I have posted Academy Awards predictions for many years, but didn’t during the pandemic because I was unable to attend TIFF for those years, but 2022 allowed my to return to the Festival and see some films before they hit the theaters or streaming services. To be honest, just the atmosphere of TIFF makes me feel more a part of the movie industry (although of course, I’m just an interested observer.
I’m going to do things differently this year. I’ll start with who will win, and add who would make me happy if there was an upset.

Best Picture
Will Win: Everything, Everywhere, all At Once
Tony’s Happy Pick: The Banshees of Inisherin

Nominees
All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
Avatar: The Way of Water (20th Century Studios)
The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Elvis (Warner Bros)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)
Tár (Focus Features)
Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Triangle of Sadness (NEON)
Women Talking (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

EEAAO has been leading the pack in nominations, other awards, and I have to admit that it is great that there is an Asian film with a solid shot to win. It was quirky, odd, strange, but extremely inventive. You could not guess where it was going. Avatar was all spectacle with a threadbare plot. I saw All Quiet on the Western Front at TIFF is a large theater and was absolutely enthralled. American critics were less enthusiastic, but maybe because they watched it on an iPad. Great film, will win Best Foreign Language Film. I didn’t see Elvis because I saw the subject live twice before he died. I will see it though, but this is not Bohemia Rhapsody. As I was bored with Elvis, I am even more bored by Steven Speilberg’s childhood. A great entertainer and extremely astute entrepreneur, he aspires to be an auteur. A couple of times, it worked (Schindler’s List, Munich, Bridge of Spies), most other times, he is, as I’ve said numerous time, the Walt Disney of the 21st Century. I will stream this film sometime, but I’m not looking forward to it (despite it having one of my favorite actors in it – Paul Dano).
I recently saw Tar, and it was at first, a character study of an extremely talented narcissist, but it got strange in the last third and (Spoiler) there have been reviews that think that the final part is a ghost story or all in the title character’s head. Top Gun was a revelation to me – a big, tentpole sequel of a film I was indifferent about. Implausible, but it had some heart, something rare for a Tom Cruise movie. I really wanted to see Triangle of Sadness at TIFF, but it didn’t fit my schedule. The trailer makes it look hilarious, but in a year that a quirky film should rule, there’s only room for one. Women Talking is another drama from Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley. I have not seen it, but I will.
If however, EEAAO does not win, it would not hurt my feelings to see Banshees win. When I aw it on the list for TIFF, the reteaming of Colin Ferrell, Brendan Gleeson and Martin McDonagh who made the truly great “In Bruges” from 2008 made me want to see this film. One of the darkest comedies of recent times, the film did not disappoint – I laughed a lot and felt for the characters a great deal. I would be very happy if it won.

Actor in a Leading Role
Will win: Brendan Fraser
Tony’s Happy Pick: Colin Farrell

Nominees:
Austin Butler in Elvis
Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser in The Whale
Paul Mescal in Aftersun
Bill Nighy in Living

Hollywood loves a comeback story and Brendan Fraser is this part one of this year’s feel good comeback double header. I did not see The Whale, Darren Aronofsky is very hit or miss in this film in my opinion. To be honest, a film about an extremely obese man hits a little close to home for me. I’ve only seen a few brief scenes in Elvis and while, as I said before, I am bored with Elvis, the parts I saw of Austin Butler, seemed like he was channeling “the King.” I did not see Aftersun, but have heard good things about it. Bill Nighy is one of my favorite actors and the remake of the classic Kurosawa film Ikiru again put it high on my list of films to see at TIFF and afterwards, but I couldn’t catch it.
Colin Farrell is one of the best actors working and played against type in Banshees, a not smart man trying to figure out why his best friend no longer wants to be around him.

Actress in a Leading Role

Will win: Michelle Yeoh
Tony’s Happy Pick: Michelle Yeoh

Cate Blanchett in Tár
Ana de Armas in Blonde
Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie
Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Cate Blanchette again gives a top flight performance, but may be getting into the Meryl Streep “she’s won lots before” category, Ana de Armas is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and she can act. I avoided Blonde because of the bad notices the film received, although it seemed that everyone liked Ms. De Armas’ performance. There was a controversy over the nomination of Andrea Riseborough, but I did not see the film, so I can provide no informed opinion. I generally enjoy Michelle Williams’ performances, she is extremely talented. To me, this year belongs to Michelle Yeoh. She has been a kung-fu film star, a movie tiger mom, but good in everything she’s done, whether she’s acting with Jacky Chan, Pierce Brosnan, or Chow Yun Fat, she is never overshadowed. EEAAO would fly apart in its weirdness without Ms. Yeoh.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Will win: Ke Huy Quan
Tony’s Happy Pick(s): If not Mr. Quan, Brendan Gleeson or Barry Keoghan

Nominees
Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway
Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Mr. Quan was a delight in EEAAO. He had the right mix of seriousness, quiet longing and pathos. Plus to return decades after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, after being a nobody in Hollywood, this is the other feelgood story of the Oscars. However, if he doesn’t win, I would love for the great Brendan Gleeson to win. He has been one of the best actors working for decades. He is interesting in everything, whether as a lead or as a side character. Barry Keoghan was outstanding as the mentally challenged friend to Farrell’s character. He brought authenticity and a melancholy to the film. I hear that Brian Tyree Henry is outstanding in Causeway. This was one of the big films that premiered at TIFF, but with Jennifer Lawrence in it, those tickets went quickly. I hope to see it soon. Finally, I’ve loved Judd Hirsch since Taxi, and it’s always good to see him in films

Actress in a Supporting Role

Will Win: Angela Bassett
Tony’s Happy Pick: Angela Bassett

Nominees:
Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau in The Whale
Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Early in awards season, it appeared that Angela Bassett was a shoe-in as the matriarch of Wakanda, in the Black Panther sequel, but recently, there has been a lot of support for Ms. Curtis. Both of these women have been toiling in the movie business for decades and both are deserving. Ms. Bassett brought a dignity and sadness to her role; Ms. Curtis played against type, an overweight bureaucrat who gets tied up in the weird world of EEAAO. Like the gentlemen in Banshees in supporting actor, the Ms. Curtis vote may be split with Ms. Hsu from the same film. Ms. Condon was quite touching and provided a nice counter balance to the men. As I wrote above, I did not see The Whale, but Ms. Chau has been excellent in Watchmen on HBO and The Menu, another dark comedy at TIFF and now on cable/streaming. I sincerely hope these women (Ms. Hsu, Ms. Chau and Ms. Condon) all get lots of parts in the years to come.

Directing
Will Win: The Daniels – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Tony’s Happy Pick: Martin McDonagh

Nominees
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

The Daniels should win for EEAAO – they handled a film with action, a fantasy element, fascinating characters and heart. Quite a balancing act for the two men. I would be happy however if Mr. McDonagh were to win. He seems to only get noticed for his screenplay writing, but he has shown a real ability to make his vision real. In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths (which I didn’t like that much), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshee of Inisherin, all well directed films. Maybe the Directors’ Guide doesn’t like a foreign scriptwriter and playwright playing in their sandbox?
Compared with Schindler, Saving Private Ryan, Munich and even E.T. and Close Encounters, directing The Fabermans is not as big a stretch. As I wrote above, Tar is a very good film, subtlety telling what could have been a simple “bad talented person gets her comeuppance” into something more. All I know about Mr. Östlund is his reputation and the trailer for Triangle, which made me want to watch it (and will be available on Criterion Blu-ray next month).

All will be revealed on Sunday night. Please send me your thoughts and opinions.

