Miami Heat say "Bye-bye" to the Season

"Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder as he was attempting a steal in the second half of their game against the Houston Rockets, February 21, 2007 in Houston, Texas. Wade left the court in a wheelchair and was taken to a hospital."

- ESPN.com

There has been much talk on how grave the injury is. Earliest diagnosis is that he'll be out 6 to 8 weeks, and that's the optimistic view to it. Some say that this is a career-ending or rather a career-changing injury for Wade. No one ever really comes back the same again after an injury like this. I guess we'll have to wait until after a few more days for a more precise diagnosis.

There has also been some debate between Heat fans on whether it would be best for Wade to sit out the season or push himself and try to come back in the playoffs.

Obviously, for Wade's career it would be best if he rested this season (he will undergo surgery by the way). If he manages to come back and play, his conditioning will be suspect at best, specially in his left arm where he'll definitely be weak. His mental conditioning is a factor as well, we don't know if he'll still be attacking the rim relentlessly like he has for years,

On the other hand, the Miami Heat franchise cannot afford to be in a "rebuilding" mode. Players that surround Wade are old and past their prime. Shaquille O 'Neal may be the glue that holds the team together, but Dwyane Wade is their heart and soul. The way that Riley built his franchise is with a "win-now" mentality and they would need Wade as soon as he is available. I'm thinking Riley is not even considering bowing out of the playoff race in the slim hopes of a good lottery pick.

Whatever happens, if Wade plays or not, the season is already lost. Miami is currently the 8th seed in the East and realistically cannot go any higher than this with Wade injured. And with the way the Pistons are playing, it seems that no one can catch them on the 1st seed. With that said, optimistically, the Heat will meet the Pistons in the first round. Realistically though, even if the Heat manages to stay in playoff contention, it is almost impossible for them to beat the Pistons without Wade. The season is practically over.

For true Heat fans, we can only just pray for Wade's health as we convince ourselves of the reality of this infamous 06-07 injury-riddled season. We may have lost the season, but what's important is we do not lose our franchise player for good.

Ghost Rider = Elektra

Overall, both movies were good. But man, they had some awesome villains!! Well it can probably be attributed to Mark Steven Johnson but can you find anything cooler than the Four Angels?
Anyway, save for a few glaring plot holes (such as Mephistopheles being powerless against his own creation) and bad dialogue, Ghost Rider was a good movie. It had its moments, and the CGI team did a great job of not making Ghost Rider as too cartoonish (although as a Marvel fan, I had other ideas of Ghost Rider's voice, he sounded like a clown with a bad case of strep throat). This movie is really what you'd expect and I can't wait for Stan Lee to make an ok for a Punsiher/Ghost Rider crossover movie. Actually, a Marvel crossover movie has been long overdue. When do we get to see the X-Men and the FF4 try to contain the Hulk, Stan??


(Pictures from IMDB.com)

Poverty Week

Yes, I survived! Finally sweldo na ulit. After an extremely long "kinsenas" (half-month pay period) which lasted 20 days, I'll be able to put food in the ref; gatas and diapers for Seiichi; pay Meralco, Nawasa, the Yayas, Globe, Metrobank, BPI; and we'll have baon again for gas, parking, and office food.

Ohmagad, let's hope my sweldo lasts 5 days this time...

He's Not Billy Corgan

Do you remember the 80s TV Series: Small Wonder? The story revolved around the Lawson family and a robot named V.I.C.I. and their struggles to keep her identity a secret.

For the longest time, me and my friends thought that Jamie Lawson, the son, was indeed Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins.

Anyway, just got this excerpt from wikipedia:

"Over the years he has been the subject of countless internet rumors that include his involvement as a roadie for the band Alice in Chains and that he was actually Billy Corgan from the successful rock band Smashing Pumpkins."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Supiran

Although, the resemblance is striking, Billy Corgan he ain't. Naniwala ba talaga ko dito?

Random Blog Entry - Best Ever Awards Part II

Best Sex Scene Ever:
Halle Berry in Monster's Ball

Honorable Mention:Angelina Jolie in Original Sin, Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in Bound, sex scene in Team America

Best Jackie Chan Movie Ever:
Who Am I

Honorable Mention:
Armour of God

Best Trilogy Ever:
The Matrix Trilogy

Honorable Mention:
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Godfather Trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I to III

Best(Worst) Villain Ever:
Keyser Soze in Usual Suspects

Honorable Mention:
Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs

Best CG Animated Movie Ever:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Honorable Mention:
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Best Car in a Movie Ever:
'86 Trueno in Initial D

Honorable Mention:
Christine in Christine, The Tumbler in Batman Returns

Apocalypto

I am convinced that Mel Gibson is a good director. Braveheart was a revolutionary classic, violent, and even inspiring. The Passion of Christ was.. well it was okay. But his new movie, Apocalypto, just puts him at another level.
In essence, Apocalypto can be summarized in a single paragraph. One single paragraph: They are living peacefully in their community. A violent and disruptive tribe invades their village and kidnaps the men and women of the tribe. He escapes and journeys back to his family. "Apocalypse" begins.
With such a simplistic plot outline, this is where the genius of a director comes in. He can transform the story and screenplay into a riveting adventure. With Apocalypto, Mel Gibson was able to tell the story in a manner which immerses you in the whole movie. You actually feel that you were living with the Mayans and you actually felt that you were running with Jaguar Paw (lead character).Another thing to take into consideration was that he used a native Mayan language throughout the entire film. This concept was not really well received with The Passion of Christ. But with this film, after watching it, I actually couldn't picture the film with English as the spoken language. I think it would have removed a rather large piece of the overall beauty of the film if Mel Gibson used English. Unlike with The Passion's Hebrew and Latin usage, the Mayan language you hear in the film is not even remotely distinguishable. But it still adds to the ambience and mystery that surrounds the entire film. That, in itself, is pretty amazing.

Overall, this movie is brilliant. The cast was chosen extremely well. The acting was top-notch. The camera angles used were amazing. Sound was good. The storytelling was great. And, the director was able to hold all of the important pieces of the film together.