to vault him from also ran to the lead, just awesome, absolutely awesome, to watch. (To say nothing of Jonny Moseley having an orgasm on air during the run and the review. In Jonny's defense, I was digging the performance every bit as much as he was).
What was really, really cool though ... was the backstory of this guy presented on Monday, and then the medal ceremony. You know going in this ceremony is going to blow the roof off the building. NBC did a PHENOMENAL job setting this thing up. The backstory had me in tears (Alex's brother suffers from cerebral palsey, and after he fell in Torino four years ago, blowing a medal, the person most inspiring him to get up and keep trying, to go back to work, was said brother. Neat. Also, Sunday night after the gold medal run, the first person Alex charged the stands for was his brother. I got chills just watching it.)
So finally, the medal ceremony. Once you get past Bob Costas nearly blowing the moment by speaking way too much, once Bob finally shuts up and lets the ceremony take over, just watch Alex's face. Sure, listening to the crowd in the background, drowning out the music with "O Canada"'s lyrics, is pretty inspirational. But I'm a sucker for folks who live in the moment, people who aren't afraid to show emotion.
Watch Alex's face as the Canadian anthem sings along. The look on his face is everything that the Olympics are about. Just watch from his arrival (respectful, subdued), to receiving the medal (its beginning to sink in ...), to the start and first half of the Canadian anthem (the "holy sh*t I did it!" face creeps in), and then the finish (singing along with everyone else in pure joy).
The best moments are at the 4:52 mark (where the weight of the moment first shows up, the smile, then he starts to sing along, only he can't because he's fighting back the tears), the 5:07 mark (the self-knowing smile of accomplishing something greater than you ever could have dreamed possible, the single most underrated moment in sports in my rarely-humble opinion), and the 5:46 mark (where he stops singing, breaks into this huge, goofy ass grin, and just soaks the moment in.) And then of course, the collective orgasm of the crowd as the Anthem dies down. "O Canada! We stand on GUARD! (da da da da da) FOR! (da da da da da) THEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm telling you, I can't stop rewatching this thing. Its beyond captivating. It perfectly captures why I love sports so much.
I've always thought the single coolest medal ceremony ever was 1980 at Lake Placid, the US Men's hockey team. When Eruzione called up the entire team to stand on the podium with him, and somehow the entire damned team fit up there as 18,000 strong roared The Star Spangled Banner.
After last night, we've at least got a tie at the top of the Medal-o-Meter rankings. Job well done Alex.
(fist pump!) Job friggin well done!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
randomness ... again ...
Another "let's see what random thoughts are floating around in Steve's mind" post ...
* I was (and still am) beyond ecstatic at the beatdown Duke put on UNC last night. When Plumlee slammed home Singler's miss with about 6 and a half to go to break the tie, and then Scheyer followed that up with a beautiful three pointer, I couldn't stop cheering. Seeing poor Roy on the sidelines, clueless at how to stop the debacle, it brought tears of joy to my eyes.
* And I love how the national media is now saying "well, looks like UNC is headed for the NIT". Uuh, guys? You gotta finish at least .500 to reach the NIT. UNC is 13-11, and still has roadies at Wake, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Duke to go. The home schedule looks manageable, hosting Miami, FSU, and NC State. But the margin for error is literally zero if they lose all four on the road. I still remember, I think it was 1997, might have been 1998, but after MU got blown out at the Field House, the student section for KU started chanting "NIT! NIT!" at Norm and his team as they left the court. To which Norm replied "hell, I don't think we're good enough for the NIT". They weren't. This UNC team isn't either. Let that sink in, those of us who hate UNC and / or hate Roy. This team is a 50/50 bet to just be NIT eligible. One more screw-up at home, and they're not good enough for the NIT. I freaking love it. To haul out a blast from the 2008 past, "Yes You Can!" miss the NIT, Tar Heels! Si Se Puede!
* After last night, I think Duke answered any questions about if they're going to fade down the stretch. That was a gut check victory last night. When Scheyer's on, they can beat anyone. If both Scheyer and Singler are on, and Plumlee's delivering a 10/8 performance in the paint, they're playing in Indianapolis come the first weekend in April. Speaking of which ...
* My Elite 8 as of right now: KU, Syracuse, Purdue, Michigan State, Duke, New Mexico, Texas A&M, and Temple. My Final Four, I'd take KU (homer pick), Syracuse (homer pick), Duke (really, really impressed me last night, again, on the road, your hated rival's season on the line, and they just DOMINATED that last seven minutes. Remember that come mid-March), and ... Texas A&M. I've really liked what I've seen in those guys the last few games I've watched. Turgeon's a helluva coach to boot.
* Noticably absent from that list? Kentucky. Not buying it. The cracks are starting to show. Call me crazy, but when the coach and the star player start getting into a media b*tchfest over playing time, that's not a good sign.
* Also noticably absent? Texas. They're done. That was a disgraceful performance on Monday night, to quote the great Jim Mora. Disgraceful.
