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Monday, August 30, 2004
Happy Birthday to my brother Jord, who is now a 20-year old ....... where have the years gone? I remember when he was born like it was yesterday ....
Jen finally moved into her new suite in Nittany Hall after a week of being in limbo ....... classes start today as she begins the journey of her senior year ..... good luck babe! In other news, I bet you didn't know I worked on a movie once ... let me tell you, those were some nice props I made. And that Whoopi Goldberg, boy is she a character. Added a cd review for Megadeth - The System Has Failed. Check it out. I've also put together a little Penn State football preview ... OK it's not exactly little, what can I say, I was bored (can you tell I didn't have much to do on my day off?) ... Anyway, I'm gettin pumped, the season starts Saturday already, so here it is ..... 2004 PENN STATE FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2003 record: 3-9, 1-7 Big Ten (T-9th) Last year Penn State struggled through a dismal season, by far the worst during Joe Paterno's 38 years as head coach. Just about everything that could go wrong did for this young squad, including ridiculous off-field run-ins with the law that had been few and far between in Happy Valley. Three out of the last four seasons the team has had losing records, something previously unheard of around Nittany Nation under JoePa's long tenure. The inevitable criticisms came from football "experts" far and wide saying Paterno must go, or at the very least change his style to adapt to the wide-open, pro-style offenses, the lax rules and atmospheres and most importantly the speedy, young athletes from the South who make up the successful programs in this day and age. Joe's most significant response was the replacement of long-time offensive coordinator Fran Ganter (who retired) with 60-something former Florida Gators and NFL Europe coach Galen Hall, which, if you think about it, is a unique kind of youth movement considering JoePa's advanced age. The other offseason move by the university was a contract extension for Paterno, meaning he could be leading the program well into his 80s. The old man has been pretty adamant that he's disappointed about the turn for the worse, and he desperately wants to restore Penn State to the Eastern football super power that it once was. After all, he's had undefeated teams in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, and more than anything he wants to build one more winner and bring back Penn State pride in the 00s before he rides off into the sunset. The Nittany Lion faithful couldn't agree more, and it's clear that their patience is running thin. OFFENSE Fifth-year senior Zack Mills will once again be under center to begin his last season at PSU. He's still largely living off his heroics in a few late-season comeback wins that provided some of the few bright spots in a mostly dismal 2002 season, but surprisingly by the time Mills is finished he'll own most of the school's significant passing records. He's played admirably through some injuries, a lack of talent and execution around him, and puzzling offensive coaching, but an effective and healthy General Mills will be crucial if the Lions are to be any kind of contenders in '04. His backup will again be the super-talented Michael Robinson, who's considered by many to be Penn State's best pure athlete and perhaps even an exceptional NFL player someday soon. Paterno is once again raving about Robinson's physical abilities this offseason, saying they must find ways to get Robinson on the field and involved in the offense. Last year he could not effectively usurp Mills as the starter when given the opportunity, but it's likely that he'll see a good deal of time as the signal-caller. Hopefully, the addition of offensive coordinator Hall will bring some more sense to the play-calling and play selection, which at times bordered on comical last season. Hall simply must find ways to utilize Robinson's playmaking ability; lining him up as a quarterback, giving him a direct snap, and then running him directly into the pile for a 2-yard gain simply will not cut it, and nor will he and Mills rotating at the wide receiver spot on consecutive plays. For goodness sake, the slow-moving Mills is not fooling anyone. Anyway, by most accounts, M-Rob can be a dangerous "slash"-type weapon, whether it be carrying the ball as a tailback, catching passes out of the backfield or bolstering the receiving corps. Ah yes, the receivers. This much-criticized group was the very definition of ineffective last season, killing crucial drives with dropped passes and poorly run routes. The ringleader of the group, Tony Johnson, is gone, surprisingly to the NFL (last I heard he was somehow in the Minnesota Vikings' camp). When TJ wasn't busy racking up DUI offenses or failing to provide senior leadership last year, he was watching footballs bounce off his hands or chest. With him gone, the Lions' most experienced returning receiver is senior Gerald Smith, who caught only 15 balls last year. He's