Since the DNC is starting today, I thought I would vent about John McCain.
He's doing well in the polls but for the life of me, I can't seem to figure out why. But let me vent about a few things.
1) Military experience - I've been thinking about John McCain's military experience. In what way does it make him suitable to be the President? Of course, he was a POW, and that's horrible. But his highest rank in the Navy was Captain. He could run a ship, but he never made it to Rear Admiral or Admiral (the highest ranks). Point is, the most distinguishing feature of his military career is that he was captured by the enemy!
2) As Paul Krugman points out in today's NY Times, all the "bad things" about John Kerry, also apply to John McCain! "Sugar daddy wife?" Check. Military service record available for distortion? Check.
3) Hillary Clinton supporters who are backing John McCain have to determine why exactly they are voting for Hillary Clinton, and why exactly they have decided to follow McCain instead of Obama. They clearly are not voting based on political platform, as Obama and Clinton are much more similar than Clinton and McCain. So if you're voting for another reason, what is it? Disrespect? Anger? Sadness? Are these reasons to vote for a candidate? Doesn't anger lead to hate, and hate lead to suffering?
4) I wonder if calling Barack Obama "arrogant" is code for calling him "uppity." What has he done to be arrogant? Went to Harvard and Columbia? The same things that make him "elitist" or "arrogant" are things that nearly every parent would wish their child would accomplish. Not to mention the last 3 Presidents went to Yale and the one before that was a movie star! By the way, apparently being a "huge celebrity" is not good if you're Obama, but fine if your name rhymes with Reagan.
5) Experience - a completely imagined qualification for President. Maybe the only relevant experience would be that of being some sort of executive or head of an organization. As Bill Clinton said recently, "You could argue nobody has the experience to be President." It's probably true. Some can handle the job better than others but how can we predict this? Our current President was a CEO and a governor and basically horrible. He has the most "experience" anybody could want and has been a failure. So why is experience important?
6) Finally, I guess the credit has to go to the Republican machine, which continues to perpetuate the myth that the media is "liberal" (see all of talk radio, Fox News and corporate ownership as counter-examples), and that somehow John McCain, whose economic policies will clearly benefit the rich, is better for lower income voters. It's making me really angry. Like "Hulk Smash" angry. Thanks for letting me vent.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
NFL Team Previews
iTunes has some free NFL Team previews done by NFL films. The preview of the Jets recaps the 2007 season, and they've done an amazing job of not focusing on any of the negativity, despite the season having been horrible. All the losses, QB controversy, are glossed over (the team always fought hard, had to overcome tough, close losses, etc). The preview is incredibly optimistic, and must have been made before the Brett Favre acquisition. It makes me want to see the Miami Dolphins preview!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Blogman Wonders...
If you wake up at 5am and drink a coke, it's kind of gross. But on the other hand, if you stay up until 5am and have a coke, that's much less gross. Ditto for sandwiches. Why is that?
Friday, August 15, 2008
Mike and the Mad Dog - It's Over?
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaandgoodafternooneverybody!
As suddenly as Brett Favre became a Jet, the Mike and the Mad Dog program broke up after nearly 20 years. A show that has been a part of my afternoons for a while, and then when I couldn't listen in the afternoons, has been a podcast that I've been downloading regularly. This show, one of the first duo sports talk shows in the country, set the model for what is now an industry. For the most part, it's better than any other show that has come since. There have been times that either Mike or Mad Dog have been a little much either alone or together, but they somehow made the discussion fun and interesting. Whatever comes next won't be nearly as good.
Check out Mad Dog's teary goodbye.
According to Mike, he'll never have another radio partner and will be at WFAN the rest of his career. Unfortunately, individually neither Mike nor Mad Dog will be as good as the team show. If I was 1050 ESPN radio, I'd see if I could lure Mad Dog into the afternoon - imagine, Mike vs Mad Dog!
As suddenly as Brett Favre became a Jet, the Mike and the Mad Dog program broke up after nearly 20 years. A show that has been a part of my afternoons for a while, and then when I couldn't listen in the afternoons, has been a podcast that I've been downloading regularly. This show, one of the first duo sports talk shows in the country, set the model for what is now an industry. For the most part, it's better than any other show that has come since. There have been times that either Mike or Mad Dog have been a little much either alone or together, but they somehow made the discussion fun and interesting. Whatever comes next won't be nearly as good.
Check out Mad Dog's teary goodbye.
According to Mike, he'll never have another radio partner and will be at WFAN the rest of his career. Unfortunately, individually neither Mike nor Mad Dog will be as good as the team show. If I was 1050 ESPN radio, I'd see if I could lure Mad Dog into the afternoon - imagine, Mike vs Mad Dog!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Google Reader
Why has it taken me so long to adopt an RSS reader? I just started using Google Reader recently and I love it. It really saves me a lot of time while web browsing.
I think the main reason that I've been slow to adopt the RSS reader is that I only recently started reading a bunch of blog-style websites on a regular basis. In addition, a bunch of comics news websites, like Newsarama and CBR, weren't providing RSS feeds. But now, Google Reader makes things much easier, and there's no need to visit a million different websites, I can just open Reader and let it update for me. I'm not sure if Google Reader is the best RSS feed reader out there but since I use GMail, it seems like an easy one to pick up.
I think the main reason that I've been slow to adopt the RSS reader is that I only recently started reading a bunch of blog-style websites on a regular basis. In addition, a bunch of comics news websites, like Newsarama and CBR, weren't providing RSS feeds. But now, Google Reader makes things much easier, and there's no need to visit a million different websites, I can just open Reader and let it update for me. I'm not sure if Google Reader is the best RSS feed reader out there but since I use GMail, it seems like an easy one to pick up.
Brett Favre in New York
There have been many accomplished athletes who switch teams late in their careers, and many who have switched teams into New York City. But Brett Favre's arrival with the Jets has an even larger carnival-like atmosphere than I could have ever imagined.
Why is this happening? Certainly it's big news any time a team acquires a HOF-caliber player. But even most HOF-caliber acquisitions don't get press conferences at City Hall and "Broadway" signs. And it's been a week since his acquisition but ESPN is still doing daily training camp updates from Jets camp.
First, I think since the Brett Favre retirement saga was big news in the national media to begin with, the resolution has now led to increased focus on Favre. Second, since the Jets were such a surprise team from this trade, and in general the timing was surprising and last minute, there is a bigger reaction. Finally, although the Olympics are going on, there aren't many other stories in pro sports.
I'm not sure how successful this trade will make the Jets, but I am sure it has raised the expectations significantly for the team. That's not always a good thing. Lately, I've been noticing that NY sports fans (but especially Mets and Jets fans) seem to get really upset when the high expectations they have for their teams are not met. Chad Pennington was easily and frequently cheered and then booed. What will be his reception the first game he comes back as a Dolphin? Mets fans, in particular, are boo crazy and there is significant overlap from Mets to Jets.
The Jets season may start off bumpy. If there's ever a game Miami can steal, it will be week 1, with the Jets on the road, new QB and the general problems teams run into on week 1. Then the Jets go on to face the Pats and Chargers. Of course, Chad Pennington loved to feast on the Chargers (he beat them in their last 3 match-ups, including a 44-13 whipping while the Jets struggled and the Chargers were 6-1). Then Arizona, the team everyone always thinks will be better. So it could easily be a 2-2 or 1-3 start. Not so favorable. Fortunately the BYE week then comes up and the schedule is pretty good overall.
Another interesting comment I've heard - the Patriots have the easiest schedule in the league and the Jets one of the hardest. Well, sure that's true if you look by opponent's record. But their only opponents that differ are the Jets face the Bengals and Titans, whereas the Pats face the Steelers and Colts. So what accounts for the disparity? Easy - if you calculate the Jets' opponents records, you need to factor in the 16-0 Patriots twice. Whereas when you factor the Pats' opponents records, you put in the 4-12 Jets twice. But actually the schedule is only different in those two games. So yes, technically the Jets' schedule is harder because they play the Patriots, but the Patriots don't have to play against themselves.
Interesting to watch for: at what point will Brett Favre say "we" and "us" instead of "this team" and "these guys"? The latter phrases sound much more like an outsider looking in.
Why is this happening? Certainly it's big news any time a team acquires a HOF-caliber player. But even most HOF-caliber acquisitions don't get press conferences at City Hall and "Broadway" signs. And it's been a week since his acquisition but ESPN is still doing daily training camp updates from Jets camp.
First, I think since the Brett Favre retirement saga was big news in the national media to begin with, the resolution has now led to increased focus on Favre. Second, since the Jets were such a surprise team from this trade, and in general the timing was surprising and last minute, there is a bigger reaction. Finally, although the Olympics are going on, there aren't many other stories in pro sports.
I'm not sure how successful this trade will make the Jets, but I am sure it has raised the expectations significantly for the team. That's not always a good thing. Lately, I've been noticing that NY sports fans (but especially Mets and Jets fans) seem to get really upset when the high expectations they have for their teams are not met. Chad Pennington was easily and frequently cheered and then booed. What will be his reception the first game he comes back as a Dolphin? Mets fans, in particular, are boo crazy and there is significant overlap from Mets to Jets.
The Jets season may start off bumpy. If there's ever a game Miami can steal, it will be week 1, with the Jets on the road, new QB and the general problems teams run into on week 1. Then the Jets go on to face the Pats and Chargers. Of course, Chad Pennington loved to feast on the Chargers (he beat them in their last 3 match-ups, including a 44-13 whipping while the Jets struggled and the Chargers were 6-1). Then Arizona, the team everyone always thinks will be better. So it could easily be a 2-2 or 1-3 start. Not so favorable. Fortunately the BYE week then comes up and the schedule is pretty good overall.
Another interesting comment I've heard - the Patriots have the easiest schedule in the league and the Jets one of the hardest. Well, sure that's true if you look by opponent's record. But their only opponents that differ are the Jets face the Bengals and Titans, whereas the Pats face the Steelers and Colts. So what accounts for the disparity? Easy - if you calculate the Jets' opponents records, you need to factor in the 16-0 Patriots twice. Whereas when you factor the Pats' opponents records, you put in the 4-12 Jets twice. But actually the schedule is only different in those two games. So yes, technically the Jets' schedule is harder because they play the Patriots, but the Patriots don't have to play against themselves.
Interesting to watch for: at what point will Brett Favre say "we" and "us" instead of "this team" and "these guys"? The latter phrases sound much more like an outsider looking in.
Team Handball
I have been browsing the NBCOlympics.com website and stumbled upon women's team handball. What an interesting game. It's like some mix of basketball and soccer. But while the rules say they need to dribble while moving the ball, from what I can tell, there's not a whole lot of dribbling. Kind of interesting to be watching a game for the first time and trying to figure out how it works. I suspect this will wear off fairly quickly.
Kudos to NBC for their online Olympics coverage. I would have never seen this had it not been online and they have a ton of different events that you can watch live. That means curling fans can get excited when they have this sort of thing in the 2010 winter games.
Kudos to NBC for their online Olympics coverage. I would have never seen this had it not been online and they have a ton of different events that you can watch live. That means curling fans can get excited when they have this sort of thing in the 2010 winter games.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Favre is a Jet. Whatthahuh?
Let's hope this move is more like Joe Montana with the Chiefs and Wade Boggs with the Yankees than Patrick Ewing with the Sonics and Michael Jordan with the Wizards.
Poor Chad Pennington. He'll benefit from being in another place that has a good offensive line. The only reason he's leaving is that Brett Favre couldn't make up his mind about retirement.
Poor Chad Pennington. He'll benefit from being in another place that has a good offensive line. The only reason he's leaving is that Brett Favre couldn't make up his mind about retirement.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight was an awesome movie. I think part of what made it so enjoyable was that it didn't follow any sort of cliches that we expect from these types of movies. My audience at Union Square last Saturday afternoon was pretty amazing. There was almost no talking at all from the packed house, and when the movie started it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. A huge contrast from my Iron Man experience in Times Square when the couple next to me was talking at normal speaking volume the entire film.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Heroes Webisodes
There's a new set of webisodes for the TV show Heroes that are introducing this postman with the power of a special scream. I just finished the second episode, and I'm pretty sure that it ended with the main character swearing! I guess there's no regulation on the web.
Also, Heroes was mentioned in the NY Times recently. The upcoming DVD release will include two unfinished episodes that were affected by the strike. I never saw the first DVD set but I believe there was some sort of bonus involving alternate ways that certain storylines would play out.
I really enjoyed the last season of Heroes overall, but for the life of me, I can't remember what exactly happened.
Also, Heroes was mentioned in the NY Times recently. The upcoming DVD release will include two unfinished episodes that were affected by the strike. I never saw the first DVD set but I believe there was some sort of bonus involving alternate ways that certain storylines would play out.
I really enjoyed the last season of Heroes overall, but for the life of me, I can't remember what exactly happened.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
A Joss Whedon Day...
A rare day off today, and the pile of comics I planned on reading includes Astonishing X-Men and the most recent story from Runaways. From Netflix, I've got Buffy, season 3 disc 4. All my entertainment plans revolve around ideas of Joss Whedon?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Metal Gear Solid 4... Thoughts After First Run
Overall: An excellent game, probably the best in the series. My finishing time was 26 hours. Apparently to get the best finishing time, you need to complete the game in 5 hours or less! Not happening any time in my future.
Pros: Beautiful graphics, great new gameplay elements such as the Mk II, Octocamo, decent boss fights.
Cons: Story hard to figure out for newcomers, Less gameplay towards the end of the game, cutscenes can get very long.
Pros: Beautiful graphics, great new gameplay elements such as the Mk II, Octocamo, decent boss fights.
Cons: Story hard to figure out for newcomers, Less gameplay towards the end of the game, cutscenes can get very long.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Movie Mania
I've been seeing a lot of movies lately. Here are some brief spoiler-free reviews and comments.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Not a bad movie, but not up to the level of the previous Indiana Jones films. Harrison Ford looked old. Possibly the best of the 10+ year sequels that I can think of (Star Wars Episode 1, Terminator 3, Rocky Balboa, Live Free or Die Hard, Clerks 2).
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanimo Bay - Not as charming as the first installment, but still with some amusing scenes. I've gone nearly 30 years watching major Hollywood theatricals, and seen a guy's junk in about 1 of those movies (Kevin Bacon - Wild Things). But suddenly in the last three months there's been male junk randomly in a bunch of films I've seen - Dewey Cox, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Sex and the City and this film. What's with the sudden spotlight "down there?"
Clerks 2 - This movie really shows how my tastes in films have changed. I think if I had seen this ten years ago, I would have loved it. But now it just comes off as somewhat immature. For some reason my interest in Kevin Smith has declined significantly over the last few years. This one has some of the same geek-oriented banter, but Randall, who I once really liked, now seems just sort of immature and self-loathing to a point where I can't stand it.
Semi-Pro - Have you seen Anchorman, Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights? Then you've seen this film. Will Ferrell plays the same sort of character he's been playing, and while it's a funny character, there's a sort of empty sense from this one. Kind of like I've seen this movie before.
National Treasure 2 - While watching this movie, I forgot that I had laughed out loud when I originally saw the trailer. There are a huge number of moments where I just rolled my eyes and groaned. It made me really appreciate the Indiana Jones franchise. Also, the film seems to pick up a lot of character threads from the first movie, which was a nice touch - if I had actually remembered who any of the characters were.
Lars and the Real Girl - I didn't expect to like this one, but it was a nice film with Ryan Gosling playing this isolated young man who buys a doll and treats her like a real person. Kind of strange, and a bit touching. Lacked something at the very end.
Rocky Balboa - Sort of like an update of the original Rocky for the 2000's and the 50+ crowd. They say that in sequels people want to see the original movie, but with new circumstances. This one - it's just like the original only he's old, and it's more like a collection of loose scenes. Also, I don't watch much boxing, but in the final fight there are a lot of punches thrown. In the boxing I've seen, it's mostly boring and just grappling. I prefer the Hollywood version.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Not a bad movie, but not up to the level of the previous Indiana Jones films. Harrison Ford looked old. Possibly the best of the 10+ year sequels that I can think of (Star Wars Episode 1, Terminator 3, Rocky Balboa, Live Free or Die Hard, Clerks 2).
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanimo Bay - Not as charming as the first installment, but still with some amusing scenes. I've gone nearly 30 years watching major Hollywood theatricals, and seen a guy's junk in about 1 of those movies (Kevin Bacon - Wild Things). But suddenly in the last three months there's been male junk randomly in a bunch of films I've seen - Dewey Cox, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Sex and the City and this film. What's with the sudden spotlight "down there?"
Clerks 2 - This movie really shows how my tastes in films have changed. I think if I had seen this ten years ago, I would have loved it. But now it just comes off as somewhat immature. For some reason my interest in Kevin Smith has declined significantly over the last few years. This one has some of the same geek-oriented banter, but Randall, who I once really liked, now seems just sort of immature and self-loathing to a point where I can't stand it.
Semi-Pro - Have you seen Anchorman, Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights? Then you've seen this film. Will Ferrell plays the same sort of character he's been playing, and while it's a funny character, there's a sort of empty sense from this one. Kind of like I've seen this movie before.
National Treasure 2 - While watching this movie, I forgot that I had laughed out loud when I originally saw the trailer. There are a huge number of moments where I just rolled my eyes and groaned. It made me really appreciate the Indiana Jones franchise. Also, the film seems to pick up a lot of character threads from the first movie, which was a nice touch - if I had actually remembered who any of the characters were.
Lars and the Real Girl - I didn't expect to like this one, but it was a nice film with Ryan Gosling playing this isolated young man who buys a doll and treats her like a real person. Kind of strange, and a bit touching. Lacked something at the very end.
Rocky Balboa - Sort of like an update of the original Rocky for the 2000's and the 50+ crowd. They say that in sequels people want to see the original movie, but with new circumstances. This one - it's just like the original only he's old, and it's more like a collection of loose scenes. Also, I don't watch much boxing, but in the final fight there are a lot of punches thrown. In the boxing I've seen, it's mostly boring and just grappling. I prefer the Hollywood version.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Question of the Day
Topic: Message board flame wars
Which message board fanboy war is most entertaining? PS3 vs XBOX 360 or Marvel vs DC?
Which message board fanboy war is most entertaining? PS3 vs XBOX 360 or Marvel vs DC?
Week in Review
Brief week in review:
Sunday: Momofuku Ssam - A pretty good restaurant in the East Village. We got steamed buns (a classic Momofuku item), bread and goat's butter (not bad, but was it worth it?), beef tendon and green mango, spicy pork sausage and rice cake, lamb belly and hanger steak ssam. Overall a pretty inexpensive meal and fairly light Asian cuisine. We finished it off with a visit to the Dessert Truck on 8th and Unversity, where you can get some really high quality desserts for $5.
Monday: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Not bad. When a movie makes a sequel after 10+ years (see: Star Wars, Die Hard, Terminator), is it possible for it to ever retain the spirit of the original? Can a movie-goer, whose age has changed by 10+ years accurately compare the new movie to the originals? That's the big question, right?
Not a lot of big movies in the upcoming weeks. Sex and the City should do well next week, but can it be more than just a super-long episode? I wonder if people will be compelled to go to the theater for it. The next few weeks seem slow: June 6: Kung Fu Panda / Zohan, June 13: Happening / Hulk, June 20: Get Smart / Love Guru, June 27: Wanted, Wall-E. I look at this list and I see eight movies I'd be content with seeing on video. I'd like for Hulk to be great but I have very low expectations. For Wanted, my expectations are even lower. Of the comedies and animated fare, none really seem like they'll be that funny. Looks like the next time I'll really have to be in a movie theater is July 18 - Dark Knight.
Remember 1989? That year there was also a Batman and Indiana Jones movie in the same summer.
Tuesday: RIP Ninth Street Market. The beloved brunch location has closed! Totally unexpectedly, the owner was just tired and decided to shut it down. In the evening I went to an old favorite, New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe in Chinatown.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Jury Duty involves a lot of wasted time. There's a lot of waiting, a lot of hearing people try to give excuses as to why they shouldn't have to serve, and a lot of waiting. It was more enjoyable than I expected, but there was a lot of downtime. I sympathize for judges who have to listen to all the childish ways people try to weasel out of jury duty. One good thing about jury duty - the courthouse is right by Chinatown. That means $1 for five dumplings at Fried Dumpling, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and great noodles.
Thursday: One heck of a comics week - three books by Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Batman, Final Crisis), two by Geoff Johns (Action and Green Lantern), the finale of Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and a few other gems like the first Starman omnibus.
Rest of the Week: I'm making my way through Buffy on Hulu, currently 8 episodes into the second season. After I'm done with this season it'll be off to Netflix. The Yankees won one Wed, after some dreadful losses Mon and Tues to Baltimore. I'd like to see the team play with a little more consistency. Still trying for that Momofuku Ko reservation and still not working out. There's always tomorrow morning at 10am!
Sunday: Momofuku Ssam - A pretty good restaurant in the East Village. We got steamed buns (a classic Momofuku item), bread and goat's butter (not bad, but was it worth it?), beef tendon and green mango, spicy pork sausage and rice cake, lamb belly and hanger steak ssam. Overall a pretty inexpensive meal and fairly light Asian cuisine. We finished it off with a visit to the Dessert Truck on 8th and Unversity, where you can get some really high quality desserts for $5.
Monday: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Not bad. When a movie makes a sequel after 10+ years (see: Star Wars, Die Hard, Terminator), is it possible for it to ever retain the spirit of the original? Can a movie-goer, whose age has changed by 10+ years accurately compare the new movie to the originals? That's the big question, right?
Not a lot of big movies in the upcoming weeks. Sex and the City should do well next week, but can it be more than just a super-long episode? I wonder if people will be compelled to go to the theater for it. The next few weeks seem slow: June 6: Kung Fu Panda / Zohan, June 13: Happening / Hulk, June 20: Get Smart / Love Guru, June 27: Wanted, Wall-E. I look at this list and I see eight movies I'd be content with seeing on video. I'd like for Hulk to be great but I have very low expectations. For Wanted, my expectations are even lower. Of the comedies and animated fare, none really seem like they'll be that funny. Looks like the next time I'll really have to be in a movie theater is July 18 - Dark Knight.
Remember 1989? That year there was also a Batman and Indiana Jones movie in the same summer.
Tuesday: RIP Ninth Street Market. The beloved brunch location has closed! Totally unexpectedly, the owner was just tired and decided to shut it down. In the evening I went to an old favorite, New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe in Chinatown.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Jury Duty involves a lot of wasted time. There's a lot of waiting, a lot of hearing people try to give excuses as to why they shouldn't have to serve, and a lot of waiting. It was more enjoyable than I expected, but there was a lot of downtime. I sympathize for judges who have to listen to all the childish ways people try to weasel out of jury duty. One good thing about jury duty - the courthouse is right by Chinatown. That means $1 for five dumplings at Fried Dumpling, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and great noodles.
Thursday: One heck of a comics week - three books by Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Batman, Final Crisis), two by Geoff Johns (Action and Green Lantern), the finale of Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and a few other gems like the first Starman omnibus.
Rest of the Week: I'm making my way through Buffy on Hulu, currently 8 episodes into the second season. After I'm done with this season it'll be off to Netflix. The Yankees won one Wed, after some dreadful losses Mon and Tues to Baltimore. I'd like to see the team play with a little more consistency. Still trying for that Momofuku Ko reservation and still not working out. There's always tomorrow morning at 10am!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Patriots "Spygate"
I thought this whole Spygate thing with the Patriots was resolved. Now we're hearing that the NFL has made a deal with former Patriots "cameraman" Matt Walsh, and that depending on what he says, there may be further penalty. Well, let's just get to the bottom of this and then move on! Enough dragging of the feet, and let's just get all the answers. As much as I would love for the NFL to find out that the Patriots were doing all sorts of illegal stuff and severely punish them for it, I suspect the case is more along the lines of them doing some sort of borderline wrong stuff and it probably had little effect on anything. So let's just get it over with. Maybe if we can find out what they did before the Draft this weekend, they can be penalized appropriately.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Can You Smell What Barack Is Cooking?
I know candidates pander all the time to voters, but can you believe what happened the other night on WWE Raw? The three remaining Presidential candidates all were invited to give statements, and they all contained horrible horrible puns.
HORRIBLE. Can you smell what Barack is cooking? Hill-Rod? McCainiacs? Really??
Clinton:
Hi, I’m Hillary Clinton. But tonight, in honor of the WWE, you can call me Hill-Rod.
This election is starting to feel a lot like “King of the Ring.” The only difference? The last man standing may just be a woman.
The truth is, this election is so important. The next president will face a stack full of difficult challenges right from the opening bell… to fix the economy, bring our troops home from Iraq, and make college more affordable. You need a president who will go to the mat for you. And that’s exactly what I’ll do.
I’ve been knocked down, but I’ve always gotten back up. And I know how to take a hit for the American people. And if things get a little tough, I may even have to deliver the “people’s elbow.”
Because this country is worth fighting for.
Now, I promise to stick to the political arena. So don't worry Randy Orton you're safe… for now.
When it comes to standing up for the American people though, I am ready to rumble.
Obama:
Hey WWE fans - I hope you're all enjoying the program tonight. You know, this is a historic time for America. It's not just that the reign of Randy Orton may soon be coming to an end. It's that at this moment, in this election, we have a chance to finally end business-as-usual in Washington. For a long time now, we've had a politics where our leaders go after each other like they're competing to become King of the Ring instead of coming together to provide universal health care, fix our economy, and solve our other problems. That's what I'm running for President to change. So to the special interests who've been setting the agenda in Washington for too long - and to all the forces of division and distraction that have stopped us from making progress for the American people - I've got one question: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?
McCain:
"Looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to celebrate their differences in the ring," McCain says. "Well, that's fine with me, but let me tell you: If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. Come November, it'll be game over. And whatcha gonna do when John McCain and all his McCainiacs run wild on you?"
HORRIBLE. Can you smell what Barack is cooking? Hill-Rod? McCainiacs? Really??
Clinton:
Hi, I’m Hillary Clinton. But tonight, in honor of the WWE, you can call me Hill-Rod.
This election is starting to feel a lot like “King of the Ring.” The only difference? The last man standing may just be a woman.
The truth is, this election is so important. The next president will face a stack full of difficult challenges right from the opening bell… to fix the economy, bring our troops home from Iraq, and make college more affordable. You need a president who will go to the mat for you. And that’s exactly what I’ll do.
I’ve been knocked down, but I’ve always gotten back up. And I know how to take a hit for the American people. And if things get a little tough, I may even have to deliver the “people’s elbow.”
Because this country is worth fighting for.
Now, I promise to stick to the political arena. So don't worry Randy Orton you're safe… for now.
When it comes to standing up for the American people though, I am ready to rumble.
Obama:
Hey WWE fans - I hope you're all enjoying the program tonight. You know, this is a historic time for America. It's not just that the reign of Randy Orton may soon be coming to an end. It's that at this moment, in this election, we have a chance to finally end business-as-usual in Washington. For a long time now, we've had a politics where our leaders go after each other like they're competing to become King of the Ring instead of coming together to provide universal health care, fix our economy, and solve our other problems. That's what I'm running for President to change. So to the special interests who've been setting the agenda in Washington for too long - and to all the forces of division and distraction that have stopped us from making progress for the American people - I've got one question: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?
McCain:
"Looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to celebrate their differences in the ring," McCain says. "Well, that's fine with me, but let me tell you: If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. Come November, it'll be game over. And whatcha gonna do when John McCain and all his McCainiacs run wild on you?"
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Two quick movie reviews
Justice League: The New Frontier
"This isn't Ultimate Avengers"
It's worth checking out this direct-to-video animated feature based on the graphic novel, "DC The New Frontier." The voice acting is pretty decent, and the animation style departs from the house style that Warner Bros had been using for a while. This story tops the previously released "Death of Superman" feature and makes me think that they could do some fun adaptations of stories like Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Year One if they so desired. It's not as deep as the book, but the feature is quite good. One thing that confuses me - why are animated features constantly 70 minutes long? This movie is definitely targeted towards older audiences, so it's not lack of attention span. Is it budget? Does it really cost that much more to put in 10-20 more minutes of story and animation?
Ghost Rider
"As bad as expected"
Supernatural and horror movies generally aren't up my alley. Since Ghost Rider is based on a comic book, I figured I would give it a try. Mark Steven Johnson, of Daredevil fame, wrote and directed this one. I remember the Ghost Rider comic, and thinking he looked cool, but didn't have much interest beyond that. In the case of this movie, the effects look great, but that's about all there is to the movie. The concept is not well executed. There's strange logic: why does the devil have a Ghost Rider who has the power to make evil-doers suffer? Why can't Ghost Rider go out in the sunlight? You can see attempts to make this a sort of Jekyll and Hyde or vampire type movie, but it just doesn't work. Add to it a weak script full of cliche shots and humor, and bad performances from Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage, and it's a mediocre film at best. As a side note, I have begun to find Nicholas Cage really annoying. Not sure why.
"This isn't Ultimate Avengers"
It's worth checking out this direct-to-video animated feature based on the graphic novel, "DC The New Frontier." The voice acting is pretty decent, and the animation style departs from the house style that Warner Bros had been using for a while. This story tops the previously released "Death of Superman" feature and makes me think that they could do some fun adaptations of stories like Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Year One if they so desired. It's not as deep as the book, but the feature is quite good. One thing that confuses me - why are animated features constantly 70 minutes long? This movie is definitely targeted towards older audiences, so it's not lack of attention span. Is it budget? Does it really cost that much more to put in 10-20 more minutes of story and animation?
Ghost Rider
"As bad as expected"
Supernatural and horror movies generally aren't up my alley. Since Ghost Rider is based on a comic book, I figured I would give it a try. Mark Steven Johnson, of Daredevil fame, wrote and directed this one. I remember the Ghost Rider comic, and thinking he looked cool, but didn't have much interest beyond that. In the case of this movie, the effects look great, but that's about all there is to the movie. The concept is not well executed. There's strange logic: why does the devil have a Ghost Rider who has the power to make evil-doers suffer? Why can't Ghost Rider go out in the sunlight? You can see attempts to make this a sort of Jekyll and Hyde or vampire type movie, but it just doesn't work. Add to it a weak script full of cliche shots and humor, and bad performances from Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage, and it's a mediocre film at best. As a side note, I have begun to find Nicholas Cage really annoying. Not sure why.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Knicks Need to Fire Isiah
Donnie Walsh steps in as the new President of the Knicks, and he has to fire Isiah Thomas. Even if Isiah Thomas was an amazing coach, there is such a negative attitude surrounding his tenure that it is time to wipe the slate clean. It would be the right move from a public relations standpoint, even if it's not the right move from a basketball standpoint (although given the rumblings from players about Thomas, it's probably the correct decision in terms of basketball too). If they're worried about spending all the money on the remainder of Thomas' contract, they should just bring in a cheap, first-time coach who wants to break in and let him do what he can to try and get this young team to play their best each night. That would go over well with fans, even if they stunk. This situation will take years to get out from, but maybe there's someone in place now who actually has a reasonable strategy. Dolan's made two right moves in this Walsh hiring - he got rid of Thomas, and he did so before the draft.
Rules changes
Looks like it's time to start telling CB's to just push receivers out of bounds the moment they touch a ball.
The NFL has passed "A recommendation to eliminate force-out decisions on pass completions near the sidelines. Now, officials will only have to decide whether a receiver landed inbounds or not. The intended result is more consistency."
The NFL has passed "A recommendation to eliminate force-out decisions on pass completions near the sidelines. Now, officials will only have to decide whether a receiver landed inbounds or not. The intended result is more consistency."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Real Life "Blades of Glory"
After reading this article about the US top two figure skaters, I couldn't help but think of the recent film, "Blades of Glory." Two top US male figure skaters who don't like each other, one a tough, manly, guy, the other a wispy, lighter than air fellow. Now all we need is to have them pair up for couples!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer Mini Review
I don't know why having Netflix draws me to rent movies that I know are crap, but it does. My morbid curiosity drew me to renting Fantastic Four 2, despite the fact that I thought Fantastic Four was pretty horrible. The movie did not disappoint. It's similar to the first movie - bad story, poor acting, but great production value. In general, these films have great effects, but not much else. There are many ridiculous things I could point out about this film, but I will limit it to just one: the Fantasti-car is a Dodge!
That one made laugh out loud. Seriously, the Fantasti-car is a Dodge!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
No More Surprises
I like to think that no news surprises me. Yet then, every so often, I get surprised. For example, when Hillary Clinton won a bunch of primaries last week, I was sort of surprised, but not really. When the Giants beat the Patriots, I was pretty surprised, but still, any time two teams play, I never feel completely sure of the outcome. But NY Governor Eliot Spitzer getting busted for soliciting prostitutes? That one really surprised me. It's not like when CT's governor resigned for a scandal where he took money, or even NJ's governor revealing he was having a homosexual affair. This one was a shocker because it came out of nowhere and Spitzer's entire credibility is based on the fact that he was sort of this higher than thou prosecutor who did a lot of good things. I know I shouldn't trust politicians and I certainly don't believe that they are any better as people, but still, this one left me really surprised.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Leap Year
It's leap year! This happens what, every four years?
Leap year is kind of a funny concept to me. Our "year" is fairly precise, but off by 6 hours so we have to "make up for it" every few years. In the old days, imagine realizing that your calendar was off, then telling everyone you needed to add a little more time to things?
See you in four years.
Leap year is kind of a funny concept to me. Our "year" is fairly precise, but off by 6 hours so we have to "make up for it" every few years. In the old days, imagine realizing that your calendar was off, then telling everyone you needed to add a little more time to things?
See you in four years.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hibachi in New York
Are there any hibachi places in Manhattan besides Benihana? I am looking for a place that has that style Japanese grill show and isn't in Brooklyn. I'd rather not travel an hour to get to Ginza in Park Slope or Arirang.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Shooting Down a Satellite
Apparently one of our old satellites is about to drop down into the atmosphere, and so to protect our interests (and our people?) the US Government as decided that the best thing to do is shoot this thing down with a $10M missile.
My first reaction to this news is surprise that we have the accuracy to hit a satellite with a missile. Apparently there is a "10 second window" that they will have to make the right shot.
My next reaction is wonder. If a satellite falling to the earth is dangerous as debris, what happens if we miss the satellite? Then the missile gets detonated high above and the satellite falls? Can the missile miss and hit something else? Is the satellite debris dangerous too?
My final reaction is cynical. Are we really doing this to protect our secrets and prevent damage, or are we just doing this for posturing and to show off to the rest of the world that we can shoot down satellites because we're the USA. On the one hand this seems like an expensive way to do this. On the other, it's pretty cheap compared to starting a war.
My first reaction to this news is surprise that we have the accuracy to hit a satellite with a missile. Apparently there is a "10 second window" that they will have to make the right shot.
My next reaction is wonder. If a satellite falling to the earth is dangerous as debris, what happens if we miss the satellite? Then the missile gets detonated high above and the satellite falls? Can the missile miss and hit something else? Is the satellite debris dangerous too?
My final reaction is cynical. Are we really doing this to protect our secrets and prevent damage, or are we just doing this for posturing and to show off to the rest of the world that we can shoot down satellites because we're the USA. On the one hand this seems like an expensive way to do this. On the other, it's pretty cheap compared to starting a war.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Geek Break: Comics Coming Up in May '08
Let me take a moment to geek out and briefly mention some comics coming up in May '08. You can find the complete solicitations for Marvel in May '08 here, and for DC here.
Solicitations are the little previews each company gives to retailers so they can figure out what to order in the upcoming months. Based on the little snippets of text that these provide, I will make some broad judgments about the books that have yet to even come out. It may not be fair, but it's fun.
Marvel Comics
First, it looks like Marvel is really going all-out in May. They have been doing very well sales-wise against their Distinguished Competition, and May looks like they really are going to try and stick it to DC yet again. Just look at some of these major #1 releases:
Avengers / Invaders #1 (New mini-series with Alex Ross and Jim Krueger of the highly popular Earth X, Justice)
King Size Hulk #1 (Jeph Loeb, Art Adams, Frank Cho)
Marvel 1985 #1 (Mark Millar)
I once read somewhere that the editors can basically predict how well a book will sell if they know the creators and characters in the book. These three books above will almost certainly perform well - probably in the 100K+ mark, which is pretty rare these days. Add that to Marvel's already near 100K+ books:
Secret Invasion #2 (Brian Bendis, Lenil Yu - not yet 100K but probably will be)
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #3 of 5 (Stephen King inspired book)
Fantastic Four #557 (Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch)
Thor
New Avengers
Amazing Spider-Man
Marvel will probably have 8-10 of the top 10 books for the month at this rate.
Now for some brief book by book comments:
Ultimate line - Ultimate FF #54, Ultimate Iron Man 2 #5, Ultimate Spider-Man #122, Ultimate X-Men #94. Ultimate X-Men has a new writer, Aron Coleite from Heroes. Fans of Ultimate X-Men are hoping that he got a lot of this work done during the WGA strike and there won't be any delays. I used to buy all the Ultimate line titles, but now I buy none of them. There's just no reason to. The continuity is just as confusing, and the books are no longer fresh or inspiring. The creators are not particularly big names and it just seems stale. Word is, there is a re-boot on the way, but it's hard for me to care.
Amazing Spider-Man #558-#560 - Out of protest from One More Day, I don't buy this book. The more I think about that, it's silly, but I'll stick to my guns for now. Anyway, from what I've heard even though the creative teams sound great, it hasn't been groundbreaking and so it's just as well, considering it comes out three times each month now.
Avengers/Invaders #1 - While I am sure this Alex Ross / Jim Krueger miniseries will be great, I am going to pass on it, and if word is that it is good, I will catch it later. Frankly, golden age characters don't really interest me.
Alan Davis Covers - Black Panther #37, Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1, New Exiles #6, Clandestine #4. Alan Davis wrote and drew interiors for Clandestine, but he's randomly doing covers for the other books. That's great news, but kind of strange that they're all popping up this month?
Captain America #38 - I'm getting it, who cares what the solicitation says. It's been really interesting.
Fantastic Four #557 - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch continue their 16 issue story arc on Fantastic Four. I read the first issue of this, and it was nice, but it wasn't as awe-inspiring as their work on Ultimates. Maybe I have Millar fatigue? Or maybe I've been here before, as Millar wrote Ultimate Fantastic Four. Something about this doesn't feel fresh and new, which is how I usually feel when reading a Millar title. In my opinion, having "Ultimate" creators working in mainstream Marvel U really takes away from the Ultimate Marvel U. Especially in Fantastic Four, where from what I can tell, the only difference between the two is that in mainstream Marvel, Reed and Sue are married with children. Otherwise, they're essentially the same characters.
Invincible Iron Man #1 - Iron Man, a character with a movie coming out, gets a second series for the first time. I don't read the current book, which in December was #62 on the charts at about 38K. That doesn't strike me as a particularly good sales figure, and is the character really that popular? On the other hand, Thor is a top 5 selling book these days, so I guess anything can happen.
Marvel 1985 #1 - A Mark Millar project that he has been hyping up a lot. I think I'll wait for the trade. Same goes for Kick-Ass #4, his creator owned, Icon series with John Romita Jr.
Secret Invasion #2 - The BIG EVENT of Marvel's 2008 summer. Apparently there are Skrulls impersonating all sorts of heroes throughout the Marvel U. It's been teased at for a while, and building up for a long time. For some reason, I just can't get interested. Leinil Yu is doing the art, and I like his work. I like plots that are intricate and have been building up for a while as well. Surprise twists are good too, but I just can't get excited about this at all. I'll read summaries about this one on the Inter-Web. There are the requisite tie-ins and spin-offs for this as well (Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Captain Britain and MI: 13).
Thor #9 - I'll say it again - Since it came out, Thor has been selling over 100K a month, more than any of the X-Men titles in that period. I can't believe it.
X-Men Titles - I'll only put the ones I'm interested in. There are a lot of X-books these days.
Uncanny X-Men #498 - still the flagship. It's been decent but I can't help thinking they're waiting for #500 to come up.
X-Men Legacy #211, #212 - I don't know what to make of this title, formerly known as X-Men. I'd have to think that changing the name of the book to X-Men Legacy marginalizes it and will actually be bad for sales.
Cable #3 - I'm curious about this since it directly relates to the big recent crossover, Messiah CompleX. But not interested enough to start picking this up.
X-Force #4, Wolverine #65: Both these books have stories where Wolverine goes after the villains who got away in Messiah CompleX. While I don't really care too much about Wolverine appearing in too many books, something funny happened here. After the crossover, Cyclops and Wolverine had two conversations. In one, he said, "Go after Mystique" (a story in Wolverine). In the other, he said, "Go after the Purifiers" (a story in X-Force). Finally, Wolverine can be seen traveling around Europe with Nightcrawler and Colossus, lamenting the end of the Messiah CompleX story. I'm really not that nit-picky about this kind of continuity but it seems a little too much.
Wolverine: Origins #25 - Supposedly this should be the halfway point of this title. I stopped buying it a while back because I didn't enjoy it. But I like the character of Wolverine so much I can't help but wonder what happens in this book anyway.
Logan #3 - Brian K Vaughan of Y: The Last Man concludes his tale of Logan. I'll wait for the trade.
X-Men Divided We Stand #2 - an anthology of stories about random X-Men scattered about. I'll probably get it but I'm not too enthusiastic.
Punisher #57 - Garth Ennis wraps up his MAX run on the Punisher. I haven't gotten this recently but I'm sure it's still good fun.
DC Comics
I was really enjoying DC Comics until the recent mess that has been Countdown. Suddenly, there's too much confusing stuff going on. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the multiverse. I get a ton of stuff by Geoff Johns, but I'm starting to fear fatigue of his material (like I did of Brian Bendis). I don't think it will happen, but I'm still afraid.
DC Universe #0 - The issue following Countdown to Final Crisis #1, by Johns and Morrison with a bunch of good artists. It's 50 cents! Of course I'm getting it!
Final Crisis #1 - The big event for DC Comics this summer by Grant Morrison. I'm really looking forward to this, and really hoping it makes DC a bit more streamlined and orderly. Like most Grant Morrison stories, I'm guessing it will start off as amazing and interesting, yet somehow at the end, I'll be 50% really confused and 50% amazed.
Tangent: Superman's Reign #3 - Tangent comics was a throwaway concept in the '90s that got revived with the recent multi-verse. I can't imagine people being excited about this enough to buy a twelve issue series!
DC / Wildstorm: Dreamwar #2 - Ten years ago, this book would have really interested me. Now, I am ambivalent. The Wildstorm Universe has really taken a beating in those ten years, and once again, I can't get myself excited about this.
Batman and the Outsiders #7 - I've gotten a few issues of this series, but I don't find it that entertaining. I am going to give it a little longer rope because of all the editorial changes that went on before it started.
Booster Gold #9 - A great book for fanboys that was sort of like the DCU version of Quantum Leap. Then this past week an issue came out and it made my head hurt. I like the idea of reviving Blue Beetle to join Booster as "the greatest heroes nobody ever knows" as they secretly fix time behind the scenes, but I don't know if Beetle will be around forever. Geoff Johns says he's leaving with issue #11. I hope that whoever writes the series beyond this will not take it to hokey territory, because time travel can become a monster if you don't try to control it.
Batman #677 - Grant Morrison is writing Batman and people say they love it. I hardly understand it. I have a theory that when people in the arts see a movie or read a book they don't understand, they immediately say how amazing it is. I think that theory applies to recent issues of this book. Really nice Alex Ross covers for this book and...
Superman #676 - I thought James Robinson was taking this book over, but I guess that will wait until later in the year.
Detective Comics #844 - Paul Dini has been writing this series with stories that are self-contained. It's been above average for the most part, but nothing to get too excited about. I'm on the verge of dropping it...
All-Star Superman #11 - A great book by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly. This is the penultimate issue. While it's been entertaining, this All-Star line has certainly been disappointing for DC. I believe they are going to put this title away once these creators are done.
Action Comics #865 - Action Comics has really been a fun run when Geoff Johns is writing it. Yes, Adam Kubert delayed the title with Richard Donner but the book looked nice. I did not enjoy Johns and Eric Powell on the Bizarro story, but this Legion story with Gary Frank has been great. Johns has been hinting that 2008, Superman's 70th anniversary, will be a huge year. Let's hope so!
Superman / Batman #48 - Once a flagship title for DC, this has fallen into obscurity. I've heard good things about this recent arc, but not good enough for me to sample it. This title used to be a good way to get a Superman and Batman fix all in one, but since I buy Superman's solo book, Batman's solo book and Justice League, this seems irrelevant.
Green Lantern #31 - I had never bought Green Lantern regularly until the end of last year. Geoff Johns is doing a great job with this, and Ivan Reis is a very impressive artist. I even went out and got the hardcovers for the issues I didn't have. It's on the upswing as well, with a huge event planned for 2009.
Green Lantern Corps #24 - While I don't get this, it seems like this title is intimately connected with the main Green Lantern book and laying the groundwork for the "big event" in 2009. I must confess; I either skim it at the stores or read the summaries online.
Justice League of America #21 - I really liked Justice League Unlimited, the animated show that Dwayne McDuffie worked on, but I don't enjoy his Justice League. He has stated publicly that editorial is affecting his ability to write, and I wonder if that is why I have not enjoyed this lately.
Justice Society of America #16 - The hints have been dropping that Kingdom Come and this storyline will be integrated. It's been a little slow to start, but I think the criticism online is a bit much. I am still on board and wondering where all this is headed. It's the 5th book this month by Geoff Johns that I'll be picking up (DCU #0, Booster Gold, Action Comics and Green Lantern).
Wonder Woman #20 - Gail Simone, a fan favorite just finished her first arc on this book. It was nice, but I didn't find it amazing. I think it comes down to the fact that I just don't find Wonder Woman that interesting.
Y: The Last Man Vol 10 - The final trade paperback for Y: The Last Man is coming out in JUNE! UGH! I thought these were May solicits? I am so afraid of the ending of this story being spoiled for me. In fact, the finale came out a few weeks ago and I am amazed that it hasn't been spoiled yet. June 18 cannot arrive soon enough. This is my most anticipated book for 2008 so far.
Ok, I think my fingers are bleeding from all the typing.
Solicitations are the little previews each company gives to retailers so they can figure out what to order in the upcoming months. Based on the little snippets of text that these provide, I will make some broad judgments about the books that have yet to even come out. It may not be fair, but it's fun.
Marvel Comics
First, it looks like Marvel is really going all-out in May. They have been doing very well sales-wise against their Distinguished Competition, and May looks like they really are going to try and stick it to DC yet again. Just look at some of these major #1 releases:
Avengers / Invaders #1 (New mini-series with Alex Ross and Jim Krueger of the highly popular Earth X, Justice)
King Size Hulk #1 (Jeph Loeb, Art Adams, Frank Cho)
Marvel 1985 #1 (Mark Millar)
I once read somewhere that the editors can basically predict how well a book will sell if they know the creators and characters in the book. These three books above will almost certainly perform well - probably in the 100K+ mark, which is pretty rare these days. Add that to Marvel's already near 100K+ books:
Secret Invasion #2 (Brian Bendis, Lenil Yu - not yet 100K but probably will be)
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #3 of 5 (Stephen King inspired book)
Fantastic Four #557 (Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch)
Thor
New Avengers
Amazing Spider-Man
Marvel will probably have 8-10 of the top 10 books for the month at this rate.
Now for some brief book by book comments:
Ultimate line - Ultimate FF #54, Ultimate Iron Man 2 #5, Ultimate Spider-Man #122, Ultimate X-Men #94. Ultimate X-Men has a new writer, Aron Coleite from Heroes. Fans of Ultimate X-Men are hoping that he got a lot of this work done during the WGA strike and there won't be any delays. I used to buy all the Ultimate line titles, but now I buy none of them. There's just no reason to. The continuity is just as confusing, and the books are no longer fresh or inspiring. The creators are not particularly big names and it just seems stale. Word is, there is a re-boot on the way, but it's hard for me to care.
Amazing Spider-Man #558-#560 - Out of protest from One More Day, I don't buy this book. The more I think about that, it's silly, but I'll stick to my guns for now. Anyway, from what I've heard even though the creative teams sound great, it hasn't been groundbreaking and so it's just as well, considering it comes out three times each month now.
Avengers/Invaders #1 - While I am sure this Alex Ross / Jim Krueger miniseries will be great, I am going to pass on it, and if word is that it is good, I will catch it later. Frankly, golden age characters don't really interest me.
Alan Davis Covers - Black Panther #37, Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1, New Exiles #6, Clandestine #4. Alan Davis wrote and drew interiors for Clandestine, but he's randomly doing covers for the other books. That's great news, but kind of strange that they're all popping up this month?
Captain America #38 - I'm getting it, who cares what the solicitation says. It's been really interesting.
Fantastic Four #557 - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch continue their 16 issue story arc on Fantastic Four. I read the first issue of this, and it was nice, but it wasn't as awe-inspiring as their work on Ultimates. Maybe I have Millar fatigue? Or maybe I've been here before, as Millar wrote Ultimate Fantastic Four. Something about this doesn't feel fresh and new, which is how I usually feel when reading a Millar title. In my opinion, having "Ultimate" creators working in mainstream Marvel U really takes away from the Ultimate Marvel U. Especially in Fantastic Four, where from what I can tell, the only difference between the two is that in mainstream Marvel, Reed and Sue are married with children. Otherwise, they're essentially the same characters.
Invincible Iron Man #1 - Iron Man, a character with a movie coming out, gets a second series for the first time. I don't read the current book, which in December was #62 on the charts at about 38K. That doesn't strike me as a particularly good sales figure, and is the character really that popular? On the other hand, Thor is a top 5 selling book these days, so I guess anything can happen.
Marvel 1985 #1 - A Mark Millar project that he has been hyping up a lot. I think I'll wait for the trade. Same goes for Kick-Ass #4, his creator owned, Icon series with John Romita Jr.
Secret Invasion #2 - The BIG EVENT of Marvel's 2008 summer. Apparently there are Skrulls impersonating all sorts of heroes throughout the Marvel U. It's been teased at for a while, and building up for a long time. For some reason, I just can't get interested. Leinil Yu is doing the art, and I like his work. I like plots that are intricate and have been building up for a while as well. Surprise twists are good too, but I just can't get excited about this at all. I'll read summaries about this one on the Inter-Web. There are the requisite tie-ins and spin-offs for this as well (Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Captain Britain and MI: 13).
Thor #9 - I'll say it again - Since it came out, Thor has been selling over 100K a month, more than any of the X-Men titles in that period. I can't believe it.
X-Men Titles - I'll only put the ones I'm interested in. There are a lot of X-books these days.
Uncanny X-Men #498 - still the flagship. It's been decent but I can't help thinking they're waiting for #500 to come up.
X-Men Legacy #211, #212 - I don't know what to make of this title, formerly known as X-Men. I'd have to think that changing the name of the book to X-Men Legacy marginalizes it and will actually be bad for sales.
Cable #3 - I'm curious about this since it directly relates to the big recent crossover, Messiah CompleX. But not interested enough to start picking this up.
X-Force #4, Wolverine #65: Both these books have stories where Wolverine goes after the villains who got away in Messiah CompleX. While I don't really care too much about Wolverine appearing in too many books, something funny happened here. After the crossover, Cyclops and Wolverine had two conversations. In one, he said, "Go after Mystique" (a story in Wolverine). In the other, he said, "Go after the Purifiers" (a story in X-Force). Finally, Wolverine can be seen traveling around Europe with Nightcrawler and Colossus, lamenting the end of the Messiah CompleX story. I'm really not that nit-picky about this kind of continuity but it seems a little too much.
Wolverine: Origins #25 - Supposedly this should be the halfway point of this title. I stopped buying it a while back because I didn't enjoy it. But I like the character of Wolverine so much I can't help but wonder what happens in this book anyway.
Logan #3 - Brian K Vaughan of Y: The Last Man concludes his tale of Logan. I'll wait for the trade.
X-Men Divided We Stand #2 - an anthology of stories about random X-Men scattered about. I'll probably get it but I'm not too enthusiastic.
Punisher #57 - Garth Ennis wraps up his MAX run on the Punisher. I haven't gotten this recently but I'm sure it's still good fun.
DC Comics
I was really enjoying DC Comics until the recent mess that has been Countdown. Suddenly, there's too much confusing stuff going on. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the multiverse. I get a ton of stuff by Geoff Johns, but I'm starting to fear fatigue of his material (like I did of Brian Bendis). I don't think it will happen, but I'm still afraid.
DC Universe #0 - The issue following Countdown to Final Crisis #1, by Johns and Morrison with a bunch of good artists. It's 50 cents! Of course I'm getting it!
Final Crisis #1 - The big event for DC Comics this summer by Grant Morrison. I'm really looking forward to this, and really hoping it makes DC a bit more streamlined and orderly. Like most Grant Morrison stories, I'm guessing it will start off as amazing and interesting, yet somehow at the end, I'll be 50% really confused and 50% amazed.
Tangent: Superman's Reign #3 - Tangent comics was a throwaway concept in the '90s that got revived with the recent multi-verse. I can't imagine people being excited about this enough to buy a twelve issue series!
DC / Wildstorm: Dreamwar #2 - Ten years ago, this book would have really interested me. Now, I am ambivalent. The Wildstorm Universe has really taken a beating in those ten years, and once again, I can't get myself excited about this.
Batman and the Outsiders #7 - I've gotten a few issues of this series, but I don't find it that entertaining. I am going to give it a little longer rope because of all the editorial changes that went on before it started.
Booster Gold #9 - A great book for fanboys that was sort of like the DCU version of Quantum Leap. Then this past week an issue came out and it made my head hurt. I like the idea of reviving Blue Beetle to join Booster as "the greatest heroes nobody ever knows" as they secretly fix time behind the scenes, but I don't know if Beetle will be around forever. Geoff Johns says he's leaving with issue #11. I hope that whoever writes the series beyond this will not take it to hokey territory, because time travel can become a monster if you don't try to control it.
Batman #677 - Grant Morrison is writing Batman and people say they love it. I hardly understand it. I have a theory that when people in the arts see a movie or read a book they don't understand, they immediately say how amazing it is. I think that theory applies to recent issues of this book. Really nice Alex Ross covers for this book and...
Superman #676 - I thought James Robinson was taking this book over, but I guess that will wait until later in the year.
Detective Comics #844 - Paul Dini has been writing this series with stories that are self-contained. It's been above average for the most part, but nothing to get too excited about. I'm on the verge of dropping it...
All-Star Superman #11 - A great book by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly. This is the penultimate issue. While it's been entertaining, this All-Star line has certainly been disappointing for DC. I believe they are going to put this title away once these creators are done.
Action Comics #865 - Action Comics has really been a fun run when Geoff Johns is writing it. Yes, Adam Kubert delayed the title with Richard Donner but the book looked nice. I did not enjoy Johns and Eric Powell on the Bizarro story, but this Legion story with Gary Frank has been great. Johns has been hinting that 2008, Superman's 70th anniversary, will be a huge year. Let's hope so!
Superman / Batman #48 - Once a flagship title for DC, this has fallen into obscurity. I've heard good things about this recent arc, but not good enough for me to sample it. This title used to be a good way to get a Superman and Batman fix all in one, but since I buy Superman's solo book, Batman's solo book and Justice League, this seems irrelevant.
Green Lantern #31 - I had never bought Green Lantern regularly until the end of last year. Geoff Johns is doing a great job with this, and Ivan Reis is a very impressive artist. I even went out and got the hardcovers for the issues I didn't have. It's on the upswing as well, with a huge event planned for 2009.
Green Lantern Corps #24 - While I don't get this, it seems like this title is intimately connected with the main Green Lantern book and laying the groundwork for the "big event" in 2009. I must confess; I either skim it at the stores or read the summaries online.
Justice League of America #21 - I really liked Justice League Unlimited, the animated show that Dwayne McDuffie worked on, but I don't enjoy his Justice League. He has stated publicly that editorial is affecting his ability to write, and I wonder if that is why I have not enjoyed this lately.
Justice Society of America #16 - The hints have been dropping that Kingdom Come and this storyline will be integrated. It's been a little slow to start, but I think the criticism online is a bit much. I am still on board and wondering where all this is headed. It's the 5th book this month by Geoff Johns that I'll be picking up (DCU #0, Booster Gold, Action Comics and Green Lantern).
Wonder Woman #20 - Gail Simone, a fan favorite just finished her first arc on this book. It was nice, but I didn't find it amazing. I think it comes down to the fact that I just don't find Wonder Woman that interesting.
Y: The Last Man Vol 10 - The final trade paperback for Y: The Last Man is coming out in JUNE! UGH! I thought these were May solicits? I am so afraid of the ending of this story being spoiled for me. In fact, the finale came out a few weeks ago and I am amazed that it hasn't been spoiled yet. June 18 cannot arrive soon enough. This is my most anticipated book for 2008 so far.
Ok, I think my fingers are bleeding from all the typing.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Iran So Far Away
I haven't watched SNL much lately but maybe I'll check it out a bit more often. An amusing parody.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Conan and Colbert Feud
One good thing to come out of the WGA strike is the Conan / Colbert Feud.
Originally, Conan suggested that he had given Stephen Colbert a "bump" by having him on the show. He also noted that he had Chuck Norris on the show, and that was another reason for Mike Huckabee's bump. In retaliation, Jon Stewart pulled out a clip from his old show showing a bump he gave to Conan O'Brien, thus taking credit for all the bumps.
These videos are a bit redundant but make sure you see the fight which is hilarious.
Conan appeared on the Daily Show and Colbert...
...and the fight concluded on Conan
Another summary here:
Originally, Conan suggested that he had given Stephen Colbert a "bump" by having him on the show. He also noted that he had Chuck Norris on the show, and that was another reason for Mike Huckabee's bump. In retaliation, Jon Stewart pulled out a clip from his old show showing a bump he gave to Conan O'Brien, thus taking credit for all the bumps.
These videos are a bit redundant but make sure you see the fight which is hilarious.
Conan appeared on the Daily Show and Colbert...
...and the fight concluded on Conan
Another summary here:
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Syringes and "The Play"
Apparently Roger Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, says he has physical evidence that Clemens used steroids - including syringes with traces of steroids and hGH and Clemens' DNA. I don't really understand a few things about this. First, who keeps syringes after using them? Second and more importantly, how can they tell how old the syringes are, and whether or not the blood and steroids were somehow associated with them at the same time? For example, what is the difference between a needle / syringe that was used to inject steroids that has some blood on it, and a needle / syringe that was used to inject someone with something else, and then had steroids put into it? For that matter, since blood should only go into the needle, why not mix and match needles and syringes? It still sounds like a lot of "He Said / He Said."
The Eli Manning to David Tyree play that seemed almost miraculous during the Super Bowl should just be nicknamed "The Play." Right now, everyone knows what that refers to, so why not just dub it so? We already have "the catch" and "the escape followed by helmet catch" is too long a name. The local papers all have contests to "name the play."
The Eli Manning to David Tyree play that seemed almost miraculous during the Super Bowl should just be nicknamed "The Play." Right now, everyone knows what that refers to, so why not just dub it so? We already have "the catch" and "the escape followed by helmet catch" is too long a name. The local papers all have contests to "name the play."
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Super Tuesday
Politics here - I am becoming increasingly worried that if John McCain wins the Republican nomination, he will win the Presidency. I don't like the prospect of putting the "first" woman or "first" African-American to the Presidency in a time of perceived crisis - we are involved with two wars and the economy is tanking. I have a feeling that most people will gravitate to the more traditional "old white man."
Also, it's very interesting to me how McCain is portrayed as "such a liberal" yet supports many conservative positions. At the same time, the conservative talk machine is completely against McCain and Huckabee. I don't really understand why or how all this came about, but I do find it interesting to see people assail Huckabee for not being conservative despite the fact that he has a huge following among Evangelical Christians.
Also, it's very interesting to me how McCain is portrayed as "such a liberal" yet supports many conservative positions. At the same time, the conservative talk machine is completely against McCain and Huckabee. I don't really understand why or how all this came about, but I do find it interesting to see people assail Huckabee for not being conservative despite the fact that he has a huge following among Evangelical Christians.
Stomp You Out
I'm no Giants fan, but I'm really glad they won last Sunday. However, Michael Strahan's "stomp you out" speech was not only difficult to understand, it was pretty ridiculous. It made me sick of Michael Strahan again.
Not to take anything away from the Giants, but if you think about it, they had a ton of breaks before the Super Bowl, not to mention during it. Think about how they nearly lost in Dallas, the fumble recoveries in Green Bay and the fortunate plays in the Super Bowl... I guess when things are going your way, even the lucky stuff breaks that way too.
After Justin Tuck's great Super Bowl, I would have thought I'd see more "Tuck Rules" T-shirts. Then again, since the tuck rule game was eight years ago, it's basically forgotten.
Tiki Barber kept yapping away before the Super Bowl saying things like, "With every heroic story there has to be a foil, and I'm convenient for that. I am the (expletive) foil in a Shakespearean play."
"Love me or hate me or be indifferent about me, that doesn't bother me," Barber said. "But when you don't respect who I was as a player, that hurts ... For people to discredit what I was as a player is disingenuous at best and malicious at worst."
"I tell you the truth, even if you don't want to hear it," Barber said. "If you want to vilify me for being honest, you have to hate me then."
He also took credit for saving Tom Coughlin's job.
Tiki Barber needs to realize that his obsession with the spotlight is what has caused the Giants fans to hate him. Had he not announced his retirement mid-season last year, or written a book and criticized the current coach and QB, nobody would care. Fans would have appreciated Tiki's performance, but there was something about his comments that was more like he was betraying his former teammates. He would not have been this "foil" had he not offered up his opinions unsolicited (and in a book, no less). He must also have been (aside from his brother, Ronde) one of the only players to have had active media involvement while he was still a player (he was a local sports anchor and on WFAN). Nobody wants to see a player already working on the next career.
Not to take anything away from the Giants, but if you think about it, they had a ton of breaks before the Super Bowl, not to mention during it. Think about how they nearly lost in Dallas, the fumble recoveries in Green Bay and the fortunate plays in the Super Bowl... I guess when things are going your way, even the lucky stuff breaks that way too.
After Justin Tuck's great Super Bowl, I would have thought I'd see more "Tuck Rules" T-shirts. Then again, since the tuck rule game was eight years ago, it's basically forgotten.
Tiki Barber kept yapping away before the Super Bowl saying things like, "With every heroic story there has to be a foil, and I'm convenient for that. I am the (expletive) foil in a Shakespearean play."
"Love me or hate me or be indifferent about me, that doesn't bother me," Barber said. "But when you don't respect who I was as a player, that hurts ... For people to discredit what I was as a player is disingenuous at best and malicious at worst."
"I tell you the truth, even if you don't want to hear it," Barber said. "If you want to vilify me for being honest, you have to hate me then."
He also took credit for saving Tom Coughlin's job.
Tiki Barber needs to realize that his obsession with the spotlight is what has caused the Giants fans to hate him. Had he not announced his retirement mid-season last year, or written a book and criticized the current coach and QB, nobody would care. Fans would have appreciated Tiki's performance, but there was something about his comments that was more like he was betraying his former teammates. He would not have been this "foil" had he not offered up his opinions unsolicited (and in a book, no less). He must also have been (aside from his brother, Ronde) one of the only players to have had active media involvement while he was still a player (he was a local sports anchor and on WFAN). Nobody wants to see a player already working on the next career.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Tiki Interviews Eli
For the Today show, Tiki Barber had a feature where he interviewed some of his former teammates.
Tiki Barber was mentioned quite a bit over the last two weeks and at some point, it might be interesting to write about how a guy who played so well has become so unpopular.
Tiki Barber was mentioned quite a bit over the last two weeks and at some point, it might be interesting to write about how a guy who played so well has become so unpopular.
Wow
I can't believe it. The Giants have won the Super Bowl!
-Have you ever seen so much pressure on Tom Brady?
-The Patriots committed a surprising number of false starts.
-Why did the Patriots go for it when they had the chance for the 49 yard FG?
-How lucky were the Giants on two plays? First, the Tyree catch from the Manning escaped sack. Second, the fumble that got batted away from Bradshaw, while it was a penalty, it could have easily been a turnover.
What an amazing game.
-Have you ever seen so much pressure on Tom Brady?
-The Patriots committed a surprising number of false starts.
-Why did the Patriots go for it when they had the chance for the 49 yard FG?
-How lucky were the Giants on two plays? First, the Tyree catch from the Manning escaped sack. Second, the fumble that got batted away from Bradshaw, while it was a penalty, it could have easily been a turnover.
What an amazing game.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Pats = Champs
I'm guessing it'll be something like Patriots over the Giants 40-24 in a game that seems closer than it is, but in reality the Giants never had a chance.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Why Do Americans Hate Congress?
Oh I don't know... Maybe because Congressmen spend more of their time on stupid PR-related stunts and less time on things that affect people's lives.
Today's topic: Senator Arlen Spector wants to know why the NFL destroyed the confiscated video tapes from the New England Patriots.
Why?
Who cares?
Isn't this a waste of time?
Why?
Let's see what the Senator had to say (quotes taken from the NY Times article):
---
“That requires an explanation,” Specter said. “The N.F.L. has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It’s analogous to the C.I.A. destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed.”
“It’s the same old story,” Mr. Specter said. “What you did is never as important as the cover-up. This sequence raises more concerns and doubts.”
“I don’t think you have to have a law broken to have a legitimate interest by the Congress on the integrity of the game.” He added: “What if there was something on the tapes we might want to be subpoenaed, for example? You can’t destroy it. That would be obstruction of justice.
“It’s premature to make any suggestions until you know a lot more about the matter. We need to know what’s on those tapes.”
---
I realize that the NFL is a multi-billion dollar business, and is very popular among citizens, thus draws much attention from Congressmen, who love to curry favor with the public for simple things. Even taking this into account, comparing the NFL destruction of the tapes to the CIA destroying interrogation tapes is either seriously overrating the importance of the NFL or giving very little weight to possible human rights violations.
Now, what exactly is Congress accusing the NFL of covering up? What could they possibly discover from this line of investigation? The Patriots were accused of breaking the rules and cheating, evidence of such was found, and they were punished. Spector clearly does not want the tapes to see if the Patriots were punished unfairly, he's saying the NFL is hiding something.
This whole thing stinks and it makes me so irritated I can't even gather my thoughts clearly.
Last thought: Maybe they should be checking out ExxonMobil, who also in today's paper, have been noted to post the highest profits ever for a US corporation, despite the fact that we are also heading towards a recession. That doesn't seem suspicious to anyone??
In the words of the famous Charlie Brown, "AAAAARRRRRRGH!"
Today's topic: Senator Arlen Spector wants to know why the NFL destroyed the confiscated video tapes from the New England Patriots.
Why?
Who cares?
Isn't this a waste of time?
Why?
Let's see what the Senator had to say (quotes taken from the NY Times article):
---
“That requires an explanation,” Specter said. “The N.F.L. has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It’s analogous to the C.I.A. destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed.”
“It’s the same old story,” Mr. Specter said. “What you did is never as important as the cover-up. This sequence raises more concerns and doubts.”
“I don’t think you have to have a law broken to have a legitimate interest by the Congress on the integrity of the game.” He added: “What if there was something on the tapes we might want to be subpoenaed, for example? You can’t destroy it. That would be obstruction of justice.
“It’s premature to make any suggestions until you know a lot more about the matter. We need to know what’s on those tapes.”
---
I realize that the NFL is a multi-billion dollar business, and is very popular among citizens, thus draws much attention from Congressmen, who love to curry favor with the public for simple things. Even taking this into account, comparing the NFL destruction of the tapes to the CIA destroying interrogation tapes is either seriously overrating the importance of the NFL or giving very little weight to possible human rights violations.
Now, what exactly is Congress accusing the NFL of covering up? What could they possibly discover from this line of investigation? The Patriots were accused of breaking the rules and cheating, evidence of such was found, and they were punished. Spector clearly does not want the tapes to see if the Patriots were punished unfairly, he's saying the NFL is hiding something.
This whole thing stinks and it makes me so irritated I can't even gather my thoughts clearly.
Last thought: Maybe they should be checking out ExxonMobil, who also in today's paper, have been noted to post the highest profits ever for a US corporation, despite the fact that we are also heading towards a recession. That doesn't seem suspicious to anyone??
In the words of the famous Charlie Brown, "AAAAARRRRRRGH!"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
McCain
I thought I was oh-so-clever in noticing that John McCain's 2008 logo looked a lot like the logo for McCain foods. Then I did a google search for the logos and found that many people have beat me to the punch.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Girlie Man?
Of course, the NY Post is always trying to stir things up, so it should never be taken seriously at all. On the other hand, I can't help but notice how absurd it has been getting lately.
Last week after the Giants beat the Cowboys, the paper claimed credit on the front cover because their "Jessica Simpson look-alike" distracted Tony Romo.
Obviously absurd, and I'm sure the paper was just doing it as a joke... It's a joke, isn't it?
Today's Post is getting even sillier:
Article excerpt:
"FLOWERY TOM A POSY PATSIE
- BLOOMS IN HAND, BRACE ON FOOT IN VILLAGE CALL TO GISELE
January 22, 2008 -- Tom Brady hasn't been brutally beaten down by the Giants yet - but at least the petal-pushing flower boy is limping.
The cocky quarterback for the undefeated* New England Patriots was caught hobbling to the West Village home of his gal pal, Gisele Bundchen, yesterday - carrying a box of pretty little posies."
That's right! Every time they refer to the Patriots as undefeated, they're adding an asterisk. In fact, the asterisk is the number one reason to hate the Patriots, in case you need 10 reasons.
Oh that crazy NY Post, joking once again, right? The readers are in on the joke, right?
Right???
Last week after the Giants beat the Cowboys, the paper claimed credit on the front cover because their "Jessica Simpson look-alike" distracted Tony Romo.
Obviously absurd, and I'm sure the paper was just doing it as a joke... It's a joke, isn't it?
Today's Post is getting even sillier:
Article excerpt:
"FLOWERY TOM A POSY PATSIE
- BLOOMS IN HAND, BRACE ON FOOT IN VILLAGE CALL TO GISELE
January 22, 2008 -- Tom Brady hasn't been brutally beaten down by the Giants yet - but at least the petal-pushing flower boy is limping.
The cocky quarterback for the undefeated* New England Patriots was caught hobbling to the West Village home of his gal pal, Gisele Bundchen, yesterday - carrying a box of pretty little posies."
That's right! Every time they refer to the Patriots as undefeated, they're adding an asterisk. In fact, the asterisk is the number one reason to hate the Patriots, in case you need 10 reasons.
Oh that crazy NY Post, joking once again, right? The readers are in on the joke, right?
Right???
Thursday, January 17, 2008
iTunes Rentals
Now that iTunes has rental service available for movies, does this mean that the tv networks will also try and start charging for "on-demand" style service for their shows? If so, is that the end of getting episodes for free from network websites?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
NFL, NBA, Comics
Well, looks like the Patriots will be the champs again. Yes, it looks like a done deal. Many thanks to both the Colts and the Chargers.
Frankly, the most exciting football game left in the year is the NFC Championship Game next week. There's just no way that the Patriots will lose in the next two weeks. Based on storylines, I prefer a Chargers / Giants (Philip Rivers vs Eli Manning) Super Bowl because of the QB draft histories. Obviously if Favre reaches the Super Bowl, it's a big story as well. Two weeks of whether or not how much the Patriots are the best team ever is going to make me want to vomit.
Briefly - the Jags vs Pats - I thought the Jags had a chance at the half. They had played a decent game in the first half but were by no means perfect. On the other side, the Pats were statistically perfect and missed a FG, and the game was tied. Usually when teams have the Pats close / tied at the half, the Patriots have had a sloppy half while the other team has played perfectly. In this game, I thought it was a bit of the opposite, and the Jags were tied, so it gave me hope. But the moment they faltered and had to kick a FG, it was clear the game was over. Amusing graphic of the night? Putting "10-3 as a starter" under David Gerrard's name. Second most amusing? "QB rating: 3rd overall in NFL." They never put "16-0" as a starter, "1st overall" or "MVP" under Brady's name.
I missed the Seattle vs Green Bay game but wished I had watched some. I love NFL in the snow. I also slept through Indianapolis and San Diego. I'm glad I did.
I'm happy for the Giants, who have now won 9 road games in a row. There is still no way that they can beat the Patriots. I've always liked Tom Coughlin as a coach, so it's particularly nice to see him get to another championship game.
In a day of upsets, the biggest upset wasn't even in the NFL! I had to read the score about five times - New York Knicks 89, Detroit 65! I thought for sure the teams were mixed up in the scores on that one. No, not true.
Good recap on Spider-Man's recent goings on by this column. So the marriage never happened but Peter and MJ dated for a while and were close friends. None of the previous stories that have happened since the wedding ever happened with them married but they still happened. Harry Osborn is alive somehow. On the one hand, comics makes changes like this all the time (see the DC Universe for re-writing origin stories over and over) but on the other, it's completely maddening. So what happened? What didn't? So confusing. Count me out.
Frankly, the most exciting football game left in the year is the NFC Championship Game next week. There's just no way that the Patriots will lose in the next two weeks. Based on storylines, I prefer a Chargers / Giants (Philip Rivers vs Eli Manning) Super Bowl because of the QB draft histories. Obviously if Favre reaches the Super Bowl, it's a big story as well. Two weeks of whether or not how much the Patriots are the best team ever is going to make me want to vomit.
Briefly - the Jags vs Pats - I thought the Jags had a chance at the half. They had played a decent game in the first half but were by no means perfect. On the other side, the Pats were statistically perfect and missed a FG, and the game was tied. Usually when teams have the Pats close / tied at the half, the Patriots have had a sloppy half while the other team has played perfectly. In this game, I thought it was a bit of the opposite, and the Jags were tied, so it gave me hope. But the moment they faltered and had to kick a FG, it was clear the game was over. Amusing graphic of the night? Putting "10-3 as a starter" under David Gerrard's name. Second most amusing? "QB rating: 3rd overall in NFL." They never put "16-0" as a starter, "1st overall" or "MVP" under Brady's name.
I missed the Seattle vs Green Bay game but wished I had watched some. I love NFL in the snow. I also slept through Indianapolis and San Diego. I'm glad I did.
I'm happy for the Giants, who have now won 9 road games in a row. There is still no way that they can beat the Patriots. I've always liked Tom Coughlin as a coach, so it's particularly nice to see him get to another championship game.
In a day of upsets, the biggest upset wasn't even in the NFL! I had to read the score about five times - New York Knicks 89, Detroit 65! I thought for sure the teams were mixed up in the scores on that one. No, not true.
Good recap on Spider-Man's recent goings on by this column. So the marriage never happened but Peter and MJ dated for a while and were close friends. None of the previous stories that have happened since the wedding ever happened with them married but they still happened. Harry Osborn is alive somehow. On the one hand, comics makes changes like this all the time (see the DC Universe for re-writing origin stories over and over) but on the other, it's completely maddening. So what happened? What didn't? So confusing. Count me out.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Two months ago...
It's been two months since I've posted here. That's probably the longest time between posts since this blog started some 3+ years ago. The reason? Lots of travel. I still have a few MLB updates from the summer to put up, as well as a recent basketball game I went to.
This weekend, I've got the Jets / Chiefs game to attend. Many thanks to NBC for saving me the freezing cold and moving this game out of Sunday Night Football. The two teams have seven wins total and at least I can watch them without shivering too much.
A few things on my mind:
Baseball steroids - In my mind, I have just moved on from this. We'll never know who actually did steroids, and who didn't, and so for me, I just have stopped worrying about it. Yes, it is frustrating to think that there are cheaters out there, but I have been rooting for uniforms not people for a while, and I'm still entertained by the sport. Not to mention that in all the sports people are trying to find ways around the rules. What makes it bad for baseball is two things. First, the establishment of owners didn't do anything about the steroids problem, and second, that baseball is all about discussing the past and tradition, so having cheaters in the past is a bit of a problem for the game - moreso than in other sports. Speaking of steroids, has anyone seen a commercial for American Gladiators recently?
NFL - I still don't know exactly what went wrong with the Jets this year. I'd like to blame it all on poor O-line play, but that can't be the only thing. I guess some bad luck also played a role. I just hope that Chad Pennington (drafted by Bill Parcells) and Jonathan Vilma (University of Miami) don't end up on the Dolphins. By the way, I think if any team will beat New England, it would be the Jags, in a really snowy game. Unfortunately, the Jags need to get past the Steelers first.
President - Well isn't this a turnaround? Now Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama are the sudden frontrunners in Iowa. The more I hear about this Iowa caucus process, the more I am stunned at the way it has become such a historic event. It's totally different than a usual primary. If you have watched Meet the Press over the last few weeks, you would have seen that Ron Paul is crazy and that Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani will say anything to get elected. On the Republican side, I think the only reasonable candidate at this point is John McCain (surging in NH), and even he has had some flip flops recently (Bob Jones University). On the Democratic side, I like the idea of a Obama / Biden ticket, although it might be too Northern. John Edwards is playing the role of "angry liberal" and it's really annoying. He said something to the effect of, the only way to get change in Washington is to demand it. This guy is just trying too hard to anger the other side. I still get amused at the way that Hillary Clinton is painted as "too liberal" by conservatives and "too conservative" by liberals. It's a shame she's such a polarizing figure. I guess people just don't like "bossy women."
Finally - some brief thoughts on the comics I'm reading:
Marvel
Captain America - This is one of the best books out there. Captain America isn't even in the comic anymore, yet it still entertains! Bucky is alive and it's not too strange. Nice art, good espionage-style stories.
X-Men - I'll lump in all the X-Men books together and just say that the Messiah Complex is one of the best stories told in a while. It has a direction, lots of characters and action, and is self-contained. House of M really screwed up the X-Men, and the titles seem to finally be recovering. Here's hoping that the titles that come out after this crossover remain at high quality.
Astonishing X-Men - This is Joss Whedon's book, and it's been late a lot. It's pretty good but it would be better if it came out more routinely. Warren Ellis takes this over next spring and I have no idea what to X-pect (heh).
Runaways - Joss Whedon took over this book from Brian K Vaughan and it just has not been the same. Whedon's run ends in about two issues, and then I'll probably stop getting it.
Wolverine - Jeph Loeb wrote one of the worst stories I have ever read in comics earlier this year in Wolverine. At that point, I stopped getting Wolverine: Origins because I could not handle getting two crummy Wolverine books. Now Mark Guggenheim is writing a sort of strange story about how (via a sort of magical mechanism) Wolverine's healing factor works. It's kind of strange and directed at questions I never really had about the technicalities of the healing factor.
Spider-Man - I am NOT reading this title. I find the editorial crusade against the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson fascinating and depressing. Is it that hard to write good Spider-Man stories because he's married? I can't believe it is. On Friday we'll find out if Peter Parker's marriage is ending in the last part of One More Day. If it ends, I probably will never buy another Spider-Man comic.
X-Force - Coming soon after the Messiah Complex ends is this new title, X-Force. I will probably try it out, but let's first see how the Messiah Complex ends.
Fantastic Four - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch are going to be working on Fantastic Four starting in February. Sounds great. On the other hand, remember when the "Ultimate" universe was supposed to get "special" treatment? I guess when the creators of "The Ultimates" start working on mainstream Marvel U, that's no longer true.
DC
Countdown to Final Crisis - This book is so strange. It is hard to follow, yet comes out every week. There have been a few good issues here and there, but the quality is poor overall and the stories just aren't that inspiring.
Batman and the Outsiders - Another enigma. It's only 3 issues in, but they changed the creative team last minute, and now it feels like they are trying to rearrange the pieces a bit. I will stick with it for a few issues and see what happens.
All Star Batman - Yet another strange book. I guess I chose to review all the DC oddities at the beginning. I love Jim Lee's art, and it's enough to get me to buy just about anything. Frank Miller's story started out as weird but has changed into strangely funny. Each issue, you can't help but think, how will he defile yet another DC super-hero?
Batman / Detective Comics - Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are writing the two flagship Batman books, which was supposed to make them great. Unfortunately, the quality overall has been somewhat lacking. The recent crossover, Resurrection of Ras al Ghul was a bust as it was boring, forced and too long. With Detective, even if you take the fill-in issues out of consideration, the story quality has also declined.
Action Comics - Richard Donner hasn't really been the co-writer of this title lately. The Bizarro storyline was not that good, in my opinion, and the book has had a ton of fill-in issues over the year. But the Legion of Super-Heroes story that just started seems to be really good. Writer Geoff Johns said that 2008 for Superman would be like 2007 for Green Lantern. If that's true, then this will be a great year for Superman comics.
All Star Superman - Grant Morrison's re-vamp of the Superman concept. This is quite good. I'm not sure if this ends at issue 12 or if it will keep going. Despite the quality of this title, on the whole, the All-Star line has to be considered a failure. After being announced in 2005, roughly 18 comics in the line have been released. That seems very limited. I wonder if any of the All-Star earths are in the multiverse.
Green Lantern - I had never purchased a Green Lantern comic on a regular basis until now. This title is amazing. The Sinestro Corps war was a great comic story, not to mention great crossover. They have me hooked for the next year and beyond. I really like how Geoff Johns has incorporated in nearly all of his books the "things to come" type panels. They really make for great teasers.
Wonder Woman - Until Allan Heinberg's brief stint, I had never purchased Wonder Woman on a regular basis. With Gail Simone, a popular writer, coming on board, I thought I would give it a shot. We're two issues in, and I still have this on a trial basis.
Booster Gold - Very entertaining, sort of "Quantum Leap" through the history of DC Comics. I'm not sure where it will go eventually, but right now the humor and single issue stories are making this spin-off of 52 one of my favorites.
Justice Society of America - Another great book. The introduction of Kingdom Come Superman to the JSA seems a bit strange, but I think the details will all play out in the Final Crisis.
Justice League of America - Brad Meltzer had a very character-driven approach to this book. New writer Dwayne McDuffie seems to have more of an action-oriented approach. Frankly, I haven't been too impressed. The most recent issue brought back the concept of Tangent DC for reasons known only to DC editorial (Final Crisis?) and was horrible. I hope this gets better.
Ex-Machina - A solid offering from Brian K Vaughan.
Planetary, WildCATs - Where are these books? Grant Morrison's Authority has been discontinued after 2 issues. The Authority are totally irrelevant now. At least there's still the old stuff. I hope WildCATs will eventually be back with Jim Lee at the helm. Planetary only has one more issue left!!
In sum:
I'm reading 19 titles that come out on a regular basis. I REALLY like ten of them right now (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Action Comics, All Star Superman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Justice Society, Ex-Machina). I get All Star Batman just for the art. There is significant room for improvement in Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League of America and Wolverine. I'm just running out the string with Runaways and Countdown to Final Crisis. The jury's out on two of them: Batman and the Outsiders and Wonder Woman. Finally, I'm looking forward to Fantastic Four.
This weekend, I've got the Jets / Chiefs game to attend. Many thanks to NBC for saving me the freezing cold and moving this game out of Sunday Night Football. The two teams have seven wins total and at least I can watch them without shivering too much.
A few things on my mind:
Baseball steroids - In my mind, I have just moved on from this. We'll never know who actually did steroids, and who didn't, and so for me, I just have stopped worrying about it. Yes, it is frustrating to think that there are cheaters out there, but I have been rooting for uniforms not people for a while, and I'm still entertained by the sport. Not to mention that in all the sports people are trying to find ways around the rules. What makes it bad for baseball is two things. First, the establishment of owners didn't do anything about the steroids problem, and second, that baseball is all about discussing the past and tradition, so having cheaters in the past is a bit of a problem for the game - moreso than in other sports. Speaking of steroids, has anyone seen a commercial for American Gladiators recently?
NFL - I still don't know exactly what went wrong with the Jets this year. I'd like to blame it all on poor O-line play, but that can't be the only thing. I guess some bad luck also played a role. I just hope that Chad Pennington (drafted by Bill Parcells) and Jonathan Vilma (University of Miami) don't end up on the Dolphins. By the way, I think if any team will beat New England, it would be the Jags, in a really snowy game. Unfortunately, the Jags need to get past the Steelers first.
President - Well isn't this a turnaround? Now Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama are the sudden frontrunners in Iowa. The more I hear about this Iowa caucus process, the more I am stunned at the way it has become such a historic event. It's totally different than a usual primary. If you have watched Meet the Press over the last few weeks, you would have seen that Ron Paul is crazy and that Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani will say anything to get elected. On the Republican side, I think the only reasonable candidate at this point is John McCain (surging in NH), and even he has had some flip flops recently (Bob Jones University). On the Democratic side, I like the idea of a Obama / Biden ticket, although it might be too Northern. John Edwards is playing the role of "angry liberal" and it's really annoying. He said something to the effect of, the only way to get change in Washington is to demand it. This guy is just trying too hard to anger the other side. I still get amused at the way that Hillary Clinton is painted as "too liberal" by conservatives and "too conservative" by liberals. It's a shame she's such a polarizing figure. I guess people just don't like "bossy women."
Finally - some brief thoughts on the comics I'm reading:
Marvel
Captain America - This is one of the best books out there. Captain America isn't even in the comic anymore, yet it still entertains! Bucky is alive and it's not too strange. Nice art, good espionage-style stories.
X-Men - I'll lump in all the X-Men books together and just say that the Messiah Complex is one of the best stories told in a while. It has a direction, lots of characters and action, and is self-contained. House of M really screwed up the X-Men, and the titles seem to finally be recovering. Here's hoping that the titles that come out after this crossover remain at high quality.
Astonishing X-Men - This is Joss Whedon's book, and it's been late a lot. It's pretty good but it would be better if it came out more routinely. Warren Ellis takes this over next spring and I have no idea what to X-pect (heh).
Runaways - Joss Whedon took over this book from Brian K Vaughan and it just has not been the same. Whedon's run ends in about two issues, and then I'll probably stop getting it.
Wolverine - Jeph Loeb wrote one of the worst stories I have ever read in comics earlier this year in Wolverine. At that point, I stopped getting Wolverine: Origins because I could not handle getting two crummy Wolverine books. Now Mark Guggenheim is writing a sort of strange story about how (via a sort of magical mechanism) Wolverine's healing factor works. It's kind of strange and directed at questions I never really had about the technicalities of the healing factor.
Spider-Man - I am NOT reading this title. I find the editorial crusade against the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson fascinating and depressing. Is it that hard to write good Spider-Man stories because he's married? I can't believe it is. On Friday we'll find out if Peter Parker's marriage is ending in the last part of One More Day. If it ends, I probably will never buy another Spider-Man comic.
X-Force - Coming soon after the Messiah Complex ends is this new title, X-Force. I will probably try it out, but let's first see how the Messiah Complex ends.
Fantastic Four - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch are going to be working on Fantastic Four starting in February. Sounds great. On the other hand, remember when the "Ultimate" universe was supposed to get "special" treatment? I guess when the creators of "The Ultimates" start working on mainstream Marvel U, that's no longer true.
DC
Countdown to Final Crisis - This book is so strange. It is hard to follow, yet comes out every week. There have been a few good issues here and there, but the quality is poor overall and the stories just aren't that inspiring.
Batman and the Outsiders - Another enigma. It's only 3 issues in, but they changed the creative team last minute, and now it feels like they are trying to rearrange the pieces a bit. I will stick with it for a few issues and see what happens.
All Star Batman - Yet another strange book. I guess I chose to review all the DC oddities at the beginning. I love Jim Lee's art, and it's enough to get me to buy just about anything. Frank Miller's story started out as weird but has changed into strangely funny. Each issue, you can't help but think, how will he defile yet another DC super-hero?
Batman / Detective Comics - Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are writing the two flagship Batman books, which was supposed to make them great. Unfortunately, the quality overall has been somewhat lacking. The recent crossover, Resurrection of Ras al Ghul was a bust as it was boring, forced and too long. With Detective, even if you take the fill-in issues out of consideration, the story quality has also declined.
Action Comics - Richard Donner hasn't really been the co-writer of this title lately. The Bizarro storyline was not that good, in my opinion, and the book has had a ton of fill-in issues over the year. But the Legion of Super-Heroes story that just started seems to be really good. Writer Geoff Johns said that 2008 for Superman would be like 2007 for Green Lantern. If that's true, then this will be a great year for Superman comics.
All Star Superman - Grant Morrison's re-vamp of the Superman concept. This is quite good. I'm not sure if this ends at issue 12 or if it will keep going. Despite the quality of this title, on the whole, the All-Star line has to be considered a failure. After being announced in 2005, roughly 18 comics in the line have been released. That seems very limited. I wonder if any of the All-Star earths are in the multiverse.
Green Lantern - I had never purchased a Green Lantern comic on a regular basis until now. This title is amazing. The Sinestro Corps war was a great comic story, not to mention great crossover. They have me hooked for the next year and beyond. I really like how Geoff Johns has incorporated in nearly all of his books the "things to come" type panels. They really make for great teasers.
Wonder Woman - Until Allan Heinberg's brief stint, I had never purchased Wonder Woman on a regular basis. With Gail Simone, a popular writer, coming on board, I thought I would give it a shot. We're two issues in, and I still have this on a trial basis.
Booster Gold - Very entertaining, sort of "Quantum Leap" through the history of DC Comics. I'm not sure where it will go eventually, but right now the humor and single issue stories are making this spin-off of 52 one of my favorites.
Justice Society of America - Another great book. The introduction of Kingdom Come Superman to the JSA seems a bit strange, but I think the details will all play out in the Final Crisis.
Justice League of America - Brad Meltzer had a very character-driven approach to this book. New writer Dwayne McDuffie seems to have more of an action-oriented approach. Frankly, I haven't been too impressed. The most recent issue brought back the concept of Tangent DC for reasons known only to DC editorial (Final Crisis?) and was horrible. I hope this gets better.
Ex-Machina - A solid offering from Brian K Vaughan.
Planetary, WildCATs - Where are these books? Grant Morrison's Authority has been discontinued after 2 issues. The Authority are totally irrelevant now. At least there's still the old stuff. I hope WildCATs will eventually be back with Jim Lee at the helm. Planetary only has one more issue left!!
In sum:
I'm reading 19 titles that come out on a regular basis. I REALLY like ten of them right now (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Action Comics, All Star Superman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Justice Society, Ex-Machina). I get All Star Batman just for the art. There is significant room for improvement in Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League of America and Wolverine. I'm just running out the string with Runaways and Countdown to Final Crisis. The jury's out on two of them: Batman and the Outsiders and Wonder Woman. Finally, I'm looking forward to Fantastic Four.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A Noun, a Verb and 9/11
Nice line from Senator Biden...
John McCain - can lines like this earn him a comeback?
John McCain - can lines like this earn him a comeback?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Happier Times
Those were the days, when it was the Yankees who had a World Series games winning streak.
It's great how the Daily Show now has archives of all their video since 1999 online. What an impressive collection. I stumbled upon this video while looking at some of the early stuff. Doesn't Jon Stewart look so young?
Monday, October 29, 2007
Mariska Hargitay Gets Benefits from the Police?
In a curious article, Mariska Hargitay says she can't seem to get away from Law and Order. Why do I find this article so curious? Well, first of all, how does this little anecdote justify an article? After all, Law and Order:SVU has been on the USA Network nearly 24/7 for years, and the fact that a celebrity gets recognized while she's on vacation hardly seems like news. Second, it checks in at 191 words, which seems incredibly short even for CNN.com.
Also, it seems silly for there to be a 34 word summary at the top of the article.
Finally, Hargitay notes that cops have been "very patient" with her. Why would they need to be patient with her? Why is she getting stopped so often? Doesn't anyone else find this surprising?
Oddly enough, while I'm writing this, it's the #8 article under CNN.com's "Most Popular" section.
Robot Chicken Getting Posted Before Actual Air Times?
I didn't see this noted anywhere - episodes of Robot Chicken on Adult Swim are getting posted online before they air on television. Case in point, I watched last night's episode around 8pm EST, but it wasn't set to debut until 11:30pm. I wonder if this is intentional.
Dumbledore
Thanks to gossip site JustJared.com for this one -- not only has Dumbledore been outed, but smokes and wears a mean beard cover!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Rudy's for the Sox
I couldn't believe it when I saw it: Rudy Giuliani is rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series. Here's his explanation (and impressively, it has nothing to do with being in a post-9/11 world).
“I will be rooting for the Red Sox because I’m an American League fan, and my tradition has been to root for the American League team, particularly if it’s a team that beats the Yankees. And in this case, you won the division and we lost. Somehow it makes me feel better if the team that was ahead of the Yankees wins the World Series, because then I feel like, well, we’re not that bad.”
Talk about a load of horse dung. Maybe it's because the people of good ol' New Hampshire are part of Red Sox Nation? It's amazing since he has often criticized Hillary Clinton supposed Yankee loyalty.
The Daily News reminds us that Giuliani doubted he could ever root for Boston back in July, and that Mrs. Clinton has learned a lesson saying, "Neither of my teams is in, I'm going to be an interested but dispassionate observer."
Finally, I would like to add that I would never pick a President based on which teams a candidate roots for, however in this instance, I get the sense this is another clear example of pandering by Giuliani, a very undesirable trait.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Are we going to war with Iran? (and other thoughts)
A few thoughts:
1) Are we trying to go to war with Iran? New sanctions today? I didn't even realize we traded anything with them! The markets aren't looking so good, the Canadian dollar is worth as much as the US dollar, we're entangled with Iraq and Afghanistan and now we're acting tough towards Iran? It seems like we're nearing a critical point these days where things can go totally south, really fast.
2) Looks like the Red Sox are going to win the World Series. I am completely envious of the Boston sports scene, and the fact that it's the Red Sox / Patriots makes it even worse. With the Red Sox, are they the "new Yankees?" I thought this the other day and then suddenly Bill Rhoden of the NY Times read my mind and wrote a column about it. Unfortunately I never wrote that thought down anywhere and have no proof that it happened first. But think about it - big payroll, recent success, low key manager, fans with unattainable expectations and national popularity... you get the picture.
2a) I never understood Mets fans who root for the Red Sox just to spite Yankees fans.
2b) I have also never understood the recent fad of rooting for the Red Sox because they're the anti-Yankees. That bugs me to no end - if you're going to be anti-mainstream, you can't root for the same team as everyone else!
2c) The Patriots are good, huh? They haven't scored less than 99 points in a game (give or take 70). They rely on a passing attack. The defense seems to allow relatively many points - I'm guessing that it's because they play a "prevent" style most of the time. Hmm. High scoring offense + passing attack = "finesse offense" right? I'd like to make that label stick. I suspect they will adjust to the cold weather well, but I think that might be their only challenge to going undefeated.
2d) Thinking about it the other day - it obviously pains me that the Red Sox are in the World Series and incredibly hot against Cleveland, the same team that shut down the Yankees. First, because I think the Yanks had a good shot at actually beating Boston, and second because it looks like they're on their way to another hot streak + title a la 2004. Here's hoping David Ortiz boots a few ground balls and Kevin Youkilis gets lost in the outfield while playing at Coors.
2e) You'd never realize the Yankee facial hair rule until you watch Boston on a regular basis. Even a hardcore fan has to admit that the Red Sox have their own roving police lineup. Goatees are the "official facial hair" of the Sox: Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Eric Gagne, Eric Hinske and JD Drew are all among the white dudes with goatees.
2f) I don't mind the Yankees being knocked out and the Jets stinking so much but the Knicks just add insult to injury. I have to admit, however, that last season was really entertaining off the court. I hadn't followed the Knicks so closely in years!
2g) Will the next Jets / Miami game be for the #1 pick overall? I suppose that's a bit of a stretch right now, but it could be. The Jets have actually been surprisingly close in every game. That sort of makes the misery worse.
3) Joe Torre got fired. Well, actually, he didn't get re-hired. Sort of a crummy way to end it all, huh? Too bad, I think it would have been nice to part ways with him on good terms!
4) Back to politics: a few words on the Presidential contenders...
4a) Rudy Giuliani - Can this guy go one minute without mentioning 9/11? Can he go 30 seconds without mentioning either 9/11 or Hillary Clinton?
4b) Mitt Romney - Just seems like such a businessman. The funny thing with him is he's changed positions on social issues as much as Giuliani (see: gun control) but for some reason he gets more flack for it (see: not involved with 9/11).
4c) Fred Thompson - That didn't last long, huh?
4d) John McCain - He goes to Bob Jones University after criticizing it, then says that Mitt Romney changes his mind too much. Once a maverick, now part of the establishment.
4e) Mike Huckabee - He seems like a nice person who I don't agree with very much. But he also lost a ton of weight, which has to be commended.
4f) John Edwards - Trying to offer a more liberal viewpoint than Obama or Clinton and comes up pretty flat. I think the group of people that were inspired by him back in '04 are now lined up behind Obama. My lasting memory of him is when he awkwardly mentioned Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter back in the 2004 VP debates.
4g) Joe Biden - I wonder why his campaign hasn't gained as much traction. He's always on the Sunday AM talk shows and has a ton of experience. It must be because he talks too much.
4h) Bill Richardson - Summary of his campaign: he said on Meet the Press that he roots for both the Red Sox and Yankees. Some would say Hillary did the same thing in her hypothetical "rooting for both sides" if the Cubs and Yankees made the World Series. Can someone tell politicians that nobody cares what teams they root for as long as they just stick to one? Rudy is a Yankees fan and I don't think it will cost him any Massachusetts votes.
4i) Barack Obama - I think this guy could actually bring some ideas to the table and take action if he got elected. At this point, however, seems more style over substance.
4j) Hillary Clinton - She's come a long way, but some people just absolutely hate her. Why? It's true, she doesn't seem like a very nice person, but most of these candidates don't. From what it seems like, she is one of the hardest working candidates in that she is always preparing and rehearsing and never makes a mistake while in a public appearance. As it turns out, back in 1993 she didn't shy away from introducing some pretty radical legislation. If you think about it, that sort of change rarely happens any more. My only fear is that the Republicans seem so eager to use her as a target, and that if she becomes the nominee, all the hate directed towards her will lead to another Republican President.
5) On flip-flopping. It's noted as such a negative, but people change their minds all the time - especially on non-moral issues. Consider that the popularity of the Iraq war has completely changed since it started. Does that mean most of the US public has flip-flopped on this issue? Or have we just received more information? Why is there a double standard for our leaders changing their minds? In fact, I would suggest that the best leaders do change their minds when confronted with overwhelming evidence against their original position.
6) While we're talking about the Presidency... Everyone says, "Whoever wins Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will be a force to contend with." Why is this? The populations of these states are tiny and don't necessarily represent microcosms of the US in terms of opinions or priorities. Then with the primaries - all the jockeying for position on the political calendar is ridiculous. It's really pathetic how states like Michigan and Florida trying to move their primaries up so they can become relevant and reap the benefits of campaign dollars.
7) Fox News: I've watched about five minutes of it in the last week and can't stand it. Bill O'Reilly had a Democratic strategist on last night and they were talking about the California fires. O'Reilly was upset Democrats in Congress were trying to use Iraq as a reason that there was not enough National Guard support. He says, "I'm no expert, but there's enough support for the firefighters." Wait - if he's no expert, then how does he know if there's enough support? Then a week ago, Hannity and Colmes had family members of murder victims on and they were talking about how the convicted murderer needed a bone marrow transplant and how it was preposterous that the state would pay for his transplant and medical care (roughly $300,000). So instead we let him die in prison? At best, that's euthanasia and at worst that's cruel and uncivilized.
8) Full circle here. Would we actually attack Iran to prevent them from getting nuclear weapons? That seems a little scary to me. By the way, what do Osama bin Laden, nuclear weapons and military dictatorship have in common? They're all in Pakistan! Yay!
1) Are we trying to go to war with Iran? New sanctions today? I didn't even realize we traded anything with them! The markets aren't looking so good, the Canadian dollar is worth as much as the US dollar, we're entangled with Iraq and Afghanistan and now we're acting tough towards Iran? It seems like we're nearing a critical point these days where things can go totally south, really fast.
2) Looks like the Red Sox are going to win the World Series. I am completely envious of the Boston sports scene, and the fact that it's the Red Sox / Patriots makes it even worse. With the Red Sox, are they the "new Yankees?" I thought this the other day and then suddenly Bill Rhoden of the NY Times read my mind and wrote a column about it. Unfortunately I never wrote that thought down anywhere and have no proof that it happened first. But think about it - big payroll, recent success, low key manager, fans with unattainable expectations and national popularity... you get the picture.
2a) I never understood Mets fans who root for the Red Sox just to spite Yankees fans.
2b) I have also never understood the recent fad of rooting for the Red Sox because they're the anti-Yankees. That bugs me to no end - if you're going to be anti-mainstream, you can't root for the same team as everyone else!
2c) The Patriots are good, huh? They haven't scored less than 99 points in a game (give or take 70). They rely on a passing attack. The defense seems to allow relatively many points - I'm guessing that it's because they play a "prevent" style most of the time. Hmm. High scoring offense + passing attack = "finesse offense" right? I'd like to make that label stick. I suspect they will adjust to the cold weather well, but I think that might be their only challenge to going undefeated.
2d) Thinking about it the other day - it obviously pains me that the Red Sox are in the World Series and incredibly hot against Cleveland, the same team that shut down the Yankees. First, because I think the Yanks had a good shot at actually beating Boston, and second because it looks like they're on their way to another hot streak + title a la 2004. Here's hoping David Ortiz boots a few ground balls and Kevin Youkilis gets lost in the outfield while playing at Coors.
2e) You'd never realize the Yankee facial hair rule until you watch Boston on a regular basis. Even a hardcore fan has to admit that the Red Sox have their own roving police lineup. Goatees are the "official facial hair" of the Sox: Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Eric Gagne, Eric Hinske and JD Drew are all among the white dudes with goatees.
2f) I don't mind the Yankees being knocked out and the Jets stinking so much but the Knicks just add insult to injury. I have to admit, however, that last season was really entertaining off the court. I hadn't followed the Knicks so closely in years!
2g) Will the next Jets / Miami game be for the #1 pick overall? I suppose that's a bit of a stretch right now, but it could be. The Jets have actually been surprisingly close in every game. That sort of makes the misery worse.
3) Joe Torre got fired. Well, actually, he didn't get re-hired. Sort of a crummy way to end it all, huh? Too bad, I think it would have been nice to part ways with him on good terms!
4) Back to politics: a few words on the Presidential contenders...
4a) Rudy Giuliani - Can this guy go one minute without mentioning 9/11? Can he go 30 seconds without mentioning either 9/11 or Hillary Clinton?
4b) Mitt Romney - Just seems like such a businessman. The funny thing with him is he's changed positions on social issues as much as Giuliani (see: gun control) but for some reason he gets more flack for it (see: not involved with 9/11).
4c) Fred Thompson - That didn't last long, huh?
4d) John McCain - He goes to Bob Jones University after criticizing it, then says that Mitt Romney changes his mind too much. Once a maverick, now part of the establishment.
4e) Mike Huckabee - He seems like a nice person who I don't agree with very much. But he also lost a ton of weight, which has to be commended.
4f) John Edwards - Trying to offer a more liberal viewpoint than Obama or Clinton and comes up pretty flat. I think the group of people that were inspired by him back in '04 are now lined up behind Obama. My lasting memory of him is when he awkwardly mentioned Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter back in the 2004 VP debates.
4g) Joe Biden - I wonder why his campaign hasn't gained as much traction. He's always on the Sunday AM talk shows and has a ton of experience. It must be because he talks too much.
4h) Bill Richardson - Summary of his campaign: he said on Meet the Press that he roots for both the Red Sox and Yankees. Some would say Hillary did the same thing in her hypothetical "rooting for both sides" if the Cubs and Yankees made the World Series. Can someone tell politicians that nobody cares what teams they root for as long as they just stick to one? Rudy is a Yankees fan and I don't think it will cost him any Massachusetts votes.
4i) Barack Obama - I think this guy could actually bring some ideas to the table and take action if he got elected. At this point, however, seems more style over substance.
4j) Hillary Clinton - She's come a long way, but some people just absolutely hate her. Why? It's true, she doesn't seem like a very nice person, but most of these candidates don't. From what it seems like, she is one of the hardest working candidates in that she is always preparing and rehearsing and never makes a mistake while in a public appearance. As it turns out, back in 1993 she didn't shy away from introducing some pretty radical legislation. If you think about it, that sort of change rarely happens any more. My only fear is that the Republicans seem so eager to use her as a target, and that if she becomes the nominee, all the hate directed towards her will lead to another Republican President.
5) On flip-flopping. It's noted as such a negative, but people change their minds all the time - especially on non-moral issues. Consider that the popularity of the Iraq war has completely changed since it started. Does that mean most of the US public has flip-flopped on this issue? Or have we just received more information? Why is there a double standard for our leaders changing their minds? In fact, I would suggest that the best leaders do change their minds when confronted with overwhelming evidence against their original position.
6) While we're talking about the Presidency... Everyone says, "Whoever wins Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will be a force to contend with." Why is this? The populations of these states are tiny and don't necessarily represent microcosms of the US in terms of opinions or priorities. Then with the primaries - all the jockeying for position on the political calendar is ridiculous. It's really pathetic how states like Michigan and Florida trying to move their primaries up so they can become relevant and reap the benefits of campaign dollars.
7) Fox News: I've watched about five minutes of it in the last week and can't stand it. Bill O'Reilly had a Democratic strategist on last night and they were talking about the California fires. O'Reilly was upset Democrats in Congress were trying to use Iraq as a reason that there was not enough National Guard support. He says, "I'm no expert, but there's enough support for the firefighters." Wait - if he's no expert, then how does he know if there's enough support? Then a week ago, Hannity and Colmes had family members of murder victims on and they were talking about how the convicted murderer needed a bone marrow transplant and how it was preposterous that the state would pay for his transplant and medical care (roughly $300,000). So instead we let him die in prison? At best, that's euthanasia and at worst that's cruel and uncivilized.
8) Full circle here. Would we actually attack Iran to prevent them from getting nuclear weapons? That seems a little scary to me. By the way, what do Osama bin Laden, nuclear weapons and military dictatorship have in common? They're all in Pakistan! Yay!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Are the Jets out of it at 1-3?
Watching the Jets last Sunday, I had the feeling that they were out of it if they lost to the Bills. Forgetting how poorly the team has looked in general, since they've lost to three conference opponents, it makes the playoffs even less likely in their case.
While this is a particularly pessimistic view of the rest of the season for the Jets, I was looking at the standings, and noticed a few other teams with very high expectations who are at 1-3. Do any of them have a chance? I'm not so sure.
Philadelphia
Chicago
San Diego
Cincinnati
New Orleans is 0-3, and they had high hopes. Minnesota, Buffalo and Atlanta are 1-3, but I don't think their expectations were as high entering the season.
The players keep saying it's a long season, but I don't think it will make a difference. All of these 1-3 teams have pretty significant weaknesses; barring injuries to the teams above them, I think the season might be over for them.
While this is a particularly pessimistic view of the rest of the season for the Jets, I was looking at the standings, and noticed a few other teams with very high expectations who are at 1-3. Do any of them have a chance? I'm not so sure.
Philadelphia
Chicago
San Diego
Cincinnati
New Orleans is 0-3, and they had high hopes. Minnesota, Buffalo and Atlanta are 1-3, but I don't think their expectations were as high entering the season.
The players keep saying it's a long season, but I don't think it will make a difference. All of these 1-3 teams have pretty significant weaknesses; barring injuries to the teams above them, I think the season might be over for them.
Baseball Briefly
I feel bad for Mets fans. There's not much more to say, other than one positive that has come from all their misery is the absolutely entertaining sports radio over the last three+ days.
Reviewing the potential World Series match-ups:
Colorado vs anyone is a tough World Series for the AL. I think going to Coors Field could prove very difficult for any pitching staff, especially one from the AL who might not be used to going there.
The Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908, so if they make it, it will be a huge storyline no matter the opponent. Of course, fans will likely be dreading every moment on the way there. A match-up versus Boston or NY is made more appealing due to the historic ballparks, etc. With NY, specifically, Lou Pinella, Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly all had ties with the Yankees at one point. With Boston, I wonder: Would Red Sox Nation have sympathy with the Cubs' predicament? Remember in 2003 when people predicted the two teams might meet in the World Series, only to have both lose? So much has changed since then, hasn't it?
I don't know anything about Arizona and don't have much of a sense of their dynamic. I suspect that's not an uncommon feeling, especially on the East Coast. If they played the Angels, the two teams would be wearing virtually the same uniforms.
The Phillies have only won one championship in their history, 1980. If the Phillies play the Yankees, who does the Met fan root for? Phillies vs Cleveland would be a chance for Charlie Manuel to return to Cleveland, the team he once managed.
The Indians haven't won a championship since 1948. This year is 10 years after they knocked out the Mariano Rivera and the Yankees. Also, the Yankees have not had much success as a wild card - and it's been heartbreaking finishes each time.
Yankees, D'backs, Angels and Red Sox have all won championships since 2000. It looks like there's a lot of parity in the NL, the AL still has a few powerhouses that the rest contend with.
Reviewing the potential World Series match-ups:
Colorado vs anyone is a tough World Series for the AL. I think going to Coors Field could prove very difficult for any pitching staff, especially one from the AL who might not be used to going there.
The Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908, so if they make it, it will be a huge storyline no matter the opponent. Of course, fans will likely be dreading every moment on the way there. A match-up versus Boston or NY is made more appealing due to the historic ballparks, etc. With NY, specifically, Lou Pinella, Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly all had ties with the Yankees at one point. With Boston, I wonder: Would Red Sox Nation have sympathy with the Cubs' predicament? Remember in 2003 when people predicted the two teams might meet in the World Series, only to have both lose? So much has changed since then, hasn't it?
I don't know anything about Arizona and don't have much of a sense of their dynamic. I suspect that's not an uncommon feeling, especially on the East Coast. If they played the Angels, the two teams would be wearing virtually the same uniforms.
The Phillies have only won one championship in their history, 1980. If the Phillies play the Yankees, who does the Met fan root for? Phillies vs Cleveland would be a chance for Charlie Manuel to return to Cleveland, the team he once managed.
The Indians haven't won a championship since 1948. This year is 10 years after they knocked out the Mariano Rivera and the Yankees. Also, the Yankees have not had much success as a wild card - and it's been heartbreaking finishes each time.
Yankees, D'backs, Angels and Red Sox have all won championships since 2000. It looks like there's a lot of parity in the NL, the AL still has a few powerhouses that the rest contend with.
Friday, September 28, 2007
File "The O'Reilly Factor" Under "Comedy"
Even without the Daily Show poking fun at him, the stuff he says is hilarious!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Boos and Illegal Cameras
Two more quick notes about the game yesterday:
-Many people have noted that the Giants Stadium crowd booed Chad Pennington when he limped off the field, including the ol' Wacky Chinaman. It's pretty embarrassing. While this is expected in a city like Philadelphia, it's not expected in New York. Perhaps it should be. New York fans, while considered to be educated, passionate, use whatever adjectives you want, have recently shown that they have a very short memory. The phenomenon has gotten worse and worse over time. At first I thought it started with the Mets fans, who had two recent cycles of big spending and underperforming. Most notably, Mike Piazza was getting booed towards the end of his Met career (despite being basically the best Met ever aside from Tom Seaver) and Carlos Beltran getting booed on opening day at home in his second year as a Met. But Yankee fans showed they are not immune to this sort of stupidity, booing Derek Jeter a few years back after his slow start. A-Rod heard the jeers from the crowd regularly last year despite winning the MVP the year before. Like I said, I don't know if this is something new or if it's just something I am noticing more often, but booing Chad Pennington isn't a huge surprise. However, just because it's not a surprise doesn't make it right. I have a theory that sports radio may be to blame, because it is the source of all kinds of outrageous opinions, but for now it's just a theory.
-Apparently the Patriots had some sort of camera on the sidelines that might have been used to steal the defensive signals of the Jets. Apparently this isn't the first time they've run into this sort of problem. As much as I would love to believe that this is why the Patriots beat the Jets so easily, I have a lot of trouble with this accusation. If it were true it would make the Patriots seem unbelievably insecure. Too unbelievably. They've beaten the Jets repeatedly in recent years and are on paper a better team. Why would they feel the need to cheat? There's also no way they could have maintained the sort of success that they have had even if they had stolen signs or whatever. Why were they doing something similar in Green Bay last year? Who knows, but I also don't think that the Green Bay people should have said anything until the investigation was complete. Was there something fishy going on? Perhaps, but I doubt it is as serious as it sounds in the news stories.
-Apparently the penalty for a team that does something like use an illegal camera to take photos during a game is loss of a draft pick or a fine. That doesn't seem like much to me. If it's such a big deal, the offending team should be forced to forfeit the game. However, I don't really know how a team could benefit significantly from this sort of gamesmanship. Who cares about fines and draft picks? Even the loss of one first round pick isn't the end of the world.
-Many people have noted that the Giants Stadium crowd booed Chad Pennington when he limped off the field, including the ol' Wacky Chinaman. It's pretty embarrassing. While this is expected in a city like Philadelphia, it's not expected in New York. Perhaps it should be. New York fans, while considered to be educated, passionate, use whatever adjectives you want, have recently shown that they have a very short memory. The phenomenon has gotten worse and worse over time. At first I thought it started with the Mets fans, who had two recent cycles of big spending and underperforming. Most notably, Mike Piazza was getting booed towards the end of his Met career (despite being basically the best Met ever aside from Tom Seaver) and Carlos Beltran getting booed on opening day at home in his second year as a Met. But Yankee fans showed they are not immune to this sort of stupidity, booing Derek Jeter a few years back after his slow start. A-Rod heard the jeers from the crowd regularly last year despite winning the MVP the year before. Like I said, I don't know if this is something new or if it's just something I am noticing more often, but booing Chad Pennington isn't a huge surprise. However, just because it's not a surprise doesn't make it right. I have a theory that sports radio may be to blame, because it is the source of all kinds of outrageous opinions, but for now it's just a theory.
-Apparently the Patriots had some sort of camera on the sidelines that might have been used to steal the defensive signals of the Jets. Apparently this isn't the first time they've run into this sort of problem. As much as I would love to believe that this is why the Patriots beat the Jets so easily, I have a lot of trouble with this accusation. If it were true it would make the Patriots seem unbelievably insecure. Too unbelievably. They've beaten the Jets repeatedly in recent years and are on paper a better team. Why would they feel the need to cheat? There's also no way they could have maintained the sort of success that they have had even if they had stolen signs or whatever. Why were they doing something similar in Green Bay last year? Who knows, but I also don't think that the Green Bay people should have said anything until the investigation was complete. Was there something fishy going on? Perhaps, but I doubt it is as serious as it sounds in the news stories.
-Apparently the penalty for a team that does something like use an illegal camera to take photos during a game is loss of a draft pick or a fine. That doesn't seem like much to me. If it's such a big deal, the offending team should be forced to forfeit the game. However, I don't really know how a team could benefit significantly from this sort of gamesmanship. Who cares about fines and draft picks? Even the loss of one first round pick isn't the end of the world.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
KFB Flashback - 7/21/07 - Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
During the month of July, I was in the SF Bay Area and caught both of the local teams. Here are some shots from the bleachers in Oakland, including a short 6 second video.
This hot dog was gigantic, I couldn't believe it.
This hot dog was gigantic, I couldn't believe it.
Patriots Win, Jets Lose, Let the Agony Begin...
The Jets lost to the Patriots today, 38-14 and really looked pretty beaten up throughout the game.
The game was totally over once the Pats returned a kickoff for 108 yards. You have to just tip your cap to Hobbs' return - I did not think he would have tried to run that back. Just goes to show how the day was going for the Jets. Kicker Mike Nugent spent the offseason bulking up, kicks a deep ball that he probably would have never kicked last year, and it gets run back for a record setting touchdown!
Well, my worst fears were confirmed as the lack of a left guard hurt the Jets this game. As you may recall, Pete Kendall had a contract dispute and got traded to the Redskins during the preseason. The lack of good protection affected Pennington and the running game. Here's a few things I noticed:
-First, the Pennington injury - shades of Vinny Testaverde going down in 1999 on opening day. One can blame this on Pennington's "lack of durability" all one wants, but let's face it - lack of a left guard was to blame here. The missed coverage came from the blind side. He was under pressure all day as well, it's impressive he passed as well as he did.
-The running game was in total disarray. The Jets didn't run much play action passing, which surprised me, but I suspect that the heavy pressure made it difficult to pull this off. Also a lack of running game - probably due to no holes being open. It was telling when Thomas Jones ran for about 10 yards in the second quarter and screamed and jumped in the air as if he had just scored a touchdown!
-Chad Pennington played very well in the passing game, but I was surprised about the fact that he only threw to Coles and Cotchery most of the game. Again, I blame the lack of a left guard here, as it didn't look like they ran much in a way of spread formations in order to keep Pennington protected.
Then there's the Patriots. They looked very good, although I wonder if the Jets offense had been more balanced if the game would have been closer. Pennington ended up passing pretty well, despite their pressure, and I think if the Jets had created some running lanes that they could have kept the Patriots off balance a little more. Randy Moss obviously is over his hamstring problem and Tom Brady looks like he's in great form despite his supposed shoulder problem. The Pats should be able to do very well in the passing game and put up points but I actually thought the Jets did reasonably well against the run. I was also surprised that it seemed like the Jets stuck with a three man rush against the Pats, and it didn't seem like they blitzed too much.
Overall, I'm surprised that the Jets got rid of Kendall so easily. The blind side of the QB was trusted to some novices and it looks like it's going to hurt in a number of ways. Now we have this injury to deal with as well. There are no favors in the Jets schedule either - they have Baltimore, Miami, Buffalo and the Giants coming up. Baltimore and Miami are going to be tough if the protection isn't there on the line, and then division game Buffalo will be intense, as will the inter-city battle vs the Giants. I think the Jets are more talented than the last three teams, but these games still seem pretty tough.
The game was totally over once the Pats returned a kickoff for 108 yards. You have to just tip your cap to Hobbs' return - I did not think he would have tried to run that back. Just goes to show how the day was going for the Jets. Kicker Mike Nugent spent the offseason bulking up, kicks a deep ball that he probably would have never kicked last year, and it gets run back for a record setting touchdown!
Well, my worst fears were confirmed as the lack of a left guard hurt the Jets this game. As you may recall, Pete Kendall had a contract dispute and got traded to the Redskins during the preseason. The lack of good protection affected Pennington and the running game. Here's a few things I noticed:
-First, the Pennington injury - shades of Vinny Testaverde going down in 1999 on opening day. One can blame this on Pennington's "lack of durability" all one wants, but let's face it - lack of a left guard was to blame here. The missed coverage came from the blind side. He was under pressure all day as well, it's impressive he passed as well as he did.
-The running game was in total disarray. The Jets didn't run much play action passing, which surprised me, but I suspect that the heavy pressure made it difficult to pull this off. Also a lack of running game - probably due to no holes being open. It was telling when Thomas Jones ran for about 10 yards in the second quarter and screamed and jumped in the air as if he had just scored a touchdown!
-Chad Pennington played very well in the passing game, but I was surprised about the fact that he only threw to Coles and Cotchery most of the game. Again, I blame the lack of a left guard here, as it didn't look like they ran much in a way of spread formations in order to keep Pennington protected.
Then there's the Patriots. They looked very good, although I wonder if the Jets offense had been more balanced if the game would have been closer. Pennington ended up passing pretty well, despite their pressure, and I think if the Jets had created some running lanes that they could have kept the Patriots off balance a little more. Randy Moss obviously is over his hamstring problem and Tom Brady looks like he's in great form despite his supposed shoulder problem. The Pats should be able to do very well in the passing game and put up points but I actually thought the Jets did reasonably well against the run. I was also surprised that it seemed like the Jets stuck with a three man rush against the Pats, and it didn't seem like they blitzed too much.
Overall, I'm surprised that the Jets got rid of Kendall so easily. The blind side of the QB was trusted to some novices and it looks like it's going to hurt in a number of ways. Now we have this injury to deal with as well. There are no favors in the Jets schedule either - they have Baltimore, Miami, Buffalo and the Giants coming up. Baltimore and Miami are going to be tough if the protection isn't there on the line, and then division game Buffalo will be intense, as will the inter-city battle vs the Giants. I think the Jets are more talented than the last three teams, but these games still seem pretty tough.
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