Archive for February 2017

Rocky III vs. Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi (part 1)

From a distance, Rocky III can feel like a turning point in the series when the Rocky movies went from serious films to gimmicky popcorn movies. Rocky III, IV, and V are often reduced to one sentence taglines: Rocky fights Mr. T. Rocky fights the Cold War. Rocky takes the fight to the streets. It... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 22, 2017 at 8:03 am • 

Joe Lunardi, I challenge your bracket to a duel

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is running a monopoly on bracketology. What is bracketology? It’s the art (science?) of accurately predicting what the March Madness college basketball bracket will look like on Selection Sunday. And you know what, I’m getting kind of tired of it. There should be more options for you, the people. Like Sprint resurrecting... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 20, 2017 at 7:44 am • 

Rocky II vs. Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (part 2)

Darth Vader doesn’t like to lose. I mean, nobody likes to lose, but there is a difference between your aunt Mildred being a little bit frustrated that she didn’t see your double jump coming in a game of checkers vs. the most powerful villain in the universe fresh off seeing his DEATH STAR blown to... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 16, 2017 at 7:46 am • 
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Rocky II vs. Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (Part 1)

Rocky I and Star Wars IV: A New Hope are both David vs. Goliath stories. In the first of many sequels, Rocky II and Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, a simple question is raised, “What if Goliath came back for Round 2, but this time around he’s a little bit pissed off.” Rocky II Rocky... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 15, 2017 at 12:50 pm • 

Rocky I vs. Star Wars IV: A New Hope

For this best-of-seven series to work, I have to wash away somehow all the times I have seen the Rocky and Star Wars films. I have to essentially do the Men In Black memory eraser move and pretend like I’m watching it all for the first time. I’ve found this is especially challenging to pull... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 13, 2017 at 10:27 am • 

March Madness Bracket Preview: My 1-68 revealed and ranked

On Saturday, February 11th the NCAA Selection Committee revealed the current top four seeds for each region. It was an “if the season ended today” snapshot of America’s favorite tournament, something they had never done before. Here’s how it played out (in left-to-right order, for example: Villanova is the Top No. 1, Gonzaga the lowest No. 1):... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 12, 2017 at 5:40 pm • 
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Rocky vs. Star Wars: A Best of Seven series

If you are a loyal, long-time reader of Medium Rare, you might recall this time last year when I did a barrage of posts on Sylvester Stallone. I’m guessing you fell into one of two camps: Camp A: When last February ended, you were worried, “Will this series be back for Round 2? How am... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
February 1, 2017 at 8:16 am •