My last blog featured my top four favorite actors of my lifetime so I think it's only necessary to now do one on actresses.
Here are my top four ... and I know the movies I list aren't there only ones.
Sandra Bullock
I absolutely love Bullock. I know she doesn't have the resume of some of the other greatest actresses but I love most of what she's done.
My favorite movie that Bullock starred in was her breakthrough role as "Annie" in Speed. It was released in my prime teenage years, and I remember watching that movie about 1,000 times as a child.
Her and Keanu Reeves had such good chemistry in that film.
Before Speed, she played a minor role in Demolition Man, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Stallone made my Mount Rushmore of actors and this is a movie they were both in.
Bullock was a star in the 1990s. After Speed came While You Were Sleeping and The Net in 1995, A Time To Kill in 1996 and Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1997. Hope Floats followed in 1998 and then came the famous Miss Congeniality and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous in 2000 and 2005, respectively.
The Net is an underrated movie. Bullock's character works in computers and her identity gets stolen when she is on vacation. She spends the rest of the movie trying to get her real identity back. Love that one.
A Time To Kill was fantastic. It stars Matthew McConeghey and Samuel L. Jackson.
Bullock's busiest and most productive year was 2009. She made three movies that year, including The Proposal and The Blind Side.
Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy. I hear so many people say they hated this movie. Not sure why. But I may be in the minority. I loved it, and Bullock was fantastic in the lead role.
The Proposal was a fun flick with Ryan Reynolds. And it portrays Bullock as Reynolds' bitchy boss, which is different than most of her other roles.
After these two box-office hits, Bullock appeared in Gravity (2013), Minions (2015), Ocean's Eight (2018) and Bird Box (2018).
Minions is Bullock's highest grossing film and Bird Box had the largest debut week ever for a Netflix film.
Bullock also stands out for owning a production company called Fortis Films.
Demi Moore
One of my favorite actresses growing up was Demi Moore. She has to make my list.
Moore started out as a character on the wildly popular soap opera General Hospital and has been married to Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher.
As for her movies, I remember Moore first for her role in One Crazy Summer, which was released in 1986. If you haven't seen it, find it. It's a fun movie also starring John Cusack.
Moore's most popular films are no doubt Ghost and A Few Good Men. I could watch A Few Good Men every time it's on TV. And what a cast with Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Keifer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Junior and Kevin Pollack. So good.
Ghost is a great movie, too. And who doesn't love Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg?
Like Bullock, Moore also was wildly popular in the 1990s. After Ghost (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992) came Indecent Proposal in 1993, Disclosure in 1994, the Scarlet Letter in 1995 and the Juror and Striptease in 1996. Her final movie before a long break was G.I. Jane in 1997.
Disclosure and G.I. Jane were two others that saw Moore at her best.
The sex scenes with Michael Douglas in Disclosure were borderline soft porn. She portrayed the seductive boss of Douglas who tries to rekindle a former fling and gets sued for sexual harassment.
Moore gets treated horribly as a military woman in G.I. Jane. But earns the respect of the rest of her platoon before the movie ends.
She was paid $12.5 million to show her boobs multiple times in Striptease. And her most recognizable movie since coming back from her long break was Charlie's Angles: Full Throttle, which was released in 2003.
Julia Roberts
Roberts has played in wide variety of roles and is an Academy Award winner.
She played a supporting role in Steel Magnolias in 1989 before her breakthrough lead role as "Vivian Ward," a prostitute who plays alongside male lead Richard Gere, in Pretty Woman. It's probably her most popular film but not the one she won Best Actress for.
After Pretty Woman in 1990 came Hook and Sleeping with the Enemy in 1991, Pelican Brief in 1993 and Conspiracy Theory and My Best Friend's Wedding in 1997. Runaway Bride was another movie with Gere that came out in 1999.
Roberts' Best Actress Academy Award came in the 2000 flick Erin Brockovich, in which she plays the title character in a movie about an unemployed single mother who becomes a legal assistant that almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
After Erin Brockovich came Ocean's Eleven in 2001 and Ocean's Twelve in 2004. She also played the voice of "Charlotte the Spider" in Charlotte's Webb that came out in 2006.
My wife and I liked the movie Valentine's Day, which came out in 2010. Roberts played a minor role in a movie that also starred Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Kathy Bates, Jamie Foxx, Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway and Queen Latifah.
And if you haven't seen Wonder, which was released in 2017, I will recommend that one, too.
It's based on the New York Times bestseller and it tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. Roberts plays August's mother and Owen Wilson plays his father.
Pretty Woman grossed $466 million and Roberts' movies have made about $2.8 billion, which makes her one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood. Her net worth was $170 million back in 2017.
Meryl Streep
I can't have a Mount Rushmore like this and not include Streep, who has been nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards. Of those 21 nominations, 17 came for Best Actress and she's won three times.
I first remember Streep for her role in Death Becomes Her, which came out in 1992 when I was 12. The River Wild is a fun movie that came out a few years later.
I grew up in Earlham, Iowa, which was a few miles from most of the Madison County bridges. Streep, of course, played one of the lead roles in Bridges of Madison County and was nominated for an Academy Award. That came out in 1995.
The Manchurian Candidate was another good one and she was nominated for an Academy Award for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada and The Post.
Streep plays a bitchy fashion magazine editor in chief in The Devil Wears Prada and co-stars with Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt.
I just watched The Post again on TV. As a sports journalist by trade, there isn't a movie about reporting and newspapers that I don't like.
The Post is about a cover up that spanned four U.S. Presidents that pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government. Streep plays publisher Kay Graham and Tom Hanks is editor Ben Bradlee.
Streep's Academy Awards came for Best Actress in Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011) and Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980.
Honorable Mention
Halle Berry
Jodie Foster
Charlize Theron
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
Mount Rushmore of Actors
You can make a Mount Rushmore of just about anything. Favorite foods, favorite movies, best sports figures of all time name the sport.
For my first one, I am going to give you my Mount Rushmore of actors. These aren't necessarily the best actors of all-time. I am giving you the four actors I like most for their characters and movies.
Here is my list ... And go easy on the movies I mention. I realize there are others.
Tom Hanks
Hanks is arguably one of the greatest actors of all-time. To me, if you are making a list of GOAT actors, Hanks has to be in the discussion.
From falling in love with a mermaid in one of his breakout roles in Splash in 1984 to playing Mr. Rogers in one of his most recent films, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, in 2019, Hanks has basically done it all.
He has acted for star directors such as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Sam Mendes, Robert Zemeckis, Penny Marshall and Richard Donner.
Hanks played a war hero in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and a newspaper editor in Spielberg's The Post. His other Spielberg movie was The Terminal, an underrated movie that I enjoyed very much.
Ron Howard was his director in Splash, which one could argue was his breakthrough role along with Bachelor Party, which also came out in 1984. He was an astronaut in Howard's Apollo 13.
Two of his biggest roles of all-time came under the direction of Zemeckis in Forrest Gump and Cast Away. He won an Academy Award for his role as a slow-witted and kind-hearted man from Alabama.
Two of my favorite roles came in Penny Marshall's Big and A League of Their Own. I watched Big about a million times as a child. It is still one of my favorite Hanks' movies.
He also played the narrator and a minor acting role in Donner's Radio Flyer. He has played an airplane pilot in Eastwood's Sully, which I enjoyed very much.
You want animation? He did that, too, when he starred as Woody in all four Toy Story movies.
I actually just watched Road to Perdition tonight. That one was directed by Mendes and featured Hanks as a mob enforcer whose wife and youngest son were murdered. It's Hanks in a different role but as always he knocks it out of the park.
His other big movies with not-so-famous directors include Turner & Hooch, Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail.
He won an Academy Award for his role as a gay lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia.
Don't worry, Hanks also directed multiple films, including That Thing You Do in 1996 and Larry Crowne in 2011.
Sylvester Stallone
Stallone isn't known for his awesome acting. He's never won an Academy Award but has been nominated for his work in both Rocky and Creed.
But he's got talent. He was nominated for an Oscar for his Rocky screenplay, too. He's also written and/or directed more than 10 films.
The Rocky/Creed series and Rambo series are two of my favorite franchises. He also directed The Expendables and was involved in the screenplay writing of all three Expendables movies.
Let's start with Rocky. He wrote the screenplay for all six movies in the franchise and directed Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4 and Rocky Balboa. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Creed and was involved in the writing of Creed 2.
The Rocky and Creed movies span 42 years.
He made five movies in the Rambo franchise spanning 37 years. His most recent Rambo film was titled Last Blood and it came out in 2019. It was fantastic.
Besides his three franchise series, Stallone also starred in some very popular action movies starting in 1986 in Cobra and ending in 2002 in Eye See You, one that many may not have seen but I would recommend.
He also starred in several other popular films such as Over The Top (1987), Lock Up (1989), Tango & Cash (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), The Specialist (1994) and Daylight (1996).
Stallone also starred as a race car driver in Driven (2011) and was voice of one of the animals in Zookeeper (2001) starring Kevin James.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Another actor who isn't the greatest of actors in the history of the game but one who has quite a few movies I absolutely love.
Arnold went from barely speaking any English in Conan the Barbarian in 1982 to shifting his action roles to comedies such as Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Jingle All The Way.
Like Stallone, Schwarzenegger is known for some of his franchises. He was in all 5 Terminator movies, which started with the original back in 1984. That series spanned 35 years.
He owned the 1980s and 1990s with lead roles in The Terminator, Commando, Predator, Running Man, Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop and True Lies. He also played a pregnant man in Junior.
Arnold was so good in life that he went from winning bodybuilding contests before his acting career to becoming Governor of California after.
Eddie Murphy
This one might surprise some. I know Murphy's catalog isn't as deep as others but when he was at his best, he made me laugh for hours.
He might have made my list for only Coming to America, Trading Places and the Beverly Hills Cop triology. Those are all fantastic flicks.
But Murphy also was in 48 Hours, Golden Child, Boomerang, a pair of Nutty Professor movies and Daddy Day Care. He also played in Dr. Doolittle and was a main voice character in the Shrek franchise.
His latest work came in Dolemite Is My Name. I have not seen it yet, but I heard he did great work.
My favorite Murphy films are Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop. And they are working on a Coming 2 America sequel that will be out in the next year or so.
Honorable Mention
Morgan Freeman
Denzel Washington
Harrison Ford
Tom Cruise
Bruce Willis
Adam Sandler
Nicolas Cage
For my first one, I am going to give you my Mount Rushmore of actors. These aren't necessarily the best actors of all-time. I am giving you the four actors I like most for their characters and movies.
Here is my list ... And go easy on the movies I mention. I realize there are others.
Tom Hanks
Hanks is arguably one of the greatest actors of all-time. To me, if you are making a list of GOAT actors, Hanks has to be in the discussion.
From falling in love with a mermaid in one of his breakout roles in Splash in 1984 to playing Mr. Rogers in one of his most recent films, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, in 2019, Hanks has basically done it all.
He has acted for star directors such as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Sam Mendes, Robert Zemeckis, Penny Marshall and Richard Donner.
Hanks played a war hero in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and a newspaper editor in Spielberg's The Post. His other Spielberg movie was The Terminal, an underrated movie that I enjoyed very much.
Ron Howard was his director in Splash, which one could argue was his breakthrough role along with Bachelor Party, which also came out in 1984. He was an astronaut in Howard's Apollo 13.
Two of his biggest roles of all-time came under the direction of Zemeckis in Forrest Gump and Cast Away. He won an Academy Award for his role as a slow-witted and kind-hearted man from Alabama.
Two of my favorite roles came in Penny Marshall's Big and A League of Their Own. I watched Big about a million times as a child. It is still one of my favorite Hanks' movies.
He also played the narrator and a minor acting role in Donner's Radio Flyer. He has played an airplane pilot in Eastwood's Sully, which I enjoyed very much.
You want animation? He did that, too, when he starred as Woody in all four Toy Story movies.
I actually just watched Road to Perdition tonight. That one was directed by Mendes and featured Hanks as a mob enforcer whose wife and youngest son were murdered. It's Hanks in a different role but as always he knocks it out of the park.
His other big movies with not-so-famous directors include Turner & Hooch, Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail.
He won an Academy Award for his role as a gay lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia.
Don't worry, Hanks also directed multiple films, including That Thing You Do in 1996 and Larry Crowne in 2011.
Sylvester Stallone
Stallone isn't known for his awesome acting. He's never won an Academy Award but has been nominated for his work in both Rocky and Creed.
But he's got talent. He was nominated for an Oscar for his Rocky screenplay, too. He's also written and/or directed more than 10 films.
The Rocky/Creed series and Rambo series are two of my favorite franchises. He also directed The Expendables and was involved in the screenplay writing of all three Expendables movies.
Let's start with Rocky. He wrote the screenplay for all six movies in the franchise and directed Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4 and Rocky Balboa. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Creed and was involved in the writing of Creed 2.
The Rocky and Creed movies span 42 years.
He made five movies in the Rambo franchise spanning 37 years. His most recent Rambo film was titled Last Blood and it came out in 2019. It was fantastic.
Besides his three franchise series, Stallone also starred in some very popular action movies starting in 1986 in Cobra and ending in 2002 in Eye See You, one that many may not have seen but I would recommend.
He also starred in several other popular films such as Over The Top (1987), Lock Up (1989), Tango & Cash (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), The Specialist (1994) and Daylight (1996).
Stallone also starred as a race car driver in Driven (2011) and was voice of one of the animals in Zookeeper (2001) starring Kevin James.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Another actor who isn't the greatest of actors in the history of the game but one who has quite a few movies I absolutely love.
Arnold went from barely speaking any English in Conan the Barbarian in 1982 to shifting his action roles to comedies such as Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Jingle All The Way.
Like Stallone, Schwarzenegger is known for some of his franchises. He was in all 5 Terminator movies, which started with the original back in 1984. That series spanned 35 years.
He owned the 1980s and 1990s with lead roles in The Terminator, Commando, Predator, Running Man, Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop and True Lies. He also played a pregnant man in Junior.
Arnold was so good in life that he went from winning bodybuilding contests before his acting career to becoming Governor of California after.
Eddie Murphy
This one might surprise some. I know Murphy's catalog isn't as deep as others but when he was at his best, he made me laugh for hours.
He might have made my list for only Coming to America, Trading Places and the Beverly Hills Cop triology. Those are all fantastic flicks.
But Murphy also was in 48 Hours, Golden Child, Boomerang, a pair of Nutty Professor movies and Daddy Day Care. He also played in Dr. Doolittle and was a main voice character in the Shrek franchise.
His latest work came in Dolemite Is My Name. I have not seen it yet, but I heard he did great work.
My favorite Murphy films are Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop. And they are working on a Coming 2 America sequel that will be out in the next year or so.
Honorable Mention
Morgan Freeman
Denzel Washington
Harrison Ford
Tom Cruise
Bruce Willis
Adam Sandler
Nicolas Cage
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Post NFL Draft
The NFL Draft is over. I watched every minute of all three days except for about 20 minutes on Saturday when I ate dinner with my family.
It consumes me. I take it all in. I am locked into my favorite team's moves. I look for college players I love. And I lock in on players I want my team to draft.
My team is the San Francisco 49ers. They made just five picks in this year's draft and none of them came at their original draft slot. They traded back in the first round and then traded up. They didn't have a 2-3-4 picks originally and then traded for Trent Williams and lost a 5th rounder.
They then traded away Marquise Goodwin and Matt Breida to gain a few picks and also drafted in Round 7.
They replaced key departures with their first two picks and Williams and then double dipped at WR and added depth on the OL and TE.
The biggest news for me after the Williams trade came the announcement of Joe Staley retiring. He's one of my all-time favorite Niners. He played in two Super Bowls and also played on some bad teams. In 13 years, he played for seven head coaches. But he was classy through it all.
And the word was he told Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch privately to allow them to work a trade during the draft. They upgraded with Williams, who is four years younger and better right now than Staley, who may be a Hall of Famer.
I liked what San Francisco did. They were the best team in the NFC last year and I don't think they took a step back this offseason. I imagine some more moves are coming.
The consensus among draft experts is that the Ravens, Vikings, Cowboys, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Colts had great drafts. I also liked what the Broncos, Bills, Jaguars and Redskins did.
The teams who drafted the worst were the Eagles, Packers, Seahawks and Bears.
After the draft, here are my top five teams in each conference.
AFC
1. Chiefs
2. Ravens
3. Titans
4. Bills
5. Colts
NFC
1. 49ers
2. Saints
3. Vikings
4. Buccaneers
5. Cowboys
It consumes me. I take it all in. I am locked into my favorite team's moves. I look for college players I love. And I lock in on players I want my team to draft.
My team is the San Francisco 49ers. They made just five picks in this year's draft and none of them came at their original draft slot. They traded back in the first round and then traded up. They didn't have a 2-3-4 picks originally and then traded for Trent Williams and lost a 5th rounder.
They then traded away Marquise Goodwin and Matt Breida to gain a few picks and also drafted in Round 7.
They replaced key departures with their first two picks and Williams and then double dipped at WR and added depth on the OL and TE.
The biggest news for me after the Williams trade came the announcement of Joe Staley retiring. He's one of my all-time favorite Niners. He played in two Super Bowls and also played on some bad teams. In 13 years, he played for seven head coaches. But he was classy through it all.
And the word was he told Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch privately to allow them to work a trade during the draft. They upgraded with Williams, who is four years younger and better right now than Staley, who may be a Hall of Famer.
I liked what San Francisco did. They were the best team in the NFC last year and I don't think they took a step back this offseason. I imagine some more moves are coming.
The consensus among draft experts is that the Ravens, Vikings, Cowboys, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Colts had great drafts. I also liked what the Broncos, Bills, Jaguars and Redskins did.
The teams who drafted the worst were the Eagles, Packers, Seahawks and Bears.
After the draft, here are my top five teams in each conference.
AFC
1. Chiefs
2. Ravens
3. Titans
4. Bills
5. Colts
NFC
1. 49ers
2. Saints
3. Vikings
4. Buccaneers
5. Cowboys
Thursday, April 23, 2020
NFL Draft - First Round Recap
I will never claim to be an NFL Draft expert. I love the weekend. I take part in the fun with some guesses. I got 7 picks exactly right.
But we knew Joe Burrow was going first and Chase Young second. The Lions made the right choice with Jeff Okudah at 3. I also hit on Derrick Brown at 7, CJ Henderson at 9, Henry Ruggs III at 12 and Patrick Queen at 28.
Other than that, you can tear it up and cross it off. Seven out of 32 is hardly a passing grade. But I am sure it's better than some no-name guys filling it out.
Burrow to the Bengals, Young to the Redskins and Okudah to the Lions were the smart picks. Can't be mad at any of those selections.
I also loved Tua going 5 to the Dolphins and Arizona got great value with Isaiah Simmons at 8, Cleveland got great value at 10 with Jedrick Wills and Tampa Bay the same at 14 with Tristan Wirfs.
I didn't hate most of the picks. I think the Raiders should have taken Ceedee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy at 12 but they value Henry Ruggs' speed.
As a 49ers fan, I would rather had them take Lamb or Jeudy at 14. Jevon Kinlaw is a solid pick that can replace DeForest Buckner but I was salivating over an elite WR. They did make up for it by choosing the speedy Brandon Aiyuk at 25 but moved up to do so.
San Francisco is basically getting another Deebo Samuel with Aiyuk and they replaced their two biggest losses in Buckner and Emmanuel Sanders with Kinlaw and Aiyuk. Not bad.
Dallas chose to go with Lamb. They didn't need a WR but took best player available. I still don't know who the Cowboys stop with that defense though.
The Eagles had a head scratcher, too. They took Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson, which I definitely didn't understand. Jefferson to me is a better version of Stefan Diggs and Minnesota got a good one.
The Vikings, Dolphins, Chargers, Niners, Raiders and Jaguars all had multiple picks.
The Dolphins got Tua at 5, Austin Jackson at 18 and Noah Igbinoghene at 30. Not a bad haul. I probably would have taken Josh Jones over Jackson and Jeff Gladney or Trevon Diggs over Igbinoghene but they hit on needs. And they have 14 picks total.
The Vikings were one of the big winners to me. I love Jefferson and they got the other glaring need in Gladney at 31.
There were picks I didn't like. I don't think Justin Herbert is worthy of the No. 6 pick but I get the Chargers needed a QB. I would have taken Simmons at 4 if I was the Giants. They went with an OT but not one of the top two in my opinion.
And at 7, Brown is a good pick, but why not Simmons? Simmons was a top 4 talent and went 8 to Arizona. The Cardinals need an OT but Simmons will certainly help the defense.
I hated the Falcons going with A.J. Terrell at 16. That's way too early. But the Raiders taking Damon Arnette at 19 is even worse.
The Chargers made up for the Herbert pick but trading up to get Kenneth Murray for their defense.
Packers' fans hated the Jordan Love pick at 26. They traded up to get him but most fans wanted a receiver. It appears that most teams were OK with waiting on a deep receiver class and addressing some other picks first.
Right now, the Packers are one of my biggest losers but there are still plenty of WR left to take in Round 2. They can make amends on Friday night.
Seattle took linebacker Jordyn Brooks over Patrick Queen. That was dumb to me. Queen is LB3 to me.
Kansas City did take a running back at 32 but it wasn't D'Andre Swift or Jonathan Taylor. They grabbed Clyde Edwards-Helaire and he might catch 75 passes next year. He's a great fit for the offense but I probably would have taken Swift or Taylor first.
Top winners
Jaguars
Vikings
Arizona
Top losers
Falcons
Packers
Seahawks
Favorite Pick
Vikings - Justin Jefferson. The Eagles' mistake was the Vikings' game.
Least favorite Pick
Seahawks - Jordyn Brooks. Much better linebackers were on the board. I don't get this one at all.
Best available guys
D'Andre Swift
Xavier McKinney
A.J. Epenesa
Yetur Gross-Matos
Jonathan Taylor
Kristian Fulton
Ross Blacklock
Josh Jones
But we knew Joe Burrow was going first and Chase Young second. The Lions made the right choice with Jeff Okudah at 3. I also hit on Derrick Brown at 7, CJ Henderson at 9, Henry Ruggs III at 12 and Patrick Queen at 28.
Other than that, you can tear it up and cross it off. Seven out of 32 is hardly a passing grade. But I am sure it's better than some no-name guys filling it out.
Burrow to the Bengals, Young to the Redskins and Okudah to the Lions were the smart picks. Can't be mad at any of those selections.
I also loved Tua going 5 to the Dolphins and Arizona got great value with Isaiah Simmons at 8, Cleveland got great value at 10 with Jedrick Wills and Tampa Bay the same at 14 with Tristan Wirfs.
I didn't hate most of the picks. I think the Raiders should have taken Ceedee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy at 12 but they value Henry Ruggs' speed.
As a 49ers fan, I would rather had them take Lamb or Jeudy at 14. Jevon Kinlaw is a solid pick that can replace DeForest Buckner but I was salivating over an elite WR. They did make up for it by choosing the speedy Brandon Aiyuk at 25 but moved up to do so.
San Francisco is basically getting another Deebo Samuel with Aiyuk and they replaced their two biggest losses in Buckner and Emmanuel Sanders with Kinlaw and Aiyuk. Not bad.
Dallas chose to go with Lamb. They didn't need a WR but took best player available. I still don't know who the Cowboys stop with that defense though.
The Eagles had a head scratcher, too. They took Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson, which I definitely didn't understand. Jefferson to me is a better version of Stefan Diggs and Minnesota got a good one.
The Vikings, Dolphins, Chargers, Niners, Raiders and Jaguars all had multiple picks.
The Dolphins got Tua at 5, Austin Jackson at 18 and Noah Igbinoghene at 30. Not a bad haul. I probably would have taken Josh Jones over Jackson and Jeff Gladney or Trevon Diggs over Igbinoghene but they hit on needs. And they have 14 picks total.
The Vikings were one of the big winners to me. I love Jefferson and they got the other glaring need in Gladney at 31.
There were picks I didn't like. I don't think Justin Herbert is worthy of the No. 6 pick but I get the Chargers needed a QB. I would have taken Simmons at 4 if I was the Giants. They went with an OT but not one of the top two in my opinion.
And at 7, Brown is a good pick, but why not Simmons? Simmons was a top 4 talent and went 8 to Arizona. The Cardinals need an OT but Simmons will certainly help the defense.
I hated the Falcons going with A.J. Terrell at 16. That's way too early. But the Raiders taking Damon Arnette at 19 is even worse.
The Chargers made up for the Herbert pick but trading up to get Kenneth Murray for their defense.
Packers' fans hated the Jordan Love pick at 26. They traded up to get him but most fans wanted a receiver. It appears that most teams were OK with waiting on a deep receiver class and addressing some other picks first.
Right now, the Packers are one of my biggest losers but there are still plenty of WR left to take in Round 2. They can make amends on Friday night.
Seattle took linebacker Jordyn Brooks over Patrick Queen. That was dumb to me. Queen is LB3 to me.
Kansas City did take a running back at 32 but it wasn't D'Andre Swift or Jonathan Taylor. They grabbed Clyde Edwards-Helaire and he might catch 75 passes next year. He's a great fit for the offense but I probably would have taken Swift or Taylor first.
Top winners
Jaguars
Vikings
Arizona
Top losers
Falcons
Packers
Seahawks
Favorite Pick
Vikings - Justin Jefferson. The Eagles' mistake was the Vikings' game.
Least favorite Pick
Seahawks - Jordyn Brooks. Much better linebackers were on the board. I don't get this one at all.
Best available guys
D'Andre Swift
Xavier McKinney
A.J. Epenesa
Yetur Gross-Matos
Jonathan Taylor
Kristian Fulton
Ross Blacklock
Josh Jones
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
My NFL Mock Draft
When I lived in Texas from 2004 to 2006, a buddy and I had a friendly competition with NFL mock drafts.
We tried to predict the first round of each NFL draft and compared our picks. The one who got the most right won a friendly wager. Nothing was on the line except pride, but it was fun.
I am going to attempt to do that again. I don't have any inside knowledge. I don't talk to GMs. But I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of stuff on the internet. That makes me an expert, right?
I will likely crash and burn on this because I haven't done it for a long time. But here we go.
There will be trades. Those are hard to predict. My mock draft will have a player's name by each team, but I will mention who I think could move up or down, too.
1. Bengals - Joe Burrow, QB, LSU.
This one is set in stone. Book it. Mark it in pen. Done deal. Bengals get their franchise QB and they have weapons to show off when he gets there.
2. Redskins - Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State.
This is another done deal. Like the 49ers last year, the Redskins take advantage of a team ahead of them needing a franchise QB. Washington already has a stout DL but this makes them even more dangerous against Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones and Carson Wentz six times a year. Young is the best player in the draft, and it's not really that close.
3. Lions - Jeffrey Okudah, CB, Ohio State.
The Lions got rid of Darius Slay in the offseason. Okudah is the replacement. And probably an upgrade because of age and contract status.
4. Giants - Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson.
To me, the draft starts at No. 4. The Lions could go Simmons at 3. That would mean the first OL comes off the board here. And Dave Gettleman might still go OL since he likes to make those kind of picks. But Simmons is so good and versatile it will be hard for the Giants to pass on him.
5. Dolphins - Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon.
I would pick Tua here. But I have read and heard so much about how the Dolphins like Herbert better that it's probably true. The Dolphins, with three first-round picks, likely take one of the two QBs here.
6. Chargers - Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama.
Here is where Tua comes off the board. He's Philip Rivers' replacement in Los Angeles and gets to wear those sweet new uniforms.
7. Panthers - Derrick Brown, DL, Auburn.
The Panthers will go defense in this spot. Or trade out of the pick. I could see either happening. I like CJ Henderson better, but I think they build the defense from the inside out. That's why Brown is the pick here.
8. Cardinals - Jedrick Wills, OL, Alabama.
The first offensive lineman finally comes off the board and it starts a run. This will either be Wills or Tristan Wirfs. I thought for a while that Wills would be gone before now and that Wirfs was the pick. I think that could still happen but in this mock I have Wills here.
9. Jaguars - CJ Henderson, CB, Florida.
The Jags shipped out Jalen Ramsey during the season. They hope Henderson can be his replacement. I love Okudah, but some have Henderson as CB1. Most notably, former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker. So this is great value at 9.
10. Browns - Tristan Wirfs, OL, Iowa.
The Browns have pieces in place to make a jump next season. Many thought that jump would come this past year. They won't give up on Baker Mayfield yet. The next best choice is to find a way to protect him better.
11. Jets - Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama.
The Jets could go WR or OL here. They probably go with Mekhi Becton or Andrew Thomas since I have them taking Jeudy. Jeudy is WR1 or WR2 in this draft. And the Jets need to get Sam Darnold another weapon.
12. Raiders - Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama.
This will be either Ruggs or Ceedee Lamb. I like Lamb better, but I think the Raiders want speed as they try to outscore the Chiefs in the division.
13. 49ers - Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma.
The Super Bowl loser is in this spot because of the DeForest Buckner trade with the Colts. San Francisco doesn't have a 2nd, 3rd or 4th round pick so trading out of this spot makes the most sense. I think it's possible they try to trade back at 13 and 31. If they make this pick, and Lamb is the on the board, he's the guy. But they'd gladly put Ruggs in Kyle Shanahan's offense, too.
14. Buccaneers - Mekhi Becton, OL, Louisville.
Tampa Bay made a splash today by acquiring previously retired TE Rob Gronkowski in a trade. The offense now has Tom Brady, Ronald Jones, Gronk, OJ Howard, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The loaded skill position group gets an anchor on the offensive line in this scenario. I think this could be another trade spot though, too.
15. Broncos - Andrew Thomas, OL, Georgia.
Denver has been in love with Ruggs for a while. It likely tries to move ahead of San Francisco to get him or they just move into SF's spot. If they make the pick, I think Thomas is the guy.
16. Falcons - Javon Kinlaw, DL, South Carolina.
Atlanta is another candidate to move up in the draft. But they need to shore up the defense in a division with Drew Brees and the Saints, Christian McCaffery and the Panthers and Brady and the Bucs.
17. Cowboys - K'Lavon Chaisson, DL, LSU.
The Cowboys would prefer Kinlaw. And if he's there, I think they take him. But Kinlaw is better so he goes first and Dallas gets Chaisson for its defensive line.
18. Dolphins - Josh Jones, OL, Houston.
Miami drafted a QB with its first pick. Now they get an OL to protect him. They'll continue to load up the offense with another pick later. But, the Dolphins could go really big and package one or both of their final two first-round picks to move up.
19. Raiders - Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayok have built their team around productive college players who were team leaders. Murray fits that bill to a T. They went offense with their first pick. They take Murray here to shore up the defense and fill in gaps left behind by trading away Khalil Mack.
20. Jaguars - Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State.
There are picks from here on out that I just have no clue. This is one of them. Gross-Matos will get taken by someone in the first round. I think the Jags need an upgrade in their pass rushing unit.
21. Eagles - Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU.
If San Francisco can trade back at 13, I think Jefferson can be a target guy for them. But the Eagles love him, too. And they are taking a WR here. They'd go Ruggs if he was available, too.
22. Vikings - A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson.
The Vikings draft at 22 and 25. One will be a cornerback and the other will be a WR. In a draft that's deep at WR I think they address corner here. It could be Terrell or Jaylon Johnson. They won't take Trevon Diggs after shipping his brother to Buffalo this offseason.
23. Patriots - A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa.
Bill Belichick's connection to Kirk Ferentz and Iowa helps here. The Pats could go off script and take a TE but no one is really worthy in this spot. A lot of experts have Epenesa slipping in the draft, but Belichick outsmarts them again with Epenesa, who was very productive in college but had a subpar combine.
24. Saints - Jordan Love, QB, Utah State.
The Saints lost Teddy Bridgewater in free agency. Drew Brees is not going to play forever. I think they try to draft his replacement and let him sit behind Brees for at least a year.
25. Vikings - Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson.
I have my favorite WRs. Others have a different order. I like Higgins and I think he goes first round. The Vikings traded Stefan Diggs to Buffalo and need to nab his replacement here.
26. Dolphins - D'Andre Swift, RB, Georgia.
The Dolphins' third pick in the first round is the first RB off the board. Herbert needs a dump-off guy and Swift is RB1 and one of the top pass catching backs in the draft. With Herbert, Josh Jones and Swift, the offense in Miami should go.
27. Seahawks - Austin Jackson, OL, USC.
I thought Gross-Matos and Epenesa made sense here for a long time. But since both guys are gone, the Seahawks choose to upgrade a weak position to protect Russell Wilson.
28. Ravens - Patrick Queen, LB, LSU.
The top seed in the AFC last year gets an upgrade to their defense. And they'll need to do that to try to slow down the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in the postseason.
29. Titans - Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU.
The Titans, believe it or not, have one of the best rosters in the NFL. Like the Ravens, everyone in the AFC is chasing the Chiefs and an upgrade at cornerback should help some.
30. Packers - Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State.
The Packers will likely go WR here. If Higgins is not available, Aiyuk has risen up the draft boards in recent weeks and makes sense.
31. 49ers - Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama.
Again, I think San Francisco makes every effort to get out of this pick but if they make the selection, it'd be smart to go corner with Richard Sherman aging and other question marks at the position.
32. Chiefs - Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin.
This is a luxury pick. It's not necessarily a need, but Andy Reid loves speed and Taylor is really fast. And he was productive for Wisconsin with more than 6,000 career rushing yards.
Draft Notes: If you wondered why Alabama, LSU and Clemson were great last year just look at the first round. I have 5 Bama players, 4 LSU players and 3 Clemson players being taken. That's 12 of the 32 picks. ... I projected four QBs, six OL, six WRs and five CBs going in the first round. Those are the money positions in today's NFL.
We tried to predict the first round of each NFL draft and compared our picks. The one who got the most right won a friendly wager. Nothing was on the line except pride, but it was fun.
I am going to attempt to do that again. I don't have any inside knowledge. I don't talk to GMs. But I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of stuff on the internet. That makes me an expert, right?
I will likely crash and burn on this because I haven't done it for a long time. But here we go.
There will be trades. Those are hard to predict. My mock draft will have a player's name by each team, but I will mention who I think could move up or down, too.
1. Bengals - Joe Burrow, QB, LSU.
This one is set in stone. Book it. Mark it in pen. Done deal. Bengals get their franchise QB and they have weapons to show off when he gets there.
2. Redskins - Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State.
This is another done deal. Like the 49ers last year, the Redskins take advantage of a team ahead of them needing a franchise QB. Washington already has a stout DL but this makes them even more dangerous against Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones and Carson Wentz six times a year. Young is the best player in the draft, and it's not really that close.
3. Lions - Jeffrey Okudah, CB, Ohio State.
The Lions got rid of Darius Slay in the offseason. Okudah is the replacement. And probably an upgrade because of age and contract status.
4. Giants - Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson.
To me, the draft starts at No. 4. The Lions could go Simmons at 3. That would mean the first OL comes off the board here. And Dave Gettleman might still go OL since he likes to make those kind of picks. But Simmons is so good and versatile it will be hard for the Giants to pass on him.
5. Dolphins - Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon.
I would pick Tua here. But I have read and heard so much about how the Dolphins like Herbert better that it's probably true. The Dolphins, with three first-round picks, likely take one of the two QBs here.
6. Chargers - Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama.
Here is where Tua comes off the board. He's Philip Rivers' replacement in Los Angeles and gets to wear those sweet new uniforms.
7. Panthers - Derrick Brown, DL, Auburn.
The Panthers will go defense in this spot. Or trade out of the pick. I could see either happening. I like CJ Henderson better, but I think they build the defense from the inside out. That's why Brown is the pick here.
8. Cardinals - Jedrick Wills, OL, Alabama.
The first offensive lineman finally comes off the board and it starts a run. This will either be Wills or Tristan Wirfs. I thought for a while that Wills would be gone before now and that Wirfs was the pick. I think that could still happen but in this mock I have Wills here.
9. Jaguars - CJ Henderson, CB, Florida.
The Jags shipped out Jalen Ramsey during the season. They hope Henderson can be his replacement. I love Okudah, but some have Henderson as CB1. Most notably, former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker. So this is great value at 9.
10. Browns - Tristan Wirfs, OL, Iowa.
The Browns have pieces in place to make a jump next season. Many thought that jump would come this past year. They won't give up on Baker Mayfield yet. The next best choice is to find a way to protect him better.
11. Jets - Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama.
The Jets could go WR or OL here. They probably go with Mekhi Becton or Andrew Thomas since I have them taking Jeudy. Jeudy is WR1 or WR2 in this draft. And the Jets need to get Sam Darnold another weapon.
12. Raiders - Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama.
This will be either Ruggs or Ceedee Lamb. I like Lamb better, but I think the Raiders want speed as they try to outscore the Chiefs in the division.
13. 49ers - Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma.
The Super Bowl loser is in this spot because of the DeForest Buckner trade with the Colts. San Francisco doesn't have a 2nd, 3rd or 4th round pick so trading out of this spot makes the most sense. I think it's possible they try to trade back at 13 and 31. If they make this pick, and Lamb is the on the board, he's the guy. But they'd gladly put Ruggs in Kyle Shanahan's offense, too.
14. Buccaneers - Mekhi Becton, OL, Louisville.
Tampa Bay made a splash today by acquiring previously retired TE Rob Gronkowski in a trade. The offense now has Tom Brady, Ronald Jones, Gronk, OJ Howard, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The loaded skill position group gets an anchor on the offensive line in this scenario. I think this could be another trade spot though, too.
15. Broncos - Andrew Thomas, OL, Georgia.
Denver has been in love with Ruggs for a while. It likely tries to move ahead of San Francisco to get him or they just move into SF's spot. If they make the pick, I think Thomas is the guy.
16. Falcons - Javon Kinlaw, DL, South Carolina.
Atlanta is another candidate to move up in the draft. But they need to shore up the defense in a division with Drew Brees and the Saints, Christian McCaffery and the Panthers and Brady and the Bucs.
17. Cowboys - K'Lavon Chaisson, DL, LSU.
The Cowboys would prefer Kinlaw. And if he's there, I think they take him. But Kinlaw is better so he goes first and Dallas gets Chaisson for its defensive line.
18. Dolphins - Josh Jones, OL, Houston.
Miami drafted a QB with its first pick. Now they get an OL to protect him. They'll continue to load up the offense with another pick later. But, the Dolphins could go really big and package one or both of their final two first-round picks to move up.
19. Raiders - Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayok have built their team around productive college players who were team leaders. Murray fits that bill to a T. They went offense with their first pick. They take Murray here to shore up the defense and fill in gaps left behind by trading away Khalil Mack.
20. Jaguars - Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State.
There are picks from here on out that I just have no clue. This is one of them. Gross-Matos will get taken by someone in the first round. I think the Jags need an upgrade in their pass rushing unit.
21. Eagles - Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU.
If San Francisco can trade back at 13, I think Jefferson can be a target guy for them. But the Eagles love him, too. And they are taking a WR here. They'd go Ruggs if he was available, too.
22. Vikings - A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson.
The Vikings draft at 22 and 25. One will be a cornerback and the other will be a WR. In a draft that's deep at WR I think they address corner here. It could be Terrell or Jaylon Johnson. They won't take Trevon Diggs after shipping his brother to Buffalo this offseason.
23. Patriots - A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa.
Bill Belichick's connection to Kirk Ferentz and Iowa helps here. The Pats could go off script and take a TE but no one is really worthy in this spot. A lot of experts have Epenesa slipping in the draft, but Belichick outsmarts them again with Epenesa, who was very productive in college but had a subpar combine.
24. Saints - Jordan Love, QB, Utah State.
The Saints lost Teddy Bridgewater in free agency. Drew Brees is not going to play forever. I think they try to draft his replacement and let him sit behind Brees for at least a year.
25. Vikings - Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson.
I have my favorite WRs. Others have a different order. I like Higgins and I think he goes first round. The Vikings traded Stefan Diggs to Buffalo and need to nab his replacement here.
26. Dolphins - D'Andre Swift, RB, Georgia.
The Dolphins' third pick in the first round is the first RB off the board. Herbert needs a dump-off guy and Swift is RB1 and one of the top pass catching backs in the draft. With Herbert, Josh Jones and Swift, the offense in Miami should go.
27. Seahawks - Austin Jackson, OL, USC.
I thought Gross-Matos and Epenesa made sense here for a long time. But since both guys are gone, the Seahawks choose to upgrade a weak position to protect Russell Wilson.
28. Ravens - Patrick Queen, LB, LSU.
The top seed in the AFC last year gets an upgrade to their defense. And they'll need to do that to try to slow down the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in the postseason.
29. Titans - Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU.
The Titans, believe it or not, have one of the best rosters in the NFL. Like the Ravens, everyone in the AFC is chasing the Chiefs and an upgrade at cornerback should help some.
30. Packers - Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State.
The Packers will likely go WR here. If Higgins is not available, Aiyuk has risen up the draft boards in recent weeks and makes sense.
31. 49ers - Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama.
Again, I think San Francisco makes every effort to get out of this pick but if they make the selection, it'd be smart to go corner with Richard Sherman aging and other question marks at the position.
32. Chiefs - Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin.
This is a luxury pick. It's not necessarily a need, but Andy Reid loves speed and Taylor is really fast. And he was productive for Wisconsin with more than 6,000 career rushing yards.
Draft Notes: If you wondered why Alabama, LSU and Clemson were great last year just look at the first round. I have 5 Bama players, 4 LSU players and 3 Clemson players being taken. That's 12 of the 32 picks. ... I projected four QBs, six OL, six WRs and five CBs going in the first round. Those are the money positions in today's NFL.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Why MJ is the GOAT
Bobby Knight once said Michael Jordan was the best player he'd ever seen ... before MJ played a single game in the NBA.
After MJ put up 63 points in the playoffs against four Hall of Famers and the best Celtics team in the Larry Bird era, Bird said after the game "that wasn't Michael Jordan.That was God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Bird and Magic Johnson were two of the best players in the history of the NBA. And when they both talk about Jordan, you can't help but notice the admiration they had for him. Those two guys wouldn't say the things they said about MJ if they didn't believe it.
Jordan and the Bulls lost to the Celtics during that postseason run but MJ started the series with 49 and 63 points, respectively. That was Jordan's second year and he missed most of the year with an injured ankle.
MJ averaged 30 points per game for his career. And for those of you who thought he was just a scorer, he also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game for his career.
In his rookie season, he scored 28 points, grabbed 6.5 rebounds and dished out 6 assists per game.
Jordan led the league in scoring 10 times, averaging at least 30 eight of those seasons. In the other two seasons he averaged 29.6 and just less than 29.
What he did on the basketball court was poetry. It was something I probably won't ever see again. He did all that scoring with a modest 3-point shot. He only made 32 percent of his 3s in his career.
The game has changed today. Everything is a foul in today's game. Back when Jordan played, defenders could hand check without getting whistled for a foul. It was harder to score in the 90s than it is today. That's a fact.
I love LeBron James. I have never been a hater. But to see his truthers tonight during The Last Dance say Michael Jordan played in an era of chumps is just plain wrong.
I think the 80s and 90s NBA was the best era in the history of the league. So many Hall of Famers. And so many players in that era are on a lot of top 15 NBA players of all time lists.
Jordan's 63 in the postseason against the Celtics came against Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Walton. He beat Magic, Karl Malone (twice), John Stockton (twice), Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton and Clyde Drexler in the Finals.
He kept all of those players and Patrick Ewing from ever winning a title.
The first two episodes of The Last Dance were fun. I am already excited for next installments. It did make me hate Jerry Krause more than I did when I was a kid. I never really understood it back then.
Krause actually wanted to break up the dynasty before the 5th title. He wasn't getting enough credit for the run. And actually told Phil Jackson the 1997-98 season would be his last, even if he won 82 games and after he already won five championships.
Who does that? And you know what, the Bulls were nothing before that dynasty and they haven't been much of anything since MJ, Jackson and Scottie Pippen have been gone.
The Last Dance is centered around that final season. But it will be a career documentary on MJ, too. The first two episodes discussed MJ from high school, college and his first few years in the league.
MJ is not a fan of tanking. He wants to play when he can play and is not concerned with draft picks. Jordan plays to win the game.
Social media was going nuts throughout the two-hour premiere. I think everyone on my twitter feed was watching the show. Ratings will be huge every week, especially with very little on TV during COVID-19.
The next two episodes are supposed to be a lot about Dennis Rodman. He was a key piece in the second three-peat. And a character off the court.
I'm looking forward to it already. I'm sure you are, too.
After MJ put up 63 points in the playoffs against four Hall of Famers and the best Celtics team in the Larry Bird era, Bird said after the game "that wasn't Michael Jordan.That was God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Bird and Magic Johnson were two of the best players in the history of the NBA. And when they both talk about Jordan, you can't help but notice the admiration they had for him. Those two guys wouldn't say the things they said about MJ if they didn't believe it.
Jordan and the Bulls lost to the Celtics during that postseason run but MJ started the series with 49 and 63 points, respectively. That was Jordan's second year and he missed most of the year with an injured ankle.
MJ averaged 30 points per game for his career. And for those of you who thought he was just a scorer, he also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game for his career.
In his rookie season, he scored 28 points, grabbed 6.5 rebounds and dished out 6 assists per game.
Jordan led the league in scoring 10 times, averaging at least 30 eight of those seasons. In the other two seasons he averaged 29.6 and just less than 29.
What he did on the basketball court was poetry. It was something I probably won't ever see again. He did all that scoring with a modest 3-point shot. He only made 32 percent of his 3s in his career.
The game has changed today. Everything is a foul in today's game. Back when Jordan played, defenders could hand check without getting whistled for a foul. It was harder to score in the 90s than it is today. That's a fact.
I love LeBron James. I have never been a hater. But to see his truthers tonight during The Last Dance say Michael Jordan played in an era of chumps is just plain wrong.
I think the 80s and 90s NBA was the best era in the history of the league. So many Hall of Famers. And so many players in that era are on a lot of top 15 NBA players of all time lists.
Jordan's 63 in the postseason against the Celtics came against Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Walton. He beat Magic, Karl Malone (twice), John Stockton (twice), Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton and Clyde Drexler in the Finals.
He kept all of those players and Patrick Ewing from ever winning a title.
The first two episodes of The Last Dance were fun. I am already excited for next installments. It did make me hate Jerry Krause more than I did when I was a kid. I never really understood it back then.
Krause actually wanted to break up the dynasty before the 5th title. He wasn't getting enough credit for the run. And actually told Phil Jackson the 1997-98 season would be his last, even if he won 82 games and after he already won five championships.
Who does that? And you know what, the Bulls were nothing before that dynasty and they haven't been much of anything since MJ, Jackson and Scottie Pippen have been gone.
The Last Dance is centered around that final season. But it will be a career documentary on MJ, too. The first two episodes discussed MJ from high school, college and his first few years in the league.
MJ is not a fan of tanking. He wants to play when he can play and is not concerned with draft picks. Jordan plays to win the game.
Social media was going nuts throughout the two-hour premiere. I think everyone on my twitter feed was watching the show. Ratings will be huge every week, especially with very little on TV during COVID-19.
The next two episodes are supposed to be a lot about Dennis Rodman. He was a key piece in the second three-peat. And a character off the court.
I'm looking forward to it already. I'm sure you are, too.
Sports Fandom
Here your's introduction to tonight's The Last Dance on ESPN and ESPN2.
"And now, the starting lineup, for your World Champion Chicago Bulls.
At forward, from Central Arkansas, 6-7, Scottie Pippen.
A 6-6 forward from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dennis Rodman
The Man in the Middle, From New Mexico, 7-2, Luc Longley.
A 6-6 guard from Miami, Ohio, Ron Harper.
From North Carolina, At Guard, 6-6, MICHAEL JORDAN."
That's what I lived for during basketball season as a child. I was 17 at the time MJ and the Bulls were finishing their second three-peat.
Michael Jordan is my favorite player of all-time. I am not even sure I was a Bulls fan necessarily. I just loved MJ. If he was on another team, I would have been for that team. He's why I am a basketball fan.
That's how some of my sports fandoms worked as a kid. I rooted for the San Francisco 49ers because of Jerry Rice and Joe Montana. But I have never rooted for another franchise. That's been my team since I can remember. They are the exception.
I am a Cincinnati Reds fan today because of Ken Griffey Jr. I rooted for the Seattle Mariners when he played for them. When he came over to the Reds in 2000, I was just starting college. I was an adult and more mature. I figured it was time to have a team for the rest of my life and since my guy was starting over in his hometown that was as good of a time as any to became a forever Reds fan.
I am not into hockey today as much as I once was. I became a Detroit Red Wings fan because of their former all-world goalkeeper Dominik Hasek. He was called the Dominator for a reason.
Today, I root for the Minnesota Timberwolves. And like the Reds, I became a T-Wolves fan as I was finishing up high school.
My high school basketball team took a trip to Minneapolis to catch a Wolves game. I remember buying a rookie basketball card of Kevin Garnett and loved the way he played. He played with a chip and was the same position I played when I was a prep basketball player.
I wasn't any good but The Big Ticket is what turned me into a Wolves fan for life. I am not sure that was the smartest decision as the Wolves haven't been good for awhile now. But it was a good time in my life to pick a team to be loyal to.
There will always be a special place in my heart for the Bulls. MJ, Scottie and Phil Jackson had quite the influence on me as a young kid. I don't hate the Bulls. But rooting for the Bulls back in the 1990s was never about the Bulls for me. It was about Michael Jordan.
The Last Dance starts tonight on ESPN or ESPN2. If you want the unedited version check out ESPN at 8 p.m. central time. The first two hours of a 10-hour, 10-part documentary will tell us everything we need to know about that 1997-98 Bulls team that won a title despite starting the season 12-9.
The footage is supposed to be never-seen-before stuff.
I can't wait to see what is said about the other Bulls players. MJ, Scottie, Phil and maybe even Rodman will be the headliners of this thing. And they should be. But will we get more stuff about Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr?
And how will Isaiah Thomas get worked in. MJ and Scottie hated that guy.
I cover high school athletes who don't know how good Jordan was. I even saw one of them post his top 5 NBA players of all time and MJ wasn't on it.
Most NBA fans from age 15-25 or maybe even 30 feel like Kobe Bryant or LBJ are the best players of all-time. Fans who are 35-45 lived the MJ era. We know how great he was.
Aside from the statistics that show he was in fact a beast, just think about all the Hall of Famers he kept from winning a title. Charles Barkley. Karl Malone. John Stockton. Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller to name a few.
I won't try to convince the younger generation that MJ was the GOAT. I get it. I lived the MJ days. I lived the Bulls' runs to six titles.
I love LBJ, too. He's a top five all-time player. MJ and him were different players though. James is bigger and more of a point forward. I would compare Kobe to MJ and LBJ to Magic. All four players are great. They are all champions.
But MJ is the undisputed GOAT to me. And you can't convince me otherwise.
"And now, the starting lineup, for your World Champion Chicago Bulls.
At forward, from Central Arkansas, 6-7, Scottie Pippen.
A 6-6 forward from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dennis Rodman
The Man in the Middle, From New Mexico, 7-2, Luc Longley.
A 6-6 guard from Miami, Ohio, Ron Harper.
From North Carolina, At Guard, 6-6, MICHAEL JORDAN."
That's what I lived for during basketball season as a child. I was 17 at the time MJ and the Bulls were finishing their second three-peat.
Michael Jordan is my favorite player of all-time. I am not even sure I was a Bulls fan necessarily. I just loved MJ. If he was on another team, I would have been for that team. He's why I am a basketball fan.
That's how some of my sports fandoms worked as a kid. I rooted for the San Francisco 49ers because of Jerry Rice and Joe Montana. But I have never rooted for another franchise. That's been my team since I can remember. They are the exception.
I am a Cincinnati Reds fan today because of Ken Griffey Jr. I rooted for the Seattle Mariners when he played for them. When he came over to the Reds in 2000, I was just starting college. I was an adult and more mature. I figured it was time to have a team for the rest of my life and since my guy was starting over in his hometown that was as good of a time as any to became a forever Reds fan.
I am not into hockey today as much as I once was. I became a Detroit Red Wings fan because of their former all-world goalkeeper Dominik Hasek. He was called the Dominator for a reason.
Today, I root for the Minnesota Timberwolves. And like the Reds, I became a T-Wolves fan as I was finishing up high school.
My high school basketball team took a trip to Minneapolis to catch a Wolves game. I remember buying a rookie basketball card of Kevin Garnett and loved the way he played. He played with a chip and was the same position I played when I was a prep basketball player.
I wasn't any good but The Big Ticket is what turned me into a Wolves fan for life. I am not sure that was the smartest decision as the Wolves haven't been good for awhile now. But it was a good time in my life to pick a team to be loyal to.
There will always be a special place in my heart for the Bulls. MJ, Scottie and Phil Jackson had quite the influence on me as a young kid. I don't hate the Bulls. But rooting for the Bulls back in the 1990s was never about the Bulls for me. It was about Michael Jordan.
The Last Dance starts tonight on ESPN or ESPN2. If you want the unedited version check out ESPN at 8 p.m. central time. The first two hours of a 10-hour, 10-part documentary will tell us everything we need to know about that 1997-98 Bulls team that won a title despite starting the season 12-9.
The footage is supposed to be never-seen-before stuff.
I can't wait to see what is said about the other Bulls players. MJ, Scottie, Phil and maybe even Rodman will be the headliners of this thing. And they should be. But will we get more stuff about Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr?
And how will Isaiah Thomas get worked in. MJ and Scottie hated that guy.
I cover high school athletes who don't know how good Jordan was. I even saw one of them post his top 5 NBA players of all time and MJ wasn't on it.
Most NBA fans from age 15-25 or maybe even 30 feel like Kobe Bryant or LBJ are the best players of all-time. Fans who are 35-45 lived the MJ era. We know how great he was.
Aside from the statistics that show he was in fact a beast, just think about all the Hall of Famers he kept from winning a title. Charles Barkley. Karl Malone. John Stockton. Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller to name a few.
I won't try to convince the younger generation that MJ was the GOAT. I get it. I lived the MJ days. I lived the Bulls' runs to six titles.
I love LBJ, too. He's a top five all-time player. MJ and him were different players though. James is bigger and more of a point forward. I would compare Kobe to MJ and LBJ to Magic. All four players are great. They are all champions.
