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In a welcome surprise, the Netflix Original series (well, it is based on a British TV show so I don’t know how original it can be) House of Cards debuted today starring Kevin Spacey with the debut episode “Chapter 1″ directed by David Fincher.  Stuffed like a bell pepper full of political intrigue, the first episode gives a glimpse into the characters and the plot.

The first feeling I had watching the first episode was the pacing reminded me of the film State of Play, also adapted from a British television series.  The cinematography definitely felt like Fincher, hearkening back to his work on Zodiac with lush tones and a beautiful use of shadows.  Oddly, the show decides to allow monologues by Kevin Spacey’s character Francis Underwood privately to the audience.  Underwood is a U.S. Congressman and Majority Whip for the Democrats, once promised a seat as Secretary of State only for it to be pulled away from him after the election of President Garrett Walker.  So far I’m not sold on the use of these little conversations with the viewer.  Not that it cannot work but it works better in theatre than film.  It tends to be dropped at midpoint of most shows (Saved by the Bell my young mind runs directly towards) but with this Netflix show being edited and completed for the entire season to be watched today, there’s really no chance for taking it out early.  Everything good and bad stays without a response from the viewing public.  I think this will be a strong suit to the viewing format.

It’s hard to talk about Kevin Spacey without sounding like a fanboy.  Spacey is one of the best actors to come out of the 1990s and with him taking breaks from Hollywood to run a British theatre, and only coming back to usually take a money grab role like 21, his presence has been missed in something meaty.  There is such power in his expressions and more importantly, the inflections in his southern drawl that come at the right time.  Spacey sells you every word of dialogue.  So far his character is calculating in his strategies, even when being drawn by a push up bra or staying up late playing Call of Duty.

Robin Wright plays his wife Claire Underwood, having her own sideplot about a grassroots organization she’s trying to take to more ambitious means.  Something about the character seems to be handled better than most “strong behind their man” wives in political dramas and while it may just be due to Wright’s presence, you really get a sense this is the character that inspires Francis’ ambition.  She knows exactly how to trigger his motivation.

Kate Mara and Kevin Spacey in House of Cards

As in most political dramas it is the press that plays a major role in helping the politics get dirty.  Blogger Zoe Barnes is tired of not getting any valuable stories in her Washington paper and after finding out she got checked out by Underwood, finds a way to get a front page story with his help.  Barnes is played by Kate Mara, whose sister Rooney of course worked with Fincher on the Social Network and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  She plays her role well in the first episode and simmers just enough to play tough with big names while still showing a bit of apprehension and fear.  She knows she’s outmatched by Underwood but she won’t admit it when attempting to  common ground.

In a side plot for this debut episode is the characters of Christina Gallagher and Pete Russo played by Kristen Connolly and Corey Stoll.  Stoll is a congressman from Pennsylvania whose private conflicts seem to be preparing him for the role of pawn while Gallagher plays his assistant with benefits.  Sakina Jaffrey plays the White House Chief of Staff who has to give Underwood the news of being pushed aside for Secretary of State, but also needing him in congress for what she calls more important matters.  Didn’t care for her performance but stoicism was all it really needed for this episode.

In 56 minutes, the show prepares you to like Spacey while wondering when the first shoe is going to drop and when his leaking scheme is going to backfire on him.  If the script was a six shooter, it’s firing blanks on some lines.  It just feels recycled from Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom and The West Wing.  But if half are blanks, the other half fire.  I didn’t care at all about Gallagher and Russo until Russo mentioned the three words he expected Christina to want to hear.  He then said them: “Lick my balls.”  Stuff like that pulls you right back into the material.  There are other lines like when Zoe and Francis are talking about why Education will be the first bill and Zoe states it is because, “Anyone can get behind children.”  I think that line was supposed to be awkward on purpose.  Zoe also has a great line telling the guy who wanted to go up into her apartment, “You’re really sweet.  But if I was going to fuck you?  You’d know.”  More men need to be told this.

Overall, strong opening episode.  I agree with Spacey that often, viewers “binge view” so releasing all of the episodes at the same time won’t hurt, especially since this is a Netflix production.  It’s a lovely future to have new productions debut in their entirety on Netflix.  If people enjoyed the first season they will finish it over the weekend and tell their friends if it’s worth their time.  Fincher and Spacey are names in which you expect a strong product and in Chapter 1, it’s delivered.  Hopefully that combination can deliver in the next episode, watchable whenever.

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Tonight, P.K. Subban came to an agreement on terms with General Manager Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens for a two year deal paying $2M and $3.75M per season.  This averages to a $2.5M hit on the cap.

Countless articles have been written on whether or not Subban was worth more.  The answer is pretty much yes.  He’s worth more to the Canadiens.  He’s worth more on the open market.  He’s a very good player only getting better.  Finding weaker players who are going to make more is not difficult.  What breaks down is why this was a good deal for both sides.

P.K. Subban wanted a five year deal looking to be around $5.5M per season according to rumours.  This would be reflective of the contract agent Don Meehan was able to get with Drew Doughty.  The point of a contract such as this is insurance.  Subban gets paid regardless if he gets hurt or regresses.  Bergevin wanted the bridge contract for a few reasons.  One, GMs have been pressured by their NHL owners to stop giving big money to RFA players.  Two, with the cap dropping next season the Canadiens needed some savings on their cap.  Three, Montreal’s best situation to give Subban money is in two seasons.  That summer is when Andrei Markov, Brian Gionta and Tomas Kaberle are set to become unrestricted free agents.  That’s $15.25M on the cap free.  That’s when Bergevin can go ahead and sign Subban to a long term deal if he keeps progressing and Subban will be worth every dollar.

Bergevin still played a dangerous game with P.K. and that game is testing loyalty.  He knew that this was the only team Subban wanted to play for and in two years, he’ll have an opportunity to lock up Subban for another eight years.  Bergevin’s insistence on the bridge contract will prove dangerous when Montreal has so many young players coming up soon and nothing is said on their loyalty to the team.  Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu and Sebastien Collberg are all high profile players who will be likely working onto their first RFA negotiation in the next three to five years.  If any of those players (Galchenyuk being the most likely) proves themselves as high calibre NHL players in their early years, what’s holding them to that bridge contract?  Not much.  Galchenyuk never grew up a Canadiens fan like Subban.  Galchenyuk may build that loyalty in the next three seasons but that isn’t really going to stop agent Igor Larionov to suggest Galchenyuk get the most value possible out of him and sign the highest offer sheet that comes around.  This is where Bergevin will be stuck in a difficult position.  Keep your best player or stick to your rule?

Something does have to be said about the venomous rhetoric that was tossed around during this negotiation by fans and some analysts.  Terms like “not a team player” and “off ice issues” really need to be retired to antiquated hockey talk because they are not terms built out of honesty or credibility.  Subban isn’t exactly the kind of player everyone loves but Montreal has lost too many players for nothing over the concept of a bad off ice reputation.  Montreal was very close to another Chris Chelios situation, where character assassination leads to one of the best players in the game leaving the team.  Montreal still won a Cup in 93 without Chelios but their defensive corps couldn’t take losing much more and the teams defence stayed terrible for close to 10 years after.  Montreal really couldn’t replace Subban in the system and allowing his reputation to be dismantled over gossip isn’t how business should be done among fans and analysts.  We’re not here to be the pawns of the organization.  It would be good to remember that.

For Montreal fans, there is much to rejoice.  The Canadiens have played very well in their last few games and are now adding a near elite blueliner for a fraction of his worth.  This is only going to make the team better and add the depth necessary to improve on their record last season.

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This article was written for The Ring Crew Show

Tonight 30 men will compete in the WWE Royal Rumble, an event that has been occurring since 1988 when it was broadcast as a television special on the USA Network.  In the beginning it was merely a special event, but it eventually evolved into the way one gets a major title shot for Wrestlemania.  It tends to be described as a way to get into “the main event” but that concept shattered when Alberto Del Rio won the Royal Rumble, only to compete in the opening match.

However, because The Rock is receiving an automatic WWE Championship match against CM Punk, the focus through the company has been on the WWE Championship.  While I’m not one to attempt to discredit the WWE Championship match (the belts should always be the most important part of a show), the Royal Rumble match is what people are watching for.

The interest and intrigue of a Battle Royal/Battle Royale goes back centuries, originally being the most violent spectacle of the Roman era.  It soon returned in an even more brutal version, being a boxing match.  They would blindfold slaves, push them into a boxing ring and have them wildly swing at fellow slaves until only one survived.  Even after slavery this still took place.  It wasn’t until professional wrestling became popular that the match took a more respectable approach, being several willing competitors competing to become the winner.

When the WWF brought the Royal Rumble concept, conceived by Pat Patterson, it was all about giving the match a bit of a spin.  One of the attractions of the match is seeing several competitors in the ring at once but when it happens at the start of the bell, it’s hard to keep track of everyone.  Patterson introduced intervals for the wrestlers coming in, starting at two and going until all men have entered.  Now you can wait in anticipation for the moment the ring packs with wrestlers and you can follow who is in.  It also makes the culmination to the final four all the more exciting.

Punk and Rock in simpler times. The two square off at the Royal Rumble in Phoenix, AZ tonight.

The Royal Rumble this year feels more like an afterthought, even with John Cena involved.  The assumed result is for Rock to beat Punk for the WWE Championship and John Cena to win the Rumble, leading to their “Twice in a Lifetime” re-match at Wrestlemania.  In situations like this, the WWE is known to pull the rug out and try something different.  The SHIELD has already been established as attackers of The Rock while many believe the plan for Punk is to face The Undertaker.  What many are counting out (and what we discussed on the Ring Crew Wrestling Show) was for the Rumble winner to go for the World Heavyweight Championship.  Much like booking Rock to take on Punk, it makes just as much sense for Cena to just be proclaimed the challenger against Rock as it is for him to win it.  Maybe not wrestling sense, but “I’M VINCE MCMAHON DAMNIT AND I SAY SO!” sense.  There have been countless rumours of Orton turning and what better way to execute that than through the Rumble match?  Considering the World Heavyweight Championship actually adds to the intrigue, and isn’t that what’s important?

Other matches include Antonio Cesaro defending the US Title against Miz in a pre-show match, Team Hell No defending their WWE Tag Team Titles against Team Rhodes Scholars and Alberto Del Rio having a Last Man Standing rematch against the Big Show.  Aside from hearing the Internet cry if Miz wins the US Title, it’s just filler for the Rumble.

Other details to look out for:

-          Carlito and Shelton Benjamin are rumoured to make appearances in the Rumble match.  The WWE might also toss in Hurricane Helms and Chris Masters.
-          Bo Dallas won an NXT Tournament to get a spot in the Royal Rumble.  If you don’t know Dallas, he’s the son of Mike Rotunda and the brother of Bray Wyatt/Husky Harris.  The WWE is really behind him becoming a major babyface because he looks kind of like a werewolf from Twilight.  He has old school babyface appeal and he’ll be one of those guys people will say, “WHY IS THIS GUY OVER OH MY GOD” because they have little idea of what appeals to the casual wrestling fan.
-          There are five spots we don’t know about.  If Helms and Masters are just red herrings, don’t be surprised if the last three spots are filled by the SHIELD.
-          Wade Barrett is once again hyping Papa Shango for the Rumble.  He does this every year.

gublernation:

ONE DAY A WEEK LEAVE YOUR HOME WITHOUT A CELLPHONE

i think you will like what happens.

immediately you will notice things
small things…

like the color of your car’s dashboard and the way the sun reflects off of it
the lady in the car next to you adjusting her shoulder pads at…

dgaider:

I happen to be fortunate. My team of writers on Dragon Age currently consists of nine people— most of which are female. It’s reached the point that, when we consider new hires and transfers, I tend to joke “ummm, we could use some more testosterone in here…” and give a big goofy grin. Mine is…