Super Bowl 46: The Ads (Second Quarter)
OK, we did the first quarter, and the second quarter is a major one, because that's when the people who show up late come in and everyone is all settled in and paying (at least a little) attention. 24 of these bad boys to get through, so you'll excuse me if I don't pick apart every single one.
So let's get on with it, shall we?
Super Bowl 46: The Ads (First Quarter)
So, I watched (most of) Super Bowl 46, and since I kind of hate both teams that were playing in it, I think the only thing I really want to talk about is what everyone else always talks about - the ads. Here's my quick recap to the Super Bowl ads. The first quarter, in order (at least Yahoo's order):
The 2012 Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Snubbed: Danny Graves, Matt Lawton, & Jose Lima
Continuing our multi-part series on players who were eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot this year but were left completely off, today we examine three players who all made All-Star teams during their careers, but didn't put together enough of a career to justify their inclusion on the Hall of Fame ballot.
The 2012 Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Snubbed: Carl Everett & Jeff Fassero
I let this drop off due to... well, lack of interest, pressure to do a HoF post for the guys who actually were on the ballot, and stuff like that. Oddly, the ones that I've done before this (for Edgardo Alfonzo, and a two-for-one for Scott Erickson & Rick Helling) keep getting hits - I think mainly because Erickson managed to score Lisa Guerrero and I get Google image search hits from that. But hey - hits are hits.
So on we roll...
The Price For Prince – What If?
When the baseball world learned that Victor Martinez would (likely) miss all of 2012 with a torn ACL, fans and experts alike wondered how the Tigers would replace him. At the same time, those same people were wondering where Prince Fielder (who was still on the market and seeing his big payday options disappearing) would end up. Prince's best options seemed to be the Washington Nationals (willing to spend the money and had the need), the Texas Rangers (less cash, but offered up a team with back-to-back pennants), and the Baltimore Orioles (professional baseball team). When I retweeted Aaron Gleeman's post on HardballTalk about V-Mart's injury, my favorite Tigers mark @phenom1984 responded with this:
@MrWorkrate @aarongleeman Prince Fielder - 1yr/$40M. hehe
It was an interesting thought - something you do in a video game like OOTP and not in real life, because players want guaranteed money and an extended payday - especially Scott Boras clients - so the thought of signing Fielder to a one-year deal was unlikely. Plus, on the flipside of that, paying $40 million for one season of baseball would be - by far - the largest salary for one season of professional baseball in history, a little less than $12 million more than Roger Clemens' "play when you like" contract he signed with the Yankees in 2007.
The Sports Butterfly Effect
Today, Kyle Williams is learning the hard way that the Internet is an ugly, ugly place. Williams is getting death threats on Twitter due to his fumble during overtime in last night's NFC Championship Game between his San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. The Giants recovered the fumble, putting them in ideal field goal range, and three plays later, the Giants' Lawrence Tynes kicked the game-winning field goal to win the game and send them to Super Bowl XXXXIIIIII 46.
I say "ideal field goal range" because those aren't always guaranteed shots. Billy Cundiff and Baltimore Ravens fans know this first-hand, as Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal - one yard longer than Tynes' kick - that would have tied their game with the New England Patriots and almost certainly put the AFC Championship game into overtime. Cundiff doesn't use Twitter (to our knowledge) so he at least doesn't get to see the threats from people who talk without fear of repercussion, hiding behind an alias behind a computer keyboard or smartphone.
Or worse, maybe they're not showing false bravado. Maybe they would physically attack Williams or Cundiff because of those plays. "Fan" is short for "fanatic" for a reason.
Moneyball – The Review (and nitpicking!)
After the shocking (to me, at least) revelation that my wife wanted to see "Moneyball", I picked it up from Redbox and planned an evening viewing with the Mrs. The movie intrigued the hell out of me - having read the book, I knew that it read pretty much like a economics textbook (albeit an entertaining one, as author Michael Lewis has a way of doing that with very
So my wife didn't make it through the thing (she doesn't stay awake through too many movies in general, and "Moneyball" was over two hours), but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really well done to stay decently close to the book while still make a marketable and accessible film. The characters were likable, and while I wasn't crazy to see Paul DePodesta turned into "composite character" Peter Brand, I understand how doing something like that made the film easier to make more entertaining. In reality, DePodesta isn't nearly as "geeky" or awkward as Brand is, but Jonah Hill's portrayal of Brand loosened up a movie that could have easily gotten too dry. In terms of whether or not a non-baseball fan could enjoy it, I think just as long as you don't hate baseball you can watch without much of an issue.
THAT SAID, my nitpicks (and things you might be wondering about):
Napoleon Dynamite and New Opportunities
A little before the Christmas I got a note on Twitter from Brooke Cain, the main lady over at Raleigh's News & Observer's TV blog, "Happiness Is A Warm TV". I've chatted with her a few times about random TV stuff and knew she was a fan of my blogging (OK, maybe not a fan, but she's at least read some of my posts, which puts her in select company), specifically my "Walking Dead" recaps over at The Bunker. She asked if I'd be interested in viewing two screener episodes of the animated version of "Napoleon Dynamite" and doing a quick write-up/preview of them. She assumed that I was a fan of the movie (I wasn't) and that I could sit through two episodes of something that was shaping up to be a major stinker.
(Did I just use the term "stinker"?)
@MrWorkrate on Twitter
- @Bill_TPA they're Patriots - they buck your English customs, DUH. 2 hours ago
- @phenom1984 Shedding. 3 hours ago
- @ElwoodJBlues I was in the studio audience for S8E12. Granted, the final season, but still pretty cool. 4 hours ago
- @ECal15 I haven't gotten around to it - saw a lot of chatter about it though, so I'm curious. 10 hours ago
- @canadiancreed that would be awesome if anything I wrote got that kind of audience. 10 hours ago
Pop Bunker
- Doctor Who Recap: Season 1: Episode 13: The Brink of Disaster February 4, 2012 annieevett
- Doctor Who Recap: Season 1: Episode 12: The Edge of Destruction January 28, 2012 annieevett
- Doctor Who Recap: Season 1: Episode 11: The Rescue January 21, 2012 annieevett
- Doctor Who Recap: Season 1: Episode 10: The Ordeal January 14, 2012 annieevett
- Doctor Who Recap: Season 1: Episode 9: The Expedition December 24, 2011 annieevett
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