Now, let me just say off the bat that I do not believe these are the 50 best shows of this decade (although some certainly are). These are just the 50 television shows that brought me the most entertainment, the ones that I am most fond of when I think back on the decade. I contemplated doing this in order of love/respect but then this post would never get done so I’ll do a Top 10.

I decided to leave off The Simpsons and South Park because they’ve been on for so long (and I needed any excuse to make room for other shows) but they both had great episodes in the 00’s and if I didn’t need the room, they’d make the cut.

I tried to stick with shows that had at least two full seasons under its belt unless the show had been canceled like Freaks and Geeks.

And, no, I’ve never watched The West Wing or ER and that’s why they aren’t on the list.

My Favorite 10 Shows of the 00’s:

10. Six Feet Under: I remember watching the series premiere with Kristy and Fatima and all of us not being that impressed. I remember also watching the closing montage in the series finale and man tears streaming down my cheek

9. Spaced: I don’t remember when I discovered Spaced. I think I saw Shaun of the Dead first and then downloaded both seasons and then sat my brother in front of the computer and made him watch them all.

8. 24: You win, Erwin.  Erwin begged me to watch 24 and I didn’t because I was watching something else that came on at the same time (pre-DVR) but I decided to watch starting season two and was instantly hooked.  Fun fact: Jack Bauer has killed 227 people in seven season (which equals seven days) SO FAR

7. Battlestar Galatica: I watched the first half of the TV movie that set up the series and I wasn’t that impressed. I think I didn’t like the CGI of the Cylons.  But halfway through season one, I started reading all these awesome reviews so I went back and caught (luckily the Sci-Fi had no other original programming so it was easy to catch a marathon).  I wasn’t in love with how the show ended but it was still an awesome ride.

6. Mad Men: I am a sucker for period pieces and I was hooked from episode one.  All three seasons have been stellar and I really hope it doesn’t tail off and go to shit.

5. The Sopranos: What else can be said about the most discussed television show on the 00’s? I think Tony (spoiler alert) lived in the end because given the vantage point, Anthony or Meadow would have seen any approaching hit and the last thing Tony would have heard was their screams.

4. Arrested Development: The fact that this show couldn’t get viewers and According to Jim lasted eight(!) seasons is why I have no faith in the U.S. viewing public. This show will always have a special place in  my heart if only for it spawning the “There’s Gotta Be a Better Way to Say That” (or “TGB”) game my friends and I play.

3. Freaks and Geeks: There’s a part of me that’s glad it only lasted one season.  They had one PERFECT season and if it had kept going, who knows if they would have been able to keep up such a high standard.

2. Lost: Surprised it’s not number one? I don’t know what I can say now that I haven’t written on this blog a hundred times. This is the only show in my lifetime that I have ever been obsessed with.  Sure, I love all these shows but it clear I am obsessed with Lost.  I don’t watch episodes with people anymore because a) I don’t want to be distracted by questions and b) I write notes during the episode to help with my blog which I’m pretty embarrassed about.

1. The Wire: Confession time. I didn’t start watching The Wire until season three because that’s when I finally had a DVR and could record it while watching other shows.  But the second season three ended, I went on a 48 hour bender watching every episode of seasons one and two. I love The Wire so much that just talking about it makes me want to start over and watch all five seasons over again. If you haven’t seen this show, it’s a crime. Screw the 00s, The Wire is one of the greatest shows EVER and I will argue that point with anyone who wants to lose.

Full list (in alphabetical order):

1. 24
2. 30 Rock
3. Angel*
4. Arrested Development
5. Battlestar Galatica (2004)
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. Big Love
8. Bones
9. Breaking Bad
10. Burn Notice
11. Californication
12. Chappelle’s Show
13. Chuck
14. Curb Your Enthusiasm
15. Damages
16. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart**
17. Deadwood
18. Dexter
19. Extras
20. Firefly
21. Flight of the Conchords
22. Freaks & Geeks*
23. Friday Night Lights
24. Futurama
25. Gossip Girl
26. Grey’s Anatomy
27. How I Met Your Mother
28. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
29. Jackass
30. Justice League Unlimited
31. The L Word
32. Lost
33. Mad Men
34. Malcolm in the Middle
35. Nip/Tuck
36. The Office (BBC)
37. The Office (NBC)
38. Psych
39. Pushing Daisies
40. Rome
41. Scrubs
42. The Shield
43. Six Feet Under
44. Skins
45. The Sopranos*
46. Spaced*
47. The Venture Bros.
48. Veronica Mars
49. Weeds
50. The Wire

* Started in 1999 but ran through the 2000s
** The Daily Show started in 1996 but Jon Stewart didn’t become host until 1999 and that changed the entire complexity of the show.

Chris Hemsworth

Isabel Lucas

By Alan Miller – LansingStateJournal.com

Local filming of scenes for the action-thriller film “Red Dawn” began in Grand Ledge on Monday, Nov. 16 and continued for four days.

Other scenes are being filmed in Detroit, Harper Woods, Royal Oak, Milford and Highland Township.

Producer Tripp Vinson said the scenery is what brought him to Grand Ledge.

“This location works really well for the movie. There are a lot of story points where we need a real wooded scenic location, and we found it here,” he said.

“I think the thing that has worked out the best for us is the ability to capture a really big movie,” Vinson said.

“What I mean by that is the locations that we found are very cinematic, so it adds a lot of scope to the movie. I think people are going to be surprised at how big this movie looks.”

Vinson said the choice of a Michigan location was not primarily driven by the state’s tax credit for movie makers, but that it helped.

“The primary reason we come to any location is that it is best for the movie creatively,” he said.

Adrianne Palicki

“The fact that there is such an aggressive incentive here is an added bonus, but I absolutely would not categorize it as the primary reason why we are here.”

The film tells the story of a group of teenagers who form an insurgency to defend their town when it is attacked by Chinese and Russian soldiers.

It is described as a “re-boot” of a 1984 film by the same name starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen.

This version will star Chris Hemsworth, previously seen in “Star Trek,” Josh Peck, previously seen in “The Wackness” and Adrianne Palicki, of “Friday Night Lights.”

The new film is scheduled for release in November, 2010.

Dan Bradley is directing the movie for Contrafilm Productions, and it is expected to be distributed by MGM.

Cast
  Chris Hemsworth … Jed Eckert
  Jeffrey Dean Morgan … Col. Andy Tanner
  Isabel Lucas … Erica
  Adrianne Palicki … Toni
  Josh Hutcherson … Robert
  Josh Peck … Matt Eckert
  Brett Cullen … Tom Eckert
  Will Yun Lee … Captain Lo

Amazon Specials!

In dieser Rubrik wird es, ähnlich wie im letzten Jahr, wieder meine Eindrücke zu den Serien geben, die ich in den letzten rund 12-15 Monaten gesehen habe. Meine Einschätzungen sind subjektiv, aber unumstößlich und können sich auch durchaus mal auf Serienstaffeln beziehen, die schon etwas älter sind. In alphabetischer Reihenfolge wird es hier nach und nach kurze Kommentare zu jeder dieser Serien geben.

Bisher besprochen:

Die “Misfits”
Being Erica
Better Off Ted
The Big Bang Theory
Breaking Bad
Burn Notice
Californication
Chuck
Crusoe
Damages
Dexter
Dollhouse
Drop Dead Diva

=========================================

Friday Night Lights

Mehrmals habe ich ja schon beschrieben, dass ich beruflich Gruppen von Reiseveranstaltern oder Reisebüromitarbeitern in die USA begleite, um ihnen “unsere” Regionen zu zeigen. Fester Bestandteil dieser Reisen ist auch immer ein Besuch in einer Shopping Mall – ohne geht einfach nicht. Da ich nicht jedes Mal mein ganzes Geld für Klamotten und Schuhe raushauen will, vertreibe ich mir die Zeit, die die Gruppe mit von Shop zu Shop rennen verbringt, in der Regel in den dortigen DVD-Läden (sofern es welche gibt – leider werden solche Läden in den US-Malls irgendwie seltener).  Schließlich habe ich meist Aufträge von Freunden, die es zu erfüllen gilt, sind DVDs, besonders Serien-Boxen meist in den USA wesentlich günstiger (und natürlich auch früher) zu erhalten als hier in Deutschland.
Vor allem wenn es mal wieder schöne Aktionen a la “Buy one, get one free” gibt, wie es zum Beispiel letztes Jahr in Miami der Fall war. “Unglücklicherweise” hatte ich allerdings eine ungerade Zahl an Bestellungen, so dass ich für die Ausschöpfung des B1G1F-Angebots noch eine weitere DVD mitnehmen konnte und mich damals spontan für die erste Staffel von Friday Night Lights entschied, eine Serie von der ich schon einiges Positives gehört hatte.

