movie forecast: the kingdom

editor's note: for a detailed explanation of a movie forecast, click here

i remember seeing trailers in the theatres for the kingdom at least six months ago. and only now is it being released, which probably means that the movie was having problems in the post-production stage. most likely, the ending wasn't testing well and the producers and movie studios were having issues, so they probably decided that it needed to be reshot and consequently its release delayed.

whatever the case, the kingdom is now being hailed as a strong possibility to receive an oscar nominee for best picture, among other awards. as far i can tell, i can't disagree with that claim, but i do find it dubious that a picture can go from problematic to oscar worthy with a few reshoots, if that is the case [and i believe it is].

the kingdom does feature a fairly strong cast, which includes jamie foxx, jennifer garner and the underrated chris cooper [i know he's won an oscar, but he's still underrated]. i don't know how jamie foxx went from his earlier work to an oscar, but it happened somehow. if they were some kind of hgh for actors, the mpaa needs to test him for this. [by the way, i'm glad he doesn't think he's ray charles anymore.] jennifer garner, who at first i thought was strangely miscast, is probably the right choice to play her character. she looks tough enough to play an fbi agent, but she's also pretty enough to look extremely vulnerable in an iraqi setting [which is probably what the director was seeking]. then there is chris cooper, who has become one of the today's finest american actors. if you have doubts about this claim, watch him in any of his movies.

what can prevent this movie from being great is it being too political [i know a movie set in iraq is going to be political, but there is such a thing as overkill]. also, it worries me that the director, peter berg, is rather inexperienced with being at the helm of a movie. but then again, there have been some people with little experience who won oscars for best director in one of their first turns. at any rate, the kingdom seems like one of those films where it looks to make a statement with its subject matter, but instead it will be the work of its cast that will shine the brightest.

prognosis: 8/10

a 'hero' did rise

many tents were pitched last night in anticipation for the midnight release of halo 3. in fact, many gaming stores held a release party to welcome the third edition of microsoft's most successful franchise. while i did not attend any of these 'release parties,' [you know who you are], i did pick it up sometime tuesday afternoon. one of the funnier things related to halo 3 is the option for people to buy a version that includes a replica helmet that will house the halo 3 [or any other] video game case. seriously, is that necessary? some people are just dumb. with that being said, i still haven't played the game. so until i have actually played halo 3, i will continue to wonder what could bungie could do to improve the game from halo 2. aside from master chief being able to wield three guns at a time with the help of a third arm, the only things i can think that would have improved would be as follows: better graphics, new maps, and new weapons. and basically that's it. there may be other new wrinkles, but they won't be essential [read: things that people can do without]. halo 3's release also generated enough buzz that people who don't know anything related to video games were asking me about it. at first it surprised me that these people mentioned it, but then again, one person called it 'hero 3.'

movie forecast: resident evil: extinction

editor's note: for a detailed explanation of a movie forecast, click here

it is rare that someone would buy and play a certain video game based solely on its plot, so it has never made any sense to make a movie based on the story of one. resident evil: extinction, the third movie in its series, continues the tradition of terrible movies based on video games. based on what i've seen from the first two resident evil movies [i don't know how this happened], i have no idea why a third one would be made. the first two movies were awful, and i'm certain that the third one will not be an exception. i would say that these movies have tarnished milla jovovich's credibility, but that would not be an accurate statement.

at any rate, resident evil: extinction will be more of the same garbage that is the first two films. in keeping with the first two movies, the plot will be juvenile, the cgi will be sub-par [which is ironic since this is based a video game] and the acting will leave much to be desired, to put it nicely. the funny thing is that i'm not sure that fans of the resident evil video games even like these movies. i suppose my only solace is that this movie lives up to its name.

prognosis : 3/10

nfl predictions: week three [3]

detroit at philadelphia

analysis : the eagles have underachieved so far and the lions have overachieved. i do expect the eagles to turn it around this season, and this week is a great place to start.

the pick : philadelphia

miami at ny jets

analysis : the jets played well against the ravens last week and the dolphins have not played well at all. since these two teams have the same level of talent on their rosters, the advantage will go to the team with the better coaching staff.

the pick : ny jets

buffalo at new england

analysis : i am serious when i say that the patriots have the legitimate chance of going 19-0, and i wouldn't be surprised if they don't play a close game along the way. the bills, on the other hand, still have jp losman as quarterback. enough said.

the pick : new england

arizona at baltimore

analysis : the cardinals won a game last week where in the past they would've lost. the ravens' defense surprisingly looked beatable against a inferior jets' offense. are these signs of an upset? possibly, if the cardinals weren't involved.

the pick : baltimore

st louis at tampa bay

analysis : i just want to know how joey galloway is still fast after all these years. and he carries the ball like a loaf of bread just like running backs did in the '80s. this just make any sense. anyway, the buccaneers defense likes good after being infused with younger players. the rams still can't stop the run.

the pick : buccaneers

san francisco at pittsburgh

analysis : the 49ers are good enough to make the playoffs, but they are not good enough to beat most afc teams. the steelers have done a good job with their head coaching transition. they will be a team that could give the patriots some challenge in the playoffs.

the pick : pittsburgh

indianapolis at houston

analysis : i'm a firm believer that the colts hold back their offense and defense just enough to barely win their games so that they will have new stuff when they play the patriots in the playoffs. other than that, i have no idea why they don't blow away every team with their offense. i do think the texans will give a close game, but only because the colts allow it.

the pick : indianapolis

san diego at green bay

analysis : the chargers should be motivated to destroy the chargers after last week's demolition at the hands of the patriots. the packers are just feeling fortunate that they are 2-0. i expect the chargers to come out and play a good statement game.

the pick : san diego

minnesota at kansas city

analysis : the chiefs cannot move the ball if it meant that it would save their coach's job. which is probably they aren't moving the ball. that, and they have no good receivers [tony gonzalez is done]. the vikings have a terrible situation at quarterback, but they have enough talent at other positions to make up for it. it's not as though that they rely on their quarterback to do much.

the pick : minnesota

cleveland at oakland

analysis : there is no way derek anderson will throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns this week. once in a while, a quarterback will come out of nowhere to have a monster game, but it doesn't mean that it's a sign of things to come. the raiders also have a better defense than cincinnati, which also plays against another good performance from derek anderson.

the pick : oakland

jacksonville at denver

analysis : the broncos almost lost to the raiders last week, but won thanks to a crafty timeout. but that should be a fair warning that this team might not be as good as some people think. because of their inconsistent play, the jaguars are one of those teams that are hard to figure where they are compared to other teams.

the pick : denver

cincinnati at seattle

analysis : things can go from ugly to uglier this week for the bengals. they are struggling on defense and seattle's coaches are smart enough to exploit it.

the pick : seattle

ny giants at washington

analysis: the giants are in disarray and washington looks like they have a legitimate chance to contend in the nfc.

the pick : washington

carolina at atlanta

analysis: the falcons have been able to contend in their games so far, and the panthers are a team that will give any team that are playing a chance to win.

the pick : atlanta

dallas at chicago

analysis: chicago's vaunted defense looks like it's showing signs of weakness, especially against the run. the cowboys' offense is running on all cylinders and will be able to take advantage the bears' depleted defense. while it will be close at first, i expect the cowboys to pull away late in the game.

the pick : dallas

tennessee at new orleans

analysis: the saints have been struggling away from the superdome, and they have a great chance to turn their season around when they come home to play this week. although i am aware that all vince young does is win games, he can't win them all.

the pick : new orleans

separated at birth?

it's been a widely held belief that mike hart is much older than his reported 20 years of age, and with new information that he and hall of famer marcus allen were separated at birth, he can no longer use his age to deny this claim. when asked how this would affect his status at the university of michigan, mike is quoted as saying, 'it doesn't really matter if i'm on the team or not, our team would still be as overrated and over-hyped as we are because we play in the big 10.'

man's likeness vs. man's best friend

finally there is scientific evidence to settle the age old question of who would win a sit-up contest between a chimpanzee and a bulldog. let's review:

0:03 a funny image of the chimp standing upright is shown. next thing you know these guys will be talking.

0:10 young asians doing sit-ups. so this is the secret to becoming good at math.

0:18 the chimp is shown with a bulldog lying on his legs. this could be the first time something like this has happened.

0:45 the chimp struggles after his 10th sit-up. it's no wonder his friends have told him to quit smoking.

0:55 the chimp pushes the bulldog off his legs. the best part is that the bulldog does nothing about this.

1:12 the bulldog lying on his back with the chimp holding his legs down is probably the funniest visual in the entire clip. seriously, this dog is either sedated or high. i haven't decided which.

1:14 i take it back, the close-up of the bulldog's face is the funniest ever. hands down.

1:28 the chimp shows his boredom and starts hitting the bulldog and pulling on his legs. not surprisingly, this elicits no response whatsoever from the bulldog.

1:42 the chimp hangs his head low and pinches the bridge of his nose to express his disappointment. these things are just like us.

1:51 the bulldog tries to get back on all fours as the chimp continues to slap his legs. it reminds me of a cockroach on its back.

college football in review: week three [3]

notre dame at michigan

notre dame : the fighting irish could not do a thing against the wolverines. jimmy clausen didn't play like the greatest notre dame quarterback that some are projecting him to be. then again, he is only nineteen years old. when i was nineteen, i thought dvd's were just a fad. the rest of the team also played awful. the only good news for notre dame that i took from the game: charlie weis looks skinnier.

michigan : this win doesn't take lloyd carr off the hot seat. he still should be fired after this season. beating the irish at home would have been like beating appalachian state. and is chad henne rooting for or against ryan mallett to do well? because he looked good enough to be the starter even when henne comes back.

