2007 Emmys Live Journal

Welcome to my live comments and thoughts on the 2007 Emmys! I am live from my couch in Northern Virginia and will be here all night (or at least until I get bored or tired). Like “Everyone Loves Raymond” in 2005, I would be shocked if “The Sopranos” does not dominate tonight and receive its lifetime achievement award for Best Drama, actors, etc. I also expect to see at least three commercials tonight for the season premier of "Prison Break" (Monday night at 8:00 pm Eastern) and series premiers of "K-Ville" and "Back to You," the new comedy featuring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales wrote that the show should be titled, “Frasier Goes to Pittsburgh.” In my book, that’s an endorsement! Anyway, feel free to post comments or predictions throughout the evening.

Enjoy the show... (I'll be back soon.)
---

- Fox started the broadcast by having cartoons, specifically Stewie and Brian from the Family Guy. Fox has been a network for almost twenty years now, but is still best known for cartoons such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill.

- Ryan Seacrest’s monologue was fine since he really doesn’t have much talent. He was able to get a lot of applause just by introducing famous people and the most popular shows.

- Since Seacrest didn’t have much of a monologue, they let Ray Romano do a stand-up act before presenting his award.

- Did Ray Romano say something inappropriate? We didn’t hear his joke about Frasier, and I have a feeling that it wasn’t a technical difficulty.

- Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Jeremy Piven. I really thought Neil Patrick Harris had a shot, but I think Piven really carries Entourage more than Doogie carries HIMYM.

- I don’t really like this award show in a round thing they’ve got tonight.

- Supporting Actor in a Drama: Terry O’Quinn for Lost. He’s really good, but I thought Michael Emerson was better during the past season. Personally, I really believed Michael Imperioli was going to win. I’m now 0 for 2.

- Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Jaime Pressly for “My Name is Earl.” I didn’t have a pick for this category.

- Thomas Hayden Church has had an amazing career recently. He was on Wings about 15 years ago and then seemed to be gone for a while. Now, he has an Oscar nomination for Sideways and an Emmy win. Tim Daly will be on the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off this fall and Stephen Weber was good on the now cancelled Studio 60. What ever happened to Roy?

- Surprised that I made it forty minutes without mentioning that the Steelers won today?
---

- Best Supporting Actress in a Drama: Katherine Heigl. I’m terrible in making predictions for this year. I actually thought that Rachel Griffiths would win as the three Grey’s nominees and the two Sopranos’ nominees would cancel each other out.

- Last Sunday: Britney Spears looked a little disheveled (that’s a nice way of saying it) while lip-syncing her new song on MTV’s VMAs. This Sunday: Christina Aguilera sings beautifully with Tony Bennett. Christina is clearly the winner between the two.

- Dammit! Benjamin Watson has a TD catch for the Patriots. My fantasy football is now tied in one of the two leagues I care about (I’m up 40 points in my other league; thank you Jake Delhomme!) In other Boston news, the Yankees and Red Sox are on ESPN. I’m SHOCKED that these two teams would ever be on national television.

- Anchorman is on ABC.

I might as well share my other picks for the night:
Drama Series – Sopranos
Drama Actor – James Gandolfini
Drama Actress – Edie Falco
Comedy Series – Two and a Half Men
Comedy Actor – Alec Baldwin
Comedy Actress – America Ferrera

- I just heard the best line from an NFL official after a flag was thrown. There was not a foul on the play. There was not a hold. The defender was just overpowered.

- Back to the Emmys. The Daily Show just won Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series. Did I miss anything else?
---

If there is an award show, but Al Gore is not in attendance, can you call it an awards show? There is no way Al Gore is running for President. We need him at the Oscars, Emmys, etc.

The “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” bit with Wayne Brady, Kanye West and Rainn Wilson has been the best part of the show. Kanye West was terrific.

Time for bed. Good night!

2007-2008 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule

With Wednesday’s release of the 2007-2008 NHL schedule, I am here to break-down the Pittsburgh Penguins schedule. I’d like to point out that the NHL apparently fears matching the Penguins with colors. The Penguins do not play against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues or Chicago Blackhawks.

Friday, October 5, 2007 – at Carolina – The first game of the year!

Saturday, October 6 – vs. Anaheim – The Pens’ home opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions

Wednesday, October 10 – vs. Montreal – Sidney Crosby takes over the NHL points lead.

Saturday, October 20 – at Washington – I’ll be there!

Monday, November 5 – at New Jersey – I’ll watch the first two periods and then probably switch to ESPN for the Steelers-Ravens game. How am I going to watch both games plus Prison Break and How I Met Your Mother?

Thursday, November 22 – at Ottawa – The first time these teams will meet since the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hopefully, the result of this game will be better for the Pens than the last few against the Senators.

Saturday, December 29 – vs. Buffalo – Jay Caufield bobble-head night?

Friday, January 18, 2008 – vs. Tampa Bay – Michel Ouellet returns to the Burgh.

Wednesday, January 30 – at Atlanta – Jordan Staal scores his 17th short-handed goal.

Sunday, March 9 – at Washington – This is the same weekend as my brother’s wedding. I’m going to try to make it (it meaning the game; I will definitely make the wedding). Actually, the Penguins aren’t playing on Saturday. Maybe Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin will attend the wedding!

Saturday, April 6 – at Philadelphia – The last game of the regular season. Sidney Crosby wins another scoring title.

My prediction is that the Penguins make the playoffs as the #6 seed. There will be some growing pains as there will be high expectations to start the season, which the team did not face last year. The division will also be better since the Flyers can’t be as bad as last year.

The second annual hockey road trip will take place again, dates to be determined. This year will likely include trips to Chicago, Detroit and possibly Minnesota. I think a game in Tampa and/or New York/Long Island/New Jersey could also be on the agenda.

Old School Tivo

I have written countless times about my desire to get Tivo or DVR. While I still do not have either, I was able to see the season finale of Prison Break even though I was at a Passover Seder. How? I hooked up the VCR, found a VHS tape and recorded the show. Maybe this is not as efficient as Tivo or DVR, but it the VCR proved its effectiveness.

PRISON BREAK SPOILER! (Although if you’re a fan of the show, you have probably watched Monday night’s episode by now). Fantastic episode! About two months ago, I figured the show went as far as it could and thought it should be wrapped up at the end of this season. (Plus, things were becoming truly ridiculous.) Even over the past few weeks, I thought the show was moving in that direction. However, Monday night’s episode leaves enough things open that I am excited about a Season Three. They just may need to change the name to Panamanian Prison Break. I do have one minor critique. According to the 2005 population estimate, there are 1,299,000 people living in Panama City, Panama. It amazes me how ten people seem to have found each other so easily in such a big city. I do have a few thoughts. I think we'll see both Kellerman and Kim again (just flesh wounds) and C-Note will probably be back at some point next season.