blue steel

Still studying some grade 10 english and trying to understand how lame Tralfmadorians are. I like the book slaughterhouse five alot, and am a huge sci fi fan. As good as the book is they are just lame. Why can’t they be awesome like Wookies, klingons, rancors, fedor, hutts, romulans, kryptonians, marvin the martian, the monstars, predator monsters, and zoidbergs.Tralfmadorians ranks among the lamest aliens with ET, gungans, and alf.

It is the last English class in 2010, and exams are coming up. I am in class studying yet another boring Shakespeare play, Macbeth. SPOILER ALERT: It’s boring as hell. you might ask yourself. how on earth are they so boring? theres no sensible answer. I have read 3 shakespeare plays in school Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. They always outdo eachother in violence and outdo themselves in the boredom department. How can sword fights, serial murder, and crazy bloodlust be so boring? Why don’t you ask shakespeare? if were gonna read books about sensless murder and sword fights, why not a cool one? Some of my friends read Fight Club, which is a great book/movie with awesome violence. All I’m saying is why cant I read that instead of Macbeth?

I am a huge fan of action movies. Especially classics like Die Hard, and Terminator 2. I also really like newer action movies like Transporter, and combat films like Bloodsport, and Jet Li’s Unleashed. Coming out later this year is a film called The Expendables which features an incredible ensemble cast of the who’s who of action films in the last 30 years. The film surrounds a team of mercinaries hired to kill a south american dictator. This team stars Sylvester Stallone (Rambo, Rocky), Arnold Schwarzeneger (Terminator, True Lies), Jason Statham (Transporter, Snatch), Jet Li (Cradle 2 The Grave, Unleashed), Mickey Rourke (Sin City, Once Upon a Time in Mexico), Dolph Ludgren (Rocky IV, Universal Soldier), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and UFC legend Randy Couture. When I think about this incredible team of action film superstars another team comes to mind. The Dream Team is the name given to the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic USA Men’s Basketball team. The team Featured all the greatest players of an era and many of the greatest of all time. David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, Christian Laettner, and last but certainly not least the greatest of all time Michael Jordan. I have no doubt that the Dream team would win in a basketball game (the expendables would probably do better than Angola who lost 48-116), and that the Expendables would defeat them in a war scenario. I call the expendables a dream team because they have every quality needed for combat sucess. They have martial artists (Jet Li, Randy Couture), Great Weapons experts (Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone), and Scary Europeans (Dolph Ludgren, Arnold). Just think about it, wouldnt you be scared if Rambo, Ivan Drago, the Terminator, John McClaine, Jet Li, Randy Couture, and Marv from Sin City.

The Good:

Sherlock Holmes:

This adaptation of the classic book series about the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes from the 1800′s England. The film has an all star with Robert Downey Jr starring as Sherlock Holmes. The film also stars Jude Law as Watson and Rachel McAdams as the love interest. It is directed by Guy Ritchie who I am  a huge fan of, and who I praised in my review of Rock N Rolla.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQbmFAE5WI

THE BAD:

Alvin and the Chimpmunks: The Squekuel:

Have not seen first. Have not watched trailer. Bad.

The Ugly:

The Tooth Fairy:

I cannot think of a single reason to see this movie. I have watched the trailer and, allthough its stupidity, and absurdity of the trailer is quite humorous, the full movie would be hard to watch. It stars The Rock as a hockey player turned tooth fairy. This is probably the worst idea I have ever heard for a movie. who says that Hollywood has run out of ideas? They have never ever come up with an idea so stupid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIR5bcpr-X8

I am a huge fan of comedy and recently television has had some incredible shows. I find it hard to say what show is the funniest. I have to say that in my opinion the funniest show on tv is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show, which stars Danny DeVito and is greatly unknown to Canadian audiences is a show about 5 best friends living in Philadelphia, who own a bar. The comedic formula of the show is fresh and incredibly funny. I consider it somewhat an evolution of Seinfeld. This does not mean it is a better show but it simply took what that show had and created something new. Seinfeld is a group of best friends living in New York. The characters are often caught up in situations where they act poorly, and end up hurting others. It’s Always Sunny does this but it goes further, with more outrageous situations, and a greater lack of respect and morals in all situations. The characters in Its Always Sunny are absolutely ruthless which adds to the show. They stop at nothing and have little to no feeling of remorse. The one great difference between the set up of Seinfeld and It’s Always Sunny is loyalty. Seinfeld has 4 best friends who always stick together. They always try and help each other and care for each other. In It’s Always Sunny there is absolutely no loyalty between the characters. These so called best friends are constantly rude to each other and always sabotage, compete, fight, and, deliberately hurt each other’s chances at happiness.  They show no qualities of friendship and it often seems as if they hate one another. They constantly exploit one another. I am warning you that the humor is incredibly crude and dark but quite funny.

The main reason this show is so funny are the characters. To appreciate this show for what it is you must watch a few episodes to understand these characters.

