I don't want to say I told you so....
Jimmy Fallon was very uncomfortable right from the opening monologue last night. Was the hands-in-the-pockets delivery during the monologue an homage to Johnny Carson? I hope so and I hope they tell him to stop that tonight. And the jokes....very tepid.
Now there are worse things in life than sucking at your own heavily hyped talk show. But was it a good idea to impersonate Robert DeNiro in front of Robert DeNiro? What's the best result here? Is DeNiro going to laugh at Fallon....like he's a clown? Like DeNiro's here to amuse Fallon...like's he's a clown? (Sorry couldn't resist)
And this deliberate attempt to make it all technological and hip came across as lame and stupid. "Jimmy on Facebook!" Who cares? NBC wanted this apparent "pushing the envelope" to be in the same style as Letterman circa 1982. Who tune in...you never what's going to happen! Please.
Yes, this will be a work in progress for NBC. All talk shows musyt given a puncher's chance to smooth out the kinks. But seriously who made the decisionto cast Fallon? Is it the ssme guy who put Celelbrity Apprentice on Sunday nights at 9?
You get the feeling that NBC has totally lost its way? Memo to Jeff "Zippy" Zucker...You have to get involved here.
Tina Fey tonight--She should give him some good material. Or at least make him a little more comfortable.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Snowbound Monday!
Some random thoughts on a snowbound Monday: Twelve inches in CT. Snow in March is gay.
Call me crazy but I think Jimmy Fallon's new talk show (which debuts tonight) has a good chance of being Train Wreck TV. I saw Fallon guesting for Letterman during Dave's heart attack hiatus and he sucked. Visibly nervous. Don't get me wrong--I liked him on Weekend Update but some can't make the jump to carrying their own show. See Chase, Chevy. DeNiro--who rarely does television interviews--is Jimmy's first guest. I'll be sure to tune in ---at 12:30. CMON.
I'm watching the Baseball Network and they're in the middle of previewing the 30 baseball teams. Today? The Houston Astros. They are actually talking about Mike Hampton making 30 starts. Mike Hampton....If I wasn't doubled over in laughter, I'd actually explain it here.
Anyone catch Steve Kroft interviewing Harry Markopoulos last night on 60 Minutes? For those of you dumbasses who don't know, Markopoulos was the would-be Madoff whistleblower who sent five letters to the SEC urging the investigation into Madoff's firm. The SEC did nothing. Markopoulos told Kroft (I swear Kroft gets the best stories. Guy is Aces. Love Kroft.) the investigators at the SEC couldn't spot fraud, even if you instructed where to look. The SEC investigators simply don't have the sophistication. That's a damn strong statement. But then Markopoulos should know. He figured out the Madoff scheme in less than five hours. Great piece.
While we're at it, can we cut the shit with penciling in stats for certain players. Last year, some people who should know better, figured Yankee pitcher Phil Hughes was good for 18 wins. He finished the 2008 season with exactly zero wins. This year's hot rookie is Mark Melancon--who's being touted as Mariano's replacement in waiting. Can I at least see Melancon close out the Tampa Rays first? Already he's the Yankee closer? Only in baseball do you see such lofty statements.
Giants signed Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty...That will hurt Dallas next year.
Sean Avery will return to the Rangers this week. Will it help? Well, it couldn't hurt. They're fucked. The NHL trade deadline is tomorrow. Can the Rangers swing a big deal?
The Dow saw 6,999 today. What the fuck is going on?
Call me crazy but I think Jimmy Fallon's new talk show (which debuts tonight) has a good chance of being Train Wreck TV. I saw Fallon guesting for Letterman during Dave's heart attack hiatus and he sucked. Visibly nervous. Don't get me wrong--I liked him on Weekend Update but some can't make the jump to carrying their own show. See Chase, Chevy. DeNiro--who rarely does television interviews--is Jimmy's first guest. I'll be sure to tune in ---at 12:30. CMON.
I'm watching the Baseball Network and they're in the middle of previewing the 30 baseball teams. Today? The Houston Astros. They are actually talking about Mike Hampton making 30 starts. Mike Hampton....If I wasn't doubled over in laughter, I'd actually explain it here.
Anyone catch Steve Kroft interviewing Harry Markopoulos last night on 60 Minutes? For those of you dumbasses who don't know, Markopoulos was the would-be Madoff whistleblower who sent five letters to the SEC urging the investigation into Madoff's firm. The SEC did nothing. Markopoulos told Kroft (I swear Kroft gets the best stories. Guy is Aces. Love Kroft.) the investigators at the SEC couldn't spot fraud, even if you instructed where to look. The SEC investigators simply don't have the sophistication. That's a damn strong statement. But then Markopoulos should know. He figured out the Madoff scheme in less than five hours. Great piece.
While we're at it, can we cut the shit with penciling in stats for certain players. Last year, some people who should know better, figured Yankee pitcher Phil Hughes was good for 18 wins. He finished the 2008 season with exactly zero wins. This year's hot rookie is Mark Melancon--who's being touted as Mariano's replacement in waiting. Can I at least see Melancon close out the Tampa Rays first? Already he's the Yankee closer? Only in baseball do you see such lofty statements.
Giants signed Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty...That will hurt Dallas next year.
Sean Avery will return to the Rangers this week. Will it help? Well, it couldn't hurt. They're fucked. The NHL trade deadline is tomorrow. Can the Rangers swing a big deal?
The Dow saw 6,999 today. What the fuck is going on?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Top 10 Reasons To Fire Glen Sather
10.) Gave Bryan Trottier a coaching gig after being pitched the job on a coacktail napkin
9.) Bitched and moaned whilst in small-market Edmonton. Then spent like drunken sailor in NY. (And sucks managing today's salary cap)
8.) Short of hiring Osama bin Laden, Sather's creepy realtionship with Garden boss Jim Dolan provides him the Teflon-status not seen since Fredo Coreleone when his mother still alive
7.) Maneuvers NHL Drafts with all the dexterity and finesse as did Dick Clark last New Year's Eve. Don't beleive me? In 2003, for example, the Rangers used the 12th overall choice to select Dartmouth College forward Hugh Jessiman. In doing so, they passed on Dustin Brown (13th), Brent Seabrook (14th), Zach Parise (17th), Ryan Getzlaf (19th), Brent Burns (20th), Ryan Kesler (23rd), Mike Richards (24th), Loui Eriksson (33rd), and Patrice Bergeron (45th)..Jessiman is no longer with the team
6.) Let Jagr, Shanahan and Avery walk and replaced them with Nik Zherdev (the modern day Alex Kovalev) past-his-prime Markus Naslund and Aaron Voros.
5.) By compiling too many of the same player (Callahan, Dubinsky, Dawes) he's seems to be taking a page from true genius Lou Lamoriello.
4.)He had Gretzky, Messier, & Coffey in their prime and mistakenly thought his a birthright to drink from the Cup
3.) Slats is gay nickname for a grown man
2.) Two words: Wade Redden.
1.) Since he got to 33rd and 7th nine years ago, Sather's won exactly TWO playoff rounds
9.) Bitched and moaned whilst in small-market Edmonton. Then spent like drunken sailor in NY. (And sucks managing today's salary cap)
8.) Short of hiring Osama bin Laden, Sather's creepy realtionship with Garden boss Jim Dolan provides him the Teflon-status not seen since Fredo Coreleone when his mother still alive
7.) Maneuvers NHL Drafts with all the dexterity and finesse as did Dick Clark last New Year's Eve. Don't beleive me? In 2003, for example, the Rangers used the 12th overall choice to select Dartmouth College forward Hugh Jessiman. In doing so, they passed on Dustin Brown (13th), Brent Seabrook (14th), Zach Parise (17th), Ryan Getzlaf (19th), Brent Burns (20th), Ryan Kesler (23rd), Mike Richards (24th), Loui Eriksson (33rd), and Patrice Bergeron (45th)..Jessiman is no longer with the team
6.) Let Jagr, Shanahan and Avery walk and replaced them with Nik Zherdev (the modern day Alex Kovalev) past-his-prime Markus Naslund and Aaron Voros.
5.) By compiling too many of the same player (Callahan, Dubinsky, Dawes) he's seems to be taking a page from true genius Lou Lamoriello.
4.)He had Gretzky, Messier, & Coffey in their prime and mistakenly thought his a birthright to drink from the Cup
3.) Slats is gay nickname for a grown man
2.) Two words: Wade Redden.
1.) Since he got to 33rd and 7th nine years ago, Sather's won exactly TWO playoff rounds
Monday, February 23, 2009
NY Rangers Fire Renney, Hire Tortorella
Tom Renney deserved better. The New York Rangers apparently thinking they can still save the season fired coach Tom Renney today. Unfortunately, Jim Dolan fired the wrong guy. It should have been Glen Sather. Renney deserved better than he got. After all, was it Renney who brought in past their prime free agents in Markus Naslund and Wade Redden? Nope. Was it Renney who let Jagr, Shanahan and Avery walk? Nope. This team is Sather's mess to fix. Michael Obernaur of the Daily News remarked that Sather is on his fifth coach on nine years which "borders on Isiah territory."
John Tortorella, a former Rangers assistant who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in 2004, was named as coach. Apparently "Torts" is something of a hard-ass, which is directly opposite of the laid-back Renney. Good. Maybe it'll sink in to pay attention to the little things, such as taking too many men on the ice penalties (that happened twice yesterday). Maybe it'll sink in that on the Power Play, you shouldn't give up goals while on two-man adventage.
It'll be interesting to see if the Rangers are buyers or sellers at next week's trade deadline. Although in this day and age, who's going to take on bad contracts such as Redden's. Just when you thought the NHL lockout wiped the slate clean on big contracts, the Rangers go right up to the salary cap limit.
At least the Rangers are saying the right things about Renney on the way out. Too bad their play couldn't speak loud enough while he was here. After all, he deserved better.
John Tortorella, a former Rangers assistant who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in 2004, was named as coach. Apparently "Torts" is something of a hard-ass, which is directly opposite of the laid-back Renney. Good. Maybe it'll sink in to pay attention to the little things, such as taking too many men on the ice penalties (that happened twice yesterday). Maybe it'll sink in that on the Power Play, you shouldn't give up goals while on two-man adventage.
It'll be interesting to see if the Rangers are buyers or sellers at next week's trade deadline. Although in this day and age, who's going to take on bad contracts such as Redden's. Just when you thought the NHL lockout wiped the slate clean on big contracts, the Rangers go right up to the salary cap limit.
At least the Rangers are saying the right things about Renney on the way out. Too bad their play couldn't speak loud enough while he was here. After all, he deserved better.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What I Learned Friday
Does anyone miss Bush?
Conan O'Brien last NBC Late Night show is Friday Night. Can you believe he's been doing that show for 16 years? When he started as a nobody, NBC only would commit to him for three months stints at a time. I bet Letterman makes an appearance. Would be appropriate. Friggin Leno on a 10 pm? Just leave Jay--just leave.
There looks like lots of great bargains in the stock market. Knowing which stocks are headed up is the hard part.
Now that the apparent transfer of wealth has begun, when will I begin getting an extra $13 in my paycheck from BHO?
In reporting the attacking chimp story, the NY Daily News, I kid you not, actually got a quote from actress Morgan Fairchild, who worked with the beast. C'Mon! Can you imagine being the reporter getting this assignment from the City Editor?
Gotta love the acting skills of one Alex Rodriguez...Looking wistfully at his teammates during the fake, phony, press conference, the Lightning Rod was supposed to produce a tear. A-Rod, however, much like October performances, choked. And the people who expected Corporate Jeter to say something remotely controversial, well they were disappointed weren't they?
The Philadelphia Sports Card Show & Exhibition is rapidly approaching. The lead guest? Willie Mays who is charging $269 for the privilige of signing a baseball card. Signing a shirt or a hat will set you back hundreds more. To further drive home the point, Mr. Mays, the Website describes, will sign "Say Hey" but not "Say Hey Kid" For nearly three hundred smackers, Ol' Willie ought to be giving me a rubdown or shining my shoes.
Saw "The Wrestler"...loved it. I must see "Frost Vs. Nixon" before Sunday night...BY the way, I'll be blogging the Oscars live for those scoring at home.
That Tom Renney's job is on the line is one of the biggest jokes this or any sports season. Can he help it if he must replace Jaromir Jagr with Bradon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan? I love Chris Drury but maybe this is not his year.
Conan O'Brien last NBC Late Night show is Friday Night. Can you believe he's been doing that show for 16 years? When he started as a nobody, NBC only would commit to him for three months stints at a time. I bet Letterman makes an appearance. Would be appropriate. Friggin Leno on a 10 pm? Just leave Jay--just leave.
There looks like lots of great bargains in the stock market. Knowing which stocks are headed up is the hard part.
Now that the apparent transfer of wealth has begun, when will I begin getting an extra $13 in my paycheck from BHO?
In reporting the attacking chimp story, the NY Daily News, I kid you not, actually got a quote from actress Morgan Fairchild, who worked with the beast. C'Mon! Can you imagine being the reporter getting this assignment from the City Editor?
Gotta love the acting skills of one Alex Rodriguez...Looking wistfully at his teammates during the fake, phony, press conference, the Lightning Rod was supposed to produce a tear. A-Rod, however, much like October performances, choked. And the people who expected Corporate Jeter to say something remotely controversial, well they were disappointed weren't they?
The Philadelphia Sports Card Show & Exhibition is rapidly approaching. The lead guest? Willie Mays who is charging $269 for the privilige of signing a baseball card. Signing a shirt or a hat will set you back hundreds more. To further drive home the point, Mr. Mays, the Website describes, will sign "Say Hey" but not "Say Hey Kid" For nearly three hundred smackers, Ol' Willie ought to be giving me a rubdown or shining my shoes.
Saw "The Wrestler"...loved it. I must see "Frost Vs. Nixon" before Sunday night...BY the way, I'll be blogging the Oscars live for those scoring at home.
That Tom Renney's job is on the line is one of the biggest jokes this or any sports season. Can he help it if he must replace Jaromir Jagr with Bradon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan? I love Chris Drury but maybe this is not his year.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Rangers Really Testing My Patience
Every year about this time, I say the same thing: This team isn't so good. This year is no different.
Currently, the Rangers are fighting it out for the eight and final spot in the Eatsern conference.
Yesterday's thrashing at the hands of the Flyers produced something I hadn't seen in a long time. Rangers on a 5-3 power play--yup two-man advantage--and try to tie the game at 1. A turnover is picked up by the Flyers and deposited in the Ranger net for a crushing 2-0 lead. Lundqvist was awful. He gets yanked after he yields two more goals. On the NBC telecast, studio hosts Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire are killing the Rangers saying ostensibly, "this is how you get your coach fired." Strong statement. I didn't realize Renney's job may be in question here. Perhaps Slats can go too?
Can I just add that I'd listen to Mike Emrick call a grocery list? They guy is brilliant with the imagery. Hockey's Vin Scully.
Tonight in St. Louis--the Rangers fall again. 2-1 loss. Listless. Except for the really cool fights. Colton Orr decked his opponent while Aaron Voros gamely fought Cam Jansen, who get this--threw punches lefty and righty! Never saw that before either. Hockey players are tough dudes.
Rangers need a spark. Calling Sean Avery. That would be step one.
Ugh. Why did I have to throw in with this team? Maddening!
Currently, the Rangers are fighting it out for the eight and final spot in the Eatsern conference.
Yesterday's thrashing at the hands of the Flyers produced something I hadn't seen in a long time. Rangers on a 5-3 power play--yup two-man advantage--and try to tie the game at 1. A turnover is picked up by the Flyers and deposited in the Ranger net for a crushing 2-0 lead. Lundqvist was awful. He gets yanked after he yields two more goals. On the NBC telecast, studio hosts Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire are killing the Rangers saying ostensibly, "this is how you get your coach fired." Strong statement. I didn't realize Renney's job may be in question here. Perhaps Slats can go too?
Can I just add that I'd listen to Mike Emrick call a grocery list? They guy is brilliant with the imagery. Hockey's Vin Scully.
Tonight in St. Louis--the Rangers fall again. 2-1 loss. Listless. Except for the really cool fights. Colton Orr decked his opponent while Aaron Voros gamely fought Cam Jansen, who get this--threw punches lefty and righty! Never saw that before either. Hockey players are tough dudes.
Rangers need a spark. Calling Sean Avery. That would be step one.
Ugh. Why did I have to throw in with this team? Maddening!
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