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I saw an interview some time back where Johnny Depp admitted whenever Tim Burton calls with an idea, he doesn’t need even need to hear it. He just agrees. Burton is a one of a kind director with a taste for the macabre and the quirky. If Depp is in fact his muse, Depp is a willing one who can match Burton quirk for quirk.

Dark Shadows is a perfect forum for these two brilliant but weird talents to collaborate on for the eighth time. Depp is a terrific actor whose sometimes gets lost in his idiosyncratic characters. Sometimes we can forget that he isn’t actually Captain Jack Sparrow or Willy Wonka. I have a feeling Barnabus Collins may just join that pantheon of eccentric characters. I think Burton revels in producing roles in which his muse can shine. The weirder the better seems to be his motto. I don’t personally like everything these guys make together but I admire their originality and their dedication to the strange and unusual.

Depp is at his witty best in Dark Shadows. As Barnabus Collins, a two century old vampire on a quest to restore his family’s reputation and fortune, Depp’s clever fish-out-of-water observations are numerous and chuckle worthy. Depp often takes his characters over the top but he reins Barnabus in, doling out the humor in just the right dosage. A young star on the rise, Chloe Grace Moretz steals most of her scenes. Displaying a barely stifled intolerance of the adults around her, Moretz portrays the perfectly melancholy teen. Her attitude toward Barnabus seems natural and realistic. Eva Green continues to build her resume with evil villainesses as the witch who curses Barnabus to his shadowy existence. It is always nice to see Michelle Pheiffer grace the big screen, even if here character was under written. Burton’s secondary muse, wife Helen Bonham Carter, rounds out the entertaining cast.

To be honest, Dark Shadows isn’t an award winning effort. The story falters and lulls about in a couple of places but if you enjoy the Burton/Depp tandem, then you will enjoy this movie. It is a chuckle fest with a dark side (pun intended) and is set up for a sequel. A number of the better lines are already delivered in the myriad of trailers used to promote this film. Still, I enjoyed the picture and chortled throughout. The film is also appropriate for all but younger children. The violence is insinuated and the monsters for more funny than scary.

Unless you are a huge Burton/Depp, you could probably wait to see the picture on DVD if there are other movies (Avengers, Battleship) on which you would rather spend your theater dollars. It is an entertaining couple of hours but probably can be enjoyed in your living room as much as the big screen.

GIRLS (HBO, Sundays, 9:30pm, Eastern)

This wasn’t a program I was prepared to actually like. I was pleasantly surprised with this seemingly real show about four young women in their early to mid twenties. It is sort of on the opposite end of the social spectrum portrayed by Sex in the City.

This is the struggle of these four young women dealing with the day to day grind of living life in New York City. Paying rent, finding jobs, searching not just for love, but for solid, comfortable relationships, are all themes that transcend not only life in the big city but the life of many college graduates around the country in an economy that isn’t quite healthy.

Girls is served up on a platter of acerbic wit, piled high with realism and topped off with just the right amount of satire. Most of the work is due to the real life observations of one talented person – Lena Dunham. This young gal is a busy person. She created this gem and writes, directs, produces, as well as holds down the lead role. HBO and co-producer Judd Apatow have shown great faith in Denham and as far as I’m concerned, she has delivered.

The writing takes into the lives of the four friends played by Dunham, Allison Williams (Brian Williams’ daughter), Jemima Kirke, and Zosia Mamet. Dunham and Williams as best friends and long time roommates show great chemistry. The ultra talented Mamet, who played a worldly Bohemian in Mad Men, goes completely opposite here as the innocent, naïve virgin. Kirke’s character (Jessa) was my least favorite right from the beginning but she may actually be the most complex character as the series moves along.

Girls is funny and bawdy without relying on cheap laughs. The humor and wit is seldom laugh out loud funny but I chuckle throughout each episode. It is subtle, sexy and smart, and at times, sweet and innocent without even trying. It is a premium cable program and therefore is not appropriate for all audiences. I can tell you that I can’t wait for the next episode.

Magic City (Fridays, 9pm Eastern, Starz)

A beautiful locale, an exciting time, and a fascinating theme should all add up to a very intriguing television program. Unfortunately, Magic City comes up just a bit short on the intrigue and has an I-think-I’ve-seen-this-before vibe.

This Starz effort looks stunning in its 1959 Miami setting. The story revolves around Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), owner and proprietor of a new beach front luxury hotel. Evans’ biggest problem is that to get his hotel built, he had to take on a partner, namely Ben “The Butcher” Diamond (Danny Huston). With a nickname like The Butcher, are there any guesses on what kind of guy Diamond is? You got it – a mobster.

In the background, Cuba is falling to a young rebel leader named Fidel Castro. Diamond’s Cuban business interests, as was all of the mafia’s Cuban interests, are under duress. Diamond has moved to Miami, looking for a way to cover his expected losses, hence his desire for a bigger piece of Evans’ hotel. Diamond does not stray far from the gangster stereotype – he is a violent, entitled killer.

Although Huston’s portrayal of Diamond is chilling and realistic, the character and storyline are unimaginative, right down to the union leader anchored to the bottom of a quarry lake. Huston dominates each scene he is in. I just wish he had better material to work with.

Morgan is fine in the lead role and is believable but again, I feel he was little meat to gnaw on. He saunters through his scene in a nice suit and the iconic fifties cigarette smoldering between his lips. Evan rushes around trying to figure out a way to escape Diamond’s domineering and threatening shadow. Evans has two grown sons and these characters have yet to find footing with any interesting storylines. Evans does have a sexy, younger wife played by Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko. Just like his sons, Kurylenko’s Vera has made no established contribution as yet.

Magic City could certainly improve as more episodes unfold. The writing has got to improve if this show has even a chance of success. Starz is a premium cable movie network, so maybe it can give the show a little more rope in hope of getting better. They need to take advantage of the characters already in place and the built-in storylines. The Mafia is a big part of this time and place but I would like to see more depth in the writing here. Please give us more than the surface story and superficial characters. The idea has merit but the execution has been poor thus far.

Aaahhh, the nostalgia. Sometimes we connect with characters and movies for no apparent reason. That was the case in the late 1990’s with the American Pie movies. They were filled with crude language and images that were shocking. They were also loaded with touching, familiar characters and situations. Those images were as funny as they were shocking and these movies clicked with teens of the day and with no-so-teens like me. I’ve always thought those movies channeled the vulgar ghost of John Hughes (even though Hughes still lived when the first 3 films were made).

American Reunion brought nothing new to the big screen, yet it didn’t disappoint. I think many of us wanted to know if Jim and Michelle were still together. We wanted to know if Stifler was still a childish jerk. We wanted to know if Finch still had a thing for Stifler’s mom. We all wanted to see Jim’s dad again. It didn’t really matter what the situation would be. We just wanted to see our old favorites again. Reunion came through.

The movie was filled with the expected crazy, lewd hijinks that were the calling card of the original trilogy. I wondered if I would still find this stuff as funny as I did more than a decade ago. I don’t know what it says about me, but I did. And judging by the loud laughter from the audience in the theater, so did everyone else. It didn’t even matter that we could see some of the scenes unfolding before the movie actually got there. The characters, especially Jim, take innocent situations and have them fall apart to their most base aspects in quick fashion.

This film, just as in the originals, went deeper than the cheap, lewd and crude funny business. All of these pictures could have easily been nothing more than boorish and course yet they didn’t. There was real depth to the characters and that is why we connected with them. We liked them, and behind the vulgarity, there were real issues of insecurity and the pathos of modern teenagers. American Reunion followed the same pattern, revealing familiar uncertainties about marriage and parenthood. Sometimes relationships can become comfortable but also lack the excitement that sparked it in the first place. We as adults often look back at the decisions of our life and question our decisions. This film puts our beloved characters in the same kind of situations and reveals the growth we have all experienced in life.

I don’t want to suggest that this movie is golden statuette worthy. Of course it isn’t. It follows the original formula too much. It is funny and crude but it is also touching and familiar. If you liked the first 3 movies then you are going to enjoy seeing these characters ten years later. If you didn’t like the originals, don’t bother with this one either. The acting is mediocre at best, except for maybe Jason Biggs (Jim), Eugene Levy (Jim’s dad), and Sean William Scott (hilarious as Stifler), but that really isn’t the point. It is about the imperfections of friendship and life. Of course, this is not a movie for children in any way, shape, or form. Enjoy this movie for what it is and be happy catching up with old favorites. It was good to see them again.

GAME OF THRONES (HBO, Sundays, 8pm CST)

Over the years, many books have been made into movies. Most pale in comparison because the movie versions lack the details that provide most of the meat in the literary form. The film maker is forces to pick choose what details and even whole scenes are important enough for their picture. Often, these inevitable cuts end up watering down the book as a whole. Figure in the often inexplicable changes the film maker decides to go with for whatever purpose, and the movie is sometimes barely recognizable in comparison.

There are film makers who work very hard to remain as true to the books as possible. The biggest hurdle to this is that it is very difficult to trim an 800-page book into two or three hours. Typically, one page of a screenplay roughly equals one minute of film. The math is simple; there is too much content that has to be eliminated. That is why the movie is seldom better the book.

What would be the result if a film maker had ten hours to work with? This is an intriguing question and one that HBO and creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss had an answer for. The result is brilliant. Benioff and Weiss took a best selling fantasy classic and made it into an HBO series.

The book A Game of Thrones is actually the first book in an expected 7-volume fantasy series called A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin, but the creators wisely ditched the unwieldy series name and went with the more popular designation, Game of Thrones. Benioff and Weiss decided to make that first book into 10 season one episodes. Armed with the luxury of time, they produced a visually stunning, brilliantly filmed, superbly acted, true-to- the-book masterpiece.

The HBO series took its time telling this rich story of political intrigue, friendships, betrayals, villains, heroes, sex, and violence in stunning detail. The television version follows the book faithfully, with only a few scenes invented. Most of these are not so much invented as maybe extended or expanded. Most are to highlight a fact merely hinted at in the book. As with most popular science fiction or fantasy books, this series has its far share of “fanboys” who jump all over any details changed from the books. I imagine that even the most rabid fanboys have to be thrilled with this series.

The first season was incredible and I have watched it a couple of times already. I have been impatiently anticipating the second season, based on the second book Clash of Kings, which picks up right where the first book and season leave off. The second book is longer and even more textured, layered, and detailed than the first, with more battles and more intrigue than the first book. The scope is wider and more intense as well. The creators have their work cut out for them to use their editing power as precisely as a surgeon wielding a scalpel. At this point, I have complete trust they will get it right as they show as much love and dedication to the books as Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings.

Game of Thrones is filled with knights and kings, battles and wars, sibling rivalry, lies and truths, life and death, and dragons. These are all key ingredients to the classic fantasy genre and this is one of the best written series of all time. George R.R. Martin is a brilliant author whose imagination is without limits. His eye for detail is precise and there are never dull or slow parts of his books. The one annoying flaw Martin has is that he is an unforgivably slow writer. It took him 11 years to write the 3rd and 4th books, and they take place simultaneously and cover a myriad of characters and places. While I sincerely hope HBO is able to continue this undoubtedly expensive project through to the end, I harbor major doubts that Martin can keep up. I am hoping that the production of the show will quicken his writing.

If you get HBO, the series is must viewing. If you don’t, at some point, buy the DVD set. It is worth the money. It has everything anyone could want in entertainment – action, drama, horror, comedy, sex, blood – on top of perfect acting, writing, and production. As can be expected of an HBO series, it is not for children and would carry an R rating in the theater. As a fan of the books, I couldn’t be happier with the results of the program. Season two started just this last week and I am eager for the next episode. You can catch up On Demand. This is must watch TV if ever there was such a thing.

The Kansas Jayhawks had a terrific season. I think they were ranked high in the preseason polls and picked to win the Big XII due more to their reputations and history rather than true talent. Yet, the Jayhawks played to their ranking and preseason predictions. They won their 8th straight conference title and were ranked in the top 10 for most of the season. They earned a number 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. While these accomplishments don’t seem like a surprise, I have to honestly admit they really exceeded my true expectations.

KU featured a fine starting five and a very thin bench. When the season started, Tyshawn Taylor had more career minutes played than all of his teammates combined at Kansas. Jayhawk fans are used to a solid rotation of 8 or 9 almost every season. This team played its bench only when it was necessary. Yet, they found a way to succeed and play to the seemingly unrealistic preseason predictions. Mirroring the toughness of their head coach, Bill Self, Kansas fought and scraped their way to success. Few games were easy or runaways and the Jayhawks seemed to be playing from behind much of the season. They found a way to win game after game.

The NCAA Tournament followed the established pattern for the Jayhawks. They didn’t play well in the first halves and those kids were able to turn things around in the second halves, making furious comebacks in several postseason games. Even in the championship game, the Jayhawks struggled early and found themselves digging themselves out of a hole late.

Kentucky is a fine team. There has been little doubt the Wildcats were the best team throughout a down year in college basketball. They were young but talented and athletic. Coach John Calipari got them to buy into his system and to play defense, a deathly combination for the opposition.

There is no doubt Kentucky was more talented and athletic, player for player, than Kansas. The Wildcats dominated the first half and it was all the Jayhawks could do not to be blown out and embarrassed. KU popped out of the locker room after the half just as they did several other games. Kansas made a couple of shots and made a couple of defensive stops. In my opinion, the key play of the game was when Jeff Withey failed to get an easy dunk through the cords early in the second half. KU had cut into the lead and their fans were just starting to feel the momentum swing. If that dunk goes down, who knows if the outcome would have been different. So much happened after that play. Immediately though, UK scored a basket and snuffed the Jayhawks’ growing momentum. I want to make it clear that I am not blaming Withey for this loss. Without him, KU would never have been even close to the championship game. It just happened to be his missed dunk that I felt was the key.

From that point, KU ever so slowly scraped their way back into the game but never really gained that feeling of momentum. The Wildcats seemed to be on the verge of allowing the Jayhawks back into the game mentally but with that failed dunk, Kansas seemed to lose a little something. They eventually cut their deficit to 5 points but never closer. UK kept them at arms length and eventually outlasted the comeback.

But that missed dunk wasn’t the only missed opportunity for the Jayhawks. KU missed 3 dunks and 13 lay-ups through the course of the game. The fantastic Anthony Davis had a lot to do with Kansas’ tightness around the rim. Still, KU only lost by 8 points. If KU had cashed in on just a few of those missed chances, things could have been much different. Make the dunks (the highest percentage shot possible) and just a couple of the missed bunnies, then maybe there would have been a different result in the outcome.

It is futile to play the “what if” game. It serves no purpose and it does take away from a great performance by the Wildcats. I mention these key blown opportunities because it shows that the game wasn’t that far from having a different result.

I heard a talking head yesterday speaking about how this only proves that Kentucky is the best program and how John Calipari is by far the best coach in college basketball. All of his arguments sounded pre-written. I think if KU would have won, this guy would have just replaced Kentucky with Kansas and John Calipari with Bill Self. His arguments would have held weight for whichever school and coach, depending on who won the game. He went on and on about now it wasn’t even close to which school and coach was best. He said no one could argue the point anymore. My point is that the discussion is still closer than this guy wanted to admit. Three dunks and a couple of lay ups and who knows. Kentucky had a fine season and played a heck of a championship game and they deserved the title but KU wasn’t that far behind.

Bill Self proved that he must be counted among the game’s finest coaches. He has shown in the past that he is a top notch recruiter and has been able to get top players to adhere to his system. He proved this season he could coach a team with less talent but with huge hearts and still win. Coach Self and this team should be very proud of their season and the final results. I know the fans are. The worst thing is that we now have to wait seven months for the next edition of the Kansas Jayhawks.

Just like that – a little over two hours is all it takes sometimes. A great book, a blockbuster movie, a terrific character, and a whole lot of talent - that’s all it takes to make a star. Sure, she already has a few golden statuette and shiny globe nominations under her belt for a film no one saw. It’s not like no one knows who she is. Now, everyone is going to know who Jennifer Lawrence is and unless I miss my guess, we are going to get to enjoy her work for a very long time.

Make no mistake about it. Jennifer Lawrence is the star of The Hunger Games. She is absolutely brilliant as Katniss Everdeen, the stalwart heroine of Suzanne Collins’ beloved Hunger Games series. It is almost as if the part was written for her. She combines a fierce toughness with gut wrenching vulnerability that is the essential key to the role. Her dialogue is never strained and she can convey even the most minuscule trace of emotion with her facial expressions and body language. Her performance entrances the theater audience, just like the character from the books. She dominates that big screen and draws the eye to her every movement. Her actions are never rushed or forced, from the faint smile that seems lurk behind her brooding features to the way she calming pulls the string of her bow. I’m telling you folks; Jennifer Lawrence has what it takes to be a superstar. If I were a director, she would always be my first phone call when casting a lead actress from now on.

Of course, she had beautiful material in which to inspire her. Collins had a big role in the screenplay and I am sure that’s why the transition from the page to the big screen went so well. The movie follows the book carefully in all of the right places. The biggest divergence from the novels is that the books are all from one viewpoint - from Katniss’ view. There just isn’t enough time for the film to allow us to learn everything we need to learn through Katniss. The film gives us a look at things from a few other points of view, just to keep the story moving along at the correct pace. It does not distract and it fills in necessary holes here and there. The biggest difference between picture and novel is that we lose a lot of the background development and characters, mainly from Katniss’ home, District 12. The movie was a long one and there just wasn’t enough time for the depth the book offered.

Some of the satellite characters were expanded. Wes Bentley’s Seneca Crane and Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman both have more screen time than in the book. I felt Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy’s was actually a tad underplayed, if possible, and I was intrigued by Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Katniss’ wardrobe supervisor. Amandla Stenberg was terrific as Rue; I just wish her role had been slightly bigger. I only recognized Elizabeth Banks because I already knew she played Effie. The make-up job was terrific. Donald Sutherland is President Snow and while he makes a subtle few appearances, his biggest moments will come in the later films.

The final key to this film is Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. While I felt he fell short early on in the movie and lacked chemistry with Lawrence, he slowly built up believability as the film progressed, much like in the book. He grows on us, as intended, and by the end, we welcome the twist we all know is coming. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic with Liam Hemsworth as Gale will play out in the second and third movies when Gale’s is greatly expanded.

The story, of course, is about a futuristic world divided into twelve districts, controlled by the Capitol. The districts are poor and the Capitol is rich. The people in the districts are kept down so there is not revolt. A 13th district existed but revolted 74 years ago. As a remembrance (penalty), each district has to provide 2 tributes each year, a teenage male and female, to participate in an arena. Only one of the 24 is allowed to walk out alive and is showered with riches the rest of his/her life. What a happy world! Thus the need for a heroine, our Katniss. The movie focuses most of its time on the action in the arena as children fight for their lives against each other and the game master (Bentley’s Crane). The arena is loaded with dangers controlled by the game master as he manipulates the game play, and sometimes, who survives and who dies.

The Hunger Games has few faults. What few that exist are washed away by Jennifer Lawrence’s screen presence. When the camera goes off her, all we want is for it to return to her. It is hard to focus on the film’s weaknesses. The arena scenes of death are watered down so they are friendlier to younger viewers. The violence is shown in a jerky, blurring fashion, hiding the worst of the violence from the audience. We see the aftermath. Keep in mind, the premise is a dark one to begin with. Young children may be disturbed by the very fact of children trying to kill each other. We all should, and that is part of the point of the movie.

I obviously loved the movie and Jennifer Lawrence. Take the time and go see it. Enjoy the action and the acting. You won’t be disappointed.

Hot on the heels of the news that the Kansas City Royals have lost catcher Salvador Perez for three months, the Royals and their ever hopeful fans were battered by more bad news. Stalwart closer Joakim Soria hurt his elbow and is apparently is heading toward his second Tommy John surgery. Soria is owed $6 million this year and the Royals hold an $8 million option for 2013. It is almost certain the Royals won’t take that option and we as fans must gird ourselves to the possibility that Soria has thrown his last pitch as a Royal.

From 2007-2010, Joakim Soria was as good a closer as baseball had to offer. He accumulated 132 saves in those four seasons against only 13 blown saves for some pretty awful teams. He had 281 strikeouts to only 70 walks, a 4:1 ratio. He was dependable and terrific and fun to watch. According to Jeff Zimmerman at royalsreview.com, Soria threw his devastating curveball approximately 14% of the time in 2007-2009, but only 7% of the time over the past two years. The curve ball was his strikeout pitch and if he was unable to throw it, that would explain much of his troubles last season. Zimmerman postulates this very theme in his article. Early last season, Soria struggled mightily through May, and it really was the first extended period of ineffectiveness we had seen from him in his Royals career. Even though he bounced back and regained some of his swagger, he never really looked the same. He wasn’t putting hitters away as easily has he had in the past. As fans, we speculated all season as to whether or not something was wrong. Soria, right up until after his appearance this last Sunday in Arizona, claimed nothing was wrong with his arm. It is hard to accept that but we have no other choice, do we?

Many people wanted the Royals to trade Soria before the 2011 season. I was never a proponent of this tactic but I understood the argument. People who counseled in favor of trade asked what good was it to have a premium closer on a terrible team. My thought was always that Soria was very popular with the fans and it is hard to measure the value in that. People would actually go to the ball park in hope of seeing that knee buckling curve. They would buy #48 jerseys; they would cheer throatily. Plus, there was never any guarantee that the Royals could get fair value in return. Yes, he was at the peak of his value that off season but for me, I can’t look back now and blame the Royals for not moving him.

So, where do the Royals go from here? If Kansas City has one area of quality depth ready for big league action, it is the bullpen. My best guess is that Greg Holland will get the first shot at the closer’s role. Holland was brilliant last season, maintaining 1.80 ERA and .9333 WHIP. He struck out over 11 per 9 innings and only walked 19 in 60 innings. He was confident and consistent all season. If Holland would falter or struggle in April and May, the Royals have Jonathan Broxton, who from 2006-2009 was one of the most dominating closer in the game. Injuries have derailed his career over the past couple of seasons but Kansas City took a chance he can regain his form. So far this spring, he has pitch 3 innings with an ERA 3.00. The Royals are taking it slow with him, allowing him some time to knock off some rust. What is encouraging sign is that his velocity on his fastball is in the mid 90’s and he feels fine up to this point. Regardless of who sets up and who closes, Holland and a healthy Broxton could be a dominating combo at the end of ball games.

Soria’s injury could also open up a spot on the roster for the diminutive but effective The 5’10”, 190 lb. (on a good day) Kelvin Herrera has thrown 7 innings this spring with a 1.29 ERA and 10 strikeouts. Herrera could slide into that 7th inning spot Ned Yost likes to use. If not Herrera, I think Aaron Crow stays in the bullpen and gains an even more important role than he had 2011.

The Royals can actually afford to take this hit to the backend of their bullpen. There have been many years when they could not. Greg Holland or a healthy Jonathan Broxton will mostly likely be more effective than an unhealthy Joakim Soria anyway. As a fan of the Royals, and of Soria, I am sad to see Joakim go down. On the financial side of things, the Royals can plan ahead and use the $8 million they would have paid Soria in 2013 to sign Alex Gordon or Eric Hosmer. Even if (when), the Royals opt out of that 2013 contract year, maybe Soria can come back healthy next season and maybe he will resign with the Royals at a discount. Who knows? I just know I am going to miss Soria in the powder blue.

GCB (ABC, Sundays, 9pm CST)

I have always been a fan of satirical humor on television. It is one of the reasons The Simpsons has been a personal favorite of mine for more than 20 years. It is also why I find myself chuckling throughout each episode of ABC’s newest silly hour long, guilty pleasure comedy, GCB.

There is nothing of importance about this program revolving around Amanda (Leslie Bibb), a mother of two and former high school mean girl. The fact is Amanda was the queen of the mean girls and she ruled the social aspects of her high school, treating others she deemed beneath her as only a teen age mean girl could.

Life has not been kind to Amada of late. Her husband operated a national, Texas-sized ponzi scheme and just as he was about to get caught, he absconded with millions of dollars of ill gotten cash and Amanda’s best friend. Then dies in a fiery car crash. Amanda, penniless and in disgrace, has to crawl back to Texas to live with her mother (the always hilarious Annie Potts). The thing is, Amanda is not the same person as she was 20 years ago.

Unfortunately for Amanda, all of the girls she treated disdainfully in high school have turned their lives into something positive. They were all rich to begin with and they all marred more money. They have (surgically, in some cases) fixed whatever flaws held them back in high school and now are the social queen bees of Amanda’s world. And they want revenge for all of the ill treatment they suffered through at Amanda’s hand 20 years ago.

The cast is terrific, featuring the always perky Kristen Chenowith as Carlene, Amanda’s most tortured target from the past. Carlene went from ugly duckling to swan but she’s mean as a snake and she remembers every past transgression. Jennifer Aspen, Miriam Shor, and Marisol Nichols complete the cast of former classmates.

Each woman lives behind a hypocritical façade, especially Carlene. She hides a malicious soul behind a Christian, Bible-quoting persona. She makes every situation a religious lesson but does so with the most unchristian of intentions. The humor comes from the fact she isn’t even aware of it. She thinks she is the most devoted of people and that her Christianity is her driving force. Her close friends and partner’s in crime seem to know this about her but are willing to go along with her plans because of their long fostered hatred for Amanda.

The show is silly and really holds little redeeming value – except it makes me laugh. The irony of Carlene’s behavior being so crossways with her supposed beliefs are what lends the most humor. While I know many people of stout and true religious belief, I also know several hypocrites who can reconcile their actions Monday through Saturday because they attend church every Sunday. The hypocrisy is exaggerated for sure and so it becomes satirical in nature.

The actors relish their roles and play them to the hilt. While Bibb’s reformed Amanda is the central character, it is Potts and Chenowith who steal the show, making it a truly funny break from all the medical and law dramas that fill the network airwaves. ABC wants GCB to replace the (finally) ending Desperate Housewives. For my money, GCB is a much funnier program. Watch (and enjoy) it for it is and don’t try to make it more.

Trying to predict the outcome of the annual March Madness extravaganza is never an easy thing. As parity becomes more prevalent in college basketball (some would argue that it is mediocrity, not parity), the excitement of the tournament has never been higher. Tuesday night’s play-in games were absolutely thrilling, with one team trailing by 16 points with less than 5 minutes to go, then charging back for the win, and in the other game, one team scored 55 points in the first fifteen minutes, building a 25 point lead, but only scoring 17 points the rest of the way to lose in the end. What a way to start the tournament!

The Kansas Jayhawks have, in my opinion, overachieved all season. They ran out basically 5 BCS caliber players and still won the Big XII. It did not hurt my feelings at all to see them fall early in the conference tournament and then to not have to play until late Friday evening. This team appeared tired and beat up toward the end of the season and the extra rest certainly will do them no harm. Yes, it would have been awesome to enjoy yet another KU/MU tilt but I think not having to play a relatively meaningless game against a tough opponent may help KU in the end.

After taking in all the brackets, I did not feel KU got the shaft in their brackets like I usually do. In fact, after pouring over all of the regions, not one team really jumped out at me as having an overwhelming hard or easy path to the Final Four. It seems to me that just about every match-up has its risks for the higher seeds. There just isn’t that much difference in teams this season. When you have a #15 seed Detroit with more McDonald’s All Americans on its team than #2 seed Kansas, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of college basketball.

I can honestly see KU possibly going down in every round. Detroit is no slouch and neither St. May’s nor Purdue are pushovers. KU beat Georgetown earlier in the season but both teams are significantly better than they were. The Hoyas are a deep, young, athletic team that will be a hard match-up for the Jayhawks. I assume that either North Carolina or Michigan will make it to the Elite Eight, although there are obviously no guarantees of that either. If so, KU could beat either team in a scrap. Of course, they could take a beating from either team, too.

KU has a recent history of exiting the tournament too early, and with stronger teams than this one. On the flip side, we as KU fans certainly know how far one player of the year candidate can carry a team. Kansas has two outstanding players in Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor who will bad match-ups for just about any team. Throw in a true, shot blocking 7-footer, and a couple of capable, tough defenders, KU’s starting five is as good as any in the nation. The problem is an achingly thin bench. If KU gets into any early foul trouble with the top 2 or three players, the lights will dim quickly on the Jayhawks’ hope.

With all of these things taken into consideration, I think the Jayhawks will make it into the Elite Eight at least. It would not surprise me at all if the exit earlier than that, and I will be thrilled if they make it to yet another Final Four. A NC/KU battle for that Final Four spot could be epic. Ole Roy wouldn’t like it much but as fans, it would be terrific. If KU could scrap their way into the Final Four, anything could happen. I think KU is one of eight to twelve teams that have the firepower to win it all.

Of course, my dream final match-up would be the Kansas Jayhawks versus the Missouri Tigers. How great would it be to defeat the Tigers in the final game and send them off to the SEC with their tail tucked firmly between their legs. On the other hand, that match-up would also be my worst nightmare match-up. Nothing would be worse than for the Tigers to end our great, historic rivalry by beating KU in the National Championship game. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. KU has to come out every game and play every minute. They have a tendency to come out flat, either to begin the game, or out of the locker room after halftime. This cannot happen in the tourney or they will be done. They must stay focused, healthy, and out of foul trouble of they want a chance for that Elite Eight.

As I ready for this phenomenally awesome sporting event, I know I will be bitterly disappointed with anything less than an Elite Eight and absolutely thrilled with anything more. As always, I will cheer my team on as long as they are alive and I will complain initially upon their ouster. Regardless, I love my team and would never want to follow any other in the country.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk. Go KU!!!