Return Of Top Five Friday: Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters

It's the "long-awaited" return of Top Five Friday tonight here at the B-Spot as I celebrate the happening that is UFC 100 with a MMA-themed list...

My Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters!

5. Wanderlei Silva

One of the most dangerous strikers in MMA, the "Axe Murderer" takes the #5 spot in this one. He may not be as dangerous as he once was as he seems to have lost a bit in the move from Pride to the UFC [you can speculate all you want as to why] but he's still one of the most entertaining fighters in the world. The man will throw down from Minute One and not stop until someone is laid out. I have to admit though, I DO miss the head kicks and stomps from Pride Silva.

4. Brock Lesnar

The current UFC World Heavyweight Champion

come a long way from his days throwing around

the WWE's finest. One of my favorite things about

Brock in MMA is that the so-called "purists"

absolutely despise him being there, let alone him

being the champ. It's a beautiful thing to see. To

me, the only thing that would be better is if Brock

used his natural arrogance to the fullest and

embraced his pro wrestling roots while running

down the UFC guys as being "not as tough" as the

WWE folks. It'd make for amazing television as

fighter after fighter stepped up to "protect the

honor of MMA." Vince McMahon is obviously a

huge influence on Dana White - you'd think Dana

would pick up on some of the storyline aspects of

the biz too.

3. BJ Penn

This is a weird one for me because I have a really difficult time explaining why I like BJ Penn so much. There's just something about a guy who talks a ton of trash about people who looks like there's no fucking way he can back it up inside a cage... and then goes in there and does it. Plus, you toss in things like licking the blood off his fists after a fight and well... it's just kinda cool. I'm still pissed he lost to GSP. Fucking Frenchy.

2. Mirko Cro Cop

Fuck yes! CroCop is coming back to the UFC for more! I was so disappointed when I thought he was jumping back to Japan because ever since I stumbled upon MMA, Cro Cop has been one of my favorites. From the Pro Wrestler Hunter gimmick to the "the right leg sends them to the hospital, the left to the morgue" quote - this man oozes badassedness. Plus, he's in Croatian Special Forces so he really could fuck up someone's world. I still think Brock vs Cro Cop in Japan would be a golden ticket for the UFC to do whatever the fuck they want in the Land of the Rising Sun.

And my #1 favorite fighter in MMA...

ANDERSON SILVA

I still remember the first time I saw Anderson Silva fight in Pride. He seemed... interesting. There was nothing amazing about him but I found the spider guard to be pretty impressive as no one else was able to do something like it. When he jumped to UFC, I wasn't excited because all I could remember was the guard. Then he took on Chris Leben - who was one of my favorites at the time... and absolutely KEEEEELED HIM DEAD! It was a beatdown of epic proportions that cemented Anderson Silva as a rising star. The two fights with Rich Franklin put him over the top as someone who was potentially MMA's version of Mike Tyson in the late 80s/early 90s - the guy you would pay big money to see because you wanted to see how badly he'd knock someone the fuck out. Sadly, the shine has come off him a bit with a few unimpressive showings but to me, Silva remains the top dog in MMA.

Chasing Amy

Watched the end of Shaft when I got home tonight. Started wondering why they never made more of them. I really dig that movie.

Now Chasing Amy is on - which is easily my favorite Kevin Smith movie - and I'm bummed that I'm going to sleep soon and am gonna miss the end of it.

It also made me realize that I'm pretty sure I don't own this movie on DVD.

Which continued a thought I had a few days ago that it seems far more likely that you may not own a movie that you really like as opposed to owning a song that you really like. That may be a matter of pure economics but I found it kinda interesting. That whole thought process popped up while I continued my work on my Top 25 Songs Of All Time list. At some point, I wondered if it was possible that I didn't have a song or two that I might want to consider for the list - mostly oldies, I'd imagine. But as I thought more about it, I figured it was very implausible that I wouldn't have dropped the $1.29 to buy almost every song I mildly enjoy - although I do run across a few from time to time.

But movies on the other hand. I can name quite a few movies - starting with Chasing Amy and including Casino which I also saw most of it recently (two of my favorite movies, by the by) that I don't own on DVD. Of course, I hardly ever watch anything on DVD anymore so...

...but that's a story for another time.

So, think about it, kids, and you tell me... is it harder to own every movie you love on DVD or to own every song you love on

Are You Ready?

Just finished watching the UFC 100 Countdown special

and I'm pretty stoked about this weekend's event. I'm

fairly sure I'm going to drop the cash for it whcih'll make

it the first UFC PPV I've bought since the first Lesnar/Mir

fight.

This is actually the first MMA fight in quite some time that

I'm excited for so here's hoping it's a good one.

Oh, and if the MMA gods are smiling, GSP will get stomped

into oblivion too!

Wasn't There A Carl's Jr Commercial Like This?

No, this really isn't just an excuse to post a picture of Megan Fox.  I truly adore this story.

In the ongoing saga of the "he said, she said" between the lovely Ms. Fox and director Michael Bay, Page Six revealed today that apparently the audition process between the two for the first Transformers movie involved her washing his Ferrari while Michael Bay videotaped it.

Yep, you read that right.  Michael Bay shot his own "Cheerleader Car Wash" scene from Bring It On at his house - with Megan Fox.

Now, I'll let you write your own erotic fiction about what happened from there - which I'm sure is actually all over the Internet by now (I'll let you Google it and find out.)  But the story gets a little better as when reached for comment, Megan confirmed the existence of such a tape but remarked that she wasn't sure where it had gone.  When Bay was reached for comment, he said the same.

Uh huh.

I know if I had video of a young and desperate Megan Fox washing my car, I'd probably misplace it as well.  Wouldn't you?

Asthma! I Knew It!

Without a doubt, this is the coolest thing you'll see all day.

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

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.