Let's Hear It For The Girls

Maya Moore - UConn Huskies superstar

On December 21^st, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team will almost assuredly break one of college sports most prestigious records, eclipsing UCLA’s legendary winning streak of 88 games. The streak, that started opening night of the 2008-09 season, will be downplayed by many. It is, after all, only women’s basketball, the red-headed stepchild to the men’s version.

Bryant Gumbel has taken to the forefront of this negative campaign, imploring the viewers of his humbly named HBO show, “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” to not compare UConn’s accomplishments to those of UCLA’s.

Bruno Sammartino

Surely, in the coming days, many other writers looking to make a name for themselves, will follow suit. There will be disparaging comments; there will be giggles and insults at the notion that this record is any more legitimate than the longest WWE championship reign. (Bruno Sammartino, for the record, at 2,803 days, or nearly eight years.)

You’ll read that women’s basketball is inferior to men’s, that if you put UConn up against a twenty-loss Division III men’s team, the D3 team would win. You’ll read that UConn plays a weak schedule and that their conference is comparable to a mid-major. You will read that the Huskies only win because the best players all go there, and that the difference between the very best and the second level is a Michael Strahan front-teeth size gap.

Pardon my French, but that’s pure 100% grade A bullshit.

Crawford and Gonzo and.....

On December 4^th, the Red Sox made the biggest personnel move of Major League Baseball’s young Hot-Stove season. (Previously known as the “off”-season, but there is no off-season in sports anymore; not with the 24-hour news cycle.) In case you’ve been living in a cave under water on one of Saturn’s moons, then allow me to fill you in. That day, Boston completed a trade with San Diego to finally land the man Theo Epstein has been fawning over for two years, Adrian Gonzalez.

Red makes Gonzo smile.

When the news broke, Red Sox Nation let out an enormous “WOO HOO!” Twitter and Facebook immediately blew up with celebratory posts. Sons called fathers. Fathers called grandfathers. Friends rejoiced. And, the Nation howled “Suck it!” the their rivals to the south.

The Hot-Stove season was immediately successful.

Little did the Nation know, it had only just begun.

News broke on December 9^th that the Red Sox had signed the #1 free agent hitter on the market, Carl Crawford. Rumor has it, Lenny Clarke actually fainted into his bowl of Fiddle Faddle when the ESPN crawl reported it. The collective jaw of Red Sox Nation dropped to the floor in disbelief. Surely, the Angels were getting Crawford. That’s what we were told. And, if not them, then the Yankees. Not the Sox. Not after Jayson Werth signed that ludicrous contract with the Nationals. No way. No how. No effing way. NO EFFING WAY! Yet, there it was. Carl Crawford agreeing to terms with the Boston Red Sox.

Carl Crawford looks good in red.

If the Hot-Stove season had been a success after acquiring Gonzalez, the Crawford signing officially stamped it as one of the greatest in Boston history.

In the course of five days, the Red Sox, who were hampered in 2010 with injuries and a sub-par line-up had acquired an All-Star outfielder and a top five first baseman, immediately placing their line-up among the best in baseball, on paper.

With a transaction feast as robust as Thanksgiving dinner, Red Sox Nation officially plopped their asses on the couch, leaned back, put their feet up, unbuttoned their pants, and let out a satisfied sigh. But, the cook is not resting. Not yet. As the Nation digests this deliciousness, Theo Epstein, General Manager of the Red Sox, is still in the kitchen, preparing dessert.

Because, this Hot-Stove season is far from over. And, I’m not referring to the bullpen help that Epstein spoke about on December 10th. That’s more like the post dinner cup of coffee. Nope. Theo’s got something special cooking, something sweet that the Nation will devour. I’m sure of it.

Why? Aren’t the Red Sox recent indulgences satisfactory? Yes. Of course they are. And no, not quite. There’s still work that needs to be done. I can see that. And, seeing as I’m just an observer, I have to believe the master chef Epstein is seeing the same thing.

Like a democrat who can’t get his party’s bid, the Sox lean too much to the left.

End Zombie Prejudice - Watch 'The Walking Dead'

http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/

Do you like television shows that feature characters with depth, who you can relate to even if there is nothing relatable in your life to theirs? Do you like television shows with rich dialogue, where a turn of a phrase can evoke any range of emotion? Do you like television shows with beautiful cinematography, or award-worthy directing? Do you like television shows that put you on the edge of your seat, then leave you teetering there as the closing credits roll, and you wish next week’s episode would begin at that exact moment?

Then, for God’s sake, why aren’t you watching AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’?

I know why.

Zombies. Yeah, that nearly turned me off, too.

Yes, there are an awful lot of zombies in the show. And, yes, they are about the most unattractive thing on television since Angela Lansbury. (I kid. I kid. Angela Lansbury is a wonderfully talented actress and a beautiful person.) And, yes, they are creepy and can scare the bejesus out of you.

But, if the zombies (or “walkers” as they’re called in the show) are the reason you’re not watching ‘The Walking Dead’, then you’re allowing yourself to miss one of the best shows on television. Not just one of the best new shows, but one of the best shows. Period.

Once upon a time, a few years ago, you probably wouldn’t watch a television show if it was about Vampires either. Now, most of you probably watch either ‘True Blood’ or ‘The Vampire Diaries’ or have seen or read the ‘Twilight’ series. You were able to overcome your monster prejudice for the undead with fangs. You gave blood suckers a chance. Now, give brain eaters one, too.

Here are some of my reasons why ‘The Walking Dead’ deserve your attention.