- Maybe you forgot, because I nearly did……..The O.C. returns tomorrow night, sliding right into its 9 p.m. time slot, which conveniently fits between my viewing musts, Smallville and Six Degrees. Pretty much every other show on every other network is either a half dozen or more episodes into the new season or, in the case of awful, unwatchable excuses for a show like, oh, say Runaway on the CW network, have already been cancelled. I nearly forgot that O.C. was back, and I say that not as a sleight against the show, which I love, but against Fox, which premiered some shows (Prison Break among them) before the baseball playoffs interrupted and are holding some back til after baseball, or in the case of 24, until January. The funny thing with The O.C. is that in seasons 1 and 3, the shows aired before the baseball playoffs, took a break and came back after the World Series. In seasons 2 and 4, the show hasn’t started up until after the Series. I advocate before, because otherwise you give fans too many chances to get interested in all of the other shows on during the early fall and to forget about your own great show. Either way, glad to see it back, it will be interesting to see all of the changes sure to take place this season.
- Two notable steroids suspensions in pro sports highlight the continuing struggle between druggers and those trying to crack down on them, as well as a paradox of sorts inherent in sports at all levels, especially professional. Shawne Merriman, star NFL linebacker, and Guillermo Mota, quality MLB relief pitcher, both got popped by their respective leagues for using the ‘roids, Merriman for 4 games, one-fourth of the NFL season, Mota for 50 games, just under one-third of the MLB season. The paradox comes in the fact that these athletes are so ultra competitive and looking for any edge to get ahead, yet the things that give them the most pronounced edge are banned, harmful to their bodies and the current biggest villain in athletics. Guys continue getting busted for using them, yet guys keep using them, trying to find new drugs to stay one step ahead of those doing the testing. And it will continue to be this way for a long, long time, until all sports adopt a one-strike and you’re out policy, with lifetime bans for positive tests. As any sports fan knows, such a universal death penalty ban is all be certain to never exist.
- The “Dumbass of the Week” Award in pro sports goes to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Bart Scott, who basically admitted he was out on the field looking to hurt Saints running back Reggie Bush after a perceived cheap shot from Bush earlier in a game between the Ravens and Saints. Scott blabbered on about putting some “hot sauce” on his hits of Bush, specifically in the area of Bush’s ankles, then backpedaled and tried to deny it all the next day. Bart, I’m gonna pass along a piece of advice that will serve you well not only in football, but also in life in general. If you purposefully hurt someone or attempt to, or do anything that in any way breaks rules, laws, etc., don’t go around bragging about it, specifically to the media. That’s a sure-fire way to get in trouble, whereas if you keep your mouth shut, your chances for staying out of trouble are infinitely better.
- What an absolute joke TRL has become. I’m not even gonna go old school and talk about how it’s not what it used to be, it’ll never be as good as the old days, blah, blah, blah. Basically all the show is now is a revolving door audition for the veejays, who aspire to acting careers and other pursuits of fame, as well as a vehicle for actors and artists to promote their new movies, shows and albums. The actual videos are an afterthought, to the point that some get glossed over in two seconds or less on a TV monitor in the background as the veejay transitions into the next interview with a celeb promoting their new movie. In between, everyone heads over to the window overlooking Times Square for some window love from those on the street below. Anyone that actually wants to see videos is a lot better off tuning into IMF, the International Music feed, which is a great station, or even MTV2.
- Anyone notice how quickly any talk of the World Series has disappeared since the Series ended on Friday night? Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just amusing how one of sports’ grandest events is something, at least this time around, that people so quickly (want to) forget. Actually, it’s a good thing, and maybe next year we’ll get a good Series that we will want to remember.
- In a good advertisement for knowing what you’re signing up for, Alec Baldwin has asked to be removed as narrator in a documentary about the life and political career of The Governator, Ah-nold Schwarzennager, after finding that the filmmakers inserted footage from Nazi rallies into the film. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure Arnold wasn’t at those rallies and never met Hitler, so I am imagining it’s quite a stretch to include the footage and defend the decision. Still, Baldwin, who is a vocal critic of The Governator but believes he still deserves fair treatment, might have wanted to ask a few more questions before signing on for the project. You know, other than “Where do I sign to get crazy jack just to read a few pages of dialogue?” Because if you don’t ask questions, this is what you end up with, being associated with a project that tries to link California’s governor with the Nazis.
- This is a public service announcement for any and all dudes out there. If you are among those viewing Dancing with the Stars and are not doing so under compulsion from your wife, fiancé or girlfriend, then you need to stop watching right now and start taking some steps to reclaim what you can of your manhood. It’s defendable to watch if your significant other leans on you, says she watches football with you or goes somewhere she doesn’t want to go so you should watch this show in return. But if you watch of your own volition these D-list “stars” prancing around in lycra outfits with feathers and sequins (that could be wrong, I’m just guessing what these losers might wear) and doing the cha-cha while other losers pretend to be qualified judges for the contest, then you, my friend, are an even bigger loser than any of them. So stop watching, go out and buy tons of flannel shirts, an axe and some work boots, spray on some Old Spice, watch football, go out and chop down some trees and drink a few beers, followed by gratuitous belching and scratching, and then top it all off by getting into a bar fight. Then, and only then, might you regain a small portion of the manliness you have lost by watching DWTS.
- The NBA season tipped off last night, at my initial inclination was to pay little attention, as is my custom. I gave up caring about the Association about five years ago, after the last work stoppage, as well as the style of play that features one superstar dribbling around while four teammates stand and watch. Now, however, I’m rethinking my stance on the NBA thanks to one key piece of news: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, he of the questionable mental stability and burgeoning nuclear capability, is a huge NBA fan. Seriously. Dude has basketball courts at each of his multiple palaces in the country and reportedly watches pirated feeds of NBA games before bed each night. Moreover, he has every one of Michael Jordan’s games ever played on tape. So while his countrymen battle poverty and starvation, “Dear Leader” (his self-gloss, not mine), pops open a bag of Doritos and watches the Lakers and Mavericks on the big screen? Awesome. So in the interest of not pissing off a guy with is mentally imbalanced and possesses nuclear capabilities and to further my goal of not being annihilated by a nuke, I am now declaring myself a HUGE fan of the NBA and I plan to watch it non-stop. In fact, I will do so with a life-sized portrait of “Dear Leader” hanging on the wall above my TV.
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