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

Let the Madness BEGIN

After a week of great Conference Tournaments we finally had Selection Sunday and now its time to start filling out your many brackets, convince yourself that you know something no one else in the country does and put yourself at the top of your office pools.

Here is a quick run down of the conference tournaments:

Best Game: This one is easy, could be one of the best games of all time and its airing on ESPN Classic as I write this: Uconn vs Syracuse 6 OT game.

Biggest upset winner: I need to give this one to Morehead State beating Austin Peay in double OT in the Ohio Valley Conference the other upset that is right up there is Missisippi State beating Tennessee.

MVP of Conference week: This might be a bias pick but to me it is hands down Johnny Flynn, who owned MSG and made fans of college basketball start to root for Cuse. Flynn played 67 of 70 minutes in the 6 OT game and the next night played all 45 minutes of the overtime game vs West Virginia. Flynn averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 assists in the tourny and became only the 4th player ever in Big East Tournament to win the MVP and be on the loosing team.

Yours truly went 9 and 16 in predicting the conference tournament winners, not my best work, but now its time to bounce back with the real tournament.

On To The Brackets:

Some quick notes:
-For the first time ever one conference has 3 #1 seeds, that being Big East: Louisville, Pitt and Uconn
-Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and Dayton all were heard their names and are dancing there way into the tournament
-Villanova as a 3 seed gets to play their first and potentially second in Philly where they play most of their games.
-Snubs: Creighton and Saint Mary, and PSU, but lets be honest they didnt do their jobs all season and now are heading to the NIT, no real snubs this year.

My most intriguing matchups of the first round:

In the Midwest the always dreaded 5 vs 12 seed Utah vs Arizona is just asking for an upset. I really like Zona here especially with them getting into the tournament, they are going to be ready to play and prove that they deserve to be here.

In the same bracket Wake Forest vs Cleveland State, now I am not going to say Cleveland State is going to win, but this team is much better than people are going to think of them as. This team beat Syracuse in Cuse and they beat Butler another tournament team. This team has talent inside and out and could cause a problem for many teams in the tourny.

Moving to the South region a very intriguing game is Clemson vs Michigan. Clemson isnt as good as people think they are. They have a great press and when they get going can be dangerous but too often they play lazy basketball and have to spend the entire second half trying to play catchup. Michigan another team proving why they belong here is going to be a very tough game for this team. This one is a must see opening round game.

In the same bracket Illinois vs Western Kentucky again the dreaded 5 vs 12. Illinois a run and gun team might not be what we think they are. I see Western Kentucky who had a upset or two last year is going to come out firing and they have the confidence that they can win because they have been there before. This one is calling for a 12 upset of 5.

Sleepers:

Here are the teams that are very capable to make a deep run into the tournament. Many of these teams can win a few games if not more in March.

1. Wake Forest, not much of a sleeper as a 4 seed, but this team is really good. They can win the whole thing if they get the right matchups. If they come out flat though they can be heading home after one game. This team definetly has the talent though to win many games and I think they will until they run into a road block from the Big East, Louisville.

2. Villanova, again not much of a sleeper as a 3 seed, but again this team has the talent to win it all. This team can very easily make it to the Final Four. They have inside and outside play and are playing really well of late. Watch this team to meet Pitt and then it is anyones game.

3. Texas, a number 7 season I guess my first real sleeper if they can escape their first round game vs Minnesota they can beat Duke and I think they will beat Duke. That will be the end of their run, but if they get their they might have just enough talent to keep it going.

4. Arizona State, GOD I HOPE NOT. This team is talented, and I wish they werent potentially going up against Syracuse in round 2. I wish they were on the opposite side of the brackets because this team can make noise. I hope they loose first round.

5. Michigan, this team is building confidence and can play physical enough in this tournament to give teams a problem. It is a funny thing what confidence can do and its even funnier what can happen when you need to prove to the country you belong. Watch Michigan win a game or two.

6. Maryland. I had them on the outside of this tournament, but they did what they needed to do in the ACC tourny and that was winning 2 games. Another team that can run with most teams in the country. A great coach who knows how to coach in this tournament and a team that is more than just happy to be here. I have them beating Cal and then if they can play their A game and keep it close early in the second half vs Memphis they can beat them. I am pulling for them, but I see at least one win for the Terps.

