slikmar

The sound you hear from the east coast is all the Philly fans becoming, well Philadelphians, and lamenting the loss of the hope for a Harper Trout outfield and all the Yankee fans jaws drops as they KNEW there was no way he wasn't going to come play for them with Judge and Stanton.

Rumor has it that Trout is about to sign an extension equaling Harper's length for basically an additional 100 million (under paid if you compare WAR, which shows that Trout should have got twice as much as Harper) making him effectively an Angel for life, or at least until he is 38. It's funny, I can remember when Puig came up and one or two radio guys were trying to say they would rather have him then Trout. A year after that, they admitted they had been WAY wrong.

I once heard an argument from one of the national radio guys, when asked why they seem to talk about the Yankees/Red Sox so much, that it is because as soon as they talk about someone else they get less calls/attention. I think it is a self feeding process, they "feature" them (Boston basically being ESPN's most local team), people get to hating them, outside of the region, so then more people call in to complain about something they have done or are doing equals higher ratings mean they increasingly feature them. I realize some don't think this, but I think the whole Yankee/Red Sox rivalry being the "best" in baseball is really due to ESPN hyping it up. I have always considered the Dodgers/Giants to be bigger or the Cardinals/Cubs. When your rivalry is really one sided for 80% of the time the 2 teams have played, its not really a rivalry. But, thanks to ESPNs hyping of the Red Sox, they have been able to increase their tv revenues and become a bigger rival. 

Funnily, the two teams MOST responsible for excessive lengths in games are the 2 teams establishment loves the most, Yankees and Red Sox, with their 4 hour snoozefests. too many of their hitters and strategy was about fouling balls off, taking pitches (usually with the help of umpires apparently feeling if a Red Sox or Yankee didn't swing it must be a ball), stepping in and out of the box, going through 12 step routines at the plate (100 if you average in Garciaparra back in the day). So Baseball has to try to fix those 2 teams without apparently making it about them.

41 minutes ago, zslane said:

My problem--and it is a relatively minor one, to be fair--with the personality of Carol Danvers is that she spends the entire movie being so annoyingly smug. That's different, in my view, from being supremely confident or competent or "badass". Smugness is being way too satisfied and impressed with oneself, and it is a bit off-putting if you ask me. But other than that, I had no problem with her character. I certainly had no problem with her actually being supremely confident, competent, or "badass". I just didn't care for her being so bloody smug about it the whole time. It detracted somewhat from her likability, which is a shame, because I really want to like the character as much as I liked Wonder Woman.

So, exactly like Tom Cruise's character from Top Gun, which, I am pretty sure, is exactly what they were going for. She was, for all intents and purposes, a female version of that character. So, given you read that, it means she acted the part perfectly. I took that as being both a Kree thing AND her original personality fighting to get to the surface against their brainwashing. And, as the movie went on and she interacted with Fury and then the Rambeaus, you saw more humanity and confidence as opposed to the smugness.

Football has the illusion of being faster, due to the clock. Also, I have really enjoyed watching replay of NFL games where they basically take out all the time between end of play and start of next one. feels like an hour and a half.

Makes me wonder, if you took out of baseball on replays any meetings and the time between pitches (ie edit out the time it takes to get the sign, the batter to go through his magic ritual including candles) how fast Baseball would be.

16 hours ago, Pariah said:

It may be a question of who the Kree would irritate most if they destroyed Earth. The aforementioned Thor and Odin come immediately to mind, although Zeus and Hercules and their lot certainly seem to have a vested interest in the place as well.

IIRC, this is almost the plot for the original crisis, that the major races of the universe realized that this small low tech planet had an inordinate amount of super powered beings. I mean, currently the GLC have 5 living humans in their ranks. Not sure there are more then 2 of any other.

Thor said the Bi-Frost was a version of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge in his Technology and Magic are one and the same to us description to Jane in the first Thor movie. I think the implication now is that Stormbreaker has the ability to open said transport itself, using the power, apparently, of the sun that Thor had to focus on it during forging. Prior to that, they needed the technology in the bridge/dome that Heimdall guarded. Loki knew other ways in and out of Asgaard that used magic, but not necessarily dark-magic.

3 hours ago, zslane said:

The "lightspeed engine" that Mar-Vell was working on was on a whole other level compared to the technology in Kree vessels (or anyone's vessels for that matter). I think the fact that it took 22 hours for Yon-Rogg's ship to reach Earth from Hala (or wherever it started) served two purposes in the story. One, to give our heroes time to prepare for their arrival. And two, to show just how limited space travel is for even a highly advanced civilization like the Kree. I think the Bifrost was the closest to what Mar-Vell was close to achieving, but the Bifrost was limited to travel to/from Asgard, whereas Mar-Vell's engine could be theoretically built into any vessel and transport it anywhere in the MCU instantaneously (because that's what the Space stone does).

Agreed. And the fact they were using the tesseract (which when built into a projector allowed an entire army of aliens to invade New York in Avengers 1) lends credence to that theory. It would have been interesting if Scarlett Witch had not been dissolved, showing that people whose powers were created using the Infinity Stones (ie Captain Marvel and Scarlett Witch) were unaffected. Would have given an additional basis for why she might be more effective against Thanos (power level aside).

I think I am right with Hermit's list above, funnily, for pretty much same reasons. I would put Captain Marvel it just below the levels of IM and BP.

Just got back, put me in the crowd that liked the movie. I thought Brie pulled off pretty well a person who, for 6 years with only vague flashing memories, has had her mind messed with and been repeatedly told to harness her emotions. I took the few jokes and emotional outbursts as her subconscious fighting back. I thought her interactions with Fury were great. I agree that Skrulls weren't without sin. Loved the shoutout to Photon.

It is a trope, but Steve needs to take Red Skull over the cliff where Thanos threw Gamora as part of Steve sacrificing his life, to get rid of a greater evil. Would be apt and would be a shoutout to Holmes taking Moriarty over the falls. Tony needs to sacrifice himself to bring Peter back, I think. Looking at Peter being the future and not himself.

And after watching preview, they can, once again, just take my money.

IIRC, from the First Avenger, Howard found the Tesseract relatively quickly after Steve went down, while looking for Steve. I would probably say within 6 months to a year.

Wonder if we will see parts of the 7 hidden cities or something we should have seen in Iron Fist.

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 7:21 PM, Pariah said:

I found this article informative on that point:

 

Did Brie Larson Say Captain Marvel 'Wasn't Made For' White Men?

 

to;dr version: No, that's not what she said, and what she did say wasn't even about Captain Marvel.

How dare you try and bring reality into the internet rantings. Sheesh, next time you will be asking people to calm down and actually discuss things.

4 hours ago, Hugh Neilson said:

What I did not like in the plot - she's that powerful, but they just integrate her into a Kree military subunit for six years and hope it will all work out?  That was a major conceit in the movie that does not hold up well to close inspection.  But then, the Supreme Intelligence always thinks many steps ahead - maybe there is a reason (for some aspiring movie maker to reveal a few more films down the road, if they did not think it through yet)  In the comics, the Kree are at an evolutionary dead end and SI is looking for a way to spark them into evolving.

Perhaps the SI foresaw Thanos's insane plot (something he apparently had tried but failed to finish before) coming about and wanted a being out there capable of stopping him.

I find it interesting that as Fox struggles with the Phoenix storyline, Marvel studios has created a female hero close to that power level (though with different powers). Damn I wish they hadn't retried that storyline before Marvel got the X-Men back.

Ok, I was wondering based on your post. Thought you were saying they showed how he lost his eye, which would seem to have been in contrast to what was implied in Winter Soldier.

On March 7, 2019 at 8:33 PM, RDU Neil said:

 

THAT'S how Fury loses his eye? THAT'S how the Avengers come to be? It was like they took the worst writers of the Agents of SHIELD series and said, "YOu get a movie!" 
 

I have to ask, having not seen yet, but didn't they imply in winter soldier that Fury lost his eye taking a bullet for Redford's character sometime back. Is that in this movie?

Are we sure RDU Neil saw the same movie everyone else did and the theater didn't pull a switch and show some other movie while calling it Captain Marvel? Just wondering, as I will probably see it next thursday.

3 hours ago, Cygnia said:

Wouldn't The English answer depend on whether the BIO Prof was Irish or Scottish? I mean, all their other problems seem to be from The English, so why not the Famine. Course, the answer Humans could be true too, if you didn't need to feed those parasites, wouldn't have needed the potatos and they could just feed the little bugs eating them.

3 hours ago, Greywind said:

I haven't seen anything in the Capt. Marvel trailers that isn't Capt. Marvel.

Felt like they were promoting her as an interstellar cop, which is purely Nova. Maybe I am seeing it wrong. Also, the Nova I really followed is the one that happened during Annihilation Wave and after, so he was the cosmic level player they seem to be building her toward. But I also agree, power effects are truly Ms. Marvel/Binary.

Part of the problem with the Phoenix Saga in movies is that Fox has steered away from the Cosmic Entity inhabiting a mortal part of the mythos. As Zslane said, it's sad that we won't see the MCU get to deal with this, as they have introduced their cosmic side. Its why I can't wait to see them deal with the FF at some point hopefully. Not sure I am happy with them turning Ms. Marvel into Nova, meaning we wont get a Nova movie, but I give them the benefit of the doubt. A HUGE part of that saga when it originally ended was the fact the X-Men had to fight for her life though hopelessly outclassed, something Fox doesn't really have the stable to enact.

12 hours ago, Badger said:

Well, Philly was finally dumb enough to give Harper what he wanted.

 

Pitch clocks got talked about, but will be on hold it seems.  (never in favor. from what I have seen this spring in games don't like it.  It starts when the pitcher gets the ball, except I've seen it count down even when hitter out of box.  Hitter must be in box before it starts in my book)

 

DH in NL was talked.  I prefer the DH.  But, I don't really care one way or the other.  I do find the so-called NL strategy to be overrated.  I figured out the double-switch by age 10.  And what happens to the pitcher in the batting order is relatively by the book.  I feel it is more quantity over quality.

 

3-batter requirement for pitchers.  Hate it, and hate it.  I hate the large bullpens and frequent pitching changes.  But, this lopsides the scales to the hitters.  Causing more problems than it solves.  Before I can be on board, Pinch hitting would have to be limited in that 3-batter window (I would allow only the first batter faced can be lifted for a pinch hitter, the following 2 can only be lifted due to injury or the spot occupied by a pitcher*)

 

 

*And my idea would cause even more problems.  Not that the powers that be would even consider my addition.  They want offense.  To be brutally honest, Manfred is an idiot.  Who seems to want 19-16 scores, but the same games somehow  last only 42 minutes.   I guess I prefer as a commissioner over Goodell, but it that really saying anything positive for Manfred?

 

Pretty much agree with you.

On the Harper signing though, despite being a lot of money and a lot of years, it's actually only 14th in annual value, which means they might still have a little flexibility to sign someone else. (https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/league-info/highest-paid-players/)

2 hours ago, Cygnia said:

Could even do something like Pun enters room of 100 people, decimates them. then Pun in, Ten Dead.

so either someone REALLY thought about that name and logo or the REALLY didn't.

perhaps imbibing copious amounts of your product in testing just before designing the logo and name is a bad idea and a lesson for everyone.

As Mike Nesmith once said, the puppet that became a real band. Always a fan of them.