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| The Family Dog got bored because Casey is not anymore in 'Idol' | Credit: Family Guy |
NBA Playoffs
What seemed to be a boring matchup between the Lakers and Mavs turned out to head the Mavericks’ way. Yes, Dirk’s squad is underrated talent-wise. Jason Terry and Jason Kidd are aging; Tyson Chandler will always have the blemish in his reputation as he had been an ineffective teammate of CP3; and can somebody tell me who is Dirk’s main sidekick? On the other hand, the Lakers both have the talent and the experience. They are the defending champions! Yeah, and they are now down 0-3. I got to have a glimpse of Games 1 and 3. Those were the close games and if memory serves me right, the Lakers got a significant lead at a semi-comfortable part of the game. However, Dallas pushed and pushed. They always put themselves in a position to have a fighting chance. With a mixture of luck and gut, they shot the lights out when it mattered the most. I never rooted big time for Dallas except when they battled the Spurs but I – who predicted the Lakers to easily win it all – fully admit that this series belongs to Dallas. Aside from the fact that they are up 3-0, the Mavs are playing like a well-oiled machine. They really want it if you see them play. In contrast, the Lakers seem to be too complacent. That and somebody seemed to kidnap Pau Gasol.
UPDATE (because I am too slow to publish this blog entry): Lakers have been swept. What a shame Phil Jackson’s final game ended this way. What Bynum did was just awful. As much as he wanted to show that he care, he made things worse by that flagrant foul. It’s a sad day to be a Laker fan.
Atlanta’s win over Chicago was a surprise. I am rooting for the Bulls but I would not mind a loss to an underdog. After all, I do not really have a favorite team in the NBA playoffs this year. Three games have passed and the power control has shifted to the Bulls. And I think, this is the safest bet where the underdog won’t beat the favorite. Here are the reasons why:
1) Chicago is the best damn team in the regular season. They are just suffering what Boston experienced in 2008.
2) The Bulls are young but they have had a good experience on playoffs the past few years. Boozer was always present when the Jazz consistently reached the playoffs. Rose has always been amazing in the playoffs since his rookie year. Hey, they took the ex-defending champs to seven freaking games that year! But most of all, they have Joakim Noah. This guy is the X-Factor of the series. He has the winner’s gene and he has always been resilient (remember last year against Cleveland?) Most importantly, Joakim is Chicago’s best defender. Other guys with playoff experiences: Kyle Korver (from Utah), Ronnie Brewer (from Utah) and BRIAN SCALABRINE!
3) Atlanta defeated Orlando with a mixture of luck, momentum and the fact that the Magic have bad team chemistry. The Hawks continued to ride with the first two characteristics in Game 1 but we all know that both things are not constants. Furthermore, Chicago is not a one-man defense as well.
4) As much as I love the city of Atlanta (it’s been my first favorite city in US because of the Atlanta Braves), they are not that strong in supporting their sports teams except for my Atlanta Braves. You do not chant “MVP!” to your opponent’s best player. I guess it has something to do with the excellent weather of the city. Fan support is critical in the playoffs.
Experts and armchair experts like me slightly favored the Boston Celtics to beat the Miami Heat. The biggest premise is that Miami still has some loopholes in its lineup and Celtics have LeBron’s number. If I only bothered to check on the predictions prior to the playoffs, I would have picked differently. I have a theory of picking one team that the experts favor. There is always that team that the experts love so much but would fail in real life. Classic examples were LeBron’s Cavs, this year’s Portland Trailblazers, and the Ohio State Buckeyes of recent years. Boston may have won Game 3 awhile ago but I think that the Heat will win this series. Why? The Celtics seemed to have lost something in them. They are not as rough as they were. Look, Dwyane Wade is the one that was pictured as Boston’s villain. You don’t want your opponent to have that. Your team should be the one who has that especially if you were NBA’s Top Villain Team in the past few years. As a result, you see Paul Pierce losing his cool and getting ejected. You don’t lose your cool; you make the other team’s star player lose his temper. Mind games. What the eff is wrong with the Celts?
Nevertheless, Rajon Rondo was phenomenal today. His game is one that can pull his team to fight through it. But if you think that it is better for the long-term, you have got to be kidding me. Heroic performances like this have a quick expiration date (unless if it is a fake mega-injury like the one that Paul Pierce pulled off in the 2008 NBA Finals). Rondo is hurt and he is Boston’s main guy. In short, they are toast.
