Who are you Karim Garcia?

I hate losing

2011-01-17T01:21:00.003-05:00

I hate losing. I really do. I'm usually very amicable (I swear) but when I'm doing anything competitive I'm just a monster. I gloat when I win, I pout when I lose. I nudge the ball forward for some extra yards in two hand touch and I'll elbow you on the way to the basket in some two on two. This week in my head-to-head fantasy hoops league I found myself down 2000 points. Usually I wouldn't panic, but there were only two Sunday games, and I had no players on the four teams in action, meaning a garunteed loss for me. So, I had to get my Pat Riley on and somehow salvage my week. I used the last four matchup acquisitions I had available to get players from the clippers, lakers, nuggets and spurs (the only four teams playing) from the waiver wire and hoped it would be enough to make up for the points I was trailing by and also the numbers Tim Duncan and Nene Hilario were going go put up for my opponent. Sunday night on my way to sleep I checked the final score for the week, and I barley squeaked by with a win, bringing my record to 8-2. I just want to give myself a round of applause for my great job this week and pretty much all the time (feel free to join me.) My compete level is at a constant 10, and my will to win (not the skill of any professional basketball players) got Team teach me how to dougie a come from behind win.

I know not all of new england's team won this Sunday, but I hope that my victory can be a little pick-me-up this Monday morning.

I just puked in my mouth a little

2011-01-16T20:37:00.001-05:00

This man sleeps a little bit easier tonight.

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

2011-01-12T15:35:00.001-05:00

After leaving Lucas Oil Stadium with the scalps of Peyton Manning and co., Rex Ryan and his New York Jets are blabbering about the “personal” nature of Sunday’s rubber match against the New England Patriots who are coming off a first round bye. Business in New England, however, is business as usual. The press will have to wait until Sunday for a Patriots rebuttal.

New England’s last response to the New York rhetoric was an emphatic 45-3 drubbing on Monday Night Football. The win propelled the Patriots to the top of the division, and they never gave up the crown.

If the AFC championship game is to be held at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots defense has to come out swinging on Sunday. If they are flat or hesitant, Mark Sanchez won’t have to drop back at all. The aging LaDainian Tomlinson will be able to average five YPC on clock killing drives, which will leave no. 12 precisely where Rex Ryan wants him, all while tiring the young defense.

Last year in the Wild Card round, Ray Rice rolled for an 83 yard score on the first offensive play at New England. The Baltimore Ravens were able to dictate the entire feel of the game with that first round haymaker, and were able to fly out with a convincing road win.

A fast start on defense is imperative for a New England victory this weekend.

On the other side of the ball, Tom Brady will find his looks. Darrelle Revis has proven to be a force and when he’s in man coverage, whomever he’s on seems to disappear. Without Randy Moss, though there is no longer any one player Revis needs to focus on. Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Danny Woodhead have all proven to be viable options. It’s a cast of offensive nobodies – Revis thrives when covering the big names.

This New England team has a similar demeanor to those dynasty teams of the early 2000s. Look for them to come out strong and respond to the tabloids with fast, hard-hitting football.

This game should be closer than the last match, but I like the Patriots in a comfy one (knock on wood).

Prediction: Patriots – 30, Jets – 20

Sir Charles Classic

2011-01-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

The Bruins Are Embarrassing

2011-01-09T12:22:00.005-05:00

Thank God for the NFL Playoffs. The Bruins' disgraceful loss to the Canadiens went under the radar for the most part last night, but those who saw the game may have witnessed the end of the Bruins' as a Stanley Cup contender. The Bruins collapsed in the third period, blowing a two goal lead as well as their hold on first place in the Northeast Division in the final 2:22. The first goal was an embarrassing shot from just above the left circle from Scott Gomez that was deflected off a Bruin skate. Thomas apparently missed the deflection entirely despite the puck changing direction a full 8 feet before it hit the net and the puck went in 5 hole without a save attempt being made. Then, just a minute in a half later, the Bruins allow a DEFLECTION in front of the net for the tie. This goal was inexcusable. Every player and coach in the NHL knows that with a minute and a half left any shot taken is being aimed with the intent to deflect and not a snipe. At this point the game was already over, but the Canadiens ended it with 3:49 left in overtime.

The Bruins did show some signs of life moments after the game ended, when Zdeno Chara went at Max Pecioretty after he scored. It was great to see that fighting spark from the Bruins, especially after, and not during, a division game with first place on the line against your most hatred rival. In all honesty it was good to see Chara show some spark, with recent questions raised about his leadership on and off the ice, but the Bruins answered a lot of questions last night. Most critics have argued their mental toughness isn't there enough for them to be serious contenders for the Cup. Between this and the embarrassing 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild at home, the Bruins have shown complacency in their style of play and have broken whenever tested or had to step up their game late. They've been saying all the right things about how it has to be fixed and how they won't stand for it, but it hasn't shown on the ice.

The B's just haven't been able to put a whole game together consistently throughout the season. Glimpses of their potential have been there, but they haven't played a full sixty minutes of competitive hockey in weeks. The next stretch will be gut check time for the team, to see if they have what it takes to once again be taken seriously in the Stanley Cup discussion. They play Pittsburgh (4th in East but likely without Crosby), Ottawa, and Philadelphia (1st in East).

There's no question this team is elite when things are going their way. The line of Savard, Horton, and Lucic could be one of the best lines in hockey if Savard gets back to full health and confidence and Horton regains the scoring touch he had earlier in the season. Lucic has been great around the net this season, but he's forgotten what made him a star in the Boston. He's been less aggressive in the corners and hasn't shown his physical side deep in the offensive zone, a key factor to the Bruins' deep cycle offense. Past that first line changes need to made. Blake Wheeler couldn't hit a barn, much less the broad side of one, and he's wasting a right wing spot with either Krejci or Bergeron. My option is to move up Thornton, who only has two less goals than Wheeler despite playing more than 5 minutes less per game, and could start producing more if he was given more minutes. The defensive side of the ice looks fine, with Thomas in the MVP race and Rask starting to get back to last year's level with a great game against the Wild. The Bruins lead the league in goals against, and if their offense can get going who knows what could happen, but it doesn't appear that they have the balls to do it.

Marshawn Lynch's Run Was One of the Greatest of All Time

2011-01-09T02:05:00.003-05:00

The fact that at the end of this game the announcers were focusing on the Saints collapse rather than the Seahawks improbably upset is a joke. This was the best offensive football game of the year and it was capped off by the greatest rush that I personally have ever seen live. Im fairly certain God granted Marshawn Lynch this moment of brilliance purely because he granted him with one of the ugliest faces the world has seen. Regardless, anything that makes me jump up and down screaming "holy shit!!" when the runner is on the 30 yard line and then proceeds to BREAK 2 MORE TACKLES before hitting pay-dirt is more than blog-worthy at 2 in the morning. The Seahawks will get spanked in Atlanta but the NFL just found its greatest playoff rush of all time.

Charles Barkley for the win

2011-01-09T00:56:00.001-05:00

2011-01-09T00:45:00.001-05:00

Onion SportsDome

2011-01-08T12:54:00.001-05:00

Wake Up and Drink.....but don't actually

2011-01-08T11:51:00.003-05:00

I was reading waykg the other day and realized that I am far and away the worst writer on the site. If you don't believe me read my old beer posts and check how many times I use the same word in one sentence, or even across two or three...it's bad. I'm going to start by blaming the subject matter. I usually post after having drank the beer I'm talking about..so there's that. Also the rest of these fools are still in college, and I can barely remember how to write my name since graduating 6 months ago. So sue me.

On to the beer! I have such a hard-on for anything Clown Shoes does. The first of their series I tried was the "Hoppy Feet" Black IPA. They made this "Hoppy Feet 1.5" in honor of their first anniversary. As you could probably guess from the label, this edition has 1.5 times more alcohol than the regular, and from what I remember - loads more flavor. Black IPA's have only been around since the early 90's; invented by this dude up in Vermount. The style uses roasted malts for the dark color - like a stout or porter, and plenty of Cascade hops from northern california to retain some of the hoppy taste and smell signature to IPA's. Another name for Black IPA's is Cascadian Dark Ale, in reference to the area the hops are grown.

This was the first thing I drank New Years Eve night and wow. It was love at first sip...maybe even sniff. You taste all the loveliness of a Guiness plus the punch of an IPA (which happens to be my favorite style of beer.) It really is the best of both worlds, and an awesome option if you're a fan of either style looking for something interesting to try. The best part is that you can barely taste the high alcohol percentage. There isn't a liquory feel to it like most strong ales, so it is very easy too enjoy.

Overall- the Yummiest Yummy Beer of my new year!

Wake Up and Jam

2011-01-07T06:45:00.003-05:00

Malcolm Kelly - Let Me Sit Sideways (freestyle)

Maolcolm Kelly destroying it after a big bowl win way back when.

2011-01-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

Predicting the BCS Title Game

2011-01-06T16:06:00.003-05:00

As the resident College Football expert on the blog, I figured before I head off to Arizona to partake in BCS festivities I would give you my keys and prediction for the title game between Auburn and Oregon. I expect it to be a hard fought, close game that could go either way depending on how both teams execute.

Key No. 1: Third Down Efficiency

For Oregon to have any chance to slow down Auburn's offense they have to get off the field on third down. This is going to be very difficult as Auburn was third in the country at converting 3rd Downs at an amazing 53.1%. One of the problems had with Ohio State last year was allowing Terrelle Pryor to convert 3rd and longs with his legs as the play broke down. They are going to have to keep contain and force Newton to make some throws or Auburn will be able to move the ball at will. On the flip side, Oregon has to convert third downs to keep Auburn's defense on the field and push the pace to their advantage. If Auburn can hold the Ducks to some three and outs in the first half, don't be surprised if they go up big early.

Key No. 2: Auburn's D-Line vs. Oregon's O-Line

Cal was the only team that really slowed Oregon down during the regular season and the big reason is that they won the battle up front. Oregon's O-Line got pushed around all game and they were unable to make big holes for LaMichael James to run through. A lot has been about Nick Fairley, but I think it is going to be the rest of Auburn's D-Line that is the key. Oregon's zone reads are based on leaving a defender unblocked and I think they will leave Fairley open and make the zone reads off of him. This means that Fairley will probably have a couple of sacks and tackles for loss, but that will be the trade-off for blocking 5 of Auburn's weaker players to try and create running lanes. If Auburn can create a big push for most of the game, Oregon will struggle to run the ball up the middle and be forced to put the game in Darron Thomas' hands.

Key No. 3: Punt Returns

Oregon's Cliff Harris has been the most dangerous punt returner in the country this season and is a legitimate threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. He already has four punt return TDs this season and Auburn has struggled this year with punting. A special teams TD could blow the game wide open and would be a huge help for the Ducks. However, Harris also has fumbled the ball several times this season, although none have been too costly so far. Oregon's kick returners Josh Huff and Kenjon Barner have also put the ball on the turf and I think Auburn can take advantage of this huge weakness. Oregon is 105th in the nation with 15 fumbles, and if they put the ball on the turf more than once, Auburn will almost certainly win.

Prediction: Oregon 42, Auburn 31

This may be a homer pick, but I actually believe that Oregon's D will be able to limit Cam Newton like Alabama and Clemson were able to do. The difference in those games were that both teams didn't have the offensive firepower (the Tide were also killed by injuries) to weather the storm. Oregon's offense will struggle early, but I think James and Thomas provide enough big plays for Oregon to hold on. Cam Newton throws a late pick, and Thomas throws a TD to Maehl midway through the 4th quarter to seal the win.

2011-01-06T12:15:00.001-05:00

@THE_REAL_SHAQ

Expanding Your Cinema Horizons- Adaptation

2011-01-05T23:15:00.000-05:00

Note: Rififi was scheduled for today, but I figured people wouldn't read about two French films in a row, so I switched it with Adaptation

Screenwriters often go under the radar in Hollywood. Seriously, most any movie fan came name a decent amount of actors and directors, but I doubt that only real cinephiles could name more than one or two screenwriters (unless or course they also direct or star in films). One of the few screenwriters that actually has star power is Charlie Kaufman, who was had major success despite the fact that his films are often surrealistic and deal with our metaphysical nature. In his 2002 film Adaptation, directed by Spike Jones, Kaufman explores his own struggle to adapt Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief into a coherent screenplay. What follows is a very interesting look into the screenwriting process and a closer view of one of Hollywood's most interesting minds.

The film essentially follows two stories, Charlie's struggles to adapt The Orchid Thief and Susan Orlean's experiences interviewing John Larouche (the subject of the book) about his role in helping the Seminole Indian tribe steal orchids from national parks. The majority of the plot details both of the journeys they take to take their subject matter and turn it into something else. However, the film is anything but boring and it uses many odd twists to show changes in narration and mood. The film is also notable because Kaufman created a fake brother Donald who gets a real life screenwriting credit. In the film, Donald is Charlie's more fun-loving sibling who begins writing very generic crime thriller screenplays. His success selling his screenplay The 3 and his involvement with Charlie's struggles turn the movie into much more than a look at screenwriting.

This film is about a lot more than its complicated plot. It is extremely well acted and includes some amazing performances from Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, and believe it or not Nicolas Cage. Cage portrays both Charlie and Donald Kaufman and is just perfect in both roles. He is excellent at portraying the subtle neurosis of Charlie especially. In the film, Charlie Kaufman is an absolute head-case and weak willed person and Cage's performance (opposite of his usual movies) is full of nuance and pained emotion. Charlie is one step short of a nervous breakdown and Cage masters his awkward tics and speech patterns, especially in this scene where Charlie attends a screenwriting seminar done by the famous Robert McKee, played well by Brian Cox.

Cooper is also perfect in the role of John Laroche, a very odd man fascinated by orchids and their relationship with the rest of nature. His scenes with Steep are incredibly fascinating and I was shocked at how interesting he makes orchids seem.

Adaptation is a film that is about much more than its plot. It's about writing, specifically adaptation, and how we take something and make it our own (even if that means writing us into our own screenplay), but its also about people and their relationships with one and another. It is certainly not a popcorn movie, but if you love great acting and writing this is a film not to be missed. Adaptation is vintage Kaufman, and also in my opinion the best film ever about the art of crafting something for the screen. Put it number one on your Netflix queue, you won't be disappointed.

2011-01-05T15:52:00.001-05:00

Boras Wins Again

2011-01-05T11:35:00.003-05:00

Scott Boras has seemingly found another way to circumvent the rules stated in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement which is set to expire following the 2011 season. This time the issue at hand relates to the distribution of loans to Dominican prospects and the legality/implications that comes with it.

Under current MLBPA rules an agent may lend money to a current client as long as he reports the transaction to the MLBPA and expects the money to be paid back in the future.

What’s not permitted per MLBPA rules is an agent “loaning” money to a player to entice him to switch representation or retain him when their client threatens to switch agency.

Scott Boras made a series of loans to client Edward Salcedo from 2007-2009 that amounted to a total of $70,000. The loans were said to help pay for basic current living expenses to an obvious family in need. These loans were “expected” to be paid back at a later date when Salcedo would sign a professional contract.

Following these loans a series of questions began to arise on the actual age of Edward Salcedo. As a result, teams deterred from making him a contract offer. Salcedo then switched representation to another agency which landed him a contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Salcedo and his family began receiving phone calls from Boras representatives seeking for repayment of their previous loan. In fear that they would want the money directly up front in one lump sum Salcedo switched back to Boras.

Ultimately, the MLB players association sent a letter to the Commissioner’s office saying that Boras did not violate its regulations.

“If the union feels that Boras giving money to young Dominican prospects does not violate its rules, then they should take a look at their own rules,” said one high-ranking baseball official.

There is no governing body overseeing agency relationships with unsigned players in the Dominican Republic. As long as they are 16 yrs of age they are eligible to sign a professional contract.

Sandy Alderson was originally put in charge of cleaning up the mess in the Dominican Republic and restoring some sort of rules and regulations. This off-season Sandy was hired as the New York Mets General Manager and the mess continues.

-CBF

2011-01-04T16:19:00.001-05:00

Wake Up and Jam

2011-01-04T06:41:00.002-05:00

The New Pornographers - Jackie Dressed in Cobras

POTATO!!!!!!

2011-01-03T18:46:00.002-05:00

Red Sox 2011 Draft Picks Preview

2011-01-03T15:12:00.004-05:00

With the most recent news that Adrian Beltre is on the verge of signing with the Texas Rangers it’s time to look into future at what one of the most historic off-seasons in Red Sox history means for the team going forward into the 2011 amateur draft. The off-season was highlighted by the additions of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler and a surplus of cost effective low risk-high reward options in the back end of the bullpen. All the while an argument could be made that the most impressive feat of all was their ability to stock up on draft picks in the early rounds while doing so.

The major hole in the team entering the off-season was certainly the bullpen. The Red Sox bullpen ranked 13th in the American League in ERA and blew 23 saves. In order to do so the Red Sox expected to be extremely active on the free agent market for middle relief and potentially forfeit their draft picks to sign prominent type A free agents like Scott Downs and Rafael Soriano. As the off-season took shape Bobby Jenks was soon non-tendered by the White Sox and Dan Wheeler was not offered arbitration from the Rays. The Red Sox pounced on the opportunity and added two guys who would have otherwise been Type A players and required the cost of a 1st rd pick for compensation. As a result the Red Sox managed to effectively put together one of the best AL bullpens on paper and hold onto their draft picks.

The Red Sox are looking at potentially 5 picks in the top 50 and here’s how…

1st rd
19. Received from Tigers in compensation for Victor Martinez
26. Received from Rangers in compensation for Adrian Beltre

1st rd – supplemental
36. Victor Martinez compensation
40 or 41. Adrian Beltre compensation *
50ish. Felipe Lopez compensation pick

*Pending where Carl Pavano signs. Sox receive 41 if Pavano sign with anyone other than Minnesotta. 40 if Minnesota.

The last time the Red Sox coveted this many early picks was in 2005 which resulted in the following.
23. Jacoby Ellsbury
26. Craig Hansen
42. Clay Buccholz
45. Jed Lowrie
47. Michael Bowden

This looks to be the last draft under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Red Sox will certainly take advantage of the system and spend significant dollars as always. The current system has no cap and no required slotting system. The Commissioners office simply makes a “recommendation” on how much a player should get for where he is selected in the draft. However, teams are free to ignore this “recommendation” and spend whatever it takes to sign their guy. This creates an obvious advantage for larger market teams like Boston who can lure top prospects from going to college or returning for their senior year of college with significant bonuses. This system is a hot topic of discussion for the new CBA and will most likely be altered to a more competitively balanced system in the future.

-CBF

New Years Jam

2010-12-31T11:30:00.003-05:00

How could I not close the year with the best party song of 2010? Ke$ha's Tik Tok hits every requirement a good party song needs. 1. A dance beat. 2. A killer hook. 3. A chick talking about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels. When you have those three things in a song you're pretty much guaranteed party song of the year. So congrats, Ke$ha. We only hope you can one up yourself in 2011. Happy New Year ya'll.

Expanding Your Cinema Horizons- La Haine

2010-12-30T19:28:00.003-05:00

Poverty, race, immigration, and violence are issues commonly dealt with in American films. Our history as the land of the "melting pot" make issues of race and class based conflict sometimes seem like an American issue. After all these issues are mainly urban issues and no one usually associates cities like London and Paris with the ghettos seen in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. However, in reality these issues have been rampant in the Paris suburban ghettos, called banlieues, since the late 1980s. Specifically, the area of Clichy-sous-Bois has been home to several episodes of rioting and extreme violence in the mid-1990s and 2000s. Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film La Haine, which translates to "the Hate", details these urban struggles with a subtlety that American films on the subject lack, making La Haine not just a movie about French issues, but one that addresses it on a global scale.

The movie centers on the relationship between three friends of different backgrounds, Vinz (Jewish), Said (Muslim), and Hubert (African), as they live out a day inside and outside the banlieue. All three are angry over the beating one of their friends took from police the night before and the condition of their friend and potential retaliation is a constant theme throughout the film. Vinz, played by the excellent Vincent Cassel, finds a police officer's gun lost amidst rioting and the gun drags all three main characters deeper into the specter of violence the banlieue presents. However, unlike most films on this subject Kassovitz does an excellent job staying away from heavy-handed messages. All three characters waver from violent outbursts and bad decisions to moments of real self-reflection and all three actors do an excellent job of making their characters seem like real people instead of convenient personalities to push a single message. Kassovitz also journeys away from the banlieue into the heart of Paris to show how it isn't necessarily the place that has made them this way, but the attitude of the nation. Kassovitz stays away from easy answers to the questions the movie poses and the climatic ending is very fitting, and based on a real life event.