[#22] tennessee at [#5] florida

tennessee : the volunteers were unable to do anything against the gators when it mattered. this was a complete mismatch.

florida : it doesn't look like the gators have lost much from last year's national championship team. tim tebow continued his evolution as the white michael vick with this game. and after watching this game, i don't think there is a team with more speed than this one.

[#16] arkansas at alabama

arkansas : darren mcfadden is the best college football player this year. whenever he enters the draft, he will be the number one overall pick [unless something dumb happens]. though i didn't think arkansas should've been dropped from the polls since they barely lost to a now top-25 team, especially when louisville lost to a then unranked kentucky team.

alabama : what a great finish to this game. i suppose saban is worth all of the money that they are giving him, although people were saying the same thing about charlie weis just two years ago. by the way, my favorite nick saban nickname is 'o-saban been lying.'

[#9] louisville at kentucky

louisville : i think bobby petrino and the louisville fan base both wish that he was still the coach for the cardinals. as for heisman hopeful brian brohm, he played well, but it wasn't enough to overcome a shoddy defense.

kentucky : in andre woodson the wildcats might have the best nfl ready quarterback in college football [better than both brohm and brennan]. he is the primary reason as to why kentucky pulled off the upset in what was a truly exciting football game. i look forward to seeing what else kentucky can do this season.

[#1] usc at [#14] nebraska

usc : after the last week's [which will probably be a year long one] debate of lsu being number one, i think people slept on the fact that usc has a dominate football team. as the game was being played, everyone realized two things: [1] usc has an unlimited supply of running backs and [2] nebraska had no chance on defense. usc has too much depth at skill positions which they will use to wear down any defense.

nebraska : i actually thought nebraska had a legitimate chance to beat the trojans. they were playing at home and they have a fairly good team. instead, they got beat down. i should've remembered that bill callahan was the coach.

movie forecast: mr. woodcock

editor's note: for a detailed explanation of a movie forecast, click here

billy bob thornton has been nominated for an academy award twice as an actor and has even won an oscar for screenwriting. so obviously he is talented and is not a bad actor. so why does he make so many bad movies? my only guess is that he's going through a divorce or has a drug problem and needs the money badly. anyway, with mr. woodcock, he continues his streak of formulaic and unoriginal comedies. it seems as though everyone is miscast in this movie, especially seann william scott as some pansy kid. and why is susan sarandon doing in this movie? isn't she supposed to be a great actress? she's really co-starring in mr. woodcock? this just doesn't make any sense at all.

as for the movie, i don't know anything about it except that billy bob thornton's character doesn't like seann william scott's character, and vice versa. i can already predict what will happen in this movie: they will play pranks on each other, then in the end some crazy force or cause will unite them and they will understand the other person's point of view. oh, and i almost forgot to include the part where it will suck.

prognosis: 4/10

nfl predictions: week two [2]

buffalo at pittsburgh

buffalo : the bills almost won last week despite getting very little from their offense. i don't expect much to change this week.

pittsburgh : the steelers looked impressive last week. then again, they were playing the browns. i'm curious to see if they can maintain that level of play against a [slightly] better team.

the pick : pittsburgh

houston at carolina

houston : the texans are fielding their best team since the franchise's induction into the nfl, which is good because that means they can finally shed their 'expansion' label. their offense looks better with schaub at quarterback and their defense continues to improve with more experience.

carolina : if the panthers can establish a consistent running game, they will be able to return to contender status. if not, they will be mired in mediocrity yet again.

the pick : houston

atlanta at jacksonville

atlanta : the falcons played terribly last week, but i expect to play better as the season progresses [i have to no reason as to why i made that claim].

jacksonville : the jaguars are a team that plays to the level of their competition, and when teams do that, they get beat by teams they should beat every now and then.

the pick : atlanta

new orleans at tampa bay

new orleans : despite last week's stinkbomb, i look for the saints to rebound this week and get their offense together. as for their defense, well, it looks like they still have a major weakness at cornerback.

tampa bay : the buccaneers have the potential to surprise their opponents this year with a veteran quarterback and a defense that has found younger players to add to an aging defense. even with the possibility that cadillac williams will not be playing this week, i don't see the bucs offense losing that much with michael pittman starting.

the pick : new orleans

green bay at ny giants

green bay : plain and simple, the packers won last week with luck. so i guess that's their game plan for this week.

ny giants : has there ever been a team that needed a coaching change this early into the season? is it even possible for more bad things happen to giants this week than last week? but as poorly as the giants played last week, they were still in the game towards the end. as for this week, there's just too much to overcome.

the pick : green bay

san francisco at st louis

san francisco : i want to go on record to say that i knew the 49ers were going to call an end around to a wide receiver for their game winning play last week. call it a hunch. other than that, i enjoyed how mike and mike and mike decided that the cardinals and niners both played excellent defense as to why their offenses struggled. that was nice of them.

