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GameOn Podcast: Sarah Fisher & Patrick Pho, the Sequel

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:29:09 +0100

The ladies of GameOn continue to be star-struck this week, as they recap the Oscars, Fantasy Football-style, with regular contributor Patrick Pho. We talk about the top three headline stories from this year's Oscars, and ponder his next obsession: Fantasy Baseball. Next, Erica & Melissa discuss the Indy 500 with IndyCar legend Sarah Fisher — who is trying to get Ellen Degeneres to come to the Indy 500 this year. We talk to her about being a lady in a man's world, and get her thoughts on Danica-Mania!

LINKS FROM TODAY'S SHOW:

Marisa Tomei Oscar Scandal (Scroll down to Rumor Number 36)

Farrah missing from Oscar Memorial Tribute

Farrah was so in the movies ... the Burning Bed!

Patrick's wonderful Oscar column on GoGameFace.com

Ben Roethlisberger in trouble again.

A-Rod's doc Tony Galea takes HGH, but has never given any to an athlete ... ALLEGEDLY!

Click here for more on Sarah Fisher.

Click here to download the episode

Click here to subscribe on iTunes

Click here for The GameOn Podcast Archive

Click here for our Ring Tones (Tigermania, Kardashians, Favre and the GameOn Intro ringtone!)

Email us at GameOn@gogameface.com

Oscar Watch: What Went Wrong ... With My Picks

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:21:35 +0100

It's 2 AM and I just finished walking down the aisles of the nearby supermarket.

I let the cold chill of the freezer aisle cut through my track jacket as I purchased my weekly groceries, an errand delayed by tonight's Oscar ceremonies. The scene could be ripped straight out of The Hurt Locker. If you wondered who are those weird people that go shopping late at night- I'm happy to tell you I'm one of them. I don't think I'm weird in anyway for shopping at 1 AM- I needed food for the week and I knew if I didn't do it before the work week started I wouldn't find time. I don't think I was buying anything embarrassing- just some milk and bananas. I enjoyed the quiet, desolate Harris Teeter as I tried to understand everything that just happened in the past few hours. It was Oscar Night in America and I was rooting for not only my favorite films, but my picks to win.

Even though I locked in my picks earlier I was still nervous over a few categories: mainly cinematography and original screenplay, where I thought the upsets would lie. I was certain Hurt Locker would still walk away with best picture and Avatar would be rewarded with numerous tech awards.

I ended up being right and wrong at the same time.

But more on my picks later, first some quick thoughts on the night.

There's usually some sort of song and dance number in the show, this year Neil Patrick Harris makes a cameo song and dance number to kick things off. His profile has really risen as of late, but I still had to explain that the star of How I Met Your Mother was also Doogie Howser M.D. to my roommate.

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin took a great approach to the joint hosting duties by ripping off one-liners like they were a comedy duo, where one would set-up a punchline for the other. Both were best at self-deprecating themselves otherwise the jokes were good but not great.

The rest of the night? Too much time dedicated to the actors. First you parade them out at the top of the show like some sort of tease for the awards to come three hours later. When the time finally comes to award best actor and actress the academy goes back to a trick they did last year with some success: have five presenters give the award. Except this time each presenter is a friend of the a nominee, instead of being a past Oscar winner. The kind words each friend had for their nominee was great but did we really need to waste half an hour telling the nominees how great they are?

So much time was taken up honoring actors and horror films that Tom Hanks gave the night an anti-climatic end by walking up to the podium and announcing the winner for best picture before we had a chance to realize what was going on.

So the night had some hits and misses- and so did my picks.

My Oscar Picks

BEST ACTOR: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

BEST ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique (Precious) - She accepted her award by thanking the Academy for proving, "can be about the performance and not about the politics." True there is a lot of campaigning out there for awards but aren't you also saying you should of been the top performance? Kinda arrogant if you ask me.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Up In The Air Precious - This is a big upset and a huge surprise for me. I'm wondering if The Academy was trying to find another Oscar to give Precious and voters settled for screenplay. With many voters voting for Precious with Mo'Nique I thought they would want to reward Up In The Air here- guess I was wrong.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Hurt Locker

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Up

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM: The Cove - Totally unclassy how they cut off the microphone before director Louie Psihoyos could make the year's obligatory political statement.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The White Ribbon El Secreto de Sus Ojos - Meh I didn't watch all of these films but I thought The White Ribbon would look good with multiple nominations. I give credit to Kristopher Tapely who called this one.

BEST ART DIRECTION: Avatar

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Hurt Locker Avatar - Not surprised that Avatar won here, but disappointed my pick didn't win. Some will question whether there was really award winning cinematography in a film that was primarily CGI- bujt I knew that once Avatar lost in both sound categories, the Academy leaning for Avatar in other areas.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Young Victoria - I thought the acceptance speech here was well intended but delivered kind of arrogantly. I already have two and this third one is for you...but I'm taking it home?

