“Common Ground,” a series about two different girls from two different places, whose lives intersect after a housing snafu, debuts today on You tube.
Having attended the Launch Party and screening last night I highly recommend tuning into the web series.
The two central characters are played by Veronique Ory and Josephine Huang. They are also the co-writers and each has a dynamic, personable, presence.
I like the concept of diversity in the series and there is real life consistency–many of the people involved in the series kept meeting accidentally, before planning their meetings.
That led to this highly creative collaboration, which is directed by Marco Coppola.
The venue for the launch party, Professor Thoms, a sports bar at 219 2nd Avenue, is also impressive. They are known for Boston and the University of Michigan sports and go see “Aly” about special events and screenings held upstairs from the bar.
Without giving anything away, episode one of Common Ground is hilarious with quite an ending! It starts today, check it out here.
The Ohio State University Buckeyes won their first national college football title since 2002 with a convincing (42-20) victory over the 6 point favorite Oregon Ducks.
Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott was brilliant in all three must wins for Ohio State vs Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon and quarterback Cardale Jones, who was third string at the beginning of the year, led the way for the offense.
Buckeyes’ coach Urban Meyer, who won his third title (he had two with Florida University, including one vs a favored Ohio State team), credited the defensive unit which held the high powered, Oregon Ducks to just 10 points in each half.
Oh how I suffered as an Ohio State fan from (1969-1975), when for the most part far better regular season Ohio State teams somehow missed winning the title.
I no longer root for Ohio State, but in perspective feel the following: TCU and perhaps Baylor deserved playoffs qualification ahead of Ohio State based on regular season performance.
However, given the chance in this the first year of a four team playoff, Ohio State deserved the title, as they won as roughly a touchdown underdog vs both Alabama and Oregon, the top two rated teams.
Ezekiel Elliot
I tried listening to some sports talk show radio hosts and their over the top affection and fawning about Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. It is at times difficult to listen to. Their response to yesterday’s fourth home divisional round loss for Manning: win a second Super Bowl crown and then the “wolves” would disappear.
Manning, yet again, played horribly in a must win game and it is time for us “wolves” to howl not so much at Manning, who by any standard is a great quarterback and skilled in ways we can only dream, but at the perception of him by many in the media.
Much criticism has been rendered regarding the hitting failures by the likes of baseball greats, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and even Willie Mays (never a W.S. home run) in post season or big games.
That may have some justification, but remember hitting a baseball successfully is the hardest thing to do in any sport, as being “victorious” with a hit 3 of 10 times had been considered very good and now can earn you beyond millions of dollars.
That is why Manning, with so many horrible games as a quarterback in big games and this from a guy, who frankly is quite a bit of a “pile on artist” when his team is comfortably ahead, is astounding and must bear him criticism.
Perhaps I was too moved by “The Man From Lamancha,” specifically the showstopping song “The Impossible Dream” about Don Quixote, and yes the historical facts not to “tilt” and likely “go tilt” as in pinball, one more time.
Manning is a great quarterback, but sports talk show hosts must face the facts that he has failed mightily in important games. Even a little acknowledgement of it would be a good first step. Nothing personal, but someone please tell ESPN radio’s Mike Lupica, one of the worst offenders on this topic—-Manning is a mere mortal.
Last week I cited that the Dallas Cowboys were aided by a non-interference call in their wild card round game win vs the Detroit Lions.
What the officials/rules giveth they also take away.
A truly incredible play by Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was ruled a non-catch after review. and Green Bay, six point favorites, won by 5 to eliminate the Cowboys.
They will face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game next week.
The Seahawks are an early 7 and a half point favorite. That is the likely margin by which the New England Patriots will be favored vs the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts were the one road team to win in the divisional round as they ended the Denver Broncos season with a (24-13) win.
The NFL Refs Giveth and Taketh Away
Both conference top seeds, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, won divisional round games yesterday and each will be a fairly big home favorite in next week’s conference championship games.
In the first game, the Pats twice overcame 14 point deficits and outlasted the Baltimore Ravens, winning (35-31) as 7 point favorites.
The Pats will now play in the AFC Championship game for the fourth straight season. Their record is currently 1-2 in such games. Only the Buffalo Bills have appeared in four straight AFC Championship games. They did it in 1990-1993. (They won all four but went on to lose in all four of those Super Bowls).
The Seahawks have now won 8 straight home playoff games and are (10-2) all-time, in such games. They will host the NFC Championship game for the third time next week, having won in the previous two.
Quarterbacks Tom Brady of the Patriots and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks each threw 3 touchdown passes. Duran Harmon of N.E. and Kam Chancellor of Seattle each had key interceptions.
Jethro Pugh, a great Dallas Cowboys player, who in 14 seasons (1965-1978) was on playoff qualifying teams 12 times, died this week at age 70.
Those Cowboys’ teams did more than just qualify for the playoffs as they played for the NFL, or at least NFC crown, an incredible 9 times. They won 2 Super Bowls.
Pugh was a classy, modest man, who stood as tall in defeat as any, best exemplified by his handling the disproportionate amount of blame he took for the 1967 NFL championship game loss, which coincidentally was the last time the Cowboys ventured to Green Bay to face the Packers in a playoff game, which they will again tomorrow.
Green Bay’s winning play, a ONE yard touchdown sneak by Bart Starr, featured a key block on Pugh by Jerry Kramer (why is he not in the NFL Hall of Fame?!!).
First of all, it was one yard and the odds are a player will make that one yard, and second, films have indicated Kramer may well have been ahead of the play.
In any case Pugh, who did so much winning handled any adverse publicity with class. One can only hope for half as much from the players involved in tomorrow’s game.
The first game of the divisional round this weekend pits the Baltimore Ravens against the New England Patriots.
It is scheduled to begin at 4:40 pm Eastern time and will be telecast on NBC.
The Pats are hosting a divisional round game for an incredible ninth time in the 14 seasons that make up the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era in New England.
This will be the Pats’ 17th divisional round game but just the second time they will play in the divisional round’s first game. It is the first time in the team’s 11 home divisional round games that they are playing in the round’s opening game.
After the Minnesota Vikings home victory in the 2000 divisional round opening game, the home team’s record ballooned to an amazing (27-4) in the opening game of the divisional round (1970-2000).
With a far more modest (8-5) record starting in 2001, the home team stands (35-9) in the game.
This should be a relatively high scoring battle between the teams. Baltimore has covered the spread in all three previous post season clashes vs the Patriots, all three like this one, in New England, winning two outright.
It is truly sad when a 49 year old man passes away. Such is the case with Stuart Scott, the ESPN sports performer. Please keep in mind it is the fact he died and not the scathing criticism of him that follows, which is the sad thing.
Now is it the most classy thing on my part to recall Scott as one of the most annoying, “style over substance,” often factually incorrect, sports reporters among the plethora of such at the monolith ESPN?
Likely not, but after one too many, unanimously positive reviews of his life, and the fact it was not Gandhi, Martin Luther King nor Jonas Salk, who died here, that I had to respond.
First of all it is ESPN, that above all is the object of my criticism. They have become all too powerful and their charts/demographics and penchant for their “E” which is entertainment, has always riled me, the “S” for Sports (and even schmuck for caring) fan.
In Scott, they found and encouraged a reporter who gave twice as much “schtick,” for lack of a better word, than reports.
I found him beyond annoying, and even more than I want this type of reporting to cease, I wish Scott was not deceased so early and here to read it.
Surely in a better place, Scott might just suggest I looked for “style points” myself with “cease” and “deceased.”
Thus, though I do not back pedal in my criticism of Scott and certainly ESPN, perhaps there is some middle ground. My kudos to Scott for affecting so many people, including me.
Died too young–wish he were still around to consider my criticisms
Due to the owner’s and the television network’s greed, baseball went to a three round post season and it is the failures of all three pitchers elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame yesterday in those post season games that leaves me less than thrilled that they were accorded “first ballot” honors.
I think Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and especially John Smoltz (who also became an outstanding relief pitcher) were tremendous pitchers, with so called Hall of Fame credentials.
However, though each played on one championship team, is that enough to offset their multitude of post season pitching failures to get them “first ballot” election?
My opinion is no and also that the Hall of Fame is more concerned with having people in and less so with true standards. (Unless you are the all time hits leader or the all time home run leader, but that is another story.)
Joe DiMaggio, for whom a case could be made as the greatest baseball player ever this side of Babe Ruth, did not make the Hall in his first year of eligibility.
I will not insult Craig Biggio, as he was a very good player, but please tell me you acknowledge that one could write the history of baseball in Biggio’s time without including him–you certainly can.
Biggio was a “compiler,” who never played in a World Series. His election seems to throw more “proverbial dirt” at Pete Rose and Barry Bonds, the aforementioned all time hits and home run leaders. I wonder their reactions–are they insulted that a player like Biggio is in and they are not?
Tim Raines, twice an integral part of Yankees World title teams and, yes to show I am not a dinosaur, Edgar Martinez, the great designated hitter, belong in the Hall as would Smoltz, Martinez and Johnson eventually (but not on first ballots).
One world title for all those post season appearances for those Atlanta Braves. Surely in short series pitching and managing are tantamount. They failed oh so many times, yet three pitchers and their manager were elected to the Hall of fame in the last two years.
I strongly disagree with that result but alas baseball, its Hall of Fame, its playoff structure, and other things have deteriorated so much.
Chalk this up as another “clue at the scene of the crime,” that is the erosion of baseball.
Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
It was a great honor some years back to have met and interviewed the late, great Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Bob Feller.
His pitching prowess is well documented and Bob is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
From (1936-1941) four players who would go on to true baseball greatness, arrived on the major league scene.
It is a fond memory reading about them (Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Feller) in a chapter called “The Rookies” in John M. Rosenberg’s book “The Story of Baseball”
In addition to an incredible recall of games and baseball history, my interaction with Mr. Feller produced a nice story.
He gave me his business card and I noticed another number on the back. I called him to tell him the information and reached his voice mail.
Mr. Feller then called back leaving a message of profuse thanks. I think of all this man did in terms of giving, not to mention pitching, and feel good that he recognized my kindness. If only I could do more.
Andy B with Bob Feller
Andy B Sports 