It’s week 4 and the season is still in the early stages.  Teams at this point start to show their true colors, but some are still sheep in wolves clothing or vice versa.  I really think you won’t know a team till the sixth week. Right now there’s at least one undefeated team that won’t live up to their early hype.  And looking at the list, the obvious choice is Kansas City. They’ve had 2 games at home and another game in Jacksonville which is like a home field advantage to everyone in the NFL except the Jaguars.  This isn’t to discount the Chiefs.  They have a really good defense, a decent offense, but if any of the remaining undefeated teams were to surprisingly miss the playoffs, I would have to guess it would be the Chiefs.  And the biggest obstacle for them is that they won’t win their division because of one man.

Yes I’m talking about Peyton again:

Honestly not enough can be said about what Peyton is doing right now.  Forget the bloated TDs stats.  They are impressive, and he might come close to 60 TDs for the season, but to be fair the rules have changed to favor throwing.  But here’s what the rules haven’t changed to favor.  Accuracy.  Peyton Manning has thrown the ball more times than anyone else in the league and has the highest completion percentage at an insane 75%.  There are only two other QBs in the league within the 70% bracket and both have 200 less yards and combined would only have 3 TDs more than Peyton. Those two other QBs are Phillip Rivers and Tony Romo.

Don’t count your eggs:

It seems every year one or two teams grab the attention of the media and critics alike and they become foregone concluded champions.  But in the end they rarely win.  So right now the Broncos and Seahawks are the darlings of their respective conferences.  So who’s going to play the part of the David, and going to slay the giants.  Well from the AFC I picked the Titans way before the season started as dream killers and I’m going to stick with that pick. I know Jake Locker is out for a few weeks, but they don’t need to be perfect to win their division. If they can be 2 and 2 through the 4 weeks Locker is out, they’ll be in good shape.  So who’s their NFC counterpart.  Honestly, I don’t want to make this call, as I don’t want to jinx them (I’m a fan) but the Dallas Cowboys have the make up of a surprise team.  A weak division giving room for plenty of time to work out the kinks, a good defense, a running game, and a good special teams.  I might hate myself in 10 weeks when I re-read this but they fit the mold of what I look for in a surprise teams.  I’m sticking with it.

We’re lucky to be just watching:

I rave and rave about Peyton Manning, but there’s one player that might be more impressive than him.  Adrian Peterson is Barry Sanders, in an era when Barry Sanders can’t exist.  What he is doing, and can’t be stopped from doing, is beyond impressive.  The Vikings have no chance at going anywhere in the post season, but AP might be the best player ever at his position already and he’s no where near done.  At this point in the season he might be on pace to break LTs TD record. Passing numbers will always be eclipsed but rushing records being broken are beyond impressive.

If you’re going to London:

Don’t pack too light.  I am vehemently against moving a team to London.  But if the NFL insists on doing so, I think they should move a whole division.  This will help deal with the arduous travel needed to put a team in London.  The best part would be the built in rivalries. But before doing any of this, the league would need to move to an 18 week season with 2 bye weeks. This would kill many birds with one stone.  This would help keep teams healthy, help plan Thursday night games and most importantly put the Super Bowl on President’s Day Weekend.  You know how much more alcohol would be consumed.  It’s not only good for the NFL, but it’s also good for the economy.

Your season just ended:

The Rams and Buccaneers are not going to be playoff contenders.  I repeat, they have no chance. I would throw the Redskins in here but they are in the NFC East which even the 0-4 Giants still have a chance.  (I don’t think the Giants have any chance in reality).  For the Rams, I’m really disappointed with how little they’ve done with how much they received on that RGIII trade.  And for the Bucs, I think they’ll be the team to watch for next year.  They have all the pieces and sitting Josh Freeman was the right step, but I think it just came too late.  They should’ve done it in the offseason and grabbed a free agent QB.  Don’t tell me you don’t think Alex Smith couldn’t be doing the exact same thing in Tampa, where he actually would have better receivers and a slightly better defense.

Bettors paradise:

Last week I told you about a bunch of teams that are over achieving.  This week I’ll tell what teams are coming in under the radar and are about to break off some 4 game win streaks.  The Falcons, the Packers, and the Niners are all coming in under performing in comparison to their lofty expectations.  Most of this is due to some tough scheduling and even tougher breaks, especially on the part of the Packers.  If I was a betting man I would look to double down on all these teams for the next 3 – 4 weeks as they re-calibrate the scales of expectations.

One last note:

Last week I warned you that the Chiefs, Bears, Dolphins, and Seattle were over achieving.  Two of those teams got their first lost, and now I’m telling you the other two will fall this weekend.  Mark my word.

Well another week in the bag.  All I’m hoping is the Cowboys don’t get blown out by too many points this weekend when they welcome Peyton into Cowboys stadium.

The post NFL Notes: Week 4 appeared first on Rookerville.

It seems this Ben Affleck casting caused quite a stir. As the news was dropped and the debris laid rest, fans were up in arms over their fallen hero, Christian Bale. The thing is the Batman recasting would’ve had to happen eventually.  Just as all comic book movie stars will have to be recast eventually.  So to avoid another commotion we’re here to help. We want to help plan ahead for these comic franchise, both new and old, released and unreleased.  So this is our 3 part series to give Hollywood a blueprint to deal with the future of their franchises.  We will cast comic book characters based on 3 categories; 1) “Please don’t fuck this up”, where we’ll cast comic book movies not yet made, but we think should be; 2) “You already fucked up but we’ll see if we can save it”, where we’ll recast the movies Hollywood ruined in a bad way, i.e. Green Lantern; and lastly 3) “That’s a tough act to follow”, where we’ll recast the best cast characters in an attempt to prepare the franchises when their star actors move on.  

