I went into Super 8 with a bit of reluctance. I normally don’t like movies that focus on kids and it seemed like it might be a bit similar to E.T. Luckily, it was not. In fact, Super 8 is a scary movie. It was the scariest movie I’ve seen in theaters since The Strangers. But it was also a very well-made movie. The effects, from the massive train crash to our runaway creature, were superb. The acting was also great especially from the youngsters. Super 8 had a level of suspense that many movies don’t have nowadays. There was a lot of action, but you never really knew what was going to come next as the story unraveled. Although it started out a little slow, the last hour was compelling and exciting.
I would have like to see Kyle Chandler a little more because he’s so fantastic on Friday Night Lights but the stars of Super 8 really were the kids. If anything, their camaraderie and adventure reminded me of The Goonies, only, you know, with an alien instead of One-Eyed Willie. The ending was a little abrupt and fell into place too easily, but other than that it was a very good movie. Super 8 was a pleasant surprise and hopefully there will be more films like it in the future instead of the current bunch of comic book crap coming out this summer.
After winning his first Championship in 1991, an emotional Michael Jordan is interviewed by Bob Costas. Jordan’s wife, Juanita, probably should have taken her hat off. Awkward. Costas plays it like a pro, though.
Tomorrow, someone is going to raise the Stanley Cup. It’s been a wild Finals so far and every game in Vancouver has been decided by one goal. Continuing with our award-winning hockey coverage, I will be conducting the first ever Rainman Suite live running diary for Game 7. Check back at 8 Wednesday night. I promise it will be one of the best Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 live running journals you will ever read.
So Dirk Nowitzki is having a good week. NBA Title. Finals MVP. Drinking expensive champagne. It’s a little known fact that he wasn’t originally drafted by the Mavericks but part of a shrewd trade made by Don Nelson, who had fallen in love with Dirk. Of course he fell in love with Dirk! Munich is so romantic. That brings us to our Question of the Week. If you get it right, Mark Cuban will give you a billion dollars. The answer, as always, is after the jump.
Which team originally drafted Dirk Nowitzki and who was he traded for? (and a hint: it is not the Berlin Globetrotters and Detlef Schrempf)
It’s so simple. LeBron isn’t evil. He’s just tragic; he’s lost. Even as you’re rooting against him, you almost feel sorry for him. Almost.
Both LeBron and Vader grew up without fathers and endured fairly traumatic childhoods. With unparalleled potential, each was coddled in their training and was expected to be the most powerful person in their respective field, restoring it to former glory and even greater heights. However, neither was prepared to handle the early failures that every person must endure on the way to finding themselves. You could see the signs but wanted to ignore it. Arrogance. Envy. Pride.
Then came the betrayal—Anakin leaving the Jedi and joining the Sith under the Dark Lord Darth Sidious, LeBron leaving Cleveland and joining the Heat under the Dark Lord Pat Riley. In each case, their conflicted emotions were manipulated against them. Their new Dark Lords promised them greater power and grandeur than they could ever imagine but Anakin and LeBron were not prepared for the backlash.
Surely, Padme would want Anakin to rule the galaxy and the fans would want to see a Miami dynasty. But now with their hearts and minds corrupted, their flaws were exposed and ultimately they were defeated by Europeans with flesh-colored beards.
When LeBron lost to Obi-Wan Nowitzki, it was sad. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Had he had a more confident personality or better support system, maybe this all wouldn’t have happened. If he had remained in Cleveland or even come to New York, he would have been a conquering hero.
Instead LeBron took the easy way out but nobody followed him to South Beach, where the failure burns almost as hot as Mustafar. He still has his crew in Wade, Bosh, and Riley, but little else. LeBron wanted to be a Global Icon and now he is. He represents nearly everything that is wrong with this generation: trying to win without putting in the effort, lacking confidence in yourself, and pursuing fame and glamour above all else.
In the end, we learned that Vader still had some good in him as he helped destroy Sidious and the Empire. The prophesy was correct and balance was restored to the Force. Despite the negativity surrounding LeBron, his Decision piqued interest in basketball and the ratings for the Finals were the highest in years. Not counting the impending labor issues, the NBA is in the best shape it has been since Michael Jordan was in the league. LeBron has a lot to do with it.
Every story needs a villain. In recent years as the NBA has been trying to push a squeaky clean image with dress codes and T’s the moment a player looks at a ref funny, there haven’t been too many villains. Maybe this is LeBron fulfilling his destiny to bring the NBA back to glory and relevance. All I know is I can’t wait for next season.
I thought Mark Cuban letting the original Mavericks owner accept the Larry O’Brien Trophy was a nice touch. Still, it’s not my favorite Trophy presentation ever. That would be Joey Buss’s 2009 Lakers speech in which he seemingly forgets the English language so badly that his own brother is laughing at him. I wish my dad owned a basketball team.
And of course, no discussion of Championship celebrations would ever be complete without the man, the myth, the dancing machine: Mark Madsen.
And just for fun, here’s Zaza Pachulia celebrating a Game 6 First Round victory in 2008. Nothing easy! NOTHING EASY! How is it that the Hawks have such tepid fan support?
Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Title last night. Obviously this was a big series considering who their opponent was, but the Mavs deserve all the credit in the world. They are Champions in every sense of the word. Even in victory, they were humble and seemed content to celebrate with each other and their fans. Nowitzki now goes into the books as one of the all-time greats and the 2011 Finals as one of the best in a while. A wise young man once wrote, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from 21 years of watching basketball, it’s that a good team can overcome any obstacle.” I was right. Congrats to the Mavs and Germany. Now take it away, Hasselhoff!
The BCS retroactively stripped USC of its 2004 BCS National Championship for multiple rules violations. They won over six years ago. This isn’t yesterday’s news. This is yesterday’s yesterday’s news. So what if Reggie Bush got a car? Isn’t that basically what happens with every major football program?
Stripping USC of the Title is the lamest punishment ever. Everyone got their rings, accolades, and sex from the deal. You can’t take that back. Maybe a week after the fact but not six years. It’s not going to change the way anyone thinks. USC blasted Oklahoma that year too. It wasn’t like there were two evenly matched squads going up for the Trophy. The BCS didn’t even award the Title to anyone else. It’s vacant. Yet another reason why pro sports are superior to the college game. Even though the entire 2004 Boston Red Sox was juiced out of their mind, that fucking Trophy still resides at Fenway.
BCS, baby, nobody likes you already. On top of that, you’re probably an illegal monopoly. Now that Osama bin Laden is gone, you’re next in line for Congress after the bad economy. Leave well enough alone. You exist to determine the best college football team in the country, not act as a moral compass for America. If you want to be, feel free to go out and stop programs from cheating. But please, do it today and not six years from now (if you’re still here). Until then, you’re a jabroni, brother.
Our friend CurlySue (remember her?) had herself a fun weekend with a gentleman friend named TrustFund. There were candlelit dinners, horse-drawn carriage rides, and romantic sunsets. OK, maybe they actually just met at a bar. Still, TrustFund was so head over heels with CurlySue, he actually fell head over heels while they were dancing and broke his face. Be careful around her, boys. She’s dangerous. Here are the pics.
Rainman Suite 