Mussina's (short) peak in my opinion was the 1997 ALCS against a powerful Indians' lineup. 15 ip, 25ks, 4 hits, 4 bb, 1 er, .6 era, but somehow just a 0-0 record.

As a casual Indians' fan, what I remember is Mussina being darn near unhittable at the end of that year. No one would have thought of him in terms of Sutton then; they would have thought Seaver.

The following is a conservative, not a progressive, cliche, and is dangerously empty and cynical:

The second was always an empty fantasy --- politics is just another word for human nature, and that hasn't changed since we were dancing around the fire outside our caves.

Obama's election in itself proved that his desire to change politics -- in other words, treat the electorate and opponents as fellow, rational adults -- wasn't an empty fantasy. Our politics still has plenty of growing up to do, but that doesn't mean we haven't witnessed some leaps and bounds just over the last 4 years: Elizabeth Dole's "God" ad righteously backfiring, for instance.

Other than screenplay, the most daring, original, ambitious movie of the year is invisible here, proving that "indie" film people aren't any smarter than the mainstream ones. They rather predictably like small-scale journalistic realism, preferably actor's showcases. (Unfortunately, Hollywood has so abandoned realism that it requires the indies to cover that ground.) But who's covering imagination, philosophy, possibility, and any kind of wider canvas?

with a family member recently. Told her that, even though she stopped drinking, she still wasn't well, that prescription painkillers seemed to be serving the same purpose for her alcohol used to, making her the same too-sweet, too-emotional, too repetitive person alcohol used to make her.

She used every manipulative trick in the book to make me take the words back, but I told her that "keeping it real," as best as I know how, even though I'm frequently mistaken and mislead, is all I really have and I can't abandon it. Also, importantly I think, I added that I love her, and even if I don't think she's well, she'll always be OK (a crucial distinction, I think), and I'll always be there for her.

It still felt like shit, and I'm still not completely sure I'm right. What she wanted was someone just to accept her (and some of her warped un-sober opinions) as she is. I definitely could be wrong about this, but at some level I believe she gets drunk because she's never felt OK, never felt accepted as OK -- and being told she's not well is very hard for her to distinguish from being told she's not OK. That sort of blurry emotional reaction puts someone who loves her, who wants her both to feel loved and be well, in a painful position. The LW seems trapped in that same conundrum with his friend.

Cary's advice to keep showing up as a friend, even facing some hostility, seems spot-on to me, and is advice I'll follow myself.

please ignore all the haters who will be spewing venom at you every other letter

if Bauer just sat eating a sandwich, ruffling through the newspaper, for the first 30 minutes of the season? That would signify 24's new commitment to realism.

btw, funny article. And to borrow a phrase, Friday Night Lights is about 50 trillion times more exciting than the West Wing ever was. I guess if you fill your head with enough of the West Wing's particular brand of Boomer sanctimony, you can convince yourself of your own righteousness even as you're spewing venom at a writer you don't know and don't even begin to "get".

was by far the most thrilling, original, profound movie of the year, in my opinion, and it was almost completely overlooked by even the so-called indie awards. Go figure.

Benjamin Button is cool and profound in its own way, but kind of a stagey, Hollywoodish snooze-fest too; (and, was it just my theater, or was the sound on that on that one below par? Half the dialogue was in a breathy whisper I had to strain to hear.) Slumdog is brilliant at the level of images, somewhat childish at the level of story and character. Frost/Nixon and Milk may be quality movies, but aren't exactly landmarks of imagination.

And why does it seem like most people are either rabid fans, furious at the slightest implication that "Lost" isn't the most brilliant show on the face of the planet, or they're outspoken naysayers who think "Lost" is puerile, empty-headed trash?

when it's clearly a weird mix of both. Good question.

The Shield was a weird mix of brilliance and trash too, but it didn't seem to polarize in the same way. People who thought it was rot just stayed away, generally; they didn't evangelize about it.

24 at its best was both brilliant and hysterically inane. But, generally, same deal...not a lot of rabid evangelizing.

hmm?

yet for too many it seems they've just become an opportunity to spin absurdly paranoid conspiracy theories or be perpetual sore losers. A good portion of the letters are talking about a Super Bowl 3 years ago, for God's sake -- one in which the most controversial calls were unfortunate, certainly, but also most certainly defensible.

The human factor of referees are as much a part of the game as injuries and the odd bounces that oblong pigskin takes. Can't people just enjoy the spectacle and drama without constantly injecting bitterness and trying their best to ruin others' momentary joy?

I'm very sorry I missed its premiere last night -- did they do a poor job publicizing it or am I just living under a rock?

That's the problem with ambitious serial fare -- you have to get everybody onboard early or you're doomed. If I miss the premiere, why would I invest in the series?

very fine review, by the way. The Obama opener seemed profound and on-point to me. Actually contained spiritual insight!!! Unheard of in journalism!