st louis : orlando pace is out for this game, which is significant, yet he was out last year for some games and stephen jackson still played well. the lesson as always, stephen jackson always pretends every defensive player is danny glover.

the pick : san francisco

cincinnati at cleveland

cincinnati : the bengals might have turned the corner with last monday's victory. their offense played well against an elite ravens defense. this is not good news for the browns.

cleveland : the nfl should make a new rule: if a team loses to cleveland, then said team should automatically be disqualified from the playoffs in the same year, no matter what their record is. with that in mind, the browns traded starting quarterback charlie frye one week into the season for a sixth round pick [never a good sign] and now have derek anderson as the starter [someone please tell me how this is will make a difference]. just start brady quinn and get it over with.

the pick : cincinnati

indianapolis at tennessee

indianapolis : wow, by the looks of last week's game, the colts are diversifying their offense, which is bad news for the defensive coordinators everywhere. before last week's game, we all knew that marvin harrison lined up on one side and reggie wayne on the other. but against the saints, they switched sides and sometimess lined up on the same side. and for the first time i saw them run a play where dallas clark gets the ball on an end around [which shouldn't really strike fear into opposing teams, but it might be a sign of other new plays to come]. their defense also looked stout against a good new orleans offense. they might be better than i previously thought.

tennessee : it looks like the titans will continue to employ the same strategy for games this year as they did last year, which is keep the game close and hope vince young makes some plays at the end. if chris brown can stay healthy, the titans will have one of the better rushing attacks [i'm counting vince young] in the league.

the pick : indianapolis

minnesota at detroit

minnesota : ever since his freshman year at oklahoma, i've always thought adrian peterson would be a good pro, although it seemed the media forgot how good he was the more he played in college. he will help tavaris jackson ease into being a starter in this league, much like how he helped jason white win the heisman.

detroit : call it a gift from the schedule gods, as either oakland or detroit would have been 1-0 after playing each other last week. detroit took advantage the schedule and are over .500 for the first and possibly last time of the season. i still can't believe that jon kitna is the only legitimate quarterback on their roster. lions management are putting a lot of faith in a person whose greatest nfl achievement is leading the bengals to a 8-8 record.

the pick : detroit

dallas at miami

dallas : the cowboys offense was near unstoppable last week against the giants. but the fact that the giants were still in the game despite the fact that cowboys offense played well is not a good sign. the cowboys biggest weakness is their secondary, especially at strong safety where pro bowler roy williams couldn't stop the pass to save his life.

miami : cam cameron is supposedly an offensive minded coach, yet their defense is what will keep the dolphins in this game. the dolphins have enough parts on offense to do well, i believe it's just a matter of when. unfortunately, it won't be in time for this game.

the pick : cowboys

seattle at arizona

seattle : the seahawks returned to form last week, and they showed what they are capable of doing when they have healthy team. last week, shaun alexander was able to play showed why he was worthy of the madden curse.

arizona : the cardinals did enough to win last week, but i'm sure it came as no surprise that they lost another season opener. i'm starting to think that the cardinals franchise just isn't that good.

the pick : seattle

ny jets at baltimore

ny jets : most likely, jets fans will get their wish granted and see the quarterback with a cartoon character's name, kellen clemens, start this week. unfortunately, it comes against one of the most ball-hungry defenses of all time. i love how over the years the ineptitude of the ravens' offense has cultivated a mentality from their defense to score at all costs because they know their offense can't. this is a great opportunity to see this ideal of the ravens' defense come to fruition.

baltimore : last week, steve mcnair did two things steve mcnair does every year. he plays both well and poorly in the same game and he gets hurt. with the absence of jonathan odgen, the ravens running game will struggle [sorry willis mcgahee]. if anyone doubted ray lewis' toughness [i can't think of why anyone would], he is expected to play even though he suffered a torn tricep last monday.

the pick : baltimore

oakland at denver

oakland : the raiders will not be as bad as people think this year. if daunte culpepper starts this week, i actually expect good things from their offense. i know that their offense was the worst of all-time last year, but that'll happen when a bed-and-breakfast guy runs the offense. the raiders will be competitive this year.

denver : the broncos should not have needed a hurry-up last second field goal to beat the bills last week. it's slightly embarrassing.

the pick : denver

kansas city at chicago

kansas city : there is a good chance that the raiders will end up with a better record than the chiefs. they look hapless and uninspired last week, and i don't see any of that changing any time soon.

chicago : as i expected, the return of tommie harris has placed the bears' defense back in the league's elite [without him, their defense was beatable]. unfortunately, their offense looked terrible and i can't imagine rex grossman finishing this season as their starting quarterback. he still hasn't learned to not throw off his back foot, which is the main cause of so many of his poor throws. unless this improves, i can't see the bears getting far in the playoffs. cedric benson also played poorly, which is partly due to the offensive line's lackluster play.

the pick : chicago

san diego at new england

san diego : last year, phillip rivers didn't throw to antonio gates enough, and instead threw to the likes of keenan mccardell and eric parker [not good]. norv turner has changed that. judging from last week's game, gates is once again being utilized as their primary receiving option. i also can't believe that the media doesn't have more to say about tomlinson being contained by the bears last week [i realize that he accounted for 2 td's, but he didn't have a dominating performance]. if he doesn't have a big game this week, look for some premature whispers from the media.

new england : am i the only one who finds the whole spying on the jets humorous? with that being said, i don't want to hear the argument from patriots fans that a lot of other teams are doing it as well. other teams doing it doesn't justify that they did it.

the pick : new england

washington at philadelphia

washington : this might be the year where joe gibbs takes the redskins to the next level [it's about time]. the defense looks solid and the players are finally learning the highly touted system implemented by al saunders.

philadelphia : the eagles run of bad luck continues into this season. last year, they lost a game by a last second 62 yard field goal. last week, they lost by a late turnover [although that wasn't as big a fluke as a 62 yard field goal].

the pick : washington

nine eleven

as we respect those who passed prematurely and unfairly on this day, let us not only remember this day as a day of tragedy, but also a day of triumph, as we showed that we shall not be intimidated by who wish to strike fear in our lives.

college football in review

i went to the rose bowl last saturday and to watch the byu cougars play the ucla bruins. ucla was the favorite in the game, and i had a good time even though my alma mater lost to the bruins, 27-17. i sat in the ucla players section in the first half, and the byu section in the second half. the following is what i took away from the game.

- ucla has a really annoying person who has a microphone trying to pump up the crowd.

- byu has a lot of fans in the los angeles area. the entire south end zone was packed with cougar fans from sideline to sideline, top to bottom. i estimate a good 15,000 byu fans in attendance.

- many of the ucla fans i next to me did not know where brigham young university is located.

- stadium staff at the rose bowl is just plain idiotic.

- bruins fans are easily discouraged when the hot sun beating is down on them.

- traffic is terrible around the rose bowl.

- byu is better than what most people at ucla thought.

- the cougar fans were consistently louder than the bruins fans throughout the entire game, except for a few key points near the end of the game.

- i am officially a true cougar fan in the sense that i spoke these words after the game ended, 'we've should've won.'

movie forecast: the brothers solomon

editor's note: for a detailed explanation of a movie forecast, click here

the brothers solomon looks like a movie where the actors seem to have a great time filming the movie. usually when this is the case, the movie ends up in one of two ways: really bad, or really good. in the case of this movie, i'm expecting it to be really good. from what i can tell, it stars will arnett [another actor from arrested development] and will forte [saturday night live] playing two brothers who are socially inept but now seek to father a child for some reason. i know that will arnett will deliver [especially if he plays it like gob], and will forte seems like he'll actually be funny for a change [i usually don't like his characters on snl]. though the plot might seem to be weak, the chemistry of the actors [and maybe its writing] is what will put this film over the top of other comedies of its ilk.

prognosis: 8/10

nfl preview 2008 & nfl predictions: week one [1]

new orleans at indianapolis

the pick : indianapolis

indianapolis : while the patriots gained many high profile players via free agency, the colts lost many of their starters to other teams. because of that, they remind me of the 1994 san francisco 49ers [one of the greatest teams of all-time might i add] in the way that they lost many key players from that championship team. in the end the '95 49ers didn't have enough to get past the cowboys that year, who signed many big free agents, most notably deion sanders. anyway, the colts lost many starters on defense and will replace them from within the organization, although their biggest addition to their defense will be having bob sanders for a full year.

the prediction : i expect them to continue to have success in the regular season and comfortably make the playoffs, but just fall short of making the super bowl.

new orleans : the biggest weakness with the saints' team last year was their defense, more specifically at cornerback where fred thomas seemed to have cement in his shoes. the saints have upgraded that position via free agency and the draft, so look for their defense to improve. on offense, the saints were explosive last season and should be as explosive this year.

the prediction : the saints will make the playoffs and contend for a super bowl berth.

philadelphia at green bay

the pick : philadelphia

philadelphia : new year, same weaknesses [wide receiver, defensive line]. although i do expect donavon mcnabb to have a monster year and the eagles to have a similar season to the previous one.

prediction : the eagles will have just enough to make the playoffs, which they will make by winning the nfc east.

green bay : brett favre became extinct about two years ago, so he's basically a fossil right now. the packers were amazingly 8-8 last year, but i don't see them being any better than that this year. i will say that their defense looks good this year, especially their young linebacking core.

prediction : they are in the zone where they are not good enough to make the playoffs but not bad enough to get a good draft pick.

kansas city at houston

the pick : houston

kansas city : i'd be surprised if larry johnson doesn't break down this year. with damon huard or brodie croyle at quarterback, he will face 8 to 9 man fronts on most downs. the chiefs still have no wide receivers, which hasn't been addressed in at least 10 years [their best wide receiver in recent memory is probably andre rison, which is like tony danza saying his last best role was this].