* Now that football's over and I'm getting back into college hoops, let's head west, to the wierdest major conference race I have ever seen. The Pac 10. Six of the ten teams are within a game of the lead. Which is neat. What's really wacky though, is that none of these teams have even a shot at an at-large bid at this point. The Pac 10 is staring at the reality of being a one bid league. How? How does this happen to a BCS conference other than the SEC? Arizona is one game out of first, and is 12-11. UCLA is one game out of first, and is below .500! UCLA! Below .500! How does this happen?
* Speaking of wacky conference races, the Big 10 (plus one) looks to be shaping up as a doozy. A three way tie at the top thanks to Illinois' resurgence, with Purdue half a game back and Wisconsin only one game back. Unfortunately, I will not be paying attention to this race in any way, shape or form. Partly because any league in which a Bruce Weber coached team is tied for first, has serious issues. That guy couldn't outcoach a park bench, yet he's the frontrunner at this point for Big 10 (plus one) Coach of the Year. Ugh. But also ... because Big 10 (plus one) basketball sucks ass. NOBODY wants to watch crappy hoops. The Big 10 (plus one) is the benchmark for crappy hoops. First team to 50 wins. That's not basketball, that's a Packers / Cardinals playoff game.
* Bucks split their games this week, losing in embarrassing fashion at home to Detroit, then blowing out the Nets on the road in front of 1,098 fans. Its like the ABA never folded! Not even 1100 people show up to watch a NBA game! (Yes, I know: New Jersey got 14 inches of snow last night. But still.)
So Milwaukee hits the break at 24-27, a game behind Chicago for the final playoff spot. Hollinger's Playoff Odds give Milwaukee a 69% chance of making the postseason (ahead of Chicago's 53%), and project the Bucks to open against the Cavaliers. A first round playoff matchup against LBJ and the Cavs? Yeah, I could be talked into a quick road trip back to the land of Beer and Bloody Mary's for that one ...
* Its trade deadline week as well. I don't expect the Bucks to do anything. The team they've got now is below the luxury tax, and is good enough to at least back into the eight seed. But the two teams I'm watching the most are Boston and Dallas. Boston is fading fast, and they've got to do something to avoid not only blowing the Atlantic Division to a surging Toronto squad, but still keep within shouting distance of the Big Three in the East (note: who would have ever thought the day would arrive when the freaking Atlanta Hawks are a legitimate Finals contender? Oy.)
But Dallas, that's the team I'm most intrigued by. Mark Cuban is one of (if not the only) owners in the league that will happily go above the luxury tax threshold if he thinks it can lead to a title. He did it to get Jason Kidd two springs ago. He did it to get Shawn Marion this offseason. I fully expect he'll do it again over the next week, if only because he has to realize that the Mavs might be the only threat to the Lakers in the West right now. The Nuggets are good, but they aren't physical enough to hang with LA. The Spurs are a mess. The Blazers haven't progressed like I thought they would. The Rockets are screwed by injuries. Phoenix, Utah, even Kevin Durant's team, all are nice teams and might win a game or two in the first round against LA, Denver, or Dallas, but they ain't winning the series. Cuban could steal a championship with a bold move at the deadline. (Like LA nearly did two years ago, getting Pao Gasol for nothing. Completely turned the West upside down, and got LA to within two games of the O'Brien Trophy). Cuban's in the same spot that LA team was two years ago -- good enough to get out of round one, maybe even reach the Conference Finals, but needing a sh*t ton of breaks to get any farther. If I was the Mavs, I'd target Marcus Camby. He gives you another body inside, to take pressure off Dirk. Camby also gives you a shut down defender, to neutralize the West's big men (RJ, Gasol, K Mart, David West) that tend to destroy the Mavs. Anyways, moving on.
* Seems my least favorite State Senator is at it again. (Its been a while ... so let's hop back on board the "Steve Comes Unhinged Over News Item" express!!! Choo Choo!!!)
Senator Matt Bartle (R-Lees Summit) once again is attempting to once again decide what acceptable behavior is for his constituents, as his anti-fun bill passed the Senate this morning 29-2. Bartle's bill basically destroys the adult entertainment industry in Missouri. No more nude strip clubs. Patrons can't drink in said clubs, and must be six feet away from all dancers at all times. Clubs have to close at midnight, and can't operate with 1000 feet of anything considered to be a home or business.
Basically, if this thing passes the House (and its an election year in one of the reddest of the red states, you can bet your ass it will pass), the adult industry in Missouri is dead. Which, of course, is Mr. Bartle's sole intention with this abortion of a bill. This bill isn't about "decency", or "increasing enforcement codes", or "cleaning up the neighborhood". Its about a misguided zealot shoving his outdated world view down everyone's throat simply because (waa) he doesn't like certain things in society. Namely, that sex isn't only for making babies anymore.
Look it, I have no issues with regulating the adult entertainment industry. Certainly, strip clubs shouldn't be within a certain proximity of an elementary school, or a residential neighborhood, or a house of worship. I also don't have a problem with regulating hours of operation, amazingly enough, because generally speaking, nothing good happens at a strip club after midnight. Nothing.
