Movies I've Watched Recently 3/9/10

The Motorcycle Diaries

At some point, and I'm not sure when that was, I became really interested in Latin America cinema. Probably not coincidentally, some of the movies I have enjoyed watching from Latin America this past decade (This movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Amores Perros) have starred Gael Garcia Bernal, the best young actor in the Spanish-Speaking world. He's been a part of some really incredible roles, but it's his role as young Che Guevara that always stands out in my mind.

I love the movie's suddenness. It's a story about a 7,000 mile trip, and with it, you think you're in for a long run, but then you see them run off the road and into a roadside ditch with their motorcycle. Or flee from a party in Chile when Che tries to go home with his mechanic's wife. The most moving suddenness, however, is when Che starts meeting the migrant members of "Suramerica" in northern Chile and into Peru. It's certain to think that before he took the trip that he would find out new things about the world, but when he realizes what those new things are, and how they warp the perception of the reality that has been presented to him on his continent, you see him change his demeanor the further on they go. He grows in confidence, grows in honesty, grows in enlightening his world view. While he had been handcuffed, so to speak, in Buenos Aires, the trip he had been planning for a decade had opened his eyes to a world much bigger than any one he was a part of back home.

His birthday night at the leper colony in the Peruvian Amazon brings it all together, obviously, with a speech that brings up applause amongst his fellow doctors (Che was a semester away from finishing medical school before leaving) but even with that, he swims the south bank to spend the rest of the evening with the lepers who had been segregated, as he says, from the doctors on the north bank, even though they aren't contagious. There's a part earlier where they were taking the first trip over, and he is offered gloves. He declines them simply because he wants to show them that even though he is a doctor, that he is human just like them and wants to improve their way of life in more ways than just medicine.

Of course, the legacy of Che after this trip is something that has turned into the lore of revolutionary minds across the world, although his philosophy as he progressed in life became an argument that has been made over and over again since his death in 1967. I do want to point out that at the end of the film, while recounting what happened in the lives of both men after they got to Caracas, Venezuela, their final destination, it is explicitly stated that Che was not killed by CIA operatives, but murdered, an interesting piece of commentary to say the least, as it is widely known that Che was executed in a schoolyard.

While Che's legacy after he became a noted revolutionary might be cause for argument, I don't think there's anyone who would disagree at the motives he showed after his interactions with those less fortunate in his home land on his journey across South America. His idea of bringing compassion and equal rights to those who have been basically forgotten amongst his people is something that I don't think should be argued at all, and for a bunch of "communist" ideas, sounds pretty democratic to me.

Old School

I wrote about this in Part 1 of my favorite movies of the decade, but it's still great and will continue to be great for a long time. Even edited on cable, it's worth a look.

Tin Cup

I know Costner gets a bad rap for all of his works, but good lord, he has been a part of some of the better sports movies ever. "Bull Durham" and "Field of Dreams" are classic sports movies, and "For Love of the Game" is absolutely underrated, even if I can't stand Kelly Preston in it. This movie is right up there. The part in the movie where he wins his clubs back playing with a bunch of yard items and a "pink lady" is great, and includes the great lost line of the movie after the dude he's playing hits a good shot: "You hear that Romeo? Boone was being profound!" I still turn it on if there's nothing good on TV, and I'll be damned if it doesn't entertain me every time I watch it.

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut

I had to set aside about 200 minutes of my life (215 to be exact) to sit through this incarnation of the much argued movie that was adapted from arguably the greatest graphic novel written in the English language. Compared to the theatrical version, this is so much more in line with the book (although the end, as it was in all the movie versions, is different from the end of the book, and in my opinion, much better, although giant squids still scare the crap out of me) and is really about as full an experience as you'll see.

I hadn't seen it in full in almost a year, but there were some great parts in there that I remember. The majority of Rorshach's parts, especially when he was in jail (where they said he couldn't be left for fear of his safety due to all the people he put IN that jail) were outstanding. Dr. Manhattan's plight is always a great one to watch; having attained his god-like powers and his vision of time in all its relevancy, he loses his grip on humanity due to his vision the size of our universe, only to re-emerge as someone who understands the plight of humanity as not just a speck in the universe, but as part of that universe nonetheless.

It's well acted, it hardly strays from the book (although it does show Zach Snyder's tendencies for copious amounts of grisly violence; you WILL see broken bones in spectacular fashion, among other things) and the animated "Curse of the Black Freighter" scenes that were taken from the comic book inside the comic book were interspersed very well.

Perhaps the biggest thing for fans of the book is the divide it caused between the book's author, Alan Moore and it's artist, Dave Gibbons. Gibbons enthusiastically helped piece together Snyder's vision and was instrumental in many of the scenes that were taken directly from his cells, but Moore vehemently wanted nothing to do with a film project of his work, with him saying "I'm never going to watch this fucking thing."

Personally, as I understand Moore wanting to keep his original work intact as the only incarantion of his vision, I doubt he'd be disappointed if he ever turns around and watches it one of these days. While not perfect, I think it's about the best adaptation of his novel that anybody will ever make.

The continued plight of the San Francisco Giants

Although I now work for the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliate in Dunedin, Florida, I'm always going to be a Giants fan at heart. Their race with the Atlanta Braves in 1993 toward the NL West championship, the greatest pennant race of all time, made me a fan for life, and is a team that always sticks with me (Bonds, Lewis and McGee in the outfield. Williams, Clayton, Thompson and Clark in the infield. Manwaring catching a pitching staff with two 20-game winners in Burkett and Swift, Trevor Wilson and Bud Black as the other starters, and a bullpen that included Dave Burba, Mike Jackson and Rod Beck.)

But as I grow in knowledge of what it takes to compile a successful baseball team, I can only sit and frown at this past offseason for the San Francisco Giants. A team that overachieved in 2009 thanks to a really good defense and probably the best pitching staff in all of baseball, they were right in the thick of things in the National League Wild Card with a week left in the season, only to see the Colorado Rockies speed past on their way to the postseason.

With a season like that behind them, the Giants were looked upon as a team that had the most to gain this offseason. A pitching staff that features the best young pitcher in the game in Tim Lincecum, a great compliment in Matt Cain, a talented if erratic left in Jonathan Sanchez (he of the first no-hitter for the Giants in 33 years) and the promise of talented young left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who is projected to be an ace-level pitcher. Oh, and Barry Zito, too. They had a budding superstar in Pablo Sandoval, who's hacktastic ways and phenomenal batting eye gave him the best offensive year by a third baseman for the Giants since the days of Matt Williams. The rest of the offense was non-descript, but position by position, there was a chance that with an upgrade here or there, that the Giants would contend in the NL West and have a chance to overtake either the Dodgers or Rockies.

Unfortunately, none of that looks like it's going to happen.

Even with a couple of bad contracts coming off the books, the 2010 Giants look to be similar to the 2009 incarnation. Gone is Randy Winn in right field (to be replaced by Nate Schierholtz) but questions remain about the outfielders. Aaron Rowand, much like Zito, will not be able to play to the level of his contract, as his offensive numbers have declined each year he has been with the Giants, and his defense, while still above average, is not worth $12 million a year in center field.

Left field is where I have a big problem with the Giants philosophy...and it's funny to note that this starts a domino effect with the other positions and the rest of the Giants offseason. The signing of Mark DeRosa, a super utility player with pop that can play six positions on the diamond, was originally thought to place him at third base (where he is decent defensively) and move the defensive liability of Sandoval over to first base, where he holds more value. But then Sabean decided that instead of having Sandoval play first, he needed a veteran instead, and signed Aubrey Huff to a contract. Now, Huff hasn't played first base often over the last few years, and is primarily a DH. He's not Adam Dunn, so him being at first base carries both an offensive and defenisve liability, as well. Huff has power, but doesn't get on base well, and him being a left-handed power guy doesn't work in a ballpark where Barry Bonds was the exception, not the norm. The signing of Huff shifted DeRosa to LF and Sandoval back at 3B, lessening the defense at all three positions while helping the offense at only third.

The Giants were also practically handcuffed into bringing Bengie Molina back one for season as catcher, as uberstud Buster Posey was not-quite ready for primetime. That being said, Molina now serves as someone who could be turned into a prime piece of trading deadline beef, bringing in a prospect or two as Posey readies himself to become the Giants catcher of the future. It wasn't a great signing or even a good signing, but at the very least, it gave the Giants stability behind the plate.

But none of those signings carry as much of a burden as the decision to bring back second baseman Freddy Sanchez before the end of the World Series for a two year deal worth $12 million. The market for second basemen hadn't been set yet, and Sanchez's numerous injury problems made him a liabilty. Furthermore, with Juan Uribe looking to get re-signed (which he eventually was), second base was perfect for Uribe, who showed a good amount of pop with the bat and decent defense (although his most vivid defensive memory was his bumble of a ground ball that could have made Jon Sanchez's no-no a perfecto) and could have slid in perfectly at second base for a lot less money.

After all this, the starting line-up now looks like this:

OF: Mark DeRosa (LF), Aaron Rowand (CF), Nate Schierholtz (RF)
IF: Pablo Sandoval (3B), Edgar Renteria (SS), Freddy Sanchez (2B), Aubrey Huff (1B)
C: Bengie Molina
SP: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner

There are some particular problems with the above situation, most due to making Sanchez the first pin to drop, setting all the other moves in motion. Considering how the market has turned out for second basemen, Sanchez could have been had a much cheaper price, and is now looking like he will be this offseason's version of the Renteria signing.

Now is the time where I put on my fantasy GM hat and help the Giants along.

The sudden derailment of Fred Lewis in left field boggles my mind. His on-base percentage was second on the team behind Sandoval (min. 250 PA), and if there's anything that has been learned from Moneyball, it's that even if the power isn't necessarily there, the ability to get on base is always key. He would start in left.

This would allow Nate Schierholtz to take over right field. While he is not really tested at the majors, he is projected to be a fine player in right defensively, although not an offensive stalwart like Sandoval. With him also being a cheap alternative to save the Giants money, he could be the RF for now.

I would retain Uribe as the starting second baseman, giving you above-average defense at second base with decent hitting. From there, if DeRosa is available, you sign him and put him at third base, moving Sandoval to first to improve the defense all around. I would have also brought back Yorvit Torrealba to catch for one season, as he is a cheaper option than Molina and is a good handler of the pitching staff. With that in mind, the revised line-up would look like this:

OF: Fred Lewis (LF), Aaron Rowand (CF), Nate Schierholtz (RF)
IF: Mark DeRosa (3B), Edgar Renteria (SS), Juan Uribe (2B), Pablo Sandoval (1B)
C: Yorvit Torrealba (C)

Why I Did It This Way

For a team that has a Top 5 pitching staff, the most important asset in a park like AT&T is not the offense that you produce, but the number of runs you can prevent. You prevent the runs with good pitching and good defense behind you. The starting staff is comprised of flyball pitchers who try to miss bats and mix up their pitches to keep hitters off balance. With a huge outfield, this means that you need speed to help track down the fly balls your pitchers give up, and thankfully, the outfield is big enough to allow the outfielders room to roam.

Using the Ultimate Zone Range (UZR) stat, which is a comprehensive look at defensive value, you upgrade defensively in LF, RF, 3B, 2B, 1B and C as opposed to the team that is constructed now, and using UZR/150 games, it's even more apparent the change you get.

