Three Movie Night/Morning

Last night and this morning, I watched three movies. The first movie I watched was Max Payne, starring Mark Whalberg and Mila Kunis, at around 11 PM. Max Payne didn't go off until about 12:45 AM. Then, I played two games of Madden, won the first and lost the second. After I played Madden I watched another movie, Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. SpeedDeath Proof, part of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's movie, Grindhouse. After I watched Death Proof, I had to go to sleep, I had been up since 10:45 AM and didn't go to sleep until about 5:45 AM. Yesterday was a good day, but I wonder how I'm going to do with sleep.

BoSox Get Smacked To Begin Final Series

The Yankees smacked the Red Sox last night, 20-11. The Red Sox were losing since the first inning and tried their hardest to catch up. However, Yankee hitting would not stop. Every Yankee player scored one run or more except for Johnny Damon because he got hurt in the first inning. Hideki Matsui had a big impact on the game, with 7 RBI's and two three-run home-runs.

Pitching wasn't on for either team, it was a offensive game. Andy Pettitte gave up 7 runs to the Red Sox. After Pettitte, Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte pitched shutout innings in the 6th and 7th innings. Then Sergio Mitre came into the game in the 8th, had a shutout inning, then proceeded to give up four runs in the 9th. There goes the 11 runs for the Red Sox. Red Sox pitching was absolutely horrible, 20 runs is way too much. It all started with Brad Penny, who gave up 8 runs in four innings! Then Michael Bowden came in the game in the 5th and gave up a three-run home-run to Matsui. After Matsui, Bowden gave up three more runs in the same inning. The following inning Bowden gave up three more runs. In the 7th, Bowden was taking out and Manny Declarmen was put in, Declarmen gave up one run and was taken out the following inning. After Declarmen, Takashi Saito came in the game, he pitched a shutout inning. However, Saito was taken out for Ramon Ramirez in the 9th inning. In the 9th, Ramirez gave up four more runs. 3 runs came off the bat of Matsui. Another run came in off of a Swisher double. So there's your ball game, 20-11, Yankees.

Last night was a good game to watch if you wanted to learn how to hit. Since both teams continued to score. However, the Yankees just scored more. The Yankees now have a 7 and a half game lead on the Red Sox. That is a subsantial lead heading into the final month of the baseball season before the playoffs.

Memphis Must Vacate 38 Wins

Memphis basketball is going to be forced to give up all 38 wins in the 2007-2008 season. Apparently there were a couple of NCAA violations. However, the NCAA doesn't plan on releasing their evidence during this investigation until Thursday. The basis of the NCAA investigation was to see if someone took the SAT for a player on the Memphis basketball team. All of this happened under coach John Calipari who has had this history in the past. In 1996, when Calipari was coaching at the University of Massachusetts they also had to give up their final four berth and their wins for the season. That incident happened because Marcus Camby had accepted about $28,000 from two sports agents.

The 2007-2008 season was already disappointing for me, since Memphis lost in the championship game to Kansas in overtime. But now this scandal comes out and makes it even worse. I'm really surprised and upset that Memphis basketball did this. That was a great team and doesn't deserve to be undermined by a scandal of this stature.

Favre Does It Again

Brett Favre is going to the Minnesota Vikings. Apparently, Vikings coach, Brad Childress, told a local news station this morning that Favre was a done deal. Then the news broke on SportsIllustrated.com. This is the second year in a row that Brett Favre has come out of retirement to play football. Last year Favre, came out of retirement for the Jets and this year he'll come out yet again, for the Minnesota Vikings.

Favre is 39 years old and he will turn 40 on October 10. Does Favre love the game that much? I just hope that Favre doesn't get badly injured, because he shouldn't be playing football in the NFL. The NFL is younger and quicker now, late hits are becoming the norm, and NFL players aren't going to go easy on Favre just because of his age. Favre needs to do superb, because I think he's messing up his legacy by playing at such an old age.

Yang Defeats Woods By Three Strokes

Tiger Woods lost to Y.E. Yang in the final major of the year. Woods lost by three strokes. This is the first time Woods has ever lost after leading in a major in the final round. Woods looked like himself at times today. However, he dropped two strokes before it came time for the back nine. On the back nine Woods reached 7 under followed by a bogey which allowed Yang to tie. After that, Woods went downhill. He dropped another stroke, while Yang gained two more strokes and defeated Tiger Woods. Yang won twice today because he's the first Asian-born player to win a major.

Eagles Sign Michael Vick

Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. That's from left field. I'm really surprised that the Eagles signed Michael Vick. My Pop and I thought he was going to the Steelers or Patriots, that would've been a good fit. However, I'm not sure how Michael Vick is going to fit with the Eagles. I don't expect Vick to be leading the Eagles, but he'll be a situation player. I think Vick will only be in the game on Wildcat formations. The Eagles already have a quarterback, a good running back, and wide receiver core. Which leaves the question, why Sign Vick?

We're Getting Madden 10!

Yesterday, I got the verdict from that I would be getting Madden 10. After playing the Madden 10 demo I had a lot of doubts. I didn't like the game speed, because it moved way to slow for us. I also didn't like the way we chose our play. The last thing I didn't like was the gimmicks and overall experience of Madden 10. But all of our questions have been answered and our minds have changed.

