Hero Inc.

The draft was not as entertaining as it has been in previous years. I believe this was determine by better predictions by the analysts and the outcome of the number 2 and 3 picks. The 2 and 3 picks were going to determine the rest of the draft and they did.

As a Falcons fan and ticket holder, I was not pleased with the number 3 selection of Matt Ryan or trading back up in the first round to take Sam Baker. I understood that we needed some Offensive Line members to protect Ryan, but I think that was a huge jump and too much to give up for that pick. The rest of their picks didn’t wow me either. I like the Jackson pick, but Lofton and Douglas just leave me scratching my head. Hopefully our Scouts saw things the fans don’t and things will turn around.

With Ryan being the 3rd pick, I’m looking to see him signed fast and begin learning the system as quickly as possible. I don’t want him to start right away but maybe mid to late season he should enter. It’s been my belief a top 10 pick should start right away and contribute to his team. Even though Ryan was not my top pick (and Dorsey was still on the board), he is slowly growing on me and certain comments are beginning to change my mind towards him. Atlanta needs to move on from Michael Vick and Ryan might be that chance. When Vick finishes his sentence, the Falcons need a Franchise player in place so that the media and fans do not turn back to Vick. This needs to be a clean move from old to new. Ryan also has said all of the right things since being selected and his quote “Manning-esque love for the game” needs to translate to the field and fans.

The following awards are mine to give following the two day circus known as the NFL Draft.

Biggest Reach: Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars jumped from pick 26 to pick 8 in order to get Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida. I can understand some jumps, but this one was not worth it. The Jags gave up their 1st round pick, two third round picks, and a fourth round pick. This was just a reach, I don’t care if he is a home state player. The Jags overpaid.

Biggest Surprise: Green Bay Packers – The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers as the heir to Brett Farve. However, this year they drafted Brian Brohme out of Louisville and Matt Flyn out of LSU. Is Green Bay looking to build a QB controversy?

Biggest Winner: Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs had a great draft. They were able to pick up Glen Dorsey, DT (one, if not the, top pick in this year’s draft) as well as Brandon Albert (OG) and many other high quality players. This was a great draft to be a Chiefs’ fan.

Biggest Loser: Me – I look forward to the Draft to see tears as players fall from where they were projected to go. Watching Matt Leinart and Brody Quinn tear up was priceless. No one really cried like that this year (Dorsey had tears of joy). No real shockers were seen. I feel like I was cheated out of a great draft.

Mr Irrelevant: David Vobora – OLB – Idaho selected 252nd by the St. Louis Rams

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Atlanta Falcons Draft Results

The links for the picks will direct you to the sites linked from the Atlanta Falcons’ website where highlight videos can be seen or other profile information.

Round 1:

• Matt Ryan – QB – Boston College (Pick 3)
• Sam Baker – OT – USC (Pick 21) [Acquired from Washington]

Round 2:

• Curtis Lofton – ILB – Oklahoma (Pick 37)

Round 3:

• Chevis Jackson – CB – LSU (Pick 68)
• Harry Douglas – WR – Louisville (Pick 84) [Acquired from Washington]
• Thomas DeCoud – S – California (Pick 98)

Round 4:

• NO PICKS

Round 5:

• Robert James – OLB – Arizona State (Pick 138)
• Kroy Biermann – OLB – Montana (Pick 154)

Round 6:

• Thomas Brown – RB – Georgia (Pick 172)

Round 7:

• Wilrey Fontenot – CB – Arizona (Pick 212)
• Keith Zinger – TE – LSU (Pick 232) [Acquired from Pittsburgh]

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As promised, here are the players from UGA who were taken and where they ended up.

• Marcus Howard – OLB – Round 5, Pick 161 – Indianapolis Colts
• Thomas Brown – RB – Round 6, Pick 172 – Atlanta Falcons
• Chester Adams – OG – Round 7, Pick 222 – Chicago Bears
• Brandon Coutu – K – Round 7, Pick 235 – Seattle Seahawks

With the NFL Draft only a few days away, I’ve decided to create my own big board of draft possibilities and needs for the Atlanta Falcons.

First off, let’s start with what the Falcons don’t need. This will be a short list, but it is good to get it out of the way.

