Friday, May 29, 2009

Wayshaun Ealey makes the grade...now what?

I just read where Wayshaun Ealey finally qualified for college and he will be donning the red and black next year.

Hold your horses.

I was at the Georgia Dome this year for the state championship where he was the second best RB...on his own team. Third best in the game.

Does he have talent? Yes. Was he injured during the game? Yes.

But he didn't look explosive like he did last year. And remember, he was explosive against Class-A competition.

I am not certain that we should be jumping for joy that this kid qualified because I haven't seen him on the college gridiron yet or even on the practice field against other college players.

Remember, we all thought Caleb King was going to be huge too.

I don't think this kid is the end-all, fix-all for the running back position. And that's OK. With Dick Samuel, CKing, Charlton Thomas and DJax (maybe the best of the bunch) I don't think this kid would be redshirting anyway. Let him get his academics in order before he starts thinking about football. And once he gets up to speed, turn him loose.

But let this O-Line and Joe Cox (with Aaron Murray) make the plays this year with a rotation of TBs and build for the future. Can this team win 10 games? Yes. 11 is also possible, but this team isn't contending for a title. Wayshaun isn't changing that.

He can be a part of the process but I doubt he will ever be the solution by himself. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think I am.

And if Cox slings it around enough to AJ and Michael Moore with Marlon Brown and the TEs, this team may not need any back to do more than 800. Maybe Caleb gets 800 with CThomas getting 650 and Dick Samuel throwing in 500. Heck give DJax 500 too and this team will be mostly a running unit. But Let Coxie throw it. He might surprise us all..... Alright fine. I'm a homer. Big shocker there!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Survivor Cuba: Episode 10

Previously on Survivor Cuba, Nash and TO go head to head and nose to nose in an immunity challenge. Tim Tebow aggravates his leg injury. Meanwhile Sean Avery is feeling a bit left out now that Nash and Tebow are buddy-buddy. Brandi thinks she is in a position of power, but a major split vote leaves her out in the cold and on the jury.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh delay oh delay, ahhh e a-ahhhh
Tribe Quest...Tim Tebow, Sean Avery, Ichiro, Kerri Walsh, Steve Nash, TO, Sergio Garcia. The Jury: Danica Patrick, Brandi Chastain.

Day 28, At Quest Camp, only seven players remain, the BPs and the boy crew. Tebow, Avery, Ichiro and Nash should be in a position of strength, but it is the BPs that are sitting pretty on the dock, fishing. In a confessional, TO brags that his plan came off perfectly. "I didn't think we could have pulled that off, but we did. But we are a long way from being in control. That won't happen until maybe final five. We've gotta pull a few more surprises. But it could happen."

Sergio asks what the next course of action is and Kerri suggests going after Ichiro. "Cut out Tebow's lifeline." TO shrugs his shoulders. "Or we could target Tebow straight out. Odds are he won't win immunity with a bum leg. And if that thing heals, he has the will to outlast all of us." Sergio pulls a fish out. "Let's just see how the next few challenges go. But I think you're on the right path. Either Tebow or Ichiro," TO agrees. The BPs admire the fish Sergio caught and Kerri laughs, happy to be in a group again.

Back at camp, Avery confronts Nash on why the split. "I tried to get TO gone because I thought Brandi would still be valuable for us. We could have pulled her in. Ichiro was working on her. But I wanted to cut the head off of the snake that is the BPs. You saw what TO has done so far this game. You give him an opening and he races through it and usually it is one of us going home. If TO goes, Sergio and Kerri are following suit."
Avery disagrees. He thinks that they could have regrouped.
"You HONESTLY think Sergio could win an immunity challenge? Come on Sean!" Nash is annoyed.
"I just wish you had told us. It seems like TO is just heaving up hail marys and we are playing prevent defense and he's completed about three of them. Then he's getting the on-side kick. We have the numbers. Let's just crush them," Avery pleads.

Tebow meanwhile is limping around more than ever. He has gone to get the water for the camp and is struggling to carry the jug back to camp. "Yeah, it really does hurt. I don't know how much longer I can do this," Tebow admits in a confessional. "My leg feels like how my shoulder did after the 2007 Georgia game. Gosh, it is killing me."

Ichiro senses Tebow's hurt and meets him with the water. Ichiro asks, but Tebow lies and says he is fine. The BPs have returned from fishing and mock Tebow. They order him to hurry up otherwise everyone will have to eat sushi. "But Ichiro might like that," Sergio sneers. The BPs laugh at the joke while Tebow appears angry. Ichiro tells him not to worry about it.
Avery tells Kerri to shut up and stop laughing while TO asks Avery why he didn't tell him to. "Why are you picking on Kerri? Why don't you pick on me?"
"Listen Terrell, if you want our sloppy seconds, be our guest. We sent Kerri packing from our crew and if you want her in with you after what she said about you when we were in Chumba, be my guest. I'd just watch my back."
"How about what you said about your fellow tribemates when you voted them out, Sean? Remember Bruce?" Kerri shoots back.
"Yeah, and he's gone. the rest of the tribe voted him out too. Including Brandi, which you turned on AGAIN last night," Avery fires at the volleyballer.
"Guys, let's just eat," Nash shouts, trying to end the argument.
"Hey, guys, we might not want to eat yet," Tebow says as he is reading tree mail. "We have the auction today!" Everyone is excited but Avery is still seething at Kerri.
In confessional, Avery wonders if you can buy someone off the island. "Because I would sent Kerri packing. She'd better hope she can buy some immunity, becaue otherwise she is done.

Commercial...The Official Visit rocked last week with Fletcher at the helm. Tune back in this Sunday to Sports Radio 790 The Zone for more recruiting and college news. 2-4 this Sunday. Check it OUT!

Jeff Probst welcomes the survivors to the Survivor Auction. Everyone will get $500 to spend on various items. First item, a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger with fries and a coke. "$100," say Kerri. Avery says 140 just to spite her. She bids 160 and Avery says 180 and wins it. Next up is an order of Little Caesar's Crazy Bread and two slices of pizza with a Pepsi. 40 from TO. 60 from Tebow. 100 from Kerri. 120 from Avery. 160 from Tebow. 200 from Nash, 240 from Tebow and he wins it. The next item is Outback cheese fries with a side of ranch and a Bud Lite Lime. 300 from Sergio, 320 from Nash. 400 from TO gets it. Next up is a prize that will remain a secret. Kerri bids 40. Avery bids 80. Kerri bids 100 and Avery bis 180. Kerri lets him have it. It turns out to be 4 chocolate bars and a jar of peanut butter with a glass of milk. Kerri is disappointed. Next a tub is revealed with a change of clothes. Ichiro bids 400 and wins it. Another secret prize is offered and Kerri bids 60 and Avery bids 100 and shoots her dagger eyes. Kerri asks Avery how much he has left and he tells her to figure it out. Sergio tells her 140 and she bids 160. "Beat that!" Kerri gloats. Probst reveals the prize to be pigs ears. She is disappointed. Nash wins a gatorade and power bar for 100. The last item is something that can help you win immunity. Sergio bids 500 and Nash bids 520 (he gets money from Tebow). TO and Kerry give Sergio all of their remaining money and he wins the clue. He cannot open the message until the immunity challenge.

Everyone returns to camp having won something. Kerri is complaining that she won Pigs ears. "Did you even eat them?" TO asks.
"No. Disgusting. Freaking Sean Avery. What an a-hole. I want him gone as soon as he doesn't win immunity.
"We'll see," TO offers.
"No, it is him. That's the target," Kerri decides before trudging ahead. Sergio rolls his eyes to TO, who laughs.

Commercial...HE DID WHAT? HE TWITTERED? That's right. Fletcher has finally caught up with 2008 and started twittering. He might make it to 2009 by November. Just work with him. Want to see what he tweeting (is that the right word?)? Just click on the link to the right or at the bottom of the page.

Avery is rubbing his full stomach right in front of Kerri when she asks why he is being such a dick to her.
"Because you turned your back on your tribe. You flew the coop and now you want me to be nice to you? You will stab me in the back the first chance you get. Why should I be nice to you?"
"Sean, this is a game. Don't take it so personal. Come on," Kerri answers.
"FOLLOW YOUR OWN ADVICE," Sean overpronunciates just to annoy Kerri. "THIS IS A GAME. DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY."
Ichiro walks over and whispers something to Avery. He immediately ceases arguing with Kerri and while she keeps yelling at him, he just sits there in silence, giving her the silent treatment. Kerri eventually tires of yelling and walks away.
In confessional she admits that he frustrates her beyond belief. We are going to target him and that is all there is to it.
In his own confessional, Sean just sits there and says nothing before breaking into a smile and says, "Oh, sorry camera man. I thought you were Kerri."

Tebow is worried about his leg and tells Ichiro that if he doesn't win immunity, he's worried his leg might force him to quit, especially if the BPs target me. "It might be a good thing for you guys if I just leave."
"No, that's silly. we still have numbers. You can stick around until they are gone. heal up, that way we can go to the final two. Ich and Teb. To the end," Ichiro tries to convince Tebow. They bump knuckles but Tebow looks in pain.
In Cofessional Tebow says he will try and gut it out because he doesn't want to let Ichiro down, "but if I have to, to save the Crew, I'd back out to let them fight another day."
In his own confessional Ichiro laments that Tebow isn't thinking this thing through. He just hopes that Avery and Nash won't blindside Tebow if Tim fails to win immunity.

Commercial...CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIND MO WILLIAMS? He is missing and he has game five tonight! Will he be found? Find out on a twitter tomorrow from THIS GUY! Paul Mac to weigh in as well!

Probst welcomes everyone in for the immunity challenge. He shows off a maze and tells everyone that they will have to make it through the first maze using just one arm. The second maze using only one foot and the third maze blindfolded. After the first maze four people move on, after the second maze two and the final maze will determine the winner. Sergio is told to open his bottle and it says that he is allowed to skip the first maze and is allowed to use both feet for the second maze. "Worth the $520, right?" Probst asks and Sergio sneers yes.
Survivors to their posts, after everyone has their hands tied...begin! Tebow is limping around and through the course. He is easily able to pull himself over part of the course. Nash has little trouble. Ichiro struggles as does Kerri and Sean seems lost. TO, after falling behind, catches up to Nash and Tebow limps to the finish line, as does TO and Nash. Those three plus Sergio will advance.
Tebow elects to have his injured wheel tied up and TO and Nash choose legs.
Sergio races through the second part of the maze, getting lost at one point but still running back and races through the rest of the course. He nudges Nash along the way and takes Nash out. Tebow crosses the line second as TO started to follow Sergio but couldn't hop back in time. Probst DQs Sergio for bumping Nash and tweaks the rules to let Nash into the final maze because of the bump. So TO, Nash and Tebow will be blindfolded for the final maze. Sergio is pissed and tries to plead his case, but Probst is hearing none of it.
In the final race, the survivors are feling around, trying to find the walls. Tebow hits a dead end while Nash looks like he is out in the lead. Then he bumps into a wall and turns around. Eventually Nash hits TO and TO takes a swing at Nash. Probst yells at TO not to try and punch Nash and TO says that he is trying to find a wall.
Tebow is limping badly in this maze. Nash is passed by Tebow though and Nash senses it. He then starts walking faster and Tebow looks like he has a clear shot to the end. He pulls up and Nash passes him. Nash is moving faster when all of a sudden he turns and runs into a wall. Tebow moves low past Nash and crosses the finish line. Tebow wins immunity. TO is pissed and Nash is disappointed once he finds out how close he was. Probst tells TO to stay back and they will decide whether or not he was trying to hit Nash. The rest of the survivors head back as Probst and the producers pour over the tape.

