If you haven't seen the end of the Trinity game the other day, check out this video:
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Yawning through the weekend (A.K.A. the Red Sox won the World Series.)
Yay. The Red Sox win, and the world yawns. Thank god there was at least a little bit of drama last night, because I honestly can't recall a more boring World Series, ever. Look, the Red Sox won, they deserved to win. The Sox and the Indians were the two best teams this year, and whoever won that series was going to win, no matter how many games in a row the Rockies won leading into the Series. (They won those games against NL opponents, unfortunately for them.) Anyways, congratulations, and blah.
As far as the Patriots go, yesterday's game wasn't all that fun too watch either. I mean, the only drama was whether or not the Patriot's were being poor sports by running up the score at the end. Of course they were. Who cares? Billy B. may have a reputation as a genius in Boston, but everywhere else his reputation, at best, is that of an evil genius. So, he's not a nice guy. Big fucking whoop.
--
Watched a couple of movies this weekend, of varying levels of suckitude.
Friday night we watched Knocked Up, which thanks to me not paying attention to the Warning, led to me having flashbacks to Senior year health class. Anyways, after watching the movie, my basic opinion is, huh? People thought this was a hilarious movie? I mean, there were funny parts, like every time Paul Rudd was onscreen, but there were general surrounded by 15 minutes of boring. I guess I just expected a bit more funny, and a bit less boring.
Saturday we watched Transformers, which while maybe 20 minutes too long, was exactly the movie I expected it to be. (And that is a good thing.) One thing you can definitely say about Michael Bay films is that they are not going to outthink themselves. (See: Armegeddon) Transformers was filled with fun, from the cheezy acting, to the great action scenes. Oh, and did I mention Meghan Fox?
---
I'm going to try to keep writing at least a couple times a week, but we'll see.
As far as the Patriots go, yesterday's game wasn't all that fun too watch either. I mean, the only drama was whether or not the Patriot's were being poor sports by running up the score at the end. Of course they were. Who cares? Billy B. may have a reputation as a genius in Boston, but everywhere else his reputation, at best, is that of an evil genius. So, he's not a nice guy. Big fucking whoop.
--
Watched a couple of movies this weekend, of varying levels of suckitude.
Friday night we watched Knocked Up, which thanks to me not paying attention to the Warning, led to me having flashbacks to Senior year health class. Anyways, after watching the movie, my basic opinion is, huh? People thought this was a hilarious movie? I mean, there were funny parts, like every time Paul Rudd was onscreen, but there were general surrounded by 15 minutes of boring. I guess I just expected a bit more funny, and a bit less boring.
Saturday we watched Transformers, which while maybe 20 minutes too long, was exactly the movie I expected it to be. (And that is a good thing.) One thing you can definitely say about Michael Bay films is that they are not going to outthink themselves. (See: Armegeddon) Transformers was filled with fun, from the cheezy acting, to the great action scenes. Oh, and did I mention Meghan Fox?
---
I'm going to try to keep writing at least a couple times a week, but we'll see.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Falling all over the place
Summer's finally over my friends. And you know what? I'm ready. So far, this fall has been good to me, working our way gradually into the winter. Seasonably warm days, cold nights. Just like should be the case when you live in Maine. The steadily shrinking days are going to be a problem though, as they are already starting to cramp my golfing schedule. I mean, at some point I have to go to work, right? Right?
Anyways, a few random things today.
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Read a couple good books in the last few weeks.
The Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo - For those who have read and enjoyed anything else by Richard Russo, this is a must read. For everyone else, I would start with Nobody's Fool or Empire Falls, both of these are better books. Still, if this is not Russo's best effort, that still makes it better than most any other books out there right now.
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski - For baseball fans, this is a must read. Joe Posnanski is one of, if not the best sports columnist out there, and this is his story about taking road trips with Buck O'Neill, a former Negro League player and manager. O'Neill loved three things, baseball, jazz, and women, and in many ways this this book serves as on ode to all three. Like I said, a great read for anyone loves baseball.
---
As always, there are a bunch of new tv shows out there this year, a few of which have actually captured my attention.
Pushing Daisies - Wednesdays at 8 - Don't read any reviews of this show, as a description doesn't do it justice. Don't worry yourself about the plot, as that is largely irrelevant. This is a show about tone and look. The tone of this show is overtly light-hearted, with a dark, dark sense of humor as a backdrop. Visually, Pushing Daisies does remind me of Amelie, or of Pan's Labyrinth possibly. (If you haven't seen either of these, go rent them today.)
Life - Wednesday's at 10 - I know, I know, yet another cop show. This one throws some curveballs, and has a structure that works for me. The main character of the show, Crews, is a former cop turned convict who spent 11 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, was found innocent, and as part of his wrongful charges settlement was reinstated as a detective. Each episode focuses both on one "smaller" crime, as well as some portion of Crews' ongoing investigation into how he was wrongly convicted. The acting is good, the writing is good, and for you Replacements fans out there, Crews' lawyer is played by none other than Brooke Langton.
---
Maybe if I have time tomorrow, I'll throw something out there about the returning shows we have been watching, and how some of them better get their shit together.
Anyways, a few random things today.
----
Read a couple good books in the last few weeks.
The Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo - For those who have read and enjoyed anything else by Richard Russo, this is a must read. For everyone else, I would start with Nobody's Fool or Empire Falls, both of these are better books. Still, if this is not Russo's best effort, that still makes it better than most any other books out there right now.
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski - For baseball fans, this is a must read. Joe Posnanski is one of, if not the best sports columnist out there, and this is his story about taking road trips with Buck O'Neill, a former Negro League player and manager. O'Neill loved three things, baseball, jazz, and women, and in many ways this this book serves as on ode to all three. Like I said, a great read for anyone loves baseball.
---
As always, there are a bunch of new tv shows out there this year, a few of which have actually captured my attention.
Pushing Daisies - Wednesdays at 8 - Don't read any reviews of this show, as a description doesn't do it justice. Don't worry yourself about the plot, as that is largely irrelevant. This is a show about tone and look. The tone of this show is overtly light-hearted, with a dark, dark sense of humor as a backdrop. Visually, Pushing Daisies does remind me of Amelie, or of Pan's Labyrinth possibly. (If you haven't seen either of these, go rent them today.)
Life - Wednesday's at 10 - I know, I know, yet another cop show. This one throws some curveballs, and has a structure that works for me. The main character of the show, Crews, is a former cop turned convict who spent 11 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, was found innocent, and as part of his wrongful charges settlement was reinstated as a detective. Each episode focuses both on one "smaller" crime, as well as some portion of Crews' ongoing investigation into how he was wrongly convicted. The acting is good, the writing is good, and for you Replacements fans out there, Crews' lawyer is played by none other than Brooke Langton.
---
Maybe if I have time tomorrow, I'll throw something out there about the returning shows we have been watching, and how some of them better get their shit together.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
An Impossible Situation
I suppose I should chime in about the Yankees situation. Thanks to Mr. Steinbrenner, the only possible success for a Yankees season is to win the World Series. While they may have won 4 out of 5 back in the late 90's, it's just not that easy to win it all. The most interesting stat from this postseason for me is the fact that 7 of 8 teams that made the playoffs this year, didn't last year. While football gets all the parity talk (somewhat deservedly thanks to their salary cap), it's baseball that has had 7 different champions in 7 years.
Anyways, getting back to this year's Yankees, according to many, this year was a failure. I'm just not sure I agree with that. It may have been the last gap of the group from the nineties, but in many ways I think was a re-building year for the Yankees. There's a real chance that next year the Yankees will have three starting pitchers who were rookies this year. Just making the playoffs with rookies carrying the weight is an achievement, never mind making up a 14 game deficit.
All that said, the thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Yankees lost because the Indians played better for four games. (Even the game the Yankees won.) They had better all around pitching, better hitting, better fielding. If they had played more games, would this have changed? I don't think so actually, I think the Indians were a better team this year. It happens sometimes.
As for next year, there is also a real chance that the Yankees will have lost ARod, Posada, Pettite and Rivera. (Honestly, at this point, losing Clemens is addition by subtraction.) Even for a team with the resources of the Yankees, that's a lot to lose. It would leave them with a team that looks something like this:
C - Me
1b - Giambi/Minkyvitch
2b - Cano
SS - El Capitan
3b - Betimit
LF - Damon/Matsui
CF - Cabrera
RF - Abreau
DH - Giambi/Damon/Matsui
SP - Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina, Chamberlain?
Closer - Chamberlain (If he is not starting)
And a mishmash of relievers who may or may not be returning. Seriously, I'd pick that team to compete against most teams. Even without ARod and Posada, they'd still score some runs. They'd miss Pettite and Rivera the most out of those two I think, by a long shot.
As for my feelings about this Yankee's team? Thanks to the wonder of mlb.com, I watched more Yankees games this year than any year since I moved to Maine. I liked watching this team. Watching rookies learn on the fly, making mistakes and great plays at equal rates, is to me one of the easiest things to root for. Red Sox fans know what I mean, after watching Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, and Buchholz this year.
To make a long blog short, I wasn't all that disappointed in the Yankees this year. I think they lost to a better team, and I think they battled the whole time. As a fan, I can accept that. (By the way, Red Sox fans, the Indians should scare the crap out of you. This is a good team.)
Anyways, getting back to this year's Yankees, according to many, this year was a failure. I'm just not sure I agree with that. It may have been the last gap of the group from the nineties, but in many ways I think was a re-building year for the Yankees. There's a real chance that next year the Yankees will have three starting pitchers who were rookies this year. Just making the playoffs with rookies carrying the weight is an achievement, never mind making up a 14 game deficit.
All that said, the thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Yankees lost because the Indians played better for four games. (Even the game the Yankees won.) They had better all around pitching, better hitting, better fielding. If they had played more games, would this have changed? I don't think so actually, I think the Indians were a better team this year. It happens sometimes.
As for next year, there is also a real chance that the Yankees will have lost ARod, Posada, Pettite and Rivera. (Honestly, at this point, losing Clemens is addition by subtraction.) Even for a team with the resources of the Yankees, that's a lot to lose. It would leave them with a team that looks something like this:
C - Me
1b - Giambi/Minkyvitch
2b - Cano
SS - El Capitan
3b - Betimit
LF - Damon/Matsui
CF - Cabrera
RF - Abreau
DH - Giambi/Damon/Matsui
SP - Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina, Chamberlain?
Closer - Chamberlain (If he is not starting)
And a mishmash of relievers who may or may not be returning. Seriously, I'd pick that team to compete against most teams. Even without ARod and Posada, they'd still score some runs. They'd miss Pettite and Rivera the most out of those two I think, by a long shot.
As for my feelings about this Yankee's team? Thanks to the wonder of mlb.com, I watched more Yankees games this year than any year since I moved to Maine. I liked watching this team. Watching rookies learn on the fly, making mistakes and great plays at equal rates, is to me one of the easiest things to root for. Red Sox fans know what I mean, after watching Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, and Buchholz this year.
To make a long blog short, I wasn't all that disappointed in the Yankees this year. I think they lost to a better team, and I think they battled the whole time. As a fan, I can accept that. (By the way, Red Sox fans, the Indians should scare the crap out of you. This is a good team.)
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