The most contentious issue in football isn’t Chiefs/Raiders, or Packers/Bears; it is the rift between the Baltimore Ravens and their star QB Lemar Jackson. Jackson has been one of the top QBs in the league, as a rusher, and more frequently recently, as a passer. With him, the offense ranks near the top of the league, without him, near the bottom. He won the MVP Award in his second season in the league. He has been compared with Michael Vick since he was in college at Louisville because of their elite speed and agility at the quarterback position. Since Jackson has been in the N.F.L., he has proved those comparisons to be sound, breaking Vick’s records for rushing yards in a season, with 1,206 in 2019, and 100-yard rushing games, with 12 through the 2022 season.
Contract negotiations with the Ravens fell apart before the 2022 regular season began, with Jackson and team executives reportedly failing to agree on how much of the contract would be guaranteed. Unfortunately for both sides, the Kansas City Chiefs signed their quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year $450 million contract in 2020 after he had won a Super Bowl that February and the league Most Valuable Player Award the previous season. However, only $141 million of that contract was guaranteed. Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson signed a five-year extension in 2022 with a reported $165 million in guaranteed money.
Jackson made $23 million this past season on the last year of his rookie contract after turning down an offer ESPN reported as being worth $250 million, but with less in guaranteed money than Russell and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray received. Jackson took a significant gamble by playing the 2022 season without a long-term contract agreement because a major injury could have greatly diminished what the Ravens would have offered him after the season. That risk became a reality in Week 13 when Jackson strained the posterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees, which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. Jackson, who has a 1-3 career record in the postseason, missed the Ravens playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. His absence sparked skepticism from TV analysts, who questioned why Jackson didn’t feel compelled to play through injury, and commentary from at least one teammate, the veteran receiver Sammy Watkins, who wondered publicly if Jackson was putting his contract negotiations over the good of the team.
Then, the NFL world changed again with the Cleveland Browns signing Deshaun Watson to a five-year contract with all $230 million guaranteed, the largest sum in N.F.L. history. Of course, Watson was facing nearly two dozen sexual assault or harassment allegations and did not play in 2021. With the other owner openly angry at the Browns owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam for introducing fully guaranteed contracts. The league has always felt better having 60-70% guaranteed, and if the player gets injured or has their performance fall off, they can cut the player to save money. So now, almost every top QB is looking for fully guaranteed money. Jackson is trying to get as much guaranteed money as he can.
The Ravens have been very open in not wanting to pay Lemar Jackson. At first, he was more of a runner, they said, then he became a better passer and won the MVP. The regular season success has not followed in the playoffs, it did not help that Jackson has been injured at the end of each of the last two seasons including a torn posterior cruciate ligament in week 13 last season that essentially ended his season and the Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes.
While there are apparently sound business decisions for trying to limit Jackson’s money, especially due to his injury history, I think it’s deeper than that. I think that the Ravens see this Black man with the strange braided hair and hanging off his hair in many directions as a dumb person. Many people think that Jackson is hurt by not having an agent or a lawyer, and maybe there is something to that. Both sides can be very blunt, and it can be vicious to hear what the team uses as thinking/leverage to get the cost down.
It should be noted that while he is a sexual predator, Deshaun Watson is a rather clean-cut young man. That said, the Ravens put Jackson on the unrestricted franchise tag – he will be paid $36 million for the season, but if some other team decides to sign Jackson, the Ravens get 2 first round draft choices. However, if you ever want to once again prove that the NFL owners collude, five teams have already announced that they will not be interested in signing Jackson. Shades of Kaepernick, Coach Brian Flores, Jackson’s options are limited. The teams/owners are pissed off about Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract and are going to take it out on Lemar Jackson. The plantation owners are going to put the servants back in their places.

I have watched college basketball for decades and have seen teams coached by a lot of Hall of Fame coaches. Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Ray Meyer, Al McGuire, John Wooden, Bob Knight, Lou Carnesecca and many others. One coach who is always listed as one of the greats is Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. I have always thought that Boeheim’s teams underperformed. In 47 seasons as Head Coach, they won only 1 NCAA Men’s Basketball championship.
On top of that, Boeheim was always one of the whiniest coaches in the sport. He always complained about the officiating it seemed, nearly every time Syracuse lost. He also was never the cleanest program, being barred from postseason play in 1993 and having a self-imposed suspension in 2015. Last season, Syracuse posted its first sub-.500 season at 16-17 and were slightly better this season at 17-15, 10-10 in the ACC tied for 8th in the conference.
Today, Syracuse lost 77-74 to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, and afterward, reporters asked Boeheim about his future and he said that it was up to the university. He was asked whether he was retiring, Boeheim stated that he didn’t say that. He met with university officials. Two hours later, the university announced that current assistant Adrian Autry, like Boeheim a Syracuse alum would be the new Head Coach.
I think that after 47 years, they could have waited a couple of days to make the announcement. We may never know whether Boeheim left or was pushed out, although Boeheim never found something he couldn’t complain about, loud and high-pitched. However, unlike the dumpster fire that accompanied Penn State’s firing of Joe Paterno in the midst of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, this somehow feels like Boeheim is getting the bum’s rush.

