We're Back to Back

Sorry for the long delay, I know some people are very happy about the break, and hope a few are glad the blog is back.

I hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day.  I love this holiday as it is the official start of the summer.  Golf Courses are packed, the beach is crowded with beautiful women, restaurants start to seat you outside and the rooftop clubs/bars become the hot spots.  I spent the weekend drinking, golfing and relaxing.  Hopefully your long weekend was spent the way you wanted it to be spent. 

Another part of Memorial Day that seems to becoming a tradition is the Syracuse Orange(men) hoist up a lacrosse trophy.  Syracuse picked up their 11th Lacrosse Championship and went back to back.  After last year beating John Hopkins this year they beat their New York rival beating Cornell in what was one of the best lacrosse games I have ever seen ( I haven't seen a ton of lacrosse games so I might not be the best judge in this topic).  However Syracuse scored 3 goals in the last 4 minutes of the game.  Cornell had a one goal lead with 27 seconds left and on their way to the schools first championship in any sport since 1977.  The next thing they know heave pass after heave pass seemed to find a Syracuse stick and with 4.5 seconds left in the game Syracuse put one in the net and tied it up.  As the game went to overtime two stars lead Cuse to a championship.  Cody Jamieson and Sid Smith who grew up together and have been playing lacrosse together since they were toddlers locked up the championship for Cuse in overtime.  Smith on defense came up behind the Cornell playing jarring the ball loose which led to an outlet pass followed with a few quick passes finally finding Jamieson's stick who released a quick shot that finally put the dagger in Cornell.  As soon as the ball left Jamieson's stick he took off to find his oldest friend to celebrate their incredible comeback.  As Syracuse fan's know after this there is only one thing left to say:

Here are some highlights from the game:

Also this weekend I happend to see the new Terminator movie.  Now I will give the benefit of the doubt that going into the movie I was exhausted and had a feeling I was going to be falling asleep.  I haven't fallen asleep in the movies since Pearl Harbor which was an epic not a movie.  With that being said, I did not enjoy this movie at all.  Some of the action scenes were cool, however the movie as a whole was not good at all.  Christian Bale needs to be told that he isn't always a superhero and to calm down.  I now understand why he yelled at someone on the set.  This guy is a lunatic, he over acts way to much.  He does not know how to talk in his roles he only yells.  For example the average person might say "hey can you hand me that apple"  in a low voice, Bale fucking yells it.  I know he has had some great roles: American Psycho,  3:10 to Yuma, The Prestige and Bruce Wayne in Batman (Not as batman).  However with all that good this guy just annoys me as an actor now a days.  

Great sports have been going on in my time off:  Lakers vs Nuggets.  This series has been great, there has been one lopsided game.  Lakers lead 3-2 and I believe everyone is hoping this one goes the distance.  As a Syracuse guy I may be bias but Melo does not get enough respect.  In a class of Lebron, Bosh, Wade etc it always seems that Melo is put in the back burner.  Give the man some respect, rather yet he is demanding it in this series.  

The other series: Cavs vs Magic has been close game after close game, this series could be over 4-0 Magic or even 3-1 Cavs.  James is incredible, however the Magic have just been playing physical basketball and hitting their outside shots.  It seems like the city of Cleveland might have to wait another year to finally get a championship in any sport.

Moving on:

While I was not writing the sports world lost a legend.  Chuck Daly died of pancreatic cancer a few weeks ago.  The ringmaster of the bad boys, coach Daly coached the Detroit Pistons, Nets, Magic, and Cavs.  He also lead the Dream Team to Olympic Gold.  He was loved by all and was an intense coach that knew how to win.  If you are watching the playoffs you will notice that all the coaches are wearing a CD pin, it is in honor of Coach Daly.  An NBA legend who will be missed.

Before I go:

Movie Quote of the day:  "I smoked pot with Johnny Hopkins. 

_You dont know anyone named Johnny Hopkins. 

_It was Johnny Hopkins, and Sloan Kettering, and they were blazin that shit up everyday. "

Random Thoughts

I want to start by thanking everyone for their birthday wishes.  This guy is 24 going on 60 (does that mean I can retire and get a senior citizen discount?)  I will be doing something this weekend to celebrate so I hope you all can make it.

I am not an overly big fan of the whole birthday thing.  I appreciate the bday wishes, I always like an excuse to drink, but am I supposed to feel different on May 10th as I do on May 11th?  What this does do is make me even more jealous of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and the other 24 year olds who are doing a lot more than me.

I am a little disappointed with where I am at 24, in 3rd or 4th grade I figured by this point I would be playing quarterback for the Cowboys and be rich.  By 7th/8th grade I realized I wouldn't be a pro in anything so figured I would be a coach or a commentator by now.  Then once I got into high school I figured I would hit the lotto and be retired already.  Now that has all failed, I need a reset button and try again cause I could really go for any of those things.

Moving past me getting one step closer to the end (wow that is a negative spin on things, lets try it this way: Now that I am one year wiser).  Anyone who listens to Howard Stern would have heard that this past weekend Gary Dell Abate, also known as Baba Booey threw out the opening pitch at the Mets game.  From the day Gary found out he was going to be throwing out the first pitch he has been nervous as hell.  He hired a trainer to help him and a psychologist to calm him down.  Well Saturday came and he failed miserable, in fact here is the post from one newspaper:

Gary Dell Abate First Pitch, Baba Booey First Pitch -- Long-time Howard Stern producer, Gary Dell'Abate aka Baba Booey, threw out the first pitch at Mets game last night and failed miserably. He said this morning that despite the poor performance, at least the pitch stayed in the television frame. He was there to promote autism awareness, as was Kim Kardashian who did much better...in heels.

The entire morning was spent ripping Gary apart for his pathetic throw.  Artie Lang, long time die hard Yankee fan who was in attendance may have had the best line: "At least Gary wasn't the only fag to pitch for the Mets on Saturday."

-Good News to all the men out there: Rhianna naked pictures!  HIYOOOOO

These pictures were supposedly leaked by BEST BOYFRIEND OF THE YEAR: Chris Brown.  I am very happy about this leak, but how dumb is this girl.  The guy beats the crap out of her (which i a understatement) and now is showing nude pics of her and she stays with him.  This girl is dumb, and no one can stand up for her on this one.  Love can make you do funny things but that usually ends when you cant open either eyes and your face is swollen like Ricky Hatten after being knocked the fuck out.

Next on the list: VP Joe Biden, Syracuse Alum spoke at the Syracuse Graduation this weekend.  First my deep sorrow and sympathy for all my friends who graduated this weekend.  Welcome to the working world, its a shitty ride.  Anyway from the looks of pictures and from what I have heard Syracuse was covered with secret service and  from what I heard he was incredible.  We know the country is in good hands when we have a Syracuse grad as second in command.  More importantly it gives a guy like me a chance....KWINTER 2020- CAUSE WHY NOT!

Quick Sports updates: 

-Zack Grienke is fucking amazing.  This guy has 4 complete games already and an ERA of under 1.  I know it is early but if he does even half of what he is doing now the CY Young is his and the Royals will be hanging around the entire season.  I think someone called that.

-How great is Kobe vs Melo going to be.  Sorry Rockets, you had a nice win the other night, but you just pissed of Kobe, next game is a blowout.  Sorry Mavericks, but your owner trashed Martin's mom and that will not help their chances in this serious.

-Crosby vs Ovechkin has been a great series that will be going to 7 games.  This has helped bring the fans back to hockey and that includes this guy.

-A-Rod welcome back to the big leagues you steroid using Pre-Madonna (I am a Yankee fan by the way).  First pitch back and he sends it a LONG way.  Maybe his "injury" was just him finding a steroid that is undetected.

BEFORE I GO:

Clip of the weekend

:

Movie Quote:  "Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying"

Question of the day: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

The Death of Sports Gods

"It is foolish and childish, on the face of it, to affiliate ourselves with anything so insignificant and patently contrived and commercially exploitive as a professional sports team, and the amused superiority and icy scorn that the non-fan directs at the sports nut (I know this look -- I know it by heart) is understandable and almost unanswerable. Almost. What is left out of this calculation, it seems to me, is the business of caring -- caring deeply and passionately, really caring -- which is a capacity or an emotion that has almost gone out of our lives. And so it seems possible that we have come to a time when it no longer matters so much what the caring is about, how frail or foolish is the object of that concern, as long as the feeling itself can be saved. Naivete -- the infantile and ignoble joy that sends a grown man or woman to dancing and shouting with joy in the middle of the night over the haphazardous flight of a distant ball -- seems a small price to pay for such a gift."

On Monday the book: A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez was released to the public and along with it all the steroid talks will once again be the topic of every Sports Center and all other sports programs.  The newest allegations brought against A-Rod is that he started taking steroids in high school and that he has been doing them as currently as when he was with the Yankees.  He also has been now rumored to tip batters off in blow out games while he was on the Rangers with the hope that these players would do the same for him to pad stats and help get the big contracts.

Now in no way am I saying that I believe A-Rod is telling the truth when he said he did steroids in the small time frame he is admitting to, but this book seems to be a glorified National Enquirer.  How many allegedly done things about this man's life is this women, Selena Roberts going to try and get the public to believe in.  This is the same women who ruined the reputation of innocent Duke Lacrosse players.  She ruined some of these kids lives, so before we all jump on everything she says lets get some perspective.  Again, my thoughts on A-Rod is simple, he is an insecure person who cheated the game.  I do not even think he cheated the game to get records or money, I think he cheated the game to get people to love him.  He cares so much about what the fans think that he would do anything to ensure he has their love and respect.

This is a much bigger problem though than Salena Roberts poor attempt at ruining A-Rod and even A-Rods steroid use.  This is our society being too involved with athletes personal life.  I think we have become to engrossed with everything outside of the playing field with our athletes.  The problem with this is it is ruining our heroes for us.  

We are at the point where we know everything about them, where they spend their offseason, what they do after the game, where they spend their birthdays and who is invited.  Our parents didn't know what Hank Aaron was doing off the diamond.  We didn't know Namath was an alcoholic until he tried to kiss Pam Oliver on Monday Night Football and we did not know anything about the M&M boys besides Mantle being a playboy.  I make this argument because my generation and the generations after are being ripped off from having idols.  We are loosing out on having those players who you look at as Gods among men.  Who you look up to as people who play the game right on and off the field and are genuine good people.  Have you ever talked to your dad or grandfather about some of their childhood sports heroes?  You can just tell how much those people meant to them, how many nights they stayed up late watching Bird vs Magic, or watching Mantle and Maris hit homeruns every day chasing each other and of course the Babe.  They never had to wonder if Mantle was juiced, or if Babe took shots in the ass to give him power.  Maybe they were taking something to give them an edge, but we would never have known and a part of me is happy we don't.  I am worried that maybe we wont be able to tell our kids about our heroes without having to tell them about the alleged steroid use, or how he raped a girl and cheated on his wife.

Kids today are growing up watching baseball and wearing their Roger Clemens jersey, or their Mark McGwire shirts.  They then watch these "role models" lie to congress and are said to have done steroids.  People are embarrassed to say that these are their favorite players.  We are loosing our role models in sports and it is starting to ruin sports for all of us.

Now to be fair there are players out there who deserve to be considered our role models.  One being the newly named MVP of the NBA.  Lebron James is a class act role model for all of us.  The man has genuine care for his sport, his city, his team and his fans.  He goes out every night and preforms at the highest level, and he understands that he is proving he deserves the fame and fortune he has received as he pays his dues to the league and the players that came before him.  The man deserved that award, and is helping a league rise from their down years.  

I must say that the NHL and NBA playoffs recently has helped us all forget about the nonsense in sports.  The Rangers vs Capitals, the Devils vs Carolina and now the Penguins vs Capitals series has provided entertainment for all sports fans.  It is helping get the fans back to a sport that is on the way out.  Then there was the Bulls vs Celtics series.  That series was an incredible series, filled with players who busted their ass to win each and every game.  Kids if you are looking for sports heroes take any of those players who laid it all on the line to win. Like Ray Allen who scored 51 points in  a loosing effort and has never been in trouble with the league, or the law.  He has not taken any steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.

I love sports and everything about it.  I engulf myself with my teams and stress myself out watching games like most of you.  My day can be ruined or turned around depending on the outcome of a game.  From the highs to the lows of each game, like watching a 6 overtime game and feel like I just went thru hell only to be relieved and elated at the end.  I have seen sure thing points and wins turned to heartbreaking losses (Yes I am talking about a dropped snap on a FG to be eliminated from the playoffs).  And I have laid in bed with mono and falling asleep between pitches of a game 7, and forcing myself up to see a game winning home run by Aaron Boone.  I love sports and nothing would ever get me to stop watching, I just think it might be time to move away from their off the field lives.  So maybe we can talk about our sports Gods with our kids and not have to even think about them cheating or doing wrong.  So anyone out their that wants to be like Selena Roberts, I beg you to mind your own business and let us think that our heroes are truly great.

Before I go:

Yesterdays Movie:  American Beauty

Todays Movie: "In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I'm watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all."

The Question of the Day:  What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Your Kid Sucks....Deal with it

"If you're not first you're last"- Ricky Bobby

Today I was at work, and one of the women was selling raffle tickets for the high school baseball team her son plays for.  We started talking about one of the coaches, who happened to be one of my favorite teachers.  She said she didn't like him and thought he was too tough as a coach, her reasoning was she overheard him yelling at the team, saying you scrubs might as well go in as we are getting killed anyway.

I am not saying that is the best thing to say or the best way to say it, but I don't think it is a terrible statement.  Now obviously these kids are on the school team so they do not suck, but what is wrong with knowing you are not the elite player.  If anything it should make you work harder to get better and prove that you can be one of the top players.  This issue however, is becoming too evident in todays America.  This situation with the coach does not happen enough if you ask me.

Growing up me, my friends and other people in or around my grade were not rewarded for mediocrity or last place.  There was no trophy for coming in last, in fact if you weren't in first or second you didn't get anything, and thats how it should have been.  If you wanted a trophy and to be rewarded you needed to practice and bust your ass to earn it.  Now kids are being given ribbons and trophies for every place so that no kid will feel like a loser.  This can not be the way to do things, these kids will think they are great with all the trophies they "earn" and then when they get to a level in sports and in life when they do not just receive rewards what will happen?  How will they deal with failure then?   What happens when they do not get the raise at work, or even get rejected from a school, a job etc.  All of a sudden we have another kid heading to therapy in this country because of "social anxiety" or depression.

What I do not understand is where this started, is it starting with the parents who do not want to deal with their kids disappointment?  Or is it the parents not wanting to push their kids to try harder thus causing more practices and lessons that parents have to drive to and pay for?  Are they afraid to tell the kids that they are not that good?  I sucked at soccer growing up and I knew it.  My parents knew it and they did not come out and tell me I sucked but they pushed me towards other sports.

The bigger problem here is that this is effecting America as a whole.  We are raising a generation of whimps who can not take failure and have so many pills shoved down their throats for their "ADD."  What is going to happen when this generation becomes leaders of our companies and country?  What will our army look like with these type of kids in command?  Will one get shot and everyone cry and run away?  Will the first battle lost be the end of the war?  When our freedom is attacked, what type of people will we be sending in to protect us.  Parents are not doing their kids or this world any justice babying them.  People need to face failure and learn how to accept it and get stronger.  When in their minds these kids think they are already strong how will they improve?  They wont and the people who will be affected....us and the generations of people who have failed, will continue to fail, but will bounce back and get stronger.

Before I go:

Love the comments by everyone keep them coming.  Very creative stuff.

Yesterdays movie was: The Usual Suspects.

Todays Movie: "I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."

Question of the day:  If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

I'm Back!

Welcome back everyone, sorry for the few week layoff.  I hope everyone enjoyed not having to read this blog during the break, and for the one or two that actually missed reading the blog don't worry I am back and have tons of topics to write about.

I was away on a cruise about 2 weeks ago with some friends, Carnival Freedom.  It was an 8 night cruise and stopped at Cozumel, Costa Rica and Panama.  The cruise was great and the weather was great.  It seemed to be spring break for high schools as there was tons of high school people on the cruise and I do not remember girls being so "developed" in high school.  Some of these girls were ridiculous, don't worry I followed all laws.  Some of them are incredibly dumb, as I was walking with two of the kids that we went with and a high school girl asked them if they could ask his dad to by her some beer, referring to me.  Now the kids I was walking with at the time were 18, everyone may know I am an old man, but I don't look 40.  This girl was fucking retarted, but moving on.

Costa Rica was my favorite stop, we took a boat ride thru the rainforest which was pretty sweet seeing monkeys, lizards, all that shit.  Then we zip lined thru the rainforest which was awesome.  I recommend doing that if you ever get a chance.  Cozumel, the day was spent drinking at the beach.  The beach and water was beautiful and the beer was great.  Panama was boring as hell.  Now I respect the whole Panama Canal, combining to oceans, making trade and travel easier.  However, watching the process take place is like watching paint dry.  The process is cool watching the different water levels and boat rising, but it takes too long and is too boring.  Glad I saw it, never wanna see it again, unless I am going thru it.

The cruise was overall a great time, very relaxing and anytime you aren't in work for a whole week you cant complain at all.

One rant before I go.  If you have been reading this blog for a while now you know my feelings towards Facebook.  I check my Facebook, and like anyone I have found myself on it for way too long at times.  What I do not like is people who feel it necessary to tell us all what you are doing constantly.  "Right now John Doe is taking a crap, then I might shower" or "I hung out with this girl last night and now I have the clap"  I now have something else to add to the things  I hate about Facebook.  People have started living their lives thru Facebook, I mean they meet people they start talking to people next thing you know they are going out.  The whole relationship takes place on Facebook and usually ends on Facebook.  How pathetic are these people who can not even break up with someone in person, or at least over the phone.  They just write on their status single, or no longer in a relationship.  The poor other person finds out that way, are you kidding me?  It is starting to create a generation of people who no longer communicate like humans, rather as computers who once in a while see each other.

Before I go a few things:

New movie quote:"First day on the job, you know what I learned? How to spot a murderer. Let's say you arrest three guys for the same killing. You put them all in jail overnight. The next morning, whoever's sleeping is your man. You see, if you're guilty, you know you're caught, you get some rest, you let your guard down."  

Question of the Day:  What was the best vacation you have ever been on?  Where was your favorite place you have been?

Time for Lost

Hope everyone is having a good week.  Hope you all enjoyed LOST and to catch us up, Mos Jef's weekly review:

Apparently there’s some beef about how I have beef with the show. For that, I apologize and will try to keep my beefing to a minimum.

That is except when it comes to a friend of mine—which is no fault of the show. I choose my own friends. For privacy’s sake let’s call this friend Bony Talls. No no, that’s too obvious. Let’s just call him Anthony T. This young individual, who I’ve watched LOST with on many an occasion, has come into the habit of talking to the characters of the show as if they’re in the darkened room in which we are sitting. On cue, he says their name, as if expecting a response. They never respond, by the way. I felt like Larry David in the ending montage of last season’s Curb when he’s with his new family in the movie theater.

I’m a bit hazy on the best quotes from last night. I really enjoyed Ben telling Russo, “When you hear whispers, run,” specifically because this is the same thing she tells Sayid when they first meet. This line is now clearly up for interpretation. In the past the whispers have been a forewarning of the Others’ presence. If Widmore was the leader, and ordered that Russo be killed, then the Others (arriving via whispers) would merk her when they found her alive in the jungle. She took it as the whispers were always bad news (which is clearly not the case; i.e. the Aussie Stewardess who was kidnapped/recruited by the Others) and passed that fear onto Sayid.

Regardless of this endless over-analyzing opportunity in that comment, I have to award best line of the night to John Locke:

“I was just hoping for an apology.”

That coy smile gets me every time. In fact, looking back at the Seder I attended 2 and a half hours late last night., I kind of wish John Locke was my bachelor uncle, who insists on helping me hide the Afikoman. Alas, it’s not to be.

Big ups to Benjamin Linus. He’s like one of those dudes on the Maury Povich Show (my boss watches every morning, so I am forced to watch every morning before we leave the apartment) who finds out that he is, thanks to a free paternity test, the father of his girlfriend/temporary ho’s baby and decides to “step up, be a man, and take responsibility.” Ben was how old there? 18? 24?

New spin off show idea: Ben Linus is a single father, trying to raise a French baby on his own. His devotion to his mysterious religious beliefs coupled with his unique family dynamic leaves him very little room for a love life, even when the blonde OBGYN of his dreams moves to his tropical island.

Back to Russo for a second—why would the Island want her dead? I say the island because the rest of her scientific team went down into the temple and came out with a mission: to kill Danielle Russo. Is it because of how she helped the Flight 815 Survivors later on the time line? She led them to the Black Rock for dynamite (which ultimately freed Desmond). She warned them about the black smoke. Yet, she was eventually killed anyway, so was that just her fate? Was it because she was part of a scientific team and was therefore a woman of science, like Jack, and unable to be a woman of faith, like Locke.

I was a little confused how Caesar would come to trust Ben so quickly. He shows him the gun right off the bat. He wouldn’t even show that Bounty Hunter lady his glock, and it’s not as if Caesar didn’t see the Bounty Hunter lady in first class, transporting a criminal of sorts. Similar to the way Ben explained the murder of Locke, Ben gets the information he needs from Caesar (that he has a gun) and then finds him disposable.

My bad y’all. I was pretty confident about Penny being born on the island. (However let me slip in that I was also confident about Ben failing to kill Penny and that Desmond was the one who went Tyler Durden on his face.) Is Penny’s mother someone we’ve met before? Ben on the dock seemed sincere when he told Widmore that he “broke the rules” by leaving the island so frequently. He was endangering the secrecy of the Island’s location, just as he did when he sent his elite squad to capture Ben. Charles didn’t break the rules by killing Alex. He gave up the whereabouts of the island to those who should never have known in the first place. But Widmore told Locke that Ben “tricked him” off the island. Based on what happened this episode, I take Ben’s word over that of Charles. Yet I’m sure that opinion can change once we see a Widmore back story during his decades in power on the island, which should have the Charles In Charge theme song throughout the episode.

Miss my chubby Spanish gentle giant and would love to get him some face time.

Thought it was very cool how the game of Risk that Hurley and Sawyer were playing before the DI town was invaded was still in tact on Ben’s kitchen table. And while I can’t fill the “noting how Sawyer is the man quota” in this email, I’ll balance it out with a “Lapidis is cool as shit.” My man decides to leave Ben’s house in the middle of the night and walk through the jungle alone! Was he scared? Not even a little bit. He probably made a little road-trip out of it. Songs Lapidis most likely sang to himself as he trudged through the night; (1) Creedance Clearwater Revival’s “Run Through the Jungle.” (2) Jethro Tull’s “Bungle in the Jungle.” (3) Anything by Lou Reed solo or the Velvet Underground. No jungle relation, he just seems that cool.

I don’t remember when Locke ever came into contact with the temple, although he knew exactly how to get there. He was almost dragged into a hole by the black smoke before they blew open the hatch. Was that at that same underground temple opening?

While Bony Talls…sorry, Anthony T, tries to find a translation to the writing on the wall (“You guys, is that in Egyptian?”), I’ll beef a bit. In a decision that can only be described as homage to the final scene in Happy Gilmore when Chubs, the Gator and Abe Lincoln wave from the sky, Ben is engulfed by the black smoke. The black smoke full of cheesey visuals. Cheesey visuals that were not damning enough to force Ben into oblivion. And now, if Ben can heed the advice of his dead daughter, he’ll be allowed to stick around, creating more memories on the island for cheesey visuals, that can be seen in the opening credits of Ben’s soon-to-be spin off show.

