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markjohnson
Nov. 30th, 2004
10:29 pm - Moving time...
my blog can now be found at:
http://doublesuited.blogspot.com
Oct. 16th, 2004
01:29 pm - Its been a long time
sorry its been so long, i've been traveling and had some issues with my computer. But nonetheless, here are my thoughts on college football today.
Virgina + 3 versus F$U. Actually, i like the moneyline better at +140. But the Hoos are the best team that noone has seen and the noles are too young with an inexperienced QB. i think they win by 14.
Stanford +1 versus Washington State. These smart boys will score alot of points and the cougs can't tackle their shadows.
UNLV -3 versus New Mexico. If they were in another conference UNLV would be a top 25 team.
Oct. 10th, 2004
05:11 pm - friday night disappointment
I loved the book friday night light. i love football. I love movies. However, i hated Friday night Lights. Maybe it was because i knew the story so well. Or maybe because it ruined the vision i had because of changes to the story for no apparent reason.
Here are some of the major historical errors that really bugged me.
-Brian Chavez played tight end, not strong safety.
-Boobie was hurt in the preseason, not the opening game against Marshall.
-Permian lost the game to Marshall in real life
-The big game against Carter were the state semifinals, not finals. The score was 14-9, not 34-28. Carter did not physically dominate Permanian as the movie depicted. Also, the game was played in the rain (which personally i think would have made some very good visuals).
-There is no evidence that Carter played dirty, though there was a key bad call made by a black official
-Chris Comer did not shy away from contact as the movie depicts. He was the powerful straight ahead runner that the coaches liked.
Would it have been difficult to assure some accuracy in the movie. Not really. Did it matter that the big game was the semifinals? No. Kinda frustrating. Actualy, i don't think football should have been the point of the movie, though that probably sold some tickets. more time should have been spent on the backstory of the key players other than billingsley.
Oct. 8th, 2004
01:50 am - its getting closer
new polls in give Kerry lead in OH and PA. Bush leads 264-253. Check out www.electoral-vote.com
Oct. 6th, 2004
10:28 pm - Reality, Poker and Ted Lawson
I think i am starting to finally get reality television. I used to think that the purposed behind reality tv was to showcase people who would never be on television otherwise and try to capture the subtle nuances of everyday life in almost a seinfeld kinda way.
Now, I am starting to see that reality tv is an aspirational medium. Viewers do not want Real reality. But rather, they want all of their wildest fantasies to be fulfilled through the "real" characters. And since these characters are not actors (at least until the series is over), they now become the viewers. People at home want to have a maxxed out pad in Hawaii and party every night and jump naked into the pool when they first meet their roommates.
I think this also explains why reality stars stink as actor. Other than most of them have no discernible talent other than look, viewer no longer think that they can be these people. As reality stars get more popular, they become less real in the view of their fans. if you don't believe me watch road rules Kit on Cold Pizza.
This that could me me phenomena also explains the runaway success of poker. Laypeople at home think that if they get lucky, they could stare down Phil Hellmuth or the Devilfish if given the opportunity. These tournaments also inevitably have an underdog or two at the final table. (not surprising since in most 10k+ buyin events, 75% of the field is someone you never heard of.) Poker is successful because of the entire that could be phenomena. Surprisingly, in ESPN's WSOP coverage the final tournament of champions got disappointed rating, even though it had tremendous values and was rather entertaining. Poker diehards like myself watched, but Joe Bob Buchanan in Mizzoula, MT probably wasn't interested.
Poker telecasts are never about who wins, but the stories behind the players. Why do you think ESPN had that goddamned "The NUTS" segment. WSOP of poker's popularity is because of the Ted Lawsons and Gerry Drehobels, not the Doyle Brunsons and Chip Reeses. If you watched the BAY101 event from this year, people were cheering against Chris Moneymaker, the people's champ of the year ago. I guess the same guy winning several times just isn't good TV.
one last thought... though it was implied in this rant but not blatently stated let me clear my conscience. I, Mark Johnson, believe Ted Lawson is the worst player ever to win a WSOP bracelet. thank you, i feel much better now.