Die Box verstaubte dann ein knappes Jahr lang in meinem Regal, bis ich  in diesem Sommer auf einmal nichts mehr “zu gucken” hatte (abgesehen von den 6 Staffeln Sopranos, die hier noch drohend neben meinem TV-Gerät stehen *hüstel*), so dass ich mich dann mal dazu aufraffte, mit FNL zu beginnen.

Und etwa einen Monat später mit dem Ende von Staffel 3 aufhörte.

Sollte das als Argument noch nicht ausreichen, um Euch dazu zu bewegen, möglichst dringend, mit Friday Night Lights zu beginnen, dann gehe ich nun auch gerne noch etwas mehr ins Detail:
Hauptfigur der Serie ist Eric Taylor, der Headcoach des High School Football Teams einer Kleinstadt im ländlichen Texas namens Dillon, doch auch zahlreiche Mitglieder des Teams und Personen im Umfeld werden näher beleuchtet, so dass die Serie zwar eine starke Football-Lastigkeit hat, aber doch viel mehr ist: Ein äußerst intensives und absolut authentisch wirkendes Portrait des Lebens in einer amerikanischen Kleinstadt.
Die Authentizität und Intensität wird vor allem durch die spezielle Inszenierung erreicht, denn nicht nur handelt es sich bei vielen Jungschauspielern um Laien, sondern auch das Filmen der Szenen wird meist in einer Einstellung ohne Unterbrechungen vorgenommen und den Schauspielern dabei relativ freie Hand beim Improvisieren gegeben. Diese “Rauheit”, unterstützt durch eine teils dokumentarähnliche Kameraführung, die dennoch absolut hochwertig wirkt, vermittelt eine wirklich intensive Atmosphäre, die mich selbst ohne größere Cliffhanger wirklich fesselte und den bekannten und ebenso gehassten wie geliebten Sogeffekt bewirkte, der zum dauernden Wiedereinschalten führt.

Hinzu kommt, dass die Macher um Produzent Peter Berg, der schon 2004 für die Verfilmung des gleichnamigen Buchs verantwortlich war, ein perfektes Gefühl für das Storytelling und die Weiterentwicklung der Geschichte haben, und auch nicht vor durchaus harten Schnitten wie dem “Entfernen” zentraler Charaktere haben, um die Geschichte glaubwürdig zu halten. Und bei einer Geschichte mit vielen Protagonisten in ihrer High School Zeit ist ein solches Herauswachsen nun mal unumgänglich. Zudem werden auch bei den erwachsenen Hauptfiguren die Weiterentwicklungen bis zu einem gewissen Maße nicht außer Acht gelassen – vor allem natürlich im jüngsten Sprung von Staffel 3 zu 4 (der hier aber natürlich erstmal aussen vor gelassen werden soll).

Wie schon erwähnt, steht im Mittelpunkt von Friday Night Lights, Headcoach Eric Taylor, dessen Darstellung durch Kyle Chandler mich ein ums andere Mal schwer begeistert. Die Balance zwischen hartem Hund und sorgendem Familienvater (und diversen Nuancen dazwischen) ist wirklich hochgradig beeindruckend und ergänzt sich perfekt mit dem Spiel von Connie Britton, die seine Frau portraitiert (was sie übrigens auch schon im Kinofilm machte). Darüber hinaus sind es aber natürlich die zahlreichen Jungschauspieler, die hier Woche für Woche beeindruckende Leistungen hinlegen und die Serie eben erst zu dem ganz speziellen Erlebnis machen, dass sie ist.

Für einen Eindruck von der Stimmung, die die Serie transportiert, empfehle ich auf jeden Fall einen Blick auf die Opening Credits zu werfen, die trotz ihrer Konventionalität mit zu den besten gehören, die es in Sachen TV Serien momentan gibt. (Wobei das hier die von S04 sind und mit den Original-Credits nicht mehr ganz mithalten können)

Ausgestrahlt wird die Serie übrigens auf NBC, sowie seit Staffel 3 auch vorab im Bezahlsendern DirecTV, was dazu führte, dass die Finanzierung auf derart soliden Beinen steht, dass die Serie, aktuell gerade in Staffel 4 gestartet, schon für eine fünfte Season verlängert wurde.

Meine Wertung: 10 von 10 umfassenden Gabeln [für die ersten drei Staffeln]

Fringe

Nachdem die Tage von LOST gezählt sind, sind die amerikanischen TV-Sender logischerweise auf der Suche nach einem würdigen Nachfolger,  der bei den Fans für entsprechenden Buzz sorgen und den Bedarf für ordentliche Mystery decken kann. Und was läge näher als den Macher von Lost, JJ Abrams, für ein solche Substitut zu verpflichten? FOX versuchte dies 2008 mit der Serie Fringe, was allerdings leider nur so mittelgut gelang.
Als weltweit eine Reihe von unerklärlichen und physikalisch als schwer möglich erscheinenden Ereignissen auftritt, wird im FBI eine “Fringe Division” gegründet, die wissenschaftliche Hintergründe und die Zusammenhänge zwischen diesen Phänomenen erforschen soll. Federführend in dieser “Abteilung” ist FBI Agentin Olivia Dunham, die  gemeinsam mit dem Grenzwissenschaftler Walter Bishop und dessen Sohn Peter, hauptsächlich als “Übersetzer” und “Kindermädchen für seinen exzentrischen Vater tätig, sowie einer weiteren Agentin namens Astrid, versucht Licht in die Mysterien zu bringen.

Wie viele andere Serien, braucht auch Fringe zu Beginn der Debütstaffel ein paar Folgen, um sich selbst zu positionieren, einen gewissen “Groove” zu finden und dadurch den Zuschauer auch wirklich bei der Stange halten zu können. Mit der Zeit wird Fringe dann tatsächlich zu einer sehr soliden SF/Mystery-Serie, bei der es durchaus Spaß macht zuzuschauen und dran zu bleiben, allerdings bauen die Macher um Abrams leider immer mal wieder Folgen ein, die lediglich ein “Case of the week” sind, und wenig zur Mythologie der Serie beitragen. Dabei ist Fringe, meines Erachtens immer dann wirklich gut (zumindest in den späteren Folgen), wenn es auch um die Beleuchtung der Hintergründe geht und immer wieder dann, wenn mit “Massive Dynamic” der undurchschaubare Big Player im Hintergrund wieder seine Finger mit im Spiel zu haben scheint. Natürlich verstehe ich, dass JJ Abrams es bei Fringe explizit darauf angelegt hat, eine Mystery-Serie zu schaffen, die auch für den Gelegenheitszuschauer halbwegs nachvollziehbar bleibt – nur geraten meines Erachtens dadurch eben einige Episoden als komplett überflüssig, da sie kaum bis gar nichts zum Fortschreiten der Serie an sich beitragen, sondern rein um der Schaueffekte willen inszeniert zu sein scheinen. Und das gefällt mir persönlich dann eben nicht mehr gut, da die komplette Metaebene quasi wegfällt.

Achja, für das “Wissenschaft Prison” hat die Serie natürlich jetzt schon seinen Eintrag in den Geschichtsbüchern sicher. =)

Meine Wertung: 7 von 10 Gabeln [für Season 1]

Yes, I know… this is getting ridiculous. At least I’ve been collecting links to share when I’ve been out & not blogging. I hope this makes up for it!

Michael Ausiello (Entertainment Weekly)’s Spoilers!! Warning: If you click this link, the shows mentioned are listed here IN THEIR ORDER. I did this in case you want to skip around and only want to be spoiled for specific shows… House, Smallville, Criminal Minds, Ugly Betty, Supernatural, Private Practice, The Good Wife, NCIS, Glee, Numb3rs, HIMYM, Leverage, Big Love, FNL & Fringe.

Zach Braff talks Scrubs (and his new partnership in a NY restaurant)

NBC announced the 62nd Primetime Emmys will be held on August 29th, 2010.

Are you sitting down? Good… because CHUCK’S COMING BACK JANUARY 10th!! Woohoo!! There’s also a nice, little season 3 preview on that site If you still need to catch up on season 2 before this premieres, like my very own mother, fear not! Amazon.com says the DVDs come out January 5th, so there’s more than enough time for a marathon!

If for some reason you’ve forgotten how great Tina Fey is lately, this should help!

Report: Minority, Female Writers in TV Still Unrepresented

TV Guide’s Holiday Guide

The TV Addict interviews Glee’s Cory Monteith

If you have any liking to Ms. Sandra Bullock at all (and really, who doesn’t?), please check out this video. Hilarious. I love how game she is.

ETA: How adorable is Vanessa Marcil’s child? Yes, that’s him.

Worst Show: The Cleveland Show (Episode: “Ladies’ Night”) – I watch The Cleveland Show afraid that if I miss it, they will finally have a funny episode.  I’m still waiting for that funny episode.

The Power Rankings: (may contain mild spoilers)

10.  How I Met Your Mother (Episode: “The Playbook”) – While I enjoy Barney’s single shenanigans, I’m still slightly bothered how the Barney/Robin relationship which the show invested us all in has dissipated so quickly.

9. Parks and Recreation (Episode: “Hunting Trip”) – This is slowly becoming my favorite show on NBC Thursday nights.

8. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Episode: “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System”)

7. Glee (Episode: “Ballad”) – Not as good as last week but still a step in the right direction.  I don’t think I can truly love this show until the two pregnancy secrets are revealed (especially Terri’s)

6. Community (Episode: “Environmental Science”) – Andrea and I sang “Somewhere Out There” at Sing Sing Karaoke at around 5 AM in the morning inspired by this episode.

5. The Mentalist (Episode: “His Right Red Hand”) – Like sci-fi shows, crime procedurals have mythology episodes and with The Mentalist, any episode that involves Red John is infinitely better than run-of-the-mill episodes.

4. Friday Night Lights (Episode: “A Sort Of Homecoming”) – I’m really getting tired of Landry getting attractive girls but the end of this episode was just sad.

3. The Big Bang Theory (Episode: “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency”) – Episodes where Penny and Sheldon spend most of the episode together >>> all other episodes

2. Curb Your Enthusiasm (Episode: “The Table Read”) – Leon (JB Smoove) completely stole this episode! “I Danny Dubersteined the shit out of him!”

1. Sons of Anarchy (Episode: “Service”) – The only thing that bothered me about this episode is that conflicts that have been building all season got resolved a little too smoothly (unless some people are playing possum). For all the praise I’ve given Katey Sagal (Gemma), Ryan Hurst (Opie) has been equally amazing.

I’m in full in the single-woman-as-sweatshop season (known in some other circles as Christmas), and I’m about 2/3 through an afghan for my parents. It’s one colour, so normally I would do the felting end trick from Stitch ‘N Bitch (basically, rough up the two ends, wet one of them–well, suck on it really–and rub them together on your pant leg. Tada! Ends joined).

But I made a fatal error early on in this pattern, attempting the felting and forgetting I’m using superwash wool and they’re unwinding. Then I remembered this trick I learned a few years ago. I’m told it’s the same way you would thread a worm on a fish hook, though I’ve never had the pleasure of doing so.

Thread the needle with one end of the yarn, then wind it up and down through the new ball of yarn, like in the picture above. Next, pull the yarn through the woven part, so it looks like so:

Finally, pull the thread off the need, and you’ve got two yarns as one! Trim up any lose ends. I usually do so once it’s knitted into the garment – just trim off anything that’s sticking out.

And in television news – Friday Night Lights is back! While I’ll always remain loyally dedicated to Matty Saracen, I have to say Coach Taylor, my you’re lookin’ fine. ’specially when you go all bad ass on them tough-as-nails eastsiders. Hoo-eee that’s some fine watchin’.

Dillon, Texas. Pueblo donde el football es una religión. Donde cada viernes unos héroes vestidos de azul dan una muestra del poderío de sus lugareños. Un lugar donde es fácil vivir siendo un héroe. Un pueblo donde perder significa pasar de ser adorado a ser marginado. ¿Te interesa esta descripción? Continúa leyendo.

El pueblo de Dillon es prototípico del estado de Texas. Camionetas, gorros de cowboy, industria ganadera, grandes casas separadas entre sí en mitad del campo y vecindarios carentes de padres de familia que han ido a combatir por su país a Irak. Retrato acertadísimo y realista. No hay que olvidar que el estado de Texas es mayoritariamente republicano. De hecho, George W. Bush (G.E.P. = que gobierne en paz allá donde esté) fue gobernador de este estado en su paso previo a ocupar el sillón de la sala oval. Desde luego, es un lugar donde te encantaría vivir si fueras un tipo al que sus cualidades físicas le hacen ser alabado cada viernes noche por todos tus vecinos. ¿Qué te parecería si te dijera que en este pueblo los policias no te multarían por exceso de velocidad si hubieras hecho un buen partido? Hasta ese punto llega el poder del football en este pueblo de texanos 100 %.

Lo que más me gusta de este pueblo es que representa perfectamente el sueño americano. En este caso, personalizado en el football, decenas de jóvenes cada año defienden los colores de los Panthers (nickname del equipo de football de Dillon) con la esperanza de utilizar este escaparate como trampolín para alcanzar sus sueños. No es raro encontrar entre sus componentes a niños que van desde un joven negro que trata de conseguir una beca universitaria para poder llegar a ser profesional y dar un futuro a su familia, a un chico cuyo única expectativa que de él tiene su hermano es que sea una estrella de football si antes no ha dejado embarazada a cualquiera de las chicas que pasan por su cama, pasando por el chico ideal al que todos aman, tiene la vida perfecta de puertas hacia afuera y que parece haber nacido para ser un ídolo a seguir (gran quarterback, familia acomodada, guapo, novio de la jefa de cheerleaders… ).

Leyendo hasta aquí, pensarás que Friday Night Lights es una serie estereotípica sobre el mundo de los adolescentes y el fútbol. Craso error, amigo/a. Jamás des nada por supuestoe n FNL porque te equivocarás. Por ejemplo, ¿crees que por todo lo dicho el puesto de entrenador de los Panther es de tanto poder como el de gobernador del estado? Podría parecer que sí, que es muy sencillo ser el entrenador  del equipo puntero de Texas y que además te facilitaría una posición social privilegiada. Ni mucho menos. Es precisamente una carga que es difícil de llevar en Dillon. Tal vez en otro pueblo no sería tan nociva, pero estamos en un lugar donde el fútbol es una religión y, por tanto, el entrenador es constantemente enjuiciado, subido a los altares y bajado a los infiernos. Sin motivo aparente. Tan sólo es una marioneta del pueblo que busca que sus plegarias sean escuchadas. Cada persona en Dillon se cree un coach mejor que el actual y debe de hacerse oír criticando al coach cuando toca y alabándolo (cuando toca, aunque más esporádicamente).

Dillon nos proporciona una posición privilegiada para ver desde la perspectiva de personas que viven aisladas en su autoproclamada grandeza y que no ven más allá del resultado del partido de cada viernes. Personas que se amparan en la doble moral para tapar todos sus trapos sucios, que pueden haber engañado públicamente a su esposa y con ello haber roto a su familia y ser la comidilla del pueblo pero que no por ello tienen reparo en ir al estadio de los Panthers cada viernes, a seguir con una tradición que es más importante que su propia familia. “Ganad y todo irá bien” parece ser el mensaje que quienes van a ver el partido cada viernes envían a los miembros del equipo. Por deducción, el contramensaje es que si pierden, esa semana en el pueblo será mucho más difícil que lo habitual para todos, comenzando por el entrenador y los jugadores.

Sin duda, en un lugar de doble moral tan dicotómica, rizar el rizo sería que los planes del equipo no salieran como se espera, que el equipo pierda y que por el camino queden afectados miembros del equipo. No pasa nada, en cuanto los Panthers vuelvan a ganar todo se habrá olvidado. Más exactamente, todos se habrán olvidado de quienes han perdido en esa batalla, de quienes se han quedado por el camino, de quienes ya no pueden hacerles disfrutar enviando un buen pase o logrando un touchdown en el último segundo de partido.

Debéis de descubrir por vosotros/as mismos/as la delicia que es disfrutar de la historia de Dillon, de los problemas que se le presentan a Eric, a Smash, a Riggins, a Tyra… Debéis aprender plano a plano de la aventura de enfrentarse constatemente al enemigo que te ensalza, de luchar por salir adelante de familias desestructuradas, de cumplir con el objetivo que te han marcado tus padres en la vida, de salir de la desilución que siente tu entorno por quien ellos consideran un “quiero y no puedo”. Todo eso es FNL y, en menor medida, es una serie de fútbol.

Para mí, FNL es una serie de emociones, personajes con los que nos hemos identificado en algún momento de nuestra vida pasada (o venidera en un futuro), de esfuerzo y de lucha contra uno mismo y contra el entorno. Todo cobra un valor excepcional en esta localidad. Cada paso avanzado es un pequeño logro que no todos son capaces de lograr. Porque, en cualquier otro sitio, la vida sería mucho más fácil. No lo olvidéis.

Continúa leyendo los artículos sobre FNL con motivo del Bloggers Day y descubre lo relacionado con su música, su ambientación, la pareja Taylor… ¡y mucho más AQUÍ!

Ainda é tempo de adaptação para os Lions e nesse episódio tivemos uma discussão, ainda que superficial, sobre religião e também uma grande briga entre o casal Taylor, tudo por causa do time de East Dillon.

Eric tem feito o que pode e o que não pode para conseguir treinar seu time, que após ter desistido do primeiro jogo se tornou piada na cidade, e ele quase que viu seu time sendo desfeito com a possibilidade da escola acabar com o programa de futebol, mas ele consegue dar a volta por cima, mesmo passando um cheque sem fundos, para comprar os uniformes e no jogo a equipe consegue marcar pelos menos um touchdown.

Engraçado perceber o quanto a cidadezinha ainda preza o que foi feito no passado, já que Eric tem conseguido muita coisa por ter sido treinador dos Panthers.

Quem chamou a atenção nesse episódio foi Buddy, que cada vez mais insatisfeito com Joe dá um basta e deverá se aliar com Eric, ainda mais com as tramóias de Joe para acabar com Tami.

Eu achei bem interessante colocarem um pouco de discussão sobre religião, na visão de Julie, que vendo a mãe sendo maltratada até mesmo na Igreja pelas outras famílias, não fica satisfeita, o que faz Tami se preocupar com a fé da filha.

Tim e Matt continuam tentando encontrar seus caminhos, enquanto Tim tem a filha de sua inquilina cada vez mais próxima e tenta empurrá-la para Luke, Matt ouve do seu chefe que Julie o está atrasando, o que ela também acaba ouvindo e começa a se questionar.

Friday Night Lights is a show I am pretty much unaware of, and I feel like I am probably not missing out on much.  I don’t really even know anyone who takes the time to watch the show either.  My roommate watches it from time to time, but he only watches it for the beautiful people.  

So what is the actual draw that has kept the show going for four seasons?  Is it only the beautiful people?  Or does the show have a legitimate story line that people are interested in?

I read recent news that the show had introduced a rocker female role to the show.  Perhaps introducing edgy roles is keeping the show going.

I did find it interesting that the rocker girl was a UT student.  Stephanie Hunt dropped out of school and just happened to get an audition for the show.  She had to quickly learn how to play bass adequately and actually wrote an original song for her audition.

Svegliarsi del tutto.

Fare pranzo.

Decidere se preferisco “Wish You Were Here” o ” The Dark Side Of The Moon” e morire un pò.

Rileggere e pubblicare la recensione del meraviglioso FridayNightLights.

Finire “Il Regno Dei Lupi” ed essere triste. Perchè mi sono scioccamente imposta di intervallare ogni libro di questa saga incredibile con un altro paio di libri. Che divorerò il doppio più in fretta del solito dunque. I Sette Regni mi mancano già.

E l’inverno sta arrivando. Stavolta è vero.

Iniziare, immediatamente dopo, “Orgoglio e Pregiudizio” (ve l’ho mai detto che finire un libro e iniziarne immediatamente uno nuovo è tipo la cosa che amo più al mondo insieme a mangiare fino a crepare?) e dargli una nuova chance. Dopo 15 anni se la merita.

Guardare FF. Recensirlo.

Doccia, trucco e parrucco.

Comprare in centro le scarpe vintage a 69 euro che ho visto e che sono fantastiche.

Cena e concerto.

Zombieland e nanne.

Quante cose farò di quelle elencate? Nemmeno la metà.

Intanto mi ascolto questa, però.

(che con questa uggiosa giornata novembrina ci sta benissimo)

Just superb. If you walked away during series 2, and who can blame you if you did, you’re now missing out on some of the best television, week in, week out.  It actually reminds me a lot of Deadwood and The Wire, two shows willing to take everything slow, avoid melodrama and take a long clear look at the day to day life of the players.

Back in series 2, a hunting trip with Saracen and Riggins would have turned into a murder rampage, but now Saracen shoots at “the wind, I guess” and sends Riggins fleeing into the bushes. Observe also how slowly they take all the love stories. We don’t know what will happen with Landry and Jess or Riggins and Becky, but the show is giving them time to grow into their relationships, rather than rushing things and thrusting them together as fast as they can.

So far, after four episodes, we’ve barely seen any action on the field, but with all the quiet drama happening off the field, I don’t really mind. Clear eyes, full hearts…

In this episode, Coach carries the team but at Tami’s expense, Julie finds Matt drifting away and the Lions score their first points, woot!

I love that Tim is trying to help out Coach, even if it’s slightly dubious things like handing out money for people to donate during their fundraiser! With Tim on the team, you see the difference between the current Lions and the Panthers of yore – for all his slackitude, Tim Riggins always trusted Coach wholeheartedly and unswervingly, unlike Vince who’s finding the yelling hard, and Luke who’s feeling overlooked.

 Tim seems to be trying very hard to not let himself be seduced by the perky young Becky (it took me that long to find out her name, sigh) who’s not only an aspiring singer, but a pageant girl to boot. Nailing the daughter after screwing the mum who let you rent her empty trailer, totally not cool. But you just know something’s going to happen between them! Or maybe Lyla will make a magical appearance…

Also, the Lions score their first points, even if it was ugly as hell! Yay! GO COACH! The great thing about starting from the bottom is that… there really is nowhere to go but up. The stars of this team look to be Luke and Vince, who seem to be replaying the role of Smash and Tim in Season 1, so maybe they’ll just miraculously get over themselves one day and get to be good friends, while Landry takes over his best bud Matt’s position as underdog breakout star, as he becomes the kicker of the team.

Landry gets schooled by Jess, the girl whose bike he ran over, who turns out to be the daughter of an old football star and is more knowledgable than Landry himself. What happened to Tyra, Landry? She’s off at college and you’ve forgotten her already? They are bringing Tyra and Lyla back for their farewell arcs, yes? Though it seems like the next time we’ll see them it’ll probably be their winter break or something…

My question about the burnt uniforms gets answered pretty quick as Coach realizes that while he made his statement loud and clear, he is also currently left without any uniforms or money to pay for them. Without support from anyone, Dillon East’s principal or any boosters, Eric is reduced to begging and shelling money out from his own pocket, to the point where he’s embarrassed enough to lie about it to Tami. OH COACH. Anyway Tami and Eric get into a terrific fight about it, but he does apologise, contrite, as all good men do, and Tami loves him anyway. They are such a great couple~ lesser couples have broken up over smaller things in other shows, but Coach and Mrs Coach are forever!

The East Dillon Lions might be getting themselves a booster now that Buddy Garrity has sworn off being a Panther booster. As the oldest one there and the loudest, he was always at the head until Joe McCoy and Wade Aikman came into the picture, and he’s been reduced to the unimportant end of the table. After hearing them scheme to oust Tami, he renounces his loyalty, so perhaps the Lions can get some help now, yes?

Matt Saracen meanwhile, is still off trying to be an artist with the scrap metal dude, whose first lesson of any sort to Matt is that to succeed, he has to be selfish and place himself before everything and everyone for his art. Matt is disbelieving at first, but when he sees the angel ‘masterpiece’ at the end, it looks like he’s starting to believe. A selfish Matt Saracen? That just doesn’t seem possible. I love that he tried to console Julie anyway, poor girlie. It’s not long before Matt leaves FNL, I just hope he goes out with a good arc. I really do hope he and Julie can beat the odds and maintain an LDR! they are perfect together. Also it will be nice to get one couple who actually manage to stay together since Tim-Lyla and Landry-Tyra seem to have gone up in smoke…

Still loving this show! Clear Eyes Full Heart Can’t Lose!

Let me start by saying that this is probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried to undertake…it’s simply impossible to write a proper review for Friday Night Lights, Season 4, without divulging important plot points. Suffice it to say that, four episodes in, FNL has not disappointed me yet this season. Here are a few quick observations, hopefully giving away nothing for those poor souls who don’t have DirecTV and must wait until after the New Year:

• Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton give tremendous, Emmy-worthy performances every week…without fail. The fact that neither of them have won or even been nominated makes a shameful mockery of the Emmys.
• I miss Tyra and Lyla. Adrianne Palicki was one of my favorite actresses on the show, and I miss her wisecracks as Tyra.
• I still love the natural, loose feel to the cinematography and editing.
• Zach Gilford and Jesse Plemons are possibly some of the most natural, gifted young actors on television today. I’m still constantly amazed by the layers they bring to their performances.
• The new characters are terrific and bring a new dimension to the show, especially with the West Dillon-East Dillon dichotomy. New East Dillon players Vince (Michael B. Jordan) and Luke (Matt Lauria) appear to have interesting backstories.
• D W Moffett is woefully underutilized. The producers should use Joe McCoy more; he’s a great foil for Tami. I’d also love to see Janine Turner come back. (A rare misstep on the show is Jeremy Sumpter’s performance as J D McCoy; I think he’s an especially wooden, unnatural actor.)
• FNL still has the greatest music of any show on TV. I rarely walk away from an episode without a song to download.

There you go; this probably isn’t much of a review, but I wanted to chime in on the season so far. If you have DirecTV, please check it out; if not, please be sure to watch it when it returns to NBC after the New Year.

Last Friday I covered my first high school football game since being laid-off from the Greeley Tribune for the Los Angeles Times in Westlake Village. The game was Westlake vs. Moorpark and both teams were 9-0 and the winner would decide the Marmonte League champion. Both teams were talented, Westlake was more of a passing team while Moorpark kept it on the ground most of the game. In the end Westlake’s passing game and defense was too much for Moorpark with a final score of 38-14. I wish I would have had more time to shoot some features, but with my deadline I missed the last two minutes of the game and the on field celebration. Shooting this game makes me remember how much I like shooting high school sports though. The athlete’s really care and are so passionate about the game.

We’re in the midst of our 22 straight hours live blogging ESPN’s College Basketball Marathon, although you probably should have inferred that from the title. If you want to catch up and take a stroll down Timmy Chang Memory Lane with John S, check out the Overnight Post. Tim will handle the 6 a.m. game between two of his favorite Jersey schools, Monmouth and St. Peter’s, and the 8 a.m. contest matching Drexel and Niagara. John S will be back at 10 for No. 24 Clemson and Liberty.

11:55: Well, Liberty screwed that up too. They’ll end up with 39 points, as Clemson wins the game by 40 points. Get ready for Northeastern and Siena, today’s noon game. We’ll be starting a new post at NPI, and Tim will be taking the reins back for the start of that game.

11:48: At this point, I’m basically just rooting for the teams to put up identical halves. Clemson needs to close the game on a 12-2 run, and they would have won each half 42-19. That would be pretty cool, right?

11:43: It’s a little hard to know how much to take away from a game like this, but Clemson looks like a pretty deep team. They’ve had eleven players score and are getting some nice contributions from Devin Booker, Andre Young, Milton Jennings, and Noel Johnson. If some of those guys can contribute in ACC play and tougher nonconference games, then the Tigers could be a pretty dangerous team.

11:35: The game’s getting pretty sloppy as we head into the final 8 minutes. Both teams are turning the ball over (Liberty’s got 18 on the game) and taking, and missing, bad shots. Clemson hasn’t been much better than the Flames over the last few minutes, but I think their 34 point lead is still safe. I know it’s not over till it’s over and all, but…..this one’s over.

11:25: By the way, Adrian Branch. Was that whole “willingness to compete” thing a veiled shot at Coach Taylor of East Dillon?

11: 24 Adrian Branch’s take on what Liberty can take away from this game: The negatives: They are getting outplayed in every aspect of the game. The positives: They still have “their willingness to compete.” Congratulations Liberty! You guys haven’t forfeited yet!

11:18: Booker comes out strong in the second half, scoring seven of the team’s 11 points before the first TV timeout. He’s also added a couple rebounds to give himself 11 total, along with his 12 points. Liberty got a three from Tyler Baker and not much else offensively. They kind of remind me of the Duke offense from three years ago: They’re very good at working it around the perimeter, and not much else.

11:08: I finally got one of ESPN’s Encyclopedia Trivia Questions right. Clemson has lost 54 straight times at UNC. Great, the one thing I get right is another reminder of the Tar Heels’ dominance. And this less than a week after the Harrison Barnes debacle.

11:05: The new ESPN halftime crew of Jason Williams and Doug Gottlieb is discussing the almost-upset of Kentucky last night. Apparently, John Calipari was “ecstatic” that Kentucky fell behind by 18 last night. He got to see what the team was made of. I mean, God forbid the Wildcats cruise to an easy win against an inferior team. How on Earth would we know what they are made of in that case?? Man, I still really don’t like Calipari.

10:52 AM: I don’t claim to be Bobby Knight or anything, but it seems to me that if you’re going to get outrebounded 24-11, then you ought to win the turnover battle, or shoot better than 30% from the field. Liberty doesn’t agree with me, though. I’m going to go ahead and question that strategy, since they’re down 42-19.

10:47: You know what makes a college basketball program great? The ability to replace talent. Right now, Clemson sophomore Tanner Smith seems determined to fill the gap left in Clemson’s “blindingly pale white guy with a reddish face who has a deceptively good jump shot” spot since Oglesby’s departure. He’s got five points, as the Tigers lead 39-15 at the under-four minute TV timeout.

10:40: Adrian Branch just went over the keys to playing a game this early, which apparently include “loving the game,” “shooting the ball” and “dribbling.” A bit reductive, but I can’t really say he’s wrong. I predict shooting the ball will play an integral role in this game.

10:37: Eric Collins is really enjoying this whole “no books, but a lot of Booker” thing. Apparently, Liberty cancelled classes in honor of this game. Get it? No books.

10:35: In case you wondering if Liberty replaced their departed “younger brother of a college basketball star” with another, well they did! They’ve got Eric Gordon’s younger brother Evan, who’s pulled down two rebounds, but missed three free throws already. Meanwhile, Adrian Branch is calling David Potter a “Allan Houston-type,” which makes me very excited. I, as basically anyone who ever even kind of rooted for the Knicks in the late ’90s did, loved Allan Houston.

10:28: David Potter has been Clemson’s best player for the first half of the first half (or, as the pros call it, the first quarter). He’s 4-4 behind the three-point line (shades of Mickey McConnell from Saint Mary’s). Apparently he’s a senior. But I don’t remember him at all. Either he’s made the leap, or Liberty isn’t very good.

10:22: We join the game already in progress and Clemson is already in control. They take a commanding 17-1 lead with 13:00 minutes left in the first half.

10:19: John S here again, bringing you Game #5 of ESPN’s Season Tip-Off. If you’ve been completely ignoring the ESPN announcers, we’re on Hour Eleven of the 24 Hour Marathon. Tim did a great job of bringing you the Battle of New Jersey and the Niagara-Drexel game. But now he has to prepare himself for Bill Raftery and Sean McDonough, who are calling noon game.

The 10 AM game brings us our first ranked team of the marathon, in #22 Clemson. ESPN might have Clemson at #23, but the AP has them at #22. And nobody cares about ESPN’s ranking except ESPN. Clemson lost K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby from last year, but returns their leading scorer, forward Trevor Booker. He’ll be joined by his younger brother Devin this year.

Liberty, meanwhile, lost its leading scorer Seth Curry, brother of the great Stephen, to transfer (to Duke!). The Flames are pretty small, so it’ll be hard for them to be physical with the traditionally physical Tigers.

10:15: Dragons miss a three (Colds penetrated and kicked), and Benn atones for his mistake with two free throws on the other end. Niagara adds two more from the charity stripe for the final margin, 76-69.

10:10: After another Colds-activated three, Benn turns it over, deciding that, instead of calling a timeout, it would be easier to jump in the air, turn 180 degrees, and throw it off a Drexel defender. Clearly, you need those two timeout for the stretch run. Dragons have the ball down three with 20 ticks to go.

10:06: The Dragons’ actual plan: fadeaway three! And LaPhonso just referred to the “Duke Blue Demons.” He now compares favorably to Adrian Branch and simply compares to Stephen Bardo.

10:04: Drexel played defense for 20 of the 35 seconds of the shot clock, then fouled. I can’t stand teams that do this. Are players really that dumb? Niagara hits one of two and leads by five with 57 ticks left. Dragons’ plan should be for a quickish two, a defensive stop, another quick two, then you can start fouling with 20 or so left on the clock.

10:02: Looks like I spoke too soon: NU missed both freebies and Colds buried a trifecta on the other end. Between that and the free throws, you could say he’s Colds-blooded. Yeah, I went there.

10:01: Niagara just had about the best possession possible, running the shot clock down, missing a shot, getting the rebound, running the shot clock down, drawing a foul, making the first free throw and missing the second, getting the rebound, and then fouling out Leon Spencer. They’ve had the ball for over a minute, scored a point, and are going back to the line with a seven-point lead.

9:55: Austin Cooley swishes a backbreaking three at the shot clock buzzer to give the PEs a double-digit lead again. Niagara has turned the switch back on, it seems, and looks about ready to put Drexel away. It’s 67-59 at the under-4 timeout. Benn leads the way with 17 and 12 for NU.

Surprise of this game? LaPhonso Ellis. He’s done a nice job. I’d even go so far as to say he compares favorably to other swingmen-turned-analysts such as Stephen Bardo and Adrian Branch.

9:42: The Niagara fans chanted “You won’t make this!” at Gerald Colds, who proceeded to nail two free throws. Boy, do they have egg on their faces. Spencer, meanwhile, missed another chippy in the lane–the second time this half he’s missed something Sciambi described as “point-blank.” Each time, NU has scored the next possession. Those are killer changes of momentum. Spencer’s layup could have made it a two-point game; instead, it’s 60-51 Niagara with 7:50 to go.

9:37: Drexel has missed a few open looks that could have really tightened the score. On the other end, Niagara’s interior passing–which was very impressive in the first half–has not been crisp in the second half. More turnovers (four) than assists (one) this half for the PEs.

9:32: We’ve got ourselves a basketball game. A Shannon Givens three pulls the Dragons within five at 51-46, taking advantage of an extended Niagara drought. (Ha, you see the irony there? How could Niagara have a drought? There’s literally tons of water there!)

9:24: After closing the first half with a buzzer-beating layup, Bilal Benn opened the second period with a three to put NU up 15. The Purple Eagles have looked a little sluggish since that opening possession of the half, but the same could be said for Drexel. The Dragons have pulled it back to 47-36, although they can’t keep missing free throws. Look for them to try to go through Leon Spencer on the block, now that Bruiser decided he didn’t need to keep him on the bench with two fouls anymore. (I’m not a fan of coaches who automatically sit guys with two fouls for the entire half.)

9:20: The best thing I’ve seen today is easily that blocks are being called a lot more often than charges. I’m not lying or being sarcastic when I say the 1:1 ratio at which those calls have been made the last few seasons is my least favorite thing about college basketball. They instituted a new rule this year where you can’t slide under the basket for a charge, which is basically like having the semi-circle they have in the NBA without actually going to the effort of painting it on the court. While I haven’t seen any calls made because of the new rule, maybe making that call correctly (it’s not a charge unless the guy has some semblance of position) is a point of emphasis this year. Correctness should always be emphasized, in my opinion.

9:05: How dare you, ESPN? You just ran the exact same halftime show you ran two hours ago. Rece, Hubert, Digger, and Jay aren’t actually awake right now! I am outraged!

In the meantime, since you can’t get their first-half thoughts, you’ll have to settle for mine:*

• Even when it was behind early, Niagara established the pace it wanted. It got Drexel in foul trouble, wore down the shorter bench, and started pulling away later in the half.
• Bilal Benn was held down for much of the half but really came to life toward the end. You can see why he’s a first-team guy in the MAAC.
• The Purple Eagles look good enough to hang with a team for about 25-30 minutes come March, or until their lack of size is exploited. Of course, that’s if they can top Siena in the MAAC.
• Drexel doesn’t exactly look bad, but when you can’t hang athletically with a team from the MAAC, it probably doesn’t bode well for its chances in the CAA.

*Or go searching for some other blog commenting on the 8 a.m. Niagara-Drexel game. Yeah, good luck.

8:56: Now, I was blocked a lot of times in my career. Like I said, I was no “Bruiser” in the paint. But I was NEVER blocked by two people simultaneously, let alone THREE as Jamie Harris just did. Seriously, he went up for a layup, and no fewer than three Purple Eagles made contact with the ball. Jamie Harris shouldn’t drive the rest of the game.

A Benn layup at the buzzer gives Niagara their largest lead of the game at a dozen. It’s 42-30 at the break, and the Purple Eagles outscored the Dragons 34-13 after falling behind by nine early.

8:52: NU has stretched it to 10, as Bruiser Flint calls a timeout. What are the physical prerequisites to earn the moniker of “Bruiser”? I’m pretty sure 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, and white probably doesn’t cut it for me.

8:46: Preseason MAAC first-teamer Bilal Benn scores his first points from the line before getting his first field goal a possession later to put the Purple Eags up six. LaPhonso Ellis explains that Drexel is “doing what we would do” in denying Benn the ball. Who is the “we” in that sentence? Him and Sciambi? Him and the 1994 Nuggets? It can’t be the latter: You don’t need to deny the ball when you have Dikembe Mutombo. You funnel to the middle.

8:40: NU by two with just over five to play in an entertaining first half. Drexel has managed to stay close despite some foul trouble and multiple missed dunks.

8:32: Rob Garrison just went cookie jar on Chris Fouch before assisting on a Demetrius Williamson to give the Purple Eagles a 23-18 lead. Garrison already has 10 points, which is two shy of Travis Taylor’s game-high in the last contest. I’ll stop harping on how bad that game was now and move on to the issue of nicknames. Has anyone ever seen a purple eagle? And what’s going on with Niagara’s logo?

I think Bilal Benn pulled off a rare triple-dribble a few possessions ago.

8:27: After a 9-0 run pushed Drexel out to the lead, Niagara has responded with a 9-2 spurt of its own to cut the deficit to a bucket at 17-15.Already, this game is being played at a much higher level than its predecessor in Jersey City (due mainly to Monmouth, btw). Niagara scored off a nice inbounds play; I don’t think Monmouth ran an inbounds play in their game. The pace is fast, players are finishing in traffic… you might even say this is a more “organized” basketball game.

P.S. If I’m a minor college basketball player and my name were Derrick Thomas, I’d definitely wear No. 58.

8:14: It’s 9-6 Drexel early, but the game is being played more at Niagara’s pace. This is the first of two matchups between the MAAC and Colonial today, with Siena and Northeastern coming up at noon. It’s a big day for the two conferences. The Colonial has more respect nationally, but the MAAC has been on an underreported rise (checking if you read the Monmouth-St. Peter’s portion of the live blog) and is favored in both games. Niagara is picked No. 2 in the MAAC while the Dragons are picked to finish seventh in the CAA.

My favorite part about Niagara basketball coach Joe Mihalich is that he isn’t afraid to sport a hairstyle hair not seen since Edward R. Murrow took down Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The Purple Eagles are wearing gray this morning, which doesn’t look terrible, but doesn’t look good either. Drexel’s navy unis, meanwhile, look like a Nike S.o.D., which I oppose, although I’ll admit they have some pretty cool font on the last names.

Niagara is playing without its leading returning scorer, Tyrone Lewis. Talking about Lewis’ defensive prowess, Ellis says, “At 5′10″, he had eight blocked shots…” (ME: WHAT? THAT’S INSANE! AGAINST WHO?) “…last season.” (ME: oh).

8:04: Game 2 of our Morning Session (and No. 4 of our marathon) pits Drexel and Niagara against each other at the Gallagher Center in upstate New York. Jon Sciambi–ESPN’s Atlantic-10 guy and the Atlanta Braves’ play-by-play guy not named Chip Caray–and LaPhonso Ellis–who hasn’t been heard from since the 1994 NBA Playoffs–are manning the mikes this morning.

7:55: SPC ekes it out, 58-34. Welsh credits the Peacocks’ defense, but I think the list of reasons Monmouth only scored 34 points looks like this: THE GAME WAS AT 6 A.M.!

Waite missed four more field goals and a free throw before the end of the morning, meaning he attempted 21 shots today to score his four points. He’s comically bad right now; you know, like Manos: The Hands of Fate. Welsh still credits him for “making things happen.” He neglects to define those “things” as “missed shots” and “changes of possession.”

I’m looking forward to Drexel and Niagara.

7:45: Peacocks are on a 20-7 run; more problematic for Monmouth, SPC has been on a 53-30 run since the start of the game.

Ed Waite is 1-for-11 from the field. If you add in his (I think) 1-for-4 from the foul line, I think it becomes safe to say that Ed Waite has a had a poor game this morning. More like Ed “Dead” Waite, am I right?

Oh, Bobby Wischusen called out the guy behind him dancing to “Seven-Nation Army.” He’s getting fussy about being up so early.

7:36: I haven’t seen this many airballs since I attended a JV girls’ basketball game at my grade school when I was in sixth grade. That game ended in a 19-0 shutout. Monmouth has almost twice as many turnovers as field goals, and we’re 30+ minutes into this game! That’s a weird stat when a team has four turnovers and two FGs. But it’s still a one-score game, so long as we use Abraham Lincoln’s definition of “score.”

By the way. the Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi really beat me to the punch on Ryan Bacon jokes this morning on his Twitter. Clearly a cornucopia of material I missed.

Welsh mentioned that Kentucky-Miami (Ohio) thriller and talked about how the RedHawks are pretty good, and what a tough opener that was for UK. But nobody talks about how tough an opener it was for Miami (Ohio). They had to play at Kentucky!

7:28: It’s 38-23, SPC, and I have nothing to say about what’s happening on the court. So let’s discuss commercials!

Hockey player Fernando Pisani now does ads for ulcerative colitis? The fact that Fernando Pisani is doing their ads just tells me: Cool. Not that many athletes have ulcerative colitis.

ESPN also advertised for the MLS Cup between the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, the latter of whom became the second “crossover” team in as many years to make the finals. You know why “crossover” teams are never respected? Because leagues like MLS use them. I expect Pierre to take this up shortly.

7:19: St. Peter’s ran its patented “aborted alley-oop in which the leaper tips it back to the guy cutting to the basket” play. Nobody does that better than the Peacocks. They follow it up with a transition dunk from Ryan Bacon to build their largest lead of the game at 37-23.

Waite’s last post pass to Taylor looked like a throw from JaMarcus Russell; a 10-foot pass was about four feet off-target.

7:15: It’s 31-18 SPC after four minutes of play in the second half. Let’s say the halftime “adjustments” haven’t been readily apparent yet. Here’s some more criticism of Travis Taylor: In his three touches this half, he’s missed a layup, had a shot blocked, and missed a dunk. He has almost no presence on the defensive end. He is still Monmouth’s best player.

The Hawks have a tall, lumbering white guy wearing No. 2 who was just called for an over-the-back foul; I didn’t realize Josh McRoberts had fallen this far! His real name is Dutch Gaitley, and if he spelled his last name differently, I’d call him Don for the rest of the game.

7:07: Since, unlike John S, I’ve got no qualms with the halftime performance of Rece and Co., here’s a list things I couldn’t believe John S didn’t mention in the overnight:

• That Northern Colorado punting scandal. I would have led with that!
• Hawaii’s on-again, off-again relationship with the “Rainbow” qualification of its Warriors.
• That apostrophe in Hawai’i. How do we feel about that?
• Steve Fisher is STILL coaching San Diego State???
• The potential for June Jones’ SMU team to return to Hawaii for the Aloha Bowl.
• St. Mary’s Australian connection.

6:59: My analysis of the first half: St. Peter’s is a lot better than Monmouth. The Peacocks have moved the ball crisply on offense for much of the half, and their aggressive man-to-man defense has really taken MU out of anything it wants to do offensively.

The biggest (viz. long-term) problem for the Hawks is that what they want to do offensively is work the ball through Travis Taylor, who is good enough to draw a double-team at this level but not good enough to exploit it. Taylor’s passes out of the double are rarely prompt or delivered with accuracy. Of course, it doesn’t help when the guys you’re kicking to are regularly airballing trifectas.

I was serious when I said St. Pete’s looks about as good as I’ve ever seen them (take that with a grain of salt), but the MAAC is really in the midst of an underrated rise–it’s probably one of the top 15 most underreported stories in college basketball. Siena, who we’ll see at noon, has won a Tourney game two straight years; Niagara is a strong No. 2 in the conference; and Rider, who boasts the conference’s preseason POY in Ryan Thompson (younger brother of Rider alum and current Sacramento King, Jason), already beat Mississippi State.

6:52: Nice sequence at the end of the half, as an airballed three from Monmouth is answered on the other end by an airballed three from St. Peter’s. Maybe they should do these marathons in January, when the teams are actually playing well?

Peacocks, 27-16, at the break.

6:50: The Hawks are 4-for-20 from the field, including Taylor’s 3-for-5. But they’ve been getting to the line, where they’re a in-relative-terms-just-as-bad 8-for-14. Even the Jersey City crowd recognized this, chanting “We make free throws” since the Peacocks are 3-for-4. I’m gonna call small sample size. Not coincidentallly, MU is down 11.

Speaking of free throws, after badly one, Waite launches a corner three the next time down. Yeah, because if you can’t make a shorter shot with no one guarding you, you should probably move back and try a harder one.

6:38: The Peacocks’ 16-2 run over nine minutes comes to a merciful end, but St. Pete’s is still up, 24-14. The key for Monmouth since the last TV timeout has been that it’s taken a shot on a majority of its possessions. That’s really an underrated aspect of basketball games. Can’t win if you’re not taking shots.

The Hawks’ Ed Waite was a standout high school football player at Pinecrest High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which is where my college roommate went. I have nothing to add.

St. Peter’s’* coach is John Dunne. If that were an “o” instead of a “u,” I would have had a better joke here. MU’s Dave Colloway could be on the hot seat, having finished in the bottom half of the NEC the last three seasons after giving Villanova a run in the NCAA Tourney as a 16-seed in 2006.

*Lost on the proper punctuation here.

Wischusen kicks it to Marysol Castro from Good Morning America for a weather report: Nice cross-promotion, ESPN/ABC! Welsh talks about how “New Jersey people want it all.” I’m sensing an unfair generalization. I only want some of it.

6:29: St. Peter’s is really working MU’s matchup zone right now. I’m probably not qualified to make this argument, but I’d say this is the best Peacocks’ team since Keydren Clark graduated. Remember Keekee?

The Hawks, meanwhile, are doing things like committing offensive fouls and dribbling off their feet. I wouldn’t really call it “organized basketball,” if you know what I mean.

Welsh mistakenly calls Monmouth’s new stadium the “Multipurpose Athletic Center.” This is a forgivable mistake given that it’s actually the “Multipurpose Activity Center,” which sounds like a special corner of a kindergarden classroom. Yeah, we’ve got an easel with some crayons right next to some fingerpaint and a few sleeping bags for nap time.

6:23: The Peacocks have an early 12-7 lead, getting some easy looks on their end of the floor on the inside while Monmouth has been running its offense through Travis Taylor, who, though he may be the Hawks’ best player, isn’t very good. If it looks like Taylor doesn’t really understand “organized basketball,” it’s probably because this is his fourth year of playing it.*

*I don’t really understand the phrase “organized basketball.” Am I more experienced in “organized basketball” than Travis Taylor because my intramural league had refs?

Wischusen and Welsh are well-stocked on coffee, which I imagine Bob needs to help recover from that Jets’ loss on Sunday. Plus, he’s sneaking this in before calling the MAC Football Game of the Week tomorrow night on ESPN, matching Central Michigan and Ball State. Welsh mentions that he saw both teams play Seton Hall, which is his coy way of hinting to the Seton Hall administration that if Bobby Gonzalez doesn’t work out, Timmy Welsh has a lot of time on his hands.

This is probably where I should mention that I’ve actually attended a Monmouth-St. Peter’s game in person: Back in November 2004, the hometown Hawks prevailed on a Marques Alston buzzer-beater by one. Good times.

6:14: This is the second game of an apparent NJ Round Robin, with both teams having lost to Seton Hall. Monmouth lost by 15 while the Peacocks had the Pirates down late, only to lose on a buzzer-beating running three by Eugene Harvey. In the controversial NJBCS, St. Pete’s is third and Monmouth fourth, behind the Hall and Rider, who knocked off Mississippi State.

Early highlight from Bob Wischusen and Tim Welsh* calling the game:

WISCHUSEN: Here’s Monmouth’s starting lineup, but this is a team that could bring its two best players off the bench.

WELSH: Well, Travis Taylor is certainly Monmouth’s best player, but (some guys whose names I didn’t catch do come off the bench and are pretty good).

*The killer W’s. Can we call the them the Quads?

6:05: Top of the mornin’ to you on this, well, I can’t tell what the weather is: It’s 6 a.m. and dark. There’s not a whole lot that gets me awake this early on a Tuesday, but a battle of Jersey powerhouses Monmouth and St. Peter’s is clearly near the top of that list.

It’s really a contrast in styles: Sprinsteen vs. Sinatra, the Parkway vs. the Turnpike, the Suburbs vs. the Urbs. Needless to say, it’s one of the biggest rivalries in Jersey college basketball, largely because these are two of only eightteams that play Jersey college basketball–and that’s including NJIT.

Of course, we hard-core Garden Staters are stuck having to watch this crappy NoCo-Hawaii game. Can’t college basketball institute that NFL rule; you know, the one where they take you away from the end of an exciting game to show you the start of a local one? We need more of that rule.

I’ve just recently watched all three seasons of Friday Night Lights. Yea, I know, I’m so 2006. But that doesn’t change the fact that its a great show! I actually caught the hype when it first came out and went out to get the DVD set, but just never got around watching it. Better late than never right?

Anyway, the show features a group of young talented but unknown actors, with a soundtrack contributed predominantly by Texan post-rock band, Explosions In The Sky. Finally, a teen drama with substance, well written characters that I can stomach. Here are some of the songs that I really enjoyed off the show.

W.G. Snuffy Walden – Opening Theme

Tony Lucca – Devil Town

Blue Merle – If I Could

Somehow, 4 seasons in, Friday Night Lights still has the power to reach into my soul and tear it in half. Okay, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I just finished watching the first episode of the new season, and I was basically tearing up through the entire thing.

I think what I love so much about that show is its fearlessness in putting its main characters through hell. Sure, this could just be seen as a cynical ploy to get you to sympathize with, and like, them, but its more real than that. It treats the ups and downs of life not with reverence or disdain either one, but with the matter-of-factness with which we all have to go through life, at least those of us not on a TV show besides FNL. And in the process, it is also not afraid to make our most beloved characters look like assholes (is there really anything worse than seeing Matt Saracen as dejected, bitter and violent?). And why does it make us cheer on Riggins as he walks out of college about 2 seconds after he starts, and then melodramatically tosses the entire contents of his bookbag out his truck window on the highway? He’s a litterbug, a quitter, and an idiot, yet somehow we see why this decision makes sense to him, and in turn perhaps sympathize a little more with the yokels in real life who consistently vote conservative against their own best interests and cast as an insufferable commie elitist anyone with any intellectual aspirations. Never mind the fact that I can’t actually imagine Riggins ever voting for anything, one way or another, and therein perhaps you have the appeal.

The new season looks promising, with enough conflict and drama to pack an entire lesser series. The McCoys, naturally, are the villains de rigeur, which is a little bit regrettable. How much more compelling would that whole set-up be if they were even moderately sympathetic, as J.D. was throughout most of last season? Now he’s just another stereotyped caricature of a pompous, quarterback date rapist. Maybe he’ll gain back a little more nuance as the season wears on, but I’m not counting on it. Joe, well, with his golf cart and his evil smirk as all hell broke loose at the school assembly, will most definitely not be in line for any nuance, sympathy, or humanity, I’m afraid. But than again, that’s never why his character existed. But he was also never completely believable, and with a show that has such finely drawn and realistic characters, that seems like an almost lazy oversight on the part of the otherwise flawless writers. But I already miss the old characters, even though I’m looking forward to meeting the new ones. Watching this episode was more than a little bittersweet for me, and as much as I just wish maybe season 3 should have been the end of the line, I have a lot of hope and optimism for season 4. I know it’s just a resistance to change, but, like life, things can’t just stay the same all the time. I’m in it for the long haul, and Coach Taylor and Tami (Tammy?) need me, so I’ll be there for them. (Shut up; yes, they’re real people to me.)

And, can I also just say, Coach Taylor doesn’t look nearly as good in red as he does in blue. But maybe I’ll come around. Poor Coach Taylor. I think he might have engaged in some emotional eating over the summer, if you know what I mean.

A série foi uma das que mais demorou a me conquistar, vi as duas primeiras temporadas em maratona e só depois do final da segunda é que tinha sido fisgado pela história. E desde a terceira temporada eu não consigo encontrar um episódio ruim.

A cena final desse episódio com o casal Taylor contando como havia sido seu dia foi sensacional. Tami mostra uma força tão incrível rara de se ver na ficção, já que geralmente as mocinhas são sempre chorosas, mas Connie Britton dando um show de interpretação ao continuar enfrentando Joe McCoy e sua trupe.

Dessa vez Tami teve que lidar com a descoberta de que a maior promessa dos Panthers, Luke, tinha um endereço falso e que morava na verdade em East Dillon, tudo orquestrado por Joe McCoy. Que quando ouve da diretora o que irá acontecer, ameaça abrir uma investigação já que a caixa de correio estava ali antes. Eu simplesmente achei o máximo a cena da Tami enfrentando Joe na frente dos investidores e deixando ele quietinho, mesmo ela sendo vaiada depois no ginásio.

Enquanto isso, Eric lutava pra reerguer seu time que o achou covarde por desistir da partida. É engraçado como a série utiliza clichês, mas nem por isso fica brega, até porque os usados aqui, são aqueles típicos de professor/treinador que dá sermão em seus pupilos pra melhorarem.

Fora isso ainda tivemos Matt como estagiário, sendo hostilizado no inicio mas com certeza deverá reverter a situação, assim como Tim que foi morar no trailer da mulher com quem dormiu no episódio passado e que num futuro próximo deverá se envolver com a filha dela.