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If I Were 10 Years Younger...

I'd totally be into this...

Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 goes on sale Tuesday morning at 12:00 midnight.

That's Crap!

As of October 2, 2007, families with children under the age of four will no longer be able to board before other passengers on Southwest Airlines. Those with “A” boarding passes will board first, and then families who do not have “A” boarding passes will be allowed to board the airplane before passengers with “B” and “C” boarding passes. This is presumably in accordance with Southwest’s first-come, first-served boarding pass and seating procedure, but probably has a little more to do with appeasing business travelers, who are more apt to purchase last-minute higher-fare tickets.

While I understand Southwest’s desire to make a buck, and I love Southwest Airlines in general, this is a bunch of bulls#!%. Does anybody in charge of these decisions actually travel with their kids? I’ve never flown with Danica by myself, but Kindra has, and I’m sure it’s pretty difficult. I’m sure it’s worse if you’ve got more than one small child. Giving families a small advantage is a nice way of taking care of them.

However, I will admit that if the “A” group isn’t too large, there probably will be ample seating for families to stay together if they board before the last two groups. I’ll also admit that I don’t really see the point of getting on a plane super early, since all you’ll be doing is sitting around and waiting for everybody else to get seated. It’s almost easier to let Danica run around the waiting area before we get on the plane than try to keep her in the seat once we get on the plane. The only advantages are not having to cram your stuff into the overhead compartment and being able to find the seat that you really want. Of course, all of this applies to business travelers as well, so why do they care so much about when they can get on a plane? They’re still going to have to sit on their butts and listen to any kids that happen to be whining… I also notice that a lot of them like the aisle seats, so do they really want to be knocked and bumped by parents carrying all the crap that you have to have when you travel with a child?

Still… Southwest allows check-in online twenty-four hours prior to departure, so I’m pretty sure if we fly with them that I’ll be doing that. It still irks me, though, so for now I’m boycotting Southwest.

For My All-Important Female Demographic

Here’s news for you that is unrelated in anyway to any of the male-centric stories and thoughts that I have and normally write about: the first first shot from the Sex in the City movie being filmed in New York.

In fact, the film began shooting this week and is being directed by the series’ executive producer, Michael Patrick King. All the cast regulars are back, including the men in their lives, and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) is also a part of the cast, supposedly as an assistant to Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, Carrie. The movie is due out sometime in 2008.

Sorry, I know nothing of the plot, nor do I know what SJP is wearing the in photo. I’m pretty sure it’s not from her Steve & Barry’s collection, but I could be wrong.

Early Thought of the Day

I realize I don't keep up with a ton of stuff in the sports world (despite working in it), but who the heck let Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN... as a reporter? It wasn't bad enough that we had to listen to him as an NFL player?

Actually, I didn't even know he wasn't playing anymore.

Oh well... at least it's not Terrell Owens.

Sam Bowie - The Next Generation?

If you're a sportswriter covering NBA basketball and haven't made this connection yet, you're brain dead. But when news that Greg Oden, the Portland Trailblazers' No. 1 pick in this past June's 2007 NBA Draft and No. 1 pick overall, will miss the ENTIRE 2007-08 season with microfracture surgery on his right knee.

If you’re wondering what this has to do with a guy named Sam Bowie, Bowie was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers as the No. 2 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, behind a guy named (H)Akeem Olajuwon and right before a guy named Michael Jordan. Bowie was a 7-1 center out from Lebanon, PA, who was one of the most highly-recruited players ever. He was the last player ever chosen for the United States Olympic Men’s Basketball Team without any college or pro experience (he was a member of the 1980 squad). While playing at the University of Kentucky, Bowie had a serious leg fracture that led took most of his junior year and some of his senior year to rehabilitate, played in 76 games as a rookie with the Blazers, and then just 63 more over the course of the next four years. Over his 11-year NBA career, Bowie had five surgeries on his legs and missed two entire seasons. He was a good NBA center, but not the Greatest Player of All-Time.

I'll confess that I felt sure that Oden HAD to be the Trailblazers' pick, because you can't pass up an opportunity for a dominant big man. The point guard and center spots are the two hardest spots to fill on a basketball court, so if you’ve got an opportunity at a big, you have to go for a big. Too bad Oden wasn't dominant. Not that he had a horrible one-year stint as a college basketball player at Ohio State. He averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, most of it while dealing with an injury to his right wrist (so much so that he shot free throws left-handed - yes, he's a righty - for a good portion of the year and ending with a respectable .628 FT%). The real issue is that Durant was incredibly dominant offensively. Durant is a rare offensive talent, Oden is a mobile big man with good defensive skills and some offensive limitations. Still, scoring forwards can be found. Mobile bigs are not. For a more cohesive argument, read this article by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com where Simmons lays out his reasons that the Blazers should’ve gone with Durant, even without recent developments.

Of course, beyond the wrist injury (which he had surgery for) and the current knee injury, Oden was also diagnosed with a bulging disk in his back just before the draft, tonsillitis that sidelined him after two games in the Las Vegas Summer League, and withdrew from the Olympic Team trials because of “fatigue.” He’s (supposedly) nineteen years old! Maybe the Blazers should’ve thought twice. But again, it was a sound basketball decision, if not a fantasy basketball decision.

So is Greg Oden Sam Bowie redux? It’s too early to tell. Bowie went through some seriously crazy and ridiculous injuries, while Oden just seems to be a nineteen-year-old going on fifty. The Phoenix Suns’ center, Amare Stoudamire, underwent similar surgery two years ago, and he returned this past season as an All-Star. So, there is hope.

I like Oden. He seems like a good kid and could be pretty good. I don’t necessarily think he’s a basketball player at heart, unlike Durant perhaps, but would’ve been great for the league and the Trailblazers from a marketing and fan perspective. Hopefully he’ll play in the 2008-09 season and we won’t have to talk about Oden-Durant like we do Bowie-Jordan.

Line of the Day (or Last Night)

Comedienne Kathy Griffin won an Emmy last night for best reality TV show, My Life on the D-List. Here's part of her acceptance speech:

"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... you have to know her style to find that funny and not offensive, but she makes a living being slightly nuts.

9/11

I suppose I would be remiss if I didn’t mention something about 9/11. That was six years ago, can you believe it? MSNBC was running the actual news coverage they did in real time tonight, and I caught some of it. It really was surreal to watch it again, since I remember watching it all live back then.

I was also in a meeting today that the moderator asked us to start with a moment of silence. He relayed the story of his daughter who worked in the World Trade Center at the time of 9/11, and how he and his wife spent the entire day wondering if their daughter, who was eight months pregnant at the time, and her husband, who worked near the WTC, were okay. Fortunately, his daughter had a cancellation in her schedule, and she was at a doctor’s appointment instead of at the WTC. Her husband was okay, too. It’s hard to ignore a man who tells a story like that.

Somebody’s gonna blast me for this, but there’s a part of my brain that thinks the Bush Administration let this happen. Regardless, America still hasn’t taken a hard enough look at our foreign policy to understand how our actions abroad affect how we are perceived, even if some of those perceptions are based in the radicalized faiths of a few nutcases. *Step off soapbox*

In any case, God bless those families who lost loved ones, the families who found loved ones safe, and I’ll be thankful for being in a country where, if we try hard enough, we can do things right and help each other along the way.

Maybe It’ll Grow on Me… Like "The Phantom Menace"

That’s the title to the new Indiana Jones movie, due next year. Seems like the title of a Choose Your Own Adventure book or an Indy novel. Leave it to George Lucas to come up with something that is right out of a 1930’s or 40’s serial.

Here’s a picture of the cast, with director Steven Spielberg. L-R, Shia LaBeouf (prounounced la-BOOF), Spielberg, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, and Harrison Ford. Also in the movie, but not pictured, is Cate Blanchett.

* * *

And c'mon!!! Blue Harvest!

Family Guy - "Blue Harvest"

‘Nuff said.

Of course, if you don’t get the “Blue Harvest” reference, Google it and you’ll understand.

Thought of the Day

Do you ever find yourself wishing your life was like a book so that you could skip to the end and find out if it’s a fairy tale or an Edgar Allen Poe story?