Bones is BACK

Another one of my favorites returned tonight. This is a really good show. The characters and relationships get deeper at the right pace, and it has got some nice quirky value adds every week. Procedurals have never been this fun.

Rangers LOSE

The game was tied in the 3rd when Rachunek gave it away in front of the net. The Rangers were never able to tie it up. Costly. The Rangers are now under .500 at home and 2 points out of a playoff spot. The chances of a youth for crappy veteran trade have increased exponentially tonight.

Knick PLAY LIKE DOGS AND LOSE

The Knicks played a completely pathetic second half, and Isiah is not exempt from criticism. For some reason Thomas decided to start 3 guards in the second half, and it completely destroyed any rhythm the Knicks starters have. Curry had a great first quarter, then was awful. Lee and Jefferies took a bunch of shots they couldn't hit. Steph didn't have his good legs tonight... Just an awful loss. And it's tough not seeing the kids developing. Gerald Wallace went off all night, and Thomas wouldn't put Balkman on him. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Knicks DOWN 2 at the Half, Rangers SCORELESS after 1

Knicks need to keep Curry involved. Pock is playing for the Rangers.

Rangers Tonight

At home agains the Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm. C'mon Rangers, 3 in a row! Rozsival may be out, so Pock better be active, even if Rozsival can play, they have to bench someone to get Pock out there.

Knicks Tonight

at Charlotte, 7pm. Charlotte has been a tough match up for the Knicks, cause they play disruptive D. Never the less, the Knicks have to win this one and get some momentum going.

House is BACK

Having wrapped up the rogue cop arc, House is back on the air tonight after a few weeks off, and House is once again unbound and at his quirky best. It's an intense episode and I'm thrilled that my favorite show is back on track.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Amazing SpiderMan #25 by Steve Ditko. Behold J. Jonah Jameson in the original "Spider Slayer." What started out as a goofy machine got more and more sophisticated in its later iterations throughout the series. Still a very dynamic, life or death cover from Master Ditko.

Knicks WIN!!!!!!!!!

Curry was more on his game and played regular minutes tonight. Closer than it should have been with no Kobe, but it's a win and we will take it. Here's the boxscore. Lots of rebounds but not nearly enough assists.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270130018&refresh=30

Knicks UP 2 at the Half

The game is on tape delay out here and is just about to start. UGH.

Knicks GameNight

Ugh, QRich is out with a bad back, so Zeke is starting Jefferies again. Lee has a hammy but will go in his 6th man role. They'd be better off starting Balkman over Jefferies cause he's just flat out better. Oh well, Go Knicks!

Knicks Tonight

at home against the Lakers, 7:30 pm est. Kobe Bryant is suspended for this game. If the Knicks feel like playing for 48 minutes they can possibly win.

The Rangers WIN!!!!!!

The Rangers woke up a little and absolutely crushed the Bruins in Boston tonght, 6-1. Petr Prucha had a break out game with 2 goals and an assist. Ortmeyer was going wild and had 3 assists including the creation of a short handed opportunity for Cullen (1 goal, 2 assists), who cashed it. Shanny scored on a penalty shot. Roszival scored off the Prucha pass, and Nylander ended a power play skid by forcing one in down low (this is not the order of the goals, just as I'm remembering them).

Pock was once again a healthy scratch, which doesn't make sense.

Rangers Tonight

at Boston, 7pm. As the trade deadline approaches, it's important that the Rangers win games, especially against teams like the Bruins. It's not that a good trade wouldn't help, it's just that the Rangers don't know how to make them, and would no doubt end up dealing Prucha for another 40 year old or something...

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Some Girls (1978) The Rolling Stones. Faced with disco on one side and cutting edge punk/new wave on the other, the Stones reasserted their relevance with this `78 gem. Man, you could hear Miss You all over NYC all summer long. Beast of Burden, Shattered and Before They Make Me Run, all rocked. This album was a little leaner than Black and Blue and Love You Live, which came immediately before Girls, this disc showed the Stones could still compete.

Cool Guy Flick Alert

Rolling Thunder (American International, 1977) Directed by John Flynn and starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. This was one of three movies that Paul Schrader wrote in the mid-70's that essentially have the same plot. The other two are Hardcore and Taxi Driver. Anyway, in this one, a Vietnamese POW returns home, only to find more Hell: his family is mudered and his hand is destroyed in a robbery. The only thing he really has left that he can call his own is REVENGE. He recruits his old subordinate, Tommy Lee Jones, and derned if they don't get it. A very, very cool movie. Devane has been a terrifically underrated actor.

January Film Festival

The Godfather (Paramount, 1972) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando as the Godfather. A different director, yet another masterpiece. This is one of the great American films, and the script, the direction, the performances, the music, the casting and the cinematography are all unforgettable. It's homerun, and Coppola savvily cast noir veterans Sterling Hayden and Richard Conte to further contextualize the Godfather in the crime flick genre. Everyone is so familiar with this movie there's not much I can add, except to say, that in Hollywood, people say that when there's trouble on the set, the movies in trouble. The great exception to that rule is the Godfather. It was a nightmare to get produced, especially for FFC who was reportedly either fired or was quitting every couple of weeks. We are incredibly lucky he stayed on and saw it through.

Just a note: do to scheduling, the January Film Festival, will be continuing into February.

Knicks LOSE

In what was apparently an ugly game, the Knicks lost by 2 in Milwaukee today. They are most likely not gonna make the playoffs with efforts like this one. Lee and Balkman were outstanding and Craw rallied late, but they still lost. Curry was back but only played 28 minutes, so we have to wonder if he's healthy. Not good. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270128015

More Giants

The Giants have apparently hired Chris Palmer to be their new quarterbacks coach. His job will be to keep Eli's mechanics, which have broken down in the second halves of each of the last two seasons, sound throughout the season. Palmer had previously worked for the Cowboys, where he was NOT responsible for Tony Romo's development. That was handled by David Lee, who is now at Arkansas as an OC. In fact, you have to wade through a lot of failure to find Palmer's last success with a young QB, and that was with Drew Bledsoe in 1996. Well, let's hope this definitive retread is ready to help.

Knicks Today

At Bucks, 3:30 pm est - but don't try looking for it then, ABC is blocking the broadcast till 6pm est. Curry may be back. We need to win this one.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Dr. Strange #180, by Gene Colon. Another excellent use of the collage style Steranko and Kirby were pioneering. This was not really Dr. Strange #180, it was Strange Tales retitles when Nick Fury, Agent of Shield got his own book. This happened around the same time that Tales of Suspense became Captain America, and Tales to Astonish became The Hulk.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

The Harder They Come (Mango, 1972) Jimmy Cliff and others. This was the sound track to the movie of the same name, and provided a hell of an intro to Reggae for millions of people. The theme song is a classice and so are Many Rivers To Cross by Jimmy, and Pressure Drop by Toots and the Maytalls, one of the immortal Reggae bands. Check it out if you haven't, you can get it at Amazon.

Rangers WIN!

The Rangers won 2-1 on goals by Jagr ( a tip of Rachunek's blast) and Krog - of all people. Girardi took one penalty and may have made an error when he was getting off the ice at one point late. No goals resulted from his mistakes and he looked fine.

Rangers Today

at Philly, 1 pm est. Okay, we may get to see some real idiocy today: the Rangers have called up Girardi, an all-star D from the AHL. That's all fine and good, but in practice the player he has replaced has been Thomas Pock. Yup, our best defender may end up sitting for our newest defender, when the idea should be to have them both out there and sit one of the older stiffs like Malik, Rachunek and Rozsival. Here's hoping they don't scratch Pock for another piece of the solution.

Jamal Crawford DESTROYS the Heat!

52 points and he surely would have broken the Knicks record had it been a more competitive game and he had stayed in. Lee, Frye, Starbury and Balkman were also impressive. But tonight was all about the Craw! Cue Get Smart! memories.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270126018

Knicks up 16 at the HALF

Team ball, ladies! Marbury has ten dimes, Craw has twenty points and Lee already has nine boards! Everyone has contributed! Keep it up, Knicks!

Knicks GameNight

Curry is out, so you know what they do? They start James at C, Q at the 3 and move Crawford back in at the 2. What does David Lee have to do to start?

Knicks Tonight

Home against the Heat, 7:30 pm est. Marbury is supposed to be back, but Curry is apparently out.

Yanks Make a Curious Move

The Yanks have apparently taken Matt DeSalvo off of their 40 man roster to make room for perennial roster problem Miguel Cairo. That's right, they have dumped a once promising young pitcher for a scrubby vet. Now, DeSalvo did have a bad season in `06, but he was going through a messy divorce. What he had done before `06 justified bringing him back. This seems especially troubling because Kevin Reese, who has all the upside of a 6th outfielder is still on the 40 man roster. This is a risky move, especially if DeSalvo gets claimed and reverts to his former level of performance.

Knicks LOSE and LOSE Curry.

Eddy Curry left the game in the second half with a calf muscle strain. With he and Marbury out the Knicks were sort of easy pickin's for the Suns. Frye was in foul trouble all night and couldn't pick up any slack. Lee had his customary double double, and Craw had one, too. Here's the boxscore.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270124018

Knicks DOWN 3 at the Half

Curry had 21 points by early in the 2nd quarter and then they stopped getting the ball to him. They had a ten point lead, now they're down three. See the connection?

Knicks GameNight

Uh-boy... here goes! C'mon, Knicks! Shock the World!

Rangers Dump Kaspar

Well, it's a start. I'm not sure he's the worst veteran defender on the team, in fact, I'm pretty sure he isn't, but it's a start. Now replace him with a call-up.

Knicks Tonight

Home against the Suns, 7:30 pm est. Marbury is out and this could get really ugly. The Suns are on a 14 game winning streak... Can I get a group "Yikes!" from Knick fans?

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

The Demon #1 by Jack Kirby. This basically completes our look at his DC sojourn. The Demon was sort of a cross between the Hulk and Thor, in that it featured a man who turns into a form of monster(Hulk) but this time with the otherworldly connection (Thor). It was a pretty cool book, and I believe the Demon has since been revived in the DC Universe. Just goes to show, Kirby was still creating useful characters well past his silver age peak.

Knicks LOSE

They tried to come back, but they lost Marbury at half time, and then couldn't get the ball to Curry in the crucial third. I'm gonna spare everyone the boxscore and just home Steph gets better soon!

Knicks DOWN 15 at the Half

But it could have been much, much, much worse! They gave up a 27-0 run early in the first and were down 40-12 after 1! They took the punch and are hanging in there. I think we could still win!

Knicks GameKnight

Big break: No Shaq and no Wade for the Heat tonight. We have to win this game! C'mon, Knicks!!!!!

NYC Sounds of the Seventies

While the New York Dolls, then the Ramones, and then Blondie, Television, The Heartbreakers and The Talking Heads, were punkin' and rockin' my home town, a bunch of more mature singer-songwriters, were making pop, some critically reviled at the time, that has stood the test of time and in and perhaps by doing so, has removed the false stigma that was attached for a time to the singer-songwriters of the `70's. Here are three that were from New York, who made some great pop.

Paul Simon didn't really suffer any critical slings and arrows when he dumped Art Garfunkel for a dream of his own. On Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years, Simon made great, fun, witty and well-observed pop. Von Dropula would refer to this stuff as a creamy delight, were he to give it another listen. Songs like Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard, Mother and Child Reunion, Loves Me Like a Rock, Kodachrome, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, and Still Crazy After All These Years have really stood the test of time, and like the other stuff I'll talk about, are a comfort food for the people of NYC.

Billy Joel was not immune from massive criticism, but has emerged in retrospect as Long Island's answer to Elton John. Joel wrote really singable, often Beatles, Spector or 4 Seasons-esque songs. Working with Paul Simon's producer Phil Ramone, Joel's stuff was always really nicely produced and featured a lot of the best session musicians in NYC. Billy had had a hit with Piano Man early then disappeared for awhile while he had managerial and other problems. But he started getting airplay again with songs like Captain Jack and The Entertainer and by 1975 he was ready to make a solid album which he did: Turnstiles, he followed that up in 1977 with The Stranger, and off he went to the races. Just the Way You Are was overplayed, but songs like The Angry Young Man, Say Goodbye to Hollywood, Miami, 2017, James, Movin' Out, Only the Good Die Young, and Scenes From an Italian Restaurant have rightfully gone on.

I think Carly Simon got a bad rap. First off, she was a stone cold fox. I'm serious, she was a really, really beautiful woman and her album covers were sort of events. There are surprisingly few `70's era pictures of her on the internet, which frankly sucks. Nonetheless, she was often critically picked on for her music: they'd say they didn't like her voice or they didn't like what she was singing about, and a few of them even tried to say she wasn't good looking (I was actually reading a bio of her on the net wher they had to toss in that "she isn't a classic beauty." I really wonder about some of the distinctions people will try to make)! Of course, critics had a problem when You're So Vain hit because no one could deny it was a transcendant and brilliant pop song. It also proved she had a rhyming dictionary a few years before Elvis Costello did (yacht/gavot!). Her stuff was generally produced by Richard Perry (both Perry and Carly get mentioned in Reunion's Life is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me and dammit, that's cred right there!) who, along with Phil Ramone, is one of the great pop producers, and a lot of her songs were like soul tunes in the form they took.

Anyway, there was a sophisticated pop sound in NYC in the `70's and these three were a part of it. If you feel like giving it another listen, I'd be behind the move.

Steve Spagnuolo is the New Giant DC

He has been an Eagle assistant since `99 at both DB and LB - just where we have our biggest problems. I love this move and it brings the Giant offseason record to 2-2 in my eyes. I think we've seen the last of Osi and Strahan in coverage! Go Spags!

Knicks Tonight

at Miami, 7:30 pm est. Tough match up, but beat `em anyway, Knicks!

Parcells Retires!

And his doing so now could screw the Giants - again. Here's why: it's conceivable that the Cowboys will either buy out Charlie Weis or pay the comp to get Bill Belichick right now. This could explain Scott Pioli's odd about face on the Giant job two weeks ago. Could he and Belchick be headed to Dallas? They have a young D that Belichick would appreciate. Of course, they also have Jerry Jones. We'll see. Best case scenario for the Giants is that Dallas goes off the Parcells tree and hires someone like Bob Stoops.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Imperial Bedroom (Columbia, 1982) Elvis Costello. This was the one where Elvis teamed with old Beatle engineer Geoff Emerick and really scared some critics. It's a brilliant piece of pop music and one of Elvis's greatest achievements, and he's made a career of great achievements. Here's the rundown:

All songs written by Elvis Costello unless otherwise indicated.
"Beyond Belief" – 2:34
"Tears Before Bedtime" – 3:02
"Shabby Doll" – 4:48
"The Long Honeymoon" – 4:15
"Man Out of Time" – 5:26
"Almost Blue" – 2:50
"...And in Every Home" – 3:23
"The Loved Ones" – 2:48
"Human Hands" – 2:43
"Kid About It" – 2:45
"Little Savage" – 2:37
"Boy with a Problem" (Costello, Chris Difford) – 2:12
"Pidgin English" – 3:58
"You Little Fool" – 3:11
"Town Cryer" – 4:16

Bonus tracks (1994 Rykodisc)
"From Head to Toe" (Smokey Robinson) – 2:34 produced by Elvis Costello
"The World of Broken Hearts" (Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus) – 3:01 produced by Elvis Costello
"Night Time" (Patrick Chambers) – 2:52 produced by Elvis Costello
"Really Mystified" (Tony Crane, John Gustafson) – 2:03 produced by Elvis Costello
"I Turn Around" – 2:09 produced by Elvis Costello
"Seconds of Pleasure" (Version 2 of The Invisible Man) – 3:43 produced by Elvis Costello
"The Stamping Ground" – 3:09 produced by Elvis Costello
"Shabby Doll" (Early version) – 4:18 produced by Elvis Costello
"Imperial Bedroom" – 2:47 produced by Elvis Costello

[edit] Bonus disc (2002 Rhino)
"The Land of Give and Take" (Early version of Beyond Belief) – 3:05
"Tears Before Bedtime" (Alternate version) – 3:03
"Man Out of Time" (Alternate version) – 3:43
"Human Hands" (Early version) – 2:44
"Kid About It" (Alternate version) – 3:18
"Little Savage" (Alternate version) – 3:07
"You Little Fool" (Alternate version) – 2:59
"Town Cryer" (Fast version) – 2:15
"Little Goody Two Shoes" (Alternate version) – 3:10
"The Town Where Time Stood Still" (Alternate version) – 2:57
"...And in Every Home" (Rehearsal) – 3:12
"I Turn Around" – 2:09
"From Head to Toe" (Robinson]) – 2:34
"The World of Broken Hearts" (Shuman, Pomus) – 3:01
"Night Time" (Chambers) – 2:52
"Really Mystified" (Crane, Gustafson) – 2:03
"The Stamping Ground" – 3:09
"Shabby Doll" (Demo version) – 4:18
"Man Out of Time" (Demo version) – 3:27
"You Little Fool" (Demo version) – 3:11
"Town Cryer" (Demo version) – 3:03
"Seconds of Pleasure" (Demo version) – 3:19
"Imperial Bedroom" – 2:47

If you don't own it, it's time to. Order through Amazon!

Knicks WIN!!!!!!!!

Starbury had a gutsy game with a bad knee, and Frye and Curry were in foul trouble most of the night, but the Knicks held on and won! Yeah Knicks!!!!!!!!!! Here's the boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270120011

Rangers LOSE 3-1

As we head into the All-Star Break, remember this: Thomas Pock is currently the best Defenseman on the team, and Renney wouldn't let him play for most of the season.

Knicks Today

At Indiana, 7pm est. The schedule is rough right now and those back to back heartbreakers could really hurt in the long run. The Knicks need to go on a run.

Rangers Today

At home against Atlanta, 1pm est. Today, there are some stories indicating that the Rangers want to add Forsberg. I see. Can he start on defense?

Knicks LOSE another Heartbreaker

This was brutal. They came all the way back for 15 down to take the lead and lost on a last second tip-in. This was the same as Wednesday night. Terrible.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270119018

Rest in Peace, Denny Doherty

Papa Denny Doherty of The Mama's and the Papa's passed today. He was a great singer and one of the signature harmony voices in pop/folk history. California Dreamin'

Knicks DOWN 6 at the Half

They were down more but battled back. The Nets are doing everything in their power to deny Curry, that's included lots of cheating. Anyway, the Knicks need to look to Frye and come back and beat these town hoppers.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olson #138 by Jack Kirby. Jimmy Olson, along with New Gods, Forever People and Mister Miracle added up to Kirby's 4th World at DC comics. The Jimmy Olson's were excellent but strangely DC often had other artists redraw or ink over Jack's faces for Superman and characters like Perry White. Apparently, they actually believed having the greatest comic book artist in history handling Superman would damage the franchise. Idiots. If they'd just turned Superman over to Jack when he got their in 1970, they probably would never have had the struggles they've had with Kal-El. Alas, they had to learn.

Knicks GameNight

This is a must win against the Nets. C'mon, Knicks! Beat `Em!

More Yankees

Here's Baseball America's Top 30 Yankee Prospects
Hughes #1
Tabata #2
Sanchez #3
Betances #4
Chamberlain #5
Kennedy #6
Clippard #7
Cox #8
Whelan #9
Gardner #10
Vechionacci #11
Marquez #12
Duncan #13
Garcia #14
Melancon #15
Horne #16
Reyes #17
Jackson #18
Wright #19
Kontos #20
Montero #21
White #22
Beam #23
McAllister #24
Curtis #25
Karstens #26
Calzado #27
Sardinha #28
Norton #29
McCutchen #30

Overall, it's an impressive list (they rank our system #7 overall) but I think they have Duncan too low and Gardner and Jackson too high. I also have a philosophical disagreement over how high they rank relief only prospects.

Knicks Tonight

At home against the Nets, 7:30 pm est. It's time to start beating these guys. Go Knicks!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Mister Miracle #1 by Jack Kirby. This was another one of Kirby's DC books, and one of his most fun. Scott Free was the world's greatest escape artist and somehow this convinced him to don a wickedly cool costume and battle crime. I believe this character has been revived by DC at times, and he was always a little cooler than his set-up would have led us to believe.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Anthology (Motown, 1973) by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Smokey was not only one of the great songwriters off all time, but he was also an outstanding singer and performer in his own right and with his back up group, the Miracles. Smokey sang falsetto mostly, and when he pushed it to the breaking point on songs like Come Round Here, I'm the One You Need the results were amazing. Though he gave a lot of his best stuff to the Temps and others, he saved enough for himself to be a consistent hitmaker. This album collects them all from Shop Around to Who's Loving You? to The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage to Tears of a Clown. I think the CD version also contains Smokey's later sublime songs Cruisin' and Being With You. Order it at Amazon!

Giants Violate The Pooch

After taking one step toward future sanity by making Jerry Reese GM on Tuesday, the Giants took a somewhat typical Giant step backwards today by promoting the ham faced, retread Kevin Gilbride to offensive coordinator. Not only was he a complete failure as disappointing Eli Manning's QB coach for three years, but I believe there are still bounties on him in San Diego, Pittsburgh and Buffalo where he did some of his worst work before undoing all that was special about Eli in the SEC. There is no accountability with this franchise under the current owners, just as there was none under their predecessors. This is the guy who probably cost us at least one and likely two TD's against Philly in the playoffs by not using Brandon Jacobs. He should have been fired for that failure alone, but, instead he is promoted. Maybe the Giants think .500 is good. It's not. And neither is Coach Kildrive.

January Film Festival!

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Dir. Sergio Leone. Starring Robert DeNiro, James Woods, Tuesday Weld and Elizabeth McGovern. This was Sergio Leone's final masterpiece. It is quite simply the greatest Gangster flick of all time. As much as I believe the Godfather and Godfather Part II are perfect, this is slighly moreso. Sadly, it was chopped up for it's US release back in the `80's and never gained the mass audiencs it's longer, coherent version would have reached and amazed. This is an epic tale of friendship, violence, desire, betrayal and death - both real and repeatedly faked - guilt and time. It is one of the most amazingly filmed pieces of cinema ever. What separated Sergio from just about anyone else was his dynamic, yet painterly camera. It was an instrument he played like no other and he never put it to better use than in this, his final movie. I cannot give it a higher recommendation.

Cool Guy Flick Alert!

Right now on TCM: Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, followed by Orson Welles in Carol Reed's The 3rdMan! Foreign Correspondent is one of Hitchcock's greatest flicks, and is also, for some reason underrated among his classics. It's a great, great movie, with brilliant cinematogrophy. So is The 3rd Man, which I think I've talked about before. Great stuff!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Omac, One Man Army? #1 by Jack Kirby. This was the last major or sorta major book Jack Kirby did for DC during his `70's sojourn. Omac was yet another Kirby vision of the future. We're almost done with the DC years!

Knicks LOSE by 1

Poor D by Jared Jeffries ultimatel did them in. They had a valiant comeback in strangely reffed game. A huge game by QRich and a great defensive effort by Marbury on Arenas were wasted. Here's the boxscore. Tough loss.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270117027

Knicks Down 3 at the Half

We're not getting any calls and we're not playing good D. This is a game that we should win, but we're not there yet. C'mon, Knicks!

Knicks GameNight

They must contain Arenas! No line-up changes, so Jared Jeffries is still starting. Let's see if we can overome that and Arenas! Go Knicks!

Knicks Tonight

at Bullets, 7pm est. This would be a big win, and Arenas has been killing people just from the area where the Knicks have been getting killed. This could be a disaster if they can't stop Arenas.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

The New Gods #1 by Jack Kirby, yet another one of Jack's early `70's DC mags. He apparently missed his Thor/Asgard Marvel stuff, so made decided to make his own gods for DC. Pretty cool stuff.

Rangers LOSE 1-0

Blair Betts had the idiotic giveaway that led to the one Devil goal.

Rangers Tonight

at Devils 7:30 pm est. Rangers have played decently against the Devils this year, so who knows what to expect tonight. It's not gonna be as fun as a Knicks game till they get younger and gamer on D.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Appetite for Destruction (1988) Guns and Roses. America hadn't produced a good old hard rock band that didn't sound like tinny AM radio crap (read: all those hair bands) since Aerosmith. I think what had happened was that a lot of our most creative musicians had been repulsed by the excesses of the `70's and gone about making alternative music. Not these guys, God bless `em. They made a hard rock ablum that didn't smack of self-parody and truly rocked. Welcome to the Jungle was a rare debut anthem. Not many bands or artists should even be allowed to attempt anthems, yet here they were kicking off with one. Well done, men. I wish the road and the drugs and the egos hadn't done them in. They made a case for hard rock that was hard to deny.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Forever People #1 by Jack Kirby. This was another one of the series Jack launched during the DC sojourn. It's part of his 4th World, that has since been fully integrated into the rest of the DC Universe. This mag looked so cool on the racks back when I was little!

The Giants Finally Get One Right!

Today they promoted long time scout and player/personel guru, Jerry Reese to the post of Senior Vice President and General Manager! Way to go Giants and go get em, Jerry!!!!!!!!

Knicks WIN!!!!!!!!

Jamal Crawford struggled all day until the last few minutes where he took over and made sure the Knicks won! Shots, free throws, a big rebound, whatever we needed! Marbury, Lee, Frye and Curry were also terrific! People the Knicks are the Most Exciting Team in New York!!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270115018

Knicks UP 2 at the Half!

Channing Frye hit a 3 at the buzzer for the lead. Curry, Frye and Marbury are going off. We can and should win this!

Thank You!

You did God's Work and we can never thank you enough.

Knicks GameDay

It's a Martin Luther King Jr. matinee against Sacramento at the Garden. QRich has replaced Crawford at the starting 2, but Jared Jeffries is still starting at the 3. Go Knicks!

Rangers GameDay

Just about to start against the Bruins at the Garden. They probably won't stop embarrassing us till the get new defenders.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Kamandi #19 by Jack Kirby. Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth, was one of JK's more successful books during his DC sojourn. It clearly owed a debt to the Planet of the Apes franchise, but in a lot of ways was more fun and clever than those flicks. Of course, Kirby 's imaginations had no budget restrictions. This one was a gangster story. Good stuff!

Knicks LOSE

No D. It was pretty sad, but Anderson who can't shoot, hit like 8 three pointers and that was the difference. Here's the boxscore http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270112018

Knicks DOWN 1 at the Half

This will not stand! Okafor has 7 blocks already for the Cats. C'mon Knicks!

Knicks GameNight

Jeffries still starting - that's been suboptimal, but we still have to win!!!!! GO KNICKS!

Knicks Tonight

Home against Charlotte. Go get `em Knicks! Isn't this getting fun?

Rangers LOSE 6-4

The Rangers were down 4-0 coming into the 3rd and Lundqvist who had repalces Weekes after the first four gave up another goal. Then the Rangers launched a furious comeback, but were unable to tie it. The 6th goal came on an empty netter.

Rangers GameNight

Just got in, but they're already down 1-0 in the first.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Amazing Spiderman #73 but Johnny Romita. This illustrates an area where Marvel was inconsistent: Spidey's super strength. Man Mountain Marko was a Maggia Mob enforcer, but even as such, he shouldn't have been able to match or best Spidey's super strength. Yet he, and two other non-superpowered mobsters Kingpin and Silvermane, could bat Spidey around and did so frequently before Daredevil sort of took over mob busting. I never believed these button guys beating up Spidey and I still don't.

Rangers Tonight

at home, against the Senators, 7pm est. Let's see if they can win 1 in a row.

Knicks WIN

but didn't blow them out. Q Rich was great in his return. Curry had a double double. Here's the boxscore. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270110018

Knicks UP 19 at the Half

4 Knicks are in double figures Marbury, Curry, Frye and Q in his return. Our 3pt game is starting to come around. Let's turn up the heat and really blow out Larry Brown's team.

Knicks Game Night

The Return of Nate and Q! Go Knicks!!!!!!!!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Introducing the Hardline... (1988) Terence Trent D'Arby. Man, this guy blew it, but this album that mixed a lot of influences and a lot of great singing sure wasn't one of them. This was a startlingly good debut and I think a lot of people forget that. Wishing Well and his cover of Smokey's Who's Loving You? were outstanding. Give it another listen. I just did.

Meet the New Boss Same as the Old Boss

And I'm not talking about that fraud Tom Couhglin. These owners are exactly as bad at the football game as the last generation of owners were. This organization is terminally reactive, never proactive.

This is the same mentality that brought Reeves back in `96. It's the same group think that brought Fassel back after the San Francisco meltdown. It's the same organizational idiocy that blew up our cap by resigning Rodney Hampton - a back they knew did not train and had been ridiculously overused. This is the same foolishness that tried to replace David Meggett with Hershel Walker. The same bunch of jiveasses who won't pay top dollars for assistant coaches - but who now expect us to believe that exchanging a few cheap assistants for other cheap assistants will fix the head coach.

This organization, top to bottom has NO ACCOUNTABILITY. Coughlin was not held accountable for his failure, and the owners believe they can escape accountability for this contemptible move, just like their dad's always seemed to. This is a team that has contempt for its players and its fans.

Well, I hope we don't take this lying down. I hope we don't get fooled again.

Knicks Tonight

at home against Philly, 7:30 pm est. Should be interesting. Q and Nate will be back, and Chris Weber has just been bought out by the 6ers. An easy win? Depends on how Zeke works the expanded rotation.

Rangers LOSE 5-3

pathetic loss. Lundy was not sharp and the D was the D I've been complaining about all year.

Rangers DOWN 3-2 after two

Shoddy D and goaltending.

Rangers TIED 2-2 after one

Straka scored a goal then set up Jagr on a beauty of a pass for the other. He's having a great year. Lundqvist and the D shouldn't have given up the two goals they have so far.

Rangers Tonight

Against the Islanders at the Garden. Jagr will play! Sorry the blog was down so much today. It was as dysfunctional as the Giant Front Office till just now.

Save the Giants, Save My Laundry!

Here's the deal, a little fun while we wait for hopefully good news about our surprisingly moribund team. The season is over and I have a LOT of Giants gear ready for the laundry. Literally a pile. So here's the deal: the Giants get rid of these coaches, the stuff gets washed! The Giants announce that these coaches are staying, ths stuff gets tossed!

Giants Receive Permission to Talk to Pioli

According to radio reports, the Giants have asked for and received permission to talk to Patriot exec Scott Pioli. This is another football personality who sees the Giants as his dream job. I have three concerns about bringing him in.

1) I like Jerry Reese and think he's a more natural choice since he's establish his credentials without the benefit of a brand name coach's influence

2) I'm concerned that Pioli has been more of a Belichick functionary than his own man in NE

3) Franchise/Player relations in NE have been really strained under Pioli's watch, and I'm not sure if that has to do with Pioli intransigence or the owner's reputed cheapness.

Overall, I will like the move if it can be determined that Pioli is his own man and if he can land us the kind of coach who can WIN Superbowls for us.

UPDATE: PIOLI HAS APPARENTLY TURNED DOWN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE GIANTS!

Giants LOSE 23-20

The D just couldn't hold after Eli and Plax tied it up. Pathetic. Coughlin will be fired, and the new GM and Coach hunt will occupy the next few weeks. There's not enough thanks we can give to Tiki Barber. He's the greatest offensive player the Giants have had in my lifetime, and a certain Hall of Famer in my book. Good luck, Giants, there are big decisions ahead of you.

Giants DOWN 17-10 at the Half

Horrendous game as the Giants and Eli blow opportunity after opportunity. The Giants D ran out of gas after about 2 series. They couldn't score on first and goal from the 5 because they refused to run, then when they got the ball back with 1 minute left in the half, they refused to go to no huddle and try to get more points. Tiki seemed to storm off the field when the Giants were preparing to punt with 22 seconds left. This is looking like his last game, and it's a shame.

Giants Today

Giants at Eagles, 4:30pm Est. Wild Card Game. We'll know later today if the Tom Coughlin Era is over or if it will last another week. That all depends on whether or not we can beat the Eagles today. Our D has been utter crap since that draw play the Bears ran, but somehow, they have to stop Westbrook today and contain Garcia in the pocket. He's short and the Giants can't let him scramble or slide around to find passsing lanes. If they do those two things, they could really limit the Eagles.

On O, this could be Tiki's last game. In his career, he's been awesome the Eagles, and today he's got to do it one more time. Eli is also on the spot. He was horrible in last year's playoffs, but he's been pretty good and sometimes great against the Eagles so far. We need him to be great today. Having Shockey back should really help. Last weekend his targets were Plax and a bunch of special teamers. Let's hope Shockey can go.

On specials, we have to cover like crazy and make our kicks, also blocking up some returns would be nice. That's it. If you want to listen to the game go to:http://wfan.com/ and you can get all game data at http://giants.com/ GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rangers WIN

Straka scored again, so did Rozsival and Cullen added 2, as the Rangers just managed to beat an undermanned flu-ridden Montreal team. The Rangers led 2-0 then gave up two goals, then retook the lead 3-2 but gave up another goal. Cullen finally iced it in the 3rd. Not too impressive, and Jagr apparently injured his groin, and did not play in the 3rd period.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Woodface (1991) Crowded House. Back when I wrote up some Squeeze albums, I mentioned that another "Beatlesesque" band would be coming up. Well here it is. Crowded House was sort of descended from Split Enz, with New Zealander Neil Finn and another member of SE joining with the younger brother of yet another member of SE. Anyway, they immediately started crafting seamless pop songs. By `91 Neil Finn's brother Tim Finn, the founder of Split Enz, joined the band as they produced their greatest album, the aptly named Woodface. This one kicks off with a pretty rocking assault on American culture, Chocolate Cake, then segues into a really tuneful and often breathtaking cycle of songs including Italian Plastic, Weather With You, Fall at Your Feet, Whispers and Moans, All I Ask, It's Only Natural, and Four Seasons in One Day. This disc is simply loaded and might have been an even bigger hit had they not vented their spleens on the first song. But it's a great song, they were a great band. Dig it!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Amazing Spiderman #1 by Steve Ditko. This shows Ditko's version of the Fantastic Four, though I think Kirby might have done some work on this cover as well. They combined on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15.

Rangers Today

At Montreal, 3pm est. Let's see if we can win 4 in a row!

Knicks CRUSH Sonics

Starbury, Curry and Crawford were electric! David Lee seemed to be being rested, but still ended up with another double-double 10pts and 10 boards! Here's the boxscore!http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270105025

Knicks GameNight

I think Quentin Richardson will be back tonight. Hopefully that means less Jared J. Go Knicks!

