So yesterday I lost my first final 4 team. Syracuse could not handle Oklahoma. Johnny Flynn got hurt and as he goes, so do the Orange. Its so unfortunate because he is such a great player and fun to watch. That Oklahoma-UNC matchup will be great though.
North Carolina and Louisville absolutely rolled, which was pretty expected. Nothing really to report there, other than those teams look really good.
Michigan State survived Kansas in a game that went exactly as I expected it to. The Spartans came up big when they needed to most. Louisville will be there final challenge on the way to the final four, and that challenge should be great.
As for today we have UConn vs Missouri and Pittsburgh vs. Vilanova
Missouri will give UConn its first real test of the tournament. they will not fear them, and I think they are soaring high in confidence after hitting the century mark against "the league's best defense." Missouri takes their place in the final 4.
If Pittsburgh wants to move on, they need to play the whole way through this time. Nothing like they have in the first three games. That will not get them past Villanova. I think they will step up. They know how good this team is, and they won't slack like they have so far. Pitt moves on.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thoughts on Day 1 of the Sweet 16, and Day 2 Picks!
Went 2-2 yesterday, and I was very frustrated by what I saw.
First off, Purdue has every possibility of beating UConn throughout the entire game. They just kept shooting themselves in the foot. Their defense was amazing, as was Hummel. But beyond that, they could not stop making stupid mistakes on offense. Missed free throws, missed layups, dumb turnovers. They went in their intimidated by UConn and it showed. They had so many opportunities to take the game over and couldn't capitalize. Missouri will have this problem.
Secondly, yeah, I had Duke beating Villanova. I didn't realize that they were going to go ice cold from the floor for a solid 40 minutes. They couldn't score and they switched into panic mode with about 15 minutes left in the second half, and when a team does that, its usually all over.
Pitt beat Xavier, although once again it was a struggle. They always keep it close, but never let it slip at the end. Thats how this team operates. Someone steps up and doesn't let them lose. Last night it was Fields. His three at the end of the game was so clutch. They may give their supporters a heart attack, but they do pull through. I expect more of the same against Nova.
Missouri beat Memphis. I had this from the time the brackets came out, with Missouri in the final 4. I don't see where Memphis got all their support from. They haven't played anyone all year and lost Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas Roberts. Not really a tough call in my estimation, but people had them winning it all. Nuts.
For tonight:
1 Louisville vs. 12 Arizona
I'm still waiting for this Arizona team to go away already. I think Louisville will make that happen.
2 Michigan State vs 3 Kansas
This Kansas team is hot right now and they do scare me quite a bit. I would not be surprised to see them win this game. To be honest, they scare me more than Louisville does. But I can't pick against my bracket at this point, so I will say Michigan State wins, but by very little.
1 North Carolina vs 4 Gonzaga
I don't think Gonzaga can hang with North Carolina. Especially with Lawson back. It could get ugly.
2 Oklahoma vs 3 Syracuse
I have Syracuse in my final 4 and nothing has been done to change that. They will force Oklahoma to knock down outside shots and I just don't think they can do it. Oklahoma goes home.
First off, Purdue has every possibility of beating UConn throughout the entire game. They just kept shooting themselves in the foot. Their defense was amazing, as was Hummel. But beyond that, they could not stop making stupid mistakes on offense. Missed free throws, missed layups, dumb turnovers. They went in their intimidated by UConn and it showed. They had so many opportunities to take the game over and couldn't capitalize. Missouri will have this problem.
Secondly, yeah, I had Duke beating Villanova. I didn't realize that they were going to go ice cold from the floor for a solid 40 minutes. They couldn't score and they switched into panic mode with about 15 minutes left in the second half, and when a team does that, its usually all over.
Pitt beat Xavier, although once again it was a struggle. They always keep it close, but never let it slip at the end. Thats how this team operates. Someone steps up and doesn't let them lose. Last night it was Fields. His three at the end of the game was so clutch. They may give their supporters a heart attack, but they do pull through. I expect more of the same against Nova.
Missouri beat Memphis. I had this from the time the brackets came out, with Missouri in the final 4. I don't see where Memphis got all their support from. They haven't played anyone all year and lost Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas Roberts. Not really a tough call in my estimation, but people had them winning it all. Nuts.
For tonight:
1 Louisville vs. 12 Arizona
I'm still waiting for this Arizona team to go away already. I think Louisville will make that happen.
2 Michigan State vs 3 Kansas
This Kansas team is hot right now and they do scare me quite a bit. I would not be surprised to see them win this game. To be honest, they scare me more than Louisville does. But I can't pick against my bracket at this point, so I will say Michigan State wins, but by very little.
1 North Carolina vs 4 Gonzaga
I don't think Gonzaga can hang with North Carolina. Especially with Lawson back. It could get ugly.
