I'm still pretty fucking miserable, but I'm gonna avoid talking about it for a moment to talk about something that my brother mentioned in one of his posts, recently...

There's been some great television cancelled in recent years... I didn't need to even read the MSN article to come up with a list of great shows that just... disappeared...

Andy Richter Controls the Universe (FOX) - Andy Richter is one of the funnier "straight men" in show business... his role in Cabin Boy was beautiful, if not far too small... This show was hilarious, but apparently the network didn't get it.

The Family Guy (FOX) - Thank Maynard for Adult Swim on Cartoon Network rerunning this so-beautifully-crafted animation series... I hear it's actually coming back as soon as the fall? Sweet.

Mr. Show (HBO) - Perhaps one of the funniest cable shows (along with Kids in the Hall), ever... David Cross is one of the funniest cats on the planet (one of his stand up specials on HBO had me nearly pissing myself and his Shut Up You Fucking Baby! CDs got me through a so not funny ice storm, last year).

Undeclared (FOX) - Apparently, I was one of the show's few big fans... but I loved it. It was a more accurate look at college life than many wanted to admit. It ended far too early...

The Ben Stiller Show (FOX) - Comedy Central shows it from time to time, late night on Tuesdays... A brilliant piece of work from a brilliant cast (Stiller, Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show), Andy Dick & Jeneane Garafolo)...

Greg the Bunny (FOX) - Okay, FOX has had wayyyy too many great shows that they didn't know how to market properly... Greg the Bunny was probably the funniest of them all... Set in a world where puppets (or "Fabricated Americans" as they were known) are real... The kid's show "Sweetknuckle Junction" featured characters like Greg, the oversexed Count Blah, A Harvard educated, alcoholic ape, Warren DeMontague, and Tardy the Turtle, alongside humans Dottie Sunshine and Junction Jack... Seth Green and Eugene Levy were the father & son "leads" of the show along with the ultra-funny Sarah Silverman, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me that the puppets weren't the stars... Count Blah was absolutely hilarious, blah...
Once again, FOX didn't understand what a piece of pure genius they had and pulled the plug far too soon after juggling around the lineup way too much...

Oy...

A judge in Texas ruled yesterday that gay high school students could not hold meetings on the school grounds...

I'm actually a little torn on the relativity of this issue, because if gay students get together to have meetings about "being gay" or whatever, then straight students should probably be in the room next to them having meetings about "being straight." But still, it seems a bit assinine that it even has to come to having a judge rule on it... to me, anyway...

It kinda ranks up there with the Georgia schools not being allowed to use the term "evolution," having to call it something like "natural changes occurring over time," instead. At least it got overturned in a higher court.
Crap like that wasn't an issue when I was in high school. We were taught evolution, and even the hardcore Bible-thumpers in my biology classes got good grades in it. It's just so goofy...

The Highlight Amongst the Snoring

The only categories I was really interested in at the Oscars last night were "Best Animated Feature" and "Best Animated Short" (well, as much as I have always liked Sean Penn (Fast Times... and The Falcon and the Snowman are still among some of my favorite movies), I would have liked to have seen Bill Murray win Best Actor). My brother's friend, Andrew Stanton, won for Best Animated feature (for Finding Nemo, from my bro's former place of employment, PIXAR), and that was very cool... All the little interviews I have seen of Andrew in the past year... he seems like a genuinely nice guy and it was cool to see him come away a winner.

You can read my brother's insight into it HERE.

Hail to the Redskins?

Anyone that knows me knows that I have lived and died with the Washington Redskins since I was in 2nd grade. Sure, there's always been that little part of me that roots for the Cincinnati Bengals to succeed, but I'm a Redskin fan to the core.
I guess one guy I'm not a great big fan of is Redskin owner Daniel Snyder. For some reason, he thinks he has knowledge of football, when actually, he only has shitloads of money and practically no football sense, whatsoever. I think I just long for the days of (former owner) Jack Kent Cooke.
The last few years have been rocky ones for the Redskins. They've gone through several head coaches (with only recent firee Steve Spurrier really to blame for his own demise), brought in great players, and have received nothing but misery as a reward.

Marty Schottenheimer - I can remember thinking, "Killer coach. Things are looking up." eeeennnnnnnhhhh! Wrongo...
Then enter Steve Spurrier - I thought, "Sweet! He'll get the 'Skins on track." eeennnnnnnhhhh! Wrong again, Chucko...
Then, they finally get it right by bringing back one of the best coaches in the game - three time Super Bowl winner Joe Gibbs. When I heard that right after New Year's, I nearly fainted. I think Daniel Snyder has finally realized that he knows nothing about professional football and he needs to leave it to the people that do. Good move, Daniel.

In recent days, they've gone and acquired some skill players to help them get back to what they do best.
QB Mark Brunell - good choice, but not who I think I would have gone after. Yeah, he's got years of experience, but that's probably going to be his downfall - he's getting old. I would have went straight for Tampa Bay backup/free agent Sean King. King has a great arm, a great record as a starter, considerable experience, and maybe most importantly, several years of viability in the NFL... Brunell will do good for the 'Skins, provided he can stay healthy, but King would have been a wicked choice to head up a team heading in a new (or old, depending on how you look at it) direction. He should have been starting for the Bucs the last three years, but they think people like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson are better (which they aren't).
Enter Clinton Portis. Portis comes from the Broncos, signs the biggest contract in history (or at least will tomorrow night at midnight), and brings high hopes to a much maligned offense. Even though I am now a Coloradoan, I can't say that I like the Broncos, at all... In fact, the only sports team around here that I give the time of day to is the (NHL) Avalanche. Anyhow, the 'Skins give up totally wicked defensive back Champ Bailey to get Portis. I hate to see Bailey go, but I'm glad to see a running back the ability of Portis come into the mix.
See, whether Daniel Snyder wants to believe it or not, the Redskins are, and always have been, a running football team... If you go back to what got them three Super Bowl titles, it was (besides Doug Williams' cannon of an arm) the run... You need look no further than uberhaus John Riggins. True, Portis and Riggins are nothing alike, in stature or otherwise, but Joe Gibbs knows what the hell he's doing. Just like the old days, it's gonna be run, run, run... short pass to the tight end... run, run, run some more. That's how Gibbs got them three Super Bowl rings, and I imagine it's how he plans on getting them a couple more.

So, with the addition of Gibbs alone, the Redskins have gone from underachieving also-rans to immediate contenders in the NFC. Add Mark Brunell and Clinton Portis (and I imagine they're not through, yet) to the mixture, and you have a force to be reckoned with, without having taken a single snap.
It would be nice to see them add someone like Javon Kearse to compliment LaVar Arrington's immense linebacker talent. But, maybe I should just be happy that they have who they have and pray for a healthy season.

Damn... it's only March... I have to deal with baseball season, still... DAMN!!!
Oh, well... Until September, GO REDS!