My Elite 8 matchups:
Midwest: Louisville vs Kansas
West: Uconn vs Memphis
East: Pitt vs Nova
South UNC vs Syracuse

No real surprises and in these matchups anyone can win but my final four are:
Louisville
Memphis
Pitt
UNC (my heart is with Syracuse on this and it can certainly happen)

Louisville vs Pitt finals where I have Pitt who I think is just the best team in the country to win this game. However, if Cuse can beat UNC if they got to that point I have Cuse vs Louisville in the finals, hopefully we avenge two 10 point losses to them.

I will make my pics for each game the day before just to see how I do and I want to hear your final fours, post them so we can see who is right.

I am running a pool for the tournament, it is $25.00 an entry and will be running it on CBS. If you want in post a comment or email/im me. I will update the standings on the blog with the top 4 after each night of games or round.

Before I go:

Last movie quote was Hoosiers. The classic sports movie, Gene Hackman is great in it if you havent seen it do yourself a favor and watch it before the tournament it will get you going.

Todays Movie Quote: "No, it ain't Coach. With all due respect, uh, you demanded more of us. You demanded perfection. Now, I ain't saying that I'm perfect, 'cause I'm not. And I ain't gonna never be. None of us are. But we have won every single game we have played till now. So this team is perfect. We stepped out on that field that way tonight. And, uh, if it's all the same to you, Coach, that's how we want to leave it."

Question of the day: Who is your Final Four? Post a comment with your choices.

Sign up to be a follower on the right side of the blog.

This week we have some great blogs coming your way.

GIDDY UP!!

An Incredible Epic

So I know that my quote last night was the weekend report and I figured I would not be writing a blog until Sunday but last nights game made this blog needed.  For those of you who stayed up till around 1:30 in the morning and happened to be on ESPN you would have been watching one of the greatest college basketball games of all time.  Two bitter rivals Syracuse vs Uconn squared off last night in the Big East Tournament.  The game started at 9:36 and as of 1:30 we had just ended a 3 hours and 46 minutes game.   The game was 70 minutes long the normal college basketball game is 40.  This game was an instant classic, it was probably airing on ESPN Classic at 12:00 am with the outcome still in doubt.

The game went into 6 overtimes.....ARE YOU KIDDING ME.  Syracuse didn't lead in any of the first 5 overtimes, but when the 6th started we finally got that lead and would never let go.  Cuse wins by 10, 127-117.  8 guys fouled out, Syracuse lost their 3 big guys and had a walk on playing in a Big East Tournament game.

Cuse had a 7 point lead with about 3 minutes left when Uconn came back and tied it up with 1.1 seconds left.  Thats when Devendorf caught the ball at the 3 point line and put up a shot that win in as the buzzer sounds.  The basket is called good and at around 11:30 the game seems to be over which would have made this game a great one anyway but that is until instant replay and the refs say the ball is still in his hands as the buzzer sounds.  Truth be told its was the right call but very heartbreaking.  The first OT Rick Jackson gets a dunk to tie it up with 4 seconds left.    Then in the third OT Andy Rautins hits a 3 with 11 seconds left to tie the game.  It wasn't until the 6th OT when Andy hit a 3 that Syracuse led.  

This game had it all and was mentally draining just to watch, I can only imagine Johnny Flynn who played 67 out of 70 minutes.  Speaking of Flynn he was incredible, 14 free throws.  Arinze even hit 2 free throws in a row only the second time all year.  It was a game for the ages and Andy, Flynn and Paul played incredible.  The team played with heart and they are starting to show the country something special heading into the tournament.

In case you missed the game here are some highlights you missed and make sure you get this game on ESPN Classic and watch it.

  

I think it was the best sporting event I have ever seen.

Before I go,

Yesterdays Movie Quote:  Almost Famous

Todays Quote: "If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners."

Question of the day:  What is your most memorable sports moment?

Have a great weekend, Go CUSE!

GIDDY UPPPP!!!

Time For Madness

With the calendar now on March and the regular season over it's time for College Basketball to enter its second season.  

All of this week we will be entertained with conference tournaments, this of course is just the appetizer for March Madness.  These conference tournaments are usually incredible, they are the perfect start to the Madness as we see teams that must win it all just to get an invitation to the dance.  We see the tears of teams whose bubbles burst and the joy of teams who prove to the country that they deserve their ticket punched.  These are the tournaments that we find those special players who will not allow their team to loose.  They give everything they can for 3,4 or 5 straight games.  It is when we start taking players who are known and start attaching the nickname of legend.

And most importantly during the conference tournament we find out what teams and players are overrated and which ones aren't:

As everyone starts to debate which teams will be heading to the dance and which teams bubble's have burst and now have them in the NIT, I thought I would give my own predictions of the 64/65 teams that will partake in tourny time.  For those who don't know 31 teams get an automatic bid for winning their conference tournament and then there are 34 At large bids.  Here are the 31 at large bids as I see them playing out:

American East: Binghamton

ACC: UNC

Atlantic 10: Rhode Island (an upset that will end up bursting some one's bubble)

Big East: Pitt

Big Sky: Portland St.

Big Ten: Michigan State

Big 12: Oklahoma

Big West: Long Beach St

Colonial: VCU

Conference USA: Memphis

Horizon League: Butler

Metro Atlantic: Rider (a home state pick)

Mid American: Buffalo

Mid-Eastern: Morgan State

Mountain West: UNLV

Northeast: Robert Morris

Pac-10: Arizona State (this team is going to be dangerous in the tournament)

Patriot: American

SEC: Auburn (another bubble is bursting with this win, this team has the talent to put a run together like Georgia did last year.  They are quick and physical and can erase deficits very quickly.  I hope we see another magic run from an SEC team like last year..4 games in 3 days thanks to a tornado and just in case you forgot about it watch below)

Southern: Davidson

Southland: Stephen F. Austin

Southwestern: Jackson State

Summit: IUPUI

Sun Belt: Western Kentucky

West Coast: Gonzaga

Western: Utah State

Teams already going dancing:

Norther Iowa

East Tenn. State

Moores Head State

Radford

Cornell

After all these conference tournaments we will have 34 at large bids.  Here are my predictions:

Connecticut

Purdue

Clemson

LSU

Kansas

West Virginia

Duke

Boston College

Marquette

Washington

Tennessee

Villanova

Wisconsin

Texas

FSU

Xavier

Syracuse

Texas A&M

Wake Forest

Utah

Oklahoma State

Illinois

UCLA

Missouri

Louisville

California

Ohio State

Butler

Siena

Penn State

Minnesota

Michigan

Providence

South Carolina

The last four teams into the tournament are: Michigan, Providence, South Carolina and Minnesota.  These teams come Selection Sunday are going to be biting their nails pretty short waiting to hear their names called.  Out of the group Minnesota is on the safer side even with a loss to Michigan this past weekend.  They have done the most from start to finish, while Michigan tremendously helped their cause with a win in Minnesota this weekend.  This is a team that can win games come tournament time if they are given the chance.  The same goes for Providence who can beat many teams that will be dancing.  Being in the Big East makes them tough and able to compete against anyone in the country.  South Carolina is a one and done team even if they make it to the dance, I don't buy into them at all this year.

Bubble Bursted:

Maryland, New Mexico, Arizona, Kentucky, San Diego State, V-Tech, Miami and St. Mary's.

I am a fan of Maryland and Gary Williams, but give me a break.  This team should not be on the bubble, yea the beat Michigan State and UNC but two wins do not get you into the tournament.  Especially when you can help your cause on the last day of the season and you loose at Virginia a team that has 3 conference wins this year.  UNC isn't even the best team in the country so stop putting a win over them as the end all be all.  Maryland fans you know better than this, you already know the heartache as you have been part of it for the last few years.  The best team of this group is Kentucky, when they are clicking on all cylinders they are tough to beat.  I just think they have lost too many games this year that they should have won.  NIT is calling and Maryland and Kentucky are answering the phone.  

There are a handful of teams that have the depth and talent this year to make a run deep into the tournament and throughout the week and next week I will be giving my predictions on who will make that run to Detroit and get that One Shinning Moment.  But if you are a betting man/woman take anyone in the Big East because they have the toughness to make a run and cut down the nets at the end of the year.

For those who need a little more to get excited for the Dance take a look at the video below. 

And Anyone who wants to join a March Madness pool let me know as I will be setting it up on Selection Sunday.  I will also include it in my post that night.

Few things before I go:

Hope you all enjoyed Mos Jef's post on Lost.

Movie quote was from: Bull Durham.

Today's Quote: "I rode the bench for two years. Thought I wasn't being played because of my color, I got filled up with a lotta attitude. So I quit. Still not a week goes by I don't regret it. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of ya. You hear me clear enough?"

Question of the day:  Before the question, I was told that I should be answering these questions if I want you guys to post so I will from now on. 

If you could go back in time and go to one sporting event what would it be?

My answer would have to be the Miracle on Ice.  I would love to be in Lake Placid and watch a bunch of kids beat the Russians at their game.  It would be something magical.

That's it for me, sign up to be a follower.

Giddy UP!!!