How ‘bout them Memphis Grizzlies? Who would have thought that they can challenge Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder? I need to rethink the “American Idol” counterparts of these NBA teams and tag the Memphis Grizzlies as the Haley Reinhart of the NBA Playoffs. Winning Game 1 was a shocker. Winning Game 3 after being down by 16 was legendary. If beating the San Antonio Spurs was the Grizzlies’ “Bennie and the Jets,” Game 1 is their “Piece of My Heart” and Game 3 is their “Moanin.’” You thought they were already out (“Call Me”) but they have somehow escaped with a victory (Bottom 3 that week) and become legendary to the eyes of media (standing ovation on “Moanin’”). But just like Haley, the Grizzlies will not reach the Finals because The Powers That Be (David Stern/Nigel Lythgoe) won't let it happen.
Game of Thrones
All I can say is that they have portrayed the story quite well. The production is amazing and they have stuck with the storyline quite well. It was also critical that the pilot episode was devoted to introducing the characters. There are too many characters in the novel so giving them proper introduction is necessary to set the tone.
However, “Game of Thrones” (TV) will never match the book version. Firstly, the book’s most important style is its first person perspective. It makes you empathize and understand the characters. It is like “Lost” with an inner voice talking to the characters when they do their actions. [SPOILER] It was amazing to read about Arya’s thoughts when she tried to apply her learning when she tried to escape King’s Landing. [SPOILER]
Either way, I will still watch “Game of Thrones” because it is better to visualize the settings after watching them on TV.
Also, it’s been four freaking years since I last read the series. If you are wondering what my favorite house and characters are, here they are:
Favorite House: Lannisters
Favorite Character: Jaime Lannister
Yeah, the Lannisters are the primary villains of Book 1 but I have grown to understand and appreciate them except for Queen Cersei and her son Geoffrey. But hey, the Lannisters are the strong and cunning family. I also love the Starks (duh!) but it was so depressing to follow their storyline.
American Idol
When the semi-finals kicked in, I was hooked. I did not expect things like this to happen.
When I first watched Haley Reinhart in the Green Mile episode (I did not get to watch her audition clip then), I already branded her as a fodder. I quickly exclaimed, “this girl will get rejected.” After a few seconds, the judges put her to the Top 24. My reaction: “What the eff?! Why waste a spot for her?! She was not that impressive in her Hollywood clips. Oh well… there’s always a fodder.” My testosterones also revolted because I did not find her that attractive (yeah, I was greedy even if I already knew that Pia was heading to the Top 24).
My notion on Haley did not change when the Semi-Finals kicked in. After all, I was not as avid to follow “American Idol” as I was in previous years. She performed on the dead middle spot in the semi-finals. Here was how it went for me…
Me: Oh… here’s the fodder girl who resembles… Karylle. Haha! Yeah, she does look like a blonde version of Karylle.
Me: Hmmm… interestingly, she is not as bad as her Hollywood package video was.
Me: Damn! I thought she’s a fodder. I hate to admit it but she has one of the more memorable performances of the evening thus far.
Me: Yeah yeah yadda yadda
After an hour, I almost forgot about Haley’s performance because Thia, Lauren and Pia erased it with their exemplary performances. But when I was asked by my friend Paul who I predicted to reach the Finals, I predicted that Haley could reach it. After all, most of the female contestants were boring. I know Lauren Turner and Kendra Chantelle are Internet favorites but they were not as attractive (yeah, she suddenly became a bit beautiful) as Haley is. For some weird reason, I understood how America voted in the semi-final round (as compared to my sucky Finals predictions). Lo and behold, Haley did make it to the Finals. However, she does not have a huge impact as compared to the other contestants so I knew that people would hate her. I read forums and several people were complaining that America was stupid for voting her in unlike Kendra and Lauren.
