Must-see movie

Bill Maher's new movie "Religulous" doesn't open in theaters until October 3. In case you are unfamiliar with his work, Bill has given us such cultural gems as Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect. "Religulous" chronicles Bill traveling the world in search of religious hypocrisy, which really isn't too hard to find but provides great material in the hands of the right person, and the advanced reports on "Religulous" suggest it will be very entertaining. The film is directed by Larry Charles, the gentleman who gave us "Borat", so you immediately get a sense of what's coming.

Some moments I eagerly anticipate as taken from the LA Times article:

• In Holland, Maher is in the midst of questioning a somber Muslim cleric when he's interrupted by the cleric's cellphone, whose ring tone is Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."
• You know irreverence is the order of the day when Maher, reacting to a smooth-talking black preacher's boast that he got a great deal on his $2,000 suits, drolly observes, "I find it interesting that you're a Christian, you used to be a Muslim but you buy all your clothes like a Jew."

Should be worth a large popcorn and a box of Junior Mints.

Olympics or Super Bowl halftime? You be the judge.

I know I'm being a bit of an uncultured louse but do the Olympic Games opening ceremonies ever remind you of an overstaged Super Bowl halftime show? There's just enough kitsch to make me hurry to the fridge to get another beer because the second half is about to begin.

Update: Alright, I'm a louse. I made my observations from several photos and extrapolating to many past ceremonies. I actually got to watch the ceremonies last night (Hours after I made my orginial post) and I was wrong. Last night's performance was quite stunning and didn't remind me too, too much of the Super Bowl. The jury is still out for other opening ceremonies.

Sad

(Photo courtesy of CNNSI.com)

What else can one say regarding the Brett Favre debacle? Watching the whole thing unfold on a national stage, I was reminded of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth". Great song that's not entirely pertinent to this situation (It was written as an anti-Vietnam song) but one line stands out in particular: "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong". Really Brett, could you have a little larger ego and play an even more pathetic drama queen? And Ted Thompson/Mike McCarthy, would it have killed you to treat the face of the franchise with a little more respect?

The big losers in this whole saga are the Packers fans themselves. No matter who's side you're on, the PR beating the organization took will take some time to salve. And Favre ended up in a less than ideal situation with the Jets with little hope of another Super Bowl run. If both sides could have compromised somehow, the Packers might have had another run at the Super Bowl this year, considering most everyone returned to a team that was whiskers away from playing the Patriots. I realize we'll be fine and we'll reap the rewards of the next two seasons down the line, but how many chances do you get at the Super Bowl? I just can't help but be reminded of Joe Montana playing his final years as a Kansas City Chief (Something I unfortunately witnessed firsthand).

And really, for me as a lifelong Packers fan, I'm most saddened by seeing Favre wearing a uniform other than the green and gold. None of this had to happen.

Good luck Brett.

Hangin' with Tigger

While I was watching the British Open this past weekend, I realized that I didn't recap my amazing day at the Augusta National Golf Club, April 8, 2008. Grateful to the powers that be, I was somehow able to score tickets for the Tuesday Masters practice round. I have no idea how I got them (It was my first time applying for tickets) but hey, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

With little to no sleep after all the excitement of my Jayhawks winning the national title, my buddy Sidis and I packed in the car before the sun rose to make the hour-and-a-half trek up I-20 from Atlanta to Augusta. The drive was made easier by the buzz that only a national title can give.

Part of the beauty of the practice rounds is that they allow patrons to bring cameras onto the grounds. Carrying our cameras and feeling very papparazzi-ish, one of our first celebrity sightings was of the man himself, Tiger Woods. Can this man leave his house without being the center of attention? Several hundred people surrounded the practice green, trapping him like a caged animal and there was not a sound to be heard. "Shhhhhh! You might hear him breathe". And "Oh, I think he looked at me. Did you see him look at me? He didn't look at you, he looked at me". I really thought the collective awe on display by the gallery was actually a little bit creepy. Yes, they were quiet to allow him his concentration but something was going on that didn't happen with any other golfer. It was almost like "Oh my gosh he's real".

Anyway, there were other golfers on the course, even if many spectators refused to recognize their existence. Here's a picture of Phil Mickelson making his club selection as he prepares to hit his tee shot at 12.

Looking back at all the photos, I found this one particularly intriguing. It's a shot of Gary Player imparting some wisdom to the eventual champion Trevor Immelman, while others in their group finished their practice putts on the 15th green.

Here's Fred Couples giving some love to the Big Event. Right back at you Freddie. Love your work.

When it was all said and done, perhaps the greatest 24 hours of my sports life. Wow.

Jumping the Shark

Greg Norman is nearly halfway through the final round of the British Open so we won't know the final outcome as of the time of this post. But I'd like to thank him for a glorious run (And march down memory lane) at this year's Open. Particularly since the delay in Tiger Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus has made this an unusual tournament. He's really struggled today (4-over through seven holes and one shot behind Harrington) and things aren't looking good. With these conditions, anything can happen and he could still turn it around or witness a Harrington slippage (Oh how ironic that would be).



