Ender's Game: The Movie!!!

My all-time favorite sci-fi book is Ender's Game. Many would quickly agree, as it was recently ranked #3 all-time for sci-fi/fantasy by NPR in a reader's poll. I have probably read it 10 times, and I even listened to an audiobook performance in my car the past year while commuting to work one week.

Since it was published in 1985, Orson Scott Card has kept tight control over the rights to the book, and has squashed many, many, many, many, many attempts to adapt the film to the big screen. I have followed these developments occasionally, as blog's and websites are devoted to the book and "Enderverse". It seems that OSC has a vision of the film that requires CHILD actors of a multinational pedigree. Previous adaptations have tried to make Ender a teen with angst and relationships - to sell to the public. Thank God OSC has resisted.

So it was with great joy that I read today that Ender's Game has been greenlit for production by Summit Entertainment! The official release date is March 15, 2013. Asa Butterfield has been officially signed to play Ender, and they are going for a heavy hitter as Col. Graff, with Harrison Ford mentioned prominently. I have to say that pics of Asa look pretty close to what I have envisioned Ender to look like, even if he is closer in age (14) to Ender at the end of the book.

I don't think this movie could have ever been made without Harry Potter. That group of child actors pulled off what OSC is looking for in Ender's Game. I have also heard an interview by OSC in which he says the breakthrough in the movie script was his later release of Ender's Shadow. Combining the two narratives from different perspectives allows for a more audience friendly movie. I hope they don't screw this one up. I will be watching closely to see how it comes along. Obviously, CGI will be required, but let's hope they keep it realistic.

ps: If you haven't already... GO READ THE BOOK!!!

I Needed This

After a troubling week with news out of Happy Valley, this is just the thing I needed to restore my faith in humanity.

Penn State Scandal

Here is a record of my reactions as the Penn State scandal unfolded...

1. Shock (as in, "Holy shit, this is horrible")
2. Disgust
3. Nausea
4. Anger
5. Shock (as in, "Holy shit, I can't believe how poorly Penn State is handling this")
6. Selfish relief (as in, "Thank god it wasn't Notre Dame and involving a priest")
7. Annoyance (when Paterno announced his retirement after the season ended, telling the BoT not to worry about little old him. Fuck you, JoPa)
8. Appeasement - they did the right thing in firing Spanier and Paterno, effective immediately
9. Embarassment - at some people's reaction to how Paterno was fired v. their reaction to the details found in the grand jury document
10. Relief (as in, "Thank god this horror show is over")
11. Curiosity (as in, "What the hell is going to happen at the game Saturday")

At the end of the day, here's my take on things - Adults in positions of power witnessed firsthand or knew of children being sexually abused by other adults in positions of power and not only did not intervene or do anything to help, they tried to cover it up and allowed it to continue. The action taken is the bare minimum to punish those involved. Sending every one of them to jail for life and closing the entire fucking university would be justified in my mind.

UPDATE: Upon further reflection maybe closing the whole university would be a bit extreme. Now, shutting down the football program? That seems more fair...

Derp de Derp

Awesome.

I'm glad there's someone else out there that sees how completely irrational the vast majority of the Notre Dame fan base has become. Just checking my watch here... yep, 2011, not 1941.

For the Record

1. I like Brian Kelly. I like what's he's doing with the ND football program and I like the way he's handled every adverse situation that has popped up during his tenure with a even-keel and level head. He's making individuals, himself included, accountable rather than making excuses. That's a winning recipe.
2. I like the modernization of the ND football experience. I like them piping in music - it definitely made things appear crazier the last two weeks on television.
3. I am 100% in favor of field turf. Oklahoma has a pretty good football tradition too, I hear, and they seem okay with field turf. At the pro level, there's some team in Green Bay that also uses the stuff. Seems well-suited for poor climates.
4. I am 100% in favor of a Jumbotron. It will keep the crowd involved and more active during NBC's interminable television timeouts.
5. I like the "new" gold helmets. To hell with the traditions of student managers - that dates back to the athletic department being too cheap to pay for getting helmets painted and repaired. Now, they just need matching pants.
6. I like ND blowing out the service academies - they should manhandle those guys and hang 50+ on them every year.
7. I like Dayne Crist. He seems like a great teammate and he's got one helluva arm. He's just a terrible quarterback.
8. I don't like NBC. Mayock is bearable, but Tom Hammonds scares me with his giant head. Flutie - ill-fitting suits and all - is terrible in the studio. He brings nothing to the table.
9. I don't like the fact that the student union can't standardize on a single color for "The Shirt" and the ND stadium looks like a refugee camp week after week while the crowds for Penn State, Alabama, and Wisconsin look like a unified force. Feel free to mess with the design, but just pick freaking color and stick with it.
10. I don't think ND needs to or should join a conference for football. No conference is safe. A team agrees to join, then renegs and goes elsewhere a week later. Conferences provide no safety, security, or stability. You're always one team away from the whole freaking thing collapsing which would leave ND... right back where they are today.
11. I (really, really, really) don't like the tired alumni complaints about the "glory days" and the changes being made or even mentioned. 

