No joke title mocking an athlete or coach today. I mean, it’s the weekend. Lets be friends.

In case you weren’t aware, there’s a monumental college basketball game tonight at 9 P.M. More on that later.

I’m going to take a brief moment away from the sports to give you my selections for the Oscars, which are happening tomorrow evening.

Best Actor
Daniel-Day Lewis (my celebrity look-alike)

Best Actress
Cate Blanchette (Because, you know, she has to win every year. It’s a rule)

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem (If he doesn’t win this award, I’ll be a little confused)

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan (Cate Blanchette will probably win this one too)

Best Adapted Screenplay
There Will Be Blood (I don’t really have a comment here. Atonement and No Country…are also terrific. Tough category)

Best Original Screenplay
Lars and the Real Girl (Juno will win this)

Best Director
The Coen Brothers

Best Picture (I’m going to write about this)

Full disclosure, I haven’t seen Michael Clayton yet. I feel bad about this. I’ll leave it to the remaining four, Juno, Atonement, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood. That said, I have no right to be upset if Michael Clayton wins, until I see it, which I may do tomorrow, pre-Oscars.

The Breakdown:

Juno- I hate what this movie has become. The trailer made me excited. I saw it prior to The Darjeeling Limited and waited, anticipating its release. After seeing it, I was letdown. It’s not a bad movie. It’s a mostly enjoyable romantic comedy. However, that’s what it is. Juno being touted as this year’s Little Miss Sunshine is so off-base that it risks being picked off (had to throw in a baseball reference). Sunshine was dark and inspiring and well-acted and sad and all the things that movies like that are supposed to be. Juno is not. Ellen Page, in my eyes, is no better than Jon Heder. In Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder essentially played himself. In Juno, Ellen Page does the same (much like her co-star Michael Cera, who, while he is endearing, really needs to stop playing himself in every film he’s in). This movie would have been remarkably better if Jason Bateman’s character had slept with Juno. For the very reason that I didn’t, this movie finds itself in a category it does not belong in.

No Country For Old Men- Javier Bardem as Antoine Chigurh is amazing. There’s frankly not a ton for me to say about this movie. The plot is intriguing. The characters are interesting. The setting is perfect. The mood, also great.

There Will Be Blood- See above, substituting Daniel-Day Lewis for Javier Bardem and Daniel Plainview for Antoine Chigurh. The one thing that I would say is that there are brief stretches where I got a little antsy, as the film stretches over 2 1/2 hours. Also, I’m a little confused at the popularity of the “Milkshake” line, as, you know, this isn’t a really “catchphrase” type of movie.

Atonement- I really liked this movie. It wasn’t brilliantly acted or brilliantly written. However, the story is completely compelling and the twist at the end completely unexpected. I’m not exactly sure if anyone actually saw this movie and I realize that as much as I recommend it, it still remains to be unappealing to the masses. However, this is NOT The English Patient. And Keira Knightley is gorgeous. There’s that too.

THE WINNER: No Country For Old Men. Having seen it twice, I guess it is at more of an advantage as far as my preference, however, I had it ahead of There Will Be Blood before seeing it again.

Okay, back to sports…

The Celtics came out flat last night and lost to the Suns in, what was, a strangely low-scoring game. They need to come back to the east coast.

Game O’ The Day: Tennessee @ Memphis. I’ve talked about this game all week. The best thing I heard all week about this game was, “you can tell the 35 second shot clock guy to stay home.” This game is going to be fast, high-scoring, and fun. Neither team can shoot free throws, and frankly, I hope it doesn’t come down to free throws. I think it comes down to how well Derrick Rose can maintain possession in the face of Tennessee’s hard press defense and how well Tennessee’s Chris Lofton shoots the trey. Despite the game being in Memphis, I think Tennessee wins. Final Score: 93-90. PLEASE…WATCH THIS GAME!!!