The Pursuit Of Leisure

100% correct, 50% of the time. A tongue in cheek look at culture both high and low.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Um...Yeah...So Manny Did Get Traded. Count Me Wrong.

I'm still shocked Boston actually traded Manny but it is actually a good deal. Getting Jason Bay in return was fair value. If you look at their numbers this year they are pretty similar and now Bay moves to a better hitter's park. And he is sure as hell better defensively. He also is only 29 vs. Manny's 36. Will Bay perform in the playoffs? That's the big unknown but hopefully we'll get to find out.

I actually thought Manny would end up in southern California next year but with the Angels, not the Dodgers. I think the Dodgers will pick up the options on him because their offense is pitiful. He'll also fit right in in LA where nobody gives a damn about anything.

This trade is just another indication tat when it comes right down to it I really don't know what the hell I am talking about.

Update: The Dodgers waived the options for Manny as part of the deal. So he is a rental for them, one that costs them nothing because Boston picks up his salray fr the rest of this year, and he will be with the Angels next year.

A Few Quick Sports Thoughts & One On Oliver Stone

- If you're looking for more thoughts on potential Manny trades go somewhere else. He ain't gettin' traded.

- I love that the Packers are screwing over Brett Favre. Let's not forget he screwed them over every off season for the past few years. I absolutely see why they are doing it too. Say Favre comes back, starts for them and has a great year. He would only do the same will he or won't he bullshit next year.

Here is the question you need to ask if you feel bad for Brett - Why aren't any teams making a run at him when all it would take is a 2nd round pick? Because teams realize that last year was his first decent year in over 3 years that's why. And Favre is also annoying and a diva and everyone is finally starting to realize that. Not that most quarterbacks aren't divas, they just don't try to dictate their own terms when they are 38 years old.

- I actually like the Houston Rockets picking up Ron Artest. The Rockets have a team of solid character guys like Shane Battier, and stars like Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming who are also good guys. Artest also loves coach Rick Adelman and should be pretty well behaved.

Artest still doesn't really have a clue though, at least judging on his rebuttal to Yao's comments about him going into the stands in Detroit. When Artest says thing like "I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto" and "If you go back to the brawl, that's a culture issue right there. Somebody was disrespecting me, so he's got to understand where I'm coming from. People that know me know that Ron Artest never changed" he's not exactly showing much contrition is he? David Stern must just love that. Not to mention prominent black figures in sports media like Michael Wilbon who speaks out and fights against that kind of ridiculous stereotype every day.

- What in the fuck were the Tigers thinking giving Pudge Rodriguez to the Yankees for the all but useless Kyle Farnsworth? Seriously. What The Fuck!
It's not like the Tigers can't win their division. Even if the didn't want to be on the hook for Pudge's contract they could have got a hell of a lot more for him. He was still hitting .295 and handles a pitching staff better than any catcher in the the league. Unless he threatened to kill one of his teammates I will never figure this one out.

- If there is one place Kwame Brown can finally get his career on the right track it is with the Pistons. I'm shocked they gave him $8 million over two years but they helped turn Ben Wallace into an all-star and Chauncey Billups into one of the best guards in the NBA so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. The Pistons are probable the most professional group of players in the league, and that includes Rasheed Wallace who has grown up a lot, and I can see Brown becoming a pretty good defender/rebounder for them.

- I see that conspiracy movie hack Oliver Stone is directing a biopic about the life and Presidency of George W. Bush. I have no doubt that this will be an unbiased, well researched, rhetoric free, critical look at the last eight years. I also have no doubt Bigfoot is going to stroll down from the Scottish Highlands and strangle the Loch Ness Monster any day now.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Manny Being Manny Being An Idiot

The Red Sox will not be trading Manny Ramirez this season. There is absolutely no way they can get enough value back to help them this year so it makes no sense. Manny is a goof but he also is a goof who always shows up in big games and performs well in late season playoff drives. If the Red Sox are going to win the World Series again this year, which I recently said they would, they need him.

After this year however, they don't need him. Manny's 36 already and there is no way the Red Sox will exercise the team option on him for next year and certainly won't sign him to a long term deal. They let Johnny Damon go and they'll let Manny go because they are smart enough not to give big money, long term deals to guys in their late 30's who won't produce the numbers they used to, especially ones who are a pain in the ass like Manny.

The best thing about this is that Sox fans are already prepared for Manny to be gone at the end of the year so they won't be the least bit pissed off when it happens. They just want Manny to have three more great months in a Sox uniform.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Movie Review: The Dark Knight



I saw The Dark Knight last Saturday so all aspects of it are not fresh enough in my mind to give it a full review. But it is so damn good I had to say something about it.

All of the reviews you have heard praising this movie are absolutely earned. This isn't just a great comic book movie, this is one of the best crime dramas of the past 10 years. Christian Bale overacts a bit in the Batman role but absolutely nails Bruce Wayne in every scene. Maggie Gyllenhall is so much better an actress than Katie Holmes it is laughable and she does a much better job with Rachel Dawes. Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart are always great and were again fantastic in this one. And you can always count on Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine being great so it's a real treat to see these guys both in the same movie (still waiting for them to share significant scenes though).

As for Heath Ledger, it's easy for a cynic to think that all the hype around his performance as the demented Joker is due to his recent death. It's not. He's the one who puts this movie over the top. He is absolutely unbelievable in this role and there is no way in hell I could ever picture anyone else doing it in future installments of this series. He was absolutely terrifying in some scenes and completely inhabited the character he portrayed. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he gets an Oscar nod for his role.

There are a few moments that could have been cut from the nearly 2.5 hours but it is a very small quibble for a movie that has a legitimate shot at a Best Picture nomination.

Rating 9.5/10

Friday, July 18, 2008

Covering A Lot Of Ground.

Things have been a bit more hectic at work recently than they usually are this time of year so this site has been in a pretty sorry state of neglect. I should be able to get back to normal in the next few days though. And by the way, if you are not hoping Greg Norman wins the British Open this weekend you don't deserve to be watching it.

Here's a bunch of things that have built up the past few weeks.

- I love the Brewers and Cubs getting CC Sabathia and Rich Harden respectively. These are the only two good teams in the NL and they know they will be facing each other in the NLCS. I think the Cubs are better but the Brewers are not far off, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch I might add. Their lineup is stacked.

- Barry Bonds is never playing in the Major Leagues again. Ever. Stop listening to the rumours. The only place it makes sense for him to play is for the Yankees, because their clubhouse is a media circus already, and they don't even want him. They just went with Richie Sexson over Barry for God's sake.

- Although I think Detroit is going to make a run and win their division I no longer think they are going to win the World Series. It's going to be tough for them to have enough left to beat two of Anaheim, Boston or Tampa (yep Tampa takes the Wild Card). I think the Red Sox are going to beat the Cubs in the most crazy popular World Series ever.

- So David Stern, in the last few years you have lost teams in Vancouver and Seattle, two of the 10 most entertaining, vibrant, sophisticated and best cities in North America for Memphis and Oklahoma City, 2 of the worst cities in North America. I'll repeat that. Vancouver and Seattle for Memphis and Oklahoma City. That is shameful.

- I think the Clippers have a right to be furious at Elton Brand, or more accurately David Falk. I think Baron Davis would have ended up in LA anyway, but they fully expected to sign Brand. Falk really stuck it to them.

So would you trade Brand-Maggette for Camby-Davis which is essentially what happened? I would. Davis is gong to play very well for the Clips and Maggette is the type of guy who is always going to have great numbers on bad teams (he's going to average at least 26 next year for Don Nelson). The Clippers still won't make the playoffs but they're a bit better.

- Big surprise Ray Emery is headed to Russia. On January 3 I wrote he was headed to the Swedish Elite league. My geography was a bit off but the idea was right.

- Michael Beasley is going to have a much better NBA career than 1st pick Derrick Rose. It tells you something when point guard is the real must have position in the league these days and the Bulls GM did not get one serious trade offer for the 1st pick. Rose will be a good pro but Beasley will be a perennial all star.

- Thank God Billy Packer is done with CBS and the Final Four. He knows the game better than anyone but he is just a miserable son of a bitch who took all the fun out of the games in the past few years. Clark Kellogg will be great but Bill Raftery would have been absolutely perfect.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Open Championship.

No matter what anyone says I think the British is the most prestigious of all the majors. It's the one you should want to win more than any other because it is the true world championship and is the closest thing to real golf the way it was originally played with the links and crazy weather.

The popular pick is Sergio Garcia and I see why. Sergio's putting always kills him but the greens are always slower at the British. I just don't see him winning this week. Eventually he is going to win at least 2 majors. Tee to green he is the best in the world. Yes better than even Tiger because Sergio is in the fairway more often. All it will take for Sergio is a hot putting week to win at Augusta or a US Open.

So who do I think will win this week? Justin Rose. He played great at Royal Birkdale 10 years ago, finishing 3rd as a 17 year old. I think the karma is good for him. He has played well in majors for the first three days many times and I think this week he plays great all four rounds. If it isn't Rose I will take either Lee Westwood or Ernie Els.

As for morons saying there will be an asterisk beside whoever wins because Tiger isn't there - Tiger has played in over 30 majors that he didn't win and there was no asterisk next to the winners name so there shouldn't be this time.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Brett Favre Looks Real Bad Right About Now.

I was waiting until Monday and the end of Bluesfest to blog about a lot of things but now that Brett Favre has asked for his releasefrom the Packers I need to get to it today.

No matter how it feels to the people of Wisconsin and the national media that has always been embarrassingly in love with him, Favre is the one who looks bad here. Here's the dirty little secret nobody in Green Bay's organization will ever admit for fear of their lives - they will be better with Aaron Rodgers at QB next year than with Favre.

Favre was a great story last year, but the reason the Pack was so improved last year over the year before was because the rest of the team got better, not Favre. The coaches installed a more disciplined game plan and took the ball out of his hands a lot of the time. When things went into overtime in the NFC Championship game he threw a typical horrible Brett Favre interception and cost his team the game and a shot at the Super Bowl. The Pack is young, talented, and eager to prove themselves without Favre, especially Rodgers who by all accounts figures to be a damn good pro.

So Favre, after holding his team hostage year after year with his will he or won't he retirement decision, finally retires and predictably decides to come back even though he's really no better than average, and puts the Packers in a horrible PR situation. That's a pretty damn selfish thing to do in my book.

Some team will be dumb enough to sign Favre and pin their hopes on him this year and then be very disappointed when he leads that team to a 9-7 season with almost as many picks as TD's.