A Decade More of Brady

Sadness comes across the crowd as the clouds roll in. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots come to a two year contract extension agreement, as his contract was to expire next season - as long as Brady stays uninjured - Patriots fans will have another three years of Brady football. And in October he stated he wanted to play football for another decade.

As Brady turns 39 this August, and we could see the decline in his game play last season, I don't get why this is even on the table.
I get he's good, but he's becoming a shadow of himself.

Jimmy Garoppolo being on the suggested trading block as Patriots don't have a first round pick. I'm just sitting here shaking my head. You need to let that kid loose. He's gonna be something. Don't drop him because Brady wants to play another decade. Just because he wants to, doesn't mean he deserves to. And we've seen Garoppolo make damn good use of his receivers. Last season Brady struggled.

If the Patriots trade Garoppolo because Brady may stick around, and they want a first round pick, all they have is an ex-second string quarterback that lost that spot to the kid you traded away. And when Brady gets hurt, you're stuck with a Brock Osweiler, or worse.

Work with what you have this draft. Work with what you've already worked with to this point. Better Garoppolo, show faith in your second string team. All a first round pick will do is throw a new kid in the mix of guys that may never see NFL gameplay. Work with the players you already have who know the plays. Better them; they already have a chemistry within your team and locker room.

Walkers, and Zombies, and Bears; Oh My!

Executive producer and director explains The Walking Dead's use of the term "walker" as opposed to "zombie."

The literal definition if zombie is a Haitian term for a person who is being controlled by voodoo.

George Romero was the first to bring about the use of the term "zombie" in pop culture, although the fans of his Night of the Living Dead (1968) were the ones who applied the term to his reanimated corpses.

This is why you will never hear characters within The Walking Dead use the term "zombie" to refer to the endless scores of bad guys they battle through every episode. Their scriptwriters are very cautious of that.

PayPal & Netflix

As we all know, Netflix has been working on tracking down everyone and every IP and VPN engine that gives their users the ability to look as though their watching from somewhere else.

This task more difficult than Netflix realized, had them reach out for help from PayPal. PayPal being one huge way people can pay for things online, has the ability to find these services that receive payment through them to get their work around VPNs.

TorrentFreak reported that PayPal sent Canadian based VPN service UnoTelly that it would no longer offer them the ability to be paid through them under "copyright infringement" grounds.
If you actually read the terms and conditions, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Engadget says that PayPal shot itself in the foot by doing this, as UnoTelly just told it's users to just pay with credit cards, which then cuts into PayPal's business. But if you look at the big picture, PayPal had already cut off their ability to earn money from UnoTelly. They weren't going to offer to accept payments for them.

So the only thing that happened is that yeah PayPal lost business, but it was business they knew they would lose by sending that message. Just their intended reaction from thay action was not also cutting largely into the groups of people using UnoTelly to watch Netflix with a catalogue of movies they wanted.
Yes, SOME people may not be able to make those credit card payments, and were probably working with PayPal so they didn't have to worry about paying with a credit card they may not have. But not all if them. So PayPal has removed some of the users, just not all that they had intended. And again, they were cutting UnoTelly off, so the business would have been lost anyway. They knew that beforehand.

Again Netflix, would it not be easier to just make the location of a person irrelevant, and offer everyone the same movies and TV shows worldwide?

#ThankYouBeastMode

"He's not carrying the football, he's carrying his team. That's who he is. That's what he's done." (T Cable)

Marshawn Lynch tweeted a photo during SuperBowl L of hung up cleats. He will be missed. There were times he seemed unstoppable when he got ahold of that football.

So as this five-time Pro Bowler hangs up his cleats - as his tweet, and his agent (Doug Hendrickson) are indicating - we wonder what's in store for him now. At 29, he's said to have saved all of his NFL contract income amounting to roughly $50 million, and been living solely off of his endorsement money.
I'm sure the endorsements won't stop for a while.

Good luck and farewell.
Next up; Peyton Manning.

Ottawa and Toronto in Cahoots

Ottawa and Toronto are working together? What?

Two Ontario teams in rebuilds. The blue team since 1967, the Sens for just the last few years. I heard once about a trade between the pair years ago, and the Ottawa Senators owner said something along the lines of him not trading to a team down Highway 417 again. Both of these Canadian teams are not only in the Eastern Conference, but the Atlantic Division.
Usually teams won't trade unless they're getting something they want or need, and as both teams compete on a nightly basis within a division... even if both get good from a deal, their still helping a team they're in contention with.

Toronto traded away their captain, Dion Phaneuf (the first Leafs captain to be traded away since Doug Gilmour was traded to the New Jersey Devils in 1997), and a bunch of no names (Matt Frattin, Ryan Rupert, and Casey Bailey) in this nine player deal; although the name Casey Bailey does ring a bell for some reason, and a defensive prospect in Cody Donaghey.
Ottawa surrendering Jared Cowen, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening, Tobias Lindberg, and a 2nd round draft pick in 2017.

Some seem to see this as a push for Ottawa to make the playoffs; they're 4 points out of a Wild Card spot. And Toronto? Well, they're tied for last in the East with Columbus, and have games in hand.

Given that Jared Cowen hasn't done a ton this season, and Lindberg isn't a household name, I still see 4 players and a prospect being traded for 5 ex-blue team members (bags of pucks). To me, Michalek will be the largest loss to the Sens this season. Phaneuf better have been worth it.

SuperBowl L - Game Day

Bring on SuperBowl L! Will I be going out of my way to watch? Nope.

Here's what this game boils down to.
The nearly undefeated Carolina Panthers who've only lost one game this season, against the Denver Broncos, that relied on their home field advantage to take the AFC title.

SuperBowl XLVIII; Broncos blow out the New England Patriots in Denver to take the AFC title. Face the Seattle Seahawks for the big dance; can't even score a touchdown. Get blown out.

SuperBowl XLIX; Broncos can't inch past the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC finals. Patriots dominate the Colts, limiting them to only a touchdown, and face the Defending Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Win sparingly.

SuperBowl L, this year; Broncos vs Patriots in Denver. Broncos win by 2.
If the past foreshadows at all, the Broncos will be utterly dominated. Playing a team that was known for their defensive prowess, and flexed their offensive strength against the Arizona Cardinals. The Panthers, who were the last of the undefeated teams this season. First and only loss coming in Week 16, to the Atlanta Falcons.
Let's face facts; it isn't looking good.

I'm not saying, "Broncos have no chance. They will lose." I'm just saying that given the stats and numbers, they have their game set up for them, and it doesn't look like a fun go.

With Peyton Manning's contract ending after this season, it would be nice to see such an amazing player go out as a champ. But then again he could pull a Brett Favre and stick around. As nice as seeing him leave on a win, the Broncos will really have their work cut out for them, and the Panthers will not hand it to them. And they shouldn't. But the blind fans need to just see what others see, the odds, stats, and figures of the situation.

Mean really Broncos fans, do you want to be the Leafs fans for the NFL? Blindly cheering no matter how awful the situation.
The blue team is very different; the Broncos are respectable, and can win. Do win. But your answer to being part of SuperBowl L and argument to why you win at home against others can't be, "Who's playing in the SuperBowl this year?" and "LET'S GO BRONCOS!!! LET'S GO!"

We'll find out how they stack up at 6:30pm.

Weighted Conversions

There are two taboo topics with women; age and weight.
I've already touched on the age insanity in Pretty Little Vixens, so guess where I'm at now.

Women will believe what they want to believe. You have morbidly obese chicks who just think their god's gift to the world; then you have women who no matter what you say, do, or how they look, they will not believe positive; then there are the women who will twist anything you say so no matter how polite you are, you're being a right asshole.

There is a difference between "round" and "curvaceous." And there's a difference between telling someone, "You're fat," and "I'm trying to make sure you're healthy."

Its really hard to phrase this conversation, but when someone tries to look out for you and your well being, and states they understand why it's difficult to make this change, and keep change... accept it. Don't take it as they're calling you fat.

People need to be more accepting of opinions that are broached educatedly. I'm not saying everyone can have this conversation. They can't. It takes two receptive people, and one who can work their words to say things that will not cause damage or offence.

So women, when you're speaking with someone who is actively trying to choose their words cautiously to offend you in the least possible way, appreciate it. Try to not hear "you're fat," and try to hear what's being said, as opposed to what you only want to believe their saying.

My back up to this topic is again Philip DeFranco, with his comments of Ashley Graham being the first Sports Illustrated plus-sized model. And bravo to her!
But some do see it as pandering, as where do the healthy women end, and the unhealthy large women begin. It is healthy to have a little meat on your bones. I thoroughly enjoy women built that way. It is not healthy to be stupid stick thin like models currently. Just as it is not healthy to be too rotund.

Yeah, I've decided to drop the polite shit.

When you become overly large it's not good on your body, organs, tissues, muscles and joints. It wears on your heart which shortens your life span, and wrecks joints such as knees (and elbows if you lean on them) as they have to carry you, same as your muscles.

When someone pipes up its for your well being take it as someone looking out for you; not just being an ass and calling you a fat tub of lard.

Review: In the Heart of the Sea

A movie based on a tale as old as time (excuse the Beauty and the Beast reference). This movie actually isn't a film about Moby Dick. It's the creation if the story. How the fictional novel was created; drawing to light that this best selling work if fiction is in fact based in a true story.

Present is the tale of a great white whale, ravaging a whaling ship in the sea. Not present is Captain Ahab and Queequeg, in the story narrated by Ishmael. More so the battle between Owen Chase the first mate of The Essex, and her Captain George Pollard. Story recounted by the only remaining, surviving member of her crew, Tom Knickerson, to the novellest looking recreate himself to the world with a new work which we all now know as Moby Dick, Herman Melville.

I feel I may have already given so much away, and I apologize. But there is more to the movie than I have shared. And the opening would have let all that away in much less detail, especially to those who don't really know the story of Moby Dick.

Even though it was an amazing film, and the terrifying monster that is the great white whale was finally brought to life, I will admit to expecting much more from this movie.

The graphics and whale hunting scenes were astounding, as was the destruction of The Essex. But if you're not in for the long haul, the movie can be a little slow.

Then again, so is The Mutiny on The Bounty.

Review: Pan

I hate doing this, but I want to start off with the negatives. The new Pan film, is a bit too fantastical. I do enjoy a good fantasy film and novel when I pick up a book - no matter how few and far between they may be - but there is a line.

The historic tale of Peter Pan is very fantastical; rife with flying kids, pirates on ships that fly, fairies, a clock eating alligator, and mermaids. But those things can be done in a way that don't make it too childish and immature.

Peter Pan has had many takes done on it before, but I have yet to see one like this. Pan is a prequel to the Peter Pan story we all know and love. This is good as everything before the original - to me at least - has been veiled in mystery. How did he get to Neverland? Why does he not age? How did that rooster crowing, fearless, crazy kid meet Tinkerbell, and learn to fly?

This movie gives us answers to these questions, and so many more brought about by the well known story of Peter Pan. This on top of unlikely friendships, and new enemies.

And just when you think it can tie off the gap, it leaves it open for a sequel to itself, and another prequel to Peter Pan. So yes, it's leading us "second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning."