BEST OF 2005: The Songs

Even though I've bought more singles this year than I ever have before, I'm realizing that few of them were actually from 2005. But even though this wasn't the best year for music, I did take advantage of iTunes and AllOfMp3.com for these standouts:

20. "Back Then" - Mike Jones
19. "The Predatory Wasp..." - Sufjan Stevens
18. "Shake it Off" - Mariah Carey
17. "Testify" - Common
16. "Swing Life Away" - Rise Against
15. "Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani
14. "Fix You" - Coldplay
13. "Be Easy" - Ghostface Killah
12. "The Food" - Common
11. "Gold Digger" - Kanye West
10. "Outta Control (Remix)" - 50 Cent
9. "Til Kingdom Come" - Coldplay
8. "This Modern Love" - Bloc Party
7. "Hate It or Love It" - The Game/50 Cent
6. "Drive Slow" - Kanye West

5. "Smile Like You Mean It" - The Killers
If I ever direct a movie, I'll use the first 30 seconds of this song over the opening credits. I still can't figure out why this didn't become even bigger than "Mr. Brightside" or "Somebody Told Me."

4. "The Corner" - Common
There's a reason why Common appears three times on this list- Be was easily the best album of the year. Instead of hoarding them for his own album, Kanye West used his best beats here, and this first single is the highlight of the record.

3. "1 Thing" - Amerie
The beat on this song proves that guitars and horns can kick just as much ass than a drum machine. Producer Rich Harrison is a breath of fresh air and I'd love to hear more from him.

2. "Parting Gift" - Fiona Apple
The most ironic aspect of the "Free Fiona" saga is that the only song from the official album that wasn't on the leaked version turned out to be the best track. This stripped-down piano kiss-off is Apple in peak form. So I guess the six years of exile was worth it, eh?

1. "Dreams" - The Game
2005 clearly belonged to Kanye West (in case you couldn't tell what my tastes were) so it's fitting that one of his beats tops my list. This was just a devastating sample, and The Game more than does it justice. No rap verse in the last few years caught my undivided attention the way he did here.

 
BEST OF 2005: The Games

It's time to re-hash 2005 now that the end of the year approaching (and I mean the true end of the year. Why do so many media outlets put out early "year-end" lists without waiting to see what happens during December?). To begin, I'll use an idea that would be perfect for Sports Illustrated (each year they think up a new way to screw up the year-end issue): the year's best games.

10. Texas 25, Ohio St. 22
Everyone forgets that before the season, this was the college football game that everyone was anticipating. The contest didn't disappoint, with the previously choke-artist Longhorns coming back to win at the Horseshoe. And you won't see a prettier ball than the TD pass Vince Young threw to win the game.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers 20, NY Jets 17
It looked like the Jets were about to win their second straight playoff game on a last-second field goal. But instead, Cal alum Doug Brien shanked himself out of a job. This game was more than just a wacky finish, as the Jets got their only TDs from two long returns.

8. Michigan St 94, Kentucky 88
The Patrick Sparks Game. Michigan State looked dead on the momentum meter after Sparks's three-pointer bounced, bounced, bounced and finally bounced in to send the game to a second OT. But Izzo's boys didn't quit, and the Spartans prevailed to reach the Final Four.

7. Andre Agassi d. James Blake
The U.S. Open crowd didn't know which storyline to pull for: the aging legend gunning for one last chance at glory or the ultimate comeback story of a guy returning from unthinkable adversity. Even the commentators knew best to just shut up and watch.

6. West Virginia 111, Wake Forest 105
A classic NCAA tournament game. A ton of scoring, a future NBA star (Chris Paul), a huge upset (Wake was a #2 seed) and the emergence of two folk heroes (Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle). If only I hadn't missed this game. Sigh.

5. Houston Astros 7, Atlanta Braves 6, Game 4 NLDS
An absolute gem of a postseason game-- and they did it without any Yanks or Sox! While this game will be remembered for going 18 innings (and for Clemens coming out to pitch three of them) let's not forget about the home runs in the 8th and 9th innings that brought the Astros back from a 5-run deficit to force extra innings.

4. San Antoino Spurs 96, Detroit Pistons 95, Game 5 NBA Finals
The Robert Horry Game... the latest edition of it. The Pistons deserved to lose this game and this series, if only for being foolish enough to not triple-team Horry for the entire fourth quarter of an NBA playoff game.

3. Phoenix Suns 130, Dallas Mavericks 126, Game 5 Conf. Semifinals
The least appreciated game on this entire list. Here you had two juggernaut offenses trading buckets like it were 1985. Amare Stoudemire had about 19 tomahawk jams in this game, which went into overtime and was easily the most entertaining of the 2005 playoffs. Ultimately though, this will go down as the game where Steve Nash got revenge on his old stomping grounds, vaulting his new team into the conference finals.

2. Illinois 90, Arizona 89
I remember watching Illinois erase a 15-point defecit at the end of this game and thinking: "I just watched it, but I still don't understand how they did it."

1. USC 34, Notre Dame 31
There was endless hype before this game and enless hype after it, but all for good reason. To recap, this contest featured the following:
A) A storied rivalry that had been yearning for any sort of buzz for a good decade.
B) Three touchdowns from Reggie Bush, including a 45-yard cross-the-field dazzler that would have been the highlight of any other game.
C) A brilliantly-executed drive to give the Irish the go-ahead touchdown.
D) USC converting on a 4th-and-9 with an audible that went for 61 yards.
E) Notre Dame fans prematurely rushing the field.

and

F) A balls-of-steel decision to forgo a field goal attempt for a quarterback sneak with three seconds left.

So yeah, that pretty much constitues the best game of the year.

 
Milking the TV Clock

After years of formulaic crime dramas (intentionally formulaic, as witnessed by the Law & Order and CSI franchises) it appears that TV dramas have found the next breakout genre: The Stretched-Out Suspense Movie. You could say that 24 started the trend by taking a run-of-the-mill movie plot (CIA agent has 24 hours to prevent an assasination attempt) and prolonging it into a full television season. The success of the show led to other thriller plots being turned into shows, like Lost (plane crash leaves 48 survivors on a spooky island) and Prison Break (self explanatory). Now comes word that two more additions to the genre will be arriving next fall with Heist and Kidnapped.

The genius of these shows is that they turn would be an ordinary Kurt Russell movie and churn out densely packed, fast-paced episodes that nearly always end in cliffhangers. However, the potentially fatal flaw of these shows is obvious: these concepts aren't built to last. We started to see this in the second and third seasons of 24, where producers had to resort to forced subplots and tangential characters to stretch the series out to the full year. Twice this season, Lost has used the slow-down tactic of the "simultaneous perspective" episode, in which literally prevents time from moving forward. Even the most cock-eyed optimist can't fathom how Prison Break can last beyond one season without having to radically change the show's concept (maybe the good brother will get arrested next season and the bad brother has to break him out!). Perhaps the solution is that networks should just reduce their expectations and start producing series designed to last 2-3 years, then keep re-loading with fresh concepts. After all, there are tons of Die Hard disciples that can be turned into television series. Under Siege becomes Mutiny, Speed becomes Bus Bomb... the possibilities are endless.

 
Baseball Playoff Chronicles, Vol. 2

That was as satisfying a division series as I've ever experienced. This is the first time I can remember that all four teams that I rooted for were victorious. Actually, this is better described as a case where the four teams that I was rooting against lost. First, there were the perenially-gagging Braves, who mercifully excused themselves in a mere four games. Is there a more unloveable, uninspiring successful team in sports? Florida State football and Kentucky basketball come to mind. Next, there were the San Diego Padres, a team that I didn't see play one inning during their postseason run. I guess I'm just bitter that a team so untalented still mangaged to top my Giants in the NL West. If Barry and Benitez had been healthy all year, the Giants and Cardinals would be playing in Game 5 tonight.

Tonight, the Yankees bid adieu to the playoffs, in a series that was easily the best of the first round. It's so satisfying to see the Steinbrenner/Cashman philosophy of defense-be-damned slugging come crashing down in the glare of October. Finally, no first round result was sweeter for me than watching the Red Sox get swept. What a complete turnaround for this team that won my heart over last October. In the past year, it's been nothing but chest-beating, gloating and self-importance from Red Sox Nation, who viewed the ALCS as their birthright.

Here's to an LCS free of hateable teams.

 
Baseball Playoff Chronicles, Vol. 1

Once again it's time to marvel at the magic that is postseason baseball. Here are my observations two days into the playoffs:

- Speaking of a team not in the playoffs, how disheartening was it to see the Indians choke away a playoff spot last week? By losing 6 of their last 7, the Indians gave Cleveland fans an identical end-of-season collapse to match the Cavaliers' performance last spring.

