Albums of the 90s

Here are the top 10 albums of the 1990s. Basically based on impact. Interestingly, six of the ten came out in 1991 or 1992. They are not listed in any particular order. These are not necessarily my favorite albums. Too lazy to do write-ups...if questions, ask or look it up...

Nevermind- Nirvana (1991)

Ten-Pearl Jam (1991)

Ok Computer- Radiohead (1997)

Automatic for the People- REM (1992)

Actung Baby- U2 (1991)

The Chronic- Dr. Dre (1992)

Metallica- Metallica (1991)

Jagged Little Pill- Alanis Morrisette (1995)

Unplugged- Nirvana (1994)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)- And then she went crazy...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Worthy Acts Part IV

Here is the final installment.

The Smiths


Pro: Unique, massively popular, influential, there is even a great feud

Con: 1980s band

Steppenwolf

Pro: Hitmakers, generation defining song in “Born to be Wild”

Con: Canadian, Born to be Wild is a bit cliché

Sting

Pro: Incorporates Jazz and other influences, tons of hits, he is Sting

Con: Influence is with the Police, at times pop and at times jazz rock, Already in with the Police

The Stray Cats

Pro: Brian Setzer is a great guitarist, unique, influence, important songs, more than a throwback act

Con: From the 80s, not top of mind

Donna Summer

Pro: Mixed rock with disco

Con: She’s the disco queen

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Pro: One of the greatest guitarists ever

Con: Died in 1989

Hank Williams Jr.

Pro: Influential in rock circles, crossover act

Con: Country star

Yes

Pro: Archetype Prog band, survived many changes, blended classical music into rock

Con: They are a prog band, not a lot of hits

Warren Zevon

Pro: No one sounded or wrote like Warren Zevon, influenced and worked with Bruce Springsteen, David Letterman, and REM, and influenced Kid Rock among others, Great writer

Con: His stuff might be too out there

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Worthy Acts Part III

Megadeth

Pro: Dave Mustaine is a great guitarist, original, songs with meaning, great songs

Con: They are not named Metallica; Metal acts get no respect; their name

Motley Crue

Pro: The most Rock n Roll act since the Stones, lots of hits, popularized the power ballad; The Rock Hall was made in part for acts like this.

Con: Considered a hair band, from the 80s, popularized the power ballad

Motorhead

Pro: Lemmy, Ace of Spades

Con: Not top of mind; Metal acts get no respect

Willie Nelson

Pro: Crossover act, Farm Aid, bad ass

Con: Country act

Ted Nugent

Pro: Top act of 1976, great guitarist, Motor City Madman, popular into the 90s and even today

Con: Conservative, NRA guy

Ozzy Osbourne

Pro: It’s Ozzy; Still influential

Con: The Osbournes TV Show

Robert Palmer

Pro: His influence is less musical and more cultural, Rock writer, Influence through video,

Con: Popular Songs sounded alike

Robert Plant

Pro: Nothing groundbreaking until Allison Krause

Con: His groundbreaking work post-Zep was in bluegrass/country

The Replacements

Pro: Critical darlings, representative of a genre, Alternative music leaders

Con: REM is in, popularity

Neil Sedaka

Pro: Major songwriter in 50s and 60s, solid solo career

Con: Legacy blown away by British Invasion

Ravi Shankar

Pro: Influenced Beatles, helped bring Eastern music to pop/rock

Con: Sitar does not fire people’s juice

Detroit Lions Draft Grade

Ndamukong Suh DT Nebraska: A++ (Best Lions pick since Barry Sanders)

Jahvid Best RB California: C (The trade to get him was a stretch. He has a history of injury)

Amari Spievey CB Iowa: C (Had problems keeping up with fast receivers)

Jason Fox OT Miami (FL): D (This year's Millen pick; he is always injured)

Willie Young DE NC State: 7th round

Timothy Toone WR Weber State: 7th round

Overall Grade: C

Rock and Roll Worthy Acts Part II

Hall & Oates

Pro: White guys that had soul, very successful duo, tons of hits, influential in hip hop

Con: Cheese factor, from the 80s, more influential outside rock, may be too poppy

Richie Havens

Pro: Woodstock, Intensity, great live act

Con: Not really a rock artist, known for his covers

Heart

Pro: First girl hard rock band, influential, Ann Wilson’s voice

Con: They’re girls

Iron Maiden

Pro: One of the most important metal bands, showed metal songs could mean something