And, as I've always said, "other than flyovers, strip clubs are the biggest waste of money known to mankind". I can see hitting up an establishment a few times a year. In fact, I do. But what do you get for your money? A dry hump that leaves you just short of satisfaction if you're lucky? You aren't paying for sex, she's not going home with you when the club closes, and even if by some miracle of God she did decide "you know what, you're hot, you're here, and you have a condom -- let's get it on!" ... do you REALLY want to tap that? You really want to get into the drug, disease, crime, daddy, and emotional stability issues these chicks bring to the table? Trust me, you're much better off responding to a casual encounters ad on Craigslist. (Um, not that I ever have. Let's just move on.)
Having said that though ... this bill is awful. This bill just stinks. Its one misguided kook destroying an entire legitimate industry simply because he doesn't like the product. Funny, I thought that conservatives fought for freedom? In this one heinous bill alone, Mr. Bartle whizzes on the First Amendment (free speech), takes indecent liberties with the Fourth Amendment (freedom from government search and seizures), and craps on the Eighth Amendment (ban on cruel and unusual punishment).
Even worse than the blatant shredding of the Constitution and common sense that this bill achieves, is the fact that this bill doesn't do one damned thing to solve the REAL problems facing Missouri! The state has a billion (with a b) budget deficit it has to fund. The schools are underfunded. Our roads are the worst in the nation. People are fleeing the two urban bases for the suburbs in frighteningly high numbers, to escape crime, poor schools, bad roads, sh*tty city services, and the E-Tax. And rather than deal with the true issues facing the state, the primary piece of legislation getting rammed through is ... a bill DESTROYING a legal, tax paying industry? How does this make sense?
I've ripped the Kansas Legislature a new one time and time again over their ridiculous causes. But I have to give the current group over there a ton of credit. They're actually attacking the real problems facing the state. Trying to find ways to balance the budget without raising taxes in a crippling recession or cutting needed social services. The work being done in Topeka is, for once, commendable. (Save for the K2 bill). This heinous, un-Constitutional bill getting rammed through in Columbia, though, is insanity.
(And yes, there is ZERO doubt this is un-Constitutional. Its already been struck down by an Appeals Court once, in 2007, after Bartle tried to (literally) sneak this thing through on an appropriations bill that had to pass. You know the adult industry will (correctly) file a lawsuit the second this thing becomes law. And what happens then? An already bankrupt state has to waste millions of dollars defending a bill that has zero shot of being upheld in the Courts! So not only is Senator Bartle destroying a legal industry that raises revenue for the state, he's going to further cost the state money by having to waste resources defending this bad boy in court!)
Plus, let's play devil's advocate, and say this bill passes, the governor signs it, and every appeals court upholds it after a 12-15 year legal battle. What does Senator Bartle think is going to happen, that the adult industry will just go away? Hell no! They're gonna move across the river to Kansas and Illinois, or across the border to Iowa and Arkansas! The adult industry isn't some fly-by-night operation that will crumble and die at the first sign of trouble. Does Senator Bartle really think he can bring an industry that's been around since the beginning of time to its knees? Come on. All that this bill will accomplish is (a) target a legal industry for destruction, (b) further depress state revenues, (c) push those revenues across the border, and (d) further reinforce the notion that the red states are run by the dumbest people walking the planet. Congratulations Senator. You've accomplished a lot with this catastrophic piece of legislation.
The logic of conservatives truly baffles me sometimes. "We demand freedom from tyranny! Unless that tyranny is a sexy 20 year old dancing naked, then we demand the masses be denied the freedom to watch!" "We demand fiscal responsibility! Unless we have a chance to sue a legal business out of existance, then we demand blowing state tax revenue defending an undefendable position!"
My head hurts just thinking about the abject stupidity of my elected officials. Let's move on.
* Rick Pitino as the Nets head coach? This has potential. No, it won't work, because Pitino's an awful pro coach. But we already know he'll bang anything in a dress if she's in an Italian restaurant. Imagine turning the Rickster loose in North Jersey! As Dave Armstrong would say, WOW! (Or is that J-WOWW! It is north Jersey, after all.) He might be coaching a team of little Pitinos someday if this move happens.
* Winter Olympics start tomorrow! Sweet! I've always liked the winter games better than the summer. For starters, the hockey tournament is the best two week tournament in sports. (Emphasis on "two week tournament" -- the World Cup is hands down the best tournament in sports, but it lasts a month. And March Madness lasts three weeks, not two). If this next sentence makes me gay, so be it ... but I love watching the women's figure skating. I even tuned in a couple Saturday's ago to watch the trials for the ladies. Say what you want, but no straight male my age didn't have a huge crush on Katarina Witt back in the late 80s. Smoking hot foreign chicks in revealing dresses performing in freezing temperatures. I'm excited just thinking about it.
(To say nothing of the comedy of Scott Hamilton announcing this thing. If you thought Rowdy Gaines was a revelation in Beijing, just give Scotty H a listen for an hour or two.)
