Big Fish Recap 8/19/10 - Champions!

The 5th seeded Cobra Kai headed into Friday Night’s Championship game with one thing and one thing only on their minds………to win another Damn Championship!

The Kai’s gritty gutty and savvy veteran Oil Can Spragues took the mound for the Kai and was undefeated in postseason play and looked to keep that record alive in the Championship. “I simply told my guys, Hey….Failure is Not an Option tonight Boys” Sprague said after the game.

The Kai advanced to their fifth championship game and were looking to add another banner to the All Valley rafters after a stunning sweep in the playoffs last week . Spragues had a solid outing for the Kai on the mound fanning 2 and only allowing 3 runs over 7 innings to complete his impressive post season performance.

Capt. Tucci and his roving team of bandits in the outfield were the story on this night for the Cobra Kai. Tucci was up to usual antics out there running down every shot the G-Force sent his way and the Swami was right there to pick up any shot to Left as the outfield shut down the G-Force all night. “ We knew they were a power hitting team and we had to bring our A-game tonight if we wanted to have a shot at our 3rd championship and no way we were going to let Oil Can down” Tucci said after the game. The Swami had something different to say……”I have learned that in sports, you aren’t considered a Real Champion until you have repeated as a champ….for this team to now have 3 championships and in the manner we did it makes me proud to don the Black and Gold every Friday Night.”

The Kai were missing “Wild Man” Wilson for the championship game but it was no need to panic for Capt. Tucci as he artfully sacrificed Roundhouse Reger and his Cannon arm from his OF squad and borrowed him to the Infield for the game to protect the Hot Corner.

“My Mentor Mr. Vincent Lombardi once told me: The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. Also, I have finished twice a few times in my life and I hated it…thus I was willing to do whatever it took to help us win the Whole Damn Thing” Reger said after the game. Well, Regs had several crucial plays at the hot corner on this night eating up every hit his way and gunning down the poor G-Force victims of his cannon. Regs also chipped offensively with 2 timely hits to help propel the Kai to victory.

The Kai jumped out to an early lead thanks in part to the Swami swatting a shot to right Field to open up the game in the second and the Kai’s newest assassin “China” belting another shot over the wall to give the Kai a 6-1 lead in the 4th inning.
The DonJuan continued his post season OBP% keeping it at the league leading .965 mark and getting on base at crucial moments on the night. Koko kept up his assassin style hitting attacking the left field line keeping G-Force fielders baffled enough all night to open up the field for the rest of the team. Everyone contributed at crucial times in the Kai’s 7-3 victory which found them claiming their 3rd League Championship.

“Strength and winning does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will…and that is what this team has” JohnnyBlaze said after the game.
Well, the Kai celebrated in style at Gators downing 46 pitchers and Sully even donated his time to a girls youth group there helping them learn how to sing on stage and helping their mothers manage the night.

All in all it was another great night in the history of the storied Cobra Kai Franchise!!!

The Kai were given the week off by Capt. Tucci for their accomplishments but look to defend their title in two weeks as the Fall League gets under way. The Kai are considered 3-1 favorites to repeat.

See You Soon Under the Friday Night Lights!

10 Greatest Apocalyptic Movies Ever

The 10 Greatest Apocalyptic Movies of All Time

10. Independence Day (1996)

One of the most hyped movies in cinema history, ID4 was a huge hit at the box office as it rode the coattails of its very well made trailers. Giving an ominous view of a world invasion by hostile extra terrestrials and the complete obliteration of the Empire State Building and The White House, Independence Day fooled many moviegoers into seeing one of the greatest popcorn flicks ever made. The aliens were unoriginal, the plot was something out of a bad comic book, and the writing was dripping with melted mozzarella.

After the initial outrage wore off, this film has now been accepted for what it was originally meant to be . . . fun. This is one of the last movies to use incredibly detailed models for special effects before CGI took over the industry. It also spawned an entire entourage of popcorn apocalypse flicks like Armageddon, Mars Attacks, 2012, etc. And sometimes forgotten this film not only launches the career of Will Smith, but it also has some other great tongue-in-cheek performances by Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, and who can forget one of the greatest pump-you-up speeches of all time by Bill Pullman.
“WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT! WE WILL NOT VANISH WITHOUT A FIGHT!” If you don’t get goose bumps during that scene, you are dead inside.


