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RIP Garry Marshall
He was one of the good guys in Hollywood.
Garry Marshall, the beloved TV creator, producer and movie director, has died at 81 years of age. He was the man behind Happy Days, The Odd Couple, Pretty Woman, Beaches and many other popular films. A few of these movies (Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Mother’s Day) featured fun, interweaving story lines with star-studded casts. The phrase “star-studded casts” was no exaggeration.
And the actors and actresses in his films always performed well because Garry wanted them to perform well.
Garry Marshall was one of the good guys in Hollywood.
RIP Garry Marshall.
Pep’s Boys Won, Yet Lost
(Pep Guardiola)
“I’ve done the best I can do,” said the Bayern Munich manager, searching for the best way to convey his feelings after his side were eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. “I don’t have any regrets. I’ve done my best and, I don’t know — that’s what I would like to say.”
–ESPN FC, Nick Ames
There is some disillusioned beer drinking occurring in Bavaria tonight.
Despite a spirited, thrilling second leg of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid (one missed penalty by both teams at the same end shooting to the same side), the Bavarian kings could not score that necessary third goal. Though Thomas Müller had his shot/PK.
Rightly or wrongly, the fact that Pep Guardiola went 0-3 for winning the Champions League will define his mostly successful, victorious venture in Munich.
“In his first campaign he collected the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, German Cup and, with a record seven games to spare, the Bundesliga title. He secured his second successive Bundesliga title by ten points the following season…”
–UEFA
Even with all of this, Pep’s time at Bayern Munich will be viewed by many as a losing campaign. The German giants won a lot throughout the past three years, but they lost the most important games with the acclaimed Pep Guardiola as the manager.
The coaching mastermind behind Barcelona’s epic run from 2008-2012 could not defeat Spanish sides Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals during his three years coaching Bayern Munich. If it weren’t for Mr. Guardiola’s public intention to sign with Manchester City this upcoming season, the cliché “3 strikes and you’re out” would be an aptly borrowed metaphor from the sport’s baseball counterpart.
In Pep’s case, trying to craft a winning strategy for his third consecutive Bundesliga title and a German Cup championship is what remains as achievable goals this season. For most, that would be enough. Most, however, are not named Pep Guardiola.
The expectations for Pep moving to Munich, Germany after his yearlong break following his exit from Barcelona were sky-high. Actually, if there’s a place above sky-high, that would be more appropriate.
Pep’s spell at Barcelona has been labeled as one of the greatest club teams in history with one of the best players in history being Lionel Messi. Everyone knew Pep would win in Germany, but people expected him to win everything with soccer itself gasping for air at his conquests wearing sharp suits (and lederhosen for beer drinking). Granted, Jupp Heynckes didn’t do Pep any favors by leading Bayern Munich to the prized treble (included the Champions League title) literally before his arrival in Bavaria.
Mr. Heynckes sort of served his successor a championship team on a platter.
Each coach has different tactics that require different types of players, so maybe Mr. Heynckes did or didn’t leave Pep with everything he needed. That’s a debate that will continue. In the macro, Pep’s inability to win his first season with a remarkably similar squad was disappointing, but understandable if his style of play and injection of “his” players led to a championship(s) down the road.
Sadly, those two subsequent titles never arrived, which means Bayern fans never got to enjoy the immediate or prolonged Guardiola magic in Champions League. This is a failure that will not soon be forgotten and incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti (56) will be tasked with solving this puzzle with one of the best rosters on the planet.
The young innovator makes way for the elder statesman.
Pep Guardiola was hired to win trebles. Yes, that’s trebles plural. Fair or not, that’s the truth. The pain, suffering, talent, patience, resilience and magic-in-a-bottle needed to win one treble qualifies for a lifetime of glorious storytelling and recounting in your local pub.
Just ask Jupp Heynckes.
For loyal Bayern Munich fans, like myself, the pain of today’s 2-1 win at home at the Allianz Arena in front of 75,000 fans (but 2-2 aggregate loss to Atlético Madrid) in devastatingly heart-pounding fashion will not heal for some time. The infinitely popular question, “how did they not win?” will not merely focus on this season, but will fiercely grab onto the past two seasons of mirror image outcomes and never let go.
Some may argue that Pep can finally breathe a little easier now. The German press will continue to crush him, sure, but the pressure has been eased a bit.
Quite the contrary.
If Man City pulls off a miracle and wins the Champions League this year, Pep will experience precisely the same high-pressure situation in England, except to a harsher extent. Even if Man City fails to pull off said miracle, the situation is practically identical. He won the biggest prize at Barcelona and not at Bayern Munich. That’s resulted in a knock to his other-worldly aura. If he cannot deliver the biggest prize at Man City, then it’s probably fair to anticipate another sabbatical.
Pep Guardiola is a world-class manager and a brilliant tactician, but he now finds himself in a concerning loop of Champions League semi-final shortcomings to Spanish squads.
And the only way out, at this point, looks as trying as breaking through Atlético Madrid’s back line for goal number three.
When I Heard, I Just Said No
America’s Lady in Red is back with her Ronnie.
Nancy Reagan passed away yesterday at the towering age of 94.
First Lady Nancy Reagan was just that in so many ways. People first looked to Mrs. Reagan as a personification of grace, intelligence, class and style. She was a one-of-a-kind First Lady of the United States of America. Nancy Reagan will be remembered for her love and devotion to her husband, the conservative cause and for epitomizing what the First Lady should exemplify. Far too often we are forced to look to movies for showcasing the best of a modern American president and first family (Independence Day, Air Force One), but Nancy and Ronald Reagan (former actors themselves) turned that perception into a lasting reality.
They were positive, optimistic role models for people (in and out of politics alike).
(Photo courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidental Library/Getty Images)
Nancy Reagan was surely shocked at the state of vulgarity, lack of civility and absence of optimism in the current race for president. Hopefully, this picture and many others of Nancy Reagan with her husband will send the exact right (and necessary) shock waves to voters of what a first family of the United States should personify.
Republicans loved and idolized her, but so did Americans of varying political stripes. Let’s hope (and pray) people’s memories of her and her husband from a more civilized era can be the wild card of this political season that reveals an inspiring third act, showing the best of who we are for moving into an uncertain future.
If the past 24 hours are any indication, Americans are just saying yes to Nancy Reagan’s loving, elegant legacy.
RIP Nancy Reagan.
Nothing Theoretical About It
(City of Pasadena, William Boyer)
This is not a show prop.
To celebrate tonight’s 200th Big Bang Theory episode (with a cameo from TV’s Batman Adam West), the real city where the fictional show takes place made a real proclamation to honor the fictional show’s impact in the real world.
February 25th is officially, “The Big Bang Theory Day” in the southern California city that harbors scientific genius at Caltech and the most delicious cheesecake in Los Angeles. A good question to contemplate is whether the greater achievement is having a day dedicated to a show or that a show filmed its 200th episode with no signs of slowing down?
It’s like asking who wears tighter pants: Penny or Howard?
The science-based sitcom will, years after its finale (whenever that is) leave a sustaining mark on Pasadena. Many sitcoms are based in or generically around large cities, like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles. Few are set in a specific, real-life community. The setting for The Big Bang Theory has (evidently) become its own leading character. Real restaurants, streets, destinations and schools are frequently mentioned in the show’s dialogue and plot lines.
The city of Pasadena means many things to many people, residents and visitors alike. The Rose Bowl parade certainly comes to mind. Ultimately, Pasadena is a familiar suburb within opulent Los Angeles.
And now there’s proof that Pasadena is the spot for the amalgamation of science and comedy.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 