I'm Thinking...19

Son...people can SEE you!

2012-01-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

I realized this morning that, after my last post, some of you may have worried that my subsequent absence from the blogosphere may have meant that I may have actually died from my massive headache. Never fear, dear readers...still alive and well, watching entirely too much television, and back ready to bend your ear for a while.

First things first...I do think I want to do a more long-form writeup of Justified episodes. I just need to figure out a schedule, and see what (if any) online resources there are for transcripts, which is what I used to do my old LOST recaps.

As for this week's episode, I thought it was good but not great. I sincerely hope that there is more Carla Gugino in the future, as she was obviously perfect in her old "Karen Sisco" role. In fact, that was probably my only issue with this episode...not enough of Raylan and Karen (although they never actually CALLED her Karen).

But, honestly, the rest of the episode was good enough that I can understand why something had to get the shaft. Some of the things I loved:

- Art being a bada**, and possibly letting us in on why he has such a complicated relationship with Raylan. On one hand, Raylan has to be an absolute nightmare as an employee, and Art has made no bones about how fed up he is with constantly having to clean up Raylan's mess. On the other hand, Art probably sees a younger version of himself in Raylan, which is why he continues to clean up the mess no matter how fed up he gets.

- Everything about the Boyd/Dicky scenes. Obviously, Walton Goggins is phenomenal as Boyd, but I think Jeremy Davies is a little underrated by people who talk about the acting on this show. There are so many "versions" of Dicky (each one as true and believable as another), and we got a good example of that here...look at the difference between how Dicky is acting when he thinks he's talking to a guard, vs. when he realizes that it is actually Boyd coming to visit. There is a version of Dicky that he projects when he thinks he has the upper hand, and another very different one when he knows he is in a position of weakness...both versions are at the same time very real, but also very much an affectation. I don't think he is ever as strong as he likes to pretend he is sometimes, but you better not underestimate him and think he's as weak as he projects at times either. Just great, great stuff from both guys.

- Always fun to see Band of Brothers alumni pop up on other shows, and this is not the first time we've seen one here.

- We didn't get any more of Neal McDonough's character (currently only known as "The Carpetbagger"), but we were introduced to another of this seasons Big Bads. Mykel T. Williamson was terrifying as Limehouse. And also a big fan of Fight Club, which automatically makes it hard for me to root against him.

It's also really disconcerting to see Bubba be such a psychopath. Forrest would be SO disappointed.

Overall, another really good episode, albeit one that I still feel like is doing a lot of foundation work. We haven't even really gotten into what the "Big" story is going to be this season, but that's not unusual for this show...they like to establish the world and its players early on, and then start moving the pieces around.

- I also watched the pilot of Touch, the new Tim Kring joint that stars Kiefer Sutherland. I thought it was a really good pilot...cool concepts, Kiefer is really good, etc. I'm going to stick around, but it's hard not to compare this project with the LAST one that Tim Kring put out, which was Heroes. This pilot reminded me so much of the Heroes pilot...the global scope, the "everybody is connected" themes, even the overly pretentious voiceovers and long subtitled scenes. I loved the Heroes pilot and most of the first season, but then that show went off the rails in a HUGE way as it collapsed under the weight of its own mythology. This is obviously a different show...I'm hoping that Kring learned the right lessons from Heroes and fixes some of the issues here.

I don't think the show comes back until sometime in March, so you have plenty of time to catch the pilot between now and then...I'll be watching with cautious optimism when it makes its return.

- Last night's Parks and Recreation was tremendous, and I would actually suggest that this could be an "Emmy submission" episode...there was so much good stuff for almost every character:

Ron - FANTASTIC Ron episode...from the snack bar in the bowling alley being his "favorite restaurant" to his horror at Tom's bowling mechanics ("Son...people can SEE you!"), to his subsequent anonymous testing of Tom's "technique" ("I was never here..").

Tom - Another great Tom list, with all of his possible bowling nicknames (forgot that in the Ron section earlier...he went with BOWLER, GIRL, and TOM). And his whining about his "fingy" was Tom at his pathetic best. All that was missing from his storyline was Jean-Ralphio.

Jerry - "Well, I don't really think you need MY social security number...but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it out. It's 2-1-0.."

Andy - Every single thing Chris Pratt says and does cracks me up. "Why are we laughing?" "Champion really doesn't like awkward situations..."

April - I really think Aubrey Plaza was the MVP of this episode. Her annoyance with Chris leading to her wanting to win the contest in order to make his happiness "go away", that tremendous scene of her affecting different accents and personas in order to wring donations out of people, and of course her heart growing three sizes after she realizes Chris is heartbroken (and it may be her fault: "I might be a wizard"). April showing actual human feelings always gets me.

Obviously, that list could keep going...the only problem I had with this episode was that it wasn't a great one for Leslie. I thought her reaction to that one guy in the focus group saying he couldn't see himself going bowling with her was too over the top, even for her. But A) the show acknowledged it (through Ben's reactions), and B) she got to redeem herself at the end with her refusal to apologize for the fact that her boyfriend stood up for her to this repulsive jerk, and in fact she found it pretty hot.

So, yeah...this is still the best comedy on TV.

- Archer. Well...as usual, there are a lot of jokes that I can't re-create here, either in order to keep the blog family friendly or because they don't translate as well in writing. But even though Parks and Rec is the best comedy on TV, I didn't laugh harder at anything last night than I did at "Did you hear we met a TIGER? But...then, he was....murdered", with the possibility of "I'm gonna die in a toilet stall! Just like the gypsy said!". Or Ray Gillette as a Decepticon.

TOKEN SPORTS CONTENT:
As usual, Blutarsky says what I want to say, just much better...great post from him today on the dangers of a college football playoff, specifically my biggest problem with a tournament-style system. And extra points for using a reference from The Wire in the title of the post.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND:
- Chuck has its series finale tonight. If you haven't been watching so far, I guess it's a little late to jump in now...but for those of us who have been along from the beginning, what a ride. And I'm still shocked and happy that we got five seasons of this show, and that they are being allowed to go out pretty much on their own terms. Hooray for NBC suckiness! If they actually had done a better job of developing shows over the last four years, there is no way we would have made it to this point...Chuck kept getting renewed because NBC had absolutely nothing with which to replace it.

Alan Sepinwall has been one of the biggest online Chuck supporters since season one, so of course he is going to have some excellent finale-related material. HERE is part five of his week-long interview with showrunners Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak, and HERE is a fantastic post listing all of his favorite moments from the series.

As for me, I'm really going to miss this show...but I think I will miss Sarah most of all.

- Also this weekend is the "beginning" of HBO's Luck. I put "beginning" in quotation marks because HBO actually ran the pilot a while back. I watched it then and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had to watch it in standard def vs. hi-def (the HORROR!!!).

I'm a HUGE fan of Deadwood, which is also from creator David Milch. That one was set in a "western" type setting, but it was so much more than just a "western". It was a story about community, the greater good, how the truly awful things in life can sometimes open our eyes to the beautiful things....all with some of the most beautifully profane dialogue ever written. So I'm sure this one won't be for some of you...if you're easily offended by certain words, don't bother tuning in.

But I admire Milch's vision and style, and this one has the added bonus of a visionary director (Michael Mann) and a ridiculously talented cast (Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Jason Gedric, Richard Kind, just to name a few). So I'm in, 100%.

Oh, and by the way, speaking of Deadwood...AV club has a great piece today about the first season that is co-written by a first-time viewer and a long time fan. Good stuff from them, as usual.

Have a great weekend!

EDITED TO ADD: Didn't want to make a whole post out of this, but Grantland agrees with me with regards to what Jericho is doing since his return (the part in bold is my favorite part):

The shtick was nothing short of brilliant. To play with the crowd's instincts — turning their welcome-back applause against them — was the most effective way for a star like Jericho to "turn heel" in short order. In fact, he was turning heel in perhaps the most meta way possible: Average fans were largely left perplexed by Jericho's act, but the "smart" fans on the Internet felt most strongly aggrieved. Many of them knew what Jericho was doing, yet they were still disgusted by the inanity of it. When CM Punk went off-script, those fans swooned; when Jericho deliberately undermined the whole edifice, that was a step too far. Punk assaulted the fourth wall over the summer; Jericho went out and found a fifth wall to address. Jericho and Punk are expected to clash, and when that happens "reality" may take the biggest beating.

The most obvious precedent for Jericho's audience-taunting is Andy Kaufman's "I'm from Hollywood" routine in the early 1980s, but what Jericho did in those few silent appearances actually has more in common with another Kaufman stunt: reading The Great Gatsby in its entirety to stupefied audiences. It was performance art under the guise of a blunt assault on fans' expectations, or vice versa.

As I Lay Dying...

2012-01-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

OK, that's probably a bit melodramatic. I don't really think I'm dying. But I DO have a massive headache that makes it feel like my left eyeball is about to pop out of my skull.

So this will be short and sweet, but I am enjoying being back in the blogging groove and don't want to lose it.

I lied yesterday...I actually DID manage to squeeze in a little television last night. My very very abbreviated thoughts:

- Downton Abbey: Best episode of this season (or series, as the Brits say) so far. It got a bit dusty in the room during the Crawley Sister duet, that's for sure.

- Alcatrazzzz: I have so many problems with this show, even outside the extremely procedural structure. The biggest one is the apparent absolute lack of culture shock that any of the escaped prisoners have upon transporting from 1963 to 2012. There are others, that I will likely go into when I feel like writing more, but for now this show is skating on thin ice for me. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because I remember how "procedural" Fringe was in the early going before the writers finally said, "Screw it...let's just be weird".

Other quick thoughts:
- Hoop Dawgs play #1 Kentucky tonight. In the words of the great Lt. Daniel Caffey: "You need to prepare yourself for the fact that we are going to lose....and we are going to lose HUGE".

- Part two of Sepinwall's interview with the Chuck showrunners is HERE. In this installment, they discuss the second season, which is universally recognized as the creative peak of the show's run.

- In other showrunner interview news, Todd VanderWerff has another edition of his always tremendous in-depth walkthroughs starting today with Alex Gansa of Homeland. Great insight into what was one of my favorite shows of 2011.

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT
Well, Justified, duh. I think this may be the show that I start doing weekly LOST style recaps of, if time permits. Tonight includes the introduction of Carla Gugino's character, who the show has said repeatedly is NOT Karen Sisco. I think her name is Maren Misco.

Also...Southland is a show that I really enjoyed when it began airing on NBC and then sort of lost track of after it moved to TNT. I watched the season premiere of the new season last week, and found that A) the show is just as good as I remember it being; and, B) you can jump right in and not be lost, as far as the plot goes. Only thing you really need to know is that these are cops and detectives working South LA. The rest you can pretty much fill in the blanks. Check it out if you like gritty realism in your police shows rather than homogenized cliches.

OK...it's hard to type one handed while clamping the other one over your eyeball to make sure it doesn't pop out. So that will have to do for today.

Weekend wrapup: Answering my own question, and Y2J is a genius

2012-01-23T21:35:00.002-05:00

So, last week I asked for some of you Hoop Dawg experts to help me understand why the team fell so far so fast. I got NO help from any of you, but since then I've watched a couple of games and I think I have it figured out: absolutely zero inside presence, and inconsistent scoring outside of KCP, who is certainly extremely talented offensively but has a LONG way to go defensively.

Does that about cover it?

We did finally get an SEC win last week, but I honestly don't see very many more in our future...I hope I'm wrong. Maybe Marcus Thornton can work himself back into shape and provide some strength inside, maybe Gerald Robinson and Dustin Ware can recapture some past magic, maybe KCP will learn quickly what it takes to play defense at an SEC level....but that's a lot to ask in a very short period of time. And then Robinson and Ware are both seniors...I'm starting to get depressed.

Moving on...

- Finished up the last couple of comedies from the Wednesday/Thursday Comedy DVR Extravaganza.

First the bad news...The Office continues to demonstrate that the writing staff has gone completely off the rails since the departure of Michael Scott. I don't think I laughed a single time at this last episode, and I don't know what the point of the episode was. I'm all for the uncomfortable darker humor that the show sometimes goes for..."Dinner Party" (in which Jim, Pam, Andy, Angela, Dwight, and Dwight's former nanny have a remarkably uncomfortable dinner at Michael and Jan's condo) is probably my favorite Office episode ever. The difference between then and now is that the reason that episode worked so well is that the writing staff had such a firm grasp of who these characters were and how they worked. Now...I don't think anybody has any idea of what the thread is.

For example...I feel like they are trying to make Andy and Erin the new Jim and Pam (since they have completely murdered the Jim/Pam characters, who used to be the heart and soul of the show). But the whole storyline feels rushed, especially this other woman whom Andy is not only dating all of a sudden, but is apparently ready to marry. I can't for the life of me even tell you this woman's NAME, much less anything about her or her relationship with Andy. Why should I care?

And the problem isn't just with that storyline...Dwight, Kevin, Ryan, Stanley, etc...it seems that every single character, with the possible exception of Creed, has become problematic in their inconsistent characterization. Kevin, in particular, is barely recognizable as the guy who could conceivably win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

None of that would be as big a problem if the show was actually still funny....sadly, they can't even pull that off anymore.

On the other hand, Up All Night continues to just be a really fun half hour every week. Will Arnett and Christina Applegate have created a couple that just feels EXTREMELY realistic to me....almost every story that they do feels really familiar. This week's story about trying to watch a TV series together, and how it becomes this "project" that you are working on together, and going to sleep every time you try to start it, etc...I've LIVED that. And I am perfectly happy with Megan Mulally fulfilling her destiny of guest starring on every single comedy I watch...she was fantastic, as usual.

Anyway, it's not super ambitious (like Community), and it's not as polished and at the top of its game (like Parks and Rec), but it's certainly a show that I look forward to every week.

- Two other shows I watched this weekend are both heading towards the end of their runs (I think)...one of them for sure, and one of them increasingly likely.

Chuck aired its penultimate episode last week, with only the two hour finale left on the docket. As usual with this show, I am thoroughly enjoying the ride. We all know where the Chuck and Sarah story is most likely headed...I don't think this is the type of show that is going to pull the rug out from under their viewers with anything less than a happy ending for those two. But they are doing a fairly decent job putting up believable roadblocks in their path...although I'm not COMPLETELY happy with Sarah being in "damsel in distress" mode the way she was this week. Hopefully this week will see her back to her butt-kicking ways, with or without the Intersect. In fact, I was sort of hoping that last week's episode was going to involve more of her doing all of these Intersect-aided amazing things, only for Chuck to just assume that it was just her being awesome as usual.

And if that was the last hurrah of Jeffster, what a great way for them to go out. Great stuff all around.

Also...Alan Sepinwall is running a five part interview with Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak, the co-creators and show runners. Part one is HERE, and if you're a fan of the show I encourage you to go check out the rest as the week goes on. It's a typical great interview from Alan, and a fitting farewell to the show. It's also funny to see the pictures of Chuck and Sarah from the early days of the show...we've come a long way, baby.

As for Fringe, my feelings about this season continue to be mixed. I'm enjoying many of the things the show is doing this season...last week was another strong episode in a series of them, from a storytelling perspective, and the acting is always top notch. But I'm really struggling with the idea that these are not really the characters we have been watching for the life of the show to this point. Whether they exist in a different universe/timeline, or they are in the same universe that we have been watching but "changed" due to what happened with Peter, they don't feel like "our" Olivia, Walter, etc.

And it could be that all of that will be resolved by where the writers are taking us...it wouldn't surprise me if by the end of this season, everything has been put "right" somehow. And if this wasn't probably the last season of the show, that wouldn't be so bad. But, based on the ratings and the high cost of the show, I think it probably IS the last season...which means that we will have spent much of the last season of the show with someone OTHER than the characters we have been watching from the beginning. And that is very frustrating and sad to me.

Still one of the best shows on television...I just hope we don't look back on this as a wasted last season.

- As long time readers of the blog (or long time knowers of me) know, I have been a wrestling fan almost my entire life. I am not a rabid fan at all anymore...my fandom at this point just consists of me occasionally checking out some of the wrestling websites/blogs and checking out what is going on with the shows, which will sometime lead to me checking out a particular storyline/match if it piques my interest. I got caught up in the Summer of Punk last summer, for instance, and I was intrigued to start reading rumors that Chris Jericho (one of my all time favorites) may be making a comeback.

Well, he did...and, seriously, the guy is a genius when it comes to this business. What he has done since he came back is some truly Kauffman level stuff.

First, there was this...his big comeback on Raw three weeks ago, in which he somehow had the crowd chanting his name and going crazy when he first made his appearance, and then making a COMPLETE heel turn 5-6 minutes later...without ever saying a word.

And then, the next week, he returns...only he is so "overcome" that he once again leaves without saying a word...

And then LAST week, he finally gets into the ring, as part of a big 6-man tag main event....only to pull THIS:

I love it, and I will be checking out Raw every week for the foreseeable future to see what comes next.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT

Well, I'm not watching anything...instead, we spent the evening welcoming the latest member of the Grantham family. Introducing, my new nephew...Jackson Reagan Grantham (or, as his uncle will be calling him, Jax)

So...what are some of the things that Leslie Knope is "pro"?

2012-01-20T14:08:00.001-05:00

TOTALLY ripped this off from TV.com. Guess I'm one of those Internet pirates that the feds are aiming to take down.

Here is the text of Leslie's "positive" campaign ad from last night's ep, including the ENTIRE list of things that she is "pro" that scrolled by at breakneck speed.

Hi, I'm Leslie Knope, I'm pro parks, pro public safety, and I'm pro clean water. I'm also pro environmental regulation, and I'm very, very pro local propositions 45, 86, and 102F. But most of all, I'm pro Pawnee. Here are some other things that I'm pro:

More dog parks

Senior citizens' rights

Safe streets

Safe sidewalks

Better schools

Lower taxes

Better parks

Better business climate

Better Better Business Bureau

Cleaner streets

Improve greenways

More snow plows

Protecting Pawneeans

Improving tourism

More trash cans

Energy-efficient street lights

Westside Detoxification and Revitalization Project

Repaving Grand Avenue

More teachers

Fewer libraries

Improve intergovernmental agency communication

Clean-up Barefoot Lake

Passing Pawnee Jobs Bill P-129.4

Playgrounds in every park

Playgrounds in every schoolyard

Playgrounds in every residential block

Clean energy

One police officer for every 5 citizens

One park ranger for every 10,000 raccoons

Resodding Hilltop Cemetery

Start talking to Cuba again

Emergency Evacuation Drills

Plow for Charity

Forming an Ad Hoc Sub-Committee Oversight Committee

Challenging the norm

Pawnee Corn Subsidies

Finally Passing PR-61, formally recognizing South Korea

Official peace treaty with the Wamapoke Tribe

Four-way stops at every intersection

Unionizing ice cream trucks

Get Europe out of debt

Free trade with Illinois

Enact RRP - Raccoon Relocation Project

Pawnee Community College tuition in exchange for 4 years of public service

Doubling Pawnee Hospital's emergency room nurse staff

Legalize Korean

Lower the obesity level

Stop global terrorism

Re-open the toucan exhibit at Pawnee Zoo

Find Gabe the Toucan

More community gardens

Ordinance 11F: To Re-pave city Sidewalks

Budget Reform

Updated Technologies for Local Schools

Better retirement benefits for city employees

Edward Phillips Senior Center Remodeling

Speed bumps in front of elementary schools

Unemployment Benefits

Re-instating the Main St. Farmers Market

No turtles as pets

New uniforms for youth sports programs

Free Public Wi-Fi

Updated childcare facilities

Shutting down the Child Left Behind program

Handicap parking placards for the obese

FREE PARKING EVERYWHERE

Cleaner drinking water

Regulate heights of trampolines

Memorial for those lost in the trampoline "incident"

Control the floods

Funding for public art commission

Fencing in correctional facilities

New police patrol cars

Funding overtime hours for police

Rebuilding the PTA

Prosecuting former PTA president Linda Trifle

Profitable government organizations

Shutting down underground shooting ranges

Making sure city contracts employ local workers

Providing more economic development grants and micro-loans to small businesses

Foster partnerships with sister cities

More buses to speed up morning commutes

More streets to accommodate additional buses

Require all city employees check and respond to email

Working sewers

More parades

Grants for scientists to discover new forms of energy

Leave a lasting impression on all visitors

Challenge the norm

Finish the statue of Burt Bacharach

No more conflict diamonds

Bulletproof glass everywhere

Free cookies at every street corner

On school for every student

Require flattering mirrors in public restrooms

Develop a municipal composting operation

Enforce existing speeding and noise ordinances

Upgrade existing parks

Create an anti-graffiti, youth outreach program

Free cake when it's your birthday

Reevaluate NAFTA

Rickshaw Wednesdays

Making it illegal to refuse a hug

Make downtown more people-friendly

Sell candy in government buildings to pay down the debt

Get Pawnee a licensed pharmacy

Better screening processes at local adoption agencies

Finding homes for the abused children of Day Labor Corp.

Prop 6A: To Recognize All Five Food Groups

Replacing all glass with plastic at Pawnee Psychiatric Clinic

KNOPE 2012!!!

"Oh, yeah, laugh it up, Burt!!" "I AM!!"

2012-01-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

Scheduling conflicts kept me from watching much on Wednesday night, but it did allow me to come up with an acceptable way to watch the American Idol audition shows...I can wait until it goes off at 10, then and follow along with Dan Feinberg's live blog, fast forwarding past the parts I don't care about. Doing that, I was able to watch the whole 2 hour show in about 20 minutes.

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the audition episodes? Last night's episode didn't record because of too many conflicts (as you are about to see), and I certainly don't feel like I missed anything. I am out until at least Hollywood week...then we'll see if there's anybody that actually grabs my attention.

So, anyway, I had the house and TV to myself last night and ended up basically overdosing on comedies...Modern Family, Happy Endings, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Raising Hope, Big Bang Theory, and Archer. On one hand, that made for a VERY enjoyable three hours...on the other hand, watching them all in a block like that kind of causes it all to run together, to the point where I'm struggling to remember specifics about any of them. So let's knock them out...and for the sake of my addled brain, we'll do it in the order that I watched. Maybe that will help...

Modern Family - The "Claire is unlikeable" storyline was by far the best part of this episode, both because of the meta commentary (since Julie Bowen often gets the same type of criticism), and also because it led to the two best scenes of the episode...the mock debate where Phil and the kids "buzz" her every time she pulls one of her "unlikeable" tics or shows the "bad side" of her face (which Phil and Haley disagreed on which side that was), and then the ACTUAL debate, which was best encapsulated by the viral video that resulted from it.

But if those two scenes were Modern Family at its best (which they were), the other two were the show at, if not its worst, at least its laziest. Absolutely nothing stood out to me in either of those storylines, except how telegraphed and unfunny the jokes were.

In other words, a typical Modern Family episode for me...parts that had me pausing and rewinding so that I could catch my breath (usually involving Phil and the kids), and parts that had me having to fight the temptation to fast forward.

Happy Endings - This is one that especially suffers when I gorge like this...I vividly remember laughing at this one at least as much, if not more, as I did at my other favorites (Parks and Rec and Archer). But because the plots are so thin, usually just acting as joke delivery systems, that I sometimes have a hard time recalling all the jokes the next day. But I know that Elisha Cuthbert continues to impress (in more ways than one, right? HEY NOW!!). I don't know if it's her or the writers, but they have really nailed her character (stop it), settling on a variation of a "dumb blond" without it being too cliched. "I think my baker is ripping me off" and "Four V's? That's almost FIVE!" both had me cracking up.

And, of course, the Black Wee Man...hilarious.

Parks and Recreation - First of all, I was completely unspoiled on the appearance of Paul Rudd, and I loved his character...Bobby Newport (said in the most over the top "scary" voice you can think of).

Chris Pratt continues to bring it every week. He had three moments of physical comedy in this episode that I am cracking up right now just thinking about....the initial "sneezing his head into the wall" incident that set the whole story line up, him hitting himself in the eye with a tennis ball in the background of April's talking head, and of course, him running full speed into a parked ambulance. "Call an ambulance! A different ambulance from this one that I just ran into!"

The Andy-April storyline was definitely my favorite this week ("Brain helmet", "You DROVE us here!", "Some of that is just being a human"), but the other two were typical goodness as well. The Chris/Ron plot may have been the weakest, but it still gave us the scene where Chris is laughing at Ron's refusal of his lunch offer, immediately cutting to him laughing at the diner and Ron's confusion as to how exactly that happened. "Did he drug me?"

Best comedy on television. And yeah, I'll probably be saying that every week for a while.

30 Rock - Admittedly, I kind of zoned out on this one (hey, I do have other stuff to do, believe it or not!). But two things stood out....A) the fact that this show may be the only one on TV (besides maybe South Park) that would take a controversy like Tracy Morgan's anti-gay comments and not only ADDRESS it, but actually mimic it on the show; and B) the Idiot protest, including the Frat Boys, Parrot Heads, Anti-vaccine Activists, Guy Who Won't Shut Up About Scuba Diving, and of course...celebrity spokesperson Denise Richards. ("Yeah, I'm an idiot...surprised?" "Ehh").

Raising Hope - Not much to say about this one, either, except that this show continues to be Greg Garcia at his best. I loved the early seasons of My Name is Earl, and that one eventually ran out of steam. I expect that to happen with Raising Hope, too, but for now it is consistently funny. And this week, I laughed out loud several times, especially EVERY time Garrett Dillahunt had to crash through his red Solo cup fort in order to look up something else on the internet for Jimmy. ("Why does one word have two definitions?? JUST MAKE MORE WORDS!!!).

Big Bang Theory - Meh. It is what it is, much like any other Chuck Lorre show. I laughed a couple of times, I cringed several times (all of the scenes where Howard and Raj cracked up at the word "wood"), and I continue to think that I might rather watch a show in which the female characters were the leads and the guys were ancillary. The show is sort of close to that now at times already...and I think Amy and Bernadette steal the show many weeks the same way Sheldon did early on.

As for me, I am 100% Team Bernadette. Just the right mix of good looks and insanity.

Archer - What a fantastic return episode that was, even if it was not one of my all time favorite episodes of the show. It was just great to fall back into the tremendous comic rhythms that this show has that I don't think any other show on TV can match.

The show didn't have enough Pam and Cheryl for it to be one of the top ones for me, but pretty much everything to do with mega guest star Burt Reynolds was gold. Woodhouse constantly confusing him for Clark Gable...the amazing chase scene (including the meta commentary on the same footage being used for two separate crashes and the shoutout to stuntman extraordinaire Hal Needham (more on that in a minute))... and, especially the scene with Archer and Burt riding the elevator discussing Archer's battles with the co-op board over installing a Batpole in the garbage chute. That scene was some Tarantino level stuff.

The parts that DID include Pam and Cheryl, of course, included most of the stuff that I can't print here and keep it family friendly...but that's what I love about the show: the fact that when it wants to get raunchy it can push the envelope as much as anybody, but it's not content just being that show. It's also smart enough that there are usually 2-3 jokes every week that require me to hit up Google in order to fully appreciate them (like the Hal Needham reference).

So this show certainly isn't for all of you...if you are easily offended, STAY AWAY. But I'm certainly glad to have it back.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT
Chuck is winding down its final season for sure, and Fringe may be doing the same. I didn't do writeups for Fringe and Chuck last week, although I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I'll try to get some thoughts up over the weekend if the schedule allows.

Portlandia is another show that I would recommend and will be watching, though I'm not sure what all I'll be writing about it on the blog. It's on IFC at 10, and it is a sketch show from Fred Armisen (from SNL) and Carrie Brownstein. If you are like me and came of age in the 90's, or if you just like Fred Armisen's style of humor, I definitely suggest checking it out.

You understand why I'm not paying for that pizza, right?

2012-01-18T12:38:00.001-05:00

Warning...spoilers ahead for last night's Justified.

And also, last night's New Girl, and Glee, if you care. And maybe Monday Night's Alcatrazzzzzzz.

