So here they are, what many people talk about for a year after the last Academy Award ceremony. First the list of nominees (or at least the major awards):
Best Picture:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Actor in a Leading Role:
Javier Bardem "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg "Social Network"
Colin Firth "King's Speech"
James Franco "127 Hours"
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Christian Bale "The Fighter"
John Hawkes "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo "The Kids Are Alright"
Geoffrey Rush "King's Speech
Actress in a Leading Role:
Annette Benning "The Kids Are Alright"
Nicole Kidman "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams "Blue Valentine
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter "King's Speech"
Melissa Leo "The Fighter"
Hailee Statfield "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver "Animal Kingdom"
Directing:
Darren Aronofsky "Black Swan"
David O'Russell "The Fighter"
Tom Hooper "King's Speech"
David Fincher "Social Network"
Joel and Ethan Coen "True Grit"
While there are many other categories, I feel as though there is no serious need to name them all. In looking at some of them, I think it's pretty safe to say that Toy Story 3 will win for Animated Feature Film and besides not as many people care about the Foreign Film, Costume Design, and a few other categories. Yes it is cool to see your personal favorite movie win, but when the person gets up there to give their speech do you really pay attention? Alright so onto the big awards.
Best Picture: Now this year might be one of the biggest years for the best picture category with 9 nominees, all in my opinion, worthy nominees. Now I never take what happens at the Golden Globes into account w/ the Oscars because I ultimately like to think the right movie will win. I always try to make it a point to see all of the Best Picture nominated films, this year I've seen: "Social Network", "True Grit", "Toy Story 3", "Inception", and "the Fighter". I have intentions of seeing the "Kings Speech" but the others for some reason I have no motivation. Based on my opinion and those of people who I deem to be "movie experts" I boil the race down to two movies: "King's Speech" and "The Fighter". There are many who won't agree with me but that's okay. Colin Firth in the "Kings Speech" was simply outstanding, with a phenomenal supporting cast, that makes the entire movie magnificent. However I do ultimately think that Academy will vote "The Fighter" as it hits home to American society with the blue-collar boys from Lowell, MA and the struggle with crack addiction. Winner: The Fighter. (A surprise upset could come from The Social Network).
Directing: Some newcomers in the category this year and some returning. Many people have dubbed the Coen Brothers as some of the best directors ever with their films and they deserve it. This year especially with "True Grit". They're remastered version of the classic John Wayne Western is stunning. When watching the movie you feel as though you are there with the characters, while John Wayne and the original may not be topped ever, they did a phenomenal job. The most popular director and movie in the category, David Fincher w/ the "Social Network". Facebook is one of the most popular websites, ever, but it's more than that. Going behind the scenes and really divulging into the drama and scandal behind it all, Fincher does a phenomenal job capturing the emotions, stress, anger and resentment between all the "founding" parties. A real snub this year in the nominations is directed towards Christopher Nolan for "Inception". The movie is a Best Picture nominee, yet Nolan did not receive a Directing nod. Something is not right in this equation. Nolan's film is mind-blowing and without him in the director's chair it wouldn't even come close to the film it turned out to be. Winner: Joel and Ethan Coen "True Grit"
Actor in a Leading Role: Now there are a lot of talks as to why Marky Mark was snubbed for this award and as well for Bale only getting a Supporting Actor nod. Both men were brilliant and near spot on in their portrayals of the loyal Lowell brothers, while Wahlberg may have not been as flashy as Bale, but those were the guys in real life, and they played them perfectly. Jeff Bridges' nod is well deserved, he could surprise people and pull out the win. Jesse Eisenberg's performance in "The Social Network" was mesmerizing playing the arrogant, brilliant, un-emotional, and socially awkward Facebook Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg. A downright shame was Ryan Gosling's snub for "Blue Valentine" his performance was far superior to Javier Bardem's. But then we look at Colin Firth and there may not have been a better performance of the year. Winner: Colin Firth "King's Speech" (surprise upset: Jesse Eisenberg)
Actor in a Supporting Role: How can the Academy nominate Christian Bale for his role as Dicky Eklund in "The Fighter" and not Mark Wahlberg for his as Mickey Ward? While I believe they were both lead roles, if you're going to nominate one you need to nominate the other. Both of them had Oscar-worthy performances. I have failed to see the other films nominated in the category but Geoffrey Rush's performance I've heard is nothing short of spectacular as Firth's speech adviser. After seeing the "King's Speech" I can report back. I do think despite the other performances I can confidently say that Bale is going to win. In the minutes during the credits where we see Dickey in real life you can see just how good Bale was. Winner: Christian Bale "The Fighter"
Actress in a Leading Role: Majority of the movie going population who has seen "The Kids Are Alright" will agree that Annette Benning deserves this Oscar more than anyone else. Even in only the parts I've seen of her in previews she does an outstanding job. If she doesn't win I think it will rock Oscar nation. I am quite surprised that Michelle Williams got a nod for her role in "Blue Valentine". She was good, but Ryan Gosling was better. The underdog however in this category goes to Natalie Portman in "Black Swan". She stole the Golden Globe this year and could surprise everyone with the upset at the Academy Awards. I still stand by my original pick though. Winner: Annette Benning "The Kids Are Alright".
Actress in a Supporting Role: One of the biggest snubs of the nominations this year is Hailee Statfield's nomination in this category for her role in "True Grit". Not only was she in about 95% of the frames in the movie, a main character in the story, she was also the movies narrator. Her voice was perfect for the film as was her acting in the young girl out to find revenge for her father's death. The least the Academy could do after that snub of not giving her a lead actress nod is give her this award. The only other nominees who could steal this trophy from her would be the leading ladies of "The Fighter". Amy Adams and Melissa Leo played their parts well as the spirited girlfriend of Mickey Ward and the domineering but loving mother of Eklund and Ward. Both of these ladies showed the movie world what it was like to live with this family and the crazy that went along with it. No one else in this category even comes to close to what these 3 ladies did. Winner: Hailee Statfield "True Grit".
It'll be interesting who comes up with what statue to say the least. I hope I'm at least right on a few of these so I don't look like too much of an idiot.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
AFC/NFC Championship Sunday
There are many words that can be used to describe the emotions that ran through the 4 teams in the AFC/NFC Championships and their fans: excitement, heartbreak, defeat, anxiousness, anger, nervousness, joy, frustration. God knows what else. At the end of the day only two teams could prevail. For the NFC Championship it would either be the Chicago Bears or the Green Bay Packers, the oldest rivalry in the NFL. And for the AFC Championship the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Jets, a newly formed rivalry.
Sunday started off with the Packers at the Bears. A game that I think even some Steelers and Jets fans were more excited about. The oldest rivalry in football. Haven't played each other in the playoffs since 1941 (where the Bears won) so we were long overdue for a rematch. The hype leading up to the game didn't disappoint. Active players, retired Hall of Famers, and fans alike took sides. Even former pro wrestler Triple H endorsed the Packers and praised Aaron Rodgers for his "title belt" TD celebration. Both teams had played great games the week before, the Packers more-so than the Bears with their stomping of the Falcons, 48-21. For the 2 p.m. kick-off, the temperature in the teens with a wind-chill in the single digits, it's this generations "Ice Bowl". From the beginning the Packers seemed to be in control of it all. On their first drive, Rodgers was perfect closing with his own 1-yd TD run. 7-0 Packers. Jay Cutler and the Bears just couldn't get their offense going relying heavily on their defense. The next thing they know, they're down 14-0 after a Starks TD run. Halftime. Going into the lockerroom GB is more than pumped up, but the Bears needed to figure something out. Rodgers had cooled off after the opening drive and the game wasn't going exactly as many thought it would after the first quarter. Coming back onto the field for the start of the 3rd quarter, Cutler didn't last. With an injured knee he was benched, back-up QB Collins was put in but brought out almost as fast after 2 near INTs. Now things relied on 3rd string QB Hanie and to everyone's surprise, he played extremely well. The Bears made things interesting with two TDs in the 4th quarter, but the 2nd one just too late. Like many people said beforehand, it was going to be a defensive game, and that's exactly what it was. The Packers sealed their ticket to Dallas on two defensive plays. First, BJ Raji, 338 lb D-Lineman, intercepted Hanie and ran it 19 yds for the TD. Second, Sam Shields, an undrafted player, closed the door on the Bears with his interception during one of the Bears last plays with 1:00 left in the game. That was it, the Green Bay Packers are going to the Superbowl.
After the game, speculation started to come out about Cutler leaving the game. People were questioning whether he just quit on the team or was truly injured (Turns out he tore his MCL). In the Packers lockerroom, Terry Bradshaw asked Clay Matthews if he was surprised that Cutler left the game. His response: "well yeah, you expect 4 quarters out of him. We hit him pretty hard, I guess hard enough to knock him out". Its hard as a fan and a player not to question when your starting QB, or anyone for that matter, leaves the game seemingly hurt, but appears to be okay on the sidelines. Especially when he's not playing well and your team is losing in the final game before the Super Bowl. Brian Urlacher defended him like any teammate should saying that if he could have played he would have, no questions, but clearly he wasn't 100% so he had to sit.
Moving on to the evening game, NY Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers. While it may not have been hyped up like the Packers/Bears game, it still had a lot of nervous fans biting their nails through the whole game. Like the NFC championship, the Steelers seemed in control of the game from the start. They took the lead 10-0, far from being over but then things took a turn for the worse for the Jets. In :47 seconds they were suddenly down 24-0. Big Ben's 2-yd TD run then a fumble recovery for a TD surged the Steelers into the lead. Going into the half the Jets were at least on the board, 24-3. Halftime. Something kickstarted the Jets, and 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter they were only down 14, 24-10 with a lot of football left to play. 4th quarter starts and many fans on both sides thought the game was over, but we've seen crazier things happen. A safety and a TD brought the Jets within in striking distance, 24-19. Was the unthinkable about to happen? Were the Steelers going to crumble like the Ravens did the week before? Were we going to see two 6 seeded teams in the Superbowl? As much as Jets fans would have liked, no, it didn't happen. Steeler Nation prevailed. Time ran out on the Jets hopeful comeback and their season was over.
