Monday, March 31, 2008

Sorry Tommy, Braves lose second straight

Last season the Braves lost 25 one run games. This season, they've already lost two. And we are only two days into the season. For the second straight game the Bravos wasted a fantastic starting pitching performance with a cruddy bullpen effort, this time Ohman letting a man on, only to have him score on an error by Yunel. Manny Acosta did his best Jorge Sosa out of the pen impression with a three run shot allowed. The Braves DID manage to rally for 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it was for naught as Blaine Boyer (thanks for working so hard on that rehab, just to lose this game) with another three run shot allowed in the 12th. Francoeur did homer and Matty Diaz drove home Mark Kotsay to get it to within one in the bottom of the 12th, but Corky Miller (apparently the Braves catcher and not the actor from 30something) flew out to end the game.

Crud. I was seriously hoping the Braves had this bullpen thing fixed. They acquired OH-MAN from Chicago and apparently Peter Moylan's Michael Scoefield Tats were supposed to make him hardcore, and Soriano was going to be LIGHTS out as the closer. Throw Gonzo into the mix when he returned in July and the Braves Bullpen was going to be the X-factor in getting the Braves to the playoffs. Well, consider the X still unknown.

Hudson sat down 19 straight last night, but it was Moylan in the 9th that gave up the home run and he couldn't hold Ohman's runner tonight. True it was because of an error, but the Braves had three errors. That needs to shore up quick. Tommy Glavine looked sharp for the most part, and if Atlanta can get 5+,6 innings per start from him, HUGE.

And I like that the Braves aren't quitting when down to their last at-bat, but let's stop putting ourselves there, huh? Score more than one run for Hudson. quite leaving men on base with a chance to step on the other team's throat. Stop hitting into double plays.
As Earl Weaver once said, if you ever feel you are about to hit into a double play, just strike out.
And Bravos....you are on pace for an 0-162 season. Let's turn it around!

REAL WORLD: DC!

This is the true story, of 7 political figures, picked to live in a WHITE House, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens, when political figures stop being polite and start getting Real. The Real World: DC!

So I thought I would come up with the ultimate Real World House featuring political figures that would be entertaining to watch. (I watched the Braves/Nats last night and W was quite funny. I would TOTALLY watch a reality show about him after he leaves his post as President. I think it would be great. At first I thought, it would be funny to watch him just do his thing, then I thought, it would be great watching a show with W and Clinton. Then it just snowballed into the Real World: White House)

So you would have W, Clinton, Hillary, Monica, Janet Reno, George HW Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. This would totally work. Bill would be trying to hit on Condy, Monica, and Janet, while Hillary would be yelling at him. W would be constantly be getting punished by HW Bush. Janet Reno would be the quasi-gay roomie while Condy Rice would say crap like, "It's hard being the only person of color in this house." Clinton would then try and comfort her by offering a three-way with Monica. W would just walk around and pull pranks on everyone. Janet would have ROCKING Dance Parties and GHW Bush would get aggravated and probably leave the house....making way for Quayle to come in and he and W could have "Deep" discussions where W ends up cracking himself up.

This can't miss.

BOLD Predictions for the MLB Season

Note: this also appears on www.790thezone.com as my weekly article.
The Braves lost last night on Opening Night, part of Opening Week, after last Wednesday’s Opening Morning as the game was played in Japan. Today is Opening Day, but games played tonight won’t be Opening Night, because that was last night. If a game is played tonight, it will still be Opening Day-only played at night. Confusing? Well that’s Major League Baseball for you.
With that said, I have decided to throw a few BOLD PREDICTIONS your way for this baseball season. (What qualifies me to do that you ask? Well tune in to Ed Voyles Honda Extra Innings brought to you by IBM, AT&T and Taco Bell this Thursday and you’ll hear Paul Mac, Bobby and ME talking Braves. We will be there for you after every Braves Weeknight home game.)
Prediction-Tim Hudson will win 19 games and CARRY the Braves to the division crown, but the Cy Young will go to 18-game winner Johan Santana of the Mets because of the New York media.
Speaking of Johan Santana, Prediction-he will adjust well to the Senior Circuit, posting a very low ERA, but it won’t be as low as his old team’s new ACE Francisco Liriano, who will return to the majors and pick up where he left off in 2006.
Prediction-Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones will out homer Big Papi and ManRam of the Boston Red Sox. I didn’t say out-RBI them, just out homer them.
Prediction-Ichiro will collect 250 hits this season and will lead Seattle to the AL West title over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, located in Orange County, California, left of the Mississippi, member of the Continental United States, Northwestern Hemisphere on Earth part of the Milky Way, Universe. Ichiro also takes home the MVP honors for the American League.
Prediction-Cleveland wins the AL Wild Card, then goes to the World Series. And Grady Sizemore gets 18 pairs of panties throw at him over the course of the season. He is so dreamy.
Prediction-The Phillies will miss Aaron Rowand more than they think and they might slip to 4th in the NL East after the Nationals. Seriously Philly fans, you CAN’T win with only two starting pitchers. And Brad Lidge, you should try to get over this mental thing ASAP, because those phans, will let you hear it!
Prediction-The Cubs win the NL Central after Eric Gagne breaks down and kills the Brewers season.
Prediction-Andruw Jones hits .222, but drives in 120 and mashes 30 home runs as the Dodgers capture the NL Wild Card. (I think the Diamondbacks behind Webb, Haren and Randy Johnson get it done in the Wild, Wild West.)
My Favorite Prediction-Jeff Francoeur hits 40 home runs and as he crosses the plate after each one, he glares at the GM box and possibly screams, “PAY ME!” Shaq did this a few years back to Dr. Buss of the Lakers. I would LOVE it if Francoeur did this.
Finally, I think the Braves beat the Indians in 6 games to take home a World Series Title. After the season, the Braves go into full rebuilding mode, but hey, a title is a title.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Braves on pace to lose 162. Oh NO!

Since I will be hosting 790 The Zone's Extra Innings this season, I will be watching a tremendous number of games this season, and I figured I would give you the lowdown on the ones I do watch, so you can get MY thoughts on the games, if you decide NOT to tune in IMMEDIATELY after the weeknight home games that we will do on air. (Which by the way, if you live outside the 790 the Zone listening area, simply log on to www.790thezone.com or visit the link at the bottom of this page and you can listen live) I mean, WHY go to the ajc or braves website to get the REAL story from guys NO DOUBT talking to players and managers after the game when you can read my rants on the team. Mind you, I will give you an unbiased opinion, not one where I am worried about offending the guy I am trying to get an interview with tomorrow, so here we go....

Tim Hudson, after struggling mightily in the first inning set down 19 straight before leaving following the 7th inning. He gave up two two-out runs and he had two strikes on Nick Johnson after striking out two batters with a runner on third. Anyway, Frenchy fields the RBI single and attempts to gun Nick Johnson (who missed all of last season recovering from a broken leg and who has NEVER been confused with Carl Lewis), but Yunel Escobar can't field the throw. Next batter singles home Johnson when AGAIN Frenchy can't throw out Johnson, but McCann most likely wouldn't have gotten the tag in time anyways. Frenchy, dude, GO BACK TO PARKVIEW! (Usually though, whenever I scream that, he immediately comes through. For more on my thoughts on Frenchy, log on to www.790thezone tomorrow for my weekly article where I will give some "BOLD PREDICTIONS" for the baseball season, one relating to Francoeur)
Well, except for an infield single in the 4th by Francoeur this game gets boring in a hurry-rather it became a Pitcher's duel until the 9th inning when Big Tex nearly goes yard, but settles for a double and pinch runner Martin Prado scores on a passed ball to tie the game at 2. Then BMac aka Lumpy swings on a 3-0 pitch and pops out to end the inning. (PS, they call him Lumpy or Lumps or Heaps because apparently he eats heaps of fries. I like it)
In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, former UVA standout Ryan Zimmerman hits the GW/Walk-off HR and the Nats win. The Bravos are on pace to lose 162 games this season, but on a brighter note, Chipper Jones got a home run and the game didn't go into extra innings, thus a DC area Hooters waitress SHOULD be getting a huge tip tonight. (More later in the year on the 16 year grudge I have against Chipper)
The good news is Huddy was DEALING tonight after that first inning and he didn't pick up a loss he didn't deserve. The bad news, the Braves SHOULD have put more runs on the board against Odalis Perez.
And finally, could some one PLEASE tell Jon Miller to STOP talking like Will Ferrell in that one SNL skit with Barbara Her-Nan-DEZ!?!?!?! Also, I wish W could have stayed in the booth the entire game. He is great at self-deprecating humor. You can tell he is LOVING this lame duck status he has now, and he really doesn't care all that much. I love it. I am trying to put together a TV show Real World style and W is the FIRST GUY IN. If I can, I'll get to that tomorrow too.
but hopefully the Braves can get it back together tomorrow. Glavine is on the hill, COME ON TOMMY!
Braves currently sit one game back in the division, and I have predicted them to win 92 and the NL EAST by 3 games. they only have 161 more cracks at getting 92. COME ON GUYS!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Is THIS what you wanted?

For everyone constantly screaming, "WE WANT A COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF!" let me ask you, is THIS what you wanted? Really?

I am watching the NCAA tourney and while some of last night's games were entertaining, others were boring. UNC crushed Wazzou and now they face Louisville. L'ville beat Tennessee so maybe Tennessee wasn't as good as we all thought during the year. Xavier beat West Va on the other side of the bracket and good, but Duke wasn't involved, a team that had been top ten ALL YEAR. Finally UCLA took down WESTERN KENTUCKY. Really? Upsets are what people LOVE about this thing, but I would prefer to see good basketball.

I know some will say "But they played and didn't earn their spot in the Elite 8" REALLY? What were those 35 games the teams played during the regular season? WHAT WERE THOSE? Georgetown was a great team, only to run into a hot shooting guard that looks 12 and now Davidson will play Wisconsin and deprive America of seeing Georgetown potentially play Kansas. Kansas though has to get by 12 seed Villanova. Yeah, 12 seed. That means there were at least 44 teams entering this tournament that the experts thought were better than Nova. But because they upset Klimpsen and Sienna Miller upset Vandy, magically Nova is one of the 16 best teams in the country? Doubt it. Put them on the court with Duke, I bet they lose. Have them face UCONN, they lose. PITT? Same result.

Now we have Louisville/UNC and UCLA/Xavier and while those are 1/3 matchups for the right to go to the Final Four, it isn't 1/2. Enh, what are you going to do? Tonight we see if Memphis can beat Michigan State, Stanford and their girl twins take on Texas, and then KU/Nova (1/12) and 3/10 in Wisco/Davidson. All four #1s are still alive at this time, which means we could potentially get all 4 #1s in the final four for the first time ever, but there is a lot of basketball left to play.

It is no lock that the #1s will make it. Which is why this tourney stinks. What the heck is the regular season for?

You can knock the BCS all you want and while this is exciting these three weeks, it is only crowning the champion of the last three weeks. Give this tourney the BCS tweak and you would get UNC v UCLA, which you may very well get, but why risk it?

Go ahead and give me that matchup RIGHT NOW. While I get to watch good basketball for the next few days (assuming the good teams win tonight) I want FOR SURE the best matchup of the year for the title.
BCS!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Why would England have trusted Benedict Arnold?

No music blog today, more history ponderations. I was again reading my almanac in the bathroom yesterday, and once again I was browsing the history section and came across September 23, 1780, the day that Benedict Arnold was made a brigadier General in the British Army. This marked his official traitor turn against America.

My question is, Why would Britain choose to trust this guy? He sold out his fellow army members and the men he had led for many battles. This guy was a traitor to his new country (But, I guess if you look at it, the rest of the American leaders were traitors to England, but I am not going there). I guess if Benedict Arnold had been loyal to England the whole time like that one guy in The Patriot, he wouldn't have been a traitor, but he OPENLY fought FOR the US early on and THEN switched to the English side. Did he think that maybe England was going to win and he wanted to jump on the bandwagon? Does he go to England after the war when GB loses and does GB even want him after he fails to deliver a victory?

I just don't know how England could trust the guy that betrayed his own country. Did they think he wouldn't do the same to them? It reminds me of the stripper that trusts the guy that left his wife for her. After he marries the stripper, she doesn't think that MAYBE he will leave her for another stripper? (Or Hooter's Girl if we are talking about one Chipper Jones.)

Or it is like if you "stole" a coach from another school, should you really be surprised when he suddenly leaves your school for a better offer? Bobby Petrino comes to mind here. Up and leaves Louisville then up and leaves the Falcons. The Arkansas Razorback people should be holding their breathes EVERY Time Petrino's phone rings.

But back to Arnold. I just don't think if I was King George or Cornwallis or ANYBODY English, I could have trusted him. He was so willing to turn on his country like that, maybe if he was any good, the US would have not let him. He would have been so high up with Washington, perhaps that he would have had no reason. Arnold clearly had a reason to turn (not getting the promotion, no respect, whatever). I think he was maybe unhappy with how everything was going down and he wasn't getting the enough of the credit. But his turn certainly didn't have the effect of Hulk Hogan turning to the nWo. THAT sent shock waves through the wrestling industry. Arnold's turn was like when the Giant turned nWo, but at that time the Wolf Pack had already split off and the Giant was just a big goober that was forced to leave WCW because of his turn. Yep. Benedict Arnold was like the Giant. HE thought it was a big deal, but he added nothing and, in fact, may have led to the downfall of England.
I am sure Washington probably thought, after he heard the news, "Oh yeah Benedict? You wanna turn? FINE! I am making you my whipping boy for the rest of this war!"

And America won. Poor decision there Arnold! But whatever. We obviously didn't need you to secure the win.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Midweek entertainment report 3/26

Best. Season. Ever? plus Brad Pitt's cousin for president and the lack of seatbelt instruction in the US military. It's today's Midweek entertainment report!

clapclapclapclapclapclap!

So everyone from FOX to Paula to Randy to Simon to Ryan to magazines to random blogs (this one NOT included) has been calling this season of American Idol, "the best season ever!" Ummmm, really? Best ever? Granted, I didn't watch season one or two and three was a bit of a crapfest (Fantasia? Really?). Season 4 had a fantastic final 3, and 2 and winner (Carrie). Season 5 I thought was the best with Daughtry v McPhee v Hicks with Elliot Yamin SOMEHOW outlasting CD. Too bad Taylor Hicks (who?) won it all, but that finale was awesome. Season 6..never really got into it and Jordin winning it over Blake, whatever.
This season CERTAINLY has the ability to have a great final 5 of JCastro, Michael Johns, Carly, and the two Davids, but there are too many other singers that I just turn off when they are on. Kristy Leigh Cook, Jacuzzi, Syeshsa, Ramiele (or however you spell it) and Brooke are a little BORING to me. Just saying. Maybe it will have the best final 5 ever, but I am not into all 12 finalists. Just not. I guess I kept hearing all of this "BEST EVER" stuff and it got my hopes up. I DO look forward to MJ and DC and DA's singing, but is it worth sitting through the other lesser singers? I dunno. In year's past, I didn't mind. This year, I do mind. Can we just eliminate the ones that CLEARLY won't win and move on to the final 5 RIGHT NOW?

So Barack Obama and Brad Pitt are 9th cousins, linked back to Edwin Hickman, a Virginian that died in 1769. REALLY? Someone has WAY too much time on his or her hands to look THAT UP! Also, it is reported that Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie are 9th cousins-twice removed, dating back to Jean Cusson of Quebec in 1718. Once stuff starts getting removed and twice removed, that means you aren't REALLY related. Come on now. Finally John McCain is 1st Lady Laura Bush's 6th cousin. Can we PLEASE stop researching this stuff? Shouldn't these manhours spent looking up this stuff be used to find a way to bring gas prices down?

Finally, I saw where Hulk Hogan is being sued by a guy who was critically injured in a car crash involving the Hulkster's son. John Graziano's lawsuit says that Hulk and Linda are liable as parents of 17 year old Nick. And that is true. The Lawsuit seeks millions of dollars, as Graziano will require care for the rest of his life. Here is where my problem comes into play. Graziano was a passenger in Nick's car when it lost control and the former US Soldier wasn't wearing his seatbelt. Yeah, lawsuit thrown out RIGHT THERE! Ummm were you kidnapped and thrown into the car against your own will? Did you tell Nick not to start the car until your seatbelt was fastened? As sad as this story is, I believe that he will NOT get his money from a judge, unless that judge was an Ultimate Warrior fan, in which case, Hulk is screwed. But come on. You were a passenger IN the car WITHOUT your seatbelt on. You are looking for a payday. Sorry, but take SOME responsibility yourself. WEAR A SEATBELT!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Hills...getting a LITTLE too predictable

Sorry to say this, but the show is getting a little too.....predictable. I know it is a "reality" show, but I think the producers need to hire some new writers. (But that is all really happening right? SURE, if you want to believe that)

As the season opened LC and Whit were going to Gay Pair-e and upon arrival, they KNOW they have to pick up some shoes, but they decide to pick up their ballgowns first. Then when they get to the shoe store, of course it is closed.

I am not sure who the show is now geared towards now because I am pretty sure that anyone capable of intelligent thought could tell that was going to happen. Is the show now skewing towards 12 year-olds?

Well they wake up early the next morning to go and pick up the shoes, but they are too busy talking about not taking showers, GET OUT THERE AND PICK UP THE SHOES! COME ON!

Then the two girls make it in to work and this is where you can tell the show is getting to the unbelievable point. LC has appeared on how many magazines (Cosmo, etc) and she is doing grunt work for some not-so-attractive French Models. REALLY? If I was the Photog, I would send the French girls away and take LC's pic. Just saying. SHE IS THE STORY, not the French girls. Moving on.....

LC and Whit then meet up with a band that LC met in LA or something and the guys are dirty looking. With the hair and the smoking and the tight black clothes and whatnot...throw in that Lauren apparently got her make-up advice from a clown-whore. The one, nastiest band member who looks 38 has set his sites on Lauren and she seems into it. Ummmm ARE YOU KIDDING?

Then the funniest moment of the first 30 minutes is when Twitney asks Lauren, "oh you've never seen the Eiffel Tower?" Um No Whitney, she's never been there before. YOU went the last time, remember?

In the second half, the greasy band wants the girls to go out to a nice club and LC doesn't have a dress, SO she decides to just sew her ballgown up. (CAN'T SEE ANY PROBLEMS DEVELOPING HERE!) Somehow she makes it through the night without getting anything spilled on it, as I predicted, but I am sure it smells GREAT as she is sitting in the middle of a smoking contest among the greasy band members. Then the 52 year old guy trying to hit the 21? year old LC asks for a kiss goodnight. JUST CREEPY!

The next day we find that LC HAS in fact ruined the dress with a curling iron. Nice. Good work there. Maybe you should have left it in the hanging bag in the closet like any responsible person would have? Nah! No fun there. and no drama. (seriously writers. a little believability please)

So she makes it to the event in a new dress that she promises to the designer she "will take such care of it" (REALLY, SHOULD HE TRUST YOU SINCE YOU RUINED HIS OTHER ONE?) and at the end, Greasy guy picks her up on a motorcycle (actually I thought it was his rascal, since he is OLD) and takes her through the city as it is raining. Yeah, THAT'S taking really good care of the dress.

Finally LC and Twit are headed back to the states and LC has gotten a call saying the Brody has a girlfriend now (wow, in just two days. Fantastic. Maybe it was just YOU Lauren that he didn't want to commit to. Or he has a REAL girlfriend, and not one written into the script? MAYBE)

In the side story, Heidi goes to Colorado to visit her mom and step-dad to "get away from Spencer" and he goes after her. Spencer wins no friends with any of the family here as he just shows up, but I think a bunch of editing was done to make it look more awkward than it really was. NO WAY he gets to go to dinner and STAY THE NIGHT if it was truly that awkward, UNLESS MTV was calling the shots....wait. That's probably it. Also the parents probably don't REALLY have a problem with it, since the relationship isn't real.

We find at the end that Heidi wants Spencer to leave the apartment when she gets back. (I thought that maybe the lease was in Spencer's name and not Heidi's since she moved in with him after HE made the arrangements, but that's just me.)

In future episodes we see that Stephen makes a return to TV. I have said that Stephen may be the dumbest guy in reality TV history. He had LC and Kristin FIGHTING over him, then he ended up with NEITHER. Probably because he wore black socks at all times with shorts! (He also had the Hayden Cheerleader Hero girl, but he lost HER too! He must give off a good first impression, then fail to follow through. Like a guy with a good 40 time at the NFL combine.) Also, She Pratt tries to reach out to LC. That could ONLY be good. And Audrina and LC argue back and forth about Heidi.

ALRIGHT FINE, I'm sucked back in. But please, stop with the obviously predictable story lines like LC ruining her dress. No one is that dumb, after proving to be so smart to wrangle this show from an ensemble cast reality show. We know she is really smart, and not dumb enough to do some of the stuff the writers are making her do. I wonder if she reads the script and says, "COME ON ADAM DiVELLO! I'M NOT THIS DUMB!"

Let's step it up guys!

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Ultimate Screw Job

I was FINALLY able to catch the end of the GauntletIII and saw MTV officially screw the greatest collection of talent the show has ever put together. Here is what I don't get. If MTV didn't want this slaughter, then why did they throw such a pile of crap Rookies at this stacked Vet squad? It was essentially Key West and Denver v the Vets. And then for the final mission, they had the odds AGAIN stacked against the Vets and they STILL ended up coming back and finishing the mission before the Rookies, who in essence had a 5 minute head start. But because Easy nearly passed out and had to be carted away, they say that the Vets were DQ'ed. Interesting. I remember Melinda going to the hospital with a concussion, but she wasn't sent home. Yet during freshmeat when Evan and Coral were kicking butt and both sustained injuries that they were willing to soldier through, they WERE sent home. Interesting how MTV forgets that. They kind of remind me of NASCAR a bit with the constant rules changes and tweaks to try and keep it competitive. Oh well.

I think the Vets wuz-robt! But that's OK. They finished first and even though they didn't win any money, what they did was CLEARLY better than having a real job. And come on. They were still paid. Plus they get to come back to Puerto Rico or whereever they go next and do it all again. Gotta love that.

I also don't think we will see Eric in too many more challenges. I just can't see him coming back and the rest of the peeps trusting him. If he DOES come back, he will IMMEDIATELY be put up for a gauntlet. He pretty much blackballed himself there.

I thought it was funny CT threatening to drown Easy when he wouldn't swim, then yelling at the other teammates not to threaten him, instead encourage him, then getting fed up and yelling at Eric, himself. HA! CT is so scatterbrained. It is awesome.

Lastly, I still say MY all-star team clearly takes down this team. Do you think ALTON would have just yelled at Eric? They guy moved a truck BY HIMSELF, he would have just given Eric a piggy-back ride to the finish line. Abram would have done his thing with Randy and Landon. And if the group needed drama, Wes would have caused plenty. Maybe MTV sees my team and tries to hook this up. But the only thing is, it wouldn't be close. My team isn't a bunch of hotheads, which was the downfall of this Vet team that just lost to the Rookies. My team NEVER would have imploded, instead they would have bonded together for the long haul. I don't think the crew would have been throwing Gauntlets either to send off girls. That would have made it interesting to see the dominant guys going against MY dominant guys for safety. Great stuff.
Then maybe had an elimination tourney for the last mission where they square off against each other in beach brawl-type races. CT v Alton. Abram v Evan. WOW!
(A reminder of my team..... But I would like to see this Vet Team against a team featuring Derrick, Wes, Alton, Abram, Jamie (from New Orleans), Isaac (of Sydney) Randy, Landon and Ruthie, Kina, Jodi, Tina, Tonya, Svetlana, Jillian and Montana/Genesis (which ever is still under 40) I think my crew is a good mix of athlete PLUS drama, MUCH LIKE THE Current cast of Vets.

The way I see it shaking out

CT-Alton Evan-Abram Kenny-Randy Brad-Derrick Danny-Wes Johnny Bananas-Jamie Adam-Landon Eric-Isaac match-ups for the guys with

Ev-Kina Robin-Tina Coral-Jodi Paula-Ruthie Katie-Tonya Diem-Jillian Casey-Svetlana Beth-Montana/Genesis


I guess the MOST exciting piece of info from the finale is NOT that Real World is hitting Hollywood (actually the scenes looked a little boring) but the fact that The HILLS is back TONIGHT! Nice!

We're going Streaking! Up through the North Quad!

Note: This is this week's Cover Story in Score Atlanta's Cobb Prep Section. For more about local schools or to get the lowdown on the Atlanta Dream, the hot NEW WNBA franchise, check out the Score Atlanta Link at the bottom of the screen!

The Oklahoma Sooner football team during the 1940s. The UCLA Bruin basketball team during the late 60s/early 70s. The University of Connecticut Lady Huskies during the 1990s. The Walton Lady Raider tennis team during the 2000s. All dynasties, and all with impressive winning streaks. The Lady Raiders have won four straight Georgia state tennis titles, and seven of the last eight. But if that doesn’t impress you, consider this: this is Coach Robert Manheim’s fifth season in charge and she has yet to taste defeat. With Walton’s win over Pope last week, the team won its 87th straight match. The team hasn’t lost in seemingly forever. “I really don’t think about it,” says Manheim. “I tell my girls all the time ‘take it one match at a time.’ I think part of our strength is they are so focused and they have always wanted to play for each other. We have been very fortunate to have had very talented girls who are willing to play for Walton.” One of those players was Cameron Ellis, who spent four years as the No.1 player for Walton. She is now starring at the University of Georgia, having recently been named SEC player of the week.
But those teams of the past are just that, the past. This is a new team and very young. Of the top seven starters, only one is a senior, Ashley Lawrence, at No.3 singles. Many people believed that this would be somewhat of a rebuilding year for Walton, but the truly great teams don’t rebuild, they reload. “Walton has a reputation for excellence in academics as well as athletics so some of the top players that may have been home-schooled so they could compete in individual tournaments can come here for the best of both worlds," says Manheim. "They can receive a great public education and still play tennis.” In fact, the team has failed to drop a team point this year to any of their opponents. Walton starts two juniors at No.1 and No.2 singles and both top doubles teams are freshmen. The talent at Walton is seemingly endless. “We also have great parents and a great administration,” says Manheim. Numerous parents were in attendance two weeks ago to watch the Lady Raiders beat Chattahoochee, making it 84 straight and several members of the Athletic Department as well as fellow students also watched the team claim that win.
But will the pressure get to this young team that is made up by two seniors, four juniors and eight freshmen? Junior Emily Lauten, the No.2 singles player says there is motivation. “We want to prove it wasn’t just the seniors last year. We’ve got a completely new team.” Fellow junior and No.1 player Elizabeth Kilborn agrees. “We can’t put pressure on ourselves because our team is new. It should be exciting though.” Kilborn’s older sister started for the Lady Raiders during the first two titles of Manheim’s stint, and she now plays for Vanderbilt. “I just tell these girls to keep this thing in perspective,” says Manheim. “It is tennis, not life or death, but I am so proud of these girls. They really are an exceptional group.”
This exceptional group also happens to be ranked nationally. Every one of the starters carries a ranking from her tournament days, but when they step onto the court, they are Lady Raiders, says Manheim. “They are here to play for Walton.”
This team is all about Walton and taking everything one match at a time, even if they do admit to thinking about the streak. The lone senior starter Lawrence has won three titles and has called her time at Walton unforgettable. “I don’t think [the streak] is any more pressure than the previous seasons. We know what it takes” Lauten agrees. “We’ve got some really talented freshmen and they are all playing doubles.” And that is the scary part. Two freshmen, Stephanie Falcon and Emily Zabor make up the No.1 doubles team while fellow freshmen Kayla Brady and Maxie Weinberg start at No.2 doubles. Next season after Lawrence and her 4.6 GPA has headed to Wofford on scholarship, the Lady Raiders will return its top two singles players plus all those freshmen will be sophomores. This streak may not end for a long time.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Ten MORE historically inaccurate movies

The good people at yahoo movies! decided to put out a list of the top 10 movies "that would make your high school history teacher cry!" Here is what they said about Braveheart, Patriot, Gladiator, 10,000 BC, 2001:Space Odyssey, 300, Elizabeth:The Golden Age, Memoirs of a Geisha, Apocalypto, and The Last Samurai...
"We all accept that movies stretch the truth in the interest of building drama. The following ten flicks, however, treat the truth like it was Silly Putty -- pulling and twisting it until it's unrecognizable."

Ummmm they are MOVIES!

Therefore I came up with a list of 10 that were more inaccurate.
1) Batman Returns. First off, where is Gothom? Secondly, a Catwoman? Finally, this Penguin character steals all of these kids, yet the cops don't care because he rides in a Duck?

2) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. All of those powers from the Emperor? The "Force?" Freaking Ewoks?

3)Blue Chips. OK, first of all, the point shaving scandle at Western? They were the Dolphins. Also, when did Shaq and Penny go to COLLEGE together?

4) Wild, Wild West featuring Will Smith. I don't think they had robots like that walking around back then.

5) Forrest Gump. Enough Said.

6) The Replacements. If the Redskins back in the strike shortened year REALLY got a SUMO wrestler to be on the squad, then TAKE AWAY that Super Bowl Trophy.

7) Reality Bites. I don't think it does.

8) Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl. Ummm, let's ignore the whole "they aren't dead, just walking around in the moonlight" for a second...you REALLY think Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley wouldn't have GOTTEN IT ON on that island?

9) Jurassic Park. They didn't REINVENT Dinosaurs!

10) Lord of the Rings. Hobbits, elves, walking trees, some little troll searching to a ring. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright VERY inaccurate!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Dawgs blow another one

Well, they got me all excited with a 9 point lead at the half. They led by 11 in the second and Humphrey hit that 3 to push a 3 point lead to 6, I thought, "Hey maybe they can pull this one out too!"

But it was not to be. Dave Bliss fouled out to end his career and Xavier beat UGA. Screwed up my bracket. I was thinking that IF UGA could get by the Musketeers I thought they matched up well against Baylor and Purdue. I thought they would be Sweet 16 bound. But Oh well. If I had NOT been a Georgia Alum, I would have picked Xavier, but I almost HAD to pick the Dawgs. Oh well. I automatically lose the next round, but you know what? It was worth it. Georgia made the dance and I think I am a better Alum than Roomie because I picked them.

PS, my other picks included UNC/Tenn in the Elite 8, KU/Georgetwon, Pitt/Stanford and UCLA/Duke with UNC over Kansas and UCLA over Pitt in the Final 4. I have UNC taking down UCLA 88-81 in the finals.

I'm tired of being blamed for stuff I didn't do!

I have decided that from now on, if I can't find a musical theme I want to talk about on Thursday, I will discuss a history subject.
Today, I will discuss why some Indians, excuse me Native Americans (even though I was born in American, thus making ME a Native American) are angry at Americans aka The White Man for stealing Manhattan from them for $24 worth of beads from them.

The thing I have to say is STOP BEING MAD AT US! Peter Minuit bought Manhattan for the DUTCH WEST INDIA CO from the Manhattan Indians. It was named New Amsterdam. The freaking Dutch ripped you off! Quite blaming Americans! True we stole it from the Dutch, but THEY bought it from you! Not us! Yell at THEM!

So I must say, if you are STILL pissed about that, get over it. OR be pissed at the right person. Yell at people with wooden shoes and live in Windmills. I do neither.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A Quick Mid-Week Entertainment report

Another kid for Punk'd and Punky, Pegleg gets paid and Shia LeBeouf misses a courtdate-he must have been digging holes again.
It's the Mid-week Entertainment report.............

Punky Brewster (I am sure she has a real name, but come on. She's Punky Brewster) and her husband (A producer from the show Punk'd, which I didn't realize was still on the air?) had their second child. The name is Jagger Joseph Blue Goldberg, and I have NO idea if JAGGER BLUE is a boy or a girl. I know you would say "well the baby also has Joseph as a name" but their other child is named Poet. Poet is a girl. Yeah.....I guess that is better than naming her Stripper.

Heather Mills got paid 48.7M from an English judge who then the next day called her out. She was seeking close to 200M from ex-husband and former Beatle Paul MCCartney, but she only got 23M pounds. WOW. Boy did she think SHE did something to earn that money other than only have a fake leg. I don't get that about golddiggers, I mean some women. How do they think they have ANY claim to money that the dude made WAY before they met. That would be like me marrying Julia Roberts tomorrow, then getting a divorce in three years, but say that I should get some of that Pretty Woman/Pelican Brief money. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright. Too bad Pegleg, but look at the brightside. The way the math works, you basically get 34K per day you were married to Paul.

Finally a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of Shia LaBeouf because neither he, nor his lawyer appeared in court the day he was set to appear on misdemeanor charges from illegally smoking or something. I guess I just don't like this guy because Hollywood is telling me I should. He was in Holes and that terrible golf movie. And Hollywood has, for some reason, decided THIS guy is the new "YOUNG RISING STAR." I just don't get it. Whatever. Transformers, Disturbia. Enh. Kind of like Dakota Fanning. I would prefer to choose, opposed to having something TOLD to me.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

From the "No DOY!" category...

According to the AP, the Los Angeles Times has linked two former associates of rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs to a 1994 assault on singer Tupac Shakur and suggested Combs knew of the attack in advance. Combs called the story "a lie." The newspaper's report on Monday cited an unnamed source who said he was questioned during a federal probe of the shooting and beating of Shakur at the Quad Recording Studios in New York City. Combs' associates helped plan the attack, the source told the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Times. The paper said it corroborated the source's comments in several ways. The Times suggested Combs and another rapper, the Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), knew Shakur was being set up. For years, Shakur claimed Combs was involved, it said.

Is this ground-breaking in any way? No. It is like if the paper came out and said, "We have evidence that OJ did it," or "there is evidence of a second shooter from Dallas."

Hey LA Times, WE KNOW! We listened to TuPac's song Hit Em Up. We had already figured this one out.

Can you file a report on grass being green or the sky being blue? Maybe that water is wet or getting hit by a bus hurts.

All joking aside though, the East Coast v West Coast rap war was quite something. You HAD to pick sides back then. You couldn't be both. Certainly not. NOWADAYS you can look back and enjoy both, but I remember back then (yeah, I grew up in White Midlothian, but we still listened) you were either on board with Bad Boy Records with Biggie (The lyrical genius), Puff Daddy (or Puffy or P Diddy or Diddy), Mase, Lil Cease, Lil Kim or The West Coast Labels with Dre, Snoop, and of course TuPac. TuPac and Dr. Dre were amazing and Snoop's smooth voice gave rap an entire new level. How chillax he was while rapping about Murder being the case that they gave him. What's his motha-f*&^in' name?
When TuPac came out of jail, he did Changes and Kalifornia Love, WOW. KLove was awesome with Dre. Then Hit Em Up was fan-freaking-tastic. Dre has been there forever too. The Chronic then the follow up....He is a special talent too. Whereas the East Coast always seemingly had numbers, the West Coast had the quality opposed to the quanity.
But Biggie was a speciman himself. It is terrible that they died, but as bad as it sounds, it may have been the best thing to preserve their legacy. Look at Nirvana after Kurt's death. Immortalized opposed to struggling along and ending up like Stone Temple Pilots. Who knows, if Biggie is still alive, he might be doing "Making the Band" with Diddy and ruining his image and destroying his street cred. If TuPac was still "alive" he might be fat like Eminem and out of music.

But I would have liked to see them beat down the likes of JaRule and DMX and Nelly. Those guys are jokers. The best we have now...50 Cent, Kayne and Jay-Z. All really talented, but not on Biggie & TuPac's level.

Also, could the LA Times get study done on whether the sun will come up tomorrow?

Monday, March 17, 2008

I hope you didn't think I'd pull a 180!

Let me start off this by giving Dennis Felton his props. I didn't think he could win four games in 4 days, seeing as how it took him two+ months to win 4 in conference play. He had lost 10 of 12 entering the SEC tourney and no team had EVER gone from a #6 seed to even reach the finals. The guy was playing with 8 scholarship players with a 9th playing 1 minute per game and a walk-on being the team's best defender. Nope I never thought they could win an SEC championship.
But they did. (and let's play disabuse ourselves of the notion that they won 4 in three days. Technically that is true, but they had an off day in there. 4 in 4 days, including 3 in two days. I will allow that)

I said that I would let Felton off the hook if he somehow won the SEC, but now that that has happened, I am not sure I AM able to do that.

I was going to, but the more I kept thinking about it, I just can't. He made the NCAA tourney. Congrats. Before the season he said he was going to. He kept his word. That's what he did. He got himself off the hot seat, ala Tommy Bowden. I just hope UGA doesn't reward him like Clemson does with TB with a 6 year extension that he probably doesn't deserve. Listen, before you go off, I admit, he did something that even Jim Harrick never did: win an SEC Championship.

But here is the problem I have with this (as strange as that sounds)...Are we REALLY the champs? I know we are the tournament champions, but it seems kind of hollow. We won 4 games all year, but got hot/lucky/caught lightning in a bottle at the right time. Now, we are the biggest joke in the NCAA tourney (it does feel good to be back in it though.) We are the lowest Automatic entrant from a Major conference EVER! A 14 seed? Kuntucky was a 12 back in 1985. We are a 14 seed. We are playing 3-seed Xavier, the Atlantic 10 champs. If we win, we'd get the winner of Baylor/Purdue. Is a sweet16 trip out of possibility? After this week I say NOTHING is impossible. Especially the way Felton has them believing.

Another question I would like answered is...WHAT TOOK SO LONG? The team looks like a switch has been flipped. And Felton actually LOOKED like he was coaching this past weekend. He was calling out plays, calling timeouts (I guess he caught some heat from the "I just feel it" comments maybe?), stomping up and down. He LOOKS like a coach now. A switch has flipped and I ask, why now? (I am happy it flipped, but couldn't it have flipped back in January?) Could he not find it back then? That's a problem if not. And please don't tell me you were waiting in the weeds for this weekend. That's a joke. A team would LOVE to have a bid locked up ENTERING the conference tourney, not needing to win the tourney to get in. If you ask Felton and he answered honestly, he would say he'd rather have gone 20-7 and been locked into the tourney pre-SEC.

Another thing....I read where he said that this rebuilding project has been worth it. Really? So this SEC Championship where we went 4-12 good enough for WORST Regular SEC season to tournament champs was WORTH going 8-20 a few years back? I say NO! I would have rather gone 16-14 that year then 18-12 the next then 20-10 then 22-8 this season with a bid locked up and no SEC tourney championship. THAT would be the way I would have chosen to go. Because even with our SEC Tournament championship, that just means, "Congrats you got lucky over one weekend."

Give me a regular season championship ANY day of the week because that means you were the best over the course of the season, not just one weekend. (I would go into an argument about how the BCS would work here, but this isn't the place for that)

Am I happy that the Dawgs are the SEC Tourney Champs? Heck yes! Am I happy we are in the tourney? HECK YES! But do I think Felton is a great coach now?

No, I will not say that. He coached one heck of a tourney, but that doesn't forgive him for the previous 4 years. And the question I have is, is the the new rule or the old exception? Are we going back to the NCAA Big Dance next season or the year after, or will it be year another 5 years before we go back because it took 5 years the first time?
I hope UGA doesn't fall victim to the pressure to give Felton a huge extension then watch him because Old Felton before next season. I don't want Felton to land the huge contract only to come back and kick TWood, AJAX and Dolla Bill off the team before the season starts. Just not certain we want that to happen.

I hear that Felton's people are putting his name out there, and getting feelers for other potential jobs. And to be honest, I would say to Dennis, strike while the iron is hot. Use this championship as a springboard to jump to a "better job" because I don't think you liked how you were treated. Maybe this SEC Championship was an F-U to people like me and other folks looking for your head. Maybe so. And then you are taking off. I will say thanks, and good luck, if you choose to do that. If I KNOW that UGA is going to get the tournament-Felton for the next 6-10 years at UGA, then I will push hard to keep him. But I am looking at 4+seasons vs. 4 days. I am trying to figure out which is going to show up each day.

Bottom line...if the SEC tourney Felton is the new Felton, then let's keep him. But if he just caught lightning in a bottle (which I think he did), I am a little weary of giving him the big contract. I say offer a modest extension and if he bolts, say SO LONG...and go get Anthony Grant from VCU or Chris Collins from Duke or Gregg Marshall from Wichita State. I am sure they would LOVE to come coach for the defending SEC Tournament champs.
Go Dawgs. I hope the future is bright for the hoops Dawgs.

Who needs logic to fill this thing out?

For the last, I don’t know how many years I have helped my mom fill out her bracket for her office pool, some with my girlfriend, now fiancee. Then last year in my own office pool, I had to sit back and watch Donna from human resources win after correctly picking the Final Four: Florida, “because my son is thinking of going there and it would be nice if they had won,”; Ohio State, “because aren’t they good in football?”; UCLA, “because they were good when I was growing up,”; Georgetown, “because they have the cutest shops up there.”
Seriously. I lost to this woman. I also have lost to my Roomie the last two years in filling out brackets because I didn't just pick the favorites like sending the 4 No.1 seeds to the final four.
Across the country people who follow basketball lose to these people EVERY YEAR! Do the secretaries of America know more about basketball than the self-proclaimed experts? This year, as I fill out my bracket for the office pool, I have decided to go AGAINST everything I know about basketball and think like a secretary. So I think I have a chance. This year Roomie, YOU ARE GOING DOWN!
As I perused through the bracket I made several picks in the first round, much to my brain's chagrin. Georgia was apparently an obvious pick because, “I went there. I HAVE to pick them.” But Fletcher, my brain responded, they play a No.3 seed in Xavier. “I WENT to Georgia. I am picking them.” OK. Indiana was next, “because they play Arkansas, and UGA just beat Arkansas.” I picked Notre Dame because I think Charlie Weis's fupa is funny looking. Kansas was another pick because my fiancee's cousin went to Kansas (and not the fact that they were a No.1 seed). I like Sienna over Vandy because I still feel bad about how Sienna Miller and Jude Law broke up. I also likes Memphis because the fiancee grew up in Arlington, Texas, and Memphis plays UT-Arlington, and, she told me “they were never very good growing up.” My final pick in the first round was Marquette over Kentucky, “because UGA can’t root for Kentucky. They are our rival.”
Moving on to the second round I have Duke winning because their coach “looks like a rat.” I have Georgia’s run ending to Baylor because if Baylor survived Waco and David Keresh, Dennis Felton will be NOTHING. I have Drake advancing to the Sweet Sixteen because “you’ve gotta love the Drake.” Also Stanford will beat Marquette because “they are smarter.” And USC will beat Wisconsin, “because the girls in California are hotter the Wisconsin girls and the team will want to impress them.”

My Final Four turned out to be North Carolina (because I like their blue and white colors), Kansas (the bride-to-be's cousin went to Kansas), UCLA (they have a Beach Boy's nephew playing for them) and Texas (because the bride-to-be is from Texas).

I have UNC beating UCLA in the finals, because they are the No.1 and No.2 teams in the country.

So that is my bracket. Instead of basing it on teams’ strengths and match-ups, I am going with mascots, color schemes, “brother lives there,” “coach seems nice,” and “they won it, like 20 years ago, right?” Not exactly logical, but in March when the Madness starts, logic flies out the window.

++++PS, a version of this appears on www.790thezone.com. You can also check out my Timeout Debate article on there now. There is a link to the 790 homepage at the bottom of this blog+++++++++

Friday, March 14, 2008

let's not start slapping backs just yet Felton fans...

As everyone knows by this point, I am a huge UGA basketball fan, having been a student season ticket holder for 4 years then a regular ticket holder the year after I left. I have on this blog and on the ole myself blog gone into great detail about my dislike for one Coach Dennis Felton. Shoot, I've even written about it on 790thezone.com and AJC.com.

I fully thought entering last night's game that UGA would lose and Felton would NOT be coach 20 minutes after the game.

But a weird thing happened last night. UGA showed effort. They played hard. And they won.

But............let's not start slapping backs just yet Felton fans. Honestly it was one game that you tried your hardest to LOSE.

Felton bashers like myself aren't calling this win last night a setback. I think he has to win a few more to keep his job. Why? Let's look at some of his moments last night.
At WHAT POINT was he going to tell his team STOP FOULING A GUY SHOOTING A 3 POINTER?!?!?!?!?! At the end of regulation, his team leads by 3, the other team has the ball and UGA fouls the guy as he takes a three pointer? I know he leaned into it, but Billy, just contest the shot. Don't foul him! Then in OT, walk-on Corey Butler (WHAT WAS A WALK-ON doing on the floor?) leaves his feet and the Rebel jumps into him, drawing the foul. Butler redeemed himself, but come on. The blunder was NOT GOOD!

Another coaching flaw- when Billy Humphrey can't get the ball across the time line in 10 seconds, WHY do you keep giving him the ball? I know some will say that is a player issue, not a coach's issue, but the coach can teach the other players to come up and help or teach how to beat a trap. It doesn't look like Felton has taught that. If I am Kentucky, I trap EVERY time I can tonight.

Just saying.

Finally, the sad part is that UGA played SOOOOO well, up 13 in the second half, but they still probably should have lost in OT, when they got down 5. UGA played SO well, and they STILL blew that huge lead. Then blew ANOTHER. And ANOTHER. That isn't good.

Give them credit, they left it out there. And Felton actually looked like he was coaching too.The scary part is....he gets Kentucky tonight and his track record against Kentucky...I'd rather be facing Kentucky with no Patrick Patterson than a Tennessee or Vandy squad. He loves playing Kentucky, no doubt a lasting hangover from his WKU days. But they call this CAtlanta for a reason. Kentucky is playing well right now and they always play well in Atlanta. UGA will need to get rested in a hurry. And they will need to be nearly perfect from the line AGAIN tonight. And Albert Jackson will need to be just as dominant down low tonight. And Bliss will have to play nasty/clutch again while staying out of foul trouble. And Bill Humphrey will need to be hot again. And TWood will need to show up again.
That's a LOT that needs to happen for the Dawgs to have a chance tonight.

Bottom line, Felton needs to win today to keep his job. If he makes it to Sunday (which means he'd need to knock off UK tonight and prolly MSU tomorrow) I say he should stay another year.

He'd be in a LOT better shape right now if Memphis' Robert Dozier and his 6'8 215 frame was going up against Kentucky. And Channing Toney could be helping out too. (I am not even counting TKBrown and Mike Mercer, AND if Walter Hill could have come over from the football field to help out the team) But that is another story.

If he wins the SEC Championship (Farfetched I know) I will be a Felton FAN! That's right. I would lay down my sword and kiss his ring.

I don't think I have to worry about that. But I will be rooting, because my dislike of Felton is transcended by my love of the Dawgs. Do you know who felton is?

Tommy Bowden.
He really coached well last night considering he prolly would have been fired had he lost. He's going to coach JUST well enough to keep his job, maybe even an extension, but then it's right back to sucking. Until he's on the hotseat again, then I bet he hunkers down a bit.

And I was thinking about it. Next season may not be so bad with the new freshman and/or Swansey at PG, Humphrey at SG, TWood at Wing, Thompkins at 4 and Albert Jackson/Jeremy Price/Jeremy Jacobs/Chris Barnes at 5. They'll have some bigs off the bench, which is good. New Coach Anthony Grant/Chris Collins/Gregg Marshall will have a strong base with which to work. (See what I did there....)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

sorry, no music blog today...

I have a question about why it doesn't happen. Maybe it does and we just don't know about it. But still, I was wondering last night....

I was watching Gauntlet3 last night and I saw a commercial for the DVD release of The Hitman. Let me start off by saying that I haven't seen this movie, nor played the video game, but I am guessing it is about a hitman?
I posed this question to the bride-to-be and she looked at me like I was crazy.
So I will pose it here...
How come the Marines/Navy Seals, military-whatever doesn't adopt a VERY YOUNG orphan or foster kid, send him/her to a special training base and create the ultimate assassin/special ops agent team ever? It would be a Jason Bourne/Bourne Ultimatum situation, but still, wouldn't that be a good idea?
Train these kids to be the greatest covert special ops agents EVER?!
Maybe they do this already and we just don't know about it, but I think they should look into that. It would also help solve some of the problems with the foster care system. Get some of the kids out of there so the system can run more smoothly.

All I'm saying. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think that could work.

I can only hope that this ISN'T already happening and I have said too much and one of these assassins is sent to my IDAHO home to take me out...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Paul Mac's QB thoughts on the upcoming draft

This is a post special to sportsbyfletch. One of our correspondents, Paul Mac brings his thoughts on the upcoming NFL draft and should QBs be taken early...

I don't think Brian Brohm should be a first rounder. He will be, it might be brady quinn style, but he will be. Has he even made a splash at all at the combine or in private workouts? It seems like he's completely fallen off the radar.

Depends on who you ask really I think. Definitely not a major media story. People do seem to like him a lot he just didn't have as good a year last year because of all the changes. I'm not sure there is THAT much difference between Ryan and Brohm or Henne and Booty for that matter. Flacco I know is going to need some time similar say to Matt Schaub. I don't think anyone of the guys is a superstar yet without say 3 years in the league and that's why even though I like a lot of QB's in this draft and wouldn't be upset if they were on my team I don't see that any of them are worth a high first round pick when they could wind up with almost the same level of competence cheaper in the draft. I don't believe in drafting the position simply because they are the best at an important position. I don't have a big value board like teams do, but with any team in the top 10, I think they should take the highest rated player available to them on the board regardless of position. Screw "need" to an extent. Pay the most money to the best football player you can get... If you think they are an amazing athlete you can go with upside but it's risky. I'd rather have the most seasoned ready to play guy I can get than a tremendous "Upside" early. That's why last year I liked Amobi Okoye because he had (both). Patrick Willis (both) and Glenn Dorsey (both) the Falcons took a guy with an incredibly large Upside in Anderson but only 1.5 years at the position so they knew there was a steep learning curve, they could have had Okoye who was dominant in College a graduate at 19 and ready to play NOW... they blew it a little even if Anderson is better this year.... Okoye is only freaking 20 and he's almost pro bowl caliber now. Ryan and Brohm have a great deal of starting experience but it takes longer to adjust to the speed of the game at that level especially if you have a crappy line. I think Rothlisburger has become so good so soon because he has so many great football players around him.... that's not going to happen in this years top 5. Without lines, it doesn't matter how good your skill players are, see Randy Moss Oakland.

To answer the question, I think he has made a bit of a splash depending on who you ask but I think he's going to have a team fall in love with him that runs a specific system that plays to his strengths. That's why the steelers took rothlisburger and they nailed that one.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/conten ... bigc2.html

Basically, Brohm is still the most accomplished passer of everyone in the draft stat wise, he's got loads of experience, good size and can make every throw. I think it's a lot closer between him and Matt Ryan than anyone thinks but I still wouldn't take either one in top 10 but that's just me.

Ryan won some big games at the end in which his team and he played terrible and that's what people remember... the clutch throws to win it.

Atlanta Falcons.....making mediocrity look far worse.
Well done is always better than well said.

-Paul Mac

The one point I would disagree with is I think ALL Qbs should sit a year or two before starting, even if they are good enough to be a Number 1 pick. It helped Carson Palmer. Brad Johnson. Daunte Culpepper. Tom Brady. etc.....
I think people need to be patient when they take a top QB, but coaches do it sometimes to save their jobs. I say that if a coach is worried about coaching to save his job, he isn't coaching to benefit the team. Fire him and start over.

(it is the same problem with Dennis Felton at UGA. He is too worried about his job now to fully focus on the team. Move on, Georgia.)

Mid-week entertainment report

George Clooney has a busy week, Kid Rock at at Waffle House, Idol Thoughts and LC at Fashion Week but will Justin Bobby be there?
All that and more on this week's MID-WEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT!

George Clooney has had a busy week. First he MAYBE got engaged, then he supported Obama, then a commercial came out for his new movie Leatherheads starring the Office's Jim and Merideth Gray (Or is it Renee Zellwegger? I get them confused!)
Now he is putting pressure on Omega Watches to speak out over China's Foreign Policy in Sudan. Yep, the whole Darfur (whatever) thing. Yeah. Because hey GEORGE, I really bet the Chinese government cares what a WATCHMAKER says...even if they are an Olypmic Sponsor!) Sorry George, but they DON'T care!

I saw where Kid Rock was at another Atlanta Waffle House, this time signing autographs before a show at Gwinnett Arena. He was trying to make amends for the last time he was at an ATL WaHo and a fight broke out. He WAS going to work a shift, but realized he only had time to sign autographs. The manager on duty didn't tell his customers though that the Rocker wouldn't be serving because the wait staff he had looked JUST as white trash as Kid Rock, and the patrons, (Mostly drunk) couldn't tell the difference.

I see where Britney Spears is going to appear on "How I met your mother." Apparently this is a television show? It sounded more like a question. Whatever.

Lauren Conrad from Laguna Beach and The Hills aka LC will have her Lauren Conrad Collection on full display at this week's LA Fashion week. REALLY? Is MTV paying for this too? Since they run every OTHER part of her life. Actually this should make for a good season of the Hills....which I will watch.

Finally, my Idol thoughts. I will make them brief. Chikezie (I won't call him Jacuzzi after last night) was GOOD! Really good.
-Jason Castro did alright, but he is on cruise control, and he should be. He is a lock for the final four, so why waste a great act early? Save it for the end.
-Carly was also really good. I wouldn't call her Kelly Clarkson like Simon did, but she was really good
-I didn't get the Brooke White buzz that the judges did. I thought she was OK, but they loved it. Enh.
-I didn't watch David Her-Nan-DEZ or Amanda, because I don't like them.
-Syesha was BORING
-I am going to amend my final four. Michael Johns (my early favorite, even though Archuleta was my pick) OUT, David Cook IN. (Cook is every bit the rocker Daughtry was plus he is a better sign than Chris was. Should be noted.)
-David Archuleta was NOT GOOD last night. Why did he do that song? Why did the producers put him last? I was waiting for him to do Yesterday and it didn't happen.
-Finally either Kristy Leigh Cook or Ramiele is GONE. KLC was REALLLLLLY Bad, but the country folks might keep her in and Ramiele did a boring song RIGHT after Chikezie's great act, so that hurt her. I want Ramiele gone though because KLC is better to look at and Ramiele was trying to get us to remember Danny Noriega last night with the eye thing. Sorry. he was voted off. Let's keep it that way.
There you go. You are now caught up, mid-way through the week. HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

3-D movies?

I saw this on the AP wire : "Hollywood took a big step Tuesday toward offering more movies in 3-D, announcing deals to convert as many as 10,000 more theater screens for the digital technology needed to accommodate the resurgent, eye-popping format.

Access Integrated Technologies Inc. said it had reached agreements with four studios — Disney, News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, Viacom Inc.'s Paramount, and Universal Pictures, which is owned by General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal — to finance and equip the screens in the U.S. and Canada during the next three years."

To which I say, REALLY? Do we REALLY need 3-D movies?

Maybe I am missing something here, but this is where the movies kind of "poke" out at you because you are wearing those stupid looking glasses, right? And it NEVER looks all that real.

Is this something for just kids movies or will adult movies try this too? I can see a Spongebob Squarepants movie being interesting, but The Godfather in 3-D? What would fly at me? Bullets?

I just don't see this. I am too old to go and see a 3-D movie. Maybe I guess if Jurassic Park was in IMax and 3-D, that would have been cool, but Juno in 3-D? Not seeing it.

I do remember the stuff at Epicot and MGM Studios where you put the 3-D glasses on and the room moved and water would mist on you and stuff, that was cool, but would it be cool now? I really don't think so.

I think that if the theaters want to go 3-D for the kids movies, fine, but PLEASE don't ruin Hollywood's dramas by MAKING them incorporate 3-D stuff that won't fit.

But maybe that's what they said about color movies back in the day.

Monday, March 10, 2008

People who THINK they have more power than they do

I was picking up the Bride-to-be from the airport last night and I was doing the circle thing in the terminal parking lot until she called and then I told her where to meet me as I parked to get her in the car. Well as she was walking up, an "Atlanta Police Truck" came up behind me and started honking for me to move. Even though it was obvious I was waiting on the Bride-to-be to get to the car. I was the only car around and she was walking straight towards me. Anyways, this tool bag kept honking and honking, then as I got out to open the trunk and I was FULLY in the pull over lane, I left the door slightly cracked, he honked again, and was pointing towards the AGAIN, SLIGHTLY opened door.
Well of course I had to make a production out of it. I walked around to the door, but before shutting it, I stepped in front of his car to see if he could have KEPT GOING IN HIS LANE without hitting it, and SURE ENOUGH, he could have. I also made a point to look in the other lane that he could have gone into to pass me, and it was empty. I made the swirving motion with my hands so he could see me, and he honked again. What a loser.
Here is my point. He wasn't going to do anything except honk. Really? Is that the ATL Police (airport parking detail)'s best strategy? Honk? That will put people in a good mood. At NO POINT did it appear he was going to get out and do anything. Then I started to think. What could he have done? Given me a ticket for being parked in a temporary parking spot? Give me a ticket for doing NOTHING illegal? Nope. All he COULD Do was honk.
And that got me thinking....who, besides this guy THINK they are so important, but really they DON'T have the power they think they have?

I came up with a little list.
1 Anybody on a bus. The Bus driver. The Bus monitor. Even people ON a bus. Think about it. The bus has stops and the driver thinks everyone else on the road owes them something, but the truth is, the buses would be out of business if it were up to the people on the bus. They wished they had a car and didn't have to sit next to the smelly homeless guy that somehow doesn't have money to eat, but does have money to buy a bus ticket? And everyone saying "Oh I ride the bus because it is better for the environment." Really? That gas guzzling thing is BETTER than going out and buying a hybrid? And the bus monitor in elementary school? I would laugh at that kiss-@ss as he tried to butter up the the driver. The kid would tell you to get in your seat, and you were just like, "Shut up LOSER! I'll turn around if I want to! What are you going to do? Make me get off on the corner instead of dropping me off at my house?"

2 The Starbucks baristas. These people think they are the guardians to Coolland because they make Starbucks coffee. Well I have news for you....YOU MAKE COFFEE. That's IT! You make coffee and wear a stupid headset. Yeah, you think that headset makes you look cool? I Have news for you. The good people at McDonalds wear those things too! Yep! They do. And they make french fries. You just make coffee. And if you think you have power over the customers, is having power over wannabe poseurs really a cool thing? You are simply ruling over the people that were bus monitors in elementary school. They know that the coffee tastes the same at a gas station, but they are going to Starbucks because it is a status thing. Not sure why, but the Starbucks people thinking that SERVING these people gives them a power? Last time I checked YOU ARE STILL SERVING them. HOPING they tip you. Yeah. Shut up.

3 The Assistant hostess at a restaurant. You walk in and there are TWO people at the hostess stand. The only one I care about is the one with the pen and the list. The other one is pointless. I understand that you need several hostesses, one to keep the list, the others to walk the people to tables. But the one that stands just to the right of the hostess that DOESN'T walk to tables, DOESN'T hand out the pager/flashing coaster? What is her deal? She just stands there and says crap like, "Do you have a reservation?" (no) DEEP INHALE OF AIR "yeshshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. No reservation? Well the wait will probably be an hour." Then I LOVE IT when the buzzer goes off 20 minutes later and you go up there and hand HER the flashing coaster and you WANT to tap your watch and say "Nice hour," but you decide to take the high road. WHY? Because the view is better. (And you don't want her to spit in your food) But you realize that if you DON'T put her in her place, she will keep thinking she has this power. But the ONLY power she has is a faulty sense of time. Probably takes her 45 minutes to make minute rice

4 The ticket taker at a movie theater. Really? You have a rope and you think you are so cool because you can put the rope up and say "We haven't opened the theater up yet." WHy, have YOU not gone and cleaned out the trashed popcorn? And PS, you are Mr. Ticket collector, but if I have gone through I can STILL go out and get more popcorn and you can't stop me. But please, don't pretend like you didn't see me enter. You know my face. And I know people ALL the time GO to a movie theater just to buy popcorn and pretend they already paid. Give me a break man. You KNOW I paid to get it. I usually just walk past them even if they ask to me my ticket. Are they REALLY going to stop you? No. No they aren't. I can just RUN into the theater and since it is dark, you WON'T be able to find me.

Just like the Atlanta Policeman-airport parking detail. What are you REALLY going to do? Just honk. That's it.

Friday, March 7, 2008

A LIVE BLOG TODAY AT 3!

hey, head over to http://gpb.org/basketball today at 3. I will be doing a live blog during both the girls and boys state basketball AAAA championships. Will it ALL be basketball? Of course not.
I get 3 full hours on a live blog. This could be scary. And it will be VERY exciting!

Grand Finale! TV Cartoon Characters 20-1

Here it is. Nos. 20-1. In my opinion the top 20 tv cartoon characters of all time.
I hope you've enjoyed Nos. 105-21....

20 Miss Piggy While I am not a fan of this character, I have to give respect where it is due. She is the top female cartoon character of all time. She owned the nursery from a female perspective, as she had Gonzo wrapped around her finger and though Kermit didn’t seem to like her, she had his frog balls in a jar. She could also control Animal with maternal instincts and Skeeter was afraid of Piggy. She was a huge diva and the other females were intimidated by her. She was the Beth of the group, and while none of them may have liked her, they couldn’t have overthrown her at all. It would have taken a coup to rival Eric’s Big Brother 8 switch to Evil Dick’s squad from the Late night Crew to take her down. But even Eric admitted he wouldn’t have done it unless America made him take out Dustin. Therefore, Miss Piggy would have ruled that Nursery until the cows came home.

19 Inspector Gadget I really enjoyed the one episode where we met the guy that gave Gadget all of his gadgets, but I never understood why he needed them to begin with. Was it a Darth Vader/Wolverine situation? Did he suffer an accident that required him to need all of that? And how does this guy have a helicopter in his brain? That is the really messed up part. Also, the same fingers do several things. I think he should only have ONE gadget per finger. I was just confused as to how they fit all of that stuff in him. I also wondered if he would set off the metal detector at the airport, but then I remembered he had his own plane, HIS HAT! My final question can down to….does he have a go go gadget-wang? Because I think the LADIES would like that.

18 Elmer Fudd This hunter sort of reminded me of Porky Pig a little bit. And that is not a good thing. I thought Porky was overrated. But back to Fudd. His accent was strange and he ALSO talked with a little bit of a lisp too. But he hunted Bugs. He hunted Daffy. And he hunted Taz. AND he sang Opera. He had range. And he could blow Daffy Duck’s bill around, which I am not sure if that is Elmer’s talent or Daffy’s talent.

17 George Jetson This man of the future was simple but he seemed rich. Maybe that is because his show came on right around the Flintstones and he had all those gadgets that the Flintstones DIDN’T because the Flintstones happened in 500BC and the Jetsons took place in 3500AD, but whatever. I will never forget the movie where the Jetsons went back to the Flintstones times and the Flintstones went in the future…George managed a little better, but he seemed a little perturbed that the Flintstones didn’t have some of his amenities…IT IS BECAUSE THEY HADN’T BEEN INVENTED YET. Although, if I was George at that point, I would have pulled a Biff from Back to the Future and wagered on every sporting event and become rich. OR you could have “invented” everything, been a prehistoric Edison and become REALLY RICH. Rewritten history if you will. But that is ONLY if you know how to invent stuff. I would be screwed in that situation, but that’s just me. George seemed fine as somehow he got back to the future aka his home.

16 Tweety Bird A smug little bird, always tempting that Pussy Tat with his yellow delicious body. He rarely sang, which I thought a bird of his kind would and his lisp always sort of annoyed me. I didn’t like how he always ended up in Sly’s mouth and needed the old woman to save him. And with those little wings, was he really a threat to fly away? He never could seem to escape the grasp of Sly. If anything that cage was a prison, holding Tweety in such a space that he could NEVER get away from the cat. If this bird really could converse with the old lady, maybe he should have asked for a bigger space in which to avoid the cat’s paw.

15 Sylvester Sufferin’ succatache. This cat didn’t just go up against Tweety, but also sometimes found his way down to Mexico to match wits with Speedy…another cat and mouse game. Sylvester though was the classicly pampered house cat whose only job it was to avoid Tweety and to catch Speedy. Poor guy couldn’t do either, always finding trouble. He was hit repeatedly by that old woman, which was wrong. Animal abuse should NOT be seen in cartoons. A little too Michael Vick for me. Also Sly had to watch out going too far outside because a bulldog would sometimes be waiting for him out there. Sly should get more credit than he does because he was a tragic hero, destined to never do right by the bird or the mouse.

14 Garfield The original and no substitutes will be permitted (Heathcliffe and Riff Raff, I am talking to YOU!) This fat cat that hated Mondays and loved Lasagna ALMOST changed by perspective on cats. But he didn’t. I still don’t like cats. They hiss at you, and they lick themselves. Plus they make YOU beg to pet THEM? Nope, I like Dogs, who ask YOU to pet them. But I do think it is funny that this fat cat OWNED the house. Poor Arbuckle and Odie. They never stood a chance. But I think he also served as a role model to all other cats. They need to realize WE run the show. NOT THEM. Even though they sometimes eat their owners when the owner dies, but no one realizes it, and the cat isn’t fed, so it turns. UNCOOL. My dog will never turn on me like that. At least, I’d like to think so.

13 Winnie the Pooh The golden bear loved him some honey, didn’t he? He used cloud costumes to try and get honey, even eating so much that he got stuck once. That though I believe is a problem. I don’t think we should encourage kids to eat so much honey they get stuck in a hole. That is NOT a good idea. Childhood obesity is ALREADY a problem. Maybe the show’s creators were making a point, but I doubt it.

12 Popeye OK, I will admit it. Something wasn’t right about the spinach. I think it MAY have had steroids in them. But the guy was a military man and he could take down Bluto, which was pretty cool. Why though did he go after Olive Oil? And why didn’t he ever want to commit to her? Were they “just friends” this whole time? I think she love her some Popeye, which means it was on his end. I know he was a sailor and just wearing that uniform means he could have gotten the ladies, but you never really saw him with them. Was Popeye gay? And where did that baby come from? And where did it go? And why did that guy always walk around wanting hamburgers? And why did he never have any money? Ever hear of a debit card?

11 Papa Smurf The grandfatherly smurf that had a RED hat and such, which was really cool. He had a style all his own. Either that or when you get to be an old smurf, your stuff changes. Maybe that is like a sign of death. Instead of wrinkles, smurfs turn red. But this guy was so wise, kind of like Yoda. He had all of the answers because he HAD LIVED IT. He knew the jig because he wrote the BOOK on being a smurf. He was like Robert Louis Smurfenson. Or Herman Smurfville. Or Chalres Smufkens. Or Edgar Smurfen Poe. Or William Smurfspeare.

10 Scooby Doo-himself Rooby ROOO! This dog could openly communicate with Shaggy, but maybe that was just because Shaggy was stoned and THOUGHT Scooby was talking to him (or because maybe it was a cartoon!) Scooby, intentional or not usually foiled the bad guy’s plot and I think deep down, he HATED Fred and wanted Fred’s plan to screw up so maybe they would listen to Velma more. But give Scooby some food and the guy is happy. PS, he could have TOTALLY kicked that Marmaduke’s butt!

9 Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner-a tragic hero is Wiley Coyote, I remember the two times he ever caught the road runner. The first time he had run through a series of pipes and though the road runner came out at normal size, Wiley came out tiny, and only realized this as he clung to the leg of the suddenly giant bird. The other time, after he caught the bird, he simply let the road runner go, realizing the true fun IS in the chase. He reminds me of a teenage boy pursuing a date to the prom, only to realize that chasing the girl was more fun, especially when she didn’t put out. As for the road runner, the gender of the beast is unknown. In several episodes we see Wiley attempt to lure the target with a girl road runner, but in other episodes we see a longer feather on top, that in other cartoons usually indicates a female. If the coyote was pursuing the road runner as not just food, but also as a sex target, maybe that could explain why the coyote went after him for so long instead of ordering food from Acme, where he orders EVERYTHING else.

8 Tom and Jerry The Bride-to-be’s favorite, this old school Cat and Mouse story was the basis for Sylvester and Tweety as well as Itchy and Scratchy. It showed that cats hate mice, but mice are somehow smarter than cats. NOT TRUE if you consult the dominance scale. Mice are eaten by cats, and even if the mice can run into the mouse holes, the cat will be there waiting. I never bought that Jerry could outsmart Tom all that much. I think the law of averages could favor Tom, especially since he was so much bigger than Jerry.

7 Charlie Brown The lovable loser that couldn’t win a baseball game, couldn’t kick a football, couldn’t fly a kite and couldn’t even go trick-or-treating because he was so loyal to his friend, this character has a special place in everyone’s heart. The true underdog, I think EVERYONE was happy for him when he finally won that baseball game. His shirt was so simple yet so great: the yellow with the black zigzag has been countless Halloween costumes. He also had to deal with Sally, Lucy and the teacher, so the guy was probably a reflection of the creator’s feelings towards women. He always seemed overburdened. But he loved his dog and he loved that little red-headed girl that he could never get the courage up to ask out. What guy hasn’t been there before? Charlie Brown was the guy that we all felt like sometimes and when he DID finally manage to have some success, we felt like it was ours too.

6 Fred Flintstone Let’s just forget the fact that the show ripped off The Honeymooners, for just a second. This cartoon, no doubt inspired the Jetsons, the Laff-a-lympics, Yogi. We also got two cereals from this show….AND THE FLINTSTONES VITAMINS! What kid didn’t like those vitamins? I know I loved them! But back to Fred. He wore a tiger/leopard loincloth on a daily basis. I wonder if he wore any sort of underwear with them? He was an everyman, 9-5 working class. A blue collar guy if loincloths had those. I think he transcended kids and parents didn’t mind watching it because they felt a connection to him because HE worked just like they did. He wasn’t just some Mouse hopping around. He went out, made a living, bowled, had a dinosaur for a pet, and did you see his car? He had to push it himself with his feet. Yep, I have respect for that.

5 Kermit The leader of the Muppet Nursery but I never liked his little sailor suit. Usually sailors stay out of the water and on their boats. Was this frog afraid of the water? But moving on…He was able to keep everybody at bay in the nursery, even keeping Gonzo happy enough not to try and revolt against him. And what an imagination for this guy, huh? The writers obviously made him the star and that is why he is so high on this list. When they would make-believe Star Wars, he was Luke Skyhopper. Basketball, he was the point guard. He was always leading the missions. The lead singer in bands. The captain on “moon missions.” President Kermiton He was the man-rather the FROG! You just can’t argue with numbers. You just can’t. Like trying to argue with crazy people. It doesn’t work.

4 Daffy Duck The most impressive thing about Daffy was his ability to take a bullet to the beak, have it go 360 and then he could MOVE IT BACK. Yep. What a guy. He was usually the antagonist to Bugs, and for that you got the feeling he was Lou Gehrig to Bugs’ Babe Ruth. I am not certain he liked Bugs, actually he DIDN’T, but you got the feeling after it was all, maybe they were friends. Daffy could have been the star if not for Bugs, and like the Iron Horse, Daffy showed up to work everyday, knowing he would be No. 2. A tough gig, but he went up against witches, old ladies, Taz, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, and all the others. Why? Because he knew it was right.

3 Bullwinkle I never understood why it was the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Rocky was alright, but I don’t think the Moose needed that stupid flying squirrel. Bullwinkle got a college education at Wasamatta U. He lived on his own in Frostbite Falls. And the aliens made robot Moose, not robot squirrels. Clearly they thought the Moose was the more impressive species. In fact, if we look at the animal dominance scale, Moose ranks higher than squirrel. Apparently the producers didn’t look at the dominance scale before filling out the show’s billing. I mean they gave the cooler character the better animal, but not the top billing. (Maybe it was because the cartoon came out 45 years before the dominance scale did, but whatever!)

2 Snoopy The budding writer and World War I fighter pilot was just plain a cool dude. In fact one of his alter egos WAS Joe Cool. That is pretty sweet. He could dance like a champion and Beagles are VERY hot right now, thanks to Uno. (I even had a dog growing up named Snoopy) Even today, the dog remains probably THE most popular dog in American history. His ability to lay on top of that pointed dog house was incredible, but I have to ask, WHY was this dog being forced to sleep outside? He should have been inside sleeping beside Charlie Brown. But that’s just me. I like dogs. Snoopy was friends with Woodstock the bird, which was pretty cool and he was always stealing kisses from the ladies. He was loyal in waiting for Charlie at the bus stop and he could even be scary sometimes, when the occasion called for it. But, like most dogs, he was a softie at heart and he WAS Man’s Best Friend. That’s why he is No. 2

1 Bugs Bunny Without a doubt, the franchise. This guy WAS Looney Tunes. Munching on a carrot and dropping the trademark “What’s up, Doc?” He could tunnel across the country, even through the Pacific Ocean to reach Australia. THAT’S impressive. He could crossdress, which I am not quite sure a positive, but he could do it. He could sing opera, which again, not sure the level of coolness, but he had it on the resume. But this guy was the WWF Hulk Hogan of cartoons. ALWAYS the goodguy! (Hulk only became Hollywood Hogan aka a bad guy when he went to WCW.) He was the hero. He was Babe Ruth to Daffy’s Gehrig. And maybe THAT was the most impressive aspect of Bugs. He ALWAYS outsmarted Elmer Fudd. ALWAYS outsmarted Daffy. Taz, Yosemite Sam. None of those guys stood a chance. You knew Bugs would always win. Did that make it boring? Not really. Bugs had a wit about him that he was able to NOT only always win, but look cool doing it. And once again, Bugs wins. He is No. 1 on this list.

There you go. Let the ripping of the list begin….NOW!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Georgia Tech...you people disgust me

I love how Georgia Tech people rip UGA grads and fans for being scum, when GEORGIA TECH IS THE TRUE SCUM of the state...take a look at this story in today's AJC....

PGA tour golfer Tripp Isenhour is charged in Orlando with killing a protected migratory hawk with a golf shot.

It occurred in December when Isenhour was filming a video segment for the television show "Shoot Like A Pro."

Prosecutors say a red-shouldered hawk was making noise, forcing a video crew to film another take. The hawk moved closer, and the golfer hit several balls at it.

A witness says the bird fell to the ground, bleeding from both nostrils.

The 39-year-old golfer — a Georgia Tech graduate whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III — is charged with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.

WAY TO KILL A BIRD DUDE! WAY TO GO! Jackass! Did you pick up this behavior in the tickle piles you engaged in while on the Flats?

I love the 90s

So this week American Idol has done 80s music. last week it was 70s and the week before 60. Unfortunately, we probably won't get 90s music, but really, I am not sure what they would have done. Grunge? Rap? Boy Band stuff? Pop Girl stuff?
But I loved the 90s music scene. We had the rap wars with Biggie and TuPac with Jay-Z at the end. We had Nirvana and Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. (PS, I think Nirvana's place in history will forever he propped up because he killed himself when they were so popular and never had a chance to break up or come down from the higher level they were on).
We had Bush and Smashing Pumpkins. We had N*Sync and Mandy Moore. Celine Dion and Shania Twain were big.
But the biggest most successful band....The Zack Attack. Friends Forever is a song that I will not soon forget. And with Screech, Kelly, Zack, Slater, and Lisa Turtle rocking out, how can you go wrong? I am glad the group did its best to leave out Jessie and her potential drug problems from the group. That was drama the group just didn't need. It is a shame though that the band wasn't actually real. As popular as that show Saved by the Bell was, I imagine that band REALLY could have made some money. But then, the more I think about it. It probably wasn't them singing and playing the music.
Nevermind.

Top song of the 90s....Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit. I have never seen the 20-1 on VH1, but that HAS to be #1. Nirvana WAS the band of the 90s and that was their best song. I don't want to be like the Heisman voters here and give it to the best song from the best group (Troy Smith two years ago from tOSU) but SLTS was #1.

GA State Basketball AAAA semi-final thoughts

note this also appears on http://gpb.org/basketball
The Southwest DeKalb Lady Panthers have never won a state title, but this team may be on its way to a coronation. SWD took on a tough Westlake team in the semis, but thanks to a 20-11 third quarter, which gave the Panthers a twenty-point lead, the team, and Eboni Mitchell, kept its foot on the gas and eventually topped the ninety point barrier. The final score was 90-63. Mitchell finished with 32 points and the team looks poised to capture the elusive state title. Charenee Stephens finished with 20 for the Panthers. Southwest DeKalb will be squaring off against the Fayette County Lady Tigers as they squeaked out a one-point victory in the semis over Madison County 45-44. The Tigers, led by junior Tessah Holt and sophomore Anma Oneuku will look to trip up an upperclassmen-heavy squad in SWD that hasn’t lost since December 15.

Over on the guys’ side, Fayette County continued its run to the state title with a 73-68 win over a tough Miller Grove squad. Noel Johnson scored 29 for the Tigers and the team needed every one of those points to overcome Miller Grove’s Mfon Udofia. The junior Wolverine netted 30 points and rallied his team late to a tie game at 52, and to within two points with just a hair under three minutes to play. But then the Tiger junior Johnson took over, connecting on a three pointer to doom Miller Grove’s hopes. The Tigers will go up against Columbia as the No. 2 team in the state knocked off No. 1 Westlake. The Eagles of Columbia jumped out early to a 17-4 lead over the Lions of Westlake and the rout was on. Travis Leslie had 20 points and the Eagles led by twenty at the half. By the time Westlake’s Raymond Willis got it going, it was too late. His twenty-six weren’t a factor as the Eagles advanced to the state finals as a three-seed with a 68-57 victory. The Tigers’ speed against the Eagles’ physicality should make for a VERY interesting finals.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Mid-Week Entertainment report

A plot on a Stone's Life, a potential Actors' strike, Steve-o gets arrested, Kid Rock is only guilty of eating at a WaHo and David Her-Nan-DEZ...wow
It's the mid-week entertainment report.
-Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap-

I saw where Hell's Angels tried to kill Mick Jagger while he was on vacation, but a storm knocked over their boat. The reason for the attempt? He fired them as his concert bouncer/security following the death of a fan. I guess they got a little mad that they MIGHT have killed this kid and Mick wisely wanted to distance himself from this group of possible killers. And the craziest part? They were in a boat going to find Mick and a storm tipped the boat over and then they just decided, "Nevermind. We're cool." WHAT? That's all it took? A Gael wind? Give me a break. Either commit or don't. None of this half-way stuff! Come on Hell's Angels!

Steve-O from Jackass was arrested over the weekend, as a citizen's arrest. Yep, this dude's neighbor pulled a "citizen's arrest" on ole Steve-O. Seriously? Try and citizen's arrest me. We'll see what happens. You try and throw some cuffs on me, I might punch you in the face. Steve-O must have been STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONED for that to happen. WOuldn't be the case with me.

Kid Rock's lawyer entered a "Not Guilty" plea in regards to a fight the "rocker" got into at an Atlanta Waffle House. Ummm, you're Kid Rock. I know that's not saying as much now as it was circa 1999-2002, but why are YOU going to a Waffle House? Get it delivered to your Hotel or bus. Don't go in. Only bad stuff happens at 3 in the AM.

And David Her-Nan-DEZ used to be a stripper at a male strip club and he also worked as a bartender at a gay bar. The guy is gay, but he is hiding it on Idol? Come on man. It is 2008. Be gay and be proud. But I can understand not wanting to talk about working as a stripper because of the Frenchy chick a few years back. She got kicked off for appearing on an Adult website. The Bride-to-be and I had a debate on this last night. I think Her-Nan-DEZ is in a worse situation because the appearance on an adult website was simulating sex, whereas ACTUALLY giving another dude a lapdance is real. Not simulated. Not good Dave. The Producers haven't said whether or not he gets the boot, but while we are on Idol....
"Great jobs"....
-I thought David Cook did the best last night with his LionelRichie song "Hello"
-Jason Castro also did well with Hallelujah. Really well actually until that last note. But it was still the second best song of the night.
"IT'S OK, You are safe" Jobs.....
-Michael Johns did alright. The judges really liked it, and I thought it was OK. But he is safe and not going anywhere except the Final 4
-David Archuleta was a letdown from last week, but most anything would have been. he is safe though.
"DUDE, You might be in trouble"...
-Danny Noriega did the Marylin Manson version of Tainted Love and it was pretty good, but the attitude is wearing a little thin.
-Jacuzzi was totally forgettable. In fact, I don't even recall the song he did. Not sure why they put him at the end, but that's not my call
-David Her-Nan-DEZ might get to stay as the producers came out today and said that he's ok, but while he might make it past this week, the dude might be done in a few weeks. He did a Celine song? Really?
"Dude, you are going HOME!"..
-Luke Menard. Don't wake me up before you leave, leave.

I think Luke and maybe Jacuzzi are GONE.

Top 105 cartoon characters No. 40-21.

So again, this is my list of the top 100 (well really 105 of all time.) Only one guy's opinion, but I thought I'd put this out there. Again, the rules...must be TV and TV only. No Disney, sorry Mickey fans. and well, if you need the see the entire list of rules, check the original post in archives.
enjoy!
40 Speedy Gonzalez The fastest Mouse in all meh-he-co. This was a favorite of mine, even though looking back he was just a pointed poke at the Mexican culture, embodying EVERY stereotype that Americans own towards Mexicans. His speed was the key to him staying alive over Sly, when the cat would make a run to the border. The creators of this cartoon obviously saw their mistakes with Tom and Jerry and decided to give Speedy a realistic ticket for capture avoidance. I wonder what his 40 yard dash time would be?

39 The Peanuts Crew This excludes Snoopy and Charlie Brown, as they are separate. This crew including Linus, Woodstock, Lucy, Sally, the teacher, Pigpen, etc first starred as a comic strip, but really took off in the show. Whether it was Charlie Brown chasing the Little Redheaded girl, or playing/losing baseball or forgetting to feed Snoopy, this crew was a great support system for main characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown. I loved the Christmas Special and the search for the Great Pumpkin, these guys, in addition to Calvin and Hobbs, really helped me wake up every morning, because I was excited to read the comic strips. The Peanuts crew though successfully made the transition from strip to show. And these characters helped the cause.

38 The Smurfs Again, this excludes Papa Smurf. These guys are all very similar, except for Daisy Smurffet or whatever. The question I have is, was there only one female smurf? How did they populate? Did she get around all that much? That would also lead to inbreeding as well. Just scary. I just want to know if there were OTHER female smurfs? Was prom night lonely for 99.87% of the Smurfs? Here is a trivia question for you….how tall were the smurfs? Three apples high. They never went in to which kind of apples or if they WERE three high, why did they look so small? Was Gargamel a giant?

37 SpongeBob Squarepants This guy was a little after my time, BUT that said, he certainly took the cartoon world by storm, sort of carrying it from one dull time into a new age where cartoons are still being improved with CGI and whatnot. Maybe the last great cartoon character ever, since now, shows like Jimmy Neutron or being created with computers. Sponge Bob Squarepants may be the Will Ferrell of cartoons, the last great one, before a long dry spell (what SNL is going through right now) before we have another great cartoon. This guy lived under the sea and worked at a fastfood place. Nice. Is he gay? Who knows, but he certainly entertained a bunch of kids now didn’t he!

36 Care Bears They will protect you with their care bear stare. The only thing I didn’t like was that some care bears were Lions, I think. They really hit a goldmine with the plush toys they released with these guys. I think the commercials were better than the old shows. But I didn’t have a care bear, I had the Pound puppy, which also had a show, but it wasn’t as successful as the Care Bear show. And PS, I am throwing this on the list, ONLY so I don’t have to include My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite or whatever that chick was that wore a strawberry hat.

35 Might Mouse – A Superhero Mouse. He could fly and lift things that normal HUMANS couldn’t lift. Now the question is….was he on steroids or MGH? Mouse Growth Hormones? Don’t know. Maybe we NEVER will.

34 Transformers more than meets the eye! They were cars that could transform into robots to fight evil, or if they were evil, to make evil. I had the truck and how cool is the name Optimus Prime? Pretty sweet if you ask me. Now if only they hadn’t cast Shia LaBoof to be in the live action movie. Oh well. (What do I have against Shia or however you spell his name? Well he was forced on us after Holes and somehow he sneaked his way into the new Indiana Jones movies after appearing in Disturbia. Just not a fan of his. Sorry. And with a last name of LaBoof, or whatever, is that French for the butt plug?)

33 Thundercats- thunder. Thunder. THUNDERCATS! These guys rocked out. I had the thundercat action figures. I had the belt and the sword. I think I was even a thundercat for Halloween once. That is pretty big. ONE out of a realistic nine chances to go trick-or-treating (where you get to choose I mean. When you are one two and three, the parents are choosing the outfits. From 4-12 YOU Get to choose. If after 12 you are still going OUT trick or treating, the neighbors should give you apples with razorblades in them. COME ON!)

32 He-Man By the power of Grayskull! This guy was AWESOME. I had ALL of the action figures, even the “New He-Man” toys. And I had Grayskull castle. Epic Battles were waged on my shag carpet as a kid, with He-Man always winning. He-Man (and then of course She-ra had to come out) was just a bad-arse. He was ripped and fought with a sword, kind of a William Wallace, only he doesn’t get gutted at the end. Plus he was played by Ivan Drago in the movie! Gotta like that!

31 Simon The brains of the group, he was always dorky, but they a bassist usually is. He knows he will get none of the girls, and anyone who is ANYONE won’t play the bass, they will want the glory of the lead singer or the drummer for the drum solo. When was the last time a bass solo took place? Yeah, didn’t think so. The other two stuck the odd ball at bass and told him to be happy.

30 Theodore The real backbone of the band. He played the drums, and without this guy, the band would have been off. Ask The Wonders. You need a good drummer. He is the Lars of the group. You get your drummer locked in (kind of like a left tackle in football) and it doesn’t matter the lead singer or bassist. Those guys can be replaced. Try replacing a drummer on a regular basis. It is hard. Ask Spinal Tapp. You see Def Leopard stuck with its drummer EVEN THOUGH HE ONLY HAD ONE ARM. That is how key the drummer is. That is how key Theodore is. Even if he is a little fat.

29 Alvin The lead singer was WAY too self-absorbed. With the A on his shirt, sometimes you need to play for the group and not for yourself. I think Theodore was the real backbone of the group, but Alvin was the sexy eye candy, and a lot of groups need some one to take the attention away so they can work. Alvin most of the time seemed capable of absorbing most of the press, so the other two could work. I am just surprised, after seeing the results of Oasis how the three chipmunks were able to stick together as family. I am just surprised we never saw them on a THS. I also think the 3 chipmunks were the inspiration for Hanson. That said, I am just surprised that Alvin never gave more credit to his brothers. Throw them a bone. Because after all, the brothers could have mutinied and David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagared him, but they never did. Good for them. They took the high road. But Alvin WAS talented I will give him that. For a cartoon chipmunk.

28 Pepe La Pew While I loved this skunk, HOW MANY TIMES is he going to fall for the cat that SOMEHOW again got a white stripe painted down her back? But he is a hopeless romantic, like me. He just wants to believe in love and he wants his love to reciprocate his feelings. (The only thing I wonder is, don’t skunks know other skunks? Don’t they smell them or something? Maybe go and check the stink shooter, just to make sure?)

27 Yogi the Bear From his hat to his tie to his unquenchable appetite for pic-a-nic baskets, this bear was one of the best ever. Always clever in acquiring the baskets you always knew he would win. The only thing I was ever scared of was if he accidentally sneaked up on the wrong tent and they shot him. Also, how come no one ever used the bear-proof traps at Jellystone Park? His voice was great to imitate and I would like to think he was based of Yogi Berra, the great baseball player. But one negative against him…his “cave” at Paramounts’ King’s Dominion in Richmond was a little disappointing. I needed more voice, instead of just a walk through. Maybe give me a ride or something, not just a cave. Oh well.

26 Tigger! The bouncing tiger. You couldn’t HELP by be in a good mood when this guy came around. This tiger wasn’t scary at all, but I bet if you put him in a zoo with a low wall and had a bunch of stone kids mock him, I bet he’d bounce over the wall and chew those kids’ faces off. THEY DESERVED IT! Respect the animals! Did the Sigfreid and Roy incident teach us NOTHING?

25 Doug Funnie I loved the theme song, the sweater vest, the khaki shorts, the hairdo, pretty much everything about this show. I though that sometimes it was a little too reliant on other shows-doogie howser for the journal entries, Inspector Gadget for Brain-spinoff-but overall a VERY entertaining show. Doug was about the same age as me when he came out, so I feel like I sort of grew up WITH Doug. We went through the same things. Kind of faux brothers if you will. I did NOT like it though when it went from Nick to NBC and they added a little brother. Just not the same.

24 Shaggy The dope who wasn’t interested in solving crimes just eating. A question I had was, how did he get hooked up with the rest of the crew? I am assuming it was his van, and the rest of the gang just needed a mode of transportation, but then are you telling me Fred, in his sailor outfit didn’t come from a wealthy backround? Was Fred off at college while Shaggy was a dropout-townie sort that just had a van, a dog, and a serious drug problem? Was the rest of the rest of the gang just using Shaggy? I get the feeling that Shaggy, who was petrified of ghosts and bad guys was roped into doing this because he was stoned and maybe signed some sort of contract, or perhaps Fred was his white collar dealer and just made him repay him by working it off. Regardless, his lope is world famous and his voice was done by Casey Casum. I always wondered who would win in an eat off among Kobayashi, Shaggy Dagwood, and Joey Chestnut. If the contestants are allowed to be stoned, I saw Shaggy, but mary jane MAY be consider performance enhancing in this situation.

23 Rocky aka Rocket J Squirrel. This flying squirrel had two different voices, which I always had a problem with, but what are you going to do. I also didn’t like Rocky’s attitude towards the end, when I think he thought he was better than Bullwinkle, which ISN’T TRUE. Rocky Needed Bullwinkle, whereas I don’t think the Moose necessarily needed the Squirrel. And can we clear up this whole “Flying Squirrel” misnomer. He could glide, not so much fly. I never show Rocky take off from the ground, more glide from a high place. So he gets docked points/spots for LYING.

22 Foghorn Leghorn and chickenhawk. Whatinthe, I say Whatinthe.? This big chicken was pretty sweet. He was a true “Cock of the Walk” if you ask me. His attitude was not a turnoff in this situation. Normally I have a problem with people thinking they are bigger than they are, but not in this case. He was a rooster, and he owned the place. AND HE KNEW IT. BECAUSE HE DID OWN IT. I call this confidence, not arrogance.

21 Porky Pig- In my opinion THE most overrated cartoon character of ALL TIME. This guy’s only deal was he said “THAT’S ALL FOLKS!” Ask SNL folks about whether that is a good gig. If you only show up for the “good nights” then your career isn’t so hot. And he stuttered. I am not a huge fan of making fun of mocking those with speech impediments. That was his thing. Stuttering and the closing of the show. VERY OVERRATED!

So there we have Nos. 40-21. Coming up Friday, the conclusion and then you can rip my list to shreds. Thanks!