Happy Halloween!

While most of Americans love Halloween for the costumes, the parties, the pumpkin carving and the Trick-or-Treating, The Blot has come to love Halloween for one reason and one reason only...

The Candy Corn!

Barney-ism Of The Week

Sorry this is a few days late, The Blot's a little behind on his DVR.

"You know who else was considered crude and disgusting?

Shakespeare.

But his themes, love, lust, forbidden desire, were universal.

Which is why his work has stood the test of time. And so will all this. 400 years from now some high school drama class will be doing a plucky, spirited production of...Beef Party 7."

- Barney Stinson

Comparing Shakespeare to the Porn Industry

"I'm Not That Guy"

How I Met Your Mother

What every How I Met Your Mother Fan needs,
a Robin Sparkles t-shirt!

You can pre-order these bad boys Here

Who is Robin Sparkles you might ask? Only the greatest 90's pop star Canada has ever seen.

www.myspace.com/robinsparkles

TV Spin-Off Trivia Contest Answer and The Office News

It seemed apropos that only a week after The Blot Says... Trivia Contest #1 asked “Which Television Show had the most spin-offs,” a huge spin-off story would break on the internet. TVGuide.com Senior Writer and world renowned TV show spoiler extraordinaire Michael Ausiello reported earlier today that NBC is developing a spin-off of fan favorite The Office. You can read Ausiello’s entire article Here. According to Ausiello’s sources, The Office would introduce an all new crop of characters in an upcoming episode and then spin those new characters off into their own show. Have no fear Office fans, Ausiello states that none of the show’s main characters would be leaving to headline the new show.

I know it’s only Tuesday afternoon but this seemed like a great time to announce the winner of The Blot Says... Trivia Contest #1. The official answer is All In The Family with 5 spin-offs: Maude, The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria and 704 Hauser and had 2 spin-offs of spin-offs: Good Times and Checking In.

In case anyone was interested Happy Days was a close second with 4 spin-offs: Laverne & Shirley, Blansky’s Beauties, Mork and Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. There’s some grey area there because Happy Days is actually a spin-off of Love, American Style so maybe Love, American Style is the answer. But technically none of the other shows are spin-offs of that show, so The Blot is making an executive ruling with All In The Family. Another top contender for the title of “TV Show with the Most Spin-Offs” is The Mary Tyler Moore Show with 3: Lou Grant, Phyllis and Rhoda. Thanks everyone for playing and all winners should be receiving their No Prize any minute now.

L.A. Lakers - Kobe = A Bleak Future

The Blot, since he was a very little boy, has always bled Laker Purple and Gold. So it disgusts me even more than the day General Manager Mitch Kupchak traded away the greatest basketball player of all time, his diesel-ness Shaquille O’Neal, to watch what is currently unfolding in Laker country. In short, a few months back Kobe demanded a trade and the Lakers said no. Now all of a sudden Pandora’s box was reopened due to some ill advised comments by the Laker's owner Dr. Jerry Buss and it seems things are no longer amicable and a trade is looming in the wings. The fact is Kobe is fed up with losing and the pathetic attempt by the Laker brain trust consisting of owner Dr. Buss, Buss’s son/Assistant GM Jim Buss and Kupchak to put together a championship contending team.

Truth be told, Mitch Kupchak has proven to be not only a horrible replacement GM for “The Logo” Jerry West, but one of the worst GMs in all of professional basketball. Time and time again his trades and draft picks have proven fruitless and in many instances seem to have been the completely wrong decision. What truly scares The Blot, is that I now find myself actually agreeing with Kupchak’s view on the situation.

For months, Kobe has been asking for a trade and now after everything appeared to have been smoothed over (and on the eve of the tip off of the 2007-2008 NBA season) it appears Dr. Buss is finally ready to appease his star player's request. There appears to be a few unique snags that would hamper a trade of this kind going through though. First and foremost is the fact that Kobe has the only no trade clause in all of the NBA. This basically means any trade involving Kobe has to be signed off by him first. The other is that after the 2008-2009 season Kobe has the ability to opt-out of his contract and become a free agent. These two things combined really handcuff the Lakers.

