Blog

Brian Uncategorized

“Global warming” is just a myth, I tell ya


It’s Jan. 6, 2007…I’m in the northeastern United States…and it’s 71 freakin’ degrees outside!

As they say in cyberspace…WTF?

Let’s just keep producing those greenhouse gases and get it over with.

Then again, if it continues to be 70-plus degrees in the Northeast during January and February the next few years, maybe someplace like the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. (which, according to the media, is actually “New York”), or Philadelphia will be awarded a Super Bowl.

Speaking of the Super Bowl…

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Brian Eagles, football, Philadelphia, sports

Happy New Year/NFC East Championship!


Well, thanks to the totally over-hyped Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys losing to the lowly Detroit Lions at home early Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated New Year’s Eve as NFC East champions for the fifth time in six years.

Because the Cowboys’ loss gave the title to Philadelphia, the Eagles were able to rest their starters for the playoff opener at home against the New York Giants next Sunday at 4:15 p.m. ET.

Oh yeah…the Eagles’ second and third teams still managed to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-17, to finish atop the NFC East at 10-6.

Fly Eagles Fly
On the road to victory
Fight Eagles Fight
Score a touchdown, 1-2-3
Hit ’em low, hit ’em high
And watch our Eagles fly
Fly Eagles Fly
On the road to victory

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

UPDATED 11:22 a.m. ET, 1/2/2007

I wrote the above post after watching one of the craziest college football games ever, No. 9 Boise State’s amazing 43-42 overtime win over No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Here is a YouTube video showing key highlights from the last couple of minutes of regulation and overtime…

(Photo of Center City Philadelphia taken from near main entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dec. 29, 2006.)

Brian football, NCAA, Rutgers, sports

Congrats, Rutgers football on the Texas Bowl victory!


Sophomore running back Ray Rice (No. 27 above) rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown to help lead the No. 16 Rutgers to a dominating 37-10 win over Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl held at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Freshman wide receiver Tim Brown, who was making his first collegiate start, caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 49-yard scoring strike, for the Scarlet Knights (11-2), who won a bowl game for the first time in the program’s 137-season history. Rutgers also reached the 11-victory mark for the second time in team annals.

Tight end Clark Harris reeled in seven catches for 122 yards while Brown finished with 101 yards on four receptions in the victory. Mike Teel completed 16-of-28 passes for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns without an interception.

Brian Leonard (No. 23 above) capped off a brilliant career at Rutgers with 44 yards on 11 carries and a pair of catches for six yards. The three-time First Team All American fullback, who is Rutgers’ all-time leader in receptions with 207, made at least one catch in all 47 career games with the Knights.

On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Rutgers linebacker Quintero Frierson intercepted a pass thrown by Wildcats quarterback Josh Freeman and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.

Frierson’s play was the featured highlight for a Rutgers defense that held Kansas State (7-6) to a mere 162 yards of total offense–just 31 rushing yards–while registering three sacks and a pair of interceptions.

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights racked up 479 yards of total offense, including 211 on the ground.

Rice, who ran for at least 100 yards for the 10th time during the season and the 15th time in 25 career games, was named Texas Bowl Most Valuable Player for his efforts.

Read the full story from ScarletKnights.com.

(Photo courtesy of ScarletKnights.com.)

Brian Eagles, football, Philadelphia, sports

Fly Eagles Fly…on the road to victory! (The Christmas edition!)

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Well, once again the jolly, fat man delivered on Christmas.

No, not Santa. I’m talking about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who delivered to me and all Eagles fans a HUGE and impressive 23-7 win over the despised Dallas Cowboys today that clinched a playoff spot for the Birds.

The victory gave the Eagles a 9-6 record and pulled them into a tie with Dallas for the lead in the NFC East. However, since the Eagles swept the Cowboys this season, Philadelphia owns the tie-breaker and the No. 1 spot in the division.

The Eagles only need to beat the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve to wrap up their fifth NFC East title in six years.

(Photo: Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys in the Eagles’ 23-7 Christmas day victory. Courtesy D. Hallowell/PhiladelphiaEagles.com.)

Brian movies, trailers, Transformers, YouTube

The real “Transformers” teaser trailer is here!

Yahoo! Movies has the first look at the full teaser trailer from Michael Bay’s upcoming live action/CGI film adaptation of “Transformers.”

Yeah, the Autobots and Decepticons may not be like the ones we grew up with, but this looks really freakin’ cool. Click the link below to watch the trailer at Yahoo! Movies…

Yahoo! Movies’ “Transformers” page.

…or watch it right here, thanks to YouTube!

Brian Eagles, Giants, NFL, sports

Eagles fan beaten by son of late Giants owner…on NYSE trading floor

Wow!

It appears Stephen Mara, son of the late Wellington Mara, has more fight in him than the team his father owned until his death in October 2005.

On Tuesday, just two days after the Philadelphia Eagles went into the Meadowlands and beat the New York Giants, 36-22, in an important NFC East showdown, Mara assaulted Eagles fan and fellow stock broker Bob Tomasulo on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

From CNNMoney.com (citing a New York Post report)…

The paper quotes Bob Tomasulo, 57, as saying that he had been joking back and forth with Mara about the Eagles and the Giants for years, and he was surprised when his comments Tuesday provoked an angry reaction.

Another, unnamed broker told the Post that Mara started screaming, “I’m gonna f- – -ing kill you! Don’t f- – – around with my family! Don’t insult my family!”

That broker told the newspaper that Tomasulo responded, “Hey, what is your problem? It’s just a game!” But the broker said Mara yelled back, “No, it’s not just a game, it’s my f- – -ing family!” and then charged at Tomasulo.

Tomasulo told the paper that Mara just seemed to snap.

“He charged me like an animal,” Tomasulo told the newspaper. “He charged me like he wanted to sack me. At first, he got me in a bear hug and bent me over a trading post. At first, I thought it was a joke. Then he proceeded to choke me. I passed out for a minute.”

Now, I just want to say Wellington Mara was one of the NFL’s founding fathers, as far as I’m concerned. Much like Lamar Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs owner who recently passed away, Mara helped make the league as strong as it is today.

That said, Stephen Mara illustrates an irrefutable fact of life…the Giants suck!

Actually, the only thing that sucks more than the Giants…that’s right…the Eagles’ next victim: the Dallas Cowboys…and that stinkin’, spittin’ loser weasel T.O.

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Brian arts, Brian Kelley, John LeMasney, podcasting, technology, Technology and the Arts

First “Technology & the Arts” podcast is up!

There are a few technical issues we need to work out and some production improvements we need to make, but the first “Technology & the Arts” podcast is up over at the Technology & the Arts blog.

I think it’s pretty good for a first crack at podcasting. It will only get better as John LeMansey and I get the hang of being podcasters/show hosts.

Please take a listen. Yes, it’s a bit long at nearly 34 minutes in length, but I won’t mind if you skip through it and cut it down to 10 (we’re going to try to get future installments down to a more manageable 25 minutes). Just give it a shot.

Thanks!

Brian movies, Sam Raimi, The Shadow

The Shadow returns!

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE SHADOW KNOWS!

The Shadow is coming back to the big screen…and it’s about time. I have been waiting for a decent feature film version of The Shadow ever since…well…the end credits started rolling on the 1994 adaptation starring Alec Baldwin in the title role.

And there is a two-word reason why the new Shadow movie will kick ass: Sam Raimi.

Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to The Shadow and Raimi has signed on to produce the film. Raimi is a big fan of The Shadow and reportedly sought the opportunity to make a movie based on the 1930s-era character when what became the 1994 production was getting off the ground in the late 1980s. In fact, Raimi also tried to get involved with the late 80s big screen version of “Batman.” When Raimi missed out on a chance to work on both projects, he made the excellent “Darkman” movie, which came out in 1990 and was heavily influenced by The Shadow and the Batman, who was originally inspired by The Shadow.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that Siavash Farahani has been hired by Columbia to write the screenplay for the new Shadow film.

I’m not going to get into the complicated nature of The Shadow here, but this Wikipedia entry should do the trick if you’re interested in reading about it. But it is this complicated nature that makes The Shadow my all-time favorite comic book-type character.

Actually, IGN is reporting that Raimi is hoping to produce either a series of movies or one movie that would unite The Shadow with other Street & Smith pulp heroes, including The Avenger and Doc Savage. However, Raimi has only talked about producing a new movie based on The Shadow at this time.

Here are more stories related to the new Shadow movie…

Columbia & Raimi Team on The Shadow
The Shadow Strikes Back
Exclusive: Sam Raimi’s Pulp Fiction

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit…crime does not pay…THE SHADOW KNOWS!”

UPDATED 12/13/06 (12:40 p.m. ET)
In a related story, actor Peter Boyle, who played Shadow agent/driver Moe “Shrevvy” Shrevnitz in the 1994 version of “The Shadow,” died last night at 71. Boyle is best known for portraying the tap-dancing monster in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” and the father in “Everybody Loves Raymond.”