Taylor Swift got to sing two songs on the American Music Awards. Unfortunately for her fans, both performances came via 30-second commercials for the new Band Hero videogame. On the occasion of what may have been the crowning moment of her year, the multi-platinum country-pop starlet was otherwise indisposed in London, and had to accept her five trophies via satellite. Maybe she'd made other plans for the night to avoid complete overexposure right after her twin triumphs on the CMA Awards and SNL. Or maybe she's just saving herself for the Grammys?
Whoever won the award for favorite artist at the end of this fan-voted kudocast, it was a given that he or she would win it in absentia, since Swift's main competition for that top prize was Michael Jackson. Jacko devotees didn't have too much else to be disappointed about, since the late King of Pop did get four awards, posthumously bringing his AMAs total to a record-breaking 23.
A few memorable moments from the 18 performances and far fewer actual award presentations:
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MOST CURIOUSLY DRESSED
Whitney Houston's all-white outfit seemed to be a tribute to marshmallows. Rihanna's striped garb paid homage to either zebras or jailbirds, topped by studded shoulder pads. Lady Gaga's stretched the idea of underwear-as-outerwear to the extreme—not just because she and her dancers were wearing tight, flesh-colored outfits, but because she appeared to be wearing her rib cage on the outside. (Exoskeltons: they're the new black!) We're still not sure what to make of Adam Lambert in not one but two spiffy suit-'n'-tie ensembles. His were almost the least glam-rock-looking outfits of the night... compared to, say, Alicia Keys' second dress, which was a sort of sci-fi/fringe combo. Colbie Caillat appeared to have as her top a giant-sized version of the black bow tie that Jay-Z had sported a little bit earlier. Meanwhile, if anyone can explain what gear J.Lo was wearing to her mock-boxing match, we're all ears.
BEST "TRANSFORMERS" HOMAGE
The Black Eyed Peas brought out dancing subwoofers during "Boom Boom Pow." Optimus Prime must've really cleaned up at that last Circuit City close-out sale.
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MOST PROFOUND MOMENTS OF SILENCE
If you were wondering what Eminem's new song sounds like, the AMAs didn't provide much of an answer. Thanks to a presumably profanity-filled guest rap by 50 Cent, this number had more redacted moments than a vintage CIA document. In introducing Slim Shady and 50, Seth Green had promised that "the whole place may get destroyed tonight," but the fairly rote and largely bleeped performance that followed didn't exactly turn out to be 2012.
LEAST INTIMATE CAMERAWORK
During Janet Jackson's opening medley, it was tough for viewers to get an idea of what she even looks like nowadays, since the camera crew and editors had apparently been instructed not to go in for anything resembling a close-up. Was the reliance on long shots meant to avoid giving anyone too much ammunition about lip-synching? Maybe, but it would be nice to have gotten some evidence that Janet, and not a double, was really in the house, instead of a mezzanine's-eye-view of her performance.
Read more at Here .
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
LSU too stunned by fourth down success
Ole Miss 25, LSU 23. It's generally bad form to undermine a tight, dramatic game by dwelling on a mistake in the closing seconds, but occasionally the comedy of errors is to staggering to ignore. So LSU coach Les Miles, grab your $3.75 million salary and step right up for the full-frontal clock management gaffe of the year, as narrated by CBS Sports' Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson:
Miles has made his reputation as one of the SEC's elite coaches by being aggressive, flying by the seat of his pants and occasionally flouting conventional clock management, and what's ironic about the closing flub in Oxford is that he was on his way to confirming that reputation. Down 25-17 with three-and-a-half minutes to play, LSU drove for a touchdown to pull within 25-23 with 1:23 on the clock, and recovered an onside kick to give itself a chance to win in the final minute. After hitting a 26-yard pass from Jordan Jefferson to Brandon LaFell to move within range of the winning field goal, it looked like a miracle in the works.
Instead, the Tigers went backwards on consecutive plays, first on a sack for a loss of nine yards (followed by LSU's second timeout) that knocked them out of field goal range, and then on a third down screen pass for a loss of seven that backed LSU into a desperate, 4th-and-26 hole. And instead of following Clock Management 101 by calling their final timeout immediately after the third down play ended in-bounds, though, the Tigers let 16 seconds tick off before finally expending the last TO with only nine seconds and no timeouts remaining to get off the fourth down play and any other snaps that followed it.
So when Jefferson improbably completed a 42-yard pass to Terance Tolliver the Ole Miss six on fourth-and-forever as the clock ticked down to one second, LSU had two options: a) Rush the field goal team (which should have been waiting on the sideline for just this situation) on for a winning attempt before the officials were able to move the chains, set the ball and begin the clock again; or b) With such little time to get a new 11 men on and the current 11 men off, hurry the offense up to the line to take a final shot into the end zone. It had to be kick or throw into the end zone, and the decision had to made pronto -- in fact, it should have already been made, during the timeout preceding the fourth down heave. Clock Management 101, Section 2: With almost no time and no timeouts, you must have two plays ready in the if the first play doesn't score.
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The one option the Tigers definitely did not have at their disposal was spiking the ball to stop the clock: With only one second left, once Jefferson took the snap and put the ball into the turf, there would be no time left to kill.
Naturally, Jefferson and the offense scurry to the line, looking at each other and to their sideline in confusion as the officials set the ball, start the clock and ... end it. Jefferson inexplicably attempted to spike the ball, anyway, but the Tigers didn't even get off the snap before the clock hit all-zeroes.
So, coach: Why'd you let 16 seconds tick off before calling timeout after the loss on third down, leaving the team with no time to execute the two or three more plays it would need to convert the fourth down and get the field goal team on? What was the plan for the final play after those precious seconds were wasted? There ... was a plan, wasn't there?
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Paraphrased: "We knew we were going to run out of time if we tried to attempt a field goal, so we were trying to attempt a field goal."
Basically, then, there was no plan. We read you, coach, loud and clear. Good luck with the oh-so-forgiving Louisiana media this week.
You can read more at Here .
Miles has made his reputation as one of the SEC's elite coaches by being aggressive, flying by the seat of his pants and occasionally flouting conventional clock management, and what's ironic about the closing flub in Oxford is that he was on his way to confirming that reputation. Down 25-17 with three-and-a-half minutes to play, LSU drove for a touchdown to pull within 25-23 with 1:23 on the clock, and recovered an onside kick to give itself a chance to win in the final minute. After hitting a 26-yard pass from Jordan Jefferson to Brandon LaFell to move within range of the winning field goal, it looked like a miracle in the works.
Instead, the Tigers went backwards on consecutive plays, first on a sack for a loss of nine yards (followed by LSU's second timeout) that knocked them out of field goal range, and then on a third down screen pass for a loss of seven that backed LSU into a desperate, 4th-and-26 hole. And instead of following Clock Management 101 by calling their final timeout immediately after the third down play ended in-bounds, though, the Tigers let 16 seconds tick off before finally expending the last TO with only nine seconds and no timeouts remaining to get off the fourth down play and any other snaps that followed it.
So when Jefferson improbably completed a 42-yard pass to Terance Tolliver the Ole Miss six on fourth-and-forever as the clock ticked down to one second, LSU had two options: a) Rush the field goal team (which should have been waiting on the sideline for just this situation) on for a winning attempt before the officials were able to move the chains, set the ball and begin the clock again; or b) With such little time to get a new 11 men on and the current 11 men off, hurry the offense up to the line to take a final shot into the end zone. It had to be kick or throw into the end zone, and the decision had to made pronto -- in fact, it should have already been made, during the timeout preceding the fourth down heave. Clock Management 101, Section 2: With almost no time and no timeouts, you must have two plays ready in the if the first play doesn't score.
Article Submission Software .
The one option the Tigers definitely did not have at their disposal was spiking the ball to stop the clock: With only one second left, once Jefferson took the snap and put the ball into the turf, there would be no time left to kill.
Naturally, Jefferson and the offense scurry to the line, looking at each other and to their sideline in confusion as the officials set the ball, start the clock and ... end it. Jefferson inexplicably attempted to spike the ball, anyway, but the Tigers didn't even get off the snap before the clock hit all-zeroes.
So, coach: Why'd you let 16 seconds tick off before calling timeout after the loss on third down, leaving the team with no time to execute the two or three more plays it would need to convert the fourth down and get the field goal team on? What was the plan for the final play after those precious seconds were wasted? There ... was a plan, wasn't there?
Article Submission Software .
Paraphrased: "We knew we were going to run out of time if we tried to attempt a field goal, so we were trying to attempt a field goal."
Basically, then, there was no plan. We read you, coach, loud and clear. Good luck with the oh-so-forgiving Louisiana media this week.
You can read more at Here .
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