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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Post with Today's Thought
Sirius and XM merging is being debated right now by the FCC. I say let them merge. There is no good reason to argue against the merger. It doesn't create problems for the consumer and it doesn't create problems for the people who use it. Satellite radio is competing against iPod's, cell phones, and any other multitude of service offering music downloads, and music streaming. This is the new market and Sirius and XM merging in it benefits them and their listeners.
Do it
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Post with some quick things
2 things, that are in no way related-- seriously.
1.) Sirius recently added a 90's alternative music channel and a Sinatra channel...Awesome on both accounts.
2.) Kids in Minnesota were arrested for ganging up and beating up homeless men for no reason other than they thought it was a fun idea. Someone give me the argument again why hitting your kid for acting out or being an idiot is wrong.
That's all
Monday, February 26, 2007
The Post with me discussing 2 weekends ago
The weekend of Feb16-17th was spent with me indulging in a multitude of my geeky habits.
On Friday I took a half day and went down to my buddy Frank's in Newtown. We screwed around for a little bit and Frank finally paid up for me winning my fantasy football league. Want proof?
That's right..count the $20 bills---140 dollars was won by me.
So after a little bit we drove to Trenton, NJ and boarded the train to New York Penn Station. During teh train ride we sent text messages to our friend Johnny P. telling him that Samoa Joe, one of the wrestlers, was stuck in traffic on I-78 and wouldn't make the show. He was going to be replaced by Xavier. A good laugh was had by all.
Once in Penn Station we grabbed some grub and then waited for the rest of the group to catch up and headed to the Manhattan Center for a night of Ring of Honor. It was an awesome show with some hard hitting stuff (I'll have to do some work digging up pictures) including a tables are legal match, and the aforementioned Joe beating a representative from NOAH in Japan named Morishima.
In a laugh out loud moment one of the wrestlers really was hurt and couldn't wrestle. His replacement was Xavier--one of the most hated ROH wrestlers-- Johnny P. sat silently and wept while Frank and I tormented him for Xavier's 6 minute return to ROH.
After the show a couple of the guys wanted to eat at White Castle so we went there. I didn't eat considering my diet--so burgers and fries at 12 are a bad decision. We eventually got on the train and headed back to Trenton. As we left the parking garage the guy in the pay booth couldn't master his register so we lost a couple minutes. He also asked Frank for his ticket 3 times despite him holding it in his hand. Hard to believe that's the best job the guy could get.
We finally got back to Frank's and I got to bed around like 3. Woke up Saturday morning at 8:45 and after we each got showers (seperately) we headed to Cherry Hill, NJ for the Monster Mania convention.
We got there and perused a few of the rooms, and then walked through the vendor room to see what people were selling. Some crazy stuff in there. After that Frank, I, and two of his friends decided getting some food was a good idea so we drove to Friendly's and got some eats.
After that we came back and we settled into the 1pm Q&A session with Tom Savini (Movie gore specialist), Gunnar Hansen (the original Leatherface) and Kane Hodder (played Jason in a few movies--huge guy as well). Savini kicked things off by showing like a 20-25 minute compiliation video of everyone he has ever killed in his career. After that people asked questions about a variety of topics. Hansen was really good when he was mocking the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Hodder was ok, he was bitter that he isn't Jason anymore in the movies. Savini was very good and helped direct the discussion at times. He plugged Grindhouse too a couple times.
After that Q&A session they brought in Sid Haig (Capt. Spaulding) and William Forsythe (Sheriff Wydell) from The Devil's Rejects. Both guys were really friendly and answered everything thrown their way. One question praised a Masters of Horror epsiode that I had heard sucked something fierce. Another question referenced Forsythe's character in Out For Justice.
After that session Frank and I decided to start meeting people as they moved in the Monster Squad cast for Q&A. We got in line for Sid Haig and I met with him for a few minutes talking to him about Spider Baby-He mentioned how that was a cannibal family 10 years before TCM. Then I got my picture taken with the man
Afterwards I went over to William Forsythe (who surprisingly had a short line). We talked about Elvis for a while, after he busted on the Red Sox (he's a Yankees fan). He even loved the Elvis discussion he wrote extra stuff on my poster. Very cool guy.
