Game Over

I hate being the depressing guy but I read this story from the LA Times today during my lunch break and it made me feel pretty sad for someone that I didn't think I could possibly manage to feel sorry for.

Everyone knows the story. Eric Gagne was the hero of Dodger Stadium at a time when we didn't have many heroes. It was such a fairytale story, really. The mediocre starting pitcher turned into a reliever out of necessity that quickly became a closer when it became obvious that his hockey player mentality was better suited for it. Then the real magic began. He turned from a starter-turned-closer into the best closer in baseball. His fastballs exploded with velocity and movement. His changeup seemed almost unfair to the people who were forced to stand at the plate and have their knees buckled by it. The blaring sound of "Welcome To The Jungle" and the idea of "Game Over" flashing across the Diamond Vision kept Dodger fans in their seats all the way through the ninth inning, completely destroying the "Ha ha - Dodger fans show up in the 3rd and leave in the 7th" that has haunted us for so all.

It all seemed so perfect. Too perfect. It was a too good to be true scenario and in the end, it turned out to be exactly that.

Gagne signed a big contract after three huge years... and then physically collapsed. No one wanted to even whisper the thought at the time but as the physical downfall dovetailed with baseball's new drug testing policy, the thought crossed everyone's minds.

The contract came and went with little fanfare as he was barely able to throw a pitch for the team during it. Everyone was convinced he'd take a paycut to "make it up to the team" during contract negotiations and when he didn't, he quickly became the object of much scorn throughout Southern California.

Fast forward a bit to the arrival of the Mitchell Report and the news that Dodger fans had dreaded all along. Evidence that Gagne had received shipments of HGH. And even worse, fellow Cindarella story teammate Paul LoDuca seemed to be the man who started him on that path. We even got salt rubbed in the wounds with an e-mail from a Boston scout clearly stating that "steroids is the problem."

Sigh.

And so it goes. After reading that, I never thought I could feel pity for Gagne's career again however when he was released during spring training, I thought that a pity signing might be in order. What could it hurt after all?

Occasionally, you'd hear a whisper about him rehabbing his latest injury but this is the first full-length story I've seen on him in a while. It really is a sad story and while part of me still has a lot of bitterness towards him, this story goes a long way towards soothing old wounds.

Here are a couple excerpts that I found most interesting...

On the day Manny Ramirez would make his comeback before tens of thousands of adoring fans -- in enemy territory, no less -- Gagne sat at a table for two at a riverfront cafe, in this weathered city more than 400 years old, and more than 400 miles from the nearest big league outpost.

He wore a black Ed Hardy T-shirt. He ate his poutine -- the Quebec delicacy of fries topped with gravy and cheese -- in peace. No one asked him for an autograph.

This is a long way to go to get away from the Mitchell Report and start over.

This is home. These are the people who nurtured him, who dropped coins into a bucket to help pay his way to college, who packed the stadium here and gave him a standing ovation just for coming home to pitch, for the Quebec Capitales of the independent Can-Am League.

L.A. was home too, once upon a time. We wore goggles and goatees, sweat-stained caps and "Game Over" shirts. We went nuts for the record-setting 84 consecutive saves and for the Cy Young Award, for "Welcome to the Jungle" and for the best show in town.

"The electricity was unreal," Gagne said. "I never thought that was possible in baseball.

"Those were the best days of my life. I think about them every day."

Or this one...

The details might be sparse, but the remorse is genuine.

"I've been straightforward about everything. It [stinks] that I can't be about this," he said. "I'm not looking for sympathy anyway.

"I have to live with this the rest of my life. I'm going to have to explain this to my kids. It's going to be on my resume the rest of my life."

He volunteers that he is a role model for kids -- and not just his four kids, none older than 8. He is a model for what not to do, whatever that might have been.

"I hope I serve as an example," Gagne said. "You don't want to be in my shoes.

"This is hell. I've still got to talk about it."

His three best seasons, the ones in which he recorded the 84 consecutive saves, were the last three before baseball instituted a drug policy and initiated mandatory suspensions for first offenders.

Did Dodgers fans -- the ones that paid good money for tickets and "Game Over" memorabilia -- get an honest performance in return?

"To me, yes," Gagne said. "I can guarantee I worked harder than anybody.

Or one last one...

Gagne is in Quebec to revive his career. He is trying to work his way back from a partially torn rotator cuff, with four appearances so far and a fastball Laplante put at 84-87 mph. He should get stronger, and presumably better, and if so he could get a minor league contract in August, or a spring training invitation next year.

He is in baseball limbo here, not because of the Mitchell Report, but because of his shoulder. What was once a national outrage over baseball's steroid era has evolved into a national fatigue.

If Ramirez hits, Dodgers fans cheer.

"Everybody makes mistakes," Gagne said. "You keep going. You do what you do. What Manny does best is hit balls. Manny is an entertainer. That's not just in L.A. It's anywhere. If you're a fan . . . you want to see something special."

There was no better entertainer in L.A. than Gagne, back in the day.

"That's why I keep going to the ballpark," he said. "I'm searching for that again."

Gagne relives it every day. His 5-year-old son scampers about in a Dodgers cap. His 3-year-old daughter is named Bluu -- yes, he said, for Dodger blue.

Like I said, a sad story. I might be alone in my pity for the man who once thrilled us all but... well, if Mr. Ramirez gets a second chance...

Something To Think About

Not to bring everyone down from their BBQ burgers-cheap beer-fireworks high but... well, as we are all prone to doing, sometimes we forget the reason why we're celebrating certain days off. Yes, there IS another reason other than having a day off work and an excuse to get drunk, kids.

I don't feel the need to give everyone a history lesson tonight but rather to remind everyone that there are some people out there in the world still fighting for their country. As much as we may disagree with why they're fighting, it doesn't change the fact that they're out there each and every day putting their lives on the line for all of us back home.

I helped a young man in the store a few months ago who was home on leave for a couple of weeks before shipping off to Afghanistan. He had just finished with basic training and you could tell he was a bit nervous about his new assignment. After a lengthy sale, I mentioned that it must be more than a little unsettling to have that just around the corner. He agreed and after more conversation, he simply shrugged and said, "I may not like why I'm going to be there but I'd rather it be me over there so that good folks like yourself can be a little bit safer." In the end, I thanked him for his service and expressed my hope that I'd see him again in the store soon.

When I read this article today on Yahoo about the troops in Afghanistan, I couldn't help but think of that young man and his willingness to put his life on the line for someone like me.

Readers of this blog know that I'm not a religious man but for those of you out there that are, please include that young man and all the others mentioned and unmentioned in the article above in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy 4th of July to one and all!

Manny's Back

July 3rd was the day that Dodger fans have had etched on their brains for 50 games now - the day that Manny Ramirez would finally return from suspension and hopefully pick up right where he left off.

Well, the Dodgers won tonight but Manny had very little to do with it.

The media's been out in full force for this return for days but especially over the past day or so. Lots of reporters that are full of piss and vinegar that Manny hasn't been strung up by his toes by fans across the globe. There's a lot of arguments for and against Manny right now with a lot of good points on both sides.

But there's something that I took away from them that kinda made me realize why I, personally, haven't been as upset about the situation as some others have.

I read someone saying that the fans are just too overexposed to the situation by this point. Bonds, A-Rod, Clemens, McGwire... you name it, we've seen their names and reputations and records dragged through the mud.

At some point, don't we all just become a little bit numb to it?