Sweet fancy Moses, it was good to be back in Harlan, KY. Some stray observations on last night's triumphant return of Justified:

- I am still going to miss Mags terribly, but I think I'm really going to enjoy the new villains that are filling her sizable void. Neal McDonough plays icy cool extremely well, and he was ice COLD in this episode. I'm always a big fan of the soft-spoken, matter of fact, pragmatic/psychopathic bad guy, and that looks to be what they are going for here.

Plus , I can pretend that he is the same guy who had to leave the San Diego area because a certain low-rent PI and his partner put a stop to his underhanded real estate deal (RIP, Terriers).

And the Ice Pick guy...wow. Extremely charismatic performance, and gave the line of the night (which happens to be the title of this post). I sincerely hope that he's not dead, and I don't think he is...that shot seemed to hit shoulder, right?

Hopefully, we will also get a lot of Jere Burns this season as well, as I really enjoy the chemistry between him and Olyphant.

- A random thing I love about this show...the gunshots are LOUD. Television guns are rarely as loud as real-life guns are, but the ones on this show make your ears ring.

- You know how sometimes you get two characters who just make you sit up and really take notice every time they have a scene together (think Ben Linus and John Locke, as a good example)? Well, as usual, the screen just crackles every time Boyd and Raylan are on it together. Olyphant and Goggins are at the top of their game.

- Just like my entire Twitter feed, I was counting the seconds from the time the attractive secretary showed up until her inevitable demise. She should have been wearing a red shirt.

- So are you Team Winona or Team Ava? I have to admit a pre-existing affection for Natalie Zea, from her work on Dirty Sexy Money, but um....Ava looked REALLY good in those boots.

And a nice callback to her fried chicken expertise (referring to the events surrounding the death of her husband), right before she brained Devil with a frying pan, which was of course fantastic.

So...I'm torn, I guess. Team Winava?

- I'm a moron, I guess, but I didn't pick up on the fact that Boyd got himself arrested on purpose in order to get at Dickey until I read it in a review this morning.

- Really not too many hints as to what the overarching plot is going to be this season, unless I just missed it. Instead, this was just the show's way of re-immersing us into this world that they have built, and man...it felt good to be back there.

STRAIGHT GUYS, TALKIN' BOUT GLEE (COPYRIGHT TODD VANDERWERFF)
Good grief, what a convoluted mess that was. As per most episodes, there was some stuff I really liked, some stuff that was just weird/annoying/out of nowhere (or, as I call it, Just Glee Bein' Glee), and some stuff that was just unspeakably horrible.

Breakdown for last night is as follows:

Stuff I really liked: The Artie and Becky storyline (especially Becky's inner monologue being voiced by Helen Mirren...personally, mine is voiced by Ed Norton's character from Fight Club), The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, the synchronized swimming coach.

The scene between Kurt, Finn, and Rachel at Breadstix hit on one thing that Glee has done well this season, which is the whole concept that this time in their life is a very specific and finite one, and it's going to end soon, and what happens after that? That theme has actually interwoven through a lot of episodes this season, which I give them credit for...in the past, it often seemed as though the writers didn't even bother to remember what happened last week, much less make an effort to worry about THEMES.

And, as always...every time Santana was on the screen. Naya Rivera is amazingawesomesauce, I don't care if her brother DOES play for the Hillbillies.

Just Glee Bein' Glee: Finn's dad is an overdosing loser, not a war hero, apparently. Sue Sylvester will NOT just pick a personality and stick with it (seriously...why was she involved in the little "rose walk" at the proposal...doesn't she hate ALL of these people?). This school is supposedly in a perpetual budget crisis, but they not only have a fully equipped Olympic regulation swimming pool, but....a synchronized swimming team?

Oh yeah...and Coach Bieste got married. Let's just mention that in passing, since that's really all the show did.

Unspeakably Horrible Stuff: Well, this week that was pretty much anything that had to do with one Will Schuester.

How was Will a creepy, horrible douchenozzle? Oh, let us count the ways...

- He apparently no longer has any friends that aren't teenagers. He comes to them for advice, help on coming up with a proposal, really anything. OH, and even worse...his proposal is actually for their "assignment" for the week. Extremely professional.

- To continue that theme...he asks his 18 year old student to be his Best Man, and puts him in charge of keeping him under control at his bachelor party (which I'm sure we will get to see at some point, and which I'm double sure will include only underage participants). Dude...that is CREEPY.

- His apparent best friend confides in him that he is thinking about joining the Army after high school (a noble notion, by the way). So...Will immediately runs and tattles to Finn's parents, and joined with them to stage an Intervention, because God forbid we let that happen since Finn has SO MANY other more respectable options. (That whole thing ticked me off, incidentally...you would think that he had decided to join a kitten strangling gang).

- Emma's Ginger Supremacist parents tell him that Emma is too coo-coo for cocoa puffs for him to actually think about MARRYING her....and not only does he AGREE with them, he TELLS EMMA THAT SHE IS TOO CRAZY FOR HIM TO MARRY. Jayma Mays actually does a fantastic job in taking what could be this cartoon character and turning her into an actual human being with actual damage, which made the whole thing even worse. How are we supposed to think that Will is anything but a fantastically horrible person? Why should I root for these people to get together? He actually ABUSES her emotionally in one scene, and then because he dresses up in a ridiculous white tuxedo and swims through a bunch of synchronized swimming prodigies (seriously...when did they PRACTICE?), I'm supposed to be happy that she accepts his proposal?

GAH....Will really pisses me off.

And the really sad part about is that when the show started, he was the character I related to the most. I was in a very active and well-recognized (locally) show choir when I was in high school, and I could relate to this guy's story of looking back on those years as some of the best of his life and trying to recapture that feeling somehow. But now...now he's just a creepy, pathetic, whiny, cruel, self absorbed person. Who, apparently, we are supposed to be rooting for.

Take Will out, and that's a B+ episode...but then it's only about 20 minutes long. That's about right, I think.

OTHER STUFF I WATCHED LAST NIGHT:
New Girl - Lizzy Caplan! Matt Besser! Rachael Harris! An episode focused on Schmidt, including the triumphant return of the Douchebag Jar! What else could you ask for? It's like they made an episode just for me!

Alcatrazzzzzz - Yeah, I'm going to keep making that joke. This....was....boring. I'm going to give it a few more weeks, because of the folks involved (a lot of the LOST team, including Hurley) and also because my Monday nights aren't as full of shows to DVR as some other nights. But if it's just CSI: Alcatraz, I'm going to be out pretty quickly.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT:
Well, Idol is back, so there's that. I'm usually super stoked at this point, but this year I'm debating whether I'm even going to bother watching the audition episodes. Are any of you who have been around the blog for a while still interested in me doing recaps once the performance episodes start back up?

Also, the ABC comedy block: Suburgatory, Modern Family, Happy Endings. (that's chronological...in my personal priority order, it's Happy Endings, Suburgatory, Modern Family)

Crowdsourcing UGA basketball, Monday TV thoughts, more stuff

2012-01-17T13:35:00.000-05:00

OK, it's that time of year again...football is winding down, tournaments start up in around six weeks or so...it's time for me to actually start paying attention to basketball. So, Dawg fans...what do I need to know in order to get caught up? I mean, other than that we apparently stink like last week's garbage. I want to know WHY we stink like last week's garbage. Were Trey and Travis THAT vital, that we go from a tournament team to one that may not win a conference game? And what happened to Gerald Robinson? I remember him at least being able to score pretty consistently last year, but during the limited time I've watched this year he seems to just be randomly hurling himself into the lane at breakneck speed, with no real intentions or ideas as to what comes next. Is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope living up to expectations, or is he (hopefully) really good but not good enough to be one-and-done?

So...educate me, Hoop Dawg fans!

MONDAY NIGHT TV:
I watched the first 15 minutes of Alcatraz, before realizing that it was a two hour premiere and was going to keep me up WELL past my bedtime. It looks OK...I'm hearing from various critics (including Sepinwall) that it is mostly a police procedural, with a different "bad guy" every week, and only a cursory attempt at an overarching story. If that's the case, I will probably be out pretty quickly, but I will at least give it a shot due to its very strong LOST ties (JJ, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Bryan Burke, and of course Jorge Garcia (Hurley)).

Which reminds me...I think I am about ready for a LOST rewatch.

So, once I decided to put off Alcatraz, I watched the usual Monday night comedies instead.

First up was an episode of How I Met Your Mother that I enjoyed TONS more than anything else they have done all season. I was a late comer to this show, so I am not as emotionally invested as many fans are...I just want them to be FUNNY. And last night was definitely that ("We built Chip City...we built Chip City on ALL YOUR DOUGH...").

And then there was 2 Broke Girls. Like I said last week, I'm resigned to the fact that this is as good as the show will ever get...it's just a joke delivery system that delivers good jokes about 30% of the time and horribly unfunny and offensive jokes about 70% of the time. By that very low standard, last night was a pretty good episode...I think the jokes were actually funny about half the time, so...

...

WHY AM I WATCHING THIS SHOW?

I don't know...I think I watch it more because I am interested in the online reaction to it now, rather than because I actually think it's worth watching. But, hey...it's only 22 minutes when you don't watch commercials, and I don't have a whole lot else to watch on Monday. And Kat Dennings is hot, so...it stays.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT
Well....Glee, New Girl, and Raising Hope are all back from hiatus. That is prime Daddy-daughter time, so I will be watching those with the girls.

But the BIG news...JUSTIFIED IS BACK!!! YEEEEEE-HAAWWWW!!!

I just re-watched the last four episodes of last season again, and holy mackerel...I'd forgotten how TENSE those episodes were. I was still banging my head on the ceiling fan and screaming at the television, and I KNEW how everything was going to turn out.

Can't wait to hang out with Raylan, Boyd, Ava (hopefully), Winona, and the rest. I'll again point you to Sepinwall for his thoughts on the season...based on his description, I am really looking forward to what's coming up, even if I will truly miss Mags Bennett.

RIP, Mags...I tip my glass of Apple Pie to you.

Thursday night TV report, other stuff

2012-01-13T16:15:00.000-05:00

Last night's big winner? Parks and Rec, of course. But I'll be honest...I don't think I laughed harder at anything than I did at Amy Farrah Fowler's reaction to receiving her tiara on Big Bang Theory.

But a close second was the entrance of the Leslie Knope campaign team: GET ON YOUR FEET!

(you're not going crazy...yes, it's backwards. Copyright infringement, and all that. On second thought, who am I to say whether you're crazy...you could be. But not because that video looks backwards to you. )

Adam Scott is brilliant, and extremely underrated....his excitement over both "Low-Cal Calzone Zone" and his foray into the world of claymation, followed by his awareness that he was slowly going insane was hilarious. "That can't be all there is!"

- Also watched last night...Wednesday's episode of Top Chef. I LOVE the Restaurant Wars episodes, and this was another fun one.

Grayson is my favorite, and I can't stand Lindsey or Sarah (The Mean Girls). I mean, Beverly is annoying, but I would have already gone Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on those girls if I was her. I'm looking forward to the season finale, when Beverly hits Lindsey over the head with a mixing bowl and when Sarah tries to come to her rescue, Grayson steps in front of her and throws boiling water in her face, while Jim Ross screams in the background, "MY GAWD!!! THAT'S GRAYSON'S MUSIC!! WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE??"

- As for tonight...it's the return of Fringe! And here is a great video to catch you up on what is going on in Season 4 so far...

And, apparently, we need to enjoy Fringe while we can. Kevin Reilly (Fox president) was, at best, non-committal regarding the future of the show at press tour. The show is very expensive, and loses money every single week. It's not realistic to expect the network to continue to do that. They gave us four seasons of the show, which is likely four more than they would have gotten on ANY other network.

- I've also finished my Justified season 2 rewatch...I had forgotten just how intense those last two episodes were. Can't wait for Tuesday...I'll likely talk more about it then.

- More good news for the Dawgs today...another big running back commitment from Todd Gurley (let's see how fast Crowell grows up with both Gurley and Marshall pushing him), and then the announcement that Orson Charles is in fact the only junior that is jumping to the NFL. It's gonna be a LONG offseason...

What I'm thinking about today...

2012-01-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

Going forward, this place is probably going to be a lot more stream-of-consciousness...if some repeatable patterns start popping up, I may do some more structured posting, but for now it's going to be just the stuff that I am thinking about, or talking my coworkers' ears off about.

- Still can't get over how dominant Alabama was in the national title game Monday night. They were one late penalty away from basically pitching a perfect game...no points allowed, no turnovers, and no penalties. And not against Coastal Carolina, either...this was against the undisputed number one team in the country, who had beaten three top 5 teams already this year, and was basically ripping their way through everybody. Add that to the fact that they really outplayed LSU the first time they played them (they just couldn't hit a field goal), and there is no doubt in my mind who deserves to be the national champion.

Which brings me to a subject that I am likely only to post on once (or at least not more than once a year)...the BCS vs. playoffs debate. I am almost 100% anti-playoff. I feel like that puts me in an increasingly small minority, but I do have my reasons...

First of all, I love that the college football regular season is the most meaningful in all of sports. EVERY week really does matter. People dispute that, because teams lose and still get in almost every year, but I look at it this way...at least with the current setup, if you are serious about playing for a national title you better at least APPROACH every week as if it is a must win, because you never know what game is going to be the one that costs you. When Alabama lost to LSU on November 5, for all they knew their hopes at a national title were over. And they would have been, too, if Oklahoma State, Stanford, Oregon, and Boise State had not all lost games that they should have won. If we go to a playoff, then that sense of urgency is lessened....we can argue about how MUCH it's lessened, but I don't want it lessened at ALL.

Because of that, the only playoff system that I can get behind is one that includes NO MORE than four teams....if you're not in the top 4, there's a reason, and you are not elite. And the playoff system that will most likely be implemented at some point probably will be only four (or even a plus one)...but I've watched the NCAA long enough to know that mission creep is not a possibility...it's an inevitability. One thing the NCAA can't resist is the siren song of cash, and if four teams makes them a gazillion dollars, they are just going to want to make TWO gazillion, so why not go to EIGHT teams, etc..

The other reason I like the BCS is that it is a system that rewards an entire body of work...too often, playoffs and tournaments are won by teams that just got hot at the right time. I like to see excellence rewarded, and I think that almost 100% of the time the two teams that are matched up in the BCS championship are the two teams that most deserve to be there based on their entire body of work. The teams that don't make it are USUALLY not there for a very good reason...either they lost to somebody they shouldn't have, or they didn't beat anybody of note. I don't like the idea of one of those teams sneaking in to the playoffs and then riding a late season hot streak to a championship.

So that's just one man's opinion...we can debate in the comments, but this is a subject that I think gets beat to death in the blogosphere, so I doubt I will post on it too often.

- Good news out of the Georgia Bulldog front yesterday...Orson is leaving (as expected), but virtually the entire defense is returning, as well as our defensive coordinator (after a pretty silly report that he may be flirting with the Falcons). That defense should be an absolute blast to watch next year...let's just hope the offensive line gels, a running back steps up, Aaron Murray continues to develop, etc...next year could be special.

(note: "special" = running through a fairly weak regular season schedule, inching our way in to the Top 5, losing to the Alabama juggernaut in the SECCG, and then winning a Sugar Bowl, setting ourselves up for a similar season in 2013. VERY early predictions there.)

- There are MANY times that I wish I was a TV critic, and seeing reports from the 2 Broke Girls panel at press tour yesterday was certainly one of those times. Jut deliciously awkward and hostile. Excellent writeups are HERE and HERE, from Alan Sepinwall and Todd VanderWerff, respectively. The VanderWerff writeup is particularly interesting, because Todd has been one of the more outspoken defenders of the show online...don't think that's going to be the case anymore.

Todd's opinion of the show has been much like mine: that there is a really good show in there, particularly in the performances of Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs....but that show is being buried under an avalanche of bad puns, racial stereotypes, and raunchiness for raunchiness sake. There is a way to do racial stereotypes and off color humor WELL (see Happy Endings "rotary dial" joke last night for an example of the second thing), but Michael Patrick King is WAY too arrogant and tone deaf to ever be able to pull that off successfully.

It's a shame...I will probably keep watching the show, because I do enjoy the two leads, but I no longer hold out hope that it will turn in to the show that I had hoped it would be.

- The winner of the ABC comedy block last night...Happy Endings. I laughed so much I missed some of the jokes...I'm going to have to start keeping the show on my DVR so that I can go back and rewatch, to get the full experience. They just throw 50 jokes a minute at you...they might not all hit, but there are so many of them that I'm usually laughing nonstop. Favorite part last night? Anything involving the racist, slightly homophobic, parrot that Alex bought on Craigslist from Aryan420. "You trippin, bird..."

Pretty solid outings from Suburgatory and Modern Family, as well....but Happy Endings is the big winner from last night.

- As for tonight...Community may not be back (::sob::), but the rest of the NBC Thursday lineup is, including the return of Parks and Rec (my #3 show of 2011), and 30 Rock.

Also, if you have HBO and have never seen the Paradise Lost documentaries that detail the case of the West Memphis 3, I highly recommend checking your listings for tonight and the next couple days...they are replaying the first two parts and then premiering part 3...if you want to be really furious, and then sad, and then sort of happy but still sad/mad at the same time, you should check it out.

OK! Glad to be back in the blogsosphere...please excuse my rust as I try to get back in the swing of this thing!

New directions (not a Glee reference)

2012-01-11T17:47:00.001-05:00

OK...I am REALLY ready to start blogging again. I know I've said that before, but I promise, Baby...it will be different this time.

I have NO idea what kind of structure this blog will have going forward (if any), but I expect that it will be VERY different from what it has been before. I may even change the name...but I will still post updates to Twitter and Facebook, which is where a lot of you get this anyway, so you should still be able to find it.

OH....and if any of the Dawgbone folks are reading this, now would probably be the time to take me off your blogroll. I will probably still talk about the Dawgs here at times, but they will certainly not be the main focus of the blog (not that they have been for a while now).

Excited about the future, and ready to write!

EDIT: That Dawgbone part sounded more snarky than I meant it to. I love the folks at Dawgbone, I visit their site several times a day, and I am sincerely grateful for the traffic they have sent my way over the years. But I feel bad every time one of my posts shows up on their list of links, because I know most of the people who get here from there are looking for Dawg content and they likely won't get that here anymore. I still love the Dawgs, and will still be writing about them sometimes, but there are a LOT of Dawg blogs already...I'm ready to do something different.

My top 20 (plus) shows of 2011

2011-12-28T17:15:00.004-05:00

Hey, look! It's a new blog post!

Just got in the mood to write again, so what better in the last week of the year than go the lazy cliched route and do a "Best of" list? So here are my Top 20 shows of 2011!

(These are my top scripted shows...none of my favorite reality shows belong in the top 20 as "best", but they are some of my favorites, so my top 5 reality shows: 5) Work of Art; 4) Hoarders; 3) Top Chef; 2) Deadliest Catch; 1) So You Think You Can Dance)

JUST MISSED THE CUT: Raising Hope, The Office, Up All Night, True Blood, Modern Family, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife

20. Suburgatory – Was not expecting to like this one, but it’s one of my favorite new shows of the season. Creepy chemistry aside, the two leads are very enjoyable, although the fact that Jane Levy was supposed to be 15 for the first part of the season caused some weird dissonance. I HAVE a 15 year old daughter…they don’t look or act like that.

19. New Girl – Look, this all comes down to whether you find Zooey Deschanel annoying or not. I don’t, and Schwarz cracks me up on a pretty consistent basis. The show is still trying to find its footing in many ways, but when they let Jess just be clueless rather than infantile, it’s one of my favorite shows.

18. Psych – Comfort food. Consistently funny, and the many pop culture references are right in my wheel house, since I am roughly the same age as the writers and stars.

17. Louie – Louis C.K. is a genius, and this show is 100% his vision, so of course it’s good. Personally, I found it fascinating and certainly I admired his “no rules” form of creating television, but I found it hard to really ENGAGE in the material, which is a big thing for me.

16. Happy Endings – Just started watching this in the fall, or it probably would have been higher. This is just a really funny show with really funny people that I like to hang out with for 25 minutes every week. Elisha Cuthbert is surprisingly strong, and the rest of the cast is filled out with people who simply know how to be funny. Did I mention it’s funny?

15. Chuck – One of my most personally beloved shows. There have been some serious inconsistencies in the quality from week to week, but when this show is on its game it still hits every one of my pleasure buttons. There are only a few episodes left before it ends its (amazingly) FIFTH and final season, and I’m starting to miss it already.

14. Sons of Anarchy – Would have certainly been higher on the list if Kurt Sutter had not completely wimped out and blown the ending. (SPOILERS AHO…SKIP TO THE NEXT NUMBER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED ON THE CRAPPY SONS OF ANARCHY SEASON FINALE….). There is NO reason, plot-wise, for Clay to still be alive. None. He killed John Teller, a founding member and Jax’s father. He killed Opie’s wife and father (another founding member of the club). He tried to have Jax’s old lady killed, and possibly derailed her surgical career in the process. He roped the club into this arrangement with the drug cartel that has produced multiple deaths and tons of problems for the club. AND EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT. In this universe that Sutter has created, there is NO way for Clay to survive. And yet…next season, Clay will probably be sitting at that table, because Sutter chickened out and couldn’t kill off one of the stars of the show. Booooo.

I actually really liked the season up to that point…definitely would have been in my top 10. But between the botched Clay storyline, the ridiculous deus ex machina ending to the FBI investigation, and the whole Juice fiasco…I need to stop talking about it, or I will have to drop it further and redo the list.

13. Dr. Who – Honestly, the majority of the episodes of this show are just so-so for me. But…when you have a calendar year that includes “The Doctor’s Wife”, “A Good Man Goes to War”, “The Girl Who Waited”, and “The Wedding of River Song”, well…you make the list. Plus, Amy Pond may be at the top of my Favorite Redheads on TV list, and Matt Smith is very fun to watch.

12. Walking Dead – I enjoy this show, but I also understand that it is probably never going to be “great television”. Almost* all of the characters are extremely two-dimensional, as well as stupid, and virtually every decision is based on what the plot needs them to do, rather than what actual people would do. But no show does tension like this one, it is beautifully shot, and hey…..ZOMBIES.

* - The two exceptions to the crappy characters on this show are Daryll and Shane, both of whom I found to be EXTREMELY problematic in the first season, but whom I now wish would just branch off from everybody else and start their own show.

11. Archer – Continues to probably deliver the most laughs per episode, plus they actually made a bold attempt at continuity and serialization this season. But mostly, it’s on the list because it’s the show that makes me pause and rewind most often due to laughing too much to catch all the jokes.

10. Fringe – If I made this list in June, this one may have made the top 5. The end of last season had me calling it my “new LOST”. This season, on the other hand, has not been nearly as strong, mainly due to what I think was a major misstep in last season’s finale. Won’t spoil too much, because I still want you to go back and watch this show, but the problem is that the writers have painted themselves into a corner where it seems that either the characters I’m seeing NOW aren’t really themselves, or the characters I’ve been watching for the last three seasons don’t exist anymore. Either way, it lessens my investment in the characters. But, man…I can’t leave it out of my top 10 after the utter awesomeness that was most of season 3.

9. Cougar Town – Barely remembered that this one was on in 2011, due to the ridiculousness that ABC execs are putting the show through now, but the Cul de Sac Crew are probably my favorite group on television to hang out with every week. My love for Busy Phillips has been discussed here before, and the rest of the cast play off each other perfectly. To me, they are the most “organic” cast on television, in that I feel like they talk to each other like real friends do…they rip on each other, they gang up on each other, but they have an absolute loyalty and love for each other. Love this show, and can’t wait until they come back….whenever that ends up being.

8. Boardwalk Empire – Can’t believe this show is this low on the list, but I can’t put it above any of the ones above it. I love this show, and it’s because what some may call its “weakness” (that the plot is historical in nature and therefore unchangeable in many ways) isn’t really that much of a factor for me. I will ALWAYS value characters over plot, and this show does characters better than just about anybody. Plus, they had the guts to do what almost any other show would never do (SPOILER AHO!!!) by killing off a character who was ostensibly the lead this season. Hey, Kurt Sutter…this is how you tell a story. When the story says it’s time to die, then it’s time to die, and there was no way Jimmy could walk away from the decisions he made this season. Nucky could NEVER allow him to live…it doesn’t matter that the attempt on his life was Eli’s idea…Jimmy was in charge and could have stopped it, and Nucky knows it.

Even before the gut wrenching finale, this was a really strong season of television, with typical fantastic acting performances. Jack Huston breaks my heart as Richard Harrow every week, Michael Pitt was outstanding, Gretchen Mol was convincingly creepy, Michael Stuhlbarg as Rothstein steals every scene he’s in, etc, etc. This show does fantastic “moments” and character studies, and the fact that we know basically how the story is going to end doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of it in any way.

7. Justified – I love that this show has started to get mainstream critical approval. Crackling dialogue, delivered by fantastic actors, in a setting that immediately felt lived-in and real from the moment we stepped foot in Harlan, KY. If you grew up in the South, you KNOW these people….heck, you’re probably RELATED to some of them. The cast is phenomenal, but special kudos for this season go out to the magnificent Margo Martindale, who took a character that could have been a very two-dimensional villain and made you sympathize and even ROOT for her at times. This show comes back in just a few days, and I am STOKED. Yeah, I still say STOKED, when it’s appropriate, and it certainly is in this case.

6. Game of Thrones – To say I was excited about this one is a massive understatement, as the books the show is based on is my very favorite book series of all time. The show got off to sort of a slow start, as I think the creators actually tried to stay TOO close to the source material, but about a third of the way through they hit a groove and never looked back. Gorgeously shot, with a truly epic ambience. The creators have been handed a fantastic story, one which they obviously love, and they were smart enough to mostly let that story drive the narrative on the show while only embellishing around the edges. And, honestly, the embellishments were some of my favorite scenes.

Special credit goes to the simply amazing child actors that the show chose to play the vitally important young characters. The Stark children, in particular, felt to me like they leapt directly from the pages of the books onto my television screen, and I REALLY want to adopt Maisie Williams (Arya).

My only disappointment with the show, besides the slightly pedantic opening few episodes, is how little use they made of the direwolves. I know that animals are hard to direct, but the link between the direwolves and the Starks is one of my favorite aspects of the book…but, as usual, the books are better anyway.

5. Community - This one is hard to explain to people who don’t watch the show, or who have tried it and don’t enjoy it, but I’m going to try. WARNING…rambling ahead.

There is not a show with more ambition on television, in my opinion. They aren’t just aiming to be funny (though they are hilarious), they want to be…DIFFERENT. Not content to just be another sitcom that can live in perpetuity in syndication. Not a Chuck Lorre project, in other words.

I am square in the middle of the target demographic for this show…I don’t just enjoy watching television, I love exploring what makes television what it is, like examining various tropes and clichés and figuring out why they work or don’t work. I love meta commentary. I am in my mid thirties (barely hanging on to them), so I recognize all of the pop culture beats that the show hits. It just hits so many sweet spots for me.

Plus, the entire cast is super talented, extremely funny in a very clever way. And, yes, I know the “cleverness” is what turns a lot of people off, but what can I say? I’m often guilty of assuming I’m the smartest person in the room, and that’s the vibe this show gives off when it’s at its worst…so I can sympathize.

This show has my heart. Six seasons and a movie.

4. Homeland - My very favorite new show on television this year. I’m not going to spoil anything, because it’s still new enough that you can probably find a place to watch it. I will just say that it is refreshingly bold in its narrative, in that nothing is dragged out simply because the length of the season requires it (hello, THE KILLING). There are several moments that happen a good 5-6 episodes, or even 1-2 seasons, before they would happen on a typical show, simply because…that’s when these things would happen if they were happening in real life rather than on my television screen.