Then I went to meet Gunnar Hansen and talked with him a little bit about how much I thought the remake sucked and told him some of my personal stories about the original. He was a areally cool guy as well and when he stood up then he was a hulking presence.
We then decided to get in line to meet Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith from Saw. The line wrapped all the way through the hotel lobby and was a long wait. As we got towards the front of the line the security guys said they will be leaving at 6. Both Bell and Smith's people were going to have them grab food and be done signing. With about 20 minutes until that tiem we figured we might not get in to meet them. At 6 our fears were realized as they cut the line off. We decided to go in and get seats then for the Saw victims Q&A. I decided to quick poke my head in the room where Bell and SMith were to see what was going on. Bell's line was still kind of long and he had 5 security guards watching over him. The kid that was in front of us in line was trying to cut into the line and about 3 more security guards came running over to join with the other 5 and basically put the line on lockdown. I walked towards Smith's table and there were two girls in line yet. The security guard there turned to talk to the other two ladies sitting with Smith so I quick jumped in line. The lady at the table said, "Is this everyone then?" The guy turned to look at the line and gave me a stare like he was trying to remember if I was there before. He said, "Yeah we'll cut it off after this guy." So I quick started searching for money-and with my hand shaking from nervousness I dug out some cash. I talked with Shawnee real briefly and told her I loved this episode of The X-Files she was on way back in the day. She said she wasn't sure if she even remembered what she did in that episode. She was really tiny, and really cute.
Somewhat satisfied I went in and met Frank for the Saw victims panel. Leigh Whannel, one of the writers-and Adam from Saw1, was the star of the panel and got some great stories and lines in making fun of James Wan. He also promoted Dead Silence coming out in March. After an hour they brought in Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith to join the group. Both of them were really good, and Bell talks exactly like he does in the movies. Very menacing sounding.
After this session it was time to wait for Crispin Glover to start at 9. During this time we found out that while the autograph was free with paid admission to his show he didn't have any pictures to sign. you would need to purchase one of his books. Neither of us really wanted to do that so we quick drove to Home Depot and bought rat traps for him to sign in honor of his movie Willard.
Glover's presentation started about 9:20 with a slideshow where he did dramatic readings of all 8 of his books. Very good stuff. Then he showed his much talked about movie "What Is It?" which he made with actors who all have Down Syndrome. It was bizarre and I honestly have no idea what to make of it. You could tell there were a lot of uncomfortable people, and others who were just flat out angry at it. I laughed for a while and made comments with Frank about it. During this time as well we started sending our buddy Johnny P. fake results from that nights ROH show in Philly. When Glover's movie ended he hosted a Q&A session which was really good and really informative as to the whole process of making this film. He kept directing everything back towards that. He upset a few people in the crowd when he said some things they felt tore down "Back to the Future" He very eloquently stated his point about why it isn't one of his favorite movies he has been in. Whether I agree with him or not didn't matter--you got to respect his opinion. I thought he was a very engaging guy and I'd love to be able to talk to him for a more extended period of time.
We then lined up and got pictures and autographs with him before calling it a night (around 12:30am)....
We finally got back to Frank's and I left to get back to my house. I got back around 3 and got to bed getting some sleep before getting up to teach Sunday School.
Of course I think all of this lack of sleep, and standing in cold weather, and over indulging on Monster energy drinks at the convention led to me getting sick like I did, but it was still worth it.
Hope you enjoyed.
Friday, February 23, 2007
The Post with recapping my week.
So I've been out of commission for a while on here. Not only that but I have now two posts that I'm working on to get posted and am behind so I'll be working my best to catch up.
First- the worst business decisions of 2006 is almost done and that will be posted. CNN Money counted them down, I've added my own sarcastic comments to it all and will be posting it for your enjoyment.
Second- I want to talk about last weekend with ROH in the Manhattan Center and then Monster Mania 7 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey which is filled with me awkwardly meeting Shawnee Smith from Saw and discussing Elvis with William Forsythe. That will come complete with pictures for you lucky peeps. That was a long day.
So Sunday I feel kind of bad when I get up after the second consecutive night of about 5 hours sleep. I get home from Sunday School and lay down for a 3 hour nap. When I wake up from that I feel worse. So Sunday night I go to bed around 8 and wake up Monday morning at 6..feeling somewhat better but still bad. So I call off work and suck back Tylenol and Mucinex all day long. Tuesday morning I wake up (at this point I've probably slept 24 hours in the past 2 days) and feel slightly better and go into work. Horrible mistake as Tuesday is unbearable and feels about 6 hours longer than it actually is.
Tuesday night I get home and watch some TV, and wish my mom luck. I decide that since I have a fever that I will turn my room into a sweat lodge. I put 7 blankets in my bed and put the heater on so the temp site right around 85 degrees in my room. Wednesday morning I wake up, drenched in sweat, but without a fever--so one thing down. Wednesday goes better but is still not great becasue I can't breathe out my nose yet. So I take some congestion pills that night and bingo everything gone. Thursday much the same. Today I sit here with a bad cough yet and mucus in my throat. At this rate- I'll be sick til April. Oh well.
Wednesday was a big day for my family. My mom had a health scare recently where she was diagnosed with cancer. She had her surgery on Wednesday morning and around 11:30 I got a call from dad saying she was out of surgery and the doctor said it had went, "As well as could be expected." So that was positive.
Last night when I got home from work Dad and I went up to see her and she ended up having like 6 guests at one time in the room. She was laughing and in good spirits so that made me feel good to see. Hopefully she can come home sometime this weekend, and hopefully the pathology report doesn't take a long time to get to us.
On the way home Dierks Bentley's "Long Trip Alone," started to come on the radio and I quickly changed it. This whole episode with my mom has convinced me I need to find myself a good woman, and sooner rather than later, my mom is gonna be 49...I'm 26 this year....I'm already past half way to that mark and just the whole fact that it really is a long trip alone by yourself is getting to me.
That's my thoughts for today
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Post with short blogging
Great weekend until Sunday when I got incredibly sick and felt like I was going to die. Yesterday I called in sick and alternated sleeping and watching the King of the Hill marathon on FX. Today I came into work despite still feeling crappy--Thank god I'm 20 minutes from the end of my day.
I'll recap my weekend later this week once I get some pictures uploaded...Until then..I'll keep sucking back Mucinex and Tylenol and cough drops. Bite it
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Post with some quick hits
Yesterday no post because I left work early due to the weather so no time. PLus half the departmetn didn't show up despite the fact that they all drive SUV's and live closer to here then I do. That hardly seems fair.
Couple things:
-Sometimes I feel like my life is like constantly being kicked in the groin.
-For those that have asked no I don't want to talk about the Chargers coaching situation. It just makes me angry.
-This weekend will be aweosme with ROH on Friday night in New York City, and then the Monster Mania convention in Jersey on Saturday.. I got my poster today in the mail as well...Sweet.
No post tomorrow because only a half day of work
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Post with baffling political policies
Quick note on yesterday's update...Youtube did something funky and I wasn't able to bring over videos--I'll investigate further. Now onto the real news of the day. Sorry bout the formatting.
N. Korea Agrees to Nuclear Disarmament By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Tuesday, February 13, 2007; 7:46 AM BEIJING -- North Korea agreed Tuesday after arduous talks to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program, just four months after the communist state shocked the world by testing a nuclear bomb. The deal marks the first concrete plan for disarmament in more than three years of six-nation negotiations, and could potentially herald a new era of cooperation in the region with the North's longtime foes _ the United States and Japan _ also agreeing to discuss normalizing relations with Pyongyang. Under the deal, the North will receive initial aid equal to 50,000 tons heavy fuel oil within 60 days for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon, north of the capital, to be confirmed by international inspectors. For irreversibly disabling the reactor and declaring all nuclear programs, the North will eventually receive another 950,000 tons in aid. The agreement was read to all delegates in a conference room at a Chinese state guesthouse and Chinese envoy Wu Dawei asked if there were any objections. When none were made, the officials all stood and applauded. The main U.S. nuclear envoy said Washington was satisfied with an agreement on initial steps for North Korea to disarm but called it just the start of the process. "Obviously we have a long way to go, but we're very pleased with this agreement," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters. "It's a very solid step forward." North Korea and United States also will embark on talks aimed at resolving disputes and restarting diplomatic relations, Wu said. The Korean peninsula has technically remained in a state of war for more than a half-century since the Korean War ended in a 1953 cease-fire. The United States will begin the process of removing North Korea from its designation as a terror-sponsoring state and also on ending U.S. trade sanctions, but no deadlines was set, according to the agreement. Hill said that Washington also had pledged to resolve financial restrictions against a bank where North Korea held accounts within a month. Washington's blacklisting of a Macau bank in September 2005 had been an obstacle to nuclear talks, leading the North to a more-than-yearlong boycott during which it tested its first nuclear bomb. Japan and North Korea also will seek to normalize relations. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in Tokyo that his country would not yet join in giving aid to the North. Japan has said it wants to resolve the issue of abductions of its citizens that Pyongyang has admitted to but not addressed to Tokyo's satisfaction. If Pyongyang follows through with its promises, they would be the first moves the communist nation has made to scale back its atomic development after more than three years of six-nation negotiations marked by delays, deadlock and the North's first nuclear test explosion in October. Making sure that Pyongyang declares all its nuclear facilities and shuts them down is likely to prove arduous, nuclear experts have said. North Korea has sidestepped previous agreements, allegedly running a uranium-based weapons program even as it froze a plutonium-based one _ sparking the latest nuclear crisis in late 2002. The country is believed to have countless mountainside tunnels in which to hide projects. Already before its adoption, the deal drew strong criticism from John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., who urged President Bush to reject it. "I am very disturbed by this deal," Bolton told CNN. "It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world: 'If we hold out long enough, wear down the State Department negotiators, eventually you get rewarded,' in this case with massive shipments of heavy fuel oil for doing only partially what needs to be done." The deal requires the North to state all its nuclear programs _ including plutonium it has already extracted from the Yongbyon reactor, the agreement says. After the initial 60 days, a joint meeting will be convened of foreign ministers from all countries at the talks _ China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas. Under the agreement, five working groups are to meet within 30 days: denuclearization, normalization of U.S.-North Korea relations, normalization of North Korea-Japan relations, economy and energy cooperation, and peace and security in northeast Asia. Another meeting of the nuclear envoys was scheduled March 19 to check on the groups' progress. Hill said the North Koreans had insisted that the specific amount of aid they were to receive in the agreement was spelled out during the six-nation negotiations _ and not left to a later working group to address _ as the U.S. had wanted. In return, Hill said the negotiators moved to also discuss the next step in disarmament, the actual disabling of the North's programs so they could not easily be restarted. "We took what was essentially a sticking point and used it as a way to make further progress on the road to denuclearization," he said. In September 2005, North Korea was promised energy aid and security guarantees in exchange for pledging to abandon its nuclear programs. But talks on implementing that agreement repeatedly stalled on other issues
The lesson to all you nations outside the US is simple. If you're looking for international credibility now is the time to hit. See the US government is admitting that the way we went after Iraq was a mistake so they are going out of their way to handle other disputes diplomatically. "Look UN--we settled with North Korea".
I thought we don't negotiate with terrorists. So how is a country building nucelar arms, threatening to use nucelar weapons to get their way not terrorism? That's a head scratcher. Especially when you consider there was no reason to step in.
North Korea had no chance of surviving with the amount of defense spending they were doing. They were allies with China-albeit in the same way you team up with someone you hate because someone you mutually dislike is picking on the both of you-but they needed aid to survive. In world terms that comes from the US, and in Asia from Japan. They are getting in total 1,000,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil for this little escapade. Simple fact--North Korea was never going to use a nuclear weapon.
More importantly, this is very similar to the situation in Iraq, however the North Koreans were less transparent in their defense program and were smarter politically. This turn of events gives no incentive to the Iraqi government since if they wait it out long enough they can get a pretty sweet severence package.
Norht Korea disarming is good on a world scale, but the US shouldn't have felt the need to jump in on this
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The Post with Anna Nicole Smith
You wish you could say you were shocked. You wish you could say you didn't see it coming. You wish you could say this came out of nowhere. I'm sure those are all thoughts going through the minds of those close to Anna Nicole Smith today as she passed away. The problem is all the answers to those questions were readily evident if they chose to look for them, yet they either didn't look for them, or outright ignored them.
