Lank's Favorite Movies of 2009

Since everyone and their brother seems to be making up a list of their favorite things of the year (and decade), I figured I’d be arrogant enough to think that you’re wondering what my favorite movies of the year were.

A couple of rules here:

-- These are my favorite movies of the year; not necessarily the most technically perfect. “Avatar” was a landmark achievement in filmmaking, but I can’t say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

-- There are a couple movies on my list that were released in 2008, but I actually saw them in 2009. That counts in my book. I can’t call them the best of 2008 if I didn’t see them until the following year

-- I stuck to movies that I saw in theaters. I’d never seen any of the X-Men movies until 2009 (it’s a long story; don’t ask), but watched them all on DVD this summer. That doesn’t count. How is that different than my previous rule? I don’t know, but it just is.

I think that’s it for rules. Let’s get to the meat-and-taters and give the people what they paid to see, shall we?. Without further ado…

10.) Public Enemies – This Michael Mann film, starring Johnny Depp Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard, was one of the most-anticipated movies of the year for me. During my live-blogs of the NBA Finals, I probably mentioned “Public Enemies” at least 13 times. As I said in my review, there were some things about it I didn’t like. The pace early on was somewhat slow and there really wasn’t a narrative forming until about 1/3 of the way through the film. However, once Mann zeroed in on his topic (the fast-living and capers of John Dillinger), “Public Enemies” went to the next level. The last half-hour or so of this movie is downright superb and left me leaving the movie theater with an overwhelmingly positive feeling about how I’d spent the previous two hours. Full of good action, good lines, and a good story, “Public Enemies” was certainly worth the wait for me.

9.) The Blind Side – Yeah, I went there. When I first heard that they were making a movie about the life and times of Ravens OG Michael Oher, I was skeptical. I’d heard that the book on which the movie is based (written by Michael Lewis) was very good, but that doesn’t always mean a movie is a good idea. The previews came out, the buzz built, and I decided that I really wanted to see it. And I’m certainly glad that I did. Charming without ever being hokey; inspiring without ever being too preachy; and emotional without ever being too sappy; “The Blind Side” really hit on all aspects of the story equally well. Oher’s football career is documented, of course, but the relationship between he and his new family is explored as well. Sandra Bullock does a terrific job as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Michael’s “new mom”, and really gives the film its character. I can’t say that I cried during the movie, but I will admit that I had something in my eye during a scene or two. You should watch “The Blind Side”; you really should.

8.) Watchmen – Initially, I didn’t have much of a desire to see this one. I saw the trailer during my first viewing of “The Dark Knight” and thought it was fantastic. All of the action, with The Smashing Pumpkins song in the background, and a Rorschach voice-over? Superb. That got my interesting going a little bit, but the reviews were mixed upon its release so I didn’t get much of a boost from that. Eventually, I decided to give it a shot, and I’m really glad that I did. Yeah, there were some plot holes and it was a touch too long, but man, what an epic movie. The action scenes were fabulous, it has a great look to it, and the story itself was quite engrossing. You could feel the plight of these superheroes as they saw their friends being picked off one by one. I haven’t read the comic books, so I can’t give you an opinion of its loyalty to the original story; but I can say that I liked the film incarnation of “Watchmen” just fine.

7.) Zombieland – Probably the most fun I had in the movie theaters this year. Talk about a movie that knew exactly what it was and exactly what it wasn’t. Obviously, knowing that Woody Harrelson was killing zombies meant that I was going to see it regardless, but “Zombieland” surprised me with its sense of humor and irreverent charm. Never a dull moment in this movie, and just when you think things might be bogging down, Woody finds another zombie to kill in a badass way. The movie is quite gory and has some choice language, so it’s not for everyone. But if you enjoy tons of fun, a lot of action, and some genuinely good laughs, “Zombieland” is for you. Considering I enjoy all of those things immensely, and Woody Harrelson wrecking shop, I couldn’t have enjoyed this movie any more than I did.

6.) Up in the Air – A late entry into my top ten considering I just saw it a few days ago. No, this isn’t one of those “what I just saw is the best thing that I saw” type deals. What do you think I am, an Academy Award voter (why else do you think studios release their “Oscar-worthy” films at the very end of the year)? I really liked “Up in the Air”. The dialogue is sharp, the story is very interesting (and pertinent in these times), and George Clooney has never been better. If you thought he was cool and charming in the “Ocean’s” movies, wait until you see him as Ryan Bingham in this one. You probably think that I’m biased since I’m in love with her, but Anna Kendrick was lights-out as Natalie Keener, a fresh-out-of-college career woman who is the yin to Bingham’s yang. The two play off each other well and give the movie its spirit. As you watch this movie, you run the gambit of emotions and see the characters in several different lights. As character-driven movies go, this is just about as good as it gets.

5.) Star Trek – For the record, I’m not a Trekkie. Glad we cleared that up. Big Brother he told me that he didn’t want to see this movie because he didn’t like Star Trek in general. Fair enough, but I didn’t like the whole Star Trek thing either before seeing the movie (and still don’t, to be honest). However, when the previews were released, I noticed that it didn’t have the traditional Star Trek feel, and it seemed like more of a recent Star Trek, if that makes sense. Rather than being confined to spaceships and crazy galaxies, the characters were on the ground, in school, and behaving, well, normally. Plus, J.J. Abrams directed it, and I trust that guy. I saw it, and I loved it. The story was well-paced, yet informative. I didn’t feel like I missed any of the nuances of the story because Abrams was in a hurry to blow up something else. Since it’s a “reset” of the franchise, I got an education in Star Trek without having to catch up on older movies. Basically, “Star Trek” hit on all the right notes while avoiding the landmines that come with doing a film for such a famous brand. Apparently, even the old-school Trekkies liked it and thought it did justice to the original story. Who would have wagered on that? Well done, Mr. Abrams; well done, indeed.

4.) Up – In a way, this was my favorite movie on 2009. To try to describe the plot of this tale would risk getting my institutionalized, so I’ll just tell you what I thought about it. Visually, “Up” was mesmeric. The balloon-fueled house soaring over the city and into the jungle was just awe-inspiring. I don’t know how those Pixar dudes do what they do; but I’m really glad that they do (that made sense, I think). There is a scene early on that does not have a single word of dialogue, not one, and still manages to make people with any semblance of sensitivity cry. Strictly through the images and emotion pouring from the screen. Amazing. Plot-wise, “Up” is very well done. All of the twists and turns have a point, and there is never a scene in which you find yourself wondering how it ties into the overarching story. The characters are remarkably developed, and you find yourself rooting for some and rooting against the others simply because of who they are and what they stand for. There are many, many funny moments that draw genuine laughs from anyone watching the movie. If you’re not laughing when Russell’s face is loudly dragging across the window of Muntz’s zeppelin, then I don’t want to know you. All in all, “Up” manages to tell a funny, exciting, heartwarming story without ever being cheesy and without relying on the stunning visuals to carry it. What people fail to realize about Pixar is that when they make a movie, they don’t make something pretty and then shoehorn in a story; they write a fascinating story and then add in the visuals. And it shows with a classic like “Up”.

3.) The Hangover – Come on now, you knew it was coming. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that much in a movie theater. Sure, it probably doesn’t have the technical merits of “Up” or the charm of “Up in the Air”, but I had a really, really good time watching “The Hangover”. The story is quite original in its own right. Yeah, the “let’s go to a vacation spot and have something crazy happen” angle isn’t new, but the way in which the story was told is. Rather than showing the debauchery that occurred the night Doug, Alan, Stu, and Phil went to Vegas for Doug’s bachelor party and ended up losing Doug, the story begins with the trip to Vegas, but then skips ahead to the morning after. From there, the memory-impaired trio must attempt to retrace their steps from the night before in order to find their lost friend (and groom). Hilarity ensues, their story goes from crazy to crazier, and the laughs keep coming. The dialogue in the movie is great, and the chemistry between the nerd (Stu), the cool friend (Phil), and the eccentric brother-in-law-to-be (Alan) really shines. It’s one of those movies that you think would be a lot of fun to make because everyone in the movie seems to be having a good time. Mike Tyson’s cameo, a tiger in the bathroom, and a white baby named Carlos; what else could you ask for? For me, the answer is nothing.

2.) Slumdog Millionaire – Remember how I mentioned that there would be a movie or two from 2008 that would be on the list? Yeah, here’s the first one. Released late last year, I saw “Slumdog” in February 2009, a few days after my birthday. I’d heard all of the hype and what not, but my homeboy GB told me to see it, and when GB tells me to see a movie, I probably need to see it. Without giving too much away, “Slumdog” is about an Indian young man who gets on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in order to attract the attention of his childhood love interest, who he knows is a fan of the show. Despite not having any formal education, the guy is able to answer questions based on previous life experiences. Those experiences comprise the bulk of the movie, as we see his evolution from young boy to young man in these flashbacks. “Slumdog” is very intense and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Not in a thriller-genre type way, but in a “man, I can’t wait to see what happens next” type of way. You’re never scared, but you are captivated the entire time you’re watching it. The way the filmmaker, Danny Boyle, intertwines the flashback scenes with the present-day action is pure genius, and gives “Slumdog” a wonderful pace. If you haven’t seen it yet, do so ASAP. It’s one of the rare movies that actually lives up to the hype.

1.) The Wrestler – And here is the other movie from 2008 that makes my list. It happens to be the chart-topper, no less. This isn’t some commentary on the lackluster filmmaking in 2009 or anything silly like that, I just really liked these two movies, especially “The Wrestler”. As a kid, I grew up watching professional wrestling religiously. From about 1990 through 2000, I could name every wrestler in both major promotions (WCW and WWF), the storylines in which he/she was involved, his/her favorite moves, and the other personas that that wrestler had used. I was a wrestling junkie. If you try to tell me that Demolition was better than the Road Warriors, I really might try to fight you. Anyway, being a fan also had its downside. Mainly, when wrestlers die young (as many of them do, sadly), you begin to wonder what it took for those guys to entertain you every night. The toll that it takes on their bodies is massive, and the mental repercussions of performing in such a profession begin to manifest as well. I say all that to say this: “The Wrestler” showed me what the dark side of professional wrestling looks like. It was gripping, emotional, and sometimes dreary. Watching Mickey Rourke portray Randy “The Ram” Robinson was like watching one of my old favorite wrestlers bandy about in society trying to find their way outside the only world they’ve ever known. Once the arena lights and crowd noise are removed from these guys’ lives, they never quite behave the same. They know nothing else. For too long, wrestlers have been dying too soon at an alarming rate and their story was never told. Thanks to director Darren Aronofsky and Rourke’s legendary performance, we got a glimpse into the under belly of pro wrestling. No, it wasn’t pretty, but I can honestly say that I will never forget the way that “The Wrestler” made me feel while I was watching it, and the way that it made me think after I left the theater. Rest in peace to all of my childhood heroes of the squared circle who are no longer with us.

There you have it. My ten favorite movies of 2009. What do you think? Do you agree for the most part? Disagree for the most part? I realize that I left out some movies that a lot you liked, but there were some that I wasn’t so fond of, and others that I just didn’t get around to seeing. Here’s a quick list of movies that I wanted to see, but never did so: Inglourious Basterds, State of Play, Michael Jackson’s This Is It (I should be draw-and-quartered for not seeing this), Brothers, Ninja Assassin, Everybody’s Fine, Invictus, Sherlock Holmes (high on the list for 2010), and Couples Retreat (surprised? Yeah, me too, but Jason Bateman is my boy, and it, along with State of Play, is the only movie of his that I haven’t seen; that’s the only reason it’s on here).

~~ Lank

Bored Lank = Interesting Factoid

A buddy of mine at work, Gotham, sent me an interesting question via email today. He asked me who had more players in the NBA, the ACC or the Big East? Gotham is a native New Yorker (hence his alias) and supports the Big East, so I'm sure he was trying to win a bet or something. I confessed that I didn't have the answer on hand, but told him I'd do some research. A few hours later, I had some down time, so I decided to look over every NBA roster and do the math myself. Here are the results for those two conferences as well as the other "BCS conferences" (rosters as of December 30, 2009):

Big East - 52

ACC - 49

Pac-10 - 47

SEC - 37

Big 12 - 34

Big Ten - 31

Nothing overly surprising there. The Big East was boosted by the fact that I included all of the alumni of teams that are currently in the conference, so guys like Kenyon Martin and Quentin Richardson, who never played in the Big East, were counted towards their total. May this post prove to you that if you need any questions born out of curiosity answered, email me at work and I'll be happy to do my best. Is that what they're paying me for? Not really, but we'll consider my employer a co-investor in Skip To My Lank so that I can sleep better at night. How's that?

~~ Lank

Texas Tech Gets Messy

Talk about a story that keeps getting weirder and weirder. The Mike Leach fiasco at Texas Tech reached an apex today when the university fired their successful football coach “with cause”, amidst reports that Leach mistreated a member of his football team by placing him in an electrical closet during practice after the player had mentioned suffering a concussion.

Oh, and did I mention that this player is Adam James, the son of ESPN analyst Craig James? If you don’t think that had anything to do with the magnitude of this story, then I have some residential property in Las Vegas I’d like to sell you.

Adam James is a little-used wide receiver and was supposedly frustrated with his playing time. Needless to say, he and Coach Leach probably didn’t have the best of relationships; especially if James had a girlfriend. When whatever happened happened (and the details are still coming out. Leach admits to keeping James away from the team during practice, but in an air-conditioned facility that was near the practice fields. Either way, it’s one man’s word against another and the truth will likely never be known), James probably took it extremely hard, considering the incident was coupled with the frustration of not playing on a regular basis.

Adding a further layer to the story is the fact that Texas Tech and Leach had a very testy contract renegotiation last summer, and haven’t been on the same page ever since. Leach and AD Gerald Myers have a relatively frosty relationship, making it all the more unsurprising that Leach was fired. As soon as word about the incident emerged, I was pretty sure that the end result would be a parting of ways of some kind. That’s not to say that there was conspiracy against Leach by the administration or anything, but he was on a short leash, to say the least. When you get accused of putting a player in an electrical closet as punishment (for an injury, no less), that tends to violate a “short leash”. I’m just saying.

According to reports, the players aren’t in complete agreement about the decision. Some are defending James and saying that they’re happier now that Leach is gone. Others have questioned James’ work ethic and the validity of his story. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeil has taken over as interim head coach, and does not appear to have been involved in any of the episodes that occurred at Texas Tech during this period. With all of this in mind, it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Raiders perform in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan State (January 2nd, ESPN, 9 pm). Will they unite during the turmoil and put on a good performance? Or will they fall prey to all of the distractions and come out looking rattled? They’re better than Michigan State, so the only thing affecting the outcome of this game is Texas Tech’s mindset.

It’s hard to say what’s next for Mike Leach. He’s regarded as a brilliant offensive mind, as evidenced by the fact that his teams regularly score some of the highest point totals in the country. However, in today’s politically correct world, the mishandling of a player is a scarlet letter of sorts for coaches. It’s ok to lie to athletics directors, switch schools at the drop of a hat, and violate recruiting bylaws. But if you mistreat a player, whew boy, you’re considered a bad person. My best guess is that he’ll resurface at the mid-major level, keep his nose clean for a few years, and then get another big-time gig. His behavior at Texas Tech has always been quirky, but never abrasive, so future employers will be willing to overlook this incident so long as it seems to be an isolated occurrence. Besides, America is all about giving coaches with questionable ethics second chances.

Just ask Nick Saban.

~~ Lank

The Cat Whisperer

I alluded to this little episode in my Christmas recap, but here it is in all its glory.

My buddy, Dirty D, wanted to get his mom a new kitten for Christmas. His family has one, but they’d previously owned another one before it passed away, so he wanted to get the total back to two. Without having a car to drive, he asked me if I would mind taking him to get the new kitten. I had no qualms with it, and was happy to help a brotha out…especially when it comes to buying Mom Dukes a Christmas present. Due to needing to keep the kitten with its mother for a certain timeframe, the earliest we could pick up the kitten was Christmas Eve. No biggie, this would only take an hour or so, right?

Wrong.

We set off to get the kitten from a couple whose cat had just delivered a litter of them (I don’t know if “litter” is the proper term for cats, but I know that it is for dogs, so we’ll just use it anyway, ok? Thanks, I knew you’d understand). Dirty D picks up the kitten, makes some small talk with the couple, and then tells me that he’d appreciate it if we stopped by Wal-Mart or PetSmart to pick up a few things for Little Kitty Thing (who will now be referred to as ‘LKT’ for the remainder of the post). Yeah, not a problem, how long can it take? A half hour at most?

Try again.

Wal-Mart was more crowded than a mall with Justin Bieber playing, so we decided PetSmart would be the better option; especially since LKT could come in with us (for the record, I hate cats. I think they bring nothing to the table as pets and cost entirely too much since you get zero return on your investment. Well, except sass and attitude. And if I wanted sass and attitude, I’d just get a girlfriend, but that’s neither here nor there…). This is literally how the beginning of our trip to PetSmart went:

Dirty D (holding LKT): “Yo, could you grab a cart so we can put the stuff in it?”

Me (not holding LKT): “Yeah, sure.”

I turn around to grab a cart.

I hear some chatter going on behind me.

I grab the cart, whip back around, and BOOM, there she is…The Cat Whisperer.

I’m like 97.2% sure she rappelled from the ceiling or something. Maybe she came up from beneath us. I honestly wouldn’t call you a liar if you told me that she’d vaporized upon seeing us and then regenerated at our location. I mean, it was ninja-esque. As soon as she opened her mouth, I knew I’d better block out a solid hour for this trip to PetSmart. Yippee.

The Cat Whisperer: “Hi, my name is (The Cat Whisperer); do you need help with getting some things for your new kitten?”

Me (in my head, though I almost blurted it out): “For the love of God, D; please say no. Please, please, please say no.”

Dirty D: “Yeah, that’d be awesome.”

Me (again, in my head, but I got even closer to blurting this out): “Awesome? Seriously? You think that’d be awesome? I think I’d rather be tied down while a bunch of kindergartners pull my hair and paint all over my clothes. Awesome?”

The Cat Whisperer then proceeds to tell us that she owns like 3,148 cats, has worked in a cat adoption agency for years, and volunteers at PetSmart’s adoption clinic to help out new owners.

Fantastic. This just keeps getting better and better.

The Cat Whisperer grabs her cart, which has four cats in travel carriers in it. Seriously, I counted them. At first I thought they were empty travel carriers that she was stocking or something. But no, they definitely had cats in them. All of them. While sitting in a shopping cart. Am I the only one who thinks that’s kinda weird? Yes? Ok, never mind then.

Being an optimist, I try to convince myself that her experience is going to lead to a quick trip through PetSmart since she’ll know exactly where everything is, and exactly what LKT will need to grow up big and strong like ox. The 2% of me that’s a pessimist realized that this could also mean that she’d take her sweet time explaining every nuance of every product to us, “informing” us so that we could make the best decision for our new kitten (and by “we”, I mean “Dirty D”, because I didn’t care what we bought as long as it didn’t kill LKT).

I hate it when my pessimist side is right; I really do.

For the next 45 minutes, we peruse the aisles as The Cat Whisperer gives us the in-and-out of every product. Food, toys, beds, bowls; you name it, we got the lowdown on it. The sad thing is that Dirty D wasn’t looking for anything too fancy, because LKT just needed a temporary home until he was old enough to be introduced to the rest of the house (and the other cat). The other sad thing is that Dirty D could tell by the pained expression on my face that I really wanted to vamoose, but he proceeded to ask more and more questions anyway. I respect the fact that he’s a caring owner and wants to do right by LKT; I really do.

But Lank was ready to roll (yes, I just went third-person on you).

Finally, we get everything that we “needed” and say farewell to The Cat Whisperer. She lectured us on proper feeding techniques before she dismissed us from class, and told us to come back and see her if we had any questions or concerns. At least now I know what I can do if I ever have a good hour or so that I need to waste. Glad that’s cleared up.

We check out, put all of LKT’s goodies in my car and head home. Once we’re there, we smuggled LKT and his treasure trove into Dirty D’s room. His mother was unaware that he was getting her a kitten, so we had to be secretive once we got back to his house. That, and his dad probably would’ve punted LKT 50 yards had he known he existed before Dirty D presented LKT to his mom, so the stakes were high.

All’s well that ends well, right? Dirty D kept LKT hidden, his mom was very, very happy with her gift the next day, and LKT got a real name: Peanut.

So, Peanut, live a full, healthy life; respect your elders; say your prayers; take your vitamins; and behave for Uncle Lank whenever he comes to visit. Lord knows that he and Brother Dirty D had to dodge some bullets to get you where you are, so appreciate our efforts and make our trip worthwhile.

Man, the more I think about it, the more it sounds like I should have titled this post “Saving Private Peanut".

~~ Lank

The Joys (And Woes) of Christmas

Seasons Greetings and all of that good stuff. I hope that everyone had a delightful Christmas and got some good presents from old St. Nick. Because I know you were curious about how my holiday vacation went, I’ll be glad to give you some highlights (and lowlights) of my (almost) week at home with Willie P, Baseball Mom, and Big Brother.

-- Going to a high school reunion and seeing some folks that I hadn’t seen in forever. Despite being a young’n, enough time has passed since my high school glory days that it’s good to catch up with old classmates.

-- At said reunion, I was one of the few white people in attendance as my high school was predominantly black. During one episode that night, my homeboy, EP, was trying to close out his tab and was having issues with the bartender. A middle-aged woman, who was sitting next to where EP was standing and, thus, heard everything that was going on, saw me standing next to EP and said, “excuse me, do you work here?” to which EP, without missing a beat, replied, “nah, he’s just white.” Guilty as charged.

-- Seeing “Up in the Air” with Baseball Mom and Willie P. A very good movie. Go see it. Tell ‘em Lank sent ya. Not that that will do anything at the box office, but I’ve always wanted to say that for some reason. Oh, and the movie also gave me a great line to use to my “elders”. Anna Kendrick’s character is talking to George Clooney and Vera Farmiga’s characters, and she says, “I appreciate what your generation did for me…” which can be used myriad ways. I spent the rest of the weekend telling my parents that I appreciate what their generation did for me while doing various things. My testing is still in the beta phase, but I really think I can put that line to good use. I’ll keep you posted.

-- A highlight and lowlight happened on the same trip. I drove a friend of mine to get a new kitten for his mom as a Christmas gift. We got the cat without a problem and things were going well…until we had an encounter with the Cat Whisperer, which is deserving of its own post. Not fun.

-- Kicking it with my boys G’zy and Lefty until 5 am on Saturday night. I hadn’t seen either of them in too long, so it was nice to be up to our old tricks again. I tried to convince Baseball Mom the next morning (later that morning?) that I actually got in around 1 am, but she wasn’t having it. I still haven’t conceded this point to her. (It was also that night that I was introduced to this, so that's obviously another highlight of the weekend.)

-- The Spurs dropping a game to Portland Wednesday night, at home, was pretty irritating. Portland played the game with 3 players, an assistant coach, and a team manager and still beat us on our own floor. How embarrassing.

-- Since we’re discussing sports teams (and by “we”, I mean “me”), the Blues lost two out of three over my break, the Spurs won two out of three, and the Colts JV lost to the Jets. Not exactly the exhilarating weekend I had in mind sports-wise.

-- I can’t decide if it’s a highlight or a lowlight, but hearing about Urban Meyer’s “resignation” almost put Big Brother on suicide watch. Obviously, I don’t want my brother to off himself, but the thought of the best coach in America no longer residing in Gainesville rubbed me the right way. Now that Meyer has decided to return, Big Brother has stepped off the ledge, and I’m getting closer to it. God forbid the Colts lose early in the playoffs again…

-- A trifecta courtesy of one of my friends: she called me on her way into town Wednesday night and talked with me for a couple hours. Then, I got to see her the next day on my way home from the Cat Whisperer experience, and she was somehow wearing a pretty sweet onesie that looked impossible for anyone older than 11 to fit into. But she pulled it off, bless her heart. Finally, she informed me that her parents are fans of Skip To My Lank; so thanks to them for that. All in all, she pushed all the right buttons.

-- Skip ripping into Los Heels for their performance in the Tire Bowl was quite amusing. It was about 5 minutes of unfiltered Skip; and that’s something that I’m never not a fan of. I don’t know if that last sentence makes sense to anyone else but me, but whatever.

-- Not getting to watch a full run of “A Christmas Story” despite its 24-hour loop on TBS. I know, I know; I’m ashamed of me, too.

-- Without question, the highlight of highlights for Christmas ’09 was the look on my parents’ faces when Big Brother and I strolled into their apartment with a brand new 37” LCD TV. The mix of surprise/gratitude/appreciation/shock/joy in their expressions was great to see; and considering that they’ve been responsible for about 100 of those looks from my brother and me in our lifetimes, it was fun to finally turn the tables on them for a change. Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad; we love you. And we also love that we’ll be able to watch all of our shows in HD when we come home now.

~~ Lank

Lank Still Loves The Colts

As you may have heard (unless you don't watch sports or live under a rock...or don't watch sports while living under a rock), the Indianapolis Colts suffered their first loss of the season. Big deal? Eh, not really.

But how they lost it is.

