Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Sometimes, life is like a country song. Or a William Faulkner novel, whichever.

There’s so much southern gothic in this story that we’re not even sure where to begin, but let’s start here: Michael Lynn Sherer was nabbed in Hampton, Georgia near Atlanta Motor Speedway after trading a gun for tickets to Sunday’s Emory Healthcare 500 NASCAR race.

Oh, but it doesn’t end there. Turns out Sherer is an escaped fugitive, on the run from a murder charge. And when he was nabbed by Hampton police, he used the murder victim’s name as his own alias. That, friends, is cold-blooded. 

The story, in more detail: Sherer had apparently escaped from the Winston County (Ala.) jail, where he’d been held on charges of killing Thomas Lynn Smith of Jasper, Ala. in Smith’s home following a break-in.

Sherer apparently made it from Winston County to Hampton, a distance of more than 250 miles, in a van he’d allegedly stolen prior to the murder. At the Atlanta Motor Speedway, he drew attention from vendors setting up for this weekend’s race as he tried to pawn off a .22 caliber pistol — one which allegedly belonged to the victim.

When police approached him, he initially used his victim’s name, but difficulty answering questions like "when were you born?" led police to take a little more interest. Not long afterward, he gave up his real name, and that was that. He’s currently awaiting extradition to Alabama.

About all this story needs now is a Johnny Cash-esque ballad to be written about it. It’s all right there for the taking.

(Photo via WSB-TV 2 and Henry County Sheriff’s Office.) 

Escaped inmate nabbed after trading gun for NASCAR tickets

Heath Ledger

Carrie Underwood

Eric Dane

Jamie Lynn Spears

Patricia Arquette

Previously: The story, the secondary, the linebackers, the defensive line, the running backs, the offensive line, special teams, and the conference.

Depth Chart

The situation here is similar to tailback, where Michigan doesn’t exactly have a proven star but they do have a ton of options. Outside, Darryl Stonum could blow up, Junior Hemingway could stay healthy, and Martavious Odoms could be a quick blockin’ bugger that springs other guys to big gains. In the slot, Roy Roundtree will act as team safety blanket and any of the three guys behind him could provide the woop-gone YAC Darius Reynaud gave West Virginia. At tight end, if Kevin Koger can catch the easy ones he’ll be a lethal complement to the zone read.

The bottom here isn’t bad, as it consists of a ton of throws to Roundtree and decent contributions all around. The top is enticing, with silly yards per catch possible on the outside and chain-moving consistency on the inside.

Outside Receiver

Rating: 3.

Greg Mathews has graduated, a couple kids left the program over the past couple years, and Junior Hemingway is destined to be hit by a meteor in week three, so Michigan’s getting creative at outside receiver by moving slot-sized slot Martavious Odoms outside. Despite Odoms’ diminutive stature, this makes sense given the situation. Below you can see Odoms doing some catching and all that, but you can also see him chop much bigger guys to the ground time and again. When my Florida recruiting source said Odoms was a "tough SOB" he was not kidding:

Pahokee, man.

Last year everyone was down on Odoms despite his productive freshman year (he was Michigan’s leading receiver) because of a series of fumbles late, when it was cold and he was wondering how many limbs he had because he certainly couldn’t feel more than two. There was a pretty terrible diary around these parts that met with a strong response. People got strained. Futures were question. It was tense.

For my part, I was "skeptical any slot would beat him out" and "bet on a lot of hurried backtracking" after the year; one half out of two ain’t bad. Odoms didn’t exactly get beat out but no one’s wresting Roy Roundtree’s job from him after he blew up in the last third of the year, and while people claiming Odoms sucks are thin on the ground these days any backtracking was steady, possibly even languorous. Fumbles were reduced but not erased as Odoms lost his punt return job to Junior Hemingway. He faded into Bolivian at the end of the year.

So he’s at a crossroads. The question is how effective will Odoms be on the outside. No one really knows since all we have to go on are some vanilla scrimmages from spring and fall during which deep passes were anomalies. Things we do know: 

• Odoms was 16/17 on easy catches last year (presumably these were a lot of bubble screens), 4/6 on moderately tough ones, and 1/3 on very tough ones.
• He was a receiver for five(!) years at Pahokee after signing up in eighth grade and has played inside and out since.
• He is really short.

We don’t have a lot of information about his routes, but he did smoke Indiana safety Nick Polk on that game-winning touchdown. Limited touches after were probably not his fault. He certainly had decent enough hands, though a double-clutch here and there led to frustrating incompletions on the wheel routes he ran frequently.

By moving outside, Odoms has ceded most of the screens to Kelvin Grady and Roy Roundtree and will see his per-game production drop. He’ll still be involved, though how much depends more on Roundtree, Stonum, the tight ends, and the tailbacks, all of whom seem to offer either more big-play ability or reliability than a 5′8" outside receiver. Odoms is likely to finish in the middle of the Michigan receiver pack with between 20 and 30 catches.

vapor trails

Darryl Stonum has been something of a disappointment his first couple years. Last year the conversation in re: Stonum was largely about pages and the benefits of getting on the same one with the coaches. When it wasn’t, it was about dropped balls. When the season rolled around Stonum started every game but came up with such a paucity of highlights that I’ve got more on Patrick Omameh, an offensive lineman who played in three games, than him. HIs stats boggle the mind: 13 catches for 199 yards, one fewer catch than he managed as a freshman. End of stats.

As a result, Stonum came up for repeated psychoanalysis in UFR, most of it focusing on his inability to adjust to balls thrown downfield. Against Eastern this happened:

This occasioned a long section about how Forcier left this short but this was the week after ND, when 1) Stonum turned a very makeable deep catch into something almost impossible by turning inside when he had five yards of room to the sideline and 2) Mike Floyd turned Michigan cornerbacks into roadkill. The resulting consternation:

I’m grabbing this just so people can maybe talk about Stonum’s adjustment to this. I think it’s poor. He misjudges the ball and doesn’t slow up enough and turn, which would probably have led to the DB running him over and a PI call. Mike Floyd [or Braylon Edwards] catches this, right?

This persisted; after the Wisconsin game I launched the "same old complaint" when Stonum failed to adjust to a poorly-thrown deep ball and allowed it to get intercepted when he really should have been able to at least bat it down.

Receivers often take time to break out, but the really amazing ones often get there their sophomore years (Braylon, Manningham, and Howard all blew up in year two), so expectations were busily being scaled back when… my gawd, that’s Rick Vaughn’s music!

Yes, for the second consecutive year Michigan has discovered one of their wideout needs glasses. You’d think that after the coaches discovered one of their wideouts was secretly blind as a bat they would have declared mandatory eye exams for all, but they didn’t, so the above clips happened and everyone was very sad. Now? Well, Stonum’s reportedly had an outstanding fall camp:

"This is the most consistent we’ve had Darryl on a day-to-day basis. He’s going to be a big factor for us. He’s a very talented guy that has a renewed sense of hunger."

As his recruiting profile suggested and kick returns showed, he has electric speed. The coaches seem to be on the same page with him. The quarterbacks are not going to be freshmen. He can now see the damn ball. He could totally blow up, or he could rack up 20 catches and have a version of that year Steve Breaston had after Edwards graduated where it became clear to all that he just didn’t have it downfield. I have no idea what it will be, which makes Stonum the offense’s #1 X factor going into the season. He can swing games by himself if he lives up to the chatter. A real live deep threat in an offense helmed by Denard Robinson can be preposterous: Chris Henry averaged 25 yards a catch(!!!) his freshman year at West Virginia.

That’s Stonum’s best case: not that many catches, but a lot of long ones and some game-swinging touchdowns. The worst case is more of the same.

Backups

Odoms’s move outside pushes Angry Michigan BLANK Hating God’s favorite target to the bench, at least nominally. After Junior Hemingway missed spring ball to go along with missing most of 2008 and spending 2009 at half-speed with an array of Minor-like injuries that were just tolerable enough for him to play, it seems like the Michigan coaches finally decided they couldn’t rely on him to be around long term and placed him on the bench. Since receiver’s a spot at which rotation is incessant he’ll get his share of time, leaving the move mostly symbolic, but it is a symbol.

Surprisingly for a guy who barely outpaced Stonum last year with 16 catches, he’s got a substantial highlight reel you can see at right. He was also named "first among equals" after the Western game. It’s mostly deep stuff: burning Western Michigan, exploiting Illinois over-reacting to a play, burning Illinois and then getting caught from behind, etc. As recruit his rep was an explosive leaper who lacked top-end speed—I compared him to Marquise Walker—and that has been borne out. It’s tough to tell if his meh career to date is underperformance or just three years of terrible luck. If he can stay on the field he should be a solid, useful addition to the receiving corps. He’s 225 pounds, which makes him a slant threat not duplicated elsewhere on the roster, and last year he was 10/10 on easy catches and 2/3 on moderate ones. His hands are good.