And, seriously…I can not possibly over praise the work that Damian Lewis and Claire Danes do on this show. These are two actors that I am predisposed to like anyway, due to their previous work (I ♥ Angela Chase FOREVER), but wow…Lewis will find it hard to break in to the Cranston/Buscemi/Hamm/Hall/Grammar field for Best Actor (especially with Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte joining the fray soon with Luck), but if Claire Danes doesn’t get serious Emmy consideration then we need to consider shutting down the whole system.

Go watch this. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

3. Parks and Recreation – OK, I take it back. Among comedies, Community really has more of my BRAIN…Parks and Rec has my heart. No show brings me more sheer joy than this one…even when I’m not laughing till I hurt (which happens at least once every episode), I usually have a ridiculous grin on my face the entire time. I love every single one of these characters…even Jean-Ralphio (played by Ben Schwarz, who is probably in my top three favorite podcast guests).

The show just does everything well…character, story, ambience, you name it. Fancy Party is probably my favorite comedy episode of the year, and that is not because it was the funniest…it’s because it completely captures everything that this show is about, and what it’s about is pretty near perfect.

Plus, Ron Swanson…enough said.

2. Friday Night Lights – I still can’t talk about this show without getting emotional. This final season was a perfect send-off to a truly amazing show.

Amazing on so many levels…not just the truly spectacular acting performances (too many to name), the gut wrenching writing (I’m sure I wept openly at least once at every episode), the flawless direction (the show often looks and feels like the greatest home movie ever made)…but the fact that we actually got five seasons and that the writers were able to finish their story as they wanted, when we spent the first two seasons wondering if every episode may be the last one to see the light of day due to America’s stupidity.

This show is an American treasure. It’s television as an art form.

Texas, forever.

Clear eyes, full hearts…you know the rest.

1. Breaking Bad – Speaking of television as an art form…in my mind, there is no question that what Vince Gilligan is doing with this show is truly next-level stuff. It is visually astonishing. The story SIZZLES. The characters…well, more on them in a minute. Every single episode just flies by for me…I’m truly sad when it’s over and I know I have to wait another week before I can step back in to this deeply disturbing, wondrously wrought, bleak and yet somehow hopeful universe.

As for the characters, this show has a truly unique ability to surprise me without sacrificing the characters that have been built over the life of the show. It’s easy to surprise a viewer…just write a scenario that calls for a character to do something that we would NEVER expect. LOTS of shows do that, but most of the time the reason the character surprised you is because their actions completely contradict everything we know about that character. It is much more difficult to pull off what this show does, which is to have characters do completely unexpected things that first shock me and then cause me to say, “Yeah…that is EXACTLY what that character would say/do in this moment, because it is exactly in line with what we know about him/her.” It’s art, is what it is…and this show does it better than anybody.

From a storytelling perspective, there are few better. From a character perspective, there are none more well-developed and formed. From an acting perspective, there is no better cast. From an aesthetic perspective, no show currently has a better grasp on what their visual style is and how to best use it.

For all those reasons, Breaking Bad is my Best Show of 2011.

So, fellow TV fanatics...what's your favorite? Any that I'm missing? Let's discuss!

Links, thoughts on Game of Thrones and The Killing, and why I watch Reality TV..

2011-06-07T20:15:00.006-04:00

Lots to get to, so let's get to it...

- I'm aware that some of you actually like to read blogs that update more than once or twice a month like I do, so if you like pop culture, great writing, and (specifically) great writing ABOUT pop culture, here are some of the places that I go to every single day. These are the blogs that this blog wants to be one day when it grows up:

Cultural Learnings: Written by Myles McNutt, this is a place to find really intelligent, well-thought out musings on mostly TV, but also books, movies, and the general zeitgeist. Myles not only writes recaps of several shows, but he also has a lot to say about the business of television and the nature of television criticism.

The NPR Monkey See Blog: Maintained and edited by one of my very favorite online writers, Linda Holmes, formerly of Television Without Pity. Linda can write extremely thoughtful essays (like this one about some concerns voiced about the reading habits of young adults) or more lighthearted stuff (like this piece that examines the abundance of bodily function humor in the trailer for the new Jim Carrey movie). Either way, she is fantastic, as are most of the other writers on the site. Linda is also the host of one of my must-listen podcasts, the Pop Culture Happy Hour.

The A.V. Club: This is my daily stop for recaps/reviews of almost every show I watch, but you can also find reviews and news items on movies, music, and books. They also do fantastic special features (one of my favorites they have done is the Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation series), and their Great Job, Internet! section is the place to find cool stuff on the interwebs, the latest memes, etc. It's not always safe for work or family viewing, but it's always informative and entertaining. (Speaking of informative, entertaining, and not safe for work or family, if you are a fan of Community (and if you are not, I'm not sure we can be friends), be sure to check out the four part interview Todd VanDerWerff is posting with showrunner Dan Harmon. A fascinating look into the writing process).

EW.Com: If you are just looking for the latest entertainment news, you can't go wrong with the Entertainment Weekly website.

And, of course, for recaps/reviews/opinion, you can't beat Alan Sepinwall's What's Alan Watching blog, or the Tuned In blog at Time.com run by James Poniewozik.

Feel free to let me know what your "can't miss" sites are, whether they are pop culture, Dawg talk (most of my daily visits for Dawg news/opinion are in the list to the right), or whatever. Also...how many of you listen to podcasts? I have a list of those, too, but I wasn't sure how many of you listen to them. For someone like me who spends two and a half hours commuting every day, they are a necessity.

- While I am linking...we are now 88 days from kickoff (Happy Arthur Lynch Day)! Bubba 'n Earl always do the best job of putting together a countdown, and this year I think they have been outdoing themselves. Rather than just a player/moment countdown, they are posting a new post every day exploring different aspects of Bulldog history, the upcoming season, members of the team or coaching staff, etc...just really good stuff.

- I mentioned a while back when I was listing my favorite current comedies/dramas that I had a similar list of reality shows, and I was almost embarrassed by it. It got me thinking about why I watch the reality shows that I do watch, and I figured out that I only watch the ones that have a very specific draw for me. I don't watch any of the fame whore shows....Bachelor/Bachelorette, Jersey Shore, any thing with "of Love" or "Housewives" in the title. I don't watch any sort of "Celebrity" or "with the STARS" show.

Here is my list, broken down:

American Idol/So You Think You Can Dance: These two are by far my top ones, and I think it has everything to do with my background. I grew up a performing arts kid, so I really relate to the specific dreams that these contestants have, and I love getting to watch those dreams come true on my television set. I love the idea of these people being plucked out of obscurity and becoming superstars, even if only temporarily, based (mostly) on pure talent. The best example of this was Chris Daughtry. He was a stock boy at Best Buy, having given up on his dream of stardom in order to provide for his wife and her children, and then BAM...he's a multi-platinum selling artist, all because he decided to audition for Idol. Call me a softie if you want to, but I love those stories.

I also am a fan of excellence, in really any form, and that is the another main thing that draws me to So You Think You Can Dance. Even moreso than Idol, these people have worked YEARS and put literal blood, sweat, and tears into becoming EXCELLENT at what they do, and I appreciate excellence.

Which leads me to...

Top Chef: I am in no way a foodie. Most of the stuff prepared on this show will probably never appear on my plate. But the contestants are all obviously talented, they have worked for years on their craft, and best of all, they take being the best SERIOUSLY.

Deadliest Catch: I watch this show for pretty much one reason...awe. Well, that, and to be reminded how easy I have it in case I ever want to start complaining about my job. That aforementioned two and a half hour commute? Nothing, compared to 13 hour shifts in sub zero temperatures pulling thousand pound crab pots onto a boat being tossed by a Bering Sea storm. This show fascinates me.

Survivor/Amazing Race: I watch both of these shows, mainly because there are several bloggers/recappers on the web whose work I enjoy that recap this show. I watch the shows so that I can enjoy the recaps...that's pretty much it.

Those are the ones I watch regularly, but the other one that ropes me in every time I see it on television is Hoarders. I am fascinated by the psychological aspect of the show...and, also, it makes me feel better about myself.

- Two shows that have been occupying my Sunday DVR slots will be ending soon...one of them building to a fantastic finish, the other one I'm only watching out of obligation at this point.

The former of those two is Game of Thrones. As a HUGE fan of the books that the series will be based on, I was both excited and mildly terrified to see how the series was going to turn out. For the most part I have not been disappointed, although I think I might be enjoying the show even more if I weren't so familiar with the source material. I can't stop myself from comparing what's on the screen to what was in the book, which means I am basically comparing it to images I have in my head. No film adaptation of a book is ever going to match up to our own imagination, and no adaptation will ever be able to go into the amount of detail and backstory that George R.R. Martin pours into virtually every page of his writing. One of my favorite aspects of the books is the rich and complete world that Martin has created, complete with its own customs, history, etc., and there is just not enough time on a television show to depict a universe that dense.

Having said all of that...this show is AWESOME. The first three or four episodes were very exposition-filled, and a little too much "tell-don't-show" for me, but now that the story has kicked into high gear it's been a fantastic ride.

To me, the show isn't quite to the pantheon level of my All Time Great TV list (which includes The Wire, Deadwood, LOST, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Sopranos), for a couple of reasons. Number one, the writing just isn't up to that level...it's good, but not great, and it can be pretty dry and humorless at times. Just about every show in that list dealt with some really dark or heavy material, but they found a way to inject humor, often when you least expect it. We're getting some of that here, mostly from Tyrion or Littlefinger...but it's still pretty dry.

The other issue is the larger one, in my opinion...the story that these books tell is brilliantly plotted and complex, and the show is doing the best it can to tell it effectively. For the most part, it succeeds...it's telling a great story. But the problem has been that there is so much plot that it leaves little time for any sort of character development. What makes a show truly special, rather than just great, is not just what happens...it's that you care about the characters that the story is happening to. Game of Thrones isn't quite there yet, in my opinion.

And if you are watching the show and haven't read the books, I'm not going to spoil anything...but buckle your seatbelts. The ride only gets bumpier from here.

As for the other show wrapping up its Sunday night run....well, let's talk about The Killing. This is a show that, for me, started with a lot of promise, but just hasn't lived up to that promise. To me, the show got into a very annoying cycle of "Oh, he's the killer!.....wait, no he's not....oh, it's DEFINITELY her...oh, never mind", to the point where I feel like we are just spinning our wheels waiting to get to the end. I mean, it can't be good that this past week's episode, which barely even touched the Rosie Larsen case AT ALL, was probably my favorite one of the season.

Like most AMC shows, The Killing keeps to its own pace, and that pace....is....slow. But I don't mind that, when it's done well (Mad Men, for example). But this feels like about five episodes of story stretched out over a twelve episode season. We spent at least four episodes examining Bennet Ahmed, and that turned out to be....nothing whatsoever.

It's still pretty well acted, and I have stuck around for the first ten episodes, so I might as well hang on until the end to see the resolution. But I am not that excited about it, and if it doesn't get a second season I won't be disappointed.

- OK, wrapping this thing up now. But let me throw one more plug at you before I go. Starting next Saturday night, BBC America is re-running the entire series of Battlestar Galactica. Even if you aren't normally a fan of sci-fi TV, you owe it to yourself to watch if you want to see one of the greatest shows produced in the last decade. Don't let anything you have heard about the ending scare you away...trust me, it's worth it.

Random thoughts - Idol, the future of television, and more

2011-05-26T09:30:00.007-04:00

- Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

Some thoughts on the finale:

Beyonce is AMAZING. And J-Lo could not have been happy to have to go on after her.

Casey Abrams and James Durbin are legitimately funny.

Jack Black? Seriously? And...those girls didn't have fat bottoms.

Haley can have a nice career in the Adele/Amy Winehouse/Duffy genre. She just needs to get there fast while people are still buying it.

I miss Pia.

Speaking of which, Pia doesn't get a solo song, or even a duet, but we get a song from the Spiderman musical? And nobody was even INJURED during it? BOOOOOOOOO.

Carrie Underwood. Good grief. I'm glad I don't live anywhere near her...that girl is a restraining order just waiting to happen.

I am willing to bet that Scotty McReery's high school choral department doesn't have as hard a time getting guys to join as most high schools.

I gave myself a 45 minute fast forward buffer, thinking that would be plenty. It wasn't. Not even close.

Congrats to Scotty...he is now going to sell a whole lot of records, and I will never have to pay attention to him again.

- If you are an HBO subscriber and are NOT taking advantage of HBO Go, do yourself a favor and go to hbogo.com RIGHT NOW. You have access to the ENTIRE library of HBO shows, at no extra charge. You don't even need an iPhone...I have been watching season one of Sopranos and season 3 of Deadwood on my PC. For free, except for the $10 a month for HBO that I would already be paying.

It's just another step towards the future of television. Pretty soon, it will ALL be web-based. After my post the other day, I was thinking about the logistics, and it may actually be easier than I thought...you could just pay your cable company just like you do now, since most of the cable companies are also internet providers, go to comcast.net or whatever, and then pick your channel (web page) and go watch what you want to. The only other thing to figure out is advertising, but Hulu has a pretty good model for that right now, I think. Just imbed the ads in the video, and even better (from the advertiser's perspective), don't allow fast forwarding during the ads.

- Cougar Town fans...it may be too late now, since the season ended last night, but you should really be following @TheLarmy on Twitter. I'm not sure if it's actually Busy Phillips updating it or not, but it is Laurie in character, and it is consistently hilarious.

- Last week's Parks and Rec season finale ended one of the most perfect sitcom seasons of all time.

- Speaking of perfect seasons...I just started watching Survivor two seasons ago. Has any player ever dominated the way that Boston Rob did this season? It was like he was using Jedi mind tricks or something.

- Guess what today is? 100 DAYS UNTIL KICKOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep...the countdown starts in earnest now.

GO DAWGS!!

RIP, Macho Man..a list in your honor

2011-05-20T15:28:00.007-04:00

Sad news today about the death of Macho Man Randy Savage...and the fact that he died in a car accident somehow makes it even more sad. Most of the time when we hear of a wrestler passing before his time, it is due to some repercussion of their lifestyle...drugs, steroid use, etc. Not that it makes their deaths any less tragic...but, yeah, it kind of does.

So, anyway...in honor of the Macho Man, here is a list of the Top 20 wrestlers from the time that I actually was regularly watching (roughly 1984-2001). This is not necessarily a list of my "favorite" wrestlers...it's the ones I considered the best, based on in-ring work, mic skills, total body of work (including longevity and style adaptability) and the iconic nature of the "character" they created.

Yes, I put WAY too much thought into this. And one thing I learned...apparently wrestling fans LOVE both Creed and Staind. That was disappointing, but not surprising.

First off, honorable mention to a few who JUST missed the list: Scott Hall, Owen Hart, Magnum T.A., and Vader.

20. Curt Hennig. Mr. Perfect was just a great character, and at his peak he really knew how to work a match. I'll never forget his 360 degree selling of clotheslines.

19. Edge. Would probably be higher on the list based on his work after the time period I'm looking at...but even by 2001, he was already established as one of the greatest workers in the world, and was often hilarious on the mic.

18. Jake The Snake Roberts. Inventor of the DDT, and creator of one of the most iconic and memorable characters of all time. Dude scared me to death when I was a kid...but I still wanted to be him every time we would imitate wrestlers on our trampoline.

17. Arn Anderson. The enforcer. One of the legitimate tough guys in the sport, and almost nobody was better on the mic.

16. Eddie Guerrero. CHEAT TO WIN, BABY!!!

15. Triple H. Not the most consistent in ring worker, but for a time in the early 00's he could make a claim at being one of the to 2-3 in North America. Nobody since Hulk Hogan has had as much power behind the scenes.

14. Sting. One of the great babyfaces of all time, and a very consistent in-ring worker who put on some classics in the late 80's and into the 90's against Flair, Vader, and others. Was never the same after the stupid "Evil Sting" storyline in 96-97.

13. Chris Jericho. I probably have him too high, but he was always one of my personal favorites. A bit sloppy in the ring, but few were better on the mic, and his intro to WWF was one of my favorite mark-out moments as a wrestling fan.

12. Undertaker. Had some of the worst matches I have ever sat through...but also created maybe the greatest persona in pro wrestling history, and managed to stay relevant through many iterations of the sport and several different wrestling styles.

11. Ricky Steamboat. Generally regarded as the greatest pure babyface of all time, and one of this generation's greatest workers as well. When compiling a list of the greatest matches of the 1980's, he probably has at least three or four of the top five (at least two out of the trilogy against Flair, and his epic match with the Macho Man at WrestleMania III).

10. Mick Foley. A true hardcore wrestling icon, and consistently one of the best in the sport on the mic, no wonder which of his personas he was using.

9. Randy Savage. This is a guy whose in-ring skill gets overlooked due to his persona, I think. But he was a great worker as well as one of the most insane promo guys of all time.

8. Dynamite Kid. Before the back injury, he may have been the best worker in the world. If you are a fan of pure, old school wrestling, do yourself a favor and look up some of his matches in Japan against Tiger Mask.

7. Chris Benoit. Fitting that he makes the list just ahead of Dynamite, who was his hero. If this was based solely on in-ring ability, he may be number one. But the guy couldn't cut a promo to save his life. (poor choice of words?)

6. Kurt Angle. One of the most athletically gifted and innovative performers I have ever seen, and could work a crowd as well as anybody in history.

5. Bret Hart. The Excellence in Execution. One of the top 2-3 pure workers I ever saw, but only so-so on the mic.

4. The Rock. THE most ELECTRIFYING man in SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT. Probably the 2nd greatest ever on the mic, and overcame a pretty rough start to become a better than average in-ring worker. Could definitely tell a story in the ring, and had some true classics in the 99-01 era. A huge part of the most successful time in history for pro wrestling, and one of its most recognizable figures.
♠

3. Stone Cold Steve Austin. All he did was singlehandedly bring the WWF into the "Attitude Era" and basically destroy WCW, along with the Rock.

And...here is where it gets controversial...

2. Ric Flair. The best promo guy of all time. Could carry a broomstick to a 3 star match. World Champion dozens of times over. And my #2 of all time by a razor thin margin.

1. Shawn Michaels. I know I'm going to take some crap for this one. In my opinion, my top two are interchangeable...the only thing that puts Shawn Michaels ahead of Flair is that he wrestled so many different styles...as awesome as some of Flair's matches were, they had a tendency to follow the same patterns every time. Michaels has wrestled more styles, told a greater variety of stories with his matches, and that puts him over the top for me.

OK, now it's your turn...where am I wrong? Who are your favorites? What are some of your favorite wrestling memories?

Some REALLY quick Idol thoughts and some other randomness

2011-05-19T11:47:00.002-04:00

I actually thought about doing one of my old school recaps for American Idol last night, just to celebrate my return to the blog...and then I saw that it was two hours long. No WAY am I watching these people for two hours, much less recapping it.

So, some very quick thoughts, bearing in mind that I watched most of Scotty and Lauren's songs on fast-forward...

- Scotty is going to win.
- Haley is going home tonight, even though she is my favorite contestant left on the show by a WIDE margin. It's not even that she's all that great, but at least she's interesting. Lauren and Scotty just go out and do the EXACT same thing every single week, and why wouldn't they? The show has removed the constraints of doing different genres every week, and the judges certainly aren't giving them any sort of constructive criticism that would encourage them to try something new.
- Kudos to Haley for popping right back up after her faceplant...I think she only missed two words.
- How badly did the judges sabotage Haley with the Judges Choice round? Scotty gets to sing a country ballad by Kenny Rogers (and the only good thing about it was that I got to answer back his line of "I'll never know just what she sees in me" with "ME AND YOU BOTH, BUDDY!" every time. ZING!!). Lauren got to sing a country ballad by LeeAnn Womack.

As for Haley...they give her a song that A) is WAY too low for her in the verses, and B) has some content that, even after some judicious editing in the first verse, includes lyrics that are going to turn off a large part of an Idol audience that has always skewed conservative. "Is she perverted like me?" "Every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it".

It was just the wrong song...for her, for this show, and it especially gives her no shot of winning any votes from the apparent throngs of people who are voting for the other two.

Whatever. That was too many words to waste on this show at this point. Just know that Haley is going home tonight, and next week's finale will likely be the first one in 7 years that I haven't been in front of my television for.

- Remember my last post when I bemoaned the fact that network television has lost the ability to develop any new shows outside of reality television? The always awesome Linda Holmes at the NPR Monkey See blog expands on the point...here is the scorecard for shows that were presented at last years upfronts:

ABC: ZERO shows still on the air...every single new show was cancelled within one season.
NBC: ZERO shows still on the air...every single new show was cancelled within one season.
FOX: Exactly ONE show still on the air...one out of three.
CBS: They were the big winner, with THREE out of their five new shows still on the air.

Total: Out of 20 new shows last year, exactly FOUR are still on the air...one year later.

Yeah...they have to find a better way of running this business. This year, there are over FORTY NEW SHOWS that were presented at the network upfronts (some of them midseason, starting in January). Maybe that's the answer...just increase the pool to a massive size and you get a better chance of some sticking. The problem with that? That means there were TONS of shows cancelled to make room, and some of those may have been quality shows that just didn't get a chance to find their footing. Like Chicago Code, for instance, which celebrated its cancellation with its best and most Shawn Ryan-y episode of the season this week. Grrrr....

By the way...go read the rest of that article. As usual with anything Linda writes, it's worth your time.

- Top 5 dramas CURRENTLY AIRING, in order: Game of Thrones, Friday Night Lights, Chuck, The Killing, The Chicago Code.

This one was tougher, because so many of the best shows aren't currently airing. If I were to include ALL shows, even those not on the air, the Top 10 list might look something like:

1) Mad Men
2) Breaking Bad (this might actually be a 1a)
3) Game of Thrones
4) Fringe
5) Friday Night Lights
6) Justified
7) Boardwalk Empire
8) Chuck
9) Sons of Anarchy
10) Walking Dead

With True Blood, Glee, The Killing, and Chicago Code just missing the cut.

Man, I feel like I'm forgetting something here...do let me know in the comments if you feel I have made a grievous error, won't you?

I wasn't going to do a Top 5 reality show post because I didn't think I watched enough Reality TV to come up with one...but I'm embarassed to find that I might could actually do a Top 10. That will be coming...next time!

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment...I love engaging in TV conversations!

Don't call it a comeback...

2011-05-17T11:38:00.003-04:00

...I've been here for YEARS!!

That's right...this is actual new material on the old Stuff of Legend blog today. The last few months have been very....well..."interesting" doesn't really seem to cover it, but I guess it will have to do. Not going to get into it, other than to say that I don't have to be nearly as careful about voicing my appreciation of my favorite television hotties anymore...no strings attached, baby!

So, I have TONS of stuff to get to, obviously. Lots of stuff happened while I was away that I started to blog about, but just couldn't work up the energy or motivation. Let's just pretend that I made my usual really cool and witty remarks about everything that has happened in the sports and pop culture worlds over the last three months or so and MOVE FORWARD.

Let's get the sports stuff out of the way first, so that my sports-only "audience" (yeah, right...as if I still have an audience at this point) can check out once we get to what is really going to be the bulk of this post...

- The Braves pitching staff has been absolutely ridiculous to this point...in a good way.

Second in the majors with a team ERA of 2.94. First in the majors in strikeouts. First in batting average against (a paltry .218). First in WHIP at 1.09.

Those are numbers that even the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz pitching staffs would be proud of. Top to bottom, this is the best staff in baseball. Philly probably has better starters, but their bullpen can't even touch ours.

But, much like some of those '90s teams, the offense has been inconsistent, and really needs to get rolling if we want to stay in contention for the division. As good as our pitching staff is, it is unrealistic to expect the kind of dominance we are seeing right now to last all season...they will have rough patches when they need the offense to carry them.

To me, the key is three guys:

Dan Uggla: .202 avg, .664 OPS,
Jason Heyward: .219 avg, .749 OPS
Freddie Freeman: .226 avg, .678 OPS

We need to get at least two of these guys going on a consistent basis if we want the offense to stay on track. I don't worry so much about Uggla...he's a proven performer who has a long history of starting slow and then heating up as the weather does. Heyward and Freeman, however, concern me, only because they don't have a proven track record. Heyward can't seem to stay healthy, and his numbers since his hot start last year are Francoueresque. Freeman is obviously going through the majors for the first time, so we have no idea what to really expect.

And, of course, those two guys were also the SI cover boys. Coincidence? (yeah, probably)

- I loved the Falcons move to get Julio Jones. Yes, we gave up a lot. Yes, I would have rather drafted A.J. But to me, this move says that our front office thinks we are ready to win NOW. The guys we would have gotten with the picks we traded away might have been nice for the future (although it could be the case that Dimitroff et. al. saw this draft as extremely top-heavy), but when you have a window to compete for a Super Bowl, you better take advantage of it.

Two more thoughts: 1) the future picks should all be even lower than our pick this year, if the move pays off. Yes, that's an IF...this was a gamble, and all gambles have risks. 2) Who's to say we don't make other deals that get some of those future picks back?

As for A.J....I would love to have him. But I can pretty confidently guarantee that we called Cincy with the same offer we made the Browns. It takes two to make a trade.

My one qualm with the pick...Julio, as good as I think he will be (and I thought he was the second best WR in this draft, but would have been the best in the draft in most years), is still going to start next season as your #2 WR behind Roddy White. And we are paying him #6 pick money. That's a lot of money to pay your 2nd WR, no matter what the new CBA ends up doing to rookie salaries.

- The Hawks. Whatever. I knew after the offseason that we had before the year started that this organization is not aiming for anything other than an occasional appearance in the second round. Larry Drew and Joe Johnson are not the foundation on which championships are built.

We got lucky in the first round that we drew an opponent that was actually more dysfunctional than us. In the second round, it came down to the fact that Chicago has a superstar, and the Hawks only have someone who makes superstar money.

Next year, we likely lose Crawford, and we don't have money to go get a difference maker because we gave it all to Joe Johnson.

Whee.

- I guess the biggest news to come out of Dawg Nation in the last couple of months is the apparent shakeup in the backfield.

I wish Washaun Ealey well, and will always remember him for the night that he and Caleb RAN THIS STATE. But I will also remember him for wasted potential and an apparent bad attitude that was even more apparent to those who followed him on social media. I think he was given multiple chances to get his act together and chose not to...at which point, it's best for the team that he move on, no matter how much it hurts to lose your top rusher.

Now we anxiously await news on Caleb King's eligibility. Yes, I think Isaiah Crowell is a real talent, maybe a game-changing talent...but I thought the same thing about some other highly recruited guys who never panned out, as well. Plus I just don't like the idea of going into the season with two guys who have never carried the ball in an actual game as your top two tailbacks, with the number three guy being an undersized back that Coach Bobo is apparently trying to murder (stop running him up the middle!!).

As usual at this time of the year, I am really excited about the upcoming season. The defense should almost certainly improve, both because of experience in the system and some upgraded personnel along the d-line. Aaron Murray should be one of the top QBs in the SEC, as long as he gets time to throw and his receivers don't let him down.

Should be more to come as we get closer to fall practice...which is only a few (well, a dozen or so) weeks away!

OK...that concludes the sports-related portion of our programming. From here on out, it's a mishmash of pop culture stuff and other random observations, so if you aren't interested in that, no hard feelings...come on back next time (promise it won't be three months).

- This week is Upfronts Week for the networks, which is when they all announce their fall schedules, introducing their new shows and confirming the demise of others. This is also the week that my phone dies around lunchtime, due to the fact that all of the TV critics and bloggers that I follow on Twitter are all tweeting the same news at the same time. I received 25 Twitter messages just while typing that last sentence.

This is also the week when I wish I could go back and be a television writer. One that could actually get paid for the mountain of words that are about to spill out all over this page.

I am legitimately fascinated by things like network strategy...what new shows get greenlit, what gets cancelled and why, putting together a nightly primetime schedule and things like lead-ins, synergies between shows, etc. I'm a geek for several things, but this type of stuff is probably where I geek out the hardest.

