A fun picture found on a Fan site

With the 31st pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...

02:03PM PST ... the Seattle Seahawks select Kelly Jennings, CB, Miami-Fla. The pre-draft scouting report for Jennings was already covered early last week. And with the Hawks addressing there need at Safety by acquiring Mike Green from da Bears on Tuesday, Seattle immediately addressed a position of need by taking the "safe" corner in Kelly Jennings. But basically the former Hurricane DB was "safe" because he will be a solid professional football player due to his combination of skills and experience playing as the shut-down corner in the Miami system.

Scouts take: Once the Seahawks made Andre Dyson a salary cap casualty, they knew they needed a corner who can start opposite Marcus Trufant. With that in mind, this is a great pick for the Seahawks. While Virginia Tech's Jimmy Williams has more natural ability and still was on the board, Jennings doesn't have the same kind of character issues and has great potential. He has good closing speed and rarely gets caught out of position, so he is capable of pushing for immediate playing time.

05:12PM PST When the second round almost wrapped up Seattle was sitting at pick #63. A corner high on Kiper's draft board was Youboty out of The Ohio State University was still available. I believe the Hawks went best player on their draft board here by selecting to fill their second biggest need in a DE with Darryl Tapp out of Virginia Tech. With good size at 6'1", 252 lbs, his scouting report included that "Tapp is a better football player than natural athlete" and that "few will outwork Tapp during games, at practice or in the film room." Hmm... sounds like Ruskell tapped another Lofa in round two. Gotta like addressing both soft spots on the first day of the draft for a Seattle squad with no real holes. Watching the draft live, you gotta love Tapp's highlights beating D'Brickashaw in the college rivalry game. Plus, he has a football name.

Scouts take: Tapp was a steal this late in the second round. He slipped because of his below-average NFL measurables, but Tapp is a natural playmaker who should continue to produce in the NFL. During his final two seasons at Virginia Tech, Tapp notched 30 tackles for loss, including 18 sacks. He also proved his worth at the Senior Bowl when he notched a sack with a double-move that kept Virginia OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson (Jets' first-round pick, fourth overall) off balance. Tapp will provide Seattle immediate depth as the No. 3 defensive end behind Grant Wistrom and Bryce Fisher. He also could emerge as the long-term replacement for an aging Wistrom.

The Time has Come

Well, when I first got the email from 2.0 that Vic wanted a piece of the Lodge, I remember having some quality conversations with the man and thinking that this would be a good pick for the Lodge and potentially grow us into other arenas. Well, I was right about one thing, we are now growing into the arena of hightened immigration laws. Let us celebrate the end of the Johansen Era in Lodge history, I deem him...the Tony Mandarich of Lodge Folk Lore:

Wisdom Of Walton

"I grew up in San Diego in a non-athletic environment. My parents were not interested in sports. Their loves were art, literature and music. I gravitated towards sports because of my older brother Bruce and the first coach I ever had, who, like John Wooden, made it fun and really emphasized the joy of playing the team game."

Draft Dodgin’… Not this guy

You want to know if you are a true football fan. I can give you a one question litmus test. Which are you more jacked up for a) the NBA playoffs b) the NFL Draft? If you answer to the later then I imagine you are starting to hunker down in your own version of the “war room” Not only will you need to have plenty snacks and iced brew on hand but you got to have the stamina to take an all day onslaught of Mel Kiper Jr. and Chris “he could go all the way” Berman. Now if only they could cram Dick Vitale and Hubie “he’s so long” Brown up on stage somewhere the UTC factor would cause TV’s to blow across the nation. That would be reason alone to watch.

The place has changed but the atmosphere will be all the same, the rowdy New York crowds going to boo long and often when the Jets make there picks and a few Philly fans will make the presence felt when the Eagles draft at number 14. The true die hards are the ones that come back for a second day of picks. Heck, the Commish doesn’t even bother to show. Speaking of the Tags, Look for the first mispronunciation of a players name when someone drafts Mathias Kiwi-ikisomething. Tags should really take to Stern and get some tips on how to pronounce those pesky foreign names. We will miss you Tags.

Personally I love the players that attend the draft and play the who’s gonna be last in line and look like he wished he stayed in school or came out last year. I have a sneaking suspicion that Matt Leinart and VY will be fighting for this crown. We could see a Leinart face in the making, the face one makes when he realizes that he should have come out the year before, when he had the world in the palm of his hand. Does anyone else see a slight hint of old USC quarterbacks in Leinart? I do. Adding to the long list of crappy USC quarterback in the NFL. Thank you Sean Salisbury, Rob Johnson and Todd “we found half a joint in the parking lot” Marinovich. Odd to think that Leinart might even end up in Oakland, what I am really looking for is AJ Hawk and some nice shots of Brady Quinn’s sister. I think we might even see her looking at wedding magazines at the table. She’s gotta be chomping at the bit to get that deal sealed before AJ has his lawyers send over the pre-nup.

The draft is blown way out of proportion to its real relevance. ESPN has made what is really just a crapshoot for anyone drafting out of the top 5 into a circus. A circus that I enjoy and wouldn’t miss it for anything… Well I can do without the later rounds but heck; I’m not doing anything on Sunday.

Here is a look at the 6 players I want to see wearing the colors of my favorite teams, Yes, Jimbo I can like two teams….

Broncos
1 De’Angelo Williams – RB Memphis
2 Maurice Stovall – WR ND
3 Joe Klopfenstein – TE Colorado
Seahawks
1 Kelly Jennings DB Miami
2 Ko Simpson – S South Carolina
3 Jeremy Bloom- KR/PR Mogul Skier Colorado

"That trade messes up my daggone Top 10."

Love the ESPN Mobile commercial with Kiper. Who doesn't love the nonstop Kiper this time of year? What a character. So below is Kiper's final projections for the 2006 NFL Draft. One CB that we didn't review last week is Jimmy Williams out of VaTech... and in the list below he drops to the Hawks at #31.

Kiper added that there are 3 defensive backs who will fall to the second round, but only because he couldn't find a fit for them in the first round: Miami's Kelly Jennings, Ohio State's Ashton Youboty and Fresno State's Richard Marshall. And he expects all 3 to go early in the second round. Also, notice that DE Mathias Kiwanuka from Boston College isn't listed. And yes, apparently Kiper sometimes signs with "The Viper" on his autograph.

Will Seattle draft the best player available? Or will they draft a position of need? I've believed all along that they'll draft a CB because the player will fill both roles. Also, Seahawks GM Ruskell mentioned yesterday, in this notebook, that the team suspended talks with FA corner Ty Law until after the draft. In addition, I came across an article on Ruskell's pre-draft investigative work. We are in good hands, fellas. I tried to put it in cool table form, but couldn't get the javascript to work correctly, so I opted for the Lodge standard html...

First-Round Projections:
1. Houston -- Reggie Bush, RB* USC
2. New Orleans -- Mario Williams, DE* NC State
3. Tennessee -- Vince Young, QB* Texas
4. N.Y. Jets -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, T Virginia
5. Green Bay -- A.J. Hawk, LB Ohio St.
6. San Francisco -- Vernon Davis, TE* Maryland
7. Oakland -- Ernie Sims, LB* Florida St.
8. Buffalo -- Brodrick Bunkley, DT Florida St.
9. Detroit -- Michael Huff, DB Texas
10. Arizona -- Matt Leinart, QB USC
11. St. Louis -- Jay Cutler, QB Vanderbilt
12. Cleveland -- Kamerion Wimbley, DE/OLB Florida St.
13. Baltimore -- Haloti Ngata, DT* Oregon
14. Philadelphia -- Chad Greenway, LB Iowa
15. Denver (from ATL) -- Santonio Holmes, WR* Ohio St.
16. Miami -- Antonio Cromartie, CB* Florida St.
17. Minnesota -- Jason Allen, CB/S Tennessee
18. Dallas -- Manny Lawson, OLB NC State
19. San Diego -- Winston Justice, T* USC
20. Kansas City -- Johnathan Joseph, CB* South Carolina
21. New England -- DeAngelo Williams, RB Memphis
22. San Francisco (from DEN) -- Tye Hill, CB Clemson
23. Tampa Bay -- Marcus McNeill, T Auburn
24. Cincinnati -- Donte Whitner, DB* Ohio St.
25. N.Y. Giants -- Sinorice Moss, WR Miami
26. Chicago -- Chad Jackson, WR* Florida
27. Carolina -- Marcedes Lewis, TE UCLA
28. Jacksonville -- Nick Mangold, C Ohio St.
29. N.Y. Jets (from DEN) -- Bobby Carpenter, OLB Ohio St.
30. Indianapolis -- Laurence Maroney, RB* Minnesota
31. Seattle -- Jimmy Williams, CB Virginia Tech
32. Pittsburgh -- LenDale White, RB* USC

* = denotes underclassman

The 1st official Lodge Golf Tournament

Sunshine. Spring Weather.
Crappy Baseball Team, No Mini Camps until June.

Gentlemen. How about a Golf Outing next week?
Anyone up for a little game of chase the White ball?

Its a Sunny Chewbacca Thursday

Chicks dig a Wookie who can hit the long ball

I'm sorry...no, you're f'n up

Getting the itch to post something, and not having a lot of good topics floating around in my head, I’ve decided to reach back in the vault and do my impression of Rants and Raves, Cheers and Jeers, A Cups and DD Cups, Rich Man/Poor Man, etc… In order to add at least a little touch of originality (because honestly a touch is all I have) I’ve come up with the inagural version of You’re F’n Up and Penta-Champ.

A little back-story on You’re F’n Up: about the turn of the millennium I was living in a house with about three to six other guys at any given moment and the guy that ran the place, Raj, also happened to live there. Anyway, the average night at this house would almost always include someone doing something from an altered state that required Raj to utilize the phrase: You’re F’n Up Dude, you’re f’n up, no, you're not stupid, you're just f'n up. Well, because my vocabulary isn’t as large as my ego, You’re F'n Up, is going to have to work as the yang to Penta-Champs ying. Dig.

Penta-Champ:

To the show City of Men. Currently airing on the Sundance Channel, created as a by-product from Fernando Meirelles excellent film City of God. The show follows two 13 year-old boys Laranjinha and Acerola around the slums of Rio and there interactions with teachers, bandits and rival kids out to steal their trainers. Anyone that’s viewed City of God will get a feel for the show, and if you haven’t seen the film you’re missing one of the best pieces of cinema to come around in the last 20 years, and there's no excuse for you, really. City of Men brings worldwide audiences into a 3rd world community controlled not by government, but the community, and how they are all forced to govern themselves. Godfather meets the Hotel Rwanda. At times it feels invasive, and at other times it feels enlightening and terrifying. Plus, great cameo’s from some of City of God’s main characters like Lil ‘Ze and Bene. (The term Penta-champ is a translation from Portuguese describing what I believe to be a champion amongst champions, so that’s cool I guess)

You’re F’n Up:

This first one is almost too-tough to pick: between the mind-numbing inconsistency of the hometown nine or the City of Seattle/Sonics feud. I’ll go with the latter and call out the 10,000 owners of the Sonics and David Stern for driving a dividing line through the city’s population.

Unfortunately when you’re third in line at the tax trough for a new stadium in any city/state you’re going to get the leftovers and you damn well better be happy with them. This is even consdiering that one of those stadiums was rejected by the state population and had to have a "special" election to push it through. I would think the Sonics would understand their ranking in the new stadium bbq line, but what makes this really absurd is that they were actually first in line and now want to cut back for seconds.

In the latest chapter, the Sonics deciding to apply the lost revenue from the past several years to “their” contribution of the 220million makes me wish that they would put this on the ballot next week so I could organize a rally against and divert those funds to knock a bus ride from West Seattle to Fremont from the current 50-60 minutes to 30-40mintues. Here's to the good folks of Renton and Bellevue, enjoy.

Penta-Champ:

To the NBA playoffs, which always sparks my interest this time of year, a lot of good plot lines playing out in the opening rounds, but none more talked about or over-exposed than the Nash vs. Mamba battle, and for good reason. Although I think the D'Antoni 'stache vs the Zen Masters flava' sava' isn't talked about nearly enough.


After catching game 2 last night, I am completely captivated by this series and the Playoff version of the Mamba-Lakers. I’ve gone on record numerous times for hating on everything Mamba, and that still hasn’t changed, but seeing his game in the playoffs has been refreshing. The rope-a-dope style that Jackson used with Mamba all season to draw teams in and then unleash the role players shows the Zen-masters skill for all things Walton, who for all intense and purposes should be my favorite NBA player( except that he’s a ‘Cat and now Laker). Seriously, love the game of Odom and Walton right now, and if the Lakers had anyone, but Kwame playing the 5 this team could be set for a Conf Finals. Also, the bench combo of Brian Cook, Booyah-vich and Devon George outplayed the Suns all-star bench and sealed the crucial game two of the series, which is like saying that Mike Jensen could make an NBA team next year.

As entertaining as the Mamba has been, the actual MVP of the league showcased his credentials last night in a losing effort. If he would've had anyone else to hit an open shot last night the Suns would've taken game two. However, without The Nasha that game was over with five minutes to play in the second quarter. The same could be said for the Suns season minus Amare, (who would’ve made them the #1 seed in the west). The fact that they took the Pacific and pulled out 54 games without their All-Star Center should be the only criteria needed for The Nasha to hoist the MVP trophy again. You can debate this if you care, but watching Cousy 2.0 has made me come back a little to the NBA with hope that there’s young kids in Moosejaw right now growing out their stringy hair out and practicing base-line drives and dishes.

You’re F’n Up:

To the primetime TV schedule, which takes almost as long as the NBA to get through a full season. This really wasn’t an issue until someone got me into Lost, and I became glued every Wed at 9 or sometime later with the help of DVR. Unlike HBO, Comedy Central or cable-TV that believes in a continuous schedule of shows that go from Episode One to Episode X in the the corresponding number of weeks. However, ABC gives Lost 5 weeks off from Thanksgiving to New Years, two-weeks here, two-weeks there, meanwhile I lose interest and consider just sitting next year out and waiting for a three-day marathon of episodes from the Season two DVD, or as I like to call it: getting caught up, Dude-style. My suggestion: run it week to week for 20 or however many weeks straight until you get through the season, actually not a suggestion. Not sure why this doesn’t work for the Networks but it does for HBO. I know, I’m a bitter-little man who needs more hobbies.


Penta-Champ:

Making a second mention about this site because it’s that f’n champ. Take all your favorite artists from one genre or multiple genres’s and make your own Radio Station? Where do I sign? For free? Yes, I’ll have seconds. I’ve got this going for about 14-16 hours a day from home and office and I’m sold, still don’t know how they make money though.

You’re F’n Up:

This one goes to me for opening the doors of the Lodge without doing a proper background check and allowing 2.0 to bring in new members. If we don’t get a post from Vic by tomorrow, 2.0 will be placed on a 90 day suspension from electing draftees, and his next pick will be evaluated by the entire board before selection. I let my judgment get the best of me this time boys, but trust that it won’t happen again. We're closing down the borders for a while, Neo-Con style.

Whoa, Nellie!

At the end of the 1998 College Football season, Keith Jackson announced his retirement from college football, with his last broadcast to have been the 1999 Fiesta Bowl for the National Championship between Tennessee and Florida State. He rescinded this decision the following fall and began to do a more limited schedule of games, teamed with Dan Fouts, almost exclusively sticking to venues on the West Coast, closer to his current home in British Columbia.

Today, Jackson decided to retire for good on April 27th, 2006, with a phone call to the New York Times. "I'm finished with play-by-play forever," he stated. "This is the perfect time," Jackson told the newspaper. "I don't want to get back into the pressure cooker of play-by-play and worry about travel. I don't want to die in a stadium parking lot."

Jackson's retirement is big-time news. Keith Jackson is the frickin voice of College Football, for crap's sake! No more epic calls, no more west-coast bias, we've lost one of media's only Pac-10 boosters with this announcement. Keith... today the Lodge gives props to a legend in broadcasting. We tip our caps to you, Big Daddy.

Lightning can strike twice…..

Chunky Soup Curse?

At the bottom of the article online about the Green aquisition, there is a note on how Matt Hasselbeck will be on the new Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials with his mom. Now, apparently there is a Chunky Soup Curse rumor that's been going around. This, coupled with Shaun Alexander on the cover of Madden, Seattle is taking the "curse" mongers head on. Are there any other curses other Seahawks players can invoke? Sheesh.

An interesting trade

I’m sure by now you have all seen the wire.
The Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday acquired veteran safety Mike Green from the Chicago Bears in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

This is a pretty interesting pickup. Dare I say, intriguing? Green is a solid tackler, a fair Blitzer, and has decent coverage skills. Plus he has learned one of the more aggressive defenses in the NFL. The Lovie Smith Tampa Cover 2:





The Tampa 2 is player-friendly. Each player is assigned a gap, and he is to attack it. Chicago, Indy and Tampa like to stop the run with eight players near the line of scrimmage, and on passing downs drop into their Cover 2 zone. They like to play it safe in this scheme, so it doesn't call for a lot of all-out blitzing with zero coverage (no safety in the middle, corners one-on-one), instead preferring to rely on the defensive line to apply pressure on the quarterback (Sounds a lot like the Hawks Defense)

Under his existing contract, Green has scheduled base salaries of $1.385 million (2006), $1.615 million (2007) and $1.45 million (2008). That a pretty fair value for a backup with starters experience.

This allows the Hawks to look at Corner and DE in the draft. Don’t be surprised if a solid RB/FB drops that they might look that direction. Fullback you say? I think you might see Mack Strong’s Protégé in this draft.

Zizou, you are the best I’ve ever seen

It’s not much of a surprise to say that most don’t even know who he is or what he has done. The few Americans who followed European football over the past decade were treated to one of the greatest midfield players the sport has seen. Zinedine Zidane, the star of Real Madrid and France national player has announced his retirement from competitive play.

To be honest I didn’t know who the guy was until I watched the 1998 World Cup where he put on an amazing showcase of talent. The vocal captain electrified the crowd and watching world with his two goals against Brazil in the Cup final. From that point on he was a national hero. I even thought about becoming a French citizen just so I could get a sense of the elation he gave the French people.

I know Jimmy gave the link so you could read the article on Zidane but I had planned to give a moment to the man, a son of an Algerian night watchman, born in the melting pot of Marseille, He came to embody the hope of all immigrants, the hope that a nation could meld together and do anything. Zidane along with other immigrant French players did just that.

Our own Joe 1.0 happened to be in Europe during the 2000 Euro Cup where Zidane clinched the cup with a “golden goal" in the 117th minute. I bet Joe could attest to the insane passion the frenchy's had for Zidane that day.

Most won’t even bat in eye when they skim over the ever so small soccer section in there local sports page but I have to tip my cap to a player who’s skill on the field and off stirred a nation like only a great footballer can.

Elevators

I work in this office building you're either you're either a radio station person, or a medical corporate person. Coming up from my afternoon cigarette this tall guy goes to the top floor with me. He has a brown leatherbound portfolio with the Sonics logo on it and a little box with their season schedule. Its their marketing manager, i'm guessing to get onto some sports show. I ask him, "So are you guys leaving?" I just get this blank glance. Then the elevator is filled with this barren coldness that only a Kansas winter can leave you in.

The Madden Curse

In case you were wondering about the history...

Seahawks War Room

The 2006 NFL Draft is nearly upon us. And I for one am about as excited as Train is every Thursday when a new Playboy comes in the mail. I'm not in the camp that believes that Seattle is going to draft an OG (since they have the Porkchop/Ashworth/Locklear contigent signed & with experience) or DL at #31 in the first round (since most of the impact DL will have been picked by the time Seattle in on the clock, the CB position is a deeper with impact Hubie Brown "upside" players, and Seattle has bigger need in the Secondary).

The Seahawks need to add more than one DB in the draft, and there is depth in the early rounds. Former Seattle DB Andre Dyson signed with the Jets, and the Seahawks most glaring need is to pick a DB with the natural ability to replace him as the starter opposite Marcus "Coug" Trufant. I believe the Hawks will be picking one of the following 3 players at the second to last position in round one. Scouting info provided thanks to Scouts Inc. -- I'd link it, but it's an Insider access page.

Antonio Cromartie
CB | (6'2", 208, 4.44) | Florida State
Scouts Grade: 92

Strengths: Possesses an outstanding combination of size and top-end speed. He is tall with long arms and very good leaping ability. Shows the ability to smother WR's in press coverage and redirect their routes. He is fluid for his size and is able to flip his hips when turning and running vertically. He shows outstanding ball skills and is a natural playmaker. Will challenge for the ball in traffic and shows strong hands. He has good size and strength in run support. A versatile athlete; he has spent time at WR and also flashes a lot of upside as a return specialist.

Weaknesses: Durability is the biggest concern following knee injury in July of 2005. He has been out of football for more than a year. Lacks ideal playing experience and he has never shown great technique. He has lots of room to improve in terms of anticipating routes, reading opposing QB's eyes in zone coverage and finding the ball when turned around.

Overall: Cromartie played in all 13 games as a sub-package cornerback and on special teams as a true freshman in 2003. He played in all 12 games as a sophomore in 2004, finishing with 22 tackles and four interceptions. He also played some wide receiver and averaged 22.9 yards on 19 kickoff returns that season. Cromartie tore ligaments in his left knee during offseason workouts and was forced to sit out the entire 2005 season. Instead of returning to Florida State for his final season of eligibility, Cromartie elected to make the NFL leap after missing the entire 2005 season with a knee injury. While he is still one of the true enigmas in the 2006 class, Cromartie's showing at the combine at least helped to verify his health and impressive combination of size, speed and athletic ability. Not only did he pass his physicals and look smooth during coverage drills, Cromartie ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds and also led all defensive backs with an 11-foot broad jump. We would still be reluctant to spend first round money on him, Cromartie will be worth the risk in Round 2.

