Five releases on a single day, but the trends were very evident in the morning shows itself. FORCE garnered a forceful start at single screens and a decent/average start at plexes across the country. The opening shows at single screens were in 80% to 90% range [at places, even 100%], while plexes were around 30% to 40%. The word of mouth is extremely positive and the business is expected to show an upward trend on Friday evening/night and also on Saturday and Sunday. The film is leading by a huge margin. The first day numbers are expected to be John Abraham's biggest so far [solo lead].
Many names, including top international ones, were considered for the coveted role of the screen queen opposite bad-boy Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3.
Love, sex aur dhokha -- that's a lethal combo and many a film-maker has integrated these elements in the plotline of his/her film. Tigmanshu Dhulia's new offering SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER merges power and politics with love, lust and betrayal, resulting in a heady cocktail that hits your mind.| Write your own movie review of Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster |
Is HUM TUM SHABANA a present-day adaptation of David Dhawan's immensely likeable DEEWANA MASTANA? That's what a lot of people seem to be asking me online. Call it a coincidence, but two guys chasing one girl isn't new to Hindi movies. Coincidences apart, both HUM TUM SHABANA and DEEWANA MASTANA are poles apart when it comes to the plotline and the way the screenplay unfolds.| Write your own movie review of Hum Tum Shabana |
Obviously, you know by now tonight's game was rained out. The game was tied 1-1 and the Yankees were to come up to bat in the bottom of the second inning. This game, according to Joe Torre, will be resumed tomorrow evening where the game left off.
My guess is he refused to have any rain get on his blazers so he bailed. That's a joke Mr. Sager... don't get upset.
Chris Dickerson was a name I mentioned for bench help. He has an OK bat but more importantly, he has wheels and can play the outfield. To me, he was a perfect choice for the ALDS bench. I was right. He’s joining the Yankees on this trip.
Look, let’s be honest, I had a tough time thinking about having Dickerson or Andruw Jones on my roster. In the end, Jones didn’t make the cut. The reason was because I wanted an extra lefty pitcher and I picked Raul Valdes. 
Because of that, I lost a bench spot. Now, it turns out the Yankees are sticking with 1 lefty, Boone Logan in the pen for this Series. In turn, they picked Andruw Jones to join the rest of the bench. Good choice.
I also made a bold statement and went against the grain on 1 more pick. Because I believed Hector Noesi earned a spot on the ALDS roster, I picked him over an often injured and non-battle tested Phil Hughes. To me, it was obvious. Noesi was pitching all season and really handled himself. Hughes, on the other hand was hammered with injury and didn’t really do anything this season. I was clearly overruled. The Yankees picked Hughes over Noesi. I’m fine with that, I just thought my reasoning made sense.
Every other roster spot was correct. It just made me smile, that’s all. Am I still just a blogger who gets it wrong more than I get it right? Yes, I don’t take myself too seriously, I just thought it was cool. That’s it.
Whatever the roster, one things for sure, it’s ALDS time… Sabathia vs. Verlander. LET’S GO YANKEES!
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Yankees against Verlander: Justin Verlander is 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA against the Yankees. The Bombers hottest hitters are Derek Jeter (.357 AVG/10 H). Jeter has also struck out 7 times against Verlander in 28 at bats. Jorge Posada (.333 AVG/7 H/5 RBI), Brett Gardner (.375 AVG) and Russell Martin (.400 AVG/2 H in 5 AB). Nick Swisher has 3 home runs against Verlander but is only batting .167 against him and has 19 strikeouts. Wow. Nick Swisher: No one’s better than George King III and he had a piece in the New York Post about Swisher and his struggles in the postseason. Read it HERE. He writes that part of the problem, according to Kevin Long is Nick Swisher gets too amped up. Swisher says “I get jacked up and my emotions are high. That’s my fight, to control my emotions.” Since 2009, Swisher is batting 12-81 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs in 5 postseason series. In 2 ALDS, Swisher is batting .208.
Tigers against Sabathia: CC Sabathia is lifetime 15-12 pitcher against the Tigers. He carries a 4.54 ERA. The hottest Tigers hitters against Sabathia are Miguel Cabrera (.563 AVG/2 HR/11 RBI), Austin Jackson (.286 AVG/1 HR/2 RBI), and Magglio Ordonez (.268 AVG/3 HR/18 RBI).
Freddy Garcia: Freddy gets the nod for Game 3. Garcia is 6-2 in the postseason. When he was a member of the White Sox in 2005, he was 3-0. In my humble opinion, Freddy Garcia earned this spot in the ALDS.
Justin Verlander: The Yankees faced Verlander 2 times this season. Both times the Yankees were patient with him and made him throw a lot of pitches until he was knocked out of the game. Both times Verlander had a no decision against the Yankees. Patience will be key once again.
Alex Rodriguez: “The knee is ready to go,” is what Alex Rodriguez said. I’m not quite sure ARod will be has dominant as he was in 2009, and that could hurt a bit. In the 2009 postseason, Alex hit 6 homers and batted .365. If Alex can’t hack it and the knee is bothering him, I suspect Eric Chavez, a former Gold Glover would get the call at 3rd.
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Today it’s a whole new ball game. A best of 5 game Series that will quickly eliminate any team that’s not up to snuff. This quick series is no joke. The New York Yankees need to play their best right out of the box to move onto the ALCS. They need to be stealth, they need to be powerful, they need to be the Yankees… dominant and gutsy like they've been all season. After all, this is what we play for, the postseason. I believe Ladies and Gentlemen, after the interesting season we’ve had, there is no looking back. We won 97 games... incredible considering all the turmoil. We just kept winning. I believe in adrenaline. For a ball club like the New York Yankees, many on the Yanks understand how it works, they’ve been their before. 
For someone like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, adrenaline kicks in automatically because they’ve been to the playoffs so often...they're familiar. Then you have guys like the monster, CC Sabathia who in my opinion, is the biggest top pitcher out there for a Game 1. I wouldn’t choose anyone else. CC knows what he needs to do. We couldn’t be in a better position.
Bleeding Yankee Blue put together a little video to get us Yankee fans in the mood:
Pass it around, give your fellow Yankee fan the link to this post. Let’s get psyched! Let’s give every Yankees fan something to celebrate, after all, we have entered the ALDS again this year and there is no doubt we need to win this Series. But, as our Captain always says, “One game at the time.” He’s right. You can be amazing in Game 1, but everything can change in Game 2. You’re only as good as your last at bat, last performance, last game. All true.
So, as I sit here with my mind daydreaming of Yankee championships and champagne parties, I take a moment and pray to the Yankee Gods…
Dear God,
I’ve done my best this year to spread the Yankee word. I’ve celebrated the Yankees and have been less critical of Joe Girardi this year than I have been in the past. 
I, as you know will be wearing my Jeter Jersey during the playoffs and will not wash it on a win, but in the event the Yankees lose a game, I promise to switch to my Posada Jersey, just like 2009. God, you can make fun of me and call me superstitious, but you’ve known me all your life, and you know that this is the way I roll. I’m dead serious about my Yankees when they’re in the playoffs.
I promise to keep the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers informed and entertained during the playoffs as well, after all, they are important to me. In return, I am asking for one important thing to happen. Yes God, World Peace is a great idea, but there is something else… I need my New York Yankees to win the ALDS, the ALCS and the World Series this year, 2011. It will make me and millions of Yankee fans like me very very happy.
Your son,
Casey
P.S. Oh yeah… and one more thing…LET’S GO YANKEEEEESSSSSSS!
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The Yankees in the playoffs! I stole that line from Ned Beatty who played the role of Rudy Ruettiger’s father in the film Rudy, a film that still makes me cry like a little bitch. I like that line because while it’s simple, yet says so much. Emotionally, I watched the mountain the Yankees had to climb this year and when you looked at that opening day Pitching rotation, there is no way in hell that you believed that the New York Yankees would win the American League Eastern division. But’s exactly what's happened. 
Seeing Jesus Montero and Eduardo Nunez pouring champagne on Robinson Cano is truly extraordinary. Seeing Curtis Granderson and Rafael Soriano smiling ear to ear actually makes me really happy. And thinking about Brian Cashman’s patience rule come into play, it’s almost like he was Biff, using the Delorean to get the Sports Almanac and bringing it back with all the solutions to bring the Yankees yet another postseason berth. 
Admit it, you believed in your Yankees, but did you REALLY BELIEVE when Phil Hughes went down and Bartolo Colon suddenly filled the void? Did you believe that Curtis Granderson was going to have a season for the ages? Did you truly believe that DRob would emerge as the greatest 8th inning guy you’ve ever seen? Yankee fans believe in their team, but you just never know how 25 individuals will come together. When AJ Burnett started falling apart, the bullpen and offense lifted him up. When Rafael Soriano lost his 8th inning job, he accepted anything to help his team win, and checked his attitude at the door. And when Jorge Posada was called upon to pinch hit, he never complained and he delivered.
These are my New York Yankees. And while they are terrific this season, you have to also give some created to Joe Girardi. Yes, sometimes the Girardi binder pokes in it’s head and tries to lead Joe, but Joe’s less dependant lately, and he’s developed into a pretty damn good manager I’d say. Maybe Manager of the Year and I’m impressed.
One things for sure though, it’s not over. Not only do we need to keep winning, we’ve achieved 2 goals but we need to achieve 3 more:
WINNING THE ALDS: A short series win is more important now because it tests our pitching. We’ve seen the Yankees win plenty of Series’ this season and I’ve always preached that winning every series will get the Yanks to the playoffs, but now we’re going and it starts all over. We need to strike early and often and never lose the focus. We need to play hard until the end of the season and keep momentum going into the playoffs.
WINNING THE ALCS: A slightly longer series but important just the same. The prize is winning the World Series but you can’t do that until you win the ALCS. I believe that when we get through the ALDS, winning the ALCS will happen, again it's momentum. That’s the key.
WINNING THE WORLD SERIES: You can’t go to the World Series and lose. We’ve experienced that before and it sucks. The Marlins... the Diamondbacks... those losses still sting. We’ve learned our lesson. The World Series is a must win, and winning it all in our house is always better.
Yes, when the Yankees clinched and Soriano locked it down, followed by the Yankees having alittle celebration, it was in fact "The most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen." But let’s be honest, it's bigger than that now, seeing them in the playoffs is, and then going further will be as well. I want to have more of that. We’re almost there.
As Jeet says “One game at a time, one game at the time.”
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