Another great comedic mind has left us. When I was in my pre-pubescent years, my earliest comedic memories were of The Carol Burnett Show, which was a ahead-of-its-time skit & variety show on CBS from 1967-1978 that had me in stitches every week.
The star of the show was of course the hilarious Carol Burnett herself, who I believe is the second greatest female comedian after only Lucille Ball, but the on-screen antics of Korman and his partner, the legendary Tim Conway is what truly stole the show.
With the benefit of live television, the "gag-reel" of sorts, was the best part of the show. Every week, every fan of the show waited with baited breath to see when Conway would make Korman flub his lines, then mischievously watch as Korman tried to regain his composure.
However, that was next to impossible when Korman would at times just bust a gut laughing-mouth wide open and holding his stomach and everything.
That was, without a doubt the best part of the show.
Any cog that was taken out of that machine would have caused a domino effect and ultimately audience loyalty would have taken a nose-dive, I'm sure. That includes every one from Korman and Conway to Steve Lawerence and Vickie Lawerence (no relation, I believe)
By the way, did you know that Vickie Lawrence joined the cast right out of high school?
Korman was known for not only the Carol Burnett Show, but for various other comedies as well.
i.e.
Herbie Goes Bananas-1980
The Pink Panther Strikes Again-1976
Blazing Saddles-1974
History of the World Pt.1-1981
First Family-1980
The Star Wars Holiday Special-1978
Dracula: dead and Loving It-1995
Radioland Murders-1994
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Put the NHL Back in Winnipeg
Since I was nine years old I have lived and died with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (and was quite aware of their former success, i.e three AVCO Cup championships of the 1970s in the old World Hockey Association)
Although, admittedly, they were at mediocre best throughout their tenure in the NHL between 1979-1996 (when the facist politics of the league at the time ripped the team-as well as Jets fans hearts out of the city) making it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs only twice (both times defeating the Calgary Flames only to be humbled-again and again-by the mighty Edmonton Oilers) they were the thing to do in Winnipeg in the winter months-which were usually between September and late May. Can you imagine Winnipeg in the winter without professional hockey?
To answer that, the hockey powers that be saw fit to buy the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League, rename them the Manitoba Moose (the farm team of the not-too-well-liked Vancouver Canucks) and try to keep pro hockey in the Peg strong as ever. But, although the people of the city are supporting the Moose (just like they supported the Jets, thst wasn't the problem-as I said, politics were) it isn't the NHL.
So, from here, I'd like to post a few other opinions (i.e. other's columns from various sources) onthe subject.
Before you get to those, however, check out this great website dedicated to the Jets, by a Winnipegger and a huge Jets fans, Darren Ford, entitled, JetsOwner.com with a better background and/or history. Plus WinnipegJetsOnline.com, curtiswalker.com (Jets memorial page) and dilawri.com/sites/jetstribute.com (weird name for a tribute site, but cool none the less) and winnipegjetslegends.blogspot.com plus a cool WHA site and one more Jets site ah, make that two.
That's just to name a few. And if you're interested in the Jets draft history, look no futher than here.
But of course, none of these will bring my precious Jetas back; only vision, a salary cap (which we now have) a new, committed owner and a new commissioner will do that.
In the meantime, check out this column about the best hockey team ever to live and their chances of returning to Winnipeg.
Mar 04, 2007 -Cohara
As the dust continues to settle in the post-lockout NHL, it is becoming more and more clear that the league, while it can survive in its current state, would be much better suited following either contraction or relocation. It is VERY unlikely that we will see contraction any time soon in the NHL, but the possibly of relocation is intriguing. Teams like the Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators will seemingly never draw major crowds. It may appear that Gary Bettman deserves credit for saving for the NHL and I believe he does; the only problem is, is that Gary Bettman is the reason the NHL needed saving in the first place. The overexpansion of the 90's is what put the NHL into pre-lockout mess that it was in. Markets that never should've been considered for NHL teams, were not only considered but granted organizations. I understand that cities like Phoenix and Nashville have strong fanbases, but they are not hockey markets and those fanbases are barely, if at all, enough to fully support an NHL team.
