Let's just pretend that I have been writing blog posts a few times a week since last October and jump right in without a mention of the 8-month silence....
MLB:
Well, it's the "dog days" of summer in the sports world and in Major League Baseball, which means two things: (1) it's too early to get really excited (Pirates fans!) or worried (Dodgers fans!) about records, and (2) baseball is the only sport active right now so we are forced to get overly excited and worried. I thought about using this paragraph to make predictions for the season, but again, it's July. Who cares? I will say this, the last time I wrote on this blog I was comparing the two best players in the American League, and probably the entire MLB. Not much has changed. Mike Trout is having another awesome season, but he's being dwarfed by Miguel Cabrera, who after yesterday's game, has these stats through July 11th: .366/.457/.682 - 71R - 30HR - 94RBI. I'm no stats guru, but I'm pretty sure those numbers are good. Like good enough for an entire season. And he has 72 GAMES left.
As for other teams, well, I've been impressed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sure, they are slumping a bit in July, which reminds everyone of the last 2 seasons when they started hot and then fell into the Arctic Enema and missed the playoffs. But come on, they can't fall below .500 and miss the playoffs again. Right? Right? Ruben Amaro seems to think the Phillies can still compete and wants to buy instead of sell at the trade deadline. Sorry Phillies' fans, but it's time to move on. Your roster looks almost the same as 6 years ago. That's not a good thing. Howard can't stay upright. Literally, because his legs are always broken. Utley/Rollins are good, but old. Dominic Brown and maybe Cole Hamels are the only building blocks left. I say trade Utley and Cliff Lee for some prospects.
Ah, what the hell - World Series prediction: Tigers over the Reds in 6 (Jinx alert).
NFL/Fantasy Football:
Coming Soon. Too early. Sorry.
TV:
You know I am always watching TV shows, so here is a report on some of the good ones that have recently debuted or will be premiering soon:
Ray Donovan - Showtime - Sundays, 10pm: Ray Donovan, the name of the show and also of the show's main character (played by Liev Schreiber), is a Hollywood "fixer", employed by two high-powered entertainment lawyers to clean up messes created by celebrity clients. The show is very much a "guy" show - Ray is a badass with a messy family who hail from Boston (with pretty awful Boston accents). Ray's dad (Jon Voight) plays an ex-con recently released from prison who resumes his role as father of the year, flying to L.A. to blow coke with Ray's addict brother Bunchy and generally wreak havoc in Ray's life. "Ray Donovan" is definitely a show worth watching. Just don't ask your girlfriend/fiancé/wife to watch with you. I learned that the hard way.
The Bridge - FX - Wednesdays, 10pm: Serial killer drama set in El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico. The story revolves around a dead body that is found on the bridge connecting the two cities - only the top half of the body is in the US and the bottom half in Mexico. I've only seen the pilot, and I liked it a lot. Fair warning, the female lead (Diane Kruger) has Asperger's and plays it up, so she may seem a little annoying at first. Stick with it - all the reviews I've read are great.
Under the Dome - CBS - Mondays, 10pm: Not really my bag, but I watched the first couple of episodes so I thought it was worth mentioning. Plot - a giant dome falls over a small town, essentially trapping everyone inside. It might be the government who did it, might not. There are some weird conspiracies going on inside. And it's based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. Give it a try and see if you like it more than I do. I really only watched it in the first place because of Dean Norris aka Hank on "Breaking Bad".
Suits - USA - Tuesdays, 10pm: Suits is not a new show by any means - I think next Tuesday is the premiere of the 3rd season. But it's worth a mention because it's a really fun show and not much else is on in the summer. You can probably catch up On Demand or on Netflix if you want, but this is a show you could jump right into without feeling lost. The main characters are lawyers at a high profile NYC law firm, one a Harvard grad and partner of the firm; the other a former genius/stoner without a law degree who happened to be at the right place at the right time and is now an associate at the law firm. Typical USA show, meaning it's not going to win any awards. But it is definitely worth the watch.
Breaking Bad - AMC - Sunday, August 11th at 9pm: And last, but certainly not least, the premiere of the final 8 episodes of "Breaking Bad". If you are not already watching this show, shame on you. Netflix has the first 4 seasons and may or may not have the first 8 episodes of the final season by the time the premiere airs. Either way, get caught up ASAP on the best show on TV and top 5 greatest TV dramas of all time. You have about a month.
See you in 8 months....
Nice. Welcome back.
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