JOHN STURGEON'S TOP TEN scripted shows of the Year

Here are my ten favorite scripted shows of 2011 with a few thoughts on each. It was a great year filled with a lot of quality stuff. Some other shows that deserve mention for being good but didn't make the cut are Modern Family, The Good Wife, New Girl, True Blood, Wilfred, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Treme, Falling Skies and Cougar Town.

10. SONS OF ANARCHY
      Kurt Sutter crafted an emotionally-charged tension-filled season with inner-club turmoil threatening to break SAMCRO for good. Charlie Hunnam and Maggie Siff delivered awesome performances throughout and the stakes were never higher. A finale that undid a lot of what was set up is why this ends up lower on the list.

9. COMMUNITY
      When this comedy is on its game, there is nothing more original on television. I loved the paintball sequel, the Glee spoof, Donald Glover screaming at Lavar Burton, and the seven timeline episodes especially. I hope NBC gets this show back on the air ASAP this Spring.

8. BOARDWALK EMPIRE
     The Jimmy/Nucky season 2 conflict delivered in spades as all the maneuvering, scheming, and killings led to a fateful climax for one of the main characters of the first two seasons. With a distinct look, terrific acting, and ballsy writing from Terrence Winter, Boardwalk took a big-step forward creatively in year 2.

7. LOUIE
     Season 2 of Louie was one deranged, dark, hilarious ride that could only come from the brilliant mind of the ultra-popular stand-up comic. From plots dealing with Louis bringing a duck to Iraq to a one of a kind confrontation with Dane Cook at MSG, you never knew what you would get each week, but knew that it would be some of the best written entertainment on television.

6. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
      "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose." Jason Katim's five season masterpiece finally came to a close in brilliant fashion in a season that finally brought Kyle Chandler a richly-deserved Emmy for his work as Coach Taylor. With returns from the past and compelling plots with the current inhabitants of Dillon, FNL season 5 gave all fans the closure they were looking for with great moments at every turn.

5. GAME OF THRONES
       HBO's new fantasy epic burst onto the scene in grand form. Featuring a tremendous battle over power in the Kingdom of Westeros, the show delivered twists, deception, sex, snarky dialogue, and action in unique and incredible ways. No one was prepared for the shocking death the climax of the season would bring but with dragons now in the picture and no one appearing to be safe, season 2 should up the ante this coming Spring as the answer for who really is the king comes to fruition. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion was the standout earning an Emmy for his work as the imp, Tyrion Lannister.

4. JUSTIFIED
      Season 2 was incredible featuring the three-way feud between Raylan Givens, Boyd Crowder, and the vicious Mags Bennett. Margo Martindale earned an Emmy for her portrayal of Mags while Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins got to continue showing off some of the greatest chemistry on the small screen as Raylan struggled to believe Boyd was a changed man of faith after all the damage he had caused.  With great banter due to the novel-like writing, tremendous action, and well-defined three-dimensional characters, Justified is one of the finest shows on television at the moment.

3.  PARKS AND RECREATION
     Parks delivered the perfect season in season 3 as the colorful cast sought about creating a great Harvest Festival while the romance between Leslie and her boss Ben heated up. Combining the stupid innocence of Andy and April, the stand-up type A personalities in Leslie and Ben, the Hollywood Dreams of Tom Haverford, and the funniest character on television, Ron Swanson, Parks and Rec has something for everyone. The combination of sharp humor and characters with heart continues to impress in ways no other comedy comes that close to matching. Here's to hoping there are many more episodes ahead.

2. HOMELAND
     Bursting onto the scene this fall, Showtime's epic new series showed that when you combine great actors with a great concept, a winning show emerges. Claire Danes played bipolar CIA agent Carrie Matheson, a woman convinced that recently returned marine Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) has been turned into a terrorist. Throughout the season, we are never quite sure what to make of Brody and the ways Carrie stays right on his tail are shocking and fun to watch. Both leads deserve Emmys as this series delivered week after week with stakes continually raising to a thrilling climax in the finale. Luckily for us, the show will be back for season 2 next year.

1. BREAKING BAD
    "I am the one who knocks." This Walter White quote sums up season 4 of one of the best dramas ever created. From the tremendous breakdown of the Jesse/Walt alliance to the riveting Walter/Gus conflict, season 4 of Breaking Bad delivered everything a fan could have hoped for. It answered once and for all whether Walt would be Scarface or a pawn in the drug game and showed the depths he'd stoop to in order to get there. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Giancarlo Esposito all deserve acting awards. Vince Gilligan continues to craft briliant scripts while also putting to film what is the most beautiful-looking show on television. I can't wait for the sixteen-episode final season.








      

Let them speak!

Disclaimer: I didn’t grow up a poor kid.  I didn’t grow up a rich kid.  I grew up comfortably; a white male from a good family.  My grandparents were farmers, police officers, factory workers, and delivery people.  My parents are teachers.  Through their hard work and generosity, I was able to attend Villanova University.  Thanks to Villanova, I was able to obtain a good job.   I believe in democracy and the freedoms our country was founded on.  I believe that if a government chooses to control its people by way of law, it must be for the greatest good for the greatest amount of people.  I believe that an American should be able to rise from the depths of poverty and attain happiness.  I believe in the American Dream.  

            The human experience can be encapsulated into three identifying categories: race, class, and gender.  No one chooses to be born into any specific group.  You open your eyes and life has already cast you into the system.  From day one, your forehead is stamped in permanent ink.  Black, White, Asian.  Male, Female, Other.  Lower-class, middle-class, upper-class.  This is what we are made of. 

            

            As we mature, we realize that these classifications don’t just define what we look like, how we pee, and where we sleep.  The classifications are a part of a societal network that has been molded and formed to decide our place in the world.  Most blacks born in America in the early 1800s were automatically slaves.  Females in the early 1900s were automatically housewives, trophies for their hard-working husbands.  It wasn’t until someone cleared their throat and spoke up that these oppressive customs were challenged.  I’m sure many people, black and white, thought Rosa Parks was crazy for not giving up her seat on that bus at the time.  What if she obliged the bus driver and moved to the back of the bus?  What if women never got out from behind the stove to protest the system? 

We may never know what justice will be brought about when we speak our minds, but we know what justice will emerge when we don’t; none.

This is where my anger and frustration comes with the 53% group.  If you didn’t know, the 53% represents the percentage of Americans that pay income tax.  The 53% group is anti-Occupy and thinks the movement is pointless and useless.  These are some of the things they have to say.

The 53% say Those Occupy people are just lazy!  Look at them in their filth!

            Laziness is not a trait limited to the occupy people.  I have met lazy people from every walk of life.  In my building at work, there is a guy from another company that we call “the clogger”.  For at least an hour every day he waddles into the two-stall men’s room and drops his pants.  Instead of dropping anchor he opens a book and proceeds to read a novel on the hopper instead of working.  (We can tell from the book’s shadows and the page turning sounds, not spying)  Many times he locks himself in stall while others are forced to prairie-dog it back to the office.  He “clogs” up the bathroom.   Back to my point, there are lazy, useless people everywhere.   The Occupy movement probably has more useless people than useful, but bystanders shouldn’t discredit the movement on those grounds. 

The 53% say I worked 194 hours a week for 22 years at minimum wage, and I ain’t asking for a handout! Get a job!”

            Good for you.  You are a causality of the system, and are annoyed that your generation wasn’t strong enough to protect and support your hard work.  You are no different than the old, wrinkled women from the 50’s that scoffed at the women’s movement because “in their day” they cleaned and cooked for their men.  That’s how it was and should be.  The younger generation should go through the same oppression, they say.

The 53% say No one forced you to take mortgages you couldn’t pay!

            No they didn’t, but most people with families prefer to live on their own in their own house after getting married instead of living with their parents until they are 40             when they finally have enough money to purchase a house.  But that’s the only way for most people.

           

            I’m not saying that one cannot rise up from the social class they are born into.  I’m saying the American Dream is a fading star, a dimming ray of light.  It is harder for lower-class kids to obtain a decent education, get a decent job, and start a decent business.  The system is collapsing around them, confining them in their class prison. 

            We have passed the Civil Rights Act, a landmark legislation that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women.  America made it so that being born a woman or a black didn’t confine you to a pigeonholed, underprivileged life.  Race, check.  Gender, check.  Class?

Class has never been an issue to policy makers.  Class is capitalism’s leftover mashed potatoes.  It is what it is.  You are born into a class and it’s up to you to trade the blue collar for a white.  Fine.  Sounds good.  American way. 

The problem arises when the “system” lends itself to corporations and big business.

Take my friend Joe Schmo.  He is born middle class.  He takes over his father’s hardware store after his Dad retires.  He makes an honest living at first.  As time progresses, Joe Schmo’s hardware store is no longer able to compete with Lowe’s and Home Depot because the economic climate in the country has allowed them to gobble up market share.  He can’t compete with their prices.  Joe closes up shop and takes a job with his former enemy, Lowe’s.  He has steady employment, good benefits, but little opportunity and incentive for pay increases at first.  He works his ass off and eventually gets a few promotions and is making a decent living.  He puts a down payment on a house, marries his babe, and has a kid or two.  He does this because he is a good worker and is confident in himself and his country.  He buys the house because that’s the only way he can become a homeowner in the current system. 

In 2008, the economy collapses.  Joe is still doing a great job at Lowe’s, but the company’s stock price is tanking.  To satisfy shareholders and the balance sheet, the CEO of Lowe’s orders a “cost cutting” of the company.  The bosses look to trim payroll and, in turn, fire our friend Joe.  Joe is now stuck with a big mortgage and couple hungry kids.  Joe finds work at Home Depot, but it is well under what he was being paid previously.  He spends almost all of his paycheck on the mortgage and saves very little.  When his kids graduate high school, Joe won’t have a penny to give them for college.  In lieu of going into serious debt, Joe’s kids decide to forego college and work at a department store like their Daddy.  They were born middle-class and their kids will be too.  The chains that bind us.

Someone once told me government’s main purpose is to protect those with property from those without property.  Think about it.  If you agree with this, then you will understand the inertial forces that drive the two poles further and further away like opposing magnets.  There is more security for the “have’s” and more desperation for the “have-nots”.

I don’t have a solution.  But I can see a problem and I am identifying it.  Maybe if I speak up and others speak up, then someone with a solution will change things.  

THE GREATNESS OF THE WALKING DEAD

It is rather surprising that another network didn’t attempt to bring a series of uber-successful graphic novels to life in the television format sooner but give credit to AMC. They looked around and saw the success shows like True Blood were bringing to HBO and decided to dive-in with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. In its first season last year, the network only ordered six episodes, barely enough time to establish characters or plot out an epic arc. The network was cautious due to the high production expense and wanted to see if fans would seek out something they had read or if people would sample zombie-fare in a weekly format.

I am 24

I am 24.  That’s 7 years of driving, 6 years of legality, and 3 years of alcohol. ;) 

24 year-old quarterbacks are called “babies”.  24 year-old gymnasts are called “retired” and 24 year-old horses are called “deceased”.  I am not certain where I stand on this scale.

I still consider myself to be a young person.  I can bench press more than your boyfriend.  I can stay awake past the Charlie Sheen hour.  I can still do the hot-step.  Even with all these obvious signs of youth, it’s getting harder and harder to keep the same carefree mind of my early years.  I can’t have a rerun of Family Matters on for more than 3 minutes before I slip on the Evening News.  I spent so many happy, zombielike hours of my childhood in front of a Nintendo 64, playing whatever Madden was out that year.  Now, if I touch a game controller it’s in a Best Buy for about 10 seconds, and its followed by a vigorous hand cleansing with sanitizer. 

I read Businessweek. Crissakes. Businessweek? And I actually enjoy it?

Yes, I suppose I do.  Rue, please punch me.  It seemed like five years ago I was running out to the street to rip the latest Disney Adventures from our Piney Hollow mailbox. 

I never knew what a filibuster was nor cared about gun control.  I never drank or ate anything that had less than 8 scoops of sugar in it.  “Sweet tooth” they called me.  If you go to dinner with me tomorrow, it will be iced tea, unsweetened for dinner and coffee, black for desert.  I prayed for snow, and thanked the heavens when it came.  This winter, the thought of a winter snow day makes me think of nails on a chalkboard. 

I don’t think it’s avoidable.  I don’t believe I chose to “grow up”.  Rather, I think a little hobbit in my brain flipped a switch and my childhood was over.  I know we all can’t go to school forever, and we all can’t live with our parents for eternity but I didn’t expect my innocence to end so abruptly. 

Some of my friends still play video games.  Some even watch marathons of Family Matters after work.  I envy them.

Knowledge excites me.  My own ignorance disgusts me.  Productivity is my middle name, and Louis is also my middle name.  Justin Louis.

I am not 24.

“Tattooed Youth: A Novel” Coming Soon.

Searching For Answers

It’s been ten days. Ten days ago I was sitting on a bench at a bar with two of my best friends, a blank look on my face. For a second, I wasn’t sure where I was, who I was with, what was going on. Then, like a swift punch to the gut it hit me, the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies season was over. As I looked up at the TV watching Chris Carpenter and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate on my home field, I was filled with a lot emotions, shock, anger, disappointment, sadness just to name a few. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this; this wasn’t supposed to be the end.

It’s been ten days. You would think after ten day’s I’d be over it after all it’s just a game. But to me and to so many other fans around the Delaware Valley, baseball is more than that; the Phillies are more than that. From March to October my life revolves around this team, 3 hours a night every night. We know the players so well it’s almost like we know them on a personal level. When you have so much invested in this team, financial and emotionally it’s almost like the Phillies are your family. You want them to win not just for yourself, but for them too. So to see this team fall short of winning the World Series was devastating.

Ten days later and I’m still searching for answers. How could this happen? The Phillies won 102 games in the regular season, a franchise record. They had the best pitching staff in the majors lead by the 4 Aces, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt and not mention rookie Vance Worley who had a spectacular season. The veteran lineup lead by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had their share of struggles until July when General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. traded for All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence. Pence seemed to rejuvenate and solidify the lineup Ryan Howard had protection in the five hole and Manager Charlie Manuel had his right handed bat he desperately coveted since the start of the season. They won their fifth consecutive National League East title and seemed to be rolling into the playoffs after a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Little did they know that the sweep of the Braves would eventually be their downfall.

The St. Louis Cardinals were ten and a half games out in the last week of August won the National League Wild card on the last day of the regular season. They were the hottest team in baseball and were one of two teams in the National League that had a winning record against the Phillies. I just didn’t feel good about this matchup. In the end the bats were dead, the brilliant Cliff Lee was blowing 4 run leads and Ryan Howard lay slumped on the ground in pain after weakly grounding into the final out and 8 innings of 1 run baseball pitched by Roy Halladay was not enough. The Season was over.

So where do they go from here? Will Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Madson be back? Who’s going to play left field? How much time will Ryan Howard miss? Is Dom Brown ready? These are just a few questions facing this team in the off-season. An off-season that shouldn’t have been here this quick, maybe these questions would have felt a lot better after a World Series Championship. Now the front office has to figure out a way to re-shape this team into World Series Champions until then it’s time to stop whining and to get over the 2011 Season, look on the bright side Phillies fans it’s just 5 months till Spring Training.

-Zorzi

Podcast 1

NLDS Preview

OCTOBER ENTERTAINMENT BLENDER: New Fall Shows worth watching

COURTESY OF SHOWTIME

There is no denying that the television networks have unleashed a bunch of mediocre shows this fall season. From garbage like a half-hearted reboot of Charlie’s Angels to NBC’s insipid Playboy Club and the overhyped bomb Terra Nova, it is tough to parcel out anything of substance worth investing your time into. The best new show of this development season are unfortunately being held off to the spring in the form of NBC’s Smash, a drama centered around a Broadway musical starring Katherine McPhee and Debra Messing. Having sifted through the new options this fall, I can recommend three new shows worth watching: FOX’s NEW GIRL (Tuesdays 8 PM), FOX’s THE X FACTOR (Wednesdays and Thursdays 7 PM), and SHOWTIME’s HOMELAND (Sundays 9 PM).

The end of summer...

Summer, summer, where have you gone?  It seems like just yesterday we were crying for warm weather and a right-handed bat in the middle of the Phillies lineup.  Fast forward a few months and we have an earthquake, a hurricane, and gangly, awkward, perfect 5-hole hitter.  Not a bad summer. 

Like with any season, summer goes too fast because we look too far into the future.  In the summer, we can't wait for Halloween and hoodie weather.  In the fall, we can't wait for Delilah's Christmas hits every night on B101.  In the winter, I can barely contain myself while thinking about Clearwater and our guys.  I think if we stop looking ahead and try to focus on what's in front of us, these summers will feel a lot slower, like we are actually there in the moment and not watching it pass us by. I guess that could be said for life as well.

I went with Gina <3 to Bonefish Grill last night before seeing an okay movie, My Idiot Brother (I thought I could relate).  Bonefish Grill was very, very good. The service was great and the fish was as fresh as Joey Cone's wardrobe.  It got me thinking, however, about how most cities and towns lack a sense of personality anymore.  I could go home after work today and go food shopping at Wal-Mart, have dinner at Bonefish Grill, and go to the gym at LA Fitness.  I could repeat the same cycle in a hundreds of cities across the States.  I'm sure at one point Deptford wasn't just Best Buys and Outback Steakhouse, but rather it was full of local restaurants and ma and pa department stores that felt like Deptford.

 I'm happy that in Philadelphia we get a little more local flavor with independent restaurants and shops, but suburbia is becoming a black hole that sucks in large corporations and housing developers (well.. errrr) and ejects home-grown, longstanding small businesses from their roots.  But nah, let's protect those big corps that are ruining what made America a great place, free enterprise.  Big Business is not America.  Big business is a means for a guy in a suit making 500,000 a year to hide beneath an umbrella of underlings and a cavalcade of lawyers.  There is no accountability, no face to the problem.  It's just the company.  If I have an issue with a Wal-Mart, my problem will very likely be squashed or tossed into some suggestion box.  If I have an issue with a local hardware store, the people that own the place will help me; because they care and they understand that my suggestion could make them better. Wal-mart doesn't care.  Small businesses care.  Small businesses have heart.  Small business is the guy in rags on the street corner blowing a smooth rendition of "What A Beautiful World" from his trumet as passerbys flick nickels into his instrument case.  Wal-Mart is 80's hair metal bands.  Look at me! Look at me!

This has nothing to do with summer, I know.  It's pathetic, I just want America back.

Or is this what America is and always was?

ENTERTAINMENT BLENDER- The State of Television

     It is hard to believe that another school year is upon us. The Fall TV season is fast approaching and it is time to take a look at the best stuff currently airing. Three comedies leap out right away in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Wilfred, and Louie. In its eighth season, Larry David has removed all the filters on his character after finalizing a divorce with his wife Cheryl in the season premiere. Deemed “The Social Assassin,” David has been on a tirade against the minutia that happens in everyday human life that we would all like to question out loud but typically refrain from doing. Like his previous show Seinfeld, all episodes tend to wrap up in delicious fashion with the various subplots intertwining. The big arc this season involves Larry and his agent Jeff moving to New York for a few months. Guest stars have included Ricky Gervais and Rosie O’Donnell. Ratings are at an all-time high, meaning we can probably expect another season of this gem. What one has to appreciate about Larry David is that he is so loaded and only signs on for more seasons if he has a worthwhile idea. If you are a fan of comedy, this show will be worth your while.

Philadelphia Sports Talk Radio

For as long as I can remember, sports talk radio has been a part of my life.  I remember hearing the WIP sports update jingle every morning in my mom or dad's car on my way to school.  It had long been the juggernaut of talk radio in Philadelphia, lampooning other local stations with witty dialogue and fun contests.  Their young and vibrant hosts were fresh, brash and very much welcomed in a time when newspapers and news stations offered very little criticism of the local sports team.  Cataldi was there to boo the Birds for drafting McNabb. Eskin was there to pick on the Phillies at any chance possible.

But as the years wore on, those youthful, scathing hosts became old and irritating.  Audiences began tuning their dials to new stations, on satellite radio and on the internet.  In the time of instant internet chats and message boards, sports radio became an antiquated bore that could only sustain itself if it changed with the times.  610 WIP didn't.

Enter 97.5 FM, the fanatic.  The Fanatic, also simulcasted on 950 AM, saw WIP's complacency and the rising interest in Philadelphia sports teams (particularly the resurgent Phillies) and set out to be everything that WIP wasn't.

At first, their attempts were scoffed at.  The 97.5 on-air talent was poor and the content was boring, until 2008.  It was in that year that The Fanatic signed former 610 host Mike Missenelli to anchor their afternoon drive show.  Since that point in time, the resurgent Missenelli pushed The Fanatic up and beyond his former station by surrounding himself with quality hosts both young and old, adding a text-board for listeners and treating the show's callers with respect.  His former competitor Howard Eskin won't admit it, but Missinelli's domination over him in recent years surely was a driving force in his recent resignation.

With the recent announcement of WIP moving into its new FM digs at 94.1, I want to give my thoughts on what shows will interest me the most.  Let's count 'em down.

Power Rankings
1. Mike Missinelli - Mikey Mush has risen from his own professional hell to become "the voice of the people" in Philadelphia.  I don't always agree with him, but there's no denying the entertainment found in his shows.  What separates Mike from the rest is his odd humor and ability to talk about things other than sports.

2. Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow - If you want real sports analysis, this is the show to listen to.  Cuz and Prof have been doing sports radio for years and they truly understand this sports landscape.  Gargano is a lovable I-Tailian who rejoices with the callers when our teams win.  Macnow is solid, but offers little in the personality department.

3. Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team - I used to love this show.  Now I can barely stand it.  It's usually a complete bore saved only by the hilarious genius that is Joe Conklin.  I like Rhea Hughes, Ricky Bo, and Keith Jones, but Angelo doesn't know sports well enough to yell as much as he does and Al Morganti simply doesn't talk enough.

4. Tony Bruno and Whoever - TB is beloved by a lot of people in the region, but I never got his shtick. He's okay, but how many drops can one take before they change the dial?

5. Baldy and Mays- Brian Baldinger is a nice addition to 97.5 but he isn't a game changer.  Harry Mays along with Dan Schwartzman might be the WORST thing to happen to sports radio in this city ever.  I can't stand his grating voice and his outdated views on the world around him.  He knows less about sports than the keyboard I am typing on. ughh.. and schwartzman, that guy seems like he was punched a few times growing up.

Most Underrated Sports Radio Personalities
- Phil from Mt. Airy (97.5)
- Larry Bowa (97.5)
- Sonny Hill (94.1)
- Rob Ellis (94.1)
- Seth Everett (94.1)
- John Marks (97.5)

Looking forward to........
     Michael Barkann's new show on WIP.  Entertaining guy, should be a good listen.

Voice I can hear over and over again....
     Dutch Daulton. Talkin' Baseball with Dutch has its dry spots sometimes, but just hearing Dutchy saying "Right on" keeps me happy and listening.

Football's Back!!......who cares

To say that I’m a hardcore sports fan is a bit of an understatement. I live and breathe sports, 24/7 to the point where some might think it’s kind of weird. As a sports fan this time of year has always been exciting for me. By this time I could usually tell if the Phillies were going to make a push for the playoffs and another division title and the last months of the baseball season are always fun due to the pennant races, but the thing that got me so pumped up was the start of football season. The National Football League has always been my crown jewel, my number one. I could tell you everything about any team, who their kicker was right down to who their third string quarterback was. This year, to quote the famous BB King, “The Thrill is Gone.”

I really don’t care about football right now. I have no interest in it, and quite frankly I’m disgusted with it. People that have known me for years or even a few minutes can pick up two things about me, I love the Dallas Cowboys with all my heart and I absolutely HATE the Philadelphia Eagles. Some people might think, “Ant, you don’t care about the NFL cause the Cowboys suck.” Or “You’re just jealous that the Eagles got all those free-agents.” Actually, I really don’t give a shit at all. If this was a normal year, I would be downright sick at the moves the Eagles have made, but instead I just don’t care. I used to read the Dallas Morning News everyday online and waste hours in forums reading about the Cowboys and potential free agent signings and draft picks, and this year, nothing.

The biggest factor that has lead to my overall disinterest is the NFL lockout. It made me realize just how much the NFL does not care about me, the fan. The fact that the players and owners could not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement for months is ridiculous. We all heard the cliché millionaires vs. billionaires and that’s exactly what it was, I’ll never make anywhere near what these guys make, and granted I don’t have the physical abilities that they do but still it got to the point where it was down right nauseating. How many times on Sportscenter did we have to see file footage of a bunch of players and owners getting in a out of cars, or Roger Goodell talking to Jerry Jones or some shit like that. Get over yourself. I lost a lot of respect for the NFL over this lockout debacle, and I can honestly say I don't know when and if I'll ever feel the same way about the league again.

Who knows, I write this on the first night of preseason games, I may be sucked right back in come week one, or at least when the fantasy football drafts get going. I just don’t see it happening, my frustration grows everyday and the fact that I live in the Philadelphia area doesn’t help. I can’t begin to explain how it kills me that the Phillies are in the midst of a historic run that they haven’t seen in their entire franchises history, yet they are only given 5 minutes of time on a 30 minute show. All the sports talk radio shows are dominated by this “all hype team”, and the Phillies are more like an afterthought. But I digress. It’s going to be an interesting season for almost every team, player and fan this year so I guess I’ll sit back and try to enjoy the ride.

-Zorzi

Writers gotta write

So I have 40 minutes left on my lunch break, and I want to ramble.

• Have you ever had a love affair with a sports team?  For the life of me, I can't differentiate between "being in love" and what I feel for this Phillies team.  It feels eerily similar.  And it's not a sexual, homo thing.  It's like I just want to wrap my arms and legs around a 3-dimensional Phillies logo and squeeze it until it the words look jumbled. Mr. Z and I have texted each other multiple times in the past few weeks after the Fightins amazed us again and again. We always write, "I love this team". We all do. LET'S GO EAT!!
• For those in my generation who watched the WWE in the late '90s and, like me, lost interest in the past decade due to dull storylines and recycled gimmicks, there once again is a reason to spend your Monday nights watching RAW.  Some try to compare what CM Punk is doing to what Steve Austin did to usher in the "Attitude Era".  In a ESPN podcast I just listened to Punk dubbed this new time in WWE history as the "Reality Era".  He wants to show fans multiple sides of a wrestler's character instead of the traditional one-dimensional "Duke the Dumpster Drose" types.  The only way to draw back disillusioned fans is to remove the illusion altogether and show them what is "beyond the mat" and behind the individual characters.  CM Punk is doing just that, saving the WWE one match at a time.
• Snooki blew off my morning drive radio show this morning (The Opie and Anthony Show on XM Sirius).  Personally, I am indifferent to these no-talent HACKS, but these Jersey Shore DOLTS really grind my gears.  It blows my mind to think about the money these reproducible every-twentysomethings-at-the-jersey-shore are making, but when they start to turn into insolent pricks I start to get angry.  I know, it's not their fault that MTV picked up their show. And it's not their fault that my demographic chooses to watch boring nothings instead of doing anything else.  But who the hell are you, Snooki? What talent do you possess that makes you different from every other girl in the club? I tell my friends this all the time. I can walk into The Ocean Drive on any summer night and pull 4 Snookis, 5 Situations, and 12 Ronnies out of the crowd and interchange them onto that show with no discernible difference. But I challenge you to find 1 Louis C.K. or 1 Jimmy Rollins or 1 Taylor Swift AKA people with superior talent to normal human beings. They are the ones that deserve our attention in entertainment! The ones that can do things that we can't!!!!!
• I'm liking this rant thing, I think I might do it every week. Still have ten minutes left in my break.. peacee

- JD

The Feel Of The Game (To the Armchair Quarterback)

I haven’t written anything in a while.  I can’t stand looking at my shitty novel anymore.  So the best thing for me right now is blank word document.  Don’t mind if I do…..

The Feel of the Game (To The Armchair Quarterback)

            On the first day of my Sports Writing class that I took spring semester senior year at Villanova, the professor got the class out of our beginning-of-the-semester hangover stupor and charged us to gather in the hallway.  We stood there in lettered hoodies and sweatpants listening to him explain what Sports Writing entailed.

            “But you’ll never understand anything,” he said wagging his finger at us, “until you know the feel of the game.”  We looked around at each other in the crowded hallway.  We didn’t understand and were in dire need of sleep. 

            “Now shadow box,” he said.  We all looked down at our feet; half out of sheepishness and the other half not knowing what the hell he was talking about.

            “Well get going!” He raised his voice as he pushed his round glasses off the bridge of his nose.  “This is your first assignment!”

            With the promise of the order being recorded as a grade, our lethargic group of 12-or-so began awkwardly jabbing the air, then ducking our heads as if we were avoiding a kiss from Snooki.  I even tried my hand at a knockdown, delivering a few haymakers to the hallway’s stale air.

            After a minute, fatigued students looked over to our professor, begging for him to call time.  He only stared at his wristwatch, urging us to keep up the pace. 

            Mercifully, he ordered us to stop.  We stood there, panting, arms akimbo (favorite new phrase, look it up).  Someone asked him what the hell all that was for.

            He clasped his hands together, smiling at us. “Because you’ll never know how to write sports unless you know the feel of the game.

            I think about that first day of class almost daily; whether it be after reading a lazily-constructed facebook status or listening to a self-proclaimed expert ramble on 610 or 97.5.  If there is one thing I can’t stand on this round earth, it’s the armchair quarterback.  This applies to more than just sports, but I’ll use it here for dramatic effect. 

            HEADLINE : Phils Topple Bravos For Third Straight Win

     Iamahugedoucher: “hells yes, phils! Best team in the worldddddd!”

(two weeks later)

            

      HEADLINE : Hanley, Marlins Sweep Phils Out of Miami.

      Iamahugedoucher: “HEY RUBEN TRADE HOWARD. HE CAN’T HIT A FRIGGIN CURVEBALL!”

            Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but when that opinion is not based on fact or the feel of the game then that opinion, simply, should be flushed down a fully functioning toilet. 

            The fan that has never felt his knees lock under the tight spin of a curveball.  The fan that has never felt the skull-squeezing pain of a concussion.  The fan that has never ripped their hair out trying to balance a payroll while trading for a tenured MLB veteran.

            I can be a hypocrite sometimes. Hell, we are all hypocrites.  But it’s those hallucinogenic people that actually believe they could stand in the batter’s box and stare Justin Verlander in the face without experiencing some degree of wetness in their undergarments that completely disgust me.

            I didn’t yell at Brian Boucher in the playoffs because I had no idea what wearing giant pillow cushions on my shins even felt like.  I didn’t call for Andy Reid’s head after the Birds lost in the playoffs because I never turned a floundering team into a billion dollar franchise.

            I’m not asking for people not to watch.  Please, enjoy those Cooler Ranch Doritos in front of your home television set, but think before you speak.  If we all would take this advice, this round earth would be a much less aggravating place.  

-J.D. 

Boston Rob's Perfect Game

     While good scripted fare is finally on an upswing with the arrival of Game of Thrones, The Killing, and the second season of Treme, reality television continues to dominate with the tremendous seasons of American Idol, Survivor: Redemption Island, and even Real World: Las Vegas that have been unleashed upon us this Spring. With this edition of the column, I want to take a look at Boston Rob’s overwhelming domination on Survivor this season.

AMERICAN IDOL POWER RANKINGS TOP 11

    A lot of people were worried about American Idol after the departure of Simon Cowell last season and the abysmal debacle that was season 9, featuring the worst winner in the history of the show, Lee Dewyze. After a long period where FOX conducted secret negotiations, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler were signed and joined with Randy Jackson to form the new trio. So far, as the finals have been going for a few weeks now, season 10 is a big winner with tremendous talent, a rejuvenated judging panel, and production enhancements to improve the overall experience.  I now present to you my ranking of the remaining 11 contestants and who I expect to take home the prize.

THE SHIELD Retrospective

     “The edge is where we live, all of us, all the time. People trying to convince themselves otherwise is just an exercise in self-deception.” This Vic Mackey quote aptly describes the type of world The Shield presented in its seven season journey. Starring Michael Chiklis as badass Detective Vic Mackey, the show covers the nefarious exploits of the four-man strike team in the Farmington police Department and the effects of their corruption on the department as a whole and the men themselves. The show plays out like an 88-part novel, as the story has a logical, consistent structure throughout and concludes with one of the great endings in television history.

THE BEST OF 2010 IN ENTERTAINMENT

With 2010 in the books, here is a look at the best in entertainment.

Best Movie- The Social Network

     It’s appropriate that the dominant social network was the impetus for the year’s best film, an explosive collaboration of inspired direction from David Fincher, an impeccable script from Aaron Sorkin, and the performance of a lifetime from Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. While some fictional elements were added, this movie depicts the creation of Facebook and rise of Mark Zuckerberg in riveting fashion. There is no doubt that in creating an empire, some people get hurt. Here, we see how the taste of success tested Mark’s friendship with his best friend Eduardo, allowed him to make powerful allies including Napster creator Sean Parker, and the trials and tribulations that grew Facebook into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. No film in years has had a bigger cultural impact and you know the movie is good when you don’t have to use Facebook to enjoy it.