So now we have it. Superbowl XLV (45 for those of you who don't pay attention). Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. The two nations going head to head. There may not be bigger fan bases in the NFL, and not to mention, fan bases that travel extremely well. All Cowboys fans in the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth area should probably refrain from leaving their houses and wearing any Cowboys gear is pretty much asking for it. 2 weeks from today one team will be returning back to their respective city with the Lombardi Trophy in hand. Who will you root for? We all know my allegiance.
Sunday started off with the Packers at the Bears. A game that I think even some Steelers and Jets fans were more excited about. The oldest rivalry in football. Haven't played each other in the playoffs since 1941 (where the Bears won) so we were long overdue for a rematch. The hype leading up to the game didn't disappoint. Active players, retired Hall of Famers, and fans alike took sides. Even former pro wrestler Triple H endorsed the Packers and praised Aaron Rodgers for his "title belt" TD celebration. Both teams had played great games the week before, the Packers more-so than the Bears with their stomping of the Falcons, 48-21. For the 2 p.m. kick-off, the temperature in the teens with a wind-chill in the single digits, it's this generations "Ice Bowl". From the beginning the Packers seemed to be in control of it all. On their first drive, Rodgers was perfect closing with his own 1-yd TD run. 7-0 Packers. Jay Cutler and the Bears just couldn't get their offense going relying heavily on their defense. The next thing they know, they're down 14-0 after a Starks TD run. Halftime. Going into the lockerroom GB is more than pumped up, but the Bears needed to figure something out. Rodgers had cooled off after the opening drive and the game wasn't going exactly as many thought it would after the first quarter. Coming back onto the field for the start of the 3rd quarter, Cutler didn't last. With an injured knee he was benched, back-up QB Collins was put in but brought out almost as fast after 2 near INTs. Now things relied on 3rd string QB Hanie and to everyone's surprise, he played extremely well. The Bears made things interesting with two TDs in the 4th quarter, but the 2nd one just too late. Like many people said beforehand, it was going to be a defensive game, and that's exactly what it was. The Packers sealed their ticket to Dallas on two defensive plays. First, BJ Raji, 338 lb D-Lineman, intercepted Hanie and ran it 19 yds for the TD. Second, Sam Shields, an undrafted player, closed the door on the Bears with his interception during one of the Bears last plays with 1:00 left in the game. That was it, the Green Bay Packers are going to the Superbowl.
After the game, speculation started to come out about Cutler leaving the game. People were questioning whether he just quit on the team or was truly injured (Turns out he tore his MCL). In the Packers lockerroom, Terry Bradshaw asked Clay Matthews if he was surprised that Cutler left the game. His response: "well yeah, you expect 4 quarters out of him. We hit him pretty hard, I guess hard enough to knock him out". Its hard as a fan and a player not to question when your starting QB, or anyone for that matter, leaves the game seemingly hurt, but appears to be okay on the sidelines. Especially when he's not playing well and your team is losing in the final game before the Super Bowl. Brian Urlacher defended him like any teammate should saying that if he could have played he would have, no questions, but clearly he wasn't 100% so he had to sit.
Moving on to the evening game, NY Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers. While it may not have been hyped up like the Packers/Bears game, it still had a lot of nervous fans biting their nails through the whole game. Like the NFC championship, the Steelers seemed in control of the game from the start. They took the lead 10-0, far from being over but then things took a turn for the worse for the Jets. In :47 seconds they were suddenly down 24-0. Big Ben's 2-yd TD run then a fumble recovery for a TD surged the Steelers into the lead. Going into the half the Jets were at least on the board, 24-3. Halftime. Something kickstarted the Jets, and 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter they were only down 14, 24-10 with a lot of football left to play. 4th quarter starts and many fans on both sides thought the game was over, but we've seen crazier things happen. A safety and a TD brought the Jets within in striking distance, 24-19. Was the unthinkable about to happen? Were the Steelers going to crumble like the Ravens did the week before? Were we going to see two 6 seeded teams in the Superbowl? As much as Jets fans would have liked, no, it didn't happen. Steeler Nation prevailed. Time ran out on the Jets hopeful comeback and their season was over.
So now we have it. Superbowl XLV (45 for those of you who don't pay attention). Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. The two nations going head to head. There may not be bigger fan bases in the NFL, and not to mention, fan bases that travel extremely well. All Cowboys fans in the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth area should probably refrain from leaving their houses and wearing any Cowboys gear is pretty much asking for it. 2 weeks from today one team will be returning back to their respective city with the Lombardi Trophy in hand. Who will you root for? We all know my allegiance.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
NFL Playoffs
It's to no one's surprise that I'm a huge sports fan. It's hard for me to determine what sport I enjoy the most because there are different parts of each one that suck me in. It's hard to top March Madness or the Final Round at the Masters, but right now all I can think about is the Green Bay Packers and their march to Superbowl XLV (45).