This episode overall was a turning point in Ben’s life. He was always the Lewis Scott, Jimmy Dugan, Gordon Bombay character who thought he could do it all himself. But slowly he’s realizing that teamwork gets it done. Ben is important to the island, clearly. He’s a piece of the puzzle just like everyone else, albeit a bigger piece than most. Now he has to take a back seat to Locke and enjoy the ride with the rest of us.



“Too many questions”

mos jef

Terrible news for all the readers out there, this guy is going away tomorrow on vacation and wont be back for a week.  Everyone have a great week and I'll be back with new posts soon.

America's Past Time

With April upon us that can only mean one thing for sports fans and that is that baseball is back.  America's Past time is back and it kicked off tonight with the Braves beating the defending World Series Champs the Phillies.  As all the "pros" pick what they think is going to happen and who is going to win the divisions, leagues and the whole thing I figured this schmuck might as well tell all of you what I think is going to happen.  So with out further wait here are my picks:

American League East

1. NY Yankees

2. Boston Red Sox

3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. Baltimore Orioles

This will be a tight 3 team race all season, but the Yankees did too much good this offseason to not produce.  They get back on track this year and not only win the division they also win the outright American League.  

American League Central

1. Chicago White Sox

2. Cleveland Indians

3. Minnesota Twins

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Detroit Tigers

The White Sox pull the small upset in the central just beating out the Cleveland Indians.  The big surprise in the Central is how competitive the Royals are going to be this year.  It will not shock me if they finish in 2nd in this division.

American League West

1. LA Angels

2. Texas Rangers

3. Seattle Mariners 

4. Oakland Athletics

This division is just awful and the Angels are going to win it.  I do not think the Angels are anything special this year, but they do not have much competition.  

The wild card race in the American League is going to be tight and here is how it will finish:

1. Red Sox

2. Rays

3. Indians

There wont be more than a few games between these 3 teams, but the Bo Sox head to playoffs.

National League East

1. NY Mets

2. Philadelphia Phillies

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Florida Marlins

The Mets and Philies race will be tight once again this year, but finally the Mets get over the hump and do not collapse at the end of the season.

National League Central

1. Chicago Cubs

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Houston Texans

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

6. Cincinnati Reds

The Cubbies are going to run away with this league, that is until the Cardinals decide to turn it on after the Allstar break.  Cubs will still win by a decent margin.  They also will win the National League regular season as well.

National League West

1. LA Dodgers

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

3. San Francisco Giants

4. Colorado Rockies

5. San Diego Padres

LA Dodgers will hold of the Diamondbacks and are going to be very tough in the playoffs.  Manny is signed and that will be able to push them over the top in this division.

The National League Wild Card will finish:

1. Philadelphia Phillies

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

3. St. Louis Cardinals

The Phillies might have an extra game to be played against the Diamondbacks to decide who heads into the playoffs.

Here is how the playoffs go:

American League

1. NY Yankees vs 3. Chicago White Sox

The Yankees are going to sweep this series as there pitching is too solid and their bats are going to be in full force.

2. LA Angels vs 4. Boston Red Sox

The Angels finally have to face a tough team after having a cake walk through the AL West.  The Sox are sweeping through this round to head to the always fun match up against the Yankees.

American League Championship

1. NY Yankees vs 4. Boston Red Sox

This one goes to 6 or 7 games where the Yankees will be heading back to the World Series after a few years off.  The series will be another classic Sox vs Yanks series.

National League

1. Chicago Cubs vs 4. Philadelphia Phillies

The defending champs make a good push to repeat as champs but it is not to be.  The Cubs are going to win a playoff series and head to the National League Championship.  The Cubs are a very solid overall team this year and are too much for the champs.

2. LA Dodgers vs 3. NY Mets

This series is going to be very entertaining, both teams are very solid and this will go the distance.  The Mets are just going to be a little to confident with an incredible season and are going to get past the solid Dodgers.  It wont be a shock if the Dodgers win this though.

National League Championship

1. Chicago Cubs vs 3. NY Mets

A series that everyone wants to see will not disappoint.  This will get to 6 games, but the Mets will just be worn down from their last series against the Dodgers and finally the Chicago Cubs are heading to the World Series.

World Series:

NY Yankees vs Chicago Cubs

Does it get any better than this, two of the best franchises in Sports go head to head for the title.  The Chicago Cubs trying to break a 101 year drought and the Yankees trying to make it #27 World Series Championships.  This incredible series will go the distance.  We will get a game 7 and it'll be CC or Burnett vs Peavy (that's right at one point this season the Cubs will get Peavy).  This series will have a chance to be ended by the Cubs in game 6 at the new Cathedral, Yankee Stadium, but the Yankees wont disappoint the home town fans and will force a game 7.  Wrigley will host the final game of the season this year and in a classic baseball game come the top of the 9th will have a chance to win their first championship in 101 years and as the fans rise to their feet thinking 3 more outs and believing that this is their year the unfortunate memories of billy goats, the Padres and Steve Bartman in their minds.  However, unlike all those other times this is the Cubbies year.  3 outs later and the city of Chicago will be champions.  The longest drought in Sports history will finally end and a city will be World Champs once again.  Cubs win the series 4-3.

Those are my picks, you heard it here first make your bets and cash in on the winning picks.  

Before I go:

Common Thread Answer:  Silence Of The Lambs:  Foster in Inside Man, Hopkins in Meet Joe Black and Scott Glenn in Training Day.  

New Movie Quote: "You shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better."  

Question of the Day:  What do you think the World Series will be and who is your winner?

GIDDY UP

HOLY LOST 4/3

Back for another Lost review is Mos Jeff, enjoy:

I feel like Brad Pitt. Not so much physically, but the part in Fight Club when he first meets Ed Norton on the plane and he says, "I get it. It's very clever. How's that working out for you? Being clever?"

In this case, the writers of LOST are the Ed Nortons. When did they start thinking they were so clever that they sit around in a little pow-wow and giggle to themselves about their clever ideas. They probably think they're as clever as the first dude who showed up at Madison Square Garden in the 90's with that clever Defense sign...the one that was a giant letter D and then a small cut out of a white picket fence. Now that was clever.

Case and point: "Catch a Falling Star." I know this popular tune from the movie Love Actually (an English flick) when the little kids dressed on stage, one as Spider Man, sing this tune. Later, and more importantly in my life, Season 1 of Lost Claire asks the potential adopted parents (Australian) of Aaron to sing that song to her child. Kate is American. Catch a Falling Star doesn't seem, in my estimation, to be an American classic. Claire definitely never had a chance to ask Kate to sing it to her son. So the clever writers decided, "Oh how fun would it be to tie up this loose end. We're so clever. We eat cheese and do cross word puzzles in pen and understand the economy." Yes, Kate could have heard Claire singing to Aaron on the beach in the past, but I like my tirade better.

Keeping the ball rolling on this, I think last night's episode had more nominees for worst line of the night rather than best line. Hence:

"Sawyer broke your heart. How else were you going to fix it?" - Cassidy

"He'll forget this ever happened and his innocence will be gone." - Richard

"Welcome back to the land of the living." - John Locke

As I delve into last night's hour I'll explain why those quotes irk me. But first, how incredible was the Myles-Hurley conversation? I feel like I've had that very same talk, including the Back to the Future II reference, with many of you out there. In fact, my favorite line of the night was Hurley's, "Ha! Then your theory is wrong!" But then I should probably lump that in with the writers being clever, and sneaking in a little insult to the viewers about them (me, us) being so wrong about everything. And why didn't Ben remember Sayid shooting him? (Which A. Myles wasn't on the island yet to know about and B. Ben never reveals to anyone)

Because of a stupid fucking explanation from Richard. I get it. Ben was brought in those first couple of episodes and that was supposed to be it for that character. Except he was so good that they had to keep him around and expand his role. However "he'll forget this ever happened" is such a cop out, man. It's on par with the end of Four Brothers. I still don't understand why they killed that poor woman.

This (forgetting it every happened) means that Sayid and young Ben will never be in contact again. Either Sayid will be killed or he'll time jump back to the 2000s. My guess is he gets merked because his arc seems to have come to an end. Although Ben doesn't recognize any of our other Survivors, nor do they get gassed in the Purge, so they might all jump out of his life.

Cassidy's line - I wasn't under the impression that Kate was heart broken at all. Her decision to keep Aaron wasn't about being alone, it was about protecting the island. Isn't that the point of Kate's character? To be the female hero of the show? Or maybe I couldn't hear her sobbing because her mouth was stuffed w/ Jack's apparently unimpressive (my understanding based on Juliet's lack of expression in the shower scene) "little surgeon." And was the handing over of Aaron to his grandma enough motivation to have her go ahead and sleep with Jack? Not so clever, writers. Not so clever. In addition, we all knew this is what Sawyer whispered about before, doing the opposite of what Schwarzenegger suggested, jumping off the choppa'.

Kate has no freckles.

And regardless if no one told her to do it, she's preggo. No one told Ben to show up last minute for the plane (like Hurley did.) But this show is based heavily on fate - and someone had to get knocked up.

The Richard line at least gave out some other clues -- Ellie and Charles both being the heads of the Hostiles. Yet Richard also claimed he didn't answer to them. Hopefully this power struggles is cleared up in Ben's back story. More importantly for right now, if Charles is on the island still, in 1977, Penny was almost definitely born on the island. Might be the offspring of Widmore and Ellie. Might be Kate and Jack's baby that Widmore takes with him (similar to what Kate did) when he is tricked off the island by Ben. No matter whose kid she is, she was born there and just like Desmond, Aaron and Walt, must go back to the island.

Kate and Sawyer are responsible for Ben's innate evil streak? Hardly. Blame the Doc with the shrinkage. If he hadn't been so stubborn as usual (the new him, apparently is just as stubborn as the old him) and saved Ben, the ginger kid wouldn't be personifying a Don Henley song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4cuEAU9mXM

Similar to Russo's friends losing their innocence.

Richard's Ouija Borad-esque skills, or potential molestation implications--you know how they love the Christianity references, in the mysterious Temple raise some questions. Did he do this with Locke? Probably not since Locke specifically remembers how he dies. He was healed by the island before that too when he was shot by Ben. He rises and kills Naomi, not so innocently. But he remembers being shot by Ben too. So these miracle cures clearly reenforce the fact that Locke is special.

Did Richard resurrect Christian? More possible than Locke. Eko's brother? Maybe. The point is Richard isn't clear if Ben won't remember any of his past or just the bit about his death.

The love square gets more complicated as Juliet doesn't knock on the bathroom door before entering and Sawyer tells Kate he loves the blonde. Two of the four will die, forcing the remaining two to be forcefully E-Harmony'd with each other.

Other thoughts: What if Ben, and our other old friends stuck in the time of Caesar and the Bounty Hunter Broad, can't go to the 70's because they'd encounter older versions of themselves. Ben is clearly around. But what if we were wrong about the AVD's asian baby? What if it's not Myles at all and it's actually Sun? I don't remember if they specified if the child was a boy or not. But even if they said it's "your son" that could've easily been written "your Sun." The counter argument is that Locke jumped to the same time where the beam of light shot out of the Hatch so jumping to the time of your former self is quite doable. And then a counter argument to that is that those time jumps occurred before Locke turned the donkey wheel.

Roger should hit on someone closer to his level. If Kate's a 9 or 10, Roger's like a 5? He should be looking more in the Rose hotness-scale level. Or Russo post 16 years of craziness and deterioration.

Is the Ben resurrection the "incident" they all speak of? I think that when Richard/Hostiles return Ben to the DI, with side effects or specific demands, that will be the incident.

Again, a pretty black and white episode. Keep hope alive.


"too many questions"
mos jef

Last quote:  Training Day

Common Thread three movies: Training Day, Meet Joe Black and Inside Man

Have a great weekend

YouTube

So, as disapointing this is going to be to everyone I don't have much to write about today.  However, I will have a post today below are some great youtube clips for your enjoyment.  Post some of your favorite youtube videos to share with everyone.  Without further ado:

Bear Pole Dancing:

This is the worst sportscaster ever, he just cant seem to get this shit write:

This crazy old lady is way to into shooting people:

These people are fucking crazy.  Looking for a pot of gold:

This kid is fucking high:

This poor fucking kid gets JACKED UP:

I wish I was on this flight:

This one is a little long but hysterical, watch it:

To end the clips here is a classic:

Hope you enjoyed the Youtube post, many thanks to follower Wellen for passing along some of his favorite Youtube clips.

Before I go:

Yesterdays Quote: Meet Joe Black (never saw it so don't know if its good or not)

Todays Quote: "Aww, you motherfuckers. Okay. Alright. I'm putting cases on all you bitches. Huh. You think you can do this shit... Jake. You think you can do this to me? You motherfuckers will be playing basketball in Pelican Bay when I get finished with you. SHU program, nigga. 23 hour lockdown. I'm the man up in this piece. You'll never see the light of... who the fuck do you think you're fucking with? I'm the police, I run shit around here. You just live here. Yeah, that's right, you better walk away. Go on and walk away... 'cause I'm gonna' burn this motherfucker down. King Kong ain't got shit on me. That's right, that's right. Shit, I don't, fuck. I'm winning anyway, I'm winning... I'm winning any motherfucking way. I can't lose. Yeah, you can shoot me, but you can't kill me."

Question of the day: No real question today, just post your favorite Youtube clips.

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Happy April Fools

GIddy UP!!!

What's Wrong with this Country

There can be many answers to the question above, but this specific post deals with one thing.  If you have not seen the video or heard about the Ryan Moats, Houston Texans Running back,incident with the Dallas police officer Robert Powell outside the hospital while his mother-in-law was dying.  Moats was driving to the hospital after being told by doctors that his mother-in-law is on her way out and if they want to say their goodbyes they better get their quick.  He had his hazards on and carefully went thru a red light and a stop sign with his wife and what seemed to be another women maybe his sister-in-law.  The cop pulled up behind him as he went thru the red light and put their lights on, obviously with more important things on his mind he did not stop, when he parked at the hospital the cop started screaming for everyone to get back in the car, his wife not giving a fuck and the other lady walked away into the hospital while Moats was then harassed for over 15 minutes by the cop.  The cop asked for his license and insurance and even after he was given it delayed running the plates by saying that he did not like Moats attitude and that he can tow the car and bring Moats to jail.  First off, Moats was a saint the way he was handling himself in the situation, he was being respectful and obeying everything he was asked to do while continuously saying "my mother-in-law is dying right now."  Then a security guard and nurses came out to try to ask the cop to continue this later or hurry up and the cop smugly responded that he was almost done.  After 15 plus minutes Moats was given a ticket, finally Moats made it into the hospital to say goodbye to his mother-in-law but it was too late she had died a few minutes before.

Below is the 2 parts of the full version of the incident and the third one is the quick recap of the situation if you are in a rush.

Now that I gave the quick recap here are my thoughts.  Ryan Moats handled himself incredibly, I can't imagine being in the situation and pray to never be, but I think I would be in jail or dead right now if I was him because I would have attacked that scumbag Powell.  What a fucking racist fucking scumbag.  Moats went about the whole situation from start to finish the right way, your hazard lights are meant for emergencies.  In this emergency situation he obeyed the law and got himself to the hospital as quick as possible in a safe manner.  He even slowed and made sure no other cars were coming before he continued thru the light.  What he should have done was told the cop he was going into the hospital and if he wants to shoot him he can, but then again no one wants to be shot and killed.  Powell should be hung and while he is chocking be stoned and shot at.  This cocksucker is what is wrong with America, why do people find it necessary to ruin other peoples lives.  Now I understand cops already get a bad rap for the most part, I mean no one likes getting tickets, like for fucking parking in a parking lot without having a permit 5 minutes before its OK to park there, but show some fucking sense and let the guy go say goodbye to his mother.

The incident now has taken the next step when Dallas Police chief sent Powell home with pay and told him to not come back until their investigation is over.  The chief also apologized for the pain caused to Moats and his family.  It seems that Powell might be headed out of the department or stuck do desk work that fucking Nazi bitch.  Moats responded saying he accepts the apology, but that does not mean he is able to forget what happened as he will never have that special moment with his mother in law and the chance to say goodbye.

Things like this piss me off (better than being pissed on).  What pisses me off as much as Powell, is the other cop on the scene.  How does he not step in remove Powell from the situation.  Why is no one asking that, there is more than one person to blame here they both need to be removed from the shield and sent to jail where they will be rapped and they will deserve everything they get.  So send hate mail to Powell today instead of this guy (if you wanna still post negative what the hell its enjoyable to read) and hopefully karma will catch up to him.  Things like this make me think we need the death penalty and this man should be killed.

Let me here what you think about the situation.

Before I go:

Fuck My Life is a hysterical website, if you haven't checked it out I highly recommend wasting time at work/class with that: fmylife.com

Yesterdays Quote: Inside Man

Todays Quote:"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived."

Question of the Day:  If you were creating  new expansion team, what sports would it be, where would it be and what would the name be? (question compliments of Josh Levy all the way from Australia )

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GIDDY UP!!

Down to Four and Tiger's comeback

Hope everyone had a great weekend, as we unfortunately head into the week.

We are down to four in March Madness.  This weekend we saw the field of 16 get shrunk to the four teams that will be fighting for College Hoops supremacy and their one shining moment.  The bad news at least for this guy is Cuse lost on Friday to Oklahoma, being in a bar with it packed with all Syracuse people was a good atmosphere.  That is until we started loosing then everyone was miserable, and giving up way to quickly.  Besides Ivler and myself it seemed like everyone else had given up on us once we went down big.  I guess everyone else was right, but hey stick with it till the end.

The two biggest "upsets" of the weekend was Missouri beating Memphis by 11 and Nova on Saturday beating Pittsburgh.  Now it is hard to call Villanova an upset since they were the #3 seed and play Pittsburgh during the regular season and are very familiar with them.  The action got better on Saturday and Sunday when we saw Michigan State upset the #1 overall seed, Louisville and punch their ticket to the Final Four.  Then we saw UNC man handle the best player in the country and Oklahoma.  The last ticket to Detroit is Uconn who handled business against Missouri.

The Final Four match ups are Uconn vs Michigan State and Villanova vs UNC.  It is set to be a great weekend of basketball and ultimately an incredible Monday.  There are 2 Big East teams heading to the Final Four and the debate should be over about which conference was the best this year.  3 #1 seeds, 5 Elite 8 Teams and now 2 Final Four teams.  There is no debate, Big 10 should not be mentioned in the conversation, and the ACC was very good but they are a tier below with out a doubt.

Today Tiger Woods in his 3rd event back after having knee surgery was five strokes back heading into the final round.  However, Tiger wouldn't be Tiger without his Sunday Magic, and it was out today.  A back and forth battle found Tiger tied with O'hara heading into the final hole and with both on the green with birdie opportunities O'hara missed a long putt just left and just short.  Thats when Tiger goes for the win and thats when the Tiger roar was heard as he hits his putt to win the tournament and head into the Masters with a victory.  It was an impressive round for Tiger and he becomes the favorite for the Masters.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend....

Before I go:

The common thread was The Royal Tenenbaums, Glover in Angels in the Outfield; Stiller in Along Came Polly and Luke Wilson in Anchorman.

Todays Quote: "My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I've told you my name: that's the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the When. As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation, it's exceedingly simple... because I can. Which leaves us only with the How; and therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub."  

Question of the day:  If you could be the best in the world at a sport which would it be?

HOLY LOST 3/26/09

It's Thursday and that means its time for our LOST review from Mos Jef.  I hope everyone enjoyed the ultimate bracket for music we had some great comments, I must say very creative.  Without further ado its time for HOLY LOST:

I always say that watching an hour of LOST, no matter what happens, is so enjoyable that it cannot be considered a bad episode. It cannot be considered a disappointment, because on it's worst day LOST is still better than say 24 or Heroes or any other show on its best day. I still feel that way, but it doesn't mean I can't get frustrated with this show for never answering questions. Ever. They're totally pulling a last-night-Sayid on us. Let it be known now, in a public forum, that I will force feed Cuse and Lindeloff LSD after next season if I don't hear exactly what I want to hear. I will pull up in an unmarked VW Bus, scoop them inside, drag them to self-storage unit in Syracuse, New York (in the winter, when no one can hear you scream) and make them talk.

Moving on, best line nominees:

"A 12-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?" - Sayid, after clearly being dissatisfied with the quality of said chicken salad sandwich

"You know, together? Like you guys were?" - Hurley

"To put it quite simply, you're capable of things that most men aren't." - Ben Linus

My vote is the Ben Linus line, just because he delivers every line so well. Also, the deeper significance it holds. Quite simply, Ben Linus is just as capable as Sayid to kill. And he enjoys doing it. The thing is, only John Locke knows that Ben kills. He saw him kill the big dude with the bomb detonator on his 24-inch-python. He knows that he himself was killed. And then, of course, Ben killed the entire DI.

I also thoroughly enjoyed when Ben was getting beaten by his father. Note, I have some sympathy here, b/c if my kid looked like Ben I would totally backhand him at least twice a day. But it was great to see even Sayid, who hates Ben more than anyone probably, flinch at the site of a child being over powered by his father.

Another familiar actor, Ohad (is that his name?), the DI's torturer, was in Blade Runner, amongst other things. And thank you, VH1's The Drug Years, for informing me beforehand that the army explored the use of LSD as a truth serum back in the day.

Sayid tripping face--priceless. How come Hurley hasn't made any references to needing a joint, by the way? I think it's pretty clear that Hurley rocks the ganj. Wouldn't you expect him to ask around..."So does the DI 'grow' anything special?" Or..."This ranch dressing is great...but it would be even greater if..."

Sayid drinking the same scotch as Widmore and Desmond drank. Yea, you pompous fucking creators. You can link that shit back together but you can't answer why Walt's so special or why Libby was in the mental institution with Hurley? And mind you, now that our Bounty Hunter is in the year _____ w/ Ben and Locke, the speech that Sayid gave her on the plane regarding how awful Ben is as a human being, will definitely go into her decision making from here on out.

Clearly there was only one thing in this episode truly worth analyzing (hence the frustration from paragraph one) but something else irked me. Maybe I'm wrong here, but what did Ben do to really piss Sayid off? Sayid killed people for Ben. Ben then came to him when more people needed killing (outside Hurley's institution.) What did Sayid expect from him? I don't think we're missing any pieces to the puzzle. So am I alone in thinking that Sayid has no reason to be on the "I hate Ben" band wagon? He told him to kill. He killed voluntarily. Went to South America to star in Extreme Home Makeover. Was told to kill again. Did so. Shows up in the harbor. Hates Ben.

And now the big finale...Ben's shot in the chest. He's not dead. This is what happened. It's not as if this is a new time line and Old Ben doesn't exist. Old Ben remembers being shot. It might be worth going back and watching the first time Old Ben (then Henry Gale) encounters Sayid (about to get tortured in the hatch.) Is there a hint of recognition? Is there a hint of fear? I love the parallel nature of Sayid being caught and lying to Ben, "I came here for you." This is the very same line Ben used on John Locke to get free...

Is Ben being shot possibly related to the toomer he develops later? In the coming attractions Kate flips out saying "We did this." Meaning them coming back forced what they assume to be as changing the past. But in reality they're not changing anything. Whatever they do from here on out is what happened in the 70s. So Jack, feeling guilty, steps up. "I'm a doctor. I can save Ben." This will bring up more questions later, but for now at least Ben is saved. Does he screw up the surgery? Is that why the toomer happens? And then Ben, finding Dr. Jack later, knows he's the only one who can rectify his surgery mistake.

Or have there been experiments going on the island? So far, it doesn't appear that the island has any healing powers. Nor does it have any defects in the baby-making process. Does Horace flip a switch? Or experiment with the time traveling abilities in the Orchid station to save Ben's life? Perhaps this is the first time they do this and in the process unleash the healing powers of the island, but also screw up the final stage of pregnancy.

Do they take Ben to the Hostiles for help? Richard recognizes Ben as the kid who saw the image of his mother, which impressed him all those years ago, and decides that he needs to use Jacob, or the island, or whatever, to save the kid. Whatever happens, being shot at someone that you later learn is part of Flight 815 is enough to have you hold a grudge for the rest of your life.

For serious you guys, "Too many questions."
-mos jef

Another great recap and review by Mos Jef.

Before I go:

Great college basketball continues tomorrow and continues to the end of the weekend.  By Sunday night we will be down to our Final Four.

Yesterdays Quote was Anchorman

The Three Movies that make up the common thread are: Anchorman, Along Came Polly and Angels in the Outfield.  The idea of the game is to now find something they all have in common.  Remember the example: My Cousin Vinny, Analyze This, Wild Hogz the answer was Goodfellas due to Liota in Wild Hogz, Pesci in My Cousin Vinny and Deniro in Analyze This all together in Goodfellas.  Good Luck

Question of the day:  If you could visit one place in the world where would it be?

Have a great weekend....

GIDDY UP

Great Music Debate

For a very long time I have bashed the music of my generation.  I hate hearing people rap about their "grills" or  having people become famous because they have been shot multiple times.  That does not impress me and most of the music just is not that good.  I would rather listen to a guitar solo by Clapton or Harrison.  Now I am not saying that there are no good musicians left, there are some great ones who have set a landscape of music that people listen to.  As we move forward in time and young kids listen to Brittney Spears who shaves her head, goes nuts, comes back and sings a song call F U Seek Amy because it sounds like Fuck Me is nuts.  Or we have these young kids listening to a drug addict singing about how she is not going to rehab and is showing kids that it is ok to become an addict because you might end up rich and famous.  We must pass along the songs of The Beatles, The Who, The Stones, etc.  The timeless debate though is who is the best, well with it being March and that means NCAA tournament and the brackets its time for A Blog About Nothing's Ultimate Bracket.  It is time to find out what group/musician is the best throughout the history of music.  

There are 4 regions each with 16 teams in them for a total of 64 teams.  The four brackets are: Vinyl, Cassets, CDs and Itunes.

Region: Vinyl

(1) The Beatles vs (16) Green Day

This is not really much of a matchup, Green Day should just be happy to be here.  The Beatles have more classics and number one hits than Green Day has songs.  Lets move past this because it just isn't close

(8) Bob Dylan vs (9) Johnny Cash

Two great musicians going at it in the classic 8 vs 9 matchup.  Johnny Cash might get more of the nod of late thanks to the movie about his life, however this guy isn't buying into it.  Bob Dylan still kicking in concerts might be hard to understand and might be too cracked out for his own good but the higher seed wins here.  Bob Dylan just has too many songs that are still classic hits.  The Hurricane moves on this time

(5) Eric Clapton vs (12) Kanye West

Kanye West has helped revolutionize concerts and music now a days, but Clapton is one of the greatest guitarists of all time.  Not only is he an incredible musician he also wrote a song about George Harrison's wife and then took her from him, you might know the song....Layla

(4) Michael Jackson vs (13) Prince

The battle of the two homosexual musicians of all time.  They can be brought to court for touching little boys.  But I am going with the King of Pop Michael Jackson.

(6) Queen vs (11) Aerosmith

We will We will Rock you vs Walk this Way.  Two great bands, but this one has to go to Queen its not often you write a song that is played at every sports arena and at the end of every sports season.  Aerosmith gets a bad draw here, against many other bands/musicians they are moving on, but their tourny ends here.

(3) Jimi Hendrix vs (14) Puff Daddy

One of these men steal beats and the other is tripped on acid, lighting his guitar on fire and playing the star spangled banner....you try to tell me Hendrix isn't moving on.

(7 )  Stevie Wonder vs (10) Meatloaf

Now Stevie Wonder is talented hands down, I give the man tons of credit for having the amount of success he has with the disability he has.  However, Meatloaf created the rock ballad that so many other bands has used as the blueprint for success.  MOM THE MEATLOAF!

(2) The Rolling Stones vs (15) Sublime

Sublime ended their great run of incredible music way to early, and the longevity of the Stones takes them to the next round in this one.  

Round 2 of the Vinyl Region

(1) The Beatles vs (8) Bob Dylan

What a round 2 matchup up, this is must listen music right here, but Bob Dylan is gunna need some Help here to knock out the band from Liverpool.  Dylan is blowing in the wind out of this tournament.  The Beatles move on.

(5) Clapton vs (4) Michael Jackson

King of Pop vs a guitar legend.  Jackson must be spending to much time with little boys on his ranch because this is a snoozer for the 4 vs 5 matchup.  Clapton heads to the next round

(3) Hendrix vs (6) Queen

We are the champions is good but it does not get you past Hendrix.  Queen heads home for some bicycle races.

(2) Rolling Stones vs (10) Meatloaf

If Meatloaf didnt have to face the Stones here they probably are moving on, but like a Bat out of Hell they are heading home and The Stones are going on.

Round 3 of Vinyl Region

(1) The Beatles vs (5) Clapton

The Long and Winding Road is too much for Cocaine here.  Clapton is incredible, his songs are incredible and his rifts are incredible.  However, it is the Beatles and they have just too many hits to be taken out here they'll be headed to the Elite 8

(2) The Rolling Stones vs (3) Hendrix

The Rolling Stones still kicking it into the 60's gets them into this one.  They might not be the best but longevity goes a long way.  Hendrix's run ends in the Sweet 16

Round 4 of Vinyl Region

(1) The Beatles vs (2) The Rolling Stones

The clash of the titans, two of the greatest groups of all time, but the Beatles came first and the Beatles move on.  Rolling Stones can't always get what they want and they wont here.

VINYL REGION CHAMP: (1) THE BEATLES

Round 1 Cassette Region

(1) Led Zeppelin vs (16) TI

If there was a play in game TI would be there and might not make it any further.  Led moves on easy in this one.

(8) The Doors vs (9) Phish

Great matchup here, however I have to give the edge to Phish, the following they have is what gets them over the top here.  This is the end for The Doors

(5) Aretha Franklin vs (12) Elton John

Aretha is the Queen, but Sir Elton John moves on here.  Maybe it is because Aretha is a little too far back there and now looks like a beast, but the Rocket Man moves on here pretty easily.  The classic (12) over (5) matchup.

(4) Madonna vs (13) Dave Matthews Band

The first big upset of the tournament.  DMB over Madonna, now if she was still normal like back in her A League of Their Own  time frame she would easily move on, but she just got a little too weird.  Time to go home Madonna

(6) Nirvana vs (11) Run DMC

Run DMC revolutionized hip hop and is way to much of a matchup for Nirvana, Enough Said.

(3) The Who vs (14) The Ramones

The British invasion is too much for the Ramones.  Its the Who's generation and their time to move past the Ramones.

(7) Dr. Dre vs (10) Chuck Berry

Chuck helped revolutionize the music we hear today, but Dr. Dre is much more than a rapper.  He has built an empire of great talent.  Dr. Dre sends a legend home

(2) Jay-Z vs (15) NAS

NAS is an incredible musician, more than just a rapper. However when you have to go against one of the most powerful people in music today you aren't going to get very far.  NAS has a hard knock draw in this tournament and heads home a little too early.

Round 2 of Cassette Region

(1) Led Zeppelin vs (9) Phish

Phish just can't get out of Led's Maze.  This one is too much for Phish and Led gets thru them pretty easily.

(12) Elton John vs (13) DMB

Tiny Dancer digs DMB grave here.  Sir Elton John continues his cinderella run into round 3.

(3) The Who vs (11) Run DMC

The Who is way to tough for the kings of Hip Hop.  Longevity and Teenage Wasteland carry the Who to the next round.

(2) Jay-Z vs (7) Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is good but not good enough to get past Jay-Z.  This one was closer than I would think but Ill let Beyonnce be the reason Jay-Z moves on.

Round 3 Cassette Region

(1) Led Zeppelin vs (12) Elton John

Get the Lead out.  Sir Elton John is no match for the Wanton Song.  Rocket Man blasts out of this tourny

(2) Jay-Z vs (3) The Who

Jay-Z owns a piece of the Nets, owns a clothing line and changed the rap game as we know it.  He is the most powerful person in music currently and sends the Red Coats back to England.

Round 4 Cassette Region

(1) Led Zeppelin vs (2) Jay-Z

Jay-Z makes a run into the Elite 8, but thats where his run will end.  He cant match Led Zeppelin, which is one of the greatest bands of all time.  Led and the immigrants move on to the final 4.

CASSETTE REGION CHAMPS: LED ZEPPLIN

CD Region

(1) Tupac vs (16) Slick Rick

Tupac is just a far superior matchup for Slick Rick.  Rick goes home early in this one.

(8)Pink Floyd vs (9) The Eagles

I dont know about everyone else but The Eagles just piss me off.  THey are good dont get me wrong but they get way too much credit.  Pink Floyd is incredible end of story.

(5)Bruce and the E-Street Band vs (12) Bon Jovi

The Battle of NJ: Asbury vs Rutherford.  Bruce is just too much for Bon Jovi.  Bruce is heading to the next round.

(4) Bob Marley vs (13) Wycleff

Anytime there are rumors that your death was a conspiracy by the Government you are a powerful person.  Marley moves on, Wycleff will be gone till November.

(6) Billy Joel vs (11) Sting and the Police

The Entertainer vs the Tree hugger.  Sting cant match the Piano Man, even with the Police they are not enough. 

(3) Frank Sinatra vs (14) REM

Frank Sinatra is the original entertainer, he took music to a whole different level.  You cant let the chairman of the board exit in the first round.  REM its the end of the world for you.

(7) The Allman Brothers vs (10) Gun's and Roses

The Allman Brothers are simply incredible  They are still kicking it at the Beacon every summer and still sell out.  Gun's and Roses argue to much and make their fans suffer, hit the road.

(2) Justin Timberlake vs (15) John Mayer

If Mayer hadn't broken up with Aniston he may have had a chance at this one.  Timberlake is the new king of pop.  He moved past NSYNC pretty quickly and has become an icon in music.  Timberlake moves on.

Round 2 of CD region

(1) Tupac vs (8) Pink Floyd

Tupac may or may not be dead, but in this tournament he is a goner.  Pink Floyd is just too tough and Tupac just becomes another brick in the wall of Floyd.

(5) Bruce and The E-Street Band vs (4) Bob Marley

This could be a hometown pick but Bruce moves on.  Marley's music is relaxing and happy, but Bruce just brings you to the good ol' days.

(3) Sinatra vs (6) Billy Joel

The original Entertainer against the new one.  The Angry young man prevails against the Chairman.  Billy Joel is just an incredible performer and maybe it's because i never saw Sinatra, but my vote Joel.

(2) Timberlake vs (7) The Allman Brothers

Timberlake again is just too much for anyone so far.  The new King of Pop teams up with talented musicians and turns ok songs into great ones.

Round 3 of CD Region

(8) Pink Floyd vs (5) Bruce

Pink Floyd's cinderella run continues to the elite 8.  Bruce is great, but they do not have the following of Pink Floyd.  

(2) Timberlake vs (6) Billy Joel

Almost giving an elite 8 matchup of an 8 vs 6, this one goes the other way and Timberlake moves on once again easily.  The performer tops the piano man.

Round 4 CD Region

(2) Timberlake vs (8) Pink Floyd

In Timberlakes first big matchup he is sent home.  Pink Floyd's run continues, they are just too good with Sid or without.

CD REGION CHAMPS: PINK FLOYD

Itunes Region Round 1

(1) Notorious BIG vs (16) Linkin Park

The boys from Chi-town are no match for Big Poppa.  The kid from Brooklyn moves on easily.

(8) The Red Hot Chili Peppers vs (9) Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy can bite the head off of a bat but cant handle a Chili Pepper.  RHCP moves on past the prince of Darkness.

(5) The Grateful Dead vs (12) Foo Fighters

Garcia is not going down in the first round no matter what.  The Foo Fighters havent learned to fly yet cause they go down in round 1.

(4) AC/DC vs (13) Lynard Skynard

This might be one of the best first round matchups.  I have to give it to a band down under.  AC/DC too much for Sweet Home Alabama.

(6) LL Cool J vs (11) Eminem

LL Cool J helped define hip hop, but Eminem took it to another level and as a white kid from Detroit he some how pulls the upset over the man from the bronx.

(3) Elvis Presely vs (14) Simon and Garfunkel

The King of Music tops Simon and Garfunkel very easily, the King has not left the building yet.

(7) Snoop Dog vs (10) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Snoop Dog gets to high to compete and forfeits to TP and the Heartbreakers

(2) U2 vs (15) Van Halen

U2 is more than just a band, Bano helps the world it seems more than any leader, ya he can be annoying but he is a good samaritan.

Round 2 Itunes Region

(1) BIG vs (8) Red Hot Chili Peppers

BIG left us too young, but he wont leave us in this tournament yet, BIG moves on.

(4) AC/DC vs (5) Grateful Dead

AC/DC is too much for the Grateful Dead. Angus Young in a school outfit playing guitar as he spins in a circle is too much for the Dead.  Sorry Dead Heads.

(3) Elvis Presely vs (11) Eminem

The King has left the building early in this tournament and the tough kid from Detroit goes on.

(2) U2 vs (10) TP and the Heart Breakers

U2 just too good and sends TP free falling out of this tournament.

Round 3 Itunes Region

(1) BIG vs (4) AC/DC

AC/DC heads on the highway to hell as they are eliminated from this tournament.  BIG moves on

(2) U2 vs (11) Eminem

Once again U2 is too good on the stage and off and they send the hooligan from Detroit on his way.

Round 4 Itunes Region

(1) BIG vs (2) U2

U2's run is over as Big Poppa stomps them out, maybe similar to how they did Tupac.

ITUNES REGION CHAMPS: NOTORIOUS BIG

Final Four:

(1) The Beatles vs (1) B.I.G

The Beatles are too much for a rapper.  They entertain most of the world still today.  B.I.G. time is up.  Let it be Notorious, Let it be.

(1) Led Zeppelin vs (8) Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd has a hell of a run but just like George Mason, the clock strikes midnight.  We all wish they were here, but Led Zeppelin is too strong.

Championship:

(1) The Beatles vs (1) Led Zepplin

The two greatest bands of all time.  They survived the test of time as they are still popular today as they were any other time.  Rap, Hip Hop, R&B, Punk they all cant match up to the Classic Rock era which was headlined by these two bands.  However, one stands above the rest: Ringo, George, John and Paul.  The Beatles is this guys greatest band ever.  Let me know what you think take the poll on the side of our final four to see who should be the champion.

BEFORE I GO:

Yesterdays Quote: Along Came Polly

Todays Quote:"Oh Audrey - I look like hell! I got bags under my eyes. What's that? Well if you were a man, I'd punch you. Punch you right in the mouth. That's bush. Bush league. YOU HEAR ME? AUDREY! LOOK AT ME! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Alright?"  

Question of the day:  Who would you have preform in your dream concert. An opening act and main act.

GIDDY UP!!