Hola, GovLoopers!!
What a great weekend coming up!! And it has a great theme to it… the underdog (this is who the Hokie Guru usually roots for)… and we might see some underdogs win this weekend.
First, let’s kick off some great music from 1989… the Hokie Guru has to get ready for his 20th high school union…
Danger, Danger
Vixen
Poison
You gotta cry tough – Out on the streets – To make your dreams happen – You gotta cry out – Out to the world –
To make them all come true.
Kiss
Guess what? GovLoopers, you’re going to have to put up with hair metal until July 2009.
Second, the 81st Academy Awards
Finally, we have some independent and foreign movies (both underdogs on their own right vs. the major domestic Hollywood film) that will take the top award this year. Here are the five nonminees below (the synposis for each movie comes directly from the Internet Movie Data Base):
1.) Slumdog Millionaire – The Hokie Guru previewed Slumdog approximately three weeks ago (you can see the preview right here).
2.) Frost/Nixon– Sort of a reactment of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon. Ron Howard (Happy Days) directed this film.
3.) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – The story of a man who ages backwards. Sounds massively cool. The Hokie Guru would love to age back to 1992.
4.) The Reader – Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
5.) Milk – The story of California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.
The Hokie Guru’s heart is pulling for Slumdog Millionaire for best Picture (and Mickey Rourke from The Wrestler to win best actor). His mind says that Milk will win best picture AND Milk’s Sean Penn will win best lead actor. Why? Sean Penn is the most versatile actor on the face of the earth:
Fast Times at Ridgement High
Mystic River
Milk
It’s going to be a good night for Milk and Sean Penn… both winners… and Meryl Streep will win Best Actress… so at least one underdog, Streep, will win.
Third, the Roadtrip to Blacksburg, VA for the Hokies men’s basketball game!!
A time for underdogs… #56 RPI-rated Virginia Tech takes on #18 RPI Florida $tate Univer$ity (RPI ratings fluctuate after every game… these were the ratings at 8:43 PM EST at Realtime RPI)… Virginia Tech recently lost two games in a row to Maryland and Virginia… you are going to see a desperate Hokie team on Saturday night… one that is going to do everything it can to win. The pick… the Hokies win putting their record at 17-9 overall and 7-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference!!
Fourth, the picks of the weeks best games (great viewer’s guide here)!!
1.) #8 Wake Forest at #9 Duke – Duke University Blue Devils will be looking for revenge against the new stud on the block, the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons. The game is at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke’s campus and for that reason, Coack K will get all the calls. Duke wins in a close game decided by the massive free throw advantage of the home team.
2.) Arizona at #14 Arizona State – A nasty rivalry in the Valley of the Sun. Arizona State is the most underrated team in the country… they play tough as nails defense… but Arizona is going to come in with a chip on their shoulder because they lost to Arizona State Earlier this year. Again, the Hokie Guru takes the home team… Arizona State wins.
No risky picks this week 🙂
Fifth… Virginia, she is smoke-free (almost). If you want to celebrate, please click on this link here and play Carry Me Back from the Marching Virginians.
Finally, the Hokie Guru usually never addresses political issues on GovLoop’s site here… but there is something cool to talk about… Terry McAuliffe, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Virginia, took a question from the Hokie Guru… the Hokie Guru asked Terry Mac if he would lobby for a Virginia Tech bid to the NCAA tournament if the Hokies were 9-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference… Terry Mac’s response is right here. Boo-yeahl the Hokie Guru is running in massive power circles now.
Have a nice weekend!!
Hilarious. You are the YouTube clip king. Love how Terry Mac gave you some love. I remember my trip to Cameron almost 4 years ago – waited 8 hours in line to see Chris Paul and Wake take on the Devils. Man, that place is unbelievable. The energy rocks. Times are changing – once VA is smoke-free, the country might as well be – thats wild.
Just watched the scoreboard tip to FSU’s favor. Condolences Guru. Looks like it must have been a tremendous game. Can’t ask for more than that. Except a win of course.
Great post. I knew you’d keep the policy discussion focused what’s important in VA.
Sigh… I was at the game… close Hokie losses (and some last second) this year include Xavier, Wisconsin, Seton Hall, Georgia (a very bad loss against a 212 RPI-rated team), Clemson, Boston College, and Florida State… unless we have a miracle run, it’s NIT for the Hokies.