The past two weekends of wildcard and playoff games have been a rollercoaster to say the least. Some predictable others not so much, actually wait, I don't think there is one game that has gone as predicted. After the first 2 rounds, the number one seeds (Falcons and Patriots) are both gone and the defending Super Bowl Champions, New Orleans Saints, were knocked off as well. I think majority of sports fans didn't see this coming. Everyone wants their team to win, but often times we find ourselves rooting for other teams with hopes that we'll play the team that may not be as good, however are surprised when the expected winner loses.
Wildcard Weekend:
Jets over Colts (17-16). Ravens over Kansas City (30-7). Packers over Eagles (21-16). Seahawks over Saints (41-36). Fans alike expected the Ravens to win, that was a given, but the other games caused a few more heart attacks. Starting with the Jets/Colts game. It was truly up for grabs really. The injured Colts were struggling to hold on, but no one ever overlooks P. Manning, however Sanchez and the Jets stayed on top, barely, to pull out the victory. The Packers/Eagles game was going to be close, everyone knew that. Michael Vick is a phenomenal QB but the Packers D has been near impossible to break this year and their offense has been exceptional with Rodgers as their leader. With the final minutes winding down, Philly was making a run to win the game, but all thanks to Tremon Williams' phenomenal INT in the endzone, that drive was halted faster than Vick's dog fighting trial. The biggest surprise of the weekend however, the Seahawks defeat of the Saints. The defending Super Bowl champs weren't as good as they were the previous season, however going up against the 7-9 Seahawks no one thought this upset would happen. Down at the half, the Seahawks never gave up. With the "Return that Shocked Seattle" the Seahawks came out victorious. New Orleans came into the game with the mindset that it would be an easy victory and advance to the next round. Now they're back in their homes kicking themselves.
Divisional Round:
Jets over Patriots (28-21). Pittsburgh over Baltimore (31-24). Packers over Falcons (48-21). Bears over Seahawks (35-24). Who would have thought the two #1 seeds would both be gone in the divisional round? Well Packer Nation and Jets fans probably knew it, and a few other serious football fans, but not many others. With the Jets going to Gilette stadium to play the Patriots, not many people thought Sanchez would prevail over multi-MVP Tom Brady and his all-stars, but they did. Same thing with the Saints the week before, the Patriots didn't show up to play. They thought it was going to be an easy win, but it wasn't. The Bears/Seahawks game went as expected, the Bears won and Seattle faltered, nothing else. The Ravens/Steelers game was one that was up for grabs. Both teams had potential to win, it was just a matter of who could play for an hour with the least mistakes. Ravens took the early lead and seemed as if they had control of the game, until they crumbled like the Berlin Wall in the 80's. Mistake after mistake, the Steelers capitalized and prevailed. Now the #1 seeded Falcons had a lot of expectations to live up to, a lot of people thought the inexperienced Matt Ryan could take them to the SuperBowl, but the Packers had other plans. In their first meeting, yes the Falcons won, but barely. The Packers have been on the radar for the SuperBowl this entire season. They were never blown out of a game (all loses were by 3 or fewer points) and when they were playing well, it was dangerous. This game there was no stopping the Packers on either side of the ball. Aaron Rodgers was close to perfection (31/36, 366 yds, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD) the Falcons defense couldn't stop him. In reality, the Falcons offense only score 1 TD (kickoff return and an INT return were the other 2). But the most interesting fact... the Packers did not punt once in the game, not once. That game could have easily been 50 or more to 7.
And now we wait for the AFC and NFC championships this Sunday. The NY Jets @ Pittsburgh Steeler, a game that could go either way. The Jets have already beaten Pittsburgh at home this year, but after the Baltimore game the Steelers are in full steam and ready to get to the SuperBowl for another Lombardi trophy. This year however, the game to watch is the NFC Championship game: Packers vs. Bears, the coveted rivalry. They haven't played each other in the playoffs since 1941. This year they split the games each winning at home, but now it's different. This game is for all the marbles. Win or go home. It's hard to believe that any team could beat the Packers right now with the way they've been playing, but especially this year, anything can happen.
As a life long Packer fan, we obviously know who I'm rooting for. I'm considering going down to Chicago to watch the game with some Bears fans but as superstitious as I am I'm not sure I can leave the comforts of my home after watching the game there last week. Either way, I will be sporting the Acme Packers shirt I received for my birthday (Jan 4th) for it has been worn for the Eagles and Falcons game therefore it obviously will be worn until they lose. 4 teams remain, only 2 can move on. Root for whoever you want but now it comes down to which team can step up to the pressure.
Go Packers.
The past two weekends of wildcard and playoff games have been a rollercoaster to say the least. Some predictable others not so much, actually wait, I don't think there is one game that has gone as predicted. After the first 2 rounds, the number one seeds (Falcons and Patriots) are both gone and the defending Super Bowl Champions, New Orleans Saints, were knocked off as well. I think majority of sports fans didn't see this coming. Everyone wants their team to win, but often times we find ourselves rooting for other teams with hopes that we'll play the team that may not be as good, however are surprised when the expected winner loses.
