MOVIE REVIEW "Julie & Julia"  by Mike Smith
RETRORAMA Manson at the Movies  by ED Tucker
THE ASIAN APERTURE Vietnam Town in Orlando  by Jason Fetters
SPLASH PAGE Marvel Fatigue .... Attack Of Russell Brand .... Dune .... .... .... .... .... by Brandon Jones
STATE OF THE NATION Don't Read It, Just Sign It! .... Time To Calibrate? .... Cash For Clunkers .... Skynet? .... Best Time For A Divorce .... Free At Last .... .... by Brandon Jones
SPORTS TALK Say Goodbye To The Afl .... Who’s The Punk Now? .... No Takers On Vick Yet? .... Donte Stallworth Meets Goodell .... It’s Not Sports .... Rays On A Roll .... .... by Chris Munger
MIKE'S RANT D T #58 .... Movie Notes .... Free Tex! .... Passing On .... .... .... .... .... My Favorite Films, Part 2...  by Mike Smith
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Say Goodbye To The AFL
It’s sad. This week the Arena Football League announced that one year wasn’t enough to get their finances in order, and produce a feasible season. You would think that since the AFL has the most open advertising in all of sports. From their “walls” around the field, to the 4 patches on each player’s jersey for advertising purposes. I just don’t understand how this could’ve happened. When all of the other off the wall football leagues couldn’t turn a profit, the Arena League was standing there laughing, and accepting the other league’s players, because that league folded. It also sucks to know that after this upcoming NFL season is over, there will be no more football until next year, again. No Europa Football, no Arena Football. So why is it that in a country that is madly in love with the game of football can’t support more than one professional league? I’m just speechless when I think of all the other leagues that where started and quickly pulled the plug. When Pro football started catching on, the NFL and the had to merge because of problems, making today’s NFL, after that the United States Football League caught on then fizzled out. The Xtreme Football League was introduced by billionaire Vince McMahon, but barely lasted a full season. Then the NFL’s World League/NFL Europa had a good run, and the concept was good giving backup NFL players a chance to play in real competition, but NFL Commish Roger Goodell took that away from us and Europe this year. And now, the Arena League.

Who’s The Punk Now?
When Peyton and Eli where throwing the ball in the backyard while they where kids, Eli probably never thought he’d make more money than his bigger brother playing pro-football. Little did he know, that in 2009, two years after he won the Super Bowl, that he would be signing a $100 Million contract. Eli will receive $15 million a year for 6 years, $1.3 million more than his brother, Colts QB/All-Around Product Endorser Peyton Manning. Was this a good move for the New York Giants? Im happy for Eli, but without Plaxico Burress, the Giants looked broken. You always want to build your team around a franchise quarterback though, and Eli is one of the best.

No Takers On Vick Yet?
Well, training camps all over the NFL have started and the preseason is around the corner, and yet Michael Vick has been free to sign with any team for almost two weeks now, and nothing has come up so far. Making me believe that nobody wants to touch him. I could understand that no team wants to deal with the side-circus that would ensue with signing Michael, but with so many teams with quarterback questions, you would think that someone would be rushing him into camp ASAP. The 49ers, Bucs, Broncos, Lions, Redskins, Dolphins, Rams, Texans, Panthers, and Titans all have QB issues and should look into signing him soon. He would most likely be suspended for the first 6 games of the year, but he could still work out in training camp, and even become good trade value.

Donte Stallworth Meets Goodell
Mr. Stallworth got a little twisted one night and got behind the wheel and killed a pedestrian. He was supposed to spend most of his life in jail. Instead, he reached an out of court settlement with the family of the victim, and Stallworth received a 30-day jail sentence (where he served 24 days), 1000 community service and 6 years probation, also never permitted to operate a motor vehicle again. This week, Donte rolled into NFL Commish Roger Goodell’s office to talk about his career. For some reason, Stallworth think he’s going to be playing soon. The NFL hasn’t commented on this issue yet, but in the meantime, Stallworth has come out with a public apology, throwing himself on the mercy of the NFL and his team, the Cleveland Browns. I’m sure Stallworth will most likely play in the NFL again one day, but not this soon, Goodell is going to burn him first.

It’s Not Sports
Well it could be if you play darts with her picture in the bullseye like Simon Cowell does. I’m by no means a Paula Abdoul fan but I do think the way American Idol did her was pretty dirty. They didn’t even offer her a quarter of what Simon got this year. They planned for this ever since they brought ‘what’s her face’ onto the show and added a fourth judge. But I will miss watching her sit behind a Pepsi cup full of liquor and shoot off at the mouth, it really seemed to piss Randy and Simon off alot. On the other hand, if Paula was smart, she would’ve taken the shitty offer, then do something stupid on live television to embarrass Idol. Plus what else is she going to do that’s going to pay her what Idol is paying her? Make another album? Please!

Rays On a Roll
The Rays defeated their division rival, the Red Sox, two games in a row in a heated division race to the finish. And the tables have turned. The Red Sox will go on to face another Rays’ division rival, the New York Yankees, and the Rays could benefit from whatever comes out of that series. As it stands now, with 1/3 of the season left, the Rays still have a chance to take the division. It will be tough though, they’ve got to keep their intensity during this stretch. They could take the 1st spot, but will most likely end up in a tight race for the wildcard spot.