Monday, April 28, 2014

Justice League Movie Confirmed

DC Comics is trying to catch up to Marvel's mega hit "The Avengers" by making a "Justice League" movie right after filming is complete on "Batman vs. Superman". That film will introduce some of the characters, obviously Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) as well as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher).

Not much else is known about the Justice League movie yet, although Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will apparently be in it as well. The original Justice League consisted of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, with numerous characters added in years following. No word if they'll look to go with just the original lineup, or add in a few more as well. It looks like Cyborg will be included, so maybe they'll change it up a little.

Another interesting factor is if they would bring in Arrow (Stephen Amell) from The CW's popular show "Arrow", which had been floated around before.

A Wonder Woman movie would follow the Justice League film depending on the success of it. We can assume it'll most likely make a ton of money even if it gets a lukewarm response from critics.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Nirvana Takes Grunge To The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Nirvana was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility, also 20 years after the death of Kurt Cobain, marking the first Grunge band to enter the Hall. Want to really feel old? Green Day will be eligible next year, as their first album came out in 1990. Michael Stipe did the honors, which was fitting as Cobain was a huge R.E.M fan. A big question has been if Cobain would have even cared about this, being that he was uncomfortable with the unexpectedly massive success of the band and the mainstream nature of something such as this ceremony. However, its better to just leave that alone and enjoy the moment.

Dave Grohl gave a typically awesome speech as he always does, thanking the previous drummers that were in Nirvana before he was, such as Chad Channing and giving him props for his inspiration. Courtney Love even gave Grohl a hug on stage. Did that signal them burying the hatchet?

Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear then took the stage with rumors of who would perform vocals for them. A bunch of kick ass women filled in. Joan Jett was first, taking the tough task of performing "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth then gave a passionate rendition of "Aneurysm". St.Vincent/Annie Clark then came out for "Lithium", with Lorde (who wasn't born yet when Kurt Cobain died) closing it out with "All Apologies".

The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will air on HBO on May 31.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

US Soccer Abruptly Fires Women's Coach Tom Sermanni

The United States Women's National Soccer Team is coming off a 2-0 friendly win over China. Yet just hours later, they abruptly fired head coach Tom Sermanni. Maybe this was due to a 7th place finish at the Algarve Cup, which had the first back-to-back losses for the USWNT since 2001. Sermanni reportedly had no idea this was coming and is shocked.

However, why play a match against China and fire him afterwards with another match in a few days instead of right after the tournament, if it had to do with the poor Algarve Cup performance? Rumors have circulated that players have been unhappy with his approach and the constant tinkering with the lineup to try and find the perfect one in time for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. It has come out though that players were not behind it, and many spoke about how they liked him. However, nobody seems to know exactly why this happened yet. Of course, it will come out soon, especially with a game on Thursday and the start of the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) on Saturday. In an update, it seems his laid back style did not mesh well with what Sunil Gulati and US Soccer wanted.

Nadeshiko Japan has seemed to have the United States' number since the 2011 Women's World Cup in big matches. Of course, USA defeated Japan for the London 2012 Gold Medal, however an obvious handball that was missed by the ref which would've led to a Japan PK, and likely goal, helped with that. Japan has been a model of consistency, discipline and technicality. Will one year with a new coach and new scheme be enough for the United States to roll through the world's best teams, particularly Japan, next summer? Sweden is another contender who have played very well against the US beating them at the 2011 Women's World Cup and 2014 Algarve Cup. And now they've got former US Coach Pia Sundhage coaching them. Though if any team is built to do it, it would be the United States.