I am especially intrigued to see how the networks are adjusting their strategies to deal with the brand new paradigms that they are now facing. It hasn't been too long ago that a "hit" TV show drew 20-30 million viewers a week. Now, with cable stations providing TONS more original programming, some of which is considered to be much higher quality than the typical network show, plus the rapid increase of either "timeslot shifting" (people DVR a show and then watch it whenever they want) or alternative means of watching television (OnDemand, DVD/Netflix, Hulu, etc) networks can't DREAM of hitting those types of numbers, with extremely rare exception (Super Bowl, etc). In my opinion, where this has hurt the most is in the development of new shows. Quick, tell me what the big break out network hits have been in the last two years....and by "hits" I'm talking about shows that actually draw numbers that win time slots.

GO!

OK, time's up...I came up with Glee, Dancing With the Stars, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice, and what seems like a dozen CSI, NCIS, L&O type spinoffs. MAYBE The Mentalist? It's almost all reality show drivel or boring procedurals (all opinions in this blog are mine, obviously...if you enjoy those shows, more power to you, and congratulations...you have LOTS of choices).

Now let's look at the world of cable...for a cable channel, a "hit" doesn't necessarily mean "ratings", especially for the pay cable channels. It's all about brand prestige, reputation, and (for the pay channels) subscriptions. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. Boardwalk Empire. True Blood. Walking Dead. Justified. Dexter. I could go on, but you get my point...and that's without even mentioning shows like Sons of Anarchy, or Damages, or Weeds, or Nurse Jackie, or United States of Tara....all shows that, while they may not draw big numbers, all enhance the reputation and brand recognition of their networks.

So...what's the difference? First of all, the obvious...cable networks can get away with things content-wise that broadcast networks can't. That is a definite advantage.

But that can't be all of it. Seriously...what does Mad Men and Breaking Bad show or do that you can't get away with on network television? It's not anything that would really be missed, and it's not why the show works.

I think a big part of it is that cable networks go into it knowing that they are never going to pull the ratings that would typically be expected of a network show, which relieves some of the pressure to yank shows off the air if they aren't pulling huge numbers. True Blood is a great example...when it premiered on HBO, it got less-than -respectable ratings, and in a network environment (assuming that it was a show that had network type content), probably would have been pulled from the schedule almost immediately. Instead, it was left on the air, the buzz ramped up (even if the quality didn't), and it is now HBO's biggest hit.

I don't know what the answer is for the broadcast networks...they somehow have to find a way to sell advertising and make money, and for now their only real way of doing that is using a ridiculously antiquated Nielsen system. I foresee a future where ALL television is web based..NBC won't be a "channel", it will be a website. All of their content will be on the website, and you go and choose whatever you want to watch and it comes straight to your television. That is not something that we are years away from, at least not from a technology standpoint. We HAVE the TECHNOLOGY. What we don't have is a way of monetizing it that works for everybody...the networks, the consumer, the advertisers, the production staffs and writers, etc.

I just hope they figure it out soon...I'm tired of every new network show I start to get into being yanked off the air before it has time to find its feet, with The Chicago Code being the latest example (and Lord, Shawn Ryan deserved better after Terriers). Broadcast networks, in my opinion, have to come up with a new definition of what a "successful" show is...we can't keep using the same parameters in a completely new environment.

This isn't to say that there isn't quality programming currently on network television...but a lot of what I consider quality (Parks and Rec, Community, Chuck, Fringe, Cougar Town, etc) aren't ratings hits by any stretch of the imagination, and seem to live on the cancellation bubble, while stuff like The Voice, Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, etc. always seems to do huge numbers.

So I am very thankful that some of my favorite shows have been granted a reprieve. Looking at the numbers, it's really hard to fathom why the networks have chosen so save some, while others have gone by the wayside...but I'm glad for it anyway.

OK, I promise the rest of the bullet points will be shorter.

- Speaking of upfronts, this is the trailer from the new show that I am most excited about...believe it or not, it's from NBC (I KNOW, RIGHT?!?)

Looks pretty awesome, right? Which means that it will probably be cancelled by the time this post is actually published.

- Is there a way to tell a new girl at work that you find her REALLY attractive? I mean, without coming off like a total creep?

- Guess I should say something about American Idol. Basically, I give up. I said months ago that Scotty McReery was going to win the whole thing...based on my master thesis on American Idol Demographics (I should TOTALLY HAVE WRITTEN THAT), he has the Country Vote, the Teenybopper Vote, and the Grandmother Vote. Those are probably the three most powerful voting blocs in the American Idol Universe, so he is systematically destroying everybody in his path. I would be willing to bet that if they actually released the voting totals, he would be winning every single week. By TONS. Even before he broke out the "Vote for me or the terrorists win!!" strategy last week.

And, gah...he makes me want to punch him in the neck every time he performs.

The show has really missed both Simon and the different genre nights...without those two factors forcing contestants out of their comfort zones, everybody just does the same exact thing every....single...week. And the judges have been atrocious...the problem with praising EVERYTHING that everybody does is that it causes your praise to mean nothing. That was why it was always such a big deal when Simon gave positive feedback...you knew that if he was praising it, that praise was earned.

Anyway...I'm definitely watching out of habit (maybe even obligation) at this point. And no matter what I say, I will probably be right back there every single season until it gets cancelled and puts both me and the show out of our misery.

- Best five comedies currently on TV (either airing or just finished their season), in order: Parks and Recreation, Community, Cougar Town, Raising Hope, Bob's Burgers.

Just missed the cut: Modern Family (too inconsistent, but when it's on its game there are few better), The Office (WAY too up and down this season, and the Will Ferrell thing was a disaster), Archer (been off the air too long to qualify, but no show delivers more laughs per second).

What do you think? Let me know in the comments....next time out I will do dramas.

- So I have one question about the Fringe season finale...if it was 15 years in the future, how come everybody looked the same as they do now? I'm not counting the 4 gray hairs that Peter had. Take it from someone who knows...15 years does a LOT more damage to a head of hair than that.

Yep, that was the one question...everything else made perfect sense.

- Right now, the album I am most likely to be listening to on repeat is Manchester Orchestra's "Mean Everything to Nothing." Nothing but quality, start to finish.

And trust me, I love everything on Adele's "21", but I can't listen to it on repeat unless I want to throw myself off a cliff, only to have Superman swoop down and catch me, and then drop me from HIGHER. (tm Louie C.K.).

- I think I am officially done with How I Met Your Mother after last night. This whole season has been borderline awful (hated everything about the Zoey storyline), but I stuck with it, in large part because I felt like we were promised in the season premiere that by the time we got to that wedding, we would be getting ANSWERS. Instead, all we got was more mysteries...who is Barney marrying, and (most of all), why is this wedding so important to Ted? It was strongly hinted in the premiere that this is when he meets the mother, and maybe it is...but we are certainly no closer to knowing now than we were 22 episodes ago.

Look, I understand how hypocritical this is of someone who to this day will defend LOST with my dying breath...but the time for mysteries is over. They need to move the story FORWARD. In what way has the story moved forward this season? Marshall and Lily are pregnant (a storyline that you knew had to happen eventually), and Barney is marrying...somebody. And we still have no clue who the mother is.

It's time. And, no, I disagree with those who say that once you meet the mother the show is over. The story of a relationship doesn't end when you meet...there could still be LOTS of story to tell after that, with the mother just being another character on the show, that would HAVE to be more interesting than the water-treading that is going on now.

- I am now two thirds of the way through the Hunger Games trilogy...it's very interesting, gripping, exciting stuff. Definitely written for a younger audience, but the plot is tight enough that we older teenagers can still enjoy it. I would certainly recommend it to any parents with young adult readers...I bought my 13 year old a copy this weekend and can't wait to talk about it with her.

- I apologize to all two of you out there who were looking forward to detailed recaps of Game of Thrones. First of all, I never really could decide on a format...do I write it with readers in mind, or non-readers? There is no way I have time to do both...it would be really hard to recap it from a non-reader perspective, having read the entire series multiple times, but I know that out of what little audience I have, the majority would be non-readers.

And then...well, life got in the way and rendered the whole decision moot.

The series has been fantastic...the look is amazing, the acting is superb (and, yes, I would still want to adopt Maisie Williams if it wasn't so obvious that she must have parents far more superb and amazing than I could ever hope to be). My only real issue with the show to this point is the editing...we seem to move REALLY quickly between scenes, which I think hinders the viewer's ability to fully consume what he's just seen. This is probably due to having SO MUCH to fit in to each episode...which then makes me nervous about next season, when they will supposedly have the same number of episodes to tell tons more story.

But that's a worry for next season...for now, I am really enjoying the show. And what's better, several friends of mine who aren't fans of the book are loving it as well, which means that the writers and producers really are doing a fantastic job.

There have been several scenes, especially in the last episode, that never actually happened in the book. Since I am trying to view the show as a separate entity from the books as much as I can, I can safely say that I have really loved every single one of them, and feel like they have added even more depth to even some of the main characters than they might have had without these additional scenes.

Bravo all around, really...and for those of you who are watching and have not read the books, buckle your seatbelts. You ain't seen nothing yet.

By the way, if you're going to comment on Game of Thrones at all, please...no spoilers for non-readers. Thanks.

OK...I think that's enough for now. Even though I haven't even mentioned The Killing (liking it until last week...at which point I loved it), Chuck (perfect finale, and leads up to what I think can be a really cool final season), Firefly (watching it for the first time as it's being re-run on the Science Channel - is it too late to start a campaign to get it renewed?), or Deadwood (the one season I haven't seen, S3, just popped up OnDemand - all I can say, in the spirit of the show, is $%!@, &$*@, and %&!@#!).

Ahhh...it's good to be back.

TON of new Game of Thrones videos

2011-03-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

Don't have time to link to all of them here, so just go to these posts on Winter Is Coming to get the full list of the YouTube versions.

- Post 1
- Post 2

My favorite line of all of the videos: "All Dany knows of her history is the stories that her brother has told her...and Viserys Targaryen is not a reliable narrator."

Winter is Coming, folks! Only four weeks from Sunday!

VERY quick thoughts on Idol Top 12

2011-03-17T11:39:00.004-04:00

Well, the hits just keep on coming, quite literally in this case...totaled my truck last night by creaming a deer.

So, this is going to be really short...

The REALLY Good: Stefano, Pia, James, Casey

The Good: Jacob, Lauren, Scotty, Haley

The Bad/Boring: Naima, Intermission, Thia, Paul (cold or not, that was awful)

Who SHOULD go home: Probably Paul...that was two pretty rough performances in a row.
Who WILL go home: Naima

The Game of Thrones previews continue..

2011-03-13T21:38:00.002-04:00

Another update coming later, as soon as the other one that was premiered tonight shows up on YouTube.