Oct. 5th, 2004
09:39 pm - Baseball and debates
I consider myself a big baseball fan and a political junkie. So when both of them are on television, i find myself with a decision to make. And actually, i find myself switching channel, but because they are both so boring. I actually find last comic standing a bunch more compelling. At least with that, I am not sure of the outcome, i might hear something i haven't heard before and are entertained in the process.
The VP debate is just a repeat of their bosses' rhetoric on defense though i am pleased Chency is showing a bit more guts than g-dub. Edwards is saying nothing other than ridiculous overextended hand gestures.
Oct. 3rd, 2004
07:07 pm - Some sunday sports thoughts
I am as big a NASCAR fan as the next guy. In fact, probably significantly more so than the average person. BUT i just don't get restrictor plate racing. Basically, as long as you keep you car on the track you will be on the lead lap at the end and have a chance to win. So all the first 160 laps is about is trying to avoid a wreck.
David Akers is not on my Christmas card list. Today, Philadelphia did everything they could not to cover the spread and i ended up with a push (and was lucky) Akers missed 2 short FGs in garbage time and the Eagles let the Bears drive the field in Garbage time.
Emmitt Smith is too legit to quit. 100 yards rushing and a TD pass against the Saints.
Quick-- Other than David Carr, name 4 players on the Houston Texans.
Around 1:30 today, footbal, golf, NASCAR and baseball was on television, yet somehow I felt compelled to watch scrabble. They even had odds to win the game based on certain moves.
I would pay $25 to watch Phil Helmuth play Mike Matasow headsup in Scrabble.
My fantasy football QB situation is getting downright ugly. On a team with Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, I have yet to figure out who to play. I dont even know if i made the right play today since they are both having mediocre at best days.
Quenten Griffin is prove that not everyone can pile up huge rushing numbers behind Denver's D-line.
12:23 pm - Ultimate poker challenge
saw last night's episode and the poker play was pretty good and the analysis was decent with Ken James winning. However, the cutaway shots were horrible and the anchors (one of whom is supposedly a professional actor) were horrendous. I really loved the two hands in the air hand gesture for no apparent reason. What's worse is that these segments were probably taped so they could have done 20 takes if necessary.
12:20 pm - ESPN Dream Job??
has finally moved to the great time slot of 12am eastern time (that is midnight for those of you on the metric system out there). Though i probably watch as much reality tv as the next guy, i never understood the success of the show last season. Maybe it was good to see how hard it is to be an anchor, but nothing lasting. We never learned anything about any of the contestants so there was no personal connection. It was just college grads performing badly. Basicall like a talent show on the quad.
12:10 pm - some good news
despite kerry taking over the lead in the nationwide poll. The electoral map still looks good. G-dub is still projected to win by almost 60 electoral votes.
Check out http://www.electoral-vote.com/
11:00 am - for everyone with a significant other....
who needs to decide what to do for dinner. A great link from Walter Zuey's journal.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oly
09:35 am - Friday Night Lights
The movie comes out next weekend and has gotten some great reviews so far. Not quire sure how I will feel about it. Don't get me wrong the book is one of my all-time favorite, but i wonder if 2 hours on film will be able to give it justice or it will just be another Varsity Blues. (note: i actually liked the movie varsity blues, but it was never meant to be a drama).
What i liked about FNL was that the focus of the book was not winning and losing. I am not sure how this can translate to the big screen in a mass marketed film. For instance, one of the key storylines in the book was the story of eligibility for some of the Carter High School football players. Not sure how this could work its way into the movie.
Oct. 2nd, 2004
08:58 pm - Wedding
As many of you know, I will be getting married soon. in that spirit, here is an except to one of the best articles about weddings ever. I hope there is alot of action at my wedding. btw, i wish i knew bill simmons in real life. Every day he writes a column, my day is much better
Q: What types of non-sporting events do you bet on? We recently attended a wedding in Atlantic City, and had the following lines in play:
1. Number of bridesmaids: +/- 6
2. Number of ice sculptures: +/- 3
3. Length of church service: +/- 45 minutes
4. Time when first drunk guest makes a fool out of themselves: +/- 9.30 p.m.
Any ideas for other events? -- Mike K., Philadelphia
SG: You came to the right place. I've attended so many weddings over the past 10 years, they've all merged together into some sort of drunken haze. And let's face it: Every wedding is pretty much the same. By the time you hit your late-'20s, you could care less about who's getting married; you only want a fast ceremony, an open bar, and a cool balcony or deck outside where everyone can smoke butts.
So sprucing the festivities up with gambling. ... I mean, that's inspired genius. Let's assume that we're working with a 5 p.m. wedding ceremony, just for the sake of accuracy. Here are some other things you could gamble on:
1. Quality of the best man's toast vs. quality of the cake (even odds): This one could be especially fun if you wagered heavily on the best man, then he choked in his speech, and you wanted to kill him afterward. And yes, few things in life are more enjoyable than someone screwing up a best man's speech. I can't believe somebody hasn't turned "Worst Best Man Speeches" into its own TV show yet.
If your best man looks anything like Stifler, he's a sure bet to screw up the toast.
2. Girl who catches the bouquet hooks up with the guy who catches the garter (10-1 odds): I've only been to one wedding where this ever happened, so the 10-1 odds seem generous here.
3. Groom's horny friend starts grinding on the dance floor with somebody's attractive cousin who isn't 21 yet (even odds): And somebody's mother is always horrified. You can usually see this one coming. As an aside, I was delighted when this exact scenario happened at my wedding. It was a dream come true.
4. Band plays "I Will Survive" (+/- 8:45pm): I hate this song. There's always that one girl on the dance floor who just broke up with someone and gets a little too into the lyrics. Calm down, honey.
5. Token slutty bridesmaid goes after a waiter, band member, or any friend of the groom attending the wedding without his girlfriend (wager $400 to win $100): Easy money. When you mix the emotions of "I'm sad because my friend's getting married and I'm still single" with "I'm horny and drunk" and "Everyone looks good because we're all dressed up," just about anything's possible. They probably can't make these odds high enough.
6. Groom cries or faints during the wedding ceremony (3-1 odds): And here's the worst thing: You can't really make fun of them afterward. It was too big of a moment. So you might as well wager on it.
Just wait until these guys take off their jackets and start dancing.
7. Puking or fisticuffs during the reception (10-1 odds): Although these odds drop to 3-1 in the general Boston area.
8. The Mother-Groom dance is "You Look Wonderful Tonight" (20-1 odds): We needed a long-shot wager on here. Imagine the excitement if you had 20-1 on Clapton and those first few seconds of the song started playing.
9. Fat guys dancing without their jackets and sweatstains under their arms (+/- 2.5): Another great part about weddings. Huge, sweeping sweatstains are always funny.
10. The token "couple who's been dating for three years and either need to get engaged or break up" have a huge blowout during the wedding reception (even odds): Not good times. Uh-oh ... I'm having flashbacks ...
And the ultimate long-shot bet...
11. Wedding called off at last minute (50-1 odds): It's dark, it's evil ... but a $10 bet wins you $500. More than enough to pay for your tux.
07:56 pm - Bad news... kerry up in polls
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6159637/sit
i wonder if the people in the polls voted for kerry after they voted against kerry?
07:14 pm - debates
Just found out that the final presidential debate will be a town hall meeting consisting of undecided voters. Exactly who are these people? Are these people who are so devoid of motivation to understand the issues that they can't manage to muster an opinion. Why do these public events always come down to the lowest of the low and reward apathy.
on another note, an interesting story ran in the times earlier this week about how tickets are distributed for the presidential candidates rallies. Tickets to Kerry events are given away by lottery. Tickets to Bush events are given to those who have contributed significantly to the campaign. Doesn't this sum up the different between the 2 candidates? Kerry gives supporters something for free. Bush requires you to do some work.
Sep. 30th, 2004
02:30 pm - Entry #1
here is my entry to the world of blogging. I guess this is the closest I can come to being on an MTV reality show. not really sure the purpose, but there are so many blogs I admire, i felt it was time for me to give something back. Hopefully, I will develop some sort of fan/friend base. btw, after you have finished reading my journal, check out paul phillip's at extempore.livejournal.com. One of the best