Next stop, Ford Field!

Remember what I said earlier about Livonia Stevenson and Troy having already played? Excellent news, I'm here with that report. Livonia Stevenson is marching forward following a 40-35 defeat over Troy. Next stop, Ford Field, trying to keep the perfect season intact and win the state championship. More on that later. It was a wild game to say the least. Here's how it went down. Livonia Stevenson started with the ball first, and scored on the opening drive. Troy then scored on their opening drive, 7-7 all. Stevenson scores on its next two possesions and takes a 21-7 lead into the second quarter. Troy bounced back, able to tie the game at 21 all at the half. And if that weren't made enough, Troy scored the only points of the third quarter, leading, 28-21. I'll let the Livonia Observer take it from here.

Troy appeared to be on the doorstep of its first state finals appearance since 1994 when running back Nick Gallina scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with only 7:40 remaining. Kevin Muma's extra point gave the Colts an eight-point cushion, 35-27. That TD occurred after the Spartans' Austin White had scored on a 2-yard TD run with 9:47 left in regulation to pull Stevenson within one, 28-27, but it remained a one-point difference in Troy's favor after the extra point attempt was botched. But Austin White, the sophomore running back who led all rushers with 173 yards on 16 carries, answered with an 80-yard TD run just 18 seconds later to pull the Spartans to within two, 35-33. The Spartans, however, had to burn a pair of timeouts, including one because there were only 10 players on the field while lining up for the two-point conversion. The Colts' defense then stacked up White short of the goal line. Troy took the ensuing kickoff from its own 35-yard line and drove down to the Stevenson 32 with less than four minutes to go and appeared to be in command. But after quarterback Branko Hamilton threw an incomplete pass with 3:21 remaining to stop the clock, the Colts tried a screen pass to Gallina that Stevenson linebacker Joey Doulette picked off and returned to his own 48. "They scouted it; they read the book on us and they were ready," Troy coach Gary Griffith said. "It (the screen) is a play we've used all year and normally he (Gallina) is magic." The Stevenson linebacker, meanwhile, had an inkling the screen was about to happen. "We knew it was third-and-8 and that they needed it," said Doulette, who came up with his second interception of the year. "We practiced against it all week, and we knew it was a big play for them all year. I told our guys 'the screen' was coming because they hadn't used it the entire time." The Spartans, however, found themselves on the ropes with a fourth-and-12 at their own 46, only to have Mitchell White hit Wade Stahl over the middle for a key 18-yard first down pickup to keep Stevenson's hopes alive with only 2:10 to go. After the Stevenson quarterback connected again with Stahl on a 9-yard pass down to the Troy 25, White's twin brother, Myles, took the ball on a reverse handoff. The senior wide receiver was nearly tackled for a substantial loss, only to reverse his field and find a wall of blockers for a 15-yard gain. On the very next play with only 1:34 remaining, Mitchell White located Stahl open in the end zone for the game-winning, 10-yard TD pass. Trailing for the first time in the second half, Troy had one more shot and crossed the Spartans' 50 during the final minute, but a 5-yard sack by linebacker John Saaman and another big tackle by Wyatt Stahl on Hamilton on fourth down short of the first-down marker sealed the victory for Stevenson with just 18 seconds left.

The only reason I used the local paper's article for this is quite simple. My mere words wouldn't and couldn't do it enough justice. But here is Livonia Stevenson, knocking off another surprise team and venturing to a place not many high school fottball experts expected them to go, Ford Field for the Division 1 state championship. But the Spartans aren't the only unexpected team to arrive into the Lions' den. So is Macomb Dakota. They're the defending state champs, also coming into this game 13-0, and riding a 21 game winning streak. Despite those impressive numbers, the pundits thought they would see downtown Detroit, either, expecting them to lose in the semifinals. Still, two teams at 13-0 who no one expected to play for the title will do just that, Livonia Stevenson and Macomb Dakota. All I can say is, "SPARTANS, PREPARE FOR GLORY!"

