Tag: The Office

Tom Brady Went From Belichick Criticizing Him Privately to Bruce Arians Dumping All Over Him Publicly

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Bruce Arians came out of the gates FIRING on Sunday after losing the first game of the Tom Brady era and if I were Brady I would be bullshit for getting thrown under the bus in Week ONE. I’m half expecting Brady and Gronk to drop a Hit Em Up remix dissing Arians before next weekend.

Its been widely reported that one of the reasons Tom Brady left New England, other than it was just time for a change of scenery, is that his relationship with Belichick had started to grate on him. Belichick treated Brady like a first year player (or Fucking Johnny Foxboro according to Giselle) and gave him just as much criticism as the next guy in the locker room. Except Belichick did it privately. You never heard a word about this in press conferences even if Brady played like garbage, which he rarely did. Welp, if getting criticized privately bothered Brady he must love whats going on in Tampa Bay right now.

Arians went out of his way to very publicly blame both interceptions on Brady. Now I’m no film geek so I’m not sitting here watching the All-22, but I would bet my non-existent house on the fact that Tom Brady is reading coverages better than Mike Evans.

To paraphrase the great Katt Williams “…maybe we should stop beating our kids……publicly.”

Even if it was TB12’s fault, you just overhauled your entire team and moved heaven and earth to bring the greatest player of all time to a city known for nothing but strip clubs and you immediately rip the guy the first chance you get? Now that he has a real QB in the room, Arians is like Kelly Kapoor in a blazer.

Granted, Brady isn’t going to just go into the tank and pout because his coach criticized him on TV, but uhhh this ain’t exactly helpful. I had this discussion with Big Z the other day, but this is literally the worst offseason ever for a 43-year-old QB to change teams. As Big Z put it, meetings were outlawed and preseason games cancelled.

Some people thought it came off as Arians yet again throwing his QB under the bus, most notably Emmanuel Acho was chirping the Bucs coach.

The problems went far beyond the QB for Tampa though as they were an undisciplined mess on Sunday with tons of penalties, miscommunications, and ugly plays like the muffed kickoff return that two Bucs had to legit work together to somehow pull off.

If, and this is a gigantic if, the Bucs can get their shit together they are obviously a very talented team and can do some damage in the NFC. I have never doubted Tom Brady once in my life, so I’m certainly not going to start now, but they better get organized.

Steve Carell is Back On TV in “Space Force” and This is Exactly What I Needed

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The co-creator of Space Force is Greg Daniels, who was the co-creator of The Office, Parks and Rec, King of the Hill, and also won an Emmy as a writer on The Simpsons. That is an absolutely teflon resume for a TV writer. Throw Steve Carell into the mix and you have one of the most promising shows in a long time.

It’s not just Daniels and Carell either as the show has a cast of comedy vets including John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Fred Willard, Noah Emmerich, Lisa Kudrow, and Jessica St. Clair.

So we get a collection of some very funny actors, Steve Carell and Greg Daniels leading the way as co-creators, and it’s all on Netflix where they aren’t constrained by 22 minute episodes or F-bomb regulations from the FCC. Throw in the subject matter of Carell playing a general leading the (very real) newly created Space Force branch of the military and I am all in.

PS – Daniels was nominated for another Emmy for his song “Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart” in the season 5 episode he penned, “Homer and Apu”, which any Simpsons fan can sing to you right now.

The XFL is Recruiting a Massive Free Agent: Guy Fieri

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Everybody knows that Guy Fieri is a taste maker plain and simple. The man has gone through the black hole of pop culture and come out on the other side only more popular. A guy that became famous for his wacky personality and bleach blonde hair on a Food Network TV show was ripe to be mocked in the age of twitter. Except he sort of owned it and because of that has endeared himself to the entire internet. Seriously, he’s even getting his own Funko POP figure!

And now the entire XFL is out hunting to secure Guy Fieri as the celebrity face of their franchise.

It’s part social media marketing, part legitimate business growth strategy; the guy has incredible visibility. I’ve seen him on TV at the NBA All-Star game and the Super Bowl in the last month alone. He’s even best buds with one Julian Edelman.