2 Oklahoma vs 3 Syracuse
I have Syracuse in my final 4 and nothing has been done to change that. They will force Oklahoma to knock down outside shots and I just don't think they can do it. Oklahoma goes home.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Box Office Predictions for the weekend
Monsters vs. Aliens will win the weekend easily, but I am going to go with a slightly cautious estimate of 51 million
The next three will be comprised of holdovers Knowing and I Love You, Man as well as newcomer The Haunting in Connecticut. Duplicity will round out the top 5. I think it will break down like this:
1. Monsters vs. Aliens 51 million
2. The Haunting in Connecticut 14.5 million
3. Knowing 14.1 million
4. I Love You, Man 13.7 million
5. Duplicity 9 million
I should be seeing both Haunting in Connecticut and Monsters vs. Aliens, so I will have reviews up for each.
The next three will be comprised of holdovers Knowing and I Love You, Man as well as newcomer The Haunting in Connecticut. Duplicity will round out the top 5. I think it will break down like this:
1. Monsters vs. Aliens 51 million
2. The Haunting in Connecticut 14.5 million
3. Knowing 14.1 million
4. I Love You, Man 13.7 million
5. Duplicity 9 million
I should be seeing both Haunting in Connecticut and Monsters vs. Aliens, so I will have reviews up for each.
Sweet 16, Here We Go!
So excited for the slate of games tonight! Every game should be close, and honestly, all four of them could go either way.
1 UConn vs. 5 Purdue
I have Purdue on my bracket, but I think they will have a tough time. I am hoping this huge recruiting scandal will play with UConn's heads a little bit. I have to stay with my pick, because I'm not one to flip-flop from my bracket, even though UConn has looked very impressive. This will be their first real test. I hope they will fail.
1 Pittsburgh vs. 4 Xavier
I don't think Xavier matches up well with Pittsburgh. I think they have no answer for Levance Fields and no way to stop Dejuan Blair. If any game is going to be decided by more than 10 points (which I don't think will happen, just saying this one has the best chance), I would pick this one. Xavier's run ends here.
2 Memphis vs. 3 Missouri
This will be the game of the night, if not the whole tournament. Two teams with powerful press defenses square off in what will certainly be a physical fight. I like Missouri, and have from the start. I think they will be too much for Evans to handle and will be riding high off an emotional win over Marquette. Memphis has not faced a team of this caliber all season, and I can't see them rising up and taking down Missouri.
2 Duke vs. 3 Villanova
Another phenomenal game. Its unfortunate we won't be able to see both. I have Duke winning here, where it seems most people expect Villanova to pull the upset. Coach K gets the Blue Devils one more round. Duke is the more talented team and they have been on fire lately. Villanova will not be as lucky as they were when they were playing with their home crowd behind them. Duke wins a close one.
1 UConn vs. 5 Purdue
I have Purdue on my bracket, but I think they will have a tough time. I am hoping this huge recruiting scandal will play with UConn's heads a little bit. I have to stay with my pick, because I'm not one to flip-flop from my bracket, even though UConn has looked very impressive. This will be their first real test. I hope they will fail.
1 Pittsburgh vs. 4 Xavier
I don't think Xavier matches up well with Pittsburgh. I think they have no answer for Levance Fields and no way to stop Dejuan Blair. If any game is going to be decided by more than 10 points (which I don't think will happen, just saying this one has the best chance), I would pick this one. Xavier's run ends here.
2 Memphis vs. 3 Missouri
This will be the game of the night, if not the whole tournament. Two teams with powerful press defenses square off in what will certainly be a physical fight. I like Missouri, and have from the start. I think they will be too much for Evans to handle and will be riding high off an emotional win over Marquette. Memphis has not faced a team of this caliber all season, and I can't see them rising up and taking down Missouri.
2 Duke vs. 3 Villanova
Another phenomenal game. Its unfortunate we won't be able to see both. I have Duke winning here, where it seems most people expect Villanova to pull the upset. Coach K gets the Blue Devils one more round. Duke is the more talented team and they have been on fire lately. Villanova will not be as lucky as they were when they were playing with their home crowd behind them. Duke wins a close one.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Film Review: Strangers on a Train
One of Hitchcock's better known and better received films, Strangers on a Train was nearly perfect, until the ending. The film, like almost every Hitchcock film, is a masterful example of how to play with the audience's emotions. I didn't know who to root for the entire way through, a skill that is purely Hitchcock's.
The film centers around two men who meet on a train (as you could tell from the title). One of the men is a famous tennis player, while the other is a strange man who lives with his parents and has psychoticideas about murder. When he devises a plan that the two will "swap murders," the men become entangled in a battle of wits and threats, when Bruno, the psychotic man, carries out the murder of Guy, the tennis player's, wife.
Robert Walker is brilliant in his role as the villain, Bruno. He is completely convincing as a pschopath who really doesn't have any sort of remorse or ill feelings about murder. Its as if it is all a game to him. He would have killed his own father (who he tries to get Guy to kill) if he had thought he would have gotrten away with it. A purely evil villain.
Farleigh Granger plays Guy, another perfect performance. I had previously seen him in Hitchcock's film "Rope" (which was even better). In this film, he plays almost the exact antithesis of his character in Rope. He never condones the murder of his wife. It is very convenient for him, as he has wanted a divorce because she is carrying another man's child, he even goes so far as to say he would like to strangle her, but he never would actually carry it out. However, he is never actually mad that Bruno killed her, just that he was implicated in the whole ordeal. Thus begins the moral ambiguity.
The suspense of this struggle between Bruno and Guy is pulled off in only a way that Hitchcock can do. Culminating in a sequence that plays out during one of Guy's tennis matches, while at the same time Bruno plans to frame him for the murder. This sequence is absolutely brilliant. It has you on the edge of your seat as delay after delay keep you guessing at the films conclusion.
But then the film lost me. Throughout the film, it remains captivating in its storytelling. The plot remains a very real possibility. The moral struggle comes because of the thought that this could very well actually happen. The final scene seemed to take all of that realism and throw it out the window, sending the film spinning (quite literally) out of control into an overly stylized and overly dramatic end. I think the film would have ended much better had hitchcock chosen to end the film differently, but I am not going to tell a master how to perform his craft.
Overall, an 8/10. Could have very well been a 10 if it weren't for the ending. Next week I will be reviewing Rear Window. Until then, I'm outta here.
The film centers around two men who meet on a train (as you could tell from the title). One of the men is a famous tennis player, while the other is a strange man who lives with his parents and has psychoticideas about murder. When he devises a plan that the two will "swap murders," the men become entangled in a battle of wits and threats, when Bruno, the psychotic man, carries out the murder of Guy, the tennis player's, wife.
Robert Walker is brilliant in his role as the villain, Bruno. He is completely convincing as a pschopath who really doesn't have any sort of remorse or ill feelings about murder. Its as if it is all a game to him. He would have killed his own father (who he tries to get Guy to kill) if he had thought he would have gotrten away with it. A purely evil villain.
Farleigh Granger plays Guy, another perfect performance. I had previously seen him in Hitchcock's film "Rope" (which was even better). In this film, he plays almost the exact antithesis of his character in Rope. He never condones the murder of his wife. It is very convenient for him, as he has wanted a divorce because she is carrying another man's child, he even goes so far as to say he would like to strangle her, but he never would actually carry it out. However, he is never actually mad that Bruno killed her, just that he was implicated in the whole ordeal. Thus begins the moral ambiguity.
The suspense of this struggle between Bruno and Guy is pulled off in only a way that Hitchcock can do. Culminating in a sequence that plays out during one of Guy's tennis matches, while at the same time Bruno plans to frame him for the murder. This sequence is absolutely brilliant. It has you on the edge of your seat as delay after delay keep you guessing at the films conclusion.
But then the film lost me. Throughout the film, it remains captivating in its storytelling. The plot remains a very real possibility. The moral struggle comes because of the thought that this could very well actually happen. The final scene seemed to take all of that realism and throw it out the window, sending the film spinning (quite literally) out of control into an overly stylized and overly dramatic end. I think the film would have ended much better had hitchcock chosen to end the film differently, but I am not going to tell a master how to perform his craft.
Overall, an 8/10. Could have very well been a 10 if it weren't for the ending. Next week I will be reviewing Rear Window. Until then, I'm outta here.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Now this is what this tournament needed!
Today was by far the best day of the tournament. So many great games! Thrilling, exhilarating, down to the wire, I hope the Sweet 16 brings more like this.
As I mentioned in my comment to my biggest reader and supporter on the last post, I hit on every remaining of my Sweet 16 picks, making me 13 of 16, just like I said I needed to do. I had quite a few scares along the way though.
Syracuse handled Arizona State in a game that was never really in doubt. Wisconsin came up short against Xavier, who really impressed me. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part for Wisconsin. Kansas easily handled Dayton, as I thought they would. too bad for the Flyers. Arizona, who didn't even belong in the tournament in the first place, moved into the Sweet 16 over Cinderella Cleveland State. Louisville held off quite an effort from Sienna.
The Pittsburgh game provided me with quite a few scares throughout. Oklahoma was just knocking down every shot they took. However, they went cold in the second half and despite their best efforts, Pitt proved too good in the clutch. They just have so many weapons. I love this team.
Marquette and Missouri was a heart-stopping battle. I was very impressed by how well Marquette was able to storm back after being down so big. In the end though, the better team won. Missouri will have their hands full with Memphis, but I think they can pull it off.
And finally, Michigan state won yet another amazing game with USC. This one had me sweating bullets. Michigan State is not a team that is going to dominate people. They win with tough defense and strong rebounding. They win ugly. They give their fans a heart attack every time, but they keep winning. I hope it continues.
Finally my bracket looks decent. Next round separates bracket pool contenders. Here's hoping my picks will still look alright when we hit the Elite 8. Until next time, keep the comments coming. Thanks for taking the time to read.
As I mentioned in my comment to my biggest reader and supporter on the last post, I hit on every remaining of my Sweet 16 picks, making me 13 of 16, just like I said I needed to do. I had quite a few scares along the way though.
Syracuse handled Arizona State in a game that was never really in doubt. Wisconsin came up short against Xavier, who really impressed me. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part for Wisconsin. Kansas easily handled Dayton, as I thought they would. too bad for the Flyers. Arizona, who didn't even belong in the tournament in the first place, moved into the Sweet 16 over Cinderella Cleveland State. Louisville held off quite an effort from Sienna.
The Pittsburgh game provided me with quite a few scares throughout. Oklahoma was just knocking down every shot they took. However, they went cold in the second half and despite their best efforts, Pitt proved too good in the clutch. They just have so many weapons. I love this team.
Marquette and Missouri was a heart-stopping battle. I was very impressed by how well Marquette was able to storm back after being down so big. In the end though, the better team won. Missouri will have their hands full with Memphis, but I think they can pull it off.
And finally, Michigan state won yet another amazing game with USC. This one had me sweating bullets. Michigan State is not a team that is going to dominate people. They win with tough defense and strong rebounding. They win ugly. They give their fans a heart attack every time, but they keep winning. I hope it continues.
Finally my bracket looks decent. Next round separates bracket pool contenders. Here's hoping my picks will still look alright when we hit the Elite 8. Until next time, keep the comments coming. Thanks for taking the time to read.
My thoughts on Day 3
Well I went a perfect 8-0 on the day, so my bracket is beginning to look up. UConn, Memphis and Villanova roled. I thought Maryland had a shot but Memphis just dominated them.
Purdue had a scare but pulled out the win over Washington. Now they just need to take down UConn for me. Duke beat a game Texas team, but wasn't really challenged. Gonzaga won a thriller over WKU, and should get smoked by a UNC team that has Lawson looking pretty healthy. Oklahoma took care of Michigan after Michigan put up a fight for most of the game.
Glad to have a much better day, I hope it continues today. Here are my picks:
Syracuse vs. Arizona State
I can't pick against my final 4 team. Syracuse wins easy.
Xavier vs. Wisconsin
I like Wisconsin here. I think they will be riding high off their win over Florida State and will keep it going.
Pittsburgh vs. Oklahoma St.
I sure hope Pitt's close call woke them up. If not, they may be going home early. Gotta pick them though.
Louisville vs. Siena
It would be awesome if Siena pulled off this upset, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
Arizona vs. Cleveland State
I didn't have either of these teams, but I like Cleveland State. I almost picked them over Wake, now I am completely sold.
Dayton vs. Kansas
I am hoping for Dayton, but my head tells me to pick Kansas.
Michigan State vs. USC
My Spartans keep it going and move into the Sweet 16.
Missouri vs. Marquette
Even the return of Dominic James can not get Marquette past Missouri in this one. The Tigers grind it out.
Purdue had a scare but pulled out the win over Washington. Now they just need to take down UConn for me. Duke beat a game Texas team, but wasn't really challenged. Gonzaga won a thriller over WKU, and should get smoked by a UNC team that has Lawson looking pretty healthy. Oklahoma took care of Michigan after Michigan put up a fight for most of the game.
Glad to have a much better day, I hope it continues today. Here are my picks:
Syracuse vs. Arizona State
I can't pick against my final 4 team. Syracuse wins easy.
Xavier vs. Wisconsin
I like Wisconsin here. I think they will be riding high off their win over Florida State and will keep it going.
Pittsburgh vs. Oklahoma St.
I sure hope Pitt's close call woke them up. If not, they may be going home early. Gotta pick them though.
Louisville vs. Siena
It would be awesome if Siena pulled off this upset, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
Arizona vs. Cleveland State
I didn't have either of these teams, but I like Cleveland State. I almost picked them over Wake, now I am completely sold.
Dayton vs. Kansas
I am hoping for Dayton, but my head tells me to pick Kansas.
Michigan State vs. USC
My Spartans keep it going and move into the Sweet 16.
Missouri vs. Marquette
Even the return of Dominic James can not get Marquette past Missouri in this one. The Tigers grind it out.
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