The Miami Heat Your 2012-2013 NBA Champions

Game 3 San Antonio 113 Miami 77

I've been waiting to use this photo :)

Credit as always goes to the Great Yoga Frog check out his website at Yoga Frog caps

Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Miami Vs Indiana

Game 7 Boys and Girls. No way in Hades did I think we'd be here tonight. On an off topic note Greg Brady was on Adam 12. His  Mother's Boyfriend was drunk and holding her at gun point. Tell me that wouldn't make a bitching episode of The Brady  Bunch.

LeBron had better decide to take this game over because LeBron the facilitator will be home tomorrow to fire up the hibachi.

Indiana better learn how to hold on to the damn basketball

Steve Kerr says Indiana has to keep their turnovers down to 15. They'll have more than that at halftime.

Glad they don't seem to be calling the flops but this game is getting away from Indiana.
  
Reggie Miller just pointed out that if you're the Pacers you want to stay close...No Reggie if you're the Pacers you want to get blown out.

If you're Eric Spoelstra you have to be pleased with this first half. Reggie bringing that in-depth analysis once again.-

Poop. Miami 52 Indiana 37 at half. Really disappointed in Indiana. Gonna go take a shower put on a T-shirt in Pajamas. If Second half doesn't improve I'll be heading out to have a smoke.

Miami 76 Indiana 55 after 3 quarters

Final Score Miami 99 Indiana 76. NBA Finals start Thursday. San Antonio Spurs Vs The Miami Heat.

Star Trek Into Darkness Or: My Final Farewell to Eileen.

Dear Eileen,

One month before your passing, our phone conversations varied among many topics, but they would, somehow, revert back to the science-fiction/fantasy genre. Granted, even before then, when we talked chatted on Facebook, the subject would return to the genre that made you a fangirl of said genre, from The Boy Who Lived and the Seven Realms, to Star Wars and Star Trek. Hell, I can't even remember how many times you you quoted the line where C-3PO tells Han that the chances of navigating through an asteroid field successfully was approximately three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one! (Damnit, now you've got me saying it!) Just before you passed, you continued to geek out over how you wanted to watch Star Trek Into Darkness, the big follow up to director J.J. Abrams' prequel of the original Trek movies. The other movies I was jazzed about seeing: Iron Man 3, The Hangover Part III, Man of Steel - they didn't hold a candle to how badly you wanted to see the continuing adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, traveling the realms of space at warp speed.

Unfortunately, you weren't able to get that opportunity.

I wish you had, if nothing else, for the opinions and analysis that we would have, because there's much doing on in this latest installment. After Kirk (played once again by Chris Pine) disobeys Starfleet's directive of extinguishing a volcano before it can destroy an indigenous race without being spotted by said indigenous people, now Rear Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), along with the rest of the board in the Federation, strip Kirk of his status of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and his role as captain. The situation changes dramatically as the Federation is attacked by one of they own, the mysterious and deadly agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch of the BBC's Sherlock) through a series of terrorist attacks, from a bombing of the Starfleet library in London, to the attack at headquarters in San Francisco, killing several captains and officers in the process. Kirk is re-instated as Captain of the Enterprise  and he is given a green-light to find, capture and bring back Harrison to justice by Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).

That's pretty much the plot to Abram's second outing in the Trek universe, and I'm not going to comment further because doing so would invoke spoilers, which I won't reveal here.What I can say to you, Eileen, is that Into Darkness is everything you'd expect from Abrams: an engaging story, great characters, and expertly staged action set pieces that dazzling and thrilling to watch. The entire cast returns for the second installment, including First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Senior Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg), Lieutenant Commander Sulu (John Cho) and Ensign Checkov (Anton Yelchin)., and each character gets their chance to shine, though Yelchin's Checkov is mostly reduced to running around the engineer deck whenever the ship is thrown into chaos. In fact, Pegg, Saldana and Cho are give much more to do in this installment than last time, as all three become integral parts to middle section of the film.