The NHL took teams out of hockey markets in Winnipeg, Minnesota, Hartford and Quebec, not because these cities couldn't support teams, but because these cities couldn't support teams that couldn't win. In the new era of the salary cap, all of these cities, with the right amenities, could support NHL teams. The argument that the NHL can never be a top professional league is fundamentally flawed. The belief is that, if the league can't contend with the NFL, NBA, and MLB in America, it simply is a failure. Well, simply put, the league can survive without the U.S. In Canada, the league is as strong as ever, with support to put even an another team in Ontario. In hockey areas, like MInnesota, and the Northeast, the NHL is also as strong as ever. Unfortunately, the success of the NHL is based on the success of teams in markets like Florida, Nashville, Phoenix, Carolina, and other markets that most likely never should have been given teams in the first place. There's still plenty of to correct these mistakes, but it's up to a current regime, in Gary Bettman and friends, that aren't very likely to admit they made an enormous mistake in overexpansion.
If it were up to me, I would most likely combine the Coyotes and Panthers, and move them back to Winnipeg. I would move the Nashville Predators into Quebec, finally I would return the Carolina Hurricanes back to Hartford. I would leave it at that for the time being, then re-evaluate the success of the league. I understand that not all teams are going to be successful on the ice every year (and that does reflect in off the ice success), but the league can at least give every organization a fair shot at off ice success.
Although, admittedly, they were at mediocre best throughout their tenure in the NHL between 1979-1996 (when the facist politics of the league at the time ripped the team-as well as Jets fans hearts out of the city) making it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs only twice (both times defeating the Calgary Flames only to be humbled-again and again-by the mighty Edmonton Oilers) they were the thing to do in Winnipeg in the winter months-which were usually between September and late May. Can you imagine Winnipeg in the winter without professional hockey?
To answer that, the hockey powers that be saw fit to buy the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League, rename them the Manitoba Moose (the farm team of the not-too-well-liked Vancouver Canucks) and try to keep pro hockey in the Peg strong as ever. But, although the people of the city are supporting the Moose (just like they supported the Jets, thst wasn't the problem-as I said, politics were) it isn't the NHL.
So, from here, I'd like to post a few other opinions (i.e. other's columns from various sources) onthe subject.
Before you get to those, however, check out this great website dedicated to the Jets, by a Winnipegger and a huge Jets fans, Darren Ford, entitled, JetsOwner.com with a better background and/or history. Plus WinnipegJetsOnline.com, curtiswalker.com (Jets memorial page) and dilawri.com/sites/jetstribute.com (weird name for a tribute site, but cool none the less) and winnipegjetslegends.blogspot.com plus a cool WHA site and one more Jets site ah, make that two.
That's just to name a few. And if you're interested in the Jets draft history, look no futher than here.
But of course, none of these will bring my precious Jetas back; only vision, a salary cap (which we now have) a new, committed owner and a new commissioner will do that.
In the meantime, check out this column about the best hockey team ever to live and their chances of returning to Winnipeg.
Mar 04, 2007 -Cohara
As the dust continues to settle in the post-lockout NHL, it is becoming more and more clear that the league, while it can survive in its current state, would be much better suited following either contraction or relocation. It is VERY unlikely that we will see contraction any time soon in the NHL, but the possibly of relocation is intriguing. Teams like the Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators will seemingly never draw major crowds. It may appear that Gary Bettman deserves credit for saving for the NHL and I believe he does; the only problem is, is that Gary Bettman is the reason the NHL needed saving in the first place. The overexpansion of the 90's is what put the NHL into pre-lockout mess that it was in. Markets that never should've been considered for NHL teams, were not only considered but granted organizations. I understand that cities like Phoenix and Nashville have strong fanbases, but they are not hockey markets and those fanbases are barely, if at all, enough to fully support an NHL team.
The NHL took teams out of hockey markets in Winnipeg, Minnesota, Hartford and Quebec, not because these cities couldn't support teams, but because these cities couldn't support teams that couldn't win. In the new era of the salary cap, all of these cities, with the right amenities, could support NHL teams. The argument that the NHL can never be a top professional league is fundamentally flawed. The belief is that, if the league can't contend with the NFL, NBA, and MLB in America, it simply is a failure. Well, simply put, the league can survive without the U.S. In Canada, the league is as strong as ever, with support to put even an another team in Ontario. In hockey areas, like MInnesota, and the Northeast, the NHL is also as strong as ever. Unfortunately, the success of the NHL is based on the success of teams in markets like Florida, Nashville, Phoenix, Carolina, and other markets that most likely never should have been given teams in the first place. There's still plenty of to correct these mistakes, but it's up to a current regime, in Gary Bettman and friends, that aren't very likely to admit they made an enormous mistake in overexpansion.
If it were up to me, I would most likely combine the Coyotes and Panthers, and move them back to Winnipeg. I would move the Nashville Predators into Quebec, finally I would return the Carolina Hurricanes back to Hartford. I would leave it at that for the time being, then re-evaluate the success of the league. I understand that not all teams are going to be successful on the ice every year (and that does reflect in off the ice success), but the league can at least give every organization a fair shot at off ice success.
Monday, March 31, 2008
WrestleMania...Not So Much
It is supposed to be the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. The night when all the feuds that accumulate throughout the year are supposed to come to a head and be solved and over with so that the wrestlers can move on to their next one.
To describe this year's event in one word would be disappointment.
I'm sure anyone who witnessed this year's card live would probably disagree, as I would about last year's, since I was there and although that wasn't the best WrestleMania either (they're supposed to get better every year, with better surprises and/or "swerves") it was my first, therefore it was cool and exciting and worth every penny.
But watching it on Pay Per View this year (which cost an outlandish $54 and change-my share being $20 and if you wanted to see it in High Definition it ran you an extra $10) left me, oh, I don't know...unfulfilled. It's not that the matches weren't any good (then again, maybe some of them were) it's just that there wasn't any excitement. Maybe I've just been spoiled throughout the years with a great wrestling product that is WrestleMania or maybe some of the magic has worn off from my childhood since I've been "involved" with the industry working (read volunteering) for a handful of independent promotions, but this years event was par at best.
At least this year, Ric Flair was involved in a match on the card and not just in a dark match. That still dumbfounds me how Vince McMahon could put one of the greatest workers in the history of the sport in a dark match instead of in a important match in the biggest event of the year. Thankfully, McMahon saw the error of his ways in that one and put Flair in a spotlight match with Shawn Michaels, losing to the Heartbreak Kid in a retirement match (which they billed as a "Career Threatening" match which kind of makes you wonder if this is just a temporary "retirement" for Flair (as is the majority of that particular stipulation) or if, given his age, it really is the end of the Nature Boy's in-ring career.
This year, they chose to put an ECW #1 contenders battle royal (the winner to face champion, Chavo Guerrero later on the card) as the misplaced dark match.
But again this year, there was no tag team title match. I know McMahon has never been big on tag teams, but no title defenses at WrestleMania for two straight years?
Also, you had both the Intercontinental and United States champions (Chris Jericho and MVP, respectively) not defending their titles, but instead were involved in a ladder match (which was the best match of the night, if not the Flair-Michaels one)
But that was potentially two Savage-Steamboat-type matches that could have stolen the show (depending on who their opponents were) that was just ditched. Neither of them won, so I guess they were just added for star-power. By the way, the winner of that match, CM Punk, was one of my six winners I picked for the night. That's six matches out of eight (I thought Chavo was going to weasel his way into somehow retaining his title & I could have sworn that Triple H was going to win his 6th WWE championship and his 11th world title overall) I know, there were actually nine matches, but do Maria and Ashley v.s. Melina & Beth Phoenix (who along with Victoria are the only capable women wrestlers in the company) constitute a real match?
