Bleacher Babble, Professional Football and Pro Baseball Jabber

What a difference a week makes, after last weeks debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Oakland Raiders rebounded marvelously in Sundays dramatic 37-33 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Both Michael Crabtree and Alabama rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper shined in Sundays win, each amassing a TD pass and both getting more than a 100 yards on the day.  Quarterback Derek Carr was sloppy at times, but made plays when he had too, including a 68 TD strike to Cooper, and when the Raiders were down 33-30 with 30 seconds remaining, Carr threaded the needle with a bullet down the middle TD pass to WR Seth Roberts  for the winning score.

That's what you get with the Raiders for the last 12 or so years, a fantastic looking team or a pathetic team that would struggle against a third rate high school team. Despite only two games being played in this young NFL season, only eight teams out of 32 remain undefeated.

It's much to early to separate the contenders from the pretenders, but the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals are in the contender category for Super Bowl 50 as are the Denver Bronco's. The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots are both 2-0 as are the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys will be without their number one quarterback Tony Romo and number one wide receiver Dez Bryant till at least week 10, ouch. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/9/22/9364297/tony-romo-dez-bryant-injury-return-cowboys-brandon-weeden

A 150 or a 151 of the 162 regular season games have been played in this years Major League Baseball season and only one of the 30 baseball teams, the St. Louis Cardinals have clinched a playoff spot. Baring a colossal collapse by the Los Angeles Dodgers, last years World Series champions will miss this years playoffs. If the playoffs started today, the Chicago Cubs would be in the post season. The Cubs have not won a world series since 1908. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1908.shtml

Last years AL champions, the Kansas City Royals lead the American League Central division by three games.

The quest for the 111th World Series begins on Oct. 6. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/playoffs2015_schedule/2015-mlb-playoff-schedule  

I'd be happy with a Cubs New York Yankees World Series. The Yankees are in the drivers seat in the American League wild card chase, up by four games, and down by 2.5 to the American League East division leading Toronto Blue Jays after a dramatic 10 inning win tonight. Maybe a bay bridge series between east coast rivals, the New York Mets and Yankees. The Mets have a commanding 6 game lead in the National League East.

"Black Mass," Another Over Hyped Fiasco of Big Names, A Gangsta Classic or Anything In between?

Playing in theaters since Friday, "Black Mass" staring Johnny Depp is a tale of the real life south Boston mobster James Whitey Bulger who in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s was a focal force in organized crime.

Screen writers Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth transformed Dick Lehr and Gerard  O' Neill's book into a delicious dialog of deceitful deception.

If your anticipating an action packed gangster movie riddled with gratuitous violence, "Black Mass" is not for your eyes. If you crave story over excessive special effects, "Black Mass" is right up your alley.

This movie illustrates the realities of organized crime being married to the law, primarily the FBI due to large amounts of money. Big money blinds the greedy on both sides of the law to overlook vicious murders and leading children 12-years-old and younger into drugs.

"Black Mass" makes it clear that 70s, 80s and 90s  FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) grew up with Bulger in Boston and remained friends with him while working for the FBI.

"Black Mass" illustrates how Bulger hornswoggled the FBI into helping him fight his north Boston  enemies legally while he escaped justice despite being a cold blooded murder and aiding young children into drug addiction. Bulger made his money mostly by racketeering and extortion. He personally killed more then ten people because they were cutting into his share of illegal money or he was afraid they would rat him out.

I give "Black Mass" a solid three star rating. Personally, I would have liked to see more violence and action in this movie, simply because of its nature, but I clearly understood the writers intentions of shying away from screen violence and focusing on a gripping story-line and I applaud that. "Black Mass" is not a must see on the big screen, but a definite watch when it comes to Netflix, DVD and other multi-media networks.