NFL: The Big Picture: Season Preview Edition

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I don't think its a coincidence that one of the worst days of the year (the end of summer) is followed by one of the best (the kickoff to the NFL season). Needless to say, we at Millennium are extremely excited about having the NFL back in our lives and will be sharing our opinions on it with you. For our season preview I decided to send five 'big picture' questions (from the whole league) to Luka and Cabrock and have them offer their takes on them. In addition to the 'big' five, I also posed three questions about our regular season opener between bitter rivals the Dallas Cowboys and the defending Superbowl champions; the New York Giants. We begin our discussion with one of the biggest stories of last year: Tebowmania.

What are your thoughts on Tim Tebow and his new team, the New York Jets? Will Tebow thrive in the specialty role that Rex Ryan plans to use him in (short, goal-line situations)? Will the media circus make this team implode? Is the Sanchize even a good quarterback?

Luka:

First let me just say one thing, FOOTBALL!!!. These last few weeks after The Olympics have been rough but with the season set to kickoff tonight I can hardly wait. However being an Eagles fan I would have probably been more excited with any other two teams (except the Browns and Dolphins) kicking the season off. I can't stand the Giants or the Cowboys so I'm interested to see who I end up rooting for tonight.

I'm a Tebow guy. Ever since I lost money betting against him in his first miracle win of the season last year I've grown to like him and his goofy style of play that leads to Disney-style endings week after week. That being said I don't think there's a worse pairing than Tebow and the Jets. The Jets anemic offense mixed with the New York media combined with the lack of faith Jets fans have in Mark Sanchez can only lead to one of the more distracting, side-show filled professional sports teams of recent memory. Because of this I either see the Jets being bad (more likely even though their defense is still solid) or riding a sports-movie inspired script to the playoffs. Think about it, the tough takes no shit coach, the defense that doubles as the heart of the team, a talented but lacking in confidence starting QB, and a heavily religious back-up QB that carries the team to the promised land on and off the field. I can already hear someone, somewhere writing up the script. In all seriousness though, I hope Jets fans are happy with 6-10 this year.

Daki:

Have to say that I am very disappointed that I forgot the obligatory FOOTBALL!!! in all caps and with exclamation points, not a good start for me. I too am a Tebow guy and I honestly think that he will take over the starting role from Sanchez around week 6. The Jets are too good defensively and play in a division that is too weak (other than the ever present Patriots), for them to be that bad. I can see them being a very respectable 8-8 this year, with lots of trash-talk from Rex Ryan and a lot of team prayer sessions following the game. Gotta say I love the movie pitch, but you forgot to include the rival team (the Giants?) embarrassing our protagonists (leading the tough-takes-no-shit-coach to finally start the religious QB) and then losing to them at the end with guys saying things like: "You guys are alright!"Actually, can this happen in real life?

Cabrock:

Guess who’s back? It feels good to finally be writing about football again :’)
For some reason, today has been one of the more busy days of the summer so I wont be writing an overly long article, but hopefully there’s some insightful tidbits in here. Anyways, lets get to the questions:

We all know I hate Tim Tebow; that’s not even a discussion. However, this is probably the one role I can see him thriving in. In college, Tebow was Superman and shit on most of the NCAA. However, in my opinion, the best Florida team during the Tebow years was the season that Chris Leak was the starter and Tebow contributed as the “change of pace” QB. People give Rex Ryan too much credit. He got his job by excelling as the D-coordinator of the ferocious Ravens defence. When you really think about it, my little sister could have walked in on Sunday and said “everyone stand in front of the guy in front of you” and the Ravens wouldn’t have allowed more than 20 points per game. Rex talks way too much shit and consistently fails to back it up. I wouldn’t say the Sanchize is a franchise QB, but I feel like he could be a solid starter that could run a simple offense if given the opportunity. Basically, I don’t have much hope for the Jets. I think they go 7-9 this season and a lot of people lose their jobs in the offseason.

Sticking to the AFC, a lot of people feel that the Houston Texans would have made the Superbowl last season had it not been for injuries. This notion is heavily supported by the fact that the Texans came close to beating the Ravens with a third-string QB. So guys, are the Texans for real? Or was their success last year smoke and mirrors?

Breaking Bad Mid-season Finale Review

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Spoilers below as always!

Finally the stage is set for the conclusion of Breaking Bad. Its just a shame that we will have to wait more than half a year to see it. I already complained about AMC splitting this season into two parts (way back in the first review of this season), but now having seen where they left us, and where things stand, can you blame me for bitching about it again? Thank God that the NFL kicks off this Thursday, otherwise this would have been a really depressing stretch of television. But anyways, on to my thoughts about the episode.

'Gliding All Over' really felt like a simple episode to me. Not that this is a necessarily bad thing, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by it. The gem of this episode; the prison killings were really well done. We got to see each and every one of Mike's "nine guys" plus the lawyer become the latest victims of W.W.'s reign of terror. From the music, to Walter's indifference at the very end of the scene, it was easily the best 3 minutes of the episode. The rest of the episode? Underwhelming to say the least. In the past, Breaking Bad would have methodically showed us the expansion of Walt's new-found empire into European territory, here we got to see it all in roughly five minutes, with a little montage to guide us through it. I don't know about you, but I expected more from an episode that will be the last one we see for a while.

Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 7: 'Say My Name (FKA Everybody Wins)

Tweet As always, there are going to be spoilers below, do not continue reading past this until you have seen the episode.

"Shut the f*ck up and let me die in peace" - Mike's last words of the series... very fitting of such a great character.

We knew after last week's set-up episode that something drastic was going to happen in this one. Unfortunately for Mike (who probably grew to be one of the more liked characters of the show) that drastic occurrence was his death. Before we talk about it, we should see how the episode set up Walter white's latest victim.

Firstly, we picked up right where the last episode left off, with Walt delivering on his promise to pay Mike and Jesse their share (technically, only Mike got paid as Walt tried one last time to draw Jesse back in) while retaining his growing 'empire'. I have to say that this scene was really enjoyable, Walt has really mastered weaseling his way out of death to the point where you are excited to see how he does it. From standing up to Tuco all the way back in season one, to orchestrating Gale's death at the perfect time (right as Mike was about to kill him) was there a doubt that he would escape unharmed from the meeting with the guys who wanted to buy the methyl-amine? Bonus points for the "Say my name" line, it really gave a nice finishing touch to an already good scene.

From that point things slowed down a bit. We had a few more awkward exchanges between Walt and Skyler, we saw Mike and Jesse both leave the game officially, the former taking care of the legacy fund, and the latter being fed up with all of the killing. It was really nice to see Jesse stand up to Walter and flat out refuse to continue cooking with him. Jesse even turned down an offer of five million dollars and endless taunts by Walter that were aimed at drawing him back in. Jesse, as a character, has shown the most development since season one and of all the characters in the show, the only one the audience may legitimately be rooting for (other than Hank) at this point is Jesse, and I hope he wins in the end. As for Mike, after leaving (and destroying all evidence of criminal activity) he starts to live a normal, boring, old man life, enjoying spending time with his granddaughter (whose legacy fund is fully re-filled). However, Hank's instincts led him to one last attempt at catching Mike (by following his lawyer, and it was the final attempt because if that had not worked out, Mike would never have been caught) and they catch the lawyer red-handed. To make matters worse, the lawyer is absolutely ready to flip and gives up Mike right away, dragging Mike back into the thick of things (including a truly sad scene where he could not even say bye to his granddaughter).

From there, everything was set up for Mike's demise. Saul's refusal to get Mike's bag (which had his remaining money and his gun in it) followed by Mike's refusal to let Jesse get it for him left only one person who could: Heisenberg. As soon as we saw the gun inside the bag, I think we all knew what was going to happen. After an inevitable and heated confrontation, Walt shoots Mike. For a brief second after the shot, it looked as if Mike managed to get away, but tragically, that was not the case. Walt immediately realized that he could have easily got the names from Lydia, prompting Mike to utter his excellent last words. We keep waiting for the mistake that will inevitably do Walter White in, this may have been the one.

Overall score for this episode: 9.7/10 - Almost perfect, Mike's death was a bit rushed, and it feels like the writers wanted to get it out of the way to set up the half-season finale twist that inevitably looms. Also, last week's episode was not officially reviewed, but would have received a 7.8/10 if you are wondering.

Best scene: Mike dying, a not so fitting end, to a phenomenal character.

Best quote: Mike's last words, which lead off, and end this review: "Shut the F*ck up, and let me die in peace"

EPL Diaries: Matchday 2 Preview

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To everyone still missing the Olympics (If you’re like me, you weren’t ready to have Dressage pulled out of your life so abruptly) and to everyone counting down the seconds until the NFL season starts, I have a solution for you. The English Premier League (The EPL). The EPL kicked off its season last week with an exciting Matchday 1 that featured thrilling comebacks, blowouts, controversial officiating decisions, Robin Van Persie in a Manchester United jersey, Andres Villas-Boas abandoning the fashionable trench coat in order to look like a highschool gym teacher and more! In this weekly (hopefully weekly) column I will be previewing the upcoming Matchday by highlighting the key games to watch. That is until Michael Vick gets injured in week 3 and I go into a deep depression that ends in me sobbing into my retro Reggie White jersey. Until then though here are the top 5 games to look out for in Matchday 2.

5. West Ham United at Swansea City (Saturday August 25, 2012 – 7:45 AM ET)

Why wake up at 7:45 in the morning on a Saturday now that Fox Kids is long gone (why wouldn’t they bring back good Saturday morning cartoons? Never understood this) you ask? Because this is (somehow) a battle of two teams coming off of week 1 wins. Newly promoted West Ham started the campaign with a victory that came off of Kevin Nolan’s boot as The Hammers beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Upton Park while the surprise of last year Swansea demolished QPR 5-0 on the road no less with 2 goals coming from new signing Michu (no idea how to pronounce this and based on last week, neither do the announcers). Swansea appears to be the favorite as they seem to not have missed a step despite switching managers in the off-season (Brendan Rodgers out, Michael Laudrup in) and will look to play their fluid “tiki-taka” (Is there really no better phrase to describe this brand of football than this? I mean really?) style in front of their home support. I expect West Ham to stay back and look for chances via the counter-attack and whatever set piece they manage to get. If you manage to wake up this early on Saturday, this game will be fun to watch.

Prediction: Draw

Drinking Game: Drink each time Michael Laudrup gets referred to as “The Great Dane” or every time they cut to a shot of Michu adjusting his hair. (I Don’t actually suggest drinking alcohol this early in the morning…unless you haven’t stopped from the night before, if that’s the case then cheers!)

4. Arsenal FC at Stoke City (Sunday August 26, 2012 – 8:30 AM ET)

Ah what better way to cure your Saturday hangover than watching one team try and play the game of football the “right way” with crisp passes and fluid movements face off against a team who takes the “beautiful game” behind the toolshed and beats it mercilessly with long balls, rugby tackles and long throw-ins. I can’t wait. In all seriousness Arsenal will look to get their first win and goal of the season as they take on Stoke City, another team who could only manage a draw in the first week. Arsenal fans were in a panic after the first game calling for Wenger’s head and all other sorts of over-exaggerations that fans typically exhibit. However, new signing Santi Cazorla looked lively and the Arsenal attack looked decent against a Sunderland side that parked the bus effectively for 90 minutes. And yes, Olivier Giroud missed a pretty easy chance but these things happen and it’s no time to panic especially with the talent this team possesses. Stoke City will look like the same side we’ve seen over the last few years, dull but stubborn and very difficult to beat at home.

Prediction: An Arsenal victory (no real reason here, just a gut feeling. Should let people know though that my “gut feelings” on gambling on soccer have given me a Krusty-esque track record.)

Drinking Game: Drink each time Stoke City throws the ball directly into the Arsenal box off a throw-in. Drink each time you’re confused about Gervinho’s hairline (take very very small sips).

3. Fulham at Manchester United (Saturday August 25, 2012 – 10:00 AM ET)

One of these teams is coming off a 5-0 thrashing of Norwich City and the other is Man U. Fulham began their campaign with a demolition of an admittedly bad Norwich side at Craven Cottage. Norwich’s problems aside, five goals is nothing to scoff at with one coming from Damien Duff (yes, he is still alive) and two from new signing Mladen Petric could be signs that Fulham will be more dangerous this season than in years past. United on the other hand, RVP signing and all could do nothing but watch as Marouane Fellaini and his Sideshow Bob-like hair weaved in and out of their defense leading Everton to a 1-0 victory. It will be very interesting to see how Ferguson will use Van Persie from now on as I expect him to get the start this week but for who is the real question. Kagawa looked impressive in his debut being the lone piece of good news for United fans.  Another question that will be answered on Saturday is who gets the start alongside Vidic and his regrown hair at centerback. In my opinion, Michael Carrick didn’t do a bad job against Everton all things considered and should have an easier time at it playing against the Fulham attack than he did against Fellaini and Jelavic. Panicking after one game makes no sense but seeing 1 or maybe 0 points out of a possible 6 for United will be a cause for concern meaning that the Red Devils should be in attack mode from the get go on Saturday. That being said Fulham is no pushover so this should be a good one to watch.

Prediction: Manchester United victory

Drinking Game: Drink each time the words “little boy” and Van Persie are mentioned together. Drink for every minute of “Fergie Time” (stay away from the hard liquor for this one).