The Red Wings' scouting team must have seen something in the 5'8", 150-something pound Pavel Datsyuk when they watched him playing for the Yekaterinburg Dynamo in Russia. Aside from his skinny frame Datsyuk did not put forth amazing or even...
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The Red Wings' scouting team must have seen something in the 5'8", 150-something pound Pavel Datsyuk when they watched him playing for the Yekaterinburg Dynamo in Russia. Aside from his skinny frame Datsyuk did not put forth amazing or even noticeably above-average on paper stats. He had even been passed over in both the 1996 and 1997 NHL Entry Drafts. Nevertheless, the Wings' scouts must have convinced head coach Scotty Bowman on Datsyuk's potential, as they drafted him in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Despite what initially looked to be a questionable draft selection - at least to those outside of the Detroit organization - in the 2001-2002 season, his Rookie NHL season, Pavel Datsyuk cemented the validity of the decision to draft him. In 70 games during the regular season he offered up 35 points in the form of 11 Goals and 24 Assists, a season in which Detroit won the Stanley Cup. His numbers have only gotten better from there. His regular season point-production totalled 51 points in 2002-2003, 68 points in 2003-2004, and 87 points in the 2005-2006 season.

Pavel Datsyuk has brilliant puck handling skills, excellent passing ability, and a highly accurate shot. One would be remiss not to note that Datsyuk owes part of his development into the complete player of today to former-Red Wings' Igor Larionov and Brett Hull. Any hockey fan knows about Brett Hull's puck-shooting abilities, but Larionov is often overlooked when one considers some of the great passers in the NHL's history.

Unlike the speedy, flashy, finesse-style goal scorer's like Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, Jaromir Jagr, et al, who have gained substantial popularity among fans, Tomas Holmström scores his goals creates scoring opportunities the rugged, physical...
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Unlike the speedy, flashy, finesse-style goal scorer's like Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, Jaromir Jagr, et al, who have gained substantial popularity among fans, Tomas Holmström scores his goals creates scoring opportunities the rugged, physical way: by digging in and battling to keep his 6'1", 225 lb. frame right in front of the opposing team's goaltender.

Holmström is arguably one of the best players ever at tipping slap-shots from in front of the net. Tomas is a master artist at tipping and redirecting shots on goal, something that is always a concern for opposing goalie's and defensemen alike, especially when Holmström is on the ice. Not only does his look to tip slap-shots, but also helps Detroit's offense both by utilizing his size and strength to muscle opposing team's defensemen down around the crease and by screening goalie's to prevent them from having a clear, unobstructed view of the coming slap-shot. It is also in this role that Holmström frequently draws penalties from opposing defensemen who look to keep him from taking up residence in front of the goaltender.

With respect to the 2005-2006 NHL season Tomas Holmström made significant improvements to his skating, puck control abilities, slap-shot, and vision (if that was even possible, given his already excellent vision). He has developed into a very solid 5-on-5 player and expanded excellent power-play offense into a very good offense period. All of this, of course, comes in addition to his well-known and highly respect play around the opposing goalee's crease, and his solid defense and grinding play.

KoRn is without a doubt one of, if not the, most important bands to the boom of the so-called "nu metal" movement that gave rise to bands such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Adema, and others.

Frontman Jonathan Davis is a...
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KoRn is without a doubt one of, if not the, most important bands to the boom of the so-called "nu metal" movement that gave rise to bands such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Adema, and others.

Frontman Jonathan Davis is a very talented, unique singer whose tightly crafted lyrics and distinctive voice and singing style, which of course includes the grunts, groans, and scats for which he has become known. Virtually all of his lyrics and their subject matter revolve around personal experiences and situations Davis has seen over the course of his life, a fact that likely allows many of the band's fans to relate to the band's music. James "Munky" Shaffer adds great guitar melodies through the distinct characteristics of his playing style, one of which is the way he bends the strings and slowly releases them to create the effect of a guitar going out of tune. Fieldy is the highly talented bassist with several highly unique playing styles and techniques. One of them is a clicky, percussive sound, which can easily be mistaken for a kick drum on numerous songs. His base lines typically go over the guitar lines, thereby adding another dimension to the base. And then there is David Silveria, the shy member of the band (according to Jonathan), who began playing drums at age nine. Silveria is a highly accomplished drummer – just listen to "It's On", "Chi", "F_get", or "Falling Away From Me", just to site a few of the songs on which he does such an outstanding job.

In addition to their musical contributions, KoRn was one of the first bands to capitalize on the popularity boom of the internet in the mid-1990s. The band used the internet for communication and interaction with its fans, behind the scenes images and videos, live internet broadcasts, and marketing, just to name a few.

KoRn's seventh studio album, entitled See You on the Other Side, leads in a somewhat different direction than previous albums, but is also gives the band an opportunity to experiment, expand, and open the flood gates of creativity, which may or may not be something subsequent albums utilize too. And though the loss of Head, who went to join a flock of sheep, in 2005 will certainly have some affect on the band, the remaining four members are determined to continue on this journey they began as teenagers back in Bakersfield, CA in 1994.

While she has a beautiful face and physically looks good, we are not reviewing physical beauty or sex appeal.

J'Lo writes little, if any, of her own music, a fact that irritates me because it has contributed to the success of...
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While she has a beautiful face and physically looks good, we are not reviewing physical beauty or sex appeal.