Plus, the oddball sports are better in winter than in summer. That speed skating thing is just vicious. Its like Roller Derby, only people pay attention. You gotta love the bob-sledding. And all the X-Games type sports, the gravity-defying sh*t, its neat.
* John Mayer commenting on Jessica Simpson's bedroom habits ... is a comment I really didn't need to hear. Thanks for that visual, pal.
* I liked episode two (or is it three?) of "Lost". I've never cared for Kate, so Kate-centric episodes I tend to just watch because, well, its "Lost". What surprises me the most about this season though ... is that I'm loving the flash-sideways storyline far more than the Island storyline. Maybe its because nobody loves the "what if" game more than me, but the flash-sideways stories are much more compelling, much more interesting to me. Reading folks thoughts at The Fuselage, apparently I'm in a very small minority. But oh well. Being hip, cool, and in the majority are not things I'm often accused of.
I mean, I totally dug last season's goofy time traveling. Totally dug it, because you got to see the history of the Island ... as it was happening. It wasn't some flashback or "Ben cryptically referring to "The Incident" or "The Purge"" type of story. The characters lived the experience. I totally loved that.
This year on-Island though, its ... for lack of a better phrase, boring as hell. Sure, the Smokey reveal was neat. I actually teared up a little bit when Sawyer dug up his hidden package in Dharmaville the other night and showed it to Kate. But other than those two moments, not one thing on-Island so far has interested me. The reason the Island struggles worked for four years (five if you count the time-travel year when not much action / fighting / struggling happened, but a ton of drama did), is because we were invested in the characters involved in the struggle. Now? Its MIB possessing Locke's body vs a dead Jacob whose followers we're just now meeting. Its stupid. I'm not invested in Japanese dude or his sidekick Lennon, and I'm not going to be, because there is no tomorrow so to speak. There is no next year, since the show is done in three months. There's no real payoff there, no redemptive arc or huge payoff or huge reveal. The only huge moment pending (as I see it) on-Island at this point is "who the hell is Richard Alpert". But again, we've been set up for four years to find out this answer. Not set up for four weeks.
Plus, and I hope I am dead, dead, dead, dead wrong about this ... isn't it a little obvious where this on-Island adventure is heading? Again, under the "whatever happened, happened" motif that guides the show, we can reasonably assume that Jughead exploding was "The Incident". The last major moment prior to Desmond not punching in the numbers, and causing the 815 crash, is ... The Purge, right? Is this what we're headed for, our heroes being wiped out and a new group of Others taking over? God I hope not. But that seems logical at this point. Which is yet another reason I'm not digging the on-Island activity: I don't want "Lost" to be logical. I want it to be "Lost". Like ...
With the flash-sideways scenes! The "what might have been" moments (or more accurately, the "what did happen because Jughead exploded" moments), are riveting to me. I've been with this show since the beginning. I love the subtle changes from season one to season six. I love seeing the alternate reality, that these characters are still connected to each other, even without the crash experience. I loved, freaking loved, the scene where Claire was at the hospital last week. I'm thrilled that scene didn't leak in the spoilers. It was such a shout-out to those of us who've been there since day one, have wrapped our minds around the idea that "whatever happened, happened", regardless of WHERE it actually happened. Great, great moment.
I'm also loving the Locke / Jack interaction in alternativeville. That scene in the lost baggage area in the season opener was one of the series' best ever.
If you aren't watching "Lost", you're missing out. Yeah, its an intellectual exercise. Yes, you will bash your head against the wall at times at the leaps of logic and faith the storyline requires you to take. But take them. Its so freaking worth it.
* Speaking of TV I love, only one season left of "Friday Night Lights". Well, technically two; season four airs starting after the Olympics, and season five next spring. But man, that stinks. I'm not sure I want to live in a world without Coach and Tami. And Matt Saracen pulling wins out of thin air.
* I don't get why Republicans are balking at President Obama's offer to sit and discuss health care reform in two weeks. Its a no-lose situation for the far right, I think. If they show up, then the nation will see they're at least playing like they're serious about solving the problem. If they show up and Obama is serious about putting all options on the table, then maybe they get some of their agenda through (and some Republican ideas are very good and should be implemented, such as cross-state insurance and medical malpractice reform). If they show up and its a rigged deck, its all for show, they can say "hey, we tried. We showed up, willing to deal, and they wouldn't listen", which will just fire up their base even more to show up and boot the Pelosi House to the curb in November. The ONLY way this doesn't work to their advantage is if they don't show up. Then Obama and Pelosi can use the "hey, we tried, they just don't care" card and ram through the Senate bill (which is so god awful and completely useless to solving the problems, that the fact its still on the table is an outrage). Show up guys. If only to save us from Harry Reid's monstrocity.
* Some really fun voting options at nba.com for "Best of the Decade" stuff. The current poll is "Best Individual Playoff Series". Sadly, Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore aren't nominated for their rigged officiating in the 2002 Kings / Lakers Western final. (My vote went to D Wade in the 2006 Finals. Yeah, more sh*tty officiating, but to rally from down 0-2, and clinch on the opponents floor, that's a pretty solid achievement. Even if our "good friends" Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore were involved.)