BEST FILM EDITING: The Hurt Locker

BEST MAKEUP: Star Trek

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Up

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"

BEST SOUND EDITING: Avatar The Hurt Locker

BEST SOUND MIXING: Avatar The Hurt Locker - I am surprised to see The Hurt Locker here because I thought the Academy would want more excuses to give Avatar some gold. Not surprised that one film swept both awards because not that many people understand the difference between the two films. I mean that's why they have an explanation video every year.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED): A Matter of Loaf and Death Logorama - Glad to see my dream pick win here, some thought the Academy would ignore the fact they have given Nick Park a billion Oscars in the past- but I guess they didn't.

BEST SHORT FILM (DOCUMENTARY): The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Music By Prudence - It's official, the shorts will always be impossible for me to call.

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION): Miracle Fish The New Tenants - I went to watch all the live action shorts the day after I wrote my picks and I thought The New Tenants was one of the funniest of the five.

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

BEST PICTURE: The Hurt Locker

So 16 out of 24 ain't that bad, but it was worse than my 18 I got right last year. Let's see how I finished with Oscar Watch this year:

Oscar Watch 2010

47 out of 58 films 81%

109 out of 121 nominations 90%

2010 Oscar Nominated Films & Shorts

Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Julie & Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

Well I didn't watch them all but I blew last year's number of (25/50) out of the water! Maybe next year I'll get them all!

How did I do in the Oscar Pool that inspired this all? Not too bad. Even though I got a few wrong I ended up in second place, one point away from a tie for first (and I held the tie-breaker.) I am actually surprised how good I did considering my picks weren't as good as last year.

And with that I close the door on another Oscar season, now it's time to get back into Fantasy Baseball.

What do you think of the films I've watched? What did you think of this year's Oscars? Shoot me your thoughts at p_pho@hotmail.com or send me a tweet at @dmbosstone. I'd love to hear what you think!

Oscar Watch: Patrick's Oscar Picks

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:37:19 +0100

My Oscar Picks

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Clear favorite, The Dude will walk away with Oscar gold on Sunday.

BEST ACTRESS

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Won't be surprised if Meryl Street or even Gabourey Sidibe upsets here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

It's been nothing but a Waltz to the awards podium for Christoph, sweeping almost ever pre-Oscar awards out there.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mo'Nique (Precious)

See above but replace Waltz name with Mo'Nique and strike the Waltz pun.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Up In The Air

It's Jason Reitman's award to lose.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Hurt Locker

Spent a long time thinking about this one, could easily see Inglourious Basterds win this one as well.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Up

Pixar is a powerhouse in this category.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

The Cove

No other nominee comes close to this one.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The White Ribbon

There's rumblings about Un Prophete or maybe even El Secreto de Sus Ojos winning here and it certainly could, but the cinematogrpahy of this piece I think makes an impact- especially when you are talking about foreign language films.

BEST ART DIRECTION

Avatar

Tech award #1

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Hurt Locker

It's win over at the Cinematographer's Guild Awards edges this one over Avatar but I could see either of them here.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Young Victoria

I'm sticking with my formula here: period film, pretty costumes.

BEST FILM EDITING

The Hurt Locker

Again I could see Avatar win here as well.

BEST MAKEUP

Star Trek

It's more than just the Spock ears, the big story with Star Trek is the precision of make-up that had to be done due to the filming process.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Up

It'll be good to see Up walk away with two Oscars.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"

It's no Jai Ho but it'll do.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Avatar

Tech Award #2

BEST SOUND MIXING

Avatar

Tech Award #3

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar

Tech Award #4 (see a trend?)

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

A Matter of Loaf and Death

While Pixar dominates feature animation, Nick Park is a powerhouse with his Wallace and Grommit franchise.

BEST SHORT FILM (DOCUMENTARY)

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

I'm going with current events with this one, but I had a hard time choosing between this one or China's Unnatural Disaster.

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Miracle Fish

Haven't watched these shorts yet but I have seen this one and I hear it's the favorite.

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Time to make history, she's been sweep the awards since The Golden Globes.

BEST PICTURE

The Hurt Locker

If it's not this one then it's Avatar. If Inglourious Basterds, Up In The Air, or Precious wins it'll be because of the balloting process. So it's still anybody's game.

So those are my Oscar picks, I'm going to finish out the weekend watching the live action shorts at the National Archives tomorrow and see if I can cram a few more films in. On Monday I'll review the awards, my watch list, and my picks!

My Watch List

2 Days / 19 Films To Go

2010 Oscar Nominated Films & Shorts

Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Julie & Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

What do you think of the films I've watched? What do you think of this year's Oscar nominations? Shoot me your thoughts at p_pho@hotmail.com or send me a tweet at @dmbosstone. I'd love to hear what you think!

