And In Other Sporting News You Don't Care About

Manchester City Forward Robinho said in a radio interview that he wished to be traded to another team to insure more playing time. Robinho wants to play more because he feels he needs more exposure in the English Premiere League (or wherever he ends up playing) to cement his spot on the Brazilian World Cup team.

Now, I'm no expert on how the Brazilian roster is chosen, but I have to think that more playing time on a sub-par team is not the way to guarantee a main spot on a top World Cup contender who is known for their blistering offense. Also, Robinho might just be looking for more money out of Real Madrid or another big money European squad.

So, this could all be about Robinho being a bit of a jerk, as he has been in the past.

Chileans Are Evil

So, last year at the Australian Open, the Serbian and Croatian fans started a fight (shocking that the Croats and Serbs would have problems getting along) when two players from their respective countries met in an early round. This year, in the first week, eleven Chileans had to be removed from The Beer Garden (which we're now calling simply "The Garden," apparently to promote sober celebrating).

And then, during the matches of top-ranked Chilean Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, the Chilean fans kept sneaking in flares and letting them off while the match was still going on, which, along with other disruptive behaviour, got several of them removed from the stadium.

In Gonzo's fourth round loss to Andy Roddick, the handful of Chileans in Rod Laver Arena would not shut up. There was singing, shouting, and cheering between points, there often yelling during points, and even an occasional jack-ass yelling right when Roddick was in his serving motion.

If you want to show support for your player and your country, fine. But you don't have to be rude about it, and you certainly shouldn't be intentionally disruptive to the other player. And what the hell's up with the flares? Are you trying to show how happy you are that Gonzo's doing well by setting fire to someone?

This is tennis, people, we stay quiet during the points whenever possible. Now, I'm not saying you have to be the Proper English Stiff Upper Lip Wimbledon Crowd, but you should still show respect to the players and the sport by not being a dick.

2010 Sic-Fi: Chuck, Heroes, Caprica

Chuck: I'll admit I was worried by the new, amped-up Chuck. I thought that by making Chuck into more of an action hero and less of a nerd the show would lose its fun and sense of self. Instead, by keeping the Intersect (and Chuck's ability to use it) inconsistent, Chuck continues to be far from the super-spy he had dreamed of being.

Even more than that, though, the show is still good and fun as ever because of Chuck himself. No matter what he can or can't do, he's still awkward, unsure of himself and his capabilities, and still fumbling about his feelings towards Sarah. I don't even mind how the show has drawn out Chuck and Sarah's relationship, since it is what it is now because Chuck wanted to be more like Sarah, and now that he's still a "spy," he has to at least try to adopt an attitude closer to her's. I'm still liking this show, I just hope it gets the ratings to stick around (hell, NBC might as well keep it and put it at 9 p.m., nothing else it working then, anyway).

Heroes: This has been a really good season. The David Koresh cult thing with Samuel and his "family" is good because it is a new villain and new type of villain for the show, but it's the fact that some characters still refuse to change after all these years that is annoying.

Claire's still naive and gets into trouble; Peter has to be a hero and save everyone his way (often alone); Hiro has to be a superhero right out of comicbooks; Noah has to keep Claire safe by utilizing lies and deceit and take out the bad "powers" for the good of "normals;" Suresh has to be the borderline obsessed scientist; and Ando's just usually there for the ride. It's been four years, people, can't any of you move on to be someone or something new? Other than Sylar, of course, who seems to undergo a major transformation at least once a season.

Caprica: ScyFy's spinoff series to Battlestar Galactica doesn't premiere for another week, but the pilot's been out on DVD for months, and it is now available for free on my ScyFy On Demand.

By being a work of science fiction, BSG (I've never completely liked that acronym) didn't need to be subtle when addressing such issues as suicide bombers, insurgency, technology, religion, fanaticism, war, racism, elitism, faith, life, death, and what it means to be human. Caprica is no different. Within minutes of its beginning, a monotheist suicide bomber (the vast majority in this world is polytheistic) takes out a train full of innocents while screaming about "the one, true god." The show also features a foreign-led mafia, bluntly racist comments, and, of course, the pursuit of an Artificial Intelligence that is going to destroy the planet in little over fifty years.

However, the show's greatest strength, like BSG, is that it manages to address all these issues but do it with believable, relatable, and extremely human characters. We don't see them as black/ white; good/bad; rich, greedy villain/ poor, determined, working class hero; victims/ terrorists. We see them as people, no matter what they do or believe.

If Caprica keeps up what I've seen in the pilot, it might just come close to living up to its predecessor, which is the biggest compliment I could possible give it.

"Just Call My Name..."

"And I'll Be There."

Wait, you won't be there.

You're dead.

This song is sad now.

(weeping, weeping)

Oh, God, is That What I Look Like?

So there's now a picture of me on this thing, essentially guaranteeing that no female of at least a moderate level of attraction will ever visit this blog for more a few seconds.

Please refrain from retching on your computers, as it may cause serious damage to your keyboard.