Much has already been written about The Dark Knight, and there isn't much more that I could add. My only problem with the movie was ***SPOILER ALERT*** when Rachel and Harvey somehow get kidnapped.... and we don't even see the kidnapping. What the hell is that? But I love that they didn't cop out and went through with Rachel's death (it kinda needed to happen to complete Two-Face's transformation). And the movie needs to be seen for Heath Ledger's Joker. Just dark, sadistic and utterly twisted - takes the superhero villain to a whole new level. Not a bad way to leave your final mark on this planet.
As I'm leaving Houston, can I just say that there is NOTHING I will miss about this city. It's too humid, it takes ages to drive anywhere, and it's all conservative and junk. This city is urban sprawl personified. The best view of Houston will be seeing it in my rear-view mirror.
As I'm moving back to the East Coast I gotta say that I'm suddenly excited for Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan's late night spot... it'll mean that I can get to bed earlier.
Anyone that even remotely likes AC/DC, Motely Crue, or any other guitar driven bands in the same mold needs to check out Airborne. That's one kick ass band
So I started watching How I Met Your Mother, and I have a few thoughts on the show (err... well on the two episodes I've seen so far):
1) It's good to see Alyson Hannigan back on TV. Loved her on Buffy and in the American Pie movies.
2) Neil Patrick Harris just needs to be in more shit. Between HIMYM, the Harold and Kumar movies, and whatever the hell he's doing with Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris may be the most entertaining man on television.
3) Why have I never heard of Cobie Smulders?? Hot damn!
How awesome does this show look! Fine, I'm a huge dork... I'm comfortable with that.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
On Favre...
Okay Brett Favre, you're being a douche now. Just fucking retire already. You had a great career. You won a Super Bowl, made an ass-load of money, and rightfully earned the respect of every football fan. But it's done man. You retired (and cried like a baby at your press conference), and it's time to just stay retired. I am by no means a Packers fan (those fucking cheeseheads are the stupidest pieces of shit I have EVER seen, and the utter arrogance of Packers fans pisses me off to no extent), but Brett, you're holding your team hostage. You're making yourself bigger than the game, which cannot be allowed. They did that in the NBA in the pre-Jordan era, and we got players like Latrell Sprewell running amok. Not to go too far on a tangent, but FIFA's doing the same damned thing over in Europe with Christiano Ronaldo as the main culprit. FIFA's asinine president comes out and says that soccer players are basically being treated as 'slaves' and that players should be sent to another team if that is their desire. Sooo basically he's putting the player above the team. What a dumb fuck. If he's allowed to have his say, soccer salaries will rise uncontrollably as every player fights for what he believes is 'his right' to the point where owning a team will no longer be profitable. Then the bubble will burst, and players, owners and fans all will be screwed. Come on Blatter, use some common sense. If slavery entails earning 100,000 pounds a week playing for Manchester United, the world's most famous soccer club, then give me my 40 acres and a mule and sign me up.
Which brings me back to Favre. Dude, just shut the fuck up. At this point you're only hurting your reputation. No one wants you back. Outside of Wisconsin no one gives a flying fuck about you. So go back to Mississippi, do some fishing, get some meth, find some fat chicks. Whatever you want to do. But give it up already man, Your time in the spotlight is over. Got that? O-V-E-R. Over! Look, this is a society where we coddle our athletes. You do coke in the real world and you get sent to jail. You do coke in the sports world and you serve a 2 year ban. We let our athletes get away with a lot, especially if, like Favre, they have played hard and won in their careers. But the shit has reached the top of the proverbial pot. If you wanted to play, maybe you shouldn't have fucking retired. The thing is, we're sick of this two-faced bullshit. Athletes lie to our (the sports fan) faces again and again and again. Enough is enough! We're sick of this. You had close to 20 years being America's darling, but Brett, the ride's done. Time to get off. I don't want to see you on ESPN anymore. The only place I want to see you is on your Wrangler commercials (and, to be honest, you make me really want to not buy their jeans). Athletes are huge insecure babies, and it's time for them to grow the fuck up. This may not be about Favre in particular, but he's gonna be the psoter-boy for the rich, beloved, and utterly spoiled athlete that thinks they can get away with whatever they want. Well, I think America as a whole is saying a big 'fuck you!' to Favre. We don't want you back. Stay retired you god-damned attention hog. Maybe you'll serve as a model for future athletes. We'll take your shit.... but even we have limits. Pass that limit and we'll turn on you like an eagle protecting it's young. And trust me Brett, you definitely do not want to be caught robbing the nest.
Which brings me back to Favre. Dude, just shut the fuck up. At this point you're only hurting your reputation. No one wants you back. Outside of Wisconsin no one gives a flying fuck about you. So go back to Mississippi, do some fishing, get some meth, find some fat chicks. Whatever you want to do. But give it up already man, Your time in the spotlight is over. Got that? O-V-E-R. Over! Look, this is a society where we coddle our athletes. You do coke in the real world and you get sent to jail. You do coke in the sports world and you serve a 2 year ban. We let our athletes get away with a lot, especially if, like Favre, they have played hard and won in their careers. But the shit has reached the top of the proverbial pot. If you wanted to play, maybe you shouldn't have fucking retired. The thing is, we're sick of this two-faced bullshit. Athletes lie to our (the sports fan) faces again and again and again. Enough is enough! We're sick of this. You had close to 20 years being America's darling, but Brett, the ride's done. Time to get off. I don't want to see you on ESPN anymore. The only place I want to see you is on your Wrangler commercials (and, to be honest, you make me really want to not buy their jeans). Athletes are huge insecure babies, and it's time for them to grow the fuck up. This may not be about Favre in particular, but he's gonna be the psoter-boy for the rich, beloved, and utterly spoiled athlete that thinks they can get away with whatever they want. Well, I think America as a whole is saying a big 'fuck you!' to Favre. We don't want you back. Stay retired you god-damned attention hog. Maybe you'll serve as a model for future athletes. We'll take your shit.... but even we have limits. Pass that limit and we'll turn on you like an eagle protecting it's young. And trust me Brett, you definitely do not want to be caught robbing the nest.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Has Soccer Finally Made it in America?
I'm an unabashed soccer fan (I'm not calling it "futbol"... just deal with it). Having a lot of friends who play the sport and being a huge sports fan myself made this an inevitability. To the average American, soccer lacks the intensity, high scoring, and familiarity of football, baseball, or even basketball. Honestly, the MLS simply does not do soccer justice. But watch an EPL game, maybe Manchester United vs. Arsenal, and there's no way you won't be able to appreciate the skill and the passion involved in the match. For years people have been trying to truly "bring" soccer to America. They brought over Pele in the 70s, America hosted the World Cup in 1994, and the men's national team made an unprecedented run in the 2002 World Cup... none of which truly did anything to bring soccer into the American sports forefront.
In probably the most drastic move yet, last year the LA Galaxy brought David Beckham over to the MLS. Beckham wasn't one of the over-the-hill European players that populated MLS rosters. He was (and possibly still is) arguably the world's most famous soccer player. He was an icon the world over. Many questioned his move to MLS. Beckham was making millions playing for Real Madrid, one of the best soccer clubs in the world. And Beckham was by no means finished as a player. He still had at least a few years left playing at the highest level. So he suddenly decides to leave the soccer hot-bed that is Europe to magically make the game popular in a nation that has thus far resisted any and all of soccer's embraces? Color me skeptical.
Beckham had an ominous start in the MLS, missing the majority of the season with an injury (and thus further embedding in the minds of many Americans the misguided notion that soccer players are pussies that can't play hurt - meaning they lack what American sports fans love the most in their sports superstars... heart). Any person you talked to about soccer would say something like "well Beckham sure was a bust" or "damn soccer player can't even stay healthy." But, in effect, Beckham may have done more by being hurt than he could've by staying healthy and playing on the Galaxy. Americans were now doing something they had never done before.... they were actually talking about soccer. They could name an actual living, breathing MLS soccer player! This was unprecedented. It brings to mind the old adage: any publicity is good publicity. Whether Beckham was a bust or not is irrelevant (for the record, as far as his actual effect on the field goes, I don't think you can fairly grade him due to his pretty much missing all of last season). People were now genuinely interested in soccer. Though probably not in the way he anticipated, Beckham had gotten Americans to kinda, sorta pay attention to soccer every now and then.
But the question lingered: were they paying attention to the actual sport or were people simply intrigued by Beckham's celebrity? Well ESPN decided to find out for sure, and I don't think you can give them enough credit for finally doing what they did. The Euro Cup is played every 4 years, and after the World Cup is soccer's second biggest tournament. After the World Cup and the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting competition in the world. It's literally huge. But if you wanted to watch it in America you were pretty much out of luck... until this year. ESPN not only aired games and re-runs of the games on its channels, but they gave the tournament lots of advertising and coverage on Sportscenter. These facts were important. For Americans to truly embrace soccer, America's sports network would have to embrace it first, and ESPN did just so, for which I commend them. The Euro Cup was everywhere. Every sports fan I know was talking about it or at least had seen a little bit of it. The final was even aired on ABC! And though I missed the second half of the final game, the fact that I could watch the first half in an airport bar is impressive enough. Now, soccer definitely helped itself by having an amazingly entertaining tournament with under dogs winning, super powers falling, last minute goals, and a free-flowing game that the casual sports fan could relate to. But you have to ask yourself, do the Euros even get broadcast here if not for Beckham and his porcelain knee? Hard to say. I mean, Beckham and England didn't even play in the tournament. All we can do is really speculate. I have to think, though, that without life going all Tonya Harding on David's leg the Euros would've passed by without the vast majority of America even batting an eye. So congratulations David Beckham. You have managed to get Americans, those with the 3 second attention spans and lives that are already saturated with sports, to actually pay attention to soccer. Just like you said you would. Will this interest grow? Time will tell. But for now, bravo David. Take a bow. On second thought, maybe just take a seat.... you never know when we'll need your other knee. Hell, we gotta spark interest in national healthcare somehow, right?
In probably the most drastic move yet, last year the LA Galaxy brought David Beckham over to the MLS. Beckham wasn't one of the over-the-hill European players that populated MLS rosters. He was (and possibly still is) arguably the world's most famous soccer player. He was an icon the world over. Many questioned his move to MLS. Beckham was making millions playing for Real Madrid, one of the best soccer clubs in the world. And Beckham was by no means finished as a player. He still had at least a few years left playing at the highest level. So he suddenly decides to leave the soccer hot-bed that is Europe to magically make the game popular in a nation that has thus far resisted any and all of soccer's embraces? Color me skeptical.
Beckham had an ominous start in the MLS, missing the majority of the season with an injury (and thus further embedding in the minds of many Americans the misguided notion that soccer players are pussies that can't play hurt - meaning they lack what American sports fans love the most in their sports superstars... heart). Any person you talked to about soccer would say something like "well Beckham sure was a bust" or "damn soccer player can't even stay healthy." But, in effect, Beckham may have done more by being hurt than he could've by staying healthy and playing on the Galaxy. Americans were now doing something they had never done before.... they were actually talking about soccer. They could name an actual living, breathing MLS soccer player! This was unprecedented. It brings to mind the old adage: any publicity is good publicity. Whether Beckham was a bust or not is irrelevant (for the record, as far as his actual effect on the field goes, I don't think you can fairly grade him due to his pretty much missing all of last season). People were now genuinely interested in soccer. Though probably not in the way he anticipated, Beckham had gotten Americans to kinda, sorta pay attention to soccer every now and then.
But the question lingered: were they paying attention to the actual sport or were people simply intrigued by Beckham's celebrity? Well ESPN decided to find out for sure, and I don't think you can give them enough credit for finally doing what they did. The Euro Cup is played every 4 years, and after the World Cup is soccer's second biggest tournament. After the World Cup and the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting competition in the world. It's literally huge. But if you wanted to watch it in America you were pretty much out of luck... until this year. ESPN not only aired games and re-runs of the games on its channels, but they gave the tournament lots of advertising and coverage on Sportscenter. These facts were important. For Americans to truly embrace soccer, America's sports network would have to embrace it first, and ESPN did just so, for which I commend them. The Euro Cup was everywhere. Every sports fan I know was talking about it or at least had seen a little bit of it. The final was even aired on ABC! And though I missed the second half of the final game, the fact that I could watch the first half in an airport bar is impressive enough. Now, soccer definitely helped itself by having an amazingly entertaining tournament with under dogs winning, super powers falling, last minute goals, and a free-flowing game that the casual sports fan could relate to. But you have to ask yourself, do the Euros even get broadcast here if not for Beckham and his porcelain knee? Hard to say. I mean, Beckham and England didn't even play in the tournament. All we can do is really speculate. I have to think, though, that without life going all Tonya Harding on David's leg the Euros would've passed by without the vast majority of America even batting an eye. So congratulations David Beckham. You have managed to get Americans, those with the 3 second attention spans and lives that are already saturated with sports, to actually pay attention to soccer. Just like you said you would. Will this interest grow? Time will tell. But for now, bravo David. Take a bow. On second thought, maybe just take a seat.... you never know when we'll need your other knee. Hell, we gotta spark interest in national healthcare somehow, right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)