Ashton Youboty
CB | (5'11", 189) | The Ohio State University
Scouts Grade: 91

Strengths: Possesses ideal height, adequate bulk and the frame to get bigger. Is a smooth and fluid athlete for his size. Possesses good top-end speed. He has long arms and good leaping ability to challenge for the ball in the air. He is intelligent and should be able to learn from his mistakes. He plays aggressively in run support. Fills hard, takes decent angles and has developed into a solid open field tackler. Shows playmaking instincts when the ball is in the air and he has outstanding ball skills. He has experience returning punts and shows NFL upside in that capacity.

Weaknesses: Recognition skills are below average. Remains too inconsistent in coverage. Gambles too often and will give up too many big plays consequently. He gives away his tendencies and got burnt for it on several occasions as a junior in 2005 (see Minnesota and Texas games). Lacks ideal bulk and strength. Will have some more trouble taking on bigger blockers and taking down bigger runners in the NFL.

Overall: Youboty enrolled during the winter quarter in 2002. He played as a reserve defensive back in all 13 games of his true freshman season in 2003. Youboty started nine of the 12 games that he played as a sophomore in 2004 and finished with 61 tackles, four interceptions and 14 passes broken up. Youboty started all 12 games as a junior in 2005 and finished with 56 tackles, six TFL, one sack, one interception and nine PBU. Youboty is an early entry prospect with loads of upside but also lots of room to improve. He possesses an outstanding combination of size, athletic ability and speed, and he also flashes playmaking skills as a man-to-man cover corner. However, he inconsistent in terms of his technique and recognition skills in coverage, which leads to entirely too many big plays allowed on his watch. In short, Youboty is by no means a finished product but he has the potential to develop into a shutdown cover corner in the NFL, which is why he could come off the 2006 draft board late in the first round.

Kelly Jennings
CB | (6'0", 180, 4.4) | Miami
Scouts Grade: 89

Strengths: Is tall, has decent bulk and very good speed. Is a smooth athlete. Seems to prefer playing off in coverage. He is solid and steady. Shows good recognition skills and diagnoses plays quickly. At his best in man-to-man coverage but also shows good instincts in zone coverage. He is quick in his pedal and shows burst out of it. He closes quickly on the ball in front of him. Will bat down a lot of passes with his long arms. He has smooth hips and the speed to turn and run with most receivers vertically. He shows catch up speed if he makes a mistake. He has the height, long arms and leaping ability to match up vs. taller receivers on the jump ball. He continues to improve with experience and has the natural athleticism to improve even more. He is a solid open-field tackler who will break down in space and drag the ball carrier down if he has to.

Weaknesses: He isn't overly physical and he doesn't have great technique in press coverage. Lacks ideal bulk and will need to improve his strength. He is a solid open-field tackler but doesn't show good pop at the point of attack and he will get pushed around occasionally by bigger blockers.

Overall: Jennings redshirted in 2001. He missed one game in 2002 after tearing a ligament in his left thumb during fall camp, but he wound up started 12 games that season. He was demoted to the nickel DC spot behind Alphonso Marshall, but wound up starting five of the 13 games that he played that season. As a junior in 2004, Jennings started all 12 games and finished with 40 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and six broken up passes. Jennings started all 12 games as a senior in 2005 and finished with 32 tackles, three TFL, one sack, three interceptions and 13 PBU. Jennings lacks ideal bulk and strength. He isn't overly flashy or physical in coverage. He will do a decent job in bump-and-run coverage but he seems much more comfortable playing with some cushion. He is a solid open-field tackler but supporting the run is clearly not his passion. The bottom line, however, is that Jennings can take away one-third of the field as a shut-down man-to-man cover corner. He is a smooth athlete with good height and great top-end speed. He also is a high-character person and hard-working player who will work at his craft. For a team that employs primarily man-to-man coverage, Jennings will be a good value in the second round of the 2006 draft.

Because Train Demanded It....

So Train found out I had this on Youtube.com and insisted I post in immediately....

X-Men: Execution Trailer

In a nutshell this is a preview to a fan film I shot a year and a half ago. I shot it for a contest and, for a variety of reasons, never finished it. I got as far as cutting it and color correcting it, but I never finished the sound and there are still 3 pick up shots that I need to shoot. Anyway, about a week ago I started working on it again to finally finish it. Since there's nowhere to really submit it anymore I was just going to float it out on the internet. So, this is the original preview I put together as I was assembling the rought cut of the short.

It's geeky, kinda cheesy and ultra low budget. And yes...that's my real hair.

The answer to the question....Why Goose hates Gary Coleman

So this week we all have come to the realization that there are several things that Goose hates.



The Dallas Cowboys
Serenity
Dr. Laura
and yes, I hate Gary Coleman










Lets flash back to 1990.
Tucson Arizona. Gooses senior year of high school.

I had finished most of high school by my junior year and was only taking two classes my senior year. So I got out of school around 11am. I was working in a restaurant/deli called Eegees.

Gary Coleman was working at a Train Store near the restaurant. He would occasionally come in. He seemed harmless. a little sad. Im pretty sure this was during the time he was in legal disputes with his parents.

One day we were in the middle of the "Lunch Rush". I was working the register and had a line of about 20+ people. In comes Gary Coleman, looking pissed off at the world. Just in a rotten mood. Walks past the 20 people to the front of the line. "Im on my lunch and I need to get back to the store, I need to have my order taken" he tells me.

Now Goose has met many famous people in his lifetime. Steven Spieberg, John Travolta, and most of them are pretty normal people. Down to earth. nice people. One thing that pisses Goose off most of all is the phrase "Do you know who I am?". This phrase above all others chaps my hide. Anyone who believes there are better than someone else just because of a little fame deserves an old fashioned Goose ass kicking.



So back to the story. Im sitting there in front of Gary Coleman who at that moment as you may have well guessed pulls out the phrase that pays. "Do you know who I am?
Goose had ammo, and figured since this wasnt going to be my career forever, I figure what a better way to get fired. I responded to Gary. "You are Gary Coleman, the has-been actor from Different Strokes, now if you want some food get to the back of the line, or just go back to your Toy Train Store"

I've heard of people having a "conniption fit". I also saw Scanners where that Dudes head gets blown off. Gary Coleman saw Red. In one shining moment Goose deflated the mighty ego of Gary Coleman. He huffed, scowled and stormed out of the restaurant. Lated he called the manager to try to get me fired. My manager actually pissed him off too. she asked him to tell me exactly what he said. When he told her she asked him, Did you actually say to him "Do you know who I am?"

So I didnt get fired, was promoted a few months later and still enjoy visiting Eegees when I am in Tuscon. Seatown, you know what Im talkin' about.

I saw Gary a couple of times after that and he just gives me a dirty look and walks away.I watched him on an episode of the Surreal Life a few years ago, when Vanilla Ice threatend to throw him in a Fryer. He got pissed off and left the set. He has that same look on his face as he stormed off....the Gary Coleman Face. He learned one valuable leasson that day.

Gary Coleman....you dont impress Goose.

First time? No, I've been nervous lots of times.

I found a rare dead spot in my day on this rainy Friday afternoon (no, I didn't just write that so you Seattleites will accept me; it really is coming down) so I decided to enter the blog.

Joe told me about this while I was drinking an $12 apple-cranberry martini. Yesterday, I got a $34 parking ticket for an expired meter (my specialty) from the Minneapolis meter maids; that was my second in the last three weeks. Awesome.

Anyway, you guys probably only wanted me in this so you could hear about PoisonPillGate 2006, but since I am a professional journalist and this is probably searchable on google, I will have to keep those discussions offline.

So, here's something fun to do if you have 10 seconds and a sense of humour (just in case John Cleese is reading) ... go to www.google.com and type "failure" in the search box. Then click on "I'm Feeling Lucky" instead of the usual "Google Search."

You'll find that the google engine is infallibly accurate in directing websurfers to the site that best fits their search.

Serenity vs. Riddick Part Deux

A few weeks back, Devin came blasting out of the gate with a scathing review of Serenity as compared to The Chronicles Of Riddick. I hadn't avoided Serenity, but I also hadn't gone out of my way to see it. But how could thousands of geeks be wrong? Well, it turns out they were only half wrong.

Last week I received Serenity from my Netflix queue and watched the film for the first time. Trying to filter out all of the debate over the movie in this here Lodge, I attempted to clear my mind and come in fresh giving Joss Whedon the benefit of the doubt. My first criticism of the movie spawns from it's use of the Papyrus font. Come on. If you are trying to create an original Scifi show/flick, you'd think you'd come up with an original logo and not use a font that I used for my cover pages on essays back in college 10 years ago. Maybe I'm being fickle, but it was pretty cheap looking.

The movie did strike me as impressive, but not without fault. I only gave it a 3 out of 4 stars on Netflix because I did like it. But I had some issues with it, both good and bad. Starting off, the story seemed done to me. Genetic engineering to create passive lifeforms makes some turn into carnage seeking creatures? It was too much like A Brave New World meets 28 Days Later for me. I know art is recycled, but great art is original and inspired. The movies characters were its strength. Great depth in the characters, especially Captain Malcom Reynolds and the smokin hot Inara character. I think having the Firefly headstart really benefitted the film in this instance, because the actors seemed to really believe in their characters. Very seemless, very well done. I'll cut my rant short by ending with the fact that the editing was the worst part of the film. After watching the Special Features and viewing the Deleted Scenes, they all should have been included in the film. Each scene backed up the fantasy world that Joss Whedon (and whats with this guy and female names for males, I think he wrote the man's man character of Jayne to combat his own insecurities about sharing his own name in "Joss" with a female pop singer from the UK, but that's just me) was trying to create. The new worlds scenes in Serenity didn't have the depth of new worlds created in classic Scifi films like Dune, Star Wars, Bladerunner, Star Trek, Pitch Black, The Fifth Element, and many, many more.

And speaking of Pitch Black (which is a far better film than The Chronicles Of Riddick, by the way), that brings my post full circle back to The Chronicles Of Riddick. Devin did a great job getting Jayne's panties up in a bunch a while back. So when I was walking through Best Buy last night and was perusing the DVD racks, I almost got a side ache laughing so hard when I saw Serenity packaged with The Chronicles Of Riddick in a DVD Combo 2-pack. Hilarious. I called Devin immediately and shared my joy. Now I share it with the Lodge.

A Message to the USA from John Cleese

To the citizens of the United States of America:

In light of your failure to elect competent Senators and Congressmen and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy). Your new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium," and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.'

Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise."

Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up "vocabulary"). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."

You will relearn your original national anthem "God Save The Queen." July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only in England. It will be called "Come-Uppance Day."

You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should be handled only by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the
British sense of humour.

The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling "gasoline") -- roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.

You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick-cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." American brands will be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnats' Urine," so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

You will cease playing American "football." There is only one kind of proper football; you call it "soccer." Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American "football," but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.

You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your co-operation.

HOF Friday

Goose, I'm going to take the reigns here for one Friday and pose a Hall Of Fame question to the Lodge. Is "Neon" Deion Sanders a Hall Of Famer? Is he a first ballot HOF? What does the Lodge think? After Sanders turned into a player for hire, he was both a Cowboy and a Redskin, throwing that bias out the window for Jimbo & Goose. On February 13 of this year, Deion retired for the second and final time. "Primetime" was on Quite Frankly with some guy this past Tuesday, still talking big & flashing style, of course, now it's with his mouth & clothes instead of his game. How ESPN fit the 2 large heads of Steven A. Smith and Deion Sanders in the same room is a mystery to me.

The knock on Deion throughout his career was that he was soft against the run. Do ya'll agree? And do you think this "hole" in his game should keep him out of the HOF? To that same question, posed by Steven A. Smith, Sanders replied with, "When your game is strong, they have to find something wrong." Clever, Deion. Another example of how Sanders mouth & massive ego probably will take some HOF votes away from his cause come voting time. But I think his career numbers & game changing play do hold up his story.

Drafted 5th in 1989 NFL Draft out of Florida State, Deion Sanders was an 8 time Pro Bowl selection, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1994, and won a Super Bowl with the 49ers that same year. Hate him or love him, you had to admit that he changed the game in his prime, so to speak. Deion's ego probably fueled his move into a two-sport "star" playing in MLB. He never was an All-Star as a part-time baseball player, but he is the only man to have played in a MLB and NFL game during the same day, and is also the only player to play in both a Super Bowl and World Series.

While on Quite Frankly, Deion said he eventually wants to be Head Coach in the NFL. Do you believe it? I don't. I just can't believe his ego won't get the way of being a "company man" for an NFL franchise. An NFL Head Coach needs to check his ego at the door at times, and I don't believe Deion can ever do that. That's why he hung it up finally after this past season. "Primetime" was no longer what his nickname claimed and his ego couldn't take it. That being said, I believe Deion Sanders is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. He dominated the game for around a decade, he changed the game when he was on the field, both defensively and returning punts. Sure, he probably changed the game in bad ways too with his antics. But Sanders is a HOF. Like a 50 Cent prose... hate it or love it.

Resistance is Futile

I actually did resist the empire two weeks ago. Courtesy of the Seattle Times they caught me frontside of the Che-PR custom flag. (btw - i do not condone communism) Of course if you know what this issue is about you likely may not have an opinion. Because really i didn't even know about this rally until the day of. But my consideration of it forced me to leave work early because the application of any law pro/con immigration makes me look bad. Why? Because my family is now in its 5th generation in the United States yet I am mistaken as a foreigner or assumed to be from somewhere else. The passing of any legislation in addition to media hype will force me to constantly reprove my identity on a regular basis. This after affect may not matter to some of you. To me that is my only concern, not letting people in or getting people out; the generalization and marginalization of people is incorrect and disregards that color exists within the major citizenship of the nation now. Don't get your panties stinky over this, this is a socio-relational issue for me, not political.

#3 Draft Pick

Goose has been wanting to know who Vic Johanson is. Well, my friends... Vic Johanson is my #3 Draft Pick. Apparently Vic Johanson has been reading the Lodge everyday for the past couple of months and wants to chime in with his own thoughts and opinions on things. Alas, Vic Johanson is my old roommate, Greg Swinehart. Greg knows entirely way too many good and bad stories about my life (since we've known eachother for over 10+ years), so I'm a little nervous about letting him in the Lodge. And before ya'll start b!tching about me getting 3 draft picks... let's review the fact that Jimbo offered places in the Lodge for the first two, I was only their sponsor. Plus, they've both added a certain flare to the Lodge. And Jayne has a Sci-fi geek to hang out with in The Duke. But basically it comes down to if Jimbo likes a guy or not. And Jimbo has thrown down bones with Greg, and apparently that's good enough for him.

Greg became my roommate our Senior year at Western and later again in Seattle a few years after graduating. Greg is a drummer, addicted to caffeine, loves him a Guinness, Tim Hortons and will talk to you about movies & music until the wee hours of the morn. Trust me, we've done it many a time. Just an all around good guy. Greg is getting married in June also, to a smart-ass girl who's hilarious herself.

So there's a brief synopsis. Tuesday night, after Greg sat in on drums to play with another close friend BWard (aka "Short Bus" to The Dude) for a Graham Travis set at the Croc, I sat down with him at the bar and found out that Greg read the Lodge everyday, and that he wanted in. So basically Greg wanted to join the Lodge, and Jimbo obliged in kind, and I blame Guinness. Vic Johanson folks... but let's just refer to Greg as "Greg" though, because Vic Johanson is only a funny name for so long, then it just gets pretty weird. Kinda like Greg himself. I kid... I kid! In addition, Swinehart has been told that we expect 2 posts for the first 3 weeks and frequent commenting on other Lodge members posts hereafter. So bring it, Greg... like Dae-su with a hammer. Bring the hammer. Or just bring a Korean, that'll do too. Or maybe just a shrubbery. Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must place it here, beside this shrubbery, only slightly higher so you get a two layer effect with a little path running down the middle.

Who the Hell is Vic?

So while we count down Thursday and get ready for Victor J. to give a proper introduction post (or at least an intro post by his sponser)...in keeping with the political tone that Train set earlier this week...I give you:

"It won't feel like Saturday's in the Fall...

...because I know the Huskies won't lose"

So this Saturday 04.22.06, in addition to 2.0 evening gathering, I'm trying to gather the troops for the Huskies Spring Game happening at 1245pm and for the very low price of free (how else am I going to get Dude and Train out?) Here's how it shapes up:

-Women's Soccer Scrimmage at 10am
-Volleyball Scrimmage at 10am
-Football Scrimmage at 12:45pm (autographs on field following game)
-Men's Tennis vs. Oregon at 2pm
-Softball vs. Oregon State at 2pm

Here's the Lodge's Itenerary (pending):

*Head down to the Dutchess at 11-ish or so and have a few tankards, then make the walk down to the Stadium to watch the complete lack of gamebreakers on the offensive end..

Let me know if anyone is interested.

You Can't Have One Coleman Without The Other...

Just Because Post

...just because it makes you feel good inside again.

Gooses Seahawks Draft Preview Part 1 (Safeties...The Last Line of Defense)

We've all read the mock drafts. We've all gone to the websites, read the Blogs. And we all have the same question.

Who will the Seahawks draft #1?

1st lets look at needs
1. Cornerback: Andre Dyson is gone and Kelly Herndon is better suited for a backup or nickel role.
2. Defensive End: The team obviously wants to upgrade the pass rush, as evident by its push for John Abraham.
3. Safety: It looks like Ken Hamlin will be able to return from his injuries but even if he is able to make a full recovery there really isn't any depth to speak of behind either him or Michael Boulware.





Most of the drafts are predicting a DE. After filling most of the teams needs via Free Agency. I forsee a reach at the #31 pick. Unless a top CB drops and they pick up Ty Law.

The Hawks will take the Best Safety Available.
I think the depth in the definsive backfiled has to be the #1 concern. With the loss of Lawyer Miloy and the question marks surrounding the hammer Hamlin. I think the best move would be to take a look at a top safety.

1st of all. what to you look for in a Safety?
If you are coaching Gooses 46 Gambler your safety is "As Deep as the Deepest Man"

Well according to most scouts, here is the Breakdown of a safety Prospect

Critical factors
1. Character
2. Ability to learn football
3. Competitiveness and toughness
4. Work habits
5. Athletic ability

Position specifics
1. Man-to-man coverage ability
2. Zone coverage ability
3. Backpedal
4. Break from pedal
5. Run support
6. Tackling ability
7. Closing quickness
8. Deep acceleration
9. Playing the ball
10. Hands

Now who are the Best safeties in the draft?

1. Donte Whitner, Ohio State (5-10 1/8, 204, 4.45) (Projected around #24 to the Bengals) Whitner had a complete workout at the Combine. He ran his 40s in 4.40 and 4.49, had a 40-inch vertical jump, 11-foot long jump, 4.12 short shuttle, 6.79 three-cone drill, and did 18 lifts

2. Daniel Bullocks, Nebraska (6-0½, 212, 4.40)
Bullocks had a complete workout at the Combine. He ran his 40s in 4.39 and 4.41, had a 38-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-4 long jump, 4.16 short shuttle, 6.91 three-cone drill, and did 18 lifts


3. Darnell Bing, USC (6-2, 225, 4.58)
Bing did not have a complete workout at the Combine, but did have a 34-inch vertical jump, 10-foot long jump, 4.07 short shuttle, 7.25 three-cone drill, and did 17 lifts. He ran at the USC Pro Day on April 2 and clocked 40 times of 4.57 and 4.59, had a 6.75 three-cone drill, and did 21 lifts

4. Danieal Manning, Abilene Christian (5-10¾, 202, 4.51)
Manning had a complete workout at the Combine. He ran his 40s in 4.46 and 4.55, had a 39-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-3 long jump, 4.07 short shuttle, 7.23 three-cone drill, and did 17 lifts

My predicion is that the Hawks will try to move up to Whitner or potentially use a second rounder for Bing (If they want a prototype Strong safety) or Bullocks (if they want a rangy Free safety)

I think Donte Whitner is the next Roy Williams
With the draft only a week away, the ty Law signing becomes the focus of the draft. they need another corner. A veteran would fit nicely.

I'd love to see Whitner or Bing in a Hawk uniform. I like Bullocks, but there is something about USC players with experience that makes me give the nod to Bing.

Gooses Classic Rock Corner

I've heard it all. elder statesman, big brother. Yes I am the oldest Lodge member. I have come to accept my role and Im glad to fill it. I have spent the last few months listening to Music Reviews, Top 5 albums and I've kept pretty quiet. Why? Because I am not current when it comes to music.

Last month I turned 34. I found myself about a year ago saying something we have all heard our fathers/elders say at least once. "The music of today doesnt hold a candle to the music of my generation"

In some ways I am starting to believe this. I loaded up my new IPOD with about 600 songs that I have collect and realized that probably half of it is Music that no one would listen to. Bands that no longer exist except for "That Band" Thursday. Skid Row, Warrant. Queensryche. Pink Floyd. Old Van Halen. Plus lesser know Shark Island & Giant. Even my Rap music flows back to Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim.

Then came about 6 songs on my IPOD from what possibly rates as one of my top 5 albums ever done. Metallica's S&M. Metallica fans already swear by this album. For those that have not heard it, I figured I'd make this my 1st classic rock review.




Everyone knows Metallica. Whether you like them or not. You have heard them at one time or another. and unlike alot of bands them seemed to have weathered from a 1st generation band into a second.

So what was the concept? Well Metallica decided to do a live concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. S&M. Symphony and Metallica. It was an 80 piece group let by renowned conductor Michael Kamen. Adding this classic symphony to Metallica's Rock sound created a completely unique album.

I was impressed with the idea and was amazed about how different it made Metallica sound. They performed most of their major hits, including their most famous somg...One. About a soldier Who loses all him limbs, Speech, hearing and sight, and lives in his own mind, not able to communicate with the outside world.

The symphony sounds incredible and adds such a classical flavor to this. I can see other bands looking to do something like this as well (And maybe already have).

If you love Metallica and have not heard this, it is a must have.
If you like Metallica or Hard rock give this a listen. One thing about music for me is I want something unique and different. This fits like a glove.

