Shut the Hell Up About Jay Cutler!!!

I drive an hour to work and an hour home every third week. That just happens to be this week. That gives me a lot of time to listen to the sports shows on the radio. When I am making this commute, I always have my finger on the pulse of the sports world. So this week, after two amazing NFL League Championship games, you'd think all the talk would be about the Packers and Steelers in the upcoming Super Bowl, right?

WRONG!!!

All anyone on any station is talking about is Jay Cutler, and his lack of toughness. The need for every player and every broadcaster to chime in his or her two cents is absolutely nauseating. Today I was relegated to listening to the PGA Channel. That's right, I listened to golf on the radio! Anyway, every opinion has at least these two components:

• I am not a doctor
• I don't know how Cutler really felt

Well guess what? I have an opinion too, and I will echo the above components of every idiot opinion:

• I AM A FU$^&ING DOCTOR
• I HAVE HAD THE SAME EXACT INJURY AS CUTLER, SO I KNOW HOW HE FELT

Look, I'm not a Bears fan, and I'm not a Cutler fan, so I have no horse in this race. However, I look at knee MRIs every day, and I know what these injuries look like and feel like. There is no way Cutler could have played following his knee injury. According to reports, Cutler had a grade 2 MCL sprain (see above). That means he tore through the ligament, but some fibers remained intact. Good news - it will heal without surgery. Bad news - it hurts like hell. Worse news - playing could lead to a major injury and future surgery. The MCL is a major knee stabilizer. When it goes, the next damage pathway is the ACL and medial meniscus - the so called "terrible triad." If Cutler would have taken another hit, he probably would have had to undergo major knee surgery and miss much of the next season.

Even so, Cutler tried to play and came out in the 2nd half for a series. He realized he had no stability and couldn't throw. So he went out. When I got my MCL injury, it hurt so bad I thought my knee had exploded! It swelled up like a balloon, and I couldn't walk for a week. I wore an immobilizer for a month, and a brace for several months after that and through rehab. I can't believe Cutler was even on the sideline standing up!

So question Cutler's ability or decision making on the field, but don't question his heart. As for his supposed "disinterest" on the sidelines... How would you feel if you were on the verge of Super Bowl greatness, and you got knocked out of the game, and your team's season was over. I'd be pissed and despondent. Maybe he should have been happy and joking. Oh wait - the media crucified Derek Anderson for that already this year. What the hell is a player supposed to do on the sidelines when he is out and the game is over. I'm not sure what the media wants.

I guess anyone else at QB other than Jay Cutler.

Good to Know

I'm glad I never wasted my time seeing Avatar - or, as I like to call, it 'Aliens for Hippies'...

And the Aliens font is so much cooler than that lame papyrus crap.

Still a Sagittarius

Concerned about a change to your zodiac sign due to stars shifting over time? Well, Carl Sagan is back from the dead to allay your fears...

The Mayor is Back!!!!!!!!

Sean Casey will be calling around 15 Reds games next year as the Reds color man. I am super pumped. Liz and I will certainly be breaking out our #21 Reds jerseys.

Oh For God's Sake...

iPhone on Verizon. Everyone has been clamoring for this for years, basically since the iPhone launched exclusively on AT&T. Well, now it's here or, at least, it will be on February 10. And how has everyone reacted? Like a bunch of nancies. Here's a sampling of the coverage...

• Here's where the Verizon iPhone falls short
• Why I'm not switching to the Verizon iPhone, take 1
• Why I'm not switching to the Verizon iPhone, take 2
• Don't Buy the Verizon iPhone

You know how many times I've needed to browse the web while on a phone call (assuming I could even make a phone call on AT&T's network)? Maybe once.

You know how often I need to worry about international roaming? Not often.

If I'm watching movies, television shows, or streaming music I'm almost certainly doing it over WiFi, so I'm not too concerned about network speeds.

Of all these complaints, only the final op-ed makes any sense - don't buy the iPhone today and get locked into a 2-year contract (with no early upgrade option) when Apple will release a new iPhone in 4-5 months, likely with much better specs.

Maybe I'm old fashioned and in the great minority here, but my PHONE, first and foremost, needs to function as a good PHONE. I would wager that 50% - no exaggeration - of the phone calls I make on my iPhone get dropped. That figure is probably closer to 80% IN MY HOME.

It's so typical. Everyone has been decrying the iPhone's exclusivity with AT&T and now that it's finally broken the reaction is a resounding "Meh".

Oops! Our Bad...

Yeaaaah... so that whole autism - vaccination thing? Not so much.

Maybe this will put an end to the Jenny McCarthy Body Count.

Augusta National

Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper,
now about to become the Masters champion.

Whoa!!! The big news today is that Augusta National has finally caved in. EA Sports will join forces with Augusta in Tiger Woods 2012. The course will be featured as one of the courses in the game. Finally, I can get a good look at Augusta in a video game. Lord knows I'll never play there, and I am pretty sure I'll never be able to get a ticket to the Masters either! I guess I'll have to start brushing up my Wii golf skills to get ready!

By the way, I played actual golf Sunday in 35 degree sunny weather. I got some new gear for Christmas and couldn't resist. I did okay at Little Miami shooting 39 (+4) with all new clubs except my driver and putter! It's hard to play when you can't really feel your hands, and the ground is frozen making divots impossible! I'll be out again next week!

Video of the Year? Video of the Year.

If this doesn't still give you goosebumps seven months after the fact and have you starting impromptu USA!USA!USA! chants at work, well, then you are a shitty American.

Grindhouse

I think I may have missed the boat entirely on this one.

Grindhouse is a double feature released as two feature length films by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino in 2007. It was designed as an homage to pulp double features of the past. I remember when it came out, and thought, "Oh, another retro exploitation themed movie from Tarantino. Whatever." As a result I never saw it. I am now thinking that may have been a mistake.

Planet Terror has some of my favorite actors, and Death Proof has - Kurt Russell. They were pretty well received by critics, and I'm thinking they would be entertaining. Check out the IMDB plot synopsis for these movies:

• Planet Terror: After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it's up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.
• Death Proof: Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.

Sounds cool right? Especially if done right. However, the movies also premiered with a series of fake trailers. I knew about this, because they made a REAL movie based on one of the fake trailers. Machete premiered in 2010 and also has been hailed an instant classic.

• Machete: After being betrayed by the organization who hired him, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.

So that's pretty cool. Why is it worthy of a Blog post? Well, last weekend at a movie festival (BNAT 12), a super secret screening was given. NONE of the reviews of the festival divulged the secret title, but it was described as thus: "My favourite film experience of BNAT. The audience was surprised, shocked, horrified and amazed. Lots of giddy shrieks could be heard. I LOVE THIS FILM." Of course I HAD to know what it was! I then used my sneaky sources to learn it was none other than...

• Hobo with a Shotgun: A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun.

That's right, another Grindhouse trailer is now a movie! This time, starring Rutger Hauer as the Hobo! Sure enough, the OTHER fake trailers from Grindhouse are now slowly turning into REAL movies. I suggest you watch the fake trailers, and salivate over the potential. Just look at the cast in these fake trailers! I HAVE to see Nicholas Cage as evil Dr. Fu Manchu! I am feeling a Grindhouse marathon event coming on!

• Werewolf Women of the SS
• Don't
• Thanksgiving

All links post to original fake trailers!

Bowl Swag

Who says college players don't get anything (other than a free six-figure education)? With Bowl season upon us, the official list of free Bowl gear has been released. The most interesting thing I see, which must be a recent trend, are "gift suites" for electronics. Apparently, each player has an allowance to go into a room and order as much awesome stuff as he can. I have no idea what is available and how much they get, but I'm betting everybody in a Bowl is getting a new PS3 or XBox 360.

The Sun Bowl will provide the Irish players with the following:

• Electronic gift suite
• Timely watch
• Majestic fleece
• Top of the World cap
• Ogio Politan backpack
• Helen of Troy hairdryer (awesome!!!)
• Souvenir coin