The Clemens one is the one that probably did me in. I've been a huge Clemens fan for his entire career. At one point in my childhood, I proudly held over a hundred Clemens baseball cards in my collection and proclaimed him to be one of my favorite players [as a non-Dodger, that was saying something.]

So, when a childhood hero is busted for Performance Enhancing Drugs, am I going to be affected as much when someone that I probably REALLY only like because I met him on my wedding day is?

The A-Rod one stings a little too because he was supposed to be clean. He was the guy who was going to "save" the record books from the taint of Barry Bonds. But in the end, all he did was prove Jose Canseco right... again.

In the end, it's starting to become more and more apparent that just about every high profile player from that period of time were "influenced" in some fashion. Can we hate them all? I guess but at some point, you have to start to wonder if there's a point to that.

He got caught, he did his time, he quasi-admits to it...

I guess that's good enough... sorta. Everyone deserves a second chance and all that jazz, right?

Right?

A Purple And Gold Throat-Slasher

So...umm... remember my anti-Artest post from a month or so ago?

Yeaaaaaaaah... might need to take that one back.

What must it feel like to be the Dodgers PR guy? You're one day away from getting Manny back on the squad, arguably one of the biggest news stories of the year for the Dodgers and you STILL get your press jacked by the Lakers, this time in the form of Ron Artest apparently signing a three year, $18 million deal.

Am I happy about this? Not sure. I much would have rather had Ariza back but it didn't seem to be in the cards. His agent took a very antagonistic stance from the beginning and seemed to fan the flames rather than try to keep his client in a good situation. The 24 year old, when it came down to it, jumped for more money. No big shock there, right?

So, the Lakers adjusted and went after another target - one who, in theory, should be able to match or exceed Ariza's offensive and defensive production.

Now, can we all get along?

That remains to be seen. You've got quite the loose cannon out there now and someone who has, in the past, complained about not getting enough touches. If Artest knows that his role mostly is to defend, we should be golden. If he gets three-pointer happy like he did in the playoff series this year, well... there could be problems.

Oh, let me take a quick moment to say that Ariza's agent has quickly risen to join Scott Boras in the ranks of agents that I despise. This is the same guy who held us up with Bynum last season and just did the same thing again. What an ass.

I just hope this move still leaves money for Lamar. Starting five of Fish, Kobe, Artest, Pau, and Bynum with Lamar as the 6th man? I can deal with that, I think.

Nothing says America like a giant wrinkled flag in the middle of the
mall.

Strike Three

Last night, I settled in to watch Raw as I usually do. After a bit of the same ol', same ol', I was starting to grow a little annoyed. At some point in the show, they announced a tournament to determine who would get the title match with Randy Orton at Night Of Champions.

As soon as I saw the brackets, my stomach sunk.

Miz vs Cena and HHH vs MVP.

I just couldn't imagine any other possible outcome. Sure, I hoped for it. The idea of a Miz/HHH or MVP/Cena match or god forbid, MVP/Miz match seemed intriguing and something that I'd be interested in seeing. My thought was that it benefited no one to see Cena vs HHH next week nor either of those guys in ANOTHER title match with Orton.

Then the first match happened and Miz lost. And I grew even more annoyed. The Miz/HHH option seemed far more likely to me than a Cena/MVP match. I immediately assumed the worst.

And not long after, I was proved correct. Cena vs HHH for the title shot.

That's bad, right? But somehow it got worse.

They announced a fifteen wrestler trade with five new superstars going to each show. Then they announced three of those guys would face Orton in the Main Event in a gauntlet match.

My immediate thought was "what a waste." Why book a gauntlet match when you essentially have no choice but to piss away the debuts of three new competitors since winning a gauntlet match gets you nothing and losing is a joke?

Then the wrestlers came out...

Evan Bourne - one of the most popular new superstars they've stumbled onto in years. They've handled him poorly for months and then decide the best way to book his Raw debut is to lose to Orton - a "badly beaten and hurting" Orton at that.

Jack Swagger - well, at least Swagger got to just walk out but... why? Is he going to get in Legacy? If he does, is he just another flunky for Orton? I'd buy into Swagger as the cocky kid who gets better and better and better and then surpasses Orton as the leader of Legacy. But I doubt that's happening.

And then... Mark Henry. Okay, I like Mark Henry. But I'm not feeling Mark Henry as a face at all. And that's how they positioned him.

Look, I'm not in favor of this gauntlet match at all but if you had to do it...

Henry comes out first, just destroys Orton with power moves, and somehow gets himself DQd when it looked pretty obvious he was going to win. Swagger refuses to take a win over a beaten up Orton, saying he'll see the champ when he's 100%. Bourne, of course, gets the win. It doesn't do much since he's beating a badly beaten champ but you get footage of Bourne beating Orton and send the crowd home happy.

Is it really that tough?

And the HHH/Cena thing? Fuck that. I'm so irritated at The Miz's run getting the legs cut out from under it.

I've made a decision!

When I was dreading Cena/HHH being the winners of their matches, I mentally told myself that I should stop watching if that happens...

...and so I shall!

For the first time in years, when Monday Night Raw hits the airwaves next Monday, I won't be watching it. I'd like to see Ted DiBiase as the "guest host" but I just don't care about the rest of the show. I'll probably still watch ECW and Smackdown - maybe even Superstars. But Raw will lose me a viewer...

...for one month! In true old school wrestling fashion, I am leaving Raw for 30 days with the hope that when I see it once again, things will be different.

I hope.

DUCK!

Ain't No Sunshine

Lashley Beats Sapp

Just a quick one tonight...

So, former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley defeated former IWGP Champion Bob Sapp tonight in a battle of former pro wrestlers turned MMA stars [or in Sapp's case, a former MMA star turned pro wrestler turned foreign megastar turned occasional MMA star.]

Sapp, as usual, came in far too heavy in my estimation and probably nowhere near ready for a fight with someone who might actually put on a good fight. Lashley, a former collegiate wrestling standout, took Sapp down with ease and pounded him out for an easy win.

No big shock at all.

But the question remains - is that enough to gain Dana White's interest? I'm not sure how eager Dana will be to have another former WWE wrestler on his roster even though Brock has turned out pretty well so far. I'm guessing Lashley's not there yet - maybe a few more wins [against decent competition] will do it.

The other question? How many more losses can Sapp endure before he looks for a paycheck elsewhere? The WWE's interest in him has long been rumored and it's starting to sound to me like it might be a good place for him if he can handle not being an instant megastar. I'm guessing he might also have to put up with a duffel bag full of shit or two.

An interesting crossroads for one MMA competitor on the way up and one definitely on the way down.

A Fitting Tribute

Now THAT'S how you say goodbye to the King of Pop. That's the Top 10 albums on the iTunes Music Store right now.

Weird Day

You know, there are days in writing a blog that you update every day where you just can not figure out what the fuck to write. There are days where there just seems to be absolutely nothing going on to write about. Those are days where you get YouTube videos or random comments about a few bullshit stories.

But good lord has the past couple of days been nutty.

The Shaq deal? The Vince Carter deal? The NBA Draft? Manny in the Minors [great reality series idea!]? And that's just on the sports page.

If you're on the front page, you might read about Iran or North Korea - the latter of which apparently promised to rain nuclear hellfire upon the United States on a moment's notice if they get... what? Offended? Bored? And once again, we see what a friggin' waste of time pissing around in Iraq was while these crazy fucks still get to... oh, I don't know... RUN A FUCKING COUNTRY!

The Entertainment section is a bit of a bummer. Ed McMahon? Dead. Farrah Fawcett? Dead. But while I think it's sad that they're dead for their friends and families as well as all of their fans, those don't really hit me too hard.

But Michael Jackson? Fuuuuuck.

And yes, I spent the bulk of the day fielding really tasteless jokes via text, e-mail, and in person about his death. Yes, some of them were amusing but... man... that shit's harsh. The guy died and there's a slew of child molesting jokes making the rounds before the body's cold.

Whatever. I prefer to think of Michael Jackson as the amazing artist that provided so much brilliant music and inspired so many current and future artists to even get involved in the music business. Sure, he was "eccentric" if you want to be nice and flat out fucking nuts if you're "keepin' it real." But that doesn't take away from the fantastic music he made.

One of my co-workers compared it to the day that Lennon died. Not sure I can disagree a ton with that. It's a huge day in music history and to see it reduced to a bunch of "Ha ha, he fucked kids!" jokes is kind of a bummer.

Not that I'm condoning fucking kids! But... well, maybe Benoit set the bar pretty high for how much of a fuckstain on the sheets of life you have to be before I don't at least think it's a shame you died.

Plus, there's the whole innocent until proven guilty thing that Americans only like to use when it benefits them. The court of public opinion has never believed in such a premise and likely never will.

Eh. Whatever. I'm babbling.

But "Billie Jean" is and always will be one of my favorite songs ever and it makes me sad to think I've forever lost the chance that I might someday get to see it performed live.

Oh, like you wouldn't have gone to see him in concert! Keep telling yourself that.

R.I.P. for the one and only King of Pop.

Blue's Reviews: Party Down

With the X-Box 360 back in play and a free Live membership for a month in hand, I decided it was an opportune time to try and get the 360 on the wireless network again without paying for the ridiculously overpriced Microsoft Wireless Adapter.  With a loaner Airport Extreme and a little more effort than I would've liked, the network had a new addition to the family.  The first thing I wanted to try was not online gaming but rather the Watch Instantly feature on Netflix.


As the kids would say...


OMG!


It's simply awesome to be able to stream movies and TV shows across the 360 and watch them on the television.  One of the first things I had looked for was the Starz series Party Down.  Party Down was of special interest to me since it was co-created by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas [no, not THAT Rob Thomas] and featured a lot of the VM stars.  It's kind of a "class reunion" of sorts.


But that's just the hook.  The best part of it is that this comedy series about a bunch of aspiring or failed actors working in a party catering company is actually god damn hilarious.  It has fun characters that you instantly can relate to and develop a feeling one way or another for.  It's got pretty decent storytelling with both the main characters as well as the guest stars involved.  


And in true comedic fashion... it's got the quotables, my favorite of which was a three way tie.


1)  "SNAP, MOTHERFUCKERS!" - So, so simple.  So, so glorious.
2)  "I think they prefer to be called Jigroes" - Hehehehehehehehe.
3)  "Jim Abbott" - 'nuff said.


Now, you're sitting there thinking I'm a tremendous jackass for putting in those quotables and not explaining the context of them, right?


WRONG!


That's my way of getting you to go out and watch Party Down.  If you're a fan of Veronica Mars especially or just a fan of comedy in the vein of The Office but a little bit darker and more cynical, you'll dig it muchly.

Some NBA Stuff

You'd think with the season just ending, we'd have no NBA stuff going on right now but...

Spurs Trade Bowen!
I don't even give a fuck about the rest of the trade but Bowen's gone!  No more fear that Kobe's going to be seriously injured in every Spurs/Lakers game.  No more of this...




Ray Allen On Trade Block
Looks like the Celtics are ready to break down their team already. Ray Allen's on the trading block along with Rajon Rondo as they apparently recently attempted to play Let's Make A Deal with the Pistons, trying to pick up Rip Hamilton among others. Interesting. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing.


Phil Wants To Only Coach At Home
...what?

Random Thoughts

Just a few notes on some of my shared Google News from the past few days...

"Moneyball" Apparently Dead

Bah! I knew it was too good to be true. For months, we've been hearing about the plans to turn the book about Billy Beane and his success in rebuilding the Oakland A's time and time again using statistical analysis over more traditional baseball scouting into a "major motion picture." Brad Pitt was attached to star with Steven Soderbergh [did I spell that right?] directing. But as of today, the movie was killed in what appears to be a studio decision regarding a creative conflict. According to the folks at /film, Sony wanted a "more traditional" sports movie out of it. Sometimes I wonder why I aspire to be involved in that business.

Bryan Fuller A Hero No More

Genius scribe Bryan Fuller of Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls fame returned to Heroes to much ballyhoo late last season, apparently giving the show a much needed creative boost towards its former greatness. In fact, the end of the season got such good buzz, I was thinking of watching the eps I missed this summer. Today, Fuller revealed that he'd be leaving Heroes yet again... and millions of fanboys wept bitter tears.

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching

One look over the weekend at Joe Torre's absolutely brutal handling of the bullpen has Dodger fans getting nervous about stretch time. Apparently Ned Coletti feels the same way and is apparently on the hunt for another starter to boost the rotation. Pedro Martinez seems to not be on the radar at the moment and hasn't been since Spring Training according to Torre. The rumored name of the day? Former Angel Jarrod Washburn. Since I rarely watch AL games, anyone know how Washburn is doing? Personally, I think the bullpen could use an extra bullet stopper or two because with the amount of innings they're getting, an injury seems inevitable to me.

Neve Campbell Too Busy Being Nobody To Film Scream 4

One of the hottest stories as of late has been the potential relaunch of the Scream franchise with three new movies. Wes Craven's been courted to direct with former WCW World Champion David Arquette and Courtney "Hey, Weren't You In Friends?" Cox apparently ready to earn a paycheck as well. It's a new story so it seems a little odd to need the ol' gang again. When news hit that Campbell had turned down the role that made her [sorta] famous, writer Kevin Williamson seemed quite distraught about it, wondering if he could figure out a way to do the story without her. Anyone else thinking she was supposed to be the killer? Yeah, me too.

Jobs Returns As iPhone 3GS Sells Huge

I don't really have anything to add to this but...

Have I Mentioned I Hate Joe Morgan?

Arrogant piece of shit has the gall to say after the Dodgers beat the Angels tonight that "I think people are finally starting to take the Dodgers seriously."

Are you fucking joking?

The team's had the best record in baseball for the majority of the first half of the season.  We're almost to the All-Star Break and they're leading their division by eight games or so.  They thrived when everyone thought they'd fold when Manny went down to suspension.

And yes, "it's still early."  And yes, this could all turn in a hurry but...

Was no one taking the Dodgers seriously all those weeks they were on top of the Power Rankings for Yahoo, ESPN, SI, and all the rest of the top sports news sites?

Fucking Joe Morgan.  I wish the Dodgers would NEVER be shown on ESPN.

I Love Knocking Out Rich Franklin

So, the Red Ring Repaired X-Box 360 returned home a couple of days ago and tonight, I finally had the energy to open it up and re-connect it.  I was greatly surprised to discover that a] it's either a new unit or b] they updated the software for me which is greatly appreciated since I do not have an Internet connection within range of it.  They also tossed in a one month free subscription to X-Box Live for my "troubles" which is kinda nice, I guess, but I can't use it at the moment so it's also useless.

I popped in the UFC game finally that had caused this whole scenario to unfold and was immediately taken aback by how nice the opening sequence was.  The menus were straight forward and I was able to figure out what was going on pretty easily.  I skipped the Tutorial because I'm a guy and we hate learning how to do something before we just try to do it.  Duh.

So, in mere moments, I was in an Exhibition fight at the Light Heavyweight level between Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian and my opponent - I think it was Thiago Alves?  Can't remember.  This one was a slugfest which I knew it probably shouldn't be but it was all my button mashing would manage.  After a hard-fought first round, I looked up how to do a takedown attempt but I kept getting stuffed with it.  I went back to the punches and kicks and scored with an awesome high kick to floor Mr. Serra and end his night in the third round.

I was overjoyed by how beautiful this game is.  Nicely done characters.  Good textures on the skin tones and the little things like ink, blood, and sweat.  Even the cornermen were holding up sponsor sheets.  I didn't get annoyed by the commentary immediately which gives it a plus from most of the WWE games.

I moved on, determined to do at least one match at every weight level before calling it a night [another 7 AM start at work tomorrow.]  The Welterweight division saw me use BJ Penn to KO Matt Serra in the second round.  The Penn character was pretty dead on while the Serra was not so much.

At Middleweight, I absolutely had no choice but to kill Rich Franklin with Anderson Silva... again.  By this point, I was playing with some of the more advanced offense and was trying to hit the Thai clinched knees.  I could get the clinch with ease but couldn't really take advantage of it.  I threw some knees to the body but couldn't score with the big knees I wanted.  On the break, I snapped off a flying knee that made me freak out but I hit nothing but air.  In the end, a big kick knocked Franklin's mouthpiece out as he hit the mat for the KO.

At Light Heavy, I decided Wanderlei Silva needed to get some shots in.  The computer randomly selected Rampage for the opponent so I was a little worried.  I shouldn't have been.  The Axe Murderer ran right through him, finishing him with strikes on the ground.

At Heavy, I was planning to use Lesnar until my old friend Mirko Cro Cop's name showed up.  Being arguably my favorite fighter, I had to give him a workout.  The computer selected Heath Herring for the slaughter... which came in mere seconds with a brutal left high kick.  God, I loved every moment of it.  Even if it's a video game, it's awesome to see Cro Cop dominate again.

I went back for seconds at heavy, beating Gabriel Gonzaga with Lesnar using strikes on the ground.

All in all, I had a blast in the one hour I played it and I'm looking forward to starting the Career mode on it over the next few days.

Oh, and I think there was a real UFC fight tonight too but I was too busy beating up digital copies of those guys.

Egads

Today was one of the most exhausting days ever. Excuse me if my brain
is melty

Sent from my iPhone

Not Exactly Cain vs Abel... or Kane vs The Undertaker

Just a quick one as I have to be at work in just a handful of hours...

Today, the Dodgers informed Jeff Weaver that he would be starting Saturday's game vs the Angels. This is significant because his little brother Jered will be starting for the Angels making it the first brother vs brother starting pitching duel in several years. When asked for comment, Jeff informed the media that his parents cancelled attending a relative's wedding on Saturday to go to the game instead - which seems a little odd to me unless they're really distant relatives and the Weavers were just looking for an excuse not to go.

The more significant part of the quote was when Jeff basically said that the ideal scenario would be that they'd go out of the game tied and let the bullpens decide the game.

No, jackass. The ideal scenario is that you throw a complete game no-hitter which does not require the bullpen while your brother gets lit up like the sky over Disneyland during fireworks.

Keep your shit together, yo. This is business... it's not personal.

I'm In Love

"Hey Iceman, Tell Me How My Ass Tastes!"

Head hurts. Sleep

Sent from my iPhone

Donald Trump?

I know, I know. I'm supposed to write about the Lakers.

But... well...

Donald Trump?

Lemme explain for those non-wrestling fans on the blog. Tonight on Raw, Vince McMahon announced that he had "sold" Monday Night Raw to Donald Trump for a healthy cash payment. Partially, this was used to explain why next week's Raw is going to be commercial free but... what about the other part?

I'm just not sure where this is going. Does anyone want to see another Vince/Trump feud? I'm all in favor of "selling" Raw to attempt to make more of a split between Smackdown and Raw [especially since Smackdown has been much better lately - does anyone else find it odd that Raw is pretty much the worst show these days?] but I would've liked to see someone who made more sense.

Granted, it's tough to find someone you could sell as having enough money to tempt Vince but all of wrestling involves leaps of logic. Who else would have fit this role well?

Eric Bischoff? Could've been a good time to "relaunch" WCW since the Rise And Fall of WCW DVD is coming out soon. JBL? Hogan? Austin?

How about Floyd Mayweather? He suddenly has some free time on his hands.

Mike Tyson? Okay, maybe not.

There must have been someone else to slot into this role that would've been fun to watch. I just can't see Trump being entertaining for more than a week or two. I guess it depends if they just use him as a figurehead and let the GM he appoints do most of the work. Trump as an occasional "it's a big deal when he shows up" owner could be okay.

I just wish it was more exciting. At least they didn't hype it for more than twenty minutes or so.

A Sigh Of Relief

I'll probably write a little recap tomorrow but for tonight...

Congrats, Lakers.

A Shocker

I had every intention of writing a little bit about The Brothers Bloom since we went and saw it tonight (excellent flick, by the by) but while we were at dinner, something came across my Google Reader that made my jaw drop. Apparently I gasped when I read it and startled the Missus.

Mitsuharu Misawa died last night.

The majority of people reading this probably have no idea who that is but suffice to say that if you're a wrestling fan, you know that it's a sad day for the business as one of the all-time greats has fallen.

But deaths in this business aren't usually so shocking. Misawa died in the ring in mid-match. He took a back suplex from an opponent and went into cardiac arrest. They performed CPR in the ring but there was nothing to be done. Misawa who had survived so many lethal looking moves through his career had died inside the squared circle.

Words can't do justice what an amazing in-ring performer this guy was. Soooooo...

Head Trauma

Somehow, someway, I smacked my head into the side of the door frame trying to get to this computer to post for you people.

The sacrifices I make for you!

So, with a slightly pounding head, I come to write...

...and find nothing to say.

How 'bout this one?

Earlier today, I read that former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley - who left the WWE in hopes of being a black Brock Lesnar in MMA instead of a black Brock Lesnar in pro wrestling - had made some comments on Kimbo Slice's addition to next season's The Ultimate Fighter cast. I'm too lazy to go look up the exact quote right now but he said something like, "I would've loved to do it but it would do nothing for my career and my management team wouldn't let me." Wow.

You may recall that I give Kimbo many props and much love for having the balls to stand up to his management team and put his cajones... err... where his mouth was. Sorry for the imagery on that one.

So, Kimbo Slice, a street fighter who probably could've ridden out freak show fights for the rest of his life and made a decent chunk of change doing it, put EVERYTHING on the line for a shot at getting into the biggest MMA promotion on the planet. You've gotta respect the man for that whether you think he's a joke as a fighter or not.

Bobby Lashley who is a former collegiate wrestler and is a genetic freak... well, he thinks it's a bad career move to try to earn a spot in the UFC. He'd rather slap around also-rans, has-beens, and never-weres until Dana notices him. His next fight is sure to make some headlines against Bob Sapp but Sapp hasn't been truly competitive in MMA in years. He was the product of overhype and believing in that hype did his career in as a fighter. So, a win over Sapp isn't exactly going to set the world on fire for Bobby Lashley.

Mr. Lashley, it's time to put your cajones where your mouth is! You want to be taken seriously as a fighter - and I can't believe I'm about to say this - but you need to follow in Kimbo's footsteps.

One To Go...

Like I really was going to talk about anything else tonight.

That was a fun game to watch. Back and forth, runs and droughts, cursing, screaming, and praising. You've got to love playoff basketball.

So, the Lakers find themselves one win away from another Championship which is absolutely awesome... duh.

The game was sloppy at times and got a little chippy at points [about time!] but that didn't make it any less entertaining. A second OT game? Amazing. Derek Fisher with the 3 Pointer Of Absolute Redemption? Incredible. Pau looking like he wanted to throw down with a foo'? Priceless.

Oh, and don't forget that Kobe guy. The best player walkin'.

One more win. One more. The question now becomes do they get too lazy and blow it in Game Five or does the young Magic team fold house like the Nuggets did?

Is Your Favorite Here?

One of my favorite websites had this linked today - a clip of the Top 100 memorable lines in movie history. Anything missing?

Split Decision

Lakers lose but is anyone super shocked by that? At work today, I had
predicted that if the Lakers were going to lose just one, it's be
tonight. They looked pretty good - sloppy at times with a lack of
defensive intensity. They made mental errors - Kobe's missed free
throws, the steal towards the end, etc.

I'm not worried - well, unless they lose Gm 4 too.

Dodgers win again, continuing this nutty season with the best record
in MLB despite being without Manny - who showed up to say hello and
apparently make sure we all know he didn't rape or kill anyone. I
still think they'll need another starter at some point though. 117
pitches for Chad tonight in 5.2 innings? Yikes!

Sent from my iPhone

God Bless America

I laughed my ass off watching this and I'm sure you will too. It actually reminds me of the night Chris Jericho beat The Rock and Austin in the same night to win the Undisputed Title and one of my loyal readers - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - threw the mother of all hissy fits and pouted the entire way home from San Diego, even going as far as giving me both tickets to Raw the following night and saying that he wasn't going.

Pure awesome.

The Minor League System

I have no idea how these things happen but I woke up this morning pondering the existence of the minor league system in Major League Baseball. It might be a brief piece I saw the other night on James Loney and the MLB Draft or it might be all the talk of the upcoming Draft.

But in the middle of all this pondering, something stuck in my craw.

Why is it that MLB is the only one of the major four sports that have such a drawn-out and [possibly] bloated minor league system to work through to hit the big time?

NBA? You get drafted, you're on the big team's roster more often than not and sometimes have an immediate and huge impact. The NFL is the same way. Not sure on the NHL but occasionally you do hear about some wunderkind.

But MLB? Someone who gets drafted in MLB may wait YEARS before making the big leagues if they ever make it all. Is MLB that much harder of a sport? Is there that much difference between the sports in the quality gap between high school/college ball and the pros?

I decided to do a little research to see just how this plays out.

Thanks to this super-helpful report on sport participation up on the NCAA website, I can provide the following information...

In 2006-7, the following participation numbers were recorded.

Baseball - 29,846 (in Div I/II/III)
Basketball - 16,640
Football - 62,459
Hockey - 3,957

Okay... so from there, we look at the drafts for each sport...

MLB - 1,502 players were drafted in the 2006 MLB Draft
NBA - 60 players are drafted
NFL - 256 players were drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft
NHL - 211 players were drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft

Now, let's look at slots available for those players (and yes, I realize the math is flawed based on international, non-roster players, etc.) And of course, all of this is quite theoretical.

For the NBA, every team can carry a max of 15. At 30 teams, that means there are 450 jobs available in the NBA. Of the total number of NCAA basketball players, about 3% will get one of those jobs and rarely - and I do mean RARELY - do one of the sixty drafted not play immediately in the NBA.

For the NFL, every team can carry a max of 53. At 32 teams, there are 1696 jobs available in the NFL. Theoretically, up to 3% will also get a job in the NFL. And again, RARELY do those players not immediately play for their NFL team.

For the NHL, every team can carry a max of 20 players. With 30 teams, that makes 600 jobs in the NHL. In theory, about 2% of those college players will get a job. The numbers are probably really off on this one because of the amount of international players in the NHL who don't come through the NCAA system.

And finally, there's MLB...

At 30 teams... and I'll be generous and go with the 40 Man Roster... there's 1200 jobs available at the Major League level. Again, in theory, up to 4% of the NCAA players will end up in the Major Leagues. That's close to the other sports so that makes sense. However, when we look at draft numbers...MLB is the only sport where more players are drafted than are already in the Majors.

The Dodger organization alone carries seven minor league teams... three rookie ball teams, two A affiliates, one AA, and one AAA. That gives the Dodgers a grand total of 131ish listed players in the minor leagues with two teams not listing rosters. If we assume another 25 per team there, the Dodgers creep close to 200 players in their system. Let's say 150 to be conservative. If we assume the rest of the MLB teams do the same, that's another 4500 jobs open in the MLB system for a total of 5700. With 5700 jobs in the system, you can now theorize that about about 20% of NCAA players will get a job in the MLB system.

So, the numbers are fascinating to me but the real question is... why?

Any thoughts?

Fuck Microsoft

It's not exactly what you'd call a secret that the big MS and I don't exactly see eye to eye. I've been using Macs and professing their greatness to all who'd listen for years. Windows is a giant pile of shit compared to OS X whether it's XP, Vista, and I'll go out a limb right now and say it... yes, even the fabled Windows 7. The Zune is an even larger pile of shit that has earned it's place in the Mocking Hall of Fame. Office is... eh.... but it's hard to fuck up a Word Processor.

But the X-Box and I have always been on decent terms. I had an original X-Box pretty early in its inception - my last "big" Christmas gift from the family. I enjoyed it muchly and thought it much more fun than my PS2 that continues to sit untouched as it has been for years. I was pretty enthused about the 360 when I got it as well and used it for a while before all video games went ignored for quite some time.

Those decent terms end tonight.

The UFC game came out a couple weeks ago and after a couple-times-a-week check at Blockbuster to attempt to rent it, I buckled this evening and bought it. About two hours ago, we fired up the 360 for its first usage in a long, long while.

So, the first thing MS decides to do is piss on my parade by informing me that I have to do a system update before I can play the game. Awesome.

Well, no, it's not awesome because I don't have a hard line Internet connection in that room nor did I drop $100 for the overpriced 360 wireless receiver. I scoured the house for an Ethernet cable for which to tether my laptop to it to do the stupid update. Nothing. I even trudged down three flights of stairs to check the garage. Nothing.

I finally decided to take the cable from my Cable Modem to Airport and use that while piggybacking on someone else's connection. Plugged in. Fired it up.

I spot a weird little checkerboard pattern in the corner with a non-responsive controller that starts to make me nervous. Having been the victim of failed logic boards in the past, I have a sixth sense about these things.

Turn it off, turn it back on.



The infamous Red Ring Of Death.

For those unaware, MS describes this as "general hardware failure." It's infamous for a reason as countless X-Box 360 users over the past few years reported it. I'm sure I would have earlier if the unit hadn't gone untouched for months at a time. I immediately declare the situation a "traumatic event" to the scorn of the Missus because apparently we have different definitions of "traumatic."

I go to the Microsoft website for what they somehow have the unmitigated gall to label "support."

Step One - they give me some bullshit about checking the power adapter. Looks good.
Step Two - Turn it off for ten seconds. Brilliant! Like I hadn't already tried that.
Step Three - Welp, you're fucked. Submit an online repair request.

"Awesome," I think. This should be easy and painless.

Apparently the geniuses in Seattle believe that the first thing you should do when you have someone sad about not being able to use their product is to ask them to sign in to their website. Alright, I can dig it.

But I apparently don't have a Microsoft Live ID even though they send me monthly e-mails about X-Box Live - a service I haven't had in over a year [at least.] So, now I have to create a Microsoft Live ID complete with that character recognition bullshit that always takes me four tries to get right.

Yay, I have a Microsoft Live ID.

Time to fill out that service request, right?

Nah. Now these fucking idiots think it's a good idea to ask me to create a "Gamertag" and select an avatar for a game I won't be able to play for no telling how long thanks to their shoddy equipment. Are you fucking kidding me?

Alright... I select the Gamertag of "MakeMineApple" which shockingly is both available and apparently approved. Wocka wocka wocka!

I refuse to pick an avatar because that's how I roll. Surprisingly, they let me continue anyways. Thanks, Mr. Gates!

Okay, this part I'm writing as I go through the rest of this. I had to stop and come here to write because this is how ridiculous this whole thing is.

The next step is to register the X-Box that I plan to send in. Sounds... reasonable, I guess. But I bet they're going to want a serial number that I can't find without going back to the other room and disconnecting the 360. Any takers?

Indeed! The first thing they ask for is the S/N without the slightest hint of where it's at. Jackassery at it's finest.

To further the "Huh?" Factor... they ask me for my e-mail even though I'm signed in under my Windows Live ID which is linked to my e-mail. And they ask for my name again. And where I'm from. Leave no stone unturned. Here's an odd one... they ask for my preferred language and even though the entire page is in English, that's not the first choice. I have to scroll through the alphabetical list to bring it up. Is it too American-centric to ask that they put the language on the screen as the first option?

Okay... off I go to find a serial number...

It's on the back of the unit which is now unplugged. Bizarre thing is I powered it up before unplugging it. No red circle. Now I don't have a clue what's going on.

I'm going to fill this out anyways... just in case...

Standard Warranty Expired. But when you click the Red Ring as the problem, they list a free repair including them paying for shipping. Of course, I'd have to find a box to ship it in but that should be not horribly painful, I suppose.

I'll probably give the thing another shot tomorrow to see if it works but... yeah, not the best customer service support experience so far.

If only I liked Sony any better...

9

Somebody at work showed me this yesterday with a disclaimer of, "This looks soooo much better than Up." Consider me skeptical as I loved the shit out of Up [more on that soon] but I thought I'd take a look.

Now, while it's too hard to tell from this clip if the movie will have the heart of Up, it's definitely in the ballpark visually.

Check it out...

Laker Game Recap

Worked late tonight and I just finishing watching the game. I open tomorrow so I'll make this short...

Complete and total domination was awesome to see. In all of the interviews all week, you could FEEL that Kobe was... pick an adjective... focused, determined, centered, motivated, etc. And he certainly shot right out of the gate tonight to show it.

But the real good sign was the defensive intensity that our boys put out there.

If they can keep it up, things will be looking good. Game 2's are always tough though for the winner of Game 1 - especially in a game like this. It's important to not get cocky and to come out with the same level of intensity.

Sunday should be a lot of fun.

Kimbo Slice - The Ultimate Fighter?

This news broke yesterday and I never got a chance to post anything about it so here it is...

Yesterday, the UFC announced that Kimbo Slice would be a contestant on the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter.

Everybody got that?

If not, let me expand on that. Kimbo Slice, the man who was in the most watched MMA fight in history, will now be relegated to one of sixteen heavyweights fighting it out for the chance to earn a UFC contract. Oh, by the way, he'll be doing this while being coached by either Rashad Evans or Quinton Jackson. If the thought of Kimbo Slice trading words with Rampage doesn't give you a little bit of a flutter, you have no soul... well, MMA soul at least.

My thoughts?

First, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that will make me watch TUF again after skipping the current season.

Second, like him or not, you've got to give Kimbo MAJOR credit for this. If you are to believe the rumors, he may have gone around his management team to make this deal which is crazy, stupid, and ballsy all wrapped up in a grill-covered ball. He's taking the biggest risk of his life here. If he proves to be a bust and gets KOd in the first round of his first fight, odds are high he'll never get a chance at another major fight. If he somehow works his way through and actually makes the UFC, whew, baby. Katie bar the door because MMA might hit a fresh run of awesomeness.

So, yeah... in short, I'm looking forward to seeing Kimbo on TUF and I just might find myself rooting for him as well.

By the way, this might be the biggest non-losing scenario for a promotion I've ever seen. Dana White remains a promotional genius in the vein of Vince McMahon. If Kimbo fails, Dana gets to mock him forever and show the world that not just any overhyped street fighter can be successful. If he wins, it's the ultimate success story and a chance at some big headlines and buyrates.

I'm suddenly excited about MMA again... for now.

Kobe: Doin' Work

In the quest to finish clearing off all the old TV off our DVR, we decided to watch ESPN's special from a few weeks ago about Kobe Bryant titled Kobe: Doin' Work.

This premise behind the show was that Spike Lee was directing a documentary about Kobe Bryant. For the film, they taped one game - Lakers vs Spurs - from April of 2008 using something like 30 cameras, all aimed at Kobe throughout the game. He was mic'd as well and they managed to get Phil to allow cameras pre-game, halftime, and post-game in the locker room for some surprising access. They also had Kobe provide a running commentary track over the game in January of '09 before polishing it off for commmercial-free airing on ESPN a few weeks ago.

The movie is well-shot, well-edited, and generally well-done.

It's fascinating to me as a basketball fan to hear him break down the action on [and a little bit off] the court - hearing him explain why they're calling certain plays, why he does certain things on the floor like his seemingly OCDish wiping of his hands (he's trying to keep them wet! Who knew?)

It's not your traditional type of documentary. You're not going to gain some huge inside into Kobe Bryant the person. However, if you're a basketball fan, you might gaint a little bit of insight to Kobe Bryant the player and you may see a side of the game you've never quite seen before.

I enjoyed it... and I think other basketball fans would enjoy it as well.

Short One

Here's a quick one just before bedtime!

On tonight's Dodger game, Vin Scully quipped (slightly paraphrased):

"Speaking of tattoos, have you ever seen more tattoos (outside of the circus of course) then on the Denver basketball team? They must be out of ink in the entire state of Colorado."

I love that man.

A Fitting Farewell...But Not

Last night, the Missus and I decided to burn through the last half dozen or so episodes of Scrubs that we had sitting on the DVR. As you may be aware, this was supposed to be the final season of Scrubs after NBC fucked them out of what was SUPPOSED to be their final season last year.

Earlier this year when The Shield wrapped up its run and then again when BSG did the same (seriously? We lost both of those this year? I'm already fucking depressed) I commented on the difficulty in putting together a series finale. There have been so many really, really bad and disappointing series finales, it's almost like we expect that now.

Scrubs accomplished the opposite. The "home stretch" of episodes that we watched last night were absolutely fantastic television. So many heart-felt moments that the show is so good at mixed with the crazy, zany humor that the show is so good at. As we got closer to the finale, I started to feel a little sad that we were going to see it go.

And then the finale arrived.

It's an odd thing - a series finale. For most shows, a series finale is quite the bittersweet moment. While you sit and wait and wait and eagerly anticipate just what the creative forces can do knowing there's "no tomorrow" there's also a piece of you who is - again - really fucking depressed that it's ending. I know I felt that strongly for The Shield. I was also pretty bummed that BSG was ending even though I hadn't dedicated much time to it. And I can already tell you that having no more Lost on Wednesday nights is going to make my brain bleed.

But Scrubs was different.

Scrubs has long ago passed the point where I eagerly looked forward to it every week. It wasn't like it was a chore to watch it or that I was watching out of habit - I just didn't really care that much about what was going on. Scrubs was the show where every week you'd watch it and most weeks you'd say, "That was good" and then forget about it. So, the end of Scrubs wasn't really going to bum me out.

And then the finale arrived.

And it was... perfect.

It was the absolute perfect way to end the show. I was okay with the series ending and I was happy with the way everything was resolved. I ended the finale thinking, "This show really couldn't have a better ending."

Unfortunately, they're going to have to try. As the show was ending, I also was thinking, "God, I really wish they hadn't agreed to another season."

Yep, "one more year" with a scrambling of old and new cast members.

Eh. I'm just not feelin' it.

While at one time, I thought The West WIng should last forever, simply by changing the cast every 4-8 years with a new administration... I just don't think Scrubs should keep going with a new cast. It just feels... cheap... to me at this point.

Who knows? I may change my mind when it re-arrives on ABC but right now? I think it's a bad call.

The Toys Are Back In Town

Saw Up earlier today - will review in the next day or so but until then, there was a very special trailer before the movie...

Top 25 Songs EVER!

A few days ago, I launched a project that I expect to take quite some time.

I decided that I would attempt to create a list of my Top 25 favorite songs... EVER!

For most, this would be a near-impossible task. For me, it gets even worse because of my OCDish tendency to want to make all "mixtapes"/lists the same way. Start with every possibility and work my way backwards one by one by one. So, couple that insanity with a library that currently hits over 7000 songs - you can quickly sense my problem.

But I've only been working at this for a handful of days [okay, maybe a week or so] and I'm already down to 5000 so progress is being made and being made rapidly.

Even at this early stage though, I've already encountered tough choices.

Cut Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss?" Really? It seems like a painful thing to do but when I actually stop and think about it, there's likely 25 Pearl Jam songs ALONE that I like better than "Last Kiss" so it's almost impossible that it'd actually crack the 25.

Then there was the decision to eliminate all Christmas music from consideration. It just didn't seem a fair comparison to make. I almost made the same choice with classical/score type music but I've opted not to... for now.

It is, however, giving me a chance to hear songs that I haven't heard in a long, long time. I'm constantly surprised to see the low play counts for songs that I really, really like. And likewise, I'm surprised to see the high play counts for songs that I barely know although some of that we can blame on having a shared library, I'm sure.

It's a fun project though. In the 30 minutes before I started writing this, I knocked off an additional hundred plus songs so as long as I can get a chance to knock down a heaping handful a day, this should be done... oh, sometime this summer at worst, right?

Right?

Please?

Some Random Thoughts

Just sneaking in before the witching hour with some random thoughts about random stuff...

*** Lakers heading into Game 6!
It's not like I don't have absolute faith in the Purple & Gold but... well, let's just say that when I found out that Game 7 was scheduled for Sunday evening, I had to put in quite the effort at work today to get them to switch my schedule so I worked in the morning instead. Gotta be prepared, you know?

*** Prop 8
I know, I know. After all the fuss I raised back in November, you expected some huge diatribe on my part but I don't think I have it in me this week. Suffice to say that with all the riots, all the crime, all the jokes about pollution and earthquakes and fake breasts and all that jazz, I can honestly say that I can only recall two times in my life where I've been embarrassed to be from California and they both were because of this issue. It's a crime, it's a travesty, and until it's righted, it's a wrong that Californians shouldn't just accept. Oh, and for all those religious folks out there crying "Morality prevailed" - you can come pay me a visit and we'll discuss your morality and what it means to real people.

*** Remakes! Remakes! Remakes!
I know everyone's GOT to be as sick of the remake trend in Hollywood as I am. It seems like every week has a half dozen remakes greenlighted but this week scraped the bottom of the barrel. "Hey, I know. Let's make a Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie but not involve ANYONE that actually saved that creative concept the first time around." God forbid they actually make money on something.

*** Twilight At Comic-Con
I'm disillusioned, I must admit. I can not fathom any earthly idea why there would be a Twilight panel at Comic-Con. Not one. Not a single hint of one. I know it's popular, I know it appeals to horny teenage girls. But come on... really? This is almost enough reason alone to make me not want to go this year.

*** Battlestar Galactica Lives On
And I'm not even talking about Caprica. Between receiving the soundtrack in the mail, last night's post about the live concerts of the score, and the super-fantastic amazing board game that the Missus and I just finished a rousing game of, I'm more in love with BSG than ever.

Oh, and I don't really have a comment on this but...

How 'bout them Dodgers?

Hey! That's Weird!

So, I was super-stoked when I got home to find my long-awaited copy of the Battlestar Galactica Season One soundtrack waiting for me.

And imagine my surprise [and pure joy] when I read this just moments ago...

(May 27, 2009- Burbank, CA) – Battlestar Galactica and Caprica composer Bear McCreary will have a busy summer, with the release of two soundtrack recordings and concert performances. On June 13 the music from Battlestar Galactica will kick-off the 2009 Grand Performances Series at California Plaza. Three days later, on June 16, La-La Land Records will release the soundtrack for Caprica.

Bear McCreary will again conduct the music from Battlestar Galactica for three nights at the House of Blues in San Diego from July 23-25th – during Comic Con! The concerts will celebrate the July 21 release of a special 2-CD set, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.

Anyone else up for this?

Blue's Reviews: Star Trek (spoilers ahead!)

I promised the review and despite the urge to address what happened in California today, I shall do so.

STAR TREK

DISCLAIMER: I write this review having seen only one Star Trek movie - the very first one. I saw it many, many moons ago as a child and remember nothing about it other than I fell asleep during it. I haven't seen a single Trek movie since then. I also have never seen The Next Generation or Voyager or...I think that's it, right? I was a fan of Deep Space Nine for 2 or 3 seasons but gave it up long before the end. So, with that in mind, I go into the movie with no love of the franchise to insult.

That being said...

I dug it. I really dug it. It was a fun, exciting, amusing sci-fi flick and J.J. Abrams outdid himself, IMO. It had just enough geek to stay sci-fi but not enough to drown in (although the Missus wasn't feelin' the time travel stuff.) As a non-Star Trek fan but someone familiar with some of the Trekisms, it was cool to see them effort to work in the, "Damn it, Jims" and "I'm givin' it all she's got, Captain!"

The appearance of old Spock caught me by surprise. I knew Leonard Nimoy was in the movie but I assumed it was just a cameo. That was no cameo. He played a major part in the movie and even as a non-fan, I got a little bit of a chill when he arrived on the scene. It makes me glad that the Shatner stuff didn't work out because I think that might have been overkill.

So, I liked the action, the humor, the effects... the acting was "okay." It wasn't Oscar-worthy but it doesn't need to be. It was good enough for what it needed to be and didn't distract from the movie.

What didn't I like?

There were a few Lucas-esque "Let's do this crazy creature/action scene just because we can" moments especially on the ice planet thing that as a Star Wars fan instantly reminded me of Hoth. Also, there were a couple of comedic sequences that seemed kinda... odd. Not quite Peter Parker in a dance sequence odd but approaching that level. I've read a few interviews where the filmmakers thought that humor was very important to the movie so... well, they accomplished that.

But all in all, I really was happy with the movie and I have a feeling I'm going to be very glad this was my first movie of the summer instead of Wolverine or Terminator.

What does it take to get a non-Star Trek fan enthused enough to rush out to see Star Trek?

Four words: In J.J. we trust.

Holiday Greetings

Hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day!

Check back tomorrow for my review of Star Trek!

Glee

Sigh.

That's the best word I can use to describe my feelings after seeing the pilot for Fox's new show Glee (available at last glance for free on the Apple iTunes Store.)

I loved it. Absolutely adored it. No surprise for those of you who recall my "affinity for musicals", I'm sure. It was cute, charming, well-done, quirky, had likable characters that you could relate to, and all those little things that make shows so much fun. Plus, did I mention that it has musical numbers? Word.

A Facebook friend had opined that Glee was the most fun and engaging first show they've seen since Pushing Daisies. I'm not sure I'm ready to pour that much love on it quite yet but it's not far off the mark. How can you not love a show that drops a performance of Mr. Cellophane and I Kissed A Girl in the same segment?

But therein lies the sigh.

Because if Fox as a company has showed us absolutely anything at all, it's that they can't be trusted with a property worth having. See: Firefly, Arrested Development, Wonderfalls among others. And my immediate reaction upon watching this magnificent piece of television was...

"How the hell did they get Fox to approve this pilot and how the hell will it survive more than three episodes?"

My faith in Fox has never been lower [even after the Dollhouse renewal] so I'm not hopeful that this show will be around past the fall of 2009 so I'll opt to enjoy the time with it that I get and hope for the best.

If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go check it out.

One Of My Favorite Photos EVER!

What A Game!

That really could apply to any of the Conference Final games so far, huh?

We caught the end of the 3rd and all of the 4th of Magic/Cavs Game 2 at the sushi place tonight. The place went a little nutty when the Magic took the lead with one tick left on the clock and then lost their collective shit when King James sunk the 3 to take the win.

Now, don't get me wrong - it was a great shot under pressure.

But really?

REALLY?!

What kind of mental/defensive breakdown does a team have to have to let that situation unfold?

Up by two. One second left on the clock. There's only one thing you don't want - a three pointer. And there's only one person you don't want shooting it.

And who was shooting? Exactly.

How the hell does that even happen? Hell, a five on one cover of James to let anyone else in the team shoot would have been a better idea than that. I can't believe they didn't at least put two guys on him to prevent the ball from getting in his hands.

Alas, they didn't and the series is tied.

But is it just me or does anyone else find their big celebration on the floor a bit... well, dumb?

Why give your opponents any more motivation to drill your asses through the floor in Game 3? And shit, it's not like you've won anything yet. Save that shit for a parade if you make it that far.

Here's hoping Dwight Howard goes for 40/20 in Game 3 and throws down a dunk that shatters the glass.

The more important Game 3 is tomorrow though. Cross your fingers - it's gonna be a rough one.

The Simple Things

A customer showed me this today and I defy you to not smile when you see it.

Random Thoughts

It's been a few days [okay, maybe more] since I've gotten to post anything of substance so this seems like a good chance to drop a few thoughts on "paper."

** Just finished watching the Idol finale which I thought was actually the best Idol finale I could remember in some time. I was happy that Kris won as I would have had to seriously rethink any future plans to watch the show if the result went the other way. That being said, I definitely thought that Adam's songs tonight were much better fits for his vocal style than most of the season. Just please, please, please keep the sitar in the closet.

** Two close games in two nights? The Conference Finals are shaping up to be something amazing to see. I missed the game tonight due to work but it looked damn fun and I know I had a heart-stopping blast watching last night. I can't wait for tomorrow night.

** The Dodgers sweep the Mets. I repeat - the Dodgers sweep the Mets. Yes, "it's still early" but...

** The WWE/Nuggets thing has been a blast to see unfold. The Nugs owner made a bonehead move and deserves to get called out for it and there's no one better at playing someone else's mistake into a big media feeding frenzy for him than Vince McMahon.

Quick note

Just submitted some photos for the Orange County Fair. Wish me luck!

Sent from my iPhone

Home Sweet Home

More tomorrow!

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It's amazing how much cigarette smoke bugs you when you're seldom
around it

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Checking in

At the Mirage...

Losing money - down more than I'd like to be at this point of the
weekend...

Standing by the club entrance watching people dressed to impress and
remembering one of the things I DON'T like about Vegas...

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Enjoy Your Weekend!

Can't write anything tonight cause I'm heading off to sleep. We're going to Vegas for the weekend and plan to leave VERY early tomorrow. I'll try to post stuff over the weekend on here but they're likely to be very short posts.

I think I might also experiment with Twitter over the weekend. I started a Twitter account months ago and never did anything with it but this seems like a good opportunity to do that. So, if you get lonely, you can follow me this weekend on Twitter at @youremyboyblue

See you on the other side, peeps.

This Week's Favorite Commercial

Lost

Ho. Lee. Shit.

Can't think. Can't process. Brain... doesn't... work... at... normal... speeds.

2010?!?!

That's just plain mean.

Celeb Sighting

So, the store was graced today by yet another celebrity that I couldn't have picked out of a lineup - Noodles from The Offspring.

His arrival had a few of us standing around reminiscing about The Offspring and seeing them in concert. Of course, since I'm one of the "elder statesmen" of the store, I have a longer history to draw from. Some folks were talking about seeing them on Warped in 2004 or some such. I predate that by close to a decade.

But as I stood around and really thought about it, I recalled some strong Offspring-related memories that brought a smile to my face.

Someone mentioned that Smash was the first CD they ever bought and that they bought it at Tower Records for some horribly marked-up price. I couldn't remember when I bought it. But I did very vividly remember someone else buying it. It was the summer of '94 after high school graduation and I was on my way to first concert (Stone Temple Pilots, by the way) in a venue that now is just down the street for me - the place formerly known as Irvine Meadows. There were four of us in the car that day. My friend Danny and his sister Amy, my friend Brian, and myself. We stopped at the Virgin Megastore in Costa Mesa on our way to the show. It was my first time at the store and I was overwhelmed. In the end, our poor asses settled on one CD each. I couldn't tell you what Brian bought but Amy bought the Weezer album, I bought a Beastie Boys album [that I long ago sold] and Danny bought Smash.

Offspring was also responsible for my first and only concert-related vomit. It was Offspring at the Olympic Velodrome at Cal State Dominguez Hills. There was a pit that I was circling, circling, circling - until I took a sucker punch in the gut and hurled right in the middle of the pit. It was the last song and I simply staggered to the side, shoved my way clear, and slumped down to sit on the ground until the show ended. Good times.

Offspring was also "in the house" for the Missus' first "real general admission" show. She didn't know what to expect - something I quickly realized when she showed up for a show at the sweltering Hollywood Palladium in a sweater. I had to physically yank her out of the way of a pit opening up a few feet in front of her as she got soaked in beer. Again, I say... good times.

Oh, and Offspring was responsible for me getting to see the Beastie Boys... sorta.

Are You Ready To Fight?

I haven't posted much MMA stuff lately but this crossed my Google Reader and was too awesome not to share.

Apparently, Bellator Fighting Championships in Dayton, Ohio has had back-to-back shows with YouTube-worthy fight finishes.

This week's was a BIGTIME spinning backfist by Yahir Reyes that made me rewind it a few times to make sure I saw it right:



Last week saw a rare submission - an inverted triangle choke. Too cool for school and possibly the most amazing submission I've ever seen in MMA.

Welcome To My Head

This has been inside my brain... all... friggin'... day.

Now you can have it too.