It's time for a special! Double issue!
December 18
-Xavier was shown just how vital the three guards of Holloway, Lyons, and Wells are, with an absolutely smackdown at the hands of the Summit League frontrunner, Oral Roberts, 66-42, for their first loss. ORU's leading scorer, Dominique Morrison, showed a lot of poise in knocking down several threes with hands in his face to notch 19 to lead all scorers. Travis Taylor lead with 11 for Xavier. Kenny Frease only had 4 points on 2-9 shooting, and was double or even triple-teamed many times. He had no help in front of him, so what else do you expect to happen?! Frustrating day, from beginning to end. Also, Missouri took care of a languishing William & Mary team.
-FUTILITY UPDATE: Grambling State continues to be the pride of the SWAC (jokes!), notching yet another loss; this time, at the hands of Texas Tech, 87-59. God be with you, Tigers. But on the positive side, note the 59! They finally scored in the 50's; hell, they almost reached the 60's! Unfortunately, they're still dead last in PPG and FG%. Baby steps, right?
NFL ROUNDUP:
-The Bills' season fall is complete. After starting 5-2 and being the darling team of the NFL, Buffalo has dropped 7 straight to lose any chance of a playoff spot, or even a winning record. Ever since Fitzpatrick got his (extremely overpriced) contract, he's played like, in all honesty, piss. This week, it was the surging Dolphins. Tony Sparano should never have been fired.
-The Seahawks also continue their hot ways, dismantling an extremely banged-up Bears team that got even more banged up. Johnny Knox, after fumbling a catch near the goal line, had his back bent BACKWARDS while trying to recover. He's obviously done for the season, and had a lumbar fracture. His career is in serious jeopardy.
-The Titans chance at a wild card took a big hit with the loss of the year; to the Colts! Yeah, you read that right. Dan Orlovsky led the Colts to their first win of the season, holding off a late 4th quarter run by backup Jake Locker. This was Dan Orlovsky's first win since his final game at Connecticut, in 2004! Long run for the guy, and congrats to him.
-The Packers hit an unexpected road bump at Kansas City, and lost to the Chiefs to drop their first game in over a calendar year. Aaron Rodgers struggled immensely with the injuries to his offensive line piling up. Starting OT Bryan Bulaga had a knee strain, and his back-up snapped his leg in half. This was also Rodgers' first game with under 50% of his passes completed since Week 8 in 2010.
-Wins were also notched by the Bengals, Saints, Redskins, Panthers, Lions, Patriots, Eagles, Cardinals, and Chargers.
December 19
Monday saw a pair of Top 15 teams go down in flames, with one losing its perfect record.
-#10 Marquette was stunned by a better-than-expected LSU team, 67-59. LSU was helped by their FG% on the night, going 23-43 from the field.
-#11 Kansas was also upset, this at the hands of perennial stunner Davidson, 80-74. The two teams went back and forth, Kansas seeming to match every run Davidson had. The only problem was, Davidson had more in them. Nik Cochran drained a clutch three from a different timezone to nail it down for the Wildcats. Cochran led with 21.
-Duke, North Carolina, Baylor, Florida, Indiana, Michigan St., Creighton, and UNLV all notched easy wins. Illinois almost fell to Cornell, and I still firmly believe this Illini team is not T25 material. Oh, and all the SWAC teams lost. Again.
NFL ROUNDUP:
-The San Fran 49ers proved they're legit with a sound defeat of Pittsburgh, 20-3. The game was delayed by a power outage then delayed yet again because of an outage. The 49ers still haven't allowed a single rushing TD all season. Impressive stuff. Big Ben struggled with his high ankle sprain, throwing 3 picks.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Busy Today.
Due to a lot going on today, I'll be doing a double-edition tomorrow that features the goings on of both yesterday and today. Tune in then!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Observations from the World of Sports: Dec. 17
Today saw a slew of games, with finals over for the most part. The majority of teams played this weekend, so there's a lot to report on.
