I've been in somewhat of a cinematic mode this week.

I discovered I had some passes from the Capitol that were due to expire tomorrow. The only non-pass restricted engagement this week was "Kill The Irishman", so I went. Spoiler alert: Danny Greene gets blown up. Shawshank alert: The guy who ran Shawshank is back in this one as the union boss before Greene ran him out.

This was better than I thought it would be. Not the greatest, but interesting to see Hollywood's take on the story. For sure, Greene was made out to be the Robin Hood of Collinwood, but overall, it was a decent story. What hooked me was the old actors who got to chew on some scenery. Paul Sorvino, Robert Davi, Tony Lo Bianco and Christopher Walken, all professionals here. Walken as Shondor Birns made me laugh, because he's just playing Walken, but it fits. Even Vinnie Jones (old "Bullet-Tooth Tony") shows up as Keith Ritson.

A nice trip down memory lane. Even though it was filmed in Detroit.

Lots of movies to see at the Cleveland International Film Festival, but so little time to see them. I actually made it to the HBO presentation of "Bobby Fischer Against the World", by Liz Garbus. HBO is showing this doc over the summer and I urge you to watch. It's a pretty compelling view of the rise and fall of Fischer.

Hard to comprehend now, but in 1972, Bobby Fischer may have been the most famous person in the world. And he played chess! Great archival footage and photographs from that time. Even "Wide World of Sports" is there, covering Fischer-Spassky.

You get the chess genius of Fischer, a US champ in his teens. The defeat of Spassky. His complete withdrawal from the game. His sudden re-emergence and subsequent exile from the US. And his demise, following his anti-US rants, post-9/11.

A very good documentary.

Meal of Links

This explains why the Michigan film industry is probably dead. Those tax credits got rolled back. Let's see if Ohio can make it work.

Interested in the Royal Wedding? Here are the media in attendance. Even the Weather Channel will be there. They better send Jim Cantore to see if he brings bad weather everywhere.

March Madness fans have spoken. It's back to Luther's version of "One Shining Moment". The last one with Luther had Raft with the famous "Onions! Double order!!" from Siena-Ohio State.

Thank God for "Archer". It stayed out of the Danger Zone and got renewed.

"Archer"/Danger Zone



20 great songs from movie trailers. "The Lake House" made it. And "(500) Days of Summer". Check that one out, if you haven't seen it.

Matt Howard is from Connersville, IN. That city chipped in to help his parents see Butler in the Final Four Fear the Glasses!

What's up with baseball cards? The 2011 sets look pretty good, especially those Allen & Ginters.

"Mad Men" seems to be in chaos. Rumors are some characters need to be axed. That means you, January Jones.

Boots on the ground. Boots on the ground. In Libya. Only for (ahem) "intelligence gathering".

Costco sells wedding dresses. And giant cans of olives. "Lindsay, Jerry, Lindsay".

Exercise Yard

Baseball starts tomorrow. Guess what happened 30 years ago? Fernandomania!

Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award winner, Silver Slugger winner, World Series ring. That's a nice start to a career.

Visitor

17 Across: Whip-cracking cowboy of old films (9 letters) Answer: Lash Larue

I took advantage of an early AMC start time and saw "The Lincoln Lawyer" this morning. Four were in attendance. Bottom line? This is actually worth seeing.

Matthew McConaughey is the Lincoln Lawyer, because he had a DUI and works out of the back of a Lincoln, driven by his own chauffeur. He had his shirt off for the briefest of moments here and no trampoline in sight. Marisa Tomei is around as his ex-wife, who works for the DA. Marisa is just starting to have old age creep in around her eyes, but still looks great. Ryan Phillippe is a wealthy guy accused of beating up a hooker and hires McConaughey to get him off.

Now that should put everyone on alert. Phillippe has the guy who ran Shawshank as his "family lawyer", but John Leguizamo is a bail bondsman who tells McConaughey he should take the case. And when we find out there was a similar case that McConaughey had worked on in the past, well, now we have ourselves a movie.

William H. Macy, in full "Shameless" mode, is McConaughey's investigator. Frances Farmer plays Phillippe's mother. Bryan Cranston takes time off from "Breaking Bad" and has a bit role as a cop, as does old hand Michael Pare. My God, Michael Pare was in this movie!

I liked this movie. This was actually written for adults and when you have a rogue attorney like McConaughey, you know that means interesting characters are gonna pop up. You have a good cast and when you combine it with a cool title sequence and a gem of a soundtrack, it's a keeper. I'm afraid it's going to get lost in a web of "Wimpy Kid", "Limitless", "Sucker Punch" and "Rango".

Seriously, a terrific soundtrack here. Bracketed by Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" with a new take on Ashford & Simpson's "California Soul". Plus, Eric B. and Rakim bring us "Don't Sweat The Technique". You gotta love this stuff.

Meal of Links

There's smart. Then there's Shaka Smart.

