Break Him Again.

By The Fillerbuster

The Cast 120418

SETTING:

This was organized a little during MNF, and then mostly written during the first game of the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night.  I feel the need…the need for speed.

Let’s turn and burn.

(and a note that this was barely edited this time…sorry)

EVERGREEN (topics that don’t fade away):

STEPH CURRY

• We are given stories every single day in the sports world where athletes misbehave, stay out too late, don’t give enough, take from others, beat their spouse, beat up other people, carry guns in their cars, and do drugs and get into trouble. We don’t recognize NEAR enough the GOOD stories.  An eight-year-old girl wrote Steph Curry a letter (no, not a tweet or text) about how she wanted his sneakers, but that they didn’t make a girl version.  Steph not only read the letter, but wrote his OWN letter, and it wasn’t a one-line answer.  He said basically that he would fix the problem.  This is classy.  This is touching.  This makes me stay a fan of his and become more of one.  He is the best in the game, he has titles, he has street cred, he has sponsorships, and yet he still makes the time to reach out to a fan.  A young fan.  A fan who will be changed in a positive way for the rest of her life BECAUSE a star took the time to write her back…and fix her problem.   Oh, she also got some sneaks out of this whole back and forth.

KAREEM HUNT

• I respect the Chiefs more than I ever have. Kareem Hunt got in trouble this week.  Many times over actually.  It started with a video of him pushing and kicking a girl late night in a hotel hallway.  Now, as I write this, we have more incidents, more videos, more proof that there is an anger pattern.  He will be investigated by the NFL, probably investigated more by the police, and I don’t think he will be on any field any time soon.  But, what I respect about the Chiefs is this.  Before any of the other items came to light, they released him immediately.  They were basically saying that they didn’t care about how hard he pushed anyone, how hard he kicked anyone, but that he shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.  With the best team in the AFC presently being driven by the best offense in the NFL, this had to be tough to swallow.  They had to release the motor that keeps defenses off balance from what Patrick Mahomes does.  Classy, KC.  Now, you look even more right in your actions with the added info (or maybe they already knew-whatever).  But, you did the tough thing.  Much respect.  Years ago, with me being a Steelers fan, I sounded out to anyone who would listen that I had NO problem with the Steelers releasing Big Ben after HIS alleged incidents.  I still to this day would have been fine with it.  And, yes, because they kept him, I root for him each week, even with rape jokes galore all around.  Sure, it was a different situation with a different player, but some parallels still exist.  I would be pretty proud if I was a Chiefs fan today.

BAKER MAYFIELD

• I love Baker Mayfield. I love everything he brought to the game in college, and the fire he has brought to the Browns in making them a very feisty opponent suddenly.  I love his passion.  I love the chip on his shoulder.  I love the controversy he sometimes brings.  I love him saying what he wants.  But, there is an over the top area in this new arena he is in and I think he just jumped into that gray area.  What about?  I have a problem with HIM having a problem with Hue Jackson going to a rival so quickly after severing ways with the Browns.  One, the Browns let HIM go.  Two, Deion Sanders is exactly right.  The NFL is a business, through and through.  Yes, the NFL machine has built up rivalries, and those are fun.  But, in the end, the players did not CHOOSE their destinations.  And the coaches are taking jobs largely because of the opportunity’s positive attributes and NOT whether they liked the team when they were a kid.  In college, this argument worked better.  Players at least chose where they played.  Coaches were sometimes alumni’s and the rivalries were real, long time, and grew organically as opposed to reasons such as divisional alignment, relocation, and the media push.  Baker can hate Hue for a lot of reasons, but he can leave him going down the road to Cincy OUT of it.  Hue was the victim, and he can find work where he wants without anyone looking down on him.  Still love you though, Baker.  Just calling out this one little thing.

