Tuesday, January 23, 2007

87th Edition - 1/23/07

  • Super Bowl Hype: Two Coaches

Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy have become the first story that we are going to hear a lot about for the next two weeks. They are good friends (Monday morning phone calls every week) and the first black head coaches to make it to the Super Bowl. It's a great story and one day, probably years from now, it will be a non-story.

Here's the interesting thing, they REALLY like each other. It seems the other will be almost content when one of them wins the Super Bowl. In an atmosphere of killer instinct, locker room quotes, and constantly feeling you are being disrespected by someone, Smith and Dungy have nothing but respect for the other, and you know what? It won't hurt the game, the players won't try less, and after the game, women everything will think it's so nice that one coach is happy for the other.

  • Another coach: He Gone

Bill Parcells is gone. Everyone will talk about how Terrell Owens was the downfall of a legend, but really I never liked the man. Parcells helped crush the would be Bears dynasty in the late 80s. The more important question for me is, does he get to choose his wardrobe when he is in one of the studios? I hope I get to see shorts that come up to his boobs for a long, long time.

  • NBA: Slow down

After one game, yes only ONE GAME, ESPN has four stories on the Denver Nuggets new marriage of Carmelo Anthony (back from fighting) and his new teammate Allen Iverson. They beat the Vancover Grizzles. That is all they have done as teammates. Don't we have a Super Bowl that needs more coverage?

  • Stuff

OK, I tried to talk about sports as long as I could, but really, all I care about this morning is the Academy Award nominations. Well, let's take a look and seee what they got wrong ...

Best Picture
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Departed - I am clearly pulling for this movie to win
Letter from Iwo Jima - most thought it would be a foreign film nominee
The Queen

Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond" - wrong choice, he was better in "The Departed"
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Peter O'Toole, "Venus" - after seeing him on Letterman, I want him to win for the speech
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness" - wow, suddenly I want Will Smith to win
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" - he'll win

Actress:
Penelope Cruz, "Volver"
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal" - For me, it's either Cruz or Dench
Helen Mirren, "The Queen" - she'll win
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children" - didn't see it yet

Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls" - Now it's a no-brainer.
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed" - No Jack Nicholson? Starting to get upset!

Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, "Babel"
Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - glad she finally got noticed
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" - winner
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"

Directing:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" - it's the only award I care about now
Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"
Stephen Frears, "The Queen"
Paul Greengrass, "United 93"

Foreign Language Film:
"After the Wedding," Denmark
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)," Algeria
"The Lives of Others," Germany
"Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico - I am starting to like this film more and more
"Water," Canada

Adapted Screenplay:
Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" -- Adapted because it is based on a TV show? Seemed original to me.
Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men" - I hate that I want Borat to beat this film just because of the potential speech.
William Monahan, "The Departed"
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"
Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal"

Original Screenplay:
Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Peter Morgan, "The Queen"

Animated Feature Film:
Couldn't they nominate "A Scanner Darkly" just for something different?
"Cars"
"Happy Feet"
"Monster House"

If you want to see the rest of the list - Click here

At some point, I will create my own list of nominations just to put my mind at ease.


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