Courtesy of HBO's Making Game of Thrones site, here is Maisie Williams discussing preparations for her role as Arya Stark (spoiler free).
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!
Showing posts with label Stuff I like. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stuff I like. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
My 500th post...a State of the Blog address
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!
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!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Fans of the book will know what I mean...
...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!
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!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Let's talk about something else...
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!!!
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!!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Great article on Bobby Cox
Yeah, I know...SEC Media Days are here, which normally marks the end of baseball season for me. But this Braves team has rekindled my love for baseball that had faded quite a bit over the last 5-6 years, and I probably love this team more than any since the 1991 Worst-to-First team that is probably my favorite team ever, in any sport (until the Dawgs win the MNC this year, of course).
Anyway...I got this article via TalkingChop.com, which has become a daily read for me, and it is a really fun look at Bobby Cox, particularly his penchant for getting thrown out of games at just the right time.
Thumbing His Way Back Home.
Anyway...I got this article via TalkingChop.com, which has become a daily read for me, and it is a really fun look at Bobby Cox, particularly his penchant for getting thrown out of games at just the right time.
Thumbing His Way Back Home.
Friday, April 23, 2010
An actual sports post?!?!
Yeah, I think it's about time...
Despite what regular readers of this blog (hi, Mom!) might think, I am actually interested in things other than LOST and American Idol. This blog actually started as more of a sports blog, and believe me....when football season cranks up, it will be again.
So...what's been going on?
Springtime in DawgNation:
- I am cautiously optimistic about the defense based on the reports out of spring practice. I love the change in mindset, and the energy that seemed to have been pumped into the program and the fanbase by our new coaches. And, Lord knows, I love hearing the word "fundamentals" being preached every single day, especially by our new LB Coach Belin.
As I have mentioned before, I think our personnel may actually be better suited to the 3-4 than a 4-3. Looking at the depth chart released yesterday, there are TONS of athletes across the board, and I think they are going to be much better utilized than they have been the last few years.
Having said that, it's very difficult to completely revamp an entire defensive philosophy in just one season...there are going to be some growing pains this year. So while I expect to see more plays being made by a more aggressive and fundamentally sound defense (more turnovers, more plays made in the backfield), I also fully expect there to be times when receivers are running around uncovered because somebody didn't know where they were supposed to be.
Hopefully, it will sort of balance out this year...but, worst case scenario, we may have some games where we give up 35-40 points. Which is what we were doing already, but at least now I have hope for the future.
- I take absolutely nothing from G-Day even in a "normal" year, but this year especially. We didn't run anything close to what our actual defensive scheme is going to look like, and we did absolutely nothing on offense other than run some basic plays.
G-Day is just a practice, and for that matter it's the least relevant practice of the entire spring from a scheme standpoint. Yeah, it's nice to see what they do in front of a "crowd", but is there really any comparison between 25-30K very quiet fans on G-Day and 92K going crazy on a game day? Or 108K inbred hillbillies who want to kill you in Neyland?
Fans should treat it for what it is...a nice little taste of some live football before the long dark days of summer.
Which is why I didn't get all that worked up over Zach Mettenberger outplaying Aaron Murray on G-Day, which leads me to my next point...
- Aaron Murray was ALWAYS going to be the starter at QB for 2010. ALWAYS. Losing Mettenberger certainly hurts from a depth standpoint, as we are now one injury away from a QB 2-deep of Logan Gray and Hutson Mason (::shudder::). But Mett was not going to be the starter on this team, despite having a really good day of practice on April 10.
As for the Mettenberger situation itself...what a maroon. If the accounts that most of us have read by now are true, this guy took jackass to a whole new level (pardon the language, but there is no better word for it), and was still probably going to get away from it relatively unscathed if he had just SHUT UP to the police...but he was having none of that, choosing instead to keep arguing with the police even after the young ladies and restaurant employees had declined to press charges. Then, apparently, when he met with the coaches he lied to them about it and showed little to no remorse. So, basically, he threw away a scholarship to play QB at the University of Georgia by being a gigantic buffoon. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
I think that Coach Richt has proven over the years that if you do show contrition and true remorse over your dumb decisions, you will get another chance...that's why I think that his attitude about the situation probably played as much into the ultimate decision as anything else.
(the previous paragraph is strictly my own opinion, and are not based on any inside knowledge of the situation AT ALL...just knowledge of human behavior and how we have seen Coach Richt handle these situations in the past)
- On offense, no matter who the quarterback is, I think the philosophy has to be a HEAVY dose of King/Ealy, with the passing game being predicated on play-action, bootleg type plays to the playmakers (Green, Charles, Wootentheballcarrier, etc). I think that fits our personnel and, fortunately, I think it fits what Bobo wants to do anyway.
