Steve Jobs’ other company has released a teaser for their next film, The Incredibles, due out in November next year. Consider this your splatter warning.
Month: June 2003
I know, it’s not three years in a row, but it is three in the last nine. The New Jersey Devils stomped the Mighty Lucks of Anaheim 3-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. Though he was unable to play in the Finals, former Star Joe Nieuwendyk became only the 6th player in NHL history to win three Cups with three different teams.
I’m not shocked the Devils won, and I’m quite happy about it. I’m not shocked that this series went to seven games, though I am disappointed. Whether or not the Mighty Lucks have what it takes to get here again will be seen in the coming seasons; don’t count your lucklings before they hatch, Anaheim. You were never really in this: the Lucks were shut out 3 of 7 games; 2 games were won in overtime. I will say that Game 6 was a phenomenal display of hockey, and the Lucks deservedly won that one.
So, Commissioner Bettman, you got seven games on ABC in prime time. Congratulations. Starting in October, let’s see you ensure there’s an NHL game on ESPN or ESPN2 every single night at least one game is being played in the league. Then we’ll see professional hockey, with the oldest sports trophy in North America, start getting the exposure it deserves.
(The Stanley Cup is 110 years old.)
So my lovely bride and I have this relatively new tradition (3 years old now) of going for a 4-day weekend the week of our anniversary. This year, our trip took us to San Diego.
We took in Seaworld, saw Shamu. My favorite had to be the dolphin show (with a couple of pilot whales). What can I say, I’m partial to dolphins. Kel really enjoyed the sea lion show, which was an outstanding comedy.
The next day was spent at the world-famous San Diego Zoo. While we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, there were many times when we wondered, what’s the big deal? There are other zoos with better exhibits/enclosures, and far better layouts (Audubon Zoo in New Orleans springs to mind). SDZ does deserve its reputation, however, because of its fantastic research programs; it outspends and outperforms any other zoo in the country; pretty much the world.
Our last full day was spent driving up the 101, aka SH 21, alongside the coastline. Let me say, this was a profound disappointment. While lunch in La Jolla (say La Hoya) was nice, overlooking Scripps Park and the Cove, we only saw the ocean three or four other times, and only briefly as we drove past. Much different than the drive south from San Francisco to Carmel, where you’re hugging the ocean–albeit a few dozen feet up a cliff–nearly every mile. And California road signage sucks. Sucks. I’m talking enormous, Oreck/Kirby/Hoover suckage. We ended up at the south gate of Camp Pendleton, turned back through the Oceanside Marina, then popped over to I-5 back to downtown San Diego.
We roomed at Prava, a three year-old hotel and spa, converted from a time-share property. (They still maintain a relationship with time-share companies, which is how we stayed there.) Located in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, we had plenty of great places to eat within walking distance. Prava makes the Retrophisch Recommends(tm) list of places to stay.
The LSU Tigers crushed Baylor 20-5 in game three of their NCAA super regional to earn their 12th trip to the College World Series since 1986. Yeah, that’s right, bub: LSU has been one of -four- eight teams in the CWS 12 times in 17 years!
The Tigers will face CWS arch-nemesis Cal State-Fullerton in the first round of the CWS. South Carolina and Stanford play in the other bracket.
Geaux Tigers!!!
UPDATE, 6/10: The rest of the field is SW Missouri St. vs. Rice, and Texas takes on Miami (FL).
Dan notes NASA’s sense of humor with regard to Mars rover naming conventions and mission patches. This is what happens when guys our age, who grew up with Looney Tunes, are put in charge…
Barbra Streisand is suing a fellow environmentalist. Why? Because he took an aerial photograph of her Malibu coastline estate. Along with 12,000 other pictures of the California coastline, all as part of creating an aerial photographic survey of the coastline to document erosion over time.
Shhhhhh. Don’t anyone tell Barbrat about the Keyhole spy satellites the NSA could retask to sit over Malibu if it wanted…
Speaking of the Stanley Cup Finals, specifically the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, ponder this:
( Please note that I do not believe my theory, though certain parts are true. )
The National Hockey League has an exclusive television contract with EPSN/ABC. A television contract that, to no one’s but Gary Bettman’s and the NHL’s surprise, is not gaining hockey the expanded audience it seeks in the United States. Viewership has dwindled from the days when Fox carried games for the league (with far more than I’ve ever seen on ABC).
bq. So, what has happened is, Fox has turned to Nascar, ABC is turning to the NBA and ESPN is turning its nose up, cutting 30 percent of its coverage while burying what’s left on ESPN2.
