The New England Magazine

Celtic's Deal For Garnett

2007-08-04T19:07:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe the 20 year drought will finally come to an end for the championship-starved Boston Celtics. It's been 20 long years since the greatest team ever assembled in this writer's eyes, have won a championship. It's been so long since they won, that this generation's Celtic fans only know Larry Bird as a coach and general manager, Kevin McHale, as some lame-brain GM who traded us Garnett, and they think that Al Jefferson is Moses Malone! Oh wait a minute, they don't know who Moses Malone is either. Either way, besides making this team relevent again, and I'm sick of that term already, it should make them compete for an NBA title providing these 3 stars, Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce stay healthy. (I refuse to call them the Big Three since they can not hold a candle to Bird, McHale, and the Chief.) In this generation's NBA, you really only need 2 stars to win a title. Check the last few NBA champions; San Antonio-Duncan and Parker, Miami- Shaq and Wade, and LA-Shaq and Kobe. Even in the 1990's, Chicago really was MJ and Pippen. Look at who represented the Eastern Conference this year, Cleveland, which was essentially Lebron James and a bunch of high schoolers(young ones won't recall Moses Malone's comments back in 1981!). So, with 3 highly talented players to say the least, there's no reason if they're healthy that they can't compete for the NBA title over the next 3 years. I would like to see them add a veteren backup ala Dikembe Mutumbo, but all in all, you have to like this team's chances. And it is a nice change having them relevent again in this city. Woops, I used the relevent word again! Oh by the way, if they dared to win a championship this year, I know somewhere above Red will finally rest in peace,cigar in hand!

The Prophet

2007-06-20T20:06:00.000-04:00

I have ALWAYS for years had unbelievable luck in "forecasting" events in sports, and more often than not, in the personal lives that surround me. Anybody who knows me will tell you this. With that said, here are some "predictions" that you can take to the bank!

The Celtics will trade their #5 pick as there is no way they will keep it and expect fans to pay exorbitant prices to see Jeff Green and Al Jeferson and Paul Pierce battle to a 500 record. And I predict the man they will acquire will be Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns, not Kevin Garnett, whom I would prefer to see them acquire.

Now I'll asterick that preiction by adding if, they are stupid enough to keeo the pick, it will be the kid from China that they'l take. They will not pass up a potential Dirk Nowitzki type with marketing potential.

Within 5 years, the Bruins, with zero interest, and the loss of millions, will relocate elsewhere in New England.

The Red Sox will allow Mike Lowell and Curt Schilling to walk at the end of the year, and will sign Arod, after he opts out of his contract. You read it here first! They will move him to short, Youkillis to third, and they will make another play for Todd Helton. They will also make every effort to trade Julio Lugo,Coco Crisp, and Willie Pena. Jacoby Ellsbury will be their staring center fielder next year.

The Patriots, if they stay healthy will ...............lets just say be the team to beat this year!Oh yes, I say Randy Moss has a huge year.

The Republican ticket will be Giuliani and McCain.

The Democratic ticket will be Biden and Dodd.

Oh yes, David Chase WILL make a Sopranos movie within a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember, you read it here first!

Billy Donovan Next Celtic's Coach?

2007-04-04T09:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, the last time I envisioned a leader of a Boston sports team, I kid you not, I thought Bill Belichick would make a great coach for the Patriots! I distinctly recall calling Ted Sarandis of WEEI's "Ted Nation" to give my thoughts when Pete Carroll was canned, and of course at that time Teddy and guest Kevin Mannix shot me down big time.

Why did I think he'd make a great coach? Because he was the genius assistant that every single time his teams played the Patriots, be it as coach of the Browns, or as the Tuna's defensive coordinator, he ALWAYS got in the quarterback's heads with great schemes, always!!! I've told Coach Belichick that myself in a letter many years later as well. I won't say 'I told you so,' but time has proven me right 3 championships later.

So here I am again, championing the next leader in Boston, the next head coach of the Boston Celtic's, coach Billy Donovan of the NCAA champs Florida Gators. Why? First and foremost his teams, like Belichick teams, are ALWAYS well coached and well prepared and play TEAM ball. He's won 2 consecutive NCAA titles, a great feat in today's world of parity. He has no ego. He's a local boy, and best of all, he's good buddies with, you guessed it, Bill Belichick (Belichick was a guest of his at the final game and has also given Billy's team pep-talks as well). And to me, ANYBODY Bill Belichick can intellectually connect with, has to have that"certain something." The Celts could do a whole lot worse than make a move on college basketballs's newest genius before he moves on to Kentucky.

Veracity TV appearance

2007-04-03T09:10:00.000-04:00

Recently I was guest of Tom Sheff, the host of Veracity, which is a half hour weekly show on Newton's cable televsion. And may I say I enjoyed every minute of it! Most of the shows on Veracity focus on political issues and topics related to Newton, Mass. The host, Tom Sheff, is an old acquaintance of mine, so I may be biased in saying this, but besides being a very viable candidate to become the next mayor and leader of Newton, he is also a terrific host who has the ability to put all his guests at ease during the segment, as I have watched, witnessed, and now experienced. The show itself strayed from it's natural course as the main topic of discussion was the local sports scene and my blogspot. And being life-long sports fans from the Boston area, it's a never-ending topic for discussion for the both of us. Anyways, I just wanted to reiterate to any local citizens to make sure you catch, of course my airing in late April, and every airing of Mr. Sheff's show, as you will be informed and entertained.

Dead Silence

2007-04-03T09:08:00.000-04:00

This is a new horror movie release that harkens back to one of the better Twilight Zone episodes; one in which killer ventriliquist dummies are on the loose. Remember the movie Magic? Some of that is in here, too. The plot summary involves a young woman who opens up a package that turns out to be a ventriliquist dummy, that, let's just say doesn't produce happy results. Her husband travels back to their childhood home to investigate the history of the dummy and the woman who made them. Needless to say there's a whole story behind all of it. Refreshing, in that for a horror movie in this day of age to not have the prerequisite lost teenagers spending half the movie having sex and then being sliced up. This movie has some real creepy moments and the dummy's are down-right evil! And quite the twist in the end as well. Thumbs up from me!

Children of Men

2007-04-03T08:45:00.000-04:00

A quick review of a delight and unexpected surprise of what is really a "under the radar" new sci-fi dvd release. Starring Clive Owen, this is a story about the world, circa, 2027, in which all women are infertile and the youngest alive is 18 years old. Without giving away the details, as you can probably figure out, there happens to be a woman who is pregnant and the jist of the story is that Clive Owen, gets caught up in a plot to smuggle her out of London, with everyone, from the refugees to the London police, after them. It really is an interesting plot, lots of twists,turns, and action; and the filming technique makes you feel you're in the story. Really a terrific movie, huge thumbs up from me!

Touching All The Bases

2007-03-12T11:57:00.000-04:00

As I round the bases, just some food for thoughts on this pre-Spring Monday morning.

1st Base- The Bruins- Does anybody care about the Bruins and hockey in general any more? Whenever I pass through NESN on a game night, the empty seats are appalling. Hockey was THE sport in Boston in the early 1970's with the Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito era when everybody knew their names and everyone played street hockey. Now they are like a minor league affiliate in this town.

2nd Base- The Celtics- They were to Boston sports in the 1980's what the Bruins were in the 1970's. You just knew when the Larry Bird-Kevin McHale era ended, that was it. And you know what? That was it! Their only hope of becoming a player again in this sports market was to "casually" rest Paul Pierce and play the string out with the kids and pray for enough ping pong balls to land Greg Oden, the next franchise center. So what do they do? They bring Pierce back, run off a streak of 4 wins in a row, and basically, eliminated the higher percentage of landing Oden. Why? You got me. I have no faith in the Danny Ainge- Doc Rivers collaboration. I like Al Jefferson, who is developing nicely, and Pierce is Pierce. But without a point guard to lead this mess, hello Jason Kidd, and a legit center, they'll forever be the Boston Clippers. So sad! They seem to have no plan in place. Danny Ainge supposedly told ESPN recently he was surprised at the make-up of his roster. Surprised?! He put it together! Oy vey!

3rd Base-the Red Sox- So begins the Dice era. I personally think to give this guy zillions when he never picthed in a major league game made no sense. But we all know it was to keep him from the Yanks and with their expert marketing, they'll double their invest ment in him with marketing out in the Far East. Now with that said, methinks he'll be ok, he's no Pedro though. (By the way are you concerned when you hear the muffles of his fastball having no pop?). And, if their starting pitching can hold up, and they develop some sort of bullpen rotation, they'll be in it till the end barring injuries. I say Papelbon will have the biggest year amongst starters.

Homeplate/Home Run- the Patriots-You have to love their off-season moves so far! You can't tell me they're not going for it all this year. And why not, short of a Reche Caldwell drop, this team wins another Super Bowl. They've added a premier lineback to the team in Adalieus Thomas. And they've added two top receivers in Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker, along with running back Sammy Morris. They franchised Asante Samuel and they have two number ones in this April's draft. Now of course things can change in a blink if anybody goes down, and it is football-ie injuries. But again, barring injuries, are they not they waaay-early favorite in the 2008 Super Bowl?!

Sox Acquire Beckett

2005-11-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

Anyone who doesn’t love this Red Sox deal of acquiring 25 year old Marlin flamethrower, ex world series MVP, Josh Beckett, and Gold Glove winner, Mike Lowell for minor leaguers Hanley Ramirez and Isabel Sanchez is flat-out crazy!!!!!

The Sox picked up a potential number one starter for years to come, who, if healthy, can give them 20 wins, an ERA under 3.00, 300 strikeouts, and shut the Yankees down when needed. Sound like a young Curt Schilling to anybody?! And for what? A minor league shortstop with potential and disciplinary questions who will not play shortstop here due to Edgar Renteria's presence there. And they didn’t have to part with prize prospect Jon Lester, instead giving up borderline prospect Isabel Sanchez. To me, this is a win-win gamble that could pay huge dividends for this team for years to come.

All I want to know is which of the 42 guys running the team made this trade!

The Poseidon Adventure

2005-11-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

I had to watch the 3-hour made for TV remake of the one of my favorite movies and the first movie I saw unattended in a movie theatre in 1972, I believe. And the results were not pleasing. The most I can say is that for a 3-hour a movie, it did keep me watching all the way to the end. With that said, let’s go through why it didn’t make the cut.

The casting was awful! I always say you can’t remake a classic movie if it also has a classic cast. To replace the likes of Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine and Shelly Winters for a Steve Guttenberg (who looks awful by the way), Rutger Hauer (who put me to sleep as a the priest; he only excels playing evil villains), and a cast of nobodies, just didn’t capture the "spirit" of their situation throughout the movie.

The whole idea of the ship being bombed by terrorist activities versus a tidal wave was also pretty lame. I realize they wanted to revise it, but you know, it worked the first time, stick with it! (I’m surprised they didn’t blame President Bush for the SS Poseidon!). I wanted to stuff the digital camera down that little kid’s throat, as the constant filming was beyond obnoxious. The best part of the original version was the survivors’ harrowing journey and escape from the top of the ship to the bottom (since it was upside down). But in this remake, every time we got a shot of them making their way through another harrowing moment, all momentum was killed with a cut back to the headquarters’ staff meetings, and Navy Seals. How stupid! I could go on and on but, what’s the point? Oh yes, and you like how the first group of survivors fought their way to their safety, but the second group just flew up the tree and blew through all obstacles in minutes to catch up with the first group?!

Anyways, on a scale from 1-4, 1 is the word.

Buh Bye Theo

2005-11-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

It is time for Red Sox nation to stop eulogizing Theo Epstein, the man who put together (as a colleague suggested) "half a team."

In general, I believe he did a good job with this ball club, especially in helping to build up a prosperous farm system. With that said, for the record, the 2004 World Series team was really as much, if not more so, Dan Duquette's creation as it was Theo Epstein's. Pedro, Manny, Trot, Varitek, DLowe, to name a few were all Duquette people. As for the 2003 and 2005 Red Sox, they were the same kind of team as any Red Sox team that preceded Theo's arrival. So, yes I give him credit for Big Papi and Schilling, but he must also answer for the ridiculous contracts he gave to Matt Clement and Edgar Renteria. And the way Red Sox nation and the press has been reacting, you'd think Theo won a championship by himself! Actually they're acting as if he died, its ridiculous! He couldn't work with club president Larry Lucchino and he moved on (I can't blame him for that myself).

But for goodness sakes Red Sox nation, move on also, really!!!

Think Pats in 2006

2005-11-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

This will not be the season of the Patriots, I can assure you. After getting stoked by the Colts last night on Monday Night Football, it is safe to say that if this team wins their division and makes the playoffs, they will not go far.

The one man associated with this team that I cannot blame is Tom Brady, who continues to show how terrific in the Joe Montana mold he is. But the defense in particular is awful. Where has Richard "I'm in my contract year" Seymour been? And without him, Warren, Woolfork, and Green couldn't stop my grandmother. Bruschi and Vrabel have done all they could at linebacker, but guys like Chad Brown, Willie McGinest, and Roosevelt Colvin are all washed up. And the secondary without Rodney Harrison? Abysmal! Samuel and Eugene Wilson play like rookies and Dunae Starks has a bull’s-eye on his back.

Anyways, don’t expect much from this year's edition, even if they make the playoffs. Belichick's real challenge will be reassembling a new squad for 2006.

House of Wax

2005-11-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

You can do worse with today’s releases of “so-called” horror movies than to rent “House of Wax.” A far-reaching remake of the Vincent Price classic, this one did have its moments and atmosphere to make it worth watching.

In a nutshell, it’s a group of college kids that end up in a town where the “local residents” seem to manage their situation through their house of wax (I’m careful not to reveal too much!). And again, you can kind of guess what happens to these younglings when they cross those obsessed with wax.

My complaint is I wish they showed more of the wax transformations (if that makes sense) since, to me, that’s the best part of the movie. But with that said, I do recommend it.

Good Luck!

2005-11-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

Today Theo Epstein officially says goodbye to Red Sox nation amongst the local paper Watergate going on here in Boston. Today on WEEI sports radio, the public was privy into the hosts, two obnoxious guys, Dennis and Callahan, roasting the author of the column that appeared in Sunday's Globe, the alleged article that pretty much supposedly nixed any interest of Theo in returning to the Sox. The gist of it is that the article was weighted in favor of Sox president and now number one archenemy, Larry Lucchino, and the thought amongst locals here is that his camp leaked private information that was privy to Theo and Lucchino. It’s made for some entertaining radio and gossip.

Bottom line is that Theo doesn’t want to work for anybody that is going to disrespect him and micro-manage him and for that alone, I can’t blame him. He'll move on to better things, and the Sox will hire another competent GM that will make some blockbuster deals (bye Manny!), and everyone will move on.

Good luck Theo!

And the Winner is............

2005-11-02T11:51:00.000-05:00

BlogExplosion is more than a free, blog traffic-generating service. With the introduction of innovative features such as games, forums and contests, it has quickly become one of the largest and finest communities on the internet. Recently they launched their own official blog, helpmeblog.com, for bloggers to learn all about how to effectively blog.

To celebrate the launch of their blog, BlogExplosion held a logo-design contest opened to members for submissions and votes, with the winner (voted by the members) receiving a $100 cash reward. In addition, they donated $500 to the American Red Cross; $250 on behalf of the winning logo designer.

While we did participate and entered the contest, it was never a thought that we would win. Imagine the surprise when the news came down that our logo creation was voted best by the members! We are completely flattered and honored and wish to thank all who voted and to all who participated in this contest, with a huge kudo going out to the BlogExplosion folks for their generosity in giving back to the community!

Time To Go To Sirius, Howard

2005-11-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have been a faithful listener of the daily simulcast “Howard Stern Show” for years. But with his impending departure to satellite radio, it has now gotten to the point where I wish he would just leave.

This morning I awoke to him arguing with his GM, Tom Chiasano, because they used his voice from his David Lee Roth interview of a week ago, the man replacing Howard, to promote David Lee Roth. Howard went on his tangent again about the disrespect and don't use his voice-overs to promote his replacement, blah babababa. Sorry Howard, wrong!

He has spent the I don’t know how many shows promoting his future satellite programming, even playing clips from shows he's currently airing! Imagine! That would be like you giving your notice at work, and the last 2 weeks on the job, you bring your new employers work into your old office, work on it on company time, and tell the current employees how the current company sucks and you should apply to his new company! What employer in the universe would allow that?! But KRock and Tom Chiasano do and he gets roasted. Amazing!

And the other thing is Howard pontificating about how much money he’s made Infinity… guess what Howard? You made yourself millions at the same time, not exactly slave labor! And, not to mention it landed you half a billion dollars in your next gig!

