Best And Worst Of 2023

It's time for my annual best and worst of the year in pop culture, entertainment, and more. As you'll see, there are not many "worst of" below. I have limited time, so I'm not watching or reading things I'm not interested in. Here we go:

Best TV Show: Shrinking

I loved this Apple+ show. Jason Segal plays a therapist struggling with the loss of his wife. While I like the storylines of Segal with his patients and his relationship with daughter, what really makes the show are his colleagues, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford. They are fantastic. It's fun watching Harrison Ford be funny. This scene was the best thing I saw all year.

Honorable mention: Jury Duty

This was such a unique show. Everyone, meaning the lawyers, judge, jury members, etc. are actors...except for one jury member named Ronald who believes that this is a real case. Ronald is such a likable guy, and I don't think this show would work with a different lead. James Marsden playing a version of himself is also fun.

For no apparent reason, I tracked every TV show I watched this year, and I feel like sharing this. 

Better Call Saul (last season)

Party Down (original)

The Chair

Night Court

American Auto

Not Dead Yet

Quantum Leap

Abbott Elementary

Yellowjackets (season 1)

Ted Lasso (season 3)

Sprung

Welcome to Wrexham

Lucky Hank

The Big Door Prize

Mrs. Maisel (season 4)

The Afterparty (season 2)

Shrinking

Jury Duty

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

The Wonder Years

Miracle Workers

Barry (last season)

Succession (part of last season)

Yellowstone 

Lego Masters

The Bear (season 1)

Best Songs: HONEY (ARE YOU COMING?) by Maneskin and bad idea right? by Olivia Rodrigo

All caps and no capital letters at all? Can we please work on this! While I'm way out of her target audience, I am an Olivia Rodrigo fan, particularly with her up-tempo songs. bad idea right? gives me a vibe of  "Naked Eye" by Luscious Jackson. Oh, the song is definitely not suitable for work.

Meanwhile, I think Maneskin has the best guitar riff of the year with HONEY. 

Worst Song: Popular by The Weeknd, Playboi Cardi, and Madonna

Looking at my archives, I picked two songs by The Weeknd as the best of the year over the last few years. This is certainly not an anti The Weeknd post. While Popular isn't bad, I don't find it good either. It's repetitive and don't feel that Madonna adds anything to it.

Best Movie: Parasite

Parasite won the best picture Oscar a few years ago, so I'm a little late to this. The storyline is essentially a poor family scamming a rich family. I mean, there's definitely the message of class and the spoils of the rich. Definitely did not expect the ending.

Most Interesting Movie: The Menu

I can't put this as the worst movie since it's just so different from anything I've seen. I watched The Menu on an airplane and remember leaving the plane thinking "What the heck was that?" I really want to see this again.

And now, these are all of the movies I watched in 2023:

The Menu

Elvis

Rise (A movie about Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family)

Anchorman 2

Logan Lucky

Leo

Elemental

Homeward Bound: An Incredible Journey 

Parasite

Family Switch

Migration

My New Year's Resolution for 2024 is to watch more movies. Almost all of these are movies for kids/families. There's no Barbie or Oppenheimer. I mean, how can I get a media credential for The Oscars with this list?

Best Sports Moment: Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday completed the biggest comeback in English Football League playoff history back in May. Down 4-0 after the first leg, the team battled back to tie the overall score at 4-4 in the 90+7th minute. Peterborough, their opponent, got a goal in extra time, but Wednesday tied it again before advancing in penalty kicks. By far the best sports moment of 2023. (More about this game is available from my May post.)

Worst Sports Moment: Pittsburgh Sports

Although Pitt's men's basketball team returned to the NCAA tournament and the women's volleyball team is now a consistent power, the professional teams struggled. The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-2006 season, the Steelers are an average NFL team, and the Pirates, though better in 2023 compared to 2022, still had a record under .500. While I don't have a specific moment for the worst sports moment, the Pirates were 20-8 after we attended the 16-1 victory over the Nationals, and several weeks later, the team's record was 35-42. Lots of losses. Actually, there is a worst moment. The Penguins, battling for a playoff spot in the next-to-last game of the season, lost at home to the worst team in the NHL.

Best Book: 12-way tie!

Okay, this definitely isn't true. I just wanted to share that I read 12 books this year, by far the most since the pandemic started. I was part of a book club in 2023, and book clubs are stressful! It's like high school all over again trying to finish a book in time for the discussion or test. At least we have snacks for book club! Here's what I read this year:

The Umpire Is Out by Dale Scott

How to be Perfect by Michael Schur

Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports by John Feinstein

The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch 

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Just Like You by Nick Hornby

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Why We Love Baseball by Joe Posnanski

Best Live Concert: Pink

She's amazing.

Worst Live Concert: Bruce Springsteen

Before you freak out, this is the worst concert I attended because I didn't attend. Bruce postponed his concert from August to September and then to 2024. Hopefully he'll appear in my best live concert in my 2024 post.

Best Blog Post: Goodbye Ziggy

In May, we had to say goodbye to our cat Ziggy. I still miss him.

Worst Blog Post: Is Tim Tebow's Wife a Pirates Fan?

Since she wore a hat with a "P," I immediately thought it was a Pittsburgh Pirates hat. It was probably a Puma hat.

While this may or may not be my last post of 2023, have a Happy New Year!

A League of Their Own's Terrible Managing

During some free preview recently, I recorded the 1992 film "A League of Their Own" starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks. I've seen this movie about Davis' Dottie Hinson, her sister Kit (Lori Petty), the Rockford Peaches, and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League countless times, but I thought my kids might enjoy it. So on Sunday night, we watched it as a family. And by watch it as a family, I mean that I watched the film while my kids paid partial attention to the television while also playing on their tablets or with some other toys or games.

I can't believe that I'm writing this, but there are a lot of spoilers in this post. I mean, this movie is 28 years old and was selected in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2012, so if you haven't seen it, go see it.

During this viewing, I paid a little closer attention to the in-game decisions by Rockford Peaches manager Jimmy Dugan (Hanks) and the Racine Belles manager Charlie Collins (Don S. Davis) in game 7 of the league's championship series. And yes, I had to look up both the name of the Racine manager and the actor who played him. They both made some shockingly poor decisions that deserve criticism.

For a little background, Kit and Dottie were teammates on Rockford, but Kit was traded to Racine near the end of the season. (Feel free to read this Bustle article about why Kit was the worst.) The two teams meet in the championship series, and it goes to a game seven despite or maybe because Dottie misses the first six games of the series to go back home with her just returned home from World War Two husband played by Bill Pullman.



Anyway, in game 7, Kit seemingly pitches an amazing game for Racine giving up no runs and only 3 hits through 8 innings. I mean this is incredible pitcher's duel as Ellen Sue Gotlander only gave up one unearned run (on a terrible, terrible, terrible throw by right fielder Evelyn Gardner in the bottom of the 8th) and three hits herself. The only game 7 performance I can think of that even comes close to this pitching mastery is the 1991 World Series where the score was 0-0 entering the 10th inning. Maybe the screenwriters were inspired by Jack Morris and John Smoltz?

In the top of the 9th, "All the Way" Mae Mordabito (Madonna in her best acting performance) leads off with a routine ground ball to short. Madonna, who turns out to be as fast as Vince Coleman, Billy Hamilton, or Florence Griffith Joyner, beats the throw by several steps. I don't understand the lack of urgency by the Racine shortstop here. It's a 4-team league, so you'd think that the shortstop and the manager would know that you have to hurry to throw out All the Way Mae Usain Bolt here. Have the shortstop play in a few steps. Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell) then follows with a single giving Rockford runners on first and second with no outs. Does the Racine manager come out to talk to Kit? No. Does he have another pitcher warming up? Again no. This is game 7! Racine already seemed to qualify for the playoffs before acquiring Kit, so they must have had at least one other strong pitcher. You're telling me that Racine was going to ride or die with Kit?

Now it's time to criticize Tom Hanks. With All the Way Mae Carl Lewis in scoring position at second and the go-ahead runner at first, Hanks has Evelyn Gardner sacrifice completely wasting an out, but allowing Madonna and O'Donnell to move to third and second respectively. Kit then gets Helen Haley to ground out to first. Despite having All the Way Mae Marion Jones on third, Hanks doesn't have her run on contact.

So now it's runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs and Dottie Hinson coming to the plate. Dottie is clearly the league MVP. She's Mike Trout or Willie Mays, but she also plays catcher. She's Josh Gibson! Why not intentionally walk her in this situation with first base open? Look how focused she is as she stares down Kit walking toward the plate.

Plus, she knows how to beat Kit better than anyone after being her catcher for years. Dottie is clearly in Kit's head. You see that picture of Kit above? That's immediately before she throws a pitch to Dottie. YOU MUST WALK DOTTIE IN THIS SITUATION!!!

Oh, Tom Hanks isn't getting off the hook here. Assuming that Madonna is the lead off hitter, why is Dottie batting 5th? The only plausible explanation is that he worried that she would be rusty after missing 6 games when she left the team. Even then, she's Dottie Hinson! You don't bat her 5th!

Naturally, Dottie hits a 2-run single to give Rockford a 2-1 lead. Kit gets the final out but is a complete mess in the dugout. So much so that she's crying and doesn't even go into the on-deck circle when she is the next batter up. Why doesn't the Racine manager pinch hit for her? The Racine manager was Matt Williams before Matt Williams not knowing what was happening in his own dugout with a fight between Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon!

Look, I understand that there were only 16-woman rosters, so both managers had limited bench options. I mean, Rockford already lost Marla Hooch when she got married, it's unclear who they got back in the Kit trade, and Dottie missed the first 6 games of the series. (She should have never started driving back to Oregon with Lone Star right before the series!)

I'm not going to get Kit's at-bat at the bottom of the 9th and whether Dottie intentionally dropped the ball. (Anne T. Donahue says no in a terrific Cosmopolitan article.) I'll just wrap this up by stating that the managerial decisions made in such a crucial game are maddening and absurd. I can't imagine what sports radio in both Rockford and Racine are saying after this game.

Madonna Was (Is?) A Pirates Fan

In these uncertain and unusual times, it's nice to bring some normalcy to this world. That's why I'm bringing back the Celebrities in Pittsburgh Gear series at least for today. The Twitter account Odd Pittsburgh posted this 1980 picture by Mick Rock of Madonna wearing a World Champs Pirates shirt.

Someone on Twitter (I can't seem to find it now) mentioned that Madonna had some family in Pittsburgh, so she may have been a fan of Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Bert Blyleven, Kent Tekulve, and company.

Please click here to see other celebrities in Pittsburgh gear.

Top 40 Songs From November 1992

I'm a pop music fan. Maybe it's because Neil Diamond and Billy Joel were the first two artists I listened to more than anyone else. Maybe it's because I watched a good amount of MTV as a kid, who played only pop music in its early days. Maybe it's because my favorite radio station growing up was Pittsburgh's B-94. It's probably a combination of all of this.

Last week, a friend shared a tweet with the Cash Box top 40 singles from November 21, 1992. Even though I just shared that I'm a pop music fan, there's a lot more not good on this list than good, and I'm probably being generous.

Let's start with the good. If Jump Around, Rump Shaker, and to a lesser extent, Rhythm Is a Dancer, doesn't get you pumped up, you have no pulse. There are also some really strong songs by female artists here with Free Your Mind by En Vogue, Walking on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox (an underrated song in my opinion), and Real Love by Mary J. Blige. Two TLC songs are a nice bonus. This may hurt my street cred here, but I like If I Ever Fall In Love by Shai.

Now to the others. The slow version of Layla is fine, but not nearly as good as the original (though I get bored by the instrumental part at the end of the original very quickly). End of the Road was played at the end of every dance and graduation event from 1992-1995. It got tiresome after the first 20 or 5000 events. Prince and Madonna both had much, much better songs. I'll also take My Prerogative, Don't Be Cruel, and the Ghostbusters 2 songs over the two Bobby Brown songs here. How Do You Talk To An Angel is an awful song. Maybe this gets me some street cred back. There are a lot of songs here I don't even recognize. Wayne Newton had a top #25 song in 1992? What is a Mad Cobra? Just so much meh here.

Share your thoughts about this list in the comments section below.

Friday Video: Different Sean

There is a video (actually a VHS tape) from my Bar Mitzvah somewhere in my basement. While it is doubtful that any part of the video will ever appear on this blog (unless someone wants to convert it from VHS to DVD to an online video), nothing on the video compares to Shaun Sperling's Bar Mitzvah dance. Enjoy!



What a shirt!

Neil

Like Madonna, Cher and Bono, he needs only one name and they’re coming to America today. Actually, he is Neil Diamond and his North American tour is coming to the Verizon Center in DC on Tuesday, August 5. While I wrote about wanting to see the Spice Girls several months ago, I was half-joking. If someone offered me free tickets to the Spice Girls, of course I would go; however, I was not willing to pay actual money to see them. I would pay to see Neil Diamond.

In fact the first concert I ever attended was Neil Diamond at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It was probably 1981 or 1982, and I went with my parents and younger brother, who managed to sleep for nearly the entire show (I think he was only 3 or 4). If I remember correctly, he woke up to hear exactly one song, America, which was the show’s final song and featured a fluorescent American flag hanging above the stage.

Back to 2008, tickets for Neil’s DC show go on sale to the general public on Monday, April 28. But I am not the general public! Tickets go on sale for me (and everyone else with an American Express card) this Monday, April 21, at 10:00 AM Eastern time. According to the hated Ticketmaster website, tickets are $55-$120. As I mentioned in the Spice Girls post linked above, I’m sure that Ticketmaster charges will be another $25. While I really don’t want to pay that much for tickets, the cheapest seats for Neil Diamond are going to be almost $40 less than Spice Girls tickets. Neil has more hits and a much longer career than the Spice Girls can ever dream of having. Well, maybe not Posh Spice because she has David Beckham money. Regardless, in twenty years, do you think there will be a movie featuring a Spice Girls cover group like there was for Neil Diamond in the underrated Saving Silverman?

So the question now is if I got a Neil Diamond ticket, would anyone go with me?