| New Get a Mac ad interrupts football, doesn't need replay
Was it because I was in a football state of mind? Maybe I was just bitter about the commercial break that airs after the ensuing kick-off, which comes after the commercial break aired after an extra point. It could just be that the New York Giants didn't show up for their first quarter in Tampa Bay this weekend. But Apple's new Get a Mac ad that aired yesterday afternoon during the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs, Referee, was pretty terrible for me. The ad, which featured Mac, PC, and a supposed NFL referee, tied into the games taking place yesterday. The PC brought the referee to the commercial to make sure Mac "plays fair," citing his boasts that Leopard is "better and faster than Vista." (Mac points out that those were the Wall Street Journal's claims, not his.) The referee then inexplicably starts the clock and then heads back to the video camera to review the claims.
Show the games in high definition
While watching the snowy playoff game at Lambeau Field last Saturday I remarked to my fellow football fans how much fun it would be to see and hear the game in HDTV.On Monday, local media were reporting an increase in the sale of television receivers and attributed it in part to excitement over the Packers appearing in the NFC Championship game today. That underscores my lament of no HDTV from our local Fox affiliate.
While this is no fault of the local staff, the station ownership needs to know how much the 7 Rivers Region wants to enjoy our Packers games in the high definition video and exciting audio that the majority of the country receives.Once you watch football in HDTV, you'll see what I mean. Please join me in writing and calling WLAX-TV so your wishes are passed on to their ownership group.
NFC, AFC games will be bitter
But as far as the NFL is concerned, the storm that blew across the Dakotas and into the Great Lakes region Friday night should provide Championship Game Sunday with plenty of rollercoaster-like thrills and spills.
And even more chills. Unforgiving ones.
.
I speculated about the sociological reasons coaches are being ...
First, the illusion of control. Obviously some coaches are better than others I'd certainly rather be coached by Pete Carroll than Nick Saban. (More on Saban below.) But as sports become ever-more important and ever-more analyzed, there seems an increasing tendency to want to believe that everything on the field happens for a reason. The ball didn't just bounce into some guy's hands, good coaching put the guy into the right position. The receiver didn't just run fast and get open, hours of round-the-clock study enabled the coach to determine precisely what pass pattern to call. It wasn't that the Colts played well Saturday while the Chiefs had an off day, this happened because Tony Dungy did an astonishingly good job of preparing his team using subtle psychological tools plus mega-brilliant game planning, while Herman Edwards did a poor job of preparing his team.
Marathons ran into tough luck in 2007
The most popular Michigan marathons include the scenic Bayshore Marathon along the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City on May 24, the Detroit Free Press Marathon on October 19 and the Grand Rapids Marathon, also on October 19. Training help is available for marathons both inside and outside of Michigan through Team Playmakers and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training (TNT) program. Note that TNT involves fundraising requirements. .
Strike Duo Meet The Fans
The meeting starts at 7.30 in the Harwick Suite at the Riverside on Monday January 21. Meetings are free to members, while non-members can attend by joining on the night. Annual membership is just £6 for adults and £2 for those aged under 16.
For details email suem_g@sky.com or write to PO Box 803, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 1EJ. FORMER Northern Ireland international winger Terry Cochrane was the guest speaker at Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club's meeting recently. The former Boro star was a big hit on the night and he revealed his plans to move into management in Northern Ireland.
WHERE to get the best parmos, his role as the face of Boro's latest marketing campaign and what it's like being guest editor of Redsquare were among the wide range of subjects discussed by David Wheater when he met Supporters Club members.
Critics peek inside Oscar
If the past few years (or the past few decades) are any indication, trying to predict who will get a nod is like trying to predict Kevin Federline's musical career.So this year, Fresno Bee movie critics Donald Munro and Rick Bentley are taking a different approach. Their lists are the actors and films that they would honor if they were selecting those to get the Oscar nods. Here's how they would hand out the 2008 Academy Award nominations.Donald Munro's picksBest picture"Hairspray": The feel-good movie of the year, perfectly pitched and so giddy in its forward momentum and cheery social message that you'll be dancing out of the theater."No Country for Old Men": It captures the Wild West tinge of underlying violence that boosted the United States in its early days and to an extent still forms the framework of our society: a country of wide-open spaces, boundless opportunities and a chilling tendency toward taking what you can get."Once": A perfect little musical love story about a struggling Irish songwriter, this low-budget charmer has the best soundtrack of the year."Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": This pared-down version of the Broadway musical is so bloody economical that the film achieves an amazing double whammy: It gives you the chills and makes you sing at the same time."Into the Wild": Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer book about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who naively challenges the Alaska wilderness is a taut, superbly told and ferociously filmed adventure.Best actorJohnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd": He's a cut above, no doubt about it.Chris Cooper, "Breach": A clenched and compelling performance as a traitorous FBI officer who shrouds much of himself -- motivations, back story, moral center -- and yet keeps offering intimate glimpses.Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me": An endearing and moving performance from an actor who captures the charisma of a born entertainer.Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": Among the most chilling personifications of evil ever portrayed on the big screen.
Giuliani's work for drug maker probed
Brownlee found himself on the telephone last year with a political and legal superstar, Rudolph W. Giuliani. For years, Mr. Brownlee and his small team had been building a case that the maker of the painkiller OxyContin had misled the public when it claimed the drug was less prone to abuse than competing narcotics. The drug was believed to be a factor in hundreds of deaths involving its abuse. .
|
