STARTING FIVE
1. It’s Been a Swell Day
“Charlie was crazy. His hero was Don Quixote, an old man who fought against incivility by pretending he was a knight…His religion was decency, and he spent a lifetime fighting its enemies. You were a man, Charlie. A great, big man.”
One thing that I overlooked in my Newsweek story on The Newsroom that a few sage readers reminded me about in the Comments section. This show was never about Left or Right and it bent over backward to demonstrate that truth and integrity mattered far more than whatever color (red or blue) you associate with. As one Commenter wrote, recalling a classic Will McAvoy line, “It does not make you a Democrat just because you accept that hurricanes are caused by low pressure and not gay marriage.”
Part of what The Newsroom endeavored to do was to show that truth should never be politicized, although it has been done throughout history. Witness the climate change expert. He was so matter-of-fact and defeated about the horrors of climate change, as if to say, “Human nature (i.e., denial) versus Nature? It’s no contest.”
I also love the Commenter who noted, “Those who offer a prophetic voice to the world have always been received with hostility.”
Lots of viewers are upset that the show is ending after three seasons (really, 2 1/2), especially when painfully average shows such as The Walking Dead stumble on forever. I’d say, “Enjoy what we had. Treasure it. And, if you’re in the mood, pick up a guitar.”
Good evening…
2. Mamba Passes Jordan (By Not Passing)
Mamba demonstrates his perfect form
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant. The top three scorers in NBA history have 1) all worn a Los Angeles Laker uniform and 2) names that begin with a “K.”
Although everyone knows that the most prolific scorer in NBA history, on and off the court, was Wilt Chamberlain (No. 5 on the career list).
Love Kobe (will always prefer Michael Jordan, the man he passed last night by scoring 26 points in a 100-94 win at Minnesota, where the Laker franchise originated). Worth noting: Of the top five all-time scorers, here are their career FG%’s : Kareem, 55.9%, Karl, 51.6%, Kobe, 45.2%, MJ, 46.5%, Wilt, 54%. Granted, three of those five were low-post type players. Still, Kobe has MISSED more shots than anyone in NBA history.
This season, he is 3rd in the NBA in Points Per Game but is also the only player in the Top 50 in that category who is shooting below 40% from the field.
3. Johnny Rotten
Two interceptions and zero TD passes in a loss in a game played near a Great Lake on Sunday. Johnny Manziel? Yes, but also Aaron Rodgers, who is the frontrunner for NFL MVP today. So buck up, Johnny. Sure, the Browns lost 30-0, but it was your first start. This was the Cincinnati Bengals, not the University of Florida (that was a 20-17 loss, and JFF didn’t throw a TD in that game, either).
4. The Empire Strikes Back
I don’t see the press tour making a stop in Pyongyang
Wow. You have to wonder if Sony will think twice about green-lighting the next script about an evil, tyrannical leader and a plot to “take him out.” (And with that I put a match to my own work in progress, “The Cheney Podcast”). And how unpopular is Seth Rogen in Hollywood these days? The Oscars cannot arrive soon enough.
Here is a brief review of the Sony leaks…
Meanwhile, think what you want about North Korea (“think what you want about North Korea?!?”) but you have to admire the hackers here. This was their way of saying, “We had this power all along, but this time you pushed us too far.” Even if the hackers are too sophomores at Cal Tech, it’s pretty damn funny.
5. Morgan Martin Freeman Hosts SNL
The Office: Middle Earth, with Smeagol as Gareth.
He’s gone on to bigger things (Fargo, Sherlock, The Hobbit Trilogy-plus-One), but he’ll always be Tim from The Office to me. Freeman hosted SNL for me and some cheeky bloke took the piss out of the original BBC series and The Hobbit with this sketch. I don’t actually LOL much, but this did it.
Remote Patrol
American Country Countdown Awards
FOX 8 p.m.
The Voice
NBC 8 p.m.
Florida Georgia Line. I think it’s minus-7 for the Dawgs, but we saw how that worked out.
An excuse to watch some of the year’s top-selling country artists or an excuse to watch Adam Levine bicker with Gwen Stefani. Not my (or Kermit’s) cup of tea, but it may be yours.