GameOn podcast: Melissa Rivers and Patrick Pho

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:52:34 +0100

Our Olympic Fever has subsided ... but now we have caught Oscar Fever — thanks to our fabulous guests this week. The Red Carpet has not been the same since Melissa Rivers and her very famous (perhaps, infamous) mother Joan took over during the Oscars. We talk to Melissa about her new book, her Oscar picks, her stint on "The Apprentice," her return to the Red Carpet with her mom, and, yes, her love of sports.

Then we chat with our GoGameFace.com Oscar columnist Patrick Pho on his quest to watch every film nominated for an Oscar, and his Fantasy-Football-like approach to this year's nominees.

LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S SHOW:

Click here to check out Melissa Rivers' new book and here for her web site

Click here to read all about Patrick's journey to the Oscars.

Click here to read about the politics of the Oscar race.

Click here to check out the newly relaunched Howtv.tv

Click here to download the episode

Click here to subscribe on iTunes

Click here for The GameOn Podcast Archive

Click here for our Ring Tones (including a brand new GameOn Intro ringtone!)

Email us at GameOn@gogameface.com

Oscar Watch: Sleepers, Busts, and Favorites

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:49:42 +0100

It feels like fantasy sports season again.

Wait a minute it is. I'm not even done with my Oscar Watch project and already I'm seeing baseball draft kits roll out as teams start their spring training down south and west. However I am trying my best to not peek at these kits- I can really only concentrate on one sport at a time and right now I am all about the sport of Oscar prognostication.

However I really want to know what people are thinking about Ben Zobrist- come on do we really think he's going to top his breakout year? I digress...

Just as people are pushing their picks for fantasy baseball drafts, other experts are making their picks for who is going to go home with the gold- Oscar gold that is.

I thought it would be fun to instead of picking the winners in this column, I'd write this fantasy draft guide style: with my sleepers, busts, and favorites for next weekend.

Now I have to acknowledge that it truly is an honor to be nominated and that each nominee is certainly one of the best in their field in 2009. However only one of them will win so without further ado...

Oscar Sleepers, Busts, and Favorites

Supporting Actress

Sleeper: Vera Farmiga - If Mo'Nique doesn't get one of the first Oscars of the night (and that is highly unlikely) I think it will go to one of the two nominees from Up In The Air.

Bust: Penélope Cruz - She's like Josh Hamilton, had a great breakout season followed by a sub-par season but still made the all-star team.

Favorite: Mo'Nique

Supporting Actor

Sleeper: Woody Harrelson - Like it's counterpart category, the supporting actor race is pretty much done. However Harrelson gave us a dazzling performance that may garner votes for those thinking they do not need to vote for Waltz.

Bust: Matt Damon - Had lots of potential but falls flat - like Korean short track skaters.

Favorite: Christoph Waltz

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Sleeper: Up - Pixar has been nominated for best original screenplay the past three years now without a win, is this the year the Academy finally gives Pixar their due?

Bust: A Serious Man - My sister sent a tweet yesterday about how confused she was while watching A Serious Man. There's really not much to be confused about, it's basically the book of Job on film- which really doesn't make this film that original at all right?

Favorite: The Hurt Locker

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Sleeper: Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - An adaptation of a book that was inspired by the real-life stories that Sapphire encountered teaching in Harlem. As powerful and jarring the story is- a part of you can certainly believe that real-life versions of this story exists today.

Bust: District 9 - The film got a lot of early buzz as the dark horse, but I don't think the Academy is ready to say that an alien action flick was the best piece of writing for the year.

Favorite: Up In The Air

Documentary Feature

Sleeper: Food, Inc. - The Cove is the favorite, but this nominee did the best at the box office. The combanation of being the better known candidate and a story that will make every viewer change they way they view food makes this one a sleeper.

Bust: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers - The Academy tends to skew towards more current affairs- and this topic is so 1960's.

Favorite: The Cove

Animated Feature

Sleeper: Fantastic Mr. Fox - I love the quirkiness that Wes Anderson brings to this piece, if for some reason Up doesn't win it I hope this film does.

Bust: The Princess And The Frog - It's great to see a traditional Disney animation get a nod here but it won't overcome the Pixar powerhouse.

Favorite: Up

Best Actress

Sleeper: Gabourey Sidibe - It was between her or Carey Mulligan and I think Sidibe's performance edges Mulligan out.

Bust: Meryl Streep - People think it's a two horse race between her and Sandra but she already has two academy awards and might lead voters to go for somebody else to get their due.

Favorite: Sandra Bullock

Best Actor

Sleeper: George Clooney - You know what's interesting? You could actually imagine Clooney being Ryan Bingham in real life. His public persona made him a perfect match for Up In The Air.

Bust: Morgan Freeman - Finally he gets the role I've always wanted him to do- but the complete film doesn't live up to expectations.

Favorite: Jeff Bridges

Best Director

Sleeper: Lee Daniels - It's like last year's democratic primary, we are either going to get a historic first this year either from Bigelow or Daniels.