Con: There is a thin line between cheese and cool; also as a metal band, they don’t get respect

Jan & Dean

Pro: Popular act with classic songs, they pre-dated the Beach Boys

Con: People confuse them with the Beach Boys

Waylon Jennings

Pro: Like Haggard and Cash, more Rock n Roll than most Rock n Rollers, Buddy Holly’s bass player, was rock n roll during 50s, originator of outlaw music

Con: Mostly country which overshadowed his rock

Jethro Tull

Pro: Unique as they come

Con: Jazz flute’s for sissy boys

Judas Priest

Pro: See Maiden, plus Rob Halford’s voice is the best, the band’s story is awesome

Con: See Maiden

Ben E. King

Pro: Percy Sledge is in

Con: Seen as one hit wonder

Carol King

Pro: Great songwriter, James Taylor is in

Con: Not true rock, but came out of that singer/songwriter tradition

KISS

Pro: Lots of hits, Unique persona, known for their live shows

Con: Don’t sing about anything important, reputation as weak musicians, cheese factor, too capitalist for some voters

Kraftwerk

Pro: Unique and influential

Con: German!

Kris Kristofferson

Pro: Great songwriter (Me and Bobby McGee and Sunday Morning Coming Down among others)

Con: Seen as country

The Marvelettes

Pro: Motown’s first successful girl group, “Please Mr. Postman”, 23 Hot 100 Singles (9 in the top 10)

Con: There is no con. The voters and/or selection board are dumb

MC5

Pro: Hugely influential, one of the first punk bands, incorporated many styles, representative of the counterculture

Con: See the Marvellettes, may be too raw

More Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Worthy Acts

A month or so back, I listed the Top 10 most deserving acts not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (See: http://cicero390.blogspot.com/2010/03/rock-n-roll-hall-of-fame-generally-does.html).  Some folks grumbled about missing acts...so, here is the first installment of acts that could make an argument for induction. I listed the pros and cons for each. They are in alphabetical order.

This is just the first installment...more to follow later.

Joan Baez


Pro: At the forefront of 60s music, iconic Woodstock moments, master interpreter of music

Con: Folk artist, known for doing other people’s work.

Bon Jovi

Pro: Best of the 80s hard rock bands and the hall likes to include one of every genre, tons of hits and sales, ability to adapt, still making hits today.

Con: They came from the 80s, not many people list them as an influence

Cheap Trick

Pro: Influential, original

Con: Not a ton of hits, so not top of mind

Chubby Checker

Pro: Ushered in a dance craze, “The Twist” and its sequel song, did branch out to other genres

Con: Typecast by The Twist

Phil Collins

Pro: Crap load of hits, influential, great drummer

Con: Lots of love songs, might be too poppy, already in with Genesis

The Cure

Pro: Unique, Influential

Con: Ironically, may not be commercial enough, so not top of mind

Dick Dale

Pro: King of Surf Guitar, At forefront of the genre, Experimented with reverb and other technical aspects of guitar

Con: Disappeared for awhile, genre was very short-lived

Def Leppard

Pro: Along with Bon Jovi, best representative of 80s hard rock, massive success, biggest act of the 80s other than Michael Jackson, unique live shows in the round, influence can be heard in other acts today

Con: Lumped with hair metal, a lot of their stuff sounds alike

Neil Diamond

Pro: Prolific Brill Building song writer, other acts recorded his songs before he branched out, he’s immensely popular and has oodles of hits.

Con: There is a cheese factor and he is considered A.C. as opposed to rock.

Dire Straits

Pro: Mark Knofler, great guitar work, solid music, huge in the 80s

Con: Not top of mind

The Dominoes

Pro: Important Doo wop group from 50s

Con: Important Doo wop group from the 50s

Duran Duran

Pro: Massively popular 80s band; great representatives of that post punk New Wave sound

Con: 1980s; seen as pretty boys

Peter Gabriel

Pro: Unique and popular

Con: Weird, already in with Genesis

Sammy Hagar

Pro: Classic rocker representing multiple genres

Con: Already in with VH, influence outside VH is probably minimal

Merle Haggard

Pro: He is more Rock n Roll than most Rock artists, Cash is in

Con: He’s country with little to no crossover

All Time MLB Team

Here is my all-time Baseball Team.

1b- Lou Gehrig - Yankees

2b- Rogers Hornsby - Cardinals

3b- Mike Schmidt - Phillies

SS- Honus Wagner - Pirates

C- Johnny Bench - Reds

RF- Babe Ruth - Yankees

LF- Ted Williams- Red Sox

CF- Ty Cobb- Tigers

DH- Paul Molitor - Brewers

Bench:

C: Yogi Berra - Yankees

OF- Rickey Henderson - A’s

OF- Willie Mays- Giants

OF- Mickey Mantle- Yankees

SS/1b- Ernie Banks - Cubs

2b- Joe Morgan- Reds

3b- George Brett - Royals

IF/OF- Pete Rose- Reds

Pitching:

RHP- Walter Johnson - Senators

LHP- Lefty Grove - A’s

RHP- Greg Maddox - Braves

LHP- Sandy Koufax - Dodgers

RHP- Bob Feller - Indians

REL- Rollie Fingers - A’s

REL- Mariano Rivera - Yankees

REL- Goose Gossage - Yankees

REL- Dennis Eckersley - A’s

REL- Bruce Sutter - Cardinals

REL- Hoyt Wilhelm - Giants

P- Randy Johnson - Diamondbacks

P- Tom Seaver - Mets

Greatest Baseball Games by Decade

I picked one game per decade.

Merkle’s Boner (1908): The Giants beat the Cubs…or did they? Rookie Fred Merkle forgot to touch second base on the game winning hit. Cub Johnny Evers saw Merkle’s mistake, got the ball, and touched the bag for a force out. The game ended in a tie and had to be replayed. The Cubs won the replayed game and the pennant by one game over New York and Pittsburgh. Nice going Merkle!

Game 8 1912 World Series: Game 2 ended in a tie, so it forced an extra game. In Game 8, the Giants and Red Sox went overtime at Fenway. New York scored in the top of the 10th. Boston scored twice to win the World Series. The Giants suffered from mental and physical errors in the 10th and choked the game away with Christy Mathewson on the mound.

Game 7 1924 World Series: Walter Johnson got shelled in this series. He went from goat to hero in Game 7. The Senators trailed 3-1 in the eighth and destiny took over. Bucky Harris hit a ball that struck a pebble and bounced over Giant third baseman Fred Lidstrom. Two scored to tie the game. Johnson came in the game to pitch in the 9th and got the win when the Senators scored the winning run on a bad hop over Lidstrom in the twelfth.

Johnny Vander Meer throws second no-hitter (1938): On June 11, 1938, Vander Meer no hit the Braves. Four days later, he no-hit the Dodgers. No one else has tossed two no-hitters in a row.

1941 All Star Game: The American League trailed 5-4 with two out in the ninth. Ted Williams hit a three-run home run into Tiger Stadium’s upper deck to win the game 7-5.

1951 Pennant Playoff: The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!

Game 7 World Series (1960): The Pirates won 10-9. Hal Smith hit a big homer for the Bucs and Bill Mazeroski hit the first World Series walk-off homer. As a side note, the game lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes.

Game 6 1975 World Series: Bernie Carbo, high on everything, hit a 2-out three run shot in the 8th. Dwight Evans made a great play in right field and doubled a runner off first. Oh yeah, Carlton Fisk hit that home run. Red Sox win.

Game 6 1986 NLCS: Mets beat the Astros in 16 innings at the Astrodome. Houston led 3-0 early. The Mets scored 3 in the 9th to tie. New York scored in the 14th. Billy Hatcher homered to tie the game. In the 16th, New York scored 3. Houston responded with two. Kevin Bass struck out to end the game.

Game 7 1991 World Series: Jack Morris pitched a 10 inning 1-0 shutout in Game 7 of the World Series. We will not see that again.

Game 4 2005 NLDS : Astros beat the Braves 7-6 in 18 innings. It was the longest game in postseason history. Roger Clemens pitched three innings in relief, Brad Ausmus hit a game tying homer in the 9th, Chris Burke ended the game with a walk-off homer in the 18th.

The Greatest TV Episodes #1-10

1. MASH: Abyssinia Henry (1975): “Lieutenant Colonel... Henry Blake's plane... was shot down... over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors."


2. Newhart: The Last Newhart (1990): The ending is now legendary. Bob wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette and mentions his dream about being a Vermont innkeeper.

3. Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Spanish Inquisition (1970): Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! The inquisition ran amok appearing seven times throughout the episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uprjmoSMJ-o

4. I Love Lucy: Lucy Does a TV Commercial (1952): Lucy is recruited to do a commercial for Vitameatavegamin. It’s a health elixir filled with 23% alcohol. After several takes, Lucy becomes Homer Simpson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1Nubw8XJw

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Charlie Brown searches for the meaning Christmas in the midst of modern commercialism. In the meantime, Snoopy wins money, money, money.

6. The Bob Newhart Show: Over the River and Through the Woods (1975): What happens when the guys are left alone on Thanksgiving? Lots of drinking!! A drunk Bob is a must see and you can’t cook a turkey at 5000 degrees. Somehow, it ends up in the dishwasher as opposed to the stove. In the end, it’s time for Moo Goo Gai Pan!

7. Cheers: Thanksgiving Orphans (1986): No one has Thanksgiving plans except Diane (which involves a Pilgrim costume). Carla invites the gang to dinner and disaster follows. Vera even shows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgZjqa4RrLE

8. Seinfeld: The Boyfriend (1992): Keith Hernandez joins the gang. The episode contains the infamous magic loogey scene in which Newman and Kramer are spat on by a second spitter (Roger McDowell).

9. I Love Lucy: Job Switching (The Candy Factory): (1952): Anyone that has ever worked can relate to Lucy and Ethel’s predicament.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wp3m1vg06Q

10. The Civil War (1990): For five nights in 1990, people watched PBS! No one knows for sure if anyone has watched PBS since.

The Complete List Greatest TV Episodes #1-100

1. MASH: Abyssinia Henry (1975)


2. Newhart: The Last Newhart (1990)

3. Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Spanish Inquisition (1970)

4. I Love Lucy: Lucy Does a TV Commercial (1952)

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

6. The Bob Newhart Show: Over the River and Through the Woods (1975)

7. Cheers: Thanksgiving Orphans (1986)

8. Seinfeld: The Boyfriend (1992)

9. I Love Lucy: Job Switching (The Candy Factory): (1952)

10. The Civil War (1990)

11. Cheers: What is…Cliff Clavin? (1990)

12. Seinfeld: The Soup Nazi (1995)

13. The Ed Sullivan Show: The Beatles (1964)

14. The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley (1956)

15. Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever (1967)

16. Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963)

17. 60 Minutes: Mike Wallace vs. Ayatollah Khomeini (1979)

18. Frasier: Three Valentines (1999)

19. X-Files: Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (1995)

20. Battlestar Galactica: 33 (2005)

21. Cheers: An Old Fashioned Wedding (1992)

22. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Best of Both Worlds (1990)

23. MASH: 5 O’Clock Charlie (1973)

24. I Love Lucy: Lucy Goes to the Hospital (1953)

25. Magnum P.I.: Home by the Sea (1983)

26. The Simpsons: Cape Feare (1993)

27. Murphy Brown: Birth 101 (1992)

28. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Hush (1999)

29. Frasier: The Matchmaker (1994)

30. Battlestar Galactica: Blood on the Scales (2009)

31. MASH: Tuttle (1973)

32. The Munsters: Herman the Rookie (1965)

33. Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966)

34. MTV Unplugged: Nirvana (1993)

35. Happy Days: They Don’t Shoot Fonzies, Do They? (1976)

36. Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Inner Light (1992)

37. Batman: The Purr-Fect Crime & Better Luck Next Time (1966)

38. X-Files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space (1996)

39. Married with Children: It’s a Bundyful Life (1989)

40. Northern Exposure: The Aurora Borealis- A Fairy Tale for Big People (1991)

41. X-Files: Die Hand Die Verletzt (1995)

42. Murphy Brown: It’s Not East Being Brown (1993)

43. Bewitched: Humbug Not Spoken Here (1967)

44. Battlestar Galactica Mini-Series (2003)

45. South Park: Trapped in the Closet (2005)

46. Star Trek The Next Generation: The Drumhead (1991)

47. 60 Minutes: The Clintons (1992)

48. Batman: The Joker is Wild/Batman is Riled (1966)

49. The Andy Griffith Show: Lawman Barney (1962)

50. Seinfeld: The Opposite (1994)

51. Magnum P.I.: Limbo (1987)

52. The Dick Cavett Show: John and Yoko (1971& 1972)

53. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: In the Pale Moonlight (1998)

54. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Body (2001)

55. Friends: The One with the Prom Video (1996)

56. Rockford Files: So Help Me God (1974)

57. Star Trek: TNG: Tapestry (1993)

58. I Love Lucy: Lucy meets Harpo Marx (1955)

59. Twilight Zone: Back There (1961)

60. X-Files- Duane Berry/Ascension (1994)

61. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Passion (1998)

62. MASH: The Interview (1976)

63. The Beverly Hillbillies: Duke Steals a Wife (1963)

64. Cheers: Bad Neighbor Sam (1990)

65. Rome: Caesarion (2005)

66. Taxi: Cooking for Two (1982)

67. I, Claudius: Hail, Who? (1976)

68. Laugh-In: Nixon (1968)

69. Saturday Night Live: Beatle reunion (1976)

70. Curb Your Enthusiasm: Seinfeld Reunion (2009)

71. Mythbusters: Escape from Alcatraz (2003)

72. Bewitched: Little Pitchers Have Big Ears (1964)

73. The Tonight Show: Carson’s Final Show (1992)

74. Beavis and Butthead: No Laughing (1993)

75. Boston Legal: Last Call (2008)

76. The A-Team: The Big Squeeze (1985)

77. The Simpsons: The Springfield Files (1997)

78. Married with Children: No Ma’am (1993)

79. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: I, Done (1996)

80. South Park: Cartman Gets an Anal Probe (1997)

81. Flintstones: The Masquerade Party (1965)

82. Dallas: Who Shot JR? (1980)

83. WKRP: Turkey’s Away (1978)

84. The Night Stalker (1972)

85. Hawaii 5-0: V is for Vashon (1972)

86. The Bernie Mac Show

87. The Doors on Ed Sullivan (1967)

88. Unplugged- Clapton (1992)

89. The Bullwinkle Show (1961-64)

90. Bugs Bunny: “What’s Opera Doc?” (1957)



91. John Lennon on MNF (1974)

92. Beavis and Butthead: True Crime (1993)

93. Geraldo: Satanic Abuse Special (1987)

94. Gilligan’s Island: So Sorry, My Island Now (1965)

95. Late Night with David Letterman: The Madonna interview (1994)

96. Joe Thiesmann breaks a leg (November 18, 1985)

97. The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot (1976)

98. V Mini-Series (1983)

99. MTV before the change (1981-1990s)

100. Keith Olbermann loses his mind (September 5, 2005)

The Greatest TV Episodes #11-20

11. Cheers: What is…Cliff Clavin? (1990): Cliff goes on Jeopardy. The categories are right up Cliff’s alley. He has an insurmountable lead by Final Jeopardy. For some reason, he wagers it all and does not know the Final Jeopardy answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=botdmsQilnU

12. Seinfeld: The Soup Nazi (1995): NO SOUP FOR YOU!

13. The Ed Sullivan Show: The Beatles (1964): While Elvis provided a milestone for the fifties, the Beatles provided the sixties generation with their own moment. 73 million watched the four on Ed Sullivan. The teen girls in the crowd wet themselves and cried uncontrollably. They were hysterical. The Beatles did five songs that night and the television station made sure everyone knew John was married.

14. The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley (1956): This was the biggest cultural moment for the fifties generation. 83% of the country watched. Critics complained that Elvis was over stimulating teenagers. Like they needed the help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6A3vLlVa3I

15. Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever (1967): The best episode in Star Trek history. Kirk and Spock return to 1930 to find McCoy and prevent him from changing the future. They discover that to save the future and prevent the Nazis from winning World War II, that Kirk’s new love, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), must die.

16. Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963): A gremlin tears a plane apart in mid-air. Only a reformed mental patient sees it. He gets a gun and shoots the creature. The plane lands safely and he’s taken away in a straightjacket. However, the creature did exist as the plane's nacelle is ripped open from the outside.

17. 60 Minutes: Mike Wallace vs. Ayatollah Khomeini (1979): Mike Wallace calls Khomeini a lunatic. It does not get better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fzFNsu15U

18. Frasier: Three Valentines (1999): The three stories center on Valentine’s Day. Niles prepares for a date at Frasier’s apartment and his anal retentive nature gets the best of him. It is one of the greatest moments in TV history (see link). Meanwhile, Frasier can’t figure out if he is on a date or not. Lastly, Martin and Daphne are bummed they don’t have a date on Valentine’s Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdD_dVyteA

19. X-Files: Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (1995): Mulder and Scully investigate murders of fortune tellers. They are assisted by Clyde Bruckman, who knows how people are going to die. Peter Boyle guest stars as Bruckman who has a hard time living with his ability.

20. Battlestar Galactica: 33 (2005): The fleet is pursued endlessly by the Cylons for days. They have to jump to light speed every 33 minutes to avoid the Cylon attack fleet. So, the humans don’t get any sleep whatsoever. The episode is almost as intense as the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan.

The Greatest TV Episodes #21-30

21. Cheers: An Old Fashioned Wedding (1992): Woody and Kelly are getting married and the Cheers gang have to overcome multiple obstacles including a dead priest, killer watch dogs, and Lilith’s spoon playing.

22. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Best of Both Worlds (1990): The Next Generation changed things up. Picard is kidnapped and turned into a Borg. He helps them destroy a fleet and attack Earth. Riker uses unorthodox strategy to stop him. The two part season finale/premier won an Emmy.

23. MASH: 5 O’Clock Charlie (1973): For weeks, an incompetent North Korean pilot attempted to drop a hand held bomb onto an ammo dump. The camp takes bets on how far off he’ll be. Frank convinces General Clayton to supply the camp with a cannon. Hawkeye and Trapper then help Charlie blow up the dump before Frank can hurt someone with the canon.

24. I Love Lucy: Lucy Goes to the Hospital (1953): Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky. In one of the funniest TV moments, Lucy remains cool, but Ricky, Fred, and Ethel flip out. Chaos reigns and Lucy somehow ends up at the hospital. While Lucy is in labor, Ricky has to go to work at the club. He returns in full voodoo makeup to see his son.

25. Magnum P.I.: Home by the Sea (1983): It’s the Fourth of July, Magnum goes out on his surf ski. A motorboat capsizes Magnum and he finds himself in the middle of the ocean. No one knows he’s there. Thomas is forced to tread water and he spends the time remembering his father’s attempts to teach him to tread water. His friends sense something is wrong, but have no idea what. They eventually search for him and perform a rescue.

26. The Simpsons: Cape Feare (1993): In a parody of Cape Fear, Sideshow Bob returns to Springfield to kill Bart Simpson. Before killing Bart, Bob breaks into the HMS Pinafore and is captured by police.

27. Murphy Brown: Birth 101 (1992): Murphy Brown goes into labor in the middle of a broadcast. Once in the hospitals, the contractions hit and she goes into a loud rant against every man in the room. Where was Dan Quayle?

28. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Hush (1999): Most of the episode had no dialogue. Living fairy tales, the Gentlemen, come to Sunnydale and steal everyone’s voices. The episode received an Emmy nomination and vast critical acclaim.

29. Frasier: The Matchmaker (1994): A gay man assumes Frasier is hitting on him. Flabbergasted, Frasier wonders aloud, “What on earth could have made him think I was interested in him? All I did was ask him if he was attached, and then we talked about the theater and men's fashions. Oh, my God!”

30. Battlestar Galactica: Blood on the Scales (2009): A coup overthrows the president and Adama. Tom Zarek murders the colonial political leadership and sentences Adama to death by firing squad. Adama regains control and Zarek faces the firing squad instead.

Greatest TV Episodes of All Time #31-40

31. MASH: Tuttle (1973): Hawkeye and Trapper invent a surgeon and eventually everyone believes the guy is real. Eventually, General Clayton wants to honor Captain Tuttle. Hawkeye solves the problem by killing Tuttle. The imaginary captain jumped out of a helicopter to help wounded soldiers, but forgot his parachute. Seinfeld used the same storyline for an episode 20 years later.

32. The Munsters: Herman the Rookie (1965): Leo Durocher discovers Herman playing ball with Eddie and gives him a tryout with the Dodgers. Herman destroys the baseball field and Leo has to let him go. Despite his amazing talent, repairs to the field would cost too much if Herman played professionally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHBee9DAKYw

33. Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966): Kirk and crew encounter Romulans and engage in a deadly cat and mouse game based on films such as Run Silent, Run Deep with the Enterprise serving as a surface ship and the Romulans as a submarine.

