Stars Wars to return, but what of Indiana Jones?

George Lucas' decision to sell his Lucas Film empire to Disney for an excess of $4 billion dollars is great news (click here for an interview with Lucas) for a variety of reasons:

1. It gives Lucas more money, which he clearly needs.
2. It finally gives Disney the legal creative license to blend Chris Berman, Princess Leia and Donald Duck on the same screen.
3. It makes an already giant corporation just a bit bigger, thus ensuring more small businesses everywhere will continue to grind out to a slow and very painful existence, and death. 
4. Star Wars will live on for a new generation of nerds.

The original excitement of this news centered around Disney announcing plans to expand the Star Wars franchise, and that it will produce episodes 7, 8 and 9 and possibly a TV series, etc. 

More Jar Jar Binks? Sign. Me. Up.

A word of advice: Use screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan to pen these next three episodes. He wrote the screenplays for both The Empire Strikes Back as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Speaking of Raiders of the Lost Ark ... lost in this Stars Wars nerd love is that Indiana Jones is a part of the Lucas Film empire. Indiana Jones is now Mickey Mouse's little mitch.

Will Disney bring back Henry Jones Jr. to the big screen? Noooo ... Disney hates money. Indiana Jones, even that crappy fourth one, brough dorks like me, and so many others back to the theater to the tune of nearly $1 billion.

No one has officially said anything regarding whether this franchise will continue; in recent interviews, director Steven Spielberg has said he would do another one provided Lucas wants to. Lucas is now out of the equation. Harrison Ford has said he wants to play Indy if there is another film. The man is 70. Dude, give it up ... you don't look like this any more.

It sounds more like, if Indy does return, it won't be any time soon and that Ford is more likely to have a small part in the next Stars Wars film.

PREDICTION: Indy comes back to life with neither Harrison Ford nor Steven Spielberg in the mix, and no acknowledgement of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull having ever taken place.

 

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Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn in a sauna ... in Germany ... yeeeah, baby!

With the NHL's lockout in full swing (well played, Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr), some of the players remain overseas playing a little hockey.

Among them is Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn, who not only plays hockey in Germany during this lockout but apparently is also apparently a towel model on the side.

Both Benn and Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Reid are playing in Germany, and they recently posed for what has to be a first in the NHL - the shared steam room photo.

Big Benn macht Brandon big!

This article in a German newspaper has something to do with the fact that Jamie Benn is a really tall guy and Reid is not - no different than Bert and Ernie.

In all fairness to Reid and Benn, if I were in as good of shape as these two - and as hairless - I too would walk around all day wearing nothing but a blue towel.

 

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Quote of the day

Linus: On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys to all the children. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Video: Galloway (Paul Ryan) & Big Mac (Tin Man) go all Halloween on Tony Romo

  

 

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Gary Patterson to his quarterback - "You're not Dan Marino"

FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU football coach Gary Patterson said that he thinks freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin will play against West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown. Boykin left TCU's game at Oklahoma State late after he suffered what appeared to be a knee injury.

Assuming Boykin does play, Patterson wants to see more of his quarterback running the ball. This is not the NFL. In college, running quarterbacks don't suffer a quick death, and can win big (see Kansas State & QB Collin Klein).

"One of his assets is he can run," Patterson said. "When it's not there, you're not ... Dan Marino. You are a redshirt freshman quarterback."

Boykin is completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has rushed for 334 yards, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. Hardly horrid.

If there is any advantage to Trevone Boykin over Casey Pachall - and this is a reach - it is Boykin's ability to run. Pachall really couldn't. Alas, there is no advantage if Boykin does not actually run.

Patterson wants to see Boykin out of the pocket a bit more, passing, or running. 

"Don't do anything fantastic; don't be bad. Manage the game," Patterson said. "What you want is a junior Trevone Boykin not a freshman Trevone Boykin.

Boykin is listed at 6-foot-2, which may be generous, and he does not have the classic over-the-top motion. He has had a few passes knocked down, which Patterson said he does not think is as a result of a sometimes three-quarters angle Boykin uses. Patterson said the teams that have given Boykin trouble have height in their front seven.

"People have been on (SD Chargers QB) Philip Rivers' butt since he started; I think he's been in the Pro Bowl," Patterson said. "Everybody is different. His motion was OK against Texas Tech.  When you have a wall of people coming at you, you can't put the ball ... you have to know your own strengths and weaknesses. You have to be able to change things and do things differently."

 

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The number the Dallas Mavericks need to hit to make the playoffs

Since the Dallas Mavericks decided not to blow it up and opted for a revamped roster than a destroyed roster the playoffs are a possibility.

The Western Conference is not the same Western Conference it was a few years ago when the eighth-seeded team won 50 games; the playoffs are viable for the Mavs.

The last time the Mavericks did not make the playoffs was the 1999-'00 season, when they had great players such as Gary Trent, Robert Pack, Rodrick Rhodes, Cedric Caballos. How did that team ever lose?

This season, making the playoffs is a major score. The playoffs. Period. That's it. No Finals. No West Finals. The West quarterfinals would merit a parade. 

A safe number for the Mavs would be 43 wins to secure the eighth seed.

Below is a look at the number of wins for the eighth-seeded team in the Western Conference in each season since 2000:

’12: Utah 36 (lockout shortened)
’11: Memphis 46
’10: Oklahoma City 50
‘09: Utah 48
’08: Denver 50
’07: Golden State 42
’06: Sacramento 44
’05: Memphis 45
’04: Denver 43
’03: Phoenix 44
’02: Utah 44
’01: Minnesota 47
‘00: Sacramento 44

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The key to the Dallas Mavericks having a successful season is this guy

The Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team begins the real season tonight against Dwight Howard’s Los Angeles Lakers.

(Personally, I miss the lockout shortened 66-game schedule. It was hard on the players, and playing double headers maybe was not the best idea, but it was fun.)

The Mavs’ grand plan to add Deron Williams flopped in the summer, and instead the team will now look almost nothing like it planned even a few weeks ago as Dirk Nowitzki is out for a while recovering from knee surgery.

With Rick Carlisle as its coach, the Mavs will be competitive as they will defend and try to rebound. That will keep them in games, and I expect them in the playoffs in a Western Conference that isn’t too stacked.

One of the many problems this team will face, even when Dirk returns, is who will score?
Not Elton Brand. Too much mileage. 
Chris Kaman, when healthy, has a nice post game and will score more than the Mavericks have ever had at that spot. But he's not a money scorer.
Darren Collison … maybe, eventually.
Assuming Dirk returns healthy and can still score at a high rate, the rest will come down to whether O.J. Mayo can be a solid scorer on a good team. Can he create his own shot when there is none?

His scoring average topped out at 18.5 points per game when he was a rookie in Memphis on a team that finished 24-58. A good scorer on a bad team doesn’t mean much.
As the Grizzlies improved, his production consistently dropped. Here are his numbers in the first four years in the league.

’08-’09: 18.5 ppg, 3.2 apg.; Grizzlies finished 24-58 no playoffs
’09-’10: 17.5 ppg., 3.0 apg. Grizzlies finished 40-42 no playoffs
’10-’11: 11.3 ppg., 2.0 apg. Grizzlies finished 46-36 West semis
’11-12: 12.6 ppg., 2.6 apg. Grizzlies finished 41-25 West quarters

Notice the correlation? There is a reason the Grizzlies had reportedly shopped him for years. There is also a reason he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. The ability is there.

If the Mavericks can develop/unlock his ability to score and complement Dirk they should have a nice and maybe even a surprising season.

 

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Quote of the day

Father Merrin, Father Damien Karras: The Power of Christ compels you! 

 

 

 

 

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Texas Tech new uniforms look like a giant energy drink

Not sure what can be said of the new Texas Tech uniforms that are to be sported this week by the Red Raiders against Texas this weekend in Lubbock.

I know the kids love this stuff, and college coaches are thrilled whatever new toy they can use to attract the kids but ... why?

Go with one uniform at the beginning of the season and stick with it. No more of this "new uniforms at halftime" stuff.

This looks like an ArenaFootball team that is sponsored by Red Bull.

 

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Dallas Cowboys radio voice regrets on-air comment about Dez Bryant

IRVING, Texas - Brad Sham has been the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys for 34 years, and in that time he has never crossed the line the way he did on Sunday during the telecast of the Cowboys/Giants game.

During the game, Sham said after Dez Bryant fumbled a punt return in the first half that he would, "put that guy on the bench."

The comment drew quite the response in the Twitter-verse, and it was something Sham almost immediately regretted.

"I don't think it was incorrect but it's not my role as a play by play man to be saying thinks like that," Sham said. "I shouldn't have said it."

Sham said the comment was regarding Dez as a punt returner only.  Sham said no one in the organization has said anything to him in regards to the comment, nor does he expect it. 

"I let my emotions get the better of me," Sham said.

Chances are most people agree with Sham anyway. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett would not say if Bryant will remain as the team's primary punt returner in the future.

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