DVR Alerts for the Week Ahead

Looking at the week ahead on Turner Classic Movies, I would suggest you program your DVR accordingly (all time Eastern)....

Friday, March 23 @12:45 PM: "North by Northwest" (1959). A true Alfred Hitchcock Classic. Think Cary Grant, a deserted cornfield, and a crop duster. Think Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and Martin Landau on Mt. Rushmore. Think Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in the Pullman car!

Saturday, March 24 @8:00 PM: "The Goodbye Girl" (1977). Richard Dreyfuss won and Oscar for this Neil Simon comedy. Terrific movie.

Sunday, March 25 @6:15 PM: "Niagara" (1952) starring Marilyn Monroe. I read one critic who said that this is the best "Hitchcock movie" that Hitchcock didn't actually direct. Pretty good potboiler, but worth seeing for Monroe's performance alone. In this one, she redefines the word "sultry."

Monday, March 26 @5:45 PM: "Dr. Strangelove" (1964). Classic 1960's Cold War comedy/satire. Peter Sellers plays three different parts. Classic line: "You can't fight in here. This is the War Room."

The TCM program guide for April shows a ton of goodies scheduled for that month. I'll be keeping you posted.

To Absent Friends - Furman Bisher

Furman Bisher passed away yesterday at the age of 93.

Bisher was a highly regarded and respected sportswriter in Atlanta. I am familiar with him from a column that he used to write every week in The Sporting News back in the day when it was considered the "Baseball Bible." I enjoyed his columns, but the years have gone by, and I have come to read works by other writers who credit and acknowledge what a true giant Bisher was in the field.

RIP Furman Bisher.

March TV Madness

Some TV screen reflections on March Madness Weekend.....

• That hour or so of viewing on Friday night when the Ohio U., Norfolk State, and Lehigh upset wins were hurtling to their final buzzers was about as good as sports TV watching could possibly get. Thank goodness for that "Alt Ch" button on the TV remote!




• The four network coverage of the first weekend, particularly on Thursday and Friday, is fantastic. While out driving on Saturday afternoon, host Jory Rand on The Fan was saying he liked it better when only ONE network covered all the games and they had to cut away to the other games. Is he insane? Or, could his opinion just possibly be colored by the fact that he also works for Channel 2 (the CBS affiliate here for you out-of-town readers)?




• High Definition TV does not do any favors for Marv Albert. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but every time there was a shot of Marv on camera, the camera was pointing down and to the right, Marv's left. Never a full facial shot of Marv. Was that intentional or just a fact of TV logistics? One thing you could see was that there had to be more pancake make-up covering Marv's mug than on any other four female sideline reporters.




• Marv, btw, will turn 71 in June of this year. I looked it up, and is he still an outstanding play-by-play guy? Yessssssss, he is.




• For the most part, though, all those announcers and analysts over all those games in all those locations seemed to run together for me




• Speaking of appearances, I hope that Leslie Visser is suing the bejesus out of her plastic surgeon. If Visser was never a knockout like Jillian Barbery or Erin Andrews, she was always an above average attractive woman. When you look at her now, all you can say is "My, God, why did she do that to herself?"




• Now, the commercials....




• Loved the Chevy commercial with the three passengers singing Spandau Ballet




• Loved the Enterprise Rent-a-Car one that talked about how they hire more new college grads than any other company and featuring former NCAA athletes




• Love the NCAA PSA that states "there are thousands of NCAA athletes, and most of them will be going pro in something other than sports"




• Top to bottom, the Bud Light commercials are always good




• Liked the McDonald's commercial of the suspicious wife who "loves" the mint shamrock shake her husband bought her




• The Buffalo Wild Wings commercial with the guy popping a champagne cork in the direction of the guy with the eye patch made me squeamish




• Hate the State Farm commercial with Bob Knight. Hate seeing this guy cash in on the fact that he was a horse's ass for his entire career. This commercial won't make me cancel my State Farm auto and homeowners, but if I was not already a policyholder, it would certainly NOT attract me to the company.




• On the other hand, I did like the State Farm commercial of the two guys dancing on the Jumbotron Fan Cam




• Again on the other hand, the Knight commercial makes State Farm's Aaron Rodgers Discount Double Check commercials look good by comparison

Yesterday (Friday, that is)

It was quite a day yesterday.

I went down to McFadden's Sports Bar on the North Shore (yes, I surrender; I will now call anything in the PNC Park/Heinz Field/Rivers Casino area the "North Shore") and spent the afternoon watching NCAA basketball games with Highmark friends Fred Shugars, Karen Ashby, Duane Lukitch, John Carney, and Gale Suwalski. It was really a fun afternoon watching the game and reconnecting with some old friends.

I parked in the Heinz Field parking lot right by the painted home plate marker from Exposition Park. My car, actually, was on the third base line. Yes, I did stand at home plate and imagined myself digging in against Cy Young in the 1903 World Series. A tip of the ol' ball cap to Dan Bonk, Len Martin, and other SABR members who put in the time and effort to research and locate these positions back in 1990's. As North Shore development continues, I hope that these historic sites are not lost.

Then there were the games themselves last night. All those upsets - Norfolk State, Ohio U., Lehigh. Talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That was the very essence of it.

However, the absolute highlight of the day took place while Marilyn and I were enjoying fine dining at a local McDonald's. While sitting there we were spotted and greeted by a young lady who was in the teen group at one of our recent Caring Place sessions. She told us what she's been up to, how she will be starting college in the fall, how she involved herself in Children's Grief Awareness Day at her school last fall, how she wants to involve her college campus with the Caring Place next fall, and, mainly, how much her sessions at the Caring Place meant to her and her family. That encounter made our day.

Some Thoughts on Pedro Alvarez

As the calendar creeps closer and closer to Opening Day of the 2012 baseball season, it has become clear to any Pirates fan who listens to sports talk radio, reads the sports pages and blogs, or, perhaps most importantly, participates on Jim Haller's Pirates Fan chat group on Facebook, that the key to any success that the Buccos might achieve this coming season rests on the shoulders of third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

We all know the back story: highly touted first round (fourth pick overall) draft choice, $4+ million signing bonus, promising (16 HR) rookie season in 2010, and dud of a season (4 HR, 19 RBI, .191 BA, plus two trips to the DL and the minor leagues) in 2011. On a team that has little power, Alvarez is the main, if not only, hope that the Pirates have to provide power and be the catalyst for offensive production. As Spring Training has progressed, Alvarez is perhaps the most closely watched Pirate, and he has become a lightning rod for criticism among many, and not, I believe, for entirely valid reasons.

When you read and listen to the chatter, the criticism seems to come down to three main areas.

#1. He wears his baseball cap down over his ears. Really, this has upset a lot of people. Personally, I don't get the style, but it doesn't really bother me either. Apparently, this fashion statement reflects hip-hop culture among younger folks, and I guess this really grinds some people's gears. If someone else on the team, say Alex Presley or Neil Walker, wore their cap this way, I wonder if the outrage level would be quite so high. I also think that if Alvarez has 14 or 15 home runs by the All-Star break, caps over the ears will be quite the rage at PNC Park.

#2. His lousy season in 2011. A valid criticism and concern. However, we all should keep in mind that Pedro is still a young player who was humbled mightily by major league pitching in his first full season in the big leagues last year. To the gent on the aforementioned Facebook group who was grumbling when Alvarez grounded out with a runner in scoring position in his first at bat in a spring training game this year, I would cite the case of a certain National League rookie in 1973 who, while hitting 18 HR in 443 AB's that year, had only 52 RBI, a .196 BA, a .373 slugging percentage, and a .697 OPS and struck out 136 times. There were probably a lot of people who weren't thinking too highly of Mike Schmidt that season, but, fortunately for the Phillies, members of team management were not among them. At the very least, Alvarez is owed another shot at a full season with the Pirates.

#3. He declined to play winter ball this past off season. This has been viewed as anything from an act of insubordination to an indication that Alvarez just doesn't give a damn. A writer that I respect, Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib, continually takes shots at Alvarez for this decision. I am inclined to agree with a column that Gene Collier did last fall on the subject that stated it would be best if Alvarez did NOT play winter ball this off season. After what had to be an incredibly frustrating season, what purpose would have been served to jump right down to Venezuala or Mexico, spend hours every day in a batting cage, and maybe continue where he left off the season, by NOT hitting and striking out too often. Instead, Alvarez devoted his off season to improving his conditioning (long a sore spot with team management) and losing weight, and these efforts appear to have been successful. We shall see if that decision bears fruit in 2012.

We have long hoped that Pedro Alvarez would be the next Willie Stargell or Dave Parker for the Pirates. We hope that that is the case, but if he instead, as often happens to high draft picks and
"Can't Miss" prospects for every team in baseball, he turns out to be the next Chad Hermanson or Brad Eldred, it will not be because he didn't play winter ball or how he wears his baseball cap.

Happy Birthday, Kurt Russell

To help celebrate actor Kurt Russell's 61st birthday today, The Grandstander presents a clip of Russell in his definitive role - as Elvis Presley in a 1979 TV movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_010vclV9s

It should be noted that Russell did not do the actual singing in this movie, Ronnie McDowell did, but in all other aspects, no one has ever played Elvis better.

Enjoy.

"Peter Pan" at North Allegheny

Last night we saw the North Allegheny High School spring musical, "Peter Pan." What an amazing experience. When you see and hear the talent among the actors, orchestra, and crew, you cannot believe that you are watching 14, 15, 16, and 17 year old kids. Just an amazing experience.

I have always said that if you ever feel cynical and worried about the future of the world, go see a high school musical. You'll feel a lot better about the upcoming generations.