As the blog's resident Colts fan, I'm taking it upon myself to assure you that losing a game isn't the end of the world for this team. 16-0 wasn't the stated goal for this time at any point during the season. Winning the Super Bowl always has been and will be the stated goal for this team. However, I can't help but think that losing to the Jets simply because coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters to rest them is a bad sign. Had New York simply beat us at full speed with all hands on deck, that would have been one thing. But losing because you're taking your foot off the gas pedal in Week 16 is something else entirely.

A couple weeks back, I argued that the Colts should play all of their starters for the remainder of the year, regardless of the results. By giving them so much time off (their first playoff game won't be until January 16th/17th), the starters are in danger of losing their rhythm and forgetting the things that got them to 14-0 in the first place. You simply cannot take this much time off and expect to be as sharp when the playoffs roll around as you were the first three months of the season.

How do I know this? BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENED THREE TIMES ALREADY TO THE COLTS ALONE!!!

2005, 2007, and 2008. In those seasons, the Colts won at least 12 games, secured their playoff position by late in the season and chose to rest their starters in the last game in order to "rest them" for the playoff run. For the record, the supposed "playoff run" last exactly one game in each of those seasons. In 2006, the one year we actually had to scrap and claw our way to a decent playoff seed, we never benched our starters and ended up...wait, what was the result that year...oh yeah, I remember...WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!

Sorry to go all caps twice on you, but I'm just a little frazzled right now. This bout of deja vu is resembling '05, '07, and '08; not '06. I'm not happy about this.

A redeeming quality from the Jets game is that all of the players looked pissed. Not necessarily at Jim Caldwell or his decision, but just pissed that they were losing. If we can somehow channel that motivation into playing hard against Buffalo (you know, until they get benched again) and taking some intensity into the bye week prior to our playoff game, we may be able to salvage this situation after all. Sharpness is key in the playoffs because every team is good and the slightest of mistakes can turn into game-changers. If the intensity is lacking due to the benchings, sharpness will be as well, and that's bad news.

I love my Colts, and I'm not quibbling about a 14-1 record. What I am quibbling about is a troubling trend that seems to be rearing its ugly head yet again. Is it January yet?

~~ Lank

Billy Donovan, Er, Urban Meyer Was Just Kidding

Seriously, is there something in the water down in Gainesville? Two high-profile coaches, two successful coaches, two relatively young coaches, two “never mind, I take it back” decisions.

And they just so happen to both be coaches at the University of Florida.

When men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan decided to go to the Orlando Magic, I was, admittedly, a little surprised. He seemed to have everything going for him at Florida and his program had just racked up two national titles in a row. His decision to return to Florida about 17 minutes later was a bit more surprising because I hadn’t really heard of such an about-face in the coaching profession. I agreed with it and thought it was the correct thing to do, but the circumstances were just odd.

In recent years, coaches like Dana Altman at Creighton and Gregg Marshall at Winthrop spurned gigs at Arkansas and College of Charleston, respectively, to stay where they were (Marshall has since moved to Wichita State). So I guess it’s not all too uncommon, but it certainly doesn’t make it any more sensible. I realize the “leaving was harder than I thought” angle is certainly in play with decisions like these, but didn’t they think about that prior to taking the other job?

But I digress. Back to Pope Urban.

Meyer’s situation is a bit more confusing than all of the aforementioned situations (and even Bill Belichick’s decision to resign from the New York Jets after a few days in order to take the Patriots job) because it’s health-related. No one can deny that he has a few issues to deal with; he has a cyst on his brain and a heart muscle defect. After the details of his apparent resignation surfaced, the decision made sense to me, and I actually admired (admeyered?) Urban’s call. The wherewithal to make such a choice in the midst of such a successful run really took some courage. It’s easier to walk away from an uncertain situation than a prosperous one, but Meyer was doing the opposite.

For a few hours, at least.

Now that he’s back at Florida (and make no mistake, by saying he hopes to be on the sideline for the 2010 opener, he’s essentially saying that he’ll be there without a doubt), I’m concerned for him. His health problems aren’t going to get better, his family is still going to miss him immensely, and the high-stress atmosphere of coaching in the SEC won’t get any easier. What happens to Meyer now if winning all sorts of titles with one of the best runs in college football history made him feel terrible? I’m scared that one day we’ll be looking back on this decision as the one that ultimately backfired on Meyer. Instead of riding off into the sunset with a handful of accomplishments and all of his health, he’ll instead be given a much less happy ending.

Ironic, right? Especially since everyone thought LEAVING Florida was the wrong move.

~~ Lank