End of the Week: 10/24/10- 10/30/10

END OF THE WEEK:

I hope you have enjoyed your Halloween Eve. Now, let's get onto the real reason I'm here. The following are my picks for some of the week's most memorable people, stories and moments from the past seven days of the 2010 calendar. As always, I hope you enjoy.

Rally of the Week: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear"
I actually watched all three hours of the rally, including the pre-rally first hour that just featured The Roots performing with John Legend and the Mythbuster guys performing some experiments. And I have to say, it wasn't that bad. Sure, there were some downsides (the Kid Rock performance comes to mind), but overall it was really enjoyable. There was great music, great special guests, an estimated 150,000 people (which, in Glenn Beck's mind is about 1.5 million) and there were some really cool moments. Also, Comedy Central aired "Hot Fuzz" after it all finished, so that was a nice icing on the cake! The highlight of the rally, of course, came in the last forty five minutes with Stewart and Colbert having their "debate" and then Stewart wrapping it up with a sincere and really well said closing speech. And the best part? The people at the rally were normal and not crazy, just as Stewart intended the rally to be when he first announced it back in mid-September. Now that's something that Glenn Beck can't say about his rally! In the end, I hope this isn't the only time that we see this historic rally take place.

Debut of the Week: The 2010-2011 Miami Heat
And what a dud of a debut it was, as the Heat lost their first game to the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics (arguably the biggest opening game in NBA history) 88-80. Of course, the thing that really struck me and most people watching it was how incredibly out of sync this Heat team was. Granted, Boston seemed out of sync at times too, but not in the same level as Miami was. It was as if they had just met each other an hour before the game and were forced to play a game together. Bosh couldn't handle the big game situation, they would constantly mix open jumpers and free throws, (and most importantly) Lebron and Dwayne Wade did not look like they had settled the whole "which is the team's CEO and which is the team's COO" as good ol' Billy pointed out in his typical 18,000 word column from this past Friday. Now, I do believe that this team should find their identity as the season rolls on, but outside of Lebron James who was stellar in his first game in the Heat #6 jersey, I'm going to have to give this debut a pretty bad grade.

Video of the Week: "Blizzcon 2010- The Red Shirt Guy"
NEEEERRRRD!!!




Advertisement of the Week: "Lebron Rise"
I wonder if he actually wanted us to answer these questions, or if most of those were rhetorical.




Story of the Week: Charlie Sheen Hospitalized After Being Arrested Drunk, Naked and Trapping a Porn Star in a Closet
This is how we interpret the story. In reality, it was probably just an average Tuesday for that man.

People of the Week: The People Who Made Signs at the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear"
So many great ones from so many clever and witty people that as hte rally progressed it became as interesting (if not more interesting) than the rally itself. I'm just going to show you some of my favorites. Hopefully then you will understand why I picked them:























































































































Best signs at a rally...ever.
(photos via Gawker, Jezebel and Buzzfeed respectively)

And that's the way it is! I will be back tomorrow for a special Halloween themed edition of "End of the Month." Until then, enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

2010 NFL Predictions: Week 8- Who's Up For Some POWAH RANKINGS!

Hi! This week, I decided to do things differently than the traditional column in which I just list the games and my picks along with mj50's picks. Today, I've decided on introducing the column's first ever mj15 blog NFL POWER RANKINGS! A power ranking, in case you haven't heard, is where someone rates all of the teams in the league from 1-32 based on (among others) win-loss record and the play of the team. I just figured that since there are over 1,000,000 power rankings on the Internet right now, I might as well add on to the list.

So, here we go. From the bottom barrel of the league to the game's elite teams, here are my power rankings of the NFL through week 8 of this 2010 season. Enjoy.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

32. Buffalo (0-6)
They're the only winless team left, so of course I'm going to rank them as the worst team in the league. They do however have one thing going for them, and that is Ryan Fitzpatrick. In the four games since replacing Trent Edwards as the starting, the Harvard grad Fitzpatrick has thrown for 244 yards per game, 11 TDs (including 4 in last week's loss to Baltimore) and a 102 passer rating (second in the league behind, who else, Peyton Manning). He's improving as each week of the season moves along, is pretty good outside of the pocket, and even his beard that he's growing is pretty cool in a Civil War veteran kind of way. He might not lead the Bills to a terrific second half comeback, but he should at least be able to help the Bills avoid going 0-16 this season.

31. San Fransisco (1-6)
Note to self: in the future, never pick a team with Alex Smith as a QB to win the division, especially if they can't capitalize over a win against Oakland win a win against the 1-5 Panthers.

30. Carolina (1-5)
They're quarterback situation is awful, their supposedly great running back tandem of Williams and Stewart have performed one of their worst season yet, and they can't stop the run. Thank God for their passing defense and their win at least against the 49ers, or else I would probably rank them as the worst team in the league.

29. Detroit (1-5)
Consider the Lions as the class of the NFL's bottom four at this point. Four of their five losses have been decided with less than eight points, so they could have very well been 5-1 or 4-2 this season had some things gone their way. They're also getting Matthew Stafford back this week (at least until he suffers another shoulder injury), so that helps. Now if Jim Schwartz can fix that damn defense of theirs (which I have heard is his specialty), and the team should be well equipped in the future.

28. Denver (2-5)
The bad news: they just lost a game 59-14...at home... to the Oakland Raiders. They're also last in the league in rushing with an appalling 68 yards per game, have a pathetic defense, and have only lost 13 of their last 17 games in the Josh McDaniels era. The good news: At least Kyle Orton is looking better than Jay Cutler (even though Cutler has a better chance of making the playoffs first at this point than the Broncos)! Other than that, there is much too feel good about them. But hey, at least they couldn't possibly look worse than last Sunday...right?

THE UNDERACHIEVERS & THE BROWNS

27. Cincinnati (2-4)
Remember when most people thought that the Bengals were going to be a good team this year coming off a playoff appearance and the addition of T.O.? Yeah...that hasn't worked so far. Their defense has been really underachieving, Cedric Benson is having finally underachieving after a great season and a half four them, and Carson Palmer has playing poorly when the team hasn't been in garbage time this year. Looks like '09 might have been a one year fluke.

26. Dallas (1-5)
Look at it this way: they were already bad with Tony Romo as their QB. Now imagine how bad they should be with him out for at least the next eight weeks and with Jon Kitna at QB. At least Cowboys fans can rejoice at one thing: Jerry Jones is now much closer to firing Wade Phillips for another coach. Sure that coach will, like Phillips, will be just another yes-man to Jerry Jones, but at least it won't be him.

