100ish Game Power Poll

# TEAM NAME (Record) (Previous Rank)

1. Philadelphia Phillies (68-39) (-)

2. Boston Red Sox (65-40) (-)

3. New York Yankees (64-42) (-)

4. Atlanta Braves (63-46) (-)

5. Texas Rangers (61-48) (6)

6. San Francisco Giants (61-47) (5)

7. Milwaukee Brewers (60-49) (9)

8. Los Angeles Angels (59-50) (-)

9. Arizona Diamondbacks (58-49) (13)

10. St Louis Cardinals (57-50) (11)

11. Detroit Tigers (57-51) (10)

12. Tampa Bay Rays (55-51) (7)

13. Toronto Blue Jays (55-53) (14)

14. Cleveland Indians (53-52) (12)

15. Pittsburgh Pirates (54-52) (-)

16. Cincinnati Reds (53-55) (-)

17. New York Mets (55-53) (17)

18. Florida Marlins (53-55) (21)

19. Chicago White Sox (52-53) (-)

20. Minnesota Twins (50-57) (23)

21. Colorado Rockies (51-56) (22)

22. Washington Nationals (51-56) (18)

23. Oakland A's (48-59) (25)

24. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-58) (-)

25. San Diego Padres (46-62) (26)

26. Kansas City Royals (46-62) (28)

27. Seattle Mariners (45-61) (20)

28. Baltimore Orioles (42-63) (27)

29. Chicago Cubs (42-65) (-)

30. Houston Astros (35-73) (-)

standings through 7/31/11

49ers Need Help

How would I get the 49ers over this hump and into the playoffs? Well of course I am just a fan who loves his team and badly wants to see them win but just like anyone else I have some ideas, sure some of them are not plausible and some could be. Either way here are my thoughts:

Get a veteran QB for back up Alex Smith
It seems like a lock that the 49ers will bring back Alex Smith who compared to some other avilable QB is actually not that bad. He is still never been a winner in his entire career and unless something major happens I do not see him being able to change his career, but stranger things have happened. I am glad he will get a former QB head coach in Harbaugh, I can only see this helping.



Since Alex is not a proven commidity and somewhat injury prone (who wouldn't be with this O-line?) I think it is vital that the 49ers sign a proven veteran QB to back up Alex, and no David Carr doesn't count! My dream was that the 49ers could get Matt Hasselback but I can understand that he most likely wanted to start and seems like he will in Tennessee now. A veteran would also let newly drafted Colin Kapernick be able to go to the third QB and sit and learn, something Alex never got the chance to do.

Who can they get?
Hasselback was the prize free agent but was scooped up fast, not leaving much else available. One name I see that interests me is Billy Volek who has played 12 years mostly as a back up but when he was able to play has shined. Besides that its pretty slim. Other names that I could possibly see: Marc Bulger, Chad Pennington, and Kerry Collins.

Get one of the top CB's that are a free agent
Niners are in much need for some corner-back help and have been for many years. Adding a top corner back would only help the defense especially one that struggles to put pressure on the QB. This years top free agents consist of at least 3 good CB's. Niners current roster is made up of CB's like Phillip Adams, Tramaine Brock, Tarell Brown, and two rookies to go along with Nate Clements and Shawntae Spencer both of whom are getting older.





Who can they get?
It would be amazing if they could grab the #1 free agent, Nnamdi Asomugha who would make the secondary automically much better. All the better we would take him away from the Raiders who always take Niners later in their careers (Lott, Craig, Rice, etc). I know it is a serious long shot but Asomugha would be amazing to have on this roster. There are also a few other top tier CB's avilable as well like Antonio Cromartie and Johnathan Joesph.


Sign a proven WR to be #2 or 3 on the depth chart
This years free agents are also stacked with WR's who could help this team. So far Michael Crabtree has been okay but he could use a veteran WR to learn from. Plus this teams depth falls dramatically after Crabtree and Morgan. Ted Ginn is good at returning punts and kicks and is a solid #4 WR, so why not add someone who has proven they can catch some passes and will be a go to guy? You cannot tell me you have faith in Kyle Williams and Dominique Zeigler being next in line if someone get hurts.

Who can they get?
There is some help out there in this years WR free agent class. Sidney Rice is a name that shoots out, since he is somewhat young (but is coming off an injury) and is the deep threat that Crabtree isn't. Other guys who should be targeted include: Mike Sims-Walker, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss (could be terrible or an amazing signing), Lance Moore, and a local SJSU player who could be a great help to this team: James Jones.


Get more RB depth
Frank Gore is a good RB and the guy give his all every time he goes out there, but I can't be the only person who remembers he started to get hurt at the end of last year. The singing of Brian Westbrook was good because he was able to step in and play, and that is why you get these older type free agents! Gore should be healthy as far as I know, but Westbrook is no longer on the roster and we need some depth. Anthony Dixon had some flashes last season but I do not think he is ready to handle a full time load if something did happen to Gore. Plus in today's NFL you mostly see 2 back systems and those need extra depth.




Who can they get?
This years free agents have some good RB who could easily help this team. I figure they need a guy who can come in when needed, not someone who would take over full time so I think someone like Michael Bush, Ronnie Brown, or Joesph Addai. All of these guys have had injury issues but since they wouldn't be a full time starter it is okay. They added much needed depth and could be penciled in as the #2 starter and if something happens to Gore they could split carries with Dixon.

I know none of this will instantly solve the 49ers woes, but these are moves that I could see helping this team in needed areas. The free agency has already hurt the 49ers more then most other clubs. We have lost Takeo Spikes, David Bass, and Dashon Goldson seems to be taking offers from other clubs.

8 Movies in 3 days...

I took my girlfriend going out of town as time to catch up on some movies that I have been wanting to watch as well as having a hangout with some friends who I haven't seen in a while. I ended up watching 8 movies Friday-Sunday. Was it planned? Not really, but it was something that I need to do from time to time. My family is made up of major cinephile's, no more so then my father who passed his love of movies (bad and good) onto me and my brother (who somehow watches more movies then anyone I know, yet stays happily married...he will have to teach me his secrets one day). So this all started Friday after I finished my last day of work for summer session with my roommate and good friend Wes....

FRIDAY

We dubbed Friday the Sudeikis-athon! We had made plans earlier in the week to see Horrible Bosses at the movies since it looked like it had great potential with the cast of Jason Bateman, Charlie Day (from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Jason Sudeikis (who would appear in both movies we saw on Friday, hence the Sudeikis-athon!), Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey. We went to a 7:10 showing on Friday, not super smart since Harry Potter was showing and the parking lot was insane but we are gamers. As for the movie, I laughed a lot and it sort of had the vibe of the original Hangover (not the lesser sequel) to it. Based of how much I laughed the movie was well worth it, I could see picking up on more stuff on a second viewing since the crowd was pretty loud with laughter after the jokes. Overall I give it a solid B.

After the movie we drove home and pretty much sat down and immediately started up the second half of the Sudeikis-athon! Hall Pass. We had a free pass from Comcast to watch three On Demand movies for our one year anniversary with them so we decided to blow one of the free movies on Hall Pass, it wasn't the best decision I've ever made, but hey it was a free movie! Hall Pass was pretty much a disaster, nothing all to funny or original. I think they could have done so much more with the idea they had. Owen Wilson seemed a wrong choice for the main character, although he did give somewhat of an average performance with what he had to work with. I have never been a big Farrelly brothers fan and really was not aware it was a movie of theirs. Overall I give it a D.

SATURDAY

Saturday I had plans to see my old roommate, I used to always make him watch some cheesy horror movies when we lived together and over time it sort of became a tradition that we would watch some low grade horror movies together and just talk and laugh. I think he is a movie lover in the closet, or he just likes to humor me. I had to think of some movies for us to watch that would be bloody or out there. We started off by watching Rubber which was on netflix streaming (might as well watch it before I cancel the feature). Rubber starts off with some great potential, the movie was really out of the box and I was hoping it could have been something original or unique. The movie sets itself up with a very interesting breaking of the 4th wall but then the movie tries to act like it is something it really is not. The movie had some cool head explosions ala Scanners but then the movie just ends up trying to act like it is some deep movie about a killer rubber tire and it gets boring quickly. If you want to see something different, it has that but really nothing else. Overall it was a dud, and gets a D-.

Next up I had a movie rented from netflix that looked like it had the right mix of gore and humor to keep me and my friend happy: Hobo With A Shotgun. I knew the movie was based off a fake trailer (wow they really will make anything now a days!) so I was just expecting some great far out humor and gore. Rutger Hauer stars (for some reason whenever I see Hauer I think of Blind Justice, not sure why) as a hobo who is fed up with Jerry Glanville look like bad guy. The movie has its share of gross out moments and gore but not really much else is offered up. Hauer is passable as the hobo with a heart of gold (and a shotgun) who wants to just by a lawn mower and well, mow lawns. I think it is worth a watch if you liked the Grindhouse stuff that came out a few years ago. Overall this hobo scores a C-.

It was around midnight at this point, we decided to go ahead and watch another movie. I will still include it as part of the Saturday night intake though. It started out as fist being The Howling on Netflix streaming but for some reason I decided on another movie because I thought it would go over better. My friend and I had previously watched Halloween III together and I knew he would like a certain actor in it so Night Of The Creeps was then watched! I love me some Night Of The Creeps, its sort of a cult favorite of many people including this blogger. Tom Atkins is the before mentioned actor from Halloween III and this movie, I sort of made my friend into a huge Tom Atkins fan, so much that next time he wanted to do an Atkins-athon. It is always fun passing on your love of a movie or actor to someone else and I am happy he got a kick out of watching Mr. Atkins at his craft. As for the movie, it still holds up really well and is pleasure to watch. Atkins does steal the show and it is always fun seeing Rusty from the second Vacation film in a different movie. This one thrilled me and gets an overall B+.

SUNDAY

You know how you sometimes really want to watch a movie but for some reason it just never happens, well Sunday I saw a movie I has been putting off for a long time and now I will always wonder why since it almost instantly became one of my favorite movies. Once Upon A Time In the West is one of the best westerns this blogger has seen in his young Western watching career. I was just totally taken in by the movie. The first scene is amazing...WOW...I mean no one does that sort of stuff and Leone did it with such precession. I never knew waiting for a train could be made to be a thing of art, and this was just the first 5 minutes! Needles to say the rest of the movie was just as great. I loved every single bit of the film and it made 2 hours and 45 minutes feel like nothing. The final showdown between Harmonica (Charles Bronson) and Frank (Henry Fonda) made me have to rewind to watch it a few times, the music and atmosphere of that scene is what cinema is all about for me, just amazing stuff. If you love westerns or just want to get into them, do not pass up this movie. Overall it gets my highest rating...A+.

I had another friend come over on Sunday to watch some more movies later in the day. He brought over his stash of blurays, so we had some nice choices. I wanted to see something I haven't seen before so we started with Logan's Run. I knew it was sort of old Sci-Fi movie that many people liked but it was my first viewing. I could tell it was well liked or thought of since it has been copied many time since (The Island, The Watcher, etc...). It was made in 1976 a year before Star Wars so it was around the time when some new ideas in sci-fi were being made. I think the movie shows its age, a lot of the movie uses models which when seen on bluray and HDTV do not hide well enough. I think the movie picked up in the second half when Logan gets out and explores what is left of the outside world. Logan's Run might not hold up as well today but it does have some great original ideas that make it worth a watch. Overall a C+ for me.

The last of the movies we watched was very funny Galaxy Quest. When the movie was released in 1999 I was a Star Wars man, anything that was Sci-Fi and not made by Lucas was drivel to me. Galaxy Quest also happened to open at the same year as Episode I was released so I was into full on Wars love. I am telling you this because I probably didn't give Galaxy Quest a second chance when it was first out. Now a days I am more vested in the world of Star Trek, I really enjoy the movies especially the new one. I think the more you know about Star Trek the more enjoyment you can get out of Galaxy Quest, as it speaks to the nerd that lies inside in all of us. The casting was also really smart: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and scene stealer Sam Rockwell to name a few. This movie always reveals something new with more viewings and is a nice movie to watch when you feel like geeking out.Overall it gets a solid B.

Well there you have it, that is how you watch 8 movies in 3 days...having the time and someone to watch them with is always a key, although the best movie I saw was the one I watched by myself. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

Midway Season Power Poll

# TEAM NAME (Record) (Previous Rank)

1. Philadelphia Phillies (57-34) (-)

2. Boston Red Sox (55-35) (-)

3. New York Yankees (53-36) (4)

4. Atlanta Braves (54-38) (5)

5. San Francisco Giants (52-40) (3)

6. Texas Rangers (51-41) (13)

7. Tampa Bay Rays (49-41) (10)

8. Los Angeles Angels (50-42) (20)

9. Milwaukee Brewers (49-43) (6)

10. Detroit Tigers (49-43) (8)

11. St Louis Cardinals (49-43) (7)

12. Cleveland Indians (48-42) (-)

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (49-43) (9)

14. Toronto Blue Jays (46-47) (-)

15. Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43) (17)

16. Cincinnati Reds (45-47) (11)

17. New York Mets (46-45) (19)

18. Washington Nationals (46-46) (23)

19. Chicago White Sox (44-48) (18)

20. Seattle Mariners (43-48) (15)

21. Florida Marlins (43-48) (16)

22. Colorado Rockies (43-48) (-)

23. Minnesota Twins (41-48) (28)

24. Los Angeles Dodgers (41-51) (25)

25. Oakland A's (39-53) (27)

26. San Diego Padres (40-52) (24)

27. Baltimore Orioles (36-53) (21)

28. Kansas City Royals (37-54) (26)

29. Chicago Cubs (37-55) (29)

30. Houston Astros (30-62) (30)

(record through 7/13/11)