Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: LennG on November 20, 2024, 01:28:07 PMWell another great series in the book as I just finished Tulsa King this AM. A terrific second season and better than season 1.
This role was meant for Sly as was Rocky. If he is your thing, you will simply love this series. If not, watch something else because he is the entire show.

I agree that he's perfectly cast in Tulsa King. Great show. Maybe not so much for Chickee. Personally, I've never seen Rocky (I know, I know...I've taken a lot of grief for admitting it), but for me, I think his role as John Rambo was his signature movie...at least in the first one (First Blood). His melt down at the end was worthy of an Oscar. Superb acting and one of the hardest performances for any male actor to ever do. Sobbing, trying to talk, falling apart, really demonstrating the burden many soldiers deal with when returning to civilian life. It was that moment that I said to myself, "now there's a man who can act...wow"

Quote from: Sem on November 19, 2024, 11:31:09 PMPerhaps you don't appreciate Wegman's until there really is no Wegman's. That's where I'm at with it. We have Aldi's, Trader Joe's, and even Whole Foods. We have grocery chains the equal of Price Chopper, Weiss, and Tops. I've shopped and Kroeger, Food Lion, and hell, even Piggly Wiggly. But goddammit, I miss Wegman's!!

Oh, I know I'd miss it...if only for the their sushi and Beef'n Wick sandwiches and fresh seafood

I don't know if you know the story, but the Baldwin brothers grew up in Camillus (Syracuse), and they've all moved on to bigger places, closer to their acting careers. Alec to NYC, etc. Anyway, the brothers have begged their mother to move to a place where they live now (they'll even buy her a gorgeous house), and she flat out refuses...the reason: she won't leave unless there is a Wegmans close to her (there's one in Camillus of course, a couple of miles from her). Wegmans has actually used her in advertisements

My girlfriend moved to Florida a couple years ago and she still calls and begs me, "will you please call Wegmans' owners and tell them to start stores in Florida", LOL. The funny thing is, she's serious...that is the only thing (well, besides me) that she misses here. I think they've expanded as far south as Charlotte, so I tell her that next is Atlanta, then probably Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, etc. Every city wants one, but the Wegman's family seems to be slowly migrating south, not west 

I love Wegmans, but it's too big...unless you have a day or afternoon to waste, and you brought a substantial amount of money. I've perfected getting in and out in less than a few minutes - getting two types of sushi - then browsing the fresh fish and beef departments. I usually (used to anyway) grab a fresh tuna steak or swordfish steak, but at 40-some dollars per pound now, not so often. The filet Mignon steaks, strip steaks, etc., that don't sell on day one, they vacuum seal and sell them the next day, for about half price and that's where I end up getting beef...unless I'm entertaining guests, then I splurge. Usually in and out in less than 10 minutes. Sometimes I grab a Beef'n Wick sandwich and split...like yesterday when I was in Syracuse. They have everything imaginable in the store, but it's pricey and Weiss, Tops, Price Chopper, and even Aldi's has pretty good vegetables for a lot less than Wegmans, without overwhelming crowds. What Wegmans does, is a fantastic job of presentation of unlimited varieties of fruits and veggies...not necessarily more tasty than other stores. I'm used to them as there have been Wegmans in Binghamton, Ithaca, and Syracuse for many years...and I'm about equidistant from each of those cities, although usually I go to the one in Binghamton. Selection is unsurpassed by any grocery store in the world, but along with unlimited selections, great presentation, etc., is large crowd chaos    That's the one downside IMO

People rave on and on about Trader Joes, but I don't get the obsession.

The worst thing about Wegmans is their urinals. When I use them, I get urine everywhere!



Worst urinals ever

Quote from: Sem on November 15, 2024, 12:38:04 PMRic, having lived in Endicott for over 50 years, you're making me crave some of that good triple cities cooking. My favorite from back in the day was Duff's on the northside of Endicott. It's the place I went with my wife on our first date back when we were 16. Hands down the best homemade pasta I've ever had...anywhere. Love Cortese but not a fan of Little Venice sauce. As you say it's a sweet sauce, which doesn't do it for me. Years ago The Binghamton Press used to occasionally feature recipes from area restaurants in the "local" section of the paper. I remember Little Venice sharing their spaghetti sauce recipe, and If I'm remembering right it contained a bit of apple sauce in it. Or maybe I'm confusing it with something else. Not sure. At any rate I felt the same way about that sauce as I did about Brozetti's pizza. A lot of people love it but too sweet for me. Actually I have no idea if Brozetti's is still there. I'm losing more and more touch with the triple cities with each passing year.

