Leave Nothing: Merriman v. Chingachkook

Then 2007 -2008 NFL season is back and with it comes Nike's latest ad-campaign, LEAVE NOTHING. Not since Dennis Hopper smelled Junior Seau's cleats and likened Sterling Sharpe to, "a freight train with stick'em" (choo choo baby, choo choo) has a commercial made me want to lace'em up and strap it on. (edit: wow - that sounds like a crazy S&M reference)
One ad spotlights Shawne Merriman (there are others on the Nike Web site) absolutely destroying various blockers, ball carriers and QBs from around the NFL and uses some very cool special effects that have Merriman seamlessly morphing from one uniform/stadium/weather condition/opponent to the next on the fly. Watching Merriman eviscerate players in a vicious 'roid rage would normally be enough for me to tolerate a 30 second interruption of my football viewing but the music takes the whole thing to another level.
Merriman's assault on opposing offenses is set to the theme from Last of the Mohicans. For anyone who has seen the film, hearing those flutes + drums should instantly bring to mind Chingachkook's own assault on the Hurons as he raced to save his son. If somehow you've never seen this film sequence before - Watch.It.Now. The idea of Merriman's opponents hearing that music in their heads and feeling the same sense of dread the Hurons felt as Chingachkook and Hawkeye battled through their entire war party is brilliant.

*Chingachkook and his amazing rifle/hatchet sends Magua into the abyss

edit: found out Michael Mann directed the Nike commercial too - makes sense, still brilliant maybe just not as much so...

¡Alegría!

¡Alegría! the 'Joy of Beisbol' is back! Pedro Martinez returned to the mound today for the first time this season, completing his recovery from shoulder surgery. His final line, 5 IP 2 ER 4 K (including punchado #3000) was not a vintage performance as Pedro worked mostly in the mid-80s with his fastball relying heavily on his cutter + changeup but it was enough against the Reds for career win number 207. More importantly he provided the Mets with an emotional boost that may carry them deep into October.

"Having him back in the clubhouse is a shot of life," -- David Wright.

'Life' is something Pedro will always bring to the game. The Pedro Martinez that dominated baseball from 1997 - 2002 will never be seen again. The 96 mph fastball he used to intimidate hitters before baffling them with his Bugs Bunny changeup is gone and he's no longer able to summon the vicious curveball that left batters motionless. His tattered, torn and now surgically repaired shoulder won't allow him to call upon his once unparalleled physical talent for pitching a baseball. But the alegria, the joy, that is inside of him cannot be suppressed by age or injury. All of us who are fortunate enough to witness him on a mound even at this stage of his career should welcome his return to the Game with his same passion and joy.