Its Deja Vu this January as Jack guests to discuss his Patriots in this years Super Bowl. We also bring back PeteMC for another year of our original Super Bowl challenge ‘Beat PeteMC’. PJ and TM make a side bet as they cannot disagree more about this Sundays game. Hopslam’s are drank, drunk, drinked…10%…Don’t @ ME!
Remember to call us with your questions/comments/suggestions for the show #708-316-8822…
The NFL is fixed, the Saints blew it before the non-penalty, Brady is the GOAT, and the Patriots have been to the Super Bowl 3 straight years now. We get into it, because we have to.
Remember to call us with your questions/comments/suggestions for the show #708-316-8822…
The NFL Conference Championship matchups are set and the boys get some BSV help from the listeners while discussing this past weekends action. They then look ahead to the Conference championship games and PJ makes his picks, while TM cannot bring himself to pick the games, although his gut is talking some serious Shyte to him.
Remember to call us with your questions/comments/suggestions for the show #708-316-8822…
Remember to call us with your questions/comments/suggestions for the show #708-316-8822…
0:00:00 – Jack’s back for our Super Bowl Spectacular!!! Right off the top, the guys get breaking NFL news about the Redskin’s acquisition of Alex Smith and how the remaining dominoes will fall. How does Jack feel going in to Super Bowl #9 of his lifetime. Nervous or confident or both?
0:22:30 – BSV!!! Super Bowl Predictions… which doesn’t include the Minnesota Vikings. Did you know that? We also get some World Cup talk… so there’s that! At the end of BSV… caller Chad D gets a gift from TM. Enjoy!
0:53:30 – PETE MC!!! Yes, that Pete MC joins the SportsCast to give us his thoughts on the Super Bowl, his viewing ritual, and what he thinks about this years Super Bowl Prop Bets!!! You can join in the fun by submitting your guesses on the BMFML group page!
1:21:45 – SUPER BOWL: The guys try their best to break down the Super Bowl while keeping Jack in check. Foles, Brady, Gronk, and even Jim Schwartz plays a part. Discussions continue about the Quarterback free agents and then final Predictions are made. Somewhere along the lines, PJ’s drinks make him lose the ability for rational thought and may have picked the Eagles to win.
Next week, we’ll wrap up the Super Bowl and the NFL season as a whole.
Guys, football season is almost here, and to commemorate, I’m taking you on a trip down memory lane. Since I can’t think of anything worthwhile to write about, I’m hooking all of you up with some seriously legitimate Awards-caliber shit. That’s right, here it is in all its glory, the New England Patriots first Super Bowl win highlight film from NFL Films. Enjoy and Binge On!
Football PSI, Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Superhero Bubble
Timing is everything, and as I write this article news is breaking of the punishment for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots regarding the football PSI scandal (I’m done using “-gate” terms for this shit, it’s annoying). You guys know me, I’m a die-hard Pats fan and I have no shame in admitting I have issues with how this entire debacle came together, was propagated by the media and continues to leave Patriots-haters salty. Look, human beings make mistakes. If there truly was evidence found implicating Brady and the team in some sort of wrongdoing, I’d walk away, angrily, but I’d get on with my life. Because of what was found in the Wells Report and the media’s reaction to and reporting of the findings, this is a sad day for the Patriots and the NFL. The message that was sent with this ruling was clear; wife-beaters, child abusers and possible murderers are a-ok, but if you may be “generally aware” of a ball being deflated, you have committed crimes against football and you must be tarred, feathered and shamed in public.
If you’re someone who Brady has repeatedly spanked over the years and you don’t like the guy, that’s fine. You have that right, and frankly if I didn’t have Brady as my QB I’d probably hate the guy too. The problem with this ruling is the precedent for rules and guidelines in the NFL does not exist, and furthermore isn’t clear. Why is this important? Because it now says that without any good reason if tomorrow Odell Beckham Jr. is found to have used deer antler spray on his inner thigh that contains an illegal substance the league has deemed unuseable the commissioner can have his first-born and enact Prima Noctra. It’s bullshit, and while you non-Pats fans may be happy that you won’t have to deal with Brady for potentially a quarter of next season, you should all be just as pissed as I am. The PSI rule being broken carries a $25,000 fine with it, which for some reason is being overlooked in this case. Whatever, I can’t go on about it any further, but I will say this here and now: next season is tainted. Whoever gets the Lombardi (and I include the Patriots in this) needs to have an asterisk next to their title, standing for the non-Brady handicap. Fuck Goodell. #FreeTomBrady.
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
So much piss and vinegar this week! It has a lot to do with the fact that moments before I read my special boy Brady is suspended that I saw Cobain: Montage of Heck, the documentary about Kurt Cobain’s life. While I found the documentary to be understandably one-sided and curiously absent of any interview with Dave Grohl it was still affecting and disturbing. Kurt was clearly a broken individual with a tough background, but at times the documentary seems to be using that as an excuse for how he treated others and, ultimately, what led to his suicide. Still though, I can’t help but find the documentary to paint a pretty vivid picture of the type of person he was, while maybe ignoring some of the more unsympathetic aspects of who he was. 8/10 all day.
Finally, I, like many of the people on this planet, got to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, and like many I felt a little underwhelmed by the film. I’ve grown up in the golden age of the superhero. I never read most of these comics but with the first two Spider-Man films, the first two X-Men films and Nolan’s Batman trilogy I have become a huge fan of these cinema landscapes. It was a given that I’d like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and at this point these films have a certain level of quality to them that sticks the landing every time. As a non-comic book reader, I can’t appreciate Vision embracing Scarlett Witch on screen the way some others can, but I do appreciate the fuck out of my boy Paul Bettany getting to beat some ass on-screen. What I’m getting at with all of this is that we are very spoiled right now. If you like superhero stories, you’re getting at least one good one a year for the foreseeable future. The bubble, however, is about ready to burst, and while I think I’m in for the long haul on most of these even I can see where in the wrong hands these stories can start to fall apart. Ultron felt like the lead-up to another Marvel film rather than a story on its own merits, which was disappointing. The first Avengers had finality to it. By the end of that film, all the characters went on a certain journey and concluded that adventure in a satisfying way, with some laughs, serious thrills and enough strands of future stories that setting up the next few films didn’t seem like a gimmick. Ultron was too full of gimmick for me. Why bring in Andy Serkis for two scenes? So he can have his arm ripped off and set up Black Panther. Tony Stark wasn’t held accountable for creating Ultron in this film? That’s just so he and the Cap have something to fight over in Civil War. There’s a lot of intentional story-threading here and it’s a little disappointing that there was so much intent put on that rather than just making this story work well. All that being said, I still enjoyed the movie as entertainment, it just didn’t have the resonance the first one had with me. Still though, I’ll go 8/10 just because Paul Bettany is my boy. How much longer will these films be good? That remains to be seen.
One last time: fuck Roger Goodell. I will be protesting this ruling in my own special way, so stay tuned for that, but as always, Binge On!
Before I get to this weekend’s action in the NFL, I wanted to let you know how you did in the voting for the College Football Playoff National Championship this past Monday night between Oregon and Ohio State. In another exciting college football game that broke tons of records, the Buckeyes were victorious 42-20. In the final poll results, 42% of you voted for Ohio State to win. Admittedly, I was not one that voted that way. I didn’t think that they could keep up, but Urban Meyer had that team ready to play. Believe me, it pains me to say this as a Michigan fan, but that win was impressive. But as a fan of the game and of the Big 10, I couldn’t help but respect it. Congrats to the Ohio State Buckeyes. But still, GO BLUE!!!!
Now let’s get to the pro action.
We’re down to four teams left on the road to Arizona. After an exciting and controversial weekend of action (for some anyway), we’re left with a solid final four in the NFL. But before I go on, let me just get something out of the way. As a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, I’ve been asked all week on my thoughts on how the game ended on Sunday afternoon, obviously referring to the Dez Bryant play. And honestly, it doesn’t really matter what I think, does it? I absolutely love sports and I love the teams that I root for and I always will. But seriously, if you let the outcome of a football game ruin your day or ruin your week, then you’ve got problems. Look at what I wrote above. As someone who roots for Michigan, I just congratulated Ohio State. Does that make me a bad fan? Does it make me a bad fan that I haven’t put up fifty memes about the Dez Bryant catch? No, it just means that I can watch a game, be absolutely caught up in the emotions that sports can bring out, but when that final buzzer sounds, I can let it go. Maybe that’s not for everybody, but hey, it works for me. So with that being said, I can still say that I’m excited for some great football this weekend, even with my team being out of it. I’ve always tried to be fair and impartial as your Binge Sports guy, so let me take another crack at it. We’ll start with the early game in the NFC, but before that, take a look to see how you did in the divisional round.
New England-def. Baltimore 35-31 (81% voted correctly)
(2) GREEN BAY PACKERS (13-4, won NFC North)
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(1) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13-4, won NFC West)
WHEN: Sunday, January 18th, 2015-3:05ET/2:05CT
TV: FOX
Current Line: Seahawks favored by 7
Why You Should Watch: Because this is the game that was expected to happen from the start of the year. Hopefully, we’ll get a better contest than the one we had to start the season. Also played in Seattle, the Seahawks bested the Packers by 20 in Week 1. But there’s been a lot of football between then and now.
Similar to last week, the question of the week will be the status of Aaron Rodgers’ calf injury. He battled through last week to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, but as good as they were, that defense isn’t that of the Seahawks, who’ve been on a tear as of late.
The home field advantage obviously helps Seattle on Sunday, who always rely on “The 12th Man” for that extra edge. Having Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch playing at the level they’ve been playing at doesn’t hurt either. It’s going to be hard to beat that Packers-Cowboys game last week, but if any two teams can do it, it’s these two. Expect a classic if Rodgers can go.
[yop_poll id=”168″]
(4) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (13-5, won AFC South)
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(1) NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (13-4, won AFC East)
WHEN: Sunday, January 18th, 2015-6:40ET/5:40CT
TV: CBS
Current Line: Patriots favored by 7
Why You Should Watch: Because you either love or hate the Patriots. Like it or not, New England has become one of those franchises, pretty much the Yankees of the NFL. There’s guys like our very own Jack who live and breathe that team, and there’s those that will tune in to watch them lose. The question is whether or not Andrew Luck is ready to grab that brass ring.
Let’s face it. The Patriots are going to do what they’ve always done. Brady and Belichick are in their ninth AFC Championship together and they’ll be ready to go. But Andrew Luck and the Colts just went to Denver and beat Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Granted, Manning was injured and doesn’t have the best playoff history in the world, but still impressive nonetheless. With Brady and Manning getting older, Luck has been on the fast track to being the elite quarterback in the AFC. A win in Foxboro on Sunday speeds that up even more. It should be fun to watch.
[yop_poll id=”169″]
And there you have it. We’re in for another great day of football. It’s high profile teams with high profile players. Who’d you pick? As always, you can comment below or follow and tweet @BingeSports and/or @THElukenorris. Binge Sports will return soon with a Pro Bowl preview. I’m completely kidding…nobody watches the Pro Bowl. But I’ll definitely be back before the Super Bowl. Enjoy.
An image may be worth a thousand words but the photo seen above only evokes one; fitting. It’s fitting that a nobody, practice squad back named Jonas Gray came out to Indianapolis and put up four rushing touchdowns on the Colts. It’s fitting that he’s seen here nailing a Colts defenseman in the balls. In fact, it’s fitting that finally, in week 11 of the 2014 NFL season, my Patriots are on top of their game. Earlier in the season things looked bleak. A series of bad games did nothing to deter the doubts a lot of people had that the golden age was over. Not so fast. I think a lot of those people, myself included to a certain extent, forgot about the mastermind behind it all. While Gray’s performance and Gronk’s obnoxious TD late in the game were both impressive, simply put no one puts together a solid gameplan like Captain Belichick.
This is a man that not only can figure out what you’re going to eat for breakfast the night before, but he could simultaneously tell you what you’ll think about it. Quite simply, there is no other coach in this league that is on his level. I understand there’s a strong bias here because I am a loyal fan, but can you honestly see any other coach essentially making his star QB’s mistakes a non-issue in a game like this? On the road, against one of the top teams in the division, they straight up dismantle and embarrass the Colts by saying proudly “Fuck you, stop me you fucks”. I know he is seen as a genius coach in the league, and he is certainly one of the most stubborn and confident minds in all of sports, but the day Belichick hangs his hat up for good will be a sad one. I love watching this guy coach, and I love where the team is at right now. I’ll be at the Lions game this week where I expect nothing short of excellence, and have no reason not to.
Got a quick jumpstart on my TV homework this week and caught the first five minutes of Utopia. All I can say is THAT is how you start a series. I don’t know much and am about to finish the first episode, but I’ve gotta say the style and the intrigue are really working for me with this one. This better live up to the hype, but judging by the intro I have faith.
You would think that someone like myself, being a Batman fan, I would be interested in a show like Gotham. You would be wrong. I watched the first two episodes and a part of the third, but that was all I needed to see how fucking deplorable this shit is. I’m a big believer in stories, whether they be books, television or film, need to have a strong foundation to work from. At its heart, for instance, Breaking Bad was about a man who felt inadequate in his own life and used his illness to become, in his eyes, more of a man. That’s a great arc for a character and created one of the greatest television series of all time. Gotham doesn’t really care about its most important character, and that troubles me. I’m not referring to Gordon, but actually Bruce Wayne. I understand Gotham is a show about Gordon and his early years on the GCPD, which could be a great angle to take. After all, stories like Gotham Central did it extremely well in the comics, so trying this on cable is a no-brainer. However, although Ben McKenzie won me over as Gordon, the kid playing Bruce Wayne is given some of the most nonsensical situations to deal with that I’ve seen in a long time. There is a key dynamic to Bruce Wayne that makes him so compelling to someone like me. At a certain point, after dropping out of college a few times, Bruce embarks on a runaway journey, being that he is still a lost soul into his mid-twenties. In his travels, he trains and learns how the world works. Through these critical years, he learns why Gotham needs someone to save it, and he becomes the Batman through this understanding. If, seen in this series, you have a 12-year old kid who, the day after his parents are murdered, flipping through the newspaper looking for misfortunate people to help, you’ve got a problem. A young Bruce should not be thinking this way without some life experience. If the writers knew anything about Batman’s true appeal, they would have ignored his character on this series and specifically showed him as a child who is moderately disobedient and somewhat detached from others. Without this, there is no room for Wayne’s arc as it stands in the lore of Batman, and as such you have a character who isn’t actually Bruce Wayne as he is known the world over, more a neutered shadow of what Bruce Wayne is. And it is with this broken foundation that Gotham wishes to build upon. I say fuck that. I don’t care how good the Penguin actor is, they fucked up THE FUCKING GUY WHO BECOMES BATMAN! SERIOUSLY?!?! HE’S THE ONLY REASON ANY OF YOU MOTHER FUCKERS TUNED IN FOR THIS SHIT!!!! Unbelievable.
Another week down, another few paragraphs of me being (mostly) angry. I am picky as fuck, deal with it. Check back for more blogs and podcasts (for the club) and as always, Binge On!
I Know That Voice, Rob Lowe, Gone Girl & The Mo’ F****n’ Pats
I’m no huge animation fife but I still dug the hell out of the Moreno-recommended I Know That Voice, a documentary, produced by the multi-lingual John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama, among others) centered around the world of voice actors. I loved how the flick went into how voice acting really is a performance, and in some cases a more complete one than what actors in a movie can offer. You see, it seems obvious in retrospect, but most people don’t consider the fact that voice actors need to convey a lot more emotion in their voice and inflection than normal actors due because of their physical restrictions. When you play Gears of War, you don’t take into account the fact that behind the graphics is a voice actor working hard to properly emote and convey emotions and ideas without a visual aid, and it’s that level of borderline-exhaustive explanation that make this one of the better documentaries I’ve seen in a while. You get to see and hear from voices like Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, as well as veterans like Jim Cummings and Rob Paulsen. 9 on 10 without question, if only because of how genuinely entertaining it is to see the real people behind these famous voices.
I’m on Season 5 of Parks and Rec and I have to admit without hesitation that this show thoroughly dwarfs The Office in terms of quality. To me, The Office was a lot of fun through the first four seasons, and then it slowly died over the rest of the series. It almost seems as if the creators looked at what worked with The Office, perfected it, cut off the dead weight and overly empty emotional crap and made an overall better show with Parks and Rec. I think Rob Lowe is probably my favorite character on the show, and that’s high praise in a cast like this. His infectious positivity coupled with his dark and depressing asides to the camera is brilliantly hilarious. I would even say this show, moreso than The West Wing, has revitalized Lowe in a way not dissimilar to something that Tarantino does with his actors. So glad I stuck with this as it is quickly becoming a favorite comedy.
Yes, of course I saw Gone Girl this weekend. I know this flick is getting a solid push from the hype train, but, honestly, it just didn’t hit me the right way. I love Fincher, I loved the book and I thought the entire cast was great, the soundtrack was effective and the whole film was really well put together. However, there was something that didn’t translate well enough for me with the film. I don’t know if it comes from the fact that maybe, to me, this story loses it’s luster once you already know what’s going to happen, but I left the theater feeling sort of “meh” about the film. I honestly couldn’t tell you why, as I completely recognize how well-made this film was, especially in comparison to the source novel, but it just didn’t gel for me. 7 on 10. This is a chart from some of the major football analysts this week. I’d like to draw your attention to the Sunday night game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals and my New England Patriots. There’s nothing sweeter than a win, but it feels way better when no one thought your boys would do it. Great job to Belichick and the team for making the proper adjustments and beginning to right the ship, after Monday night’s dismal performance. I felt like this game was such a complete, statement of a win that it’s making the team look a little better than it might actually be, but I’m fine with that. A Pats ‘W’ makes for a good week, and god damn is this week looking pretty fucking fantastic.
That concludes this week’s entry, obviously ending on a high-note and looking forward to a solid week. Stay tuned this week as we’ve got a whole slew of podcasts ready to blast you in your ear holes, check out daily blogs, and of course Binge On!
