Call it hate. Call me a homer. But what I'm calling right now is that the Miami Heat do not make it to the NBA Finals. Now don't get me wrong, they should probably blast through the regular season like it's nobody's business but I think that they may just have their hands full with the Orlando Magic and the current conference champs, the Boston Celtics.

So how do I have the Eastern Conference shaking out? (DISCLAIMER: I wrote this while at work so forgive me if it seems rushed or doesn't always make sense.)

The Elite
Boston Celtics: The one thing that makes me nervous about the Celtics is the cast of characters they have in that locker room. This team was created for a reality television show. Shaq, Nasty Nate, Delonte, Big Baby, etc. are a bunch of huge personalities. And then there's Ray Allen who prefers quiet as he prepares for the game. Good luck with that. Also, I wonder how Rondo's going to feel during the season when he's trying to prove that he's the best point guard in the league while the rest of the team is just trying to pace themselves so their old bodies aren't worn down come playoff time. Still, I think Rondo at the point and the Celtics bigs are going to give them the advantage come playoffs time. I'd like them to land a defensive minded SF but maybe they can make that happen at the trade deadline (and I wouldn't be stunned if Big Baby was the person they dealt to make it happen since he's already living up to his name and whining.)

Miami Heat: Bottom line, the Heat have a pretty sick lineup with LeBron running the point forward, Wade and Miller Miller handling the guard spots, and Chris Bosh getting the looks in the post. And Juwan Howard and Zydrunas Ilgauskas aren't the worst center tandem in the league. They should run over most of the league and could be even more dangerous if Mario Chalmers returns to his rookie form and makes everyone forget his disappointing sophomore season. The biggest weakness, besides the center spot, is Dwyane Wade's health. He's been pretty good the last couple years but he's had some injury issues in the past and this team only goes so far as Wade goes. He's got the killer instinct that I think LeBron and Bosh lack. If anything happens to him, the Heat are just another good but not great team.

Orlando Magic: I almost ranked Orlando over the Heat but then I remembered about Vince Carter. I thought last year was his change to rewrite history and prove that he wasn't a soft waste of talent and instead of fighting tooth and nail to get his first ring, he disappeared completely in the playoffs. The best thing about Vince is that he has a team option on his contract for next year so he's essentially an expiring contract. If the Magic can move Half Man for someone who's All Amazing, then they could find themselves in the Finals. Until then, they'll be stuck with the bronze in the East. (And yeah, that pic is of Vince from his Nets days but, again, I'm at work and also I'm not going to put more effort into finding a pic of Vince than Vince puts into playing the game of basketball.)

One Piece Away
Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls refusal to deal Joakim Noah for Carmelo Anthony could go down as an even worse move than refusing to trade Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich for Pau Gasol. 'Melo would give them the third star that they need to compete with the Celtics, Magic, and Heat. Jo Noah's a nice player but I'm not sold on him as a guy that's going to take them to the next level. Right now, they're basically Utah East with Boozer teaming with the ever-improving Derrick Rose instead of Deron Williams. This is a team that might be able to sneak by Orlando in the playoffs but I doubt they'll be able to be much of a match against the Celtics or Heat.

Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta had a tough call this offseason - do you keep the status quo even though you know it's good enough to make the playoffs but won't be enough to be a legit threat or do you rebuild? They voted for the status quo, overpaid Joe Johnson, didn't trade Josh Smith, and, well, here's they are. They aren't a team going nowhere because they'll make the playoffs but they aren't going anywhere new. It should be interesting to see if the historically fickle Atlanta fans give a damn this season when they know that they're ceiling isn't that high.

Milwaukee Bucks: I don't love the Corey Maggette signing and don't think that Scott Skiles will love him either but, in theory, it makes sense because this is a team that needs offense. However, this is still a two man gang of Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut and they need to package some of their other guys along with Michael Redd's huge expiring deal to bring in a top notch shooting guard or power forward to get to the elite level. If Jennings improves and Bogut is healthy, this team might just be good enough to grab the #4 seed but right now I think it's more likely that they land in the six spot.

MISH MASH MAYBES
Philadelphia 76ers: If only Elton Brand wasn't washed up and extremely overpaid, this team might have a real shot at something. I'm a fan of Andre Iguodala and Thad Young and think Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams is a top notch PG tandem. The frontcourt actually got worse since I think that Sam Dalembert actually brings more to the table than Spencer Hawes. Granted, you never know WHEN Sam is going to bring something to the table but he's a better player IMO. The team could go small with Thad Young at the stretch 4 and Evan Turner at the other swing spot but I don't love that. The key to this season is Marreese Speights. He has shown some promise but, as many feared, he doesn't seem to have the drive to reach his potential. If Evan Turner can live up to the hype and Speights can reach his potential, this team could be a tough out in the playoffs. They'll still go out before the Conference Finals but they should be able to put up a fight that would make the Philly Phaithful happy.

Charlotte Bobcats: I didn't think much of the Bobcats last year and I still don't think much of them. Gerald Wallace is a monster and Ty Thomas actually looked like a basketball player at times last year but the backcourt is a bigger mess than ever. DJ Augustin struggled last year and is now going to have to take the reins as the starting PG. Gerald Henderson didn't get much run last year but it's either him or Matt Carroll backing up Stephen Jackson and as SJax gets older, he's going to need someone to spell him more and more. The frontcourt is exciting and athletic but until they fix up the point guard position, I can't see them really being anything more than first round fodder. And if Jackson implodes or has a bad year, they might not even make it to the first round of the playoffs.

Indiana Pacers: I'm a big believer in Darren Collison and think Danny Granger is one of the more overlooked superstars in the league but after that... well... yeah. Luckily for the Pacers, Jim O'Brien is running the show over there and he's great at doing more with less. Unfortunately for Obie, the Pacers' less is less than most other teams' less. Roy Hibbert is a legit starting big man but I'm not sold on Tyler Hansbrough and Mike Dunleavy Jr. usually isn't even healthy long enough to be disappointing. The team has a bunch of expiring contracts and should definitely look to move it to add some talent to the frontcourt or the 2 guard spot. Why they drafted SF Paul George is beyond me but they should deal him while they can. If Lance Stephenson can stay out of trouble, he might be an interesting prospect but not good enough to really make a difference this year. Honestly, 9th place might be the best case scenario for the Pacers. I think the odds of someone leapfrogging them is better than someone ahead of them crashing and burning. In other words, I have them ranked ninth but I would feel very safe betting against them making the playoffs.

New York Knicks: The Knicks can't blame Isiah Thomas anymore. This is Mike D'Antoni's team. He and Donnie Walsh gave Amar'e the big payday. They're youngsters are the future of the team. And even Eddy Curry is a tradeable asset because he's an expiring deal. And, honestly, the team isn't THAT bad. I like Danilo "The Rooster" Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. They lost David Lee but got three players that the fans will love in Kelenna Auibuike, Rony Turiaf, and Anthony Randolph. (Randolph is still skating by on potential but he'll probably get a one season honeymoon period with the NY fans.) Raymond Felton and Toney Douglas are serviceable enough at the point. If D'Antoni is as good as he thinks he is, he should be able to get this team to the playoffs. I'm not sure he's that good so I'm going to rank them here at #10.

Washington Wizards: This team is a perfect fit for D.C.. They're flashy and dumb, will make a lot of noise but not really accomplish all that much.I expect a bounce back season for Agent Zero but I don't think Arenas's knees are going to allow him to be the player he once was. Not that he'll have to be since rookie John Wall will probably hit the ground running and lead this team. The frontcourt of Aundray Blatche, Javale McGee, Al Thornton, Yi Jianlian, and Josh Howard is good enough to give any opposing team fits but odds are that they'll give their coach just as many headaches. This team could potentially make the playoffs but everything would have to go right for them and I don't know when the last time everything went right in Washington.

FUCKED
Detroit Pistons: The Pistons deserve their own special level because they are in the worst position of any team in the NBA. Their veterans aren't that good but are signed to contracts that make them hard to trade. The young talent isnt' living up to expectations and many of them never had high expectations to begin with. When signing the corpse of Tracy McGrady is scene as a move that might energize your fans, you know you're fucked. Their #1 pick Greg Monroe is used to not living up to his billing so he should feel right at home. Joe Dumars might have done a masterful job putting together the Pistons title team a few years ago but after this year, I wouldn't be stunned if he was looking for a new job.

Rebuilding
New Jersey Nets: I expected some fight out of the Nets last year and well, I was wrong. They were terrible. They didn't have a ton of talent but they played worse than they should have. This year, I still think they could be decent enough with Brook Lopez, Troy Murphy, Travis Outlaw, Terrence Williams, and Devin Harris but I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that most every team in the league could beat them at only 3/4's of a maximum effort. There's talent on the roster but it's still not much of a team.

Cleveland Cavaliers: JJ Hickson might be the best player on this team. That's really all that needs to be said. Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison should be out of here by the trade deadline; that is, if someone will take on their contracts. When people watch this team sans LeBron, they'll remember why he left. (HOW he left was a complete debacle but he definitely made the right choice to get the hell out of Cleveland.)

Toronto Raptors: Detroit North. The players aren't as good but don't cost as much so they've got that going for them. Honestly, I'm not sure there's a single player on this team that I would consider a keeper. There's definitely nobody worth building around. I hope Harrison Barnes likes socialized health care because this team looks like they'll be getting the most ping pong balls for the 2011 NBA draft.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Wall St: Money Never Sleeps is a forgettable and commercial sequel to Oliver Stone's influential Wall Street. I call it commercial because a lot of the plot (especially the ending) seems driven by what a studio would want in a film and not what Stone would want to say about what's going on. To make up for this, there are some long moments in which characters explain the evils of the current financial world in which we live but the film is mainly a kind of rushed revenge story with Shia Lebeouf's character being stuck between avenging his fallen company and mentor or staying true to the love of his wife, Gekko's daughter, who abhors Wall St. and all of the cutthroat machismo that comes with it.

The acting in the film was good although neither Carey Mulligan nor Shia do anything to silence their detractors. I like both of them but people who don't like them weren't impressed by their performances. (And I do have to admit that Shia does always play a fairly similar character in all of his films.) The direction and editing was solid (save for one laugh out loud effect; you'll know it if and when you see it) and the film was always entertaining; it just didn't amount to anything and was immediately forgotten moments after the credits started rolling. In fact, one of the best things about the film might have been the soundtrack, including one of the songs from the original film - The Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place".

I'd definitely recommend adding Wall St.: Money Never Sleeps to the Netflix queue but there's really no reason to trek out to the theaters to see it, especially with The Social Network and Let Me In opening this weekend along with the wider release for Waiting for Superman, the supposedly excellent doc about the education in America. (I say "supposedly" with no snark intended; I simply haven't seen the film yet.) I've also heard decent things about "Easy A" and some mixed reviews on "Catfish" so maybe those are better options than the mediocre Ollie Stone Hollywood fare.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

It was announced today that Hulu Plus (the 9 buck a month subscription version of Hulu) will be available soon on Roku boxes and next year it will be on XBox. This is a great move for people who are tired of paying top dollar for cable or DirecTV (although the NFL Sunday Ticket still makes DirecTV a must have) as you now can watch most shows through your Roku or XBox as well as a good number of movies via Netflix Instant Streaming.

While I'm excited about the news, I also have to wonder if this isn't a trial balloon for the networks. If this succeeds, might they all pull their shows off of Hulu and start their own pay-to-play channels? It's honestly not a terrible idea. It's a good way to get people to at least check out their new shows (I mean, you're paying for it, why not give it a shot) and it also could make internet content more accessible which, of course, could lead to more backdoor pilots, i.e, shows that start off as web series and then, if they are popular, get promoted to a full-on TV series. I could envision a lot of networks creating their own kind of Adult Swim-esque shows. Shoot a bunch of shows in short form, package them together, develop the ones that seem to get the most loyal following. The good thing about this is that it'll be more work for creative types in Hollywood but that downside is that people won't be making as much money since the internet shows don't pay remotely as much as TV fare.

Another reason something like this could happen is if other networks start lagging behind financially. It was recently reported that NBC/Universal's cable channels are doing quite well while NBC itself is a six hundred million dollar a year in losses sinkhole. If NBC/Universal can package all of their shows together on Roku or XBox (while still getting to pay less to make the "cable" shows) it could help out the whole team. Granted, I'm not sure how fired up Comcast, who just bought NBC, is going to be about this new direction but maybe having their own network and stable of cable channels is something that can give them leverage or, at least, a dog in the online fight. (Get your internet via Comcast and you can download shows from NBC, USA, Bravo, etc. for free.) We're still probably five or so years from something major actually happening but it should be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Greg Oden doesn't know when he'll be ready to play, Eddy Curry knows that he's injured, and Baron Davis is out of shape. That's right. It's time for NBA action to begin!

The offseason player movement has made this one of the most intriguing NBA seasons in years... in the Eastern Conference. The days of the West being best are officially over as the East has only gotten stronger at the top of the standings and their lesser teams have begun improving. Most of the teams on the West are on the decline it seems and there's really just one team that a legitimate title threat. This isn't to say that the also-rans don't have some talent but most of them seem to be a player away.

And then there's the Clippers

Anyway, let's break down the Western Conference.

THE CHAMPS
Los Angeles Lakers: Not much to say about this team. Kobe's finger seems like it's getting better, they haven't really lost any key pieces, added some solid enough role players (Steve Blake, Matt Barners) and two very intriguing rookies in Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter. It'll take an injury or two to knock these guys out of the top spot in the West.

ONE PIECE AWAY
Portland TrailBlazers: Kind of an odd offseason for the Blazers. They overpaid for Wes Matthews, dumped Martell Webster for Luke Babbitt, couldn't get rid of Rudy Fernandez, and didn't add a significant backup big man, which is a must since none of their bigs (Oden, Camby, Pryzbilla, and Aldridge) are iron men. Hell, two of them are already injured. I hope Nic Batum worked on his upper body strength this offseason because he might be stuck playing a lot of minutes at the stretch 4. The Blazers have the talent to be the #2 team in the West; whether they'll be healthy enough is a huge question mark. I still think they should look to move LaMarcus Aldridge for a true low post big man but apparently they are going to go with the hand that they dealt themselves. And that's a hand that just isn't good enough to beat what the Lakers are holding.

Oklahoma City Thunder: I think the Thunder will be out to prove that last season's playoff threat to the Lakers wasn't a fluke but I'm nervous that, after a summer of hoops and a maximum effort in the regular season, the Thunder might be lagging when it comes playoff time. Still, the talent is there with Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and friends. How high this team rises depends on the improvement of James Harden and Serge Ibaka as well as the impact (if any) Cole Aldrich can have. This team, like the Blazers, still seems to be lacking interior play but they are a talented group of young men and should be able to run past many of the aging squads in the West.

Dallas Mavericks: This team should be the #2 team in the West and have a shot at dethroning the Lakers but too many of their players don't get the most out of their ability. Actually, I should say most of them DIDN'T get the most out of their abilities because a lot of their guys are on the downslope of their careers. Still, a Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood/Tyson Chandler lineup is good enough to make a little noise in the West.

San Antonio Spurs: It was fun while it lasted. The Spurs have to come to the realization that they simply can't build a legit threat around Tim Duncan as long as they're afraid to venture deep into the luxury tax. If you want a Big Three, you have to be willing to pay the luxury tax in order to fill out the bench with enough talent to take you deep into the second season. It's hard to argue against Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili but I think the team would have been better off dealing them and going with the youngsters like George Hill and DaJuan Blair in bigger roles. And I have no idea whatsoever why they re-signed Richard Jefferson at all, nevermind for almost 10 million a year. This is still a good team but I doubt they'll ever be a great team again as long as they invest about half of their available funds on three shop-worn players.