25. Cleveland (2-5)
Well, that win over the Saints came out of nowhere! However, we can't let that win get away from the facts: they're ranked in the bottom half in nearly every major offensive and defensive category in the league, and Colt McCoy has yet to show something impressive in his first few games as a starter. So while that win last week against the defending champs were impressive, I'm still not getting carried away because of that.

24. San Diego (2-5)
Their the most underachieving team in the league at this point. They have had a very winable schedule & one of the best offenses in the league, yet thanks to special teams failures, costly turnovers and critical mistake, they have only won two out of their first seven games. Even they're rushing game which was supposed to be rejuvenated by the great Ryan Matthews and the loss of the "old" LaDainian Tomlinson that looked pathetic. At this point, it's only a matter of time before Norv Turner gets fired midseason.

THE REMAINING UNDER .500 TEAMS

23. Jacksonville (3-4)
All four of their losses this season has been by an average of 25 points whereas all three of their wins have been by an average of about 6 points. Consider their 3-4 record to be one of the most deceiving in all of the league.

22. Oakland (3-4)
This team has been inconsistent as hell this season. One week, they surprise you with a game like last week's 59-14 win over the Broncos or the Chargers game earlier this season where they had nine points coming off special teams and Jason Campbell plays like one of the best QBs in the league. Then there are those other weeks where they play like the same Raiders team that we have seen for the past few years like in week 1 against the Titans or in week 6 against the 49ers. Ranking them in the upper twenties is about the right spot for them at the moment.

21. Arizona (3-4)
This team is the perfect example of how important a QB is in this league. Under Kurt Warner as the starter in '08 and '09, the team has averaged about 10 wins and 350 total yards per game (including about 270 yards per game passing). Now, in the first season with Warner out and the combo of Derek Anderson and Max Hall as the starters, the team is on average on pace for about 7 wins this season. Why? Well, under Warner in '08 and '09 the team averaged about 350 yards per game, including an average of 270 yards passing. Under Derek Anderson and Max Hall? A league worst 237 yards per game (passing yards per game with 146.2). I think I have a good feeling as to what position this team will draft with its first pick.

20. Minnesota (2-4)
Brett Favre's crotch isn't the only body part of his that has been getting attention in the last few weeks. Now, it's his fractured ankle that is the problem. I hate to say it, Vikings fans, but this is what you get when you sign a pact with the devil.

19. St. Louis (3-4)
It's hard to believe it, but for the first time in many years the Rams look like a potential playoff team. Three of their four losses have been decided by less than four points (meaning they're the opposite of the Jaguars), they're in the NFC West and the team has most of the right tools to make it. The key going forward, of course, will be the play of Sam Bradford. If this offensive rookie of the year front runner can continue to improve and play as efficiently and mistake-free as he has been for the past few games (0 turnovers in last two games), then that could very well help the Rams defeat the Seahawks for the division crowd. Speaking of the playoffs, can you believe that Stephen Jackson, one of the best running backs in the past five years, has yet to play a playoff game? That can not continue!

THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK

18. Miami (3-3)
I can't put them any higher until they actually win some game at home. I just can't.

17. Green Bay (4-3)
The victory over the Vikings was nice, but their still seriously banged-up and the offense still looks out of sync at times. Aaron Rodgers is having a tough time adjusting to the loss against JerMichael Finley.

16. Chicago (4-3)
They get the bump over Green Bay because of their win against them a few weeks back. Otherwise, there's not much to like about them. Still, I do consider this to be a win-win season no matter the outcome because if they will either end up in the playoffs or not end up in the playoffs and most likely fire Lovie Smith.

THE "THEY COULD MAKE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS, BUT I DON'T SEE THEM DOING BETTER THAN THAT" TEAMS

15. Tampa Bay (4-2)
I like coach Raheem Morris's guts in saying that they are the best team in the league. Unfortunately, I'm not buying into them at this point. All four of their wins have come against teams that I ranked 19th or below (St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Carolina) and three of those wins were decided by three points or less. Meanwhile, against great teams like New Orleans and Pittsburgh, they have been blown out by 25 points in each of them. They also can't stop the rush and have averaged only 16.3 points per game (ranked 30th in the league). I think that it's not a question of if they will have some major losing streak later on in the season, but when.

14. Seattle (4-2)
I gotta say, I've been very impressed with Pete Carroll's team so far. In a year where the NFC West has been nothing short of wide-open, the Seahawks have taken the early lead going 2-1 against division opponent and a pretty good defense (ranked 5th in points allowed). Now, with Marshawn Lynch, they should also have an improved running game. Still, I can't trust any team from the NFC West to be nothing more than a team that will go the playoffs, but lose in wild card weekend. I just can't.

13. Kansas City (4-2)
I agree that they are a good team. But a great team? Not buying it. They're passing game is pathetic (ranked 30th in the league), and they have yet to beat a team that is under .500 on the season. Besides, they have Todd Haley as their head coach. I just can't believe that this team led by him can successfully help this team go deep into the playoffs.

THE LURKERS

12. Philadelphia (4-3)
You have to like a team that can win four games with two different quarterbacks playing for them, a top ten offense, and a top ten defense.

11. Washington (4-3)
10. New Orleans (4-3)
I really can't put my finger on what is wrong with the defendin champs. Is it the loss of Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas? Is Drew Brees having an off year? Is it just the Super Bowl hangover? Has it been the unwillingness by Sean Payton to use the same explosive plays that he had last week? Whatever it is, I'm still pretty confident that the team can bounce back in the next few weeks.

THE AFC SOUTH PART OF THE RANKINGS

9. Houston (4-2)
Well, it has finally happened: the Texans have lived up to their sleeper team predictions from the past few years, mostly thanks to their offense led by Matt Schaub and their 4th ranked rushing offense. Their one Achilles heel this season has been their passing defense, ranked dead last in the league, which has been so bad it allowed Matt Cassel to throw for 200 yards and 3 TDs. They're like the '08 Cardinals in a way.

8. Tennessee (5-2)
One of the most balanced teams in the league and one of the league's best road teams (3-0 thus far in the season). They also have Chris Johnson, and Vince Young is on, he is ON.

7. Indianapolis (4-2)
It should be interesting to see how the Dallas Clark injury will impact this team for the rest of the season. They are now without the team leader in catches for the past two seasons, and Peyton Manning's go to guy on third downs. However, we have seen Manning time and time again do a successful job replacing wide receivers in the past (after all, would any other quarterback have Austin Collie average 11.3 yards per attempt, or replace Anthony Gonzalez as great as he did last season with Pierre Garcon?), and it could very well happen again with Brody Elbridge. Also, with three teams at two losses, I think we can clearly consider the AFC South as the new best division in the league at the moment.

THE GREAT (a.k.a The Best Teams in the underachieving NFC)

6. Atlanta (5-2)
5. New York Giants (5-2)
I decided on this order based on the following question: if both of these teams were to meet right now in the NFC Championship Game (and they would since they're the only NFC teams with less than three losses), who would win? I chose New York for one big reason: defense, which I've been told wins championships. Through week 7, the team's defense has been ranked in the top three in almost every major defensive category. They're #2 in total yards allowed, #2 in rushing yards allowed (so Atlanta's #2 ranked rushing game should have a bunch of problems) and they're #3 in passing yards allowed. Also, Osi Umenyiora is looking very healthy and rejuvenated, Ahmad Bradshaw is playing like the league's best running back and even the passing game is looking impressive. In other words, this Giants is reminding me a lot of the team who won SBXLII a few years back in more ways than none.

THE ELITE (a.k.a. The Best Teams in the stacked AFC)

4. Baltimore (5-2)
A lot of people will look into their near-loss to Buffalo last week as a sign that this team might not be one of the best in the league. But that judgment is completely unfair. Baltimore's wins on the road in Pittsburgh and in the Meadowlands against the Jets have been two of the most impressive wins I have seen from any team this season. Plus, they came an overtime field goal away from possibly winning or tying New England, too. The passing offense is as good as it ever has been with Anquan Boldin at the team's best #1 WR in franchise history. Their rushing game is a bit off from last year, but with Ray Rice as their #1 RB you should always believe that they can bounce back at anytime. And then there's that defense, still one of the best in football after all these years.

3. New England (5-1)
They get the bump over New England because of their victory over them a few weeks back. They also remind me of their three Super Bowl winning teams in that they can always find some way to win, and as long as Brady plays as good as he has been the last few weeks, they should continue to be good down the road.

2. New York Jets (5-1)
They have had five consecutive wins since their week one loss to Baltimore by an average of 12 points, and they're doing it the old-school way: with a stellar defense and a great rushing game led of course by LaDainian Tomlinson who is having his best season in years.

1. Pittsburgh (5-1)
Don't let that near-loss to Miami last week fool you; Pittsburgh is still the class of the league and the NFL's most complete team: a great QB, a stellar rushing games, a good variety of wide receivers, and a awesome defense. They're so good, that I bet if you have the Steelers play all New York, New England and Baltimore again this year (which they will, I might add), that they can beat all of them. If I were to bet on which team will hold the Lombradi trophy in Dallas this February, it would be Pittsburgh right now.

Now, onto the shortened edition of the week 8 picks. First, last week's totals:
mj15- 7-7
mj50- 6-8
As you can see I am still struggling to get out of the .500 range. Let's hope week 8 can change all that. Here are the picks (as always, the game time are based on the Central time zone):

Denver Broncos vs. San Fransisco 49ers (-2) (from Wembley Stadium in London, England): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Denver (also my Lock of the Week)
mj50's pick: Denver

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Dallas Cowboys (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
mj50's pick: Dallas

Washington Redskins vs. Detroit Lions (-2.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Washington
mj50's pick: Washington

Green Bay Packers vs. New York Jets (-6): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
mj50's pick: New York

Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: St. Louis
mj50's pick: St. Louis

Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
mj50's pick: Kansas City

Tennessee Titans vs. San Diego Chargers (-3.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee (also my Upset of the Week)
mj50's pick: Tennessee

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Arizona Cardinals (-3): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tampa Bay
mj50's pick: Tampa Bay

Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders (-2.5): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Oakland
mj50's pick: Oakland

Minnesota Vikings vs. New England Patriots (-5.5): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
mj50's pick: New England

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints (-1): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
mj50's pick: New Orleans

Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts (-5.5): Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: Indianapolis (also my "I'm Not Sure" pick)
mj50's pick: Indianapolis

Yes, you read those picks right. mj50 and myself have the same picks in every game excrpt for the Pittsburgh/ New Orleans matchup. We'll try our best to imporve on that next week. And with that in minds, that's going to do it for this week. Be sure to come back next week for my week 8 results as well as my week 9 picks. Enjoy the games, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 10/25/10- 10/28/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following were on my mind between Monday, October 25th and Thursday, October 28th:

- The Declan Sullivan story out of Notre Dame is simply an unspeakable tragedy. The worst part is the fact that there were people that actually let him go on that hydraulic lift! I live in the Chicagoland/NW Indiana area and I can say clearly that it was the windiest day of the year yesterday. How no one realized that this high wind could actually make the lift fall, thus making it possible for him to fall toward his death (which did happen) is shocking to me.

- It is official: "Modern Family" is the new king of TV comedies. Last night, against the World Series, it drew a record high 13 million viewers and a rating of 5.1, meaning that they should end the week as the highest rated scripted comedy on television for another week in a row after drawing ratings in the high fours in the previous weeks. Sorry, "The Office," but your reign is over!

- Can I pre-order this now? This looks like it will be a great read. (http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2010/10/new-details-from-the-lenoconan-war)

- I wonder if CBS will respond to the new story about Charlie Sheen being found naked, drugged, hanging out with a pornstar and being rushed to the hospital with another raise.

- What should you do? Well, you could stop caring about your haters and just play some God-damn basketball, a-hole. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you actually wanted me to answer these questions.






- Is there a more random first basemen to play in the World Series than Mitch Moreland?

- How is it possible that Jackass-3D has earned nearly $100 million in the box office already? The previous movies didn't make more than $70 million!

And that's going to do it for now. Be sure to come back this Monday for the next installment of the RTs. See you tomorrow for my week 8 picks!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 10/21/10- 10/25/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following were on my mind between Thursday, October 21st and Monday, October 25th:

- It's been two months too long since my last edition of the TV top ten. And with "Mad Men" having its season finale not too long ago and all of the new fall shows underway with the exception of "The Walking Dead," I think it's about time that I bring back. So, without further ado, here it is: the list of my ten favorite shows to run from last August to right now. Enjoy.
10. (tie) "The Simpsons" (still #10)
10. (tie) "Modern Family" (position previously held by "Tosh.0")
10. (tie) "South Park" (position previously held by "The Office")
9. "The Office" (up from #10, position previously held by "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson")
8. "30 for 30" (down from #6, position previously held by "Rubicon")
7. "Rubicon" (up from #8, position previously held by "The Soup")
6. "Fringe" (position previously held by "30 for 30")
5. "Boardwalk Empire" (position previously held by "Treme")
4. "30 Rock" (position previously held by "The Colbert Report")
3. "Community" (position previously held by "Louie")
2. "Mad Men" (still at #2)
1. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (still #1)

Up from Last List (August 2010): "Modern Family," "South Park," "The Office," "Rubicon," "Fringe," "Boardwalk Empire," "30 Rock," and "Community"
Down from Last List (August 2010): "30 for 30," "Louie," "The Colbert Report," "Treme," "The Soup," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Tosh.O"
New From Last List (August 2010): "Community," "30 Rock," "Boardwalk Empire," "Fringe," "Modern Family"
Just Barely Made List: "Chuck," "The Colbert Report," "House," "American Dad"

Some explanations and final notes on the list:
a. The biggest surprise for me this year has been the bounce back of "30 Rock." After two consecutive seasons of what I would consider to be good but not great, the show has really bounced back this season with some terrific episodes like "When it Rains it Pours" and "The Fabian Strategy." Because of this, I have them in my highest ranking on the TV top ten since I began this thing in December where I would normally have them no higher than 7. Looks like Kabletown buying NBC has really been a God send for the show's writers!
b. While "30 Rock" has been stellar this season, the start of season two of "Community" has been slightly better. It's a shame that "Parks and Recreations" isn't coming back until next year. It would have been interesting seeing those three shows battling each other for the top of the TV comedy pantheon.
c. Because of the whole Dish Network-FOX Broadcasting debut and the fact that Hulu only airs those episodes 30 days after they premiere on TV, I was only able to watch the first two episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," which is why I don't have them on my list. But don't worry, once I finally watch the rest of the season, I'm pretty confident that the folks at Paddy's Pub will appear on the list.
d. Let's hope that this won't be the last time that "Rubicon" appears on the TV top ten!
e. As you can see, I have ranked "South Park" in a three-way tie for #10 along with "The Simpsons" and "Modern Family." It's the lowest rating I have ever given for the show since this TV top ten began. Hopefully, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have some great episodes to come in the remainder of the season. Putting them this low on the list is something that I'd hate to do again considering my love for it throughout its entire run.
f. Some shows to expect when the next list debuts sometime between December and January besides "The Simpsons": "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Walking Dead" (which looks promising), "Chuck," "American Dad" and maybe "Parks and Recreations" (if NBC decides to have the season premiere before the next list).

- Man, this week in the NFL was weird! DeAngelo Hall tying the NFL record for most interceptions in a game? The Browns beating the Saints? The Raiders scoring 59 points against the Broncos? Ryan Fitzpatrick playing like a good QB against the Ravens? Next thing you're going to tell me is that the Seahawks and the Buccaneers came out of this week with one of the best records in the NFC! Wait...what?

- Speaking of TV, outside of "Boardwalk Empire" this new TV season has gotten off to a really poor start, especially in broadcast TV. Now, I know that it was going to be hard for the networks regardless to get shows that would match the great slate of new shows that came out last year ("Modern Family," "Glee," "Community," "The Good Wife"). But Good Lord! I mean, can you name one new show from the four major networks that you could possibly consider great? The only thing that comes to mind is "Raising Hope," but even that is a B show at best. Let hope that "The Walking Dead" and all the new shows coming out mid season could at least save this year in new TV shows from being one of the worst in years.

- I won't believe that Brett Favre is not playing this Sunday until I see Tavaris Jackson under center in Minnesota's first offensive play. He cares too much about this record so much that you would think that he cares of it more than a possible championship. It's a shame that the media is still buying into his limping and leg brace that Favre has been doing in the past 24 hours.

- Despite the fact that I would like to see the Giants with their first World Series in San Fransisco, I'm still predicting that the Rangers winning the World Series in six. They have a much better lineup then the Giants and I think that their pitching can go toe-to-toe against the Giants pitching throughout the series. But then again I'm the same person who predicted a Phillies vs. Rays '08 World Series rematch, England to win the World Cup and the Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV with CBS calling the game as one of my reasons, so what would I know?

- Greatest golf tournament ending...ever. (http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Jonathan-Byrd-records-a-walkoff-ace-to-win-Timbe?urn=golf-279456)

Try to enjoy the start to your workweek. I will be back again on Thursday with some more RTs. Goodbye.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

End of the Week: 10/17/10- 10/23/10

END OF THE WEEK:

This has been quite a day in this little blog that could's history in more reasons than one. I will get to the reasons why in a moment, but first here is the weekly portion of the blog where I pick out the week's best moments, stories and, yes, people. In case you're new to this site or haven't read the title yet, it's called "End of the Week" and it starts...(in Neil Everett's voice) right now!

Controversy of the Week: GQ Photo Shoot of "Glee" Stars Dianna Argon, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith


Cory, you lucky bastard! Ummm...where was I? Oh, right, the photos. Anyways, some people (like the people at the Parents Television Council) don't take too kindly to the photos just because it's too hot for their morally sensitive eyes. Personally, I really don't see any problems with them. Yeah they're pretty racy, but from what I've heard he show is already racy enough to begin with and the girls are not posing as their high school characters, but rather their early 20s selves. Also, anytime you can get Lea Michele and Dianna Argon to agree on posing half-naked is just fine by me.

Video of the Week: "Todd Seavey Calls Out Ex-Girlfriend Helen Rittelmeyer on C-SPAN2's 'Book TV'" ( Note: starts at 4:01 mark of video)
The seven people who watched it live on TV thought it was the most awesome thing that they've seen all week.






Stories of the Week:
-The Actual Story of the Week: 'NPR' Fires Correspondent Juan Williams For Saying on FOX News That He's Terrified of Muslims on Planes
Controversy aside, this was a totally brilliant move by Williams. Sure, some people out there are going to consider him a bigot and his reputation might have been stained. But he still got a brand new $2 million deal from FOX News because of this! Makes you wonder how awesome of a hustler he is.
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Serial iPhone Thief Has Been Uncovered Thanks to 'I'm Me' Tattoo"
I wonder if Mr. Bergstrom convinced him to get that tattoo.

Weather Report Blooper of the Week:






The weatherman should get a raise for playing it call during the entire time it was shown. I would have freaked out if that had happened to me.

Beast of the Week: Texas Rangers Pitcher Cliff Lee
On Wednesday, Lee pitched another beauty in his postseason career, going 8 IP with 0 ER, 2 H, 13Ks and a no-hitter going as long as 2 outs in the bottom of the fifth. He helped give the Rangers one of the four wins they needed to advance to the World Series AND is now 7-0 in the postseason with 1.26 career ERA and 67 Ks. He was so dominant that it made you forget about how good Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum were earlier in the postseason. And the best part for Lee? He will probably be awarded a wheelbarrow of gold by the Yankees for his performance. Well done, Cliff. Well done.

Person of the Week: New York's "The Rent is Too Damn High" Party Candidate for Governor, Jimmy McMillan
for being just plain awesome. On Monday, around the same time Cliff Lee pitched the game 3 gem against the Yankees, New York held its gubernatorial debate. It featured a whopping seven candidates for governor, yet none stole the show quite like Mr. Jimmy McMillan from his self created "Rent is Too Damn High Party." Let's just say that the race for Governor of New York got a lot more interesting thanks to him.








Isn't he just great? From the awesome facial hair to the Dr. Strangelove gloves to his interesting views on the rent in this country, McMillan is so good that he might actually be too good for the NY governor's race because his opinions make actual sense. Now, there's a very good chance that McMillan may not win Governor of New York. In fact, there is seemingly no chance that he will win Governor with Andrew Cuomo is leading all other candidates by over 35 points. But at least he gave New Yorkers and Americans of all likes some entertainment from that debate, so we thank him for that. Mr. McMillan, you may not be governor of New York, but you will always be remembered by me as something else: the governor of the Internet.

And that's the way it is. Now, as I mentioned earlier, today has been a monumental day in the mj15 blog history. For starters, this post marks the 200th one in the site's history since the first one was written back in July of 2009. Today also marked a record breaking one in pageviews, as we had our highest amount of pageviews in a single day today and, by the end of the day, we should also end the view with more pageviews then any other week in this site's history, too. If you are counting at home, that's three milestones in one day.
Now, I'm not going to write some kind of a long self-congratulatory post like when I had my 100th blog post. Instead, I just want to once again take this time to quickly thank for making at least two of these accomplishments possible. After all, without you...well it would still be the same blog, only with a lot less people reading it. But you know what I mean! Thank you for reading and I hope that you will continue to support htis website for as long as possible. Now, let's end this monumental post on a high note, shall we? Play me out, Keyboard Cat!



Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

2010 NFL Predictions: Lucky Week Number 7

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d81b80962/Player-safety

So I suppose I should say something about the new fines and suspensions that the NFL has begun implementing this weak on helmet-to-helmets hits and "devastating tackles" as they put it. Fine. Look, I understand the league's intent in these new rules. They want to prevent as much vicious hits as possible. But the fact of the matter is that this is football, and in football you occasionally see some dangerous hits that may or may not cause injury that could be considered serious or possibly, in the case of players like, in the case of Kevin Everett back in 2007 or Eric LeGrand just a week ago, life threatening. Imposing fines and possible suspensions will not change that part of life no matter how thousands of dollars you fine them. If the commissioner and board members of the NFL really want to help protect their players, shouldn't they do something more helpful like making the players where those new concussion protective helmets, or reduce the amount of games instead of doing the hypocritical thing that the league is trying to do and impose an 18 game season?

Now, the main reasons why the NFL suddenly began this new policy of imposing fines and suspensions were due to the four biggest hits to happen during the bloodbath that was week 6: Dunta Robinson's hit on DeSean Jackson, Brandon Merriweather's hit on Todd Heap and James Harrison's two hits on Joshua Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi. All three of those three defenders were fined between $50,000 and $75,000 as a showing by the league that they were serious in the new rules they implemented. Let's review them all shall we? Now, there's no question that the hit by Merriweather was illegal, pointless and should have called for a suspension. But the other three hits by Robinson and Harrison respectively? Completely legal, it was just done in a way that caused injury.

Those hits by Robinson and Harrison also addresses to me another problem in these new rules by the league. It seems that these new rules and fines were implemented simply to punish defenders for making the hits that would have once been glorified by the league. The fines don't seem to address fault on people like the quarterbacks to didn't throw the football properly for Jackson and company to avoid those hits. Besides, had Harrison and Robinson hadn't made those hits, then he would have been faced negative reviews from coaches and fellow defenders for making such hits.

Finally, what really is considered a hit worth a fine or a suspension? Let's say DeSean Jackson would have gotten out of that hit by Robinson perfectly fine and without any injuries. Would Robinson still have gotten fine by the league? Also, if you watch the new safety video that the NFL released concerning this new rules (you can find it by just clicking onto the link on the top). On one part of the video, they mention how hitting a defenseless player is considered frowned upon by the league, and yet when they showed a hit by Ray Lewis that they considered okay, it too involved a player who was defenseless. It just doesn't make sense.

To recap: yes, I think that this was a good step in the NFL's quest to stop dangerous helmet to helmet collisions and pointless hits that are dangerous. But in the end I feel that these moves were more of an overreaction to the scary hits that we saw last week at best and slightly ill-conceived. Now, let's go onto the picks before I get even more ticked off then I already am right now.

In case you were wondering, I finished the week once again around the .500 range, going 8-6. Meanwhile, mj50 had his first spectacular week picking in a while, going a fantastic 10-4, his best week picking games since week 1. In terms of the overall standings, I am currently leading with my 53-37 record by 7 games over my old man with his 46-44 record. So how about this week? We shall find out by Tuesday. Until then, here are the picks for this week's games in the NFL. As always, the game times are based on the Central time zone.

Let's begin:

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons (-3.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cincinnati
This one was hard for me just because both teams have been badly inconsistent throughout the year. I ended up going with the Bengals mostly because Atlanta is coming off a very physical game against the Eagles whereas the Bengals will come fully rested after the bye they just had a week ago. Atlanta is also without their Dunta Robinson thanks to his monstrous hit on DeSean Jackson last week, so their already poor passing defense will be even worse heading into this game in which they will be set to face Ochocinco and T.O.. Finally, in nine out of the last thirteen games Cincinnati has been an underdog, they have won against their opponent. I'm a stone-cold sucker for stats like that!
mj50's pick: Atlanta

Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens (-13): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
This game should be painful to watch of because of the one-sided beatdown that Baltimore will put up on Buffalo. Whereas the Bills are still the worst team in the league in my opinion, Baltimore is arguably one of the five best. Besides, the Ravens are coming out of a tough loss to the Patriots that they probably should have won, so expect to use that anger from last Sunday and take it out on the helpless Bills. It would be the pro version of college football's #2 ranked Oregon losing a game and then play Washington State the next week.
mj50's pick: Baltimore

The Jake Locker/Prince Amukamara Bowl
[a.k.a San Fransisco 49ers (-3) vs. Carolina Panthers]: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Fransisco
For those of you who are new to this site and did not read last year's NFL picks column in which I had about three games that season refered by me as the Jimmy Clausen/Ndamukong Suh, this year's version of it, the Jake Locker of Washington/Prince Amukamara of Nebraska bowl, is the little nickname of the games from here on out that feature coincidentally features two of the worst teams in the league. Last year, it was St. Louis vs. Detroit in week 7, Cleveland vs. Detroit in week 11 and Kansas City vs. Cleveland in week 15. In our first JLPAB of this season, we have 1-5 San Fransisco 49ers versus the 0-5 Carolina Panthers. Winner gets a nice moral boost, while the loser remains as one of the leaders in the race for the top pick in next year's draft. Can you feel the excitement? I know I can!

Anyways, I'm taking the 49ers in this one mostly because they have Frank Gore. Gore is coming off a 25 carry, 149 yard performance against the Raiders 30th ranked rushing defense last week. This week, he's taking a similarly awful Panthers defense that is 26th in the league. I expect to see him have another big game. Also, this may be the only time I will ever say this all season, but San Fran has the much better QB in this game in that Alex Smith has yet to put up the same horrifying numbers that Moore and Clausen have had for the Panthers. And then there's the fact that the 49ers have actually WON a game this season. Granted, it may have been only one week, but it did come last week, so it wasn't that long ago. In other words, I'm expecting both Buffalo and Carolina to be remain as the only two winless teams left in the NFL by the end of the week.
mj50's pick: San Fransisco

Washington Redskins vs. Chicago Bears (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Chicago
This one was a game in which I had to go back and forth between these two teams, but ecause the Bears have won three of their last four games against Donovan McNabb, I'm going with them. Chicago has also only lost once in four games this season at home and the team will go out into this game trying to prove to the league that they will at least stick around for the entire season after last week's embarrassing loss to Seattle. Oh, and the Redskins are dead last this season in passing defense whereas the Bears have been one of the few consistently good defenses of the year, ranked in the top ten in yards allowed and in points allowed per game. But then again, with that horrible offensive line that Chicago has had all season, anything is possible.
mj50's pick: Chicago

Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) vs. Miami Dolphins: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
The Steelers are almost perfect this season in all but two categories: at QB and at stopping the pass. But the former has been fixed now that Roethlisberger is back and looking as fabulous as usual and the latter shouldn't be a problem this week with the average at best Chad Henne as the team's opposing QB. The forecast predicts a cloudy mid-October day in Miami, so the humidity that has played key for the Dolphins through most of their games will not a factor, and the team has yet to win at home despite being a perfect 3-0 on the road. The bottom line is, this should be one of those games that I expect will end up more one-sided than the spread suggests it will be.
mj50's pick: Miami

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tennessee Titans (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
I don't think that either Kerry Collins or Vince Young have lost a game as the Titans starting QB when one of them filled in for the other due to injury or benching. Also, anytime you have Chris Johnson facing such a poor front seven as the Eagles have been this season (ranked 22nd in the league), you have to go with Mr. Running For the Cops Speed every time. And I mean, anytime!
mj50's pick: Tennessee

St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tampa Bay
Sam Bradford has really matured well in the past few weeks. That said, the Rams have have been winless on the road this season (inlcuding a 44-6 loss to an inferior Lions team). So...yeah.
mj50's pick: Tampa Bay

Cleveland Browns vs. New Orleans Saints (-13): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
Do I really need to explain myself after the performances that both teams put up last week? I don't think so.
mj50's pick: New Orleans

HALFTIME! This week, instead of posting another random stand-up comedy act like I have done through the first six weeks of the season, I'm just going to post a video that has been popping up all over the Internet, and I feel that it's about time that I post its greatness here as well. It's that video of a guy with a voice similar to Ray Lewis (except for that lisp) amazingly describing Greg Jennings's 90 plus yard TD catch while running on a broken leg on Madden. For all we know, this just might be the greatest game announcing ever taped in Madden NFL history.



"Oh, shit! Darren SHAW-PAH! One of the most hardest hitting safeties in the league! BUT, I put the team on my back, doo! Fuck It! You can't stop me! Cross the plain...touuuchdown...Greg Jennings! 49-20. Man, fucwimiowaa....FUCK YOU GUMBY!" Fantastic. Now, let's get back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-9): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
It's official: I've jumped on the Kansas City bandwagon. I'm not saying that they are one of the best teams in the AFC or anything, but I do at least have them as the favorites to win the division. They have a terrifically (for them at least) easy schedule after this game (vs. Buffalo, at Oakland, at Denver, vs. Arizona, and at Seattle) in which I can see them win in at least three of them, a terrific home crowd that can always give them a great advantage everytime they play a game in KC, and while they don't have the terrific passing game that division rivals San Diego and Denver has or a head coach that you can consider to be a great one, they at least have that great running game and front seven to make it all up. They're still going to probably lose early in the playoffs if they do win the division, though.
mj50's pick: Kansas City

Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks (-6.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Seattle
It's the battle for the early first place lead in the NFC West! How......intriguing? Anyways, I'm taking the Seahawks mostly because of that homefield advantage that is Qwest Field. Whenever they have played this season, they seem to play on a much better level. Also, I see no reasons why the Cardinals would be a threat in this ballgame. According to their NFL.com page, they're ranked 25th or below this season in almost every major category both offensively and defensively and you could argue that they are lucky to not be 1-5 at this point.

It has been nearly three years since Seattle held solo possession of the NFC West lead this late in the season. Expect that drought to finally break after this ballgame.
mj50's pick: Arizona

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers (-2.5): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
You have to wonder much longer Norv Turner lasts as the Chargers starting coach. The team has been ranked in the top ten this season in yards per game, points per game, passing yards per game, yards allowed, passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed...yet are only 2-4 this season. They even lost to the Raiders, the team they previously won 13 straight time against, for Christ's sakes!Also, the situation for Turner is not like the situation of say, Wade Phillips's situation in Dallas. Unlike in Dallas where there are no good replacements for Phillips, San Diego has the fine defensive coordinator Ron Rivera to go to. My gut feelings is that this should happen if the Chargers lose this week's game and next week's game to Tennessee. On a random note, when did Tom Brady's hair become a serious topic in the sporting world? You can't seem to read any Patriots article or hear a discussion on them without talking about the new long hair that Brady has been showing off. Is it really that big of a deal as it's made out to be?
mj50's pick: New England

Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos (-8): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Denver
Remember when Kyle Boller was the starter for the Ravens before the team wised up and got Steve McNair to fill his role as starter, and then Joe Flacco? Well, get ready, because you get to see why that was the case this week as Boller will be the Raiders starting QB this week thanks to the injuries suffered by both Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski. Also, don't you think for a second that the remaining members of last year's Broncos team have forgotten about the loss from week 15 last year to Oakland. Anytime a team suffers a loss as painful as that was, they are going to end up using it as big motivation for the next time these two teams meet.
mj50's pick: Denver

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers (-2.5): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
Remember when Brett Favre used to play for Green Bay? Well, it's true! And since he has left, Favre has been undefeated last season in two meetings against his former team (all of those meetings were, of course, last season). Also, don't look now but the Vikings are starting to get their groove back. They've won two straight including last week in that must-win game against Dallas, the Favre to Moss combo has looked sharp, and Adrian Peterson is playing like his fine and dandy self. A couple of more wins, and it looks like they will join Green Bay and Chicago in the race for the NFC North. Also, did I mention before that Green Bay was banged-up football team. I think I did.
mj50's pick: Minnesota

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys (-3): Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
Look, I enjoy the Dallas downfall this season as much as the next non-Cowboys fan, but at some point they're going to actually play a game in which they don't commit pointless endzone celebration penalties and awful turnovers. And on Monday night, I expect to see that fianlly happening. Besides, the Giants have been known in recent years to lay eggs in big road games such as this one. In other words, I expect to see the Cowboys win add onto the happiness of Dallas sports fans which already includes the Rangers winning their first ever ALCS and the Mavericks season tipping off in a few days.
mj50's pick: Dallas

RECAP
The Undertaker at WrestleMania Lock of the Week: New Orleans over Cleveland
The Golden State Warriors over Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 NBA Western Conference Quarterfinals Upset of the Week: Cincinnati over Atlanta
The "30 Rock" Season One vs. "The Office" Season Two "I'm Not Sure" Pick: Chicago over Washington

And that's about it. As with every post I ever made and will continue to make, I hoped you enjoyed this one just as much as I wrote it. Be sure to come back next Friday night for my week 7 results and my picks for week 8, featuring the introduction of a new running segments which you will see occasionally in the weekly picks column from then on. Until then, have a wonderful weekend and may your viewing of this week's games be very enjoyable.

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

And Just Before the 23rd Hour of 10/22/10, A-Rod Finally Helps the Rangers Go to the World Series

The week 7 NFL picks will be posted in just a moment. Until then, I would like to send a big congratulations to the Texas Rangers as well as to all of their fans. They were clearly a better team than the Yankees in almost all areas of the game (including hitting, defense, and especially pitching), and they showed why in this series. Also, Cliff Lee is a monster in the postseason. Mazel tov to Michael Young and company!

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 10/18/10- 10/21/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following were on my mind between Monday, October18th and Thursday, October 21st:

- My five favorite baseball stadiums to watch a game at night:
1. Fenway Park
2. AT&T Park
3. The New Yankee Stadium
4. Busch Stadium
5. Coors Field

- Best internet .gif ever? Best Internet .gif ever.



- James Harrison is a drama queen. Like he would really retire from the sport and football league that has made him famous, earned him accolades and earned him millions of dollars just because they fined him less than $100,000 for injuring a player and will continue to from now on. In the words of Seth Myers: "really?"

- What's with ESPN.com adding more videos on their front page? It's as if they decided that their website isn't already clogged up and longer to load, so they needed to add more stuff to it.

- Doctober? Lincecumtober? More like HalloLEEn, am I right? (http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/10/18/rangers-vs-yankees-cliff-lee-dominates-again-in-game-3-gives/)

- Shame on you, America for giving Jackass 3-D over $50 million in the box office! You're much better then this.

- So many thoughts about the season four finale of "Mad Men" this past Sunday that I couldn't possibly put it all together in one coherent review. So, instead, I'm going to do just what I did after the season three finale last year and just list them all. Here we go.
1. So the big storyline in the episode was Don proposing to his French-Canadian secretary Megan (or is it Meghan? Screw it, I'm just going to go with Megan!). To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised. Megan just seemed like the right kind of girl for Don. She's young, sweet, innocent, charming and uncomplicated. She was one of the few people in the office who actually appreciated Don's ad last week. But most importantly, she's the anti-Betty and anti-Faye when it comes to kids in that she actually acts caring and compassionate to them instead of a ruthless dictator or someone who doesn't know how to talk to them. You saw it earlier in the season when she hugged Sally in the "The Beautiful Girls" episode and on Sunday in the scene in her diner where Sally spilled the milkshake. Had it been Betty in that situation, she would have gone berserk at Sally for spilling it as she usually did. Instead, she calmly cleaned up the mess and said to Don to calm down and that "it was just a milkshake." Don's children is really important to him, and seeing someone act such nicely to them really made up his mind that Megan was his girl.
2. Poor, poor Faye. She was the perfect girlfriend to Don (thoughtful, understanding) and she ended up being dumped in favor of his secretary. I wonder if Dr. Faye will use the secret information that Don gave to her about his Dick Whitman/ Korean war past as a way to get revenge at him for the break up. After all, Faye isn't the type of gal who handles break-ups well (you might remember earlier in the season where she angrily told a person she was breaking up with over the phone to go eat a bag of feces). Besides, to we really expect someone like her to just keep Don's secret for the rest of her life? I don't buy that.
3. I was dead wrong about Joan having an abortion of Roger's child. I thought that when she said "we avoided a tragedy" to Roger the day after the appointment that she really went through it. Boy, was I done! Anyways, I think that this was the right decision for Joan. After all, this is probably her last chance to have a child with her getting older. Besides, with the possibility of Greg dying in Vietnam, who knows if she will get a chance to be pregnant in the future or have another companion in her home every day.
4. One of my favorite parts of the episode was the part where Megan acknowledges her bad teeth. It's as if Matt Weiner knew that this was going to be an issue for the fans and the people watching it once the episodes start airing, so he acknowledges the fact by poking fun at it.
5. Poor Peggy. She and Ken helped land SCDP's first new client since they got dropped by Lucky Strike and she got upstaged by Don's announcement that he was getting engaged. Will she ever get appreciated for her work in this agency?
6. I'm not Matthew Weiner's mind reader, but I'm pretty sure that the marriage of Betty and Henry Francis will be in great turmoil once season five kicks off.
7. I loved the four years in the making scene with Joan and Peggy smoking and talking to each other at the end of episode. Here are two very different women with two very different philosophies on the workplace, finally sitting down with each other to have a smoke together and have a conversation about how their recent accomplishments in the workplace (Peggy getting SCDP's first client in 10 weeks, Joan getting promoted) got upstaged by come marriage announcement. Hopefully the agency downsizing could finally turn these two into good friends in the future, which is something they have yet to be in this series.
8. I found it interesting that this was the first time that Matt Weiner didn't involve some big historical event into the final episodes of a season. In season one, they used the Nixon/JFK assassination. In season two, they used the Cuban Missile Crisis in the final episode. And, of course, they had the JFK assassination in season three's penultimate episode. Two things must have gone through his mind while making up this decision: either he just didn't find any big event from the fall of 1965 to use for the show, or he just realized that the show didn't need to use a historical event for the end of this season.
9. Look not further to an example of the complicated mind of Don Draper than when he he asks a stunned Megan after he proposes to her "did you ever think of the number of things that had happen to me to get to know you?" In the other words, he looked at all these deaths, firings and bad things that have happened in the past year and saw it as fate bringing these two together.
10. The season began with the question of "Who is Don Draper?" Well, thirteen episodes later and I don't think the question has been answered just yet. But, as Keith Phipps on AV Club mentioned, we at least got to know who Don Draper WANTS to be:
"He wants to be an ordinary guy. Or at least a highly successful variation of an ordinary guy. He doesn’t want to be someone haunted by a Eugene O’Neil childhood or by his decision to trade identities with a
fallen soldier in Korea. He wants to be someone who doesn’t drink to excess. Who doesn’t wake up next to diner waitresses. Someone who doesn’t lie to his kids and live in fear of discovery. I don’t know if he can get there. But I think, when controlled by his better angels, he spent this season trying. And he ends it thinking he’s getting where he wants to be."
11. Season four= best season in the show's history. From Don's downfall and slight comeback to the comedic styling of the now late Miss Blankenship to the maturations of Peggy Olsen, Pete Campbell (whom I sure will be the new C in SCDP now that Bert Cooper left) and, in a pleasant surprise, Sally Draper, the season had it all. Plus, it provided the viewers with one of the show's greatest episode, "The Suitcase," which was near perfect. It should be interesting to see how next season could possibly top this one.
12. Emmy predictions time! If I were to make some at this point, the first one I would go with would be Jon Hamm winning his first Outstanding Actor victory victory for his work in "The Suitcase" and because Bryan Cranston is not eligible this year. Speaking of that terrific episode, I do believe that the episode should also land Elisabeth Moss an award for Outstanding Actress and Matthew Weiner the award for "Outstanding Writing." I'm also predicting another Outstanding Supporting Actress nomination for Christina Hendricks as well as a first Outstanding Supporting Actor nomination for Vincent Kartheiser.Oh, and I do think they are also the front-runners once again for Outstanding Drama along with newcomer "Boardwalk Empire."
13. Only nine months left until season five! I'm already glowing with anticipation!

And there you have it. Now, if you want to read some smarter and much more professional opinions and thoughts on the episode and on season four itself, just click on these reviews from various writers and from the hundreds, if not thousands, of commenters who post comments on these reviews:
HitFix.com's Alan Sepinwall
Maureen Ryan
SF Gate's Tim Goodman
Gawker's Brian Moylan
AV Club's Keith Phillips
Ken Levine


Well, this was fun a fun post to write. See you tomorrow, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 10/14/10- 10/18/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following were on my mind between Thursday, October 14th and Monday, October 18th:

- Last night, a week 7 regular season NFL game beat a MLB playoff game in the ratings. I think this officially proves that football is truly America's game (for now at least). (http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/10/18/tv-ratings-against-football-baseball-playoffs-desperate-housewives-undercover-boss-at-lows/68391)

- I hate Ernie Johnson as the main play-by-play guy for the ALCS. It's not that he's a bad broadcaster. In fact, he is the opposite of a bad broadcaster. He does a great job hosting "Inside the NBA" and the golf tournaments that TNT has rights to. Also, compared to Chip Caray, the main baseball play-by-play guy for TBS last season, he's like Jack Buck calling the games. But his voice and broadcasting style is just not fit for calling baseball games with such massive implications as the ALCS.

For starters, his voice is even more monotone than Joe Buck. You can't tell by the tone of his voice if he just called a foul ball or a solo home run. And then when he does have his voice amped up, it just forced and contrived. Finally, he just seems to be a lot more pro-Yankees then what he is supposed to be, which is unbiased. Hopefully, TBS will make the prudent choice of putting Johnson back in the studio beginning next season and pick someone that isn't associated with Turner Sports or Atlanta as their #1 guy, like the Brewers' Brian Anderson (who did a good job calling the Phillies/Reds series), the Rangers' Josh Lewin (great energy) or Len Kasper of the Cubs.

- Man, Boise State just cannot get any respect from the polls this college football season. They start the season ranked #3, but then they dropped to #4 because of the great play by Oregon. Then, both Alabama and Ohio State lose and Boise State finally gets ranked in the top two in the human polls but instead are ranked #3 in the BCS standings because the computers rank Oregon and Oklahoma ahead of them. Oh, well, at least they have seven more weeks left to fix that.

- Tony Sparano has an awesome blue collar voice.

- Overall, I found the season (and possible series) finale of "Rubicon" (one of my favorite shows from 2010) to be pretty unsatisfying, capped off by what was a very disappointing ending. First of all, it had Kale Ingram, a big figure in the show and someone who was key for Will in uncovering the Atlas-McDowell conspiracy, on camera for only for about five minute. That is a big no-no for me. Also, the part where we found that Andy was in fact working as Katherine's protector and not just some neighbor of Will's? Pointless, and it felt like something that a much lesser show would have done.

Third, the episode proved that the big focus on Katherine throughout the entire season was almost unnecessary from a plot standpoint. Sure she was a big part in helping give some background on her husband and help uncover the Atlas-McDowell conspiracy, but the way she was killed and how she died so quickly just proved to me that showrunner Henry Bromell (who replaced creator Jason Horwitch after the pilot) didn't know what to do with the character, and just decided to kill her off because she was pointless for the rest of the series in his eyes. Finally, as Maureen Ryan pointed out in her review of the episode, it didn't provide the audience with enough closure. Instead, it just felt anticlimactic and just caused me to ask more questions than answers in the end.

Still, one episode can't tarnish (for me at least) what was a great season of the show. From the terrific cast and the fantastic writing to the show's beautiful cinematography and compelling characters, "Rubicon" provided, along with "Mad Men" some great Sunday night TV for the past thirteen weeks. Now, let's hope that AMC can give this show a chance to bounce back from that finale and renew it for a second season. I would hate to never be able to see the folks at API again.

- I loved the hug that Bill Belichick and Deion Branch had at the end of the Ravens/ Patriots game. It's like they have completely forgotten of the contract dispute that Branch and Patriots management had a few years back.

- It's good to see the Saints back to their 2009 selves yesterday in their win over Tampa. For the first time this season, everything seemed to click: the running game, the defense, the big plays on both sides of the ball, etc. Once Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush come back from injury in a few weeks, I expect to see this team play like one of the best teams in the NFC again.

- So let me get this straight: Junior Seau got arrested for felony abused charges, got bailed at 3 a.m., then proceeded to drive off a cliff without suffering any major injuries? Yep, that makes total sense.

More random thoughts to come on Thursday, including my thoughts on the season finale of "Mad Men" (I decided to save it for Thursday in order to use this post to give my thoughts on the "Rubicon" finale). Until then, enjoy the start of your workweek.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
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