Ananas

HTTK, what the fuck are you talking about? I wasn't "overreacting" to anything, or going "overboard". All I did was take your argument and address it point by point. If you don't like having your opinions rebutted, don't give them.

I like the black comic who always says "HAMBURGER!"

Spin the stats? Did I avoid something? His numbers are great. And as for the lack of strikeouts, Cliff Lee won the fucking Cy Young award this year with a career high of 170, which is an average of just over 5 per outing. I used the strikeout stat as an indicator that Jesse Litsch strikes out two batters for every walk he surrenders. In fact, he had a stretch of something like 4 starts without a walk. This kid's got amazing control and at 23 is already able to locate late in the count. Did I ever say we should stick with him as a #2? I'm saying his stats are very solid for a #2 and if we do choose against getting into the free agent sweepstakes for a top two guy then we wouldn't be in terrible shape with him. And Tampa is a terrible example as it's an economic necessity as opposed to a choice. If Ted Rogers were to want to do so, he could match the Yankees in spending dollar for dollar. He'd just rather not lose a hundred million dollars per year. That's fine. What I was reacting to was you basically implying that we have Halladay and nothing else. Perhaps Litsch isn't ready for the #2 spot, although his two year performance would suggest he is and his numbers have been vastly superior to Burnett's over the same period. He's a very solid major league pitcher, and we're anything but in a position where we have to rebuild from Halladay up. If anything, Halladay and Litsch are the locks. It's McGowan and then whoever you get for 4 and 5 that are the big ifs. He's Baltimore's ace until they develop/acquire someone better. And also, win/loss for a starter is a stat mindless baseball journos drag up when bereft of any useful insight. It's bullshit, and not in the slightest a reasonable indicator of skill. So some guy who can throw six innings, give up five runs and leave with the lead has put in a superior performance to say, Roy Halladay throwing nine and losing 1-0?

It's not a valid point by them at all though, since the fight of the night bonus went to a prelim fight on an already strong card. And the submission of the night came in a fight that would have otherwise been a prelim had it not been for a midweek injury to Amir Sadollah. Now the article I believe has already been pulled by WWE.com, but it was so full of bullshit. They complimented Lesnar so as to spite UFC, talking about how he went from newcomer to champion in "roughly six months". Actually, it was 9 months from his first UFC fight and 17 months from his MMA debut. But hey, didn't Brock win the WWE title after 4 months on the WWE roster? Guess there must have been a real dirth of talent on the roster. I think they did the right thing pulling that article. No need to draw attention to the fact that the most talented newcomer your industry has produced this decade completely rejected your industry and became a star elsewhere.

Is the Princess Bride episode the last one on the DVD? If so, yes they're out of order. NBC pushed that one to the end so they could have the kind of episode they could bill as a "finale", even though they new that the show was moving to ABC. Basically, NBC are pricks.

Not to mention a FAQ about a sport that's a hybrid of a half-dozen others is going to be more of a mini-novel.

EBG nailed the truth of it, 100%. Because both sides of that argument basically play into the fallacy that Lesnar's brief pro-wrestling background makes him any less an MMA fighter. If anything it's a sign of the times: that MMA has become the more desirable career path for a pure athlete like Lesnar. And that's what he is: not a fraud, not a pro-wrestling huckster. A pure athlete. Enough of the "Purists hating on the outsider", or "Outsiders laughing at the purists" bullshit. Last night a pro-wrestler did not make mockery of MMA, an MMA athlete beat one of the greatest fighters the sport has seen in only his 3rd UFC fight. This is GOOD for MMA. I was cheering for Randy all along and even I can see that.

Yeah, ya'll need some help Jesse Litsch's career stats: 20-18, 3.67 ERA, 149 K, 75 BB, 1.286 WHIP Very solid #2 numbers and comparable to several aces (i.e. Jeremy Guthrie). We do need help, but Litsch is not even the slightest bit an indication of that. He's got excellent control and a great command over his breaking pitches, which he can throw for strikes in tough situations. And he's 23, so he has the potential to continue to improve.

Marcum is out for the year, McGowan should be back in May. The problem with McGowan though is that we really have no way of knowing how he might pitch when he returns fresh off shoulder surgery. He could be back to 2007 form, he could be irreparably damaged. Right now we've got Doc and Litsch. Realistically it seems reasonable to assume we can fill one slot next year between Downs/Purcey/Cecil/the Romeros. McGowan will be back in May. Beyond that, we need one solid arm and one additional insurance arm. So unless they want to either go into next year really weak from a starter standpoint or raise the payroll, we're not getting Manny. I'd say this though, I think it'd be fucking hilarious if we signed Manny and then Pedro on a provisional deal. It'd be quite an atmosphere Pedro starts with Manny in the lineup for the first time against the Red Sox at Fenway. And then they could start Josh Beckett and we'd give him nightmares like we did this year.

New Q-Tip is fantastic. As a huge Tribe fan, it gives me hope that they might have another classic album in them if they ever decided to do it. My only concern is how history has been to Phife, because Ventilation was not good.

Considering that the hardcore genre following horror has netted the film a good but not outstanding $8,500 per screen average in extremely limited release, I'd say there's little reason to believe an expensive promotional campaign for a wide release would have done the project's bottom line any favours. Horror fans will find it on DVD; if it's worth finding.

I haven't been to a ton of gigs, but of that unimpressive list, AC/DC last night takes the cake by a wide margin.

All time, Bill Evans - "Everybody Digs Bill Evans" is one of my favorite records. If we're talking current artists, everything Brad Mehldau touches turns to gold.

It's kind of similar to Clerks II in that regard. Far too raunchy to be a date movie, but too sweet to be considered a gross-out movie. But unlike other massively successful R-rated rom-coms (*cough*Knocked Up*cough*), it's totally believable and doesn't have to go silly to get sweet. Probably because he's always been so earnest in his storytelling and creates realistic characters (except for his farces like Jay and Bob, Mallrats and Dogma, which weren't meant to be grounded in the first place).

Live - "Hold Me Up" It's an unreleased b-side, and was featured prominently in a crucial scene in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno". What a song, no wonder Kevin Smith has tried to put it in his last 3 movies.

For the record, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" cost $25 million, much of which I imagine was Rogen's salary. Oh, and fuck the Weinsteins.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno Watching Kevin Smith's first truly post-Jersey film is a genuinely fascinating experience. We not only get to bear witness to his evolution from writer-who-directs to a fully balanced filmmaker, but also see a bit of the fruit of his influence as he shares the screen with Seth Rogen (who wrote Superbad with Evan Goldberg after seeing Clerks gave him a glimpse into a world of filmmaking they could relate to). This time the writing is as sharp if not moreso than before, and behind the directors chair he manages to craft one of the most powerful sex scenes I've ever seen on the big screen (seeing as the movie is called "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", I didn't feel I was spoiling anyone in saying this). In front of the camera Seth Rogen shares the lead with the absolutely flawless Elizabeth Banks, who gives probably the strongest performance of any performer in a View Askew film to date. The supporting cast includes hilarious performances by Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson while Katie Morgan is a delightful surprise. This is just the next natural step in the career of Kevin Smith, who continues to prove his critics wrong. Hopefully someday they realise that.

Spoiler: Click here to viewI dunno. Everyone keeps saying Silva wasn't even trying, but I saw him try a lot of things that Cote brushed off and escaped because he was better mentally prepared than any of Silva's recent opponents. I think it's entirely possible that Silva, who has become accustomed to early knockouts, might have become more offense oriented and left himself open to the one game changing strike for Cote. I'm not saying the fight was going Cote's way, but to say that the fight was wrapped up after two rounds that Silva won but didn't dominate is a little presumptuous. If Cote had looked completely outclassed then fine, but I don't think he looked any more outclassed than Franklin, Henderson or Marquardt. It's the least convincing win of Silva's UFC career.

Spoiler: Click here to viewI know that Cote had lost both rounds, but the longer he dragged that fight out the better the chance of Silva slipping up for a moment and Cote landing the crazy one punch knockout blow. And he wasn't in any danger whatsoever. I happen to believe that someone capable of taking the middleweight champion the farthest he's been in a fight in almost four years deserves a rematch. And fuck the Chicago crowd (a city they should never go back to, because of much more than just their reaction to the main event), I enjoyed the chess match aspect of this fight: Silva trying to get a read on Cote's movements, Cote realising this and going completely off the grid, and the mind games being played back and forth. In fact, it was a shame the fight didn't go further. All in all a disappointing finish to what was a very strong card.

