It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  But by the end of last season’s Fantasy Football season it seemed as if I had proven the definition to be wrong. Last season I used the same tried and true system that had made me a perennial playoff contender for years, and yet my result were different.  This time I had failed. I always start with a running back in round one of my fantasy draft before aggressively going after a top tight end in round two.  Round three always has me at the quarterback position selecting... Read More

Bill & Ted Face the Music is streaming on Prime Let’s talk about trilogies. Specifically, how unbelievably hard they are to pull off. It’s difficult enough to pull off a good movie, considering you need a strong script, solid direction, and competent actors. To pull off a decent sequel, you need to build on the world you first established and go in a new direction yet one that’s not so new it undoes the first film. To do all of that, and add a third film wrapping up everything? It’s easier to climb up Mount Everest blindfolded and naked. Even the most prestigious and profitable franchises... Read More

“In African cultures, we often refer to loved ones that have passed on as ancestors. Sometimes you are genetically related. Sometimes you are not. I had the privilege of directing scenes of Chad’s character, T’Challa, communicating with the ancestors of Wakanda. We were in Atlanta, in an abandoned warehouse, with bluescreens, and massive movie lights, but Chad’s performance made it feel real. I think it was because, from the time that I met him, the ancestors spoke through him. It’s no secret to me now how he was able to skillfully portray some of our most notable ones. I had no doubt... Read More

To say that 2020 has been a bit strange is an understatement.  People wear a mask when entering banks, toilet paper and Clorox wipes are the new currency, and being home-schooled has a whole new meaning. In a year that has included political division, countless protests, and a worldwide pandemic, it is only with the return of sports that we are allowed distraction for a few hours, briefly returning to a world we once deemed sane. Sports are the rational in a time of irrationality, the normal in times of abnormality, and the calming in times of calamity. At least until this week that is. The... Read More

The One and Only Ivan is streaming on Disney+. Once upon a time, there was a mall, located in a faraway land known as Tacoma. This mall wasn’t the sort of mall you might have hung out at as an incorrigible youth. It didn’t have a food court. It didn’t have an Apple store. It didn’t have a mall security guard. It was not a gleaming bastion to capitalism. Instead, this mall was…different. Instead of chains, it was a haven of small businesses. Some of them were the kind of places that sold incredible art or wonderful used books. Other were the kind of places that would sell throwing... Read More

The University of Iowa announced that it will be cutting four athletic programs starting in the 2021-22 school year as revenue decline due to COVID-19, and the apparent absence of college football, continue to dismantle athletic departments across the country. The Hawkeyes will drop Men’s Gymnastics, Men’s Tennis, and Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving from their program, joining Stanford, Boise State, Dartmouth, and a long list of Division I schools that have cut nonrevenue sports in an effort to trim expenses. Despite the vast economics departments, numerous professors, and most prized... Read More

Project Power is streaming on Netflix Next to westerns, there’s no other genre that has the flexibility that superheroes have in terms of storytelling. You might think that your options are limited to an MCU snarkfest or the Snyder cut of Justice League, truly an edgelord’s delight. But there’s more to superheroes than that. A hell of a lot more. Consider Wild Cards. Originally a series of anthology novels, the premise focused on an alien virus released over the skies of New York City. 90 percent of those infected died. Nine percent lived and were known as Jokers, people afflicted with crippling... Read More

Ask someone to name their favorite sport and you will find a variety of answers.  The question so subjective that a crack of a bat, smell of fresh cut grass, or even taste of cheese dip may elicit contrasting responses. Ask someone to name the toughest sport and you will find arguments defending the size and speed of the everyday linebacker, the blood and bruises of the MMA fighter, and the toothless grin of the second-line hockey player.  Again subjective. But ask which sport has done the best job returning to play during a pandemic and there looks to be plenty of evidence to judge them objectively. ... Read More

7500 is streaming on Amazon Prime Americans are not good at empathy. We like to think we are, but the hard truth is, we suck at it. Why? Because empathy is a skill. It takes a great deal of time, effort, and imagination to try to put yourself into the place of someone different than yourself. Some people are better at it than others. Some people don’t see the value of attempting empathy in the first place. For example, since the murder of George Floyd, a great deal of white people have taken a hard look at their biases and privilege. They have had to reckon with the concept of systemic racism,... Read More

As congressional leaders continue to work on the latest Coronavirus Relief Bill, a major point of contention between the two parties is how they should handle the expired unemployment benefits.  One side has argued that the $600 a week benefit, which expired on July 31, should be extended by the Federal Government as families continue to struggle in an environment that includes double-digit unemployment, a struggling economy, and a dangerous pandemic. The other side argues that the $600 was too generous as it discouraged Americans from going back to work, often paying the unemployed more than... Read More