Plus who doesn’t love crushing a few eps of Triple D on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

By sharing and retweeting basically any meme out there about him, Guy Fieri has gone meta and come out more popular than ever. If marketing is about branding then Guy Fieri a marketing master because people know him and they know exactly what he’s about.

It’s actually a strategy Mike Bloomberg is now throwing his money behind in an attempt to become the next viral presidential candidate.

Who knew the key to the XFL’s success may have been hiding in Flavortown all along?

Seinfeld is Headed to Netflix. LETS GOO

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Hollywood Reporter – Seinfeld will be master of a new domain starting in 2021. Netflix has landed worldwide rights to the iconic sitcom in a five-year deal with distributor Sony. The show will move from current rightsholder Hulu when its deal is up in 2021…First reported by the L.A. Times, the deal will bring Seinfeld’s global streaming rights under one roof for the first time. Hulu’s current $150 million-per-year deal is for domestic rights only; Amazon has held rights in most other territories around the world…”Seinfeld is the television comedy that all television comedy is measured against,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “It is as fresh and funny as ever, and will be available to the world in 4K for the first time. We can’t wait to welcome Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer to their new global home on Netflix.”…Acquired series like Seinfeld, Friends and The Office are huge drivers of usage on streaming platforms. Nielsen consumption data for 2018 said Netflix users in the U.S. watched about 85 billion minutes of The Office and Friends — the equivalent of about 25 hours for every Netflix subscriber in the country.

This is a Power. Move. by Netflix after losing all the Marvel properties due to the mouse launching its own streaming platform in Disney+. Oh we can’t have Iron Man 3 anymore? Alright, well I guess we’ll just go acquire the most popular TV show of all time. Imagine being good enough at anything that people will pay to watch you? Now imagine being so good that people (Netflix) will pay ($150M per YEAR) to watch you from 20 years ago. Mind boggling shit.

Seinfeld and The Simpsons have shaped my sense of humor more than any other TV show, movie, stand up comedian or any other form of pop culture in America. I can make a Seinfeld or Simpsons reference for anything and do so just about every day, much to the chagrin of my family and friends. I actually went out of my way one time to go meet the Soup Nazi in downtown Boston a couple years back.

There are few shows better suited to 11 pm reruns than Seinfeld. A 22 minute episode with multiple plot lines where I can zone in and out and fall asleep watching reruns from 20 years ago. Granted Seinfeld is on about 75% of the time I’m home on a channel somewhere anyways, but thats besides the point. Now I can watch any episode of Seinfeld at any time and that is exhilarating for a couch potato such as myself.

Netflix *really* needs to invent a random next episode option though because there is nothing worse than searching for an episode to watch. How many people spend more time browsing Netflix than actually watching Netflix? Its why theres 50 things in my queue that I never intend to actually watch. I don’t know what episode I want to watch, just play something goddamnit.

The Top 5 Sitcom Christmas Episodes

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So I sat down on Christmas Eve yesterday and got sucked into about four hours of sitcom marathons. Few things are better at this time of year than binge watching all the random sitcom Christmas specials. It’s become a staple for any sitcom worth its weight. So lets break down some of the best Christmas specials from over the years.

 

The Office

S3EP10 – “A Benihana Christmas”

After photoshopping himself onto an old photo of Carol’s family over the ex husband’s head, Carol is creeped out and dumps Michael. Meanwhile the office is split in two as the party planning committee argues so Pam and Angela end up creating two separate office Christmas parties.

 

The Simpsons

S9EP10 – “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace”

The Simpsons love doing holiday specials and this Christmas episode is one of the funniest specials of all-time. Bart drinks a dozen glasses of water so he can wake up early on Christmas before everyone else. He does just that, heads down stairs to play with some new toys except he accidentally burns the Christmas tree down and all the presents underneath it. Naturally he lies about it and the entire town of Springfield takes sympathy on the Simpsons until Bart cracks. Hilarity ensues.

 

 

Seinfeld 

S9EP10 – “The Strike”

While technically not a “Christmas” episode, this is still one of the best Christmas specials as George’s father invents a new holiday all together: Festivus. Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, the Festivus Pole, which is displayed unadorned because tinsel is distracting. People literally buy aluminum poles and put them in their living room as an ironic protest of Christmas and I will laugh every time I see it.

 

Malcolm in the Middle

S3EP7 – “Christmas”

One of the more underrated sitcoms that never seems to get the credit it deserves. All the more relatable to people because of the absolutely chaotic family dynamics.

 

That 70s Show

S6EP7 – “Christmas”

If Billy Bob Thornton is the No. 1 disaster of a Santa Claus then Red Forman is without a doubt 1A. The older I get the more I personally identify with Eric’s curmudgeon of an old man. When a girl asks for a pony, Red tells her ponies die. He also tells another boy who asks for a slinky that he’ll be getting flash cards for a present: “Math. That’s what you’re getting for Christmas.”

What’s your favorite Christmas special? Tweet it at me @The300sBoston and we’ll get the ball rolling on this nostalgia trip.

Secret Santa Gone Wrong

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Thank you, office secret Santa, or as you should be called, 'disappointment roulette.' #FallonTonight http://t.co/azFxNRRQur

FOX News – According to an anonymous post on Reddit, a mother allegedly reached out to her Secret Santa gifter to both say thank you for the presents, and ask for another one…

“So…I know this is kinda awkward…but the spending limit was $50 and I looked online and it seems that the blanket and chocolates only add up to about $30?” the woman’s text reads.

“do you think it’s possible you could get me something else? My kids have been spending me up the wazoo! LOL.”

You can read the entire text message exchange here. From this exchange, it’s clear that this Secret Santa handled it better than most people would. The recipient had the gall to look up the prices of the presents and ask for more, and the Secret Santa actually offered throw her a twenty! That’s saintlike!

I wouldn’t even have responded to the first text, never mind the text where she asked for a Samsung Galaxy Tab. What planet in this galaxy is she from? This Secret Santa deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for how he handled this situation.

Stories like this are the reason why I don’t participate in office Secret Santas or Yankee Swaps. I made the mistake of participating in an office Secret Santa my first year in cubicle life. The spending limit was a much more appropriate $15, so I bought a craft beer six pack for my recipient and threw in a nice bottle opener to get up to about $15. My Secret Santa got me a few cans of Corona Light, a candy bar, and a shamrock koozie.

Image result for michael scott gif

I didn’t care about getting something back for about $15. I was disappointed by the shameless lack of effort. My gift clearly came out of the vegetable drawer of their refrigerator and their junk drawer. At 7:30 AM that morning. I decided to sit out the Yankee Swap the next year and watched as the boss nabbed the best gift early on and no one else had the guts to steal it from him.

When I get invites to Secret Santas or Yankee Swaps now, I just buy myself another Red Sox hat and call it a day.

Who Should Host SNL?

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As much as college football and pumpkin spice lattes, the Saturday Night Live season premiere is a sure sign that summer is over and fall has arrived. SNL’s 44th season will kick off less than a month from now on September 29. No hosts or musical guests for the upcoming season have been announced yet but since they asked, here are the three guys I’d most like to see host SNL.

  1. Bill Burr A comedian’s comedian and a regular on the late night talk show circuit, Burr would kill on SNL. Burr did some work on Chappelle’s Show back in the day and would bring an edge to Saturday night that SNL hasn’t had in quite a while.
  2. Bob Odenkirk Well before he took on the role of Saul Goodman, Odenkirk wrote for SNL back in the late 80s and early 90s. While he didn’t find the success at SNL that other writers did, he did find sketch comedy success on HBO in the mid-90s with Tobia Funke David Cross on Mr. Show. Currently on one of the best shows on television, Odenkirk going back to 30 Rock to host SNL would be a great story of comedic redemption.
  3. John Krasinski He interned on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in the same building back in 2000 and was a key player on The Office, one of the most important shows on NBC for nearly a decade. It’s hard to believe that this guy has never been invited to host in Studio 8H. With Jack Ryan dropping on Amazon Prime today, now seems like the perfect time for Krasinski to head back to 30 Rock.

And special mention goes to Christopher Walken, who tops my returning hosts list. Walken was a mainstay during my prime SNL viewing years, hosting seven times in the 90s and 2000s. It’s hard to believe he hasn’t appeared on SNL in more than a decade. Definitely need to see him walken through the doors at 8H this fall.

 

Who’d I miss? Let me know on Twitter @The300sBigZ

Red Sox Twitter Needs to Stay Calm

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The Yankees acquiring Giancarlo Stanton is obviously huge news and not great news for the Red Sox. The Yankees have acquired the reigning National League MVP for pennies on the dollar because they can eat salary better than any other team in professional sports. That’s tough for Red Sox fans to stomach, but it’s nothing new for fans of the other 28 teams in Major League Baseball.

The Yankees have obviously gotten [much] better while the Red Sox are still looking for their power bat, but can we stop the histrionics? I get it, it’s frustrating to see the Yankees payroll go up every year at a faster rate than college tuition, but can we stop talking about the Yankees like they’re going to hit 300 home runs next year and win 130 games? Last time I checked, Stanton doesn’t play nine positions.

I’m old enough to remember the last time the Yankees swung a trade to pick up a reigning MVP. In early 2004 Alex Rodriguez, like Stanton today, was a reigning MVP entering his age-28 season. I remember Bob Lobel holding a town hall meeting on Sports Final with Steve Buckley (or maybe it was Tony Massarotti) to calm down Red Sox fans. If my memory serves me well, Buckley (or Mazz) said that it all comes down to pitching and that the Yankees pitching staff didn’t get any better after they picked up A-Rod.

Whoever it was, they were right. On the backs of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Keith Foulke it was the Red Sox who hoisted the commissioner’s trophy in October of 2004. It took the Yankees six years to win their first (and only) World Series with A-Rod. While still a good player, A-Rod’s best playing days were behind him by 2009. That 2009 World Series title really had more to do with CC Sabathia being a stud than it did with A-Rod anchoring that lineup. Honestly, 35-year-old Johnny Damon had as much to do with that title as A-Rod did.

I’m also old enough to remember when the Red Sox had two perennial MVP candidates in the middle of their lineup. Hell, in 2003 the Red Sox had Manny, Oritz AND Nomar in their primes and all three finished in the top ten in AL MVP voting. We all remember how that season ended.

Adding Stanton definitely gets the Yankees closer to a tile, and closer to a tile than the Red Sox, but let’s not cancel the season. As was the case in 2004, the Red Sox still have the better pitching staff. Next year the Red Sox will have two former Cy Young Award winners on the staff, and that doesn’t include six-time all star Chris Sale. And like in 2004, there’s still the Wild Card. It’s not 1987. So what if the Yankees win 130 games? The Sox can still win 95 games and get into the tournament. If that happens, much like in 2004, we’ll see you in Game 7 of the ALCS.

PS – I don’t know who came up with this first, but this tweet won Twitter over the weekend.

LeBron James Goes Full Dwight Schrute With This Quote

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dwightschrute

ESPN – “I don’t think anyone was prepared for me returning and understanding what the situation was going to entail,” James said when asked how prepared Irving was for his role to change with James back in the fold two years ago. “I mean, that’s everyone here. You know, they had gone through some losing seasons in my previous stint before I came back, so they knew they were getting a pretty good basketball player and a great leader and a good person, and someone that was going to command excellence.”

Listen, I’m glad LeBron won a title for Cleveland. Cleveland can officially come off suicide watch now. Hell, ESPN is even updating the 30 for 30 Believeland to reflect the Cavaliers title. It’s hard to hate on LeBron the player, but it will never, ever stop being hilarious listening to LeBron the person speak. Because he is not even familiar with the word “humble” and it shows in quotes like this. He has legitimately gone full Dwight Schrute.