I love our offensive line, I love our playmakers...if we can just get adequate QB play and, most importantly, CUT DOWN ON TURNOVERS AND STUPID PENALTIES, I think our offense has a chance to be even better than it was last year...and last year's offense was pretty darn good, for the most part.
The biggest problem with this team right now, based on the last couple of seasons, is that they play dumb football. Hopefully, the changes that have been made will result in a fresh energy and renewed focus on fundamentals, as well as increased accountability on both sides of the ball, and this team will start playing up their talent level.
Oh, and....NO MORE DIRECTIONAL KICKOFFS!!! WOOHOO!!!
Will the Braves be good enough to hold my interest until fall camp starts?
I don't ask much from the Braves anymore...just be good enough so that I have something to pay attention to until early August, when the beginning of fall camp effectively ends the baseball season for me.
So far, results are mixed....
- The starting pitching is very good...it would be great if Derek Lowe could start earning that $15M salary. The way things are going right now, I think this rotation would be better with Kawakami as the number 4, with Lowe as the number 5 starter/long relief guy. Not that this could ever happen, because of the monetary investment the team has in Lowe.
Jurrjens has been sharp other than one horrid outing, Hanson continues to develop, and Hudson seems to be fully recovered. Lowe is just the fly in the punch bowl.
- Bullpen has been excellent so far...I just hope that Wagner and Saito (combined age: 378) can make it through an entire season.
- I consider myself lucky to be able to watch Jason Heyward. So much has been said about him that I can't add much...he's a superstar, he's going to be a Hall of Famer, and we're getting to watch the first green shoots of his career on a nightly basis.
- TERRIBLE offseason for Frank Wren. We traded Vasquez (arguably our best pitcher last year) for Melky Cabrera, who is just atrocious. Yes, I am aware that either Vasquez or Lowe were going to be moved, and teams were understandably reluctant to take on Lowe and his $15M salary (see above)...but the best we could get was Melky Cabrera, for one of the best pitchers in the NL?
(SIDE NOTE: You know how some trades just work out perfectly, in that both teams are getting exactly what they need even though they are both giving up something of value? The Smoltz - Doyle Alexander trade comes to mind...this was like the exact opposite of that. Vasquez had already proven that A) he is much better suited to the National League; and B) he can't pitch in New York. So the Yankees give up what had been a pretty good 4th outfielder for them for someone who is predestined to be a disaster, and we give up our best starter for a guy who is at best a 4th outfielder, but expect him to be an everyday outfielder and leadoff hitter. Both sides lose.)
"Oh, but wait!" says Frank Wren. "We're not done yet! I know we need a big bat for this lineup, a guy you can count on for HR and run production! Don't judge this move until you see what ELSE we have planned!".
I say, "OK....awesome! Maybe this means we are getting in on the Matt Holliday/Jason Bay discussions? Somebody like that?"
Um...no. Instead we sign Troy Glaus. The same Troy Glaus who missed all of 2009 with an elbow injury, and hasn't been nearly the same player ever since the Mitchell Report was published.
I don't think I have ever yelled at my radio with as much fury as I did the day that Frank Wren was interviewed during spring training and he went on and on about how tall the middle of our lineup had the potential to be. "Man, look at us...Chipper is 6'4, Glaus is 6'6, Heyward is 6'5. That's got to be intimidating for a pitcher!"
Look, if you are in any way intimidated by the sight of Troy Glaus coming to the plate, you have no business being a major league pitcher. Any pitcher worth his salt has to be SALIVATING at watching this automatic rally killer come up in a key spot. His line so far? .170 Avg, .524 OPS, 16 strikeouts and 8 RBI in 53 AB. Yeah....twice as many strikeouts as RBI. That's not good for a #5 hitter, right?
I say we put Eric Hinske in the lineup every single day, and let Troy Glaus do what he does best. Be really tall.
Anyway...this team would fit in really well in the mid-80's National League. Great pitching, solid defense, and an offense that is going to put up maybe 3-4 runs a game. In today's baseball, that's just not enough.
Hey, did you know the Hawks are in the playoffs?
The Hawks are currently manhandling the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Without Andrew Bogut, the Bucks have absolutely no answer for Al Horford and Josh Smith inside, and they are wreaking havoc.
Josh, in particular, has been a joy to watch this season. He seems to have finally come to grips with the fact that he is never going to be a three-point shooter and is instead doing...everything else. He fills the box score up like Scottie Pippen, and also includes the whining to officials like Pippen, but without the bad hair (seriously...what was UP with that guy's scalp? It looked like it had been PLOWED or something). A typical night from him is like 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 4 thunderous dunks that fire the whole team up and keeps them involved in the game.
Here's the down side...this team isn't getting out of the 2nd round, and it's all because of their head coach. The Hawks have two glaring weaknesses...inconsistent effort on defense and an utter lack of a halfcourt offense. These are the two things that kill a team in the playoffs, especially once they get out of the first round and start facing really good teams, and they can both be attributed to poor coaching, in my opinion.
Mike Woodson has been very lucky in that he has been the coach during a time when a very young team has grown up together, so he gets credit for the win totals increasing every year. And I don't think Woodson is a TERRIBLE head coach...I just think his specific deficiencies are the ones most likely to be exploited in the postseason.
Hopefully, I'm wrong...Atlanta certainly has the talent to match up with the Magic in the second round. If we can get past them, maybe we can win one or two games against Lebron and the Cavs. That's probably the absolute ceiling for this team.
OK...that was fun! Turns out I had more to say than I thought I did...maybe I should do this more often?
Despite what regular readers of this blog (hi, Mom!) might think, I am actually interested in things other than LOST and American Idol. This blog actually started as more of a sports blog, and believe me....when football season cranks up, it will be again.
So...what's been going on?
Springtime in DawgNation:
- I am cautiously optimistic about the defense based on the reports out of spring practice. I love the change in mindset, and the energy that seemed to have been pumped into the program and the fanbase by our new coaches. And, Lord knows, I love hearing the word "fundamentals" being preached every single day, especially by our new LB Coach Belin.
As I have mentioned before, I think our personnel may actually be better suited to the 3-4 than a 4-3. Looking at the depth chart released yesterday, there are TONS of athletes across the board, and I think they are going to be much better utilized than they have been the last few years.
Having said that, it's very difficult to completely revamp an entire defensive philosophy in just one season...there are going to be some growing pains this year. So while I expect to see more plays being made by a more aggressive and fundamentally sound defense (more turnovers, more plays made in the backfield), I also fully expect there to be times when receivers are running around uncovered because somebody didn't know where they were supposed to be.
Hopefully, it will sort of balance out this year...but, worst case scenario, we may have some games where we give up 35-40 points. Which is what we were doing already, but at least now I have hope for the future.
- I take absolutely nothing from G-Day even in a "normal" year, but this year especially. We didn't run anything close to what our actual defensive scheme is going to look like, and we did absolutely nothing on offense other than run some basic plays.
G-Day is just a practice, and for that matter it's the least relevant practice of the entire spring from a scheme standpoint. Yeah, it's nice to see what they do in front of a "crowd", but is there really any comparison between 25-30K very quiet fans on G-Day and 92K going crazy on a game day? Or 108K inbred hillbillies who want to kill you in Neyland?
Fans should treat it for what it is...a nice little taste of some live football before the long dark days of summer.
Which is why I didn't get all that worked up over Zach Mettenberger outplaying Aaron Murray on G-Day, which leads me to my next point...
- Aaron Murray was ALWAYS going to be the starter at QB for 2010. ALWAYS. Losing Mettenberger certainly hurts from a depth standpoint, as we are now one injury away from a QB 2-deep of Logan Gray and Hutson Mason (::shudder::). But Mett was not going to be the starter on this team, despite having a really good day of practice on April 10.
As for the Mettenberger situation itself...what a maroon. If the accounts that most of us have read by now are true, this guy took jackass to a whole new level (pardon the language, but there is no better word for it), and was still probably going to get away from it relatively unscathed if he had just SHUT UP to the police...but he was having none of that, choosing instead to keep arguing with the police even after the young ladies and restaurant employees had declined to press charges. Then, apparently, when he met with the coaches he lied to them about it and showed little to no remorse. So, basically, he threw away a scholarship to play QB at the University of Georgia by being a gigantic buffoon. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
I think that Coach Richt has proven over the years that if you do show contrition and true remorse over your dumb decisions, you will get another chance...that's why I think that his attitude about the situation probably played as much into the ultimate decision as anything else.
(the previous paragraph is strictly my own opinion, and are not based on any inside knowledge of the situation AT ALL...just knowledge of human behavior and how we have seen Coach Richt handle these situations in the past)
- On offense, no matter who the quarterback is, I think the philosophy has to be a HEAVY dose of King/Ealy, with the passing game being predicated on play-action, bootleg type plays to the playmakers (Green, Charles, Wootentheballcarrier, etc). I think that fits our personnel and, fortunately, I think it fits what Bobo wants to do anyway.
I love our offensive line, I love our playmakers...if we can just get adequate QB play and, most importantly, CUT DOWN ON TURNOVERS AND STUPID PENALTIES, I think our offense has a chance to be even better than it was last year...and last year's offense was pretty darn good, for the most part.
The biggest problem with this team right now, based on the last couple of seasons, is that they play dumb football. Hopefully, the changes that have been made will result in a fresh energy and renewed focus on fundamentals, as well as increased accountability on both sides of the ball, and this team will start playing up their talent level.
Oh, and....NO MORE DIRECTIONAL KICKOFFS!!! WOOHOO!!!
Will the Braves be good enough to hold my interest until fall camp starts?
I don't ask much from the Braves anymore...just be good enough so that I have something to pay attention to until early August, when the beginning of fall camp effectively ends the baseball season for me.
So far, results are mixed....
- The starting pitching is very good...it would be great if Derek Lowe could start earning that $15M salary. The way things are going right now, I think this rotation would be better with Kawakami as the number 4, with Lowe as the number 5 starter/long relief guy. Not that this could ever happen, because of the monetary investment the team has in Lowe.
Jurrjens has been sharp other than one horrid outing, Hanson continues to develop, and Hudson seems to be fully recovered. Lowe is just the fly in the punch bowl.
- Bullpen has been excellent so far...I just hope that Wagner and Saito (combined age: 378) can make it through an entire season.
- I consider myself lucky to be able to watch Jason Heyward. So much has been said about him that I can't add much...he's a superstar, he's going to be a Hall of Famer, and we're getting to watch the first green shoots of his career on a nightly basis.
- TERRIBLE offseason for Frank Wren. We traded Vasquez (arguably our best pitcher last year) for Melky Cabrera, who is just atrocious. Yes, I am aware that either Vasquez or Lowe were going to be moved, and teams were understandably reluctant to take on Lowe and his $15M salary (see above)...but the best we could get was Melky Cabrera, for one of the best pitchers in the NL?
(SIDE NOTE: You know how some trades just work out perfectly, in that both teams are getting exactly what they need even though they are both giving up something of value? The Smoltz - Doyle Alexander trade comes to mind...this was like the exact opposite of that. Vasquez had already proven that A) he is much better suited to the National League; and B) he can't pitch in New York. So the Yankees give up what had been a pretty good 4th outfielder for them for someone who is predestined to be a disaster, and we give up our best starter for a guy who is at best a 4th outfielder, but expect him to be an everyday outfielder and leadoff hitter. Both sides lose.)
"Oh, but wait!" says Frank Wren. "We're not done yet! I know we need a big bat for this lineup, a guy you can count on for HR and run production! Don't judge this move until you see what ELSE we have planned!".
I say, "OK....awesome! Maybe this means we are getting in on the Matt Holliday/Jason Bay discussions? Somebody like that?"
Um...no. Instead we sign Troy Glaus. The same Troy Glaus who missed all of 2009 with an elbow injury, and hasn't been nearly the same player ever since the Mitchell Report was published.
I don't think I have ever yelled at my radio with as much fury as I did the day that Frank Wren was interviewed during spring training and he went on and on about how tall the middle of our lineup had the potential to be. "Man, look at us...Chipper is 6'4, Glaus is 6'6, Heyward is 6'5. That's got to be intimidating for a pitcher!"
Look, if you are in any way intimidated by the sight of Troy Glaus coming to the plate, you have no business being a major league pitcher. Any pitcher worth his salt has to be SALIVATING at watching this automatic rally killer come up in a key spot. His line so far? .170 Avg, .524 OPS, 16 strikeouts and 8 RBI in 53 AB. Yeah....twice as many strikeouts as RBI. That's not good for a #5 hitter, right?
I say we put Eric Hinske in the lineup every single day, and let Troy Glaus do what he does best. Be really tall.
Anyway...this team would fit in really well in the mid-80's National League. Great pitching, solid defense, and an offense that is going to put up maybe 3-4 runs a game. In today's baseball, that's just not enough.
Hey, did you know the Hawks are in the playoffs?
The Hawks are currently manhandling the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Without Andrew Bogut, the Bucks have absolutely no answer for Al Horford and Josh Smith inside, and they are wreaking havoc.
Josh, in particular, has been a joy to watch this season. He seems to have finally come to grips with the fact that he is never going to be a three-point shooter and is instead doing...everything else. He fills the box score up like Scottie Pippen, and also includes the whining to officials like Pippen, but without the bad hair (seriously...what was UP with that guy's scalp? It looked like it had been PLOWED or something). A typical night from him is like 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 4 thunderous dunks that fire the whole team up and keeps them involved in the game.
Here's the down side...this team isn't getting out of the 2nd round, and it's all because of their head coach. The Hawks have two glaring weaknesses...inconsistent effort on defense and an utter lack of a halfcourt offense. These are the two things that kill a team in the playoffs, especially once they get out of the first round and start facing really good teams, and they can both be attributed to poor coaching, in my opinion.
Mike Woodson has been very lucky in that he has been the coach during a time when a very young team has grown up together, so he gets credit for the win totals increasing every year. And I don't think Woodson is a TERRIBLE head coach...I just think his specific deficiencies are the ones most likely to be exploited in the postseason.
Hopefully, I'm wrong...Atlanta certainly has the talent to match up with the Magic in the second round. If we can get past them, maybe we can win one or two games against Lebron and the Cavs. That's probably the absolute ceiling for this team.
OK...that was fun! Turns out I had more to say than I thought I did...maybe I should do this more often?
Friday, March 19, 2010
A nice start to my Friday morning...
I'm going to break one of my personal rules regarding this site and actually link to an article from the AJC sports section...
This is a great story about sportsmanship, generosity, and true love of competition, and the fact that it involves my alma mater (SCHS '92, BABY) definitely caused it to strike an emotional chord with me.
Oh, and also...South Cobb has a lacrosse team? Who knew?
Anyway...check it out HERE.
This is a great story about sportsmanship, generosity, and true love of competition, and the fact that it involves my alma mater (SCHS '92, BABY) definitely caused it to strike an emotional chord with me.
Oh, and also...South Cobb has a lacrosse team? Who knew?
Anyway...check it out HERE.
Friday, February 19, 2010
More LOST thoughts and some other stuff
Many thanks to David Hale for the kind words and the linkage...in the immortal words of Wayne Campbell..."I'M NOT WORTHY!!! I'M NOT WORTHY!!!"
Believe it or not, even after writing what felt like a Stephen King-level opus yesterday (I mean length, not content...not enough gratuitous gruesome death or creepy kids to qualify as King-level content), I still later realized that there were a couple of things that I meant to address and didn't.
First of all, Shan brought up the point in the comments about what exactly the "rules" are concerning Jacob and MIB, especially in light of Ilana's comment to Sun that MIB was now stuck in the Smocke persona. We are all pretty much in agreement that we have seen Smokey take on other personas, right? Yemi and Alex for "sure" (at least as sure as we can be about this show), and maybe Dave, Christian, and the old guy that Locke saw in the cabin way back in "The Man Behind the Curtain".
So, what has changed? The only thing I can think of is that it revolves around the death of Jacob, and may be somehow related to the loophole that MIB had to find in order to kill him. He can obviously still go back and forth between Smokey and Smocke, so apparently it is only related to his ability to take on the personas of dead people.
Secondly, a more general comment regarding the "Sideways Timeline" plot device...I am certainly enjoying seeing the characters in this new environment and trying to figure out what's "different" about their personalities and how their lives have been changed. And, of course, I'm digging seeing so many of the people from the Island pop up when you least expect them. However, I think that at some point the novelty is going to wear off and the writers are going to have to raise the stakes a little bit. So far, we have not seen any real relevance to what is going on back on the Island, or any concrete consequences to the Jack Daniels plan of blowing up the Island, or even given any real reason to "care" about what is going on in the X timeline outside of just a "what if" scenario. We've seen little hints that some of the characters feel a little tugging at their consciousness that something is weird (Jack recognizing Desmond, Kate seeming to feel some connection to Jack, Claire just "knowing" that the baby's name should be Aaron, etc.), but nothing else.
I'm going to trust the writers, of course...I'm sure they are going to provide more context and stakes to the X timeline as we go along. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later, or I am going to start losing interest in that part of the story.
I'm sort of afraid that they may run into some of the problems that I have with "FlashForward"...as Shan pointed out in the comments to yesterday's post, one little thing (the fact that Locke and his dad appear to be on good terms) produces so many questions and possibilities that it's going to be extremely difficult to reconcile it all without fudging some of the details. How did Locke and Helen meet if he wasn't in anger management, is Sawyer still a con man if Anthony Cooper never conned his parents, and if Sawyer is not a con man why was he in Australia, etc, etc, etc...
The difference here from FlashForward is that we have established characters and plotlines that we as viewers are invested in...I think that if the writers can just get us to the point where the X timeline somehow has consequences or stakes related to the Island timeline, then it will all work out.
One more thing...Terry O'Quinn is a brilliant actor, and is giving an Emmy-worthy performance. What I love is the subtle differences between pre-Island Locke and X-Locke, contrasted with the calculating and dangerous Smocke character that he now is on the Island. Terrific stuff.
Programming note: We are down to the top 24 on American Idol, which means that those recaps will start back up next week. They are back to a two hour performance night on both Tuesday and Wednesday, unlike what they did last season, so I am going to be a busy little blogger with four hours worth of performances to recap every week. For that reason, the LOST recap will almost definitely be pushed back to Saturdays...hey, I have to talk to my wife and kids at SOME point.
This weekend, I plan to let you know my favorites based on what we've seen so far, as well as my thoughts on how this season is playing out with the judge shake-up (SPOILER ALERT: I do not miss Paula).
Hey, and maybe there might even be a few Dawg and other sports related posts thrown in there too, at some point. What can I say? I'm a Renaissance man...
