2013 Oscar Predictions: Surprise, surprise ...

I apparently spoke too soon when I wrote in reaction to this year's Oscar nominations:

With Affleck and Bigelow denied that shot, the race seems to be all but sewn up for Spielberg and Lincoln—the film with the most nominations—is all but a certainty for Best Picture. At the moment, three of the four acting awards also seem to be foregone conclusions.

So, you know, "Oops."

Since I last wrote about the Academy Awards, Argo has in fact gone on to win pretty much all of the major guild awards. It would be generous to suggest that three acting categories are "foregone conclusions." There may still be a good deal of uncertainty about more than just a couple categories.

As it turns out, we will not be hosting any Oscar party this year, so my picks won't be going toward winning any Oscar pool this year either. And that's probably a good thing, because I can't lose any money either. I certainly wouldn't express the confidence I've had in years past when compared to the overall list of this year's nominees. My prognosticating ability for the Academy Awards has not been particularly sparkling these past few years, but maybe this year can be the turnaround. In the end, I fear, I will be blaming the lone Best Picture nominee we did not see, Life of Pi, for ruining my final score. 

The Blackhawks' First Quarter: Playoffs Can't Start Soon Enough

So, there is what I imagine an objective person might call a "good start" to a season. And the Blackhawks winning 10 of their first 12 games to start this year would probably qualify. To put it another way, out of a possible 24 points in this first quarter of the 2013 season, Chicago has earned 22. That alone is pretty impressive.

However, in addition to that solid start, there is also the fact that 10 of those first 12 games were all on the road. The team has yet to lose a game in regulation this year, with the only two blemishes coming on account of oh-so-lame shootouts.

There is no "told you so" coming from this Hawks fan, of course. I was among those who anticipated a St. Louis team that won the Central last year to benefit from having a strong defense and two solid goaltenders, but instead, Chicago has come out of the gates clicking in just about every facet. The passing is precise instead of being overly showy thus far, the defense is limiting opponents' shots and the special teams have been astoundingly effective. Last night, Corey Crawford broke a shutout dry spell that had exceeded 600 days, and Ray Emery turned in a courageous, unforgettable performance in Calgary that should make every fan feel comfortable turning to him as the back-up plan.

My inner meatball held out hope that starting the season on the road and watching the defending champion Los Angeles Kings raise a championship banner might provide a little bit of a spark, and the following contest against the Phoenix Coyotes club that ousted the Hawks in the playoffs last year could serve as a little more motivation. It seemed silly, but whatever it has been has worked. The Blackhawks have shown up for every game, and I have listened to or watched every game myself. If they keep showing up, I expect I will be doing the same—hopefully all the way into June.

Final Thoughts on 2012 NFL Season: Lights Out

What looked for a while like a game that could turn into a blowout reminiscent of the Super Bowls I had become accustomed to throughout my youth instead turned into one of the more memorable big games of all time. According to Deadspin, the seventh-best Super Bowl of all time.

Not only did San Francisco mount an amazing comeback, but the game was delayed for a little longer than a half-hour because of power failure. Many people loved Beyonce's halftime show, although I'm still inclined to believe the Prince performance at Super Bowl XLI ("Purple Rain" in the rain!!!) was the greatest. MVP Joe Flacco completed a legendary run of playoff performances that now elevates him from being viewed as a liability to now being among the elite QBs in the game.

And because all great games have an element of controversy, this year's Super Bowl was no exception. There were many 49ers players, coaches and fans who expressed their displeasure with the lack of a flag on a 4th and goal play that could've given San Fran the lead. However, the Niners did themselves no favors with some of the playcalling on that final drive. And had San Francisco completed the miracle comeback, how would the reaction have been in Baltimore, where the Ravens had complete control of the game until the inexplicable delay?

For this observer, the result was grand because the 49ers that had never lost a Super Bowl finally got to feel what it's like to lose a big game. It's not as though I know an overwhelming amount of San Fran fans, but their past success always seemed to make me loath them that much more. So I took a little extra joy in seeing them lose this year, and the anger about how the game ended is just a bonus.

All in all, it was certainly a memorable playoffs for Baltimore fans, with the miracle win over Denver probably being the most compelling game of the playoffs. That victory sold me on the Ravens this year, but we should make no mistake: this San Francisco team is very likely to be back in the final round of the playoffs very soon. Maybe as soon as next season, although I've always been a believer in the hangover for losing teams. We will see how the remainder of this off-season plays out for the rest of the NFL.

Super Bowl XLVII: Emerging from the shadows

While I had anticipated the fortnight leading up to the Super Bowl to be dominated by being reminded over and over and over again that the brothers Harbaugh would be standing on opposite sidelines this Sunday, a number of other stories have made it such that I can't wait to just get the game going already. With the exception of the foolish remarks made by San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver, perhaps I should not have been too terribly surprised that retiring Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis dominated a lot of discussion these past two weeks. In addition to the revelation about deer antler spray, there was the inevitable revisiting of the 2000 murders that—for many people—will forever overshadow Lewis' accomplishments on the field.

Story after story, some featuring comments from the victims' families, and even Lewis' likely future employer couldn't resist. However, I thought that one of the true must-read columns about the Lewis coverage came from former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Stephen White. While I completely understand the people who have become annoyed by Lewis' frequent Bible-thumping, White made some important points about how many in the media characterized the linebacker's role in those murders and the prosecution's case afterward:

I can't and won't try to tell people how to feel about Ray Lewis, I just feel like if anyone in the media wants to write about the murders they should at least include more than their own characterization of his testimony which may or may not be accurate. At the very least include a link to the testimony so readers can come to their own conclusions about how cooperative he was and how much it helped the prosecution. It only took five hours to find Oakley and Sweeting not guilty, how long do you think it might have taken without Lewis' testimony?

Anyway, at long last, we'll finally have a game on Sunday. And it should be a pretty damn good one at that.