Offensively, it's basically a wash in LF with DeRosa and Lewis, but the shifting of the positions keeps the offensive totals more in line with the expectaions at each position. DeRosa is a HUGE improvement at third over Sandoval, but is also worth enough offensively that his above average defense pushes him into a territory that sees him be a valuable commodity. Sandoval's value increases defensively while also being a top-notch hitter at first. Uribe's offensive prowess at second base along with his good defense is a huge upgrade over Sanchez, who's balky knee and shoulder have increased his decline over the past two years in all facets of the game. You're not getting much out of Renteria or Rowand, who are both league average defensively at their positions and are well into their declines. Torrealba is a much cheaper stopgap at catcher as they wait for Posey to be ready, and is also better defensively while providing modest offense for a catcher, making his overall value better than Molina, who can't draw a walk if he was given an Etch-a-Sketch.

What's great about the moves I made is that you also save a lot of money, meaning that if you need to make a marked improvement at any position, it's there to be made. Obviously, if you were able to sign someone like Adrian Beltre, you would step in there, move DeRosa to second base, and make Uribe a super-utility guy. Beltre would add at least 2-3 wins with his defense alone and is a decent enough hitter to carry the position. However, Beltre wouldn't sign with the Giants, so I didn't make him a part of my solution. In a perfect world, an infield of Beltre, Renteria, DeRosa and Sandoval would be a good defensive infield and provide pop at three of the four positions. In fact, if Renteria struggled and Uribe stepped in at short, he'd be only a little worse defensively than Edgar while being a marked improvement offensively. A Beltre signing, along with the addition of DeRosa, would have given the Giants flexibility that they hadn't had in a long time, and would have been a huge step forward in improving their projection.

However, this offseason has seen the Giants overspend on players that are on the downside of their careers and are defenisve liabilities at their positions. Improving offensively for a team that is terrible in that are is one thing, but doing so at the expense of a defense that allowed their pitching staff to prosper is not allowing anybody to feel like the team has truly improved. The additions to the 2010 Giants aren't going to put them over the top, and considering the problems facing the Giants now with the arbitration case facing Tim Lincecum, they are in deep trouble of putting themselves in position for a murky future instead of relishing in the prime of the best young pitcher in baseball and the emergence of an offensive force that should be the core of their team for years to come.

I understand that Brian Sabean was kept on for familiarity's sake by the new ownership group, but he is not helping the team improve towards being a playoff contender, let alone a team competing for a World Championship. 2010 should be a step forward, but for us Giants fans, it looks like it will instead be yet another tease of what could have been.

My Favorite 25 Movies of the 2000s - Part 1

Of all the lists, this is probably the one that is hardest for me, as I had a good idea of what the sports moments and video games would be, but for movies, where I started really becoming an avid watcher in college, it was pretty tough to pare down my list of finalists. In fact, after going through the movie lists from all 10 years in the decade, I had 82 movies that I picked out and had to get down to 25. The list I had at the end was about right for me. Mostly comedies (and well-known and accepted ones at that), but at the same time, I was happy with how the list turned out. I know that there are plenty of avid movie watchers who have fringe films or indie films or are horror buffs or what have you, but I'm someone who just wants a movie that when I look back on it, I said, "I enjoyed it." I enjoyed all the movies on this list for entirely different reasons. I don't have anything you'd probably see at Sundance or Cannes, but I liked them all the same. Actually, I take that back. I have one or two.

For the record, the final movie cut off the list was "Howl's Moving Castle," which is extra tough because I watched it again yesterday and it's an awesome movie. Roger Ebert calling it one of Miyazaki's "worst" is pretty pretentious on his part, I believe. I understand people have a high standard for Miyazaki films and the movie he did before that, "Spirited Away," (which I have unfortunately not seen yet; it's never on any movie channel, yet you'll see "Yes, Man" 50 times a month) is considered his greatest achievement, but I thought it was an awesome movie with a really neat story. It also is the first movie with what I delightfully call the "Christian Bale" voice, where he goes all deep and gruff when he feels cornered. This would be the inspiration for his voice for Batman. And yes, I laughed out loud when I heard it. One of my favorite animated features from the decade, but not high enough that it got into my favorite 25. So without further ado, here we go:

25. High Fidelity - 2000

We start off the list with one of my favorite movies from my time between the end of high school and college, which is about right considering that I just started getting more into music and also just started branching out into different genres of movies outside of your normal slapstick comedies, Disney movies and Pixar movies. Looking back at it, this actually became the template for John Cusack's movies later on in the decade, as he really didn't play a role outside of this one (then again, one could say that he's had basically the same role since "Say Anything," but I digress) but I liked this movie mainly because as far as your typical coming-of-age stories, this one is believable in the sense that I end up giving a damn about his character at the end of the movie.

I also like Jack Black more than others and he was really good in this. He was annoying, but it fit the character, as opposed to him being annoying just for the sake of being annoying. I'm also a sucker for lists (duh) and I liked a lot of the lists they came up with (and the arguments spawned from them). There's also something about Tim Robbins playing a seedy character in the movie (like he does in "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny", which also JUST missed the list) and the scene where they discuss how he'd be dealt with upon entering the store is a favorite of mine. It's also a really good ending, and the song that plays over the credits is probably my favorite Stevie Wonder song: "I Believe When I Fall In Love With You (It Will Be Forever)".

This gets on the list mainly because it was one of the first movies that kinda molded how I got into movies as I got through the decade. I bought this and the TV Series "Undeclared" at the same time (with the latter being on a complete recommendation without even seeing it and ended up being one of the best purchases I ever made) and quickly became a favorite. It's also one of the better "romantic comedies" for guys, but at the same time, there's some pretty awesome dialogue, music and some really good performances. In my opinion, not the worst start to the list.

24. Best In Show - 2001

"This Is Spinal Tap" is probably the greatest mockumentary of all time, and is the movie that turned Christopher Guest into a household name in comedy. It's amazing to think that almost 20 years after the fact, that he would come out with a movie that is incredible in the same vein to my generation that didn't grow up with "the curse of the drummer", "Mini-Stonehenge" and "Turn it up to 11!"

Everything is tongue in cheek, everything is done in a meticulous manner that makes you pay attention to the dialogue and what it all boils down to is that every part is pitch perfect. You have the unassuming good old boy, the gay couple, the ditzy woman with a butch dog trainer that eventually become a couple, the uptight owners who are way too into it and, of course, the couple that's just happy to be there: a guy with ridiculous teeth that might be more unassuming than Guest's character, and her wife, who before she was married, slept with basically every male character in the movie.

But the winner of the great characters in the movie is, without a doubt, the color commentator by the name of Buck Laughlin played by Fred Willard, who steals the show with irreverence and frankness that is absolutely some of the greatest comedic dialogue I have ever heard spoken in a movie. His shtick about comparing the dog show to a baseball game and the hilarious anecdotes...they absolutely get me rolling every time I see the movie. It's really an incredible role and it was nailed beautifully. Guest would make a couple more movies of this ilk in the decade, but they didn't come close to this, his finest since "Spinal Tap."

23. Meet the Parents - 2001

The best movie that DeNiro had been in since "Casino" and it's tough for me to choose between Stiller's role in this, "Zoolander" (Which barely misses this list, as well) and "There's Something About Mary." The story of Gaylord "Greg" Focker as he goes to his girlfriend's parents' house for the first time hits all the right notes in the nightmares that come from trying to impress who you hope will be your future in-laws.

There are plenty of memorable scenes, but the one that always makes the movie for me every time I see it is the dinner scene. I'm pretty sure it was the scene that everybody in the movie saw and made them want to take part in it. From Jack's poem to his deceased mom, to Greg saying Jewish grace and finally ending it with him popping the cork, breaking the urn and Jinxy pissing in the ashes...it's incredible. I remember hearing my dad laughing at that so hard he was coughing a minute later.

It was a movie that just came out of nowhere. It was kind of like "40-Year-Old Virgin," where you saw the previews, thought "This could be funny," and then were blown away by just how funny it was. It also showed that DeNiro was more than someone who could play a gangster in Martin Scorsese movies. He really nailed the role of Jack, and stole every scene he was in. "The Circle of Trust," his take on "Puff the Magic Dragon," making Jinxy the ring bearer, all of it was gravy. It's another movie that benefits from a recent re-watch, but some movies you just don't forget about, and this is definitely one of those movies.

22. Wedding Crashers - 2005

Pretty much from beginning to end, a movie that brings the laughs and doesn't stop. Beyond the basic premise, the movie that touches on everything from love at first sight, to proper etiquette at the dinner table, to learning from the best that every played the game, it's a tour de force of comedy. Vince Vaughn is at his asshole best who falls in love thanks to the incredible tenacity of the woman he selects as his prey and Owen Wilson plays the plucky underdog who finds love unexpectedly and will stop at nothing to keep him from marrying the devious Sack, played by Bradley Cooper.

The jokes have been recounted over and over again, and I don't think I can list them all here without it taking me all night, but between the Rules of Crashing, the phenomenal opening montage, Christopher Walken, "That's what Maryland does, baby! Crab cakes and football!", the gay painter, the alcoholic priest, one of the best cameos ever...it goes on and on.

I think what keeps it from being higher is that compared to other movies on the list, it kinda dies a bit in the middle, but it shouldn't take away from the entirety of it, a movie that truly hits so many good notes that you could write a song about it.

21. The Hangover - 2009

A cast of virtual no-names to the mainstream movie world (although the three main characters were all great stand-up comedians who had their moments in other movies and TV shows) but like most great films, it's not so much the star as it is the ensemble, and this ensemble had some absolutely incredible moments in a movie directed by the same guy who helped make "Old School" so memorable.

It's a gimmick movie of sorts, but the gimmick works very well. Awesome characters (Zach Galifinakis made himself a career out of his role) and some truly wacky stuff, but what I loved about it all is that while some of the stuff is truly incredible, a lot of it isn't THAT out of the ordinary, although they do hit on a lot of the cliches you'd have in Las Vegas if you blackout.

It gets on this list thanks to a true standby from yours truly: Seeing it in the theater more than once. It's also a movie that has a great ebb and flow, and has some truly incredible scenes, most notably the rooftop speech, everything in the morning, the meeting in the desert, and everything involving Mike Tyson. It's not the first comedy of its kind, but it's definitely one of the best.

20. Up - 2009

Pixar could have each movie it made in the 2000s on this list if I really wanted to (it has three of them) but we'll start here with its most recent, a movie that, like most Pixar movies, hits all the right notes in the scope of human emotions. The first 10 minutes of this movie is one of the best montages I've ever seen, and if you weren't at least misty eyed by the end of it, I don't know if you have a heart, honestly.

The movie in its entirety tells one of the coolest and most original stories that Pixar ever came up with, and has some of their best characters. The best in this movie for me is Dug: a golden retriever that reminds me of my very own, Rudy. Plus, where else are you going to get a battle between two geriatrics like you do at the end of this one?

It's rewarding, it's memorable, it's moving and probably most of all, it's engaging. You feel for the characters and you want to see them all succeed with their various problems. I once again tip my hat to Pixar for taking such an incredible premise and once again turning it into magic. I went through the Walt Disney Museum in December and saw all these movies that Walt helped create when he first started out, and thought about how lucky I am to be in a time where Pixar, much like Walt Disney did over 60 years ago, is making movies that will live with people in this generation to be passed on to the generations to come. John Lassiter, much like his hero, is turning out to be one of the greatest creative minds of all time.

19. Cidade de Deus (City of God)- 2002

One of the most breathtakingly emotional movies I've ever seen, the story of a young boy named "Rocket" growing up in one of the most dangerous places in the world, the slums of Rio de Janerio, Brazil and telling the unbelievable truths that wouldn't be believed otherwise. It's filled with shocking moments from beginning to end. It can be hard to watch at some points, and thanks to those emotional moments, it tells a story that sticks with you for a long time to come.

It was a cast of unknowns, with almost everyone having never acted in a movie before, but that didn't stop them from playing some unbelievable roles. Little Ze, the leader of the main gang in the movie, plays a ruthless boss, someone who isn't even 18 yet, but holds control over nearly the entire "City of God" region. He kills and rapes without a conscious thought at all, and is quick to turn others against themselves to get what he wants.

The first time I watched it, I prepared myself for a movie that I knew was going to be uncomfortable to watch and emotionally draining, but after watching it, the only thing I could think about was how much the entirety of the movie sticks with you. I didn't think of the good parts or the bad parts, but how the movie took me on a ride like few others have. I don't think I've seen a movie, regardless of language, that stayed with me like this one did, and that alone should tell you just how highly this movie is held in regard. It's almost beyond description at points.

18. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan - 2006

Of all the movies on the list, this is probably the one movie that upon first viewing, you come out of saying, "Well, I never expected that." I knew about Sasha Baron Cohen with "Da Ali G Show" and while the goofiness of his Kazahk newscaster was apparent, I had no idea he would take it as far as he did. And as he did it, it became a phenomenal coagulation of comedic genius, an opportunistic view on the American lifestyle, and a performance that couldn't be duplicated (even though he tried to with "Bruno."). How good was it? While it was #1 in box office its first weekend, it actually GAINED money in its second weekend, a rare feat in this day of age for Hollywood.

From the beginning, you saw that all bets were off. In five minutes, he wore shorts that were way too short for his hairiness, a man thong that was beyond the boundaries of good taste, he made out with his sister, and then rode off in a car that was being pulled by a mule with a teenager behind the wheel smoking a cigarette. And he was just getting started.

What followed was a movie that toed the line between farce and a twisted reality show. Borat's interactions with everyday Americans were incredible. While he mainly made fun of people from the south, its pretty apparent that the message he was trying to get across, that prejudice is still very much alive in the United States, is only an underlying message to his antics. Nevertheless, it's one of the great modern sociological experiments, and Cohen's performance, which I think has been taken for granted even if it isn't necessarily an "award-winning performance", is one of the better single performances of the decade.

17. Step Brothers - 2008

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are an incredible comedic duo. Their performance in "Talladega Nights" is more widely recognized, but to overlook this movie is just stupid. Playing a couple of overgrown 40-year-olds who haven't moved out of their respective parents' houses, the two suddenly become stepbrothers when their parents get married, and must learn to live with each other. Shenanigans ensue.

The beauty of this movie, for me, is that both Ferrell and Reilly just destroy every scene they are in together. It's weird to think that the movie gets better and better as it goes on, but good lord, I don't think the movie ever comes down from that initial high of their first fight (complete with Ferrell's nuts on Reilly's drum set). That fight, the job hunt, the dinner scene with Ferrell's brother, PRESTIGE INTERNATIONAL (Boats 'N Hos will probably be one of my fantasy baseball team names), the sad break up, and, of course, an ending that can only be explained in four words: The Catalina Wine Mixer.

It's sophomoric, it's low-brow at points, but it's a movie that I enjoyed from beginning to end, and for this list, it's all I really need.

16. Good Night, and Good Luck - 2006

The story of Edward R. Murrow's attack on the McCarthy era reign of terror is one of the best introspective pieces of historical cinema that I've ever seen. Besides the pitch-perfect performance of David Straitham as Murrow, it was a well-structured movie that brought forth a lot of important issues in journalism that have been, for the most part, deemed archaic by today's journalistic world.

As a broadcaster, I'm sure I won't touch the excellence of Murrow in his heyday, where he became, along with Walter Kronkite, a pillar of journalistic excellence, but at the same time, watching a movie like this makes you realize the importance that the media plays in society. While the role has changed a great deal since Murrow's day, the movie shows that just as McCarthy got people riled up with his "Red List" of Communist sympathizers, Murrow was able to shoot down the blanket accusations with a fervent stare into the camera. The movie being shown in black and white only amplifies a simpler time in our country's society.

My favorite piece of trivia about the movie is that audience feedback from advanced screenings said that the actor that played McCarthy was far too over the top and was unbelievable. This was, of course, before they found out that the footage of McCarthy was REAL. If anything, the way it was shot, the tone, the direction, the movie brings you in to one of the most remarkable times in U.S. history and makes you believe you're a part of the time period. It's hidden amongst some of the more well-received movies in the past decade, but it stands out to me as one of the best movies about journalism ever produced.

15. Hustle & Flow - 2005

Like most people, I was drawn to this movie because I was a young black man from Memphis who was hustling and pimping just to get by, and found a love for rapping that I hope would give me my big break.

Yeah, I can't keep that joke up at all. This is a top flight performance from Terrence Howard as D-Jay, and a really well crafted movie to show the growth of his character. It's not so much that he grows up and goes straight, but that he realizes that he needs to take care of himself and stop cutting corners. When he stands up to Ludacris at the end for pissing all over his demo, his place in society turns out to be what it always had been, but that by doing things his way, he figured out exactly how to succeed in a world where he had to take everything that was given to him, regardless of how petty it was.

I was really happy to see the movie as critically acclaimed as it was, mainly because it's a movie that doesn't really have a big draw. Anthony Anderson was the biggest name in the movie, and he didn't exactly have a big role under his belt. It's not necessarily a one man show (Anderson and DJ Qualls are awesome in their roles, as are D-Jay's girls) but at the same time, Howard took a role that turned him into a big-time actor in Hollywood. He would help make "Crash" an Oscar winner and took a top role in "Iron Man," but it was this role that got him much well deserved notoriety.

14. Old School - 2003

It was the movie that started it all. There had been movies before with big-time comedic actors in years previous, but this movie ushered in the era of "The Frat Pack." Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell brought a new brand of comedy to the fold, one that would serve as template for movies like "Wedding Crashers," "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers." An irreverent premise if there ever was one, three guys facing a mid-life crisis decide to form a fraternity for the every man. Like many other movies on this list, shenanigans ensue.

The moments are numerous. The corralling of the pledges in a black van set to "Master of Puppets," the first ritual of trust, Mitch-A-Palooza, Frank the Tank, Frank streaking, the trip to the psychologist, Mitch hooking up with his boss' daughter (who happens to be in high school), the establishment of the fraternity, the birthday parties, Craig Kilborn playing a complete asshole of a boyfriend in his final movie role, Frank singing "Dust in the Wind," Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese, the fraternity decathlon, and, of course, the coronation of the frat at the end of the movie.

For a 19-year-old kid coming into his college years, this was my "Animal House." It's the movie that will stick with me until my kids get into college, and is almost like a rite of passage for movie watching in my generation. Hell, this was the first movie that I thoroughly enjoyed that I sat down with my dad and watched. That's how important this movie was to me.

13. The Incredibles - 2004

The second Pixar movie on my list, this was the best movie I had seen Pixar make yet when I first saw it. It was almost like a comic book from the 50s. Espionage, adventure, action, excitement, a phenomenal blend of James Bond and Superman, mixed in with the Fantastic Four and, of all things, early sitcoms.

While not as emotional or heartwarming as the other Pixar movies, this movie accomplishes that "cool" factor that many people believed Pixar hadn't achieved. People enjoyed the fun fares of their previous films, and understood that they were all striking to make movies that both children and adults could enjoy and relate to, but this was something that really hadn't been done under the Disney/Pixar banner. DreamWorks and other animation studios were trying to get in on the animated action genre, but it only took ONE Pixar movie for them to perfect it.

If anything, this showed that in the vast imagination at the studios in Emeryville, that even with the stories of family woe, childhood longing and a search for guidance in their lives, that they had a story full of wonder and amazement that took you on a ride like few other live-action movies could. Not only is it one of the best animated movies of the decade, but it's one of the best action movies of the decade as well, and stands out amongst Pixar's greatest achievements.

12. Tropic Thunder - 2008

The Robert Downey, Jr. Show. He had been nominated in "Chaplin" and had been one of the best American actors of his generation before drugs took him down, but his comeback in 2007 was nothing short of incredible. He became the center of attention for one of the best comic book origin stories ever made (more on that in Part 2) but it was this role, where he played a blonde haired, blue eyed Australian who goes blackface to play a role in a war epic, that absolutely floored me.

People talked about the Tom Cruise cameo (and rightfully so), but damn it all if Downey didn't make the movie for me. My first time through, I enjoyed it, but I didn't enjoy it so much that I would call it a great movie. It took my Uncle Jim and a second viewing to truly understand the movie's greatness. We marveled at Downey's performance, and loved the bit roles (Brandon Jackson, Danny McBride and Jay Duchamel were awesome, along with a surprisingly good Chris Farley impersonation from Jack Black and Ben Stiller playing the straight man to the goofiness around him), as this movie suddenly became a tour de force of comedic moments that just wouldn't stop.

Unlike some of the other movies on my list where there memorable scenes that stand out, this movie is all about the dialogue. All of the roles are basically parodies of the actors who play them, and it's what they say and how they say that draws you in. In fact, there's so many things parodied that you really need to stop and think about all the thought that goes into each scene. It's without a doubt a great piece of comedy, and Downey's performance is one of a kind.

11. The Departed - 2006

It's not Scorsese's best, not by a long shot. But that's saying a lot considering that for the fact that it's a remake of a Hong Kong classic (one of the rare times that Scorsese goes in that direction) it turns out to be a pretty great movie on its own. It's DiCaprio's movie to mold, and he's pretty awesome in it, but the scene stealer is not Jack Nicholson. It's instead Mark Wahlberg, who owns his role as the only straight cop in the movie.

It's got all the usual Scorsese quirks. It's got the quick cut cinematography (You gotta think Michael Bay was a Scorsese fan). It has the classic rock soundtrack. It has the crazy amounts of violence, masochistic behavior, inordinate amounts of cussing, sexual debauchery, a return to a public adult movie theater for the first time since Taxi Driver...but at the same time, it's such a well crafted movie that you can't help but notice that for all the usual Scorsese quirks, that those quirks have made some of the best movies in American history.

It's a great mix of everything that Scorsese does best, and features an all-star cast the likes of which hadn't been seen in a very long time: a great mix of the old guard of Hollywood (Nicholson, Sheen, Baldwin) and the new guard (DiCaprio, Damon, Wahlberg). It shouldn't have been the movie that netted Scorsese his first Oscar ever, but it's still a great movie nonetheless.

My Favorite 25 Video Games of the 2000s: Part 2

For those of you who haven't read Part 1 yet, you can find it here.

10. Capcom vs. SNK 2 - Multiple Platforms, 2001



The first game in my Top 10 sees a combination of two sets of my favorite fighting game characters ever. Growing up, I was a big fan of the Neo-Geo, as it was cool to see so many games on one arcade machine (I'm serious, that's why I loved it so much) but their fighting games always appealed to me, especially the Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown games. King of Fighters really sealed the deal for me, as I loved the idea of tag team fighting and with so many characters to choose from (especially using some of my favorites from other Neo-Geo fighters) I became an instant fan of this series, as well.

The precursor to this game was a nifty fighter that had a weird point system, and although it was limited a bit in it's execution, I enjoyed it enough. It was a cool concept, and wasn't the first time something like this had been tried. But it was the second game that made me stand up and take notice of a style that I thought was the most balanced in all fighting games. Twice as many fighters as the first game, and instead of fighters with preset levels like in the first game, the sequel set your levels up in regards to how many characters you selected on a 4 point system (2-1-1 for 3 characters, 2-2 or 3-1 for 2 characters, or 4 for 1 character). It also added in many more characters on the SNK side that people were a bit more familiar with (like Haohmaru and Nakoruru from Samurai Showdown) to go along with some Capcom guys that hadn't been seen in a while (ROLENTO~!).

But the best part of the game were the six styles that could be employed. Whereas the first game only had two (Capcom and SNK), the sequel featured four others that played to different strengths: parrying, storing super moves, custom combos (taken from Street Fighter Alpha) and, my favorite, the rage style, where you took so much damage that when your meter was filled, your character could unleash the best super moves in their arsenal at full power, something that was eventually used in Street Fighter IV for their Revenge Meter and Ultra Combos.

I made mention in an article I did for Sports Joystick in 2008 that I was extremely sad with EVO 2008 taking Capcom vs. SNK 2 out of the rotation, especially considering Third Strike was an technically inferior game that had become way too predictable and had turned almost into a parody of itself thanks to that year's final, which featured 5 Chun-Li's, 2 Ken's, and, thankfully, an Akuma. That year, the CVS2 finals were much more varied, and also saw players use more than one team if the one they normally used didn't get the job done. It also saw players have to master more than just one character to survive, meaning that a lot more had to be put in for somebody to become a master of the game.

It's now a hard to find game and is highly sought after in the fighting game community, and while the biggest fighting game tournament in the world has decided to take it off the docket, I'm happy to have it here amongst my 10 favorite games of the last decade, and is the highest ranked amongst the Capcom/SNK fighters.

9. Final Fantasy IX - PlayStation, 2000



I almost put Final Fantasy X on this list. As a whole, X is gorgeous, had great voice acting, an awesome story line, a great fighting system, and the Sphere Grid is one of the coolest ways to build characters in the history of the series.

But IX had a story that was memorable as well. For PlayStation, it was the best looking game in the series. It didn't have voice acting capabilities, but the characters were some of the best. I think the thing I liked most about it was that when you played the game, you were ALWAYS looking forward to what happened next. I liked how you were constantly in search of cool things for ALL your characters, not just one. Zidane might have been the main character, but you were always looking for things for Dagger, or Steiner, or, most impressively, Vivi.

It was Zidane's game to lead but it was Vivi who stole the show. Someone who was looking for an identity, someone who was pure of heart and had bravery that when it was absolutely necessary, he unleashed it towards those who deserved it. I loved that Zidane treated him just like anyone else that he met, but at the same time, he made sure that Vivi realized his potential as a person. I don't think I could say that about anyone in Final Fantasy X, no matter how cool I thought Auron was (and trust me, that dude was cool).

In the end, it was a throwback to what made the games prior to this (like FF IV, and to a lesser extent, FF VI) so memorable. The weapons you used had to be mastered so that you could unleash their true capabilities. You even had an amazing subquest that saw you try and get to a point in Disc 4 in TWELVE HOURS to get Steiner's best weapon, the Excalibur II. You also had a nice cast of villains that had the usual FF hierarchy (I think it was much better than FF VIII or X's villains) but it was done in a logical manner that it seemed like they weren't trying to rush things at the end.

In all, it was one of the most well-designed games that ever came out in the series, but gets lost in the shuffle between FF VII and FF X, the games that started the series out on their respective PlayStation platforms. It's one of the best games Square Enix put out as far as having a great balance between story, gameplay and aesthetics.

And of course, it had Vivi.

8. WWF No Mercy - Nintendo 64, 2000



For my money, the best wrestling game THQ ever put out, even if it used the AKI-based gameplay from their Virtual All-Pro Wrestling series, and one of the best games ever for the N64. I remember getting this and the first thing I did was create myself, trying to use all the moves that none of the default wrestlers used. I didn't really know at that time that they were all used by wrestlers from Japan (although I would figure that out soon enough when I increased my wrestling viewership) but I just thought they were the coolest.

Besides the crazy amount of moves you could assign to wrestlers, it also included some of my favorite former WCW wrestlers in the game (like Eddy Guerrero and, well, yeah, at that time, Chris Benoit) and a cool story mode that was done in a pyramid style to keep storylines fresh. It also allowed crazy things to happen in those story modes, like having The Big Show go after the Light Heavyweight title, and having someone like The Rock go after the Woman's title.

It also added the ladder match into the fold, and even though it got to be tedious at times, it was a great addition to the franchise, and added a lot of dimensions to the game play. It also made a great sound when you slammed someone on it with a move or jumped off the top rope and did a move, too. I also liked how you got a chance to earn extras by earning money in the numerous game modes. The best item, you ask? That would be the ability to buy one of The Godfather's hos...for $500,000. Pimpin' ain't easy, folks.

However, it was the Survival mode, where you started in a Royal Rumble type atmosphere and had to defeat as many other wrestlers as you could to earn some of that money, where the game got its replay value. You got a chance to try and get your way to 100 eliminations and earn a bunch of money doing it. There were times where it got a bit cheap, but at the same time, it was a mode where you had a lot of fun knocking everybody out.

To many gamers, there are just games that you can pop in and play over and over again, regardless of how long you had been away from them. For me, this was my most treasured N64 game, something that THQ eventually used as template for their SmackDown! series. While that was indeed good, it never felt like this when it came to fluidity, physics and realism in wrestling mechanics. But there was one other wrestling game that is just a tiny bit better, something that sacrificed all those attributes for an engine that is unrivaled in the world of wrestling video games.

7. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns - PlayStation 2, 2007



I actually modded my old PS2 and bought the import version of this game. That's how stoked I was to play this game. I had played King of Colosseum II, which was a 3D version of this game that had a bit more complicated grappling system and the real licensing for all the Japanese wrestling federations (How you doing, Samoa Joe?) but it was this iteration of the franchise, which really hadn't changed since it's inception in the early 90's, that sold me on it being the superior wrestling game series.

The depth of this game is absolutely incredible. Hundreds of wrestlers, both past and present, including some of the greats in history that were not being used in the US-based wrestling games. Over 1,500 moves, including some that had never been used in any other games at all. I remember making my character for the first time and being amazed at the number of moves I could choose from, including some from the anime series that would eventually spawn the game "Ultimate Muscle." Kinnuku Buster for the win!

But more than the moves and more than the wrestlers was that the game itself took realism to a whole new level with pro wrestling. (Weird statement for a fake sport, but hear me out.) You weren't about to beat someone in two minutes...unless you used a move that was able to cause a critical hit to somebody. In fact, if you tried to go for a big move early, you would most likely get it countered right away. It also had a fantastic flow to it, allowing wrestlers to counter moves in an instant with precise timing in the same vein as wrestlers hitting their big moves.

It's a niche game that definitely had a small audience to it (Two iterations of it were released on the Game Boy Advance to somewhat reasonable success), but it was the last game in the series (so far, at least) that allowed diehard wrestling fans like myself the chance to craft wrestling matches exactly how I'd like. The graphics were hardly amazing, the sound was minimally intriguing at best...but you have yourself a 30 minute match where you throw bomb after bomb, nearfall after nearfall, and you get totally ingrained in it, even if it uses the same sprites that had been around since the days of the Super Nintendo. While it retains the top game on my list in the wrestling genre, it's probably the best wrestling game that most wrestling fans haven't played yet.

6. MLB Power Pros 2008 - Numerous platforms, 2008



People fawn over MLB 09: The Show as the best baseball game that has come out in the last few years, but I'll take this game every day of the week and a twice on Sunday for a doubleheader. Besides the incredible funny Japanese-style graphics, MLB Power Pros 2008 was a surprisingly deep game that allowed players to explore the game of baseball in many different forms.

There were some incredible modes to this game outside of the normal modes you would find in your normal baseball games. You had two different modes that saw you go through your baseball career in two different ways: MLB Life mode was more about how you spent your life outside of the game, while Career mode saw you start out in Spring Training as a young gun looking for a roster spot.

But it was how the game was presented that really drew you in. It was basically a direct port from it's Japanese counterpart, but the American pastime was shown in a very Japanese manner, which made it completely unique. Graphically, it was much like an anime would be shown, even right down the emotions on the player's faces. It was also presented in a very stop-and-go manner, a lot like something you would see in the Phoenix Wright series, where you'd almost get lulled into a false sense of security, and then BAM! OBJECTION~!

But the gameplay sealed the deal. It was simplified to a point, but at the same time, you had to know what you were doing or else you would get creamed. There was also something pretty awesome about the fact that I played a game that had a lot of similarities to the baseball games I grew up on (World Series Baseball, Baseball Stars 2, the SEGA World Series Baseball games, Triple Play), but it was almost updated to take away a lot of the flaws. It was easy to pick up, easy to master, and fun all around.

I was sad to hear that it didn't get picked up for a 2009 iteration, but at the same time, I knew that much like the #2 game on my list, it didn't matter what year the game came out in. It was all about how much fun you had playing it. And Power Pros was without a doubt the most fun baseball game I played from the last decade.

5. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - PlayStation 2, 2005



I'll tell you what, I didn't expect this game to be that high on my list at first, thinking that the Final Fantasy games or some other RPGs would step up and claim the spot, but for me, I don't really think an RPG got better than this. It was the first Dragon Quest game that was heavily pushed in the United States, and as I mentioned earlier with Star Ocean, it built upon the popularity shown with the Final Fantasy X games, but as soon as I saw it on the cheap, I had to buy it, only to see if it was worth a go around.

It was more than just a go around, and it turned out to be one of the best RPGs ever made. Drawn by the same animators who created the Dragon Ball Z series, the eighth chapter in the Dragon Quest series pitted the nameless hero on a search for a cure to his king's curse, as he was turned into a toad thanks to an evil sorcerer that betrayed him named Dhoulmagus. Now, for those of you who have read everything so far, you've seen me harp on being able to keep things simple, but as long as the execution is tip-top, you've got me hooked.

It's as simple a story as you'll ever hear. Girl in distress (and that has to do with the curse, as well), a cast of characters that is memorable, and a vast world that saw you explore every inch of it to get everything you'd want out of the game. The sidequests are awesome (including a quest that sees you go to an entirely different world just to get some of the best things in the game) and the battles are fierce.

But everything about the game is memorable. From the mouse that turns into a secret weapon, to the game's crazy moments between Yangus and the King (too many to count), to the monsters that you can recruit to fight off in the Monster Arena, to some crazy non-playable characters that you encounter...it's just a game that sticks with you, and it invites you to challenge it again and again. The fighting alone takes a lot to get used to, and once you get the hang of it, you find out that you don't know much of anything at all, and have to get used to it again.

I'm pretty sure it's the best thing Square Enix produced in the 2000's, and that's with all the critically-acclaimed games that sold millions and millions, many more than Dragon Quest VIII sold, but at the same time, I'm not sure I played a more enjoyable game from them than this one right here, the PlayStation 2's not-so-hidden gem that made people love RPGs just a little bit more.

4. New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo DS, 2006



I've beaten the game three times but that doesn't make it less fun. I know the Wii version has come out but it'll need to marinate a little while before it becomes top of the line (although if sales, reviews, feedback, and me playing it a little bit of it already has any indication, it's gonna go down as an all-time great), but its predecessor is the reason the Wii game exists, taking the most recognizable game style in history, amping it up a bit, and making the old school new again.

The level designs are remarkably challenging, much like Super Mario World, but at the same time, it makes it fun to try and get the stuff to completely finish the game with all the gold coins. The new items add a lot of depth to the game, and I liked how the enemies were a little bit smarter in this game than previous incarnations. It allowed Mario to be new and fresh, but at the same time, retain what made the game so great in the first place, which, as I said before, seems to be a Nintendo staple.

It felt like any other side scrolling Mario game (which was key as there hadn't been one in almost a decade), and when put up along side the great predecessors, it more than holds its own. It's an incredible testament to the Nintendo way of gaming that even when pulling something out of mothballs, they make sure that if it's going to get used again, it gets used correctly.

It's the one game on my list that I can pick up and play any time I want to and it feels great every time I do it. I don't have to start it at the beginning or make sure I'm playing it with the right people. I just have to start it up, pick a level, and go. It's addicting, it's fun, it hits all the right notes. It's just like playing it for the first time ever. It doesn't get too much better than that, folks.

3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo Wii, 2008



Ever since Super Smash Bros. became the surprise hit of the Nintendo 64, I've been hooked on the game and its sequels. But the Wii version of the game hit me like one of Donkey Kong's giant hammers. Over and over and over and over and over again. With that tinny music playing in the background, too. You know the tune. Almost like a horse race being played in fast forward.

It was Smash, but was a different kind of Smash. More characters (obviously), more levels (obviously), more items (obviously, including the Super Smash, which was the most welcome of the additions, if you ask me), but the gameplay was tighter. Combos flowed easier, and some of the game's cheaper moves from the previous games were toned down a notch.

But why anybody plays Smash at all is because when you get a group of people together to play, it doesn't get any better than a five life stock battle on a balanced melee level (Corneria is best, although Final Destination is alright, too) to see who's got the best skills. Everyone had their go to character, but even as you dabbled in others you found out that they all had their own great nuances to them and it just made the game that much more fun to play.

I bring up EVO 2008 again because I felt vindicated upon arriving for it. Brawl had made it into the rotation for the first time that year, and I was very excited to see how it would be received in a crowd that had its heart set on all the Capcom fighters. Pete and I sat in the crowd and watched as the sequel to a phenomenal tournament game left people in awe, with some ridiculous knockouts that had people jumping out of their seats. For a game seen as too "kiddie," it sure had the grown folk up in arms at the end.

That's why I love the game so much. It looks like something a kid would play. It IS something a kid would play. But at 25, it's the first game I break out if my buddies are over, because I don't think we'd have nearly as much fun playing any other game.

2. NBA 2K1 - Sega Dreamcast, 2000



When my family bought a Dreamcast, we made sure we got it when the getting was good. After starting out at about $400, it came down in price a lot thanks to low sales, and it was right after I had a chance to play this game over at Sean's house. I had saved up a little bit of money due to my umpiring, and Pete and I went all in on it: The game, an extra controller, two memory cards and a keyboard for online play.

It was then that this game took a hold of me like no other game I had played probably since Triple Play 98. It was the perfect sports game. Arcade-like enough to pick up and play, but deep enough so that if you wanted to get in-depth, it would allow you to truly master it. This also was the only sports game I ever played that truly understood the computer comeback correctly. I could be up 15 in the 4th quarter, but if I left good shooters open, the shots would fall.

Pete and I were not happy with how the Celtics were in this game (they were crap, really, with only Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker joined by a bunch of scrubs) so we decided to make our own versions of the Celtics. He had him and his friend Benny and a bunch of made up crazy looking dudes, while I took myself and all my basketball playing buddies and built the team around them.

With our respective created teams, we dominated, but at the same time, the game reacted to us being so good and amped it up themselves. You could cheat the game a bit if you truly wanted to, but in the end, they had a way of setting things up for you to have to fight for a win. There were great moves to make, tough shots to take, and you really had to be careful in how you used them because they left you wide open for turnovers and the like.

I think the best thing about the game was that it was easy to pick up and play, and the games were just so much fun to play. I don't know how many times I hit a spin move into a three pointer at the top of the key to start a comeback, or post up and hit a fadeaway spinning into the lane. Nevermind the street mode in the game, with relaxed rules and a much freer arcade style gameplay. I don't think I played a sports game that had more to it that was also so much fun.

It was something else to play this game back in its heyday. NBA Live never really translated well to the PS2, while the 2K Sports franchise became so popular that they split off from Sega and started their own brand. I liked the games that followed, but nothing touched 2K1 for its balance and ability to keep me entertained. In fact, seven years after its release when I busted out the Dreamcast and plugged it in, it still brought me back to the old days where I'd try and knock out half a season on the weekends. Basketball just got no better than this game to me, and it still doesn't.

1. Mother 3 - Game Boy Advanced, 2003 (Japan-only release)



The game that tops my list isn't a shocker to those who have played games with me. In fact, when it comes to video games in general over the course of my 20 years of gaming, I don't have too many games on my list that crack the list of games that could be played over and over again for no reason other than to just play them.

In the 1990's, EarthBound was that game for me. Pete and I loved that game. The big box, the strategy guide, the cool Starman on the front...it was awesome. We rented it so much that we convinced our mom it would be easier to just buy the damn thing instead of wasting our money renting it. It turned out to be the best purchase I ever made. With my guidance skills, Pete and I tackled the game full on, taking turns (with him doing most of the playing) as we looked to beat the game. When we eventually did, I got my other friends into it, and they felt the same about the game that I did, eventually turning it into a situation not unlike a great book, where when you finish reading it, you pass it along in hopes that someone else would enjoy it as much as you did.

The sequel to that game ended up being over a decade in the making for hardcore fans like myself, who waited on the arrival of the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive add-on and the game that would send it into a must-buy for me: EarthBound 2. Previews came out and got us all riled up, even with the 64DD in doubt, and we were all hoping to hear that it would be coming out much sooner than later.

But it never came, as the 64DD got scrapped in favor of a brand new project, which would eventually become the Nintendo Gamecube. EarthBound 2 got scrapped due to the cancellation of the 64DD, and faded into obscurity when it came to it's North American fans. I was crushed, but even more crushed when I heard the follow-up announcement a while later, when it was said that the project was back on...but for the Game Boy Advance...and that it wasn't going to be sold in the U.S.

So eight years after the game sold here in the U.S. known as EarthBound hit the shelves, Mother 3 hit the Japanese market and was named a great success, as along with its release was a combo release of the first two Mother games for the GBA, known in the U.S. as EarthBound Zero, a Nintendo release, and EarthBound. With the popularity of EarthBound back in its heyday, people were waiting for it to be released on the Game Boy Advance, but the day never came, even with rumors of a packaged deal much like Japan did with the first two Mother games.

That led many fans of the game to lash out in petition so that Nintendo would grant a North American release, but that never happened either, which led a group of fans to do the video game world's version of "The Grey Album." Taking the downloadable ROM of the Japanese version of the game, hackers actually two years to complete a fully translated patch of the game, finally allowing Mother fans to plahttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2222063571064060967&postID=6072295814852152882y the game they had waited over a decade to play.

Even waiting that long, it was worth the wait.

It was a game that played a lot like EarthBound, but it had its own little twists. There was a musical accompaniment to each battle that allowed the player to attack enemies to the beat of the song, adding up the damage as the hits grew to achieve maximum damage. It was a perfect musically assisted system, as the fourth hit on every combo was the most damage, and you could have a maximum of 16 hits total, the equivalent of four measures of music to a 4/4 time, which was the normal amount of time for a beat to come around again in a song.

It wasn't just the music. The battle system still had the same quirky attributes I loved from EarthBound: Awesomely named enemies with weirdly drawn but awesome animations, and every day weapons that became deadly. Cool PSI abilities that looked even cooler in this game than in the last. And the cast of characters was unique and each brought a lot to the table, including a couple familiar faces that get you all nostalgic and teary-eyed and such.

But it was the story that grabbed you and it was the story that never let you go until the very end. You have a vague idea of what was in store, but even then, the trip to get there was just so insanely awesome. It also stretched the range of human emotions better than any game I had ever played, INCLUDING it's predecessor, which dealt with human emotions almost perfectly. I have no idea how the game improved on such an incredible ride like the first one, but it did.

The graphics were a lot like EarthBound's, but still looked great, even on a system where graphics weren't really expected to be truly outstanding. The animations were nice, and the characters showed emotions really well. Retaining the graphic feel from EarthBound I think was a very important thing with the game, as it allowed the game to retain a lot of the charm that it's predecessor had. The preview shots for the 64DD version that never came didn't really have the same look that EarthBound had, and I think that in an alternate universe, people are disappointed with how EarthBound 2 turned out.

But Mother 3 is a masterpiece for the simple fact that like EarthBound, it grabs the attention of the player and never lets go. It mixes humor, heartbreak, courage, action, excitement and originality to create a gaming experience like no other, and like "The Grey Album," although it's not technically "legal" to play it, it has to be experienced if you're an RPG fan at all. While it has been explained at great detail before as to why it's held in such high regard, the ultimate regard it can be given is that it can only truly be understood and appreciated upon playing it, so that you understand how those who have played it love it so much.

So if there's a Mother 4 that comes out in 2014, I hope that it makes its way Stateside, but don't be surprised if I have to wait until 2018 to play it if it doesn't. Besides, when you wait for something so long and it turns out to be worth it, it just makes you want to experience it again.

An experience that you won't soon forget.

My Favorite 25 Video Games of the 2000s: Part 1

I've been playing video games since I was 5 years old and Ben Casias introduced me to the awesomeness that was Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I'm really happy with how I grew into gaming, too. The first time I ever had a video game system in my house was when I rented a Sega Genesis and Sonic the Hedgehog and proceeded to destroy the game. I remember sitting down so much I got cramps in my legs from sitting Indian style. From there, I got a TurboGrafx-16 for my 10th birthday and I was hooked. By the way, for those who don't know anything about the TG-16, if you have a Wii, check out their games. Not as famous as their competitors, but good lord, some awesome stuff, including all the Bonk games and some amazing hidden gems (like the Jackie Chan game, the TV Sports franchises, and World Class Baseball, which was my favorite baseball game ever until I got my hands on Hardball III).

As the games grew, I went with them, and while the 2000s weren't as awesome to me as the 1990's were, where I played some of the greatest games ever made, bar none, there were still some pretty awesome stuff. I skew towards sports games, action/adventure games, fighting games, platformers and RPGs, and while this list will show off all of those biases, there will be a surprise or two in there just to keep things fresh. So without further adieu:

25. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - PlayStation 2, 2001



Us Livingston kids were all big fans of the Crash Bandicoot series, which was interesting as it was a straight-line platformer featuring a made-up Australian animal that had an unbelievable ability to jump really high. He was supposed to be the PlayStation mascot, and it worked for a while, but once the jump was made to PlayStation 2, the bandicoot became passe, and Sony looked for a new mascot.

Enter Jax, a...uh, what is he? And Daxter, who I think was a muskrat, but I don't really know. We got it for Christmas one year and after playing it for a while, it grew on me. It turned out that I wasn't the only one, as there were five Jax games made after this. However, none of the sequels matched up to the original, which was, at its best, a platformer that took the best from previous platformers, added a few puzzle elements to it, and voila! You have yourself a franchise starter that sells itself in future iterations. There were games beforehand in the 3D vein that were more memorable (Super Mario 64) and after it (Super Mario Galaxy, although I didn't play it nearly enough for it to get on this list, sadly) but for us who only dug us some PlayStation 2, this was a fantastic platformer.

24. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - Arcade/PlayStation 2/Dreamcast/XBox/Everything else, 2000



When Pete and I went to EVO 2008, I called this game the "Hollywood" fighter at the tournament. It went last. It was flashy. It had the biggest crowd. During the tournament for the other games, the biggest following was a MVC2 money match between two teenagers where people bet over $1,000 on a 10-match series. Was it really that much of a technical game? Of course it was, but it was also a game that, like all fighters, had a tier system that ended up making the game unbalanced in the end.

But that doesn't stop it from being one of the funnest games I've ever played, as it has a fantastic knack for dragging you in. I remember the thing I wanted to do most was drop a 100 hit combo (which is easily possible even if you aren't that great at the game; Cable, Iron Man, War Machine, in that order, for the win) but soon after, it was air combos. And then tag-in combos, and then corner juggles, and then you realize that in order to truly be great, you had to grab the same three guys and use the same strategy over and over again to be effective. That's why of all the fighters I played, it stays relatively low, but even I can't say that many bad things about the game. It's not like Third Strike, where you're either Ken or Chun-Li and you're looking for the same thing over and over. It's re-release on the PlayStation Network puts me ever closer to buying a stick and getting my 100-hit combo on. I'm so close...

23. Tetris DS - Nintendo DS, 2006



There was a game that came out for the Nintendo 64 called "The New Tetris" that turned a couple of summers in Sonoma into giant competitions between me and my friends. It was the last time Tetris was relevant in my life, and that was in 1999. So seven years later, when I heard they were coming out with a new version of it for the Nintendo DS, I got a bit psyched. Sam got it for his DS, and then I just had to play it myself. Before I knew it, I was hooked. It had some really neat twists on the classic puzzler (Mission Mode alone could keep me occupied for hours on end) but it was the presentation that really did it for me.

If there's one thing you can count on with Nintendo, they always find a way to take the older games and release them to a new audience for them to like it as much as guys like me did back in our video game heyday. If the basics remain from what made it great, but they do enough to bring you back in, they've done their job. This game was simple to some, but to a guy like me, who can appreciate the small nuances a game has that links it to the games from its past, it makes it that much more awesome. Which reminds me...the next time I'm in California, I'm gonna have to borrow that for a while...sorry, Sam!

22. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 - Multiple platforms, 2002



I LOVED the Tony Hawk games. Tony Hawk 2 is solely responsible for getting me into Mos Def. That would get it on the list, but it was this game, that I bought as a PS2 greatest hit, that solidified it in my mind. It had the perfect balance of the incredible tricks from the previous games with the added benefits of better physics and awesome level design (The Embarcadero in San Francisco is my favorite), and, of course, the ability to do manuals, which over time allowed Will and I many a Tony Hawk trick joke, where we'd call out combos and throw about 12 manuals in the middle to keep the streak going.

It was also awesome to have the free skate career mode, where you had a list of goals that you had to complete, and then with the points you earned, allowed you to move on to the game's other levels. It also allowed your created skater the ability to earn new tricks in relation to the tricks he already used, really allowing you to be creative with what your skater could be like as he became better down the road. Besides that, the free skate mode was awesome with a big group of friends, which was revisited in the later games in the franchise. In fact, when they went to the Underground name after this game, the series started to lose its luster. This was the pinnacle, in my opinion, of the Tony Hawk franchise.

21. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - Game Boy Advance, 2003



One of the last games to be released for the Game Boy Advance, it was the first RPG featuring Mario and Luigi since the incredible Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Mario and Luigi wasn't your traditional JRPG like its predecessor, but what it did well was mix in your normal Mario goofiness with a lot of neat puzzles and interactions. In fact, most people think that the best part of the game is the interactions with all the non-playable characters in the game, leading to some absolutely awesome moments, some which are some of the funniest I've ever seen in games.

The other part about this, which is seriously understated, is that it ushered in an era of role-playing games on the Nintendo handheld systems that made the Game Boy Advance's successor, the Nintendo DS, the best home for RPGs in the handheld market. This series was so successful that it spawned two sequels on the DS, but the original, which was a tight and surprisingly challenging game that put smiles on gamers faces worldwide thanks to its unique approach, is my favorite of the three. Sometimes, you just can't beat the original.

20. Winning Eleven 9: Pro Evolution Soccer - Multiple Platforms, 2005



The best soccer game I played this decade. You can take it to the bank. Technically precise, and almost too much for even the most die hard players, the Winning Eleven franchise had long been one of the premier sports series in all of video games. I got into it my junior year of college when I was looking for a soccer game to play during my "Tim gets used to soccer" phase. It took a while for me to get used to it, but when I did...good lord.

It was just fun. I remember playing FIFA 08 with Blake a few weeks before I came out to Florida and while it wasn't nearly as tight as Winning Eleven, it was still so much fun. I think it's because you really treat soccer games like a puzzle, trying to fit the right pieces together and in the right spots so that you can be successful. The best part is when you do a cross to one of the forwards, and then all of a sudden, you head one in. I don't think there's a better feeling in a sports game than a well executed centering pass that leads to a header. Fantastic stuff. FIFA got better as it got closer to the edge of the decade, with FIFA 10 being the supposed pinnacle, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't play a better soccer game than the one I played in 2005.

19. Star Ocean: Until the End of Time - PlayStation 2, 2005



I only got into the Star Ocean series because after Square Enix did Final Fantasy X, the company did a great job getting fringe fans into their secondary franchises. Not exactly hard for an RPG guy to like an epic game like this. I never beat the game, but I always loved how this game was set up. It was pretty linear in its story, but certain actions led to major parts of the story being changed, and even determined if you got certain characters or not. It was a lot like Chrono Trigger in that if you wanted to get everything in the game, you had to beat it a couple of times, which could become quite tedious.

My favorite part of the game was the battle system. It had a fantastic rewards program that allowed your party to increase certain things like experience or money or items by having a certain amount of fights without taking major damage. It meant that if you were able to extend the bonus fights out to 10, 20, 50 battles, that you could boost your characters faster and get some sweet swag. The story was pretty basic stuff (invaded planet seeks shelter, young boy is in the middle of it and somehow becomes part of even larger subplot for galactic dominance) but it was done very well. The music is one of the best parts of the game, as it sets up big moments and sets the right mood, too. I'm a fan of games that have simple premises but are done well enough that the simplicity is balanced out by fantastic execution, and this game does it in spades. The sequel to this was released on XBox 360 in 2009, but has been announced as a PS3 release in a couple of months, which is turning out to be a huge stretch for Square Enix, as it includes the release of the next game in their most important franchise: Final Fantasy XIII.

18. Virtua Tennis 2 - Dreamcast, 2001



I'll tell you the first time I played this: Santa Cruz, 2001 summer, Cocoanut Grove arcade. It was on one of the big screens and people were all around it, and I became hooked. Just like soccer, tennis can be awfully addicting (ask the Kingwood house guys about Mario Tennis for GameCube one time) and this game turned out to be one of the most addicting games I would ever play.

You were always trying to get a max serve. You were always trying to get to the net for a smash. And you knew that if you were going to play doubles, you get Tim Henman because if there's anybody you want at the net, it's the best volley guy in tennis. For me, it was always fun to get a big rally going, especially with a giant group of people waiting to get in. It always made for a good day if a lot of people were looking to play. I ended up getting Virtua Tennis 3 for my PlayStation 3 before coming out to Florida, and while it had a lot of cool new features, it doesn't touch the second game for the complete package, which has some of the best gameplay in a sports game that I have ever seen.

17. Katamari Damacy - PlayStation 2, 2004



(GOD that picture is awesome.)

The most original game on the countdown, you roll a ball all over the world (literally) so that the Prince of the Cosmos is able to win the affection of his father, the King, who sarcastically and almost sadistically forced his son to make Katamaris, large balls of objects that get collected to help restore the lost stars in the galaxy. It's quirky, it's fun, but the best part was the visuals.

The idea is to start with small things like pins, ants, and so forth, but once it got to a certain size, you were able to grab things that were larger in size, like cows, small cars, and the like. The later levels, where you start with a slightly bigger ball and look to make it hundreds and thousands of meters in diameter, sees the most ridiculous things rolled up. Buses, buildings, houses...you name it, you can roll it over and get it. It's truly the most unique game design I saw during the 2000s, and is a game that grew in popularity quickly. So quickly that it spawned a sequel. But for me, you can't really do better than this, as the initial shock and awe the game provided was unprecedented.

16. Gitaroo Man - PlayStation 2, 2002



Another one for the Japanese quirky side of things, with this one being a high schooler who loves a girl, and then all of a sudden, gets visited by a dog that tells him he's the great "Gitaroo Man", who helps fight evil forces with his legendary guitar. Unbelievably enough, the game is phenomenal, even with that goofy premise, and it's due to two things and two things only: An ncredible music soundtrack and an original way of playing the musical notes that predates all the Guitar Hero/Rock Band games.

But there was always something that bothered us when we played the game on hard: We couldn't get past that damn UFO level if we tried our damndest. (See above picture) It was just too much techno for us to come up with when it came to hitting the notes correctly. Even with that, you got some incredible level designs, with the musical numbers turning out to be tremendously catchy. It's another unique game experience that I was happy to see make it's way to the United States from Japan, as even as a niche game, it became one of the most sought after games for the PS2, eventually re-released on the PSP several years later. For my money, you can't beat this incarnation of the game, one that stands as an awesome achievement in musical gaming.

15. Golden Sun - Game Boy Advance, 2001



One of the "Dragon Quest" style JRPG's that became the Game Boy Advance's first major RPG haul. While the GBA would feature remakes of previous RPGs, this became the first game that ushered in the era of the GBA being a fantastic little nesting area for RPGs, as they would re-release past Final Fantasy games and the best Zelda game ever: A Link to the Past, soon after this.

It's a simple story of a man trying to help save his home land, but I think the story was executed very well, and I loved how the four characters could rotate back and forth between the numerous Djinni that gave them magical powers, giving them numerous combinations of magical powers. It also featured some fantastic graphics for a Game Boy Advanced game, and the hidden items in the game where fun to find because a lot of them were right there out in the open and you had to use your magical powers in order to get them, which was later used in the Mario and Luigi franchise. But this game set the GBA standard, one that would be duplicated down the road, but in my eyes, not quite as good as this one.

14. Street Fighter IV - Multiple platforms, 2008



The first time I played this game, I was hooked. It was a lot like the Street Fighter II, but much more fluid and much more responsive. I was one of the first lucky few in the US to play it on an arcade standup, as it was presented at EVO 2008 shortly after its Japanese release. I remember deciding to go with Zangief over E. Honda, who I normally played with, and was amazed at how well he played, effortlessly going into all of his special moves with ease.

But what impressed me most of all was that after Street Fighter III, which was Capcom trying to keep the old around and just throw it in with a bunch of new people, this game felt so much more like the best 2D fighter ever: Super Street Fighter II Turbo. It wasn't as technically sound as SSFII Turbo, but at the same time, you could tell that they did a lot with this game to make it feel like the old game, and it goes a long way in showing that by bringing back the the old guard that they wanted to retain that feel. Fantastically enough, the reception was so good that Capcom has decided to come out with Super Street Fighter IV in 2010, no doubt expanding on the great ideas of Street Fighter IV, and like Street Fighter II did to me as a kid, will make new fans out of one of the oldest games on the market.

13. Mega Man 9 - Numerous platforms, 2009



When I heard that they were coming out with another Mega Man, I was absolutely stoked. When I heard it was going to be done in the old Mega Man style (most notably Mega Man 2), I about lost it. Those of us who played the Mega Man series growing up knew exactly what to expect out of it: a game that looks easy in execution, but at the same time, becomes difficult to master completely. The game retained the old look, had some fantastic bosses, and, if you knew how to do it correctly, had a path that allowed you to beat the game much easier than just picking random levels.

It was also perfect for what today's systems were trying to do, which is reach out to older fans who might not be into the newer, flashier games of today. The game was executed perfectly, right down to the sprites and the 8-bit music, which still makes me smile when I think about it. It became one of the most downloaded games on any of the new systems, and with such a fantastic approach and wonderful reception, Capcom announced that they will go ahead with Mega Man 10, which will be done in the retro style as well. Go ahead and pencil that one in as one my 25 favorites for the 2010's right now.

12. Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo Wii, 2008



It was hard to pick between this and Mario Kart Double Dash, which would have been the only GameCube game on the list, but when I thought about it, the Wii version allowed me to go back and experience the play that made me love it so much way back on the SNES, when Super Mario Kart burst onto the scene and became the surprise hit of the SNES days. Staying true to the older versions of the game, the Wii version took the best of all the previous Mario Kart games and perfected its execution, with some fantastic level design on the new levels and, like other Mario Kart games, the return of classic tracks from the older games.

The presentation is what really got me, as the Wii controller fit into this wheel that allowed for a more realistic experience (well, one with go karts, at least) and they really made it feel like it was a big deal. There was this stretch that saw the Wii release this, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Mario Galaxy in the span of about five months, and it's not surprising that when these games came out, Wii sales skyrocketed. For me, it was all about nostalgia, and not only did this game do it, but it made me realize that the Wii was a lot more than the Virtual Console, and that even with the weird controller design, that it had a lot of potential to do some really cool things. This game proved that the Nintendo mantra of not fixing what wasn't broken continued to make winners. It's also one of the most fun party games you could play.

11. Kingdom Hearts II - PlayStation 2, 2006



So when fans heard that Square Enix was going to team up with Disney, we all wondered if it would work. Preview screens showed the main character, Sora, teaming up with Goofy and Donald as he went around to many different Disney worlds looking for something. And then we played it and were mesmerized about how the game was designed. Not quite RPG, but not quite a platformer, the game showed that it had an audience...but it was the game's second incarnation that really did it right.

It took all the problems in the first game and not only eliminated them, but added to the great parts. More weapons, more special attacks, different worlds, revisited worlds with some neat things added to them, and more interaction with Square Enix characters, as everyone from Squall Lionheart and Yuffie joined favorites Cloud and Sephiroth as a part of the world in which Sora was looking to save after his nearly year long sleep. The story is a little complicated to explain, and I think it would be a lot better to play the first game before tackling this one (even with them reviewing much of the key points in its predecessor at the game's onset), but as a whole, I don't think you'll see a game that took a unique idea and improved on it so much in only one iteration. The big question now is whether they finish off the trilogy, which has been one of the most requested games in the last few years. And much like Mega Man 10, if it does come out, you can bet that Kingdom Hearts III will be on my favorites from the 2010's.

Stay tuned for Part II, which should be coming out on 1/16!

My Favorite 25 Sports Moments of the 2000s - Part 2

For those of you who missed Part 1, please click here to check it out.

10. Gatti and Ward Bring Us Back to the Golden Age of Boxing - 5/18/02



While boxing has been surpassed in the public eye by the UFC, there are few sporting events better than a good boxing match. Whereas the decades past showcased the heavyweight boxers in battles of the titans, the lighter fighters had made themselves known thanks to putting up as much excitement as they could, with Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard being the first guys in the modern era to show that the little guys could be exciting, too.

With boxing "dying" as the new millennium turned due to numerous issues, true boxing aficionados were doing all they could to find the great fights that didn't headline the biggest cards, with the hungrier fighters putting on performances that were much more worthy than those looking for big paydays. So when Arturo Gatti, known for taking more punishment than any fighter in the world without going down, decided to step in with Irish toughman Mickey Ward, the idea was to get two guys who wouldn't quit to go at each other for 10 rounds and see what happens.

What followed was the template for all of the high-level fights that would follow in the decade by guys like Juan Pablo Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. Both fighters had moments where if they were facing inferior fighters, they would be knocked out, but with both fighters penchant for taking a punch, the stand up brawl took on a whole different level. Ward pummeled Gatti at points, but Gatti wouldn't go down, even after losing the decision. In fact, Gatti had his usual swelled eyes and beat up face after the fight, but with him giving Ward everything he could handle himself, they had a rematch, which Gatti won, which in turn led to the third and final bout, which Ward won. This trilogy has been called one of the greatest of all time.

I don't think you'll find another fight this decade that had boxing fans wanting much more than they got out of this duo. Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are supposedly on their way to a mega fight and while both are skilled, I doubt that the fight will have anything resembling the gumption shown in this fight. If you see one fight from this decade, it should be the beginning of this trilogy of greatness. For one night, the Sweet Science came back like it was the Golden Age again.

9. Nadal and Federer Have the Greatest Tennis Match Ever - 7/6/08



I was at KTVU when this happened, too. I got in and was asked to roll tape on the last part of the Wimbledon final...except that it had been met with a rain delay, leaving the match to start later. This led the match right up into darkness, meaning that there was a chance that the final would have to be suspended until Monday morning if the match went five sets.

Yeah, it went five sets, alright.

There have been fantastic five match sets in tennis before during the decade, with Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi having one more great one for old times sake at the U.S. Open in 2000 being perhaps the most remembered (either that or Goran Ivanisevic's five set winner against Patrick Rafter in 2001 as a Wimbledon Wild Card), but this match was incredible for numerous reasons, none of those being bigger than Federer trying to best Bjorn Borg's record for five straight victories at Wimbledon by trying to win his sixth.

Nadal had been the world's best clay court player, winning numerous French Opens and being Federer's greatest foil in other finals, but like everyone else, he was always felled by the grass court master when it came time to determine the Gentleman's champion at Wimbledon. But Nadal won the first two sets to put Federer on his heels, with people wondering if the delay had gotten the Swiss native off his game. What followed was ridiculous.

Federer had to endure another rain delay and come back out to try and win the third set, and somehow got it to a tiebreak. From there, Nadal was doing everything he could to put Federer away, but Federer managed to take the tiebreak 7-5 to win the third set. After the fourth set also went to a tiebreak, Nadal lost two championship points, giving Federer the serve and the chance to pull it out, which he did with a 10-8 victory, evening the match at 2 sets apiece.

The fifth and final set was a barnburner, with another delay propelling the match into dusk, and with the sun almost completely down, the match went past the normal constrictions of a six game set and into extra time, with Nadal hitting some ridiculous shots to finally prevail over the master, 9-7. Nadal finally felled the greatest tennis player of the era, perhaps of all time, and as John McEnroe interviewed a crying Federer after the match, knowing exactly what the match meant after his wars with Borg in the 80s, you saw that while Federer's accomplishments were vast, he did everything he could to take down the young gun, but just couldn't find it. It was harrowing, it was ridiculous, it was dramatic.

For tennis, it was perhaps its greatest moment.

8. Vince Carter Dunks A Basketball Five Times - 2/12/00



This one gets the video. Pictures don't do it justice.

This is one of those moments that I can't believe I missed, like the two RAWs in the Bay Area that saw Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho win the Tag Team Titles and saw the formation of the WCW/ECW InVasion and all of the 2007 Warriors playoff run. It's the All-Star Weekend, but it's not the game, so it's a cheap ticket, and even from the nose bleeds, it's still one hell of a view. I can't believe I missed it. I was 15 at the time, so I blame youthful innocence.

VC was known for being explosive, but lazy. He went to the beat of his own drum. He was the Randy Moss of the NBA: Insanely talented, but didn't always bring the talent to the table.

This is quite possibly the greatest athletic accomplishment I've ever seen.

Carter proceeds to start off with the best dunk he would do all night, a reverse 360 windmill that was done with such fluidity and grace that everyone else in the competition should have just got up and left. Of course, the best part of the dunk contests are always the reactions from the players sitting on the sidelines. Shaquille O'Neal alone was worth the price of admission, watching with his camcorder on the sidelines and making ridiculous faces all night long.

The next was a reverse 180 windmill from underneath the backboard, which drew a 49. Stupid Kenny Smith. But the teammate dunk with his cousin Tracy McGrady became the stuff of legend. Missing on the first attempt, it appeared that VC wanted to go between his legs with the dunk off the bounce. Nuts. Crazy. AND THEN HE DID IT. The greatest part is Allen Iverson getting up off the floor and running to the locker room to tell somebody what he just saw.

The finals round was weird for Vince, as he used up all his good mojo in the first round, but his two dunks, an elbow-in dunk to show off his hops and a two handed dunk from just inside the free throw line, were more than enough to win the dunk contest. JRich had a ridiculous run a few years later, and Dwight Howard had Superman, but even with Dr. J, 'Nique and Jordan doing what they did years earlier, the greatest single performance in a dunk contest ever belongs to Vince Carter.

7. You Can't Man Up Crabs - 11/1/08



It was the year the BCS ruined it for everyone, really. Texas Tech was sitting there undefeated, but had to beat both Texas and Oklahoma to be considered for the national championship. Texas had just beaten Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout, meaning that if Texas Tech were to win out, they were on their way to the game. The game was in Lubbock, and while both teams featured prolific offenses, people questioned whether Tech could hold off the Horns, whereas the Horns had a chance defensively to slow down Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree.

For about 58 1/2 minutes, Texas was right. They held a 33-32 lead and had Tech needing to go about 55 yards in 90 seconds to win the ballgame. With eight seconds to go at the Texas 28, Harrell threw a fade route to Crabtree down the right sideline. Crabtree turned away from two defenders, snatched the ball, turned, shook both guys off, and sprinted down the sideline and into the endzone for the go-ahead score, sending the Red Raiders into euphoric celebration and the biggest win in the history of the program.

But it was the postgame interview that sold me on Michael Crabtree for life. First, it was Graham Harrell saying the words that spawned a money-winning fantasy football juggernaut: "You can't man up Crabs." This was of course followed by Crabtree exclaiming with the look on his face in the above picture: "I DREAMED IT IN MY HEAD!" It was the greatest postgame interview in the history of college football, bar-none.

Why did the BCS screw it up, you ask? Because instead of having these three teams available to play in a playoff to figure out who was the best after Oklahoma beat Tech, they went to a ridiculous tiebreaker, giving Oklahoma (somehow) the Big 12 South Championship berth, which they easily turned into a national championship berth. Tech may have lost its chance to be national title contenders in the end, but for this shining moment, they were on top of the college football world, even with Florida ranked #1.

6. Tom Watson Almost Pulls Off The Greatest Upset Of All Time - 7/20/09



I remember being home for the weekend from Dunedin and not believing what I was looking at when I saw the scoreboard after Saturday's action. While there had always been surprises before at major events in golf (with Nicklaus winning Major #18 at Augusta in '86), Tom Watson, at 59 years young, was leading the field at The Open Championship at Turnberry, where he had won one of his five British Open championships over 30 years before. And while I sat there on that Sunday morning, fresh off celebrating Audrey's wedding, it was insane to think that he could do it. That he could hold off these young guns and somehow come out of this with an unprecedented sixth championship and the moniker of "Oldest Major Tournament Winner."

But as he came to 18 with a one stroke lead, he shot his second shot over the green, and had to chip on for a 10 foot putt for par and the championship. Whether it was nerves or what have you, Watson sadly shanked the putt wide, taking a bogey 5 and pushing the tournament to a four hole playoff against Stuart Cink.

By then, Watson had exuded all of his energy, and got erratic with his shots. Cink stayed steady and took his first ever major, while the rest of the golf fans worldwide sadly saw what they hoped wouldn't happen actually happen. Watson's near-triumph is still something that will be talked about for a long time to come, if only because for all the great moments golf had with Tiger Woods, including him winning the U.S. Open only a few weeks earlier on one leg, to have Watson win The Open Championship would have superceded all of that as perhaps the greatest story in sports.

Even if it wasn't meant to be, I was happy that for 71 holes, Watson put me on the ride of my life. We expected Tiger to pull it out, but we all were begging for Watson to do it, which made it all the more sad when he couldn't.

Tom, I speak for all of us when I say that I wish you did, for it would have been #1 on this list.

5. Vince Young Takes the Title From USC - 1/4/06



I was the only person in the room rooting for Texas. I became a fan of the Longhorns a few years earlier when Huston Street helped lead the baseball team to a national championship, and even after the Longhorns argued their way into the Rose Bowl the year before when Cal should have gone in to face Michigan, Young's performance in that game was only a precursor to his incredible run in the Rose Bowl a year later for the National Title, where his Longhorns faced the USC juggernaut, winners of 34 straight and looking for their second straight national title.

It was a fantastic back and forth game, with Reggie Bush's somersault into the endzone being the main highlight of USC's dominance. Actually, I take that back. My favorite highlight was watching Scott Ware blow up Limas Sweed on a punt return and force a fumble. I know I'm supposed to dislike Montgomery, but to see a Sonoma County kid do that in the best college football game ever (to that point) was incredible.

But we all know what happened at the end. Facing a 4th and 2 at the Texas 44, Pete Caroll, up 38-33 and looking to put the game away by not letting Young touch the ball again, handed off to LenDale White, who was stuffed at the line for no gain, giving the Longhorns the ball with 2:13 to go and 56 yards to paydirt. Using basically the same play call the entire drive, the zone option read, Young would dice up USC's offense for a while before stalling at the USC 8 with 25 seconds to go. Young would drop back to pass, look for a second, and then roll out to his right, finding a hole and heading for the pylon, prancing into the endzone and giving Texas the lead. He would run in the 2 point conversion to make it a 41-38 game, sealing a game in which he threw for 267 yards and ran for 200, the most total yards by a player in a BCS Bowl Game to that point (Tim Tebow would break it at the Sugar Bowl in 2010 with 538 yards).

For Young, it was vindication for those who believed he couldn't beat the USC juggernaut and to the Heisman voters who gave the trophy to Reggie Bush. Bush would have a decidedly average game (including a bizarre fumble that could serve as its own highlight) while Young did everything he could and then some to push Texas to a title.

It was the greatest football game we had ever seen...to that point in time.

4. We Believe - 2007 NBA Playoffs



It was the moment that we all got swept up in. First, it was the trade that was made to get rid of Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, also getting rid of Ike Diogu, but in return, the Warriors got Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, two players who would eventually make Don Nelson's small ball attack work out, as the incredible chemistry of the team turned out to propel them into the #8 seed in the loaded Western Conference, as they beat the Blazers on the last day of the season to face off against the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.

Game 1 was in Dallas and I remember going to the Metreon in San Francisco with Will and Blake to watch Spider-Man 3. We then went across the street afterwards to catch the end of the game, and when I saw the score, my jaw dropped. The Warriors were on their way to a victory and close to making NBA history. In fact, they DESTROYED the Mavericks to win their opening round matchup, becoming the first #8 seed to win a 7-game series in NBA History. MVP Dirk Nowitzki was hounded by the smaller, feistier Warriors defenders, making people sour on his potential as a game-changing player and leading to a match-up with the Jazz in the semis for the Warriors.

The Jazz would go on to beat the Warriors in 6 games, but not before the team revitalized a fanbase that had been begging for a chance to shine. While they haven't reached that pinnacle again (and probably won't for a long time), there was no greater joy than to follow the Warriors in the playoffs, as the video clip above is the ultimate highlight of Bay Area sports in the 2000s.

3. ANYTHING IS POSSIBULLLLLLLLLLLL! - 6/12/08

There were some really sweet things on my birthday. The best Japanese professional wrestling match of the 80's took place in 1986 between Tatsumi Fujinami and Akira Maeda. O.J. Simpson sped down the freeway when I turned 10 in 1994. Okay, THAT wasn't exactly "sweet," but still. That was something else!

So when I watched the Celtics play Game 4 of the NBA Finals like 6th graders for the first 2 1/2 quarters, I was definitely not happy that they couldn't give me a great birthday present. In fact, it was so bad, they were down 24 points on my 24th birthday!

This is the part where I thank the basketball gods for not only having a sense of humor, but for making my birthday that much more awesome.

I sat there on the couch, chewing my fingernails in anticipation for a miracle comeback. The Celtics delivered in spades. It was the Paul Pierce show, really. Playing in front of his hometown crowd, the Inglewood-born star and future Hall of Famer helped spur a fantastic comeback, ending the quarter on a 21-3 run to get the Celtics within 6. When Eddie House hit a 3 to give Boston the lead, I was doing cartwheels. House would stay hot, but the defining play came in the final 30 seconds, where Ray Allen was standing at the top of the key, drove towards the hoop, and after getting by Sasha Vujicic, saw nobody come to help, as they all feared the kickout pass for another dagger 3. Allen easily laid the ball up, gave the Celtics the lead for good, and sent them to a 3-1 series lead. They would finish the Lakers off at the Garden with a ridiculous 39 point win in the clinching Game 6, leading to another fantastic postgame interview in 2008, this time from Kevin Garnett:



It was a moment that saw my favorite basketball franchise finally return to the promised land that guys like Bird, McHale, Parish, Hondo and Russel
But it wasn't my favorite basketball memory of the decade.

2. Sonoma and Petaluma: The Greatest Game That I've Ever Called - 1/31/08

Yeah, this is going to be "controversial" and biased, but anyone who saw, heard, or was at the game live knows why this is here. It's bar none one of the greatest games I've ever seen, definitely the best one I've ever called and deserves to be mentioned, if not remembered, as one of the greatest high school games ever played, either in Sonoma or anywhere else.

It's hard to find pictures or video of the game. ThreeHouse covered it live on both SVTV TV and KSVY radio, but even as a game between the two teams vying for the inside track on the Sonoma County League championship, a game that had ridiculous potential wasn't even covered by The Press Democrat, meaning that there was a small number of people watching the game at home or listening to the radio, and about 1,000 people packed into Pfeiffer Gymnasium to witness the game.

Petaluma ran roughshod over the SCL in the first half of league play, beating Sonoma at home by nearly 20 points in the opener and cruising to a 6-0 mark, with Sonoma at 5-1 with Petaluma's beatdown their only loss. It was the best Lady Dragon team in a very long time, and the team needed to win on this night in order to have a shot at a share of the league title at the very least. They were led by the senior tri-captains of Sheila Brady, Steph Sevilla and Sarah Semenero, who would be granted a scholarship to play at Cal Poly Pomona, and it was Semenero who came away as the brightest star with a single-game performance that will go down as one of the greatest in the history of Sonoma High, if not, the greatest.

Sonoma came out on fire, blitzing Petaluma and taking a big lead at the half, pushing the lead to 14 points heading into the final quarter, but Petaluma would go on a long-distance rampage, hitting SEVEN three point shots in the quarter to storm back to within two points. They sent Daryn Kelly to the line for two free throws with less than six seconds to play with Sonoma up by 2. She hit the first, but missed the second, leading to Mia Greco heaving a 25 footer at the buzzer to try and tie the game. It hit nothing but net and the game went to overtime tied at 55.

Petaluma scored the only field goal in extra time, but it was Semenero who was able to get to the line and sink two free throws to tie the ballgame once more. After a long pass play went awry for the Lady Dragons, overtime ended the same as regulation, giving the two teams a second overtime to play with.

It was then that Sonoma pulled out all the stops, with two plays in particular being of great importance. The first one was from Ashley Meyers, who faked a three-point shot and dribbled in, throwing up a wild shot as the shot clock hit 0, and not only did she get fouled on the play, but as she fell to the floor, the shot somehow banked in. She would hit the free throw. But it was Semenero's three-point play on a ridiculous spin move drive that banked home the most ridiculous line I have ever seen: 38 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. She played all 40 minutes. She had to be helped up before her final two free throws due to her exhaustion.

It wasn't so much that the game itself was great, but that the atmosphere saw so many great things come together. It was the best broadcast I ever did. It was the high point for the Lady Dragons program. The game itself was incredible, as I would put the final two quarters and overtime of that game against the end of basically any other game I've seen (barring my #1, but not by much). The aftermath, talking to the seniors and finally to Sil Coccia himself, was a great capper to an unbelievable night, as I was there for what turned out to be the most exciting night Sonoma's basketball program had ever seen.

1. David Slays Goliath; No Smurf Turf Necessary - 1/1/07



Like there was really any doubt as to what my favorite moment of the decade was in sports.

Nevermind the fact that I had a second cousin who went there and made me a fan. Or the fact that with me becoming a Texas fan, I hated me some Bob Stoops. Or that Boise State was the first non-BCS team to get a true test in a BCS bowl, with Utah's shellacking of Pittsburgh in 2005 not only being unsurprising, but expected. No, this game came down to Boise State trying to prove that they were indeed one of the top programs in the country, not just one of the best non-BCS programs.

For me, I remember watching the beginning of the game in San Francisco after a night of raucous partying and debauchery. I caught Boise going up 14-0 after the fantastic play-action fake that opened the scoring, followed by the forced fumble that led to an Ian Johnson touchdown. I would then listen to the game in the car as I made my way back to Sonoma.

Let's fast-forward to when I got home, shall we?

Oklahoma was down 28-20 in the 4th quarter after finding a way to come back, keeping the Sooners hopes alive. They would tie it at 28 with 1:26 to play, giving Boise St. plenty of time to get down the field and get the winning field goal. But nothing is easy with the Broncos, is it?

Jared Zabransky and his receiver gets mixed up on the route, he throws a soft toss to the far side of the field that's easily intercepted. Pick-6, Oklahoma takes the lead for the first time in the game, and sends Boise to the sidelines down 7 with 75 seconds to play with the Broncos needing a miracle to tie the game.

So it came to pass on that fateful night of New Year's Day, as a 4th and 18 call from midfield with 18 seconds to go. Needing more than just a first down to take home a win, first year head coach Chris Petersen went to the deepest part of his playbook and pulled out the gutsiest call ever. Zabransky hit Drisan James on a deep in, and as James cut across the field, he flipped it to Jerard Rabb on a lateral, who raced down the sidelines and dove to the pylon for the game's tying score, sending the contest into the most improbable of overtimes and the game, in an instant, into that of historic importance.

Oklahoma won the toss and took the ball first, handing it off to All-World running back Adrian Peterson, who quickly romped in a 25 yard touchdown to put the pressure back on Boise. The Broncos responded on another trick play on a 4th down, this time with 3rd string quarterback Vinny Peretta (who played wide receiver), lining up in the shotgun, sending ZABRANSKY in motion and throwing an option pass to tight end Derek Schouman for the score to make it 42-41.

It was then that I shouted out, "THEY'RE GOING FOR 2!" My dad didn't believe it, but when I told him that they weren't gonna let AP touch the ball again, he agreed. And then I remembered back to a SportsCenter highlight from earlier that year when they tried a Statue of Liberty play and it worked. I think it was against Idaho. I didn't think they would run that play, but I knew they had to run something a little tricky.

I saw the formation and thought, "No way they run it."

I saw Zabranksy turn towards the trips side after receiving the snap.

"No way."

And then I saw Johnson run forward.

"NO WAY!"

He had nothing but daylight as he took the ball from behind Zabransky's back. Game over.

David had slayed Goliath.

It was the loudest I had ever cheered in my life. I couldn't believe what I saw. The one play had so much significance to it. It ushered in a completely new era. It gave a school it's signature win. It ended the greatest game in the history of college football. It showed that creativity beats talent when you know how to use it.

But most of all, it showed that Boise State, who had toiled in national obscurity as the "Little Program That Could," not only played with the big boys, but beat them. It was as much a stamp on the ludicrous nature of the BCS as anything that had been done to it previously. After a lackluster title game, there was much to talk about that Boise deserved a chance to be crowned national champs. And to a point, they really should have.

But the game itself? It was a game for the ages, and then some. And by some, I mean Ian Johnson proposing to his girlfriend (with Chris Myers ruining the surprise) in front of all those people after scoring the biggest touchdown of his life. It was the game that had everything you'd ever want in it.

Unless you were an Oklahoma Sooner fan, that is.