I didn't know Anna personally. In fact, my only connection to her was she was a Playboy Playmate while I was an adolscent teenager--so make of that what you will. According to anything I've read about her she made some bad decisions in her life. Gettinng married at 17, having a kid that young, drugs, etc. Playboy brought her into the fold at a time when everyone thought women had to be the perfect ideal of 36-24-26. Anna wasn't that. She was rounder around the curves but damned if she still wasn't a looker. Playboy touted her as the next Marilyn Monroe and said it was the dawn of the voluptuous era of women. That never really came to pass.
She tried to move over into films and tv but that ended with her being in straight to after midnight cable movies and bumpers for Three Stooges shorts on AMC. Then she got her on show on E!- The Anna Nicole Smith Show. It was basically her for a half hour a week, slurring words, and growing dumber by the second while viewers at home laughed and watched. Of course that leaves out the marriage to the rich oil tycoon which was probably what it seemed- a money grab.
September she gave birth to a daughter (fathered by one of two people), had a commitment ceremony with her lawyer, and lost her 20 year old son in the span of 20 days. I can't imagine the emotional roller-coaster that puts someone through. Then in the past week she was named as a defendant in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against Trim-Spa because of faulty labeling. Today this whirlwind of 5 months culiminated in her passing-unknown at this time whether it was accidental, or self-inflicted.
It's a tragic story, don't get me wrong-but this is a car crash that everyone saw coming from a mile away. Everyone except those closest to her. They had their reasons to look the other way. Anna was their meal ticket. She had money. She brought in all the money from modeling, the crummy entertainment gigs, and the TrimSpa sponsorship. If Anna's money streams dried up, those hangers-on would be forced to fend for themselves. It raises an interesting question though--who's to blame in a situation like this..The internal hangers-on, or the external hangers-on.
There was the story a few months ago of Maurice Clarett. He was a highly touted running back for the Ohio State Buckeyes when they won the national title a few years ago. He was so highly regarded he decided to forego his last 3 years of college and join the pros. However, the NFL has a rule that you must attend 3 years of college before entering the draft yet Clarett's legal team, and agent told him they could win this lawsuit. They didn't. But during that time Clarett befriended a bunch of people in the rap community, who gave him fancy cars, jewlery, and money--as loans that Clarett would one day need to pay back. NFL glory never found Clarett though. The people he owed money too did though. A couple years worth of drugs, busting in NFL training camp, and bottoming out trying to join a minor league indoor team led to Clarett fleeing from police and calling friends threatening suicide. He is now in jail, but he was a promising kid he flashed out before he should have.
See in that instance--blame the hangers-on. They filled his head with ideas and had him buying stuff on future performance. In Anna's case I don't know. Sure the lawyer and assistant were bad for her. Anyone who watched the show for a couple minutes saw that. She was obviously popping pills and spent long periods of time slurring words, while cameras rolled and her helpers raked it all in. But there were people watching from their couches that fed that beast as well. The Anna Nicole Smith show without those excesses gets canceled 3 weeks in to its run. Viewers wouldn't have wanted her to act any other way. Viewers want posion filled Anna, hangers-on see that, so they enable that behavior. It's the vicious entertainment cycle we enter because we feel the need to see celebrities at their worst, after they spend so much time in the limelight. There's a reason people relish all the Britney Spears drama right now.
What's bad is despite all the bad she was going through, Anna wasn't beyond help. Sadly there are people who knew it was coming, but with that inner circle keeping her insulated no amount of concern or intervention would've stopped it. Even more so, now there is a 5 month old little girl with no mom, and 2 dads fighting over paternity. That's what makes it tragic
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Post with Snickers outrage
I realize this won't work quite as well without the commerical being shown but that will come Monday. I wanted to talk about this while it's topical.
The Snickers commercial that aired during the Super Bowl was well weird. It was two mechanics in a garage. One begins eating a Snickers bar, the otehr starts eating from the other end and they eventually kiss like the dogs in Lady and the Tramp. They then freak out and say to do something manly, so they rip open their shirts and tear out chest hair.
The commercial aired once and then GLAAD complained so it got pulled by Snickers. Quick thing on this--I was offended by the commercial, but not because it was in any way bashing homosexuals. I was offended becasue it was stupid and the premise was dumb. If you accidentally kiss a guy while eating a Snickers bar the first thing to do is not rip open your shirts nad pull at chest hair. That's more homoerotic than kissing. You'd quick beat off to a nudie calendar or feel a boob...There is a huge difference to the two.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
The Post with Super Bowl Commercials
It's the other part of the Super Bowl that everyone looks forward too-The commercials. This year was no different than any other year--there were some really funny ones---some really bad ones (I'm looking at you Budweiser fist bump)---some why did they spend 2.5 million on that ad, some wierd (GM's Robot Suicide ad) and some that gave you no indication as to what they were selling.
So let's start with one that I really liked, even though I've seen it every week at the movies for like 4 months--the Coca Cola video game ad...I thought this one is a lot better than their Black History month one which comes off completely patronizing.
A lot of the talk centered around the Kevin Federline Nationwide ad, when people felt it was insulting to fast food workers. It wasn't, but it was funny. The best part of it is that K-Fed seems in on the joke. Seriously when Britney and K-Fed split who would've thought Federline would look the more responsible of the two. It's all kinds of shocking.
Then of course there was Budweiser which despite the sheer crapiness of their fist bump ad hit us with a couple gems.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Axe
This cutesy one involving the dogs
Also, the Crab one which was voted the best commercial of the Super Bowl by Ad Meter.
Because I don't want the page to take forever and a day to load I'll stop there for now, but there are more to come...next MOnday on Youtube day
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Post with Super Bowl Reflections
I had a whole post lined up and then Blogger lost it without auto-saving it and I don't feel like writing it again so to recap.
-Bears lost, not all Grossman's fault-they couldn't tackle either.
- Prince was good
- Some good commercials, some bad ones---That will be tomorrow's youtube post.
-I watched the Puppy Bowl before the game on Animal Planet (3rd year I've watched it)...dogs running around and playing with each other on a smaller football field with no commentary..It's awesome--DVD Available at Discoverystore.com
- The food I made was loved by everyone and Pizza Fondue will be added to my rotation.
-Congrats to the Colts
Friday, February 02, 2007
The Post with my Super Bowl weekend blitz
As a baseball fan this weekend is kind of bittersweet for me always. I wish the World Series would command the kind of attention and party nature that the Super Bowl has achieved. Give the NFL front office credit--they've grown this one Sunday into a mass media event with a big halftime show, top dollar being charged for commericals that will be seen by upwards of 90 million people, and oh yeah the best team from each conference playing to determine a champion. It's a time where people gather together, eat lots of food that isn't necessarily good for them, place bets, and drink beer. When I worked in a pizza place I hated Super Bowl Sunday becasue it meant we were in for a busy day. However, this year as in the past few I'll be making food-at my lesiure- to share with friends. This year I plan on making some BBQ (with our family recipe) and then trying out this new recipe I found for something called pizza fondue which reads like dipping chips into a pizza without the crust--AWESOME!!
Of course there will also be the matter of my pick for the winner this year. It's a huge pick for me as if I get this one right I finish 6-5 for the postseason and a game over .500 (which is a lot worse than I normally do). Miss this pick and I finish under .500 and am generally embarassed for myself. So this post will feature all kinds of analysis and a countdown of 10 things that are pretty much major factors in this game (not in any particular order). And for those of you who will be bored by analysis I'm including clips of my 5 favorite Super Bowl commericals. It's an all out media blitz in my blog which fits perfectly with the weekend.
In fact, I'll give you #5 to start: This was a close one as I really liked two commercials from last year's Super Bowl. One included the new Sprint deterrant phone where the guy just basically threw his phone at people. But this one from Budweiser edged it out.
Ok let's start breaking this down.
10. Marvin Harrison.
Harrison is very simply the best receiver playing in the NFL right now. Barring injury he'll finish his career with well over 1400 catches and close to 20,000 receving yards. But he has struggled in the playoffs. He is 4th on the Colts team in receptions during the 2007 playoffs, with no touchdowns. He's going to be matched up against cornerback Charles Tillman who is a tall guy, but might be unable to keep up with Harrison off the line of scrimmage. Peyton will look Marvin's way and if he gets hot you're looking a potential MVP of the game.
9. The Colts Running Game
Everyone thought the Colts were doomed when they let Edgerrin James go to Arizona and drafted Joseph Addai. What people failed to realize was that wear and teaar on Jaems made him unable to pull off what the Colts needed from their run game anymore. The Colts rely on the stretch play. Manning will take the snap and hand the ball to Joseph Addai swinging wide around the left side of the line. If blocked properly he'll gain 10-15 yards every time. The more important aspect is the play gets the defense moving to their rights which sets up the bootleg where Manning fakes the handoff and rolls back to his right and should have an open man with the defense all converging right. No quarterback sells the fake like Peyton.
8. Brian Urlacher
Urlacher is one of the better middle linebackers in the NFL right now. He is the Bears defensive signal caller and will be matched in a battle of wits with Peyton Manning all day long. The main factor for Urlacher will be defending the pass. The Colts love to throw down the middle of the field to Dallas Clark the tight end. Urlacher is a great cover linebacker and he will be forced to make plays down the field where he gets into Peyton's throwing lane and forces him to throw towards the sidelines into what remians of their cover 2 defense.
This is a good spot to hit you with the #4 commercial. In 1993 Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were in a spot for McDonald's where they played against each other for a Big Mac.
7. Rex Grossman
The quarterback of the Bears has been kind of getting unfairly criticized-at least during the playoffs. To be fair he was hit or miss in the regular season. In the playoffs he played well against Seattle, and in the second half against the Saints. The first half against the Saints was a different story. Grossman is stil young and sometimes he just makes incredibly bad decisions. This is the very definition of a quarterback must not lose the game. That initial quarter of the game is when emotions are high, and the adrenaline is flowing which gets you doing dangerous things if you're not careful. The Bears would be wise to focus on running early and often to settle Rex in.
6. Peyton Manning and possessions
On the other hand the Colts have a veteran but one who has played poorly in this postseason (worse than Grossman) and has a spotty playoff record. Peyton is extremely good at looking at what the defense is going to give him and working off that. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, he likes ten possessions. He figures that gives him 3 touchdowns, and 2 field goals. Against better defenses it might be reversed. Peyton's going to get his points though, and he is huge on third down converting 56 % of the time. The Bears need to control the tempo of this game with their running attack, and the defense needs to keep the Colts in 3rd and long situations.
5. Colts run D
The Colts run defense has been amazing this postseason. They were downright awful during the regular season, and they got tired of hearing about it. So they got angry and started playing more aggressively downhill and attacking the gaps. That might be to their disadvantage in this game. Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis, Corey Dillon, and Lawrence Maroney are all downhill runners. Cedric Benson who they'll face in this game is as well. However, Thomas Jones who the Bears platoon with Jones is one of the better cut back runners in the league. The Bears love to run a play where they block like the play is going to be run behind the left tackle, but then Jones cuts all the way back and runs it off right tackle. Against a team who is running full speed to spots and gaps that could spell trouble. And when they're tired from chasing Jones-the Bears will run Benson down their throats.
Let's stop here for #3: In 2003 Reebox presented us with Terry Tate: Office Linebacker. It was directed by the guy who later went on to direct Dodgeball.
4. Peyton's Mind Games
As I mentioned earlier Peyton Manning loves manipulating defenses. When he approaches the line he sees what the defense is doing and then , almost like a conductor with a symphony, starts motioning and directing offensive players to spots to try and exploit the defensive set. The defense sees this and starts adjusting and moves away from their gameplan. Defenses have had success against Peyton by having guys mill around the line of scrimmage and not giving Peyton any indication as to where they are going at the snap. If you start moving off Peyton's mannerisms, you're falling into his trap.
3. Lovie vs. Tony
Forget the built-in storylines. Lovie Smith was an assistant under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay. The fact that they are the first two African-American head coaches in the Super Bowl. These are two of the best coaches in the league. Most importantly, being friends, and coaches together they know each otehr's tendencies. They've both built their reputations on defenses that play hard, and make team's play one dimensional. Both guys know how much this means to win this game and they both will have their team's jacked and ready to go. There hasn't been any nonsense these past two weeks of players shooting off at the mouth. This is two teams that are as focused as their head coaches.
Almost there with the countdown as we hit #2: Back in 1992, long before Britney, and Beyonce were hawking Pepsi--they had Cindy Crawford. She was sexy as all get-out and did a better job of selling the soda by standing there and drinking the damn thing.
2. Special Teams
The Chicago Bears have the most explosive return man in the NFL. Devin Hester has 6 return touchdowns on the season, and a number of times has shortened the field for his offense. When the Colts played the Patriots the thing that kept the Pats in the game was their returning of kicks. The Colts have been bad in the playoffs defending the return game and if they make a mistake here it could cost them 7 points. If any of Hunter Smith's kicks get in between the hashmarks and give Hester room to work there will be problems. The Colts need to kick away from him at all times and make Grossman work long fields to get points. Little fact--there has never been a punt return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. This could be the year we see that stat change.
1. The answer to the age old question
The question is a common one. What wins championships- offense or defense? Peyton Manning and the Colts have an explosive offense. Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark are all able of going deep and stretching the field vertically. Joseph Addai is capable of stretching the field horizontally. That can lead to the defense being stretched too thin and creating problems. The Bears have a young defense that has a long run of NFC Playoffs ahead of them. The Bears have great linebackers in Urlacher, Briggs, and Hillenmeyer. They have a secondary that is great at intercepting passes. The defensive line has suffered with Tommie Harris out but Tank Johnson has been playing with a chip on his shoulder right now. The Bears aren't a big blitzing team but have done it more lately to get pressure. If they can't get to Peyton that will create problems. If they can get to him it will force Peyton to make quick reads which might not be good against a fast, ball-hawking defense.
Let's finish the commercial countdown with #1 before my pick: In 2002 Budweiser bought 11 commercials (pretty much their norm) but they strayed away from tehir usual humorous ads. In a game being played with somber hearts about 5 months after September 11th, Budweiser used their iconic Clydesdales to pay tribute to the people lost that day as they traveled to NYC, and knelt at the site of the WTC. It made me tear up that day, and to be honest--it still was pretty powerful to view.
Ok so with all the commercials, and talking points out of the way- Can Hansley get this pick right. Couple things here.
I greatly respect Peyton and the Colts offense. I think there are amazing and great to watch. I also respect the Bears defense which gave up 16 points a game this past season. This is one team with a good running game against an overly aggressive defense. On the other side it's an aggressive, but disciplined, defense against a quarterback who is a puppetmaster at pulling strings. I think the Colts have a better offense, but the Bears have a better defense. The Bears have a better special teams-and it's not even close. I think Peyton will get his possessions but with the Bears running game I don't know if he gets enough of them. If he gets his ten I'll say he gets 3 field goals and 2 touchdowns. Will that be enough? The Bears can score a lot of points too, and with a Cover 2 where one safety will be playing more in the box, they could beat the Colts deep often. It's not an easy pick either way, and I think these two teams are very evenly matched
In Indianapolis I'd pick the Colts. In Chicago I'd p[ick the Bears, but on a neutral field in Miami, Florida---I'm taking the Bears.
Chicago Bears-- 31 Indianapolis Colts-- 23
Enjoy the game everyone and we'll be here on Monday again where'll I might be kicking myself for not taking the Colts
Thursday, February 01, 2007
The Post with today's scheduled Post delayed
I was working on a post last night that I was hoping would be ready for today sadly it is not. I found a list on CNNMoney.com that is the 101 dumbest business moments of 2006. I've been adding my own sarcastic comments to the list but it is not finished yet. So today is kind of a placeholder day. Tomorrow is the big Super Bowl Spectacular where I give you more breakdown then someone who clicks here is looking for. Yes I will make my pick as well whihc is huge becasue if I get it right I finish .500 on my picks.
For today I'll start the list I'm looking to compile. It's a list of laws I'd like to institute when I'm ruler of my own country. Or at the very least rules that I'd like to declare martial law with. I've been focusing on driving laws recently to get started.
-If a person's idea of merging requires them coming to a complete stop at the bottom of an entrance ramp they should be forced to pull over to the side of the road, and say 1,000 times. Never come to a complete stop on an on-ramp.
-If a person can't back into a parking spot without taking up two spots their tires get slashed.
-When someone pulls halfway out into an intersection so you have no choice but to let them pull out, then when they wave to you to say thank you--Their arm gets broken at the shoulder.
-People who aren't handicapped yet park in a handicapped spot will have their car towed to an undisclosed location and the person will have exactly one hour to find it or else it gets impounded.
That's my start...If you have a rule you'd like to add to the charter please leave me a comment somehow and we'll add to the list.
Have a good one