For the last couple of weeks leading up to Madden 10's release, I've been doing my research. My research was directed at our doubts and dislikes. I spoke to one of the Lead Designers on Madden 10, Ian Cummings, and he told me that if you don't like the default game speed, you can speed it up. That was great to know. Game speed was at the core of my concerns for Madden 10.

Another thing that helped the verdict was the explanation of the play selection. Play selection in Madden 10 is going back but for the good. Madden 10 play selection is good because it cuts down on cheating (play looking), making it a much better game experience. I could actually get used to that.

My last concern was the gimmicks and overall experience. However, when I thought about it again, Madden 10 doesn't have gimmicks, but features that are closer to real life. When Madden 10 went in and added the chain gang, fumble pile-up, and more gang tackles that was a good decision. The three things I just mentioned actually happen in real-life, which makes the game better. It also makes the game more realistic. I think the overall experience has been improved, based on the information I've gathered since playing the demo in July. I'm certainly getting Madden 10 and not ending my Madden streak.

Yankees Sweep Arch Nemesis, The Boston Red Sox

On Sunday the Yankees completed a four game sweep of their rival Boston Red Sox. This was a great series. The Yankees and Red Sox were going back and forth. Plus, pitching was great, except for the first game in the series were the Red Sox lost 13-6. Both teams played well but the Yankees just played way better. The Yankees out hit the Red Sox and out pitched them. They showed their pitching to the Red Sox in the game on Friday were they went 15 innings without giving up a run. Yankee hitting was on the ball because A-Rod was clutch, and everybody pitched in with a home-run here or a single or double there. The Bronx Bombers needed this series to improve their lead in the AL East. They were only in front by 2.5 games, and in the Majors with about 50 games to go that's nothing. But they also needed to make a statement to the Red Sox and teams across Major League Baseball. I certainly think that statement was made because the Yankees showed they could hit with the best, pitch with the best and eventually beat the best.

The best games of this series were on Thursday and Friday. Thursday the Yankees smacked the Red Sox 13-6, that was the statement game. The Yankees just kept hitting home-runs and everyone was helping out in this victory. There was another good game on Friday. The game went 15 innings. It was a pitcher's duel until the Red Sox put in a rookie, Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa gave up a two run home-run to Alex Rodriguez in the 15th inning to end the game. I was sleepy and happy that the Yankees had won and the game was finally over. I was also happy when the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-2, ending a great series where the Red Sox were swept by the Bronx Bombers.

Arties + Ponyo + Borders Equals Great Sunday

Yesterday I went to symphony space with my mother to see Ponyo a movie by Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese film-maker. We also went to Arties, a famous deli located on Broadway and 83rd St. The last place we went to was Borders located near Columbus Cirlce. At borders I got 5 books: The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, The Hardy Boys book 11 and 12 by Franklin W. Dixon, and The River by Gary Paulsen.

Before my mother and I went to see Ponyo we attended Arties for lunch. At Arties I had a Roast Beef sandwich and chicken fingers along with french fries. Man those fries and chicken fingers were banging. The Roast Beef sandwich looked so good and was so big that I had to take it home to eat it. However, my mother had a Brisket of Beef sandwich and she ate about half of that. Arties food certainly hit the spot. I liked Arties overall atmosphere, it was a good experience, and I plan on going again. After lunch we headed over to Symphony Space.

At Symphony Space we watched Ponyo directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese film-maker. Before the movie began there was a long line outside about 50 minutes before the movie then they let everyone come in about a half an hour. Once we came in we immediately took in the auditorium, it was huge! Then we quickly took seats since so many people where there. It was so packed that before the movie began half of the balcony was already filled since the lower level was filled up. Once seating was alright for us, my mother got some popcorn. It was really cool since the popcorn was in a box like in the 70s and 80s. The popcorn was also delicious. After we got popcorn we sat and waited for the movie to begin. When all the previews were finished the director of the program that allowed Ponyo to be shown at Symphony Space came out. He had a few words to say about the movie then he proceeded to throw out Ponyo stuffed dolls and t-shirts. Unfortunately, I was unable to get one for my mother. When the director of the program finished speaking and throwing out souvenirs the movie began. After the movie was over at around 5 PM my mother and I went to Borders.

At Borders, I was able to get 5 books. I was really happy about re-upping on books for the rest of the summer, leading into the up coming school year. I certainly think the books will be very good. Yesterday was another great day out with my lovely mother.

Crabtree Threatens Holdout

Why would you threaten to hold out for a whole year? That's what Michael Crabtree is trying to do. What if the 49ers don't care and they go out and get another wide receiver? Leaving Crabtree to pick up the scraps for his contract. Also, Crabtree should be happy he got drafted in the first round after an injury at the NFL combine.

Crabtree thinks he is too good. If any college player that hasn't played a down in the NFL gets $15 million they should be happy. It's millions of dollars versus no money at college. Why take the chance? If Crabtree holds out who knows what's going to happen to him while he's not in the NFL. He could get hurt or go out and do something stupid. Crabtree is taking a huge risk if he holds out for the whole year. If Crabtree is this bold at least ask to be released so he can play with another team. But what you don't do is hold out a whole year.