If they decide to stand pat with the make up of the team and do not trade Kobe then there is probably a 100% chance he opts-out and leaves the team with nothing. Because of Kobe’s no trade clause the number of teams Kobe would be willing to be dealt to shrinks down to about 3 or 4, which most insiders believe to be the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and possibly either the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards or Houston Rockets. Even then, if the Lakers find a team on that short list is willing to make a somewhat fair trade, the new team would then be no better than the Lakers were last year with Kobe. This would lead him to opt out after next season anyway, which is why none of those teams would dare make a fair trade with the Lakers. So as you see it is quite the vicious circle. It seems the only way for the Lakers to actually get something for a departing Kobe is to trade him well below market value to an already good team, an act that would alarm most teams in the league and fans of the Lakers.

This predicament has led to a pretty decisive rift within team management. On the one side are Jerry and Jim Buss who are tired of listening to Kobe’s whining and would like to move him in order to begin crafting the next phase of the franchise. On the other side is daughter Jeanie Buss and her boyfriend/head coach of the team/hall-of-famer Phil Jackson who are dismayed the team is even discussing moving the team’s and the league’s best player. Surprisingly on their side is the inept Kupchak who fears being known as the GM who dismantled the Laker dynasty and traded away future hall-of-famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, both for well under market value.

What I don’t understand is what the Buss’ think will be achieved by trading Bryant. They will be losing not only the team’s lone star but the biggest star in a city full of them. By the team being in a city where image is everything, the need for a larger than life star to pull in the Hollywood elite to the games is a must. The Lakers have never gone more than a few years without at least one of the game’s biggest stars, from the George Mikan era to the Elgin Baylor/Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain led teams to Showtime of the 80’s staring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy to the most recent dynasty of Shaq and Kobe. If Kobe leaves or is traded that will leave the Lakers’ cupboard bare for the first time in a very long time. And with the team’s recent success combined with the wasted draft picks and free agent signings by Kupchak, the team’s future looks pretty bleak.

It baffles me that Dr. Buss knows that all it takes to win in the NBA is one or two star players and a few solid role players, so what are the Buss’ possibly thinking considering a trade of Kobe!?! In my opinion the Lakers have only one real option, FIRE KUPCHAK. Bring back Zeek from Cabin Creek, a.k.a Jerry West, at any cost and right this sinking ship. You don’t bring a winning attitude to a team by trading away the best player in the league. The organization needs to decide to spend some money like they did when they gave Kobe the huge contract he so richly deserved and surround him with quality role players. Then lock in the hall-of-fame head coach that made Kobe the player he is today into a long term deal. It really is too bad the Lakers and Kupchak were unable to acquire a second star for Kobe to run with. The addition of Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O’Neal to the team would have been huge and worth every penny. But, other good players can still be acquired. The process has already begun by bringing back Kobe friend and all around great guy Derek Fisher. The team isn’t horrible but it is definitely not championship caliber yet. That being said with a few minor changes this team could be much better. It is still not too late…so here is my plea Dr. Buss, swallow your pride and please publicly admit Kobe isn’t going anywhere. You don’t even have to apology, just vow to work with your star player to improve the franchise by creating a championship caliber team that your fans deserve and all will be forgiven! That isn’t too much to ask, is it?

Getting Funky With Galactic

As they have for at least the last two years, the New Orleans based Galactic made a stop at the Meridian in Houston on their way back home for the annual Voodoo music festival. Last Thursday The Blot had the great opportunity to see Galactic for the first time since moving to the H. If you’ve never seen this Jazz-Funk-Jam band play it’s definitely worth the price of admission. While there are typically no lyrics to their songs, the music, accompanied by a fantastic light show, is truly great. This five piece band is comprised of a keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, drummer and a saxophonist/harmonica player. What made The Blot even more excited to catch this particular show was the album the band is currently touring to promote. From The Corner To The Block is a concept album that combines Galactic’s unique sound with some of Hip-Hop’s finest performers, each taking a turn rapping over Galactic’s music. The Blot is a big fan of Hip-Hop music, so after listening to most of this album I was excited to see how it would translate to a live performance.

Galactic was joined on each stop of their current tour by two of the hip-hop artists appearing on the new album. At this particular stop the band was joined by Charli 2na (of Jurassic 5) and Boots Riley (of The Coup). I was particularly sad to not have Mr. Lif performing at this tour stop. Mr. Lif is a really talented east coast MC that I happened upon one day cruising the aisles of Waterloo Records in Austin. I have since followed his career but have never had the chance to catch one of his live shows. I would definitely recommend checking him out and you can preview some of his songs on his website www.mrlif.com. Nevertheless, I was excited to see both Charli 2na, since I have always been a fan of the now defunct Jurassic 5, and Boots Riley, especially after reading all of the rave reviews for The Coup’s most recent album Pick A Bigger Weapon.

I had heard both of their songs on the new album and really enjoyed them. I was especially pleased when the songs proved to be just as good live as they were in the studio. Galactic was also even better than I remembered when performing without the additional vocals. I did hear some grumblings from fans in the audience that they were hoping for a more traditional Galactic concert and less collaborations. I really enjoyed all of Boots Riley’s performance though and enjoyed the first few songs of Charli 2na. The collaborations really reminded me a lot of Jay-Z’s MTV Unplugged performance when The Roots joined Jay-Z to perform his greatest hits. When the show really started to lag was at the end of the set when Charli 2na debuted some new material off his upcoming album. At that point Galactic was relegated to back-up band and sounded really confined to Charli's rapping. Back-up band status really doesn’t suit Galactic's style and unfortunately left the band to close their set on a down note. But, I will say that after seeing this show I am definitely interested in hear more of Boots Riley and will probably pick up the latest album from The Coup.

While the fans in attendance Thursday night definitely got their moneys worth out of the two hour performance, the fact that it was a weekday show and that Galactic didn’t go on until 10 pm lead much of the audience to leave early. Knowing I would have to wake up in a few short hours for work the next morning forced even The Blot to leave the show before the band returned for an encore, a pretty rare occurrence. Last week’s show left me with mixed emotions. Even though I would still recommend to all music fans to check out a Galactic show at least once, I think this tour might not be the best representation of the band's music. If the concept album really interests you I strongly suggest picking up the album but waiting to see Galactic until their next tour which will most likely be without the additional help on stage.

www.galacticfunk.com

Jin and Juice

Anyone that knows The Blot knows his favorite television show the last few years has been Lost. Unfortunately, the cast of the show has had a little problem staying out of trouble while living in Hawaii filming the show.
While The Blot doesn't want to turn this blog into a celebrity gossip site, I saw today's subject line in an article on TMZ and it made me laugh. I just couldn't pass up sharing it with you guys. Turns out Daniel Dae Kim was arrested Thursday morning for a D.U.I. You can read the entire article here: "Lost" DUI Curse -- Daniel Dae Kim Busted!. For those of you who don't follow the show as religiously as I do, Kim's character on Lost is named Jin. I thought it was actually a pretty creative play on words for the paparazzi over at TMZ/AOL. Hopefully this doesn't spell doom for Kim's character Jin since the last three cast members who got in trouble with the law were killed off the show.

And remember kids, like the old Public Service Announcement used to say:

"Drinking & Driving Can Kill A Friendship"

The Rise of the Graphic Novel in Hollywood

And now back to our regularly scheduled post...

I’m guessing that most of you reading this either have no idea what a Graphic Novel is or why The Blot would be writing about them, but the term itself really rubs me the wrong way. Therefore, it’s time for The Blot’s first official rant. Do any of you know when the term Comic Book became a four letter word in Hollywood? I do, I peg it happening sometime around the year 2006. In fact, the term Comic Book seems to be fading from the lexicon of Hollywood almost as fast as the movie industry is raking in the dough from Comic Book based movies.

With two months left in 2007, do you know what the highest domestic grossing movie of the year is? If you thought Spider-Man 3 give yourself a gold star. As it stands now there are 5 Comic Book based films ranked among the top 35 grossing films of 2007 (Spider-Man 3, 300, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider, and TMNT). This isn’t a new trend either; in 2006 two of the top ten highest grossing films in the United States were Comic Book movies, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns. In 2005 there were four more movies in the top 35 which included Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, Constantine and Sin City. Then in 2004 there was another 5 Comic Book based films in the top 100 grossing films of the year…I could go on and on. The point is that Comic Book movies, their heroes, villains and amazing special effects have taken over summer box office and they don’t seem to be going anywhere with Iron Man and Batman: The Dark Knight hitting screens next summer. So at this point you might be asking yourself what’s the problem? The Blot’s problem is that sometime last year, around the time 300 was released the term Comic Book seems to have been replaced with the term Graphic Novel even when most of the time the term does not really apply.

You see, a Graphic Novel is, in its most simplistic form, a Comic Book. The original Graphic Novels were always short book length stories with a defined beginning and end. This is very different than your modern day comic book’s story line that, similar to a soap opera, could go on for months and years. They were called “Novels” because they were published in a format similar to books with a thicker spine and higher page count while a comic book’s format resembles a standard newsstand magazine. It used to be that Graphic Novels often dealt with a more mature subject matter than your typical comic book, but that’s really no longer the case. In fact the term Graphic Novel is really not even used in its proper context. Somehow due to the marketing geniuses in Hollywood the term Graphic Novel is now applied to any basic trade paperback, a term that means a reprinted collection of either a comic book mini-series or the collection of a specific storyline from an ongoing comic book into one book.