Again, i'm being vague out of fear of spoilers, but i'd be doing a disservice if I didn't bring up the biggest flaw of Into Darkness, namely the fact that Abrams takes a crucial plot twist from the Star Trek movies of yesteryear and slaps it in this film. Granted, it did work, as it demonstrated that Kirk finally understands humility and that there are no-win scenarios in being the commander of a ship, but then, kind of like how Bill Condon pulled the rug right out under Twi-hards everywhere towards the end of Breaking Dawn: Part II, Abrams more or less does the same thing here, and for you, being the sci-fi/Trek fan that you were, it may leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Still, besides Abrams almost hitting the copy and paste keys with Into Darkness, there's still so much to like in this film. You would have enjoyed all the banter between the crew of the Enterprise, especially between Spock and Kirk. They may have settled their differences between each other in the first film, but their philosophies - Kirk leaping without looking, Spock searching for a logical solution before he leaps - still put the two men at odds with one another. And what good would a team of protagonists would do without a villain, and Cumberbatch has it in spades as Harrison. He's a cunning, ticking timebomb, always putting himself two steps ahead of Kirk and his crew and the Federation, who want nothing more than him in a body bag. You should see the interaction between him and Pine's Kirk on board the Enterprise as he says, "I am better than you...at everything." He's a brilliant actor, hiding the madness of his character's motives. Pine is also solid as Kirk, as he begins to learn this his arrogant, rule-breaking ways has consequences, as he must learn to respect his power as Captain. And I don't know what else I can say about Quninto as Spock, except that he was born to play this iconic character. Not only is he the spittin' image of Leonard Nimoy's character, he understands he is a man in war with himself - the cold logic of his Vulcan side, vs the emotional and feeling Human side.

I believe you would have enjoyed this movie, Eileen, and I wish to the Gods, both the Old and the New, that you could have seen it and we could talk about it. But maybe you already have, and that the Gods were able to get a copy of the movie and you were able to see it from the opening notes to Michael Giaccino's wonderful score, to the end credits which play the 60's Star Trek television theme. Maybe one day we'll get that chance to discuss and compare notes, but until then, to quote Spock himself: "I have been, and shall always be, your friend. Live long, and prosper."

*** stars out of ****

Remembering James Bond A Licence To Kill 1989

After finally reaching a mutual understanding with the 58 year old Roger Moore that it was time for Both  he  and the James Bond series to got their separate ways the folks at EON had turned to the man everybody said was the perfect choice for the role and it  just so happened that with his American  TV series coming to an and end he was more than happy to take the role  and make it his own. Then NBC brought back  Remington Steele for another 6 episodes thus taking Pierce Brosnan out of the running to be the next James Bond and forcing the folks at EON to go to plan B. The Eternally joyless Timothy Dalton.

Dalton was quick  to claim he was Ian Fleming's Bond and his many fans in the James Bond fan boy community still  maintain this point of view. And while it's not entirely wrong neither is it entirely right. Dalton read Casino Royale The first James Bond novel and the one novel where Bond is a genuine asshole. Even Ian Fleming new he could make his hero such a prick and with the next novel Live and Let Die began to soften his personality. Timothy Dalton was not the hero of the novels but the hero of  but one of the novels.  Even  Daniel Craig's James Bond whom Daltonites use to prove Timothy was just "ahead" of his time is a likeable guy.  Something Dalton's Bond never was.

The films had begun steering away from the family action adventure comedies of the 70's with 1981's For Your Eyes Only and had completely changed course with the humorless Dalton. The next step in the  progression was to make a movie violent enough to shed the uncool PG rating that would prove...   

If you're watching James Bond films in order then Licence To Kill's abrupt change in tone and demeanor from the other Bond films is striking. If you hadn't ever seen it or any other Bond film since before Pierce Brosnan then the violence of the film is most likely to register a yawn. In the near 25 years since it's release  violence in film  has risen to the level that LTK now would seem almost tame to a modern movie goer. So a guys head explodes  and a woman gets beat with the tail of a  stingray Yawn...

Bond is a screw up through out the film. He stops the DEA from getting the villain Sanchez, He quits MI6, then he stops Hong Kong narcotics bureau from getting Sanchez all in the name of his own a personal vendetta because his friend Felix Leiter was fed to some sharks (but lived)  and Leiter's newlywed bride was murdered by Sanchez and Killifer a turn coat in the DEA. Doing the honors of Felix Leiter is David Hedison  for the second time his first try at Leiter was Live And Let Die. Hedison is most's people's choice as best Felix Leiter. Of course in the near 25 years since the film was released Leiter has gotten his limbs back is now Black. The shark scene would cause some headaches for the then current Bond literary maestro John Gardner more on that later.

Bond: Dalton is a fine actor but he just doesn't have enough it pull of the hero of a major action film. Roger Moore  in  the only slightly less dour For Your Eyes Only commanded the screen far more than Timothy Dalton ever did in either of pictures but at least in The Living Daylights he's a hero  here he just a dick. Case in point when he discovers Q in his hotel room he knocks the 60+ year old man on his ass. Really? He continually treats CIA agent Pam Bouvier (and  Q) like garbage though of course she still falls for him in the end.  

Women: Priscilla Barnes plays Della Leiter is not particularly memorable.She dies in early in the film and you don't miss her much. Talisa Soto plays Sanchez's girlfriend the well named Lupe who ends up falling for Bond of course. She  has one saving grace She's not in the film that much. Anymore of  the air-headed Lupe and she would have honors in the Tanya Roberts Bond Girl  hall of shame.Carey Lowell is the tough talking CIA pilot Pam Bouvier AKA Ms Kennedy. She's really the proper Bond Girl and She's rougher and tougher than your average Bond girl though she still cowers when Bond treats her like shit. I doubt Ms Lowell has ever been up for any acting awards but she's worlds better than Soto or Barnes and is one of the bright spots of the film.

Villains: Here is where LTK gets it's best marks. Robert Davi is solid as the drug selling  psychotic Franz Sanchez. Young Benicio del Toro is great as Sanchez's henchman though  he did accidentally legitimately injure Timothy Dalton's hand.  Anthony Zerbe is fine as the uber creepy Milton Crest. And let's not forget Wayne Newton who is solid as the  slimy, campy, though highly believable TV evangelist Professor Joe Butcher. Newton who has a lot of practice as a fund razor allegedly improvised many of lines. Whether or not his catch phrase "Bless Your Heart" was his or not I have no idea. The only bad guy that gets on your nerves is the nerdy, forever panicked Truman Lodge and  Sanchez finally does we all would have done to him.

The Bit Players: Robert Brown's M as usual is pretty unsubstantial. he has one memorable line "This isn't a country club 007" Then he tells his bodyguards not to  shoot Bond because "there are too many people around" (There actually didn't seem to be anybody) Caroline Bliss' Moneypenny gets a very short scene. She's sniffling about Bond and sends Q out to find him. And then there is Q. The biggest role for good  ol' Desmond Llewellyn and probably his finest hour.  As with everybody else in the film sands Felix Leiter Bond treats him like garbage. First knocking him over a chair then constantly telling him to go home. What a prick.

Odds and Ends: The film had several issues in production. In fact director John Glen swears the Mexico City shoot was haunted and for proof offered up the now famous picture of a fireball making a hand 










 

The fact that the film was the first to not have any of it's scenes filmed in Britain made many purists upset and continues to be part of the criticism of the film to this day. Licence To Kill was the first bond film to not have either a Fleming Title or very close to a Fleming title. The original title was suppose to be Licence Revoked  but tests showed the American audiences weren't sure what "revoked" meant. Which is sad if true. There is some Fleming in the film. Milton Crest was a character in the short story The Hildebrand Rarity. The seen where Lupe get's beaten with the  tail  of  the stingray comes from the same short story though in the book it's  Mrs Crest being beaten by Milton Crest. The scene where poor Felix Leiter get's his arms and legs eaten off by sharks (he disagreed with something that ate him) happened in the book Live and Let Die. Then current Bond 

Novelist John Gardner wrote the novelization of the film and made the curious decision to keep the movie in the same continuous universe as the literary James Bond. Thus he actually had poor Felix Leiter getting his prosthetic arms and legs eaten off by a shark. That poor poor man. The marketing  for the films was sub-par by Bond standards. Many still point to this film as having some of the poorest teaser posters of the series and they were. The film did not do well by Bond Standards grossing  40 million dollars less The Living Daylights;  The film did especially lackluster business in America which was a huge disappointment since this with it's Miami Vice like plot was by most standards the most Americanized Bond film to date. Part f  the reason the film did not do as well as others in the series is the summer of 1989 was a huge year for movies  and had to compete with Batman, Star Trek V, Indiana Jones And The last Crusade and others.

Overall Thoughts: I  may seem harsh on Dalton's Bond and it's true I think his Bond was Bland at best and down right  dickish mean at worst but both his movies are fine entries in the cannon even if, and  this goes for 80's Bond films in general, it isn't particularly memorable. This maybe along with  Thunderball and A View To A Kill my least re-watched official Bond film though I think it better than both of the other films I mentioned and the reason is the film is just joyless. It's brightest moments are the Q scenes  and that is never a great thing to say about a Bond film  is it? Ms Lowell is fine as the Bond girl and Davi and Newton often make for better viewing than Bond. And about Mr. Davi and Newton. One played a psychotic  girl friend beating, murdering  drug dealer and  the other played a slimy con-artist who sells the drugs through his bogus television ministry. And what is the only thing of note that either of these two men have done recently? Campaigned fast and hard for Conservative Republican politicians. Just sayin.

With all that I have said here one might think I dislike the film and that simply isn't true. I like the movie plenty. In fact there is no official Bond film I dislike. What is true is the film is not high on my list of favorite Bond films. It moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring like say Thunderball is at times but Bond is best when it's objective is to be Bond. Here Bond just seems to be following the current flavor of the month drug related violent action films. It also probably didn't help that this was the second Bond film in a row that had drug smuggling as a plot. For all of the work that went into the movie to make it feel fresh it's the one thing that LTK doesn't feel. Unlike the 60's Bond films and even most ofthe 70;s Bond films LTK feels dated though  it does serve a reminder the 80's weren't all that damned great. Oh and that damn ending with the winking fish doesn't help matters.

Thank You Eileen.

We love you. You will be so very missed. Words fail me at the minute so that is why this is so short. Comments are shut off to everyone except  Jonathan and I for the time being.

Comments are back on. They will be moderated. We welcome any positive thoughts and stories on such a wonderful person.

NFL Draft

The Draft Starts Tomorrow and will run through Saturday. I will not be able to comment on the proceedings as I will not be by anything that has internet (hallelujah!) But if Mr. Brown or you the kindly reader have any  thoughts on the goings on they go here.

National Championship Game...

VS

First half was simply brilliant as Michigan got out to a 12 point lead and leads by 1 38-37 at half.
Louisville 82 Michigan 76 final. Great game. One comment.  Seriously I was rooting for Michigan in this game but their fans are...Grrr. Really it's the entire state of Michigan. After The  2003 Alamo Bowl,  2005  Alamo bowl, Beating both Michigan State and Michigan in football this year and this game tonight. I've figured out these people  never run out of excuses. Michigan lost by 6 and was badly out rebounded especially offensively but was that the reason why their truly valiant effort came up just short? Oh no it was of course the officials. Come on state of Michigan just once man up.

Gameday The Spring Game and final 4 Edition

  VS  

When it comes to pointlessness and fruitlessness trying to pick the winner of a college spring game has to rank somewhere alongside arguing logic with Donald Trump. It's a scrimmage. the 15th one of the spring  to be exact. And according to the coaches not as important as the other 14. So why do that people like the Count  pay $10 to go and watch? We have nothing better  to do and when else can you go experience something close to a real Nebraska football environment  for $10? The stars play a few series and give way to the backups and youngsters who are trying to show that they can handle the spotlight of playing in front of a crowd that while way short of a sellout still numbers 60,000+. Freshmen and sophomores pile up big plays and get everybody talking about how they are the next sure  fire can't miss big thing even though they are playing against defenses consisting of walkons, Graduate Assistants and Sorority Pledges. We faithfully watch and we file every byte of information  our eyes collect in April so in October when a player seems to be not pulling his weight we can second guess the coaches for not playing  that guy that tore up the 8th string in the spring game.

Other than creating false controversy and causing fans to ridiculously over-react  this game does serve one  other purpose as I have said  many times. The family with 3 or 4 kids who can't afford 5 or 6 tickets at $60 or  $70 a pop can  pay that much and take in an atmosphere that is actually pretty close to the real deal. When Bo Pelini took over he changed the format of the Spring game to try and make the game more competitive. Still the Red's seem to always find away to win. This combined with the fact that the red roster looks a little stronger is why I am once again going with the Reds.

The game last year was a weather casualty. In 2011 I thought it would be a low scoring game and Red won 32-29. This year I think it should be a higher scoring game as the offense appears to be a head of the defense so it will probably be 10-7...

The Count's Krystal Bawl
Red 38
White  24

Also the final 4 is Today! A great sports day! All thoughts on the Basketball games go in this thread.

Final Score

   32 25

Thank you, Roger Ebert.

My tribute to the late, great Roger Ebert can be found at Mr. Brown Verses. if the Count wants to post the article here on BAD, he may do so if he so wishes.

__________________________________________

As a kid growing up, there were a few things I spend my time doing on Saturdays: getting up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons, going to the movies with my parents, playing outside with my roller-skates, and watching the latest edition of Siskel & Ebert on television. In fact, that was probably one of the moments of the day I was looking forward to. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert didn't just debate about the latest movies that had just been released; they didn't just argue back and forth about why this movie worked or why it was awful. These men didn't just love movies, they lived, breathed the power of cinema as an art form. And I don't think no one person exemplified this kind of mad-hot passion for, well....anything better than Ebert himself. Even after Gene's death in February of 1999, the man still carried on and talked about his love of the movies, with other critics and cinemaphiles, from Lisa Scwartzburn of Entertainment Weekly, to Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, to legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Richard Roper of the Chicago Sun-Times would eventually become his partner from 2000 up until 2006, when post-surgical complications with thyroid cancer left him unable to speak, but his love of the big screen wouldn't diminish. If anything, Ebert found a new voice in which to communicate his excitement for a movie, or his utter disgust for what had transpired on the screen through Twitter, and he still had his columns on his own personal website, and he still wrote reviews for the Chicago-Sun Times, and held film festivals. In short: his burning spirit wouldn't keep him from what he loved: the cinema. Ebert's place was in the balcony of a movie theater, and for one afternoon on a Saturday, I - along with everyone else who loved film as much as he did, or simply wanted to hear his thoughts - were allowed in to listen, argue, and debate the movies. The fact that tonight, we no longer have that voice with us, is a tragedy in of itself. Ebert is a big reason why I loved going to the movies: I wanted to capture the same passion for watching films as he clearly had, and is a continued inspiration for me as a amateur critic with a blog, and it's a continued hope of mine that it comes through with each review I write. For the days I spent sitting in the living room, watching him give the trademark "Thumbs Up," or "Thumbs Down" to eagerly seeking out his reviews on the latest movie to hit theaters, I say thank you Roger Ebert, for making me a lover of the cinema, and forevermore, the balcony will be closed. 

And A Happy Easter

 I am a believer. Many of you are not I  know and that is perfectly fine. It is an individual choice. I am not a believer to judge, preach, save or to pass judgement on anyone with the exception of one person, myself. Especially the save part. A belief in  something better as a reward for surviving our earthly travel is what has saved me from me on so many occasions. And for that reason I choose to believe in my Lord and savior.