PSP's Weekend Wrap Up

Ok, it is become apparent that no one seems to give a sh*t about my Flyers' coverage. As a result, it has been suggested that I open up the blog to a few other items as we're still in a bit of a dead period for sports. So, in that vain, I'm going back to the old weekend wrap up format.

King Tut Exhibit At The Franklin Institute - As much as I wanted to love the exhibit, I came away a little underwhelmed. None of the major Tut artifacts we've all seen in pictures and television (ie, his casket and death mask pictured above) were on display. Don't get me wrong though. There were plenty of artifacts related to King Tut's forefathers and many smaller, non gold related Tut items on display, which were pretty damn cool, especially once you realize they are over 3500 years old. As usual, the Franklin Institute did a fabulous job laying out the exhibit. If you are planning to go, you won't be all that disappointed. It is definitely worth the money. Plus, make sure you do the audio tour narrated by Omar Sharif. It was really informative and he has a really cool accent. I bet he used it to get laid a lot.

Hollywoodland - This was a decent movie, which really made the mystery of the death of the first Superman, George Reeves, pretty interesting. Adrien Brody was pretty entertaining, and Ben Affleck was pretty decent at portraying Reeves, whom I have seen described as a wooden, uncharismatic actor. I'm guessing Ben didn't have to do a lot of research on how to pull this role off.

Flags of Our Fathers - I read the book, so I had huge expectations for this movie. I'm glad to say, it didn't disappoint. I'm really excited to see the companion movie, Letters From Iwo Jima now.

Flags did a great job of showing how confused our Marines were in trying to fight the hidden Japanese soldiers when they initially stormed the island. This scene is very reminiscent to the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. (Scenes like this make surround sound worth its weight in gold.) Unfortunately, the movie spent too much time on telling the flag raisers' story when they returned to the States to raise money for the war effort. Plus, since I read the book and knew the history behind the picture of the flag raising on Iwo Jima, I could fill in some of the holes in the story. However, I can see how others could get a bit confused as to who some of the characters were and how they were involved in the flag raising.

One last point on this movie, it doesn't totally explain how Iggy died (not a major plot point I'm giving away), but alludes to how gruesome it was. The book does describe it in more detail. If you want to know, email me.

Dice Undisputed - The Dice you all remember is back. Thank God! He may be fatter, greyer and losing a little hair at the temples, but his act seems to be the same, which is fine by me. I missed the guy. He was one of my all time favorite comics. While watching this show, you have to look for two things which are totally hysterical: One, he almost never takes off his weightlifting gloves. There is even a scene with him swimming in the ocean while wearing them. Second, even though he can't light up in the Jersey clubs in which he performed, he still holds an unlit cigarette for the effect.

Ok, now onto some Philly Sports issues:

Ryan Howard Gets A Raise - Seriously, what is all the fuss about? So what...He didn't get a long term deal. Cry me a friggin river. He is still guaranteed to be a Phillie for another 4 years. The only problem I have was why didn't they give the guy $1 million. Would another $100K have killed them? I trust that this one will eventually get done. The Phils usually do a good job of locking up their young guys. They just have to realize that this guy isn't going to give them a huge home town discount. Hopefully, he'll take out his frustration on pitchers this year.

Phils lose to Yanks - I watched about one at bat and it happened to be the one where Pat the Bat legged out a double, taking advantage of Johnny Damon's rag arm in center. Maybe the foot isn't in such bad shape. By the way, Cole Hamels pitched three scoreless innings against a half lineup of Yanks regulars...not too shabby.

Free Agency Has Started...Someone might want to alert the Birds - As usual, free agency has not started at a fast pace for our Eagles. Although, depending on who you believe, the Birds may have interest in Pats Outside Linebacker, Tully Banta-Cain, Pats Running Back, Corey Dillon, and Titans Running Back, Chris Brown. Plus, due to a lack of interest to the level he and his agent expected, it also sounds like Donte Stallworth is not totally out of the picture yet.

Vilma On The Trading Block - My buddy Aran posted an excellent idea in the comments section on my earlier free agency post. He is a huge Jets fan and noted that Jonathan Vilma is apparently on the trading blocks because he's not a great fit for their 3-4 defense. However, he was a stud two years ago in the 4-3 as a middle linebacker. I wonder if the Birds are interested? That would be a HUGE upgrade over the aging Ax Man at MLB.

Flyers Go O-fer The Season Against the Pens - I know...I know....you guys are bored with the Flyers, but I had to comment on today's game. Yes, the Flyers lost yet again to the Pens, but they looked so much more competitive against this team today than they have all year. Although, is it too much to ask to have one guy on this friggin team that can score on the stupid shootout? This team will continue to give points away until they can find a guy or two that can at least go 50/50 on shootout attempts. For years, this team has dressed at least one goon that does nothing but fight. Isn't about time they dress one guy that does nothing else, but score shootout goals?

Sixers Win Fourth Straight - That's it...I'm done with this franchise.