Looking for a positive in MLB’s interleague fiasco? I must admit that I like the way Jim Palmer colors a game. In fact, the O’s stable of announcers on MASN are sound as Buck Martinez is much more preferred in the booth than on Team USA's bench and Gary Thorne is a familiar voice. If only John Lowenstein could still get some run, I might be convinced to watch an occasional AL-Only tilt.



That's the most Lowenstein I could find... silky! Somehow despite being distracted by that late 80's graphics package, I noticed that Fred McGriff's .301 BA was the only plus-300 average posted by either team. And Balmer slotted their top hitter (Billy Ripken -resisting linking to the card - with a .28couple) in the 9-hole.

Labels: baseball, tv

Yes, I do watch the show. I've even seen a handful of eps multiple times. Still, the details are apparently murky...

But you know I got #9 right!

Labels: tv

You know what Jordan, how 'bout you look ME in the eye and tell me the tag really says $185. Become legendary? Maybe. Become stone-broke? Yessir. Why do you think Sprewell's strapped for cash? He wanted to be like Mike. Hello XXIII's, bon-voyage yacht! And look at the cast of characters lining up to peddle Jumpman's: Jeter, T.O. 'Melo, Rip, Jesus Shuttlesworth... all veterans of the underbelly. But now The Tongue's got Joe Johnson hawking these? Oh well, it's not about the shoes, it's about what you do in them. Mainly, walk like a turkey.

Labels: commercials, NBA, tv

Since most of America was busy returning from their wives' grandmothers' house and tuning in to the Wizards/Suns late-night tilt during the Grammys airing, here's what we missed:

• Rehab pays: With 5 trophys, Cra, I mean Winehouse cleaned up
• The Gramophones? Ancient acts Hancock, Springsteen, Chaka, Gill and The Eagles win
• The BBD goes to: They actually have a Best R&B/Rap Collabo cat?!?
• Foreshadowing? Obama trumps Clinton
  
• Man, I been waitin' all night now: The definitive Kanye performance on YouTube

Labels: music, tv

Recapping VH1 award shows on Blogger.com may not be hip hop, but there's not a building tall enough around Lakeview Drive on which to spray this entry. The Honorees were hip hop though, and the "You ain't hip hop" skit served Tracy Morgan well as host.

I can't quite figure out though why award shows keep inviting performers who struggle in a live setting. The opening tribute to Honoree Missy Elliott was littered with them - Tweet, Keisha Cole, even Nelly Furtado was weak. T-Pain was awful, Lupe Fiasco forgot a few lines and Busta Rhymes was insane (although entertaining I must admit).

The show picked up from there. As usual, the old men in the room proved to hold the mic with supreme authority. The likes of Whodini, Teddy Riley, Busy Bee, KRS-One, Phife Dawg and Q-Tip delivered the old school goods to be expected at a Hip Hop Honors show.

The highlight for me was Kool Moe Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now" verse during the New Jack Swing tribute. Moe was a few pounds to the good physically compared to when he dropped the title track to solo album #2 back in '87, but he was pretty close vocally. He also seemingly buried the hatchet with LL (who appeared as a presenter) with a lyric swap out. Moe, or at least the Treacherous Three, has to be in line for an '08 Honor, right?

Here’s your Hip Hop Honors ’07/Blah, Blah, Blog Official Mix (and I do mean) Tape:

Side A

1. Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest
2. Five Minutes of Funk - Whodini
   
3. Gossip Folks - Missy Elliott
   
4. Groove Me - Guy (New Jack Swing)
   

Side B

1. What's My Name? - Snoop Doggy Dogg
2. Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie - Fantastic Freaks (Wild Style)
   
3. We Got Our Own Thang - Heavy D and the Boyz (New Jack Swing)
   
4. I Left My Wallet In El Segundo - A Tribe Called Quest
   

Labels: music, tv

Here's the challenge: What is the longest word you can come up with using only one magnetic alphabet? Can Mallory's eleven-letter word be topped?

How about this twelve-letter puzzle from last night's Wheel of Fortune: whippoorwill? Webster hyphenates it, but Sajak's wordsmithery is king in my book.

Labels: Googlecise, Mallory, photos, tv

While John Kerry goes to bat for cable subscribing baseball fans and the MLB tries to take their Extra Innings exclusively to DirecTV, I've done a little research to get a feel for the ball-and-stick coverage we're "stuck" with. For those Comcast subscribers in the South Central PA area the news is actually pretty good, especially for the senior circuit fans. We can expect to see the following:

• 162 Orioles games on MASN/MASN2
• 161 Nationals games on MASN/MASN2
• 118 Pirates games on FSN
• 70 Braves games on TBS
• 70 Cubs games on WGN
• 46 Phillies games on UPN

These numbers do not consider blackouts (I'm sure there will be a few). This also does not consider ESPN/ESPN2 Yankees/Red Sox or WGN White Sox telecasts.

Download the spreadsheet I compiled for the bulleted teams/networks above by clicking here.

Labels: baseball, tv

Labels: tv

Labels: tv

My eye caught this disclaimer as it zipped past during the credits of last night's "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader"... maybe not grossly incriminating but it has to rub off some of the wiz kids' luster, no? It's a lot like memorizing a "People: Best of 2006" from cover to cover (minus Nintendo Wii snippet, hah!) in hopes of triumphing at the annual New Year's Eve Jeopardy challenge.

Labels: bunkum, holidays, tv

After some sub-par guesswork on the fate of last year's Idol crop, I figured I better allow myself at least one performance on the Idol stage before getting all fearless with my predictions. This year's group is unique compared to previous groups due to the fact that they're not really that, well, unique. No rockers. No twangers. And thankfully no crooners. I think the similarity in voice/style among the remaining 20 contestants is what makes this season so difficult to predict. But I'll take a shot anyway by highlighting 6 to watch:

6) Lakisha Jones: Fast start but much was the hype associated with singing last; won't fare as well as most are predicting, probably top 8 but I doubt top 5
5) Brandon Rogers: Slow start but should gain momentum; expect a top 8 finish
4) Jordin Sparks: Could be the most unique female; another top 8 finisher
3) Chris Richardson: If he can get comfortable, expect a top 4 finish
2) Blake Lewis: Probably the most versatile of the males; this season's runner-up
1) Stephanie Edwards: I was most impressed by her in the opening round; she'll stick around longer than any other female and win this thing

Labels: AI, tv

What an enjoyable night of TV last evening! These are my top 5 highlights:

#5: Ellen's Life Goal
Strange to see a commercial get a network promo as NBC went into a break, but the new American Express ad featuring Ellen Degeneres and her life goal to work with animals was entertaining.

#4: Baron Davis in full effect
The NBC lineup had me temporarily forget about the NBA on TNT, but I remembered in time to tune in for the start of the west-coast game. I stayed awake for the first quarter, long enough to see Papertown Shakes guard Baron Davis dish out 11 assists. He was on pace to shatter a single-game record, but apparently switched gears a bit as the game continued - he finished with 36 points, 18 assists and 8 boards.

#3: 30 Rock
This show had me laughing the most last night. I like the move to Thursdays and think I will watch it regularly. Thanks to NBC for completing and marketing a "no laugh-track" Thursday night lineup. It could only be better if they picked up Everybody Hates Chris and plugged that in My Name Is Earl's (already stale) timeslot.

#2: The Office
The viewing history gives this one the edge over 30 Rock. The cast members merged to create some new funny moments, especially Dwight vs. Ed Helms (I forget his show name). But just when I thought Kevin stole the show again, he really just ended up selling out.

#1: Peace, Love and Gap
This new commercial featuring Common was great. It was visually artsy, and Common's performance was authentic... tough to do when you're rapping for a jean company. Hopefully it helps him expand his audience.

Labels: commercials, fantasy basketball, rank and file, tv

Last night’s Hip Hop Honors show on VH1 was a bit of a disappointment. The show lacked the spirit and energy the ’05 version brought, but I guess it’s difficult to imagine the likes of the Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube (the rapper), or Rakim having fun in any way, anywhere. I missed the first half-hour (MJ and her Dancing with the Stars), so maybe I’ll connect better with the Beastie Boys and MC Lyte DVR’d performances.

Plus, the guests seemed only willing to commit to reading a few lines off of a teleprompter rather than perfoming. Except Black Thought from The Roots… the show was basically a Black Thought cover concert. If the Roots are never officially Hip Hop Honored by VH1, they’ll at least get a Contributor ribbon.

Another strange thing was the way VH1 edited out words like “drugs,” “crack,” “guns,” and “gat” from the performances. This was during the 10:00 hour on a cable channel! Not to mention there’s no way those words should ever be censored. And considering the content presented on network TV every day of the week at any hour, I’m pretty sure I’d have to Bring Da Ruckus were I the leader of some sort of coalition. Shame On a VH1. On the plus-side, this might eliminate 50 Cent from Honoree consideration since the majority of his songs are actually titled "Drugs, Crack, Guns, Gat."

I may have learned something though from presenter KRS-One (naturally). I never really thought about it, but he pronounced Rap to be an acronym for Rhythm And Poetry. Of course he also once said “…the Blastmaster KRS-One, short for poet,” which is makes no sense. So I wonder, has this common term truly originated from an acronym? Or is this an acronym like “DMC stands for devastating mic control” or “MC means move the crowd”? Curious.

Anyway, here’s your Hip Hop Honors ’06/Blah, Blah, Blog Official Mix (and I do mean) Tape:

Side A

1. Eric B. Is President – Eric B. and Rakim
2. Cha, Cha, Cha – MC Lyte
3. Paul Revere – Beastie Boys
4. Planet Rock – Afrika Bambaataa

Side B

1. Boyz in the Hood – Eazy-E
2. It Was a Good Day – Ice Cube
   
3. C.R.E.A.M. – Wu-Tang Clan
   
4. Rock Box – Run D.M.C.

Labels: music, tv

That includes David Wells. The San Diego Padres pitcher missed a start last night with Chris Rock's favorite disease. Catch episode 15 of Everybody Hates Chris for an excellent Gout infomercial. Also, DVR the season premier of Chris this Sunday. Attn The CW: That 7:00 start-time is, well, risky.

As for the Padres, their win without Boomer Wells helped to create what is becoming a 3-race final week in the NL. St. Louis' Central lead is down to 2.5 over the surging Houston Astros, San Diego holds a 2 game lead over LA in the West, and those Dodgers are even with the Phils for the Wild-Card berth. Remember, should a West division team win the WC, they'll face the Metropolitans in the post-season's first round. Should the Phils fight to win the 4th seed, they will not square off against the Mets since they're in the same division. I'm rooting for Mets/Padres, Cardinals/Phillies match-ups.

Labels: baseball, tv

The least interesting American Idol season has finally ended. Taylor Hicks will go down in history as the only gray-haired champion. Good for him... he's okay. But overall, I just couldn't get into this season as much as the last few.

Nevertheless, there was a party. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights of the Bender's AI Finale Party:

• Tamyra Gray makes her 32nd special guest appearance on AI by working the crowds.
• Daughtry and some other dudes... I know I'm supposed to get excited because their from York and all, but what's good about these Live fellas?
• Mark's Berman-esque Taylor "Braxton" Hicks nickname takes life as he sings with Toni Braxton.
• The Brokenote Cowboys put on a pretty good show, out-performing the likes of Meatloaf and Toni Braxton for sure.
• Welcome to the party soon-to-be SusCom Idol Pool winner Sean Kirby.
• Prince's performance is strange... 10 minutes prior to the ending of the show, no Idol sharing the stage, singing something new nobody knows. Thumbs down to the obvious self-promo and alleged ego trip.
• Easy, Mark - it's just Hasselhoff!
• "We're proud of you Taylor Hicks." - MJ

Next up: What will Chris Daughtry do?

Labels: AI, tape-delayed blog, tv

Now that American Idol has whittled their contestant pool down to 24, it's time to break out the crystal ball. I'm pushing the limits of my AI prognostication powers by making these picks early, but I'm feeling connected to this group. I think I've got a handle on season 5.

But before the picks, I've got to highlight a few developing situations:

1) One of my favorites has been Taylor Hicks. Seems like an acquired taste so I don't expect him to go too far. Hopefully, I'm surprised.

2) Another crooner has been drug into this thing. I couldn't stand John Stevens 2 seasons ago. How could they do this to us again with David Radford? What if someone like this wins? How can they make a CD? Last time I checked no one has a Dean Martin CD.

3) It was good to see the Brittnam twins removed. But did they really have to show the local news story on their arrests, complete with mug shots and all, on the most watched TV show in the world?

Now the picks:

• Chris Daughtry will win
• Ace Young and Paris Bennett will be in the top 5
• Lisa Tucker, Gedeon McKinney and Kellie Pickler will be in the top 9

Labels: AI, tv

The 5th season of American Idol kicked off last night. Despite the audition show delivering the same-old, same-old, I must admit that I am excited for another season.

Last night's Memorex Clutch Performer: Brandon, the police officer. We should've known we were in for some trouble when he announced he was going to sing the chorus of EPMD's "I Shot The Sheriff", a song with a two line hook. I couldn't help but laugh as he sang the same thing over and over and over.

Looks like we won't be hearing any performances of Kelly Clarkson songs on the show. In a classic case of one-upsmanship, Fantasia announced "Baby Mama" is readily available for any Idol contestant.

Update: After finding her initial decision pitchy at spots, Clarkson changed her tune. For what its worth.

Labels: AI, tv

December 9th: Scottie Pippen's jersey was retired and sent to the rafters during halftime of the Bulls/Lakers game. I watched the ceremony online the following day... kudos to Doug Collins for well-done videotaped congrats. Thumbs down to Phil "I remember the migraines against Detroit" Jackson and Michael "Scottie always had my back" Jordan for their sloppy live efforts, but it was cool that everyone showed up.

December 11th: I missed the Eagles game but it sounds like they gave the Giants all they could handle. In other NFL action, the Bengals' lackluster performance against the Browns ended my Fantasy Football season. (P.S. Don't Forget - The Eagles took Freddie Mitchell 10 picks before the Bengals took Chad Johnson in the 2001 NFL Draft.) So long FFL 2005, I won't miss you!

December 12th: State Fair Corn Dogs... I'll vouch for that.

December 14th: Goodtime Ice is off to another great start against Upper Echelon in the Blades Of Steel Fantasy Hockey League. Could I have possibly assembled the most dominant fantasy hockey team ever? Furthermore, is there anything less impressive than assembling the most dominant fantasy hockey team ever?

December 15th: Randal's 180 in the final hour of The Apprentice not only jilted Rebecca, but the entire 4th season of the show. Trump wanted to hire them both... since when does Trump not do what Trump wants to do? Oh yeah, that's right, he had good reason... it's The Apprentice, not The Apprenti!

December 16th: Sign me up for The Colbert Report's "The Campaign Against Humbuggery: The War on Holiday". Its time to take a stand, and stop dragging "Holiday" through the mud.

December 17th: Whitey drops 53 points in 40 minutes in our final church league game of 2005. We were shorthanded and had to go with 4 players against 5, but the Energizer bunny just kept plugging away and lighting up the scoreboard. If I would have glanced at that very scoreboard once in awhile, we might have won the game... but that's a different story.

December 18th: Birds Win! Birds Win! Once again I missed the game, but it was nice to hear that the Eagles triumphed in a rematch of the 2001 NFC Championship game. RB Ryan Moats had the highlight run, but you still have to consider that he gained 19 yards total on his 11 other carries. In other NFL news, says here that "Rex Grossman's rescue effort elevated him back to starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears". Hmmm... Rex entered the game with a 6-3 Chicago lead and the Bears won 16-3. Nice work, uhhh, Rex?

Labels: Eagles '05, Pip, tv, vouchers

For some reason, I decided not to find a game to watch during commercial breaks tonight while watching Everybody Hates Chris and The Apprentice. Man have I been missing out on some commercials!

Car commercials... MTV without the lip-synchers. Jeep's Missy Elliott commercial (still looking for clip) is the greatest. The treatment of the video in this one is inspiring. I think I want to try to pull that off with my Handycam and Focus. The Nissan Bottom Line commercial was decent too.

Tom Brady and his 5 layers of security for Visa. When you win the Super Bowl you do clever credit card commercials that are actually funny. When you lose the Super Bowl, Chunky Soup.

The Girl in the Moon Miller Lite spot... breaking ground for a beer ad. The subtle manipulation of nostalgic graphics is cool and kept my attention. A bearded Bill Walton is a bonus!

And while its not a commercial, the intro for Everybody Hates Chris is extremely well done too. Who would have thought that passing on the Air Force/Utah tilt would have turned into such a videography study?!?

Labels: commercials, tv

The World Wide Web, a Couch Potato's best friend:

• Memorize your channel lineup
• Read Todd's teleblogivision to see what's on
• Recap last night's highlights at TV Guide's Watercooler
• Plan your life around your favorite shows by tracking them on MeeVee
• Or, plan your favorite shows around your life with a SusCom DVR
• Find out how your favorite shows rate with the Nielsen ratings
• And of course, the NFL makes for a relaxing Sunday

Labels: tv