43rd Edition - 11/3/06

• The I.C. is coming

Tailgating. It's why god invented football. Or at least that will be my excuse for being bloated and a bit tipsy at 10:30 tomorrow morning. We're going to Iowa City and so is Northwestern (where my fiancee went--though she doesn't really care about their football team). It's the annual road trip to Iowa City!

Things to do in Iowa City
Drink Beer
Throw darts atThe Que
Eat Wig 'n Pen
Tailgate
Eat wings at the Vine
Watch Iowa win
Drink Sparks
Enjoy ample tom-foolery to the point where the women begin to wonder why they are with us
Hope for no hangover
Consider purchasing an Iowa sweatshirt and then remind myself that I'm not that guy
Eat Hamburg Inn

• The Picks

j NCAA: 15-7-1
billy z NCAA: 11-5-2
j NFL: 10-13-3
mike d NFL: 11-9-2

j NCAA:
Army +6 over Air Force
Ball State +33.5 over Michigan
Northwestern +20 over Iowa

j NFL:
Rams -3 over Chiefs
Bengals +3 over Ravens
Texans +13 over Giants

The boys are going to play catch-up this weekend so we can all be on pace for the same amount of games picked. I am going to try and pull my head out of my arse and get back some pride in the NFL.

• NFL : Whitlock's truths

A couple weeks ago, I was talking about Whitlock being one of the sport writers worth reading. Here's why.

• Stuff

Stephen Colbert is funny.
Here are two examples of why this is true -
Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle
America's Anchors -- This is the cover story of the lastest Rolling Stone

Quick Film Reviews

"Borat" - It is the funniest, most offensive, nervous comedy I have seen. I say nervous because I was actually scared for some people that would be interviewed by Borat. But was thrilled when the film exposed the prejudices that run rampant in this country. This film is a must see, so I will leave it at that.
A-

"Babel" - Communication and cultural barriers are plentiful in this film starring Bard Pitt, Cate Blanchett and a host of others. It is an international "Crash," showing how complicating and confusing the world can be. Unfortunately, it seems to just show the absoulute worst case scenario for traveling overseas or dealing with U.S.-Mexico border issues. It's visually dazzling, but the story lines are more aggrevating than interesting. Perhaps that's the point. The story of the Japanese girl could/should have been it's own art-house film, but didn't need to be the third story line.
C+

42nd Edition - 11/2/06

• The Bulls - what a difference a day makes

The undefeated streak is over. After crushing the Heat last night, the Bulls lost by 15 to the Magic. The roller coaster has officially begun.
Ben Gordon led the team with 24 points. Clearly an indisputable theory stands out: Gordon shoots well, we lose. Gordon shoot terrible, we win.

• Hawkeyes: Did this announcer go to high school with me?

The reason I ask, is because "that's gay" used to be said by my friends every other minute.

Click here to watch the video

The Des Moines Register had this report --

ESPNU announcer sidelined for comments in Iowa game
By ANDREW LOGUE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
October 30, 2006
An announcer for ESPNU has been taken off the air due to a comment he made during Saturday’s telecast of the Iowa-Northern Illinois football game.Brian Kinchen, a color commentator, will not work a game this weekend, according to Josh Krulewitz, ESPN’s vice-president of public relations.
Krulewitz told The Des Moines Register Monday night that the network made its decision after an internal review.On Saturday, Kinchen was explaining to a television audience that receivers need to make catches with their hands because they are “tender” and can “caress” the ball.
He then paused and said, “that’s kind of gay, but hey…”
“The comments were inappropriate and we apologize,” Krulewitz said Monday. “He will not appear on our air this weekend and his future appearance schedule is under review.”Kinchen, a former tight end who played in the NFL from 1988-00, issued a statement through ESPN: “I sincerely apologize for my extremely poor choice of words.
“They were completely inappropriate and not at all a reflection of who I am or of the way I perform my work,” Kinchen was quoted.
“I have learned from my mistake and look forward to continuing my broadcasting career.”ESPNU, a cable channel which was launched last year, has the potential to reach nearly 8 million viewers, Krulewitz said.
There was a pause after Kinchen’s remark before the play-by-play announcer turned the conversation back to the game.
Iowa won 24-14.

• Stuff

*Best Halloween costume? Click here

*Cracked gives a list of the top ten Borat skits. Click here (and go see the movie this weekend)

41th Edition - 11/1/06

• Bulls: But don't forget about the Bears

Bulls beat Heat: 108 - 66

Kirk Hinrich signed a five-year deal with the Bulls before the game, then went out and led them with 26 points. The Heat, well, they looked like an old team (besides Dwayne Wade) who had nothing to play for (besides Dwayne Wade) and are in for a miserable season (besides Dwayne Wade). We'll see. After all, it's just one game. It's foolish for me to already be saving my monies to purchase my first ever NBA Final's ticket for June. Foolish like a fox.
Some numbers:
37-14: 2nd quarter score
28-15: 4th quarter score
1-9: Ben Gordon's shooting night
5: Ben Wallace's offensive rebounds

• The NBA

Two articles. One by a talented writer. One by me.

Bill Simmon's 33 things to be excited about this NBA season.

November film preview comparing the movies to the Chicago Bulls (no, I don' t know if it works, but I love attempting).

40th Edition - 10/31/06

• MNF: Booo!

With a weekend of hype, and the national stage on Monday Night Football, the Vikings scared their fan base in about two minutes. The Patriots came to town and smacked them around 31-7. The league's leading rusher? Chester Taylor was held to 22 yards on ten carries. The Patriots had Tom Brady pass almost every down and he finished with 372 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT.
The Bears can rest a little easier now that they have a three-game lead in their division (not that they were scared).

• NBA: Look, he's dressed like a racist.

The Houston Rockets were playing in Orlando against the Magic when season-ticket holder Hooman Hamzehloui allegedly called Dikembe Mutombo a "monkey" Thursday in the third quarter. Mutombo yelled back at Hamzehloui and gestured from the court.

I guess that is all that happened from the report I read. Hamzehloui has said he didn't know "monkey" was racist. The Magic have taken away his season tickets. Hamzehloui has issued an apology through the Orlando Sentinel and said he would donate $5,000 to the charity of Mutombo's choice.

If Mutombo was white, would anything had happened? Or is it impossible for a person to call a white player a monkey and have it been an insult. I do NOT know this situation well enough to comment on Hamzehloui's behavior at the game. Racism is bad. If it came from hate, actions should be taken. But Hamzehloui said he was heckling, like he always does. Heckling comes from being an idiot, waste of arena space, and an overall fool, but not from racism.

• My Cubs: Not so scary

These players just filed free agency; Henry Blanco, Kerry Wood and Juan Pierre. John Mabry and Wade Miller will probably as well. Clearly Pierre would be the most important on that list. But considering the Cubs have no idea what they are going to do, it's too early to say who they MUST bring back.
Aramis Ramierez is a different story. He wants many years and many dollars. Look for the Cubs to try and make him happy ($11 million a year) but not Derrek Lee happy ($15 million a year).

• My Bulls: Scary good, not scary bad

The Bulls undefeated streak (the NBA season starts today) is in jeopardy tonight against the defending champion Miami Heat. But I am still thinking it is going to be a hell of a season. At this stage I am just curious how the Bulls will use their deep bench.
Bulls vs. Heat
7:00 on TNT

• More on Red Auerbach from Bill Simmons
  
• Stuff

Green Day and U2 video for "The Saint's are Marching."

Do you like TV and Halloween? Then this quiz is for you.

I'm glad I didn't dress up as a grub this halloween.

And now, thanks to a reader who complained, you can simply click on the link and it will open up in a new window. Sure I had to learn a new HTML code and spend the morning playing with it, but it was all worth it to make one reader happy (actually, he'll probably not be happy, just content).

39th Edition - 10/30/06

• The NFL: The "real" Bears are back (I hope)

The Bears were ahead 31-0 with 10 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter against the 49ers. They dominated the game, which they have done five of the seven games they have played this year. Again, it looks like those three games in November--in a row (against the Giants, Jets and Patriots) are going to be the big test. Next up, Miami.

The Undefeateds: Bears, Colts

The Best
QB
Drew Brees: 383 yards, 3TD, 3INT
Peyton Manning: 345 yards, 3TD
Marc Bulger: 327 yards, 2TD
RB
LaDainian Tomlinson: 183 yards, 2TD
Larry Johnson: 155 yards, 3TD
Mike Bell: 136 yards, 2TD
WR
Marques Colston: 163 yards, 2TD
Reggie Wayne: 138 yards, 3TD
Eddie Kennison: 132 yards

• Red Auerbach died

He was 89 years old and a legend. He was also one of the first to be color blind and instead judge people by their talent.
Article by Ken Shouler
Article by Bill Simmons (from 2002)

• The Picks (revisited)

j NCAA: 2-0 (15-7-1)
billy z NCAA: 0-0 (11-5-2)

j NFL: 0-4 (10-13-3)
mike d NFL: 0-0 (11-9-2)

• Stuff

SNL was funny again. But just barely. Hugh Laurie even played a little guitar. Borat opened the show and if you didn't think it was funny ... well, you are correct. The sketch died. But the movie will be a classic.
So, for the season -- SNL: 2-2
Funny: John C. Reily, Hugh Laurie
Not Funny: Dane Cook, Kate Hudson

Weekend Box Office
1. Saw III - $34 million
2. The Departed - $9.8
3. The Prestige - $9.6

It's hard to argue with studios that give us crap like "Saw III." It cost $10 million to make. Meanwhile, "The Departed" finally broke even this weekend, making a total of $91 million. If you were an executive, where would you want to invest your money?