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Alicia Keys "No One"

The 313 Second Movie Review: "Beowulf"

Hey guys. Welcome back to probably the last 313 Second Movie Review of the year. Yeah, I know, sad, isn't it? Don't worry. I'll be back with this in '08. But before we get ahead of ourselves, there's a movie to look at. So here we go with the movie "Beowulf". The film stars Ray Winstone as Beowulf, Crispin Glover as Grendel, Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother, Anthony Hopkins as Hrothgar, Robin Wright Penn as Wealthow, John Malkovich as Unferth, Brendan Gleeson as Wiglaf, and Alison Lohman as Ursula. Now, here we look at 8th century Denmark, where Hrothgar, the king of his people, is celebrating a great win over an enemy with his kingdom. But, as parties often do, they get a little too loud. Maybe not loud enough to disturb an average human standing, say, five miles away. But when a giant monster who has all five senses heightened that far away, it's bad news. Enter Grendel. Grendel destroys Hrothgar's party and slaughters most of his men. These actions force the king to shut down his beloved mead hall and ends all "merriment, joy, and fornication" in the kingdom until Grendel is dead. (DAMN!) Enter our hero, Beowulf. He and his men "invite" Grendel back to the mead hall with another loud feast. Surely enough, the freak of nature is back, but Beowulf fights him (naked, in the most uneasy scene for a straight male this year) and slices off the monster's arm, which makes Grendel suffer a slow and painful death. Beowulf and his men go into the forest and come back to Hrothgar and Wealthow with news that Grendel and his oh so seductive mother have been killed. As a reward, Hrothgar names Beowulf his successor. However, not all is quite right, as Unferth, one of Hrothgar's men who is working to move the people from monsters and mead to some new thing called Christianity, smells something rotten in Denmark (sorry, I couldn't resist). Years later, Beowulf, still with muscles but now also with gray hair, has received the kingdom and Wealthrow's hand in marriage. For some reason, the sex life her has been less then quality, but it's setting of fireworks with his teenage mistress, Ursula. More than likely, it has something do with what happened when Beowulf and his crew first arrived. Now, calling this movie a special effects specticle just doesn't do it justice. The genius we all know and love as Robert Zemeckis used the same process he used in "The Polar Express" (and what I reported was used for the creation of The Silver Surfer earlier in the year). The effects in "Beowulf", however, far outperform those in "The Polar Express" (still a quality movie, though). Most of the characters seem so real, you can swear up and down that's a live action movie. As for the plot, those of you who had the misfortune of reading the poem in high school, you'll appreciate this movie. Zemeckis makes it easy for almost all viewers. Instead of putting you to sleep, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. And as for Angelina Jolie's hotness in this film, even in animated form, she looks smokin'. Of course, I'll gladly spend the night with you, Angelina. But you better wait until I'm done with Jennifer Aniston. ;)

Well, like I said, this is probably my last 313 Second Movie Review for 2007. So sad. God, look at all the films I reviewed this year. "Zodiac", "300", "Blades of Glory", "Grindhouse", "Spider-Man 3", "28 Weeks Later", "Shrek the Third", "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", "Knocked Up", "Ocean's Thirteen", "Surf's Up", "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", "Evan Almighty", "Live Free or Die Hard", "Ratatouille", "Transformers", "License to Wed", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", "Hairspray", "The Simpsons Movie", "The Bourne Ultimatum", "Superbad", "Rush Hour 3", "Stardust", "The Nanny Diaries", "Good Luck Chuck", "American Gangster", "Beowulf". The best part is when I said I'd review only the movies I'd probably like, I did just that. While "300" is the one movie out of all those that I'd be pulling to get nominated for Best Picture at the next Oscars, I never once left the theater disappointed. Don't worry guys. This feature will return in 2008.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Rilo Kiley "Silver Lining"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Lions vs. Cardinals game

The Hero: Karlos Dansby. The Arizona linebacker intercepted two passes and forced a momentum-killing fumble early in the third quarter.
The Goats: Lions blockers. At times, it seemed like there were more Cardinals behind the Lions' line than Lions, as Jon Kitna was sacked four times and Lions' rushers were held to minus-18 yards on the ground.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Armor For Sleep "Williamsburg"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game

The Hero: Tyler Donovan. Wisconsin's quaterback threw for 245 yards and one touchdown, and ran for 49 yards and another score.
The Goat: Shawn Crable. The U-M linebacker, a Butkus Award semifinalist, racked up 30 yards in personal fouls on Wisconsin's first touchdown drive.

From the Michigan St. vs. Purdue game

The Hero: Brain Hoyer. The Spartans quaterback was 22-for-31 for 266 yards and two touchdowns, and he also ran for a score. The numbers would have been better if his receivers hadn't dropped a couple of passes.
The Goat: Curtis Painter. While the Purdue QB did pass for 344 yards and a touchdown to go with his two rushing scores, his two interceptions led to 10 points for MSU.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Keyshia Cole "Shoulda Let You Go"

Fight, with might, for double blue and white

Here's the thing about high school football here in Michigan. You lose to a team in the regular season, there's a good chance you can go for revenge later on during the playoffs. So, after Livonia Franklin lost to my alma mater, Livonia Stevenson, in Week 2 of the season, you'd expect them to come into the match-up fired up and looking for revenge. That, the Patroits did. But even that was not enough for Livonia Franklin, as their Cinderella run ended with a 10-7 defeat against my boys, the Spartans. If it weren't for Johnny Myshock's (I've been friends with his older sister for years) field goal in the third quarter, who knows where the game could have gone. Those three points proved to be the difference and the game winner. Now, when the playoffs began, nobody expected Livonia Stevenson to make it past regionals. Oops. It's off to the semifinals for the Spartans now, but they're not the only unexpected guest to the final four. They have to face off with a surprise team from Troy, who people didn't expect to make it out of districts. (NOTE: That game has already been played, but that is for a different post.) Go get 'em Spartans! Tonight, we dine in Hell!

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Wyclef Jean "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Broncos vs. Lions game

The Hero: Shaun Rogers. He recorded 2 1/2 sacks in his day job and moonlighted as a DB, returning an interception 66 yards for a touchdown.
The Goats: Broncos' o-linemen. The line, couldn't protect its quaterback (five sacks, injured starter Jay Cutler) or produce a running game. Dishonorable mention: Denver receivers for a whole bunch of dropped passes.

From the Hawks vs. Pistons game

The Hero: Richard Hamilton. Rip dropped 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting in his first game of the season. He fouled out in the fourth quarter, but other than that, showed little signs of rust.
The Goat: Al Horford. Sure, the rookie from Grand Ledge has only played two games. But he finished with only three points -- all in the first half -- and eight of his 11 rebounds came before halftime.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Jay-Z "Blue Magic"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Michigan vs. Michigan State game

The Hero: Chad Henne. Now this is the kind of performance to have in your last game against the in-state rival. And to think he was in the running to be the game's goat as the senior quaterback overthrew several open receivers that could have resulted in big plays. But he came back to direct the two TD drives in the fourth quarter, and he hit Super Mario for the winning 31-yard score.
The Goat: Brian Hoyer. When he missed a wide-open Devin Thomas early in the game, you had a feeling it would be a rough day for the MSU quaterback. He was 19-for-35 and 161 yards, a very ordinary passing day. The Spartans pretty much eschewed the passing game in grinding out the short-lived lead in the second half, but one big play in the passing game could have led to victory.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Boys Like Girls "Hero/Heroine Version 2"

And the Spartans keep marching forward

Livonia Stevenson has captured its first ever District Championship with a 42-21 victory over Novi. That means the Spartans are still alive and well in their hunt for their first ever state championship. But it won't be easy at Regionals. They gotta play another team that won their first ever District Championship. In fact, Livonia Stevenson is quite familiar with this opponent. They square off on Friday with croos-town rival Livonia Franklin. You might remember me saying that the Spartans beat the Patroits, 38-26, back in Week Two. Now, the Patroits, who are ranked 256th out of the 256 teams in the playoffs, have recovered greatly from injuries and suspensions to pull upset after uspset. But I have a feeling this Cinderella story will hit midnight on Friday night.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Fall Out Boy "I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)"

The 313 Second Movie Review: "American Gangster"

Thought I was done with thise article? No way. Welcome to the return of the 313 Second Movie Review. Today, I will be looking at "American Gangster". The film stars Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, and Russell Crowe as Richie Roberts. So here's how the story goes down. We are introduced to Frank Lucas, the right-hand man to Harlem's most dangerous black gangster and most authoritive street figure, Bumpy Williams. When Bumpy kicks the bucket, Frank takes over the business without so much as asking the Italian-Americans or other black gangs. Quickly and ruthlessly, Frank takes over the high-profitting Manhatten drug trade. So Frank goes about his trade without using middlemen procurers who cut the heroine and cut the potency before packaging and marketing. Frank's methods are much more direct, going stright to Thailand to make business deals with the poppie farmers who grow the products themselves. And listen to me, the way Frank gets the bricks to America will make your stomach churn if you're a red-blooded American like me. It only takes a short amount of time before Frank starts running a monopoly on Manhatten heroine dealing. Enter Richie, a New Jersey cop with no martial morals, but goes by the book on when he's on the job. He's also taking law classes at night to become a lawyer. The poor guy becomes a pariah in the police world when he and his partner refuse to take a bribe of $1,000,000.00 from a dealer. Keep in mind, most of the cops in drug enforcement back then were corrupt. And things keep going downhill from there. Richie's partnet OD's and he's going through a bitter divorce. Plus his job isn't doing too great. One thing that does go right for the grizzled cop is that he becomes a member of a federal drug busting ring. As Richie and his cream-of-the-crop drug enforecemnt cops starting taking down the drug trade, Frank marries a Puerto Rican mamacita, moves his ma to a mansion outside the city, and uses his family members to set up fronts for the drug trafficking. Even more high-profile drug lords such as the notorious Nicky Barnes couldn't keep up with Frank at this point. Now, I'll admit, the story line is a bit cliched, but it works absolutely perfectly in this film, making it one of the best of the year (though it doesn't get the praise I gave "300"). And as directors like Zac Synder, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarentino, Sam Raimi, Steven Soderberg, Michael Bay, Paul Greengrass, and Brett Ratner proved earlier in the year, Ridley Scott shows why he is such a genius at making movies. "American Gangster" is a world-class, top-notch movie that cannot be missed.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Lil Mama "G-Slide"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Pistons vs. Heat game

The Hero: Tayshaun Prince. Since when is Prince this aggressive? He nearly tied his carrer high -- 24 -- for field-goal attempts, shooting 23.
The Goat: Shaquille O'Neal. Miami got nada from O'Neal in the first half, as he missed his lone field-goal attempt.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Foo Fighters "Long Road To Ruin"

Cyber Sunday results

And I just continue winning. I was able to up my record to 5-2 following yet another successful batch of PPV picks. That means I am now 122-96 overall. I gotta give big ups to Batista, CM Punk, Kane (he replaced Matt Hardy), Triple H, and Rey Mysterio. Randy Orton and Melina, go screw yourselves. I gotta say this, I am on FIRE! May the good times keep on coming.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Fergie "Clumsy"

313's Heroes and Goats

From the Lions vs. Bears game

The Hero: Kevin Jones. Regaining a form I didn't even know he had, the Lions tailback bulled for 105 yards and the team's only touchdown.
The Goat: Brian Griese. The former Wolverine QB's four interceptions were well-publicized, but he didn't do so well outside of those, either, hitting 22 of 40 passes for 208 yards for Chicago.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Timbaland "Apologize"

Cyber Sunday card and picks

WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. fan's choice of Shawn Michaels, Mr. Kennedy or Jeff Hardy

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Batista vs. The Undertaker with fan's choice of Steve Austin, JBL, or Mick Foley as special referee

ECW Championship Match: CM Punk vs. fan's choice of Big Daddy V, John Morrison or The Miz

United States Championship Match: MVP vs. Matt Hardy in the fan's choice of a Wrestling match, MMA match or a Boxing match

Triple H vs. Umaga in the fan's choice of a Street Fight, Steel Cage match or a First Blood match

Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay in the fan's choice of a Stretcher match, No DQ match, or a Shilleglah on a Pole match

Divas Halloween Costume Contest with Mickie James, Melina, Lilian Garcia, Maria, Victoria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Layla and Brooke

I know this is a little late, and I am sorry. But better late than never, right guys? Anyways, regardless of the stipulations, I'll take Randy Orton, Batista, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, and Melina. Anyways, right now, I am 117-94. Let's see if that holds up after this PPV.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: Linkin Park "Shadow Of The Day"