Of course there were some good highlight reel matches, such as the aforementioned "Money in the Bank" ladder match, Michaels-Flair, Cena-Triple H-Orton (who, by the way was only the second heel champion to successfully retain his title at WrestleMania) and Undertaker-Edge (which should have been the 2nd main event behind the WWE championship match)
It just wasn't WrestleMania. As a friend of mine said last night,
"This wasn't WrestleMania caliber, it was more of a Summer Slam caliber."
True dat.
If you go back and read my very first entry of this blog, it was about last year's WrestleMania. Compare the difference of excitement between that entry and this one and you'll see that, much like the difference between the real Diesel and Razor Ramon and the stupid "fake" ones, it just wasn't the same. While your at it, compare this year's WrestleMania to the last 23 (especially the first six) and see if you don't agree.
With the outdoor venue of the Citrus Bowl, thank goodness it didn't rain during the show. How would that have turned out?
To describe this year's event in one word would be disappointment.
I'm sure anyone who witnessed this year's card live would probably disagree, as I would about last year's, since I was there and although that wasn't the best WrestleMania either (they're supposed to get better every year, with better surprises and/or "swerves") it was my first, therefore it was cool and exciting and worth every penny.
But watching it on Pay Per View this year (which cost an outlandish $54 and change-my share being $20 and if you wanted to see it in High Definition it ran you an extra $10) left me, oh, I don't know...unfulfilled. It's not that the matches weren't any good (then again, maybe some of them were) it's just that there wasn't any excitement. Maybe I've just been spoiled throughout the years with a great wrestling product that is WrestleMania or maybe some of the magic has worn off from my childhood since I've been "involved" with the industry working (read volunteering) for a handful of independent promotions, but this years event was par at best.
At least this year, Ric Flair was involved in a match on the card and not just in a dark match. That still dumbfounds me how Vince McMahon could put one of the greatest workers in the history of the sport in a dark match instead of in a important match in the biggest event of the year. Thankfully, McMahon saw the error of his ways in that one and put Flair in a spotlight match with Shawn Michaels, losing to the Heartbreak Kid in a retirement match (which they billed as a "Career Threatening" match which kind of makes you wonder if this is just a temporary "retirement" for Flair (as is the majority of that particular stipulation) or if, given his age, it really is the end of the Nature Boy's in-ring career.
This year, they chose to put an ECW #1 contenders battle royal (the winner to face champion, Chavo Guerrero later on the card) as the misplaced dark match.
But again this year, there was no tag team title match. I know McMahon has never been big on tag teams, but no title defenses at WrestleMania for two straight years?
Also, you had both the Intercontinental and United States champions (Chris Jericho and MVP, respectively) not defending their titles, but instead were involved in a ladder match (which was the best match of the night, if not the Flair-Michaels one)
But that was potentially two Savage-Steamboat-type matches that could have stolen the show (depending on who their opponents were) that was just ditched. Neither of them won, so I guess they were just added for star-power. By the way, the winner of that match, CM Punk, was one of my six winners I picked for the night. That's six matches out of eight (I thought Chavo was going to weasel his way into somehow retaining his title & I could have sworn that Triple H was going to win his 6th WWE championship and his 11th world title overall) I know, there were actually nine matches, but do Maria and Ashley v.s. Melina & Beth Phoenix (who along with Victoria are the only capable women wrestlers in the company) constitute a real match?
Of course there were some good highlight reel matches, such as the aforementioned "Money in the Bank" ladder match, Michaels-Flair, Cena-Triple H-Orton (who, by the way was only the second heel champion to successfully retain his title at WrestleMania) and Undertaker-Edge (which should have been the 2nd main event behind the WWE championship match)
It just wasn't WrestleMania. As a friend of mine said last night,
"This wasn't WrestleMania caliber, it was more of a Summer Slam caliber."
True dat.
If you go back and read my very first entry of this blog, it was about last year's WrestleMania. Compare the difference of excitement between that entry and this one and you'll see that, much like the difference between the real Diesel and Razor Ramon and the stupid "fake" ones, it just wasn't the same. While your at it, compare this year's WrestleMania to the last 23 (especially the first six) and see if you don't agree.
