Some are my personal preferences, and on some I will say who I think will win vs. who should. Enjoy!
PS. I’ve left out categories that I just don’t know enough about to pick from.
Picture – La La Land — I thought it was an overall okay movie, but each part of it was great. As a movie it stands out, as a lead actor/actress, Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone stood out…it was just the overall story that lacked.
Actor – Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea — Yes, a second ago I said Ryan Gosling was fantastic…but if there’s any category where I think La La Land could be upset, it’s this one.
Actress – Emma Stone, La La Land — Natalie Portman as Jackie has a chance to play the upset, and no one can ever discount Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins), but I think this one is Stone’s.
I’m sure there are a lot that I’m forgetting, but here are the Top 10 Sports Moments that I remember.
These don’t include things like “The Tyree Catch”, which may have been incredible, but didn’t affect my ‘sports rooting’ and the teams that I follow (more life it infuriated me as a Cowboys fan). These are things from teams (or sports) I follow and were big moments.
Notable missing: 2009 World Series. Sure the Yankees won, but it was in my waning fandom years (for baseball as a whole), and I didn’t care as much as if they’d win today.
10. Malice At The Palace – 2004 was the year that Ron Artest spilled into the stands and went after a fan during a fight between the Pacers and Pistons.
9. 2003-2004 New York Yankees – The 2003 ALCS went to Game 7 and beyond between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and in the bottom of the 11th inning Aaron Boone jacked a ball to left, with no doubt that the game was over.
But one year later, the Yankees were up 3-0 in the Championship rematch, but the Red Sox weren’t done, completing the first such comeback in baseball history, and followed it up by breaking a 86-year curse.
8. 2001 New York Yankees – First the ALDS, where Derek Jeter went into the stands to make the catch in Game 5.
This was after making “The Flip” in Game 3, that went down into his legacy.
Then in the World Series, the Yankees just couldn’t win in Arizona. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were lights out, but the magic came in Games 4 and 5 against closer Byung-Hyun Kim: In Game 4 Tino Martinez tied it in the 9th, and Derek Jeter hit a walk-off in the 10th…the next night in Game 5, it was deja vu…Scott Brosius took Kim long to tie it in the 9th, and then in the 12th it was Alfonso Soriano who brought home the winning run.
But at the end of the day…it was Arizona winning it all in 7.
7. 1998 NBA Championship – The Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their 6th (and final) Championship of the 1990s, this time against the Utah Jazz.
One of my earlier childhood sports memories, laying in bed listening to it on the radio as the Mailman, Karl Malone, tried his hardest to break the streak of the Bulls.
6. 2014 New York Rangers – The Rangers went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, after struggling two years earlier and losing to the Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals.
But their high-speed attack just fizzled out against the Los Angeles Kings in the Finals, and they couldn’t lift the cup on their 20-year anniversary of 1994 (see moment number 2). The final blow came in 2OT of Game 5.
5. 1998 Major League Baseball – What a year basball had. All summer the focus was on the race for the Home Run Record. 1961 had had 61 Homeruns for Roger Maris, and that record stayed for 37 years. But 1998 saw two players in Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa racing for that magic number.
I remember sitting in my basement, helping my father build metal shelving, and WCBS880 News channel would cut in every time McGuire came to the plate…until this:
And then there were the New York Yankees. Set a record with 114 wins, David Wells threw a Perfect Game, and they won the World Series over the San Diego Padres (again a record with 125 total Wins).
The season is perfectly summed up in George King’s book: Unbeatable.
4. 2001 Daytona 500 – Michael Waltrip won the race in his first race in the #15, driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., with Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing in second, but none of that is memorable compared to the big moment of the day.
On the final lap, The Intimidator, #3, Dale Earnhardt got spun, d ended up hitting the wall head-on. When Dale Jr. got whisked away shortly after, and the ambulance was shown going to the hospital, you knew it was serious.
The sport changed a lot on that day, with a lot more focus on safety, turning the sport into what it is today.
3. 2000 World Series – New York Yankees vs. New York Mets…The first Subway Series World Series since 1956 (before the Dodgers headed to LA), and the Yankees’ 4th World Series in five years, solidifying the Dynasty.
The moment I remember best was the last one, with John Sterlings call of:
Bernie back, a way back. Bernie’s there, heeeee makes the catch. Ball game over. World Series over. The Yankees win. THHHEEEEE YANKEES WIN!
2. 1994 New York Rangers – One of the earliest memories that I have is when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994.
It all started with this Matteau Matteau Matteau in Game 7 over the Devils.
And then came the actual Stanley Cup Finals:
Messier’s guarantee and the subsequent hat trick. Game 7 in the Garden. Mike Richter stopping the Russian Rocket, Pavel Bure, on a penalty shot. Brian Leetch becoming the first American to win the Conn Smyth Trophy (and thinking Dana Carvey was tricking him when President Clinton called).
1. Tony Stewart 2011 – NASCAR has always been a dark horse favorite for me, and Tony Stewart was my driver of choice. While 2002 and 2005 Championships were nice (and I barely remember them), 2011 was the first Championship of my adult life.
First time that an owner/driver won, and it came in amazing fashion, as Stewart and Carl Edwards ended up in a tie after the final race, but Tony held the tie-breaker, having won five races throughout the year.
Entertainment Weekly is running a “March Madness Bracket Style” contest to determine the best Disney song ever.
This past double issue of the magazine listed their Top 20 (where strangely I didn’t agree with the Top 2 but did most of the others), but instead of giving that away here, go check out their contest and figure out which song you like best.
Hurricane Sandy hit the NY Aquarium hard. Located right along the water they had a lot of their exhibits flooded, buildings destroyed, and underground passages devastated.
Because of that they couldn’t justify their $20 admission anymore and had to drop down to $13.
All this on top of a $13 parking cost.
But even that is too expensive.
Now I understand that they need to raise money for their repairs and new “Sharks” exhibit set to open in 2018, but to charge as they are is inexcusable.
Here is the current list of animals at the NY Aquarium:
When you walk in the main building (the only building) has a giant tank filled with fish, and then 7 smaller tanks, spanning different areas (such as Africa or Brazil, and the fish from that area).
You then leave the main building and have four outdoor exhibits (Walrus, Sea Lions, Sea Otters, and Penguins).
Lastly you have a Shark tank, filled with murky water/scratched glass, making it hard to see into.
They have a sea lion show twice a day (included with admission) that hasn’t been updated in years, and still plays Crazy Frogs “I Like To Move It” from 2005.
They also have a “Touch Pool” which has starfish…and I’ve never experienced it open since Sandy, as it always seems to be “Out to lunch” or just plain “Closed”.
I went yesterday, and they had a larger discount (down to $11), and for this price you couldn’t get close to the main tank (due to construction), or see it from the upstairs viewing area (construction).
The Walrus’ were off display, and the Penguins were nowhere to be found.
As usual, the touch pool was “seasonally closed”.
I do like that if you browse their map, they add on a “Explore The Recovery Wall”…this is what they call the construction barrier, on which they have included two or three paragraphs about Hurricane Sandy and he work they are doing to rebuild the sharks exhibit.
By far, the biggest waste of money experience for a family in NY. And yes, that includes Top of the Rock.
Meanwhile: Enjoy a picture of some fish. You can send me the check for admission and I’ll share all 20 pictures/videos I took yesterday of the entire aquarium.
Without needing to leave your house.
May 17, 2014 I started to write a post about new turn rules that I thought needed to get implemented on Ocean Parkway.
I got lazy and never finished it since I wanted to add in diagrams explaining what I wanted, yet I referenced it in 2015…but now, almost three years later they’ve actually put into effect rules similar to what I had almost hit publish on.
But now we need to take a deeper look at it, and see what really needs to be done to make Ocean Parkway great again:
The “No-Right Turns” on certain blocks is a great start. It allows for freer flowing traffic on the main strip and lets the service road have a green light, allowing them to proceed straight without needing to worry about turning traffic.
Meanwhile, expanding the corners in the service road to two lanes allows one lane to go thru, while the other is designated for slower traffic turning onto the Avenues.
What the city really needs to do is go all in and spend real money on this project, not just “new turn signals” and “traffic patterns”. Every block of Ocean Parkway needs a turn-off point halfway to funnel cars onto the service road for upcoming right turns so that cars never need to slow down in the main six lanes.
They have it in one place (and one place only) and it works nicely, down near Shore Parkway approaching the Belt Parkway East entrance.
Sure it would cost lots of money, but isn’t that what tolls are supposed to be used for?
As for the politicians who have issues with the new lights…maybe the issue isn’t the lights but with poor drivers?
I have seen numerous drivers run red lights in recent weeks because they are looking at the wrong traffic signal. Why would you look half a block ahead instead of the one directly in front of you?
Let’s institute re-upping ones written road test every 10-15 years, so that people can learn what the “stop line” is for at intersections…but that’s a whole different fight.
Rockabye – Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie
So, rockabye baby, rockabye
I’m gonna rock you
Rockabye baby, don’t you cry
Somebody’s got you
Rockabye baby, rockabye
I’m gonna rock you
Rockabye baby, don’t you cry
Rockabye, no
This song has been on repeat for a few days, and the former “Alarm” singer really rocks the lyrics in this one.
Dirty Laundry – Carrie Underwood
Now I’ma have to hang you out to dry, dry, dry
Clothespin all your secrets to the line, line, line
Leave ’em blowing in the wind, just say goodbye to you
80s Mercedes – Maren Morris
Feel like a hard-to-get starlet when I’m driving
Turning every head h*ll I ain’t even trying
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is the second movie of the famous Lee Child book series, in which Tom Cruise is greatly miscast as the lead role of Jack Reacher.
Reacher is 6’5″ – 240, while Cruise falls 8″ short and an unknown weight smaller, but they take the cameras from the right angles to make him appear to be the dominating figure that he’s supposed to be.
Cobie Smulders is the female lead and plays the role of Turner, who has Reachers’ old role as leader of the 110th, making a nice yin to Cruises’ yang. Meanwhile Danika Yarosh plays the role of a potential child of Reachers’, who needs to be protected as the group hunting Turner/Reacher try their hardest to get to Jack.
Lee Childs has a “Stan Lee-esque” cameo in the movie, which I always find to be a nice touch and a thanks to the person who built the character up to what they are today.
This movie is good, but not great, and gets a 6.5 out of 10.
The 59th Grammys are this Sunday, and here are my picks for the 2017 awards.
These are not necessarily who will win, but who I would pick if it was up to me. I’ve only done categories in which I know enough of the music to choose from:
Record of the Year — Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots — The sleeper of the group, may make a surprise race out of it.
Album of the Year — Lemonade by Beyonce — The Queen looks to reign supreme with twins on the way.
Song of the Year — I Took A Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner — A strong group, including the likely winner of Adele’s ‘Hello’, but competition is heavy with Beyonce, Bieber and Lukas Graham.
Best New Artist — Kelsea Ballerini— The Chainsmokers are the big name, but Kelsea is the best of the group.
Best Pop Solo Performance — Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkson — Dangerous Women, Hello, Hold Up, Love Yourself…Kelly Clarkson is the weakest of the group, but this song is the most deserving.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — Cheap Thrills by Sia feat. Sean Paul — One of the strongest Grammys in recent years, Work/7 Years/Closer/Stressed Out all provide worthy opponents.
Best Pop Vocal Album — Confident by Demi Lovato — This album is both Stone Cold and Cool For The Summer.
Best Country Solo Performance — Church Bells by Carrie Underwood
Best Country Duo/Group Performance — Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney & P!nk
Best Country Song — Vice by Miranda Lambert
Best Country Album — A Sailor’s Guide To Earth by Sturgill Simpson
Best Song Written For Visual Media — Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
Best Music Video — Upside Down & Inside Out by OK Go — This video in “anti-gravity” was a fantastic watch.
And lastly, please don’t let “Panda” win anything…
Three shows have had their pilots in the last week that I’ve taken interest in: APB, 24: Legacy and Powerless.
APB
Reeves Industries has the money, smarts, and technology to do whatever they want. Space exploration, drones to put out oil fires, you name it they can build it.
But when Gideon Reeves witnesses an armed robbery and calls the cops, all he gets is a “Please hold for an available operator” leading to his CFO being shot and killed.
After going to the precinct to give his statement, he realizes how old and outdated the department is, and offers the city his empty checkbook to revamp the 13th District of Chicago.
His new high-tech makes them the best-funded police district in the country. New body armor, tasers, and flying drones.
I am a little worried about this show running before it can even walk and going too big too fast.
24: Legacy
24 is back, this time without Jack Bauer. CTU is being turned over to new hands, but before Rebecca Ingram is able to get out, her former squad, back on American soil, is being taken out one at a time, in search of Ben Khalid’s strongbox.
Squad leader Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins) and his wife barely escape with their lives and set off a chain of events to save themselves, protect the strongbox, and protect American soil from sleeper cells.
I was worried this show would lack now that Keifer Sutherland is gone, but it has done a good job at making the show enjoyable.
Powerless
I’ve never been quiet saying that I like Marvel over DC….and they’ve been hinting at the “Damage Control” comedy for a while, but DC beat them to the punch…with mixed results.
Vanessa Hudgens, Christina Kirk, and Danny Pudi are just a few names that star in Powerless, the story of Charm City (neighbors to Gotham) and their constant struggle with superhero battles destroying their town.
But the powerless people of the city need protection, and Bruce Wayne’s cousin runs Wayne Security, designing products to keep the people safe.
Most of their ideas are stolen from Lexcorp, such as a single use airbag suit or a copy of an antidote.
But now Emily (Hudgens) has been hired to lead the R&D team and her top employees need to come up with fresh ideas or else they risk losing their jobs.
The pilot is a tad weak, but a decent intro to a show that might have some potential.
Media critic and NYU Professor of Journalism Jay Rosen had an interesting thought process this weekend about the Trump White House vs. CNN, and I thought it’d be nice to compile it in one place for easy reading.
My thoughts on it: I think it is a very interesting take, and I am curious to see how it plays out because it has potential to shift the entire dynamic of interviews on television, taking the cards away from the guests and letting the anchors ask what they want, how they want!
Link to thread: https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/828032518565789697
Twitter thread by Jay Rosen (https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu):
Here’s my read on this news: CNN declines to have Kellyanne Conway on air — and lets that fact be publicly known
The background here is the Trump team ‘freezing out’ CNN and trying to punish it for reporting it didn’t like
Last wee, Jake Tapper spoke up about the White House refusing to send any representative to his Sunday program
Instead of ‘you get no one’ the White House is this week saying to CNN: you can’t have what everyone else is getting…Mike Pence.
But instead of taking a second tier guest — Kellyanne Conway — CNN came back with its own statement: you wanna give up the air time? Fine.
Why do these adolescent games matter? Any kind of push back matters for a press capable of cave-ins like this Another reason it could matter is that the White House is pushing CNN into a little booking experiment that might otherwise never occur.
Weeks of news coverage ABOUT the Trump White House without on-air guests FROM the Trump White House allow CNN to test a proposition…
Does it really hurt CNN in the ratings when speakers from the White House fail to appear on air? What if the answer turns out to be no?
If the boycott and ‘punishment’ continue, and CNN does fine in the ratings, AND in digging up juicy things about the Trump White House—
—then it will have been demonstrated that you don’t need their guests to do well. If the White House wants to give up the airtime, fine!
Which in turn means: If the White House “comes back” to CNN, the power relationships between guest and host might be subtly altered.
When everyone on set knows CNN can live with it if the White House rep never returns, it’s a little easier to hold speakers accountable.
Works the other way around too. When a guest doesn’t care about getting asked back, this has a welcome effect on freedom of expression.
In sum: the White House thinks it’s playing hardball with CNN. But it may wind up illuminating an alternative path: outside-in coverage.
Compared to the shifts I have described here, news that Kellyanne Conway was turned away is just a delightful confection.
Aviously 