Knicks GameNight

The Occasional Wine Tip

Check out Pagor Vina Tinto Tempranillo, it's a red wine that very woody and really terrific. It's made from spanish grapes that have been grown that their vineyard in Camarillo, CA.. It's really good, and incredibly reasonable at just 11 bucks a bottle. Plus, my friend Gary Baseman designed and drew the label. Cheers!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Young, Gifted and Black (Atlantic, 1972) Aretha Franklin. Here, in her post Memphis/Muscle Shoals phase, Aretha puts one of the greatest voices on earth to work on some well chosen covers and two really amazing original Rock Steady and Daydreaming. This seemed to be Lady Soul's answer to Carol King's Tapestry (we'll get to it) and had largely the same effect. Freeing not only herself from preconceptions and the larger machinations of the music biz, but setting an example for other artists as well. Great record!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Captain Marvel #4 by Gene Colan. Handling two of his finest characters, Mar-Vell and Subby. If they're coming out ot the water, you have to wonder when Cap's jet belt kicked in.

January Film Festival!

Once Upon A Time in the West (Paramount, 1968) Dir. Sergio Leone and starring Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards and Henry Fonda in the role of Frank. After GBU, Sergio wanted to quit Westerns and concentrate on addapting the book Hoods, which would eventually provide the basis for Once Upon A Time In America (more on that tomorrow or Monday). However, Paramount really wanted him to do another Western and so he and Bernardo Bertolucci and some guys got together and concocted a tribute to the American Western movie which became his third Masterpiece: Once Upon a Time in the West.

This is an absolutely breathtaking flick as Sergio was able to come to America and shoot John Ford's Monument Valley. Possibly because of the Paramount influence, or maybe just by Leone's own development, it's more tightly structured than More or GBU was. It also features Sergio's coolest ever opening sequence.

Anyway, you know the story, and how it was really about the end of an era. And you also know Bronson, Robards, Cardinale (WOW) and Fonda were maybe as good in some other things, but never better. This is another one of my favorite flicks. Check it out!

Knicks Tonight

At Seattle, 10:30 pm est. Go Knicks!

A Glut of Pitching

You'll immediately see where this is going. Right now, between our bullpen and AAA pitching we have a glut of major league or near majorleague pitching including: Mo, Farnsworth, Proctor, Bruney, Britton, Vizcaino, Myers, Karstens, Rasner, Veres, Hughes, Sanchez, Clippard, Ohlendorf, Jackson, White, Beam,Cox,Whelan and Pavano. We should be able to trade two of these pitchers (not the Mo, Hughes, Sanchez) to Atlanta, and get Gonzalez without trading Melky.

Even if it's not for Gonzalez, we have too many pitchers for too few spots next season, and a dearth of upperlevel position prospects on the horizon. Let's get something done.

Rangers WIN 3-2

Marty Straka with the Hat Trick! Nylander was also outstanding. Lundqvist was strong but gave up two iffy goals - one when he was trying to shoot on the empty net at the end of the game!

Rangers Inexplicably Extend Blair Betts

Whenever I get mad at the Yankess, one of my other teams invariably does something dumber. Sure the Yanks have seemed to gotten rid of Randy Johnson in a pure salary dump and brought in a first baseman who can't hit, but both of those things are rapidly curable because there is no salary cap in baseball. There is one in hockey, though, and that's why it's egregiously stupid of the Rangers to tie up 4th line crummy players with multi-year deals. They have now assured that Blair Betts will be around blocking better prospects for at least two more years. Dumb, Rangers, dumb. You have to use that cap money on playmakers. You can sign or call up a cheap Blair Betts type any time you need to. This was foolish.

Rangers GameNight

Wow, almost spaced it, but they are home agains the Flyers. Go Rangers! See if you can win 3 in a row!

The Pavano Watch Continues

That the Yanks chose to make RJ a straight salary dump tells me they really have the inside track on Roger Clemens. Thus, I still expect Carl Pavano to enter this hot pitching market and be gone before Spring Training. Just a situation to keep an eye on. I'll see what I can find out.

4 for 1

Don't know the dollars yet, but for Randy Johnson the Yanks have picked up pitchers Vizcaino, Ohlendorf, Steven Jackson and shortstop Alberto Gonzales. Would have liked Micah Owings, but I'll see what else is up with these other two prospects. We're obviously about to trade a reliever, too.

UPDATE: We're apparently paying nothing.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Fantastic Four #72, by Jack Kirby. Here's Kirby's Surfer. He invented the character, and it was basically taken away from him when SS was awarded his own book. A lot of people think that's why Kirby left Marvel.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Smile (Capitol, 1966 UNRELEASED) The Beach Boys and Smile (BriMel 2004) Brian Wilson. Creatively on fire after wrapping Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson went right to work on the single Good Vibrations, which was to be a cornerstone of his far more sophisticated and ambitious double album Smile. As you know, Brian sorta melted down due to the various pressures in his life and Smile was never released. For years he's call it "inappropriate music." Somewhat fortunately, bootleggers with suspiciously good connections to the Capitol records vaults got that music, incomplete as it was on a number of Bootlegs. Capitol itself released a bunch of it on their Good Vibrations box. All of that is worth tracking down on the Net or at the Music store.

In 2004 Brian and his new band, got back together with project lyricist Van Dyke Parks and put out a new edition of Smile, that was absolutely brilliant. Brian's new vocals couldn't match his `66 abilities, but at least we discovered what he had in mind all of those years, and it was just as awesome as it was supposed to be. Check it out!

January Film Festival!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (UA sorta, 1966) Directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwoon, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach as "Tuco." The second flick in Leone's Masterpiece Phase is probably my favorite movie. Here Clint once again plays "The Man With No Name" though he's called Blondie by those who know him. You basically know the plot, in the late stages of the Civil War three distrustful men, each displaying separate levels of corruption, compete for 200,000 in Yankee Gold. It's loaded with comedy, action, cool guy stuff and even some righteous poignancy. It simply rocks.

An interesting note, if you haven't picked it up before. GBU is actually the first of the trilogy. Toward the end of the movie, Clint finds and dons the pancho he was to wear in Fistful and More. And More definitely comes after Fistful, because in More, Manco wears a brace on his right hand - the one that was stomped in Fistful. Cool stuff, but it's hard to understand how Blondie/Joe/Manco was broke at the beginning of Fistful after being wealthy at the end of GBU. Screw it. I'm watching the flick!

Eh

So, Newsday says it could be just Vizcaino and one of Owing, Ohlendorf or Nippert from Randy and there are other reports that Doug Mientkiewicz is in NYC today taking a Yankee physical. This is a completely suboptimal set of circumstances.

Knicks Finally Win A Road Game!

Curry was back in form, and Marbury, Crawford and Lee also played well. Rebounding was the story. Here's the boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270103022

Notre Dame Tonight

The Irish are a big underdog as they head to the Sugar Bowl to face LSU. On the spot both in the game and after is Charlie Weis. Win or lose, this could be his last game as coach of Notre Dame. If the Giants have an opening next week or the week after, expect him to fill it.

Knicks Tonight

At Portland, 10pm est. I just realized they were playing. They need to stop losing!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Eerie #3! Our first Frazetta of the new year! Creepy was such a successful mag, that it's publisher's rolled out the very similar Eerie, "hosted" by Cousin Eerie, who is depicted above.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1991) by U2. U2 has turned out to be one of the most important bands of my era, and I think it was their ability to keep growing that has helped them last so long. In 1987, they hit it huge with The Joshua Tree, a cycle of incredibly powerful songs, that struck the heart like the works of Dylan and Springsteen always had. You know the songs I'm talking about. Anyway, as the album was overplayed, I started to worry that they would never get over their dedication to Springsteen. This fear was not allayed when they released Rattle and Hum, but it was when they came out with Achtung Baby. Achtung Baby was a new sound for U2, and Springsteen's influence was not nearly as monumental as it had been. You know the songs again, here, but it was their ability to create this album, just as great as The Joshua Tree, but totally different, that proved they'd be in it for the long haul. Rock on, U2!

January Film Festival!

For A Few Dollars More (UA sorta, 1965) Directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonte as Indio. This is where Leone went from supercool filmaker to supergreat filmaker. This is the first of his 4 masterpieces, and probably one of the most underrated classics movies. Clint is back as the "Man With No Name" though he's know as "Manco" in this one. He's a bounty hunter, and he he and the mysterious Colonel Mortimer are both after Indio, the mudering, robbing pothead rapist. Manco wants the reward, Mortimer wants something more.

Lee Van Cleef had been a heavy in 1950's Westerns and Crime Films, but by the mid-60's, he was a painter living in LA. Sergio liked his face and rescued him. I'm eternally grateful that he did. Van Cleef was a terrific actor and powerful screen presence. Once of the few who's been able to match up with Clint's powerful persona. Gian Maria Volonte plays Indio in this one and was the main bad guy in "Fistful." He's a great villain, but unfortunately, from my perspective, got very wrapped up in making political points in his movies after "More." He was one of the stars of the Zapata Westerns, which sort of corrupted the Spaghetti Westerns into polemics. But that's a rant for another day. Today, I'm enjoyine one of my favorites.

More Yanks

Well, there are now media reports that they Yanks have agreed on a three player package for Randy Johnson. Sadly, it seems at this time that there is no possible core bat in the mix. The most likely takeback is Owings (who I like), Ohlendorf (sinker baller who has a good K rate) and either Medders or Vizcaino (fungible relievers). If we look at this possibility in isolation, it would appear that Cashmoney Green has not taken advantage of this historically high pitching market. If we look at it in the context of other possible moves getting Clemens in would be good, but trading the major league reliever we acquire and Melky for Mike Gonzales would be troubling.

We seem to be cornering the young right hander pitching market but a short term shortage of impact bats is looming like a funnel cloud.

UPDATE: Apparently the Yanks have denied the DBacks a shot at face to face negotiation, and I'm hearing the Padres may have actually moved into first place in the Randy sweepstakes! Stay tuned!

Shoot Out in Jersey!

Go Lundy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ranger GameNight

Apparently Jed Ortmeyer is apparently back. Let's see if we can win 2 in a row, I'll most likely be switching to the Bowl game when it starts.

January Film Festival!

Every year, I start off by watching my favorite flicks. We'll see how many we get through this month, but I always start out with Sergio Leone, and so today, I'm revisiting:
A Fistful of Dollars ( UA sorta, 1964) Dir. Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "The Man With No Name" though, he is called Joe by the friends he makes in this one. Sergio Leone had been struck by how American John Sturges had adapted Kurosawa's Seven Samurai into The Magnificent Seven. Leone felt he could do likewise and so adapted Yojimbo into Fistful. Leone, unlike Sturges, picked up more than a story from Kurosawa and I would argue, ultimately trumped Kurosawa's camera work over his ensuing masterpiece phase. Anyway, Kurosawa had sort of stolen the Yojimbo story form Dashiell Hammet to begin with. So here we are: the first of the Dollars Trilogy to appear, and the flick right before Sergio began his Masterpiece period. We'll try to watch all of them this week!

Rocket Redux?

With Randy Johnson back from vacation and negotiating with the D-Backs, a trade for some collection of young players should be completed in the next few days. Reports are that the Yanks will then turn their attention to bringing Roger Clemens back for a full, not partial season. This would be a great get for the Yanks, as he's another pitcher who wouldn't require a long deal, and might be a good influence on Hughes, etc.

It will be impossible to render an opinion pro or con on the Johnson deal before all of players and Yankee dollars are known. Obviously if the Yanks are throwing in a big fraction of Randy's salary, they have to get back top prospects or young major leaguers

Rangers Tonight

At Devils, 7:30 pm est. Go Rangers!

Knicks Tonight

At Sacramento, 10pm est. Knicks have to start winning again. They're worried about teams doubling Curry. His teammates need to help him there, and give him an easy pass.

Boise State WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite teams just pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Bowl history with their overtime win over Oklahoma. Congrats to both teams, and what a way to start a year. Our year!

Starting Tomorrow

My favorite flicks! I'll watch a couple a day, till my new SHOWS start.

Congrats, Coach Knight!

880!!!!!! Keep preaching man and the motion offense!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Enjoy the Bowl Games today, and then please experience the most gratifying and productive years of your life so far! Let's make the world better! God bless you all!