* Mikey Waltrip hit the wall! Thank you Jesus! He's out for Daytona! (entire field breathing huge sigh of relief, as driver safety now is at least 12% improved over where it was yesterday).
* Finally caught an episode of "American Idol" last night. I got duped -- they said it was "Hollywood Week". I should have remember, "Hollywood Week" is still a trainwreck. One more week until I'm back in, once we get down to 24.
* I did enjoy Ellen as a judge though. I didn't think I would ... but I like her smart ass sarcasm.
* Just a few more random thoughts before powering down for the day.
* Speaking of things I didn't need ingrained in my head: John Edwards Sex Tape. Ugh. At least it wasn't with Elizabeth.
* Cool new site: probasketballtalk.com Its about time the NBA gets a constant rumor mill site up and running.
* I'm still not even remotely excited about Royals season.
* Or the first Chiefs ticket renewal payment hitting my account on Monday. At least I get a brick out of the deal though. "Yeah, Stevo, we know you paid to sit through a decade of heartbreaking defeats, constant underachieving, and the last three years, outright embarrassment and humiliation. And we know we're raping you on the cost of your seat. But hey! You can have a personally inscribed brick in the new plaza area for your troubles!" The sad thing is ... I'm pumped about my brick ...
* I was (and still am) beyond ecstatic at the beatdown Duke put on UNC last night. When Plumlee slammed home Singler's miss with about 6 and a half to go to break the tie, and then Scheyer followed that up with a beautiful three pointer, I couldn't stop cheering. Seeing poor Roy on the sidelines, clueless at how to stop the debacle, it brought tears of joy to my eyes.
* And I love how the national media is now saying "well, looks like UNC is headed for the NIT". Uuh, guys? You gotta finish at least .500 to reach the NIT. UNC is 13-11, and still has roadies at Wake, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Duke to go. The home schedule looks manageable, hosting Miami, FSU, and NC State. But the margin for error is literally zero if they lose all four on the road. I still remember, I think it was 1997, might have been 1998, but after MU got blown out at the Field House, the student section for KU started chanting "NIT! NIT!" at Norm and his team as they left the court. To which Norm replied "hell, I don't think we're good enough for the NIT". They weren't. This UNC team isn't either. Let that sink in, those of us who hate UNC and / or hate Roy. This team is a 50/50 bet to just be NIT eligible. One more screw-up at home, and they're not good enough for the NIT. I freaking love it. To haul out a blast from the 2008 past, "Yes You Can!" miss the NIT, Tar Heels! Si Se Puede!
* After last night, I think Duke answered any questions about if they're going to fade down the stretch. That was a gut check victory last night. When Scheyer's on, they can beat anyone. If both Scheyer and Singler are on, and Plumlee's delivering a 10/8 performance in the paint, they're playing in Indianapolis come the first weekend in April. Speaking of which ...
* My Elite 8 as of right now: KU, Syracuse, Purdue, Michigan State, Duke, New Mexico, Texas A&M, and Temple. My Final Four, I'd take KU (homer pick), Syracuse (homer pick), Duke (really, really impressed me last night, again, on the road, your hated rival's season on the line, and they just DOMINATED that last seven minutes. Remember that come mid-March), and ... Texas A&M. I've really liked what I've seen in those guys the last few games I've watched. Turgeon's a helluva coach to boot.
* Noticably absent from that list? Kentucky. Not buying it. The cracks are starting to show. Call me crazy, but when the coach and the star player start getting into a media b*tchfest over playing time, that's not a good sign.
* Also noticably absent? Texas. They're done. That was a disgraceful performance on Monday night, to quote the great Jim Mora. Disgraceful.
* Now that football's over and I'm getting back into college hoops, let's head west, to the wierdest major conference race I have ever seen. The Pac 10. Six of the ten teams are within a game of the lead. Which is neat. What's really wacky though, is that none of these teams have even a shot at an at-large bid at this point. The Pac 10 is staring at the reality of being a one bid league. How? How does this happen to a BCS conference other than the SEC? Arizona is one game out of first, and is 12-11. UCLA is one game out of first, and is below .500! UCLA! Below .500! How does this happen?
* Speaking of wacky conference races, the Big 10 (plus one) looks to be shaping up as a doozy. A three way tie at the top thanks to Illinois' resurgence, with Purdue half a game back and Wisconsin only one game back. Unfortunately, I will not be paying attention to this race in any way, shape or form. Partly because any league in which a Bruce Weber coached team is tied for first, has serious issues. That guy couldn't outcoach a park bench, yet he's the frontrunner at this point for Big 10 (plus one) Coach of the Year. Ugh. But also ... because Big 10 (plus one) basketball sucks ass. NOBODY wants to watch crappy hoops. The Big 10 (plus one) is the benchmark for crappy hoops. First team to 50 wins. That's not basketball, that's a Packers / Cardinals playoff game.
* Bucks split their games this week, losing in embarrassing fashion at home to Detroit, then blowing out the Nets on the road in front of 1,098 fans. Its like the ABA never folded! Not even 1100 people show up to watch a NBA game! (Yes, I know: New Jersey got 14 inches of snow last night. But still.)