MIKE MCCARTHY

• The Packers let go of Mike McCarthy after the loss to Arizona at Lambeau. Sure, that was a bad loss.  Sure, maybe him and Aaron Rodgers weren’t on the same page lately.  Sure, maybe Rodgers was even changing plays and not playing as hard.  Sure, a statement needed to be made.    But, midseason?  I totally disagree.  I believe changes should be made but a team should still give respect to that coach or player.  McCarthy got you all a Super Bowl.  Maybe you think he should have more, but he DID get ONE.  And that is something.  There are more coaches out there desperately needing one of those than those having one.  You let him coach out the season and then give him the papers in the offseason.  I hear the arguments about them not being mathematically eliminated and getting the head start on the coaching search.  But, don’t burn bridges when they don’t need to be burned.  You are an ageless organization with many, many titles, many, many coaches, and many, many players.  There is no need to cut loose one of those special ones who won you something…before the fat lady sings.

BOXING

• I didn’t watch the Fury-Wilder fight. I admit it.  But, I heard and read enough to grasp what happened.  We are past the days of stopping our lives for a good heavyweight fight.  That is more likely to happen with a UFC fight these days.  And maybe, aside from the athletes IN boxing, we can look at the scoring system.  I get why we don’t have open scoring, and I am not saying we should by any means.  I am just saying maybe there is a middle ground we can look at.  Current scoring is kept unknown because that is how we have always done it and to make sure neither fighter lets up down the stretch knowing whether the fighter can beat them or not.  I get it.  Open scoring probably would start an uproar, and there are a few fights in the last five years where this would NOT have worked without a doubt.  But, perhaps we look at getting the score midway through the fight.  Maybe we keep things the way they always have been with just a glimpse of transparency midway through the fight so we know who the judges have favored thus far.  Maybe it will lend enough of a hint to fight off some of these conspiracy score cards we have seen, but keep the old ways secure overall.  There is too much cheating in most other sports.  Maybe boxing tries out partially letting the cat out of the bag so we can dismiss a little more those faulty scorecards.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF TEAMS

• Well, we have our final four teams for the college football playoff. Ohio State people are complaining, UCF fans have their gripes, and we all can admit that Georgia probably IS one of the best four teams in the country.  But a system is a system and this is what we have.  I think we ended up pretty well actually.  You have the non-Power 5 school with the largest fan base in it.  Those people are happy.  Sure, Clemson went through a worse than usual ACC, but they only can beat who is put in front of them, we can’t fault them for the conference being really weak, they beat most teams by a sizable margin, and they have proven before they belong.  OU?  No, they don’t have a defense to be proud of, and have allowed an embarrassing amount of points by any college team’s standards.  But, they have the other Heisman candidate who has electrified audiences throughout the season, and their offense just might scare the Bama defense a LITTLE bit.  The one truth about Oklahoma you can say throughout the season is that they sure do make the game fun, whether playing up or down to their competition.    The old steely vet of the group.  They also belong, and I hope the other teams are already watching the first halves of both UGA games the last two years.  They will probably win it all, but the personality of this group of four is pretty entertaining.  Now, as far as the people complaining, we need my six team system.  NEED it.  I can’t even explain to non-football fans WHY there are five power conferences and only four spots in the college football playoff.  It is silly.  Six teams.  Top two teams get a bye.  Invite another Power 5 team or another one from the same conference, and throw in a UCF so everyone is happy.  I know the six team system has problems too, but at least it makes a little more sense.

WEEK-FISH (current topics of interest in sports):

NFL

• I am not a Broncos fan. But, tt occurred to me today that not only are the Broncos 6-6, but four of their losses are against what most of us think are the best teams in the NFL:  Texans, Chiefs x 2, Rams.  The Jets are the only weird loss.  But, I have to admit, that is not a bad resume.
• I feel like Phillip Lindsay is as fast as Bo Jackson was in Tecmo Bowl I. That goes to show how inexact draft science is.  No team drafted him, not even the one in his backyard.
• I feel like if I don’t discuss Reuben Foster this week because I have too much other stuff to get to, that he will do something stupid before my next blog to write about. Moving on.
• The Steelers were 220-0-2 at home when leading by at least 14 points at halftime. That stat is now history.  They played tentative, forgot the aggressive formula that got them the lead, and when you couple that with a couple of missed ref calls and bad football bounces in the end zone WITH Philip Rivers at the helm, you get the Chargers being back into the game.  It was very painful to watch, but they deserved it when they took the foot off the gas.
• But, the week before, they lost in Denver. I unfortunately was there.  They lost in the Mountain time zone.  I stumbled on this link this week, and it is not only interesting, but scary consistent over the decades and not just recent history.  It goes back to Bill Cowher.  It goes back to Chuck Noll.  Check it out.  The Steelers are really bad in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.  A lot of East Coast teams are too, but not to this degree.  https://deadspin.com/heres-a-really-bizarre-stat-about-the-steelers-1830710641
• By the way, this was NOT the plan for the Steelers. Winning the Denver and San Diego or ONE of those was fine.  Now?  Do you realize they still have to play the Saints IN New Orleans and the Pats at Heinz?  Not good.  I get the bad feeling that the Broncos will win their winnable games, the Steelers will struggle, and THEY might be the team that forces my team out of the mix when it is all said an done.
• The Conner injury doesn’t really help this doomed thought.
• I think I knew that Philip Rivers had above EIGHT kids, but that might have been a couple of years ago. He is about to have his TENTH?  How does he have energy or time?  So, he commutes every day from L.A., and still has time to A) play with nine kids, B) make new kids, and C) study film?    Gosh darnit.  We need his secret, you son-of-a-gun.  He doesn’t cuss but talks loads of trash.  That is the joke there.
• You can mock them for their inconsistency. You can mock them because you don’t like the multitude of fans.  You can mock them because of Jerry Jones.  But, that was a BEATDOWN they put on the Saints last week.  Not a beatdown in score, but a beatdown in the fact that they held one of the most prolific offenses we have seen to 10 points.  Whether a blip on the radar, an asterisk, or just plain old luck, they put the NFL on notice that they are a team that is mediocre in record but hitting stride at the right time.  They made a team who was beating the HECK out of EVERYONE look pedestrian and useless.
• The Bengals added insult to injury when they added ANOTHER AJ Green injury to a suddenly bad record and bad year.
• Who says Tom Brady is NOT a running QB? He IS.  He is a 1000 yard rusher, folks.  It might have taken him NINETEEN seasons, but he is an RPO nightmare now.
• The Patriots looked a little more like themselves at home and beat a very good team in Minnesota, and that should put the NFL on notice also.
• The Seahawks did another brilliant celebration, and a classy one. Richard Sherman might diss Russell and Co. now that he is elsewhere, but the Seahawks still send out love to HIM.  They did his classic tip INT (from the 2013 NFC Championship Game) this week and it was well done.
• We just went from writing about Andrew Luck was A) in the MVP conversation and B) a TD machine about to break records, and then Sunday against the Jags happened. Zero points.
• And it things couldn’t get any worse for Mr. Luck, Jalen Ramsey offered to help him up after a play and then took back his hand and went on his merry way. A help-up pump fake.
• Teams are getting it. The Bears tried the Philly Special and the Giants actually COVERED the QB.
• But, the Bears at least are still getting their fat guys TD’s in the style of The Fridge.
• More stats. I just noticed the stat in the top left corner telling us how far a field goal WOULD have been good from.  How long has THAT been there?
• So, the Bills are still the Bills. They just cut Travis Benjamin, a receiver they traded for less than a year ago.
• The Panthers have lost four straight with no big injuries, and they are a enigma wrapped in a puzzle since their loss in Pittsburgh.
• Patrick Mahomes has been the story of the NFL all season, but the rubber will hit the road when we see him operate without Mr. Hunt back there.
• The Skins lost Colt McCoy. The Skins are starting Mark Sanchez.  Colin Kaepernick still is unemployed.  Amazing and disturbing.
• You want tough? I will give you tough.  Colt McCoy completed two passing plays AFTER breaking his leg.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• OU-UT
  • OU did just enough to prove they are worthy.
  • They actually allowed less than 30 points, which is a major accomplishment for that defense.
  • They beat a rival, and that counts for a little less style points.
  • AND they finally hit the UNDER (which I took)
  • Watching an OU game with Lindsey is stressful. Watching an OU game with Steve is stressful.  Watching an OU game with both of them is not something I recommend in a private atmosphere.  Go to a bar.
• If Mike Gundy already wasn’t one of your favorite people, then check this out. He paid out of his own wallet a guy who lost a season long bet that Oklahoma State would win eight games.
• I am not surprised about Urban Meyer’s decision to retire. His health has to be more important, and it was getting around he couldn’t put his old self into each and every game.  His energy IS what drove that genius, so good for him for acknowledging that and exiting stage left.  Ohio State is pretty set for now as their new guy is already battle tested.
• Virginia Tech decided to do it against Marshall, but they finally looked a little like we expected them to look all year long and will head to the Military Bowl (oddly).
• Well, UGA didn’t WIN the game, but other teams will be watching tape on that first half for a while now. And if CU folks aren’t a little pumped to be getting the defensive coordinator who shut down Bama temporarily not once, but twice, they should be.
• Jalen Hurts came into the UGA-Bama game and basically won it for them. Whatever path he goes down next, his legend is secure.  He was a winner before, had a bad half in the championship game and got replaced, rode the bench and didn’t transfer the whole next season, and then, when summoned, delivered a knockout blow to a top notch team in a big game.  Dude is a stud through and through no matter how you slice it.
• As far as that fake punt by UGA late in the game against Bama, some people disagreed with it, and I am in that group. My take?  You HAVE to take extreme chances to beat the better football team.  But, they were already IN the game.  They didn’t need to do that at that point.
• Did Nick Saban really cry? That just seems weird and manufactured.  That would be like Belichick laughing.
• FanDuel is already paying out Bama national champion bets and I don’t fully understand the rationale of this move.
• You got to wonder how Utah’s season would have turned out if they didn’t lose most of their backfield to injury. They hung with Washington in a very hard to watch game overall, but their offense would have been different with their starters.
• We were surprised Pittsburgh was in a conference championship game, and we weren’t surprised when they didn’t even beat the spread against Clemson.
• Paul Johnson is retiring from Georgia Tech, and good luck to the guy replacing him. If you aren’t running the triple option with a roster designed FOR the triple option, you will have a couple years of growing pains.
• Northwestern had a HECK of a season. But, when the chips were on the table, it is understandable when sheer talent, strength, and speed get the best of them.  What a year though.
• Sometimes old school recruiting monsters overcome family ties. Brad Johnson, ex-NFL QB, has a son.  That son’s uncle coaches The U.  The son still chose LSU.
• Congrats to UAB. A couple of years ago, they banished their entire football program.  They brought it back from scratch, and this year they already won their conference championship.  That just SOUNDS like a hard feat.
• Conference championship weekend had such random “other” games where you have to wonder what the heck they were playing for.
• Glad to see UVA football in a bowl game. I have no interest in going to Charlotte for fun though.
• So, the Heisman finalists were really tough to figure out. Tua, Kyler, and “we need one more guy to make three.”  Haskins DID have a heck of a season so he should be there in all seriousness.  But, we all know this is down to Tua and Kyler.  Although I live in a Sooner household, I will say this.  IF there is one team that definitively had the best season of all teams, and if all other stats are comparable, you give it to the best player on the best team.  Now, that being said, I will be rooting for Kyler and don’t think many would be surprised if he happened to win it.
• I love my wife for a lot of reasons, but since the Rose Bowl trip (semi’s) was done last year, she has already booked hotel and flight for Santa Clara in case OU does beat Bama. I got the feeling that this is a father-daughter thing, so I will not be partaking this year.
• Yes, some of you out there weren’t even born when Bill Snyder started coaching…Kansas State. A LOT of us weren’t alive when he started COACHING.
• If you like to tell dumb stats to your friends, here is one. Stanford has the 69^th ranked offense, which will line up against the 69^th ranked defense at Pitt.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

