Monthly Archives: June 2016
Cleveland Rocks!
It’s unanimous: The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA Champions!
Favorite son LeBron James, who was forgiven for “taking his talents to South Beach” based on his personal letter rededicating himself to his hometown and the people in northeast Ohio, led the Cavaliers to Cleveland’s first professional championship since 1964 (more than half a century) by making NBA Finals history.
The Cavs beat the Golden State Warriors (regular-season record 73 wins) in game 7 in Oakland 93-89 in dramatic fashion. At 92-89, LeBron attempted to put an exclamation point on the title and went for a spectacular dunk with around ten seconds left, but was fouled by Draymond Green and fell awkwardly.
Not again…
Akron’s superstar was on the court, curled up in agonizing pain having fallen on his right wrist (shooting hand). This ending was almost “too Cleveland.” After missing his first free throw, he managed to put in his second shot to give the Cavs a four-point lead. Stephen Curry had a chance to put up a 3 with about four seconds left, but nobody fouled him and he missed anyways.
The voice of Al Michaels popped into every fan cheering for Cleveland and answered in booming fashion, “Yes, I do believe in miracles!”
LeBron James was his MVP-self (third player ever to earn triple-double in game 7 of an NBA Final), Kyrie Irving proved he’s the best point guard in the NBA, Kevin Love showed up on the boards when it mattered, Tristan Thompson was a beast down low, J.R. Smith hit clutch shots on the perimeter and Richard Jefferson was a force off the bench.
For the first time in NBA Finals history, a team trailing 3-1 came back and won the championship. That statistic alone will keep the people of Cleveland smiling for generations.
“You remember the time when…”
For so many reasons, that was the only way Cleveland should have and could have won the NBA title. With their backs against the wall, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the basketball giants in the Golden State Warriors with three-straight wins (twice in Oakland).
We all witnessed Cleveland’s hometown king raise an entire city from a place of heartbreak and lifelong struggles to renewed belief and an almost incomprehensible victory that extends far beyond sports.
The Drive.
The Shot.
The Fumble.
The Curse.
Last night, today and tomorrow, Cleveland will be known for The Win.
Congratulations to my fellow Ohioans with connections to Cleveland!
Swap & Pop, Said Fred
And you thought the only difference between East Egg and West Egg was money.
You can say “Gatsby,” where the vocal range is aimed up with a splash of authority or “Gatsbee,” where the vocal range goes exactly straight out with no hints of, well, anything.
SNL-alum and impersonating savant Fred Armisen has a special skill that involves detecting the molecular, distinguishing accents from country-country and city-city and, quite possibly, from neighborhood street-neighborhood street in the same community. If you listen carefully during the video clip (and in everyday life), we all speak with a unique dialect.
However subtle, it’s there.
We should all burnish our current skills at acute vocal observations of the human condition, especially the next time you travel throughout Germany.
Doug E. Doug is shaking his head in disappointment. Fred Armisen was clearly missing his lucky egg.
Letting Go of Winter
Disney proved they are the kings queens of winter.
Now, they are trying their hand at an island paradise.
The next female heroine will arrive in theaters November 23rd, courtesy of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio, in Moana. Taking place thousands of years ago, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) battle the rough oceanic waves to save her fellow citizens. Witnessing the powerful response from both girls and boys to Frozen, the warm weather counterpart Moana could potentially spark similar fanfare.
This is, potentially, a very exciting prospect for Disney movie producers, as well as moviegoers.
The plot explores a culture and part of the world during a time that hasn’t seen its ship sail into a movie theater dock. As is the magic with movies, the story locations can inspire escapism, curiosity and, yes, trips to these exotic destinations.
(If you’ve traveled to Hawaii and you like movies, chances are pretty high/100% that you at least asked where they filmed Jurassic Park).
Even though TV fans fondly remember Hawaii from the Saved by the Bell movie and Danny Tanner’s “Clipboard of Fun,” Disney’s Animation Studio will give people a fresh look at this region’s past…very distant past. The teaser trailer didn’t reveal much (obviously, it’s a teaser), but the visual snapshot has given viewers enough to be intrigued at Disney’s post-Frozen potential.
By late November, we’ll know if Moana has melted away Frozen’s icy dominance.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 