The most glaring abuse of the term Graphic Novel can be seen in the movie posters for the #1 film in America 30 Days of Night which proclaims “Based on the Hit Graphic Novel.” The only problem I see is that 30 Days of Night was not originally a Graphic Novel! I even have the comic books to prove it. 30 Days of Night was a three issue comic book that became so popular the publisher eventually reprinted it in trade paperback form which included all three issues in one book. And that is what’s bothering me about the term Graphic Novel. It seems like Hollywood has arbitrarily decided that when it needs a film based on a Comic Book to be considered more mature content or the studio doesn’t want the film to be lumped in with other super hero movies they tag the film with “Based on the popular Graphic Novel” instead of “Based on the popular Comic Book.”

What’s scariest about this whole topic to The Blot is that instead of the two main Comic Book companies DC and Marvel fighting Hollywood’s marketing departments on how they brand the industry, they’ve chosen to embrace it. Now almost every popular comic published is, at some point, repackaged into a trade paperback and labeled a graphic novel. Obviously these two things are not the same thing but with all the free publicity movie studios are giving the Graphic Novel, the industry figures it is worth following the trend in the hopes of bringing in new readers. Plus your regular chain book stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble are willing to carry the trade paperback/Graphic Novel style books over the traditional comic book, which opens the comic book industry to more stores and more readers. I guess you have to follow the money and I can’t completely fault them for that. But if this trend continues, the Comic Book industry might find itself in quite the predicament. By going for the quick buck and giving in to the movie industry’s marketing plan, the Comic Book industry loses its brand identity it has built up over the past 80 years and quite possibly the fan base that supports it. Like all trends in movies the super hero genre will eventually fade away and then where does that leave DC and Marvel? I for one am not so sure I am willing to stick around to find out.

The Blot Says... Trivia Contest #1

Due to some unfortunate technical difficulties brought about by The Blot's own stupidity, today's regularly scheduled post won't be posted until tomorrow. That is if I didn't lose the post completely, which I'm really hoping didn't happen. I won't be sure of that until I get back into the office tomorrow morning, so everyone please cross their fingers! But as the old saying goes, the show must go on.
I've been thinking of ways to get our many readers to start posting comments on the site to give The Blot Says... more of a community feel to it, and so I guess today is as good a day as any to introduce a new segment to the blog: a trivia contest. The winner of the contest will be awarded the very first "The Blot Says... No Prize" and maybe, depending on who wins, a personal phone call by me to congratulate them on their victory. Its only one question and shouldn't be that difficult. So here goes:

1. It is a long standing tradition for television shows to take popular characters from a show and spin them off into their own show. These shows are appropriately named spin-offs. As an example, Beverly Hills 90210 introduced the character Jake Hanson for two episodes before spinning him off into the new show Melrose Place. The most recent example of this is when Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) was spun-off from of Grey's Anatomy to start the new show Private Practice. The person who can come up with the TV show that has the most spin-offs wins the inaugural The Blot Says... Trivia Contest.

Please post all answers in the comment section for this post. This isn't a trick question and there isn't a set answer, but I do think I have a pretty good idea of the winning answer. We'll see what everyone comes up with. You have one week from the posting of this contest to answer, so the contest will be officially ending Wednesday, October 25th. The Blot will be the final judge if a show is accurately categorized as a spin-off or not. Good luck to all!

Chuck vs. The World

This week’s recommendation is the one hour action/comedy Chuck (Mondays @ 8/7 Central on NBC). Unfortunately one of this season’s best new shows just happens to be on at the same time as the previously recommended How I Met Your Mother. Thankfully, with the invention of DVR/TiVo no one has an excuse to ever miss either.

Here’s a quick recap of the show’s premise: The main character Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, is just your average geek working in the Nerd Herd section of a Buy More (which looks remarkably like Best Buy and its Geek Squad department) until he subliminally downloads all of the U.S. Government’s spy secrets into his brain's subconscious. How does one do this you might ask? It happened while viewing a series of pictures in an email sent to Chuck by his former college roommate turned spy just before the ex-roommate is killed. Now don’t let the fact that Chuck is a spy show scare you off. While the spy missions are a pretty large element of the show, it’s not what makes Chuck so great. The show is really about Chuck trying to find his way in the world, while coping with his new responsibility of safeguarding all of our country's secrets. The fact that Chuck was saddled with data by the aforementioned former college roommate who also stole Chuck’s college girlfriend and then got him expelled from Stanford seems to make him pretty resentful of the responsibilities thrust upon him.

Once Chuck has been officially drafted into government service, he is assigned to work with and be protected by CIA agent Sarah Walker and NSA agent John Casey. Newcomer Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Sarah, already has already developed some great on-screen chemistry with Levi and you can really feel the will they/won’t they vibe every episode as the two try to pass off their cover as a romantically involved couple to Chuck’s friends and co-workers.

But my favorite character on the show has to be NSA agent Casey played by Adam Baldwin. Baldwin may have found his greatest fame as mercenary Jayne Cobb in the short lived television show Firefly and subsequent feature film Serenity, but I will always know him as Ike from Poison Ivy. And no, I’m not referring to the 90’s skin flick Poison Ivy staring Drew Barrymore, but instead the 80’s instant classic starring Michael J. Fox and Facts of Life’s Nancy McKeon. If you haven’t seen it I definitely recommend finding a copy on eBay right away!

But The Blot digresses…what is also really great about Chuck is all of the recurring minor characters in the show’s cast. The three nerd herders on Chuck’s staff are hilarious and are always there for some good high jinks at Buy More with Chuck and his best friend Morgan. One character I can't get enough of, who unfortunately isn’t in every episode, is Chuck’s sister Ellie’s fiancé Captain Awesome. In case I have to explain where Chuck's nickname for him comes from, his response to pretty much everything is “Awesome.” It’s a really awesome concept for a character don’t you think?

Besides the entertaining stories and characters, the music on the show has also been surprisingly good. The show is definitely going for the hip indie vibe using songs from The Shins, Jet, Gomez and Spoon to name a few. We’re only a few episodes into the first season, so it’s definitely not too late for everyone to start watching. Before every episode there is a brief recap of the season and after watching a full episode you should be up to speed with every going on in the show. In no time flat you'll be a Chuck-a-holic too.

Barney-ism Of The Week

"I'm teaching Ted how to live.

And, lucky you, I have room for one more student.

Think of me as Yoda, only instead of being little and green I wear suits and I'm awesome!

I'm your bro, I'm bro-da."

- Barney to Marshall

"How I Met Everyone Else"

How I Met Your Mother

Online Poker Players' Greatest Fears Come True

Over the past few years The Blot, like most of America, has become addicted to Poker and more specifically Texas Hold’Em. While I prefer to play poker live and in person, what has really spurred the recent boom of poker playing in America is online poker. I don’t really want to get into the legality of online poker or what was or was not outlawed by the ridiculous legislation recently passed by the United States Congress, because for all intents and purposes online poker is here to stay…or so I thought.

After reading a recent article by ABC News about AbsolutePoker.com and the alleged fraud it has been perpetrating on its users, I’m not so sure anymore. You can read the entire article here, but the gist of it is that someone within the organization had created a super-account which could secretly view a poker game and be able to see all of the table’s hole cards (those cards each player is dealt face down and not obligated to show anyone else in the game). That person was then working in tandem with a former AbsolutePoker.com employee who was playing in a poker tournament and was being told by the super-account what his opponents’ cards were. This investigation all but confirms every online poker player’s worse fears, that somehow the games are fixed.

The only one way to really send a message to all online poker sites is to go after AbsolutePoker.com hard and fast. They need to be made an example of to show other sites that there is zero tolerance policy towards cheating and maybe even go so far as shutting down the AbsolutePoker.com’s site. The only problem is most of these sites are too smart for that and have their servers spread out across the world. Thankfully, AbsolutePoker.com is located in Canada and not some far off secluded island so just maybe the company is actually touchable. It is being reported that the site has already released a statement apologizing for the incident and claiming that the situation has been resolved, but it sounded pretty vague to me and AbsolutePoker did not release any real details about what took place. (Link)

In many ways I blame the U.S. Government for the state of online poker today. To try and outlaw an internet game is just too difficult and not realistic. The Government needs to come to terms with the new global society spurred on by the internet’s accessibility. Instead of just banning something, the U.S. Government should have seen this as an opportunity to embrace it, not only to legalize it but to regulate it and tax it. Just think of all the taxable income our government is missing out on. Besides that, we could have forced heavier restrictions and regulations on the poker sites in exchange for allowing them to conduct business in the U.S. It would have also allowed many of the U.S. based casinos to get in on the online poker crazy and they would have in turn acted as industry watchdogs, keeping a close eye on their competitors in this growing industry. Nevertheless, the state of online poker in America is what it is for now and if I was you I’d stay far, far away from AbsolutePoker.com. I hope to see the laws amended in the future, but until they are it is truly play at your own risk.

