Blind Side Accolades & Update

Image of Michael Oher courtesy of Bleacher Report.



At the Academy Awards last night, Sandra Bullock won Best Actress for her role in "The Blind Side", capping an awards season where she also won a Golden Globe for playing the Southern mom that takes Michael Oher under her wing and helps him achieve a life outside of the Memphis slums where he grew up. The film, made on a $30 million budget, tiny by Hollywood standards, has gone on to gross more than $250 million. Previously, I had reviewed the outstanding book here on FTRS and the movie version didn't disappoint. Most of the movie was straight from the book (some chapters regarding the technicalities of the left tackle position didn't make it onto the screen), and the omissions that were done made sense for a general audience. If you missed out on seeing it in theaters, "The Blind Side" will be out on DVD March 23.



But what about the real Michael Oher? Where is he now and how is he doing? Oher was drafted in the 1st round, 23rd pick overall of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Weighing in at 309 lbs. and measuring 6'5", Oher made a strong impression on the Ravens coaches early to the point where he became the team's starting right tackle. Over the course of the season, he started all 16 games (11 at right tackle, 5 at left tackle, the position he played during his "Blind Side" days), and was runner-up in the Offensive Rookie of the Year polling. Oher has played well enough that there is some speculation in Baltimore that within the next season or two, Oher will switch to left tackle full time, a hard task considering the premiere pass-rushers in the NFL attack from the left side, hence the blind side.



I've embedded three YouTube clips into this post. The first is NFL Network's coverage of the draft when Michael Oher was selected. The second is an interview of Michael Oher by NBC's Bob Costas from last November, midway through Oher's rookie season in Baltimore. The third is an interview with the Tuohy family and Fox News' Mike Huckabee.

Collinsworth Moves to the Booth

Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News.

When the next season of NBC's Sunday Night Football debuts September 13, one household name will be missing. John Madden, famous for his "Boom!", telestrator drawing, and larger-than-life personality, retired earlier this year. Replacing him in the booth will be Cris Collinsworth, shown above. Of the NFL color analysts available, Collinsworth was one of the better choices. Some might say he's too plain for broadcast, but he just gives you straight-up commentary, a welcome relief from some other NFL broadcasting teams. For those that have played Madden NFL 09, you've already heard Collinsworth as the color commentator. Paired with Al Michaels, Collinsworth and SNF should be fine when the Bears and Packers square off on the 13th. Now, if only they could get rid of sideline reporter Andrea Kremer and her stupid, "no duh" questions, then SNF would be the absolute best NFL broadcasting team out there (them and FOX's team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver are my faves).

Here's how Collinsworth sounds in Madden 09 (his voice is the first heard):

Do Young People Care About the Olympics?

I've been asking around (co-workers, friends at church, etc.) who has been watching the Olympics and the answer isn't good. Most have said they don't care about the events or don't know when it's on. One of my co-workers even asked why I only root for the American athletes!

However, according to NBC and Nielsen's early numbers, the Beijing Games have more people in the 18-34 demo watching (22% increase over Athens, 14% over Sydney.) In addition, the Games' median viewing age has been going up from 38.7 in 1992 (Barcelona) to 47.1 in Athens.

One could speculate that the median age increase is due to aging Baby Boomers, but the fundamental question remains the same: Isn't patriotism and rooting for your countrymen universal? Do we not want to see our fellow Americans triumph like the men's swimming team did in the 4x100 relay Sunday night? Do we not want to root for Michael Phelps' attempt for eight gold medals? Most of these athletes (namely everyone besides the basketball players) have day jobs that don't involve their sport or are student athletes (like Phelps', a student at University of Michigan).

Weekend Olympic Roundup

From left to right: Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak. Picture courtesy of the Daily Mail.

Over the weekend, the Olympics got off to a terrific start amid political tensions Friday night in a fantastic opening ceremony. Of the past two Olympics (2004 Summer in Athens and the 2006 Winter in Torino, Italy), the Beijing opener blew both of them away. From the fireworks to the lighting of the cauldron to the impressive choreography of the performers, but it was Yao Ming and little Lin Hao, a survivor of the earthquake that hit China in May, that stole the show.



When Yao plays basketball during the NBA season, he plays in a very strict manner. I have hardly seen the guy smile or laugh on or off the basketball court, much less show any exuberance. Friday night, guiding Hao around the stadium and later holding him in his arms, he showed a compassion and tenderness I've never seen from him.

Swimming phenom Michael Phelps won his first gold of the Games in the 400 IM. There were some great volleyball matches (womens' indoor: USA vs. Japan; mens' beach: USA's Gibb/Rosenthal vs. their Dutch nemesis Boersma/Ronnes during a steady downpour) with both USA teams winning. Both American basketball teams soundly defeated their opening opponents. The volleyball news was particularly good as the American volleyball teams were reeling from the death of Tod Bachman and the injury to his wife, Barbara. Both were stabbed by a Chinese man Saturday who committed suicide by jumping off the Drum Tower before police could arrest him. Further investigation is ongoing, but it's looking like an "isolated" incident.

But the greatest moment of the weekend was the Men's Swimming 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay late Sunday night. It was a three-way battle between the Australians, French, and the Americans. The French anchor swimmer, Alain Bernard, boasted that the French would "smash" the Americans. Phelps started off and kept pace with the leading Aussies, Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones kept the Americans in the hunt, looking like the silver medalists. Then it came down to the final 50 meters with the two anchors, USA's Jason Lezak and France's Alain Bernard, and Lezak just turned on the motor (Lezak would later say he got a "supercharge") and beat Bernard by .08 of a second, shattering a world record in the process. It was easily the most thrilling swimming match anyone has ever seen. A link to watch the video is here.



A couple of observations as to the broadcasting of the Games:

1) Does NBC need to have flashy graphics all the time? Specifically, the peacock logo which at times looks as if it has a super bright spotlight on it that fades on and off. It's been incredibly distracting, especially during the Opening Ceremonies.

2) After watching the swimming coverage, I now cringe when NBC poolside analyst Andrea Kremer opens her mouth. It's not so much in how she asks questions, it's in what she asks. In last night's coverage, she repeatedly asked stupid questions akin to, "You just won a gold medal, how do you feel?" On her Wikipedia page, it says she has "been critical of efforts to minimize side line reporting during games." Gee, I wonder why. But that's a story for another post.

3) What is it with commentators calling games before they finish? NBC commentator Rowdy Gaines practically called the relay for the French last night with 100 meters left!

4) What is with the IOC and NBC's crackdown of Olympic footage on YouTube? The video player on NBC's main Olympics website is very selective of what systems it supports, essentially excluding a portion of the population that may not have the most up-to-date computing systems. I understand the crackdown is for copyright purposes, but isn't there a way to allow all users to see footage of the Games if they missed their broadcast?