^^^ Yes, we know...it's a well-known cover that garnered a lot of attention and comment when released. But it's off-topic to the point of the thread, which is the passing of legendary George Jones.

2OTs so far...which is delaying the coverage of the Clippers game. Thanks, Paul, for your sympathy earlier. Us Laker fans do have 16 championships to get us through the bad times. The West just opened wide for both the Clippers and Spurs with OKC, Denver, and Golden State losing key players to injury. Not to mention San Antonio getting the Lakers without Kobe. Can you imagine the odds you could have gotten in Vegas at the start of the season betting that the Lakers would start their #5 and #6 guards in the playoffs?

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! The Rolling Stones playing the tiny Echoplex tonight...tix are only $20! Wish me luck. http://www.mxdwn.com/2013/04/27/los-angeles/alert-rolling-stones-playing-the-echoplex-tonight-427/

I'll second that wish...Happy Birthday JayCee! Hope you had a rocking day. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you. Cheers!

Pain, pain...and more pain.

^^^ Thanks for the info. I'll have to check it out...sounds interesting and I like all three of those actors. How did this movie slip by my radar?

Apples and oranges. We'll never know for sure since they never acted in a movie together.

When country music was really country and not the shallow Las Vegas-American Idol flashy formulaic mess it is now. R.I.P.

The only comfort I have is that it is still early.

Rick, your Bills got a pretty good receiver in Robert Woods, especially for as late as they got him. They won't have to pay him much. I can't help but think of Brian Bosworth when I look at Manti Te'o. Anybody else get the same feeling of "draft bust"?

That is a great double-bill. Grace Potter is okay, but the Black Angels are amazing and would be my preferred opening act. I'll have to check the dates to see who I'm getting...although it's not that big a deal as the Black Angels are headlining their own show May 21. There is.

It was rated "R"...no one under 17 unless accompanied by an adult. Saw it with my dad. He also took me to see "A Clockwork Orange", which was rated "X"...he snuck me into the drive-in hiding me in the trunk of the Chevy Malibu.

THE GODFATHER...and it's not even close. The only thing they have in common besides making piles of money, is that they both went off the rails with the third movie of the trilogy. Ewoks and Sofia Coppola. At least Sofia turned into a pretty good filmmaker herself("Lost in Translation", "The Virgin Suicides"). Before anyone thinks I'm saying that the original "Star Wars" trilogy wasn't good and groundbreaking in its own right, I'm not. "Star Wars" was a fun escape at the movies, with a little Joseph Campbell myth-making thrown in along with the Kurosawa touches. The special effects were a huge eye-opening upgrade from the usual sci-fi fare at the time...see "Logan's Run" for comparison. Even the special effects in "Jaws" looked creaky in comparison. There's also no dispute that the "Star Wars" films galvanized the box office and swallowed every kid in its path. But the "Godfather" films(particularly I and II) have a gravitas and narrative power that is simply way beyond the reach of the "Star Wars" trilogy. As for the acting, it's like comparing Led Zeppelin and Kingdom Come. Apart from Alec Guinness and Harrison Ford, most of the acting in the "Star Wars" films is uneven at best. Meanwhile, there are so many memorable performances in the first two Godfather movies, they barely had room at the Oscars to nominate them all. "Star Wars" was a memorable film to see as a kid and it has a nostalgic pull for those pining for their youth. But when you grow up and you learn about really masterful story-telling and acting and film-craft, it is "The Godfather" that leaves the most lasting impact and will continue for decades. It's no accident that "The Godfather" has been a regular presence on the British film magazine Sight & Sound's Ten Greatest Films of All Time polls over the last 30 years. For the record, I first saw "The Godfather" upon its release in 1972 when I was 10 and "Star Wars" when I was nearly 15 in 1977.

I'm not 100% certain I can go to the Shrine concert...work may interfer...but in case I can clear my calendar, do you wanna meet up before the show, SR? Gotta love the GA approach Robert is taking on this tour...and tix around $50! Complete opposite of the Stones 'gouge away' route. Thank you Golden God!

My recall may not be 100% and I don't have the figures at hand but I believe the Raiders have purged the roster of damn near every first-round pick Al Davis made in the last 10 years...Michael Huff, Rolando McClain, Jamarcus Russell, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and on and on. Ten years of wasted draft picks, especially first-rounders, will cripple a franchise for a generation.

Are you kidding? The Raiders are already toast...it doesn't matter what they do in the draft tonight and this weekend. The only draft I care about comes in a pint glass and has a nice head of foam.

Once again, the WINNERS move on to the next bracket, no matter what team wins. So it doesn't matter if Golden State upsets Denver...the Clippers are locked into Oklahoma's side of the bracket. It's just like the NCAA college basketball brackets...only with 16 teams instead of 64.

^^^ Jiminy Cricket! Walter, I forgot all about that Reggie Bush to Detroit deal...and I was one of the ones predicting he would go to the Lions. All this basketball and hockey and baseball has erased my football memory, haha! Sorry Paul, scratch what I said earlier about Miami contending with the Patriots...the AFC East is New England's to lose. Detroit may not win a Super Bowl...but they got the cover of Madden 25! Barry Sanders won the voting for the cover. Finally some good news for the Motor City.

It's amazing that we're at the end of April and there are still a plethora of postponed and cancelled games because of weather. I knew the Angels sweep of Detroit wouldn't amount to much...they promptly dropped two of three to Texas. The Scioscia-watch continues.

Good observations all, Paul. As for your Fins, at least you won't be cellar dwellers like the Jets and the Bills. If last year wasn't a fluke and Reggie Bush is truly back, and Miami's coaches can scheme properly, I think you can give New England some competition for the Division title. I'm also interested in seeing how SF's Colin Kapernick and Seattle's Russell Wilson do this year. Now that the NFL has a book on them and defensive coaches can develop schemes for them, will they be as effective in their second season?

Gentlemen, it's quite simple...winner of #1 vs. #8 plays winner of #4 vs. #5, #2 vs. #7 plays #3 vs. #6 winners. So, if the top seeds win this first round, the semi-final round would be as follows: WEST: OKC vs. Clippers; San Antonio vs. Denver EAST: Miami vs. Brooklyn; NY vs. Indiana

Now that the 2013 season schedule is out, free agency is in full swing, and the draft looms this evening, it is time for a 2013 NFL thread. Especially since the 2013 season officially began weeks ago. Time to forget last year and start pondering our teams prospects for this year. Thanks to their recent stupefying moves, the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets have shattered the old record for the earliest date of being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The previous record was 'Draft Day', shared by multiple teams who eliminated themselves on that day thru idiotic picks: Cincinnati drafting Akili Smith, San Diego drafting Ryan Leaf, Cleveland drafting Tim Couch, Oakland drafting...well, practically every draft they've had for the past 10 years. But now, given recent developments, the Jets and Raiders have eliminated themselves weeks before the draft...thus saving their fans any need to spend ponderous hours watching the draft. Leaving the immature freakshow behind and getting back to planet Earth and the grown-up table of the NFL, what does the draft portend for your team and the season as a whole? Who will move up...or move down? What will Kansas City do? Are they any quarterbacks in this draft that you can see being an NFL starter? Geno Smith? Matt Barkley? I'm not so sure about them. Will Dallas again be overrated by the pundits and overexposed by the TV networks? Which quarterback will start showing signs of slippage and old age first: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or Tom Brady? Can Seattle and San Francisco keep it up? Can Green Bay regroup and regain their Super Bowl-winning form? Will Baltimore be a one-and-done team following their cost-cutting moves? Are the Roethlisburger-Palomalu era Steelers finished as we knew them? Will Buffalo ever find a quarterback? Will Kansas City ever be relevant again? When will the League come to its senses and just eliminate Jacksonville and Carolina from the NFL? Will ESPN's Skip Bayless ever stop talking about Tim Tebow? Discuss...

Sad news, Fire Opal. Strange...I always thought she was younger than me. Still, 53 is way too young to die. Rest in peace, Christina.

My top five fave De Niro films: 1. Goodfellas 2. Godfather II 3. King of Comedy 4. The Deer Hunter 5. Once Upon a Time in America The next five: 6. Taxi Driver 7. Raging Bull 8. 1900 9. Bang the Drum Slowly 10. Awakenings The best of the rest: Heat, True Confessions, The Mission, Midnight Run, Casino, Mean Streets, Bloody Mama, Silver Linings Playbook, This Boy's Life, Analyze This, A Bronx Tale, Cape Fear, Jackie Brown, The Untouchables, Guilty by Suspicion, The Good Shepherd, New York, New York, Meet the Parents, Being Flynn, Mad Dog & Glory.

Fixed it for you. That was some dismantling of Aston Villa by Man U. Match barely a couple minutes old and the Reds score. Wes' prediction of 4-0 should have come true...Man U missed a clear open net in the second half. Congratulations to Manchester United.