Thus, I had Haley near the bottom of prediction order list. However, I had her surviving at least one to two weeks. I noticed that some people find her more attractive than Pia. She is your custom blonde chick that reaches farther than you think (like Kristy Lee Cook and Megan Joy). My predictions went as expected. Ashthon and Karen got the boot. Top 11 was slated to be Haley’s last week. She was on the middle dead spot again (if you thought going first is bad, going sixth is also bad… Alexis Grace was my primary example for that). Then, the judges liked her performance. Surprisingly, she did not even hit the Bottom Three. Casey Abrams – my finale runner-up pick – was the lowest vote-getter. Then, he was saved. Since Haley has been forgettable (but shockingly decent) in the first few weeks, I thought that my boot order will still end up right. Then, “Bennie and the Jets” happened. We all know what happened since then. Haley Reinhart has vastly improved from being a fodder to a dark horse to a contender to the best and most versatile contestant in the competition. She has the most moments this season (Bennie and the Jets, Moanin’, Rolling in the Deep, House of the Rising Sun). She is the only remaining contestant that received a standing ovation (heck, it’s even two ovations). She has the Adele vibe and her distinct tone is radio gold. She is the best when it comes to studio versions.
The most important thing that Haley Reinhart did? She did better and reached further as compared to any of my favorite female contestants since I began watching in Season 7. Haley fulfilled what I wanted from Alexis Grace in 2009. Haley performed more consistently than Brooke White. Haley had more moments than I expected from Siobhan Magnus last year. And you know what, I now prefer Haley surviving than Pia. Pia is consistently great but she will never match Haley’s voice quality and tone. With James puking out his two out-of-pitch performances last week, Haley has assumed #1 status.
This is why I am blogging about Haley. It’s because this will be her last week. All the #1’s in my personal list always get eliminated. More importantly, Haley leaving in the Top 4 is just logical and here are the reasons:
1) The Dawg hates her. I can mute the TV every time Randy Jackson tries to find flaws (no matter how minimal they were) on Haley’s performances but not all Idol audiences do that. I always knew that “American Idol” is manipulative. It was one of the reasons why I stopped watching last year. Simon Cowell was so keen on eliminating the threats to his favorites. These manipulations reached the highest level last week when they blatantly criticized Haley’s performance of “You and I.” They criticized her for following Jimmy Iovine’s advice but they did not praise how great the vocals were. What’s head scratching was that they praised James for his off-pitch vocals not only once, but twice. Yup, they made a way to spin it so that they can only say the positive things about his performance (if crying were a positive thing). Several online articles bashed the judges for this and Jimmy Iovine made up for it during elimination night. But it is unfair, right?
It is unfair because they get to sway votes. Most people still listen to the judges and follow them. And if such travesties like this happen, it is just frustrating. This is why I would rather have Steven Tyler’s consistent praises than Randy Jackson’s and Jennifer Lopez’s inconsistent judging. That’s what eliminated Pia Toscano this year. They praised crooners like Stefano and Paul as if they were the bests of the night while Pia received criticism for doing better. I know Nigel’s goal is to bring a more positive experience in “American Idol” by dealing more with praises. It is fine. I understand and I even liked it. But if that is what he wants, at least be consistent. He has already minimized Haley’s appearances in promotions. Is a level playing field on judging too much to ask?
Oh well, that’s how “American Idol” goes. That is why it is just OK for me if Haley leaves this week. The producers are manipulating the audience as much as possible anyway.
2) The other three fanbases are just too huge. Lauren was in the Bottom Two but that will only rally her supporters to vote more for this week. Haley had Casey’s votes but I do not know if Jacob’s religious supporters will support the wild crooner. Also, I think Haley lives by the casual voters more than her fanbase. This is why…
3) She will lose more votes this week. She will be performing from a worse spot. Add Randy’s blatant hatred and you will see casual voters putting their votes on the other contestants.
4) She is a female underdog. America loves underdogs especially at this stage. Problem is, she does not have a penis, nor is she a teenager. Frontrunners never win but older female underdogs do not succeed as well. The voting is more on the fanbases now and we know that the males are at the advantage due to a rabid voting fanbase. As for females, I think they go farther if they had that initial strong fanbase. Crystal Bowersox had that last year. No matter how bad you perform, your fanbase blindly follows you.
5) Haley is polarizing. The growl is polarizing. That hinders her from getting more voters. The reason why she survived last week was because Casey – the previous eliminated contestant – also had the growl. With Haley getting massive pimpage after her awesome “House of the Rising Sun” performance, she gets more noticed now. Hence, the haters.
But whatever… This maybe Haley’s final week but at least it was a fun run. Thanks, Haley!
Predictions:
Contestant to leave this week: Haley Reinhart
Finale: Scotty McCreery vs. James Durbin
American Idol: Scotty McCreery
The judges will have at least one more standing ovation (for a contestant) in the next few weeks
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