MLB Power Rankings

Through 7/29

1. Tampa Bay Rays (63-43)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (62-41)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (62-42)
4. Oakland Athletics (63-43)
5. Boston Red Sox (63-44)
6. Atlanta Braves (61-45)
7. Detroit Tigers (59-45)
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (56-48)
9. Baltimore Orioles (58-48)
10. Cincinnati Reds (59-48)
11. Texas Rangers (57-49)
12. Cleveland Indians (57-48)
13. Arizona Diamondbacks (54-51)
14. New York Yankees (55-50)
15. Kansas City Royals (51-51)
16. Washington Nationals (52-54)
17. Seattle Mariners (50-55)
18. Colorado Rockies (51-56)
19. Philadelphia Phillies (49-56)
20. Chicago Cubs (48-56)
21. Los Angeles Angels (48-56)
22. Toronto Blue Jays (48-57)
23. New York Mets (47-56)
24. San Diego Padres (49-58)
25. San Francisco Giants (46-58)
26. Minnesota Twins (45-57)
27. Milwaukee Brewers (44-61)
28. Chicago White Sox (40-63)
29. Miami Marlins (40-64)
30. Houston Astros (35-69)

MLB Midseason Awards

My opinions on who's been the best in the Big Leagues.

American League MVP:

1. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2. Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
3. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

National League MVP:

1. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Yadier Molina, Saint Louis Cardinals
3. Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies

 American League Cy Young:

1. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
2. Hiroki Kuroda, New York Yankees
3. Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

National League Cy Young:

1. Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

 American League Reliever of the Year:

1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
2. Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics
3. Joe Nathan, Texas Rangers

 National League Reliever of the Year:

1. Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Edward Mujica, Saint Louis Cardinals
3. Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

American League Manager of the Year:

1. John Farrell, Boston Red Sox
2. Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians
3. Joe Girardi, New York Yankees

 National League Manager of the Year:

1. Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Mike Matheny, Saint Louis Cardinals
3. Walt Weiss, Colorado Rockies

American League Gold Gloves:
C - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B -  Brandon Moss, Oakland Athletics
2B - Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
3B - Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
SS - Yunel Escobar, Tampa Bay Rays
OF - Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
OF - Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians
OF - Dayan Viciedo, Chicago White Sox

National League Gold Gloves:
C - Russell Martin, Pittsburgh Pirates
1B - Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
2B - Darwin Barney, Chicago Cubs
3B - Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
SS - Pete Kozma, Saint Louis Cardinals
OF - Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
OF - Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies
OF - Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

American League Silver Sluggers:
C - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B - Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
2B - Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
3B - Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
SS - Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers
OF - Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
OF - Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
OF - Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
DH - David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

National League Silver Sluggers:
C - Yadier Molina, Saint Louis Cardinals
1B - Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
2B - Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
3B - David Wright, New York Mets
SS - Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers
OF - Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
OF - Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
OF - Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies

Justin Verlander...All-Star?

Justin Verlander was recently named to the 2013 American League All-Star Game roster. Why? There are two reasons.

Reason 1: His reputation.
Justin Verlander (probably correctly) is considered by many to be the best pitcher in baseball. It's been a near-unanimous opinion since his MVP season two years ago.

Reason 2: Jim Leyland picked the players.
This is one of the many reasons why I hate the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

There are more reasons to NOT pick him, however.

Reason 1: What Dan Uggla is to All-Star hitters/fielders, Verlander is to pitchers.
The 2012 All-Star Game was a lame one, with virtually no suspense. Justin Verlander's first inning is a huge reason why. He gave up 5 runs (only one fewer than AL had hits for the game) and put his team out of contention, eventually screwing his own Detroit Tigers out of homefield advantage (though that didn't have any impact on the World Series).

Reason 2: He has a 1.36 WHIP
For those of you who don't know what a WHIP is, just know that not only is 1.36 not very good, it's actually kind of bad.

Reason 3: Other people deserved it.
I hate bringing up snubs because it's hard enough to pick players for this game, but when there's Hiroki Kuroda out there, with a .77 lower ERA and .33 lower WHIP, it's hard not to do this.

Verlander has a decent ERA, a mediocre WHIP, and a good amount of strikeouts. He's not All-Star material this year, especially with guys like Hirok out there.

Everything Wrong with Libertarianism Summed Up in One Person

Edward Snowden. He's the man who recently leaked the information about the NSA listening in on American citizens' phone calls. He did so, he says, in defense of the Constitution; he believes that what the NSA was doing is illegal, and he sees himself as a sort of whistleblower for the federal government.

As expected, the government wasn't as understanding. He's been condemned largely by both democrats and republicans, though he has been praised by some. Republican senator with libertarian sensibilities, Rand Paul of Kentucky, reportedly agrees with Snowden's decision. No surprise there, either.