Passports make you liberal. It's a fact.

Happy Birthday, Leonard Nimoy



Have you seen the 2011 update for Faces of Meth? What a surprise.

Exercise Yard

Well, the Final Four has been decided. Yesterday's half of the bracket was where I was having the most trouble and I obviously did not have Butler or UConn. Going into today's action, I did have Kansas and Kentucky.

In the large pool that I play, I ended up Top 30 of 479, so I was not too disappointed with my performance. Especially how most of the brackets were getting blown up every day since Thursday.

In this part of the country, you had to go contrarian with Ohio State and Kentucky was my play there. There was lots of talk about how Kentucky was a good home team, but terrible road team. But they had five SEC losses from mid-January by a total of only 11 points and they did win the SEC tournament. Not an obvious pick, but one I felt confident with.

My Final Four was:

Wisconsin
Duke
Kansas
Kentucky

I thought a Pitt loss would open up the bracket. It did. Unfortunately, Wisconsin played a truly awful game against Butler. Duke just got steamrolled by Arizona and Kansas was probably the biggest disappointment, not beating VCU today. I had them winning a final against Duke.

So, we'll see how it goes. Everyone loves the Cinderella, but let's see who actually watches VCU-Butler besides me.

In what may be his finest hour, let's see if Kentucky coach John Calipari can make this one stick.

Visitor

None, on a cold sunny Sunday.

I found out something new about my Blackberry Torch today. For the last few days, I could not figure out what the hell was causing it to drain the battery. I couldn't get past 2:00 in the afternoon without it dying on me.

Alas, it was the constant running of Google Maps. I guess I opened it inadvertently and with it constantly looking for GPS, I was hosed. Maybe there should be a better way to signal you have open apps, but I'm glad I found it. Because I was going bats.

Meal of Links

New stuff at Progressive Field this year. Great, there is a Hafner Burger in April. Probably a single. Then there are Steak Sammies from the Food Network. Plus, "Your Dad's Beer" stand. Lemme guess, Pabst and P.O.C. I'll be at the Opener next Friday.

A look back at "Highlander". Actually saw this in the theater. Not sure if it's good, it's just different. Plus, there is Queen. They used to play this at the start of Cavs games in Richfield. Now they shoot fire out of the scoreboard.

"One Vision"/Queen



I'm not too disappointed about this one. But add another show I've watched to the scrap heap. It's lights out for "Lights Out".

Zidane Still Has It



Exercise Yard

Gus Johnson broadcast the March Madness games from New Orleans tonight. He made a horribly strange non-Gus error near the end of Florida-BYU by asking if BYU should foul Florida with 10 seconds left and the game tied. WTF?

Plus, Westwood One put Kevin Harlan on the least significant Friday matchups for the radio coverage. Why is he doing Kansas and Richmond? Another WTF?

Visitor

50 Down: Volleyball great Gabrielle (5 letters) Answer: Reece

Elizabeth Taylor died today. Uh...those eyes. She gets the Turner marathon on April 10.

Meal of Links

Paul Reiser is back on NBC. But do they really want it to be a hit? Doesn't meet their age requirements.

The best journalism want ad ever. Great stuff. "We have all kinds of corruption, violence and scumbaggery."

Corey Feldman's jacket from "Dream A Little Dream" was stolen. I guess he still wears it.

Medical marijuana sales are now at $1.7 billion. Only $200 million behind Viagra.

If Trebek Did Football Highlights



Cartoon Network announces its new series. What? New productions of Bugs and Daffy? They better not be despicable.

Music from 1981. Rick James at his best. Plus two albums I've worn out. Elvis Costello with "Trust" and "Sandinista!" by The Clash.

Exercise Yard

This essay contains some of the best boxing writing you'll read for a while. We get Virginia Woolf, Gatti-Ward and Castillo-Corrales. Also video of Round 9 of Gatti-Ward and Round 10 of Castillo-Corrales. Long form writing at its finest.

Ditsractions at college basketball games. New this year: Giant cardboard heads.

That reminds me. Here are are your Sweet Sixteen winners.

Thursday:

San Diego State
Florida
Duke
Wisconsin

Friday:

North Carolina (I had Washington)
Kansas
Kentucky
Florida State (I had Purdue)

Visitor

46 Across: Slugger Ramirez (5 letters) Answer: Manny

I just recovered from March Madness. It's not so much the physical exhaustion of watching the games (I was home by 10:30 on Sunday night), it's the mental strain. But it figures I would pick up my first cold of the winter, just as it is ending. I have been sneezing a lot for the last two days. Cannot decide if it was NCAA or NIT people who gave it to me.

To add to the confusion, Marc's did not have an ad this week. How can they do that? They are getting to be like NASCAR. They toss in those odd dark weeks.

Meal of Links

Chloe Moretz has a huge career ahead of her. Probably the best child actress since Natalie Portman.

Whatever happened to Mickey Rourke? He even lost out on "Taken 2", which went back to Liam Neeson.

Randy Lerner's Other Team, Aston Villa, is getting dangerously close to the relegation zone. Who's going down? Probably Blackburn for sure, with QPR definitely up.

Programming, Motherfucker! Do you speak it?

Soap operas have been dying fairly rapidly. Is "All My Children" next? It's moving to LA for production. Or dying in NYC.

Movie Characters Saying Their Title



Jack made a new whiskey. It's called Tennessee Honey. For the chicks, apparently.

Amazon has some digital albums for 5 bucks. Good shit here. From Frampton to Dropkick Murphys.

Digital media in the Middle East and Africa. Who's next?

Yep, he's my congressman. And may still be what's left of any anti-war movement we have in this country.

Sure, these candidates are awful. But don't write them off.

The Blackberry Playbook arrives. Same pricing as the iPad. I need to see more of it.

Exercise Yard

My Conspiracy Spider Sense is tingling. The new NFL kickoff rules have tripped it. I realize the owners have decided to move the kickoff back to the 35-yard line under the guise of safety. At least the two-man wedge and touchbacks to the 20-yard line survived.

But in the process of making the game safer, they have taken away one of the more, if not the most, spectacular ways to score. Along with the one play that can be a huge momentum swing.

What I really think the owners have done is eliminate one more specialist they have to pay. You won't see the likes of a Devin Hester contract anymore or even a Josh Cribbs sorta cashing in like he did. There's no need for them anymore and they have to earn their keep at another position.

Visitor

18 Down: Poet Ogden (4 letters) Answer: Nash

I have been taking hits in the side of the brackets that played yesterday, going 4-4. But I have a dog in every fight today and still have my Final Four intact.

Today's winners:

Washington
Duke
Ohio State
Texas
Purdue
Marquette
Kansas
Notre Dame

Really, Washington and Marquette avoid me being Chalky McChalk for the day.

Yesterday was a long day spent at Quicken Loans Arena watching some NCAA tournament games. March Madness blessed us with four games yesterday and I'll get to them in a moment. First off, we were not so blessed with start times this weekend. With only a scheduled 25-minute break between games on Friday, we were greeted during the late game with the announcement of another late start for Game 2, 7:40 on Sunday. That did not please the Syracuse gathering one iota. First time I ever heard booing for a start time.

But, here's what went down as far as logistics yesterday. Every lot east of East 9th Street did not increase prices. All were listed at $10. I'm sure lots closest to the Q were higher, but that was extremely fair for those who stayed all day. I was in an unattended lot at Bolivar and 9th.

















Part of the angst earlier in the week was the timing between games. Allegedly, the arena was going to be cleaned out because you had to leave the arena as the four games are divided into two sessions. Trust me, they did NOT clean the entire arena between games, as my cups and the peanut shells from the woman next to me remained from our early session. I'm sure the bathrooms got a quick onceover, but nothing in the seating area indicated between-game cleaning.

Yes, they cleared the Q between sessions, but there was no line to get back in. There were people lining up outside, but that appeared to be Xavier people who were not in the place during the afternoon. I walked out a couple minutes before 7, stood around the entrance for a bit, followed some people in, and was back in my seat by 7:15. They didn't tip off until 7:45. To help speed up things, I found it extremely unusual that tickets were not wanded in, as they were in the afternoon, but only stubs were ripped off. Taking two steps to one. Gee, no fraud could take place during that hasty procedure, eh?

But my brother and Paul were able to eat at Tower City, so there was time for a sitdown between games. Maybe not at any 4th Street eateries, but if you went elsewhere, it was doable. And if you left the Buckeye rout early, it could be done easily.

There were no highlights from other games and no in-house replays, but our row was right in front of some clubs where we could peek at some TVs. Only scores from other games were announced and displayed prominently on the scoreboard.

















Oh, and Gus Johnson (in the blue shirt) was there. Ha ha!

I won't bore you with much of the game action but here's the recap of the Cleveland games.

George Mason-Villanova

I have a blind spot when it comes to George Mason. I was big on them getting to the Sweet 16 about a month ago. Then when they drew Villanova and then, perhaps, Ohio State, I wasn't sure about the second game. But I was definitely for Mason against Villanova.

















The first thing you notice about Mason is their band, or should I say, bandleader. Paul called him Cab Calloway, but he goes by Doc Nix. That's a Yale grad in that big yellow suit with cane. Oh yeah, there are also two violins in the pep band.

















This was a really ugly game and the Villanova mascot could not save them. Mason was only down by 6 at the half for reasons unexplained. Villanova only scored 22 points in the second half but intentionally slowed down their offense way too much. When they were quick, they scored. Extremely baffling.

Ohio State-University of Texas at San Antonio

















Really, what can you say about this mismatch. UTSA has a neat name, the Roadrunners. But as soon as their coach got a technical foul early in the second half, he stayed seated. His team must have looked at him and said "If he ain't tryin', why should I?" Game over.

Had to endure lots of "O-H" followed by "I-O" during this game. There was one thing that stood out. There are cheers for many of Ohio Sate players, but you know who gets the biggest cheers? Why, it's Jon Diebler. They just lo-o-o-ove the white man. Watch Sunday, it's uncanny.

















Even at the end of the game, they couldn't contain themselves.

Marquette-Xavier


























Marquette's first half was the best display of basketball on Friday. Good shooting, terrific defense, especially on defense and a loud fan base. Xavier had a ton of fans there, but early foul trouble nicked two starters and they sort of hung around, but Marquette was never really in danger of losing this one.

Syracuse-Indiana State




















The crowd really wanted to cheer for Indiana State. And, for a late game, their fans were boisterous. ISU somehow cut the Syracuse lead to 6 at the half. Then, at the start of the second half, Indiana State, for two minutes, had all of us in the palm of their hand. Then they crapped the bed.

Syracuse in a romp. We finally left when the ISU coach called a timeout with 2 minutes to go. It was about 12:35 a.m. Still observing Lent, I finally had a corned beef sammie when I got home.

Meal of Links

Now they are rating Full Moons. Tonight's Full Moon is a Supermoon. The largest in 18 years. Or is it just amore?

If you hated Google then, what about now? Google revisited.

Simon Cowell loves "Friday" by Rebecca Black. And also hires L.A. Reid for X Factor.

The Foo Fighters are back on tour. Perhaps, in your garage. Would I have to clean it?

We are currently lobbing missiles at Libya. Talk about Madness. Aren't we joining teh losing side of a Civil War? Again. Where's Biden?

Exercise Yard






















My Dad and I took in today's NIT game at the Bart between Cleveland State and College of Charleston. Weird to see Bobby Cremins on the sideline for Charleston, given his past coaching exploits. It was also the last game for Norris Cole at CSU, before he seemingly heads off to the NBA. It will be hard to replace him. Great leader, great teammate, great person, great player.

The season kind of ended with a big thud today. As CSU shot an unbelievable 4% on 3-pointers. That's 1-for-25, if you need it. That's where the problem lied today.

They held Charleston's star guard, Andrew Goudelock, to 13 points in 39 minutes. Decent bench production today. Only 6 turnovers. 40 points in the paint. 81% from the line and they outrebounded CoC. They just couldn't hit a jumper.

The season is over. CSU loses, 64-56.

Visitor

4 Down: Nickname for an athletic "kid' (6 letters) Answer: Say Hey

Before I head off to today's NIT matchup between College of Charleston and Cleveland State, I must say the marathon session at the Q went pretty well. The George Mason-Villanova game was sort of a typical 8-9 game for the excitement, but not necessarily the execution.

Ohio State is who we thought they were. Marquette was VERY impressive in their win over Xavier. And Syracuse kept their feet on Indiana State's throats for most of the game and was never really threatened in the last 18 minutes of the game. More on that later.

But, yesterday was a solid day for the pools. Only missed on Georgetown and Texas A&M for a 14-2 record. 25-7 for the first round, which always keeps you close.

Here are today's winners:

Kentucky
Florida
Richmond (I had Louisville)
San Diego State
Pittsburgh
Gonzaga
Wisconsin
Cincinnati (I had Missouri)

I'll be at the Q all day today for March Madness. First game starts at 2:10 and I am looking for it to end probably around 12:30. Then I have an NIT game tomorrow at the Bart.

Yesterday, Richmond was probably a decent upset pick, but Morehead State ("Morehead" on CBS graphics, BTW) was on Louisville from the start and never let up for a huge win. I lost on Old Dominion, as Butler had a buzzer beater. What can you say about Vandy, another first round loss (third time in a row). And I completely overestimated Clemson (or completely underestimated West Virginia), and Missouri, as well.

Had 11 wins yesterday, 7 out of 8 at night.

Here are your Friday winners:

Texas
Michigan
Notre Dame
George Mason
Arizona
Duke
Texas A&M
Ohio State

Kansas
North Carolina
Purdue
Marquette
Illinois
Washington
Georgetown
Syracuse

Today's NCAA winners (after my final adjustments):

Clemson
Old Dominion
Louisville
Temple
Kentucky
Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
San Diego State

Florida
BYU
Connecticut
Wisconsin
UCLA
Gonzaga
Missouri
Kansas State

Can't say enough about three things. Drew and I attempted to save the world once again at O'Reilly's at Cedar Center. I think I had the coldest beer I've had this year last night, a Harp. Man, that hit the spot. And I had their Steak Quesadillas. They never disappoint.

And with March madness in the air, you have to see the docs that aired this past week. Clearly, the star of "The Fab Five" was Jalen Rose. They did a fairly decent job of the Fab Five's journey from high school through Michigan even without Chris Webber's particpation. Now, Jalen appears to be getting in trouble for some comments he made about Duke. It was his thought, at the time, that blacks who played ball at Duke were Uncle Toms. I thought he made it clear that those were his long ago thoughts. But Grant Hill felt compelled to reply

The other doc was an HBO production on the Runnin' Rebels of Nevada-Las Vegas. You have Tark the Shark in all his defiant glory. Remember his quote, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, they gave Cleveland State two more years of probation." Lots of nice footage of their style. The best line was when the word "Thugs" was being tossed around (a lot) to describe them. One guy said, "Thugs? Their point guard was head of the Young Republicans!". Indeed, Greg Anthony was.

Those were two very nice throwbacks down memory lane.

Meal of Links

An excellent primer on drinking early in Cleveland. These gems are rare these days. Unless it's St. Patrick's Day.

Has any company reinvented itself more successfully than Netflix? They now own 61% of the streaming market.

Charlie Sheen. The Anatomy of a Winner.

Gilbert Gottfried got sacked by AFLAC because of some lame jokes about the tsunami. Fairly stupid, because he probably gets a decent amount of cash for saying one word. Now he says do the opposite of of what I do.

Clash of the Titans. Hee Haw vs. Soul Train.

Did Batman go to college? Yale thinks so.

Evan Bayh. Hypocrite.

Exercise Yard

One of the nagging thoughts going into March Madness is this. Does Jimmer shoot too much?

OK, here are Thursday's winners (get your brackets out):

Clemson
Old Dominion
Georgetown over VCU (USC over Georgetown)
Temple
Kentucky
Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
San Diego State

Florida
BYU
Connecticut
Wisconsin
UCLA
Gonzaga
Missouri
Kansas State

Visitor

12 Down: Nicolas Gage memoir (5 letters) Answer: Eleni

Finally, Selection Sunday is underway. Cleveland did not get the two Number One seeds, as had been predicted. For weeks, actually, as Pitt got shipped to DC.

So, the matchups here on Friday are:

#1 Ohio State
#16 Tomato Can

#8 George Mason
#9 Villanova

#3 Syracuse
#14 Indiana State

#6 Xavier
#11 Marquette

Actually, not too bad of a pod. I loved George Mason to win at least 2 games coming into the tournament, but OSU in a faux home game is really a tough one. I think Syracuse could sleep for 20 minutes during the Indiana State game and still win. It's a weaker Xavier team this year, but one that shows up at tourney time every year. So, the seeds may hold here through Sunday.

And, of course, here are the yearly snubs. Virtually every talking head was fired up, because a notoriously weak field combined with an expanded number of teams was supposed to prevent the snubs we saw today. Then again, everyone is an expert this time of year.

Meal of Links

State Department spokesperson had to resign. His comments about Bradley Manning were his undoing.

Celebrities can't hide anymore. Even in the bathroom.

I stumbled upon this today. Google recipes!

Exercise Yard

Yeah, it's pitiful to watch the NIT Selection Show. But I thought Cleveland State might make it, and they did. They were the last matchup revealed and as a Number 2 seed, they drew the Catamounts of Vermont. Kent drew Saint Mary's.

Vermont played BYU and Connecticut and lost. They lost in the BracketBusters to the College of Charleston. Only common opponent with CSU was Iona. They won, as well.

NIT brackets here. First game is Tuesday at CSU on ESPN3.com.

Visitor

None, on a quiet Sunday.

We've sure come a long way since you had to find a place with a satellite dish to watch March Madness. Then there were times you hoped CBS would show your alma mater on local TV. Then there were times you had to find a place that would show your alma mater via the dish. Then it moved to taking off work to watch the games. Then that moved to the incredible development of March Madness On Demand. But now that CBS has outsourced its coverage to truTV and Turner, what's up this year?

Coming to the rescue, SI has posted a viewing guide. To get eyes on truTV, the play-in games are on that channel this year. I finally located the regular truTV channel. Shouldn't I have that in HD by Tuesday? Like Marv Albert, apparently Time Warner Cable says, "Yessss!". I mean, I need my car chases in HD.

It looks like Cleveland will probably get the Nooners on both Friday and Sunday. I'll be there for both days, always a great time in person.

Meal of Links

It's the 35th anniversary of "Taxi Driver". AMC Theatres are showing it around the country, but not here.

Life sucks? Here's how to deal with the most annoying problems.

Juliette Binoche is in a new movie. What is it about Tuscany? I didn't think there were any rooms there.

Don't touch me.

Michelle Bachmann visits New Hampshire. She's Palin II.

Iron Man is taking advantage of his newfound fame. He's selling his house.

Tomorrow's anniversary? Microsoft had its IPO 25 years ago. If you sat on 100 shares at $21 per until today, you'd have $750,000.

Exercise Yard

With March Madness coming up, I have watched many games this week. I was especially interested in San Diego State and how they would play BYU today. They handled them nicely. SDSU is very athletic and can hurt you several ways. Only 2 losses this year, both to BYU.

For bracket purposes, be mindful San Diego State has never won an NCAA tournament game. Last year, I had BYU going a long way. After today's game, I'm not sure I'll go with them again. If you shut down Jimmer Fredette or he gets no help, it turns out to be along day for them.

Visitor

58 Across: Band with the 1997 double platinum album "So Much for the Afterglow" (9 letters) Answer: Everclear

As I mentioned Wednesday, S. and I were at the House of Blues this past Sunday to see Dropkick Murphys. We originally were signed up for the dinner package which allowed us to have reserved seats by the sound board. But she used her feminine wiles to not only get us into the Foundation Room, but we were able to eat our dinner up there, too. Now this is the way to attend shows there, because you are absolved from dealing with the great unwashed.

This was an all ages crowd, because all ages were attending. So, when we occupied our seats, you were literally penned in amongst the crowd. You got moshers about 40 feet away, you got people standing around you amped up on God knows what, while you're calmly drinking your drinks and eating popcorn. Very surreal, because it was sold-out and very raucous.

Off With Their Heads

This was the opening act. I had never heard of Off With Their Heads. Sadly, I got bored with them real quick. Although they tried very hard, I think they stayed on about 3 songs too long. I'd probably use derivative or pedestrian to describe them. And if I hear that Dio-like space riff one more time, my head was gonna explode.

Against Me!

When the show was announced, I was thrilled to see these guys on the bill. I saw Against Me! with the Foo Fighters in Nashville and I liked them very much. But as I watched them, I was wondering. Why aren't these guys headlining? You have a following, you get airplay, you have a charismatic, good-looking dude as your front, you have a great sound, I don't get it.

Against Me! Setlist:

High Pressure Low
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
From Her Lips to God’s Ears (The Energizer)
Cliché Guevara
Don’t Lose Touch
New Wave
White Crosses
Rice and Bread
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
White People for Peace
Walking is Still Honest
You Look Like You Need a Drink
Turn Those Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists
T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)
Bamboo Bones
Thrash Unreal
Sink, Florida, Sink

Dropkick Murphys

The Murphys just tore the roof off the sucka on Sunday. The familiar shifts between the Irish punk/hardcore and traditional anthems are still there. We saw a bagpipe, a flute, a violin, an accordion, a banjo, and other various and sundry items for musical purposes.

This was as intense a show as you'll see, as it was a constant bombardment of tunes. All in all, an awesome show, with the crowd whipped to a frenzied state as soon as "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" from "The Departed" started. A bonus, afterward back in the Foundation Room, was that we got to shake hands with founding Murphy, Ken Casey (the guy who looks like Chuck Booms), after the show.

Dropkick Murphys Setlist:

Hang ‘Em High
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
Barroom Hero
The Gang’s All Here
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Never Alone
Deeds Not Words
The State of Massachusetts
Memorial Day
Road of the Righteous
Curse of a Fallen Soul
Going Out in Style
Take ‘Em Down
Worker’s Song
Cruel
The Gauntlet
The Dirty Glass
Citizen C.I.A.
The Auld Triangle
Broken Hymns
The Irish Rover
I’m Shipping Up to Boston

Encore:

Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced
Skinhead on the MBTA
Boys on the Docks

Meal of Links

The tsunami video is insane! 15 largest earthquakes. It did result, once again, in really bad Tsunami TV on our news networks. Ahem, it was dark! I saw the Weather Channel air not one, not two, but three know-nothing interviews with visitors, not residents. And claiming Waikiki was on the Big Island, but correctly identifying it as America. Hawaii updates are here.

The Canine Ten Commandments. Very nice.

The Baltimore cops and the Feds busted a drug ring. And they arrested Snoop from "The Wire". David Simon is sad.

Danny McBride confirmed what we probably already knew. Next year will be the last season for "Eastbound and Down".

Bonnaroo gets streamed this year. By Vevo.

I mentioned Brian De Palma the other day. Here's a primer. Great trailer from "Blow Out" with Lithgow looking menacingly around. Nicolas Cage over-the-top in "Snake Eyes". Why no scenes though?

The "Batting Stance Guy" now branches into comedy. I must say, the Shaughnessy and Boswell imitations made me laugh out loud.

"Baseball" Parody



The interaction between dog and man can't be understated. A slain soldier and his dog return to the UK.

Time to "Spring Ahead" is tomorrow. Is there any real reason why we do still need to do this dance?

More earthquake stuff. From The Big Picture.

Exercise Yard

The NFLPA decertifies. Really, the owners have been pointing to this day for years, what made us think the outcome would be different.

What If Gus Called The World Cup?



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52 Across: Biblical portrayer (7 letters) Answer: Delilah

OK, I am still alive. S. and I were over at the House of Blues on Sunday to see the Dropkick Murphys. I'll talk about that tomorrow. Since then, I've seen two movies, had really good paczki, had my first fish fry for Lent and had a flat tire.

Gale and I saw "The Adjustment Bureau" at the Capitol on Monday. Sort of a "Men With Hats" thriller. This starred Matt Damon and Emily Blunt and they had some really good chemistry to sell this one. Damon was a politician and Blunt was a modern dancer. They decided they were meant for each other, while The Adjustment Bureau's data said "Nope."

Until the Bureau realized they should have been together and that caused the whole mess to become messier. This is probably the best movie for adults so far in this calendar year. Not a classic, but entertaining enough. And you'll be on the lookout for men wearing hats for a time after seeing it.

Last night, my Dad treated all of us, including my niece, for a showing of "Rango". My niece did a great job of not spoiling it, as this was already the second time she saw it. This starred Johnny Depp as a chameleon turned gunfighter in "Rango". Absolutely loved this one, as this was the best overall movie so far this calendar year.

Old Western references abound and you even had a bit of "Chinatown" thrown in there. Because when you control water, you control everything. There was even an homage to the fly swatter scene from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Other references from "A Fistful of Dollars", "Once Upon A Time In The West", "Apocalypse Now", "Raising Arizona", "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". Even "The Spirit of the West" is represented by a poncho-wearing Clint Eastwood.

Not really for the kiddies, this one might attain classic status. It's that good.

Meal of Links

I still can't believe the city of Detroit does not want a statue of Robocop. I would definitely go there, if this became a reality.

Early Bowie photos. I mean early.

NPR has 50 great voices. Nice list.

Wisconsin passed the collective bargaining bill. Boy, this looks court-worthy.

Keith Olbermann says Charlie Sheen is doing an impression of Brian Wilson. hearing him interviewed in the offseason, I think he's right. BTW, a bar around the corner from me is advertising "Tiger Blood Shots".

Jason Bateman thinks the "Arrested Development" movie sounds great. He's anxious to get filming.

Great year for music? How about 1977?

Mel Gibson The Rude Warrior.

Exercise Yard

Well, it looks like Saint Tressel is taking a beating these days. Two things you've already heard from the OSU acolytes: "Every school does this." and "A coach cannot control his players for 24 hours a day."

One thing that bugs me about this is Tressel said he feared for the players during this investigation and that trumped following the rules. Huh? Really? You don't take that concern to the AD or GC of the University?

Second, Tressel knowingly playing potentially ineligible players is mind-boggling. If he acknowledges this e-mail in April, the players selling of memorabilia becomes known, OSU self-reports, and I sense maybe a one-game suspension at the start of 2010. So, now he doesn't do that, it now becomes an NCAA issue, that organization will probably add to his supension and fine, and I think the 2010 season is probably on its way to being vacated.

Certainly not a fireable offense nor one requiring Tressel to quit, but jeepers, the guy is 58 and this is really one dumb move. Will it hurt OSU? Only if scholarships get pulled and a limit on TV appearances or perhaps a season without a bowl game. Other than that, it's only Tressel's reputation that suffers and around here, that will only be a little bit.

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32 Down: "Mad Max" star (9 letters) Answer: Mel Gibson

The saga of receiving my tickets for March Madness finally ended this week. They always wait until about 4 weeks to deliver the tickets, which is amazing, because I ordered them during January of 2010. Locally, even though Quicken Loans Arena is the site of the games, I have priority through Cleveland State to get tickets.

Anyhow, the printing and mailing of the tickets was handled by Quicken Loans Arena. We received notification that the tickets were sent via UPS on February 15 and to expect them by the following Friday, ten days out. After Presidents Day, another e-mail was sent confirming that many people had already received them. Cutting slack for the holiday, I wasn't worried yet. Until 2 more days went by and I didn't get mine. Uh-oh. I wondered why on our original e-mailing they mentioned if there was any trouble, they would cancel the codes and print new ones.

Because that's exactly what happened. During the final CSU homestand, it went from 70 people who didn't receive theirs on Thursday, to 150 on Saturday. During the first-round playoff game, we were told the second printing and mailing had occurred and indeed, I got my tickets the next day. But what a ride.

Clearly, all of the tickets were picked up by UPS the first time, but somehow, a significant portion did not get delivered. This can only be one of two things. Gross incompetence or theft. I pity the fool who is going to buy these now counterfeit tickets, so hopefully, the authorities solve it before it gets to that point. We still have not received the commemorative tickets, because that would only cloud the issue further.

Still don't know if this is considered an internal UPS matter. All I know is the second mailing was done via Legal Priority, which is probably the most entrusted of their delivery service, by its nature alone.

Meal of Links

Mike Huckabee "misspoke" on President Obama in Kenya and it wasn't he who attacked Natalie Portman. No, no. That was the "Hollywood media".

Conversely, Matt Damon talks about what lots of us are thinking. But he won't vote Republican.

Phil Collins calls it quits. Thought that happened a while ago.

Exercise Yard

Speaking of Cleveland State, their season ended with a thud against their White Whale, Butler. I was watching it on the PC via ESPN3 last night and at 60-58, with CSU pressing and flying all over the court, Shawn Vanzant from Butler hit two threes and sucked the momentum away. I think CSU got somewhat close again, maybe by 4.

CSU loses, 76-68, and is probably headed for the NIT. Like I said, I'll have priority for tickets!

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None, on a where-did-that-snow-come-from Sunday.

Gathered the troops for a late morning viewing of "Unknown" with Liam Neeson. Good morning, Liam. This is the one where Neeson is a doctor visiting Berlin for a conference, who gets rapped in the head and suffers some memory loss. The only thing he remembers is a picture of him by a window with his wife, January Jones. Showering with January Jones. And having sex with January Jones. And then January Jones with a different hair color. Maybe that's what we all picture before our own demise, who knows.

But it takes Neeson a long time to realize who he is, but then it's not who he thought he was or something that Dennis Green would say:



Neeson is actually decent in his role as a doctor seeking his true identity. Bridget von Hammersmark (OK, the lovely Diane Kruger) plays a Bosnian cab driver who saves Neeson's life after a car accident, who later befriends him and joins in his search. January Jones doesn't really do much and is basically January Jones, standing around and looking pretty. Aidan Quinn is along to confuse matters as the guy Neeson thinks he is, and provides enough shenanigans to cloud the picture even more. Hitler, I mean, Bruno Ganz, plays a former East German spy who still has connections beyond the Cold War to also help Neeson. Good work from Frank Langella who calmly shows up late as Clarissa, and explains it all.

So, what do we have here? A short comment on the immigration problem in Germany via Kruger. A car chase in which Neeson, allegedly in Berlin for the first time, driving around as if he owned the streets. With complimentary reverse driving. We have the lamest German assassin ever, who fails to kill Neeson not once (because the guy was late to a train), not twice (Neeson was able to extricate himself from being tied up), but three times (Kruger and Neeson combine to kill the guy). Ex-spies still use cyanide. Biotech conferences have never been this action-packed.

Not a wait for cable type movie. Because there are some great throwbacks done well here. The second time the assassin tries to get Neeson is rather Hitchcockian and full of suspense. I thought a scene at a photo exhibit was straight out of the De Palma Guide. Not worth a full fare, but extremely enjoyable for a matinee price.

Meal of Links

Clarissa explains it all. For those who missed it.

Brett Butler remembers when she was the 20th Century Charlie Sheen. But I'm sure hardly anyone remembers her show.

I assumed "Rango" was in 3-D. But it's not. Gore Verbinski explains.

Shortest break-even periods for diesels and hybrids. Remember, no more tax credits for these.

15 great jingles for fake products. "Cheesy Poofs" and "Log" make the list.

The Cleveland Film Festival is nearing. I've circled two must-sees for me. One on Polkas and one on Bobby Fischer.

Has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker lost the war. We'll see.

The Northwestern sex show...er...after-class assignment, at least introduced everyone to the (NSFW) "fucksaw". Now I know why she needed a partner. Black & Decker would be proud. Here's an account by someone who was there. Seems there was supposed to be a demo on female ejaculation.

Comparing the Qaddafis and the Bluths. Very funny.

Why bad teachers survive? "Cannot play with them. Cannot win with them. Cannot coach with them. Can't do it."

I recommend Jersey Mike's. The Big Kahuna was quite good.

Exercise Yard

You still can't applaud in the pressbox. SI's freelance NASCAR writer found that out the hard way.

Visitor

17 Across: Five-time All-Star second baseman (10 letters) Answer: Chase Utley

How did Charlie Sheen get on Twitter so fast?

Sheen. Lunatic or marketing genius?

Who said it? Sheen or Gaddafi?































Meal of Links

An old interview with the Unknown Comic. What brought that up? You'll see.

The day that movies died? Do you realize there will be a movie called "Stretch Armstrong"?

The New York Daily News has dropped an entire page of comics. They had the balls to drop "Marmaduke".

Hey, it's Saint Tressel reading The Cat In The Hat. Or doing a Buck Henry imitation.

Let's go for a ride...(go full screen)

Downhill



Jeff Probst on the death of soap operas.

Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem kissed at the Oscars. That's why we had that long shot of Penelope Cruz on ABC. they didn't show it.

After shoveling a lot last Friday, I stumbled upon "The Cable Guy". Didn't like it when it came out and I still don't like it. But the new DVD is out now, and Judd Apatow talks about it. And other things.

Palin, once more, does not understand the first amendment. Where are your forefathers now?

Exercise Yard

Bob Probert had CTE. CTE's profile is growing with each of these brain donations by athletes.

Visitor

56 Across: "The Gong Show" regular with a paper bag on his head, with "the" (12 letters) Answer: Unknown Comic (I know this is Tuesday's, but, come on, it's the Unknown Comic)