Wildcard Weekend:
Jets over Colts (17-16). Ravens over Kansas City (30-7). Packers over Eagles (21-16). Seahawks over Saints (41-36). Fans alike expected the Ravens to win, that was a given, but the other games caused a few more heart attacks. Starting with the Jets/Colts game. It was truly up for grabs really. The injured Colts were struggling to hold on, but no one ever overlooks P. Manning, however Sanchez and the Jets stayed on top, barely, to pull out the victory. The Packers/Eagles game was going to be close, everyone knew that. Michael Vick is a phenomenal QB but the Packers D has been near impossible to break this year and their offense has been exceptional with Rodgers as their leader. With the final minutes winding down, Philly was making a run to win the game, but all thanks to Tremon Williams' phenomenal INT in the endzone, that drive was halted faster than Vick's dog fighting trial. The biggest surprise of the weekend however, the Seahawks defeat of the Saints. The defending Super Bowl champs weren't as good as they were the previous season, however going up against the 7-9 Seahawks no one thought this upset would happen. Down at the half, the Seahawks never gave up. With the "Return that Shocked Seattle" the Seahawks came out victorious. New Orleans came into the game with the mindset that it would be an easy victory and advance to the next round. Now they're back in their homes kicking themselves.
Divisional Round:
Jets over Patriots (28-21). Pittsburgh over Baltimore (31-24). Packers over Falcons (48-21). Bears over Seahawks (35-24). Who would have thought the two #1 seeds would both be gone in the divisional round? Well Packer Nation and Jets fans probably knew it, and a few other serious football fans, but not many others. With the Jets going to Gilette stadium to play the Patriots, not many people thought Sanchez would prevail over multi-MVP Tom Brady and his all-stars, but they did. Same thing with the Saints the week before, the Patriots didn't show up to play. They thought it was going to be an easy win, but it wasn't. The Bears/Seahawks game went as expected, the Bears won and Seattle faltered, nothing else. The Ravens/Steelers game was one that was up for grabs. Both teams had potential to win, it was just a matter of who could play for an hour with the least mistakes. Ravens took the early lead and seemed as if they had control of the game, until they crumbled like the Berlin Wall in the 80's. Mistake after mistake, the Steelers capitalized and prevailed. Now the #1 seeded Falcons had a lot of expectations to live up to, a lot of people thought the inexperienced Matt Ryan could take them to the SuperBowl, but the Packers had other plans. In their first meeting, yes the Falcons won, but barely. The Packers have been on the radar for the SuperBowl this entire season. They were never blown out of a game (all loses were by 3 or fewer points) and when they were playing well, it was dangerous. This game there was no stopping the Packers on either side of the ball. Aaron Rodgers was close to perfection (31/36, 366 yds, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD) the Falcons defense couldn't stop him. In reality, the Falcons offense only score 1 TD (kickoff return and an INT return were the other 2). But the most interesting fact... the Packers did not punt once in the game, not once. That game could have easily been 50 or more to 7.
And now we wait for the AFC and NFC championships this Sunday. The NY Jets @ Pittsburgh Steeler, a game that could go either way. The Jets have already beaten Pittsburgh at home this year, but after the Baltimore game the Steelers are in full steam and ready to get to the SuperBowl for another Lombardi trophy. This year however, the game to watch is the NFC Championship game: Packers vs. Bears, the coveted rivalry. They haven't played each other in the playoffs since 1941. This year they split the games each winning at home, but now it's different. This game is for all the marbles. Win or go home. It's hard to believe that any team could beat the Packers right now with the way they've been playing, but especially this year, anything can happen.
As a life long Packer fan, we obviously know who I'm rooting for. I'm considering going down to Chicago to watch the game with some Bears fans but as superstitious as I am I'm not sure I can leave the comforts of my home after watching the game there last week. Either way, I will be sporting the Acme Packers shirt I received for my birthday (Jan 4th) for it has been worn for the Eagles and Falcons game therefore it obviously will be worn until they lose. 4 teams remain, only 2 can move on. Root for whoever you want but now it comes down to which team can step up to the pressure.
Go Packers.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
2011 BCS National Championship
So I don't think last night was the game we were all expecting. Well maybe the outcome but the final score was far from what many NCAA football fans were expecting, especially those from Oregon and Auburn. Between my group of friends we were very split between these two teams. The SEC crew were not foiled that the Ducks would beat the Tigers, however there were many others who believed that Oregon's fast paced play was going to get the best of Auburn's defense. Last night's game is the reason why I love watching college football. It came down to the final seconds, there wasn't a purely dominant team, which to me displays that the right teams were chosen for the national championship game. While it can be argued that Stanford or TCU may have deserved it as well, we can't dwell on what could have been and just accept what was.
Leading up to the game like every year experts across the nation were trying to figure out what each teams game plan would be, how exactly they were going to win. Oregon during the season was purely dominant in the run game, averaging 300 yds per game, and their quick offense wore defenses down before the 1st quarter could even come to a close. Not to mention their "fancy" trick plays with shovel passes and reverses that confuse many teams in the NCAA kept their offense near impossible to read thus resulting in high scores. However, Auburn is from the SEC conference. A dominant conference in NCAA football. The SEC is known for already fast paced games so the fast paced Oregon offense wasn't going to be that shocking to Auburn. Not to mention Auburn does have the (controversial) Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. How was Oregon going to stop him? Not only can he throw the ball but he's a phenomenal runner and knows how to make plays.
The game started last night Oregon won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick off. Majority of the sports world expected this to be a game of offense. Some sort of score on every offensive drive. If each offense would have been on their game last night it could have easily been a 53-50 final score. After the 1st quarter ended it was still 0-0. Something no one expected. Each team had an INT in the 1st quarter, but no results from either turnover. Something that both teams throughout the regular season were successful with. The 2nd quarter began and that's where we finally started to see the teams settle into their usual game. Oregon went up 3-0. Then Auburn scored, 7-3. Almost immediately Oregon reciprocated but then also faked the FG and scored the 2-pt conversion, 11-7. Auburn safety, 11-9. Auburn TD, 16-11. This was the kind of game people were expecting. Fast offensive drives and scoring going back and forth. Going into the half with the lead Auburn was pumped up, but Oregon wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Only 4 minutes into the half Auburn scored a field goal to make it 19-11. A lot of football fans, not really rooting for either team, at this point started to believe that Auburn was going to run away with the game. They had the lead at the half and came out to score first in the 3rd quarter. It seemed as though Oregon was beat. The rest of the 3rd quarter despite turnovers, big 3rd down plays and a few defensive plays by both teams, the score remained 19-11 going into the final 15 minutes of the game. Running down the clock in the 4th quarter Auburn was still up by 8. Oregon needed a touchdown with a 2-pt conversion to just tie the game. And that's exactly what they got, with 2:33 left in the game. After Casey Matthews forced Newton to fumble the ball (a phenomenal play) Oregon marched into the endzone with 2 perfectly executed plays. 1st the 2-yd pass from Thomas to LaMichael James for the TD and then the pass to Jeff Maehl for the 2pt conversion. Game tied 19 all. From that point on however, it was Auburn's ball.
Using the last 2:30 on the clock marching down the field. All they needed was a FG to win. After a poor tackle by Oregon that resulted in a 37-yd run from Auburn (runner was never down on the play and continued to run) Auburn was set up to win the game with a TD. However down at the 1 they were forced to figure out a new game plan to not allow Oregon to even have another chance for a hail mary kickoff return to win the game. As unlikely as that would be, we've seen crazier plays to win a game. Auburn with 10 seconds left went back on the field, spiked the ball and used one of their remaining timeouts with 2 seconds left. Just enough time to kick the winning field goal and leave Oregon no time to rebuttal. Auburn became the 2011 BCS National Championship with a final score of 22-19. A significantly lower score than expected by the entire NCAA nation, but it came down to the final seconds literally, and Auburn prevailed.
As a general college football fan I just wanted to see a good game, and that's exactly what I got, but I openly cheered for Oregon. While it was a near even spread I wanted to see the "underdog" prevail. The SEC is very clearly the most dominant conference in college football but to see that a team from the PAC-10 held it's own was refreshing. A friend posted on Facebook: "Stanford could have beaten either one of those teams" and while that may be true, we'll never actually know. For the first time in a long time, I think I am happy with the entire game. There were no really bad calls against either team, maybe a few holding calls here and there overlooked, but the officiating crew did a fantastic job at making the right calls on both teams.
One thing that made me believe that there is still good in this sport, in the coaches and players, was Gene Chizik. Defensive linemen Fairley, dominant throughout the entire game was called twice on personal fouls during the game. One when he pushed Jones' back into the ground after a tackle and pretty much near kneed him in the face as well as he pushed his helmet into the ground later in the game. I am not condoning his actions by any means, and neither did Chizik. As the head official was announcing the penalty the cameras zoomed to Chizik screaming at Fairley for what he did. Seeing Fairley being scolded for his actions was a breath of fresh air. No player should ever play like that, in any sport.
Now that the 2010-2011 college football season is over I can focus my full attention to UConn bball and the Packers playoff push. This year was an interesting year to say the least. The Big Ten usually dominant in bowl games was shut out, Boise State was denied what they thought was their chance at the BCS title game when they lost to Nevada. Teams like Wisconsin who dominated with more than 160 points in their last 3 games of the reg season, lost in the Rose Bowl to TCU, prove that there should be a playoff system because at the end of the regular season there was no team that could have beaten the Badgers. I look forward to the next season but it shall be interesting first to see who is going to go into the draft and change their college teams game plan for the upcoming season.
Congrats again to Auburn on the national championship, y'all earned it. War Eagle!
Leading up to the game like every year experts across the nation were trying to figure out what each teams game plan would be, how exactly they were going to win. Oregon during the season was purely dominant in the run game, averaging 300 yds per game, and their quick offense wore defenses down before the 1st quarter could even come to a close. Not to mention their "fancy" trick plays with shovel passes and reverses that confuse many teams in the NCAA kept their offense near impossible to read thus resulting in high scores. However, Auburn is from the SEC conference. A dominant conference in NCAA football. The SEC is known for already fast paced games so the fast paced Oregon offense wasn't going to be that shocking to Auburn. Not to mention Auburn does have the (controversial) Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. How was Oregon going to stop him? Not only can he throw the ball but he's a phenomenal runner and knows how to make plays.
The game started last night Oregon won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick off. Majority of the sports world expected this to be a game of offense. Some sort of score on every offensive drive. If each offense would have been on their game last night it could have easily been a 53-50 final score. After the 1st quarter ended it was still 0-0. Something no one expected. Each team had an INT in the 1st quarter, but no results from either turnover. Something that both teams throughout the regular season were successful with. The 2nd quarter began and that's where we finally started to see the teams settle into their usual game. Oregon went up 3-0. Then Auburn scored, 7-3. Almost immediately Oregon reciprocated but then also faked the FG and scored the 2-pt conversion, 11-7. Auburn safety, 11-9. Auburn TD, 16-11. This was the kind of game people were expecting. Fast offensive drives and scoring going back and forth. Going into the half with the lead Auburn was pumped up, but Oregon wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Only 4 minutes into the half Auburn scored a field goal to make it 19-11. A lot of football fans, not really rooting for either team, at this point started to believe that Auburn was going to run away with the game. They had the lead at the half and came out to score first in the 3rd quarter. It seemed as though Oregon was beat. The rest of the 3rd quarter despite turnovers, big 3rd down plays and a few defensive plays by both teams, the score remained 19-11 going into the final 15 minutes of the game. Running down the clock in the 4th quarter Auburn was still up by 8. Oregon needed a touchdown with a 2-pt conversion to just tie the game. And that's exactly what they got, with 2:33 left in the game. After Casey Matthews forced Newton to fumble the ball (a phenomenal play) Oregon marched into the endzone with 2 perfectly executed plays. 1st the 2-yd pass from Thomas to LaMichael James for the TD and then the pass to Jeff Maehl for the 2pt conversion. Game tied 19 all. From that point on however, it was Auburn's ball.
Using the last 2:30 on the clock marching down the field. All they needed was a FG to win. After a poor tackle by Oregon that resulted in a 37-yd run from Auburn (runner was never down on the play and continued to run) Auburn was set up to win the game with a TD. However down at the 1 they were forced to figure out a new game plan to not allow Oregon to even have another chance for a hail mary kickoff return to win the game. As unlikely as that would be, we've seen crazier plays to win a game. Auburn with 10 seconds left went back on the field, spiked the ball and used one of their remaining timeouts with 2 seconds left. Just enough time to kick the winning field goal and leave Oregon no time to rebuttal. Auburn became the 2011 BCS National Championship with a final score of 22-19. A significantly lower score than expected by the entire NCAA nation, but it came down to the final seconds literally, and Auburn prevailed.
As a general college football fan I just wanted to see a good game, and that's exactly what I got, but I openly cheered for Oregon. While it was a near even spread I wanted to see the "underdog" prevail. The SEC is very clearly the most dominant conference in college football but to see that a team from the PAC-10 held it's own was refreshing. A friend posted on Facebook: "Stanford could have beaten either one of those teams" and while that may be true, we'll never actually know. For the first time in a long time, I think I am happy with the entire game. There were no really bad calls against either team, maybe a few holding calls here and there overlooked, but the officiating crew did a fantastic job at making the right calls on both teams.
One thing that made me believe that there is still good in this sport, in the coaches and players, was Gene Chizik. Defensive linemen Fairley, dominant throughout the entire game was called twice on personal fouls during the game. One when he pushed Jones' back into the ground after a tackle and pretty much near kneed him in the face as well as he pushed his helmet into the ground later in the game. I am not condoning his actions by any means, and neither did Chizik. As the head official was announcing the penalty the cameras zoomed to Chizik screaming at Fairley for what he did. Seeing Fairley being scolded for his actions was a breath of fresh air. No player should ever play like that, in any sport.
Now that the 2010-2011 college football season is over I can focus my full attention to UConn bball and the Packers playoff push. This year was an interesting year to say the least. The Big Ten usually dominant in bowl games was shut out, Boise State was denied what they thought was their chance at the BCS title game when they lost to Nevada. Teams like Wisconsin who dominated with more than 160 points in their last 3 games of the reg season, lost in the Rose Bowl to TCU, prove that there should be a playoff system because at the end of the regular season there was no team that could have beaten the Badgers. I look forward to the next season but it shall be interesting first to see who is going to go into the draft and change their college teams game plan for the upcoming season.
Congrats again to Auburn on the national championship, y'all earned it. War Eagle!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
New Year, New Outlook
I know it's beyond typical to write a new years post with all of your resolutions and everything you want to do in the next year, but bear with me as I write one myself. This years New Years was different than any other one I've ever had before. It kind of opened my eyes to a lot of things. I spent my evening with a few friends at the hospital in Evansville, IN with our friend Zach Powers (the one I wrote about a few months ago). He was going to be alone in the hospital, or possibly with his parents, and we didn't want that. New Years Eve is about being with friends and enjoying one another reflecting on the year that has passed. Zach was transferred down to a rehab facility in Evansville (his hometown) on Christmas Eve and we had made plans long before he moved to spend NYE with him. Me and 2 others, Ang and Matthew, drove down on the 30th and Adam from GA met us there. We spent the entire day with Zach on the 31st just hanging out. The highlight of the day/night was seeing him walk, get out of bed on his own just to give us a hug all in person. We had seen the videos of him walking and as amazing as they were, it was even better to see them in person. Words can't describe how amazing it was.
While in the past many of my New Years Eve celebrations were about going out to the bars or parties with friends and getting wasted, this year however was different. Midnight came and went and we almost didn't even realize it was upon us until about 10 minutes before. To ring in the New Year with a few of my best friends I couldn't have asked for more. We have been through so much in the remaining months of 2010 so for us to be together and know that we support one another was an incredible feeling. So with that, it's now 2011. I reflected on things that have happened in the past 5 years of my life:
1. graduated from UConn
2. spent a month traveling Europe alone (10 days w/ momma) finding out more about myself than ever before
3. lived in Chicago for 6 months working at an internship in a profession that I know I want to be in now.
4. traveled around the country seeing DMB and meeting some of the closest and best friends I could ask for.
5. found my soulmate, my person, Aris.
6. took chances, put myself out there, even if i failed, i kept trying.
2011 has a lot of potential and while right now things seem bleak I know I can turn things around. I'm currently living at home and working as an assistant boys swim coach, not exactly the glamorous post-college life I thought I'd be living. But it's up to me to change it, and only me. I know I've got the ability to do anything I want it's just about making it happen. With 2 days already completed in 2011 I've started to focus on a few goals and things I want to do:
1. Find a full-time career job: While I would love to be working in golf or sports ASAP, it's not exactly the easiest thing to get into, which is why I'm looking anywhere and everywhere for something that I can at least support myself without too much worry about money.
2. Living on my own: Yes I did that for a few months this summer, but I need to get out and away from home and truly live on my own.
3. Losing Weight: I've joined a biggest loser competition w/ my friends. I'm going to get back to where I used to be when I was swimming. I'm never going to be a size 2 but there is no reason why I can't be fit and get back into the clothes I wore when I was in high school.
4. 2014 Ironman: I'm going to do it. Starting this year I'm going to start training in different stages. The swimming part will come easily I just need to get a running and biking regime going so I can start doing marathons, mini triathalons and other types of road races. I know in a few years when I really need to start spending all of my spare time training it's going to be extremely difficult but worth it in the end when I say that I've completed an Ironman.
These are just a few of the goals that I've set for myself and I know that I can get them done. I want to be able to say that I've done something for myself in 2011, there are few years that I've ever truly completed some of my goals and I can feel that this year is going to be different. I'm sick of being just this average person who has nothing to show for themselves. It's going to change and I'm the only one who can do it.
2011... it's my year.
While in the past many of my New Years Eve celebrations were about going out to the bars or parties with friends and getting wasted, this year however was different. Midnight came and went and we almost didn't even realize it was upon us until about 10 minutes before. To ring in the New Year with a few of my best friends I couldn't have asked for more. We have been through so much in the remaining months of 2010 so for us to be together and know that we support one another was an incredible feeling. So with that, it's now 2011. I reflected on things that have happened in the past 5 years of my life:
1. graduated from UConn
2. spent a month traveling Europe alone (10 days w/ momma) finding out more about myself than ever before
3. lived in Chicago for 6 months working at an internship in a profession that I know I want to be in now.
4. traveled around the country seeing DMB and meeting some of the closest and best friends I could ask for.
5. found my soulmate, my person, Aris.
6. took chances, put myself out there, even if i failed, i kept trying.
2011 has a lot of potential and while right now things seem bleak I know I can turn things around. I'm currently living at home and working as an assistant boys swim coach, not exactly the glamorous post-college life I thought I'd be living. But it's up to me to change it, and only me. I know I've got the ability to do anything I want it's just about making it happen. With 2 days already completed in 2011 I've started to focus on a few goals and things I want to do:
1. Find a full-time career job: While I would love to be working in golf or sports ASAP, it's not exactly the easiest thing to get into, which is why I'm looking anywhere and everywhere for something that I can at least support myself without too much worry about money.
2. Living on my own: Yes I did that for a few months this summer, but I need to get out and away from home and truly live on my own.
3. Losing Weight: I've joined a biggest loser competition w/ my friends. I'm going to get back to where I used to be when I was swimming. I'm never going to be a size 2 but there is no reason why I can't be fit and get back into the clothes I wore when I was in high school.
4. 2014 Ironman: I'm going to do it. Starting this year I'm going to start training in different stages. The swimming part will come easily I just need to get a running and biking regime going so I can start doing marathons, mini triathalons and other types of road races. I know in a few years when I really need to start spending all of my spare time training it's going to be extremely difficult but worth it in the end when I say that I've completed an Ironman.
These are just a few of the goals that I've set for myself and I know that I can get them done. I want to be able to say that I've done something for myself in 2011, there are few years that I've ever truly completed some of my goals and I can feel that this year is going to be different. I'm sick of being just this average person who has nothing to show for themselves. It's going to change and I'm the only one who can do it.
2011... it's my year.
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