Part III

This is the part we try to recast some roles that have some really tough shoes to fill. Lets hope we succeed in continuing these already great franchises.

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and Wolverine is Hugh Jackman, but one day he will have to step down.  I’ll hate it, but we need a plan)

Nichole – Aidan Turner, if we’re going younger. He has the look and he seems to be into fantasy/sci-fi stuff as his credits include The Hobbit trilogy and Being Human. He has that lightness (i.e. Kili) that can fulfill the comedic side of Wolverine.

Michael - Let me begin this by saying that despite his height and good looks, Hugh Jackman did a hell of a job as Wolverine. Hugh Jackman is a dope actor man. For serious. I honestly think that he could have had a crack at any major heroes, if he didn’t play Wolvie. He could have been Batman. He could have been Superman. Hell He could have even been Bruce Banner, and lest I forget James Fucking Bond. These are all pretty good looking guys, and maybe with the exception of Bruce Banner, they all exceed 6’0”.

Having said all that, I want a new Wolverine to be closer to his characterization in the 1970/1980s. Back in the days where he was kind of the opposite of the heroic ideal. I want someone who isn’t dashing with a kind of John McClane’esque flair. Someone who is short, hairy, and maybe even losing his hair. The thing that strikes me about Wolverine is that although he is immortal, he’s not that sexy, airbrushed, Twilight-y, Forever 21 version of immortal.The dude is 40. Maybe perpetually his late 40s. In a perfect world, I’d like for them to cast a younger actor, but then age him up a little with make up or CGI even. I want my perfect Wolverine, who when you see him, you know he’s a mutant. There’s one artist that gave him really thick forearms like Popeye (Wolverine & Havok: Meltdown), and that’s kind of what I want. I want a Wolverine that is an animal. Not an obvious action hero. Not James Bond. I want him to be short. And I want him to not always be the most likeable guy. I mean a guy who looks 40, who is actually much older hitting on some young post-teenage red head? And then banging her whilst her innocent childhood sweetheart boyfriend broods through his 20s? Wolverine is a dick, but we should learn to like him.

Having said all of this, I would like to see Aaron Paul don the claws. Give him the hair, the chops, and a few months in the gym, but acting wise he has the height, and I think he has the range. Read Origin and just picture Aaron Paul as a younger Wolverine. Killing the love of his life. Going through Hell. Joining Weapon X. Enduring so much pain, and never dying. This is the Wolverine I want to see. I think that a new actor as Wolverine should really be transformed into the character, straight from the page, but they should also add more of what we don’t always get to see. Wolverine is a living wound. Sure i could go with an obvious guy like Joe Manganiello or Josh Brolin, but I can’t think of many actors already in their 40/50s that have the time to grow into this part. I think Aaron Paul could really sit into something like this and really convince us that he is this man. Quite frankly, if I could have my way, Harvey Keitel would have been my DREAM version of Wolverine, but time passes… I think that a new Wolverine should have the depth and grit of a movie like  Taxi Driver…with a little bit of Platoon spliced in.

Cargile -  I might still be on a Breaking Bad bender, and it may never leave me, but Aaron Paul does sound like a great choice.  One, he’s young enough to carry this franchise for a while; and two, he has the proper emotional spectrum for Wolverine. He would need to hit the gym and put on a good amount of muscle, but with how dramatically good Need For Speed looks, which is has no business looking that good, I’m convinced he’s perfect for this.  Plus he plays a tortured soul really well.

Iron Man (RDJ took Iron Man from a tier 2 super hero and made him a tier 1 guy.  That can’t be given enough credit.  Not sure anyone can Tony Stark like he can)

Nichole – I think this is the hardest of the entire list because RDJ has made his Tony Stark iconic. It’s a stretch to think of an actor who can embody the humor, confidence, toughness, sarcasm, and thoughtfulness that go with this role. (Also, RDJ pretty much acts likes Tony in real life.) I keep thinking of possible actors, but there always seems to be one or two pieces missing. For example, Ben Barnes has the look. He can be suave and charming, maybe even a tad menacing. But can he do humor? He’s done action in the Narnia films…but can he do Iron Man-grade action? What about Tyler Hoechlin? I’ve never actually seen him in anything, but I know he was (supposedly) in the running for Superman and Batman.

Michael – Leonardo Dicaprio. I don’t really think an explanation is needed. But if you MUST pry me open, I think that Leonardo could be our chance to see a Demon In A Bottle interpretation of Tony Stark. I think that what RDJ has done has set a wave in motion that really forced us to examine the inner life of our heroes. Who are they really? Flaws and all? Watch The Aviator because that movie pretty much is the story of Iron Man. Howard Hughes IS Tony Stark.

Cargile - Alright so I think there’s no way you can Leo for more than 2 films.  I think you let him do the whole Demon in a Bottle storyline, but you put it off in some future, so that the Avengers continuum is not screwed up.  You then employ one of these younger guys to take the franchise back up at the present time line. I like Tyler Hoechlin.  So that’s the final choice.

Blade (I mean I think we should all thank Wesley Snipes for revitalizing the new era of comic book movies.  And he wasn’t the perfect comic version of Blade, but that blade was lame. He took a tier 4 hero and made him easily a tier 1 hero)

Nichole – We need some Chalky White up in here! And by that, I mean Michael K. Williams. Is he too in-your-face for this role? Maybe that’s a good thing. I can also see Chiwetel Ejiofor, although he might be too “high-brow” for the role.