Winter is Coming...only 5 weeks from tonight!

~~~~UPDATED~~~~~~
Second video added!!! (HBO only clip now...will add YouTube video as soon as there is a decent version posted)

Idol Thoughts - Top 13

2011-03-10T07:54:00.008-05:00

Man, I have missed you guys! Hopefully some of you stuck around while I tossed my life in to the washer and hit "spin", because I am really excited about American Idol so far this season. It's like I have been saying to anyone who will listen...the secret to a successful Idol season has nothing to do with the judges and everything to do with the contestants. As long as you have talented and compelling contestants, the audience is going to be engaged, and only then will they even care what the judges say. And this season offers a very diverse and talented group, several of which I am really looking forward to hearing every week, as opposed to last season when there was Siobhan and Crystal and really not much else.

Let's get on with it!

Lauren Alaina - "Any Man of Mine": Ugh. She's off to a horrible start for me already, because I HATE HATE HATE this song. Apparently what Shania REALLY wants is a doormat. Was this supposed to be some sort of ironic statement against the objectification of women in most popular music? Either way...it sucks.

Anyway, this is...fine, I guess. She doesn't do anything different from the original, as far as I can tell. You want to know what Simon was saying all those years when he called something "karaoke", this was pretty much it. Don't get me wrong...she has a very good voice. I mean, she would probably WIN the karaoke competition.

She is also completely out of breath by the end of the song. She obviously had fun with it, but that's really all it was. A nice, fun, ultimately forgettable performance.

Casey James - "A Little Help From My Friends": This is exactly what I was missing from Lauren's performance...an interpretation of the song. I LOVED the arrangement, loved the performance. Casey is quirky, no doubt, but he hit EVERY note that he attempted, and hit it with style. I worry that he could become Taylor-Hicks-y at some point, but for now I love him. Plus I think he is a LOT more self-aware than Taylor Hicks has ever been...he seems to get the joke more than Taylor did.

This was really, really good.

Ashthon Jones - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me": Here's the thing about Ashthon for me...she has all of the makings of a diva, but without the diva voice. She looks great, I actually love her attitude most of the time, and her voice is fine...it's just not "big" enough for me. She's hitting the notes, but there isn't enough power and OOMPH.

This was another example of what I'm talking about...she certainly looks the part. VERY Diana Ross, with the hair and the earrings and what-all. But she just doesn't quite pull it off. It gets better in the bridge after she steps out from behind the mic, but she is extremely shouty on the high parts. This was OK, definitely good enough to stick around, but it was good-not-great for me.

(I just used "for me" twice in my critique of one performer, which leads me to the most disturbing development of the Idol season so far. I am agreeing with Randy almost 100% of the time. I KNOW!!! I'm TERRIFIED as to what this might mean. Is there a glitch in the Matrix?)

Paul McDonald - "Come Pick Me Up": I knew I liked this guy...Ryan Adams has a prominent place on my MP3 player, and his style fits perfectly with what we have seen Paul do so far.

This performance was....hmm. I think I would have enjoyed it more live, and I DEFINITELY think I enjoyed it more than most other people, since I am a big fan of this style of music. But it was the very definition of pitchy, and the whispery tone of his voice never did really get strong enough during the chorus and he was overpowered by the band and backup singers. For once, I don't blame the production crew for that. He certainly uses the whole stage when he performs, though.

Like J-Lo, I hope that America gets what the guy is about and keeps him around. That was a very chill performance, and I liked it...but at best he was only "around" the pitch for a good portion of the song, and I don't know that he has the fanbase to stick around for very long.

Oof. J-Lo has never heard of Ryan Adams. Randy, on the other hand, is dropping names like WOAH. And Ryan continues to be awesome, doing the "Paul McDonald" as he gives out the numbers.

Pia Toscano - "All By Myself": For the second week in a row, she definitely picked a "singer's song", one that if you have the voice for it you can really show out.

And...WOW. She really showed out. TREMENDOUS vocal performance. And she looked fannnnnntastic. Almost distractingly gorgeous.

She needs to work on stage presence...not a lot "there" in her presentation of the song, other than the annoying "Aaron Kelly Arm". You know, the move where you raise one arm to just over shoulder level, hold it there for a second, let it drop....and repeat about 30 times in a row.

As for now, her vocal chops and striking beauty are enough to overcome the lack of stage presence...Carrie Underwood was able to ride that particular train all the way to the Idol crown, and then got some help on her performing style and has sold about a bazillion records. Idol itself has changed a lot since then, so it will be interesting to see if Pia can pull off the same accomplishment using the same bag of tricks.

James Durbin - "Maybe I'm Amazed": I have to admit...I don't like this guy. He's way too "try-hard" for me...the forced banter, the constant playing to the crowd, and the devil horns MY GOD the devil horns PLEASE KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE DEVIL HORNS IT IS NOT 1986 AND YOU ARE NOT MOTLEY CRUE.

Ahem...sorry. Having said all of that, I was pleasantly surprised that he picked Paul McCartney as his "Idol", and this was a perfect song choice for him. This was a great opportunity for him to dial it back and show us that he is not all flash and forced-rocker...he can really sing. He has a very nice tone to his voice, and his "scream" was used to great effect here...it came at a natural place in the song, fit the melody, and was perfectly on pitch.

I still don't like a lot of his affectations on stage, but overall this was a series of very smart decisions executed with a lot of talent and skill. Well done.

Haley Reinhart - "Blue": I am constantly forgetting that this person exists. I was surprised that she picked a country artist as her "Idol" (which...I don't think that is really what she did. She picked a song she wanted to sing and then tried to play it off like freaking LeeAnn Rimes is her Musical Idol. Whatever.)

This is a very difficult song to sing, and she definitely struggled the first couple of times she had to transition from the falsetto "yodel" back into her chest voice, but it did get better as she went along. She really didn't do more than just a karaoke version of the song...no spin, no interpretation. She just sang it, and in an relatively acceptable fashion. That's all I got out of it.

Jacob Lusk - "I Believe I Can Fly": Again...R. Kelly is not Jacob Lusk's idol and inspiration. He just wanted to sing this song.

And, MAN....he SANG it. One quibble was that he overshot the pitch quite a bit in the build up to the finish, but once he got there...I struggled to come up with words to describe it. He took it to CHURCH. Musicality at its purest form. The guy is an undeniable talent, and this is now two weeks in a row that I feel like he has dialed his performing style back several notches to great effect. Wonder if that's coming from the mentoring sessions?

Either way...this was fantastic, and probably should have closed the show.

Thia Megia - "Smile": Ah, she takes on that Charlie Chapman classic.

This started off really, really well...beautiful tone, and even more impressive control. Unusual to see that level of restraint in such a young singer.

But then, the tempo changed...and this went horribly, horribly wrong. Pitch problems all over the place, awkward "dancing", fake smile that does nothing to hide the abject terror in her eyes as she realizes that this was really an awful decision. Just tough to watch.

Stefano Lagono - "Lately": Oh, man...this is J-Lo's favorite by TONS. She loves this guy. And Ryan loves him too...he makes Ryan look normal-sized.

The beginning of this was really rough...he has a very nasally quality to his voice when he is in his lower register that is going to be a problem for him. Then the club beat kicks in, and this turns into the dance remix. He definitely SOUNDED better in the second half of the song, but I really didn't like the arrangement. This was probably one of those arrangements that sounded a lot better live.

Karen Rodriguez - "I Could Fall in Love": She bores me to tears, and I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for this recap, so I don't have much to say. Except that she is probably the most pageant-y contestant this show has had in years, and I have yet to see any other side to her than that. I think I'm going to start calling her "Intermission", since her performance is an excellent time to take a bathroom break, grab a snack, check e-mail, etc....

Scotty McCreery - "The River": OK. I don't get the appeal to this guy. At all. Is it a generational thing? Because, MAN...the screams every time this guy says or does something sounds like a Beatles/NKOTB/Bieber level collective explosion. I just....don't get it, I guess.

And if you are going to sing a Garth Brooks song, why pick the absolute WORST Garth Brooks song EVER? I would have rather him done some Chris Gaines than this boring generic faux-motivational crap. "These waters are my sky"? What does that even MEAN?

So he sits there and does the EXACT SAME PERFORMANCE HE ALWAYS DOES. And the judges just slobber all over it, and then Scotty says he tried to show them something "different" tonight.

Am I losing my mind? HOW WAS THAT DIFFERENT? Because it wasn't that stupid Josh Turner song that I had never heard of before Scotty showed up, but now is embedded in my brain?

Scotty and his apparently legion of fans just make me feel...old.

Naima Adedapo - "Umbrella": And now I have to apologize to Naima, because that whole Scotty thing just took me out of that really happy place I was in for most of this show.

She looks really comfortable on stage, and she was able to use her dance background to create what was really a very good performance. The vocal was only OK...I agreed with Randy (again? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME????) that the biggest problem was the end of the phrases. She was just letting them drop as she moved to her next dance move. Which is actually fine, considering the fact that she was attempting to create more of a "concert" feel to it.

Say what you want about it...it was definitely "her", and it was different from anything else we saw tonight.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
- I know I picked some of them apart, but there is no doubt about the fact that every single one of these people can flat sing. TONS of talent. It's going to be very interesting to see which way the voting goes, especially with the new Facebook voting this season.

- Nigel Lythgoe is back in charge of the show, and one of the first things he did was the long overdue firing of the director. Thirteen performances tonight, and the show not only came in on time, but Ryan and the judges had to vamp a little to fill the last few minutes. Great job with that, and also the production values seemed higher...no weird camera shots of the backstage area, the sound seemed to be mixed properly, etc.

***UPDATE******
Just found out that last night's show was actually taped on Tuesday. So...never mind. It's easy to have a well produced show if you get to tape it the day before.

- Really like the new "mentoring" thing they have going on with the Interscope folks. I'm interested to see if any of those producers start to stand out and become crowd favorites the way some of the choreographers have on SYTYCD.

- Looking back this show seemed REALLY frontloaded. After Jacob performed, there was nothing but cannon fodder.

MY TOP THREE:
1 - Pia
2 - Casey
3 - James/Jacob (Tie. Yeah, I know...it was just too hard)

MY BOTTOM THREE:
11 - Lauren (This was pretty surprising. Had to factor in level of difficulty and song selection, which is why Paul beats her out this week)
12 - Scotty (He beat out Thia because at least he managed to stay on pitch, and let's be honest...it was a smart decision to keep doing the same old crap.)
13 - Thia (Sorry, sweetie. That was just not good)

Who SHOULD go home:
Karen. Not in my bottom three, but I think at least two of the people in my bottom three have the potential to be interesting.

Who WILL go home:
Stefano. Just a hunch, really, and probably not right since he's young and cute and will probably get some of the teenybopper vote. IF all of the teenybopper vote doesn't go to Scotty for some unexplained and possibly supernatural reason.

Some more Game of Thrones goodness...

2011-03-07T21:28:00.003-05:00

...to tide you over until the blog is up and running again.

The awesome new trailer from HBO...

And some very interesting images in this one, including a very brief view of The Red Keep.

Gone fishin'....again

2011-03-02T07:34:00.002-05:00

Those of you who know me in "real life" probably have a good idea of why there are tumbleweeds blowing through this blog space right now. For those of you who only know me through the blogosphere and Twitterverse, sorry....the blog has been way down on my list of priorities lately.

I hope to be back up and running next week, as American Idol heads into the finals and spring practice starts for the Dawgs. Since the team is only practicing one day and then breaking for two weeks, and that one day happens to fall on my birthday, I am going to assume this is Coach Richt's birthday present just for me, and I send my thanks.

Be back soon...

Another new Game of Thrones preview

2011-02-20T08:57:00.002-05:00

This one includes some new footage we haven't seen before, including some brief glimpses of Daenerys's wedding and a good look at the Dragon Skulls beneath The Red Keep.

Can't wait!

Invitation to Westeros

Winter comes in eight weeks!

My favorite things I have been watching

2011-02-17T07:06:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is late...real life interrupted in a big way over the last week or so.

So...what's been going on in the magical world of television while I have been gone?

- The return of Justified. Haven't watched last night's episode yet, but sweet tomato on a cracker, it is great to have Raylan Givens on my television again. Love the new "bad guys" (which includes two LOST cast members, most notably Jeremy Davies in a very non-Faraday role), and of course the dialogue and acting were as top notch as ever.

- Last week's episode of Raising Hope. I didn't enjoy this week as much (too much Granny, who is the Pierce F'ing Hawthorne of this show), but last week was certainly a triumphant return. Garret Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton are simply amazing, the rest of the cast holds its own (with the exception noted earlier), and Hope is possibly the cutest baby currently on television.

(included the picture just because I think it's hilarious)

- Last week's Chuck episode. This past week was just a'ight for me, Dawg, but last week was...you know what, I don't remember anything about why I liked it, except for this.

Honestly, I think that is enough. I know Bernie agrees with me.

- The return of the Alt-Universe on Fringe. For the past two plus seasons, the writing staff and showrunner Jeff Pinkner have been conducting a master class on how to compose a serialized sci-fi procedural. A big part of their success is how they have handled the Alt-Universe stories. The amount of time spent swapping episodes back and forth between the "Red" and "Blue" worlds went on just long enough to be intriguing without getting tiresome, and now I think they waited the exact right amount of time before sending us back for an episode. I had not even realized how much I missed the "Other Side" until I saw that gigantic Zeppelin cruising past the Empire State Building. And the case of the week was Fringe at its creepy best. Love this show.

- Shawn Ryan does it again with The Chicago Code. As much as I loved the pilot episode, this past week's was even better. The characters are already getting so much deeper, particularly Jason Clarke's fantastic performance as Jarek Wysocki. I seriously can not wait to see where this show is going, as we are already seeing the shades of grey and line-blurring that Shawn Ryan likes to do and does so well. This show has quickly become a must-watch for me.

-GROUP NIGHT, GROUP NIGHT, GROUP NIIIIGGGHHHHTTTT!!!!!! Ah....one of my very favorite things in the whole wide universe....it's Group Night on American Idol!

Here is how Jacob over at Television Without Pity previewed it (with some editing for family-friendly reading):
"Ridiculous people: Shake out meaninglessly into Popular, Unpopular, Other. Turn on each other in the middle of the night, splitting up and forming new groups halfway through rehearsing that will never be as tight, as strong, as complete. Wander the halls, looking eternally for your group, like a hotel ghost; never find them. Crying jags in stairwells and hallways, frantic calls home in the starry smoggy night.

This is your only shot, your only chance, this is the bigtime. This is your Ambling Alp, your Waterloo, the Clare Quilty that stands between you and superstardom. You don't want it bad enough, you want it too badly, you are not a team player, you are not standing out. Turn in early and get a good night's sleep, while your competitors rage on. Stay up all night watching colors roll down the walls.

Choose absurdity. Work the accompanist's and vocal coaches' last f'ing nerve. Fight about minor details while letting major s**t fall through your hands. Start crying halfway through when you realize you can't do this, live and onstage. Ditch a girl, then ask her at breakfast where she went.

Get pissy about the choreography, discuss the choreography at length, make friends over choreography, lose friends for no real reason, they were never your friends, this is summercamp for borderline hysterics. "

Yeah, that pretty much covers it. Group Night could be nine hours long and I would happily watch every single second. And last night lived up to my expectations for the most part, other than the fact that there weren't any groups where one guy/girl decides to go to bed at like 11 while the rest of the group stays up all night, and then they meet up at that deliciously awkward breakfast. Those are always a highlight.

Oh, what were the highlights? So glad you asked!
- The cherubic 15-year old Jacee being heartlessly booted from his group in the middle of the night, only to be scooped into the arms of the carrot-topped anti-bullying hero Brett Lowenstern, culminating in a tear-filled passage into the next round, at which point poor little Jacee is going to be eaten alive by the pressure and endure years and years of intense psychotherapy.

- I hated the stage mothers of the 15-16 year old group "The Minors" (wonder if the producers forced that name on them to keep Steven Tyler away from them?), but that didn't mean I didn't take joy in how much frustration they were causing everybody around them.

- "I have a GREAT idea...let's all of us attractive females pull Steven Tyler on stage with us and sing and dance around him, and let him pull faces and randomly sing into the mic and have a blast. It will be so much fun that there is no WAY they won't let us through!"

"Lauren - you stay, cause we said after your audition that you were probably going to win. The rest of you? Your journey ends here."

Delicious.

- The absolute joy of watching the horrible Tiffany Rios wander around the auditorium full of people that she completely dissed earlier in the day, begging for someone to take her into her group.
Tiffany: Do you want me in your group?
Random awesome dude, totally straight faced: No.
Tiffany: Are you serious right now? ?
Random awesome dude, still totally straight faced: Yes.

This was followed by some poor attractive blond girl making what she is surely ruing today as the worst mistake of her life and joining up with this no-talent delusional horror show, which meant she was of course eliminated after about two lines of their doomed duet.

Oh, Group Night....I miss you already.

- The season premiere of the Rob-Russell showdown on Survivor. As I have said before, last season of Survivor was the first one that I actually watched from start to finish, and I was completely unimpressed. Watching last night, however, I can see why the show has lasted 22 seasons. It's amazing what having actually compelling people who seem to have an idea as to how to play the game can do.

And, yes...the show confirmed my suspicions. I do in fact hate Russell.

What about you guys? What are your favorite things that you are watching?

More Game of Thrones goodness

2011-02-09T08:30:00.006-05:00

Loved, absolutely loved this post from Tower of the Hand. The little nugget in the story about what is going on with the dog who plays the direwolf Lady in the series was particularly heartwarming, considering her story in the show (which I will not be spoiling ahead of time).

And every time I see pictures like this one of the young actors playing some of the key roles, I get even more excited about the show. They really do seem absolutely perfectly cast, and they seem to have a great chemistry with each other already.

That's Sophie Turner (Sansa), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran), and Maisie Williams (Arya), by the way....along with Zunni (Lady).

Winter is Coming...only 67 more days!

My favorite things I watched last week (including my very late thoughts on Signing Day)

2011-02-08T10:06:00.008-05:00

- Crowell and his AWWWWWWWW PUPPY! For any Dawg fan, the absolute best thing on television last week was probably this:

Also, pretty cool story on where that adorable puppy came from in the Ledger-Enquirer.

Obviously, I am thrilled with the way the Dream Team came together. The coaching staff did a tremendous job pulling a class like this coming off the last two years we have had on the field.

I will make one small side note...Richt got pretty lucky in the fact that in a year when he DESPERATELY needed a huge recruiting class, the state of Georgia was loaded with talent even by the state's normally lofty standards.

Even so, all of that talent was being heavily recruited by some of the biggest names in the country, and Richt and his staff was able to fend them off for the most part and put together a class that has the potential to be one that we look back on as the turning point of Richt's tenure as head coach.

The flip side, of course, is that there is TONS of pressure now on these kids...The Dream Team concept was fun, and it certainly worked as a recruiting tool, but the fanbase (myself included) now looks at them as guys who are going to turn the program around. Time will tell if that is the case, or if February 2, 2011 will be the high point.

One of the things I love about this class is how diverse it is from a positional standpoint (and Bubba 'n' Earl beat me to this point by a few days). With only a very slight amount of finagling, I can actually put together an entire starting lineup out of this class.

(Assuming a one back-3WR set on offense, standard 3-4 look on defense)

OFFENSE:
QB - Lemay
RB - Crowell
WR - Mitchell, Wesley, Conley
TE - Rome
OL - Ward, Dantzler, Andrews, Long, Debell (this one may get a little tricky, as far as tackle/guard combos, but it's conceivable)

DEFENSE:
DL - Bailey, Jenkins, Mayes
LB - Drew, Turene, Herrera, Wilson
CB - Swann, Marshall
S - Sanders, Moore

Seriously...I could make the argument that our starting lineup in 2013 might be pretty close to this, other than the fact that Jenkins will be gone after 2012. I know Bailey might actually play OLB, but he could also put on about 10 more pounds and fit right in at the 3-4 DE spot.

I also like the fact that we signed six offensive linemen, and none of them necessarily HAVE to play this year. We are really building some quality depth at that position, and that makes me happy.

Overall, fantastic job by the coaching staff, and definitely my favorite thing I watched last week.

- Most of Community. I really enjoyed last week's episode of Community, although like a lot of the really good Community episodes, it wasn't for everybody. I liked the conceit that the story was being told like a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I loved Senor Chang's costume and the entire scene setting up the game. I am in no way a D&D gamer, but I am familiar enough with the concept of RPG's in general that the way Abed was running the game brought plenty of laughs. The story itself was sort of Community at its best, in that it played around with a theme (the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing) while still having a soft gooey center of a heart (the group trying to cheer up and possibly save Fat Neal).

The one thing I didn't like is the one thing I always don't like when it comes to Community...Pierce Freaking Hawthorne. There is absolutely nothing likeable about this character or Chevy Chase's heavy-handed portrayal of him. The wonderful folks over at the Extra Hot Great podcast did a great job this week in talking about the long history of jerks in sitcoms and why they work, and why Pierce in no way works as that character. Bottom line is that I think this show would be tons better if you just took the character out of the show and gave his lines to other characters who could deliver them in a more effective way.

But Pierce is a problem every week...overall, this was one of my favorite Community episodes so far this season.

- Downton Abbey. Not going to go into a whole lot of detail on this one...it aired for four weeks on PBS as part of their Masterpiece Classics series, and the finale was last Sunday. A British period drama set in the time period between the Titanic and the beginning of WWI, it was tremendously acted, well written, beautiful to look at, and honestly...it just made me feel smart as I watched it. If it's not your thing, you would hate it...but it was one of my favorite things, and I am already looking forward to the second season. It doesn't hurt that the family that make up the main characters is the Grantham family, so I got to pretend it was actually about my ancestors.

Just for fun...one of my favorite scenes from the show, including a great line from the fantastic Maggie Smith. This scene pretty much spells out one of the dynamics of the series...the difference between even the upper middle class and the ridiculously rich in early 20th century England:

- Yep...Parks And Recreation. Again. My favorite comedy on television provided another hilarious episode. Being the only male in a house dominated by females who have totally bought into the Vampire craze, I especially loved the whole Twilight plot, especially Tom's excitement at discovering the books. The easy way out would have been to make fun of Twilight as the puffy piece of tween girl nonsense that it is, but the writers took the story in a much fresher direction, and it was ultimately much funnier because of it.

- The Chicago Code. This was technically not "last week" since it premiered last night, but since this post is a couple days late I can throw it in here. This is the latest from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield (the much respected series that is next on my iTunes list, right after I finish Deadwood), and the fantastic and much-lamented Terriers (maybe my favorite series of 2010). I was very impressed with the pilot episode, especially if you apply the grading curve that I normally apply to pilots (due to the level of difficulty involved with introducing entirely new characters in an entirely new show universe, while still telling a compelling story). I am especially excited about Jason Clarke's character (Det. Wysocki (sp?)), who seemed sort of cool, funny, dark, and quirky all at once. The acting in general seems to be top notch, the show makes good use of its on-location shooting in Chicago, and most of all...the American viewing public OWES it to Shawn Ryan to watch this show, after failing miserably at keeping Terriers on the air despite its awesomey goodness.

Pretty slow week overall, for me...some of my favorite shows (like Chuck, Cougar Town, Fringe) fell into the good-not-great category for me.

Looking forward this week to the return of Raising Hope (I know...I'm as shocked as you are that I actually have become a big fan of this show) and, especially, Justified. (Wednesday at 10 on FX...check it out)

What about you? What are your favorite things that you are watching? Am I missing anything good?

Arya talks Needle and her "dancing lessons" - latest Game of Thrones video

2011-01-31T22:21:00.003-05:00

Courtesy of HBO's Making Game of Thrones site, here is Maisie Williams discussing preparations for her role as Arya Stark (spoiler free).

The Artisans: Maisie Williams

Maisie is absolutely perfect for the role of Arya...she is exactly what I pictured, and she seems to have a great passion and understanding of the role.

Only 76 more days...Winter is Coming!

My favorite things I watched this week

2011-01-29T10:52:00.004-05:00

- Ray Drew. Of all the things I watched this week, I don't think I enjoyed any of them more than I enjoyed this....

(courtesy of UGASport s)

I think we have a great one, folks...not only his play on the field, but he seems to be a guy who is going to be a real leader both in the locker room and in the field. He has already been identified as a guy who the rest of the Dream Team looks to as "the guy". Can't wait to see him on the field!

- Southland. I meant to say something about this show last week, but I forgot...it works out, though, because this week's episode was much stronger, and was truly one of the best things I watched this week. The ending, especially, was extremely effective.

I am not usually a big fan of "procedural" type shows, and though this isn't exactly that, there are very few if any serialized components to the show. But every week, I feel like the show tells compelling stories, it has a tremendous cast, and also has a great cinematic look and feel to it. This was one of those shows that struggled to find an audience on the network side for some reason, and I for one am thankful that it was saved by TNT. Not to mention some of the coolest opening credits on television:

- Parks and Recreation. This will likely be on this list for as long as it is on the air. Another fantastic episode from the best comedy on television, highlighted by Rob Lowe as health freak Chris dealing with some of the worst, um, byproducts of the Pawnee Flu:

- The return of Archer. In all of its politically incorrect, raunchy glory. What is Germany, the Alabama of Europe?

- Casey and Morgan sing Happy Birthday on Chuck. In an episode made most notable by a new look on Sarah (short verdict: not a big fan of the hair, HUGE fan of the outfit), there wasn't much that made me happier this week than Casey and Morgan singing Happy Birthday to the unsuspecting security guard.

- John Noble and Joshua Jackson on Fringe. Again, not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought some of the writing was downright painful, although I did like where the show took Peter in his quest to find out what is going on with him and the Doomsday Device. But both of the Bishop boys brought their A game, including some of Joshua Jackson's best work so far in my opinion.

And good news again on the ratings front, as the show was solid enough again to boost Fox to a win in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

- 30 Rock. I don't always love this show, but when they are on their game there are few funnier. This was a particularly strong week.

What about you? What were your favorite things you watched this week?

I love our new #47 already...

2011-01-28T13:11:00.004-05:00

Quote from Ray Drew's announcement today:

"I just want to say, after the end of Jay's (Rome) announcement, I heard your call," said Drew. "Isaiah Crowell, we're waiting on you. Antonio Richardson, we're waiting on you. John Jenkins, we're waiting on you, and Jeoffrey Pagan, we're waiting on you. Come join what we have put together as the Dream Team. But remember, a dream is only a dream, until you make it a reality. I'm calling you out on this one. I hope you're not afraid to be thrown into the fire, I hope you're not afraid to be the ones who make the change."

I literally got chills just reading that.

Here's hoping that the new #47 carries on the legacy...

GO DAWGS!!

My favorite things I watched last week

2011-01-24T20:36:00.003-05:00

Hopefully, this is going to be a weekly feature on the blog. In a normal week I would plan on getting this up over the weekend, but some family issues kept me from doing much blogging this past weekend.

These lists will be in no particular order, and will certainly not contain everything I watched or enjoyed during the week...just my very favorite things.

- The return of Parks and Recreation. Probably my favorite comedy currently on television, and it returned in top form. Even if there was nothing else good about the episode (and there was TONS), it would have made the list just for this:
(Click to enlarge...trust me, it's worth it)

- The ratings for Fringe. The first Friday show itself was not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought it was good-not-great, even though every scene with John Noble and Christopher Lloyd was brilliant. But the really good news is that they managed to maintain the same ratings on Friday that they were running on Thursday, which was enough to win the night for Fox in the key demographics. Great news, and if they can keep that up they will have overcome the dreaded "Friday Slot of DOOOOOOOOOOM".

- Phil Dunphy eating breakfast on the floor. My favorite part of the scene was that neither he nor Claire even acknowledged it. It was just like, "Well, I'm hungry....and Claire won't let me go downstairs until we figure out how to deal with this. So I'm gonna try and salvage these eggs".

- Everything Busy Phillips did on Cougar Town. Wuh-BAMM!!

- Surprisingly enough, American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by the judges panel, though I am still mostly reserving judgment until we get to the live shows and they can no longer edit out the awkward/annoying moments. But what I was most excited about was the noticeable reduction in freak-show/mentally challenged auditions. I liked what Jacob on Television Without Pity said: "What if the big change this year is that we are no longer playing to the Lowest Common Denominator?"

- Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Two shows on almost everybody's "Best of the '00s" lists that I had missed. I'm catching up on Breaking Bad by watching the replays on AMC, and I'm into season 2 of Deadwood on iTunes. Both are living up to their lofty reputations, though Deadwood's language is causing me some problems...I'm no prude when it comes to profanity (in that I understand that if you're going to write realistic dialogue, you have to write how people really talk), but the air around Deadwood is so blue it is actually distracting at times. But the writing and acting on both of these shows are tremendous, and I no longer begrudge Bryan Cranston beating out Jon Hamm for his multiple Emmys.

- Jay Rome's announcement. Got me believing again that the Dawgs may pull off this whole Dream Team thing, especially when it was quickly followed by his teammate Malcolm Mitchell following him to the Classic City. With Drew, Crowell, and Jenkins still on the board (and supposedly all strong UGA leans), I may actually get excited about football again.

How about you, fellow TV watchers? What were your favorite things on TV last week?

My thoughts on the American Idol season 10 premiere

2011-01-19T22:12:00.003-05:00

I usually don't post anything at all about the audition episodes, but since this was the first edition of the completely revamped show, some very quick initial thoughts:

Ryan Seacrest - Still awesome.

Randy Jackson - Still useless.

Steven Tyler - I think his act is going to be REALLY annoying once we get into the live shows. Remember last season...Ellen was actually very entertaining in the taped shows when they could edit out everything but the funniest parts, but once we went to the live shows there was no way to edit out the awkward parts. I have a feeling the Steven Tyler situation is going to be very similar.

And, dude...he has GOT to stop leering at the sixteen year old contestants. He is old enough to be their GRANDFATHER. That's not "rock star"....that's "pervert".

Jennifer Lopez - She is entirely too nice for this job. At this point, she is supposed to be a JUDGE, not a mentor, and she's not doing people any favors by sending people on to Hollywood who aren't ready.

I will say this, though...I will definitely miss Simon (and Kara, for that matter), but Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez are by FAR the most qualified judges they have ever had, as far as having actual career success to draw on.

As for the contestants...I like that we seem to be focusing less on the mentally challenged freak show, but my concerns about whether we can get a better batch of contestants this season remain. There was not a single contestant that made me say "WOW", but there were several that I am looking forward to hearing more from.

I probably won't post any more recaps until we get to the live performances...so far, I'm still on board, but the caliber of contestants we end up with in the top 20 will be the real factor that will decide whether I'm out or not.

My 500th post...a State of the Blog address

2011-01-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

It figures that my 500th post would basically be an apology for my lack of posting lately. But here we are...

Real life has really intruded on my blogging time lately...I hate it when that happens. Having your priorities in order really stinks sometimes.

So what's been going on?

- I have never been more happy to see a football season come to an end. Horrible and embarrassing season by the Dawgs. A constant stream of ridiculous, inequitable, and illogical rulings by the NCAA regarding eligibility. Pantywaisted sports announcers wringing their hands and clutching their pearls every time somebody gets hit hard in a football game. The fact that our National Champions are a bunch of filthy cheaters, and everybody just seems to be OK with that. Brett Favre. Michael Vick.

Ugh. Just a barrage of stories that either A) I don't want to hear anything else about, B) Make me sick to my stomach, or C) Both.

So that has actually been one of the reasons I haven't posted as much. I just did not enjoy much about this football season, other than the way the Falcons were playing. So it is fitting that this football season would effectively end for me with the Falcons laying an egg on the national stage last Saturday night.

Not much to say about that game, other than that the better team won. I will make one sour grapes argument, though...how does it make sense that the #1 seed doesn't get to play the team that had the losing record in the regular season? What was the point in getting the #1 seed if we don't get to play the worst team left? We would have been better off tanking the game against the Panthers, as it turned out.

Oh, well...I still have faith in Demitrof and Smith, and I expect that this modest run of success we've had the last few seasons will continue.

Four weeks till pitchers and catchers report.

- Until then, I will spend most of my non-work, non-church-related, non-daddy time on the winter television season, and that will probably be the focus of this blog for the next several months. Apologies in advance for those of you who get here through Dawgbone...I will have some recruiting-centric stuff up over the next couple of weeks, but other than that it will probably be mostly non-sports stuff until the summer.

Here is what's on tap:

- My sincere goal is to do at least a weekly post that will basically be a "What I'm Watching" roundup, probably starting either late this week or early next. Many of the shows that I watch on a regular basis are coming back this week, and some new ones I'm looking forward to will start up not long after that. Not sure exactly what the format will be yet, but I'm looking forward to doing it.

- American Idol returns this week, with TONS of changes...almost complete overhaul of the judges table and MANY tweaks to the format. Last season was an unmitigated disaster, which is what the changes are in response to.

I am not excited about the new judges panel at all, other than that they have at least cut it back down to 3 judges rather than 4. Out of the three, I actually have the highest hopes for J-Lo...and that can't be good. Randy Jackson will continue to be useless for the foreseeable future, and I guess Steven Tyler is the new Paula.

I am more intrigued by the tweaks they have made to the semifinal/final rounds. Apparently we will have an extended Hollywood/Vegas portion of the show that will narrow the field down to 10 guys and 10 ladies, at which point the Top 5 of each will advance plus a few Judges Choice type candidates. They did something similar to this a couple of seasons ago, and I thought we ended up with a much higher quality batch of contestants in the finals. This is obviously a reaction to the fact that the Top 10 from last season was a steaming pile of poo, and I welcome the change.

And, really, the quality of the contestants is what is going to end up making or breaking the show anyway...no matter what the Judge portion of the show turns out to be, if we get another batch of contestants like last season it's not going to matter.

I am still planning on doing my recaps once we get to the Top 20...but that's tentative based on whether the show is still something I want to spend any time talking about by the time we get to that point.

- I have been looking for a show to do long-form "LOST" type recaps for, and I think the one I will be recapping is still three months away...HBO's "Game of Thrones". This show is based on the Song of Ice and Fire series of books by George RR Martin, a series that I have now read multiple times and contains maybe my favorite book of all time (A Storm of Swords, the third book in the series). To say I am excited about what HBO will do with the series is an understatement...I have been VERY happy with everything we have seen so far. I highly recommend the books, and will almost definitely be doing regular recaps once the show starts up in April.

So...for the next few months, this space will likely be mostly TV/Pop Culture stuff, with some occasional sports posts as things come up that I want to talk about. Hopefully, you guys will stick around...I love to talk about everything I will be posting about here, and I hope to have some conversations with all of you in the comments sections, on Twitter, etc. That was probably my favorite part of the LOST and Idol posts I have done in the past, and I hope it continues.

Thanks for reading!

I'm tired of writing posts I don't like

2011-01-05T12:15:00.003-05:00

I really don't want to be a Richt-basher. I want very much for him to turn the program around and get it headed back in the direction we were going at the end of 2007.

But two quotes from his press conference today moved me to respond, and considering the sporadic nature of my posting here you know that takes some doing.

(All quotes courtesy of Seth at Bulldogs Blog)

Quote #1: "Mike Bobo’s the coordinator, Mike Bobo’s the quarterbacks coach. Stacey Searels is the running game coordinator. And they’ve done a great job.” (emphasis added)

No, Coach...they have not. I'm not nearly as upset with Bobo as a lot of folks are (though I am more disappointed in Coach Searels's O-line than I am with any other unit on the team), but you went 6-7. SIX and SEVEN. That means NOBODY is doing a "great job". The quote SHOULD have read something along the lines of "We are all on notice, myself included. Our entire staff is aware that we failed at our jobs this year, and we will fix it no matter what it takes."

Quote #2: “All I know is that whoever comes back is going to be 100% motivated to help us get back on top of the Eastern Division.”

Our goal should be the National Championship. Period. It's not that I don't understand the logic (win the East, play for the SEC Championship, which probably means you are playing for the MNC), but this goes back to a problem that I have had for a while now. Namely, our goals are too low, and I think it permeates the entire program. Being on top of the Eastern Division? That's our goal? Who are we, Kentucky? (Don't answer that)

Finish the Drill. Remember that? It seems like a long time ago.

I love Coach Richt. I think he's a great man.

I also love the Georgia Bulldogs.

I wish those two loves weren't at such odds with each other, but that's the way it feels right now.

This is (probably) my only post about the Liberty Bowl fiasco

2010-12-31T18:57:00.003-05:00

I have always been a huge Coach Richt apologist...I love the man. But I no longer have any argument against those calling for a coaching change other than "He's a really good Christian man".

6-7 record with this collection of talent, and a putrid performance in the bowl against a team that we out-talent at virtually every position? Absolutely indefensible. I'm not saying I WANT him fired...I'm just saying I have run out of arguments to the contrary that have anything to do with on-field performance.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!

And, as always...

GO DAWGS!!

Fringe will not go quietly into that good Friday night..

2010-12-18T10:03:00.007-05:00

Fans of sci-fi series know it well...The Friday Night Death Slot. It's where Firefly, Terminator: TSCC, Dollhouse, Farscape, Wonderfalls, and countless other shows have been sent to die.

So, the news that Fringe (my fall TV season MVP) will be returning at 9 pM on Fridays has caused many fans some....consternation, shall we say.

Well, the Fringe Team has heard the news...and here's their reaction:

Love it.

I also don't think the timeslot issue necessarily means the death of the show.

Couple of reasons for that:

1) The DVR factor. Fringe is one of the shows that gains the most in terms of DVR and online viewing. Those numbers are obviously unaffected by what night the show airs.

2) Friday night is an easier time slot. Fringe was up against Grey's Anatomy, The Office, and CSI at 9 PM on Thursdays. On Fridays, it will be up against a couple of newsmag shows (ABC Primetime and Dateline NBC) and a much lesser version of CSI (CSI: NY). If Fringe can maintain the ratings they are getting now, it will be a success.

3) The timeslot may not have been the issue in the first place. Dollhouse and Terminator were dying anyway. Firefly had NUMEROUS issues (mostly network related), with time slot being way down the list, in my opinion. We could go on and on, but the point is that these shows were probably doomed no matter where they were on the schedule, and the timeslot problem has been overstated.

Also, let's keep in mind that the sci-fi show that I think Fringe is MOST similar to did quite well on Friday nights for (I think) its entire run...The X-Files.

I want to believe.

Fans of the book will know what I mean...

2010-12-15T21:52:00.006-05:00

...when I say that this particular screen capture from the Game of Thrones preview on HBO makes me both very sad and very excited at the same time.

There can be very little doubt what scene this is...

By the way, I am EXTREMELY excited about everything I am seeing from HBO regarding this series. I will be talking more about it as it gets closer to air (looks like it will premier in April), and I will most likely be doing weekly recaps once it starts.

Winter is Coming!

Mid-season television report (now complete)

2010-12-13T19:53:00.022-05:00

OK...time for the much anticipated (mostly by me) mid-season television wrap-up extravaganza!!

I have been very up-front about how burnt out on sports in general I have been this season, and the various reasons for that. But all it really means is that I have been even MORE invested in the television shows I watch, and have subjected my friends and co-workers to HOURS upon HOURS of my blatherings about what I watched on TV last night (Hi, Amanda!).

So, what I'm saying is...pack a lunch. This could be a long one.

A few disclaimers....first of all, SPOILER ALERT OMG SPOILER ALERT. I will be spoiling plot, character development, themes, etc. for all of these shows. If you come to one that you are wanting to stay unspoiled for, just skip to the next one.

Also, I am incorporating a bunch of clips for some of these. I was somewhat limited by A) trying to keep the blog family friendly, and B) Hulu. A lot of the clips came from Hulu, so I apologize in advance for the lead time and advertisements. Hulu is getting awfully handsy.

OK, on with the show!

SUNDAY:
Amazing Race - Oof. What a frustrating season this was, capped off by the most boring finale I can ever remember.

Question - why is it that almost every young single "dating" couple on this show consists of a douchey, arrogant, borderline abusive guy and his slightly ditzy, attractive girlfriend? Are those the only personality types who try out for this show? The only couple I can remember who didn't fit this pattern was the hippies who won a few years ago...I loved those people whose names I can't remember. I wonder what they are doing now...

The finale this season was terrible...usually there is at least some sort of demanding task that will enable some "bunching" for a more dramatic finish (and the finale, by the way, is the one episode of the season where I don't mind the "bunching" technique of the producers, since all 3 of the teams conceivably have earned a chance to win at this point). Not this time...everybody bungee jump to this raft, now go paste some flowers on to a Rose Bowl float, now go take an open book version of the memory quiz that anybody who has ever seen a finale before knows is coming, and...you're done. Nat and Kat basically won this leg, and therefore the million dollars, by being the first to their cab at the LA airport. Yes, Thomas and Jill had the cabby from hell (and should have bailed on that cab as soon as they realized they were going to have a language barrier while IN LOS ANGELES), but Nat and Kat got the first cab at the airport and never really faced anything that was likely to trip them up.

Oh, well...next season is an "All Stars" cast (or something like it...they are calling it "Unfinished Business", and I don't think the casting is meant to be the "best" players as much as "players the audience seemed to like"), and also the first season to be filmed in HD, which should be gorgeous.

At least this season gave us THIS:

And, really....shouldn't that be enough?

Boardwalk Empire - The internet reaction to this show has been sort of strange...most of the critics who I trust (Sepinwall, Mo Ryan, A.V. Club, etc) seem to be big fans of the show, but a lot of the commentary on more "fan based" sites or the comments to the critics sites seem to be either more lukewarm or downright disappointed.

I think it has to do with people's expectations of what this show was going to be...people saw Terence Winter (one of the head writers on The Sopranos), Martin Scorsese, characters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, and Prohibition-era Atlantic City and thought we were going to get a mix of Sopanos, Goodfellas, and The Untouchables. Which, granted, would have been pretty awesome...but it's not what this show is. This is not a "gangster" show, at least not at this point. It is a story about times of massive upheaval and how people deal with it. It's about, as Nucky said in the season finale, how much sin people are willing to live with.

President-elect Harding called for a "Return to Normalcy" in the victory speech we heard in the last episode, and that's the point...what is the new definition of "normal"? We are just coming out of a World War, and many of the men who came back have had their eyes opened in ways that had never happened before. Prohibition has produced an extremely lucrative and dangerous black market. The Sufferage movement has given American women the right to vote, and with it more influence and power than had ever been possible before. We are almost squarely between the abolishment of slavery and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, and that dynamic is fluid at best. A huge influx of immigrants have filled the east coast, especially the Northeast, and brought new ideas, dreams, and methods to achieve those dreams with them. Organized crime is finding strong footholds in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, and power struggles are ongoing to see who is going to be the "boss".

Trying to ride this wave and find a place to stand on this rapidly changing foundation, is Nucky Thompson, city treasurer for Atlantic City. Steve Buscemi has been sort of a polarizing figure among those debating the show's merits, in large part because he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would be powerful enough to be running the show. I think that's the point...as Jimmy told Nucky in the pilot, he can't be "half a gangster" anymore. Nucky is a guy who has been very successful under the old rules, and he's now having to adapt to a world that he doesn't know if he's suited for, or if he even wants to be suited for. Buscemi, as always, knocks it out of the park.

Other stuff I love about this show:
- Richard Harrow: It was when this character was introduced that I really started loving the show. Here are a couple of scenes that capture the quiet menace of the character (keeping in mind that the family-friendly nature of the blog limits the clips I can use):

- Arnold Rothstein: I sure hope that his truce with Nucky doesn't mean that we'll be seeing less of him. Michael Stuhlbarg's portrayal was perfect as the educated businessman whose business just happens to be somewhat less than legal.

- Chalky White. Wish we could have seen more of him, because I miss Omar.

- "Real tough guy, you gonna shoot me for mouthin' off?" "Well, I wasn't gonna...but you sort of talked me into it." BLAM. The moment I stopped worrying about Michael Pitt's portrayal of Jimmy Darmody.

Obviously, I could go on and on about this show...I am starting to wish I had done a weekly recap of some sort. Maybe next season.

One last clip before I move on...loved this scene for so many reasons, including the obvious homage to the "settling all family business" scene from The Godfather. It includes some very brief profanity, and some pretty intense violence, so if that's not your thing you can move on to the next show.

Walking Dead - My reaction to this show is kind of...mixed? I guess? I distinctly remember thoroughly enjoying every single episode (with the slight exception of the finale), and yet when I think about the season as a whole I feel a bit...disappointed? Unfulfilled? In other words, each individual episode worked for me on some level, but the overall arc seemed to be lacking and missing the thread that tied it all together.

I guess most of my issues can be explained by the fact that it was only a six episode season, and even those six episodes were slightly rushed due to AMC wanting to get the pilot on Halloween night. So, the whole season ended up feeling sort of like prologue, in retrospect. In particular, the characters never became "full" enough for me...I didn't find myself really caring that much about any of them.

The whole thing with the CDC in the last two episodes ended up being totally useless, as it blowed up real good but only took the lives of two characters: the one we just met last week, and a character who we knew next to nothing about. My guess is that the storyline was inserted (and it's not part of the comic book series, apparently) to let the audience know that A)we are not going to get an "origin story" as to how this zombie apocalypse happened, and B) don't get your hopes up about a possible cure at some point. Which is good...in my mind, that's not what the story is about anyway. It's about starting over, figuring out the new paradigms, how we as humans react and adjust when everything we find familiar is taken away. The fact that you have to be constantly worried about zombies popping up and attacking just adds drama. Sort of like Battlestar Galactica, but replace "Cylons" with "Zombies" and "Space" with "Metro Atlanta".

Here's why I'm still on board: First, like I said, I really did enjoy the individual episodes. They were really well shot and directed, and I stayed on the edge of my seat at almost all times. Second, even given such a short period of time to flesh out the characters, they were still able to give us scenes as powerful as this one, which affected me as much as anything else on TV this season. This scene is the day after a zombie attack on the camp, and Amy (younger sister) was bitten by a zombie and is now dead. Andrea (older sister) sits next to her, keeping vigil and not letting the other survivors put a bullet or pickaxe through her head (the usual way of disposing of zombie-bitten bodies so that they won't reanimate) so that she can get some sort of closure:

If they can continue to find a way to include those kind of character moments along with the ZOMG ZOMBIES scenes, I think this has the potential to be a great show. It's just not quite there yet, and we won't know if it will ever be until we can see at least one full season. Which we now have to wait ten more months for. {sad clown}

MONDAY:
Chuck: There may not be a current show that I have more FUN watching than this one. The writing creates a great mix of a sci-fi show, buddy movie, comedy, and a really well-done love story between two leads with great chemistry. The cast, led by Zachary Levi, is absolutely perfect, having completely inhabited their characters now that we are in the fourth season. And if you follow me on Twitter, you know how I feel about Yvonne Strahovski (hint: I like her. A lot).

The show hit a bit of a lull last season, as they seemed to be throwing obstacles at the Chuck/Sarah pairing for no reason other than to keep the "will they or won't they" tension going, but this season has been back to the show we all love and buy foot long subs for.

What makes the show fun, besides the fact that it seems to be written for people my age and with my interests, is the supporting cast that seems to be having an absolute blast. One pairing that has been spending a lot more time together this season, with hilarious results, is Morgan and Casey:

And now, just because I love this cast so much and this reel just makes me want to hang out with them:

How I met Your Mother: This is one that I just picked up last year when I dropped House, and it's one that I can really take or leave. In fact, I have come thisclose to dropping the show from the rotation, only to have an episode like this week's that reminds me of how good the show can be sometimes. So, if they keep throwing in the occasional winner of an episode, then that fact plus Jason Segel and NPH will be enough to keep me around.

Just for fun, even though it's not from this season:

TUESDAY:
Glee: Look, there's nothing I can tell you that is going to sway your opinion either way about this show. You either love it, and can therefore forgive its many, MANY faults, or you hate it and can see nothing BUT its many, MANY faults.

I am obviously in the former camp, but that doesn't mean I can't at least acknowledge the faults. The most egregious are:

1) Overall lack of consistency. In EVERY facet of the show. There are wide swings in quality from week to week, plot lines are dropped and picked up seemingly at random (though that hasn't been quite as bad this season), and characters (especially Will) are written and portrayed in whatever way fits the plot that week, often leading to completely contradictory situations, like the Glee club members repeatedly telling us and other characters what an awesome teacher Mr. Schue is when we have seen....no such thing.

2) Especially this season, the deification and martyrdom of Kurt. In the first season Kurt was a snarky, self confident (although mostly still in the closet) guy who reminded me of a couple of my show choir friends back in high school. This season he's a whiny, self absorbed, selfish, insecure little waif who is constantly telling us how unfair his life is, even while people are bending over backwards to try and make things better for him. I wouldn't want to be friends with that person...in fact, I would want to stay as far away from that person as possible.

Having said all that, I still love this show. Even though the main characters sometimes seem to have different motivations and personalities from week to week, the supporting cast seems to be written much more consistently. I have loved seeing more of Santana this season, and Heather Morris as Brittany is probably the most solidly funny performance on the whole cast, doubly impressive since this is her first acting job.

I have been tougher on the show this season...when it first hit the air, I loved having an almost painfully realistic portrayal of a high school show choir, and I was blown away by the musical performances to the point that I was more likely to overlook the less consistent parts of the show. Now, I'm spoiled by the musical performances, which causes me to look more critically at the other stuff...but as long as they break out something like this every once in a while, I'm going to continue to be hooked:

Raising Hope: If you had told me before the season started that of the two new Fox comedies on Tuesday night, this one would have become must see TV for me, while Running Wilde would have been out of my rotation after two weeks I would have said you were nuts. But that is what's happened.

Raising Hope has done a great job of re-creating what was the strength of another Greg Garcia show (My Name is Earl), which is building a world of really off the wall characters that still somehow manage to be likable and bring a lot of heart and emotional connection as well.

Garret Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton (along with the cutest baby on television) are giving performances that are reason enough by themselves to give this show a shot if you haven't already:

Sons of Anarchy: This was my first season watching this show, and more than anything else it made me want to go back and watch Season 2. That is a compliment...sort of. I really enjoyed the world that Kurt Sutter has created, and the characters are well written and acted (besides some occasional accent issues, JAX)...but even I feel like the plot was a bit meandering, and I don't have the supposedly vastly superior season 2 to compare it against.

The SAMCRO-goes-to-Belfast plot seemed pretty pointless while it was going on, and it seems even moreso in retrospect...I feel like this whole season was just to set us up for next season, which seems didactic at best, and insulting to the viewer at worst, as if Sutter didn't think I had anything better to do than watch a 13 episode prologue. And while I did enjoy the season finale, I had some of the same issues that Mo Ryan did...namely, what did SAMCRO know with regard to the game Jax was playing with Stahl, and when did they know it? I have no problem with Jax tricking Stahl, obviously...but if Jax was never really in danger with SAMCRO, then the tension the audience was supposed to feel about how the club was going to react to Jax turning rat was false, and that bugs me.

Having said all that...I'll be back for season 4, hopefully after going back and watching season 2 so that I'll have a better idea as to what all the fuss is about.

WEDNESDAY:
Modern Family: On Todd VanDerWerff's podcast this week, I think he nailed my feelings about this show...this show is good, but it is as good as it is ever going to be. It arrived fully formed, which is impressive, but it also means that the show doesn't really show any interest in growing or developing. Instead, they are just going to try to produce the funniest episode that they can every week...and there's certainly nothing wrong with that approach, especially when you can be as funny as this show can be when the writers and cast are hitting on all cylinders.

Survivor: First season I've watched from start to finish, and probably the last. I'm mainly watching so that I can read the recaps from people I like to read...and that's no reason to watch a TV show.

I don't know if it is that I haven't been watching long enough to pick up on things, or just really poor editing, but I have gone through this whole season not really being able to tell what anybody's strategy is. I think I'm a pretty smart guy...so I'm blaming it on the editors.

Cougar Town: SO much better than its name (every review is federally obligated to mention that at this point). There is absolutely nothing deep about this show...it's just a funny bunch of people sitting around doing and saying funny things, with copious amounts of red wine available. And it is maybe my favorite comedy currently on television (with the possible exception of Community).

Psych: Consistently funny, and laughs are coming so fast you have to have the pause and rewind button ready. Much like Chuck, I feel almost like this one is written specifically for me.

For instance...note how the victim is positioned in this clip:

Look familiar? For any avid players of EA Sports NHL '94, it should:

THAT'S the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back...and the fact that they chose to just trust that those who the joke was meant for would get it, rather than explain it, made me love it even more.

Terriers: Sigh. This show was SOOOOO good. I'm not even going to try and analyze why it couldn't find an audience...instead, I'm going to STRONGLY urge you to find some way (Netflix, Hulu, DVD, whatever) to go watch a truly fantastic 13 episode movie/miniseries.

There is no way to really do this show justice in a review, which I think was part of its problem...when you describe it, it sounds like a very generic premise. It's about a couple of scruffy, witty PI's...one is a washed out cop, one is a (mostly) reformed criminal. There is no way to convey the feel of the show, which was just...I don't know, "comfortable" doesn't sound right, but it's the best I can come up with right now. I just felt like I knew these guys as soon as they showed up on the screen in the pilot, and their world felt so lived in and familiar that it was just easy to immerse myself in the show every week, no matter what was going on in the actual plot.

Again, Hulu is a nemesis when it comes to finding just the right clips, and this show doesn't lend itself to that kind of thing anyway, but this is a good one from the finale.. (and don't worry about spoilers. I could tell you every single plot point of the overarching story and I don't feel like it would diminish the show one iota, and I'm HUGELY anti-spoiler)

RIP, Terriers. Thanks for a tremendous run.

THURSDAY:
Big Bang Theory: Ummm...I don't know. It is what it is. It's funny, most of the time...the jokes just seem to be mostly the same every week. Last week, I never watched the episode, and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. That can't be a good sign, especially in a time slot as crowded as this one.

Community: Like most of the comedies I like, this one is written for a very specific audience that I happen to be a member of. There are plenty of laughs, but the genius of the show is both the meta commentary (of which there is wisely less of this season...don't want it to become a crutch) and the fact that there is a gooey center to it as well. This is a group of people who really NEED each other...separately, they would be impossibly lonely, but together they have created a surrogate family for each other. That doesn't sound funny, I know...but again, that's part of the genius.

The Christmas episode from last week became an instant Christmas classic to be rewatched every year, as far as I'm concerned. Sheer awesomeness, both in concept and execution.

And, of course, there is Troy and Abed:

The Office: Continues to be wildly inconsistent as it careens towards what I believe to be either the end of the show or a complete reboot once Steve Carrell leaves at the end of this season.

I do think this is a better season than the last one, when I really started to question whether I actually liked any of these people, especially Jim and Pam. This season's lows haven't been as low as last season, and every once in a while they can still come up with an episode like "China", which felt to me like the show did when it was in its prime.

The Mentalist: Perfectly acceptable television, and the only true "procedural" that I watch. This is one that the wife and I usually let build up and then blow through 4-5 episodes of on a Saturday like this last one when neither of us feel like doing anything productive. Nothing special, but consistently entertaining, and a very solid cast.

Fringe: Last but certainly not least...my personal MVP of this season so far. I said back in my original Fall TV preview that this could be my new LOST, or at least as close as any show could come to that. And, as high as my expectations were, the show has exceeded them.

Smart storytelling: The alternate universe storyline was perfectly executed, and ran for what seemed like the exactly right amount of time, which is not easy to do. Catching the little differences between the two worlds (like Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future and Springsteen Station in New Jersey) was fun, but the storytelling was so much more rich than that...we actually got to know the doppelgangers of our familiar Fringe team, and get a clear understanding of why they hate us so much. Truly great stuff.

Creepily awesome cases of the week: Nobody does it better. I don't know how these guys minds work that they are able to come up with this stuff, and maybe I don't want to...but I sure do love it.

Last week, they gave me one of my very favorite scenes of television this year...a clinically depressed scientist has been harvesting the donated organs of a woman whom he met in group therapy (who committed suicide), with hopes of regenerating her so that she can dance again. Creepy, right? But, somehow, this scene turns it into something almost...sweet. And certainly gorgeous. See for yourself:

Quality acting: Of course, John Noble and Lance Reddick are tremendous, and Joshua Jackson is playing Pacey all growns up, so that's good. But Anna Torv, who was criticized by many in the first season (including myself) has shown that if you give her great material, she can definitely rise to the occasion:

Put it all together, and you have my Fall Season MVP. Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are.

OK...all done!! I think that once the new year rolls around, I will be posting more often (maybe weekly?) going through the highlights of these shows, as well as some others I'm looking forward to (Parks and Rec, V, Justified, etc). Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions/requests!

Thanks for reading!

Grading the Dawgs

2010-12-09T11:38:00.002-05:00

As I've said before, I got really burned out on sports in general the last few months, with the one lone bright spot being the play of the Falcons. This general sports malaise even affected my obsession with the Dawgs...more than anything else, I'm just ready for this season to be over.

I'm sure that by the time next summer rolls around I will be back to my normal, rabid self.

In the meantime, and while I am working on my MASSIVE mid-season television report, let's dole out some grades, shall we?

Quarterback: A-
Comments: Aaron Murray surpassed ALL expectations this season, both in terms of statistics and intangibles like toughness and leadership. The only thing that keeps this grade from an A or even an A+ is the Florida game, the only time all year where Aaron really looked like a freshman. We've got a great one, Dawg fans.

Running Backs: C+
Comments: I was really surprised to find out that both Ealy and King averaged over 5 yards a carry...I only seem to have memories of them running directly into a wall of defenders over and over again, looking desparately for a hole that wasn't there (we'll get to that in a minute). Either way, the running game wasn't nearly as effective as we all thought it would be going into the season, and while the running backs don't share all the blame for that, there was still a noticable lack of big plays out of the running game. And the fumbles, my God, the fumbles...

As for the fullbacks, I don't think we got the same level of effectiveness out of them as we have become accustomed to. They were adequate, but I can't give them much more than that.

Wide Receiver: B-
Comments: A.J. Green is the best receiver in college football, but we only had him for eight games. Kris Durham had a fantastic season, and probably earned a spot on an NFL team somewhere. Tavarres King showed some flashes that he may be living up to his potential. Other than those three? Everybody else was virtually invisible. Only Marlon Brown had double digit catches, and he only had one touchdown. Rantavious Wootentheballcarrier only had seven catches for a measly 41 yards.

And, the most disturbing part? Durham is definitely gone next season, and A.J. almost certainly is. Ugh.

Tight End: B-
Comments: This grade would be lower, except that I don't fully blame the players for their lack of production. This staff has to find a way to get these guys involved...we heard all kinds of talk before the season started about how much we were going to incorporate all three of the Charles/White/Figgins trio into the game plan. The result? 36 total catches between the three of them, for only four touchdowns. Those numbers should have been double that.

Offensive line: D
Comments: By far the most disappointing position group on the team, as well as the most frustrating. There were individual plays, sometimes even whole drives, where we were imposing our will on the defense and the line looked like we all thought they would look with 6 starters returning and one of the most respected assistant coaches in the country overseeing them. But by and large, we struggled to open holes for the running game, and Aaron Murray had to make far too many plays while running for his life.

This lack of production is inexplicable, and it makes me sad, so I'm going to move on...

Defensive Line: C
Comments: Adequate. Seriously, that's the best I can come up with for what this group was. Considering you had Tyson playing out of position all year, I guess that's the best you could have hoped for out of this group. We were gashed several times this year by the running game, but I think that is partially due to not having the right players for the scheme yet...we'll see, I guess.

Linebackers: B+
Comments: Probably the most effective position group on the defense. Justin Houston was an absolute monster all year, but we never got the production out of the other OLB that I was hoping for. Akeem Dent had an all-SEC caliber season. Overall, this was a HUGE step up from last season...big kudos to Coaches Belin and Grantham.

Cornerback/Safety: C-
Comments: I'm grouping these two together, because I'm probably going to say the same things about both of them. Our secondary is who we thought they were....like I and a lot of others thought may be the case, we made a lot more plays but we also gave up a bunch of plays due to folks being out of position.

If you want to see a Dawgs fan have an aneurysm, just walk up to them and shout "WHEEL ROUTE"!

This is another position, especially at corner, where we have to wait and see what happens when we get the right personnel in there...Lakatos and Grantham appear to prefer larger cornerbacks rather than the really fast midgets that Willie liked to use.

Kicker/Punter: A-
Comments: Blair continues to be as close to automatic as you can get, and although Drew didn't have the monster season he had last year he was still very effective.

Kick Return/Coverage: B
Comments: Not as many big plays out of the return game this season, but wow...what a difference on kick coverage. Just like the linebacker position, I think this area benefitted greatly from the change in coaching philosophy.

Overall:
If you add all of those components together and take an average, you end up with around a C+. The fact that we still ended up with a horrible 6-6 record is a testament to how frustrating this season was. I don't feel like we were really bad at anything, but we weren't really good at anything either, and we showed a remarkable knack for making our penalties and turnovers count...in a bad way. The mistakes always seemed to come at the most inopportune times. I guess that's what happens when you're just not a very good team.

Ugh. I'm ready for this season to be over.

As always...GO DAWGS.

The only time you will ever hear Kenny Chesney on my blog..

2010-11-30T22:00:00.001-05:00

h/t to Brian

GO DAWGS!!!

I've been out of the loop, obviously..

2010-11-23T12:23:00.002-05:00

I've been awfully distracted the last few weeks, not really active online anywhere, and I had not really been feeling the Hate that normally is associated with this week.

Then, I was reminded of THIS.

Yeah...it's back. And there's nothing Clean or Old Fashioned about it.

The end to a friendly rivalry

2010-11-14T13:06:00.003-05:00

Let's get this out of the way up front...absolutely nothing that is to follow in this post has anything to do with why the Dawgs lost yesterday. Auburn is a better team than Georgia is right now. I think that without a doubt, we are a better team than the 5-6 record would indicate, but Auburn is the #2 team in the country for a reason, and they showed it yesterday. We never even looked like we MIGHT stop their offense at any point after the first quarter, and another very good performance by our offense could not overcome our defensive deficiencies and poor special teams play.

Now....on to the point.

Unlike some Dawg fans, I have never really hated Auburn. There are a lot of reasons for that...some of them as innocuous as the fact that my high school was the War Eagles, so we shared a fight song and the same color scheme. There was also the Pat Dye-Vince Dooley institutional incest. And when I got older and visited their campus, I was always struck by how much it reminded me of Athens. On top of all that, about ten years ago my parents moved to the Opelika area and my father now pastors a church full of Auburn fans who happen to be great people who treat their pastor and their pastor's family very well.

So, yeah...I'm one of a minority of Dawg fans who has always sort of pulled for Auburn a little, as long as they weren't playing us.

Never again.

Cam Newton is a thief, a liar, and a cheater. These aren't allegations. Not "allegedly". As Captain Jack Ross said, "These are the facts of the case...and they are undisputed". On top of that, over the last couple of weeks there has been a ton of smoke regarding pay-for-play allegations, including the latest news that Cam's father has allegedly admitted soliciting money in exchange for his son's prodigious football talents. Now that part of the story IS still in question, but I ask this: Knowing what we know about the kind of person that Cam Newton has repeatedly shown himself to be, why are we supposed to give him the benefit of the doubt?

Along those same lines, why do we keep being told that this is a "feel good story"? When does the "feel good" part kick in? This story makes me want to take a shower.

And yet...the Auburn administration, coaching staff, and fan base continue to be, in their own words, "all in". Not only are they not embarrassed or ashamed by any of this, they have anointed this player as the face of their program, and seem to be reveling in the controversy, flaunting the fact that they are going to support this individual, NO MATTER WHAT.

As for Nick Fairley, well...I don't understand any fan base who can look at THIS:

and THIS:

..and feel anything other than embarrassed. (By the way...Fairley was NOT "blocked into" Aaron. He was blocked, yes...but he saw Aaron's exposed knee, changed direction, and INTENTIONALLY drove his helmet into his knee). But that's not what I saw or heard last night...instead, I saw Auburn fans (some of whom I have known and respected for a long time) sticking up for him and saying that he was just "playing hard", that this was "just football".

Those who know me know that I am for the most part disgusted by the rule changes that we have seen in recent years that try to "soften" football. I have no issue with football as a violent sport. But what this man (not kid...man) did yesterday was intentionally try to injure an opponent in the most cowardly ways possible. Not only the two plays above...he repeatedly picked up Aaron and drove him into the ground with his shoulder, which is against the rules but repeatedly not called yesterday. (slight caveat...I know it's a rule in the NFL, not sure about the NCAA. But the point remains...there is no reason for that move other than to take advantage of an opponent in a defenseless posture and try to injure him).

I was also told last night that these are just 18-21 year old kids making "mistakes". I mostly agree with that sentiment. That's why it becomes incumbent on the adults surrounding them...their coaches, administration, and the so-called adults in their fan base...to teach them that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about your business, and the wrong way will not be tolerated.

But that's not what's happening.

The Auburn coaching staff, administration, and fan base has made it quite clear that they not only accept these two individuals...they celebrate them. They obviously represent everything that Auburn now wants to be.

Which is why, at least for me, this rivalry can never be friendly again.

I'll end with this...Auburn is 11-0. My Dawgs are 5-6.

Without a doubt...I would still rather be a Bulldog.

GO DAWGS!

Here's what I'm not talking about...

2010-11-05T12:02:00.004-04:00

Have you noticed that I haven't had a lot to say lately?

I'm sure that a big part of it is the crappy season the Dawgs are having, but I am also just fed up in general with a lot of the things that I would normally be writing about here. Combine that with the fact that I have been EXTREMELY busy, and I just haven't been able to find the time, motivation, or energy to talk about:

- How hot Mark Richt's seat is.
- GranthamGate, ChokeGate, or whatever you want to call the ridiculous kerfluffle that was stirred up by the idiots over at the AJC this week.
- The AJC in general.
- Boise State.
- The stupid new technical foul rules in the NBA.
- The fact that every time a football player takes a hard hit now, we have to spend five minutes examining super slo mo replays to determine what the hitter's intent was, what the exact position of his head was in relation to the other player's head, how he should have somehow defied the laws of physics and changed position and/or speed in midair to keep from hitting his opponent so hard, and then eventually call the hitter out for being a horrible human being who is intentionally trying to turn his opponent into a vegetable. Instead of calling him what he is...a football player.
- The most personally heartbreaking loss I can remember since UT 2004.
- Urban Meyer and Chris Rainey.
- The revisionist history from TV announcers regarding Cam Newton's past (though that may change with yesterday's news regarding the NCAA investigation).
- Brett Favre.
- Randy Moss.

Seriously, my attitude towards sports in general right now is just very bitter. And I don't think that any of you want to read that, so I haven't been writing.

I'm about to be through with the busiest time of the year for me at work (budgets for next year). Hopefully, once I'm past that, I will have a better idea about what I want this blog to be going forward. I have a good feeling that if it continues, it's probably going to be a lot different than what it has been in the past.

As always...

GO DAWGS

Still not ready to talk about the Dawgs...

2010-10-08T12:22:00.000-04:00

Though I will feel MUCH better after we destroy the Hillbillies tomorrow.

So...remember a couple of weeks ago when I went through all of the shows I was going to be watching this fall? How about we talk about that instead?

Here is a (hopefully) brief synopsis of this Fall's TV season so far, the way I see it:

SUNDAY:

Mad Men: Still awesome. I love how characters are being put into situations that just highlight everything we have learned about them over the past 3+ seasons, and that the writing and acting has been so good that each scene has at least three different levels to it depending on which characters are interacting at the time.

I'm not going to spoil anything on this one, because I still want everybody reading this who has not been watching the past three seasons to go watch as soon as possible.

GRADE: A+

Boardwalk Empire: When I posted about this before, I had only seen the pilot. We're three weeks in, and in my opinion the show gets better every week. The pilot had a LOT of Scorsese quirks to it, which made sense because he directed it. But the last two episodes have been better in part because they haven't been weighed down with the standard Scorsese required shots. Instead, we've focused a lot more on the characters and their motivations, and it's been fantastic, with superb acting performances and wonderful direction.

GRADE: A

The Amazing Race: Very boring season so far, and I'm watching more out of habit than anything else. The problem is that there aren't any teams yet that I really like (except the one that went home last week, unfortunately), and what's worse is that there aren't any I can actively root against.

GRADE: C+

MONDAY:

Chuck: Except for a slight mis-step this week, which was a pretty blah episode despite the appearance by Stone Cold Steve Austin, this show has picked up right where they left off at the end of last season. Which is a good thing. The relationship between Chuck and Sarah is sweet and funny, but they need to be careful not to be too repetitive with the "Chuck has a neurotic fear about some aspect of their relationship and Sarah has to spend the whole mission putting off talking about it" stuff.

GRADE: B+

How I Met Your Mother: Meh. Probably better than last season, but the writers are still making some pretty big mistakes (like acting as if either the characters or the audience care one lick about Don, who Robin spent the entire episode this week freaking out over). I'll keep watching, even if only for my weekly NPH and Jason Segal fixes.

GRADE: B-

The Event: I dropped this one about an episode and a half in. The actors are good and doing the best they can with the material given, but the Big Story is just not interesting enough to overcome ridiculous plotlines and character motivations that make no sense.

GRADE: D+

Lone Star: Kaput after two episodes. It is sad, because it was a decent show, but I don't think it was awesome enough to freak out over like a lot of critics and bloggers have. I'll miss seeing Adrianne Palicki every week, and I hope the lead (James Wolk) gets something else soon because he was really good and likable. I'm a lot more upset over recent losses like Dollhouse and Pushing Daisies than I was about this one.

GRADE: INCOMPLETE

Hawaii 5-0: This falls neatly into the category of Perfectly Acceptable Television. Nothing earth-shattering, just a nifty little procedural that is nice to look at (due to the gorgeous Hawaii establishing shots, and the fact that they manage to put Boomer in a bathing suit every week). The dynamic between Alex O'Laughlin and Scott Caan has been fun, with O'Laughlin serving as a pretty good straight man. My only real complaint is that the nods to the original have been a little ham-fisted, both the "Book em, Danno" part and the "Hey, we need a name for our little group" thing. But the theme song still rocks, and I think the show meets both the expectations that I had for it and the expectation it has for itself...an hour of mindless fun with beautiful scenery.

GRADE: B

So, I've dropped two shows from Monday (The Event and Lone Star) and haven't picked any up...I tried Castle for a couple of weeks, but it just never clicked for me. I'm a fan of The Mentalist (more on that later), and this just seemed like a less-funny version of that.

TUESDAY:

Glee: Man, I don't think I've ever loved a show that is this inconsistent about what it wants to be, but here we are. The past two weeks are a perfect example...last week, we had the wonderfully silly and fun Britney Spears episode (featuring my very favorite character on the show finally getting a chance to show off her formidable skillset), and then this week the show tries to take on the huge and tricky concepts of personal faith. And, for the most part, they are able to do both of them really well.

(Quick aside: As someone who is a Christian, I thought they did an admirable job of at least trying to be fair with the "Religion" episode. It's extremely rare that the Christian point of view is captured properly by television, because the majority of writers are coming from a totally different place. I don't think Glee got us exactly right, but I give kudos for at least trying to portray Christians as something other than mean or stupid.)

This is a show that you are either going to love or hate...there's not going to be a lot of in-between. I still love it, in spite of its whiplash-inducing tonal shifts.

GRADE: A-

No Ordinary Family: ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I made it halfway through this past week's episode, and I think that's probably as far as I'm going to go.

GRADE: Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Running Wilde: Ugh. I really, really WANTED this to be good. But I didn't laugh even one time at the first two episodes, so I cut it loose.

GRADE: D

Raising Hope: Look, don't tell anybody, OK? But this show really makes me laugh. The pilot was pretty bad, but I have laughed a LOT at the last two episodes. Garret Dillahunt as the dad is really funny, which I wasn't expecting. His scene last week when he was trying to come up with a name for the boat he's going to buy with his lottery winnings has had me laughing all week.

GRADE: B. Would probably be higher, if it wasn't for Cloris Leachman's over the top and stupid portrayal of the occasionally lucid grandmother.

Detroit 1-8-7: Only made it part of the way through the pilot, and decided it wasn't going to work for me. Is it still on the air?

GRADE: C-

Sons of Anarchy: I picked this one up after dropping a couple of other ones on Tuesday night, and was immediately hooked. I've only watched full episodes of this season (4 so far, I think), so I'm still getting caught up (with the help of a couple of fan sites and the Television Without Pity recap archive), but I am REALLY loving it so far.

GRADE: A

Caprica: Don't know...haven't watched it yet.

So, on Tuesdays I have dropped three shows and only picked up one. See, Mom? I'm making progress!

WEDNESDAYS:

Modern Family: Chugging right along...absolutely no dropoff in its sophomore season, and I'm loving the new weekly "Sofia Vergara Stirs Things" feature.

GRADE: A

Cougar Town: Just picked this one up a couple of weeks ago, after trying it and hating it early in its first season. Tremendous improvement, and a consistently enjoyable half hour...just wish they could do something about the name.

GRADE: B

Survivor: This is the first season I have watched live, so I can't really compare it to earlier seasons, but I am only mildly impressed so far. I am mainly watching it to see if the contestants I hate are going to go home, but the most odious person on the show now has an immunity idol, so I don't know if that's going to work out for me or not. I think I may go back to watching this show like I used to...ignoring everything except the tribal councils.

GRADE: C+

Undercovers: Hey, what would happen if we got JJ Abrams to do a show, only we took out everything that makes JJ Abrams projects interesting?

Oh. THIS happens.

I was out after one and a half episodes.

GRADE: ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Terriers: This show just keeps getting better and better...I just wish more people were watching it. The dialogue is clever and funny, the acting is great, the overall plot is intriguing. Too bad we're only going to get one season out of it.

GRADE: A. WATCH THIS SHOW.

THURSDAY:

First things first....

Grey's Anatomy: If the comments on my last post are any indication, you will all be happy to know that this one has been DROPPED FROM THE ROTATION.

Even cooler was that it was the wife's idea. I'm so proud of her.

Big Bang Theory: Another one that just keeps chugging along. Sheldon Cooper is on his way to being a television comedy icon, and for the most part the surrounding cast holds up their end of the bargain (though I wish the writers didn't so obviously despise Howard).

GRADE: B+

Community: WATCH THIS SHOW. It's clever, it's funny, it's loaded with pop culture references, it's somehow taught Chevy Chase how to be funny again, and it has one of the most genuinely likable ensemble casts in years.

GRADE: A

The Office: Still watching out of habit, despite the obvious decline in quality over the last two plus seasons. Last night's episode was good, and reminiscent of some of the character-driven episodes of the show's peak. Any episode with that much Andy and Erin is fine with me.

GRADE: B-

Fringe: I love this show so much. They are really firing on all cylinders right now, nailing the mix between freak-of-the-week procedural, X-Files/LOST style geekfest, and character pieces.

The dynamic this season with the two dimensions, and especially the two Olivias, has breathed new life into a show that was already one of my favorites. And it's also given Ana Torv an opportunity to prove that she is a much more skilled actress than many (including me) gave her credit for during the show's early days.

GRADE: A

The Mentalist: I've only watched the season premiere so far...this is one that we usually stock up on and then blow through 3-4 episodes at once. But I saw nothing that led me to believe that this wouldn't continue to be a fun hour of television every week...nothing earth shattering, nothing that is can't-miss, but consistently entertaining.

GRADE: B+

Still nothing on Friday or Saturday, except for the Freaks and Geeks replays on IFC, which definitely get an A. Apatow FTW, always.

Overall, this has been a really horrible season for new shows on the networks...I think Raising Hope and Hawaii 5-0 are the only ones I am going to stick with, and neither one of these shows are what I would consider "quality" television. More like Solid, Non-Offensive Procedural and Guilty Pleasure That I Hesitate to Admit I Like.

So...how about y'all? Agree with my assessments? Think I'm way off base? Anything I'm missing that I should be watching?

I guess I should say SOMETHING about the Dawgs...

2010-09-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

Since several Dawg blogs and the geniuses over at Dawgbone continue to link to this blog, I guess I owe it to the blogosphere to say SOMETHING about the state of the Dawgs right now...

The problem is that I just don't know what to say.

After the South Carolina loss, I was frustrated, because I thought it was a winnable game that we let slip away, but I also knew that South Carolina was a pretty good team, it was the first road game, blah, blah, blah.

After the Arkansas loss, I was angry, because I thought that for the most part our players played well enough to win, only to be hampered in their efforts by poor game planning, especially on the offensive side of the ball (and this is coming from somebody who has been a Bobo apologist most of the time).

After last week, well...I'm just confused. I don't really understand how we got to this point. Taking a step back and really looking at the way we've played, I don't think this is a BAD team, per se...and I don't think I'm the only one. These posts at Dawgsports.com by Macon Dawg and T Kyle King say a lot of what I'm thinking about the quality of this team. It's not that we are terrible at anything, we just don't seem to be really good at anything. There just seems to be something "off", and I don't really know what it is.

I don't know...this post is threatening to go off the rails, since I'm really at a loss as to what to say about this team at this point (obviously), so let's see if we can work it out stream-of-consciousness style, mmm-kay?

- Aaron Murray has definitely been the brightest spot of the season so far. There's not a throw he can't make, as far as I can tell, he really hasn't made the kind of freshman mistakes we were expecting, and he has proven to have maybe been underrated as an athlete. And the heart he has shown, well...he makes me proud to be a Dawg. There is no quit in this guy.

- Kris Durham has been a revelation in the time he's gotten to play due to the absence of A.J., and Tavarres King has stepped up, as well. But we haven't gotten any real production out of any of our other WR, and the tight ends, inexplicably, have been a non-factor. Yeah, not having A.J. has hurt, but I think it was Blutarsky who pointed out that there are many teams in the past who have managed to get the ball to All-American level tight ends without the benefit of an All-American wide receiver.

Plus, if A.J. being gone screws up our offensive philosophy and game plan that much, what does that say about our chances next year when A.J. is in the NFL?

The passing game is one of the areas that you look at and just wonder why we haven't seen more production...nobody is playing poorly, and even the o-line has been fairly effective in pass protection (don't worry...we're coming back to that group in a second), and yet we're really not putting points on the board.

Part of that issue, of course, is that we seem to shoot ourselves in the foot so often when we have the chance to put the ball in the end zone. We have had at least 4-5 situations this year where we have either touchdowns called back or had the ball in obvious scoring situations only to blunder it away, either by turning the ball over (Washaun's two back breaking fumbles) or just putting it in reverse (the sequence last week when we went from 1st down at their 29 to 4th and 22 and a punt come to mind).

Moving on...told you this was stream-of-consciousness.

- The lack of running game has been by FAR the biggest disappointment to me. Our O-line is getting manhandled at the point of attack on a consistent basis....how is that possible? Our most respected and experienced coach coaching our most experienced and accomplished position grouping...and they have been horrendous. I have NO idea what is going on here. Maybe all of the people screaming about our strength and conditioning program are on to something? That doesn't seem right, either, though, because this exact same group was pretty dominant in the last half of 2009. If it was a S&C problem, wouldn't that actually get WORSE over the course of a season? I don't know...I'm stumped.

All of the running backs have been disappointments for various reasons...Ealy can't hold on to the ball and really hasn't shown any kind of big-play potential, King can't stay healthy (again), and poor Carlton Thomas keeps being asked to try and run the ball up the middle. Apparently Bobo hates him and wants to see him maimed. I may be mis-remembering, but have we even tried to throw a screen pass to Thomas, or a swing pass, or even a toss sweep to get him to the corner? It seems like every time we are running one of those plays it is to Ealy, when I think Thomas's skill set is more conducive to that than what we are asking him to do, which is take on defenders that outweigh him by anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds.

I'm sure this stupefying lack of success in the run game probably has something to do with why the passing game isn't working, either.

And although we have cut down on penalties and turnovers, it seems like every time we DO make a mistake, it is at the most crucial and costly times. It's not "We had 2nd and 2 at the 40, now it's 2nd and 7 at the 45". Instead, it's "We had a touchdown, and now we don't", or "We picked up big yardage on 3rd and 4 to convert, but instead now it's 3rd and 14".

One more thing on the offense...Bobo is SO predictable in 2nd and long situations. EVERY time it's 2nd and long, we run the ball up the middle. Now teams are expecting it, and it inevitably puts in 3rd and medium to long situations, and that's not where you want to be (duh).

- As for the defense, well...it's been about what I expected. We don't quite have the personnel we want, especially at CB and nose tackle. Not that Boykin, Cuff, Tyson, etc. aren't quality football players...they just aren't the body type you look for when you run this kind of scheme.

I've seen a lot of people complaining about lack of effort, or guys "not wanting to be there", but I don't think that's the case...I think it's that they are still thinking rather than reacting, which slows everybody down.

Bottom line, the defense has played well enough to win all three of these games, in my opinion....they are being hampered by the offense's absolute lack of consistent success.

- Special teams have been fine, but not the overwhelming advantage many of us thought they would be. There have been several times when we really needed a game-changing play in the return game, like we got several times last year, but those plays just haven't come yet.

Drew Butler has been solid, but he hasn't seemed himself at times for some reason. Blair Walsh continues to be money when given the opportunity, we just haven't given him many.

The kickoff coverage seems to be much improved...guess that's what happens when the guys on the coverage team don't look so much like me.

- I love Coach Richt. I want so badly for him to get this ship righted and pointed in the right direction, because I don't think you can find a better person and role model to run your program. I am sincerely dreading the day when he is no longer our head coach.

But...I'm running out of ammunition to support him when it comes to on-field results, and let's face it: those results are ultimately what he is being paid for and what drives everything else.

Here's how "hot" I think his seat is:

If we lose three more games or more, I actually think he may be in trouble this year.

If we lose two more games, and those games are Florida and Georgia Tech, I think he keeps his job but is on VERY thin ice.

If we lose two more games, but beat Florida or Tech (and lose the other one), I think this is categorized as a rebuilding year and we go into next year hearing more hot seat talk, but he is still relatively safe.

Beat Florida and Georgia Tech, and I think he's safe even if we lose one or two others.

I do think the Vandy and Kentucky games may be must-wins, as well...we've lost to perennial bottom feeders WAY too often the last few years, and the Miss. St. game is another example.

OK, enough rambling....

Bottom line...we are in a precarious situation, no doubt about it, and one that Coach Richt has never faced, as a player or a coach. Now is the time for the Dawg Nation to rally TOGETHER and support this team harder than we ever have, not turn on the team and each other and devour ourselves. We still have a chance to salvage pride out of this season, if nothing else.

It starts Saturday in Boulder. Go win the game, and on top of that, go make a statement.

GO DAWGS.

Partly in honor of The Office returning tonight...

2010-09-23T19:06:00.000-04:00

...but mostly just because:

Let's talk about something else...

2010-09-21T13:00:00.005-04:00

Believe it or not, when this blog started I never intended it to be exclusively about Georgia football. It was originally supposed to be a place for me to talk about ALL the stuff I am into, the stuff that I was spending hours on end talking about every day with my friends and family. But I ended up not having nearly as much time to write as I did when the blog first began, and a weekly football game was a good reminder that it was time to post something again, so every post ends up being about the Dawgs.

But right now, it's not fun for me to talk about the current state of the Dawgs (or, more specifically, the current state of DawgNation), and this blog is supposed to be fun for me (and hopefully for you, too).

So, let's turn our attention to something else I love to talk about...television. I am a self-confessed television junkie. In fact, if I had it to do all over I might have tried to become a real television critic. I watch way too much. How I manage to fit in all of the television I watch and also help my kids with their homework, handle my duties around the house, teach a Sunday School class, etc. is a mystery to me. Obviously, a lot of the credit (blame?) goes to the invention of the DVR, but it also helps that my wife is as big a junkie as I am, so a lot of our "bonding" time goes on while we are enjoying watching and commenting on television shows. We like to "actively" watch (comment/criticize, try to come up with where we know actors from, etc) rather than just sit there staring at the screen, so it's actually a nice way for us to spend some time alone together.

Anyway...the fall TV season is upon us. Here's what we are watching:

SUNDAY

Returning shows:

Mad Men (AMC): I know, it's over halfway through the season now, so it probably doesn't count as "returning". But I had to mention it, because it has been my favorite season of my current favorite show on television. The episode from two weeks ago, titled "The Suitcase", is probably one of the best hours of television I have ever seen, and the best part about it was how it paid off character development that has been going on since the very first episode the show ever aired. The Don/Peggy dynamic is the heart of the show, in my opinion, and this episode used everything we have ever learned about those two characters, plus an acting master class put on by both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, to deliver an absolutely perfect episode.

If you're not watching this show, I don't know what else to tell you. Go. Now. To Netflix, or wherever, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Amazing Race (CBS): Yeah, I'm still in. I've been hooked for about six years, why stop now?

New Show I Am Extremely Excited About:

Boardwalk Empire (HBO): Let's see...it's a based-on-a-true-story show about Prohibition-era Atlantic City, airing on HBO, starring Steve Buscemi, written and created by Terrence Winters (who was basically the #2 guy on The Sopranos writing staff), with executive producer Martin Scorsese.

So...yeah. I think this show might have been written specifically for me.

The premiere was Sunday night (if you missed it, I'm sure HBO is airing it about 7500 times on their various channels this week), and it did not disappoint. As always, it's hard to judge how good a show is going to be based solely on the pilot...this was the only episode so far that Scorsese actually directed, and it felt a lot like a 70-minute Scorsese movie rather than the first episode of a TV series. But the characters that were introduced are intriguing, the cast is magnificent (it's FILLED with some great "Hey, it's That Guy!" guys), the world they have created is gorgeous and authentic, and the writing staff has a great track record. I'm in.

MONDAY:

Yeah, now it starts getting a little more crowded...

Returning Shows:

Chuck (NBC): Love, love, love this show, and it's a shame it's not being watched by more people. If you aren't already watching, you may as well wait for this season to be over and then watch the whole thing on DVD, because barring a miracle this will be the last season.

The writing is smart and funny (with TONS of pop-culture references for geeks my age), the entire ensemble cast is extremely talented and entertaining (plus, Yvonne Strahovski). I will miss these guys next year.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS): Hopefully they will rebound from what was a pretty disastrous last season. The writers have basically spent the entire press tour admitting that last year was really really awful, and they are going to try to get back to what made the show good in the first place. The season premiere was last night, and let's just say it left me cautiously optimistic.

New Shows That Intrigue Me:

Lone Star (Fox): Interesting concept (con man living a double life who decides to try and live the life without the con), good cast (Adrianne Palicki from Friday Night Lights, Jon Voight, David Keith). Like a lot of the previews I've seen, I'm worried that there won't be enough "story" to make an actual long-running series, but I'm interested enough to tune in and see where it goes.

Hawaii 5-0 (CBS): Mainly for THIS, of course. But also in hopes that a cast that includes Scott Caan (who I have been a fan of since his epic turn as Tweeder in Varsity Blues), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin from LOST), and Grace Park (Boomer from Battlestar Galactica) will be enough to overcome the black hole of sucktitude created by Alex O'Laughlin. We'll see.

New Show I am Fully Prepared to be Massively Disappointed By:

The Event (NBC): Much like people used the term "The Next Michael Jordan" to describe every big, talented, athletic shooting guard that entered the NBA after 1990, this is around the 6th or 7th attempt by a network to create "The Next LOST" in the last five years. Let's see...there was The Nine, Six Degrees, FlashForward, V...I know I'm missing several others.

The creators of The Event appear to be making the same mistake that all of these predecessors have made...they think it's about the "mystery", when really LOST (as fully demonstrated by the finale episode) was about the characters who just happened to be in a mysterious setting. After watching the premiere of The Event last night, this looks like another case of a lot of sizzle, but no steak.

Go back and watch the LOST pilot...maybe the best pilot I have ever seen. And at the end of it, I had no INKLING of all of the super cool elements that were going to be introduced in the next six seasons...I was just looking forward to seeing more about these interesting characters we had just met and how they were going to try and get off the Island. Sure, we were introduced to The Monster, but it was secondary to the community that we were watching interact with each other.

After last night's premiere of The Event, I know little to nothing about the characters, and even less about this stupid "EVENT" everybody keeps referencing. There is a difference between being in the dark WITH the characters, and feeling kept in the dark BY the characters. So far, The Event feels a lot more like the latter.

Returning show you're not allowed to tell anybody I watch:

Hoarders (A&E): I have no idea why, but this show is a constant source of fascination for me. Plus, it always motivates me to do some sort of cleaning around the house, so that's always good.

TUESDAY:

Returning show:

Glee (Fox): As I've stated before, I was a performing arts geek in high school, so these are very familiar characters for me. I wouldn't call this a "great" show...there are too many continuity and logic issues with the writing, and too often the plots seem to be in place only to drive the song that is coming up, rather than the songs being driven by the plot. But the vocal performances are outstanding, the staging of the musical numbers is terrific, and there are some really good acting performances going on (Jane Lynch, of course, but also Mike O'Malley, Chris Colfer, and several others).

And I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that we are supposedly getting a lot more of my girl Brittany this season: "Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?"

New Shows I am Trying Out, But With a Very Short Leash:

Raising Hope (Fox): From Greg Garcia, the creator of My Name is Earl. I enjoyed that show for about half a season, before the "Hey, aren't Redneck White Trash folks hilarious" humor got kind of old. This looks to be along the same lines, but with a cast that I am not as confident in (no Jason Lee, Jaime Pressly, or Ethan Suplee), so I don't know if I'll even last that long.

Running Wilde (Fox): The second half of the 9:00 Fox comedy hour, this one SHOULD be really good: from the creators of Arrested Development, starring the hilarious Will Arnett and one of my longtime crushes, Keri Russell. But every critic I trust who has seen the pilot and the next episode say that, against all odds, it's just not funny. I'm going to give it a shot, because I trust the people involved.

By the way, no matter how good these two shows are, expect them to stick around for a while, with the ratings juggernaut that is Glee as their lead-in.

No Ordinary Family (ABC): Looks like a live-action version of The Incredibles. I liked The Incredibles. Maybe I will like this.

New show I am trying to figure out if I'm going to watch:

Detroit 187 (ABC): I liked the initial concept, which was more of a documentary-style show that aimed to focus more on the cops than the cases (kind of a hybrid of Cops and Southland). But the network ditched the documentary concept (both because they felt it had been done before and some issues with the city of Detroit allowing the filming), and it is supposedly now just a typical cop show. I would be more excited if they kept the original concept, but it still interests me because it is shot on location in Detroit and it stars Michael Imperioli...so I think I'm going to try it out.

WEDNESDAY:

Returning Shows:

Modern Family (ABC): Deserves every accolade it has received, including the Emmy for Best Comedy. "People are going to stare, Mitchell...they're not used to seeing only one clown in a car".

Survivor (CBS): This one is actually pretty new for me, although it is obviously not a new show. In the past it has always been on Thursdays, which (as we're about to find out) meant that it was getting squeezed out by everything else I was watching. I did watch a good bit of the last two seasons, as I wanted to see what all the hype was about this Russell character (who I hated for so many reasons it would take another whole post to list). This season has Jimmy Johnson on it (the football coach, not the boring NASCAR driver), and of course it is an iconic show as far as television history is concerned, so I figure I will give it a shot. After one episode, I really don't like the Old vs. Young concept, and Jimmy is already annoying...so this one may not last long for me.

Cougar Town (ABC): Another one that is new for me, even though it is not a new show. Like many, I was turned off by the name and also by the fact that the first couple of episodes weren't funny. Like, at all. But supposedly the show got better as the season went along, so I'm going to give it a shot.

New Show I am Already Watching and Loving:

Terriers (FX): FX really has a hot streak going right now as far as developing new shows, especially dramas: Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Damages, Sons of Anarchy (which, to my eternal shame, I am still not watching), Justified...that's a pretty impressive little hot streak, even if Rescue Me has diminished in quality to the point where I gave up on it a couple of seasons ago.

Terriers does absolutely nothing to diminish that string of success. The cast is really good (including a typically great performance from Donal Logue, one of the great That Guys of our time), the writing is wonderfully snarky and dark, and the plot does a nice job of combining an interesting serialized arc with "Case of the Week" stories that don't feel as procedural as they really are.

New Show I Will Be Watching only Because it's J.J. Abrams:

Undercovers (NBC): I'm only watching because it's J.J. Abrams.

O.K....here is where it gets a little embarrassing...

THURSDAY (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Smoking Wreckage of My DVR):

Returning Shows:

Big Bang Theory (CBS): Great old school, laugh-track comedy, with an ensemble cast that started out as good and has just gotten better. Jim Parsons is obviously the breakout star, but the writers and actors have done a really good job finding the right niche for all of the characters, and they do a pretty good job walking the line between laughing WITH the characters vs. laughing AT them.

Community (NBC): Another great ensemble show, and I can't tell you anything about it that you can't discover for yourself by watching THIS.

Yes, I meant go watch it now. I'll wait.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC): Fine, go ahead...get all the name-calling out of your system. Want my Man Card? Sorry, gave that up back when we were discussing Tuesdays.

You know how golfers talk about how you can spend an entire day hacking around a golf course, but then you hit that one perfect shot and that's what keeps you coming back? That's what this show is like for me. I spend about 85-90% of the time infuriating my wife by constantly pausing the show and telling her exactly WHY the writing is so ridiculously awful and contrived, but then every once in a while they will break out an episode like last season's finale, which was one of the very best episodes of television I watched last year...and that's why I keep watching. Because I would hate to miss one of the weeks when they manage to knock it out of the park, because when this show is good it's fantastic.

The Office (NBC): I'm watching out of habit as much as anything else right now. I hate how they have written Jim and Pam's characters for most of the past two seasons. Andy and Kelly are the only characters that I consistently laugh at (though I do love Erin, the new receptionist).

This is Steve Carell's last season, but surprisingly they are going to continue on after he leaves. I'm hoping that this season of change will re-energize the writers, because I feel like they have been in a pretty lazy funk for the last couple of seasons (Michael is borderline retarded, Dwight says something weird, Jim/Pam are obnoxiously full of themselves, lather/rinse/repeat).

Fringe (Fox): If any show deserves the "Next LOST" trophy, it's this one. Fitting, since J.J. Abrams is one of the creative minds behind this one, too. This is a sci-fi show that understands that we have to have characters that we care about and relate to, or it doesn't matter how cool the genre stuff is.

Over the first season and a half, the show had a tendency to ignore the "Big Picture" story for too long (sort of how I remember X Files being, though I was never a huge fan), and the "Case of the Week" episodes, while interesting, didn't do enough to move the story along.

But the last half of last season was, for lack of a better word, AWESOME. The whole Alt-universe concept was very well conceived and brilliantly executed, and the end of the season left us with a whole slew of possibilities as far as the story line goes. I can't wait.

The Mentalist (CBS): This one is not a must-watch for me...it's one that we often build up 3-4 episodes of and then bang them all out at once. I'm usually not a big fan of the CBS procedurals, but Simon Baker makes this one worth watching, as does the underused and underappreciated Tim Kang as Cho...he cracks me up at least once a week.

Parks and Recreation (NBC): Wait...what? Parks and Rec isn't coming back until mid season?!? NBC decided to bump their best comedy for an insultingly gross and unfunny "comedy" made up entirely of "Hey, people from India are WEIRD!" jokes?

Is it any wonder that network is tanking?

FRIDAY:

Ummm....Blue Bloods, maybe? That's the new Tom Selleck thing. Other than that, Friday night is its typical fall wasteland.

Oh, and IFC is replaying Freaks and Geeks on Fridays...that was a show that I missed that I always kicked myself for missing, and I can see why everybody still raves about it.

SATURDAY:

All football, all the time.

This is also usually when I catch up on a lot of stuff that I missed during the week...thank goodness for DVR.

OK....so that's it. I feel like I just went through a confessional or something. That is a TON of TV, and I didn't even include the stupid reality stuff on cable that always seems to somehow incapacitate my remote and remove its ability to change the channel.

Now, it's your turn...what are some of the shows that you are most looking forward to this fall? Do you want to give my mother a heart attack by suggesting even MORE shows that you think I might be interested in?

Also, are there any that you would be interested in seeing posts about? I probably won't take on any recaps the way I have for LOST and American Idol, but maybe some short blurbs every week that could lead to some discussion in the comments?

Oh, gotta go...Hoarders is on!!!

When the Dawgvent is a source of reason...

2010-09-19T14:18:00.003-04:00

.....you know things are in chaos.

I'm still not in a good place to try and articulate my thoughts on the Dawgs right now, but this is a pretty good version of what I would probably say.

From the Dawgvent, of all places...click HERE.

Update: Looks like the message disappeared...here is what it said. (Again, this is from the poster HacksawDawg on the Dawgvent at UGASports.com)

Last week, I was furious. This week, I’m just sad. Sad that we have somehow allowed the program to deteriorate to this level, and recognizing just how far away we are from where we want to be. And it seems we were there just a moment ago.

I’m one who constantly struggles in thought between my brain, and my heart. My brain is very clear on where we are as a program and what may need to be done. My heart is equally resolute, but in stark conflict with the conclusions of my brain.

Surely though, being a rational and logically-minded type, my brain is the one to trust. Right?

I’m reminded though of a documentary I saw last year that observed people committing suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. It was shocking how deliberate these folks were. They seemed to have clarity of mind, and would calmly climb the bridge’s barrier, look down at their chosen fate, and willingly let go. Most died instantly on impact with the water.

But a handful miraculously survived. The documentary interviewed each of them, and they all revealed a common experience. None had made a rash decision - they had given suicide careful thought and came to their decisions over time. They were absolutely certain of their decision and at peace with it when they jumped. But to a person, every one of them said as soon as they let go of the bridge, they were overcome with a panicked regret of, “What have I done?”

I’ve given the current state, and direction, of our program a lot of careful thought. I’ve reached some conclusions that I believe to be rational and prudent. But not until this weekend, did I really get cozy with the reality of some of those conclusions. And when I did, I was overcome with that same panicked regret as those bridge jumpers.

Georgia Football is a passion of mine. I love and revere the program with all of my heart. And for a moment, you can rationalize making some big changes in the program as the tough love demanded from those who only want what’s best for the program.

But you know what? I spend most of my week thinking with my brain, and making decisions I wish I didn’t have to. And I love Georgia Football, in part, because for 12-14 Saturdays a year, I get to spend four hours seeing the world through the perspective of my heart, and my heart alone.

My heart is 100% behind Mark Richt.

Does he have some flaws as a coach? Yep, and many more than we may have once thought. They may even prove to be tragic flaws in due time.

Is he a “nice guy.” No - he’s more than that. He’s the finest man in college football, and I’d be hard pressed to name a finer individual I know, period.

There is the crowd that’s weary of the “nice guy” point. And I understand that, and acknowledge it’s valid to dismiss that point in the context of winning football games as a head coach. But Richt’s character and convictions do matter, and they do count for something. An awful lot in fact. I don’t think we’ll fully appreciate or understand the role of Richt’s character in our Georgia experience until he’s no longer our head coach.

I’ve commented many times on this board before that Mark Richt “gets it.” He understands the big picture. He understands what really matters in life, in his faith, and ultimately what you’d really regret, or not regret, when you take your final breath.

And I’m reminded this is…just a game. A game that plays a large role in our lives, certainly, but it would do many well to watch a closed scrimmage in Sanford. I was always struck by seeing the game for what it is when it’s stripped of 93,000 fans and all the hoopla and fanfare. It’s just 100 dumb college kids playing…a game. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at all when you witness it in that context.

Georgia’s program under Mark Richt IS different. We pursue a grander mission than just winning football games. We genuinely care about our kids. We really, really do. In everything we do as a football team, we are mindful of how it develops our kids into quality men. And that’s an experience many of our kids have never been afforded in their lives, and wouldn’t at any other program.

I can only speak for myself, but that’s a big, big deal to me. Our grander mission is the backbone of our program and a source of immense personal pride. It makes Georgia different, and in the most noble way possible.

I’ve always embraced that mission, and I’ve always dreamed of the day when we might win a National Championship under Mark Richt and prove to everyone that you can do it the right way and still get to the mountaintop.

I am committed to that grander mission. I’m on board. I think it’s that important.

I think the commitment to that grander mission is going to make it harder for us to win football games, and even more so in a cutthroat conference like the SEC. And it may even produce some valleys like the one we’re in now, where our commitment to that mission is really tested.

But like those bridge jumpers, I think we’re staring down at our fate and have a decision to make. Right now. Do we let go, or do we climb back over that barrier and go all in?

I’ve decided if I were to let go, I too would immediately panic, “What have I done?”

So I’ve made my choice, and it’s Mark Richt.

GATA.

Gone fishin'

2010-09-18T15:19:00.002-04:00

I just can't do this right now. I love this team, and I'm not giving up, and I will be pulling like crazy. I just can't do the blogging thing right now. Too much negativity in the Dawgs online community already, and I'm not going to add to it.

Until later...GO DAWGS.

Initial thoughts on the loss in Columbia

2010-09-11T17:14:00.003-04:00

Just some random thoughts...even though this may end up being the full recap, since our oldest managed to delete my recording. I think it's about time she started paying rent...

- South Carolina may be better than I thought.

- Not having A.J. had more of an impact than I thought it would. Not just the plays he might have made...we were outnumbered at the point of attack all day in our running game. Ellis Johnson was not scared of getting beat on the edge (getting Culliver back certainly helped), and there was just not enough room to run.

- When our O-line was able to create some holes, I thought Washaun was a little tentative...needs to hit those holes quickly. Maybe some first-game rust?

- We struggled to open holes in the running game, but the pass protection was outstanding.

- I thought Aaron Murray was EXTREMELY impressive. Very poised, not rattled at all. Good decision making, accurate throws. We have a quarterback.

- Red zone execution KILLED us. On our first trip, Orson dropped what might have been a touchdown, and then his bobble on third down kept him from picking up a first, and we had to settle for three.

Then, in the 4th, we drive to the three....and then Israel Troupe makes an absolutely INEXCUSABLE mistake with the false start. There is never any reason for a WR to get a false start penalty. So 2nd and 3 becomes 2nd and 8, and then....Washaun fumbles. And that was basically the game.

In three trips in the red zone, we got SIX points. Even one touchdown out of those trips, and may be a different game.

Side note...through two games, Carolina opponents have been in the red zone seven times and only have 12 points to show for it.

- Defensive scheme was not the issue...we had guys in the backfield all day at the point of attack, and just failed to make the tackle. Very disappointing.

We did have five sacks, and caused a big turnover, and appeared to be in the right place almost all the time. If we could have just made tackles when we got there, again...it may have been a different game.

- Marcus Lattimore is the truth. Maybe not as good as we made him look today, but he is going to be a great one.

- I really don't have a problem with Mike Bobo in general...I question individual play calls at times, but that's going to be the case with every offensive coordinator.

One thing I do have a problem with, however...EVERY TIME we face 2nd and long, we run the ball. EVERY TIME. I understand the thinking behind doing it, but you have to change it up sometimes, because I think opponents have locked into it now.

- Since I may not get a chance to do a full recap, I'll give the grades:

Offense: C
- Some good things, especially out of Murray, but lack of execution when it counted in the red zone and 5 three and outs just won't cut it.

Defense: C
- Again, some positives when it comes to getting pressure and being in the right place, but just piss-poor tackling.

Special Teams: B-
- Walsh was perfect, kickoff coverage was great except for the first kickoff. Drew just didn't seem himself today, though, and Branden made a couple of VERY questionable decisions on punt return.

Overall:
In June, I said we would probably lose this game. As always, by the time we kicked off, I had talked myself into a dominant Dawgs performance.

We certainly didn't lose the WAY I thought we would...I figured Aaron would be rattled, their defense would make a couple of big plays off his mistakes, and our new defense would be confused by Spurrier on some big pass plays. Instead, Aaron looked great, but we couldn't establish a run game, and USCe managed to control the clock by running through our tacklers at the point of contact and staying on the field all day.

Next week now becomes a must-win. I think we match up better with Arkansas than we do with this South Carolina team...let's see if we prove it on the field.

Lots of work on tackling this week in practice, ya think?

GO DAWGS!!!

Recap - Louisiana Lafayette

2010-09-08T06:29:00.001-04:00

That was everything we wanted to see out of an opener, other than A.J. Green. So, seeing as how I'm already a day or so late with this (combination of the holiday, a summer cold, and a couple of Comcast meltdowns), let's make it short and sweet, huh?

OFFENSE:
- Aaron Murray had about as well a day as could be expected. I think he put to rest a lot of the questions surrounding his arm strength, especially on the early incompletion to Logan in the end zone...that one went about 45-50 yards in the air, and he threw it on the run off his back foot, and it really should have been a touchdown.

He also showed off his running ability, which I think a lot of people were discounting. Watching his high school highlights, you could tell that he is extremely athletic, able to avoid the rush and "run to pass" as well as pick up yards on the ground, and he showed that ability Saturday. Now if he could just learn to slide rather than dive headfirst...

Couple of freshman mistakes, of course...that horrible throw into the endzone where he was trying to throw it away, and the much talked about decision to risk getting no points at all at the end of the first half by running the ball in with no time left. Both very correctable, and I'm not going to give him too much grief about the second one anyway...if it's a senior doing that, then we would probably just say he was a playmaker making a play, but since he's a freshman we chalk it up to bad decision making.

Great to see Hutson Mason get in and throw a touchdown pass to Logan (a truly great moment, and I was especially happy for Logan there)...but from then on out, Hutson showed why we REALLY need Aaron to stay healthy this season. I still say that (God forbid) Aaron goes out for any multiple-game type injuries I would rather see Logan get the call at QB, but that is appearing less and less likely. Let's hope it's not a decision that has to be made.

- I thought the wide receivers did a pretty nice job stepping up in the absence of A.J. and Tavarres King, especially Kris Durham. Man, it was great to see him back out on the field after a 707 day absence, and he made the most of it.

And we finally have signs of life from Marlon Brown...he had one egregious drop, but otherwise played well, and probably would have his first touchdown as a Dawg had he not slipped after catching a little curl on the five yard line.

Bottom line is that when A.J. and TK come back, this should be a very deep and dangerous group of receivers, especially when you factor in the tight ends.

Speaking of which...

- I think Orson Charles had a better day than the box score gives him credit for. Aaron missed him at least twice that I can remember when he was WIDE open, and I also think that if Aaron had waited about another second or so on that scramble at the end of the half, Orson was about to break open on the corner route into the end zone.

In general, we didn't use the tight ends as much as I thought we would, but I think that may have to do with how little of the playbook we chose to show against such an overmatched opponent.

- I was a little concerned that we weren't able to just line up and run whenever we wanted to. It's true that the O-line didn't get to practice together much during fall camp due to some injuries, but it's not like they've never played together before.

I'm going to chalk it up to those injuries, missing Washaun (although I though Carlton Thomas acquitted himself nicely, and most importantly did not fumble), and maybe an intentional lack of imagination with regards to playcalling....and hope and pray it gets better starting this week.

I know this...ULL was stacking 8-9 guys in the box consistently. That will be a much dicier situation for opposing defenses to put themselves into once we get Green and TK back.

Overall, I would give the offense a solid B+, and that is without three of our primary weapons. This offense has a chance to be REALLY good.

DEFENSE:
- Wow. That was TONS better than even I expected, and I am known to be overly optimistic most of the time.

NINE tackles for loss, three sacks, numerous QB pressures (all three of the INTs were due to the QB under duress), NO PENALTIES....really, everything we could have hoped for.

There was the one blown coverage, but we've been saying for months now that those are going to happen occasionally, especially early on. The hope is that the new scheme and attitude balance those blown plays out by MAKING some big plays of our own. One game in, the prognosis for that looks pretty good.

Yes, I know...it was Louisiana Lafayette. Things are going to get MUCH tougher starting this week. But I get the feeling that our players are having a blast running this defense, and I think that enthusiasm and intelligently aggressive attitude is going to be a refreshing change over what we've seen the last couple of years.

- Did you see my man T.J. Stripling out there in the second half? Not sure how much help he's going to be in run support until he puts on about 25 more pounds, but line him up outside and say, "See that QB? GO GET HIM!", and he is going to wreak havoc.

- Loved Coach Grantham holding the players accountable after the touchdown play. Not sure how many of you heard the postgame show, and I don't remember the exact quote, but when he was asked about the tirade he basically said that when you are dominating a team the way we were dominating, he doesn't want to give them ANYTHING...just step on their necks and finish them. He felt like we let up, and that was why he was angry.

Love it.

- It was also nice to see that we were able to maintain the intensity and the execution even though we played a ton of people, especially on the defensive line.

- Great interception by Sanders Commings...maybe a sign of the new "play the ball, not the man" mentality we have heard about in practice? In years past, I don't know if that interception happens, or if instead we either get an interference call or the pass is completed because our defensive back never turns around and finds the ball.

Overall, I would give the defense an A...the only thing that kept it from an A+ is the one blown coverage.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
- We have the best special teams unit in the nation...I defy you to come up with a better one. Blair Walsh kicked 100 yds worth of FG (on only two kicks) and continues to be perfect on PATs, Drew Butler is a true weapon at punter, Smith and Boykin both showed out, and there were some MASSIVE blocks thrown on punt return.

- What little punt coverage was needed was just fine...when you have a weapon at punter like Drew Butler, they don't often have to do much, and that was the case on Saturday.

- I do admit to one of my earliest hat-throwing incidents ever...when the Cajuns returned the first kickoff to midfield. But after that, the kickoff coverage was much better, and I expect the kicks to be deeper once Walsh is back in on every kick (he had some leg fatigue in the week leading up to the game, so Bogotay was in on about half the kickoffs).

Overall, a typical A performance out of the special teams.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Again, everything you could want out of an opener. Beautiful weather, great crowd (and LOUD, especially for a noon game against a lesser opponent), a very dominating win, and most importantly...NO INJURIES.

This week, we get Ealy, TK, A.J. (yep, I'm going to stick with it another week), Ogletree, and Sturdivant all back...time to go up to Columbia for a STATEMENT game!

GO DAWGS!!!

Guess I was wrong about A.J., huh?

2010-09-04T18:51:00.003-04:00

Just got back from Athens, and wow...what an opener. I'll have more to say about it in the next day or so after I watch my recording, but there was very little to complain about in that one.

But since I have been so ADAMANT in my stance that A.J. Green would not miss any time due to the whole NCAA inquiry nonsense, I figured I should at least come back and say I was wrong.

Lesson learned...never underestimate the incompetence of the NCAA, nor their ability to mess things up for absolutely no reason.

Off to watch the late games! So glad to have my Saturdays occupied by college football again!

GO DAWGS!!

GAME. DAY. IS. HERE. FINALLY.

2010-09-04T07:30:00.002-04:00

By the time this posts, I will already be on my way to Athens...we finally made it to GAMEDAY, Dawgs!

GO DAWGS!!!

A (sort of) preview for the opener, and some other random thoughts

2010-09-03T10:12:00.007-04:00

I gotta be honest, I know next to nothing about Louisiana-Lafayette...I can't even keep up with whether or not we're supposed to drop the Lafayette from their name or not.

Here are the two things that stood out for me in my very limited "research" (research=reading Jody's writeup at View from 336):

- Holy crap, they have an offensive lineman who is 6'7, 350 lb? He has to be a fat tub of goo, right? You would think that if he had ANY athletic ability at all, he would be in Baton Rouge instead of Lafayette? I mean, even if he's too dumb to get into LSU (a stretch, I know), then at least Mississippi State would be on the table. I'm going with my first instinct...he has to be a fat tub of goo.

- I think this is a perfect opponent for us to play the first week:

1) Their offense is not all that impressive, but one thing they DO have is a play-making tight end who they like to get the ball to over the middle. This is an area that the Dawgs defense has struggled MIGHTILY in for the last few seasons, so this may be a good indication of some of the strides we are making under Coach Grantham.

2) On defense, they are very small up front, so we should be able to run at will (Jody points out that the DL lining up from Cordy Glenn is 5'11, 287 lb. Cordy may eat him by accident on the first play and poop him out sometime in the 3rd quarter). At the same time, they have a very opportunistic secondary that picked off 16 passes last year, so we may get a good idea of how well Murray is doing at this point of valuing the football.

I never know how these games are going to go, other than that we will win handily, but not as handily as a lot of our fan base would like. I'm going with a 34-13 prediction, but I would not be at all surprised to see us beat them worse than that.

Couple of other random thoughts...

- Those of you who follow me on Twitter have seen several variations of this rant from me over the last few days, but it's driving me crazy that the media keeps making it seem that A.J. Green's status for the opener (or any other game) is somehow in question. They keep bringing up the point that we haven't heard anything from the NCAA, and that Coach Richt and A.J. are not allowed to comment. Well, what exactly are you expecting to "hear" from the NCAA? They have not ONCE mentioned A.J. to the press...the only reason we know that the inquiry was centered around him was that the UGA SID office and A.J. himself told us so. So, if they are not the ones who put his name out there in the first place, why is it up to them to "clear" him?

Every reputable source I have read says that the inquiry was specifically related to the infamous agent party in Miami, and whether or not A.J. knew anything about it, not even whether or not he went (since that hasn't been in question a single time since the story broke). Richt, A.J., and everybody else has been instructed not to say anything to the media because there is an ongoing investigation into that incident that is still happening. Why is that so hard for certain media members to understand?

I honestly don't expect to EVER hear anything from the NCAA that says A.J. is "clear". The fact that he is going to suit up and play every week will be the only evidence we get, and it's the only evidence we need.

- The other "story" that is going around this week that is driving me crazy is this notion that Coach Richt and Coach Bobo are still undecided as to how they are going to handle Hutson Mason, specifically whether or not he is going to play this weekend.

Let me make it simple: Yes. Hutson will play on Saturday.

Bobo and Coach Richt both explicitly said that Hutson is our #2 QB, and in any situation where the #2 QB will play, it will be Hutson. How much more definitive do they need to be? The only thing they didn't say was that we are going to put Hutson in WHEN we are up by four touchdowns on Saturday...but they're not going to say that, because those type words really come back to bite you if someone manages to pull an Appalachian State on you.

Again...Mason is going to play on Saturday. Does it give me heartburn to know that this true freshman is one twisted knee away from being our starting quarterback? Yep...but that doesn't mean it's not true.

- Yeah, I watched South Carolina last night. No, I ain't scared. We're not Southern Miss. It was the home opener, night game, against a mediocre C-USA team. The 'Cocks did exactly what I would expect them to do.

I also saw an SC offensive line that had a real problem keeping pressure off of their quarterback, and a secondary that actually appeared overmatched at times.

Let them go into next week all "cocky"...I'd rather that than the opposite.

~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, I saw the Alec Ogletree news, and I'm going to continue my tradition of not commenting too much on these matters (especially since we know so few details right now), other than to say this...people who say that UGA is becoming "Thug U" are either disingenuous or have a much different definition of the word "thug" than I do.

All right, I'm out...going to spend the rest of the day jamming to my Redcoat Band CD and counting the minutes until I am sitting in the best place on earth...Sanford Stadium for another Saturday Between the Hedges!

GO DAWGS!!!

THREE

2010-09-01T07:50:00.003-04:00

SO close now...

I will probably be back tomorrow with a preview (sort of) of the game against the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday.

GO DAWGS!!!

Hey, Nature Boy....how many days left until kickoff?

2010-08-31T07:52:00.002-04:00

WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Thanks, Ric! Hope the Dawgs beat the mess out of your gators this year!

GO DAWGS!!

Took in some high school football last night...

2010-08-28T10:59:00.003-04:00

Dawgs 2011 commit Chris Conley currently plays at North Paulding High School, which is about 10 minutes away from my brother's house. We are planning on going to see him play several times this year. Last night was their first home game, against Paulding County, so we headed out.

First thing we learned...we need to get there EARLY. We left Josh's around 7:15 or so, and arrived in the vicinity of the school right before kickoff. I say the "vicinity" because traffic was backed around a mile from the entrance. The campus is situated right in the middle of about 100 acres of cow pasture, and the line of cars and walking families streaming up the hill to the high school reminded me of nothing more than the closing scenes of Field of Dreams.

"If you commit to be a Dawg, they will come".

While we were in line to get in, North Paulding struck first with a quick touchdown (not sure who scored that one). They followed that up with an onside kick, which they recovered, and then marched down for a field goal. 10-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, N. Paulding initiated what was going to be their kickoff strategy for most of the night...the pooch kick. The ball bounced off some poor hogmolly playing as an up man and was recovered by...North Paulding. Three plays later, Chris Conley scored his first of many touchdowns this season on a little slant route from around 10 yards out.

North Paulding kicked off again, and Paulding County...fumbled the kickoff AGAIN. North Paulding took over at the 15, scored a touchdown two plays later, and it was 24-0 before Paulding County had even run an OFFENSIVE PLAY. North Paulding continued to dominate in every single facet of the game (even their band was better), and we left when North scored to make it 50-0 in the third and were well into their bench depth.

Conley looked very good, even though his stat line probably won't show it. Unless he scored that first touchdown that I missed, he ended the game with just the one touchdown and probably another 4-5 catches. Despite the rather pedestrian stats, he was clearly better than anybody who tried to defend him, and he was open all night. I was also pleased to see him blocking downfield very effectively once North went to a short pass/run offense after going up so quickly.

It was also good to see Chris be an obvious leader on the team, and to see him just as pumped and excited for his teammates who made plays as he was when he got his own opportunities.

One teammate who he was able to get excited for a LOT was Joey Elizer, his teammate at wideout. Elizer was making huge plays all night, and ended the night with three touchdowns and at least 180-200 yards (I don't have official stats). He's listed at 6'2, 190 lb, and he just looked smooth and FAST all night. A quick look at his Rivals profile shows that his only major offer is from Illinois...my guess is that if he consistently plays like he did last night, he won't have to go play for the Zooker.

I had every intention of having some decent pics and videos to post...unfortunately, I had two things working against me. Number one, I am a HORRIBLE photographer/video recorder...you should only try to watch my video of when we went to see the Blue Angels if you take anti-nausea pills first, as the camera just whips around randomly at empty sky, except for the one time when I mistakenly followed a passenger plane 30,000 feet in the air for about 30 seconds.

Compounding my utter ineptitude as a photographer is the fact that I was breaking in a new camera. Not a good combination.

Anyway, here's what I got...

A pretty blurry of Conley breaking from the line of scrimmage...that's Conley lined up closes to us:

On this video, you can see a little of what I'm talking about regarding Conley's downfield blocking. At about the 10 second mark in the middle of the screen, a Paulding County defender is deposited squarely on his backside. The one doing the depositing is Conley.

Here is a shot of Joey Elizer on a WR screen...I didn't know the guy's name yet, so that's me at the end saying "That was #80 again". Also notable in this clip is the shot at the end of my niece, attending her first ever football game. I was (obviously) unaware that I was shooting her...note my earlier disclaimer about my horrible videography skillz.

Like I said, we are planning on going back several times this season, and I will keep you all updated as we follow this future Dawg...let's hope that I take the opportunity to hone my camera holding ability so that you can watch the video without puking.

Eight days to kickoff....Happy AJ Green Day!

2010-08-27T06:31:00.001-04:00

GO DAWGS!!!

I'm ready

2010-08-26T07:53:00.009-04:00

I have two people that I talk to on the phone almost every day (my brother and Brent). Even in the dead periods like March or early June, those conversations inevitably turn to UGA football at some point.

Lately, my part of the conversation consists primarily of two words: I'm ready.

I'm ready to put the window flags up.

I'm ready to wear the same shirt to work every Friday for the next three months.

I'm ready to get little to no work done on Fridays and Mondays, as office conversation invariably centers on what's gonna happen this weekend, or what just happened over the weekend.

I'm ready for the tailgate.

I'm ready to be at the Dawgwalk a week from Saturday, letting these young men know how much we love, appreciate, and support them.

I'm ready to take my daughter to see Russ during the pregame festivities.

I'm ready to hear the Redcoats live, not just on the CD that I've started listening to every day.

I'm ready to hear the opening solo of "Glory, Glory" from the South end zone, with my Georgia hat upraised and tears in my eyes...every single time.

I'm ready to see if Coach Grantham can coach football as well as he can talk it.

I'm ready to appreciate the last season Between the Hedges of the best wide receiver in the country, and the best one the Dawgs have ever had.

I'm ready for Justin Houston to become a household name.

I'm ready to watch the quarterback that all of Dawg Nation was beside ourselves with excitement over when he committed to the Dawgs over his hometown gators.

I'm ready to stop reading message board posts about how Aaron Murray is apparently a dwarf who can't throw the ball more than five yards downfield.

I'm ready to hear Scott Howard, and I'm ready to imagine I can still hear Munson telling me to "Get the picture".

I'm ready, believe it or not, to get irrationally angry at ESPN and their idiot "analysts".

I'm ready, believe it or not, to have weekly heated discussions over whether SEC refs are crooked or too stupid to be crooked.

I'm ready to tell Paul Finebaum where he can stick his hot seat.

I'm ready to watch an offense with more weapons than I can ever remember the Dawgs having at one time.

I'm ready to watch Marlon Brown blossom into the player we all know he can be.

I'm ready for Brown to join AJ, King, Durham, Wootentheballcarrier, Charles, and White to form the best group of receivers and tight ends in the SEC.

I'm ready for Caleb King and Washaun Ealy to RUN THE SEC the way we RUN THIS STATE.

I'm ready to watch a big and nasty offensive line be big and nasty.

I'm ready to watch the Dawgs go to Columbia and put the "sleeper team in the SEC East" to sleep.

I'm ready to send Bobby Petrino scurrying out of the state of Georgia with his little rat tail stuck between his legs...again.

I'm ready for the Dawgs to avenge their embarassing loss to the Evil Hillbillies from Knoxville, and I'm ready for the staff to show no mercy while doing so.

I'm ready to go through a season without having to use fancy uniform tricks to fire the team up for a rivalry game (fingers crossed for this one).

I'm ready to hear the Chapel Bell ringing.

I'm ready to watch the deepest and most athletic group of safeties ever compiled on one team unleash their collective fury. Rambo. Williams. Ogletree. Hamilton. I'm ready to hear those names a LOT.

I'm ready to celebrate a win in Jacksonville (Please, Lord, make it so).

I'm ready to get one for the thumb against the War Tiger Eagle Plainsmen.

I'm ready to show the gnats from North Avenue that they are still the little sister, and always will be.

I'm ready for an epic showdown in the Dome between the Dawgs and the Sabanites.

I. AM. READY.

GO DAWGS!!

I am taking requests now....

2010-08-17T18:53:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a Twitter conversation I had earlier with Thinking Bulldog (and be sure to follow him for his entertaining and EXTREMELY difficult Munson of the Day contests)....a little Damien Gary to celebrate EIGHTEEN DAYS TO KICKOFF!

My favorite Munson quote related to this play isn't on this clip...later in the game, when he's talking about the earlier touchdown by Gary, Munson said something like, "I think I said something dumb, like 'HEY!'"

Classic Munson.

And, just because I promised....some WAYNE JOHNSON love!

GO DAWGS!!!

19 days to kickoff...Happy Hines Ward Day!

2010-08-16T19:36:00.005-04:00

Been suffering a little blogger's block lately, but there's no way I'm letting today pass without acknowledging my very favorite Dawg of all time.

One of the greatest pure football players I have ever seen....Hines Ward.

Hines is heavily involved in this one, one of my favorite Dawg memories and Munson calls: "Our HEART that was TORN OUT and BLEEDING...we picked it up and WE STUCK IT BACK INSIDE!!!"

And a couple from his career as a Steeler:

Herschel is the greatest college football player ever...but my FAVORITE Dawg ever is Hines Ward, without question.

GO DAWGS!!

Preseason coaches polls are stupid...and other random musings

2010-08-09T19:19:00.004-04:00

- The first USA Today Coaches Poll was published last Friday...four weeks before any actual games have been played.

Long time readers of this blog (all four of you) know that I have made my feelings about preseason polls clear in the past. I understand Lindy's, Athlon, Phil Steele, etc. publishing them...they drive conversation and (presumably) increase magazine sales. The difference with this one is that this poll actually makes up 1/3 of the BCS formula. That is absurd.

Look, the Coaches poll is stupid in its own right. Coaches know their own team, and maybe the ones on their schedule. There is no way they are familiarizing themselves with the rest of the teams in the country, at least not enough to be ranking them intelligently. And, yes, I know that head coaches aren't actually filling out the ballots (which raises a whole other argument)...but I don't think assistants are really paying that much more attention. They're just voting for whomever Herbstreit, Corso, and May tell them to (I don't think anybody is paying attention to who Dr. Lou wants them to vote for...if they were, Notre Dame and South Carolina would play for the MNC every year).

But...a PRESEASON poll? Seriously? And not only a pre-SEASON poll...in many cases, it's a pre-PRACTICE poll! As of the time this poll was published, the Dawgs had not had a full-contact practice yet, and we were one of the first teams to start practicing. How in the world is ANYBODY supposed to rank teams at that point, especially coaches who obviously have their own team as their focus? Who knows which freshmen are going to step up, or how teams are going to adjust to new coaches and schemes, or how badly outgoing players are going to be missed?

Again, if the poll was just for fun then I don't care...but this is ONE THIRD OF THE FORMULA THAT DECIDES THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. And, unfortunately, where you start can have a lot of bearing on where you finish. Take Boise State, for instance...they start this year ranked 5th. They start the season with Virginia Tech at a neutral site, and then for the rest of the year they play NOBODY. Because they are starting the season ranked so high, they only have to win their one real game, and they are virtually guaranteed of a spot in the championship game. For that matter, since they are ranked so high, they could conceivably LOSE that game (the only one on their schedule), run the table the rest of the way, and be sitting at 12-1 at the end of the year with the idiots at ESPN touting them as real contenders for the national championship.

I'm not a BCS-hater...I'm not a playoff proponent (the only way I want a playoff is if it's GUARANTEED to be no more than 4 teams). But something has to be done about this 33.3% of the formula.

Two suggestions:
1) Start the poll later. Wait 4-6 weeks before the first poll. By that time, we at least have SOME idea of what the landscape is. I would even support waiting later, but I know that would never happen.

2) Take the coaches poll out of the equation, for all of the reasons I stated before. I would support replacing it with the Legends Poll, which is voted on by a group of former coaches. Every week, they send DVDs to all of their members of all of the games played by teams who are likely to be ranked. After they watch the games (supposedly...hey, no system is perfect), the voters get together on a weekly call and rank the teams. They also publish how they voted every week, a bit of transparency that you only get in the final week of the USA Today poll.

Some other quick musings...

- I was originally going to talk about how it's been almost exclusively good news out of fall camp. Then...today happened. So never mind.

Smith and Samuel being out for any length of time is especially worrisome...as we are installing Coach Grantham's new defense, every possible contributor on defense needs to be getting as many reps as possible.

I hate fall practice.

- It was great to have LIVE football on my television last night, even if it was a crappy NFL preseason game. Congrats to Geno Atkins...former Dawg picked up 6 tackles and a sack. That's how you make an impact!

- If you are looking for a great Braves website, check out TalkingChop.com. Superb content, updated several times a day...and rather than the idiotic commenters you get on AJC blogs (First!!), you get stuff like this, from "Lennox" in celebration of J-Hey's 21st birthday:

Did I ever tell you about the time Jason Heyward took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can’t find one. Finally Heyward takes me to a vacant lot and says, “Here we are.” We sat there for a year and a half and sure enough someone constructs a bar around us. The day they opened we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Heyward yelled over the roar of the flames, “Always leave things the way you found ’em!”

Something about the image of that last sentence had me cracking up all day...

Speaking of the Braves, they seem to have righted the ship in the last week or so. They are really reminding me of the early 90's Braves...ridiculously good pitching, and just enough timely hitting to get by. I still wish we would have gotten one more big bat at the trade deadline...I think we're one bat away from being a real World Series contender.

But, these days, all I really ask from the Braves is that they keep it interesting until fall practice starts, and they have certainly done that. Anything more than that is just gravy.

- If you were wondering why so many (myself included) started turning on Brett FaRve even before he started waffling like John Kerry every summer...look no further than this post.

- Summer TV continues to be TONS better than it was when I was growing up. Now that LOST is gone, Friday Night Lights and Mad Men are the best two shows on television, in my opinion (coming from someone who, for some reason, has never watched Breaking Bad).

Speaking of LOST...as a fan of both that show and Weezer, well...this pretty much made my day.