Bust: James Cameron - When you campaign saying you want your ex-wife to win over you, you aren't going to win votes for being classy. That's because the same voters also remember you for being an arrogant, pompous, "king of the world."

Favorite: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Picture

Sleeper: Up In The Air or Inglourious Basterds - With the new voting system I can see both Avatar and Hurt Locker not winning in a freak voting accident, and one of these two films rising to the top.

Bust: The Blind Side - Unlike the previous two, I don't think this film will even make a lot of voter's top five.

Favorite: The Hurt Locker

Snarky thoughts about the rest...

Visual Effects: Star Trek and District 9 should practice looking humbled as the Avatar crew walks away with this award.

Sound Mixing & Sound Editing: Color me dumb, I'm a video producer and I only have an inkling of knowledge why they give two separate awards for sound. I will tell you who won't win any of these awards: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek. They are both action movie adaptations but one is outclassed and the other is a terrible sequel. I'll let you figure out which one is which.

Short Film (Live Action): I'm going to be anti-magic for this year's Oscars, that means no Harry Potter and no film that has the words Abracadabra.

Short Film (Animated): The film that probably won't win but I wish did: Logorama. Because I love the corporate shilling as much as I am a shameless promoter of myself.

Music (Original Song): Nine's nomination for "Take It All" is like The Situation from Jersey Shore. At first glance you think he has tons of game but you later find out he can't get anything better than Snookie in a hot tub on the last night of the summer.

Music (Original Score): I loved the score from Sherlock Holmes and the rest of the contenders are great nominees- but Avatar will be a bust here. I think the Academy was just looking for another nomination for the film.

Make-Up: Star Trek is the favorite here and there's been a lot of campaigning about the precious that was taken in the make-up because of the filming process. I will ask how does The Young Victoria get nominated when it takes place during a time where being pale was the in thing to do?

Foreign Language Film: I have no input on this category as I haven't watched any of the films yet. I might try and watch the nominee from Argentina since my roommate has a thing for South American things (food, language, men...)

Film Editing: It's very rare that a film is nominated for exciting use of editing, instead it is used as another nod for a best picture of the year. That being said I will say that Precious has the most boring of edits amongst the five nominees- don't expect this one to win.

Documentary Short: There's a simple formula to figuring out the winner- does it make you cry? That's why I think the film about rabbits won't be winning.

Costume Design: Always vote for the period piece. Always. Congrats to The Young Victoria.

Cinematography: Again I will be anti-Potter in this category, the other four each have reasons why they should win. I guess you can say I'm rooting for the muggles.

Art Direction: In this category both the art direction and set decorator are nominated. That being said, how does one decorate a set for a film that is shot on a green screen (Avatar)?

My Watch List

5 Days / 23 Films To Go

2010 Oscar Nominated Films & Shorts

1.     Ajami

2.     Avatar

3.     The Blind Side

4.     Bright Star

5.     Burma VJ

6.     Coco before Chanel

7.     Coraline

8.     The Cove

9.     Crazy Heart

10. District 9

11. An Education

12. El Secreto de Sus Ojos

13. Fantastic Mr. Fox

14. Food, Inc.

15. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

16. The Hurt Locker

17. Il Divo

18. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

19. In the Loop

20. Inglourious Basterds

21. Invictus

22. Julie & Julia

23. The Last Station

24. The Lovely Bones

25. The Messenger

26. The Milk of Sorrow

27. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

28. Nine

29. Paris 36

30. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

31. The Princess and the Frog

32. The Secret of Kells

33. A Serious Man

34. Sherlock Holmes

35. A Single Man

36. Star Trek

37. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

38. Un Prophete

39. Up

40. Up in the Air

41. Which Way Home

42. The White Ribbon

43. The Young Victoria

44. China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

45. The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner

46. The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

47. Music by Prudence

48. Rabbit à la Berlin

49. French Roast

50. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

51. The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)

52. Logorama

53. A Matter of Loaf and Death

54. The Door

55. Instead of Abracadabra

56. Kavi

57. Miracle Fish

58. The New Tenants

At Long Last: The World Premiere of the D'Brick House Video

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:48:04 +0100

EJB Vs. D'Brickashaw Ferguson from GoGameFace on Vimeo.

Check out the big face-off between me and the Jets' D'Brickashaw Ferguson at the Gatorade Mobile Science Lab. While in Miami during Super Bowl week, we faced off on the stationary bike. D'Brick House beat me in almost every way ... he was faster, stronger and sweat less. I was only superior in one area: Drool.

Click here to read my play-by-play of the big D'Brick faceoff on Huffington Post.

Click here for my other HuffPo pieces.

GameOn Podcast: Erin Hamlin from Vancouver, plus lots more!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:24:06 +0100

On a special Fun Friday episode of the show, the ladies of GameOn talk to Luger Erin Hamlin from Vancouver and hear about the challenges faced by all Lugers during the Vancouver Games. We also discuss major Olympic drama: Plushenko's Platinum Medal, Scotty Lago's not-so-risqué photo that caused him to leave the Games, Vonn vs. Mancuso (who really cares?!), and Johnny Weir vs. Small-Minded French Announcers (hint: Johnny wins!).

Plus, we discuss why LT's teary goodbye doesn't bother us in the slightest ... get teary eyed ourselves talking about snowboarder Kevin Pearce ... have a laugh about a world-record-setting Snuggie Night in Cleveland ... and touch upon Howard Stern's planned Beauty Pageant of Tiger's Former Mistresses — four have signed on so far.

LINKS FROM TODAY'S SHOW:

Listen to our first interview with Erin Hamlin.
Plushenko's gone Platinum ...
Scotty Lago's photo — you make the call ... risqué or no?
Details of Johnny's run-in with the French.
Tony Kornheiser is suspended for his nasty Hannah Storm comments — plus Berman comments?
LT's teary goodbye vs. Tebow's whiny tears
The AMAZING Tom Brokaw interview of Kevin Pearce's family, that will bring you to tears! (Plus, Erica's HuffPo piece on Kevin)
The Cavs' Sunggie Night, anyone? (Don't you dare confuse it with a Slanket!) (Do you know there is a Snuggie for dogs?!)
Howard Stern's latest stroke of genius: Former Tiger Mistresses Unite!

Click here to download the episode

Click here to subscribe on iTunes

Click here for The GameOn Podcast Archive

Click here for our Ring Tones (including a brand new GameOn Intro ringtone!)

Email us at GameOn@gogameface.com

What to Watch: The Closing Weekend of the Olympics

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:31:27 +0100

From bobsledding to alpine skiing, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games end with high-speed action.

Bobsledder Steve Holcomb (and FOGO, friend of GameOn) will take his final run at the Whistler Sliding Centre, while alpine skiers Ted Ligety and Jimmy Cochran — who loves to build things so much, he calls himself "The Imelda Marcos of Work Gloves!" — will hit the slopes for the Men's Slalom. Cochran's two aunts and his father were also Olympic skiers, and his aunt took the Gold in the 1972 Women's Slalom.
Long-track speed skating concludes Saturday with Chad Hedrick and Trevor Marsicano going for the Gold on the men's team, and Jen Rodriguez and Catherine Raney-Norman racing for the women.
Snowboarder Tyler Jewell races down the mountain in Parallel Giant Slalom today. An exemplary athlete all around, Tyler played varsity lacrosse at Boston College.
In figure skating's version of a victory lap, Saturday also brings the figure skating exhibition gala, where, traditionally, the Olympic medalists skate.

By the by, NBCOlympics.com and TeamUSA.org are both fantastic resources for all kinds of tidbits on the athletes, like photos of when they were kids, family snapshots, home videos and, of course, schedule information for the rest of the Games.

Next, check out these cool videos we got our hands on! They all feature athletes who will be competing over the weekend.

Alpine Skiers Ted Ligety and Jimmy Cochran take a beater car for a soaring ride.

Speed Skater Chad Hedrick vs. a Squirrel.

Speed Skater Trevor Marsicano on the on-ice injury that almost cost him his life.

Speed Skater Catherine Raney-Norman on being "booted" out of Canada during team training

ATHLETES COMPETING ON FEBRUARY 27

All competition times Eastern

ALPINE SKIING

Jimmy Cochran

Comes from a family of champion skiers - "The Skiing Cochrans"
- His father and two aunts competed in the 1972 Olympics
- Another aunt competed in 1976
The Cochrans started the first non-profit ski resort in the country, called Cochran's Ski Area
Jimmy, who studied engineering at the University of Vermont, is into engineering and building things
- When Cochran's Ski Area hosted a fundraiser, Jimmy designed and made the awards (replicas of the ski towers at Cochran's)
- Calls himself the "Imelda Marcos of Work Gloves"
Click here for his bio

Ted Ligety

Started Shred Optics, a ski eyewear company
Loves tennis, water skiing and biking
Self-professed techie/gadget geek
Click here for his bio

Bode Miller

Click here for his bio

1:00 p.m. - Men's Slalom 1^st Run

4:15 p.m. - Men's Slalom 2^nd Run - MEDAL EVENT

SPEED SKATING - LONG TRACK

Chad Hedrick

New dad to daughter Hadley Angel, who was born in March, 2009
The TX native (a rare home state for a winter athlete), hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit TX Special Olympics
His wedding date is tattooed on his left forearm
Click here for his bio

Trevor Marsicano

Aspiring youth pastor, his lucky charm is his bible that he travels everywhere with
Click here for his bio

Jennifer Rodriguez

Four-time Olympian
Listens to rock, freestyle and classic rock to get pumped for competition
Sports 5 tattoos under her speed suit (one is the Olympic rings)
Cuban-American who grew up in Miami
Loves to cycle when she's not on the ice
Click here for her bio

Catherine Raney-Norman

Catherine loves to cook - if she weren't an athlete, she'd be a chef
- She entertains frequently and hosts themed Sunday Brunches - a favorite recipe? "Healthy" Morning Waffles with a Warm Berry Compote
Commutes via snowmobile!
- Catherine lives on top of a mtn and drives a snowmobile or snowcat to training in the winter
- Occasionally, she has to stop for moose!
BIO: http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=2148/index.html

3:30 p.m. - Women's Team Pursuit Semifinals

3:51 p.m. - Men's Team Pursuit Finals - MEDAL EVENT

4:13 p.m. - Women's Team Pursuit Finals - MEDAL EVENT

BOBSLED

Steve Holcomb - FOGO (Friend of GameOn!)

Underwent experimental surgery to correct his 20/500 vision; the clear results distracted him since he was so used to blurry vision
A member of the UT National Guard, Steve served In the ARMY from 1999-2006
Steve's a computer geek - he says so himself! He offers tech support to his teammates and can take apart a computer and put it back together
Click here for his bio
Click here for our GameOn interview with Steve

4:00 p.m. - Four-Man Run 3 of 4

5:40 p.m. - Four-Man Run 4 of 4 - MEDAL EVENT

SNOWBOARDING - PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM

Tyler Jewell

Graduate of Boston College with a degree in education
Tyler played on the varsity lacrosse team while he was at BC
Tyler's family is a tight-knit bunch; he has about 25 people joining the "Tyler Jewell Fan Club" to watch him from the stands
Tyler wears a red bandana to honor his friend/roommate/teammate from college who saved 15 people from the World Trade Center on 9/11.
- He went back in to save more people but was killed by the collapsing building.
- "He was a hero," says Tyler.
Click here for his bio.

1:00 p.m. - Men's Qualifications

3:15 p.m. - Men's Finals - MEDAL EVENT

FIGURE SKATING - EXHIBITION GALA

*The exhibition gala is a non-medal exhibition traditionally showcasing the recent Olympic medalists. To date, the following athletes have won medals in figure skating for the United States:

Evan Lysacek - Gold Medal - Men's Figure Skating

Click here for Evan's bio

Meryl Davis and Charlie white - Silver Medal - Ice Dancing

Click here for Meryl's bio
Click here for Charlie's bio

7:30 p.m.(Eastern) - Exhibition Gala - readers can check NBCOlympics.com for listings

**********************************

ATHLETES COMPETING ON FEBRUARY 28

All competition times Eastern

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

Kris Freeman

Click here for Kris' bio

12:30 p.m.

CLOSING CEREMONIES: 9pm ET on NBC (boo hoo!)

What to Watch: Friday Excitement in Vancouver

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:28:05 +0100

Here are some Fun Friday Highlights — what not to miss in Vancouver today.

New Gold-medal winner Lindsey Vonn hits the slopes for the last women's alpine event, the slalom.
A big day for short track speed skaters to bring home some "hardware," medals will be awarded in three short track events on Friday. Off-ice foodie and work-out fanatic Apolo races in the blink-of-an-eye 500m race. He'll be joined by indie music lover JR Celski in the 5000m relay later in the day.
Fabulous FOGOs Allison Baver and Katherine Reutter also hit the ice for the women's 1000m race.
Friday also gets long-track speed skaters' last event underway as new dad Chad Hedrick joins Trevor Marsicano on the ice for quarter and semifinals.
Long track female speed skaters Jen Rodriguez (a Miami native and Cuban-American) and Catherine Raney-Norman (an off-ice chef) race in quarterfinals on Friday - and then semis and finals on Saturday.
The elusive Night Train — the fierce looking, black 4-man bobsled driven by FOGO Steve Holcomb — speeds down the track today. As patriotic as he is fast, Steve was a member of the Utah National Guard for 7 years. He also underwent experimental eye surgery to correct his 20/500 vision!
Parallel Giant Slalom snowboarding kicks off today with the women's events. Yet another FOGO Michelle Gorgone, a die-hard Boston sports fan, crochet whiz and singer extraordinaire, hits the slopes.

Looking for more Olympic fun & factoids? Check out NBCOlympics.com and TeamUSA.org for all kinds of tidbits on the athletes, like photos of when they were kids, family snapshots, home videos and, of course, schedule information for the rest of the Games.

And check out these cool videos we found featuring some of our fave Americans competing today.

Speed Skater and FOGO Allison Baver showing off her dance moves (she dated Dancing with Stars champion Apolo Ohno).

Speed Skater and FOGO Katherine Reutter belting out the National Anthem

Multi-talented Lowell Bailey (biathlon) 'jamming' on the mandolin

ATHLETES COMPETING ON FEBRUARY 26

All competition times Eastern

ALPINE SKIING

Lindsey Vonn

A little known fact about the well-known athlete: has 3 cows on her farm in Austria
Speaks fluent German
Wears a lucky 4-leaf clover necklace that her brothers and sister gave her
Works out 6-8 hours/day, 6 days/week
Click here for her bio

1:00 p.m. - Women's Slalom Run 1 of 2

4:30 p.m. - Women's Slalom Run 2 of 2 - MEDAL EVENT

SPEED SKATING - SHORT TRACK

Katherine Reutter - FOGO!

The 20-year old beautiful break-out speed skating star loves to go boating in the Ozarks with her family
A yoga fanatic, Katherine would love to have her own fitness show
Katherine loves to sing and has a voice fit for Broadway
Click here for her bio
Click here for our GameOn interview with Katherine

Allison Baver - FOGO!

Bright and athletic, Allison is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and also recently earned her MBA
Allison loves to dance and even tried out for the Philadelphia 76ers
A beauty product junkie, Allison says she can't leave the house without her "razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, face powder, mascara...everything!"
During the 2008-2009 season, Allison was pushed 3 laps into a race and sustained multiple injuries to her leg.
- She had to undergo surgery and wasn't able to put weight on her leg for 2 months
Click here for her bio
Click here for our GameOn interview with Allison

Kimberly Derrick

Click here for her bio

Apolo Anton Ohno

A true gourmand, Apolo's nickname used to be "Chunky." Though he's lean as ever, he doesn't deny himself a good meal
Never misses a workout, even if it means doing outdoor plyometrics (working out with nature's "props" like logs and rocks) and running up and down hills
Click here for his bio

JR Celski

New winner of an Olympic Bronze
Many consider him to be the "new" Apolo Ohno - young, charismatic, attractive
If he weren't an athlete, he'd be an architect or musician (plays the guitar)
Loves the indie-music scene and listens to a lot of De La Soul
Click here for his bio

9:00 p.m. - Men's 500m Quarterfinals

9:14 p.m. - Women's 1000m Quarterfinals

9:43 p.m. - Men's 500m Semifinals

9:52 p.m. - Women's 1000m Semifinals

10:14 p.m. - Men's 500 Finals A/B - MEDAL EVENT

10:24 p.m. - Women's 1000m Finals A/B - MEDAL EVENT

10:51 p.m. - Men's 5000m Relay Finals A/B - MEDAL EVENT

SPEED SKATING - LONG TRACK

Chad Hedrick

New dad to daughter Hadley Angel, who was born in March, 2009
The TX native (a rare home state for a winter athlete), hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit TX Special Olympics
His wedding date is tattooed on his left forearm
Click here for his bio

Trevor Marsicano

Aspiring youth pastor, his lucky charm is his bible that he travels everywhere with
Click here for his bio

Jennifer Rodriguez

Four-time Olympian
Listens to rock, freestyle and classic rock to get pumped for competition
Sports 5 tattoos under her speed suit (one is the Olympic rings)
Cuban-American who grew up in Miami
Loves to cycle when she's not on the ice
Click here for her bio

Catherine Raney-Norman

Catherine loves to cook - if she weren't an athlete, she'd be a chef
- She entertains frequently and hosts themed Sunday Brunches - a favorite recipe? "Healthy" Morning Waffles with a Warm Berry Compote
Commutes via snowmobile!
- Catherine lives on top of a mtn and drives a snowmobile or snowcat to training in the winter
- Occasionally, she has to stop for moose!
Click here for her bio

3:30p.m. - Men's Team Pursuit - Quarterfinals

4:20p.m. - Women's Team Pursuit - Quarterfinals

5:07 p.m. - Men's Team Pursuit Semifinals

BOBSLED

Steve Holcomb - FOGO!

Underwent experimental surgery to correct his 20/500 vision; the clear results distracted him since he was so used to blurry vision
A member of the UT National Guard, Steve served In the ARMY from 1999-2006
Steve's a computer geek - he says so himself! He offers tech support to his teammates and can take apart a computer and put it back together
Click here for his bio
Click here for our GameOn interview with Steve

4:00 p.m. - Men's 4-man Run 1 of 4

5:40 p.m. - Men's 4-man Run 2 of 4

SNOWBOARDING - PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM

Michelle Gorgone - FOGO!

Michelle loves to knit and crochet
- She's a huge Boston sports fan, and she knit herself a winter hat in the Celtics' team colors with her name on the front to wear to Celtics games
Olympic ink - Michelle has an Olympic tattoo on her hip
If she weren't an athlete, she'd be a singer. She says she sings more than she talks
Flaunting her gorgeous eyes, Michelle won't leave the house without mascara
Click here for her bio
Click here for our GameOn interview with Michelle

1:00 p.m. - Women's PGS Qualifications

3:15 p.m. - Women's PGS Medal Round

BIATHLON

Tim Burke

Outdoorsman, Tim loves fly fishing, biking, hunting and hiking
Always listening to Neil Young
Click here for his bio

Lowell Bailey

A talented guitarist and mandolinist, Lowell plays in a bluegrass band called Cascade Underground
Eco-conscious, Lowell worked for the Adirondack Council and studied Environmental Studies at U of VT
Click here for his bio

2:30 p.m. - Men's 4x7.5km Relay - MEDAL EVENT

Oscar Watch: Crunch Time

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:03:16 +0100

Where did it go south?

I thought I was making great progress watching films when I was snowed in. Now there are 10 days left and I still have 34 films or so to tackle.

I think that 28 films watched is pretty good and that list includes all of the best picture and best director nominations — more than what most people could say (especially with this year's expansion in the best picture category). Last year I saw 25 out of the 50 nominated films — not too shabby and I definitely think I will be able to beat that percentage this year ... but how?

If only watching films was my job, but alas I have a full-time job from 9 to 5. I wonder if I my office would give me a week off to watch films, maybe I can invent some sort of illness that can only be cured through watching The Last Station (Helen Mirren withdrawal is very serious I hear.) Well, I think it's going to take a lot of careful planning but I'm confident I can still reach my goal — or at least get very close. I'm supposed to appear on the GameOn podcast next week so I'm sure I'll have to explain myself then.

Oscar Buzz

With key wins from at BAFTA and WGA Awards many are saying that The Hurt Locker is now poised to win best picture on March 7th. It appears that despite a win at the Golden Globes, Avatar has lost steam as the race enters the home stretch. However it doesn't mean the race is over. Thanks to the Winter Olympics, the awards season is longer than usual — which means there's more time for people to convince themselves to vote for another film. A new voting system has the potential for an out of the blue contender to walk away with the prize. Bottom-line is anything can happen and that'll keep everybody watching on Oscar Night.

Talking about Oscar Night, the Academy has made the decision not to have original song nominees perform during the ceremony. With double the best picture nominees, they now need more time to "present" them during the program. The reactions are mixed on this decision, often the nominees are unknown songs and are happy to see them go. Others argue that these performances are key opportunities that the nominees don't usually have. I side with the earlier, I didn't know any of the songs last year despite falling in love with Jai Ho AFTER it won the Oscar.

What I've Been Watching

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I'll just be blunt: this was the worst film I've watched during this year's watch. Production of the Transformers squeal was hampered by the Writer's Guild strike but I don't know if that can fully explain how a lackluster story combined with explosions could result in an Academy Award nominated film. Of course the nomination was for sound mixing but still, I can't believe I spent a night watching it. The cars were cool and there was lots of action but if I had to describe the film in 10 seconds I would say this: Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox running away from an explosion/decepticon/gun fire in slow motion. That's all it was. Oh ya there was also badly written sexual innuendos.

Princess and the Frog

Photography first started in black & white, then later evolved into color, panorama, and digital. Black & white photography is still around however since it has that classic look — perfect for hipster snobs to be counter culture yet totally stereotyped. You can say that the same is with animation- where CGI features are king. It was refreshing to see a Disney feature that harks back to the old school animation styles seen in all of their timeless classics. The Princess and the Frog however isn't dated at all, using stylized moments to change up the pace and look. The film is classic Disney with preachy morals, sudden moments of song and dance, and talking animals. I joked with my roommate that you could take the talking alligator, turn him into a bear, replace his trumpet with a banjo, and you have Baloo from the Jungle Book. Even though the film is formulaic it gets the job done as a family friendly flick. Nominated for three Oscars including best animated feature and best original song (twice) tells you that the Academy thinks highly of the film, however Up and Crazy Heart will most likely steal the gold away from this film.

The Cove

This isn't a documentary — it's a caper film. Don't worry though, it's all for a good cause. Ric O’Barry, the dolphin trainer who trained all the dolphins in the 1960's TV series Flipper, is out to expose the secret slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji, Japan. In an act of activism and redemption, he assembles a team of divers, photographers, and "adrenaline junkies" to sneak past the barbed wire fences to document something that the country of Japan has been hiding for years. This real life story has the characters, intrigue, and suspense of any thriller in Hollywood today. At the same time learning about the treatment of some of the smartest mammals in the sea is sure to break your heart. This film is a lock to win best documentary feature and I think everyone needs to see it to find out why.

The Messenger

In films usually the death scene is the climax of drama, in this film it is the delivery of such news. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is an Army Staff Sargent back from Iraq, recovering from the physical and mental injuries of a firefight. Assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service, he partners up with Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to deliver the bad news to next of kin of various fallen soldiers. These scenes dot the movie, giving the film constant drama and tension. This is certainly not an easy job to perform everyday, and the emotional toll affects both Montgomery and Stone. Harrelson's performance is worthy of the supporting actor nomination: a portrait of the man Montgomery could become if his new job gets to him, and perhaps the man he does indeed become in the end. The Messenger is a powerful piece of cinema that thrives on raw emotion and strong acting performances.

My Watch List

10 Days / 34 Films To Go

2010 Oscar Nominated Films & Shorts

Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Julie & Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants