(Read all the way to the end for some feedback polls!)

Digital Estate Planning

Starting out the night was an episode which will be talked about for years as one of the top offerings of the series. The Greendale Seven were approached by a former assistant of Pierce Hawthorne, who set the stage for the group to work to earn Pierce the Hawthorne inheritance. Adding to the weird dynamic between Pierce and his deceased father, the patriarch took Pierce’s advice to heart 30 years ago when he advised that video games were the future, not moist towelettes. The Elder Hawthorne created a video game with himself as the ultimate villain, and the game’s victor will get his life’s spoils.

The long time assistant and will executor Gilbert Lawson was portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito of BREAKING BAD fame. Fans of his work as the fast food chain owner with a penchant for distribution will no doubt be pleased with his performance in Digital Estate Planning, and the secret his character reveals in the second act.

Anyone who has played a dozen or more Nintendo games from the 80′s (or some of the throw-back RPGs of recent years or ANYTHING resembling Final Fantasy) will love the attention paid to all aspects of this episode. The digitized show opening credits had me considering saving this episode on my DVR until the DVD is released. The expression-painted faces of the digital characters throughout their adventure cemented the decision.

Even for non-gamer viewers, the episode still had plenty of laughs to go around, particularly with the interactions between Annie and Shirley. Abed may have spent the majority of his time in 8-bit, but he evolved as much in this episode as he had in the first two seasons alone.

The First Chang Dynasty

Providing the meat in the night’s Community sandwich was the Community Seven’s efforts to dethrone Chang as Greendale’s dictator. Spoofing OCEANS 11 pitch perfectly, the episode showed how excellent the show’s writing staff has become at parody. Faux-serious absurdity mixed subtly with the one-liners the show has become known for, the season’s biggest storyline came to its fruition. As the episode came to a close, we also got some seriously heart-felt moments as one character came to grips with the reality of their situation. The interactions in the closing moments between Abed and Troy could easily be put up against any great moments in television history.

Okay, so maybe that’s hyperbole, but they did make it touchingly emotional while still getting a good laugh out of the situation.

Introduction To Finality

In what, at one point, might have been written as the series finale, just about all of the members of the Greendale Seven get moments in this episode which take their characters to a whole new level.

• Abed shows just how emotionally deep he is and his ability for introspection
• Britta gains credibility and some acceptance from the group as a psych major
• Pierce determines the worth of friendship in comparison to wealth and perception
• Troy displays an understanding for the appropriateness of absurdity and maturity
• Jeff reexamines his values and makes a decision which has significant impact on his future.

Death comes to Greendale. Judgment. Two characters make memorable returns. A Jim Belushi reference. And in addition to all of that, did I mention that this was the return of Evil Abed, and with him, a bone-cutting saw?

If you didn’t watch it on Thursday night, you deprived yourself. I hope it was worth it.

#SixSeasonsAndAMovie

If you liked this article, why not give us a LIKE on Facebook!

Close-up of Machivelli statue at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

For the second installment in my Badasses of History series, we turn to Niccolò Machiavelli, the great Italian writer and philosopher from the Renaissance who is considered the founder of modern political science. He is best known for The Prince, one of the first works of modern political philosophy. He also wrote several other treatises, as well as poetry, histories and dramas and was a diplomat for the republic of Florence on several occasions.

So what makes him a badass? The fact that The Prince espoused a political philosophy that was very radical for its time. Idealism was a big part of the Renaissance and especially in the beginning. Machiavelli eschewed that and the concept of a leader, or ‘prince’, being wholly benevolent. He claimed that there are times when powerful men must act in their own self-interest and not of their subjects, even resorting to violence, torture or manipulation in order to ensure stability. So he basically was a maverick who just didn’t like the status quo of ruling styles. Believing that rulers needed to do what needed to be done regardless of the method or its consequences is like something out of Jack Bauer and 24.

This might not qualify him as a true badass, but there’s one story that clinches it. While working for the Florentine government, he was looking for a way to screw with Florence’s arch-nemesis Pisa. Being the evil genius that he is, he enlisted the help of Leonardo da Vinci, probably thinking the man could make some doomsday weapon that would straighten out the Leaning Tower or something else really dickish. Instead, the two of them came up with a plan to STEAL A  F****** RIVER. The plan could’ve been to mess with Pisa’s crops or something, but that would be too inside-the-box for Machiavelli.

The river in question was the Arno, which runs through both Pisa and Florence. The blueprints for their plan called for remaking the entire Arno River Valley with a series of canals and dams that would divert the water to Florence and literally dry out Pisa. Basically the Renaissance equivalent of the Death Star. Unfortunately, the plan was too badass for the technology of the time and the plan failed. However, that’s irrelevant for this discussion since the fact that Machivavelli even came up with the plan shows his badass quality and way of thinking.

Because of The Prince, Machiavelli’s name became synonymous with political scheming and is a basis for the negativity we attach to the words politics and politician today. We think Congress is self-serving and slimy? You have Niccolò to thank for that. He was a badass of thought more then action and his legacy can still be felt today.

If I had one word to describe this film, it would be…..sigh. Just, sigh.

Just like most of the movies Burton has been churning out these days, the best I can say about is that “it’s just okay.” That is the absolute best I can say about it.

Based on the 60’s soap opera of the same name, Dark Shadows, the film follows Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) and his family in the 1800’s, after they leave Liverpool for the new world in search of fortune. As Barnabas enters adolescence, he makes the mistake of fooling around with one of his family’s servants, Angelique (Eva Green), who turns out to be a particularly vengeful witch. When Barnabas refuses to reciprocate Angelique’s love, she goes on an all out campaign against his family, killing everyone he loves. She kills his parents, his one true love, Josette (Bella Heathcote), and turns him into a vampire and arranges for him to be locked up and buried alive.

Fast forward 200 years to the 1970’s when Barnabas is accidentally awakened, and returns to Collinwood manor to find the dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family.  His family’s house has fallen into ruin, their fishing business is declining every day, and his old lover Angelique is still alive and still holds a vendetta against him and his family. Now it is up to Barnabas to rebuild his family’s name and business.

I will not dedicate anymore time to the plot, because neither did Tim Burton. As a vampire movie, it was absolutely ‘toothless’, so to speak. Tim Burton seems to have been writing this movie as he went along, adding whatever came to his mind with absolutely no regard for the tone or setup of this film. The film starts off with a somewhat serious tone, but as soon as they jump ahead in time to the 70’s this film tries to become an “Edward Scissorhands” type of fish-out-of-water story, with a heavy comedy element. Now I wouldn’t mind this at all, in fact I was really into it during the first act, but the comedy soon degraded into extremely camp vampire jokes (worse than that “toothless” joke I made earlier….yeah, it was pretty bad), that not only had been done many times before (e.g. Barnabas brushing his teeth in the mirror, with only the tooth paste and tooth brush showing), but had been done better.

Tim Burton was grasping at straws throughout this movie, not knowing quite how to move along with the story line. He would toss in new plot elements, only to never revisit them throughout the movie. He introduces such interesting characters with important roles in the story, but neglects to show them for most of the movie, he introduces a character who is crowbarred in with no other purpose than to setup a sequel, and also throws in various supernatural powers other characters have at the end of the film, which add no substance to the story and serve absolutely no real purpose. This includes a moment when one of the members, who is a werewolf, mumbles, “Let’s not make a big deal about it.” Clearly a suggestion Tim Burton took to heart.

So what was good about this movie? I really enjoyed the first act, the initial moments when Barnabas is trying to comprehend technology and innovation foreign to him, like cars, television and even a McDonalds sign! I pretty much enjoyed every scene with Johnny Depp in this film. He was what kept me somewhat entertained throughout the film; he pulled off playing a gothic vampire from the 18th century the way only Johnny Depp can. The costumes, the colors and the cinematography were also excellent, as is expected with Tim Burton movies. But that’s as much as I can say about what was positive with this film.

At the end of the day this movie served no other purpose than to the oh-so-gothic clothes at Hot Topic, which Tim Burton seems to be a fan of. This movie showed so much promise with the first act, winning me over, but as the movie went on it lost me, and failed to win me back. I honestly wouldn’t recommend anyone go out and pay good money to watch this movie in the theater, if you really want to watch it, wait until it’s out on DVD and rent it.

After narrowly surviving a deadly plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, a band of oil riggers must fend for their lives in the ice and snow. But thanks to wolves that view their presence as a threat, they aren’t alone.

Even though January to February is basically the toilet bowl of movies, there is always one guy who prevails as the winner. And no, there is not that much ass-kicking as the trailer/poster may have you think.

The plot here isn’t anything all that new that we haven’t already seen done before but co-writer/director Joe Carnahan brings something different to it. Carnahan does a great job here with this slick, dark, and stylized flick capturing a great look and feel right off the bat. All of these shots from the ice and snow in British Columbia look beautiful but it’s still not something you can gaze at as if it was a Terrence Malick considering the tone is still very dark itself. Let me also not forget to mention that this film also has one of the best plane crashes that I have seen as of late.

There is a lot in this film that will keep you riveted because these guys are basically trapped in the middle of somewhere, where all of these wolves are ready to feast at any second which is what gives it this paranoid and tense feel the whole film. There is always this big sense of dread in the air and you know that something just is not going to go right with this situation that they are put in and the film will catch you at a couple of parts and keep you completley riveted.

The film also doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the action junkies that will probably go out and see it considering that there is plenty of awesome action/thrilling sequences but don’t let it fool you, there is still a lot of character development as well that worked very well. Carnahan may pack this film to the top in tension but when it comes to the guys talking about life in general, he lets everything slow down and then he somehow becomes very subtle with the way he moves his camera around but never loses track of what these guys are saying. I can’t say that there are too many moments where we get to understand these guys from the inside and outs but for a survival action flick, I can definitely say that these characters felt like real-life people rather than just the usual side-character in an action flick that nobody cares about.

My only problem with this was that when they started getting all philosophical and started talking about God and faith, then it started to really ring false to me. I don’t know what it was but there was just something about a bunch of bearded dudes sitting around a fire, freezing their asses off talking about whether or not they believe in God or no that kind of made me scoff and realize that this film was aiming a little too high. I also thought that this was a little unneeded because the whole flick they don’t even make one mention of it at all but when they do, then the film becomes this huge spiritual experience where we have just about every guy cursing God. Hey, I don’t mind a flick when it tries to be more than a just mindless action flick, but don’t try and get too serious with me.

Another problem I had with this flick wasn’t so much of the flick itself rather it being the advertising itself. Everybody who saw the trailers for this flick knew that there would be some sort of stand-off between Neeson and the wolves, when in reality, that sort of happened and sort of didn’t. I don’t want to get into any specifics and give anything away but it was always in the back of my mind the whole time so that once I got disappointed, the disappointment was sort of in the back of my mind as well. Also, knowing that this is a Neeson action flick that is made mostly for him, we all know that he has to basically live out all of the crazy events considering that he is the main star and basically it’s just like you’re watching people die left-and-right as if it was a slasher flick but instead of a teenager killer, it was either the wolves, snow, ice, or mother nature herself.

Being that this is an action vehicle for Liam Neeson the film really relies on him for a lot here and I have to say that this is definitely one of the better performances I have seen from him as of late. Neeson plays Ottway, who is a character that’s a little bit different from his other action heroes. He’s a lot more troubled, very depressed, and scared but also still very knowledgeable and brave which is something that Neeson pulls off perfectly in this whole flick. Neeson makes everything in this flick look so easy and it’s just great to see him playing an actual person again rather than a secret CIA dude who has a certain amount of trained skills. If this film was released in October to December, it definitely would have garnered him some buzz for Best Actor but hopefully his name will still come around this time around next year. Then again, it’s very unlikely but still, I think he should deserve some love at least. There is also a lot of other performances here given by some familiar faces I was incredibly happy to see such as Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, and many others who add a lot to their characters almost just as much as Neeson does.

Consensus: Even though it tries to aim a little higher than it should, The Grey is still an impressive survival flick from the stylized and tense hand of Joe Carnahan, that gives this film characters that we care for and the jolts and scares that work almost every time. Definitely my favorite flick of the year so far and even though that’s not saying much, I still think it was a pretty big surprise.

8/10=Matinee!!

GuysNation:

Lauren: I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO PURSUE PLAYBOY. SOME OF MY FAMILY LIVES IN CALIFORNIA SO I JUST DECIDED THAT I WAS GOING TO GIVE IT A TRY SO I FLEW OUT FOR THE CASTING & 4 YEARS LATER I’M STILL MODELING FOR THEM

GuysNation:Have you been contacted by any of your former boyfriends after they’ve seen you in Playboy?

Lauren: YES, ALL OF THEM KNOW THAT I’VE BEEN IN PLAYBOY.

GuysNation:You’ve got great assets from head to toe. A lot of people, myself included, think you’ve got great eyes, but I’ve read you’re most proud of your abs. What’s the one food you have the hardest time straying away from in trying to keep up your great physique?

Lauren:  THAT’S A TOUGH ONE. I JUST RECENTLY MADE THE CHOICE TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN SO I’VE HAD TO GIVE UP ALMOST ALL THE FOODS THAT I LOVE. IT’S BEEN HARD BUT I LIKE HOW I FEEL NOW.

GuysNation:As a guy who never had trouble making people laugh, I love it when women identify that as a personality trait they look for in a guy, which instantly made you all the hotter when I read that you’re one of those women. Who’s your favorite funny man from films or television?

Lauren:  I’M OBSESSED WITH BLAKE ANDERSON FROM WORKAHOLICS. HE IS HILARIOUS AND ALSO SEXY AS HELL

GuysNation:Spending time at the Playboy Mansion has to be incredible for many reasons. Have you met anyone there – other than Hugh Hefner – that had you star struck?

Lauren:  I DON’T REALLY GET STAR STRUCK, OR I HAVEN’T YET. I’VE MET A LOT OF CELEBRITIES AND MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN QUITE NORMAL & DOWN TO EARTH.

GuysNation:If you could meet one celebrity guy and one woman, who would they be? (Maybe Hugh & Shera are reading this and could make some calls)

Lauren: BLAKE ANDERSON OR ROB DYRDEK.

GuysNation: Shera Bechard was amazing in SWEET KARMA. Do you have any ambitions to do some acting?

Lauren:  I’VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT. I WOULDN’T TURN DOWN THE IDEA BUT IT’S NOT SOMETHING I’VE WANTED TO DO.

GuysNation: What do you prefer for a date – a guy to take you to a fancy restaurant, or for him to cook for you?

Lauren:  COOK FOR ME FOR SURE.

GuysNation: We’ve heard that wine is your weakness. Do you have any favorite types or do you like trying new things?

Lauren: I LOVE WHITE WINE. I USUALLY HATE TRYING NEW THINGS BUT I’M GETTING BETTER ABOUT IT.

GuysNation: How adventurous are you in terms of romantic situations?

Lauren:  I’M VERY SPONTANEOUS. I LOVE DOING WILD & CRAZY THINGS FOR LOVE.

GuysNation: What’s the wildest place you’ve ever been intimate?

Lauren:  I WISH I COULD SAY I HAD A REALLY COOL PLACE BUT UNFORTUNATELY I DON’T.

GuysNation: If there’s one place on my bucket list that I don’t have high hopes of getting the chance to visit, it’s the Playboy Mansion Grotto. Is it better than you had originally imagined, and is it as wild & crazy as we’ve heard?

Lauren:  YEAH IT’S PRETTY AMAZING. DURING PARTIES I REFUSE TO EVEN GO NEAR IT. PEOPLE GET TOO OUT OF CONTROL AND GROSS BUT WHENEVER I STAY AT THE MANSION THE GIRLS & I LOVE GOING IN THERE WITH SOME DRINKS AND JUST RELAX AND HANG OUT.

GuysNation: Are you currently dating anyone?

Lauren: NO, IM 100% SINGLE!

GuysNation: We’ve heard you enjoy hanging out with friends and family and watch movies. What’s in your top five list?

Lauren: I LOVE BLOW, SEVEN POUNDS, THE HOUSE BUNNY, 30 MINTUNES OR LESS, AND STEPBROTHERS.

GuysNation: Have you ever been to Hef’s movie nights at the mansion?

Lauren:  YES, I’VE BEEN SEVEREAL TIMES.

GuysNation: While watching The Girls Next Door, my hopes were somewhat crushed because (aside from Keith), I don’t think I ever saw a guy there amongst all the lovely ladies.

GuysNation: You’ve got your official website now – http://OfficialLaurenWaugh.com – what can you tell our readers about the type of content on there?

Lauren:  THERE WILL BE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS, INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF, NEWS ABOUT WHAT I’M DOING NEXT, A FULL STORE WITH AUTOGRPAHED PHOTOS, MERCHANDISE, AND THINGS YOU CAN ONLY GET FROM MY WEBSITE!

- ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ -

In addition to her website, you can check out more great content with Lauren Waugh here on GuysNation!

Chronicle is told from the perspective of loner Adam (Played by Dane DeHaan), who sulks into the camera with circles under his eyes. He cares for his sick mother, who seems to adore every moment she gets to spend with him, and he avoids his alcoholic father’s rants and beatings. He begins documenting his day-to-day routine, taking his camera to school with him and capturing the hell he endures. He is the target of bullies, ignored by girls and most other kids, and many call him “creepy” when they see his camera. His only true friend is Matt (Played by Alex Russell), his cousin who consistently encourages him to come out of his shell and reluctantly looks over him. When Adam and Matt attend a secluded party, they go exploring in the woods with the popular kid at school, Steve (Played by Michael B. Jordan), and they end up finding a strange cave-like hole in a clearing. They decide to explore the hole and make a mysterious alien-like discovery, which rubs off on them and as a result, they end up with telekinetic powers that they at first use for teenage pranks. Soon Adam begins sharpening the powers and he beings abusing his gift, which leads to a destructive and bloody showdown in the streets of Seattle between Matt and Adam.

Chronicle scores brownie points for putting us on the side of the villain, giving us insight into Adam’s evolution from loner with good intentions to a murderous antagonist. His descent into villainy is piteous and we do feel for him. Every victory he has is ruined for him and his father’s physical and mental abuse sends him over the edge. He begins to suspect that Steve isn’t truly his friend and rejects his genuine concerns. The result is multiple deaths and the creation of a monster that deems himself an apex predator. In the beginning we can smell whiffs of anger in Adam, a ticking time bomb, but when his fury is unleashed, it sucks all the air out of our lungs.

The early bonding scenes are a treat to watch and when Adam, Matt, and Steve play pranks with their new found powers, they are often times hilarious, typical antics of puckish teenagers. The standout is when the three boys discover they can fly and they pass around a football above the clouds. There is also a wonderful talent show sequence where Steve and Matt reveal their powers to their fellow high school students. The scene belongs to Adam and I got the feeling that Steve was trying to give Adam his moment in the sun, which makes their sudden falling out all the more dramatic and crushing. Yet it is these scenes that also bring out the true humanity of these teenagers, who come off like real everyday teens you’d pass on the street. They discuss girls, popularity, sex, parties, and their dreams, all while never missing the opportunity to give each other a hard time. These teens also quote Carl Jung, which is a bit left of center but brave nonetheless.

Chronicle packs epic battle sequences that will shake the walls of your home and wake the neighbors. They also end up being the most flawed aspects of the film, sometimes being a bit incomprehensible and distant. There are shots that are too far away to really tell who is winning in the climatic showdown and I was left wishing that Trank had focused his camera in a little bit closer. I understand the approach he is taking but he has to understand that he is yanking us out of the moment when he pulls away. Yet he makes a mountain out of a measly pile of dirt.

Chronicle reeks of having a shoestring budget yet we get explosions, cars crushing like soda cans, helicopters smashing into the panic-stricken streets, and destruction of the famed Seattle Space Needle. We get scenes of the kids leaping through the air, dodging airplanes, making heroic catches of both each other and innocent bystanders. Trank makes the action unfeigned, bloody, and yes, the kids get hurt. Bad. It’s far from the standard superhero films where the blows don’t really faze either individual. Our dueling characters are barely standing halfway through their confrontation.

In the end, Chronicle features well-written dialogue, multidimensional characters, booming action sequences, and an unforgettable climax. The most glaring issue with the film is the lack of an explanation over what the kids find in the cave and all we really get is some shaky neon shots of what looks like a giant neon crystal spider (trust me, it’s actually pretty cool looking) that emits rumbling electronic booms. The film never backtracks to explain further which I found to be frustrating. The true hero of Chronicle ends up being the villain, DeHaan, who is a little too convincing at times in his rage. For a February release, Chronicle manages to be a step above the other warmed over releases by Hollywood. It’s a step above because it captures how kids in this situation would act and react. And you can’t help but reflect on what you would do if you suddenly gained superpowers. Would you play pranks? Use it for destructive purposes? Use them to protect your family at any cost? Or use them to make a teddy bear levitate to scare a young girl? But kids will be kids I suppose and the shenanigans are expected. There is no question or doubt that Chronicle is one of the coolest movies of 2012 so far.

Grade: B+

Mike Shanahan rarely let's his guard down. But when he does, his answers are pretty surprising. Photo courtesy Patrick McDermott/Getty Images North America

In the main hallway of the main building at Redskins park, a crowd is gathered. They are primarily fans, most of them diehards, and they’re shooting the breeze with their peers and colleagues. It’s mid-Spring, a season not often associated with football, but the drafting of Robert Griffin III is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Soon, a man appears amongst the crowd. He is extremely rosy-cheeked with silver hair and his small, almost petite-ish frame makes him appear to be these fans’ junior.

But, in fact, he is not. He is Mike Shanahan — the man behind the switchboard of the team everyone in that hall idolizes.

You see, lost in all the ‘RG3′ hype is the fact that this town, this FOOTBALL town, still very much belongs to Mike Shanahan. Their losing record and his often tight-lipped press conferences have forced some to draw conclusions about the man. But in no Redskins coach’s term — with the possible exception of Joe Gibbs — have the terms ‘era’, ‘regime’, and ‘administration’ been more accurately applied.

So what does a smallish man with a perceived big ego say to fans when its billed as him “letting his guard down”? The answers might surprise you.

I had an opportunity to attend this rare occasion where a select group of fans crowded the team meeting room at Redskins Park for a Chalk Talk Q&A. Here are some of the more notable exchanges:

The cameras are on a new face in Washington. But growing up a Broncos fan, Griffin looks up to Shanahan. Photo courtesy Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

RG3

Of course, the new franchise quarterback was fresh in many fans’ minds and they didn’t shy away from asking questions. One person wanted to know what the trade process was like in securing the second overall pick in order to take the quarterback from Baylor. Shanahan admitted that Washington new they were in a de facto bidding war with one other team but weren’t 100% sure who it was. Only later did we learn that it appears to have been Cleveland.

But the really interesting comments came later in the session. One fan asked the head coach how a more mobile and athletic quarterback could fit the ‘Shanahan System’. Rather than taking the question head on, Shanahan actually spent the first half of the answer debunking the myth that a Shanahan system even exists. He credited most of the perception to Donovan McNabb’s remarks about his time in Washington leading up to the draft. Then, he made an interesting argument as to how Robert Griffin III actually IS his type of quarterback.

He pointed out that, in all his years of football, he has only had five quarterbacks I believe that have played at least two seasons for him. Guys like John Elway, Steve Young, Jake Plummer, and Jay Cutler obviously had their differences, but Shanahan made the observation that the one common denominator between all these quarterbacks was their ability to move outside the pocket and extend the play. In that regard, RG3 may be his dream prospect.

A Quarterback NON-Controversy

With all the stirring of the “drama pot” the sports media did with the fact that Washington also took quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round, you’d almost have to expect a fan to ask him about it. And only one question in, someone did.

The question was very simple: why did you take two quarterbacks? And Shanahan’s response, although a bit wordy, was fairly direct as well. He said that he considers the quarterback position to be the most important position in football. And, seeing as how he values it so much, he believes it’s better to have three “first string” quarterbacks than a first-string, second-string, and third-string quarterback. He wasn’t saying that he believes Robert Griffin III is no better than Cousins or even Rex Grossman, but he was saying that Cousins and Grossman, at least in his eyes, are starting-caliber quarterbacks that can be ready to step up in a moment’s notice.

Shanahan knows RG3 is his starting quarterback, but he also knows that injuries happen. Accordingly, he wants to have immense depth at the quarterback position and he believes he has attained it by resigning Grossman and drafting Cousins.

Mike once convinced Kyle he could win a Mile run against classmates. Now Kyle needs to convice Mike he's the guy to run the offense in DC. Photo courtesy Win McNamee/Getty Images

Keeping it in the Family

Taking a turn closer to home, a couple of fans asked the coach what it was like working with his son, Kyle, who is the team’s offensive coordinator. And, to be honest, the level of candidness Shanahan showed on the subject was pretty astounding.

When one fan asked, “Have you ever had a major argument about coaching with Kyle and, if so, what was it about and how was it resolved,” Shanahan retorted back, “Well I just call my wife, and let the REAL boss sort it out.”

Kidding aside, Shanahan actually admitted he never believed he would work with his son. Being so close to him, he had seen, as he put it, “the good, the bad, and the ugly”. In order to work with him, Mike says he told Kyle he had to be the play-calling offensive coordinator of a Top 5 NFL offense two consecutive years in a row. As it turned out, Kyle accomplished this right at the time Daniel Snyder brought Mike on as a head coach.

Even then, Mike admits he believed it wouldn’t happen. He saw Houston’s offense as so complete and well-rounded that Kyle wouldn’t want to leave such a beneficial position. Instead, Kyle told his dad it had always been his dream to coach with his dad. He didn’t care if the road was expected to be bumpy. If Mike was coming into Washington, so was he.

Scouting while Coaching

Most of the interesting answers Shanahan gave were naturally set up by good questions. But on one rather generic question, Shanahan gave a level of insight he didn’t even expect to share.

A fan exclaimed his concern with the depth at corner back and offensive tackle and asked the coach if he believed he had adequately addressed the need or, if not, what he was planning on doing. Almost immediately, Shanahan took the opportunity to sing the praises of recent free agent signee Cedric Griffin.

Shanahan said that he walked away from Washington’s game against Minnesota on Christmas Eve rather impressed with the then Viking cornerback. As he put it, Griffin’s combination of size and a well-rounded skill set made him a guy Shanahan was very much interested in. So when he became available during the offseason, the Redskins pounced on the opportunity.

Stars of Tomorrow

As the session began to wind down, one fan in the front row asked the coach to name a few players fans weren’t paying a lot of attention to that he expected to have big seasons for the team moving forward. This was the only question during the hour-plus session where Shanahan actually took the time to pause and think about an answer.

While he admitted he thought there were a handful of guys that set the criteria set forth by the man, Shanahan was quick to sing the praises of Niles Paul. In case you aren’t familiar with him, Paul is a wide receiver the Redskins took in the fifth round of last year’s draft. However, Shanahan envisions moving Paul over to tight end where he would assist the incumbent Fred Davis and Chris Cooley.

So what does Shanahan see in Paul? Two words: Shannon Sharpe. That’s right, Shanahan believes Paul’s size, speed, and hands draw a lot of parallels to one of the greatest tight ends to have played. If that’s even REMOTELY true, Redskins fans have a lot to look forward to.

_________________________________
NOTE: This story was originally published on SportsHead. To read this article and others click here.
When Bryan isn’t writing, he is on Twitter! Follow him @bclienesch!

Fox has taken an axe to their programming with eight cancellations, including Terra Nova, Alcatraz, Breaking In, Allen Gregory, Napoleon Dynamite, The Finder, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, and most importantly, Fox’s tent pole show… House.

This season was a very interesting season ratings wise, as The New Girl was a HUGE success, causing Fox to bring in new sitcoms to try for an all comedy block on Tuesdays causing Glee to move to Thursday night, creating a log jam for my  Tivo on that night.

It’s also important to note that the ratings for American Idol have faltered, and though I see the end in sight,  the X Factor did VERY well, and so for the time being, they are both on the schedule…

As for new shows… You will notice a lot of the shows I had written about in my pilots article haven’t made the list, that’s because 90% of Pilots suck ass, and it’s expected. Out of the ones Fox did pickup. it’s almost a given that at least half of them wont last a whole season. Especially given Foxes track record with new programming… Thus why they just keep the shows they have for 23 years instead… aka the Simpsons.

But there are a few new Pilots airing next year… Here is a brief rundown.

Ben and Kate

One of the shows brought in for the Tuesday night block with Raising Hope and the New Girl. The breakdown calls it a “heartwarming new sibling comedy”. It is  created by Dana Fox  and directed by Jake Kasdan. It stars and Nat Faxon and newcomer Dakota Johnson.  The comedy follows a pair of odd-couple siblings – one, an overly responsible single mom; the other, an exuberant kid-at-heart – and their friends as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. Not sure if it will suvive or not… Not a big fan of Dana Fox’s writing, and Jake Kasdan hasn’t necessarily done anything earth shattering, but as hard as it will be.. I will reserve judgement till I see at least two or three episodes.

The Following

This is a midseason Drama (Ala Alcatraz) and has an AWESOME cast….  It was created by  Kevin Williamson and stars such actors as  Kevin Bacon (XMen: First Class), and James Purefoy  (Rome), along with Maggie Grace (Lost), Natalie Zea (Justified), and  Shawn Ashmore (XMen: First Class). The  plot it stated to follow an ex-FBI agent (Bacon) called out of retirement to track down a devious and diabolical serial killer (Purefoy), the mastermind behind a nationwide string of murders. Fox REALLY wants to repeat 24, and this has potential. Good writer, awesome cast… Let’s see if it hurts from being a Mid Season show or not (as most mid season shows are cursed to fail).

