Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:20:49 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Allen Barra :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Allen+Barra istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/a-bronx-tale/84567/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Many a highbrow raised a brow high last year when the critic Clive James, in his book "Cultural Amnesia," included just three movie actors among his selections of the most significant cultural figures of the century. They were Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, and ... Tony Curtis. That's right. Not Brando or Olivier or even John Wayne, but the Jewish kid from the Bronx, Bernie Schwartz — the guy who wore a dress in his most popular movie and whose most famous line in a film can't be recited without... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/bills-and-titans-signal-power-shift-in-the-nfc/86774/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Tennessee Titans vs. the Buffalo Bills — or maybe the Baltimore Ravens — for the AFC title? At the beginning of the season, it was assumed by nearly all prognosticators — and rightly so, I think — that the AFC had the three best teams in the NFL, the Giants' colossal upset win in the Super Bowl notwithstanding. As it turns out, New England's defense is probably too old to win for them even if Tom Brady hadn't been injured. The Indianapolis Colts, with what looked like a clear path to the... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/ignore-pittsburghs-fans-steelers-can-pass/86332/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger should sue his offensive line for lack of support — and while he's at it, he should file a class action suit against their fans. Pittsburgh fans want to win — they want to win playing "Steelers football," which means strength and running with the pass held back as a secondary weapon. That's how they think they won all their Super Bowls back in the 1970s under head coach Chuck Noll, with the Steel Curtain holding the opposition to under 17 points and Franco Harris... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/giants-share-division-with-nfcs-two-best-teams/86020/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Since the NFL can't make the Giants give back their Super Bowl rings, it's probably safe to disclose a little secret that is known only to everyone who had a television set last season: The Giants really weren't the best team in the league last year, or even the best team in their own conference. The Dallas Cowboys were, and if it hadn't been for injuries and bad luck, the Philadelphia Eagles probably would have been. Last year, the Cowboys whipped the Giants solidly, twice, by a total of 21... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/colts-get-outplayed-but-peyton-manning-finds-a-way/85835/ Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Vince Lombardi once observed that the only real flaw in football was that it overemphasized the importance of one position: quarterback. Lombardi should have seen the Colts defeat the Vikings 18-15 in Minneapolis yesterday. So should you, if you have any doubts as to who is the best quarterback in the NFL. Minnesota whipped Indianapolis at 21 of 22 positions — 22 out of 23 if you want to count placekicker, but don't get me started on special teams. They outrushed the Colts by the mind-boggling... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/warner-is-the-nfls-most-underrated-quarteback/85438/ Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Some time before the end of the season — my guess is that it will be around Week 4, when the Arizona Cardinals come to the Meadowlands — the Jets and their fans are going to ask the question, "Wouldn't we have been better off trying to get Kurt Warner?" Indeed, they would have. So would more than half of the teams in the NFL. Warner is one of the best passers in pro football history and, even though it's later in his career, one of the best in the game today. He's better than Matt Hasselbeck or... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/turner-classic-movies-rescues-raoul-walsh/80106/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Note to aspiring filmmakers: If you're looking for a film school, give Raoul Walsh's curriculum a try. It's called life. Between 1915 and 1961, Walsh (1887-1980) directed or co-directed some 140 features in every conceivable genre. No other director has done more to establish and sustain the careers of so many great film actors. John Wayne, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Poitier, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino all either made their breakthrough films or did their best work... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/players-need-to-make-stand-for-marvin-miller/80069/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST More than Shoeless Joe Jackson, more than even Pete Rose, the exclusion of Marvin Miller, a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, from the Hall of Fame is Cooperstown's ugliest, longest-running public relations sore. The baseball establishment hasn't wanted Miller to be inducted since his retirement in 1983. For years, their instrument for keeping him out was the infamous Rule 6(b): According to the rule, "Baseball Executives and/or Managers and/or Umpires... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/in-rare-case-bouton-finds-life-after-sports/76159/ Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Jim Bouton got into movies the usual way: nine years in the big leagues, a couple of World Series with the Yankees, a blown-out right pitching arm, a comeback as a knuckleballer, a gargantuan-selling book, "Ball Four," and some pickup basketball with Elliott Gould. The last item earned him an out-of-the-blue phone call from Robert Altman late in 1972, by which time he had been out of baseball for two years (though he made a brief comeback with the Atlanta Braves in 1978). Altman was making a... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/mamet-knocks-himself-out/75491/ Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST "Redbelt," which arrives in theaters on Friday, is David Mamet's 10th feature film as a director, and with the exception of parts of his first, 1987's "House of Games," all of them, however alluring they seemed upon release, now seem negligible. In fact, the sheer number of prestigious but stillborn fizzles and outright flops on Mr. Mamet's film rιsumι is staggering. Even a partial list of the films he's either directed or written is enough to stock a weekend film festival for masochists: "The... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/and-in-this-corner-americas-great-hope/71685/ Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST The yardstick no longer exists for us to measure how important Joe Louis was between 1935 and 1950. Sports today provide marginal TV entertainment that viewers can take or leave — no sport more so than boxing, which has one spectacular pay-per-view event every year or so and otherwise is relegated to late-night cable time slots. Joe Louis's big fights were events that black Americans, then white Americans and, finally, people all over the world gathered around their radios to experience. The... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/no-precedent-for-what-happened-in-arizona/70723/ Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST Let's be clear on this. The Giants' victory over the Patriots Sunday was not one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history: It was the biggest Super Bowl upset ever. The obvious comparison, the Jets' 16–7 win over the Colts 40 years ago in Super Bowl III, doesn't really apply here. Back then, AFL and NFL teams didn't play each other during the regular season, so there was really no way to compare the two teams. In all likelihood, the Jets, given the opportunity to play other NFL teams, would... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/canton-has-yet-to-welcome-some-of-footballs-best/70581/ Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST Debate on who should be in or out of the Baseball Hall of Fame goes on all year, but discussion on pro football's selections are confined to ... well, actually, there really isn't any debate on the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Maybe that's because the announcement is on the day before the Super Bowl (as it will be Saturday) when all the press cares about is where Giselle Bundchen is going to sit. More than 500 people vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame, while the Pro Football Hall of Fame in... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/accorsi-architect-of-team-sees-bright-future-ahead/70537/ Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST If the Giants should somehow pull off a miracle and beat the New England Patriots in this Sunday's Super Bowl, they should immediately form a circle, drop to one knee, and thank God and their former general manager, Ernie Accorsi — and not necessarily in that order. Accorsi, who retired in January last year (to be replaced by Jerry Reese), is responsible for drafting Osi Umenyiora, Chris Snee, Brandon Jacobs, and, most notably, trading for Eli Manning on draft day. (He also drafted Jeremy... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/during-seasons-second-half-chargers-were-as-good/69789/ Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST The New England Patriots, as every football fan knows, are a perfect 17–0. They are also the second best team in the NFL. The best team is their opponent this Sunday for the championship of the AFC, the San Diego Chargers. Okay, I just said that to get your attention. If I have it, let me show you what an interesting case can be made to support that statement. The strength of a Super Bowl contender when it reaches the postseason is almost always gauged by its performance in the second half. Not... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/manning-cant-save-colts-from-stunning-upset/69457/ Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Don't blame this one on Peyton Manning. For years, his critics tried to pin a "choke" label on the best quarterback of the early 21st century, when the problem was actually the Indianapolis Colts' defense. That was the problem again in the Colts' 28–24 upset loss to the San Diego Chargers yesterday. Manning had one of his best games ever, with 402 yards on 48 throws — that's 8.4 yards per pass, 0.1 yards higher than Tom Brady averaged during New England's unbeaten season, if you're wondering... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/sanders-may-be-colts-most-important-player/69097/ Tue, 8 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Most of football's most hallowed clichιs have to do with defense being the most important part of the game : "Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships," et al. If that's true, then why is Indianapolis Colts' safety Bob Sanders merely the Associated Press 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, as announced yesterday, instead of the NFL's MVP, which was awarded to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady? We all know the reason, of course. Offensive players have an enormous advantage... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/questionable-decisions-mark-wild-card-weekend/69017/ Mon, 7 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST REDSKINS 14, SEAHAWKS 35 You don't get a lot of honest commentary on NFL broadcasts, but a surprising amount of what you do get comes from NBC's Chris Collingsworth. 5:38 into the fourth quarter, with his team down 21–14, Washington Redskins quarterback Todd Collins lobbed a long pass downfield toward the left side of the Seattle Seahawks' secondary. It was picked off by cornerback Marcus Trufant at the 22-yard line and run down the sideline for a touchdown. Essentially, that was the game. A... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/bradys-mvp-case-should-not-be-open-and-shut/68350/ Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Unlike Major League Baseball, the National Football League has never had an "official" Most Valuable Player award. Historically, several organizations have chosen each year's MVP, with the Associated Press choice considered the most prestigious. Not every player, of course, has an equal chance to win: Every decade or so, a handful of writers actually notice that there are players on two sides of the ball and decide to reward a defensive player. For instance, since 1957, the only AP selections... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/bradys-patriots-pick-apart-steelers-pride/67748/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST First off, Pittsburgh safety Anthony Smith did not "guarantee" a Steelers victory over the Patriots. That was a creation by the press. Smith actually made a perfectly innocent statement in saying, "I guarantee we'll win if" — emphasis mine — "we make our plays." Any player before any game could say as much. Secondly, Smith should have kept his mouth shut and understood that anything he said before a game like this was going to be taken out of context. And thirdly, he should have understood that... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/tebows-ground-air-attack-puts-him-a-cut-above/67537/ Wed, 5 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST "There ain't much to being a football player," said W.W. "Pudge" Heffelfinger, Walter Camp's first All-America selection (1889) in his 1952 autobiography. "If you're a football player." Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is a football player. He can't with any certainty be called the best college football player in the nation because there's no way to measure the performance of hundreds of outstanding offensive linemen and defensive players, and if there was, no way to compare them to passers and... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/jaguars-lose-but-prove-they-are-narrowing-the-gap/67359/ Mon, 3 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST In the highlights of yesterday's Indianapolis Colts' 28–25 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, it looked like just another great day for Peyton Manning. And it was that: 288 yards and four touchdowns. But what the replays of Manning's TD passes didn't show was how close the Jaguars are to being one of the NFL's elite teams and how vulnerable the Colts have become. Once again, Manning was great, especially in the first half when the Colts built up a 21–7 lead. This time, though, with starting... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/nfc-supremacy-at-stake-in-dallas/67224/ Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In normal seasons — and normal here is defined as any year in which the 2007 New England Patriots aren't playing — tonight's Green Bay Packers–Dallas Cowboys match would be hailed as the regular season game of the year. In fact, it might have been billed as the regular season game of this century. Instead, it looks to be little more than an entertaining way of passing a Thursday night — at least for a while. PACKERS (10–1) at COWBOYS (10–1) Tonight, 8 p.m., NFL Network Well, it is a little more... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/jaguars-closing-in-on-title-of-second-best-in-afc/66957/ Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Yesterday was an important one in the history of the Jacksonville Jaguars: It marked the first time I have ever watched one of their games from beginning to end. I just can't get used to the idea that the NFL has a franchise in Jacksonville, and I'll bet that very few people outside Jacksonville can, either. It has nothing to do with the actual quality of the Jaguars' teams. Jacksonville's name brings no heat as a football town, and the teams themselves, even when they win, seem as colorless... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/saints-chargers-take-another-step-backward/66676/ Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The San Diego Chargers finished the 2006 regular season at 14–2, while the New Orleans Saints were 10–6. Since they are a combined 9–11 this season — after being picked by many to play each other in the Super Bowl — it's fair to call them the NFL's biggest disappointments of 2007. After yesterday, when San Diego lost to Jacksonville 24–17 and Houston stuffed New Orleans by 23–10, it's a long shot that either will even make the playoffs. The belly flops of both teams have been more closely... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/big-ben-may-be-nearing-ranks-of-brady-manning/66090/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST For most football fans, about the only interesting question left to answer in the second half of the 2007 season is whether there's a team out there capable of stepping it up to the level of the New England Patriots or the Indianapolis Colts. That team, if it exists, almost certainly isn't going to come from the NFC, as the Pats' 48–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on October 14 proved. The Pittsburgh Steelers' 38–7 dismantling of the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night may have sent a message... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/man-who-gave-us-marlowe/65983/ Wed, 7 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In his own lifetime, which began in 1888 and ended in 1959, Raymond Chandler was more private even than his incorruptible private detective, Philip Marlowe. Since then, however, Chandler's mean streets have been shadowed by biographers — Frank MacShane, in "The Life of Raymond Chandler" (1976), Tom Hiney, in "Raymond Chandler" (1997) — hagiographers, and even photographers — "Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles" with text by Elizabeth Ward and photos by Alain Silver (1987). His letters and... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/neo-mccarthyism-with-the-coen-brothers/66009/ Wed, 7 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST For years, Cormac McCarthy has seemed to waver between two questions: "Am I Faulkner?" and "Am I Hemingway?" With the Coen brothers' film version of Mr. McCarthy's 2005 novel, "No Country for Old Men," we have an answer: He's Dashiell Hammett. Or at least he's the Coen brothers' new Dashiell Hammett. The Coens' obsession with Hammett has been evident since their first feature, 1983's "Blood Simple," which is a slang term for bloodlust taken from Hammett's "Red Harvest." In 1990, the Coens... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/in-battle-of-nfls-best-patriots-gain-edge/65860/ Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Wide receivers are supposed to be the least important component of a pro football team. That is, there are so many good ones around that the difference in performance between the best and the average isn't usually that great. As Bill Walsh once said to me when I suggested that Jerry Rice might be the most important player on his 49ers team, "Wide receivers should make the difference in a big game only if all other things are equal." In an overhyped game that actually lived up to its hype, the... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/colts-are-undefeated-unchallenged-and-underdogs/65754/ Fri, 2 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In case you're a casual fan and are wondering if all the hype surrounding this Sunday's New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts game is justified, I'll give you the short form: yes. It may not be the only pro football game you need to watch this season, but it's the most important one. PATRIOTS (8–0) at COLTS (7–0) Sunday, 4:15 p.m., CBS There's no doubt whatsoever that these are the two best teams in the NFL and that the winner will be the odds-on favorite to go all the way. Numerous midseason... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/home-field-for-steelers-hinges-on-red-hot-colts/65424/ Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Led by quarterback Vinny Testaverde — who, at age 41, is more than three times older than the franchise he plays for — the Carolina Panthers executed a flawless 18-play, 80-yard opening drive that consumed 11 minutes of football time. In the real world, that's enough time for a bored football writer to read the first 117 pages of Don DeLillo's "Underworld." The Panthers jumped to a 7–0 lead against the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, throwing their bench and their fans into a fit of euphoria. The... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/bittersweet-science/65232/ Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST If a national magazine were to devote a cover story to boxing today, veteran journalist Joe Layden writes in "The Last Great Fight" (St. Martin's, 320 pages, $24.95), it would probably run under the headline, "Whatever Happened to Boxing?" If you want to know what happened to the sport that produced such American legends as John L. Sullivan, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Muhammad Ali, Mr. Layden's exhilarating and hard-hitting account of the 1990 heavyweight championship fight... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/unbeaten-patriots-show-dolphins-no-mercy/64974/ Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Yesterday's New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game was the biggest mismatch since Angelina Jolie married Billy Bob Thornton. The Patriots, a perfect 6–0, came in looking like Jolie if she were stepping out of a milk bath; the 0–6 Dolphins looked like Billy Bob with a three-day growth. If you're a New England fan, or just a masochist — or am I being redundant? — it was a perfect afternoon: the best team in pro football (maybe) against the worst team (probably). A few years ago, the... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/against-usc-irish-have-the-history-and-thats-all/64697/ Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The good news for Notre Dame is that while Southern Cal could wipe the Irish out at South Bend this Saturday, they will still be leading the Trojans in their 77-year series. In fact, Notre Dame (who are underdogs by three touchdown) could get clobbered every year until 2018 and still be ahead. The bad news is that this is what's likely to happen. Notre Dame–USC was, for more than 60 years, the most important single game in college football — that is, if you define importance by influence on... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/even-playing-well-dallas-cant-stop-new-england/64560/ Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Imagine what Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips is going to feel like tomorrow going over his checklist of things his team was supposed to do against the New England Patriots yesterday. First, of course, must have been "Stop the run." (I don't know that that was actually at the top of the list, but most NFL coaches usually start with that one.) The Cowboys did, stuffing the Patriots runners for a mere 75 yards in 29 carries. Keith Faulk had one run for nine yards; it was New England's only gain... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/cowboys-are-playing-for-nfcs-respect-sunday/64473/ Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST When discussing this Sunday's matchup between the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys, New England defensive back Ellis Hobbs has it right: "I don't think of it as a measuring stick. We think of it as a big game because it's the next game." That's the way any sixth game of the regular season should be looked at. Since 2000, 39 teams have gone through five weeks with a winning record without making the playoffs, while 11 teams with losing records at that point in the season did play in the... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/facing-no-pass-rush-peyton-rallies-colts-past/63698/ Mon, 1 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST It's amazing to think how close Denver coach Mike Shanahan has come to football immortality without managing to become a household name. After winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1997 and 1998 seasons, he's had eight chances to reach the top rung for a magic third time without success. Perhaps it's not fair to say without success, as Shanahan has had only one losing season over that span. Over the last five years, his Broncos have gone 51–29 and from 2003–2005 they were in the playoffs each... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/chargers-take-a-tumble-as-patriots-surge/63248/ Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST The San Diego Chargers are the most talented team in the NFL and watching them self-destruct before they reach their peak is one of the ugliest tasks a football writer must endure. With an ugly 31–24 loss to the Green Bay Packers yesterday, the Chargers are now 1–2 and have been outscored by a total of 30 points. What's wrong? I haven't a clue, except to observe that their offense was terrible in the opening week win over the Bears and their defense was terrible in the second week loss to the... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/wanted-jesse-james/62907/ Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST "Americans," noted Oscar Wilde while passing near Jesse James's hometown on an 1882 lecture tour, "are certainly great hero-worshippers, and always take their heroes from the criminal classes." Wilde wasn't wrong, but the truth is not so simple. It would be more accurate to say that when faced with a criminal they regard as a hero, many Americans simply choose to disregard his criminality. Based on Ron Hansen's great 1983 novel, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,"... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/greatest-struggle/62873/ Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST There's often a significant flaw in Ken Burns's documentaries. In "The Civil War" (1990), it was an ending that emphasized the healing of whites in the North and South without making clear that, at the war's end, the situation of most blacks in this country would not change for decades. In "Baseball" (1994), it was the director's failure to accommodate the when-it-was-a-game nostalgia with the hard realities of the players' revolution in the 1970s. And in "The West" (1996), it was an inability... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/steelers-look-ready-to-rejoin-afc-elite/62787/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Sporting hideous retro uniforms with taxi-yellow helmets, the Pittsburgh Steelers chopped up the Buffalo Bills yesterday at Heinz Field, serving notice that they are back and ready to challenge the Colts and Patriots for AFC — meaning NFL — supremacy. The Steelers were beset with so many off-season detractions (most notably linebacker Joey Porter) and distractions (All-Pro guard Alan Faneca, who demanded a trade and didn't get one when the Steelers refused to renegotiate his contract) that no... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/where-everybody-knows-your-name/62669/ Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Was Toots Shor, the saloon-restaurant at 51 W. 51st St., real? Or was it dreamed up as a place for Tony Curtis's Sidney Falco to meet with Burt Lancaster's J.J. Hunsecker in "Sweet Smell of Success"? Was there really once a place in the 1940s and '50s where Babe Ruth, Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Sugar Ray Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Joe Louis , John Wayne, Jack Dempsey, Richard Nixon, Jackie Gleason, Yogi Berra, Earl Warren, and Frank Costello... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/packers-top-eagles-despite-having-favre/62287/ Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST According to the Associated Press, the Green Bay Packers 16–13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday "counted as the 37th time Brett Favre had led the Packers from a fourth-quarter tie or deficit to a win." It must been written by Favre's agent. In truth, about the only thing Favre contributed to the Packers' thrilling victory was the inept quarterbacking that made the game close in the first place. Brett Favre is the NFL's Teflon quarterback; if he got caught in a dogfighting scandal, I... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/riding-into-a-new-era-of-westerns/61947/ Wed, 5 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma" is, in every sense, a rarity. It's an unapologetic Western — not a parody like "Shanghai Noon" or a self-conscious revision such as "Unforgiven," or an Eastern-Western in the manner of "The Last Samurai" and "Hidalgo," or an action flick aimed at teenagers ΰ la "Wild Wild West." Even rarer, it's a remake of a low-budget classic that maintains the virtues of the original while expanding its scope. Delmer Daves's 1957 black-and-white version is a favorite among... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/pressing-questions-that-will-be-answered/61619/ Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST If you really love pro football, you might want to postpone the simulated trip to Mars or reschedule that South Seas vacation — places where it's hard to get good reception — and stay at home this fall. 2007 is going to be the year a lot of key issues are settled. Foremost among them: Who's the man? Will Peyton Manning or Tom Brady be remembered as the greatest quarterback of the early 21st century? Peyton finally shook off the can't-win-the-big-game albatross, but for real football... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/home-team-advantage/58272/ Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST "Whoever wants to know the hearts and minds of America," Jacques Barzun wrote more than half a century ago, "had better learn baseball." There are some misguided souls who feel that this is less true now than it used to be because of the Super Bowl's ratings or because the NBA markets jerseys in China. Ask them if Ken Burns has ever made a nine-part series called "Basketball"; ask what museum display exhibits on the glory days of pro football? The Museum of the City of New York's new exhibit... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/triple-dose-of-yankee-lit/57964/ Fri, 6 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST It doesn't look as if the Yankees are going to win this year, but their fans can at least take solace that they once again lead the league in books. It's amazing that after the virtual library of Yankee lit published in this decade alone, there are still so many good subjects out there to write about. Sol Gittleman's "Reynolds, Raschi and Lopat" (McFarland & Company, 230 pages, $29.95), for instance, is the first book — and none other will be needed — about the core of the only team in baseball... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/arts/buried-in-history/55278/ Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 EST Virginia Woolf once wrote that after reading some novels, she felt she was expected to reach for her checkbook. HBO's new film, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," which airs Sunday, makes you feel that way, except that you don't know where to send the check. Dee Brown's 1971 book, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee — An Indian History of the American West," is a landmark in American popular history, an enormous best seller that has retained its reputation as a work of scholarship. Taking its title... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/boxing-needs-a-superstar-and-mayweather-isnt-it/53939/ Mon, 7 May 2007 00:00:00 EST It had to be more than a coincidence that the Kentucky Derby and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight took place on the same day. Those who control the order of the cosmos might be trying to tell us that things have changed. Horse racing and boxing were not only two of the most popular sports in this country a century ago, they were staples of American culture. Indeed, in the early part of the 20th century, most prominent sportswriters wrote about little else. Bat Masterson, for... ALLEN BARRA http://www.nysun.com/sports/dont-pass-on-passers/53324/ Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST Trying to predict how the NFL draft is going to come out is like trying to predict a cat race. Every year, there are a couple of top players who are givens — this year it's LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame's QB Brady Quinn — whom just about everyone seems to want. Trying to find a pattern in the rest of the draft is like trying to find a plot in an Antonioni film. Maybe this is because some of the people who do the drafting don't know the plot themselves. For instance, the...