34. MTV Unplugged: Nirvana (1993): Nirvana appeared on MTV Unplugged in late 1993. They played a lot of covers and lesser known songs. The stage was decorated with lilies and candles as Cobain wanted it to look like a funeral. He died in April, 1994 and the CD was the band’s first release after his death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eglOHphhpcg

35. Happy Days: They Don’t Shoot Fonzies, Do They? (1976): Fonzie agrees to help Joanie and enter a dance marathon at Arnold's. Joanie wants to beat the captain of the cheerleading squad who had her cut from the team. Fonzie’s bike breaks down and he has to walk it 12 miles and is exhausted. He collapses, but comes to when threatened with a crew cut. Fonzie breaks into a Russian jig and wins the contest. This scene is later used in a Weezer video.

36. Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Inner Light (1992): Picard is zapped by a probe and lives another man’s entire life in a few minutes. He awakes to find that the people built the probe to save their culture as their star was going supernova.

37. Batman: The Purr-Fect Crime & Better Luck Next Time (1966): Catwoman steals priceless art. After the usual cliffhanger, Batman and Robin track her to a cave where Catwoman dies. Luckily, Julie Newmar has 9 lives.

38. X-Files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space (1996): Mulder and Scully investigate the abduction of two teenagers. Meanwhile, noted sci-fi writer Jose Chung is writing a novel about the incident. Every person involved tells Chung a different story leading to an amusing episode.

39. Married with Children: It’s a Bundyful Life (1989): The bank closes on Al before he can do his Xmas shopping. When he returns home, Al decides to fix the Christmas lights. He is briefly electrocuted and meets his guardian angel, Sam Kinison. Al sees that his family would have lived a wonderful life without him. He wants to spoil it, so he returns.

40. Northern Exposure: The Aurora Borealis- A Fairy Tale for Big People (1991): The Aurora Borealis makes the people of Cicily act strangely. Joel is rescued by Bigfoot and Chris leaves the radio station to work on a sculpture. Bigfoot turned out to be a real man and not a beast.

Greatest TV Episodes #41-50

41. X-Files: Die Hand Die Verletzt (1995): Mulder and Scully meet Satan.

42. Murphy Brown: It’s Not East Being Brown (1993): Murphy needs to improve her image, so she appears on a children’s TV puppet show. The puppets taunt her, Murphy loses it on live TV, and rips the puppet off the puppeteer’s hand; scarring children for life.

43. Bewitched: Humbug Not Spoken Here (1967): In this retelling of “A Christmas Carol”, Samantha introduces the spirit of Christmas to a miserly old man. Santa even makes an appearance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW5Qh9wLs8A

44. Battlestar Galactica Mini-Series (2003): Ronald Moore reworked the 1978 cheese fest. Like the original, the Cylons break a truce and wipe out most of humanity. Unlike the original, this Galactica was gritty and filled with flawed humans as opposed to heroic figures.

45. South Park: Trapped in the Closet (2005): In one of the greatest spoofs of all time, South Park takes on Scientology by simply stating their tenants. The title refers to a R. Kelly song. In the episode, Tom Cruise is trapped in the closet.

46. Star Trek The Next Generation: The Drumhead (1991): An Admiral (Jean Simmons) loses her mind and conducts a witch hunt aboard the Enterprise. She eventually accused Captain Picard of disloyalty. He takes the stand and turns the trial around. She flips out and the witch hunt ends.

47. 60 Minutes: The Clintons (1992): Bill Clinton looked finished when the Gennifer Flowers scandal broke. With nothing to lose, he and Hillary appeared on 60 Minutes with Steve Kroft. The Clintons saved their campaign.

48. Batman: The Joker is Wild/Batman is Riled (1966): The Joker invents his own utility belt and drives Gotham City to the brink of anarchy. Batman and Robin eventually stop him.

49. The Andy Griffith Show: Lawman Barney (1962): A couple of peddlers treat Barney badly. Barney loses his confidence until Andy steps in behind the scenes. The peddlers realize Andy is full of it and confront Barney who develops a backbone and scares them off.

50. Seinfeld: The Opposite (1994): How do you get a job with the Yankees? Tell Steinbrenner off!

2010 Detroit Tigers Preview

The Tigers suffered one of the worst moments in franchise history last year as they surrendered a 3 game lead with 4 to play. They dumped salary in the off season with some unpopular moves. They then signed Johnny Damon and Jose Valverde. Before the Valverde and Damon signings, the Tigers were looking at a 75 win season. With Minnesota losing Joe Nathan for the season, the division appears wide open. If the White Sox stumble, the Tigers can win the Central.


Prediction: 85 wins (10 GB Chicago)

The Roster:

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=det

Infield

Miguel Cabrera: MVP Candidate and mean drunk. Did he grow up in the off season after helping the team blow the lead to the Twins?

Adam Everett: Re-signing Everett was a smart move. According to some new saber metric now in vogue, Everett was the third best SS in the AL last year.

Brandon Inge: Inge was the first half MVP last year. Injuries cut into his season. His versatility makes him very valuable even if he does not match his All Star season.

Ramon Santiago: Solid backup.

Scott Sizemore: Rookie and question mark. It will take a Herculean effort to replace Polanco.

Catchers

Alex Avilla: Nice opening act last year. We will see if he can continue.

Gerald Laird: Should have won the Gold Glove last year. Too bad he could not hit.

Outfield

Johnny Damon: He’s beginning to approach Hall of Fame numbers. He will have to play 3 more healthy seasons to get to 3000 hits. Not bad for a guy that can’t throw. His veteran leadership is counted on to keep the clubhouse in line. On the other hand, he’s approaching the age where skills begin to seriously decline.

Carlos Guillen: Speaking of serious decline…

Austin Jackson: Rookie and a bigger question mark than Sizemore. I hope we were not sold a lemon by a snakeoil salesman.

Don Kelly: Versatile and a career minor leaguer. Classic AAAA player.

Magglio Ordonez: Which Maggs shows up? The first half disaster or the second half clutch performer? Like Damon, he’s approaching that age…

Ryan Rayburn: Vastly improved last season and even improved during the season. He should DH over Guillen, but Carlos makes a lot of money.

Pitchers

Jeremy Bonderman: Has not been healthy since 2006. He is big question mark.

Eddie Bonine: Career minor leaguer. Does he finally catch on? He is a guy to root for.

Phil Coke: Solid

Fu-Te Ni: Potential MVP and Cy Young Award winner. Without Fu-Te Ni, the Tigers are nowhere. Ok, seriously he is good in his role.

Ryan Perry: Nice rookie season. Let’s see if he improves.

Rick Porcello: Robbed of the Rookie of the Year Award, Porcello hopes to avoid the sophomore jinx. With his style, he should be ok.

Max Scherzer: Pencil in 10-12 with an ERA around 5.

Brad Thomas: Another situational lefty. His career ERA is 9.89 in 11 games (5 starts).

Jose Valverde: The difference between 76 wins and 85 wins. Let’s hope he changes the intro music (see below):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9V_bBF6LbU

Justin Verlander: Cy Young Candidate.

Dontrelle Willis: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Joel Zumaya: Expect nothing/Hope for 2006

Quotes of the Month- March 2010

Quote of the Month: “So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.”

-Senator Padme Amidala on Obamacare’s passage

Dumb Quote of the Month: "Today is a big day in America, only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good."
-Harry Reid on Feb job losses

The Month in Biden:

“God rest her soul”

-Joe Biden on the still living mother of the Irish P.M. (oops)

“Republicans say it hasn't created one job. Well, tell that to Scott Brown.”

-Joe Biden on the Recovery Act

“This is a big fucking deal.”

-Vice President Joe Biden at the signing ceremony for Obamacare

The Best (and Worst) of the Rest:

Victory at Last!

-Newsweek on Iraq

"September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan,"

-Iranian President Ahmadinejad (sounds like an antiwar activist!)

"Rahm Emanuel is son of the devil's spawn. He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive.

-Former Rep. Eric Massa

"The fans are ruthless and don't deserve a winner.”

-Derek Anderson

“The Democrats seem to have forgotten their Schoolhouse Rock.”

-Dana Perino on Deem and Pass

"I'm supposed to cut back on dangling participles, and I'm not allowed to split any infinitives for at least another week,''

-The Great Vin Scully on doctor’s restrictions after his fall

“Muslims should be banned from airplanes and fly magic carpets.”

-Ann Coulter

“There are combinations and permutations…there’s a gazillion of them, things that could happen to fill out the pitching staff. We’ve got conundrums too.”

-Ken Macha on the Brewers pitching staff (quoted in SI)

“Vampires do not wear product.”

-Bart Simpson commenting on the Twilight Phenomenon