He should have a role and improve on his 16 catches of a year ago, although possibly not by much.

The single other outside wide receiver with any experience is sophomore Je’Ron Stokes, a six-foot guy with excellent athleticism who could have played in the slot if that wasn’t already being fought over by four or five guys. Stokes was just outside of top 100 lists as a recruit. Michigan snatched him away from Tennessee after their coach implosion. The takeaway from the recruiting profile:

An electrifying game breaker with excellent speed, Stokes could use more size on his current 6’1” and 180 pound frame. He has great hands, knows how to get open, makes a lot of acrobatic catches and is terrific after the catch.

He’s got a bit more size now, checking in at 193 at last report. He was another guy who blew his redshirt last year; his single highlight last year was digging out a low ball dubbed CONESTRAVAGANZA I in the late stages of the Baby Seal U game. He was injured in the spring and only came on late, but he was also pretty much absent from the fall scrimmage; another year mostly on the bench seems likely.

The third string is all freshmen. The only one to appear on the official fall depth chart was Jeremy Jackson (profile), the "lumbering" son of running backs coach Fred Jackson. Lumbering he may be but he’s also the son of a coach and has the route running skills and hands you’d expect from such a gritty gritterson of a player. He’ll play, likely sparingly. That should mean that classmates Ricardo Miller (profile) and Jerald Robinson (profile) are headed for redshirts.

Slot Receiver

Rating: 4.

Roy Roundtree’s second catch as a Michigan Wolverine was a game-tying touchdown in the pouring rain against Michigan State. This was a good omen. Over the next few games his playing time increased, though his catches remained infrequent because he was seemingly targeted only when it was a terrible idea to do so. Then Odoms got injured. Roundtree announced his presence with that 77-yard catch-and-run against Illinois about which we will speak no more, then showed Purdue the true power of snake oil:

A good day from the receivers, and by "receivers" we mean "Roy Roundtree." The one drop didn’t hurt much since it was on a screen that was going to get blown up anyway. Minor could have helped out by pulling in a low throw by Forcier, too. Other than that: Roundtree, Roundtree, Roundtree. The 1 he pulled in prevented an interception on Michigan’s first drive of the day, converted a first down, and lead to a touchdown.

Plus he did this:

Martavious Odoms just saw his job come under howitzer fire. Odoms has been valuable, too, so he won’t just go away, but Kelvin Grady’s time just got eaten up and I think Roundtree is the starter even when Odoms is healthy. This might also presage some dual-slot formations that have been absent so far in Rodriguez’s tenure at Michigan. Kid’s pretty good, and quicker than  you’d think given the Hawthorne incident last week.

Did I mention that Roundtree was last year’s Rick Vaughn? All hail occasionally checking your receivers’ vision. Someone check Denard Robinson right freakin’ now.

Roundtree continued his rampage over the last two weeks of the season against Wisconsin and Ohio State, yielding this season breakdown:

• First eight games: two catches, 44 yards.
• Last four games: 30 catches, 390 yards.

Project the last four games over the course of a season and you get 90 catches, 1200 yards, and a season second only to Braylon Edwards’s 2004 campaign in the annals of Michigan lore. So… yeah. That’s probably not going to happen. But it would be pretty cool i it did, huh? More realistically, Roundtree should double his output from last year, ending up Michigan’s leading receiver with 700-800 yards.

For the record, last year Roundtree was 16/16 on easy catches, 4/8 on moderately difficult ones, and brought in his only super-tough attempt of the year by wresting away a sure interception from a Purdue linebacker. He’s not that big. He’s pretty fast but not that fast. He’s not that shifty after the catch. But he’s open and he’s where he’s supposed to be, which is right in front of the quarterback, and he’ll catch the ball. So they throw it, and he catches it, and yeah he’s basically the apotheosis of the Purdue receiver.

Backups

EXCESSIVELY DRAMATIC KELVIN GRADY WALLPAPER FTW

Basketball refugee Kelvin Grady’s found himself in an impressive position on the depth chart by warranting an OR with Roundtree. This represents progress; Grady’s 2009 was cut short by frequent dropped balls. By Iowa one was enough to yank him or the game. Late in the year UFR noted that nine of the twelve flat drops on the year had been turned in by the tight ends and Grady. After the Illinois game, Roundtree was contrasted with Grady because when Roundtree "is thrown a ball that hits him in the hands it does not fall to the ground." You get the idea: hands not so good.

That’s perhaps understandable after Grady thought he’d left football behind for good when he signed up to play point guard for Tommy Amaker. After two years on the basketball team he found himself behind walk-on, read the writing on the wall, and picked up the cleats again. The rust was evident.

But Grady just keeps making plays in practice. That was the reason he was given the opportunity to drop those balls early in the year even with Odoms in front of him and Roundtree nipping at his heels, and the reason he’s listed as a co-starter on the depth chart despite Roundtree’s stunning end of year breakout. He featured in more "Countdown to Kickoff" highlights than any other non-quarterback; in the fall scrimmage he certainly looked like a top-level option, once taking a reverse from Robinson to score on a one-play, 30-yard drive. A review of his high school highlights reveals the sort of explosive agility that Michigan’s other slots seem to lack:

As a bonus, since he was a high school running back he’ll be better suited to those spread ‘n’ shred plays where a slot receiver motions into the backfield to become a second running back. It’s hard to imagine Roy Roundtree doing that, so adding Grady to the rotation adds pages to the playbook. He’ll see time, and could even supplant Roundtree as the preferred destination for quick screens… if the hands come around.

The backup story remains the same, except older. Terrence Robinson’s first two seasons at Michigan have resulted in an injury redshirt and one catch for 13 yards against Baby Seal U. He was fairly prominent in spring and fall, though not nearly as much as Grady was, and is in competition for the punt return job. His problem has always been hands—he was mostly a QB/RB in high school—and that’s prevented him from seeing the field. With two guys in front of him it seems like it will be another season spent watching. He’ll probably get some real playing time when Grady is tired and Michigan is looking for their slot to be one of those RB/WR flex guys in the mold of Dorrell Jalloh.

Freshman Jeremy Gallon (profile) took a redshirt last year after arriving late because of some academic issues. He should find the field some this year but reports from practice suggest that Gallon did not put in the same sort work some of the other wideouts did and that this will hamper his playing time. Also an issue is a foot issue that isn’t severe enough to keep him out of practice but does warrant walking around campus in a boot.

Gallon was a (figuratively) big recruit from a couple years ago, a one-time member of the Rivals 100 and solid performer at the Army Bowl who is by far the most guru-approved of any Michigan slot receiver. With two older and more established options in front of him, his best chance for playing time will be taking return duties away from Odoms.

Also, here is your annual reminder that he is a dead ringer for Snoop from The Wire:

Finally, freshman Drew Dileo (profile) looked pretty smooth this fall but is a very tiny true freshman. If he finds a role this fall it will be on punt returns.

Tight End

Rating: 4.

Kevin Koger started the year off in Braylon Edwards fashion by reeling in 3/4 passes rated 2 (difficult but makeable) and 3/4 rated 1 (great googly moogly). He then finished the year off in Braylon Edwards fashion by dropping every routine ball that came his way. The result was schizophrenic: by the end of the year Koger was 7/10 on tough catches… and 7/11 on easy ones. Matters came to a head against Penn State:

Koger’s great start came to a clunky halt with an 0/3 day, and no one really helped out except for the running backs. Forcier’s day wasn’t good, but it wasn’t as bad as the numbers suggest.

He added another "bad drop" against Illinois. That and backup Martell Webb’s similarly frustrating hands is part of the reason Roy Roundtree blew up in the last three games.

Koger did not exactly bounce back from this over the offseason, dropping a couple passes in the fall scrimmage and being conspicuously absent from offseason chatter both above- and underground. With depth at slot looking healthy, the entire tight end position could see itself minimized if they don’t perform.

There’s a good chance they will, though, with all three players returning. Koger himself is entering his true junior season; as a highly sought recruit with a  year and a half of starting experience under his belt he should improve considerably. The downers from last season do consist of four dropped passes, after all. Two fewer and everyone’s talking about how it will be pick your poison underneath. Small sample size disclaimers apply. When you look at the stuff at right it’s hard to envision a guy with that much talent finding himself minimized, especially when Denard-related freakouts see him hand-wavingly wide open frequently.

Backups

Senior Martell Webb has seen the most playing time to date. He was an infrequent target a year ago. The quarterbacks threw him six passes, one of which was uncatchable and the rest routine. He was only 3/5 on those routine balls, possibly explaining why he wasn’t targeted on them more often. He put on 12 pounds from last fall to spring, then took a couple off during the summer and is now a solid 255.

Koger’s blocking has been iffy, and while Webb didn’t stick out in my memory as a crusher all but one of the clips at left are positive run blocks: he’s likely to be the choice when Michigan goes to its I package. Unless he has an epiphany about having the ball in his hands (and Koger doesn’t) his receiving stats are going to look a lot like they did last year. Throwing it to him is plan G when you’ve got three receivers, guys like Vincent Smith coming out of the backfield, and a considerably more dynamic starter at tight end. Webb’s a fullback, basically.

The third and final scholarship tight end on the roster is redshirt sophomore Brandon Moore. He was a highly touted recruit with loads of offers when he committed to Michigan early in the hybrid Carr/Rodriguez class, but then dropped off with an indifferent senior year. Since his arrival he’s been locked behind Koger and Webb—the only clip I have of him is a catch against Baby Seal U. Without any buzz otherwise, that will likely continue this year.

Preview 2010: Receivers of All Varieties

Hugh Laurie

Catherine Zeta Jones

Lily Allen

Kate Winslet

Nick Jonas

Everyone Loves A Good Investigation: North Carolina held a press conference which told us that there is an academic cheating investigation in addition to the ongoing investigation by the NCAA over possible improper contact with agents. Beyond this scant information, we learned nothing about this academic investigation. We did learn that UNC really doesn’t seem to know how to handle such events. The person of interest at the center of the academic investigation is Butch Davis’ nanny (ok, she probably isn’t a nanny, but this is trash talk week due to the LSU v. UNC game). In any event, reviewing the lengthy list of UNC starters/potential starters relegated to the scout team, the vaunted Tar Heels defense could be decimated just in time for the game this Saturday against LSU. Bonne chance!

Another Exercise in “Indefinite” Suspensions: Trojans Head coach Lane Kiffin already has a thin squad for the 2010 season (70 players on scholarship). Kiffin has decided to whip out the “indefinite” suspension card again (last time starting FB Stanley Havili enjoyed a day off during his indefinite suspension for breaking the cheekbone of starting DB T.J. Bryant). The recipient this time around is Freshman Safety Patrick Hall. The Trojans are bringing 80 guys to Hawai’i to face the Warriors on Thursday. A walk-on has replaced Hall on the travel squad.

NFL Preseason Blitz (Rookie tracking continues and Favre demands attention): Rams Rookie QB Sam Bradford did well against the Patriots going 15/22 passing for 189 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INT. The Rams won 36-35. Colt McCoy is still playing like he should get cut by the Browns. He was 10/14 for 76 yards which isn’t bad. However, he didn’t feel Lions Rookie DE Willie Young coming and Young slapped the ball out of McCoy’s hand–this was another huge play for the 7th round draft pick which will go a long way toward earning him a roster spot. The Lions recovered the fumble and scored the TD which put the game away seven plays later. McCoy was able to get the Browns from their own 20 to the Detroit 36 with 1:08 remaining when he overthrew a pass which would have converted the fourth down. What made this telling picture happen was none of the above narrative. Instead, it was McCoy’s Hail Mary attempt that sailed out of bounds on the final play of the game. Tim Tebow threw his first TD as a Bronco in Denver’s 34-17 pasting of the Steelers. He also spotted the Steelers 7 with a near pick six which turned into a TD two plays later. Brett Favre was rusty awful (8 series played, 2 INT, 1 pick six, 2 fumbles [1 lost], no TD), yet the Vikings still won the game against the Seahawks 24-13. Last but not least, Saints Rookie RB Chris Ivory continues to play his way onto the roster, having put together this little number during the win against the Chargers…

It’s Finally Game Week. THE SEASON STARTS THURSDAY. Maintain, dear readers, maintain.

News & Notes: August 30

Sienna Miller

Snoop Dogg

Ellen Pompeo

Raven Symone

TR Knight

Chris Klein Enters Plea in DUI Case

Amy Adams

Simon Cowell

Emily Procter

Jessica Alba

Gillian Anderson

At the opening of Kat Von D’s new gallery in West Hollywood last night, Vanilla Gorilla looked like he had just opened his eyes after being passed out for days in the backseat of an Impala from a beer and whippit binge. And Kat Von D was as smug as White Oprah licking on a Fudgie the Whale cake. So this could mean only one thing: THEY’RE IN LOVE! Pop your warts and let the pus flow in celebration of this free clinic-approved union!

The original Bombshell McGross has probably been crawling up Vanilla Gorila’s leg to get to his dick for years, so of course she’s gushing from every open orifice about how he’s “the one” and how they truly belong together. Bitch is right. These two are written in the sars (don’t you dare take a red Sharpie to that typo).

Sounding like a 13-year-old girl who is trying to sound like a grown ass woman, Kat told People last night:

On how she keeps count of all her boyfriends: “Jesse is only my ninth boyfriend. I don’t hang out with anybody unless I am in love.”

On when she realized she wanted to take a ride on Vanilla Gorilla’s leather couch of slut jizz: “Was it when we were playing Scrabble? I don’t remember. But it was something like that – when we both realized how nerdy we were.”

On Vanilla Gorilla’s divorce from Sandra Bullock: “I stayed away from that as much as possible, and when we connected recently, it was such a positive thing. It was just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t spent this much time with you the entire time I’ve known you.’ Now I’m just embracing it and enjoying it.”

Playing Scrabble? Bitches are really trying to sound like two wholesome teenagers circa 1960. Yeah, I’m sure when Vanilla Gorilla played “endlosung” it just sent a warm tingle to Kat’s heart strings.

The best part is that when People asked Vanilla Gorilla if he was happy, he grunted out a “Yeah.” And you know he farted on mute at the same time too.

It’s always nice when a hongray crack house rat finally finds a piece of maggot-ridden cheese to nibble on, so good for them. But maybe Kat Von D can take a few moments out from humping Vanilla Gorilla’s jock to go find a wig that doesn’t make her look like a biker bar hooker version of Lily Munster. That gutter ass wig was made to be snatched and donated to a family of rodents that need a home. And while Kat is doing that, maybe she can get Vanilla Gorilla’s stupid ass an outfit that doesn’t make him look like a vato abuelito who is doing it all wrong.

The Smug “Yup, I’m On This Dick” Face

Bo Jackson

Zooey Deschanel

Star Jones

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Demi Moore

Welcome to Framed, a column at Cinematical that celebrates the artistry of cinema — one frame at a time.

For most of his career, Canadian director David Cronenberg has been known for his intelligent and disturbing genre films. However, Cronenberg isn’t just a horror filmmaker — he’s a genuine auteur with a keen visual eye and a recurring set of thematic concerns that turn up in the majority of his work. Unfortunately, it has taken the director crossing over into more mainstream fare to get people to notice how truly talented he is. Yet, even Cronenberg’s more commercial cinema marries beautiful imagery and extreme violence in an uncomfortably alluring fashion. One need look no further than his work with actor Viggo Mortensen for proof of that.

Today we’ll be looking at a frame from one the duo’s collaborations, 2007’s Russian mob drama Eastern Promises.

Mortensen plays Nikolai, the chauffeur/cleaner for a Russian mafia boss in London. He meets Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife, after she starts snooping around in his boss’ business when she finds a diary on a young Russian girl who dies in childbirth. Nikolai tries to keep her out of harm’s way while rising through the ranks of the Russian crime syndicate and finding his own life in peril. It’s hard to discuss the film’s narrative with any more detail than that because to reveal too much ruins what is a masterful film. Trust me when I say that if you haven’t seen Eastern Promises, you should.

You should also stop reading here because there is a big spoiler ahead. Hopefully you’ll see the movie — which is definitely a Blu-ray worthy purchase — and then come back to read the analysis.

Filed under: Drama, Critical Thought, Columns, Images

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Framed: Eastern Promises

Larry Bird

Kristin Cavallari

Missy Peregrym

Lyle Beerbohm

TR Knight

Filed under: PGA, Ryder Cup

Flick the lights. It’s last call.

Tuesday in New York, one day after this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship is scheduled to be completed, U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Corey Pavin announces his four at-large picks for the October matches in Wales.

Eight players — Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Jeff Overton, Dustin Johnson, and Matt Kuchar — already have secured spots on the team off a two-year points system.

Now Pavin gets the chance to put his lasting fingerprints on the team that will be a heavy underdog at Celtic Manor.

Only Mickelson (seven), Mahan (one), Stricker (one) and Furyk (six) have Ryder Cup experience.

“I am excited at the mix of youth, experience, aggressiveness and consistency of these players,” Pavin has said.

But the team’s success will inevitably be determined by Pavin’s four captain’s picks.Breaking Down Corey Pavin’s Most Likely Ryder Cup Picks

Brooke Hogan

Zach Braff

Hogans

Kylie Minogue

Lauren Graham

The Miami Dolphins had arguably the best offseason, filling holes with proven free agents and smart draft picks. However, there are still a lot of questions that cannot be answered until the 2010 season gets under way.

Whichever way you split it, there are many players on this roster who need to play with more consistency, or prove that they belong on the field with the other starters.

With the NFL growing more impatient every year, young players are expected to produce yesterday, and veterans are expected put their bodies on the line for an even longer period of time.

These eight players could be the key to the success, or the demise of the Dolphins’ franchise this season.

Begin Slideshow

Miami Dolphins: Eight Players Who Need to Prove Their Worth In The 2010 Season

Alyssa Milano

Wilmer Valderrama

Ali Larter

Nathalie Kelley

Sigourney Weaver

(Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke. PicProps: MMA Weekly)

You know how it goes in MMA circles: When two guys have beef they settle it with a 15-minute therapy session inside the cage. Next thing you know, problem solved. Hugs and high-fives all around. It’s pretty much the best formula we know of for conflict resolution that doesn’t involve some bullshit like talking or mutual understanding or compromise. Hence, those terrible “Fighting Solves Everything” T-shirts you see around sometimes.

Not so with the ongoing Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger kerfuffle, however.

read more

Even After You Kick His Ass, Gabe Ruediger Will be Kind of a Dick to You, Joe Lauzon Reports

Katy Pery

Kim Kardashian

Nadine Velazquez

Dave Branch

Rose McGowan

Chrystina Sayers, 1/3 of pop trio Girlicious (whose debut album went to #2 on the Canadian charts), recently sat down for a very candid interview where she talks in detail about Tiffanie Anderson’s departure from the group, Lindsay Lohan’s troubles, meeting Britney Spears, the new Girlicious album ‘Rebuilt’, and more! Plus some new photo shoot pictures! Interview: Ahmed Bakhsh: Who, or what, inspires you?Chrystina Sayers: Everything inspires me from famous people to everyday people.AB: What do you think of the media?s constant scrutiny towards Lindsay Lohan and other similar names?CS: I think its a good and bad thing for Lindsay and people like her. I say its a good thing because it shows everyone what not to do when you reach a level of success but its a bad thing because for Lindsay, and people like her who have a public ?drug addiction?, it only feeds fuel to their fire. While the media is trying to expose these celebrities for their bad behavior, I believe it does the celeb no good. Especially the celebs who are super super famous. I honestly think it would be best if the media focused on nothing but the positive things celebs did. If this happened, I believe there would be less celebs trying to ?act out? in a negative way and they would be more focused on their career then fame.AB: The debut album was more urban. You girls are going for a poppier/electro-ish sound this time around. Why?CS: I think the girls and I went for a more popish/electro/mainstream sound this time around for a few reasons. One, we wanted to try something new! Also, we have wrote a quite a bit on this album so it truly comes from our heart and we have all be inspired by pop mainstream music so we decided to take a crack at it! I think the girls and I have a pretty solid album and can?t wait for everyone to here it!AB: When will Rebuilt [the new album] come out?CS: Our album will be releasing around November.AB: Are there any concrete plans for promotion across Europe?CS: We are slowly prepping and planning our debut for all the Europeans! I can?t give any dates but definitely soon because it?s about time!AB: There?s been a lot of rumors. Why exactly did Tiffanie leave the group?CS: Well, let me just clear up all the rumors with my answer. First of all, Tiffanie never left the group. When the girls and I signed a new contract with Universal Canada, the new direction of the project only in visualized Natalie, Nichole and I. I always say that some of the most famous and successful groups in the world including The Beatles, Backstreet Boys, and even Destiny?s Child, had an extra member in the group that just didn?t completely fit the puzzle. Once that member was removed to reveal the true group, that group then became extremly successful! It?s all about solving completing the puzzle. You see, there is a lot of different things that complete a puzzle. Now Girlicious couldn?t be more then a completed puzzle! Natalie, Nichole and I just fit so well together. It?s amazing.AB: How did you feel when Tiffanie left the group?CS: Of course I was sad but you have to keep going on in life and moving forward. Now, more than ever, I feel very confident about the Girlicious project.AB: How was it like working with the producers and collaborators on your first album [Girlicious], such as Madd Scientist, J.R. Rotem, Flo-Rida, Sean Kingston, etc?CS: It was amazing working with all the producers that we have been blessed to work with. All of them are extremely talented and they really gave a lot of heat to our first album!AB: How was it like going on tour with Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys? Did you get to meet them?CS: Well, technically, our very first tour was with the Backstreet Boys, and that was amazing! We actually did get to meet, and on several occasions got to hang with those boys, and let me tell you, they are so much fun! It?s actually kind of crazy to think that me and the girls literally grew up listening to their music and then we just go on a tour with them after we got signed! So crazy!As far as Britney; well, first off, I must say the girls and I also grew up listening to her as well and we are all major fans of hers. We did open up for her a few times and I have to tell you, those were some of the most amazing shows. Why, you might ask? Well, not only were we opening up for Britney but we also got to use her circle curtain for our opening. We actually were lifted up as the circle curtain revealed us! It was the most amazing feeling! We did meet her and her amazing dancers! What a amazing time that was!AB: What is your favorite songs off Rebuilt, and why?CS: My favorite three songs off of our second album, Rebuilt, have got to be all the songs we did with a producer named Beau Dozier. On a side note, we wrote all three of these songs as well. The first song is called ? Tell Me Lies.? First and foremost, this song is a club banger! I love this song because it?s edgy, cool, and it?s very unique. Its a track, vocally, that you have never heard before. It is also a track , rhythmically wise, that just keeps you on your toes! When I listen to this track I almost feel like I?m having a lot of anxiety because the beat it self just bumps so hard! Its pretty amazing! This song is about just having fun on the dance floor and being very confident about that!I also love our song called ?Wake Up.? This song is the only ballad that we have on this album. This song is about being in a relationship where you have felt pretty lost and you are very scared to leave that relationship because you are afraid that you might not be okay by yourself, but in the end of it all, you find yourself and you are able to now be strong and move on without being held down! I believe that this track has a super strong message and it not only pertains to relationships but it can pertain to whatever situation you have been in when you are feeling held down and want to break through.Last but not least; ?Grinding.? This song could be a great sneak attack in the clubs for sure, or a sexy album track, which it already is. This song is mid tempo and just super sexy! I feel like me and the girls decided to write this song for all our females who are super sexy and are in complete control of all their decisions whatever they might be. This song is one definitely everyone can and will vibe to.AB: If you had the opportunity to work with any big producer or artist, who would it be? Why?CS: Just to name a few? I would love love love to work with Timbaland. I think he is super talented! Also, I would love to work with him because I was and still am a die hard fan of all the amazing artist he has worked with like the great Aaliyah , Genuine, and Missy [Elliott]! Love that whole camp!Also, I would love to work with RedOne. I think he has given [Lady] GaGa amazing beats and I totally dig it!AB: What songs that didn?t make the cut, would you have liked to be on it?CS: Every song that we?ve cut so far has made the cut so I?m pretty happy!AB: Any news on releasing your music in the US / UK?CS: Well, definitely! We have a song called ?Drank? that is going to be a part of the Jersey Shore soundtrack. Our song has already gotten amazing reviews from People Magazine and Us Weekly saying it was the highlight track of the Jersey Shore soundtrack, so I thought that was super cool! The song has already hit the US airwaves, and is building, so that is very exciting. Finally the Canadian pop stars, who are American, will be able to release in the US!AB: How do you feel about the huge success of ?Like Me? in Canada?CS: I feel so blessed for the success of ?Like Me.? It?s pretty amazing because I always felt it was a strong song everyone loved.AB: Any news on a third single from Rebuilt?CS: Our third single is called ?2 in the Morning.? It?s a party club track!AB: Were you surprised at the positive reaction the ?Maniac? music video received?CS: I wasn?t completely surprised. I felt like me and the girls definitely put in a lot of work to make the song and video be amazing! I am so happy everyone loves ?Maniac!? Now we have more then 2 million views on YouTube, so our song is definitely getting around!AB: Would you girls ever collaborate with the Pussycat Dolls or the Paradiso Girls?CS: For sure, we would. That would be a fun colabo with PCD or the Paradiso Girls!Source 1, 2

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