Month: July 2022

Sunday Sports Shorts

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has been suspended three games after he made contact with umpire Nick Mahrley during a game against the Oakland A’s on Friday night. Anderson was also fined an undisclosed amount of money.

The NBA has questions about a Philadelphia 76ers offseason that let the team land P.J. Tucker and Danuel House while re-signing James Harden at a reduced salary.

After being released by the Titans in 2022, Jones signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady will have a lot of weapons on the field: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and now Julio Jones. 

The Matthew Tkachuk-Evander Kane rivalry will last, even with Tkachuk moving to a different conference. The two have faced off numerous times as part of the Battle of Alberta and other Pacific Division showdowns during Kane’s tenure with the San Jose Sharks. They haven’t exactly taken a liking to each other over time.

B.J. Novak’s “Vengeance” Film

“Vengeance” is the newest dark comedy film by B.J. Novak. In this film, Novak is the director, writer, and leading actor. Issa Rae is the supporting actress in the movie. Therefore, this movie will have people tuning in.

The movie is about a podcaster (Novak) and a journalist (Rae) who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with.

Recently, B.J. joined NBC’s “Today” show to discuss his new movie. Novak said he was “triple-scared” to wear three hats in one project. But he decided to face his fears, and now his film has gotten solid reviews from critics.

“Vengeance” received a 79% rating out of 95 reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. 

Novak’s television acting career began on MTV’s Punk’d. He was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show’s second season in 2003. Novak mainly became known for being one of the writers, executive producers, and directors of the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), in which he also starred as Ryan Howard.

DC League of Super Pets – Weekend Box Office

The animated comedy “DC League of Super-Pets” hit the theaters this weekend. The movie stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves, and many more. 

Jared Stern is the director and co-writer of the project. Stern also co-produced with Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and many more. It’s a big weekend for Stern, Warner Bros, and Seven Bucks Productions. 

DC League of Super Pets is about Krypto the Super-Dog (Dwayne Johnson) and Superman (John Krasinski) are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime side by side in Metropolis. However, when the Man of Steel and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a ragtag group of animals to master their newfound powers for a rescue mission.

The film earned $9.3 million from 4,314 theaters on opening day, including $2.2 million in Thursday preview ticket sales. DC League of Super-Pets grossing a $9.3M Friday, for an expected $23M+ opening at 4,314. Warner Bros was initially eyeing around $25M for the film. Still, they should be happy with the results. It could’ve been worse. 

“Super-Pets” scored a 72% out of 95 reviews on the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. 

Miguel’s Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday, folks! We weren’t going to leave Friday without talking about some of the most exciting topics has been going on in the movie world. It’s been nothing but flood and exciting news for moviegoers and cinephiles. Buckle up and get ready for Miguel’s Friday Thoughts. 

“X-Men” will be premiering in Fall 2023. The series will be a reboot of the classic animated series from the 90s. The original series is a fantastic show. There are so many great memories of watching the show as a kid. The series ended in 1997. Some of the cast members will reprise their original roles. We can’t wait to see what they will bring to the table. 

The young, fearless actor Jharrel Jerome continues to make power moves. The Afro-Dominican star will lead in the limited series “Night of the Assassins,” based on the New York Times best seller. Jerome will be playing Eddie Broker, an African American soldier who helped thwart a Nazi plot to kill the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during a top-secret conference in Tehran in 1943. Jerome won an Emmy for his role in the limited series “When They See Us.” He first got some attention in the movie “Moonlight,” which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. If Jerome can knock this one out of the ballpark, he will have more significant opportunities. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 20: Jharrel Jerome attends “When They See Us” World Premiere at The Apollo Theater on May 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Sports Throwback Thursday: 1919 Chicago White Sox

We have a good one for you today for Sports Throwback Thursday. Let’s take it back to 1919. Why? It’s about the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal. 

In 1919, some of the White Sox players were involved in fixing the World Series. It’s one of the most notorious scandals in baseball history. The scandal is called “The Black Sox Scandal.” 

The scandal occurred during the 1919 World Series between the White Sox and Cincinnati Reds. The 1919 Chicago White Sox played 140 games during the regular season, won 88 games, lost 52, and finished in the first position. White Sox finish the season with a .629 winning percentage.

Shoeless Joe Jackson was accused of taking part in throwing the 1919 World Series along with seven of his teammates. His teammates were: Eddie Cicotte, Claude “Lefty” Williams, Arnold “Chick” Gandil, Charles “Swede” Risburg, George “Buck” Weaver, Oscar “Happy” Felsch, and Fred McMullin. 

In October 1920, Gandil, Cicotte, Williams, Risberg, Felsch, McMullin, Weaver, and Jackson—now dubbed the “Black Sox”—were indicted on nine counts of conspiracy.

Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned all eight members from baseball. The commissioner was not going to let this slide. He wanted the game of baseball to have integrity and respect for its fans. If the 2017 Houston Astros played in this era, there would’ve been severe repercussions. 

Jackson was innocent; he was still banned from baseball and not allowed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Arnold Rothstein, one of the suspects for organizing or financing the fix, was never charged with a crime. 

Across 110th Street – Movie Review

Across 110th Street is a 1972 crime-drama film that every filmmaker should watch, especially in they’re a big fan of the genre. New York filmmakers will enjoy this one. It’s a combination of film noir and Blaxploitation – a genre that emerged in the United States during the 1970s. 

Here’s what the story is about:

After a robbery in Harlem turns into a scene of mass murder, promising young black police officer William Pope is assigned to the case, along with surly, prejudiced Italian-American cop Frank Mattelli. The pair clashes during their tense investigation as they try to track down the three suspects and apprehend them. Also searching for the fugitives is ruthless mobster Nick D’Salvio, who will stop at nothing to retrieve the stolen money.

The first ten minutes were extraordinary. The movie’s beginning is divided into three words: Money, Cops, and Guns. Act One and Act Three were the most intriguing parts of the movie because they kept you on your toes. Act Two was a little bit slow and uninteresting, but you needed to pay attention to every detail because of how it connects to the storyline. 

Overall, this movie deserves an 8.5 out of 10 stars. A classic New York film taking place in the heart of Harlem. 

Aubrey Plaza in “Emily The Criminal”

Aubrey Plaza is starring in the new Action/Thriller “Emily The Criminal.” it’s gotten great reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.

Synopsis: Saddled with student debt and unable to find work, a college graduate becomes involved in a credit card scam, acting as a dummy shopper and buying increasingly risky products with stolen credit cards.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 12, 2022. Plaza also serves as the producer for this film. We can’t wait to see her in this one.

Sunday Sports Shorts

Justin Verlander became the major league’s first 13-game winner, striking out nine and topping 99 mph in his final inning to lead the Houston Astros over the Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Saturday.

Former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett is back in the NFL, this time as a coach. The Detroit Lions hired Barrett as an offensive assistant Saturday. This comes almost two years after the Pittsburgh Steelers waived Barrett before the 2020 season. 

Calgary traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers for a monster haul of Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a 1st round pick. 

Blue Jays Set A Record in Fenway

The Toronto Blue Jays set a franchise record for runs in a game, rolling past the Red Sox 28-5. Every Blue Jays starter had at least two hits, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. tied Frank Catalanotto’s franchise record with six. Danny Jansen homered twice and drove in six runs. Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez added solo homers for Toronto.

The Jays already had racked up a 6-0 lead but, with the bases loaded, had an opportunity for even more. Outfielder Raimel Tapia came to the plate with two outs in the top of the 3rd inning. Tapia lofted a pop fly towards center fields and dejectedly tossed the bat away, assuming an easy escape. Tapia raced around the bases and easily beat the throw, resulting in an incredibly rare inside-the-park grand slam.

Miguel’s Top Friday Stories

Many things are going on in the sports world this week. You have the Seattle Mariners trying to keep their winning streak alive, Joe Lacob getting fined, and Nashville Predators adding Nino Niederreiter to their team. 

Seattle ended the first half of the season on a 14-game win streak to enter the break at 51-42. Despite being nine games over .500, Seattle is ten games back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead. And with the Astros in town for a weekend series, the Mariners have a chance to cut into that deficit.

The NBA fined Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob $500,000 on Wednesday for comments he made bashing the league’s current luxury tax system. The Warriors paid an NBA record of more than $170 million in luxury tax and $346 million in total payroll last season, which turned heads in the league, especially after they won their fourth NBA title in eight seasons.

The Nashville Predators have signed free agent forward Nino Niederreiter to a two-year, $8 million contract. Niederreiter scored 24 goals and added 20 assists for 44 points in 75 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season. The 29-year-old has 181 goals and 187 assists for 368 points in 732 career NHL games in 12 seasons split between the New York Islanders, the Minnesota Wild, and the Hurricanes.