Commercial...Paul Mac love the Big 10. He defends JoePa ONLY on Sportsbyfletch. Check out the archives to see Paul Mac's love affair with a 95 year old man!

The producers tell Probst the decision and Jeff reveals to TO that it appears it was an accident and he can stay in the game. TO nods and heads back to camp.
Back at camp, Kerri and Sergio are worried that TO has been sent home but then TO walks up and slaps Sergio on the back. The BPs seemed relieved.
Sean Avery also seems happy. He is trying to talk his crew into voting out Kerri. Nash wants Sergio gone. Tebow and Ichiro say that Sergio cannot go because of his idol, which he almost HAS to use, because he will lose it after the next vote. Avery pushes for Kerri again and Ichiro tells him to let his personal bias go. Then Tebow says it might not be a bad idea to send Kerri home because she could possibly try and cut into the crew. "Know your enemy. We know TO and what he will do. Kerri is a wild card."
Everyone heads to tribal council and Probst tells Tebow he won't ask about the leg. "You have immunity, clearly it doesn't hurt that much." Tebow reveals he was considering backing out, but my partner Ichiro talked me out of it and inspired me to win the maze challenge."
"So you were ready to quit?" Probst asks. When Tebow reveals that the thought had crossed his mind, Ichiro looks down nerviously and shakes his head. Probst questions Ichiro.
"I think maybe Tim should have keep that to himself. Not reveal strategy."
TO, you got a "get out of jail free" card. Will it matter?
"I hope so. I hope I have enough working and I hope there is enough of a splinter over there that we can split that vote and stick around," TO admits.
"Should you be giving away your strategy like that?" Probst asks.
"Everyone knows the numbers. we do what we do." TO admits.
Probst goes to tally the votes. Avery looks guilty while the BPs look confident.
The person voted out will leave immediately and join our jury of Danica and Brandi. First vote: TO. Second Vote: Avery. Third Vote: TO. Fourth Vote: Avery. Fifth Vote: Avery. Sixth Vote: TO. 3-3. Seventh vote and third member of our jury...TO.
TO stands, smiles and nods before heading up to Jeff.
The Crew seems united and the BPs just lost a leader. Is this the end of the BPs? 2 vs 4 is tough to overcome. Now the scrambling begins. Grab your torches and head back to camp.

Next time on Survivor...With TO gone, Sergio and Kerri are alone...or are they? Sergio approaches Nash with an offer for final three..."It would change the game," Nash admits in a confessional.

Paul Mac fixes his Big 10

Paul Mac is a Big 10 apologist. He loves him some Penn State and he defends his boy JoePa.

I don’t blame Joe Pa for saying, "not Notre Dame…."

But if they (The Big 10) wanted to expand to the New York market really, ND still has more pull than Rutgers. and it always will. Personally I feel like Notre Dame would be raising its level if the Fighting Rudys joined the Big 10. The Fupa patrol isn’t going to get any respect from non-northeasterners playing independently and I guess a few Indianans (except maybe Catholics) because of the ridiculous ease of attaining a spot for Charlie the Hut's boys in a BCS bowl even though ND plays a weaker schedule than most MWC teams.

Big 10 competition might actually raise ND’s level of play so CT's love affair could compete with USC. Notre Dame has to be the worst CFB team on national television all the time. If they can keep their TV deal and they should….The Big 10 would be wise to invite ND again and ND would be wise to accept. Then they could really start having conference rivalries add the championship and help the ridiculous scheduling in the Big 10.

I think this move would only be a positive for the Big 11 and bring us closer to having a better regular season tournament to crown a champion.


Vote now for Paul Mac as the new commissioner of the Big 11.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Has anyone found Mo Williams yet?

Apparently he has been missing since the end of the third quarter in last night's Game Four tilt between the Cleveland Cavs and the Orlando Magic. Interesting, because he guaranteed a win, yet his 18 points (12 by the half, 6 in the third, ZERO in the fourth, ZERO in OT) just weren't enough.

LeBron (who finally decided to MAKE free throws down the stretch. WOW, interesting concept, the Bron) is the only one on the Cavs that should have been making a bold statement guaranteeing a win in either a game or the series.

And notice he didn't.

Why? Because he knows his supporting pieces (that's you Mo) are not good enough to win anything. Orlando is going to win in 6, like SBF called before this series started (Check the tapes on 790. I dare you. You'll just find that I was right) and the blueprint to beat Cleveland next year in the playoffs will be out there: Let the Bron score his 45 points and just make sure the rest of his support stiffs don't score more than 18.

Recipe for success right there.

And as far as the fued between Shaq and Stan Van Gundy goes, sorry Shaq, Stan cannot comment right now because he is too busy still coaching in the playoffs while your season has been done for a while. And you are attending his games....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Midweek Entertainment report 5/27/09

Kristin to take over the Hills?, Mental borrows House's House and SBF siding with the producers of Slumdog Millionaires?

Is it the rapture? NOPE! The Midweek entertainment report!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

From "scenes from next week" we see that Kristin Cavallari is coming to The Hills for the Speidi wedding. That is very exciting as we loved the drama she created back in Laguna Beach, even if she was a TAD full of herself in season two. As we were watching the scenes for the season finale (and LC's finale as well), I turned to Wifey and said, "I'd bet you a 45 minute sensual massage that Kristin is taking LC's place on the show." (I'll wait for you to finish shuddering...) Wifey seemed to think I was right and said no bet. That is nice of MTV to go to the well to pull a past star back. And I'm sure that Kristin didn't have a lot of conflicts to prevent her from returning to the air. Her fresh blood might be just what the show needs though. I like the idea. Kind of a SPin City only LC doesn't have Parkinson's, if you think about it. I guess you could say this is more of a Diane from Cheers move.
Back to last week's episode...Good move on Spencer's part to call LC and put the onus on her. This way, if she doesn't show up, she is the bad guy and Spencer can say he tried to bury the hatchet, especially for his soon-to-be wife. He is a hero. Way to be the bigger person Spence! You da man! And thanks for getting Charlie a little more airtime!

Did you catch Mental last night? I thought it was nice of the producers of House to let this new (and soon to be cancelled show) use its set. I wonder if House will appear as a patient on the show? Possibly...
And it was great to see the Fox Spin Cycle continue to recycle its actors. Whistler and Haywire from Prisonbreak were there, as was DJ from The OC. I wonder if anyone from Reunion or Boston Public will make an appearance...

Finally, as much as it pains me, I am going to have to defend Danny Boyle and Christian Colson, the director and producer, respectively from Slumdog Millionaire. Apparently, they've been catching flack not doing enough for the kids they made a ficticious movie about. The two were guilted into buying a flat for one of the poor Indian child stars because the kid's Mumbai shanty home had been demolished by the Mumbai civic authority. Ummm, Why should these guys have to provide housing for the kids when their own town makes them homeless? And let's not pretend that Boyle and Colson haven't done ANYTHING for them; they established a trust for these kids to provide money and whatnot until they are 18. Boyle and Colson also donated 500,000 pounds last month to a non-profit organization to help out children in Mumbai. Now they ALSO have to build them houses or buy them flats? NO ONE SAW THIS MOVIE, so they aren't really rolling in dough. Boyle blamed the media for raising the families' expectations. This seems a bit like a Jon&Kate situation. Isn't it about the kids? And a trust had been set up for the kids, right? What more do they want? Ahhh, the parents/uncles/aunts want a cut. Gotcha. No, I am going to side with the producers. It isn't their responsibility to provide a Hollywood lifestyle for these people. They've done enough. Don't worry Danny. SBF is one place that won't rip you for not going beyond. (You've already gone above, and that is fine enough with us). I will rip you though for stealing the Oscar for best director and best movie over Dark Knight. NO ONE SAW YOUR MOVIE. EVERYONE SAW DARK KNIGHT. IT SHOULD HAVE WON AND I THINK YOU KNOW IT!

That's it. Enjoy the rest of your short week everybody!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I think HE actually believes what spews out...

"All of this stuff about media attention, well, look at the results thus far. Top 10 recruiting class, No.1 player in the country, first time that's ever happened at Tennessee. I don't think it's very hard to figure out, if that other stuff didn't happen, our recruiting success doesn't happen.
You don't go 5-7, you don't come in and not have your staff signed until one month before signing day and have the success we have recruiting without the national attention.
I don't love the way that I've had to do everything. But I was not hired to please fans of other schools . I was hired for three people: the people of Tennessee, our current players and the recruits."

That was a statement that Lane Kiffin told TSN's Matt Hayes.

Does he really believe that? Does Kiffin think what spews from his mouth is helping his cause?

Because he needs to realize that after he goes 4-8 (and I looked at the schedule. That is VERY possible) the recruits won't still be lining up to come and play for him. They will realize it was PETE CARROLL that was having all of the success out there in SoCal and not Lane Kiffin. We saw what has happened with Kiffin tried to run a program/franchise....Al Davis fired him and moreorless called him an immature idiot.

Interesting how I am now siding with Al Davis on the issue of Kiffin. WOW.

There is some talent on the Tennessee sidelines. With Eric Berry and at the Running back spot, Fulmer didn't leave the cupboard completey bare. It will be interesting to see how Kiffin botches it up. Because Urban Meyer and Florida will crush him....Saban will slaughter him....Richt will beat him in Knoxville...Spurrier will take him down....heck Bobby Johnson will outcoach him (beat him is another question)...Kentucky game is in Lexington if I remember correctly (Advantage: UK)...oh, yeah and Rick Neuheisel at UCLA is also on the schedule.

And I highly doubt the recruits will still want to come and play for Laney when he has a losing record and likely continues to make an ass of himself. They just won't.
Keep pissing off the state of South Carolina and Florida and the city of Memphis. That'll endear you to your potential recruits.

At some point the circus will stop and people will see the exposed clown. And in three years the act will grow old and Tennessee will be looking for a new coach.

But it just boggles my mind that he might actually think that what he is doing is helping. Bro, after a while Urkel killed Family Matters. Yeah, it was cute at first, but then Urkel hit puberty and then it was just sad. That's you Kiffin. You are on the way to becoming a 17-year old Urkel. It wasn't pretty then and it won't be pretty in two years. But at least his wife is hot...

Monday, May 25, 2009

1/3 of the way in, what have we learned.

Memorial Day is here and it marks the end of the first third of the major league baseball season. The Atlanta Braves 2009 team is an interesting case study to look at.

The offense seems to disappear for long stretches, only to return in big ways for one game. Brian McCann seems to have made it back from the blurry vision that plagued his early season. McCann should easily make his fourth all-star team and could put up monster numbers with the new specs, if yesterday's two dongs were any indication. As far as backup catcher, David Ross showed some nice pop in spring training and thus far this season. He also handles the staff his one start a week.
At first base, Casey Kotchman is making me slowly eat my words for calling him Krotchman. He is beginning to show that doubles stroke that he displayed in LAA. If he can just give me a .290 average with two doubles per week, I'll be happy.
The second base position took a shot when Omar Infante suffered a broken hand, but if Kelly Johnson can keep the Dr. Jekyll and hide the Mr. Hyde then maybe it will be alright. Johnson MUST be more consistent at the plate. He HAS to be. It actually frustrates me that with his swing he can't be more of a regular threat out there. COME ON KELLY!
Yunel Escobar is again showing flashes of being the young Alex Rodriguez from Seattle that I have been calling for. He can go opposite field but he doesn't yet display the power that I thought he would. Come on Yunel, I need 18-21 home runs from you. i KNOW you can do it. As far as his defense, what an arm, huh?
Over at third, Martin Prado and Chipper Jones are doing well, but I'd really like it if Chipper Jones stayed a bit healthier. He can still crush and rake, but he has a big toe issue, after a thumb injury, after a hamstring...it just keeps going. Prado has also shown more power and more muscle over the past season, so that's good. But I'd rather have a healthy Chippah!
In the outfield, Garrett Anderson is doing fine on offense when he plays, but he is a liability on defense. I've watched him let several balls fall in front of him which ended up going for hustle doubles. How about YOU SHOW some hustle. In center, Jordan Schafer shows potential, but if Josh Anderson were out there and Schafer was in Gwinnett, I'd feel better about when Jordan came up in July and started next season. But we can also say that he's working out the kinks. In rightfield, Frenchy... This is his last stand. Like Custer in a way. I wonder how much longer we'll have this outfield. With Gorkys Hernandez and Jason Heyward nearly ready to go (2010 or 2011 at the latest), we could have a new and improved outfield before we know it. I wonder how far Frenchy's value has fallen. I wanted Zack Greinke two years ago (would have been a good move), then I wanted Homer Bailey (would have been a bad move), now...not certain you could get Gary Majewski for him.

The rebuilt pitching staff seems to be rolling along, let's just hope that Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, and Jair Jurrjens can keep up their strong starts. As far as a fourth starter, Kenshin Kawakami looked zonetastic against Toronto last Friday, but can he keep up? Lowe has looked every bit the ace he was signed to be. Vazquez is on pace for yet another 200+ IP, 200+ K season and he might be able to be flipped for some prospects after this season when Tim Hudson is ready to go. Vazquez cost the organization 6 minor leagues, but maybe he could bring 3 back. He would help replenish what Atlanta lost with the Tex deal. Next season you'd have Lowe, Hudson, Jurrjens, Hanson and Kawakami. Medlin would fall into the bullpen. That is exciting to think about. As for 2009, Glavine will probably give Atlanta 12 starts and then Hanson will give Atlanta maybe 8 starts before pulling a David Price and moving to the pen for the stretch wild card run.

Speaking of the bullpen, Gonzo is REALLY starting to scare me. He doesn't seem to have the Smoltz/Rocker-99 edition/Wholers-95 edition killer instinct in him. He seems to always be allowing a leadoff double to put extra pressure on him and give me as a fan a heart attack before he closes the door. Rafael Soriano is also out there, but I'd rather have him for the 8th inning and not an emergency closer. Moylan isn't as good as I remember, but maybe I just thought he was better because I was using his injury as an excuse of why the pen was terrible last season. No, that was Manny Acosta and Blaine Boyer's fault. This pen is a bit better than last season, but it isn't the strength I though it would be and that Frank Wren said it would be. Oh well. If the starters keep giving them leads, they'll save more than they screw up. That is just the truth.

So....Bottom line, the pitching needs to stay strong and the offense needs to show up more than just once a week. I would ask Frank Wren to make a deal for a bat, but I'm not certain he has the bullets to pull off a deal. Maybe if he trades off Vazquez as part of a three-way deal he can net a bat, but that would cut out a pitcher that has helped Atlanta do as well as they have thus far this season. Unless you KNOW Hanson is ready to step in as a No.3 starter (which at THIS POINT, we don't know) I would say hold on to Vazquez through the end of the season, then get what you can next year. The 2010 season is really what Atlanta fans need to look to, but a Wild Card race isn't out of the question for this season. And a division crown with the Struggling Mets and the pitching poor Phillies could be within reach.
With Bobby Cox on the bench, he could be a wild card that keeps this team in the wild card hunt. Let's check back at the all-star break, but i'd find it hard to believe that IF this pitching stays strong, this team won't still be in contention.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Hard getting into SYTYCD

I am sorry Nigel. I just am. I cannot get into the auditions for So You Think You Can Dance. I used to enjoy watching the American Idol auditions, watching people not be able to sing, but then after about 20 minutes that gets old. I don't enjoy watching people who can't dance waste everyone's time by not dancing well. I don't get it.

I also don't get the lyrical dancing. I just don't. Last night the judges were moved to tears by the one girl and the guy at the end who couldn't hold a candle to Danny from Season 3 or the other black dude (the lyrical dude who went out in the #4 or 5 range last season) was told he HAD to make the final 10? Huh? They said he left his heart on the stage. His life was on display for everyone. WHAT? When was that? Just wondering.

I enjoy the dancing in the top 20, but I guess I just don't know enough about dancing to fully appreciate what they are doing when they dress up in their PJs and flop around the stage. Oh well. All I can say is that with Joshua as the defending champ and Sabra from the season before, this year had BETTER step it up with a REAL WINNER THAT DESERVES IT, otherwise I might just tune out the dancing and just flip back when Cat Deeley is on camera.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Survivor: Cuba, battle of the Sports Stars Episode nine

Previously on SURVIVOR!

Tebow and Avery are talking and Tebow questions whether or not they want Nash in the group. Tebow says that Steve is a liar while Avery defends Nash. “He’s with us. All of his dirt, if you want to call it that, is out in the open and honestly, what was so bad about it? Did you go home? No
Meanwhile, Kerri is targeted by Danica. “If you join us and TO you will be in the final four. How long do you really think those boys would keep you after they cut us out? And with TO and Sergio, he has an idol and TO can win the immunity. If they do and once they vote me out, you would be next. Think about it chicky.” Danica crosses her arms triumphantly.
Following the rewards challenge, Probst allows Avery then to select who goes to exile island, and he says Kerri. Kerri is a bit pissed about this, but Danica pats her arm. This might be the final push Kerri needed to go to the BPs.
At the immunity challenge, Probst welcomes in everybody and points to a dock. After the dock are a series of platforms on which the survivors will stand for 10 minutes at a time. IF you fall, you are out. Nash and Tebow move to the final platform where the two will stand until one falls. 45 minutes later, Nash is focused and Tebow is starting to sweat. His leg is starting to hurt him where he injured himself a few weeks back. Tebow picks up his leg but when he puts it back down, he wobbles and falls off the platform, giving Nash the win. Nash jumps off and Avery congratulates him when he exits the water. Nash is given the necklace and everyone heads back to camp with Tebow limping.
Probst welcomes every to tribal council Probst asks tebow about his trust of Nash. Has that healed as quickly as your leg? “He lied to us and he’s tried to make good, but you cannot really trust someone once they cross you, you know?” Probst asks Nash how he can earn Tebow’s trust back. Nash says that you just work your tail off and hope that’s enough. But what if it isn’t? Jeff asks. Then I go home, Nash responds. “Actually Jeff, I heard a rumor going around about tonight’s vote and I figure this is my best chance to earn my alliance’s trust back, so I am giving Tim the immunity necklace.”
Last vote decides the balance of the game. First member of our jury, Danica. Bring me your torch.

AhhhhhhhhhhuhhhhhhhhAHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, ooohdelah, ohdelAHHH ohdelay ohdelay AH aaaa ahh yah a a yah…
Quest Tribe: Tim Tebow, Brandi Chastain, Sean Avery, Ichiro, Kerri Walsh, Steve Nash, Sergio Garcia, TO The Jury: Danica Patrick

Day 25
At Camp Quest, TO and Sergio are trying to regroup and Kerri is involved in the discussion. They realize that Danica’s leaving was a huge blow to their gameplan. Sergio blames Kerri for not getting Brandi on board, but TO waves that off. That isn’t the problem. The problem is they simply got outsmarted by Brandi and that makes her a threat to them. She isn’t trustworthy now according to TO. Almost on cue, Brandi approaches and asks Kerri if they can talk in private. Brandi tells Kerri that she wants to join the BPs, but only as a secret Femme Fatal. Kerri asks why she stabbed the BPs in the back? Brandi tries to pass off that she was out to protect Kerri and she hypothesized that the BPs were just using Kerri and would end up cutting her off the first chance they got. Kerri retorts that she doesn’t believe that the BPs are in a position to be voting out any of their own members. “Especially not down in the numbers!” Brandi tries once again to get in and says that they can pull one over on the guys from the final four. If TO can win the immunity idol and Sergio uses his idol, then they can vote out Ichiro or Avery.
Kerri finally nods yes but rolls her eyes after Brandi leaves.
Meanwhile Tebow is moving around gingerly on his injured leg. Nash and Avery are trading war stories about past injuries. Ichiro is busy making some rice soup with some of the spices. Tebow looks around and finally calls the crew together. He believes that TO and Sergio are going to try and regroup and pull Kerri and maybe Brandi in. “They are going to full-court press her, you know they are. We’ve got to either get her on board, or make sure we somehow get the vote to go our way tomorrow.”
“How?” asks Ichiro, but Tebow doesn’t have an answer. Brandi is seen walking up to the group. Tebow just shrugs at Nash.

Commercial…Just because it is Memorial Day weekend doesn’t mean Fletcher is taking the weekend off from radio! Tune in this Sunday to 790 The Zone from 2-4!

Jeff Probst welcomes the survivors to the rewards challenge. In front of the Survivors is a big wheel full of numbers and letters. The survivors will have to match up the letters and numbers to try and spell out a message. The survivors have been given clues to try and figure out what the code is. Ready? GO! Everyone starts spinning and trying to solve the puzzle. Kerri is out to an early lead. Tebow seems confused by the puzzle. “I feel like I am facing a REAL defense out here and not just South Carolina!” he shouts. “Man this is like the Georgia game in 2007! Like Auburn in 2007. Like LSU in 2007. Like Auburn in 2006! I just cannot crack this thing!”
Nash meanwhile thinks he has it figured out, but it doesn’t spell anything, so he starts over. Brandi is going slowly, but she is starting to get it. A frustrated TO announces that he is going to save himself for the immunity challenge. Sergio is befuddled. The race is coming down to Kerri v Brandi. Suddenly Ichiro starts whirling the wheel around and spelling out something. Kerri thinks she has it and calls out to Jeff. He walks over and announces that Kerri in fact spelled out, “Everybody lies. Trust no one. Ever.”
Kerri wins reward. She gets a video message from her husband on a cell phone. At the end of the message, it is revealed that he hubs is back at camp. Probst then drops a bombshell that she can go see him OR she can go to exile island and EVERYONE ELSE can see a significant other. Tebow asks who his guest is and Probst says Urban Meyer. “Oh GAWD, keep that fool away from me!” shouts TO. Sergio’s girlfriend is at camp, Brandi’s sister is there, Ichiro’s sushi roller is there, Nash’s wife is there, and Avery’s brother is there. Kerri exhales deeply. She decides that she wants to see her husband. “Are you serious?” Avery shouts. “How freaking selfish!” he whispers to Nash. Nash shrugs. “She won dude.”
“Alright everybody. No visits, but I do have letters from those guys for you.” Probst hands out the letters and while some seem happy to get them, others are a bit pissed they don’t get to see their visitor.
Back at camp, Kerri runs and jumps into her husband’s arms. They make out for a second before walking around and Kerri tries to introduce him to everyone. TO and Sergio seem eager to meet him. Brandi says hello before going back to passive-aggressively washing a pot. Avery brushes him off. Tebow shakes his hand and jokes a bit. Nash cracks a joke before walking away. Ichiro bows. Kerri and her hubs walk to the water, hand in hand and she tells him about the game, about the Femme Fetals, about the backstabbing and how she is trying to get in with the BPs. Her husband tells he to get in with Tebow, but Kerri admits that it is too late for that to happen. They walk in the water and laugh.
Back at camp, Avery is still steamed that Kerri chose herself over the group. Nash asks Avery if he would have given up a visit for everyone else. “If I was afraid I might go home tomorrow…”
“Sean, I think everyone would have made the same choice,” Tebow admits. “I think I would have.”
“That’s not very Christian, Timmy!” TO shouts. Tebow just rolls his eyes.
“Sean-o, Tim’s right. She made her choice, and it’s fine,” Nash concludes.
“I think I’d have thought about it before I declared my answer. Just saying.” Avery says before storming off.
In confessional, Avery admits that he is feeling a little left out now that Tebow and Nash are on speaking terms and he isn’t needed as much in their crew.
Tebow and Nash are laughing with Kerri and her hubby and that pisses off Avery even more.

Commercial…Want to watch big league baseballers but don’t want to pay Turner Field prices? Head up to Gwinnett to catch the G-Braves….OR just read about it in next week’s Score Atlanta. Visit www.scoreatl.com next week for more info!

Kerri finally kisses her husband goodbye and he leaves. Brandi is a little perturbed that she missed her sister and she lets Kerri know. Avery joins in about how much he misses his brother. “OK, a SISTER and a BROTHER vs a HUSBAND. Come on guys. Let’s get over this,” Kerri says. Avery shouts after her how she is selfish and TO comes to Kerri’s defense. Nash hears this and walks over and pulls Avery away before he can do anything. TO calls Nash Avery’s Buttboy and Nash gets right in TO’s face, saying that this isn’t done. “Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I’m scared!” TO laughs.

Avery and Nash regroup with Tebow and Tebow smoothes over the hyped up Sean and Steve. “Let’s save it guys. Save it for the challenge,” Tebow suggests.
Ichiro and Brandi meanwhile serve out dinner and they overhear Sergio and TO planning to cut Kerri. Ichiro and Brandi’s eyes get big as they hustle back to relay the message to the rest of the crew. When they leave, TO asks Sergio if he thinks they heard them. They bust out laughing.
In a confessional, TO and Sergio, along with Kerri say that this is a part of their plan. “It’s a longshot, but it’s the only one we have.”

Probst welcomes everyone to the immunity challenge and announces that they will be on a rope circle with multiple paths and the object is to shake or push off everyone else, with the last person standing getting immunity. The paths intertwine and combat is going to be necessary in some cases. Ready, go! Tebow goes after Sergio and knocks him off almost immediately. Avery goes after and bumps Kerri to the ground. Brandi is trying to shake Nash off, but she falls herself. Nash has TO in his sights, but first he encounters Ichiro and Ichiro tries to move around Nash, but he falls, attempting to do so. Tebow, TO, Nash and Avery are all left. Nash and TO end up nose to nose and TO wraps his legs around Nash. Avery rushes both and knocks them both off. He is wobbly when Tebow approaches to steady him. Avery continues to wobble and Tebow’s good leg slips and the bad leg cannot hold Tebow. He falls and Avery is declared the winner.
TO and Nash are finally separated by Tebow and Kerri.

Commercial…So you Think you can Dance, Dance Dance returns tonight. Don’t worry everybody, I’ll be blogging about it tomorrow. Don’t you WORRY!

Back at camp, Nash is campaigning HARD for TO to go. “He HAS to go! I am sick of him. He thinks he is better than me when he is the dirtiest player in this game!” Nash spits.
“Strategy, Steve, Strategy. We want that divisive force over there, driving them crazy,” Sean remarks.
“No, he is keeping them together. And he is a threat to win immunity. He needs to go tonight!” Nash reasons but Tebow and Sean still think they should go a different direction. Ichiro motions for Nash to take a walk with him. Ichiro says that he will vote with Nash for TO. “If we can convince Brandi, we might just pull it off,” Ichiro says.

Meanwhile the BPs are huddling and TO says that they will target Nash. “I would say Avery, but he has immunity and Tebow isn’t what he was. He can be beaten on that bad wheel. Nash is the way to go,” TO plans.
“What about Ichiro?” Kerri says.
“No, Nash is the bigger threat. He has to go first,” Sergio corrects. “Nash, we good?” Everyone nods.
Nash and Ichiro approach Brandi in the water and describe the plan for TO to go. Brandi says that she is good. Nash asks if she knows who the BPs are voting. “How would I know that?” Brandi asks. “I’m with you guys I thought. Are Tim and Avery going with this plan?
“Sean is,” replies Nash. “Tim thinks Kerri should go.”
In confessional Brandi predicts that some one is going to be surprised!

At tribal council, Probst asks Tebow once again about his leg. “I feel like a broken record, Jeff,” Tebow laughs. “I’m fine.” Probst asks Nash about the encounter with TO. Nash says that it goes back to the struggle for Alpha-male back with Wumba. And I think they are pissed I crossed over to work with Tim and Sean.” Probst remarks how all of the alliances are out in the open. WOW. “Well not all of the alliances. We don’t know where Kerri and Brandi lie,” remarks Ichiro.
“Well we know where Kerri lies, with HERSELF!” Avery barks. Probst asks if he is steamed and what he would have done.
“If I was on the chopping block, I’d think about saving myself and getting in good graces.”
“You wouldn’t have done the same thing?” Probst asks.
“I’d have made sure I had the idol before I did,” Avery responds and points to the necklace. With that they vote and Probst tallies the votes.
“In the event of a tie, we go to the tiebreaker…” Jeff says.
First vote: TO. Second vote: Kerri. Third vote: Nash. Fourth vote: Brandi. Fifth, TO. Sixth: Kerri. Seventh: Brandi. Eighth vote and second member of our jury: Brandi.

Brandi is stunned and Tebow looks at Avery, who exchanges glances with Nash. Nash is stunned. TO, Sergio and Kerri all seem to smile as Brandi brings her torch to Probst. She walks away and Probst tells everyone to gather their torches and head back to camp. “A split vote and some surprised faces. All of these alliances maybe aren’t as cohesive as they think they are. Head back to camp.”

Next time on Survivor…
Avery confronts Nash on why the split. TO, Kerri and Sergio seem stronger than ever with the other crew seemingly splintering. Tebow is limping badly in the immunity challenge and it’s time for Survivor AUCTION! Did TO just take a swing at Nash?

The G-Braves made it home

The Future moved about 8 hours closer to Atlanta over the off-season when the Atlanta Braves AAA-affiliate moved from Richmond to Gwinnett County before the 2009 season. Fans of minor league baseball used to have to drive to Rome or Myrtle Beach to catch a glimpse of the Braves farmhands, but now those seeking the future need only to travel to the Buford area. This season, fans heading to out to watch the G-Braves have been treated to several big-time performances from big-time players. Kris Medlin, Tommy Hanson, Brian McCann, Clint Sammons, Brandon Jones, Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton and Jorge Campillo have all suited up for Gwinnett this season and most have either worn an Atlanta jersey in the past or will soon in the future. Three hundred game-winner Tom Glavine will also suit up for Gwinnett later this month. Even though the G-Braves are hovering around the .500 mark record-wise, the talent is really something to behold.
Tommy Hanson burned up the minors last season and then became the first pitcher to claim MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League. The big righty impressed during spring training and has not disappointed thus far in Class-AAA action. Hanson currently leads the International League with 64 strikeouts and has a .90 WHIP. Though his record stands at 2-3, his ERA registers at 1.70 meaning he isn’t getting much run support. Hanson dominates hitters on the minor league level and it is only a matter of time before he is promoted to the parent club about 35 minutes down Highway 85 South.
When the big club needed another starter recently and dipped into the Gwinnett roster to fill the spot, some eyebrows were raised when Hanson didn’t get the call and Kris Medlin did instead. The doubters should begin to believe. Medlin led the club with a 5-0 record and an IL-best ERA of 1.19. The former reliever-turned-starter had thrown 21 straight scoreless innings and made his Atlanta debut last week. Medlin’s WHIP is even better than Hanson’s at .80 and he has 44 strikeouts so far this season in AAA action. Though his future with Atlanta may not be as a starter, he is certainly providing Gwinnett fans with plenty of excitement and plenty of zeros on the scoreboard during his starts.
Fans of offense haven’t been disappointed passing through the turnstiles at the new stadium either. Four of the regular starters have at least a .303 average on the season. Diory Hernandez leads the team with a .355 average but he might soon be in an Atlanta uniform due to recent injuries. Hernandez plays second base and his quick swing led to 154 hits last season and has so far netted him 39 this year. Hernandez made the Southern League (AA) all-star roster in 2007 and appears to be on his way again this season.
JC Holt and Brooks Conrad are two more names that fans should familiarize themselves with as both are putting up potentially monster years. Conrad is mashing home runs while Holt is hitting .303 while playing in both the leftfield position as well as three others in the infield. Add in the contributions from Barbaro Canizares, Brandon Jones, Gregor Blanco, Van Pope and Clint Sammons and this team has some serious offensive capabilities. Canizares leads the team with seven home runs but Sammons says that he feels like his pop should return this season after his power numbers declined last season. Jones and Blanco both have major league experience and they both bring that big league attitude to the club every day. Fans were also treated to Atlanta catcher Brian McCann’s rehab stint earlier this season as he played for the first time with his new glasses. The three-time all-star was 1-3 with an RBI double and a walk.
Minor league baseball offers more to its fans than just the chance to see future major leaguers and current major leaguers on rehab assignments. Traditionally the marketing staffs of minor league teams go to great lengths to get fans into the stadium seats and Gwinnett will be no different this season. While Ted Williams popsicle night and Divorce night are not on the schedule, Beach Day, Christmas in July and Totally 80s games will be held in Gwinnett. Recently younger fans were treated to a visit from the Zooperstars, a group of animalistic superstars including Harry Canary, Nolan Rhino, Ken Giraffey Jr., Derek Cheetah, Clammy Sosa and Cow Ripken Jr. Later this season the G-Braves mascot Chopper will attempt to break the world record for most hugs in one hour on the National Hug Holiday. Chopper will also be bringing his mascot friends out one game fro Mascot night. The San Diego Chicken will entertain fans and the best promotion might be “I hate to admit it, but I like it” night, which will feature bad music and bad food but good times.
Minor League baseball has made it home to the Gwinnett area and fans looking for a fun family experience are in for a treat as they watch the future right now.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Midweek Entertainment report 5/20/09

The Dangers of Twitter, What happened on Idol, Shawn Johnson wins b/c no 14 year olds involved and White Tie Affair loves Baby Ruth bars

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Midweek entertainment report!

CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

So Patrick Swayze is dead? According to Twitter he is. But according to Swayze's publicist he isn't. Yeppers, a Jacksonville, Florida radio station jumped the twitter gun and tweeted that Swayze had kicked the Roadhouse bucket, but the report was just PointBreak-er Blank wrong. The Dirty Dancing star is suffering from Pancreatic cancer and this radio station thought that he had lost his battle to the cancer "Beast," but the report was wrong. Swayze is still hanging, apparently. THAT'S why I am afraid of Twitter. That thing can wrongly kill people!

I missed Idol and Glee last night because I was at the Atlanta Braves game. I also don't have TiVo or DVR, so I was forced to go to Office Depot yesterday and ask for a blank VHS. The store associate laughed at me. Anyways, from what I've read Simon gave the first song to Allen, but then gave Lambert rounds two and three. The funniest part was apparently when Kara bashed the song SHE WROTE. HA! Nice. The results finale is always the best anyways when everyone comes back and they do all of the duets with the REAL musicians. Always a good time.
As far as Glee, I haven't been this excited about a potential show since SouthLAnd...
let's hope Glee is better...

Apparently Shawn Johnson won the Dancing with the Stars* title (*as long as you consider the C-listers "Stars"). Hey Shawn, thanks for trying that hard in the Olympics. Wait... Actually it was a good thing that the DWTS doesn't let 14 year olds dance, otherwise Johnson would have FOLDED and taken the Silver.

Did you catch The Hills on Monday? I wasn't aware that the Sloth character from Goonies was now the bassist for White Tie Affair. WOW. What a get! And I love that the Hills ripped off The OC's The Heights episode with the ferris wheel. HA! But it was good that Spencer made peace with Heidi's dad. This way Bill and Spencer can take on Heidi's mom and Rule Colorado.

Thanks everybody. Enjoy the rest of your week and check back later this week for Survivor:Cuba's next episode.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Sleazy P reviews Angels and Demons

Our own Movie Critic Sleazy P saw Angels and Demons over the weekend. How was it? Was it better than Di Vinci Code? Angels and Demons was a better book, so you'd think the movie would be better than the last craptastic movie featuring Tom Hanks with crazy-long hair. So what did the Body think?

Well, ultimately the book was freaking awesome and I was bound to be disappointed... not only did they leave out a whole crap load of elements in the beginning... they changed story elements... Mrs Sleazy said "probably for brevity."

I don't care about stinking brevity, I care about you leaving out important parts of the story. I care about changing the freaking ending. I care about stuff being left out.

How come when JRR Tolkien writes a book and it is moviefied they don't leave out ANYTHING... Dan Freaking BROWN should be incensed. Is it better than the Di Vinci Code... Well yeah.. because the story is better. It is probably a good movie on its own merits as a movie for people who had not read the book. If you have read the book...obviously the tour of Rome and the Vatican is still very cool visually... but I don't see how you cannot be disappointed by what they did to the original story.

Monday, May 18, 2009

NBA Conference finals preview...from D! REID!

Sportsbyfletch is PROUD to welcome in a new correspondent, Danon Reid aka DReid! He is from the D (That's Detroit, in case you didn't know) and he loves him some NBA. Too bad his Pistons already bit the dust. But DReid was always more of a Mr. Big Shot fan, who is still alive.

Lakers vs. Nuggets is going to be awesome. As much as I wanted the Celtics to lose to the Magic, it’s hard to believe they actually lost, you know. Charles Barkley thinks the Magic are going to knock out the Cavs. I haven’t formulated an opinion/ prediction on that series yet.

I guess I am more excited in the fact that there are two new teams in the Conference Finals as oppose to the traditional teams…Spurs or Mavs playing the Lakers in the west and Pistons or Celtics playing the Cavs in the east.

I wouldn't say Best Ever....but good enough

JT took the title of Sole Survivor last night in the Survivor finale and it was 7-0, JT over Stephen. It was just the second unanimous vote ever, and while THAT was surprising, JT winning really wasn't.

He stayed in the shadows long enough, hooked up with Joe first then moved on to Stephen and Taj when the time was right. Once in the merge, he got Coach to think he was the real deal, used Coach to knock out his biggest threat in Tyson and won the game straight out when he blindsided Debbie.
The only mistake he made was sending Taj home one vote early, and she really needs to remember it is JUST A GAME. (She got outplayed but she was taking it personally. I know you are disappointed, but honestly, you were in SWV and your husband is Eddie George. You don't need the money.)

But I am glad that everyone seemed to remember that it was just a game and the player that made the right moves and then turned it on at the end and deserved to win. And they voted to make sure he did. Good for the jury. So many times people take the game so personally that they don't vote for the worthy finalist.

And Tyson WAS correct to a point that he said that the best player doesn't always win because everyone turns on that person early in the individual challenges. True, but if the power person plays a game the way JT played it, then YES the best person will win. As good as Tyson was, I'm not certain he was better than JT. JT sent him packing and for that, you tip your cap to JT. Tyson was my favorite but then I clearly started rooting for JeT. Certainly over Coach and Stephen.

Lastly, I will say that I do think that Brendon was right when he said that his tribe had too many members going into the merge. That allowed Erinn to switch sides because that fat should have been trimmed, to borrow an expression from CT. I am just so surprised that Coach wanted to go after his own tribe first before knocking out Taj, Stephen and JT. I guess he didn't think his house was in order? That might have been the biggest mistake made in the game, which allowed JT to win. Otherwise, I think Tyson beats Coach in the final two. Oh well.
Can't wait for Survivor Samoa.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Goodbye to a surprising contestant

Last night Kimberly was finally booted off of The Duel2, but only after she was surprisingly impressive during her rookie challenge. She knocked off Robin in a Duel Pole Dance, outsmarted Ruthie in the Back up before falling to Jen in the charge and knockdown duel.
I liken Kimberly performance to the Gonzaga basketball team. She came out of nowhere (seemingly as a low seed, perhaps a 13 with Brooke and Katie as well as Chauvon as the lower seeds.) to upset a few of the big time names (Ruthie had to be considered one of the favorites and Robin is kind of like an Indiana. A big name that is past prime, but still gets name recognition). You know Gonzaga will never win the big dance but they will make some waves before leaving a few rounds further than they should have gone. Same with Kim. She will never win and never be taken seriously in future duels, but she will probably always take out a name or two before leaving. She should get respect especially after knocking out Ruthie, but she'll have to take out Beth at the next inferno then eliminate Kyia another gauntlet before people will take her seriously.
Just like Gonzaga had to do before they were able to start making the NCAAs as an at-large. So kudos to you Kimberly. Way to give it the good fight. Very Casey Calvarie of you. Very Dan Dickau of you.

Paul Mac's weekly rantings...

Paul Mac and Sportsbyfletch's head editor exchanged emails and Sleazy P's thoughts were just crazy enough to become his weekly rants.... With no further ado

PM: I try not to hope for anyone's demise, but Lane Kiffin was absolutely horrible in his pro gig... TOM CABLE out coached him and eventually got the RAIDERS... to play good football at the end of the year which is simply ridiculous. Tennessee needed a shake up... well that's what they got. I guess we know they plan to run to football. I just find it odd that this glass house guy would be throwing stones in the direction of the area of the country that produces more redonkulously fast athletes than any other.... really... REALLY? You put down Pahokee Florida..? USC is in Watts Jerk. Sorry that stud athletes just don't arbitrarily live in Alpharetta or Knox county. I hope they never let the guy back in the door.

SBF: I am pissed at Justin Houston for eliminating ANY chance that UGA had of beating Okie State. I was going to say ALL summer that Okie State was going to win then about 12 minutes before kickoff, I was going to call you and say, "Dude, you know I'm just messin' right? Georgia is going to wax that Pokie buttocks!" But now I am NOT going to do that. Thanks.

PM: Georgia is going to wax that Pokie Buttocks... I'm not remotely concerned. Coming out party for new UGA defense led by the interior of the D Line (best in the SEC 2009 season)... wreaking havoc and causing 3 costly turnovers. Georgia has been to Tiger stadium at night... they are not afraid of Stillwater... it's almost as intimidating as...wait for it.... Columbia, SC.

SBF: Bruce Figgins, with Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch coming in and Aron White already there, you might as well just transfer with Zac Swansey to Tennessee Tech. (Hey Swansey, way to show Mark Fox who's boss. I'll bet he'll REALLY miss YOU!)

PM: Bruce Figgins is lucky he has a scholarship and can finish school, because if those other guys learn to block, he'll never play again. Zac Swansey...seriously? Your new coach is already better than your old coach... wtf?

SBF: I am also pissed at a little girl from Cabo for stealing my handshake with the Dolphins. We "swam with the dolphins" but when it was my turn to do a trick, she started whining and the dolphin trainer appeased her with a trick when it was MY turn. Yeah, she was 7 and I'm 27, but I can act like a four year old with the BEST of them!

PM: "I teach dolphins how to stunt" - 50 Cent

SBF: LeBron is pretty freaking good, dude. The Cavs/Lakers series is going to be pretty awesome

PM: Nuggets/Cavs series is going to be awesome. Billups is the most underappreciated NBA player.

SBF: Do we think the Bulls will sign-and-trade Ben Gordon to Atlanta in exchange for Joe Johnson, or do we think the Bulls like John Salmons too much? Can you imagine a lineup of Andre Miller, Ben Gordon, Josh Smith and Al Horford (zaza if you'd like, or maybe you draft DeJuan Blair from Pitt?) OR you ink Jarrett Jack or Raymond Felton, trade Joe Johnson for Tyson Chandler (The Hornets would LOVE to have Johnson's contract, which expires after the season) and you draft Gerald Henderson and Wayne Ellington.... let's move to football, shall we? I think the Eagles, Falcons, Saints, Giants, Cardinals and Vikings make the playoffs in the NFC. I think the Falcons beat the Saints in round one while the Giants beat the Vikings. In round two, I have to think that the Eagles knock off the Giants and the Falcons take care of the Cardinals now that Brooking is gone. BUTTTTTTTTTTTT the Dirty Birds will fall to Donovan and the Eggles in the NFC championship and all of the Vick apologists will scream that Matty Ice couldn't beat the Eagles either! But the Falcons WILL score 32 ppg. NFC title game will be 42-38 Philly. Not a lot of defense in that one.
Over in the AFC, I think New England, Pitt, Indy and San Diego take the divisions with Balt and KC as the wildcards. YEPPER! Look for Indy to beat the Chiefs and Sandiego to edge Flacco. New England takes out San Diego and Pitt beats Indy and it is Big Ben losing to New England.
Brandy beats McNabb yet again to crush (680 the Fan's) Kincade's heart

PM: I like where your heads at. I just hope the offense can keep up with the bend don't break defense. The good news is even though they will give up yards and make some mistakes.. I think they are fast enough to create some turnovers too as far as the Falcons.

Here is my question though. are you really that high on the Kansas City Matt Cassel's? I know you are looking at that division and going... hmm. San Diego and a lot of yuck. Hell it was probably process of elimination... but... I just feel like KC needs this year to deal with transition before they get a lot better. There really isn't anyone else unless Denver pulls something out of their butt or Tom Cable pulls the impossible. I so want to take the risk with Cincinatti... but I think they might have some stuff blow up in their face like usual.

KC has been stockpiling talent lately... but trading Tony G is a huge detriment to them this season I think.

Survivor Cuba! Episode 8

Previously on SURVIVOR!

Wumba and Chumba both get a visit from Probst telling them to pack their belongings because they will be merging today! Nash breathes a sigh of relief. The two tribes meet at the beach and enjoy a feast. Avery and Nash embrace while TO and Danica size up Misty and Kerri, the two they believe is the mastermind behind Chumba. They don’t know about the drama with Brandi. In the middle of the meal, Nash privately confronts Sergio about Amanda leaving. Sergio sneers that TO and Danica had a better plan.
Sergio approaches Nash. “We are thinking about making a run over to camp tonight to find the idol. We think it is to the right of where our tree mail was. You in?” Sergio asks Nash.
“You know the way. And if you don’t go, we’ll spill the secret that you were in,” TO says as he approaches the two.

Probst goes to count the votes. He returns and says that once the votes are read, the person eliminated will have to leave immediately. Also, if anyone has an immunity idol and wants to use it tonight, they must use it now. TO stands up and hands his hidden idol to Danica, who hands it to Jeff. Avery’s eyes get super wide. “This was Stevie’s idea. He took me to find the hidden idol since he knew his way to camp from the raid. He masterminded this whole thing. Good job Steve. Way to stick strong for Wumba!” Nash’s eyes get super wide and he shakes his head no. Probst reveals a vote for Danica which he throws away. Another for Danica, which he throws away. Another for Danica, which he tosses into the fire. Another for Danica and another. One more vote for Danica thrown away. One vote for Misty. Another vote for Misty. Another vote for Misty. That will do it. Misty is stunned. TO, Danica and Sergio look pleased with themselves. Nash is shaking his head no to Avery and Tebow.

AhhhhhhhhhhuhhhhhhhhAHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, ooohdelah, ohdelAHHH ohdelay ohdelay AH aaaa ahh yah a a yah…
Chumba Tribe….Tim Tebow, Brandi Chastain, Sean Avery, Ichiro, Kerry Walsh. Wumba Tribe… Steve Nash, Danica Patrick, Sergio Garcia, TO

Day 22
Back at Quest camp, Kerry is in a daze now that her partner Misty is gone. She admits in a confessional that with Bruce having been blindsided by Brandi from her own alliance then Misty getting the boot, she is all that is let of the Femme Fatals.

Sergio, Danica and TO are quite pleased with themselves. “Good move TO,” says Sergio. “Well good play by Danica to come up with the plan,” says Sergio. “Well good snooping around Sergio,” Says Danica. “I feel like the SAG awards. You’re great! No, You’re great!” mocks Sergio.

Meanwhile Nash is trying to talk to Tebow but the Gator wants nothing to do with Steve. “I just don’t want to hear it right now. That wasn’t the plan Steve. And you GAVE them an idol? Took them right to it?”
“Tim, that isn’t true. I mean, I went with them to the idol but I went along with our alliance with the vote,” Nash pleads.
“But what went down, went down because of your actions. Just admit you were involved!” Tebow shouts.
“If you want to look at it skewed, go ahead, but use your head Tim. You can trust me,” Nash retorts.
“OK, I trust that you’d never steal from me…wait. I trust that you’d never get involved with our opposition…wait. You’re either with us or you’re not. You want to join them? Go buy a seat in 37F!” Tebow brushes off Nash.
“You mean on an airplane? I don’t get that,” Nash is confused.

Avery meanwhile is talking to Ichiro about what is going down and Ichiro is assuring him that the plan can still work but TO living to fight another day is potentially scary. “We still must vote out the Beautiful People, then take out Walsh and Chastain. I believe Chastain is still with us. Walsh is who we must be concerned about,” Ichiro reasons.
“Well now they have nothing on Steve. I forgive him. So May got voted out? Who cares?” Avery reasons.
“But if the BPs get Walsh involved, suddenly Brandi has a lot of power in this game. If she is with us that is good, and all signs point that she is. But if she turns, we get voted out one by one,” Ichiro concludes. Brandi is seen staring at the fire all by her lonesome.

Commercial…Did you hear that Fletcher got signed up for a twitter? He hasn’t quite figured it out or see the point, but he is trying… Check him out at http://twitter.com/fproctor or just visit the link to the right side of the page!

Tebow and Avery are talking and Tebow questions whether or not they want Nash in the group. Tebow says that Steve is a liar while Avery defends Nash. “He’s with us. All of his dirt, if you want to call it that, is out in the open and honestly, what was so bad about it? Did you go home? No. Misty did. All we really need to worry about now is maybe Brandi and Kerri flipping. But you need to keep them in the fold,” Avery points to Tebow.
“Well, just know that Nash needs to walk on eggshells. He needs to prove himself all over again to me,” Tebow finishes. “You brought him in so he reflects on you.”
Meanwhile Sergio and Danica are walking to tree mail when they see Kerri gathering firewood. They both approach. Sergio asks if he can help and Kerri bites her lip before saying yes. Sergio and Danica both begin to ask Kerri how she is doing without Misty. Kerri curtly says fine. Danica said she was worried but Kerri nearly bites her head off, asking why she was worried because they sent her partner home.
“That’s part of the game, Kerri. We were trying to survive in the game and you have to tip your cap that we could pull that off,” Sergio semi-brags.
“But honestly, what we did, was advance you in the game. If you join us and TO you will be in the final four. How long do you really think those boys would keep you after they cut us out? And with TO and Sergio, he has an idol and TO can win the immunity. If they do and once they vote me out, you would be next. Think about it chicky.” Danica crosses her arms triumphantly.
“You guys think they would vote me out before Steve?” Kerri asks.
“Yeah, he is in with those guys,” Sergio informs her.
“So I am now a floater? We should offer Brandi the same offer. Get her with us, then we can pick them off,” Kerri suggests.
“Might not be a bad idea,” Sergio agrees.

Jeff Probst welcomes the survivors to the reward challenge. The survivors will be playing darts, sort of. They will throw knives at a big bullseye target and the person with the most points wins reward. In this case a trip to a local village where they will see some dancing and get a homecooked meal. The board will also have several pieces of fruit on it. If you hit it, you get to keep what you hit, but your points don’t count. Let’s go. Three throws apiece.


Nash has some explaining to do. Tebow questions Avery on whether or not they want a liar in their group. Sergio and Danica approach Kerri, who now seems shut off without Misty. TO and Nash get nose to nose in the rewards challenge. Tim Tebow is first. He throws and picks up 8 points with an outer ring. Brandi Chastain goes next and hits a pineapple. Sean Avery fires away and hits a 7. Ichiro connects on a 5. Kerri Walsh hits a one pointer. Steve Nash fires and gets 8 points. Danica Patrick misses., Sergio Garcia’s falls off the board. TO hits a banana bushel. Tebow goes again and hits a 5. Brandi aims and hits a papaya. Avery connects on a 9. Ichiro drills a 10. Kerri hits for 5. Steve Nash lands some plantains. Danica’s falls off the board. Sergio connects on a 10. TO hits right beside a pineapple. Tebow fires and hits an 8 for a total of 21. Brandi connects for 7, finishing with 7 points, a papaya and a pineapple. Avery hits an 8 and finishes with 24. Ichiro nails a 9 and finishes with 24. Walsh aims for a pineapple, but misses, finishing with 6. Nash hits an orange sack, finishing with plantains, oranges and 8. Danica hits a one pointer. Sergio hits another 10, finishing with 20. TO hits a 7, finishing with 8 points. Avery and Ichiro tie and Jeff decides that they tie and get to choose who can go with them. Ichiro speaks up and says Brandi before Avery can even be consulted. Probst allows Avery then to select who goes to exile island, and he says Kerri. Kerri is a bit pissed about this, but Danica pats her arm. This might be the final push Kerri needed to go to the BPs. The rest collect their winnings and head back while Brandi, Ichiro and Avery head off to reward.
Commercial. Does Joe Johnson dogfight? CLEARLY NO! But why does SBF think that Joe Johnson is the Hawks Michael Vick? Visit sportsbyfletch for the details!

At the rewards dinner Avery, Ichiro and Brandi all watch the dancers and participate a bit before eating their arses off. Avery tells Ichiro that he wishes he had been consulted, but Ichiro assures him it is strategic. They talk a bit of strategy and try to re-recruit Brandi to their side. Brandi says, “Of course I am in. Why? Do you think Kerri switched? Is that why you sent her away?”
Avery theorizes that Sergio and Danica are trying to get to her and yes, he sent her there in case they had not. “That way, they can’t talk to her until after the immunity challenge, which maybe too late in that case.”
“If they have already and she was fence sitting though, she is definitely on their side,” Ichiro sadly says.
“I can talk to her, bring her back in,” Brandi offers. Ichiro and Avery nearly in unison say, “NO! That’s ok.” Brandi raises an eyebrow.

Back at camp, TO is eating is booty and right in front of Tebow. Nash sees this and brings Tebow a plantain. TO rolls his eyes and walks away. Tebow thanks Nash but then walks away. Nash is left shaking his head. Sergio sees this and sneaks over to Danica thinking that if Nash doesn’t get the immunity, they should go after him and maybe even get Tebow on board. Danica agrees.

On exile island, Kerri is struggling to find firewood and it is starting to rain. She tries to build a shelter, but it is too late and she is soaked. She is not having a lot of fun.

The three reward winners return to the camp and tell of their experiences. Avery and Nash go off and Nash says that Tebow gave him the cold shoulder. Avery promises to talk to him.
Before he can though, Sergio and Danica are seen talking to the gator. Sergio floats the idea they THEY cannot trust Nash after all of the stuff he pulled in Wumba and they suggest Tebow not trust him either. They also float the idea that if Nash doesn’t win immunity he is THEIR target and if Tebow really wants him gone, which Tebow says he doesn’t want anyone around if he cannot trust them, maybe he should consider writing Nash’s name down. Tebow says that might be an option.

Commercial…Can’t wait for another Four from Score? Well one is fast approaching. Just wait until Friday when we sit down with Clint Sammons! Local boy, UGA kid, now a Brave. What does he say about that? We asked him. Check back with SBF or visit www.scoreatl.com for more!

At the immunity challenge, Probst welcomes in everybody and points to a dock. After the dock are a series of platforms on which the survivors will stand for 10 minutes at a time. IF you fall, you are out. Stay on the ten minutes and we move on to a smaller platform. Last survivor standing wins immunity. Let’s board the platforms. No one falls off the first platform, but once on the second platform, Kerri falls as does Danica. Ichiro, Avery, Nash, Brandi, Tebow, TO and Sergio move on. On the next platform, Brandi falls as does Avery. Sergio falls off with 8 seconds remaining. TO, Ichiro, Nash and Tebow move on. TO immediately falls off and after a while Ichiro falls off. Nash and Tebow move to the final platform where the two will stand until one falls. 45 minutes later, Nash is focused and Tebow is starting to sweat. His leg is starting to hurt him where he injured himself a few weeks back. It also begins to rain. 20 minutes later, the rain is coming down harder and Tebow is trying to flex the knee. 20 minutes later Tebow picks up his leg but when he puts it back down, he wobbles and falls off the platform, giving Nash the win. Nash jumps off and Avery congratulates him when he exits the water. Nash is given the necklace and everyone heads back to camp with Tebow limping. Tebow sits down while Ichiro rubs his leg. Kerri, Danica, TO and Sergio all retreat to a different area of camp while Brandi and Avery sit by the fire with Nash.
Nash gets up to find some more wood when TO whistles him over. Nash originally ignores him but Sergio appeals to him and Nash finally rolls his eyes and walks over. TO and Danica reveal that Tebow is ready to throw Nash out next time he doesn’t have the immunity necklace. It might be a good time to get rid of Tebow. He might go on a run and this could be the perfect time to get rid of him. “It is a good point Nashie. Think about it baby!” TO laughs. Kerri and Danica look at TO.
“Are we really going after Tebow?” Kerri asks.
“Our four plus maybe Nash would be enough. The key is who is Brandi going with,” Sergio figures. “Go talk to her Kerri. You know her best. Guilt her into it.”

Brandi goes swimming, but it is with Ichiro as he fears someone will try and switch Brandi, but probably not with him right there. He says as much in a confessional. Kerri comes down to the river and offers forth the idea of Tebow but Ichiro shakes his head and Brandi says that they can’t do that. They ask if Kerri has switched over and Kerri denies before leaving. Ichiro confirms that she has. She has to GO! Ichiro leaves to tell everyone the gist of what happened, leaving Brandi alone, but Kerri slinks back to the river. Kerri asks Brandi to just think about what is going to happen. If they go with the boys, then after the BPs are gone, they would be next. If Kerri and Brandi go with the BPs then after the boys are gone, and the BPs must go against each other, the Femme Fatals could come back to take on the BPs. “3 v 2 is a lot better than 4 v 1 Brandi…” Kerri says before leaving. Brandi seems to nod her head.

Commercial… Next time you are in Hooters, check out Hooters Magazine and read the well-written article about the next generation of baseball standouts. Apparently the author is also quite handsome!

Probst welcomes every to tribal council and asks Kerri if she was surprised Misty is gone. Kerri says that it was shocking. Jeff inquires on her status after her own former tribemates sent her to exile island, and Kerri answers that it was just strategy. Tebow is asked about his leg injury to which Tebow says he is fine. Probst asks about his trust of Nash. Has that healed as quickly as your leg? “He lied to us and he’s tried to make good, but you cannot really trust someone once they cross you, you know?” Probst asks Nash how he can earn Tebow’s trust back. Nash says that you just work your tail off and hope that’s enough. But what if it isn’t? Jeff asks. Then I go home, Nash responds.
OK, Steve you have the immunity necklace, I assume you want to keep it?
“Actually Jeff, I heard a rumor going around about tonight’s vote and I figure this is my best chance to earn my alliance’s trust back, so I am giving Tim the immunity necklace.”
Tebow looks shocked as he takes Nash’s necklace. Tebow shoots a quick peek at TO and TO nods at Nash. Tebow winks.
“Let’s go vote. And remember, whomever is voted out becomes the first member of our jury.” As Tebow goes to vote, the BPs quickly huddle.
Probst goes to count the votes. “Once the result is announced the person will leave immediately.
First vote…Ichiro. Ichiro is shocked at this. Second vote: Danica. One for Ichiro, one for Danica. Ichiro. Next vote, Danica. That’s two to two. Next vote Danica. Another one for Dancia. That’s 4-2. One more and Danica goes home. Next vote…Ichiro. Eighth vote…Ichiro. 4-4. Last vote decides the balance of the game. First member of our jury, Danica. Bring me your torch.
TO looks at Kerri and Sergio. Sergio looks right at Kerri who in turn gazes at Brandi, who stares straight ahead. Danica walks off.
Another former Wumba member goes home. Too bad she didn’t have another immunity idol, right Sergio? Sergio laughs at Jeff, but he isn’t amused. We’ve seen unselfishness tonight as well as selfishness coming back to bite someone. This is a game of outwitting others. Danica was outwitted and she’s done. Remember her mistake or you’ll soon join her. Head back to camp.

Next time on Survivor…
Brandi tells Kerri that she wants to join the BPs, but only as a secret Femme Fatal. Kerri asks why she stabbed the BPs in the back? Meanwhile Tebow and Nash are on speaking terms again and Avery is feeling a little left out. Nash and TO end up nose to nose in the immunity challenge.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Hawks' Michael Vick

Overrated and overpaid. Named to several all-star games/Pro Bowls, but we aren't sure why. When the athlete is compared against the best ever to play and the best of his current generation, he just doesn't measure up. Both have fallen short of major expectations. Both were deemed the franchise and both have taken the franchise nowhere near the level that Atlanta fans hoped they would.
Michael Vick and Joe Johnson. The Face of the Falcons and the Savior of the Hawks. At least they were supposed to be that. Vick as we know is now is prison on dogfighting charges, but even when he was in the black and red of the Dirty Birds, he was still never living up to the potential that he flashed at times early in his career. As far as Joe Johnson, does he know that the playoffs even started? JJ had some success early in his NBA career when he was a fourth banana on the Suns behind Nash, Marion and Amare. But then he turned down good money and a serious shot at a ring to take a MAX deal, franchise money, to come and play on the Hawks. And interestingly enough, HE WASN'T ENOUGH to put the team over the top. NOPE, it took the No.3 overall pick from the 2007 draft as well as a TRUE POINT GUARD (wait, wasn't Joe originally brought to the Hawks as a combo, capable of playing some point? Wha Happen?) for the team to FINALLY make the playoffs two years straight. Did Joe think that the playoffs were over after the Miami series?

I remember being frustrated with MV7 after he failed to adjust his game once the NFL adjusted to his adjustment of their adjustment to his game, if that makes sense. He had the game at his fingertips with his ability and of course the blueprint was printed of how to beat him. Tampa created it. Then MV7 upped the ante before Philly figured it out again. But then instead of upping his game again (something he WAS capable of doing) he decided to sneak a residue in an aquafina bottle through airport security. Then he missed the Congressional breakfast then of course the dogfighting and the lying. He broke my sports heart in a way because I feel he cheated me out of seeing one of the players who would change the game as we know it.

As far as Joe Johnson, if you want to take the money and leave behind a team that was on the cusp of winning a title (and might have won one if YOU hadn't gotten cheap-shotted and injured), to go to be the face of a loser franchise, you had better be ready to be the face. That means you need to have Heart, Joe. you need to be able to lead the team with words AND with actions. That means STEP UP in the crunch time games. Put the team on your back the way Dwyane Wade does. That means yell at the teammates when they aren't working as hard as you are Kobe and LeBron do. That means make the bucket when EVERYONE in the arena knows you are taking the last shot the way Michael always did. But at least have some heart, bro. Oh, you were on an all-star team? How many points did you score? Oh, that's right. ZERO. Maybe the only all-star EVER to not make the score sheet. Why are you making these all-star teams? Why would a coach waste a spot like that? Especially when Mo Williams nearly didn't make it. Ben Gordon, I'd take him over you Joe. He's a fiery leader and he'll take AND MAKE the last second shot. Are the Bulls willing to do a sign-and-trade?

Joe and Vick came to Atlanta on one of those Julius Caesar Chariots. They were expected to usher in great things and turn around Loserville into Titletown. It just never happened. Overpaid and overrated too stuff that a rookie and a sixth man could do better. Atlanta is better off with Matty Ice under center. Let's hope the Hawks version of Matt Ryan gets here soon and this town can turn the page on both of these franchise players. Yeah, and by franchise I mean franchise killers.

Midweek Entertainment report 5/13/09

A Dress debate, the race for second, Em reads SBF, Miss Cali resashed and what's a twit?

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, the midweek entertainment report!

CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

Miss California 2009 (don't know her name and don't really care) was resashed yesterday by The Donald after sexy photos from the 2009 Miss USA runner-up's teenage years initially cost her the state crown. Umm, really? Pics of her as a teenager doing regular model work (in bra and panties in some cases) really was going to cost her a crown? That's a shame if it had. I get so tired of watching ugly chicks or fat chicks that are not attractive win the beauty pageants (hey, MTV ran a series called Tiara girls and it was mostly about "big-boned" chicks. How are they winning?). Let's keep the beautiful people winning these things. That includes the Miss Cali. So what if she doesn't believe in gay marriage. Sorry Perez. SBF supports anyone's marriage decisions (as long as it is between two people and not a man and his goat). But for him to think he cost her the crown and to be bragging? Not sure that's why she lost. Perhaps the judges just wanted to give it to someone hotter, or in the case of MTV (And the Miss UGA) pageants, NOT AS HOT.

Eminem is reportedly taking 200 recently laid off autoworkers to LA for a Jimmy Kimmel show taping. Eminem is going to record the show Friday for a showing next week to promote his new album Relapse. Apparently Eminem reads Sportsbyfletch as we noted how he "retired" and had gotten fat. Well, if that inspired him to start a comeback, then YOU ARE WELCOME, WORLD. Glad I could help. I've heard the new song and it is pretty good. No thanks necessary. I'm just here for the people.

As I was driving in to work this morning, for WHATEVER reason, I stopped on a radio station which is the "new" home of a certain morning show duo (even though this pair has been at this station for nearly a year. How long are we going to keep the "new" up there?), and they were talking about a bride-to-be that went dress shopping with her future mother-in-law and it turns out the two moms bought the same dress. Well now neither of the mothers will return the dress as the two stubborn asses each want to wear the dress to the wedding. And the talk show hosts (I will call them that because DESPITE WORKING FOR FM RADIO, they for some reason think that music is secondary...) were taking calls on this. And NO ONE SAID THE OBVIE which is "it is the bride and groom's day. Tell the Moms to get a grip!" And if the mothers weren't willing to do it themselves, COME ON GROOM AND BRIDE, say something to your parents! This has been a message from the SportsbyFletch common sense correspondent.

If you caught Idol last night, one thing was clear....Adam Lambert will win the thing, but the race for second place was quite entertaining. I have been screaming Go-Home Gokey for weeks now, and was doing it AGAIN after "Dance Little Sister." (Paula must REALLY be on some sort of drugs. Way to pick a song NO ONE has heard of!) However his version of You are so Beautiful was REALLY good. Look the guy can flat out sing. Dance, no, but sing, yes. And I think he is a bit full of himself. Kris Allen did a pretty good job with Apologize. I wasn't sure why Kara was bashing his song choice when she gave him the song. Could he have jazzed it up? Well maybe, but you should have given him the arrangement you WANTED like Simon did. JUST SAYING. However Allen then did Heartless by Kayne West and it was AWESOME. Just him on his guitar. Really cool version. I thought that it was a lock of Danny v Adam in the final, but Kris (uber-talented. He will certainly be more successful in the real music world v Danny Gokey, who will do well with Gospel, but that doesn't count) might have forced his way into the final.
If I was ranking last night's performances....Heartless (Kris Allen), One (Lambert), Crying (Lambert), Beautiful (Gokey), Apologize(allen), Dance Little Sister (Gokey).
I think it is Allen v Lambert in the finals. ALLEN PULLS THE UPSET OVER GOKEY.
Won't matter though, Lambert will crush either one in the finals. Should be fun though.

Finally, apparently I have a twitter account. I am still learning how to do it, but if you want to check it out, go to http://twitter.com/fproctor I guess I might use it some, but you should mostly come back here because Sportsbyfletch is still the place to be. Have a great weekend everybody!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

pick the eagles in the NCF East....

Not that I was, but I ever wondered why the Dallas Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since I was in middle school, I don't need to wonder anymore. I saw this on ESPN....
For the second year in a row, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has fallen short in his attempt to advance to sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. Romo did not give himself a chance to go deep in qualifying, shooting an 80 at the local level Monday, the Dallas Morning News reported. He shot 44 on the back nine, with five bogeys and a triple-bogey on No. 16 sacking his scorecard at Dallas National Golf Club. He shot even par on the front nine in the rain.
According to the Morning News, Romo will try to qualify for the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Tuesday at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas.


For the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW? So during last year's offseason, RIGHT AFTER he watched a division rival win the Super Bowl after knocking them off during the playoff run (you know the game...it was the one following the bye week where he went to Cabo. Fun, I know. I was just there. But then, I'm not trying to win a playoff game this week. I'm just writing a blog...) the guy doesn't decide to work his tail off to come back stronger. Nope, he plays golf. He doesn't lift extra weights or spend extra time with his coordinator to avoid YET ANOTHER LATE SEASON SWOON. Nope he attempts to qualify for the US Open so he can get his butt kicked by Tiger Woods.
WOW.
And now that he's been more focused on a 2-iron opposed to the cover-2, and throw in the fact that TO has left Roy Williams as his #1 receiving option and you can stick a fork in the Cowboys.
Unfortunately I will also have to say that Dan Snyder's obsession with getting another QB other than Jason Campbell (hey I'm glad he finally joined the rest of the Skins fans in wanting that, but you DON'T DO IT IN PUBLIC and destroy your QB's willingness to play for you!) to run the show might have hurt the Skins chances. Well that and the fact that Jim Zorn is the coach and Clinton Portis still realizes it. (We hope). Nope, a Campbell to Portis with Moss and Cooley just isn't as good as other NFC combos out there so I think the Skins are headed to another 9-7 season. That means they miss the playoffs, but get a crap draft pick. GREAT! CANNOT WAIT TO DRAFT TIM TEBOW NEXT SEASON. WooHoo. (oh, and I hope Snyder doesn't go after Urban Meyer next season. I hope he learned his lesson about UofF coaches......)

Factor in that the Giants cut loose Plaxico, leaving ___ as the #1 receiver option (I was hoping someone could fill in the #1. and tyree and hixson don't count) and the Eagles, ESPECIALLY WITH THAT DRAFT, are the LOCK for the NFC East title.
Yes McNabb will likely miss a game or two with an injury, but with Westbrook and LeSean McCoy in the backfield and DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin as receivers, this team is going to go 11-5. That's good enough to win the NFC east.

And McNabb will likely then lead this team to the NFC Champship game, where the Eggles will lose to Atlanta (throwing Paul Mac a bone there) but you have to like that you haven't heard any stories about McNabb trying out for the PBA or anything of the sort.
No, through gritted teeth I say that Philly will take the East this year because of their positives, but mostly through everyone else's negatives. Especially Tony Romo, who STILL seemingly hasn't won a game after the month of October. Tony, perhaps you should throw a little more Peyton and Brady into your game. Yes, they do commercials too, but they've won something. Win something, THEN you can try and make the US Open.
Just a suggestion. In the meantime, move over as Matt Ryan has just pushed you farther down the line of quality QBs in the NFC. Matt Stafford too, and he hasn't even played a snap. And I dare say that Tim Tebow will as well and I think he'll be a FULLBACK in the NFL. Sorry Tony. Maybe you could try out for the Icelandic pingpong team?

House and the Hills...can mondays GET any better?

On my first full night back from Cabo, I was treated to House going absolutely crazy then Justin Bobby going absolutely crazy. When I watched JB going off on Audrina about sleeping in Brody's bed, it was as though I was watching a replay of House, only Justin Bobby never realized that HE HAD BROKEN UP WITH AUDRINA! Much like House thought he had slept with Cuddy, (Which apparently he didn't, he just halluced that one....disappointing), Justin apparently never realized that he had broken it off with Audrina.

And PS Bro, when you DO break up, that person YOU DUMP is allowed to seek the company of other people. Just saying. I laughed at Beyonce when she came out with that single ladies song, but apparently it is true. Some guys DO care that the chick they dumped has moved on. WOW. Sorry Beyonce. My bad on that one. I just thought you were crazy and self-obsessed. Nevermind.

Speaking of stupid, hey Heidi, way to actually respond to the 15minute-seeking bartender after she texted you. How does she even have your cell number? Oh, that's right, the writers gave it to her. I will side with Heidi when she asks why this chick is texting spencer, who has a girlfriend. Then the bartender has the gall to say, "You should trust him!" Ummmm, stupid bartender, YOU KEEP CALLING HIM! And don't say that you didn't know he had a girlfriend. It is freaking Spencer Pratt! You know he does. Heidi kept calling her a slut, but she isn't a sexslut, but a fame-whore, willing to do whatever to get on tv.

Keeping on the topic of stupid, I can see why LC is leaving the show. She cannot work with the She-Pratt character anymore. Could the writers have made her ANY stoopider? Seriously? If the writers just thought for a second about what they were doing and how far they were pushing our willing suspension of disbelief, they'd realize they made a mistake in making her THAT dumb. NO WAY she gets that job. Just saying.....

But I still like the show. At least stuff is happening again, unlike last season.

As far as House, that show is also ending on a hot note. The last 4 episodes have been really entertaining. I am seriously going to miss the show over the summer. While I could care less about House going to a pencilbox factory, I want to see if Cuddy is going to go visit him and get Huddy on FOR REAL. But if Fox and the writers keep stringing this thing out like they do with Bones and Booth, I might get pissy quick. OR I wonder if they are going to play it out that House is back after three months of psych treatment. Hmmmm.
My final points are to BOTH shows' writers, could we please come up with some original ideas. The Speidi fights and the House dream sequences are getting a bit tired. My only complaints. Very disappointed that Huddy didn't happen. Maybe someday....

Monday, May 11, 2009

What the heck happened?

I just got back from Cabo San Lucas yesterday, where I was basically shut off from the rest of the world in terms of news and sports and whatnot. And no, it WASN'T because of the swine flu. Boy that thing is more overrated than Scarlett Johanson, the 2008 Georgia football team and the 2003 Auburn football team combined.

WOW, boy was THAT a whole lot of NOTHING. Anyone that is still afraid of that flu is STUPID. SERIOUSLY. Any company trying to ban its employees from traveling to Mexico on vacation or making them stay home for a day after clearly has been NOWHERE NEAR Mexico, otherwise they'd realize that it was just a media creation because it was bored reporting on the poor economy. And PS, if you are STILL wearing a mask on airplanes, you deserve to be made fun of, much like I did to a woman on the flight from Atlanta to Phoenix. I looked down at her, asked "SERIOUSLY?" and rolled my eyes. She was very confused. AND STUPID!

But back to what the heck happened....
Gas is now 2.20/ga? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!? It was 1.79 when I left. COME ON GUYS!
The Braves won a series against Philly? Sweet!
The Hawks continue to suck. No surprise there. But I DID think the Hawks would win at least ONE!
The Lakers are tied with Houston? WITH NO YAO MING in game 4? Come on Kobe. Maybe it won't be a cakewalk.
Debbie got voted off Survivor? One week too late. JT and Stephen are playing with fire there. And PS, JT is starting to let me down. How about you WIN A FREAKING CHALLENGE!?
So not that I watch anymore but did Merideth and McDreamy get married? Because if not I think EVERYONE ELSE will stop watching the show....if they haven't already.
Hey Justin Houston, don't know WHAT you did, but way to cost Georgia its ONLY chance against Okie State in Stillwater. Thanks. What very little pass rush Georgia would have had, you just selfishly pissed away. Thanks.
PS, BFigg, way to take yourself off of the Georgia map forever. With your suspension you are letting ALynch and OCharles and AWhite pass you on the depth chart for good. Congrats. Any chance you had at the NFL just went Bye Bye. You might want to think about transferring. Too bad. You looked so impressive as a freshman and played through pain last year. Don't know what you did, but Bro, you messed up!

That's it. Back to regular blogging tomorrow. Thanks everybody. Good to be back. And STILL healthy. I was right about the swine flu. Throw in Reggie Bush and Philip Rivers and I could soon be considered a genius. But that is for you to decide.....

Thursday, May 7, 2009

a new expression from Paul Mac

as per my new expression to my wife… let’s not try and make Zaza Pachulia out to be Lebron James.

Mrs. Sleazy P had the a'udacity to suggest that a jar of cheese was “better” than restaurant cheese dip… um… let’s not make Zaza out to be Lebron, Sweety."