Before the Invasion

The Promise or Wu Ji is going to be the next big thing post: Crouching Tiger, Hero, Myth. Its the prelude of the beauty that will storm the world red before China takes over. I have screening passes to see this at the Admiral theatre this Sunday. If I know where to get more I will let you guys know. (sorry, no google video found)

Make it a night to remember...

Anyone up for the Prom?

Some parents will do anything for there kid.

I say we get the 2.0 all dressed up and score some quick cash for the Lodge. Cause lets be honest, 2.0 is the only one that could pull off the look.

Fateless

Last night I saw this movie with an old friend of mine who just called me out of the blue. We usually only see each other to go to SIFF each year or if theres an exceptional foreign film we've heard around. We saw Fateless or Sorstalanság. Its centered around the life of a young Hungarian Jew named an Gyuri and based on a true story. After the movie my buddy told me that this was based on a book by an Imre Kertész the book recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002. It was excellent in a completely different way than standard Holocaust films.

All of the scenes sit in this murky grey or brown color. I suppose this is the sadness and landscape that only Eastern Europeans can promote. Where most Holocaust films like Shine or Schindler's List have an inspiring tone to them in the face of adversity Fateless has an almost nihilistic aspect to it. The realism of it is a bit stinging where you see awkward scenes of one person crying as a friend is forced into a labor camp and all the others are blank faced at the experience. In many instances where there are expressions of human feelings, the scenes are abrubtly cut without developing; signalling, you already know whats going to happen and its pointless to continue anyways. Gyuri goes to Auschwitz, Buchenvald, Mauthausen, and at one point decides to give up on trying to live, they show him getting hauled away like a sack as his eyes glass over at the obscene black nightmare around him.

Overall, the film was poignant without being romantic. There were dozens of scenes where a normal film would have a score to understate a moment, Fateless does not. Making something on this event in the style they did is difficult to do without coming off as insincere. This movie was more true to me about the experience of Jews before and after the concentration camps. It strips away idealism which often is the end theme of a Holocaust film and shows the boy going home to Budapest skinny, pale, broken, and detached from society while at the same time awakened to the idea he was always free because anywhere anytime he could die. The film also covers different facets and personalities of the Jewish experience with some of the characters: an inspiring comrade, a hopeful father, the desperate, the devout religious, and the walking dead; each of these seemed somewhat futile against the immensity of reality.In the final 15 minutes after liberation from Americans, Gyuri does not decide to follow the dream of the USA. Back in Budapest, too tired to walk from his camp injuries a compassionate Hungarian man on a streetcar questions him on the horrors of the camps. At each inquiry about gas chambers, torture, and starvation he responds that each of these "naturally" happenned; and when asked how he feels he gives one word: HATRED.

This film is showing at the nice little local neighborhood Crest Cinema Center in Shoreline for $3 until Friday. They're one of the few places beyond the U-District that shows arthouse indie films.

Feeling Hawkish

The United States stated that they were looking at every diplomatic option they can on the situation in Iran. The US has stated that they would leave the military option on the table, which is not surprising to hear since of course because if you haven’t noticed the hawks out number, the doves. Trusting the administration to talk diplomacy is like trusting your parents after you find out Santa and the Tooth Fairy isn’t real. This brings up a huge quandary.

You have a radical government which denounces the Holocaust and wants Israel wiped off the map. They just pledge 50$ million to Ham as, a government in its own right that supports and ferments terrorism. This to me is where it gets tricky. A nation like this is capable of destroying most of the Middle East. This is the nation that poses a bigger threat then Iraq. Saddam seems like Mussolini to Iran’s Hitler. A strong case can be made that if you were going to start a campaign of regime change it should have started here. The Iranians have little to no true friends in the Mid East. Seems like the White House took the wrong advice and went after the wrong country, this is not news but when you are trying to build support for an operation either diplomatic or covert military action you need support from everyone. Support that the US will never get due to 6 years of my way of the highway attitude coming out of the oval office. It saddens me to think that because of this a nation more radical then any other has the chance to build the ultimate weapon.

Not that I am looking for a military solution. I think that the US and other western nations have a strong chance of building a regime change from the inside. The people of Iran love the west. Walking down the streets of Tehran is like walking downtown in any US city to some extent. The people have there IPODS there Levi’s and I am sure apple pie is being cooked somewhere. Basically a change can happen there again. I believe that if this taken seriously a change can be made with out a shot being fired. Though I don’t see this happening cause this takes time and some people think not much time is left.

In the end the military is going to be used and it will stretch our forces even thinner and solidify our country as a one man show hell bent on change by any means necessary. The thing is that this might be a fight to under take. This nation just doesn’t have anything left in the tank we are tired worn out and bogged down. Another battle is something we can’t handle alone. We need support and support is something we can’t get either here in our borders or abroad. In the end Iran might get the bomb or it might not. I just don’t know if they should have it. And I really don’t know how we can do anything about it.

Get it before they pull it

So I was introduced to this ridiculously awesome site last week, which operates like a self-programmable KEXP. I've been kickin' a set of Tuesday Mornin' Dub Slices that has been unbelievable...if anyone gets on and feels the need to share their set with me: redevils_206@hotmail.com

Saturday Night All In

This coming Saturday night the Queen is going to be away with seatownshawn's fiancé for a girls night out. Basically, it's the perfect time for a Lodge gathering at my place. I can show off my extremely small apartment, we can play some poker, and do other guy things like watch baseball & smoke stogies on the patio while discussing sports & hot cartoon chicks.

So here are the details... 5 buck buy-in, 6:05pm first pitch (which probably means around 7, but early enough to get 2 games in comfortably, so bring two Abe Lincoln's), coincidently coinciding with Félix Hernández's first pitch for the M's that night. I have poker chips & whiskey, but you'll have to bring your own beer if that's your drink of choice. I'm thinking we can order pizza for everyone except The Dude (sorry, lactose boy!). So in honor of another poker binge, below is a helpful starting hand guide from Phil Gordon... study up, kids!

Suited Hands

Unsuited Hands

Brokeback to the Future

Yeah, it's been played out. But this one is pretty good. It's a Google video for you Pemcoians. "Oh... uh... this is my uncle... uh, Doc... Brown."

Wisdom Of Walton (WOW) Friday

"I might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures."

Greatest Performances of all time!

So for the last month I have been digesting this lastest poll from a movie magazine. Premiere comprised a list of the 100 greatest performances of all time. To check out the list you can click here. I wanted to point out a few performances that either impressed me or quite frankly upset me!

So let me break down a couple of performances.

100) Malcolm McDowell as Alex Delarge: A Clockwork Orange (1971). First of all, this movie disturbed me but it was also a movie that got me thinking not only through the movie but also after watching the movie. Not only the first time but also the 5th time I have seen it.

90) Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski: The Big Lebowski (1996). Can I just say this would be in my top five but I can see with this list how it's so far down. Can I just say, it's one of two roles Bridges would reprise (the other is Tron). "Hey the rent is due and he can just slide it under my door" A great movie with Walter, Donnie, Bunnie and of course Maude!

79) Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow: Pirates fo the Caribbean: The Curse fo the Black Pearl (2003). I have to say, when I saw this movie, I liked his character but it wasn't one of my favorite Depp performances. I would put "Donnie Brasco" on this list instead of this movie. Depp has had many performances that memorable and "Edward Scissorhands" also made the list at 22.

53) Daniel Day Lewis as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting: Gangs of New York (2002). This is a recent movie where I really hated the villian. This is one of two entries that Lewis has. The other entry is 11 for his performance in "My Left Foot." This actor knows how to bring a performance and I thought he really carried the film.

47) Jack Nicholson as Randle Patrick McMurphy: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Nicholson is classic in this film. His character fakes mentle illness just to get out of jail. He also led a mutiny against the one and only Nurse Ratched. This film earned Jack his first Oscar and is one of many performances that he is unforgetful. My personal favorite Jack roles are "The Shining," "Chinatown," and "The Crossing Guard" to name a few. Also found as #12 as "Badass" Buddusky in "The Last Detail."

10) Robert DeNiro as Jake La Motta: Raging Bull (1980). In this film that won DeNiro his second Oscar, first in a leading role he plays the ferocious boxer Jake La Motta. This film truely solidified him as a great actor and led him to many other great unforgettable performances. My favorite performances are in "The Godfather: Part II" and "Cape Fear." Another performance mentioned on the list was 42, "Taxi Driver."



Now there are several on this list that are great but saying Kate Winslet from
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is 84? or Reese Witherspoon from Election at 45. Election wasn't even her best performance. She was excellent in "Walk the Line" which she won an Oscar for. Don't tell me that this years films aren't included because Philip Seymour Hoffman was 35 for his performance in "Capote." Marlon Brando was mention for "Last Tango in Paris" (27) and On the Waterfront (2) but what about "Streetcar Named Desire" or "The Godfather"

So the questions come up...Who got snubbed, who should have been higher? What performances stand out for you guys? Let's lay it on the line!

Part Two: The Corleone Formula and the M.O.R.A.N.'s

I don’t know if anyone remembers a piece from an old Sports Guy article a couple of years ago when he was talking with his step dad about the age old debate: Pacino vs. DeNiro. Well, if you don’t, he used a grand theory that I think has a 93% success rate when analyzing who is the better actor. In this case, SG broke down all the roles that Pacino could not possibly play that Bobby D. had, but the truth came when you look at whether Bobby D. could take on the Pacino roles.

With the exception of Scarface and maybe Dog Day Afternoon, you sub in DeNiro and you get a similar if not better performance. There are many intangibles or formula’s you could use, but that’s not the point of this post. My point is to utilize social identity theory along with the ultimate Pacino vs. DeNiro debate to understand the members of the Lodge and hopefully anyone that's contributed to the over 5,000 hits (thanks for checking us out Mom) we've gotten in two months (groupie where are you? You’re missed).

In the Social Identity Theory, a person has not one, “personal self”, but rather several selves that correspond to widening circles of group membership. Different social contexts may trigger an individual to think, feel and act on basis of his personal, family or national “level of self” In other words, it is an individual-based perception of what defines the “us” associated with any internalized group membership. Great, but what the hell does this have to do with the f’n Lodge? Well, nothing, but it does offer a way to test a social experiment that I've thought of for several years. It started as a matter of fact conversation, but it ended with my thinking that nothing says more about someone than when they chime in about two actors that represent both sides of the action spectrum, but are arguable indistinguishable from each other.

So I’m introducing a new/old formula derived from the SG’s work and based on the Pacino/DeNiro debate and since they shared the same screen on two movies (Godfather II & Heat) with the latter being the lesser film, I’m going to deem this measuring criteria: the Corleone Formula.



Without any more delay That-Guy Wednesday Present:

Vin (The) Diesel

vs.


The Rock

Tale of the Tape:

Vin Diesel (born as: Frank Vincent 07.18.67 6’1) 1st acting credit: Awakenings (uncredited orderly)

Actual quotes:

* "Well, I've worked out for years. For a long time it was my only sense of gratification." &

"In the next film, Riddick is going to go to the underverse. Riddick will act with new elementals. Not air elementals [as Judi Dench's character is] but fire and water. It'll come full circle in C3 when he must return to Furia".

Le Rock aka “The People’s Champion”, “The Brahma Bull”, “The Great One” (born as: Dwayne Johnson 05.02.72 6’4”) 1st acting credit: (sans WWE): That 70’s Show: That Wrestling Show as Rocky Johnson

Actual quotes:

* "Finally...The Rock...has come back to (whatever city he's in at the time-or ala The Lodge)" &
"The Rock will take you down Know Your Role Boulevard which is on the corner of Jabroni Drive and check you directly into the Smackdown Hotel!"

So we’re going to need to break this thing down with an advanced scoring system utilizing not solely by the Corleone Formula, but also the UTC and best on-screen hookup scale to determine a quantifiable winner:

First, the UTC Scale, another SG rip-off (the Lodge is a big fan), aka the unintentional comedy scale. e.g. Mike Tyson rates a perfect 100, while most guys from the Pro Poker Circuit rate in negative numbers. We will use a modified scoring system of 10 based on what I believe to be the highest UTC movie from both actors:

“And how is it you see this? I thought you lost your powers when you...”
The Rock in “The Scorpion King”…Points go for first leading role from former collegiate middle linebacker…but, they kept the reigns on him during this film, but not before he got in his UTC points, although not as high as they could’ve been: (Perhaps the Rock’s understanding of the entertainment world really hurts him here) He also got more for costume and effects, which can’t win you the UTC crown, but can definitely place you in the driver’s seat. Solid UTC performance here, brining like only the People’s Champion can. Score=8

“I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free.”
The Diesel in F&F…no real surprise here from anyone who knows me, but coming from a film with a perfect 10 in the combination of not only UTC writing, but UTC acting along with a movie that scored an ultimate 100 on the UTC movie-scale. I mention just one of The Diesel’s quotes, but to fully grasp the all-star UTC performance you have to watch from beginning to end. The only downside to his performance is that he didn’t even give the best UTC performance in the movie. The always classic Paul Walker outshined at every opportunity created a frantic race down to the very last scene, with Walker pulling down the UTC gold. The audience to come to find out with F&F 2 that the on-screen duo of Walker & The Diesel would go down as one of the greatest, along with Newman & Redford. Score=9.75

The On-Screen Hookup Scale, this is a new criteria that I’m trying out, based on the level of tail that our actors hooked up with on screen. The purpose is to prove their masculine qualifications as leading men and kings of action in the bedroom and out. So we judge the popularity of the actress and the relative level of hotness she brings.

The Rock in the Rundown…It’s been a while since I’ve seen this and I can’t even remember if there’s a hook up or not, but I remember Rosario Dawson. Her stock has been rising as of late and at the time had the underrated hotness factor, along with semi-credible acting chops to go along with the package. Going on the assumption that there was a hookup, this gives The Rock a solid score and keeping him consistent, even if it didn’t really happen on screen. Score=8

Diesel in xXx…So many ladies, so many x’s. The Diesel loses a few points on the popularity aspect of the OSHS for hooking up with the quietly seductive Asia Argento in xXx. She grabs a relatively good rating for working the foreign accent and bringing it as an Eastern-Bloc-er even though she’s Italian, but ultimately loses points for lack of notoriety. Score=7

And now to the Corleone Formula:

In the series of films for The Rock: Doom, Walking Tall and Scorpion King where The Rock works the lead you can’t really argue that he’s bringing something that The Diesel can’t autograph for himself or turned down for his Riddick Trilogy. What really hurts here is The Diesel’s higher per-average UTC score in any role that he working. Recently, both have turned to comedy to shown their wide scope of acting and I can say in Be Cool that I’m not sure that The Diesel could’ve brought what Le Rock did. (and yes I saw Be Cool, it was an airplane movie, don’t give me any sh*t for it) Score=Fredo

In the series of films for The Diesel: xXx, Pitch Black, F&F, Chron. of R, The Pacifier & A Man Apart you’ll have a hard time raising the UTC bar as mentioned previously, but you get shorter lines and better facial expressions when subbing in The Rock. Bonus points for The Diesel in Pitch Black, A Man Apart and The Pacifier for his works with kids and Larenz Tate. This is hypothetically closer in real life than it looks on paper, but I think The Diesel edges out in the Corleone Formula, based on more film experience and ability to deliver longer ridiculous monologues than The Rock at this point in his career, (this could be altered in the upcoming years). Score=Sonny

Closure:
So we have 16 points and a Fredo for The People's Champion, while The Diesel rides in barely on top with 16.75 and a Sonny. The Diesel is awarded the Lodge’s first ever: Most Outrageously Ridiculous Action Name or M.O.R.A.N thanks to the help of top studies done in the three major scoring categories. It’s obvious that my social identity lies somewhere between ridiculous sci-fi and slow-motion shots of a muscle car avoiding an on-coming train. That’s not to say a Babylonian King that arises to rule isn’t my thing, I just side on the other side of the fence. I do believe, like the universe these two actors may no longer be expanding away from each other, but instead retracting and perhaps setting up the most ultimate force in the world: a double-billing. Not since the earth witnessed Alien vs. Predator, could we have the type of film that would make the people rise up and call for the winner of the climatic battle to rule the universe? I’m left following this analysis that that is the only hope that man has for redemption from his sins. My social identity is with the man from Furia, where’s yours?

Does this work?

My hard drive is clicking and won't boot. I'm screwed since. This is known in geek tech circles as the click of death I am desperate, and I know this is funny which is also why i'm posting it, but has anyone heard of The Freezer method to restore a hard drive magically?

Brooklyn Hoodies

So i got into work at 5:30am today. I am tired and sleep deprived. Later on, standing on the sidewalk with a bummed cigarette, I saw Train. He seemed perturbed and had that odd shocked stare you get when you see someone you know thats changed horribly and can't avoid them. My unshaven face and crackhead hoodie, walking past the homeless apartment building to the corner store with my crooked marlboro light square. My blank loose stare filled with gloom and uncertain threat. Train had to let loose a quick smile to deride the emotional chasm dividing us. So that's how its going. And that's my vent among other things, I will soon join Train and Jimbo in the wonderful peninsula of West Seattle and begin college. To add into the joyous occassion and somewhat melancholy weather of life I hope to brighten the day up with a quick mention to the most heartwarming movie America will see this year.

United 93

My feelings on this are with other black hearted Americans. I'd like to see it and it hurts but I'm depressed over domestic and international circumstances and like many suicidal crackheads I want to feed that pit of doom. I'm sure we've all heard about the people in Manhattan who left the theatre sobbing and thats completely understandable. But Universal Studios is a blackhearted group, they are the same people who brought you the glorious Chronicles of Riddick and something called Serene T? They refuse to pull the film from screening. Its being directed by Paul Greengrass the same person who channelled The Bourne Supremacy into a quick fight fest. Can we expect the same empty violence filled content? Who knows, sometimes looking at Matt Damon in that film was like looking at the blank dead stare of an angry cow. Their work together has spawned filming for the next blank stare The Bourne Ultimatum. It was cool seeing Train though, happy note.

Not going to let this one go again...

So I'm downstairs in the Lodge and pulling a Chewie fixin' the hyperdrive w/ my 15 year old Sharp TV when Dude informs me it's Thursday and somebody hasn't been shown the love...this is for all my friends who celebrated Passover...Shalom...

Hard Candy

So I was planning on putting together a Comic-Con post, followed by another Film Club post (I’ve got 13 movies to do write-ups on). But I saw a pre-screening of a movie last night that I simply had to post about….

“Hard Candy”

Any of you who saw “V For Vendetta” at the Cinerama may have seen the poster for this in the lobby. It’s the first film from “Vulcan Productions”, which is Paul Allen’s new film production unit. Apparently he didn’t have enough going on in his day….

I hadn’t really head much about the film, other than that it played at Sundance, and was quickly picked up by Lionsgate, who apparently were the only production company willing to pick the film up without making any changes to it.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago at Comic-Con, I got to have a really cool conversation with a guy by the name of Steve Niles. None of you have probably heard of him, but I’m sure you will. He wrote a Comic book called “30 Days of Night” which was a little independent venture that become a pretty big phenomenon. Sam Raimi (Of Evil Dead and Spider-Man fame) very quickly bought the rights to the comic to adapt it into a film. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to have time to do it anytime soon (He was finishing up Spider-man 2 at the time, and had just been green lit to start work on part 3), he decided to just produce it and have another director do it.

Anyway, I asked Mr. Niles about what was happening with the movie (apparently not many people knew it was coming out, because I was the first person in his long ass line to ask about it), and he started talking about how it’s going to be filmed in New Zealand and that WETA was handling the effects, and this guy named David Slade was going to direct it. I mentioned that I didn’t know who that was, and he started telling me about this movie, Hard Candy, that he saw a cut of that I absolutely had to see. He went on for a good 2 or 3 minutes about how this movie was going to simply blow me away.

So I get my invite to a pre-screening with the Writer, Director & Star (Ellen Page) of the film. It turns out the star, Ellen Page is going to play Shadowcat in X-Men 3. So I went into this thing more excited about getting my copy of “30 Days of Night” signed & asking Kitty Pryde what Wolverine’s like in real life, than actually seeing the movie itself. So the light’s go down and the movie starts….

…..Two hours later, all I wanted to do was go home to my mommy.

Without giving too much away, here’s the plot of the movie….

A 32 year old guy meets a 14 year old girl on the internet. They decide to meet in a coffee shop and talk. Afterward she asks him to take her to his house. When they get there, she drugs him, and very quickly the predator becomes the prey.

So, that’s basically the first 15 minutes of the movie. From that point on things get really f**ked.

There’s one scene in particular in this movie that was so hard to watch, that men were literally storming out of the theater until the scene was over (and to be honest I nearly joined them). And what’s great about the scene in particular is that it’s done like the ear scene in Reservoir Dogs. You know what’s happening, but you don’t specifically see it. You’re just left with the sound effects, the characters reactions, and your own imagination.

The acting in this movie is amazing, simply amazing. It’s shot very tight on the characters so you really just take in their performances without any distractions. Ellen Page in particular is really worth mentioning, simply because she’s so young and her character has a ferocity that could put Hannibal Lector to shame.
Really, it’s the pacing and story structure that really bring the story home. Once this movie kicks into high gear, it never once lets up. It’s like a monster truck show….”The ticket pays for the whole seat, but you’ll only need

Who wouldn't want to see old Yankee Stadium?

The Sports Gods have gotten together to create the ultimate site for sports travel. The Lodge should take a serious look at getting something planned. To be honest I would rather do this then Vegas but that’s just me. I would like to start a tradition with the Lodge. I know this is a pipe (not that pipe Jim) dream right now but we should look at taking a sports related trip once a year. We can start out small and work our way up from a hockey game to the MASTERS...

A Hallmark Blog

I have to give a special shout out. 9 years ago today. At 4:32pm Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters.

Sitting in the Bar in Treasure Island, Mother Goose sat with his pops and best freind and was watching Nick Faldo place the green jacket on Tiger. Glancing at his watch he realized he was late for an important event. Sprinting across the casino he arrived at 4:35pm (5 minutes late) for his most important memory.

You see. 9 years ago Michele Kerr (No releation to Steve) took some huge steps. She officially became "The Gander", she set the wheels in motion to have the Gosslings, (who will one day become a Brother force to be reckoned with in some way shape or form) and unknown to her, began a Cal Ripkenesque Lodge Streak for Consecutive days Married.

I have to give the Gander Props for sticking by Goose for this long.

Rumor has it the 10 year anniversary might be renewing the vows at Treasure Island. Lesson to you all boys, when you get married in Vegas, you can celebrate anniversaries in Vegas.

They Didn't work the Nail-Gun Enough...

So this post has been a long time in the making and due to the length will be split into two parts. Spurred by the viewing of the id software vehicle Doom last night, I got the inspiration back to finally make this a post and begin the debate for the '06 Elections.

So for part one, we're going to review Doom and try and apply the altered video-game to big screen scale of ratability. For those not savvy with the most popular first-person shooter this side of Wolfenstein 3D , here’s a little recap from our friends at Wikipedia:

"The player takes the role of a nameless space marine (who is affectionately referred to as "Doomguy" or "Doom Dude" by many fans), "one of Earth's toughest, hardened in combat and trained for action", who has been deported to Mars for assaulting a senior officer when ordered to kill unarmed civilians. He is forced to work for the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC), a military-industrial conglomerate that is performing secret experiments with teleportation between the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Suddenly, something goes wrong and creatures from Hell come out of the teleportation gates. A defensive response from base security fails to halt the invasion, and the bases quickly get overrun by demons, all personnel getting killed or turned into zombies. At the same time, Deimos vanishes entirely. A UAC team from Mars is sent to Phobos to investigate the incident, but soon radio contact ceases and only one human is left alive — the player, whose task is to make it out alive."

That’s it in a nutshell…little more complex than Pitfall, not as much as Zelda. The movie doesn’t cover as much ground as the video game and really, I don’t think anyone is really asking for it. Dave Callaham (1st screenplay) and Wesley Strick (Wolf, The Saint, Arachnophobia) co-wrote the screen play and Andrzej Bartkowiak (Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave) directed. I will say that the group did a pretty damn fine job with the $70 million budget they were given, and a good move at promoting the Rock, but handing the movie over to Kiwi Karl Urban (Eomer from LOTR) and perky-Brit Rosamund Pike ( Bartkowaiak apparently took a queue from the Jackson/Lucas school of casting).

Film develops exactly how you think it would, with a team of futuristic Marines, (there's even a hooo-rahh thrown in) all representing the different personalities that James Cameron established in Alien. Good effects in places, and as MCP mentioned in the comments from earlier this week, the 4 minute one-person shooter scene makes the film watchable. Overall it plays out like a $70 million dollor Sci-Fi Channel movie without Anthony Michael Hall.

So, how do you rate a film like this you say? Well, you have to apply what I believe is the proper rating scale in order to give the film a valid rating.

Explanation: Using the classic 5 star, or whatever system you have for judging the quality of a film, you must immediately take 20% off the top for a Video Game Movie (VGM). So the top rating that any VGM can achieve is a 4 star, clams, bones or whatever you call them. Now, why 20%? Well I figure at the very least the writers will inevitably have to embellish on the original plot line of a video game, especially those done prior to the 21 century. Don’t get me wrong embellishing is fine, Oliver Stone has several houses to prove this, but the difference between Sphere and Doom isn't the mind-blowing special effects or a mailed-in Dustin Hoffman preformance, but the ability of the writers to develop an original idea, and that my friends is worth 20%.

The movement between Video Games and Movies is a dual-sided blade. One that usually doesn’t create quality when either medium decides to try on the other, with the exception being the LucasArts series with EA, which is debatable at best. My hope is that the Zelda movie decides to transcend my skepticism and bring home the Oscar (this will happen the same year Husky Fball brings another National Championship back to Montlake).

A little background on the rating system: 4 being Resident Evil…0 being Super Mario Brothers and Mortal Kombat I, rating somewhere in between. So with that being said, I nominate a three-star rating to Doom, which given the systems makes it a damn fine film, even though the Corleone Formula could've applied and sent it to a possible 4. What's the Corleone Formula, well that's coming in Part II.

News from the 303

Just for Train
This man does not represent the Broncos that train loves



EDGEWATER, Colo. (AP) -- Former Denver Broncos tight end Clarence Kay has been arrested for alleged domestic violence, authorities said.

Kay allegedly got into a shoving match with his girlfriend Monday and rammed her head into a carport, Edgewater Sgt. Scott Fowle said.


Kay was in Jefferson County Court Tuesday, where he was advised and arraigned on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge, according to court records.

A temporary restraining order was issued against Kay. He was scheduled to appear in court again on April 21.

Kay, who played for Denver from 1984 to 1992, was arrested 12 times in Colorado between 1984 and June 2000, but half the charges were dismissed.

Kay could not be reached for comment by The Associated Press Tuesday.

Feeling Minnesota

Following the lead of my favorite Soundgarden song, I am in sunny Minneapolis this week for work. A group of us are visiting Target for work, our biggest client. I say sunny, because it's been in the mid 70's since my plane landed Monday morning. Weird, I know. Below, I'll give you the highlights from my trip so far.


It gives me the butterflies, gives me away
Till I'm up on my feet again
I'm feeling outshined

Monday night, I was able to rendezvous with Dave "Soup" Campbell for dinner and catch up on life. Half of the Lodge know Soup from fantasy leagues... little update, he lives a short bikeride from downtown, he is still an AP Sportswriter in the Twin Cities, and he's still pretty bad at fantasy sports. Good writer, though.

Dave filled me in on the very interesting backstory and inside information on the Steve Hutchinson & Nate Burleson situations from a downtown Minnesota perspective. Soup even said he'd be happy to make a Lodge post with the behind the scenes story on the past month. So Jimbo, you should email Campbell an invite to join the Lodge. I'll sponsor him as my #3 draft pick this year. We've done well so far with the first two draft picks, although The Duke has been pretty weak sauce the past week or so.

Tonight, after dinner on Target at a local hotspot, I headed down to the Twins 2006 Home Opener at the Metrodome. Some highlights of the 7-6 Minnesota victory over my pick to win the AL West pennant, the Athletics from Oaktown:

• Scalping a $18 2nd deck ticket, behind home plate, during the top of the 3rd inning, for only 5 bucks.
  
• A fight broke out in the 2nd deck along the 3rd base line, apparently it was 3-on-3 brawl and it took 10 minutes for security to come over and drag the guys out of the Stadium. Play continued during the maylay. So yeah, Twins' fans must feel safe in the Dome.
  
• 5 Home Runs in the game, including 2 bombs from the always solid Oakland 3B Eric Chávez.
  
• During the 7th Inning Stretch, after Take Me Out To The Ballgame, the Twins honored the late Kirby Puckett with an emotional rendition of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World along with a video montage. I'll be honest, it got a little dusty in the Dome for a few minutes.
  
• There was a large, red #34 painted in centerfield on the turf. Classy gesture.
  
• And last, but certainly not least, the bathrooms in the Metrodome had the classic trough urinals. Bringin ya back to the ol' Kingdome days. Nostalgic.

You can read Soup's wrapup article on the game to get the "media" spin on the matchup. Oh, and by the way, I asked him if he had an AP vote for the Player Of The Year voting for College Basketball, and he said he did not. The last two awards he was able to vote on was AL Rookie Of the Year a in 2003 and 2004.

Funny

This is a really freaking funny video site. Check out the March 31st podcast titled "Ninja Omnibus". Really funny stuff

Ask A Ninja

Keeping the Band Together....

Hawks Re-Sign Josh Brown

The World of the Cartoon

So I was watching Waynes World the other night. My mind was instantly racing back to old SNL Waynes World Skits that I had seen. One on the bits they did was the Top 10 Cartoon Characters you would like to have sex with. I thought to myself, this might make a good Blog Commentary. After all the rules of the Blog go "Sports, Movies, TV, and Pemco edited sex Posts". When brought up at the latest Lodge meeting, it immediately stirred Good converasation. I'll also finish each one with a good Wayne and Garthism.

So I promise no nudity, no vulgar words. Just Gooses Top 5 Cartoon Characters that are, as Train would say, "Mountable".




#5 Daphne
A solid Classic. Although you spent most of the episodes wondering where She and Fred would dissappear to, while Velma Shaggy and Scooby ran from all the ghosts. Also she loses point for always wearing the same old purple dress. Gotta love a fiery redhead. "She tested very high on the stroke-ability scale"











#4- The Baroness/GIJoe
After doing some research I found that the Baroness not only makes my list, but follows "Man Movie Rule #7". Any woman that seems stuck up, hair tied back and in glasses, will instantly become a megga hottie when the glasses and hair band are removed. "In French she would be called "la renarde" and she would be hunted with only her cunning to protect her"





#3 Cheetara
ANYONE who watched TV during puberty knew Cheetara. She added the vixen look for young 11 year olds. The Cat Suit, The makeup, the ability to be EXTREMELY Flexible. Definately ranks high on the list. MEEEEEOOOOWWWWW. "She'd give a dog a Bone"















#2 Betty Rubble and Wilma Flinstone.
Forget Stifflers Mom in American Pie. This was the introduction to the the MILF. Betty and Wilma were sexually frustrated women. One was married to a short man with a napoleon complex, the other to a great big fat guy. Both without a shadow of a doubt were unsatisfied and needed some attention. Seriously. If you has women as hot as Betty and Wilma, would you Bowl every night? "She makes me feel kinda funny, like when we used to climb the rope in gym-class"


#1 Josie and the Pussycats.
Yeah. I said it. All three of them. Josie, Melody and Valerie. Even toss in Alexandra, the chick who isnt in the band but maintains a level of Fire in her loins. Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll. This was the hottest band of the 70's. And the cute little stage outfits. "What do you do when a girl is so hot that every time you try to talk to her, you think you're gonna hurl? I say hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she's yours. If you spew and she bolts, then it was never meant to be."

We cant have Big Red Friday if we forgot what brought us here......

Sorry Big guy.

Big Red Friday

This past Friday, after an epic post about a certain Basketball Hall Of Famer, Jimbo declared that Friday would be set aside for one William Theodore Walton, III. So here is the first of many pictures posted on TGIF:



"But you have to understand, my beard is so nasty. I mean, it's the only beard in the history of Western civilization that makes Bob Dylan's beard look good."

Thanks

I wanted to give a heart felt thank you to the lodge for the great birthday party Wednesday night. I could not have thought of a better way to spend a birthday. You guys are a special group and by special I mean Special Ed. I loved all of my gifts. Thank you Joe for the Johjima shirt, it is a fitting gift for the man who has everything Japanese. Goose, thanks for the Texas national championship shirt. I love VY! Jim thanks for hosting the after party at the Lodge. Dude, well thanks for attending even though you were under the weather.

It’s great to see that my birthday wish came true… The 2.0 and MCP are now as we speak frolicking in a field of wild flowers reading X-men # 141. I felt the synergy when I woke up to go get a cup of Joe at the corner Starbucks. It’s the first of many “Fishing Trips” the two of them will be sharing.

The Olive Branch

During last night's gathering for Train's birthday celebration, it was causually mentioned that our own MCP, aka Jayne1138, had attended a ComiCon in our own fair city. That he even had taken pictures and had numerous stories to tell the Lodge. Well, the horror of a Con aside... the Lodge was intrigued. And I felt guilty. Not because I was harbouring any remorse towards my past (because I never regret anything I've ever done, sans one incident), but because I realized that my actions might have been misinterpreted and caused one MCP to either go postal and beat Jordan one day in their cube at Pemco, or not post out of anger. Thus, the guilty feelings.


You see, MCP... besides growing up a poor black child... I am a spiritual man. And at different times in my life, I actually have been a "man of the cloth", so to speak. And I do my best to love those around me. Obviously my trash-talking persona in the Lodge isn't who I am all of the time. In real life, sure I talk trash. But none of it is meant to be taken seriously, but rather it is all meant quite tongue-in-cheek.

So please except my apology to yourself and anyone else who has taken my comments out of context and/or my editing of pictures and posts and taken offense in any way. I consider you all my friends, albeit some as virtual friends since I've only met the MCP once in person at a Russian vampire flick, and writing and finding community within this group in the Lodge brings me joy.

Can I ask one thing though? To everyone? Please re-read your writing for spelling errors & please format your pictures to keep your post looking professional. We have a pretty sweet community blog that has other readers besides ourselves (as crazy as it sounds, there are past comments to prove it) and I always believe in doing your best. Let's put out a great product, so we look good & can have something we can be proud of.

That being said, MCP. I would like to extend an olive branch to you. Writing brings me joy, and I can tell from your skill as a creative writer that it does the same for you. So please endulge us by writing about the events from this past weekend's Con and any other shitty or outstanding movie you've witness in the past couple of weeks during your hermit-like withdrawl from posts. I'm not promising to never be an ass, because we all know that isn't possible. But I am promising to stop editing posts unless specifically asked to by the writer of the post or Jimbo.

And I leave you with this... in honor of starting peace talks with TP, I will go back to my Junior High days and geek out for a minute. My Top 5 Comicbook Artists of All-time:

1. Todd McFarlane -- The detail, the extra something, McFarlane changed the way comic books were distributed, marketed and sold thanks to his record sales of comics that he'd penciled. After remaking a new Spiderman series, McFarlane created the Spawn series from his own comic book company and is now one of the richest men in America. Basically, he's the god of geeks. Plus, he is an avid sports fan, and has in recent years made sports themed figurines & also bought record baseballs via live auction. Some of my favorite stuff he penciled was the Gray Hulk comic's he was a guest artist on. For those of you not familiar with the Gray Hulk, you can read about it here.

2. Jim Lee -- Psylocke is in the image here by Jim Lee. I mentioned last night that Psylocke would be my #1 Cartoon/Comic book character I'd like to... Lee worked with the classics and managed to catapult Fantastic Four and Iron Man back into popularity. His X-Men stuff was amazing though. X-Men #1 still is the best-selling comic book of all-time with sales of 8 million copies of the first issue, although multiple purchases of variant covers illustrated by Lee accounted for part of the sales frenzy. Jim Lee is not related to Stan Lee and Jae Lee, two other prominent names in the comic book industry.

3. Marc Silvestri -- Silvestri's Wolverine stuff is by far my favorite of his. He draws women as well as than anyone though. Exquisite. In 1992, Silvestri became one of the original seven artists - along with Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane and Jim Valentino - to form the breakaway comics company Image Comics. His official site shows more of the talent the man has. Seems like kind of a prick, of course, maybe that's because he married a model & dresses like a prick.

4. Whilce Portacio -- Portacio is known for his work on The Punisher, X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, and Stone as well as Marvel's Iron Man during the controversial Heroes Reborn storyline, among others. Portacio's Punisher stuff was epic. Big guns, bad ass attitude... who doesn't like the Punisher? Communists, that's who. Them, and guys with no balls. Although the Punisher movie was pretty lame.

5. Joe Quesada -- For centuries artists have tried to capture the human element in their work. No artist has been more successful at accomplishing this feat then Joe Quesada. Joe Quesada prints show the human emotion even when the subject has nothing to do with humans. Any object can become alive when Joe Quesada puts brush to canvas. Beautiful drawings. If any of you have the Origin's series, I'd love to borrow them. The covers alone look amazing.

Another sign that we're in 1984...

So the WorldWide Leader got this hype right...ladies and gentlemen...I give you the 2006 Seattle Seahawk schedule...complete with not one, but TWO MNF matchups at the Qwest...and more importantly, we get another chance to see the Bo highlights repeated 5,000 times when the Silver and Black attack invade on Nov 6...

Epic Baseball Viewing

Bonds On Bonds debuted last night on ESPN2. Weird show. Somehow Bonds was followed throughout the entire year prior and through last season... through the entire season! The best thing about the show is the documentary style format used where the producers edit in other interviews with baseball people the likes of Peter Gammons, Dusty Baker and Jon Miller. These snippets are to the point, bold, truthful looks into the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds. Bonds himself seems to have put up an emotional barrier that he displays in public and around the media. But he lets these barriers down in the comfort of his own home, even crying in one scene [linked above] when talking about the pressures of living up to his family tradition. Another great bonus is the f-bombs dropped in every other sentence Bonds busts out. Ballplayers curse almost as much as sailors, and it was refreshing to see.

After watching the episode, I think Bonds agreed to do the series to unmask himself and show that he is a human being who is an extremely hard worker, enormous ego, inherited talent, and in some ways I think Bonds thinks he might win back the populous that's (apart from SF, where he's still adored) turned on him amongst the steroid scandals, rumors and backstabbing. Very interesting watch.

As Devin branched over into sports blogging and noted... Kenji Johjima homered for the 2nd straight day. Yes, he's on pace for 162 homers to shatter Bonds' record*. I think Vegas moved the over/under from Christmas to the All-Star break as to when Train will purchase his own Johjima jersey. The M's offense came alive last night, followed by Eddie Guardado almost giving the game back to Los Angeles in the 9th. They should trade Guardado and move Rafael Soriano into the closers role. Soriano took out Vladimir Guerrero in the 7th inning with some filthy stuff.

And finally, the 5th of April. The Lodge's own train, Jordan S. Lovato, aka "J-Train", aka "Lovato", was born on this fine day. When the "Lovato" chooses to come out... it's not only special, but it's an event. Jordan, may this year be filled with laughter, love & many epic memories. Happy Birthday, Train. Hopefully you'll give the gift of the "Lovato" back to us this week as we celebrate your existence.

Kenji's on fiiiiiire ~

and happy birthday train!!!

Sox get their rings!

Have you seen anything prettier in 88 years?

Laying a foundation

Guys. I know I have said this before, but I am putting it on the table again. I want Lodge road trip to Sin city. I want to begin planning it so that we dont keep saying, "We'll get around to it". Im thinking 1st week of June. Any takers?

I am calling an official Lodge declaration. This declaration is simply titled, "Vegas Baby". Starting today I will pledge a Vegas post every week until our trip is booked. I will open the Nest again for Blackjack Lessons. I will buy the 1st round of drinks while in Vegas. I will guarantee that Train will not forget his ID at any point of the trip, so that we will NEVER be denied access anywhere!!! I will singlehandedly lead this declaration that we will be in Vegas in the next 90 days and we will have a weekend that we will NEVER forget!!!















Train- Its over Goose we are not going to Vegas
Goose- Over? Did you say Over? nothing is over until we decide it is!. Was it over when Dale Cooper and the chick from Saved by the bell starred in Showgirls, possibly the worst Vegas movie of all time? HELL NO! And it aint over now.
Joe- Showgirls?
Jimbo- Forget it he's rolling
Goose: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Goose: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
[runs out, alone; then returns]
Goose: What the (F-BOMB) happened to the Lodge I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Goose, we might get in trouble with our women....we dont have enough money." Well just kiss my a$$ from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Luxor! Im taking your money!!! Tropicana, Bankrupt! MGM!...
Joe: Cha Ching! Goose is right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take Vegas. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture, involving Caucasians or other mixed drinks, be done on somebody's part.
The Dude: We're just the guys to do it.
Train: Let's do it...
Goose: LET'S DO IT!!!!

Mellow Yellow

Both Seatownshawn and I have been complaining about the lack of good releases this year. But until The Roots new album not coming out until later this year, I've had to remain patient (which is never a good thing, since I'm only patient with people). That being said, the past couple of weeks I have stumbled upon four great new releases.

My friends... if you want "mellow and chill out" music, then you should definitely go out and buy the following albums. All have been released since the new year and all are very, very good. By the way, Train, I have your iPod loaded and ready for you. Plus, all of the albums below are included on the 15 gigs.

1. In the Reins -- by Iron & Wine and Calexico

Calexico is a rock band. While Iron & Wine is one dude, who writes and plays some of the most beautiful and chilled out soft folk songs around. This album has Iron & Wine backed by Calexico and with a great rhythm section, the songs come alive even more. Great album. Iron & Wine can bring the mellow with few rivals.

2. Both Sides of the Gun -- by Ben Harper

I've been a Ben Harper admirer for years. Ever since his classic debut acoustic album Welcome To The Cruel World in 1994 my first year of college when he toured through my school. This double album is moderately priced (for a double album, only a buck or two more than a normal CD these days), but is amazing. Both Sides of the Gun does not disappoint. Disk 1 is mellower than a pot smoker at a Hempfest, filled with lullaby's and acoustic wonders. Disk 2 reminds you of the classic albums and sound of what the Rolling Stones used to crank out in the 60's and 70's. Seriously, Harper brought the rock on this disk. Pure rock n' roll. Both sides get better with every listen too, an underrated feature some overlook.

3. Tiny Cities -- by Sun Kil Moon

Mark Kozelek is Sun Kil Moon. Kozelek was the frontman for Red House Painters in the 1990's, putting out 6 albums of great success. The Red House Painters song "Have You Forgotten" was on the Vanilly Sky Soundtrack, for those of you that might know. Kozelek also has released 3 albums under is own name, but it's hard to spell and you'll have to admit that the bandname Sun Kil Moon sounds way better.

Anyhoo, the first Sun Kil Moon release in 2003 was friggin rad called Ghosts of the Great Highway, and this album follows up nicely. Although Ghosts was an original album, a lot of Kozelek's albums are cover albums. This one is full of Modest Mouse covers. Weird band that I am on and off about, but Sun Kil Moon puts a mellow twist on the tunes that makes great study, reading or dinner music.

4. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood -- by Neko Case

Neko Case's last album was 2002's Blacklisted. Since then she's put her efforts into touring and collaborating with the excellent band, The New Pornographers. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood doesn't blast full throttle like a The New Pornographers output, and the twangy alt-country style of Blacklisted has been toned down for this one. I think her songwriting is stronger on this album. So if you enjoyed her debut, then you'll love Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.