- Cleveland's collapse ought to attract attention from conspiracy wonks who've been solely focused on the NBA. Not only do the plucky, small-market Indians fail to oust the White Sox, but it just so happens that the Yankees and Red Sox slide into the postseason. So now the four AL playoff teams come from the four biggest TV markets in the league: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Red Sox Nation. Hmmmm.

- The most fascinating aspect of a postseason game is watching a team manufacture a run. It's like a baseball version of a two-minute drill to get into field goal range. Tonight in the 7th inning, the Angels gave a textbook example, using infield singles, sacrifices and a two-out hit to take the lead.

- Once again, ESPN Page 2 is running their entertaining playoff feature, Second Guessing, in which writers analyze the most difficult managerial decisions made in the previous night's games. I like the fact that the column is smarter than most of the "20/20 Hindsight" drivel on Page 2.

- I like Clemens, Pettite and Oswalt as much as the next guy, but people are overrating the importance of their pitching staff. I think they'll get past Atlanta , but I don't think they have enough bats to win it all. It would be a different story if they still had Beltran and Kent.

- Tonight's games is proof how how important defense is when evaluating players-- and why that should factor into the MVP vote. Let's just say that Chone Figgins is a bit more valuable a player than Tony Graffanino.

- This is just a gut feeling, but I don't think any of the four division series will go to five games.

 
Playbooks Don't Have Screenplays

Last night's Tennessee-LSU game reminded me of one of the things I love about sports: it's so maddeningly unscripted. Like most of the country, I've got a soft spot for LSU and their hurricane-ravaged fans. Last night's game was the first significant sporting event played in Louisiana since Katrina hit, so the nation wanted those fans to get a win. That provide everyone with a feel-good moment of resilience, right? Well Tennessee had other plans, plans that involved a 21-point comeback win in overtime. Instead of being uplifted, LSU fans were devastated by a crushing come-from-ahead loss at home in a game they were favored to win. Not exactly storybook.

But that's the great thing about sports: the games write their own stories. That's why it's so frustrating when prominent media figures so openly root for a storyline. Right now, journalists everywhere have been setting up (and practically begging for) storylines like "Yankees and Red Sox on collision course with 3rd straight ALCS showdown" and "McNabb and T.O. feud reaches breaking point; Owens cut from team, banned from football forever." But the games don't need screenwriters, and compelling sports plotlines will develop organically, thank you very much.

 
A Few of My Favorite Football Things

Now that we're past Labor Day it's time to start my favorite part of the sports year. With that, a few of my favorite things about this NFL season:

My favorite guilty pleasure: The NFL Network. I'm four months into a six-month digital cable discount deal, and the NFL Network is easily the best part of the package. All summer I've been wasting hours on fodder like Inside Training Camp, Hard Knocks: Baltimore Ravens and endless replays of week-old preseason games. Imagine all the junk that will be on once the season actually starts!

My favorite sleeper team: The Arizona Cardinals. The NFC West will be just as bad, if not worse, than it was last year. That's why this division is fertile ground for the annual Surprise Team that rises from doormat to playoff darling. I like Arizona to be this year's sleeper, as the rejuvenated Kurt Warner, the emerging young wideout corps and Denny Green's experience will result in a 9-7 division champion.

My favorite hypocrites: Media figures who criticize Terrell Owens. I love how these guys devote hours of talk-show airtime, repeated segments on Sportscenter and bushels of internet columns to the idea that T.O. should shut up. But of course, Owens is the straw that stirs the sports-talk drink. It's two-faced for the media to criticize him when they salivate every time he opens his mouth. Let's just accept T.O. for what he is: the most beloved villain in sports.

My favorite role-play: Fantasy Football GM. This is only my second year playing fantasy sports but I relish playing the role of GM on draft night. The preparation, the time pressure, the trash-talk... tomorrow night will be a good one.

My favorite rookie: Mike Williams, Detroit. We all know that the Lions have an embarrasment of young talent at receiver, but Williams will be the best of them all. Don't let the year off fool you- this guy will still be making circus catches in the NFL too. Especially since Joey Harrington will be the one throwing him off-target passes all season.

My favorite held-hostage uniforms: San Diego's powder blues. Nobody can fathom why the Chargers don't switch permanently back to their glorious powder blue uniforms. The last season that they wore them permanently, they won the '94 AFC championship. Why the Chargers hold on to the bland navy blue is one of sports' biggest mysteries.

My favorite talking-head: ESPN's Tom Jackson. I look through the ESPN on-air talent and it's a roster of blowhards that I can't stand: Sean Salisbury, Mark Schlereth, Michael Irvin, et al. But trapped in that shrill wasteland is Jackson, an insightful, frank, and (gasp!) classy analyst who makes NFL Primetime must-see viewing every Sunday afternoon.

My favorite reason to root for the 49ers: New coach Mike Nolan. Here's a guy who just acts like a man in charge. The son of a former Niners coach and an assistant for decades, he was literally born into this role. This is a man who actually requested to wear a suit on the sidelines, before being quashed by the NFL's contract with Reebok. But best of all, Nolan has gracefully guided the team through the death of a player a few weeks before the season. After the foundering Dennis Erickson era, I'm more than happy jump on board with Mike Nolan.


Mr. Predicto

NFC Playoff Teams
Philadelphia
Minnesota
Atlanta
Arizona
Carolina (Wild Card)
Detroit (Wild Card)

AFC Playoff Teams
New England
Pittsburgh
Indinapolis
Kansas City
Jacksonville (Wild Card)
Cincinnati (Wild Card)

Super Bowl: Colts 38, Eagles 27. I know this is the same pick I made last year, but now there's one more thing to motivate the Colts: Super Bowl XL will be played on a carpet. Peyton Manning still hasn't peaked as a quarterback, three receivers are all coming off 1,000 seasons, and most importantly, Edge James is in a contract year. With Corey Simon, the defense is bolstered enough to stave off the Patriots and the rest of the AFC contenters. As for the Eagles, the McNabb-Owens "feud" is a juicy personality story that has little effect on whether football games are won and lost. Philly will be just fine, but not good enough to race past the streaking Colts.

 
Reintroducing... College Football!

It's been far too long since I've posted about small-town America's national pastime. With the season kicking off this Saturday, it's time for some random thoughts and some prognostication:

* What happened to the Kickoff Classic this year? Instead of a marquee match-up of two ranked teams, we have to start the year with Oregon at Houston on ESPN2 tomorrow night?

* I really hope that Cal's Joe Ayoob wins the starting QB job, if for no other reason than his last name is "Booya" spelled backwards. This guy will be fun to root against.

* I shake my head every year when the media goes ga-ga over high profile coaches even though they have mediocre squads. As if we're supposed to start TiVo-ing South Carolina and Notre Dame games to watch Steve Spurrier and Charlie Weis scowl on the sidelines.

* Pardon me while I neglect to board the bandwagon for Ted Ginn Jr. Yes, he had some nice kick returns for Ohio St. last year, but I'm just not ready to hand the Heisman to a guy with 25 career catches.

* This will finally be the year that the wheels come off at Florida State. Their QB woes, which have lingered since Chris Weinke graduated, while finally catch up with them. I see the Seminoles as this year's Kansas State.

* I don't care about last January's stirring Rose Bowl win. I don't care how exciting Vince Young is. I don't even care that Jason White has graduated and Oklahoma has no experienced quarterbacks. I'm still don't trust the Longhorns to beat the Sooners in the Red River Shootout. I consider Texas to be guilty until proven innocent.

* Everyone who's handing USC their third straight title just doesn't know their history. Look, we all know that the Trojans are loaded and on paper, they've got the brand name QB and RB and therefore, it doesn't make sense to pick against them. But people were saying the same thing about Nebraska in 1996, before Arizona State ended their three-peat bid in a 19-0 shocker. There's a reason that no team has ever won three straight titles. In college football the margin for error is way too small-- one late-season loss submarines your chances. This year, the upset will come courtesy of Fresno State, who will go into the LA Coliseum on November 19 and shock USC.

* My attitude toward's Stanford's team is a mixture of relief, aprehension and optimism. Relief that the Buddy Teevens Offense is a thing of the past. Aprehension at the prospect that The Willingham Big Game Hex may be real (Tyrone was 11-0 against Cal as coach and assistant; we haven't won since he left). Optimisim that with two young quarterbacks and a stadium renovation next year, the program has sunny days ahead of it. Looking at the '05 schedule, I see wins over Navy, Davis, Arizona, UCLA and Notre Dame. If the ball bounces our way in Big Game, we're bowl bound.