So Milwaukee hits the break at 24-27, a game behind Chicago for the final playoff spot. Hollinger's Playoff Odds give Milwaukee a 69% chance of making the postseason (ahead of Chicago's 53%), and project the Bucks to open against the Cavaliers. A first round playoff matchup against LBJ and the Cavs? Yeah, I could be talked into a quick road trip back to the land of Beer and Bloody Mary's for that one ...
* Its trade deadline week as well. I don't expect the Bucks to do anything. The team they've got now is below the luxury tax, and is good enough to at least back into the eight seed. But the two teams I'm watching the most are Boston and Dallas. Boston is fading fast, and they've got to do something to avoid not only blowing the Atlantic Division to a surging Toronto squad, but still keep within shouting distance of the Big Three in the East (note: who would have ever thought the day would arrive when the freaking Atlanta Hawks are a legitimate Finals contender? Oy.)
But Dallas, that's the team I'm most intrigued by. Mark Cuban is one of (if not the only) owners in the league that will happily go above the luxury tax threshold if he thinks it can lead to a title. He did it to get Jason Kidd two springs ago. He did it to get Shawn Marion this offseason. I fully expect he'll do it again over the next week, if only because he has to realize that the Mavs might be the only threat to the Lakers in the West right now. The Nuggets are good, but they aren't physical enough to hang with LA. The Spurs are a mess. The Blazers haven't progressed like I thought they would. The Rockets are screwed by injuries. Phoenix, Utah, even Kevin Durant's team, all are nice teams and might win a game or two in the first round against LA, Denver, or Dallas, but they ain't winning the series. Cuban could steal a championship with a bold move at the deadline. (Like LA nearly did two years ago, getting Pao Gasol for nothing. Completely turned the West upside down, and got LA to within two games of the O'Brien Trophy). Cuban's in the same spot that LA team was two years ago -- good enough to get out of round one, maybe even reach the Conference Finals, but needing a sh*t ton of breaks to get any farther. If I was the Mavs, I'd target Marcus Camby. He gives you another body inside, to take pressure off Dirk. Camby also gives you a shut down defender, to neutralize the West's big men (RJ, Gasol, K Mart, David West) that tend to destroy the Mavs. Anyways, moving on.
* Seems my least favorite State Senator is at it again. (Its been a while ... so let's hop back on board the "Steve Comes Unhinged Over News Item" express!!! Choo Choo!!!)
Senator Matt Bartle (R-Lees Summit) once again is attempting to once again decide what acceptable behavior is for his constituents, as his anti-fun bill passed the Senate this morning 29-2. Bartle's bill basically destroys the adult entertainment industry in Missouri. No more nude strip clubs. Patrons can't drink in said clubs, and must be six feet away from all dancers at all times. Clubs have to close at midnight, and can't operate with 1000 feet of anything considered to be a home or business.
Basically, if this thing passes the House (and its an election year in one of the reddest of the red states, you can bet your ass it will pass), the adult industry in Missouri is dead. Which, of course, is Mr. Bartle's sole intention with this abortion of a bill. This bill isn't about "decency", or "increasing enforcement codes", or "cleaning up the neighborhood". Its about a misguided zealot shoving his outdated world view down everyone's throat simply because (waa) he doesn't like certain things in society. Namely, that sex isn't only for making babies anymore.
Look it, I have no issues with regulating the adult entertainment industry. Certainly, strip clubs shouldn't be within a certain proximity of an elementary school, or a residential neighborhood, or a house of worship. I also don't have a problem with regulating hours of operation, amazingly enough, because generally speaking, nothing good happens at a strip club after midnight. Nothing.
And, as I've always said, "other than flyovers, strip clubs are the biggest waste of money known to mankind". I can see hitting up an establishment a few times a year. In fact, I do. But what do you get for your money? A dry hump that leaves you just short of satisfaction if you're lucky? You aren't paying for sex, she's not going home with you when the club closes, and even if by some miracle of God she did decide "you know what, you're hot, you're here, and you have a condom -- let's get it on!" ... do you REALLY want to tap that? You really want to get into the drug, disease, crime, daddy, and emotional stability issues these chicks bring to the table? Trust me, you're much better off responding to a casual encounters ad on Craigslist. (Um, not that I ever have. Let's just move on.)
Having said that though ... this bill is awful. This bill just stinks. Its one misguided kook destroying an entire legitimate industry simply because he doesn't like the product. Funny, I thought that conservatives fought for freedom? In this one heinous bill alone, Mr. Bartle whizzes on the First Amendment (free speech), takes indecent liberties with the Fourth Amendment (freedom from government search and seizures), and craps on the Eighth Amendment (ban on cruel and unusual punishment).
