A Galactic Dilema for the Next Generation

Tonight I was one of the crazies who saw the first showing of the last installment of Star Wars that started at 12:01 AM Thursday, May 19th, (hence, why I am writting this at nearly four in the morning.) I have no complaints about the movie at all. I thought that is was even better than Episodes 1 & 2 (not to put those down, because afterall, you can't have a 3 without a 1 and a 2.) Also, because of the way all the connections were beautifully made, I liked it better than the original three, (not to put those down either, because afterall, there wouldn't have been a 3 without a 4, 5, & a 6.)

So...here is the dilema. I'm sure that I'm not the first to think about this either. As I have watched and enjoyed the movies, I've thought that years down the line when I have kids and they are old enough to appreciate Star Wars, I would show them the movies in the order that they came out: 4,5,6,1,2,3. But then I saw 3 tonight and now I don't know what I'll do when I have kids...(thank goodness I won't truly have to worry about this for many years.) The obvious benefits of seeing the movies in the order that they came out is that the audience gets the joy of seeing the last piece of the puzzle be set in place. There is a greater feeling of completeness when the movies are viewed in that order. On the otherhand, one of the benefits of seeing them in chronological order is that the suspense in watching the movies is much greater. Though I think Lucas did a great job of building suspense, despite the fact that his audience knows what is going to happen, it is still rather anticlimatic when you are watching Obi-Wan fight Anakin and Yoda fight Chancelor Palpatine and you know that even though they look defeated at times, you already know that they are not going to die in Episode 3. I think it would be neat to see what someone thinks of the duo-trilogy if they watched it in that order.

So there is the dilema. Like I said, thank godness I won't be worrying about it for a long time from now, but it's still an interesting thought. Any oppinions on the matter?

Game 4

"It took two days" but we finally ended the game. A 1:00 in the morning (central time) the Spurs take the win in overtime.

I have seen a lot of San Antonio Spurs games in my life and a many of them have been playoff games. But...in my fifteen years of watching the Spurs, (since I was seven) I don't remember ever seeing a game with as many horrible calls as there were tonight. Fortunately the Spurs proved to be the better team even in a game against three officials and they still came out on top in a well rehearsed over time game, (their third overtime game in the past month, without Tim for most of this OT also.) I should be writting a paper that's due soon, but instead I couldn't let this game go by without singing the praises of just a few of the amazing players in this game. I am handing out a few awards tonight to some of the star players in tonight's game.

The OT King Award This award goes to Tony Parker for ruling the over time minutes and scoring most of our points in the last minutes. Having Tony in our game makes the loss of Avery a little more bearable for me.

The Gumby Award Game after game I watch Manu Ginobli take beating after beating for every opposing member on the court. The way he gets clotheslined and punched and pulled and yet still gets on his feet like nohting happened makes me wonder if the guy is made of the same substance as Gumby. I have never seen someone take a beating like Manu does and still walk away form every game. He is one of the toughest players I've ever seen.

The Humble Leader Award Though I think that each Spur is a leader to the team in their own way (which is one of the things that makes them so great) I think that Tim Duncan did a phenomenal job at leading the Spurs tonight in points and in tolerance and patience of the pathetic calls. Tim "fouled out" a minute into the OT. The final foul called on him could only be laughed at. Whoever it was that had the ball tripped over his own feet and fell and though the replay showed over and over again that Tim never touched him, he still took the foul. Instead of pouting and arguing with the ref like many players are known to do, he instead gathers his team and pumps them up for the last minutes encouraging them to not let the fouls and bad calls get to them.

The Funniest Sportcaster Award It should be no surprise to anyone that I think that Sean Elliot is the best sportscaster the Spurs have ever had. Since he played with them for so long and he traveled to a championship with them he knows them better than any other sportscaster they've had in the past. He also says exactly what he is thinking and his sarcastic one liners leave me rolling in the floor with laughter. I've enjoyed watching the Spurs play for fifteen years, but Sean takes the enjoyment to a new level.

I know my awards are cheesy but I wanted to praise the Spurs for an amazing game. Anyone out there agree?