Tonight begins one of the great non-events on the sports calendar - the NFL Draft, an event that could be done in about six to eight hours, but now lasts three days. To be fair, it isn't really a non-event, it is important to the 32 NFL teams who will select between six and nine players each that will all play critical roles as these teams make their inevitable march to the Super Bowl. Yeah.
What makes this a non-event is not only all of the overkill leading up to it, but the mountains of analysis that will follow. What teams "won" on Draft Day(s), which teams blew it, which teams got the best value. Please, spare us. Come to us after, say, the 2018 season to tell us which teams had the best draft in 2015.
For example, in the year 2000, one NFL team made the following selections with their first four selections in that year's draft:
1. No selection
2. Adrian Klemm, OT, Hawaii
3. J. R. Redmond, RB, Arizona State
4. Greg Robinson-Randall, OT, Michigan State
5. Dave Stachski, TE, Boise State
Now, I am sure that the local press and national pundits probably discussed these four players in great detail in the days following to determine how well this team did in that draft. In all honesty, i can say that I have absolutely no familiarity with any of these guys. Maybe they had decent NFL careers, but none of them are going to Canton.
So, bad draft for that team, right?
Well, not really, because in the sixth round that year, the New England Patriots selected Tom Brady, QB, Michigan. I am betting that, while the drafting of a QB always generates interest, probably very little attention was paid to a sixth round QB when all of the post-draft analysis was being done in the Boston area back in 2000.
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, knows who will be THE big star to come out of this 2015 draft. It very well could be Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariotta, but it is every bit as likely that it will be some dude selected in the fifth or sixth round out of East Overshoe University, just like that Brady kid was in 2000.
This is why I will read very little about the draft in the days ahead. Tell me who the Steelers picked, and then let's wait and see how they do once the real games begin.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
So, I Get This Phone Call From Florida......
I get home from working at the History Center on Monday, and there is a message on our answering machine from a woman named Marla (I am not going to use a last name here in deference to her, as I am not sure if she would want me to do so). Anyway, she asks me if I might be the grandson of William Ambrose Madden who was born in Braddock, PA. There was more to the message, and it was enough for me to return her call.
Turns out that Marla's grandfather and my grandfather were brothers, which would make she and I full second cousins. It seems that she has spent a good deal of her time doing genealogical research into her family tree, which is how she came upon the Sproule Branch of this particular family tree. "Stunned" is probably too strong a word to learn about the existence of a cousin that I never knew I had. "Oh, you have more cousins out there than you realize" is now she put it. She even told me about another cousin, Casey (again, I'm withholding the last name) who lives here in Pittsburgh. Casey's grandmother is the sister of our (Marla's and me) grandfathers.
I know that some may be thinking "Internet scam" here, but I am convinced after talking with Marla and looking at both Casey's and her Facebook pages I that there is nothing of the sort going on here.
Again, I am not sure exactly how to describe how I feel about this. It seems like something that you would see in a movie or a TV show. I find that it is kind of a cool experience to learn about family members that you didn't know that you had. Not sure where this will lead, but I have to tell you, I'm happy about the whole thing.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Television Thoughts - No Spoilers
Some quick hit television thoughts.....
- The season three finale of "The Americans", while not disappointing, it did not pack the punch of previous season-ending episodes. This entire season seemed to be a bit of a miss-mash of too many plot lines that only confused the viewer (or at least the two viewers that reside at our house). As friend Fred Shugars has stated, perhaps, one of he overlying themes to emerge from this season is that "you can't trust teenagers".
- We are now halfway through the final season of "Mad Men" with only three episodes remaining. We have invested six years into watching this series, and it is disappointing that in this last year, our overall sentiment is "Well, we have to watch, but we can't wait for it to be over". All of the characters have devolved into people that are just plain unlikeable to the point where you just don't care what happens to them. (Possible exception: Peggy Olsen.)
- Perhaps the producers of "Mad Men" should have just ended it a season to two ago and gone out on top. It's too bad that long running TV shows feel that they must end a show's run with some blockbuster tie-all-the-strings-together Grand Finale. It rarely works out to anyone's satisfaction. Exhibit A of this theory of mine is "Seinfeld".
- Has anyone watched this new TBS sitcom "Your Family or Mine"? I have tried watching it on two separate occasions, and I could not get through to the end of either episode. Crude and awful. And one of the stars is Richard Dreyfuss! I suppose that at this stage of his career, and Oscar winner like Dreyfuss is entitled to an gig like this to guarantee himself an easy phone-it-in paycheck, but it's a shame to see a guy who starred in such things as American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters, The Good-bye Girl, and Mr. Holland's Opus performing in something as dreadful as this.
Friday, April 24, 2015
"True Story" - Book and Movie
Until one week ago, I was completely unfamiliar with both Michael Finkel and Christian Michael Longo. Until, that is, I read the movie review last Friday by the Post-Gazette's Barbara Vancheri of the movie "True Story". The movie sounded interesting, but Ms. Vancheri recommended that one should familiarize oneself with the source material, Mr. Finkel's book, to really understand the movie.
So, I did.
Michael Finkel was a young feature writer who had written a number of excellent stories for the NewYork Times Sunday Magazine, until he fabricated a portion of one of those stories, was caught in this lie, and abruptly and publicly fired by the Times. As he was preparing to spend his time in journalistic hell by being scorned by his ink stained brethren, he received a phone call from a newspaper reporter in Oregon asking for a comment on the case involving Christian Michael Longo. Finkel had no idea who Longo was, but he learned quickly that he was a man accused of murdering his wife and three young children, then going on the lam in Mexico and claiming to be "Mike Finkel of the New York Times".
Thus began a strange symbiotic relationship between Finkel and Longo. Longo spelled out all of the strange history of his life right up until the time of the murders. Finkel saw Longo as "story" that might enable him to redeem himself professionally and restore his name in the journalistic fraternity. As for what Longo saw in Finkel, well, I have read the book and seen the movie, and I am still not sure exactly what Longo was attempting to do. As one of the police involved put it, Longo's long dance with Finkel was nothing but a dress rehearsal for how he would "perform" for a jury.
The book portrays Longo, a psychopathic killer, as the ultimate narcissist, but a trace of narcissism exists in Finkel, too, as the aim of this book seems to be as much a public confession by Finkel of his own journalistic "crime", and an effort to rehabilitate his reputation, as it is a portrait of a killer and his crimes. The book is as much about the author as it is about his subject, and if there is a criticism that I have of the book that is it.
As for the movie, I waited until I had finished the book before going to see it, and I read a number of reviews of it on line, and if ever a movie can be described of having "mixed reviews", this is it.
Like the book, the movie is as much about Finkel, played by Jonah Hill, as it is about Longo, played by James Franco. The movie spends much of it's time dwelling on the relationship between the two men as it does on the crime itself. A pretty good movie could be made out of the life that Longo had led leading up to his crimes, but that is not the direction in which the film makers wanted to go. The movie also does not dwell on the actual crime itself, with the actual murders having taken place before the start of the movie, and even in flashback scenes, the murders are done "off camera". That's a good thing, as they were pretty ghastly crimes.
As for the performances, Hill has proven in movies like "Moneyball" and "Wolf of Wall Street" that he is more than just the slob character in R rated comedies where he made his bones, and while he is okay in this one, that's about as far as I'd go: he's okay. Franco, on the other hand, is terrific as Chris Longo. I always maintain the the very best actors on screen act with their faces, especially their eyes, and Franco's eyes really sell you on the fact that this is one cold-blooded psycho that you are seeing up there on the screen.
On a four star rating system, I'd give the book three stars, and the movie two-and-a-half stars. Both worth your time, but nothing that will rank in any ten best lists.
So, I did.
Michael Finkel was a young feature writer who had written a number of excellent stories for the NewYork Times Sunday Magazine, until he fabricated a portion of one of those stories, was caught in this lie, and abruptly and publicly fired by the Times. As he was preparing to spend his time in journalistic hell by being scorned by his ink stained brethren, he received a phone call from a newspaper reporter in Oregon asking for a comment on the case involving Christian Michael Longo. Finkel had no idea who Longo was, but he learned quickly that he was a man accused of murdering his wife and three young children, then going on the lam in Mexico and claiming to be "Mike Finkel of the New York Times".
Thus began a strange symbiotic relationship between Finkel and Longo. Longo spelled out all of the strange history of his life right up until the time of the murders. Finkel saw Longo as "story" that might enable him to redeem himself professionally and restore his name in the journalistic fraternity. As for what Longo saw in Finkel, well, I have read the book and seen the movie, and I am still not sure exactly what Longo was attempting to do. As one of the police involved put it, Longo's long dance with Finkel was nothing but a dress rehearsal for how he would "perform" for a jury.
The book portrays Longo, a psychopathic killer, as the ultimate narcissist, but a trace of narcissism exists in Finkel, too, as the aim of this book seems to be as much a public confession by Finkel of his own journalistic "crime", and an effort to rehabilitate his reputation, as it is a portrait of a killer and his crimes. The book is as much about the author as it is about his subject, and if there is a criticism that I have of the book that is it.
As for the movie, I waited until I had finished the book before going to see it, and I read a number of reviews of it on line, and if ever a movie can be described of having "mixed reviews", this is it.
Like the book, the movie is as much about Finkel, played by Jonah Hill, as it is about Longo, played by James Franco. The movie spends much of it's time dwelling on the relationship between the two men as it does on the crime itself. A pretty good movie could be made out of the life that Longo had led leading up to his crimes, but that is not the direction in which the film makers wanted to go. The movie also does not dwell on the actual crime itself, with the actual murders having taken place before the start of the movie, and even in flashback scenes, the murders are done "off camera". That's a good thing, as they were pretty ghastly crimes.
As for the performances, Hill has proven in movies like "Moneyball" and "Wolf of Wall Street" that he is more than just the slob character in R rated comedies where he made his bones, and while he is okay in this one, that's about as far as I'd go: he's okay. Franco, on the other hand, is terrific as Chris Longo. I always maintain the the very best actors on screen act with their faces, especially their eyes, and Franco's eyes really sell you on the fact that this is one cold-blooded psycho that you are seeing up there on the screen.
On a four star rating system, I'd give the book three stars, and the movie two-and-a-half stars. Both worth your time, but nothing that will rank in any ten best lists.
********
Two side bar stories to my movie experience today.
I went to the first show of the day at the Cinemark, it started at 10:40 AM, and I was one of two people in the theater for "True Story". I bought myself a small popcorn, and a small Coke. The tab for that $10.05. I figure that Cinemark's actual combined cost for these two items came in at less than one dollar. The Pirates and Steelers aren't the only folks in the entertainment business who gouge you for food and refreshments.
Also, at the conclusion of "True Story", I went into another theater and watched about ten minutes of "Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2". After seeing this brief part of the movie, I am convinced that it could be among the worst movies of 2015, if not the entire first 15 years of the 21st century. By the way, there was no one, not a single warm body, in the theater for this dog of a movie.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Congratulations, Richy Werensky
The 23 year old Georgia Tech grad secured his victory with a 2 and 1 defeat of runner-up Justin Martinson. About halfway through the season, it became apparent that Werensky, Martinson, and third place finisher Robert Rohanna of Waynesburg, PA were the best golfers on the show. This made Werensky's win a well deserved one.
For his Big Break, Werensky will get an exemption into the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship which will be played in Alabama on July 16-19. This is an event which will run concurrent with the British Open Championship, so, obviously, all of the very best players on the PGA Tour will not be playing in the Barbasol event, which means that Richy could have the opportunity to fare well, certainly better than past Big Break winners have done in the events in which they have played. The Grandstander shall be monitoring the event come July and will provide an update on how he fares.
Monday, April 20, 2015
"The Americans"
The season finale for one of our favorite TV shows, "The Americans" on the FX Network is this coming Wednesday, and we anxiously await it.
If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is set in Washington DC during the first term of the Reagan Administration, and it centers around the lives of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, played by Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. The Jennings at first blush are typical Washington suburbanites who have two teen aged kids and run their own small business, a travel agency. In fact, however, they are KGB agents who have been planted in the American capital city to spy for the USSR. They do this with an incredible number of disguises, an appalling amount of violence, and the need to use sexual wiles to obtain such vital information. (Like many shows on these cable networks, "The Americans" features healthy dollops of gratuitous nudity, including almost weekly shots of Ms. Russell's bare bum.)
How they can do this without arousing the suspicion of their children (for the first two seasons, anyway), their employees at the travel agency, and their neighbor, who just happens to be an almost clueless FBI Agent, is one of those questions that you just shouldn't ask. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Season three has been a bit bewildering as the producers have give the Jennings an incredible number of balls to try to juggle in the air. There have been plot threads involving the Russians in Afghanistan, something to do with South Africa, the KGB's desire that the Jennings' daughter be recruited into the KGB, a female KGB agent, the incredibly hot Nina, who is now in a Soviet jail, Stan the FBI neighbor's divorce, and a disturbing and very icky plot element that has Philip being ordered to become "involved" with the 15 year old daughter of a CIA officer.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the bug planted in the FBI office by FBI secretary Martha, who is also married to Philip. If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't know, it really sounds preposterous, doesn't it?
Anyway, it had gotten to the point many times this season to say things like "now, who is this guy again?" or "why are they talking to this kid here?" and "who is that lady?" As I said, I think that they have tried to do too many things his season, and it appears that they don't know what to do with all these elements. And the show seems to have lost contact with the single great tension point of the series: THAT THESE SOVIET SPIES LIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE FBI AGENT WHO IS TRYING TO TRACK THEM DOWN!!!!!
Anyway, about halfway through the season we came to grips with the idea that we not even try to connect all the dots that are out there, and to just let the show flow over us. Also, in the previous two seasons of the show, the season finale has managed to tie loose ends together and deliver a wallop that will make you anxious for the next season to come around. We suspect that that is what will happen this time as well.
Wednesday night at 10:00 on FX. Please don't try to call us during that hour. We won't be answering our phone.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
To Absent Friends - Dan Farrell
Dan Farrell died earlier this week at the age of 84. Farrell was a news photographer for the New York Daily News, and in November, 1963 he took one of the most famous and poignant pictures ever taken:
Do I need to explain this picture? I don't think so, such is the fame of it.
In researching Dan Farrell on the Internet, you can find a sampling of some of the other news hoots that he took for the Daily News over the course of a remarkable career.
RIP Dan Farrell.
Do I need to explain this picture? I don't think so, such is the fame of it.
In researching Dan Farrell on the Internet, you can find a sampling of some of the other news hoots that he took for the Daily News over the course of a remarkable career.
RIP Dan Farrell.
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