The Land of Whatever

Where is the next link in the chain?

2012-03-21T14:31:00.000-04:00

It has been crazy in the NFL this week, and the annual draft isn't until next month. Perhaps subconsciously, the player movement in the league in the last 48 hours is the league's way of stealing some of the thunder from the NCAA basketball tournaments, which is supposed to be priority one fare for most sports junkies this time of year.

On Monday, Peyton Manning, set adrift by Indianapolis 2 weeks ago after sitting out the entire 2011 season with a neck injury, signed with Denver. The fawning media hordes followed his every move, and almost everyone agreed he would stay in the AFC and avoid going to an NFC team that would probably play against brother Eli and the Super Bowl champion Giants. Oh, sure, San Francisco was a player, along with Tennessee, and the only real selling point for the Titans was that it'd have been a homecoming of sorts for Manning, who played his college ball at the university. The 49ers re-signed their QB, Alex Smith, once they realized they weren't getting Manning.

Once the deal was done, the speculation turned to Denver's incumbent QB, Tim Tebow, who, when last on the field, was royally toasted by the Patriots for the 2nd time in as many months. The media began to guess where Tebow was headed next, because it was clear he wasn't going to be mentored by Manning, although common sense would've suggested that should've been the plan. Instead, within the last hour, Tebow was sent to the New York Jets for 4th round pick in next month's draft.

The Jets' Antonio Cromartie, quoted in today's New York Post, claimed the Jets didn't need Tebow and his adoring followers. Mark Sanchez, the Jets' incumbent QB, had just signed an extension for 2 more years, but the truth is he has been rather inconsistent in the three years he's started for "Gang Green", despite two AFC title game appearances. Not only that, but the Jets were one of the teams Tebow beat during the regular season, so now he'll be on their sideline, but will Sanchez share the spotlight with him?

The ensuing duel in training camp this July will make for some juicy back-page headlines, the kind usually reserved during the summer for the Yankees & Mets. It wouldn't surprise me, then, if Sanchez pouts in private, it gets out in the media, and they'll call for him to be traded before the draft. If the Jets are actually smart about this, they won't take the bait. Former Miami coach Tony Sparano is the new offensive coordinator and the creator of the "Wildcat" offensive schematic that has been in vogue in recent years. The Jets have needed a "Wildcat" QB since Brad Smith left for Buffalo after the 2010 season, so Tebow would fit in there, to hide the shortcomings that have been exposed since his pro debut in '10.

Kevin Blackistone, on ESPN's Around The Horn on Tuesday, had suggested that New England, of all places, would've been a fit for Tebow, but there, they'd be toying with the idea of converting him into a fullback. Uh, no, I don't think that'd work at all. Some online pundits were suggesting the same thing. The last thing everyone else wants to see is the Patriots getting richer than they need to be. They just picked up another Colt, Anthony Gonzalez, and welcomed back Donte Stallworth to shore up their receiving corps in the last few days. So, essentially, the Jets traded for Tebow so New England wouldn't get him. Kind of like the Yankees trading for someone to keep him away from the Red Sox. It's part of the business of the game.

If anything, Tebow vs. Sanchez in training camp should motivate the latter into getting his game focus back in gear, so that they're both in sync come September. Then again, this is New York, where the obsessive media is bound to cause things to get screwed up anyway.

Get ready to play ball!---MLB 2012 predictions

2012-03-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

The 2012 baseball season officially starts mere days before Easter, but the real fun begins in 9 days when Oakland & Seattle travel to Tokyo for a 2-game series, the first one in more than a decade. As per usual, some players have been shuffled and shuttled here, there, and everywhere via free agency or trades, and the pre-season guides don't always have all the information by their deadlines. Neither do baseball cards, but that's another story.

Let's take a look at the six divisions.

American League:

East: The New York Yankees picked up Raul Ibanez (Philadelphia) & Hiroki Kuroda (Los Angeles Dodgers) as free agents, and traded away prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda. Funny thing is, Topps included rookie cards of both players in this year's set, printed before the trade. Joe Garagiola was right. Baseball is a funny game. Last week, Andy Pettite decided to end his retirement and return to the Bronx so he can get one more ring. Oh, please, give me a break. Wait 'til he gets shelled by the Mets. In Boston, the Red Sox lost closer Jonathan Papelbon (Philadelphia) and shortstop Jed Lowrie (Houston), but heisted Vincente Padilla from the Dodgers. They wanted to move Daniel Bard out of the bullpen, where he could've been their closer, and into the rotation? Huh? Well, there is the issue of Tim Wakefield retiring, along with catcher Jason Varitek. Tampa Bay, Baltimore, & Toronto all looked like they stood pat, which means it'll come down to the ancient enemies again. But, then, what did we learn last year?

Projected order of finish:

1. Yankees
2. Tampa Bay
2. (tie) Boston
4. Baltimore
5. Toronto

Central:

Defending division champion Detroit upgraded their offense by signing Prince Fielder (Milwaukee) as a free agent. Prince's father, Cecil, played most of his career in Detroit, so this was virtually a no-brainer. Why it took so long can be blamed on Fielder's agent, Scott "20 Mule Team" Boras, who was looking for an excuse to fleece the Tigers yet again, but, hey, they could've paid Prince in Little Caesar's Pizza stock. Miguel Cabrera goes across the diamond back to third base to make room. Carlos Guillen retired after returning to Seattle as a free agent. The big news that I could discern out of Cleveland was the Indians signing Derek Lowe (Atlanta). Weren't they paying attention last year when he was getting shelled? Returning to the AL isn't going to save Lowe's career, but end it instead. The Chicago White Sox welcomed back former star Robin Ventura as their new manager, after Ozzie Guillen fled to the NL (Miami), taking ace Mark Buehrle with him. However, Robin ain't gonna be rockin' if the Pale Hose, or the "Good Guys" as Ken Harrelson calls them, get off to a slow start. Look for Minnesota & Kansas City to follow their usual form, which means the Twins will make their usual run after the All-Star Break, and the Royals will tease early, and fade just as quickly.

Projected order of finish:

1. Detroit
2. Minnesota
3. Cleveland
4. Chicago
5. Kansas City

West:

The balance of power will shift from Texas to Los Angeles. Not only did the Angels pry CJ Wilson away from the 2-time defending league champion Rangers, but they also bagged Albert Pujols (St. Louis) and his 2 championship rings. If Kendry Morales finally returns from injury, he'll be a DH almost exclusively, unless he platoons with Pujols both at DH & first base. The Rangers shouldn't sweat so much as they have enough pitching to compensate for Wilson's defection. The two games in Tokyo will be a homecoming for Ichiro, and maybe this spurs the Seattle Mariners into finally getting back to the postseason. Oakland won't surprise anyone. No, really. Like, who hasn't already predicted that they might be bringing in "Moneyball" stars Brad Pitt & Jonah Hill for opening day?

Projected order of finish:

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Texas
3. Seattle
4. Oakland

Wild cards: Texas, Tampa Bay.

National League:

East:

The Miami Marlins broke the bank in the offseason, signing Mark Buehrle (White Sox), Jose Reyes (Mets), and Heath Bell (San Diego), and bringing in former player Ozzie Guillen (White Sox) to manage. Sure, the Atlanta Braves virtually stood pat, but they will be there at the end, which is more than I can say for the Philadelphia Phillies, whose stranglehold on the division is finally going to break. The Phils open the season without Ryan Howard, who tore his Achilles tendon making the last out of the division series upset loss. Raul Ibanez (Yankees) is also gone, and Jonathan Papelbon (Boston) replaces Brad Lidge (Washington) in the bullpen. However, if last year's collapse taught us anything, Papelbon's best days may be behind him. The New York Mets not only need to avoid the cellar, but also the infirmary. The pre-season injuries threaten to carry over, giving more credence to the belief that Citi Field may actually be cursed. As for Washington, they can't call Bryce Harper up soon enough to satisfy. They have the pitching, as well as a youthful nucleus defensively, but they're still a year away from playoff contention.

Projected order of finish:

1. Atlanta
2. Miami
3. Philadelphia
3. (tie) Mets
5. Washington

Central:

For the Houston Astros, their 50th anniversary season is also their last in the National League, as with new ownership comes a shift in leagues to the AL as of 2013. Sorry to say, even with an increasing number of Tri-City Valleycats alumni making it to the big club, the 'Stros are still a ways off from contending. Milwaukee & St. Louis absorbed some major losses in the offseason, as both teams lost marquee sluggers. The Cardinals welcomed back former catcher Mike Metheny as their new pilot after Tony LaRussa retired following the World Series, winning his third title. Replacing Albert Pujols (Angels), on the other hand, is a much more difficult chore. Matt Holliday & World Series MVP cannot carry the offense by themselves. The Brewers have to replace Prince Fielder (Detroit). Good luck getting back to the playoffs. With those major obstacles gone, Cincinnati could vault right into the division title, and their star first baseman, Joey Votto, could land his first All-Star start. I liked their pitching last year, and they'd be served to move Aroldis Chapman into the rotation, or make him the closer. Scary good. Pittsburgh is also on the rise, and it's just unfortunate that they peaked a wee bit early last year. As for the Chicago Cubs? Well, what about the Cubs? Seriously.

Projected order of finish:

1. Cincinnati
2. St. Louis
3. Milwaukee
4. Pittsburgh
5. Chicago
6. Houston

West:

If there's one thing Don Mattingly forgot when he signed on with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it might've been some of that Yankee mojo, because the Dodgers were almost awful last season. A few breaks going their way, and maybe they make the playoffs. However, the road to the division still runs through Arizona, where another ex-Yankee, Ian Kennedy, came into his own last year and is the ace of the staff. San Francisco rented Carlos Beltran last summer, then let him walk (St. Louis), so what did they do? They grabbed another outfielder from the Mets, Angel Pagan. What? All I can see is the offense is still Buster Posey, Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval, and not much else. The pitching can only carry them so far, but closer Brian Wilson better not be counting his Taco Bell royalty checks at game time. Wouldn't it be nice if "The Beard" shaved it off and concentrated on what got him to the dance in the first place? San Diego needs a new closer, with Heath Bell gone (Miami). Colorado is the NL's answer to Minnesota. Enough said there.

Projected order of finish:

1. Arizona
2. San Francisco
3. Los Angeles
3 (tie) Colorado
5. San Diego

Wild Cards: Miami, St. Louis

Talk to me in the fall about the playoffs.

On DVD: The Red Skelton Show (1951)

2012-03-19T10:32:00.000-04:00

Clem Kadiddlehopper. Freddie the Freeloader. George Appleby. Sheriff Deadeye.

Those were just some of the memorable characters created and performed by entertainer Red Skelton, who made the transition from radio to television in 1951, and began a 20 year run, most of it at CBS. Skelton began his series at NBC from 1951-53, and finished there in 1971. I barely remember seeing the show at the end of its run, when NBC suits tinkered with the format, hoping that Skelton could reel in the same audience that was watching Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but it didn't work out that way.

Amazingly, much of the series is in the public domain, and in 2002, Madacy Entertainment released a 2-disc DVD compilation that was entirely from the CBS run, mostly from the mid-to-late 50's.

The disc opens with a December 1954 show with Red hosting the Look Magazine Awards, featuring Bing Crosby, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Lemmon, Walt Disney, & Judy Garland. Bear in mind this was before Disney began his own television show on ABC. The rest of the set features the following:

*"The Original Da Vinci", a Freddie the Freeloader tale with guest stars Vincent Price & Jackie Coogan.
*"Shipwrecked", with Buster Crabbe and an early appearance by Jamie Farr, well before M*A*S*H made him an icon in his own right.
*"Oil", in which Clem Kadiddlehopper becomes a millionaire after striking black gold. MrLegalMovies uploaded this unedited episode, with a young, unrecognizable Carol Channing as the guest star:

There's also Mickey Rooney in a Freddie-centric show, with Mickey as a spoof on Perry Mason, and, in another Clem-centric tale, John Carradine appears as a painter whose work is overshadowed by Clem's surrealistic abstractions.

The Madacy package is heavily edited, and some of the episodes, sad to say, were badly preserved. Some sponsor tags were left off and closing credits left incomplete. Art Gilmore, better known for his work on Dragnet, was the announcer for much of the run.

Personally, I wouldn't mind finding a collection that includes the later, color episodes.

Rating: B-. Have to take points off for the packaging issues.

Musical Interlude: Next Big Thing (2002)

2012-03-18T16:06:00.000-04:00

Vince Gill's "Next Big Thing" was a celebration of past trends, as illustrated with clips of hula hoops, Slinky, and even a GAF ViewMaster. I don't really think the latter was so much a trend, but an accessory that ceased production. I had one of those when I was a kid. "Thing" landed in the top 10 of Billboard's country chart in the winter of 2002-3. Uploaded by the artist's VEVO channel.

Even kids are filling out brackets

2012-03-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

Yahoo! Sports is reporting the story of an enterprising 5th grader in Omaha, Nebraska, who was sent to the principal's office for-----get this----starting an NCAA tournament bracket pool among classmates. Since he was charging money, it was, of course, constituted as illegal gambling.

What is weird is that this is going on in an elementary school. While there isn't a stated age limit on a lot of tournament pools, even though it's understood in some cases you'd have to be 18 at the very least to play, you have to give the young man, Max Kohll, some credit for trying. His mother knew what he was doing, because she loaned him $5 to start, and he assured her he was handling the money himself.

The bracket was closed per principal's orders, but you can bet this kid'll be at it again off-campus another time. The way Yahoo! described it, his organizational skills might make certain pro sports team owners jealous just on principle alone.

Weasels of the Week: James Dolan & Carmelo Anthony

2012-03-14T23:15:00.000-04:00

Earlier today, Mike D'Antoni resigned as head coach of the New York Knicks, mired in a 6-game losing streak, and in danger of missing the NBA playoffs. A month ago, the Knicks were the toast of the town, thanks to the emergence of second year point guard Jeremy Lin. However, "Linsanity" has given way to the same old, tired, malaise of losing.

Critics can point to the return of veteran stars Amar'e Stoudamire & Carmelo Anthony from injuries as a turning point in Knick fortunes. The New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence, just two weeks ago, had urged owner James Dolan to refrain from making any unnecessary moves with the trade deadline looming. As it turns out, Dolan may not have heeded the warning. According to a Yahoo! article published earlier today, unnamed sources said that Dolan, predictably, was blaming D'Antoni for the reversal of fortune. Problem is, Anthony, the former Syracuse star who had been acquired in a trade from Denver a year ago, had reportedly been sulking on the bench and not taking part in a late-game team huddle recently. See how the pieces start to come together?

Anthony had said all the right things in the press upon his return, showing a willingness to work with Lin. It was Dolan, acting on the advice of former coach-GM Isaiah Thomas, who pushed for the trade that brought Anthony to New York, and while the press was reporting today that Knicks brass were pushing for Dolan to send Anthony on his way, perhaps to Orlando in exchange for Dwight Howard, the owner, demonstrating again that he has the business acumen of a broken staple gun, opted to stick with his struggling star, placating Anthony by perhaps putting the heat on D'Antoni. The veteran coach must've known that the end would've come by the end of the week anyway, so he decided he was better served if he left now on his own accord.

Assuming, of course, the decision was really his to make, and you know some people will think it wasn't.

Nothing destroys team chemistry more than a veteran suddenly jealous and/or afraid for his job when a younger player suddenly becomes an overnight sensation. Other teams have studied game films on Lin and have adjusted their defenses accordingly, which means Lin has to adjust in return, and if he can't get the ball to Anthony, who's supposed to be the man with the game on the line, what can you do? The press has also said other players have complained, but the heat is on Anthony, the prodigal son, who supposedly hasn't backed up his verbal support of Lin and D'Antoni.

The heat, rightfully, should also be on Dolan for not recognizing the real source of the problem and addressing it. Instead, he decides to channel the late George Steinbrenner and scapegoat the coach out of town. Mike Woodson, a former player whose last head coaching gig was in Atlanta a few years back, is the interim coach for at least the remainder of the season. You have to figure he has to keep his head on a swivel, because he may be the next to go if the Knicks don't reach the playoffs. For now, Anthony & Dolan get the weasel ears for misplacing priorities and putting ego ahead of the best interests of the team.

Then again, we can just shrug and say, what else is new, right?

Rap vs. The Rock: Who Won?

2012-03-13T11:46:00.000-04:00

Last night on WWE Monday Night Raw, the hype was about The Rock (Dwayne Johnson, "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") giving a mini-concert while John Cena, his Wrestlemania 28 opponent went back to the days of his "Doctor of Thuganomics" gimmick. The two appeared separately, and it was, really no contest at all.

Cena opened the show, but before we get there, let's take you back to when Cena was throwing down rhymes on a weekly basis. Offensive sometimes, but always entertaining. Kaptnblack uploaded this old entrance video for the theme song, "Basic Thuganomics", which was released on the 2004 "WWE Originals" compilation CD.

So it was a bit of a shock to the people in Cleveland last night when Cena was introduced by Jerry Lawler and "Basic Thuganomics" hit. Judge for yourselves. First, here's Cena, courtesy of RatedRKingHDV1:

Now, here comes The Rock, who really should take song parody lessons from "Weird" Al Yankovic. Courtesy of WWFLegendsHouse:

Rock's Cena-centric satire of "Jailhouse Rock" dragged forever. Shoot, his monologue was better. The new lyrics to Queen's 1980 classic "We Will Rock You" seemed to get the audience back into it, but by then it was too late. From where I sat, Cena won this round handily.

Maybe now, Cena can be motivated to do some more freestyles, because that's what brought him to the big dance in the first place. Problem is, some say Vince McMahon wasn't too fond of the rap gimmick, largely because Cena cut one or two raps on him in the latter part of '03. His loss, as usual.

Rockin' Funnies: It's All About the Pentiums (1999)

2012-03-11T19:58:00.002-04:00

3 years after he'd skewered Coolio's "Gangster's Paradise" (from "Dangerous Minds") with "Amish Paradise", "Weird" Al Yankovic decided to give hip-hop another try, this time taking on Sean "Diddy" Combs' "All About the Benjamins", which was released a year or two earlier, by releasing "It's All About the Pentiums", taking a swipe at the then-burgeoning information super-highway. Al, hot babes, and special guest star Drew Carey (like, you were expecting maybe Tom Arnold?). Enough said.

From Al's VEVO channel to you.

On The Air: Are You Serious? (2012)

2012-03-11T15:58:00.000-04:00

The second WWE-YouTube series we're reviewing is Are You Serious?, which takes a look back at some of the promotion's more ridiculous moments, and those of WCW and others that are in the company's voluminous library. Josh Mathews, the busiest guy on the roster these days, teams with former tag team champ Road Dogg (Brian James), and the gimmick is that these two are being forced to watch these clips due to some as-yet-unrevealed offense committed by the D-O-Double-G. Somehow, they managed to convince the Muppets to create a Triple H puppet as a sideshow attraction.

Uploaded by WWEFanNation:

Sometimes, it's good to look back at this silliness and laugh.

Rating: A.

On The Air: Dan Vs. (2011)

2012-03-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

We've all run across the occasional oddball, the delusional paranoid who thinks the whole world is against him.

The Hub launched a primetime cartoon 14 months ago about just such a man. Dan Vs. must've generated enough of a following to warrant a second season, which is underway at present. Dan (Curtis Armstrong, "Revenge of the Nerds", ex-Moonlighting) is always venting about something or someone, which would explain why he doesn't have many friends, other than best pal Chris (Dave Foley, ex-Newsradio) and his wife, Elise (Paget Brewster). Dan's pet cat, Mr. Mumbles, which is actually a female (Brewster), may in fact be his closest friend.

The Hub's YouTube channel offers up a sample of this past week's episode, "Dan Vs. The Gym":

In the episode, we find that Dan can chew through metal, which might explain why he has such pointed, and probably filed, teeth. The series also replays at various times, including now on Fridays in the early evening, and on Saturday afternoons, hours before the next episode is to air. Whether or not it earns a 3rd season or more remains dependent on the ratings, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to see them tweak things by giving Dan someone else he can relate to, so that he can actually go on a double-date with Chris & Elise. After all, you can only take the basic premise just so far.

Rating: B.

Siena makes a change on the women's side

2012-03-09T09:59:00.000-05:00

It wasn't so long ago that Siena College's women's basketball team was one of the dominant forces in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). However, that seems so far away now, as the Lady Saints were eliminated in the first round of the MAAC tournament last week, and haven't had a winning season in 8 years.

On Thursday, coach Gina Castelli stepped down after 22 seasons. The 5-time women's Coach of the Year in the MAAC hadn't forgotten how to win games. It was just a case of the changing fortunes in the league having an adverse affect on Siena. The Lady Saints' chief nemesis during this lean period has been Marist, which has taken over as the top team in the league, and has beaten Siena 17 consecutive times. Of course, there were the usual cliches about needing to make changes, but consider the fact that during Ms. Castelli's 22 years, they've changed coaches on the men's side at least a half dozen times for one reason or another. According to the Albany Times-Union, the decision was a mutually agreed upon one, and that Ms. Castelli wasn't fired. With Siena a sub-.500 team for 8 straight seasons, a change was inevitable, and needed.

The task now for Siena is to find a coach that can take the Lady Saints back to the top of the MAAC, which won't be that easy. Now, too, might be the time to make another change, and that would be to move the women's games out of the school's Alumni Recreation Center, and into the cavernous Times Union Center, home to the men's team, which routinely averages anywhere from 6,000-9,000 fans for home games. If Siena can raise the profile of its women's team and try to market it as they do with the men, it would help the recruiting process tremendously. Even though the men were also below .500 most of the season, they still had their loyal fan base, which never wavered.

It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if Gina Castelli landed with another school, or was given a shot at coaching a WNBA team. It isn't about what has been done lately, but rather, the body of work as a whole should be given some consideration. I shan't be shocked, however, if she lands a broadcasting job instead, say with ESPN. I don't think it's out of the question, but rather, it's a consideration that may be the path of last resort.

Where does Peyton go from here?

2012-03-08T20:46:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Colts released quarterback Peyton Manning, who sat out all of the 2011 season due to neck issues in what would've been his 14th season with the team. Naturally, the media speculation on which team will take a chance on him for 2012 has begun, but in all honesty, you can rule out a vast majority of teams because of the simple fact that they are already set up at QB and don't need any pre-season drama, especially with the draft next month.

To the surprise of no one, the New York Post splashed on the back page today that the Jets were already in contact with Manning's agent about a deal. Didn't they learn anything from signing Brett Favre 4 years ago? Didn't the Post and their media brethren learn anything from openly courting LeBron James on behalf of the Knicks two years ago? Apparently not.

To Manning's credit, he doesn't believe it's in his best interest to be playing in the same market as younger brother Eli, who now has 2 Super Bowl rings with the Giants. Local sportscaster Rodger Wyland, writing in the Albany Times-Union today, doesn't believe Manning will go to the Jets, either, and realistically, what would be the best place for Manning, anyway?

The only reason the Jets would take a serious risk on Manning is the fact that they may be giving up on Mark Sanchez after 3 seasons. However, the excessive, obsessive-compulsive media scrutiny in New York may be more of a detriment. Too many know-nothing gasbags on either side of the sports talk phone lines, most with uninformed opinions. You can cross off the Jets as a contender for Manning.

Recognizing that most teams already have stability at QB, there are very few options, some obvious, others not so. Let's consider:

AFC East:

Miami: Ownership doesn't want to take a backseat to the hyped-to-the-max Heat & Marlins too much longer. The downside is that the over-hype already hurt the Heat in the playoffs last year, and they could wilt again this summer. Manning would only be a short-term fix when a long-term answer is more likely.

Buffalo: The Bills could use a tourist attraction for their home-away-from-home game in Toronto. Enough said.

AFC South:

Tennessee: Manning played his college ball at Tennessee, so they're already beating the drums for a "homecoming". What would that make Matt Hasselbeck, signed as a free agent last year? Chopped liver? I don't think so. You also have a 2nd year QB in Jake Locker who's playing sponge, learning on the job.

Jacksonville: Blaine Gabbert was thrust into the starting job last year after the Jags foolishly let David Garrard walk. The Jags have new ownership and a new coach, but do they want to go all the way with a clean slate?

NFC West:

San Francisco: Alex Smith finally came of age in his 7th season, leading the Niners to a division title, but they were KOd in the playoffs by the Giants. Jim Harbaugh, remember, was the veteran QB that was phased out in Indy for Manning many moons ago.

Seattle: Tavaris Jackson & Charlie Whitehurst weren't exactly the answers last year, even though the Seahawks did beat the Giants at the Meadowlands. The 'Hawks would gain instant cred if they can lure Manning out west.

NFC North:

Minnesota: Christian Ponder & Joe Webb could use a mentor after Donovan McNabb was future endeavored before the end of last season.

Personally, I don't think Manning should take a chance on playing. What if he injures his neck again so soon upon returning? Look, I get that he wants one more ring, but no matter where he goes, there are going to be some hard feelings somewhere. I say, take another year off, make sure the neck is 100%, as well as the nerves that go with it, then start shopping for a comeback. The last thing that needs to happen is another Hall of Fame-bound QB ending his career in disgrace, like Favre. Of course, if they're casting for a remake of Gomer Pyle, USMC, Manning would be a perfect fit.......

Weasel of the Week: Joseph Cordes

2012-03-08T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have not forgotten how a Philadelphia Phillies fan took it upon himself to use a laser pointer to distract some St. Louis Cardinals players in a nationally-televised game in 2009. The fan escaped, thanks to his fellow fans refusing to hand him up. If this dweeb was in Massachusetts, however, he probably would be in jail within seconds.

I bring it up because there was another laser pointer incident recently, this time in a high school girls hockey game between Medway-Ashford and Winthrop. According to Yahoo!'s Prep Rally blog, Joseph Cordes, 42, an estranged father of one of the Winthrop players, began using the laser pointer to distract some of the opposing players, including their goaltender, who complained of headaches the next day. Winthrop won, 3-1, but despite the protests of Medway-Ashford parents, the result is being allowed to stand. Cordes, however, was arrested Wednesday and charged with disturbing the peace. He was caught at the game and ejected, but why it took so long for them to haul him off to jail after the game is beyond me.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, oh, by the way, should also be considered for Weasel status for refusing to do the right thing and replay the game. Cordes' actions affected the outcome of the game, soiling the efforts of the players on both sides. Granted, these ladies tried to play through the distraction, and that's the argument the Association is using, suggesting that Cordes, trying to make good to his daughter for being an absentee parent, was acting as an independent party.

While Cordes was caught and ultimately will be brought before the court, the MIAA's refusal to act leaves the door open for copycats who figure that if they can pull a similar stunt to help their teams, nothing will ever be done to change the outcome. It's not underhanded if it's out in the open where hundreds or thousands of witnesses can see what's happening. The right thing to do is replay the game, and erase the record of last week's contest. In the 21st century, you're going to have more of these goofy little Weasels with access to the latest technology who can affect the outcome of a game for any reason, and it doesn't even have to involve gambling.

The time to act is now. The question is whether or not the Association has the collective cajones to try.

Musical Interlude: Vehicle (1970)

2012-03-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

History tells us that Julius Caesar was warned about the Ides of March, but in that case it had to do with an assassination attempt on him.

Music history tells of another kind of Ides of March, a 1-hit wonder who broke through in 1970 with "Vehicle". Jim Peterik would later spin off from the band and hook up with Survivor, who had a string of hits in the 80's, beginning with the theme from "Rocky III", "Eye of the Tiger". Cattman2 uploaded this clip, taken from the little seen 1970 series, Something Else, hosted by actor-comedian John Byner.

It was a great game, but..........!

2012-03-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

Normally on Mondays, I stay home and watch WWE Monday Night Raw, and I'm used to seeing the bad guys take shortcuts to win, and only occasionally do they get caught.

Pro wrestling's theatre of the absurd, however, took a backseat to a real-life screwjob last night in Albany.

Troy High & Christian Brothers Academy, meeting for the third time in the 2011-12 season, played at Times Union Center, and for a while, it seemed as though Troy was out to prove that their upset at CBA in January was anything but a fluke. They led, 18-6, after the first quarter, but CBA chipped away at the lead, bit by bit. Troy saw their lead shrink to 8 points, at 28-20, at the break, and down to three after three quarters.

What really rankled me, and virtually every Troy fan that was at the game, was what happened at the end of regulation in the 4th quarter. CBA's Chaz Lott, one of their stars, was called for a foul with what appeared to be about a tenth of a second left. That would've sent Troy's Dyare Holt to the line with a chance to win the game and the Section 2 Class AA title. The referees conferred and suddenly decided, no, there was no foul, and time expired.

Troy coach Richard Hurley was irate, and had every right to be. However, Troy was accessed a technical foul, and CBA's Joe Krong sank two free throws before the start of overtime. CBA then used that to start a 11-0 run in the extra session. Troy fought back and got within four, but that was as close as it would get before CBA won, 62-57.

Hurley said all the right things after the game, even offering some game films of CBA's next opponent, but also hinted that this was business as usual for CBA, that they get all the key calls. I had a fellow sitting behind me who said both game officials were alumni from----wait for it----CBA. Another CBA alumnus was honored with a lifetime achievement award at halftime. The bottom line is that Troy got screwed. They allowed that 11-0 run because they were still reeling from the non-call at the end of regulation, and didn't realign their defense fast enough.

CBA has long been regarded as one of the elite teams in Section 2 basketball, and you'd think they do things the honest, honorable way. The fan I talked to said that the non-call was one of the reasons why people hate CBA. It's all about protecting their reputation, which means it's no different than it is for a pristine college program, such as Duke, for example.

It's never a good idea to mix politics in sports. We see the same teams get favorable calls over and over in pro & college football & basketball. The same thing happens at the high school level, as it turns out, and it shouldn't.

Where Section 2 fails in this case has to do with the video screens on the overhead scoreboard. They're always in use when Siena plays and when the Albany Devils play hockey, but not for a high school game? Say what? Video replay would've verified the exact amount of time left in the game when Lott fouled Holt, and we wouldn't have had to see a good game ruined by a political snow job.

When Troy & CBA meet next season at Troy, you know the Brothers will now be booed out of the building for soiling what should've been the game of the year in local high school basketball by playing politics. What Section 2 must do is assign game officials with no ties to CBA for all of their games, especially at home. CBA returns to Troy to play a regional game at Hudson Valley Community College on Saturday against a team from Utica. You can bank on this. The Troy partisans at the game will have a rooting interest, but it may not be the one you'd think.

On DVD: Ramar of the Jungle (1952)

2012-03-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you have to make your own luck. Jon Hall created and starred in Ramar of the Jungle, a syndicated series that ran for 2 seasons (1952-54), filmed in Hollywood and produced by an independent company, Arrow Productions, for ITC, which was making its first inroads in American television. ITC would become a major player through the 70's and early 80's, eventually finding its niche in contemporary crime dramas.

Alpha Video has released a series of 4-episode DVD's, and the first volume, which I acquired from Radio Spirits, covers the 2nd season, during which Ramar (Hall) and his associate, Professor Howard Ogden (Ray Montgomery), had settled on a new guide, Willy-Willy (Nick Stewart), with his simian sidekick, Babette. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any season 2 episodes on YouTube, but I have a season 1 offering to represent, with a different guide.

For all intents & purposes, Ramar wasn't really all that different from other adventure series of the period (i.e. Lone Ranger). Just change the setting and the characters, but keep the generic plot summaries available for easy reference. Former NFL & CFL player Woody Strode, better known for his work in Westerns, appeared in some episodes as a native chief.

Rating: A-.

On The Air: WWE Download (2012)

2012-03-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

WWE has set up their own YouTube channel, filled with a roster of new series, mostly because their much-hyped WWE Network won't be ready for its intended April 1 launch (now delayed until at least the fall). Over the next few days, we're going to take a look at the shows.

First up: WWE Download, hosted in character (unfortunately) by Dolph Ziggler. On the plus side, this 5-6 minute weekly show is exhibit A proving that Ziggler no longer needs to have a heat parasite like Vickie Guerrero managing him. The man can talk, and is telegenic enough such that he can graduate from this tribute to David Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks" and take over ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos if they ever decide to give Tom Bergeron (Dancing With The Stars) his walking papers. Of course, that would have to require Ziggler either moonlighting from WWE, a la Chris Jericho, or leaving the wrestling business altogether. On Download, Ziggler comes across as equal parts Dennis Miller and former Home Videos host Bob Saget. We can do without his being in character on this show, which is one huge flaw with this program.

The following was uploaded by WWEFanNation:

Once the WWE Network launches----if it ever does---you can bet this show will be a vital part of its programming, albeit in a much longer format.

Rating: A.

Weasel of the Week: Rush Limbaugh

2012-03-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

Fellow blogger Sam Wilson over at The Think 3 Institute nominated radio gasbag Rush Limbaugh as an "Idiot of the Week". I'll go one step further and hand out the dreaded Weasel of the Week award to Limbaugh for doing what he does best. Being an unrepentant jackass.

Oh, I'm sure you've all read or heard by now that Limbaugh went off on Georgetown student Sandra Fluke because she took a stand on contraception, and defamed the young woman by calling her a "prostitute", among other thngs. As usual, this kind of vitriol has gotten Limbaugh in very hot water, and not just with the usual women's rights groups. President Obama, it's been reported, reached out to Ms. Fluke before she was to be interviewed by Andrea Mitchell of NBC. The usual spin doctoring has already started. Limbaugh hasn't backed down, but insists that he doesn't hate women in general.

Let's face facts. Limbaugh peaked 20 years ago. His TV show tanked, but his radio show rolls on, despite the fact that his act went stale around the time he used the William Kennedy Smith case as an excuse to use music from Jeopardy! on his show. Remember the "Kennedys in Jeopardy" sketches? That got old real fast. What Limbaugh should be doing now is stepping back and taking another look at the landscape. Fellow gasbag Don Imus got himself in trouble a while back for making some ill-timed racist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. While Imus has counter-balanced some of his negative antics with charity work, what has Limbaugh done to counter his penchant for foot-in-the-mouth disease? Not much. Sam Wilson used a word more closely associated with actor Alec Baldwin to describe Limbaugh. A bloviator. It seems so appropriate, doesn't it? Much of Limbaugh's stock in trade is blowing hot air like he was making balloons. Sooner or later, the balloon of popularity of his radio show will deflate, and we'll be lucky if he fades into obscurity. For now, Limbaugh gets the weasel ears, and should take the hint and go into sensitivity training, like, yesterday.

Sometimes, wishes can be fulfilled

2012-03-02T09:35:00.001-05:00

As the high school basketball regular season drew to a close a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that it would be in the best interest of New York's Section 2 to have Troy High & Christian Brothers Academy play a 1-game playoff, if it came to that, for the Big 10 title at a neutral site. The playoff never materialized, as CBA walked right into a trap game against city rival Bishop Maginn, three days after beating Troy, and lost to the Golden Griffins. Troy won its final two games and claimed the league title.

Thursday, I had every intention of being at Times Union Center for the Section 2 Class AA semi-finals, but weather & safety concerns and time constraints prevented that from happening. I will, however, be in Albany on Monday for the finals. Wednesday's snowstorm forced Section 2 officials to reschedule some games in the lower classes, and knocked the Class AA finals out of the Glens Falls Civic Center, where the game was to be played tomorrow night. Instead, the finals will be in Albany, which makes traveling easier for students and families for both Troy & CBA. That means, in all probability, a packed house at the TU Center, equivalent, perhaps, to a Siena home game. While under normal circumstances, CBA would be the home team, since the game is in Albany, Troy is the higher seed, and thus is likely to be designated as the home team.

As we've seen in college basketball and pro football over the years, it's hard playing the same team 3 times in a season, harder still if you had won the first two meetings. CBA split their regular season meetings with both Troy & Maginn, and settled their issue with Maginn on Thursday while Troy completed a 3-game sweep of Suburban Council schools by beating Shaker in the nightcap. CBA won the last meeting vs. Troy, so now revenge may be on the minds of the Flying Horses, who will again be without one of their stars, Javion Ogunymeni, lost for the season with an ankle injury vs. Bethlehem in the quarter-finals. Both regular season meetings were thrillers that came down to the final buzzer, and this should be no different.

One thing will be certain for Troy. Come June's Flag Day parade, it will surprise no one if the basketball team marches in the parade in a spot often reserved for their football brethren, who were eliminated in the semi-finals of their sectional tournament back in the fall. With baseball season soon to start, there's every possibility that the momentum that started on the gridiron and moved to the court could carry over onto the diamond. For CBA, it would be business as usual. For Troy, a win on Monday means a complete change of the guard. You can't script this kind of drama.

Davy Jones (1945-2012)

2012-02-29T16:46:00.000-05:00

It has just come to my attention, thanks to the afternoon news, of the passing of actor-singer Davy Jones, former co-lead singer of The Monkees. I say co-lead singer with respect to the fact that Jones shared lead vocal chores more often than not with drummer Micky Dolenz. Anyway, less than 2 weeks after his last concert gig, Jones was admitted to a Florida hospital last night, and passed away earlier today at 66, just 2 months after his birthday.

Jones was perhaps the most visible of the band members after their initial split, guest-starring as himself on The Brady Bunch & The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and, in recent years, did informercials, including one memorable one reuniting him with ex-MTV VJ Martha Quinn (the two acted in a skit when the Monkees shot a Christmas music video for MTV in 1986).

Kisszac uploaded the Monkees' recording of "Daydream Believer", with Davy on lead vocals (and sharing the piano with Peter Tork).

Rest in peace, Davy.

Celebrity Rock: Daddy Wasn't There (2002)

2012-02-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

Word is that Mike Myers is actually thinking of making a 4th Austin Powers movie. Well, considering it took Harrison Ford more than 20 years in between the 3rd & 4th Indiana Jones movies, you can't blame the guy for deciding not to wait more than, I don't know, 10?

Anyway, yourdad30 uploaded the 2nd Ming Tea novelty single, "Daddy Wasn't There", from the last Powers movie, "Goldmember". Includes film footage with Michael Caine as Nigel Powers, Austin's absentee (most of the time) pop.

And don't let the fake name fool you, that is ex-Bangles vocalist Susanna Hoffs backing Myers on guitar. Too bad they never bothered to go all the way and release a full-length Ming Tea novelty CD. Peace.

Two games of joy tempered with pain

2012-02-26T22:12:00.002-05:00

In the space of 18 hours, two basketball games involving teams in my market were marred by injuries to key players, and those injuries couldn't come at worse times.

On Saturday night, Troy High advanced to the semi-finals of the Section 2 Boys' basketball tournament, with the Big 10 champions dispatching Bethlehem of the Suburban Council. However, as the back page headline in The Sunday Record declared, the Flying Horses were "in no mood to celebrate". One of their star players, Javion Ogunymeni, injured an ankle during the game, and had to be removed from the court on a stretcher. His status for Thursday's semi-final game vs. another Suburban Council school, Shaker, is in doubt.

Earlier this afternoon, on Senior Day at Times Union Center, the Siena Saints closed the regular season by beating Canisius, but, like Troy High the night before, victory came with a terrible price. Late in the second half, Siena's Evan Hymes was injured, and it looked like it might have been a knee or an ankle. With the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament starting later this week, Hymes' availability is questionable at best. The Saints' roster is already decimated by injuries and pre-season eligibility issues that took a couple of players off the roster before a game could even be played. If Hymes is lost for the post-season, Siena conceivably could be one-and-done in Springfield, Ma., come Friday.

Oh, by the way, the Troy-Shaker game on Thursday? It's at the T-U Center. You don't want to think that the injury jinx could strike again so soon, but stranger, crazier things have happened.........

You wouldn't think it'd happen, but it just might.......

2012-02-24T15:38:00.000-05:00

Every year, it seems, Time Warner Cable is in a dispute of some kind with some channel, and the subscribers are the ones that suffer the most.

Less than a week after TWC had resolved its issues with MSG Networks, a smaller-scale issue's been raised in my market. ABC affiliate WTEN revealed during its news broadcasts beginning Thursday that the station's parent company, Young Broadcasting, is in a dialogue with TWC to remain available to cable subscribers when the current agreement between the two expires on Wednesday, 2/29. Now, you'd think, this can't be happening. Local channels are virtually protected from such matters, right? Wrong.

The issue between TWC & Young Broadcasting, while it hasn't been publicly acknowledged, in sharp contrast to the very public discourse between TWC & MSG, almost certainly has to be the usual suspect----money. Now, I haven't yet logged on to WTEN's website, where they have the details they'd rather not include during the news for rather obvious reasons, but I can imagine that's the source of the dispute. Nothing's been written up in the local papers because Young Broadcasting and/or TWC would like to keep this matter as private as possible to avoid consumer panic and/or apathy towards either side. In that regard, I salute both parties.

Unlike the MSG issue, in which case TWC was able to have a contingency plan in place, nothing has been set up yet in case they do lose WTEN, which in turn would set a dangerous precedent. It wasn't that long ago that Fox affiliate WXXA had a similar issue, but that was resolved before any blackout could be initiated. That having been said, it's very likely WTEN will also avoid a blackout with an 11th hour agreement by Wednesday. With ABC's roster of primetime shows, including Modern Family and the freshman hit, Once Upon a Time, plus the lone soap opera still on the network, the venerable General Hospital, WTEN cannot afford to lose so many viewers.

When cable television first came to upstate NY nearly 40 years ago, it made changing channels that much easier on the local level, but no one in their wildest dreams could imagine that in 2012, the local channels that were part of the lifeblood of local cablers back then would be endangered just because of a few extra dollars. It's funny how times change, and sometimes, not for the better.

Weasel of the Week: National Enquirer

2012-02-23T14:24:00.000-05:00

When you're a celebrity, you have to take the risks of being exploited by those whose loyalty is only to the almighty dollar. When you're a once-proud supermarket tabloid like the National Enquirer, and you've lost readers left & right to the internet, among other things, you tend to go back to doing the worst things imaginable that have gotten you in trouble before.

Such is the case here, as the Enquirer has come under fire for publishing a cover photo for its latest issue that it says is of singer Whitney Houston in her coffin on the day of her funeral. They've pulled this stunt before, first with Elvis Presley in 1977, and then John Lennon 3 years later. The idea is to try to lure in readers and make some quick cash, but, as I've said, the supermarket tabloids are fighting a losing battle with internet gossip sites like TMZ.com, which is owned & operated by lawyer-TV personality Harvey Levin (The People's Court), and bloggers like the notorious Perez Hilton, who recently got some primo face time on WWE Monday Night Raw. I can't think of too many people laying down $3, or whatever the cover price is these days, for a weekly that used to buy advertising time to promote itself as a legit magazine.

There are those that will claim the photo is a phony, citing the fact that the singer's family requested a closed coffin for the funeral. Others say that the tabloid paid off someone at the funeral home for an "exclusive". No matter how you slice it, it's still wrong, and it always has been wrong. Like Elvis & Lennon, Whitney became a pop culture icon during her peak years in the mid-to-late-80's through the early 90's. The Enquirer seems to think there is a collector's market for anything connected to Houston at this time. Not that I can fathom.

The Enquirer has famously been sued by other celebrities, including TV icon Carol Burnett, so they've tripped themselves up enough times to know better, but, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. In this age where traditional print news is giving way to the digital world, the supermarket tabloids are a dying breed. For lacking the journalistic common sense to leave well enough alone, the editors of the National Enquirer have been awarded Weasel ears, along with paws & tail, for this latest, desperate get-rich-quick scam.

On DVD: The Restless Gun (1957)

2012-02-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

Timeless Media Group has become a major player in the distribution of classic TV DVD's, particularly those obtained from the NBC-Universal library. Ivan Shreve, Jr., over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, has kept readers apprised of pending TMG releases, and with good reason. With classic Westerns becoming popular again in cable reruns on Encore Westerns, Me-TV, et al, a new generation of viewers are discovering a lot of these shows for the first time.

TMG, as noted previously, also acquired some other properties as well, including Goodson-Todman's Branded, which we reviewed the other day. This time, our focus is on the 1957-59 NBC series, The Restless Gun, which starred John Payne.

Restless, which was launched as a back-door pilot on another NBC series, Schlitz Playhouse, was based on the radio Western, The Six Shooter, which starred movie icon Jimmy Stewart. The character's name was changed when Restless went to series to Vint Bonner, likely for copyright reasons. Restless was actually more like an anthology in and of itself in that several guest stars, as was the custom in those days, appeared multiple times in different roles. Additionally, Restless has a huge connection to the iconic series that replaced it on NBC in 1959, Bonanza. Actors Dan Blocker, Ray Teal, and Michael Landon each appeared on Restless, with Landon in the Schlitz Playhouse episode, Teal in at least 1 Restless episode, and Blocker in at least 5 episodes that I could count from reading a Wikipedia entry on the show. 2 of those episodes appear on an 8-episode sampler that Timeless released in 2007. That sampler also includes the pilot, which also co-starred Andrew Duggan (later of Lancer) & William Hopper, better known as private eye Paul Drake on Perry Mason. Other notables include Claude Akins, who appeared in at least 2 other episodes aside from one on the sampler, and John Ericson, later of Honey West.

The one downside to the DVD is that the open doesn't include an announcer's track, which is included on this clip:

The sampler does include the NBC logo prior to the start of the pilot episode. Wikipedia, foolishly, listed Schlitz Playhouse as a CBS series, which tells you something about contributors and their attempts at research.

After leaving NBC, Restless Gun was picked up by ABC to air on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings for the 1959-60 season. I'd not be surprised to find the show currently on Encore Westerns' roster.

Rating: A.

Seussology: The Lorax (1972)

2012-02-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

With a feature film adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax hitting theatres in about 2 weeks, I thought it might be a good idea to remind one and all that this will not be the first adaptation of the tale.

DePatie-Freleng, in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' own Cat In The Hat Productions, produced a half-hour musical adaptation for CBS in 1972, which has not seen the light of day much since its initial broadcast. Actor Eddie Albert (ex-Green Acres) narrates, while the rest of the voices are performed by Bob Holt, who spent the bulk of his career working for DFE during the 70's. I remember seeing this when it first aired nearly 40 years ago, fascinated by the plot, but too young to understand its message.

The 2012 version features the voices of Zak Efron ("High School Musical"), Betty White (Hot In Cleveland), Danny DeVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and country singer Taylor Swift. DeVito voices the Lorax, and the feature length format pads the story even further than DFE did in 1972.

Here, then, is the original cartoon version.

I think this is where we got the phrase, "tree-hugger" from, don't you?

Rating: A.

Celebrity Rock: Gomer Pyle sings!

2012-02-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

Tennnnn-hutttt! While Gomer Pyle, USMC was on the air, it served as a showcase for star Jim Nabors in more ways than one. Gomer was first introduced on The Andy Griffith Show as a simple, innocent country boy whose good intentions often led to chaos. But when it came time for Gomer to sing, the country drawl disappeared, and a powerful singing voice emerged.

One example is this clip, with Gomer performing "The Impossible Dream". Small wonder, then, that Nabors was also a million selling recording artist during the 60's.

Enough said.

A weasel won a war

2012-02-17T23:00:00.001-05:00

After 6 weeks, MSG Networks have returned to Time Warner Cable systems throughout New York, and, particularly in the upstate corridor, the deal also brings the music channel Fuse back to TWC, after it had been removed in mid-December due to low ratings.

What that tells me is that MSG/Knicks/Rangers/Cablevision owner James Dolan got what he wanted out of the deal, and he can thank Jeremy Lin, the overnight sensation who has led the Knicks to a 7-game winning streak headed into play tonight against New Orleans, for giving him the leverage he needed to broker the deal. NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman got the two sides back to the negotiating table, and, you have to assume that once TWC suits realized the amount of ad revenues lost because of the current successes of the Knicks & Rangers, magnified by the hyperactive press coverage given to Lin, the 2nd year player out of Harvard who is also the first Asian-American to be a starter for an NBA team, the handwriting was on the wall.

For TWC subscribers, the "Sports Pass" free preview, which enabled viewers to save $6 on channels like ESPN Classic, Fuel, & the CBS Sports Network, will soon come to an end, just as college baseball season heats up and college basketball & hockey wind down toward their post-seasons.

In the end, money talked, bulloney walked, and a weasel walked away like a thief in the night.

Gary Carter (1954-2012)

2012-02-16T20:03:00.001-05:00

He was nicknamed "The Kid" because of his youthful enthusiasm and infectious smile, but he also was a multi-time All-Star with the Expos & Mets, and won a World Series with the Amazin's in 1986. Today, the sports world mourns the passing of Gary Carter at 57 following a bout with brain cancer.

Carter was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor less than a year ago, just a few short years removed from induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was Carter who was a hero for the NL All-Stars in the 1981 game, the first game played after a strike that season. He was one of the offensive leaders for the '86 Mets, and, with first basenan Keith Hernandez (now a broadcaster for the team), he was one of their defensive leaders as well. Carter finished his career in 1992, and was inducted into the Hall as a member of his original club, the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). He had played with the Giants & Dodgers after leaving the Mets. In recent years, Carter had been involved in the Mets organization, working with their minor leaguers.

I would imagine that the Mets will posthumously honor Carter by retiring his number (8) this season. It would, in fact, be the right thing to do.

Rest in peace, "Kid".

On DVD: Branded (1965)

2012-02-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

Branded was the 2nd of three post-The Rifleman series for Chuck Connors during the latter part of the 60's. In between Rifleman & Branded, Connors had starred in the crime drama, Arrest & Trial, and would follow Branded with Ivan Tors' little-remembered Cowboy In Africa.

Branded took Connors back to the Old West, but this time as a disgraced Army Captain, Jason McCord, falsely accused of cowardice against the enemy and court-martialed. McCord now wandered the plains, helping people in need whenever possible, but often is reminded of the public perception that he was, supposedly, a coward.

Branded creator Larry Cohen mined the lone-man's crusade again in two other series: Coronet Blue, which debuted later in 1965, then was revived in rerun form a couple of years later, and the Quinn Martin science fiction opus, The Invaders, neither of which lasted very long, either. Branded was an anomaly of a different kind, as it was produced by game show moguls Mark Goodson & Bill Todman, though, as you will see in the following video, credit for Goodson-Todman was removed from syndicated prints in later years.

Timeless Media released not only the complete series on DVD, but a smaller, 5-episode sampler that includes a color 3-parter guest-starring John Carradine and MacDonald Carey (later of Days of Our Lives). Other familiar faces include Claude Akins, Robert Q. Lewis, Alex Cord (later of Airwolf) and June Lockhart (ex-Lassie, would later star in Lost in Space later in '65). The sampler also includes a Connors-starring episode of the little-remembered 1955 anthology series, Frontier, in which Connors plays a gun-for-hire, uncharacteristically smug & glib, in comparison to the stoic characters that became his trademark.

SpudTV uploaded the open & close. As I noted earlier, the Goodson-Todman logo was skipped over. This comes from the episode, "The Survivor", with Alex Cord.

Branded currently airs on Me-TV Saturday afternoons at 12 noon (ET).

Rating: B.

Only in the South: A High School sacrifices its post-season berth due to a feud with another school

2012-02-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

In October, a high school football game in Georgia was marred by a violent, bloody brawl, and, apparently, the bad blood between the two schools doesn't stop on the gridiron.

Warren County High has chosen to forfeit all of its post-season berths to avoid any playoff matchups with rival Hancock High. What has brought this to light is a Yahoo! article that tells us that the Warren County boys' basketball team isn't happy about the decision. They wanted to prove they could play their game without incident, hoping there wouldn't be a repeat of the messy melee vs. Hancock 4 months ago that left WCHS coach David Daniel needing major surgery after being bludgeoned by a Hancock player's helmet. However, the Warren County School District, fearing for the safety of their student-athletes and fans, tried in vain to move their team to another sectional bracket, but were turned down. Left with no other choice outside of playing Hancock, WCHS opted for a forfeit. Not just in basketball, mind you, but in all sports.

It's an unprecedented step, borne out of violence, bloodshed, and, as noted, fear. You never see this sort of thing in any schools anywhere else. It won't solve the problems between Warren County & Hancock, though. What if the two schools are scheduled to meet in football again this fall? What happens then? That is left up to the officials of the two districts to settle between now and the start of the next school year. By then, in all probability, the people largely responsible for the October incident will be long gone, and then they can start with clean slates.

Well, we can hope.

On DVD: Dusty's Trail (1973)

2012-02-15T10:32:00.001-05:00

"Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it."--George Santayana

Let me start with a quick history lesson.

In 1966, with Gilligan's Island entering its 3rd & final season, series creator-producer Sherwood Schwartz sold a 2nd series to CBS, It's About Time. As with Gilligan, it was produced through Phil Silvers' production company and United Artists. By the end of the season, both Gilligan & Time had been cancelled. Gilligan, of course, became an iconic classic, much beloved in reruns nearly 50 years later.

In 1973, The Brady Bunch and its animated spin-off, The Brady Kids, entered their final seasons on ABC (5th & 2nd, respectively). Not willing to tempt fate again, even though he did have a new series ready, Schwartz opted to test the waters of syndication with his latest creation, Dusty's Trail. Unfortunately for Schwartz, the fates didn't smile on him this time, either. Dusty rode off into the sunset, pulled from the air by producer-distributor Metromedia 6 months after its debut.

What was the problem? It was really a reincarnation of Gilligan, only this time it was set in the Old West, with a wagon & stagecoach separated from the rest of its wagon train. Scout "Dusty" Boots (Bob Denver) had screwed up, and took the wagon off course. From there, Dusty, wagonmaster Callahan (Forrest Tucker, ex-F-Troop), and 5 passengers ventured to locate the rest of the train. Suffice it to say, the series ended without a proper resolution.

Bob Denver had enjoyed some minor success after Gilligan with The Good Guys (1968-70), but while he claimed in interviews that Dusty was a favorite of his, it wasn't an icon like Gilligan or even Maynard Krebs, his role on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Not only that, but the perception was that Dusty was 2-3 times dumber than the other two characters put together. The rest of the cast corresponded with other Gilligan characters, including the sweeter-than-honey Southern belle (Lori Saunders, ex-Petticoat Junction), the aformentioned wagonmaster, and the brainiac (Bill Cort). However, the chemistry just wasn't there.

Country singer Mel Street performed the title song. Uploaded by MarktheSaiyan:

Undaunted, Schwartz & Denver teamed up again the next year, reuniting most of the Gilligan cast for the animated New Adventures series for ABC & Filmation, which lasted three seasons (1974-77), even though only 1 year's worth of episodes was produced, enabling Denver to try one more series, 1975's Far Out Space Nuts, bringing him back to CBS. That same year, Tucker reunited with F-Troop's Larry Storch for the Ghost Busters, also for CBS, and coupled with Space Nuts as part of the network's Saturday morning block. All three have been reviewed over on my other blog, Saturday Morning Archives.

For what it's worth, I gave away the ending already. The two Brady series ended their runs 5 1/2 months after Dusty's Trail did, meaning that Schwartz's previous misfortune had indeed been repeated.

Rating: D-.

Dunce Cap Award: Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

2012-02-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

It was not so long ago we gave a set of Weasel ears to boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. for shirking responsibility and using the celebrity card to avoid jail time so he can go through with plans for a fight in May. Today, we're adding a Dunce Cap. Why? Because Mayweather put his foot in his mouth on a hot topic having nothing to do with his chosen sport.

By now, I think you've all read that Mayweather tried to play the race card as it relates to the sudden rise of Jeremy Lin, the 2nd year NBA player who has become a phenomenon in New York, playing for the Knicks, who have won 6 in a row with a win last night in Toronto. Yes, Lin is an Asian-American, the first such player to start for an NBA team. Yes, he's from Harvard, which rarely places anyone in the NBA. Shoot, there haven't been many players from an Ivy League school, period, since another Knick, Bill Bradley, a Princeton grad and later a US Senator, starred on 2 championship teams in the early 70's.

What is Mayweather's problem, then? I honestly don't know, and I don't get why he had to throw cold water on the kid. Lin's rise came with 2 veteran stars, Carmelo Anthony & Amar'e Stoudamire, sidelined by injuries. Stoudamire was to return last night vs. Toronto, and Anthony is due later this week. Not only that, but that rise came right around the time the Giants prepared for, and won, the Super Bowl, so there is some momentum carrying over. New York has a new sports hero. Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News wrote the other day that Lin's sudden run of success may lead to the end of the dispute between MSG & Time Warner Cable. While I'm not sure that would be true, it would be a contributing factor if it did happen before the end of the season. In short, Lin has become the savior the Knicks had been waiting for, even if it's in the short term.

For the Asian community, Lin's success comes at a perfect time, as well. Yao Ming retired after injuries had limited his availability for the Houston Rockets the last few years, cutting short a successful career here in the US. Ming is back in China, and I believe is involved in the sport in a different capacity these days. I believe he would be very happy seeing the success Lin is enjoying. The New York press, of course, has fallen in love with Lin, but it's a matter of time before they turn on him when his hot streak runs out.

So, again, where does "Money" Mayweather get off playing the race card? Lin is the kind of role model that Mayweather only wishes he could be, and it bothers him. Face it, dude, you made your bed, now lie in it, and take the Dunce Cap with you.

Video Valentine: You Know I Love You--Don't You? (1986)

2012-02-14T15:09:00.000-05:00

Howard Jones' 1986 hit, "You Know I Love You--Don't You?", from his CD, "One to One", would be appropriate today for those couples unsure about the state of their relationships and need reassurance. It would be about 3-4 years before Jones would scale the Billboard Hot 100 again, however. Uploaded by utahwrx:

Happy Valentine's Day.

Video Valentine: My Valentine (2012)

2012-02-13T10:33:00.000-05:00

Paul McCartney is back with a brand new single, "My Valentine", from his new CD. Paul performed "My Valentine" live at the Grammys last night, and JTmusicGSM uploaded the clip to YouTube:

You can bet on this. There will be a ton of requests for "My Valentine" today & tomorrow, and probably past Valentine's Day (tomorrow).

Whitney Houston (1963-2012)

2012-02-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

The music world, and all of Hollywood for that matter, is mourning the passing of singer-actress-model Whitney Houston, who passed away last night, six months shy of her 49th birthday, on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

Whitney exploded onto the scene in the mid-80's, with hits like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "How Will I Know", "The Greatest Love of All", and "One Moment In Time", the latter a theme for the 1988 Summer Olympics. She made her film debut in 1992's "The Bodyguard", opposite Kevin Costner, and scored a #1 hit with her cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", which has since become more closely associated with Whitney than with Parton, who also wrote the tune.

The following clip, I believe, comes from a VH1 special for their Save The Music promotion. Here, Whitney, at the peak of her powers, performs "I Will Always Love You".

Whitney came from a musical family. Her mother, Cissy, is a gospel singer. Her cousin was 60's pop star Dionne Warwick. The legendary "Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin, who later became a label-mate of Houston's at Arista, was her godmother. Her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, recorded a duet with her for his 1992 CD, but their union fell apart years later due to her issues with substance abuse, among other things. Tonight, at the Grammys, they will no doubt honor the memory of Whitney, and remember when she was atop the charts, and a role model for so many young performers.

Rest in peace, Whitney.

Video Valentine: I'll Be Good To You (1989)

2012-02-11T12:48:00.000-05:00

Chaka Khan was in the midst of a comeback in the late 80's when she joined forces with Quincy Jones and the late Ray Charles for "I'll Be Good To You", off Jones' 1989 CD, "Back on the Block".

Now, how many couples have made that promise to each other over the years?

Section 2's hottest basketball ticket of 2012 needs a bigger venue

2012-02-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

Last month, my alma mater, Troy High, upset Christian Brothers Academy of Albany, the 2-time defending champions of the Big 10 league in New York's section 2. Troy took over first place in the league, and held it until the rematch on Tuesday in Troy, in front of a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd, which CBA won in overtime, 52-50. I only wish I could've been there, but I knew going in I had no chance.

It has happened before with CBA, across the river in Albany. Rivalry games against in-city foes Albany High & Bishop Maginn have sometimes been played at the Washington Avenue Armory, especially against Maginn, which boasted the likes of Talor Battle, who graduated from Penn State last year. The gyms in the respective schools couldn't handle the likely overflow. In Troy's case, they couldn't have anticipated the packed house on Tuesday, but they should've. Now, they have to enact a contingency plan within the next week, in case the two teams meet again.

CBA closes its regular season tonight, while Troy has 2 games remaining. Assuming both teams win out, they will meet in a 1-game playoff to determine the league champion next weekend. However, there is just no way they can play the game at either school's gym. A neutral site, especially a much larger venue, has to come into play. The best Troy can offer is to play the game a block away at RPI's Houston Field House, which has hosted basketball in the past (i.e. Harlem Globetrotters), and can seat as many as 4,000-6,000 fans for a game, maybe more if they can reconfigure the venue for basketball. However, if RPI has a hockey home game that night, there goes that option, right out the window, forcing the game to Albany.

The Armory is available, but hasn't hosted a basketball game since the IBL's Legends won their championship nearly 2 years ago. The Legends now play their home games, ironically, at CBA, due to some sort of dispute between the league or the team and the Armory. Then, there's the cavernous Times Union Center, home to Siena College's men's basketball team, which routinely draws anywhere from 6,000-10,000 fans on a given night. A simple high school game won't draw that many, but there'd be enough room to accomodate fans from both THS & CBA, especially if the game has to be booked on short notice.

The common link between THS & CBA is Troy AD Paul Reinisch, who was a multi-sport star at CBA a number of years ago. If anyone has mixed emotions about the season series between the two schools, it'd be Reinisch, but, assuming he still has connections at CBA, it wouldn't take much to negotiate a neutral site for the playoff, should it happen. As with RPI, the only thing standing in the way of playing at the TU Center would be if Siena or the Albany Devils has the venue booked next weekend, forcing the game to go to the ancient Armory, and, for all we know, that would be the best bet.

With all that having been said, the only concern remaining is whether or not any of the schools in Section 2 can merit national attention from ESPN for their high school showcase. Why should schools in the South, Midwest, & West get all the attention? I'd be willing to bet that some Section 2 schools might be worthy of national attention, because it'd be the surest way to get scouts looking to the Northeast to find the next Jimmer Fredette or Talor Battle. Just what are they waiting for?

Hey, all I know is that if there's a playoff at the TUC or the Armory next Friday, I'm there. And I may just dust off that old THS basketball button.........

Weasel of the Week: Marge Phelps

2012-02-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

The late Andy Warhol postulated several years ago that "in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes". Some people just haven't figured out that 15 minutes of fame can go very quickly, and isn't a gift card that can be renewed with impunity.

Case in point: The dreaded Westboro Baptist Church is back in the news, just two weeks after the church's spokeswoman, lawyer Marge Phelps, declared they would protest the funeral of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. This time, the congregation is pointing their wagons to the Northwest, where they won't find a welcome wagon, but, more than likely, a very angry mob that is sick & tired of the Phelps family and their misguided flock leeching off tragedy to push their hateful agenda.

Earlier this week, Josh Powell, already a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife 2 years ago, had brutally slain his two children with his axe, then blew up his house, with himself and the children in it, in a bizarre murder-suicide. All that did was ratchet up speculation that Powell had also killed his wife, and realized the police were on the verge of reaching that conclusion, or at least he thought so. The children are being laid to rest this weekend, and, according to an article on MSN.com, the Westboro Wack Pack is headed to the funeral, using the occasion to protest the state of Washington allowing same-sex marriage. That's what has the citizenry up in arms. That the funeral of two innocent little boys is being used to push someone else's agenda, and raise a ruckus.

Westboro Baptist has become infamous for protesting at military funerals, but the truth of the matter is, the funerals are the wrong place to be. If they've got a problem with same-sex marriage, they're better off taking their case directly to the state capitol. Their continued use of funerals to push their hateful agenda has gotten tiresome, and now, every time Marge Phelps announces they're going to protest, someone will form a counter-group to block them. Rev. Fred Phelps insists on misinterpreting the Bible to suit his ends, but he's too far gone to see the error of his ways. His daughter is the same way, and for the first time, earns her own set of weasel ears. Just for kicks, we'll give her the snout, tail, & paws to go with it, because, let's face it, pilgrims, it'll save the trouble of mentioning Westboro in the Weasel of the Week ever again.

Charity is spoiled by a spoilsport

2012-02-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

I just read this interesting piece on Yahoo!'s Prep Rally blog, and I thought I'd share some of the details.

In Omaha, Nebraska the other night, Burke High's women's basketball team wore pink uniforms as part of a fund-raising effort on behalf of the Make-a-Wish foundation for a game against Columbus High. In the 3rd quarter, Columbus AD John Krogstrand called attention to the fact that since Burke was the home team, they were supposed to wear white uniforms, per league rules. Why wait until the 3rd quarter to do something like that, to spoil the theme of the evening? The Burke women were wearing the pink uniforms from the start of the game, and those uniforms would be auctioned off after the game. The bottom line is that game officials accessed a technical foul on Burke. Columbus took the lead, and coasted to a 62-47 victory that is now tainted because Krogstrand chose to put strict rule enforcement ahead of charity and fellowship. Krogstrand alerted his coach, Dave Licari, who in turn called it to the referees' attention.

The Burke players are still trying to fathom how they could be penalized for something like that. We've seen pro baseball players wear special "alternate" uniforms, sanctioned by Major League Baseball for marketing purposes. That's one thing. Minor league teams, like the Tri City Valleycats, have worn special 1-time-only alternate uniforms that were later auctioned off, again with the blessing of their governing body. As it turns out, Burke's AD didn't dot all the i's and cross the t's to get the proper sanctions to allow the women to wear the alternate uniforms in time.

There are protocols in place, and they weren't followed, but what is worse is that the Yahoo! account of the game makes it sound like Krogstrand engaged in a little technical gamesmanship. While the Burke AD has owned up to his mistake, his players are the ones who ended up suffering. The technical foul did a number on them psychologically and took them right out of the game. In case anyone's interested, Burke HS raised $2, 600 that night for Make-a-Wish, but now, they may be reluctant to do something like that again unless the proper protocols are followed.

Maybe next time, the schools should get together and plan everything out in advance so there isn't a repeat.

Video Valentine: The One You Love (1982)

2012-02-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

Mrgunick uploaded this clip, from Glenn Frey's first solo album, "No Fun Aloud", released in 1982.

"The One You Love" was the only major single to gain major airplay, peaking at #15 on the Hot 100. However, in sharp contrast, the video was rarely, if ever, seen on MTV back then.

Musical Interlude: Manic Monday (1986)

2012-02-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

If they had bothered to make the feature film version of Josie & the Pussycats sooner than they did, say, about 15 years earlier, they would've had the perfect band to provide the soundtrack----The Bangles.

The all-girl group had debuted with IRS Records in the first half of the 80's, but their only hit from that period was "Hero Takes a Fall". IRS subsequently released the Bangles, who then signed with Columbia. "Different Light", released in the winter of 1986, took off like a rocket. The first single, "Manic Monday", was written by Prince (under an assumed name) and went to #1 on the Hot 100.

Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the original video on YouTube, but CincinnatiGifts posted this cut from a May '86 episode of Solid Gold. Now, you try telling me that Susanna Hoffs and friends couldn't cover any of Josie's songs............

The Lombardi Trophy returns to New York!!! (Giants win the Super Bowl)

2012-02-05T22:22:00.001-05:00

Super Bowl XLVI has just ended, with Tom Brady's last-second Hail Mary pass falling incomplete in the end zone, giving the New York Giants their 4th Super Bowl win, 21-17. It is the 2nd win for Big Blue in the Tom Coughlin era, as he matches Bill Parcells' 2 rings.

Brady, the poster boy for the NFL's policy of overprotecting their star players, committed an odd faux pas early, as a long, incomplete pass was ruled as intentional grounding, simply because, in the officials' view, and I found this strange, to be honest with you, there was no Patriot receiver in the area where the pass was thrown. The officials ruled that Brady threw the ball away to avoid a sack in the end zone, but the result was the same, a safety for the Giants, giving New York an early 2-0 lead. Thing was, Brady's pass flew a good 20 yards or better before it landed on the turf.

Ironically, the Giants spotted Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the Wild Card round, then routed the Falcons after Eli Manning was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. In that instance, Manning's pass didn't travel very far, but the dire straits were enough for the yellow flag.

Manning promptly took the Giants down the field on a touchdown drive to extend the lead to 9-0. New England led, 10-9 at the break. It was 17-15 when the Giants began their final drive. Ahmad Bradshaw scored, but according to the announcers, it appeared the Giants wanted Bradshaw to take a knee before going in, the idea being they wanted to let the clock run and prevent Brady & the Patriots from making one last drive. However, the defense provided Bradshaw with redemption, holding firm, and even tagging Brady for a 6-yard sack. Only a penalty for 12 men on the field prevented this from being a clean drive for the defense. New England gained 2 first downs, but time was slipping away, and after spending their last timeout after the sack, New England was just about done. The final play, with 5 seconds left, was the Hail Mary that ended up incomplete.

Brady's quest to become the first QB since Joe Montana to win 4 Super Bowls ended in failure. He remains tied with Troy Aikman (Dallas) at 3, but there is always next year, and the year after that. Brady's wife, model Gisele Bundchen, made headlines when she had asked fans for prayers for her husband at mid-week.

Had the Patriots won, sure, those prayers would've been answered. The team had dedicated their season to the memory of owner Robert Kraft's late wife, hence her initials on their uniforms. That storyline had been largely ignored all season, underplayed because, well, these are the Patriots, the supposed "evil empire" of the NFL, the football equivalent of the New York Yankees, derided as the "evil empire" by Boston fans in particular. In New York, they weren't getting much sympathy from the press, except maybe the New York Times, the only newspaper in the city proper that doesn't deal in tabloid journalism.

Fans in upstate New York are hoping the Lombardi Trophy comes their way, along with the Giants. After a truncated training camp in New Jersey last year because of the lockout, Giants management has hinted that they would return to Albany this July. We won't know for sure for a while yet, but you can bet if it happens, the University at Albany will be a happening place well before school starts.

As for the overhyped commercials? Fuhgeddaboutit! I wasn't paying much attention this year. About the only thing that I actually bothered with was Elton John for Pepsi. Lah-de-dah. The cameo at the end by Flavor Flav (ex-Public Enemy) was overkill.

Now, basketball & hockey take center stage until baseball Spring Training starts in a couple of weeks. Yeah, whatever.......

Ben Gazzara (1930-2012)

2012-02-04T23:26:00.000-05:00

Most of today's audience will remember Ben Gazzara more for movies such as "Road House" and "The Big Lebowski", but the baby boomer generation remembers him as Paul Bryan, an attorney who'd been given as much as 18 months to live, in Run For Your Life, back in the mid-60's. On Friday, Gazzara lost his battle with cancer at 81.

Windesong uploaded this clip from Life, with guest star Katharine Ross ("The Graduate"):

Rest in peace, Ben. In a way, Paul Bryan now can stop running......

One last game to play

2012-02-04T14:05:00.000-05:00

The Super Bowl is tomorrow. The way the tabloids in New York are hyping it to the moon, you'd think it was a life-or-death struggle. It isn't. It is New York vs. Boston for all the marbles, for the 2nd time in 5 years in The Big Game.

For the New England Patriots, it is about revenge, times two. Not only is it about payback for losing 4 years ago, spoiling a "perfect" season tainted by scandal and charitable officiating in key games, but for a Week 9 loss at Foxborough in November, ending a lengthy home winning streak that also benefited from charitable officiating. Tom Brady aspires to be among the great QB's in Super Bowl history, right up there with Joe Montana & Terry Bradshaw, the latter now a Fox analyst, both of whom won 4 Super Bowls. Brady is tied with another Fox analyst Troy Aikman, better known to other folks as Hulk Hogan's sidekick in those Rent-a-Center ads, with 3. None of those wins has been a blowout, and neither will this one.

For the New York Giants, it is to prove that win in November was not a fluke, and their QB, Eli Manning, can back up his pre-season boast of being among the league's elite. The overanalysis of his statement was done to death well before November, but he has mastered the art of the 4th quarter comeback, a Montana specialty. David Tyree, Steve Smith, and Plaxico Burress are gone, but now you have Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, & Victor Cruz.

The Pats' defense has been suspect most of the season. Their defensive front has stiffened at the right time, but the secondary is another story. Vulnerable to the big play? Yep. They have to hope their front four can rattle Manning, but at the same time, the Giants have to get around the Patriots' offensive line and their propensity for holding---and not getting called for it 90% of the time. They hassled Brady last time, threw him off his game. I look for more of the same.

I have friends who have rooting interests on both sides. The Patriots lost my respect a long time ago, making this pick an easy one. Air traffic control would be on full alert if this game wasn't played indoors, but it will be a track meet. The Giants win again, 31-30.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Weasel of the Week: Yael Rothschild

2012-02-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

You've probably heard about this on the news. After Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open tennis tournament last weekend, he threw his shirt into the crowd, intended for a 14 year old fan, Melissa Cook. This week's Weasel, Yael Rothschild, intercepted, thinking it was open season on the shirt. She ignored Ms. Cook, and the other fans around them.

Since then, according to a Yahoo! article, Mrs. Rothschild has been besieged. Someone on Facebook gave out her address, and the Rothschilds have had to deal with----wait for it----death threats. She put the shirt up for auction, instead of doing the right thing and giving the shirt outright to Ms. Cook, whose mother put up the winning bid for the shirt, the proceeds going to a anti-bullying charity.

So what's wrong with this picture?

1. Mrs. Rothschild made the first mistake by snatching the shirt away from Ms. Cook. She didn't know that it was Djokovic's intention to give the teenager the shirt.

2. Someone decided to embarass Mrs. Rothschild by announcing her address online. We don't know who this idiot is, otherwise, he/she would also get a set of weasel ears.

3. Other morons decided to make pointless threats toward Mrs. Rothschild. This is similar, though not the same as the threats issued to football players in Baltimore & San Francisco after their teams lost their conference championship games nearly 2 weeks ago.

4. Mrs. Rothschild, instead of trying to contact the Cook family, puts the shirt up for charity auction. This says she didn't want to profit from the incident, and chose the charity as a means of making amends. While that's understandable, there's also the old fashioned means of using a phone book to locate the Cooks and call them personally to arrange a delivery and a major mea culpa. Going the auction route only exacerbated the entire scenario.

5. Mrs. Cook was forced to spend nearly $6,000 to pay for a shirt that was meant to be a souvenir for her daughter, making her even more of a victim.

Bottom line: Mrs. Yael Rothschild's selfish act, followed by a questionable attempt at charity, gets her a pair of weasel ears. Free of charge, of course.

Video Valentine: Theme from "Love Story" (1971)

2012-02-02T23:25:00.000-05:00

"Love Story" was one of the biggest movies of 1971, based on the book by Erich Segal. The theme song was sung by Andy Williams, whose Saturday night variety show on NBC was nearing its end, but Williams took the opportunity to sing "Love Story" live on his show. Uploaded by CrooningRick to YouTube:

Don Cornelius (1936-2012)

2012-02-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

As Dick Clark would become synonymous with American Bandstand, so would Don Cornelius with his inner-city answer, Soul Train, which launched as a local series out of Chicago in 1970, then went national a year later. Overall, Cornelius presided over the "hippest trip in America" for 23 seasons before stepping down in 1993. Today, we are learning of his passing at 75, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After stepping away from the cameras, Cornelius would continue to oversee Soul Train, turning over the MC duties to others, including actors Dorian Gregory (ex-Charmed) and Shemar Moore (now on Criminal Minds). Behind the scenes, though, Cornelius' marriage came to an end, though it wasn't quite as public as most celebrity marriages are, and thus, it wasn't quite as known.

In tribute to Cornelius, we present a clip from the 1st national season of Soul Train, with Cornelius introducing a performance by Gladys Knight & the Pips, performing "Friendship Train". Uploaded by soultrain.

Rest in peace, Don.

Musical Interlude: Money's Too Tight (to Mention) (1985)

2012-01-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

Simply Red burst onto the scene in 1985 with their debut CD, "Picture Book", which produced two hit singles, the dreamy "Holding Back the Years" and the politically charged "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", which took a not-so-veiled poke at Reaganomics. Uploaded by---wait for it---simplyredvideo:

Retro adds some country flavor

2012-01-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

Retro obviously noticed that their Saturday afternoon block wasn't going anywhere as long as it continued to run some outdoors-themed programs of more recent vintage, so those shows were, ah, shown the door recently, leading to some additional changes to the weekend afternoon schedule.

Chief among those changes is the fact that Daniel Boone, which Retro now shares with Me-TV, airs 3 times on Saturdays, with the 3rd screening airing at 4 pm (ET) (check your local listings), in addition to noon & midnight. Boone also runs at noon & 4 on Sundays. Also, Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop, a relic from the 70's that hasn't been seen in years, has been shifted to 1:30 (ET) on weekend afternoons. Route 66, airing at 3 on weekdays, adds a 2 pm weekend berth.

The weekday lineup sees the Australian series, The Campbells, last seen on the Family Channel (before it was sold to first Fox, then Disney), paired with The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet between 10 & 11. The biggest surprise, however, is the addition of The Beverly Hillbillies, Saturday nights at 6 (ET). Whodathunk?

Hillbillies spent nearly a full decade on CBS, ending in 1971, but living on in endless repeats ever since. Following is a late period open, in full color. By this point, co-stars Raymond Bailey & Nancy Kulp were added to the open.

One gets the feeling Retro knows their contract for Daniel Boone and a few others is almost up. Also, they either will lose their Classic Media-programmed Saturday morning block, or share it with Me-TV, starting this spring. One wonders just what else may show up on Retro before the year is over. All we can say for now is, stay tuned.

On DVD: Superman-Doomsday (2007)

2012-01-29T18:47:00.001-05:00

In 1993, DC Comics took a huge gamble by killing off Superman. Of course, it was only temporary, but the idea, as has been the case for similar storylines produced by Marvel since then, was to boost sales on a book that was no longer in the top 10. Remember, too, that this was during the speculator boom of the early 90's, when every Tom, Dick, & Harry felt compelled to buy multiple copies of certain "hot" books, thinking that they could turn over a tidy profit. In the long term, that profit has dissipated because in reality, the books were mass produced in the first place. A little more than a year later, Superman returned, good as new, but the experiment bore some other fruit for DC by introducing 4 new characters, two of whom would later be given their own books.

In 2007, DC & Warner Bros. decided to adapt the "Death of Superman" storyline, which introduced the monster known as Doomsday, into a direct-to-video feature film. The end product, "Superman-Doomsday", sorry to say, fails to live up to expectations. How did it fail? That is easily answered.

Doomsday, for starters, only appears in the first 20-odd minutes of the movie, as, presumably, he too was killed in the infamous battle with Superman (Adam Baldwin, most recently on Chuck). A scientific research team from LexCorp unearths the monster while on a top secret mission for LexCorp CEO Lex Luthor (James Marsters, ex-Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but the creature's idea of gratitude is to slaughter the entire team. Luthor is only interested in covering up his team's tracks, however, and has Mercy Graves, repackaged here as a mousy but loyal corporate assistant (Cree Summer), make arrangements. Graves, inexplicably, is slain by Luthor later in the film, something unexpected. Then again, this film was rated PG-13 for a reason.........

Superman is very involved with Lois Lane (Anne Heche), who at the start of the movie only suspects that Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same. Clark supposedly is headed to Afghanistan on assignment, but instead, Superman whisks Lois off to the Fortress of Solitude for a romantic getaway, attended to only by a lone robot (Tom Kenny). When Doomsday hits Metropolis, having already left behind a trail of death & destruction, Superman & Lois return home, and, well, you know the rest.

The funeral for the Last Son of Krypton is, as was the case in the comics, a very public memorial, but, unlike the comics, the Justice League is conspicuous by its absence, one of several mistakes made with this movie. When Lois spots Clark's adoptive mother, Martha Kent (Swoosie Kurtz), her suspicions are heightened, leading to an awkward meeting in Smallville. Mind you, this is all before the movie is half over! Past the halfway point, Lois takes it upon herself to rescue a busload of school children being held captive by the Toyman (John DiMaggio, Futurama) and a robot spider. Superman seems to appear out of nowhere after bursting from his grave to complete the rescue. However, not all is as it should be.

That's because Superman has been cloned by Luthor, but as Dr. Frankenstein lost control of his monster, so has Luthor lost control of his. The Superclone, after learning that Toyman slew a 4 year old girl, takes it upon himself to mete out a little vigilante justice to Toyman, taking him from police custody and throwing him to his death. Later, still trying to convince Lois he is the genuine article, he destroys his "brothers", when Lois & Jimmy Olsen (Adam Wylie) find the lab. Luthor is holding the real Superman, or at least he did, as the Man of Steel is spirited back to the Fortress for healing. Even though he's not 100%, Superman returns home for a final battle, garbed in a black costume, meant to absorb solar energy so he can get his strength back. Armed with a kryptonite gun he'd once confiscated from Luthor, Superman attempts to use it on the clone, but fails. Lois finds it, and connects, but it's not until Superman strikes the final blow before it takes effect.

The clone had turned on Luthor and tried to kill him, but Luthor survived, leaving open the prospect of a followup movie, but none has been discussed.

Aside from the glitches in translating the comics to the screen, Jimmy Olsen leaves the Daily Planet in favor of a sleazy tabloid, a decision I'm sure he'd regret later. Toyman's designs are radically different from how he actually appeared in the comics. In fact, the original Toyman, Winslow Schott, has never exactly been given the best treatment in cartoons to begin with. When she was introduced in 1996's Superman: The Animated Series, Mercy Graves was a leggy, redheaded chauffeur/bodyguard. She was transformed into an African American, plus-size character in the books when she was introduced into the core DC Universe a few years later, but here, she's a bespectacled blonde who is Luthor's right hand woman. Perhaps it was all summed up best by an average guy on the scene when Toyman held the school bus and passengers hostage. LAME!

The movie ends with Superman casually confiding in Lois in her apartment after spending the night there. Yes, it's implied they slept together, and not exactly like in "Superman 2", mind you. In the comics, by 1993, Lois was aware of Clark's dual identity, and the couple were married 3 years later, a union recently erased as part of the rebooting of the DCU. Maybe they're waiting for a more appropriate time to do that angle over again, and marry them off again, this time allowing it to stick. Like, their wedding was the reason they decided to marry off Popeye & Olive Oyl a year or three later, but that's another story.........

Rating: D.

Death has been busy lately......

2012-01-27T14:08:00.001-05:00

Ivan Shreve over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear has a regular feature he calls, "The Passings Parade", in which he compiles recent obits in one ginormous posting. If he hasn't done so already, I believe he will have more comprehensive notes on the following:

Dick Tufeld (1926-2012) was never seen on camera, but his voice was known to generations of viewers. He was the voice behind the Robot on Lost In Space (Bob May wore the costume and got the credit), and also announced for a myriad of shows, including The Hollywood Palace, and, for the cartoon fans, Thundarr the Barbarian, Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, & Goldie Gold & Action Jack. Tufeld passed away at 85 earlier this week.

Robert Hegyes (1961-2012) is better known as Juan Epstein, a Jewish-Puerto Rican "Sweathog" from his run on Welcome Back, Kotter during the mid-70's. Epstein's schtick was drafting phony excuse notes, purportedly from his mother. Some of Epstein's mannerisms were derived from Chico Marx, whom Hegyes had played in a theatre production before turning to TV. Post-Kotter, Hegyes tried his hand at drama and joined the cast of Cagney & Lacey. Below is a skit from Donny & Marie, circa 1976, in which Hegyes and castmates Ron Palillo & Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs join Donny Osmond and guest Karen Valentine (ex-Room 222) in a bit that is a sendup of Kotter:

Hegyes passed away yesterday at 60 after a heart attack.

Also, British actor Nicol Williamson made his final bow at 73 on Wednesday, but some of the newspapers didn't give him his just due. Williamson succumbed to cancer.

Rest in peace, gentlemen.

Musical Interlude: Harden My Heart (1982)

2012-01-26T23:17:00.000-05:00

Quarterflash wasn't really meant to be a one-hit wonder, but, as history shows us, that was exactly their fate, as the band couldn't match the success of their first top 40 hit, "Harden My Heart", in 1982. I believe I had read that lead vocalist-saxophonist Rindy Ross and her guitarist-husband, Marv, were also school teachers in the Portland, Oregon area around the time they formed the band. Judging from the fact that Rindy spends most of the video dressed in leotards & tights, running through a maze of doorways, I'd wager a guess she may have been a physical education teacher.

Uploaded by the band's VEVO channel.

Weasels of the Week: Penn State ticket scalpers

2012-01-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was laid to rest on Wednesday, but, aside from the Westboro Wackjobs attempting to use the solemn occasion to extend their 15 minutes, there were other ghouls looking to make some profit for themselves, showing absolutely no respect to the iconic coach and the school.

According to a wire service article appearing in today's Albany Times-Union, some scalpers attempted to resell free tickets for the funeral on eBay. The auction site pulled the offers off their site because it's a violation of their policy to resell free tickets. Now, you have to ask yourself, who would have the lack of decency, respect, and/or common sense to pull something like this? This wasn't the same as scalping tickets for a school sporting event, be it basketball or football, but rather, a funeral. These nothing-happening idiots have not been identified, and it may just as well be that we'll never know, because if their names appear in the paper, they'd only suffer further embarassment for their idiotic, self-serving endeavor.

We've designated a couple of "John Doe"s as Weasels before, so this is nothing new, but we're giving these idiots Dunce Caps as well for leaving their brains behind when they made this fool's errand.

Maybe next time, last call should be before kickoff.........

2012-01-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

To paraphrase Tony Bennett's most famous hit, some San Francisco 49ers fans----and for that matter, Baltimore Ravens fans, too----might as well be singing, "I left my brains at home" when they went to Sunday's conference championship game.

In San Francisco, Kyle Williams, a kick returner finishing his 2nd season with the resurgent Niners, fumbled twice, the last of which ultimately cost San Francisco the game in overtime, enabling the New York Giants to reach the Super Bowl for the fifth time, all in the last 25 years. Hours earlier, in Foxborough, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed two field goals in the 4th quarter, denying Baltimore a Super rematch of their own with either the Giants, whom they beat for their lone title 11 years ago, or San Francisco, which would've been a rematch of coaching brothers John & Jim Harbaugh. What was lost in Cundiff's misfortune was the fact that on the preceding play, the referees held their flags when New England should've been called for defensive holding. As it was, the Patriots, the NFL's "evil empire", will get a chance to avenge not only a November loss to the Giants, but also the defeat in Super Bowl 42, 4 years ago. I'll discuss that further another time.

What links Cundiff & Williams together is the fact that both have been singled out by irate fans in each team's home city for costing them a chance at another championship. News reports say that both players have been getting death threats. Now, pilgrims, that's just pushing things a wee bit too far.

The fans issuing the threats had to be overly inebriated to begin with, and one suspects that they wagered plenty of money, which would give them cause to be angry, but to single out one specific player just because he had a bad day at the wrong time is just plain wrong. In the era of social networking, you're going to get far more of these liquored up, know-nothing yahoos making these kinds of remarks. What these idiots fail to see is that, at the end of the day, it's just a game.

Oh, sure, I may have an axe to grind myself, seeing as how New England took advantage of the zebras' usual post-season lieniency when they could've been called for far more penalties than they have. In the playoffs, the officiating takes on two different tacks. One is the "playground mentality" where they'll just let the players play and will only call the most obvious and heinous fouls, which is why New England's Sterling Moore, a reject plucked off the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders, can count himself thankful he wasn't costing his team 5 yards. On the other hand, there's also the belief that the league and its media partners got the matchup they wanted, strictly for the purposes of maximizing television ratings. Patriots-Giants isn't exactly on the order of that other Boston vs. New York rivalry, simply because the two teams don't play each other every year. The way the network suits see it, it is Yankees-Red Sox flipped over, with the Patriots as the hated villains. That all having been said, you lay the blame for the Ravens' misfortune solely on the officials' showing blatant home-team-favoritism. New England has had just 3 penalties in 2 playoff games. What does that tell you?

The Giants weren't exactly getting favorable calls, and have been underdogs the last two weeks while beating the two best teams in the NFC. The tabloids are already in maximum hype mode, and that won't stop until the day of the game, February 5. For the most part, the playoffs have been exciting and dramatic, unless the Patriots are involved.

Bottom line: If you want someone to hate, don't single out someone on your own team. Read between the lines. If you felt your team got screwed (and that should be the way they see it in Denver & Baltimore), don't take it out on your team, go after the ones truly responsible. Oh, and, one more thing. You'd be well served to have a clear conscience when you're on Twitter.

Musical Interlude: Indian Reservation (1971)

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Originally, they were Paul Revere & the Raiders, and were costumed in colonial uniforms when they scored hits like "Good Thing" in the 60's. By 1971, vocalist Mark Lindsay had released two solo albums and had a pair of hits of his own with "Silver Bird" & "Arizona", but rejoined the band, now known simply as, The Raiders, for one last run on the charts.

"Indian Reservation" was the band's final hit, an ode to the Cherokee nation. When it resurfaced on the country charts a few years later (not sure of the artist), all references to the Cherokees were removed, making the song more of a commentary on Native Americans of all tribes.

I happen to be 1/4 Native American myself, so "Reservation" resonates with me a little.

The performance track comes from Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's 1971 syndicated series, Rollin' On the River, with an introduction by Rogers himself.

The leeches of Westboro are at it again!

2012-01-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

Mere hours after the passing of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on Sunday, the haterizers from Westboro Baptist Church decided they would picket the funeral. Marge Phelps issued a series of tweets condemning Paterno for his lack of action in the child sex abuse scandal that cost him his job 2 months ago, but all this really is, of course, is an excuse for this flock of fools to extend their 15 minutes of infamy a wee bit longer. I read of their intentions on http://www.msn.com/, and just shook my head. They just won't go away.

They last picketed Steve Jobs' funeral, and had threatened to do the same when Elizabeth Taylor passed away, but never followed through because the movie icon's funeral was kept private and away from cameras. For the sake of the Paterno family, the Phelps' congregation of idiots needs to stay away. The last thing we need is the funeral becoming a media circus.

Joe Paterno (1926-2012)

2012-01-22T20:09:00.000-05:00

It was just a month ago that he'd celebrated his 85th birthday. One month earlier, Joe Paterno, for 46 years the head coach and public face of the Penn State football team, had been removed by the school's board of trustees in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse allegedly committed by former assistant Jerry Sandusky. A sad, sudden fall from grace for the man who had spent 16 seasons as an assistant before becoming the head man at Penn State in 1966. In all, after 62 seasons in Happy Valley, Paterno was sent away, scapegoated in the eyes of loyal students, fans, & former players.

Shortly after his ouster, Paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer and spent some time in the hospital. Today, Paterno lost his battle with cancer at 85, with his family at his bedside.

There are some, I think, who may have envisioned that the only way Paterno would ever stop coaching was if in fact he had passed on. There were others, if you believed media accounts in recent years, who wanted him gone because of a rare losing season, spoiled by all the years of success and the bowl games that went with it. 2 National championships in the pre-BCS era, when there could've been so many more. Paterno was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007 in a class that included Boston College hero Doug Flutie, now an analyst for the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus). Some of today's fans, meanwhile, are probably accustomed to seeing a trio of fans, one of whom was wearing a Paterno mask, replica glasses included, with the others dressed as generic players, getting camera time at virtually every Penn State home game, and even some road games. The man meant that much to the school and the community.

When Penn State takes the field in September to start the 2012 season, there won't be a Paterno on the sidelines at all for the first time in 63 years. Jay Paterno, who had been an offensive assistant under his father and interim coach Tom Bradley, resigned earlier this month. It will be a totally new era under Bill O'Brien, who could possibly be coming in with a Super Bowl ring of his own, coming over from the New England Patriots, who at this writing are going to their 5th Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick era after beating Baltimore earlier tonight.

In this writer's opinion, the sex abuse scandal has tainted Joe Paterno's legacy, but it isn't enough to completely stain the body of work accumulated over several years. In time, the dirty little secrets uncovered late last year may be totally forgotten or little more than a blemish on an otherwise sterling record.

Rest in peace, Joe.

On DVD: Superman (1941)

2012-01-21T23:56:00.001-05:00

Max & Dave Fleischer are well-known icons in animation history. The brothers adapted E. C. Segar's Popeye (formerly Thimble Theatre) into a series of classic shorts, and turned Jonathan Swift's novel, Gulliver's Travels, into a full-length animated feature. They also had created their own characters, particularly Betty Boop, in whose series Popeye made his debut in what amounts to what they call in television a "back-door pilot".

In 1941, the Fleischers reached into the world of comics again, striking a deal with National Periodical (DC) to bring Superman to the screen in a series of animated shorts. The biggest difference between Superman and the rest of the Fleischer line for Paramount was that the characters were drawn more realistically, creating a faithful adaptation of the comic books.

Clayton "Bud" Collyer & Joan Alexander, the stars of the Superman radio dramas, reprised their roles as Superman/Clark Kent (Collyer) and Lois Lane (Alexander) for the cartoons. However, there was one instance where Collyer apparently was missing and had to be substituted by another actor. Curiously missing is Jimmy Olsen, however. In the Golden Age, Olsen was introduced as a copy boy at the Daily Star (later Daily Planet), and later became a cub reporter. Sadly, he was left out of the series because, quite simply, there wasn't enough room for him in terms of plot development.

17 cartoons were made in total. Unfortunately, the Fleischers were gone before the series ended, and even though the quality of the cartoons didn't suffer much, their creative presence was missed. It was during this period that an analogue for Olsen, a novice named Louis, was added. Sad to say, Louis wasn't as bright, and to say he was about as sharp as a broken thumbtack would be an insult to thumbtacks. He simply didn't fit.

As most of you probably know, Collyer & Alexander would reprise their roles again for the first Superman animated series, which aired on CBS from 1966-70, but Alexander left the show after the first season. By then, Olsen was a much bigger player in the books, and it was reflected in his inclusion in the Filmation cartoons.

Davidandersonharvey uploaded the first cartoon, entitled simply, "Superman", but also known as "Mad Scientist".

The cartoons have been in public domain for a number of years, but last year WB finally produced a series of their own. Earlier today, I bought one of those public domain releases, this one issued by Genius Entertainment in conjunction with Topps in 2005. Not all of the cartoons are included, and a stick of Bazooka gum that was promised was not to be found. The other downside was that these prints are missing the Paramount opening & closing logos that were included in the print shown above. Who'd ever think Topps would pull an el scrimpo like that?

Rating: A+.

Johnny Otis (1921-2012) & Etta James (1938-2012)

2012-01-20T23:39:00.000-05:00

He wrote "Willie & the Hand Jive", and was an early influence on many a musician. The music industry is mourning the passing of Johnny Otis, who left us on January 17 at 90 after a lengthy illness.

Otis had been doing a weekly radio show until health issues forced him to hang up his microphone in 2005. Most of us know him only for "Hand Jive", which has been covered by a good number of blues artists. Kingvidiot66 uploaded this clip of Otis himself performing his signature song.

Earlier today, we lost a grand dame of rhythm & blues, as Etta James passed away at 73. Again, she is best known for one particular song, in this case, "At Last", which was famously covered by Beyonce in the 2008 movie, "Cadillac Records". Beyonce was cast as Ms. James in the movie. AtlasShrugs2000 uploaded this clip, with an introduction by the incomparable Wolfman Jack of The Midnight Special fame......

Rest in peace, Johnny & Etta. You'll both be missed.

Monday Night Raw: What went right or wrong, 1/16/12

2012-01-18T14:40:00.001-05:00

It seems someone else uses the title, "The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly" for a weekly column reviewing Monday Night Raw, so, to avoid stepping on someone else's toes, I've come up with a new name for my periodic reviews. It's kind of like the "3 Up/Down" segments on SportsCenter. You'll see what I mean.

What went right?

Former champion and best-selling author Mick Foley returned, and the stage has been set for a possible changing of the guard in the GM's office. Executive VP/Talent Relations John Laurinaitis has worn out his welcome in the GM's role after 3 months. Well, it wasn't that hard, as he's got the charisma of a broken tree branch. At the end of the show, Foley confronted Laurinaitis about his role as a referee in the WWE title fight between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble on 1/29. Laurinaitis admitted he intends to screw over Punk, which has been the mission all along, dating back to the Money in the Bank event 6 months ago. Foley had conned his way into the main event after Chris Jericho walked out on his first match in nearly 18 months, leaving Punk & Daniel Bryan in the lurch. Foley scored the pin, but Laurinaitis voided it, citing the fact that Foley didn't have clearance.

Well, guess what, pilgrims? The Uncreative team did it again. They left a gaping hole that could've been patched by having Foley simply say he answered to a higher authority, and, no, we don't mean God in this case. This would've been the perfect entry point for Triple H to return and settle a score with Laurinaitis himself. At least, in this case, you can expect some physical fireworks, the kind we couldn't get when it was necessary to oust Vickie Guerrero, a co-conspirator in this case, to be sure, for her power abuses on Raw & Smackdown. Bad storytelling, as usual, but there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

And, really, that was all that worked.

What went wrong? Plenty.

For starters, Laurinaitis deliberately held back a medical report on US champ Zack Ryder, and the internet idol lost the title to Jack Swagger. Ryder was "injured" at the hands of Kane a week earlier, and shouldn't have competed at all, but apparently he was told that if he didn't, he'd have to forfeit the title, and he didn't want to do that.

This is where Uncreative fails over and over again. You don't have anyone set up to counter-balance Laurinaitis and his legal flunky, David Otunga, who never seems to go anywhere backstage without a cup of coffee these days. That has to change, and preferably, yesterday.

John Cena, upset that his friend had been essentially robbed of the title, was granted a non-title match against Swagger, which was just a front to continue his poorly designed angle with Kane. That has gone south rather quickly. Swagger was destroyed, and Kane, trying to lure Cena to the dark side, applauded the effort. I've a bad feeling about this.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was the guest ring announcer for the women's match, and prevented the Bella Twins from taking a shortcut to victory, which led to Kelly Kelly & Alicia Fox defeating the twins. Hilton is not exactly the most popular guy in Southern California, since a lot of his gossip reports have gotten him and/or his subjects in trouble. His presence was not advertised in advance, and smacked of a need for a quick jolt of ratings. Excuse me, I don't think so.

Back to Jericho. His act has also worn rather thin way too quickly. The idea is he's looking to turn the people against him in a rather novel way, but someone forgot to tell him that in this context, silence isn't golden. The hijinks, I think, will end at the Rumble.

Solutions? Yep.

1. The US title should either be vacant, or should still be in Zack Ryder's hands. The title match could've been postponed 'til the Rumble, but that isn't how corrupt GM's roll. The idea is that if Ziggler wins the WWE title, then Vickie Guerrero controls the two men's singles titles. Speaking of stale acts, the widow Guerrero is Exhibit A by a long shot.

2. As noted above, the writers jumped from point A to point C without stopping at point B at the end of the show. That has been a problem for WWE Uncreative for years. I'd have plugged HHH into the mix right away to turn the tables on Laurinaitis with the reveal that Foley, for the first time since the end of 2003, would be a co-GM, since it appears Foley will be around on and off until at least Wrestlemania.

What do you guys think?

Now, they're down to four

2012-01-16T09:56:00.002-05:00

We are moving into the conference championship round of the NFL playoffs. Last chance to block the NFL's "evil empire" from reaching the Super Bowl. If you don't know what I mean, read on........

AFC Championship: Baltimore at New England.

On Saturday, the Patriots snapped a 3-game post-season losing streak by running up the score on Denver. The media has tried to suggest that Tom Brady was getting a little cranky going into the game. He didn't really have to be. All Brady did was throw 6 TD passes, 5 of them in the first half. The offensive line did what it usually does, which is get away with murder at home. Once it got to be 17-0, I just decided I wasn't watching. Someone, besides the team itself, wants New England back in the Super Bowl, and the finger of blame can be pointed at the league and their advertising partners. 2 winters ago, the Ravens went into Gillette Stadium and upset the Pats, who, in my mind, get exactly what they deserve when they lose at home. They are the poster children for home team favoritism in the NFL, an image that needs to change immediately. Oh, sure, they screwed the Ravens over in the rematch the following regular season, also in Foxborough, because that's how they roll. However, their luck is about to run out.

I caught the last part of the Ravens-Texans game, and there was more drama in that game. The Patriots don't want drama unless it's on their terms. My vision now is Brady eating dirt, courtesy of Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, & friends. The Pats still have to pay penance for Spygate in '07, and, so, it's Ravens, 31-30.

NFC Championship: Giants at San Francisco.

A rematch from November. The resurgent 49ers ran New York out of the park last time, and, you think, this might be a rerun. The Giants took all of the drama out of their rematch with Green Bay in the 2nd half in upsetting the defending champions. If New York wins, they get a rematch with Baltimore or, heaven forfend, New England. 11 years ago, the Ravens won their only title at the expense of the Giants, and you know the Pats are looking for a receipt for a November loss at home. A reciept they ain't getting, by the way, not just yet. Speaking of receipts, the Giants collected one on the Pack, so maybe it's 2 in a row? Yep. Count me on the bandwagon. You get the feeling that the league wants to see a rematch from 4 years ago, football's answer to Yankees-Red Sox, but I disagree. I am thinking further back. New York meets Baltimore after knocking out the West champs, 38-30.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Classic TV: The Gong Show (1976)

2012-01-15T21:47:00.000-05:00

In the 60's, Chuck Barris created and produced the iconic game shows, The Dating Game & The Newlywed Game, and wrote a Top 40 smash for Freddy Cannon, "Palisades Park". Barris then acquired the rights to revive Treasure Hunt in the mid-70's. Shortly after that, Barris was persuaded to go before the cameras himself as host AND executive producer of The Gong Show, which was, for all intents & purposes, Ted Mack's old Amateur Hour taken to wild, often excessive, extremes.

Gong was, I think, the first series Barris had sold to NBC, which plugged it into the troublesome 12:30 pm (ET) slot, where the network had been looking for a hit show to lead into their soap opera block in the afternoon.

5 days a week, Barris trotted out a variety of "unusual" acts, some of whom would later go on to bigger and better things. For example, the band we would later know as Oingo Boingo made one of their first television appearances on Gong. So did actor-performance artist Paul Reubens, long before he created Pee-Wee Herman. Barris even created a seminal star for the show in a simple studio janitor, who became Gene Gene, the Dancing Machine. Toward the end of the series' run, Gene Gene even became a panelist! Surreal!

The one constant at the judges' table was singer Jaye P. Morgan, who often had some more ribald commentary censored. Actor Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H) appeared frequently, leaving the 3rd chair to a revolving door of guests, including Pat McCormick, Arte Johnson (ex-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), Steve Martin, and, in one of his first TV appearances, David Letterman, who, I must acknowledge, wasn't exactly thrilled when Gene Gene came out one day to do his schtick.

Here's a sample of the silliness, with Louis Nye filling the 3rd chair.

Well, the only question I have is whether or not Lucedale, MS really exists.......! In recent years, as indicated by his autobiography, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", Barris has come across as being, well, out there somewhere. To borrow a line from Brooks & Dunn about being "North of Heaven, South of Santa Fe" would be missing the point. A few years back, Sony, which owns the rights to Gong and the entire Barris library, tried reviving the series for Comedy Central with Dave Attell as host. It bombed, cancelled after 1 season. Not Attell's fault. The network underpromoted the show, perhaps failing to realize that maybe they should've picked up the original first, then tried to do the revival.

Rating for the series: A-.

Musical Interlude: Ghost on the Canvas (2011)

2012-01-14T22:53:00.000-05:00

Glen Campbell was one of my favorites growing up. A few months ago, I'd read where he'd been stricken with Alzheimer's Disease, but it didn't stop him from recording one last album. "Ghost on the Canvas", released back in August, finds Campbell still sounding as strident as he did on earlier hits like "Galveston", "Rhinestone Cowboy", and "Wichita Lineman". The title track was written by Paul Westerberg (The Replacements). The paintings in the video show portraits of Campbell from those halcyon days, with the likes of Dean Martin and Johnny Cash among others.

Uploaded by, of course, officialglencampbell:

On DVD: Sgt. Preston of the Yukon (1955)

2012-01-13T14:34:00.000-05:00

Sgt. Preston of the Yukon made the transition from radio, where it had begun under the title, Challenge of the Yukon, to television in 1955, shortly after the radio series had ended its run. Preston was one of a trio of radio series created and produced at Detroit's WXYZ radio that all made the transition to television. However, while Preston came from the same creator as The Lone Ranger, George Trendle, and had Ranger scripter Fran Striker as one of its writers, it wasn't directly linked with either the Ranger or The Green Hornet.

The plots, however, could've been interchangeable with those of Lone Ranger, save for a change in setting and time, as Preston was set a few years after Ranger, closer to the beginning of the 20th century.

Actor Richard Simmons, not to be confused with the fitness guru of the same name, played Preston. Research tells us that Vic Perrin, who would later serve as the "Control Voice" on The Outer Limits, was the announcer-narrator.

One downside to the 2-disc DVD that Timeless released in 2006 is that the show open only appears, albeit in edited form, at the start of each disc, not each episode. Foxeema uploaded the complete episode, "The Black Ace", which has the actual opening intact.

I had a chance to see Preston in syndication in the 80's when the local cable system picked up a channel in Worcester, Ma., but passed. Since then, I've developed more of an appreciation for older television programs, perhaps disenchanted by the glut of so-called "reality" TV. What is clear, however, is that Preston isn't as much in demand as his Detroit radio contemporaries. I think that might be because animator Jay Ward created the bumbling Dudley Do-Right and changed some people's perceptions of the Mounties. It didn't help, either that Vince McMahon created an evil Mountie (Jacques Rougeau) in the early 90's in the then-WWF. Could Sgt. Preston make a comeback? Based on how badly Green Hornet and the Lone Ranger have been treated by Hollywood the last few years, I doubt that very seriously.

Rating: A.

NFL Divisional Playoff preview

2012-01-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Last week, I went 2-2 with my picks. Let's try to do better in the divisional round, which is supposed to ensure that Cinderella doesn't make it to the ball, but that doesn't always work......

AFC:

Houston at Baltimore: Ok, so I underestimated the Texans in their first playoff game. Sometimes, however, there are growing pains. Not every 1st-time playoff team is going to run the table. Houston is playing a tougher defensive team this time in the Ravens, making it two straight games against the AFC North. I just don't see Houston surviving this time. Ravens, 27-24.

Denver at New England: Just a month ago, the Broncos went to Foxborough, and got whacked, sending Tim Tebow and friends on a 3-game skid that ended last week in the Wild Card round. The oddsmakers, showing absolutely no respect, have the Patriots as a 13 1/2 point favorite as of press time. It's going to be a different game this time. The media can waste their time genuflecting on Tom Brady, whom I believe is the most overrated QB in the playoff field, largely because he gets preferential treatment from the refs, mandated by the league office. If you don't believe me, try the infamous game that introduced us to the dreaded tuck rule vs. Oakland. The zebras and the league office needs to understand that the Star System needs to be abolished right now. No more coddling. No more putting endorsement deals ahead of the integrity of the game. As much as I'd like to see Tebow run the table, which would get him a booking on The 700 Club the very next night after the Super Bowl, the reality is New England will go the championship game, and no further. Pats, 31-30.

NFC:

New Orleans at San Francisco: Once upon a time, these two teams were in the same division, and back then, the Saints were perennial also-rans behind the 49ers. As I indicated last week, Jim Harbaugh, in his first year as an NFL coach, is likely to win Coach of the Year honors for the amazing revival of the Niners, but anyone that thinks he'll make the Super Bowl, and a rematch with brother John and the Ravens, is dreaming. Not gonna happen. New Orleans is scorching hot right now, and the heat isn't going to die down on Saturday night. Saints, 31-17.

Giants at Green Bay: Last month, the Packers escaped the Meadowlands with a Mason Crosby field goal in the final minute, but that was after the Pack got the benefit of two bad calls by the officials, one giving them a touchdown that was questionable, the other denying the Giants one early that could've been the difference in the game. At the time, Green Bay was unbeaten, but then would lose their very next game, to Kansas City. Go figure. The NY tabloid press is in hyperdrive to promote the game, of course, but they're wasting time dreaming when reality makes more sense. Yes, the Giants are hot right now, and there are the comparisons to their run after the '07 season, which included Brett Favre's last game in Green Bay. If the game last month wasn't the receipt, this one will be. Packers, 38-35.

Weasels of the Week: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. & Daquan Johnson

2012-01-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

Frequent contributor Magicdog nominated Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa for allowing boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr. to postpone his jail sentence for domestic violence until June, all so he could train for a fight in May that would bring beaucoup bucks to businesses in Vegas.

In reviewing the case, I find that Judge Saragosa isn't worthy of weasel ears, but Mayweather is. Mayweather is putting his career ahead of taking responsibility for his actions, another case of a celebrity being allowed to pick & choose when to serve out his punishment. Would we have this discussion if Mayweather had taken things too far, and committed murder? No, I don't think so. Judge Saragosa admitted to being convinced by Mayweather's lawyer that the financial rewards for the fight outweigh the consequences of Mayweather's actions. No, they don't. If anything, Saragosa is more worthy of a dunce cap for allowing this to happen.

Closer to home, we also hand out weasel ears to a high school hoopster named Daquan Johnson, who transferred from Albany (NY) High to a private academy in Louisiana. It seems that at Albany, Johnson was in a program that wouldn't have allowed him to advance to college, and to do so, he'd have required a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). His mother filed dismissal papers on Monday, but by then, Johnson had already played three games for his new school, according to an account in today's Albany Times-Union. Aren't there rules in place to prevent that sort of thing? If the mother, Theresa Dean, is only just filing dismissal papers after her son has played for his new team before taking a class, aren't there eligibility rules being violated in Louisiana? It's one thing to worry about your child's education if it isn't adequate enough to suit, but when he's a couple thousand miles away and already playing, doesn't it make it that much more obvious that the education is secondary to the prospect of an NBA career? Someone's priorities are way out of kilter here. I'm not taking anything away from the young man's talent, I've never seen him play, and I'm not questioning his mother's decision to pull him out of school, but why all the way out in Louisiana?

At the end of the day, Daquan is just another kid seduced by the lure of big bucks, and he & his mom are listening, perhaps, to some bad career advice. Granted, the Times-Union and other local papers may not have all the facts right now, but I'd not be surprised if there are other parties involved, aside from relatives in Louisiana. Stay tuned.

Dunce Cap Award: Sydney Spies

2012-01-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

To paraphrase a line from the Little River Band, it used to be so easy to get your senior picture taken in high school or college. You pick out your Sunday best, go to the studio, and pose for a portrait, which would appear in your senior yearbook.

Today, there's a beef in Colorado over a high school senior's picture being banned from the yearbook because it's too racy. The student, Sydney Spies, is arguing freedom of expression. The 5-person committee that is editing the Durango High yearbook, on the other hand, feels it smacks too much of cheesecake and is inappropriate for use as a senior portrait.

Now, here's where it gets a little bit stupid. The editors have offered Ms. Spies the opportunity to have the picture published in the yearbook after all, just not as a portrait. They would have an area designated for the picture, and she would pose for a more appropriate and traditional picture. Ms. Spies and her family have objected, and the word that's out now, per Yahoo! and Good Morning America, is that they're considering civil action against the school. It seems that Sydney's nose is so out of joint in this case, that she's directing her anger toward the school faculty, which had no say in the decision. The yearbook editors acted on their own and voted unanimously, 5-0, to ban the picture. Ms. Spies, in crying foul, claims the editors were being intimidated by the faculty. I don't see how, when the editors' argument is as clear as day. These are high school seniors, ages 17-18, who've accepted the responsibility of putting the yearbook together.

Sydney, in this writer's opinion, while a senior herself, is behaving more like a pre-teen with a temper issue. She wants to waste taxpayer dollars on a frivolous lawsuit she has no hope of winning? Fuhgeddaboutit! This is a case more suited to someplace like, oh, I don't know, maybe The People's Court or Judge Judy, so Sydney can be shown to the whole world to be about as sharp as a broken.........dunce cap. I rest my case.

Sounds of Praise: Ooh Child (2004)

2012-01-08T18:21:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, I posted a Soul Train clip of the 5 Stairsteps performing their 1970 hit, "O-o-h Child". 34 years later, gospel stars Donnie McClurkin & Kirk Franklin covered the classic on a McClurkin CD, and it was reissued a year later for the movie, "The Gospel", which starred Boris Kodjoe. The dashes in the title were removed, but the song is the same, amplified with new rap lyrics by Franklin.

Taken from the CD, "Psalms, Hymms, & Spiritual Songs", and uploaded by Rhony72 to YouTube:

Musical Interlude: The Champ (2011)

2012-01-05T22:02:00.000-05:00

If you've been following the college bowls that have been on ESPN the last couple of weeks, you can't escape "The Champ", the theme song for the 2011-12 NCAA bowl season, performed by Nelly. With the National Championship game, a rematch between LSU & Alabama, set for Monday, why not let "The Champ" tie you over 'til then? Uploaded by RytRyt01.

Weasel of the Week: Friends of LeBron James

2012-01-05T00:22:00.000-05:00

LeBron James, in his 2nd season with the Miami Heat, would be well served to repair the damage his entourage of leeches and parasites (what else could they be?) keeps doing to make him look bad.

When the season began on Christmas Day, there was James, in a commercial for State Farm insurance, as their newest sports celebrity endorser, albeit in a more serious gig as opposed to Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers, whose status as a wrestling fan was exploited in his ad. The Heat blew out Dallas that day. That's all well and fine. However, it was a blue Christmas for a Miami baker.

Alethea Hickman was asked to create an elaborate birthday cake for James. According to Yahoo!, said cake was worth about $3,000, pocket change for James. Unfortunately, LeBron never got a chance to sample the goods, because his entourage decided it wasn't good enough for him. Who are these clowns to judge what's good or not? Ms. Hickman was doing this for free, and these nothing happening, glad-handing jabroni leeches didn't have the good sense to accept that.

All that does is perpetuate the perception of LeBron as a spoiled star who has to have everything just so. At the same time, you have him doing a commercial for an insurance company that had nothing to do with the company's current ad campaign ("Get to a better State"), but for charity. I get that it was supposed to be a surprise, but the joke is on this week's Weasels, for rejecting the hard work that went into a confection meant to be fit for a king. Better that the cake was commissioned by the Heat, and not the heat-seeking leeches LeBron surrounds himself with, starting with Maverick Carter. While we don't know who exactly made the decision to reject the cake, we'll just give the whole support team of parasites the weasel ears. Share & share alike, dullards!

The mystery is finally solved.....

2012-01-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

After weeks of cryptic, misleading videos, former WWE champion Chris Jericho returned last night on Monday Night Raw, 15 months after he had been sidelined (contract had expired) following a "concussion punt" by Randy Orton, who is now on the disabled list, but could return in as little as 2 weeks. When the first video played, I thought it might be the Undertaker, making his annual return to begin a 3-month lead-in to Wrestlemania, but the cryptic theme to the video should've had fans recalling Jericho's last tour of duty, which began at the end of 2007. Anyway, the fans in Memphis went nuts......

The plan for now is for Jericho to be a bad guy once again, and that the never-ending, Cheshire Cat-style smile, sorry to say, is just a pose. It does look like Jericho had spent some time getting a little tuck here and there so that at certain angles, his facial profile more closely resembles game show icon Wink Martindale. I digress. With John Cena occupied with Kane, himself reverting to not only wearing a mask & wig, but also being evil, CM Punk, whom Jericho has feuded with in the past, could use an ally against interim GM/Executive VP-Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, who is lacking something Punk & Jericho have in excelsis. Charisma. Maybe Jericho can get his band, Fozzy, some premium air time to promote their current CD, which could stand some attention here in the US.

At least, for now, it's not going to be a boring winter after all.

Now, the merry-go-round spins.......

2012-01-02T09:17:00.000-05:00

The 2011 NFL regular season ended on New Year's Day, leaving 12 teams to vie for the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl on February 5 in Indianapolis. The tournament starts Saturday with the Wild Card round, but first let's take a look at the seedings in each conference.

AFC:

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. Pittsburgh
6. Cincinnati

Three teams from the AFC North? Yep. The Jets collapsed down the stretch, losing badly to the Eagles & Giants, then falling short against Miami. Rex Ryan, they can say, wrote a check with his mouth that his team couldn't cash at the finish line. The fickle New York media could've turned on Ryan if not for Santonio Holmes, who was the target of the media's ire in the aftermath on Sunday. I didn't see the game, as I was out most of the afternoon, but the implication was that Holmes, held in check by the Dolphin defense, butted heads with teammates and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and was pulled in the 4th quarter. This may have been Schottenheimer's last game with the Jets, if the media's predictions are true. I digress. Cincinnati and West winner Denver backed in after both teams lost late games (to Baltimore & Kansas City, respectively), and there's always the chance neither team could get through the first round.

Wild Card Schedule:

Cincinnati at Houston
Pittsburgh at Denver

The Steelers-Broncos game won't exactly bring back memories of classic matchups of yore, not with Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger nursing injuries, leaving him unable to be equally matched against Denver's 2nd year phenom, Tim Tebow. This one is really too tough to call already. The Broncos, like the Jets, lost their last three, blown out by the Patriots & Bills, and then failing late vs. the Chiefs. If Denver wins, well, guess who's next? Yep, the hated Patriots, unless Cincinnati upsets Houston, and then the Bengals will travel to Foxborough.

Projections:

Tebow will have to wait for revenge on the Pats. I see Pittsburgh's veteran experience prevailing here, but they won't be visiting New England, either. With Houston's injury issues, despite their outstanding running game, I can't see them beating Cincinnati and their rookie QB, Andy Dalton. Hence, in the divisional round, it'll be Pats-Bengals, and Ravens-Steelers.

NFC:

1. Green Bay
2. San Francisco
3. New Orleans
4. Giants
5. Atlanta
6. Detroit

The Lions are in the postseason for the first time since the end of the 20th century. That's the good news. The bad news is that they have an almost instant rematch with a team that recently blew them off the field. They had a chance to upgrade, but couldn't hold off the Pack on Sunday. Atlanta, meanwhile, blew out Tampa Bay, then finalized their travel plans when the Giants completed a season sweep of the Cowboys, as Tony Romo's late-season folding pattern held true.

Wild Card Schedule:

Atlanta at Giants
Detroit at New Orleans

Again, this is too easy. The Saints dusted all three of the others in the last three weeks, and have all the momentum. They will handle Detroit again, but the Falcons-Giants game is another tough call. Can the Falcon defense contain New York's own 2nd year wonder, Victor Cruz? Can they keep Eli Manning from another 4th quarter rally? Remember, the Falcons have had their issues this season. For what it's worth, we'll take the Saints & Giants, as home field advantage will prevail in the NFC, setting up the Giants for a rematch against Green Bay. Some people feel the Giants got screwed last time because of a missed call. Had the refs got it right, the Pack's unbeaten streak would've ended at the Meadowlands instead of against Kansas City. New Orleans would then travel to San Francisco to play the resurgent Niners and likely Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh.

Looking further ahead, the conference championship games figure to be:

NFC: New Orleans at Green Bay. (sorry, Giants fans, it just isn't your year)
AFC: Baltimore at New England. The Ravens have beaten the Pats at Gillette Stadium before, and there's no reason to think they can't do it again, provided of course the game is called fairly, and it rarely is in Foxborough. The NFL's unofficial Star System gets in the way.

And, so the Super Bowl figures to be...............Ravens vs. Packers. Of course, I could be wrong.......

Musical Interlude: Same Old Lang Syne (1981)

2011-12-31T11:12:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Eve, I thought this might be an appropriate song to play.

Dan Fogelberg (1951-2007) was emerging as one of the most prominent singer-songwriters of the 80's when he released "Same Old Lang Syne" on his 1981 album, "The Innocent Age". Fogelberg had charted previously with "Longer", and would have more Top 40 hits afterward with the likes of "Missing You" & "Leader of the Band".

Pre10der76 uploaded this concert clip, taken from a 2003 episode of PBS' Soundstage.

Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2012.

Classic TV: That Girl (1966)

2011-12-29T20:51:00.001-05:00

Look what's coming to Me-TV starting Monday:

The premise was as simple as could be. Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) is a struggling actress living in New York and hoping for her big break, like so many others. Her long-suffering boyfriend, Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell, ex-Gomer Pyle, USMC) is a magazine writer who has to double as Ann's conscience when she gets in over her head. Which happens pretty often.

Despite the success of That Girl, Marlo Thomas never landed another series. Instead, she opted to move behind the scenes, and her last TV gig of note was Free To Be.....You & Me, a 1-shot special, which, like That Girl, aired on ABC, and featured an eclectic lineup of stars, including Alan Alda (pre-M*A*S*H), football player-turned-actor Roosevelt Grier (ex-Daniel Boone), and Michael Jackson, in one of his first appearances without his brothers. Free To Be last aired on TV Land a number of years back, and hasn't seen the light of day since. Then again, neither had That Girl, until Me-TV acquired the series for its primetime lineup.

As for Ted Bessell, he had one other series, the ill-fated Me & The Chimp (1971), and after a TV-movie or two, he wasn't heard from much again. It's worth noting, too, that the ensemble cast also included Bernie Kopell, who otherwise was appearing frequently on Get Smart, and welcomed the opportunity to play a more likeable character. Of course, Kopell cemented his icon status on The Love Boat a decade later, but that's another story for another time.

Rating: A-.

When hamsters & soldiers boogie together

2011-12-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

If you thought Kia's hamster mascots lip-synching to Black Sheep was wack, well, as the late Al Jolson famously put it, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Kia's latest ad campaign for the Soul premiered during the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year, and a shorter version aired during sports programming over Christmas weekend. The hamsters roll into a battle zone, and the fighting stops just so everybody can go all Wang Chung, or in this case, LMFAO, and get down with their bad selves, to the tune of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem". Uploaded by, of course, KiamotorsAmerica:

As Black Sheep put it, doo dah dippity.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You (1981)

2011-12-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

MTV's 1st Christmas video in 1981 was "Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You", by Billy Squier, who had a huge hit earlier in the year with "The Stroke". Unfortunately, Billy didn't score too many more hits after that, and faded from the scene within a couple of years. The video was shot at the MTV studio in New York, with Billy flanked by Nina Blackwood and the late JJ Jackson. You can find the rest of the gang, I'm sure. VH1 Classic has played this video in recent years, and that's where HolidayFavorites found his copy of the clip to upload to YouTube...........

Merry Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas: Children Go Where I Send Thee (2006)

2011-12-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

Last year at this time, I posted a clip of Tennessee Ernie Ford's rendition of "Children Go Where I Send Thee". This time, I've got a more up-tempo cover, as recorded by Daryl Hall & John Oates on a Christmas CD they released in 2006. The following clip, uploaded by ArchSupporter, comes from the web series, Live From Daryl's House. I can picture church choirs choosing this version pretty easily......

Countdown to Christmas: Everlast (2011)

2011-12-23T09:17:00.000-05:00

Everlast is a hardcover graphic novel, set in a pre-apocalyptic future, and written by actor Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) in his comics debut. For all the press that has accompanied other Hollywood personalities, most notably actor-director Kevin Smith, when they've crossed over to comics, Murray has managed to fly under the radar. Maybe that's because Everlast isn't being published by either Marvel or DC. Instead, it's an independent release that landed in stores a week ago.

The title character, Derek Everlast, has been sent to retrieve a number of souls to protect them from the end times, but has his own issues to deal with at the same time. While I disagree with the use of coarse language in the dialogue, I realize that there is potential here for Murray to shop this around for a possible feature film. In that regard, Everlast would fall right into line with films such as "Priest", which came out earlier this year, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's "End of Days". Where I also find fault is the use of five different, distinct artists, including Trevor Hairsine and Daniel Zezelj, which denies the tome artistic continuity. It's partially painted, partially hand drawn, depending on the artist. From an artistic standpoint, the book does get better as the story goes along, especially in the scenes set in "Haven" (a representation of Heaven, naturally), which are beautifully painted. The story ends early, allowing for a second, shorter, prose tale by Murray to full the remaining pages.

I shan't be surprised at all if Murray is able to sell Everlast to a studio, say, for example, Dimension Films, and see it released within the next couple of years.

Ratiing: B--.

Weasel of the Week: James Dolan

2011-12-22T13:27:00.000-05:00

James Dolan, owner of Cablevision in New York City, is perhaps the most despised man in the 5 boroughs. For one thing, Dolan, who also owns Madison Square Garden and its two winter tenants, the New York Rangers & Knicks, along with the accompanying MSG cable network, just loves to play a dangerous game of chicken with cable operators & subscribers.

Between now and January 1, Time Warner Cable subscribers in all of New York will see ads, both on television and in print, from both sides of the latest dispute between Time Warner and Dolan, who is threatening to pull MSG & MSG-Plus (formerly Fox Sports Net-New York) if the cable operator doesn't agree to a 53% increase in carriage fees, which, naturally, would translate into higher bills for subscribers. Time Warner has already pulled another Dolan-owned channel, Fuse, a music channel, due to low ratings & interest, and claims that decision is unrelated to the dispute over MSG Networks.

Dolan, who moonlights as a garage rocker on selected weekends, doesn't care about the subscribers. He wants to soak the cable and/or satellite companies for as much as possible, but jacking up rates by more than 50% is just flat wrong. That smacks of corporate greed, and we, the consumers, get hosed. The clock is ticking. If Time Warner doesn't meet Dolan's demands come January 1, the MSG channels are gone. To take it a step further, down the line, AMC (American Movie Classics), could be next to go simply because---wait for it---it, too, is owned by Dolan. There has to be a compromise somewhere. Dolan is trying to recoup losses from the NBA lockout, which saw a Knicks pre-season game, scheduled for the Times Union Center, cancelled back in October. He's going about it the wrong way, and there's no other recourse on Christmas week than to give him a 2nd set of weasel ears. This jabroni makes the Grinch look like a saint!

Countdown to Christmas: The Hanukkah Song (1996)

2011-12-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

While he was a regular on Remote Control, Adam Sandler would return at the end of an episode with a bass guitar to sit in with the show's musical director/keyboard player, Steve Treccase. Who'd ever think that a decade later, he'd create an enduring holiday novelty classic?

Well, he did, in 1996, when he first unleashed "The Hanukkah Song", released on the CD, "What the Hell Happened to Me?". The tune's been updated a couple of times since, but Liveperformance uploaded a concert performance of the original version to YouTube.

Countdown to Christmas: Santa & The Three Bears (1970)

2011-12-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

Animator Tony Benedict, a veteran of Hanna-Barbera and other studios, tried his hand at creating his own animated feature in 1970 with Santa & The Three Bears. On the surface, it looks like a H-B project, but it isn't. Originally created to include a half-hour's worth of live-action footage, Santa was re-edited down to a 45 minute featurette, enabling it to be fitted into a 1 hour program window on television.

The only notable names in the cast are Hal Smith (Davey & Goliath, ex-The Andy Griffith Show) as Santa & the park ranger, and Jean VanderPyl (The Flintstones) as the mother bear. Otherwise, the cast consists of relative unknowns who've hardly been heard from since. LPTheatre uploaded Santa & The Three Bears, in its 45 minute form, to YouTube:

I think this may have given impetus to H-B to let Yogi Bear experience Christmas himself a few years later.

Rating: B-.

Videos From The High School Years: Tusk (1980)

2011-12-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

I originally had posted the original video for Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" earlier this year, but in revisiting the archives a little while ago, I discovered that said video is no longer available, so that entire post was taken down.

However, I now can bring it back, albeit in another form. MyVHSArchives uploaded this item, taken from an episode of Solid Gold in which the USC Marching Band, which appeared on the studio track, turns up in the studio to perform while the video itself is mixed in. Enjoy.

Countdown to Christmas: The Town Santa Forgot (1993)

2011-12-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

I honestly didn't discover this until it aired on Cartoon Network a few years ago, but one of Hanna-Barbera's last network Christmas specials was The Town Santa Forgot, which premiered in 1993.

Dick Van Dyke (Diagnosis Murder) narrates the tale of a spoiled little boy named Jeremy Creek, who's simply not happy unless he's got everything on his list, which is considerable. What he doesn't know is that there's a small town that shares his name, and that's where the plot thickens. Lesti3 uploaded part 1.....

The story has a happy ending on the order of Dickens' A Christmas Carol in that Jeremy discovers not only the namesake town, but the spirit of the season. Oh, and there's the ironic twist in regards to the grandfatherly figure (Van Dyke) spinning the yarn to two youngsters.

Rating: B.

Countdown to Christmas: What do you think Santa does for a living during the "off-season"? (2011)

2011-12-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

Chevrolet came up with a clever ad campaign for the Christmas shopping season, positing Santa as a salesman named----wait for it----Nick (as in, St. Nicholas). Three spots have aired so far, and this one, uploaded by the RundeAutoGroup, is a longer version than we've seen on TV:

A tale of two games, and the ignorance of hometown press

2011-12-19T00:11:00.000-05:00

The high school basketball season is less than a month old, and one of the early surprises in Section 2 in my home district happens to be my alma mater, Troy High. However, you wouldn't really know that if you read the hometown paper.

Entering the weekend, Troy was 3-0, and was on the road to play crosstown rival Catholic Central. Once upon a time, these two schools were not only among the elite in their league, but bitter rivals. The rivalry is still there, but it isn't what it used to be. Catholic Central brought back a name from the glory days of the past, Chuck Mack, as their new head coach, and Friday's game had a storyline that sold itself, assuming the rivalry remained intense, on the order of, say for example, Yankees-Red Sox in baseball, or Texas-Oklahoma in college football. Mack's first major test was against an in-city rival, and he failed, as Troy demolished Catholic Central by a whopping 62 points.

All that got the next day was a small, two paragraph mention, with the box score on the next page.

But what was really galling was a game that should also have been a marquee matchup, but not a word was written about it in Saturday's edition. Less than 24 hours after the blowout of Catholic Central, Troy was on the road again, traveling all the way to Queens to play one of the elite teams in the entire state, perennial New York City power Christ the King. Troy's season-opening 4 game win streak was snapped at the hands of the Royals, 58-56, a nail-biting thriller to be sure, and the article in Sunday's edition dwarfed the account of the Troy-Catholic Central game, but there was no box score to be had.

The story, again, sold itself. Troy, under first-year coach Rich Hurley, the former head man at Bishop Maginn, was getting its first test against a school outside their region, and they took the Royals to the limit. No reporter was credited for filing the account of the Troy-CTK game, but this was an occasion, as was the case the night before, that required, nay, demanded, fuller press coverage than it got. Did the other local papers cover it? I cannot say for sure, but I have to imagine the answer to that would be yes.

The problem with the Record is its lack of financial resources. Unlike its local rivals, such as the Albany Times-Union, it doesn't have the manpower to send someone on the road with all of the sports teams in the area. Granted, the T-U doesn't always have a beat reporter on the road, either, but that lack of finances also disables the journalistic instincts of its sportswriters. 20 years ago, a game between Troy & Christ the King, were Troy among the area's basketball elite, would've gotten major play from all of the area's papers. Today, it isn't considered newsworthy enough for the Record to promote it pre-game. That's a shame. What if Christ the King returns the favor and comes to Troy next year? Then what? We'll have to wait & see, but a lesson should already have been learned.

There's an old cliche that says you don't let facts get in the way of a good story. In truth, you can't let a story go by that needs to be told, no matter what, and this weekend, two of them were ignored for all the wrong reasons.

Countdown to Christmas: Zat You, Santa Claus? (1987)

2011-12-18T22:40:00.000-05:00

Lounge lizard Buster Poindexter, the alter-ego of actor-singer David Johansen (New York Dolls), was a hot ticket in 1987. Literally. "Hot Hot Hot", though, was the peak of Buster's run, which capped a couple of years later with a cover of Ray Charles' "Hit the Road, Jack" for the movie, "The Dream Team".

In December of '87, Poindexter was chosen to record MTV's annual Christmas single. "Zat You Santa Claus" features the obligatory cameo by MTV personnel of the period, but it also represented the beginning of the end of that annual tradition.

Countdown to Christmas: All I Want For Christmas is You (1994)

2011-12-17T23:20:00.000-05:00

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" gained a ton of heavy airplay on MTV beginning with its initial release in 1994. The reasons are, I think, rather obvious. Uploaded by the artist's VEVO channel.

Enough said.

Weasel of the Week: David Stern

2011-12-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

The NBA Commissioner certainly deserves weasel ears, and maybe a tail, too, for manipulating the course of events that sent All-Star Chris Paul from New Orleans to the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this week.

The pundits will tell you that Stern was afraid that the Clippers' co-tenants at the Staples Center, the almighty Lakers, would become the West Coast answer to the Miami Heat by stockpiling superstar players. Apparently, Stern wasn't paying attention in June when the Heat choked away a 2-0 lead in games to Dallas, as the Mavericks collected a receipt on Miami for a similar result going the other way 5 years earlier. He hasn't paid attention to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, whose title aspirations are on life support after free agent pickup Vince Young declared them to be a "dream team". In essence, the Eagles and baseball's Phillies were trying to copy the Heat's formula. All have failed when it has really mattered up to this point.

Where Stern has gone wrong is having the league as a de facto owner for the Hornets, while taking forever and a week to find new ownership. Hey, it could be worse. Stern could always contact his baseball counterpart, used car salesman Allan "Bud" Selig for advice. Lord only knows if he actually did, considering Selig hasn't exactly been the smartest of executives since he took office.

As long as the Hornets remain under league stewardship, shall we say, they're going to repeatedly get screwed over until Stern finds someone to buy the team. If you think the NBA has a black eye now, just wait. They may be facing the equivalent of a standing 8 count in boxing before this is over, and they only have themselves to blame.

Countdown to Christmas: Delivering Christmas (2009)

2011-12-15T16:30:00.001-05:00

Anotherday69 uploaded this gem, which aired on a Christmas special starring the Muppets, and was included on a compilation CD released by the US Postal Service in 2009. "Delivering Christmas" also features actor Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order) as a singing mailman.

All Ms. Piggy should want for Christmas is a little more patience and tolerance.....

The Dunce Cap Award: David Caton

2011-12-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

I have not seen the TLC reality series, All American Muslim, but the negative press it has gotten from conservative Christian media outlets bothers me. I happen to be a Christian myself, but not of the conservative stripe that mixes jingoism with paranoia about the Muslim faith, and thus fosters an atmosphere of haterizing toward the Muslims, just as the radical sector of the Muslims have that same atmosphere developed against the US and its allies. As the old saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right.

All American Muslim, according to articles reprinted on the website of the conservative Florida Family Association, presents the image of Muslim-Americans as average folks, and not the subversive, anti-American haterizers the conservatives despise. Well, guess what? There's not a hidden agenda to be found!

David Caton, Executive Director of the FFA, is another one of these conservative paranoids who have bought into the misplaced rhetoric that the Muslim Quran, their bible, preaches violence. That's not entirely true. The Quran is meant to preach peace, just like the Christian Bible, but its scriptures have been misinterpreted by anti-American types like the late Osama bin Laden, who felt wronged by this country and launched a campaign of hatred against the US.

Somehow, Caton and his followers have convinced several advertisers to boycott All American Muslim, but it's a case of the blind leading the blind. Meaning, Caton is ignoring the rational, real reason for the program, preferring instead to continue to perpetuate the misperception about the faith. What if the producers were able to interview someone like, say, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, easily one of the most famous Muslim-American athletes of our time? That would add credibility to the program, wouldn't it?

The Constitution allows us the freedoms of expression, speech, and religion. By perpetrating a campaign of hate against the Muslim faith when a television program is attempting to portray average Muslim-American citizens in a positive light, David Caton and the FFA are suppressing the latter. They're the ones with an agenda, not the producers of All American Muslim. For pulling the wool over so many eyes with his paranoid whining and raving, David Caton earns himself a Dunce Cap. To give him a set of weasel ears would be an insult. To weasels.

Musical Interlude: When We Stand Together (2011)

2011-12-14T09:02:00.000-05:00

If you can't get the beat out of your head from Nickelback's latest, "When We Stand Together", from their new CD, "Here & Now", I can't say I'd blame you. The Canadian rockers performed this song live at the Grey Cup last month, and, just a few days later, on national television at halftime of the Lions-Packers game, which brought much consternation to certain of the populace in Detroit, as we've previously documented.

Last night, Nickleback appeared on WWE Tribute to the Troops to perform "Stand', along with "Burn it to the Ground", the current theme to Monday Night Raw. "Stand" also played over the loudspeakers when the troupe came out at the end of the show to do a meet & greet with the ringsiders.

Here's the official music video for "When We Stand Together". Uploaded by----wait for it----NickelbackTV:

Weasel of the Week: Scott Bennett

2011-12-12T10:23:00.001-05:00

This is actually for the week ending yesterday, but I couldn't pass this up nonetheless.

Scott Bennett was afraid of losing his job for taking time off, presumably on an unpaid leave without official authorization. Must've used up all of his allotted vacation time for the year, I have to guess. Fearing for job security, though, doesn't give Bennett the right to pretend that his mother passed away in order to go on bereavement leave. But, that's exactly the scam he ran, and nearly got away with it.

I first read of this in Sunday's New York Daily News, and while I found this deserving to be filed in Chuck Shepherd's syndicated News of the Weird column, as I read further, I felt more disgusted with this idiot's tactics. He's not deserving of a Dunce Cap, mind you, just a set of weasel ears. The wire service account says his mom was understanding. Of what? Being told your son's pretending you died so he can get some extra money? No self-respecting working man would disrespect his mother like that.

We will give a dunce cap, however, to Randy Bartley, editor of the Jeffersonian Democrat, who accepted the fake obituary notice in good faith. Granted, he couldn't get any official confirmation, but where were his journalistic instincts? Sometimes, if it walks like a duck, that doesn't mean that it is a duck!

The Associated Press, which filed the story for national distribution, has been unable to locate Bennett. Gee, what a shock. Maybe, just maybe, the guy's got a guilty conscience after all. Enjoy the weasel ears, pal.

Countdown to Christmas: White Christmas (1950's)

2011-12-11T20:01:00.000-05:00

The Irving Berlin-penned "White Christmas" is most associated with, of course, Bing Crosby. However, it has been covered by a number of artists of diverse talents as well. This clip presents a most unlikely candidate. One Lou Costello. As in, Abbott & Costello.

13jalopy uploaded this clip from The Colgate Comedy Hour to YouTube. Whodathunk?

On DVD: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

2011-12-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

"Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" is the 2nd direct-to-video movie showcasing the Emerald Gladiator, and preceded the live-action "Green Lantern" by just a few weeks.

"Emerald Knights" is, at its core, an anthology, collecting short stories from the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps backup feature in Green Lantern back in the early-to-mid-80's, and adapting the original scripts by the likes of Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill, and others into this full-length feature. Hal Jordan (Nathan Filion, Castle) relates most of the stories to one of the newest Lanterns, Arisia, who was, in fact, introduced to comics fans in a miniseries some 30 years ago. The following sample shows Hal side-by-side with Sinestro, as was the case at the end of the live-action movie.....

The film's cast also includes singer-actor Henry Rollins (as Kilowog), wrestling icon Roddy Piper, and Kelly Hu ("The Scorpion King"). The film does those short stories justice, and is, to be truthful, a better effort than the live-action movie. Nathan Filion is a lot more convincing as Hal Jordan than Ryan Reynolds was. Then again, that seems to be pretty easy to do.

Rating: A.

Musical Interlude: Feliz Navidad (1968)

2011-12-08T12:47:00.001-05:00

Most fans know Jose Feliciano for composing and performing the theme to the 70's sitcom, Chico & The Man, but he was a well-respected recording artist long before then. In 1968, Feliciano recorded "Feliz Navidad", which, of course, is Spanish for "Merry Christmas". The bi-lingual carol has been a staple of the season ever since, and with good reason.

The flip side of the "Feliz" single was Feliciano's take on "The Little Drummer Boy", and that may be up soon if I can find it. Ognet uploaded this more recent vintage performance of "Feliz".

Countdown to Christmas: The Jetsons' Christmas Carol (1985)

2011-12-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

The following also appears on my other blog, Saturday Morning Archives.
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The Jetsons was one of two Hanna-Barbera series that was revived in 1985 (Jonny Quest was the other) in syndication. This time, though, the studio opted to run the series in a weekday format that allowed for the original 1962 series to be mixed in, complete with episode title cards that the original didn't have.

One of the highlight of the 1985 run was a futuristic take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which case the Scrooge of the story is one Cosmo Spacely (Mel Blanc), George's boss. Otherwise, this is just predictable fluff.

Scoobydoodudee, from Ireland, uploaded the episode, "A Jetson Christmas Carol", but left out the program open.

Rating: B-.

Dobie Gray (1940-2011)

2011-12-07T14:31:00.000-05:00

In many respects, Dobie Gray is considered a one hit wonder for his 1973 hit, "Drift Away", but that status is reserved for the Top 40 pop charts. Gray had some success on the other charts with other hits, including a cover of "The In Crowd". Gray passed away on Monday at 71 (some accounts have him at 69).

"Drift" re-entered the public consciousness in 2003, thanks to Uncle Kracker, who not only covered it, but invited Gray to sit in with him, reintroducing Gray to a new generation of listeners. JeffreychristisAlive uploaded the original 1973 version:

Rest in peace, Dobie.

Harry Morgan (1915-2011)

2011-12-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

It has just come across the wires of the passing of character actor and television icon Harry Morgan at 96.

Morgan's television career extends all the way back to the medium's early years, and the sitcoms Pete & Gladys & December Bride, but he achieved iconic status as Officer Bill Gannon on Dragnet during the series' 2nd run on NBC (1967-70). Before reprising the role in the 1987 feature film comedy version with Dan Aykroyd & Tom Hanks, Morgan reunited with Jack Webb for a skit on one of Jack Benny's NBC specials in 1974. Uploaded by Television Archives:

Shortly after that, Morgan landed another iconic series gig, cast as Colonel Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H after McLean Stevenson left the series. For Morgan, it was a return to his earlier years as a sitcom actor, although there were some lighter moments on Dragnet during his run there, too. Morgan's film credits included "The Ox-Bow Incident" and James Garner's "Support Your Local Gunfighter" & "Support Your Local Sheriff", in addition to two Dragnet features, one with Webb and the aforementioned satire.

Bank on this. There will be tribute marathons of either M*A*S*H or Dragnet, depending on the channel in your market, in honor of Morgan, probably no sooner than this weekend. I'd say check your local listings, but in these kind of cases, the cablers will clear their schedules on short notice.

Rest in peace, Harry.

The Dunce Cap Award: Alec Baldwin

2011-12-07T08:24:00.001-05:00

The New York tabloids are having a field day this morning with the report that actor Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) got himself removed from an American Airlines flight bound for New York from Los Angeles. His crime? He was too involved in a word game on his iPad to follow instructions, and when confronted about it, raised a stink.

American's slogan used to be, "Something special in the air", back in the day. Today, the airline is in the midst of a bankruptcy filing, and the last thing they needed was someone like Baldwin, who has a reputation for putting his foot in his mouth, given his history of hostile, off-screen behavior, putting them on the front page.

Until this story broke online last night, I'd never heard of the game, "Words With Friends", or its maker, Zynga, which has to be happy for the free publicity, to be sure. With 2 1/2 weeks to go before Christmas, the most positive thing that Baldwin has done is put "Words With Friends" out there so that average folks can put it on their computers or iPads or iPhones. Just as long as they don't repeat his mistake and ignore airline rules about shutting down electronic devices whilst the plane is parked. That ignorance gets Baldwin, who is also one of three celebrity endorsers for Capital One Bank (along with Jimmy Fallon & Jerry Stiller), a Dunce Cap, because he shouldn't also have tried to use his star status to try to avoid disciplinary action.