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Cinematic Throwbacks: September 1996/2006

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1996: Adam Sandler officially ascended to bona-fide comedy star with his consecutive hits Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. And later graduated to one of the biggest movie stars period with The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, and Big Daddy in succession. In the middle of all these hits is the almost completely forgotten Bulletproof. Bulletproof is classic 90s buddy action comedy stuff. Sandler is a low-rent criminal. Damon Wayans, top billed since it was still 1996, is an undercover cop who befriended him but then has to bust him. Plot stuff happens, and Wayans get shot by Sandler. Sometime later, Wayans has to escort Sandler to trial so he can testify against his criminal boss (James Caan), and Bulletproof becomes a chaotic road movie as they try to get from A to B. Bulletproof didn't break any new ground. Some of the dialogue is bad. But it works because of a couple of reasons. One is that it was directed by Ernest Dickerson, the Spike Lee cinematographer whose directing...
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The Lynx embarrassed themselves

Well, so much for THAT season.  For the 2nd year in a row, the Lynx had the best regular season record in the WNBA. And for the 2nd year in a row, that meant nothing. But this time, it was so much worse. The 2026 Minnesota Lynx will be a team that takes its place among the all-time Minnesota sports chokers. Because they pulled off an embarrassment that will be hard to live down, or forget. The Lynx struggled late in the season, but still were able to grab that #1 seed. And in a super competitive league, where it was haves and have nots, they drew the 8th seeded New York Liberty, one of the preseason favorites and of course the team that fraudulently "won" the title from us in 2024.  It's not like the Lynx were guaranteed to win it all, and they were going to have to beat 3 good teams to do it. But show up! My god! The series was the first time in my now nearly 2 decades as a fan that I felt embarrassed to be a Lynx fan. All the other teams in town have done things that ma...
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September movie reviews

In theaters: RESIDENT EVIL Hey! They actually made a good one of these! When I heard Zach Cregger was following up Weapons with a reboot of a franchise that had never yielded a single entry that was more than passable, I thought he was crazy. But this is great fun. It's hilariously grotesque, paced by a terrific performance by Austin Abrams. It really feels like a video game, too, with how they do the action.  BY ANY MEANS One of those dreaded "based on true events" movies that are usually bs. It's about a black FBI agent and a mob hitman teaming up to track down racist killers in the 60s. The frame of the story really happened. It's a solid movie, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen and a miscast Mark Wahlberg. Loved seeing the gorgeous Nicole Beharie.  PRIMETIME Robert Pattinson plays Chris Hansen in a strange movie built around the rise in popularity of his To Catch A Predator show. I watched that show back in the day. I never once thought Hansen was as sleazy as the peopl...
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PERFECTLY UGLY

VIKINGS 23 BUCCANEERS 16 The most important thing to come out of this game is further evidence that we have a Vikings defense that could be generationally great.  And we know this because for the 2nd straight week, that defense bailed out a largely hideous performance from the offense. Kyler Murray was back after missing a week with a concussion. The Vikings were facing a Bucs squad that was 0-2, and considering that and last season's collapse, have a head coach in Todd Bowles whose seat has to be blazing hot. A desperate team can be dangerous, but the Vikings assumed control early. An opening drive field goal and a fantastic 86-yard punt return touchdown by Myles Price paced them to a 10-0 lead.  Tampa responded with a TD drive, really the only series all day they got the best of our defense. And a short time later, they added a field goal to tie things up. The Vikings offense had negative yards since their opening drive (and lost Justin Jefferson to an ankle injury), but awo...
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THE BRIAN FLORES MASTERPIECE

VIKINGS 9 BEARS 3 You don't usually think of football games being won by coaches, but I think Sunday was one of those times. The Vikings managed their unthinkable 7th straight win at the onetime cursed Soldier Field because Brian Flores put together the kind of masterful work from the sideline that becomes the stuff of legend.  It was a game played in a dreary rain the whole way, so that surely helped some. Still, this is a Bears team that rolled up an absurd 59 points in Carolina last week. The Vikings had Carson Wentz at QB again, with Kyler Murray still in concussion protocol. And we were also without Jordan Mason and Jauan Jennings. So you figured we weren't going to pile up the points in those conditions.  Each team did get a field goal on their opening drive. The rest of the half was muck. Neither team did anything. The Vikings eeked out another field goal. Byron Murphy picked off Caleb Williams. It was 6-3 at the half. The 2nd half opened with the one Bears drive where ...
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ONE AND WHOA

VIKINGS 39 PACKERS 22 The Vikings opened their 2026 season by beating the Packers by 17 points. You might think that means the Vikings kind of dominated the game. But oh, how that wasn't the case. These two teams have played each other 132 times, and this has to go down as one of the goofiest, weirdest entries.  If you believe in omens, the Vikings season couldn't have begun much worse. On the opening drive, on Kyler Murray's 1st pass, he threw a hideous lob ball interception, firing up all the smelly Packers fans who infiltrated the purple palace.  The Packers didn't move the ball, but their rookie kicker (named Smack) hit a long field goal. The rest of a bad first quarter saw the Vikings fall behind further, as Christian Watson had an 81-yard catch and run touchdown through a Vikings secondary that spent much of the day looking hideous. Following that TD came the biggest blow. On a scramble, Murray slid down and got hit (illegally) by two Packers. The good news is it ...
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2026 NFL season predictions

Let's get this out of the way quickly.  I think the Vikings are winning the NFC North at 10-7. I think the division could be won by anybody and could finish in any order. So, in that scenario, why not just pick the Vikings? I don't expect Kyler Murray to have a sensational season, but I do think he will be an effective playmaker and distributor. I expect a big Justin Jefferson season. Addison and Jennings will get theirs (both are playing for their own dollars). I think Hockenson has something left. The run game has never been satisfactory under KOC, but, well, hopefully, this year, it's an asset. We got a healthy Darrisaw. If Brandel can hold down center, the OL should be rock solid. And the defense could be the best we have had since peak Zimmer. Gone are some of the crappy veterans. The run defense has been an evergreen issue, but with Banks and Orange added to a talented bunch of youngsters that should improve. Linebackers are good, and Dallas Turner is primed for a sta...
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