Tag / NFL

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Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – For the second year in a row, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

With the NFL season having come to an end, The Big Bang Theory did indeed move back to Thursdays.  I’ll share more thoughts later this week.

Supergirl – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, the latest DC superhero show, from the fine folks who brought us Arrow and The Flash,  takes over, bringing Superman’s cousin to the small screen.  The early presentations that I saw look interesting, so I’m going to give this a shot.

The show has been trying to find its footing, balancing its use of Superman’s name while trying to stand on its own.  So far, I think there have been more hits than misses.

Gotham – After a slow start, the first season kicked into a higher gear as the police and mob of Gotham faced off against one another.  I’m hoping for more improvement in season 2.

More often than not, I feel more like I have to watch this show rather than enjoying watching this show.  Hopefully, things will pick up again this spring.

7:30

Life In Pieces – I’m not sure about this show, but the cast has a few people worth checking out, so I’ll give it a shot.

I watched the first few episodes, but then dropped off for no discernible reason.  In the meantime, the show has moved to Thursdays.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – One of the surprise hits of last season, I’m a little concerned about how they will continue the story now that the baby has arrived.  Similar to Ugly Betty, I fear that I will quickly tire of the show in its second season.

Well, so far my fears have been unfounded, as the quality has remained consistent.

9:00 Continue reading →

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You Must Acquit

oj20 years ago today, I was at the Hilltop Apartment of my friend Tina, along with our other friend Kelley, waiting for the verdict to be read in the OJ Simpson trial before heading off with Kelley to a Business Law exam.  I imagine all of us were surprised that Simpson was found not guilty, more than 8 months after the trial began.

On June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found murdered in Brentwood, California.  Immediate suspicion fell upon OJ Simpson, the ex-husband of Nicole Brown Simpson and NFL Hall of Famer.  He was arrested four days later, after leading police on a slow speed chase around Los Angeles from the back of a white Ford Bronco driven by his long-time friend Al Cowlings.

The trial, which made stars out of nearly everyone involved, from the witnesses to the police to the lawyers and the judge, was the news story of 1995.  While most people assumed Simpson did it, his defense hinged on racist cops who were out to frame the celebrity for having married a white woman.

I don’t remember much about that particular Business Law exam, or class, to be honest.  But the events of this day have stayed with me for the past 20 years.  The day a man (likely) got away with murder due to the color of his skin.

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2015 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 12th season after a dark 11th season which killed off Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. McDreamy.  The show promises a brighter season, so we’ll see what happens.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in early November, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

Bones – The show returns for its 11th season.  Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.

Heroes Reborn – NBC’s rebooted Heroes show, originally announced 18 months ago, finally makes it to air.  I will give this a shot, but I fear it will have a very short leash, given how poorly the original series ended up.

7:30

Life In Pieces – Assuming I’m still watching this come November, it moves from Monday along with BBT.

8:00

The Blacklist – James Spader returns for a third season of chewing the scenery.

Sleepy Hollow – I dropped this midway through the past season when I realized that I was never actually watching the show and instead just playing it in the background while doing other things.  I doubt I’ll be going back, considering I still don’t know any characters name beyond Ichabod Crane.

9:00

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a fourth season of helping the NYPD solve their cases, this time with John Noble as Sherlock’s father. Continue reading →

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2015 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the television season that kicks into gear tonight. We start this year, thanks to last night’s Emmy Awards, with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new potentials.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – For the second year in a row, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

Supergirl – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, the latest DC superhero show, from the fine folks who brought us Arrow and The Flash,  takes over, bringing Superman’s cousin to the small screen.  The early presentations that I saw look interesting, so I’m going to give this a shot.

Gotham – After a slow start, the first season kicked into a higher gear as the police and mob of Gotham faced off against one another.  I’m hoping for more improvement in season 2.

7:30

Life In Pieces – I’m not sure about this show, but the cast has a few people worth checking out, so I’ll give it a shot.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – One of the surprise hits of last season, I’m a little concerned about how they will continue the story now that the baby has arrived.  Similar to Ugly Betty, I fear that I will quickly tire of the show in its second season.

9:00 Continue reading →

by admin

2014 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 11th season with a move to an earlier timeslot.  There are cast changes aplenty this year, so hopefully the show can continue its recent quality upswing.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

Bones – The show moves back to Thursdays for its 10th season.  Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.

8:00

Gracepoint – FOX hopes that taking a successful British mystery, Broadchurch, and remaking it for an American audience while keeping the same star, David Tennant, will make lightning hit twice.

8:30

A to Z – The pilot didn’t exactly reach out and grab me, but star Cristin Milloti, fresh from her turn as the titular mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother, is exceedingly charming, so I will give this a longer chance to impress.

9:00

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a third season of helping the NYPD solve their cases. Continue reading →

by admin

2014 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look at the new fall television season brings us to Mondays.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – CBS spent $275 million to broadcast 8 Thursday night NFL games, so The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so hopefully the move doesn’t shake things up too much.