Here's the bottom line. ND hasn't had a team contend for a national championship in 18 years. Like it or not, ND football has been largely irrelevant since the advent of the BCS. That means the very players being recruited have NO IDEA of the ND "traditions". They see the Nike teams in their flashy uniforms that change every week. They see the insane locker rooms and facilities at Oregon and Oklahoma State. I'm not suggesting that ND go to these extremes, mainly because I hate those Nike uniforms, but they need to level the playing field. ND can't sell recruits on locale and weather, and they certainly can't sell them on winning. The entire college football landscape has changed so radically from the last time ND truly was competitive that it needs to progress. If that means making changes and risking alienating portions of the fan base, I'm fine with that. If that's what it takes to win, do it. We'll get new fans, the subway alum don't care either way, and I have a sinking suspicion that those very fans who were bitching will come running back after a single successful season.

I follow ND, the Bengals, and the Reds. I need a winning team. Help me, Brian Kelly. You're my only hope...

Oh. My. God.

I love Notre Dame's football uniforms. They are so incredibly good looking, and the color combo just gets the blood pumping. Especially the home blues. However, there is one aspect of the uniform that I have absolutely HATED for over a decade. The helmets.

Take a look at the amazing gold tone and paint on the fabulous Holtz-era helmets.

Look at the shine. You can just see the real gold paint caked on there. Remember the huge scratches and gashes that Zorich, Alm and Bettis would get on them? They just looked awesome.

Now we are stuck with these crappy helmets.

Gone is the luster and shine that I recall and love. They have been replaced by some plastic composite material. They still get a layer of gold paint, but they just lost the magic. Is it coincidence that the luster of our football program has faded along with the luster of our helmets? I think not.

I have been clamoring for years for Notre Dame to shit-can their current helmets and bring back the shimmer that our helmets once had. I have often used Ohio State as an example. Their helmets are silver, but they absolutely glow under the lights and bright sun. Sure, they don't paint them, but somehow, they use a material that just looks awesome.

Finally, someone has heard my cries!!! When asked about green jerseys for the big game against USC this weekend, Jack Swarbrick was very coy and refused to answer. He only stated that he had some ideas for pumping up the crowd Saturday night but “I’m not going to share what they are at this time.”

Well, I am proud to announce that I have figured out at least one of Swarbrick's surprises. Notre Dame will unveil all new helmets!!!!!

Look at that shine. Can you imagine how good these are going to look under the lights? The players are going to run through the walls of the locker room when they see these for the first time! I hope to God these are permanent replacements and not just a one-time gimmick. I am so pumped for this game that I can't sit still. I'll be there in the stadium cheering for our glorious victory. For now, you'll have to excuse me. I've got to go watch Rudy, play the fight song, get into a 3-point stance and tackle Ava!

The League

If you aren't watching The League, you are missing out. This show is over-the-top hilarious. Roughly centered around a group of "friends" that play fantasy football, it delves into insanity week after week. It takes the time-tested approach of crazy, diverging story lines that somehow all come together in the end. Airing on FX allows for a big upgrade to the debauchery over broadcast networks, although not at HBO levels.

Typically, the show gets a few football stars to make cameos, including this year's season opener tribute to the Super Bowl Shuffle. However, the show must be doing well, because big name stars are starting to show up. Seth Rogan was a porno director this season in the first episode. Now, Jeff Goldblum and Sarah Silverman will guest star in a special Thanksgiving episode.

Set your DVR and give it a shot. We'll have a viewing at Thanksgiving now, so catch up on your episodes!

Who Dey!

Rumor has it that the Bengals are going to be unloading Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders for one first-round pick in 2012, and either a first- or second-round pick in 2013. Also included in the deal would be Oakland picking up a good chunk of the remainder of Palmer's contract.

I know Mike Brown has a lot of pride and usually works to intentionally screw Cincinnati, but this is a stupidly easy decision to make. Getting rid of a cancer- (ahem) I mean, player, like Palmer is a good think. Andy Dalton is no John Elway, but he's doing well enough so far. The Bengals are leaning on a stalwart defense and Dalton doesn't have to make plays. So current logic says don't screw things up and put Palmer back in a Bengals uniform, because that will only hurt the team.

By getting two very good draft picks in 2012 and 2013, the Bengals will be able to shore up position needs very nicely. I'm sure they'll be able to find some decent players to fill gaps. Cedric Benson isn't getting any younger, and they could also use one of these picks to trade up and get a big name like Quinton Coples, Michael Floyd, Trent Richardson, or any number of DEs from the SEC.