• I wonder if Texas Googled where Radford University was before or after their hoops team lost to them. It is in Virginia, guys.  I have partied there.
• Virginia hoops beat Maryland last week, but I will say that Maryland fans should have a lot of hope. Not a bad team.
• I LOVE this guy on the UVA team now. Not more than Kyle Guy, but he definitely makes others better around him.  https://virginiasports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3739
• UVA had TWO turnovers in that Maryland game…for the whole game.
• In a million years with whatever talent they had that year, I never saw a Roy Williams team getting WORKED like Michigan did to them last week.
• If you live under a rock and haven’t seen Jimmy V’s speech from way back when, PLEASE stop reading this and listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E
• They just played it between games. STILL gives me chills.  “Your family, religion, and the Green Bay Packers.”
• Michigan State is very good this year and will be around for the last weekend or two. But, they do more than play defense and rebound.  The other night versus Iowa, they had TWENTY EIGHT assists on 31 team FG’s.

NBA

• The Nuggets have a unicorn in Nikola Jokic and this is pretty obvious to anyone who follows the NBA. He has three games at starting center with 15 assists or more.  The rest of the league’s starting centers have zero TOTAL.
• I admit to still thinking it is like G-League or the WNBA when I see a rout with the losing team being San Antonio. Still getting used to mediocrity.
• So confused with how I feel about Shaq “giving” the Superman tag to the Greek Freak. So nice of him.  Pretty sure we didn’t need an announcement.
• I won a bet the other night with the Warriors getting NINE points against Toronto. I calculated the odds, like George Costanza did with a Brazilian waitress, of ever getting the Warriors with that many points again and took it.
• Is there anyone out there who doubts that Luka Doncic’s skills won’t “translate?” Told you.  18/4/6, people.
• I hope the kid heals well and wish him the best, but I think that Markelle Fultz isn’t hurt and they are just taking him to a cave with no one around to fix his shot.
• I feel like Kyle Korver just LOOKS like he was meant to be back in Utah at some point. Greener pastures however you look at it though…
• Russell Westbrook has already tied, in his prime, Jason Kidd for THIRD all time in triple doubles. I remember when those things, aside from the Big O, used to be HARD to get.
• I liked SI’s best jerseys ever in the NBA, and loved that the Nuggets got fourth, but I feel like they kind of just took the best teams in a way, and having that winning weigh in on the rankings. First three?  Lakers, Bulls, Celtics.
• So, they fired Fred Hoiberg for having a bunch of second tier talent kids who didn’t play defense and losing?

MLB

• So, the A’s won’t pay big money for the prime time players and that is awesome, but somehow will be building a waterfront stadium? Got it.
• So, I believe the Seattle Mariners, after big trades with the Mets and Philly, are going back to rebuilding mode without really accomplishing anything of substance when NOT in rebuilding mode.
• Do you think Manny Machado and Bryce Harper will join forces and sign with the same team so there will be at least some ambiguity about who is the worst locker room guy?
• I don’t care if you like Trump or hate Trump. I am just glad SOMEONE accepted a freaking invite to the White House.  Thanks, Red Sox.

NHL

• Craziness when you think of where teams were a decade ago. The Flyers, Devils, and Penguins are all at the bottom of their division.  The Sabres are four points out of first in theirs.  The Blackhawks are pulling dead weight.  The Red Wings are still at the bottom.  The Predators and Flames lead their divisions.  Everything just seems to balance out over time in hockey.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• The women’s basketball team at Stanford signed their first top recruit since 2010. It is just nice when someone doesn’t pick UK in men’s hoops or UCONN in women’s hoops.
• John Cena will receive some Muhammad Ali achievement award and I have no idea of how that could be.
• Oh, by the way, in all of those still shots of Wilder-Fury, Fury just looks plain old fat. THAT can’t be helping to draw fans to boxing again.
• I still feel like they give out this award like three times a year, but Luka Modric stopped the Messi-Ronaldo run of Ballon D’Or awards.   Parity.

THIS AND THAT (pop culture, Fillerbuster thoughts): quick hitters

• I am still working my way through the second season of Ozark, and still feel like they should be caught like every single episode.
• I watched another episode of The Haunting of Hill House and still feel like it is the perfect mix of storyline with scary stuff that is only scary and creepy because of the detailed storyline. Great show.
• I am so tired of reboots as you know, and was horrified to hear Dolly Parton announce on The Tonight Show that there will be a reboot of 9 to 5.
• Many, many people have written much more eloquent things about George H.W. Bush than I could, so I will leave it to them. Great man, great President, and easily one of the greatest one termers ever….and he was a sports guy.
• I didn’t like the song Get Up by Shinedown, but it is growing on me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcohgARJTWQ
• Tocabe is right down the street from my house. My wife talked me into it by saying it was a Native American Chipotle.  Anyway, I highly recommend the bison ribs there.
• I think I liked the story about Payless duping shoppers with $640 shoes.
• Southwest mocked a woman whose kid was named ABCDE, and I am glad I don’t work for Southwest, because I might have done the same thing.
• Traveling during the week for work and then coming back into the office on Friday, when everyone else is tired of the office, is the best.
• How does one get the job of changing the win probability in real time of every game on Gamecast on ESPN? Sounds like a job with no downside.
• I started liking Halsey’s Without Me as my yearly Chick Song, but now am over it since everyone else likes it to. I need the underrated ones.
• How come the San Diego Airport has EIGHT gates with only one bathroom on that side of security?
• How did I get in my forty’s and not know Asiago was a cheese, and how did I continue to not know even with my wife ordering those bagels at Einstein’s?
• I rented the Rav4 for my work trip, and will say that I am now officially always going Toyota’s way when a choice is given to me (I won a 4Runner also). Those are some good cars.
• How did I go until age 42 before starting to tip hotel maids? And I was a bartender and a good tipper.
• There are really way too many things on Netflix. I get confused.
• How do servers at cinema bars/drafthouses with movies not lose it in the darkness?

WIDOWS (no spoilers)

I guess I am in the 9% since 91% gave this a thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes.  Now, my 9% claim doesn’t mean I HATED it.  It was watchable and I had no problem in paying to watch it at the theater.  It was OK.  It had great acting, woman power, a decent plot, GREAT plot twists, and action.  My notes:

• The setup I think could have been longer. Or give me more flashbacks, but I wanted to know the characters of the widows a little more please.
• It didn’t solve my fundamental problem going INTO the movie-HOW the women got ramped up on doing a heist. They seemed to do a little practice on their own, throw on some masks, and take care of business.  They all didn’t know too much about what their husbands did, so we are pretty sure there weren’t any tutorials going on before their death.
• The camera work should get an award. Several scenes had important conversation where the camera had you elsewhere and therefore even MORE intrigued about the conversation.
• Liam is still a bad actor. I found it funny that one of the previews before the movie was his next movie, where he apparently becomes a pissed off snow plow driver that kills everyone.  I believe it was called Hard Powder.  He is pulling a Steven Seagal, just much later in life.
• The tall blonde actress stunk and pulled me away from some of the good acting in the movie.
• Plot twists were brilliant and actually even caught my brilliant wife off guard, which is saying something since she figures out EVERYTHING.
• Just my opinion, but I felt a lack of closure with the overall plot.
• Robert Duvall was solid, but obviously is getting a little old for this stuff.
• Colin Farrell played an asshole, and he did it so well that maybe he IS one. Not sure.
• Overall? Decent, but I won’t be watching it again.  I don’t get the hype.

CREED (mild spoilers but you have already heard that it uses the same formula, right?  You go see Rocky movies to see the journey, and not the predictable result.)

• Some people don’t want the obvious references to the earlier movies. I do and MORE.  He wasn’t bouncing the ball early in the movie, but it came later.
• The flow and plot were similar to Rocky III, where Rocky got his butt kicked by unstoppable Clubber Lang once, and then changed trainers and had a rematch. Same in this one.
• Not a lost first fight, but a DQ, which I thought was mildly clever and a good workaround.
• Rocky had an awkward wedding proposal where she didn’t hear him the first time. Same for Adonis.
• Rocky had to fight after Adrian had their first baby. So did Adonis.
• The second fight was in Russia in Rocky IV. Same for this one.
• But wait. The biggest NON-reference was they didn’t go to Russia to TRAIN!  I don’t care how bad or cheesy it would have been.  I wanted that snowy barn and that mountain to yell “Drago!” off of.  We got a quality desert training scene with a killer track instead.  I will deal with it.
• Runnin’ was the training song before the second fight. Great tune, I have downloaded it, and I included the link below for you.
• LOVED that in the biggest, most manly fight of his life against the biggest baddest dude on the planet, Adonis walked out to his woman’s tune. Well DONE.  Also a badass tune.
• I missed the pre-fight weigh-in smack talking scenes. None here for the second one.
• Well done to have the Drago father-son combo visit the Rocky statue before the first fight.
• Dolph Lundgren did a great job as Ivan, and the combo obviously got along, worked out together, learned together, and had a connection that was believable.
• Dolph and Viktor talked about Brigitte, but when she APPEARED, I know I was surprised.
• Rocky lines weren’t forced and were well-written. He probably had his shot at Best Supporting Actor for the first Creed movie, but he doesn’t miss a beat in this one either.  Solid showing, good dialogue.
• Loved keeping the theme of not being able to beat a fighter who has nothing to lose.
• Without overdoing it, they had Adonis come out flashy in the first losing fight, just like his dad in a way.
• Overall? The movie doesn’t put itself out there with any chances and uses the winning formula that Rocky has used in the past.  That said, the fluidity, the script, the emotion it still somehow summons, and the quality of acting make it a very respectable attempt that you won’t regret seeing.  Rocky fans like myself will obviously love it MORE, but it is a solid movie for fans and non-fans.  The recipe works, so why ruin it in Rocky’s last appearance in one of these?  Is it cheesy?  Heck yeah.  Was it fun to watch and did it move me?  Heck yeah.
• There is one pretty major twist to the ending that not only is surprising, but also brings even more closure to the ending of the movie and a relationship within the movie.  I personally didn’t see it coming, and it was very, very well done, and a nice touch on closing out the plot.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK:

THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK:

No change in the rankings this week, unless I wanted to move up some old Rocky songs since I just saw Creed.  I decided to only move the training montage Creed song in the rankings though.

Feed The Wolf by Breaking Benjamin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTuNRW8Zens

Runnin (feat. A$AP) – Ludwig Göransson (Creed II)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKnrRL9Fmig

Fragile Minds by Silent Theory

(definitely in progress finding more of these Linkin Park/Tool-esque band tunes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-e1GbPb3f8

Pure Evil by Like A Storm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXKfC_-chEQ

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

In the ring, you got rules. Outside, you got nothing. Life hits you with all these cheap shots. People like me, we live in the past. You got people that need you now. You got everything to lose, this guy has got nothing to lose.

Sylvester Stallone in Creed II

Sometimes the undertow feels like the tide
Sometimes the brutal truth, it cuts you like a knife

Nikki Sixx in Suffocate

 

LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE:

https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/please-enjoy-this-enormous-australian-cow-1830692635#amp-oy-JQgUxOxkNxL5RfXmPKSm3ocHF2mGNFQ_bM8knHZ9THUnRCffN0s_9g2JI0IaN

https://flo1071.com/man-eating-his-mcdonalds-hash-brown-got-a-ticket-for-distracted-driving/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJc6-DgaQa0

https://deadspin.com/heres-a-really-bizarre-stat-about-the-steelers-1830710641

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/nba-jerseys-ranking-history

https://deadspin.com/a-pro-poker-player-is-locking-himself-in-a-dark-room-fo-1830748184

https://deadspin.com/muay-thai-fighter-knocks-out-opponent-referee-at-the-s-1830743578

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/11/29/luka-doncic-mavericks-real-madrid-dirk-nowizki-rick-carlisle

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25407024/10-things-like-including-luka-doncic-moves-nba

https://deadspin.com/markelle-fultz-shooting-form-update-shoulder-investiga-1830783222

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/02/us/nyc-engagement-ring-grate-trnd/index.html

https://deadspin.com/luka-doncic-gets-pumped-and-jacked-about-the-nba-also-1830826553

BY THE NUMBERS:

323

320

THIS WEEK’S LIST:

Given that I watched Widows, I decided to do a quick list of my favorite heist movies.  If you haven’t seen any of these and like the idea of heist movies, then I guess I helped plan your next night in:

• Usual Suspects-the most underrated MOVIE, and not just heist movie
• The Score-two big stars in a well-made film that nobody seems to have seen
• Heat-lines and classic scenes galore, and this was probably too slow-moving (aside from the legendary gun scene) quality to make it mainstream
• Ocean’s 11-the first one was great, the second stunk, and the third held its own
• The Town-I believe this was the last good movie before Ben Affleck took his downturn
• Reservoir Dogs-classic-what can you say?
• Sneakers-hidden gem where I don’t even think I KNOW anyone who has seen it
• The Thomas Crown Affair-the hat scene at the end is magical
• Point Break-Keanu Reeves one good movie possibly? Making a spot for it, dammit.
• Dog Day Afternoon-had to include one classic in here
• Baby Driver-I didn’t like it as much as others, but still recognize its loud brilliance

Leaving out some oldies I know, but this was done in about 6 minutes total.  Also, not including Mission: Impossible and Inception on purpose.  One irritates me with over the top special effects and the other one is simply too confusing.

THE RIDDLE:

$20 Venmo

No answer for past question because that is ongoing.

Add these numbers and send me the total # :

• Number of teams that should be in the college football playoff per The Fillerbuster
• My lucky number
• The number of colleges I applied to
• Jersey # of the greatest running back of all time per The Fillerbuster many times in this blog
• The oddball: my go-to Chopin Prelude # I played as a kid on piano

CLOSING:

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Remember two things.  First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf.  Second,  if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.

PICS:

This is my Christmas tree, in our new place with plenty of room.

This is the cat I am working on ways of making money off of here somehow.  If I am going to own cats, I might as well profit.

I went to SoCal and it RAINED one of the days…weird.

And the pool from my work trip last week with a view.

And, in case you care about what I threw back in the pond, here you go…

THROW IT BACK

Indians deal bauer rumor

trubisky out still

coach k says leave his kids alone

mlb mgm

free soda at tribal casinos

i think we should clap in the americas when a plane lands

woods double hit no penalty

indians trade to nats

netflix cancels daredevil

kawhi New balance shoe deal

Magnus carlsen defends chess title in tiebreakers

fury vs wilder

Sherman says no relationship with wilson

can’t find percent sign on phone

lb’s

weekend finally at home

dwight howard to miss 2-3 months lower back injury

noah-griz?

Dutch church at 800 hours church service shielding American fam

Trump cancels Putin meeting

kingsbury fielding offers

garrett richards to padres

Lakers bring in denzel

Reed has not talked to spieth

Owens would kneel next to kaep

brohm denial triggers threat closes school

just waiting for overhead spin on wheel of fortune

Aldon smith pleas dv

big Ben says earned right criticize

Ghostbusters slot machine

irish team falsely reports death

fournette loses appeal-will sit one game

are clippers good?

giants might deal bumgarner

ucl last 16 do they ever stop playing?

duke iu

big Ben doesn’t apologize for ints

hughes confronts official in tunnel

greg olsen injury-season done

leafs nylander

Anderson paac

youth football bus

bowles started mccown over healthy darnold

louisville to hire scott satterfield as coach-app state

ben simmons-kendall jenner

steph curry back in full effect

steelers losing streak is hurting my hot streak in betting

usc kliff oc

nats corbin

jay gruden says they considered kaep

browner sentenced