Showing posts with label Manziel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manziel. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Legend of Korra
The Legend of Korra Season Two Premiere Recap: Rebel Spirits/The Southern Lights
Korra, welcome to “college.”
Book One of The Legend of Korra was a lot like high school. Our teen hero owned her identity, formed strong bonds, learned what the worst type of people looked like, and pursued goals that required the hardest fights of her life. By the finale's closing credits, Korra had taken out Amon and restored balance to Republic City by finally entering the “Avatar State.” She graduated.
And like post-grad life, the actual discoveries and hardships had yet to come.
The first two episodes of Book 2: Spirits move like lightning, catapulting the story ahead six months and cluing us into the Avatar version of summer vacation. Bolin is still duking it out in the Pro-Bending arena, with a makeshift Fire Ferrets worthy of the Bad News Bears; Mako is a hotshot cop, patrolling the streets of Republic City on assignment from Lin Beifong; With her inventor father in jail, Asami is testing planes and formulating a plan to restore Future Industries to its former self; And then there's Korra, burnt out from her summer school airbending lessons with Tenzin. Airball racing with 7-year-olds is a lot more fun than studying. “The Avatar State is not to be used as a booster rocket!” Tenzin complains. Like many 17-year-olds, Korra is aching to leave home.
So is the show. While Book One took its time to soak in the evolved setting, as much an origin story for Korra as it was the Roaring '20s-inspired Republic City, Book Two whisks the ensemble away without looking back. It's hard to imagine the story circling back (so savor that name drop, Beifong fans). What aren't disappearing are the relationships. Korra and Mako are still an item, and “Rebel Spirits” plants the seeds for that romance to be tested. When complaining about Tenzin's overbearing ways, Mako can't help see eye-to-eye with the mentor. Bad move, bro. Korra stomps off, and while it's a minor quibble, her transitionary phase over this season will only add more pressure to the relationship.
Running with our extended metaphor, the airbender clan's vacation to the Southern Water Tribe is the exciting, terrifying college drop-off scenario. Korra's family is even around for the event; writers Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko introduce us to a slew of new characters in rapid fire succession. James Remar (aka Dexter's Dad) plays Tonraq, the teenage Avatar's Dad and patriarch of the tribe. Before he can get two words in, Tonraq's brother Chief Unalaq (Adrian LaTourelle, Officer Craft on Sons of Anarchy) arrives from the North. He's a traditionalist; while everyone in the South is partying into the night at the Glacier Spirits Festival, Unalaq bemoans the peoples' lack of spiritual connection. “This festival used to be a solemn time of fasting and meditation.” Remind me not to bring this guy to secular Christmas.
For Korra, Unalaq is that college professor who waxes intellectually at just the right moment in life. He cares about deep thoughts, not just the grind of learning. His connection to the Spirit World also calls Korra into action. Turns out, demon-like specters from the other plane of existence are intruding into this world and attacking people. If Korra is going to beat them, she has to ditch Tenzin and her father for Unalaq's Spirits 101. Tonraq urges her to stick with Tenzin, which may be the right decision (a testament to the animators, who can make a cartoon character silently weight options). What to do? “I support whatever decision you make.” Thanks a lot, Mako.
When a spirit attacks the Southern Water Tribe, Korra realizes how little she knows. The spindly beast rampages through the snow, every element Korra bends its way hitting it like raindrops. Compared to the martial arts precision of Korra's first fight in Book One, her encounter with the spirit lacks fluidity — as it should. It's a set piece where chaos and fear are more important than thrills. It frazzles Korra, forcing her to say goodbye to Tenzin for the only sensible option: Unalaq.
There isn't much time for comedy or auxiliary characters in the back-to-back episodes, even for folks like Bolin and Asami. Their subplot with Varrick, an eccentric businessman with a love for the moving pictures, keeps the vibe of the '20s era setting alive and injects a bit of levity into the serious, aggressive plotting. Whether the sidetracked scenes are an effort to feed material to Bolin voice actor P.J. Byrne is yet to be seen, but it's funny enough justify it. “He gave me this fancy snowsuit … if I get lost, I can survive in this thing for a month!” Same goes for Bolin's new “girlfriend” Eska, voiced by Aubrey Plaza and her signature deadpan. The ball is in Bolin's court to top "Why are you initiating physical contact with another woman?" as the line of the season.
Episode Two acts as a swift road trip to a greater conflict. Unalaq wants to train Korra in Spiritual meditation at the South Pole, where an “Everstorm” clouds a portal directly to the spirit world. If Korra can gain access to the portal, she can balance light and dark, and quell the angered beasts. Simple enough.
Along the way, Tonraq drops a bomb that only drives Korra further under Unalaq's wing. As a younger man, he was banished by the Northern Water Tribe. During an attack on their village, Tonraq and his army drove barbarians back to a sacred forest hideout, a land ripe with spiritual activity. Thirsty for blood, Tonraq swept the land anyway, destroying both man and nature. The spirits rightfully retaliated. It's all very Thor like.
Cutting through the murky mythology filling episode two are the many spirits Team Avatar encounter and dispel along the way. DiMartino and Konietzko let their imaginations run wild here; its a Kaiju parade with beasts that mirror velociraptors, Stich from Lilo & Stich, and The Maxx. It's weird, it's wonderful, it's perilous for a freshman like Korra.
Korra manages to break through the ice, and the setup of Book Two, with ease. “The Southern Lights” caps with plenty of balls in the air: When Korra opens the spirit portal, she triggers a connection to an Avatar bust stored in the Sothern Air Temple. At the same time, Tenzin's daughter Jinora stumbles upon decrepit, wooden statue. Whatever effect breaking through to the spirit world will have — and if Ghostbusters has taught us anything about ghost-filled jets of light shooting into the sky, it could have consequences — Jinora and the Avatar lineage will tie to it.
Even more terrifying is Unalaq's bigger scheme. He wants to put the Southern Water Tribe back in touch with their spiritual side, but judging his fleet of Northern Water Tribe warships, he's OK doing it by force. The look in Korra's eyes is that what-did-I-sign-up for look. Another college staple.
Odds & Ends:
* The opening newsreel mentions that Republic City elected their first President. Democracy for all! Political history buffs, go to town on that one.
* "Looks like you had some car trouble. Good thing the police are here." Mako, you've done CSI: Miami proud.
* Bumi and Kya, Tenzin's brother and sister, are great additions to the show, and one can only hope for more of their family dynamic. Tenzin did not have a great childhood, and we see that in the eyes of Katara, their mother.
* In other relatable emotions: Tonraq jabbing Mako for dating his daughter and the scared-as-hell look on his face was priceless. If their relationship isthrown a loop, Tonraq may be knocking at Mako's door (or giving him a pep talk, seeing as he doesn't have a father of his own).
* I could hear GIF-makers rejoicing at the appearance of dancing Otter Penguins.
* A nice little nod to Avatar: The Last Airbender at the Glacier Festival carnival. Aang water contest, stuffed Appa prizes.
* Both episodes embrace a radical style of camerawork, which must be painstaking for the guys drawing every frame. It's loose, like a handheld news camera. I don't know if it works in the technology-vacant world outside Republic City, but I appreciate the experiment.
* Eska and her twin brother Desna ice shoeing down a slippery slope is the new penguin sledding. Their complete disinterest in life makes it a thousand times better.
Mayweather vs Canelo
Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez to have weighty issues, big money
Photo credit: AP Photo John Locher | Boxers Floyd Mayweather, left, and Canelo Alvarez pose during a press conference in Las Vegas. The pair are scheduled to fight on Saturday for Mayweather's WBA Super World and Alvarez's WBC junior middleweight titles. (Sept. 11, 2013)
LAS VEGAS -- Listen to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s people and Canelo Alvarez wanted to fight their man so badly he offered to drop a few pounds to get him to sign on the dotted line.
Listen to the Alvarez camp and Mayweather wanted the fight at an even lower weight that Alvarez would have to starve himself to make.
"The truth," promoter Richard Schaefer says, "lies somewhere in the middle."
Weight is always a big deal in fights, and it is center stage again in one of the biggest fights in recent years. Saturday night's megafight is officially for a version of the 154-pound title held by Alvarez, but will be fought at a catch weight of 152 pounds that will be harder for Alvarez to make than it is for Mayweather.
"They're the ones who said they would fight at a lower weight," said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's manager. "We can't help it Alvarez has idiots for managers, but we're going to take every advantage they give us."
Alvarez is a full-fledged junior middleweight and has been for more than three years now. He's physically bigger at 5-foot-9 than Mayweather and has had to lose good amounts of weight in the final days in some of his recent fights just to get to the 154-pound class limit.
But when the chance came to move in to the upper stratosphere of fighters against Mayweather -- with at least a $5 million payday attached to it -- Alvarez had to give up a few pounds against a fighter more used to fighting at 147 pounds.
"They wanted me to go to 147," Alvarez said earlier this week when he said he was already down to 154 pounds. "I said that was physically impossible. Then they wanted 150 and then 151. I wanted to make the fight so I agreed to 152. Then they forced me to be quiet about it."
Alvarez was 152 pounds at the official weigh-in Friday, delighting a raucous crowd of about 12,000 who packed the MGM Arena to watch. Mayweather weighed in at 150½.
Getting an advantage is nothing new to Mayweather. He does it in the ring with his tremendous skills to adapt, and he does it outside the ring by playing with his opponent's mind. For Mayweather, making Alvarez think constantly in training about making 152 pounds may have been more important than the actual weight itself.
"There's a thousand different ways I can beat a guy," Mayweather said.
Oddsmakers in this gambling town believe Mayweather will find one of those ways when he takes on the undefeated Mexican star in what could be boxing's richest fight ever. He's a 2½-1 favorite against a bigger and presumably stronger fighter who will probably rehydrate to enter the ring 10 pounds heavier than Mayweather, though those are the shortest odds for a Mayweather fight in years.
The fight, which also features a much anticipated 140-pound title bout between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse, will be televised on pay-per-view at a suggested cost of $74.95.
Mayweather will earn the biggest purse ever for a fighter, $41.5 million guaranteed with even more millions to come if the pay-per-view takes off. Early indications are that the fight will be one of the biggest in years, with celebrities who usually get free tickets even offering to pay for ringside seats at the MGM Grand hotel that first sold at $2,000 and now are being offered for as much as $29,000.
The live gate itself will be $20 million and the pay-per-view could bring in another $150 million in a fight featuring the reigning king of pay-per-view against the biggest sports hero in Mexico.
"He's put the sport on his back," Ellerbe said of Mayweather, whose earnings for the year will total at least $73 million. "Boxing is a niche sport, but the highest-paid athlete in the world is a boxer."
The fight will be missing Oscar De La Hoya, who co-promoters Alvarez and is his biggest cheerleader. De La Hoya admitted himself to rehab earlier in the week, but not before sharing some secrets with his protege on how to beat a fighter who defeated him in a narrow split decision in 2007.
Alvarez said De La Hoya told him to use the jab and use it constantly. He also stressed the mental part of fighting, telling his charge that he had to not allow anything to bother him in the ring or out.
"I've always said that to be the best you have to fight the best," said Alvarez, whose last fight against previously unbeaten Austin Trout drew 40,000 to the Alamodome in San Antonio. "That's why I'm here."
Alvarez is 42-0-1 in a pro career that began at age 15 in his home state of Jalisco in Mexico. He's a big puncher who has 30 knockouts and he's passed every test along the way in moving into big money fights in the last few years. But he's never fought anyone like Mayweather, and he's never fought on kind of big stage he will Saturday night.
For the elusive Mayweather it's just another night to shine, another big payday to fund his lavish lifestyle. He's got four more fights after Alvarez on a lucrative deal with Showtime, but he's now 36 and his days in the ring are numbered. There will almost surely be no fight with Manny Pacquiao, so the hard-punching Alvarez may be as good as an opponent as he will see the rest of his career.
"I've got a lot more experience than he has at this level and that's going to be a key," Mayweather said. "I feel like I'm the last of my breed. I earned it the hard way."
NASCAR
New NASCAR rules aim to end teamwork on track
Sanctioning body now prohibits drivers giving up or asking for position help during race
JOLIET, Ill. – In the midst of its biggest credibility crisis since Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001, NASCAR held a closed-door meeting with drivers and team executives on Saturday to outline rules changes it hopes will help better define what is and is not allowable during a race and restore the public's faith in the sport.
On the eve of NASCAR's playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway, drivers woke up Saturday morning and still did not know what is legal and what is not in terms of helping another car during a race after the fallout from last week's controversial finish at Richmond International Raceway.
They may have a better idea now.
NASCAR officials, led by CEO Brian France and President Mike Helton, ordered the drivers to run all-out in hopes of getting a good finish.
"Run 100% all the time and you don't have to worry about it," driver Michael McDowell told USA TODAY Sports after the meeting. "That was the gist of it. They said, 'There are lots of things that happen during the race where you have to save fuel or save your stuff. We get that. We're not looking to hammer anybody. Just race 100%. Don't mess with the finish.' "
But the finish was messed with one week ago, when the Chase for the Sprint Cup 12-driver field was supposed to be set in the season's 26th and final regular-season event.
A suspiciously-timed spin by Clint Bowyer with seven laps remaining set off a sequence of events that has crippled NASCAR's public image.
Bowyer and Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Brian Vickers were found to have given up spots under team orders so that another driver, Penske Racing's Joey Logano, would make the top 10 of the points standings. By doing so, Logano did not need to use one of two wild card entries for the Chase – and MWR driver Martin Truex Jr. got it instead.
CONTROVERSY: NASCAR expands Chase field, adds Gordon
NASCAR reviewed in-race radio chatter and video and determined the fix was in at MWR. NASCAR levied the largest penalty in the sport's history – it
docked all three MWR drivers 50 points, fined MWR $300,000, suspended team general manager Ty Norris indefinitely and removed Truex Jr. from the field, replacing him with Ryan Newman.
As the week went on, more questionable radio chatter emerged between Penske and Front Row Motorsports. NASCAR reacted Friday by giving Jeff Gordon – a victim of the chicanery – an unprecedented 13th spot in the Chase.
To prevent similar actions during the Chase, though, NASCAR decided to implement immediate changes to its rulebook with a Saturday afternoon technical bulletin to teams.
Among the changes:
--A new rule will require drivers to race "at 100% of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in an event." That means no more deal-making, giving up a position for a teammate or "artificially altering" the finish of a race. Any driver or team engaging in such behavior – which could include intentional cautions or pulling off the track to give an advantage to another competitor – is subject to penalty.
--Digital radios may no longer be used on the spotters' stand. Spotters have communicated on a private channel with the team and crew chief – outside of the driver and public's earshot – in addition to the analog radio any fan can hear on a personal scanner. That led to deals being orchestrated from high above the track; those can no longer be done in secret.
--Only one spotter per car can be present on the spotters' stand. This affects teams such as Penske Racing, whose team owner Roger Penske has been a frequent presence alongside the spotters. To help enforce the policy, NASCAR is installing a camera on every roof.
--NASCAR will make a change to its restart rules, which will be announced during Sunday's pre-race drivers meeting.
"I think we wanted it to be very clear, and we wanted to reinforce the cornerstone of NASCAR, which is giving your all," France said. "The extent that other factors got in the way of that, we want to eliminate those factors and deal with it going forward.
"This is what they (the drivers) want. They don't like team rules and they don't like some of the things that have gone on in the past."
GALLERY: Richmond's final laps in photos
During the 17-minute private meeting – media was kept 100 yards away from the door by security personnel – France was said to be very angry in telling the drivers how they had damaged NASCAR's credibility. He read samples from news coverage of the Richmond fallout.
"Circumstances happened that are unhelpful in the credibility category. There's no doubt about that," France said after Saturday's meeting.
Drivers were allowed to ask questions during the meeting – for example: is pushing a teammate to the win at Talladega Superspeedway, one of the Chase tracks, still legal? – and most left quickly afterward via golf cart without comment.
Front Row Motorsports driver David Ragan said NASCAR would more clearly define the "dos and don'ts" going forward.
"They're going to pay attention to how races can be manipulated when maybe they didn't focus on that in years past," he told USA TODAY Sports. "I think we already knew (what not to do), but they're just going to watch it a little closer."
McDowell said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting because the amount of variables that happen during a race make rules enforcement "a moving target."
"I wouldn't want to be on their side of the fence either," he said. "There are a lot of things that are going on and it's hard to make judgment calls by the seat of your pants right there. In racing, it's hard to define clear lines."
Crew chief Paul Wolfe, who guides the No. 2 Ford of reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski, said: "I think everyone should have a pretty clear understanding of what that (line) is now.
"If you go out there and run 100% to your ability and run a normal race, then everything will be fine."
Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, who co-owns Richard Petty Motorsports, said NASCAR "didn't come with nothing new."
"They didn't change any rules or anything," he said. "They just said, 'Do what's right and everything will work out OK.' Everybody knows what's right. And sometimes, we don't do what's right."
Helton said Saturday marked "Day 1 of this phase of NASCAR" and said it was the responsibility of the garage to provide better regulation for the fans.
Added France: "My hope is we'll have greater clarity and we'll have that line as bright as possible because we're about delivering for our fans what they expect – and that's the best racing."
THE CHASE FIELD
1. Matt Kenseth, 2,015; 2. Jimmie Johnson, 2,012; 3. Kyle Busch, 2,012; 4. Kevin Harvick, 2,006; 5. Carl Edwards, 2,006; 6. Joey Logano, 2,003; 7. Greg Biffle, 2,003; 8. Clint Bowyer, 2,000; 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,000; 10. Kurt Busch, 2,000; 11. Kasey Kahne, 2,000; 12. Ryan Newman, 2,000; 13. Jeff Gordon, 2,000.
Johnny Manziel
1. Johnny has made the full heel turn.
After sitting out the first half of A&M's season-opening win over Rice for signing autographs, Johnny Football entered the game and immediately began making autograph gestures at opposing defenders. He was later flagged for jawing with opponents and pulled from the game by head coach Kevin Sumlin.Manziel's full embrace of his offseason problems and bad reputation has only drawn more ire from college football's old guard. Barry Switzer -- who coached Brian Bosworth -- said he wanted to "jerk his face mask and grab him." Former Notre Dame and South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz -- whose team got into a brawl with Clemson before his final game as a head coach -- said he would grab Manziel by the throat. Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops -- who is no saint on the sideline -- wants to see him in jail. Charles Barkley -- who is Charles Barkley -- said Manziel's antics would force him to support Alabama for the first time in his life.
Manziel is unapologetically good. He rubs it in everyone's face. He even has a money-related signature gesture. He's a butler and a dollar-sign belt away from becoming college football's Ted DiBiase.2. Johnny's gonna run. Or at least he's gonna try.
Last year, Manziel's abilities to extend plays against Alabama's pass rush and turn losses into gains were crucial to the Aggies' victory over the Crimson Tide. Earlier this week, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked how he planned to counteract Manziel. Saban conceded his defensive line is going to have to contain Manziel more than pursue him:
Saban will do his best to make Manziel a pocket passer, especially given the relative youth and inexperience of A&M's receivers. Last season, it was easier said than done. Manziel ran for more than 90 yards in nine of last season's 13 games, including 229 yards against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and 181 yards against Louisiana Tech. Alabama let Manziel run for 92 yards on 18 carries last season. But in games where Manziel was held to 60 yards or less, Texas A&M was 0-2.
Manziel has not run as effectively this season: 19 yards on six carries in a half against Rice, and 36 yards on seven rushes last week against Sam Houston State. But expect the return of scramblin' Johnny Manziel Saturday, and Alabama's ability to contain him could determine the outcome.3. Saturday will determine whether he can win his second Heisman Trophy.
Manziel's numbers throughout 2012 were impressive, but make no mistake: Johnny Football won his Heisman Trophy with his performance against Alabama. He had been good to that point, but his 24/31, 253-yard performance, his rushing totals and that signature high-profile play that every Heisman winner needs, won him college football's most prestigious award: Johnny isn't sneaking up on anyone this season, and he still has games against LSU and Ole Miss on the schedule, but he likely won't face a defense of the same caliber as Alabama. He won't have the same hype surrounding a game as he does today. And he won't have an opponent so hell-bent on stopping him as this week's visitors. A good game today keeps him in the running -- it could make him the frontrunner -- but if Johnny Football struggles today and Texas A&M loses, stodgy Heisman voters already inclined to dislike him for his antics will sieze on his difficulties and look elsewhere.
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