9. 28 Days Later (2002)

This movie is much more than 99% of people’s introduction to Cillian Murphy. It is quite possibly the greatest zombie movie ever made. And there have been more than a few in Hollywood’s history, especially in its golden age. 28 Days Later is a chilling documentary style look into a world where an incurable virus has run rampant across England and possibly the world. Those infected have been reduced to animalistic, rage-endued cannibals. It was a truly scary movie that came along just when people were beginning to think scary movies were dead. Oh the irony.



8. War Games (1983)

Before he was breaking the 4th wall in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he was breaking into NORAD as David Lightman. War Games was one of the first movies that showed the dark side of technology in a much too realistic Cold War setting. Warning us how we could go from Defcon 5 to Defcon 1 in a matter of days all because of a glorified and deadly game of tic-tac-toe.

No Joshua, I would not like to play a game.

7. The Terminator (1984)

If Joshua was the opening act, then Skynet is the main event. Just one year later, audiences got another and even scarier look into the dangers of artificial intelligence. Making the name Schwarzenegger a staple in American households is a grand enough feet, but The Terminator became so much more than Ahhhnold’s signature character. It embodied the prototypical evil robot. After The Terminator, any mention of robots, good or bad, you couldn’t help but think of the T800 endoskeleton with that ominous music in the background. And the effects have far from worn off. Even today, any scientific news story or corporation gloating about the slightest advance in AI, and that music immediately starts to fade into your brain as a shiny metal skull emerges out of a fiery apocalyptic future.

Or maybe that’s just me.

6. WALL-E (2008)

An incredible animated film, quite possibly the best ever. It deserved every bit of the Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. This computer generated masterpiece strikes right into the soul of what could be a greater threat to humanity than aliens or machines combined . . . us.

Even though it’s animated, Pixar is able to illustrate an Earth that looks just as bleak as any post apocalyptic movie before it. A complete wasteland filled to the brim with our garbage, no signs of plant or human life. All that remains is a lone waste-collecting robot trying to complete an impossible task for the past 700 years. Meanwhile the last colony of humans float aimlessly through space on a resort ship, atrophying their bodies and brains.

Unlike other dystopian films, a robot is the only one who can awake our humanity.



5. The Book of Eli (2010)

Once again we’ve gone and blown ourselves up. However this film addresses something other doomsday movies tend to leave waning. How do you completely reboot society? And what would be the most important component in doing so? In a world where we’ve been nuked back to the bartering system, the most powerful weapon is the written word. Especially the words in the book Denzel Washington’s Eli must protect with his life.

This film shows how the human condition comes around full circle, unfortunately. Another great villain played by Gary Oldman, and Denzel in full badass mode, this film gives a glimpse of what may have been the beginning of society by showing you its future.



4. Planet of the Apes (1968)

When talking about apocalyptic films, sci-fi films or just films in general, no other word can accurately label the original 1968 Planet of the Apes besides, “classic.” Charlton Heston’s most signature role of Colonel George Taylor is only rivaled by his portrayal of Moses in The Ten Commandments. Spinning off 4 sequels and 2 remakes, this is one of the most important science fiction films of all time. The most chilling warning of human extinction at our own hands comes in the form of a twist ending that would reign supreme for the next 27 years, right up to 1995’s The Usual Suspects.




3. Watchmen (2009)

One of the greatest comic book movies ever made. Watchmen takes you through a skewed version of 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, super heroes have been outlawed and the Cold War is stronger than ever as the doomsday clock sits at 5 minutes to midnight.

This film may have characters running around in super hero costumes, but its underlying story was all too real at one point. The Cold War was one of the scariest times in this country and the planets history. So unpredictable the outcome of who would flinch first, Watchmen creates the first anti-villain to “solve” the problem.




2. Terminator 2 (1991)

The standard by which all action movies would be compared, Terminator 2 still reigns as the genre’s gold standard. The “next level” special effects still hold up to today’s best CGI, and the toughest chick in the world title belongs solely to Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner. Arnold’s “Mona Lisa,” took the Terminator franchise from cult classic to a worldwide blockbuster and cash cow, spawning off books, video games, toys, comics, a television series and 2 more films. And who could forget . . . Hasta la Vista Baby!




1. The Matrix (1999)

Building on the premise of the Terminator movies, The Matrix shows just how intelligent and cold AI can grow. Forget about building robots to destroy us, the Matrix machines have a much better use for our carcasses. Enslaving the entire human race without us even aware of it is a pretty neat trick. Machines use our bodies as their primary energy source while they enslave our minds into a virtual reality called “The Matrix.”

Sending Keanu Reeves career into the stratosphere, far away from his Bill and Ted days, and coining the phrase “bullet time,” are just two of the many effects this film has had on pop culture and the movie industry as a whole. Sort of a “Star Wars 2.0,” The Matrix is the patriarch to current day special effects films, redefining the possibilities for astonishing movie audiences.


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Big Fish Recap 8/11/10 - A SWEEP!

Johnny Blaze once told me a story that I never forgot when we encountered a cocoon at a Cobra Kai training camp. He said:

"You see this little Cocoon? This month’s just about to emerge. It's in there
right now, struggling. It's digging its way through the thick hide of the
cocoon. Now, I could help it - take my glove, gently widen the opening, and
the moth would be free - but it would be too weak to survive. Struggle is
nature's way of strengthening it".

Well, to say the Kai have struggled this season would be an understatement. But we have battled injuries, travel obligations, and other obstacles in our path to a championship. However, after all that the Kai are a better team for it and entered Friday nights tournament clearly as the team to beat.

The Cobra Kai entered into Friday Nights playoffs with a deceiving 1-3 record but were without doubt still the team to beat in Red Bug Lakes Tournament. In our first matchup the Kai’s were pitted against the vaunted Silver Streak Pitcher and the Goonies. To say the Cobra Kai have the Silver Streak’s number is an understatement.

The Goonies have never beaten the Kai and we were going to make sure of this and leave no doubt who is the Red Bug Lake Champs by making quick work of the Goonies.

The Team was missing Roundhouse Reger but Capt. Tucci recruited two power hitting hitmen in his place as we welcomed “WorldWide” Will and Mr. Miyagi’s nephew China to the roster. Well, the Kai jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning promptly batting through the order to start the game and setting the pace for the night. The Swami lead the way in the first half swatting a missile to Right Field to clear the bases and to get us on the board in the first.

“Oil Can” Spragues was looking for his first back to back victory of his career and would do everything in his power to make sure he didn’t let this one slip away. Oil Can had in impressive outing but the infield behind was equally impressive as Koko wore his Donny Baseball underoos on this night and nothing got past the infield and Capt. Koko’s squad. Johnny Blaze was patrolling the hot corner and Wild Man Wilson ate everything up at short as the Goonies were stifled offensively.

Well, Oil Can Sprague would not be denied of his first post season victory as he took matters into his own hands at the plate as well going 4-4 in the first game as the Kai took care of the Goonies handidly 19-5 en route to their first win of the tournament. After the game a disgruntled Silver Surfer complained in a post game interview when he said:

“It's unfair, it was like pitching to a healthy Lou Gehrig all night”.

Bring on the Beat Downs!
Then in the most highly anticipated rematch in Red Bug Lake history the Kai squared off against the Beat Downs whom were undefeated lead by former Kai Troxx and T-185 Rocket Arm.

The Beat Downs jumped on the board first tallying 3 runs and looking like they were in a groove. However, the Kai’s defense settled down after that and Capt. Tucci and his band of roving bandits in the outfield took over from there.

“In the first game we didn’t get many reps as the infield took care of business for us, The Cobra Kai are a team, so I told my guys let’s take over this game and not let another hit in” And that’s exactly what the vaunted Kai OF did from there on. The infield could only watch in amazement as the Swami ran down bullets off the Beat Downs bats and Capt. Tucci was up to usual antics with sliding catches with his new Italiano Mit.

At the plate the Kai’s came together once again as everyone contributed to this one. Spragues kept his hit streak alive, Swami kept abusing the Right Fielder and the New Guy “China” saved the fireworks for the bottom of the 4th when he belted a 2-3 fastball over the Left Field wall for the Cobra Kai’s first grand slam of the season. Koko was also on fire from the plate attacking with vengeance the Left field line blasting three shots down the line and even turning two of them into doubles with his blazing fast speed.

DonJuan continued to climb back atop the league leaders in OB percentage and Sully kept the emotional support high for the team in the dugout and with his gritty gutty hitting style never being denied an opportunity to get to first base.

After the Game DonJuan gave the team a pep talk and said:
“So to recap, throughout it all, there's been a lot of laughter, and a few tears. But in the end the clouds parted, and the good Lord himself decided it was meant to be. And that's how I finished the regular season batting .978.”

Overall, it was a great total team effort as the Cobra Kai destroyed the Beat downs en route to our Sweep Friday night preparing us for our championship Game this Friday.

The Kai take on G-Force in a rematch for the all the Marbles under the Friday Night Lights at 7:00 PM.