Even worse than the blatant shredding of the Constitution and common sense that this bill achieves, is the fact that this bill doesn't do one damned thing to solve the REAL problems facing Missouri! The state has a billion (with a b) budget deficit it has to fund. The schools are underfunded. Our roads are the worst in the nation. People are fleeing the two urban bases for the suburbs in frighteningly high numbers, to escape crime, poor schools, bad roads, sh*tty city services, and the E-Tax. And rather than deal with the true issues facing the state, the primary piece of legislation getting rammed through is ... a bill DESTROYING a legal, tax paying industry? How does this make sense?
I've ripped the Kansas Legislature a new one time and time again over their ridiculous causes. But I have to give the current group over there a ton of credit. They're actually attacking the real problems facing the state. Trying to find ways to balance the budget without raising taxes in a crippling recession or cutting needed social services. The work being done in Topeka is, for once, commendable. (Save for the K2 bill). This heinous, un-Constitutional bill getting rammed through in Columbia, though, is insanity.
(And yes, there is ZERO doubt this is un-Constitutional. Its already been struck down by an Appeals Court once, in 2007, after Bartle tried to (literally) sneak this thing through on an appropriations bill that had to pass. You know the adult industry will (correctly) file a lawsuit the second this thing becomes law. And what happens then? An already bankrupt state has to waste millions of dollars defending a bill that has zero shot of being upheld in the Courts! So not only is Senator Bartle destroying a legal industry that raises revenue for the state, he's going to further cost the state money by having to waste resources defending this bad boy in court!)
Plus, let's play devil's advocate, and say this bill passes, the governor signs it, and every appeals court upholds it after a 12-15 year legal battle. What does Senator Bartle think is going to happen, that the adult industry will just go away? Hell no! They're gonna move across the river to Kansas and Illinois, or across the border to Iowa and Arkansas! The adult industry isn't some fly-by-night operation that will crumble and die at the first sign of trouble. Does Senator Bartle really think he can bring an industry that's been around since the beginning of time to its knees? Come on. All that this bill will accomplish is (a) target a legal industry for destruction, (b) further depress state revenues, (c) push those revenues across the border, and (d) further reinforce the notion that the red states are run by the dumbest people walking the planet. Congratulations Senator. You've accomplished a lot with this catastrophic piece of legislation.
The logic of conservatives truly baffles me sometimes. "We demand freedom from tyranny! Unless that tyranny is a sexy 20 year old dancing naked, then we demand the masses be denied the freedom to watch!" "We demand fiscal responsibility! Unless we have a chance to sue a legal business out of existance, then we demand blowing state tax revenue defending an undefendable position!"
My head hurts just thinking about the abject stupidity of my elected officials. Let's move on.
* Rick Pitino as the Nets head coach? This has potential. No, it won't work, because Pitino's an awful pro coach. But we already know he'll bang anything in a dress if she's in an Italian restaurant. Imagine turning the Rickster loose in North Jersey! As Dave Armstrong would say, WOW! (Or is that J-WOWW! It is north Jersey, after all.) He might be coaching a team of little Pitinos someday if this move happens.
* Winter Olympics start tomorrow! Sweet! I've always liked the winter games better than the summer. For starters, the hockey tournament is the best two week tournament in sports. (Emphasis on "two week tournament" -- the World Cup is hands down the best tournament in sports, but it lasts a month. And March Madness lasts three weeks, not two). If this next sentence makes me gay, so be it ... but I love watching the women's figure skating. I even tuned in a couple Saturday's ago to watch the trials for the ladies. Say what you want, but no straight male my age didn't have a huge crush on Katarina Witt back in the late 80s. Smoking hot foreign chicks in revealing dresses performing in freezing temperatures. I'm excited just thinking about it.
(To say nothing of the comedy of Scott Hamilton announcing this thing. If you thought Rowdy Gaines was a revelation in Beijing, just give Scotty H a listen for an hour or two.)
Plus, the oddball sports are better in winter than in summer. That speed skating thing is just vicious. Its like Roller Derby, only people pay attention. You gotta love the bob-sledding. And all the X-Games type sports, the gravity-defying sh*t, its neat.
* John Mayer commenting on Jessica Simpson's bedroom habits ... is a comment I really didn't need to hear. Thanks for that visual, pal.
* I liked episode two (or is it three?) of "Lost". I've never cared for Kate, so Kate-centric episodes I tend to just watch because, well, its "Lost". What surprises me the most about this season though ... is that I'm loving the flash-sideways storyline far more than the Island storyline. Maybe its because nobody loves the "what if" game more than me, but the flash-sideways stories are much more compelling, much more interesting to me. Reading folks thoughts at The Fuselage, apparently I'm in a very small minority. But oh well. Being hip, cool, and in the majority are not things I'm often accused of.
I mean, I totally dug last season's goofy time traveling. Totally dug it, because you got to see the history of the Island ... as it was happening. It wasn't some flashback or "Ben cryptically referring to "The Incident" or "The Purge"" type of story. The characters lived the experience. I totally loved that.
This year on-Island though, its ... for lack of a better phrase, boring as hell. Sure, the Smokey reveal was neat. I actually teared up a little bit when Sawyer dug up his hidden package in Dharmaville the other night and showed it to Kate. But other than those two moments, not one thing on-Island so far has interested me. The reason the Island struggles worked for four years (five if you count the time-travel year when not much action / fighting / struggling happened, but a ton of drama did), is because we were invested in the characters involved in the struggle. Now? Its MIB possessing Locke's body vs a dead Jacob whose followers we're just now meeting. Its stupid. I'm not invested in Japanese dude or his sidekick Lennon, and I'm not going to be, because there is no tomorrow so to speak. There is no next year, since the show is done in three months. There's no real payoff there, no redemptive arc or huge payoff or huge reveal. The only huge moment pending (as I see it) on-Island at this point is "who the hell is Richard Alpert". But again, we've been set up for four years to find out this answer. Not set up for four weeks.
Plus, and I hope I am dead, dead, dead, dead wrong about this ... isn't it a little obvious where this on-Island adventure is heading? Again, under the "whatever happened, happened" motif that guides the show, we can reasonably assume that Jughead exploding was "The Incident". The last major moment prior to Desmond not punching in the numbers, and causing the 815 crash, is ... The Purge, right? Is this what we're headed for, our heroes being wiped out and a new group of Others taking over? God I hope not. But that seems logical at this point. Which is yet another reason I'm not digging the on-Island activity: I don't want "Lost" to be logical. I want it to be "Lost". Like ...
With the flash-sideways scenes! The "what might have been" moments (or more accurately, the "what did happen because Jughead exploded" moments), are riveting to me. I've been with this show since the beginning. I love the subtle changes from season one to season six. I love seeing the alternate reality, that these characters are still connected to each other, even without the crash experience. I loved, freaking loved, the scene where Claire was at the hospital last week. I'm thrilled that scene didn't leak in the spoilers. It was such a shout-out to those of us who've been there since day one, have wrapped our minds around the idea that "whatever happened, happened", regardless of WHERE it actually happened. Great, great moment.
I'm also loving the Locke / Jack interaction in alternativeville. That scene in the lost baggage area in the season opener was one of the series' best ever.
If you aren't watching "Lost", you're missing out. Yeah, its an intellectual exercise. Yes, you will bash your head against the wall at times at the leaps of logic and faith the storyline requires you to take. But take them. Its so freaking worth it.
* Speaking of TV I love, only one season left of "Friday Night Lights". Well, technically two; season four airs starting after the Olympics, and season five next spring. But man, that stinks. I'm not sure I want to live in a world without Coach and Tami. And Matt Saracen pulling wins out of thin air.
* I don't get why Republicans are balking at President Obama's offer to sit and discuss health care reform in two weeks. Its a no-lose situation for the far right, I think. If they show up, then the nation will see they're at least playing like they're serious about solving the problem. If they show up and Obama is serious about putting all options on the table, then maybe they get some of their agenda through (and some Republican ideas are very good and should be implemented, such as cross-state insurance and medical malpractice reform). If they show up and its a rigged deck, its all for show, they can say "hey, we tried. We showed up, willing to deal, and they wouldn't listen", which will just fire up their base even more to show up and boot the Pelosi House to the curb in November. The ONLY way this doesn't work to their advantage is if they don't show up. Then Obama and Pelosi can use the "hey, we tried, they just don't care" card and ram through the Senate bill (which is so god awful and completely useless to solving the problems, that the fact its still on the table is an outrage). Show up guys. If only to save us from Harry Reid's monstrocity.
* Some really fun voting options at nba.com for "Best of the Decade" stuff. The current poll is "Best Individual Playoff Series". Sadly, Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore aren't nominated for their rigged officiating in the 2002 Kings / Lakers Western final. (My vote went to D Wade in the 2006 Finals. Yeah, more sh*tty officiating, but to rally from down 0-2, and clinch on the opponents floor, that's a pretty solid achievement. Even if our "good friends" Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore were involved.)
* Mikey Waltrip hit the wall! Thank you Jesus! He's out for Daytona! (entire field breathing huge sigh of relief, as driver safety now is at least 12% improved over where it was yesterday).
* Finally caught an episode of "American Idol" last night. I got duped -- they said it was "Hollywood Week". I should have remember, "Hollywood Week" is still a trainwreck. One more week until I'm back in, once we get down to 24.
* I did enjoy Ellen as a judge though. I didn't think I would ... but I like her smart ass sarcasm.
* Just a few more random thoughts before powering down for the day.
* Speaking of things I didn't need ingrained in my head: John Edwards Sex Tape. Ugh. At least it wasn't with Elizabeth.
* Cool new site: probasketballtalk.com Its about time the NBA gets a constant rumor mill site up and running.
* I'm still not even remotely excited about Royals season.
* Or the first Chiefs ticket renewal payment hitting my account on Monday. At least I get a brick out of the deal though. "Yeah, Stevo, we know you paid to sit through a decade of heartbreaking defeats, constant underachieving, and the last three years, outright embarrassment and humiliation. And we know we're raping you on the cost of your seat. But hey! You can have a personally inscribed brick in the new plaza area for your troubles!" The sad thing is ... I'm pumped about my brick ...
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