The three funniest characters:

Charlie-

Charlie’s character is mainly known for his incredible stupidity. Charlie is a 30 year old who is completely illiterate, and has little knowledge of the world. Because of this he is often exploited by characters like Frank (DeVito). Because of his stupidity he is subjected to the worse jobs in the bar like cleaning out rat traps  (work like this is referred to as Charlie work).

Mac-

Mac is the lifelong best friend of Charlie who’s humor often comes from his great sense of self admiration. He thinks he is incredibly strong, athletic, and intelligent and often makes poor, and hilarious, decisions by over estimating his own abilities.

Frank-

Frank (Danny DeVito)  is the father of Dennis and Dee (two other main characters) and is by far the most ruthless. Frank does not come into the show until season two but immediately becomes a great character. Franks humor comes from his obscene behavior. For example he has gone as far as to start a sweatshop and force some of his best friends to work there. Another great source of humor for him is his adjusting to living poor. Frank comes into the show after  being divorced and loosing his fortune.

Some episodes to introduce the show:

The Gang Finds a Dead Guy- http://tvshack.net/tv/It_s_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia/season_1/episode_6/

The Gang Gives Back- http://tvshack.net/tv/It_s_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia/season_2/episode_6/

The Gang Dances Their Asses Off- http://tvshack.net/tv/It_s_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia/season_3/episode_15/

I am planning on reviewing and seeing around two movies a week for the duration of the school year. The first of these movies being Rock N’ Rolla. This brilliant crime film is one of many by Director Guy Ritchie. Known just as much for his definitive british crime films as his marriage and then divorce to Madonna. Many fans of Ritchie like myself who adore his earlier films have seen nothing but crap since his marriage to Madonna in 2001. However with Rock N’ Rolla (2008) he is back big time. Coincidentally after his marriage collapsed. Rock N’ Rolla is the story of the London underground from many perspectives. The protagonist of the story is a criminal named 1-2 (Gerard Butler) and his partners in crime Mumbles and Handsome Bob as they try and become some of the richest criminals in London. The film also follows the story of an organized crime leader and his assistant Lenny ( Tom Wilkonson) and Archie (Mark Strong) as they try to make the biggest illegal real estate deal in London History. The final storyline is that of junkie rock musician, and step-son of Lenny Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbel) as he deals with his parental issues, and his drug addiction. Each story line goes through the up and downs of the criminal lifestyle and commentates on the danger of crime. With great supportive performances by Entourage’s Jeremy Piven, and rapper Ludacris this film is definetley worth seeing. I was greatly impressed by two performances that made the movie for me, Gerard Butler as 1-2 and Tom Wilkinson as Lenny. I have been a great fan of Butler for a few years now. He has been in one of my favorite films (300) and I feel this is his best performance. This role was made for Butler and he makes it so great. He shows great wit and emotion as long as some pretty cool action. Wilkinson is an acclaimed actor in his own right but not one I am greatly familiar with. Allthough he has been nominated for an academy award for supporting actor (Micheal Clayton) and the golden globe for supporting actor last year for his perfomance as Benjamin Franklin (John Adams). Before Rock N’ Rolla I have only seen him in the film Batman Begins where he plays mob boss Carmine Falcone. I was blown away by his brilliant performance. He makes this character absolutely dispicable but still you cant not like him. He took this role to another level then the average actor could. Finally, if this isnt enough of a reason the film features one of the best chase scenes in recent cinema. I give this movie 4.5/5 stars!

I cannot predict this well. It is highly unlikley considering 6 rookie classes worth of players I’ve never heard of coming in but this would be my guesses.

QB-

Matt Ryan

Aaron Rodgers

Marc Sanchez or Sam Bradford/Colt McCoy- Depends on where they get drafted

HB-

Adrian Peterson

Chris Johnson

Matt Forte/Kevin Smith/Darren McFadden- I think this depends on which team has a stronger offense line throughout the decade. None has a great one now. Forte has the best but it is very old.

WR-

Calvin Johnson- THIS MAN IS INCREDIBLE!

Michael Crabtree- Depends on attitude and team. Even with a poor attitude on a good offense this man is the next Randy Moss.

Dez Bryant- All depends on where he is drafted.

TE-

Brandon Pettigrew

Brandon Pettigrew part of Brilliant young offense

This decade is coming to an end and I would like to share my opinions on the best of the decade, and hear yours. This is the first decade of Football I have watched starting with just the super bowl in the beginning to all out obsession and loss of Sunday from my work week. So many incredible players, and seasons have been played.
At QB the most important position in the game I had trouble choosing a top 3. I had so many great qbs to choose from. I narrowed it down to 3. My original pool of choices were Donavan Mcnabb, Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Daunte Culpepper, the late great Steve McNair and Kurt Warner. All of these players are extreme talents and great winners. Of these quarterbacks alone 15 superbowl appearences have been made since 1997. Three of these players are clear choices however possibly being some of the top 5 quarter backs ever! These are in order of lineup: Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady.
Lineup:
QB: P.Manning, B.Favre, T.Brady

Next position is running back. The 2000s have been dominated by two clear choice running backs Ladanian Tomlinson, and Adrian Peterson. A third choice is not so clear. There isn’t a quarterback consistent enough to be a clear choice. 6/9 rushing titles in the decade have been won by players with otherwise inconsistent stats. Edgerin James of the Indianapolis Colts won two straight rushing titles in 00,01, however he hasn’t played a strong season since 2004 and was very young when he won the titles. Ricky Williams holds a rushing title in this decade as well. He was a phenomenal college player (most rushing yards in a season at the time) but has had a very controversial career with many ups and downs. Ricky has been plagued by drug (marijuana and cocaine) problems in this decade. Two players who had set TD records at the time Priest Holmes and Shaun Alexander played poorly before and after those seasons. Holmes has since retired and Alexander cut from the league. Finally there is Jamal Lewis, a consistently above average rb with one spectacular season. Lewis is the only player in the 2000′s to record 2000 rushing yards in a season. I will have to give it to Alexander. The early-mid 2000′s were spectacular for the Seattle star. He was a college star who in his first 5 years 00-05 he made 3 pro bowls and in the 05 season he had the most rushing yards, touchdowns, and pro bowl votes.

Lineup:
QB: P.Manning, B.Favre, T.Brady
HB: L.Tomlinson, A.Peterson, S.Alexander

Because of a very easy decision in my opinion for TE and WR this is the end of this post I will soon post 2 related posts. Where this fits in with other decades and what current players college and NFL I think will make the 10-20 team.

For staters this is my first post and I want to explain the name. Blue Steel is my blog’s name because coincidentally my love of sports has a pattern. Every team I am passionate about in 6 Major Sports leagues NCAA basketball and football, the NFL, the NHL, the NBA, and the MLB are all blue. I love the Florida Gators football team, the University of Connecticut basketball team, The NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays and most importantly The NHL and NFL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and Indianapolis Colts.

May I start this article by saying this is the leafs year. For me its been the leafs year since 1997 when I was three, every year ending in dissapointment. However after years of poor play, bad roster moves, and pure embaressment the meaning of “our year” has changed. In was 12, a die hard fan for 7 years before the leafs even missed the playoffs in my lifetime. Every year was going to be the year that we won the cup and broke the drought, it would be “our year”. Now after years of mediocraty “our year” is a step down from what it once was. This is “our year” because we will make the playoffs once again and hopefully get back on track to soon winning our stanley cup.

Bryan Burke has changed this team so much in his time. The current icons (very few would be considered icons on other teams) different from the “JFJ” years, aka the dark age in Leafs hockey. This years team is revamped ready to score goals, with great scorers like Jason Blake and Phil Kessel, great physicality with veteran enforcers like Wayne Primeau and Colton Orr, and great hope for the future. The Leafs have never (in my life time at least) been a team based on the future. The Leaf stars of the 2000′s have not been drafted in Toronto and were rarely young. Toronto’s prospects this year are immensely talented and range in a wide variety of skills.

The first of 5 talented young players I will talk about is Luke Schenn. Everyone in Leafs nation knows all about Luke Schenn. A great defensive defencemen picked 5th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. Schenn is resemblant of a Scott Stevens type defenceman. He can be very physical but he not enough to hurt the team. He has great endurance and can play formidable defense for a solid period of time.

The second prospect I would like to talk about is Nazim Kadri the leafs 1st round pick in 2009. People have criticized Brian Burke for picking Nazim over Magnus Pjarri Svenson a very skilled player of similar style from Sweden. Let me assure you Kadri could be the best stickhandler his age. He has the potential to become a great goal scorer, deker, and sniper. Kadri being sent back to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League means he can’t play for the Leafs this year except for maybe the playoffs. This extra will help him develop immensely, if he increases his play in the OHL he may come in next season playing like a Pavel Bure. An exception goal scorer, deker, and stick handler.

My third prospect is Tyler Bozak. Bozak is a highly skilled player on both ends of the ice. He is a very intense player with a great will to win and incredible effort. If he maximizes his potential he may one day be like Wendel Clark. Wendel always performed at a much higher level than his physical talent. He had a great will to win and worked hard on both ends of the ice. He also shows leadership much like Wendel. If these prospects were to stay here for the rest of their careers I would say Bozak or Schenn would/will be great Leaf captains.

I have two more prospects to speak about. The last skater prospect is Viktor Stalberg. A dominant force in the preseason with the by far the most goals and points on the Leafs. He is an incredibly quick sniper from Sweden who will be on our first line on opening day. He will probably end up being the poor man’s Ilya Kovulchuk or Vincent Lecavlier, both multiple all stars. He however has the potential to become the next great European sniper, with the NHL goals scoring dominated by Russian snipers last year this is a great time for European snipers.

Finally I want to speak about the most famous our prospects. Our great off season move. Jonas Gusstavson better known as THE MONSTER from Sweden. A fantastic Swedish goalie with 3 games and 1 goal against in the preseason. This guy is the real deal. Allthough he won’t start opening day his presence and play will fix the weak goaltending last season by Vesa Toskala.

I cant find a better place to write this than writing this on my bed watching Opening game instead of studying for a math test I have tomorrow. This team means so much to me and this city. We have the skills and the team to make the playoffs and we will.

GO LEAFS GO

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