If you ever have the opportunity to ride NJ Transit, my advice would be to just stay home. Notoriously shitty, delays out the ass, to call it unreliable would be an understatement.
So this morning I’m sitting here minding my own business scrolling through Twitter and I see this exchange between angry patrons and the poor schlub who has to field responses to these miserable people.
Pretty harmless, aside from mild rudeness. Here’s where it gets good.
Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me that Dunkin Donuts is responsible for this madness? Why on earth is Dunkin Fuckin Donuts responsible for opening a train station every day? Who thought this was smart business? You’re telling me that you’re entrusting the commutes of hundreds of thousands of people into the hands of some most likely 17 year old making minimum wage slinging coffee on his four hour shift before he goes home to play XBox and hot box his Mom’s basement while she’s at work? Insanity. And how about NJ Transit just completely deflecting blame. “Don’t look at us. It’s Dunkin’s fault you’ll never get anywhere on time.” What a wild world we live in. Also, majorly bad look for Dunkin considering their slogan is America Runs on Dunkin. Better add a 15-20 minute delay to that commute time.
SI – The Suns will sign guard Jimmer Fredette through the rest of the 2018-19 season, according to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro. Phoenix will have a team option on Fredette’s contract for 2019-20.
Fredette will join the Suns following a stint with the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association. Fredette led the league in scoring with 36.9 points per game in 2018-19.
For anyone thats been following this blog for the past two years you know full well that I am a Jimmer Fredette super fan. I’ve written all about him dominating in China, and of course the absolute fire flames shoe line he dropped.
The guy was so fun to watch in college because he played like a game of NBA 2K just pulling up for threes barely past half court.
Now obviously that didn’t translate to the NBA all that well as he only averaged 6 points a game over the course of 5 seasons. However the league has evolved into an all out air raid with every team shooting more 3’s than ever before so it could be Jimmer’s time to shine. Granted its not the best competition in the world, but he’s been averaging nearly 40 a game in China so thats gotta count for something right?
It’s a shame the Celtics didn’t sign him, but hey at least Jimmer Fredette is back in our lives. Either way I may have to get NBA League Pass just to watch Jimmer jack 3’s from 28 feet in Phoenix now.
Weird…or not so weird? Former #Clemson standout Hunter Renfrow had a dream last night that he was a @Patriots WR and was in a meeting with Tom Brady, so there’s that pic.twitter.com/uUa889kW5z
I loved Renfrow in college. While he might not be a household name, if you’re even somewhat of a college football fan you’ve seen him make huge plays for Clemson in national championship after national championship.
Renfrow gets in and out of his cuts and through traffic in a way Patriots fans have become so accustomed to over the past 12 years with Julian Edelman and Wes Welker. Plus he’s got the scrappy attitude that Bill Belichick loves as a walk on at Clemson who was a 5th year senior that became a team captain. The guy might not have the pure God given talent like other receivers that’ll get drafted before him do, but hey Chad Jackson was a physical specimen and he flamed out pretty quick. Our best receiver was a goddamn quarterback at Kent State so if anyone will take a flyer on him its the Pats. Doesn’t hurt that they currently only have two wide receivers with any real experience on the roster too.
The Pawtucket Red Sox, ever in favor of love, will celebrate the engagement of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez with a Red Sox-themed party Friday, April 12 at McCoy Stadium, to inaugurate the club’s Legendary Fridays series this year.
For those who recall the events of Saturday afternoon, July 24, 2004, which may have been the most important and most pivotal regular season game in the long and storied history of the Boston Red Sox
The PawSox just changed the game with this promo! As much as I used to hate A-Rod with the passion of a thousand suns, I kinda like him now. I think it’s a direct correlation to when Yankees fans turned on him at the end. He became a flawed human who just wanted to be liked that I think we can all relate to. It just didn’t feel right hating a guy that Yankees fans hated. Plus he is a true A+ talent in the broadcast booth and he charmed my socks off when he appeared at the HubSpot convention last year.
With that being said, times were different in 2004. The Red Sox were still the most popular team in town despite the Pats having won 2 of the past 3 Super Bowls. They were still the team everyone lived and died by whether it was April or October. So everything was magnified by 1,000%.
The Sox had just lost an absolute heartbreaker of an ALCS Game 7 that I will take to my grave. And to top it all off the Yankees had gotten even better. A-Rod was the new despised enemy after a failed arranged marriage was nixed by the MLBPA the winter before. So naturally the Yanks swooped in like the snakes they are and worked out a trade for the slugger. (If you’ve never watched the 30 for 30 short on what if the A-Rod Red Sox trade had gone through that is appointment viewing) A-Rod was a perennial MVP candidate, but he was also a loudmouth, whiny pretty boy who’d never won a damn thing. So when he started talking shit to 135 lbs Bronson Arroyo after getting beaned I think we had all had enough. I still vividly remember standing in my parents living room and shouting FIGHT once Varitek got in A-Rod’s face and served him a piece of catcher’s mitt pie.
And this wasn’t just some heat of the moment thing. There was genuine animosity between the two sides…or at least from Varitek. Seriously Varitek still hates the fucking guy and made A-Rod legitimately uncomfortable on the World Series broadcast last season.
Jason Varitek… the reason I have liked the Red Sox for years. But this clip is amazing, “Hey Jason, don’t punch me.” – ARod. pic.twitter.com/ubj0au6lhI
So for the PawSox to honor this legendary moment in Red Sox history is an incredible promotion. Just look at some of what they have going on!
Fans wearing Bronson Arroyo or Jason Varitek jerseys will be admitted free to Pawtucket’s April 12th game against the New York Mets’ Syracuse affiliate.
Fans by the name of Jennifer will also be admitted for free (Yes… All “Jenny’s from the block” showing valid RI identification will be granted free admission at the PawSox ticket office).
Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who is expected to be playing with the Syracuse Mets, will walk up to Mariah Carey’s greatest hits for the duration of his series at McCoy Stadium as a salute to one of J.Lo’s greatest rivals.
Long-time Red Sox fan and Cambridge, MA native Ben Affleck has been cordially invited to throw out the game’s Ceremonial First Pitch-for obvious reasons.
I will have my Bronson Arroyo t-shirt jersey ready. to. go. for this game. T-shirt jerseys count, right?
Yahoo – Johnny Manziel is in contention to make his gridiron return after signing for the Alliance of American Football’s Memphis Express.
The 26-year-old quarterback has been given a chance at redemption following ill-fated spells with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League and for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League.
Having signed on Saturday, Manziel practised with his new team-mates on Monday ahead of the upcoming clash with Birmingham Iron.
An opening for Manziel may have emerged following an ankle injury to starter Zach Mettenberger, with head coach Mike Singletary having turned to third-string option Brandon Silvers rather than returning to the dropped Christian Hackenberg.
Oooooooooooohhhhhhh.
It was actually a lot more difficult to find CFL games streaming than I had originally anticipated, but it didn’t matter in the end as Johnny Manziel didn’t really play much and then got injured and then got booted from the league. Is it mildly concerning that Manziel has now flamed out in two consecutive football leagues? Mildly. But as the saying goes: third times a charm.
Before I get any further into this though, how about Christian Hackenberg? The former SECOND ROUND DRAFT PICK of the NY Jets couldn’t even beat out that stiff from LSU Zach Mettenberger, let alone the infamous Brandon Silvers who I’m not convinced is an actual person.
After a rocky first season for the AAF in which Mattes dumped all over the league, and then shortly thereafter got roasted by AAF Reddit (it’s a thing)
and of course the story of how the league almost went bankrupt in Week 2. All that combined with a lack of any real juice I just have not been able to get into it. Hell I was watching the start of a game last weekend and the announcer literally said the name of the league wrong in the introduction. I will say it is perfect Saturday day drinking background fodder at the bar though.
But now? My man Johnny Football may be making his debut right where he belongs back in the good old US of A? Who cares that he literally signed with the team less than a week ago. The AAF defenses cannot be that complex. Just get Johnny out there and let him do his thing. This is exactly what I needed to launch my AAF fandom and dare I say it purchase an AAF jersey. Do they actually sell AAF jerseys? Well if they do I can tell you that a Manziel #2 Memphis jersey is v high on my wish list
ESPN – TJ Dillashaw is no longer the UFC bantamweight champion.
Dillashaw (16-4) announced Wednesday morning that he has “voluntarily relinquished” the UFC’s 135-pound title after he was informed by the New York State Athletic Commission and the United States Anti-Doping Agency of an “adverse finding in a test taken for my last fight.” ESPN confirmed the validity of the statement via multiple sources.
Ever heard the one about the guy who went to New York to claim two title belts and came away with none? Holyyyy shit. To quote one of my favorite movies – because I have an intimate knowledge of movies despite not being featured in movie-related podcasts – “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” (1997): “A minute ago this was the safest job in the world. Now it’s turning into a bad day in Bosnia.”
The plan for “Killashaw” was to drop into the City That Never Sleeps, woop Henry Cejudo for the Flyweight Championship, and go go back back to Cali with both the 125lb and 135 lb belt around his waist. Not only did he get stopped by Cejudo that night in January, but the NYSAC has suspended him for a year retroactive to his fight in January and (twitter tells me) fined him $10,000.00 for testing positive for something illegal. Not a fantastic look. Taking a page out of the Michael Scott School of Getting Ahead of the Story, Dillashaw has chosen to relinquish his title rather than be stripped. After thinking on it I like that move. I could have seen him forcing the UFC to strip him or watch other 135ers battle for the interim title, belittling them from the interwebs as they do so. He went the high road here.
As for his legacy, well it’s complicated, as it always is nowadays. Cody Garbrandt once claimed Dillashaw was “on everything” and one look at Tyler James’ own posted photos of all the supplements he takes and it suddenly is not a surprise GNC Icarus flew too close to the sun. I mean at what point does whether or not you knew you were taking something quote on quote “illegal” not matter when you are shoving everything possible down your gullet to improve your performance past your natural skills and abilities, born with and learned? And this is not meant to be an argument for or against ‘roids, I’m just saying, as another one of my favorite movie quotes goes – because I really do enjoy movies – from “Four Brothers” (2004), “You keep knocking on the devil’s door long enough and sooner or later someone’s gonna answer you.” Basically Dillashaw burned the candle at both ends.
The division itself is now without its biggest star but is STACKED with talent. You have Marlon Moraes and Aljo Sterling, a rematch between the two of whom should be the next title fight. Behind them you have guys like Pedro Munhoz, fresh off a KO of former champ Garbrandt, and phenom Petr Yan ready to ascend. Hell, with the King out of the way maybe there still is a chance for longtime bridesmaid Rafael Assuncao, just off a wayyyyyyyy too long awaited No. 1 Contender’s fight loss to Moraes, to rise up and get the title shot he’s so sorely waited for.
The long and the short of it is that Dillashaw definitely screwed up here and that is both bad for his career and the UFC, with its perpetually yo-yo’ng number of bankable stars. However in a sport that waits for no one and where timing is everything, the always exciting bantamweight division is ready to pick up the slack.
Wall Street Journal – Florida prosecutors have offered to drop charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and a number of other men charged with soliciting prostitution, according to a person familiar with the matter, but there is a catch. The proposed agreement calls for the men to admit they would have been proven guilty at trial.
So I kind of feel like this is the beginning of the end for the per/prosecution of Robert Kraft. There seems to be two end games here and they both end with him walking away from this with nothing but some embarrassing headlines to his name.
In scenario number one, Kraft takes this deal, officially says ya you had me, and walks away. No conviction, no penalty, just a pat on this tasks force’s head for a job well done and that is it.
On the other hand he says “nah lol lets do this” and they take this to trial. By now it’s reported, on the record in fact that Mr. Kraft was a client of two licensed masseuses, one the owner and the other the manager of the spa he was visiting. Cash was indeed exchanged but it seems a mighty large leap to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that cash was intended specifically for sex when there wasn’t any audio. Therefore, it is going to be quite the longshot to get a conviction on this. Things aren’t looking good for the prosecutors.
So without getting into the dirt too much or trying to show any bias, I just can’t see Robert Kraft facing much more scrutiny for this little episode. He was indeed being a dirty old man but that seems to be that. We’re onto Super Bowl 7.
On this episode of The 300s Podcast we’ve got Red, Big Z, and Giorgio on the line discussing the funniest, most deranged, and most obscure in Vegas movies. We discuss each of the below and more from the past 30 years of Las Vegas film and TV history.
After a pretty hit-or-miss slate of movies throughout Phase 2, Marvel ended the epoch on a really good note with 2015’s “Ant-Man.”
To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this one – not only because Hank Pym wasn’t really one of my guys growing up, but even more so because the MCU had my emotions all mixed up at the time. The studio’s second phase started off with clunkers like “Iron Man 3” and the second Thor movie, only to follow that up with two of their best ever in the second Cap movie as well as “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Then, I was absolutely disgusted with “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which was released just two months before. (Seriously, it has to be my least favorite MCU film. I still think Papa Giorgio was being a bit ambitious with his 5.0 rating.)
Ant-Man was great, though. It truly was. Even though, as I mentioned above, I wasn’t really an expert on the storyline growing up, I was cautiously excited solely for the fact it starred one of my favorite actors/humans ever in Paul Rudd. I may actually love him more than I do some family members, and I can’t remember the last thing I’d seen with him I didn’t enjoy. So good start there.
Then, we were also treated to the absolute GEM that is Michael Peña (more on him later). And we also got an extended cameo from Tip Harris – aka T.I. (yes, that T.I.) – along with a star-studded supporting cast that included Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Judy Greer, Wood Harris, and Bobby Cannavale.
In typical MCU fashion, the movie was obviously going to sprinkle in the funny, especially with guys like Rudd and Peña leading the way. Fortunately, though, it wasn’t overkill. The humor was placed perfectly throughout the story, and I was grinning pretty much the whole film.
As far as the action goes, there wasn’t really any actual “fighting” at all until the very end. But still, there were plenty of unique shots of what life would look like from the perspective of a man the size of a freakin’ thumbtack. For example, here’s what the poor guy had to go through after trying on the suit for the first time and discovering its insane abilities:
And there were plenty of shots like this, too:
Not mindblowing stuff, but pretty cool nonetheless. At least it’s not something you see everyday.
For those who need a refresher on the actual movie itself, here’s a (kind of) quick rundown:
We start off with a flashback to 1989, where we see Hank Pym (Douglas) walking into a small meeting of the minds at S.H.I.E.L.D., which includes Marvel legend Peggy Carter, and we find out that Pym is pretty pissed off after finding out people were trying to replicate his work. Apparently, he had been hiding the secret stuff that allowed him to change his size, because he knew how dangerous the technology could be in the wrong hands. He then resigns and says, “As long as I’m alive, nobody will ever get that formula.” So that’s that.
Back to present day, where we see Scott Lang (Rudd) getting his ass kicked in some sort of weird prison goodbye ceremony, only to then be escorted out of the gates and right into the van of his good pal, Luis. This is where we first see the on-screen magic between these two and are introduced to the comedic genius of Michael Peña, who plays Luis. From the get-go, the dude had me roaring almost every time he was on the screen, absolutely stealing the show at some parts. Peña is pure gold in this one. GOLD.
After getting fired from Baskin-Robbins when his manager discovers his criminal past, Lang visits Luis’s apartment, where two of Luis’s buddies, Dave (T.I.) and Kurt, are sitting at the table, looking all shady. Come to find out, they’re interested in having Scott help them with a “score,” a request which Lang immediately rebuffs. Luis then explains to the other two that while Lang is technically an ex-con, he was actually arrested for hacking into a company which stole millions from its customers (called Vista) and somehow distributing the funds back out the deserving folks. Lang then calls himself a “cat burglar” and not a robber, trying to look as non-criminal as possible.
Over to Pym Technologies, where we see a much older Hank Pym, who is apparently no longer running the very company which bears his name. His daughter, Hope van Dyne (Lilly) is also present, along with quite possibly the most douchey character in MCU history, Darren Cross. Apparently, this guy Cross was Pym’s former protégé whom is now responsible for running the company. Cross is obsessed with continuing Pym’s research, which Pym kept hidden from him, and is miffed that he was lied to about the whole Ant-Man thing. Come to find out, Cross was able to get a hold of the formula and introduces his own miniature “hero” idea: Yellow Jacket. He also lets Pym know about his plan to sell the technology to those who want to create an army of miniature super soldiers.
Sure, he was an A-hole, but that suit is DOPE.
Pym tries to reason with Cross not to pursue the tech any further, and he especially warns against selling it as a weapon. Cross doesn’t care, some even more douchey guys with money show up, and Pym’s not a happy camper. However, apparently he and Hope, who serves as Cross’s second hand, have been conspiring to stop Cross behind his back for a while now.
We then see Lang show up to his daughter’s birthday party, an event at which he is NOT welcome by anyone besides his disgustingly adorable daughter. Not only is he being shunned for being an ex-con, but he also realizes he needs money, and he needs it fast. At which point, he goes back to Luis’s place to ask about that “score.”
Cue the first hilarious Peña rant recap of the movie:
Lang accepts, and they go to rob the house. Come to find out, though, they’re not robbing a safe full of money – and even more importantly, they’re not just robbing any old house. Once Lang breaks open the safe, which is actually a room, we see the Ant-Man suit sitting there, which he quickly grabs and books it out of the house. We also then see a shot of good old Pym watching Lang rob his house, which seems a bit odd at first.
I already showed you what happens when he tries on the suit, which causes him to go right back to Pym’s place and “return it.” Upon leaving the house, who else is there but the cops, right? Boom. Back to jail for Mr. Lang.
OK, we’re getting a bit long here, so time for a Peña-style recap of the next chunk of the film:
Pym pulls a fast one, tricking the cops into thinking he was Lang’s lawyer in order to try and get him out of jail.
We find out that Pym had actually planned the entire thing, down to his house being robbed, because he’s been following Lang ever since finding out about his story. He then forces Lang to use the suit to escape prison.
After waking up at Pym’s house, Lang first meets Hope, who is nahhht a fan.
Pym explains to Lang why he’s there. Hope remains pissed off because she wants to do it herself. Pym seems really dead set against that whole idea for some reason. Lang tells him to call the Avengers. Pym says he’s spent his whole life trying to keep his tech away from the Starks and anyone associated with them.
They talk about a plan to infiltrate Pym Technologies and destroy Cross’s plans.
Then begins a whole training montage of Lang learning how to be Ant-Man, which is basically the MCU’s version of “Rocky III” minus the beach.
During this time, we also see Cross discover how to finally shrink organic matter without killing it. So that’s not good. And we get to see Lang fight Falcon when attempting to steal a piece of tech from the Avengers facility:
Lang also convinces Luis and the boys to help them with their plan. We also find out that Pym has been keeping Hope away from danger the whole time after losing her mother Janet (aka the original Wasp) in a mission years ago. And this is actually super important. Apparently, in order to diffuse a Russian (because of course) bomb, she had to shrink down to sub-atomic levels and enter the Quantum Realm, which had never been done before. Pym says it’s “a reality where all concepts of time and space become irrelevant as you shrink for all eternity.” He never saw her again and has spent his life trying to get her back. (He had previously been lying to Hope and saying it was a plane crash that killed her mother. *Cue heartwarming father-daughter healing scene.*)
And off to Pym Technologies…
A lot of stuff happens inside and outside the facility, everyone escapes (including Cross), and the building itself basically implodes as everyone is getting away. Lang follows Cross, who throws on the Yellow Jacket suit and becomes super tiny himself, all the way to Lang’s daughter’s house.
As Cross is holding Lang’s daughter hostage, Lang decides to take the leap and go sub-atomic to get inside the Yellow Jacket suit and destroy Cross. He’s able to do so, but he also almost gets stuck in the Quantum Realm forever. Lo and behold, he finds a way out, and with both Cross and the tech destroyed, the movie is basically over. (Pym also walks in on Lang smooching with Hope at the very end, setting up the future of the franchise. The first post-credit scene also has Pym showing Hope the Wasp suit he’s been hiding in the basement for years. SPOILER ALERT: She becomes the new Wasp.)
Again, I had a blast watching this one the first time, and I had almost just as much fun watching it again. Rather than making it your typical “good guy vs. bad guy” cookie-cutter super hero flick, the MCU seemed to be more interested in creating an origin story that was simultaneously a redemption story for a new and really fun character.
Hopefully your eyes didn’t roll too far back into your head after reading the headline.
But seriously, while many in Pats Nation are ready to write off the oft-troubled 27-year-old after his de-railed comeback attempt with the Patriots last season, both the team and the wide receiver himself are not ready to do so.
First, we received this little nugget from one of the NFL’s leading talking heads, Ian Rapoport, back on Super Bowl Sunday:
Then, last week, the Patriots decided to tender Josh Gordon, a restricted free agent, at a second-round level. Basically, this means the team will be able to retain his rights, and anyone that tries to sign him away this offseason would need to give the Pats a second-round pick. (I promise you that nobody is going to do that, so he will be back in New England if he plays next season.)
And finally, we were treated to a couple of Instagram posts from his trainer this past weekend in an effort to let the people know his client isn’t ready to hang ’em up just yet. (Check the clips out here and here.)
OK, he looks great and all, but my fear with him was never about whether or not he could still get it done as a player. By all accounts, he was fantastic for the team in his brief time on the field last season; in 11 games with the Pats in 2018, Gordon caught 40 of his 70 total targets for 720 yards with four TDs. For the season, he finished with an average of 17.98 yards per grab; over his past six games with the Pats, he averaged an even more impressive 19.5 YPC.
Point of the story: the guy can obviously still ball.
It’s all that “other stuff” that we need to be concerned about, as the guy just can’t seem to shake all of those off-field demons. Furthermore, we still don’t even know exactly when the NFL will allow Gordon to return to action. As mentioned in the Rapoport tweet above, he “may” be back by training camp, but there has been nothing concrete reported pertaining to when Flash might be able to play again. It’s anybody’s guess at this point.
But as Lloyd Christmas once famously said:
Here’s to hoping the young fella finally pulls it together, once and for all, and gives the Pats a weapon they so desperately need in 2019.
The 300s 