prediction : they will 'battle' oakland for last place in the afc west.

houston : i actually expect the houston offense to better than what most experts think. the offense will improve with in the second year of gary kubiak's system, and the defense features good young players who look a year or three from being great.

prediction : i believe that will surprise most people this year by having no more than 9 losses.

denver at buffalo

the pick : denver

denver : switching from jake plummer to jay cutler last year provided very little change in results for the broncos. they should be better though with cutler having more experience, but not enough to do much in the playoffs, if they can somehow get there. i do like the signing of travis henry, although i worry about his durability. it's a good thing mike shanahan knows a thing or two about splitting carries so preserving henry for late in the season shouldn't be an issue. with the addition of dre bly and simeon rice, their defense will be better than a what it was last year, which was already above average.

prediction : the broncos have improved, especially at running back and defensive line. i look for them to make the playoffs.

buffalo : when jp losman is your quarterback, things won't be ending nicely. they are years away from being a contender. i even sometimes forget that they exist.

prediction : another sub .500 year, another 'rebuilding' year.

pittsburgh at cleveland

the pick : pittsburgh

pittsburgh : it's amazing to think that the steelers won the super bowl two seasons ago. they basically have the same players, although it will be the first year with a new coach. ben roethlisberger will have an average year, which is in line with every other year that he has played.

prediction : they will be inconsistent all year, looking good at times and looking bad at times. look for them to miss the playoffs.

cleveland : for a preseason game, the browns decided who was going to play quarterback on a coin toss. this is never a good sign.

prediction : it will be another long year for the dawg pound.

carolina at st louis

the pick : st louis

carolina : david carr will be the starting quarterback sometime this year because jake delhomme's poor play. jake delhomme will then get his job back because of david carr's poor play. this one is just too easy to predict. their offensive line played terribly last year, which coincided with the nfl's new steroid policy. hmm...

prediction : unlike many expert analysts, there will be no super bowl prediction for me this year. because they play in the nfc south [where each team struggles as the regular season winds down], they will be in the playoff hunt despite their quarterback issues.

st louis : this is the year where numbers will decline for the passing game. not only because they are much older now, but because steven jackson will rush close to 375 times this year. look for him to treat every defensive player as they were danny glover.

prediction : the rams will vie for a playoff spot in the wide-open nfc west.

atlanta at minnesota

the pick : atlanta

atlanta : their first team offense actually looked fairly good in the preseason. without michael vick, the falcons won't be bad as people think. in michael vick, they had a player with below average quarterbacking skills who arguably was the fastest player in the league. so who is his replacement? joey harrington, a career below average quarterback who can't run at all. so basically the falcons lost a quarterback who gained yards by scrambling, which isn't that big of a loss because a team should never rely on scrambling yards to make a difference.

the prediction : the falcons will make a playoff run but fade towards the end of season, causing epsn to become flacid.

minnesota : tavaris jackson will not be as bad as people think. he did well in college, and would have been better known entering the draft had he played in a bigger conference. chester taylor will help to slowly infuse adrian peterson to the offense, providing the vikings with a good running back duo.

the prediction : if the defense continues to play well against the run like they did last year, i see them making a strong push for the playoffs.

new england at ny jets

the pick : new england

new england : now that's how a team i supposed to address a weakness. after last year's debacle of reche caldwell and a revolving door of second receivers, the patriots emulated a frustrated madden gm by signing 4 quality wide receivers. but the biggest free agent signing will be linebacker adalius thomas, who will add youth and skill to an aging position.

the prediction : super bowl champion.

ny jets : even though chad pennington led the team to 10 wins last season, the people in new york want his backup kellen clemens to start. thomas jones will be a steady player at running back for jets to rely on all year. eric mangini will contintue to do more with less.

the prediction : in the end , it really doesn't matter who's starting at quarterback because the jets are at least a year away from contending with the patriots in the afc east. they will be better than last year, but their record will be worse due to a stronger strength of schedule.

miami at washington

the pick : washington

miami : trent green will not be the answer at quarterback, but cleo lemon isn't it either. their defense will be their strength yet again, although they have become very old. this season will mark the beginning of the end for this unit.

the prediction : they will struggle at the beginning of the season, then put together a few good games once they have been eliminated from the playoffs.

washington : the redskins look ready to take the next step. with ladell betts coming off a career year, people are sleeping on the fact that they will have a healthy clinton portis, the same clinton portis who has been a monster every year except for last season when he struggled with nagging injuries.

the prediction : the redskins will have a better season than they have in past years, and they will enter the final weeks with a legitimate chance to make the playoffs.

tennessee at jacksonville

the pick : tennessee

tennessee : vince young will not fall victim to the madden curse, as much as trojans fans would like to see that happen. the question is whether or not he can make the leap in his second year as a nfl quarterback. no other team arguably depends on one player as much as the titans do.

the prediction : despite the fact all vince does 'is win games,' the titans will not have enough wins to make the playoffs but will be effective in playing the spoiler for other teams seeking a playoff berth.

jacksonville : when a team cuts its supposed franchise quarterback days before the beginning of the regular season, it can only be described as raider-esque. i don't expect jones-drew to have a good a season as he did last year, but he will still finish with respectable numbers. their defense will be one of the best in the league if they can stay healthy.

the prediction : if they played in the nfc they would make the playoffs. but they don't, so they won't make the playoffs this year.

chicago at san diego

the pick : san diego

chicago : i'm not particularly sold on cedric benson. last preseason, because the bears were paying him so much they tried make him the starter but thomas jones was much more effective and wrestled it away from him. this year, they basically handed him the starting job [again]. when money is the main factor for a person starting, this is never good. other than that, the defense will be great with the return of tommie harris [he is more important to the defense than any other player] and mike brown [don't expect him to finish the season though].

the prediction : the bears will regress from last season and fight for the nfc north crown.

san diego : the chargers lost their head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, yet i expect them to do well. the biggest question mark will be norv turner, who is 20+ games under .500 as a head coach. despite that, they will still be an elite team with little weaknesses on offense and defense.

the prediction : the chargers will do well, but not well enough to get past the patriots in the playoffs [where they will be outcoached].

tampa bay at seattle

the pick : seattle

tampa bay : this season will not end well for jon gruden. in fact, it will end with gruden being unemployed. jeff garcia will thrive in the west coast offense, but there are too many holes on the offense and the defense.

the prediction : sad face time for buccaneers fans.

seattle : shaun alexander will have a great bounce back year. his injury last year was a broken foot, not a torn acl or something requiring major reconstruction. i expect him to return to form and have a mvp type season. their defense will improve under the leadership of younger players who lead by example.

the preditction : a playoff berth is in store if the team's core stays healthy.

detroit at oakland

the pick : detroit

detroit : the passing game will improve drastically from last season, but the missing piece to mike martz's system still is a marshall faulk-type player. until they find someone like him, their offense won't be enough to beat good football teams, though they will be entertaining to watch.

the prediction : will this team obtain 10 wins? no. but they'll finish with less than 10 losses which is almost something to rejoice in the millen era.

oakland : this team was a mess last year. they fielded the worst offense i have seen in my entire life. and that is no exaggeration. i guess that's what happens when a bed-and-breakfast guy runs your offense. this year, they will have serviceable quarterbacks and a competent offensive coordinator to run the offense to add to their talented defense.

the prediction : pretend last season didn't happen. if we do that, then 6 wins is obtainable considering improvements they have made on offense [hiring a real coaching staff helps].

ny giants at dallas

the pick : dallas

ny giants : tiki barber is not content with just being retired. apparently he is still campaigning to get tom coughlin fired, even though he doesn't have to play for him anymore. that guy is really bitter. as for the current team, it depends on eli manning and if he can be consistently effective throughout the entire season. along with that, the giants have serious chemistry issues and it doesn't seem like they will be resolved with coughlin as their head coach.

the prediction : coughlin will be fired after the giants fail to make the playoffs.

dallas : so far, i haven't heard much about terrell owens this season, which must mean that he is dead. aside from that, i look for tony romo to have a good year as he enters his first full season as a starter. their defense should be good with the speed that they have on that side of the ball.

the predition : the cowboys will be playing for one of the last playoff spots in the final weeks of the season.

baltimore at cincinnati

the pick : baltimore

baltimore : steve mcnair may have fooled you and he may have fooled ray lewis, but he didn't fool me last season. he hurt the team as much as he helped them, which isn't the most effective way of playing. i do expect willis mcgahee to have a great season and their defense to continue to be strength. that's is a combination that will lead to many wins.

the prediction : they are one of three teams that has a serious shot at beating the patriots in the playoffs. of the three, they have the best chance.

cincinnati : the bengals are a very talented team on offense, but also a very undisciplined team overall. this suggests that they are not strong mentally, which will hurt them in close games and/or games with some adversity [bad calls, injuries, etc]. their defense is still porous, and teams will have an easy time running against them.

the prediction : i will be surprised if the bengals have more than 9 wins at season's end.

arizona at san francisco

the pick : 49ers

arizona : matt leinart will establish himself as one the better young quarterbacks in the game this season. he has plenty of players to distribute the ball, and if edgerrin james can actually rush for more the 2.5 yards per carry, their offense will be explosive. their defense is still subpar, which will hurt them in close games.

the prediction : sorry cardinals fans, no playoffs this year.

49ers : mike nolan has done a tremendous job rebuilding the franchise after inept people were in charge of the organization. alex smith will continue to improve as he is surrounded with better targets [newcomer wr darrell jackson and te vernon davis, who was injured most of last year]. frank gore will come close to matching last season's numbers, although i do expect a slight dropoff and worry about his durability. on the defensive side, they have been upgraded through free agency and the draft. the biggest weakness and what will keep the 49ers from being more successful is their overall lack of experience.

the prediction : no playoffs for the 49ers either, but they are just one year away from achieving that goal.

separated at birth?

the first thought for many after finally seeing these two side by side [other than 'who are these guys?'] is 'wow, they come from such a talented family.' their parents surely are proud of their two sons, with both of them being c-list celebrities [and even that might be a bit generous]. but now that donald faison and james loney have been reunited in hollywood, they have been catching up on each other's, uh, noteworthy career achievements.

top 10 greatest arnold schwarzenegger movies

10. the running man : this movie seemingly has so many things going against it, but in true arnold fashion he turns those negatives into positives. for example, he takes a ridiculous[!] plot [seriously, i can't ever see a game show where people hunt people, even in the 'future'] and makes it somewhat forgivable with classic one-liners. but why was richard dawson in this movie? i still can't figure that one out. it's not like game show hosts are the only people who can play game show hosts in a movie. not only that, he was pretty weak as arnold's main villain. everyone knows he would snap richard dawson like he did that pencil in kindergarten cop.

9. twins : this movie showed that arnold could play more than a killing machine. in twins, he played a experimental superfreak, while danny devito played what basically was the genetic feces of a human being. together they went on a zany adventure to find their long lost mother, teach each other about humanity, and deliver a some type of jet engine which was kept in the trunk of danny devito's car. upon further review, this may have been a stretch. but it doesn't really matter since it was here where arnold would began to tap his unlimited comic abilities.

8. total recall : when i think about this movie, i think about how gross it would be to live in a world like that. it also reminds me a lot of mexico, in the way the society is lawless. and it was hard for me to get past all the mutant stuff happening in the movie. i just didn't want to see that. i'd much rather watch arnold tear stuff up with his bare hands than deal with mutants on the planet mars. with that being said, i enjoyed the movie in the sense that it was a new role for arnold [a role that he has often duplicated since].

7. predator : this movie would be rated higher if there were more dialogue and if the director acquiesced to jean-claude van damme and allow him show his face while he was in the predator suit. it was virtually a nra fantasy from beginning to end. it had more firepower than almost every movie i have ever seen. and i think it's a safe bet to say that it's the only alien bounty hunter movie with two future governors playing mercenaries carrying heavy artillery. despite having very little dialogue, this movie still had some classic arnold one-liners.

6. the terminator : being offered a role to play a robot is probably the best thing to happen to arnold. not only did playing a robot hide the fact that he is a limited actor who couldn't speak english very well at the time, it provided another medium [science fiction] in which he could unconsciously destroy humankind. this movie would be higher if not linda hamilton's unforgivable 80's hair.

5. commando : at first i didn't like this movie that much for the same reasons that i didn't like predator that much. but after several viewings, the unintentional comedy has lifted this film to another level. arnold's dialogue consists heavily of one-liners, which necessarily isn't a bad thing. at this stage of arnold's career, he was still performing feats that would require otherworldly strength to emphasize his larger than life stature. for example, in one of his first scenes, he is carrying a 3-feet thick and 30-foot long tree trunk over his shoulder. in another, he rips a phone booth out of the ground and lifts it over his head. these type of things kept happening in the movie. in the final scenes he eliminates all life [this includes humans, animals and plants] on some remote island. it couldn't have had a better ending.

4. terminator 3: rise of the machines : t3 was arnold's last major motion picture before taking his life seriously and getting a real job as the governor of california. this film captures some of the more breathtaking scenes in cinema history, which were larger in scale than most other movies. since arnold was a robot [again], the action scenes were more realistic than other movies of this genre since laws of physics didn't necessarily apply.

3. kindergarten cop : the best of arnold's 'comedies.' sure it relied heavily on kids, but what makes this movie stand apart from the rest is the fact that everything arnold says is funny. it is by far arnold's best comedic turn as an actor. unfortunately, this led arnold to believe that he should do more comedies, which pretty much became downright embarrassing later in his career. by the way, for a long time i believed that guns that dominic made were real and that they worked. it was not until i was 24 years old that i realized that no kid could make guns out of aluminum foil.

2. true lies : arnold was able to give life and personality to this movie, and that made all the difference. the supporting actors also did their parts very well, providing more than the usual flat characters that often accompany arnold's movies. plus the writing actually matched its spectacular action scenes [for once]. too bad that this would be one of arnold's last blockbuster movies.

1. terminator 2: judgment day : this is arnold at his best. he mixes action and comedy to create one of the better movies of all time. his one-liners from this movie is still quoted today, although i wouldn't be surprised if younger people nowadays don't know where they came from. the action scenes were beyond anything seen at the time of this film's release, and even today they hold up fairly well. with all of those factors, it is the quintessential arnold movie.