Metro will not be going to the RMAC tournament as a frustrating first season for Coach Oates came to an end Saturday.  Metro dropped both games to CSU-Pueblo 14-8 and 10-6 in the doubleheader.  Metro ended the season 15-31 overall and 12-28 in the RMAC.  Now they lose four Seniors in Evan Claus, Ryan Hutchinson, Ty Jacobs, and Robbie Nickels.  Now Metro will head into the offseason and here are three things sure to be on Coach Oates’s off season wish list.  

1. Experience

This team had three freshman starting pitchers, a first time 1st baseman in Daryl Baca, and a freshman third baseman in Darren Schulthies.  That doesn’t even begin to cover the outfield where they had freshman Mitch Gibbons in center.  This is a team that needed to take reps.  They needed this season to get to know one another and to get used to the speed of the game at this level.  There is no easy way to speed up this process unfortunately and thus this season was a struggle.  Next year though those guys need to use this experience and come in ready to play right away.  

2. Consistency

With a young team you are going to get more ups and downs, but there were far too many this season for Coach Oates liking.  This was evidenced in the one big inning that they would often give up to blow themselves right out of games.  In division II baseball you simply can’t relax for a half inning without teams making you pay.  This team made 92 errors this season compared to 66 for their opponents.  You can’t overcome that big of a margin and the only reason for that many errors is a lack of focus.  This team has to get comfortable with the grind of the baseball season.  On a Saturday you might be on the field for six hours and outside for eight and you have to be locked in that whole time.  

3. A Number One Pitcher

Metro needs a pitcher to emerge to stop the runs that teams are going on against them.  They need that pitcher who gives the whole team confidence every time they step on the mound.  The two main candidates are Freshman pitcher Mike Thill and Junior Justin Arceneaux.  Both have the stuff to be that pitcher for the team, but they both need to push one another to get better this off season and be the guy.  My personal pick is Arceneaux due to his experience and he has the confidence every time he steps on the mound.  

Metro State began the youth movement this year, and next year it is time to cash in on all the time Coach Oates put into these players this season.  The final Coach Oates Show can be heard this Thursday from 12pm to 1pm or catch up on all the shows at gometrostate.com! 

To preface this movie review, I went into this movie very skeptical for several reasons. Chiefly, that I was worried about the acting abilities of John Cusack who plays the legendary, Edgar Allen Poe, in the movie. There has never been a movie where he completely impressed me with his acting abilities, despite him being in big budget movies such as “2012.” The main worry is his bread and butter seems to be in romantic flicks, point in fact, “Must Love Dogs” “Serendipity” and a few others.  Another worry of mine that I had when I went to see this movie was the originality of it all. The trailer makes it appear like every other cat and mouse movie there is, (Red Dragon, Se7en, From Hell) Not only that, but a lot of ideas that originated with Edgar Allen Poe, mainly how people die, has been used countless times in other thrillers and suspense movies, (Point in fact, the Pit and the Pendulum in the “Saw” Series).  So how does one make these deaths original, yet still true to the stories.

To give a brief synopsis of the movie, it involves the real life writer and storyteller Edgar Allen Poe, in his hometown of Baltimore, and his experiences in his fictional last days. During these fictional last days of the life of Edgar Allen Poe, he is romantically involved with “Emily Hamilton. (Played by Alice Eve, “She’s Out of My League) A romance that has been forbidden by Emily’s father and therefore must be a secret romance known only by a few. It is now than that a series of mysterious murders begin to occur, in which the lead detective of the film is Detective Fields, played by Luke Evans, (Immortals) who realizes that these murders were done in the precise manner as the stories of Poe. Detective Fields, than recruits Poe in an effort to get inside the killers mind and help apprehend him. Poe, originally is very reluctant to help with the investigation, but when his beloved Emily is captured and used as a device to force Poe to play the Killer’s game, Poe has no choice but to partake in the adventure.

The main thing I wish to focus on is the portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe, by John Cusack. As stated before, I was worried about whether or not Cusack would do justice to Poe. to my astonishment, Cusack not only did him justice but was spot on with what one would imagine Poe’s mannerisms to be. One scene in particular was in a bar and Poe was reciting lines from various poems and stories of his and challenges everyone to finish certain lines, with the prize for successfully doing so a free beer. When no one bothers to answer Poe starts ridiculing them for their stupidity using a sling of intricate and well articulated insults. (no small feat for using the language of the times, and the lines it was written) Another aspect was that it did a great job of doing fan service those who have read or know Poe’s life story, with references in the movie to his life in the military, and other such aspects. But most importantly, is that it didn’t show Poe as a Crack-Cocaine addict,(which was never true)  as many films mistakenly  portray him as. The only real argument I have against this movie is that they never truly reveal the background of the murderer, that is to say, they never give a reason as to why he commits the murders in the first place. The only thing that is clear is that the murderer is clearly inspired by Poe’s stories. Not only that but the murders themselves have no special meaning, it is only a simple way of creating plot devices to advocate the films events. Despite the good acting of Mr. Cusack, I would only give this movie a 2.5 out of 5 stars and is only worth seeing if you enjoyed the stories of Poe, as well as suspense/thriller enthusiasts.  Overall, a stay away film.

1. A second Pitcher

Metro has a great ace coming back in Aubree Maul, but they need either Randolph or Moss to step up to start taking series 3-1 during the season.  It was obvious in the tournament that Maul was the only pitcher Coach Lansford felt comfortable going to and you can’t win a tournament that way.

2. Protect Tillery

Kelsey Tillery is playing amazing in that leadoff role, but Metro needs someone to step up in the two hole to protect her.  I look to a Mary Towner to keep improving and step up into that role for Metro thus bridging the gap to Chelsea Brew and Aubree Maul in the middle of the lineup.  

3. Get Older and Wiser

This team was so young and inexperienced that you knew that they were going to have speed bumps this season.  So really the number one thing they need in the offseason is just more time together.  Once they get that than some of the silly errors will go away as well as being more comfortable in crunch time with the bats.  The future is bright see you next year Metro Softball!

The Pirates! Band of Misfits the latest animated feature from director Peter Lord of the Wallace and Gromit franchise, is back with star power this time.  Hugh Grant voices the Pirate Captain, Salma Hayek voices Cutlass Liz, and Jeremy Piven is Black Bellamy.  

Big name actors have started to be more excited about the animated medium thus leading to better and better movies.  It used to be enough for an animated movie to just be good enough for the kids to enjoy.  That is no longer the case with movies like Hugo, Adventures of Tin Tin, and Wall-e getting Oscar love in the Best Picture category.  Now you just have to be a solid film for everyone to keep people satisfied.  

I am happy to report that Pirates is a solid film for everyone.  It revolves around a misfit crew lead by the Pirate Captain trying to win the Pirate of the Year award.  The Captain has to try to beat out the vicious Cutlass Liz and the silver tongued Black Bellamy for the award all while trying to avoid the pirate hating Queen Victoria.  The Pirate Captain seems hopeless until he happens across Charles Darwin who informs him that the crew’s supposed parrot is actually the last remaining Dodo in the world.  

The movie is consistently funny with a Darwin character who is madly in love with Queen Victoria as well as a coward.  A joke like this is clearly intended only for adults who can appreciate treating the father of evolution with such disrespect.  The movie is paced well at just under 90 minutes it never feels too slow.  There are so many little jokes the credits serve as a callback for some that you may have missed.  

This film may not have as much social awareness as a Wall-e, but it is still a fun movie for families as well as a date night.  I give it a solid 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it highly.   

Metro Softball lost a heart breaker in their first game of the RMAC Tournament, losing 3-2 to #3 seed Fort Lewis.  Metro never trailed in the game until Fort Lewis took the lead for good on a two run double from Natalie Janes in the bottom of the sixth.  Maul took her first ever career loss vs. Fort Lewis allowing only 2 earned runs.  Kelsey Tillery hit her 23rd home run of the season in the third inning to give Metro a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the third Fort Lewis evened things up on an error from Susie Oury brought in Erica Conley who was at third after Chelsea Brew misplayed a fly ball in right field.  Brittany Padilla walked with the bases loaded to give Metro a 2-1 lead that held up until the sixth inning.  After the loss Metro was forced to play a second game with their tournament lives on the line vs. the #2 seed CSU Pueblo.  

Coach Lansford leading Metro In the RMAC Tourney

Once again Aubree Maul threw a complete game allowing only one run the entire game vs. the Thunderwolves.  Molly Clark took home in the first inning to give Metro a 1-0 lead off of a wild pitch from CSU Pueblo.  Clark came home once again in the third on a single from Aubree Maul helping her own case.  CSU Pueblo got their lone run in the fifth after a lead off double.  Metro brought around an insurance run in the sixth after Mary Towner was brought in by a double by Susie Oury with two outs and Maul took care of Pueblo in the top of the seventh for the victory. Maul only allowed four hits and had five strikeouts to keep Metro alive.

 After the victory Metro will play tomorrow at 1pm at Regis vs. the winner of Regis vs. Nebraska Kearney.  Tune in to KMET Radio for all your Metro Softball RMAC action!

Friday was when it started; we got there at six in the morning for the press coverage. I knew that I had some people lined up to talk to. I was fortunate to talk with J.G. Hertzler and Robert O’Reilly.  Oh man, that was so cool! We sat down and talked for hours, as if we were old friends. We laughed and talked about being on a pioneer show like Star Trek. I will admit, that this had to be one of my best interviews I have ever done. These two gentlemen are not only talented, but charismatic as well.

Could it have gotten any better?

Along comes David Prowse. An athlete, actor, cancer survivor, and much more. Still doesn’t ring a bell for you? 35 years ago this man set the standard for being an evil genius. Mr. Prowse was the person in the Darth Vader costume that has graced many a person’s doorsteps on Halloween. He shared with me some of his thoughts and feeling about the icon that is Star Wars. As an added plus he gave me some insight on how he received the role of his royal badness.  Just when I thought the weekend couldn’t get any better. I got my photo taken with Mr. Prowse. Now I can say the force is strong with this one.

The rest of my days at the convention were filled with the dealer rooms. Plenty of “Doctor Who” merchandise was found there. I also attended seminars over my favorite shows. Saturday night was the costume contest that lead into the Federation ball. The amount of time on these people hands put me to shame. The costumes were great! It was clear that a lot of time and money went into the creation of these costumes. I am glad that I wasn’t a judge, because picking first place must have been a difficult decision.

My weekend was complete when I was outside getting some fresh air and taking some pictures to my youngest dancing, when; Jonthan Frakes. John Noble, and the Jewel Staite walk out right behind me. That is one for the family photo album!

Thank you for making her day.

Well I better end this blog for now, make sure you tune in this Friday to hear these great interviews. Just don’t geek-out too much! I don’t know CPR.

For truth and… no!

In a galaxy far, far… no

Make it so….No

Luke, I am your father….no!

Well, off to space the final frontier, these are the thoughts from, That Guy!