joined by Terrence Phillips, Kinta Palmer, speedy redshirt freshman Terrell Golden, and hopefully Robinson, and together they'll look to improve on last year's performance - and let's face it, just about anything would be an improvement. At tight end, Isaac Smolko is penciled in as the starter, but former defensive end John Bronson was moved to the position to provide depth and so far has pushed Smolko for the job. At running back, ultra-talented former high school stud Austin Scott will be the starter. The sophomore showed flashes of brilliance when he found his way onto the field last season, which was rare. As usual, Paterno was reluctant to let a freshman play to begin the year, and at times Scott showed inexperience, but he also was an offensive force. He also had mono and missed several games, but with a year under his belt, Scott could have a breakout season as the Lions' top skill player. Behind him, youngsters Tony Hunt and Rodney Kinlaw should also see considerable carries. They'll be helped greatly by the return of senior fullback Paul Jefferson, who was exiled last year to focus on his studies and repent for an incident he was supposedly involved in that resulted in a dude getting thrown through a window at a frat. Jefferson should provide some solid blocking for Mills and tossing opposing linebackers out of the way to create holes for the inexperienced tailbacks. The offensive line is actually a veteran group, with returnees Levi Brown (LT), Charles Rush (LG) and Tyler Reed (RG) combining with new RT John Williams to provide stability up front. They'll also be aided by the return of veteran center E.Z. Smith, who's back after a yearlong suspension for getting caught not once, but twice, in the same week no less, with an open alcoholic beverage in clear view of a cop while off-campus. Anyway, the OL could prove to be a strong point, especially with a new zone-blocking technique Hall is implementing. DEFENSE The defensive line is something of a question mark, with undersized Jay Alford and Scott Paxson (who was caught last year riding a bicycle he allegedly stole - the charges were dropped) lining up as tackles. The highly touted fan-favorite Tamba Hali will start at defensive end, with either Matt Rice (who was suspended last year for a fight), Lavon Chisley, or a few others rotating in at the other spot. They'll be asked to make a huge leap from a disappointing unit that last year labored to stop at the run - Penn State was 104th out of 117 Div. I-A teams in rush defense in 2003. The linebacking corps should be interesting. Senior Derek Wake, who's already been named defensive captain by Paterno, should be a strong point as an outside 'backer that occasionally lines up as a defensive end. At times throughout his career he's been a real difference maker, using his tremendous athletic ability to make spectacular punt blocks. As the Lions' most gifted and polished defensive player, it's time for him to raise his game and be a leader. In the middle, converted fullback BranDon Snow was expected to be the starter, but a broken foot could sideline him for most of the year. He'll be replaced by speedy sophomore Tim Shaw, a former running back. They'll be joined by prize prospect Paul Posluszny at the other OLB spot. The high-energy "Poz" saw spot duty in the middle of the season as a freshman last year before winning a job outright. True freshman Dan Connor, one of the most highly touted LB recruits in the nation this year, could also see significant action, as could another well-regarded freshman, Dontey Brown. The position is seemingly loaded with talent, and if it blossoms, PSU could see the re-emergence of "Linebacker U," which would be a more-than-welcome sight. The defensive backfield could be the Lions' strongest unit. Despite Penn State's awful season last year, the team ranked third in the nation in pass defense - somewhat misleading because teams could run down their throat all day, but still, it indicates they have some real talent. They're led by cornerback Alan Zemaitis, who made 71 tackles and had four INT's last year and could prove to be their best shot at a 2004 All-Big Ten selection. He's still recovering from a shoulder injury, however, but could be ready to go in the first few weeks of the season. At the other corner spot, Anwar Phillips (who, luckily for him, somehow got out of a rape charge) and junior Gio Vendemia will try to replace playmaker Rich Gardner, who's taken his game to the NFL. Returnees Calvin Lowry and Andy Guman bring more experience to the safety spot, but the loss of injured Chris Harrell, who could be redshirted, takes away some depth. There's also an outside chance Maurice Humphrey could see some action, now that he's been found not guilty of punching his girlfriend in the face, but Paterno refuses to comment and there have also been rumors that Mo-Hump will transfer, which in all honesty would be best for all involved. SPECIAL TEAMS After mind-boggling ineptitude last season (last in the NCAA in average yards-per-kick return, three punts returned for touchdowns, etc.) and a seeming lack of focus (PSU does not employ a designated special teams coach), JoePa says the Lions have paid more attention to special teams this offseason than ever in his tenure. Seeing that his coaching career spans five decades and 11 U.S. presidents, that's no small statement. Lowry should again handle the return duties, and a more focused gameplan should assist him. The loss of booming kickoff specialist David Kimball will hurt (nearly every ball he kicked reached the back of the endzone or occasionally split the uprights). Senior Robbie Gould takes over the kickoffs in addition to field goal duty. Sophomore Jeremy Kapinos (who was cited for underage drinking after punching a guy in the offseason) was something of a bright spot at punter, which isn't saying much, but he should again be solid. OVERVIEW It's hard to see Penn State being as bad as last season. Given the school's status and prestige as a football power, it's also hard to see them not competing for a Big Ten title year in and year out, but since they joined the conference in 1993 they've surprisingly won only one conference title (1994) and been to one Rose Bowl (that same year). They haven't dominated the conference as most expected, but rather have been simply average. Some argue they haven't adapted to the trends of recruiting around the country for speedy talent, then letting that talent onto the field as soon as possible. The counter argument, at least until last year, was that the school focused on the bigger picture, Paterno's "Grand Experiment" of not only molding winning football teams but also outstanding young men and scholar-athletes. As some of the aforementioned examples show, that hasn't exactly been the case recently either. Looking ahead optimistically, the young Lions took their lumps last year, gaining valuable experience while limping through a trying, embarrassing season. They've matured, and can only be stronger after going through that ordeal. They have one of the conference's few veteran quarterbacks. They've replaced some of the troublemakers and unfocused veterans with hungrier, talented players. Paterno has admittedly turned more attention on the coaching staff, streamlining the way they administrate on the sidelines and bringing in an outsider in Hall to tweak the offense. On the flip side, however, they're still young, and the talent amassed in the last two recruiting classes isn't quite ready. The schedule is still tough, too, and in a five-game chunk in the middle of the season they'll be on the road against Wisconsin and Minnesota, back home for Purdue and Iowa, then at Ohio State. A 3-9 season doesn't easily become a 9-2 season (only 11 games this year), or better. So my guess is a 6-5 season, which could be a bit of a stretch, but is a step in the right direction and could be good enough to put them in an all-important late-December bowl game thanks to the prestige and tie-ins of the conference. More importantly, however, is that Joe regain a bit of the fanbase's confidence that he can still get the job done. That will mean no more embarrassing off-field nonsense (there will always be bad apples, but it got to the point where we looked like a Northeastern version of Florida State), and the younger players will need to show improvement. If everything goes right, they'll be on their way to making a serious run at a Big Ten and/or national title in 2005 or 2006 so the old man can finally go out on top. And then we can hire Iowa's Kirk Ferentz to replace him. But that's a whole other post altogether .................. Friday, August 27, 2004
***Concert Review***
What: Ozzfest 2004 When: Aug. 26, 2004 Where: Tweeter Center, Camden, N.J. Attendees: Me, the Al-Dawg I made my return to Ozzfest after a two-year hiatus .... it was a long-ass day, but overall it was pretty enjoyable, and even quite historic, as you'll soon find out. I'll give you a quick rundown of the bands on the bill. The concert started at like 9:30 a.m., but I'm sorry, that's just too early for live metal, so we ended up skipping Atreyu, Darkest Hour, Throwdown, Magna-Fi and Devil Driver ... no big loss. God Forbid: Wanted to check out this N.J. band, their album Gone Forever is one of my favorites this year ... but alas, by the time we got in through security and over to the second stage (they've moved it to the adjacent parking lot now) we just caught the end of their final song. Unfortunate, but we were able to meet the band later and have them autograph posters for us at this Jagermeister tent they had set up, so that was cool. Unearth: The set times for most of the second stage bands were only 20 minutes, and the set changes took an incredible five minutes, so at least there wasn't a whole lot of waiting around. Anyway, this was the second time I've seen these guys and I'm still not impressed, even though they seem to be getting bigger. They really didn't sound too good either, everything was muddled into a big mess. Every Time I Die: We elected to get $4 hot dogs and $4 waters instead. Oh and they couldn't even give us bottled water, they had to pour it out into cups .... as the guy at the concession stand informed us, "Ozzy doesn't allow bottles .... he's not so cool after all." Otep: We skipped them to walk around and try to get free stuff. They had these free posters and sampler CDs set up all around, but you had to pay like $5 bucks to climb a wall or throw darts at balloons in order to get them. Screw that. We later found a tent where all you had to do was sign up your e-mail address (I used a fake one) to get the cd. And the band posters were the same ones they had people autographing at that Jagermeister tent. They also had plastic shot glasses with band logos on them (only if you were 21), and Al also got a Jagermeister wife-beater. I didn't get one because I thought it was a female tank top. Lacuna Coil: You may have seen this band's video for "Heaven's a Lie" on MTV recently ... they're from Italy and they have two singers, one female and one male. They're somewhat like Evanescence, except better. They've also been around for quite a while. Anyway, they were pretty good. Bleeding Through: These guys were OK, again it all kind of sounded the same ... they had a female keyboardist, yet I don't think I heard any evidence of a keyboard whatsoever. Must be someone's girlfriend. Or the whole group's girlfriend. Anyway for most of the set we were stuck between two mosh pits in front of us and behind us. There was like a 10-year old kid in one of them ... his parents were probably passed out somewhere. Lamb of God: They had a longer set, being one of the second stage headliners. It was intense, and pretty cool ... They did a new song from their upcoming album as well as some older stuff. For my first time seeing them, I was impressed. Hatebreed: Instead of getting up close for these guys we elected to stay back near the Jagermeister tent and wait for Lacuna Coil to sign autographs. They were a little late, but we got an added bonus because right after them was Slayer! Guitarist Kerry King was there, and for some reason so was tattoo artist Paul Booth, this freaky looking dude who does a lot of bands' tattoos. Anyway I got Kerry's autograph as well as my picture taken with him (I smuggled a camera in). Even though he is reportedly an asshole he seemed nice for that brief second, plus he's a pretty good guitarist, so that was cool. I'll be posting the pictures on my fotolog as soon as I get them developed. Slipknot: I was looking forward to checking these guys out. Even though I've seen them twice before I like their latest album so I wanted to hear some new stuff. However, about halfway through their first song a second mosh pit erupted near us, so we started getting squashed into some people ... then the usual idiots who couldn't handle being up front began filing toward us, so we were getting pushed from all sides. We tried to make our way out but there was no room, so we started getting pushed into a fence ... it was real annoying. If people want to mosh that's fine, they should just go up to the front though, not start a pit in the back so people who just want to see the band get harrassed. Anyway we spent the whole set trying to get the hell out of the lot. But anyway from what I could hear the sound wasn't very good, so I guess we didn't miss much. Black Label Society: We made it to the main stage in time to see the openers. It was much better being on the lawn there, although we were far away we could sit between bands and we had plenty of open space. BLS was pretty good, New Jersey native Zakk Wylde was smoking as always on the guitar. He kept saying something about the "New Jersey Chapter of BLS" between every song ... I think he may have had an alcoholic beverage or two before the show. Anyway, it was cool ... I still would love to see this guy perform some of his acoustic stuff sometime. Superjoint Ritual: If you don't know, this is a hardcore-type band led by singer Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down) ... Phil was in pretty rare form, he's usually blabbering about stuff between songs but this was the worst so far, at least out of the three other times I've seen him with other bands. He kept goin on and on about "I wanna see you f---king motherf---ers f--king go f---king crazy in this c---s---king place," and so on for at least half the set, it was pretty comical. No mentions of Charles Manson though, that was a first. Anyway the songs were OK, a little sloppy for my tastes. He should have stuck with his other bands, I think most people there felt that way. There were a couple headbanging moments, but as Al said, "it was pretty much Phil Anselmo spoken word." Dimmu Borgir: Now this was cool. They pretty much rocked, played everything we wanted to here - "Spellbound (By the Devil)", "The Insight and the Catharsis", "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse." The sound was excellent too, it was like listening to the CD. It was pretty cool to hear "Hello New Jersey!" in an evil Norwegian accent, although I don't think the 40-something Ozzy fans really got it. Anyway, pretty impressive. Slayer: We missed the beginning to get food (another $4 hot dog and $4 water in a cup), but not a big deal, if you've seen them once it's basically always the same. They were solid though, played everything you'd expect, "Raining Blood" of course being a highlight. Cool stuff. Judas Priest: This is their first tour in almost 15 years with original singer Rob Halford, and they didnt' disappoint. They played all the 80s hits ("Breakin' the Law", "Headin Out to the Highway" "Metal Gods" etc), also threw in some cool 70s stuff ("Victim of Changes", "Green Manalishi") as well as the awesome "Painkiller." The band probably wasn't as tight as their heyday, but for an old guy, Halford sounded excellent. For an encore he came out on his trademark on-stage motorcycle to do "Hell Bent for Leather" and a few others. Nothing from their upcoming album, which I'm looking forward to checking out, but overall, it was pretty cool. Black Sabbath: Here's the real interesting part, before they went on drummer Bill Ward and some dude from 94 WYSP radio came out to read a statement from Ozzy: he was sorry but he couldn't perform because he had bronchitis! But rather than cancel, his good friend Rob Halford would take his place, and Ward promised they would "play their balls off." Some people were pissed, understandably so (I would have been pissed too if it was my first time seeing Sabbath with Ozzy) and a lot of them filed out. But we figured it should be really interesting. It actually happened once before at an early 90s show in Costa Mesa, a similar situation I had heard about where Halford took over. Anyway, we thought he did a hell of a job filling in on short notice, although he's admittedly "the world's biggest Sabbath fan" I'm sure he used a teleprompter, but hey, so does Ozzy. Rob probably still new the words better than him, and he sounded pretty cool. His only mess-up came at the very end of the closer "Paranoid" but I think he got tripped up because they extend the song a little bit. It was ironic hearing him do "Fairies Wear Boots" too given that he is homosexual. The setlist was predictable ("War Pigs", "Into the Void", "N.I.B.", "Black Sabbath", "Iron Man", "Children of the Grave") and I think they cut it short by a song or two, but that's fine. They still sounded decent even though they are getting up in age. It wasn't a classic early 70s performance that's for sure, but hey, it's the next best thing, so I'll take it. Saturday, August 21, 2004
As promised, here it is .... it's quite lengthy but give it a read, I've been following them in the offseason and now that I'm done writing it I'm pretty pumped up for some football ..........
NEW YORK GIANTS 2004 SEASON PREVIEW 2003: 4-12, last NFC East Key additions: QB Kurt Warner, QB Eli Manning, LB Carlos Emmons, OL Shaun O'Hara, DT Fred Robbins, LB Barrett Green, OL Barry Stokes, DT Martin Chase, OL Chris Snee, CB Terry Cousin, DT Norman Hand, K Martin Gramatica, WR James McKnight, S Brent Alexander
Key losses: DT Keith Hamilton, DT Cornelius Griffin, LB Dhani Jones, LB Mike Barrow, LB Brandon Short, QB Kerry Collins, K Matt Bryant, OL Jeff Hatch, OL Jeff Roehl, RB Delvin Joyce, RB Brian Mitchell, RB Dorsey Levens, CB Ralph Brown
Entering last season, the Giants were considered a top NFC East contender and even a darkhorse candidate for the Super Bowl. But we all know how that turned out: the offensive line crumbled, special teams were abysmal, the defense was equally bad, the team found gruesome new ways to lose each week, many players stopped giving full effort, Kerry Collins, Ike Hilliard and Jeremy Shockey and others were injured, and ultimately Jim Fassel lost control of his players, and his job.
OFFENSE The big story for Big Blue is the controversial trade with Despite this move for the future, the Giants hope to bridge the gap by bringing in Kurt Warner with hopes that he can resurrect his MVP-caliber skills after a dismal, injury-filled season last year. He'll be playing for a contract, and will almost definitely be starting under center when There were some significant changes up front. Free agents Shaun O'Hara (C) and Barry Stokes (LG) were both starters in DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
As always, the team's success will hinge on the offensive and defensive lines. While most of the storylines focus on the QB battle of Warner vs. Manning, it's irrelevant if the OL is as leaky and injury prone as it was in 2003. On paper, the unit has improved, but only real game action will tell. The DL also appears to be an upgrade just by the presence of several bodies that can be used in a rotation, but it will be asked to carry a heavy load, particularly if the linebackers can't overcome the injuries and inexperience in the middle. Coughlin has attempted to drill into his team's head the importance of controlling the ball on offense and creating turnovers on defense, and the law of averages says they'll improve in those areas just because of their sheer incompetence there last year. Thursday, August 19, 2004
Congrats to my buddy Mike for getting into a teaching program at Rider University ... someday soon he'll be molding the minds of America's youth ...... congratulations pal.
Jen and I went to see The Village last night .... in some ways I was disappointed, I can't say it was great, but it wasn't bad. There were twists, as you'd expect from an M. Night Shyamalan, some I saw coming and some I didn't. I recommend you check it out if you like his other work. Went to beautiful Seaside Heights, N.J., the other night for a evening trip to the boardwalk with Jen, Ed, Mike and Alan ... as usual, a fun time was had by all. There's no place like the Jersey Shore ...... Unfortunately, Jen will be going back to Penn State tomorrow .... but I'm sure she's going to have an excellent senior year. I'll be up there soon ... there's even been talk of a big trip with my aforementioned friends to check out a PSU football game ........ stay tuned ...... Speaking of football, the New York football Giants are in preseason action tonight against Carolina .... It probably won't be very exciting, half the team is sitting out with injury, and it is preseason after all, but QB prodigy Eli Manning gets his frst start ......... I'm also working on a little Giants season preview, it should surface in the next day or two ........ Ozzfest 2004 is one week from today! Al and I are heading there this year, it should be a fun time, I'll be sure to give you a full recap when I return ...... Now I'm back to work after a few days off ... should be a little busy since two guys (including The Rick) are on vacation. Oh joy. Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Hey, a lot of news since I last posted .......
First off, New Jersey's Governer Jim McGreevy declared he was gay and having an affair with a man ..... meanwhile he's married (to a woman) with two kids and 47 years old. How do these things happen? Plus now the "other man" says he's not gay. If you ask me, somethin fishy's goin on in our great capital ....... Now that that's out of the way .......... I spent a few days visiting Jen at PSU. We didn't do a whole lot, spent a night out on the town and then the entire next day laying around and/or sleeping. It was pretty fun though ..... now Jen's home for a few days before she moves back yet again and starts the Fall semester. Hopefully we'll have some fun here in the next day or two while I'm off work. Have you been watching the Summer Olympic Games? I can't say I've been glued to the TV set, but I have been following it for work purposes ... I have a little interest in the men's basketball, only because I'm hoping the U.S. collection of "superstars" loses. It's kind of sad that it's come to this, but they're a bunch of millionaires who don't seem to care that much about representing their country, nor can they play as a team with any concept of the fundamentals of the sport. They lost to freakin' Puerto Rico! It's the first time since NBA pros joined the team in 1992. I understand that the sport has grown tremendously in other countries, plus those teams spend a lot more time together practicing and playing, but still, a team of NBA players should be able to win. My biggest problem with them is their apparent lack of passion and desire .... if you look at most, if not all of the other athletes at the games, their lives are dedicated to exceling at their sports and the Olympics are the biggest stage. The gymnasts and rowers and fencers of the world will never have another moment like this one, and they care deeply not just winning, but representing their country well. Meanwhile these NBA players are treating it like it's an exhibition or All-Star game, and that they are somehow above the rest of the athletes. In case you don't know, they don't stay in the Olympic Village like everyone else .... they stay on a huge luxury yacht. If that doesn't sum it up, nothing does. They play again against powerhouse Greece today at 3 p.m., we'll see how that goes. Hopefully they'll go down in flames, maybe that will force the NBA and the committee to pick college players or at least lesser NBA role players who will play as a team and be happy to be there. Let's face it, they should have stopped with the first Dream Team in '92 ..... Bird, Magic, Jordan, Pippen, Ewing, Barkley and on and on, how could you ever top that? And that's my rant of the day. Finally, happy birthday to my cousin Sean, who is 15 and already on his way to becoming a rock star. Monday, August 09, 2004
I want to say happy birthday to my good friends Mike and Karen from all of us here at Jay's World ...... these two crazy kids both celebrated b-days the other day, hopefully they were very enjoyable.
Holy crap, there's a new Megadeth album coming out ... and it could actually be good! It's called The System Has Failed, I had the pleasure of listening to a few of the tracks and I have to say I was shocked, they sounded really good. After a few lackluster (i.e. shitty) albums, various members being fired, accusations of drug use, frontman Dave Mustaine saying he had permanent arm injuries and could never play guitar again, and the band calling it quits, I didn't think we'd hear anything good from this band again. But this could be their best work since 1990's Rust In Peace .... I'll be anxiously looking forward to hearing some more soon. Speaking of music, I finally added cd reviews for Beastie Boys - To the 5 Boroughs and Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses to my cd reviews page after weeks of slowly working on them. Check them out when you get a chance. The Springfield Atoms are still in first place in my fantasy baseball league as we head down the home stretch, I can almost smell that championship ring ........ that is, I would, if the winner actually got anything. But I guess bragging rights are cool with me .......... fantasy football starts in just a few weeks, as does the football season ...... I'll be sure to give you an update after the draft. I'll also be previewing the upcoming New York Giants and Penn State football seasons, so stay tuned .............. Jen Countdown: two days! Thursday, August 05, 2004
Just got back from a Dunkin trip with Ed, Steve, and Mike ...... those fellas were in Montreal recently, sounds like they had a pretty good time. Mike even brought me back a Montreal Expos official scorecard, or should I say, "Carte De Pointage Officielle" ...... could be a nice keepsake if and when the team moves to Washington, D.C. I may have to sell it on e-Bay soon, although as Mike informed me, "it was only $1" ......... actually, that's "1$", Canadian .......
I also went to a Trenton Thunder-Binghamton Mets game tonight with Al. It was entertaining as always at beautiful Waterfront Park, unfortunately we missed out on seeing some of the teams' top prospects, who were either moved up (Yankees' Robinson Cano and Dioner Navarro) or traded (Mets' Scott Kazmir and Matt Peterson) in recent weeks ...... we did however get Tony Clark "nesting egg" dolls. What a "nesting egg" doll, you ask? Well, it's this dolls that when you it open up, there's a smaller doll inside, and then when you open that up, there's an even smaller doll inside that one ..... and so on and so forth. But still, it's another pretty cool keepsake of Tony Clark, the one-time Detroit Tigers star, current New York Yankees 1B, and first great Thunder player in their inaugural season. Speaking of the Yankees, they won tonight against the Oakland Athletics 8-6 on an 11th-inning home run from Alex Rodriguez ..... they had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when Gary Sheffield homered off closer Octavio Dotel to cut a two-run deficit, helping continue the team's march into the postseason .... Unfortunately the team did not pick up Randy Johnson at the trading deadline, but it did help its shaky pitching staff by trading the enigmatic Jose Contreras for the underachieving but solid Esteban Loaiza ....it was also bolstered by the recent return of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who could be very valuable either as a starter or reliever in the postseason .... I can't say that this team is a lock to win a World Series as in years past, but it definitely has a good shot, you can't ever count them out, and it is sure to be an exciting ride ...... And speaking of those past Yankee championship teams, I'm currently reading a teriffic book called The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty by former NY Times beat writer and ESPN contributor Buster Olney ........ basically his theory is that the great Yankee dynasty (four championships from 1996-2000) died when the Yankees lost Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it's a valid point: they obviously haven't won since then (although they've come close), many of the great contributors (Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Andy Pettitte, David Cone, Paul O'Neill) are gone, and the free-agent signings and salaries and pressure to win have spiralled out of control since then ....... Olney takes us through that Game 7 while recounting some great stories and inside looks into the people behind the championships. It's much more than just the usual puff piece about Yankee greatness, you really get some inside clubhouse info and a look at all the characters involved, stuff that even hardcore fans like myself might not know about the people who are responsible for those great teams and the people, or should I say person, who almost repeatedly destroyed them (let's just say he's known as "The Boss") .... anyway, I'm not sure what Olney's final conclusion will be since I'm only halfway through, I'm not sure if I'm ready to believe they won't win again given the amount of talent and money at their disposal, but I guess the question is whether they'll be as well-loved and well-respected, or if Yankee fans will join the majority of the sports world in being sickened by the amount of financial disparity in the sport. It's an interesting read for any baseball fan, especially Yankee supporters, you can find it in your local bookstore for only $26.95, although I was lucky enough to get an advance copy at work ........... suckers! Anyway, on to film ........ I finally saw Anchorman the other day with Al...... pretty funny, especially if you're a Will Ferrell fan ...... It had a pretty unique sense of humor in mocking the 70s (rise of the women's movement, excessive cigarette smoking, etc) and the deadly fight among rival anchormen was inspired ......... worth checking out. Today I rented The Godfather: Part II ....... Of course I've seen it before, but I recently bought and rewatched the first one on DVD and now had to see the second ........ you're really doing yourself a disservice if you haven't seen them both. Fantastic. Finally, I plan on seeing The Village next week with Jen ....... I've heard some hot and cold reviews, but I enjoyed director M. Night Shalyman's first three major works (no, Stuart Little doesn't count) and the premise sounds pretty intriguing, so I'm looking forward to seeing it ...... But I'm looking forward to seeing Jen even more. I'll be going up next week to visit during finals week (she has no finals) and help her move out ...... she'll then be home for a week before going back for the Fall session, but I can't wait to spend some time with her. |