We really appreciate your loyalty

Thanks to a good friend of mine, I got to see 'Up in the air' today at a pre-premiere screening. I did not know what to expect, as I've heard good stuff about it, but never saw the trailer or read any plot or story lines.

Turns out it's pretty fucking awesome! George Clooney travels the land (United States, obviously) and fires people. Not a funny job. But Clooney portrays this guy as someone you would like, someone you could like. Reitman-favorites J.K. Simmons and Jason Bateman have smaller parts but play them to a perfection. The real star of the show is Anna Kendrick, the up-and-coming hot-shot of the company, who joins Clooney's character on the road to learn the ropes of the business. Good actress with lots of potential. As for All-Star Clooney, he nails his character to perfection without it being unrealistic (I guess that's what good actors do?).

Definetely worth the price of admission, and a movie that is both funny, thoughtful and (unfortunately) very current in its topic. Go see.

End of and era

And end of a dynasty. Just a lackluster performance, especially the first quarter. And we were supposed to be prepared and everything. Jeez.

Playoffs! Playoffs? Playoffs

Ah, the temperature is below chill, the stadium lights are on and Wes Welker is lost for the season (damnit). We are down to the final 12!

I will continue to do picks for the playoff games as well, and, every week I will look at the team that looks the best. First up in this years playoff are the Green Bay Packers (and now I probably jinxed their playoff hopes. Sorry). The Pack have a good quarterback that can throw the long ball (if you look at some older posts, you will see that Rodgers was rated as the best QB in our fantasy league) and he has receivers who can catch them - Driver had a better season but Jennings caught fire in the last few weeks. Ryan Grant has been good for the second half and their defense is young, fast and hard-hitting. Their biggest woes is probably on special teams, most notably covering punts and kick-offs.

Still, I like the Pack this week. That makes the round 1 playoff picks look like this:

New York
@ Cincinnati
Pick: Cincinnati -2.5

Philadelphia
@ Dallas
Pick: Philadelphia +4.0

Green Bay
@ Arizona
Pick: Green Bay +1.0

Last week: 9-4-2

Season: 123-110-6

Unusual

I went to bed at 11 last night. Ele-ven. I'm supposed to be able to stay awake late, and I'm going to bed before grandmas and new-borns. What is going on?

Good thing about this is I wake up pretty early every morning. Today, for instance, I've been awake since around 7.30 and I got up at 9. Just finished listening to Simmons' mega playoff podcast, I have read all of the newspapers on the table and eaten the biggest breakfast this side of Dennis Green.

What should I do with the rest of my day?

Agag!

When did I become a dumpster for whiny comments from people I barely know? Don't you guys have real friends to talk to?

Anyways, this post is going to turn to the bright side right now, because I am happy to announce (drumroll) that the Domers Fantasy Football League Champion of 2009 are the Icecreams! (Which you should know, is my team)

This marks my second trophy in the league since I first joined in 2006. Key players helping me were Aaron Rodgers, DeSean Jackson, Chris Johnson and Randy Moss, all of whom finished in the top 4 in points for their respective positions (Johnson and Rodgers finished #1, Rodgers also finished #1 overall). Honorable mention goes to Stephen Gostkowski who should have been in the Pro Bowl over Nate Kaeding. Bastard.

2010, part deux

My picks were part 1, remember?

I think 'Zombieland' lucked out that I did not see 'Avatar' until last night, cause that would definetely have been the movie of the year. It is just such an insanely well crafted epic, with actors perfect for their parts, a huge story inspired by both 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Dances with Wolves', a good musical score (although during one scene I wanted to sing out a piece by Enya (I think it is. I do not know what it's called, but I know it when I hear it) and amazing special effects. Vampires, take a seat. There's a new sheriff in town, and he's 9 feet-two. And blue.

Week 17 picks

The final week of the regular season is upon us, and there are still two playoff spots up for grabs, and some seeds to be determined. I'm already excited for next week!

New York
@ Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota -9.0

Pittsburgh
@ Miami
Pick: Pittsburgh -3.0

Indianapolis
@ Buffalo
Pick: Indianapolis +9.0

Jacksonville
@ Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland -1.0

Chicago
@ Detroit
Pick: Chicago -3.0

Atlanta
@ Tampa Bay
Pick: Atlanta -1.5

New Orleans
@ Carolina
Pick: Carolina -7.0

San Francisco
@ St. Louis
Pick: San Francisco -7.5

Green Bay
@ Arizona
Pick: Arizona -3.0

Kansas City
@ Denver
Pick: Kansas City +11.0

Tennessee
@ Seattle
Pick: Tennessee -4.0

Baltimore
@ Oakland
Pick: Oakland +10.5

Washington
@ San Diego
Pick: San Diego -3.0

Philadelphia
@ Dallas
Pick: Philadelphia +3.0

Cincinnati
@ New York
Pick: Cincinnati +10.0

Last week: 8-6-1

Season: 114-106-4