Sports, A Movie, and a TV Show

A little bit of a smorgasbord this Monday.....

STEELERS 27 -TITANS 24

The Steelers steamrolled the 5-0 Titans in the first half yesterday and took a 24-7 lead into the locker room.  The Titans, who I once again remind you were also undefeated at the time, stormed back into the game, and only a wide right FG attempt at the end prevented the game from going into overtime.  Of course, the never satisfied members of Steelers Nation can only focus on how "they almost blew it."   People in the national media are not nearly as critical of Rooney U as are the yinzers of Pittsburgh.

The Steelers are 6-0.  They are the only undefeated team remaining in the NFL.  I'm happy.

Elsewhere in the NFL....

• The Buccaneers are now 5-2, and Tom Brady seems to be in his Golden Boy Groove.  Now the Bucs are bringing in the wide receiver whose Name Shall No Longer Be Mentioned.  I can't wait to see how THAT plays out.
• After starting 4-0 and talking Super Bowl possibilities and an MVP candidacy for Josh Allen, the Bills lost two games in a row, and managed to beat the crummy Jets yesterday 18-10 by kicking six field goals. Couldn't manage a TD against the worst team in the league.
• Nobody is more fun to watch than Patrick Mahomes.
• Man, do the Cowboys stink.

THE WORLD SERIES

The world Series currently has the Dodgers ahead of the Rays, 3 games to 2, and by all accounts the Series has been quite compelling.  Somehow, though, I have found myself to be disconnected to this Series.  I have yet to watch any of the games to a conclusion.  Instead, I give up after six innings or so and end up listening to the remainder of the games on the radio while in bed.  I guess that there is enough of the Old Geezer Factor in me that finds listening on the radio to be enjoyable.  And I do admit that after listening to that bizarre ninth inning of game four on the radio, I immediately jumped out of bed and switched on the bedroom television to check it out.

Rooting interest?  Does a ten dollar wager on the Rays at the outset of the Series tell you who I'm rooting for?  And no, even now, I'd be hard pressed to name more than a half-dozen or so the Rays' players.

"ON THE ROCKS"

The previews for Sophia Coppola's "On The Rocks" have been showing all over the place, so we checked it out on Apple TV+ this weekend.  Anything with Bill Murray is intriguing to Marilyn and I, and this one was no exception.  In this one, he plays a divorced, wealthy man about town who goes to the assistance of his daughter, played by Rashida Jones, who suspects that her husband might be straying on her.  Murray suggests that they trail her hubby to get to the bottom of what may or may not be going on.

It was interesting, but I expected more comic elements to it (which is what the trailers led you to believe).  Also, it was dark, not in tone, but dark, as in "not bright."  It was hard to make out some of the images as you were watching.  I spent much of the movie wondering if something was wrong with my TV set.

Bill Murray is always worth watching, but, still, only Two Stars from The Grandstander for this one.

"FARGO"

The fourth season of "Fargo" has aired six episodes thus far.  I have gotten through five episodes, and while I am enjoying it, it does not hold up quite so well when compared to the first three seasons of this FX series.

This one takes place in Kansas City in 1950 as the Italian  mob family that controls the KayCee underworld (after wresting control from the Irish Mob, who had wrested control from the Jewish Mob) struggles with the up and coming gang of African American mobsters.   The best part of this current iteration of the series is Chris Rock who plays Loy Cannon, head of the Black mob.  You're used to seeing Rock being funny, but he does a great turn in this dramatic role.

There are some quirky characters in this one, in the tradition of the Coen Brothers world of "Fargo", but that element seems somewhat forced this time around.  I'll stick with it to the end, though.

Two and One-Half Stars from The Grandstander.

What's on Television?

I know that you have all been wondering, "What has The Grandstander been watching on television these days?", so it's time to tell you....

• The Pittsburgh Penguins.  Yes, it is Stanley Cup playoffs time, so it's time for me to start watching NHL hockey.  I freely admit that my knowledge of hockey can fill two, maybe three, thimbles, but I know enough to know this...the Penguins are good, very good.  In the Columbus  series I was impressed by the Pens' ability to keep the puck inside the blue line for extended periods of time, thus keeping pressure on the opposing defense.  Of concern, though, was the fact that Columbus was able to register 51 shots on goal in that last game.  Can any team be expected to win twelve more games if the goalie has to make 49 saves a night?  Just askin'.  Looking forward to subsequent playoff rounds, and hearing Doc Emrick doing the play-by-play.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates.  Well, I am still going to wait unto about thirty games are in the books before making any extensive commentary, but, whoa, it is not looking good thus far, despite that sweep of the Cubs last weekend.  It is looking like there will be a lot of "Bob gets to bed early" type games when it comes to watching the Bucs this season.
• "The Americans".  Marilyn and I both thought that this series stayed too long at the fair, so to speak, took a downward turn in quality this season.  It got to the point where we just didn't take time to watch it, and allowed three episodes to back up on our DVR.  However, our friend Mark told us that no, this series is better than ever, so based on that, we spent last evening binge watching those three episodes.  I will concede that the series has picked up a bit, however, it is not what it was in it's initial three seasons.  Too much staring and brooding by all of the actors involved.  And has any character or actor ever been as stiff as the guy playing FBI agent Stan Beaman.  What a dork!  And he's got two KGB agents living right across the street from him so he can't be much of an FBI agent either.  On the bright side, the producers are still delivering gratuitous nudity just about every week, including shots of Keri Russell's bare bum.  Must be in her contract,
• "Feud: Bette and Joan".  I am saddened that this eight week series ends with tonight's episode. I have absolutely loved the show about actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, as played by Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange.  As I put it in an earlier post, two terrific contemporary actresses chewing scenery as they portray two legendary actresses chewing scenery.  It has just been the textbook definition of a Guilty Pleasure.  Davis comes across as the better actress and person in this presentation, with Crawford as the villain and super-bitch. Both Sarandon and Lange are terrific, but I am guessing that the Emmy nomination will go to Lange once awards season rolls around.  In supporting roles, I love Stanley Tucci as Jack Warner, and who doesn't love Jackie Hoffman as Mamacita?  If you haven't been watching this, go to On Demand and watch it.  Now.

Mamacita

• "Fargo".  FX kicked off Season Three of "Fargo" and it promises to be another oddball, quirky, and violent series set in the cold north of Minnesota with all the odd accents of the folks up there.  It started with a scene in an East German police office in 1988, before transitioning to Minnesota in 2010.  Not sure how that is going to tie in, but we'll see.  The story appears to involve two feuding brothers and their disputed inheritance, a female (of course) Minnesota police officer, some strange parolees, including a sexy tournament bridge player, and shadowy criminals horning in on a legitimate business. Oh, yah, it's going to be a good one, you betcha.
• Sitcoms.  "The Big Bang Theory", "Modern Family" and "Life in Pieces" are three must see programs in out house.  Each continues to get better as the years roll on.  Big Bang, in it's tenth season, when shows can expect to be petering out, seems to have picked up a second wind this year and is as good as ever.  It has been picked up for two more seasons, and shows no sign of slowing down (unlike, say, "The Americans").
• HGTV.  Nothing can fill up an evening when there's nothing else on like back-to-back-to-back episodes of shows like Fixer Upper (we LOVE Chip and Joanna!), House Hunters, Property Brothers, or Love It or List It.  One exception: Tiny Houses.  That one drives me nuts.  These dopes who are looking to "go tiny", get into one of the places and say things like "it's a little tight in here" or "aw, no full size refrigerator" or "there's no closet space" or "it'll be hard to have friends over and entertain in here".  It's a trailer with 300 square feet of space. What the hell did they think it was going to be like???  As I said...dopes! We'll stick with these folks:

Chip and Joanna Gaines

So there you go.  What have you all been watching?