So, can we hold on this year? With 17 games left, we’re up by three games over the scrappy Phillies. The good news; our starting pitching is much stronger this season, and the team is clearly far more relaxed. The bad news; anything can happen. It’s baseball.
Doubleheader today for the Mets, with Santana and Jon Niese throwing. A split is a must, and a sweep would be lovely. I’ll report back this evening…
Great win for the Jets to start the year, but of course, the big football news of the day (and it’s certainly related to the Jets) is Tom Brady’s knee injury, which appears likely to sideline him for the season; an MRI tomorrow appears to be a formality at this point. It’s hard to overstate how devastating this is for the Patriots and their fans, and we’ll get the greatest test yet of Bill Belichick’s coaching genius. He’s made his name mixing and matching random variables—before last year’s attack squadron, remember, he’d won with scrubs like Antowain Smith, David Patten, and Daniel Graham playing enormous roles. But all that was due to Tom Brady’s extraordinary abilities; he always seemed to find the open man no matter who it was. How else could Mike Vrabel have multiple TD receptions to his credit? Without Brady, the AFC is blown wide open. New England still has lots of weapons and should be a contender if Matt Cassel is adequate, but can they be anything more than slightly above average now? We’ll see.
As for the Jets, it was a strong Week 1 performance. It’s important to remember that this is not the same Miami team that went 1-15. As critical as I’ve been about Chad Pennington in the past (and I maintain he’s not a championship QB), he’s light years better than the utter dreck the Dolphins trotted out there last year, and adds an aura of legitimacy to the team. So, I expect Miami to win somewhere between four and six games this year, and be a weak-but-not-historically-bad team, and there was no reason to expect a blowout on the road while the new additions are still gelling. All that said, the plusses and minuses from today:
Positives:
1. The run defense was worlds better than us suffering Jets fans are accustomed to. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown were swarmed everytime they touched the ball, and there were zero big plays. Miami doesn’t have a first-rate offensive line, but it was a very encouraging start.
2. DWIGHT LOWERY! The rookie 4th-rounder was fantastic playing opposite Darrelle Revis at CB, batting down at least three passes and showing strong tackling skills. If he’s legit—and his College nickname, Dwight Swipe, indicates the skillset is there—then the pass defense receives a major boost. Having two ballhawk cornerbacks can’t be underestimated in today’s pass-happy NFL, and it’s something the Jets haven’t had in years, if not decades.
3. While the offensive line’s pass-blocking wasn’t perfect, the run-blocking looked in midseason form. Thomas Jones had holes that simply weren’t there last year, and took advantage of them.
4. Given that Favre is just getting comfortable in the offense and with his WR’s, it was impressive how much he looked like…Brett Favre. The stupid fumble was classic Favre, but so was the nutty 4th-and-13 scrambling TD.
Negatives:
1. There wasn’t the overall consistency I’d like to see going forward, and Vernon Gholston’s name wasn’t mentioned.
2. Coles was barely targeted, and seemed to have trouble separating. I hope that’s not a long-term issue, because we really need him opposite Cotchery.
3. Nugent better be healthy, cuz I don’t want to see Kellen Clemens kicking on the sideline ever again. If he’s at all banged up, I’d rather sign a stopgap for a week than take the chance of a defunct kicking game against the Patriots.
Coming Friday: a preview of Week 2’s Jets/Pats game.
An interesting few weeks in my poker career. I took a trip to Atlantic City a few weeks ago for my first live LHE action in several months, and man, had I missed it. I ran well and played even better, and crushed the 40-80 for a 6K score. Obviously, that’s way above expectation even in a game as soft as the Borg 40…but jeez, the players are just not good at all. I’d say the 5-10 6-max games on Poker Stars are substantially tougher. Everytime I play live LHE, I get tempted to move out to California and play professionally. But for now, at least, I love my RE career, and prefer poker to be a supplement…
Online, I still can’t get into the same sort of rhythm as live…I don’t think my fast-twitch personality is as well suited to playing on the computer, where I can get easily distracted and am constantly multi-tabling. I really need to start using PokerTracker, because the players are certainly weak (at least at the levels I’d play), and get focused. By far, my tournament game is the best aspect of my online repertoire; I tend to focus much better in them and rarely tilt, for whatever reason (I also almost never tilt live, which is obviously a huge advantage). On that note, I just missed my first monster score last night for the third time in the past few months, finishing 21st out of 2,258 in the $215 WCOOP Limit Event. I played very well, but made a few mistakes I regret, and lost a tough hand late with JJ vs AT on a JKQ board. Couldn’t recover from that, unfortunately. Ah well…the big payday is coming…
It’s not the least bit surprising that Werner Herzog would be drawn to the individualistic scientists and sprawling coldness of Antarctica. From Noseferatu to Fitzcarraldo, his work has been steeped in psychological disintegration and isolated locations; it’s what gets his directorial blood flowing. Herzog’s latest picture, Encounters at the End of the World, is a natural addition to his filmography, a sweeping portrait of Antarctica’s barren emptiness tinged with pockets of hidden, quirky beauty. Indeed, multiple sequences could only be found in a Herzog movie—the “deranged” penguin bolting from the group on a beeline for nowhere but certain death, or ‘Ivan the Terri-bus’ chugging through the cold. And the various researchers all could have comfortably mingled with Aguirre or Woyzeck; whether it’s a riveting monologue on neutrons or a passionate deconstruction of volcanic tendencies, the fascination with the obscure is on full display.
However, Encounters at the End of the World lacks the fluidity of Herzog’s best works; it feels disjointed throughout, as if random anecdotes were juxtaposed with luscious cinematography and thrust together without regard to cohesiveness. The film is oddly captivating at times anyway, but the structural sloppiness lends an unwelcome detached aura to the entire process. It’s also not exactly uncharted waters for Herzog; both Grizzly Man and The White Balloon tackle the man vs. nature theme in documentary format as well. As such, the entire experience is somewhat of a let down, despite Encounters at the End of the World’s many admirable elements.
RATING: pro (-)
I’ll be heading to Atlantic City next Monday and Tuesday for some 20-40 and 40-80 action. It’s been awhile since I’ve played live, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll probably take a stab at a tourney or two if there are some decent ones at the Borgata on Monday. We’re leaving Tuesday evening, so I’ll stick to cash on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, I’ve decided to take a break from online play until I get my ADD medication in order. I’ve had a few near monster hits (23rd out of 25,000 in the Sunday hundred grand last week; 200th out of 7000+ in the Sunday Million the week before), but I just have trouble focusing like I need to to successfully multi-table. That means far weaker results than I should have, given how poor the players are at 5-10 limit and below, or most of the tournaments (other than the really tough ones). I also need to begin using Poker Tracker, since there’s just no reason for me to be spotting opponents stats. So yeah, in a few months, once work picks up and I can give myself a real bankroll, I begin an online quest in earnest.
I’ll post my AC results when I return.
It’s been a rough, hectic few months, which have involved almost no film viewing, and very little poker. Some sports, yes…but not the energy to blog on it. The tide, however, is changing, and I hope to get back to updating this baby multiple times in a week. Coming up:
1) A review of Son of Rambow (2008)
2) Some notes on my recent trip to Las Vegas (which was quite blah, honestly)
3) A report on the Mets’ extremely disappointing start, and thoughts on the best way for them to get out of this ugly rut (purging Aaron Heilman, hint, hint).
More to come later…I mean it, really!
It’s been several weeks since I’ve updated this site, which is a pattern I don’t intend to continue. Work has been extraordinarily busy, and I haven’t seen too many movies (I’ve checked out a couple that have reviews pending). On the poker front, I’ve been parlaying a recent tournament win into a bunch of stabs at a WSOP seat, which I’ve gotten close to so far but no cigar. I’ll keep trying! And we’re going to Vegas from April 10th-15th, which I’m stoked about. Finally, some long sessions of 40-80 limit (and if I do well and the games are as good as Borgata and Commerce, maybe a tick higher)…live limit poker is my strongest game by far, and there’s just nowhere to play it in the city.
As for sports, I’ll have a baseball/Mets preview up in the next week, as well as a recap of the Jets’ offseason, which I’m extremely happy about. More to come. Ciao.
With work taking up large chunks of my time lately, I haven’t had time to write as many reviews as I’d hoped (or an NFL wrap-up / MLB preview). No matter, they’re coming! Meanwhile, here are some ratings & brief thoughts for some movies I’ve watched lately:
Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton, 1996) pro
Boasting a magnificent performance from Thornton and strong central relationship, Sling Blade has lots to admire. Karl’s paternal fondness for Frank is smoothly directed, and the cinematography and music are consistently, but subtly, beautiful. The finale, which could have easily been a soppy debacle, feels entirely believable and true to Karl’s ways and priorities from the start, despite his past. My biggest complaints stem from the caricature-like supporting characters (the single mom desperately trying to make ends meet; the abusive, alcoholic, homophobic hick boyfriend; the obese acquaintance making minimum wage at a dead-end job; etc, etc), and a light explanation for why a town would accept a former murderer (and a famous one; everyone knew the story and its participants) back into its midst with so few questions. Both of these complaints are softened by the direction and the fact that, well, these sorts of folks aren’t in short supply in the sort of town depicted. But they kept me from outright loving it.
M (Fritz Lang, 1931) PRO (+)
I’ve seen this many times, and it’s one of my absolute favorites. The sinister storyline brings together the law and underworld in a mesmerizing tale of universal repulsion. From psychological probings to societal musings, M has it all. Fritz Lang can also lay claim to laying the groundwork for future generations of filmmakers with his shadowy photography and groundbreaking voiceover narration. At some point, I’ll write a full review of this one, but for now, go to netflix or blockbuster immediately if you’ve never seen this one. It’s tense, impeccably acted, and full of unforgettable imagery. I challenge anyone to get the trial out of their minds.
After a long hiatus from serious writing to focus on work, my loyal readers (all three of you, anyway), I’ve returned with a new, multi-faceted website; filmandfelt.com. Here, I’ll be chronicling every movie I watch, jotting down notes on the current goings-ons in professional sports, and blogging about my poker exploits & bad beats. All my old film reviews from ecinemacenter.com will be archived within a few days. Many thanks to my good friend Mikey Mendelsohn for his wonderful work on this site. Enjoy!
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