2 Broke Girls – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, 2 Broke Girls will return to the Monday slot it inherited last spring from How I Met Your Mother.  At this point, the show is what it is, so there is no point on hoping that the writers move away from their lowest common denominator form of comedy.  As long as Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings continue to charm, I will continue to watch.  But their charms only go so far.

Gotham – FOX gets in the superhero game with this Batman prequel, set in the days just after a young Bruce Wayne has witnessed the death of his parents.  The show has been sold as more of the Gotham police force dealing with the criminals that will one day become Batman’s fiercest foes.

8:00

Sleepy Hollow – I am going to be completely honest and say I don’t really remember much about the first season of this show, other than it was a little crazy and it didn’t exactly grab me as much as it seemigly did everyone else.  I guess I’ll stick around until/unless I find something to take its place.

Jane The Virgin – The first CW pilot in years to not feature either vampires or superheroes is an adaptation of a Venezuelen telenovela.  Early reports are that it is one of the better pilots of the fall, so I guess I can give it a shot.

9:00 Continue reading →

by admin

CBS Upfronts

PersonOfInterestRelevance1CBS, which fell behind NBC in the battle for 18-49 year olds thanks to the NFL and Olympics, mixed up their schedule for the fall at their upfront presentation this week.  After inking a deal to simulcast 8 weeks of Thursday Night Football, The Big Bang Theory will temporarily move back to Mondays, bumping 2 Broke Girls off the schedule until November.  Katharine McPhee stars in Scorpion, which will take the 8:00 hour.

Person of Interest stays where it is on Tuesday and Criminal Minds continues on Wednesdays.  Kevin Williamson brings a new drama, Stalker, to Wednesday featuring Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q.  Once the football commitment ends at the end of October, BBT and Elementary return to Thursdays.  The Amazing Race moves to Fridays, where it will be followed by holdovers Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods.  The Good Wife continues on Sundays, where it will be joined be OG CSI and Tea Leoni’s new show, Madam Secretary.

The Mentalist will start off on the bench, along with a new version of The Odd Couple, starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon.  Missing altogether is How I Met Your Dad, the “spinoff” of How I Met Your Mother that seemed like a shoe-in to get picked up.

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Ballpark Tour: Comiskey Park

comiskeyout2

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park

Location: Chicago

Home Team: White Sox

Years in Service: 1910 – 1990

Visits: 12 (that I’m aware of)

Comiskey Park, the so-called Baseball Palace of the World, was the home of the White Sox from 1910 through the 1990 season.  Built on a former city dump at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue, the stadium opened as White Sox Park on July 1, 1910, as the White Sox lost to the St. Louis Browns 2-0.  In 1913, owner Charles Comiskey renamed the stadium after himself, and Comiskey Park was born.  From 1962 until 1975, the White Sox Park name was officially re-establshed, as new ownership groups tried to separate themselves from the Comiskey name.  However, Bill Veeck, in his second tour of duty as owner of the White Sox, put the Comiskey Park name back on the stadium in 1976, where it remained until 1990.  The final game for the old ballyard occurred on September 30, 1990, a 2-1 victory over the Mariners.

Comiskey Park was the host for 4 World Series contests, including 3 in a row from 1917-1919.  The White Sox won the World Series in 1917 against the New York Giants.  The Cubs, looking for a larger seating capacity, moved their home games in the 1918 series against the Red Sox to Comiskey Park.  The 1919 World Series, of course, was the Black Sox scandal, where the White Sox threw the series against the Reds.  The White Sox returned to the World Series 40 years later in 1959, but fell to the Dodgers.  The final post-season games to be played in Comiskey Park were games 3 and 4 of the 1983 ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles.

Comiskey Park was also the host to 3 All-Star games.  The first All-Star game ever, in 1933, was held in conjunction with Century of Progress Exposition being held on Chicago’s lakefront.  The event returned to Chicago’s south side in 1950.  The final All-Star game at Comiskey Park was in 1983, the 50th anniversary of the first game.  Comiskey Park was also the frequent home of the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.

In addition to White Sox baseball, Comiskey Park was also the home to the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues, the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL, and the Chicago Sting of the NASL.  Comiskey Park also hosted numerous boxing matches, including the 1937 heavyweight title match where Joe Louis defeated then champion James J. Braddock.  The Beatles played two concerts at Comiskey Park in August of 1965.  Other musical acts to perform there include Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Eagles, The Police, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Jacksons, who performed 3 shows during their Victory tour in October of 1984.

Looking back, I’ve been able to piece together evidence of 12 games that I attended at Comiskey Park.  I know there are more, but I have not been able to pinpoint exact games yet.  The most memorable game I can remember would be the final night game, on September 29, 1990, where, after the game, the lights were symbolically turned off for the final time.