Michael - I’d be interested in seeing a brand new interpretation of Blade. Maybe even something closer to an origin story about Blade. In the comics he was born in London in 1929, So maybe it might be a little cool to give Blade the hypothetical MCU Marvel Knights treatment, in the sense that his story can be removed from the present day happenings of the MCU Universe. I think it might be cool to connect him to a branch of SHIELD. You could call it “Howling Commandos” and combine the horror/mystery side of the MCU with the espionage part. This would be the “Journey Into Mystery”/Doctor Strange/Giant B Movie Monster part of the MCU. I think that it would be a cool move to “high brow” Blade up a bit to distinguish him from other harder-edged black heroes in the MCU. Treat him more as a samurai-type or cursed wanderer type. Blade would be a cool hero to see fight Nazi-Vampires, and Werewolves with weapons of mass destruction… it could be very fun and far-fetched. I’m just speculating here.

And I want him to be English-y since he was born there. Chiwetel Ejiofor for the win. I’m sorry if this show is basically Doctor Who with vampires, but I’m not sorry. I desperately need to get into fan-fiction.

Cargile - Blade has a special place in my heart.  I’m usually a sucker for comic book movies sticking to the source material but there’s no doubt in my mind the cinematic version of Blade is cool as shit. The only bad thing is, that since it was an original take, it essentially is Wesley Snipes. For those who don’t know Wesley took this role more seriously than he probably should’ve.  Rumors of him holding fighting tournaments in warehouses as a way to train lead me to believe he might’ve thought he actually was Blade. It got to the point that he legit hated Ryan Reynolds in the third one because he thought he wasn’t taking it serious enough.  Still, Blade 1 and 2 are amazing.  But I think if it’s not Wesley Snipes you’re going to need a new route to go. Had he not signed on to do Spider-man I would’ve said Jaime Foxx, but since he’s not available, I like the sound of Michael K. Williams.  I think his more intimidating demeanor might be the perfect fit.

Jean Grey (Look Fox fucked up, but the casting was great.  She fit the mold quite nicely and at some point Fox is going to want to make amends to this character, but who shall they employ)

Nichole – Lily Cole!! My other choice would be Karen Gillan, but since she’s going to be in GotG, that wouldn’t really work. Lily Cole is a model who has been acting more and more in recent years. She’s a 5’10” redhead with this ethereal look that would be perfect. Phoenix is probably my favorite character in the entire Marvel universe, so my very biased opinion is that she needs her own movie. Also, the Phoenix force is one of the most powerful entities in the entire canon! I think that deserves a movie! And I think that movie should be an adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga!

Michael - I second Karen Gillian. Talk about a missed opportunity. I’d like to see a reboot of the X-Men franchise from the perspective of Jean Grey since she is basically, kind of the center of the story when you really think about it. I’d like to see something a little bit closer in characterization to her Ultimate Universe counterpart because she was bubbly and fun. I think that Jean Grey is way too much of a plot device in the mainstream U. I feel like my dream for Jean Grey is for her to be the anti-Bella Swan. If they were to go in one direction and put her in high school, I’d like to see someone like Brie Larson take one the role. I think it would be wise to kind of make her like an older sister-type of character. Put her in grad-school and put her days of working in the field behind her. I see her as an academic (like Prof X) and an example of what mutants can be in the mainstream world. I would love to see Taylor Schilling take on this kind of a role. Someone who is afraid of their power, and done being a hero. I mean she was known as Marvel Girl for Christ’s sake. I feel that she’d be this uber waspy girl who sort of has the same kind of regret that a former child star would have. Also I wanna see Dagny Taggart make out with Jesse Pinkman. Just sayin.

Cargile - My job here is to play pseudo arbitrator so I’m not going to rock the boat.  Karen Gillian wins on principle but since we’re worried about crossing comic book lines I’ll throw my vote for Rose Leslie, from Game of Thrones.  She can obviously be tough and yet compassionate.  If we’re starting with a young Jean Grey this is who I want.

The Joker (Probably the hardest recast ever.  This will not go over easy.  But it has to be done eventually. It was hands down the best comic book performance ever.  No Hyperbole)

Nichole - Would anyone even touch this role again given the unique circumstances of the last Joker? I cheated and have several possibilities, which is inevitable in this category. If we’re going for campy-comic-booky, cosplayer “Harley’s Joker” has the perfect look and has the act down. But, this is the film world, and that’s probably not going to happen for him (even though he has attracted ample internet fame.) That being said, what about Gaspard Ulliel? He has that angular face and the ability to play someone off the hinges (i.e. Hannibal Rising) He’s usually cast in male lead/male heart throb roles, so it would be interesting to see him as the Joker. Gael Garcia Bernal keeps coming to mind too; I don’t quite know why. Both these actors are also not American…so maybe I subconsciously think the Joker can’t be played by another American…? Also, Aiden Gillan – we know he can play sly and cunning through his role as Littlefinger in GoT – I also suspect he can play crazy quite well.

Michael - Sam Rockwell. Although I have to say that Aiden Gillan is a bomb-ass choice. I just can’t shake wanting to see his take on Harvey Dent or Commissioner Gordon.

So yeah, Sam Rockwell is a “great fucking actor.” I’d be interested in seeing him explore the origins of the Joker. Specifically his :Killing Joke” origins. Yes. The Joker a homicidal maniac, and we’ve seen that done. I think now what I’d like to see more of is the side of him that we can relate to. Lest we forget, the Joker was created by Batman in a sense. They are almost brothers. They define each other. I’d be interested to see Sam Rockwell find the happy medium between the showman that Nicholson was, and the cerebral terrorist that Ledger was. And maybe, just maybe, it might be cool to give him a little “puddin’” to banter with.

Cargile – Man both these choices are great.  I wouldn’t be mad at either choice.  I almost think the Joker is something that should be played by different people all the time.  It adds to the psychosis of the character.  If you can make them as unrecognizable as Heath was in the Dark Knight I don’t see why you can have a different actor take on the role as is needed. But I’ve always thought of the Joker’s next phase being more pessimistic.  That sounds weird cause you’re probably thinking he was already pretty pessimistic.  But think about it.  He was rather hopeful he could change the ideology of the Batman.  He was convinced he could get him to kill him.  He thought he had the human psyche figured out. But now he’s less sure of himself, and therefore more brooding and angry. I present to you Sam Witwer.  On the show Being Human alone he’s played a ton of different characters just to fit the historical mold of his character’s storyline.  He’s done a ton of video game voice acting so we know his voice is compelling, which is what you need when it comes to wearing makeup for a whole movie.  And he’s got pretty awesome facial structure for the part. I think if you want someone to be the Joker, much like RDJ is Tony Stark, or Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, this guy can BE the Joker.

BONUS RECAST- Gambit (So Gambit isn’t really established and the shoes that were put in place were not that great, but I did recast him on my own in a cavalier fashion in part II so we needed to put this up for everyone on the committee.)

Nichole - I love Gambit! When I was younger and watching the 90s animated series, I loved him and Rogue together – so she would have to be in this movie. Garrett Hedlund. He has the face, the tone, that ease about him that is so Gambit. I am also suggesting David Oakes, who is often cast in “baddie” roles. I don’t want to type cast him though, I just think he has the look and I know he can play arrogant confidence really well. I also want to note that I didn’t think Taylor Kitsch was that bad – he was pretty good for Gambit, actually, he was just way under-used.

Michael – I wish to god that Kitsch had a real moment to shine as Gambit. Honestly, if you’re smart, you’d know that his performance as Riggins on FNL was probably the best version of Gambit that I’ve ever seen. But shit happens.

All that said. Channing Tatum wants to play Gambit. LET HIM DO IT.

Cargile – When I brashly picked Colin Farrell for Gambit I was unaware that Channing Tatum wanted the role.  I can’t say no to that man.  I do think a younger McConaughey would’ve owned this, but alas his time passed for this role.  So while I would like to give Farrell another shot at the comic book world I’m going with Channing.

That does it for this casting challenge.  However we’ve received such a good response form this that we’re thinking of what portion of Hollywood we should save next.  Maybe action franchises where we pick the next Bond, Bourne, and Mission Impossible stars.  Who knows.  Either way we’ll be back. 

About Matt Cargile

Matt Cargile is the Editor in Chief of Rookerville.com. He also works in finance, but refuses to read any news printed on pink paper. He is a child at heart with adult means. His childhood dream was to either become a magician or the leader of the next great empire and somehow both these things make complete sense. He's contradictory in nature, but is always consistent.

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About Michael Stevens

Michael is a writer for Rookerville and an aspiring writer at the beginning of his first significant meltdown: the Quarter-Life Crisis. He likes to think of himself as 'the alien of the group' or 'the android attempting to be human.' He is interested in many things so it would be easier to describe all the things he is not interested in: Sports. Read his stuff if you want to hear everything but sports. He is currently at large.

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The post The Great Casting Challenge: Part III appeared first on Rookerville.

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.  I thought with these final eight episodes, as each episode would go by, it would become much clearer as to what direction this finale was going to go.  But to be honest.  I have no idea now.  Actually I probably know less now than I did when these final eight episodes started.  The only time this has happened to me where I became less knowledgeable as I became more informed was the one time I tried to learn quantum physics from Wikipedia.  There you Vince Gilligan.  You created the quantum physics of television.  Which also means, much like quantum physics is the greatest breakthrough in science, you might’ve created the greatest breakthrough on television.  We’ll see how this finale is, but I don’t think I’ve had more faith in a show to end this right, since Friday Night Lights.  Let’s look at some notes from the second to last episode ever of Breaking Bad.

The Meek shall inherit the earth:

I don’t know if Vince Gilligan it out to prove that the world is not meant for good people or if he’s just trying to make it impossible to root for anyone.  At this point in the show almost everyone with the exception of Walt Jr., the baby, and Brock, are rather guilty, and not really good people.  I know some people will contest this idea, but think about it.  Jesse; on again off again coke addict that killed a person.  Sure as a TV audience we might be able to see past that, but in real life balance of judgement he’s not exactly innocent.  Skyler, well she’s done her fair share.  Marie; is selfish beyond selfish and as I’ve stated before, her selfishness just so happens to land on the side of the law.  She’s loyal to Hank and her reputation, not to the law or being just. And we all know Walt is not a good person, and we really don’t even need to get started with Todd and the Nazis.  So really unless Brock and Flynn some how just take the money and run, I don’t see how anyone innocent wins out.

No more happy endings:

That’s the thought this episode solidified. There’s nothing left that will be good.  Oh it’ll be good in terms of quality, but not in terms of evil and good.  If you think somehow Jesse gets out and gets to raise Brock, and you think that’s a happy ending, let me remind you about a few things.  Jesse killed someone.  Jesse is addicted to coke.  Jesse is implicated in the largest meth cartel this side of the Mississippi.  So no Jesse is not getting Brock. No child services would allow that, nor should they.