MISH MASH MAYBES
Denver Nuggets: I'm a huge fan of Melo and I've wanted him to get away from the Nuggets for a while now so I'm happy that he might find himself out of the Mile High City. Denver's lineup is kind of a mess and I'm not a huge believer in George Karl as a championship coach. Chauncey Billups can't stay in front of the top point guards anymore and I'm not sure that playing for Team USA is going to make that any better. Luckily, they have Ty Lawson backing him up but the problem is still the inconsistent frontcourt and the even more inconsistent JR Smith as the #3 scoring option alongside Melo and Billups. I guess I'm supposed to be excited about Al Harrington joining the team but when you're selling Harrington as a difference maker, it's probably a good sign that you're not going to be much better. I'm not sure how Smith and Kenyon Martin (he of the expiring contract this year) are still Nuggets but the fact that they weren't moved for someone better is probably the main reason that Carmelo Anthony won't be a Nugget in the future.

Houston Rockets: Rick Adelman is one of the most overlooked coaches in the league but he has done a great job with the Rockets over the last few years and if Yao Ming can give them anything this year, they should be a lock for the playoffs. I'm not a huge fan of Kevin Martin and I think Courtney Lee regressed in his second season but they are still quality shooting guards. I like the Aaron Brooks/Kyle Lowry pg tandem and Jared Jeffiries and Shane Battier should be able to hold down the fort (and hold down opposing small forwards) enough. The frontcourt might miss Carl Landry but Luis Scola and rookie Patrick Patterson should add some punch in the post. This team could pull off some upsets in the playoffs but I'm not sure they'll be able to take down the Lakers.

Utah Jazz: T-minus 50 games until we start hearing Deron Williams out of Utah rumors. I root for Al Jefferson but the guy is lazy and I don't know who think that he and task master Jerry Sloan is a good fit. Jefferson will probably be a sixth man once Mehmet Okur gets healthy. I'm not expecting much of anything out of rookie Gordon Hayward and I think they'll miss Wes Matthews (although they won't regret not paying him the salary that Portland offered up.) Deron and Jerry Sloan should be able to get this team to the playoffs but if Deron misses any time, this could be a train wreck and the whispers of Deron option out after next season will gain volume.

New Orleans Hornets: If CP3 is out to re-establish himself as the premiere point guard in the NBA, the Hornets could leapfrog the Jazz and make the playoffs. Marcus Thornton is ready for a breakout season, David West is solid enough, and Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza can focus on defense and filling the lanes. If Jason Smith can stay healthy, he might actually get steal some minutes from Okafor because of his shooting ability and athleticism makes him a nice complement to CP3. Of course, if CP3 is unhappy and just wants out, the Hornets could find themselves stuck in mediocrity; good enough to win some games but not focused enough to make the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns: It's never smart to bet against Steve Nash but when you're betting against Steve Nash and Hakim Warrick & Hedo Turkoglu replacing Amar'e Stoudemire? Yeah, that's not such a bad wager. Hedo makes some sense talent-wise but he works best when running the offense so I'm not sure how he'll mesh with Nash. Josh Childress was an interesting pickup but this team needed a top notch talent, not an "interesting pickup". Alvin Gentry has his work cut out for him this year but, honestly, I'm not sure any coach would be able to muster much out of this group.

Memphis Grizzlies: Apparently, Memphis was so happy with their improvement last year that they decided not to improve at all this year. Most of their moves were head scratchers. They added Tony Allen and drafted Xavier Henry, both of whom play the same position as OJ Mayo, one of the team's best players. There's some talk of Mayo running the point but that seems like an experiment that is almost destined to fail. Also, I'm not sure if adding a knucklehead like Tony Allen is what this team needs. And while Rudy Gay is a great scorer, there's no need to pay him the money that the Grizz GM Chris Wallace gave him, especially when the owner is so cheap. You'd think that a GM who, when he took over, had to give away Pau Gasol because he made too much, would try not to repeat that mistake by giving Rudy Gay (who's not even as good as Gasol) too much money but this is Chris Wallace we're talking about.

REBUILDING
Sacramento Kings: I really like what the Kings are doing so far. Tyreke Evans is a beast, DeMarcus Cousins is a potential franchise big man, and he along with Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Hassan Whiteside, and Sam Dalembert make up a nice big man rotation. Omri Casspi and Donte Greene should hold down the fort at the SF spot but I'm still not sold on Beno Udrih at the combo guard alongside Evans. There are chemistry concerns since people haven't had the nicest things to say about Evans, Cousins, Whiteside, and Dalembert in the past and Casspi was whining about his role at the end of last year but the talent is there and Dalembert's expiring deal could be combined with some of the youngsters for a nice mid-season deal to add a bigger talent. The Kings won't be making the playoffs but they might have the best future out of all of the rebuilding squads.

Minnesota Timberwolves: I'm actually looking forward to watching the Wolves this year since Kevin Love and Michael Beasley will finally get a chance to play legit roles in an offense but I'm not seeing this team really being all that good. Right now, it seems like a team of role players, including rookie Wesley Johnson who I think will be good but he won't be a star. It should be interesting to see how NIkola Pekovic pans out since many fans believe he will make Wolves fans forget Big Al Jefferson (which, honestly, isn't THAT tall of an order). Defense also could be a problem. I like a lot of the guys on this team but I'm not sure that they really make-up a legitimate NBA squad.

Golden State Warriors: Stephon Curry should be a fantasy basketball monster. And I think most Warriors fans should take up fantasy basketball so they can try to experience some winning this season. The Warriors overpaid David Lee and gave up some nice talent for him and I'm just not sure how much better he makes the team. They wasted a lotto pick on Ekpe Udoh and after having way too many high priced small forwards, they now have no legit small forwards to speak of. Who knows what Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright will bring to the table besides their medical bills? This is a year for the new ownership to get themselves set and to evaluate their talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see Biedrins, Ellis, and possibly others gone by the mid-season trade deadline. Stephon Curry and, by default, David Lee are the future of this franchise. It's time to find out who complements them the best and to try to find pieces that would fit alongside them.

Los Angeles Clippers: Eric Gordon made a name for himself in the FIBA tournament but that's easier to do when you're running with guys like Billups, Durant, Derrick Rose, etc. When you have a gassed Baron Davis, hobbling Blake Griffin, and castoffs from the Timberwolves on your squad, it's a bit harder to find those open looks. I'm intrigued by the later picks Willie Warren and Eric Bledsoe and everyone's eager to see Blake Griffin's debut but there is little else that I like on this roster. Baron, Foye, Gomes is a backcourt that would have to overachieve to be mediocre. I hope that these guys open the season terribly and then just throw big minutes at Bledsoe, Warren, DeAndre Jordan, Al-Farouq Aminu and the other youngsters. But who knows... maybe Blake and Eric will be superstar, and instead of stealing money like Clay Davis, Baron will play like the old Baron Davis. Maybe. But the safe money is one them just being the Clippers.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

All in all, this was a weekend of botched opportunities. I started Carson Palmer in my fantasy league and that my cost me the game (since Kyle Orton threw for a country miles against the Colts). I need Mason Crosby to get my 11 points tonight to salvage a win.

Betting-wise I had a horrific weekend but I could have been saved with a Raiders win but SeaBass Drunkowski missed a short field goal to cost the Raiders the game and me a little bit of cash. The Niners bit me in the ass yet again; three weeks, they've let me down three times. After getting blown out by the Seahawks, they covered against the Saints, and then got blown out again by the Chiefs. Not that they were the only ones, I think I only got like three or four games right this weekend.

In the ol' personal life, I didn't talk to a girl who was staring me down... because I was intimidated by her hat. She was a pretty young blonde with a hat cocked to the side and I just kind of thought, "This isn't going to work out." I should have just made it work out for the night or at least given it the old college try (especially since most of the girls there were college age.) Which is another thing, my favorite Hollywood dive bar Power House has cleaned itself up and has become kind of a young hipster hangout. Kind of a drag. Granted, it's better for the bar owners and there will be pretty girls there now but it was just a place where I could throw darts, get drunk, and not hate myself for dropping the ball with some girl.

On the bright side, I checked out Juicy Burger on Hollywood Blvd. and it definitely goes on the list. I like it a lot better than 25 Degrees and the build your own burger approach they take is perfect for my picky tastes.

On Saturday, I basically just spent the day on my futon watching some new TV shows on my DVR so here's a breakdown of the shows I've seen this season.

Nikita: The following episodes were better than the premiere but the show still feels like a cable remake of Dollhouse. It's not bad but not something that I see myself keeping on the DVR. The main story of Nikita v. Division is still too weak and anything about Nikita or her sidekick's backstory is boring and pointless.

Outlaw: I'm hoping that the show can turn into a kind of legal version of House but I think the odds are slim of that happening. The premiere was kind of hokey and the supporting characters need a lot more depth if they are going to turn this thing around.

Detroit 187: This is basically a watered down version of Southland, with almost all of the focus being on the case instead of the personal lives of the cops. Everything about it was mediocre and forgettable. I'll check it out for another week or so but I can't imagine this show lasting to a second season.

Hawaii 5-0: This seems less like a remake of the original show and more like NCIS: Hawaii. It's not bad although I still don't get the appeal of Alex O'Loughlin. I like NCIS: Los Angeles better and I've only watched like two episodes of that so the prospects of me keeping tabs on this show seems slim. But since my tastes are not the taste of the mainstream, I fully expect this to be the most popular show of the new season and it should last at least three seasons.

The Defenders: I only caught the end of the show and it actually wasn't too bad. The problem with it (and the reason I probably won't watch it again) was that Jerry O'Connell seemed like he smoked a big bag of crack before every scene. Of course, he might have been directed to act like that so it would take attention for the piles of makeup caked on Jim Belushi's face (I can only imagine how bad it looked in HD.) Normally I don't notice makeup but Belushi looked ridiculous and they also managed to make Natalie Zea (Justified, Dirty Sexy Money) look kind of plain. But the casework was actually strong so I might try to give it another chance.

Terriers: The second and third episodes were a marked improvement as the Ocean's 11 type dialogue was toned down and Michael Raymond-James's sidekick character was more fully fleshed out. Although that's one of the problems with the show; James's character is much stronger than Donal Logues'. I might keep watching it but it's not as good as Sons of Anarchy and I tapped out of that show after one season (although I might Netflix it to see what came of it.)

Hellcats: So I guess the CW has given up competing with ABC and is now taking on ABC Family. The show was High School Musical without the musical. I stopped watching once the Glee-esque stakes of "We have to win or we'll lose funding!" came up.

The Event: Honestly, who cares what the event is? So much going on and the tangled time line just took away from the characters, none of whom I cared about. They were going for "Lost" but it reminded me more of a big budget "Persons Unknown" or "Happy Town". The show's premiere did well but I think this will be like V, a show that starts off strong but quickly loses viewers and probably has to be revamped a bit if and when it gets a second season.

Running WIlde: Too off-the-wall for its own good, this show will be one-and-done (if it even makes it through the full season.)

Raising Hope: Promising but just not my cup of tea.

The Whole Truth: The show has a drab look but I like the set-up. The first act sets up the case, the second act follows the prosecution, then the third act goes back and shows us what the defense team was doing (so there are some overlapping moments, such as phone calls that we see both ends of.) I'm not loving the way Rob Morrow's character is playing his character but it's a solid albeit kind of mediocre show. I'm not sure how long it will last since the premiere didn't get great ratings but I'll leave it on the DVR to check out on a rainy (or hungover) day.

Lonestar: Well made, great acting, but no matter how good the lead actor is (and he's very good) the premise of rooting for a con artist with two wives is a tough one to pull off. I think this show might have been better off on FX where the ratings expectations wouldn't have been as high and they would have launched it with a quick 7 - 10 episode order (ala Justified). On Fox, it might not make it past the third or fourth episode because the premiere tanked and most people aren't going to start watching a serialized show that seems on the brink of cancellation.

Blue Bloods: The premiere was OK and ended with an interesting twist of the younger son potentially investigating his own family and their involvement in "The Blue Templar", a secret society in the NYPD, but what bothered me the most was that they lifted the key moment of the pilot from a Law & Order episode. And not even an old one, it was a Dennis Farina ep. The stories were almost exactly the same; kidnapped girl, cop finds suspect, dunks his head in toilet/waterboards him to get the location of the girl. I'm rooting for this show, especially if Tom Selleck gets to play a bad guy.

All in all, this was a weekend of botched opportunities. I started Carson Palmer in my fantasy league and that my cost me the game (since Kyle Orton threw for a country miles against the Colts). I need Mason Crosby to get my 11 points tonight to salvage a win.

Betting-wise I had a horrific weekend but I could have been saved with a Raiders win but SeaBass Drunkowski missed a short field goal to cost the Raiders the game and me a little bit of cash. The Niners bit me in the ass yet again; three weeks, they've let me down three times. After getting blown out by the Seahawks, they covered against the Saints, and then got blown out again by the Chiefs. Not that they were the only ones, I think I only got like three or four games right this weekend.

In the ol' personal life, I didn't talk to a girl who was staring me down... because I was intimidated by her hat. She was a pretty young blonde with a hat cocked to the side and I just kind of thought, "This isn't going to work out." I should have just made it work out for the night or at least given it the old college try (especially since most of the girls there were college age.) Which is another thing, my favorite Hollywood dive bar Power House has cleaned itself up and has become kind of a young hipster hangout. Kind of a drag. Granted, it's better for the bar owners and there will be pretty girls there now but it was just a place where I could throw darts, get drunk, and not hate myself for dropping the ball with some girl.

On the bright side, I checked out Juicy Burger on Hollywood Blvd. and it definitely goes on the list. I like it a lot better than 25 Degrees and the build your own burger approach they take is perfect for my picky tastes.

On Saturday, I basically just spent the day on my futon watching some new TV shows on my DVR so here's a breakdown of the shows I've seen this season.

Nikita: The following episodes were better than the premiere but the show still feels like a cable remake of Dollhouse. It's not bad but not something that I see myself keeping on the DVR. The main story of Nikita v. Division is still too weak and anything about Nikita or her sidekick's backstory is boring and pointless.

Outlaw: I'm hoping that the show can turn into a kind of legal version of House but I think the odds are slim of that happening. The premiere was kind of hokey and the supporting characters need a lot more depth if they are going to turn this thing around.

Detroit 187: This is basically a watered down version of Southland, with almost all of the focus being on the case instead of the personal lives of the cops. Everything about it was mediocre and forgettable. I'll check it out for another week or so but I can't imagine this show lasting to a second season.

Hawaii 5-0: This seems less like a remake of the original show and more like NCIS: Hawaii. It's not bad although I still don't get the appeal of Alex O'Loughlin. I like NCIS: Los Angeles better and I've only watched like two episodes of that so the prospects of me keeping tabs on this show seems slim. But since my tastes are not the taste of the mainstream, I fully expect this to be the most popular show of the new season and it should last at least three seasons.

The Defenders: I only caught the end of the show and it actually wasn't too bad. The problem with it (and the reason I probably won't watch it again) was that Jerry O'Connell seemed like he smoked a big bag of crack before every scene. Of course, he might have been directed to act like that so it would take attention for the piles of makeup caked on Jim Belushi's face (I can only imagine how bad it looked in HD.) Normally I don't notice makeup but Belushi looked ridiculous and they also managed to make Natalie Zea (Justified, Dirty Sexy Money) look kind of plain. But the casework was actually strong so I might try to give it another chance.

Terriers: The second and third episodes were a marked improvement as the Ocean's 11 type dialogue was toned down and Michael Raymond-James's sidekick character was more fully fleshed out. Although that's one of the problems with the show; James's character is much stronger than Donal Logues'. I might keep watching it but it's not as good as Sons of Anarchy and I tapped out of that show after one season (although I might Netflix it to see what came of it.)

Hellcats: So I guess the CW has given up competing with ABC and is now taking on ABC Family. The show was High School Musical without the musical. I stopped watching once the Glee-esque stakes of "We have to win or we'll lose funding!" came up.

The Event: Honestly, who cares what the event is? So much going on and the tangled time line just took away from the characters, none of whom I cared about. They were going for "Lost" but it reminded me more of a big budget "Persons Unknown" or "Happy Town". The show's premiere did well but I think this will be like V, a show that starts off strong but quickly loses viewers and probably has to be revamped a bit if and when it gets a second season.

Running WIlde: Too off-the-wall for its own good, this show will be one-and-done (if it even makes it through the full season.)

Raising Hope: Promising but just not my cup of tea.

The Whole Truth: The show has a drab look but I like the set-up. The first act sets up the case, the second act follows the prosecution, then the third act goes back and shows us what the defense team was doing (so there are some overlapping moments, such as phone calls that we see both ends of.) I'm not loving the way Rob Morrow's character is playing his character but it's a solid albeit kind of mediocre show. I'm not sure how long it will last since the premiere didn't get great ratings but I'll leave it on the DVR to check out on a rainy (or hungover) day.

Lonestar: Well made, great acting, but no matter how good the lead actor is (and he's very good) the premise of rooting for a con artist with two wives is a tough one to pull off. I think this show might have been better off on FX where the ratings expectations wouldn't have been as high and they would have launched it with a quick 7 - 10 episode order (ala Justified). On Fox, it might not make it past the third or fourth episode because the premiere tanked and most people aren't going to start watching a serialized show that seems on the brink of cancellation.

Boardwalk Empire: I enjoyed the first two episodes but, then again, I like gangster shows/movies. Michael Pitt is like a sociopathic Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the cast is pretty amazing. It's a slow burn but I like where it's headed. I don't think it will live up to the hype or go down as one of HBO's greatest shows but it should be very interesting and an entertaining ride.

Better With You

This week marks the opening of No Ordinary Family and Law & Order: Los Angeles, which boasts one of a fairly intriguing cast of Terrence Howard, Alfred Molina, and Skeet Ulrich. Hopefully these can win me over because right now I'm not seeing much that interests me out there. Although that might be a good thing since I should be writing instead of watching TV.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I think most people would agree that the Miami Heat have had the best offseason of anyone in the NBA. Where real debate arises is at the #2 spot and I'm going to throw a name out there that most people would probably overlook: The Golden State Warriors.

Now I'll be honest, I'm not even all that impressed by their personnel moves. I think they overpaid for David Lee AND gave up a kid with a higher ceiling in Anthony Randolph in the deal (as well as my man Kelenna Azubuike and the hardest working Frenchman in the business Rony Turiaf.) I think Ekpe Udoh is a wasted draft pick; he might eventually pan out to be a decent defensive big man off the bench but I think there were much better options on the board. On the bright side, they did cut Corey Maggette off of the book so at least the player movement wasnt' a total L but none of this really matters because what happened IN the front office is more important.

First off, the Warriors are no longer owned by Chris Cohan, one of the worst owners in the NBA. Yes, it is somewhat shocking that the team wasn't sold to Larry Ellison, the billionaire who owns the arena in which the Warriors play, but the group that bought the team seems primed and ready and won't make people wonder if perhaps Donald Sterling isn't the worst owner in California. More and more, professional sports are becoming a rich man's game. Yes, we can all sit back and enjoy the games but, in most cases, the hopes of a franchise rest in the wallets of the owners. The Spurs might be the last frugal team to win the title (and, of late, their eye on the bottom line is one of the reasons they haven't been able to get their hands back onto the Larry O'Brien trophy.) The Warriors now have owners who are ready and willing to make a run at a title. Now, deep pockets don't guarantee a legit squad (e.g, the Knicks) but having owners who are willing to spend means you at least have a fighting chance. As long as Cohan owned the team, the Warriors were an also-ran. They would be happy just to make the playoffs. The new owners should elevate them to a team that could do what it takes to get over that hump.

The second big move was the end of the Nellie-ball Era. Yes, Don Nelson is the winningest coach of all-time. And yes, watching a team run up and down and put up points is fun but the team wasn't going to really blossom with him in charge. I just don't believe that style of play can win consistently in the NBA, especially when the coach seems incapable of setting a lineup, seems to fall for his pet players, and seems more interested in gimmicks. Now, all the blame can't be put on Nelson because the Warriors were beset by injuries and the talent just wasn't there but he was definitely a part of the problem and, at his age, probably was never going to be any part of the long term solution.

As for other options for #2, Chicago has to be up there with the addition of Carlos Boozer. They'd be a lock for #1 if they got Carmelo Anthony but they apparently haven't learned anything from the past (when they refused to add top notch players because they didn't want to give up Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, and Kirk Hinrich) and are nixing the 'Melo deal because they refuse to deal Jo Noah.
The Nets could move up to #2 if they land 'Melo, which seems to be the going rumor but, for now, as crazy as it sounds, #2 could be the New York Knicks. I wasn't a fan of their draft but the front court of Rony Turiaf, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Anthony Randolph is VERY intriguing. Then again, none of them have the greatest injury histories so this could be Antonio McDyess 2.0 but I think it's a step in the right direction. Raymond Felton was a decent enough one year signing and no matter how mediocre he may be, he's a step up from what they've had running the point recently. Kelenna Azubuike and Roger Mason are nice additions to the bench. The Knicks should be much improved next year and while they may not be able to sneak into the playoffs in the ever-strengthening Eastern Conference. they should make a little noise and a lot of improvement this year.

Still, actual roster moves aside, I have to go with Golden State as having the second best offseason as they are now a legitimate NBA team and not a squad that will just be a source of annoyance for its fans.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I checked out Fox's two new sit-coms and I have to say that the network still seems incapable of getting half hour comedy right. Maybe they sold their soul for "The Simpsons" (and, to a lesser extent, "Married... with Children") but they just don't seem to be able to put it all together. When they do do well, it's something like "Arrested Development" that can't find an audience. Usually though, they just miss the mark which I think they did with both "Raising Hope" and "Running Wilde".

For me, "Wilde" was just a complete miss and I already took it off of the Season Pass. It kind of felt like the Gob Show with a perky yet equally idiotic liberal at his side. "Arrested Development" worked best when it mixed Michael Bluth's attempts at being a normal person with the antics of his obviously abnormal family. "Running Wilde" just doesn't have a core character that you really care about. Keri Russell's daughter in the show is supposed to carry that role but the show isn't about her. I could go on but the bottom line is that the show is just too silly for it's own good.

On the other hand, "Raising Hope" might not be silly enough. I thought the show did have a similar problem as Wilde in that I didn't particularly like the main character but it had some funny moments and seemed to be going along decently. I wasn't a huge fan of "My Name is Earl" so part of the issue might be that Greg Garcia's humor doesn't mix with my sensibilities but what really struck me as awful was when the show tried to get some sort of heart to it. At the end of the pilot, the main character says that he wants to keep the baby because he wants people to look at him differently. I really hope that I just missed the punchline to that because, from what I saw, they wanted that to be an honest-to-God, heartfelt moment and that is an absolutely horrific reason to keep a child. I mean, it's beyond obvious that the main character has no business raising a kid and, if he has any chance, he's going to have to rely on his family who are a bunch of questionable role models (at best). The kid is in a horrible situation and the final decision of "We're going to keep the baby" should have been more of a moment of dark humor - keeping the baby is actually the worst thing for the kid - but instead it tried to be some kind of family bonding moment.

I'm keeping that show on the DVR but I have a feeling that, as I said before, Garcia's brand of TV just isn't my cup of tea. Still, the pilot was decent enough and the supporting cast (including Garrett Dillahunt and Martha Plympton) is great so it might be worth a gander. (Although I don't think I'll ever warm to the main character.)

As for returning shows, I caught the premiere of "Castle" and it didn't disappoint. The look of the show seemed a bit different (and, at times, a bit off) but all of the jokes and character moments were there, Stana Katic looked better than ever (as did Tamala Jones), and it picked up right where it left off.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

After a brutal week 2, I'm hoping to bounce back but this is kind of a tough week. I feel confident in most of my picks but I can't say that there are many sure thing locks. That's why I went with mostly small bets this week: $25 on the Raiders to win and the Niners, Washington, and Bengals against the spread. I usually like one big bet because a lot of small bets just gives me more changes to lose (and in the end, I just break even) but sometimes breaking even is better than going for it all in one fell swoop.

Anyway, my picks for this week (against the spread) are: Niners, Bengals, Patriots, Ravens, Chargers, Eagles, Jets, Packers, Raiders, Washington, Steelers, Giants. Saints, Lions, Texans, Colts.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Tonight was one of the those examples in which betting on football actually took away my enjoyment of the game. Instead of being thrilled by the comeback by the underdog Niners, I just had a sinking feeling in my gut as I watched the Saints blow their lead and fail to cover the spread.

Tonight was also a reminder of the old adage: if something looks to be good to be true, it probably is. I couldn't believe that the Saints were only 4.5 underdogs and bet relatively big, and now I've gone from +60 for the season to -130. None of my picks came through except for my 15 bucks on the Chiefs. So I went from +60 on the year to -145. (On the bright side, I did place an early parlay with the Saints last Monday when they were still at -3 so I one a little bit of cash on that one since the other two games can in.) I also think that I was sub-.500 on my picks overall. Just a terrible, terrible weekend. And next weekend doesn't look much better.

Looking ahead to next week, the games that jump out at me are Washington -3.5 over the Rams and the Bengals -3 over the Panthers. I'm going to put $25 on both of them. I also kind of like the Giants over the Titans at -3 but not enough to lay down an early bet.

At least my fantasy teams are doing well, even though I went into the season thinking, "Seriously, how many touchdowns is Jahvid Best really going to score?" Whoops. At least LeSean McCoy is panning out for me and Miles Austin is putting up numbers.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

The worst part about "The Town" is probably the glowing reviews that it's getting. Well, that and the leave no scene unshown trailer. That being said, Ben Affleck's second trek into the directorial chair is an entertaining film. It's good not great. Honestly, I'm not even sure that it's better than "Gone Baby Gone".

The two biggest flaws the film (well, the ones I can discuss without spoilers) is that the structure seems a little loose and it's very been there and done that. The nice guy criminal who wants to get out. The new girl he wants to be with and the old one that wants to keep him. The crazy partner/friend who might get him in too deep. These are stock characters and the heists are nothing. This is most certainly not a "heist movie" because the actual robberies are treated as little more than plot devices. (Although this might bring up a debate about how one defines a heist film - is it just about robbers or does the heist itself have to be almost a character in the film (ala the Ocean's films)

Now, this is probably coming off as a harsh review but I did like the film and it is one of the better films in this woeful year at the cinema. It was very well made and the actors all did a great job. There were some laugh out loud lines (including one that only long time Sox fans will get) and it's only two hours and five minutes so the pacing is solid and it never takes itself too seriously.

So I'd definitely recommend the film but I would tell people to go in with lowered expectations and not expect a classic, a great film, or something that reinvented the wheel. It's just good (which is a welcome relief this year.)

For a SPOILER-filled response, keep reading.

Again, warning, SPOILERS!!!!

In the end, this film has a flaw that a lot of crime films have: we're supposed to be happy when our hero gets away but all our hero's really done to gain this emotion is not be the most evil person in his group. There's no real redemption for Dougy besides the fact that he was a decent enough guy for a bank robber. The bit about the mom seemed like it was in their just so he could have a reason for offing the Florist and his henchman. The ending simply isn't that satisfying because it's not like justice was done. A guy living a shitty life escaped by breaking the law.

The other issue with the film is that there were really no choices to be made. There was never really a need to kill anyone. The only time he really made a choice (not doing the last job), one of the two options was eliminated for him by The Florist so he was stuck with the one answer. The kid wasn't his so it wasn't his responsibility and it's not like you could really ever have any sympathy for Blake Lively's character since she was a mess. Maybe you could think that he should take the kid but that wasn't really an option (although it might have been a better ending. Maybe, maybe not.) The film was basically a guy with no options and his back against the wall doing just enough to get away clean. It was entertaining but not fulfilling. It's like a tasty Lean Cuisine meal. It did the job but you didn't love it and it really isn't all that healthy (or in this case, artistic) when it comes right down to it.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I always thought that Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly looked alike and I guess I wasn't the only one. Seems like this is a rip-off of "Single White Female" but it should be fun... to watch... on cable.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

A big weekend for movies. And nowadays, that just means that two movies that I want to see are getting good reviews. I'm going to check out "The Town" tonight and will probably catch "Easy A" some time next week. Also out this weekend is the buzzed about indie flick "Catfish" as well as Phillip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut "Jack Goes Boating". Oh, and there's also the movie that is best known for having a trailer that people groan at (when the name M. Night Shymalan pops up) and that's "Devil". I feel bad for the director of it because he's so overshadowed by Night. I thought that film might be a decent rental but the fact that it isn't being screened for critics makes me think that it's probably a waste of time.

Anyway, on to the trailers

First, I thought I'd post the "Catfish" trailer since it's so odd. Starts off as "Going The Distance" meets "Road Trip" and then turns into "The Blair Witch Project".

Next up is "The Tourist", starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Those stars have very spotty track records and the film looks like a remake of "Gotcha!", the Anthony Edwards starring 80's paint ball/campus manhunt movie. I can't say I'm very excited about this one.

"Tangled" has been all over the map. It's gotten bad buzz but now people are saying that it could give Toy Story 3 a run for its money come Oscar season. Should be interesting to see who was right. Granted, not interesting enough for me to actually see the movie but I'll check out the reviews.

One of the movies I'm looking forward to the most this year is David Fincher's "The Social Network". This trailer has the amazing cover of Radiohead's Creep and is also an interactive trailer, something that could become a staple of online marketing in the future. Sadly, I also see it being another way for studio's to give away the entire movie in trailers. (Not that this one does.)

"The Fighter" is about Boston boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward. It's directed by David O. Russell but it looks like a fairly typical inspirational sports drama; basically it's Mark Wahlberg's "Invincible" with boxing. I was kind of looking forward to this but it seems like the kind of film that would slip through the cracks and end up buried on my Netflix queue until it finally landed on HBO. Although I am interested in seeing Amy Adams in it. I was a big fan but I feel like she's been getting more and more charactery (and borderline cartoonish) in her roles so it'd be nice to see if she can dial it down and get closer to playing a real, honest-to-god person.

Finally, there's the British mafia comedy "Down Terrace".

And don't forget that on Wednesday, Freakonomics will be shown on a Pay-What-You-Want style. From Slash Film.

These pay-what-you-want screenings offer fans a chance to see the film on Wednesday, September 22nd, over a week before its official opening, at Landmark Theatres in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Denver and Seattle. Tickets for the screenings are now available, and are being exclusively sold online through MovieTickets.com. Filmgoers can choose how much they wish to pay-anywhere in the range of $.01 to $100, with the completion of a short questionnaire. The survey, which after completion gives access to the ticket buying page on MovieTickets.com is accessible here.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:58 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I have to admit that I'm a big fan of Jimmy Smits so I was rooting for NBC's new show "Outlaw" to be good but the pilot is pretty rough. The premise is that Smits's character is a conservative Supreme Court Justice who has his world rocked when his father, a liberal lion who helped fight for civil rights in the 60's, is killed in a car accident. He becomes a staunch liberal, fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, and decides to quit the bench and become a defense lawyer.

If you have trouble with that, well, things only get worse from there. The main case (featuring Rza as a wrongly convicted man on death row) is thin and the way that the team (made up of fairly one dimensional characters including Carly Pope's loose and liberal PI) solves them are silly. For this show to succeed, they either need to make this Law & Order with interesting cases or LA Law with interesting characters. Right now, the only thing it has going for it is Smits and even his character has too weird of a backstory to really relate.

In the end, this show feels like NBC realized that they had a no minority stars on the network last season and decided to throw something, anything at Smits. It certainly doesn't feel like a fully fleshed out network show and I doubt it would have ever made it past the first script read at sister station USA (which has consistently put out better shows than NBC.) I hope it gets better but I'm pretty sure that after next week, this one will be off the season pass.

And if you don't believe me, watch it yourself.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I'm not really seeing a lot of games that I love this weekend. I still don't get why the Saints aren't bigger favorites against the Niners (which is why I bet big on it) but Vegas usually knows something I don't. I'm not a believer in the Colts, especially without Bob Sanders so I have the Giants stealing one from them and my other bet is going to be a small one on the Chiefs. I wasn't wowed by their performance on Monday but I will admit to rooting for the old Patriots coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennell.

My weekly 12 team parlay is over to the left. I'm still not sure how I'm going to go with my Perfect Parlay over at Sportsbook but right now I'm going with: Atlanta, Baltimore, KC, Chicago, Philly, Green Bay, Tennessee, Minnesota, Carolina, Denver, Oakland, New England, Jacksonville, Houston, and New York Giants. I got 8 right on the parlay last week but that just wasn't good enough. I was ranked in the low 500's for the week. Hopefully, I'll do better this time around.

I had a Washington cheerleader last week and they pulled off the upset so I'm hoping the Giants pick this week will help them overtake the Colts. Also, I'm a big believer that underboob is underrated so the pic has that going for it. (Although, honestly, kind of attractively awkward when you actually see someone wearing it at a party. You can't look away but your enjoyment is definitely tempered with severe judgement of the girl who chose to wear that kind of garb.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Honestly, I'm still not sold on Danny Boyle's next project, "127 Hours". I'm not sure if it's because I'm not a big believer in James Franco as a leading man or that a guy stuck under a rock isn't something that I want to watch or maybe that it's because I find Boyle to be extremely hit or miss. His films all look good but I wasn't a fan of "The Beach" and I felt like "Sunshine" looked great for half the time and then switched gears into a b-slasher flick. (I still haven't seen "A Life Less Ordinary". Anyway, hopefully I'll warm up to it but here's a clip from Cinemablend.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Dollhouse 2.0

So I finally made it through the rest of Nikita and it's basically a reconfigured, dumbed down version of Dollhouse. Dollhouse was higher concept and focused on the new recruit (and the person trying to take down the Dollhouse was a mystery) whereas Nikita has the main character trying to take down The Division and the new recruit is more of a b-story.

Still, the show was OK. Nothing new and I'm not sure that there's going to be enough there to keep me coming back week after week but the pilot was good enough to keep me around for another episode or two. Right now, I'd recommend it only as a DVR and check it out if yuu have time type of show and it actually may be more of a show that's best to wait and hear how season 1 pans out and then catch up on in on DVD. Although, I highly doubt that there will be a season 2 because it's going up against the loaded Thursday night at 9 competition of Grey's Anatomy, CSI, The Office, and Fringe. Right now, I'm just not sure there's enough to Nikita for it to survive there. It strikes me as more of a USA or TBS type show and not a real network staple.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I also started watching "Hellcats" but couldn't make it through. It seems like a straight-to-DVD rip-off of Bring It On with a little bit of Glee thrown in (with lame excuses for why the team has to win or the cheerleading team will be cancelled and some extended dance sequences.) The show might be OK on the Disney Channel or something but it doesn't seem like a network show. Then again, it and Nikita are both on the CW and that's not really a network.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:49 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 13, 2010

So-so start to the season

The Dolphins came through for me so I'm plus 60 after week 1 but my picks weren't that great overall. The 49ers were a huge let down; I'm not sure why I had so much confidence in them. I'm going completely in the opposite direction this week as the Saints are somehow only 4.5 favorites right now against San Fran. I'm going to jump on that one right now before the points go up. I'm putting 160 bucks on New Orleans.

I'll have the rest of my picks later in the week

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 10, 2010

Cats and Dogs

New TV is finally here and I'm already behind on my viewing. I had Terries, Nikita, and Hellcats DVR'd but only got to Terries so far.

Well, that's not entirely true. I started watching Nikita but after the first comical act, I turned it off because I had other stuff I had to do. One reason I might have been repulsed a bit by the opening act was because it reeked of network notes. The beginning is a expository monologue. That's followed by an action scene of a girl getting captured/cut to her in a holding cell where the bad guy explains his entire plan. This role is played by Shane West, who speaks in a gruff growl that is almost as bad as Christian Bale's Batman. The final scene of the act is yet another laughably expository scene. Now, OBVIOUSLY, you can't have all that chit chat in a row so what's the solution? But of course! Throw in a dream sequence with a scantily clad Nikita offing some people and then toss in a dab of treachery.

Hopefully the show gets better but the opening act was just too much for me to deal with. (And yes, part of the issue might be that I'm going through the notes process on the reality show I"m working on right now and that can be a bit of a chore.) The show could be a kind of campy distraction but it wasn't to me so I'll save it for another day.

Terriers had kind of a rough start but I feel like it could get better. The mix of The Shield and Ocean's 11 sounds odd and it is odd. Having the down and dirty private eyes spitting Danny Ocean-esque quips out constantly just didn't really work for me. Also, some of the important emotional scenes were way too on the nose. The show had a gritty feel to it but the dialogue was too stylized. And while I like Donal Logue, the acting in this seemed a bit wooden. Still, it was effective enough and I'm a sucker for cop shows so I'd like to see where it goes. It's definitely no "Shield" and might not even be "Justified". It might be on par with something like "Sons of Anarchy" but with less bikes and more one-liners. "Anarchy" was a good show but one that I just didn't care enough about to keep watching. If some other fall shows do catch my interest, I could see "Terriers" getting left by the wayside.

As for Hellcats, I'm not sure why I DVR'd it because it's not a show for me. But I liked Bring It On and Stick It and thought, why not?

As for shows that are finishing up their summer run, I started in on "White Collar" but still feel the same about it; like the aforementioned Sons of Anarchy, it's a good show but I just don't really care to keep watching. Louie started off strong (and I haven't seen the last two episodes) but talk about a drop off in quality. The last few eps have had some painfully long and unfunny scenes.

But, honestly, right now everything is kind of existing in the shadow of "Boardwalk Empire". I have high hopes for that one.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:40 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 09, 2010

RIP Amie Street

A few months ago, Apple bought and shut down one of my favorite online music sites, Lala.com. That site was great because it allowed people to listen to a full album once for free and also enabled embedding of songs, albums, and playlists on other websites (like my little blog right here.) Now, Amazon is shuttering Amiestreet.com, which was my go-to place for new music. They had a ton of indie artists and I could just go to the Amie Street Top 25 of the Day and discover new bands. Also, the pricing was great because albums that weren't as popular were sold for cheaper.

Adding insult to injury, Amazon isn't even taking the money left in my account and transferring it over so I have to spend the rest of my cash by September 22nd. It's not terrible since I'm sure I'll have no problem finding 60 bucks worth of music that I want but it's just frustrating that they are shutting down my site and also taking my money. Woe is me, I know.

Anyway, I'm not sure where to find great new music now, outside of Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist. I'll probably start hitting up Daytrotter.com more often now; that seems like a good site but I just don't go there that often. Pitchfork is OK but I have a very different taste in music than them and usually disagree with their recommendations. (I also use emusic and while that's a nice service, it's not a great place to discover new bands.)

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions (and recommend people check out Daytrotter) for places to find, listen, and buy new music.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 08, 2010

Politicked Off: Burnt Offerings

As you may have heard, a small group of evangelical Christians are burning Qurans this weekend to protest 9/11 and to send a message to al-Qaida. Yes, this is an infantile response but what I want to know is. why does anyone care?

The media keeps reporting about how this could endanger lives of soldiers or Americans over in the Middle East but isn't the danger based mostly on the reporting of the story rather than the story itself? I mean, this is an obscure pastor with a congregation roughly the size of the Wu-Tang Clan who apparently thinks burning books is a good way to send a message about tolerance or something. (On a side note, hasn't burning books pretty much been condemned to nothing more than a sign of intolerance by the burners?) I could go on about the congregation but I think my main message to them would be, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first match."

Actually, I'd also echo some of the words of Glenn Beck, who recently wrote,

We must be the better person. We must be bigger than our problems. Bigger than the times in which we live. Burning the Koran is like burning the flag or the Bible. You can do it, but whose heart will you change by doing it? You will only harden the hearts of those who could be moved. None of those who are thinking about killing us will be affected, but our good Muslim friends and neighbors will be saddened. It makes the battle that they face inside their own communities even harder.
Let us rise above the current levels and elevate ourselves and our country. The only thing this act would prove is that you CAN burn a Koran. I didn’t know America was in doubt on that fact. Let’s prove to each other that while there are many things we can do, there are maybe many more things that we choose not to do.

Back to my bigger question: The bigger issue, however, is: why is this even a national story? I had a similar question a while back when Rick Sanchez on CNN gave airtime to some extremist who thought America should be a Whites Only! nation. He basically wanted this country to be to whites what Israel is to Jewish people or Japan to Japanese people (his examples, not mine.) I mean, seriously, this guy gets a national soap box and many charities that are working for legitimate causes can hardly get a passing reference?

Unfortunately, the partisan media has gone from just supporting their own side to now trying to point out the ugliest or most extreme corners of their opposition. For a good time now, everyone's so focused on winning the argument that everyone has lost sight of the truth but now they seem to be losing sight of the pertinent. One thing that was especially odd was how reporters seem to love to point out that this thing could cause uprisings in the Middle East and put soldiers lives in danger. Well, if that's the case, why not ignore it? A basketball team worth of extremists are doing something crazy that could make trouble for our soldiers; instead of asking why would they do it, reporters should be asking, "Why am I covering this?"

It's a shame that real journalism has fallen by the wayside and responsible reporting is a thing of the past. Anyone know of any legit news sources? Anyone have any sites, magazines, stations they recommend?

So, to sum up this rambling post, just let the idiots play with fire and donate some money to The Friends of El Faro

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 07, 2010

Betting Season Begins!

Yes, it's that time again. The NFL season is upon us, money has been thrown into a fantasy world of football, and now some more goes on the actual games themselves. I ended up about even last year so it was kind of a worthless pursuit but it's still fun.

My big bet of the week is going to be $125 on Miami -3 at Buffalo. Yeah, the Fish in the cold hasn't always been great but it isn't that cold right now and the Bills are pretty terrible. I actually think that, if everyone stays healthy, Miami could make some noise this year (and Davone Bess might be a nice fantasy sleeper alongside Brandon Marshall). My #2 bet is the Niners over the Seahawks, again at -3. Seattle just seems like a mess and I'll gladly bet against Pete Carroll in a league in which everyone gets to pay their players.

I don't love my smaller parlay because I'm not feeling the Saints. If they lose, I might try it again with just the Niners, Jags, Phins, and Packers. Of course, it's probably not smart to bank so much on the Dolphins and Niners because anything can happen in week one but I'm feeling pretty good about those bets.

As for my perfect parlay picks (over at Sportsbook), I went with: Saints -5. Giants -7, Dolphins -3. Falcons -3. Bears -6, Patriots -4, Buccaneers -3, Jags -3, Texans +3, Titans -7, Packers -3, Niners -3, Cardinals -4, Cowboys -4, Ravens +3, Chargers -6.

Here goes nothing!

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 06, 2010

Meh-srine

I know that I said earlier that I was going to try to stay away from the "meh" titles but this one was too perfect. Not just because of the name of the film but because the movie was basically the epitome of "meh". Well, I shouldn't say that. The direction and cinematography was very good but the story... well, there wasn't any. And the character... well, he was pretty much just an asshole. And kind of a stupid asshole at that. For such an amazing criminal, he didn't really come up with any interesting plans; it was always taking advantage of obvious weaknesses. Granted, that's how most criminals work but it doesn't make for a super interesting film when everything is so simplistic.

On top of that, the film seemed like it was on fast forward. There was no real development of anything. You'd just skip to another time in his life. Mesrine would go from single to married in a flash. There'd be two kids in one scene and then in the next, he'd say he has three. Crimes were brought up and carried out in a flash. He goes from underling to notorious criminal in the blink of an eye, it seems. There are some good scenes in there but I almost feel like this story needed to be told in an episodic TV fashion or longer mini-series because, right now, the trilogy has gotten off on a forgettable foot. (Well, besides Elena Anya (right) who has made me very interested in checking out Sex & Lucia now.)

The film wasn't bad but it definitely dragged and while Vincent Cassel did a nice job, there wasn't a lot for him to work with. The movie was just good enough (and the other movies out are all just bad enough) to keep me interested in part 2, which is supposedly better than this one. Right now, I wouldn't recommend seeing it in the theaters although maybe the second film could change that. I hope to be seeing it some time this week so we shall see.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 04, 2010

The Tryout: Future Retro

I have heard the music of the future and it is the sound of my childhood. A while back I was talking with some friends about what the new music will be; what will be the next generation's rock'n'roll or hip-hop. My friend said that the new electronic music could be it and I was dismissive but after listening to the latest Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist which was full of lo-fi Nintendo sounding songs, I'm starting to think that he might be right. Perhaps the music of the future will be more DIY with people auto-tuning their own lyrics over beats. Kids won't have to wait for The Cure or Kurt Cobain to put their angst to music; they can make their own misery.

There's also another reason that I think that the electronic music could be the future and that is this - I can't stand most of it. I've always wondered what kids would do that would upset my generation. What would we find to be unlistenable and this might just be it. Although maybe the kids have something else up their sleeves. I mean, I kind of saw shorter shorts happening but the rise of the sex tape and sexting is something I never saw coming (no pun intended, especially since it's not a good pun.) Hopefully, some great artists will find a way to harness this style but until then, we may be starting at a future of 8-bit songs and kitschy covers like this...

Posted by SoulHonky at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 03, 2010

WTFriday?!

It's a tough call. At first, I didn't think anything could beat the cover of the new Cosmo or as a friend at work said, "Razors out, crabs in!".
I thought that would be the top WTF? moment of the day but then I read Floyd Mayweather's quote, "That mother f----- Pacquiao, he can't speak no English. He never seen a contract he didn't like." I always laugh when I see people write, "Your an idiot" but Floyd just took Grammar Police Fail to a whole new level.

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

September 01, 2010

Can Danny: This week on "North Shore"

With the return of Delonte "The Stepfather" West, the Celtics now have a bench that seems ripe for a reality show. We have Nasty Nate Robinson, the man who once jumped a teammate in the showers (no word if David Cronenberg is a Knicks fan and this is what inspired the naked shower fight in "Eastern Promises") running the point. At two guard, we now have Delonte who reportedly slept with LeBron's mom, definitely was arrested for having an arsenal of guns in his car, is bi-polar, and gives some of the best interviews in the NBA. Small forward will probably be held down by Marquis Daniels. He seems pretty normal but anybody who has a 14 karat gold necklace of his own head (see pic on the right) can't be all there. Power-forward is Big Baby, the slobbering big man prone to hissy fits when people call him out and has been none to shove child fans of opposing teams out of the way when he's celebrating. And finally, there's The Big Shamroq himself, Shaq. A man who has as many nicknames as Shawn Kemp has kids. Sadly, we don't have Rasheed Wallace anymore and Jermaine O'Neal doesn't really seem crazy at all but I think we have enough loose screws to go around. (Not to mention Luke Nukem and Von Wafer, he of the occasional temper tantrums.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Angel Haze
Old Crow Medicine Show
People's Temple
The Drums
Japandroids
Alabama Shakes
King Charles
The Neighbourhood
This Will Destroy You
Star Anna
Perfume Genius
Haim
Animal Kingdom
Gary Clark Jr.
Johnny Render
The Cast of Cheers
The Maccabees
Man/Machine
Oregon Bike Trails
Daughter
Cold War Kids
Middle Brother
Sleeper Agent
Yuck
Rachael Yamagata
Grouplove
Other Lives
Pete and the Pirates
The Leisure Society
Kyla La Grange
Reptar
Stray Dog
The Naked and Famous
Various Cruelties
Plan B
Rubik
Monster Paws
Brother
Menage a Twang
Pains of Being Pure of Heart
Joy Formidable
Family of the Year
Wye Oak
Walk The Moon
Pretty Reckless
Cee-Lo
Absofacto
Arcade Fire
The National
The New Pornagraphers
The Futureheads
Trampled by Turtles
Red Sparowes
Jonsi
Pantha Du Prince
Local Natives
Russian Circles
People Eating People
Freelance Whales
Surfer Blood
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
Living Colour
We Were Promised Jetpacks
John Denver & The Muppets
Splonge
Greg Hester
Port O'Brien
Tegan & Sara
Big Star
Muse
Yo La Tengo
Mew
Arctic Monkeys
Wintersleep
Blind Pilot
The Features
Remy Zero
George Winston
Band of Skulls
Elizabeth & The Catapults
Fine Young Cannibals
Camera Obscura
Iron & Wine
Phoenix
Fightstar
Mad Season
Tinted Windows
Bat for Lashes
Doves
Eluvium
Mono
Neko Case
K'naan
Whitest Boy Alive
jen & abby
I'm From Barcelona
Trey Green
Animal Collective
Mitch Hedberg
School of Seven Bells