Mr Predicto

ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: Louisville
Big Ten: Iowa
Big Twelve: Texas
Pac Ten: USC
SEC: Florida
BCS at large: Michigan
BCS at large: Tennesse

Rose Bowl: Louisville over Virginia Tech

Yep, the media will be howling as the national title game shall feature a contest of two nontraditional football powers. With Marcus Vick finally handling the QB duties, the Hokies will put all of the pieces together and roll through a weakened ACC for their second straight league crown. As for Lousiville, the tandem of Pitino and Petrino is building quite a basketball/football juggernaut. Despite losing Stefan LeFors (who had the best name in college football) the Louisville will keep rolling with stud QB Brian Brohm. The key to their success will be the schedule: the Big East is pathetic, meaning that the Cardinals have a better chance at an undefeated regular season than anyone. Once theyr'e thrown into the national title game, the juggernaut offense will snag them the title. Who says defense wins championships?

 
Inspiration Behind the Boards

We all complain about how today's popular music is bland, unoriginal and uninspired. But while perusing MTV News today I came across two surprising stories with a common theme: unique artists making adventurous choices in the studio.

First comes the startling news that Fiona Apple is finally releasing her long-delayed martyr of an album, Extraordinary Machine. As the world's unlikeliest Fiona Apple fan, I've been following this story closely for the last two years. In that time, the legend of this notoriously bootlegged album surrounded was that Sony refused to release it because record wasn't commercial enough. While many subscribed to this theory of corporate oppression, it always seemed suspicious: why would a label pour money into an album's production, then balk at the chance to recoup costs in sales revenue, especially since both of Apple's previous albums went platinum?

Well, today's news of the album's release comes with a back story, in which a dissatisfied Apple, not Sony, was responsible for shelving the album. It turns out that she was unhappy with the production on the original cut, so she re-recorded all of the tracks with... hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo, a protege of one Dr. Dre. It's almost fitting that an eccentric artist like Apple would go completely unconventional route by hiring the producer responsible for 50 Cent's bass lines. While I'm intrigued by the possibilities, I'm a little sad that she decided to scrap the great material from her leaked album, which was produced by Jon Brion.

Speaking of Brion, he's the subject of the second article, which details his extensive participation in Kanye West's upcoming album. All of Late Registration's tracks feature Brion as executive producer and many feature his lush orchestral performances. Giving so much control to a rap novice would be baffling if Brion weren't such a wonderfully eclectic producer. For the uninitiated, Brion is the producer/composer behind such quirky soundtracks as About a Boy, Magnolia and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As the article points out, Kanye is certainly taking a big risk by allowing Brion to encroach upon his enormous production talents. But I applaud Kanye for pairing up with a fellow virtuoso to attempt sounds that no one else in hip-hop would ever imagine.

 
Enshrinement Everywhere

Has the phrase "Hall of Fame" ever been written more in a one-week span than in the past seven days? With the Baseball HOF inductions last Sunday, rampant speculation on Rafael Palmeiro's future and the Pro Football HOF ceremonies today, the sports media is in the midst of Hall fever. People love to write about the Hall of Fame three different ways: A) Arguing about which players should be inducted; B) Arguing about which players will eventually be inducted; and C) Arguing about the best players who aren't inducted. Nowadays, sports HOF debates are more passionate more controversial and certainly more widespread than they've ever been. I understand that the Hall provides terrific fodder for discussion but I ultimately wonder-- how much does the Hall of Fame really matter?

Sport is ultimately about the games played. And I can't help but feel that too much energy is spent on these arguments that don't actually have to do with the games, but rather about how much a given player contributed to games that were played over five years ago. The Pete Rose Debate is a prime example of why the Hall is overblown. Countless people around baseball strongly advocate Rose's inclusion in the HOF despite his lifetime ban. "He's the game's most prolific hitter! His plaque deserves to be displayed in Cooperstown!" the argument goes. But even without being inducted, Rose is still in the record books, he still has his World Series rings and he's still universally recognized as a great hitter. In fact, Rose gets more notoriety now for his martyr status than he ever would being just another Hall of Famer.

Ultimately, the Hall of Fame phenomenon is about writers being gatekeepers: the HOF is the one chance for writers to directly influence the sport they've covered. While it's admirable that most journalists take their responsibility so seriously, it's a problem comes when they overestimate the actual importance of that responsibility.

 
The True Sports Poll

In the wake of the NHL's return after a 301-day lockout, many are wondering how where hockey will fit into the sports landscape. Before the lockout, the NHL was quickly slipping off its mantle as the fourth major sport, and conventional wisdom says that the fans have left hockey to wither and die. However, I think that given the league's fan-friendly rule changes and the public's love of a good comeback story, I think hockey will have an unexpected mini-revival in the next few seasons. Don't etch a eulogy on the Stanley Cup just yet.

After yesterday's NHL announcement, ESPN put out a poll about where all the sports rank. The thing that I like about the poll is that it includes college football and college basketball, which for some reason, usually get left out of the debate. While no one can deny that the NFL is king, I would make the argument that college football is giving baseball a run for its money at #2. When you think about the intensity of the fans, the fact that games are now televised four nights per week, the fervency of the BCS debates at the end of each season and the fact that the sport dominates the entire American south, there's no doubt that college football is hotter than it's ever been. Plus when you think about it in terms of attendance, no sport comes close to the dozens of 90,000+ stadiums that sell out across the country. The recent rise of name-brand programs like USC, Oklahoma and Miami have attracted attention from big-city sports fans as well-- it's like when successful big-market teams garner nationwide interest in pro sports.

However, as hot as college football is, it still can't top MLB right now. The riveting playoffs of the past two years restored baseball to its full luster after a post-strike lull in the mid-90s. So here's how I would rank the top ten sports right now in my personal hierarchy:

1. NFL
2. Baseball
3. College Football
4. NBA
5. College Basketball
6. Golf
7. NHL
8. Tennis
9. Soccer
10. Boxing

 
Coda for Mitch

This week's Entertainment Weekly contains a long-overdue feature about the death of one of my favorite stand-ups, Mitch Hedberg. This was a guy with a totally unique style: quick one-liners, shy stage presence, and a cadence like a '60s beat poet. When I first caught his Comedy Central special a few years ago, I started out mildly intrigued and ended up with tears in my eyes. But despite the fact that stand-up comedy got increasingly mainstream in the last 20 years and every halfway-decent comic got himself a sitcom deal, Hedberg never made it big. His sudden death from a heroin overdose in March was a sad cliche: a cult-fave brilliant artist who was never appreciated in his time. So in his honor, here are my five favorite absurdist Mitch Hedberg lines:

* "People say that alcoholism is a disease. But alcoholism is the only disease you can get yelled at for having."

* "I like the FedEx driver because he's a drug dealer and he don't even know it."

* "I went to a doctor but all he did was suck blood out of my neck. Don't go see Dr. Acula."

* "I like escalators because they can never break. They can only become stairs."

* "I was gonna go get my teeth whitened but then I said 'Fuck that, I'll just get a tan instead.'"

 
Rough Draft

I feel cheated. Usually the NBA Draft is one of my guiltiest sports pleasures, with it's breathlessly hyped prospects, ridiculous fashions and air of universal optimism. Every fan has the gift of hope after the draft: This kid was a stud in college/the AAU circuit/the French league- he could really be a sleeper for us! But this year, I just didn't have enough time to get excited about the draft. Given that it took place a mere five days after the Finals ended, I was somewhat blindsided and didn't have nearly enough time to get psyched up, scour every mock draft and make predictions. To top things off, I didn't even get home until after the last lottery pick was made. Sigh. I did have a few observations on the coverage that I did catch:

* My favorite quote from last night was from Gerald Green. He was telling Stuart Scott why his contract includes clauses about obtaining a degree while he's in the NBA. "Education man, that's my main thing." Really? Your main thing? Is that why you decided to forsake college and hire an agent?

* My best-dressed award goes to Julius Hodge, who channeled LeBron last night. I'm a sucker for those white-on-white ensembles.

* Am I the only one confused about the Suns-Knicks trade? This is an awful move for Phoenix- it makes no sense to give up the league's most prolific three-point shooter plus Nate Robinson, a guy who's perfect for your system. And in return they get Kurt Thomas, an undersized center who's never even sniffed an All-Star game. The league's unwavering fascination with getting "size" at the expense of talent is absurd.

* I hate it when draft picks are graded without looking at the overall market. For example, I heard a lot of people praise Houston for picking Luther Head with the 24th pick. Head is a good player who may turn out to be one of the 24 best players of this draft. But the fact remains that the Rockets could have gotten him much lower than that spot. I didn't see a single mock draft with him in the first round. Good drafting is about getting the maximum value for your pick. Why not just trade down ten spots and get the guy you want plus a 2007 second round pick?

* When the Bobcats drafted Raymond Felton, the analysts praised the pick because the consensus was that they really needed a point guard. But there's the little-known fact that their '04-'05 point guard, Brevin Knight, was second in the league in assists last year. The guy led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio. No love for the Stanford grad?

* The Sports Guy touched on this in his annual diary, but the "wingspan" epidemic is out of control. According to Jay Bilas, Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell is 6' 5" with a 7' 4" wingspan. I guess the only downside must be that his knuckles are bloody from being dragged on the ground.

* Pat Forde's scathing article on undrafted early-entries is quite eye-opening, if harsh. The SEC was particularly hard-hit, with undrafted guys like Randolph Morris, Matt Walsh and Kennedy Winston. This is an example why the movement to ban high schoolers from the draft is mis-guided. No matter how high you set the limit, there will always be misinformed players who enter the draft too soon and wind up getting burned.

* As for my Warriors, I am quite pleased with their draft. The Ike Diogu pick reminded me of when the 49ers drafted Alex Smith-- not the guy I wanted, but I can convince myself to jump onboard. I would have preferred Hakim Warrick or Danny Granger, but Diogu is nothing to sneeze at. I've watched him torch the Pac 10 the last three years and he clearly has a nose for the basket. More impressively, he's a free throw machine-- he made more free throws than any other Pac 10 player attempted last season. I'm fine with the Monta Ellis pick- he's low-risk and low-expectation choice. I was thrilled with the Chris Taft pick- big body, very athletic and an excellent value at #43. He's got tons of (dare I say it?)... upside!

 
Seduce and Destroy, Revisited

It's safe to say that we're all somewhat bewildered by Tom Cruise's recent antics during his marathon War of the Worlds junket. Nobody has ever had a more eventful, controversial and downright bizzare promotional campaign for a film. Let's ignore for a moment the Katie Holmes seduction, the red carpet water-squirting incident and the out-of-left-field Brooke Shields diss. What would posess a respected, charming, wildly popular superstar to suddenly proclaim himself a pharmeceutical expert and start offering psychiatric advice during interviews? This morning, while watching a clip of his trainwreck Today show interview, it hit me: Tom Cruise has morphed into his Frank "T.J." Mackey character from Magnolia.

In the best performance of his career, Cruise played a pompous, evangelical infomercial host who hawked the "Seduce and Destroy" technique for attracting women. There's scene about half an hour into the movie, in which Mackey sits down for an interview with a female TV reporter. In the interview, Mackey is over the top, intentionally controversial and even jumps on his chair for shock value. The similarities to Cruise's real-life Oprah interview are eerie. The only difference now is that War of the Worlds is the infomercial he's promoting and Scientology is "Seduce and Destroy." It's only a matter of time before he snaps into Collateral mode and goes on a killing spree.

 
Unpacking the Brain

I'm back from a two-week vacation in Europe and musings have been piling up in my head. Here are a few random thoughts on pop culture, sports and other stuff:

* As Vincent Vega said in Pulp Fiction, the best thing about Europe is the little differences. For instance: waiters don't hassle you while you're eating; tabloid newspapers include profanity and nudity; men wear capri pants and man-purses; womens' lower-lip piercings are off-center (instead of directly above the chin); tip is usually included in restaurant bills; and best of all they use coins for small denomination. The Sacagawea dollar never took off here, but what about a $2 coin?

* I really like the Audioslave song "Be Yourself" but the bad grammar in the chorus nags at me. "To be yourself is all that you can do" just doesn't sound right. Why didn't Chris Cornell just write it as "Just be yourself/It's all that you can do"?

* It's funny how NBA commentators all talk about how the Pistons "turn it on and turn it off" it terms of intensity for certain games. That's the exact same criticism that dogged the Lakers last year before Detroit whupped them in the Finals. Maybe winning a title just makes every team rest on their laurels, no matter how gritty and diligent they are at heart.

* Speaking of the Finals, the most frustrating aspect of the Spurs-Pistons series is that the games have been blowouts. These are the two best defensive clubs in the league and they're pretty even from a matchup standpoint. It's just a shame that neither team can summon any sort of adrenaline on the road. So it begs the question: would David Stern prefer a seven-game series featuring seven blowouts or a four-game sweep with four buzzer-beaters? I'd take the latter- you've gotta reward fans who sit down and watch these telecasts.

* Yesterday The Sports Guy had cool game in his mailbag: which celebrity flameouts match athlete flameouts? I liked all of his choices but I'm surprised that he so quickly dismissed Mike Tyson and Jason Giambi as having any comparable celebs. Tyson and Michael Jackson are kindred spirits (used to be best in the biz, hit with sordid accusations, now an embarrasing circus act). Giambi's decline mirrors that of Whitney Houston. Or if you want to look at it from an "exposed-as-a-fraud" angle, Milli Vanilli would be an obvious choice. This calls for a letter to Simmons.

* The failure of Cinderella Man at the box office thus far, is one of the more baffling movie phenomena I've ever seen. I haven't seen it yet but the critics have been raving, the film's star is on the A+ list, and there's Oscar talent at every orifice of the film. The only explanation is the release date- a December opening probably would have helped.

* HBO's Entourage is back for a second season and I can't remember being more torn about a series. Despite initially liking the show, as the first season went on I became more and more annoyed with the obnoxiousness of the four leads. The characters are vapid and unsympathetic, the acting is generally wooden, and the show's writers are way too esoteric. You can just picture the writers high-fiving each other going "Dude, what if we had Ali Larter show up in a string bikini in this scene! Sweeeet!!" That said, I can't stop watching Entourage. First of all Jeremy Piven has created one of the great TV characters of our era playing the hilariously cocky agent Ari Gold. And secondly, there's an unavoidable urge to live vicariously through these guys living in a fantasy world.

* Having just returned from Paris, I cannot understand why crepes aren't wildly popular here in the States. Crepes are the perfect post-meal snack- fresh, hot, sweet and best of all, cheap. If I opened up a chain of crepe joints (with clean stores, peppy employees and a huge menu), it could be the next Jamba Juice.

 
LIST-O-RAMA: The Most Anticipated Movies of the Past Decade

With Revenge of the Sith coming out on Thursday, there's been an extra hop in my step this week. Not that I'm a Star Wars geek or anything, but I can't help but get caught up in some good 'ol fashioned summer movie buzz. There's always a good deal of hype surrounding a Star Wars release, and even though the first two prequels were disappointments there's still considerable Revenge of the Sith hype due to the bevy of positive reviews being generated. It got me thinking: which movies in recent history have generated the most fan excitement leading up to the opening weekend? Keep in mind that many movies that turned out lousy had tons of buzz beforehand, and not all blockbusters generated lines around the block when they debuted (Titanic only made $29 million its opening weekend). Herewith:

1. The Phantom Menace (1999)

Fans of the original Star Wars trilogy had been waiting 16 years for a new installment, and the 1997 re-release of episodes IV-VI whetted appetites for a new generation. In the weeks beforehand, conventional wisdom said that The Phantom Menace box office would undoubtedly set the record for biggest the opening weekend, possibly even crossing the $100 million mark. I remember reading a story quoting some moviegoers saying that they would avoid the theaters on opening weekend because the cineplexes were sure to be sold out for days on end. This mentality was likely the cause of the more down-to-earth $65 million opening weekend that resulted. However, it was the lukewarm reviews from disappointed audiences and critics that killed the buzz and started a mini-backlash against the Star Wars empire.

2. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

In terms of sheer hype, this one takes the cake. Audiences adored the first Matrix and the promise of not one, but two imminent sequels had fans foaming at the mouth. The massive scope of the production actually caused Reloaded to be pushed back a full year from its original 2002 target date, giving the media extra time to pump up the masses with "Matrix Secrets Revealed!!" articles. But alas, with stratospheric expectations, a letdown was inevitable. But hey, at least Reloaded looked Oscar-worthy compared with Revolutions, the abysmal final installment.

3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Another highly successful blockbuster, another sequel with hyped-up fans. The only notable aspect of this stinker (easily Spielberg's worst film) was the $90 million opening weekend, which set a record that would last a good five years.

4. Independence Day (1996)

This is the movie that really ushered in the era of the July 4 event movie. "iD4" was marketed to the hilt, as everything, including the the title and setting of the film, was geared towards the Fourth of July. The hype machine famously began with a Super Bowl ad featuring the White House being blown to smithereens. The good news was that Independence Day was actually one of the few movies on this list that turned out to be as enjoyable as the hype promised.

5. Goldeneye (1995)

People forget how much excitement there was for Pierce Brosnan's first Bond movie. After two forgettable Timothy Dalton bombs in the late '80s, the entertainment world was dying for a return to the era when James Bond was the coolest man in moviedom. Bond is one of the few franchises thats' truly driven by its international (rather than U.S.) following and Pierce Brosnan was the popular choice to step into the role. Goldeneye ended up saving the multibillion dollar Bond franchise, which will produce its 21st edition (Casino Royale) next year.


Rounding out the list:

6. Spider-Man (2002)
7. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
8. Attack of the Clones (2002)
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
10. Men in Black (1997)

 
There's No Mistaking the Pied Piper of R&B

Lately I've been somewhat disinterested in R&B, as I've found the genre to be completely stagnant. You've got divas-in-training like Ashanti and Fantasia, while on the men's side we have to deal with amateur fluff from people like Frankie J, Omarion and Mario. I was convinced that R&B wasn't worth paying attention to anymore.

R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" has changed everything.

The same man who carried the genre in the '90s (and yes, the same man who has avoided jail for three years despite having been videotaped urinating on a naked 14 year-old) is staking a claim to regain the throne. "Trapped in the Closet" can only be described as an explosive, preposterous and utterly original R&B opera. R. Kelly has created a sweeping, five-part song with no chorus that is completely lyrics-driven. The twist-filled song takes place the morning after a tryst with a married woman. As R. Kelly is about to flee the woman's bedroom, her husband begins walking up the stairs, forcing our hero to hide in the bedroom closet clutching his Barretta. That's merely the beginning of a riveting (yet ridiculous) story filled with surprises, cliffhangers and genuine suspense for the listener. So far only parts 1 and 2 have been released to radio, and the full album, TP3: Reloaded, comes out in July.

I hate to provide spoilers for those who haven't heard parts 1 and 2, but I have a few predictions for the rest of the story: 1) R. Kelly will lose control of his gun, 2) at some point there will be some type of police stand-off and 3) R. Kelly will get a second call on his cell phone (from the same person who called while he was in the closet) that will prove pivotal. Stay tuned.

 
The World's Pastime

I was very excited to hear the news today that the long-discussed World Cup of Baseball will actually be taking place next year. The games will take place over three weeks in March, meaning that the season won't be interrupted and players will be in shape enough to participate. Instead of being governed by a third party (as is the case with the Olympics and USA Basketball) the "World Baseball Classic" is a product of MLB and the Players Association. I applaud both parties for getting together on this, because it decreases the chance of players saying "I don't feel like playing" and owners saying "I don't want my stars getting injured." Who would have thought the owners and players could collaborate on anything these days?

As for the games, the matchups are extremely enticing. The Dominican Republic, the United States and Venezuela would be the three favorites, and given the single-elimination format of the semifinal and final, any team could win (this actually strikes me as an unjust format for baseball, as I would have preferred a Best-of-3 for the final two rounds). ESPN took a stab at predicting the lineups for the top teams, and I have to say that the Dominicans are a murderer's row. The best chance for the U.S. would be to milk its pitching staff, with Clemens, Johnson, Schmidt and Hudson at its disposal. As for the U.S. position players, I would make a few alterations to David Schoenfield's list. I'd take Jeter out of the starting lineup as his production has dropped over the past few years. Instead, I'd start A-Rod at shortstop (he's been struggling as a third baseman as a Yankee) and put Scott Rolen at third. Finally, I think we can do better than Mark Loretta at 2B. The torrid Brian Roberts is the clear choice as the starter, and I'd put Marcus Giles or Michael Young on the roster as a backup infielder.

 
Stumble for the Roses

I have had a long-standing ambivalence to horse racing, but Saturday's Run for the Roses confirmed it: the Kentucky Derby is the nation's most overrated sporting event.

First, this is a sport where the atheletes are not human. I could see how the horse population might be riveted by the Derby, but I would much rather pay attention to the athletic exploits of my own species. Secondly, how big could an event be in which nobody is familiar with any of the participants even a week beforehand? During the week of the Derby, the sports media decides it must do its duty to educate the public about the race. Storylines are manufactured, trainers are spotlighted, and horses with fanciful names are hyped. It's never a good sign when spectators only care because they have been told why they should care 48 hours beforehand.

Thirdly, the stakes of the Kentucky Derby are actually quite low. The Derby winner is only important because if that same horse wins the Preakness, then there is a big tease leading up to the Belmont (for the triple crown "threat" that will inevitably fizzle). For triple crown purposes, it makes no difference which of the twenty horses wins the Derby. Fourthly, the televised event itself has more filler than an American Idol finale. God only knows why NBC began broadcasting the Derby at 2:00, when the race actually started around 3:15. The race was over by 3:18.

Finally, the Derby is overrated because nobody, not even horse racing experts, can make an intelligent guess about the winner. As the old Jerry Seinfeld bit goes, it's hard to evaluate competitors who aren't even aware that they're compteting. The fact that a 50-1 longshot won the Derby is evidence of what folly it is to pay attention every May.

 
The Misguided Path of the Righteous Man

For the last several years, Samuel L. Jackson's career has been somewhat a running joke. A man who started out as an ice-cool badass has devolved into hired gun who can't turn down a paycheck. Films like Jungle Fever and Pulp Fiction introduced us to an arresting talent who had the potential for a long, brilliant career. But in the late '90s, things started taking an ominous turn. First, we wrote off mindliess fluff like The Great White Hype and Sphere. Then we scratched our heads at Deep Blue Sea and The 51st State. Later, we groaned in pity at XXX and Basic. It was now clear that Jackson was a Hollywood mercenary, accepting any part no matter how small the part or how terrible the premise.

Pacific Air 121 will sink the situation to a new level.

Jackson has signed on to this movie, in which he plays an FBI agent transporting a dangerous criminal on a trans-Pacific flight. Only the plane has a crate filled with poisonous snakes. Oh, and Benjamin McKenzie from The O.C. will be playing the pilot. I wish I were making this up. Does Jackson even have an agent? I really feel the need to storm the production and start screaming "Stop! No, you can't do this!!" as I run around ripping down the set.

Jackson recently tried to defend Pacific Air 121, saying "I like scary movies! The scariest thing you could think of is a crate load of poisonous snakes getting released into the atmosphere on a plane." This tells you everything you need to know about a man who needs to be saved from himself.

 
Caught in the Draft

Here are some random thoughts about this weekend's NFL Draft:

* Given that the draft was devoid of a surefire stud quarterback, I thought that the 49ers should have taken the best available player, Braylon Edwards. But in the minutes leading up to the pick on Saturday morning, I talked myself into being optimistic about the Alex Smith pick. It's like Torry Holt was saying: if you're going to rebuild, you might as well put your money behind a quarterback because he can be the face of the franchise. Plus he has the body, the brain and the track record to be a succesful pro. Given that draft picks are always a crapshoot, I guess I can be satisfied with the fact that Alex Smith has no red flags.

* My plea to players who get taken at the top of the draft: Get off the cell phone! It was cringe-inducing to see guys like Braylon Edwards and Cadillac Williams concentrating on their cell phone conversation as their names were being read. What possible need is there to stay on the line during the most important moment of your life? Wouldn't it be more rewarding to actually listen to Tagliabue call your name and then maybe hug your mother?

* There's a draft tradition of taking the "#1" jersey of your new team on your way up to the podium. However, while most jerseys are blank, I did notice that certain draftees had their names stitched on to the jersey. How many different jersey-name combinations went unused backstage. I would love to see a "B. Edwards" 49ers jersey turn up on eBay.

* The best players who went undrafted: Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall, Oklahoma's Jason White, West Virginia's Kay Jay Harris, and Purdue's Taylor Stubblefield.

* With Stanford's O.J. Atogwe's selection in the third round, I can finally say: I know an NFL player. (There's a chance he may not remember his former RA, but that's besides the point).

* I'm normally not a fan of athlete interviews (they're usually cliche-filled and uninsightful) but I was blown away by Cedric Benson's tearful post-draft interview. Benson candidly discussed the unfair comparisons to Ricky Williams that had haunted him in the pre-draft process. Benson said that he was "degraded," "talked down-to" and that the entire pre-draft process was "a slap in the face." Other than Michael Wilbon, nobody has discussed the racial-profiling that made teams question whether Benson would turn out to be just like Williams: another dreadlocked U-Texas head-case. I hope that a good number of NFL scouts heard what Benson had to say.

* Speaking of racial profiling, I couldn't belive that Mel Kiper Jr. actually said, "you see a lot of Doug Williams in Jason Campbell." Huh? It's OK Mel, all black quarterbacks don't need to be compared to other black quarterbacks. And if you insist on doing it, couldn't you have picked a player who has been active in the past 15 years?

