K-Rod to the Mets

Francisco Rodriguez is heading from LA to New York. The man who just set a record with 62 saves last season will try to fix the biggest Met problem: the bullpen. The Mets would have made the playoffs in front of the eventual World Series champs Phillies if not for their bullpen. K-Rod will translate into an extra 7-10 wins for the Mets in 2009. Along with K-Rod the Mets made a deal to get the Mariners' closer J.J. Putz. Putz will be a great set-up man for K-Rod. Look for the Mets to win the NL East in 2009 and maybe represent the NL in the World Series. 

Final Practical

For my final practical I decided to talk about something that I absolutely hate: The BCS. The BCS is unfair to all the teams with one loss or not in one of the big conferences. I talked about how Oklahoma and Florida are in the BCS national championship, but a possible seven other teams deserves a shot: Texas, Alabama, USC, Utah, Texas Tech, Penn State, and Boise State. I used a variety of angles and different shots to make contrast in the video. I wanted a goofy type of look to my video, so I provided a bunch of pretty crappy pictures of the schools and slapped them on top of my ugly face. The BCS is something I could talk about all day, but simply would only make me angry. 

The Day the Earth Stood Still

I went to 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' last night and still don't know what to think. An alien life form comes to Earth through a giant sphere. Keanu Reeves is the alien and his acting is just awful. I think I could have done his job. He honestly has no personality or anything in the movie. Jennifer Connelly plays an astro-biologist who befriends the alien, trying to figure out why he is there and what's going to happen. The movie plays out with Keanu seeing that the humans are a viable race and doesn't deserve to be eliminated. Basically, a swarm of bugs is the ingredient that will wipe out Earth. The movie concludes with Keanu stopping the swarm and going back into the giant sphere. This movie is one of those movies where you have a bunch of questions, but they never get answered. This movie was not good.

C.C. to the Yankees

C.C. Sabathia, once the pitcher of the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers signed with the Yankees on Thursday for reportedly a 6-year deal worth over $160 million. Holy crap! Not bad for someone who works May-September, and once out of every five days. Sabathia is good, but I don't think he's worth the richest pitching contract in MLB history. He's going to help the Yankees a lot; the Yankees needed pitching desperately. Sabathia will now be the #1 for the Yanks followed by Wang and Chamberlain. This is a viable one, two, three, but they may need at least one more good pitcher to compete with the Rays and Red Sox. My prediction: Sabathia in '09; 14-8, 3.39 ERA, 187 K, 58 BB. Yankees miss the playoffs. 

Final Video (Hotdog Champ)

Stephen Brua, Brett Kasten, and I filmed our final project in the light of Stephen's 2009 Nathan's Hotdog Eating Championship. We used humorous B-roll of Stephen and I hurriedly chowing down dogs. Stephen and Brett did a nice job of capturing the interview process on "ESPN 8, THE OCHO". We took what was similar to the Sportscenter backdrop and used it for THE OCHO's set. Our commercial was Brett Kasten at his finest. Kasten wanted to get the word out on safe sex, he promoted it with the likes of Durex and Johnsonville Brats. This was a fun video to film and make and I hope you enjoy. 

Matt Cassell's father dies

New England Patriots' quartback Matt Cassell is going through something that almost all sons and daughters eventually go through, the loss of a parent. Cassell's father died, and Matt has joined his family in California for the funeral. This is where the true colors of professional athletes shine through. It's good to see Cassell is forgetting about football for the week, and helping his family through this tragic time. Coach Bill Bellichick went through the same event during the season in 2005. He said that football shouldn't even be in the head of Cassell right now, and that's a mature thing to say from a football coach. I remember Brett Favre having a spectacular showing on Monday Night Football after his dad died earlier in the week. I'm hoping Cassell will be able to help the Patriots on Sunday, but I'm hoping even more that the Cassell family gets through this tragedy.

Tribute To Jimmy V

It's Jimmy V week, and that means donations to cancer research, but more importantly a tribute to a man who changed the way many think about life. Jimmy Valvano will be remembered as the winning coach for the North Carolina State Wolfpack against the favored Houston team. He will be remembered for running around the court after the game looking for someone to hug. He will be remembered for his speech at the ESPY's. And as we remember Jimmy V this week, we must remember the words he said, "Don't give up, don't ever give up."

BCS puts Florida and Oklahoma in title game

Now we all saw this coming... That is Florida beating Alabama and Oklahoma cruising past Missouri in their respective conference title games. So Florida jumped past Texas to reach the title game. It was expected, but is it fair. No way. We have Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, USC, Texas Tech, and Penn State all with one loss. Don't forget about Utah and Boise State being undefeated! If my math is right, that would mean 9 teams have zero or one loss. Wouldn't that produced a great playoff? 9 teams deserving of a chance! Penn State and Boise State would have a play-in game to play Oklahoma. Florida vs. Texas Tech. Texas vs. Utah. Alabama vs. USC. Wow, what a weekend of football that would be. Give the kids a chance to play for a title. It's getting ridiculous that most schools can't lose a game if they want a chance at the title. And even if you do win all your games you still don't a chance in the cases of Utah and Boise State. I'm sick of the BCS, and frankly sick of college football because of it. 

The Dark Knight Comes Out On DVD

The Dark Knight comes out on DVD at midnight. While, I won't be one to go get it, I was a huge fan of the movie. Heath Ledger did an outstanding job as 'The Joker' and deserves an Oscar for his role. The Dark Knight was more than a box office hit, it's now #2 in gross revenue in cinema history behind Titantic. I hope the Batman saga ends with this movie, as it won't get much better than this. Batman Begins was also outstanding and Christian Bale, although not the best Batman, got to play Batman in the two best movies.

Vikings squeak by winless Lions

As I woke up today soon after noon by a text message from a friend, I turned it to FOX to watch my beloved Minnesota Vikings take on the crappy Detroit Lions. When I got to the television screen, the Lions had a 6-0 lead. The Vikings came back to lead at halftime, but by a slim margin. Gus Frerotte got hurt just before halftime, and my thoughts were if Tavaris Jackson had to win the game for the Vikings, the Vikings simply wouldn't win. Jackson played one of the best games of his young career, completing 80% of his passes and not turning the ball over. The Vikings scored a late touchdown to take the 20-16 lead and that was the final. The Vikings improved to 8-5 and have a one-game lead on the Chicago Bears. The Vikings play the Cardinals next week. Atlanta and the Giants are the remaining two home games for the Vikes after a trip to Arizona. 

The Punisher

I went to the movie "The Punisher" last night, which received 1/2 a star from critics. Well the critics were about right showing their disappointment in the movie. The story is pretty simple. Frank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher was a simple family man in the army when one day at a family picnic, his family gets murdered by mob members. From that day he brings it on himself to take down every mob member in the city. The movie shows the quest to kill Billy Roussitini and his mob. They battle back and forth and of course the Punisher ends up killing everyone. The movie had a good story, but was just underdeveloped. The shooting scenes were pretty cool, but the killing was so fake, and I usually can't tell real blood from fake blood; I could see the difference in this movie. This movie is quite brutal in a couple different definitions. The movie itself was brutal and the killings were brutal. 

Wal-Mart employee dies on Black Friday

A worker died after being trampled by unruly bargain shoppers early Friday morning. Three other people were injured as well. Police said that the shoppers physically broke down the doors and the man basically got ran over by the crowd. Authorities said the man was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead one hour later. The cause of death is unknown. This is just crazy. Where are we in terms of humanity that such a thing could happen. Things like this makes me hate people. It's harsh, but true. A 34-year-old man is now dead because he was doing his job. I don't know if he was married or had kids, but I can't imagine the heartache his family must feel. Hopefully this will open up people's eyes, but at the same time nothing like this should happen to let people know the consequences of unruly behavior.

Road teams dominate week 13 in the NFL

Going into the Sunday night football game between the home team (Minnesota Vikings) and the road team (Chicago Bears), 10 out of 11 road teams won. The lone exception was Tampa Bay who topped the Saints at home. This is an incredible statistic to me. It's extremely hard to win in the NFL, yet alone on the road. On Thanksgiving the home team won 2 out of the 3 games, with the defeated Detroit Lions being the only team to lose at home. 

BCS favors Oklahoma

So, the BCS came out today with Oklahoma ahead of Texas. The computers were the ultimate factor. In one poll Oklahoma was favored, and the other had Texas favored. The computers however had Oklahoma #1 and Texas #2. So, now Texas can complain and Oklahoma cheer. Oklahoma will beat Missouri without much of a problem in my opinion. This will send them to the national championship. They will play the winner of the SEC Championship with Florida and Alabama. I got Florida winning that game. This means Florida vs. Oklahoma for the championship. It's just great that computers decide the fate of teams. Something has to change!

BCS has work to do

So, the Big 12 South Champion has yet to be determined after all the games have been played. It's up to the voters and computers. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech are all hoping to make the championship game against Missouri. Well Texas Tech has absolutely no shot because the voters see them as the 7th best team in the nation. They will be eliminated because of this. Oklahoma was voted 2nd in the human polls last week and third in the computers. Texas was voted 3rd in the 4th in the human polls and 2nd in the computers. Some say with the win against Oklahoma State, Oklahoma will pass Texas and make the Big 12 championship game. I disagree. I think the human voters will look at the Texas win over Oklahoma and this will make enough a difference to keep Texas ahead of Oklahoma in the polls. I like Texas making the Big 12 and the national championship game. 

A look back at the weekend that was

The biggest game of the weekend was undoubtedly Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech. What I thought would be a fairly good game, (I didn't think it was going to be great or close), turned into a butt-whooping. This win for Oklahoma now just makes the BCS into an even bigger mess. The winner of the Florida/Alabama game will play Texas in the national championship in my opinion. Will that happen? Probably not. In the NFL, the biggest story had to the benching of Donovan McNabb. Trailing 7-10 at halftime against the Ravens, head coach Andy Reid decided to pull McNabb and replace him with Kevin Kolb. I understand that Reid was trying to make a point to his team, but this wasn't the right time. You're only down three on the road, and you need this win. Kolb is not going to give you a better chance to win than McNabb. Anyone knows that. It was a dumb move, and one that may come to the firing at the end of the season for Reid. The undefeated Titans finally fell on Sunday to the Jets. Honestly, this was good for Titans to lose and get that monkey off their back. It was probably not good to lose to the Jets who are chasing them for home field advantage, but they got the Lions on Thanksgiving and they will be 11-1 come Thursday. There is a big game in the NFC tonight with the Packers playing the Saints. The Packers need the win to stay tied for the division lead, while the Saints need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. I like the Saints at home by 5.

Cribs

Stephen Brua did our "Cribs" video at my apartment. We showed the whole apartment complex to start out the video with a few stats. We tried to show the apartment as detailed as possible; we looked at the living area, both bedrooms, bathroom, closet (guest bedroom) and kitchen. In each room, we tried to provide different music to depict the room. Overall, I thought the video was shot well and was entertaining considering the lack of "crib" it really is. 

Great Display of Sportsmanship

Stories like this one I heard today make me feel good about sports can do for people. Every day I hear about suspensions of NFL players for violating the league's substance abuse policy. It's not every day that you here uplifting positive stories of professional athletes. Well, today I did and it comes from the golfing world. J.P. Hayes, not a well-known golfer, for I've never heard of him before basically disqualified himself from a qualifying tournament. Hayes realized that he played with a non-sanctioned ball a day after he completed his round. He then called the tournament director who disqualified him and now will have to miss out on some of the 2009 season. Hayes did the right thing, even though he could have gotten away with it. We all have been through some similar situation before. Hayes is a great role-model for young golfers and athletes all-around alike. Doing the right thing is more important than winning in my opinion. It's especially difficult to be such a truthful and good sport when you play a individual sport. I salute Hayes and hope he becomes the next Tiger. 

Pedroia Wins AL MVP

All 5 feet 9 inches of Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP in his second major league season. The Boston Red Sox second baseman took home the crown after winning the AL Rookie of the Year the previous season. Pedroia beat out Twins 1st baseman Justin Morneau and teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia collected 16 1st place votes, while Morneau had 7, and Youkilis 2. Now the part that makes this quite amazing is the team that Pedroia plays for: the Boston Red Sox. If you would have asked me my top three MVP's for the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of the season, Pedroia wouldn't have been in there. He played alongside the likes of Manny Ramirez, David Oritz, Mike Lowell, and Kevin Youkilis. Well, Ramirez was traded, Ortiz struggled all year, and Lowell was hurt a lot of the season. Pedroia was the player for the Red Sox that lifted them to the AL wild card and put them into the postseason. He deserved the MVP and another player who should have got more votes was Carlos Quentin for the Chicago White Sox. He got hurt at the end of the season, and I believe if he didn't get hurt, Quentin would have received the award. Congrats to Pedroia, one of my favorite players. 

Albert Pujols wins NL MVP

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals took the 2008 NL MVP honors Monday in front of the likes of Ryan Howard and Ryan Braun. Pujols batted .357 with 37 homeruns and 116 rbi. Ryan Howard of the World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies finished second in voting, and the Brewers' Ryan Braun finished third. Manny Ramirez of the Dodgers finished fourth after some said he was indeed the MVP. Well if there was a MVP of the last two months, Ramirez would have won it unanimously. Ramirez like C.C. Sabathia couldn't have won the because they were traded to the national league during the season. Pujols was a solid choice for the honor, but Pujols himself declared indirectly that he didn't deserve the honor. Last year's MVP went to Ryan Howard of the Phillies. Well, Pujols complained that the MVP should go to a player on a playoff team. Howard and the Phillies missed the playoffs last year, while Pujols and the Cardinals did make the playoffs. Well the reverse happened in 2008. Pujols wins the MVP, while his team didn't make the playoffs. This creates the debate that a player must be on a playoff team to win the award. I personally disagree with that philosophy. I think the MVP should go to the player who is the most valuable to his team's success. If I had a vote for the NL MVP, I would have given my first place vote to Ryan Braun.

The 21 Effect

I recently watched the movie "21", which is a flick on counting cards playing blackjack. It's a great movie and I have the poster up on my wall. Well, anytime I watch a gambling movie, it gets me in the gambling mood. Friday night at work, I look at my buddy and tell him the idea of going to the casino later that night; he was all about it. I yell the idea to a couple other buddies and they raised their hands up in approval. The four of us were ready to roll. We planned on leaving at 11:15 that night. Before we all met at the movie theatre to go, I needed some cash. I went to the ATM, but I was blank on what my pin code was. It took me about 8 guesses to finally get it. That was comical. We ended up finally getting on I-29 at about 11:45. We got there at about 1:45 and started playing blackjack. I love the casino atmosphere no matter how I'm doing. I could never really get a winning streak going, even though I did get four blackjacks in about a 20 minute span. When my luck runs out is when the dealer is switched. We had a pretty cool guy dealing, but when he left, so did my money. Some lady came and gave me about 8 losing hands in a row. I couldn't come back from it. We got back after a solid night out at 6 am. Just a night out. 

T.O. Top 10

Terrell Owens was on David Letterman last night. He was the subject of the Top 10 list: Terrell Owens Advice for Kids

10. It's not whether you win or lose, it's how crazy smooth you look playing the game

9. Get into a line of work that involves cheerleaders

8. Look good

7. Smell good

6. Election Day is right around the corner. Make sure you get out and vote. 

5. On or off the field, play it safe: wear a cup

4. Don't hassle the hoff

3. Listen to me, don't cry during a press conference

2. There ain't a damn thing to do in Green Bay

1. Show up to practice every day, unless you're renegotiating

This was quite comical, especially #3. If you haven't seen that video, make sure you check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNO6O7cK1M

NL Cy Young Announced

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was named the NL Cy Young award winner on Tuesday. Frankly, I'm surprised he won the award. I probably would have picked him second if I had a vote. The other contenders were: Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies, Johan Santana of the New York Mets, and C.C. Sabathia of the Milwaukee Brewers. In my estimation, Brad Lidge should have won this award hands down. Lidge is a closer, and he didn't blow a save all year. His stats may have not been historic, but he did what he was payed to do every single time. Another reason I thought Lidge would have won it was because he played for a team that ended up winning the World Series. Lincecum was a poor Giants team. Sabathia had an outstanding stint with the Brewers, but he wasn't there the first half of the season. Santana had a strong end to the year, but wasn't consistent throughout the year. I have no problem with Lincecum winning it, but I thought Lidge was more deserving. 

Vikings outlast Packers

The tightest game of the week might have also been the ugliest. There were so many penalties, my brother and I wanted to stop watching. Frerotte, the Vikings quarterback threw three interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. Adrian Peterson saved the day for the Vikings as the last drive of the fourth quarter he was absolute beast. He concluded the drive with a 20+ yard touchdown run. The Packers had only one offensive touchdown. The other touchdown was a punt return to give them a 24-21 lead. The Packers had a chance to win with 25 seconds, but kicker Mason Crosby pushed the 52 yard-field goal attempt wide right. Ugly game, but yet entertaining. 

Gangster Movie, better than "The Godfather"

Stephen, Travis, and I made a short film entitled "The Hit". We took a rather simple idea of a gangster style and ran with it. The beginning of the film we shot in a room upstairs of the union with Ariel as the boss. The next sequence was shot at Cottonwood Coffee downtown. We were able to use their whole space, including the back room to enter the alleyway. The last scene ends with Ariel again going to open the envelope. We used a lot of different tactics to get the feel of the movie we wanted. We wanted an old-school type of feel, so we decided to make it black and white. The audio we used was quite useful creating the panic kind of feeling for Travis. We didn't want any audio from dialogue to make this more dramatic. We used another type of audio to make the point of the old-school style. Softly under the sounds of the song, we have a sound that appears to be the sound of film rolling. We thought this would add to the quality of the theme. This was a very fun project to work on and we were very happy with how it ended up. Hope you enjoy. 

BCS MESS

Okay, college football is fun to watch. But the bowl games are ridiculous. No one cares about any of the bowls in the month of December. We have to wait for over a month for real meaningful bowl games. The BCS screws us all over. Honestly, we have no idea how good a team is going to be after a month break. It's like having a one game season in January. It's not fair to the teams or fans. The BCS needs to be abolished. A playoff must be instituted. Divison I-AA has a playoff and so does all other sports. Why doesn't the tops of college football not have one? It doesn't make sense. Well, for the universities it does I guess. They make a boatload of money. That's the only thing keeping college presidents shying away from a playoff. Hell, even president-elect Barack Obama wants a playoff. How awesome would it be to have the top six or eight teams playing for the national title. Having three or more games in a weekend that have title implications would be outstanding. The fans deserve it, the players deserve, hell everyone deserves it. Let's change. 

Gas Prices Are... Low?

I just wanted to say how astounded I was when I saw the Casey's General Store's sign saying that unleaded gas was $2.29 a gallon and super unleaded is $2.19. Wow. I can remember during the summer when I refused to drive, because the price of gas was $3.89. Down a $1.70 now I feel as if it's a bargain. My question is how long will this last? Will spring come and shoot it back to the $3.00 range? I have absolutely no idea, but I guess as drivers all we can do is enjoy the low price, I guess low for what we're used to, and roll with it. 

Game of the Year?

Texas vs. Texas Tech may have been the game of the year. I had to work Saturday night, but I got to see the last five minutes of the game. Well, it turned out that I got home just in time. Texas got the ball down by 6 with those 5 minutes left. Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy orchestrated a drive down the field that led to a touchdown with 1:26 left in the game. Now down one, it was Texas Tech's time to see if they could upset the #1 Texas Longhorns. Heisman hopeful Graham Harrell led his team down the field thinking field goal to win the game. At the Texas 3o, Harrell through a checkdown pass that slipped through the receiver's hands and glided in the air. A Texas defensive back was there for the interception, but let it slip through the wickets! It should have been game over. The next play, Harrell throws to the back shoulder of outstanding wideout Michael Crabtree and Crabtree broke a tackle at the three yard line and walks into the endzone with one second left. It was simply amazing. One of the best endings I've even seen. Might be the most memorable finish since the Boise State miracle a couple years ago. Wow, was it a good ending.

Phillies Win World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies get to be the team to finish the season happy. The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in game 5. The game was suspended on Monday due to rain, and the game tonight was the remainder of the game. Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins came up with a huge double to start the 6th for the Phillies and would later score in the inning to go up one. In the 7th Rocco Baldelli answered with a homerun to left to tie the game. The Phillies answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the 7th with Pat Burrell doubling and later scoring. Brad Lidge ended the game, yet again with a scoreless ninth inning. Lidge didn't blow a save all season, and he wasn't going to let the clincher in the World Series be his first. For the Phillies, this is their first championship since the 1980 season. Congrats to Charlie Manuel and his team. 

Game 5 stopped due to rain

Game 5 of the World Series is going to take three days to finish. Wow. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th inning, the umpires finally decided to stop the game, in which it was absolutely pouring. I can't blame what MLB decided to do. But it's totally not fair to the players and fans. It's going to be just plain weird for the players to start a game, that's actually quite far into the game. Who does the advantage go to? The Phillies easily. First they are up 3-1. Secondly, they are home during this. The Rays are hurting right now. The series might be over Wednesday night, if they actually get the game in then. I would really love to see the series go back to Tampa. It hasn't been too exciting of a series, but this could be the event that changes it. Who knows. 

week 8 in the NFL

Week 8 in the NFL saw a big win for the Cowboys, a home win in London for the Saints, and a big matchup with the Giants and Steelers. The Cowboys, now at 5-3 faced the Bucs, which seemed like a must win for coach Wade Phillips. With their next two games against division rivals New York and Washington, Dallas couldn't afford to drop to 4-4. Their defense stepped up huge giving up only three field goals. They will have to put more than 13 up on the board in order to beat the Giants next week. The Saints played the Chargers in London at Wembley Stadium. I absolutely hate this idea of playing games out of the country. It makes no sense to me. You end up taking a home game away from a team. So, no team in their right mind wants to play that game. San Diego had to travel halfway across the world to play this game. Just not fair. The big game of the week was the 5-1 Giants against the 5-1 Steelers. The Giants front four won the battle and resulted in the win. The Giant defense put pressure on Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all afternoon. The Giants offense was more consistent and outplayed the Steelers on the road. I believe the Giants are the best team in the NFC and maybe the best in the NFL. 

Top College Teams Stay Perfect

Texas, Alabama, and Penn State all stayed undefeated in their quest to capture a national championship. You have to think Penn State is the driver's seat right now. They don't play another ranked team the rest of the season. They got through their tough test in Ohio State last night 13-6. Texas still has to play Texas Tech, another undefeated team at their place, so that will be a key matchup. Alabama has to win out through the SEC, which is extremely hard to do. It's basically a fight to see who will play Penn State in the national championship. Even though I hate it, I wouldn't be surprised in USC is the team that ends up being there.

Curlin Ends Streak

I don't take much interest in horse racing ever, but Saturday evening I had a little bit of something on the line in Curlin. ESPN has a little competition that has sports fans predict games and situations and try to build a streak. If you correctly predict 25 games/situations in a row, you can win $1,000,000. Yeah, pretty awesome. Well, I started this competition last week and started out a nice 4-0. That was until Curlin screwed me over. A huge favorite in the Breeders Cup couldn't even beat two of the horses he needed to beat in order for me to win. So, even though I was only at four, I know am back to zero. Thanks Curlin. 

Rays Bounce Back with Game 2 Win

James "Big Game" Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays brought the series back to even Thursday night with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Rays used a couple of Phillie errors and fortunate calls in the game to accumulate the win. Tampa led the whole way with timely hitting and great defense. Philadelphia looked lost at the plate and continue to struggle to get hits with men in scoring position. Unless the Phillies' bats come to life, the Rays are going to continue to win these low-run games. Maybe it's just a credit to the Rays' pitchers. I don't know, I'm not facing them. You have to imagine the Phillies playing better at home, and the homefield advantage is now in Philadelphia, a hitters ballpark. This series is even, and the next three in Philadelphia should be close, hard-fought games as were the first two. I don't see either team winning all three, so Tampa has at least one more game to see. I've got the Rays winning game three behind Matt Garza over Jamie Moyer 5-4.

Midterm Project

For the midterm project I used coach John Stig's interview along with a couple postgame photos and audio to make it more presentable. I used the pieces of interview regarding the record attendance and the importance of the win against NDSU. The audio I found was something I thought fit well with interview. It was a song that meant happiness, but also something that captured the ending of the season as well. I thought it went well with the pictures of the seniors and the final picture of the players holding the Dakota Marker. I introduced the questions with text, and also used text to introduce coach Stig. I always enjoy working with sports, so this project was fun. I added the all-blue chromakey in the background to eliminate the nasty green screen. Overall, the project was fun and I continue to learn the processes of final cut express ever time I use it. 

Magic Number 7 Card Trick video

I decided to do my video of me demonstrating a card trick. This card trick isn't really a trick, but mathematics at its finest. The trick finalizes with a card being called and magically appearing. To be honest, I don't know how the math works out, but all I know is the trick is 100%. In the video I wanted the cards to be clearly visible, and I think they are for the most part. The trick had nothing to do with the deck being set up, and I tried to show that before I presented the trick. I like this trick because anyone can do it, even little kids. I show this trick all the time, and no matter who the audience, they seem to be amazed. The best part about magic tricks is the faces from the audience as the trick concludes; there is no better feeling for the magician. In my video I tried to pinpoint the most important things to remember with scrolling text. The trick is pretty straight forward, but can be somewhat complicated to remember all of the small details. Now that I look back, I wish I had done the trick to someone who had never seen it to get a reaction I was speaking about before. But I'll let that mission now go on to you, as you know the magic number 7 card trick. 

Phillies Take Game One

The Phillies outlasted the Rays in game one 3-2. It proved to be a great pitching matchup with Phillies' Cole Hamels facing Tampa's Scott Kazmir. The Phillies got on the board early with a two-run homerun from Chase Utley in the first inning. They only were able to produce one more run throughout the other eight innings. Tampa got on board in the fifth inning with a homerun from Carl Crawford. The game was exciting, but not because of the runs. Both pitchers completed seven innings producing quality starts. Hamels is now 3-0 in the postseason, winning all three opening games in each of the three series for the Phillies. Game two is pivotal for the Rays, as they don't want to head to Philadelphia down 0-2. For Tampa, James Shields will take the mound against Phillies' Bret Myers. I thought the Phillies would win game one, but falter in game two. I'm sticking with that assumption. I've got the Rays winning tonight in game two 6-4. 

World Series Preview

Oh the fall classic is finally here, and we aren't hearing much about it. Why might that be? Oh, I know. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs are no where to be found. This World Series has no hype and may result in some of the lowest ratings in World Series history. Personally, I think it's going to be a great series against the two best teams in baseball right now. Cole Hamels and the Phillies vs. Evan Longoria and the Rays. The hitting advantage goes to the Phillies. The pitching advantage goes to the Rays. The bullpen advantage goes to the Phillies. Home field advantage goes to the Rays. Looks like a pretty even series. But as many baseball experts say, good pitching beats good hitting. And that's the way I'm looking at this matchup. Phillies have Hamels and then their rotation drops off significantly. The Rays will throw Kazmir, Shields, Garza, and Sonnanstine if they have to. The Rays rotation is much better than the Phillies: Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton. So, in conclusion the Rays win. In six. As far as tonight goes, in game one; the Phillies win behind Hamels 5-3. Good day. 

Rodney Harrison Out For Season

Rodney Harrison, safety for the New England Patriots is reportedly out for the season with a torn quad. Harrison suffered the injury Monday night against the Denver Broncos. This injury undoubtedly hurts the Patriots, but it's nothing new for the Patriots to deal with injury. In Week one, the Patriots all-pro quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots way is being able to replace anyone in any spot on the team. The defense is going to have to come up big the rest of the year if the Patriots want a chance at the playoffs. Losing Harrison results in loss of leadership and the capability of big hits in the secondary. Harrison was voted the dirtiest player by the rest of the players in the league, and that legacy may stay with him forever. If Harrison is indeed done for his career he will be remembered as a great player and one of the hardest hitters the games has ever seen. I wish Harrison a speedy recovery and hope to see him play again. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryid=2378529&videold=3655538

Week 7 of the NFL

The Cowboys lost. The Rams won their second straight. Cincinatti remains winless. Tennessee still hasn't lost. The NFL is becoming a league of parity, and I love it. I believe the New England Patriots of 07-08 were good for the NFL as the interest grew, watching and waiting to see if they could do the unprobable. Even though there isn't a team like that this year-no disrespect to Tennessee-parity is a great thing for the NFL. The any given Sunday principle seems to be forgotten sometimes in the NFL. The league is becoming a crapshoot, with every team having the ability to compete every single week. This not only makes all the games more interesting, it will create more interest from fans. Fans may think the lowly St. Louis Rams could beat the highly-touted Dallas Cowboys. Oh wait, that just happened. Even though I compete in a league where I pick the games, it creates a challenge. What use to be a league of good teams and bad, is turning into a league of just teams. The word upset may become less and less used as the season grows. And I like it. 

Rays Overcome Red Sox

For the first time in franchise history the Tampa Bay Rays will play for a title. The Rays found out that the a third time was the charm. Tampa had three games to close out the series, and finally Sunday night before their home crowd, they were able to dethrone last year's champions. Game 7 started in the top of the 1st with a Dustin Pedroia homerun that was the only run in the first four innings. The Rays battled back in the 5th to score two runs on two hits. Matt Garza pitched 7+ in an oustanding performance that proved to be the clincher. Jon Lester pitched seven innings and pitched well enough for the win, but the Red Sox offense could only muster one run. Willy Aybar added a solo homerun in the 7th inning to make the score 3-1. That would be the final. Tampa's bullpen that was awful in game five blowing the 7-0 lead, came up huge in three innings giving up zero runs. My heart was broken to see my Red Sox lose, but it's time for a new champion to be crowned. I'm pulling for the Rays to beat the Phillies. 

Red Sox Don't Quit

I was privileged to have watch game 5 of the ALCS tonight, with the Red Sox at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. Down 7-0 going into the 7th inning, the fans started to go home. But Big Papi, David Ortiz lifted a three-run homer over the right field fence to make it 7-4. In the eighth inning, J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer to make it 7-6. Coco Crisp then singled in another run to make it all sevens heading into the 9th inning. A scoreless top half of the inning sent the Red Sox one run from forcing game six. With two outs Kevin Youkilis reached on an error, Jason Bay walked, and this put the pressure on J.D. Drew yet again. Drew sent a 3-1 pitch over the right fielder Gabe Gross for the game-winning and improbable hit. What a game! I was absolutely stunned yet excited. This was the second biggest comeback in postseason history. Is there two more games in the Red Sox? I don't know, but we'll find out

The Lost Kids of Willows

This is a story about a town of 6,000 in northern California. First there was Brian Parks, a 16 year-old kid, the son of the football coach, the quarterback of the team. The story begins on a hot August day at football practice where Brian took the snap and was knocked down. Not by anyone or anything, but an invisible force. His teammates stood around not knowing what was going on, and finally Curtis Parks, his father, started to give him CPR. On the way to the hospital, Curtis Parks and medics tried to revive Brian, but to no avail. The town was in shock, and held a memorial for Brian. This is just the beginning. Next is the story of Kayla Arnold. Kayla was a friend of Brian's. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, but they were close friends who spent a lot of time together. Kayla had a tough time dealing with Brian's death and visited his grave quite frequently to mourn. As she moved on, Kayla started to get sick. She was losing weight and doctors had her on medications and all was to be well. All was well, until a trip to her aunt's. While spending time with her boyfriend on the beach, Kayla became very ill and was taken to the hospital. Kayla died that night, and the cause of death is still unknown today. Two members of the class of 08' in Willows had died. The story doesn't stop there. Steven Furtado was Brian Curtis's center. He enjoyed working with cars, hunting, and playing golf. He was a typical teenager, just like Kayla and Brian. Steven had a girlfriend who lived a few hours away from Willows and he went to go see her. In the end, Steven and his girlfriend were brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Three of the class of 08' at Willows High School had died. Three seperate vigils were held for each student. A town, supposed to be so safe, so far away from anything exciting happening, had been the source of everything that is unfair. At graduation, a speaker made a memorable statement, "We have no learned, that life is unfair." Indeed it sometimes is. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=willows&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Phillies reach World Series

Last night the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series for the first time since 1993. It's about time says Philadelphia's fans. Brad Lidge closed out the 9th, for the 5-1 victory in Los Angeles. The Phillies now are a perfect 80-0 leading after 8 innings. That's truly incredible; the definition of closing out games. Cole Hamels pitched seven innings, giving up one earned run, a homerun to Manny Ramirez. If only Manny could have gotten some help this series, the Dodgers may have had a chance. The Phillies have been the most consistent team in the postseason and have a great shot at winning it all. What makes this run even more special for the team is manager Charlie Manuel going through a personal tragedy of his own. During the series his mother passed away, but Manuel knowing what his mother would have wanted, managed anyway. Those are the stories you love to seen in sports. People overcoming adversity. There are so many great stories in sports, but a lot of them don't have anything to do with the game itself. 

Seinfeld

My favorite show is Seinfeld, without a doubt. It makes me laugh every single time I see it. I'm currently watching it, and just have to smile. I encourage everyone to watch it whenever possible and check out seinfeld.com for scenes and everything there is to the show. I've seen every episode at least three times, maybe even more. I'm a hardcore fan with all the DVD's and could probably answer just about any trivia question there is. I still am calling for a Seinfeld channel that would be on 24/7. It's a great idea, and I hope by the time I die, Seinfeld will be all day, every day!

seinfeld.com

Rays Rout Red Sox

Tuesday night was another bashing of Red Sox pitching. The young, inexperienced Rays pounded the Red Sox for a third straight time. Tim Wakefield couldn't get through three batters without giving up a homerun. Carlos Pena went opposite field over the Green Monster to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. Evan Longoria, candidate for Rookie of the Year in the American League, made it back-to-back homeruns with another shot over the monster. This was the start to 13 runs on the night. The Red Sox could never muster up any momentum as the Rays took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Now I would count the Red Sox out, but they were in the same exact position last year against the Cleveland Indians. Even though I love my Sox, I don't believe they can beat the Rays three straight times.

NFL week 6

NFL's week six provided a lot of excitement. The Rams and Texans, previously winless finally won a game. Congrats to them. The Rams beat the Redskins, who were 4-1 and one of the hottest teams in the NFL. The Texans beat the rising team in the Miami Dolphins. Another upset happened Monday night with the Cleveland Browns beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Eli Manning struggled and that correlates to the Giants losing, as it has been the since he's been their quarterback. Tony Romo is going to be gone for four weeks with a broken right pinky, leaving veteran Brad Johnson under the center. Now unless the team didn't have the weapons they do, I would be concerned, but I have confidence in Johnson. He's bee around forever, and I have cheered for him when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He has a super bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My fantasy teams went 2-1 this week. My flag football team lost a tough game, but the week of football was a good one and usually never disappoints me. 

Rays take one game lead over Boston

My beloved Boston Red Sox lost a heart-breaker in game two, and then just have no life or energy and get pounded in game three. The Rays simply look like the veteran playoff team, while Boston looks like they are scared in the big moment. It's getting hard for me to watch. Two of my favorite Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz are a combined 0-24 in the series. Now the one and three hitters for a team are supposed to hit .300. Straight up, a team cannot win with two of their best hitters going hitless. The Rays are playing inspired baseball, and unless Matsuzaka can pitch another gem, the Red Sox are doomed. The bottom of the Boston lineup is going to have to step up or the Rays are going to win the World Series. The Rays are a fantastic story, and unless the Red Sox weren't the team they were playing, I would be on the Rays bandwagon for sure. But until the Red Sox are not in the picture, they will have my loyalty. 

Phillies one game away from the World Series

My national league pick, the Dodgers, are not backing my word. With a lead in the eighth inning in game four, they allowed a game-tying homerun that shattered any momentum they were going to have in the last inning. I picked the Dodgers in six games, and now that's impossible to accomplish. Phillies are just out-hitting the Dodgers. Manny can't do it himself. Now the series heads back to Philadelphia where ace Cole Hamels will pitch for the Phillies. The series is over, and I'm ready to allow the Phillies to take their place in the World Series. 

Phillies take 2-0 lead over Dodgers

The Phillies behind Brett Myers took a 2-0 lead against the Dodgers Friday night. Besides picking up the win, Myers had 3 rbi to spark the win. This game was huge for the Phillies to hold home-field advantage, and tough for the Dodgers as very few teams have come from down 0-2 to win a series. I expect the Dodgers to come out on Sunday and play inspired ball in front of the home crowd. I'm watching the Red Sox and Rays right now, and it's a nice pitching duel. The advantage might go to the Rays as they are home; in a close ball game, the home team has a distinct advantage. On a personal note, I'm in Louisville, Kentucky playing tennis at the Louisville Tennis Invitational, and the teams there are good, really good. Wow.

espn.com

Phillies vs. Dodgers Game One

Well the Phillies took down game one against the Dodgers, mainly because Manny Ramirez's double was hit as far as possible without being a homerun. Ramirez's double hit the top of the fence in centerfield, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Utley responded later in the game with a two-run homerun to tie the game up. Pat Burrell followed later in the sixth inning with a homerun himself to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish, as Brad Lidge closed the deal yet again. Both pitchers had decent starts. Hamels, the winning pitcher went seven innings giving up two runs on six hits. Lowe, the losing pitcher went five and 1/3 giving up two earned runs over six hits. It's important for the Dodgers to win game two, so they don't go home down 0-2, and more importantly make my prediction look better!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameld=6498273670614248110

Dodgers vs. Phillies

I read a little article from Rob Neyer, who thinks the Phillies will be the team to represent the National League in the World Series. I respectfully disagree. Neyer points out that since the Manny Ramirez trade, the Dodgers have gone 30-25, while the Phillies have gone 34-21. This really doesn't mean much to me. I guess the Phillies have played a little bit better than the Dodgers in the past 55 games. Ramirez brings the threat of going long every time he enters the batters box. Ryan Howard is kind of the same way for the Phillies, but he doesn't hit for the average that Ramirez does. The key to this series is how the Phillies pitch to Ramirez. If Ramirez gets looks at pitches, I like the Dodgers; simple as that. However, if the Phillies make the rest of the Dodgers beat them, I like the Phillies. Ramirez is the MVP of the Dodgers, as Brad Lidge is the MVP for the Phillies. He hasn't blown a save all year, which is outstanding. If we get to see Lidge four or more times in the series, the Phillies will win. However, my pick is with the Dodgers. They are playing extremely well right now under manager Joe Torre. Dodgers in six!

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=6498273670613248110

Rays vs. Red Sox

The division series are over, and the trip to the World Series is just four games away. I would like to first dive into the the ALCS featuring two AL East teams: Red Sox and Rays. The teams battled the whole second half of the season, with the Rays finally prevailing. The Rays won the season series vs. Red Sox 10-8, but you can throw that out the door. The key to this series is the bullpen from each team. I expect the games to be close going into the 7th, 8th, 9th innings. The Rays weren't really challenged to a close game with the White Sox, while the Red Sox prevailed in 3 of 4 close games against the Angels. I give the bullpen advantage to the Red Sox with Papelbon being the most valuable player in the series. Red Sox starting pitching is much better than the Rays as well. With Matsuzaka, Lester, and Beckett, it will be tough to win more than two games against these three. The only advantage I see for the Rays is home-field advantage. The Rays play extremely well at home, but the Red Sox experience neutralizes that. So, without further prevail, my pick is the Red Sox in 6 games. Who they will play, I will pick tomorrow. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=36301

Ryan Berry Interview

This Friday in lab we learned how to edit audio, text, and furthered our education with the chromakey. Using Ryan Berry, the quarterback of the football team, we were able to form subclips into our video. We also learned how to create text in the video, and the effects of where to use it and what kind of font to use. We also learned how to link and delink the video from the audio creating audio before and after the video itself. These tools will be essential as the semester progresses.

ALDS/NLDS predictions

Okay, my twins selection didn't go over well, but they only lost by one. It was an ugly performance from them offensively, but Chicago's pitcher John Danks deserves more than full credit. 

Now, the with the playoffs set, I will select the "Final Four".

Red Sox over the Angels in four games. 

Rays over the White Sox in five games.

Cubs over the Dodgers in five games.

Phillies over the Brewers in four games. 

ALCS= Red Sox vs. Rays

NLCS= Phillies vs. Cubs

I'm not going to make my World Series prediction yet, but once the championship series begins, I will.

TWINS VS. WHITE SOX 163rd GAME

The AL Central couldn't be decided in 162 games. The Minnesota Twins and Chicago Whitesox will have to face one final time to see who will play the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. Both coming in with a record of 88-74, the 85th win for either team will mean a playoff berth. The Twins are coming to U.S. Cellular field with a day off Monday. Chicago had to play their 162nd game on Monday against the Tigers. Tied 2-2 in the 6th inning, Alexi Ramirez hit a grand slam pushing the White Sox to the 8-2 victory. That set the stage for Tuesday, as Minnesota's Nick Blackburn (11-10) will face Chicago's John Danks (11-9). Blackburn is coming of a win Wednesday against the White Sox, while Danks is coming off three days rest and a loss against the Indians. Advantage: Twins. The fact that the game will be played in Chicago gives the White Sox a distinct advantage. Offensively the Twins and White Sox are the exact opposite. The Twins play small ball, manufacturing runs, while the White Sox rely on balls hit out of the ballpark. Advantage: Twins. Overall Advantage: Draw. If the game was in Minnesota, the Twins would have an overwhelming advantage, but since the game is in Chicago, I can't see an advantage for either team. Prediction: Justin Morneau hits a 2-rbi double in the 8th to put the Twins ahead, and Joe Nathan closes the deal in the 9th 7-5. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3617307&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

Editing and Exporting

The editing and exporting assignment was pretty fun. It's awesome to be able to take pieces of video and stream them together to make a sequence. In this assignment I learned how to do this. I found it somewhat tough to piece them together perfectly to able to make it smooth, but with so many different people saying their words in different speeds it proved difficult. 

I also learned how to export videos and be able to put them on my blog. I remember making videos with my friend Sean a couple summers ago using his MacBook and all this came back to mind. 

Flip Ultra Interview

My interview won't upload, I'll keep trying. 

Chromakey

I learned about the chromakey in this assignment. Pertaining to the video, I have no idea why one shot is the blue background and the rest is black, for when I made it during class every shot was the same. The chromakey has much more to it than I thought. When I think of the green screen, I figure all you have to do is post something on it and it's as simple as that. I had no idea that luma, saturation and such could be used to enhance the quality of the picture. 

The chromakey was first introduced to me when I was younger when I watched Whose Line Is It Anyway. One of the characters had to stand in front of a green screen, while the other characters had to give him clues as to what was behind him. The weatherman also deals with the chromakey on a daily basis. 

MLB Playoff Chase

Only a couple of divisions have been decided so far with only four games to go. The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That means that the AL East, AL Central, NL East, and NL West. The Rays are going to win the AL East, with the Boston Red Sox going to have to make the best with the Wild Card. The AL Central is totally up for grabs between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. These two teams wrap up their three-game series tonight. I believe the winner of the game tonight will win the division. The White Sox currently have a 1/2 game lead on the Twins. The NL East has the Phillies up a game on the Mets. I think the Phillies will take the division, as the Mets are notorious for sliding at the end of the season. The NL West is all but over with the Dodgers up four with four games to go. This means the Dodgers only have to win one more game, which they will and take the division. My predictions for the playoff matchups are: Angels vs. Red Sox; Rays vs. Twins; Cubs vs. Dodgers; Brewers vs. Phillies

I will make my predictions for those series this weekend. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/octoberquest_08.jsp

Lance Armstrong Announces Return to Racing

Lance Armstrong decides he wants to race competitively again. Personally, I think it's a terrible decision. As an athlete, the best thing to do is retire on top. John Elway and Michael Strahan are great examples. I have the most respect in the world for Armstrong, but I don't think he has anything to prove anymore. He came back from cancer and won the toughest bike race in the world. What else can he do? He is an idol for centuries to come, but I think this might tarnish his legacy. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videold=3607524&categoryld=2378529

Coaches Take On Getting Girls

This is an article by Pat Forde, which gets college football coaches' takes on how to score with girls. My personal favorites are:

Bobby Petrino (Coach of Arkansas)- He says if you see a hotter girl pretend you're going to the bathroom and get the girl's number. 

Pete Carroll (Coach of USC)- He says pour on the charm to ensure the second date, but make sure you have seven other girls lined up just in case this one doesn't put out. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&page=dash0804&sportCat=ncf

EVIL EYE

This is one of the funniest videos I have ever seen. It makes it even better it's from a little baby. I'm guessing this was on America's Funniest Home Videos and frankly, it better have won. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ALIL7T764

Chris Farley At His Finest

Never have I been before been able to laugh at someone so consistently. It's crazy to think Chris Farley died more than ten years ago. I can remember watching Tommy Boy for the first time and almost die laughing. Never before and never again will another comedic genius come along like Chris Farley. I loved the due of him and David Spade work together. It's a shame we didn't get to see more movies with those two together. R.I.P. Chris.

For some reason the video won't upload, so here's the address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPMo14XTTvE