The State of TV

Didn't really have anything else to blog about right now - you can only make fun of "fans" cheering louder for the Dunkin' Donuts scoreboard race than during the actual game, so many times. At least hockey playoffs and baseball is around the corner. But I thought now is a good time to check in on the current state of TV. Show recommendations, thoughts, etc.

1) LOST - still love it. In fact, I'm dilligently cranking through the dvds of all the seasons (almost done with season 3 right now) to see if I'm all up to speed on every reference, etc. I'm a little nervous as to how scattered the cast is and how far away we are in some ways from what makes the show so great - the chemistry between the greatest ensemble cast I've ever seen. But I remain hopeful that these last few episodes will live up to the promise and blow us away.

2) 24 - glad it's ending. A great show that sadly is limping to the finish much like Michael Jordan playing on the Wizards. And at least MJ didn't rely on the whole "Mole in CTU" routine every year. I'm seriously considering writing an online viral skit about CTU's HR people. I mean, who keeps hiring these people?

3) Comedies - some great developments this year. Modern Family is an instant classic - it reminds me so much of Arrested Development, which is high praise. Parks and Recreation has been a revelation this year. A middling show at best last year, it is at the very least, as funny as The Office, if not maybe a little more consistent. Office is still very good, better now that Jim is no longer a manager. 30 Rock had fallen off a bit but turning it around. Community has its moments but really inconsistent.

4) Reality - Amazing Race is always great, no shocker there. Survivor has had a stellar year both with the fall season and the mesmerizing Russell. This current All-Star edition is the first time in years that I am legitimately excited week to week to watch. Really good stuff. When is the regular Top Chef on again?

5) Some new things I'm watching - Have watched the first 3 episodes of Justified on TNT with Timothy Olyphant. Kind of a modern day western with a US Marshall demoted and forced to return home to rural Kentucky after a shootout in Miami. Really enjoying it so far, Olyphant is really good and the show has a tough but quirky feel to it.

Most importantly - for the love of GOD - please watch CHUCK. Easily my most anticipated show each week. Some ups and downs this year, but I absolutely love the show and the characters and feel like we need more. Last few episodes have really rounded into form, last few should be great. We can't save the show with Subway again - please give it a try and watch it.

And if NBC cancels Chuck, I will burn them down to the ground. I'm just saying.

Illini....so close

Man we should have had that game against Ohio State today. Twice we couldn't get a good last shot off that could have potentially won the game. We played our hearts out - some questionable calls didn't help - an intentional foul, seriously?

The killer is that it looked like we were in then regardless and then teams like Houston win Conference USA (isn't that where College of DuPage plays now? Good thing that conference will get 2 bids) and Minnesota gets to destroy a Purdue team that isn't remotely scary any more without Hummel. Now the big question is how teams like Virginia Tech and Mississippi State leapfrogged the Illini with even more questionable resumes and less big wins.

So frustrating - the Illini have shown flashes the past couple days of being really dangerous, too bad we may have to settle for taking out our frustrations on the NIT field.

Teams had better watch their backs next year - with this team all coming back and the recruiting class we have - I'm looking at a top 3 seed next year.

Post Oscars

So....guess I need to watch "The Hurt Locker." In my defense, it has been in my friggin' Netflix queue for like 3 months and I can't seem to ever get it.

Pretty good overall show - few observations:

1) The hosts are never utilized enough. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are hilarious - needed more of them with some of the little bits they did.

2) Good thing we had 10 Best Picture nominees. I mean it really drove interest in the other 8 movies that weren't going to win besides "Hurt Locker" or "Avatar" - I mean seriously...

3) Why do the Oscars keep screwing up the "In Memoriam" part? That is one of the best parts of the night so we can honor and remember the greats who passed away. And yet, for some insane reason, they never show the damn screen the whole time- zooming in and out, etc. Who cares if James Taylor is performing? They barely got Patrick Swayze on the screen in time b/c they were so busy showing James Taylor. Is he really doing that gig for the glitz and glamour?

4) Taylor Lautner....at the Oscars....words escape me

5) Thrilled with wins for "UP." Pixar is awesome - waiting for their first Best Picture.

6) I haven't seen "Hurt Locker" so I can't say much, but I am STUNNED that James Cameron didn't win at least Best Director for what he has done for movies with the advancements he has made with Avatar.

7) Enjoyed the John Hughes tribute - he really truly dominated the movies that were made as my generation grew up.

