Friday, March 31, 2006

Friday Fandango

No 3,000-word screeds today, people. Today we're going to blog it old school, kick it USA Today Larry King style, minus the ellipses.

Has everybody had enough George Mason coverage yet? Yesterday, I heard his two grown sons being interviewed on NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Reminds me of the time I heard Lakshmi Singh report that the Rams would have to beat the Seahawks for the third time in order to advance in the playoffs. When did Lakshmi Singh become Michele Tafoya? Have they changed the name to ESPNPR? Excuse me, but on NPR the only report I should hear about competition between Seahawks and Rams should reference the environment and Charles Darwin, not a football game.


I'm rooting for George Mason and LSU tomorrow, and if both win, I just hope the floor has been specially reinforced to accommodate Jai Lewis and Big Baby together on the same court Monday.

LSU's Tyrus Thomas has gone from off the board before the tournament to the top of some NBA draft projections. He is a thrilling athlete to watch, especially with his Kellen Winslowesque getting off the deck performance against Duke, but I don't know why you take him over Adam Morrison. Then again Morrison might just be the next Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy signed a five-year $44 million contract extension last fall and has really earned it by averaging 11 points this season. Thomas reminds me most of Antonio McDyess, who had a similar run in the 1995 NCAA's with Alabama. McDyess was taken second overall in the draft that spring, but after a promising start to his career, knee injuries have reduced him to a journeyman reserve, now with the Pistons.

Wizards with the big gutcheck win Tuesday night at Sacramento to guarantee at least a .500 on their West Coast road trip. The Wiz hadn't won there in 10 years and Gilbert Arenas was out with the flu, but Caron Butler stepped up and scored 23 points. Butler left the game after a flagrant foul from the Kings' Kenny Thomas opened a cut in his head that needed six stitches to close. Lots of Thomases figured in this game as Etan Thomas chipped in 12 and Billy Thomas celebrated his second week with Washington by matching his career high with 14. Billy Thomas is 30 years old and just played his 30th game in the NBA. That is dedication.

I don't care what Major League Baseball finds when they investigate steroids. I agree with Keith Olbermann, who said that this is happening because several sponsors have threatened not to participate in the Barry Bonds home run record promotions. Nor should they. Bonds' pursuit of the record is a travesty, and I will repeat what I said earlier about Bonds. Just don't pitch to him. Ever. Maybe he will go away.

Opening Day is Monday in Baltimore. Real sportswriters will cover the game in person. Good for them. I will bring you the riveting perspective of the game as seen from my couch.

Speaking of which, that wailing and gnashing of teeth you hear coming from Baltimore is the sound of local sportswriters learning that nude model Anna Benson is filing for divorce from her husband Kris, who signed with the Orioles in the offseason.

As opposed to the reaction of the movie critics clamoring for the "Basic Instinct 2" assignment, not because they want to see the movie, but because they can't wait to rip it to shreds in their review.

I guess Sharon Stone's career turned out to more than a flash in the pan (pun definitely and gleefully intended, as always).

Can "Ice Age 2" beat "Basic Instinct 2" in a battle of the sequels for box office supremacy this weekend? In what may become a regular Friday feature, let's play "Guess the Gross." This has nothing to do with my friend Daniel Gross, the noted
business writer and blogger, who recently made Al Franken laugh on the air with a Nixon joke. Quick breakdown: "Ice Age" has been hyped relentessly for months, beaten into our skulls everytime we turn on the TV to watch the Super Bowl, American Idol or the NCAA Tournament, but for some reason my kids, who are dead center in the target market zone, are not clamoring to see it. Also, the weather is finally getting nice, and the last place I want to go is the movie theater. "Basic Instinct 2" will do better on DVD than in the theater because it's one of those movies that nobody will admit they want to see, but I'll go ahead and predict a mild upset: $35 million for BI2 to $30 million for IA2.

That's it for me, rack me, I'm out.


1 comment:

Bill Fitzgerald said...

Yeah, not a big fan of Alan Chews either. I have a hard enough time listening to music critics, but book reviews have to be the worst. For some reason, I don't feel the same way about movie critics.