• Fullback – Ovie Mughelli is a beast on the field and is one of the highest paid fullbacks in the NFL. He was brought specifically for Coach Bobby’s system but didn’t see much playing time due to the missing running game when we were behind, ahead or even on the field. I made certain to watch him anytime he was on the field. This man moved double teams out of his RBs way like Kobayashi moves hot dogs off of his plate. The man is good and hopefully he will become a great central point to Coach Smith’s new system.
• Defensive End – Many people looked down on Jamaal Anderson for not having a super year. He played like a rookie should but he wasn’t that bad. He had many forced fumbles and did an overal decent job. He just wasn’t the super impact player the Falcons were expecting of him. On the opposite side of the line sits the great John Abraham. If it wasn’t for injuries, this guy would be unstoppable.
• Punter – Michael Koenen has the leg, enough said for a punter.
• Running Back – With the recent signing of Michael Turner, the Falcons are set in the RB spot. Some might say Turner is not an every down back, but there is still Norwood to take care of additional situations which should make for a great one two punch.
• Kicker – With the recent signing of Jason Elam, the kicking game is set. Sure I’ll miss Old Reliable Morten Anderson, but at least now we can kick over the forty yard mark without calling in the punter.

Now for my personal big (mini) board going into the draft.

1. Jake Long – OT – Michigan => This guy is a beast. He would make a great captain over the years and should be around for a long time. Much of the problems with the Falcons is the QB position. Many say we should draft a QB at our top spot, but I say no. What’s the point drafting a great QB who may not start for another year and probably couldn’t stand up for long without a decent group in front of him blocking. Long could be that block and maybe we could do what the Browns did and trade back into the late 1st round to gain a good QB. The first statistic that stood out to me was his size and speed (6’7, 313 lbs, 5.219 40-Dash time). The next great statistic was during his 4 year starting career at Michigan, Long allowed 2 sacks and 2 penalties. Sure, there is the chance this guy could be the next Robert Gallery, but that’s rare.
2. Glenn Dorsey – DT – LSU => Dorsey was a beast this season for LSU. Every opponents’ offensive play began by knowing where this guy was on the field. I mean, he was double teamed a good portion of the time and oh yeah, he was injured a majority of the year and he still produced big plays when needed. How about them apples? With the recent releases of Grady Jackson (last year) and Rod Coleman (my boy), the Falcons need someone with speed for the pass rush and power to stop the run. Dorsey has both. If Long is already off the board to the Rams or Dolphins, I’d go with Dorsey. If Coach Smith wants to build from the inside out, then a DT is a good start.
3. Leodis McKelvin – CB – Troy => With D. Hall away “winning” with Oakland, I say “goodbye and good riddance.” However, with Hall’s departure, that cornerback spot needs to be filled. Is Jimmy Williams a bust yet? Can Houston continue to hold his own? Even if we need a cornerback, this is too high of a pick to use for McKelvin. Maybe we could look to trade down in order to gain more picks. The Ravens are looking to move up for Ryan. I say we let them. McKelvin is one of the best CB’s in this year’s class and would easily still be available if we fell to picks 5 to 15.
4. Ryan Clady – OT – Boise St or Sedrick Ellis – DT – USC => Again, I’m looking to get more with what we have. Trading out of the number 3 spot could help us build more. These two players, like McKelvin, will still be available in the 5 to 15 range and are both highly rated. Some even believe that Ellis could be just as good if not better than Dorsey. I’m not one of those people, but that’s because of my love for the SEC and hatred for the Pac-10.
5. Not Matt Ryan – QB – Boston College => The Falcons do not need Matt Ryan. There are many great number two quarterbacks in this years class and Atlanta can easily pull a Cleveland (draft a long time player and trade back into the 1st round to select the QB of choice). Henne, Woodson, Brohm, etc. are all decent picks. I don’t think I would see Brohm with the Falcons simply because the team needs to move farther away from the Petrino issue from last season. Also, Ryan may be a franchise player for some teams, but he would not be one for Atlanta. Michael Vick worked as a franchise player. He put people in the seats and made the game exciting for Atlanta. That’s the type of player Atlanta needs for a Franchise. Just with a cleaner sheet off the field.

Other positions we, Atlanta Falcons, should be looking to fill in the draft:

• Linebacker – Keith Brooking isn’t getting any younger and we will need to fill that major hole sooner than we would like. Boley is growing into an outstanding player, but that’s just one guy.
• Safety – With the way the rest of our defense plays sometimes, we need a great safety and it doesn’t look like this is the year to fill that spot. This draft is not full of uber athletic safeties and that’s just what we need.
• OL and DL – I know I’ve touched on this position above, but I want to stress it even more. A great team is built from the inside out. Atlanta is not a great team on the inside nor outside. Therefore, these are the positions to fill. Depth at interior DL will help during the second stretch of the season.