J'Lo writes little, if any, of her own music, a fact that irritates me because it has contributed to the success of talentless, simpletons like Britney Spears. There is no meaning, depth, or genuineness in their music and diametric to uniqueness, it is tediously monotonous. Like so much music today, it is of the "quantity not quality" formula.

Meanwhile, the meaning of her song "Jenny from the Block" shows her conceited delusion and skewed, distorted reality, in believing she is the same person now that she was growing up in the Bronx.

Nevermind her multi-million dollar, mansion-size homes, unbelievably pampered lifestyle, ability to wontonly spend money and purchase whatever she so desires regardless of cost, travel via chartered or private aircraft, commute by limo, vacation at only the finest, most luxurious locales while staying in the most lavish five-star hotels, et al ... but she's still the same "Jenny from the Block." Well, except for all of the aforementioned differences...

As for Jennifer Lopez's acting abilities, she is not much of an actress...even for a singer. Her range is quite narrow. Despite exhibiting little if any emotion in romantic scenes, she insists on doing romantic comedies. Even her best performances have been considered about average at best. There was the infamously awful and universally ridiculed train wreck called "Gigli". And her performances in "An Unfinished Life", "Monster-in-Law", "The Wedding Planner", and "Angel Eyes", just to name a few, left quite a bit to be desired. In a MovieLine interview she arrogantly stated she was the best of the "up and coming" actresses and went on to put down other actresses. Apparently her definition of a "good actress" differs from that of the rest of us.

But she is certainly not the worst "Worst Actress Ever", as it seems highly implausible, if not indisputably certain, anyone can wrestle that title away from Madonna.

Back to Ms. Lopez... One wonders what kind of baggage she is carrying given that, shy of her 35th birthday, she had been engaged once and married three times. And of those three marriages two crumbled before the second anniversary while the outcome of the third has yet-to-be determined.

J'Lo's fame in part comes courtesy of one of her most overrated parts: her a**. While it may be round and shapely, a photo of her in a bathing suit on the beach [facing away from the photographer] was hardly flattering. Her derrière looked aberrantly wide, and corpulently large with visible pockets of cellulite. Better take care of that butt Jennifer, for it is your best "talent."

Picked dead last in the first episode of season two of the The Ultimate Fighter, Luke Cummo immediately stood out from the other fifteen fighters. With his "geeky" appearance, seemingly calm temperament, and unusual habits, ranging from his diet,...
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Picked dead last in the first episode of season two of the The Ultimate Fighter, Luke Cummo immediately stood out from the other fifteen fighters. With his "geeky" appearance, seemingly calm temperament, and unusual habits, ranging from his diet, to astrological beliefs.

The first instance of foreshadowing came during episode one when the fighters were given the task of "wall sitting" for five minutes. Going in groups of four or five, the other fighters failed one after another. Then Luke got into position with his hands in a praying-type position in front of his chest and his eyes closed, in full concentration, and handily accomplished the task. In the “confessional,” he noted that he trained doing wall sits for up to fifteen minutes, and could have kept going.

Luke showcased his well rounded stand-up in his fight with Anthony Torres. Though his ground game was known the area where he was the weakest (while Anthony was much better on the ground), Luke proved to be wiry, slippery, and very difficult to control on the ground. Throughout the fight, Luke made good use of his knees and elbows, and the effects were readily apparent on the face of Anthony Torres after the fight.

In his semi-final bout with Sammy Morgan, another young fighter with plenty of potential, Luke again proved to be as cagey and slippery as a fish when on the mat. Unable to gain an advantage through his superior grappling, Sammy decided to stand-up with Luke in Round 2. Sammy caught Luke with a hard right hand, but Luke proved he has a chin too, as he did not go down and recovered quickly. After landing a massive right hand that left Sammy looking punch-drunk as he fell to one knee before getting back on both feet, Luke followed with a knee that connected to Sammy's head and to quote UFC President Dana White, "knocked him dead [cold]."

In the finals, Luke was matched up against Joe Stevenson, the first picked and heavily favored welterweight whose grappling abilities are second to none. Virtually everyone expected Joe to get Luke to the mat and submit him. Rising to the occasion yet again, Luke more than held his own in the fight, much of which was indeed spent on the ground. After Joe got him in arm-bar, Luke, to the amazement of many people, including myself, wiggled and fought his way out of the submission hold. Then at the start of Round 2, Luke came oh so very close to winning by KO when he rocked Joe with a right hand. In the end, Joe Stevenson won by judge's decision, but Luke Cummo not only earned many people's respect, but also in a sense "won" one battle by taking the fight the distance.

To complement his unorthodox style, even temperament (outside of the octagon, at least), and intangible appeal that has led to his sudden popularity, Luke Cummo is a fighter with tremendous potential, plenty of heart and intensity, and excellent striking ability. His fighting talents and skills grew significantly over the course of The Ultimate Fighter, and they will only continue to become better as he gets more fights under his belt. I fully expect to see him in a UFC octagon very soon. And a piece of advice: I would not bet against him, for it would not be the first time he defied the odds.

I have found Dennis Leary funny since I saw his comedy bits during the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. His witty, sarcastic sense of humor has always appealed to me. Then, with the emergence of Rescue Me, on which he has the starring role, he...
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I have found Dennis Leary funny since I saw his comedy bits during the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. His witty, sarcastic sense of humor has always appealed to me. Then, with the emergence of Rescue Me, on which he has the starring role, he showed that he was quite talented as an actor too.