It happens in sports: Willie Mays in a Mets uniform, Joe Montana playing for the Kansas City Chiefs; Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards. Some things in sport just don’t look right, but they happen. Sports is a business, and while fans always hope to keep their heroes with the same team forever, it rarely happens. Age, injury, rebuilding team, sometimes, a player’s inability to say goodbye; all factors that lead to a player’s trade. Yesterday, it finally happened to Patrick Kane.
Kane was traded to the Rangers for draft picks and Arizona got picks to pick up 25% of Kane’s salary (the Hawks pay 50%). The Blackhawks are in a rebuild, greatly caused by the mismanagement of former GM Stan Bowman. The coin Kane’s position, if not worse.re of players who won 3 Stanley Cups got older, although a great part of it has to be attributed to the number of games they played between 2009 and 2016 – all deep playoff runs along with a couple of Olympic Games. All that was left were Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
For 16 years, these two graced us with their excellence on the ice. I always was a bigger Toews fan because he is a 200-foot player, outstanding on offence and defense. I have always compared Toews to Mark Messier, a pure winner who sublimated his considerable scoring acumen for the good of the team. Kane was the scorer, the magician. Toews was Captain Serious – never in the spotlight off the ice; Kane was the party animal. A lot of my hockey knowledgeable friends teased me over Kane, being pictured shirtless and drunk in a limo, with girls at bars. I always asked what would we do if we were young, talented, single and very rich. Especially in a sport where drinking and machismo have always been held in high regard? I know that I would have certainly been in Kane’s situation, if not worse. Of course, he needed to grow up and first the altercation with a Buffalo cab driver and the rape accusation that almost got him jailed sobered the kid up. We’ve seen him become a father and less of the party monster. We’ve watched him grow up even though he still looks as boyish as ever.
On the ice however, Kane was genius. Toews and Kane were the centerpieces for three Stanley Cup Championships. Who will ever forget the goal in Philadelphia in overtime of Game 6 in the 2010 Finals that trickled underneath Michael Leighton, with Kane being the only player on the ice starting to celebrate winning the Cup for the first time in 47 years. All of the magical shootout and breakaway goals. The Madhouse on Madison rocking for every home game.
After Bowman’s firing in light of the video coach sexual scandal, the new GM Davidson announced a full fledged rebuild. The Hawks would be near the bottom of the league in points as the team traded “assets” for draft picks. First to go was Alex DeBrincat, a true gem that Bowman drafted and turned into a 40 goal/season player, and only 24. Kane, who became very close to his linemates – first Artemi Panarin who the Hawks couldn’t afford to keep under the salary cap. Then DeBrincat, and while maybe not as closely off the ice, on the ice, he has built a great combination with Max Domi (Who I personally hope the Hawks keep). Both times, Kane missed his friend and his play declined a little bit, but then Kane got competitive again.
This season though, knowing it was his last under his contract, Kane was a shadow of his former self. Never a dynamic defensive players, Kane often played even less defense than usual. His point total dropped. As it turns out a serious hip problem that Kane kept secret. I still think that Kane was depressed; no real chance at a playoff spot. No chance at another Cup. Toews has suffered through medical issues that eliminated the entire 2020-2021 season, and he recently announced that he is still suffering from Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and Long COVID. Despite the 16-year pairing, contracts equal as to not prefer one over the other ,and even the same agent, Kane and Toews have never been close friends, but Toews’ illnesses may end his career. It certainly ended any interest teams may have had for Toews.
So farewell Kaner. Maybe farewell Toews too. Farewell to the glorious Blackhawks dynasty. We will never see its like again, but god, the memories we will always have…

Back when I was in college, three friends and I had a Strat-o-matic football league. Our league used Canadian Football League teams so that there were no arguments, even though all of the players were NFL players and defenses. One of my friends had Tony Dungy as his head coach. At the time, Dungy had been noted as one of the bright defensive minds in the sport. Every season, he was interviewed for open head coaching jobs. He wasn’t given a chance and he toiled in Pittsburgh for seven years including defensive coordinator; the Chiefs as defensive backs coach for three seasons and then Viking defensive coordinator. He was not given a chance until Tampa Bay hired him for the big job in 1996 through 2001, then hired by the Indianapolis Colts, where he coached a Super Bowl Champion. At the time, lots of people wondered if Dungy had to wait so long due to the color of his skin.
Black head coaches remain very rare, so rare that Brian Flores’ has sued the NFL alleging racial discrimination in hiring head coaches. That suit remains in court, but to many people, Exhibit A should be Eric Bieniemy. As offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, the team has won two Super Bowls, lost a Super Bowl and lost 2AFC Championships. He hs interviewed for 11 head coaching positions, never being chosen.
The same old excuses abound – he doesn’t interview well; he lucked into having Patrick Mahomes as his QB, and Head Coach Andy Reid is an offensive genius. Meanwhile, after the Super Bowl, both offensive and defensive coordinators from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Super Bowl loser, became head coaches. Neither of them have as much experience as Bieniemy, but, they are both white. Being an Andy Reid disciple didn’t hurt Matt Nagy from being hired by the Chicago ears, which followed one great season with a playoff loss, then the team sank like a brick in a pond, until Nagy got fired.
To distance himself from Reid (who, to his credit, praised Bieniemy profusely after the Super Bowl victory on television), Bieniemy has moved on to be Offensive Coordinator with Washington Commanders. To the positive, Head Coach Ron Riviera is a defensive coach, so Bieniemy will have carte blanche to run the offense. The cons are more troubling: the Commanders remain under a cloud of mismanagement and sexual harassment allegations under Owner Dan Snyder; as a result, the team is reportedly up for sale, with Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos considering buying it. Also, while there is some talent on offense, especially at the skill positions, Washington hasn’t had a truly excellent QB since Joe Theisman and Doug Williams (some would say it was Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer.)
Unfortunately, Bieniemy had to downplay the 800-lb gorilla in the room during his opening news conference, that he’s not focused on using this position to land a head-coaching job. “Being a head coach right now is not in my thought process,” Bieniemy said. “What I’m focused on is being the best coach today; everything else will take care of itself. I live in the moment. Right now my feet are planted here.”
With all of the problems that the NFL has – CTE, the XFL and USFL, navigating the new world of college football amid NIL money and the transfer portal, the owners certainly don’t need to appear like 32 versions of Leonardo DeCaprio in Django Unchained. Once again however, the owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell are as tone deaf as Beethoven.

The past couple of weeks have been tough ones for the University of Alabama. Usually, if one talks about sport at AL, you would be talking about football, but this season, the men’s basketball team has been the talk of the country, currently ranked number 3 in the country, a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament, and led Brandon Miller. Miller is a 6’9” freshman forward from Antioch, Tennessee, averaging 19.5 points, 8 rebounds and almost 2 assists per game. On the court, he is projected as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and one of the potential rising stars in the game. Off the court, there are clouds on the horizon, even if the university and Miller’s people don’t think so.
On January 15th, Miller drove teammate Darious Miles to a Tuscaloosa nightclub. According to Miller’s attorney, Miles left his gun in Miller’s car under some clothes in the backseat of the car. Attorney Jim Standridge said that Miller “never saw the handgun, nor handled it.” Miles and another friend Michael Davis went into the bar and apparently started talking to a young woman get 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris. The men were apparently trying to get the woman’s phone number. Ms. Harris had a boyfriend outside the club and there was a disagreement. Reportedly, Davis jumped in front of Harris’ black Jeep. Harris’ boyfriend told Davis to move on. At this point, the facts become more than a little dicey. At some point, Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun. According to Miller/his attorney he was already on his way back to the nightclub to pick up Miles, when Miles texted asking Miller to bring his gun. First, why did Miller leave his friend at the bar and not go in? Going back to Watergate, what did he know and when did he know it? Did Miles text Miller before he turned back to get Miles? Or, as Miller seems to be saying, he was returning to the bar before the text came in.
I’m an old fuddy-duddy, I hardly ever text or read texts while I’m driving (only at stop lights). Today’s kids don’t pay that any attention, in my experience. When Miller arrived at the scene, Miles told Davis where the gun was and that there was a round in the chamber. Minutes later, Davis allegedly shot into the victim’s jeep, striking Harris in the face. Harris’ boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, allegedly returned fire, wounding Davis.
Miles has been charged with felony murder, but so far, Miller has not been charged. The question has to be asked, is this another instance of an athlete getting away with questionable behavior? It started last Tuesday when Coach Nate Oats held one of the worst press conferences in recent memory.. Oats said that it was a sad situation, it’s merely a speed bump on the way to the Final Four. He said that the team even said a prayer about it before practice ended. The Alabama version of thoughts and prayers. His involvement hardly merited dealing with in a way that might compromise a couple wins? Maybe Miller should have been suspended while the investigation went on? Apparently not to Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne or Oats, who might have earned the title of America’s most tone-deaf people after making the following comment: “Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. ”Can’t control what everybody does? Wrong spot at the wrong time? Of course, Oats backed down from him comments and apologized. Ms. Harris’ family was of course, incensed.
Which still left the question – why wasn’t (and hasn’t) Miller been charged with a crime? Miles and Davis have been charged with capital murder. When asked by the media, Tuscaloosa chief assistant district attorney Paula Whitley said, “There’s nothing we could charge him with.” Legal experts told Yahoo Sports that Ms. Whitley and her colleagues lacked sufficient evidence to prove Miller intended to assist in a crime. “They’re saying they don’t have any evidence that he knew what the gun would be used for,” said Philip Holloway, a Georgia criminal defense attorney who has been following the case. “They would have to prove that when he provided the gun to the third party, he was knowingly participating in some kind of criminal act. If he didn’t know that, and there was nothing else illegal about the transfer of that weapon, then there’s no crime.”
The point was time sensitive because Alabama had a big game against South Carolina Tuesday night. All that day, the university was silent on whether Miller would be allowed to play. Finally, three- and one-half hours before the game, the university determined that Miller would be allowed to play. “UA Athletics continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement in the on-going investigation of this tragic situation,” the school said in a statement. “Based on all the information we have received, Brandon Miller is not considered a suspect in this case, only a cooperative witness.”
After being allowed to play, Miller then went out and dropped 41 points on South Carolina in an overtime victory. It was the most points by a freshman in a Division I game this season and the most by an Alabama freshman in program history. He had the game-tying layup with 4.1 seconds to play in regulation then the winner in overtime with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
Like we should be surprised – sports is always more important than human lives. Many pundits, myself included, felt that a full investigation should have been completed before Miller was allowed to play. As I noted before, if Miller got the text before he came back and didn’t know the gun was in his car, then there’s a point. If he knew however, Mr. Miller has a big legal problem.
Unless this young man is really dumb or naive, if he did not know that Miles and Davis intended to use the gun for shoot anyone what did he thing they were going to use it for – skeet shooting?

I don’t usually write movie reviews except after Toronto, but rarely have I watched a decent film that missed something very basic. I was free yesterday, and I had heard about a new movie called Marlowe. I love film noirs; I like Liam Neeson as an actor and it was directed by Neil Jordan. I like his films: The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, even some of his weirder pictures like Breakfast on Pluto and Byzantine. So, I wanted to see it.
Like I said, I was free, so I went to the local metroplex. It was a decent film: very well photographed. It had everything that great noir movies have: Neeson was an excellent Marlowe – he’s a large man, a fact that various characters mentioned a few time. Neeson did some action, but this wasn’t Taken or ay of the other “superhero” action movies he’s done. His Marlowe even admitted that the femme fatale, Diane Kruger, 47 years old in real life was “half his age” (Neeson is 70). Jessica Lange plays Ms. Kruger’s mother, very much playing the still sexy dragon lady. The villains were good, Alan Cummings and Danny Huston were appropriately slimy; Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Cummings’ chauffeur who ends up playing a big part in the ending. The story was adequately labyrinthine. It was good. It could have been much better
As I left though, there was something missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Suddenly it came to me. I don’t know who’s idea it was but this film doesn’t have narration from Marlowe. As a result, you didn’t get the feel of Marlowe’s thoughts and motivations. As a result, Marlowe just acts. Why does he care about this case? There’s no descriptions of the characters, with sardonic wit and world weariness.
Again, worth seeing, but it could have been so much better. I think I’ll go watch Farewell My Lovely with Robert Mitchum as Marlowe.