8) Just for fun - wouldn't this scenario have been great if the presenter said, "And the Oscar for Best Visual Effects goes to......District 9. (Pause, stunned silence) No, seriously, it is Avatar - I just wanted to see your faces when I said that."
Why even have the category this year? What would it take for Avatar to actually lose this category? Maybe that should go to Shakespeare in Love too.

9) Ultimately, I think the highlight of the night for me was the "Modern Family" promo where the families played movies charades. I was crying I was laughing so hard.

Overall solid night though. I miss Jack Nicholson in the front row though - where's he at? Go back to 5 Best Picture movies next year. Alright, time to go update the Netflix queue.

The Oscars Pre-Post

First of all, I'd like to suspend the tension right off the bat. Tonight, I am wearing gray sweatpants from Old Navy and a ridiculously old and comfortable Illini sweatshirt from the design fashion plate Crable Sportswear.

Now that that is out of the way, I am ready for the Oscars. I am and always have been a movie buff but my viewing habits have changed dramatically since we had kids. Used to be I saw every major release as they came to the theaters. I'm lucky now to get 5-10 movies a year and then hopefully catch them on DVD. Suffice to say, I'm not as up to speed on the Oscar hopefuls as I used to be.

So, I'll be rooting for Avatar, UP, Inglorious Basterds and Sandra Bullock tonight. And of course, I will root against everything else because I haven't seen them and therefore they are not good. That's the logic I'm running with.

And if Mr. Blackwell comments on my sweatpants, I will kick his ass.

What a Game

After watching the end of the USA/Canada Gold Medal game for the Winter Olympics - I couldn't help but think that that might have been the best hockey game I'd ever seen (keeping in mind I was 2 for the Miracle On Ice). Two teams loaded with NHL talent playing for the gold and leaving nothing out on the ice.

What an amazing tournament - Ryan Miller was unbelievable and the drama was intense. The Canadians wanted this badly and maybe they needed it more for the hockey hungry Canadians. As soon as Sidney Crosby sent his shot past Miller in overtime, you could hear an entire country collectively cheer.

It was heartbreaking to watch the faces of the USA team accept their silver medals, just mere minutes after coming so close. It was amazing to watch an amazing hockey tournament from beginning to end. I loved watching Patrick Kane provide explosive offensive creativity and spacing for the US team. I loved seeing Jonathan Toews' consistent and gritty effort lead to good things for Canada time and time again. Duncan Keith was possibly the best defender out there and Brent Seabrook gave it his all as well. Great to see the Blackhawks (let's not forget Hossa and Kopecky from Slovakia) make their countries proud.

Now let's win that Stanley Cup.

Wow....surreal

So, Jordan and I went to the Bulls game the other night. During a break in play, it was time for the LuvaBulls to come out and perform. For those that don't know - the LuvaBulls are basically the Bulls' cheerleaders/"dancers". They are clearly not there to court the women or families in attendance. Now, surprisingly, all the girls came out in baggy, shabby clothes carrying weird miscellaneous things like buckets, brooms, mops, etc. At this point, we both kind of looked at each other. And then "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie came on and they began singing and dancing in character to the song. I looked at Jordan and said, "So clearly at some point here, they're going to strip off the peasant clothes and start dancing, right?" He shrugged and nodded. We watched some more as the song progressed. "I mean, seriously right? Like they're really only at these games for one purpose." The song continued as a quasi-Broadway song was done on the floor and finally the mean landlady character (another one of these hot cheerleaders dressed in a fat suit and a ridiculous gray whig in curlers) scolded the girls and the song was over. And just like that, they were done. No dancing to some popular dance song. No skimpy outfits. A performance from Annie.

I turned to Jordan. "Do you think it was like Broadway night or something and we missed the announcement?" He answered back, "I don't remember hearing anything. Broadway in Chicago maybe?"

They never actually did any other major dance routines that night. All I could think to say was "That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. No one wants to see Annie at a Bulls game. I mean, seriously, the weirdest thing ever. That was surreal." And it was.

Plus, the donut beat the coffee in a race where the coffee was literally inches from the finish line with a huge lead and just inexplicably stopped making progress despite his legs continuing to move. I smell a fix. Just a strange night.

Re-dedication to Blogging Take 3

Per Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" - after 10,000 hours of blogging, I will achieve excellence. I have spent approximately 27 minutes blogging so far and 18 of those minutes were apologizing for not blogging more. This time, it's for real.

And yes, I did update my list of people I want to punch. No, that's not a typo, Billy Bush is back at 1. I am waiting for some charity auction to offer a punching of Billy Bush and I will empty the savings account. Also interesting to note that David Caruso maintained a slim lead over Voldemort. Take that for what you will.