"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

:: Saturday, December 13, 2003 ::

Let's Go 'Gate!

Twenty-six years ago, on November 19, 1977, the undefeated Colgate Raider football team, 10-0 at the time, traveled to Newark, Delaware, to play arch-rival Delaware. Colgate was ranked 25th in the country at the time -- there was no I-A or I-AA then, just "Division I", and a win would have put my school in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.

I was a senior at Colgate then, and running the school radio station, WRCU-FM. And we had what was going to be one of our biggest listening audiences ever, for our game in Delaware. We had two announcers there, and I was back at the station to coordinate the broadcast.

And then our line went down. And stayed down. We couldn't broadcast the game until the third quarter, when we finally were able to find a backup phone line, in those dark ages before cellphones.

It was just as well. We got blown out and lost 21-3, and never got to the bowl game.

Why is this story so relevant today? Well, after winning two Division I-AA playoff games in driving snowstorms in Hamilton, NY, today, Colgate traveled to south Florida to play Florida Atlantic University (a school which is going to I-A next year) in the semifinals, and blew them out 36-24 in a game that was, as the old cliche goes, "not as close as the score would indicate", and guess who they're going to be playing in the I-AA championship game next Friday?

That's right, the University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens. (And if you were a college athlete, would you want to be a "Fighting Blue Hen"? I sure wouldn't.) Delaware won its semifinal over Wofford College (of South Carolina) 24-9, and so next Friday night's I-AA championship will be Colgate vs. Delaware, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wish I could go, but that's way too far for a quick trip. So I'll be watching on TV (ESPN2, Friday, Dec. 19, 6 PM CT), as I'm sure Colgate alumni and friends all over the country will be, and rooting for my alma mater.

As I wrote here last week, I couldn't be prouder that my school, which gives no athletic scholarships, and has only 2500 students, can probably be the favorite in a championship against a state school six times its size. It shows that the term student-athlete isn't dead, even in this era of big-time college sports.

It's only the second time in Colgate history that they've been in an NCAA final -- the 1992 hockey team lost to Wisconsin in that year's final.

Seventy-one years ago, when college athletics were much different, Colgate was a national power, and that year went 9-0, winning all games by shutout. That was the famous unbeaten, untied, un-scored-upon and uninvited (to a bowl game) Raider squad. Perhaps this year's team, currently 15-0 and winners of 21 games in a row, can avenge that long-ago slight.

Let's go 'gate!

:: posted by Al at 4:25 PM [+] ::
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Movie Review: "In America"

Hey, I said it was the season, didn't I? I know there hasn't been much Cub writing here lately, but there hasn't been much Cub news, either, and so, since now is movie award season and I'm seeing a lot of them, here goes with another review, with a twist.

Yesterday, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, who also reviews films with Roger Ebert in their own syndicated show, issued a challenge.

He wrote that everyone should go see "In America", and if we didn't like it, he would refund the ticket price, limited to the first 100 responses.

Never being one to shy away from a challenge like this, I went to see this film.

He's right, everyone. I bet he won't get any, much less 100, people who want their money back (well, unless some people are just being greedy).

This is a lyrical tale, written and directed by the Irish director Jim Sheridan ("In The Name of the Father", "My Left Foot") about an Irish family with two girls who emigrates from Ireland to New York. It's semi-autobiographical, as Sheridan himself did this in the 1980's, and his two daughters are the co-writers. Incidentally, some reviewers set this film in the '80s because one of the scenes involves the family going to see "E.T.", but keep in mind "E.T." was re-released a couple of years ago and this could just as easily be set in the present.

That's not really relevant, anyway. The two girls are the ones who steal this show. They are played by real-life sisters, Sarah and Emma Bolger, and Sarah Bolger might steal an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the older sister, Christy, a ten-year-old wise beyond her years. At first you think she's not going to say a word and just hide behind the camcorder (yet another reason I don't think this is set in the '80s -- it's clearly a modern camcorder) she carries everywhere. But you realize soon enough that she, and the rest of the family, carries pain from the untimely death of their younger brother in what is made clear was an accident, but for which each of the survivors blames themselves. At one point Christy says, "Don't 'little girl' me -- I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year.", and your heart breaks for all of them. The father, a character based on Sheridan himself, is an aspiring actor who just can't seem to get a part, and has to drive a cab just to make enough money to, say, buy an air conditioner for his family in what turns out to be the most sweltering New York summer in years.

The family settles into what seems like almost a magical castle of a building in lower Manhattan, though it's populated with the usual collection of junkies, and one man whose door is nastily painted "KEEP AWAY". Soon enough we find that his name is Mateo (Djimon Hounsou, who was so good as the slave leader in "Amistad"), and he carries a different kind of pain. We expect him to hurt people, but when the girls knock on his door for their first American trick-or-treat, he turns out to have a true heart of gold.

There are other scenes involving the family and Mateo that I won't spoil here, because it's his humanity that helps all the family realize that they are indeed going to find their dream. Samantha Morton, who was so waif-like in "Minority Report", plays the mother, and she's hurt here too, but apart from Christy, she turns out to be the strongest one in the family.

This film is both intended to be taken literally, as a story of immigrants (they drive in through Canada and one of the girls says something that almost makes the immigration officers refuse them admission into the US), and figuratively, as it seems magic suffuses everyone involved. You'll see that there's a very good reason that "E.T." is the first American movie they all see. And there's a school assembly where Christy sings the Eagles' "Desperado" in a way that could nearly make you cry, she's so good.

There's more, but you get the point. Roeper's right. The Internet Movie Database gives the release year of this film as 2002, so it must have been out in the UK long before it got here, and it's not going to be in wide release in the US for another week or so.

Whenever it is, go see it. Worth the price of admission no matter what you have to pay.

AYRating: ****

:: posted by Al at 4:07 PM [+] ::
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Movie Review: "Something's Gotta Give"

This is so cool!

It's the award season, as you know if you are a movie buff, and as a member of the Directors Guild of America, I get to see some free screenings of films whose directors are possible nominees for the DGA feature film award.

Once in a while, I'll get to see a movie that hasn't been put in general release yet, and such was the case last night at a special screening room (50 seats, no commercials or trailers!) that the DGA rents out for members to see these films.

About 20 of my fellow DGA members braved a driving rainstorm to see the new Jack Nicholson romantic comedy, and I have to tell you: Nicholson definitely gets better with age. He was fabulous in a deadpan sort of way last year in "About Schmidt" (and I can't hear his voice anymore without hearing it say the words "Dear Ndugu" from that film), and this is much the same.

Here's the setup. Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, a 63-year-old confirmed bachelor, who owns a record company and dates only women young enough to be his daughter. Amanda Peet (the goofily named "Marin") is his latest squeeze, and she's taking him for the weekend to her mother's house in the Hamptons on Long Island for, well, you know.

The fun starts when mom Erica (Diane Keaton) shows up unexpectedly, catching Harry in the kitchen in his underwear.

When Harry has a heart attack, his doctor is Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves), a little too impossibly cute to be a doctor, but a doctor who saves his life, and makes housecalls to boot. That's where the real fun starts, as Harry realizes that he may be falling in love with Erica, which he doesn't want to admit because it's a "woman his age". Meanwhile, Julian is also falling in love with Erica.

Amanda Peet's Marin appears to be just eye candy at the beginning, but her character winds up having very sensitive and interesting insights into life, even some she can teach her own mother. Frances McDormand plays Erica's sister Zoe, a feminist professor at Columbia. I thought that character was really interesting, but she kind of got left in the background. Plus, McDormand is a terrific actress anyway in almost anything she does.

I don't like spoilers, so I won't give anything else away. Keaton is 57 years old, and like Charlotte Rampling (who is also 57) in "Swimming Pool" earlier this year, she does a daring nude scene, and plays her character with great humor, emotion and dignity, and between her and Nicholson, both learn a lot about love, and life, Nicholson especially, in the most unexpected of ways, learns that his life hasn't been lived to the fullest, and he grabs on tight to it when it seems about to slip away. In the meantime, Keaton's Erica is in the middle of writing a new play, but she's had writer's block -- until her relationship with Harry suddenly writes the play almost by itself. Some very funny scenes result, which I won't ruin (like some other movie critics I could name but won't, do) by telling you about them.

This film was directed (and written) by Nancy Meyers, who also directed "What Women Want". Yes, it's a chick flick, but that doesn't mean you won't like it if you're not female. Go, and see the wonderful performances by two of the best actors of our time. It will be released nationally this Friday, December 12.

AYRating: *** 1/2

:: posted by Al at 1:09 PM [+] ::
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Cub Signings

The Cubs re-signed 2B Mark Grudzielanek and OF Tom Goodwin yesterday, and declined to offer arbitration to Kenny Lofton.

In the grand scheme of Jim Hendry's mind, these are minor deals, I think. There weren't a lot of second base choices that didn't cost a lot of (a) money or (b) players (i.e. Todd Walker, or Jose Vidro), and Grudzielanek does have the chance to be in decline next year, but I think Dusty Baker might be able to squeeze another decent year out of him. Grudz accused the Cubs and MLB of collusion, but I don't believe that's the case for one moment. What Grudz and other players are simply going to have to understand is that the days of 100% pay increases are over. There won't be any more $20 million contracts because the marketplace (say, isn't that what the players always say should set the tone?) has determined that it should not be so.

Works both ways, fellas.

Tom Goodwin was a useful spare part last year and I believe he will be so again. Now the Cubs have to fill the Troy O'Leary slot on the roster with a better player, and I believe they will do so. One potential signing is Jose Cruz Jr., who draws lots of walks, has some power and is a switch-hitter. He would be insurance against Corey Patterson not being fully ready, and also against Moises Alou suddenly being washed up. If he does well, he is only 30 years old and perhaps could take over in LF in 2005.

Finally, Kenny Lofton (along with Doug Glanville, Antonio Alfonseca, Shawn Estes, Mark Guthrie, Dave Veres, Eric Karros,O'Leary and Tony Womack, none of whom had a chance to make next year's team anyway) was not offered arbitration. This is a bit of a surprise, as Lofton could have filled that fourth outfielder slot admirably. But even at 37, Lofton may have wanted to play every day, and apparently there are at least two teams (Padres and Yankees) willing to give him a chance to do so.

You can't argue with this. Lofton was a joy to have on the team and I don't think the Cubs would have made the playoffs without him. Thanks, Kenny, and hope you have a good ride wherever you land.

:: posted by Al at 1:14 PM [+] ::
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