* SI.com's excellent scribe Stewart Mandel asked a provacative question before the draft: which colleges are actually the best NFL-factories? There's no argument that Miami is in a class by itself when it comes to producing pros. That's why I wasn't worried when the 49ers selected the oft-injured Frank Gore yesterday. You have to feel confident when the last three running backs produced by The U were Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee.

* You have to think that the nickname helped "Pac Man" Jones raise his draft stock. How else could he be drafted ahead of Antrel Rolle?

 
On the Diamond

Sure it's two weeks into the games already, but now is as good a time as any to start writing about the baseball season. We've had a few interesting storylines, some exciting debuts and my fantasy team is already shot to hell. Here are some random thoughts:

* Going into the season I was pefectly fine with all of the noise about the Yankees and Red Sox. After all, Boston's win meant that it had turned into a real rivalry, rather than just a fan- and media-based feud. But with the rivalry dwarfing coverage of all other teams and every Sox-Yanks incident being hashed and rehashed on PTI, I've had enough. The Sheffield fiasco on Thursday was most ridiculous for the fact that nothing really happened. The fan never ended up affecting the play and Sheffield never actually struck the fan. But the media simply can't restrain themselves when it comes to wall-to-wall coverage of Yanks-Sox.

* I'm not worried about the Giants at all. Even if Barry is out of the lineup for another month, the team is balanced and deep enough to tread water in the weak NL West.

* It's great that baseball is back in Washington and I'm glad to see that the Nationals have been embraced by the city. But the one thing nagging me about the Nats is thier uniforms. To me, their home unis make them look just like the Angels and their road jerseys are just like the Giants' jerseys.

* As for my aforementioned fantasy team, everything looked blissful after my draft. I had a lineup stacked with sluggers like Tejada, Ortiz, Blalock and Matsui. But as a rotisserie novice, I didn't pay enough attention to creating a balanced lineup. For example, none of my guys can steal bases and my pitching staff is severely struggling in the ERA and strikeouts. The good thing about baseball is that each season lasts about three decades, so there's plenty of time to wheel and deal.

* The fact that two players have already been busted for steroids tells me that the problem isn't going to disappear nearly as quickly as baseball would like. Players still have the mentality that even though there are tests, they won't get caught. The implementation of new testing policies are admirable, but it's going to take several years before players view the tests as a deterrent.

* Speaking of steroids, remember when Juiced was released on Valentine's Day and everyone was dismissing Jose Canseco? "This book is trash!" we all cried. "You can't take anything he says seriously because he's obviously just a sellout who's looking to throw his teammates under the bus. Don't pay any attention to him- he has zero credibility."

Well, two months later and Canseco has gotten substantially wealthier, initiated a Congressional steroid crackdown and successfully torn Mark McGwire's reputation to shreds. So I guess Jose Canseco was given a lot more credibility than anyone intended.

Mr. Predicto

NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Tim Hudson
NL Manager of the Year: Frank Robinson
AL MVP: David Ortiz
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Manager of the Year: Tony Pena

Playoffs:

Angels over Yankees
Red Sox (Wild Card) over Twins
Angels over Red Sox

Marlins (Wild Card) over Cardinals
Giants over Braves
Marlins over Giants

World Series: Angels over Marlins

 
Unforgettable Fire

I had the pleasure of attending the U2 concert last night at the Shark Tank in San Jose. I'm not a fanatic about live concerts (I prefer my songs with a studio polish) but U2 has been on my List of Bands I Must See for several years. I love all of their classics, I know their two most recent albums well and then there's the fact that they're the biggest rock band in the world.

Going into the concert I had a wishlist of five songs that I would most like to hear: "With Or Without You," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "One," "Beautiful Day" and "Miracle Drug" (the best song off of the new album). They played all but one of them and needless to say, I was a very happy customer. Understandably, the setlist last night was heavily weighted towards songs from Atomic Bomb. This actually wasn't as big of a problem as I anticipated, since they stuck with the best songs off of the record. I was a little surprised with how many fairly obscure songs they played from the mid-80s (and yet they couldn't squeeze in "With Or Without You"?!). And I agree with the Sports Guy, who attended their LA show a few days ago: "City of Blinding Lights" was the wrong choice to start the show. Why not go with a well-known anthem like "Beautiful Day," or "Pride (In the Name of Love)"?

The highlight of the show was "Sunday Bloody Sunday," a song that the band has been perfecting for over 20 years. The crowd went nuts as soon we heard the opening drum solo, and the band just got down to business. The Edge was most animated during this song, stomping his foot, bobbing his torso up and down and playing an angry, snarling guitar riff. When you contrast him with the heavy-handed, overly-theatrical Bono, The Edge looked like the coolest rock star on the planet.

The stage was terrific, with concentric-circle lighing on the floor, and background curtains made of thousands of flashing light bulbs. The lights were perfectly synced up with the dramatic changes in each song, and it created a dazzling spectacle throughout the concert. Given the magnitude of the band, my familiarity with the songs and the fantastic set, I can say that it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever attended. If you missed it, I highly recommend that you check them out on their second North American go-around this fall.

 
Bear Looks Like a Lady

After Baylor won the women's NCAA championship on Tuesday, I was left with one question: why is the team called the Lady Bears? Calling themselves "The Bears" would be more than appropriate. Isn't 50% of the bear population female? I've never liked the added "Lady" moniker or any other gender-specified name. Are the women at USC so inferior to the male Trojans that they must be called the Women of Troy? It's especially ridiculous to add the "Lady" handle to animal mascots: bears, be they male or female, are equally ferocious.

 
My Shining Moment

Well, it took ten years of filling out brackets but it finally happened: I won an NCAA pool. Hand me the scissors- I'm about to cut down the nets.

Going into tonight's game, there were three people with a chance to win the 22-person pool. I was tied for first place with another guy who picked UNC and the guy in third place picked Illinois. As I watched the final five minutes of the game, I was of course riveted by Illinois seemingly unstoppable resilience, but I was also thinking about the other competition of the night. While the announcers kept us abreast of Carolina's dwindling margin of victory, I was also keeping an eye on the overall point total because not only did I need the Heels to win, I needed to win the tiebreaker. I had picked a 72-69 score and the 75-70 final was enough to push me over the top.

All credit for my victoy goes to the Crown and Retrace strategy, as this was definitely the right year to fill out the bracket inside-out. Not only did I get both teams in the title game, but I also correctly picked Sean May (who had the best birthday in the history of birthdays) as the Most Outstanding Player. Mr Predicto has gotten the monkey off his back.

 
The Pioneer on the Silver Screen

Being a movie buff and a sports buff, it's not surpising that I am always intrigued by the melding of my two passions: the sports movie. Yesterday it was announced that Robert Redford would be bringing Jackie Robinson's story to the big screen. I think this will make for a very interesting project, since Hollywood has actually been doing a good job with historically-based sports films recently, such as Seabiscuit, Miracle and Friday Night Lights.

The most interesting part of the story is that while Redford will be playing Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, the part of Robinson is still up for grabs. The film is being produced by the same company that helmed Ray, and naturally they have an eye towards Jamie Foxx in the lead role. The producer Howard Baldwin even told the SF Chronicle: "At the appropriate time, we'd be nuts not to want to talk to Jamie."

But should Foxx take the part? While I definitely think that he would nail the role, it would be best for him to pass on it. First of all, there's the age factor. Robinson joined the majors at age 28; Foxx is already 37. While he looks younger than that, I just wonder if he could get back to his Any Given Sunday physique again. Secondly, Foxx just finished starring in a biopic about a mid-20th century African-American legend. This is the time for him to diversify his roles because this post-Oscar clout won't last forever.

So who to cast? I'd go with Derek Luke or Mekhi Phifer. Both have the right age, right look, and right acting chops.

 
An Elite Weekend

Simply put, this past weekend of the NCAA tournament was a joy. There weren't simply unbelivable finishes, but the regional finals were all great, competitive games from start to finish. But from all of the great drama and superb moments, three things stick in my mind:

1. The one trait separating the cream of the crop: athleticism. Coaches and media members love to trumpet fundamentals, shooting and great teamwork in the college game, but this weekend showed me that to survive in March, you need guys with hops. When you take the top 65 teams in the nation, pretty much everyone can shoot, and everyone has won some close games and everyone has several guys who can put up 20 points in a game. The difference are those few players who can make that crazy, game-changing play. Watching the West Regional final, it was clear to me that Louisville's superior athleticism won the game for them down the stretch. The blocked shots, deflected passes and tough rebounds set them apart from West Virginia.

2. Even though I watched that Illinois comeback against Arizona, I still don't understand how it happened. Deron Williams and the Illini simply ripped that victory out of Arizona's hands. When the Cats kept committing all those turnovers in the final minutes, I was instantly reminded of the similar collapse they had against Stanford in the Nick Robinson Game last year. In that game, Arizona yielded two steals and seven straight points in the final 43 seconds. Those final few tense, gaffe-filled Arizona posessions yesterday certainly elicited some fond memories.

3. I'm baffled by how poorly some of the teams executed in game-winning situations. You see it when the game is tied or the team with the ball is within 3 points. They wait, dribble, wait, let the clock tick down to 8, 7, 6, 5(!!!) before they start their drive to the basket. Arizona botched it Saturday and Kentucky completely blew it in the first overtime. It is absolutely inexcusable that Kelenna Azubuike, dribbling in circles, didn't even get a shot off. If I'm the coach, I make my point guard start his drive at the 8 second mark. That leaves enough room for improvisation in case he hits a roadblock, and it leaves enough time to get an offensive rebound if necessary.

 
Hall Passes

Despite the fact that March Madness has recently taken over my life, I did catch the news that U2 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last week. It got me to thinking: which modern artists will make it to the Hall? To be enshrined in Cleveland, you have to have more than just a few pop hits (which is why Lynard Skynard isn't in) and you have to have more than a niche fanbase (thus, no KISS). I'm limiting this list to any artist that debuted after 1990 and I'm breaking it down into five categories:

1. LOCKS (If they retired today, they would be inducted):

Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band, Green Day (American Idiot clinched it), 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Timbaland (one of the greatest producers in music history), Eminem, Outkast, The Notorious B.I.G., Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, TLC

All of these artists could headline a world tour at their peak and they have legions of fans to this day. Nirvana, Biggie and TLC all get their resumes boosted by rock's fascination with death. Eminem just makes the cut in this category; when you combine the critical praise with the cultural impact, four albums is enough to make a Hall-worthy career.

2. ON TRACK (Barring a career catastrophe, they'll eventually make it in):

Coldplay, Usher, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Beyonce (even after just one album), Mary J. Blige

They've all got sufficient popularity and respectability, but their careers are still too young. In Mary's case, she's about one more hit song away from being a lock.

3. ON THE BUBBLE (Probably will wind up being inducted, but you never know):

Beck, No Doubt, Boyz II Men, Nas, Sheryl Crow, P. Diddy

You could make convincing arguments either way for all of these artists. I think Puffy will eventually make it in for his industry influence rather than his music. As for Boyz II Men, nobody on this entire list was bigger than them at their peak. But when you think about it, their megastardom really only lasted less than three years before they faded into obscurity. They're like the Kurt Warner of the music industry.

4. STILL A CHANCE (These artists still have some work to do if they want Hall consideration):

Weezer, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, Nelly, Britney Spears

With these guys, it's too hard to read how history will view them. As for Britney, she's still very young and she's such a cultural icon that the media will never let her fade out of view. But if you look at her life now, you don't see someone who's interested in having an extended, successful music career. She needs at least another five hit songs and at least one respectable album before she's in the Hall of Fame conversation.

5. MISSED THEIR CHANCE (These careers were too short and it's too late for a revival):

The Smashing Pumpkins, Everclear, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, Blink 182 (assuming their recent break-up holds), Wu-Tang Clan

These artists all showed flashes of greatness, but their careers just weren't solid enough to put them over the top. The Smashing Pumpkins may prove me wrong, but I don't think that undefined era of mid-'90s rock will garner much respect 15 years from now when the band becomes Hall-eligible. Of the groups in this category, Rage is the band that I really wish had put all the pieces together. Not only did they were the only '90s group with substantial lyrics, but they were the one band that actually got the rock-rap thing right.


OK did I miss anyone from the last 15 years? If so, let me know about it.

 
Musings from Bracketville

In between promos for Spring Break Shark Attack, CBS actually aired the games of NCAA tournament. Here are my observations:

* Even though Stanford's 23-point first-round loss on Friday was arguably its worst tournament performance in ten years, this loss bothered me the least of all of them. The repeated setbacks this team faced (Moore and Bradford leaving the team, Morris's ineligibility, the 0-3 Pac 10 start and Grunfeld's injury) had the effect of continually lowering expectations. Without any depth or reliable outside shooting (which was a problem even before Grunfeld went down) we really had no chance in the tourney. This was a rebuilding season by any measure and a 3rd place conference finish and an NCAA bid are nothing to be ashamed of.

* Louisville's drubbing of Georgia Tech today is easily the most impressive win of the tournament so far. And yes, I am kicking myself for picking Wake instead of Louiville to reach the Final Four.

* Speaking of Louisville, Francisco Garcia has the most deceptive three-point shot in the country. Here's tall, muscular foward throwing up a hiiiigh arcing bombs that look like they have no chance- yet in the basket they go.

* It really annoys me when analysts use a few tournament results to make generalizations about conference strength. The rationale goes: "Hey the Big East must be overrated because UConn, Syracuse and B.C. all lost." But that conveniently ignores the fact that Villanova and West Virginia pulled off upsets this weekend. The tourney is a hodgepodge of random events- let's not leap to conclusions just because they're convenient.

* For the second year in a row, UAB's Squeaky Johnson has claimed the tournament's Best Name award. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, JamesOn Curry, Rajon Rondo, Taylor Coppenrath and Jarrett Jack round out the Honorable Mention List.

* When Kansas set up for their final chance to win the game against Bucknell, I was torn. Do I root for the upset or for the buzzer-beater? It's hard to go against the little school when you know it would be the biggest win in school history. But on the flipside I had Kansas going to the Elite 8 in my bracket and I've always liked the Jayhawks. I ended up rooting for Simien to make that shot, mainly because it's been so long since we've had a true tourney buzzer beater. They're actually much more rare than the CBS promotional department would have you believe.

* I can't decide whether OSU-Arizona or Louisville-UW will be the best game of the Sweet 16. Either way, what could be more fun than rooting against two Pac 10 rivals?

* There is no doubt however, that Texas Tech-West Virginia is the worst game of the next round. I'm already bracing for the onslaught of stories on the resurgence of Bob Knight. I can't stand it when the media latches on to a familiar coach because they have no other reporting angles.

* As for my bracket, I've had my share of maddening blunders (especially picking Pitt to reach the Sweet 16) but overall I still have a chance. Wake and Kansas are my only Elite Eight teams that have been eliminated. It's easy to forget that you can't overreact to the first two rounds- as long as your title teams are still playing, you've got a shot to win the pool.

 
Breaking down the Final Four

Well, even though I was extremely tempted to pick Oklahoma State and Louisville, I went with a fairly conservative Final Four. With Louisville, even though I love their momentum (they've won 18 of 19) and their plethora of scoring options, the road for the Cardinals is just too tough. To make it to St. Louis, they might have to beat Georgia Tech, Washington (or Pitt) and Wake Forest. So let's call Louisville my Final Four pick that I didn't actually pick.

In my first national semifinal, I have Illinois taking on Wake Forest in a rematch of their game early in the season. In that game, Wake never knew what hit 'em, and the Illini ran them off the court. I don't think Wake's defense has gotten much better since then, so once again I think the fast guards of Illinois will push their team to victory. In my other semifinal matchup, I have Duke meeting North Carolina for the first time in an NCAA tournament game. In both of their regular season games, North Carolina clearly looked like the better team, but the Heels weren't playing up to potential. In the Durham game, McCants played terribly while Duke shot lights out, but UNC still had a chance to win at the end. In the Chapel Hill game, the Heels deserve a lot of credit for winning the game without McCants at all. I think that Roy Williams will get his house in order and win the rubber match. I know it's not exactly blasphemous to predict that Illinois and North Carolina will meet in the final. But when I filled out my bracket, I didn't try to be revolutionary, just victorious. To paraphrase Jets coach Herm Edwards, you play to WIN the pool. Hello!?!

In the final, I see the terrific guard play of each team cancelling each other out. The difference will be in the interior. While watching the Big 10 tournament last weekend, it hit me: Illinois could easily be handled inside. Augustine is a serviceable center but he's not going to push anyone around. And Roger Powell, Jr. is a nice player but with a generous listing of 6'6," he's absolutely tiny for a power forward. I see Sean May (my Final Four M.O.P.) and Marvin Williams running roughshod over these guys in the paint.

I used the Crown and Retrace strategy for my pool this year, and I had North Carolina as my national champ before the brackets even came out.

 
Breaking down the South

For starters, I can't say I'm disappointed with Stanford's draw. With only 18 wins and such a shaky end to the regular season, you can't argue with a #8 seed. That being said, you can't argue with the fact that we would have been better off being a #10 seed. The bottom of the South bracket, with Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah, is extremely beatable. But as it stands, in order for Stanford to get through to the Sweet 16, they'll have to beat two great big men: Lawrence Roberts of MSU and Shelden Williams of Duke. I just have horrible visions of Rob Little having one of his "two fouls in three minutes" games when trying to defend a superior pivotman. If we employ a double team, think we have a solid chance against Roberts, but that strategy simply wouldn't work against Duke, who could just as easily kill us from the outside.

I've read that a lot of peoplepicking Syracuse to knock off Duke in the Sweet 16. Again, I think the allure of the familiar is at work. Jim Boeheim is a college basketball institution, Gerry McNamarra is practically a household name, so people fall in love with the 'Cuse. Too bad the Orangemen have been inconsistent all season. Sure, they're talented enough to win three or four in a row, but that doesn't mean it's gonna happen against the cold-blooded Blue Devils. As much as I would love a few crazy upsets in this bracket, it will be #1 seed Duke beating #2 seed Kentucky in the regional final.

 
Breaking Down the East

With so many heavyweights at the top of this bracket, there's little consensus among the pundits. I keep hearing that Florida will make the Sweet 16 because they were hot down the stretch. But just as many others say that Florida will choke, and the Jayhawk-slaying Villanova Wildcats will advance. At the bottom of the bracket, UConn is getting a lot of love for being defending champs, while others love Kansas because of their seniors. With those two teams, I think that the media tends to get blinded by the allure of the familiar. We know the names of the UConn and Kansas players, therefore we can trust them, right? The problem is that tournament experience just isn't a reliable predictor of success.

In keeping with my strategy of going inside-out with my bracket picks this year, I decided before Selection Sunday that North Carolina would be one of my Final Four teams. Even after the brackets came out, with the and I realized that UNC is in the group of death, I'm sticking to my guns. The battle-tested Heels were the best team in the nation's best conference, so they won't blink when facing a big-name school (including UConn, which lost to the Heels at home). North Carolina is the pick

 
Breaking down the Midwest

I've been in love with Oklahoma State for weeks. I thought to myself, "here's an athletic, balanced, senior-laden team, that made the Final Four last year. I'm gonna pick these guys to meet Illinois in the title game." Then the brackets came out and darned if they weren't in the same bracket as the Illini. That demonstrates the lesson: don't get all hot and bothered until the brackets come out.

Outside of the top two seeds, this is the least interesting bracket in my view. I still don't believe in Arizona, (given their tournament track record) while B.C. and and Alabama are lightweight #4 and #5 seeds. I expect to see some upsets in the first weekend by UWM and LSU .

So what to do about the Illinois-Oklahoma St. conundrum? This is probably the hardest decision of my entire bracket. The Illini have a whole lot of similarities to last year's Stanford team (a workmanlike team, a perfect record until the last game of the season, a weak conference that raises skepticism) but they have great talent to plug into their team-first system. Okie State will make for a great opponent, but Illinois just has too many weapons.

 
Breaking down the West

(As you can see, I'm hereby banishing the city names from the regionals)

I wholeheartedly agree with everyone carping over Washington getting the top seed. I've seen the Huskies in person and there's no way this team could hang with a team that has any kind of frontcourt. They live and die by the three which leaves them vulnerable to cold shooting nights. While they have certainly looked faster than their slower-tempoed Pac-10 foes, there are plenty of teams out there that can run with them. Don't forget, this was the exact same lineup that got beaten by UAB in the first round last year.

Now that we've eliminated U-Dub (who will get out-muscled by Pitt) we come to the extremely tough Louisville-Georgia Tech game. While it's tempting to be blinded by Tech's ACC tournament run, you can't ignore that Louisvillehad a better regular season and is even hotter than Tech- they've won 18 of their last 19. At the bottom of the bracket, I'm not getting burned by Gonzaga again, so it's Wake to the Elite Eight. Now the question is, can the Deacons' overcome their defensive shortcomings against a Louisville team that's solid top-to-bottom? I'm going with the stronger conference, so Wake Forest is the pick.

 
Tourney Tip-off

The reason that Selection Sunday is one of the best sports days of the year is that when's over, your excitement doen't end. It's the rare "event" day that only signals the beginning of better days to come. I'll breakdown each of the brackets later this week, but first there are a few things on my mind regarding the tournament:

* If there's one team that deserves to be angry, it's Louisville. They had only four losses on the year, they won their conference by two games and won their conference tournament. For this they're reward was a measly #4 seed? They deserved a #2 at bare minimum. The worst part about this is that they're in the same bracket with the toughest #5 seed in the tournament, Georgia Tech.

* Every Selection Sunday I marvel at Dick Vitale's transportation proficiency. He finished announcing the ACC tournament final at about noon today. That means that he made it from an arena in Washington D.C. to a desk chair in Bristol, CT in about three and a half hours. Does he just have his own rope ladder-equipped helicopter hovering outside the arena every year?

* I still can see no rational reason for the committee to name the bracket regionals for their city rather than their region. Did anyone have a problem with the East, Midwest, South and West names? Now you have utter confusion- when someone mentions "the Syracuse bracket" are they talking about where the Orangemen are playing or the East regional at the Carrier dome?

* Since Illinois is the overall top team in the tournament, I still don't understand why they don't get to play the winner of Tuesday's play-in game. Jim Nantz explained that it was because the play-in winner needs to have three days off, but to me that's bogus. Just because Illinois is locked in to playing on Thursday, that doesn't mean that they should have to forgo the reward of playing the weakest team. It wouldn't be the end of the world for the Oakland/Alabama A&M winner play to play on two days rest.

* Last year I explained the six strategies one can use for filling out a bracket. After last year's debacle (in which I picked Gonzaga as my champ) I swore off the Comprehensive Breakdown and Go with the Gut strategies. The Live by the Seed, Die by the Seed method is probably the most statistically sound of the options, but this year I don't think it's the way to go. When you look at the teams, it's clear that UNC and Illinois were definite #1 seeds, but the next 14 teams are all at about the same level. Nobody can say with any confidence that #4 seeds like Syracuse and Louisville couldn't beat #1 seeds like Duke and Washington. Because those seed designations near the top are essentially a wash, I think gonna turn to the Crown and Retrace strategy this year. There are two strong teams this year so once I decide which one will take the top prize, I'll just work my way backwards till I reach the tourney pool promiseland.

 
Lost in the Trailer Park

In a nice bit of corporate synergy, last night Fox debuted the Revenge of the Sith trailer after an episode of The O.C. As with most Star Wars trailers, I was excited to see it; as with most trailers of recent vintage, I was underwhelmed. While the clip did a decent job of explaining the plot, there was little suspense, too much dialogue and way too many scenes of councilmen sitting around. While wondering how a Star Wars trailer managed to be dull, it dawned on me that this symptomatic of a wider trend: movie trailers just ain't what they used to be.

A trailer should give you a feel for the film's look, a clear sense of the story, offer a fair amount of intrigue and leave enough mystery to make you want to learn more about the movie. A great trailer doesn't even require a great film; my favorite trailers of all time were for Ali, Attack of the Clones and Magnolia. But other than the terrific trailer for next month's Sin City, it's hard to find anything to decent these days.

As a regular visitor to Apple's stockpile of trailers, I've been witness to a disheartening trend of mediocrity in recent months. It's more than simply bad movies being advertised- it's clear that no thought is being put into the crafting of the trailer (which is a medium in itslef). Today's trailers either give away too much of the plot, waste away the funniest jokes, try too hard to appeal to a specific demographic or don't give us a full sense of what the movie is all about. Whether it's summer popcorn trash like The Longest Yard, a high-profile sports movie like Fever Pitch or even a Pixar movie like Cars, they always come up short. The latest trailers are filled with awkward camera cuts, blaring song clips and big "comedic" set-ups with weightless punchlines. It's gotten to the point where I start watching the trailer for a movie like Herbie: Fully Loaded or Stealth but it devolves so quickly that I don't even bother to sit through the whole thing. With so many millions spent on movie marketing, it's sad that studios can't take a 2 hour movie and compile a 150-second clip of entertaining footage.

 
East Coast Bias? Naw...

I heard Tony Kornheiser express his great surprise that Maryland was knocked out in the first round of the ACC tournament today. Over the last month, many pundits have argued that the Terps are a dangerous (if volatile) team capable of making some noise in the NCAA tournament. "After all," the refrain went, "Maryland beat Duke twice this year!!" When you hear that, your instinct is to think that Maryland must be pretty good to sweep the mighty Dukies. But at what point do those Maryland-Duke games start being a blemish against Duke rather than a boon for Maryland? Maryland went 7-9 in conference and lost three times to Clemson. It's clear now that Maryland is simply a mediocre team. Duke's two losses reveal that the Blue Devils are more vulnerable than anyone has been willing to admit. Funny how everybody evaluates ACC teams with the glass half full.