Bird of Prey

For anyone that was lucky enough to tune into the NFL Network last night around 8 pm they got a chance to see a nice NFL Films production called “Birds of Prey”. Being the chief bandwagon driver this year, I thought it was a nice in depth look at a team I don’t know everything about. Plus, it was nice to see the classic highlights/lowlights that only NFL Films can provide. This show was a retrospective of the last 30 years of Seahawks football. There was a look at Mike Holmgren the high school PE teacher/ Football and Tennis coach. They looked at the ineptitude of Seahawks football and the Greatness (large G) of Steve Largent.

The story that really hit me was the story of Isaiah Kasvinsky, everyone’s lovable special teams leader. I like most don’t really know more about him other than he went to Harvard and has a pre med degree and plays for the Hawks. What I learned last night was a far cry from what you would expect from a “Haaverd” grad. I thought I would give a little bio on the man I have new found respect for. Isaiah was born in small town New York (Endicott, NY) His father was constantly out of a job taking whatever job her could to provide food for his family even getting food out of the dumpster. His father was also an alcoholic who constantly beat Isaiah for no reason. It even got so bad that he and his family had to live in a tent outside of a neighbor’s home.

The glue that kept his family together was his mother. A woman who no matter what always found the positive in all the horrible things that surrounded the family. She always found time to give support to her kids in there activities. She taught Isaiah how to act and how to use his knowledge and athletics to lift himself up from his surroundings. She watched Isaiah grow and become a three time all conference and all state selection in football. He also ended High School with a 4.0.

Sappy enough for you… Well it is going to get better. The day before Isaiah was to play in the Semi-final State Football game his mother was killed in an auto accident. He was crushed and didn’t know what to do but he knew that is mother would have wanted him to play. Well he did and dominated the game. Isaiah never was recruited by the big schools and was lost in the insueing months after his mothers death. Until he was offered an academic scholarship to Harvard, he had no plans on going to a school like that he could never make it in a place like that with pocket protectors and legacy’s running all over campus. He just figured he would end up washing dishes like his father. Until he found a stack of pictures of his mother and him, his mother was wearing a Harvard sweatshirt. From that moment on He knew he should be there.

He became the first Harvard player to start every game. He went on to lead Harvard all time in tackles. While he attended College he started to mend his relationship with his father who since had become a recovering alcoholic. Isaiah’s father attended all his games and was finally able to see the impact his son was making on people’s lives. While he watched Isaiah tackle a player he was patted on the back by another players father who was a doctor and asked if he was Isaiah’s father. He responded yes. The boys father then said he was so greatful for Isaiah coming to Harvard because he has brought a special quality back to Harvard football and my boy is inspired by Isaiah. At that point Isaiah’s father broke down and realized he has missed so much of his son’s life and needed to make things right. Isaiah and his father are getting back to what a father and son should be.

I know there are countless stories like this one out in the sports world. I just wanted to shed a little light on a player who has been through a lot and his managed to build himself up from tragedy. It might be a little to sappy for the Lodge but I thought it was a great story during this over hyped media week.

Fight Club

All this talk about a possible tussle between Train and Jimbo seems to fall in line with a site that my friend Darryl was generous enough to share with a few of us late last week. The site is Wimp.com -- which is simple site when first viewed -- but the contents of the site deserve a closer look. Darryl was excited to share it with us. When he was asked the question, "What have you been doing with yourself? Any new music you are listening to?" Darryl replies with, "No, but I have been watching a lot of fights on my computer." Real life Fight Club.

"I got in everyone's hostile little face. Yes, these are bruises from
fighting. Yes, I'm comfortable with that. I am enlightened."
There are some links to some stupid stuff about dumbs animals or guys gunning for next year's Darwin Awards. But the videos of the fights are just brutal and sadistically addicting. Like video crack, you can't stop clicking for more. Most of the clips are shot on camera phones by "casual" observers, but the lack of quality is more than made up in sheer rawness. Search for the links with "fight" in the title, such simple titles as "Bad ass ritual fights" or "Pissed girls fight". Well worth a look.

"Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement
... it's called Project Mayhem."
Also, while you are browsing the World Wide Web, you would do yourself a service to visit Klosterman's new SuperBowl blog that Train beat me to mentioning while this post was in "draft" status. But it's a good one and worth the look if you haven't yet. You gotta love a writer who references Tawny Kitaen minutes after breaking down Ron Jaworski. Just good times all around.




"It's not until you lose everything that you are free to do anything."

BEST BLOG EVER

Chuck K has got a running Super Bowl XL blog going on Page 2. Check it out when you get a chance.

He has got thoughts on just about everything from Ann Benson and Jaws breaking down the cover 2 ... Enjoy

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away....

Superbowl: Episode XL – A New Hope emerges, while the Steeler Nation tries to Strike back, but it’s all good, because this Superbowl marks the Return of the Holmgren, and he’s bringing along Matt “the Phantom Menace” Hasselbeck to bring about the Revenge of the Seattle sports scene.

It is a period of civil war. The Seattle Seahawks, striking from a hidden base called Qwest Field, have won their first NFC championship against the evil Carolina Panthers.
During the battle, the Seahawks managed to secure a trip to the Superbowl to take on the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Steelers, an armored over-hyped team with enough power to destroy an entire planet.Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents (the media), Matt Hasselbeck races to Detroit aboard Paul Allen’s private jet, custodian of the game plan that can save their people and restore freedom to the galaxy....

