Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I think I found my true calling...


Any thoughts on my new super hero secret Identity?

Another One Bites the Dust...

Well, so much for continuity...

Mike Martz sleeps with the fishes.

Apparently, Mike Singletary wants his own guy, a smash mouth type offense.

Unfortunately, I don't know that type of offense exists in today's NFL. I hope Singletary has someone in mind - because I think it was wrong to dump him unless he had someone better, and I really don't see anyone out there that excites me.

Lets hope he has a plan - cause for the first time since Singletary has taken over, I'm worried - seventh offensive coordinators in seven years. Seven. SEVEN!

I think Harland Williams said it best in "There's Something about Mary,":

"Hitchhiker: 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.

Ted: Why?

Hitchhiker: 'Cause you're fuckin' fired! "

Monday, December 29, 2008

TV RAMBLINGS

Well, now that the blog is humming along, I thought I’d dive into another one of my favorite subjects – TV.

As I tell people, I don’t watch A LOT of TV (which is kind of a lie) but I definitely watch smarter than most viewers. Really people – get a DVR, record some stuff and stop watching commercials and/or be a slave to the programming guide.

That being said, I thought I would discuss a list from my favorite go to TV writer - Tim Goodman.

Today, Goodman came out with an article in the SF Chronicle listing the 25 best TV shows of 2008. Below is the list, and I bolded anything I watch on a regular basis – or have tried to.

1. "Mad Men." AMC
2. "The Shield." FX.
3. "The Wire." HBO.
4. "Battlestar Galactica." Sci-Fi.
5. "Breaking Bad." AMC.
6. "Lost." ABC.
7. "30 Rock." NBC.
8. "Generation Kill." HBO.

9. "Dexter." Showtime.
10. "Sons of Anarchy." FX.
11. "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." Nova. PBS.
12. "True Blood." HBO.
13. "The Life & Times of Tim." HBO.
14. "The Office." NBC.
15. "Weeds." Showtime.
16. "How I Met Your Mother." CBS.
17. "South Park." Comedy Central.
18. "Pushing Daisies." ABC.
19. "The Tudors." Showtime.
20. "My Name Is Earl." NBC.
21. "The Daily Show"/ "Colbert Report." Comedy Central.
22. "Burn Notice." USA.
23. "Life on Mars." ABC.
24. "Secret Diary of a Call Girl." Showtime.
25. "Top Gear." BBC America.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/29/DD2L14VFUV.DTL

I must admit – I was kind of surprised how many items on his list I’d never seen. That being said, in Goodman I trust!

I think Mad Men must be the best show on TV I haven’t given a shot – previous winners of that award were the Sopranos, the Wire and the Office.

I suggest going to the article and reading the captions he has for each show, it’s quite interesting
As for my own personal breakdown: I think Mad Men has gotten so much hype I will eventually get into it, but in this age of DVDs and Netflix, I doubt I’ll ever view an episode on TV.

I have watched plenty of episodes of The Shield, but after a few episodes realized I missing a lot of back-story, and agreed my online blockbuster subscription was the best remedy for that situation. The little I have seen does show off the intensity it brings to the police-drama world.

Generation kill came heavily recommend from a good friend (Mess – yes, I have a friend I consistently call Mess – most people don’t even know his real name) but I didn’t give it more than about half an episode, if that. Upon seeing it has “Wire” geniuses David Simon and Ed Burns attached, I believe I will have to give it a second try, see what I missed in the first go-round.

Dexter I think is the second best show I haven’t gotten into – I was always thrown off by the lead actor since I wasn’t a “Six Feet Under,” fan, but with all of the love Dexter has gathered, it almost is guaranteed a spot at the top of my “queue” list for rentals.

Also on my radar are “Sons of Anarchy,” (Joel swears by this), “True Blood,” (watchers of this silly sounding show LOVE it), and Mr. Goodman is starting to convince me I have to drop my guard and start giving BBC a shot.