Outside of the message, the film is beautifully shot in black and white and the cinematography brings out the bleakness of the locale. Kassovitz also uses many different shooting angles and techniques that keep the movie interesting and provide great views of the people and buildings that make up their lives. The film is also dripping with the American hip-hop and gangster culture that permeated France in the mid 1990s. The characters seem like they would fit in in any American city and the mix of French traditionalism and American hip-hop culture produce some awesome set pieces and references, including this mix where a DJ blasting to the whole ghetto samples KRS-ONE and Edith Piaf.

La Haine is a wonderfully shot movie with deep and interesting characters, action, and amazing set pieces that tells the story of urban struggles. It may not have the pedigree of a Do the Right Thing, but it is brilliantly acted and does not force the message down your throat. It is one of the best foreign language films of the last twenty years and is a must watch for any film lover.

Marco Scutaro’s Incredibly Ridiculous Plate Discipline

2010-12-30T14:08:00.010-05:00

Marco Scutaro is an especially interesting player with an incredibly underrated skill set that may go un-noticed to the average fan. While traditional statistics like home runs and a high batting average are what generate attention and excitement; the reality is that a successful MLB player is measured beyond that into more meaningful statistics that better demonstrate his true value and contribution. Taking a closer look at Marco Scutaro’s 2010 season I found that Scutaro possesses one of the greatest assets to any Major League team; tremendous plate discipline.

One of the best indications of a player’s plate discipline and meaningful at bats is his pitches seen per plate appearance. Rather, the ability to wear pitchers down and make consistent contact fighting off pitches. In 2010 Marco Scutaro ranked 1st in all of MLB shortstops and 29th in all MLB with 4.04 pitches per plate appearance. Additionally, Scutaro saw 2,808 pitches in total which was still 100 more than the next closest SS and ranked 15th in all of MLB.

To better demonstrate just how superior Scutaro’s plate discipline is to the rest of the league we can take a look at some more advanced statistics. Here is a look at some key statistics that measure plate discipline and how he fared against the league average.

Swing %
Scutaro: 37.5% (5th in all of MLB)
Avg : 45.6%

O-Swing % (swing% pitches outside the zone)
Scutaro : 19.4% (5th in all of MLB)
Avg : 29.3%

O-Contact% (contact rate outside the zone)
Scutaro : 87% (3rd in all of MLB)
Avg : 66.5%

Z-Contact % (contact rate inside the zone)
Scutaro: 97.4% (3rd in all of MLB)
Average: 88.1%

Contact %
Scutaro: 94.8% (1st in all of MLB)
Average: 80.7%

SwSt % (swing and miss %)
Scutaro : 1.9% (1st in all MLB)
Avg : 8.5 %

Looking at these numbers we see that Scutaro is extremely patient at the plate and rarely reaches outside of the zone to chase pitches. Even when he does get fooled and caught off balance he manages to make contact 87% of the time – 21% more than league average.

The other statistic that stands out is his remarkable 94% contact rate and 1.9% swing and miss percentage which ranked him 1st in both categories amongst all of MLB at any position.

In addition to a low swing % and high contact rate you can probably predict that Scutaro took his share of walks as well. In 2010 Scutaro had 53 walks ranking him 3rd amongst AL shortstops. The single most important thing a player can do at the plate is not make an out. For this reason it is best to measure a player based on his On Base Percentage (% times he does not make an out). Scutaro had a .333 OBP in 2010 ranking him 3rd amongst AL shortstops.

I leave you with this visual of Scutaro’s BB/K ratio against the league average. Even after a considerable drop off from a career year in 09’ he still ranked well above the league average SS in 2010.

(All data courtesy of Fangraphs)

-CBF

Is This Real?

2010-12-30T13:57:00.005-05:00

No? Good.

Yao Ming and Bostjan Nachbar = Plane Party!!!

2010-12-29T14:07:00.005-05:00

If there's one thing the Chinese do well its sweater fashion

The Internet Used To Be So Lame

2010-12-29T13:39:00.007-05:00

You're looking at screenshots from the original Space Jam website. Was that really only 14 years ago? The internet was so fricken lame back then. Each page took light years to load and you had to look at stupid Times New Roman red font written on top of a black starry night background. Everyone knows black backgrounds are the absolutely worst to use when trying to get people to read any form of information. Space Jam the movie killed it but this website needs to step up its game. Stellar Souvenirs? Does Warner Bros. know anything about marketing? Every inch of this site should have had pictures of Michael Jordan on it. At least put some of Michael's Secret Stuff up for sale. That drink would sell as fast as the Jordan 11's.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-29T12:19:00.002-05:00

Girl Talk - Knife / Wamp Wamp

Expanding Your Cinema Horizons- Modern Times

2010-12-28T16:02:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of film history knows that the biggest development in cinema's 100+ years was the development of synchronous sound technology in the late 1920s. However, what most people don't know is that this transition did not go as smoothly as people may perceive. The first major film with synchronous sound, The Jazz Singer, actually plays much more like a regular silent film that has some musical acts with synchronized sound. That film was released in 1927, and it wasn't until around 1930 that films had dialogue that is similar to what we see today. Outside of the technological problems associated with the switch to sound films, major industry stars fell by the wayside because they were unable to make the switch. In fact, a lot of the silent film stars were foreign immigrants whose thick accents caused them to fall out of favor with the studios. Silent film stars such as Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, and Buster Keaton all faded from oblivion, and even the biggest silent film star Charlie Chaplin only released two more major motion pictures (one the 1940 sound film The Great Dictator).

The other of Chaplin's two major releases, the 1936 silent film Modern Times, is generally regarded as the best of Chaplin's work and was both the last major silent film and the last appearance of Chaplin's legendary Tramp character. While all of these historical landmarks make the film important in its own right, Modern Times stands out because it is a snapshot of both the technological changes in the film industry and the United States and their effect on the American populous. The plot of the film is fairly basic, essentially it is a series of mishaps by The Tramp as he attempts to work various jobs such as factory worker, night watchman at a department store, and singing waiter and his continued failures that mostly lead to jail sentences. He even meets a young girl (played by Paulette Goddard) who helps the Tramp with jobs, housing, and company. The film isn't even really fully silent, as Chaplin uses synchronized sound effects, and even has some dialogue although it is very sparse.

Culturally, however, the film's message is all about the difficulty of man to adjust to technological advancements in industry. In 1936, the country was still recovering from the devastation caused by the Great Depression, and most people in blue-collar jobs still found themselves in and out of work. On top of that the increasing mechanization of assembly lines made many unskilled laborers unnecessary. The 1930s and 1940s were the beginning of America's shift into becoming a service economy and as Modern Times illustrates for many it was easy to get lost in the shuffle of unemployment and poverty. Chaplin always portrayed the Tramp as a clumsy, unintelligent everyman who succeeded in spite of his best efforts, and nowhere is he more likable than in Modern Times. Despite his struggles and mistakes, he is an easy character to root for and Chaplin's ending makes us hopeful that one day the Tramp and all like him will find their place in the sun.

Artistically, the film is also one of the best examples of mickey-mousing (synchronizing music and effects with on-screen action) and slapstick humor ever created. The film has several classic sequences such as the Tramp working in the assembly line, his time as night watchman, and even the Tramp's only words, a song of gibberish he sings to entertain the restaurant he works in. The most famous scene though is the one where the Tramp is selected to test out a modern feeding machine,

All of the scenes expertly show Chaplin's knack for comic acting, and his facial expressions and gestures say more than any words could. The movie is genuinely funny and interesting, and it runs at a quick 87 minutes so even if you have not seen a full silent film before, Modern Times is an easy one to start with, unlike say Birth of a Nation.

More importantly than the films humor, however, is that Modern Times is the perfect film to express an important part in film's history. As silent film faded away so too did various film stars, directors, acting styles, and scoring techniques. The transition to synchronous sound completely redefined film as a medium, and over time the silent-film era has become seemingly unimportant. Chaplin was criticized for making a silent film almost nine years after synchronized sound began, but what Modern Times shows is that there will always be a place for great acting, humor, and wonderful characters no matter their technological standing. After all, Modern Times was the third highest grossing movie of the 1936, partly on star power, but also because it is an excellent film. So add Modern Times to your Netflix queue, and enjoy a film that showcases silent film's biggest star as he adjusted to a changing Hollywood. It is as the Tramp says in the last title card of the film (and some say the silent film era), "Buck up- never say die! We'll get along."

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

Unless It's Kicks - Okkervil River

Notre Dame and Miami Players BANNED From Mexico

2010-12-27T13:53:00.002-05:00

EL PASO, Texas -- Players from Notre Dame and Miami will not be allowed to cross the border into one of Mexico's most dangerous cities during their free time before the Hyundai Sun Bowl.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly took his team's passports before the Fighting Irish flew to El Paso as a precaution. The Hurricanes didn't bring passports, either, and met with both local law enforcement and the FBI on Sunday shortly after arriving in Texas to further underscore the potential dangers of crossing the border.

Fans from both schools have also been urged to be cautious. El Paso borders the Mexican city of Cuidad Juarez, which is wrapped in a drug war. Officials say more than 3,000 people have been killed there this year alone, and the vast majority of crimes in the city are never investigated.

I'd be willing to wager serious money that 95% of The U had there gats packed up ready to throwdown with those crazy Cuidad Juarez Mexicans before they were even on the plane to El Paso. I mean have you see the 30 for 30 on The U? This is what these dudes live for. 3,000 people already killed over the year? Michael Irvin saw that in 4 weeks of Miami night clubbin. Once again, the NCAA cracking down on something they shouldnt stick their nose into. Im actually fully confident that Miami could have single-handedly ended the drug war between the amount of money they're given weekly and the fact that they could have intimidated the shit out of those drug-lords. You haven't messed with America until you mess with the streets of Miami.

Ps. Did they really have the take Notre Dame's passport's? No chance they were coming within 300 yards of the Mexican border.

Jingle Bells Jam

2010-12-24T11:58:00.008-05:00

wordaapp1

Wake Up and Laugh. Diana Taurasi Tests Positive for Steroids

2010-12-24T10:38:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK -- Diana Taurasi is facing one of the most difficult challenges to her stellar basketball career.

The WNBA standout and former UConn star tested positive for a mild stimulant while playing in a pro league in Turkey, her lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday night.

Neither Jacobs nor Fenerbahce confirmed that Taurasi tested positive for modafinil, which has been involved in several major doping cases, including that of U.S. sprinter Kelli White.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!! Fresh off Geno and the UConn chicks whining like Snooki about not getting enough attention, Diana Taurasi comes through and gives us all a laugh by testing positive for a banned substance. What a week for women's basketball. I'd give you more but I'm hungover and its Christmas Eve.

Yummy Beer

2010-12-24T01:28:00.003-05:00

Terrible picture, but it was dark in the room.- Anywho, this is an Anchor Small Beer. Anchor brewing is one of America's oldest breweries and this particular style is an older style of beer that doesn't get made too much these days. Basically, small beer is beer brewed using mash that has already been used to make Barley Wine (Anchor's Barley Wine is called Old Foghorn if you're interested in trying both). Barley Wine's tend to have high alcohol content with intense flavors and a hard liquory taste; not something you could drink a whole lot of. At just a hair over 3% alc. Small Beer is a whole lot weaker. Think of it as a cup of tea made with a tea bag that's already been used a few times if my explanation doesn't make sense. As far as taste - this was the first time I've had a small beer and I wasn't over or underwhelmed by the taste. So I guess this beer is very whelming. It's technically an ale because it is fermented warm, but it drinks more like a lager - crisp, with less intense flavors. It's very unoffensive to drink so I think most people would enjoy it, I just like my beer to have a little more going on. In the end - it's all beer, and it's all yummy

2010-12-23T19:49:00.003-05:00

@paulpierce34

True Grit

2010-12-23T18:23:00.002-05:00

I’m kind of a sucker for the Coen Brothers, so I feared that even before seeing it I would not be able to build critical distance from their newest film, True Grit, which already touts best picture buzz. Even with its prerelease praise and my affection for Joel and Ethan Coen, I left the theater a bit underwhelmed after this one.

Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld giving her first feature film appearance were all excellent. Having not read the novel, I can’t speak to how faithful the film was, but after viewing trailers, I was surprised at how lighthearted the movie got at times. I sort of expected a rough and tough Coen western – which at times it was – but was a surprised by its buffoonery. There’s a scene in the film where Rooster Cogburn (Bridges), a drunken violent U.S. marshal gets involved in a heated metaphorical dick measuring competition with LaBoeuf (Damon), a proud Texas ranger who has spent months on the trail of the petty low ranking gang member Tom Chaney (Brolin) by throwing cornbread (a limited and necessary resource on their tiring search for Chaney) into the air and firing at it mid flight.

Cogburn is built up from the moment we actually see him as this ultimate badass as he sits in court, emotionless as he’s being grilled about what he calls self-defense, which really may have been murder. As the film continues to roll, though, Cogburn sort of becomes comparable to Jim in Mel Brooks’ classic 1974 western comedy Blazing Saddles struggling to sit up:

Bart: Need any help?

Jim: Oh… All I can get

The story is one of revenge. Mattie Ross (Steinfeld) is 14 years old. She’s incredibly smart for her age. Sometimes, she seems to be a bit too smart given the violent and unforgiving terrain of old Arkansas in which she lives. After all, the film takes place in a time where a woman’s role was much different than it is now. It was somewhat difficult to believe that Mattie could bully some of these hardened cowboys the way she does. Mattie wishes to avenge her father’s death by killing Chaney, the guilty party. She reaches out to Cogburn who is predictably reluctant to help with her search, and he predictably gives in. LaBoeuf wants Chaney for his own reasons, but the three make for a fun team to root for on their way to Chaney.

The acting shines, and I suspect Steinfeld has a long career ahead of her. I enjoyed this film, but it fell short of my expectations. I hold the Coens to a high standard as they have made some of my all time favorite movies, so maybe I’m jaded. The Coens always have humor in their films, regardless of subject, I’m just not so sure it works in True Grit as effectively in some of their prior films. In The Big Lewbowski, the comedy was witty, and abrasive, in Fargo it was grotesque, and in No Country for Old Men it was frightening. Here, it borders on slapstick, which is a tight squeeze for a movie about revenge in a violent south.

I remember leaving the theater after seeing No Country and someone said “Get your money back on that one!” It’s one of my favorite films personally, but I understood why a dude on a date would have been disappointed. It wasn’t a popcorn movie. It demanded more thought than the time spent in the theater actually watching it, which is the main reason I am so fond of the Coen Brothers filmography.

True Grit is a good popcorn movie, and a fun watch with terrific acting, but it isn’t a film I’ll be dwelling on for days, weeks, months or even years to come.

As a rating, I’ll give the classic, tried and true cliché response: It’s good for what it is.

Happy Festivus!

2010-12-23T18:00:00.004-05:00

Go Shopping and Jam

2010-12-23T13:34:00.003-05:00

Sufjan Stevens - Come On Let's Boogey To the Elf Dance

It's Christmas and I forgot about the blog until now. Shoot me. As a treat, I present to you my favorite Christmas song performed by the multi-talented Sufjan Stevens (Although I will forever spite him for not following through on the 50 states, 50 albums concept and taking 5 years off from music...bastard)

Introducing....

2010-12-23T01:39:00.002-05:00

Expanding your cinema horizons

So basically I wanted to do something else with the blog on a regular basis than just TV recaps, and I really like Dave's idea about doing movie reviews about older or less-well known films that I think people will really enjoy. In reality, I'm sure people will have heard of many of the films I do, and many are classic films that I enjoy and think added a lot to the legacy of cinema. I intend to do films of all types of genres, languages, and directors, but also am open to suggestions on classic or contemporary films that you think I should see and write on. Since I will be busy with school, TV recaps, and other life-related jazz I am aiming to do just two of these posts a week starting after Christmas. Here's a list of the first ten films I'm going to write about so you can get an idea of the types of movies I plan to do and when I aim to do them. For some reason I think Tuesday and Thursday will be a good time to post them so expect one every Tuesday and Thursday.

12/28- Modern Times

12/30- La Haine

1/4- Rififi

1/6- Fast, Cheap & Out on Control

1/11- McCabe and Mrs. Miller

1/13- Adaptation

1/18- Shadow of a Doubt

1/20- Singin' in the Rain

1/25- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

1/27- Touch of Evil

That will take us to the end of January so get excited people.

HIMYM- False Positive

2010-12-23T00:53:00.002-05:00

Season 6- Episode 12

For all of you out there who watch How I Met Your Mother, you will know that one of their familiar story techniques is the rapid fire, flashback and flashforward combination that fragments the storytelling. In HIMYM's earlier seasons they used this technique to create episodes that were very funny and had good character development (well for a traditional sitcom at least), and I was happy to see them use this style again in "False Positive". Season 6 has been mainly about advancing the characters to bigger life-stages, which at times has felt forced, although it is necessary since the show began to stagnate. However, "False Positive" did an excellent job taking the characters away from their journeys and to let them have a little fun for a bit.

The premise of the episode was that Marshall & Lily take a home pregnancy test that turns up positive, which causes Robin and Barney to start to reevaluate what they are doing with their lives. The episode goes back to this reveal several times to see how each major character reacts to this big reveal, and from there we see how everyone took the news. Robin decides that she needs to finally make a decision on her career move, and narrows it down to either taking a research job at a major news channel or being the new "coin flip bimbo" on the popular show Million Dollar Heads or Tails, hosted by Canada's own Alex Trebek. Barney takes the news as a sign that he should start to give away some of the money he has made to charity instead of buying a suit with diamond pinstripes. He does this first by doing his best Oprah imitation and giving away his favorite things to everyone at MacLarens , and second by donating to his brother's father's church.

However, what makes this episode more than just a very generic maturation story is the fact that early in the episode we find out that Marshall & Lily's positive test was incorrect. This leads to the funniest part of the episode where all of the earlier portrayals of them as a happy and excited couple were really them hiding how freaked out they were. They even attempt to do all the pre-birth activities in one night (baby-proofing the apartment, painting the nursery, playing Mozart for the soon to be child), although none of them go particularly well. This plotline was where I think the episode shined because it showed that Marshall & Lily were human after all. All season they have been pushing how much they both want a baby and it hasn't seemed realistic. I understand people can be excited for childbirth, but Marshall & Lily hadn't showed any of the natural jitters people experience when they decide to bring another life into this world. Outside of how funny their storyline was, this episode made me respect their characters again.

Now obviously the news of this false pregnancy makes both Robin and Barney rethink their righteous decisions and naturally they retreat back to what makes them happier in the short term. This is a very natural thing that everyone experiences and I liked how the episode addresses how major advancements in others' lives push us to make decisions we are not quite comfortable with. I can totally see Barney in a diamond suit, Robin flipping coins on TV while looking hot, and Marshall & Lily pushing off their baby fever for a while longer; however, for the sake of the show life must go on and it takes a not so subtle push from Ted to get them back on track. Ted can often be the most annoying character on the show, and most of the time it is him who needs to be pushed to do anything, yet his outburst to the rest of the group to grow up was well done. After all, Ted is the one they all confide in, and it is natural for him to want the best out of all of them. It's always fun to do what makes us happy in the moment, and it certainly is more fun to watch HIMYM when all five major characters are doing inane funny things, but the show one ups that by actually making us root for them to finish their journey. Sometimes the journey is only deciding to help the needy instead of buying the gaudiest suit of all time, but what the hell it's a step.

Grade: A-

Random Musings:

- I would watch the shit out of Million Dollar Heads and Tails. I swear nothing is better then watching people go for lots of money on what is essentially luck, AKA Deal or No Deal. However, like Deal or No Deal one season would be enough.

- It's tough to describe how the flashbacks affect the episode without being overly wordy, but watch the episode and you will see exactly how they played with different situations and lines multiple times.

- I give grades on these episodes mainly just because it is a really easy way to wrap-up the post. I would hope that the words before would give you an idea on how I feel the episode went, and the quality of an A differs greatly from show to show. The idea of them is to illicit discussion on the episode in the comment section, but I'm starting to see that not a lot of you readers watch the same shows as I. That being said, I love catching-up on TV so let me know in the comments a show you would like me to cover and I'll see if I can fit it into my schedule.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-22T12:35:00.002-05:00

Chiddy Bang - Old Ways

Shout out to Izzy Alcantara for the snipe.

Black Swan

2010-12-22T02:49:00.000-05:00

I don’t know that any contemporary filmmaker gets more out of their actors than Darren Aronofsky. After seeing his latest flick, Black Swan, I imagine Aronofsky’s relationship with his lead actress Natalie Portman behind the cameras mirrored that of Portman’s character, dancer Nina Sayers with Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel, in their on screen quest for magnificence – without the psychological torture.

A competitive New York City ballet company is casting for a production of Tchaikovsky’s, “Swan Lake.” The ambitious Leroy wants to present the production in a new manner, which revolves around the idea of one dancer portraying both the cursed white, and evil twin black swan. Every dancer needs the lead role. An early competition between Sayers and company newcomer, Lily (Mila Kunis) is apparent, but the white/black swan metaphor does not revolve around two people. It revolves around one.

Portman is astonishing in this film. She is both bombastic and tender, and always balances the two opposites gracefully. She lets herself go freely in ways her character cannot.

This was the first I’ve seen of Kunis in a drama. As Lily, her motives are always a bit foggy, and for that, she Kunis deserves praise. There always seems to be ulterior motives to her actions, but they can’t quite be confirmed.

Again, I can’t imagine Aronofsky would appreciate the comparison, but I can’t help but picture him speaking with his actors the way Leroy does his dancers. This is a painful and tragic film, and perhaps his best of what I have seen. This is one that will stay with you for a while.

I’d like to add that I saw this movie a week ago, which is why I mostly stuck to surface level review and plot summary rather than any deep analysis. My hope is that in the future, I will be able to get writing immediately after viewing a film to give deeper insights to how I felt about it.

Also, rather than assigning arbitrary stars, numbers, or letter grades, I’m just going to go with a more conversational verdict.

So for Black Swan, I say definitely go see it. It’s dark, twisted, and scary at times. It has phenomenal acting and direction, and looks beautiful.

Dave

The Great TV Recap

2010-12-21T21:03:00.003-05:00

On the 8th day of finals my Pat Welch promised to me...4 TV Recaps and a Chaz in a Pear Tree. (The effect only works if you try to sing it)

Alright after that terrible Christmas pun to open, the truth of the matter is I did promise some TV recaps and only produced one. Since it has been some time since each of the episodes passed I thought I would do the other three quickly right here then tomorrow I'll catch up with this week. After this year's episodes culminate tomorrow with the Psych season finale, I'm going to list my Top 10 TV episodes of the year, so be ready for that on Thursday.

The Walking Dead- TS-19

Season 1- Episode 6 (Season Finale)

Unfortunately The Walking Dead continued its good episode, bad episode flow and ended the season on a fairly weak episode. The CDC provided a lot of potential for some semblance of civilization being left, but instead it was only a day before the site was scheduled to blow up. The episode did provide us with some interesting ideas to play with, it did not really provide any closure or excitement that will carry over until Season 2 premieres next Halloween. Essentially we learned that all civilization has been taken over and that it is some sort of virus that is causing this problem. There is no cure in sight and even one day of drinking and hot water does not change the fact that there are still a ton of zombies waiting for our gang next season. The episode did finally resolve the missing grenade issue, who knew Carol had it?, and ended with a beautiful shot of the explosion with "Tomorrow is a Long Time" playing. Some storyline we have to hold on to until next Season: the increasingly awkward and dangerous Shane/Lori dynamic, what exactly Jenner told Rick at the end of the episode, Dale and Andrea's newfound (and potentially one-sided) feelings. Also, goodbye Jacqui, we hardly knew ye (Seriously we hardly knew you. I don't think you had any meaningful screen time. Was T-Dog your husband?)

Grade: B

HIMYM- The Mermaid Theory

Season 6- Episode 11

This was a pretty standard episode of How I Met Your Mother, with Barney once again coming up with a theory on how we see and treat women. This one was actually one of the better recent ones, with Barney commenting on how continued contact with average or below average looking girls (manatees) eventually turns them into someone you are attracted to (mermaids). I think this is one of the more believable theories Barney has come up with, although the back-story of how pirates used to hallucinate on long voyages was a little over the top. This part of the episode did produce some great sight gags, especially Robin in the manatee suit, and overall I did like how they addressed how Marshall and Robin seem to simply be friends by association (their love of cold-weather sports notwithstanding). The other half of the episode was fairly weak, however, with Ted going on a boating trip with Zoe's husband "The Captain" and Ted believing that he was going to get killed at sea. It was a subtle push towards the inevitable Ted/Zoe pairing and overall the episode did not really have that much to offer. Although I did really love Marshall's blown- up photo of The Captain's face showing how his eyes and mouth offer mixed emotions.

Grade: B

Psych- We'd Like to Thank the Academy

Season 5- Episode 13

This episode was a welcome change from how bad "Dual Spires" was. Instead of running theme, they used a guest star, Ralph Macchio, well and put Gus and Shawn in funny situations from the very start of the episode. This episode also moved forward in answering one of the lingering questions in the show; how do Shawn and Gus get away with their blatant disregard for police procedures? I assumed they might address this with Shawn's dad taking a job with the SBPD, and I'm happy that we got to see how terrible Shawn and Gus are at actual police work. The mystery was a little lacking, although I did enjoy the shoot-out at the supermarket as the finishing point. Still the quality of the show is not nearly as high as any of the Season 2 episodes, and there has been no movement at all in the Jules-Shawn relationship. I feel like Psych is just in a state of stagnation and they are hoping people won't care as long as the Yin-Yang trilogy ends up alright. I for one would still like to see the show perform on a consistent basis, but right now I'll settle for more episodes like this one.

Grade: B+

Well that catches up on everything but this week. I'll update those tomorrow, and due to the network Christmas break it will be Psych heavy, but don't worry the season is over tomorrow so you can hear more about shows you may actually watch.

The Sad Story of Brandon Roy

2010-12-21T14:36:00.005-05:00

Once on of the brightest young stars in the NBA, Brandon Roy's engine is currently riding on the lowest gear. After a meniscus tear in his left knee left him hobbled in April of last year, Roy opted for surgery in order to help the blazers "if they advanced in the playoffs," his own words. Roy's surgical procedure came on April 15, just three days before the 2010 playoffs began. With the Blazers down 2 games to 1 in the opening round of the playoffs to Phoenix, Roy pushed coach Nate McMillan and then-GM Kevin Pritchard for a return in game 4 on April 24, a mere 9 days after his surgery. The coach and GM obliged. Roy played 26, 19, and 37 minutes respectively over the final three games of the Blazers season as they bowed-out to the Suns 4 - 2.

Any competitive player in the league would have asked to play those games if he even felt 60% ready to go. Brandon Roy is a competitor. As inefficient as he was (check out his lines) the Blazers management felt he would give them the best chance to win. But at what cost? With a little more than a 1/4 of the season finished in the NBA, Roy has looked like a sliver of the player he once was.

His stats are worse now than they were his rookie year. The 5th year veteran is shooting a career worst 39.8% from the field and only grabbing 3 rebounds/game compared to the 4.6 he's averaged the past 3 seasons. His first step is completely gone as he's been unable to create the open looks for himself he once used to thrive on. And he's been unable to defend quicker 2-guards.

Is it fair to place the blame solely on the management for Roy's decline in production? Probably not. Yet, it's very fair to say that McMillan and Pritchard should have told Roy to stay in street clothes last spring after his surgery.

There's a scary similar case to this involving Tim Duncan. Duncan injured his knee on April 11 of the 1999-2000 season (his 3rd year; remember, Roy was in his 4th) and sat out the remainder of the season. The Spurs were coming off a championship the year before and could have competed for a repeat with a healthy Duncan. Yet, Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford thought of the future of their franchise and sat Duncan in the playoffs (a first round exit to, wouldn't you know it, the Suns). The rest is history as Duncan led the Spurs to three more championships and solidified himself as the best Power Forward of all time.

Again, in no way am I saying that Blazers management is solely to blame here. Roy has had a history of bad knees since playing at Washington University. Yet, with this knowledge and the type of all-around player Brandon Roy was evolving into, was it worth playing him 9 days after knee surgery in a year where the Blazers were coming no where close to a Finals appearance? Absolutely not.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-21T12:59:00.000-05:00

Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer

2010-12-20T20:30:00.002-05:00

Im sitting at home watching the Heat-Mavericks put on an entertaining first half and Mama Cal goes "What is that logo????" Now, in order to get my mother interested in a sporting event there needs to be one of the following:

1 - A player she finds attractive (Tom Brady)

2 - The very very end of a close game

3 - Something completely out of place that catches here eye

That's basically it. Well about 30 minutes ago Mama Cal looks up from her book and found something that caught her eye. She started laughing and explained that the Miami Heat logo looked like a pacifier. And wouldnt you know, it does. And then she laughed some more and said "awww baby LeBron is playing for the pacifiers." Which I actually found pretty funny. Has this joke been done before? Is it just my mother and I who think the Heat logo looks like a pacifier? Whatever, Karim Garcia was slow today and I didn't want to feel the disappointment of another two days back to back Wake Up and Jam's.

Peanut Butter and Jam

2010-12-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet

Alright so we're all on break after a stressful week of finals and I just woke up. Dont hate the player hate the game. Expect big things from Karim Garcia this week.

Classic Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth

2010-12-18T11:33:00.002-05:00

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-17T10:05:00.002-05:00

Andrew Bird - Plasticities

Mr Bird is one of the most talented musicians Ive come across. Admire his brilliance with this absolutely astounding live show courtesy of 'In The Basement'

State of the Red Sox pt.2

2010-12-16T12:28:00.028-05:00

As explained earlier in part one we saw that the bulk of the ball club is locked up long term through 2013-2014.

1B Adrian Gonzalez (6-8 yrs/ $130+mil 11-17) *assumed contract extension
2B Dustin Pedroia (6 yrs/$40.5 mil 09-14) w/ club option for 2015
3B Kevin Youkilis (4 yrs/$41.125 mil 09-12) w/ club option for 2013
LF Carl Crawford (7yrs/$142 mil 11-17)
CF Jacoby Ellsbury (3 more years of arbitration/team control through 2013)
SP Josh Beckett (4yrs/$68 mil 11-14)
SP Jon Lester (5yrs/$30mil 09-13) w/ club option for 14
SP Clay Buchholz (ML service time 1.059) therefore still under team control for at least 2014
SP John Lackey (5yrs/$82.5 mil 10-14)

We now continue on examining possibilities for impending vacancies particularly from within the system.

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1 yr/$0.75mil) ML Service 2.147 -under team control at least 2014
C Jason Varitek (1yr /$2mil) FA after 2011
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (6yrs/$52 mil 07-12)
SS Marco Scutaro (2 yrs/$12.5 mil 10-11) w/$6M club option/$3M player option ($1.5M buyout)
RF J.D. Drew (5yrs/$70 mil 07-11)
DH David Ortiz (4yrs/52mil 07-10) exercised 2011 club option
CP Jonathan Papelbon (1yr/9.35) last year or arbitration, FA after 2011

Catcher
After losing Victor Martinez to FA the catching situation seems to be the biggest cause for concern in 2011. The Red Sox are now a lefty heavy lineup without the presence of Victor Martinez who batted an outrageous .400/.431./.742 against lefties last year. Theo Epstein has already made it known the Red Sox are content with a Saltalamacchia/Varitek platoon in 2011 and on paper it doesn’t look so bad if you consider their career splits.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia vs. Righties
G 234 HR 15 .243/.343/.422

Jason Varitek vs. Lefties
G 761 HR 60 .279/.359/.470

Looks promising on paper but there are still too many unknowns. Saltalamacchia’s sample size is still too small to draw any conclusions and has yet to live up to the top prospect status that he once was on a consistent basis while looking horrendous against left- handed pitching. In contrast, Jason Varitek who is now 38 yrs old is atrocious against righties and could break down at any moment like last year. Salalamachhia is the current catcher of the future but what happens if he fails to show his potential and folds under the Boston spotlight?

Two options exist in the minor league system that could possibly find time on the big league club in 2011.

AA Portland
Ryan Lavarnaway- The 6^th round pick out of Yale in 2008 made significant strides in his development this year after being named the co-offensive player of the year in the system. At 23 years old last year between Salem/Portland Lavarnaway hit .288/.393/.490 with 27 doubles, 22hr and 70walks in 126 games. He’s said to have a very advanced approach at the plate with excellent plate discipline and power to all fields. Defensively scouts see him as nothing more than average catcher who is still working on basic catch and release mechanics. Catching prospects generally advance at a much slower rate than other position players and at only 23 years old we should see Lavarnaway to begin next year splitting time with Luis Expositio in AA Portland. If he continues to rake the upper levels of the minor leagues and the opportunity presented itself I don’t think the Red Sox would hesitate to give the kid a chance.

Luis Exposito -Another possible option is 23 yr old Luis Exposito who was recently added to the 40 man rotation to protect him from the rule 5 draft. The 31^st rd pick in 2005 spent the full season in AA Portland last year. In 473 AB he had 43 doubles 11 HR with a .260./.339/.416 and a 55:92 BB/KK rate. Director of Player Development Mike Hazen said that Expo has some of the best raw power in the system. Showing promise offensively scouting reports say he has a relaxed approach at the plate and solid plate discipline but struggles with pitch recognition and chasing breaking balls.

Defensively he has an excellent arm throwing out 37.5% of base stealers which is above average. The biggest concern for him is the game calling ability and understanding opposing hitters. Catchers generally develop slower than other position players for the sole fact of being able to adjust and adapt to understanding opposing hitters and understanding your pitchers while trying to hold their head above water offensively.

2011 figures to be a big year for the development of catchers in the Red Sox organization and if Lavarnaway and Exposito can take a step forward and maintain their ability to mash in the upper minors then we could see either making some starts down the stretch for the major league club as early as next year.

*In 2010 only 13 MLB catchers had 200 AB with a +.750 OPS. With average defensive skills the Sox seem to have two potential above average major league catchers at their disposal.

SS-Shortstop
The obvious name here is Jose Iglesias, the 20 year old Cuban with godly like defense and unbelievably quick hands. No scout will argue his potential to win multiple gold gloves in the Major Leagues. Jose Iglesias is widely ranked as the current #2 prospect in the system. At only 20 yrs old he spent 2010 in AA Portland producing a .285/.315/.357 line with a 8:44 BB/KK in only 221 AB’s. Iglesias missed a considerable amount of time after an unfortunate hit by pitch resulting in a set of broken knuckles. In his first full season in the United States the Red Sox would have loved to get more at bats out of him for his development. As a result he was sent to the Arizona Fall League to make up some at bats where he hit a disappointing .221/.292/.284 with 1 extra base hit.

The biggest problem with Iglesias has been offensively and projecting what he could be. Still at only 20 years old Iglesias is one of the youngest players in the Eastern League which has an average age of +24. Iglesias will still be only 20 yrs old entering his second full season in the United States and looks to be fully healed for the start of Spring Training. Scouts love his bat speed and compact swing which are key indicators in success at the plate. The struggle has been with recognizing the strike zone and understanding what pitches he can and cannot handle. Breaking balls in the dirt and fastballs up and away are his main weakness right now but recognizing this and working the count to set up his pitch will all come with time. The general consensus would be that Iglesias could step in and be an everyday shortstop for the Red Sox at the end of 2011 when Scutaro becomes a free agent. If they deem it beneficial to his development to spend another season in the minors then the Sox conveniently hold a 6mil club option for 2012 on Scutaro.

Starting Pitching
As noted earlier, the front 4 of the major league rotation is locked up through 2014. This notion and the name Anthony Ranaudo are all reasons to help swallow the loss of Casey Kelly in the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Anthony Ranaudo is a 6’7 right handed monster out of LSU drafted in the first round of the 2010 draft.

Highly regarded as the top pitcher in the draft Ranaudo missed significant time his JR year at LSU as a result of elbow issues. As a result he struggled with command and loss of velocity. The right hander began to fall on many draft boards and was considered to go back to LSU for his senior year to prove he was the same pitcher of old and improve his draft stock. The Red Sox were willing to take a gamble and draft him in the supplemental first round. After Ranaudo set out to prove he was fully recovered and back to form he blew away hitters in the Cape Ann League last summer throwing 22.9 innings allowing 0 earned runs with a 31:8 k/bb. As a result the Sox proceeded to dish out a 2.55 mil$ signing bonus – well above slot to deter him from returning to LSU his senior year. Some scouts believe he is as close to major league ready as it gets coming out of college and could reach the major league team by 2013. The Red Sox will certainly take their time with Ranaudo’s development and avoid rushing him like they probably did with Craig Hansen. Again, this is something they can afford to do with the unbelievable structure of the organization and stability in the major league starting rotation through 2014.

Quick Notes/Wrap up
J.D Drew, David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon will all be free agents following the 2011 season. J.D Drew will almost certainly not be re-signed. Ryan Kalish is waiting in the wings and shown that he could step in to be an everyday MLB corner outfielder when the opportunity arises. Jonathan Papelbon will be asking for a long term deal and money in the elite closer range; something the Redsox will not give in to. Daniel Bard is the consensus future closer and he’s shown that he can overpower major league hitters. No obvious answer exists for replacing David Ortiz but with upwards of 35+ mil$ coming off the books between these 3 players the Red Sox will certainly have money to spend in the 2011 off season.

--------
12/16/10 3:13 PM
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2010/12/report_sox_land.html

It is now being reported the Red Sox have come to terms with non-tendered free agent RHP Bobby Jenks from the Chicago White Sox. Deal is reportedly for 2/12mil. Another great addition to the pen with a 54% GB rate adding depth to the closer role for life without Papelbon in 2012.

Jenks:
K/9 10.42
LD% 20.8
GB% 54.3%
FB% 20.8

Papelbon
K/9 10.42
LD% 17.7
GB% 38.3
FB% 44.0

------

12/16/10 5:12PM
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2010/12/miller_also_sig.html

Red Sox reportedly sign LHP Andrew Miller - Sox previously acquired Miller from Florida last November and chose to non tender him in hopes to get him a cheaper price.

-CBF

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-16T11:35:00.001-05:00

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Wind Phoenix

Yummy Beer

2010-12-15T17:03:00.007-05:00

This post is about the bigger bottle pictured. I hope everyone knows what the smaller of the two tastes like. If you can't read the label clearly, this grandiose brew is made by Ipswich Ale and is called Hosiery Mill Double I.P.A. At 1.5 liters this bottle contains roughly 4.25 regular sized beers. At 9.2% alcohol it drinks like a whole lot more than 4.25 regular sized beers. I expected it to taste a lot more bitter than it did. Double I.P.A.'s basically use 50% more malt (sweet, roasty taste), and 100% more hops (bitter, fruity taste) than a single I.P.A. so I thought this beer was going to be a kick in the teeth, but it was actually pretty pleasant. You could definitely taste the extra alcohol but I didn't think it was any more bitter than your standard Sierra Nevada. Noof tried a glass and it didn't taste the way he expected either, so I don't think it was just me.

Overall- yummy beer. Only complaint is how cumbersome the bottle is. I'd much prefer it as a bomber or in a six pack so I could carry it around in my travel lunch box cooler thing. Also, you need to drink it in one sitting. Once you open it, you can't really recap it and save it for later. It's best if you share it with a couple friends so every glass poured is fresh... if you don't like to share, try your best to keep it cold and drink it fast!

and be ready for a headache- remember 9.2%!!

Paper Writing Jam

2010-12-15T09:59:00.002-05:00

I don't want to steal Cal's thunder since I really enjoy his wake-up jams, but I've been up writing papers for the last 72 hours, so I thought for those doing the same thing I'd provide them with the song thats helped me stay sane. This jam comes from the trance/electronic band Crystal Castles and its methodical beat and hypnotic lyrics make it the perfect song to blast in your headphones while you attempt to write 12 pages in 7 hours.

Only 11 More Days Before the Celtics Start Saving Their Legs

2010-12-14T17:48:00.004-05:00

So we're a quarter of the way through the NBA season. I'd like to take this time to amuse you with some random thoughts on the season thus far.

• First and foremost, the Boston Celtics continue their ritual of dominating the first 2 months of the NBA season. Much like the guarantee that Drew Gooden will be on a new team next year (10 teams in 9 years!) the Celtics are making this early season success a yearly lock. At the same time, you have to admire the type of ball they are playing. Rajon Rondo is controlling the pace of the game as well as anyone in the league right now. He's officially a pass-first point guard, backing that up to the tune of 13.8 asst/game. Rondo's success can be attributed to the health of Kevin Garnett. Last year, Garnett's knees made it look like he was going to turn into a better-rebounding Zydrunas Ilguaskas over the next couple years. And paying a man 18.8 million to shoot jumpers and not be able guard anyone with above average quickness would not have sat well with the C's management. But Garnett looks rejuvenated. Clearly putting the time in the gym to rehab his knee this offseason, Garnett is looking like a little lesser version of his MVP self from 2007. I'm not holding my breath on him staying healthy all year but the improvement is surely encouraging. And yet, as much of a surprise KG has been, the biggest (literally) surprise of the year has to go to the newly acquired Shaq. The most underrated story in Boston (IMO) is Shaq's unbelievable effectiveness and willingness to adapt to his role as a bench player. Shaq has a 21.07 player efficency rating, good for 11th in the eastern conference. He's been banged up of late, but a healthy Shaq come postseason time, along with the rock solid play of PP, Ray, and Big Baby, bodes very well for the Celtics

• I'll keep this brief, as the coverage on the this team has been Favre-esque, but I really think the Heat are a year away. Even with this recent 9-game win streak (which boasts only 2 wins over teams with winning records) the Heat just do not have the depth to match-up with the Celtics, Magic, and maybe even the Bulls in the East. The Celtics have showed the last 3 years they can beat a one-man show. And that's what happens when Wade or Lebron go to the bench (there's no convincing me at this point that Chris Bosh is anything but a celebrated LaMarcus Aldridge). Give the Heat one more year to get some depth and maybe I'll consider them a serious contender.

• The San Antonio Spurs are going to win the West. Book it. Even with the Spurs 20-3 start, the Lakers are still a -220 to win the West. Pretty ridiculous when the Lakers have yet to show that they can guard a team that shoots well and has quick guards. And wouldn't you know thats exactly what the Spurs do best. Add in the fact that this torrid start has occured with Tim Duncan averaging a legs-saving career low 28.8 Mins/Game, and you can see why the Lakers should be hotly contested come playoff time.

• John Wall and Blake Griffin are really really good and they are really really young. Crazy exciting players. That is all.

• The NBA has its been collection of point guards it has ever had and they are all going to get paaaiiiddddd. With Mike Conley signing an absurd 5 year $45 million extension with the Grizzlies, a collection of young point guards can all expect to get equal to greater money than Moneybags Mike. Tyreke Evans, Steph Curry, and Brandan Jennings can all expect to get greater dollars than Conley if they continue to produce at the rate they do for the next two seasons. And then you look at a guy like Ray Felton, who just signed for a two-year deal worth 15 mil, and you have to believe he's salivating to sign a new deal after seeing Conley get 9 mil per/year (CBA pending).

Money aside the point guard position might be the NBA's deepest right now. The talent influx over the past 5 years has been astounding. Personally, I love breaking stuff down into tiers and feel it gives a realistic view of value. For instance, cars are always looked at from a tier point of view. So let's spin our point guard rankings that way:

Rolls Royce/Lambo/Masserati (Tier 1)
Stylish with their own flare.

1. Chris Paul - No one is touching CP3's overall game at this point. He really deserves to be on a championship contending team but he's crazy loyal to New Orleans at this point. One day...

2. Russell Westbrook - As of today he is my MVP of the league. About a month ago the Thunder were struggling to live up to the pre-season hype. Durant does down with an injury and it looked as though the OKC would go into a tailspin heading into a game IN Boston. Mr Westbrook proceeded to drop 31 points on the Cs, outplay Rajon Rondo, and completely turn the season around for the Thunder. Which is why he is ahead of...

3. Rajon Rondo - Averaging a mind-blowing 13.8 assts/game is only good enough for 3rd best point guard in the NBA in this man's opinion.

4. Derrick Rose - Improved jumper has made him virtually impossible to guard when he's hitting his shot. And yet Rondo eats he and the Bulls alive. Until he proves he can outplay Rajon I have to put him #4

5. Deron Williams - Will get killed for putting him this low but I've never trusted him in big games. Seems to hide and not play to his strengths when his team needs him most. Bring on the haters.

BMW/Lexus/Benz (Tier 2)
Flashy and Consistent

6. Steve Nash - Kills me not to be able to put him in the Rolls Royce tier. One of my favorite players to watch over the last 10 years. Playing this year with a team that you could argue has 8 small forwards, he has played admirably. Would still take 1-5 over him on this date though.

7. John Wall - Idea of the century: Instead of the crap 3 on 3 celebrity games the NBA fools around with on All-Star weekend (a weekend the league takes very seriously) why not have an hour long combine? Here are some ideas to put in: A vertical leap where the backboard is used to measure the inches/also shows how high above the rim these guys can get off 2 feet. A bench press for the big guys in the league (although I don't think anyone could compete with Dwight Howard for the next 8 years). Finally, the crowd favorite, a full court sprint down and back between the fastest players in the NBA. You would have to use heats to determine the final 5 or 6 players competing but imagine this for a final 6: LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Chris Paul, Monta Ellis. Who wouldn't watch that? My moneys on the John Dougie Wall but it would be hella entertaining.

8. Steph Curry - Can we officially drop the "en" from his name because Steph Curry just sounds like a guy who could rain 8 3's on a team any given night. I'm a huge fan of Steph only because of the rave reviews that have come out of G-State for his willingness to learn the point guard position to keep Monta Ellis happy. Plus when I correctly picked Davidson to go to the Elite 8 in 2008 I developed a massive man-crush on him.

9. Raymond Felton - My vote for most improved player through the first quarter of the season. You gotta give Donnie Walsh credit for rebuilding the Knicks piece by piece after Lebron took his talents to South Beach.

10. Tony Parker - Proven. Has great percentages. Not as quick as he once was and has split some time at point with Geroge Hill but this guy still scares the hell out of me with his creativity.

Toyota/Nissan (Tier 3)
Solid but you know what you're getting

11. Brandon Jennings - Based on the caption of this tier Jennings may not belong here. Personally, I think the 50 point game he dropped last year still has casual fans thinking he's better than he really is. 39% from the floor, 37% from 3, and 75% from the line gives him worse percentages than any other player listed thus far. Couldn't put him any higher than this based on those facts.

12. Devin Harris - Perfectly defines this tier. Very solid player who would mesh perfectly with 3 or 4 of better players. Never thought Dallas should have given him up as he's above average defensively compared to the porous defense the next man on our list plays. Now Harris sits in lowly New Jersey waiting for Mr Russia to surround him with a team. At #12 on our list though

13. Jason Kidd - Can still run a fastbreak better than everyone on this list save Rondo and CP3. His knowledge of the game and his ability to hit the 3 put him ahead of a lot of guys more skilled than he is.

14. Mike Conley - There's no way Chris Wallace sat down and ranked the point guards in the league when he signed Mike Conley to that ludicrous deal. The #14 point guard, while more than formidable, is not worth 9 mil a year.

15. Chauncey Billups - Chauncey has lost more than just a step; he's lost his swag. At one point considered Mr. Big Shot, he now is on a team without an identity as Carmelo continues to keep the team in disarray with his demands to play in New York. I wish I could say Chauncey may be higher on this list in the future, but I just don't see it.

16. Andre Miller - Had to push this tier to 6 for two reasons. 1. Brandon Jennings really doesn't fit. And 2. Andre Miller is another player that defines "knowing what youre gonna get out of him." Not flashy at all but a veteran who can lead a team to victories. Considering he's the 16th rated PG out of 30. That's pretty damn good.

Volkswagen/Kia
Reliable in the right situation

17. Jrue Holliday - He's quick and shifty, extremely young, sees the floor well, and has good touch around the rim. If the Sixers didn't cripple their franchise with the Elton Brand contract they may have been able to make a run at a big-time scorer last summer who would have fit in wonderfully with Jrue and Iggy. But that's a story for another day.

18. Darren Collison - I feel like there's a pretty big dip after Holliday. I had high hopes for Collison after he took over for CP3 and put up 80% of his stats. But Collison has been anything but CP3-like this year averaging only 13 and 4 assts. Still young and like his potential but thought he would be better this year

19. Eric Bledsoe - I refuse to put Baron Davis on this list after seeing him get booed ferociously by Clippers fans after he CAME BACK from an injury. Bledsoe, on the other hand, is a guy that works hard and has some crazy athletic ability. Has an erratic personality and his skills aren't quite there yet though. Yet, it's only a matter of time before he takes the reigns in Clipperville.

20. DJ Augustin - I really dont like him at all but we needed a round number to finish this thing out. Plus it was a choice between him, Beno Udrih, Jordan Farmar, Mike Bibby, and Jose Calderon and DJ Augustin was by far the best name out of all of them.

21 - Sebastian Telfair - THROUGH THE FIRE!!!!!!!

@acallagy

Gay Sex Banned at World Cup 2022

2010-12-14T12:07:00.004-05:00

JOHANNESBURG — FIFA President Sepp Blatter insisted Monday that the votes to award World Cups to Russia and Qatar were based on developing soccer and had nothing to do with money. He also noted that the world's biggest soccer tournament will have to adjust to more than just the sweltering desert heat when it takes its party-like atmosphere to the Middle East in 2022. Blatter said that homosexual fans "should refrain from any sexual activities" that are illegal in Qatar. Drinking alcohol also is restricted in the country, but Blatter hopes soccer's universal appeal will bridge cultural differences at the 2022 World Cup.

Good start to the 2022 World Cup. No gay sex, which for soccer means no sex at all, so that's gonna be an issue. This is going to be a tough adjustment for World Cup fans to make. Gay sex has been a staple of World Cup festivities for years. Maybe this information should have been brought to the table during the decision making process, that definitely would have given the US an advantage.

And good luck with trying to keep people from drinking in public before their country's World Cup game. I can't wait to see how FIFA reacts when the UN has to step in to negotiate the release of a thousand drunken Europeans from Quatar prisons, that will look really good.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-13T11:47:00.002-05:00

I listened to this song probably 37 times this weekend. It's pure hot fire. I never thought Ke$ha (always respect the $) could come close to creating a party song that would touch Tik Tok, a song I drunkenly claimed should be in the billboard top 40 in 20 years, but We R Who We R is slowly approaching. Bravo, Ke$ha.

Psych- Dual Spires

2010-12-10T14:19:00.003-05:00

Season 5- Episode 12

I hate to continue to bring up Community, but the thing that makes their parody episodes a success is that despite the numerous references to other movies or TV shows, the show is still grounded by the relationship between its main characters. The same, however, cannot be said of Psych, which since Season 3 has done this type of one note tribute with increasing frequency. Tonight's episode (it actually aired on Dec. 1st, but I've been busy) takes a hard look at one of James Roday's favorite shows, Twin Peaks. If you are wondering what the hell Twin Peaks is you are certainly not alone. The show began airing in 1990 and only survived a two season run before being cancelled. The show is famous both for its creator David Lynch, one of the premier directors of what could be called surrealist film, and the fact that many consider it to be on of the most quality shows ever put on TV. If you have seen any of Lynch's movies (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) you'll know that he likes to look at the utopian portrayal of the American suburb and put a spin on it. This is true of Twin Peaks where the murder of the Homecoming Queen, Laura Palmer, commences the unraveling of the seemingly perfect community she lived in.

Psych takes this idea of a perfect community and replicates it on the small scale (their fictitious town Dual Spires only has 288 residents), while keeping the murder the same. The plot begins with Gus and Shawn receiving a random and eerie email inviting them to Dual Spires' cinnamon festival, which they of course decide to attend. They arrive in Dual Spires and find that it is oddly quaint and old-fashioned. They don't appear to have any modern technology and Gus is the only black person they have seen in ages, and in one of the episode's funnier moments is mistaken for Frederick Douglas. However, what commences after the body is discovered runs about the same as every Psych episode the last two seasons. Shawn and Gus begin to awkwardly investigate the murder, while Juliet and Lassiter show up to make things a little more difficult for them. They slowly patch the clues to come up with one conclusion, which is complicated by the death of a minor episodic character, and eventually figure it out just in time to saved by Juliet and Lassiter. If this all sounds familiar it is because pretty much every police procedural uses it now.

This leads me to the major problem I had with this episode, which is unless you were familiar with the original show it was boring and confusing. Most of the humor came from knowing how the original show operated and from seeing the original actors in different roles, although one did reprieve an older role he played in Psych. Throughout the episode I found myself using wikipedia and imdb to try and see who the actors played and what some of the references were. This made it impossible to get into any viewing rhythm, and by the end of the episode I was less than satisfied. In Season 1 and 2, the murder mysteries took a backseat to the relationships between Shawn and Gus, Shawn and his father, and Team Psych vs. the SBPD. The mysteries were not complicated, but the show was still genuinely funny and you actually cared about what was going. This culminated in what was a great Season 3, where they were able to have episodes that produced some real emotional drama. That was the show that I fell in love with, but over the last two seasons, the proliferation of tribute episodes and the lack of any non-superficial character development has really dragged down its quality. The major development this season was Shawn and Juliet finally becoming a couple, but despite the fact that five years of viewing was rewarded , the moment seemed boring. It's getting to the point where the only time the show is excellent anymore is when they bring in a good guest star (this season's Viagra Falls), do a broad-based theme episode (last season's High Noon-ish), or change up the format (last season's Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark).

This season only has three more episodes (not counting the one two nights ago) left before they get back to the drawing board for Season 6. We still have the inevitable finish to the Yin-Yang trilogy, but outside of that I would like one more strong episode to make me feel confident that Psych hasn't lost its touch for good. Next weeks Christmas episode would be a good place to start, although the fact that it is based on It's a Wonderful Life doesn't bode well. Sometimes it's sad to abandon a TV show you love, but Psych is seriously slacking.

Grade: C-

Random Musings:

- I doubt anyone reading this blog actually watches this show besides me, so I shall spare you from in-depth quotes.

- That being said, despite my hatred for this particular episode, Seasons 1-3 were excellent, and even Season 4 was good. If you are looking for a funny, light-hearted show to catch-up with, it's on Netflix instant play. It may be no The Wire or Breaking Bad, but I still enjoy it.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-10T12:27:00.001-05:00

Weezer - El Scorcho

Community- Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas

2010-12-09T20:44:00.005-05:00

No matter how much we enjoy them, the feelings we have for certain holidays inevitably change over time. As we progress through the stages of our lives, it is natural to have a certain love/hate relationship with our holidays of choice. For example, my enthusiasm for both the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve has increased tenfold now that I am older than the legal drinking age. Still that does not mean I won't always remember when the Fourth meant fireworks and trips to Gloucester on my Uncle's boat, or when I struggled on New Year's Eve to stay awake until midnight. Yet, none of these holidays pale in comparison in terms of grandeur to the Christmas season, which dominates the entire month of December and arguably even a few weeks before and after that. Christmas is a whirlwind of family, shopping, wrapping paper, familiar music, time off, and eggnog, but most importantly one of routine and tradition. Sadly, these traditions must change over time as people grow old, move away, and even pass away, and that can make for times when Christmas is bittersweet.

This is the central story of Community's stop-motion Christmas Special, Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, as Abed and the gang (well mainly Abed) seek to find the meaning of Christmas. Abed sees everyone stop-motioned animated and begins to act very odd, so the group enlists Professor Duncan, resident Psychology professor and Christmas wizard, to help him gain back his sanity. This involves the gang playing along as Abed takes them to his Christmas planet, where they journey Willy Wonka style to find the true meaning of Christmas. Along the way, group members drop out who don't truly care to find Christmas' meaning (Jeff-in-the-Box is eaten by Humbugs!), and Duncan shows up along the way in an attempt to push Abed towards finding the repressed memory that caused him to crack. With the help of mainly Pierce, Annie, and Troy, Abed finds that the real meaning of Christmas is the DVD of Lost Season 1, or as he terms it, lack of payoff...but wait, in reality Abed is just coping with the fact that his mother will not be visiting him on December 9th for the first time, and the gang steps in to sing him back into the Christmas spirit. In Abed's words the true meaning of Christmas is that Christmas has meaning.

The episode did not have quite the laughs or crazy antics I expected from a stop-motion animated Christmas special, but overall it was classic Community. While last weeks episode went for sentimental and fell short, this one was a perfect example of why I love this show. Amidst the robotic Pterodactyls, humbugs, and songs was the story of a young man seeing his family start to slide further apart, and his journey towards acceptance. Abed lacks the social or emotional skills to accept loss in a normal way, so the idea that he would use the backdrop of Christmas specials and songs to help out makes perfect sense. Community does an excellent job of making you care for the characters no matter how insane the premise is, and the scene where the study group returns to lift Abed's spirits was very well done, even though you could tell there was some touch up done to their singing work. I also loved how spot-on all of Abed's Christmas visions of the gang were, especially Jeff as essentially a talking head. Mostly, though I loved how the episode was very different from what I expected, but just as good. I expected this episode to keep me laughing from start to end, and while it was funny, instead the gags were smart and set-up the ending perfectly.

As a Senior in college, I'm getting to the point in my life where Christmas will no longer mean a long break from school, and a time to see all of my immediate family members. Soon we will all have jobs and families that will keep us from getting together every December. Christmas may start to be about travel and logistics, which are the two things I always hear from people as to why they hate Christmas. Still, as Abed says the importance of the holidays is to make meaning of whatever you want. Whether is it the little things (listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas music, peppermint hot chocolate, Christmas lights covered in snow) or the big things (seeing the people you love, giving or receiving the perfect gift), Christmas is only as perfect as you make it. Take time to actually enjoy the hassle of shopping, have a beer with family and friends, or maybe do the thing that made you love Christmas in the first place. After all, sometimes all it takes is for good friends to sit down and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to make somebody's holiday.

Grade: A

Random Musings:

- Sorry if this post was overly sentimental, but I enjoy Christmas and wish more people felt the same way.

- There was not a lot of great one-liners in the episode, but a ton of great sight gags. I would say Pierce as a teddy bear was my favorite.

- I would love to see what was happening in real life as Abed led them on their journey. They must have used all of the Study room.

- Clay Alison Brie just isn't the same.

- I've been way behind on my TV recaps due to finals, but over the next few days will churn them out. I'm going to do one a day as follows: Psych-Dual Spires, The Walking Dead- TS-19, HIMYM- The Mermaid Theory, Psych- We'd Like to Thank the Academy, and over break I will catch up on Friday Night Lights, Top Chef All-Stars, and Chuck as well as continue with Community, Psych, and HIMYM. The Walking Dead's season is over.

- Post your thoughts in the Comments.

State of the Red Sox

2010-12-09T13:31:00.020-05:00

The state of the Boston Red Sox organization is looking pretty fucking good. Not only for next year but for many years to come. Here's a look at the contract status and terms for some key components courtesy of Cots Baseball Contracts.

1B Adrian Gonzalez (6-8 yrs/ $130+mil 11-17) *assumed contract extension
2B Dustin Pedroia (6 yrs/$40.5 mil 09-14) w/ club option for 2015
3B Kevin Youkilis (4 yrs/$41.125 mil 09-12) w/ club option for 2013
LF Carl Crawford (7yrs/$142 mil 11-17)
CF Jacoby Ellsbury (3 more years of arbitration/team control through 2013)

That is a pretty unbelievable core to build around including the fact that they all play gold glove defense as well. Moving on to the starting pitching and you will find the top 4 in the current rotation are all locked up until at least 2014.

Josh Beckett (4yrs/$68 mil 11-14)
Jon Lester (5yrs/$30mil 09-13) w/ club option for 14
Clay Buchholz (ML service time 1.059) therefore still under team control for at least 2014
John Lackey (5yrs/$82.5 mil 10-14)

The Boston Red Sox might have the brightest future in baseball with an unbelievable group of guys to build around who should compete for a championship every year for the next 4-5 years.

So what key components are left and how do the Sox build off their core and replace their short term assets?

SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (6yrs/$52 mil 07-12)
SS Marco Scutaro (2 yrs/$12.5 mil 10-11) w/$6M club option/$3M player option ($1.5M buyout)
RF J.D. Drew (5yrs/$70 mil 07-11)
DH David Ortiz (4yrs/52mil 07-10) exercised 2011 club option
CP Jonathan Papelbon (1yr/9.35) last year or arbitration, FA after 2011
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1 yr/$0.75mil) ML Service 2.147 -under team control at least 2014
C Jason Varitek (1yr /$2mil) FA after 2011

(leaving out middle relief for now which is obviously the biggest focus right now in FA)

I would consider these 6 areas the next biggest priority in the near future. Endless possibilities exist and are available which speaks to the tremendous organizational depth from top to bottom. The Boston farm system is considered as strong as it gets in the lower levels. Losing Kelly,Rizzo and Fuentes is a lot easier to swallow when you look and see the bulk of the Major League club being locked up for the next 4-6 years. Even more so when you consider Jim Callis of Baseball Prospectus saying that nobody can come close to matching the Red Sox younger ranked prospects in terms of future potential. The Red Sox can therefore afford to wait and take their time with their development.

-- More to come on the future state of the organization and sox prospects.

-CBF

Darren Spang has some advice for P.K Subban

2010-12-09T12:24:00.003-05:00

I don't know how this video hasn't gotten more press. I guess it was a mistake, but you'll have trouble convincing me this word mix-up would have happened if he was talking about just about any, with the exception of like three, other players in the NHL. Let's look at that last bit from Darren Spang:

"He's full of life, full of personality, he's the gregarious sort. The more gregarious he got the more people wanted to settle him down."..."You almost feel bad for P.K cuz he's got a lot of personality, but it's time to settle down a little bit and be a pro."

I hope Spang doesn't really think he fooled anyone with this. First of all I don't he's using gregarious in it's proper context. I can't imagine how being fond of company would translate to effort in hockey games. The way I'm reading this, the NHL finally has an Ochocinco that fans can enjoy, but analysts like Darren Spang wanna keep him and his gregariousness down because its not a normal part of hockey.

Wake Up With Rex Ryan (ew). Jam with CuDi

2010-12-09T11:10:00.002-05:00

Kid CuDi - Soundtrack 2 My life

Screw Webber. The Wake Up and Jam will always live, even if its the second post of the day.

Rex Ryan is such a good coach

2010-12-09T10:14:00.005-05:00

"Ryan gathered his players around a hole in the ground, just off a grass practice field, and placed a football into the earth -- a game ball from Monday night's embarrassing 45-3 loss to the New England Patriots."

As a team, the Jets didn't bother to review the tape of the game, although many players watched it on their own. It didn't get any better the second or third time.

Gotta love the strategy here by Rex. These are flawless strategical tactics if you want to prepare a team for the playoffs. Honestly this must be whats going through his mind:

"We gotta put the New England game behind us. You know what we should do? Bury one of the game ball's from that massacre in a practice field near by. I doubt Sanchez will remember how terrified he was or how badly he crumbled under pressure if he has to walk by a spot in the dirt where a ceremony was held to make us 'forget' how badly we were beaten."

"I don't think we need to watch that New England tape as a team. Sure they exploited all of our flaws, and ya we'll most likely have to face them again in the playoffs if we plan on getting to the super bowl, but I just want my team to forget about it. There's nothing on that tape that can be useful to us, like how New England ripped through our defense so easily, or how Marky Mark had no idea what the hell was going on against their coverage. No, we're just gonna forget about this game and move on."

This is a great reminder of why the Jets aren't a team to worry about when Rex Ryan is coaching. I know they made a playoff run last year, but at some point Rex is going to have to realize the dumb goofy shit you do and say at practice or at a press conference doesn't translate to anything come Sunday. You think any great coach wouldn't watch that film with his team, this is coaching 101. The best time to watch film is in a bad loss. Players don't give a fuck about film when they're watching a victory, there's no point to caring- you won. Any team that wants to get better will watch a film of them getting beat on, because it shows the necessary improvements that need to be made.

On Tuesday, Ryan compared his team's plight to that of the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears, who lost a late-season Monday night game and went on to win the Super Bowl.

There's no way he can honestly think the Jets are this good right. I know this guy's a fucking idiot, but there's no way he could have honestly felt this was a reasonable comparison. A good coach would also realize that the Jets just lost their most crucial weapon they've had all season, their mouths. The Jets have backed up most of their talk this season, with the exception of course of coach Ryan's statement that Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the league. However, after this rout, where Ryan talked shit about Brady and how he's the only person who doesn't think he's the best QB in the league, there isn't much that other teams have to take seriously when it comes to the Jets. Their coach is a joke, LT and Shonn Greene get less and less productive every week, Braylon Edwards still can't catch a pass, and their defense is weak through the air. Either way I'm sure Rex will have plenty to say come this weekend about how unbeatable the Jets are, probably guarantee a super bowl berth or something along those lines.

Adrian Gonzalez

2010-12-08T19:57:00.007-05:00

This chart courtesy of (Katron MLB Gameday BIP Location)displays all of the balls put in play by Adrian Gonzalez this past year at PETCO Park. More specifically, it shows all of these batted balls on a chart transferred to his new home - Fenway Park. PETCO Park is notorious for its spacious outfield and ridiculously unfriendly dimensions and therefore the transition to Fenway Park is expected to be of extreme benefit with the short wall to left. Those orange dots on the chart indicate fly ball outs in PETCO Park and where they would have landed in Fenway Park. For those counting at home that is at least 15 extra base hits Adrian would have had playing in Fenway Park last year.

Adrian Gonzalez is annually ranked at the top in terms of left handed batters hitting the ball to opposite field. The short 37ft high green monster in left will now take a bigger beating then Rhianna.
According to Inside Edge the highest percentage of fly balls to opposite field from left handed hitters in 2009 was as follows....

David Ortiz 90.2
J.D. Drew 87.1
Adam LaRoche 86.5
Jimmy Rollins 86.5
Ryan Howard 86.3
Carlos Pena 85.5
Adrian Gonzalez 84.8
MLB Average = 55%

(absolutely no coincidence David Ortiz and J.D. Drew are ranked at the top which attributes to the Red Sox front office taking advantage of their ballpark and finding valuable assets who compliment Fenway Park well).

It is not unreasonable to expect Adrian Gonzalez as a front runner for the AL MVP this year with the change to Fenway Park and protection in the lineup he will now receive. While an extension has yet to be worked out between Adrian Gonzalez and the Red Sox I would expect an announcement to be made shortly following opening day for luxury tax purposes much like Josh Beckett of last year. The luxury tax is based on the opening day payroll so it would behoove them to wait before making anything official. The Red Sox would never have went through with the trade had they not been assured they were going to be able to sign Gonzalez long term. I would expect a contract agreement almost certainly to be announced early April to the tune of somewhere around 6-8 yrs at $22mil per yr.

-CBF

T.I is Back: No Mercy Is Killin It

2010-12-08T17:02:00.003-05:00

Yesterday T.I dropped his new album, No Mercy, his first album since being released from federal prison for gun charges. T.I went into prison on a high note, with his previous album, Paper Trail, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 568,000 copies in its first week. Paper Trail also had four songs reach the top 5 of the Billboard 100 (Swagga Like Us, Live Your Life, Whatever You Like, Dead And Gone). Paper Trail was packed with hits from beginning to end even beyond the Billboard hits, including Swing Ya Rag, Every Chance I Get, and Whatever You Like Ft. Rihanna. TI’s went into prison as the king of the rap community, being able to back up his verses with street cred, I mean he was arrested for gun trafficking, and also being able to write one hell of a hook (the chorus of Every Chance I Get is one of the most ballin things ever said in the history of the spoken and written word). TI left rap fans wanting more as he entered prison, and curious about what kind of rhymes would come out of a 1 year sentence.

One of the difficulties that comes with making a great album is that it leaves your fans with raised expectations of what’s coming next. Such is the case with TI’s No Mercy. If a listener plans on trying to enjoy the album by comparing it to Paper Trail, they’re going to be disappointed. No Mercy isn’t better than Paper Trail, and TI most likely won’t come out with an album better Paper Trail in his career, it was just too good. No Mercy, and more importantly TI, deserves a lot of credit for being different than Paper Trail. Based on the consistency of songs on Paper Trail, it’s clear TI has a winning formula to making hits, that he could have repeated on No Mercy and made mainstream rap fans just as happy as they were in 2008 when Paper Trail dropped. TI went the other way on No Mercy, writing more meaningful verses and much more creative choruses than we’re use to hearing on the radio.

The biggest flaw in No Mercy is, strangely, the lack of TI. He only has 3 songs on the album where he’s the only artist. I don’t mind it too much because most of his features do a pretty good job, but aside from Eminem and Kanye, none of them are even close to TI. His solo songs, “Salute”, “Everything On Me”, and “Big Picture” are all great. “Everything On Me” is similar to a Paper Trail tracks like “I’m Illy”, with a catchy chorus and a club beat mixed with TI’s swaggered up verses, where he rhymes about droppin cash and gettin laid, something I’ll never get sick of. “Salute” is my favorite of his solo tracks. It has a lot of old school flare, especially in the beat, which has minimal synthesizing and relies heavily on the bass and high snare drums. The beat’s simplicity lets the listener appreciate the lyrics, which were written to remind everyone in the rap community what TI’s done in his career, even beyond just the albums.

No Mercy has 11 tracks with features on them. In my opinion, there are 9 songs, and 2 certified wake up and jams. “Welcome to the World Ft. Kanye West” and “That’s All She Wrote Ft. Eminem”. And even amongst those two, That’s All She Wrote is on another level. TI caught both of these emcees at their best. Em’s album Recovery solidified his place as one of, if not the, greatest of all time in terms of pure lyrical skill, and Kanye’s new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, hasn’t had a bad thing said about it yet. Outside of those 2 songs, TI still brings in great emcees to feature, with new guys Rocko on “I Can’t Help It”, and a song that should blow up the radio soon in “Lay Me Down” with Rico Love. TI saved his best verses for his Kanye and Em songs, a necessity because both Kanye and Em absolutely kill these tracks. Kanye handles the chorus on “Welcome to the World”, and in my opinion nobody lays down a better chorus than Mr. West.

A note to all rappers, don’t feature Eminem on your album. He will absolutely outshine you and leave your listeners with their jaws dropped, forgetting anything you said on the track. He did it to Wayne on Rebirth in “Drop the World” and did to Drake, Wayne, and Kanye on “Forever” He’s the best there is right now without question, and if you forget Relapse he might be the best of all time. There are too many ace one-liners in his verses to name here, but it goes beyond just the lyrics. Em jumps from 1x, to 2x, to 3x speed throughout the track. No matter how well you memorize his verses, you can’t keep up with him, I’ve tried. “/Buy you a bag of fritos? I wouldn’t let you eat the fuckin chip on my shoulda./ Even if you was bleach and I was hair I wouldn’t die for ya/ “…that verse only gets better but I’ll leave it for you to hear on your own.

Overall: A-

Must Watch - John Lennon's Death 30 Years Ago

2010-12-08T11:11:00.003-05:00

Hard to argue that The Beatles were not the most influential band in history. Musically and lyrically they were far beyond any other group of their time. In their early years they completely changed how pop music was created. As they grew older, their music became more complex and a lot of the same theories they developed are still being expanded upon today. The White Album is one of my favorites of all time purely for the breadth and depth it entails. When they parted John Lennon and Paul McCartney cemented their legacy as musical genius' with individual releases. Lennon, as seen in the video, was arguably the most adored musician of all time. A week of worldwide mourning following his death was the only proper reaction anyone could justify.

Ps. We had this before Barstool. Score one for Karim Garcia.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-07T09:19:00.001-05:00

The Strokes - New York City Cops

Thoughts on Pats-Jets Tonight

2010-12-06T14:35:00.002-05:00

Bob Kraft is calling tonight's Patriots-Jets game the biggest regular season game in his 17 year ownership of the New England Patriots. I tend to agree. Heres a rundown of what's on the line tonight:

• The obvious - Home field vs Wild Card. With both teams at 9-2 and New England already controlling the tie-breaker over the 9-3 Steelers this game means a whole boat-load for home field in the playoffs. And then you factor this in; the loser of this game will be relegated to a wild card position and most likely have to go IN to Indianapolis in the first round and beat Peyton Manning on the road in the playoffs. That's the difference between taking a top-5 girl in your class to the prom who you're in love with and you KNOW is DTF VS. taking your friend that sits next to you in math class who's pretty good looking and in the back of your mind you know if you both get a little drunk maybe you'll be able to take it all the way but the odds are stacked against you. Big difference.

• Mental edge. Say these teams do meet again in the playoffs with the winner of tonight's game with home field in that game. Not out of the question by the way. The Jets have already beaten the Pats on their home field and if they win again tonight they will have the clear mental edge in the playoffs. Belichick has never been swept by a divisional opponent with Brady as his quarterback and you have to believe if he does tonight, especially to Rex and the Jets, it will knock him off his game a bit. On the other hand, the Pats have beaten the Ravens, Steelers, Colts, and Chargers. All that's left is the Jets. With a win tonight, why wouldn't they believe they can go into the playoffs and run train on every team Ray-J to Kim Kardashian style.

• With a W, Rex Ryan will absolutely unleash the most ferocious eating binge any of us have seen. I'd be shocked if he didn't walk up the podium with a massive chicken wing smothered in gravy and some chocolate covered onion rings.

• Jets win and Mark Sanchez might, depending on how he plays, be considered a good to great quarterback and he might have the stats and wins to back it up. As much as it pains me to say this Dirty has been playing clutch football as of late. Not great football but clutch football. If he pulls out another win tonight every media outlet in New York will have a collective orgasm.

• Pats win and maybe Giselle goes a little crazy and shows off her knockers twice in one week. I mean, if you haven't seen these puppies by now you haven't been alive so maybe she'll just say screw it and start making it a weekly showing. Crazier things have happened.

Prediction: Pats 24 Jets 17. Brady throws for 250 and 2 TDs and Pats control the tempo through the air.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-06T11:28:00.002-05:00

As Tall As Lions - Song for Luna. Completely forgot about this band until last night. Forget no longer because As Tall As Lions kill it in this Wake Up and Jam.

Ps. I know Karim Garcia has been a little thin lately with material. Please forgive us as we all are going through our final papers, projects, and exams. Promise the content will pick up in 1.5 weeks. When have we ever let you down? Oh, twice before? Nevermind. Just trust us.

Community- Mixology Certification

2010-12-02T20:33:00.004-05:00

One of my concerns after hearing that Community would be doing a stop-motion claymation Christmas special was what in God's name would they put directly before and after it. When I saw that there was an episode the week before the Xmas special (and also a week after a Thanksgiving break), I was concerned that this may be the week they burn off an episode that tested poorly, without concern for it hurting the next week's ratings. I'm not sure if Mixology Certification aired out of shooting order, as some first season episodes did, but it certainly felt that way at some points. With a episode title implying copious alcohol consumption, I was hoping that the group's hijinks would be elevated to the next level of awesomeness, but instead we were presented with an awkward and emotionally disjointed episode that took a step back from some of the emotional gains achieved over the last few weeks.

The plot of the episode centers on Troy realizing that he is turning 21, not 20 as his mother led him to believe, "Everyone is 10 for 2 years so they can do 5th grade twice." The group decides to take him out drinking and eventually they end up at the Ballroom where Annie assumes the identity of her fake ID, Jeff and Britta argue over how to drink liquor, Abed is propositioned by a gay man who loves Sci-Fi, Pierce gets stuck in the doorway, and Shirley tries to get rid of all the evidence that she used to be a regular drunkard at the Ballroom. The one name absent from this list is Troy, the birthday boy, and in one of the episodes better plot devices Troy is the only one who doesn't drink at all at the bar. Jeff tries to equate Troy's ascension into manhood with drinking, but in the end Troy sees that becoming a man is more about realizing you're smarter and more caring than you thought you were. Also, getting to drive a nice sports car helps. Troy is certainly the most childlike character in the show, although they all have their moments, and it was a nice finish to let him grow up on his own terms and not by taking 21 shots (though that would have been funny). Donald Glover did an excellent job dialing down Troy's usual giddiness, and his forceful adult actions at the end of the episode were very believable. With so much going on in this episode his performance really helped carry the emotional wreckage happening around him.

The other characters' plot lines, however, fell way short and the episode felt like it regurgitated the themes we already dealt with and moved past in Season One. Things like: Abed has no social skills, Annie wants to let go of her uptight self and live a little, Pierce does not want to feel like he is getting old, Shirley despite her self-righteous exterior has some demons in her closet, and Jeff and Britta like to argue about how different they are, but in reality they are very similar (Commence make-out scene), were common issues in the first season and I didn't quite understand the backsliding except maybe to highlight Troy's growth as a person. The show has largely moved away from these issues to address the strength of the group dynamic, and that has pushed this second season into being far and away my favorite show on television. Yet, Mixology Certification felt like an early Season One episode, where the focus was more on the individual and not how these people have evolved together. Overall, a mediocre episode of Community is still better than 98% of what is on TV, but Mixology Certification did not have the heart and laughs that Community has been producing the last several weeks. Hopefully Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas can get us back on track before the show takes a holiday break.

Grade: B- (maybe a little harsh, but I expect more from this show)

Random Musings:

-"Alcohol, it's the Lifetime movie of beverages"

-"The hotter you are, the more likely they'll take the risk." Britta's comment was so true.

-I really want to watch all the Kickpuncher movies, especially Kickpuncher: Detroit

-"Abed, would you like to have gay sex with me?" Paul F Tompkins was solid as Abed's gay counterpart.

-Interesting chemistry between Troy and Annie at the end. Maybe the feelings she had in Season One will return, as it appears Jeff and Britta will be doing their best Ross and Rachel impersonations for the unforeseeable future.

-I really want that bathroom poster of Shirley to hang in my house. Just an awesome drunk face.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-02T10:49:00.002-05:00

In honor of them playing a show tonight in Boston @ the paradise, todays wake up and jam the great band 'The Antlers'. Great video. Great band.

MLB Playoff Expansion

2010-12-01T19:15:00.015-05:00

The topic of Major League Baseball expanding the playoffs has become a major topic of discussion and one that looks almost certain to be implemented in the upcoming seasons. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports examined the possibility further and demonstrated all that is wrong in this perceived notion that adding an additional wild card will benefit the game and all the problems that could ensue. To sum it up below and build off what Jeff was saying I would have to think Bud Selig would need to re-think his vision to benefit the game before implementing this mindless change.

Consider this scenario: Heading into the last week of September the New York Yankees stand with 98 wins and the Boston Red Sox at 97 wins. The Tampa Bay Rays are sitting pretty at 92 wins and locked up a wild card spot.The new proposed expansion of the MLB playoffs calls for the addition of a second wild card team. Ultimately, the 2 wild card teams would compete in a 1 or 3 game series to advance and play the #1 seeded ballclub in your traditional division series championship.

While the Yankees and Red Sox are fighting for their lives to win the division and avoid the outrageously brainless idea of a 3 game crapshoot series, the Tampa Bay Rays are resting their starters and keeping the bullpen fresh. Ultimately the Yankees finish strong winning the AL East and the Red Sox fall into a wild card spot. The Red Sox pitching staff is now exhausted and the bullpen is gassed while trying to avoid the very situation they have fallen into. Meanwhile the Tampa Bay pitching staff is on full days rest and ready to duke it out in a 3 game series. You are now penalizing the team(Boston) that in reality finished significantly better over the course of a 162 game schedule. Explain to me how this is in anyway fair and is supposed to improve the current system?

The 5 game series itself is something baseball fans already criticize and want to do away with. Repeatedly matching the worst team and best team in baseball would statistically result in the better team winning about 65% of the time. Without diving into statistics to deeply this also means that even the worst team in baseball will win a 5 game series against the best team almost 25% of the time. We are now talking about a 3 game series that might as well just be decided by flipping a coin and throwing the success of a team over a 162 game schedule out the window.

Obviously I don’t have the perfect answer on how to fix and improve the current system but I also don't believe the system needs fixing. Competitively speaking, MLB has tremendous parity and arguably the most parity of any the major sports when you actually look at the numbers.

-CBF

"Don't give up, Don't ever give up"

2010-12-01T18:49:00.006-05:00

In honor of the 2010 Jimmy V Week for Cancer Research here is the greatest speech of all time.

Wake Up and Jam

2010-12-01T11:55:00.001-05:00

Interpol - Obstacle 1

BIG WHITE CLOUDS

2010-11-30T18:10:00.004-05:00

I love me some Big White Clouds. Click the link, head on over and give your ears an orgasm. Big ups to Big White Clouds.

Ps. Starting tomorrow Ill be posting a morning wake-up jam. Anything from out-of-your-brain stuff like Animal Collective to some old school Hip Hop. Only catch is I'll be posting when I wake up unless one of the other members of The Klan beats me to it. So do yourself a favor and get on my awesome sleep schedule.

Roles that Time Forgot: Commander John J. Adams

2010-11-30T00:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the great comic actor Leslie Nielsen died from complications from a bout of pneumonia. While Nielsen was mainly famous for his excellent comedic performances in Airplane and the Naked Gun movies, many do not know that he was a well respected dramatic actor at the beginning of his career. One of his first feature film roles was that of Commander John J. Adams in the film Forbidden Planet, a 1955 Sci-Fi film chronicling a group of military astronauts as they travel to the planet Altair to search for survivors of an exploratory mission twenty years earlier.

Forbidden Planet is famous for being the first film to have a score entirely composed of electrical instruments and components. Louis and Babe Barron created most of the score using the electrical instrument the theremin, which is played by moving your hands closer and further from two electrical antennae. It is actually a very interesting instrument to watch being played, so if you are intrigued just search for it on youtube and prepare to be amazed. The score is worlds away from anything I had ever seen before in a film, and it is a very enlightening to watch a film that shies away from using pop songs or a full orchestra to drive the emotion of the scenes. The electrical bleeps and bloops create a feeling of emptiness, which helps build tension on a planet where it seems life does not exist.

The film is worth seeing for the score alone, but it also has an excellent performance from the aforementioned Nielsen as the Commander J.J. Adams. The film only has a few main characters, which means a lot of screen time for Nielsen and he does an admirable job portraying a space captain trying to mention order amongst a crew of genetically superior males alone on a foreign planet, while also trying to solve the mystery of the monster terrorizing them. It is a little weird watching the man who played Frank Drebin act seriously at the beginning of the film, but once you accept that Leslie Nielsen isn't going to have any great one-liners, it becomes far easier to enjoy this Sci-Fi classic.

So put Forbidden Planet on the top of your Netflix queue, and celebrate Leslie Nielsen's life and enjoy one of the premier films that helped jump-start the popularity of the Sci-Fi genre.

PS: It is also the debut performance of Robby the Robot, so if you hate Sci-Fi, at least enjoy a badass robot.

Hold The Phone! Topanga Lawrence Is Not Dead!!!

2010-11-29T18:41:00.003-05:00

HOLY MOTHER Topanga Lawrence is alive! Seriously though where was this chick for the past 9 years? Boy Meets World might have been the most iconic TV show ever aired. If you didn't watch this show on ABC TGIF every friday night throughout the late 90s you must not have had television. Regardless, it seems as though all those kids careers are in a porto-potty tank at this point. Best thing for any of them to do right now is make a porno. Who wouldn't watch Topanga and Corey get it on in a hotel room in Miami? If the answer isn't every person under the age of 25 I've lost all faith in humanity. Count me in with a box of tissues and some Jergens.

PS. Toddlers & Tiara's might be composed of the most worthless human beings outside of 16 and pregnant. Thus, it might be must watch television. This lass Mckenzie already knows this will be the most triumphant moment of her life and she's taking full advantage.

USA Women Get North Korea In World Cup!

2010-11-29T17:20:00.003-05:00

So the Women's World Cup goups were drawn today, and as the fates would have it, The good ol' US of A is gonna duke it out with those son of a bitch North Koreans. Where better to unleash this battle of good and evil than the most anticipated event of 2011. I mean forget the Miracle on Ice, these two teams have more tension between them than Lebron and Coach Spoelstra right now. Hopefully FIFA reconsiders, because let's face it, a loss in the Women's World Cup group stage is a defeat that no country could afford to suffer, especially one trying to start beef with America and South Korea. Which brings me to my next point, South Koreans better have the next 10 planes for wherever the hell the Women's World Cup is booked to the roof to come cheer for America. I mean you want us to help you out, we better get your help in scratching out a W vs these MoFo's.
OK you know a match like this is gonna be a scrappy one. Each team has a lot of pride and a lot to prove, specifically that women's sports deserve national attention. The Americans are coming in with the #1 seed, N. Korea at #6. The Americans have a lot going for them though, with better athletes, more skilled players, freedom, and no fear of death if they lose. North Korea has an air tight discipline from years of strictly enforced government oppression.
I know one thing if I'm the American coach, I'm dropping my worst player and signing Elizabeth Lambert ASAP. This match is gonna get physical early, and we'll need a bruiser if we wanna have keep up appearances as the baddest country on the block.

My guess - USA inspires the country with a 4-0 win, giving South Korea and the US the spark they need to take out a newly deflated North Korea

A note on movie reviews

2010-11-29T16:36:00.001-05:00

As you, the avid reader of Who are you, Karim Garcia? are well aware, this blog has historically been sports oriented. While our roots remain intact, we feel it would behoove us to branch out and cover more than just a bunch of overpaid fit men running around, strutting their stuff for the camera for millions of viewers. So I will be conducting film reviews, to either praise or pan the latest work from… uh, a bunch of overpaid fit men strutting their stuff in front of the camera for millions. It is my hope to conduct a few reviews a week in a couple of different categories. They are as follows:

1) The oldie but goodie (or it might suck) – I will find a flick that could be reasonably considered “old” and tell you what I thought of it. It may be a “classic” that very well deserves its praise (The Third Man, 1949, Carol Reed) or one that doesn’t (The Snake Pit, 1948, Anatole Litvak).

2) Playing now – Because I’m broke as a joke, it may not be playing now, but it will be relatively new. Basically, in this section, you can find out before wasting a day that James Cameron’s 2009 epic Avatar drowned in its own hype. Conversely, I hope to expose you to films like David Michôd’s Australian crime story, Animal Kingdom, which was one of the best flicks of 2010, though you probably hadn’t heard of it.

3) Where the hell did that come from? - Here, my intentions are simple. Chances are, you haven’t heard of the flicks I’ll talk about here. No time period limitations or anything like that. There are far too many hidden gems in the world that have gone unrecognized for too long. Those films are about to receive a Karim Garcia endorsement in this section.

I also might ignore all of these categories and talk about a flick that doesn’t necessarily fit into any of them. If you agree or disagree with my take on a movie, let me know. If you have a movie in mind that, gosh darn it, you just need to know my take on it, let me know.

I should note, I have not studied film extensively, but have had a life long interest. So fear not. You will not find boring jargon and over analysis – just a casual take from a self proclaimed cinephile.

The Walking Dead- Wildfire

2010-11-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

Season 1- Episode 5

After the intense Zombie attack on the main camp at the end of last week's episode, it makes sense that the show would take a break from Zombie encounters and deal with the repercussions of the group's somewhat peaceful life being disturbed. However, those who expected a quick exit from camp and the search for a new home to dominate the episode were incorrect. As Lori said to Daryl as the group buried those they lost in the attack, "We all need time to mourn and to bury our dead, that's what people do," and that is what the viewers needed as well.

The episode also allowed us to get back to one of my favorite aspects of the series, the accelerated aspect in which people must let go of loved ones, and how to deal with people as they turn into walkers. We saw this earlier with Morgan's inability to kill his zombie wife in the pilot, but since then we have avoided death altogether. This episode brought us several moments of poignancy, from Andrea refusing to let the group destroy her sister until she could wish her a birthday goodbye, to Glenn insisting that the bodies of group members be disposed of in a more humane way than those of unknown walkers. There was also talk about setting a standard of rules on how to deal with those inflicted with the disease. After all, where do you draw the line between trying to save someone you love, and protecting the living from potential zombie attacks. This episode encountered several of the potential ideas: the group destroying most of those bitten and killed right away, Andrea waiting until Amy reanimated to shoot her, and Jim being allowed to make his own decision on where his final resting place would be. I doubt any specific rules will be put in place, but it was nice seeing the survivors attempt to hang on to what little of humanity is left.

This leaves us with the other huge development of the episode, which is the existence of some sort of CDC operation attempting to eradicate the disease, even if it is just one person. Apparently the government declared a state of emergency called Wildfire as the zombies overran civilization, and the CDC locked down at all its locations looking for a cure. Rick and company set out to the military base and the episode ends with the door opening after Rick screams into the motion sensor camera for some much needed shelter. While the episode did not make any distinct claims on how close the CDC employee is to a cure (given the fact that his best preserved sample gets blown up in the episode, I'm guessing not close), it does inform us that this epidemic has spread across the globe and that there appears to be no country that has survived. I'm guessing this does not mean that there are not more fortified outposts and CDC centers still functioning, as in my opinion the hope for some sort of eradication of the disease is necessary for the show not to fall into too dark of themes. The never-ending threat of zombie attacks, and the terrible things people have to do to survive make the show dark enough, and without at least some hope for the resurrection of civilization "The Walking Dead" may become too bleak.

Still, even with the show providing some information on how the federal institutions are performing (poorly), next's week season finale looks like it will provide little closure. One of the main theme's of the show is that the zombie apocalypse has destroyed all of mankind's sense of trust and it appears both the CDC and military, if I saw that right, both are very reluctant to allow Rick and the group to stay underground. In some good news it appears that the great Lennie James will be reprising his role of Morgan Jones in the season finale. His performance in the pilot was amazing and I expect him to add yet another excellent personality to the group.

Grade: A-, there may have been no zombies, but this episode set the stage well for what looks like an intense finale.

2010-11-28T18:13:00.002-05:00

A Karim Garcia salute to Manute Bol. Gone, but only sometimes forgotten.

2010-11-28T17:51:00.003-05:00

A Note on TV Recaps

2010-11-28T15:32:00.003-05:00

One of the new functions of the revamped Who Are You Karim Garcia? blog will be weekly TV recaps of certain major TV shows. What TV shows you may ask? The TV shows that I, Pat Welch, watch every week and love both talking and writing about. Now most of these shows may be ones that you don't have any interest in, but I will be covering shows of all varieties so check in every week when I recap a show that you love.

As an aside, late November is a terrible time to start recapping TV. Most network shows are already one-third of the way through their seasons and are preparing to take a holiday hiatus. For the sake of brevity and sanity I will not be recapping any shows from the beginning of their respective season, but from the next new episode from this time and date. The only exception to this rule is "Chuck", which I am very far behind on and will recap from the beginning of Season 4. Also I will be recapping several shows that have either been cancelled or have completed their run on television, and if you have any suggestions of shows that you think I should catch-up on and review let me know in the comments section.

The TV Shows I will currently be reviewing: How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, Psych, Community, The Walking Dead, White Collar, Royal Pains, Futurama, Pushing Daisies (classic), Friday Night Lights

The National Crooked Athletic Association (NCAA)

2010-11-27T15:09:00.005-05:00

I’ve given up on the NCAA. Once an avid fan of both college football and basketball, I cannot sit here and tell you I truly care about either sport anymore. As a lad, I dreamed of being the next Andy Katz, a college basketball guru who interviewed big-name coaches and gave his insight on the ins and outs of the college game. I proclaimed college basketball my favorite sport to watch and follow and it really was not close. I went from six → midnight every time I saw the likes of Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, Sean Williams and the rest of that crazy-good 2006 Boston College basketball team take the court. Now, the lure isn’t totally gone but it’s on as much life support as Terry Schiavo pre-plug-pull.

The reason for this does not involve the athletes at all. Instead, the NCAA is completely responsible for my waning interest in their sports. A complete lack of any sensible, proper management has been displayed from the “company” that is the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Let me explain.

Say you worked for a company who literally refused to adapt to any sort of social, economic, technological change in our world. That company would file for bankruptcy faster than it takes Lindsay Lohan to make 3 lines disappear off a nightclub toilet. Well that company is the NCAA, but they cannot go bankrupt because they are funded by respective universities who know that their schools would become nearly extinct without collegiate sport. Essentially the NCAA never has to be a real business and make tough decisions because they understand they’ll always be funded.

So based on the information presented we know that:

1) The NCAA will always exist. And..

2) Because of this, as any company under these circumstances would, they take advantage of that fact.

Thus, bringing us to Cam Newton and, for that matter, any other speculation/allegation/violation that the NCAA has gone through. As you may know, Cam Newton is currently being accused of cheating on his exams at Florida, transferring out of Florida right before they found him guilty, and subsequently creating a pay-to-play program with his father for every school involved in the recruitment of him and allegedly taking between 100 and 180 G’s from recruiters before finally landing himself at Auburn. Color me impressed.

Now, the NCAA has undergone a formal investigation of Mr. Cam Newton and rightfully so. Yet, as we assume something will end up coming out of this, the investigation will likely conclude as Cam Newton is lighting up Alphonso Smith in the NFL. So when the NCAA in 5 years puts a bullshit bowl-ban on the Auburn football program and reduces its scholarships, it will be hurting student-athletes who had absolutely NOTHING to do with Cam Newton and probably never even knew the guy.

This type of thing happens over and over again in the NCAA.

• Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush leave fingerprints all over USC football. Carroll leaves USC and the NCAA punishes the new coach and his players by impacting a two year bowl-ban on USC. Makes sense right?
• Memphis basketball gets their scholarships reduced a year after the culprits (John Calipari and Derek Rose) leave the program. In essence the NCAA punished a school for something two people did who no longer have any association with that school. Makes sense right?
• UConn Basketball loses one scholarship for recruiting violations. You think Jim Calhoun is upset because his junior walk-on who averages less than a minute of playing time now has to pay for school instead of getting a free ride? Doubtful.

While the NCAA tries to show us it can flex their muscles and reprimand these schools, they do so in a completely backwards manner. Mostly hurting student-athletes who worked their ass of to play college sports and not the people that were involved in the crime. Until the NCAA fixes this, I will continue to slowly drift towards the professional game.

@acallagy

We're back (again).

2010-11-27T10:32:00.002-05:00

Can you feel it? The world has always been spinning, but never before now have the casual revolutions of Earth been so dizzying. With each day, we push further from sanity, while the enormity and complexity of society keep us perplexed. How are we, the people, to rake through the muck, and make sense of the ebb and flow of life in all its hilarity? Unfortunately, unlike Brett Favre with a camera phone, mainstream media is not so blunt with its intentions. Our informers are afraid to express honest opinion. They’ve left us to run around, searching for anyone to tell us what to think.

The time has come to retire from your searches, and rest your weary head.

The boys at Who are you, Karim Garcia? are re-lacing their gloves for a final bout with popular culture. While it may be lewd, even criminal to send pictures of your half-staffed cock to unsuspecting reporters, you can’t say Favre’s motives weren’t honest. When James Cameron forced the world to measure his dick for seven straight hours in three dimensions, we didn’t debate suspending his right to make shit films – we nominated him for an Oscar. Are we to punish honesty and reward those who shamelessly gloat?

I say no. I say we stand for something more. I say Elin Nordegren doesn’t deserve $100 million, that Roman Polanski is innocent*, that Stuart Scott is a handsome man, and that we are tired! We are tired of being told that The Decision was anything more than an exercise in narcissism. We are tired of NBC’s “Outsourced” (already). But most of all, we are tired of being quiet.

I say we send the world a message – a picture message in fact.

*He’s probably not.

Gotham Bay

2008-07-20T13:21:00.003-04:00

Even while on top of the world, it's hard to ignore how far there is to fall.

Gotham's District Attorney, Harvey Dent, had an eerily keen awareness of his own impending fall from grace. Having cleaned up the streets and taken notable steps towards eliminating organized crime, Dent was engulfed in respect and admiration. Despite this wave of glory he was riding, he knew it could not last as he says, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." The rest is history.

Today, Brett Favre has found himself in the same predicament. After only one year with the Atlanta Falcons, Favre was traded (for 2002's 19th draft pick) to his Gotham: Green Bay, Wisconsin. He found himself riding a similar wave of glory: two trips to the superbowl and many records: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career completions, and most career victories (to name a few).

Four years ago, Favre demonstrated a realization similar to that of Harvey Dent. In a New York Times interview, he explained, "I'm running out of chances. You're never guaranteed next year. You're never guaranteed the next game. You have to seize the opportunity when it's there in front of you."

I suppose it could be unfair to draw too many parallels between Dent and Favre: In all likelihood, Favre will not face a tragic disfigurement. He will probably never pull a gun on Ryan Grant or the other heroes of his city. All in all, the details of the two tragic falls will have very little in common.

But the details are trivial compared to the big picture. Four years have gone by and Favre has stuck with the game. Although he has technically retired, he is trying to reneg this act out of fear that it may have been premature. Has he waited to long? Should he have hung up his pads for good when he saw this coming in 2004?

Should he have left the game as a hero?
Is he going to stay until he becomes the villain?

Bye Bye Bye To The Past

2008-07-10T10:43:00.003-04:00

I am a camp counselor. My job, in a nutshell, is to make sure children don't die. Parents come and drop their kids off at a park for a few hours so they can go do 'parent' things. I am not totally sure what a 'parent' thing is but my guess is that it's just them thinking of all the things they COULD do in these next few hours but really they just sit-down with a box of tissues and wonder why they ever had these blasted children.

Anyway, the other day I decided to get adventurous and sign up for the station called Dance. If the station Dance existed anywhere other than a camp then everyone over the age of 16 would be arrested. I stand and watch girls choreograph small dances. Only the girls are 10 years old and the dances they choreograph are to Hannah Montana songs. Lets just say R. Kelly would have to seek medical assistance for an erection lasting longer than 4 hours.

During this station I made the decision to go a little old school. With the first N*SYNC compact disk about 3 feet from my eyes and me being an abnormally large fan of Justin Timberlake, I popped that thing in faster than the euthanization of Eight Belles. The first song is a classic. I sang 'Tearin up my Heart' like it was my job as the small children looked on in confusion. 'Surely they knew N*SYNC', I thought to myself. And then my world crumbled as I was telling the children that the band singing was N*SYNC. One of the younguns asked "Whats N*SYNC?"

This was the first time I have ever actually felt old. The fact that Hannah Montana is infinitely more popular than N*SYNC blows my mind. Thus, bringing me to the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. (Sidenote: The fact that a major professional sports team can just take out a word out of their team name and the general public just accepts it is a feat in itself. It's like when Michael Vick went from Michael to Mike to Michael in a span of four years. I heard he's going for DogKiller McVick next.)

The Tampa Bay Rays are basically singing "See You Again" right now. The Hannah Montana wannabes are on top of the baseball world. I keep hearing the saying 'These aren't your father's Devil Rays.' Hell, these aren't anyone over 10 years old's Rays. The past 3-4 years everyone and their brother could see the talent the Rays had compiled. Crawford and Baldelli were the big two a few years ago. Now, Baldelli is permanently injured...seriously, and taking over for him is a cast of Upton, Iwamura, Longoria, Navarro, Kazmir, Sonnanstine, Shields, and a whole bunch more. They also have #1 overall draft pick David Price tearing up the minors right now just waiting to come up. This is not just a feel good story anymore. The Rays, like Hannah Montana, are very young, hot, and talented.

As for N*SYNC, my only comparison for them is the New York Yankees. As much as I hated those old Yankee teams, they were very, very good. They had those classic teams (classic N*SYNC albums), the great players (songs), and even the young, superstar waiting to happen player (Jeter and JT).

Now? Sure everyone knows who JT and Derek Jeter are. But few under the age 15 can name the other members of those squads. Brosius, O'Neill, Williams, Cone, Knoblauch, Martinez were all perfect components to those championship teams. Much like JC, Lance, Joey, and Chris were perfect to those platinum N*SYNC albums. Both sputtered out around 2000, everyone going their separate ways. People who are 15 years old were only seven when those two teams last hit it big.

I have officially come to the realization that times have changed. The Rays and Hannah Montana are now the new hip things. The Yankees and N*SYNC are in the past. And we live in a world where fewer and fewer things of the past are appreciated.

Regardless, there will always be a place in my brain for the words to 'Tearin' up my Heart'.

Hello Brooklyn

2008-06-29T14:18:00.005-04:00

Fast forward two years from now. The summer of 2010. Brittney will probably be 300 lbs and going to jail for murder of a media member who was staked out at her house. The U.S. Men's National team will dissapoint once again at the World Cup. The Red Sox will be going for their 4th title in seven years after a 2009 world championship. But nothing will dominate the headlines more than one man. Lebron.

This past year Lebron became a man. It wasn't just the 30 ppg he averaged, or the 7 assists per game or even the 8 rebounds. It wasn't even the awkward montages we had of him in his house 'playing' with his wife and kids. (Did anyone else think the entire time Lebron was playing basketball in his house with his little kids he was just gonna swat one of the balls back and say "YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M LEBRON EFFIN' JAMES.") Beyond everything else, Lebron played defense. You have to remember this was one facet of his game many believed would never come around. Every scout predicted him to be most offensively gifted player since MJ, but, few believed he would became a lock-down defender as well. And, make no mistake, Lebron James is a lock-down defender in key situations. No coach will ever stick him on the best guy and tell him to shut him down night in and night out. He'd be sidelined by the 30th game with exhaustion. But, in tight spots or the playoffs, this guy becomes an animal.

Witnessing it first hand when the Cavs played my Celtics, I honestly couldn't believe what I was watching. Lebron shut down Finals MVP Paul Pierce for the entire series until Pierce had one of those 'No one is stopping me tonight' games during game 7. He was all over the place on defense. Making key steals, big blocks, and flat out taking over the game on the defensive side. I attended game 7 of that series and when the Cavs came all the way back and pulled within one, I thought to myself, if somehow we lost this it would be more of a defining moment in Lebron's career than Game 5 of the Pistons series last year when he scored 37 straight points. It was special to watch. And when we pulled out a victory everyone in the arena knew one thing. Lebron had arrived.

So, back to the future. Two years from now Lebron will be a free agent. Able to leave the Cavs, the team that drafted him. He'd also be leaving his home town. The talk right now is revolving around who is actually going to be able to afford this guy. Well, as of Wednesday night, we at least have one team that is going to try. The New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets. The Nets dished Richard Jefferson (13 Mil) for Yi 'I'll be out of the NBA in 4 years' Jianlian and Bobby 'Does anyone know who I am' Jackson. If you don't see that this is a total cap saving move then you have a worse lazy-eye then Stu Scott.

Anyway, in 2010 the New Jersey Nets will officially become the Brooklyn Nets. Part owner of the Brooklyn Nets will be Jay-Z. Coincidently, Jay and LBJ are butt buddies. Surprise, Surprise. It adds up like Josh Howard's THC level on a Saturday night.

It's hard to fathom that a team could actually be trying to prepare to sign one, single player two years before that player goes on the market, but, that is the type of player Lebron James is. If Lebron doesn't have the type of year he just had do the Nets make this move? Maybe. But what we do know is what the entire NBA knows. Lebron is here, he is legit. So let the sweepstakes begin.

The Brothers of Boston

2008-06-18T01:30:00.003-04:00

10 years from now, when Rajon Rondo is at the young age of 31, he will be an all-star point guard for the Boston Celtics. The first since DJ did it back in the 1980's. Rondo will be leading his team onto the floor night in and night out. He'll have at least one ring, maybe two or three.

Yet, in 2018 when Rajon is a 11 year veteran, will he remember that magical 17th championship. The one that brought the Garden back to life. The one that had an improbable cast revolving around three all stars who many felt would never be able to co-exist. The one that brought the glory back to Boston.

KG was the big-ticket. Basketball became relevent in Boston because of this man. He was a walking double-double. A true animal. But he dissapeared in big games. He would give up the big shot and lose respect from his teammates.

Pierce was the scorer. Could do it from every angle of the floor. He could drive, shoot, and flat out score. But Pierce was way too selfish to play with two other all stars.

Ray was the shooter. Pure and fundamental. Literally couldn't give this guy and inch without him knocking one down. Yet, there were questions about his character as well.

A supporting cast of youngsters and veterans. A team that had to learn how to play together on the fly. Experts wrote them off. Fans wrote them off. Too many all-stars to win an NBA Championship. And then...

UBUNTU

Could one word ever personify a professional sports team more than Ubuntu? An African word for unity and togetherness. The Celtics embraced it.

Watching the very first pre-season game against Toronto when the Celtics were in Rome was a sight to see. The bench was standing from the beginning. Pulling for each other on every play. Helping each other up every time someone hit the floor. It was a new attitude in Boston. An Ubuntu attitude.

Every night a different player would step up. Make one key play here, one there. There was never a boring night in Boston when the Celtics played. They rolled through the regular season, struggled a bit in the playoffs but ultimately hit their stride and would reach the finals.

Game 6 in Boston is something no Celtic fan will forget. The Garden was rocking almost as if they wanted to show the NBA that the Laker's fans were frauds. During the second quarter the Boston Celtics blew the game open. Then, something many did not see coming, the Lakers gave up. There was no other word for it. They stopped playing basketball. They knew it was over. A me-first Kobe Bryant was no match for an entire band of brothers that was the Boston Celtics. It was not just the big three, it was ubuntu.

So 10 years from now, when Rajon Rondo is leading the Celtics to the playoffs, we can only hope that Rondo will still carry that word on to his teams. If not, then Celtics fans got treated to one special year of togetherness and unity. But, what a year it was.

One, two, three - UBUNTU

2008-06-13T12:06:00.002-04:00

True and False

2008-06-12T08:57:00.005-04:00

First off, I would like to apologize to all of our three readers for not writing an article for an entire week. There really isn't any excuse for this and I promise we will be much better the rest of the summer. I hope we didn't lose any of you because the popularity of this blog is equivalent to the amount of total friends Brian Scalabrine and Chris Mihm had in high school. So anyway on to the post...

True: We are entering game 4 of the NBA finals. A series where Phil Jackson has lost respect from every Celtic fan after whining about the Refs after game 2. Subsequently, and very predictably, every time Kobe drove the lane the refs acted as if he was being punched in the balls by numerous people. Kobe finished with 18 free throws.

False: There is nothing wrong with the refs whistles. Am I the only one who noticed when Kobe got every call not just one ref blew the whistle but there was actual multiple whistles being blown. Beyond that, they blew them like it was a technical foul and had five or six going at once. The Lakers fans were probably close to deaf by the end of the game. In fact, Im sure they would say they were to make up for that pathetic performance...

True: The Lakers fans submitted the worst effort in finals history. Seriously, I felt like there were 19,000 Terry Schiavo's watching this game until about six minutes left in the 4th. How can you call yourself actual fans? I know some of the people who are there are millionaires who really don't care at all. But there are 19,000 seats in that building! There has to be some actual fans there from the regular season.

False: Sam Cassell runs a camp in the offseason called 'Sam Cassell and the art of taking smart shots in the NBA playoffs.'

True: Although this was stated by Mark Jackson during game 3, I also saw this and started laughing. The Boston Herald did a piece on each matchup in the playoffs and who it favored. The covered the point guard, shooting guard etc. Finally when it came to the coach they said that the Doc Rivers vs. Phil Jackson matchup was EVEN. This would be like if someone said Mike Staropoli was the equivalent to Tom Brady in getting girls. It just really isn't even close.

False: Phil Jackson has coached well in this series. Yes, after all that I am going to say that Jackson has done a poor job in this series. Kobe is the most dominant player on the court at all times, yet, there are plenty of possessions where he doesn't even touch the ball. Jackson needs to abandon his triangle offense and get Kobe more looks. When Rondo is covering Kobe, get Kobe in the post. When Allen is covering Kobe, send him off screens. Allen was horrendous trying to cover Rip Hamilton off of all the screens they had him go off last series. When Pierce/Posey is on Kobe, let him go 1 on 1. The Lakers don't have enough scoring after Kobe and Pau to win three more games in this series unless Kobe averages 40 a game. The third head of their big three is totally useless..

True: Sorry Phil but Lamar Odom seems a little more than confused. Odom looks like Andy Dufresne the day after he got raped in the ass. Stone cold and eyes wide open. Only Odom looks like that every second hes on the court. Seriously, where has this guy been? In game 3 I can remember three different times where he just put his head down and drove to the basket at full speed with no regard for anyone else. Twice he slammed the ball off the backboard for a horrific looking miss, and the third he picked up a charge. He's been nothing short of non-existent in this series.

False: Tim Donaghy will not be killed in 10-25 years by the mob.

True: Tim Donaghy's allegations about the fixing of playoff games is more startling than the first time I saw a woman's breast on a computer screen. Just read this statement submitted by Donaghy's attorney:

"Referees A, F and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams 5 and 6 in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team 5 victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be 'company men,' always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team 6. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team 5 players. The referees' favoring of Team 6 led to that team's victory that night, and Team 6 came back from behind to win that series."

That game was the Lakers-Kings game from 2002 in which the Laker's got every call and forced a game 7. A game in which they eventually won. Listen, the only reason why I believe this is because Donaghy is accusing these refs of doing something totally different than what he did. He's not saying they fixed game for money, he's saying they fixed games for the NBA. If someone can tell me which is worse I'd love to hear your reason. The league's integrity is now being questioned more than ever. If this is true that means David Stern is behind all of this. Its always been about the money since Stern took control of the NBA, and now he has gone a step too far. Stern should either be fired or resign. People are angry at Donaghy for releasing this during the NBA finals. We should all remember hes not only a convict but a doushebag. Yet, his allegations are insanely eye-opening.

The NBA, where timing happens.

Bet of the day: Germany (-170) moneyline vs Croatia. Croatia's dreadful performance against Austria warrants this one. Germany is too powerful.

Fantasy Player of the day: Magglio Ordonez. Facing Mark Buehrle, Ordonez is 15/25 off Buehrle in his career, a .600 BA. He also has 2 hr's and 5 rbis against him.

I’ve Never Been This Mad at My Beloved Yankees

2008-06-05T17:06:00.004-04:00

Let me start this off by saying I am a Yankee fan. I’ve been a Yankee fan all my life, and it’s gonna stay that way. I feel like I need to say that since I know it will mostly be New Englanders reading this blog. The Yankees have certainly made some moves over the past few years that have annoyed me. That being said, I have never been this angry at the Yanks.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right? Well, apparently the New York Yankees like to play by a different set of rules. If a player is excelling at a very important position, switch it! Joba Chamberlain has been in the Majors since last August, and has taken the league by storm. As a setup man down the stretch for the Yankees last season, he was as close to unhittable as a pitcher can get. It is safe to say without him pitching like he did, the Yanks would have missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Late into the season, the bullpen was struggling to keep late leads, and even keep the Yankees in games. If the pen could just keep them in games, sometimes the explosive offense of the Bronx Bombers would be enough to get them over the edge. The pitchers they had weren’t doing the trick though. Luckily for Yankees fans, Joba was a savior of sorts. He stepped into the role and jolted the Yanks into the postseason.

Proving just how important the setup role is, the Yankees have lost games over Joba’s “transition period” because the bullpen would crumble under pressure in tight situations late in the game. Chamberlain would have been pitching in these situations instead of one of the other knuckleheads who are supposed to be coming into the game before Rivera. Let’s take a look at the great Yankee teams of the late 90’s. Those teams had solid hitting, and more importantly, would make outs that were productive in some way (for example, grounding out to the right side with a runner on 2^nd and 0 out). The starting pitching was good. It was not lights out by any means, but it was good enough. What made these teams so great though was the trustworthy bullpen. All Yankee fans knew that if they got to the 6^th or 7^th inning with a lead, the game was pretty safe. If the game was tied or even if they were losing that late, they still had a chance because the bullpen was that solid. With guys like Jeff Nelson, Graeme Lloyd and Mike Stanton (Note there are 2 (!!) lefty relievers there. Currently how many are there? Zero would be the correct answer) to lead up to the greatest closer in the history of baseball, you better believe that a team with that kind of bullpen would find success. Hell, even in 2000, the Yanks had the 6^th best batting average in the AL out of 14 teams, and still found their way to a World Series victory. Kyle Farnsworth, LaTroy Hawkins, Jonathan Albaladejaleodelo, and Edwar Ramirez (who by the way will not keep this up – trust me) just cannot get the job done. Not even Denzel Washington can say he trusts Kyle Farnsworth with a straight face. The point is that Joba is much more valuable as a setup man to Rivera. Plus, when Hughes gets fully healed, the rotation will look pretty solid: Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Hughes, and Rasner. Is it completely necessary to force Joba into a rotation like that? Of course not. What’s probably gonna happen is Rasner, even though he’s doing the best out of the bunch, will get sent down to AAA.

Not only is Joba a phenomenal pitcher who is more valuable as a setup man, but he is better in that role just because of the pitcher he is. He is proven to be great in that role. As I have witnessed in person, he is a 15-20 pitch injection of unhittableness. After that, he can get shaky. Since it is known he is very good like that, shouldn’t it just be kept that way. That would maximize the value a team can get out of him too.

At the end of the day, Joba Chamberlain is still a great pitcher. I’m sure in the long run Joba will become a good starter. Will he become a Santana or a Beckett? No, he probably won’t become one of the best starting pitchers around – the odds are just too high against him. However, he was already proven to be the best setup man in baseball, and that role is simply very important. Someone once said pitching is 2/3 of the game. I forget who, but whoever said it is right. Good pitching, especially in tough situations, can make or break a season for a team.

Now, since this blog is mostly about fantasy advice, what can you get out of this for your fantasy teams? Great middle relievers/setup men can be dangerous weapons. Personally, in the league I’m in, you just need a minimum of 18 innings per week. Once you get to those 18 innings, you can do whatever you want. Of course, if there’s no minimum, you can do whatever the hell you want. Having a middle reliever who helps out with a few innings per week can be a boost, especially to the ERA, WHIP, K/9, and K/BB categories. It might be worth it to drop a starting pitcher who you don’t really trust, or is struggling and doesn’t exactly have a great track record, and pick up a shutdown reliever. Here are some guys you might wanna pick up if they’re available in your league:

Carlos Marmol: The Cubs reliever has a 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 4.23 K/BB, and 13.38 K/9 in 37 innings so far this year. It also doesn’t hurt that he plays on a good team, which might lead to some wins along the line (Remember Pat Neshek in ’07? Grabbing all those lucky wins before the all star break? Yeah, think that, but with better overall stats.)

Taylor Buchholz: Reliever for the Rockies is having a great season, posting a 1.78 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 2.88 K/BB, and a 6.82 K/9 in 30.1 innings. Also (in the Yahoo! game, at least) has eligibility as a starting pitcher. So depending on your league settings, if you only have SP and RP, and you have a SP slot open, might as well put this hurler in there.

John Grabow: 1.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 3.57 K/BB, 7.94 K/9, and 4 wins so far in 28.1 innings for the Pirates. He is another one of those guys posting great numbers, and can help any team. Sucks he plays in Pittsburgh though. Good luck getting out of there, John.

Brandon Morrow: Mariners reliver, and happens to be my personal favorite of the bunch. The 5^th overall pick in the 2006 Draft has only thrown 15 innings this year, but has posted a 1.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.14 K/BB, and 13.20 K/9. This guy looks the best to me because he kinda reminds me of Joba. Like Joba-lite. Mini Joba. Joba 2. I don’t know. He’s young, can throw gas, and I won’t quite say he has electric stuff, but it’s damn good.

note: all stats are as of Monday, June 2, when this post was originally written.

I won’t put Santiago Casilla, Oakland reliever, on this list not because he went on the DL, but because he went on the DL thanks to an elbow injury. Elbow injuries usually affect pitchers for the rest of their careers, and Casilla isn’t exactly proven, so I wouldn’t trust him as much as the guys mentioned above.

The Year of the Celtic

2008-06-05T12:34:00.003-04:00

May 22, 2007: After a 24-58 season, the Boston Celtics have the second highest odds at the #1 pick in the NBA draft. Watching the lottery at The Rich Man's Matthew Berry's house, we pulled out all the stops. Right as the lottery started, everyone in the room had a finger on a portrait of Boston Celtics legends trying to summon any luck we possibly could. Then, tragedy struck with these words. "The number 5 pick goes to....the Boston Celtics." The entire room screamed "NOOOO", there was even a collective gasp from the television that came from executives who were attending the lottery. There was no possible worse scenario. The media had hyped a Greg Oden/Kevin Durant coming to Boston. Now, no one knew what to do. The Boston Celtics had hit rock bottom.

June 27, 2007: There had been rumors all day about a possible trade bringing Ray Allen to Boston. No one really knew how to react. We didn't have one of the first two picks but, hell, we still had the #5 pick of the draft. Now we are about to trade that pick away along with a versatile player in Delonte West for a 31 year old shooter with paper ankles. The trade goes through and it is possibly the weirdest reaction you could imagine out of the city because there really was none. Everyone was so neutral on the trade, yet, somewhere, Kevin Garnett's ears perked a little bit.

July 31, 2007: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair. Almost half of an entire team gone along with two first round picks in 2009. All this for one player; Kevin Garnett. Believe it or not, because I really think most people won't even tell you if they did, but a lot of people did not like this deal. We gave up a franchise power forward, a formidable young small forward, two high-potential projects, and two first round picks for one man. Slowly, people started changing their judgment. KG said everything right and did everything right. People started believing in the Boston Celtics once again. They started believing in banner number 17. One month later, James Posey was signed saying he wanted to win another ring. Then, Eddie House was signed saying the same thing. Now it just wasn't Boston thinking of another ring, the NBA was too.

October 4, 2007: The Boston Celtics departed for Rome with only six players from the previous year. Paul Pierce led the way, Rajon Rondo would man the point guard position, and Kendrick Perkins would try and hold down the starting center job. Leon Powe, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine were the only other returners and they would be coming off the bench. The rest, totally new to this historic franchise. Months after the trip, the Celtics looked back and remembered Rome as when they became a true team. The cell phones didn't work, the laptops weren't allowed, it was just the Boston Celtics. 'Ubuntu' would quickly become their motto. An African word meaning unity and an allegiance to others. Other teams would have laughed the motto off, the Celtics embraced it.

November 2, 2007: There's a buzz around Boston. The Celtics begin their regular season at home against the Washington Wizards. Two days before, Wizards star Gilbert Arenas said that the Celtics hadn't played together enough to be considered legit. He thought the rest of the NBA should be offended of how much attention they have gotten. The Celtic's refused to respond with anything other than their play on the court. The Celtics intro gives me goosebumps. Fireworks explode. The crowd is insane. The opening tip off is barely visible through the fog. No one even cares. Final Score: 103-83 Boston. Gilbert Arenas got taunted the entire night. He finished with 21 pts on just 5-20 shooting. Celtics Basketball is back.

December 19, 2007: The Celtics have begun the season better than anyone could have imagined. They are 20-2 coming into a battle with the Detroit Pistons, a team that has been the beasts of the Eastern Conference for the entire decade. With a playoff atmosphere, the Celtics lose a thriller 87-85. The fans exiting the Garden know these two teams will be at war this entire year.

March 17-18, 2008: On back to back nights the Celtics made the number 22 dissapear. The first night ended with a 93-91 win over the San Antonio Spurs, erasing a 22 point deficit with an emphatic win. The next night the Celtics stopped the Houston Rocket's 22 game win streak in its tracks with a lopsided 94-74 win. The Celtics finished 4-1 on their west coast swing.

April 30, 2008: Finishing the season 66-16, the Boston Celtics landed the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first in in 20 years. On this date, very few expected what they actually saw. A game 7 between the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics already raised questions about their play on the road as they looked dreadful. Their play at home on the other hand, spectacular. The Celtics walk out of the Garden with a 99-65 drubbing of the Hawks and earn a date with the Cavs in the next round.

May 18, 2008: Here we go again. Game 7. This time against a much more talented team. The Lebron James led Cavaliers push the Celtics to the brink. The Celtics proceed to the next round with a 97-92 hard fought win.

May 20-30, 2008: As Mike Breen put it before game 1, "These were the two teams we expected to be here." A series that featured the two teams refusing to lose more than 1 game in a row, it was looking like it was headed for another game 7. Yet, somehow, someway, the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons in game 6, 89-81. The stage was officially set.

As we look forward to the opening of the NBA finals tonight at the Garden, we should also reflect on the past. If you told me one year ago today that the Boston Celtics would be set to meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals in 2008 I probably would have tried to put you in an insane asylum. The past year has brought us so many joys and memories. This season was worth the agony we Celts fans have gone through the past 15 years or so. Whether it be the completely ridiculous "SCALABRINE" chants at the end of blowouts. Glen Davis erupting for 22 huge points in a win at Detroit. P.J. Brown and Eddie House jumping in a time machine and turning themselves back 10 years before game 7 of the Cavs series. Tony Allen dunking the ball and then celebrating like he was 10 years old and got crossfire for Christmas. Leon Powe never cracking any sign of an emotion even after he just out muscled guys five inches taller than him for a rebound and then putting in an and one. James Posey hugging all five starters before EVERY game this season and alledgedly saying something different to them each time. Kendrick Perkins and his improbable yeo-man first half double-double in game 5 of the Pistons Series. Rajon Rondo snapping both of Steve Nash's ankles before going in for two. And finally the big 3 and all the amazing memories they have given us all year.

It has been a special one. A year that I will never forget as a Celtics fan. Now, as you watch the 2008 NBA finals tip off tonight with "BEAT LA" chants being screamed in the background, remember the year that got us here. Remember the moments that will live on in Celtics history. Let's just hope theres some more great ones to come.

BEAT LA

Beyond your Wildest Fantasies

2008-06-04T17:32:00.001-04:00

While perusing the Yahoo homepage the other day I stumbled across an article entitled, “Ricky Martin Helped Hillary Clinton To Puerto Rican Win.” Now normally I hardly care about the recent Democratic primaries because of the inevitability of an Obama victory (and at press time Obama was projected to have won the nomination), but I couldn’t resist reading any national news story that still mentioned the Latin crooner who had previously delighted the US with such hits as “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and “She Bangs”. Apparently he still holds some political sway in the great 51^st state of Puerto Rico, and his rousing endorsement of Hilary Clinton was enough to pull her to victory, which finally made me realize we as a country have finally become a truly “bizarro” world. I half expected to see an article where the great Baltimore R&B superstar and “Thong Song” creator Sisqo’s endorsement of John McCain led to his Maryland victory, but sadly there was none. So in honor of Ricky Martin’s triumph in Puerto Rico I offer you some bizarre fantasy game possibilities for you and your friends to enjoy. So if you ever get sick of finishing in last place in Fantasy Football every year, do some research and challenge your friends in one of these games.

Fantasy Box Office Returns

For those movie buffs out there, how would you like to actually have a place where you can prove you know which movies will flop and which will flourish. We all know you may have bragged to your friends that Sex and the City would beat Indiana Jones at the box office, but now you can actually put your money where your mouth is. At fantasymoguls.com you can create a league where you and your friends can draft hit movies and see whose perform best. Each season lasts three months and new seasons start every month so you can still battle over whether Hancock or The Dark Knight will do better this summer. Fantasy Moguls has two types of leagues one based solely on box office returns and the other adding per theatre average (PTA), imdb user score, and number of weeks in the Box Office top 5 to the scoring categories. In both leagues you get 100 dollars to purchase movies that come out in your season, meaning that your eight movie “studio” must balance both big budget blockbusters (sorry for the alliteration) and small budget art films. It even has early tracking and a Matthew Berry like douche bag, Steve Mason, who thinks he knows everything about movies.

Fantasy Pop Culture

This one may be better suited for the many female readers of this blog, or the very effeminate men that want to finally show how much they know about celebrities. Well for those who want to join a fantasy celebrity league go to Fafarazzi.com and start bickering about who gets to take that hottie Zac Efron with the first pick. The way it works is you draft celebrities for your team and the people who get the most celebrity blog mentions get you the most points. So you can go for high profile socialites like Parish Hilton, rehab attendees like Eva Mendes, fire crotches like Lindsay Lohan, or go for the low-profile celeb and pray she gets busted buying crack cocaine like Tatum O’Neal. Never has rooting for some celebrity’s life to go over the edge been more fun. Imagine the ecstasy Brittney Spears owners felt when she shaved her head and beat up an SUV. Also you can join one of Fafarazzi’s reality television leagues. If you watch the Hills, Top Chef, or the Mole religiously, why not pick three players and see how many points your team can get when your selections win challenges, cause drama, or avoid elimination. Now instead of yelling about how much you hate that bull-dike Lisa from Top Chef, just don’t pick her for your team, and feel better when your selection stabs her in the heart with their culinary prowess.

Fantasy Sports you have never watched or heard of

Sure you may know a lot about football, baseball, basketball, and even hockey, but can you win a Fantasy Cricket league. You may not even be able to name a Cricket player, but why not grow some balls and try it. I’m sure half the people who play don’t know any cricket players either. Don’t like the fact that Cricket is played by terrorist rogue nations, then why not try Fantasy Curling or Aussie Rules Football. After all Canada and Australia are basically America anyway. Well except for French Canada, those snobby pricks. Or if you want a sport you can actually watch on TV, why not try Fantasy AFL or Olympics. Trust me nothing will make Olympic Shot Put more exciting than having your fantasy league depend on it. So instead of looking pitifully at your eighth-place fantasy baseball team all day, try a new sport and maybe you’ll win something for once. If they don’t have a league for the sport you want, just make one yourself. Come up with a reasonable scoring system, and keep it all in an Excel Spreadsheet. It’s not as difficult as you may think and it is a great way to finally do fantasy college sports, since no internet sites are allowed to have them.

So next time you get bored with playing the same old fantasy sports or don’t play fantasy because you hate sports, try something new. There are many more crazy fantasy games I did not mention that might be perfect for you. Fantasy Games can bring a new level of competitiveness and excitement to even the most mundane thing. And if we learned anything from Ricky Martin’s music career besides the fact that although he never said it, he was gay, it’s that living the crazy life can be fun, and can lead you to make music videos with very attractive women.

Fantasy Football

2008-06-02T18:58:00.001-04:00

Let’s talk fantasy football. As an avid fantasy football player and NFL draft fanatic I’m always interested in how the draft along with other offseason moves affect the value of current fantasy players. I also love projecting the top fantasy rookies. Let’s get right into it.

Larry Johnson-Despite the rumors that coach Herm Edwards is going to reduce his workload, LJ is one of the players that will benefit most from his team’s offseason moves. The general consensus is that the Chiefs had the best draft in the league. The additions of DT Glenn Dorsey and OT Branden Albert will both help Johnson. Obviously, the Chiefs’ weakest link was their offensive line last year, and Albert was one of the most highly touted O-Line prospects behind the Dolphins’ Jake Long. He will make an immediate impact. The addition of Dorsey and CB Brandon Flowers makes the defense much better and will hopefully mean that the Chiefs won’t be so far behind in games that they are forced to throw the ball. In addition, Brodie Croyle has all the tools that it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback, he just needs seasoning. The development of Croyle and WR Dwayne Bowe could mean a big season upcoming for LJ as teams won’t be able to stack eight men in the box on every play.

Donovan McNabb-The Eagles got one of the steals in the draft with WR DeSean Jackson out of Cal in the second round. Projected as a first-round pick, Jackson has explosive playmaking ability which he showed when he clocked a 4.34 40 at the combine. He is also a nice complement to Kevin Curtis. McNabb is coming into his second year off of ACL surgery, and it is a known fact that this is when players begin to return to their previous form. This along with the ever-constant presence of Brian Westbrook and a solid O-Line has McNabb’s value up this year in my book.

Thomas Jones-The Jets had arguably the best offseason of anybody in the league this year. In addition to several key additions on defense, they improved an already stacked young offensive-line with All-Pro guard Alan Faneca out of Pittsburgh. They also added a solid veteran in Damien Woody to go with developing former first-rounders D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. Jones should see plenty of holes with these monsters in front of him. He also has two very capable receivers lining up next to him in Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, so all of the focus won’t be on him. The only real question is at quarterback, where Mangenious will have to pick between the lesser of two evils in the human injury Chad Pennington and the unproven Kellen Clemens. Overall though, I like the outlook for Jones this year.

Vince Young-Does Tennessee just not want to help this man? Last year they reach on RB Chris Henry out of Arizona when they already had capable ball carriers in Chris Brown and Lendale White and they desperately needed a receiver for Vince to throw to. This year they reach on another running back in Chris Johnson when they needed a receiver even more. What gives? Do they really think that Alge Crumpler is the answer to all of their passing woes? I do not like the outlook for Vince despite the fact that he is going to get you somewhere around 5 rushing TD’s a year.

Willie Parker-The Steelers took highly touted RB Rashard Mendenhall out of Illinois in the first round, which raised a lot of eye brows. Parker is a young talented back who despite only scoring two touchdowns last season still managed to rack up 1,316 yards on the ground and 164 through the air. What concerns me most is that Mendenhall and Parker are the same exact player essentially. They are both speed rushers who can break downfield tackles. Why would Pittsburgh take Mendenhall if they had confidence in Parker? For whatever reason unbeknownst to me, they don’t. In addition, the loss of guard Alan Faneca to the Jets is really going to hurt any running back that the Steelers put out there.

And finally, here are my top five rookie fantasy options for this year (Keep in mind this is just for this year, not for keeper leagues):

1-Darren McFadden, Oakland-Run DMC has shown signs that he is capable of being this year’s Adrian Peterson, and the scary part is he’s bigger and faster. The only concern is that teams will be able to stack the box, but he is too talented not to have my top slot.

2-Jonathan Stewart, Carolina-The Panthers improved their offense greatly in the first round, adding Stewart and OT Jeff Otah. If not for a toe injury towards the end of the season, many analysts believed that Stewart was a top ten and maybe even top five pick. The return of a healthy Jake Delhomme and the presence of Steve Smith on the outside mean good things for the rookie in Carolina.

3-DeSean Jackson-As I mentioned earlier, I really like Jackson and the offense that he is coming into. I think it suits him well because he can be the burner downfield and Kevin Curtis can take on a Wes Welker type role of short to intermediate passes that rack up the first downs. Jackson has some very good upside in my opinion. If Donovan McNabb is his old-self, Jackson gets my vote as the top fantasy rookie wideout this year.

4-Devin Thomas, Washington-Thomas quietly put up excellent numbers last season for Michigan State. He led the Big Ten in receiving with 79 catches for 1,260 yards and 8 touchdowns in thirteen games. He is 6’ 2” and can burn with a 4.4 40 time. He is stepping into an offense that needs exactly what he gives them: a downfield threat. The Redskins have one of the better running games in the league with Clinton Portis and a solid O-Line. They also have the very underrated Chris Cooley to go with Santana Moss. They also added another highly regarded rookie receiver in Malcom Kelley, who should take some pressure off of Thomas. If Jason Campbell is able to return the way he was playing before his injury, big things are ahead for Thomas.

5-Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh-The only reason I don’t have him ranked higher is the presence of Willie Parker. The word on the street is that the Steelers are planning on having the two share carries, so don’t expect gaudy numbers from either of them. But, the Steelers took Mendenhall for a reason, and I expect them to utilize him especially because he is fresher and he is a better pass-catcher out of the backfield than Parker is.

Red Sox 2008 Draft Preview

2008-06-01T14:06:00.004-04:00

Every year the MLB draft is labeled as a “crapshoot” and reasonably so. There are about 140,000 U.S. high schoolers, collegians, and junior collegians available for the taking each year. Of those 140,000 about 1 in 94 players are drafted by a MLB club.

Baseball America recently produced a study of the drafts from 1965-1995 and found that 15,660 players had been selected in rounds 1 through 20. Among the first round picks, a mere 64.9 percent eventually played in the major leagues, and 48.7 percent lasted more than 3 years. Second round draft choices percentages declined to 41.6 and 25.7 percent. By rounds 16-20, only 3.7 percent had a career surpassing the 3 year mark.

For the Red Sox the draft over the past few years has become a goldmine.

Red Sox scouting director Jason McLeod is entering his 4th season as scouting director and will have five picks in the first three rounds to work with which is a considerably good position to be in coming of a World Series Championship. The Red Sox top 5 2008 draft picks are as follows:

Round 1, 30th pick
Round 1S, 45th pick (compensation for Eric Gagne departure)….Maybe he wasn’t totally useless after all
Round 2, 77th pick
Round 2S, 85th pick (compensation for not signing last years 3rd round pick Hunter Morris)
Round 3, 108th pick

To get a sense at what the draft has supplied for the Red Sox in recent years look no further than 2005. The Red Sox had possession of 6 of the first 57 selections in McLeod’s first year and certainly made them count. The Red Sox became the first team in history to get its first four picks into the big leagues within just three years of the draft. Jacoby Ellsbury, Craig Hansen, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie. (WOW)

What did the Yankees 2005 Draft top 5 selections look like?
1. Carl Henry
2. James Cox
3. Brett Gardner
4. Lance Pendleton
5. Zachary Kroenke

Recognize these names? Didn’t think so.

Fun Fact: Only 6 players in the history of MLB have played in the majors without a day of minor league experience.

Mel Ott, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Dave Winfield, Bob Feller, Al Kaline
(coincidentally all inducted into the Hall of Fame)

With all the chaos that goes into the draft choices by each club I am not even going to begin to take an attempt to guess at what the Red Sox choose to do with the 30th overall pick in the draft. My MLB Draft mock draft has the Red Sox taking Petey Paramore, a highly touted catching prospect out of Arizona St. This pick seems to make the most sense seeing as though the Red Sox depth at catcher is daringly scarce throughout the organization.

Jason Varitek certainly cannot catch forever and is coming up on the last year of his contract. With the scarcity of quality catchers around the Major Leagues it makes them almost off limits trading chips by other organizations.

With all the unpredictability and uncertainty that goes into organizations draft picks each year its important to note that as the Great Mike Staropoli once said “sometimes even the blind squirrel finds the nut”
ie: Mike Piazza (62nd round pick)

The Art of Buying Low

2008-05-31T18:13:00.004-04:00

"Some of the prettiest flowers bloom late". My mother used to tell me that in High School because my balls didn't drop until I turned 16. Little did mother know that not only was she giving me false self-confidence, but also valuable fantasy advice. Mark Teixeira, Ichiro Suzuki and Johan Santana are all players who usually wait until the second half of the season to have their balls drop...I mean start getting hot. With that being said, for every Ryan Howard who can slug .611 in the Second half, there is a Travis Hafner, who has apparently received a shipment of anti-steroids from Andruw Jones. In my opinion, leagues are won and lost on people who buy low on proven players. For whatever reason, it's relatively easy to find a panicking fantasy owner who loses all rational thinking simply because he can't stand to see his star player go into a slump. Here at Who Are You Karim Garcia, we feast on weak managers who can't wait a couple months for their flowers to bloom. Here are 4 prime targets that I believe will get things going very soon.

Prince Fielder

Somebody get that man a chicken wing! After trying out a new Vegan Diet, the Prince has started suddenly swinging the bat more like a Princess (Corny I know). His K/BB numbers are comparable to last years epic season coupled with a respectable .201 LD% and its tough to explain his early season struggles. His FB% of .399 is a little lower than anticipated, but is nothing to worry about and it doesn't seem as though Prince has been pressing at the plate throughout this slump. He is batting .338 in his past 17 games which bodes well for getting that average up to last years .288 but as his meager 18 XBH show, the power has yet to come out. However, Fielder frequently displayed a tendency to be a streaky hitter. In 2007, the Prince had two months of batting .321 or higher, yet also had four that were .277 or lower. Additionally, 24 of his 50 HR last season were hit in May and September alone. Trust me, you do not want to be the owner who traded Fielder before he breaks out because it is only a matter of time. With a solid #5 hitter in Corey Hart protecting him, and Ryan Braun's latest hot streak, Fielder should also supply very enticing RBI and Run totals throughout the season. Buy while you can because the window is quickly closing.

Projection- .280 43 HR 115 RBI 100 Runs

Justin Verlander

After posting an ERA on the wrong side of 6 in April, Verlander has actually had a decent May by posting a sub 4 ERA. His peripheral stats such as his K/9 are still not at the level they should be for this 100 MPH throwing youngster, but more recently Verlander has started to regain his 2007 form. Four of his last five starts have been quality and the other would have been had the bullpen not allowed its inherited runner. The soon to be additions of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney also bode well for his future win and ERA totals seeing as how dreadful this Detroit bullpen has been. While I actually believed that Verlander was over-hyped before the season, he has actually become underrated because of his total statistics. Pitching statistics are much more difficult than hitting to alter throughout the season because one bad start can seriously damage the totals. Verlander's recent success has done little to disguise his ugly start because it will take time for those totals to drop. To put this into perspective, Verlander could throw consecutive perfect games and still have a mediocre ERA of 4.16 and a WHIP over 1.00, although at that time it would be tough to buy low. In other words, don't let Verlander's statistics deceive you because they are representative of a few very poor starts. Find the disgruntled Verlander owner in your league and pry him from him immediately, because like Fielder, the window is quickly closing.

Projection- 15 W 3.90 ERA 150 K's

Nick Markakis

Nick the Stick hasn't looked anything like the potential superstar he was labeled to be before the season started. Don't hop off the bandwagon so fast people, this Greek is fo' real. To start, his 7 SB so far indicate that maybe his surprising total of 18 last year were not as fluky as once thought. Furthermore, his 9 HR show that he is developing the pop that many believed he soon would. His .258 average is embarking on Julio Lugo territory, but rest assured, Markakis is too talented to continue this. His K rate for the season has dramatically increased to almost a strikeout per game, which seems to be the culprit for his slumping. Keep in mind however that Markakis has 11 TOTAL first half home runs in his first 2 full seasons and it seems that he will surpass that total this year alone. He managed a .279 BA in the 2007 first half and still pulled off a .300 average for the season due to a .325 second half. In 2006, Markakis held true to his slow start form as well, hitting just .268 at the dish in the first half compared to a .311 second half. The Golden Greek has hit as high as .339 in the minor leagues and is capable of churning out a 30/20 season this year. I believe that he is the best buy low of this group because he has not yet had an exceptionally strong season before that would leave his owners with a lot of confidence. Buy now because he is certainly going to be on sale.

Projection- .300 BA 30 HR 105 RBI 90 Runs 19 SB

Vladimir Guerrero

Quick question. Who is the only active Major League player to hit .300 or higher in 11 straight seasons. The answer-Vlad. Another quick question. Why would any Vlad owner actually believe that a guy who has produced so well for so long and is still in his prime at 31 actually would regress this considerably? The answer- I'm still searching. Vlad will hit .300 this year, I'm sure of it. While his body has worn down a good amount for a player of his age, it does not change the fact that he is still one of the most feared hitters in the game. He is sporting a healthy .201 LD% on top of a strong .466 GB% which indicates that he should be batting well above .300. And while we know Vlad's speed isn't what is used to be, his .279 BABIP is astonishingly low for a hitter who consistently sees that figure well above .310. And while I am strongly advising a buy low here, keep in mind that Vlad's power may not be what it used to be. Gone are the days of 45 HR's for Guerrero, so temper your expectations in that department. With that being said, a baseline of 25 HR's seems reasonable, maxing at around 35. His FB% of .331 is very low for a typical power hitter, but fantasy owners will not be disapointed in his overall numbers come the end of the season. Owners of Vlad may be hesistant to deal him so quickly because he has made a name for himself over the years. However, should they lose sight on this fact, capitalize quickly.

Projection- .307 BA 28 HR 100 RBI 90 Runs 2 SB

Do not hesitate to by on these or any other potential buy low candidates in your league. As aforementioned, leagues are won and lost from buying low and it truly is a science. It's important to distinguish a slump from simply a weak player and this can be helped by looking at prior year statistics as well as some deeper and more specific stats such as BABIP and LD% which can help to see if the slump is legit, or just a case of bad luck. Act swift and fast, but more importantly rationally and keep in mind that a buy low stays low for only so long.

The Other College B-Ball

2008-05-31T12:24:00.002-04:00

As we sit here on May, 31, it is time to think about what the month of June will bring to us. For Barry Bonds, it means another month of unemployment and a lot of laughter from every person outside of San Fran. For David Stern, it means he can now donate sperm to every cum bank in the world because the NBA finals feature the two most storied franchises in the sport's history. For Joakim Noah, it means he can officially blaze his crib up with Josh Howard every night until training camp begins. (Is it just me or could you picture Joakim and Howard blazing in one of their basements with a giant calender hanging on the wall that crosses out the days until they have to report to training camp only the day training camp starts is labeled as FUCKKK.) For the MLB, it means the descent into those summer nights of humidity and baseball under the lights. Or does it?

Little does literally anyone know, the MLB draft is fast approaching. That's right, this Thursday the 5th of June. Does anyone care besides the 12,000 people that will be drafted? No. Why? How many times a year do you see a college baseball game on television? Exactly.

The thing is, there really isn't a legitimate reason why college baseball doesn't get put on TV. With the success of college basketball and football, you would think that the NCAA, being the scumbags that they are, would try and advertise this sport a little more. The college world series features 8 teams playing in a mini tournament to vie for the national title. It is a very well attended and well watched sporting event. Wouldn't it be great if you actually knew the names of some of these players before they got on ESPN in late June? Think of the benefit the MLB would get out of this. How insanely hyped would the first pick in the draft be if people actually knew who he was! Baseball is America's pastime people! Some will argue that the college baseball season is too short/south dominated to be put on TV. 1- Oregon State has won back to back national championships. That's equivalent to the United States winning the Cricket world championships. 2- College Football is so ridiculously south dominated that you really can not make that argument.

I am a huge fan of collegiate athletics. Getting baseball a little more pub would be a great thing not only for the NCAA but for the MLB. I just think it is time for the NCAA to take the next step with this sport. I like the college world series but I would LOVE it if I had some background on the teams and players other than getting it from the announcers three minutes before the game.

Bet of the day: Detroit Red Wings (Even) moneyline. The Red Wings are just too good. They almost stole game 3, a game that everyone and their brother knew the Pens would take. The Wings are going to take control of this series for good.

Fantasy Player of the day: Ben Sheets vs Houston Astros. Sheets owns the 'stros. In 158 innings, Sheets has racked up 10 wins and 141 Ks to go along with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He's also coming off two great starts. Look for Sheets to continue his dominance tonight.