McNabb and Eagles Silence Critics...For Now

Thanksgiving 2008 – Three games on the schedule with three routs as the results. Of course, the first two games pitted two hapless teams against two juggernauts, so the results were predictable, but in the nightcap, the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles was a little less so. The Cardinals are on top of the NFC West thanks to both great play from quarterback Kurt Warner and the receiving duo of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and the ineptitude of the rest of the division. The Eagles have been struggling this season, with quarterback Donovan McNabb under intense scrutiny after two sub-par weeks and getting benched in last week's loss at Baltimore. Western teams haven't played well when trekking across the country to come east and the Eagles were reeling, what would the result be? Knowing McNabb's history of having big games when faced with controversy, the ending to this game should have never been in doubt.

McNabb and the Eagles put together their first truly complete game since they bludgeoned the St. Louis Rams in the first game of the season and carved up the Cardinals for Thanksgiving, 48-20. For McNabb and his Eagles, it was redemption after two solid weeks of bad press and equally poor play. For the Eagles coach, Andy Reid, it was proof that what he has said all year is true, when the team is clicking on all cylinders, they are tough to beat. McNabb threw for four touchdowns, two of them to a rejuvenated Brian Westbrook, who also added two rushing touchdowns of his own, and looked like the McNabb of old. He was accurate and more importantly, he ran the ball when he had to, scrambling for much needed yards when the pass was not there. Westbrook, who has been ailing all season with ankle and rib injuries, also looked like he had a drink from the Fountain of Games Past and played one of his best games of the year. The defense for the Eagles did their part as well, intercepting Kurt Warner three times and forcing a fumble in the second quarter to keep the Cardinals on their heels. Although the traditionally blitzing defense of the Eagles had no sacks in the game, they kept constant pressure on Warner and stopped the Cardinals running game cold, transforming the NFC West leaders into a one-dimensional team on offense as they tried to play catch-up. What had been, prior to kickoff, a result in question, no longer was as the Eagles rolled to victory.

However, in the NFL, all victories are fleeting and now the Eagles have to look ahead to next week when they meet the NY Giants in a clash of NFC East rivals. The Giants have been cruising along at a great clip this season, their only loss so far coming from the Cleveland Browns. They've had a couple of close calls, but have managed to pull out each game on their road to repeating as Super Bowl champs. The Eagles will need to bottle this A-Game against the Cardinals and bring it with them up I-95 if they want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But, on this Thanksgiving night, the Philadelphia Eagles showed that they are still a team to be reckoned with and the rest of the league should take notice and watch out.

Death of an Original Show

Well, despite my attempts to try and rally viewers to its rescue, ABC announced that it will not be picking up Pushing Daisies for the rest of the season, leaving its fans with only 22 episodes between two seasons and this viewer in particular is not happy at all. This is essentially the same fate that befell another of my favorites, Arrested Development, the only difference there being that they won the Emmy for Best Comedy, thus staving off execution until the abbreviated season three (Pushing Daisies was nominated for 10 Emmy awards and won for art and direction. About the only category they weren't nominated for was best series).

I've already talked about what makes the show so great and why I love it (see my review blog link to the right), but the two biggest things that annoy me about this cancellation are that 1) Due to the writer's strike last year, the show wasn't really given a fair shake at developing an audience and then, with general apathy towards television shows at an all-time high because of that strike, the show was forced to perform when all shows are suffering; and 2) Pushing Daisies is easily the most original show on television right now and it kills me to see gems like this get dumped when there is such crap on television getting a pass, (I'm looking at you, Knight Rider!). It's frustrating to see a refreshingly sweet and funny show get canned without so much as a chance to prove itself in the marketplace. ABC could have extended the show, granting it a mulligan due to the strike, and done a heavy push for the holidays for the DVD set for Season 1 to get people on board. The fact that the Freshman show was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards has got to mean they were doing something right, right?

The show's creator, Bryan Fuller, has said that the story may continue, (as the 13^th and final episode for Season 2 is due to end in a cliffhanger), in the form of either a comic book or a feature film. Why not, I say. After all, it was reported this last week that the long rumored film version of Arrested Development is close to happening for real, and I would welcome a Pushing Daisies film to wrap up all the loose ends. However, I think that the producers should try to sell the show to HBO, as it is obvious the premium cable station has hit hard times in regards to its original programming. Shows like Dexter, Weeds, and Californication on Showtime are proving to be more popular than HBO's fare and in terms of awards, they are now chasing basic cablers like Mad Men. The students have truly become the masters and HBO needs something fresh and different to shake it out of its funk. Of course, they tried doing quirky with John from Cincinnati, which proved to be a disastrous flop, but I felt that show was a bit more esoteric than Pushing Daisies, which is far more accessible. The future does not look too good for Home Box Office, (at least they have finally greenlit the pilot for George R. R. Martin's “Game of Thrones”), no matter how good they tell you Tru Blood is (it isn't). They need help and that help should come in the form of pie from the Pie-Maker.

So on this Thanksgiving, it is with a heavy heart that I say one of the things I was thankful for was Pushing Daisies, long may it live on DVD and reruns.

Americans Actually Do the Right Thing

After eight years of watching this country vote against progress and against its best interests, Americans stood up today and surprised me by doing the right thing for the first time in a long time.

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States of America and those Americans looking for the country to move forward and leave the divisive culture wars and poisonous politics of the past behind can breathe a sigh of relief. The fear of having another conservative administration that blurs the lines between religion and government is gone for the next four years and now we must come together to repair the damage that has been done to this country and its reputation over the last eight years.

Will Obama accomplish all he has said he wants to? Probably not. The world is ever-changing, and with that in mind, sometimes, plans need to take a backseat to doing what is necessary in the moment. But, will he be a good president? I believe so.

I'm proud of America today and for what we have accomplished with our vote. And for those who voted for Senator McCain, I hope that they look past the whole "us vs. them" dynamic that has gripped this country the last eight years and find it in themselves to support him as he leads our country, truly, into the 21st Century.