As for the things I do watch, I agree with his assessments wholeheartedly – “30 Rock,” IS the funniest show on TV, “Life and Times of Tim,” is the most awkward show on TV, “The Office,” has remained fresh, Weeds is great even though the laughs are disappearing, and “How I met Your Mother,” is a show that continues to surprise me with the amount of laughs they get out of such a basic comedy.

And of course, “The Wire,” is the best – who wants to argue with me? They can take it up with Omar Little…

I am looking forward to some shows coming back as well, namely “24,” and “Rescue Me,” two great shows affected by the strike, wiping out their 2008 seasons.

It will be an interesting ’09 TV season, with some great series coming to an end (the Wire, Shield), waiting for someone to take the torch an run with it – maybe five nights of Jay Leno at 10:00 PM each night will appease some of you, I’ll be looking forward to the next wild show that network TV is afraid to put on – and will get beaten in the ratings because of it.

For more TV info, or just to be entertained, you can check Tim’s blog at http://www.thebastardmachine.com/.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Its official: Singletary is the Head Cheese

The 49ers wasted no time Sunday, naming Singletary the head coach while players were still shaving off their mustaches.

It is a nice change of pace to say, but – good move 9ers!

It doesn’t take a football genius to see the difference in the play of the team once Singletary took over, and it’s good to see the 49ers decided to extend this run for another four years. And I must admit, it is somewhat comforting seeing Jed York, in his first official act as president of the team, retain Singletary in a smart, calculated football decision. Let us hope this is the beginning of a beautiful thing.

Oh sure, he said GM Scot McCloughan had the final say, but I have a hard time believing he didn’t have a little input in that decision.

Singletary has given the organization a purpose, and as funny as it is to say, he runs the exact type of team Mike Nolan wanted – a ball control, move the chain, tough, aggressive defensive squad.

The problem with Nolan is that he seemed to try and out-think everyone else. I remember how frustrating it would be to be able to call out the play – run or pass – solely based on the formation and personnel packages Nolan sent on the field. Sure, whoever was sitting next to me thought I was a genius, but in fact it was the over specialization of players that was blatantly obvious to me – what would great NFL minds do once they broke down some tape?

I always thought this was a problem defensively as well, knowing that every time Rod Green came on the field, that he was the LB that was blitzing.

Singletary has simplified things, allowed younger players to develop, and with such moves has improved the team.

So we head into the Singletary era. After signing for 4 years, 10 million, I think the team has shown they aren’t playing around. They also put it in his contract that he has say over his assistant coaches, which I think reinforces their commitment to Singletary.

Singletary was non-committal about Mike Martz future, which I also like to hear. Long term, I don’t think Martz is a fit, but at this point I wonder what proven commodities there are out there, and more specifically – who is worth making the fifth offensive coordinator in five years? Singletary and Martz seemed to mesh well, with Martz being a little more toned down, but still taking advantage of multiple receiver sets. The fact that Singletary is open to keeping him shows he understands the importance of stability – something this team hasn’t had since the Mariucci years. But at least he seems to have a feel for this team (something Nolan rarely did), and that he is the one who would know best if a change is needed, rather than ownership making decisions from the luxury box.

As a sports fan, you have to love Singletary’s attitude about this job.

"I think all the guys who are happy today are going to regret it," told reporters at the post game press conference, inferring players should expect a grueling training camp.

The team must be thrilled with the product Singletary has brought the field. He took over in the middle of the season and went 5-4. One of those losses came the week he found out, on a

Tuesday, he was the head coach. So if you throw that one out, he really went 5-3. Stretch that out over a full season and its more than enough to win the woeful NFC West.

So settle in. This is Mike Singletary’s team now. He has raised expectations on the heels of 5-2 finish, showing the most promise this current roster has ever flashed. As opposed to past years when expectations were high, this roster is much deeper and has a lot of promising young players (which will be supplemented in free agency and the 09 Draft).

This team very well could be the favorite to win the west next year, depending on what moves the divisional opponents make. But the Rams are rebuilding, the Seahawks look depleted, and the Cardinals barely won the division with a 9-7 record.
Rejoice 49ers fans – this very well could be the rise from the ashes for your 49ers. Only time will tell.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Man shoots talker at movies, police say

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/27/movie.shooting/index.html

Keep that in mind next time you decide to answer your cell phone in the middle of a movie!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Kanye's kickin' it Old School

You know, I promised this wouldn’t be an all-sports blog – I need to diversify!

That being said, I want to talk Kanye!

Isn’t Kanye great? He keeps it real. I mean real, dawg. This is great - because as a lot of you can attest, one Dave Chappelle warned us that, sometimes, keeping it real can go wrong.

But forget that – Kanye, or, Mr. West Mr. West, speaks what is on his mind:

- He doesn’t think George Bush likes black people, so BAM – there it goes across the airwaves for all to see; “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
- He called himself the voice of a generation, also calling himself the music industry’s “Michael Jordan.” He also called Justin Timberlake Grant Hill (which is hilarious).

He isn’t the cookie cutter, Crash Davis type celebrity that all famous people seem to turn into. There is nothing but “we’ve got to play them one game at a time,” type personalities out there – who isn’t ready for a star who wants to act like a star?

But none of this is the reason I came to the Kanye West table. I just saw his new video for the song “Heartless.”


It’s most definitely worth a watch

The thing I love about it is the animation. Plus, the song has kind of a double meaning to me.

I hate CG animation. I mean, sure, Wall-E looked good, and some movies, like Toy Story, have been very enjoyable. But in the process, we lost the great animation that came from hand. To me, it’s almost like when Kanye is singing “How could you be so heartless?”, to me he is talking about the heart in a hand drawn cartoon, as opposed as it just being “generated” by a machine.
Just watching this video takes me back – Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Cool World, Bebe’s Kids… you get my point.

It’s just nice to see someone still cares about the little things – not just what is more cost effective in today’s safe, copy cat society.

So you keep on keeping on Kanye – and like Katy Perry said on Fuse last week, “He’s always good and he always brings it. I love his confidence too; I think it’s really hot. “

“Be a Beatle, be Elvis, why not?” replied Steven Smith.

Indeed.

The Big Unit becomes Giant


Yes everyone – the rebuilding Giants signed Randy Johnson to a one year deal, reportedly worth 8 million with another 5 million in possible incentives.

I took the liberty of pulling picture of the Unit (from SI.com – I have to give them credit, right?) with a little fun with photoshop.

Anywho – I hope people don’t take this the wrong way but - good for them!

I have been as big a proponent of rebuilding as anyone, but like with Edgar Renteria, while the Giants may have slightly overpaid for two veterans who won’t bring much help to the team long term, it just makes the ‘09 Giants THAT(I’m holding my pointer finger and thumb sorta close together) watchable.

Plus, may I present to you the NL West – does anyone want to win it?

The Diamondbacks couldn’t pull it off WITH Adam Dunn, Randy and Orlando Hudson. Now that all three are gone, what is making anyone think they will finally jump to the head of the pack?
The Dodgers, have had a so-so offseason. They were fortunate they held onto Rafeal Furcal and Casey Blake, but Jeff Kent has pretty much retired, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe are gone, and there is no guarantee Manny is coming back. That being said, the one thing going for the Dodgers is it seems nobody except the Dodgers really WANT him.

The Rockies would worry me – until they traded Matt Holliday to the A’s! You can usually bet Billy Beane doesn’t like a player, he doesn’t have a great shot at sticking around once Beane has dumped him (with apologies to Marco Scutaro and Carlos Pena).

The Padres? San Diego must be thrilled to build a new ballpark only for the team owner to slash payroll over his divorce. They are pretty much penciled in for last place.

Well, since last year, the Giants have 1. Added a run producer to the lineup (Renteria), 2. Strengthened the bullpen (Bobby Howry, Jeremy Affeldt), and 3. Added a fifth starter (Johnson) who brings a veteran presence to a young pitching staff (does anyone really think they don’t listen to Zito with a grain of salt these days?).

All of this done without committing to a contract longer than two years, allowing plenty of flexibility for any young players who make a Pablo Sandoval-esque rise to the majors. Which is another thing fans can look forward to – Fred Lewis and Emmanuel Burriss, among other youngsters, improving on their rookie seasons, (not to mention the offense getting a boost with a full year of Sandoval).

Plus, if we do have the unfortunate problem of having a younger player come up to compete with the vet, we will only benefit – either from each player pushing the other for playing time or being free to deal the veteran for a team trying to make a push and acquire more young talent.

I will admit – this is NOT the offseason I thought the Giants would have – I had dreams of Furcal and CC Sabathia dancing in my head. But after watching Sabean maneuver through this very recession heavy offseason, I think his moves have been very calculated, shrewd, and will benefit the team in the short term, with an opportunity to benefit the team in the long run if we turn any of these players into trade deadline bait.

Now, if the Giants could just pry Nick Swisher away from the Yankees – the West could be won! Poor Swish – he just doesn’t belong on team banning facial hair. But if there was a line in Vegas, I would bet a paycheck he’ll be rocking a crazy mustache by the end of the season…
UPDATE: Great quote via Andrew Baggerly's blog, Extra Baggs: "That's a pretty stout staff," - Matt Cain
UPDATE: Kieth Law agrees with me - I always feel a little bit smarter when he does

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Yankees get their man... Again?

One thing you will find on this blog, I will be doing a fair amount of sports blogging. But more specifically, I love discussing moves made by teams – I have always longed for the power to make the moves that win championships. Since I do not have that power, I can always comment on those who do.

The latest news is the Yankees signing the latest man to join the 100$ million club, Mark Teixeira.

I have always complained when the Yankees threw their cash around, lavishly outspending other teams and making it look like the most uneven of playing fields.

But I have softened my stance in days, and there are a number of reasons why:

1. NY is expensive. Sure, a lot of major towns are expensive. But I dare you to hope onto craigslist and look for a nice Manhatten apartment – you’ll crap your pants. The affect is that the Yankees HAVE to pay more than other teams, if nothing else than for cost of living.
2. NY is pressure filled. It has a stigma about it, again raising prices for Free Agents, like CC Sabathia, who wanted to pitch on another coast.
3. I know other fans, including myself, get infuriated with the Yankees not just outspending low revenue teams, but their ability to spend three and four times as much in payroll as a team like the Giants, who are a profitable organization with plenty of revenue. But would we complain if all of the sudden, our team decided to raise their payroll to 200 million a year? HELL NO. Fans would try and name a street after the owner. So if you are the Yankees, why not go for it? They are constantly interesting and competitive. It has allowed them to rake in unprecedented revenues, but in turn it allows them to spend freely and get away with the occasional mistake, all while turning in a product that is satisfactory to their customers.

All of this shows, as much as I hate to write it, the Yankees are the model organization. They maximized their market and revenues, which has allowed them to spend enough money that, even with one or two high priced busts (see Kevin Brown), they will still complete and not see a dip in revenues that would affect their money printing product.

Should it continue? There is only one way to fix it – a salary cap. It would work both ways – not just a cap, but a floor as well, a minimum amount to spend – which would definitely need to be set at a level where teams currently will need to spend more money.

I am not sure if I am in favor of a salary cap, because I would like to bet it would take a strike or a lockout to make it happen, but until there is one, the Yankees will have an advantage,

Welcome to my blog...

Hello All!
Welcome to my blog
I am not EXACTLY sure what prompted me to start this, but I think I missed have a creative outlet to put my thoughts onto “paper,” so here I am.
I hope you enjoy…