As for being a good sport and wishing David Lee well, umm I’m not so sure based on what I heard; which were comments like "why would you want to do it since you were once on top? And people will now ask you if the rumors are true about you being gay”, (that you could tell kind of peeved David Lee).

Anyways, at one time, I thought with my limited funds that I’d invest in a satellite radio because I didn’t want to miss his show. But knowing now it’s going to be a $12 a month fee to hear him put Jeff the Drunk and his other cronies on there, along with more raunchy stuff that he thinks is "progressive and innovative," along with hearing him whine through his whole show about how Infinity is being disrespectful to him, etc., at this point I can’t wait for him to leave already (quite frankly he "jumped the shark" a long time ago) and to give David Lee a chance, for free, no less.

Bye Howard!

Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

2005-10-27T11:51:00.000-04:00

Red Sox nation should know by today if "boy-wonder" native, Theo Epstein, will remain on as GM of our beloved Red Sox. The consensus amongst Red Sox nation is that he should most definitely remain on and the Sox should give-in to his demands for a 5 year multi-million dollar deal.

What has come out is that Theo has turned down a substantial raise and a 3-year deal and now the rumor mill tells us he may not get along with CEO Larry Luchino, a control freak. I keep thinking that maybe Theo keeps driving up his price because he really doesn’t want to come back and serve under Larry.

Red Sox nation contends that the Sox won their first championship in 86 years with Theo making the moves. The truth is a major part of the contributors of that ‘04 team were ex-GM, Dan Duquette's moves (like Manny, Pedro, Trot, Varitek, DLowe, etc). Theo's better moves included acquiring Schilling and Big Papi.

My feeling is that Theo walks and the Sox bring in an older guy with experience who will continue to manage the personnel in the system messrs Henry, Warner, and Luchino have set up. But personally, it would be best in the Sox interests to keep Theo. We'll see what happens.

Anyone need Dan Duquette's number?!

2005-10-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

This drama starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, is a movie that when you finish watching it makes you wish there was more action to it.

The story is about a United Nations interpreter who overhears an assassination plot and is pursued the rest of the movie with Sean Penn assigned to watch over her. Other than one very suspenseful and action packed scene, the rest of the movie seems to drag a bit on the weight of it’s own script.

If nothing else, it keeps you watching.

Manny Proposals

2005-10-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

As I sit here and debate how I would rearrange the 2005 Red Sox, here are some suggestions:

Manny to New York for Jason Giambi. It will never happen but, the Yanks may feel they got all they could out of Giambi and they have Tino to cover first base. In return they get a native New Yorker who can hit 45 homeruns for them and play the outfield, which they’ll need with Sheffield possibly done and Matzui a free agent. The Sox get a consummate first baseman who found his stroke. The salaries are fairly compatible as well.

Package some prospects to Chicago for Mark Prior. They need a front line starter and Prior, coming off an injury-riddled year, could be the man. The Cubs need a left fielder that can hit and Manny is the man and they can afford him. Double a phenom Jon Lester or Bronson Arroyo and Manny to Chicago for M. Prior and J. Burnitz (who allows you to trade Trot).

Manny Ramirez and Manny DelCarmen to Texas for Mark Texeira. Texas has a young phenom ready to step in at first and needs a slugging outfielder. Manny fits the bill and they can afford him. And they desperately need pitching so you can throw in either DelCarmen or Arroyo. And Texeira comes to Boston as a young first baseman who will hit 40 plus homers behind Ortiz.

Arroyo and DelCarmen or Arroyo and Lester to Florida for Josh Beckett. He would be a number one guy for the Sox, throws smoke, former World Series MVP. And Florida, with AJ Burnett leaving, can replace Hurnett and Beckett with Arroyo and Lester who may be ready. And if you expand the deal, maybe you could include slugging first baseman, Carlos Delgado.

Just some thoughts to ponder as the hot stove season is about to begin.

Red Sox Reading Of The Will

2005-10-11T12:04:00.000-04:00

As the 2005 Red Sox were officially laid to rest, the peeks into their 2006 future has begun. Here are one man’s opinions.

Management-
Theo Epstein, the boy wonder (though the Foulke, Clement, and especially Renteria signings were awful), is without a contract, but has done a good job in helping guide them to a world series and restocking their farm systems. He should and will return.

Manager Francona will probably get a contract extension, and though I’m still not sure it’s the best thing to do, I’m mixed about it all-I’m still awaiting Joe Torres’ departure in New York! Francona will be back.

1b- Millar is history. Thank God and here the search will begin in earnest. Personally, I’d look at guys like Todd Helton in Colorado. I’m not interested in mentioned name Aubrey Huff. They may look at home town product Carlos Pena in Detroit. And they’re crazy if they don’t bring back the best 1b backup in baseball, John Olerud.

2b-Graffino is gone and it will be rookie Dustin Pedroia and Alex Cora.

Ss- Unfortunately, they’re stuck with Edgar Renteria, nuff said.

3b- Mueller is gone and you’re probably looking at Kevin Youkillis taking over.

Lf- is Manny gone? I’m not so sure I’d trade him, as he and Ortiz are the best 1-2 sluggers in baseball. But I think he will be traded and who comes in is anybody’s guess. I’m hearing Brian Giles in San Diego. Maybe a free agent like Shawn Green, or if Manny is involved in a 3-way deal that involves Adam Cunn of Cincinnati, that may be your options.

Cf-I say Damon is gone, as they will not sign up for 4 years. The rumor mill mentions Tori Hunter of Minnesota.

Rf-Trot Nixon personifies guts and team spirit, but injuries have curtailed his production. I say he’s back one more year.

Dh- Big Papi, David Ortiz, is the best there is. MVP to me, and he should be signed to be with this team when he’s in a nursing home!

C-Varitek and Mirabelli will be back.

Starting pitching-Personally, I think Schilling is close to the end, but they’ll hope he can bounce back. Clement, Wells and Wakefield are signed through next year. I’d love to see them move Clement but I don’t think it’s a reality. I think Arroyo will be the trade bait as Clemens-clone, Jon Papelbon, moves into the starting rotation. I say they bring in another top starter since the 3rd and 4th starter deal killed them come playoff time. Who? I don’t know, though I don’t think it will be AJ Burnett. Could there be any way to pry Barry Zito away or Josh Beckett? Double a phenom Jon Lester isn’t far off either from the show.

Relief pitching-I would love to see them move crybaby Keith Foulke, and they just may if he’s healthy. Bradford and Myers will be back. Youngsters Manny DelCarmen and future closer Craig Hansen may be up. Timlin will probably be gone, so look for them to investigate a closer or at least some depth here as well.

Bench- Gabe Kapler may not be back due to his foot injury and if they don’t resign Nolerud, they’ll definitely need to revamp their bench next year.

All in all, it will be a very transitional year for the 2005-2006 Red Sox coming up.

In Theo we trust!

Patriots Update

2005-10-10T13:06:00.000-04:00

With the last second win over Atlanta yesterday, improving the Patriots’ record to 3-2, fans shouldn’t get any misconceptions about their teams’ destiny the rest of the way.

If this team finishes in first place and makes the playoffs, it will be solely based on Belichick’s brains and Brady’s arm. Their defense is awful and the absence of Rodney Harrison hurts more than even expected. Past their defensive line, the linebackers, save for Mike Vrabel, just can’t tackle. Chad Brown, Willie McGinest, and Roosevelt Colvin seem to be at the end of their lines, and Monty Beisel seems more suited to being a backup. Unless Tedy Bruschi returns, and I still say he will, their linebackers are in trouble.

As for the secondary, Harrison’s leadership and talents are now sorely missed and I’m very disappointed that Eugene Wilson has regressed versus stepping up in Harrison’s absence. They will need to add a competent veteran back there at some point. Every team is marching through them like Sherman’s army and as I started out saying, this team will only win on Belichick’s brains and Brady putting up more points than his defense is getting scorched for.

Like the 2005 Red Sox, this is not a championship caliber team this year.

The Thing

2005-08-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

I felt compelled to post an entry on “The Thing,” the John Carpenter remake of the 1950’s sci-fi classic. Starring Kurt Russell, this movie, forgive me for being bias towards it, is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. A U.S. crew stationed in the Antarctica is encountered by and fights off an alien that can kill humans and recreates itself in the human, or even animal image. There is definitely a similarity to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The setting and mood is perfect: frigid temperatures and trapped in the middle of nowhere like the crew in “Alien” trapped in the ship in space, and each one wondering if the next one is now the “thing.” It’s the best thing Kurt Russell has ever done and it also has one of the best sci-fi horror movie "scores" of all time. I’ve seen it a million times and it never grows old. Rent it!

Trading Deadline Nears

2005-07-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

What should the Sox do as July 31 approaches? Would I break the bank for the owner of a 500 record, AJ Burnett? No. But I do think they definitely need a starting pitcher and a closer. Watching Curt Schilling, it becomes more apparent each time out there he just doesn’t have it any more due to his ongoing ankle problems. He’s not Roger Clemens, people. I’m also not confident of Keith Foulk, even when he returns. I do like what I’ve seen of Manny Del Carmen; he was hitting 96 on the radar gun last night. I wouldn’t break the bank for Billy Wagner, but I would look around. I’d like to see Kevin Millar and Mark Bellhorn designated for assignment. Either way, neither guy will be back next year. Maybe I would package a deal for San Fran’s Jason Schmidt, minus their top prospects like Jon Papelbon. Anyway, either way, Theo pulled the plug on Nomar last year so the bet here is he'll do something before Sunday.

Million Dollar Baby

2005-07-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

This movie is one in a million! How refreshing it was in this day and age of lousy movies and bad acting to finally watch an Academy Award movie (4 awards). How Clint didn’t win best actor is beyond me.

This is NOT a boxing movie; this is a movie about a man cultivating a relationship with a young woman in a manner that he had wished for with his own daughter, whom he has no relationship with at all. Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank, and Morgan Freemen, another terrific actor, are wonderful in their roles.

Also, no controversy here either in relation to the end, which I won’t spoil, but it takes up all of the final 15 minutes. Enjoy this movie!

PS: Is Clint Eastwood getting even more brilliant in his old age or what!? Talk about ONLY doing class projects!

Batman Begins

2005-07-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well, as a follow-up to my previous entry, the ONLY redeeming part of the day was watching “Batman Begins” starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Liam Neeson as Ducard, and Michael Caine as Alfred the Butler; oh yes and Tom Cruise’s Scientology protégée, Katie Holmes.

I thought Christian Bale, who is a very good actor (see “American Psycho”) played an excellent Batman. And this story, unlike the Michael Keaton edition that to me was a gothic version of the TV show complete with stupid plotlines and tons of villains, was actually one solid plot/story-line that completely explains the origins of Batman and ties it in with a very cleverly written story that is complete in nature.

All-in-all, it was good entertainment and definitely a must-see movie.

Who Can Afford A Trip To The Movies?

2005-07-12T14:18:00.000-04:00

Now I know why I stay home and rent DVDs and re-watch my favorite movies: I can’t afford to go out!

I tried going with my fiancée to a movie on Sunday, but let me itemize my expenditures. First we drove an hour into Massachusetts from Rhode Island to have a brunch at SKY, a restaurant that advertises it’s brunches in the “Boston Magazine.” Lo and behold, no brunches ‘till Labor Day! What happened here?! This is a blog for another day! So far it’s $10 in gas. Because we were obviously still hungry, we then went to “La Roberts” in North Attleboro, MA for their version of a Sunday brunch. Terrorists should be forced to eat their food! $9.50 for two bites of a rubber omelet and a sip of ice tea. It would have been twice as much should my fiancée not have gone to the restroom. It gave me the opportunity to visit the buffet table and taste before she had the chance to do so. I stopped her on her way back! By now we were cutting it close to catch the 1:30 matinee so, off to the movies we go. General Cinemas in Attleboro, MA had a matinee cost for two people totaling $13.50! Does anybody remember when it used to be $3 a matinee ticket? Since we STILL wanted something to eat, we paid $3.50 for a small cup of Pepsi! This was outrageous! And $5.50 for 4 nacho chips and some processed cheese for a total of $9.00, and then came the popcorn, 1 large popcorn was $5.00, and I swear they didn’t layer the butter in the popcorn like I asked them to do! Remember when they popped their own?! And lastly, a small Icee for another $3.00 for a total cost of $8.00. Thank God the movie “Batman Begins” (also another blog) was a good movie.

By the time we came home from that dreadful day out for a free (we had gift certificates) buffet brunch and a day at the movies, we had spent a total of $50.

Moral of the story: STAY HOME! It’s cheaper, more comfortable, and simply better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!