With the outdoor venue of the Citrus Bowl, thank goodness it didn't rain during the show. How would that have turned out?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Star Wars...According to a Three-Year-Old
One word. Adorable. I guess YouTube is good for some things.
Friday, March 7, 2008
On Further Inspection...
After checking out some of the games for the PlayStation 2 game console, (Hey, I know I'm behind the times-I had the PS 1 for about 10 years don't cha know. I'm slowly moving forward) I've discovered that the rating systems on these games are indeed there for a reason. I've played a couple of games in the Grand Theft Auto series and with all the swearing, sexuality and violence in them, you'd figure that you couldn't get much vulgar than those.
Well, hold on there. If you think parents and/or guardians were up in arms about those, you should see what's in store in for the kiddies (should they decide to forgo the warnings on the package) in the Scarface: The World is Yours game by Vivendi Games/Radical Entertainment.
The game-play itself is very much like the GTA games in that it's a first-person shooter-type and you can pull people out of there cars for a jacking and you have to go on missions to complete the re-building of your cocaine empire. Here is a review from GameSpot.com. I don't whole-heartedly agree with their assertions. I mean, how could you possibly make a sequel, even in game form, if you don't re-write the ending to have the main character survive. In any case, it's a little more adult-oriented than GTA, I believe even a little more so than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I'm wondering if the new GTA due out next month will rival Scarface in pure adult-orientated entertainment. That's not to say it's like adult-film entertainment (which of course I have no idea what they're like-Nyuk-Nyuk)
Anyways, the point is, I always thought that although these ratings were on these games for a reason, I never really assumed they would be accurate to the point of actually keeping young children from being exposed to this type of vulgarity, even fun vulgarity. I mean, I can understand why parents wouldn't want their kids, after playing this and other games like it, to run around the house or school saying, "I'm Tony Montana, you f***'n cock-a-roach! Die mother-f***er!!"
Yeah, probably not a good idea. Of course, most of these parents don't really have a clue what their kids are playing half the time anyways.
Oh yeah, Scarface: The World is Yours, cool game. Kinda trippy.
Well, hold on there. If you think parents and/or guardians were up in arms about those, you should see what's in store in for the kiddies (should they decide to forgo the warnings on the package) in the Scarface: The World is Yours game by Vivendi Games/Radical Entertainment.
The game-play itself is very much like the GTA games in that it's a first-person shooter-type and you can pull people out of there cars for a jacking and you have to go on missions to complete the re-building of your cocaine empire. Here is a review from GameSpot.com. I don't whole-heartedly agree with their assertions. I mean, how could you possibly make a sequel, even in game form, if you don't re-write the ending to have the main character survive. In any case, it's a little more adult-oriented than GTA, I believe even a little more so than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I'm wondering if the new GTA due out next month will rival Scarface in pure adult-orientated entertainment. That's not to say it's like adult-film entertainment (which of course I have no idea what they're like-Nyuk-Nyuk)
Anyways, the point is, I always thought that although these ratings were on these games for a reason, I never really assumed they would be accurate to the point of actually keeping young children from being exposed to this type of vulgarity, even fun vulgarity. I mean, I can understand why parents wouldn't want their kids, after playing this and other games like it, to run around the house or school saying, "I'm Tony Montana, you f***'n cock-a-roach! Die mother-f***er!!"
Yeah, probably not a good idea. Of course, most of these parents don't really have a clue what their kids are playing half the time anyways.
Oh yeah, Scarface: The World is Yours, cool game. Kinda trippy.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Does Winning an Oscar Make You Stupid?
I mean, really. Is it a prerequisite or something? I can't believe how delusional these people are. I guess it's the "in" thing to do nowadays. Ah well, what do you want? She's French.
Jeff Healy R.I.P.
I never was really a fan of Jeff Healy. But you have to respect the fact that a blind man could wale on a guitar like he did, especially with his unorthodox style of playing. I saw him once at a fairground attraction, just out of curiosity's sake, to be honest, and I was quite impressed and entertained. That alone, I believe, made him an original. Just imagine the obstacles he had to overcome. Plus his song "Angel Eyes", beauty.
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