The Goodwin Games

This is a comedy coming in Mid Season… This is show is probably the main reason How I met Your mother has been mediocre at best this season, as the Executive Prodcuers of the show: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, and Chris Harris;  have been concentrating on this new show. It stars Stars Scott Foley, Becki Newton (Quinn from Mother), and Jake Lacy. The family comedy tells the story of three estranged siblings who return home after the loss of their beloved father, and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit more than $20 million – if, and only if, they can adhere to their late father’s trivial wishes. I have faith in the three prodcuers if the show is fresh and Becki Newton is Certainly hot, so I’ll check it out… It may be good…

The Mindy Project

The other addition to the Tuesday night Comedy Block. This show spells trouble for NBC’s The Office, as it stars Mindy Kaling which certainly means no more Kelly Kapoor in The Office… Kaling also created the show which also stars Chris Messina, Anna Camp, and Ed Weeks. The Show revolves around Kaling who plays a skilled OB/GYN navigating the tricky waters of both her personal and professional life, as she pursues her dreams of becoming the perfect woman, finding the perfect man and getting her perfect romantic comedy ending. It has potential as Kaling is a talented writer, and has some aweosme guest stars… So well have to see.. And they put this on after The New Girl which is an awesome awesome lead in show since its a really good show, and sort of covers the same demographic., meaning The ratings will be high for the first few weeks of this show.

The Mob Doctor

With the Monday Night at 9 slot open due to gregroy Houses departure, Fox threw this Drama into it’s slot. It’s Executive-produced by Josh Berman and Rob Wright, the engrossing character drama stars Jordana Spiro as a brilliant, life-saving surgeon caught in a complex web between her promising medical career and her family’s debt to Chicago’s Southside mob. Other than a couple of intriguing casting choices such as Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights) and William Forsythe, I am not that interested in this. One of the things that made House so interesting wasnt the cases, but the character, and I don’t know if this show has the same pull…

But thats it for new shows… With them, we get a full schedule, which looks like this…

MONDAY
Bones, 8:00 p.m. ET

The Mob Doctor, 9:00 p.m. ET

The Following, (midseason) TBD

TUESDAY
Raising Hope, 8:00 p.m. ET

Ben and Kate, 8:30 p.m. ET

New Girl, 9:00 p.m. ET

The Mindy Project, 9:30 p.m. ET

The Goodwin Games, (midseason) TBD

WEDNESDAY
The X Factor, 8:00 p.m. ET

American Idol, 8:00 p.m. ET (midseason)

THURSDAY
The X Factor, Results 8:00 p.m. ET

American Idol, Results 8:00 p.m. ET (midseason)

Glee, 9 p.m. ET

FRIDAY
Touch, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fringe, 9:00 p.m. ET

Hell’s Kitchen, (midseason) TBD

SATURDAY
Fox Sports Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

Cops, (midseason) TBD

Animation Domination High-Def, (Late 2013) TDB

SUNDAY
NFL Game, 7:00 p.m. ET

Animation Domination, 7:00 p.m. ET

The OT  7:30 p.m. ET

The Cleveland Show, 7:30 p.m. ET

The Simpsons, 8:00 p.m. ET

Bob’s Burgers, 8:30 p.m. ET

Family Guy, 9:00 p.m. ET

American Dad, 9:30 p.m. ET

#likeaboss: Triple H has been off TV for too long and has not had the chance to really bury the whole roster like he usually does, so hopefully he’ll get to that soon in this opening promo. He’s selling the arm injury better then he did at the Mayweather fight. Apparently, H is offended by the fact that Lesnar is walking around like he owns the place. Didn’t HHH kind of act like that back during his heel days? Claiming that he’s embarrassed that he bought into Lesnar’s hype isn’t going to cut it either. I know it’s an angle, but what did he expect? Brock to come back as a do-gooder? That’s Cena’s role. By the way Hunter, I’m pretty sure Minneapolis isn’t a place to find alot of ‘simpleton farmboys’ as you put it. Just sayin’. Of course insulting Brock is going to bring out Paul Heyman since Brock ‘quit’ and most of the crowd are still like ‘who is this guy?’. At least Heyman is every bit as aggravating and able to get under your skin as he was back in the day. He ‘serves’ HHH papers that Brock is suing Mr COO, though I’m sure this will be as big as the other ‘lawsuits’ WWE has done.

#thesecondw: Ostensibly, the second W stands for wrestling and we finally get to some with a Teddy Long Special, yes a tag match of Punk-Santino vs Bryan-Rhodes. At least they’re getting the WWE title feud out the way early in the show, he said with heavy sarcasm. Santino is the ‘one of these is not like the other’ in this match. Punk, Bryan and Rhodes all try to wrestle and Santino just does some comedy spots. Cody gets startled by The Cobra but turns right into a GTS by Punk for the win. Very odd match and we didn’t get any mic time for Punk or Bryan which could have hyped their match Sunday better. Then again WWE kind of rushed into it in the first place.

#divasmatch: Time to run to the bathroom!

#twintowers: So remember people, next time you make fun of your boss it could have dire consequences, like being put in a match with the Big Red Monster. That’s what happens now with Big Show after mocking Laurinaitis last week. Mr EVP and The Law Offices of David Otunga’s Travel Mug are by commentary to take in the action. Is it me or is Kane’s entrance not as menacing or fear-inducing as it once was? That this match could’ve been somewhat decent is irrelevant because the Show-Johnny angle took over. Show was about to go for a cover after a big Spear to Kane on the outside, but Johnny got on the mic and demanded an apology at that instant. That appears not to have been his intention as Kane used the distraction to chokeslam Show for the win. Post-match Johnny demands a real apology or he’ll fire Show, who launches into a I’ve-had-a-great-career speech before pleading with Johnny not to fire him. As if the heel Laurinaitis would buy that and further demands Show sincerely apologize from his knees. Show at least saves some of his dignity, but ends up doing it anyway, crying the whole time. Still it’s not enough as Johnny future endeavors him. The whole thing kind of dragged out, but Show did a decent enough job of selling it. At least Cole didn’t gleefully rub it in, but remained silent afterwards.

#changeofpace: Kind of hard to follow a segment like that isn’t it? A Clay-Kofi-Truth vs Ziggler-Swagger-Miz tag match is the answer. Miz has been buried for a while now, but why is Ziggler getting similar treatment? He’s proven he can hang with the big boys and shown marked improvement in the ring. Plus he has solid mic skills, which you wouldn’t know if you didn’t watch him on Ryder’s YouTube show. He’s one of the top sellers in the company right now, but Creative is too concerned with keeping the old vets on top to actually invest some time in building young stars like Ziggler or Rhodes. At least Dolph didn’t take the pin, as that was Miz’s job. Clay continues his Crimson-esque winning streak and there’s no actual angle for him in sight. He was interesting when he came back, but he’s still doing the same thing, which has to be turning off some fans at this point.

#hindsight: So Orton vs Jericho is the main event? Yeah right, we haven’t even heard from Cena, so that will be the ‘actual’ main event. It’s hard for me to get that interested in this match as WWE is essentially giving away a PPV caliber match on free TV, plus they didn’t even hype it or anything. I’m sure these two were headed for an actual feud and it still may happen after the Fatal 4 Way on Sunday. Sheamus is out on commentary, so maybe he’ll work in a tale about one of his Irish relatives. The match lasts for like a minute before they cut to commercial. That’ll sure get the TV audience involved. The Sheamus-Orton tension took up a decent portion of this match and figured into the finish. As Orton was set to RKO Jericho, Sheamus pulled him to the outside and knocked him down, DQing Orton in the process. Jericho hightailed it as those two stared each other down. That match could’ve been so much more, but predictable WWE booking got in the way, where the story is more important then the actual match.

#earthshattering: So Laurinaitis has an announcement that could ‘change the course of the WWE forever. I’m pretty sure that phrase has become a cliche already. Cena actually starts off fairly well, mocking Laurinaitis and called him a ‘loser’ every time he tried to talk. Of course all good things come to an end and Cena devolved into polling the audience and getting cheap pops by bringing up The Steel Curtain and the Penguins. Schoolteacher Eve runs out to hand Johnny some sort of message before running back just as quick. It’s from The Board and stipulates that no one can interfere in The Battle of The Johns and the match can only be won via pinfall or submission. Most importantly, if Johnny loses, he loses his job. The crowd sure popped for that. The new stipulations sure stack the deck against Laurinaitis, but I’m sure he’ll either find some way to win or weasel back into the job if he does lose to Cena. Not that good of a show overall as it didn’t really do a whole lot to make people want to buy the PPV.

Had the Washington Capitals won Game 7 on Saturday night, Dale Hunter would be getting the team geared up to play the New Jersey Devils in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals. With less than 48 hours having elapsed since the team left Madison Square Garden with another second round exit from the playoffs, Dale Hunter has announced he will not be returning next season.

Joining the Capitals in November to replace Bruce Boudreau, Dale Hunter coached the team through 30 wins and as many losses in the regular season (7 of the losses in Over Time), and had the same .500 winning percentage in the playoffs this post season. His contract was just for one season, and the guy whose 32 is hanging in the rafters at Verizon Center has stated that it’s “the right thing to do” for him to return to his family and not continue on with the Capitals.

Dale Hunter is a co-owner of the London Knights, an Ontario-based hockey team which he runs with his brother Mark Hunter.

Washington Capitals GM George McPhee stated that the team “could have very easily won” the series against the Rangers and that he is “not in any rush” to select a replacement. On Dale Hunter’s performance behind the bench, McPhee gave a cloudy review that Hunter “got everything out of this team that he could”, which could be construed as something other than a glowing review.

Reports indicate that when McPhee received the news, he didn’t attempt to change Hunter’s mind.

(Quotes Source: USA Today)