Thursday, August 16, 2012

Felix Hernandez Pitches a Perfect Game!



Felix Hernandez, the Seattle Mariners' 26 year old ace and savior throws his first perfect game and no hitter on August 15th, 2012. King Felix, who was the AL Cy Young Winner in 2010, pitched the second perfect game at Safeco Field this year. In true Mariners fashion, the team won the game against the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0. Thanks King Felix for being here when times have been rough, giving us performances like this, and we hope you're still here when it gets good again. Some nuggets from the game:

-Felix Hernandez became just the 23rd pitcher—and first Mariner—in MLB history to throw a perfect game by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0.

-This was the sixth no-hitter in the majors this season, three of them coming at Safeco Field.



-King Felix generated 26 swings-and-misses for the day, 10 via his curveball, nine via his changeup, five via his slider and one apiece via his four- and two-seam fastballs. The 26 whiffs are tied for third on the year with the White Sox’ Chris Sale (May 28 against these same Rays) and the Tigers’ Max Scherzer (May 20 against the Pirates), behind CC Sabathia (27 on June 7 against — surprise! — the Rays) and Francisco Liriano (30 on July 13 against the A’s). Among the no-hitters and perfect games this year, his total far outstrips those of Johan Santana (18), Kevin Millwood and five Mariner relievers (16, seven by Millwood), Matt Cain (14), Philip Humber (14) and Jered Weaver (10).






-Felix: "It was always in my mind, every game. `I need to throw a perfect game.' For every pitcher I think it's in their mind," Hernandez said. "Today it happened and it's something special. I don't have any words to explain this. This is pretty amazing. It doesn't happen every day."




 -It marks the first time in MLB history three perfect games have been thrown in the same season



-King Felix struck out Sean Rodriguez looking for the last out.

As Mariner fans like to say: "Felix Is Ours And You Cannot Have Him"
 

Monday, August 6, 2012

FINALLY! A First Look at "Zero Dark Thirty"



When Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director and her film "The Hurt Locker" won for best picture, film fans around the world were eagerly anticipating what her follow up would be. Entertainment Weekly offers the first in-depth interview about the film and also has exclusive screen shots.

Not looking to take it easy after the gritty and hyper-real Iraq war film, Bigelow looked to take on another story from her "Hurt Locker" screenwriter Mark Boal, about the hunt for Bin Laden. After the criminal mastermind was killed by Seal Team 6, Bigelow and Boal re-worked the movie into "Zero Dark Thirty," which Bigelow explains: "It’s a military term for 30 minutes after midnight, and it refers also to the darkness and secrecy that cloaked the entire decade long mission."

The film has a strong ensemble cast, including Kyle Chandler from "Friday Night Lights," recent Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong as a CIA agent, Chris Pratt, Mark Duplass, Harold Perrineau, Jason Clarke and Edgar Ramirez.

The interview offers many details about the film, while also keeping the story and build up a secret. Said Bigelow: "There are over 100 speaking roles, featuring teams of operatives, from [Department of Defense], CIA, Navy SEALs, et. al. that intersect with foreign nationals and enemy combatants."

Here are a few of the screenshots, check out the rest at EW's main website.




Summer Layoff: Gatsby Pushed to 2013


In somewhat surprising news, Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" will be moved from Christmas 2012 until summer 2013.

The move has a few repercussions, the most notable of course is the removal of the film from this years Oscar race. From what we've seen so far, the set design and costumes are a shoe-in for nominations, and performances from past nominees like DiCaprio and Mulligan are always worth keeping an eye on.

The studio has a number of other titles to push for this years awards, including Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Hobbit" and Ben Affleck's Iran hostage crisis drama "Argo". This also gives DiCaprio some breathing room in the public relations department because he also has a starring role in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," which is also slated for a Christmas 2012.