-Blowout wins were recorded by Syracuse, Kentucky, UNC, Marquette, Florida, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Michigan, Michigan State, and Creighton. Louisville had to hold off a late run and 28 strong points from Will Barton to escape against slumping Memphis, while Ohio State had to play the majority of the game without Jared Sullinger, yet again. Sullinger suffered a bone bruise in his foot, and is day-to-day. OSU scrapped out a 74-66 win over South Carolina, led by Deshaun Thomas's 30, a career-high. Baylor's Perry Jones III, recently back from a suspension, also had a scary moment when he collided knees. To the relief of Bear fans, he came back in and had a clutch tip-in with 20 ticks left to seal a 86-83 win at the Marriott Center against BYU. Mississippi State, off to a hot 11-1 start, almost were knocked off by the Horizon League's Detroit Titans, but scored the final 5 to notch a 80-75 win. In Indianapolis, the Hoosiers rode the Cody Zeller train to defeat Notre Dame, 69-58. After 3 treys from Alex Dragicevich in the opening 5, Notre Dame immediately went ice-cold, at one point going an astounding SIXTEEN minutes without a field goal. F Jack Cooley, fresh off a pair of 22 point games, didn't score until the second half and only had 12. Alabama ran into a train of a team in Kansas St., and was handily defeated 71-58. The bulk of their production came off the bench from two obscure players in Jordan Henriquez and Angel Rodriguez. Both had career days; Henriquez, 17 and Rodriguez, 13. After a 7-0 start, 'Bama has lost 3 of 4. UNLV reminded us why they deserve to be a top 25 team with a thumping at Illinois, 64-48, handing the Fighting Illini their first loss. UCLA transfer Mike Moser had a gritty double-double, putting up 17 points and 11 boards. The Illini shot a woeful 25.4% from the field. Indiana State showed why Vanderbilt should never have been ranked after their last loss in the first place with a marquee road win, 61-55. WITH 6:18 remaining, the Commodores were up 53-47. They would not score another field goal until there was 53.2 seconds remaining, down 57-53. The SEC's top scorer in John Jenkins accrued a season-low 11.
-Texas had a second-half surge to take down Temple, 77-65. In an in-state battle in the Orange State, it took 2 OT's for Miami to put away the pesky Owls of FAU, 93-90. A slumping Butler team revived itself in the second portion to stun Purdue yet again, 67-65. Andrew Smith had the game-winning tip with a single second left to clinch it for the Bulldogs, who are still under .500 for the season at 5-6. Northern Illinois, one of the six winless teams remaining, fell again in the Battle of Illinois, 62-49, to Southern Ill. Another one of those 6, Chicago State, went down as well, losing to Loyola (IL), 64-49. The final 6 winless teams are Northern Illinois, Chicago State, Hartford, Towson, Binghamton, and Grambling State. Murray State remained perfect, taking down Arkansas State at home, 66-53. The Racers have the best record in the NCAA at 12-0.
-It's tough to be a team from the SWAC (SouthWestern Athletic Conference). Not one of the 10 teams is anywhere near .500, with Southern University as the only school to have 3 wins thus far. The conference is a combined 16-72. That's a winning percentage of .18, far-and-away the worst record in the nation. Of the 16 wins, only 6 are against D1 schools. In fact, Grambling State is probably the worst team in the nation. Their leading scorer averages 8 a game. They're dead last in the NCAA in scoring (40.2), FG% (27.3), and 3rd to last in APG (8.2) They haven't scored more than 45 points. They lost to a team from the Great West, Utah Valley, by 30. The Great West doesn't even get a bid to the NCAA! No one from this conference deserves an NCAA bid.
-Teen phenom Lexi Thompson won her second professional event, the Dubai Ladies Masters, shooting -15 to win by 4 shots. No one can tell what kind of career she'll have; she seems to be the real deal, unlike Michelle Wie.
-Tony Romo and Co. used a 28-0 halftime lead to coast to a 31-15 win against the quickly-fading Tampa Bay Bucs. Romo threw a TD each to Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and his new favorite receiver, Laurent Robinson, while accounting for the fourth on his own with a 1 yard run. Robinson has 9 TD's this season, all coming in the last 8 weeks. Only once was he denied a trip to the endzone (Week 10 in the stunning los to Arizona).
-In a season in which Penn State has had the hammer thrown down on them, it has surfaced that QB Matt McGloin got in a fight with one of his receivers, Curits Drake, after a practice, and then was immediately hospitalized after suffering a seizure. No word on what McGloin's condition is for the bowl game against a dethroned and angry Houston team in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on January 2.
-The Reds may have obtained their top-of-the-rotation pitcher in Mat Latos, acquired from the Padres in exchange for Yonder Alonso, who was marooned behind Votto at 1B, catcher Yasmani Grandal, frustrating SP Edinson Volquez, and RP Brad Boxberger. Latos had a 3.47 ERA last season, indicative of a high-position for him in the rotation.
-Blowout wins were recorded by Syracuse, Kentucky, UNC, Marquette, Florida, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Michigan, Michigan State, and Creighton. Louisville had to hold off a late run and 28 strong points from Will Barton to escape against slumping Memphis, while Ohio State had to play the majority of the game without Jared Sullinger, yet again. Sullinger suffered a bone bruise in his foot, and is day-to-day. OSU scrapped out a 74-66 win over South Carolina, led by Deshaun Thomas's 30, a career-high. Baylor's Perry Jones III, recently back from a suspension, also had a scary moment when he collided knees. To the relief of Bear fans, he came back in and had a clutch tip-in with 20 ticks left to seal a 86-83 win at the Marriott Center against BYU. Mississippi State, off to a hot 11-1 start, almost were knocked off by the Horizon League's Detroit Titans, but scored the final 5 to notch a 80-75 win. In Indianapolis, the Hoosiers rode the Cody Zeller train to defeat Notre Dame, 69-58. After 3 treys from Alex Dragicevich in the opening 5, Notre Dame immediately went ice-cold, at one point going an astounding SIXTEEN minutes without a field goal. F Jack Cooley, fresh off a pair of 22 point games, didn't score until the second half and only had 12. Alabama ran into a train of a team in Kansas St., and was handily defeated 71-58. The bulk of their production came off the bench from two obscure players in Jordan Henriquez and Angel Rodriguez. Both had career days; Henriquez, 17 and Rodriguez, 13. After a 7-0 start, 'Bama has lost 3 of 4. UNLV reminded us why they deserve to be a top 25 team with a thumping at Illinois, 64-48, handing the Fighting Illini their first loss. UCLA transfer Mike Moser had a gritty double-double, putting up 17 points and 11 boards. The Illini shot a woeful 25.4% from the field. Indiana State showed why Vanderbilt should never have been ranked after their last loss in the first place with a marquee road win, 61-55. WITH 6:18 remaining, the Commodores were up 53-47. They would not score another field goal until there was 53.2 seconds remaining, down 57-53. The SEC's top scorer in John Jenkins accrued a season-low 11.
-Texas had a second-half surge to take down Temple, 77-65. In an in-state battle in the Orange State, it took 2 OT's for Miami to put away the pesky Owls of FAU, 93-90. A slumping Butler team revived itself in the second portion to stun Purdue yet again, 67-65. Andrew Smith had the game-winning tip with a single second left to clinch it for the Bulldogs, who are still under .500 for the season at 5-6. Northern Illinois, one of the six winless teams remaining, fell again in the Battle of Illinois, 62-49, to Southern Ill. Another one of those 6, Chicago State, went down as well, losing to Loyola (IL), 64-49. The final 6 winless teams are Northern Illinois, Chicago State, Hartford, Towson, Binghamton, and Grambling State. Murray State remained perfect, taking down Arkansas State at home, 66-53. The Racers have the best record in the NCAA at 12-0.
-It's tough to be a team from the SWAC (SouthWestern Athletic Conference). Not one of the 10 teams is anywhere near .500, with Southern University as the only school to have 3 wins thus far. The conference is a combined 16-72. That's a winning percentage of .18, far-and-away the worst record in the nation. Of the 16 wins, only 6 are against D1 schools. In fact, Grambling State is probably the worst team in the nation. Their leading scorer averages 8 a game. They're dead last in the NCAA in scoring (40.2), FG% (27.3), and 3rd to last in APG (8.2) They haven't scored more than 45 points. They lost to a team from the Great West, Utah Valley, by 30. The Great West doesn't even get a bid to the NCAA! No one from this conference deserves an NCAA bid.
-Teen phenom Lexi Thompson won her second professional event, the Dubai Ladies Masters, shooting -15 to win by 4 shots. No one can tell what kind of career she'll have; she seems to be the real deal, unlike Michelle Wie.
-Tony Romo and Co. used a 28-0 halftime lead to coast to a 31-15 win against the quickly-fading Tampa Bay Bucs. Romo threw a TD each to Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and his new favorite receiver, Laurent Robinson, while accounting for the fourth on his own with a 1 yard run. Robinson has 9 TD's this season, all coming in the last 8 weeks. Only once was he denied a trip to the endzone (Week 10 in the stunning los to Arizona).
-In a season in which Penn State has had the hammer thrown down on them, it has surfaced that QB Matt McGloin got in a fight with one of his receivers, Curits Drake, after a practice, and then was immediately hospitalized after suffering a seizure. No word on what McGloin's condition is for the bowl game against a dethroned and angry Houston team in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on January 2.
-The Reds may have obtained their top-of-the-rotation pitcher in Mat Latos, acquired from the Padres in exchange for Yonder Alonso, who was marooned behind Votto at 1B, catcher Yasmani Grandal, frustrating SP Edinson Volquez, and RP Brad Boxberger. Latos had a 3.47 ERA last season, indicative of a high-position for him in the rotation.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Observations from the World of Sports: Dec. 16
Extremely lackluster day. It features a few piecemeal teams, as well as a home-run king avoiding jail, and another king joining the land of Tiger Woods. On we go!
-Barry Bonds was sentenced yesterday to 30 days of house arrest, 2 years probation, and 250 hours of community service for obstruction of justice in the Greg Anderson/BALCO case. Such a light sentence is typical of athletes, and that's no surprise here. The feds wanted 15 months for him, but no way that would happen. At least 8 people involved in the BALCO case were convicted of felonies, and their case against Bonds really fell apart because of Anderson.
-In the game of the night (that wouldn't be the game of the night on any other day), UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) kept up their recent winning ways in a gritty 72-67 win over Canisius College. The 'Roos of UMKC were down by 10 in the first half, after a hot start with two 3 point plays by big Logan Manhertz. The 'Roos also started 0-9 from the 3 point line before converting their first attempt. As the game rolled on, however, it became the Snoop Show. "Snoop" is the nickname for sophomore Trinity Hall, who put up a career-high 27 points to make up for the slow production of their leading scorer, guard Reggie Washington, who averaged 20 a game. Washington only had 10, with a lackluster 2-8 from behind the arc. UMKC as a team struggled from behind the arc, going 4-26. Canisius had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, but only had 2 in the second. Their leading scorer, Harold Washington (19 ppg), only had 12. A bright side for Canisius (now 1-8) was Josiah Heath, who averages 4 points and 5 boards per game. Heath had career highs in points (16, leading the team) and rebounds (18, accounting for over half of the Golden Griffins' 34 rebounds).
-Poor Kobe. Vanessa Bryant has filed for divorce from the Lakers superstar, citing "irreconcilable differences". The Bryants had been married for a decade, but it's all over now. And officially, there is NO PRENUP. So Kobe loses around 200 million. Oh, and that 4 million dollar ring he gave her after the scandal.
-Barry Bonds was sentenced yesterday to 30 days of house arrest, 2 years probation, and 250 hours of community service for obstruction of justice in the Greg Anderson/BALCO case. Such a light sentence is typical of athletes, and that's no surprise here. The feds wanted 15 months for him, but no way that would happen. At least 8 people involved in the BALCO case were convicted of felonies, and their case against Bonds really fell apart because of Anderson.
-In the game of the night (that wouldn't be the game of the night on any other day), UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) kept up their recent winning ways in a gritty 72-67 win over Canisius College. The 'Roos of UMKC were down by 10 in the first half, after a hot start with two 3 point plays by big Logan Manhertz. The 'Roos also started 0-9 from the 3 point line before converting their first attempt. As the game rolled on, however, it became the Snoop Show. "Snoop" is the nickname for sophomore Trinity Hall, who put up a career-high 27 points to make up for the slow production of their leading scorer, guard Reggie Washington, who averaged 20 a game. Washington only had 10, with a lackluster 2-8 from behind the arc. UMKC as a team struggled from behind the arc, going 4-26. Canisius had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, but only had 2 in the second. Their leading scorer, Harold Washington (19 ppg), only had 12. A bright side for Canisius (now 1-8) was Josiah Heath, who averages 4 points and 5 boards per game. Heath had career highs in points (16, leading the team) and rebounds (18, accounting for over half of the Golden Griffins' 34 rebounds).
-Poor Kobe. Vanessa Bryant has filed for divorce from the Lakers superstar, citing "irreconcilable differences". The Bryants had been married for a decade, but it's all over now. And officially, there is NO PRENUP. So Kobe loses around 200 million. Oh, and that 4 million dollar ring he gave her after the scandal.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Observations from the World of Sports: Dec. 15
Well, yesterday was pretty boring basketball-wise. Two ranked teams played two teams that are below .500 in extremely weak conferences, so you can guess the results.
-Missouri rolled over Kennesaw State, 104-67, to stay perfect on the season and advance to 10-0. Mizzou shot an eye-popping 60% from the field, and four players scored double-figures, led by 18 from Ricardo Ratliffe (8-10 FG) and Michael Dixon, who provided 25 quality minutes off the bench. Delbert Love paced all scorers with 27 in the loss for the Owls.
-Wisconsin literally doubled up Savannah State, 66-33, to move to 10-2. Wisconsin flexed their impressive defensive muscles yet again, holding a team to either 31 or 33 points for the fourth time this season! Only in their two losses, against two very good teams in North Carolina and Marquette, did their opponents break the 60 point mark (60 and 61, respectively.) Wisconsin's leading scorer, Jared Berggren, had 13.
-The Racers of Murray State kept their undefeated streak alive, trouncing Lipscomb 89-65. Murray State is one of nine teams still unbeaten, and the only one left off either poll. (They're 24 on the AP Poll, and unranked on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, being snubbed by a weak Vanderbilt team.) Senior Ivan Aska put up 16 for the Racers.
-Oh yeah, and my Falcons won. Atlanta blitzed an extremely weak Jacksonville team 41-14. Roddy White hooked up with Matt Ryan for 2 TD's, with Julio Jones getting the other. Matty Ice only had 224 yards, but he was extremely efficient, going 19-26. Even ATL's backup, Chris Redman, went 5 for 6. Michael Turner had a weak day, only accruing 61 yards on 19 carries, totaling a tepid 3.2 YPC. Turner did punch in a touchdown, however; his 48th. That touchdown tied him with Falcons great Gerald Riggs for most rushing touchdowns in franchise history. Blaine Gabbert couldn't hold on to the ball, coughing it up twice deep in their own zone for easy ATL scores. In fact, Gabbert had -1 yard at halftime. Times sure are ugly in Jacksonville. Atlanta moves to 9-5 and secures yet another winning season. Next week is the real test; the Falcons travel to the Superdome to avenge a loss to New Orleans in overtime, which you may remember as Mike Smith's "D'oh!" moment, in which he went for a 4th and 1 around the 30 yard line and failed.
-Missouri rolled over Kennesaw State, 104-67, to stay perfect on the season and advance to 10-0. Mizzou shot an eye-popping 60% from the field, and four players scored double-figures, led by 18 from Ricardo Ratliffe (8-10 FG) and Michael Dixon, who provided 25 quality minutes off the bench. Delbert Love paced all scorers with 27 in the loss for the Owls.
-Wisconsin literally doubled up Savannah State, 66-33, to move to 10-2. Wisconsin flexed their impressive defensive muscles yet again, holding a team to either 31 or 33 points for the fourth time this season! Only in their two losses, against two very good teams in North Carolina and Marquette, did their opponents break the 60 point mark (60 and 61, respectively.) Wisconsin's leading scorer, Jared Berggren, had 13.
-The Racers of Murray State kept their undefeated streak alive, trouncing Lipscomb 89-65. Murray State is one of nine teams still unbeaten, and the only one left off either poll. (They're 24 on the AP Poll, and unranked on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, being snubbed by a weak Vanderbilt team.) Senior Ivan Aska put up 16 for the Racers.
-Oh yeah, and my Falcons won. Atlanta blitzed an extremely weak Jacksonville team 41-14. Roddy White hooked up with Matt Ryan for 2 TD's, with Julio Jones getting the other. Matty Ice only had 224 yards, but he was extremely efficient, going 19-26. Even ATL's backup, Chris Redman, went 5 for 6. Michael Turner had a weak day, only accruing 61 yards on 19 carries, totaling a tepid 3.2 YPC. Turner did punch in a touchdown, however; his 48th. That touchdown tied him with Falcons great Gerald Riggs for most rushing touchdowns in franchise history. Blaine Gabbert couldn't hold on to the ball, coughing it up twice deep in their own zone for easy ATL scores. In fact, Gabbert had -1 yard at halftime. Times sure are ugly in Jacksonville. Atlanta moves to 9-5 and secures yet another winning season. Next week is the real test; the Falcons travel to the Superdome to avenge a loss to New Orleans in overtime, which you may remember as Mike Smith's "D'oh!" moment, in which he went for a 4th and 1 around the 30 yard line and failed.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Mental Gymnastics In Video Games? Bring It On.
To be frank, I can't remember the last time I really had to think, and think hard, during the whole course of a video game for my Xbox 360. I'm one for the standard fare of first-person shooters, blindly storming through levels (done ad finitium ever since Doom came out in 1991), as well as the range of sports games (Madden, Tiger Woods, FIFA). But FINALLY, and unintentionally, I've managed to pick up a game I highly recommend if you feel like giving your brain a workout, and that game is L.A. Noire (Rockstar).
If you own a 360, you know about Rockstar. Hell, even if you don't, I bet you know of Rockstar. Makers of the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series, as well as Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar has gone through a lion's share of criticism for their GTA series; a lot of it, in all honestly, well deserved. Go shoot cops. Bang some broads. Deliver some weed. You can do it all, and parents don't realize that. But Rockstar's latest release moves from the genre (a little bit), and, surprisingly, produces a game that really requires you to think. This, of course, is L.A. Noire. Created by Team Bondi, a company based out of Sydney, Australia that went belly-up three months after its release, L.A. Noire is a gritty, yet hopeful sleuther which places you in the shoes of Cole Phelps, an officer fresh out of the second World War. In a world full of seedy men, Cole is THE shining epitome of an exemplary man. He wants what's right for the world; it really is that simple. But what about the mental difficulty? That is realized very quickly as you begin searching the crime scenes and interrogating your suspects. I went through the first case again and found four (FOUR!) clues I missed the first run through. With my first interrogation, I accused the poor girl of lying when she was telling the truth. The secret lies in the ground-breaking facial technology that you have to read very carefully in order to determine whether the person of interest has been telling the truth or not.
In the second mission, Cole is called to the scene of a crime outside a bar, where a man has been plowed over by a car and left for dead. You engage in the usual fare; collect your evidence, and be thorough about it; talk to your witnesses and see what you can get. You seem to be running through the motions; after all, the guy's obviously been the victim of a hit-and-run. But a great detective searches for whatever he can. In a trash can behind the bar, you find a steak knife. Seems innocuous enough; it's probably animal blood. Suddenly, the coroner calls you with stunning results. It seems the man was actually stabbed twice before he was hit! Now, that steak knife looks a little more suspicious now, eh? I was able to make the arrest right there and then without any further investigation; my initial fine combing of the scene actually bent the story around, creating a different ending! (Now, if I had only not let the guy that drove the automobile a failure to stop warning. Yep, you made an amazing discovery and feel great about it, but you still didn't QUITE do your job. It's that precise.) It's moments in gaming like that which reassure myself the medium is evolving, and rapidly. Simply a treat
If you own a 360, you know about Rockstar. Hell, even if you don't, I bet you know of Rockstar. Makers of the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series, as well as Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar has gone through a lion's share of criticism for their GTA series; a lot of it, in all honestly, well deserved. Go shoot cops. Bang some broads. Deliver some weed. You can do it all, and parents don't realize that. But Rockstar's latest release moves from the genre (a little bit), and, surprisingly, produces a game that really requires you to think. This, of course, is L.A. Noire. Created by Team Bondi, a company based out of Sydney, Australia that went belly-up three months after its release, L.A. Noire is a gritty, yet hopeful sleuther which places you in the shoes of Cole Phelps, an officer fresh out of the second World War. In a world full of seedy men, Cole is THE shining epitome of an exemplary man. He wants what's right for the world; it really is that simple. But what about the mental difficulty? That is realized very quickly as you begin searching the crime scenes and interrogating your suspects. I went through the first case again and found four (FOUR!) clues I missed the first run through. With my first interrogation, I accused the poor girl of lying when she was telling the truth. The secret lies in the ground-breaking facial technology that you have to read very carefully in order to determine whether the person of interest has been telling the truth or not.
In the second mission, Cole is called to the scene of a crime outside a bar, where a man has been plowed over by a car and left for dead. You engage in the usual fare; collect your evidence, and be thorough about it; talk to your witnesses and see what you can get. You seem to be running through the motions; after all, the guy's obviously been the victim of a hit-and-run. But a great detective searches for whatever he can. In a trash can behind the bar, you find a steak knife. Seems innocuous enough; it's probably animal blood. Suddenly, the coroner calls you with stunning results. It seems the man was actually stabbed twice before he was hit! Now, that steak knife looks a little more suspicious now, eh? I was able to make the arrest right there and then without any further investigation; my initial fine combing of the scene actually bent the story around, creating a different ending! (Now, if I had only not let the guy that drove the automobile a failure to stop warning. Yep, you made an amazing discovery and feel great about it, but you still didn't QUITE do your job. It's that precise.) It's moments in gaming like that which reassure myself the medium is evolving, and rapidly. Simply a treat
Sunday, December 11, 2011
A Thought About Cronin's Suspensions
Here's some perspective about the Yancy Gates/Cheikh Mbodj suspensions. (Octavius Ellis' suspension, also 6, is acceptable in my opinion.) LeGarrette Blount, a running back of the Oregon Ducks football team, punched a player after a scuffle in the opening game of the 2009 season against Boise State. He ended up missing eight games that season. Their season was only 13 games long; that equates to missing 61.5% of the season. Gates and Mbodj, on the other hand, only miss six. Their season is 31 games long. That equates to only 19.3% of the season, and in games in which they play their typically horrible out of conference schedule in teams like Wright State (4-6), Radford (3-8), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (1-5), Chicago State (0-9, and they play in the Great West, a conference that gets a bid not the the NCAA, but the CBI!!), and Oklahoma (7-1, but with a soft schedule who's only loss was to unranked Saint Louis). The trio miss ONE Big East game: @ #14 Pittsburgh, which in all likelihood, is a game they would lose with a full team. #FoodForThought
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