Thoughts From the Dugout: NL Season Preview

Image of Andrew McCutchen

MVP Candidate Andrew McCutchen

There’s moving and shaking going on. As I mentioned in Friday’s piece, I’ll break down each team in a brief season-preview – covering things to look for, intriguing story lines, and expectations for the year. These may be high, or these may be low, but there are expectations moving forward. I’ll try and pick which teams make the playoffs as well, an easier proposition given that a third of baseball’s teams make the postseason now. If I get even four out of ten right, I’ll be pleased as punch.

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Hope Springs Eternal: Thoughts from the Dugout Season Preview

Image of Wrigley FieldMarch Madness is upon us – my bracket’s not busted because come on, Kentucky’s going to win. (Ed. Note – I will redact this to whomever actually wins the tourney so as to appear ultimately omniscient. TC) The NBA is surging towards the postseason – if by surging, we mean limping at a fetid pace with most relevant starters resting on the bench. Hockey is WILD FOR THE WILD a thing that happens. Football is…well, let’s not.

Meanwhile, the National Pastime returns in less than two weeks. Two weeks! Anything is possible!

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Crimes of Passion: A Look at “Wild Tales”

Image from Wild TalesIf there’s one universal truth that binds humanity together, it’s this: everyone has had a moment where they want to absolutely destroy whomever has wronged them. Whether over a stolen parking space, obnoxious behavior in public, or a long-standing grudge, every human being on Earth has been subject to a strong desire for revenge at some point. It’s in our nature – or so the Argentinian nominee for Best Foreign Film at last year’s Oscars would have us believe. Wild Tales, currently playing in an art house near you, makes the case that revenge is an animalistic urge, to which we are all subject. The black comedy proceeds to argue its case in the form of six short stories segued together by theme in this anthology film.

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Moving Forward: An Update on the Addison Recorder

Three years ago, I sat down in Julius Meinl with some friends and tossed around the idea of starting our own website, a place where we could write what we wanted to write, where we could talk about sports, movies, games, drinks…the skies were the limit.

Now, as we draw closer to the third anniversary of the Recorder and with a stable of 15 writers, over 400 posts, and multiple new features coming soon, we felt it was time for an upgrade.

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2015 Academy Awards Re-Cap, or (The Unexpected Virtues of Birdman)

birdman oscar

Travis: Well, that happened.

The 2015 Academy Awards Ceremony was last night, and Birdman cleaned up, winning awards for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography. Alex, I know you’re feeling…well, feelings about this. Talk me through what you’re going through right now. And remember, you’re in a safe space. Don’t hold back.

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Oscar Round-Up 2015

The Oscar Season proper runs from about mid-December to whenever the actual ceremony gets up and going. However, the movies it celebrates come out (sometimes) year round. Below is a collection of Recorder articles about many of the various Oscar films, centralized for your reading pleasure before the big event!

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Thoughts from the Dugout: Fail to the Chief

selig2

So, Bug Selig has retired, and new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has already started making his mark. But before we bid farewell to the erstwhile Commish, we need to properly and truly put him into context – the debate has already started about whether or not Bud Selig is likely to gain election into the Hall of Fame when the Expansion Era Committee votes again in 2017. (It’s not an open and shut case…but let’s be real – he’s probably going in.)

But where does he rank when compared with the other array of men to have held the position of Commissioner? How does he stack up in the illustrious history of powerful angry white men appointed by the owners to protect and serve the financial, political, and esoteric interests of their business interests*? How does Selig compare?

*protect the interests of the game of baseball. Sorry, I get them confused.

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