2013 Fall TV Lineup!

So...this year, I am purposefully adding fewer shows than I have in years past, despite getting hooked up with the Genie from DirecTV for free!  I can now record 7 shows at once!  From what I hear, a baby will hinder my ability to watch as many shows as I used to, but we'll see ;)

We have recently lost or will be losing very soon many quality shows.  ABC failed big time by canceling Happy Endings, which was the best network sitcom since Friends.  All the other networks, USA in particular, failed by not saving it.  TBS saves garbage like Cougar Town but no one picks up Happy Endings?!  I don't know if it's the networks' fault or stupid viewers' faults who watch crappy shows instead of good ones.  Honey Boo Boo gets good ratings, right?  I rest my case!

Other shows that have come to an end are Futurama (for the final time, this time), Do No Harm, which was actually canceled back in February after just 2 'sodes which broke the record for lowest network viewership.  They burned the remaining 11 episodes over the summer and it actually got kinda good.  It wasn't a great show by any means, but certainly not the worst show ever.  Burn Notice, which was somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me, came to an end after 7 seasons. 

While Happy Endings certainly met its demise well before its time, one show that is coming to an end after a great run is Dexter.  The final episode is this Sunday and anything can happen!  (spoilers ahead)  Deb was shot last week; will she survive??  I hope Dexter and Hannah end up happy together (in Argentina it would seem).  Can Deb and Quinn have a happy ending together??



Okay, I digress.  On to the new shows!  My most anticipated one of the season is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Anyone who's seen the Marvel movies, most notably The Avengers, will be familiar with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Coulson, who despite apparently dying in The Avengers will star in the upcoming show about the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division from the Marvel universe.  Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury will not appear in the show, but I could perhaps see Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill appearing down the line, especially with her show, How I Met Your Mother entering its final season this year.  Time will tell if S.H.I.E.L.D. can take Marvel's film success and transfer it to the small screen.  DC has had hits with Smallville and Arrow, so Marvel decided to get into the mix and unlike the two aforementioned DC projects, S.H.I.E.L.D. will come straight from the movies while Smallville and Arrow are standalone shows.  S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on ABC on 9/24 and will air on Tuesdays at 7:00pm MT. 



Like I've mentioned before, premium channel shows are where it's at!  Dexter, Game of Thrones, True Blood, Homeland, etc.  While I didn't stick with Ray Donovan, I will give Showtime's new fall endeavor, Masters of Sex a shot.  The dramedy stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as real-life sex doctors from the mid 20th century.


Next up, we have The Crazy Ones.  Robin Williams makes his return to TV 32 years after Mork & Mindy and he stars as an advertising executive who works with his daughter, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.  With Williams as the star, it has potential.  Thursdays on CBS at 8:00, starting on 9/26.

Finally, we have The Goldbergs.  A sitcom about a family in the 80s.  Not too excited about this one, but the wife expressed interest, so we'll give it a shot.  Could be cut early, both from my DVR and by ABC.  It's on at 8:00, immediately following S.H.I.E.L.D.
 
Also, in 2014, Jack Bauer and 24 return for a "limited" 12-episode run!

My Thoughts on Ben Affleck as Batman

Just hours ago, the news broke that Ben Affleck has been cast to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in the upcoming sequel to this year's Man of Steel. The initial reaction I've seen online has been mostly negative. I don't know if people are automatically thinking of his underwhelming 2003 superhero film Daredevil, which was supposed to kick start that franchise but ultimately never really did. It produced an even worse spin-off, Elektra, starring Affleck's wife Jennifer Garner.

But can Affleck work as Bruce Wayne and Batman? You know, I think this might just be crazy enough to work, despite the negative reactions so far! First off, you can't cast Affleck aside because of Daredevil. Chris Evans was okay as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, but his performance as Captain America helped elevate his career to another level. Affleck has had a very successful film career with Oscar winners such as Goodwill Hunting and Argo. While I initially liked Michael Fassbender after his successful reinvention of Magneto in X-Men: First Class, the announcement that they wanted an actor in his 40s in order to avoid a Batman origin story pretty much ruled out the younger X-Men star. The 41-year-old Affleck is certainly a seasoned actor and can bring his experience and confidence to a role that certainly will require both.

He will also need this confidence to avoid falling into the trap of trying to recreate Christian Bale's Batman. Bale's Batman is truly incomparable. Trying to duplicate that would pretty much be the worst thing they could do. That is why Brandon Routh trying to be Christopher Reeve's Superman did not work. Just because Affleck and Snyder will not be able to be Bale and Nolan isn't the end of the world for the Caped Crusader. Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy was based in "realism" with no Lazarus Pits for Ra's al Ghul and no Venom for Bane. Bale's Batman was just essentially a regular guy who beat other regular guys. For this to work, Batman will have to become a regular guy who beats superheroes and super villains like he does in the comics and cartoons. Can't really have realism when the other main character is an invincible Kryptonian.

But just because they can't have Nolan's realism doesn't mean they're doomed to Adam West/George Clooney campiness. The DC Animated Universe and DC Animation have been doing it great for years. Kevin Conroy is the most underrated Batman of all-time. He created a dark, serious Batman during the 90s when Joel Schumacher was making its film counterpart increasingly campy. He bagan with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 all the way through Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond. He has even reprised the role in various standalone movies such as Justice League: Doom and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. That is the Batman Snyder and Affleck should aspire to. Don't try to be Bale and certainly stay away from the campiness of the Burton/Schumacher series.

Ben Affleck was not my first choice. He very well may not be yours either. Was Henry Cavill your first choice to play Superman? Had you even heard of him before? I hadn't, but he certainly exceeded all expectations. Heath Ledger's casting was met with some skepticism and he went on to put on one of the greatest performances in movie history. Anne Hathaway's and Tom Hardy's casting was met with similar criticism as well. So...maybe...Ben Affleck is the Batman we deserve AND the one we need right now...

Ryan O'Byrne Incurs the Wrath of Avs Fans

Ryan O'Byrne played in parts of three seasons for the Colorado Avalanche.  He always seemed like a popular guy amongst his teammates, who affectionately referred to him with nicknames like "O.B.," "Burner," and of course "Beauty Alert."  O'Byrne was also fairly liked amongst Avs fans, although his popularity slipped this year, with his porous defense at times, but in his defense, the Avs defense as a whole has been just plain abysmal all year long.

Earlier today however, Denver Post writer Adrian Dater tweeted the below quote from O'Byrne:

adater@adater

Ryan O'Byrne: "Playing in Colorado you don't have the fan support & then you come to TO & you have that passion."

Since then, Avs fans have been laying into O'Byrne for trashing Avalanche fans.  O'Byrne is not the first player to say less than stellar things about the Colorado Avalanche organization after his trade away from the team.  Both Craig Anderson and Kyle Quincey expressed their contempt for Avalanche management after they were traded.  The difference between their comments and O'Byrne's is that they both directed their animosity toward the Avs' front office; O'Byrne criticized the Avs fanbase.

All three players have taken heat from Avs fans for their comments, but were they wrong for speaking out?  There is no sugar-coating the fact that the Colorado Avalanche, a team who won two Stanley Cups and used to be among the league's elite each and every year, has fallen very far since then.  The Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche set and NHL record for winning nine consecutive division titles.  This year will mark 10 years, a full decade since the Avs last hoisted a division title banner.

The Colorado Avalanche also set an NHL record for the longest home sellout streak of 487 games from 1995, the year the team debuted in Colorado until 2006.  Lately, the Avs attendance has been in steady decline and is currently 26th out of 30 NHL teams.  On any given night, you will find many vacant seats at the Pepsi Center for an Avs game.  The few sellouts the Avs have had this year have been due to the other team's fans occupying a very large portion of The Can.  When the Avs ended the Blackhawks point streak, the Pepsi Center was half full of Blackhawks fans.  The Red Wings, still the Avs most hated opponent, will fill the stands with red whenever they come to Denver as well.

Which of course brings me back to O'Byrne's controversial comment.  Of course, it can be interpreted that he is figuratively spitting in the face of Avs fans and essentially calling them bad hockey fans for not supporting their team the way Leafs fans support their club, who just clinched their first playoff berth in nine years.  Obviously, they are excited to end that drought.  It would be an understatement to say that they are passionate about their hockey up in Toronto.

I've lived in Colorado my entire life.  Colorado sports fans are great!  However, aside from the Denver Broncos, who will get round-the-clock coverage and support regardless of their record, Colorado fans can be sort of fickle.  Case in point, the Colorado Avalanche.  The Nuggets have a pretty consistent fanbase right now, but not so much 15 years ago when their position wasn't so favorable.  The Rockies get a quick bandwagon following once in a blue moon when they make the playoffs.



So were O'Byrne's comments out of line?  Personally, I don't think so.  If you go to any given Avs game, you will find plenty of empty seats.  Recently, you could find tickets to an Avs game for as little as $1 on stubhub.com, a very far cry from the heyday of the sellout streak and the Stanley Cups.  Sure, O'Byrne could have expressed his excitement to be playing for the playoff-bound Maple Leafs without directly or indirectly throwing Avs fans under the bus, but saying that crowds at Pepsi Center enthusiastic sellouts, isn't an insult, it's simply a fact.

I don't think he meant to insult those of us who are filling the seats at Pepsi Center.  Even through the tough times the Avs have been experiencing since the NHL implemented a salary cap, I have still been spending my money on tickets, jerseys, hats, and t-shirts, including a t-shirt signed by none other than Ryan O'Byrne from the Military Night mystery t-shirts last year.



I'm not alone.  There are many of us faithful Avalanche fans who will not jump on and off the bandwagon, we will continue to support the team through thick and thin.  While I don't think it was necessarily his intention, O'Byrne could have been criticizing the Avs fans who are no longer there.  The ones who would gladly fill the Pepsi Center for a winning team, but are nowhere to be seen for team that is in the dreaded rebuilding phase.  Honestly, I don't think he thought too much about it before he made his statement.  I think the point he was trying to make was simply his excitement to be playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs in a Leafs sweater.

I don't blame the fans who aren't at the games though.  It's tough to spend your hard-earned money to go see a last-place team and a team who will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive year.  You can't compare a Denver hockey fanbase to one up in Canada's largest city.  There is of course one simple solution that will undoubtedly restore the energy and passion back into the Pepsi Center for hockey games, and that is simply to win.

Possible Lines for the Avs tonight in Vancouver

*Update*
Per Adrian Dater, Landeskog did not skate this morning and will not play tonight.

The Avs will have a bit of a new look tonight with 20-year-old former OHL scoring champion Michael Sgarbossa likely to make his NHL debut.  Here's how the lines could possibly shape up tonight.

Landeskog-Duchene-Parenteau
McGinn-Stastny-Jones
Olver-Sgarbossa-Hejduk
McLeod-Mitchell-Bordeleau

Of course, the million dollar question is the status of captain Gabe Landeskog, who missed the first game of his NHL career Monday night in Edmonton.  Obviously, the best case scenario for the Avs will be that he will be good to go tonight and we could see the above lineup.  Sgarbossa could fill in the 4th line center position that was held on Monday by Brad Malone, the player he replaced on the Avs current roster, but I would actually like to see Sgarbossa on at least the 3rd line in order to get him a bit more ice time in an NHL game and with scoring wingers like Milan Hejduk.  Olver-Sgarbossa-Hejduk would be a small line, but there would also be scoring potential there, which the Avs desperately need.  You could even switch Olver and McLeod to give the 3rd line McLeod's grit and size.

If Landeskog's symptoms have not yet cleared, we could see McGinn up on the 1st line with Duchene and Parenteau just like we did Monday night.  Playing with Dutchy and PAP helped McGinn earn his first point of the season and the Avs are of course hoping that will open up the flood gates for Ginner's scoring.  If that's the case, then why not give Sgarbossa a shot with Stastny and Jones?  Stastny and Jones are due over $10 million worth of offense and perhaps the young scorer can help spark the 2nd line veterans.  Of course, if Landeskog is out, Chuck Kobasew would be inserted into the lineup as he'd be the last avaialble forward.

McGinn-Duchene-Parenteau
Sgarbossa-Stastny-Jones
Olver-Mitchell-Hejduk
McLeod-Kobasew-Bordeleau

It's unknown who will start in goal tonight, but with back-to-backs tonight and tomorrow, it seems very likely that veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere will get his first start of the season either tonight or tomorrow in Calgary.  Jiggy was perfect in his only appearance so far this season, stopping all 17 shots he faced when he relieved Semyon Varlamov against the Sharks.

Varly, Landy, and Dutchy power Avs past Kings

Last Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche opened up their shortened 2013 season in Minnesota and fell to the new-look Wild, despite playing a good first and third period.

Three days later, the Avs made their season debut on home ice, where they faced off against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings.  Despite the fact that the Kings went on to win it all last year, the Avs actually had great success against Los Angeles, sweeping them in all four meetings last season.

The Avs and the Kings both entered last night's matchup 0-1 on the season and looking for their first win of 2013.  The Kings' best player is unquestionably their goaltender, reigning Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick, so Avs netminder Semyon Varlamov had his work cut out for him to match Quick.

Varly was outstanding last night.  He surrendered a first period goal, which was the result of young defenseman Tyson Barrie failing to tie up his man across the low slot.  The Avs did get themselves into trouble, taking six penalties on the night, but Varly and the penalty killing unit were spectacular, killing of all six Kings power play opportunities. 

The game was 1-0 in favor of the Kings through two periods and the Avs failed to capitalize on a 5-3 power play advantage late in the second, despite getting some good looks. 

Enter Gabriel Landeskog.  The 20-year-old Swede was not named the youngest captain in NHL history for some gimmick or fluke, this kid is the real deal.  It's cliche in pro sports, but in order to win, your best players have to be your best players and Landeskog showed why he is just that.  Landy received a somewhat fortunate bounce from defenseman Jan Hejda, but he used his hockey awareness and strength to be in the perfect position and he put the puck home past Jon Quick for the Avs' first goal on home ice this year.

Barely over a minute and a half later, sniper David Jones, fresh off a new four-year contract, snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Quick to give the Avs their first lead of the night.  Not bad for Jonesy to get the eventual game-winner at the first game his six-month-old son was able to attend!

Newcomer P.A. Parenteau would later get his first score as a member of the Avalanche and put Colorado up 3-1 for good.

Although he only recorded one assist on the night, center Matt Duchene was unquestionably one of the best players on the ice throughout the entire game.  From the opening face off, Duchene was flying, using his trademark speed to create space for him and his linemates.  He set up the play nicely that led to Landeskog's goal and he was good in all three zones. 

With fan-favorite Ryan O'Reilly still playing over in Russia as he has been unable to agree to a new contract in Colorado, Duchene's already important role with the Avs increase exponentially.  During the first two games this season, Duchene has been frequently used as a penalty killer, a role that he has not been known for throughout his young NHL career.

Over the summer, Duchene trained with Sidney Crosby, arguably the world's best hockey player and his trainer to work on his game.  Duchene eliminated gluten, sugar, and dairy from his diet to get into the best shape of his life.  He excelled in Sweden and Switzerland during the lockout and looks to be hungry to take his game to the next level with the Avalanche.  He is playing a more physical game it seems thus far.  He appears to be stronger and not afraid to get into the gritty areas of the ice.  On the set up of Landy's goal, he casually brushed off defenseman Rob Scuderi to get to the front of the net.

Duchene was also involved in a scary incident last night after he blocked a shot by Kings all-star defensemen Drew Doughty, who certainly has a cannon of a shot.  Duchene took the shot up high and immediately skated to the bench and into the locker room.  Just a couple short minutes later, Duchene returned to to game with a bandage on his jaw.  He would require stitches after the game and said he was lucky the shot didn't hit him higher, otherwise he probably would have lost all of his teeth.  Head coach Joe Sacco praised Duchene's play and his toughness for returning to the ice so quickly after sacrificing his body to block the shot.

Whether or not O'Reilly returns to Colorado, and of course we all hope he does very soon, Duchene will be a key piece for the Avs. 

The Avs are back at it at home tomorrow night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The Jackets traded the longtime face of their franchise and former captain, Rick Nash over the summer, but the new-look Jackets are not to be taken lightly.  In a short, 48 game season, every game is an important one.  The Avs' key to success will be for them to use their youth and energy night in and night out and to not take games and even periods off.

The X Factor

After a long, frustrating, and arduous lockout, Colorado Avalanche fans are finding themselves victim of another maddening dispute.  This time however, it is between the Colorado Avalanche and their popular center Ryan O'Reilly.

Now, while the official party line is that talks remain ongoing between Colorado Avalanche General Manager Greg Sherman and O'Reilly's agent, Mark Guy, the fact remains that an already shortened season has begun, and the Avs are without their leading scorer from a year ago.

Much like the lockout itself, both sides have legitimate claims.  Over the course of his short three year NHL career, O'Reilly has certainly proven his value.  From the get-go, he established himself as a reliable two-way center who was very responsible in his own end as well as in the face off circle.  Last year, he saw his offensive abilities blossom as he nearly equaled the output from his rookie and sophomore years combined.

Greg Sherman and the Avs front office however, still have a business to run.  The Avs are still a very young team with budding talents and emerging superstars.  If they comply with the O'Reilly camp's demands and overpay the young center, it may be setting a dangerous precedent when the contracts of key players like Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, and Semyon Varlamov expire in two years.  The Avs are well under the salary cap now, but if they shell out big bucks for all of their young, talented players, they may not be able to afford to keep them all down the line.  A hockey guy and a team guy, O'Reilly should understand that.

There have been reports as to what the Avs have offered and what O'Reilly has reportedly turned down.  Yes, the numbers are important for the team and O'Reilly now and of course in the long term, but much like the lockout, we fans don't care.  The CBA is certainly a necessary evil, but it was completely unnecessary that we had to wait until January to watch our first NHL games of the season.

Signing O'Reilly to a contract that is fair for both him and team is important, but all we fans care about is that he is in the lineup, representing the Burgundy and Blue and helping this young team win games in a very competitive Northwest Division.

The longer this drags out, the worse it will be for both the Avalanche and Ryan O'Reilly.  Owner Stan Kroenke has developed the reputation as an owner who won't spend money to help improve his teams and Greg "from Accounting" Sherman has been labeled as a numbers guy, not a hockey guy.  This certainly isn't helping to cure those rumors.  We've been told for years now that no one loves the game of hockey more than O'Reilly.  The team's biggest "rink rat," always the first to arrive and the last to leave.  Well Ryan, prove to us that you do love the game and that nothing means more to you than playing hockey at the highest level possible   Not some second-rate league like the KHL, the National Hockey League.

We were cheated out of 34 regular season games this year because of people's greed, arrogance, and stubbornness and now we are being cheated out of watching a young, talented, valuable player help the team who turned him into a bona fide NHL center as he wastes away in the KHL.

Bettman, Fehr I mean Sherman, Guy, get a deal done!

Serving Justice

Ever since Warner Bros. announced plans for a live-action Justice League movie due out in 2015, there has been much speculation as to who will be playing the roles of the film's heroes.  With its only successful film franchise now wrapped up following The Dark Knight Rises, DC Comics and Warner Bros. are in desperate need of a film franchise that they can bank on.  Of course, every actor picked to play a role will hopefully begin their own franchises as their respective heroes.  Here are my picks to play the characters of the movie:

Superman:  Henry Cavill

This of course is banking on the fact that next summer's The Man of Steel will work.  Marvel had the success of Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America to kick start The Avengers.  Superman Returns and Green Lantern didn't get it done, so The Man of Steel is essentially DC's last hope to jump start the Justice League franchise without having The Justice League movie itself be the catalyst.

Wonder Woman:  Odette Annable

The 27-year-old House actress certainly has the look of Wonder Woman.  Even though she doesn't have an action background, with the right training she can certainly get into Amazon form, much like Anne Hathaway did for her role as Selina Kyle.  Annable is relatively unknown, so audiences won't have preconceived notions about her.

Green Lantern:  Idris Elba

Unless DC and Warner Bros. want to continue with Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan incarnation of Green Lantern, it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce the John Stewart Green Lantern.  Idris Elba, who has some comic book movie experience from Thor, would fit the bill perfectly. 

The Flash:  Ryan Reynolds

Before he ever signed on to play Green Lantern, Reynolds stated that he thought he could play The Flash.  DC however, decided to move forward with Green Lantern instead and cast him.  Now that Green Lantern failed to meet expectations, why not give Reynolds a shot at the hero he originally wanted?  With The Flash being a wise-cracking, sarcastic super hero, Reynolds would certainly work perfectly.

Green Arrow:  Josh Holloway

Holloway is of course best known as the conman Sawyer from Lost.  He could certainly fit the bill as billionaire archer Oliver Queen.  The fact that Holloway is in his 40s would be ideal for the Justice League film because a younger Oliver Queen would be too similar to the current Arrow incarnation on the CW and even Smallville's Green Arrow. 

Aquaman:  Alexander Skarsgard

True Blood fans of course know him best as Eric Northman, the antihero vampire of Bon Temps.  Skarsgard could bring the necessary energy to Aquaman to make him a legitimate hero rather than just a joke of a guy who talks to fish.

Martian Manhunter:  Djimon Hounsou

Hounsou voiced Marvel's Black Panther in the short-lived BET animated series and was rumored to play the character in the now scrapped third Fantastic Four movie.  Hounsou could certainly play Martian Manhunter and his alter ego, John Jones. 

Black Canary:  Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood made her film debut in 2010's drama Soul Surfer.  If she wants to further expand her acting resume, then why not take on the role of a superhero?  She's got the look of Dinah Lance and she certainly has the vocal cords!  Plus, there could be some interesting chemistry between her and Holloway...

Darkseid:  Dwayne Johnson

Darkseid is the immortal ruler of Apokolips and is powerful enough to challenge the entire Justice League.  The 6'5", 260lb. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson can certainly step into the larger than life role and become the force necessary to best Superman and all of his colleagues.

Batman:  Michael Fassbender

Following Christain Bale's legendary performances of the Dark Knight will certainly be the toughest task for any Justice League hero.  Michael Fassbender made a name for himself as Magneto in X-Men: First Class, taking the role over from another legendary actor, Ian McKellen.  Fassbender will have to do the same from Christian Bale and bring his own fresh take to the character without bringing back the campiness of George Clooney's Batman.

2012 Fall TV: Keep 'Ems and Cut 'Ems

As previously mentioned, Revolution is a keeper.  The ratings have concurred, giving NBC rare Monday night wins and NBC has in turn rewarded the show by giving it a full season pickup.  The Mob Doctor's attempts may be futile at this point as it may very well be headed for the morgue.  It avoided being the first cancellation of the season, but its lifespan might not be much longer.

I watched the pilot episode of 666 Park Avenue, but from the get-go, it was facing an uphill battle with my packed Sunday lineup, which gets even more crowded this week with the Season 3 premier of The Walking Dead.  666 kind of had a Devil's Advocate feel, but it also seemed like ABC wanted to bring the horror genre, which is all over feature films these days, to network television.  Aside from the aforementioned Walking Dead, I am not a fan of the horror genre, so 666 was certainly expendable from my lineup.  Its ratings have been described as "frightful" as well.

The pilot episode of Vegas was decent.  Dennis Quaid brings in his gruff Western character, reminiscent of his portrayal of Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp, which was a ok, but far less superior to Val Kilmer's in Tombstone.  Michael Chiklis is good.  He's got the same edge about him that made Vic Mackey and The Shield a success.  Vegas' second episode got a nice boost with the addition of Sarah Jones, the star of the short-lived Alcatraz.  Although there are standalone storylines in Vegas, the ongoing budding feud between Quaid's Sheriff Ralph Lamb and Chiklis' Vincent Savino gives it the nice feel of a serialized drama, which I prefer.

I'm a big fan of Tosh.O, South Park, and Family Guy.  Brickleberry seemed to incorporate elements of all three.  Daniel Tosh of course stars and brings his edgy comedic stylings playing an anthropomorphic bear cub (a mix of Brian and Stewie from Family Guy) and the pushing-the-limits jokes made famous by South Park.  Unfortunately, despite the winning formula, Brickleberry fails.  I watched the first 2 episodes and just didn't find the jokes funny.  I'll stick with the former 3 shows.



Arrow is the CW's latest attempt to bring a DC superhero to the small screen.  The WB/CW enjoyed a decade of success with the Superman-themed show Smallville.  The character of Green Arrow was actually featured in Smallville over the course of its latter 5 seasons.  It seemed feasible that they could have just used Smallville actor Justin Hartley and made Arrow a true spinoff of Smallville.  Oliver Queen's mansion in Arrow even looks very similar to the Luthor mansion in Smallville.  The CW however, decided to go in a different direction and start the Green Arrow storyline over with a fresh, new show.  Canadian actor Stephen Amell takes over the titular role with a supporting cast of Katie Cassidy as a character who could very well become DC Comics' Black Canary and Willa Holland as Oliver Queen's sister, whom he nicknames "Speedy," a nod to Green Arrow's comic book sidekick.  Arrow is good for what it is.  You wouldn't expect Lost or Dexter quality TV from the CW, but Arrow is entertaining and for superhero and comic book fans like me, Arrow is a show worth watching.  The CW will certainly be hoping that it can channel Smallville's success rather than the short-lived Batman-themed show, Birds of Prey.



Perhaps the surprise hit of the season is Last Resort.  The cast, storyline, and overall show are all very well executed and Last Resort seems like it has a lot of potential going forward.  It certainly has a serialized storyline, but one that can capture viewers, or so ABC hopes.  Although its ratings haven't been what Revolution's have been, I think Last Resort can sustain a viewership.  Though it's a rather large ensemble type cast, there is a good blend of solid, veteran actors (Andre Braugher, Scott Speedman, and Robert Patrick) as well as promising relative newcomers like Daisy Betts, Autumn Reeser, Daniel Lissing, and Jessy Schram.  Serialized shows can have difficulties with ratings since they're not friendly to the casual viewer, but if Last Resort is able to build and maintain a faithful fanbase, it will certainly thrive.

I have a new edition to my lineup as well.  I didn't catch on to Cinemax's first successful endeavor at original programming, Strike Back, but its newest show, Hunted, looks like it has potential.  It stars Melissa George (the hot nanny from Friends) as a spy who's trying to find out who's trying to kill her.  Like Burn Notice, but hopefully less cheesy.  It premiers in the U.S. on Friday, 11/19.

Reviewlution

Only a couple of new shows premiered this week (along with the disappointing NBC sitcoms that debuted during the Olympics last month).  Let's take a look, shall we?

Although it wasn't on my initial list of new shows, I decided to check out the pilot 'sode of The Mob Doctor.  Jordana Spiro is very good as the titular character.  You may remember her from the TBS sitcom My Boys as well as last season of Dexter.  She had a memorable scene in which she tried to kill Deb and the Miami PD by gassing them, but our hero Dexter shrewdly realized her intentions at the last minute and pushed her into a room by herself, making her the only casualty.  Back to The Mob Doctor.  It's basically half House and half The Sopranos, but not as convincing as either.  (I never watched House, but heard only good things).  William Forsythe brings the "mob" portion of the show.  He's looking a lot puffier these days than he did in The Rock 16 years ago, but he certainly plays a convincing mobster, just as he did in Boardwark Empire and UC: Undercover.  I like Michael Rapaport, who appeared in the pilot as another mobster, but he only guest starred and won't be part of the main cast.  Overall, The Mob Doctor is not a bad show, but it didn't really captivate me enough to continue watching.  With Monday Night Football, How I Met Your Mother, Hawaii Five-O, and Revolution, my Mondays are full.

Which of course brings us to Revolution, J.J. Abrams' latest TV bid.  In his post-Lost TV career, Abrams is only 1-2 when it comes to his shows lasting longer than one season.  Person of Interest will be entering its second, while Undercovers didn't even make it through its entire first before getting yanked and Alcatraz was canceled upon completion of its first.  With Revolution, Abrams brings with him frequent collaborator Bryan Burk as well as Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director, Jon Favreau, who also directed the pilot episode of Revolution.

The premise is pretty simple:  The lights go out.  All of them.  The entire world's electricity and power go out; flash forward 15 years later to see what the world has become.  The United States has become "republics" ruled by militias and people fight to survive.  Billy Burke (24, the Twilight series) heads up the cast in a role being compared to the legendary Han Solo and newcomer Tracy Spiridakos plays his niece as a character who's been compared to The Hunger Games' heroine Katniss Everdeen.  Giancarlo Esposito of The Usual Suspect and Breaking Bad plays a member of the bad guy militia and Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell and David Lyons, the star of the short-lived NBC show The Cape co-star as well.

I think Revolution has potential.  Dystopia is in right now, namely with the aforementioned Hunger Games and I think Revolution has a good premise and cast in place to garner and keep viewers interested.  While Undercovers, Alcatraz, and Person of Interest were all mostly stand-alone episodes, Revolution seems to have a more serialized feel to it, which I prefer.  I understand the network's desire for stand-alone episodes to attract casual viewers, but I think stories and even characters can be better developed in a serialized storyline.  Revolution certainly has a long way to go before being considered a hit, but I will keep watching for the moment.

Next week Brickleberry, Vegas, Last Resort, and 666 Park Avenue will all debut.  Stay tuned!

The Best Time Of The Year (New TV Shows Time)

*UPDATE*
Thanks to Colorado Avalanche Alternate Captain Paul Stastny via Twitter, It's Always Sunny has been confirmed for an October 11th season premier.

NBC debuted two of their new, hopeful sitcoms a month before new shows typically come out.  This followed their strong Olympic numbers, so it was a good strategy to try to lure in viewers.  The problem...neither show was any good.

Matthew Perry's new endeavor, Go On, is much more Mr. Sunshine than Friends.  While I am a fan of Joanna Garcia Swisher, even she could not save Animal Practice, nor could I even get through the entire episode.  After just one episode of Go On and half of an episode of Animal Practice, both these show are off my DVR.  Let's hope the new dramas that will premiere next month will be better than these two sitcoms and fortunately, we will be getting It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Happy Endings, and South Park as well as the potential for Brickleberry.

The fall brings us back football, hockey, and relief from summer's brutal 100 degree temperatures.   It is also the time when TV networks debut their best and brightest and we get the return of some of the best shows on TV today.  There are some promising new shows this upcoming season as well as the long anticipated returns of some other great shows.  Here is what to watch...

Per usual, Sundays will be jam-packed.  The rest of the week is pretty spread out, but we shall see how things shake out with the inevitable cancellations and midseason replacements. 



Sundays will boast the return of the premium channels bests including the 7th season of Showtime's Dexter.  If you recall, season 6 left us with a killer of a cliffhanger!  Once again, it will be followed by Homeland, the military psychological thriller entering its 2nd season.  HBO will bring back the critically acclaimed Boardwalk Empire for its 3rd season, which will certainly look to feature some new cast members (if you saw the end of season 2, you'll know why!).  Family Guy and The Simpsons will be back on Fox.  Family Guy is still funny, I watch The Simpsons out of obligation and not much else these days.  Does anyone else still watch the new Simpsons?  In October, The Walking Dead will return for its fall set.  Hands-down, one of the best shows on basic cable and my personal favorite (show or movie) in the horror genre.  The newbies on Sunday will include 666 Park Avenue, which will revolve around an apartment building owned by the devil, played by Terry O'Quinn (Lost's John Locke and the man in black "Barry" as Locke).  This show may be on a short leash for me simply due to the logjam of shows on Sunday nights.  Do No Harm is a medical thriller which will debut midseason, starring Rescue Me's Stephen Pasquale and Law & Order's Alana de la Garza.

Mondays will feature the return of the reliable How I Met Your Mother and Hawaii Five-O on CBS.  JJ Abrams will take another crack at network TV with NBC's Revolution, a post-apocalyptic show where technology no longer exists.  Looks like it has potential, but Abrams has had more busts than hits post-Lost (Undercovers and Alcatraz vs. Person of Interest).


The best network sitcom on TV today, Happy Endings, will move to Tuesdays and will return in October.  Watch this show!  It is hilarious!  There are also a few newcomers on Tuesdays with potential.  Stand-up comedian and Tosh.O star Daniel Tosh will debut his animated show Brickleberry, which will also co-star Kaitlin Olsen, It's Always Sunny's Dee Reynolds.  After Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Mr. Sunshine failed to make an impact, Matthew Perry will get his 3rd shot to find some post-Friends TV success with Go On.  Perry will play a sportscaster trying to get over his wife's death.  CBS will debut Vegas, a 1960s Western set in Las Vegas with Dennis Quaid as a sheriff and Michael Chiklis as a mobster.  Sounds a tad different from the James Caan/Josh Duhamel show Las Vegas and Chiklis as a mobster should be good.



On Wednesdays, Law & Order: SVU will return for its 14th season and rumors are that Det. Stabler may return as a guest star.  South Park will also be back for its fall run.  NBC will debut Animal Practice, featuring Joanna Garcia Swisher (from Better With You) and a monkey.  The CW will try to emulate its Smallville success with Arrow, a show about DC superhero, The Green Arrow.  They (back when they were still the WB) struck out in 2002 with the loosely-themed Batman show, Birds of Prey, which only lasted one season.

Thursdays will see the return of JJ Abrams hit CBS show, Person of Interest, a decent show, but certainly not Lost-caliber.  30 Rock will enter its final season and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will return in October.  The funniest show on TV.  Last Resort looks promising.  It is about a renegade submarine and is from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield.

Fringe will enter its final season on Fridays this season, hopefully getting the ending this underrated and underappreciated show deserves.  The Kiefer Sutherland show Touch moves to Fridays as well, possibly signifying a lifespan for this show similar to that of Danny Glover's character on the show.  They don't call it "the Friday night death slot" for no reason.



Sunday
Boardwalk Empire - 9/16 HBO
The Simpsons - 7:00, 9/30 Fox
Family Guy - 8:00, 9/30 Fox
Dexter - 9/30 Showtime
Homeland - 9/30 Showtime
666 Park Avenue - 9:00, 9/30 CBS
The Walking Dead - 10/14 AMC
Do No Harm - 9:00 Midseason NBC

Monday
Revolution - 9:00, 9/17 NBC
How I Met Your Mother - 7:00, 9/24 CBS
Hawaii Five-O - 9:00, 9/24 CBS

Tuesday
Go On - 8:00, 8/8 (9/11) NBC
Vegas - 9:00, 9/25 CBS
Brickleberry, 9/25 Comedy Central
Happy Endings - 8:00, 10/23 ABC

Wednesday
Animal Practice - 7:00, 8/12 (9/26) NBC
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 8:00 - 9/26 NBC
South Park - 9/26 Comedy Central
Arrow - 7:00, 10/10 CW

Thursday
Last Resort - 7:00, 9/27 ABC
Person of Interest - 8:00, 9/27 CBS
30 Rock - 7:00, 10/4 NBC
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 10/11 FX

Friday
Fringe - 8:00, 9/28 Fox
Touch - 7:00, 10/26 Fox

New shows in bold

RISE

Sadly, one of the most anticipated movies of all-time and unquestionably the movie of the year in 2012 will be forever shrouded in darkness due to the horrific events that occurred in Aurora, CO during the midnight showings of the film on July 20th, 2012.  These terribly tragic events certainly hit very close to home for me and my wife and we decided to make t-shirts to benefit the families of the victims of the tragedy via givingfirst.org.  The can be found on Facebook at Shirts for Aurora.





*SPOILER ALERT*

Eight years after the flop that was 1997's Batman & Robin, director Christopher Nolan took the helm of the Batman film franchise and took it in an entirely new direction.  Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns were dark in classic Tim Burton style and the franchise got increasingly campy once Joel Schmacher took over.  Nolan, whose work prior to the Dark Knight trilogy were the psychological thrillers, Memento and Insomnia, brought the Dark Knight back to a darker tone and wanted to create a sense of realism in his Batman projects.  This was evident in Batman Begins when the primary antagonist, Ra's al Ghul, was portrayed as just a man, rather than an immortal who keeps himself alive with the use of the Lazarus Pit like his comic and cartoon incarnation.

While Batman Begins was not the box office blockbuster its successor would later become, it was the Batman film the world needed at the time and it was successful in rebooting the Batman film franchise.  It received positive critical and fan responses for the darker plot, the cast and the performances of its stars like Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson.  Bale was lauded for his performance as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman and the supporting cast was full of Oscar winners and all-star actors alike.

Begins also paved the way for its highly-anticipated sequel, The Dark Knight which was hands-down the most successful film of 2008.  While Begins utilized lesser-known villains who had previously not appeared in any Batman films, The Dark Knight introduced villains into the Nolan universe who had been previously been portrayed in the Burton-Schumacher series including Harvey Dent, who would become Two-Face, and the Joker, masterfully portrayed by the late Heath Ledger.  Ledger's tragic and untimely death six months before The Dark Knight's release, along with universal acclaim for his performance and the movie overall led to the film surpassing the $1 billion mark worldwide and becoming one of the most successful films of all-time.  Ledger even won a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of the supervillain Joker.

After Ledger's untimely death, there was much speculation as to which direction Nolan would go with his series.  Nolan ultimately decided not to bring back the character of the Joker, due to Ledger's passing despite the fact that the character was not killed off in The Dark Knight.  Instead, Nolan opted for Bane as the primary antagonist in his third Batman film as well as the antihero Selina Kyle (most notably known ass Catwoman in the comics).  Nolan also wanted The Dark Knight Rises to be the definitive ending to his series, bookending the trilogy, whereas many comic book storylines are infinitely ongoing.

Tom Hardy, who rose to fame in Nolan's 2010 hit Inception, was tabbed with the very difficult task of succeeding Heath Ledger's Joker as Batman's nemesis, but was certainly up to the challenge.  Hardy, who normally stands at 5'10", 168 lbs. packed on 30lbs. of muscle to play the hulking Bane and had to wear lifts in his shoes to equal Christian Bale's 6'2" height.  At nearly 200lbs., Hardy's Bane is still much smaller than other incarnations of the character.  Nolan's Bane also differs from the classic perception of Bane in that he is not strength-enhanced with Venom.  Instead, his mask feeds him a painkiller for severe injuries sustained when he was young after he saved Talia al Ghul.  For people only familiar with Bane from Batman & Robin, Rises' Bane actually serves as a much more true-to-form version of the character (sans the Venom) with him being a criminal mastermind as well as being a physical force whose strength and physical prowess exceeds even Batman's.

While it's not fair to compare Hardy's Bane to Ledger's Joker, the comparisons will inevitably be made.  With that said, they are certainly very different types of villains with Joker's goal of anarchy and chaos versus Bane's carefully calculated plot to systematically destroy Gotham.  When it's all said and done, Bane actually accomplished a lot more of his goals and achieved more success than any villain in the Batman film franchise.  He handily defeats Batman during their first encounter and even breaks The Dark Knight's back, which is an iconic moment taken from 1993's Knightfall storyline, Bane's first appearance.  He also blows up a Gotham Rogues football game killing Gotham's mayor and countless citizens (including pretty much all of the Gotham Rogues and the visiting Rapid City Monuments players except for Hines Ward) and he successfully holds the entire city of Gotham under martial law for five months, a nod to the No Man's Land storyline. 

While Tom Hardy may not win the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award Heath Ledger did, his portrayal of Bane was certainly menacing, effective, and a very worth adversary for Batman in this final installment.  In addition to Bane, Anne Hathaway joins the cast as Selina Kyle.  While Michelle Pfeiffer previously played the role in Batman Returns, Hathaway brings a fresh take to the character.  While elements from the Catwoman character are certainly there, she is never actually referred to as such in Rises.  Halle Berry also portrayed Catwoman in the 2004 film of the same name, a DC movie that was actually worse than Batman & Robin.  While Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal played Bruce Wayne's love interest, Rachel Dawes, in Begins and The Dark Knight respectively, Rises boasts the best female cast of the trilogy with Hathaway and Marion Cotillard as Talia al Ghul, whose true identity is not revealed until end of the film, similarly to her father's at the end of Batman Begins.

The supporting cast are all at the top of their respective games as well.  Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman deliver as Commissioner Gordon and Lucius Fox and Michael Caine delivers a moving performance as Alfred, Bruce's butler, who has essentially serves as his father figure since his parents' murder.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt was also very good as a Nolan original character, John Blake, who certainly has a nod to Batman's sidekick Robin as well.  Although we see Blake inherit the Batcave and all of Batman's tools at the end of the movie, I doubt we will see any further spin-offs with this universe as Rises has a conclusive, fitting, and solid ending.

When Christopher Nolan announced that The Dark Knight Rises would be the end of his trilogy, there was much speculation as to whether he would go so far as to kill off Batman.  One of the early promotional posters even had the tagline, "THE LEGEND ENDS" with Bane seen walking away from a broken Batman mask and previews showed Selina Kyle telling Batman to leave and that he doesn't owe the people of Gotham anymore and that he's given them everything to which he responds, "Not everything.  Not yet."

The penultimate scene of the film shows Batman seemingly sacrificing himself by flying Bane's and Talia's bomb away from the city where it detonates and presumably kills Batman.  He is later revealed to have survived as Alfred sees him and Selina at a cafe in Italy, mirroring a fantasy Alfred previously said he had. 

When you look at great movies, especially great trilogies, I would say ending of The Dark Knight Rises puts the pieces together and ties up the trilogy masterfully.  The original Star Wars movies, The Lord Of The Rings, and The Godfather are all regarded as the best trilogies ever, but Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy tops them all.  While you may not necessarily agree with that strong of an assessment, The Dark Knight Trilogy is certainly among the tops as far as comic book trilogies are concerned.  Nolan, Bale, and company will be missed on screen as this legendary franchise hangs up its cape and cowl, just at Bruce Wayne does at the end of the saga but much like Batman himself, the legend of this trilogy will become immortal.

Notes on Tonight's Game

-Matt Duchene will not play tonight, but may return Sunday in Winnipeg.  He has been upgraded to day-to-day.

-Peter Mueller will not play tonight, but the Avs say that his injury is a torso injury and not related at all to his concussion history.  Very good news that it's not concussion-related.  It's to be expected that Mueller may get banged up a bit after missing a year and a half of game action. 

-T.J. Galiardi is out 7-10 days with a torso injury as well.  He has been placed on IR and Mark Olver has been called-up and will skate on a line with O'Reilly and Landeskog tonight.  Landeskog will move to the right wing and Olver will be on Factor's left side.

-Jean-Sebastien Giguere is day-to-day with a groin injury.  He was not placed on IR, but will not suit up tonight.

-Cedrick Desjardins has been called-up to backup Semyon Varlamov.  Here is a look at his new Avalanche mask.

http://dielairbrush.ca/masks/cedrick-desjardins-2/

-Tyson Barrie has been sent back down to Lake Erie to make room for Desjardins.  He and Elliott will both be back.

Varly vs. Chambers and other goalie thoughts

On Monday, the Avs suffered a 6-1 loss at the hands of the Phoenix Coyotes.  Afterward, Denver Post writer Mike Chambers wrote a piece about how he asked Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov for a quick interview and Varlamov waived him off and "rudely declined."  Let me first start off by saying, I have tremendous respect for both Varly and Mike Chambers.  I've played goalie for the past 10 years, albeit not in the NHL and obviously, I've written about the Avalanche, but never with a platform as large as the Denver Post.  I've been in Varly's and Chambers' shoes, but of course on a much, much smaller scale.

Chambers stated that Varly acted unprofessionally and that he should "act like a pro hockey player."  Sure, it is Chambers' job to get post-game interviews from the players, but goalies are different animals.  Goaltending is as mental of a position as any in professional sports, right up there with NFL quarterbacks and MLB pitchers.  I've had games in rec leagues where I've been lit up and I didn't want to talk to my teammates, friends, or anyone afterward.  I just wanted to forget about it.  I can only imagine that feeling is exponentially magnified at the NHL level with the media, fans, and the world watching.  Patrick Roy was infamous for not making himself available to the media during game days.  Now Varly has certainly not earned himself the passes that Patrick Roy got, not even close.  If Varly went into Joe Sacco's office and trashed it, I don't think that would end well for Semyon.  With all that said, I do think Varly and every NHL goalie is entitled to a pass every now and then.  Every goaltender who's ever strapped on the pads has had those games where seemingly everything goes in and all you want to do is forget about it.  Milan Hejduk wears the "C" and should be available for a quote.  Chuck Kobasew netted the Avs' only goal that afternoon and I'm sure he would have liked to have been asked about that, but a goalie who just allowed 6 in a loss, probably isn't going to give you any profound insight as to why.  Perhaps Chambers was fishing for an entertaining quote.  If so, Varly's fellow countryman, Flyers goalie and 24/7 star Ilya Bryzgalov might be the right guy.

Much like the Avs team as a whole this season, Semyon Varlamov has been very streaky.  Unfortunately for him, he is coming off two consecutive losses in which he allowed 10 combined goals.  Fortunately for the Avs however, veteran goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been the model of consistency this season.  Now I am not a fan of the term "goalie controversy."  It has become as overused and cliche as "must-win" and "it is what it is" (thanks Todd, for that one).  Giguere's numbers and wins have earned him more starts.  There's no question about that.  However, in my mind, nothing has changed.  Varlamov is still the future of the Avs' goaltending and Giguere is the mentor goalie, who also happens to be a wily veteran who still has some gas left in the tank.  It has never been a question of talent for Varly.  He has the excellent quickness, flexibility, and reflexes and can be a #1 goalie in the NHL.  At just 23, give him time to develop mentally, and he can get there.  Even Giguere the other day, said he doesn't understand why a lot of teams, including the Avs, do not employ a full-time goalie coach.  Coach Joe Sacco said that he feels it might be "overbearing" for the goalies to have a full-time guy there, but I don't see Sacco or assistant coaches Sylvain Lefebvre or Adam Deadmarsh taking days or weeks off so as to not make it overbearing on the 20+ skaters on the team.  I fully agree with Jiggy on this one, every NHL team would be wise to employ a full-time goaltending coach.  I mentioned quarterbacks and pitchers earlier.  There are full-time quarterbacks coaches and full-time pitching coaches, why not full-time goalie coaches as the standard?

At The Half...

The Colorado Avalanche have played exactly half of their regular season games of the 2011-2012 season.  After 41, the Avs are 22-18-1 with a total of 45 points.  They are tied for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West (although LA currently holds the tiebreaker as they've played 1 fewer game).  How has the first half of the season been?  Overall, not bad.  The season opened with a disappointing loss to the rival Detroit Red Wings on Peter Forsberg night, but then the Avs proceeded to go on a tear on the road, sweeping a 5-game road trip and winning 6 of their first 7 road games overall.  Unfortunately during this period, the Avs could not win at home.  In fact, they did not pick up their first home win until October 30th against the Kings.  They won only 4 times in their first 13 home games.  However, after that, they won a franchise record 8 consecutive home games in a row.  However, during that time, they dropped 8 consecutive on the road.  Needless to say, this young Avalanche club has been a streaky one.  They enter 2012 and the 2nd half of their season on a pretty good roll though.  They've won 9 of the last 11, which included wins on both home and road ice.  While long road/home winning streaks are certainly nice, the Avs will never be much better than a .500 team if they are losing the other games.  Winning with consistency at home AND on the road is the key to this team staying in playoff contention.


In November, when the Avs were struggling mightily, Avs Nation was vehemently calling for #firesacco.  In fact, the Blues, Ducks, Hurricanes, Canadiens, Kings, and Capitals have all replaced their coaches so far this season.  That's exactly 1/5 of the NHL coaches who started the season and who are now no longer with that club.  However, Joe Sacco managed to weather the storm and since the Avs have been on a 9-2 run, the rumblings for his job have died down.  As this is the final year of his current contract, his long-term future with the team is certainly not guaranteed, but unless the Avs take a nosedive during the 2nd half of the season like last year, Sacco will most likely finish the year behind the Avs bench.  Despite the Avs success of late, I disagree with some of the recent coaching decisions made by Sacco.  First and foremost, during the Avs' 8-game home winning streak, he kept the same lineup game in and game out, to almost a superstitious point.  Kyle Quincey, the Avs leading scorer amongst defensemen was injured during 2 games, but kept out of the lineup as a healthy scratch because Sacco didn't want to disrupt the winning lineup.  Matt Hunwick, Quincey's replacement, wasn't terrible, but he only has 1 assist, and is minus-1 in 10 games this season.  Hardly a reason to keep him rolling.  He also started Jean-Sebastien Giguere for 5 consecutive games.  Now don't get me wrong, Jiggy was playing great hockey, but he's your #2 goalie and hasn't started more than 26 games in each of the last 3 seasons.  In the 5th game, Jiggy looked tired in the 4-1 loss to the Jets.  I think it's important to keep Varly rolling to keep the young goalie's confidence up. 

Over the first half of the season, I think it's apparent that the Avs' goaltending is much-improved.  The speculation in late June was that the Avs were going to sign veteran all-star Tomas Vokoun to be their short-term #1.  Instead, the Avs made a bold trade with Washington to acquire the promising but unproven Semyon Varlamov and signed veteran and former Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner, Jean-Sebastien Giguere to be the team's backup.  Aside from perhaps former Av, Brian Elliott, Giguere has had the best season of any backup in the NHL, playing his best hockey since his Anaheim days.  By the way, very classy of the Ducks organization and fans to pay him tribute the other night in his first game back at Honda Center.  I bet we'll see his #35 hanging in the rafters there when he calls it a career.  When he signed here, he knew that his role would be a different one than he's ever had in his career before.  In Anaheim and Toronto, he was supposed to be the starter, but here, one of his primary purposes is to mentor Semyon Varlamov.  Jiggy actually does have a history of being a mentor to younger goalies with Bryzgalov and Hiller in Anaheim and Gustavsson and Reimer in Toronto.  Varly, although his numbers have not been as consistent as Giguere's, has also been good.  He's certainly shown flashes of brilliance and potential which is why I'm sure Greg Sherman and Joe Sakic made the trade for him.  Monday's 2-1 shootout win in LA was probably his best Avalanche performance to date.  At only 23-years-old, Varlamov has all the raw talent needed, he just needs to get the confidence and consistency to be a long-term #1 NHL goalie.  Varlamov is a very quick goalie, perhaps the quickest one the Avs have ever had.  He can move laterally like lightning and is capable of making the unreal, highlight saves.  He robbed a sure goal from the Kings' Jack Johnson the other night.  Varly has also been unstoppable in the shootouts, going 6-0 and stopping 19 of 21 shooters.  Ironically, during his post-game interview, he said he doesn't like shootouts.  I'm guessing the shooters he's faced this season, like them even less!  J-S Giguere has a much different style than Varlamov.  Although they're both about the same size, Jiggy relies a lot less on reflexes and quickness and much more on good, solid positioning.  Giguere has always played a positional style, but it's even more pronounced now that he's in his mid 30s and doesn't have the quickness he did 10 years ago.  I hope that Giguere and goaltending consultant Kirk McLean help Varlamov to become more of a solid positional goalie as this will certainly help him in the long-term in addition to his assets of quickness and flexibility.



The Avs' MVP to this point has unquestionably been Ryan O'Reilly.  "Factor" impressively made the team right out of the 2009 draft and was a very good defensive center his first 2 seasons.  This season however, his offensive game has really blossomed and he has become one of the top two-way centers in the game.  With Matt Duchene out with a knee injury, O'Reilly certainly should be selected to represent the Avs in Ottawa for the All-Star Game.  In half a season, he has already eclipsed his career high in points, and has been valuable on the penalty kill and power play.  He has also scored some big, clutch goals including the Avs' lone regulation goal late in the 3rd to send the game to overtime the other night.  If Factor keeps it up, not only should he be an all-star, he should get some serious consideration for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the league's best two-way forward.  Currently, O'Reilly has 55 takeaways, which is 1 more than 3-time Selke winner Pavel Datsyuk.  Here's a very good article on O'Reilly from today's Denver Post by Mike Chambers.  http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_19677503

While O'Reilly may be the Avs best player to this point, fellow 3rd year player, Matt Duchene is the most talented.  Unfortunately, Duchene is currently on IR with a knee injury and is out until at least late January.  Duchene's talent has never been a question.  His puck control is reminiscent of Peter Forsberg, his speed with the puck is uncanny, and he can score big, highlight reel goals.  He had the big OT winner against Tampa Bay, and his goal against all-star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is hands down one of the best of the year. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVTMYEElGpI
Aside from his talent that made him a #3 overall pick, Duchene's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness.  He is a very emotional player and person, which can be both a blessing and a curse.  When things are going well, Duchene can feed off of the emotion to propel him to further success, but when the team is losing or when he's not producing on the scoresheet, he can get down on himself.  Joe Sakic was the best I've ever seen at remaining even keel through both good times and bad.  Current captain Milan Hejduk is of the same mold as well.  The fact that Duchene is not doesn't make him a bad player or a bad person, it's just the way he is.  Guys like Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg, and Adam Foote were emotional players and that didn't hamper their success.  However, this time on IR away from hockey and the team will certainly be a trying one for the youngster, but I have no doubt he'll be able to have great success this season when he returns.

The most maligned players this season have been Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson.  While neither player has achieved the all-star caliber success expected of them, neither player has been particularly bad.  People have called for them to be traded or benched and I think either of those cases would be a bit drastic.  First off, you don't want to trade a player when they're under performing.  You want to trade a player when he's at the top of his game so that you can get the most in return.  Stastny has been selected to 2 all-star games and has been a near point-per-game player throughout his career.  Certainly he can turn things around and play the game that earned him the 2 all-star nods and the assistant captain's "A" he wears on a nightly basis.  EJ is still only 23.  Give him time to develop into a full-fledged NHL defenseman.  If he hasn't progressed in a year or two from now, then maybe it's time to put the future of the Avs' defense elsewhere, but for now, EJ is the guy.

Gabriel Landeskog has been everything the Avs could have hoped for from their #2 overall pick.  Like O'Reilly, this kid does it all.  He's on the PP, PK, and is obviously very strong at both ends of the ice.  He leads the team in shots and hits and is only going to get bigger, stronger, and more confident.  #92 is the real deal.


Certainly a lot can happen over the next 41 games and the Avs resiliency will be further tested as long as Matt Duchene is out of the lineup, but this young team has talent, character, and emerging stars and leaders that should propel the Avs into playoff contention and hopefully further!  Here's to a good 2nd half and a great 2012!  #GOAVSGO

Mid-Season TV Lineup

2012 is upon us.  With the new year of course, means new mid-season TV shows!  Here are the ones I'll be watching:

Let's start with new network shows.  On Monday, 1/16, J.J. Abrams will debut his latest project, Alcatraz.  The Fox series will be about the infamous titular prison and will star former Lost alum, Jorge Garcia (Hurley).  It seems to have a sci-fi element as the plot revolves around former Alcatraz inmates who went missing decades ago and are now turning up in present day.  Abrams' first post-Lost endeavor, Undercovers, was short-lived, but his second, Person of Interest has been a hit thus far.  Alcatraz is definitely worth a shot.


Also on Mondays on Fox will be Touch, from Heroes creator, Tim Ring.  The series will star Kiefer Sutherland, who was last seen on Fox as Jack Bauer, one of the greatest TV characters ever.  Sutherland will reprise his role as Bauer...just kidding, but how sick would that be?  Sutherland will actually play Martin Bohm, a man whose wife was killed in 9/11 and whose son has autism and does not speak, but is also able to see into the future.  The show will co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who was the female lead in the aforementioned Undercovers, and veteran actor Danny Glover.  Also, definitely a must-watch.  The show will have a preview episode on Wednesday, 1/25, but will begin its official run on Monday, 3/19.

On Tuesday, 3/6, the Fox sitcom, Breaking In will return.  The show stars Bret Harrison, Odette Annable, and Christian Slater, and is only the second show behind Family Guy to return from cancellation twice.

On Thursday, 1/12, Rob will debut, starring Rob Schneider.  Back in 1996, Schneider had a funny, but short-lived sitcom called Men Behaving Badly.  Anyone remember that one?  The new series, Rob, will be a semi-autobiographical endeavor, with Schneider playing a man who marries into a Mexican-American family.  The show will air on CBS.

One that's a may or may not watch for me is Missing.  The show stars Ashley Judd in her first starring TV role (unless you count Sisters in the early 90s), as a former CIA agent who tries to track down her missing son.  Taken, with Liam Neeson was a good movie, but a lot of its appeal was that it was a very fast-paced film.  Time will tell if Judd can take a similar plot, stretch it out over an entire TV run and keep it interesting.  Thursdays are also pretty full with Person of Interest, Rob, the returning 30 Rock, and Up All Night on its new day, which might work against Missing.  We'll see.  I have a feeling Heidi might want to try the Ashley Judd show.

Over on basic cable, FX will begin the third season of its show Justified on Tuesday, 1/17.  Another reason I'm glad DirecTV and Fox resolved their stupid dispute!

Now on to the money shows, i.e. the shows you have to pay for because they're on premium channels.  The most anticipated new show is House of Lies on Showtime which premiers this Sunday, 1/8.  The 30 minute comedy stars one of the best actors of our generation and Colorado native, Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell as cutthroat management consultants.


The much anticipated new season of Spartacus, titled Spartacus: Vengeance will premiere on Friday, 1/27.  The second season of the Starz hit epic show (third if you count the prequel series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena) has sadly been delayed due to the cancer and passing of former star Andy Whitfield.  Before his death, he graciously gave his blessing for Starz to continue to show without him and Liam McIntyre inherited the title role.  This has been Starz only show to make it past a first season and is keeping Starz original programming credibility alive.  I did however, really like Camelot and thought it deserved to be renewed.


HBO's highly acclaimed epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, was renewed however, and will begin its second season in April.


Mid-Season Lineup:

Sundays:
House of Lies, Showtime - 1/8
Game of Thrones, HBO - TBD, April

Mondays:
Alcatraz, Fox - 1/16
Touch, Fox - (1/25), 3/19

Tuesdays:
Justified, FX - 1/17
Breaking In, Fox - 3/6

Thursdays:
30 Rock, NBC - 1/12
Rob, CBS - 1/12
Missing, ABC - 3/15*

Fridays:
Spartacus: Vengeance, Starz - 1/27

Super 8

Of all the great teams the Colorado Avalanche have had throughout the years, none of them ever won 8 consecutive home games...until now!  The youngest team in the NHL, whose best players cannot even drink yet (Duchene, O'Reilly, Landeskog, Elliott), accomplished that feat last night, capped off with a Matt Duchene overtime goal.  Early in the season, the Avs could not buy a home win and were unstoppable on the road.  Fast forward to December, the Avs have won 8 straight at home, but have lost the last 9 in a row on the road.  If you could take the Avs' road play from October and their home play from December, they'd be virtually unstoppable!  Just got to put all the pieces together.  The Avs have also been phenomenal against the Eastern Conference, winning 9 games and losing only to the Penguins on the road.  Unfortunately, the new realignment doesn't have the Avs moving to an Eastern Conference.

Stastny and Johnson have picked up their play of late.  In their mid 20s and donning "A"s, they are somewhat "veteran" leaders on the team and the Avs need them to be good to be a successful team.  Both guys have huge expectations placed on their shoulders and their play has been good, despite the criticism that both players have faced.

While the Avs have dominated against the East, they have been abysmal in their own division.  Winning only once thus far and losing 9, this obviously has to change if the Avs want to be playing more than 82 games.  They'll get a chance to improve their division record right after Christmas against the Christmas-colored and division-leading Minnesota Wild in St. Paul.

Going into the Christmas break on a 4-game winning streak means that Joe Sacco's job is certainly not in immediate jeopardy, but some of his recent decisions are questionable.  The past 2 games, he's gone with the same lineup that won the previous 2.  Makes sense except that he has benched his supposed #1 goalie for all 4 games and the team's top-scoring defenseman, Kyle Quincey, is now healthy after missing 2 games with a groin injury, but has been a healthy scratch in the team's most recent pair of games.  Granted, Jean-Sebastien Giguere has played some fantastic hockey in his last 4 games, but Semyon Varlamov is supposed to be the guy, and at 23, he needs to have his confidence.  I have no problem with Jiggy getting starts when he's playing well like he is, but Sacco, McLean, or even Giguere needs to keep Varly's confidence up!  Remember how quickly Craig Anderson's stint in Colorado went south?  The difference between Andy and Varly is that the Avs did not give up 2 draft picks to get Andy.  As far as Kyle Quincey is concerned, are his days in Denver numbered?  He's been the Avs' best defenseman so far this season, but with the emergence of Stefan Elliott, have the Avs coaches and management deemed him expendable?  With his play, he should be able to garner a decent return, and I've been saying all year that the Avs could use some more help at wing.  Or even if they can get a 2012 first round pick back...

Finally, here are my Christmas wishes/New Year's Resolutions for the Avs:

-A healthy Peter Mueller.  The Avs have been fairly lucky thus far regarding injuries.  They have not lost any key players for an extended amount of time with the exception of Mueller.  It would be sad to see a player with his potential forced out of the league so young, but if he can finally shake his concussion issues, he can still be a player.

-Consistency.

-Wins in the division.  Like I said, if the Avs hope to make the playoffs, they have to be good within the division!

O-O-O-O'Reilly!

In mid November, the Colorado Avalanche embarked on an 8-game homestand, the longest in team history.  The Avs started it with an underwhelming 2-3 record and all signs were pointing to continued home struggles for the Burgundy and Blue.  However, in large part due to the player nicknamed "Factor," the Avs rattled off three straight wins to conclude the home stretch.  This three-game winning streak the Avs are riding is the team's longest winning streak since their five-game streak back in October and the first time all season the team has won more than one consecutive game at home.

How good has Ryan O'Reilly been of late?  Over the past three games, Factor has scored 4 goals, 3 assists, and is a plus-7.  This does not even include the shootout game-winner against St. Louis.  He has also earned the #1 start of the game the past two games and was the #2 star the game before that.  This is by and large the best offensive strech of O'Reilly's young career.  Quite often, phrases like "wise beyond his years," "rink rat," and "work ethic" are used to describe the 20-year-old centerman.  Matt Duchene was the Avs' prize of the 2009 draft, after being taken 3rd overall and he has lived up to his billing.  He is by far the Avs' flashiest player and is very explosive and creative with the puck.  Duchene is the guy who is going to put up highlight reel goals for years to come. 

With the 32nd pick of the 2009 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings select...Landon Ferraro.  With that, the Avs management excitedly went to the podium and selected the player they were hoping would still be available.  While Duchene came into camp with a pretty good chance at making the team, especially after the retirement of longtime captain and top center, Joe Sakic, pretty much no one expected the 2nd round pick to stick with the big club.  In fact, O'Reilly was the first non-first rounder to immediately make the jump to the NHL since Patrice Bergeron did it with the Bruins in 2003.

Throughout his first two NHL seasons, O'Reilly became known as a hard-working penalty killing center and a solid defensive forward.  However, this year, he has spent the majority of his time on a line with 2011's 2nd overall pick, Gabriel Landeskog and recently received new captain Milan Hejduk on his right wing.  O'Reilly has used these new weapons to flex his offensive muscles and has already accumulated 21 points in 27 games.  In each of his first two seasons, O'Reilly posted 26 points in 81 and 74 games respectively.  Needless to say, Factor is on pace to clearly surpass his previous season's offensive output, probably even before Christmas.

O'Reilly experienced a very scary moment last season, in which he lost an edge and went what appeared to be head first into the boards very hard.  Very fortunately, O'Reilly only experienced a shoulder injury that just kept him out a couple of weeks.  You certainly never like seeing a guy being taken off the ice on a stretcher, especially a 19-year-old kid whose whole career is in front of him.  There are plenty of cases in the NHL and sports regarding head and neck injuries and Factor is very lucky that he avoided this!

Can Factor keep up this fervent pace?  Probably not.  It is unrealistic to expect any player to continue scoring at over a 2 PPG pace, but O'Reilly's hard work, new-found confidence, and inspired teammates will certainly provide him with opportunities to continue to succeed.  Factor may not be the most talented player in the NHL or even on the Avs, but his passion for the game is quickly becoming legend and his leadership despite his young age have many people in Avalanche Country calling for him to wear the "C" when Milan Hejduk hangs them up.  Paul Stastny suffered a torso injury last night and if he misses any time, O'Reilly will be counted on to continue to produce like a top center.  Over in the Eastern Conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins' top stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both missed significant time in 2011, but the Penguins were able to stay competitive due to the emergence of their "3rd line" center, Jordan Staal.  While Staal certainly differs from O'Reilly in size and probably overall skill (Staal was a #2 overall pick), they are both centers who can be the next great 2-way players in the game.  Do not be surprised to see both these names being talked about for the Selke in the near future.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention the play of Semyon Varlamov.  As I've mentioned before, he is probably the most scrutinized player on the Avs roster, as goalies often are.  Varly, by no fault of his own, also carries the burden of the eventual 1st round pick the Caps will receive.  With Giggy's three straight starts, there was talk of him usurping the #1 job from Varly.  However, once Varly got his shot to get back between the pipes, his play has been stellar.  He has allowed 2 goals or fewer in 6 straight games and has given the Avs a chance to win in all of these games.  His save % has risen and his GAA has fallen.  While I am still of the mindset that the Avs should employ a full-time goalie coach for the the 23-year-old Russian, Varly certainly seems to be playing with confidence now. 

Finally, with these three consecutive wins in the books, the Avs cannot take their foot off the gas as we have so frustratingly seen them do too many times so far this season.  Right now, we are exactly a .500 team and sit in 12th place in the Western Conference.  However, with 27 points, we are only 2 points behind the teams tied for 8th place.  One more win and the Avs will be right back in the playoff picture.  Three divisional road games coming up.  Yeah, it's only early December, but consistency and momentum are certainly things this young team needs to keep up.

The Matterhorn

I thought that was apropos considering the roller coaster ride the Avs have been on of late.  There have certainly been flashes of brilliance and promising wins like Giguere's 3-0 shutout of Dallas and the Avs' first divisional win of the season over Edmonton, 5-2.  However, these promising wins were followed by flat, uninspired performances like a 4-1 loss to San Jose and a 3-1 loss to Dallas.  In fact, the Avs have not won 2 consecutive games since beating Montreal and Toronto on October 15th and 17th respectively.  Obviously, this has to change if the Avs want to put themselves in position to make the playoffs.  In the wins the Avs have earned, including last night's beat down of future hall-of-fame goalie, Martin Brodeur and the Devils, the Avs have looked like a very impressive, complete team.  However, in the losses, they come out flat, make costly mistakes and the offense never kicks it into anything beyond 2nd gear.

As I've previously addressed, I think the goaltending and defensive corps of the Avs is solid, especially since bringing up Stefan Elliott, who should have been on the roster since opening night.  Elliott's call-up to the Avs was made possible by a groin injury to Erik Johnson, who may return as soon as tomorrow.  After sitting 3 games while Giguere was in net, Semyon Varlamov seems to be back on his game.  He has a GAA of 1.75 and a Save % of .939 over his last 4 starts and has gotten his Save % on the year back up to .901.  When EJ does return, Sacco will have to decide which other defenseman (in addition to Hunwick) will be a healthy scratch.  My guess is Ryan O'Byrne.  I think that EJ will benefit greatly from having the exciting, young Elliott on the blue line with him.  Elliott has 2 goals and 1 assist in his first 3 games and has a quick, deceptive wrist shot from the point.  The Avs' PP and EJ especially, have suffered from not having Peter Mueller man the point on the PP.  Guys like Joakim Lindstrom and Matt Duchene are not PP point men.  However, a PP blue line of EJ and Elliott could really open things up.  PKs will have to respect the shot of Elliott, which will free up time and space for EJ to unload his slap shot.  Not having Elliott up until now is the single biggest reason EJ does not have a goal on the season.


In the games where the Avs only score a goal or two or get shutout, it is clear that they still could use some help at the forward position.  Rene Bourque, Zach Parise, Jason Spezza, and Bobby Ryan have all been rumored to be on the trading block, it's just a matter of what the Avs would have to give up to acquire one of these talents.  There are a handful of players who are untouchable (Duchene, Landeskog, Varlamov, O'Reilly), but the Avs do have organizational depth at defense and goalie that could be used to acquire a proven winger.  I would put Erik Johnson, Stefan Elliott, and Duncan Siemens in the untouchable category, but current Lake Erie defenseman, Tyson Barrie is highly touted and plays a similar style game to Elliott.  He could be a big piece in a trade.  The Avs also have the top scouted North American and European goaltenders of the 2010 NHL draft in Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio.  One of them could certainly be used as trade bait, especially if Semyon Varlamov is in fact the answer in net for years to come.  Of current Avalanche players, guys like Ryan Wilson, Kyle Quincey, and David Jones have put up respectable numbers so far this year and could garner respectable return.  There have also been rumors of a Paul Stastny trade, but I don't like that call at this time.  First of all, I would only trade Stastny if Joey Hishon, the Avs 1st round pick of 2010 is ready to emerge as a top NHL center and to my knowledge, he has not played since last season due to a concussion.  Avs fans have certainly become aware of the impact concussions can have on one's career.  Moreover, Stastny has not performed up to his ability yet this season.  When a player is underperforming is not the time to trade him.  You ideally want to trade a player when he's playing well, in order to get the most for him.  If the Avs could get a guy like Bobby Ryan for Ryan Wilson and Tyson Barrie, I would pull the trigger on that deal in a heartbeat.

Over the course of the past four days, the NHL has had a bit of a coaching carousel.  On Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals relieved their head coaches of their duties and late last night, the Anaheim Ducks fired their head coach and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau, the former head coach of the Caps, whose unemployment lasted for only about 70 hours.  Is turnaround like that a good sign for our economy?  I would have liked the Avs to make a run for Boudreau, who made a name for himself dropping F-bomb during last years 24/7 HBO documentary.  While that won't happen now, Randy Carlyle, the recently fired former Ducks coach is currently looking for work.  He led the Ducks to a Cup win in 2007 and is known to coach gritty and tough teams.  Can you imagine Jan Hejda, Ryan O'Byrne, and Erik Johnson with some grit instilled into their games?  That could be the key for EJ to finally develop into the dominant defenseman the world has been waiting for.

One casualty thus far has been winger Joakim Lindstrom.  He was waived by the team the other day, in a move signifying that Stefan Elliott is here to stay.  Lindstrom had a great Avalanche debut, scoring 2 goals, but tapered off very quickly after that.  At the time he was waived, he had 5 points in 16 games and was a minus-9.  For whatever reason, the Avs European, specifically Swedish scouting just isn't there.  Lindstrom joins the list of European imports who have failed to really make an impact with the Avs.  Per Ledin, Jaroslav Hlinka, and Jonas Holos are a few others.  While Gabriel Landeskog is of Swedish nationality, he played juniors in Canada, making him a de facto North American prospect.  Even Peter Forsberg was drafted by the Flyers and not us.  How do the Red Wings end up with guys like Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Datsyuk, while we get the aforementioned former Avs?

Note to the Colorado Avalanche:
-Trade for a top winger (Bobby Ryan would be ideal)
-Bring in Randy Carlyle
-Bolster up the European scouting
-Hire a full-time goalie coach (even if it's simply making Kirk McLean a full-time guy)
-This goes without saying, but WIN and WIN consistently!!!