The Story thus far…

“But I was gonna go to Tashi station to pick up power converters”

Once upon a time a young football player, named Matt Hasselbeck was a young backup for the Green Bay Packers. Under the tall shadow of Brett Favre, Matt didn’t get noticed too much. But an old wizard name Mike Holmgren had other plans…

“You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan.”

Holmgren informed the young quarterback that his father wasn’t some Towel boy like his Aunt and Uncle had told him. No, his father was a quarterback in the NFL. Holmgren was leaving for Seattle, and he wanted this young man to come with him and follow in his fathers footsteps. Matt, excited to get away from all the cheese in Wisconsin was quick to say yes.

“I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now.”

Matt wasn’t going to be able to do this alone. He needed some help. Enter: Shaun Alexander. Sure, he was cocky and wanted a lot of money, but you got what you paid for. A running back that could break records (“It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!”) and keep cool under pressure.

“It’s Away!”

In their first year they were back in the playoff hunt -

“No, no. It didn’t go in. It just impacted on the surface.”

- Unfortunately they didn’t get much farther than that.

Years pass…

Matt trains under Master Yoda (Trent Dilfer & Jim Zorn) and learns the ways of the quarterback.

But the Seahawk alliance appears to be weakened. They finally are forced to cut ties (or hands if you want to keep with the Star Wars metaphors) with Koren Robinson. The likes of Chike Okeafor and Ken Lucas abandon the cause. Most are picking the team to not even make the playoffs.

5 Months later….

“The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.”

Yeah, that’s right. They thought we were done…but just like the Rebels upgrading with the likes of the B-Wing and the Mon Calamari Cruiser we made some “special modifications” named Lofa Tatupu and Joe Jurevicus to name a couple.

“I’m afraid the Shield Generator will be quite operational when your friends arrive”

The “Steeler Nation” is a cocky group. They assume that just because they’ve never actually watched a Seahawk game this year, we’re lame. Always underestimating us, the media is.

“You’re Overconfidence is your weakness”

And that suits us just fine. We’ll bust Pittsburg up like Obi-Wan slicing up Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. Let them be cocky. They can talk all the trash they want. We’re gonna show up with our game faces on, while they’ll be busy watching Jerome Bettis prance around the sidelines going “Look at me! I’m from Detroit! Yea!”

“You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”

And with that, the media will be scrambling to look for excuses for the Steelers loss, when we all know the truth. The dark side may be faster and more seductive…but they’ll never win out in the end. Also…it helps when you have Walter Jones pushing linemen aside the way normal men push aside old ladies.

Why Evite? When you can blog....

Here is the official invite to the Mother of all Super Bowl Parties



1st and formost.
The party will be held in it annual location at the Nest...in beautiful F-Dub/Federal Way home of Corey Dillon, Michael Dickerson and the 253 area code

The party will officially start at 1pm for PreGame and the "Game before the Game" on Madden 2006. The Nest will open as early as noon for those that wish to be there earlier.

Spouses and girlfriends are encouraged to come...If there is a stragler in the Northwest that needs a place to watch the Hawks game, let me know and we will make room. No one should watch this game alone. It is a time for PALS to gather. We will have multiple TV's set up for viewing pleasure and plenty of space.

There will be food. Meatball Sandwiches and Gooses Chicken wings are standard. Lazlo has a few tricks up his sleeve as well. The Gander is even bringing it on Sunday with the 1st ever Ranch Dressing Fountain. You'll have to see it to believe it.


Needs.
As per most years. Gooses Super Bowl budget is covering the food without going over his salary cap.
Beer is going to be needed. But in honor of the Seahawks 1st Super Bowl I would suggest only NW Microbrews to represent.
Joe will have to bring his own Wine Coolers and Zima. (Or the fruity drink of his choice)
I have Pepsi and Mt Dew. If you have other Beverage needs please bring it.

If someone could bring a bag of ice or two, that would be cool.

Please RSVP in the blog. Evites are for chicks and non lodge members.

Mariners Front-office F-up

So, I get to work this morning and bring up trusty ol' Yahoo! to find that the Chicago Cubs had signed Mark Prior to a $3.65 million dollar one year deal to avoid salary arbitration. Now, this wouldn't have come to much surprise if the Mariners hadn't signed Gil Meche to arbitration last week. Naturally, I go look up that deal and... WHAT!?!... a $3.7 million, one-year contract! How does that add up? This puts the nail in an offseason where the Mariners have declared themselves clinically retarded. Just classic Seattle Mariners negotiation skills. They are like Napolean Dynamite touting his nunchuck skills.



Now, Gil is a decent starting pitcher with a crappy first name. I'll give you that. But you wouldn't call him a #1 guy. And healthy, Prior is a bonified #1 starter. That being said, Gil Meche has the same history of health issues in his past, but he hasn't performed nearly to the level of Mark Prior. First, Seattle signs an injury prone Jarrod Washburn in the offeseason, then pays Meche more than it took the Cubs to sign their #1 starter in the same arbitration scenario. Way to bring us back to legitimacy, Mariners Front-office. Good work, fellas.

Number 91

This may be old news, but Chuck Darby has begun keeping a blog about the road to the superbowl. I fugred this might be of some interest to the lodge.

"Are you going to listen to Stevie Wonder perform at halftime?"

Thanks to Larry Stone over at the Times for giving us this recap of the completely ridiculous spectacle that is Media Day/Week at the Super Bowl...I'll be interested to see which player on which team pulls the first punch or 2.0-esque quote (this would align to the 1st amendment of the Lodge constitution)...(I really am just making this post so I can put these two photos up)

Chuck Norris Pt Deux!

On April 26, 1986, after a private meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, Chuck Norris was briefed by the President on Russia's explicit denial that a being such as Chuck Norris existed. In pure rage, Chuck Norris swam the Pacific, trekked across the Russian tundra barefoot and single-handedly destroyed an entire town. Overcome by shame, the Russians renamed it Chernobyl.

While riding the elevator, Chuck Norris never pushes the button, the elevator better just know what floor Chuck Norris needs to be on.

Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

The Dinosaurs looked at Chuck Norris the wrong way once. ONCE.

When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes ever.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there.

Chuck Norris' penis is so large that it actually warps the fabric of space-time. Indeed some physicists now theorize that the passage of time is mearly a byproduct of Norris' colossal erections. This is known as the "Chuck Norris' big c**k theory of space-time".

As a teen Chuck Norris impregnated every nun in a convent tucked away in the hills of Tuscany. Nine months later the nuns gave birth to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated and untied team in professional football history.

If Chuck Norris is late, time better slow the f**k down.

A blind man once stepped on Chuck Norris' shoe. Chuck replied, "Don't you know who I am? I'm Chuck Norris!" The mere mention of his name cured this man blindness. Sadly the first, last, and only thing this man ever saw, was a fatal roundhouse delivered by Chuck Norris.

When in Rome, Chuck Norris does whatever the f**k he wants. This goes for everywhere else, too.

They once made a Chuck Norris toilet paper, but it wouldn't take s**t from anybody.

Before he forgot a gift for Chuck Norris, Santa Claus was real.

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Every time Chuck Norris smiles it saves the life of a dying man. Ironically, Chuck Norris only smiles after he kills someone.

Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.

If at first you don't succeed, you're obviously not Chuck Norris.

When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.

Chuck Norris died ten years ago, but the Grim Reaper can't get up the courage to tell him.

Chuck Norris does not teabag the ladies. He potato-sacks them.

Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad did.

At birth, Chuck Norris came out feet first so he could roundhouse kick the doctor in the face. Nobody delivers Chuck Norris but Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

Chuck Norris frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his own.

Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

When Chuck Norris was in middle school, his English teacher assigned an essay: "What is Courage?" Chuck Norris received an "A+" for writing only the words "Chuck Norris" and promptly turning in the paper.

Chuck Norris appeared in the "Street Fighter II" video game, but was removed by Beta Testers because every button caused him to do a roundhouse kick. When asked bout this "glitch," Norris replied, "That's no glitch."

A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.

Superman owns a pair of Chuck Norris pajamas.

Chuck Norris once ate three 72 oz. steaks in one hour. He spent the first 45 minutes having sex with his waitress.

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday.

The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris's fist.

Chuck Norris' hand is the only hand that can beat a royal flush.

Chuck Norris doesn't use pickup lines, he simply says, "Now."

Chuck Norris clogs the toilet even when he pisses.

Chuck Norris' action figure has slept with more women then most men.

Chuck Norris once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell them there was a stripper in it.

The grass is always greener on the other side, unless Chuck Norris has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.

Chuck Norris has a word for a person he puts into a coma; that word is "lucky".

Chuck Norris owns the greatest Poker Face of all-time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker despite him holding just a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.

Helen Keller is an example of someone Chuck Norris let off easy.

Oxygen requires Chuck Norris to live.

Once a grizzly bear threatened to eat Chuck Norris. Chuck showed the bear his fist and the bear proceeded to eat himself, because it would be the less painful way to die.

Filming on location for Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris brought a stillborn baby lamb back to life by giving it a prolonged beard rub. Shortly after the farm animal sprang back to life and a crowd had gathered, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the animal, breaking its neck, to remind the crew once more that Chuck giveth, and the good Chuck, he taketh away.

Chuck Norris invented the spoon because using knives to kill people was just too easy.

Chuck Norris is like a dog, not only because he can smell fear, but because he can piss on whatever the f**k he wants.

Cars were invented to have a faster way of fleeing from Chuck Norris. Not to be outdone, Chuck Norris invented the car accident.

Similar to a Russian Nesting Doll, if you were to break Chuck Norris open you would find another Chuck Norris inside, only smaller and angrier.

Wilt Chamberlin claims to of slept with over 20,000 women in his lifetime. Chuck Norris calls this "a slow Tuesday."

A recent poll discovered 93% of women think about Chuck Norris during sex. A similar poll discovered Chuck Norris thinks about Chuck Norris 100% of the time during sex.

Chuck Norris is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry, the man ate a f**king Indian.

Chuck Norris likes to knit sweaters in his free time. And by "knit", I mean "kick", and by "sweaters", I mean "babies".

Chuck Norris does not know about this site. Otherwise he would have deleted the internet.

Chuck Norris can unscramble an egg.

A man was once stranded on the side of the road after his car ran out of gas. Chuck Norris drove by, got out, and looked the man in the eye. The man knew that everything would be fine. Then Chuck proceeded to piss into the man's gas tank and to this very day that man has never had to fill his gas tank up again. That was 14 years ago.

It was once believed that Chuck Norris actually lost a fight to a pirate, but that is a lie, created by Chuck Norris himself to lure more pirates to him. Pirates never were very smart.

Bullets dodge Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can eat soup with a fork.

If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds till." After you ask, "Two seconds to what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.

One time in an airport a guy accidently called Chuck Norris "Chick Norris". He explained it was an honest mistake and apologized profusely. Chuck accepted his apology and politley signed an autograph. Nine months later, the guy's wife gave birth to a bearded baby. The guy knew exactly what had happened, and blames nobody but himself.

Chuck Norris, Vin Diesel and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all died and are in Heaven. Each of them hope to occupy the seat next to God. God asks Vin Diesel why he thinks he should have the seat and Vin replies, "I believe... I should have the seat because of the virtuosity in my toughness and pride." Arnie says, "I believe... that I should be the one sitting next to you because of all my achievements." God then turns to Chuck Norris, who replies with, "I believe... you are sitting in my seat."

Achilles was supposedly the greatest warrior of all time, but he died because of his weak spot, the Achilles tendon. There is no Chuck Norris tendon.

Chuck Norris can eat a Rubix Cube and poop it out solved.

Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.

Chuck Norris always has sex on the first date. Always.

Heart disease may be the new leading cause of death in women age 45 to 65, but Chuck Norris is still the leading cause of death in men age 0 to 125.

There's no such thing as a tornado. Chuck Norris just hates trailer parks.

Chuck Norris was going to spend a relaxing day watching television when one of those commercials for Trix cereal came on. Angered by what he saw, Chuck Norris spent the rest of his, what was supposed to be a relaxing day, punching every child he came across. He would then shout at them, “Trix are for Chuck Norris.”

Chuck Norris's girlfriend once asked him how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. He then shouted, "HOW DARE YOU RHYME IN THE PRESENCE OF CHUCK NORRIS!" and ripped out her throat. Holding his girlfriend's bloody throat in his hand he bellowed, "Don't f**k with Chuck!" Two years and five months later he realized the irony of this statement and laughed so hard that anyone within a hundred mile radius of the blast went deaf.

On Neil Armstrong's second step on the moon, he found a note that said, "Chuck Norris was here."

Anyone can piss on the bathroom floor, but Chuck Norris can s**t on the ceiling.

Chuck Norris knows a wrong way to eat a Reeses.

Chuck Norris challenged a statue to a staring contest. Chuck remains undefeated.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

Jesus's Birthday isn't December 25 but Chuck Norris once sent him a birthday card for that day, Jesus was too scared to tell Chuck the truth. Thats why we celebrate Christmas

Before each filming of Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris is injected with five times the lethal dose of elephant tranquilzer. This is, of course, to limit his strength and mobility, in an attempt to lower the fatality rate of the actors he fights.

Every dinosaur skull ever found has the imprint of a size 15 cowboy boot on its jaw. Scientists are baffled, but we know damn well why.

If you don't know who your biological father is, it's probably Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris does not have to mow his lawn. He simply stares at the grass and dares it to grow.

Newton's fourth law of physics: Don't f**k with Chuck Norris.

When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he does not push himself up. He pushes the Earth down.

"You realize you're going to have the word Poo on your back?"-Goose

Last night the Goose and I met up for a little 253 reminiscing and to search for the ever shrinking stock pile of Hawks jerseys. Of course all of the star players are selling like hot cakes but if you want a Josh Brown number “3” they got plenty of them. Well, I had decided on getting a “51” jersey. It was a hard choice, go with the Rookie or the vet “38”, yes they do make a Mack Strong jersey. Which in my opinion if pretty awesome, I might even throw around the term RAD. I promised myself that if Seattle went all the way this year I was going to get a jersey because I couldn’t deny that I was a hawks fan and a huge fan of Mani’s son. Hey I was an undersized middle linebacker in Pee Wee Football so I know a little bit about his situation. Me and Him we got a lot in common.

This was a huge step for me… I’ve never owned an NFL jersey. Yep, not even a John Elway jersey. Right now my mom and grandma are rolling over but you know what mom and mo I don’t care. After I got the jersey I hung it up on the wall just to look at it and I said to myself “The Hawks are in the game man, I still don’t believe it". I have really become attached to this city and this Teal Curtin. This isn’t the same as when the Co’s won it all but it is right up there for me. The more I realize it and accept it... I am a Seattleite. Call me a Joe (i.e.: bandwagon jumper) I don’t care. I have lived here the majority of my life and don’t plan on leaving. The Co’s will always be my team but I just hope the Seattle Seahawks have room for one more fan.

NBA trades have only just begun

So there was a trade made in the NBA last night, the second trade completed in two days. Wally Szczerbiak was dealt to the Boston Celtics for guard Ricky Davis in an exchange involving seven players and three draft picks. This came after Wednesday's trade involving the best European shooter since Drazen Petrovic in Peja Stojakovic for the a crazy person, who some know as Ron Artest.



I don't think we've seen the last of the trades that will surface between now and the NBA's trading deadline on February 23. Servicable players the likes of Al Harrington, Jalen Rose and Steve Francis all have a good chance to be moved before the deadline due to expiring deals, big contracts and veterans trying to leave a losing franchise.

The only player among the above players and other rumored available players I would covet, if I were the Sonics GM, is Harrington. Big Al is a player would can play 3 positions, and at 6-9, 250, he's a handful to matchup with. Harrington also is only 25 years old and it's hard to believe that at that age this is his 8th year in the NBA. He is a risk since his contract is up at the end of the season, which means the Sonics won't do it, even though Hotlanta would probably take a package of Vladimir Radmanovic and Flip Murray.

Does it come with Heinz Ketchup?

Best Ebay auction EVER! Just click here to see what I mean

The Coup de Grâce

Chewbacca
Position: First Mate of the Millennium Falcon
Homeworld: Kashyyyk
Species: Wookiee
Sex: Male
Height: 2.28 meters (7.5 feet)
Affiliation: Galactic Republic, Rebel Alliance, New Republic

Motor City Memories

When I think of the City of Detroit, I think of cars. The Motor City. And when I think of cars, sadly I think of the tragic documentary Roger & Me made in the late 80's by now notorious filmmaker Michael Moore.

In Roger & Me Michael Moore made an inventive, darkly comic, and prophetic documentary about his hometown of Flint, Michigan, where 30,000 individuals lost jobs in the mid 1980s due to plant closings by General Motors. Now, before you go saying... "Hey, Joe, that movie was about Flint, MI. And not about Detroit." Remember that in the film, director Moore tries unsuccessfully to contact Roger Smith at GM headquarters in Detroit, at the posh Grosse Point Yacht Club, and at the Detroit Athletic Club. And again in Detroit, Moore finally gets a chance to speak briefly to Roger Smith at the company Christmas party but by then the documentary has delivered its hard-hitting messages.

The gap between the rich and the poor is growing in the U.S. and the future seems bleak for working class folk. America remains addicted to the illusion of quick-fix solutions to deep-seated societal problems. And corporations are going to have to do a much better job helping the employees they displace in pursuit of the bottom line of profits. Our country hasn't changed that much over 25 years later, when other docs like The Corporation and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room are being made pointing to the continued corruption of today's corporate world.

Top 5 Players who were both Steelers and Seahawks

While breaking down Emeril Lagase and Old Hawks Film at the same time, prepping for the Mother of all Super Bowl Parties. I realized that the Steelers and Seahawks have quite a past together. Not playing eachother. But swapping players.
Quick stat
The Hawks hold an 8-6 record and have outscored the Steelers 279 to 197

Over the last 30 years. Both teams have shared a fair amount of players. I thought Id make a quick Top 5 List. There were about ten players that I found in recent history. 3 were no nomes. 2 I ommited, giving me me top 5.


I ommited Franco Harris. Yes he is a Hall of Famer but he never actually did anything for the Seahawks. He was just holding on to try to break Jim Browns Record. The best story of that is Jim Brown saying that if Franco got close, He's strap on the Helmet again. Also cut was Levar Kirkland. Decent player, just didnt make the grade.

There are probablly a few that I missed. Which is where my lodge mates fill in

Here are my Top 5



#5 Willie Williams
1993-1996 PITT
1997-2003 SEA
2004-2005 PITT
Willie is a solid third corner. Career 26 picks and 4 TDs. 17 of those picks were with Seattle. You will see him this year in the Super Bowl, on his second tour of duty with the Steelers




#4 Norm Johnson
1982-1990 SEA
1995-1999 PITT
Up until this year. Probably would go down as the greatest kicker in Seahawk history. Enjoyed some solid years with Pitt, including a career high 141 points in 1995.




#3 Chad Brown
1993-1996
1997-2004 SEA
Chad was a pro bowler for both teams. He played solid but never became the impact player that the Seahawks were hoping he would be.



#2 John L Williams
1986-1993 SEA
1993-1995 PITT
Did anyone remember that John L Williams played in the 1995 Super Bowl? It was the last game of his career. The best fullback in Seahawk History finished his career in PITT. Was productive ever year until his final year. When Father time made his 1st and last tackle of Williams




#1 Dave Brown
1975 PITT
1976-1989 SEA
Brown finished his career with 62 interceptions, tying Dick LeBeau for seventh on the NFL's career list. (There is an intersting tie. Dick is now the Steelers Defeinsive Coordinator) Brown also holds the all-time record in Seattle with 50 interceptions. He tied an NFL record with two interception returns for touchdowns Nov. 4, 1984, against Kansas City. There may be a HOF friday post coming for Dave Brown. Stay Tuned

"Daddy gets down here and sees this f'n parking lot...he's gonna be f'n pissed"

Since the Lodge is in the midst of a Championship Hangover and not ready to build the hype machine for XL, I figured it’d be a good time to do a mid-week recap…and in memory of one of the best character actors in the biz for the past 25 years…we even brought in quotes (they’ll be no explanation for the films given)

“Listen up, ladies. Brian Riley is going to USC, m’f-ers!... All I have to do is maintain my fantastic 2.0 grade-point average, and everything is cool…”

To Steve Schilling who announced he would NOT be attended South Compton next year…and one of the first signs that Rome is beginning to fall…after the entire O-line decided to make the jump since the Rose Bowl and the state of Washington’s best O-Lineman is NOT going to the best semi-pro team in NCAA, amazing, however this could turn bad if he chooses Cal, but my hope is that it’ll come down to Big Blue or Montlake…and yeah, no one cares…next quote please

“You like Men At Work?.. what men?... Men at work…well where do they work?... No, they're a music group…well what do they call themselves?... Oh no! What about the Police?... What about 'em?... You ever heard them?... No, but I seen them….Where, in concert?... No, behind you.”

To the Hawks and the first hype talk…something just feels right about a Head Coach making his 3rd trip to the Bowl and knowing what kind of preparation it takes to get the job done…take care of practice this week, and don’t overload the guys next week, seems obvious enough, I just don’t know why it hasn’t been followed…and I definitely feel better about Holmgren on our side and Cowher on their’s…like MCP often states…I don’t know why, I just do

“You know what it is, you've got an attitude problem…Oh I've got an attitude problem?... Yes and I'm not the first one that's noticed it. I mean we're not stuck in the goddamn middle ages here. I mean we've got TV. We've got Family Feud. We're not stuck in Leave It To Beaver land here…Well I haven't noticed a wet T-shirt contest in town yet…Yeah but I'm waiting. Patiently.”

Sort of stuck on this quote…so I’ll give this one to Chris Rogers, Ron Artest and Micah Downs, and if you don’t know two out of those three names, than you probably don’t know who Steve Lavine is either or what his favorite hair care product are…but for the sake of interest we’ll talk about Artest, who apparently wasn’t satisfied with being the 2nd most overrated story in sports this year and had to elevate his status by rejecting a trade to a perfect team/scenario…does he not elevate the Kings to the top 5 of the West once he’s on board…is he not seen as a new favorite?...does it not get him closer to Death Row Records?...does it not finally rid the Kings of the most overrated player in the league?

(here’s a collection of quotes that don’t necessarily flow together, but bring it none-the-less) “You shouldn't block with your face….Hey you don't eat that raw fish s*** do you?... Yeah! Drop him like a toilet seat, Tommy!”

To KJR for dropping the Supes for the not even moderately conservative 770AM,(if the anti-christ has risen and getting ready to make his formal introduction I have no doubt that it will be heard there first, followed by FOX NEWS, probably simulcasts)…Supes are beginning to seem like a really desperate girlfriend, between the flirtation with Bellevue for a new arena to the jilted feeling of coverage from KJR,( who apparently has chosen to become the home of the Huskies for many years to come…good call boys)…I just hope that they find happiness somewhere between Rush’s “medication” and O’Reilly’s office game of grab ass, and yes Bill, the term "Christmas” is vastly overrated…

“Call me an ambulance. Somebody, call me an ambulance…Shut up…F’ you, I'm bleeding…I'll call you a hearst... this is for Cody.”


Love this line…because I can’t think of anything else…here’s to the rest of Jake Plummer’s career…barring a major turn of events…I think it plays out a bit like Kosar, w/ Jake finally ending up on SB team, at this point it could very well be Cleveland with Parity, only to hold the clipboard while Brady Quinn brings home the Lombardi for the good people on Lake Erie…and in other Bronco news, apparently Bronco Fans across the country were simultaneously experiencing vaginal pains following Sunday's game, especially the younger generation..."take your medicine son"

“Did you see that daddy? Guy got me on the ground and he tried to f’ me…You wish…Listen Vic, I don't mind what you do, but don't try to f’ me in my father's office, I don't think of you that way. I like you a lot man, but I don't think of you that way…Eddie, if I was a butt cowboy, I wouldn't even throw you to the posse…Of course not, you'd keep me for yourself, you sick bastard. Four years of f’n' punks up the ass you'd appreciate a piece of prime rib when you see one.”

We’re on to the main course with quotes now boys…seriously to the Brokeback phenomenon taking the nation…STOP…for the love of humanity…we get it…Hollywood is progressive, not all of mainstream America is…that’s ok…move on…is Lee really making Hulk 2?

“If you f’n beat this prick long enough, he'll tell you he started the goddamn Chicago fire, now that don't necessarily make it f’n so!”

Ok, I couldn’t resist…to the most over-hyped story I think I’ve ever read/seen/had to sit on the toilet because of illness…to the NBA, ESPN and any other media outlet that thinks if they say how great Kobe is for scoring 81, it will someone make us forget that he is

a) an adultery/rapists, who barely escaped conviction, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, he sure showed his innocence by the 1 million, “I’m f’d” ring for his wife
b) the most egoistic/selfish teammate in not only the history of the NBA, but I’m going to put it out there, the history of professional sports…there
c) devoid of any human emotion other than scripted PR moves (Tiger/Arod Syndrome)
d) Did I mention he is the worst teammate in the history of sports? And this includes Ty Cobb
Give me 20 assists or 30 rebounds as a greater milestone on a given night than 81 point on (28-46) shooting, against a 14-28 Toronto squad…I don’t know how much more Lamar Odom can take before he takes his ball and his bong to the backseat of the H2

“The chick got tired of him beatin' her so one night she walks in the guys bedroom and super glues his dick to his belly. Ambulance came and had to cut the prick loose…That ain't all that bad….Oh yeah? How would you feel if every time you had to take a piss you had to do a hand stand?”

I can’t possibly tie this in with anything, so let’s just move on

“The man you just killed was just released from prison. He got caught at a company warehouse full of hot items. He could've f’n walked. All he had to do was say my dad's name, but he didn't; he kept his f’n mouth shut. And did his f’n' time, and he did it like a man. He did four years for us. So, Mr. Orange, you're tellin' me this very good friend of mine, who did four years for my father, who in four years never made a deal, no matter what they dangled in front of him, you're telling me that now, that now this man is free, and we're making good on our commitment to him, he's just gonna decide, out of the f’n blue, to rip us off? Why don't you tell me what really happened?”

Finally, to Mr. Chris Penn, who always brought his own unique element to each film he was apart of, especially the ones highlighted in this post. You weren’t the same actor as your brother or songwriter as your other brother, but you brought a C level performance to everything you did, and no one could’ve played the Nice Guy Eddie role quite like you…nobody. The Lodge is flying the flag at half-staff for you today buddy, you would’ve been a prominent minor character in the “Black Lodge's” first feature film. Maybe Quentin has some left over footage we could use.

Chris Penn...

Just in case you guys didn't know...Chris Penn was found dead yesterday morning according to police. No foul play is suspected. Whenever someone dies...it brings up the question...what will this actor be known for: so here are a few of his movies...

Footloose
Starsky and Hutch
Rush Hour
Masked and Anonymous
Reseroir Dogs
True Romance
All the Right Moves
Rumble Fish

Some TV Appearances include:
Entourage, CSI: Miami and Seifeld

He is survived by his brothers, Sean and Michael, and mother Eileen Ryan.

He was 40 years old.

What will be your favorite Chris Penn movie?

For you discussion pleasure

A List of Films set in Detroit/Michigan

8 Mile
Action Jackson
Assault on Previnct 13 (2004)
Beverly Hills Cop
Betsy
Blue Collar
Crossing the Bridge
The Crow
Detroit 9000
Detroid Rock City
Exit Wounds
Four Brothers
Gridlock'd
Grosse Pointe Blank
Hoffa
The Island
Narc
Out of Sight
Paper Lion
Polish Wedding
Presumed Innocent
Private Parts
Renaissance Man
Robocop 1,2 & 3
Scarecrow
True Romance
Upside of Anger
Zebrahead

Film Club 2K6 Volume 3

When I wasn’t obsessing about the Panthers game this week, I found myself in a documentary kind of mood. So without further ado…

End of the Century

In 1993, I went to my very first concert: The Ramones at Memorial Stadium. Since then, I’ve been to tons of shows, but I remember that one better than most.

The lights went down and the theme to “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” started playing on the PA. One by one they walked onto stage: Marky…Johnny…CJ…and then finally, Joey. They each got into position and then CJ belted into the microphone “1 2 3 4!” and with that they launched into “Sheena is a Punk Rocker”. For the next 2 hours I witnessed one of the greatest rock shows I will ever see.

“End of the Century” is a documentary about the creation of one of the most influential bands ever. It’s also the only chronicling of their story to be 100% endorsed and told by the Ramones themselves.

Unlike most rock documentaries, these guys truly hold nothing back in their story. This is a band of guys who pretty much hated each other, pretty much most of the time. Yet they stuck with it out of love for what they were doing. Joey was a very liberal Jew; while Johnny was so conservative he thanked George W Bush at the Ramones inauguration into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Dee Dee was a heroin addict, Marky was an alcoholic, Joey had OCD, Johnny was just pissed off…this was the definition of dysfunctional family.

What’s really amazing was just realizing how innovative they were and how much they influenced so many bands. Joe Strummer tells a story about the first time the Ramones played London. He was there with Mick Jones, Johnny Rotten and future members of various other London punk bands. He says that after seeing them play they all realized that what they were doing was so simple that anyone could do it. A year later bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols were releasing their first records using the exact template the Ramones introduced them to. In fact the Clash’s first single “White Riot” sounds like it could be a Ramones cover.

The sad thing about this band was that they never got any kind of recognition from the mainstream. They never had a hit album or a hit single, despite having incredibly strong pop sensibilities (Just listen to “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio” to see what I mean). It wasn’t until decades later when bands like U2, Pearl Jam, Rollins, Nirvana, etc started singing the praises of how the Ramones were the reason they exist. Now, with most of the band having passed away, Ramones shirts and CBGB shirts are suddenly “trendy”.

The Aristocrats

The documentary about the dirtiest joke there is.

I missed this one in the theaters, and just caught it last night. I had reservations about a movie of seeing comedian after comedian all telling the same joke. Well today, my sides still hurt from laughing so hard. This is a great movie for a couple of reasons:

1. It’s really funny.

2. Its fascinating seeing how different comedians tackle the exact same joke. Some try to put a twist on it, some make it all about how the story is told and the setup before the raunchy bits, and then some just try to make it the vilest disgusting thing you’ve ever heard.

I walked away from this movie with a heightened appreciation for the intricacies of how a joke is formulated, which is funny because this is a joke that’s all about being disgusting.

A few highlights to look for:

- Kevin Pollack telling the joke as Christopher Walken
- The South Park kids (“Just a minute Kyle”)
- Sarah Silverman. Her bit ends with one of the best punch lines in the show.

But hands down the hardest I laughed was actually during one of the deleted scenes. If you’ve already seen the flick, rent the DVD just for this. If you don’t want to see the movie, just try to find time to watch this one deleted bit, it’s priceless. On the deleted scene menu it’s titled “Doug Stanhope: Remember When I Took You to Sea World?” I don’t want to tell you anything about it, as to spoil it but it was so funny my friends and I literally had to stop the scene halfway through because we were laughing so hard it was starting to really hurt.

And by the way, if you laugh at the scene, you’re going to hell. Just an F.Y.I.

Detroit Rock City

It was 1999. I know I have seen this movie but for the life of me I can only remember a few scenes





Here is the plot
Four members of a high school band called Mystery do everything they can to attend a KISS concert in Detroit. In order to make it to the show they must steal, cheat, strip, deal with an anti-rock mom and generally do whatever it takes to see the band that has inspired them to be musicians



Now what scenes do I remember?
Well there was a cameo from Mrs Gene Simmons aka Shannon Tweed aka The R Rated Porn star.
There are also scenes right out of a twisted sister video. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?

I WANNA ROCK!!!!

Also there were 83 FBombs dropped in the movie

Basically the film is one giant Kiss Commercial.

so if you rock and Roll all night, and party every day. Add it to your NetFlix queue.
Its a weak review. But reality is its a weak movie.

Top Gun 2

"You can be my wingman anytime."

Script Reviews!

Wow. Big ups to my old roommate Greg, who found this amazing site while trying to find the Die Hard 4 script. Apparently the guy gets drafts of scripts in the making. Anyway, it's awesome... Movies coming out in the coming years previewed!

So I bring up the link, and lo and behold... G.I.Joe pops up in all of it's glory. G.I.Joe, b!tches! The script is reportedly written by David Elliot and Paul Lovett, who wrote John Singleton's last film, Four Brothers, a film I never saw but have in my Netflix queue. More respect goes to his script review of Batman Begins, which he gave in January of '04 and subsequently gave an A+ rating for the script.

For future reference, I put a link to the site on the side bar to the right, listed under Latino Review. Should be a great resource for us Movie freaks to geek out on. Sweet, I haven't been this excited since, well... Sunday. Because, if you haven't heard, the Seahawks are going to the SuperBowl!

Have you heard the News?

Snake Plummer is still Snake Plummer...(sorry Train, I felt it was my duty)

The Morning After...

The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Superbowl.

I’ve had some 15 hours to let it sink in, but I still can’t comprehend what it means.

Being a Seattle fan is usually a painful experience. Every year you can usually count on one thing: Disappointment. Most of the time we just wallow in the cellar of our division with hopes and dreams of what next year could hold. The Ken Behring years, the first 17 years of the Mariners, etcetera. But we stick with our teams.

And every once in a while, our teams would have a flash of brilliance, only to let us down in the end. We sat through a 2001 Mariner season believing that a Championship was our destiny. Five years later, we’re just hoping to crawl out of last place. And when the Seahawks went into overtime against Green Bay, who didn’t jump in the air with excitement when Matt Hasselbeck exclaimed “We want the ball, we’re gonna score!”? Sadly Matt did score, just for the wrong side. But still…we stick with our teams.

No matter what our teams do, we have to endure listening to the media write us off as a fluke. Yesterday before the game, I had to listen to Jimmy Johnson talk about how weak our defense was, and how we weren’t going to stop Steve Smith. And even after the game all I hear on ESPN is excuses for why Carolina lost. Yeah, they were tired, and they were reduced to a 4th string running back, and yeah it was loud at Quest Field, but so what? They were dominated by the best team the NFC has to offer. And now today, everyone is ready to jump on the Steelers bandwagon. The number one seed in the NFC is considered an under dog to the AFC 6th seed.

The Seattle Seahawks are a team that the rest of the country doesn’t want to give respect to. And you know what? That’s fine. They’ll just jam your words down your throat. Just look at the last two games.

They bust out Mack Strong for a 32 yard run on an audible.

They throw Seneca Wallace out there as a wide receiver for a 28 yard pass.

Lofa Tatupu head-buts Nick Goings at full force and doesn’t even miss the next play.

They prove why Shaun Alexander is the League’s MVP. The guy spends so much time in the end zone I hear he’s looking at getting a condo.

This is a team that will beat you any way they can. And as much as the media doesn’t want to admit it (I’m talking about you, Skip Bayless), we were the best team. We weren’t a fluke. Soft schedules don’t matter in the playoffs

So, Seattle fan, when you go home tonight, I want you to pour yourself a shot of your drink of choice. Hold that shot up towards the heavens and realize: We are going to the biggest game there is. And not only did this team earn it…they deserve it. More importantly, we deserve it. We stuck with our teams through the worst or times. Now it’s time to celebrate the best of times.

WE ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

Have you heard the news?