Venom

 This movie is ill-conceived as it's a dumb idea to make a Venom movie independent of his relationship with Spider-Man but at least Tom Hardy might make it an interesting failure.

Solo

 Well, this is... interesting. It's hard to deliver a satisfying origin story for a character like Han Solo and the novels published years ago that tried to do it failed miserably. Can this movie do better?

Infinity War

Ant-Man and the Wasp

??

Is anyone even less enthused about the college football championship now that it's two SEC teams? I watched part of one game in the first round because I was in an airport, this time I will actively avoid it and root for horrible ratings.

?

Is anyone else unenthusiastic about the college football playoff? Personally, I just don't care and won't go out of my way to watch any of the games. The combination of leaving the Big Ten out plus two SEC teams plus general animosity towards ESPN plus scheduling has killed my interest. In fact, given my travel schedule this year I'll probably miss all of the playoff and it doesn't disappoint me one bit.

Change of Taste?

So 20 years ago I developed a dislike for Quentin Tarantino and his movies, but not sure why. I guess it had something to do with "Pulp Fiction." It seemed like that movie was constantly on the cable channel network circuit every week and that everyone called it a cult classic, yet I just didn't get it. I never really watched it, it was just always on and the short amount of the movie I'd seen didn't seem that great to me. But, I tried watching it a few years ago on Netflix to see if I could see what others loved about it and give it a second chance. I couldn't make it 30 minutes.

However, a few years ago I tried "Reservoir Dogs." Excellent. Then I tried "Django Unchained." Awesome. Then "Inglourious Basterds." Great. A few nights ago I finished "The Hateful Eight." Terrific. Keep in mind, that's if you can get past all the language and gore. Even with this new attitude, there's just something I don't get about "Pulp Fiction."

Maybe I'll give it another 30 minute try.

Infinity War

Post-Ragnarok Rankings

1a.Captain America: Civil War
1b. Guardians of the Galaxy
1c. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1d. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Avengers
6. Iron Man
7. Thor: Ragnarok
8. Doctor Strange
9. Iron Man 3
10. Spider-Man: Homecoming
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron
12. Thor
13. Captain America: The First Avenger
14. Ant-Man
15. Iron Man 2
16. Thor: The Dark World
17. The Incredible Hulk

Thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok

A few thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok:

-Who would have thought the way to make a great Thor movie was to make it Guardians of the Galaxy?

-That's a bit of an exaggeration but this film obviously owes a ton to those two. It doesn't get made without them coming first.

-The movie is really colorful. It almost hurts your eyes. Also, if you're at all familiar with the late comic artist Jack Kirby his art influences the look of the movie very much.

-This movie is funny. Probably too funny, the humor undercuts some of the more dramatic moments. Like with Iron Man 3 I find myself liking the movie a lot but wondering what the darker version would be like.

-The Hulk is great in this movie, and he's in much more of the film than I expected.

-The movie takes material from multiple different comic stories and I was impressed that it came together as a cohesive whole. I'm also pretty surprised at the way it ended.

-I like the movie a lot but there are definitely a few details that bug me as a comic fan. Your mileage may vary.

-Cate Blanchett is good as Hela but the role isn't very deep. She's still a lot of fun though.

-Dr. Strange makes an appearance and part of it is right out of the post-credit scene that Thor appeared in earlier. It's a nice scene but the magic is very inconsistent with how things worked in his movie.

-Chris Hemsworth is a great comedic actor.

-The mid-credit scene is somewhat important, the post-credit scene is just fun.

Black Panther

Dragging

Credit Suisse is projecting lower earnings for CBS and Fox because NFL ratings are dropping. It depends on how exactly you calculate the numbers but ratings are generally down 16-18% from two years ago. You'll see a less dramatic decrease from last year to this year but that's because last year was already a record low. The bottom line is something is definitely hurting NFL ratings and anthem protests seem to be a major part of that.

As for me, I haven't watched a snap of NFL football since the Sunday night game the week the NFL was responding to Trump's tweets. I also bought Coke instead of Pepsi the last few times at the store since Pepsi is the official NFL soft drink. Not sure how long this will last but I'm definitely finding myself doing something I never would have expected.

Taking A Knee

I hadn't really followed the commentary around Trump's tweeting about NFL protests last week and I was out of town for part of Sunday so it wasn't until shortly before the Sunday night game that I was somewhat caught up on what was going on. I did turn the game on, but after seeing so many of the Raiders and a few Redskins kneeling I walked out of the room. I turned it off a few minutes later, though part of that was due to audio issues they were having with the broadcast. Still, I have to say that while I've disliked the anthem protests all along, this Sunday made a difference. The league decided to get behind these players and for the first time I find myself disliking the league as a whole, not just some of the players. I'm not sure I'm ready to quit but I'm actually finding myself thinking about it. I have to think there are other fans thinking the same, especially since NFL fans tend to skew Republican, and turn out to vote. Alejandro Villenueva, NFL lineman and U.S. Army veteran, the only Steeler to stand outside the tunnel for the anthem, has the best-selling jersey in the last 24 hours. I'd buy a shirt myself but the money would just go to the NFL. Anyway, this could turn out bad for the NFL and for once I'm rooting against them.

"Gotham needs its true hero."

Kevin Conroy is Batman. He's never wore the cape and cowl onscreen but he's still the definitive version of the character, voicing him for 25 years in animation and video games. Below, he reads Batman's speech from the end of The Dark Knight.

Thoughts on Dunkirk

What do you need to know about Dunkirk? I think this statement from a 97-year-old veteran who was there says it all:

“I never thought I would see that again. It was just like I was there again.”

Which means it is intense. Early in the film there is an attack by a Stuka dive bomber and the volume increases to almost painful levels as the screaming plane makes its bombing run. I wanted to duck under my seat. Zimmer's score also keeps everything tense as I'm sure you can imagine if you're familiar with his work. It's not something you'd want to turn on and unwind with after a long day. I'm listening to it now (thanks Amazon Prime) and getting a little tense.

