Trade Jason Terry Now

If Jason Terry could be traded for a 2nd round pick right now I think I'd take it. How much longer do we have to suffer through this? He is TERRIBLE. It is truly amazing how fast he has fallen into complete and total uselessness. I'm sick of the shot selection, I'm sick of his inability to guard a 5 year old girl, I'm sick of his lack of passing skill, I'm sick of his basketball stupidity, and most of all, I am absolutely sick and tired of watching him dribble out the shot clock on every possession. Seriously, there were many, many times tonight when Terry spent the vast majority of the shot clock dribbling 5 to 10 feet behind the 3 point line. What the heck?

He cannot push the ball, period, and by push the ball, I mean bringing it inside the arc within 18 seconds. And why can't he ever just shoot the ball? How many times tonight did he get up in the air with no intention of actually shooting the ball, just trying to get a call which he almost never gets. This has got to stop.

On nights like this Mark Cuban has GOT to be surfing RealGM.com trying to come up with ANY trade that would get Terry out of here. It's becoming embarrassing. They have to trade this guy before every other team figures out he's got a big bag of nothing. He looks like he doesn't even care what's going on, like he's far more interested in pretending to be JJ the Jet Plane. The next couple of weeks without Devin Harris are going to be PAINFUL to watch regardless of whether we win or lose. And by the way, I saw a couple of times tonight when Dirk was PISSED at him. I mean yelling and really ripping into him for sucking like he always does. Maybe it will take Dirk being a jerk and telling Cuban "Get him out of here" to make it happen, as sad as that is. But I would seriously rather see JJ out there over Jet and I'd give up a couple of fingers to have Corey Maggette in his place. Just terrible.

Look for my new website, www.tradejasonterrynow.com soon!

My 2008 Oscar Nominations

The 2008 Academy Award nominations came out yesterday and with a very few exceptions, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised by the majority of the picks. The nominations for “Juno” in the Best Picture and Best Director category was unexpected, though deserved, and a lot of people were upset about the almost complete disregard for “Into the Wild” which garnered several Golden Globe nominations. But all in all, the Academy did what it usually does, praising the typical Oscar fodder that 2007 had to offer while generally ignoring anything out of the norm. My picks would have been considerably different, though I cannot argue in the least with any praise given to the likely Best Picture winner, “No Country For Old Men.” This film is, to me, a masterpiece that should be given just about every award. In fact, should the Cohen brothers go on stage and demand the Best Actress trophy even though there really wasn’t a lead actress in “Country,” it should be given to them without question. That said, I’ve come up with my own nominations and believe them to be much more accurate than the stupid, so called “experts” at the Academy (tongue firmly in cheek). I also want to draw attention to some performances that went unnoticed this year and deserve a mention.

Note: There are several films I’m sure are fantastic but that I didn’t see this year. “There Will Be Blood,” “Into the Wild,” “Gone Baby Gone,” Michael Clayton,” and “The Savages” all looked to be excellent pieces of film. My picks are obviously slanted since any one of these movies might have changed my mind on the picks. If you do not like this fact, please send me money and I promise I’ll try to see every single movie this year!

BEST PICTURE
No Country For Old Men (winner)
Juno
American Gangster
Zodiac
I Am Legend

Honorable mention: Charlie Wilson’s War; Children of Men; The Bourne Ultimatum.

The fact that “Gangster” was virtually shut out of award season is bad news for the industry because many of the film companies will point to the movies “early” (November) release date as the culprit as to why the film was forgotten. That means years of never having an Oscar worthy movie appear before December. “Zodiac” will only further this belief, as it was released in the spring and has been completely tossed aside by now. “I Am Legend” was never going to be nominated for a Best Picture award and I recognize this. Action movies are almost never considered Oscar caliber. But I loved this movie and I felt its meaning was far deeper than many Oscar winners of the past decade.

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carrell, Dan in Real Life
Gerard Butler, 300
Kevin Costner, Mr. Brooks
Adam Sandler, Reign Over Me
Josh Brolin/ Tommy Lee Jones, No Country For Old Men
Honorable mention: Denzel Washington, American Gangster; Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson’s War; Matt Damon, The Bourne Ultimatum; Will Smith, I Am Legend; Don Cheadle, Talk to Me.

I spit in the face of the Academy in this category as not a single one of their picks has made my list. Steve Carrell gave a brilliantly authentic performance of a widower trying to raise three teenage daughters in “Dan,” a performance that was egregiously overlooked. In the role of exact opposite to Carrell’s Dan, Kevin Costner was equally brilliant as a serial killer in “Mr. Brooks.” It is incredibly easy to play a serial killer as an over the top nut but Costner strikes an eerily perfect cord between conflicted and menacing. This was, in my opinion, a career rebuilding role for Costner. While “Reign Over Me” was a terrible movie, Adam Sandler’s turn as a widower who lost his family in the 9-11 attacks was appropriately depressing yet moving and heartfelt. Adam Sandler will never get his due from the Academy because he is, well, Adam Sandler but the guy can act and this is just another example of his range. If only “Reign” had been directed by a real director instead of Mike Binder. Gerard Butler is a stretch, I admit, but ask yourself this question: whose performance was etched into the mind of just about every moviegoer this year? He screamed, he fought, he has like a 10 pack and most of all, he was convincing. Women were fawning over him all summer but he also inspired the men who walked out of the theater saying to each other “Dude, I need to work out and buy a sword!” (Or was it just me?) Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones are combined because really I cannot pick one over the other. Both performances were nothing short of spectacular and the film could have failed without either of them. If I had to pick from the above list, I’d split it evenly between Brolin and Jones and call it a day.

BEST ACTRESS
Ellen Page, Juno (winner)
Jennifer Garner, Catch and Release
Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up

This was the absolute worst year for leading ladies that I can think of. Of the performances nominated for Best Actress by the Academy, Page’s in “Juno” is the only one I’ve seen and honestly, that’s probably the only film anyone in America has seen. It was a bad year for women. Page was funny, witty, and smart as heck in “Juno” and I can’t see Cate Blanchett or Julie Christie having put up a better performance than Page did. I found Garner to be enchanting in “Catch” though the film was cliché enough to be ignored by the Academy. In such a weak year, I’m a little surprised that Heigl didn’t get some consideration for her role in “Knocked Up.” I’m not a Heigl fan but I thought she nailed her character perfectly.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
David Morse, Disturbia
William Hurt, Mr. Brooks
Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men (winner)
J.K. Simmons, Juno
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

Honorable mention: Paul Rudd, Knocked Up; Jeff Daniels, The Lookout; Robert Downey Jr., Zodiac; Jason Bateman, The Kingdom; Rainn Wilson, The Last Mimzy

“Disturbia” is perhaps the best suspense movie I have seen since “The Sixth Sense” and a great deal of its disturbance is owed to David Morse. It is a well crafted film but Morse’s “just below the surface creepiness” is outstanding. J.K. Simmons has become one of America’s favorite character actors and his work in “Juno” is unique and masterful. Simmons works hard to portray a father who is disappointed in his daughter’s decisions yet filled with love and compassion for her. Not to mention he’s absolutely hilarious. Why William Hurt has not received more attention for his work as Kevin Costner’s conscience in “Mr. Brooks” is beyond me. His work is all at once out of control yet cool and calm. When I saw “Mr. Brooks” I knew Costner would not receive his due but I felt certain that Hurt would be in the running for this award. Philip Seymour Hoffman, an actor I greatly respect and revere, turned in what I believe to be his best performance to date in “Charlie Wilson’s War.” I was rolling with laughter through a great portion of his screen time and yet he was also able to reach a little deeper and come up with a meaningful, important message when the time was appropriate. Unfortunately for Hoffman, however, he is up against Javier Bardem whose portrayal of a homicidal bag man in “Country” is (just like the rest of the film) nothing short of spectacular. Not since Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs” has a bad guy come across as chilling and yet fascinating as Bardem’s Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is destined to register right along with Lecter, Darth Vader, and the like as one of the greatest movie villains of all time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ruby Dee, American Gangster (winner)
Julia Roberts, Charlie Wilson’s War
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Lena Headley, 300
Imelda Staunton, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Honorable mention: Laura Linney, Breach; Tea Leoni, You Kill Me; Naomi Watts, Eastern Promises

As I noted before, it was a particularly poor year for female performances. Julia Roberts is great in “Charlie Wilson’s War” but I believe most of the hype concerning her performance had less to do with her actual work and more to do with the fact that she was finally reappearing on screen. Garner gave a heartfelt turn in “Juno,” completely switching gears and bringing a fresh view to her seemingly generic character. Lena Headley’s importance to “300” has been vastly underrated and I think a lesser actress could have limited the reach of the film. When “Harry Potter 5” came out, Staunton seemed a likely pick for an Oscar nod but was lost along the way to award season. The brilliance (and in truth, the humanness) of her character is that Umbridge believes she is doing the right thing, though in reality she is as evil as any character in the series. I’m going to toot my own horn for a minute here, and proclaim that I was the first to tout Ruby Dee as an Oscar contender. Go back and read my review for “American Gangster” and see for yourself. As gangster Frank Lucas’ (Denzel Washington) mother, she delivers a powerful performance in her limited screen time. I believe it to be the best work in the supporting actress category.

BEST DIRECTOR
Joel and Ethan Cohen, No Country For Old Men (winner)
Jason Reitman, Juno
Peter Berg, The Kingdom
Knocked Up, Judd Apatow
Alphonso Cuaron, Children of Men

Honorable mention: Peter Hedges, Dan In Real Life; David Fincher, Zodiac; Ridley Scott, American Gangster; Bruce A. Evans, Mr. Brooks

Note: “Children of Men” is listed as a 2006 movie but was first released here in January 2007. I am not sure anyone knows whether or not the film counts this year or not.

Most pundits were surprised Jason Reitman received a nomination for “Juno” and I must say I agree, though he is certainly deserving. I believe Reitman did a wonderful job putting the film together, never allowing it to become melodramatic or over the top and somehow allowing us to laugh continually without ever quite forgetting that the topic of the film was in fact teen pregnancy. Similarly, “Knocked Up” director Judd Apatow delivered a laugh filled romp that still managed to make the audience think. Very rarely has an R-rated comedy that is REALLY a comedy not a quirky little drama-dey managed to make a powerful point amidst all the laughter. “Children of Men” has one of the most memorable, surreal scenes in recent memory (when Clive Owen brings the baby out into the war zone) that Cuaron crafted with perfection. The rest of the film is equally strong, taking us into a world where there are no children and allowing us to see what a bleak future this would be. “The Kingdom” surprised me almost as much as any film this year. When a film is pushed back time and time again, there is usually a good reason. Surprisingly, Berg put together an extremely strong movie about an FBI team investigating a massacre in Saudi Arabia. The relationship between the American’s and their Saudi guards is incredibly interesting and perhaps more important, Berg never allows the film to preach. The message comes through loud and clear without having an inane character stand up and shouting, “War is bad!” as seems to be the current trend. Again, however, none of the work I have seen this year matches up with Joel and Ethan Cohen’s spectacular job on “No Country For Old Men.” The more I have thought about this film, the more opportunities I have seen for a lesser director and lesser crew to screw it up. “Country” could have become dull, could have become cliché, could have become just plain pointless without the precision of the Cohen’s and their cast. A no-brainer for me.

Another Name Ruined

When I first started thinking about names I liked for my future children, one of the very first that popped into my head was Jackson. Not Jack, but Jackson. The name sounded cool but truthfully it did come from somewhere. The Bible quoting sniper in "Saving Private Ryan" was named Jackson and that character is one of my all time favorites in movie history. I planned to name my future son, at least in part, after this character.

Then things started to happen. A friend of mine named his dog Jackson, the jerk. That put a slightly negative connotation around the name but it was still solid enough. Then it was pointed out to me that Jackson was one of the more popular names of the time. Anyone who knows me knows I hate to do anything everyone else is doing. My resolve on the name Jackson began to waver.

Then I became a teacher.

Any teacher can draw up harrowing images that a simple name can conjure up. Being a teacher, surrounded by demonic little beasts for years, can completely ruin a name. I always liked the name Cooper...until I taught three Cooper's that collectively took a year off of my life. No more Cooper. The number of Jackson's I have had in my classes over the last 2 years is somewhere in the dozen range. It truly is a very popular name. Unfortunately, of the 12 or so Jackson's I have come in contact with, only a couple were decent kids. And in fact, several of the others went beyond your run of the mill annoying, rambunctious, ADD-riddled kids that haunt the public school system. Several of them were without question direct descendants of Satan himself. The name Jackson begins to take on all kinds of negative connotations that are darn near impossible to shake. Today produced the final nail in the coffin. A new kid. His name is coincidentally Jackson. He begins class pretty well but by the end he has proven himself to be the anti-Christ. Yet another Jackson that has, in my mind, made Beelzebub a more appealing name for my future kid than the aforementioned.

So parents, if you're going to be lazy, if you're going to "withhold the rod," if you're more concerned with being your kids friend than his parent, if you think a 4 year old is capable of making all of his decisions without any consultation, or if you just have a hunch your child is going to be rotten (you know who you are), then please, name him something I hate. George, Charles, Patrick, Toby, Scott, etc. Or better yet, do us all a favor, and just go ahead and name them Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Cane, Adolf, or something equally as disturbing in order to prepare us all for the chaos your little one is about to unleash on the earth.

Globes

Very quickly:
A few weeks ago I was pleased to see the nominations for the Golden Globes. I found the selection to be pretty fitting to what was and was not good in the movies this year. Some of the noms were even halfway inventive, if not brave, such as that for Amy Adams work in "Enchanted" a movie that is far from the normal award show fodder. I was, however, extremely disappointed when I saw the list of winners, particularly in the categories of "Best Picture" and "Best Actress". How Ellen Page did not win for her sarcastically spectacular performance as the title character in "Juno" is beyond me. It was a fairly lackluster year for female performances, but Page's work would hold up against any of the great performances of the past 5 years. Absolute robbery. And by the way, it is worth noting that "Juno" has been a hit across the nation, (winner) Marion Cotillard's turn in "La Vie en Rose" has been seen by exactly 3 people, all of whom are snooty critics.

Even more of an insult is the news that "No Country For Old Men" lost the "Best Picture" award to the "Atonement." Look, I haven't seen "Atonement" and quite frankly, I don't plan to. It will be on my "Did Not See Because I Did Not Care About Subject Matter" end of year list (look for this soon, I know you've all been waiting.) So maybe I'm not qualified to slam this selection. But that's not going to stop me. "Atonement" might be a very fine movie. Many critics, some I generally agree with, have good things to say about it and it appears to be the general British Oscar fodder that makes the rounds every year. But "Country" is one of the twenty best films I have EVER seen. I believe this film could be held up against just about any of the "Best Picture" winning films of the past 15 years. "Atonment" could get 5 stars from me and still not be anywhere close to the level of "Country." It is a singularly brilliant piece of work and it is a sham that it did not take the Globe. I'll even take it a step further: it is a travishamockery. That's right, I said it. Let us hope that the Academy, having built momentum by actually awarding "Best Picture" to the right film for a whopping 2 years in a row will vindicate "Country" a few weeks from now.

Embarrassed

A quick, painful word before I bury my sports-fan head in the dirt: For the second year in a row my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes have been absolutely embarrassed in the NCAA Football Championship game, yet again by a blasted SEC team. Deja vu all over again, as they say. Last season the Bucks ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, setting the stage for a fitting end to a magical season...only to be outscored 41-7 over the final 14:45 of the game. This year, while coming in heavy underdogs, OSU jumped out early with a 10-0 lead...and proceeded to have a field goal blocked, turn the ball over 3 times, and take a collective kick in the pills by the faster, bigger LSU team.

The truth is, at the beginning of the season I would have been happy with a 10-3 year. Ohio State lost tons of starters, including Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and came in with a young and inexperienced team. Coach Tressel was building for 2008 and everyone knew it. To finish with a title game appearance and a 11-2 record is amazing, all things considered. But to be dominated in the exact same fashion as the previous year is embarrassing. In addition, this only adds to the "close but no cigar" history of the past decade that my cursed teams have had. Have a look:

Since Duke basketball won the title in 2001, I have experienced: A SF Giants World Series choke in 02; an Oakland Raiders blowout in the Super Bowl in 03; a Duke Final Four loss in 04, not to mention two HIGHLY ranked teams that bombed out in the Sweet Sixteen in 02, 05, and 06; Ohio State Championship Game losses in 07 and 08; an Ohio State basketball Championship Game loss in 07; a Mavericks Finals collapse in 06; and the Mavericks historic postseason failure after a 67 game season. The only team of mine that has pulled off the apparently impossible deed of winning a title was the Ohio State team of 2003, which (with much regret) I must admit I didn't even watch because I was completely convinced Miami was going to run away with the game. That's 13 legit chances at a title for my teams with only 1 win. If ever you are posed the question of whether it is worse to be that good but always fall short or to never be that good, trust me when I say I've gone through more stress, frustration, and anger with my 1 for 13 streak than I ever did when my teams were terrible (even during the Mavs 11 and 13 win seasons).

Now I must crawl into my sports hole and wait for March, (which almost certainly will bring more frustration since Duke looks to be too young to win a title but good enough to get my hopes up), and April (though the Mavs look poised for another playoff blunder). Just another day in the life of a guy who spends far too much time watching sports.