So, the NHL wishes to increase television coverage for the Stanley Cup playoffs, especially the Finals, and league games in general. ESPN/ABC would, of course, like higher ratings so they can charge advertisers more.
ESPN/ABC are owned by Disney. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are owned by Disney. If you’re looking for a conspiracy, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure this one out.
The Ducks have talent, that’s for sure. Paul Kariya has always been one of the NHL’s top players; he’s just never had the rest of the team to play with. Giguere has shown that he is one of those top-flight French-Canadian goalies of the Roy-Brodeur caliber. (Can we please stop with the “Gettin’ Giggy with it” lines?) But overall, this is not a championship team. Yes, I know there is always a time for Cinderella teams, but the Ducks are not a Cinderella team. Not without help. Look to this season’s Minnesota Wild if you want to see a true Cinderella team.
The Ducks take out the defending Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings, in a four-game sweep? Does anyone out there honestly believe the Ducks are that talented? Granted, Detroit didn’t seem to play as hungry as the Ducks, but still, a four-game sweep? You have better odds of winning the lottery. Of getting struck by lightning.
Then the Stars. At least Dallas handed Anaheim its first losses in this year’s playoffs. But again, the Ducks had help to get through that six-game series. I was at Game 2. It had to have been the worst-officiated hockey game I have ever witnessed, in-person or on television. It was atrocious, from both the refs to even the two linesmen. You know there’s a problem when the game’s referees are announced, and there is a collective “Oh no” from those in attendance. I kid you not.
The Stars do not blow leads late in the game. Again, the Stars did not look like the Stars of the regular season–the Stars that thoroughly dominated Anaheim in all but one game they played in the regular season–through all six games, and this certainly contributed to the Ducks “success.”
Now you can make a case for the Western Conference Finals, and the four-game sweep of the Minnesota Wild. The Wild came off of two seven-game, come-from-behind series to make it to the conference finals. The Ducks, by comparison, coasted in. The questionable calls, however, continued.
(Don’t think the same thing wasn’t happening in the east, either. I’m a little shocked that the Devils were able to fight their way through some equally atrocious officiating, especially during the Eastern Conference Finals against Ottawa.)
So the Ducks are in the Finals, playing the New Jersey Devils. You know, the Devils, who have played in the Stanley Cup Finals in three of the last four years, including this one. The Devils, who have won the Cup twice. The Devils, with oodles and oodles of talent, and playoff experience to boot. Not surprising, the Devils crush the Ducks in the first two games of the Finals, not allowing a single goal from Anaheim.
Could it be? New Jersey will sweep the Ducks in four? Capturing the Cup in Anaheim?
Someone at the NHL/ESPN/ABC hits the panic button. Lo and behold, the series is now knotted at two games each. Providence certainly does shine on those incredibly lucky Ducks. Incredibly lucky Ducks. The series will now go to at least six games, and the price of advertising goes up.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are for sale? Gosh, an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals is certainly worth a price mark-up. A Cup championship team would command a premium. The next two, possibly three, games will be interesting to watch.
Of course, it’s all just a theory…
One of my favorite sports-talk hosts is moving from WBAP, 820 AM, to the station’s ESPN radio affiliate. This stinks, since I never listen to ESPN radio, keeping the radio–when I listen to the radio–on either WBAP or KWRD 100.7 FM (Christian talk radio). This is all in the D/FW metro area, by the way.
One problem I have with ESPN radio, or, at least, the affiliate here in town: when I’m watching the freaking Stanley Cup Finals on your company’s main network, it sure would be nice to have the game on the radio, if I have to leave the house, as I did this weekend. I wonder if the same would be true if ESPN was carrying the NBA Finals, or the World Series?
Is there anyone that Microsoft doesn’t see as a competitor?
bq. “We do view Google more and more as a competitor. We believe that we can provide consumers with a better product and a better user experience. That’s something that we’re actively looking at doing,” said Bob Visse, director of marketing for Microsoft’s MSN Internet services division.
What’s wrong with the Google user experience? I think it’s great. I love the simple, minimalist interface on the main page. If you need more advanced features, they’re a click away. If I want a bloated, crufty, way-too-much-happening-at-once search engine, I know where to go already, thank you very much. But I’m sure Microsoft is doing some sort of “innovating” in the search engine sector.
So, yeah, maybe I’m just way behind in picking this up, but the CRT iMac, the box that helped bring Apple back, is no more. The only CRT Macintosh still being sold in the Apple Store is the 17″ G4-driven eMac. So the flat-panel iMac is now the only iMac. Thanks to Robert for pointing this out.