On top of it all, Oakland looks to pick up the bulk of the remainder of Palmer's contract, about $6 million worth. I don't know about anyone else, but it sounds like a no-brainer. You get a clean break with a worn-out, cantankerous player, and you get rewarded by future talent and current money. Mike Brown, don't be a dummy! Do the deal!

twitter mania

i updated the blog to have a widget with my twitter updates. if anyone objects let me know and i can remove it, but beware, you will miss out on awesomeness. i actually originally included the tweets all of heffernans/labuttas with a twitter account, but removed that, since some people have private twitter feeds. if you want in on the action, let me know.

Wow! Just Wow.

It is 100% clear at this point that college football is FUBAR. Players being thrown cash and women during recruiting. Pretty much every school with any level of success cheating. Classes optional for most schools' "student athletes." A BCS system that is a complete joke. Perpetual conference alignment and realignment. I could go on and on. Clearly it's ALL about money at this point. I have long decried the TV networks, particularly ESPN, as the problem. I have even suspected nefarious means by ESPN, whom I believe has WAY too much power over the college football landscape. Now, I finally have the proof.

ESPN is clearly manipulating conference realignment.

First, the deals.

• Pac-12 ABC/ESPN/FOX $21 million/yr/school 12 years
• Big Ten ABC/ESPN $18.3 mill 10 years
• SEC ESPN/CBS $17.1 15 years
• ACC ABC/ESPN $12.9 12 years
• Big 12 ABC/ESPN/FOX variable 3 years ESPN then 13 years FOX
• Big East ABC/ESPN $3 (football members) 7 years
• Big Ten network jointly owned by Big Ten and Fox
• Longhorn Network jointly owned by Texas and ESPN
  

Last year, when the Big 12 was on the verge of collapse, the conference was held together by ESPN and Fox. ESPN has a TV contract with the Big 12 through 2015-2016. Loss of the Big 12 would have really hurt their revenue. So they got the schools back to the bargaining table and disaster was averted. There is no proof of how it really went down, but clearly ESPN was double-crossed as the Big 12 ended up signing with Fox for more money. That must have stung.

Fast forward to this year. With the Big 12 firmly together, ESPN runs with "breaking news" that Texas A&M had decided to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC. A day later this story was shot down as totally false by all parties. However, ESPN had accomplished its goal - planting the seed in the public conscience. The idea stewed and A&M decided to consider the possibility. The SEC was all too happy to accept them (into the ESPN family), and over a month after the original "breaking news", fantasy became reality. ESPN claims they had valid info with the original story and just had the timing off. However, it's clear that no meetings were held by either A&M or the SEC until well after this report. Take that greedy Big 12!

Even more damning was the recent Big East debacle. Clearly, the Big East lags well behind the other BCS conferences in terms of revenue. This is due to the smaller conference size and the lack of traditional powers. However, they had an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN for their upcoming new contract, and waited until last in the current round of conference negotiations to try and maximize their profit. ESPN low-balled the Big East, and they voted unanimously to reject the offer from ESPN (A story about Notre Dame as the driving force behind this was posted on ESPN even though it was a unanimous vote). Feeling spited, ESPN encouraged the ACC (whom had just signed with ESPN) to seek out Syracuse and Pitt for expansion. Don't believe me? How about the words of Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo, who was part of the ACC's expansion committee:

"We always keep our television partners close to us. You don't get extra money for basketball. It's 85 percent football money. TV - ESPN - is the one who told us what to do."

Are you kidding me? So the Big East spurns ESPN's crappy deal, and ESPN turns around and torpedoes the entire conference. ESPN and DeFilippo are in total damage control mode now, and are trying to hide the obvious truth. But really, along with the actual words of DeFilippo, past precedent with Texas A&M shows you how the game is played.

So here's how the game works. ESPN sets up the conferences with teams that play ball with them. ESPN broadcasts most of the games. ESPN controls the highlights you (and voting members of the polls) see every Saturday night. ESPN sponsors the coaches' poll. ESPN creates the talking points for the week leading up to the next weekend of games. Often, those talking points critique the pollsters in an attempt to manipulate voting. ESPN broadcasts the BCS games starting this year (beat out Fox). ESPN also sponsors the Heisman and sets the tone with the Heisman watch.

End result: ESPN makes billions. BCS schools make millions. Coaches make millions. Everyone with any power to affect change is happy. Players are pawns, and make nothing.

This will never, ever, ever change. It's only going to get worse. Is the next logical step for ESPN to cast off all semblance of a news organization and just create a new organization to replace the NCAA? They could run a new league of football powers centrally like the NFL. Sounds crazy, but we are almost at that point already! I think at this point, the lawyers need to get involved and stop this crazy game. The NFL has an anti-trust exemption. They share equally and offer even competition and a level playing field. College football offers none of that, and is the very definition of a monopoly, with ESPN at the top.