The secret ingrediant in Little Venice sauce is not applesauce, as many have claimed over the years. It's actually grape jelly and apple cider vinegar, if my source is right. Grape jelly is a common incredient for cocktail meatballs at parties, except they also have some chili pepper added

Brozetti's closed down last year. Not surprising, since Wilson Hospital and Binghamton University have acquired all the surrounding land and buildings. It's no longer called "Wilson Hospital", but it's now the "UHS Wilson Medical Center" and it has sprawled into a behemoth. And BU has been tearing down the old brick eyesores that used to be factories for EJs and others, and built big modern buildings for their Nursing School, their Pharmacy School, etc. BU has bought up half of JC...you wouldn't recognize it. The hospital acquired the huge Baptist church on the corner and razed it to build additional buildings and parking, and they aren't through

UHS Wilson Medical Center


BU School of Pharmacy next to the hospital


BU Decker School of Nursing


BU even bought up the new Gannet Press Building after it sold out

When it comes to Italian cooking, I'm a simple man. I love a good spaghetti and meatballs when the sauce is just right and the meatballs are good. When I lived in an apartment, the recently divorced girl downstairs from me, was 100% Italian and made meatballs that she would test on me...holy cow. I didn't know it was possible to make meatball with such flavor. And for sauce, I suggest Little Venice pasta sauce. And I prefer regular no. 5 spaghetti over angel hair or some of the other variations

If I'm at a restaurant, I'll almost always order Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and broccoli, or Eggplant Parmesan with a side of spaghetti (really depends on the restaurant's sauce or fresh eggplant etc.). I live near Endicott, NY where the population is heavily Italian during the population explosion of the 1940s, which brought in thousands of families from Italy to work at Endicott Johnson's shoe company. Many of the small restaurants (some are hole in the walls) in that area have been around since that time, and family recipes handed down from generation to generation and third or fourth generation families still running them. In Binghamton, I usually go to Cortese Restaurant, but always get a steak "Milanese Style", instead of pasta. Those smaller family restaurants are better than some of the highly touted Italian restaurants in big cities. Cortese has gone beyond the small family restaurants, but it's still in the family, only much bigger. Here's their menu

https://www.corteserestaurant.com/menu

Little Venice in Binghamton is also large, but no longer in the family, and people complain that it's no longer the same. I cannot verify by experience, but they still make great homemade pasta and their sauce is the same (a little on the sweeter side), and I like it. https://www.facebook.com/TheLittleVenice

I got every COVID shot, and every booster shot...and still got COVID last year that set me back a couple of weeks from being sick...and that was during Christmas and that was after I got the booster shot the same week as Thanksgiving, just a month earlier 

I got my regular flu shot last week, and I told the nurse administering the shot that maybe I should get the last booster shot since I'm right here. She said, "you want to know the truth?", and of course I said "yeah", and she replied, "don't get it, it's not all it's hyped up to be, and it won't keep you from getting COVID anyway, and COVID is no longer a real threat". So I skipped getting a booster shot for the first time

Quote6. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't

One of my favorite scenes

Hidden Gem? Late round steal?

QB Cameron Rising, Utah

2023 stats: DNP
2024 sitting out until his ACL is completely healed

Rising wasn't supposed to be Utah's savior back in September 2021. The Utes opened that season with Charlie Brewer as their starter after the Baylor transfer beat out Rising for the job. The early results were poor, however, and Utah lost its first two games against FBS foes before coach Kyle Whittingham made a change. And once Utah was Rising's team, the Utes never looked back.

Rising and the Utes went 9-1 and won a Pac-12 championship before losing in a shootout against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl -- a game in which Rising accounted for three TDs and completed 77% of his throws. It was more of the same in 2022, with Rising leading the Utes to a 10-3 record and another Pac-12 title before falling to Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Over the course of those two seasons, Rising was 18-6 as a starter with 46 touchdown passes, 13 picks and an 83.6 Total QBR.

But for a true appreciation of Rising's value, just look what happened to Utah's offense when he missed the 2023 campaign with a knee injury. The Utes went from averaging nearly 39 points in 2022 to just 23 last year, and saw a decline of 85 passing yards per game, while their pass TD total was cut in half. -- David Hale (ESPN)

ESPN has him ranked no.9 above Cameron Ward no.10

Great information for this board. We all thank you 

To top it off, Sheridon is a busy man. Besides producing the 5th season of Yellowstone, he is producing THREE other prequels to Yellowstone that got pushed back during COVID

1) 2nd Season of "1923" will drop in Spring '25
2) 1st Season of "1944" will drop soon after (probably a year out)
3) "The Madison" (another prequel to Yellowstone [sequel to 1923]) will drop in Spring '25
4) Will there be a 6th season of Yellowstone? Many insiders believe there will be one, but that's not official

If you are a fan of the Yellowstone series and all it's offshoots, there's a lot to look forward to


And of course, Sheridan's "Landmark" drops this week as mentioned in my previous post, the last one on page 81 of this thread

News alert!

Our favorite writer/producer, Taylor Sheridan is dropping a brand-new show next week called, "Landman" (Paramount+). It's a 10-episode affair and the first two episodes drop Nov. 17, then one episode a week until Jan. 20. I hate that week-to-week BS 

Anyway, like most Sheridan series, it will probably be excellent https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/_Sc2PvI48p0UzAr9h490GVZmaJy0Ow6T/?ftag=PPM-04-10cbj9h&%243p=e_et&~channel=SubscriberOnly&~campaign=20241111LandmanTrailerLeadup&~tags=WatchTrailerCTA&et_cid=394314

Mobile is an interesting place. I was driving along the coast of Mississippi about three years ago when the shore was lit up like the Ginza Strip in Tokyo. It was Mobile. The massive structures all lit up like NYC skyscrapers were for ships I guess. I don't know who in Alabama negotiated their southern border a few hundred years ago, but Florida really got the best of them by taking a few hundred miles of shoreline, leaving a few mile stretch to Alabama...which became Mobile. Anyway, thinking (typing) out loud.....

For those who don't know the Ginza Strip, it's breathtaking

I've said it before, but I'll repeat my theory.

A franchise QB like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, et al, have something special and unique. Extreme confidence, and a mindset that they alone can make/force the team to win. It's a mental makeup that can't be predicted. They don't think about numbers, they don't worry what anyone else thinks, they don't become skittish when getting knocked down over and over, they simply believe in themselves and that they can always turn the game around and win. Nothing discourages them. It's in their makeup and personality...which like I said, is impossible to predict...whether from college game stats or college coaches talking him up. Tom Brady didn't have a canon for an arm, not to mention he was a closet smoker since high school, and didn't have notable stats in college...but he had the magic personality for the NFL game. How does one find that?   

It's not quite as good as "The Mick", which was one my favorite shows ever. Kaitlyn Olsen has just the right amount of sarcasm that makes her the perfect comedy actress...although, "High Potential" isn't a straight out comedy in the mold the "The Mick"

There's only a small handful of comedies (sit-coms) that I'd give 5 stars (which means I watch them repeatedly)
- Two and a Half Men
- Seinfeld
- Big Bang Theory
- and The Mick
- Becker (fantastic show shot on poor film, that no streaming service will carry it  ) Dittos with "Coach", "Newhart", etc

close, but no cigar (Everybody Loves Raymond, Schitt's Creek, My Name is Earl, King of Queens, Young Sheldon, and anything with Bob Newhart)

It takes a lot to make a comedy good enough that I'll go back and watch a few episodes when there's nothing else worthy of watching. In my personal opinion, there has never been a greater sit-com than Two and a Half Men (pre-Ashton Kutcher of course). It wasn't just Charlie Sheen, but the greatest collection of supporting characters ever assembled (Berta the no-nonsense Maid, Alan the cheapskate brother, Jake the kid usually in trouble, Rose the stalker, Evelyn the sex-crazed / overly critical mother, Dr. Freeman the sarcastic psychiatrist (Jane Lynch), Judith the skittish ex-wife, Russell the drug-crazed pharmacist, etc. Not to mention, a parade of gorgeous girls from airhead Candi to sweet Mia who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but wanted to give up ballet and become a singer...just all hilarious

As a sidenote, Seinfeld's supporting cast was superb as well, just not such a huge cast

Some of the funniest lines ever said, came from Two and a Half Men, like Alan's post sexual conquest when she says afterward while in emotional shock, "the image of you on top of me will haunt me the rest of my life"...or Evelyn responding to Alan after he complained that he took her to dinner just last week and she replied, "oh yeah right, that fish shot out of me like a firehose"...or Evelyn telling Charlie after having dinner with Charlie's fiancee's family, "and that pistol packing hermaphrodite she calls a sister", and Evelyn telling Alan and Charlie as they're heading to Berta's house to celebrate Alan's engagement to Berta's daughter, "shouldn't we be bringing a box of wine and a can of aerosol cheese", too many hilarious comments by Rose to even begin

Examples (doesn't even scratch the surface):

So glad we hit on an undrafted free agent. Kudos to Schoen