I've seen some comments about his snake-bitten luck coming to roost yet again but I think that's being a bit harsh. Yes, he's had some well-documented collapses and miracle shots go against him but, this time around, he's 53 years old and probably showing his age. Four rounds of golf against men half his age under immense pressure and extreme weather conditions is a lot for which to ask. There's a reason no one else has won a golf major past the age of 50.

Cut him some slack and raise a glass of his Pinot Noir to toast a fantastic tournament no matter the outcome. BTW, a belated congratulations are in order to Mr. Norman for the addition of Chris Evert to the trophy case. Well done sir.

Roger Waters

In an effort to catalog some of my favorite moments from attending concerts, I began my series with a brief recap of the Boss's Atlanta performance several months ago. The Roger Waters Atlanta show on May 22, 2007 also provided a great moment. For a little taste, here's Roger Waters playing Brain Damage during his nightly performance of Dark Side of the Moon.

On this night (As well as most every night on this tour), Waters performed Sheep from Pink Floyd's 1977 release Animals. As a note of caution, while Waters was certainly inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm, this album is not a substitute for the Cliff Notes if you're still struggling with 10th grade English. Of Pink Floyd's great seventies albums, Animals may be the most underrated and one of their finest. I was able to avoid seeing set lists from previous stops so the inclusion of Sheep was a complete surprise. Sheep is my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs ever released by Pink Floyd. I absolutely loved hearing that bass line louder than ever. During the song, Waters floated an inflatable pig over the crowd with various messages and personal opinions written on the animal. Even though he's been pulled this stunt since the Animals tour, the pig had no effect on my pleasure of hearing the song performed live. As a trivia note, Waters (And Pink Floyd) often lets the pig fly free during shows in open air theaters, not only to prove that pigs can fly but to jeopardize the safety of unsuspecting passenger jets flying in the immediate vicinity. A giant inflatable pig soaring over factories actually serves as the album cover.

Roger also played my other favorite Pink Floyd, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Waters' tribute to his friend and Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett. While I've seen Pink Floyd (Sans Waters) perform this song live, it was the very touching visual tribute to Syd Barrett that made this song so memorable. Upon viewing the images of decades old photographs, it was quite clear that Roger missed his dear old friend, who had passed away two years before the show after decades in seclusion. A very beautiful but sad song.

Some other notes from the show. When the band played Time, the sound of the clock pendulum was played by Waters deadening the strings on his bass. I'd always thought the sound was recorded from an actual clock. Quite interesting.

Also, I attended the show with Strange Calm, a good friend who worships the Floyd more than I ever dreamed possible. As we discussed the highs of the show while waiting for MARTA, we discovered our only low: We were cheated by the separation of Waters from Pink Floyd. By the time we achieved concert-attending age, Waters had already left the band. Each of us had only seen Floyd but it became quite clear from the Waters performance that a united Pink Floyd show would be mesmerizing. While the egos of Waters and David Gilmour led to the ultimate demise of Pink Floyd, each performer brings unique features to the band that were missing in their separation: Waters lyrics and concept development and Gilmour's music. They relied on each other to strengthen their respective weaknesses and produce an incredible combined talent. If only we were old enough to have witnessed this greatness.

What happened to Arthur?

First off, congratulations all around for the Jayhawks selected in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft last evening. As it turns out, the five that were selected set a new record for one school. Of course, this means that of all the key players in our championship run, only Sherron Collins will remain to help defend our national title, assuming he doesn't have some legal trouble. And yes, Collins has a Wikipedia entry.

One theme I kept reading regarding last night's draft was the league-readiness of these men. Kudos to Bill Self for giving them the best possible chance at success at their new jobs.

Here's their draft positions:
Number 13: Brandon Rush
Number 27: Darrell Arthur
Number 34: Mario Chalmers
Number 52: Darnell Jackson
Number 56: Sasha Kaun

You could also include JR Giddens at Number 30, a Roy Williams-recruited prospect who played at KU for two years under Bill Self before transferring to New Mexico after some legal troubles in Lawrence. For the record, since Giddens didn't finish his career at KU I won't include him either but I'm happy to see his life headed in the right direction.

The big surprise for me was the fall of Arthur to 27. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, one of the more objective voices of the sport, had Arthur in his Top 10 the day before the draft. Apparently, several NBA teams became aware of an Arthur kidney problem and backed off a bit. It seems that some miscommunication has occurred between the player and the NBA as test results show he's fine but those results were never communicated to the NBA teams. All in all, my feeling is that his agent dropped the ball on this one. To make matters worse for him, he was traded three times after he was drafted, finally landing with the Memphis Grizzlies.

As I write this post, Arthur is still a Grizzly although it's only 2 pm EST. There's plenty of time for another trade.