Eli Stone, Life and Dirty Sexy Money are all shows that fit the bill for me from a ratings standpoint.

I'd also like to give a thumbs up to "Crusoe". It wasn't mindblowing (nothing this year is), but it was plenty of fun and if it maintained my interest over a 2 hour premiere, I'd imagine it will maintain it on a weekly episodic basis.

I thought I'd be happy seeing the Sox lose. Instead, I get the depressing realization that the least loyal fans in the American League got a trip to the World Series. As Drunk Jays Fans said so succinctly, "Kick the Schmidt Out of Em, Stairsy"

So now that we're a month into the TV season, thoughts so far? Seems like this is the weakest crop of freshman programs in recent memory. Not a standout program across the networks. I'd have a hard time even giving the nod to the season's best new program, although it'd either be "True Blood" on HBO or "Fringe" on FOX if I had to pick. Saw the first episode of "Kath & Kim", and I guess I'm probably one of the only people who was pleasantly surprised. I'd say that the show is just so wacky, ridiculous and over the top that most of the criticisms are null and void. Yes, the jokes are one dimensional and the characters are cardboard cutouts. I was of the understanding that, at least by this particular version's standards, this was sort of the point. I don't know how the second episode went, but I dug the pilot and will continue to follow for the time being. Also, TV industry website TV By the Numbers has an interesting chart called the "Renew/Cancel Index". It takes the network shows' numbers in the 18-49 demographic and compares it to their network's average, meaning that any number higher than 1.0 is more valuable to the network the show airs on and thus a likely renewal, and the further below 1.0 one goes increases the possibility of cancellation. And the news from this season so far isn't good. Among the likely cancellations: "Life" (0.53), "Pushing Daisies" (0.63), "Dirty Sexy Money" (0.69), "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (0.81), "Chuck" (0.85) and "Prison Break" (0.88). I don't know if I'd agree with "Prison Break" being on the list due to its strong performance internationally and on DVD, but the early indication is that we're going to see a lot of sophomore casualties this year. What with the utter failure creatively of the freshman crop, this is not good news. For the record, the safest bets for renewal from each network according to this list: "CSI" on CBS (2.27), "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC (2.15), "90210" on The CW (1.75), "House" on FOX (1.70) and "The Office" on NBC (1.65)

It's the best show of this new season, but I'd stop well short of calling it awesome. It's perfectly watchable and entertaining, but nothing about it has blown me away yet. Just another example of how this is the most magnificently meh TV season of the past 5 years.

I just want to raise one point about this Kimbo thing. As much as so many of us seem convinced he's done, can we really say that without a real understanding of the "MMA on CBS" audience? I don't know how many experiences you folks have had with these fans (the CBS ones not the MMA establishment ones), but my experiences have led me to believe they're the ultimate "mark" audience. Perhaps it's because they just don't have much in the way of experience with any outside MMA, but I remember the day after the first CBS show going into work and having to explain to a bunch of people that Kimbo Slice is not in fact the best fighter in the world. If they were willing to believe that, if they have so little MMA experience and knowledge as to not understand that it's a fallacy, then how can we really say that they won't just accept Mauro Renallo's analysis that "Kimbo gets a mulligan" as a result of lack of preparation? I think Kimbo's next fight and the reaction to it will tell the tale, not this one. It's just too wacky and to out-of-nowhere to really write the book on Kimbo Slice's MMA career just yet. I'm not defending Kimbo as a fighter, because I would agree that he's a brawler and he'll continue to get picked apart if they keep picking tough opponents for him. But consider three facts: 1) his audience of marks, 2) the short notice and 3) the near certainty that he has absolutely no preparation to fight a karate specialist (who from my limited experience with the sport seem to be specially gifted at doing exactly what Seth Petruzelli did, evading an attack and striking at a weak position). Last night was not a good one for EliteXC, but I have a hard time to believe it was the final nail in the coffin.