But MJ is the undisputed GOAT to me. And you can't convince me otherwise.
Friday, April 17, 2020
Emotional day
Friday was an emotional day in my household. My wife and I had to tell our 7-year-old daughter that school was canceled the rest of the year.
No chance to say goodbye to a teacher she adored.
No chance to play with her friends at recess again. No more singing in the chorus room. No visiting the library to check out her next book.
No closure.
That last part sums it all up. As a husband of a teacher and the dad of a first grader, neither one of them had a chance to say goodbye and close out the year the proper way.
There are worse things in the world. I get that. But my girl was in tears when she got the news. And she will likely be in tears again when we have to tell her that her dance recital is called off.
The recital is not canceled yet. But with everything else that has happened, I think it's only a matter of time.
It's been a rough 2020 in general. COVID-19 should be ashamed of itself. It wrecked March, April and probably May. Will we be back to somewhat normal in June? I don't think anyone knows.
Teachers have had to adjust their skills on the fly this spring. My daughter has attended two Zoom meetings with her teacher and first grade class. My wife has done a pair of Zoom meetings with her fourth grade class.
That may seem like something small. And most of the kids are nervous to be in that environment, but I know our daughter enjoys seeing her friends and teacher. She's as shy as probably anyone but still looks forward to it every week.
I hope everyone is staying safe and doing their part to help at least get through this pandemic. It can be over sooner rather than later if we all just do our best to social distance and stay home as much as possible.
Sports Movies
In my last blog, I promised an entry on my favorite sports movies. As I started my list, I realized a top 5 is probably too hard. I LOVE sports movies. I don't hate many of them.
So what I will do is provide a list of some of my favorites and also list a few that maybe some of you have not seen before.
When I think of favorite sports movies of all-time my list starts and ends with the Rocky franchise, including Creed and Creed 2, Major League and The Karate Kid. As you can tell, I love an underdog story and all those movies present some kind of underdog.
A few others on my favorites list I include Varsity Blues, Coach Carter, McFarland USA, Southpaw and Warrior. Those my be in the next group. But like I said, this is impossible.
My high school football team would watch clips of The Program every Thursday night before our coaches would arrive for our team meal and video session. That one holds some serious history with me.
Rudy, Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, Cool Runnings, White Men Can't Jump, Blue Chips, Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore, the Sandlot and A League of Their Own are all movies I watched plenty as a kid. And some of those are still played on TV a lot nowadays.
There also were movies that came out later in life that I really enjoyed like Remember the Titans, Miracle, The Blindside, Glory Road, Moneyball, Gridiron Gang and The Rookie.
I was late to the party on Bull Durham, which is unfortunate. I don't hate the movie. It's just doesn't have the nostalgia that some others have.
I think Fever Pitch, Secretariat and Invincible are underrated sports movies that we don't talk about enough. I enjoyed Draft Day for what it was. But as I told you before in this blog, I am a big NFL Draft junkie. Days of Thunder was a fun flick, too.
A newer sports movie that I enjoyed include Ford vs. Ferrari, which was released last year. This one could make my list for all-time favorites but it's too new to include right now. But I loved it.
This idea was sparked partly because The Way Back is close to being released as the latest sports movie. It stars Ben Affleck as Jack Cunningham, a former high school basketball star who walked away from the game only to return to his alma mater later as coach. He has one last shot at redemption.
One movie I remember watching as a kid but can't really find it anywhere right now is American Flyers. It's another Kevin Costner sports flick about cycling. It was released in1985 but I recall enjoying that one a lot back in the day.
If I had to rank my top five football movies I would probably go with Varsity Blues, Remember the Titans, The Blindside, The Program and Rudy.
My top five baseball movies would be Major League, Moneyball, A League of Their Own, Field of Dreams and The Sandlot.
For basketball, I would have to go with Coach Carter, Hoosiers, Glory Road, White Men Can't Jump and Blue Chips.
I could make boxing or fighting movies into their own category and for that one I will go Rocky, Creed, the Karate Kid, Southpaw and Warrior.
For all others I would go McFarland USA, Miracle, Happy Gilmore, Cool Runnings and Caddyshack.
I am sure I missed some of your favorites. I have a long list. But no one's list is perfect. These lists are all opinion based. So let me know what you like and if I haven't seen it, I'll try to check it out.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Favorite TV shows
I have talked about movies in this blog but have yet to touch on TV shows.
The plan is to blog about my favorite sports movies in the near future but this one will focus on TV shows I am currently watching.
Here is the run down. My favorite thing to watch are cop shows, which won't be hard to figure out once you get the list.
Let's start with my favorite comedic show on TV right now. Impractical Jokers. This show makes me laugh for almost the entire 30 minutes. There are certain skits I don't care for or don't think are as funny, but 90 percent of the bits are hilarious.
Joe, Sal, Q and Murr have been friends since high school. They have made 8 seasons of comedy gold in my opinion. If you haven't seen this show, check it out. You can find it most nights on TruTV but it has moved onto TBS sometimes, too.
Comedy is subjective. Different things make us laugh. I feel like anyone can laugh at this one though. Let me know what you think. It's actually on as I type this so you can find pretty much any day of the week.
Some recent shows I loved but weren't around very long include Lethal Weapon and Taken. Lethal Weapon lasted just three seasons and Taken was only on the air for one season.
Lethal Weapon was a cop show based on the movie. Damon Wayans was the star and played the role of Murtaugh. Part of the reason the show didn't last long was because Wayans didn't get along with the original Riggs character and then just decided he didn't want to do it anymore.
My wife and I used to watch Nashville. We don't watch too many shows together as our tastes are mostly different. That was one we both enjoyed though. It lasted only six seasons.
The rest of the shows I currently watch include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 911, 911 Lonestar, Deputy and Masked Singer.
911 and 911 Lonestar are similar shows. The former is the original version of the show and the latter is the spinoff that takes place in Austin, Texas. Both are intense dramas about a group of firefighters, police officers, paramedics and 911 operators who answer emergency calls and put their lives at risk every day.
911 is my favorite new show on TV.
My favorite all-time TV show is probably Law & Order: SVU. I remember watching that show with my mom as youngster. It's been on for 21 seasons and I have been along for the ride the entire time.
Olivia Benson, who is played by Mariska Hargitay, is the only actress on the show who has been on for all 21 seasons. She may not be well known by many, but I think she is one of the most underrated TV actresses in the game.
Anyone who stays on one show for 21 season when they probably could have went on to something else has my respect. She likes what she does and does it well.
I can't believe the show's writers have come up with enough ideas based around sexual assault and rape to last 21 seasons. That's impressive, too.
Masked Singer is a show I picked up in Season 2. It's on Season 3 now and my daughter has gotten on board recently. She now watches every episode with me. And if and when the COVID-19 pandemic ever ends, and she has to go to bed early because of school, I will wait to watch it until we are together.
It's a fun show. I love music and she loves dancing. It has both. And the comedic relief from the expert panel Dr. Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke and host Nick Cannon adds to the watchability of the show.
And last by not least, Deputy. This show is in its first season. I hope it lasts longer than Taken and Lethal Weapon. It's another cop show that takes place in Los Angeles county.
Deputy Bill Hollister, played by Stephen Dorff, was thrust into the Sheriff's position after the previous Sheriff died in the first episode. Changes are made - some of which are not taken well by others in the department.
Hollister has his loyal crew who will do anything for him. But his unusual style also gives him a few enemies along the way. He decides to run for Sheriff full-time, which is where we are at the end of the first season.
Besides fighting the law with his team, Hollister also has a wife who is a nurse inside the city's prison and a teenage daughter.
Law & Order: SVU can be seen on NBC but re-runs often air on USA. Deputy, Masked Singer, 911 and 911 Lonestar can all be found on Fox.
What are some shows you watch and recommend? I plan to watch Ozark soon. I heard that one is good. I refuse to watch Tiger King. But I do have Netflix so fire away some suggestions.
Anyone think the new Ultimate Tag show looks good? I may at least try that one out and see what I think.
The plan is to blog about my favorite sports movies in the near future but this one will focus on TV shows I am currently watching.
Here is the run down. My favorite thing to watch are cop shows, which won't be hard to figure out once you get the list.
Let's start with my favorite comedic show on TV right now. Impractical Jokers. This show makes me laugh for almost the entire 30 minutes. There are certain skits I don't care for or don't think are as funny, but 90 percent of the bits are hilarious.
Joe, Sal, Q and Murr have been friends since high school. They have made 8 seasons of comedy gold in my opinion. If you haven't seen this show, check it out. You can find it most nights on TruTV but it has moved onto TBS sometimes, too.
Comedy is subjective. Different things make us laugh. I feel like anyone can laugh at this one though. Let me know what you think. It's actually on as I type this so you can find pretty much any day of the week.
Some recent shows I loved but weren't around very long include Lethal Weapon and Taken. Lethal Weapon lasted just three seasons and Taken was only on the air for one season.
Lethal Weapon was a cop show based on the movie. Damon Wayans was the star and played the role of Murtaugh. Part of the reason the show didn't last long was because Wayans didn't get along with the original Riggs character and then just decided he didn't want to do it anymore.
My wife and I used to watch Nashville. We don't watch too many shows together as our tastes are mostly different. That was one we both enjoyed though. It lasted only six seasons.
The rest of the shows I currently watch include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 911, 911 Lonestar, Deputy and Masked Singer.
911 and 911 Lonestar are similar shows. The former is the original version of the show and the latter is the spinoff that takes place in Austin, Texas. Both are intense dramas about a group of firefighters, police officers, paramedics and 911 operators who answer emergency calls and put their lives at risk every day.
911 is my favorite new show on TV.
My favorite all-time TV show is probably Law & Order: SVU. I remember watching that show with my mom as youngster. It's been on for 21 seasons and I have been along for the ride the entire time.
Olivia Benson, who is played by Mariska Hargitay, is the only actress on the show who has been on for all 21 seasons. She may not be well known by many, but I think she is one of the most underrated TV actresses in the game.
Anyone who stays on one show for 21 season when they probably could have went on to something else has my respect. She likes what she does and does it well.
I can't believe the show's writers have come up with enough ideas based around sexual assault and rape to last 21 seasons. That's impressive, too.
Masked Singer is a show I picked up in Season 2. It's on Season 3 now and my daughter has gotten on board recently. She now watches every episode with me. And if and when the COVID-19 pandemic ever ends, and she has to go to bed early because of school, I will wait to watch it until we are together.
It's a fun show. I love music and she loves dancing. It has both. And the comedic relief from the expert panel Dr. Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke and host Nick Cannon adds to the watchability of the show.
And last by not least, Deputy. This show is in its first season. I hope it lasts longer than Taken and Lethal Weapon. It's another cop show that takes place in Los Angeles county.
Deputy Bill Hollister, played by Stephen Dorff, was thrust into the Sheriff's position after the previous Sheriff died in the first episode. Changes are made - some of which are not taken well by others in the department.
Hollister has his loyal crew who will do anything for him. But his unusual style also gives him a few enemies along the way. He decides to run for Sheriff full-time, which is where we are at the end of the first season.
Besides fighting the law with his team, Hollister also has a wife who is a nurse inside the city's prison and a teenage daughter.
Law & Order: SVU can be seen on NBC but re-runs often air on USA. Deputy, Masked Singer, 911 and 911 Lonestar can all be found on Fox.
What are some shows you watch and recommend? I plan to watch Ozark soon. I heard that one is good. I refuse to watch Tiger King. But I do have Netflix so fire away some suggestions.
Anyone think the new Ultimate Tag show looks good? I may at least try that one out and see what I think.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
MJ, Bulls and The Last Dance
I remember like it was yesterday playing basketball in my driveway out in the country as a youngster.
Most of the time, I was shooting hoops alone. Loved the game. I grew up playing more basketball than any other sport. It was my happy place.
I would pretend to shoot fadeaway jumpers as the clock was counting down - just like Michael Jordan.
I consider myself a Timberwolves fan nowadays - because of Kevin Garnett mostly - but as a teenager I was a hardcore Jordan fan, which meant I was a fan of the Chicago Bulls.
There was an old Bulls classic game on one of the Chicago stations Wednesday night. It was Game 6 of the 1996 Finals between the Seattle Supersonics. It was the series-clinching game that gave Jordan and Scottie Pippen their fourth ring together.
And it was the fourth championship in six years for the Bulls. Jordan would have won eight in a row had he not quit to play baseball for a few years.
The fourth championship included Dennis Rodman. As I watched Game 6 on Wednesday night, I remembered how important Rodman was the historic season.
Jordan is the GOAT and was the MVP of the series but Rodman averaged nearly 15 rebounds per game. He grabbed 19 in Game 6 and 20 in Game 3. He also was a huge defensive asset against Seattle's best interior player Shawn Kemp.
That Bulls team went 72-10 in the regular season. It set a record at the time and is now the 2nd best regular season of all-time.
Chicago led Seattle 3-0 before losing back-to-back games on the road. The Bulls clinched the title at home in Game 6 and Jordan won another NBA Finals MVP after averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
The game definitely took me down memory lane. My family and I lived on a farm between Earlham, DeSoto and Winterset during a good stretch of my childhood. We rented the house and a farmer owned the land around us.
The farmer often drove his tractor through our driveway to his farmland and would always make a point to stop if I was shooting hoops. He told me he was a Larry Bird fan and gave me a hard time because I rooted for Jordan.
Those were fun times for me because my guy was always winning. I think he was mostly just giving me a hard time but teenage Troy was just too naive to notice.
ESPN's much-anticipated documentary The Last Dance was scheduled to be released later this year but because of COVID-19 and plenty of requests by the fans, the network is pushing it out sooner.
There is no doubt ESPN should take advantage of everyone being stuck at home. There will be 10 total episodes and about 8.5 hours of never-seen-before footage of the 1997-98 championship season.
That's the final championship for Jordan and Pippen and the final season of one of the best dynasties in NBA history.
I can't wait to watch all 10 episodes. They will be appointment TV for me the next 5 Sunday nights. The first episodes air this week. The time slots each week will be 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Iowa time.
Jordan said Wednesday he expects the documentary to show him as a bad guy.
I think for the most part, the fans know the kind of guy he was. He was a killer on the court. He stepped on opponents when they were down. That's why he won six titles though and why he kept Hall of Famers Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing from winning an NBA title.
I don't care how they portray Jordan. I know he punched a teammate at practice. I know he had a massive gambling problem. And I know he was an average to below average baseball player.
Thanks to those who have checked out the blog as we work through the early stages. I appreciate the comments, too.
On a recommendation from a friend, I checked out Limitless on Netflix on Wednesday. Another good movie that I enjoyed. Bradley Cooper is legit.
Next up: Road to Perdition.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Quarantined movies
I have had plenty of time to enjoy another favorite hobby of mine. That's watching movies. It's so hard to do that when I work most nights out of the week.
But with no sports and nothing to do at night because of COVID-19, my time to check out old and new movies has increased.
For the first few weeks of quarantine, I tried to watch a new movie on Netflix every night when the house got quiet. Sometimes I would make the short drive to a Redbox and check out a new release, too.
Lately, it's been oldies but goodies for me.
A few night's ago I checked out Bloodsport on Netflix. That was one of those fighting movies I enjoyed as a kid. And ironically, Kickboxer was on regular TV the next night.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was cranking out a lot of gems back in the day. From his breakout role in Bloodsport in 1988 to Maximum Risk in 1996, Van Damme kicked out 11 films I enjoyed during that span.
Bloodsport (1988) and Kickboxer (1989) were his most popular films, but Timecop (1994) made over $100 million worldwide, which is the highest grossing film in which he played the lead role. Lionheart (1990), Universal Solider (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993) and Maximum Risk (1996) were others I thoroughly enjoyed as a youngster.
One of my favorite movie franchises is Lethal Weapon. And all four movies recently came to Netflix. So I took in the first two one night and then watched the third installment the next day. I will finish with 4 in the next few days, but that series is fantastic.
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, and later Joe Pesci and Rene Russo, worked well together. They are action movies that make me laugh and the plot is a little bit different each time. Just entertain me. That's all I ask and those movies entertain me.
The franchise grossed roughly $955 million with Lethal Weapon 3 taking in a series-high $321 million and Lethal Weapon 4 bringing in $285 million.
And guess what, a fifth and final movie may still be in the works. Glover and Gibson are in their 70s and 60s right now so that would be interesting.
On Tuesday, AMC decided to run four fantastic movies in succession. I watched the end of Taken 3 then Gran Torino, Top Gun and Speed in full. Talk about lack of productivity. Those are all movies I can watch just about any time. Love them all.
I didn't realize Speed (1993) was Sandra Bullock's breakthrough role. She played a minor role in Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes the year before.
Speed has high energy from start to finish. It's an entertaining thrill ride. Bullock is brilliant as the eventual bus driver who's job is to keep the thing above 50 miles per hour no matter what. Speed, which also co-stars Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels and Dennis Hopper, grossed $350 million worldwide.
She agreed to be in Speed 2 for financial backing. That was probably a mistake as it never lived up to the original.
I also enjoyed Bullock in The Net (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Miss Congeniality (2000) and Birdbox, a Netflix movie that was released in 2018.
Her biggest year came in 2009 when she appeared in The Proposal and The Blind Side, winning her lone Academy Award for Best Actress in the latter. Each movie made more than $300 million at the box office.
Bullock was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Gravity (2013). I regret having not seen that one yet. That's one I need to check out and it's her highest grossing live-action release. That movie grossed $716 million.
Minions was actually her highest grossing film. It brought in $1.1 billion and her movies have made $5.3 billion worldwide.
What movies are you guys watching? What should I check out? I have some time on my hands.
But with no sports and nothing to do at night because of COVID-19, my time to check out old and new movies has increased.
For the first few weeks of quarantine, I tried to watch a new movie on Netflix every night when the house got quiet. Sometimes I would make the short drive to a Redbox and check out a new release, too.
Lately, it's been oldies but goodies for me.
A few night's ago I checked out Bloodsport on Netflix. That was one of those fighting movies I enjoyed as a kid. And ironically, Kickboxer was on regular TV the next night.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was cranking out a lot of gems back in the day. From his breakout role in Bloodsport in 1988 to Maximum Risk in 1996, Van Damme kicked out 11 films I enjoyed during that span.
Bloodsport (1988) and Kickboxer (1989) were his most popular films, but Timecop (1994) made over $100 million worldwide, which is the highest grossing film in which he played the lead role. Lionheart (1990), Universal Solider (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993) and Maximum Risk (1996) were others I thoroughly enjoyed as a youngster.
One of my favorite movie franchises is Lethal Weapon. And all four movies recently came to Netflix. So I took in the first two one night and then watched the third installment the next day. I will finish with 4 in the next few days, but that series is fantastic.
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, and later Joe Pesci and Rene Russo, worked well together. They are action movies that make me laugh and the plot is a little bit different each time. Just entertain me. That's all I ask and those movies entertain me.
The franchise grossed roughly $955 million with Lethal Weapon 3 taking in a series-high $321 million and Lethal Weapon 4 bringing in $285 million.
And guess what, a fifth and final movie may still be in the works. Glover and Gibson are in their 70s and 60s right now so that would be interesting.
On Tuesday, AMC decided to run four fantastic movies in succession. I watched the end of Taken 3 then Gran Torino, Top Gun and Speed in full. Talk about lack of productivity. Those are all movies I can watch just about any time. Love them all.
I didn't realize Speed (1993) was Sandra Bullock's breakthrough role. She played a minor role in Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes the year before.
Speed has high energy from start to finish. It's an entertaining thrill ride. Bullock is brilliant as the eventual bus driver who's job is to keep the thing above 50 miles per hour no matter what. Speed, which also co-stars Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels and Dennis Hopper, grossed $350 million worldwide.
She agreed to be in Speed 2 for financial backing. That was probably a mistake as it never lived up to the original.
I also enjoyed Bullock in The Net (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Miss Congeniality (2000) and Birdbox, a Netflix movie that was released in 2018.
Her biggest year came in 2009 when she appeared in The Proposal and The Blind Side, winning her lone Academy Award for Best Actress in the latter. Each movie made more than $300 million at the box office.
Bullock was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Gravity (2013). I regret having not seen that one yet. That's one I need to check out and it's her highest grossing live-action release. That movie grossed $716 million.
Minions was actually her highest grossing film. It brought in $1.1 billion and her movies have made $5.3 billion worldwide.
What movies are you guys watching? What should I check out? I have some time on my hands.
Monday, April 13, 2020
NFL Draft stuff
One of the sporting events I look forward to the most each year is the NFL Draft.
When I lived in Texas, a buddy and I competed on first-round draft picks. We would each write down our picks for the entire first round and tally them up and see how we did.
I wasn't always that good at that. But back then, when I was single and had nothing else to do, I would buy a six pack of beer and some Chinese food and watch the draft all day Saturday and all then again on Sunday.
These days, the NFL Draft starts on Thursday with Round 1 then goes to Friday for Rounds 2 and 3 and then finishes on Saturday with the final 4 rounds.
This year's draft will be even different yet because of COVID-19. It will be all virtual and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the picks, and get booed, from the comfort of his own home.
There is so much intrigue with this year's draft. How many of the QBs will get pushed up into the top 10? There are 4 elite OT and 3 elite WR. How many of them will go early?
I can guarantee this. Quarterback Joe Burrow will go No. 1 and edge rusher Chase Young will likely get picked second. Versatile defensive stud Isaiah Simmons, cornerback Jeff Okudah and defensive tackle Derrick Brown are all popular picks to go in the top 10 as well.
In my opinion, offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills and Mekhi Becton and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa all will be off the board early.
The run on wide receivers could come at 11-12-13 with the Jets, Raiders and 49ers. The consensus top three guys are Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and Ceedee Lamb. The order in which draft experts and probably GMs and scouts have those three differ some.
I like Jeudy as my WR1 but it could come down to fits with each team. Ruggs' speed would be lethal in SF for Kyle Shanahan. Lamb also would help the 49ers in the red zone.
The Jets could go WR or OT depending on who is still on the board. I think the Raiders take the best WR available no matter what.
My favorite team is the 49ers. They traded DeForest Buckner for the 13th overall pick and also have pick 31 after losing in the Super Bowl. And yes, I am finally over the loss but it took longer than it should take a normal 39-year-old man.
At 13, rumors are rampant about what the Niners will do. I have thought all along that it would be either Jeudy, Ruggs or Lamb. But they might try to find Joe Staley's eventual replacement if a guy they like is there at 13. The other options would be cornerback C.J. Henderson or defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, although the latter is being mocked in the top 10 by some.
San Francisco is in a really good spot though. They can add elite talent at 13 and then trade back at 31 to obtain more picks. If they don't go WR at 13, then trading back at 31 and zeroing in on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. would be smart. I think he is being criminally underrated in this wide receiver class.
The wide receiver position is the most intriguing of the draft. It's DEEP. There are legitimately seven guys who could be first-round picks in Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs, Justin Jefferson, Denzel Mims, Tee Higgins and Brandon Aiyuk. Jalen Reagor, KJ Hamler, Laviska Shenault and Pittman round out the top of the class.
Anyone else get super fired up for the NFL Draft? What is your team and who do you want them to take? Who is the guy being mocked to your team that you absolutely hate.
As a sports fan living in Iowa, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been my team since I was a youngster. The Hawks should have a named called early in Wirfs, who is either OT1 or OT2 in this year's draft.
Many draft experts have mostly mocked Wirfs to the Giants at 4 or the Cardinals at 8. But he could go 9 to the Jaguars or 11 to the Jets, too. After wide receiver, the OT group is very intriguing.
Other Hawkeyes expected to hear their names somewhere in the draft are edge rusher A.J. Epenesa, safety Geno Stone, quarterback Nate Stanley and cornerback Michael Ojemudia.
Epenesa is all over the board. Going into his junior season, he was being talked about as a top 10 pick. While Wirfs improved his stock at the combine, Epenesa hurt his stock. He is now being mocked as a late first round pick and some even think he could fall out of the first round.
Put on the tape and let that be the final decision. He was nothing but productive as a pass rusher at Iowa. And his ability against the run improved, too.
Epenesa could come off the board at 23 to the Patriots, 27th to the Seahawks or 29th to the Titans. I could also see him go to the Ravens at 28 or the 49ers at 31 - if they make that pick and took a receiver at 13.
Don't expect to see Stone, Stanley or Ojemudia come off the board before Round 4. We have been surprised before but it feels like Stone and Ojemudia are fourth- or fifth-round picks and Stanley likely goes in the final two rounds if he's picked at all.
There's always a first-round surprise. Will that be Jordan Love going in the top 15 because of a trade? Will Justin Herbert fall out of the top 10? How far will Tua fall? Are teams worried about his health?
We are less than two weeks away. And because we are all stuck at home, this year might be the best draft yet. There won't be any reason to not watch now.
When I lived in Texas, a buddy and I competed on first-round draft picks. We would each write down our picks for the entire first round and tally them up and see how we did.
I wasn't always that good at that. But back then, when I was single and had nothing else to do, I would buy a six pack of beer and some Chinese food and watch the draft all day Saturday and all then again on Sunday.
These days, the NFL Draft starts on Thursday with Round 1 then goes to Friday for Rounds 2 and 3 and then finishes on Saturday with the final 4 rounds.
This year's draft will be even different yet because of COVID-19. It will be all virtual and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the picks, and get booed, from the comfort of his own home.
There is so much intrigue with this year's draft. How many of the QBs will get pushed up into the top 10? There are 4 elite OT and 3 elite WR. How many of them will go early?
I can guarantee this. Quarterback Joe Burrow will go No. 1 and edge rusher Chase Young will likely get picked second. Versatile defensive stud Isaiah Simmons, cornerback Jeff Okudah and defensive tackle Derrick Brown are all popular picks to go in the top 10 as well.
In my opinion, offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills and Mekhi Becton and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa all will be off the board early.
The run on wide receivers could come at 11-12-13 with the Jets, Raiders and 49ers. The consensus top three guys are Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and Ceedee Lamb. The order in which draft experts and probably GMs and scouts have those three differ some.
I like Jeudy as my WR1 but it could come down to fits with each team. Ruggs' speed would be lethal in SF for Kyle Shanahan. Lamb also would help the 49ers in the red zone.
The Jets could go WR or OT depending on who is still on the board. I think the Raiders take the best WR available no matter what.
My favorite team is the 49ers. They traded DeForest Buckner for the 13th overall pick and also have pick 31 after losing in the Super Bowl. And yes, I am finally over the loss but it took longer than it should take a normal 39-year-old man.
At 13, rumors are rampant about what the Niners will do. I have thought all along that it would be either Jeudy, Ruggs or Lamb. But they might try to find Joe Staley's eventual replacement if a guy they like is there at 13. The other options would be cornerback C.J. Henderson or defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, although the latter is being mocked in the top 10 by some.
San Francisco is in a really good spot though. They can add elite talent at 13 and then trade back at 31 to obtain more picks. If they don't go WR at 13, then trading back at 31 and zeroing in on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. would be smart. I think he is being criminally underrated in this wide receiver class.
The wide receiver position is the most intriguing of the draft. It's DEEP. There are legitimately seven guys who could be first-round picks in Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs, Justin Jefferson, Denzel Mims, Tee Higgins and Brandon Aiyuk. Jalen Reagor, KJ Hamler, Laviska Shenault and Pittman round out the top of the class.
Anyone else get super fired up for the NFL Draft? What is your team and who do you want them to take? Who is the guy being mocked to your team that you absolutely hate.
As a sports fan living in Iowa, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been my team since I was a youngster. The Hawks should have a named called early in Wirfs, who is either OT1 or OT2 in this year's draft.
Many draft experts have mostly mocked Wirfs to the Giants at 4 or the Cardinals at 8. But he could go 9 to the Jaguars or 11 to the Jets, too. After wide receiver, the OT group is very intriguing.
Other Hawkeyes expected to hear their names somewhere in the draft are edge rusher A.J. Epenesa, safety Geno Stone, quarterback Nate Stanley and cornerback Michael Ojemudia.
Epenesa is all over the board. Going into his junior season, he was being talked about as a top 10 pick. While Wirfs improved his stock at the combine, Epenesa hurt his stock. He is now being mocked as a late first round pick and some even think he could fall out of the first round.
Put on the tape and let that be the final decision. He was nothing but productive as a pass rusher at Iowa. And his ability against the run improved, too.
Epenesa could come off the board at 23 to the Patriots, 27th to the Seahawks or 29th to the Titans. I could also see him go to the Ravens at 28 or the 49ers at 31 - if they make that pick and took a receiver at 13.
Don't expect to see Stone, Stanley or Ojemudia come off the board before Round 4. We have been surprised before but it feels like Stone and Ojemudia are fourth- or fifth-round picks and Stanley likely goes in the final two rounds if he's picked at all.
There's always a first-round surprise. Will that be Jordan Love going in the top 15 because of a trade? Will Justin Herbert fall out of the top 10? How far will Tua fall? Are teams worried about his health?
We are less than two weeks away. And because we are all stuck at home, this year might be the best draft yet. There won't be any reason to not watch now.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Introduction
So, I have decided to give this blog thing a try. I love writing. I get paid a little bit by a small newspaper to do so on a local angle.
I wanted to use this platform to branch out and write about some other stuff. But first, let me introduce myself.
My name is Troy Hyde. I have been a sports journalist for more than 10 years. After graduating from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, I started my professional career at a weekly publication in Adel, Iowa. From there, I traveled to West Texas for a daily sports job in Big Spring, Texas.
I also spent a year in Popular Bluff, Missouri, before heading back to Iowa, where I was born and raised. I worked at a daily publication in Marshalltown, Iowa, for around 3 years. Before that, I was in Newton, Iowa for nearly 3 years.
And as life would have it, I returned to Newton after leaving Marshalltown. I have been in Newton ever since. I think my total number of years in Newton has reached 7 or 8 years.
The journalism world has certainly changed over the years. Our publication just recently went through some changes. Partly because of COVID-19. Partly because I think the business is trending that way. The company has transitioned from a 5-day a week paper to printing just twice a week. And they cut the entire staff's hours or pay to help get through the coronavirus pandemic.
I will get through it. I have been much less financially stable in my life. I thank my wife for getting me out of serious financial issues. She took over our finances after marriage and that was a smart decision.
Most of my work in the business has been with prep sports. It's what I think gives me the most satisfaction at this point in my life.
I have seen a lot of things as a sports journalist though. I have never covered an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL game but I have covered NASCAR and IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway, a 7/8-mile track in Newton.
While working in Texas and Missouri, I was able to cover a few teams at the NJCAA tournament in Kansas. I have been to numerous Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball games, too.
I won't just stick to sports on this blog. I love movies and music and working out. I may talk about my wife and daughter. I will leave politics out of it. I don't like to mix that with writing. Just not that informed anyway.
I hope to gain some kind of following with this blog. The ultimate goal would be to have an audience that is dying to read another one. That may never happen. But here I am. Let's see how this goes.
I wanted to use this platform to branch out and write about some other stuff. But first, let me introduce myself.
My name is Troy Hyde. I have been a sports journalist for more than 10 years. After graduating from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, I started my professional career at a weekly publication in Adel, Iowa. From there, I traveled to West Texas for a daily sports job in Big Spring, Texas.
I also spent a year in Popular Bluff, Missouri, before heading back to Iowa, where I was born and raised. I worked at a daily publication in Marshalltown, Iowa, for around 3 years. Before that, I was in Newton, Iowa for nearly 3 years.
And as life would have it, I returned to Newton after leaving Marshalltown. I have been in Newton ever since. I think my total number of years in Newton has reached 7 or 8 years.
The journalism world has certainly changed over the years. Our publication just recently went through some changes. Partly because of COVID-19. Partly because I think the business is trending that way. The company has transitioned from a 5-day a week paper to printing just twice a week. And they cut the entire staff's hours or pay to help get through the coronavirus pandemic.
I will get through it. I have been much less financially stable in my life. I thank my wife for getting me out of serious financial issues. She took over our finances after marriage and that was a smart decision.
Most of my work in the business has been with prep sports. It's what I think gives me the most satisfaction at this point in my life.
I have seen a lot of things as a sports journalist though. I have never covered an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL game but I have covered NASCAR and IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway, a 7/8-mile track in Newton.
While working in Texas and Missouri, I was able to cover a few teams at the NJCAA tournament in Kansas. I have been to numerous Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball games, too.
I won't just stick to sports on this blog. I love movies and music and working out. I may talk about my wife and daughter. I will leave politics out of it. I don't like to mix that with writing. Just not that informed anyway.
I hope to gain some kind of following with this blog. The ultimate goal would be to have an audience that is dying to read another one. That may never happen. But here I am. Let's see how this goes.
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