If you'd like to find out more about what you can do to help protect poker players' rights, check out The Poker Players Alliance at www.pokerplayersalliance.org.

An Evening With Ryan Adams

Last Thursday night was the Ryan Adams and the Cardinals show at the Verizon Wireless Theater. Besides Verizon being my favorite concert venue in all of Houston, I was especially pumped to be seeing Ryan “Don’t Call me Bryan” Adams for the second time. If you’ve never heard of Ryan Adams, let me give you a little background. To say he’s eccentric is an understatement. Besides being known for releasing a ton of material (in 2005 alone he released three full albums and has since posted numerous unreleased albums on his website), he’s made the biggest news lately for his actions on stage. Adams has a tendency to be argumentative with his crowds, even going so far as to end concerts early if the crowd is talking too much or shouting out song requests. Earlier this very tour Adams canceled a concert mid-song because he was unhappy with the sound monitors on stage...not something artists typically end concerts early for. Needless to say I wasn’t quiet sure what to expect and was hoping for either a great show or a colossal meltdown and thankfully Adams didn’t let me down.

The show, to be perfectly honest, was amazing. Adams was uncharacteristically cheerful, talking playfully with the crowd and was often making fun of his bad reputation, even threatening to end the show early if we, the audience, continued to like what he was doing and applauding. At one point he even granted a request screamed out from the audience, playing a quick playful version of the dueling guitars from Freebird. From what I’ve read online it was also one of his best and longest shows this tour, playing for almost three hours with two sets and two encores.

While I’m not a fan of his more alt-country songs, Adams is at his best when the band is really rocking. Almost jam band like, the Cardinals switch effortlessly between songs, often refraining back to songs previously played that evening. You really have to see Adams and the Cardinals live to appreciate them. I originally had mixed feelings towards their music when I heard it described as alt-country. But once I started listening to bootlegs of their live shows, any reservations I might have had about listening to them disappeared. I find some of their studio albums (like 2007’s Easy Tiger) to be a little too country for my taste, but with so much output from Adams there is bound to be something for everyone.

Typically his lives shows are recorded, so hopefully someone will be posting this show pretty soon. If so, I’ll link to it here for anyone who would like to check the show out.

You can find out more about Ryan Adams at

www.ryan-adams.com.

Will Adam “Pacman” Jones Ever Disappear?

Wow, I’m not even sure what to say about this latest development in the Pacman Jones-Las Vegas shooting incident. According to this article on Yahoo Sports, “Paralyzed Vegas club manager suing NFL, Tennessee Titans and suspended 'Pacman' Jones,” the victim is now suing the NFL and the Tennessee Titans because they claim if either organization had taken steps to punish The Pacman for previous offenses then the Las Vegas shooting would never have taken place. Seriously? That’s what they’re now trying to allege? Sure, I feel horrible for the victim here. No one deserves to ever have this happen to them, but come on. Are we now trying to hold employers accountable for their employees’ actions while off the clock?

There is no conceivable way to prove Jones was acting as an agent for the League or the Titans while he was in the club that night or in Las Vegas that weekend. I’m pretty sure no one in the NFL league offices or at the Tennessee Titans wanted Jones at that strip club or even in the state of Nevada much less Las Vegas. Trust me, even if Pacman had been punished more severely by the league prior to the NBA All-Star weekend, he still would have been invited to that club. All that would have been different is that he would have been billed as “Former NFL Star” instead of as “NFL Player” Adam Jones. This is the kind of frivolous lawsuits giving attorneys a bad name and turning the general public against the legal profession. It’s really just sad all around. I wish nothing but the best for the victims in this case and hope they find a way to get some financial relief from the perpetrators of this pointless crime, but I really think they are going about it the wrong way by including the NFL and the Titans in their lawsuit against Pacman.

Concert Update

Anyone that knows The Blot will attest to the fact that I go to a lot of concerts...some big, some small. One of the perks of starting this blog is that I now have a great place to discuss all the shows I go to. Obviously concert reviews won't necessarily be a regular thing since the amount of shows I go to fluctuates based on who's coming to town, but the next few weeks are especially choice.

I haven't gotten tickets to all these shows yet, so don't hold me to this, but some concerts you should be expecting reviewed over the next few weeks include:


10/18/07

Ryan Adams
& The Cardinals @

The Verizon Wireless Theater

10/25/07

Galactic @

The Meridian

10/26/07

Maroon 5 @

The Toyota Center

11/01/07

Girl Talk with Busdriver @

The Engine Room

11/08/07

The Polyphonic Spree & Rooney @

The Verizon Wireless Theater

The Fall of the House that Vince Built

It’s amazing that less than two seasons ago, The University of Texas Longhorns were on top of the world. They had just won their first National Championship in decades by winning a game many consider to be one of the greatest college football games ever. The University of Texas then went on to set the all time record for merchandise sold in a year, $8.2 million in licensing royalties, following the school’s BCS championship (Link). The Texas football program was no longer just the toast of Austin or of the State of Texas, it was, albeit for a very brief period, America’s Team. And yet here we are, less than two years removed from that fateful season and my how everything’s changed.

Since last June, 6 Texas Longhorns football players have been arrested on numerous charges all more shocking than the last. Any time I hear the terms “D.U.I.” or “felony counts of obstruction and tampering,” I get sick to my stomach. Here are Student Athletes being given the great opportunity to represent my alma mater and be given a free education, yet chose to throw it all away for a good time. Then came the Austin American Statesman’s article about the UT Athletic Department’s spending, you can read it here. Did you know the University of Texas spends over $100 million a year on its athletics department? And yet even though Texas spends more than almost any other school, “UT has made a deliberate decision to limit the intercollegiate sports it supports” (Link).

The fact is college athletics, and the University of Texas Athletics Department more specifically, is blatantly becoming less about education and more about Big Business. This isn’t new information or even a new idea. But, when the amount of college student athletes on the 40 Acres is decreasing while spending is at an all time high, we just need to come right out and admit it and stop pretending it’s something else. And you know what? At the end of the day I’m ok with that. I’ll admit I’m a diehard Longhorns fan and I want what’s best for my School and its Student Athletes. But what I’m not ok with is the way the school is running its biggest business and definitely biggest cash cow. No other corporation would allow what is going on with its employees and its product like what's happening at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The way the Texas Longhorns football team is playing and acting on and off the field, right under its Head Coach’s nose, is abysmal and unacceptable.

This team has become an embarrassment not only to The University of Texas, but to its current Students, Alumni and the State they are so often referred to by. It’s not just their many arrests but also their play on the field. Anyone who says winning isn’t important is kidding themselves. Do you have any idea how much Longhorn ticket holders have to “donate” just for the opportunity to buy season tickets? These aren’t donations, they’re what is known in the NFL as Permanent Seat Licenses (PSLs). Don’t get me wrong, I know this same thing is taking place at colleges with big athletic programs all across the country but that’s not the point. When people are spending that kind of money just for the right to then purchase tickets, try telling them that winning isn’t important. It’s the school that’s turned their football team into a business, not the fans.

This brings us to the big issue at hand, when a company is not meeting expectations, constantly underperforming and always in the news getting bad press, who should take the blame? The only answer I can come up with is Head Coach Mack Brown. And typically when a corporation sinks this low, the board of directors doesn’t just sit idly by and watch, they spring into action and call for changes to be made. I believe it’s time for the School President, Athletic Director and countless boosters to finally come together and demand changes from Coach Brown.

Mack is a great recruiter, he’s a great politician and is everyone’s best friend, but what he’s not is a great football coach. The problem is that while most successful leaders, in any industry, realize their strengths and weaknesses and then surround themselves with people who can help with their deficiencies, Mack refuses to do that. Instead of finding the best assistant coaches who are able to be strict, know how to prepare before the game and come up with new and revolutionary game plans, Mack sticks with his faithful minions who haven’t had a new idea in years. On top of it all, he’s unwilling to make the tough calls like forcing his Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis to resign. If I have to watch one more pass to a WR standing at the line of scrimmage about to get lit up by the defender two yards away from him or another handoff from the shotgun position to a standing still Jamal Charles only to have any holes in the offensive line closed before he can even make it to the line of scrimmage, I’m going to tear what little hair I have left out. How does last year’s Defensive Secondary comprised of three future NFL first round picks get torched by every quarterback it faces!? Because the coaches have no idea what to do with the talent they have and don’t properly prepare their players. Texas puts way too many players into the NFL not to be dominate every year, but then again how many players can you think of that have left the school as a better player than when they arrived?

Mack seems to have has lost control of this team and has once again proven he can’t win the big game without Vince Young. It’s a knock against his coaching legacy that still follows him even after winning that elusive national championship. Many of the Longhorn faithful thought that the old Mack had been cleansed from our program once the great and might VY arrived. The truth is Texas won all those games in spite of Mack and Greg Davis, not because of them. Vince won those games because of his ability and in game decisions, not because of coaching decisions or game plans. It’s time to bring in someone who will display some authority, either as an assistant, associate or position coach. Make these players accountable for their actions before they commit their next crime, not after it. It’s time to let go of the dead weight, finally let Greg Davis retire with some dignity and fire these so called co-Defensive Coordinators. Bring in some coaches with some swagger, intensity and a thirst for victory to lead these young men into battle. Let’s prove to the country why “We’re Texas.”

Piper’s Pit

A few weeks ago at the 2007 G.I. Joe Collectors Convention (JoeCon), a toy I would have killed for growing up was released. It combined two of my favorite childhood pastimes, playing with G.I. Joes and watching Professional Wrestling. In the 80’s you had the creation of two “celebrity” G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero action figures and surprisingly both became WWE Hall of Fame inductees. The first was Sgt. Slaughter and the second was former Chicago Bears player William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Both were great toys and I had a few different versions of the Sgt. Slaughter figure, but both were considered good guys and at some point you have to have someone for them to fight.

This brings us to this year’s JoeCon, which saw the creation of the first “celebrity” bad guy/member of COBRA (well really he’s a member of Destro’s Iron Grenadiers, but I KNOW that’s more information than anyone reading this would want to know). Of course they had to choose another WWE Hall of Famer and this time one of my all time favorite wrestlers, The Hot Rod himself, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper!

For those of you who don’t remember him or didn’t grow up in the 80s, Piper was THE bad guy in Professional Wrestling. Whether it was fighting Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at the original WrestleMania or leading the “bad guys” on Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, Piper was the character you loved to hate. Later on he showed everyone why he was such a big star in Professional Wrestling by hosting the now legendary Piper’s Pit, the greatest wrestling interview segment ever. And now he’s immortalized as a G.I. Joe action figure, which even comes with his signature kilt. Man, the kid inside me is dying for one of these!

Of course the Rowdy Roddy Piper G.I. Joe figure sold out before the convention even ended, and while a friend of mine who lives in Atlanta offered to go down to the convention and pick me up one (Thanks IJMN!), I just couldn’t justify sending him down there. Besides, I figured, there was no way they’d sell out. Man was I wrong. Now if you look for one of these bad boys on Ebay they’re selling somewhere in the ball park of $100-200 each, so to everyone who says toys are just for kids, don’t believe it! Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to add one of these to my book shelf.

“And knowing is half the battle! Yo Joe!”

Wait for it...

"It's gonna be Legen...wait for it...and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is Dary!"

- Barney Stinson

For my second post I would be remiss if I didn't write about the best comedy on television that not enough people are watching. How I Met Your Mother (Mondays @ 8/7 Central on CBS) is everything you used to love about television comedies, a great ensemble cast with comedic timing, actually funny dialogue with snappy banter, and pop culture references galore.

Plus with the "Artist Formerly Known as Doogie Howser, M.D." Neil Patrick Harris owning every scene he's in as Barney, this show has turned into an instant classic. I mean come on, how many shows in this day and age can get away with a Garfield reference!

If for some reason you missed last night's episode, I'll give you a quick recap of the best part...a ridiculously funny argument between Ted and Barney on who has more game. Next time you find yourself in an argument like this, feel free to use one of these great quotes from last night:

"I've got so much game I'm a Cornish Game Hen." - Ted Mosby

"I'm the New York Game-ing Commissioner." - Barney

"Well I'm The Game, a well crafted, keep you guessing thriller staring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn." - Ted

Ahh it takes me back to my college days when my friends and I would have these types of arguments all the time, but usually they'd end with one of us smashing the other one through a wall...but that's a story for another day. Start watching How I Met Your Mother, you'll be thanking me once you do.

Welcome!

Welcome to the official launch party of The Blot Says..., a new blog where The Blot will touch upon all things relevant in the world today. I'll be using this blog to comment on pretty much everything from Sports, Music, Politics, TV, Movies, Toys and of course Comics. Basically anything that even remotely has to do with Pop Culture will get a mention at some point. So if its news to you, The Blot will be ranting about it. So, to the millions and millions of The Blot's fans out there: Buckle up, because its going to be a bumpy ride. See you tomorrow...

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