Oh yeah, as always, I hate Mel Kiper. I wish I could do my job well 20% of the time and still keep it. Must be a sweet life. With 4 of the top 50 picks in this year’s draft, hopefully the Falcons will have something to show for it in the next few years.

After the draft, I’ll post a recap of top moments, biggest surprises and a complete run down on who the Falcons picked up and what teams picked up any UGA players.

Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan. What else do you need? Honestly, we’ve all wanted to see this fight and now we get to see it. Now for those wondering, the fight is worth it. It’s a long fight and, to me, was worth the price of admission.

The movie is your typical Kung Fu style movie (fighting, comedy, story, lessons learned). Jackie Chan plays a great drunk (as always). Jet Li kicks butt and can be funny at times as well. My favorite part of the movie is when Li and Chan are trying to teach Michael Angarano (Sky High) how to use kung fu.

Sorry for this short review, but it’s my birthday and I’m trying to enjoy it. If you like Li or Chan and some good kung fu, Forbidden Kingdom is for you. Enough said.

[Rating:3.5]

This movie is probably not on most people’s radar, but it contains Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Hank Azaria (The Simpsons, Along Came Polly) and that was enough for me to see it. Well, that and a few free passes.

Run Fatboy Run is basically about a lazy bum who leaves his pregnant bride to be at the alter because he can’t really finish anything in his life. Well, later he realizes he screwed up so he tries to winner back by running in a marathon that his girl’s new boyfriend is running in. Sounds reasonable enough to me.

I truly wasn’t expecting too much out of this film and knew it would probably be the worst of the Simon Pegg movies but still could be entertaining if the movie was more than what was in the trailer. Turns out the movie did have more (more laughs, more of a story). There is one scene where I didn’t think they would do it, but they did. I don’t want to spoil it so for those who see the movie, we can discuss it later.

For most people, this movie will be a rental only. That’s probably a safe bet, but it was still a decent movie to see. Also, as a note, this movie has its own version of Megan Fox (i.e. a girl that is too hot to be in this movie and doesn’t really serve a purpose other than being hot.)

[rating:3.0]

Note:  I just added the star ratings.  I’ll be including these on all Movie, CD and Book (if I ever read) reviews.  I’ve already added them to the old reviews (Be Kind Rewind, new Counting Crows cd).

On Friday, I received a call from my father saying a box had arrived at his office for me. This could only be one package for me, The XO Laptop. For those that do not know, the XO Laptop is the laptop in the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program. Back in December, the foundation was running a “buy one, get one” program. I was very interested in this project and the cause. Therefore, I could not argue against ordering one for myself and as long as another one was purchased for a child in another country (not counting Alabama).

The XO Laptop is not top of the line, nor is it built for an adult (my fat fingers can’t type on it). However, it is built for kids and for kids to learn. The design is perfect, especially with the way it hides ports (USB, microphone, audio, SD, etc.). The speed is slow for those of us with a decent computer, but it serves its purpose. I can’t wait to play around with it more and learn what I can do. Until then, check out the OLPC website.

Amarok is the single greatest application and is probably the best reason I switched to Linux in the first place. I didn’t want to make the switch, but once I was turned on to this app, I never looked back. Music is a big part of my daily computer use and having a media player that would go above and beyond my needs was a necessity. Amarok was the answer.

Like any normal media player, Amarok plays your audio files. I don’t need it to play videos because I use VLC for that. I did need it to connect to my media device and transfer any needed files. With Amarok, my audio files display all of the tag information correctly and easily as well as provide a pop-up displaying album art and information as my songs play. The main tabs while music is playing are Music which offers information concerning the current song (who is it by, do you have other songs by the artist, how many times do you play this artist, what is the popular song by this artist), Lyrics (display the lyrics for the song which are pulled from online sites, if no lyrics are found they can be added), Artists (pull Artist information from wikipedia, learn how the group started and any other current information that is truth according to Wikipedia).

Connecting my media device (Creative Zen Vision and Creative Zen V Plus) was a breeze. I navigated to the Amarok settings and selected the MTP Media device. Once that was setup and a nickname was provided for the device, I clicked connect and I was on my way. I ran into issues trying to move video files, but that’s a subject for another post (a Creative specific app is used in my case will I’ll provide info for later).

Besides my massive music collection (by my standards its big and size does matter), I wanted to connect to certain radio stations to listen to streaming music. This is an old school thought since radio is not great any more compared to a media player’s playlist, but there are a few good ones out there. I personally love Atlanta’s 97.1 The River. It plays a great collection of classic rock with limited commercial breaks and no morning DJ’s that prevent the tunes I so desperately need in my morning commute. Here’s a quick list of the streams I added to my amarok for those interested:

• 103.7 The Bulldog
• 92.9 Dave FM
• 94.1 Star 94
• 97.1 The River

While trying to access a site the other day, I realized that my browser (FireFox 2.0.0.13) was without a Java Runtime Environment and I was therefore unable to access certain Java applets from various websites. My Mandriva Linux Control Center wasn’t helpful at the moment (I spent only 3 minutes trying that route) so I turned to my good buddy, Google.

Sun’s Java site provided the installation guide that could be followed word for word for installation. In under five minutes, I was up and running with a JRE and could access annoyingly slow applets that were of true no use to me. Maybe one day I’ll find one that is of use to me.

Every morning lately I have found myself sitting down to breakfast with the entire gang from Saved By The Bell. My roommate and myself are huge fans and can answer most if not all of the truly difficult trivia questions with ease. Therefore, this post is an ode to SBTB by providing my top five favorite episodes of all time. The list will probably surprise most, or at least the order will.

5. “Save That Tiger” – It’s that time again isn’t it. Not the prank war. Yes, the prank war. Valley vs. Bayside. Bad vs. Good. No Intelligence Vs. Semi Intelligence. Fun jokes and gags such as joy buzzers or kidnapping a high school student. These are the great days of high school. It’s also great when you pour ants down a human’s back and the ant bites magically make the human a super gymnast full of many great flips at the perfect time. Now I just need to steal Bayside t-shirts. Hmmm…..I wonder if the 100 meter dash is still going on after all these years.
4. “The Teacher’s Strike” – A Mr. Tuttle episode is a good episode. The man teaches driver’s education, the Glee Club and the Academic Bowl team (Jessie, Lisa, and Screech). With that much pressure, of course the teachers were going to strike. Zack’s added push probably didn’t help much either so he could go skiing. The classic ending of Valley vs. Bayside is great with the category switch from football to basketball. Ah yes, Kareem Abdul Montana. He made the Lakers who they are today.
3. “The Gift” – Zack and Slater are having a betting contest, which is always safe to do at school during the late 80’s. Zack has to give up his radio, but Screech gets struck by lightening in the process. Lightening kill a tv personality? Never. It just gives him the cool power of seeing into the future. Zack would never use this to rule the world, but only to win back free stuff from Slater. Oh no, here comes a deadly test coming up from Mr. Testaverde (The Micro Machines guy). Will the gift get the gang through the test or should they have just stayed up and studied everything? I mean, even I knew that they should study the 3 steps taken by the Continental Congress, the battle of Seratoga as the turning point of the war, and the intolerable acts.
2. “Jessie’s Song” – It’s time the gang talked about drugs. No not dope. That’s a different episode. I’m talking about the deadly drug known as caffeine pills. In order to help her stay up late for a midterm, Jessie begins taking caffeine pills and becomes addicted. Slater tries to help, but she doesn’t listen and Zack is too busy putting Hot Sundae together thanks to the undercover work of Sinead O’Conner. I could repeat those simple words all day every day and life would be that much better. “I’m so excited. I’m so excited. I’m so…scared.”
1. “Rockumentary” – This episode has it all. The rise and fall of Zack Attack, Casey Kasem, Brian Fate, Zack’s incredible ability to merge Vanilla Ice and M.C. Hammer into one human, the music (“Didn’t We Ever Have a Chance”, “Let’s Stay Together”, and “Friends Forever”). This is a full episode in that every part of it as good. From the moment the line is heard, “Little did they know Fate was running by their door…..Hello, I’m Brian Fate” you knew the episode would be a classic. Come on everyone, let’s say it. Friends….Come on….Friends. You have to admit. Screech does look peaceful.

What list would be complete without Honorable Mentions? I have a few here.

• “Running Zack” – Zack is apparently half Native American. That was news to me and it was also news to me that Native Americans love surfing. At least this one on one session helps Zack pass his heritage class (I never had one of those) with an easy A. Beat Valley!
• “From Nurse To Worse” – Zack finally asks Kelly to go steady. However the super uber hot new nurse makes Zack change his tune and pitch of his voice. Of course, we all instantly hit puberty when the nurse stated “Do you want a girl or a woman.” A.C. being afraid of shots was an added bonus.
• “Mystery Weekend” – When Lisa wins a free weekend trip to Mystery Theatre that entire gang is invited. Now on to the whodoneit. The butler? No. The maid in the skimpy outfit? No. Oh well. At least we learn of a new drink (Mango Tonic with a Kiwi Twist).

SBTB wiki and Good Morning Miss Bliss wiki both have short summaries of all of the shows. Did I miss label the greatness of SBTB?

Thanks to the super success of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman, super hero movies are continuing to gain the green light on filming. Here’s a little update on a few of the films headed to the screen this year and in the future.

1. The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008) – This is probably the most anticipated movie of the year. Besides being the return of cast and crew from Batman Begins, it also marks one of the last films Heath Ledger made before he died. Everything I have read has stated that his turn as the Joker is simply amazing. Ledger even stated that to prepare he locked himself in a hotel room with a “Joker” journal and made not of anything the Joker would find funny (AIDS apparently was on that list). The teaser trailer gave many fans much to wonder. The real trailer gave us all hope of a great film.
2. Iron Man (May 2, 2008) – Many people are looking down on this movie and I don’t know why. I’m really looking forward to this one. I mean, you can’t get a better Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr. is the playboy drunk in real life and the screen). I don’t know much about Iron Man villians, but I like what I’ve seen visually. I just hope they don’t hide his life outside of the suit. The fight scene between Iron Man and two F-22 Raptors looks great too.
3. Wanted (July 27, 2008)- I don’t know much about the comic other than what wikipedia can tell me. However, the trailer looks good in a sort of Hitman sort of way but better. I’m not a fan of Angelina (gasp….), but the concept looks cool (group of assassins looking to kill each other and some have cool abilities like curving their shots) and sometimes I just like pointless violence. I guess that makes me a bad person or just an American. To me, the best part of the trailer is the scene where the guy comes flying out of the window as the glass breaks around him. Super cool.
4. The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008)- Before you start yawning or rolling your eyes, realize that this is NOT The Hulk movie with Eric Bana. This is Marvel taking their property in their own direction. Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt. Sounds good to me. Norton even helped write some of the script himself (that could be good or bad). This movie’s villain will be the Abomination, who is just like the Hulk, but keeps his intelligence when he smashes things. The trailer had me hooked, but most usually do.
5. The Spirit (January 16, 2009) – If you liked 300 or Sin City, then this should be enjoyable as well because it is another Frank Miller created property. The Spirit is a cop who was killed and returns from the dead to “fight crime from the shadows of Central City.” Might sound corny, but what comic book character or story doesn’t? This one is a long way off so let’s wait to see what develops and what visuals we get from it. Oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson is in this one. He might also make a few cameos in other movies on this list, but that’s something else entirely.
6. The Watchmen (March 6, 2009) – Alan Moore, creator of V For Vendetta, wrote a 12 issue limited series during the 80’s. The Watchmen is heralded as one of the reasons comics became darker (bloody, deaths, adult themes). Don’t write this book off as just blood and violence. There is a really good story here (think Incredibles but not as family friendly). Time magazine even listed The Watchmen on “the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” It was the only graphic novel to make this list. The cast looks great in their costumes. Of course, they left out Dr. Manhattan. I wonder why…
7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008) – I did not know much about Hellboy before the first movie was released. A good friend encouraged me to go with him to see it and the original trailer looked good so I went. I was shocked. Hellboy was a really good movie with a great mix of comedy and action. Now I’m really looking forward to HellBoy II. The entire cast is back, unless someone died in the first movie. There will also be a few new faces as well. Can’t go wrong with the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. So far, only a teaser has been released, but more show surface as the release date continues to move closer. Speaking of more. I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago. It’s a good thing I chose to post it today because the real trailer for Hellboy II was released today. Hellboy II will probably be another sleeper hit of the summer.

Here’s hoping for a great summer with many more great comic book movies. The better these do, the more will be made. Here’s hoping for no more Nick Fury:Agent of Shield with David Hasselhoff or The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren.