Wednesday, April 15, 2009

What a lovely time of year

It was brought to my attention by a couple different outlets that my NHL season predictions were spot on. Some were in such aw that they just had to hear what I had to say about the NHL playoffs, which start tonight. There wish is my command. Once again, I advise you all to call your bookies or a friend in Vegas and bet your 401k (do those even exist anymore?) on these predictions.

I'll just keep it simple and start with first round match-ups. It wont matter because I can just add on my second round-semis-and final round predictions as they go because they will be a carbon copy of what actually happens.

Western Conference Match-Ups

San Jose vs. Anaheim
Sharks in 5. MVP Dan Boyle scores 4 goals and 4 assists in five games. Storyline: Chris Pronger attacks team and demands trade to Leafs and his butt buddy Burke after series is over.

Detroit vs. Columbus
Red Wings in 7. MVP Johan Franzen scores 6 goals making his shitty new contract seem even more ridiculous. Storyline: Detroit barely escapes first round behind terrible goaltending from Osgood and Conklin, call Howard up.

Vancouver vs. St. Louis
Blues in 7. MVP Chris Mason battles Roberto Luongo all series long but by the time game seven rolls around Luongo is so intimidated by Mason's beard that he can't focus- Nucks lose 0-4. Storyline: Anti-fan Tyler P. Hoiseth of Wayzata, Minnesota falls in love with one of his biggest nemesis, TJ Oshie.

Chicago vs. Calgary
Flames in 7. MVP Michael Cammalleri nets 13 points in 7 games making Kings fans ponder "why?" for another two weeks. Storyline: Color blind people across North America struggle to wonder who to cheer for throughout the series but figure they will win in the end.

Eastern Conference Match-Ups

Boston vs. Montreal
Bruins in 6. MVP Milan Lucic single handily distracts the Canadiens from actually playing hockey. Storyline: Andrei Markov returns to the Canadiens line-up for game 2 only to be injured again in his second shift.

Washington vs. New York
Capitals in 5. MVP Alexander Ovechkin scores 7 goals in 5 games. Storyline: Don Cherry's head explodes on live television when Ovechkin celebrates all seven goals with passion. Non retarded people around the world celebrate.

New Jersey vs. Carolina
Devils in 7. MVP Zach Parise leads plyoff goal scoring with 11 goals. Storyline: Staal brothers hit by a truck at an end of the year gathering. Eye witness: Brothers were taunting traffic...again!

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia
Flyers in 7. MVP Danny Briere explodes back into relevance with 12 points. Storyline: Shocked that four players on his own team finished with more penalty minutes, Daniel Carcillo makes it his goal to somehow surpass his psycho brethren. Related story: Sidney Crosby cries in post game interview.

So there you have it. As far as who I want to win goes, I can really say I have no preference. The match-ups are all incredible if you ask me. It is more of who I don't want to win it rather than who I'm rooting for.

Who I don't want to win and why.

Detroit. Why? Chris Williams.
Anaheim. Why? Chris Pronger.
Vancouver. Why? 2003
Carolina. Why? I miss the Whalers.
Philadelphia. Why? Scott Hartnell
Pittsburgh. Why? Sidney Crosby.


I must say that I had been kind of down and out about the playoffs and really not even that amped up for them. After all, we had to watch the Wild all year. Also because I was in attendance for the Nashville game where they looked amazing. People walked out of that building holding onto the slightest hope that we could sneak in, only to be hit with reality two short hours later. They missed the playoffs by two points. That hurts. What hurts more is that they will probably not be even close to making the second season for a while now. Lemaire is gone. As much as I'm looking forward to a new playing style for the future I can't help but wonder what this team would of looked like with any other coach this year. It would have been ugly. Gaborik is gone without a doubt. So its up to Doug Risebrough to put together a new make-up and team. Does anyone have confidence in this man? You're kidding yourself if you do. He did a fantastic job early on in this franchise but since the lockout he really has nothing to show. My pessimism isn't anything new. As a Minnesota sports fan I'm conditioned to failure. I won't even get into Tampa Bay's season this year.

That has been my mood since around Friday night. It quickly changed as I put together this post and actually looked into some of these exciting match ups. I also strolled over to youtube and watched some season highlight reels and those got me more in the mood for hockey. On top of this the weather outside is perfect and I came to the conclusion that it is a glorious time of the year so I should buck up about the downer MN sports teams.

I'm just going to get busy living...for a month because we're booted from this home then and I'm more than likely Young American bound.

Long live the NHL

-thoy.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

This Just In...

...there have already been more buzzer beaters in the NCAA hockey tourney than in the basketball tourney.

Why don't you do something about it basketball?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The SHL in the early 90's???

Bizzaro, cooler group of peeps if I do say so myself.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patricks Day

I had this post all complete last night and than all of a sudden my computer went bonkers with virus'. It was absurd. I got it up and rolling though without having to completely reformat like last time so hopefully it can hang in there for a little while.

Anyway, I thought I would pay homage to the Irish on this beatiful holiday by recognizing some of my favorite micks from television.











EDIT




That is all.

Friday, February 27, 2009

It's MOYD season!

I apologize for yet another broken promise on a post. I put it off like always. I had a major set back immediately though. I was disappointed and embarrassed about it so I couldn't bring myself to talking about it. I regained courage though and started the running diary over at the old stomping ground Thoys Life. I'm going to keep this blog relatively clean so you can catch up on my discomforts over there.

-Thoy

P.S. I would love to hear the argument that won the rights for the Girls to play at Xcel this year.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Thoy's Oscar Preview (sort of but not really)

Not really a preview but basically my uneducated opinions on the films I saw this past year. Don't worry about spoilers because there are none.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Terrible. Don't ever bother with it. Don't even think about thinking about renting it if you ever see it on the shelf. Just don't do it. Save your time. Unless of course you're in need of a sleeping aid, than by all means view Mr. Buttons. Sure I can appreciate the cinematography and the make-up and all that jazz but there are plenty of other films that I can say the same about that also don't bore me to death.

The Wrestler

Wasn't a big fan of this or Rourke's performance. I mean it was okay and Rourke pretty much nailed it but I didn't feel the role was that hard to nail. I think I stand alone. Maybe if I were a little older and experienced the whole Mickey blows his life away ordeal I could appreciate it more? But hey, I saw Rumble Fish and loved him in that so I have cred there. Marrisa Tomei loved to show her boobs in this though so that was nice. I can't not recommend it though because I can see a lot of people liking it so go see it at the two dollar theater, or rent it as soon as its on dvd.

Note: I got my two downer movies out the way. I loved something about everything else pretty much.

Milk
Sean Penn was great. I guess the purpose of the film was successful because I had never heard of Harvey Milk before I saw this. Now I know that he was a gay dude who ran repeatedly for a small political position and eventually won. The supporting cast looks amazing on paper but really didn't deliver. James Franco basically plays a gay version of Harry (When he's not the Goblin)from Spider Man. Emile Hirsch was okay but they never really seem to develop his character but that is understandable because the film is called Milk, not Cleve Jones. Josh Brolin's performance is highly overrated. Didn't do anything at all for me. Wait to see this when its showing on the LOGO channel.

Frost/Nixon
I liked it. I wasn't at the edge of my seat at all though and there were definitely moments I felt like they were trying to be "edge of your seat" moments. I can't help but think I would really enjoy the play over the motion picture. History interests me and this is one of the most historical events (Watergate that is) of The United States. Watch it when it's on HBO

Slumdog Millionaire
A very cheesy story that I was completely into. I didn't see it until after the Golden Globes and some other awards show and they kept showing that same clip when he phones a friend and that girl runs to the phone trying to get there in time. I watched that clip and thought, "this looks terrible, what the fuck." But hey, the way the story is set up is a simple concept that I can dig. Not to mention that it is visually intriguing. After the hype of it I wouldn't race to see it if you haven't yet just because I did this with Juno and couldn't stand that. So what I would do is Redbox it for free with one of those promo codes.

The Reader
Loved it. Kate Winslet was fantastic. Plus she loves to show her tits too (bonus!). My only issue is the acting in the male lead. Not Ralph Fiennes but the younger version. Something about him really bothered me throughout the entire film. I can't really put my finger on it so I just blame it on being German. Don't rush to see it. Just google Kate Winslet nude for the time being and wait for it to show up on an Encore channel in a few years.

Doubt
I loved pretty much everything about this film from start to finish. Production, story, acting, it was all wonderful. I'm a little annoyed that it isn't nominated for best film. Every actor in it is nominated but the director and film itself got no love. If you're a catholic and have been raped by a priest like me, go see it right away. If you're not a catholic but want to laugh at the corruption, go see it right away.

Gran Torino

Thought it was awesome. Awesome is not an adjective that I would use on a lot of the other nominees but this was AWESOME. And what do you know, it got no love from the Academy. Probably because people like me think its awesome. I guess I can understand why, because the acting is pretty awful by everyone in this, including Eastwood. But man, it is absolutely hilarious for the first 80 minutes. Plus the ending is, one more time...awesome. See this immediately if you want to learn some new racist vocabulary. Like "spooks" for black people. Hilarious.

Rachel Getting Married
My favorite film not named In Bruges of the year. I don't think a lot of people know much about it so here is the trailer.


Even watching that makes me happy. I actually feel very silly for liking it so much. But you know what? Chris Connelly loves it as much as I do, so it's cool. Fun Fact that I had to google because it drove me nuts the entire duration of the movie, The man Rachel is marrying is the lead singer of TV on the Radio. So good for him for having a sweet new album out and being in a great film, I guess. I'm a little embarrassed by my excitement for this so I couldn't really handle rejection from others due to my recommendation. So don't see it. I'll keep it all to myself.

The Visitor

A cute, sad, little film that I enjoyed. I don't think anything else really needs to be said.

Vicky Christina Barcelona

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Can't really argue with a Woody Allen film featuring three beautiful ladies who like to make love to a beautiful man. It is quirky and the narration might bother some people but I would recommend this as a great date night film. I have used it recently for that and it worked out perfecttttt...god I'm so lonely!

On to the awards.
Best Picture

It has to go to Slumdog. I'm okay with that I suppose because it was super entertaining for me. I wouldn't be upset if The Reader won but if any of the other three somehow steals it I might write an angry letter.

Best Actor

I think it's a toss up between Rourke and Penn. Rourke's got the town on his back but might have ticked off some of the members of the academy because he has been partying a little hard lately. Penn was good enough to steal Rourke's thunder. Plus we know how much they love homosexual roles. Pitt sucked, Langella was ok, and Richard Jenkins should be very satisfied that he was nominated.

Best Supporting Actor
* Josh Brolin in “Milk” - NO!
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” - Never saw it but he was funny in the trailer
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” - Very solid. Who I want to win.
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” - Very Solid. Who will win. I'm actually a little nervous that I might cry when his little 3 year old daughter comes up for the statue.
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” - Never saw this. Heard it was boring.

Best Actress

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” - Obvi my choice
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” - Never saw. Heard it wasn't that great
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” - Never saw, nor know anything about
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” - Excellent. I hate the Streep hype but she sold me in this.
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” -Thanks for the tits Kate. I have a feeling you'll win. Please don't cry.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt” - Super Job. You're a young, good looking, talented, female actress. You have at least 3 more years until your looks fade and you're dependent solely on your skills.
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” At the beginning of the film I said, "Damn, no one is as good looking as Scarlett" than about 40 minutes later Penelope came onto screen and I said, "Damn bitch, you just ousted Scarlett"
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” - This chick was in the movie for basically 1 scene! Yeah it was a great screen but man I wish I could focus on a performance for one scene and than get nominated for an Oscar.
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - Ok, you were very cute lady, but the movie was just that terrible that I can't root for you.
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” - You'll win. Congrats. Tell Vinny I said hi.

I'll end with the predictions/thoughts there. I feel like I'm dragging on quite a bit. Just wanted to point out that the Academy is worthless. In Bruges was completely overlooked. If you haven't seen this, go buy/rent now. It is wonderful. You'll love it. I'm happy that I got the invite to Molly and Steve's for the viewing once again. We had a ton of fun last year so hopefully we can repeat some of that.

It's kind of late and I gotta work at 9. I won Chris' drawing and will be attending the Red Wings game with him tomorrow night. I look forward to that. I will be checking in here soon with my upcoming plans for lent. So until than, have a good one and drive safe out there.

-rp mcmurphy

Thursday, February 12, 2009

eh dere

I had to comment on tonight's premiere of Survivor real quick because something has been bugging me. To you fellas out there, and if you happen to not be a fella pretend to be one for a second, who would rather spend time with while stranded on Survivor, in 120 degree heat and skimpy clothing, and close living quarters?

The beautiful Carolina?


Or Ms.Crabtree


?

I don't understand what goes through the heads of these young men. I need to get on Survivor. Like right now. This has happened every season for as long as I can remember. 1st vote = get rid of the hottest chick that was cast for the show. I just did some quick research and looked up the first people voted off of Survivor. Here is what I found:

Michelle (was actually pretty strong too. It didn't make any sense)


Mary (First to go after Johnny Fair Play quit)


Ashley (She was that pro wrestler girl. There are actual nudes of her online. Technically she was 2nd voted off but I don't think we can count Chicken Man)


Do you get my point. No?

Jessica (The only one you could really even look at from this particular season)


Cecilia (Ok she was third, but very good looking)


Brianna


There is a theme here. The list goes on for pretty much 18 seasons. All this post is probably doing is angering those who care, maybe two people. And with that, laaaaaater.

-dick-tation