Save the Celebration for when it Really Counts

Okay, first off, I'm a bit of a curmudgeon. I will openly admit that. Some see pessimism as a negative world view, but I merely categorize it as a necessary checkpoint for properly managing expectations. Because if you expect that things are going to go the way you want them to for the most part, you're expecting incorrectly.

This is why, as an Eagles fan, I'm trying to maintain some modicum of perspective regarding Philadelphia's highly improbably 38-31 come-from-behind win over the N.Y. Giants at the Meadowlands yesterday, a game that was crucially important for both teams coming in with a 9-4 record and tied for first place in the NFC East Division standings. Oh, and this makes it a season sweep for the Birds over the Giants, and marks the sixth consecutive victory for Philly over New York. Oh, and this is the second Eagles-Giants game in a row where the G-Men looked for all the world like they had it all wrapped up, only to piss it away in the final moments. Oh, and the Giants held a 31-10 lead with just under 8 minutes remaining, and the Eagles capped off this seemingly fictional comeback with a DeSean Jackson 65-yard punt return with less than 10 seconds on the clock when all that New York's punter had to do was kick the Godforsaken football out of bounds.

Sounds like it must feel pretty damn good to be an Eagles fan right now, huh? Okay. Fine. It feels pretty good. TODAY it does.

I would argue that by tomorrow, it shouldn't feel so great anymore, because the Birds haven't won anything in the 2010-11 season yet. Haven't clinched the division title, haven't even clinched a playoff spot. Yes, the last two games will be played within the comfortable confines of The Linc, against Minnesota and then Dallas (which is playing much better since the Wade Phillips firing). But if the Giants beat the Packers in Green Bay next Sunday, they're in the playoffs. And I don't know about any other Eagles fans, but as I live and breathe, I want NO part of the New York football Giants a third time this year, and you shouldn't either.

Look, I recognize that it's nice to be able to enjoy the kind of moment that occurred yesterday. You don't get them often, no matter who you root for. But I would hate to think the team, and the fans, and pretty much everyone pulling for the boys in green, are lulling themselves into some false sense of confidence or security, only to be brought back to reality in the form of some unexpected thrashing in the next couple of weeks, or by the Gods, in the playoffs (let's make it there first).

As a follow-up to that point, does anyone else feel like DeSean Jackson is just pissing off the karma Gods to no end with his endzone chicanery at this point? Can someone bring this guy back down to earth? I know he's an incredibly, immensely talented player, and the Eagles are lucky to have him (they probably wouldn't be in this position right now without him). But does he really think that passing off his antics as "entertainment" is really an appropriate way to explain his behavior? Really DeSean? Do you think the mostly Giants-partisan fanbase at that game in the Meadowlands yesterday was "entertained" by your unnecessary glide across the one-inch line as one last "eff you" before waltzing into the end zone? Do you think the Dallas fans were "entertained" by your 'falling backwards' across the goal line in that road victory over the Cowboys? Do you not think all of this is going to come crashing down horribly someday in the form of some gut-wrenching disappointment the likes of which Philadelphia sports fans have never experienced? Again, call me a pessimist if you like, but the touchdown taunting B.S. can't possibly mean good things for the Birds in the long run. It just can't.

Name me the last time a memorable Super Bowl winning team or athlete bookmarked his/their accomplishment in the game of all games with some cocky gesture that still stands out today? Yeah, I can't think of that time either.

Okay, so, in review, the Eagles are a phenomenally talented team ... offensively. The defense has a LOT of holes in it (one of the last in the league statistically in red-zone situations), and the never-ending injuries on both sides of the ball aren't helping. Andy Reid still makes me want to jump through the screen and strangle him at times, like when he pocketed the red challenge flag yesterday on that OBVIOUSLY horrible call when Jackson was clearly down before the ball came out, then it was ruled a fumble and the Giants recovered. But if Michael Vick, Jackson and the rest of the offense can continue to bail out the rest of this team's inadequacies with mind-bending, incomprehensible heroics on offense (and occasionally on special teams), then God Bless. But do NOT fool yourselves, Eagles fans, into thinking this is somehow a well-rounded, powerhouse football team. Because it's not. The smoke-and-mirrors stuff they're pulling in most of their wins is highly impressive, I'll grant you that. But it feels like it's only a matter of time until the many weaknesses of the 2010-11 Eagles are exposed in the most embarrasing of ways.

Let's put it this way ... if the Eagles played that hated team from up north in Foxboro right now, it would be UGGGGLY. Did anyone see that Sunday night game against the Packers? You know, the one that we all thought would be over about halfway through the second quarter because Aaron Rodgers wasn't starting for Green Bay? Did you guys see Matt Flynn, who has less NFL experience than most third-string QBs in the league, fearlessly drive his team down the field against that Pats defense for four straight quarters, with a chance to win the game until the final ticks elapsed off the clock? Yeah, I saw it too, and also couldn't believe it. But New England found a way to win. Like they always do. Now THAT is a complete football team.

Birds fans, enjoy that "Miracle at the Meadowlands - Part Deux" that you saw yesterday. It might just be the pinnacle of the Eagles' 2010-11 season. I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I will be unless a lot of stuff is corrected over the next few weeks. At least they are in the driver's seat for a division title and a shot at the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC. They can't blame anyone else if things don't turn out how they want.

A Bunch of Random Thoughts

* The girl-on-girl scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis is only one of a few good reasons to see the new Darren Aronofsky-directed psychological mind-hump Black Swan, currently in limited release theaters but soon to expand to more screens. Overall, it's quite engrossing, mostly because of the intentionally low-budget look and feel of the film, the hand-held camera shots, the dark, grainy textures and mood scapes. Portman plays an immensely talented and technically proficient but somewhat wooden, unemotional ballet dancer, and she is selected amongst many also-talented competitors to play the role of the Swan Queen in her Lincoln Center (NYC) troupe's redux of the Tchaikovsky classic from which the movie bears its namesake. Kunis plays a hotshot, free-wheeling "colleague" of Portman's, straight off the plane from San Francisco - a confident, self-assured competitor with carry-the-room charisma who strikes up a "friendship" with Portman and ultimately is selected as the Swan Queen alternate just days before Opening Night, cementing what the protagonist perceives to have been an adversarial relationship with Kunis all along.

What happens throughout much of the flick is mind-bending. Let's just say that mental stability is not present in heaping amounts in some of the most prominently featured characters in this movie, which leads to often confusing moments for the viewer. It's kind of like - "Hey, did she just imagine that shit, or did it really just happen?" For me, it feels like a convenient "out" for Aronofsky, and/or whomever wrote this script. The lines between fantasy and reality are often blurred. If you can buy into the spirit of that construction, then rock on, you will enjoy the hell out of this movie. I thought it was kind of a cheap device at times, but again, the end result is that this is a powerful cinematic work, one that will likely leave a lasting impression of some degree, which is more than I can say for a lot of what Hollywood churns out these days.

Oh and this movie does nothing to help fight the stereotype (an untrue stereotype, of course!) that women are effing CRAZY. Same goes for the "power-abusing ballet troupe director working with young, pretty, impressionable females in a subservient position" stereotype. Worth checking out, no matter how you feel about it all afterwards.


* Just finished reading a killer novel - a true-life account of an undercover ATF agent's harrowing one-year experience infiltrating an Arizona-based Hell's Angels Motorcycle gang. The book, formerly on the New York Times bestseller list, is called "No Angel" and the agent is named Jay Dobyns. What this guy had to give up in his efforts to put a serious dent in the Hells Angels organization is mind-boggling. Rather than a story that shifts focus onto several different protagonists or characters, it shows you how Dobyns lived through all of this while juggling his personal life and relationships with colleagues who became increasingly concerned about this man's safety and well-being as he plunged deeper into the Rabbit Hole of illegal activity and self-deception.

It's a lightning-fast read. At times you might find yourself wishing that more crazy stuff is constantly happening, but don't expect every other page to be littered with tales of hot-lead shootouts, wild sex, copious drug use and salacious material in general. All of that stuff is discussed, mind you, but since this is a real-life account, you get the full truth of how these events honestly played out as Dobyns kept meticulous notes and lived this unbelievable saga 24/7 for the better part of a year. You find yourself ripping through especially as you get closer to the end to find out what the hell happened to this guy, and what the hell happened to the bad asses he was pursuing. Riveting stuff if the true-crime genre is right up your wheelhouse.



* Auburn and Oregon will play for the National College Football Championship on Monday, January 10th in Glendale, Arizona. Ho hum. The two best teams ended up with unbeaten records, so there's not as much BCS Controversy this year as in other years. But as usual, a playoff would be nice so that we could see if TCU, or Stanford, or Wisconsin, or Boise State, or any of a handful of other teams really is worthy to also be hoisting some kind of national trophy. Don't look for this to happen anytime soon, by the way. But in fairness, these are the two best teams as the 2010 season played out. Cam Newton, controversial season of his own aside, won the Heisman Trophy fittingly on Saturday night, and he did have an unfathomably eye-opening season so he deserves it. I'm going with Auburn to win this game though, and give the SEC its fifth straight national championship.

Also, for anyone who has had their eye on the Pitt Panthers this season, take note of that battering ram in the backfield wearing a No. 27 jersey. His name is Henry Hynoski, and he played high school ball at the alma mater of yours truly (Southern Columbia Area H.S. in Catawissa, Pa.). He was part of a truly special group of players that won 5 straight state championships from the fall of 2002-2006, and his work ethic and perseverance has certainly served him well as a collegiate student athlete. There's talk that he might have the tools to play at the next level, no easy feat indeed especially when you come from a formative school surrounded by corn fields. But make no mistake, Hyno is the real deal. Watching him is like looking at an offensive lineman throw blocks in the backfield and take the occasional handoff or screen pass. He never hesitates for a second to put his body in front of whatever terrifying defensive player is careening into the Pitt backfield to take the QB's head off. I like to keep an eye on Pitt and Penn State to see where the in-state Pennsylvania talent decides to go. It seems like Pitt has nabbed a lot of really strong homegrown players over the past several years. It should be interesting to see how that road turns now that Dave Wannstedt is out as head coach.



* Oh NFL, how you continue to seduce us with your crazy and wily ways. Okay, let's just all agree that the New England Patriots shouldn't necessarily be the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Yes, yes I know - they're playing the best football out of anyone right now, that's true. But I'd just like to remind us all of what happened in February of 2008 (Helmet catch, anyone?) Yeah, I know I sound like a hater. I guess I've just had enough of the Pats. I kind of wish they'd go away already, you know? Kind of like Brett Favre. But they probably aren't, I get it. Come on, let me have my wishful thinking at least.

As an Eagles fan, I'll gladly take that sometimes scary-to-watch 30-27 nipping of the hated Cowboys in Dallas last night, but that Philly defense is definitely suspect. It's not one of the best in the league even when it's 100 percent healthy, which it is currently not. Next Sunday the Birds (9-4) go to the Meadowlands to battle the Giants (8-4), with whom they may share the same record pending the outcome of tonight's New York-Minnesota showdown. Not going to be easy, especially considering the Eagles won a nail-biter over the Giants at the Linc a few weeks back.

All I know is that it's really a shame that somebody has to win the putrid NFC West, meaning that a deserving team (Green Bay, Tampa Bay, possibly even the Giants or Eagles) will be left on the outside looking in come playoff time. Kind of a crime, actually. The next three weeks will certainly be high on the NFL drama.

And if you're a Jets fan who was soaring on confidence as recently as three weeks ago, you have to be re-examining your entire outlook on the 2010 season for Rex Ryan and company. The Monday Night thrashing at the hands of the Patriots last week isn't even all that unbelievable considering what that team has done lately, although it was still quite humbling because of all the national hype and so forth. But that 10-6 loss to Miami at the Meadowlands yesterday? Ouch. The Jets should have come out and beaten the pants off that team, using that national Foxboro embarrassment as motivation to dig deep and find out what they've really got in the tank. But nope - the often confused, seemingly offensively directionless Dolphins, with the sometimes hapless Chad Henne at the helm, beat the Jets. Yikes. Jets will probably still make the playoffs, but some serious issues need to be addressed to avoid an early exit. And believe me I hope they get it together. I would much rather see them than the Patriots come out of the AFC East to do some real playoff damage.

If You Can't Stand the Heat ...

... then you're one of many. Also, get out of the kitchen.

The kitchen will be rocking tonight in Cleveland when LeBron James and the Miami Heat return to the city that the star player spurned for greener pastures (or so we thought) back in July, announcing one of the most landmark offseason NBA moves in the league's history.

Of course, what's memorable isn't just the fact that James was switching teams - we all pretty much knew he probably wasn't going back to Cleveland after the end of last season. It had more to do with how James chose to carry out his decision to "take his talents to South Beach." In a live, one-hour primetime televised special when the only significant competing event might have been a baseball game, or a re-run of CSI or something. Yes, it was on this grandest of stages that James chose to rip out the hearts of Cleveland sports fans everywhere.

Okay, that's one way to look at it. That's how Cleveland fans look at it. My view has always been that they need to get it together, and that they should have seen this coming. Sure, doesn't make it any easier, but it's clear some sort of shake-up needed to happen if James or the Cavs were ever going to win a championship. It didn't work out. We all know the ins-and-outs of it by now - no need to rehash it all.

But what has been significant is the surprisingly slow start out of the gate that Miami has experienced in the early going here. They're 11-8, and not even in first place in their division. It's one of the most heaped-upon, discussed sports stories of the past several weeks (well, at least since the 2010-11 NBA season began). Why aren't they whipping up on everyone? What's with the chemistry problems? Why can't LeBron and Dwayne Wade complement each other on the court? Will this team even win one NBA title, let alone multiples?

So many questions. And the crowd in Cleveland tonight will be in full-on "Eff you, LeBron!" mode, without a doubt. I'm just not sure we'll see the kind of defining moment that everyone is hoping for (or thinking might happen). It will be entertaining, the crowd will be obnoxious, but ultimately, this is going to be another forgettable NBA game between two teams that are most likely not winning a championship this year (well, Cleveland definitely won't be. Jury's still out on the Heat, although it's not looking great for them).

It's just funny. We judge athletes, anyone famous really, by the standards we want them to have. LeBron is no different in our eyes. We think, well, he has ridiculous, unspeakable physical gifts on the basketball court. Therefore, he should dominate like Jordan did in the 90s. Like Kobe is now. It just doesn't seem right otherwise. We can't wrap our head around LeBron's legacy, who he is as a person right now, and it's messing with us big-time. Why is this guy so good but he can't be on a title-winning team? What's important to him? What does he value? Does he want to be a global icon, or a multiple-ring winner, or both? Is he more concerned with his name branding, or the brand name of the jeweler who'll be crafting his championship ring? Does he have the mental toughness that's necessary to lead himself and his teammates to the promised land?

None of us know the answers to any of this. All we know right now is that this 25-year-old kid has immense skills on the basketball court, but seems to lack the ultra-competitive, killer instinct gene present in Jordan and Kobe. You know, the same gene that makes most of us say - "Wow, those guys seem like real dicks sometimes, but they won't settle for anything less than winning at all costs."

The Heat have a lot of talent, but they lack a ton of qualities needed for a championship (a veteran coach, leader-type players who've won multiple titles before, a bona fide big man in the low-post, chemistry). You get the idea. It's just amazing how these things can be so hard to predict. Cleveland won more games than anyone else last year in the regular season, and by the time they were ousted from the playoffs, we were thinking "How the hell did anyone think that team was going to win a championship?" Then, LeBron, Wade and Bosh team up on the same squad, and we're all immediately handing over the championship hardware to them. It's nuts.

For the record, Boston, the Lakers and San Antonio are the best teams right now. I'll be very surprised if one of them doesn't end up winning the title, but it's certainly early and a lot can happen between now and June.

I'll be glued to the set tonight like a lot of others, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not as epic an event as we'd all like to believe. This is mostly about some unsettled 'score' between one talented hometown hero and his bitter fan base. It's a sad, tense relationship that will probably never be resolved, but shouldn't be this contentious in the first place.

Everyone needs to just move on.

Where Have all the Good Teams Gone?

Friends, Van Halen might ask you - particularly if it were 1978 - Where Have all the Good Times Gone?

My question to the many rabid consumers of the National Football League's product, however, is 'Where have all the Good TEAMS gone?'

We weren't even halfway through the regular season by the time we were all out of unbeaten teams. And the last unbeaten team left this year? The Kansas City Chiefs! Not the Colts, or the Patriots, or the Steelers. The Dad-blasted CHIEFS! Indy lost its season opener to the Houston Texans for chrissakes. The Dallas Cowboys? That team that had the best shot of any so far to actually host the Super Bowl because they were supposed to be so 'unbeatable' this year? Yeah, they just fired head coach Wade Phillips after a 1-7 start.

So what, I ask you, in the name of all that is righteous and just in this world, is happening in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!? You like parity. Yeah, we got your parity right here, tough guy! No unbeatens left. No one-loss teams left either. In fact, here we are at the halfway mark of the regular season, and we only have five teams with two losses (NY Giants, Atlanta, NY Jets, New England, Pittsburgh). Even more looney tunes than that is the fact that are no less than 7 different 3-loss teams that are totally legit Super Bowl contenders, even though they've looked like far less than such at various points this year (Philadelphia, Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Indy, Tennessee, K.C.).

There are a boatload of Super Bowl matchup possibilities right now. So why in the name of Lindsay Lohan's parole officer would I ever try to guess how things are going to play out? It's going to be plain meaningless, I tell you. Right? Well, maybe. But there's always a chance! (I'm like Lloyd Christmas in 'Dumb & Dumber').

My preseason Super Bowl pick was Green Bay-Baltimore. Not impossible by any means, but in this free-for-all season, why should that pick have any more credibility right now than, say, Giants-Patriots, or Eagles-Steelers? It shouldn't! But based on what I've observed this year, plus history, my impression is as follows.

NFC - Most consistent team in the NFC has apparently been the New York Football Giants. They don't play stupid and they don't beat themselves. I would love to believe the Eagles have a shot at winning the division - which they do. But how strong are their chances of actually pulling this off? I think we'll learn a lot after Monday night's Eagles-Redskins matchup in D.C. Last month, Donovan McNabb and the 'Skins came to Philly and stole away a victory. The other best teams in the NFC appear to be Green Bay, Atlanta and New Orleans. The defending Super Bowl champ Saints have visibly struggled at times this year, but they're built for a championship run as long as they stay healthy. NFC title game pick, at gunpoint? Yeesh. Not easy, but I'm going to say Giants vs. Atlanta or Green Bay. Sorry I have to worm out of that pick with an 'or' qualifier, but it's just way too difficult to call where we stand now. With that in mind, I do think Atlanta is the hotter team right now. Giants-Falcons.

AFC - It's going to be a knock-down, drag-out, UFC-style brawl to see who's going to emerge as top dog in the AFC. There are literally 8 teams that can push for/make it into the AFC championship. Just look at the record of the top two teams in each of the four divisions of the AFC and you'll see what I mean. It's insane. But again, I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are a cut above everyone else right now. In fact, if I absolutely had to name a favorite at this point in time, I'm going with Big Ben and Co. (as long as they stay away from underage girls in nightclubs at 2 a.m.). Sorry Steelers fans, I had to. Anyway, who will be the last two squads standing the AFC? Pittsburgh will be one of them. An AFC East team will probably be the other one. Jets or Patriots, methinks. Tonight's Steelers-Patriots showdown might be huge in determining how things will play out. My heart says Steelers-Jets for the AFC title game. But my brain says Steelers-Patriots (I'd much rather see the Jets. Like most people, I'm flat-out sick of the Pats and all the goddamn Tom Brady adulation. I'm also sick of his Justin Bieber haircut).

So there we have it. I could be completely missing the mark here, folks, and I'll be the first to admit it. The way this season is going, I wouldn't even be all that shocked to see a Kansas City-Chicago Super Bowl. Have fun - the next few months will be exciting for sure.

Into the Great Wide Open

Holy Cow has this been a weird football season, for both the NFL and college ranks.

I can’t remember when I’ve ever been this far into a season and still had no real certifiable gauge on who the best teams really are. Yeah sure, we’ve got our list of usual suspects (Steelers, Patriots in the NFL, and a few others – more on the Pros in the next entry), but even the best of the best are nowhere near as invincible as they seem in other years.

This is no more apparent anywhere than in Division I college football (I refuse to start calling it ‘FBS’ – that stupid acronym that took the place of ‘Division I-A’ a few years ago even though nobody officially seemed to tell anyone else. I don’t even know what FBS stands for. I would have to google it to find out. And that, my friends, is a problem).

Back on track – the top two teams in the country, as of the latest BCS standings, are Oregon and Auburn. Who’s holding tight at Nos. 3 and 4? TCU and Boise State. What the Word-that-rhymes-with-truck is that all about? Even the one SEC team that’s in the top two right now isn’t a name that’s usually in the “national title contender” conversation. It’s truly a wide open year, and the craziest thing is that Boise State might still go undefeated, having won each game handily, and still get left out in the cold in a season when all of the ‘big-name’ programs (i.e. Florida, Texas, Alabama, USC, Ohio State, etc.) may very well not make the championship game. Don’t you love it? Either that, or it makes you want to hurl something through a plate-glass window.

And the most recent brouhaha that has the college football world abuzz centers on Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, who apparently may have accepted a few hundred thousand dollars worth of ‘pot-sweetener’ to name the university of his choice. No allegations have been proven yet, but it certainly wouldn’t be unthinkable for some schools out there to shelve a player simply for the black cloud that such rumblings bring along. I doubt we’ll see that happen with the Tigers, who haven’t been this close to a national championship game in decades. Newton would have to be exposed beyond a shadow of a doubt before we see him get benched, considering the Heisman-like performance he’s had this year.

Oregon has the best shot of making the title game. They’re at the top of the pile and they control their own destiny. They’ve got the most favorable schedule and an absolutely insanely prolific offense, which means their defense doesn’t even need to be fantastic – merely serviceable – in order for them to keep winning games. TCU and Boise State are lurking at 3 and 4 – boy, wouldn’t it be mind-boggling to see a school from a non-automatic BCS qualifying conference make it into the championship game.

But don’t be at all surprised if any one of a handful of one-loss major-conference schools hovering right behind TCU and Boise – such as LSU, Stanford, Wisconsin, Nebraska or Ohio State – leapfrog the Horned Frogs and Broncos into the title game to face either Auburn or Oregon.

Then we’d have the same old up-in-arms story. The same old arguments. The same controversy. Some would say that’s a big element of what makes this sport so much fun and so enthralling. Others would say it’s a huge part of what makes it maddeningly frustrating and impossible for less-than-major schools to fairly win a championship.

Good or bad, I say it’s a little bit of both.

Losing the Phight

Okay, I have a few rules in life.

Never play poker with a guy whose first name is the same as a city.

Never text photos of your junk to anyone at any time, unless you can always say you'll be proud whenever this comes up as a topic of conversation.

Never overdo it at a Mexican buffet style restaurant unless the restroom situation consists of one men's room and a separate women's room, with at least 2 or 3 private stalls in each (one unisex, locked-door bathroom for the entire place is a definite red flag).

And finally, always try go on the record when a Philadelphia sports team loses in the postseason.

For the third straight season, the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the National League Championship Series. And for the only time in those 3 years, they lost. Wait, let me take a moment for that to sink in. Three straight NLCS appearances. For the Phillies! That's effin' crazy! It's still hard for me to comprehend that they did this, let alone the fact that they were world champions just two years ago. It's insane-o.

Okay, I know that the fans have adjusted their expectations accordingly, and that plenty of them were fully expecting the Phightins' to make it back to the Fall Classic for the third consecutive year. But in reality, who the hell is anyone to think this was a lock? Yes, yes it sounds like a lot of pandering, and being satisfied with 'just having gotten this far.' But go ahead and do some quick research to find out how often it happens that any team, including the Yankees, experiences the kind of 3-year run the Phillies just had. Go on. Do the knowledge. No rush. Yes. You'll find that it doesn't happen that often.

So yes, the result is disappointing for Phillies fans. Yes, the San Francisco Giants seemed, on the surface, to be the inferior overall team heading into this series. But I can't imagine how difficult it must be to remain on top of the world and keep prevailing in these tense postseason clashes when so many other talented, determined, and even hungrier clubs are out there taking their best crack at you. You're not going to win them all. By the way, Philly's best power hitter, Ryan Howard, had zero RBIs in this postseason. And yet this team had a chance to win this game right up until the last pitch of Game 6 in the NLCS? That's just batty. I tip my cap to the Giants. To detract from them or just blame it all on the Phillies' inadequacies is insulting, and I can't bring myself to do it.

This is just how the game breaks down sometimes. I'll still take this over an 80-82 season and being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in mid-August.

Am I the best gauge for this? Maybe I'm not, if you're looking at this from the hardcore sports fan's perspective. Oh I love sports, believe you me. Ask anyone who knows me, my stamina and ability to endure seemingly endless hours of televised sporting events is almost incomprehensible. Especially when it's the playoffs and stakes are high. But it's hard not to respect what the Phillies have accomplished as an organization big-picture wise over the last 3-4 years. Go back before 2007, and it was a completely different franchise. It's been nice to watch the transformation, and hopefully continued winning seasons are ahead.

For the 2010 season, the Phight is over. But let the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers go at it in a World Series matchup that might be short on TV ratings, but will certainly be high on drama. Texas hadn't won a postseason series prior to 2010 in their 50-year franchise history. The Giants? Yeah, no World Series title for them since 1954, back when they were still a New York ball club. If you're a fan of sports and you can't get somewhat excited for this series, then I just don't know what to tell you.

Stuff That I'm Digging Right Now

Alrighty constituents - here's what's cool, so you should pay attention.

- The first half of 2010 in the cinema world was, how shall I say it ... well, if we're comparing it to cuisine, let's agree that it was not "restaurant quality." The past couple of months have shown much more promise. There's a lot of stuff out now that I'd love to see but haven't. However, "The Town" did not slip past the goalie, and my mission was to make sure I didn't sleep on this one in the thee-ay-tur. Kiddies, this flick was bad-ass. Ben Affleck has been mostly a punchline for the past decade or so after the early part of his career (90s) showed such promise. But he's reinvented his image as a solid director, first with 2006's "Gone Baby Gone." "The Town" only further cements his reputation behind the camera lens. He also co-wrote the movie and stars in it, and did an above-average job in those departments as well. It's a gritty, pull-no-punches look at Charlestown (South Boston) bank robbers, and an FBI task force team, led by 'Mad Men' superstar Jon Hamm, trying to bust the bad boys. There's also a romance angle sprinkled in (Rebecca Hall plays the manager of the bank robbed in the opening scene), but not done in a turn-your-stomach sort of way.

The performances are top notch, and both the dialogue and pacing move quickly enough to make the two-plus hours fly by. Keep an eye on Jeremy Renner as the quick-tempered, downright frightening best friend of Affleck's character. He rocks the role like no other. If I had to nit-pick, there are some minor logic flaws with the plot here and there, and some of the action scenes (see the requisite 'car chase' scene that must be present in EVERY action flick) are maybe a shade less than wholly believable. But not to an egregious degree. And it's done in such a stylized, adrenaline-pumping manner that it can be largely overlooked. Put it this way - it didn't affect my enjoyment of the film, and if anyone is quick to bag on most forms of entertainment for coloring liberally outside the lines of plausibility, it's yours truly.

- Original entertainment on TV is as good now as it's ever been. Remember a time, you know 15 or more years ago, when network TV was the only place to see shows? Fortunately, it's not like that now. HBO and Showtime have both been killing it for years. I don't subscribe to Showtime, so I can only speak for HBO from personal experience, but with shows like "Treme," "Eastbound and Down," "The Life and Times of Tim," "Bored to Death," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," the brand-new and brilliant "Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood" (which I don't even watch), there's something for everyone. If you haven't checked out "Boardwalk Empire" yet, HBO's newest dramatic offering with Steve Buscemi as the lead character playing the corrupt treasurer of Atlantic City in 1920 during the start of the Prohibition Era, do yourself a favor and check it out. If you don't get HBO, try to find a free viewing online or something. Smart, sleek, beautifully shot and highly entertaining. Martin Scorcese directed the premiere episode, which plays out like a sweeping mini-film at one hour and 15 minutes. He's set the bar high for his successors come future episodes.

Meanwhile, AMC's two hallmark programs, "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," only continue to get better. They keep it humming, believe that. Mad Men has been 'off-the-charts' enthralling in this fourth season. Watching it just reinforces the notion that Don Draper (the aforementioned Jon Hamm) should have split with that selfish wet blanket Betty a LONG time ago so that he could make Don Draper mistakes and live the Don Draper lifestyle. Over the past couple of episodes he's begun to get himself together, cutting back on the drinking and appearing to attempt some form of a committed relationship with new Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce market research expert Dr. Faye. And the continued exploration of a quickly maturing yet still confused Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) has provided for some great moments this season also, especially as the relationship between Peggy and Don continues to take bold turn after turn (see 'The Suitcase' - one of the best episodes ever). Can't wait to see what develops over these last five installments of Season Four. You know there will be some sort of major cliffhanger to keep us all amped up for the next season. Oh, and, whose heart wasn't bleeding for poor Sally Draper after this past episode. Sure she acted out and was a brat at the end, but if YOU were 10 years old and had Betty Draper for a mom, I don't think you'd be pleased as punch about it either.

- Why can't music like this be made these days?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnebZnysmI

Literally, are there ANY bands out there now that just plug in and play, and let their raw musicianship and energy carry them to stardom?

Deep Purple was one of the greats of all time, so it's hard to live up to performances like this. But rock musicians of the world - please, a little more effort. Thanks, and stuff. By the way, pay special attention to the drumming on this track. Ian Paice is one of the all-time best, and that's my word. His break beat fills during the verses are insane, but on top of that, even his simple beat-keeping during the main riff stands out - lots of pop-and-snap on the snare and cymbals to keep the song moving along like a locomotive. Good, good, good times.

Football stuffage is comin' at you next.

College Pigskin - What a Weekend

Holy leaping lizards and downtrodden Broncos (of the Boise State variety, not Denver).

September 11th, 2010 may be remembered as a landmark Saturday in the college football world. A lot of teams either grew up or got smacked down, at least in terms of their national title hopes (see Boise State). Okay, so the Broncos haven't officially been eliminated from national championship contention, but it doesn't help that their Labor Day victory over Virginia Tech - which seemed like it would be their shiniest badge of honor during an unlikely title run - was essentially negated with the Hokies' stunning 21-16 upset loss against in-state little brother rival James Madison Saturday. JMU doesn't even compete in Division I-A, and Boise State's remaining schedule is packed mostly with zeros rather than heroes.

Michigan catapulted itself into the Top 25 (No. 20) with a splendiferous (that's right, I said it!) and stupefying 28-24, last-minute triumph over the Fighting Irish in a packed house at Notre Dame. Sophomore QB Denard Robinson, with over 500 yards of all-purpose offense, was the key reason. It looks like Rich Rodriguez has found the perfect signal-caller for his spread offense. The lean times in Ann Arbor may be over, at least for a little while.

So many great games happening, but one of the other bullet-point mentionables is No. 1 Alabama running roughshod over No. 18 Penn State in Tuscaloosa. The Nittany Lions just didn't have the firepower to compete with the Crimson Tide, even though 'Bama was short by two top players (one of which was 2009 Heisman Trophy winning running back Mark Ingram). Elsewhere, No. 2 Ohio State maintained its hold on the second spot in the rankings with a 36-24 win against No. 12 Miami (Fla.), a game that received a decent amount of attention as a rematch of that thrilling, controversy-marred national championship game from the 2002 season. Well, the Buckeyes took care of business again, forcing Hurricanes QB Jacory Harris into 4 interceptions. Two of Miami's TDs came on special teams (punt return and kickoff return).

No. 3 Boise State sat idle, no doubt disbelieving its misfortune by the hand of VTU's incomprehensible loss. No. 4 TCU blasted Tennessee Tech, 62-7, and No. 7 Oregon struggled early at Tennessee before cruising to a 48-13 win, bumping the Ducks up to No. 5. That's your top 5 in the new AP poll, kiddos. Slots 6-10 belong to Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa and Florida, respectively. All of them won convincingly.

Remember haters of the current system - every weekend is a playoff. Oh and uh, the idea of Reggie Bush giving back his Heisman is laughable. NCAA, you are often ridiculous and nobody really takes you seriously, just so you know.

I got your NFL right here, tough guy!

Other than being able to say you were right or wrong, predictions don’t mean a dad-gum thing. But they’re fun, so let’s rock’n’roll.

It also probably warrants mentioning that the two major lingering, hotbed NFL offseason storylines – Ben Roethlisberger and Darrelle Revis – have been resolved before 2010’s season has officially kicked off. Star cornerback Revis earlier this week signed a 4-year, $32 million contract with the NY Jets after a several-week holdout as a result of him having outperformed his contract, and Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension, handed down by the NFL due to a young woman’s sexual assault allegations against ‘Big Ben,’ was reduced to four games. Is there anyone who’s even mildly surprised about this?

Here’s a quick peek at the divisions.

NFC East – This division is always a meat-grinder, perhaps more so than any of the rest. Donovan McNabb is now with Washington, and the Eagles have Kevin Kolb taking over as a first-year starter. The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t have any major dropoff in quality, but watch out for the N.Y. Giants. They’ll quietly go about their business and save their energy for when they need it most. I’d like to believe the Eagles can win this division, but they’re a little young this year, and Kolb will probably need at least one full season to develop into a confident leader and dependable winner.

NFC West – What can anyone say? The NFC West is sort of a joke. In fact, I find it regretful that I’ve already written three sentences about it. People are buzzing about San Fran again, like they do every year. Why not, I say. Nobody else looks better. Arizona is done (Kurt Warner has retired, Anquan Boldin is gone); Seattle has question marks, like always (Pete Carroll is unproven as a head NFL coach); and St. Louis, despite the promise and potential of Sam Bradford at QB, is still going to stumble worse than Snooki after 3 Irish car bombs.

NFC North – Green Bay seems like they’re on a mission. Aaron Rodgers is an awesome QB, point blank. People think this team could be the NFC’s Super Bowl rep. Favre is back for the Vikings after his annual ‘Will I or won’t I’ soap opera B.S., but top receiver Sidney Rice is done for half the year, and Percy Harvin might not be able to get a-‘head’ if his migraines don’t clear up. That offensive line looks somewhat questionable too. Don’t expect the Minnesota of 2010 to be the Minnesota of 2009. The Bears and Lions will finish third and fourth, not necessarily in that order (but probably).

NFC South – Saints or Falcons? Conventional wisdom suggests it will be one of them winning this division. I can’t imagine New Orleans being any less effective than last year, except that this time they’ll have the old bulls-eye on their backs as the defending Super Bowl champs. Atlanta was surprisingly mediocre last year, but a lot of the ‘experts’ are looking for a rebound from them now. Carolina and Tampa Bay should be where we think they will (sitting at home during the playoffs).

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AFC East – Holy crap is there going to be some knock-down, drag-out fights to win this division. Expectations for the Jets have never been so high. The Patriots are still the Patriots (in other words, you’d be stupid to count them out), and the 2009 Dolphins were perhaps the best team ever to lose more than 6 games in a season. It’s really anyone’s guess, but it feels like the Jets or Pats will likely take the crown. Sorry Bills. You’re still inept (not really a newsflash, am I right?)

AFC West – Much like the NFC West, not a strong field here. But San Diego is probably the best team, even if not by a long shot. There’s some optimism amongst Raiders fans, what with a new quarterback and all (it’s Jason Campbell folks, not Peyton Manning). Plus you have Al Davis manning the ship, which is basically a kiss of death to every season that passes by with him at the helm. Denver will be feisty, but they don’t feel like championship material. And some say watch out for KC this year, but I’m not buying that either. Chargers are still the team to beat here. In fact, I’m thinking that losing LaDainian Tomlinson will actually make them better.

AFC North – Everyone loves the Baltimore Ravens here. In fact, don’t sleep on that Ravens-Jets 7 p.m. Monday night game. Should be a doozy (perhaps a preview of the AFC title game?) The Steelers will still need work to be put away, but if they start weak without Big Ben through the first 4 games they may not recover. Don’t think Cincinnati will do this year what they did in ’09. As usual, the Cleveland Browns are the division doormat.

AFC South – This is a quietly tough, competitive division. This current regime of the Indy Colts will always be the favorite, but don’t forget how much momentum the Tennessee Titans had to finish out ’09. Wouldn’t be shocking to see them return to their 2008 form (in other words, a playoff team). Jacksonville gives good fight, but they won’t actually threaten for a division crown or playoff spot. Houston is another annual ‘bandwagon’ team, except that it always seems to turn out that the wagon is made of straw and not steel.

Happy pigskin in 2010. I’ll be keeping up on it just like you will, fo’ sure.

You mean … football is back?!

Hell yes, kids. Real, meaningful football (not the ‘preseason’ stuff) is officially upon us, as of last Thursday. Three days from now Minnesota and New Orleans will clash in The Big Easy, a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game, to kick off the 2010 NFL season.

In the meantime, a full weekend of college football has passed us by, and as is always the case, it’s awesome to have it back again. You know how sometimes you wish you could have more of something that you really like but can’t control? But then the next time you experience that thing after a long wait, you realize how much more you appreciate it as a result of having gone without? That’s kind of how I feel this weekend every year. Football just wouldn’t be the same if it was somehow staggered within its different levels (i.e. pro, college, high-profile high school games) so that it was ALWAYS being played.

To that end, we didn’t have a whole lot of shocking upsets to kick things off this year. Perhaps most notably, unranked Utah squeezed past No. 15 Pittsburgh 27-24 in overtime Thursday in Salt Lake in a tense, exciting clash that felt very much like it could have been a bowl game.

It’s never easy to start your season on the road, and that stadium was LOUD and fired up for the Utes to pull out the win. The Panthers come into 2010 with big expectations. Last year they won more games than any Pitt team since 1981 (when a guy by the name of Dan Marino was their QB). And now just one game in, their national title hopes are essentially dashed. Tough stuff.

Another dramatic moment of the opening CFB season came when No. 21 LSU barely hung on to beat No. 18 suspension-ravaged North Carolina. Considering the disciplinary action, the Tigers probably should have cruised, but the game was in Chapel Hill, so that always makes things a tad more difficult. The Tarheels had a chance to tie and possibly win on the last couple of plays as their final two TD pass attempts from inside the red zone fell incomplete. It was interesting to see the Replacements give it such the old ‘College Try’ and almost succeeding.

But the crown jewel of the opening weekend came Monday night on Labor Day - and this opening CFB weekend saved the best for last. No. 3 Boise State showed why it belongs in the national championship discussion with a donnybrook of a 33-30 victory over No. 10 Virginia Tech in front of a largely Hokies-partisan crowd at Fed Ex Field in Landover, Md. (Washington Redskins’ home field). The Broncos jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead, squandered it and then fought tooth and nail to win this contest, which it so desperately needed to do to remain a national title contender. It doesn’t help that BSU is likely to only play one more ranked team in the regular season (Oregon State). I don’t want to revisit the tired old “playoff vs. bowl season” discussion, but I think we can all agree that we hope not to see Boise get screwed should they go undefeated. Weekly drama in this crazy-arse Division I-A world of college football.

Consider the Bells Rocked

Are you a fan of supremely good, old-school hip hop? Of course you are, silly! Why? Because you like stuff that’s awesome. Hence, you should know that Saturday’s 2010 Rock The Bells Concert on Governor’s Island in New York was off the chain like hot propane.

A friend, his girlfriend and I converged on the event in the early afternoon on a beautiful but hot August day and braved an herb-laced, enthusiastic crowd to hear some of the art form’s great luminaries put it down on stage, and the microphone was smoking my friends, much like the flavored blunts that seemed to surround us at every head turn (Drugs are bad, mkay?)

For real, one wouldn’t need to hit the herbals to be having a good time at Rock the Bells. Check out this killer lineup – we were entertained by the likes of Slick Rick, Rakim, KRS-One (the Teacha!), the rarely seen-or-heard-from Lauryn Hill (didn’t live up to expectations, more on this in a bit), A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan (all of them showed up!) and finally, the headliner, Snoop D-O double Gizzy representing the Left Coast with his Dogg Pound Crew.

It was a general admission free-for-all, standing on the lawn all the live-long hot day, but there were food/beverage stands aplenty and areas to relax far away from the stage. Admittedly I didn’t want to miss much of it though, and fortunately I didn’t.

All acts except L. Hill were on fire, on point with the lyrical delivery and they didn’t ‘eff’ with the arrangements. Here’s where Hill comes in. Her return to the stage was much anticipated, but unfortunately she performed seemingly all of her songs in this crazy sped-up, hyper, manic musical style with a full, loud live band behind her that didn’t please most of us sonically. It was as if she had done 10 lines of coke before coming out on stage and didn’t know how to rein it in. Her voice is an amazing, powerful instrument, but it didn’t have any room to breathe or stand out. Fifteen years ago, she had the potential to be the closest thing to a modern-day Diana Ross or Whitney Houston. Two albums with the Fugees and a brilliant solo album later, we barely heard from her again for a combination of reasons. So the expectations were high. She should have used her voice more and the band less. What I wouldn’t have given to hear her do that acapella version of ‘Killing Me Softly’ from Dave Chappelle’s Block Party -- hauntingly beautiful. Oh yeah, and she took the stage almost an hour later than she was supposed to.

So in summary, if you’re a highly respected hip hop artist and your material was hot on cassette/CD when you put it out years ago, don’t fix what isn’t broken. Just come out and let it sound close enough to the original album for recognition. That’s why we fell in love with you in the first place and bought the ticket, dumb-dumb.

As for those that kept it real, Rakim and KRS-One were the cultural ambassadors that they always are, consummate professionals. Wu-Tang was typically awesome, but I’ve seen them like 10 times now. A Tribe Called Quest blew the doors off that place, and seemed to get the largest crowd and overall response. Snoop’s laid-back, weed-laced flow and delivery was the perfect way to cap off the night.

If you dig that old school style of hip hop, sadly lacking in today’s musical landscape, catch Rock The Bells. It’s an all-day party that you won’t regret attending.

What the Hell?

Okay, I know it’s August, and the sporting world is dead as we all hold our collective breath for the start of college football and the NFL. There isn’t jack-shit on TV, except for new episodes of Mad Men, and more regrettably, Jersey Shore. Most of what’s playing in movie theaters is just so-so right now. And in most workplaces (at least in mine), the people who actually aren’t on vacation are in relax mode.

What does this all add up to? Boredom.

I feel like there hasn’t been this little going on in quite some time. I guess this just kind of proves that we’ve had quite a noteworthy 2010 up until about now. We had the Winter Olympics, the World Cup and LeBron’s soap opera offseason drama (as well as the rest of the notable NBA offseason moves). We’ve had an MLB season that has seen a noticeable shift away from the power-hitting game to which we’ve all become so accustomed in recent years. Hell, this year alone we’ve had two perfect games (first time there’s ever been more than one in the same season), five no-hitters (counting those 2 perfect games) and countless other pitching gems in general, including an almost no-hit performance by Toronto’s Brandon Morrow, who struck out 17 batters and allowed Tampa Bay’s only hit with two outs in the ninth as the Jays blanked the Rays 1-0 Sunday. Oh and of course there was the infamous Jim Joyce botched first-base call that took away, with two outs in the ninth inning no less, what would have otherwise been the THIRD perfect game in the same season.

So yes, quite an exciting year so far in the sporting world. Other areas of our entertainment and pop culture needs have had some fun nuggets as well (TV, movies, music, etc.), but sports has seriously carried the torch in the oh-10. My highlight list (why thanks for asking!), looks kind of like this:

TV: Most notably, Lost, after 6 seasons, went off the air. The finale was largely anticlimactic, and quite divisive. For me, it’s about what I expected. A lot of stuff was still unanswered, but generally speaking, the closure for most of the major characters was fairly certain. The show took a defining turn for me around Season 3-ish or so anyway. I completely wish they would have gone in another direction (I can elaborate more at another time), but they didn’t. Alas, if you’re a sci-fi buff, you probably like how most of it played out. I found myself shaking my head at the screen many times. Such is life.

Also in TV Land, Breaking Bad gave us an epic third season with continued twists, turns and surprises while still remaining plausibly exciting and reeling us in ever deeper into our involvement with the lives of its characters. Everyone on the show is hands-down fantastic, and it’s gripping even when it doesn’t try to be. It’s seriously treading on ‘Wire’ territory for me. I don’t know if I can quite put it there yet, but my emotional attachment to the characters in BB probably surpasses that of The Wire for me, a feat which deserves some serious props.

Now that Mad Men is back, we see the continued decline of Don Draper, hinted at in the Season 3 finale. He is going to hell in a handbiscuit, kiddos. Things are NOT going well for one of the most charismatic ad men of the 1960s. His divorce, watershed career change and new partnership at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as his new bachelor lifestyle, have left him cold and lost. He basically now just drinks his face off, bangs the occasional secretary and even semi-frequently hires ‘ladies of the evening.’ New Don Draper is either reprehensibly disappointing or my freaking hero. I haven’t decided which yet. The other characters haven’t plunged fully into any landmark season 4 storylines quite yet, but they all have their usual drama to deal with. This show revolves around Draper anyway, as far as I’m concerned.

The Office and 30 Rock capped off typically strong seasons in May. Can’t touch on this without mentioning the impending departure of Steve Carell as Michael Scott. This next season (2010-11) will be his last on The Office. Rumored replacements have been many, but two of the more intriguing ones are Danny McBride and Rhys Darby (Murray from ‘Flight of the Conchords’). Personally, I can never get enough of Murray doing anything, even though I just can’t picture The Office without Michael Scott. I really actually kind of wish they’d just put a bow on it and call it a day at the end of next season.

And of course, Season 6 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia begins next month. I honestly don’t think they can make a bad episode of this show if they tried.

For all of you that are more into stuff like ‘True Blood’ or ‘Jersey Shore,’ I’m sorry to disappoint, but those just ‘aren’t my bag, baby’ (as Austin P. would say). Actually, I’m sort of lying. My wife and I have watched the first two eps of the new Jersey Shore season. This just makes me depressed. For an explanation on why we watched, I can’t quite give one other than to refer you to the dreaded ‘B’ word that appears very early on in this entry.

Movies: Everyone is talking about Inception. We know this, right? I love the originality that went into it, the way it was shot and the execution of a concept that demands intelligence from its viewers. Mainstream Hollywood movies like this are far too uncommon in these times. For those that haven’t seen it I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that when a creative team can craft a movie that has an audibly emotional theater-wide audience response as the film ends and the credits hit the screen – that’s when something special has been achieved.

The other highlight of the year so far? Winter’s Bone. Not even a question. I’ve raved about it in past entries. I won’t take up space repeating what I’ve previously said. Go back and do the knowledge if you’re curious. There have been other decent flicks, but these two stand out the most I would say. Comedies continue to impress me less as time pushes forward. I just saw ‘The Other Guys’ with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The feedback on it has been strong, but I’d have to say I was a little disappointed. This is especially ironic considering that my wife, who wasn’t really that excited to see it, came away liking it a lot more than she expected. Some of the ridiculous dialogue and ludicrous scenarios helped keep it funny and entertaining, but it falls victim to the same formulaic basic plotline of essentially every ‘funny buddy cop’ movie ever made.

It goes something like this: Unlikely buddy cops are somehow paired together. They have a tenuous relationship. One is a rebel, the other is a straight man, or ‘family’ man. Buddy Cop duo are basically screw-ups or cast-offs in some way. Buddy Cop duo get put onto a big case through a series of weird circumstances, where they forge a bond and an unlikely friendship. Buddy Cop duo starts getting close to cracking the case when a crucial plot point happens that causes a silly rift between Buddy Cop Duo. One of the duo forgets about it and moves on, the other continues to work toward solving the problem. Then … aha! Epiphany for guy who stuck with it. Buddy Cup Duo guy who stuck with it attempts to recruit Buddy Cop Quitter back into the fold. Quitter either reluctantly agrees to go back in or sticks with his answer of ‘no’ before coming back at the last minute to save the day and re-team up with his dysfunctional, unlikely friend. The case gets solved, Buddy Copy Duo become great friends and continue to solve cases together, happy ending (not the massage parlor type, unfortunately) ... and the road is paved for a limitless number of awful sequels that will rake in tons of money because it stars the same two big Hollywood names.

There you go. Anybody need a script written? I can do it. It doesn’t even have to be good (in fact, most of what people go to see isn’t good at all). Seriously. I can pump it out in a couple weeks if I give it enough hours each day. I’m a slut, I’m for hire.

Music: Uh, I don’t listen to new music anymore. This is utterly sad because music always has been and always will be one of my favorite things ever. I don’t know what bands or artists people listen to these days (I mean, I do by their names like ‘Arcade Fire’ or ‘Lady Gaga’, but not by anything else). I feel so out of touch with music it’s pathetic. Like a lot of people from my generation that are my age, I listen mostly to what was big years ago, and what I grew up with. I just don’t get music today. There’s no way to stay connected to it. How am I supposed to? By going to i-tunes and clicking on a bunch of 30-second clips? There’s no MTV the way it used to be. There’s no buzz about new artists that make soulful, risky music. I’d have a better chance of finding new music I like by seeing local bands here in NYC with some of my music-loving friends. Whatever. I’m depressed now.

On that note, Happy Trails, ya’ll. If you have anything to say about anything here, what’cha waiting for?! Hit up El Presidente.

The Big Screen (Makes me Wanna Scream)

I really feel like I’m at the point now where I have almost no desire to see any movies that can best be described as ‘big budget’ or intended for ‘mass audiences.’ I don’t say this to be self-important or snobbish about my tastes (it’s all subjective anyway). But the truth of the matter is that 95% of the standard Hollywood fare simply appeals to me in no way, shape or form anymore.

I have no desire to see any goddamn thing about ‘vampires’ or ‘werewolves’ – and if I did, I’d watch any one of a bunch of movies made years or decades ago about this subject matter that were much better and didn’t involve melodramatic ‘teen angst’ or a cheap nipple thrill or two. I don’t want to watch some sub-standard remake of an 80’s classic that can never really be trumped (i.e. The Karate Kid or the original A-Team show) simply because of nostalgia or the fact that a 2000’s era redux with improved ‘this’ and specialized ‘that’ just kills part of the idea of why the original was so appealing to begin with (the ‘camp’ factor and old-school budget aspect of making that stuff back then).

I don’t want to watch another generic action flick with ridiculous, impossible high-flying stuntery that’s basically predictable, formulaic and only entertaining because of awesome special effects. I’m not somebody who goes to a movie theater primarily because a movie’s EFX kick major arse. There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Toy Story 3 was great, continuing a recent trend of grown adults taking more enjoyment in movies intended for children than ever before. Don’t get it twisted - TS3 is one of the most well-received flicks of 2010. I also am very curious to see Inception, the new psychological drama/action pic starring Leo DiCaprio. People either seem to love it or walk from it not knowing what the hell just happened, and needing another viewing to gauge how they really feel about what just transpired. But by and large, I shake my head a resounding ‘no’ to most of what Hollywood pumps out these days.

So what do I find myself going to see for the most part? Well, usually it’s either a comedy that looks genuinely funny (few and far between, unfortunately), something utterly depressing or a bit more on the sentimental side, but grounded in reality and emotion (i.e. “Winter’s Bone”, “Cyrus” or “City Island”), or a riveting or highly informative documentary (i.e. “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”).

Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty of flicks out there masquerading as high art or overly intellectualized, important pieces of film that are, in reality, just meandering, boring messes. But the indie flicks I mention above are all very strong in their own way and worth checking out in a year that’s been fairly short so far on quality big-screen works.

“Winter’s Bone” especially gets a nod for its dark, ambitious storyline (enough to depress a person by description of its synopsis alone), its outstanding acting and its unique glimpse at an uncompromising, downtrodden way of life that’s not often featured for public consumption (the ultra-poor and the crystal meth-dealers/users that inhabit the most desolate, dark corners of the Ozark Mountain area of Missouri). This flick is getting early Oscar buzz, and rightfully so, especially for the watershed performance of 17-year-old Jennifer Lawrence. She plays the lead character, Ree Dolly, a somewhat desperate but nowhere-near-hopeless teenager raising her two younger siblings while her mentally unstable mother sits around the house in a catatonic state and her meth-cooking/dealing on-the-lam father (who has put the house and property up for bond) has been released from jail. What transpires is a stirring tale of bravery and courage on the part of the main character as she is essentially caught up in a me-against-the-world scenario. Ree is trying to find her father in efforts to save what little her family has left while shady, tight-lipped locals and extended family members eye her with a sense of something more sinister than a mere ‘self-preservation’ type of caution. Gripping stuff.

What maybe makes Lawrence’s performance so impressive are the human subtleties and complexities with which she plays the main character. A 17-year-old in her position would be understandably and justifiably angry 90-95 percent of the time were this a real-life counterpart story unfolding before us. But as a girl mature way beyond her years would do, she saves the explosiveness for scenes and situations that deserve those emotions, while showing an unimaginable range of other convincing but realistic emotions for someone unwillingly caught up in her situation (vulnerability, sadness, desperation, guile, cunning and a will to live/succeed that won’t be topped by anything).

Don’t expect to walk away from “Winter’s Bone” whistling a happy tune. But you can probably expect that you won’t wish you had the last two hours of your life back, as you might after seeing the most recent ‘Twilight’ movie or ‘Jonah Hex.’

It’s a haunting experience that will possibly stay with you for a few days, but unfortunately, movies like this are far too infrequent in these times. Oh and it probably isn’t playing in a whole bunch of theaters either, so if you’re lucky enough to live in or near a city that plays indie, ballsy stuff, do yourself a favor and don’t miss this.

On a final note, after having seen this movie and upon reflection comparing it to other works similar in subject matter but dissimilar in setting, there’s something seemingly more depressing about the prospect of in-the-woods, redneck poverty compared to the plight of the urban poor. Don’t get me wrong – both appear to suck hard (fortunately for me, I don’t speak from experience). But at least in urban areas there are a greater number of opportunities, organizations and people who are attempting to help the less fortunate. In the world of “Winter’s Bone” (or at least the filmmakers would have us believe), there’s nothing but a code of silence and an unwillingness by anyone to deviate from the don’t-ask-don’t-tell attitude of these folks who are either defeated by life or blissfully ignorant in their microcosm of drugs, alcohol, public assistance and an inability or lack of motivation to live a better life. This is powerful stuff, so beware.

So Check it Out

Just a few words on this ridiculous, overblown and now completely over-covered, oversaturated (and over-everything else) LeBron James situation.

Pretty much everyone has weighed in on this by now, and LeBron is apparently a pariah of the worst kind in the state of Ohio (particularly in Cleveland). In less than 24 hours, he went from the most beloved savior the city of Cleveland has ever known (this is kind of sad to begin with, but it is what it is) to the most intensely hated individual as far as the eye can see.

I know this sounds as though it is being set up as a defense of King James, but that’s not totally accurate. The way in which he announced his departure from Cleveland so that he can ‘Take his Talents to South Beach’ to play with his ultra-talented buddies Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh (the latter of whom joined the Miami Heat just a couple days before LeBron’s ‘announcement’ Thursday night in a one-hour, live televised ESPN special) couldn’t have been less tactful or more heartbreaking to the Cleveland supporters. For that, Cavs fans have every right to resent LeBron James.

But the ‘aftermath’ stories I’ve read and news reports I’ve seen are a classic example of people going to extremes that can only be described as unhealthy. Burning jerseys in the streets and sending emails or calling into sports shows as if their lives are literally ruined are just a couple of examples. If the sun rises and sets in your world every day by the probability of whether your favorite professional sports team wins a championship, you need a change in perspective, as well as a few other things (and this is coming from one of the biggest sports nuts out there – ask anyone who knows me). Hey Cleveland fans - grow up and stop acting like LeBron just raped your mother and sister and then burned your house down. He’s a paid professional athlete that remained intensely loyal to your shitty team for 7 years. The Cavs’ franchise and ownership had plenty of chances to do a more adequate job of surrounding LeBron with an actual championship-caliber supporting cast. Failed. Cleveland always fails at this. They have a loser’s mentality. You don’t put all your hopes on one superstar and wait until he carries you to the promised land. You BUILD a championship around your best player or players. Look at the construction of any title-winning team over the past couple of decades for evidence of this.

Would the Patriots have won all those Super Bowls with Tom Brady and a bunch of scrubs? Would the Celtics have won two years ago without aggressively making their team better by adding the ‘New Big 3’ and a cast of solid role players? Can any championship-level team bring home the hardware with one superstar and a bunch of chicken-hearted ‘yes men’ teammates who can’t take over when the ‘superstar’ is having an off night? (I bet you can guess who I’m describing here). Sure there were times it seemed like LeBron’s heart wasn’t in it fully, and when it almost looked like he was mailing in those playoff performances in 2009 and 2010, but in some respects can you really blame him? Nobody else on that Cavs team ever showed the ability to step up. He reached the point where he just didn’t care any more. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, frankly.

For all his insane, inexplicable physical talents, LeBron still doesn’t have a ring. And if Cavs fans thought he was going to get it with their ‘good-but-not-great’ group of underachievers, then they were living in an unrealistic pipe dream world. It was a rude awakening, but it’s probably good that it happened so they can stop living in la-la land.

As for LeBron, he is also not blameless. Not by a long shot. Look, it’s clear that he shouldn’t have handled this the way he did. It became increasingly evident over the last few days that D. Wade, Bosh and LeBron had it planned out that they’d join forces somewhere (why not South Beach?). They all knew what they were doing but acted as though they were taking their time and testing the free agent waters so as not to appear so cold and callous. But we all know now what was going down. Why LeBron couldn’t have made it clear that he wasn’t returning to Cleveland days or weeks ago, while STILL not saying definitively where he WAS going, is still beyond me. Cleveland fans would have had more time to recover from the disappointment before his announcement, and he could have done this without the ‘public spectacle’ aspect of the whole thing. But if we know nothing else about him, we know that LeBron wants all eyes on him. Always. He wants to be the ‘Global Icon.’ He wanted the news of where he was going next to be THE NEWS. And guess what – it worked. But at what cost? A lot of people losing a lot of respect for him (including the entire state of Ohio). But he either didn’t foresee that consequence because of his youth and lack of maturity, or he just didn’t care.

As for Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert’s assertion that he vows that the Cavs will win a championship before LeBron does, I can only laugh my ass off at that one. Maybe Gilbert will try to sell me a bridge connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan too. I’m not saying that Miami is a lock to win a title with these 3 guys on the same team now – I still think Boston, Orlando and the Lakers (and maybe a couple others) are better overall teams at this moment, but Miami has gutted its roster (only 8 total players on the current team) in order to attempt to build the best supporting cast it possibly can around these 3 mega-stars. I know I’m only one of many when I say I can’t wait to see how next season is going to play out. And no matter how much you hate LeBron, you know damn well you feel the same way if you’re a basketball fan also.

Oh and for the record, I was wrong! I really thought Bron-Bron was either staying put or going to Chicago. I honestly think he would have had just as strong a chance in Chi-town to win titles as he does in Miami with Wade and Bosh.

Mid-Summer Sports Drama

July is usually a dead sporting month, featuring little more than Major League Baseball action (an All-Star game that most people don’t care about aside from learning whether the AL or NL gets the home-field World Series advantage) and NFL mini-camp or player contract reports as everyone holds their collective breath knowing that another season of football is only mere weeks away.

But this is July of 2010, which means we’ve got quite a riveting World Cup Soccer Tournament going on in South Africa, as well as one of the most action-packed, star-studded free agency NBA classes that we’ve seen in years.

Of course, the U.S. was knocked out of the World Cup by Ghana in the first round of single-elimination play. And now we’re down to the semifinals, where we’ve got Germany vs. Spain (sounds about right), and … the Netherlands vs. Uruguay (uh … okay?!). Yes, so no matter what happens now, it’ll be worthy of some above-average interest. Germany and Spain are world powers in ‘futbol’, but the other two teams are not. Semi matches are Tuesday and Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., which means most of the working world here in the U.S. is going to miss them. Unless you’re savvy about watching stuff online at work while also getting stuff done and not being caught.

As for the NBA dramatics, all anybody wants to talk about is ‘Where is LeBron going?’ It’s worse than a frigging soap opera already. We understand that the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers organization is doing everything allowed by law (and probably quite a bit of stuff that isn’t) to hang onto their most prized possession. And we understand that a handful of other teams with which James has agreed to meet (Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Heat, Clippers, etc.) are all making their individual best imaginable sales pitches to persuade the superstar athlete to jump ship. There are a zillion different theories on where he’ll go and why.

But what’s most likely?

Take it from a non-expert (and why wouldn’t you?) – he’s either staying put or going to the Chicago Bulls. Above all else, LeBron has proven to be intensely loyal. There’s only so loyal a player can stay before his patience is exhausted, but we all know that the Cavs haven’t actually given him a championship-caliber supporting cast yet. If they’ve convinced him, one more time, that they can do that and are giving him a short-term deal with a boatload of cash, he may grant his beloved home-state team one more chance.

The Knicks and Nets suck too much and are going to for the next few years in order for him to agree to go to either franchise (despite the best efforts of Jay-Z, Mayor Mike and that new, Russian, multi-billionaire N.J. Nets owner), and he wants a championship now (as he damn well should, seven years into the league with his super-human abilities but no rings on his fingers).

The Clippers are just a West Coast version of the Knicks/Nets, and they’ve got a notoriously cheap, uncaring owner in Donald Sterling.

Playing with Dwayne Wade in Miami seems tempting, and those are two superstar players. But as we’ve seen year in and year out, you need more than two fantastic players to win a title. You need a strong supporting cast and deep bench. The Heat still won’t have that, even if LeBron joins them. The Heat plus LeBron would still fall to the Lakers in an NBA Finals Series, especially considering that L.A. isn’t likely to lose any pieces of their two-time defending championship team.

Who does this leave besides Cleveland to woo James? The Bulls.

Don’t think LeBron wouldn’t absolutely relish the possibility of going on a Jordan-like run in Chicago. Can he and Derrick Rose be the Jordan-Pippen for the new era? They’ve also got Joakim Noah as an exceptional post player, a feisty young team and an organization that seems committed to winning. If anyone can lure LBJ away from the state of Ohio, it’s probably Chicago. And don’t also think that LBJ wouldn’t be tantalized by the prospect and challenge of trying to be the next ‘Jordan,’ or at least eventually drawing the comparisons. He has a lot of hardware to pilfer before we can even begin having that conversation, but the fresh start in another city might be just what he needs. Don’t forget, Jordan was in the league almost as long as LeBron has been before he started piling up the trophies in the early 1990s.

Oh and Cleveland, it’s not like you don’t already know this or anything, but if you actually want to win a championship, you’ll have to do better than bringing in an over-the-hill, past-his-prime veteran (ala Shaq) to round out a supporting cast that’s not proven any ability to make a title run.

Good luck to all competitors in the LBJ Sweepstakes! Won’t be long now until we find out who wins.

Oh yeah and let’s not forget about the other super-duperstar free agent players that are on the open market right now (D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson and several others), many of whose decisions could change the face of the league for the next several years to come.

On a closing note, the Knicks just moments ago agreed in principle with Phoenix Suns standout power forward Amare Stoudemire to a 5-year, 100-million dollar deal. Stoudemire will be reunited with Mike D’Antoni, the former Phoenix coach who left to coach the Knicks a couple years ago. This is a great get for New York, but also leaves them with limited money/negotiating power to get another big-time player. Stay tuned.

Don’t Hate Us, We Were Just on Hiatus …

Let’s turn to the wide, wide world of sports for a second. Since both events are old news (but quite significant), I’m approaching this from a slightly different angle, but let’s just say for starters that the Chicago Blackhawks are NHL Stanley Cup Champions for the first time since 1961 and the L.A. Lakers are NBA World Champions for the first time since … well … last year.

Yep, Chicago took out the miracle-run, eighth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers by winning Game 6 in Philly, and unsurprisingly, Philly fans booed the Blackhawks’ cup-receiving ceremony. Look, it’s hard to condone some of the more boorish behavior of Philadelphia sports fans, and it’s tired pointing out that it’s usually a smaller (but extremely vocal) minority that is largely responsible for the majority of these transgressions. But let’s not overlook the a-hole fans everywhere else in the country (and there are PLENTY). Example? Well, during the NBA Finals series that just concluded last week between the Celtics and Lakers, there was some loud vitriol on both sides. Yes, these two franchises have a long, passionate rivalry with and hatred of each other, but chanting ‘Ugly Sister’ to Lamar Odom when he’s at the foul line (he’s married to Khloe Kardashian) is kind of wrong. As is Laker fans having applauded when Celtics center Kendrick Perkins suffered a series-ending injury in Game 6 in L.A. Indeed, assholes will be around everywhere in the world at any given time. We must share their air-space unfortunately, but it’s a fact of life. To quote Dark Helmet in Spaceballs – “Keep Firing, Assholes!” Actually, it would be better if they didn’t.

To sum up, these were hard-fought, emotional wins for both these franchises (Blackhawks and Lakers), even though Kobe was pretty dreadful in the clinching Game 7 (6-for-24 from the field while still ending up with over 20 points). It didn’t feel like he had a huge hand in the comeback (Celtics led by 13 at one point in the first half). He’s a phenomenal player, but the Kobe vs. Jordan comparisons still need to stop, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a topic that can be debated for a long time with plenty of valid points and counterpoints, but right now, Jordan is still King Shit when it comes to the greatest players of the past 20-25 years (or maybe ever). People within or under the 30-35 year age range usually just say he’s the best ever and that’s it, but I’m hesitant to do that, and you should be too if you have respect for the history of the game. Players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain and a handful of others were as legendary in their own time and in their own way. But what Jordan did in the 1990s WAS pretty incredible. This is how revisionist history usually works though. Whatever is most recent stands out as most vivid in our recollection.

Oh and apparently, there’s some other sort of competition going on now that only occurs once every four summers in which physically fit men from various nations around the globe run themselves roughshod on a huge grass field for 90-plus minutes and attempt to kick a spherical, black-and-white ball into a net guarded by a keeper and defensive players on an opposing team from another country.

From what I’m told, it’s kind of a big deal (much like Ron Burgundy when he was hitting on Veronica Corningstone for the first time).

Okay, all sarcasm aside, I appreciate that soccer is by far the most popular sport globally. Despite an ever-increasing awareness of it in the U.S., it doesn’t seem like it will ever overtake our most popular sports here in the states (i.e. football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, golf, etc.). It’s hard not to respect the fact that as soon as you leave the U.S. borders, ‘football’ rules no matter where you go.

And I’m not surprised the U.S. can’t seem to make significant strides either (and neither should you be) when it comes to this sport. In what world would it make sense for us (‘us’ being the United States) to be successful in a sport that’s probably barely in our Top 10 in terms of popularity when most of the rest of the countries in the world treat it like a religion?

Sure, when it comes to sports, us half-assing it sometimes equals the best effort from another nation (see the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team’s Olympic Gold Medal run earlier this year for proof).

But not when it comes to this sport. There are just way too many passionate fans, skilled players and people from other countries that invest almost everything they have emotionally into this (particularly countries that have little else to celebrate). Frankly, the U.S. has no business competing with the best of the best. I’ll be shocked if they even advance out of their group. But with sports, you just never know.

What’s up chickens? The Playa is back from Vacationality, and Holy Shnykees was it a much-needed getaway. Some highlights for the constituency.

* First stop was Phoenix (and the greater Phoenix area), in the wonderful and somewhat lawless land known as Arizona. About 20 ‘Don’t forget your papers!’ jokes later from family and friends, there we were in the land of dry heat, cacti and people wearing as little as allowed by law (which again, is not very strict in Arizona). My wife and I stayed with her brother in Mesa, and also spent a good deal of time hanging out with her friend in Tempe, a Ph.D. student at Arizona State.

In general, keep this in mind: any southwestern/Mexican/Tex Mex-themed food in this area is going to be good. It just is. Can’t go wrong. Mostly anything else is standard, as in it’s no better or worse than you could get it in many other places. Well, except maybe for Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, rated the country’s best by a few different sources (we didn’t make it there this time).

We tom-catted around the area for a few days, and I of course (if you recall from a reference in my last entry) attended the Phoenix Suns-L.A. Lakers Western Conference Playoffs (Game 3) with said brother-in-law. Quite an event. Amare Stoudemire exploded for 42 points and Phoenix won to trim its series deficit to 2-1. Of course the Lakers won the series, as we know by now, but it was nice to attend a winning effort for the home team. Oh and they gave away ugly orange t-shirts to everyone in attendance (my wife promptly made mine part of her ‘pajamas’ rotation). I’m sure Lakers fans that showed up probably threw them in the trash or urinated on them or something. One of the more memorable moments? Hitting an overcrowded men’s room afterward on our way back to the car to hear a dude waltz in behind us, chanting at the top of his lungs “Kobe’s a rapist!” My brother-in-law righteously, but somewhat quietly, commented ‘Dude, that’s inappropriate.’ I don’t think the guy even heard him.

The following day, we road-tripped up north in our rental car to check out Sedona and the Red Rocks area, which is pretty incredible.

Lots of extremely red mountainous structures, traffic roundabouts (which weirdly enough almost worked better than traffic lights), and charming little shops. The four of us chowed down at Red Rock BBQ at a nice outdoor table.

Overall, good times in the AZ.

* Next stop – New Orelans. That’s right folks, the Big Easy. We had familiar faces in this city also. Friends of ours who live about a mile away in NY met us down there while also visiting family of theirs outside the N.O.

I mean, how do you sum up this city exactly? So unique, so unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. The music is incredible. Even at the touristy, loud, obnoxious Bourbon Street bars, there’s cover bands playing live music (Journey! Bon Jovi!) instead of some DJ spinning the latest sounds of Kesha or Lady Antebellum. Our first night, we found ourselves at a place called ‘The Spotted Cat’ where we saw an incredible live N.O.-style jazz quintet. Simply awesome.

The Big Easy also has some incredible food. We had some great meals. Probably my favorite place though? Mother’s Southern Deli on Poydras, in the central business district. Holy crap was this place amazing. Perfect for any occasion – hungover, sober, by yourself, with friends, just for the hell of it, whatever. You order at the counter, grab a beverage, take a number, sit down and wait for the food. The wife and I split two dishes evenly – the Famous Ferdi Special Sandwich and the Combination Platter. The sandwich has Mother’s World Famous Best Baked Ham, Roast Beef, and countless other delicious ingredients rounding it all out. The combo platter is heaven on a plate – five different mini-mounds of food including jumbalaya, red beans’n’rice, Etouffe (which is kind of like a delicious sea food platter), potato salad and collard greens with turnips. Holy Cow. No other meal truly compared.

We took one day to cruise out to suburban Slidell with our friends and do a swamp tour, where we saw one of the biggest goddamn alligators ever created, named El Guapo (the tour guide pronounced it ‘El Wapo’ though). This thing was 15 feet long, about 1,000 pounds, and is 75 years old (the males usually live about 90 years). It came right up to our boat. I thought about taunting him for a second, and then decided that I like having my arm attached to my body. We had a great seafood meal afterward at our friend’s father’s house in Slidell, including freshly caught-and-boiled crab along with fresh shrimp, crawfish, corn-on-the-cob, rolls and other goodies.

By the way, let me leave you with this thought (as if many people who’ve been to N.O. don’t already know this) – Bourbon Street is basically like Sodom and Gomorrah come to life. It’s like you’re an outcast if you’re NOT sinning in some way. It’s an alcohol-fueled, noisy paradise of 24/7 party-all-the-time fun. Bourbon itself is closed off to traffic for several blocks, but through traffic can pass by on the intersecting streets. It just has everything. No open-container laws, lots of greasy food, bar after bar, strip clubs piled on top of one another with scantily clad broads advertising why their place is the best. It’s a real scene, man. Even if this type of deal isn’t so much your thing, it’s worth walking up and down it once or twice, especially on a happening night, just for the experience.

And then we were on a plane back to the Big Apple, where everyone moves like their ass is on fire and there’s no time to relax. Yep, things move at an easier pace down in Nola, and people are definitely more stress-free. An attorney friend of mine is leaving his high-pressure, long-hours job in NYC for a position down there. He’s probably adding another 5-10 years onto his life expectancy.

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Okay, it’s a little ‘after the fact’, but about the umpire (Jim Joyce) who robbed Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga of a perfect game this past week in a 3-0 Tigers victory over the Cleveland Indians, how about if MLB mans up for once and grows a pair already?

Is there any professional sports organization more apathetic and ‘clingy with tradition’ than baseball? Really MLB? You can’t reverse an obviously blown call with two outs in the ninth to give a perfect game to a young pitcher who grossly deserves it? I’m pretty sure you can actually, because you’ve reversed decisions in years past that weren’t always popular (George Brett, Pine Tar game in ’83) and somehow, we all moved on. Let’s not pretend it’s any different this time. Considering the backdrop of certain current dynamics within the sport of Major League Baseball (the continued black eye of steroids over the game, the fact that there’s still no HGH testing for players, no instant replay of any kind), it’s in no way surprising that there aren’t anywhere near as many fans and overall supporters as there was as little as 12-15 years ago, despite the fact that at that time the game was recovering from a crippling strike that still had many folks fuming with anger.

Weirdly enough, the most positive aspect of this unfortunate situation is the class and dignity with which both Joyce and Galarraga have handled it. Joyce, rightfully so, was as remorseful as anything I’ve ever seen from an official over a single call. This is only fair, since perfect games come along on average about once every six years (by the way, this would have been the third this season – a completely underrated but incredibly strange subplot). But I give the guy a pass. He reacted appropriately (admitted he was wrong, tears in public, hugging the pitcher and apologizing to him in person).

And I’m pretty sure that just about everyone on the planet has royally fucked up in life at least a few times at his/her job at one point. It’s so much easier to see how this is all unfolding from the comfort of home on HD TVs with 10 instant slow-mo replays from multiple camera angles. I’d absolutely hate to be in charge of making the right call as stuff is happening at lightning speed right in front of your face 30-40 times a game. Not an easy job. We should all be glad that most of us have occupations in which we’re not counted on to get it 100 percent right every time in a nano-second flash about 40 times per game in a 162-game season (not counting playoffs). It’s just incredibly unfortunate that this wrong call altered an otherwise historical event.

Once again, I blame MLB way more than anyone else. Put an impartial mediator in a booth somewhere who can be in charge of discretionary instant replay. This person is obviously not going to suggest it for the same type of play that Joyce botched if it were a 10-1 game in the ninth inning, but it would have certainly been a good idea on Wednesday night in Detroit.