Tag / 30 For 30

by admin

RIP Buddy

BuddyRyanBearsFormer Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who developed the ’46’ defense that helped the team win their only Super Bowl title, died yesterday at the age of 85.  Ryan was hired by the Bears in 1978 and was kept on board when Mike Ditka became head coach in 1982 after defensive players wrote to owner George Halas showing support.  The relationship between Ryan and Ditka eventually broke down, culminating in a halftime skirmish during the team’s only loss of the 1985 season against the Dolphins.

The night before the Super Bowl, Ryan informed his defense that he would be leaving to coach the Eagles, leading to him being carried off the field after the Super Bowl victory along with Ditka.  After leaving for the Eagles, Ryan had little interaction with Chicago or the Bears.  He appeared in a 30 for 30 special on the Super Bowl winning team last year, visibly weakened after a long battle with cancer.

by admin

The Year In Movies – Part 1

For many reasons, 2012 was an off year in movie watching for me, which may not necessarily be a bad thing.  I managed to watch only 62 movies last year, my first year under 100 since 2005 and after having averaged just over 131 movies over the past 5 years.  Many things contributed to this, chiefly my attempts to do more exercise and read more books and the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection I have of them, if any.  The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Hatchet II (2010)
I remember thinking this was better than the first Hatchet film, but that isn’t exactly saying anything.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

Nowhere near as funny as the original, but still a worthwhile effort.

Changeling (2008)
Angelina Jolie’s search for her missing child.

Drive Angry (2011)
Nicolas Cage has some bills to pay, and schlock like this is how he plans on paying them.

Moneyball (2011)
One of the most controversial books in the world of baseball hits the silver screen, chronicling the new approach taken by the cash-strapped Oakland A’s to field a successful team.

’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card (2011)
A short about a screw-up who sells his brother’s Alonzo Mourning rookie card.

Tanner Hall (2009)
A pre-Dragon Tattoo Rooney Mara stars in this school girl drama.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
A disappointing sci-fi romp through the old west.

The Rock-afire Explosion (2008)
A documentary looking at the house band of the former Showbiz Pizza.

The Hunger Games (2012)
My first trip to the movie theater this year was for this adaptation of one of the best books I had read the year before.

In Time (2011)
Justin Timberlake continues to impress as an actor.

The Avengers (2012)
Continue reading →

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 29 – A Picture That Can Always Make You Smile

Prior to his hip injury, Bo Jackson was possibly the greatest athlete ever to take part in American professional sports.  But even he could not compare to his digital counterpart in Tecmo Bowl for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  In fact, I would be willing to say that the digital Bo Jackson was, and is to this day, the most powerful video game character of all time.  Eat it, Mario.

Tecmo Bowl was released for the NES in 1989, and featured 12 teams, most of whom had two running plays and two passing plays.  The Los Angeles team split their running plays between Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen, mostly because 2 plays for Bo Jackson would have been unfair.  Jackson was by far the best player in the game and, over 20 years and 5 generations of game systems, he is better than any player in Madden or any other football game.

I spent many an hour playing Tecmo Bowl back in the day and Saturday’s broadcast of Bo Jackson’s 30 for 30 episode, You Don’t Know Bo, brought back memories of him running rough shod over the rest of the digital NFL.