Snowden's dodging of the American justice system has shown the true hypocrisy of libertarianism. They're all for defending the Constitution until they can benefit from the opposite. If Snowden is trying to defend the Constitution, there's no denying that he should be adhering to the legal system that the same document created. Even if he wanted to argue that a charge of espionage by the federal government is virtually impossible to win, there is precedent to say otherwise; the Pentagon Papers actually proves to be a great comparison.

Snowden, in his libertarian logic, has sought refuge within nations that are by no means breeding grounds for liberty. He's been in Communist China and he's been in discussion with Communist Cuba as well as Russia, seeking asylum from an American justice system that has every right to charge him for espionage.

The childish libertarian philosophy extends beyond Snowden, however. I am still amazed that at this day and age libertarian economics exists. Are we truly to believe that if libertarians are okay with Snowden avoiding justice, that they'd be okay with their own "screw the poor" attitude if they were any less fortunate? This may sound somewhat trivial but I argue that it is not; libertarianism has far too many holes in it to be a growing political movement.

What I Don't Get About All the LeBron Hatred

LeBron James has been the most hated person in professional sports since the Decision on July 8, 2010. He joined the Miami Heat to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, with the intention of winning multiple championships. As of tonight, he has now won multiple championships.

There are multiple things I don't get about all the hatred that has been going his way. The first one is that LeBron is far from the first person to try to do this. Does anyone remember when Karl Malone gave up on his hopes of having the most points all time to join up with Kobe Bryan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gary Payton on the Los Angeles Lakers? While it's true this team lost to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, there is another recent example of this kind of thing. While the Boston Celtics traded for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007, the situation was still somewhat comparable. This team of course won the Finals that year, with the help of the emerging Rajon Rondo.

Another thing I don't get about all the hate is why 100% of it is directed at LeBron and none of it at ESPN, for airing the Decision. If I had to take a guess, I'd bet it was ESPN's idea, and they approached him. LeBron, being a young man who wasn't fully matured at the time (he's been a celebrity since he was in high school), said yes, and at the very least chose to donate the proceeds to charity. The 2013 LeBron James would not have done the TV special. He wouldn't have used the oft-criticized phrase "taking [his] talents to South Beach." Would he have done the "not 6, not 7, etc.?" Probably, but he would have said it in a different way; you can't expect someone to say his team isn't going to win a championship. He wouldn't have done that awkward event in Miami with Bosh, Wade, and all the smoke. Okay, he might have still done that. But the point is that he's changed and matured a great deal since that, to a point in which most of the hate is unjustifiable.

LeBron left the team that gave him his start and was so good to him? No one batted an eye when Shaq signed as a free agent with the Lakers despite taking the Magic to an NBA Finals. No one bats an eye when players leave their universities that bring them so much fame after one year, even when they are taking less money than they'd be getting at Kentucky. Does it make a difference that LeBron James is from Ohio? I don't know, maybe. This is a guy who had spent his entire life in Ohio, never even going away to college or anything; I think it was about time he thought for himself and not for a bunch of people trying to live vicariously through him.

And now you want to hate him for saying he's going to win again. And this is different from Steph Curry saying the Warriors are going to win how? This is what we call bulletin board material, here, people, and guys like Durant, Paul George, and Chris Paul should be prepping to shove those words right back in his face. Otherwise, the casual fan shouldn't be using these words against his character; I don't want a player on my team who doesn't say he'll win another championship. It's not like he's saying this while playing for the Pistons or something.

I also think it's pretty damn funny that so many people who hate LeBron for going to Miami to win were wanting him to go and team up with Carmelo to win or to team up with Rose and Boozer. Hypocrisy at its finest.

15 Things We Learned from Game 6 of the NBA Finals

The entire series has been educational. We've learned that Mike Miller is occasionally capable of running without wincing in pain, we've learned that Danny Green is the best 3-point shooter in the league, that Tony Parker is very clutch, and that Dwyane Wade truly was faking injuries the entire postseason. Last night was the most educational yet, however, and this is what we all learned:

1. Mike Miller only needs one shoe to score. This was an awesome moment although it really wasn't that big of a deal.
2. Chris Bosh can defend perimeter jumpers. Even if you want to complain that the last one was a foul, the one he had earlier in the overtime period was as athletic a play as I've ever seen.
3. The Spurs need Danny Green. Despite having an off night, they still could have won, but it's clear how important he is.
4. LeBron James plays better with Dwyane Wade out. I think it's probably a combination of him being great off the dribble, having more space to work with, and being less likely to pass with D-Wade out. Most of the 4th quarter comeback happened this way.
5. Tim Duncan is still a god. While he was somewhat quiet in the second half, his first half was the best performance by anyone we've seen all series.
6. Ray Allen still has it. If the Heat go on to win the series, that 3 by Allen to force overtime will go down as one of the greatest shots in NBA history, and rightly so. Allen, at the end of his career and despite being a bench player, had a shot that Robert Horry or Michael Jordan would have been jealous of.
7. The Spurs play so much better when they go big. We saw it at the end of regulation, when Duncan wasn't in and the Heat cleaned up on the offensive boards.
8. LeBron James is clutch. It's been a misnomer for a while to say that he's not clutch; he undoubtedly brings his game up a notch during crunch time and has been outstanding with the Heat when they are facing elimination.
9. The Spurs should attack Mike Miller every possession on offense. I've said this for a while, but Miller's five fouls (admittedly one or two were more than questionable calls) show me that Miller doesn't have the speed or quickness to move his feet and stay with anyone. He relies on his body to slow down the offensive player, and that's where the foul is called.
10. Referees hate Manu Ginobili and I can't blame them. I'm not referring to the no-call at the end of overtime; I cannot possibly complain about that call, considering Ginobili committed one of the worst traveling violations I've ever seen. I'm referring to a few minutes earlier in the game when he was quite literally tackled to the ground after getting a rebound. He threw the ball away to Tony Parker right before he hit the ground but there was no call. Even if that's incidental contact, if the player with the ball hits the ground and either has a traveling violation or has to throw the ball away in desperation, that's gotta be called. Him not getting calls may have something to do with him being the worst flopper in history since either Reggie Miller or Allen Iverson. Good for the refs; that stuff has to stop.
11. Danny Green's transition defense is LeBron James' kryptonite. This is probably going too far, but the play he made on James that was completely CLEAN was incredible.
12. Tony Parker can flop with the best of them. The Ray Allen offensive foul was a good call. Parker clearly flopped but Allen also clearly pushed off. TP3 got another call in similar fashion, exaggerating it with his head going back. Still, though, those were both rightly called fouls. Sometimes you have to exaggerate when you know you should be getting a call, I guess.
13. Tiago Splitter isn't as bad as everyone has said he is. He may not be great, but he had some great buckets in the fourth quarter against tough, aggressive defense.
14. The referee's union should probably try and persuade ABC to not let Van Gundy call games. He's never once been satisfied with a referee's call and he lets everyone watching the game in their living rooms know about it.
15. The word "clutch" is overused by announcers and probably everybody. I don't know how clutch a 3 by LeBron James is after he bricks the first one in a way that it barely hits the rim. He was fed the ball and he made it the second time. I argue the same thing with Kawhi Leonard's free throws. It would have been clutch if he made both, but the announcer still claims it's clutch that he made his second after missing the first. Whatever.

Steroids in Baseball

            As an American—as a man brought up on the Bill of Rights and habeas corpus as much as I was on baseball—I have a number of problems with the MLB’s investigation into the Biogenesis program. Biogenesis director Tony Bosch has agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball as it wishes to pursue suspensions in twenty MLB players including Alex Rodriguez and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun.

            Major League Baseball’s evidence comes completely in two forms as of now: Bosch’s testimony and acquired handwritten documents. No Major League player has ever been suspended for PEDs without failing a drug test, and there is no reason to believe that this investigation would be able to obtain that kind of evidence. A number of questions are raised with the documents themselves, as Braun has stated that his name was on strictly for pursuing legal advice from Bosch last season after he had failed a test—a test that did not see him suspended due to a successful appeal. These documents, as unprofessional as they may be, would likely found permissible in a court of law, but the area is gray in whether or not they are reliable.

            In the realm of “beyond reasonable doubt”—a concept that still seems to confuse and puzzle juries today—there is always the possibility of Rodriguez, Braun, or Melky Cabrera buying PEDs for someone else’s use, as improbable as this explanation may be. This, while still violating the law, would not find them worthy of suspension in Major League Baseball’s eyes.

            Bosch’s testimony itself may bring up more questions than answers, as it is clear that he is testifying in order to get the MLB to drop the civil suit it has against him. This is certainly something that a good lawyer hired by these athletes can and will pick apart, in addition to things like the lack of signatures on the documents and no seeming way to trace any money Biogenesis received to these players.

            With all these questions having been raised, Major League Baseball may still be able to suspend these athletes. Since they are a private organization not pursuing criminal charges against these players as of now, they do not need evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to suspend. While this could outrage the MLBPA and lead to perhaps more lawsuits, it appears that Major League Baseball would be acting within legal boundaries to perform such an action. Just because no one has been suspended without failing a drug test does not mean that this cannot happen; it just means that the MLB has not pursued a case with as much zeal as the one right now.

            Then why the federal investigation? Why put Bosch under sworn testimony if these athletes do not see the same protection against Major League Baseball’s steroid witch-hunt as an alleged murderer or rapist would get from the prosecutors? The lack of hard evidence may very well find these athletes not guilty in a criminal court, but that will not necessarily keep them from facing 100-game suspensions.

            I have little doubt in my mind that most if not all of these players are guilty of using performance enhancing drugs, but that is not the point of this investigation. The MLB had no doubt about Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and numerous other ex-players but was unable to do anything there except waste tax dollars on hearings and investigations that lasted years. This is no different, save for the fact that these players are still playing. The reliance on federal help is still there, and the hard evidence isn’t.

            This scandal has additionally proven to us all that Major League Baseball’s anti-drug policy has utterly failed. Players like Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira—teammate to alleged Biogenesis clients Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli—have remarked upon the strictness of the MLB’s anti-drug policy and how baseball still apparently has a PED problem. It seems as if Major League Baseball should devote more time to adjusting its current policy than attacking its players without any hard evidence.

MLB Power Rankings Through June 2

1. St. Louis Cardinals (37-19) (Up 1)
2. Texas Rangers (35-21) (Down 1)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-22) (Up 10)
4. Atlanta Braves (34-22) (Up 5)
5. Cincinnati Reds (35-22) (Up 6)
6. Boston Red Sox (35-23) (Down 2)
7. Oakland Athletics (34-24) (Up 9)
8. Baltimore Orioles (32-25) (Down 1)
9. Tampa Bay Rays (31-25) (Up 8)
10. New York Yankees (31-25) (Down 7)
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (32-24)  (Down 6)
12. Detroit Tigers (30-25) (Down 6)
13. Cleveland Indians (30-26) (Up 1)
14. Colorado Rockies (30-27) (Down 1)
15. San Francisco Giants (30-27)  (Down 5)
16. Washington Nationals (28-29) (Down 8)
17. Philadelphia Phillies (27-30) (Up 7)
18. San Diego Padres (26-30) (Up 3)
19. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (25-32) (Up 6)
20. Minnesota Twins (25-29) (Down 2)
21. Chicago White Sox (24-30) (Up 1)
22. Kansas City Royals (23-31) (Down 10)
23. Seattle Mariners (24-33) (Down 3)
24. Toronto Blue Jays (24-33) (Up 3)
25. Chicago Cubs (23-32) (Up 3)
26. New York Mets (22-32) (Down 3)
27. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-32) (Down 1)
28. Milwaukee Brewers (21-34) (Down 9)
29. Houston Astros (20-37) (Up 1)
30. Miami Marlins (16-41) (Down 1)

A Review of Dan Brown's Inferno

Dan Brown is one of the most popular and controversial authors of all time. His novels such as The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons have been read by millions and have outraged at least as many. Is he one of the best writers ever? No. his style is repetitive, he fills his books with unnecessary details, and may or may not know what the hell he's talking about at times. But it'd be foolish to say he doesn't write effectively, creating memorable thrillers that take advantage of renowned artwork, conspiracy theories, and beautiful European locations to appeal to the world traveler and adventurer in all of us.

While he's widely known for his conspiracy theories about the Catholic Church and secret societies such as the Freemasons, Illuminati, and Opus Dei, his new novel departs from that. Inferno, released May 14, deals with the imagery of Dante's most known work, but not necessarily with clues left by the author. Da Vinci's works had iconography that revealed a conspiracy, but in this, Brown uses Dante's words and imagery to reveal the plans of a psychopath.

This novel follows the Robert Langdon Formula, however, so it is very similar to the others. The Robert Langdon Formula dictates that the novel opens with a murder (in this case, a suicide), has Langdon awake from a nightmare, and get called in to decipher a bunch of codes and symbols to track down a psychopath. The difference here is that Langdon has retrograde amnesia, having been shot, not knowing why he is in Florence and what he is looking for. He eventually finds a few clues and discovers that the mystery deals with Dante's Inferno, as well as artwork by Botticelli and Vasari.

The first half of the novel is good, both fast-paced and entertaining. It may be a bit manipulative, but the plot drags you in, and that's what it needs to do. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon meets up with the beautiful and genius Dr. Sienna Brooks, who proves to be a surprisingly interesting character because we know so little about her. It's revealed that she has an IQ of over 200, but she leaves far more questions than answers, and that's a good thing in a novel like this.

As good as the first half is, the second half is just as bad. The plot slows down to tie up loose ends with how Langdon got to Florence and how and why he got shot. This section was necessary, of course, but it slows down the novel and makes it dialogue-heavy and actually very confusing. The twist that comes in this part makes no sense and is completely stupid and terrible. Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels always have some sort of grand twist at the end, revealing that someone whom Langdon trusts is in fact malevolent or something like that, but this twist goes so far as to render the first half of the novel completely pointless. It's made even worse by the conclusion. I don't want to give away anything, but essentially nothing that happened in the novel meant anything; Langdon and Brooks followed all the complicated clues left behind by the villain to really no avail.

As dumb as this novel is and as unsatisfying as its conclusion is, it is still entertaining. Even the expository dialogue is at least somewhat entertaining, and it brings up an interesting moral dilemma that poses perhaps a greater moral gray area than anything in any of Brown's previous novels. That is a slight problem, however, because page-turners don't typically deal with gray areas. When reading a George Smiley novel, you know damn well the Russians are bad, and the mystery comes not from the why but wondering who is the mole. Not all thrillers are like this, however, as Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness dwells almost entirely in a gray area of morality, but that is almost an exception as far as thrillers go, and needless to say, Dan Brown is no Joesph Conrad.

There are far worse novels to read, and certainly more boring ones, but Inferno is far from great. I wouldn't quite say "abandon all hope all who open this book" but this is mediocre by Brown's standards. Angels & Demons was a Grade-A thriller and The Lost Symbol wasn't far from it. I'd rank this closer to The Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress as his weaker efforts. While you won't be able to predict the outcome, you'll probably wish after reading it that it was the one you predicted. I'm not saying it's terrible, because the journey to that point is a lot of fun, so I'd say it's basically completely average.

MLB Power Rankings through 5/10

1. Texas Rangers (22-13)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (22-12)
3. New York Yankees (21-13)
4. Boston Red Sox (22-14)
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-15)
6. Detroit Tigers (20-13)
7. Baltimore Orioles (22-14)
8. Washington Nationals (20-15) 
9. Atlanta Braves (21-14)
10. San Francisco Giants (21-15)
11. Cincinnati Reds (20-16)
12. Kansas City Royals (18-14)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (19-16)
14. Cleveland Indians (18-15)
15. Colorado Rockies (19-16)
16. Oakland Athletics (18-19)
17. Tampa Bay Rays (17-18)
18. Minnesota Twins (16-16)
19. Milwaukee Brewers (15-18)
20. Seattle Mariners (17-19)
21. San Diego Padres (16-19)
22. Chicago White Sox (14-19)
23. New York Mets (14-18)
24. Philadelphia Phillies (16-21) 
25. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (13-22)
26. Los Angeles Dodgers (13-21)
27. Toronto Blue Jays (13-24)
28. Chicago Cubs (13-22)
29. Miami Marlins (11-25)
30. Houston Astros (10-26)

Greatest Movies About Racism

The best movies that explore the themes of racial/ethnic equality and inequality. I'm sure there are plenty great ones that I haven't seen, but these are the ones I have, indicating the races/ethnic groups being featured.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - White vs. Black
2. Schindler's List (1993) - Aryan vs. Jewish
3. The Searchers (1956) - White vs. Pawnee
4. Do the Right Thing (1989) - White vs. Black vs. Asian
5. Gran Torino (2008) - White vs. Hmong
6. Dances with Wolves (1990) - White vs. Lakota (Sioux) vs. Pawnee 
7. Glory (1989) - White vs. Black
8. Apocalypse Now (1979)  - White vs. Vietnamese/Cambodian
9. Matewan (1987) - White vs. Black
10. The Great Dictator (1940) - Aryan vs. Jewish
11. Hotel Rwanda (2004) - Hutu vs. Tutsi
12. American History X (1998) - Aryan vs. Black
13. Malcolm X (1992) - White vs. Black/Muslim
14. West Side Story (1961) - White vs. Puero Rican
15. Lincoln (2012)  - White vs. Black
16. Gangs of New York (2002)  - White Americans vs. Immigrants
17. The Pianist (2002)  - Aryan vs. Jewish
18. Crash (2005) - Everyone vs. Everyone Else
19. Life Is Beautiful (1997) - Aryan vs. Jewish
20. A Bronx Tale (1993) - White vs. Black
21. The Mission (1986) - White vs. South American
22. Ip Man (2008) - Chinese vs. Japanese
23. The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) - White vs. Black
24. Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Aryan vs. Jewish/Black
25. Django Unchained (2012) - White vs. Black
26. Borat (2006) - Everyone vs. Everyone Else
27. La Bamba (1987) - White vs. Chicano
28. The Boys from Brazil (1978) - Aryan vs. Jewish
29. Pocahontas (1995) - White vs. Native American
30. Ulysses (1967) - White vs. Jewish

Greatest Movies About High School

I've been out of high school now for a few years, but there's still something so appealing about a good high school movie. And that's not just my opinion, because a great many of these films have transcended generations.

1. The Breakfast Club (1986)
2. Back to the Future (1985)
3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
4. Pretty in Pink (1986)
5. Hoosiers (1986)
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
7. Superbad (2007)
8. Sixteen Candles (1984)
9. American Beauty (1999)
10. American History X (1998)

MLB Power Rankings

Power Rankings through 4/24/2013

1. Atlanta Braves (15-6)
2. Colorado Rockies (14-7)
3. Boston Red Sox (14-7)
4. Texas Rangers (13-7)
5. Oakland Athletics (13-9)
6. San Francisco Giants (13-9)
7. St. Louis Cardinals (13-8)
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (12-9)
9. Milwaukee Brewers (11-9)
10. Cincinnati Reds (13-9)
11. Baltimore Orioles (12-9)
12. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-9)
13. New York Yankees (11-9)
14. New York Mets (10-9)
15. Kansas City Royals (10-8)
16. Detroit Tigers (10-9)
17. Washington Nationals (10-11)
18. Tampa Bay Rays (10-11)
19. Minnesota Twins (9-8)
20. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-11)
21. Los Angeles Angels (8-11)
22. Cleveland Indians (8-11)
23. Toronto Blue Jays (9-13)
24. Chicago White Sox (8-12) 
25. Philadelphia Phillies (9-13)
26. Seattle Mariners (8-15)
27. Houston Astros (7-14) 
28. Chicago Cubs (6-14)
29. San Diego Padres (6-15)
30. Miami Marlins (5-16)

A review of TV's Twin Peaks

            As a mystery, it’s flawed, possibly horrible. As a strange exercise in surrealism, it may be unmatched.

            Twin Peaks is a series that aired for only two seasons, from 1990 to 1991. It was created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. The latter is the respected filmmaker of such avant-garde masterpieces as Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet.

            To describe the series while doing it justice is a very difficult task. The most popular teenage girl in a small town in Washington is murdered and an FBI agent is brought in once another high schooler shows up after being kidnapped, raped, and tortured, and falls into a coma. However, the series isn’t truly about the mystery so much as it is about the people of this town: Twin Peaks, population 51,201 (though this is supposedly a typo on the sign which should read 5,121).

            The series is clearly well-made, with Hollywood-level production values and some outstanding acting and directing, but I still am not sure what to think about it. At times, it’s fairly dull, slow-moving, and plays out very much like a soap opera. At other times, it’s borderline supernatural horror. It plays for quirky comedy many times, and usually hits its mark; there is something about the way Kyle MacLachlan plays protagonist Special Agent Dale Cooper that  results in a great deal of laughter.

            The appeal to the show is that virtually every character leads a double life. The amount of secrets floating about Twin Peaks would put a Hitchcock film to shame. This show certainly succeeds in atmosphere, with its looming score and mysterious happenings. I especially like the retro feel of the show. Though it’s set in 1989, many of the actors and actresses perform like they’re in a noir film from the ‘40s or ‘50s.

            A lot of the characters are great. The aforementioned Agent Cooper is my favorite, but I also love the complexity shown by Audrey Horne, Donna Hayward, and Catherine Martell. Many of the smaller roles have their great moments, too, and I love anything that has Billy Zane in it, even if it’s for only a few episodes. I think my favorite performance of the entire series is Ray Wise as Leland Palmer, father of the murdered. This isn’t without its dull characters, however, as I find Leo Johnson and Andy Brennan mostly a waste of time. Also I really don’t get Nadine and wish they left out the whole thirty-five-year-old-woman-loses-her-memory-and-thinks-she’s-in-high-school-but-also-has-super-human-strength-so-she-wants-to-compete-in-wrestling-and-also-wears-an-eye-patch subplot.

The thing I like least about the film, of course, is the mystery plot. It’s set up to be quite a good one, but it ultimately disappoints as it breaks every rule imaginable. Of course, the mystery isn’t really the show’s purpose, but I can’t be the only one who doesn’t think there should be any kind of supernatural element in a murder mystery. I’m not 100% sure if I’d say the supernatural element ever pays off, either. In the series, Cooper relies on solving the murder by following strange intuitions and dreams rather than collecting all the clues that they actually find. As someone who loves a good mystery story or film, this does bother me, and I do believe that Lynch’s experimental methods occasionally hurt the series as much as they help it.

However, I truly think that Twin Peaks is something you’ll have to formulate your own opinions about. It’s only thirty episodes, so it’s considerably shorter than most series that are worth watching. You may find you love how dark and idiosyncratic it is, or you may find you hate it. The series starts out really strong, with the first three episodes probably being the best in my opinion, and it goes downhill after episode seventeen or so.

100 Greatest Beatles Songs

Only Beatles original songs are included, with the writer(s) credited in parentheses. 

1. Eleanor Rigby (Paul)
2. A Day in the Life (Paul/John)
3. Yesterday (Paul)
4. Ticket to Ride (John)
5. Help! (John)
6. Hey Jude (Paul)
7. Let It Be (Paul)
8. Strawberry Fields Forever (John)
9. With a Little Help from My Friends (Paul/John)
10. A Hard Day's Night (John)
11. Something (George)
12. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Paul/John)
13. Nowhere Man (John)
14. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (John)
15. Can't Buy Me Love (Paul)
16. All My Loving (Paul)
17. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (George)
18. I Want to Hold Your Hand (Paul/John)
19. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (John)
20. Day Tripper (Paul/John)
21. Eight Days a Week (Paul/John)
22. She Loves You (Paul/John)
23. Long, Long, Long (George)
24. And Your Bird Can Sing (Paul/John)
25. I Saw Her Standing There (Paul/John)
26. You're Going to Lose That Girl (Paul/John)
27. I Should Have Known Better (John)
28. Revolution (John)
29. I've Just Seen a Face (Paul) 
30. Love You To (George)
31. Happiness is a Warm Gun (John)
32. All I've Got to Do (John)
33. If I Fell (John)
34. Please Please Me (John)
35. Taxman (George)
36. When I'm Sixty-Four (Paul)
37. Here Comes the Sun (George)
38. For No One (Paul)
39. I'll Follow the Sun (Paul)
40. I Am the Walrus (John)
41. Drive My Car (Paul/John)
42. She Said She Said (John)
43. Helter Skelter (Paul)
44. Come Together (John)
45. Tomorrow Never Knows (John)
46. Here, There and Everywhere (Paul)
47. Hello Goodbye (Paul)
48. No Reply (John)
49. Dig a Pony (John)
50. It Won't Be Long (Paul/John)
51. Any Time At All (Paul/John) 
52. Oh! Darling (Paul)
53. In My Life (John) 
54. Blackbird (Paul)
55. From Me to You (Paul/John) 
56. Octopus's Garden (Ringo)
57. Two of Us (Paul)
58. Lovely Rita (Paul)
59. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Paul)
60. Good Day Sunshine (Paul)
61. Every Little Thing (Paul)
62. If I Needed Someone (George)
63. We Can Work It Out (Paul/John)
64. I Me Mine (George)
65. Get Back (Paul)
66. Birthday (Paul/John)
67. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (John)
68. I Wanna Be Your Man (Paul/John)
69. Do You Want to Know a Secret (John) 
70. I Want to Tell You (George)
71. I Feel Fine (John)
72. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey (John)
73. Martha My Dear (Paul)
74. She's Leaving Home (Paul/John)
75. She's a Woman (Paul)
76. Golden Slumbers (Paul)
77. Don't Pass Me By (Ringo)
78. Back in the U.S.S.R. (Paul)
79. Penny Lane (Paul)
80. Love Me Do (Paul/John)
81. Tell Me Why (John) 
82. I'm Looking Through You (Paul) 
83. All You Need is Love (John)
84. Hey Bulldog (John)
85. The End (Paul)
86. Magical Mystery Tour (Paul)
87. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Paul)
88. Wait (Paul/John)
89. Yer Blues (John)
90. Fixing a Hole (Paul)
91. Got to Get You Into My Life (Paul)
92. Think for Yourself (George) 
93. The Fool on the Hill (Paul)
94. Mean Mr. Mustard (John)
95. Tell Me What You See (Paul/John)
96. What You're Doing (Paul)
97. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Paul)
98. I Call Your Name (John)
99. The Long and Winding Road (Paul)
100. Doctor Robert (Paul/John)

Ranking the 30 MLB Teams and Their Key Players

Expect a lot to be wrong in the future, but this is what I expect out of baseball this season. In parentheses, I have listed the player who I expect might be the key to the team (not necessarily the best player but someone who will probably need to be at the top of their game for the team to be successful):

1. Washington Nationals (Bryce Harper - the pitching staff is one of the best I've ever seen and Harper can help make the offense a formidable force)
2. San Francisco Giants (Buster Posey - will lead the great pitching staff and be the biggest offensive threat)
3. Cincinnati Reds (Joey Votto - waiting for better power numbers as opposed to the past two years)
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Mike Trout - even if he has a sophomore slump, this is the best lineup in baseball)
5. Detroit Tigers (Prince Fielder - the key to it all; if he puts up Milwaukee numbers, Detroit might be unbeatable)
6. Tampa Bay Rays (David Price - one of the best pitchers in baseball)
7. Texas Rangers (Yu Darvish - young and remarkably talented)
8. Atlanta Braves (Jason Heyward - needs to overcome the .280/25 HRs numbers that could define him)
9. Oakland Athletics (Yoenis Cespedes - the most formidable offensive player on an outstanding defensive team)
10. Saint Louis Cardinals (Yadier Molina - as a catcher, he's unequaled, and his offensive numbers have been good lately)
11. Toronto Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey - could be the ace Toronto hasn't had since Halladay left)
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (Matt Kemp - I don't really care, I think the Dodgers are really overrated)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (Pedro Alvarez or anyone who can step up offensively besides McCutchen)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (Ryan Howard - I'm starting to forget about what a great hitter he used to be)
15. Baltimore Orioles (Adam Jones - I expect him to continue to emerge as one of baseball's best talents)
16. Kansas City Royals (James Shields - the new Greinke?)
17. New York Yankees (Brett Gardner - seriously, if he hits in the .290 range, he'll be one of the best lead-off hitters in baseball and take the pressure off a severely ailed team)
18. Cleveland Indians (Michael Bourn - a great leadoff hitter whose presence could help Cleveland)
19. New York Mets (Ike Davis - power could still be developing)
20. Chicago White Sox (Chris Sale - a solid pitcher)
21. Boston Red Sox (Jacoby Ellsbury - if he's healthy, he'll put up monster numbers)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy - a very good pitcher)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (Rickie Weeks - however he goes, the team always goes)
24. Colorado Rockies (Troy Tulowitzki - not an established cleanup hitter yet)
25. Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez - maybe the most reliable pitcher not named Verlander)
26. Chicago Cubs (Anthony Rizzo - had decent numbers in a short season last year, could be more in his first full year)
27. Minnesota Twins (Joe Mauer - I'd love to see him back in the .370 range but I don't think that's happening)
28. San Diego Padres (Carlos Quentin - if he's pre-injury form, he'll be very good. He won't be)
29. Miami Marlins (Giancarlo Stanton - really the only player worth mentioning)
30. Houston Astros (Who cares)

If this were the case, the playoff standings:
American League:

1. Los Angeles Angels (West)
2. Detroit Tigers (Central)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (East)
4. Texas Rangers (Wild Card)
5. Oakland Athletics (Wild Card)

National League:

1. Washington Nationals (East)
2. San Francisco Giants (West)
3. Cincinnati Reds (Central)
4. Atlanta Braves (Wild Card)
5. Saint Louis Cardinals (Wild Card)

Best States

With no explanation whatsoever, I have ranked the states from best to worst (all 50 of them):

1. New York
2. Minnesota
3. Florida
4. Colorado
5. South Dakota
6. Pennsylvania
7. North Carolina
8. Hawaii
9. Wisconsin
10. Nevada
11. Indiana
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Arizona
16. Ohio
17. Alaska
18. Missouri
19. New Jersey
20. Oregon
21. Iowa
22. Nebraska
23. Rhode Island
24. Louisiana
25. California
26. Georgia
27. Tennessee
28. Virginia
29. Maryland
30. Oklahoma
31. Montana
32. Washington
33. Kentucky
34. Wyoming
35. Maine
36. Kansas
37. Utah
38. New Mexico
39. Vermont
40. Texas 
41. Delaware
42. New Hampshire
43. Idaho
44. Connecticut
45. North Dakota
46. Arkansas
47. Mississippi
48. Massachusetts
49. Alabama
50. West Virginia

My 50 Favorite Sports Teams

In order to make things less complicated, I focused only on the major 4 professional sports and college football and basketball.

1. New York Yankees
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Fordham Rams Basketball
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Basketball
6. Butler Bulldogs Basketball
7. Georgetown Hoyas Basketball
8. Wisconsin Badgers Football
9. Milwaukee Brewers
10. Minnesota Twins
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Colorado Avalanche
13. Minnesota Golden Gophers Football
14. New York Giants
15. Stanford Cardinal Football
16. Saint Louis Billikens Basketball
17. Iowa Hawkeyes Football
18. Pittsburgh Pirates
19. Minnesota Vikings
20. Chicago Bears
21. Oklahoma City Thunder
22. Baltimore Orioles
23. Chicago Cubs
24. New York Knicks
25. New York Islanders
26. Chicago Blackhawks
27. UWM Panthers Basketball
28. Boston Celtics
29. Saint Louis Blues
30. Houston Texans
31. Washington Huskies Football
32. TCU Horned Frogs Football
33. Cleveland Browns
34. Xavier Musketeers Basketball
35. Arizona Cardinals
36. Orlando Magic
37. Cincinnati Reds
38. Toronto Raptors
39. Detroit Lions
40. Denver Broncos
41. Purdue Boilermakers Football
42. Minnesota Wild
43. Washington Redskins
44. Indianapolis Colts
45. Chicago Bulls
46. Minnesota Timber Wolves
47. Toronto Maple Leafs
48. Houston Rockets
49. Colorado Rockies
50. San Francisco Giants