Believe it or not, even after writing what felt like a Stephen King-level opus yesterday (I mean length, not content...not enough gratuitous gruesome death or creepy kids to qualify as King-level content), I still later realized that there were a couple of things that I meant to address and didn't.
First of all, Shan brought up the point in the comments about what exactly the "rules" are concerning Jacob and MIB, especially in light of Ilana's comment to Sun that MIB was now stuck in the Smocke persona. We are all pretty much in agreement that we have seen Smokey take on other personas, right? Yemi and Alex for "sure" (at least as sure as we can be about this show), and maybe Dave, Christian, and the old guy that Locke saw in the cabin way back in "The Man Behind the Curtain".
So, what has changed? The only thing I can think of is that it revolves around the death of Jacob, and may be somehow related to the loophole that MIB had to find in order to kill him. He can obviously still go back and forth between Smokey and Smocke, so apparently it is only related to his ability to take on the personas of dead people.
Secondly, a more general comment regarding the "Sideways Timeline" plot device...I am certainly enjoying seeing the characters in this new environment and trying to figure out what's "different" about their personalities and how their lives have been changed. And, of course, I'm digging seeing so many of the people from the Island pop up when you least expect them. However, I think that at some point the novelty is going to wear off and the writers are going to have to raise the stakes a little bit. So far, we have not seen any real relevance to what is going on back on the Island, or any concrete consequences to the Jack Daniels plan of blowing up the Island, or even given any real reason to "care" about what is going on in the X timeline outside of just a "what if" scenario. We've seen little hints that some of the characters feel a little tugging at their consciousness that something is weird (Jack recognizing Desmond, Kate seeming to feel some connection to Jack, Claire just "knowing" that the baby's name should be Aaron, etc.), but nothing else.
I'm going to trust the writers, of course...I'm sure they are going to provide more context and stakes to the X timeline as we go along. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later, or I am going to start losing interest in that part of the story.
I'm sort of afraid that they may run into some of the problems that I have with "FlashForward"...as Shan pointed out in the comments to yesterday's post, one little thing (the fact that Locke and his dad appear to be on good terms) produces so many questions and possibilities that it's going to be extremely difficult to reconcile it all without fudging some of the details. How did Locke and Helen meet if he wasn't in anger management, is Sawyer still a con man if Anthony Cooper never conned his parents, and if Sawyer is not a con man why was he in Australia, etc, etc, etc...
The difference here from FlashForward is that we have established characters and plotlines that we as viewers are invested in...I think that if the writers can just get us to the point where the X timeline somehow has consequences or stakes related to the Island timeline, then it will all work out.
One more thing...Terry O'Quinn is a brilliant actor, and is giving an Emmy-worthy performance. What I love is the subtle differences between pre-Island Locke and X-Locke, contrasted with the calculating and dangerous Smocke character that he now is on the Island. Terrific stuff.
Programming note: We are down to the top 24 on American Idol, which means that those recaps will start back up next week. They are back to a two hour performance night on both Tuesday and Wednesday, unlike what they did last season, so I am going to be a busy little blogger with four hours worth of performances to recap every week. For that reason, the LOST recap will almost definitely be pushed back to Saturdays...hey, I have to talk to my wife and kids at SOME point.
This weekend, I plan to let you know my favorites based on what we've seen so far, as well as my thoughts on how this season is playing out with the judge shake-up (SPOILER ALERT: I do not miss Paula).
Hey, and maybe there might even be a few Dawg and other sports related posts thrown in there too, at some point. What can I say? I'm a Renaissance man...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Why I love LOST...
Wow. Last night's episode is already firmly entrenched in my Top 5 all time episodes, and could possibly vault into number one upon rewatch and the opportunity for subsequent episodes to add even MORE importance to it (which seems impossible).
In the wake of such mind blowing awesomeness, I am reminded again of just why I love this show so much. There are so many aspects of this show to love...the acting is stellar (particularly in the last couple of seasons), the dialogue is sharp and witty (most of the time), it's a gorgeous show to look at almost all of the time, the characters are fully realized, etc, etc.
But all of that has been done by other great shows over the years. What sets this show apart for me is that I have never seen a show with such ambition and audacity that has also managed to stay on the air this long.
I have never seen another show that respects their audience and challenges us on a weekly basis the way this one does. I love the fact that for the last two and a half seasons, the writing and production staff have basically told their audience: "Look...we're going to be dealing with subject matter on this show that you are not going to find anywhere else. Physics, archaeology, time travel, the time-space continuum, religion, literature, human psychology...you name it. And we're not going to cut it up into small bites for you, either. We're giving you the whole freaking steak, and we expect you to know what to do with it. If that's too much for you, well....there's always The Biggest Loser." As far as I can tell, they have never once felt the need to back off of a concept or a plot device because they were afraid that the audience wouldn't get it. In fact, they have voiced concerns in the media that they knew that there were some people who would find the show too challenging, but they still have the guts to throw it out there anyway.
And kudos to the network, as well...I think the level of cooperation that the producers of this show are experiencing may just be unprecedented. Not only the much talked about decision to let them set an end date, which almost definitely saved the show from a creativity and story telling perspective, but also that they have apparently allowed them to go as far as they want to into this unchartered territory.
Maybe we have it all wrong when we talk about Joss Whedon having to go to a cable network in order to be able to tell his stories the way he wants...maybe he should call Disney/ABC instead.
I'll be back later with the recap, including the mind-blowing fact that apparently in the sideways timeline Elvis is somehow still alive, but he has continued to get fatter and now he drives a yellow Hummer.
....
Oh, that was Hurley? Dude, those mutton chops are FIERCE!
EDIT: It will be a couple of days before I publish my recap, so I wanted to go ahead and get it on record before it gets published in about two dozen other recaps...there were TONS of parallels to Satan in Smocke's behavior in that episode. Just to throw it out there.
In the wake of such mind blowing awesomeness, I am reminded again of just why I love this show so much. There are so many aspects of this show to love...the acting is stellar (particularly in the last couple of seasons), the dialogue is sharp and witty (most of the time), it's a gorgeous show to look at almost all of the time, the characters are fully realized, etc, etc.
But all of that has been done by other great shows over the years. What sets this show apart for me is that I have never seen a show with such ambition and audacity that has also managed to stay on the air this long.
I have never seen another show that respects their audience and challenges us on a weekly basis the way this one does. I love the fact that for the last two and a half seasons, the writing and production staff have basically told their audience: "Look...we're going to be dealing with subject matter on this show that you are not going to find anywhere else. Physics, archaeology, time travel, the time-space continuum, religion, literature, human psychology...you name it. And we're not going to cut it up into small bites for you, either. We're giving you the whole freaking steak, and we expect you to know what to do with it. If that's too much for you, well....there's always The Biggest Loser." As far as I can tell, they have never once felt the need to back off of a concept or a plot device because they were afraid that the audience wouldn't get it. In fact, they have voiced concerns in the media that they knew that there were some people who would find the show too challenging, but they still have the guts to throw it out there anyway.
And kudos to the network, as well...I think the level of cooperation that the producers of this show are experiencing may just be unprecedented. Not only the much talked about decision to let them set an end date, which almost definitely saved the show from a creativity and story telling perspective, but also that they have apparently allowed them to go as far as they want to into this unchartered territory.
Maybe we have it all wrong when we talk about Joss Whedon having to go to a cable network in order to be able to tell his stories the way he wants...maybe he should call Disney/ABC instead.
I'll be back later with the recap, including the mind-blowing fact that apparently in the sideways timeline Elvis is somehow still alive, but he has continued to get fatter and now he drives a yellow Hummer.
....
Oh, that was Hurley? Dude, those mutton chops are FIERCE!
EDIT: It will be a couple of days before I publish my recap, so I wanted to go ahead and get it on record before it gets published in about two dozen other recaps...there were TONS of parallels to Satan in Smocke's behavior in that episode. Just to throw it out there.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Speaking of rivalries...
I will, of course, be back soon with the recap of yesterday's immensely satisfying win over the gnats...but in the meantime, I found THIS to be absolutely hilarious:
The comments on Dr. Saturday's blog are pretty funny, too...basically a bunch of UCLA fans and other pansies calling Pete Carroll "classless" and other not-so-nice words.
Whatever.
First of all, it's up to you to stop the other team from scoring, PERIOD. But if you want the game to be over, then don't call timeout with less than a minute to go when the other team is trying to run the clock out. By calling timeout, you're basically saying you're not ready for the game to be over. And Pete Carroll said, "Fine...if you want to keep playing, then let's keep playing."
I love college football.
The comments on Dr. Saturday's blog are pretty funny, too...basically a bunch of UCLA fans and other pansies calling Pete Carroll "classless" and other not-so-nice words.
Whatever.
First of all, it's up to you to stop the other team from scoring, PERIOD. But if you want the game to be over, then don't call timeout with less than a minute to go when the other team is trying to run the clock out. By calling timeout, you're basically saying you're not ready for the game to be over. And Pete Carroll said, "Fine...if you want to keep playing, then let's keep playing."
I love college football.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The You Tube Bowl
I'll say this about the UGA-Auburn games...they have been the source of some of my highest and lowest moments as a Dawg fan, as well as the source of some of my favorite Dawg You-Tube clips...
For example:
And, I don't know why this one can't be embedded anymore, but it is maybe my favorite video of the Blackout entrance.
Tonight should be a great, well fought game...hopefully some more great Dawg memories!
GO DAWGS!!!
For example:
And, I don't know why this one can't be embedded anymore, but it is maybe my favorite video of the Blackout entrance.
Tonight should be a great, well fought game...hopefully some more great Dawg memories!
GO DAWGS!!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Cool new Pearl Jam song
Actually, I don't know how "new" it is...I admittedly am not really "hip". Yeah, I know, that comes as a shock.
Anyway, I love this, and it's very different from what I expected when I heard "new Pearl Jam song".
Anyway, I love this, and it's very different from what I expected when I heard "new Pearl Jam song".
Thursday, November 5, 2009
This video makes me ridiculously happy..
If you ever get a chance to check out The Office webisodes on NBC.com (or Hulu), they are well worth the time. The webisodes are a great opportunity to focus on some of the hilarious characters that are often relegated to the background while the focus stays on the "core" group.
Kelly and Andy are probably my two favorite Office characters, and I have been really impressed with how well Erin has fit in to the show as well...and B.J. Novack's arrogant cluelessness is never more on display than it is here:
STRAIGHT OUT OF LACKAWANNAAAAAAAA!!!!
Kelly and Andy are probably my two favorite Office characters, and I have been really impressed with how well Erin has fit in to the show as well...and B.J. Novack's arrogant cluelessness is never more on display than it is here:
STRAIGHT OUT OF LACKAWANNAAAAAAAA!!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thank you, Hulk Hogan..
Because you are delusional and pathetic enough to try and start a new wrestling promotion in Australia, the world is blessed with THIS:
Ahh...he's still got it.
"I only THINK I'm the man? Ask your ex-wife! I REEK of being The Man!"
WHOOOOO!!!!
Ahh...he's still got it.
"I only THINK I'm the man? Ask your ex-wife! I REEK of being The Man!"
WHOOOOO!!!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Happy Greg Blue Day!!!
With all apologies to Rantavious Wootentheballcarrier, and NO apologies to Quincy Carter, today is GREG BLUE DAY....17 days to kickoff!!!
To celebrate, here is what is probably the most famous hit of Greg Blue's career...as of last year it was STILL part of the College GameDay credits.
A lot of people remember and talk about this hit, but what a lot of people forget is what made the hit even MORE satisfying. This was the 2003 game in which the Dawgs dominated Auburn (this game also featured Odell's 99-yd interception return), and the game was well out of hand when Auburn was forced to punt late in the game. Damien Gary CLEARLY called for a fair catch and was levelled after he caught the ball by Courtney Taylor....just a blatantly dirty, illegal, and chicken__ move. The reaction in the crowd was PRIMAL. I can never remember such utter fury being directed at a player in Sanford Stadium....I think I personally blacked out, only to emerge from the rage-induced haze like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, coming to the realization that I was unleashing a string of profanity that I didn't even know that I was capable of.
On Auburn's next posession, Taylor was in the game at WR, went over the middle, and then...
BOOM!!! One of the more satisfying moments in my life as a Dawg fan.
GO DAWGS!!! 17 DAYS!!!
To celebrate, here is what is probably the most famous hit of Greg Blue's career...as of last year it was STILL part of the College GameDay credits.
A lot of people remember and talk about this hit, but what a lot of people forget is what made the hit even MORE satisfying. This was the 2003 game in which the Dawgs dominated Auburn (this game also featured Odell's 99-yd interception return), and the game was well out of hand when Auburn was forced to punt late in the game. Damien Gary CLEARLY called for a fair catch and was levelled after he caught the ball by Courtney Taylor....just a blatantly dirty, illegal, and chicken__ move. The reaction in the crowd was PRIMAL. I can never remember such utter fury being directed at a player in Sanford Stadium....I think I personally blacked out, only to emerge from the rage-induced haze like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, coming to the realization that I was unleashing a string of profanity that I didn't even know that I was capable of.
On Auburn's next posession, Taylor was in the game at WR, went over the middle, and then...
BOOM!!! One of the more satisfying moments in my life as a Dawg fan.
GO DAWGS!!! 17 DAYS!!!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
More reason to love Joe C...
From Marc Weiszer's article in the Athens Banner Herald regarding the absence of Dawg arrests this offseason:
Quarterback Joe Cox said the message he sent to his teammates was for "everybody
to grow up."Said Cox: "We had too many people that thought they were more mature than
they were. We had too many guys on our team that knew when things were going bad
with their teammates, they wouldn't say anything to them and it kind of got to
the point where we, as seniors, told them we had a big problem, where guys would
say 'I can't tell him anything, he's a grown man, he's going to do what he wants
to do.'But you're not a grown man if you're making decisions that are going to hurt
your team. That's what we preached to everybody this offseason."
GATA, Joe!!!
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