Cold  Blooded:

Todd is the coldest mother fucker on the planet.  First he smirks when the Jesse talks about him shooting that kid in the desert like he did something special.  Later he gives Jesse some ice cream, which is a nice gesture, IF HE WASN’T HIS PRISONER.  He lowers the bucket down to him and talks to Jesse like they’re relationship is totally normal.  Just weird.  Then, to punish Jesse for trying to escape he goes and shoots one of the only two people Jesse cares about leaving only Brock as a leverage to prevent him from trying that stunt again.  And this part isn’t cold blooded as much as it’s just creepy; that moment when he picked lint off of Lydia’s jacket.  Just creepy.

One stray thought. Did anyone think Todd was going to be this big of a character when he showed up the first time.  I honestly thought, hey this is a cool cameo by Landry.  Now the guy is the coldest, baddest mofo on the show.  And my call is Walt kills everyone, and takes his own life with the poison.

The post Breaking Points: Breaking Bad’s Final Season (Episode 15) appeared first on Rookerville.

“This time, you’ve gone too far.  This time, you’ve gone too far.   This time, you’ve gone too far… And I told you, I told you, I told you…”

This is Peter Grabiel’s rant in his song Digging in the Dirt.  I’m not exactly sure what got him so up in arms back in 1992 (I’ve researched it before and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer), but whatever it was he wanted to be pretty clear; “don’t talk back, just grab the wheel.”  Either way it perfectly embodies my sentiment to the place I call home.  Brooklyn, seriously I love you, but you’ve gone too far.  Brooklyn is ironic. I get it, and irony is one of those things that’s funny,  quirky, a tad cute, that is until you take your own irony too far.   And maybe ironic isn’t the most accurate choice of words, but I think everyone gets what I’m saying.  Almost everything in Brooklyn walks that line of being a punchline to a joke and being sincerely ingenious.  ”Portlandia”, the sketch  comedy show on IFC, is built around this whole premise, and let’s be honest Portland is pretty much Brooklyn-West.  But I’m beginning to wonder if Brooklyn is starting to lose its bearings on its own joke.  Two days ago I came across the image above and I just have to ask; seriously Brooklyn?

I’ve only lived in Brooklyn for about 4 years, so I’m not going to begin getting on a high horse about what Brooklyn is or isn’t.  I generally am not bothered by the hipsters, and admittedly have taken on some hipster tendencies of my own.  It’s kind of unavoidable.  But here’s the thing–the growth of people who are not really artistically inclined and don’t wish to admit it, and so decide to pick up DJing by playing their iTunes on random, has reached critical mass.  I go out in Brooklyn all the time and enjoy these sorts of DJs all the same.  One guy I know throws this awesome once a month dance party in this run down bar (so Brooklyn), but he’s also trying to start his own craft beer.  See its his other endeavor that lets me enjoy his DJing more, cause I know he’s not taking it all that seriously, and we both know he’s really just, picking a good playlist.  The art of scatching or altering a song in any fashion to make it unique is a lost one.  So really there’s not much of a creative bone in DJing anymore. But this isn’t to discount them by any means, all I’m saying is do we need to create more?  Probably not. Are we really in need of a kid who’s been DJing since he was 3 to be the next big thing.  DJing is supposed to be a fall back gig.  You’re supposed to get into music and then find out you have knack for know just what song everyone wants to hear next.  I cringe at the idea of someone only knowing play-listing.  I take solace (possibly false solace) in the fact these guys at least dabbled in music, via a band or singing or even just had a passion for it at some point that was somewhere beyond being a human Pandora.  It seems almost backwards.  But I guess that’s how things go.  Much like the comedic movement of “alternative” comedy.  Things like UCB have now become almost too premeditated, but that’s what happens when people take things too far.  That’s what happens when a medium to hone your skills and have some fun, gets taken too seriously.  Look this isn’t to ridicule guys like Skrillex, those guys are closer to producers than DJs.  This is simply wondering why you feel the need to kill your  baby’s ear drums, all the while spawning a new generation of kids that only build playlists.  And honestly I’m pseudo waiting for Jimmy Fallon to come out and admit this is all a big joke.  I mean it has to be right.

The post Brooklyn, Meet The Shark You’ll Be Jumping Soon appeared first on Rookerville.

The Dolphins are good…

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  The Dolphins maybe came in underrated, but 3 weeks in is not the time to overrate them.  Let’s not forget that this time last season the Cardinals were going 4 and 0 with a similar formula.  Unsurprisingly good defense and a good running game with matching deep ball threat.  I actually think the Dolphins will be way better than last year’s Cardinals, but don’t look for them to get more than 10 wins. Sure they beat the Falcons, but if you read my offseason analysis then you know what thought about the Falcons.

The Falcons are just okay…

I know everyone in Atlanta thought this was their year.  The Falcons are good. But were perfect candidates to make a regression from last season.  They decided to use the offseason to improve an already good offense and never touched the defense.  Also they clinched a division that was missing the best team in the Saints last year, so long story short, they’ll definitely be in the wild card race, but 1 and 2 at this point isn’t that insane to me.

Is it possible to clinch your division in week 3?

If so the Cowboys might’ve done just that.  This isn’t to say the Cowboys are so great that they are unbeatable, but in a division with terrible defenses, they actually have a really good one; and a division mired with iffy quarterback play, Romo is actually being a great source of consistency.  Calm down Romo haters, this isn’t me saying he’s all of sudden Peyton Manning, but he is leading the league in completion percentage and is 5th right now in QB rating.

I was wrong about the Niners, but not that wrong…

I pegged the Niners to be unbeatable for most of the season.  Obviously I was wrong, but I don’t think it’s time to start selling the Niners. They’ll be fine and they will still be a force to reckon with as the season progresses.  At 1 and 2 they’ll be just fine.

These teams might be overachieving but are still very good:

The Bears, Dolphins, Kansas City and Seattle are very dangerous teams.  But at 3 and 0 they might be overachieving. All these teams have the benefit of a few fortunate plays and a good schedule to start.  This isn’t to take credit from any of them as they’ve obviously taken advantage of their chances.  I know people love Seattle, but that offense is not dominant by any means.  All four teams listed have tough defenses so it’s no surprise they might be over achieving but to keep this pace they’re all going to need to improve their offensive efficiency.

Are you not entertained…

Seriously, if you’re not entertained by the brilliance that is Peyton Manning, you’re watching the wrong sport.  I won’t get too detailed as I think there will be a note on him every week, but just listen to this stat line: 12 TDs, 0 INTs, and 1140 yards.  New bet, over / under for when Peyton will throw his first interception.

The Jets are somehow are not dead in the water:

It’s hard to be completely out of the playoffs only 3 games into the season, but if any team was going to be, I would’ve guessed it would be the Jets.  Here’s the thing the Jets aren’t far off from being 3 and 0.  I listed over achieving teams and I think the Jets are one of them, but hey I’ve seen teams ride an over achieving wave straight to the playoffs before, please see the Redskins from last season and both Super Bowl runs of the Giants.

Another week in the bag and there’s really only one thing everyone should be looking forward to, which is Denver playing the Eagles.  Why? Because the Eagles have the lowest time of possession in the league. Peyton might throw 9 TDs in this game.  Oh and one other note, the Cowboys are second in time of possession.

The post NFL Notes: Week 3 appeared first on Rookerville.

“How this n***a workin’ like he got a fuckin’ twin though?”

This is Drake’s proclamation on the intro to Nothing Was the Same.  And to be honest I don’t know if I believe all the Drake hype cause I think it’s true, or if it’s cause he’s so good at confidently stating it himself. I’ve listened to this album all weekend. I’ve got 3 stages of reactions to it.

1) This is good…kind of subtle but still good.

2) Have I just listened to this whole album 3 times in a row?

3) Maybe nothing will be the same?

Rap is weird. It doesn’t evolve like other art forms.  Most other evolutions tend to lead to more niche and specialized forms.  Rock evolved into its many forms to the point that I think Mumford and Sons might be their own genre.  Where as rap/hip-hop started out, actually with many forms and has slowly but surely eroded down to simply hip-hop.  Hip-hop is an all consuming word.  Along the way it has taken on any thing in it’s vicinity and reshaped itself to properly embrace it.  It’s kind of the natural evolution of the word of rock n’ roll in terms of culture.  Things used to be “so rock n’ roll” are now “so hip-hop”.  Had hip-hop stayed in its niche of purely being about the struggle of lower class Americans and the lifestyle that came with it, it might’ve not lived to see 30.  Meaning guys like Jay-z would’ve been done some time prior to the Black Album.  But it changed for the better.  Had it not changed guys like Kanye or Drake would have no place at the table, but instead they are now the honored guests.  Why?  Because a genre that was once hooked on authenticity or at least the veil of authenticity (we now know that 50 cent, even though he was shot 9 times, isn’t really scary or hood, as much as he’s just a really savvy business man, and DMX isn’t really intimidating as much as he’s just quirky and pretty much a caricature of himself) is no longer concerned with being authentic.  Which in a way is more authentic than it ever really was.  People like Kanye and Drake, who never claim to shoot anyone, or that they would shoot anyone, by previous standards would have been seen as inauthentic to the genre, but instead, are now  the standard for how to survive in the industry.

This is a long winded intro to explain that Drake couldn’t have released this record 10 years ago, but I’m glad he can now.   This album is damn good.  And good in a way that not many hip-hop albums have been.  I’m not saying it’s as good as, but it has a similar feel of longevity that Kanye’s My Twisted Dark Fantasy had or that Jay z’s American Gangster had.  It’s hard to explain but it’s not necessarily how good the album is in terms of review scores, cause both Nothing Was The Same and American Ganster are not as good as MTDF. But they are still great and very listenable.  I think that’s the attribute I like most about this album.  I can’t think of a bad place to listen to it.  Where as something like Yeezus has a very specific listening experience (one where a certain level of alcohol or testosterone needs to be coursing through my veins).  This is a classic sounding album.  You can listen to it alone, you can listen to with some people as you prepare to go out for the evening, you can listen to it in a car; I know this now cause I did all these things this weekend.  The production is subtle, but great.  He didn’t produce his own album, but credit him for having good taste.  The cast of characters he’s employed to be featured on the album are great choices too.  His track with Jay z is better than anything on Magna Carter.  But the track that stands out most is “Too Much”.  It’s the track he premiered on Fallon featuring Sampha.  He’s an artist from South London and Drake was especially excited for this collaboration prior to the record release, which now I see it was with good reason. It’s a smooth track with a lot of emotion.

In terms of lyrics and content, Drake does a good job of being true to himself.  There’s a bit of angst and pining but it seems real, and not really out of character.  He’s got a lot to prove as someone that get’s discounted as just being “Aubrey”.  There’s an enjoyable amount of cleverness and self awareness when listening to the record.  He has a knack for calling himself out before anyone else gets the chance.  On the intro he asks “How much time is this n***a spendin’ on the intro?” Which is a legit question cause by verse number three you realized he’s just turned the intro into a full blown song without a hook. Additionally it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album.  He maintains that comedic self awareness throughout the album (“That’s why every song sound like Drake featuring Drake”) which kind of makes him impossible to hate.  He’s self deprecating and self assured all at the same time.  He covers the spectrum of aww shucks to aww shit very well.  Look if you don’t like Drake, for not liking Drake-sake, then this album won’t change your mind, and I’m pretty sure no album would.  But if you were on the fence about him as I was, this album should turn you over to a supporter.  And if not for anything else, he’s a walking catch phrase.  He continues to come with ways to tell you he’s awesome with out ever actually saying he’s awesome.  He’ll never come out with the brashness of Jay z or Lil’ Wayne and just straight up call himself the best rapper alive, no instead he’ll settle for subtlety cause he’s too clever for that.  He said his goal was to channel his inner Marvin Gaye for this album, and I don’t think he’s far off.  I suggest getting this album when it’s released.  It’s a perfect segue into the fall.

8.5/10

The post Nothing Was The Same appeared first on Rookerville.

WHAT THE F*CK!  Seriously.  How is there only two hours left.  When thinking about this final half of a season there’s an unending correlation of stuff being resolved leading to even more new stuff yet to be resolved.  Each solution seemingly begot’s multiple new problems.  This is the gremlins of television shows and someone has fed Vince Gilligan well after midnight.  I’ve attempted each week to hypothesize what happens next and each week I’m confronted with something completely out of left field.  So far off the realm of expectation that even when I try to think of only possibilities from left field, I’m still way, way off the mark.  Even if this show wasn’t brilliant across the board in acting performances, wasn’t a brilliant script, it would still be brilliant as just an exercise in story telling.  Breaking Bad has somehow found the ability to buck every conventional story telling mechanic that we as an audience have been trained so well to expect from our years of television viewing.  Watching Breaking Bad is more than entertainment.  It’s a weekly relationship between Hollywood and it’s customers that says “we get it.”  Meaning both sides understand that the other is not dumb.  With that I’ll offer my smartest/favorite moments of this past Sunday’s episode.

Take it like a man Hank:

Hank dying wasn’t a revelation.  I’m not going to say I thought he was definitely going to die, but when it became imminent, I wasn’t at all shocked.  This goes against the expectations of most shows.  When a show kills off a main character you’re supposed to be floored, you’re supposed to be affected. But Breaking Bad had conditioned us enough to expect it, a problem only one other show on television currently has, which is Game of Thrones.  But when it came to Hank’s final demise it wasn’t his death that left my mouth gaping. It was the manner in which he was disposed of.  Most leading characters, if they die, go down in a heaping ball of fire.  Most of the time it’s dramatic, it’s drawn out, and it’s usually the punchline of an episode.  But not here.  Not in New Mexico, apparently the capital of meth. That moment when Hank offers dying advice to Walt by proclaiming that Todd’s uncle had decided 10 minutes ago he was going to kill him was amazing.  Throughout the show I never really cared all that much for Hank and Marie, I didn’t hate them or anything, but they weren’t really my cup of tea.  But in that single moment the character of Hank earned all my respect and then some.  No dramatic music, no intense build up.  Just a cold bullet to the head as he laid defenseless on the ground.  And the perfect period (not an exclamation point because there was nothing loud or dramatic about it) to this coldly delivered sentence of death, was the way in which they just rolled Hank and Gomez’s bodies into the money-less pit.  We didn’t even get to see the cliche vehicle burning (which is sort of like a viking funeral) method, favored by most television criminals, to dispose of dead bodies.  And for the first time in the show’s history, I actually felt bad for Marie, really bad.

The birds and the bees:

I really wondered whether we’d see the end of the show before Walt Jr. even got a whiff of what was actually going on.  I seriously thought the show might close on a scene with him completely unaware of the carnage around him just eating his cereal.  Marie’s play towards Skyler was a surprising one, although not one that was out of character.  When she showed up to the car wash, she showed up saying all the right things, but meaning all the wrong ones.  She offered Skyler some support and help, but did so in a manner that said, “I want you to know I’m better than you.”  And while her caveat for mercy was one of positive outcomes (the kid does deserve to know), it was also slathered in vengeful enjoyment.  The fact that Marie needed it done right then and there in front of her definitely felt like a bit of voyeuristic fantasy for her.  She got to watch as Skyler do the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.  Remember up until everyone was made aware of Walt’s criminal activity, Marie was the most embarrassed character of the bunch.  She had been caught shop lifting.  So in a way this is Marie finally getting her retribution. Finally she wasn’t the most deplorable one of the family.  The initial denial of Walt Jr. and his disbelief and willingness to hang his mother long before ever believing his dad could do anything wrong was beyond powerful.

Mrs. White in the kitchen with the knife:

Wow.  Just wow with this moment.  I feel like Walt Jr. is the audience in this show.  Cause no matter how bad Walt ever got, there was always a modicum of likability to his character that survived with the audience.  But I think that all died in that moment when he over powers his wife and turns the knife on her.  I don’t think he was going to kill Skyler, but it spoke volumes to how far he’d go to do things his way.  Which at this point, his intended purpose of doing everything for family diametrically opposes his actions, when you realize he’s indirectly caused the death of one family member and was a few slashy movements away from killing another.  His contradiction level reaches an all time high when he ends the standoff by leaving the house with stolen baby in tow.

Phone a friend:

Walter White doesn’t always have the best plan, but he somehow stumbles into them when faced with adversity.  Jesse makes this very point when he’s initially talking to Hank and Gomez and states that “…you aren’t as lucky as he is.”  Which is rarely the notion people have about Walt.  Most of the characters on the show just consider him masterful in his planning, but really his good luck and fortune and everyone else’s misfortune that gives him the upper hand usually.  So from our perspective we see that Walt just took the baby with no plan and only considered a viable option when faced with the daughter’s all too sad cry for her mother.  The phone call he has is both poignant and brilliant.  And almost makes him stealing the baby worth it to Skyler.  If you missed it, Walt was obviously aware that the cops were listening the whole time.  His seemingly cold blooded diatribe establishing all credit / blame for everything that has happened and placing it solely on himself was his dying retribution.  He knew Walter White would ceased to exist so he figured, why not bury all the guilt along with him and free Skyler and his family of any blame themselves.  This has been his single moment of selflessness in this whole series. If I had to guess, I think he will find a way to get his money back to his family and probably kill the whole white supremacist clan while he’s at it.

The artist formerly known as Landry:

This is a quick and final note.  Todd is easily the most intriguing and disturbing character on the show.  I would pay a lot of dollars to see some form of mini series or show exploring just how bad of a sociopath he is. That scene of him taking Jesse out of the prison to cook is just so matter of fact it’s rather chilling to watch.  Kudos to actor for giving such a subtly brilliant performance.

The post Breaking Points: Breaking Bad’s Final Season (Episode 14) appeared first on Rookerville.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not good:

The Steelers are not going to be good at any point this season.  Seems for the longest time we’ve always given Pittsburgh the benefit of the doubt.  Every year no matter how many players they were missing or how little they did in the offseason, the conventional wisdom is always the idea that you can’t count the Steelers out. Well I’m here to tell you right now, today, you can go ahead and count them out.  Look, the problem is, everyone is going to start doubting Ben Rothlisberger, and I’m not a huge fan of his, but this will not be his fault.  He’s a really good QB that can give a good team a shot at the championship.  I think they should really start to rate NFL players and coaches by a plus/minus wins statistics.  For instance the Colts consistently were an 11 win team when Peyton was playing.  He gets injured and they win only 2 games.  He’s worth about 9 wins on his own.  Big Ben in this context is worth about 4 wins.  That’s huge to an already competitive team.  He’s on that Eli, Flacco level.  But the Steelers made no moves this offseason and didn’t really draft well, so they will be falling off.  I said it earlier during the offseason and these first two weeks have confirmed it.

Eli Being Eli…:

Please everyone, can we stop being surprised at the number of turnovers Eli has caused in the first two weeks.  If you remember what I just wrote, you’ll see what I see. Eli is a big play quarterback. Each game he gets about 2-3 75 yard touchdown passes.  With that, he’s big on risk. He’s been an 80 Quarterback rated QB all his career. So stop being surprised.  Seriously, for both his Superbowl runs his team made the playoffs in spite of his errors.  I waxed on Eli enough already, but I’ll say it again, this doesn’t mean he’s a bad Quarterback.  He’s the perfect Quarterback in certain situations.  If you have a team that can be considered a contender, he drastically improves your odds of winning.  But Eli has never been able to turn a pretender into a contender.  That category is scarce and only populated with 4 QBs.  Peyton (who made the Colts contenders for more years than he ever should’ve), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees.  That’s it.  So if you don’t have those guys, Eli is a good back up plan.

Remember The Titans:

I called it during the offseason and I think it’s coming true.  The Titans are the dark horse of the AFC.  To be fair, I also called the fact that Kansas City was overrated as we went into the season, and it’s looking like I might’ve been wrong on that one.  Both these teams have the make up of a perfect dark horse candidate.  They have very good defenses, competent QBs that protect the ball and a good to quite good running game.  I think one of  these teams will definitely cause a stir in the playoffs and might even find themselves in the AFC in the championship game getting pummeled by Peyton Manning.

Have I mentioned Peyton Manning yet:

This ones going to be quick.  Peyton Manning now has 9 TDs and zero interceptions.  In two games he’s had the equivalency of a very good third of a season.  Aaron Rodgers is quietly being good as usual, but I think he might get eclipsed this year by Peyton who looks flawless in that offense right now.

Phillip Rivers is still good:

People are surprised by the “resurgence” of Phillip Rivers.  I put resurgence in quotes because to me its not a resurgence.  He was never bad.  He simply had a bad team and a bad coach.  He’s certainly not a tier 1 QB (I listed those 4 already) but he’s definitely a tier 2 QB and I actually think they have a good chance of making the playoffs.  With that sidearm motion he just needed a good O-line.

These teams have a shot:

The Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, Miami, Tennessee, Kansas City, Houston, San Diego, and Detroit, are all teams on the cusp that could make surprisingly long runs if the right things fall into place.

These teams do not:

The Redskins, Panthers, Buccaneers, Viking, Jets, Jaguars, Ravens, Raiders, and Steelers will not be in the playoff picture.  It’s only 2 weeks in but I just don’t foresee them making the turn around.

Welp that’s it.  Let’s all get ready for the all too annoying Thursday night game and see which teams can really stand out.

The post NFL Notes: Week 2 appeared first on Rookerville.