A few other thoughts:

-The movie is split into three stories each taking place over a different period of time: One week, one day, one hour. This is clearly indicated in the titles but many people, including myself, seemed to have missed that at first.

-"Mole" is another word for essentially a big break wall, so when you see that show up in the titles don't think the guy on the screen is a German spy. This also confused me until they used the word later in the movie.

-If water really freaks you out don't watch this movie. It's definitely as close as I ever want to be to being inside a sinking ship.

-The movie is surprising bloodless. There is plenty of violence and death but it's not gory like the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan.

-You're probably going to jump multiple times watching this movie.

-It's a different movie than some of Nolan's previous work, like Interstellar and Inception, but I still liked it a lot. I will need to see it again to really appreciate it because the first time you sort of just survive it.

-The movie ends with one of the characters reading Churchill's famous speech in a newspaper. Here's the speech:

Defenders

"We're kind of both like fire."

Homecoming Rankings

1a.Captain America: Civil War
1b. Guardians of the Galaxy
1c. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1d. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Avengers
6. Iron Man
7. Doctor Strange
8. Iron Man 3
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. Thor
12. Captain America: The First Avenger
13. Ant-Man
14. Iron Man 2
15. Thor: The Dark World
16. The Incredible Hulk

It's getting difficult to slot these new films in. There's very little difference from 7-14 for me and I could probably change that around every time I look at it.

Thoughts on Spider-Man: Homecoming

A few thoughts on Spider-Man: Homecoming:

-I was a bit skeptical about this movie. Tom Holland was great in Civil War but Sony's involvement and the weight of all the previous Spider-Man movies made wonder if they could pull this off. They definitely pulled it off.

-This was the first Spider-Man movie to feel like it was actually taking place to a character in high school. It was nice to see high school kids played by actors that at least looked like they could plausibly (the main cast is a little older) be high school kids.

-Skipping the origin story allows us to get more time with Peter learning how to be a superhero. It's one of the only superhero movies that shows the hero screwing up big time and learning how to deal with it. That's a nice change and perfect for Spider-Man.

-Speaking of perfect, Holland is just that as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. The previous actors could do one or the other but not both.

-The Vulture is an excellent villain. They managed to make a silly-looking character cool (comic pic below) and Keaton did a great job making him somewhat sympathetic and appropriately threatening.

 -I love that the film definitely takes place in the MCU. Even with Stark involved I was afraid they would downplay that fact but the whole story develops from the events of previous movies. I wish S.H.I.E.L.D. had been involved but that seems to be an issue with the TV-Movie divide at Marvel in general rather than this movie in particular.

-I think the Stark upgrades to the Spider-Man suit are pretty cool.

-Stark himself came off as a bit of a jerk in the movie. No doubt part of that is even having him in it for a few minutes strains the budget.

-The only things I didn't care for in the movie were two supporting characters, Flash and Michelle. Flash is a real departure from the classic version and that just didn't work for me. Michelle has a similar issue, but they go to great lengths to hide her true identity until the end.

-Spider-Man will appear again in Infinity War and his own sequel. After that it's up to Sony and Marvel to reach a new deal. Hopefully Sony doesn't screw it up, though Sony not screwing things up would be unusual.

-The mid-credit scene is related to the movie and kind of interesting. The post-credit scene is just fun but you could certainly skip it if you were trying to get out of the theater.

Black Panther

I'm very interested to see how this movie turns out. Black Panther never really clicked for me as a character until Civil War. Wakanda especially has always been kind of silly since writers could never seem to decide if it was a country of extreme wealth and super-advanced science or the most stereotypical kind of African tribesmen. Hopefully they can find a way to make it all make sense.

I'm not feeling the slight redesign of the costume.

"Thanks for nothing Russo..."

Just stumbled across a little secret Avengers rehearsal by the @therussobrothers

A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:25am PDT

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

The best thing about Heroquest...

Ran across this the other day. This one is pretty much just for Adam, so consider yourselves warned.

Marvel Movie Rankings Vol. 2

1a.Captain America: Civil War
1b. Guardians of the Galaxy
1c. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1d. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Avengers
6. Iron Man
7. Doctor Strange
8. Iron Man 3
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron
10. Thor
11. Captain America: The First Avenger
12. Ant-Man
13. Iron Man 2
14. Thor: The Dark World
15. The Incredible Hulk

This feels like a bit of a cop-out but at the moment I'm having a hard time breaking up those top four and I'm not even sure Avengers should be behind them.

Thoughts On Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

A few thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:

-This movie delivers on everything you're hoping for from a GotG sequel. In fact, it's only real weakness to me is that it may try a bit too hard to deliver those things, at least in the first 30 minutes or so.

-The director, James Gunn, promised this movie would be more emotional and he delivered. A surprising amount of this comes from Yondu and Nebula, the latter which I was surprised to find somewhat sympathetic.

-Rocket also has a major arc in the movie and "acts" it very well. It's amazing that you can completely forget a CGI anthropomorphic raccoon isn't a real actor on stage with the rest of the cast. He's also developed a fondness for Quill's music, which is kind of funny.

-Speaking of music, it's right there with the last album, if possibly slightly weaker. After listening for a few days it's a close call.

-Groot steals every scene he's in.

 -Mantis also manages to steal quite a few scenes.

-The ending packs a surprising emotional punch. Even if I had known exactly what was coming I would have been surprised at how hard it hits. Maybe I'm going soft in my old age.

-This is the first movie I've seen that does not eventually go to a black screen with letters for the end credits. It's like a continually-scrolling back cover of an old record album with small animations scattered throughout. That and the five post-credit scenes help keep you interested until the very end.

-Two of the scenes potentially set up future movies (not Infinity War) and are probably completely impenetrable to fans who don't know comics. The other scenes are funny.

The Defenders

Game On

Fantasy football is live. Yahoo changed things up a bit so I think everyone may actually be signed up.

-100

It seems I've mostly been posting about ESPN lately but it's hard not to when they offer up so much material. Today, a big one: ESPN fired 100 people today and some of them are names you'd recognize. Some of the more familiar names: Ed Werder, Roger Cossack, Jay Crawford, Trent Dilfer (one of the best NFL analysts out there), Jayson Stark, and the one that hits me the hardest, Danny Kanell. Russillo and Kanell is just about the only thing on ESPN worth watching (or listening to) so losing half the team hurts. Russillo is reportedly still going to be on the radio but will be cut back on the TV side but it still leaves me concerned. Maybe I'll get to dump the ESPN app the same way I dumped ESPN.

"He's a friend from work!"

Political

ESPN has released new guidelines for discussing politics on the network, though you won't find them on the front page and they waited until just after a NCAA Championship game to do it. As near as I can tell they're giving commentators the green light to discuss politics as long as it's related to sports in some fashion. They're supposed to offer "balance" to opposing views but note that idea is subjective, so you can read probably assume they won't feel the need to talk about conservative views unless they're mocking them. I find this especially interesting given the last story I posted. ESPN again seems determined to double-down on the things people are complaining about. I'm going to enjoy laughing at them when they can't pay their bills any longer.

Falling Off a Cliff

Bloomberg Business Week has an interesting article on ESPN and cord cutting, something I've posted about before. It includes a graph that shows the subscriber numbers falling off a cliff. ESPN though appears to be doubling-down on protecting the cable bundle. Their main problem? Cost. According to that article Game of Thrones costs HBO about $100 million for a season. ESPN pays that just for one MNF game. It's hard to believe that's going to go well for ESPN in the end. They probably can't afford to give people a lower-cost option for consuming ESPN content, but ESPN is a pretty awful deal compared to... well, pretty much everything.

Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Justice League

 I post this not because I'm excited but rather because I think it's interesting. Batman v Superman was awful. This... doesn't look a whole lot better. Those costumes? Ugh.  It'll make a lot of money though.

No Good Deed

Inappropriate, some bad language, but still pretty funny:

Two-Time Galaxy Savers

Boom!

I love this poster.

Avengers + Spider-Man + GotG = Infinity War

Iron Fist

Political Football

I'm not a Patriots fan but this one time it doesn't bother me much that they won. Why? Well, this article pretty well sums it up. Even though I avoided most media in the week leading up to the Super Bowl I was still aware that various sports personalities criticizing Brady and the rest for having ties to Trump. I find this despicable. I still don't like Brady or the Patriots but he made all the right people angry, and that's something.

Nate's On To Something

FiveThirtyEights Nate Silver is on to something. He has an interesting article about "Power-Pairing" and used the Big Ten as the example of how that would have looked for 2016.

The Tri-Valley Conference already does something like this for basketball. The TVC consists of the East, West, and Central. So, at two different times in every team's schedule, they do a sort of "power-pairing" with another side of the conference. For example, on Friday, Jan. 6, the #1 team in the TVC-East will play the #1 team in the TVC-Central. Then, on Friday Feb. 3, the #1 team in the TVC-West will play the #1 team in the TVC-Central. And, on Friday, Feb. 24, the #1 team in the TVC-East will play the #1 team in the TVC-West. (Obviously the same is done for every team seeded #2-#7.)

He's right, it would definitely be a logistics/transportation nightmare. Plus, you may not know very long in advance who that team would be.

But, I like the direction Silver is going and I've been screaming it for the past 2 years...get rid of the divisions. It's too risky or ends up not mattering anyway. If Florida beats Alabama in the SEC Title game, that should not give a 4 loss Florida team the right to get in the Final 4 of the playoffs. Or, PSU wins and doesn't get in anyway.

Do I necessarily want to use that extra weekend for the opportunity to expand to an 8 team playoff? No. Look at this year. Clemson and Alabama are the two best teams. End of discussion. Six more teams would have said the same thing. Could FSU or USC or Oklahoma have made it interesting? Yup.

?

I had a thought today: Maybe part of the NFL ratings drop is that people are sick of seeing the same teams over and over? I can watch four games today and I'm sure you can guess the main teams that are being featured. Of course it's Green Bay, New England, and Dallas. The Green Bay and New England games have been practically unwatchable because the commentators spend all their time sucking up to Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Yes, they're very good quarterbacks, but these guys sound like teenage girls fawning over their favorite pop star. Maybe if we had a little more variety and the commentators could act like adults it would help.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Marvel Movie Rankings, Post-Strange

1a.Captain America: Civil War
1b. Guardians of the Galaxy
1c. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Avengers
5. Iron Man
6. Doctor Strange
7. Iron Man 3
8. Avengers: Age of Ultron
9. Thor
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
11. Ant-Man
12. Iron Man 2
13. Thor: The Dark World
14. The Incredible Hulk

Thoughts on Doctor Strange

A few thoughts on Doctor Strange:

-Benedict Cumberbatch is terrific, as you might expect. Marvel wanted a big name for this project and you can see why. Strange suffers more than most Marvel heroes as he becomes a hero and Cumberbatch makes the most of it.

-In the trailers I thought Cumberbatch's American accent might have sounded a bit off. I didn't feel that way watching the movie so it may have just been my brain reacting to the fact that he didn't sound like Sherlock.

-The visuals are the most obviously outstanding part of the movie. Kaleidoscopic would be the best way to describe most of them. Some of the scenes shown in trailers have drawn comparisons to Inception but the whole movie goes far beyond that. There are also a lot of trippy visuals drawn straight out of the original comics drawn by Steve Ditko:

-Because of that it's probably worth seeing this in 3D. I didn't last night but I might later.

-The story bears some obvious similarities to Thor and Iron Man but it is notably different than either. I think there's a lot more depth to the story and themes than you might pick up at first so a second viewing is probably in order.

-Kaecilius, the villain of the movie, has a well-developed point of view and reasonable motivations though I think a lot of people will dismiss him as not being memorable enough.

-There's a vague suggestion that the magic in this movie has some connection to science but it still works as magic, though it's Jedi-like hand-waving and not spoken spells.

-Overall I would put this in my second tier of Marvel movies, somewhere below GotG, Winter Solider, and Civil War.

-Both the mid-credit and post-credit scenes are worth watching. The mid-credit scene ties into the next Thor movie and the post-credit scene is for a Strange sequel.

621,000

That's how many subscribers ESPN lost in October. Outkick The Coverage has a fantastic article about this and it's well worth reading the whole thing. The short version is ESPN is bleeding subscribers at an alarming rate and within five years they could be facing some serious financial issues. That's really interesting as ESPN is the heart of the current cable system and distribution of most sports. If ESPN fails or has to make major changes we're going to be living in a dramatically different world when it comes to sports.

The other interesting question is: Why? A few thoughts:

1. The most obvious answer is people are cutting the cord in record numbers. Some don't care about sports anyway, others (like me) do care but just can't justify the extra cost. This isn't changing anytime soon.

2. Another issue is ESPN has become more openly political and specifically left-wing in their coverage, though most ESPN personalities would deny that. I think this matters but I'm not sure how much.

3. Protests by players in various sports doesn't help. Any one thing may not matter a lot but I think all of it taken together and added to these other factors can definitely push people over the edge.

4. I haven't watched the network very often lately but my impression is just about everything that's not an actual sports broadcast is worse than it used to be, though possibly I'm just old or thinking the past was better than it was. I've been particularly unimpressed with SportsCenter, aside from the SVP version. Most of these shows must be cheap to produce but if they're not keeping people interested, or even driving them away, it's an issue.

5. In trying to wring every drop of revenue from sporting events the commercials have gotten ridiculous. An NFL game can barely keep my interest anymore because of all the commercial interruptions.

The Escape

 Back in 2001 BMW made The Hire, a series of short films (~10 min each) shown on their website starring Clive Owen as The Driver, various new BMWs, and many notable actors. This was quite something at the time (YouTube was still four years away) and the films were very popular. BMW is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the films with a new one, which is definitely worth a watch:

GotG Vol. 2 Sneak Peek

Iron Fist

Uniform Spotlight

I didn't notice any particularly notable uniforms or helmets yesterday (Louisville's mettalic helmets were nice enough but pretty normal at this point) but I did notice something odd about Notre Dame's uniforms: Their pants.

Seeing a football player with sweaty pants isn't unusual but it's particularly noticeable on ND's pants. and kind of gross. A lot of the players looked like this at kickoff. You'd think Under Armour would be able to come up with gold pants that didn't make it look like the players peed themselves before going on the field.

Uniform Spotlight

Yesterday there were a few college football uniforms I thought were worthy of mention. First, while VT collapsed in the Battle at Bristol, they looked great doing it in their Hokie Stone uniforms:

That's much better than what they usually sport and in any other week it would be the coolest uniform, but this week Air Force showed up in these:

In case it's not clear why these are great, here's a better look at the helmet:

If the shark teeth alone aren't awesome enough, the specific design comes from the A-10 Warthog (which, ironically, the Air Force is intent on killing):

There's no point in having a "coolest helmet" competition anymore because Air Force already won.

Movie Reviews

Had a chance to see a few movies lately. While on the cruise ship, they apparently have a couple theaters on board. I mean, why not? So, I took the kids to the 10:30 pm showing of "Finding Dory" in 3D. I believe that was my first 3D experience other than IMAX stuff at amusement parks. Both were okay. The movie and the 3D. I guess I expected more images in the film to feel like they were coming at me. I'm a big fan of "Finding Nemo" and "Dory" didn't meet the same enjoyment. But again, kids loved it and it was free. I'm probably not going to look for a 3D experience any time soon though. Seemed overrated.

The next night they had an 11 pm showing for "Captain America: Civil War." I knew there would be a chance I'd fall asleep around 1 am, but it was worth the risk. My wife actually left around 12:15 am to go back to the stateroom for bed. Great movie. I couldn't remember how many post-credit scenes there would be, so I stayed for the mid-credit scene. 99% of the audience left after the mid-credit scene, so I thought they knew more than I did. Man, at 1:25 am, it felt like forever to get to the very end of the credits, just for the slim possibility of another scene. But I stuck it out, me and 3 other people, for the Spidey tease.

On the flight from ATL to Orlando we had a geeked out tech plane. Tons of free movies to watch. The problem is it's only about a one hour flight once you get going. It's pretty pointless to start a new movie. At least they let you start watching during the taxi portion of the flight, pre-takeoff and post-landing. (That can buy you almost another 20 minutes of the movie.) But, they rudely interrupt the movie every time the Captain or stewardess feels the need to explain something. I chose "The Revenant." I knew this would not be a movie for the wife and children, even though they are sitting right next to me, but hey, that's why they invented headphones...and why you have your own "Zootopia" to watch in front of you. Like I was saying, I only made it about 40 minutes into the movie but well worth it. A week later on the flight back from Orlando to ATL, pretty much the exact same plane...so, you guessed it, que up "The Revenant!" Yup, another 40 minutes. Now I just need to rent it for $3 so I can watch the last 60 minutes. Yes, I chose a 2 hour 36 minute movie that I knew would be impossible to finish...and strain my eyes on a 7 or 8 inch screen. Side note: On the flight back, the option to watch "Batman vs Superman" was available. Didn't feel like I could watch 40 minutes of two different movies and not even get half the story.

Back on land, and in CC, I had a little time to catch up on some "classics" because my wife was out of town. She's not a big fan of black and white movies, so this was my chance. Ever since I saw "12 Angry Men" about 15 years ago, I've kind of put that as the gold standard for classics. It's better than "Casablanca" and "Gone With the Wind." Dave W. let me borrow "Rear Window." It's an Alfred Hitchcock classic that I've always heard about but hadn't seen. Then, I've had "To Kill A Mockingbird" queued up for a long time on Netflix, so I finally had the time to watch it. I'd say "12 Angry Men" is still better than both and I'd give a slight edge to "Mockingbird" over "Rear Window."

Finally, we watched "Spotlight" a few nights ago. Again, another movie that I had queued up. I knew it won a bunch of awards, but that can be misleading because sometimes those aren't the types of movies I like. I'd say it was worth watching on Netflix. Not sure I'd see it in a theater, but I'd probably rent it.

That's all for now. Feel free to send me some recommendations, especially Netflix stuff. I'd still like to rent "The Martian" and a few others...and finish "The Revenant."

Oh, and, I've been watching a lot of stand up comedy by Tom Segura lately...without my wife. Lots of bad language, but not necessarily a dirty or crude joke/story teller. Just bad language. The Mike Tyson story at the end of his "Mostly Stories" show was really good.

?

I know this is a little late, but serious question: How do Michigan fans feel about uniforms that have a basketball player logo on them? I think if MSU did the same thing, even if it was supposed to be some giant deal and a major help with recruits I wouldn't like it.

Doctor Strange

How far is too far?

I've been asking myself this since the news came out earlier in the week that there have been discussions about eliminating the kickoff in college football. So far I've been supportive of most of the changes made in the name of player safety, largely because I think a lot of the things that have been eliminated are the result of bad fundamental football to begin with and the game is still essentially the same. Eliminating the kickoff is the sort of change that makes me wonder how far you can go before it's not really same sport anymore, or more importantly, will I still want to watch?

Defenders

Iron Fist

Luke Cage

454'

#Tigers' Cabrera goes really deep https://t.co/PSVuI4ClCg

— FOX Sports Detroit (@FOXSportsDet) June 21, 2016

Today's NBA

I really don't pay attention or follow the NBA. Mostly because it's boring to watch and I don't have cable. I did watch a little bit of Kobe's final game. I mean he is the GREATEST Laker ever...right behind Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Magic, George Mikan... The short amount of time I did watch was painful. I think he started out 0-6. But then he did heat up and I went to bed at halftime wondering if he could get to 40. I told myself yes. Then I thought about 50. I said no way. I wake up to 60!!! You don't retire dropping 60 in your last game. That would be the equivalent of LaDainian Tomlinson rushing for 250 yards in his last game.

Moving on. Because of the chase for history and how unbelievable Steph Curry's range is, I have followed a lot more than normal because the Warriors were incredible. A few nights ago in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Klay Tompson hit 11-3's in the game, a new playoff record. Do you know how many 3-pointers the Celtics-Lakers combined to make in game 7 of the 1987 Finals?
...
...
...
0.

How about this? Steph Curry made 402 3-pointers...HIMSELF this season!

The 1980-1981 LA Lakers were 17-94 on 3-point attempts...as a TEAM! That's 82 games.

The 1981-1982 Champion LA Lakers were 13-94 on 3-point attempts as a TEAM.


I'd say the NBA has changed. Is it better than 5 years ago which basically consisted of dunks? Now it's 3's.

Z93 The SOFT Station

Z93 has just gotten softer the past two years. I rarely listen, but it's still in my presets just to see if there's some GnR, ACDC, etc. playing. But I've noticed it's not as much of a "Rock" station as it claims to be. Case in point, I was listening the other day and a Bon Jovi song came on. I can't really think of ANY Bon Jovi song worthy of Z93's playlist, but nonetheless, "Shot Through the Heart" apparently made the cut.

But yes, it's still just as dirty and raunchy...and lame in the mornings.

Upcoming Marvel Releases

Here's the current schedule, though it's probably fair to say all of this is subject to change based on the success of various films.

Doctor Strange: 11/4/16
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: 5/5/17
Spider-Man: Homecoming: 7/7/17
Thor: Ragnarok: 11/3/17
Black Panther: 2/16/18
Avengers: Infinity War Part 1: 5/4/18 (This title may change.)
Ant-Man and the Wasp: 7/6/18
Captain Marvel: 3/8/19
Avengers: Infinity War Part 2: 5/3/19
Inhumans: TBD, moved from July 2019
Untitled Movie: 5/1/20
Untitled Movie: 7/10/20
Untitled Movie: 11/6/20

Marvel Rankings, Phase 3

My current rankings of the MCU movies. I think. It's really tough to decide, especially at the top.

1a.Captain America: Civil War
1b. Guardians of the Galaxy
1c. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Avengers
5. Iron Man 3
6. Iron Man
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron
8. Thor
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Ant-Man
11. Iron Man 2
12. Thor: The Dark World
13. The Incredible Hulk

Thoughts on Civil War

I meant to post these earlier but I really wanted to see the movie a second time to help focus my thoughts and some scheduling issues pushed that back. Anyway, some impressions from the movie:

-The movie is very good. I might have to think on this a bit yet but I think it's probably in a tie for the top spot.

-As for tone, I'd say this is about 65% Winter Soldier and 35% Age of Ultron. There's definitely a lot of the slightly darker and more serious feel of Winter Soldier but the extended cast and much of the humor feels like an Avengers movie.

-The action is top-notch. The main fight scene between all the heroes at the airport is the best piece of superhero action committed to film so far. Bucky also has a bit with a motorcycle earlier in the film which is one of the coolest scenes in the whole MCU.

-Ant-Man steals the show. And when he's not stealing it Spider-Man is.

-I never realized how far off the previous versions of Spider-Man were until Tom Holland showed up. He's great and his scenes with Robert Downey Jr. are fantastic.

-Black Panther is quite good too. I was unsure about him but now I'm really interested to see what they do with him in his solo film.

-Considering how stuffed with characters this film is it's amazing that everyone gets some attention, and it manages to do so without feeling overstuffed like Age of Ultron did. The screenwriters deserve a lot of credit.

-I know people are calling this Avengers 2.5 but it really is a Cap movie first, though it's fair to say Stark is the co-lead. 

-The interactions between Falcon and the Winter Soldier are especially good. These are some of my favorite moments from the movie.

-The villain in this is pretty low-key but I think he's effective and interesting. Certainly he's one of the best villains Marvel has done, though that's not necessarily huge praise.

-The final fight in the movie is brutal.

-There is a scene after the credits. It's fun but not essential if you're pressed for time or need to use the restroom, which is possible since the movie is 2 hours and 26 minutes long.

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is back at Yahoo, so check your email for an invite.

Doctor Strange

Ant Man meets Captain America

Rogue One

Despite being a huge Star Wars fan I was completely uninterested in The Force Awakens, but this movie could be interesting.

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Would we look at coaches and players in sports differently if their individual sports had catchy names for their semifinal games like the NCAA does? If Izzo's team had advanced to the Final Four and lost instead of throwing up all over themselves in their first game it would have been hailed as an achievement and mentioned every time Izzo's bio was discussed. Dantonio won't get that kind of credit for making it to the football "Final Four" and losing. The same thing is true in the NFL, just ask the Buffalo Bills how much credit they get for winning AFC Championships. Peyton Manning could chime in on the subject too. Even Tom Brady could comment on the idea that going 4-0 in the Super Bowl is somehow better than making it to 6 Super Bowls and losing 2. Are we just dumb about this kind of thing?

Civil War

Being a Lions Fan Sucks

I'm not sure how else to respond to the official news that Calvin Johnson is retiring. I don't blame Megatron for the decision but seeing another Hall of Fame caliber player cut their career short is even more depressing than all the losing.

Daredevil Season Two Part Two

Daredevil: Season Two

Australia Day

 Another funny Deadpool ad. There's a little language at the end.

QB Results 2015

I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the fantasy results for quarterback this year. First, the top ten quarterback taken with the round and pick noted:

1. Aaron Rodgers 2-5
2. Andrew Luck 2-8
3. Tom Brady 3-2
4. Peyton Manning 4-6
5. Russell Wilson 4-10
6. Drew Brees 5-4
7. Ben Roethlisberger 6-1
8. Matt Ryan 7-7
9. Tony Romo 7-8
10. Cam Newton 7-9

And here are the top ten quarterbacks in scoring:

1. Cam Newton  497.45
2. Tom Brady  463.60
3. Russell Wilson  444.50
4. Blake Bortles  430.40
5. Carson Palmer  425.95
6. Drew Brees  416.90
7. Eli Manning  401.90
8. Aaron Rodgers  401.45
9. Matthew Stafford  396.60
10. Kirk Cousins  393.10

I think it's fascinating that only five of the top picks ended up top ten in scoring. I guess it's better odds than picking a quarterback in the real draft though.

Marketing

 I'm not sure if Deadpool is going to be any good or not but I do appreciate all the work Ryan Reynolds is doing to promote it. From Instagram:

#caturday

A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on Jan 9, 2016 at 10:25am PST

This is also pretty funny:

A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on Jan 11, 2016 at 12:30pm PST

Deadpool

It begins.

The Lions have a new general manager, Bob Quinn, formerly director of scouting for the New England Patriots. I suppose bringing in someone from such a respected franchise should be encouraging but I find myself wary. First, I think the success of Tom Brady and, to a lesser extent, Julian Edelman gives an inflated impression of the Patriots' drafting prowess. Here's the history. Obviously they have their fair share of hits but I'm not sure the overall record is quite as impressive as people would think. Second, Bill Belichick is the only one who's been able to make the Patriots system work. So far none of his assistants or former executives from the organization have been able to replicate anything near the success he has had. What do you think the chances are that the Lions are the ones who learn all the right lessons?

Captain America: Civil War

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Stafford Agonistes

I haven't found much interesting to blog about for a while but the Lions pathetic performance Sunday and the benching of Matt Stafford is exactly the fuel I needed to light the fire. Stafford was awful and today I see an article in the Detroit News arguing that the Lions should trade Stafford. Okay, great, then what's your plan? I'll list the starting NFL QBs and tell you if they would be an improvement if the Lions could somehow obtain them.

Tyrod Taylor: No.
Ryan Tannehill: Not really.
Tom Brady: Obviously yes.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: No.
Joe Flacco: Maybe?
Andy Dalton: Yeah, I guess.
Josh McCown: No.
Ben Roethlisberger: Yes.
Brian Hoyer: No.
Andrew Luck: Yes.
Blake Bortles: No, at least not yet.
Marcus Mariota: Not right now.
Peyton Manning: At this point? No.
Alex Smith: Unless you really love the short pass, no.
Derek Carr: No.
Philip Rivers: Yes.
Tony Romo: Yes.
Eli Manning: I guess?
Sam Bradford: I don't think so.
Kirk Cousins: I love the guy, but no.
Jay Cutler: The older version of Stafford? No.
Aaron Rodgers: Emphatic yes.
Teddy Bridgewater: No.
Matt Ryan: Yes.
Cam Newton: Uh, maybe?
Drew Brees: I'm thinking no at this point.
Jameis Winston: Definitely not right now.
Carson Palmer: Yes.
Colin Kaepernick: No.
Russell Wilson: Yes.
Nick Foles: No.

So that's ten QBs that would be an improvement, maybe slightly more if you grade differently. And the draft? Here's an article on the success rate of first-round QBs that pegs the number at 38% or 36% depending on how you measure success. That seems about right to me. So whatever Stafford's problems are, the chances are that dumping him would cause the Lions to be worse at the position. I'm sure that's not a popular opinion in Detroit right now but it's worth keeping in mind.

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Feelings on the Tigers potentially trading David Price? Personally, I think that if they get rid of their ace, even if it's understandable, it will lead to the Tigers being mediocre for an extended period of time.

Thoughts on Ant-Man

A few thoughts after seeing Ant-Man last night:

-I liked it. It's a little weird but I think that's good given the concept. The most obvious comparison would be Guardians of the Galaxy because of the comedy, weirdness, and a wise-cracking leading man but they are quite different movies. This is a superhero action comedy heist movie with a side of father-daughter drama.

-The shrinking and miniature effects work well so this doesn't end up looking like the actor is on a set with bunch of ridiculous oversized props like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. If you don't have problems accepting the idea of a shrinking hero it looks pretty cool.

-If ants freak you out don't watch this movie. I thought they might downplay that part of the character but they definitely did not. You might even develop an emotional attachment to one.

 -I thought all the actors did a good job. I don't think Rudd will see his profile raised quite as much as Chris Pratt did but I think he was well-cast and played the character perfectly. Michael Douglas was good in the mentor role. Evangeline Lilly is more than a token love interest (though obviously she is ridiculously cute) and has good scenes with all of the main characters. And of course she knows martial arts, because doesn't every woman in the Marvel universe know martial arts? Corey Stoll isn't the most memorable villain, but he does get enough screen time to develop the character as more than just someone to fight in the finale.

-There is a supporting character who does somewhat steal the scenes he's in. I thought he was just short of being annoying; your opinion may differ.

-If you like connections to the other movies there are more than a few here, some being pretty important to the story. One Avenger plays a notable role.

-There are mid-credit and post credit scenes. Both are worth watching.

Sports Time Travel

There was a fascinating discussion on SVP & Russillo today about sports in different eras. The premise, thought up by Russillo, was imagining a modern person playing sports in a previous time period. Russillo used himself as an example. He's about 6' 1" and 230 lbs and wondered how he would fare in comparison to the players of the 1884 World Series Champion Providence Grays. Here's their roster. The tallest player on the roster was 5' 11" and the heaviest was 190 lbs. Russillo argued that he, being a decent athlete though not one that played any college or pro sports, would be able to hold his own. Van Pelt was skeptical. I'm inclined to agree with Russillo. They did agree that the people of 1884 would probably think the nearly 6' 7" Van Pelt was some kind of circus freak.

"No shield. No armor. No problem."

Marvel wants you to know Ant-Man is part of the MCU:

However, I think the Russian poster is cooler:

Bandwagon Fans

I hope no one gets injured jumping off the Tigers bandwagon.

I do believe if something doesn't change soon, one of the coaches in the hitting department will be the first head to roll. Wally Joyner? I think Ausmus gets two full seasons and then it's Ron Gardenhire time.

To me, the pitching (starting and bullpen) have done enough or overachieved. It's the clutch hitting that has been absent. The hitting that matters with two outs and multiple runners on base. Too many double plays. Nick C. is the first one on my trading block. Nice defensive player, but not hitting like a 3rd baseman.

Helmet Sensors

There's an interesting article at Yahoo about the NFL and helmet sensors. The technology hasn't been perfected yet but it can yield useful data. The main sticking point? The union. Basically, they want the players to have access to the data for health purposes, but they still want to be able to sue the NFL even after they've been shown they might be damaging their health.

SVP & Russillo Ending

My day took an awful turn earlier in the week when I heard that SVP & Russillo will be ending at some unspecified point in the future as Van Pelt is going to be the host of a midnight Sportscenter that will apparently be something like a late night show. Now if that idea has any chance of working I think SVP is the one to pull it off, but I'm probably not going to be able to watch it and it won't make up for missing out on what has often been the best three hours of my weekdays. Where else can you get gold like this?



The other problem is that Russillo's contract is ending soon to so it's a question as to whether he will be continuing on the show or at ESPN at all. Russillo has become my favorite ESPN personality so if he sticks around I think a new show would still be good (though I'm not crazy about the suggestions I've seen for co-hosts) but if he leaves there's going to be a giant hole in my afternoons and it's going to be a lot tougher to get through those spreadsheets.

College Football Post-Season

With more talk about the Power 5 and the College Football Playoffs, I wanted to add my opinion on helping decide the "Final 4." I think conferences should actually go away from divisions. Just go back to how it used to be and at the end of the 8 or 9 game conference schedule, the top 2 teams play for the Conference Championship. If it's a repeat game, so be it.

For example, this year, OSU and MSU were clearly the two best teams in the conference. But instead, Wisconsin was the team from the West Division that qualified for the Title game. It was a blow out.

In the SEC, Alabama and Missouri played for the Title. In both conferences, the winner was going to automatically be in the Final 4 and deservedly so...but that's assuming OSU and Alabama win. What if Wisconsin and/or Missouri would have won? Disaster. If Missouri or Wisconsin would have won, would either team have been in the Final 4? No way. In that case, a team from those conferences (MSU or Miss St.) could have been selected for the Final 4...and neither would have played in a Conference Title game.

Shouldn't a championship game be the top 2 teams? Having divisions does not ever guarantee a balanced conference. So why do something so flawed? The B1G East and the SEC West were top heavy. Eliminating divisions allows more flexibility to send the top 2 teams.

If you want disaster, then allow a weaker division to send it's #1 team to the Title game to screw things up.

"If it don't fit, acquit."

I'm not sure the punishment fits the crime. Wait, no, I'm sure it does not and we all know this will be appealed and probably knocked down to 2 games.

Brady is going to drop Tecmo Super Bowl-like numbers on the Colts when he returns Week 6 at the Colts. You can imagine Al Michaels is going crazy right now because he knows it will be the SNF game of the week on NBC. HUGE ratings. Unfortunately for him, it will not mark Brady's return because he'll be back sooner than 4 games.  Nice knowing you Indy.

I believe Brady is guilty and lied. I'm still wondering why the equipment managers seemed to be jerks about deflating the balls. I read something about exchanged text messages requesting favors from Brady for doing this for him. Like signed footballs, cleats, etc. Really? It's that big of a deal he has to give you signed merchandise? My goodness. Do you work for the Patriots or the CIA? Aren't you all on the same team? Don't you all have the same goal, TO WIN?!? Why are you equipment managers being so uptight? Your star player wants a little air let out of the ball. JUST DO IT! Who do you think you are? Isn't your job to help prepare and get your team whatever it takes to win a game? It's the freakin' AFC Championship! Now, I do realize these texts may have actually taken place in October or November, which is obviously far from the AFC Title game, and was probably going on all year, especially cold weather games, not just the AFC Title game.

But, just so I'm clear, tell me what Tom Brady actually DID to the balls. Was Tom Brady the one who deflated the footballs? If he's not...

Crime and Punishment

It should go without saying that I'm not a fan of Tom Brady or the Patriots. I absolutely think he was involved in breaking the rules and then he lied about it. If he had come clean back before the Super Bowl I probably would have been satisfied with a "small" fine, maybe $50,000 or so? Since he lied about it I think a one-game suspension and a fine would have been reasonable. But a $1 million fine, a four-game suspension, a first-round draft pick, and a fourth-round draft pick? That's harsh. It doesn't bother me, and after listening to ex-players talk about this story over the past few months I'm convinced they're all a bunch of dirty cheaters and it is satisfying to see a major penalty for even a minor infraction, but it's still harsh.

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Did Michigan fans actually get angry at this statement by Mark Dantonio?

"Hey, we just work at it. Right now, we’re selling results. I’ve said this over and over. We’re selling results. Other people are selling hope."

Seriously?

Captain America: Civil War

Marvel announced today that principal photography has begun on Captain America: Civil War. In the announcement they listed the cast:

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
Paul Bettany as The Vision
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther
Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13
Daniel Brühl (character not named, reportedly Baron Zemo)
Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones
William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross
Martin Freeman

So, yes, Avengers 2.5 would seem to be an apt description.

What does a total lack of self-awareness look like?

It looks like this:

Looking back: 2010 NFL Draft

People like to grade the NFL draft the moment it happens, but I rarely see much follow-up in the 3-5 year window where we actually have a pretty good idea how things worked out. So in that spirit here's a link to the results of the 2010 draft. How did Detroit do? The Lions drafted six players. None of them are still on the roster. Three of them are still in the league. Suh obviously had his issues but is considered one of, if not the best, to play his position. Jahvid best showed promise but multiple concussions at a time when the league started freaking out about such things ended his career. Jason Fox is a backup tackle and Willie Young is a decent DE for the Bears now. I'm not sure how you would end up grading that. One Hall-of-Famer for five years and not much else, is that maybe a C?

'15 Lions Draft

I don't have the issues I did last year with the Lions draft picks but there are two that leave me scratching my heard: RB Ameer Abdullah and FB Michael Burton. Abdullah was a great college RB, but he has a propensity to fumble and when I saw him play against a great college defense he disappeared. Obviously I would have preferred they wait and take Langford later, but Spartan bias aside I was also hoping for Coleman out of Indiana. The problem with Burton is simple: Who drafts a fullback in 2015?

Thoughts on Age of Ultron

Some thoughts on Age of Ultron, I'll add to it after a second viewing as I was doing a lot of analyzing and not enough watching the first time around:

-I didn't stay all the way to the end to confirm, but everything I've read says there is no post-credits scene, only a mid-credit scene, so no need to hang around through everything. After the purple guy you're good to go.

-It will be a bit before I'm sure on my ranking, but as of right now I'd put this slightly below my top tier of Marvel films (GotG, Winter Soldier, Avengers). I might revise that up. The main challenge for this movie are giant expectations; even if it's great it can still fall short.

-I like Ultron and think he's the best MCU villain since Loki. They went to great lengths to make his robot face expressive which works well considering he has much more personality than you might expect from a robot. I just wish there was more of him, which is a common complaint for the movie as a whole.

-The dynamic of the team together makes the movie. They come across as seasoned pros who are completely confident in one another and comfortable together. I could probably watch an entire movie of Avengers down time.

-Hawkeye is great in the movie and makes up for his lack of time in Avengers. There are some revelations about him that are surprising.

-There's a Banner-Romanoff thing going on that I'm not sure about. As dumb as it sounds, I think it mostly bugs me because she was wearing a Hawkeye necklace in Winter Soldier.

-Vision is terrific, though it is weird to hear the voice coming from an actual actor. The scene that convinces the Avengers to trust him is really clever and got a great reaction from the crowd.

-I didn't expect the guy who refused to launch the helicarriers in Winter Soldier to show up again, but there he is. Good for him.

-I thought the music let the movie down a bit. There were a few scenes that I thought really called for the Avengers theme to be strong and loud and it wasn't really there.

-Hulk vs. Hulkbuster is cool, though some of the impact is taken away because so much of the fight has been in trailers. That true of a lot of the cool scenes.

-I've seen some people complain about too much CG in this movie. I'm not sure how you do it without a lot of CG, but there are a few issues. There's definitely some dodgy CG in the opening scene. The action is probably the least clear of any of the MCU movies so many times you don't get to really appreciate what's going on.

-No one likes change, but the last scene of the movie did get me excited for whatever happens next.

A few more thoughts after a second viewing:

-The action seemed a little bit clearer than the first time, though the theater was so full I practically had my nose pressed to the screen so I guess some small details were bigger.

-Again, I really love Hawkeye in this movie. "No one would know..." is one of my favorite bits of the whole film. I do wish he had a dog at the farm though, as in the current comic:

-I think the humor in this movie is just about right, maybe overdone slightly.

-Nice to see a green tractor in the movie.

-I often don't care much for the audience at a movie but the one today was pretty good. The audible gasp in the theater during the scene with the Vision that I mentioned earlier was cool.

-Now I can say the film goes in the top tier of Marvel films for me. It's not quite at the top, but it does feel like the arrow is pointing upwards.

Becoming Captain America

Esquire has an interesting article up about Chris Evans and how playing Captain America has altered the course of his career. I think that's especially notable because I remember reading (can't find the article at the moment) that Evans really struggled with the decision to take the role, fearing that he wouldn't be up to the pressure of expectations and the extra notoriety. Needless to say, I think he's managed it and now it's really difficult to imagine anyone else playing the role.